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2/9/2010: D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" Update 2: Sky pirates!

edemaitre — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:12:32 GMT

Fellow role-players, here is my update for the latest D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" steampunk/fantasy scenario, which I hosted and ran last night (Monday, 8 February 2010) in Needham, Mass.:

In one world, the magicks and demihuman races of the "Vanished Lands" never disappeared, instead dispersing throughout the world. Three millennia later, European empires compete to explore and control the globe, technology has developed, and new villains and heroes arise....

>>Dramatis Personae for Gene D.'s D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" ("G3")

-"Dr. Alexander Terence Levy" [Paul J.]-male British human, inventor of clockwork marvels (Explorer/Trader, Lvl. 2/1)

-"Tariq Asrad Saladin" [Beruk A.]-male Turkish 'human, Dervish traveling the world (Warrior/Mystic, Lvl. 1/2)

-"Mr. Herod Ambler" [Greg D.C.]-male British human, 'gentleman and stage magician (Mystic, Lvl. 3)

-"Miss Bella Moonseeker" [Sara F.]-female Texan Wolfen rancher and hunter (Warrior, Lvl. 3)

-"Mssr. Louis Renee LeShove" [Josh C.]-male French Sylvan Elf martial artist and carouser (Mystic, Lvl. 3)

-"Mr. John 'Hop' Scott" [Dave S.C.]-male Scottish cyborg with a steam-powered prosthetic to replace a leg lost in an industrial accident; ancestor of "Gavin McManus/HopScotch" (in Gene D. and Paul J.'s D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed. superhero scenarios; Warrior, Lvl. 3)

>>Associates [and absent]:

-"Prof. Connor Winstead" [Alex J.]-male North American human, archaeologist and lecturer at a northeastern university (Explorer, Lvl. 2)

-"Ms. Eleanor Wright" [Brie C.-R.]-female British human, dilettante of the Raj in India and spy/smuggler (Diplomat/Trader, Lvl. 1/1)

-"Mr. Hank Avery" [Brian W.]-male Texan human, entrepreneur and gunslinger (Diplomat, Lvl. 2)

-"Sparrow" [Sara F.]-female North American cyborg, a wanderer with mechano-organic wings (Explorer, Lvl. 2)

Chapter 2: Sky pirates! "1 to 6 February 1876 A.D./C.E.:" A few months after their misadventures in the Midwest ("Carriage Chaos"), several members of the intrepid band receive letters and telegrams inviting them to come to New York City. After long train journeys, they convene at the Peregrinator's Society.

"Dr. Levy" [Paul J.], "Mr. Saladin" [Beruk A.], and "Mr. Ambler" [Greg D.C.] enter the exclusive club and find the lobby filled with nonhumans. The three men meet a fellow with gray muttonchops and a hussar's uniform. Horace Duttweiler says they were referred to him by eccentric industrialist Duncan Cogsworth, despite the uncertain outcome of their previous mission.

The retired military officer then introduces the trio to "Miss Moonseeker" [Sara F.], "Mssr. LeShove" [Josh C.], and "Mr. Scott" [Dave S.C.] and explains that he has procured expensive airship tickets for them to visit his kinsman in London. Mr. Brucker will have further instructions, he says.

Englishmen Dr. Levy and Mr. Ambler are suspicious when Mr. Duttweiler says that he was instructed to hire experts in America who were unknown in certain circles, since they are renowned as an inventor and stage magician, respectively. The onetime hussar hints that they'll want to avoid occult organizations such as the Order of the Golden Dawn, which Mr. Ambler and Mssr. LeShove recognize.

Although they find Mr. Duttweiler to be either badly misinformed or deliberately obtuse, the six travelers accept his offer and scatter. Alexander and his clockwork dog visit the aerodrome where the H.M.A.S. Ruritania is berthed. He talks with members of the armored German airship's crew.

Put off by the intolerance and ill manners of some of his companions, Turkish dervish Tariq retires to meditate and has a vision of people in surprise or fear above a green land. Gentleman Herod finds a well-heeled friend and visits various Manhattan attractions. Bella considers buying supplies, but the Wolfen cowgirl is unable to find a gun range and settles for some dance halls.

Gallic Louis has a wine-fueled romantic liaison with a fellow Sylvan Elf at the Peregrinator's Society, while John borrows money from an associate named Buford and proceeds to multiply it several times playing cards. However, the laborer's steam-powered prosthetic leg prevents him from entering polite society.

The next morning, the six wanderers board the Ruritania, which takes flight toward the rising sun. They are given small but well-appointed cabins in the dirigible's middle deck. The cabins are in the center of the gondola deck, surrounded by hallways with wide windows overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Dr. Levy notices a rhythmic sound that's unlike any engine he knows of, so the curious gadgeteer goes to find its source. Alexander is politely redirected by the airship's crew. Tariq's contemplations are also disturbed by the sound, so he also goes up.

Rolando, the Halfling morale officer of the Ruritania, asks "King Herod" if he would put on a show for the captain and first-class guests on the top deck at dinner. Mr. Ambler replies that he will perform, but on the condition that any nubile young women be delivered to his cabin for "inspection as assistants."

Unfortunately for Herod, Rolando sends furry Bella, who says she has some experience as a sharpshooter and knife thrower. The disappointed mage stays in his cabin, and the Wolfen goes to the lounge. After a swashbuckling swing in the rigging, Mssr. LeShove loudly feigns drunkenness and strolls about the decks.

At the bottom level, Louis finds Mr. Scott entertaining the steerage passengers (of a higher class than on other ships) with his impressions of the snobs on the upper decks. The bored Elf wanders off, eventually joining Dr. Levy and Mr. Saladin.

Mssr. LeShove distracts some airshipmen by dragging them into the top deck's lounge for drinks and to watch Miss Moonseeker's act. Alexander and Tariq quickly climb up into the dirigible and wait for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. They smell salt water.

Having been reassured that the Germans are using a nonflammable gas for their balloons, the inventor lights a match. Alexander and Tariq are surprised to see a huge beast resembling a cross between a whale and a manta ray harnessed to the dirigible's frame!

Dr. Levy is concerned that a sentient creature is being enslaved to provide propulsion, but Mr. Saladin (and later, Mr. Ambler) note that it doesn't seem to be mistreated and that further investigation would be needed to determine the flyer's true status.

Later that night, the passengers of the Ruritania are awakened by the sounds of cannons! An autogyro and a ornithopter have pulled alongside the zeppelin and extend gangplanks!

Herod pulls out a pocket watch and hypnotizes two of the would-be boarders, sending them tumbling to the waters far below. Alexander finds some tools and detaches a window frame -- and the attached hooked plank. John uses his mechanical leg to hop across to the lead heavier-than-air craft.

Defying the crew's wishes, Bella loads her six shooter and fires at the sky pirates. The four remaining attackers draw cutlasses and advance, as Louis acrobatically leaps over them into the airborne attackers' vessel. Tariq hits with his scimitar and joins the Ruritania's crew in repelling the boarders.

Mr. Ambler notices that the attackers speak with Irish accents and are dressed as fancy highwaymen. Dr. Levy tosses a fake bomb into the rear craft before crossing over himself. Mr. Scott exchanges fisticuffs with two of the corsairs of the clouds before destroying one gangplank with his cybernetic leg.

The raiders injure John and Bella, who bounces one of them off the remaining plank. Each of the two smaller airships has two pilots and an engineer. A massive airship flying the Jolly Roger breaks through the clouds above and port of the Ruritania!

Louis slams one co-pilot into the controls, and Tariq does likewise with another, who manages to backhand him. They use megaphones to communicate, evacuating the rear dinghy of crew. Unfortunately for the pirates, they're soon surrounded by Germans with harpoon guns. The lead aircraft, its crew disabled, begins to plummet. John and Louis scramble to the roof and manage to leap to the second ship.

Aboard the autogyro, Dr. Levy and Mssr. LeShove take the controls, with Mr. Scott and Mr. Saladin manning the engines. They pick up Mr. Ambler and Miss Moonseeker from the zeppelin before flying toward the massive airship, which extends magnetic docking chains....

Next time: The party meets the captain of the Sargasso Albatross!

I hope you enjoyed last night's game, and I look forward to your constructive criticism and next week's session! Now that everyone has finally created or revised their Player Characters, we should be able to resume more promptly. I could have explained feats/powers/spells more clearly and recommend that each of you stick to one D20 source when choosing them.

I expect this adventure to take about four sessions. Weather permitting, Brian plans to run his "Savage Worlds: Hellfrost" on Monday, 22 February 2010, and in the meantime, the "Pathfinder: Holy Steel" teleconferencing team will need to reschedule around Valentine's Day. Take it easy, -Gene

Boston-area one-shots and miniseries of early 2010:

>>Already played:

-Greg D.C.: InSpectres (rules-light horror/humor scenario)
-Paul J.: D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed.: "League of Vaguely Interesting People--the Four" (superhero comedy)
-Brian W.: Fate 3.0: "Spirit of the Caribbean!" (swashbuckling pirates)
-Gene D.: D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" (steampunk/fantasy)

>>Coming soon:

-Paul J.: Pathfinder: "Crossroads of Eternity" crossover with Gene D.'s "Vanished Lands" (fantasy)?
-Greg D.C.: Dread (horror using Jenga)?
-Beruk A.: D20 "Rifts" (multidimensional homebrew)
-Beruk A.: Dragon Age (MMO-based fantasy)
-Brian W.: Savage Worlds: Hellfrost (fantasy)
-Brian W.: Spirit of the Century (pulp 1920s)?
-Brian W.: Polaris: Chivalric Tragedy at the Utmost North ("rules-lite" mythic)
-Brian W.: Dirty Secrets (G.M.-less noir storyteller)
-Gene D.: D20"M&M"2e: "S.J.I.: Chrome City" (comic book superheroes)
-Gene D.: "Vortex" (space opera using D20 Star Wars: Saga Edition, Starblazer Adventures, or GURPS 4e)

[Pathfinder] Of Elves and Alchemy

dmccoy1693 — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:06:36 GMT

I'm a little tired today. I was up until about 1am last night working on my character. Time got a little away from me. Tomorrow I have to have my character done, he goes into action tomorrow. I still need a name for him. I know a bit about him though. He's an Elven Alchemist 9 (from the Final Playtest Doc from Paizo). Elves don't really make sense when it comes to alchemy. Dwarves and gnomes make much more sense, in my opinion. But the class revolves around Int and Dex, and elves give both. With my ability scores as low as they are (highest I rolled was a 15), I really should take something that makes mechanical sense over fluff sense.

