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Welcome to the Halmae (updated 2/27/07)
- Thread starter spyscribe
- Start date
Fajitas
Hold the Peppers
Well, the party needed a temporary wizard, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to give them someone that would make them really yearn for Hue's return.dpdx said:
Personally, I love Edmund. He's one of my favorite NPCs to play. He's one of those characters that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to play right, yet every time I opened my mouth to speak for him, he told me exactly what to say.
He was, for the record, inspired by the lovely and talented Miss J.K. Rowlings' Percy Weasley (in Books 1-4, at least). It's always important to give credit where it's due.
Oh, and for anyone keeping track, Dar Aego was inspired by a combination of Ancient Rome, The City of Gold and Lead from John Christopher's The Tripods Trilogy, and (much as it pains me to admit it) the planet from Piers Anthony's Split Infinity series ("Phaze", I think its name was) (Or maybe "Photon") (Oh, come on. Like I don't have better things to worry about).
If they'd ever bothered to go to the gladiator fights or the chariot races at the Grand Collesium of Dar Aego, it would also have been inspired by the Babylonian Court in Los Angeles at Hollywood and Highland. Only the 50 foot tall elephants would be made of gold, not plaster. Seriously.
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porthos
Community Supporter
spyscribe said:
This got me wondering about magic weapons & items in Halme. While the players seem to have access to "normal" magic in terms of spells, what is their access to magic items like? Since coming by normal crossbows requires paperwork, what's it take to get a +1 crossbow?
Tangentially, what level are the PC's at this point in the story?
Fajitas
Hold the Peppers
porthos said:
The PCs hit 2nd level right before this adventure. For the record, they're going to hit 5th level after our next session this weekend.
As for magic weapons in the Halmae... none of the PCs have ever seen one. It's known that weapons can be enchanted for a brief period of time via spells like magic weapon. There are certain holy weapons said to be blessed by the gods with divine powers, but these are considered unique artifacts and are closely kept by royalty or the preisthood.
"Commonplace" permanent magic weapons, as they exist in standard D&D worlds... if anyone has succeeded in creating them, they aren't advertising that fact. Not yet, anyway.
(To maintain game balance, I've introduced Karonian weapons, made by mastercraftsmen in the city-state of Dar Karo, which give a +1 to attack and to damage, but are not effective against DR.)
Other magic items are pretty rare. Divine items are more common than arcane ones, but divine items are usually considered relics and are held by the clergy. Potions have permeated the general market. Wondrous Items are out there, but are still... well, wondrous. Rods, wands, staffs, and rings are pretty much solely in the possession of wizards and those they choose to bequeath them to. There is a very small but extant market for scrolls, as they're mainly only useful to casters; there's not a lot of demand for them outside the community that can create them.
If you're looking for such things, the School of Artificy at the Mages Academy is probably the right place to go. Professor Alexandra herself may well have the most extensive collection of arcane magic items of anyone in the Halmae.
Also, as to the crossbow thing... I'm not entirely sure what that was about from my end. I'd always worried a little about having made a PC a judge, as that's a fair chunk of in-game power. With that in mind, I think I was trying to keep a limit on what he could freely requisition from the Temple. Bad Monkey Jeff has been pretty good about it, so it hasn't really been a problem. But he is a fickle monkey, and can be a tad perverse when the spirit so moves him.
EDIT: Added info on non-weapon magic items.
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spyscribe
First Post
porthos said:
It's also worth pointing out that most of the time, getting a crossbow or dagger or a what-have-you isn't that big a deal. You just go down to Crazy Eddie's Armory* and pay for it. Anvil doesn't take a regular salary, and so counts on the Temple to provide such things.
*No, it's not actually called that.
Fajitas
Hold the Peppers
ellinor said:
Sorcerers are spread pretty much equally through all the churches. There may be a slight bias for Ehkt and Sedellus, but any of the gods can provide comfort to one dealing with the trauma of discovering their new abilities.
Those who turn to Alirria do so out of a belief that they are a part of the natural order, rather than unnatural freaks; they want to feel they have a place in this world, and they tend to use their powers to better it.
Some of those who turn to Sedellus do so because they feel arcane magic is a change in the world whose influence is growing. They want to be at the forefront of that change. Others turn to Sedellus as the goddess of evil, trickery, and deceit; the world hates me, so I'll hate it right back.
Those who turn to Kettenek tend to do so out of a need to control their abilities. They believe Kettenek will help them find the stability and order that their sometimes unpredictable powers deny them.
And, like Lira, those who turn to Ehkt view their powers as a personal challenge, to be met and conquered.
spyscribe
First Post
Part the Sixth:
In which: the party is attacked (duh).
