Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Tales of the Legacy - Concluded
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 1670574" data-attributes="member: 5203"><p>An awkward silence drifted through the chamber. Finally, Kyle cleared his throat. “Well, for starters, I don’t think we ever got your name, sir.” He looked at the bearded man in green robes.</p><p></p><p> “Baobab Ghurka,” he replied, “but I prefer to be called by my family name, if you don’t mind.” Introductions were made all the way around, including the hin Osborn and Lanara.</p><p></p><p> “Pardon me for asking,” said Kyle to Lanara, “but you’re a cansin, aren’t you? One of the Chaos-Touched?”</p><p></p><p> Lanara nodded, even as she leaned back in her chair. “Why do you ask?”</p><p></p><p> “Just wanted to make sure. We don’t get many cansin in the school of wizardry.”</p><p></p><p> Lanara stuck out her tongue in disdain. “Wizardry? Books and studying? No thanks. I prefer the natural route myself.” She waved a hand and tiny sparkles of colored light appeared over her head.</p><p></p><p> “Wait,” said Kavan, “you’re a wizard?” He studied Kyle for a moment; with his broad shoulders and large arms, he looked more like a lumberjack than a mage. He’d seen the robes, of course, but Kavan had half-convinced himself it was a fluke.</p><p></p><p> “Well, trying to be, anyway. But how about you? What do you do?”</p><p></p><p> “I have many skills. I can fight with bow and blade.”</p><p></p><p> “From the look of that pendant around your neck, I would have guessed that you’re a priest.” Kyle squinted at the symbol around Kavan’s neck. “Erito, I think?”</p><p></p><p> Kavan nodded. “Yes, I serve the goddess Erito as her priest.”</p><p></p><p> “So you can command divine magic, including healing, and have power over the undead?”</p><p></p><p> “Yes.”</p><p></p><p> “Good to know. As for me, even though my own grimoire is a bit thin right now, I’m willing to help out any way I can. Offense, defense, information; I try to cover it all. I looked into specializing – conjuration, divination, and all that – but in the end everything I saw meant giving up something else that seemed real interesting, you know?”</p><p></p><p> Arrie watched the exchange with interest, then piped up when Kyle finished. “Well, I’ll have to speak for both of us today,” she said, pointing at both herself and Autumn. “My sister here is a Sentinel – a holy warrior devoted to righting wrongs, especially when they involve outsiders.”</p><p></p><p> “Outside where?” asked Lanara.</p><p></p><p> “Beings from one of the planetary realms besides our own,” explained Kyle. “Demons, devils, that sort of thing. It would technically include celestials too, though I get the feeling that Autumn’s not so opposed to them.”</p><p></p><p> “Right,” agreed Arrie. “As for me, I’m a warrior as well, though not as picky as my sister about whose head I bash in. I’ve trained in a few unusual weapons, such as this.” She unwrapped the heavy spiked chain from around her torso, showing to everyone. “It’s effective, and it’s great for knocking down those annoying, stick-figure wizards.” She gave an apologetic half-smile to Kyle. “I also have these.” She reached into a large sack at her hip and produced a ball of iron about the size of a grapefruit. “It’s an orcish shotput. Deadly, if a bit clumsy.”</p><p></p><p> Osborn’s eyes widened. “That thing’s almost as big as my mother!” he exclaimed.</p><p></p><p> “Yeah, I think that we used something like that to kill pigs back on the farm,” mused Kyle.</p><p></p><p> “So did I,” commented Ghurka.</p><p></p><p> “You were a farmer too?” asked Kyle.</p><p></p><p> “I was a farmhand,” Ghurka replied, “until my boss’ farm burned down one year. He had to let me go, since he had no crops to tend. Work was hard to come by then, so I ended up staying in the woods near the farm, living off the land. Over the next four years I watched the earth reclaim the land than humans had taken from it, and I gained a great respect for nature. I was especially intrigued by how the whole process had started with fire. I came to understand the important role fire plays in the cycle of life, and began to play my part to help that cycle along, setting blazes in the forest to clear out old growth so that new growth could prosper. In time, members of the Druidic Order sought me out, and inducted me into their mysteries.”</p><p></p><p> Kavan’s eyes narrowed. “You set fires in the forest? On purpose?”</p><p></p><p> “Yes.”</p><p></p><p> “That isn’t natural,” the elf said.</p><p></p><p> “Untrue,” replied Ghurka. “I am a part of the world, just as you are. How can any action I take be unnatural? It’s not as though I laid waste to the entire forest. Creation and destruction exist in a cycle; both must exist in equal measure.”</p><p></p><p> Kavan was silent, clearly still not approving.</p><p></p><p> “Say,” asked Lanara, who had produced a fiddle and was tuning it, “are you the one responsible for the scorch marks on the floor on the 82nd level?”</p><p></p><p> Ghurka looked around the room for a moment before replying, “I don’t know anything about that.”</p><p></p><p> “Right.” She began playing a soft tune.</p><p></p><p> “So then what do you do?” asked Ghurka.</p><p></p><p> “Oh, a little of this, a little of that. Not much of a fighter, but that looks to be the job of the Tin Twins here. I’ll just immortalize you in song… or write a moving eulogy, as the case may be.”