Notes from a Savage Worlds fantasy campaign (updated with 05/28/08 session notes!)...

[SavageRobby]

Hmm. I might have to get that, too, when I get Savage Freeport.

I like Monster Books too. I just picked up 3x Tome of Horrors I and III and I'm looking for a version of ToH II, since Pathfinder uses them extensively. Speaking of, have you read Paizo's Classic Monsters Revisited? At the risk of sounding like a fanboy, its freaking awesome!

 

[Flynn]

Session Notes - 05/01/08

Good Morning, All:

Once again, we played to a full house, and last night's adventure ended with some quite unexpected results. It wasn't a TPK, although perhaps it could have been, but the campaign continues. It's just a little bit darker now. For details, read on...

The Synopsis

Having looted the bodies of the fallen, the band of adventurers began to explore the temple room. The main hallway out of the second floor led to a pair of gold doors which bore the image of a cat-man sitting upon a throne, a benign look upon his countenance, and a number of monkey-men warriors standing behind him in readied position. Above the door, the party noted an inscription in Achean: "Beyond Lies The Court of Ankharem", an obvious reference to the prisoner said to be held in this pyramid prison. Calyt the Shade easily picked the lock and the party looked into the passage beyond. Stairs led up to another level, and natural light appeared to be coming from further down the passage above. The back of the golden doors bore a similar image to the front, save that the cat-man was leaning forward, his face contorted in rage, and the monkey-men appeared to be menacing the viewer with spears lowered forward as if to strike. The party noted the smell of fresh air and flowers, as well as the soft playing of a lute from beyond the staircase leading up. Someone was up there!

Concerned about what might come at the party from other corridors leading out from the temple room, the band decided to close the golden doors and returned back to the temple room. After unlocking one of the doors, the party found a storeroom beyond. Calyt strode forward, only to be surprised by an unexpected spear trap. Escaping with but a scratch, he disabled the mechanism and slowly led the way into the wealthy storeroom. After investigating a small chest, he opened it to reveal a lot of silver coins, and a small cord that set off another trap!

Immediately, the surface of the large stone table in the center of the room split and swung open, to reveal a small chamber containing hairy humanoid beasts with ravenous appetites. The pey, as they were called, poored forth into the small room and began to attack the party. Despite the undead peys' best efforts, they were taken down quickly by the combat prowess of the band of adventurers, and did not get to feast upon living flesh. The party briefly celebrated their victory and searched the treasure trove, gathering coin, objects d'art, and a small, fluid-filled crystalline vial marked with ancient Achean symbols that none of them could decipher.

Beyond the second door they explored, the party found a similar storeroom. At the suggestion of the wise elven priest Anzjin, Calyt disabled the latch to the stone table, trapping the pey within. This storeroom contained much of the same treasure as the first, and another crystalline vial, this time made of smoky reticulated quartz, bearing a different ancient Achean symbol.

The remainder of the rooms had already been breeched by the Sundered, and so the party had already accumulated that wealth when they had looted the bodies previously. In searching, however, the Warlord Andrus noted the seam of a secret door in one of the rooms, and Thane Yngvar, a noted stonecutter by trade, determined that a pressure plate was likely the means to open it. Taking that knowledge, Calyt located a point in the motif worked into the walls here where the two eyes of a four-armed man could be pressed in. Doing so, the secret door clicked and swung open an inch. Slowly, the Pasalovakian rogue and the Synovial Warlord entered into the short hallway, looking over a lead door that led into another room. When Calyt attempted to pick the lock, a lightning trap went off. Although Calyt successfully evaded the blast, the lightning bolt caught the Warlord Andrus full on the chest, nearly felling him on the spot. Through the healing potions that the party had recovered from their foes and the spells of the elven priest Anzjin, Andrus was brought back to full health.

In the room beyond the iron door, the party spied an armory of exotic weapons and items. However, Calyt noted that the floor of the chamber was bordered by fine eldritch runes, which the Magus Chrysander identified as necessary to bind an infernal presence in place as a guardian to this vault of treasure. After a lively debate, the party decided to close the iron door once more and leave to rest.

Almost as an afterthought, the Warlord Andrus dispatched Calyt and Anzjin, the stealthiest of the party, to check out the naturally lit passage at the top of the stairs beyond the gold doors. Despite their best efforts, the two slipped on the marble staircase, banged their weapons and gear against the wall of the passage, likely alerting whoever might be playing the lute. Despite their noisy entrance, the music did not stop.

Cresting the stairwell, the party noted that the corridor opened into an archway that led outdoors into the open. An open-aired temple stood beyond, with silken veils hung between pillars, leaving the interior to cast its shadowy silhuoette upon them. The two noted the shadow of a cat-like humanoid on a throne, monkey-men guards surrounding him, as well as the image of a bald dwarf seated upon pillows to one side. Even as they began to turn away, the cat-man's voice called out, "Come, Visitors, sit and join us. Partake of my ambrosia, for it is quite exquisite."

Calyt stammered back a reply, and went to fetch the Warlord Andrus. The Warlord elected not to tell Yngvar of the scene above, for fear that the situation would merit negotiation, and Yngvar's hatred of the Sundered Emperor would likely bring about conflict in a matter that might be better resolved diplomaticly. Leaving the Magus Chrysander in the company of Yngvar, the Warlord Andrus returned with Calyt and Anzjin. After posting his two companions at the archway with orders to fetch Yngvar if they ran into any problems, Andrus approached the courtly scene with confidence.