Almost before the party can react, four bandits come running out of the woods, swords drawn, accompanied by another volley of arrows. Along with the arrows comes a sickening wave of dread.
Reyu immediately recognizes the effect of a bane spell. She blinks for a second and shakes off the effect. She can see several archers, hiding in the woods, along with a woman holding a quarterstaff. Since the woman doesn’t seem to be interested in closing to melee range, Reyu presumes she was responsible for the spell.
“Watch out!” Reyu calls. “There’s a spell-caster with them!”
Anvil grimaces through the wave of dread that seems to be settling over him. “That much,” he replies through gritted teeth, “is obvious. It will not help them evade Kettenek’s Justice.”
Reyu drops to one knee on the wagon seat to gain cover and retaliates with an entangle. The trees begin writhing as though alive, reaching down to ensnare the snipers hidden within. Reyu nocks an arrow, and prepares for whatever’s coming.
At last, Thatch thinks as he leaps off his horse and draws his greatsword. The bandits that emerged from the woods are already upon the wagon. Thatch is somewhat hampered by the grass growing up through the broken road, as it attempts to wrap around his knees, but at least the whipping branches are playing havoc with the archers’ aim.
Unfortunately, not quite enough havoc. Edmund, in rear of the wagon, stands up to cast. As he begins to loudly chant and wave his arms in an arcane incantation, an arrow comes flying out of the woods, and hits him full in the chest. He continues to chant as he sinks to the ground, barely conscious, and a sword-bearing bandit advances for the kill. However, just as Edmund slips into unconsciousness, a golden, glowing badger appears behind the swordsman and sinks his teeth into his knee.
Reyu has her bow out and is trying to sight the archers in the woods or the spell-caster with them, but the whipping trees are giving her arrows as much trouble as the highwaymen’s. Dennis has likewise been doing great damage to tree trunks and stray branches.
Not counting the one busy hacking at the enraged badger chewing on his knee, three bandits still surround the wagon. One leaps over the side and advances on Lira. Thatch runs forward (a damsel in distress, finally!) but is distracted by the two bandits that remain on the ground. With a mighty blow, Thatch pulls back his sword and swings, cleaving through them both like wheat stalks.
Lira, for her part, finishes the last words of a chant and snaps her fingers right in the face of the bandit leering down at her. Two wisps of white light streak from her fingertips into his eyes. He abruptly stops leering and stands there, blinking stupidly, quite literally dazed. Lira scrambles backwards, but finds herself pinned into a corner of the wagon.
The bandit blinks out of his daze and advances again. Lira, in a fit of desperation, pulls out her dagger and takes a swing at him. Her strike goes wide by a mile, but the sight of a five-foot tall, 98-lb girl slashing at him with a knife leaves the bandit almost as confused as her previous spell did.
Almost.
The bandit raises his sword to strike when he is brought up short once again, this time by the sight of a longsword protruding from his stomach. He falls, revealing Anvil behind him. Lira looks up from the pile of steaming entrails at her feet. “Er, thanks.”
From the road, Dennis shouts, “I see them, they’re running!”
Anvil calls back, “Smite them all!” Dennis obediently takes off into the woods in pursuit of one of the archers and the female caster, being careful to avoid the still active area of Reyu’s entangle. Anvil pauses to stabilize Edmund, then follows, Lira on his heels.
Reyu spies two more of the snipers taking off in another direction. Leaving the wounded Edmund behind to guard the wagon and its cargo, she calls for Thatch to follow and takes off into the woods.
While Edmund groans in agony in the back of the wagon, Thatch gets back onto Bob, and he and Reyu pursue the second group of snipers. Reyu’s ability to move quickly through the undergrowth allows her to easily keep pace with the horse.
As Lira and Anvil struggle through the woods after the first archer and caster (with considerably less grace than their Druid friend), Lira abruptly remembers that she has another weapon in her arsenal. Stopping short she concentrates, casts, and a bolt of blue-white energy suddenly flies out of her finger-tip, easily swerving through the whipping tree-branches and waving trunks to strike its quarry.
The bolt draws scant blood from its target, but the caster stops in her flight, glares, and creates an entangle of her own, right on top of Dennis, Anvil, and Lira. Anvil is immediately ensnared by a tree limb, while Lira almost makes it to the edge of the effect before being plucked off her feet by a rogue vine. Dennis, farther ahead of the other two, escapes the area of effect.
“What should I do?” he calls back.
“Smite them!” Anvil responds, struggling to escape.
Smite them, thinks Dennis. Riiiiiight….
