Describe your last RPG session in more than 5 words.

[John Dallman]

AD&D1e, Avalon campaign:

Nagas peaceful, but cannot help.

A few months ago, exploring northern areas that have settlement, but aren't part of a country, we came upon a large and deep lake, with an ancient ruined city on its shore, as well as a modern village. The villagers told us there were Water Naga in the lake, and there was a low-level conflict going on. We suggested making peace offerings and talking to the Nagas, then left to investigate other areas. In yesterday's session, we went back, aiming to talk to the Nagas ourselves. because there are some deep undersea problems that we could use help with.

The villagers told us they had made contact with the Nagas and come to an agreement: the problem had been fishing nets damaging the Nagas' structures on the lake bed and an agreement not to fish in specific places had been made. The Nagas had magic that worked on fish, and a plan for fish farming was being developed.

We talked to the Nagas, and learned they were just one pair, who had started a family and quite reasonably weren't willing to travel until their children had grown. They are also fresh-water Naga who can't live in seawater without magical assistance. They got dumped into Avalon by a random portal - this happens a lot - and were fortunate to arrive close to this lake, rather than the one the other side of a nearby mountain, which is infested with hags. The only thing they were short of was rice, which doesn't grow this far north, but which we can obtain for them. We'll bring them some as a gift next time we're up this way.

So it was quite pleasing that we'd got the humans and Nagas onto good terms, but there was no help with the undersea problems.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

GURPS Dungeon Fantasy:

Exploded giant plant; toxic consequences.

I cannot help but parse that as "a chemical spill resulted from sabotage of a biotech factory complex that assembled giants" instead of what it probably means. The idea of both larger and smaller humanoid variants coming off a production line made up of vats and tubes and tanks has been thoroughly embedded in my brain since childhood. I blame Jack Kirby's run on Jimmy Olsen. Both Project Cadmus and its evil counterpart were exceedingly creepy concepts.

Seriously, look at this stuff.

No consent forms were signed!

The King loves his clone micro-soldiers. Revisited the concept years later in Captain Victory.

Vengeance for all that super-dickery? Nah, just another Scene Does Not Appear In This Comic cover.

Although Jimmy's giant kryptonite-infused clone seems pretty angry about things.

 

[uzirath]

Time to write a new adventure! Heh.

In this case, it was merely a Giant Angry Hogweed (of course). The toxic sap rained down on the PCs after the artificer blew it up.

 

[Golden Bee]

Girls of the Greenbrier

“Her speech is in Russian and is about her experience being a trilingual ballerina. Do you think you’d like to read it?”

Dr. Hazoul declined.

Early October, West Virginia. Hope you’re ready for girls. Because we’re probably doubling the amount we’ve had so far in this 2 1/2 year campaign.

In fact, have a look.

Each of these young ladies, from ages 12 to 17, were at the stately Greenbrier for the Girl Paragons Leadership Conference. Astute readers might even see some familiar names: Ava Astor and Alice Cavendish, Devika’s best buddies, and Buck Searsroe, rich airfield mogul and member of the Century Club.

Chaperoning Miss Devika were Professor Hemet Hazoul, Thaza O’Rourke, and someone who has known Devi since before she was born, Kabir Rupert OBE.

Most of the adventure was meeting and greeting, trying to determine which mentorships were perfect matches (aviators Rosie Van Leer and Tex Johnston,paleontologists Lorraine Paget and Charles Glimore), and which ones were exploitation. Buck and Janie Voss were an example of the latter. Seeing her as a mathematical prodigy, he had emancipated her from her parents in order to get her collegiate and doctoral mathematic instruction. When Devi found out, she demanded that he allow visitation for her parents, maybe even hiring them onto his household staff. Money was wonderful, but parents were more important.

Also under the yoke of exploitation: Albertha Robinson, a Harlem poet who had been taken under the wing of the self-aggrandizing HH Havermeyer.

Kabir was essential in finding this out, due to his “cross-examination“ style of debate that was mostly wry insults. He also turned his sharp tongue on Rafe Lancaster, Devi’s “semi-reformed” mentor. Rafe blanched at an insult, and Kabir piled on.

“Just because I’ve revealed an unwelcome truth about your reality is no excuse to have your face change color.”

There was a bit of excitement (Russian emigre Polina Orlova got concussed from a golf ball to the back of the head), but the session was mostly about untangling the social web. Who liked who, who was in a clique… and the worst part, after-dinner speaking.

