So, a couple of hours ago I ran my weekly lunchtime Star Wars: Legacy game. I won't go into details, but I can honestly say it might be the most fun I've ever had watching my party fail--and they felt the same way! Typically, I never set up no-win situations. I don't believe that's fun, and while I like to challenge my players I also like to kind of leave things up to chance. I like a challenge that leaves the heroes with about a 50/50 shot of success. Today, the heroes failed, and it was great.

Here's the setup: the heroes have been working for a Toydarian crime lord named Gnat, based out of Nar Shaddaa. Over the course of a recent mission, they butted heads with the ex-pirate crime lord, Rav, and were hired by him to go back to Nar Shaddaa and kill their current employer. When they arrived at Gnat's villa on Nar Shaddaa, they found their employer already dead at the hands of a human Sith Lord, who was there to claim the Professor (Andrew Finch's Pau'an noble/Force user) and bring him back to Coruscant, where he would presumably be tortured/converted to the dark side. He had some Imperial allies with him, as well, so when the fighting started he grabbed the Professor with the Force and began dragging him toward the balcony. Then things went way, way south for the heroes. Every die roll was coming up horrible for them (the bad guys were hitting about average), and on the third round of combat they had done exactly 0 points of damage to the enemies through sheer bad luck.

At this point, the heroes discovered a hovering skiff off of the balcony with an Imperial pilot, which was waiting to transport the prisoner away. The Professor leaped onto the skiff, hurled the pilot into the abyss below, and the other heroes began a fighting retreat out onto the balcony. At one point, the skiff had both the Sith Lord and a couple of heroes on it, battling one another for control of the skiff, but eventually the Professor got off a good hit with the Force and hurled the Sith Lord onto a nearby walkway. As Matt Sernett's Rodian scout, Akeem, fired up the skiff's engines, the Sith Lord made one last attempt to drag the skiff down with the Force, but failed. The session ended with the heroes blasting off into the Nar Shaddaa skyline as stormtroopers fired blaster shots at them from a distance, one coming close enough to nearly take out Trapp (Adam Colby's Mon Calamari gunslinger). Next session, we open with a skill challenge: racing through the decrepit ecumenopolis of Nar Shaddaa, evading Imperial pursuit.

Anyways, the encounter was designed for the heroes to be able to succeed (though I had built in a few escape routes for the Sith Lord if things looked dire), but thanks to terrible, terrible dice luck everyone decided to get out, and fast. They knew things were going badly when SRM's Wookiee soldier, Vassek, completely whiffed with his power hammer twice and got hurled back to the antechamber and a door slammed in his face. It was a nice example of how failure can turn into an awesome, cinematic scene (as SRM said, the movie in our heads was great).

I think one of the best parts of the session, though, was the first 15 minutes. The players spent some time debating amongst their characters of whether or not they should kill Gnat themselves, how they were going to do it, and so forth. It was a good bit of roleplaying and interaction that would have made a great scene for a movie if distilled down into dialogue, because you had the party members who were reluctant to become cold-blooded killers being talked into it by the ones who only had eyes for the credits. My players are definitely going for the whole "Scum and Villainy" schtick!

Moridin

It's been too long since I've done a blog entry, mostly because I've just been too darn busy to find the time for it. When leisure time has been found, however, it has been filled by many fun new things. Here are some things that have pleased me of late:

