NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="THEMNGMNT" data-source="post: 8719936" data-attributes="member: 6809274">31st session of Monte Cook's 3E Banewarrens campaign run with Shadow of the Demon Lord on Owlbear Rodeo.Five player characters at Level 6:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dwarf Berserker/Warrior. Heir to a lost kingdom. His trinket is half of a treasure map.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Elf Wizard/Magician. Outcast from elven lands, raised in Ptolus, keeper of a dark secret. His magical traditions are Arcana, Teleportation, Chaos, and Fey.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Goblin Oracle/Magician. Responsible for the destruction of his tribe. Specialized in the Fire and Forbidden magic traditions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Changeling Spellbinder/Rogue. Created by House Vladaam to replace a child they kidnapped and held in servitude. Naturally, she wants revenge. Two weapon fighter with the Battle tradition.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Human Paladin/Priest. Cleric of Lothian, the primary god of Ptolus. His magical traditions are Life, Theurgy, and Battle. His wife was murdered by undead and now he seeks answers.</li> </ul>In this session, the characters infiltrated the underground headquarters of the Pactlords of the Quaan. Their goal: Destroy the Quaan--the magical font that binds the Pactlords in common cause. With it destroyed, the pact will break, and the evil Pactlords will turn on each other. If they can instead purify the Quaan, the font could be used to reforge and renew the fragmented Empire. They considered that briefly, but dismissed it as too difficult. A practical bunch.With them are a boggle and a magical staff that they previously rescued from the Pactlords. They know the layout of the headquarters. So the characters navigate this lair with a very good sense of who and what is where.They entered through an underground tunnel and stealthed past the first guardian -- a massive otyugh in a fetid pool. Beyond a door they found the barracks of a small group of ogres. The fight was short, sharp, and brutal. At this level, the characters are finally to be feared.Now each character was overcome with a strange sense that their greatest desire was through the next door. I asked each player to describe what their character wanted the most. Their answers were fantastic.Previously, the dwarf berserker had been kidnapped by the Pactlords. Memories of that time were dim. But now they came back to him. Somehow, he had spent that time in a dream state, living out his ultimate fantasy: to discover, liberate, and rule the fallen dwarven kingdom of Dwarvenhearth. Whatever had implanted that delusion in his mind was clearly nearby.The characters advanced deeper into the lair. The delusion got stronger. They pushed through a door -- and each player stepped into a dream of their greatest desire:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The dwarf berserker found himself in the grand hall of Dwarvenhearth, marching toward his throne, surrounded by the proud citizens of his stronghold.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The elf wizard found himself in a wooded grove. His grandfather -- who had been destroyed by the Quaan -- stood in the center of the grove. Grandfather beckoned him forward.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The human paladin found himself in the grand cathedral of Ptolus. It was empty, except for his dead wife -- now alive. He felt drawn to her.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The changeling spellbinder found herself ruler of House Vladaam, living a life of idleness. But as the years passed, she realized she was unsatisfied. Because her greatest desire still had not come true -- the desire to be human.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The goblin oracle's greatest desire was to start a "church of inclusivity". But he found himself in a goblin slave camp, watching the members of his dead tribe being brutalized by overseers. As one, his tribe looked at him and shouted: "You are not forgiven!"</li> </ul>The dwarf and elf resisted this vision. When they broke free of it, they found themselves in a cavern. Attached to the ceiling was a monstrous balhannoth. Its tentacles reached for them. The other characters succumbed to their vision. They did not fight back. For that, I gave each a Fortune point. The dwarf and elf watched as tentacles engulfed their friends.And that's where we ended.Coming up with the dream sequence and delving the desires of each character was delightful. It pushed to the fore some motivations of the characters and themes of the campaign that are really going to pay off later.Next session: Tentacles of the balhannoth!</blockquote>

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