Devi’s speech was a highlight, an advisory on the finer points of unofficial tipping, port authorities, and “unconventional cargo methodology”.

The rest of the speakers varied from boring to amazing (Albertha being the best). Having recently been humiliated on stage (during last week’s adventure in Kansas), India’s richest girl was acutely aware of how awkward that could be. She worked with the rest of the ladies to cheer and exhort the more timid speakers.

The second day of the conference started with flames! The building was ablaze, and everyone was panicking. Devi demanded Rafe rescue her expensive luggage, while she and Thaza rescued the elderly and the concussed. It was no problem for the catburglar raised by apes to clamber across the outside of the building, but it was a surprise to see Rosie and Tex effecting a similar rescue.

Kabir and Hemmet, a more intellectual pairing, use their knowledge of architecture (and willingness to shout) to help evacuate their section. They discovered that Janie was gone, and had left behind her favorite doll! Muddy footprints led to a disused section of the Greenbrier. There, American fascists had kidnapped the girl. Not worst of all, but certainly bad, was that they were aided by Devi’s latest crush, tennis instructor Earl Mayer!

The leader of the group should’ve done better research. It would’ve prevented his mind from being crushed under the mystic onslaught of India’s wealthiest mesmerist! (Not coincidentally, its richest girl.) It also would have prevented his joints from being torn apart by Hyderabad’s greatest judoka.

Not much could be done for the rest of the fifth columnists, who were dispatched by Dr. Hazoul wielding a claw hammer. You can research that all you want, nothing prepares you for a surprise sneak attack by a Tomb Looting Scumbag.

Thaza freed Janie from their evil trap. No longer could they use the twelve year old’s mathematical genius for Aryan code breaking. Devi paraded the culprits in front of the rest of the conference guests, and allowed all the girls to spank them with tennis rackets until the police arrived. It was a weird move, but it converted all the nervous “there was a fire” energy into a “we’re taking back our agency” vibe.

Devi stood back from the crowd, leaning on Rafe and laughing.

“ I figured it would be good if all the other ladies acted like children. There are a lot of special girls in the world, Lancaster, but only one me.”

“I know, Dev. And that’s got me petrified.”

 

[John Dallman]

AD&D1e, Avalon campaign:

Paladin with sonar explores well.

There is a mysterious well, which has darkness and elemental water magic in it. It's about 16 feel in diameter, about 250 feet deep, with about 190 feet of water in it. The darkness starts at water level and continues to the bottom (or does it? - writing these posts helps me spot things I missed in-session).

The water table in the area is only about 10' below ground. The top 10' of the shaft is masonry; the rest of the shaft has smooth stone walls, until about 40' from the bottom where cracks in the rock start, so the well presumably taps an aquifer.

Water taken out of the well is no longer magical, and seems to be fine: there's a village that has been drinking it for a couple of centuries. The well itself is ancient: our method of dating really old things is not at all precise, but it's in the bracket that may be as old as the world. That's why it's interesting.

Our paladin has items that give him Adaptation and sonar, and went in and down to the bottom. There wasn't much there: a few bits of junk that have fallen in, a little weed and a few snails - hang on, what is the weed living on with no light?

 

[Golden Bee]

Death Laughs Last by Robin D Laws.
“Oh my God!,” Ned cried. “You work for him, don’t you? I’ve gone straight, I swear! I never want to see those things again! Never! I kept all my promises to him! Don’t take my mind! Don’t take my mind!”

In March 1935, the Big Easy was home to an impossible case. Local dilettante Addison Bright was dead, from a spear through the chest, in his own private study. As a relative to the Astors, discretion was required. The family hired Detective JP Diamond, Professor Winston Callahan, and “Steel Eagle” (Gyatso Tsering), the Tibetan spirit of Brooklyn. Yup, he’s back with a new player!)
Although it started gory, the adventure had plenty of levity. JP, knowing a lead was in Baton Rouge, sent the other two in Callahan’s plane… Just so he could spend time with his girlfriend.
In Baton Rouge, Callahan and Eagle investigated a waxworks. Unfortunately, only one employee was on duty, and the lonely man wanted to talk their ears off. After all that work, the lead was to a locksmith less than half a mile from their original location in New Orleans. Back to the Spectre.
JP is a gentleman, even to his detriment. He was at his favorite neighborhood dive when he was approached by reporter Beatrice Piper. She seemed fascinated by his return to the city, his case… and only after lengthy conversation did he realize that he had spilled the beans, on the record. The police were absolutely furious, threatening to feed his PI license to alligators.
Because the story was leaked to the press, Ava Astor, autistic prep-school snob, came to town, ready for revenge on her uncle’s killer. Just what the detective needed.
Some more digging (and an autopsy) revealed that Addison had a secret identity as scourge of the criminal underworld, masked crimefighter The Penitent! The players expertly snuck into his lair, only to be rendered unconscious when they opened the canisters of his nightmare powder. It's a shame that Callahan was the designated burglar but also couldn’t keep his hands to himself, sending the entire group into a series of terrifying nightmares. They awoke to find Addison’s manservant Mr. Han and Ava standing over them.