The Sundered Emperor, nibbling on trail rations, watched with a smile as the rakshasa, once called Ankharem but whose true name, it revealed, was Baradbadi, pressured Andrus into partaking of the ambrosia. As the Warlord ate, the bald dwarf attempted to taunt Andrus by implying to the rakshasa that he had arranged for this tender morsel to join them. Andrus fought off the magical effects of the Ambrosia as he debated, then realized that this situation was likely to turn into a trap very quickly. Calling out to his comrades, the Warlord prepared to run as Calyt dropped a globe of darkness within the interior of the pagoda-esque courtly temple. The rakshasa, however, with his ability to see through total darkness, called upon dark powers to dominate the will of Calyt, leaving Anzjin to flee for help on his own.

As the elf ran down to the lower temple room to fetch Yngvar and Chrysander, the Warlord retreated into the archway, feeling a magical resistance that hindered his movement somewhat as he tried to leave. The Sundered Emperor approached the Warlord, intent on dropping him as Calyt walked into the darkness at the order of the rakshasa lord to feast on the cat-man's ambrosia. The Warlord proved to be the greater warrior, leaving Andrus to bleed out in the archway as he returned to the pillows of the rakshasa's court, apparently unable to move beyond the archway himself.

Yngvar was the first to arrive at the archway, through the use of a potion of speed, his comrades not far behind him. Calling out a challenge to the Sundered Emperor, Yngvar prepared to fight his old nemesis. The rakshasa, interested in the duel and seeking to feast upon the flesh of the loser, cast a spell, making a wall appear behind Yngvar. The Magus Chrysander charged the wall in an effort to break through it, only to pass through the illusory wall and bounce off Yngvar's back. Lowering his polearm over Yngvar, Chrysander took up a position to aid his comrade against the Sundered Emperor.

With a smile, the Sundered Emperor moved forward, risking Yngvar's reactive first strike against him. Although momentarily stunned by Yngvar's blow, the Emperor shook it off with ease and finished the stroke of his magical great axe, biting deep into Yngvar's flesh. The dwarf once known as the Wall fell sadly to the stone floor, atop the fallen body of the Warlord Andrus, who had, by this point in time, stopped bleeding.

Both Chrysander and Anzjin, who had just arrived, were taken aback by the ease with which the Sundered Emperor slew their friends, and both reacted in different ways. Chrysander stepped back as the Sundered Emperor stepped forward into the archway to retrieve Tiwazbrandr, the Sword of Dwarven Kings, and after saluting a worthy opponent, the Magus fled. Anzjin, however, stayed to fight the Emperor. It did not look well for the band.

So rapt was Baradbadi's attention on the events in the doorway that he let his domination over Calyt slip. Taking in the situation, Calyt made a desperate move. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled for the black onyx skull that had been whispering him promises in his dreams for many a night, held it aloft, and called out for the Demon Prince Amdoseus to come forth. The chances that Calyt's empassioned plea would be heard were slim, indeed, but the Pasalovakian rogue was answered when the onyx skull burst into pieces and the form of Amdoseus appeared in the midst of the courtroom. Seeing the Demon Prince, Anzjin was filled with preternatural fear and fled back into the prison with little regard for his own life, such was his desire to flee the presence of great evil.

Amdoseus demanded the terms of the pact for which Calyt had summoned him. Calyt responded that he offered the souls of the rakshasa and the vanaran guards in exchange for the death of the Sundered Emperor. Amdoseus claimed that the death of the favored child of his enemy Rundigard of the Black Court would cost more than the lives of the five monkey-men (for the rakshasa was a demon-spirit and as such, had already lost his soul to the Infernus). Calyt then offered his service to the great Demon Prince, who seemed satisfied by the bargain. Teleporting to the Sundered Emperor, Amdoseus sucked the soul from the body, then returned to feast on the vanaran guards. Amdoseus banished Baradbadi back to the Infernus and then gave Calyt his first mission: fetch the vial bearing the blood of Amdoseus, that which the party once believed to be the blood of Meritus, so that it could not be used to serve Rundigard. Amdoseus informed Calyt that they must claim to have destroyed the Sundered Emperor, so that Rundigard did not know of Amdoseus's involvement in the Sundered Emperor's death. With that, the Prince of Lies laughed wickedly, handed Calyt a small black steel mirror, and vanished, returning to the Infernus.

And that's where we ended the session...

The Commentary:

As my inspiration for this adventure, I choose to use elements of Hindu mythology. Although we only saw those elements in the window-dressing for the first session of this adventure, the party actually began to encounter the "native population" of this dungeon in this session. The first creatures encountered, the pey, are essentially hairy ghouls, and for mental imagery, I reminded the party of the hairy man-thing from "Big Trouble In Little China". I used the ghoul stats from Savage Beasts, adding Armor+2 due to the hairy hide of the pey. The encounter with the pey was fun, but it also caused the party to spend a lot of bennies. This wouldn't normally be a problem, except for the scene with the Sundered Emperor.