</p><p></p><p> “Okay, then,” said Kyle, looking around, “that leaves only two of us who haven’t spoken up yet.” He turned toward Xu, still sitting quietly in her chair. “What about you? I’ll admit I don’t have a good guess. Usually you can get a good idea from what a person’s wearing or carrying around, but you don’t have much of anything on you except that pole. What is it you do?”</p><p></p><p> Xu looked over at Kyle calmly. “I, like the others of my order, train our bodies and minds to act as one… no, to be nothingness.”</p><p></p><p> “Um, run that by me again?” said Osborn, who was trimming a loose thread off his vest with the point of a dagger. “What exactly is your gimmick?”</p><p></p><p> “My ‘gimmick’?” asked Xu, momentarily confused. Then understanding dawned on her face. “Ah, you mean my style of combat. My style is that I have no style. When the opponent expands, I contract. When he contracts, I expand. And when the opportunity presents itself, I do not hit.” She held up one fist in the air. “It hits all by itself.”</p><p></p><p> They all were silent for a moment, considering Xu’s words. Then Arrie clapped one hand on the table in front of her. “Down and dirty, fists and feet. My kind of woman.” She looked up as Osborn. “Well, I’d have to guess you’re good with knives.”</p><p></p><p> “That I am,” Osborn beamed. “I’m also skilled in reconnaissance, and the circumvention of security devices… I guess you could say I’m an ‘acquirer’, if you will.”</p><p></p><p> “Well,” said Ghurka, “we seem to be rather well-rounded in terms of talent. That’s a good thing.”</p><p></p><p> The eight students spent the remainder of their hour discussing details of their individual capabilities. They dug through their packs to see what kinds of potions, devices, and other useful items they had accumulated during their first eighteen months at the Tower. They all had a chance to meet Rupert, the great dane that served as Osborn’s faithful companion and mount. They also were introduced to Ghurka’s animal companion, a hawk named Cawn. Just as their conversations were beginning to wind down, Shilsen Brandovich re-entered the room.</p><p></p><p> “Everyone, gather your belongings and make your way to the northwest transport,” he ordered. The students followed him down the long hallway, gathering on the hovering steel disc that moved students through the various levels of the two-mile-high building*. Shilsen moved to the small pedestal in the middle of the platform, which held a crystalline orb at about a human’s waist height. He rested his right hand on the orb, and fished a smaller copy of the orb out of his pocket, holding it up to his forehead. The platform was instantly surrounded by a bubble of magical force, and began descending rapidly. Shilsen put his instructor’s key back into his pocket, and stood patiently next to the control orb.</p><p></p><p> In less than a minute they were in one of the underground levels, where students were normally barred from entering. They exited the platform and stepped into a rather ordinary chamber. At the far end was a plain wooden door.</p><p></p><p> “Your scenario lies beyond that door,” Shilsen explained. “Once inside, you will meet people who will explain your objective. Remember that this is designed to be a realistic simulation of the real world. Your opposition, whatever form it takes, will be employing deadly force, and you may respond with the same. Death of all members of the group will result in failure of the scenario, though of course the Tower’s policy of using resurrection magic on fallen students is still in effect. Now, are there any questions?”</p><p></p><p> A couple of hands went into the air. Shilsen smiled. “Good. I sincerely hope you discover the answers at some point.” With that he turned and got back on the transport platform, ascending rapidly.</p><p></p><p> The eight of them (plus Rupert and Cawn) milled about uncertainly. “So, who wants to go first?” asked Osborne.</p><p></p><p> “We have no idea what’s beyond that door,” said Ghurka. “We could be walking into the middle of a battle for all we know.”</p><p></p><p> “Good point,” said Kyle. “Maybe we should make a plan? Decide who’s going first, that sort of thing?”</p><p></p><p> Arrie yawned. “Well, why don’t we just open the door and see what’s on the other side before we decide?” Before anyone could stop her, she walked over and put her hand on the doorknob.</p><p></p><p> The door seemed to swell in size, arching over their heads. The door opened, and the frame seemed to rush toward them, enveloping the group. There was a flash of bright light, and suddenly the group was standing on a well-worn road, surrounded by trees. It was late in the day, with the first stars glimmering in the sky. A few hundred yards down the road, they saw a small village, with smoke from cooking fires curling into the sky. They could see a few people walking toward the large inn at the center of town.</p><p></p><p> “Well,” said Arrie, seeing that everyone was staring at her, “at least it wasn’t a battle, right?”