• My Star Wars: Legacy Campaign: In the last few weeks the heroes have conned the Galactic Alliance into buying weapons that the party stole from them in the first place, rescued an Alliance ambassador from Mandalorian bounty hunters on the Wheel, traveled to Socorro to offload the goods, and survived an ambush set up by the ex-pirate Rav only to discover that he wants to hire the party to kill their current employer, a Toydarian crime lord named Gnat. Along they way they've also tangled with the Imperial Knights and fought their way past the forces of the Empire in space, while repelling boarders from their own ship. It really makes me wish I had time to run the game one night a week instead of one day a week during lunch, as there's been a lot of excitement. I've also been doing a lot of fun, experimental stuff (like converting all the stat blocks to the "tell you what every ability does" style over the light-on-information style in the core rulebook, and I've been using skill challenges, getting the skill DCs from the chart in Scum and Villainy). It's been very satisfying, and I think it's really taught me a few things about adventure and encounter design in Star Wars.
• Gears of War 2: Liked the original, like this one too. Horde mode (5 player co-op) is the best way to play this. I haven't played the single player, since I've been waiting on my brother to pick up a copy so we can play through cooperatively.
• Left 4 Dead: Thankfully, since I've been holding off on GoW2, I've had time to play this game with Derek and the rest of the guys. I'm also pretty much convinced that this game should come with a warning that if you play it you will be prone to outbursts of profanity that come in short, uncontrolled bursts. In fact, I think I'm going to rename this game to "Screaming Profanities into your Xbox Live Headset" instead. It's a lot of fun, and the AI "Director" keeps things interesting on multiple playthroughs. The biggest disappointment I have is that the first scenario is way harder than the other three, though I think I would prefer it if they were all of that difficulty. The first scenario also seems a lot more polished. I also am beginning to suspect that the replayability will go down over time, as four scenarios aren't really enough to keep me coming back. One thing that Horde mode (in GoW2) has going for it is that the randomization of enemies means it's never the same game twice. L4D can make the same claim, but I think it's harder to notice that difference in game play.
• The Force Unleashed: Highly underrated game here, one that I think a lot of people overlooked this year. It's a very raw, visceral action game that really puts a lot of power into your hands. Solid voice acting and a decent story actually make this one I recommend. Plus, it gives you a chance to really explore new worlds in the SW setting, and in many places the graphics are gorgeous. Sure, it's still a beat-em-up game, but I've had a blast with it. Additionally, it doles out new powers over the course of the game at just the right rate, so I'm always left wanting to play the next level to see what kind of power I am going to get. I recommend you at least give this one a look when it drops in price, as I've enjoyed the raw power it puts in your hands.
• The Black Company: Enough about console games, the thing I have spent more time on over the last few weeks than anything has been reading. I went through a dry spell this summer where I didn't do a lot of reading, but this fall I've been back at it with a vengeance. My latest book devourings have been the first two Black Company anthologies by Glenn Cook. I'm almost done with the second anthology, and I like it a lot. It's gritty, but I don't get the sense that it's really that low-magic, at least by my standards. I think it could very easily be a D&D setting (apparently, so did Green Ronin!) and the biggest change I think I'd make would be just cutting down on the number of magic items and stripping out divine magic. Good stuff, nice bit of gritty fantasy that I don't think goes too over the top. I am not much a fan of the "so dark and gritty it fills you with self-loathing" style of story, and the Black Company books never go that far. It has heroes you cheer for, villains you love to hate, and is very much fine fantasy with a nice martial overlay.
• Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game: I got this a few weeks ago thanks to a buddy of mine at Fantasy Flight, and I think it's very solid. There are definitely strong influences of Shadows Over Camelot in this game, but it's a bit more complex. They got the economy of actions mostly right (a challenge in any cooperative game), though there is some funkiness with the bouncing back and forth of "give someone two actions" cards. However, where this game REALLY shines is in its traitor mechanic. The best aspect of this game is how it handles the "Cylon" characters, who are similar to the traitor in Shadows Over Camelot in a lot of ways. However, BSG ensures that there will always be a traitor, and that MOST of the time there will be at least two traitors (and sometimes a sympathizer, who helps balance out the teams), and the game effectively becomes a team-vs.-team game. More than that, though, the game changes at its mid-point, and formerly loyal humans can become Cylons mid-game, changing their strategy. It's got a lot of GREAT aspects that really add to the tension (for example, you cannot reveal a Cylon, they can only reveal themselves, meaning that you never REALLY know when someone you think is a Cylon is guilty), and often the Cylons don't know who else is on their side. The game's progress and resolution mechanics are good, though nothing revolutionary, but the best thing about the game is that it absolutely nails the traitor element. My one disappointment is the rulebook; there are a lot of rules that are tucked away and easily missed, and it took us a while to really understand the way the game was supposed to be played. Still, it's not a terribly complex game, and after one 4-hour first game we understood the rules well enough to play a second game in about 2 1/2 hours.
• Dominion: This new card game from Rio Grande is pretty fun, though I have some mixed feelings about it. I enjoy the game at its base, as it combines both strategic play AND deck building into the game itself. However, I was a bit disappointed with how the winning strategy in some setups seems to be "dominate the economy of actions" and that when a certain combination of cards is in play you should do everything you can to obtain that combination for yourself. Anything else becomes a losing strategy. Of course, Mearls loved that aspect of it, whereas I though that it made the game tedious for the other players. Also, the game is somewhat inefficiently packaged, and organizing the game in a Magic fat pack deck box seemed to make it much more manageable. Still, the sheer variety in the game is great, and it's a fast game (~30 minutes). Definitely a recommendation, and you should try it out if you get the chance. I'd buy myself a copy immediately, but this close to Christmas I've had to stop buying for myself.
• Power Grid: I'd had this game for a while, and had put off playing it for no good reason. For some reason the game reminded me a lot of Ticket to Ride, but the mechanics aren't really anything similar (maybe it's just the art style). Still, it's got a fun auctioning element, a small amount of randomness, a fun theme, and a nice game mechanic that requires you to balance your ambition with your resources. I'm hoping someone in my family will buy me one or two of the expansion boards for this off of my Amazon Christmas Wish List, as the game already has 6 more boards you can use.
• Pandemic: I played this game back in the spring during our Blaine board game weekend, loved it then, and still love it. I got lucky and my buddies found me a copy at Uncle's Games in Bellevue (I'd begged off of the trip due to a bad case of survivor's guilt), and I couldn't say no given that I'd been looking for the game since May. Pandemic is a great cooperative game that plays super fast and has very easy-to-understand rules. I can't recommend it enough. Probably my favorite co-op game right now, and I think it's just about the perfect storm of cooperative play, challenge, speed of play, and a fun theme. Also, Stephen Radney-MacFarland posted an extremely interesting seminar given by the game's creator, which I'll link to here. It's absolutely fascinating, and I think anyone who designs cooperative games (or games in general) should give it a watch. It's long, but the seminar itself is about 30 minutes (and the Q&A afterwords can probably be skipped) and well worth a watch. There's definitely a lot in there that is applicable to roleplaying games, which are (typically) cooperative efforts. I especially appreciate his discussion of the flow of the game, as well as his attention to peering at the basic underpinnings of the rules and then refining the game in smaller ways once that is solidified.