We just finished up Escape from Old Korvosa in the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path. I'm going to introduce him as an alchemist in the service of the Queen that quit (aka escaped) when he found out that the Queen was behind the plague. They players will encounter him whereever the DM brings him in, hopefully on the road away from Korvosa.

The class was summed up nicely by Ryan Costello, Jr. at the Know Direction podcast (give it a listen, its good) by being "Dr Jekyll with grenades." Its a fun little class so far. I'm not wild about all the fluff. Basically the alchemist uses "magic" to help create his extracts (potion like substances that he can whip up in a minute). I'm not wild about that. This class would be a perfect healer for a low/no magic setting. At first I thought, well that fluff is easy enough to change (ignore). Then I read it to my girlfriend. She explained it as "not being science but rather a different form of magic. It relies on the same magic that arcane casters use. You are doing alchemy, studying the process of changing lead into gold and all that. Its just wielded in a different way." Ok, I can buy that.

The class naturally doesn't allow the user to share their alchemical mixes with others, but the Discovery: Infusion covers that part. I think this discovery is vital to making this class a real party member, instead of in it for themselves only. The next one I took was Frost Bomb, have to have the ability to change energy types if need be. Precise Bomb is also going to be helpful, allowing to remove spaces from the bomb's blast area. Lastly, Combine Extracts, allowing my character to take two different extracts at once. So I can take invisibility and expeditious retreat at the same time. Handy.

Extract choices: fly, absolutely. A cure extract will allow me to be a healer, We already have a Cleric, Paladin and Druid in the class, so I don't do more than light wounds. Reduce person and disguise self will come in handy in making myself look like a gnome, halfling, kobold or whatever to get in anywhere. Resist energy and heroism are next on the list. I'll have to come back to this later to choose the rest.

Feats are a little ... eh. There are no alchemist-dedicated feats. I could probably talk the DM into Extra Bombs in the same way that a bard has Extra Bardic Performance or a barbarian has Extra Rage. I'm not going to try that. I'm just going to stick to the main book for the time being. Bombs are his main attack with a crossbow as a backup. So Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, and Far Shot are pretty much a must. I get Brew Potion and Throw Anything as bonus feats. I'm probably going to take Improved Initiative, but I have no clue what I am going to do with my final feat.

Skills go quickly. 4 skill points+a +4 INT means 8 skills that can be fully funded. Craft (alchemy) (max), Fly (max). Spellcraft will allow me to make an alchemical equivalent of a wizard's spell, fully fund. We have no rogue and Disable Devise/Slight of Hand are class skills so fully fund the first and partly fund the second. I wouldn't have stolen much while working for the queen, so Slight of Hand would be "new." Same with survival, partly fund. Appraise, Knowledge (arcana), and perception round out the skills. I'll take a pair of skill points from the partly funded ones to have a few ranks in Profession (cook). Always good to have a different set of skills to fall back on.

I stopped working there. It was getting late. I'll finish it up before game. My impression so far is that I think I might like this character. Not a crazy wiley alchemist, but a curious, probing alchemist that has been thrown into circumstances larger than himself. I think this elf will fly.

Dale McCoy is President of Jon Brazer Enterprises. Visit our website to find out about Book of the Faithful: The Worshiping Swords, our latest Pathfinder Compatible product.

A Foot is Made of Inches

EP — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:01:47 GMT

There's no surprise when I say there's a huge rift between fans of print publications and e-books; many who buy books from a shelf or have it delivered from Amazon never touch a PDF unless it's a preview from the publisher they're planning to buy from and those who appreciate electronic copies reserve buying a physical copy for those "worth the money" or they only download and have yet to ever pay for anything. So be it, that's not what I popped online to talk about.

It's the discussions about whether or not electronic publishing will ever surpass print. More importantly, the quick and instant bullet to the back of e-publishing's head. Accounting for any misinterpretations, it seems as if e-publishing cannot compare to print because they don't make the same money. It's too amateur.

I always thought that was the idea. E-publishing was a kind of underdog, ham radio version for everyone. The internet of the newspaper industry. The iTunes of the record store. And now that newspapers face difficulties competing in the digital age, the curiosity remains how PDF publishers have not overtaken print. Softcover and hardcover books still outproduce electronic reading financially and that breaks the mold set down by so many other entertainment markets. Even Netflix provides streaming, skipping the physical disk entirely. Nothing is considered decent and worthy unless it's climbed to the top of the heap within 5 or 10 years. What's been forgotten is the access, no matter how small, an artist gains from this new medium (and I still call it new because it has yet to settle - the website has become the blog, character sheets now come in apps, and publishers don't just sell books, they sell subscriptions. We're all still working out the kinks and ironing out the details.)

It's a shame, really, but there's not much to do about it. Perhaps it's a side effect of the celebrity world we live in - only the sharpest and most talked about are considered. You're not successful until you're stalked by photographers and stalkers. Like everything else that catches on, I'm slow to keep up. This blog only has six entries, including this one. The idea of posting my thoughts on a blog without provocation is still new to me. I've been spending the last few years waiting for someone to ask for my opinion in an email. Right now, it feels rather obnoxious of me to tell you what I think and expect you to make it to the end PLUS provide a comment and engage me in conversation about it. Tweeting just looks like another email account I have to log in to... if email was still from 1990 and your server could only handle 250 characters at a time.

There's a reason why this is coming out and my slow ass decided to put it in a blog. Two reasons, I guess, because I just finished reading another series of comments on the shortcomings of e-publishing. A couple of days ago, I cleaned out an old file cabinet and found a series of emails from a guy during my days on AOL (so we're talking about nine years ago). I had written a serial story, posted a couple of chapters, and waited to see what happened. This one guy wrote back a few times and provided his thoughts and appreciation for the work. It was fan mail. Just from one guy and he was the only one. I read through every email again tonight and felt an incredible glow - my desire to write and design increased tenfold.

Today, Combat Advantage has over 17,000 downloads. That number is smaller than the population of the town I grew up in but it's about 16,800 more than the number of people I possibly know and could remember by first name. It's also around the number of people you could fit in an NHL arena. If it were converted to money, it would be an awesome gift or lottery prize and I certainly would not want to pay $17,000 in fines. Sure, I'd like to have those 17,000 downloads be sales but it's yet to happen. As it stands, there are 17,000 copies of my material sitting on computers around the world. (Even if it sits in their trash can, that's still part of the computer.)

And that's why we do it. That's why we e-publish. For the sheer pleasure of having strangers we've never met read it, love it, and want to read it again. It may be only one person but I'd rather have that one person send a thank you then have to constantly read hundreds of gamers go on a forum and bitch about why your skill system isn't realistic.

Oh, and we're poor. We also do it because we're poor.

Game Night, Chapter Thirteen (The Ring)

Jonny Nexus — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:01:00 GMT

Hi all, and welcome to Chapter Thirteen of my ENnie-nominated novel Game Night.

Hope you like it!

<< Chapter One (The Gate)
<< Previous Chapter (The Burning South)

Jonny

The adventurers have crashed down, hard, in the middle of a scorching desert, in which only magic can enable them to endure. And now a bit of that magic is in the possession of a semi-sentient, kleptomanic monkey.

Will they get it back? Read on...

Chapter Thirteen

The OverRealm. Several not-seconds have now elapsed since the AllFather's announcement of the theft of the final ring.

The Warrior is standing, his chair pushed angrily back. To say that he is not pleased with this turn of events would be to understate things by an extreme amount, the degree of which can be demonstrated by one salient fact.

The Jester has not yet laughed.

Those robed figures still sitting at the table exchange uneasy glances, but say nothing.

Twelve legs and ten eyeballs stood and watched as the monkey scampered across the sand with the ring clutched in one paw. It headed up the steep face of the dune opposite and disappeared over the crest, with only footprints left behind.

Silence settled upon the desert, broken only by the faint whistle of wind across the sand.

The Warrior sits back down. �I will attack the monkey! It shall not be allowed to steal what is mine!�

The AllFather pauses, perturbed over a minor, but sentence stopping issue, which is how to refer to the �monkey�. Because while the �monkey� is not, in fact, a monkey, but is instead a member of an intelligent sentient race, this is a piece of information which none of the gods have ever got round to obtaining.

