Flynn
First Post
Session #2: The Blood and the Tower...
Good Morning, All:
This post continues my efforts to document my first Savage Worlds fantasy campaign. In today's post, I am going to provide details about the second session of the campaign, which wraps up the first adventure.
All five players were able to make it to the session. Since one of them had not been present at the first session, I had to find a convenient point in the story to introduce him. Fortunately, an opportunity provided itself early on.
The Synopsis:
After recovering from their wounds as best they could, and searching the ambushing pirates for valuable loot, the party gathered themselves up and made their way past the Chamber of Dragons.
Down a corridor, the party came upon a ceremonial chamber, decorated with large frescos and containing several alter tables. It was evident that a great religious rite took place here once, and Chrysander (the scholar/magus) investigated further, he determined that the symbology used in the alters actually formed a heresy against Meritus, and were probably of infernal origin. The artwork on the wall depicted an archmagus (probably Suzeran) who transformed into a golden dragon. One scene towards the end depicted a stone sarcophagus with a dragon above it, and a vial fitting the image of the Blood of Meritus placed within the sarchophagus.
Determining that they needed to find the sarcophagus, the party continues on. A hallway and stairs led down to the edge of an underground lake, and a bell that hung on the cavern's wall. As the Warlord Andrus Phaetrun (a warrior and strategist) and his dwarven companion Yngvar the Stonecutter discussed what they should do, Chrysander rang the bell softly, ending the discussion as the notes drifted out over the water. A few minutes later, a long gondola came out of the shadows, a tall cloaked ferryman poling the boat to shore. When it arrived, the skeletal boatman looked upon them with eyes of green flame, and extended his hand for the toll. Chrysander was filled with fear, but the others were brave in the face of the living undead. All paid one coin for passage, which the boatman threw off the side before poling them across the lake to a distant shore.
The trip was relatively short, marked only their passage under a rope bridge, and upon arrival, the adventurers quickly leapt to shore and proceeded forth, leaving the boatman to return to the shadows from whence it came. A corridor lead beyond the shore into the cavern's wall. Steps led down towards an antechamber, where others were working to penetrate the rest of the dungeon.
The sounds of the party's discussion, plus the light of their torch, took away their surprise, and soon the party found themselves in conflict with a band of pirates led by Veridia the Render. The fight swung easily in the favor of our brave adventurers, as Chrysander entangled most of the enemy with an arcane spell of webs. A thief (our fifth party member) that was being forced to work for Veridia took advantage of the situation, and joined the attacking adventurers. Anzjin, the elven priest, performed a spectacular acrobatic flip over the "Pirate Queen", distracting her long enough for the others to wail upon her and drop her. The rest of the pirates fell quickly.
After the conflict was over, Calyt introduced himself as a man of many talents, captured by Veridia and forced to work for her in penetrating this far into the Tower of Suzeran. He offered to join the group, and after some discussions and veiled threats of distrust towards the young thief, the party agreed. Looking over the chamber, the dwarf located a hidden locking mechanism. Calyt attempted to undo the lock, but set off a trap that nearly took off his hand. Shaken by the encounter, Calyt took a few moments before disarming the trap, and then succeeded in opening the lock.
The chamber beyond was once another beautiful room of frescos, but this one had suffered the elements moreso than any chamber that they had entered thus far. The walls were covered with mold and mildew, as were the floors. Shortly after entering the room, the doors behind the party closed, and water began to fill the chamber. While the thief took to a side passage that led to stairs leading up, the rest of the party worked on the far set of doors, realizing only after the room was half full of water that the doors were faked. The dwarf quickly surged to the other side of the room and beat the doors down. Water rushed out, taking the dwarf and the sage out into the antechamber. The rest of the party, save for the thief, followed, and together, they took the unconscious Veridia to the stairs leading back to the lake and climbed up to safety.
Meanwhile, the thief, trapped in the stairwell, made his way up the stairs, checking cautiously as he went along. However, he failed to notice a spear trap at the top of the stairs, and so found himself stabbed in the side on the landing that kept him from drowning.
When the water receeded, the group joined back together, and went through the door at the top of the stairs in the side passage. A long hallway took the PCs to a balcony where a rope bridge stretched out over the waters. The thief went first, noting the presence of the ferryman below the bridge. As he passed over the ferryman, the skeleton attempted to knock the thief from the bridge into the water, but the rogue dextrously avoided the ferryman's pole and made it safely to the other side. He shouted out to the others about the problem, and waited for them to cross.