Moridin

(Apologies on the lateness, having to do 2 at once to stay caught up)

Having learned not only that Theren's father, Morden Moonblade, had once spent some time in Brynn Shander but also that he had made friends with a local witch as well, the heroes set off to the Falconer's Rest saloon to find the mysterious Szelrina. Beautiful and unnaturally tanned given the climate, the smoky-eyed saloon girl leads the heroes up to her private chambers, where she speaks with them. At Theren's request, Szelrina agrees to show him his father's death; she performs a ritual that clouds the heroes' minds, but when the haze clears they find themselves not in the saloon but rather standing on an ice-covered plateau with a geyser of hot water erupting from one edge, melting the ice they stand on and causing cracks to form beneath their feet. Moreover, Theren's face is replaced with that of his father, Morden Moonblade, and they have only moments to adjust to their surroundings before they are set upon by three imps, who lead a charge in front of a young barbarian man. As they fight off the imps and subdue the barbarian, they realize that the latter foe appears to be merely a bewitched, younger version of the barbarian that Zereb and Harold had seen hanging in the cage above Brynn Shander. At the moment of their enemies' defeat, a rough-looking Blackhand appears suddenly (as though he had been invisible) to drive a dagger into Theren's heart. As Theren sinks to the ground, he gazes into the Blackhand's fiery eyes as his killer whispered, "For Yeenoghu."

At that moment, the world spins and the heroes find themselves once more in Szelrina's chambers. With this new knowledge, they set out to go talk to the barbarian. Still hanging in his cage, the barbarian speaks with the heroes until the guards attempt to break up their conversation. While Harold and Sardon distract the guards, Malkyr stealthily climbs up the wall, onto the parapet, out onto the cage, and then quietly unlocks the cage, freeing the barbarian (who identified himself as Keldar). In silence, with the guards distracted, Keldar and Malkyr drop to the ground and skulk off into the shadows. Around this time, the guards notice that Keldar was missing and raise an alarm, telling the heroes to get back to their inn (apparently, Keldar had escaped before, as they assumed he'd broken out on his own now).