</p><p></p><p>---------------</p><p>* Yes, two miles. The Tower is built upon an elemental Node, sort of a natural font of magical power, that supports the structure as well as the rest of the city. The city of Trageon itself consists of three levels; an underground portion, the main city on the surface, and the upper levels which rest on a gigantic floating platform. The Tower extends through all three levels throught the middle. The best visualization is the city of Sigil from Planescape, but imagine Sigil as a disk rather than a donut.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Delemental, post: 1670574, member: 5203"] An awkward silence drifted through the chamber. Finally, Kyle cleared his throat. “Well, for starters, I don’t think we ever got your name, sir.” He looked at the bearded man in green robes. “Baobab Ghurka,” he replied, “but I prefer to be called by my family name, if you don’t mind.” Introductions were made all the way around, including the hin Osborn and Lanara. “Pardon me for asking,” said Kyle to Lanara, “but you’re a cansin, aren’t you? One of the Chaos-Touched?” Lanara nodded, even as she leaned back in her chair. “Why do you ask?” “Just wanted to make sure. We don’t get many cansin in the school of wizardry.” Lanara stuck out her tongue in disdain. “Wizardry? Books and studying? No thanks. I prefer the natural route myself.” She waved a hand and tiny sparkles of colored light appeared over her head. “Wait,” said Kavan, “you’re a wizard?” He studied Kyle for a moment; with his broad shoulders and large arms, he looked more like a lumberjack than a mage. He’d seen the robes, of course, but Kavan had half-convinced himself it was a fluke. “Well, trying to be, anyway. But how about you? What do you do?” “I have many skills. I can fight with bow and blade.” “From the look of that pendant around your neck, I would have guessed that you’re a priest.” Kyle squinted at the symbol around Kavan’s neck. “Erito, I think?” Kavan nodded. “Yes, I serve the goddess Erito as her priest.” “So you can command divine magic, including healing, and have power over the undead?” “Yes.” “Good to know. As for me, even though my own grimoire is a bit thin right now, I’m willing to help out any way I can. Offense, defense, information; I try to cover it all. I looked into specializing – conjuration, divination, and all that – but in the end everything I saw meant giving up something else that seemed real interesting, you know?” Arrie watched the exchange with interest, then piped up when Kyle finished. “Well, I’ll have to speak for both of us today,” she said, pointing at both herself and Autumn. “My sister here is a Sentinel – a holy warrior devoted to righting wrongs, especially when they involve outsiders.” “Outside where?” asked Lanara. “Beings from one of the planetary realms besides our own,” explained Kyle. “Demons, devils, that sort of thing. It would technically include celestials too, though I get the feeling that Autumn’s not so opposed to them.” “Right,” agreed Arrie. “As for me, I’m a warrior as well, though not as picky as my sister about whose head I bash in. I’ve trained in a few unusual weapons, such as this.” She unwrapped the heavy spiked chain from around her torso, showing to everyone. “It’s effective, and it’s great for knocking down those annoying, stick-figure wizards.” She gave an apologetic half-smile to Kyle. “I also have these.” She reached into a large sack at her hip and produced a ball of iron about the size of a grapefruit. “It’s an orcish shotput. Deadly, if a bit clumsy.” Osborn’s eyes widened. “That thing’s almost as big as my mother!” he exclaimed. “Yeah, I think that we used something like that to kill pigs back on the farm,” mused Kyle. “So did I,” commented Ghurka. “You were a farmer too?” asked Kyle. “I was a farmhand,” Ghurka replied, “until my boss’ farm burned down one year. He had to let me go, since he had no crops to tend. Work was hard to come by then, so I ended up staying in the woods near the farm, living off the land. Over the next four years I watched the earth reclaim the land than humans had taken from it, and I gained a great respect for nature. I was especially intrigued by how the whole process had started with fire. I came to understand the important role fire plays in the cycle of life, and began to play my part to help that cycle along, setting blazes in the forest to clear out old growth so that new growth could prosper. In time, members of the Druidic Order sought me out, and inducted me into their mysteries.” Kavan’s eyes narrowed. “You set fires in the forest? On purpose?” “Yes.” “That isn’t natural,” the elf said. “Untrue,” replied Ghurka. “I am a part of the world, just as you are. How can any action I take be unnatural? It’s not as though I laid waste to the entire forest. Creation and destruction exist in a cycle; both must exist in equal measure.” Kavan was silent, clearly still not approving. “Say,” asked Lanara, who had produced a fiddle and was tuning it, “are you the one responsible for the scorch marks on the floor on the 82nd level?” Ghurka looked around the room for a moment before replying, “I don’t know anything about that.” “Right.” She began playing a soft tune. “So then what do you do?” asked Ghurka. “Oh, a little of this, a little of that. Not much of a fighter, but that looks to be the job of the Tin Twins here. I’ll just immortalize you in song… or write a moving eulogy, as the case may be.” “Okay, then,” said Kyle, looking around, “that leaves only two of us