When the party entered the open-air temple, I was able to introduce the rakshasa Baradbadi and his vanaran guards. I created Baradbadi initially as a conversion of the D20 version of the creature, but then did some reading on Wikipedia, changing elements to more closely match Hindu mythology. Among the stories of these cannibalistic, sorcerous demon-spirits, I read that one of them led an army of monkey men known as vanarans. Using an article in the Shark Bytes fanzine for Savage Worlds on other player races ("Something Completely Different", in Volume I, Issue #3), I created these simian guards in the event that the party should attack the rakshasa.

Sadly, the band approached the situation in parts instead of as a team, so it came to pass that Andrus fell without backup. Later, when Yngvar used his First Strike Edge against the Sundered Emperor, he only succeeded in Shaking the Emperor, who spent a benny and continued to complete his swing. The resultant damage was nasty, something in the mid-20s, as I recall, and Yngvar did not have a benny to soak the damage. Yngvar rolled high on his incapacitation check, but even at that, he was rendered unconscious.

So it was that a series of bad rolls and a few tactical errors led to a desperate situation, and Calyt used the black onyx skull, an infernal focus I'd given the party earlier in an effort to entice them to corruption, to summon Amdoseus. Generally, I would have required a Knowledge(Rituals) roll for an hour-long rite that would call the Demon Prince. However, I wanted to give him a chance, so I called for a Knowledge(Rituals) roll at a -6 penalty (-2 to bring it down to 10 minutes, -2 to bring it to one minute and finally -2 to bring it down to one action, or so I thought at least as I was winging it). Low and behold, he made it with an exploding d6. (Calyt has the Jack-Of-All-Trades Edge, and has used it for a number of things. This is probably the most spectacular so far.)

Of course, we stayed after the session to have a long discussion about the future of the campaign. The group unanimously wants to continue the campaign, but there was some discussion about potentially changing characters for some of the players. We worked out a scenario where Calyt, who obviously acted out of desperation, is the unwilling servant of Amdoseus, and that the Demon Prince will likely send them on various missions that they as players were wanting to go on, anyway. (Calyt has had the Orders Hindrance since the beginning of the game. Now, the orders just come from somewhere else.) Once the party discovers the problem in-game, they can work with Calyt to help get him out of the pact and work towards redemption. It fits well with Anzjin's AB(Miracles) limitations, and could provide some great opportunities for furthering one of the overarching plots going on behind the scenes. Yngvar is the player in the greatest quandry at the moment, simply because he was effectively "one-shotted". As a player, he's not upset about the events of the story nor player choices, but it did suck that he was dropped with one fell swoop, so to speak. (I roll in the open, and when two damage dice explode, a d10 and a d6, the resulting damage sucks.) Sadly, without a bennie, Yngvar didn't have a chance to soak and stay up, and so the player feels he needs to take a little time to calm down, evaluate the situation and chat with me at some point this week before he decides what he wants to do with his character. Fair enough, I say, and I'm pleased to hear that he still wants the campaign to continue.

Unexpectedly, we had an epic plot element erupt this session, and the group still wants the game to move forward and continue. The first epic plot element was the Death of a Thousand Heroes in the beginning of the campaign. Now, we have the presence of the Demon Prince of Lies and hints at a coming blood war between Amdoseus and Rundigard. It's been a while since I ran a game with this kind of tumultuous events taking place so openly, particularly at the party's power level. I just hope that I handle these elements with skill, and keep the game fun without getting overpowering or overwhelming.

Wish me luck,
Flynn

 

[Flynn]

Session Notes - 05/14/08

Good Morning, All:

It's been another week, and the game goes on. Over the course of this last week, Yngvar's player came to realize that he had some life scheduling issues that required him to drop the game. Since his character was at a good point for departing, we worked it in story-wise and moved forward. Of course, now we are looking for a new player, so if you live in Austin, TX, and would like to participate in the campaign, please let me know.

The Synopsis:

After the Demon Prince Amdosias vanished, Calyt the Shade looked around at the chaos that had been wrought. Five dessicated monkey men bodies and the soulless remains of the Sundered Emperor littered the ground. At the archway, he saw the bodies of Yngvar the Wall and the Warlord Andrus Phaetren. Calyt's other two comrades had fled the scene of this horrific battle, and so, after checking to make sure the two fallen were breathing, Calyt set off to find the other two, just in case.

Anzjin was not hard to find, for he had stopped in the antechamber before the lower temple room to recover from his fear, and prepare himself to face the Sundered Emperor. Calyt was a welcome surprise for the shaken elven priest. The rogue explained the situation, and then volunteered to return to watch over their two fallen comrades while Anzjin went to find the Magus Chrysander.

Chrysander was not far away, for in his flight back to the blood portal, he came across the pit trap on the lower level, and having forgotten its presence, failed to leap aside when the floor fell out from under him, tumbling him down to the bottom of the pit some forty feet below. When Anzjin came down the hallway a little while later, Chrysander's abandoned glaive immediately told the elven priest what must have "befallen" the human magus. Between the two of them, Anzjin was able to recover Chrysander from the pit and together, they returned to the hallway beyond the golden doors.

Gathered together once more, the Magus Chrysander used the Gauntlet of Joven to heal himself of some of his wounds, and they poured a potion of improved healing down the throat of the Warlord Andrus. This revived him and healed some of his wounds, but alas, Andrus's weapon arm had been too savagely wounded, and would require powerful magics to ever be useful again. The Warlord lamented the loss of his ability to fight, but Anzjin said that, once he had atoned for his sins of fearful flight, he would be able to regenerate the man's limb and help him recover.