The heroes reconvene in an alley well away from the search to quickly question Keldar on his role in Morden's death. Reluctant to answer until he learned that Theren was Morden's son, Keldar reveals that when Morden came North he hired Keldar to serve as his guide around Icewind Dale. The two of them, along with Morden's apprentice, Azard, traveled to several of the towns in the Ten Towns area, accumulating a number of followers who were experts on the strange happenings in the area. Their last journey north was to Hellfrost Glacier, though the Moonblade Expedition never reached its destination. According to Keldar, they were set upon by devils, and the next thing Keldar remembered was awakening near an icy plateau, alone, frozen, and half-dead, with no sign of Morden or his comrades. Keldar, obviously wracked with guilt, tells the heroes that he does not know of Morden's final fate, but he did encounter a cadre of elves that came to the North, supposedly to bury one of their own (corroborating Rolgar Callahan's story from before).

With this new information, the heroes decide that their best bet for learning more about the Moonblade Expedition was to break into the house of the Blackhand leader and steal the maps to the site of this elven burial. The heroes steal a horse for Keldar, instructing him to lead the Blackhands on a chase and meet them far outside of town, where he will then guide them on to the location listed on the map. As Keldar rides off, the heroes approach Andrez's house, bluff their way past the townsfolk standing guard outside the building, and enter the home. Unfortunately, their luck ran out as they encountered the Blackhands, and a tussle broke out. After dispatching the Blackhands and confiscating some valuables from the house, the heroes discover the map to a place called "Morden's Oasis."

Stealing away in the wee hours of the morning, the heroes ride out and eventually meet up with Keldar. Using Keldar's expertise, the heroes journey north, arriving at a spot that looks eerily similar to the icy plateau in their earlier vision. Instead, they are confronted with a beautiful oasis, with tall, fruit-bearing trees hanging over a steaming hot lake. Greenery grows all around the lake in a most unnatural fashion for a place this far North, and clearly there is elven magic at work. After some investigation, Theren discovers a set of trees that looks identical to those outside the Moonblade estate in Myth Drannor, and after some manipulation they manage to uncover a secret entrance into a rocky outcropping at the side of the oasis. At that moment, a brisk wind blows in, whipping up debris from the ground which swirls and forms into several elves, who launch an attack on the heroes. During the battle, the very land reaches out to smite the heroes, but eventually they prevail, rendering the defenders inert and causing them to collapse into piles of dead leaves and twigs.

From behind the doors into the outcropping, the heroes can hear the sounds of laughter and celebration. As the doors open, they are confronted with a wondrous scene. The door appears to be a portal into an ancient elf city in the midst of a celebration. The heroes are welcomed inside, and as they go in they discover that they are apparently transported to a rediscovered city of Valynar, a city of ancient Myth Drannor thought lost eons ago. According to the locals, the city (and the portal to it) was discovered by Morden Moonblade, whom they all honor and revere. Upon further investigation, however, things are not all as they seem. No one in town seems to know where Morden Moonblade lives, although they are all quite sure he has an estate in town. They are also quite sure that he will be arriving soon, as he is the guest of honor in their festivities. The locals encourage the heroes to feast and make merry, and they assure the heroes that Morden will have plenty of time to speak with them when he arrives. As the heroes grow more suspicious, Theren goes to a the local library to see if he can learn more. Upon opening the books, each one of them is revealed to be blank, and with this revelation the book crumbles into a pile of dead leaves. The illusion revealed, a city guardsman that had been following them fires an arrow at Theren, which streaks toward its target as the scene fades to black...

Moridin

(Figured I'd better get this posted today, so I didn't have to try and do two weeks in a row after tonight)

Deep in the underground gatehouse for Frostford Pass, a tunnel through the mountains known as the Spine of the World, our heroes have managed to fight their way to the chambers of a warlock by the name of Azard, a human man who was in charge of the goblin troops currently guarding the gatehouse. After patching up their wounds from the fight with Azard and resting, the heroes ventured back out into the dungeon in search of a way to unblock the passage through the mountain.