�I said I'm going to attack the monkey!�

The AllFather sighs a private mental sigh. �I did say that the monkey was running up the far face of the dune and you chose to do nothing.�

�I did not choose to do nothing! I was thinking!�

�Fine. And so was Draag.�

�That is not correct. Just because I am thinking does not mean that Draag is thinking. I think! Draag reacts!�

The Lady smiles. �Is that because he's cleverer than you?�

�He is not cleverer than me!�

�Legendaryintellect!� coughs the Jester.

�My own intellect is at least legendary!� says the Warrior, ignoring the Jester's raised eyebrow. �Perhaps even epic.� He picks up his knuckle-bones. �As soon as the monkey attempted to steal the ring, Draag would have reacted to stop him!�

He casts the knuckle-bones across the table.
�Three successes!� he announces. �I have grappled the monkey before it gets hold of the ring.�

The Dealer taps him on the arm. �In this heat you have to make a resistance test before any action, and you have been wearing full armour...�

�...for several hours,� adds the Lady. �And you haven't been drinking much water either, so you'd need at least, what?�

�Five successes,� says the Jester. �And that's not including the fact that his armour's metal, so it will now be hot enough to fry eggs on. I'd say that makes six.�

The Lady smiles at the Warrior. �Still, it's good to have you back with us!�

It all happened very quickly. As Hill pushed the ring onto the monkey's finger and it drank, the gleam in its eyes returned, and its other paw reached out to snatch the one remaining ring.

Seeing this, Draag let out an enraged cry, reached out an arm, and toppled unconscious to the ground like a falling log. The monkey dodged out from underneath him and set off up the far dune with the ring clutched in its paw.

Hill watched, then turned his attention back to Draag, who was lying face down in the sand.

�Do you reckon he's dead then?�

�Look I make the decisions round here!� snaps the AllFather.

�Are you sure?� asks the Jester.

�Yes!�

�So what's the decision then?�

Yann looked at the apparently lifeless body of the fallen dark paladin. �Might be.�

Hill gave the body a poke with his foot. �He might just have fainted.�

A bead of sweat appears on the AllFather's brow. �Perhaps we should just summarise the situation?� he suggests.

The Jester smiles. �Certainly. Lord Warrior went on strike, which you ignored. He then decided to end the strike when the monkey stole his ring, at which point we pointed out that since he was several casts of the knuckle-bones overdue, his first cast upon resuming the game would count as the first of those overdue casts, and since his knuckle-bones did not smile upon him in that cast, his mortal is now lying face down in the desert attempting to breathe through sand.� He looks around the table. �Is that a fair summary?�

The AllFather glares at him, hurt. �I was actually suggesting that I might summarise the situation.�

�Oh you were stalling,� says the Jester, oozing fake sincerity. �I'm sorry, I didn't know.�

The Warrior bangs the table. �Your summary is not correct! My mortal is not lying face down in the sand!�

Draag pushed hard up the dune, stopped, and aimed DeathSinger's blade at the back of the fleeing monkey.

�Die simian,� he breathed as his hand tight�

�I think you'll find he is.�

Tallenna stared at Draag's fallen figure, trying very, very hard to ignore the tiny voice of her conscience pointing out that his face was totally buried in the sand.

She failed.

It was very persistent.

�You'd better turn him over,� she said sighing. �Otherwise he'll suffocate.�

Hill looked up at her. �You say that like it's a bad thing.�

�This is intolerable! It is unacceptable! It is...�

The Lady interrupts before the Warrior can think of a further way of describing the unacceptability of the situation.

�It's the rules.�

The Warrior thinks for a moment. �No it is not, for were it so my mortal would have fainted far before then. The AllFather chose to allow me to not cast. Having exempted my mortal from the effects of the heat, he cannot simply cancel that decision.�

�He's got a point there,� admits the Dealer. �Draag should have collapsed a long time ago.�

Four looks converge on the AllFather.

�Look this is not my decision.�

�It's not?� asks the Lady. �Then whose is it?�

The AllFather waves a couple of frantic hands. �I think you misunderstand my role. I am not in charge. I'm more of a... facilitator.�

�A facilitator?�

�Yes.�

�You're not actually in charge?�

The AllFather smiles, happy that she understands. �No.�

�But you're the lord of all creation!� the Lady screams. �How in the name of anything and everything can you not be in charge?�

�Well, you see, the thing is��

�You formed nothingness into dust and dust into reality!�

The AllFather thinks of his own personal portion of the OverRealm, which as with most things spatial in the OverRealm is either a small bungalow behind the orchard or a large slice of infinity, depending on quite what you mean by �spatial�.

It has been some while since he gave it a good dust.

�You see the thing is, that was then. I don't really do dust now.�

�Well who does?� shouts the Lady.

�No one does. It just sort of does its own thing.�

�Well that explains a lot,� mutters the Lady.

�You could have it if you want!� says the AllFather brightly. �What with you being a...�

He stops speaking when he notices the Lady's enraged glare.

Silence.

�A decision?� asks the Jester, eventually.

�Well,� says the AllFather. �Now.�

�I demand that my exemption stands,� says the Warrior.

�We need to work out what is the most plausible way for our mortals' reality to play out,� says the Dealer.

�Is it bad that I think it would be funny if he choked to death on a faceful of sand?� says the Jester.

The Lady bangs the table. �This is pitiful! Someone needs to take a decision and it's clearly not going to be any of you. I am not prepared to send a long slice of my future eternity arguing over rings, monkeys and whose pride's been hurt by whom! And given the degree of tedium to which just one tiny ornithopter flight has subjected me to, if you think we're going to micromanage our mortals across a desert the size of Lord Dealer's vegetable patch you are sadly mistaken. We're just going to skip over this entire mess and go straight to the next bit of our mortals' lives that actually matters a damn!�

�But what about my mortal's skills and knowledge?� protests the Warrior. �I might lose the opportunity to gain experience.�

The Lady stares at him. Very hard. �It's a featureless desert. What were you planning on doing? A correspondence course?�

The Warrior looks down. �I was planning on having Draag practice things,� he says quietly.

The Lady leans as close in to him as the table will allow. �He can do whatever he wants as long as I don't have to listen to you describing it.�

She glares at each of her fellow gods in turn.

�Do we all understand?�

* * * * *

In next week's instalment our heroes reach the edge of the world. What will they find?

To be revealed...

If you want to be informed when the next instalment of Game Night is published, you can follow me (Jonny Nexus) on either Facebook or Twitter. Or to just be kept informed of each chapter when it comes out, you can follow the @GameNightNovel twitter feed.

And if you don't want to wait until next week to find out what happens, you can buy the book in paper form from Amazon and all good games shops.

Buy Game Night on Amazon.com for $9.99

Buy Game Night on Amazon.co.uk for �7.99

In the UK and Ireland, your games shop can order it from Esdevium, with a stock code of MOP001. Elsewhere, they can order it from Indie Press Revolution.

Alternatively, if you'd like to get a copy of Game Night straight away, there's a PDF version available from the EN World PDF store for $5.99. We hope to have an ePub version available shortly.

Blog Post 68: Stayin' alive! Stayin' alive!

MichaelSomething — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:09:00 GMT

Yet there are some things that are best done in real life. No matter how much cool stuff thI don�t have to tell you how great online sites like Enworld are. You reading this right now should be proof enough of that. Heck, online anything is pretty cool in general. As time marches on, we�ll soon be able to do everything online and that�s all sorts of awesome. ere is on a computer, some things are just cooler when you do if for real.

The most obvious example is Tabletop roleplaying. I�m sure that you all prefer to be playing a real game right now instead of reading this (don�t worry, I�m not offended by that). I don�t blame you. If tabletop roleplaying wasn�t so fun, this site wouldn�t even exist in the first place. There may be sites where you could play D&D online, but it�s something I rather do on a table, with my friends right where I can smack�em if they do something really dumb. Roleplaying is something I rather do in person.

When I�m online , It�s usually for roleplaying discussions. We do it all the freakin� time here on Enworld. But I bet many of you rarely if ever get to talk about RPG philosophy/theory with another real life person. I recently had a 2-3 hour talk with a fellow DM over the pros and cons of 4th along with many other topics. I really did enjoy it. A one on one talk really allow you to have an in depth exploration of ideas. It�s also a lot more pleasant because it�s easy to interpret online posts as combative or angry (at least it�s what I tend to do). Real physical interaction offers a unique experience online interaction just can�t recreate.

This also applies to reading books. Online and electronic reading is truly a wonderful thing. It allows practically free access to practically an unlimited amount of information. In terms of utility, electronic has books beat hands down. Yet there are still reasons to have a book around. Reading an actual physical book is a subtle but very different experience then reading it from a screen. The colors seem to be just a little bit brighter and a little bit more alive. Having the book and its pages in your hand is another subtle but important difference from reading it on a screen. It�s just different in a lot of small but noticeable ways.

Oddly enough, I don�t think I�m able to explain the difference. How ironic that an online description fails to describe a physical experience in an article about how online experiences are different from a physical experience. Listen, find a printed out book of a web comic that you like and look through for a minute. You�ll get it then. Hopefully, you�ll take the time to experience an awesome online place (like my blog, wink wink) before you go do that.

2/3/2010: What is steampunk?

edemaitre — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:22:11 GMT

See my description at any of the following sites:

http://community.wizards.com/vanishe...t_is_steampunk

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/...s/message/8924

http://profiles.yahoo.com/blog/7E7HR...Ee5BNED.3_f6SA

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?f...ogId=528170738

Designer Diary #3: Correcting the Mistakes of the Past

L5R Design Diaries — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:09:36 GMT

Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game, 4th Edition
Designer Diary #3: Correcting the Mistakes of the Past

Hello everyone! My name is Brian Yoon and I�ve written for the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game since 2003. It�s been a pleasure being a part of the team for so long. When Shawn asked me to join the Fourth Edition Design Team, I leapt at the chance to help shape the future of the game I cherish. We had the opportunity to press on for new ideas and updates to old, familiar mechanics. The fact that we managed to change so much while preserving the feel and theme of the First Edition of the game is astounding. I am very proud to have been a part of this exhilarating experience.