With some mundane ministrations, Chrysander revived the dwarven thane Yngvar and then began to work on his wounds. Calyt explained to everyone what had happened, expressing a sorrowful concern for the plight in which he now found himself, a servant to the Demon Prince of Lies. Unfortunately, Chrysander, distracted by the conversation and its implications, accidentally opened up Yngvar's wounds once again in his efforts to heal the dwarf, and Yngvar fell unconscious. Rather than risk another healing effort that might lead to Yngvar's accidental death, the party elected to wait for the dwarf to recover on his own.

Once everyone had stabilized, Calyt and Andrus returned through the blood portal and, leaving the barrow, found Yngvar's small army waiting at their encampment. While the Warlord Andrus remained to discuss recent matters with the dwarves, Calyt returned through the blood portal to rejoin Anzjin and Chrysander, who were looking over the hidden armory attempting to figure out how to dismiss the wards that threatened to summon a creature should anyone enter the chamber. Alas, the heroes did not have the skills or magic needed to do so, and so they elected to tackle the situation the next day, after some rest. The adventurers spent the rest of the day moving their gathered treasure across the blood portal to the barrows.

That afternoon, the party decided to check a few side passages that sloped up and away from the pit trap. Bringing a few dwarves with them, the party encountered a hidden trap. By attempting to open the door at either end of the sloping passages, a trap door released a large boulder that threatened to roll along the arched floors and crush anyone caught in its path. Were it not for a quickly cast and powerful web spell from the Magus Chrysander, many of the party might have been crushed. As it was, the boulder was delayed long enough for the party to flee the path of the boulder and reset the pit trap. The boulder burst free of the webs and raced down the corridor, only to fall into the pit. A little bit later, a deep rumbling filled the corridor as hidden mechanisms below the passage began to reset the boulder trap. The doors proved to be a simple facade, bait for the bone-crushing boulder trap.

The next morning, Yngvar left the barrows with his small army, making his way north towards the Triumvirate to find a dwarf worthy of Tiwazbrandr, Sword of the Dwarven Kings. Yngvar's parting with his comrades was a somber moment for all, but soon the dwarven forces were heading north towards the Black Hills, leaving the four adventurers behind to return to the Prison of Ankharem and its secret armory.

Back at the pyramid prison, the party prepared themselves as much as possible to take on whatever might be summoned. Using an arrow to break the seal from a distance, the party steeled themselves as a guardian demon appeared in the room. As the beast charged forth to wage war against those that would defile the chamber it was set to guard, Calyt scrambled for safety behind the one-armed shield-bearing Warlord Andrus. Driven by an infernal purpose, the guardian demon was hard to fell. Magus Chrysander used a concussive sonic blast upon it, and only succeeded in earning its wrath when the blast left the demon unscathed, but shattered some of the treasure within its sanctum. As the demon pressed its attack against the magus, Anzjin joined Chrysander in melee as Calyt continued to rain arrows upon the demon and the Warlord taunted their foe and provided his leadership to his comrades.

It was brutal fight, one that nearly dropped the Magus Chrysander, before a well-placed blow from the hands of the elven priest Anzjin slew the demon. As a pool of black ichor poured forth from the corpse onto the outer chamber floor, the party recovered and then entered the secret armory. All of the weapons, the armor, the shield, the war mask and the jewelry found within bore a red dragon motif, and were of a culture the band had not encountered before. Theorizing this gear once came from a land to the west of the Arcadian Wood, home of the elves, they surmised that this was once worn by the rakshasa Baradbadi when he visited ancient Achea in the guise of a diplomat named Ankharem. Although a good number of crystal vials and objects d'art had been smashed by the concussive blast, the party still managed to gather up enough treasure to make their return to the pyramid worthwhile. Limping out, the four adventurers returned one last time through the blood portal, and began to make their way slowly south towards Moonwell.

It was late in the day, in the midst of foraging for supplies, when Calyt came across a recently abandoned campsite. Joined quickly by the others, a quick investigation revealed footprints of a body of men of imposing stature, as well as those of a single giant that travelled with them. The campsite had only been recently abandoned, with the fire still damp from water and the hairless hide of whatever humanoid had been cooked lying not far away, the party surmised that they had only missed the inhabitants of this encampment by a few hours at most...

And that's where the session ended.

Commentary:

It always sucks to lose a gamer. I storytold the scenes with Yngvar last night, keeping him taciturn as a result of the Sundered Emperor encounter and his suspicions of Calyt's new infernal ties. It provided a quick and easy means to move the character on into NPC-hood, with a few promises of "we'll see each other again" in the event the player can return in the future and wants to play his old character again. As gamers, we all parted company on good terms and with high regards for one another, and so that eased the pain a little bit. Now, however, it's time to recruit a new player and build up a waiting list of potentials, just in case.