As the heroes made their way into the room where they suspected the opening mechanism lay, they stumbled across a prisoner. When the heroes entered the room and began dealing with the goblin guards (along with another couple of kobolds mysteriously in place assisting them), the tiefling captive sprung up, having loosened his bonds, and joined the fray. As our heroes, plus the tiefling captive, dealt with the goblins, some of their number began rotating some large statues, causing what sounded like the grinding of gears to echo through the room. In truth they were trying to break the mechanism by which the large stone gate was lifted, but the heroes managed to stop the goblins in time, allowing them to open the gate. With the pass open and the goblins dealt with, our heroes had a chance to meet their new comrade: Bargath, a tiefling ranger (played by Jason Bulmahn).

With the pass open, the heroes journeyed through the Spine of the World before finally reaching their destination in the walled town of Brynn Shander. Unfortunately, their entry into the town was marked by an unpleasant sight: dozens of Blackhands standing at guard posts along the town's walls. Once inside the town, the heroes were greeted by Mayor Busby, a friendly and graying man who also serves as the town's sheriff. Mayor Busby listened to the heroes' tale and welcomed them into town, thanking them for the much-needed supplies they had brought, and assured them that they would be welcome to stay at the Falconer's Rest, the largest establishment in Brynn Shander. Mayor Busby also pulled Sardon aside, warning him that a handbill with his face on it had preceded him to Brynn Shander, though the Mayor assured him that he wouldn't be turning him in to collect the bounty, believing it the least he could do for bringing the supplies from Mirabar to the town.

With the supplies being distributed by the Mayor, the heroes traveled to the Falconer's Rest, a large inn that is part tavern, part hotel, part gambling hall, and part brothel. While cooling their heels, a slick-looking Blackhand in well-oiled studded leather entered the room and approached them. This newcomer identified himself as Andrez, the local captain of the watch and leader of the Blackhands in Brynn Shander. According to Andrez, the Blackhands are merely here to protect the innocent folks of the town, watching out for those who cannot watch out for themselves. The Blackhands are ostensibly there to protect the town from marauders, though our heroes certainly get the impression that the "protection" offered by the Blackhands is merely an excuse to plunder the town at their whim. A thinly-veiled threat from Andrez warned the heroes to stay out of trouble, and with that the Blackhand captain departs.

After finishing their drinks, the heroes split up, with one group moving to investigate the town and the other to claim the rest of the money owed to them for delivering the supplies. Harold and Zereb-Khan ventured forth into Brynn Shander to see if they could get a good feel for the town. Unlike other towns they have been in, Brynn Shander seems well-protected, and like it has yet to have its spirit crushed, though the presence of the Blackhands seems to put a dark cloud around the town. In their wanderings the two came across a man sitting in a cage, hanging from the side of the parapets. The man, clearly a barbarian by his garb, munched on an apple as he watched them approach. Ever curious, Harold engaged the barbarian and learned that he had been imprisoned by the Blackhands, though he would not say why, and the guards on the walls (while warning Harold to leave the prisoner alone) were no more forthcoming. The barbarian did not seem concerned by his plight, and casually tossed the apple core through the bars at Harold's feet.

Meanwhile, Sardon, Theren, and Bargath had traveled to the town's bank to speak to Rolgar Callahan, the local moneychanger. As they exchanged their letter of credit for actual gold, Rolgar let slip a startling revelation: he knew Theren's father, an elf by the name of Morden Moonblade. According to Rolgar, Morden had passed through Brynn Shander some years ago, accompanied by a young apprentice by the name of Azard. Morden had been inquiring about a silvery liquid known as godsblood, which Theren was able to identify as a physical manifestation of part of a dead god's power. Rolgar told them that Morden had come from the south, having taught at Blackstaff Tower, and had headed further North toward the Hellfrost Glacier, a place rumored to be inhabited by fiendish beings of all types. However, Rolgar also told the heroes that he heard a short while later that a contingent of elves had come to Icewind Dale to bury one of their own, and that one of the elves in that funeral party had come to Brynn Shander following the conclusion of their business. According to Rolgar, the elf told the Mayor of the location of the fallen elf's tomb (which Rolgar assumes is the tomb of Morden Moonblade), but that map has since fallen into the hands of Andrez and the Blackhands. The only other information he can provide them with is that Morden spent a good deal of time speaking with a woman named Szelrina, a local saloon girl who is rumored to be involved in witchcraft.