I saw the advent of Fourth Edition as a wonderful opportunity to start anew. I had been a part of Third Edition and Third Edition Revised from the beginning. As the years passed, I became painfully aware of the rougher patches of the system. I love the game but it definitely has its issues. I could see so many ways to improve the player experience. So we addressed the problematic portions and replaced them with pure awesome. This Designer Diary will illustrate some of what we�ve changed.

I want to note straight off the bat that this analysis is not directed toward any New Players of the L5R RPG. The laundry list of troubling features may paint the previous editions of the game in a rather unflattering light. I assure you that those games are perfectly playable and rather enjoyable despite the list below. Most of these nitpicks are minor and do not break the game as a whole. In fact, many of these problems only affect those to whom balance between schools is a priority. My enthusiasm for Fourth Edition should not deter anyone from trying out the previous versions!

The first issue has its roots in the very first book of L5R RPG. This problem is an abrupt jump in character power, representing a mathematical headache. In previous editions, all bushi schools and hybrid schools that train fighting of any sort perpetrated this dilemma. Each School had three or five School Techniques to diversify one character from that School from a character of another Clan. All bushi Schools devoted an entire Technique to this phrase: �you may make an additional attack per round.�

The second attack was the best ability any School could give a character, without question. It has a larger impact than any other Technique. The ability is simple: a character with the Technique could swing twice where earlier he would have swung once. The character instantly doubles his damage production as soon as he gets his second attack. Such a dramatic increase is unappealing from both the player and designer viewpoints. Power level of schools invariably falls upon when the character earns his second attack (in fact, the Mirumoto Bushi School�s greatest claim to fame is that a Mirumoto gains the second attack an entire Technique earlier than any other school!). It also makes my teeth hurt as a designer to have all the attention go to such a simple Technique when the rest of the School is filled with fun, innovative abilities. The second attack in one round should not disappear � after all, L5R RPG is a deadly samurai game, where one could die in an instant. However, the current method was too much.

The fix comes as a series of tiny changes, and some of you may have spotted the first in the second Designer Diary. The aforementioned Technique has its text altered to �you may make attacks as a Simple Action instead of a Complex Action.� During a Combat Round, a character may make two Simple Actions or one Complex Action. This change means that the second attack is no longer absolute. If a player decides to make two attacks, he must devote all of his actions for the round to attacking. The Technique offers flexibility in combat over a pure damage boost. He can choose to use a Technique and attack, move and attack, or a myriad of other options. The second portion of the fix lies in design. Most bushi Schools gain this Technique as the third ability, with some receiving it as the fourth. The Mirumoto Bushi and the Tsuruchi Archer no longer have a head start, as they receive it as the third Technique as well. Finally, the character is no longer likely to cripple an opponent within a round of actions because of the disappearance of many static bonuses and an overall increase in health.

The next problem arose as the game grew older and increased its line of books. Each new book contained new options for character customization, including new skills, spells, and Schools. Every new edition updated all of the previous schools to the new rule set and created more. This escalated until the end of Third Edition Revised, where each Clan had access to dozens of different Schools. Many of these Schools were unnecessary and completely niche. With Fourth Edition, we demolished all Schools and rebuilt them from the ground up. From the beginning, we decided to avoid School bloat and only create ones we deem necessary. We determined how many Schools each Clan should have and swore to adhere strictly to the list.

The rest of the article focuses on fixing the mistakes of L5R RPG Third Edition and Third Edition Revised. The last edition of the game fixed many of the issues of Second Edition and gave every class new, fun options.

Unfortunately the game overwhelmed the player with dozens of small abilities. Each bushi Technique in Third Edition had at least two effects. With five Techniques per School, each character ended up with at least two different static bonuses and four abilities. Keeping track of the different aspects available� kata, static bonuses, Free Raises, abilities, Paths, and Advantages � became a chore. The game was too complex for its own good.

The solution was simple: we removed everything that was superfluous. We excised redundant Advantages and Disadvantages without mercy. We removed static bonuses and Free Raises from the School Techniques, leaving only one effect or two small effects. Of course, this doesn�t mean we left devastated remnants of Schools in our wake. We gave each School unique and fun abilities that corresponded with the School�s theme. (We�ll go into how we redesigned those schools when the time is right - around the eighth Designer Diary.)

This answer neatly resolved another problem of Third Edition: power creep. The static bonuses and Free Raises of School Techniques made each character more powerful than ever before. Even Rank One bushi were able to hit difficult TNs without trouble, especially in combat. The static bonuses allowed the PC to Raise with impunity, raise his damage roll, and cripple his opponent in one blow. Combat devolved entirely into initiative. When we removed the static bonuses and Free Raises, we lowered character power level so that factors other than speed could once more gain importance in combat.

Fourth Edition rulebook contains many secondary systems that give options for character creation to diversify characters. While we redesigned them all for the Fourth Edition paradigm, we gave particular attention to Kata and Paths.

Kata were the bushi equivalent of spells and kiho � a method of making bushi characters unique. Two bushi from the same School could have vastly different abilities through Advantages, Skills, and especially Kata. Unfortunately, the execution was too complicated and most characters never used them. A bushi needed to practice every morning for an hour to ready a kata�s use later on during the day. He could only use it for a few minutes, unless he spent double the time readying the kata. Compounding this problem was the fact that the abilities themselves were often too complex. In Fourth Edition, Kata lose much of their intricacies. The new kata are static bonuses that benefit the character while it is active. The kata have standardized methods of activation, require no preparation, and could possibly even see play!

Paths were single School Techniques interjected within normal School Techniques to help create a unique character. Some allowed a character to progress from one School to another by adding an interim Technique to bridge them together. One could make a spectacular, unique character by taking a Path. However, Paths had several flaws in Third Edition that needed to be addressed. Taking a Path delayed the normal progression of School Techniques by one and allowed players to change the intended power level of the Technique. For example, a character learning the Bitter Lies Swordsman Path needed to have Bayushi Bushi Rank One Technique. Once he had enough Insight to level up, he could choose to enter the Bitter Lies Path. The character could not learn the Bayushi Bushi Rank Two Technique until he reached Insight Rank Three. This became a problem especially when combined with a problems addressed earlier in the article. Paths were never worth the effort if they would delay a character�s progress to his second attack.

Several other problems, including interaction of shugenja Paths, made change necessary. Paths in Fourth Edition replace the Technique in the normal progression of the character�s School instead of delaying it. Each School Technique will always be taken at the proper Insight Rank, preserving school balance. Taking a Path is now a crucial decision to make � as a Mirumoto bushi player, do I take the martial path or the path of the duel? Taking one would permanently remove the other option. I hope you will enjoy the new Paths in Fourth Edition and the interesting characters you can create!

Of course, not all the changes were made to accommodate mechanics. Setting necessitated many of our improvements. One such problem was the declawing of the Shadowlands. In the First Edition of the game, succumbing to the Shadowlands Taint was a guaranteed way to earn an ignoble fate. There were few ways of removing it from a character and all of them involved death. As the years went on, better options began to multiply. Third Edition is the egregious offender, with many non-fatal methods of bypassing the effects of the Shadowlands Taint. The Shadowlands is the reflection of the Realm of Evil and was created as an unstoppable, scary force. Third Edition regrettably did not reflect that vision. Fourth Edition returns the demonic realm to its rightful place at the top of the List of Danger with powerful maho and the unforgiving Shadowlands Taint.

Finally, previous editions of L5R RPG were tightly entwined with a constantly evolving world. The L5R Story Team crafts a cohesive tale of heroism and dastardly villains that is set to run its course during one arc of the card game (roughly two and a half years). The interactive story arcs often contain dynamic events that affect all of Rokugan. While this is exciting for the CCG players who are able to affect the direction of the story with tournament results, official canon could negate the story of the individual Game Master�s campaign. Those GMs could find themselves in a pickle if a crucial NPC in their campaign dies in the official story.

The continuing storyline also proved to be a bigger headache for players with each new edition of the RPG. The setting of First Edition describes the Emerald Empire two years before the Scorpion Clan Coup. Second Edition pushes the story forward to the Scorpion Clan Coup, altering details about the setting. While most players adjusted well to the change, those with Scorpion Clan samurai PCs had to figure out exactly how their character fit in when officially their entire Clan was banished. Third Edition changed the setting further by pushing it forward forty years! Players often deviated from the official timeline in their games, but they were forced to make minor adjustments to schools and paths to make the flavor mesh. Shawn addressed these issues before in previous Diaries because they are at the heart of the changes behind the game. As for exactly how the game deals with the ongoing story � well, you�ll find out in the next installment, folks, when we delve deeper into the Fourth Edition�s Timeline Neutrality and Clan Themes.

2/2/2010: "Pathfinder: Holy Steel" Update: The kenbet begins

edemaitre — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:46:37 GMT

Fellow role-players, it was good to chat with you this past weekend. Here are some notes for our Pathfinder: "Holy Steel" teleconferencing fantasy session of 31 January 2010/"16 January 1229 B.C.E.:"

After many travels and much waiting, the day for the kenbet (trial) of "Ibrahim al-Sufaia" [Byron V.O.] finally arrived. The pesedjer Ghazi/Khery-heb (human Paladin/Wizard) was escorted from house arrest, past layers of armored soldiers, and up the causeway into the Jubilee Hall of Pi-Ramesses (Per-Ramesse).