In terms of the game, Warlord Andrus's permanent injury (a result of the Incapacitation table) led to him losing the function of one of his arms. This is a refreshing change of pace from other gaming systems, since bad combats can have lasting effects. Fortunately, the elven priest just picked up Greater Healing, which can allow for fixing this problem (at the GM's discretion), but as Anzjin's player has elected to impose a Major Sin result on his character (no powers for a week) as a result of fleeing from the demon, it will be a few days in-game before we can address that. The Warlord Andrus still got to participate in the battle with the guardian demon, through taunting as well as lending his leadership benefits to the party. (Ordinarily, leadership Edges do not work on Wild Cards, but I allow an Edge that lets the player spend a bennie to let his leadership Edges effect Wild Cards for the duration of an encounter.) At one point, the Warlord was able to spend a bennie through the common bond-like effect of one leadership Edge to unshake an ally, which proved very useful in bringing about the downfall of the guardian demon. It was a mean fight, but well done.

This was a slow session in some regards, simply because of the division of loot and attempts to identify magic items via knowledge skill rolls. Some of the treasures have been identified, but most have not. Once they get back to some kind of civilization, they hope to track down a ritual called Identify Enchanted Item, which would let them handle this more quickly than trial and error and extensive research. (I use a Rituals system from an early Shark Bytes issue to cover effects that are outside the range of Savage Worlds powers, in a manner similar to D20 Modern's incantations.) This mission went a long way towards upping the monetary and magical levels of the party, so we shouldn't need another treasure run for at least another Rank. Oh, as an aside, the party just crossed into Veteran Rank over the course of this adventure. Yay!

Now, two of the members of the party are sitting at three wounds, which is just bordering on incapacitation and possibly death, and they are limping their way back to civilization. The discovery of a mercenary encampment with an accompanying giant was our cliffhanger for the session, and I'm curious as to what they decide to do.

Wish Them Luck,
Flynn

 

[Flynn]

Session Notes - 05/21/08

Good Afternoon, All:

Last night's game allowed my group the chance to "interview" the first candidate to fill the empty seat we have available. At the same time, this was also one of those recovery/bookkeeping sessions, but we got enough RP and action in to properly evaluate the latest candidate. Now, I'm just waiting on the votes to come back...

The Synopsis:

Having discovered the unsavory nature of the previous occupants of the camp site, the party elected to observe the better part of valor and so camped out uneasily at the site, figuring that whoever had been here would not return. The night passed without incident, although the tension remained high. With the first light of dawn, the band of adventurers continued their trip south towards Moonwell.

The day passed reasonably uneventfully. At one point, the party had to avoid a large boar, but the beast did not give chase once they had left the vacinity of its home. The group pushed themselves hard, striving for Moonwell. That evening, as the sun was setting, the party found an abandoned farmhouse that had been raided by the giant and his followers earlier that day. There, they found evidence that suggested the original owners of the farmstead had been eaten, giving the Warlord Andrus and his comrades more concern for the safety of Moonwell.

The next day, the party pushed themselves to reach Moonwell, and arrived that next evening, greeted with elation and some intrepidation by the locals. The reason for the reticence of the population was simple: the party had left with over thirty people, including the Thane of Thane Yngvar Stonewall, yet returned only four strong. After a bit of miscommunication, the party was able to inform the locals of Yngvar's decision to take his forces up north to the Triumvirate. That night was a night of great celebration, despite the limited resources of the populace.

Over the next week, the adventurers attempted to rest and heal. It was a rough go, particularly for those who were at death's door, but between natural healing and Anzjin's returned power over miracles, the elven priest was able to heal the wounds of the party. It was slow going, and the matter left time on the hands of our heroes.

Aside from researching the history of the exotic relics they had recovered from the guardian demon's chamber, the adventurers spent a lot of time with the locals. Some found amorous relations to pursue, while others got to know some of the mercenaries travelling through town. One such mercenary, Eidolus Swiftblade, became a fixture around the adventurers, listening to tales of their daring deeds, watching curiously as they played with their newly discovered magical treasure and discussing possible options for future employment.

In addition, representatives from Greenfell arrived in the village to offer membership in a new trade alliance, the Alliance of Lord Andrus. As the people of Moonwell had placed Andrus in a position of power as Lord-Mayor, similar to the way he had been elevated in both Greenfell and Newport, the new council that the Warlord had forged for Moonwell were quick to accept Greenfell's offer. The alliance marked the beginnings of a new form of government rising from the ashes of the old civilization, in a land devastated by the death of the world's heroes at Midsummer.

Once the party had been restored to health, Anzjin decided to use his newly acquired healing prowess to heal the Warlord's permanently injured arm. By the grace of the elven goddess Alonna, Andrus was restored to full health, the savaged tissue regenerated. Jubilant, the Warlord and his friends went out to celebrate that evening.

It was en route to the tavern that the party heard a woman's cries from down an alleyway. Only Anzjin noted the shadowed figures of humanoids on the rooftops above the alley. Drawing forth the Swords of the Moon, Anzjin called out to his comrades that it was an ambush. As both sides began to mobilize, the element of surprise lost, the elven priest leapt to the top of the building, his jump empowered by the magic of the blades he bore.

The assassins, dressed with dark garb in a manner similar to that of the Black Dawn that had hunted Anzjin, began their assault, aiming their attacks at the Warlord Andrus. Chrysander made judicious use of his entangling webs, taking the time to bind individuals before they could move close enough to attack his comrades. Eidolus charged forward, only to meet the master assassin in the darkness of the alleyway. Himself a formidable fighter, Eidolus was surprised with the master assassin's warskill, and did what he could to hold the master at bay while the rest of the adventurers dealt with the other assassins.