Death Laughs Last by Robin D Laws.
“Oh my God!,” Ned cried. “You work for him, don’t you? I’ve gone straight, I swear! I never want to see those things again! Never! I kept all my promises to him! Don’t take my mind! Don’t take my mind!”

In March 1935, the Big Easy was home to an impossible case. Local dilettante Addison Bright was dead, from a spear through the chest, in his own private study. As a relative to the Astors, discretion was required. The family hired Detective JP Diamond, Professor Winston Callahan, and “Steel Eagle” (Gyatso Tsering), the Tibetan spirit of Brooklyn. Yup, he’s back with a new player!)
Although it started gory, the adventure had plenty of levity. JP, knowing a lead was in Baton Rouge, sent the other two in Callahan’s plane… Just so he could spend time with his girlfriend.
In Baton Rouge, Callahan and Eagle investigated a waxworks. Unfortunately, only one employee was on duty, and the lonely man wanted to talk their ears off. After all that work, the lead was to a locksmith less than half a mile from their original location in New Orleans. Back to the Spectre.
JP is a gentleman, even to his detriment. He was at his favorite neighborhood dive when he was approached by reporter Beatrice Piper. She seemed fascinated by his return to the city, his case… and only after lengthy conversation did he realize that he had spilled the beans, on the record. The police were absolutely furious, threatening to feed his PI license to alligators.
Because the story was leaked to the press, Ava Astor, autistic prep-school snob, came to town, ready for revenge on her uncle’s killer. Just what the detective needed.
Some more digging (and an autopsy) revealed that Addison had a secret identity as scourge of the criminal underworld, masked crimefighter The Penitent! The players expertly snuck into his lair, only to be rendered unconscious when they opened the canisters of his nightmare powder. It's a shame that Callahan was the designated burglar but also couldn’t keep his hands to himself, sending the entire group into a series of terrifying nightmares. They awoke to find Addison’s manservant Mr. Han and Ava standing over them.

“You were supposed to sneak in, not get caught.”

Addison had a variety of assistants supporting him. There was his on-again off-again girlfriend, Beatrice, theatrical director Brooks Belasco, a boxer… But the one the group gravitated to was Phil Roach, bush pilot. He and Callahan instantly bonded as ‘the people other people call naughty words because they’re smarter than them.’
The last piece of the puzzle was with an antiques dealer who was being hunted by a local gang. Hiram wanted to meet in public, and didn’t want to get stabbed. The players created a dragnet, leading around stalls, through alleys, constantly picking off the opposition with ”accidental” trips, carelessly thrown bricks, and falling roofing tiles. It turned out, the poison the Penitent was using on criminals slowly but surely made its way through his gas mask. He was convinced that he was his own arch-nemesis… and had tricked himself into a spear-assisted suicide.
But who had sent him down this self-destructive path? It turns out Mr. Han was using Addison as a catspaw to eliminate all other crime in the city. The players found a creepy warehouse in the Bayou, a trail of blood leading in… And barred the doors. They set it on fire, funneling Mr. Han to one exit where he was beaten and arrested.
Case closed, nearly. Phil Roach had been missing for a while, and his death hit the paper soon after. All that remained was his teeth, found in a burnt building. Detective Diamond found it most expedient to frame Addison’s suicide as a murder, getting Han sent to the chair for the one crime he didn’t commit. Callahan, who had proposed arson in the first place, couldn’t completely bury his feelings of despair.
Although he was a Brooklyn boy at heart, Steel Eagle stayed in town a bit longer, fighting violent crime with his spin kicks and his sidearm. One crook said something to give him pause though…

“Good job, Yonkers. You and your boys just opened up the city for the Sinister Skull!”