The dwarf circumvented the problem entirely by jumping into the boat with the ferryman. As he fought against the skeletal boatman, the elven priest moved along the bridge to use his staff at reach against the skeleton below. Chrysander once again cast his entangling web spell, which held the skeleton long enough for Yngvar to lay a mighty blow upon the skeleton (something like a 37 total damage or something like that), sending it into the water in pieces.
At this point, the party decided that the dwarf, heavily wounded from battle, would take the boat and their prisoner Veridia and make his way slowly back up through the portal and out to the longboat that awaited them. The rest of the party pressed forward, deeper into the dungeon.
The party followed the corridor to an antechamber, which led into a crypt for the Archmagus Suzeran. A stone sarcophagus set close to the doors, and a large open area under a shaft leading up to the sky above bore evidence that a large beast, such as a dragon, may have been chained beside the sarcophagus at one point in time. Paranoid, the party looked around the room, save for Chrysander, who could not help but attempt to open the sarcophagus. with the aid of Anzjin, the two pushed the stone open as the thief located a secret door in the wall.
The inside of the sarcophagus had been raided previously, save for two stones in the eye sockets of the corpse within, and the vial of the Blood of Meritus which lay in the vise-like grip of the desicated corpse within. Amidst much tension, the sage attempted to remove the vial, finally deciding to cut the dried hand from the corpse since the grip would not release the vial. When he pulled up the vial, a cord activated some kind of trap, and the entire island seemed to shake and rumble.
In a panicked state, the party rushed down the secret passage, finding themselves back at the Hall of Dragons. Stumbling to the portal, Chrysander activated the gate with his own blood, and the party rushed through as water began to fill the chamber behind them. Anzjin cast a quickening spell on each member of the party, and they flew up through the Tower as water rushed through the portal behind them, filling the tower. Through the Hall of Candles the heroes fled, back to the rope that led to the top. At this point, they had caught up with the dwarf, and there was a mad rush to climb the rope and get to safety as the sound of flames being extinguished in the Hall of Candles below reached their ears. Suddenly a wave of magic energy surged from below, causing the Blood of Meritus to respond with a sphere of energy of its own, protecting the party. Despire the buffer, they were knocked onto the roof above, where they quickly leapt onto the waiting longboat and cut themselves loose, just as the submerged tower and the Enchanted Isle crumbled and fell back into the great Lake Tempest.
The party marvelled at their newfound vitality, for the magical surge had gifted them with a more vigorous nature (a freebie increase in Vigor from the magical wave of energy), before they realized that a pirate ship still waited for the return of their Captain. The Warlord urged the party to man the oars, and the longboat began to surge forward in the dim light of the false dawn....
And this is where we ended the night's session.
Commentary:
Over the course of the last week, I had time to think about the game, and so I realized that I had not pointed out the passage of time sufficiently enough for the recover of Power Points. Therefore, I started the game off by awarding four Power Points for time that had passed in the first session but which had not been covered in terms of Power Point recovery. This is a simple thing to implement, once you have it in mind. I just was not used to thinking in those terms, so I worked on it in this session, and did much better.
In addition, the players really picked up on the use of tricks this time around. Combining their actions and working together, they were able to take Veridia with a high Parry and reduce her Parry score significantly, which allowed her to be dropped easily. It was great teamwork, and really energized the players to the possibilities that lay within Savage Worlds combat. It was very cool, and the cinematic nature of the combats from that point really struck a note within me. I like it; I like it a lot!
This adventure, as some of you may know, is a reworking of the D&D 3.5 adventure "The Tower of the Black Pearl" from Goodman Games' DCC #29: "The Adventure Begins." I am pursuing a storyline based on the alternate ending, which grants an additional hit die to each character to aid them in dealing with the aftermath of the magical energies that are released when the candles all go out. Translating this into Savage Worlds terms, I figured that it would give a bonus increase to Vigor. Under other conditions, I wouldn't do such a thing, but the storyline from the results of this adventure is so epic in scope that I decided it was a good thing. Besides, it'll help the characters survive longer, so that we all can get a better idea of how Savage Worlds works.
All in all, I had a great time in the session, and I feel that the essence of the converted adventure was well-captured in our gaming experience. The players all had a great time, and there was definitely excited talk after the game about the combat system and the coolness that Agility Tricks and working together brought to the two encounters in the session. Also, the players are excited to have rescued Veridia, wanting her to become a recurring villain in the campaign after they turn her over for the reward. Being a mindful GM, I'm inclined to agree, and I'm glad they are so whole-heartedly invested in such concepts. Players that work with a GM are a great and wonderful thing.