Although Drow Ranger "Faelonia" [Dexter V.H./absent] had disappeared while on a diplomatic mission to the capital of the empire of Khemet (New Kingdom Egypt), Ibrahim had other friends watching the proceedings. Rogue/Gatecrasher "Milos" [Beruk A.] discreetly mingled with the foreign merchants among the tall, painted pillars, while Wizard "Derek" [Paul J.] observed the court mages, nobles, and guards with enchanted armor and weapons.

"Holy Steel's" dragon allies and other members waited in disguise near the perimeter, wary of the gaze of cultists of Set. Fellow Ghazi Nebkar [Paul/Non-Player Character] and legal counsel Osaze [Beruk/N.P.C.] stood with the modestly garbed holy warrior of Isis. They nodded to the bench where the tribunal sat, and everyone present prostrated themselves upon the arrival of Pharaoh Ramses II and his retinue.

Prince Sethemwie made the case for the prosecution, charging Ibrahim with treason in a strongly-worded opening statement. He accused the military officer of working against Khemet's interests and aligning himself with nations in the distant "Vanished Lands."

Ibrahim then spoke in his own defense, noting that he was loyal to Khemet and had found many enemies, both abroad and upon his return home. Against Osaze's recommendation, Ibrahim countered Sethemwie's assertion of sacrilege with his own charge of robbery from the tomb of Unas.

The first witness to take the stand was Gen. Alatuk, Ibrahim's onetime mentor. The old soldier proudly asserted that he would share Ibrahim's sentence as if he were family and explained that he was stationed at Fort Tharvu, guarding the Horus Road from Canaan.

Prince Sethemwie noted that Djekari, a Nubian archer under Alatuk's command, had already been exiled for treason, implying that the general's men were susceptible to corruption by the Hittites or others. Derek observed that many of the aristocrats didn't seem sympathetic to the king's charioteers.

Ibrahim and Osaze thanked the general for his service to pharaoh and pointed out that he was on the front lines of the capital's defense against desert bandits, invaders from the "Big Green" (the Mediterranean Sea), and upstart empires. He had given no reason for anyone to suspect him of wavering.

The next major witness called was Seterankh Netahanu, high priest of serpent-headed Set. The bald man testified as Sethemwie asked, calling Ibrahim "the most dangerous man in Khemet." However, he was caught off balance when Ibrahim, Osaze, and Neb asked him whether he knew the details of subordinate Habtu's activities at the pyramid of Unas.

Although Seterankh Netahanu had claimed that Ibrahim had interfered with his acolytes' mission to guard and restore the mortuary temple, he pleaded ignorance to the presence of a chapa'ai (magical portal). The priest was also unable to fully account for his relationship with Prince Sethemwie or the other Clerics of the Ennead (Egyptian pantheon).

Ibrahim and company were pleased that the defense was doing well so far, but the trial had only just begun, and his fate -- and that of the empire -- was at stake....

Byron, feel free to share your lists of potential witnesses and evidence on this Google Group message board. I'll try to contact Dexter this week. I expect us to reconvene on Sunday, 7 February 2010, but we'll probably skip Valentine's Day.

Beruk, I hope that you had a happy birthday, and it was good to see you and Paul at Brian W.'s FATE 3.0: "Spirit of the Caribbean!" pirate one-shot last night. I hope that you'll both enjoy our return to the D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" steampunk/fantasy campaign next Monday.

In the meantime, stay in touch with one another, and see you virtually! -Gene

>>Pathfinder: "Holy Steel" team roster (as of autumn 2009/"winter 1230 B.C.E."):

-"Faelonia Telcontar" [Dexter V.H.]-female Drow (western Dark Elf) Ranger/Aristocrat, ambassador, and champion of Vulkan; NGl, Level 12/2

-"Rellim Dorathan" [Mark M./Non-Player Character]-male Quelanthi Fighter/Cleric of Aerdary (High Elf: Labelas), friend of Faelonia; CGn, Lvl. 5/5

-"Noony..."-male Svirfneblin "scout" (Deep Gnome Rogue) and follower of Faelonia; NGc, Lvl. 8

-"Argentis"-female young adult silver Dragon Sorcerer, companion of Faelonia, along with wolf Facon and hawk Azrael; NGl, Lvl. 5

-"Dalis"-Heart Bow, Protector of the Wild, intelligent artifact currently borne by Faelonia, along with the Bracers of Air Control, NGl

-"Ibrahim al-Sufaia" [Byron V.O.]-male Suthern human Ghazi/Khery-heb (Egyptian Paladin/Wizard) of Isis and former "Dragonslayer"; age 27, LGn, Level 13/3

-"Nebkar 'Neb' Khaneferu"-male Suthern human sailor/Ghazi (Paladin) of Ishmas, former follower of Jaguar Woman Ranger "Grace" [Carolyn M.P.] currently attached to Ibrahim's team; LGn, Lvl. 1/7

-"Arianna Leafsplitter"-female Sylvan (Wood) Elf Druid and follower of Ibrahim; TNg, Lvl. 9

-"Quenamun"-female young adult gold Dragon Cleric of Bahamut and steed of Ibrahim, along with Blink Dog "Bink" [Stuart C.G./N.P.C.]; LGn, Lvl. 6

-"Akhu"-male Custos (enchanted khopesh), former Paladin of Ishmas/Isis and mentor to Ibrahim; LGn

-"Milos Valoren" [Beruk A.]-male Barbari human scout [Rogue/Fighter/Gatecrasher from Ted A.H.'s D&D3 "Solar Gods: the Ether Wars"] and former "Liberator"; age 27, CGn, Lvl. 10/3/3

-"Thilgatha/Rhiannen?"-female young adult copper Dragon Fighter and companion of Milos; CGn

-"Nialla Burkin"-female Suthern human Qedeshot/Battle Dancer (Bard/Monk), former crewmember of the "Dragon's Bane" and follower of Milos; NGc, Lvl. 8/1

-"Vian"-female human Guti shaman (Cleric) and follower of Milos; CNg, Lvl. 3

-"Djekari"-male Nubian human archer (Barbarian/Scout) formerly stationed at Fort Tharvu, exile from Egypt and newest follower of Milos; CGn, Lvl. 2/6

>>Associates:

-"Lord Mage Derek Ranell" [Paul J.]-male human Wizard from a Prime Material plane parallel to the "Vanished Lands" (Paul J.'s "Crossroads of Eternity"); contact of Ibrahim and Faelonia; age 30, NGc, Lvl. 16

-"Onslow"-male Demi-Elf (Half-Drow/human) Barbarian from the "Crossroads of Eternity" [Paul J.'s D&D3.75 campaign] and late follower of Milos; CNg, Lvl. 8

Boston-area one-shots and miniseries of early 2010:

>>Already played:

-Greg D.C.: InSpectres (rules-light horror/humor scenario)
-Paul J.: D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed.: "League of Vaguely Interesting People--the Four" (superhero comedy)
-Brian W.: FATE 3.0: "Spirit of the Caribbean!" (swashbuckling pirates)

>>Coming soon:

-Gene D.: D20 "Gaslight Grimoire" (steampunk/fantasy)
-Paul J.: Pathfinder: "Crossroads of Eternity" crossover with Gene D.'s "Vanished Lands" (fantasy)?
-Greg D.C.: Dread (horror using Jenga)?
-Beruk A.: D20 "Rifts" (multidimensional homebrew)
-Beruk A.: Dragon Age (MMO-based fantasy)
-Brian W.: Savage Worlds: Hellfrost
-Brian W.: Spirit of the Century (pulp 1920s)
-Brian W.: Polaris: Chivalric Tragedy at the Utmost North ("rules-lite" mythic)
-Brian W.: Dirty Secrets (G.M.-less noir storyteller)
-Gene D.: D20"M&M"2e: "S.J.I.: Chrome City" (comic book superheroes)
-Gene D.: "Vortex" (space opera using D20 Star Wars: Saga Edition, Starblazer Adventures, or GURPS 4e)

[Pathfinder] Opposite of Undead

dmccoy1693 — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:40:13 GMT

When Pathfinder changed the way Turn Undead worked to Channel Energy, it caused positive energy to harm undead and heal living and negative energy to do the opposite. IIRC, the reasoning is is that undead are "powered" by negative energy and the channel of energy work either for or against that energy, depending on the energy type being channeled. That's all well and good, but the first thing I asked myself was, "So what kind of undead is powered by positive energy?" This sounds prime for a whole new class of monsters.

I've been struggling to figure out a basic type of positive undead. To give you an example of what I mean, normal undead have, IMHO, two basic types: ghosts and zombies. Everything else from there is a modification of either of these classic types of undead. Vampires are the soul reattached to the body, but require the life of another to stay attached. Wraiths are the id part of the spirit and are pissed off. But what should the basic type of a positive undead be? Reattaching the soul to a dead body and requiring it to feed on other that are alive is ... not a positive thing.

Today I stumbled upon an interesting definition of undead. "The undead are people who shouldn't be alive, but are still living through the use of excessive amounts of plastic surgery." Reference link. Well, that doesn't exactly apply, but with a bit of tweeking, you get my own definition: "The undead are people who shouldn't be alive but (roughly) appear so." That definition is a great starting point to come up with an opposite of undead. The one I am using is, "The 'positive undead' are people who should be alive but are not and refuse to move on." Not perfect mind you, but it is a starting point. As far as basic types go, I have a few ideas.