Steel Eagle:

Addison had a variety of assistants supporting him. There was his on-again off-again girlfriend, Beatrice, theatrical director Brooks Belasco, a boxer… But the one the group gravitated to was Phil Roach, bush pilot. He and Callahan instantly bonded as ‘the people other people call naughty words because they’re smarter than them.’
The last piece of the puzzle was with an antiques dealer who was being hunted by a local gang. Hiram wanted to meet in public, and didn’t want to get stabbed. The players created a dragnet, leading around stalls, through alleys, constantly picking off the opposition with ”accidental” trips, carelessly thrown bricks, and falling roofing tiles. It turned out, the poison the Penitent was using on criminals slowly but surely made its way through his gas mask. He was convinced that he was his own arch-nemesis… and had tricked himself into a spear-assisted suicide.
But who had sent him down this self-destructive path? It turns out Mr. Han was using Addison as a catspaw to eliminate all other crime in the city. The players found a creepy warehouse in the Bayou, a trail of blood leading in… And barred the doors. They set it on fire, funneling Mr. Han to one exit where he was beaten and arrested.
Case closed, nearly. Phil Roach had been missing for a while, and his death hit the paper soon after. All that remained was his teeth, found in a burnt building. Detective Diamond found it most expedient to frame Addison’s suicide as a murder, getting Han sent to the chair for the one crime he didn’t commit. Callahan, who had proposed arson in the first place, couldn’t completely bury his feelings of despair.
Although he was a Brooklyn boy at heart, Steel Eagle stayed in town a bit longer, fighting violent crime with his spin kicks and his sidearm. One crook said something to give him pause though…

“Good job, Yonkers. You and your boys just opened up the city for the Sinister Skull!”

 

[John Dallman]

AD&D1e, Avalon campaign

New world, no gods, safe.

Our wizard acquired a tower a few years ago, which has belonged to a succession of wizards. There's a nexus point in the lowest sub-basement, and she's spent several months getting better at operating it. As she masters the routes to four different worlds it offers, she'll be able to draw magical power from them. Today, we went through the nexus for the first time, and found a world of eternal twilight - but still with healthy plants - where none of the gods we worship has any power, but arcane magic still works. There was no visible civilization, and it seemed quite safe. We returned to Avalon with a better idea of what we need:

• Pre-fabricated buildings, to set up a small settlement.
• A clock and astronomical instruments to observe the stars, moons and planets.
• Scrolls and items of clerical magic, since four-fifths of the party cast clerical spells, or rather, don't there. Stored power, brought with you, works OK.
• Food supplies, and maybe a chef.

We found that the nexus in this world has two links: the one back to Avalon, and one to somewhere where there is apparently sunlight. Our information comes from the small non-sapient animals living near the nexus, who can go to the "other side" but prefer it here, because there aren't any people.

 

[John Dallman]

Like his historical version, this Duke has never qualified as a mature adult and only really cares about his own pleasures. There are Gestapo agents in Lisbon, and he's invited for a season's hunting in Spain.

We're trying to work out how best to get him to depart; mind-control magic is definitely on the agenda.

A combination of mind control magic and flattery worked fine. Then someone blew the road from the isolated coastal villa where he was staying. We suspect someone in the pay of the Gestapo; the crudeness matches. Since the characters have a luxury flying-boat, this didn't seem like a huge problem, until we looked at the cliffs along the south-facing coast coast west of Lisbon.

We ended up flying to the first beach accessible from the coast road, hiking to the villa, mending the only car that was there - a dinner guest the previous night had borrowed the good car - and evacuating the royals, their dogs (fortunately, terriers) and their luggage to the aircraft.

Walis Windsor in flat shoes.

We managed to persuade her not to wear heels, since she was going to a beach (and then in an inflatable boat out to the aircraft). We managed this, fortunately. We wonder when she and her husband will work out that the servant who's been with them since we met them in Spain is one of the aircraft crew?

 

[Velderan]

Pathfinder 2e (Revised): Season of Ghosts

Various tasks. Saved guardian statue.

What are your thoughts on the AP so far?

 

[aramis erak]

Wed Star Wars:

Was mostly character gen.
Started them off on an industrial world in a hidden cluster...
and it being invaded by the republic, just to have order 66 hit.
They wound up rescuing the jedi and padawan who had come to find the sith in the party.
they got to space...