The next session will begin with their flight from the pirate ship, and then dealing with the aftermath of their first adventure. Yay!
Wish Them Luck,
Flynn
Good Morning, All:
This post continues my efforts to document my first Savage Worlds fantasy campaign. In today's post, I am going to provide details about the second session of the campaign, which wraps up the first adventure.
All five players were able to make it to the session. Since one of them had not been present at the first session, I had to find a convenient point in the story to introduce him. Fortunately, an opportunity provided itself early on.
The Synopsis:
After recovering from their wounds as best they could, and searching the ambushing pirates for valuable loot, the party gathered themselves up and made their way past the Chamber of Dragons.
Down a corridor, the party came upon a ceremonial chamber, decorated with large frescos and containing several alter tables. It was evident that a great religious rite took place here once, and Chrysander (the scholar/magus) investigated further, he determined that the symbology used in the alters actually formed a heresy against Meritus, and were probably of infernal origin. The artwork on the wall depicted an archmagus (probably Suzeran) who transformed into a golden dragon. One scene towards the end depicted a stone sarcophagus with a dragon above it, and a vial fitting the image of the Blood of Meritus placed within the sarchophagus.
Determining that they needed to find the sarcophagus, the party continues on. A hallway and stairs led down to the edge of an underground lake, and a bell that hung on the cavern's wall. As the Warlord Andrus Phaetrun (a warrior and strategist) and his dwarven companion Yngvar the Stonecutter discussed what they should do, Chrysander rang the bell softly, ending the discussion as the notes drifted out over the water. A few minutes later, a long gondola came out of the shadows, a tall cloaked ferryman poling the boat to shore. When it arrived, the skeletal boatman looked upon them with eyes of green flame, and extended his hand for the toll. Chrysander was filled with fear, but the others were brave in the face of the living undead. All paid one coin for passage, which the boatman threw off the side before poling them across the lake to a distant shore.
The trip was relatively short, marked only their passage under a rope bridge, and upon arrival, the adventurers quickly leapt to shore and proceeded forth, leaving the boatman to return to the shadows from whence it came. A corridor lead beyond the shore into the cavern's wall. Steps led down towards an antechamber, where others were working to penetrate the rest of the dungeon.
The sounds of the party's discussion, plus the light of their torch, took away their surprise, and soon the party found themselves in conflict with a band of pirates led by Veridia the Render. The fight swung easily in the favor of our brave adventurers, as Chrysander entangled most of the enemy with an arcane spell of webs. A thief (our fifth party member) that was being forced to work for Veridia took advantage of the situation, and joined the attacking adventurers. Anzjin, the elven priest, performed a spectacular acrobatic flip over the "Pirate Queen", distracting her long enough for the others to wail upon her and drop her. The rest of the pirates fell quickly.
After the conflict was over, Calyt introduced himself as a man of many talents, captured by Veridia and forced to work for her in penetrating this far into the Tower of Suzeran. He offered to join the group, and after some discussions and veiled threats of distrust towards the young thief, the party agreed. Looking over the chamber, the dwarf located a hidden locking mechanism. Calyt attempted to undo the lock, but set off a trap that nearly took off his hand. Shaken by the encounter, Calyt took a few moments before disarming the trap, and then succeeded in opening the lock.
The chamber beyond was once another beautiful room of frescos, but this one had suffered the elements moreso than any chamber that they had entered thus far. The walls were covered with mold and mildew, as were the floors. Shortly after entering the room, the doors behind the party closed, and water began to fill the chamber. While the thief took to a side passage that led to stairs leading up, the rest of the party worked on the far set of doors, realizing only after the room was half full of water that the doors were faked. The dwarf quickly surged to the other side of the room and beat the doors down. Water rushed out, taking the dwarf and the sage out into the antechamber. The rest of the party, save for the thief, followed, and together, they took the unconscious Veridia to the stairs leading back to the lake and climbed up to safety.
Meanwhile, the thief, trapped in the stairwell, made his way up the stairs, checking cautiously as he went along. However, he failed to notice a spear trap at the top of the stairs, and so found himself stabbed in the side on the landing that kept him from drowning.
When the water receeded, the group joined back together, and went through the door at the top of the stairs in the side passage. A long hallway took the PCs to a balcony where a rope bridge stretched out over the waters. The thief went first, noting the presence of the ferryman below the bridge. As he passed over the ferryman, the skeleton attempted to knock the thief from the bridge into the water, but the rogue dextrously avoided the ferryman's pole and made it safely to the other side. He shouted out to the others about the problem, and waited for them to cross.