Moridin

So, I'm very excited that Star Wars Saga Edition has been nominated for several (4, to be exact) ENnie Awards. This is actually the first time a product I've worked on has been nominated for an ENnie (I've won three ENnies for SWRPGNetwork, but never for a gaming product I worked on), and I'm hoping my track record with products and the ENnies is better than mine with the Origins Awards (the Stargate SG-1 Roleplaying Game was nominated for an Origins Award, but didn't win). We're nominated in four categories, which is more than any other product from Wizards of the Coast, including Best Rules, Best d20/OGL Product, Best Game, and Product of the Year. I feel pretty good about our chances (the competition is stiff, but I think we stand up well). Here's hoping!

Last night I went with my girlfriend and Chris Tulach to see the Foo Fighters in concert at Key Arena. Let me tell you, it was awesome. I like the Foo but wouldn't classify myself as a Huge Fan, but the concert rocked my face off. They really shred when playing live, compared to their more "mainstream" sound on their albums. The concert was full of surprises; about halfway through their set, a second stage descended in the crook of the horseshoe at the far end of the arena, and they came out and played about a 6-song set on the second stage, which was great for those of us who were so far back. Aerosmith did this when I saw them in Nashville, which was awesome, and it really is a nice thing to do for your fans who aren't lucky enough to get floor seats. Dave Grohl was awesome, he talked to the crowd a lot, told some funny stories about when they lived in Seattle, and I can't remember the last time I laughed that much at a concert. They played a 5-song encore, too, which absolutely rocked. My ears are still ringing this morning.

The first of our new Official Star Wars RPG Podcasts went up the other day, and so far it's been a hit. Lots of downloads, apparently, and lots of demand. In the first one we were really just getting our feet wet, and so the topic isn't as meaty as what I'd like, but I think the next two podcasts are going to be very fun. We have some good surprises coming up, and we can really get into the meat of the game.

Speaking of Star Wars, recently I got my hands on copies of two of our products that I've been waiting for: the GM Screen (which I designed) and my complete set of Knights of the Old Republic miniatures. I've had a prototype GM Screen for a while, but getting the final one in my hands was very nice. It's also the first GM Screen I've designed, and I tried to pick tables and information that I thought I would use in the game. The KOTOR minis look good, and I can already tell that I'm going to be blowing a lot of product points on KOTOR minis when they hit our product room. However, I'm shifting my Friday game from the Dark Times to the Legacy era (which is pretty much the Dark Times 2: Electric Boogaloo) and doing a smuggler/bounty hunter campaign, so I don't know how much use these minis are going to get.

I've got a new Forgotten Realms session report coming later today, hopefully, depending if the blogging bug bites me again.

Moridin

A couple of weeks ago, the members of my gaming group back home got their hands on 4th Edition and started devouring it. After getting sucked into one of their ridiculously-high-e-mail-count conversations, I proposed the idea of running an online, bi-weekly game on the weeks that they don't meet for their face-to-face game. I figured it would give them a chance to familiarize themselves with more of the game, it gives me more practice running the game, and it also lets us all game together, something I've been missing very badly since I moved out here. As much as I enjoy having two games a week filled with industry professionals, they'll never replace my old gaming buddies.

Back home, I'd run the excellent Age of Worms campaign for these guys. Using some software called MapTool, I had been projecting a virtual battlemat up onto my widescreen TV, since I didn't have a lot of D&D minis at that point. For our new online game, we decided to put this software to the test, and use it for its intended purpose. We used Ventrilo for communication (special thanks to my buddy Joe Al-Khazraji for the use of his Vent server), and I had everyone make 12th-level characters so that they could get a feel for paragon tier adventuring (which isn't altogether different from heroic tier, except they got a paragon path).

As a result, we ended up with the following heroes:

• Ammon, tiefling wizard played by my brother, Brett Thompson
• Nikolai Splintershield, dwarf fighter played by Michael Beeler
• Gromir Splintershield, dwarf ranger played by Jose Adams
• Skaldir, human cleric played by Doug Hyatt
• Chay'Drick, elf rogue played by Shay Wells
• Vilar, half-elf warlock played by John Bell

We got started a bit late as some people hadn't finished making their characters yet, and we had some issues getting people connected to the software, coordinating Ventrilo connections, adjusting volume levels, and the like. Technical issues probably consumed a good hour of our playtime, leaving us with about three hours to play.