Pulled a spirit that left its body before the body died, but is now unable to return to the body.
Soulless a living body without a spirit inside it.

These are not even to the stage of working titles yet. This is more like spitballing at this point. Variations on these themes could be:

Hermit Crab a spirit that took up residence in a living body without a spirit.
Duel Spirited a unified body and spirit where a second spirit took up residence.
Reclaimed a living body that lost its spirit and it later came back (think lazerus).

Like I said, this is just spitballing at the moment. What do you think of this concept? Is this something you would be interested in your game?

Dale McCoy is President of Jon Brazer Enterprises. Visit our website to find out about our upcoming Pathfinder Compatible release: Book of the Faithful: The Worshiping Swords.

Game Night, Chapter Twelve (The Burning South)

Jonny Nexus — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:58:10 GMT

Hi all, and welcome to Chapter Twelve of my ENnie-nominated novel Game Night.

Hope you like it!

<< Chapter One (The Gate)
<< Previous Chapter (Big Rick)

Jonny

The adventurers have finally finished their shopping, sacrificing and fencing sidetrek to the city and are ready to head south in search of their destiny.

What will they find? Read on...

Chapter Twelve

The OverRealm. Five figures sit around a marble table.

The Warrior is not present.

This is because he is currently in a corridor behind the kitchens vandalising a food vending machine in a futile attempt to get something, anything to eat that isn't ambrosia.

The figures around the table are not aware of this. They only know that he is not there.

The AllFather, omniscient creator of the entire universe that he is, could, and in the opinions of some should, be aware of just where the Warrior is and what he is doing, but isn't. Running twelve and a half planes of existence is a tedious enough business as it is without attempting to keep track of every grain of sand and every misbehaving individual.

The AllFather is aware that mothers in the mortal realm tell their children that the AllFather is watching them and will be angry if they misbehave, but as far as he's concerned, he won't tell if they don't.

And besides, he's pretty sure that the Pervert, Lord of Man's Depravity, is keeping a close eye on the younger generation.

He looks around the table.

�Perhaps we should just keep going?�

Draag had not been the same man since his excursion away from the ornithopter. Whatever evil he'd participated in during those hours had changed him.

During the earlier flight, from the Far Lands to the City, he'd been his usual bombastic self, dominating all conversation, and constantly attempting to overrule the pilot on matters aeronautical,

But now, as the ornithopter droned slowly southward, he simply sat, mute, beside Stone, both warriors staring sightlessly ahead.

Yann was concerned. Much as he might dislike Draag � and truth be told, he disliked him intensely � he was still a comrade in arms who his life depended on.

And more than that, he was a brother in arms, and to one raised as he in the ways of his people, that meant something.

The Dealer interrupts the AllFather with an upheld hand and a polite cough, midday through a travelogue on the southern deserts.

�I think we should wait until the Warrior returns. I don't think this is right.�

The AllFather looks around nervously. �Well I suppose we could wait.�

�Why?� asks the Lady. �He's the one who stomped off in a sulk. Why should we wait for him?�

�That is a good point,� says the AllFather. �Perhaps we should continue then.�

The Dealer shakes his head �It's not right.�

Humans feared the South for its burning heat and its scorched, dry sands. There were some who made it their home, true. Tribes of white-clad nomad camel herders made a precarious living from the desert's sparse and scattered fruits. But they were few in number, and though those nomads they passed over had waved angry fists at the ornithopter and shouted unheard curses, its speed had soon left them behind in its wake.

Now though, the ornithopter's inexorably southerly course had left even the nomads behind, for even they took care to not venture too far from the string of oases that marked the desert's northern fringe. Now there was only sand, endless dunes of sand that rolled beneath the ship like the waves of a golden sea.

Humans feared the South because it would kill them, either through thirst or heat. The Wesh feared the South because it would send them insane.

The headache had begun not long after they'd left the desert tribesmen behind. On training flights on the Far Lands' side of the Great World Ridge, Jansen had always turned back at that point. The Wesh's finest minds were divided on the subject of what would happen to a Weshen who ventured closer to the mind of the World Serpent, but all were agreed on one point. It was unlikely to be an experience that could be survived twice.

Jansen had been taught an array of pain-management techniques, and he had immediately put them into use. They had worked, at first; but the pain built, and built, breaking through his defences and rampaging unchecked around his mind.

He screamed.

�So he's in quite a bad state then?� asks the Lady.

The AllFather nods, then adds: �But he is continuing to fly the ornithopter.�

Yann unstrapped himself from his seat, and walked carefully down the aisle that ran down the ornithopter's centre, moving cautiously against the craft's unfamiliar motion.

The Weshen pilot, strapped into the seat at the centre of the ornithopter's nose, was in a bad way. The hands that gripped the control levels were clawed in agony, and his head ran wet with sweat.

�You must land,� Yann told him. �You cannot survive much more of this.�

�We. Are. Too. Far.� Jansen spat out. �Must. Get. Closer.�

�But��

�No. My destiny. Please.�

Yann laid a gentle hand on the Weshen's shoulder and looked into the pain-streaked eyes. �We will not forget your sacrifice, brother.�

The Weshen nodded, pain overlaid by joy, then spoke for one last time. �Strap in. Landing hard.�

Consciousness returned slowly to Tallenna, and when it did it was slow and confused and accompanied by a fuzzy blob who lifted her head and trickled water into her dry and scorched mouth.

�Take it easy,� the blob said. �You've been out a few minutes.�

The voice was Yann's, she realised, after a moment's confusion.

The heat was intense, burning her throat every time she drew breath and sending sweat cascading down her body. She blinked, and forced her eyes to focus, fighting the nausea that rose up every time she moved her head.

The interior of the ornithopter was a mess; littered with broken panels and just wrong, somehow. It took her a few seconds to realise that the broken craft's floor was tilted at a sharp angle, left-side and nose low, right-side and tail high.

She braced herself against the chair back in front with one hand, and then reached down to release the belt that still held her with the other.

Yann, who was bare-chested but still sweating, had already begun a careful descent down the slope that had been the floor. Using the seats as steps she followed him. They found the broken body of Jansen half buried in the wreckage of the nose. Yann reached down for a moment, and then shook his head.

�He's gone.�

Tallenna heard a noise from behind, and looked up to see Hill climbing down to join them. His face was marked by a bloody scratch across one cheek, but her physician's training told her the wound was not serious.

�I hope my dog's okay,� he said.

�I'm sure he will be,� Tallenna told him. �He was well secured.�

Hill nodded towards the body of the pilot. �Is he..?�

�He's gone,� she said.

The halfling climbed past her, and knelt beside Yann, who looked to be arranging Jansen's body according to the death rites of his tribe.

Hill reached out and patted the Weshen's silken robes.

Death was no stranger to any of them, but they each had their own way of dealing with it. Tallenna watched as Hill slowly patted his way across the Weshen's chest. �Is this part of the death ritual of your people?� she asked.

�Death ritual?� the halfling replied, confused. �What the hell are you talking about?�

�I really don't know what the big deal is,� says the Jester. �All I said was that I would climb down and see what was on the body.�

The Lady leans forward and glares at him, hard. �The man died that our mortals might succeed in their mission and your reward to him is to loot his body?�

�He's dead!� the Jester protests. �What does he care? And besides, I'm a thief. It's what I do!�

�I thought you always said you were a scout,� says the Dealer, clearly highly unamused.

�Scout, thief, whatever. It's only the town watch and the closed shop fanatics who really give a damn about that. Anyway...�

He leans forward to talk directly to the AllFather. �What do I find on the body?�

The AllFather pauses, thinks, draws himself up to speak, pauses again, and is rescued by the crashing open of the door.

It is the Warrior. He holds a bowl of what looks suspiciously like ambrosia in one hand and a spoon in the other, and wears an angry expression on his face, an expression that gets even angrier when he sees that the story has resumed without him.

�Ah,� says the AllFather, coming closer than at any point since the dawn of creation to being pleased at the arrival of the Warrior. �You're back! That's good! We wondered where you'd got to!�

The Warrior surveys the scene from the doorway. �You've started without me,� he booms, a trace of hurt in his voice. �That's not fair!�

The Jester leans in very close to the AllFather, and whispers. �The body?�

Shovel had not been a happy dog when Hill had climbed into the wrecked cargo hold to release him. Upside down in an upside down kennel was clearly not where he wanted to be, and he made his displeasure known with a series of angry barks before relief, and release, resulted in excited yapping and frantic tail wagging followed by a long bout of urgent panting.

The monkey was equally angry and not likely, unlike his canine travelling companion, to be placated by mere rescuing. However, he did greedily accept the offer of a drink of warm, but still refreshing, water.

And luckily, he appeared to have run out of poo.

So for the moment, Hill had left him sitting angrily on the once-side and now-top of a supplies box, while he turned his attention to the task of pushing a scrabbling dog of half his size again up a slippery forty-five degree slope.

The Jester looks at the worrying small number of knuckle-bones in his hand, performs a mental calculation whose result is not agreeable, and then glances around the table.

�Some help would be appreciated,� he says.

He receives three variations on an angry glare, with the Lady, the Dealer and the Warrior adding contempt, anger and sulkiness to the standard model, respectively.

�You rifled through the pockets of a dead man!� shouts the Lady.

�You dishonoured a fallen comrade who'd sacrificed himself for your cause!� shouts the Dealer.

�You started without me!� shouts the Warrior.