who haven’t spoken up yet.” He turned toward Xu, still sitting quietly in her chair. “What about you? I’ll admit I don’t have a good guess. Usually you can get a good idea from what a person’s wearing or carrying around, but you don’t have much of anything on you except that pole. What is it you do?” Xu looked over at Kyle calmly. “I, like the others of my order, train our bodies and minds to act as one… no, to be nothingness.” “Um, run that by me again?” said Osborn, who was trimming a loose thread off his vest with the point of a dagger. “What exactly is your gimmick?” “My ‘gimmick’?” asked Xu, momentarily confused. Then understanding dawned on her face. “Ah, you mean my style of combat. My style is that I have no style. When the opponent expands, I contract. When he contracts, I expand. And when the opportunity presents itself, I do not hit.” She held up one fist in the air. “It hits all by itself.” They all were silent for a moment, considering Xu’s words. Then Arrie clapped one hand on the table in front of her. “Down and dirty, fists and feet. My kind of woman.” She looked up as Osborn. “Well, I’d have to guess you’re good with knives.” “That I am,” Osborn beamed. “I’m also skilled in reconnaissance, and the circumvention of security devices… I guess you could say I’m an ‘acquirer’, if you will.” “Well,” said Ghurka, “we seem to be rather well-rounded in terms of talent. That’s a good thing.” The eight students spent the remainder of their hour discussing details of their individual capabilities. They dug through their packs to see what kinds of potions, devices, and other useful items they had accumulated during their first eighteen months at the Tower. They all had a chance to meet Rupert, the great dane that served as Osborn’s faithful companion and mount. They also were introduced to Ghurka’s animal companion, a hawk named Cawn. Just as their conversations were beginning to wind down, Shilsen Brandovich re-entered the room. “Everyone, gather your belongings and make your way to the northwest transport,” he ordered. The students followed him down the long hallway, gathering on the hovering steel disc that moved students through the various levels of the two-mile-high building*. Shilsen moved to the small pedestal in the middle of the platform, which held a crystalline orb at about a human’s waist height. He rested his right hand on the orb, and fished a smaller copy of the orb out of his pocket, holding it up to his forehead. The platform was instantly surrounded by a bubble of magical force, and began descending rapidly. Shilsen put his instructor’s key back into his pocket, and stood patiently next to the control orb. In less than a minute they were in one of the underground levels, where students were normally barred from entering. They exited the platform and stepped into a rather ordinary chamber. At the far end was a plain wooden door. “Your scenario lies beyond that door,” Shilsen explained. “Once inside, you will meet people who will explain your objective. Remember that this is designed to be a realistic simulation of the real world. Your opposition, whatever form it takes, will be employing deadly force, and you may respond with the same. Death of all members of the group will result in failure of the scenario, though of course the Tower’s policy of using resurrection magic on fallen students is still in effect. Now, are there any questions?” A couple of hands went into the air. Shilsen smiled. “Good. I sincerely hope you discover the answers at some point.” With that he turned and got back on the transport platform, ascending rapidly. The eight of them (plus Rupert and Cawn) milled about uncertainly. “So, who wants to go first?” asked Osborne. “We have no idea what’s beyond that door,” said Ghurka. “We could be walking into the middle of a battle for all we know.” “Good point,” said Kyle. “Maybe we should make a plan? Decide who’s going first, that sort of thing?” Arrie yawned. “Well, why don’t we just open the door and see what’s on the other side before we decide?” Before anyone could stop her, she walked over and put her hand on the doorknob. The door seemed to swell in size, arching over their heads. The door opened, and the frame seemed to rush toward them, enveloping the group. There was a flash of bright light, and suddenly the group was standing on a well-worn road, surrounded by trees. It was late in the day, with the first stars glimmering in the sky. A few hundred yards down the road, they saw a small village, with smoke from cooking fires curling into the sky. They could see a few people walking toward the large inn at the center of town. “Well,” said Arrie, seeing that everyone was staring at her, “at least it wasn’t a battle, right?” --------------- * Yes, two miles. The Tower is built upon an elemental Node, sort of a natural font of magical power, that supports the structure as well as the rest of the city. The city of Trageon itself consists of three levels; an underground portion, the main city on the surface, and the upper levels which rest on a gigantic floating platform. The Tower extends through all three levels throught the middle. The best visualization is the city of Sigil from Planescape, but imagine Sigil as a disk rather than a donut. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Tales of the Legacy - Concluded
Top