As an unlucky assassin leapt to the mouth of the alleyway, stumbling and breaking his neck in the fall, the Magus Chrysander charged into battle, having already cast a number of web spells. With a mighty blow, Chrysander quickly dropped an assassin that was attacking the Warlord Andrus. On the rooftop, Anzjin felled one assassin, and watched another fall as Calyt transformed into a jaguar and pounced another, shredding it in the process. Soon, it was all five brave souls battling against the master assassin in the darkness. Though a few nicks and scratches were exchanged, the master assassin finally fell to the furious assault of Eidolus's blade and Calyt's sharp talons.

In the aftermath, the band of adventurers discovered a portrait of the Warlord Andrus on the body of the master assassin, while Calyt noted the red clay present on the boots of the assassins. Eidolus volunteered the information that there was a Red Clay Canyon off the beaten path between Moonwell and Highmanor to the south, and he seemed to recall that there was an abandoned monastery there.

And that's where the session ended...

The Commentary:

By this point, I don't have much to say about the Savage Worlds gaming system from this session that I haven't covered before. Our new candidate enjoyed the introduction to the system, and is looking forward to gaming with us, should the current gamers decide to bring him in. I didn't notice any personality conflicts, but I haven't heard from everyone yet. We'll see.

The bad part about interviewing a new player, or even having someone come in for a One Shot, is that sometimes the session may not give you everything you wanted into order to provide a reasonable range of gaming experiences. While the first hour of our three was spent in bookkeeping and the like, we did get some RP in, followed by a nice, fun little combat. When the assassin leapt down to the alleyway, failed his Agility trait check and then had his 1d6 of falling damage explode on him, resulting in his premature death, it added a light-hearted quality to the simple encounter that continued throughout the rest of the session. Anzjin's wuxia-like leaps using the Swords of the Moon were fun, and it was good to see the new powers and abilities the characters were able to bring to bear now that they've advanced into Veteran rank.

The Eidolus character will remain as part of the background, giving me a character to provide others that sit in during future sessions. If our current candidate becomes a member of the group, then he'll build a new character for himself, and Eidolus will depart at the first opportunity that is appropriate. If not, someone else will be playing him next week. Only time, and my players' votes, will tell.

Also this week, I realized that I could take some of the basic tables I'm always referencing out of the rule book, such as the Incapacitation table, for example, and enter them into the Tiddlywiki I use as my GM reference. The Tiddlywiki has been a great tool for me, as I've been entering monster and NPC stat blocks into it since I began the game six months ago. I've also added some basic adventure outlines and the like, and I've really been impressed with it over the course of the game. Adding these tables, as well as my homemade Gear tables, has simply taken its utility to the next level. Very cool.

At any rate, the next adventure is a small adventure to the south that develops a character's background, and gets them that much closer to Synovia, where Andrus's true destiny awaits him. Hehehe.

Wish Them Luck,
Flynn

 

[cr0m]

w00t!

 

[Caedrus]

Yes, Savage Freeport is definitely as good as it looks. Had this been around at the start of my campaign, I'd be using some variant of the domain rules found within, and I'd definitely be taking the simpler approach to Magic Items detailed in the book. I'd definitely recommend it!

How do the domains work? And how do they approach magic items, and what makes them simpler?

I am just starting a fantasy SW game (actually, I am converting Rise of the Runelords) and am looking for stuff to add in (edges, magic, magic items, etc.)

BTW, this seems like an AWESOME campaign to play in. I am loving the story so far.

 

[Flynn]

How do the domains work? And how do they approach magic items, and what makes them simpler?

I am just starting a fantasy SW game (actually, I am converting Rise of the Runelords) and am looking for stuff to add in (edges, magic, magic items, etc.)

BTW, this seems like an AWESOME campaign to play in. I am loving the story so far.

Domains are simple. For AB(Miracles), you select two domains from the god list, and each domain is associated with a single power and a trapping. Instead of getting to choose your powers, you get the two associated with your domains, and you use the trapping (with special effects as defined in Savage Freeport). In exchange for losing the ability to choose your own powers, instead you get the effects of the Wizard edge with the two powers from the domains you selected. You may still use New Power to select other powers you want.

As for magic items, it basically covers magic weapons, magic armor and one-shot magic items, but the approach is clean, useful and functional. I really like how it is presented. A single Edge lets you make magic items (essentially the same Edge as described in FWBTK, but somehow, it just seems easier to understand now). No muss, no fuss, and drops most other magic items from the setting, save for special items at the discretion of the GM. So, magic item creation is simple, straightforward, and leaves the GM in control of the power items.

In regards to Savaging Pathfinder, you should chat with SavageRobby. He's doing the same, and may have some valuable insight to offer you.

Thank you very much for the comments on the campaign. I greatly appreciate feedback like that. It encourages me to continue putting out these posts.

Good Luck With Your Savage Campaign,
Flynn

 

[Caedrus]

Thanks for the info, Flynn. The domains sound pretty much like I figured they would be (although I wasn't expecting the added Wizard edge). I like the idea.

As for magic items, that sounds cool as well. I like the fact that it is pretty much weapons, armor, and single use items. That's something along the lines of what I want to do. I don't want many magic items in my game, but I want the ones there are to be special, and used often (weapons and armor fit the bill nicely). Adding in one-shot items will give some variety, but nothing that sticks around to be relied on.