�Anyone would think I killed him myself,� mutters the Jester to no-one in particular.

�The cast?� suggests the AllFather after a short delay.

The Jester shrugs and sends the knuckle-bones bouncing across the table.

One success.

The AllFather sighs and shakes his head.

Four muffled but still identifiable sounds emerged from the direction of the cargo hold: a curse, a scrabble of claws, a thump, and a yelp.

Yann's eyes looked up at Tallenna.

�Do you think we should help him?� he asked.

She shook her head, the fury of what she had seen him do still burning within her. After a moment, Yann nodded agreement, and they continued in the sad task of freeing Jansen's body from the wreckage that imprisoned it.

Though Tallenna did not share Yann's beliefs regarding death, she was equally insistent that the Weshen deserved a better tomb than the wreckage of his once-proud craft.

Yann carefully lifted a beam that lay across Jansen's chest, and placed it to one side. �Perhaps we should ask Draag for help,� he whispered.

Tallenna looked back up the cabin, to where Draag and Stone still sat side by side in their chairs, fully clothed, only the straps across their chests preventing them from plummeting down the steeply sloping floor.

Since regaining consciousness after the crash, Draag seemed much improved, alert and responsive, tracking them with his eyes as they traversed around the cabin and taking regular swigs from his water flask. But while he would speak, he refused to move or in any way help.

He was still clearly troubled by what had happened in the City.

Stone, meanwhile, was his usual strange enigmatic self, sitting calmly in his chair as though he wasn't hanging near upside down in the straps, and staring contentedly out the window as though it wasn't completely obscured by the sand-dune that now half covered their craft.

She climbed up to where they sat, and laid a comforting hand on Draag's armoured shoulder.

�Are you okay?� she asked. �Would you like to help us?�

�No!� said Draag. �I am not okay. I do not wish to help you!�

�Hellooo!� says the Jester. �I need some help down below if you've quite finished playing undertakers?�

The Lady fixes him with a murderous glare. �Talk to Captain Sulk over there!�

�I am not sulking. I am registering a protest over my treatment.�

�Oh, it's a strike is it?�

�Fine,� says the Jester, ignoring them both. �I'll just leave all our supplies in here, shall I? Let the monkey use them as nest fodder?�

�I have not been treated fairly.�

�First we do what is right by Jansen, and then we can get the supplies.�

�Have we landed yet?�
The Lady fixes the Sleeper with a glare nearly as murderous as the one she just shot at the Jester.

�Yes,� she says after a long pause.

The Sleeper blinks. �Oh, okay.� He thinks for a moment, and then points at the Warrior. �I'll follow him.�

�I am not prepared to be treated like this. I demand respect!�

The Jester goes to speak, and then thinks better of it, throwing his hands up in despair and sitting back with a theatrical sigh.

It is the Dealer who eventually speaks. �I do think Lord Warrior has a point. It was not fair for us to resume our mortals' affairs when he was not here.�

The Warrior points animatedly at the Dealer, an exaggerated expression of incredulity on his face as though to say that he cannot understand why only the Dealer understands his point.

Silence descends across the table, broken metaphorically, if not actually, by the Warrior's over-acted miming.

The Lady glances at the AllFather, but he is making sure to keep his attention locked firmly on the tablets resting on his lap, where there is no risk of any accidental eye-contact.

For a moment she considers poking him hard in the shoulder, but decides that would be cruel.

She sighs, and then speaks. �But what difference would it have made Lord Warrior?�

�It would have made a considerable difference!� says the Warrior. �When the Weshen first started to suffer the effects of flying south, I would have gone forward and relieved him at the controls.�

�He's right!� says the Jester. �That would have made a difference.�

�Thank you.�

�We'd have crashed a half hour earlier.�

The Warrior looks angrily across the table. �We would not have crashed. Draag would have been able to fly the ornithopter.�

�Draag knows how to fly an ornithopter, does he?� asks the Lady.

�Draag knows how to do a great many things. He is highly skilled in a great many subjects.�

The AllFather mutters under his breath. �Yes, I've never been totally happy that his skill totals are correct.�

The Warrior stands up, and leans forward towards the AllFather, furious. �Are you accusing me of cheating?�

The AllFather shrinks down behind his tablets. �No, no of course not.�

�Good.�

�I was just pointing out that Draag is something of a legendary figure, an epic archetype as it were.�

The Jester raises his eyebrows.

�Epic?�

Under normal circumstances, unloading their cargo would have been a trivial task, but the upturned cabin and intense heat had conspired to drag the task out to more than two hours and still it was not done.

Yann leaned back on the rope to pull another create up the hold's sloping floor, guided by the hand signals of Tallenna, who sat atop the cargo-door's frame. She lifted her hands, and he slowed, pulling the box into sight.

�Okay, that's good!� she called, her voice already broken and cracked. She balanced the crate on the edge of the frame and called down to Stone, who stood below. �Lift your hands up, left, left a bit more... that's it.�

The box dropped into Stone's hands. He drew it down to his chest, then turned and walked over to the pile. Yann pointed at an appropriate space and the warrior placed the crate so. Then he turned and marched back to his spot below the cargo door.

Yann took another gulp of water. The heat was murderous, and he couldn't imagine how Draag � who was sat midway up the dune opposite, dressed in full armour, wordlessly surveying the scene � could stand it.

�The heat is intense,� says the AllFather. �It saps the spirit and dehydrates the body. You must make another test of resistance to remain conscious.�

Three sets of knuckle-bones dance across the table, followed a moment later � after the Lady gives the Sleeper a nudge � by a fourth.

The AllFather looks quizzically at the Warrior.

�The test of resistance, Lord Warrior?�

�No,� says the Warrior, striking what he believes to be a noble pose. �I shall not. This is not fair.�

Yann put the water bottle back into its belt pouch and wiped his brow. His mouth was dry and his lips cracked and his lungs burned agony with every breath. Chafed skin rubbed raw sent pain shooting through him at each movement; his eyes stung from the sweat running into them; and his thoughts were slow and painful, swirling nausea and a shattering headache competing for his attention.

How much more of this could he take?

How much more of this could anyone take?

Then a shout broke through the heavy silence.

Hill.

�I've got it! Sweet gods above, I've got it!�

The halfling's head appeared at the door-frame as he hauled himself out, helped by Tallenna's outstretched hands. The two of them dropped down to the sands and retreated to the shaded area beneath the ornithopter where Shovel and the monkey were laying down, panting.

Yann followed them, directing Stone to follow him, and noticing � out of the corner of his eye � Draag slowly rising on sand-slipping feet.

Hill held in his hands the item they had been so desperately searching for, an item that should have been at the front of the cargo-hold, but which had been buried by the crash's fury.

It was a small flat wooden box. It had no ornamentation � no carvings, no inlays, no painted art � that might betray its importance; but in truth, it was not the box that was important, but what it contained.

Hill waited, smiling eagerly, until they were all crowded around, and then theatrically flipped the lid open. Inside, nestled carefully in velvet lined slots, were an amulet, a carefully folded cloak, a loop of chain and four rings. All shone gold save the cloak; that shimmered like a rainbow set against a summer's sky.

Hill lifted the amulet and held it out towards Yann.

�You look like you need this my friend.�

Yann put the amulet on, arranging his long hair so that it flowed over the amulet's thin golden chain and letting its bejewelled centre-piece come to a rest against his chest.

The effect was instantaneous. The heat was gone. The air that flowed over his bare skin and into his lungs was cool and refreshing. He took a swig of the water and found that it was now cool and sharp.

�It is good,� he told Hill. �It works, my brother.�

The Warrior bangs the table happily. �Excellent! It works!�

The Dealer gives him a quizzical stare. �Did you think it would not?�

�I did not think anything. I just thought it made sense to let someone else test it.� He ignores the Dealer's angry snort and looks over at the Jester.

�Give me my ring. Now!�

�No!� says the Lady. �Because apparently, you don't need it, do you?� Her sideways glance at the AllFather betrays who the edge in her voice is aimed at.

The Jester leans forward, an angry expression on his face. �Unlike my dog, who's damned near on his last legs!�

Hill smiled; being told that the magical devices would protect them was one thing, but it was one hell of a relief to actually know that they worked.

He reached in for his own ring, and put it on, and then bent down to Shovel. The dog slowly lifted his muzzle, whimpered pitifully and tried to stand, but collapsed, exhausted.

�Easy boy,� Hill told him, stroking him gently. �Just a while more. He reached down into the box, lifted out the chain, slipped it under Shovel's neck, and then fastened the two ends together. As with Yann, the effect was immediate and obvious. The dog pushed himself to his feet, stretched himself, shoved his snout straight into the bowl of water that Yann was holding out, and greedily lapped away.

Draag pushed past Stone and reached for the box, but Hill snatched it away, the lid snapping down shut barely an inch from the paladin's outstretched fingers.

�You'll wait your turn,� spat Hill.

For a long moment he was the target of Draag's faceless, visored glare � but then the Paladin shrugged, and stepped back.

�Fine! It is perhaps right that I wait, since it is only I who is not panting and huffing like a Northlander virgin being ravished in a sauna!�

Hill bought the box back in front of him, and opened the lid. �Tallenna, perhaps you would like to remove your cloak?�

The sorceress lifted out the folded fabric, shook it open, swung it around her shoulders, and clicked its paired clasps together.

�That is good,� she breathed.

�Comrade Stone?� said Hill, holding the box out toward him.

�Lord Sleeper?�

�Sorry? What?�

�The Ring?�

�Sorry, what ring?