In which: the party is attacked (duh).
Almost before the party can react, four bandits come running out of the woods, swords drawn, accompanied by another volley of arrows. Along with the arrows comes a sickening wave of dread.
Reyu immediately recognizes the effect of a bane spell. She blinks for a second and shakes off the effect. She can see several archers, hiding in the woods, along with a woman holding a quarterstaff. Since the woman doesn’t seem to be interested in closing to melee range, Reyu presumes she was responsible for the spell.
“Watch out!” Reyu calls. “There’s a spell-caster with them!”
Anvil grimaces through the wave of dread that seems to be settling over him. “That much,” he replies through gritted teeth, “is obvious. It will not help them evade Kettenek’s Justice.”
Reyu drops to one knee on the wagon seat to gain cover and retaliates with an entangle. The trees begin writhing as though alive, reaching down to ensnare the snipers hidden within. Reyu nocks an arrow, and prepares for whatever’s coming.
At last, Thatch thinks as he leaps off his horse and draws his greatsword. The bandits that emerged from the woods are already upon the wagon. Thatch is somewhat hampered by the grass growing up through the broken road, as it attempts to wrap around his knees, but at least the whipping branches are playing havoc with the archers’ aim.
Unfortunately, not quite enough havoc. Edmund, in rear of the wagon, stands up to cast. As he begins to loudly chant and wave his arms in an arcane incantation, an arrow comes flying out of the woods, and hits him full in the chest. He continues to chant as he sinks to the ground, barely conscious, and a sword-bearing bandit advances for the kill. However, just as Edmund slips into unconsciousness, a golden, glowing badger appears behind the swordsman and sinks his teeth into his knee.
Reyu has her bow out and is trying to sight the archers in the woods or the spell-caster with them, but the whipping trees are giving her arrows as much trouble as the highwaymen’s. Dennis has likewise been doing great damage to tree trunks and stray branches.
Not counting the one busy hacking at the enraged badger chewing on his knee, three bandits still surround the wagon. One leaps over the side and advances on Lira. Thatch runs forward (a damsel in distress, finally!) but is distracted by the two bandits that remain on the ground. With a mighty blow, Thatch pulls back his sword and swings, cleaving through them both like wheat stalks.
Lira, for her part, finishes the last words of a chant and snaps her fingers right in the face of the bandit leering down at her. Two wisps of white light streak from her fingertips into his eyes. He abruptly stops leering and stands there, blinking stupidly, quite literally dazed. Lira scrambles backwards, but finds herself pinned into a corner of the wagon.
The bandit blinks out of his daze and advances again. Lira, in a fit of desperation, pulls out her dagger and takes a swing at him. Her strike goes wide by a mile, but the sight of a five-foot tall, 98-lb girl slashing at him with a knife leaves the bandit almost as confused as her previous spell did.
Almost.
The bandit raises his sword to strike when he is brought up short once again, this time by the sight of a longsword protruding from his stomach. He falls, revealing Anvil behind him. Lira looks up from the pile of steaming entrails at her feet. “Er, thanks.”
From the road, Dennis shouts, “I see them, they’re running!”
Anvil calls back, “Smite them all!” Dennis obediently takes off into the woods in pursuit of one of the archers and the female caster, being careful to avoid the still active area of Reyu’s entangle. Anvil pauses to stabilize Edmund, then follows, Lira on his heels.
Reyu spies two more of the snipers taking off in another direction. Leaving the wounded Edmund behind to guard the wagon and its cargo, she calls for Thatch to follow and takes off into the woods.
While Edmund groans in agony in the back of the wagon, Thatch gets back onto Bob, and he and Reyu pursue the second group of snipers. Reyu’s ability to move quickly through the undergrowth allows her to easily keep pace with the horse.
As Lira and Anvil struggle through the woods after the first archer and caster (with considerably less grace than their Druid friend), Lira abruptly remembers that she has another weapon in her arsenal. Stopping short she concentrates, casts, and a bolt of blue-white energy suddenly flies out of her finger-tip, easily swerving through the whipping tree-branches and waving trunks to strike its quarry.
The bolt draws scant blood from its target, but the caster stops in her flight, glares, and creates an entangle of her own, right on top of Dennis, Anvil, and Lira. Anvil is immediately ensnared by a tree limb, while Lira almost makes it to the edge of the effect before being plucked off her feet by a rogue vine. Dennis, farther ahead of the other two, escapes the area of effect.
“What should I do?” he calls back.
“Smite them!” Anvil responds, struggling to escape.
Smite them, thinks Dennis. Riiiiiight….