I have talked with SavageRobby a little over on the Paizo forums, but I've been a little busy lately and haven't had much time to work on things.

Overall, the Freeport companion sounds like something I'm going to have to get. Darn them for making me buy more stuff!!! Curses!!!

 

[Flynn]

Session Notes - 05/28/08

Good Morning, All:

Another week has passed, and last night, the group began a new adventure. Having taken the hook from an encounter the previous week, they are now actively pursuing a mystery that is wrapped up in one of the character's backgrounds. We also formally welcomed a new member into the group, and are five strong once more. And now, on with our tale...

The Synopsis:

Considering the red clay found on the boots of the Black Dawn assassins, as well as their new interest in the Warlord Andrus and their renewed interest in the elven priest Anzjin, the party elected to travel south to investigate the Red Clay Canyon and its potential occupants. The warrior Eidolus decided that walking into what might be the homebase of a cult of assassins may not be the most prudent choice, and so gave his farewells to the party, leaving them with a need for at least one warrior to compliment their abilities, and fill the gap left behind when Yngvar departed the band to deliver the Sword of Dwarven Kings to the Triumvirate.

Fortunately, a number of mercenaries had started arriving in Moonwell, seeking positions as part of the local militia and town guard in this slowly recovering village. One of the first to seek out the Lord Mayor of Moonwell, an accomplished warrior going by the name Roland, was effectively hired on the spot to join the band in their investigation of Red Clay Canyon and its potential cult of assassins. A militaristic man of regimented behavior, Roland accepted the position and began the slow process of adapting to the looser command structure of the brave band of adventurers. On that day, Anzjin the elven priest healed the permanent injury that had afflicted the Magus Chrysander since their bout with the brigand Rendrus outside Greenfell two months prior.

On the second morning after the attack, the party, now five strong, began to make their way south, leaving the proprietor of the local general store, Naius of Moonwell, acting as the Lord Mayor's reeve during his absence. Their progress south was uneventful, until the party left the road under the midday sun. After a little over an hour of travel, the band came upon the nest of a large macetail, a massive reptilian beast with a mace-shaped tail and natural armor upon its back. Curious as to the contents of its nest, Calyt snuck forward in the hopes of seeing the dinosaur's eggs. However, the Magus Chrysander stepped on a dry twig, and the cracking sound drew the mother's attention.

Much as a bull paws at the ground, the mother macetail huffed and glared at the nearby intruder, scratching at the earth with menace. As Calyt retreated back up the hill towards his comrades, the macetail charged, barely missing him. Chrysander tried in vain to use his webs against the macetail as the party began to scramble away from the irate beast, but the creature continued to chase the adventurers away from its nest. Finally, a well-placed spark of fire in the mouth of the macetail, generated by Calyt through the magic of one of the red dragon rings, caused the mother to stop in confusion, long enough for Chrysander to more fully encapsulate the beast in webs and insure the party's escape.

After catching their breath, and ascertaining that no one had been injured in their mad dash from the macetail's nest, the party headed on towards Red Clay Canyon. Finding a river that ran red with the clay floating in it, the party followed the river upstream, towards a box canyon from which it sprang. As the day was drawing to an end, the party decided to settle down for the night. After setting up vigilant guards, the five adventurers began to sleep in shifts.

In the early hours before dawn, Anzjin awoke as soft cloth brushed lightly across his arm. As he opened his eyes, he noted a black-clad assassin stealthily opening his backpack. Raising the alarm, Anzjin grabbed his weapon and rolled up to face the assassin, who had by this point in time recovered the letter for Anzjin's master that he had been carrying for the last ten years. The assassin ran into the woods, drawing a dagger as he moved, but Anzjin followed quickly behind to strike at the assassin. After a brief exchange, as the others in the camp awoke and began to arise, the assassin saw that he would be outnumbered soon, and risked fleeing from combat. His penace for his mistake: Anzjin's spear through his back before he had made three steps.

Anzjin recovered the letter and returned to the camp, where all were now awake and ready for a fight. Anzjin filled in his comrades on the assassin and his letter, as they searched about the campsite for any that might be lurking in the shadows of the false dawn. When the party deemed that they were safe for the moment, they ate a brief meal and entered into the canyon with the rising of the sun, backtracking the assassin's tracks in hopes of finding the abandoned monastery.

It was an hour or so before the party noted that the trail led away from the river, towards one of the canyon's walls. As they drew closer, they observed a monastery with a walled courtyard, and a large cleared area in front of the gates. Two posts provided the only distinctive features at this distance. As the party slowed down to stealthily approach the monastery, Calyt travelled ahead in the form of a wolf to observe the location.

What he saw intrigued him, for a large, black reptilian creature resembling a dragon somewhat guarded the gate. Bound to a post near the gate entrance through the use of a thick iron chain, the beast was acting somewhat like a mouse, pouncing on a small animal and playing with it. From his vantage point, Calyt could tell that the wings of the dragon had been cut away from the body, leaving only scarred stumps behind. In addition, the rogue-in-wolf's-body noted that the skull of the dragon had been cut into, and scabs covered a spot where knives had recently dug into the head of the creature. It touched Calyt's heart that a noble beast such as dragon would have been treated thus, only to serve as a guard for this cult of assassins. After considering the idea of trying to free the poor creature himself, Calyt returned to his comrades and told them of what he had learned.