�You're putting on a ring.�

�Am I? Oh okay. I'll put it on.�

Hill grabbed Stone's outstretched hand and guided it to the middle of the three remaining rings, the medium sized one. The warrior pushed the ring onto a random finger and then returned his hands to his sides.

�For that I waited?� mutters the Warrior to the empty space above the table. �Now can I put my ring on?�

�No,� says the Jester. �There's still someone else to go first.�

Of all the folk, Takes was the most mentally and physically resourceful. It had always been he who'd climbed the highest tree, he who'd taunted the largest forest beast, and he who'd acquired the shiniest treasure.

But the last few days had taxed him like no other days had taxed him before. The terrifying flight in the belly of the giant beast. The crash, in which the ground had become the sky and the sky the ground, and the wooden rocks on the floor had flown and fought. And now, the heat, heat like he'd never dreamed of on even the hottest of days.

The little-but-still-big-person-who-fed-him-banana-chips picked him up and placed him in front of a wooden box, within which gleamed two shiny things.

Two very shiny things.

Takes tried to extend a hand, even though the effort of doing so bought dizziness to his head and a greying to the eyes � for was he not he who the folk named �Quick Fingers Shiny Takes�? But his fingers fell short of the shiny.

The little-but-still-big-person-who-fed-him-banana-chips said something in a soothing voice, and stroked him gently. What did this mean?

And then he reached into the box and Takes understood.

He was giving him the shiny. He didn't know why, but he needed no reasons where the shiny was concerned.

The little-but-still-big-person-who-fed-him-banana-chips pushed the shiny onto Takes's finger... and the whole world changed. It was still sand with no trees, but upon his skin he felt the cool, wet breeze of the forest. The little-but-still-big-person-who-fed-him-banana-chips put a bowl of water before him and he drank, greedily, until the dizziness and the greyness were gone and he was once more Quick Fingers Shiny Takes.

He sat up, and looked around.

Sand. More sand. Little-but-still-big-person-who-fed-him-banana-chips. Box. Shiny thing.

He snatched.

* * * * *

How will Draag react to the theft of his ring by a semi-sentient monkey? What will the Warrior's response be? And stranded as they now are in the middle of a burning desert, what course shall our adventurers embark on?

Read on! (Chapter Thirteen) >>

If you want to be informed when the next instalment of Game Night is published, you can follow me (Jonny Nexus) on either Facebook or Twitter. Or to just be kept informed of each chapter when it comes out, you can follow the @GameNightNovel twitter feed.

And if you don't want to wait until next week to find out what happens, you can buy the book in paper form from Amazon and all good games shops.

Buy Game Night on Amazon.com for $9.99

Buy Game Night on Amazon.co.uk for �7.99

In the UK and Ireland, your games shop can order it from Esdevium, with a stock code of MOP001. Elsewhere, they can order it from Indie Press Revolution.

Alternatively, if you'd like to get a copy of Game Night straight away, there's a PDF version available from the EN World PDF store for $5.99. We hope to have an ePub version available shortly.

ML's official source writeups

Myth and Legend — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:16:33 GMT

Due to the lack of 3.5 material by some players and DMs here, I have volunteered to provide info on anything 3.5 they need for their game. I will keep updating this blog with more writeups as i make them. Everything is the same as in the stated source book.

SPELLSWORD

DUSKBLADE

ABJURANT CHAMPION

QT Games Contest #2: Design a Magic Item!

NexusX — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:48:04 GMT

Contest Number 2 starts today! Design a Magic Item (does not have to be setting or system specific - how easy is that!)

Yes, of course there are prizes. It will run for a few weeks. For more details, click HERE!

As for our Open Call for writers and game designers, we've had a number of people respond (thanks everyone!) and in most places I've advertised, I went ahead and ended the call. if you missed out, well, we've got just about everyone we need, but I might be able to squeeze in one more game designer if you are enthusiastic about getting on board and sinking your teeth into the project. We are an easy-going, fun team, committed to putting together high quality products. We've already got several excellent artists on board and several designers, writers, a coder and some brainstormers and playtesters. That said, if you are very serious about getting into the industry, have the time to commit to some ongoing freelance work, and would like to know more, contact me via email. Thanks.

Bob Whitely
QT Games
info - at - qt-games.com (replace the middle with "@")

The Dungeon's Dragon

Camelot — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:19:08 GMT

The Dungeon's Dragon
Homebrew Creations for Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition

Most people blog about their lives. Some put up their thoughts concerning a certain topic. A few use blogs to write stories or tell jokes. The Dungeon's Dragon is different.

The Dungeon's Dragon is a blog for me to put all of my creations for D&D 4e. I use the term "creations" very broadly, including all of the following and maybe more:

Player Preference
Options for players to give to their character. Usually includes powers and class features, in addition to feats, equipment, and sometimes a race. There is a new Player Preference every Monday.

Dungeon Device
If Player Preference is for the player, Dungeon Device is for the DM. Here I'll give you monsters, traps, hazards, puzzles, and anything else you can imagine that you might find while exploring the world of D&D. You'll also find houserules I've created that make the game more fun. There is a new Dungeon Device every Wednesday.

Exciting Encounter
At the end of the week, I wrap it all up with a ready to run encounter. This can be combat or a skill challenge, or both! I'll usually give ideas to tweak it to fit your campaign. There is a new Exciting Encounter every Friday.

Short Story
The most creative of the categories, Short Stories are simply that. Plus, at the end, I'll give you all the game mechanics that inspired that story, including fully fleshed characters. However, you only get the mechanics for what you saw in the story, so you might have to keep reading to discover every nook and cranny about the characters and plot! I use Short Story as examples for how you can roleplay certain mechanics. There is a new Short Story every other Saturday.

Mild Musings
The most spontaneous of the categories, Mild Musings are the grab bag of the bunch. Whatever doesn't go into one of the other categories will likely go here. Typically, it will just be me ranting about a D&D 4e related topic I find interesting and worth sharing. Mild Musings have no set schedule, but will appear on a Sunday if they appear at all.

Complete Class
That's right, it's the biggest homebrewing task in the game besides an actual book, and I've got them. Fully fleshed classes, complete with class traits, class features, powers for each build, feats for each race, multiclass options, paragon paths, epic destinies, and whatever else it takes to make a class fully playable throughout all 30 levels! This is such a huge undertaking that it will only happen once a year, precisely on New Year's Day!

This is not the blog, actually. But you can easily find it at http://thedungeonsdragon.blogspot.com/. I hope to inspire D&D players everywhere, and make this amazing game more and more fun! If you do check it out, I'd love any comments you have. Feedback and communication will make the world a better place, and this applies to D&D just as much!

Thank you for reading, and have fun!

Lance Camelot

What's New at Crazy Monkey's Asylum (Feb 1, 2010)

crazy_monkey1956 — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:11:12 GMT

Crazy Monkey's Asylum is where you will find play-by-post roleplaying of every stripe.

Here's what's new this week.

Currently Recruiting

Primordial Chapter 2: The Lie - A D&D 3.5 campaign where the characters are gods of a new world. Use the Divine and Epic rules to create some of the most powerful characters in existence.

Coming Soon

A post apocalyptic fantasy Play-by-Post put together by the Asylum Inmates and GMed by Crazy Monkey.

A Promise Kept - A Changeling: The Lost chronicle.

Moonlight Drive Chapter 2 - A Vampire: The Masquerade chronicle.

The Free Trader's League - A D&D 3.5 sandbox campaign set in a chain of islands in a watery world.

Dark Day 2012 - A Nightbane campaign.

The Serpent's Embrace - A Pathfinder campaign.

And there's always more. Stop by the Asylum and poke around.

Fallow's Vale - Chapter 1: Into the Mine

teach — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:33:05 GMT

The cast of miscreants came to Fallow's Vale looking for work, what with the rumors of the Mine reopening, as advertised by the Mayor McDurmit, called Mayor McCheese behind his back because of his interested in goat dairy and Sir John Mommin, a nobleman with claim to the mine, who is funding the reopening of the mine.

They went to the offices of Moomin Mining, and were told by Grimlin the Dwarf to return the next morning for a job mapping the mines, and detirmining if there is anything that might be salvagable.

In the mine, they were suprised by a cavern choker and some rats, that they dispatched. Then they came upon some bandits, who they killed, except for a gnome named Javier, that got away. A note they found said that Xerxes hired them. They found a tatoo of a T with a snake with a bulls head wrapped around the T on some of the bandits. It stands for the Timbull gang. Flynn seemed to know something about this gang. It matched some symbols they found scratched into the buttresses in the Mine.

There was also a hallway ending in a barred door with a "Lost 7: do not enter" written in dwarven grafitti.

They track down the leaders of the gang, Antuan and a Goblin called "Pickles" but don't call him that. They crew dispatched the gang, and were left with the three leaders alive, Antuan, Pickles and Javier. It turns out Flynn has been tracking them down and starts questioning Antuan. Out comes word of a massacre that Flynn and Antuan were involved in. It's still unclear what happened, and it turns out Flynn has the same gang tattoo, but with an X through it. He claims he's reformed, and working to bring down the gangs, but his fellow party members don't buy it. An uneasy peace ensues when Rocky recognizes the totem that Flynn carries as the same as his own.

They turn him in, and recieve some reward money from the constable, Franklin. Grimlin seems pleased with the mapping, but would like more investigation.

Items found:
Level 5 - 1000 - ???
Level 2 - 520 - Cloak of Resistance

560 gps found (various items, some gold punched with unrecognized icons)