The adventure begins in the city of Alhaster, in the nation of Redhand. Some years ago, the city of Alhaster was the site of a series of terrible events as cultists attempted to free the dark god Kyuss from his prison and bring about a cataclysmic era known as the Age of Worms. A small band of heroes managed to disrupt these plans and trap the Worm God back in his prison, saving Alhaster and, by extension, the world. During those days, Alhaster was a dark and evil place, a theocracy ruled over by a blackguard of Naran (the god of tyranny, see Book of the Righteous), Prince Zeech. Zeech, realizing that he had failed to protect Alhaster from the threat of Kyuss and his minions, challenged the party's cleric, Bors Splintershield, to a duel which he intentionally lost, making Bors the new ruler of Alhaster. Our story begins some years after this event; Bors is still the ruler of Alhaster, whose theocracy reveres Terak, the god of battle, in place of Naran. The city is recovering from the tyranny it once lived under, but slowly, and Alhaster is now a far more welcoming place than it was years ago.

Our heroes, who have already done many great deeds and have been working together for some time, have arrived in Alhaster for some rest and recuperation. After nearly a week of downtime, the heroes were preparing to move on when our story begins. Early in the evening, just past twilight, our heroes are dining in the common room of an inn called the Deluxury when, from outside, they hear a thundering of hoofbeats as several riders race by, followed by the shouts of a crowd in pursuit. A quick questioning of the city guards reveals that some unknown thieves, posing as members of a diplomatic delegation from the nation of Barovia, broke into Alhaster Keep (formerly Prince Zeech's palace) and stole something. During their conversation with the guard, the heroes hear what sounds like an explosion and see a brief flash of light, adding haste to their steps.

Following the guards rushing to the scene, they find that the culprits have fled to what appears to be an abandoned (and heavily vandalized) church. Outside of the church are over a dozen bodies, which are being tended to by priests of Mormekar, and a few badly-wounded guards being tended to by clerics of Terak. While aiding the clerics, Skaldir is able to get a good look at these guards' wounds and discovers that, while they appear to be singed, the burns are superficial and not what killed the other guards. In fact, most of those that yet live are clutching their heads and moaning in pain.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Chay'Drick slips into a nearby alley and around to the back side of the church, where he finds a rear wall that has collapsed in on itself. While he removes some of the rubble, he is able to hear the sounds of several people inside, speaking in a guttural language, though the elf is forced to retreat when he dislodges a large section of debris that falls with a clatter. Returning to the group, Chay'Drick relays his findings to his comrades, who decide to act and hopefully save the lives of more city guards, who are clearly outmatched. The heroes return to the collapsed wall Chay'Drick found, slip inside, and find themselves in some kind of ritual preparation chamber in the rear of the church. Chay'Drick is then able to slip through a trap door onto the roof and step, nimbly, across the rotting roof to peer through a hole and see into the main area.

Below him, Chay'Drick sees a ruined chapel, and inside are four githyanki and their grell servant. After a brief discussion, the heroes burst into the room and the fight is on. Two of the githyanki, clearly warriors and expert swordsmen, draw their silver greatswords and match steel with Nikolai and Chay'Drick. As the heroes enter, two of the githyanki, both women, begin unleashing psychic assaults on the heroes, one of which is so severe that three of the heroes are unable to focus enough to fight effectively. However, the heroes press through their psychic haze and manage to defeat these interlopers, despite the attempts of one of them to telekinetically leap up through a hole in the roof. The githyanki defeated, the heroes are able to look around and see that frescoes on the walls of this chapel indicate that this was once a church of Naran, and the frescoes depict demons rising up from the ground, only to be stomped down by Naranite clerics. Chay'Drick discovers a secret passage beneath the heavy stone altar, and pushing it aside the heroes see a stone staircase leading down into darkness.

Overall, it was a good first session, though my hope is that next time we will go more quickly since everyone should have their characters complete and already have the technology figured out. Hopefully they will have also set up macros for their attacks, which will speed things up since we're using the software's built-in dice roller (which has a command-line interface).

Moridin