Most of the party felt sorry for the beast, but the Warlord Andrus kept his friends focused on their true mission: to investigate the Cult of the Black Dawn. With some reluctance, the band stealthily moved forward, skirting the clearing before the main gate. Sadly, both the Warlord Andrus and the Scholar-Magus Chrysander are not known for their stealth, and guards upon the wall became aware of the team as they came within a reasonable arrow range. The first flight of arrows informed the adventures that they had been detected, and were regarded as intruders.

As they stepped out to return fire, both magically and mundanely, the dragon spied the party and bounded towards them. Reaching the end of its chain, the mutilated beast breathed a cone of acid upon them. Both Roland and the Warlord Andrus leapt aside to avoid the spray, but were encouraged to be more mindful of their position relative to the dragon on the end of its chain. Chrysander used a sonic blast to slay the guards on the walls, but the noise alerted the assassins within the compound to the presence of the party.

Anzjin hesitated only for a moment, and then leapt to a decision. Sprinting forward, he touched the dragon and cast a greater healing spell upon it, asking his beloved goddess to heal the mutilated mind of the dragon. Through the benevalence of Fate, Anzjin's act of faith struck true, and the green healing light of Alonna, goddess of the Arcadian elves, repaired the damage to the dragon's frontal lobes that had been wrought by the Cult of the Black Dawn.

This changed the tide of the battle very quickly. Chrysander launched an empowered sonic blast against the assassins rushing out of the gate, slaying many of them. The dragon, noting the party's aid and support of him, cried out in a challenge to the cultists in an ancient draconic tongue, the gleam of intelligence returning to his eyes. The remaining assassins outside the gates fell to the dragon's acidic breath, and the master of the compound called for a retreat of his people back into the fortified monastery.

As the party accompanied the dragon back into the courtyard, they noted that this area had been converted into a training ground for the Black Dawn, with wooden sparring dummies and other equipment. The dragon breathed on the mob of cultists at the door, as those inside struggled to close it. As the party moved forward, the doors of the monastery slammed shut, with a few cultists abandoned on the outside to the vagaries of the dragon's rage.

And that's where we ended the session...

The Commentary:

As you can tell, it was a fun session, and the PCs surprised me with their decision to heal the dragon. This will definitely change the events of the remainder of the adventure, so I am glad I've got a breather to work through the rest of this from this new perspective. More on the dragon in a moment.

First, I'd like to start with the macetail. I have dinosaurs in the Kintara campaign world, mostly because I like the "lost world" flavor they add to the setting. I was inspired to offer this wilderness encounter by an anklyosaur mini that WOTC released for D&D. (I think it is called a macetail, incidentally, but I cannot recall for certain.) For stats, I grabbed the triceratops entry from Savage Beasts, changing the gore attack descriptively into a bludgeoning tail strike, but otherwise ran with it. This encounter was off the cuff, but it was fun watching the PCs flee the encounter instead of killing it. I think the mother aspect of protecting its nest added a bit to the scenario, and I appreciated the PC reaction in the spirit of roleplaying that it was intended.

In regards to the young lobotomized, mutilated black dragon, I simply used the drake stats from the Explorer's Edition, because the party's been talking about facing a dragon soon, and I thought they'd enjoy a taste of what it could be like. Looking at the major differences between the drake and dragon entries, I came up with an interesting story element (well, I think it's interesting), in which the Cult of the Black Dawn have mutilated a young black dragon. Its animal intelligence and poorer tactics came from the lobotomy, and the lack of flight came from the severed wings. In this way, I took the drake stats and turned it into a new element that emphasizes how evil the Cult of the Black Dawn could be. Instant flavor!

What I had not counted on was Anzjin deciding to heal the black dragon's brain. The party empathized with the dragon's plight, and a number of them wanted to save the creature. Anzjin made a quick decision in the middle of combat, and spent two bennies to make the roll count. From there, it was a frantic rush of breaking the dragon's chains, slaying assassins and following the dragon into the courtyard. It was a very satisfying scene for me as a GM, and I hope the players enjoyed it as well.

As a side note, the drake is not a Wild Card, so I started our little dragon guardian off as an Extra. When the party restored his intelligence, the players assumed he would immediately become a Wild Card, but I kept him as an Extra. He is young, after all, and besides, I wanted to see how the Warlord Andrus would react to having a dragon as an ally for his leadership Edges without having to spend a bennie to do so. Once that sank in, the excitement level raised a little bit.

I also hope that keeping the dragon as an Extra will allow the PCs to shine more, instead of feeling like they are playing second fiddle to an NPC they effectively created with the greater healing of the dragon's brain. Nothing sucks worse than watching the GM's NPCs have all the fun, and once that happens, nobody will remember that they were the ones to create the problem themselves. Such are the vagaries of gamemastering.

Next week, I should be able to wrap up this adventure, and then I have to take two weeks away from the table for family vacations and related stuff. Still, I'll keep you all in the loop and let you know what happened to the party. And when I'm back, the game will continue at the end of June with more updates and more Savage Worlds Fast, Furious, Fun!

Wish Them Luck,
Flynn

 

[cr0m]

Hi Flynn,

Are you still running this game? I'd like to hear more!

cr0m