The dwarf circumvented the problem entirely by jumping into the boat with the ferryman. As he fought against the skeletal boatman, the elven priest moved along the bridge to use his staff at reach against the skeleton below. Chrysander once again cast his entangling web spell, which held the skeleton long enough for Yngvar to lay a mighty blow upon the skeleton (something like a 37 total damage or something like that), sending it into the water in pieces.
At this point, the party decided that the dwarf, heavily wounded from battle, would take the boat and their prisoner Veridia and make his way slowly back up through the portal and out to the longboat that awaited them. The rest of the party pressed forward, deeper into the dungeon.
The party followed the corridor to an antechamber, which led into a crypt for the Archmagus Suzeran. A stone sarcophagus set close to the doors, and a large open area under a shaft leading up to the sky above bore evidence that a large beast, such as a dragon, may have been chained beside the sarcophagus at one point in time. Paranoid, the party looked around the room, save for Chrysander, who could not help but attempt to open the sarcophagus. with the aid of Anzjin, the two pushed the stone open as the thief located a secret door in the wall.
The inside of the sarcophagus had been raided previously, save for two stones in the eye sockets of the corpse within, and the vial of the Blood of Meritus which lay in the vise-like grip of the desicated corpse within. Amidst much tension, the sage attempted to remove the vial, finally deciding to cut the dried hand from the corpse since the grip would not release the vial. When he pulled up the vial, a cord activated some kind of trap, and the entire island seemed to shake and rumble.
In a panicked state, the party rushed down the secret passage, finding themselves back at the Hall of Dragons. Stumbling to the portal, Chrysander activated the gate with his own blood, and the party rushed through as water began to fill the chamber behind them. Anzjin cast a quickening spell on each member of the party, and they flew up through the Tower as water rushed through the portal behind them, filling the tower. Through the Hall of Candles the heroes fled, back to the rope that led to the top. At this point, they had caught up with the dwarf, and there was a mad rush to climb the rope and get to safety as the sound of flames being extinguished in the Hall of Candles below reached their ears. Suddenly a wave of magic energy surged from below, causing the Blood of Meritus to respond with a sphere of energy of its own, protecting the party. Despire the buffer, they were knocked onto the roof above, where they quickly leapt onto the waiting longboat and cut themselves loose, just as the submerged tower and the Enchanted Isle crumbled and fell back into the great Lake Tempest.
The party marvelled at their newfound vitality, for the magical surge had gifted them with a more vigorous nature (a freebie increase in Vigor from the magical wave of energy), before they realized that a pirate ship still waited for the return of their Captain. The Warlord urged the party to man the oars, and the longboat began to surge forward in the dim light of the false dawn....
And this is where we ended the night's session.
Commentary:
Over the course of the last week, I had time to think about the game, and so I realized that I had not pointed out the passage of time sufficiently enough for the recover of Power Points. Therefore, I started the game off by awarding four Power Points for time that had passed in the first session but which had not been covered in terms of Power Point recovery. This is a simple thing to implement, once you have it in mind. I just was not used to thinking in those terms, so I worked on it in this session, and did much better.
In addition, the players really picked up on the use of tricks this time around. Combining their actions and working together, they were able to take Veridia with a high Parry and reduce her Parry score significantly, which allowed her to be dropped easily. It was great teamwork, and really energized the players to the possibilities that lay within Savage Worlds combat. It was very cool, and the cinematic nature of the combats from that point really struck a note within me. I like it; I like it a lot!
This adventure, as some of you may know, is a reworking of the D&D 3.5 adventure "The Tower of the Black Pearl" from Goodman Games' DCC #29: "The Adventure Begins." I am pursuing a storyline based on the alternate ending, which grants an additional hit die to each character to aid them in dealing with the aftermath of the magical energies that are released when the candles all go out. Translating this into Savage Worlds terms, I figured that it would give a bonus increase to Vigor. Under other conditions, I wouldn't do such a thing, but the storyline from the results of this adventure is so epic in scope that I decided it was a good thing. Besides, it'll help the characters survive longer, so that we all can get a better idea of how Savage Worlds works.
All in all, I had a great time in the session, and I feel that the essence of the converted adventure was well-captured in our gaming experience. The players all had a great time, and there was definitely excited talk after the game about the combat system and the coolness that Agility Tricks and working together brought to the two encounters in the session. Also, the players are excited to have rescued Veridia, wanting her to become a recurring villain in the campaign after they turn her over for the reward. Being a mindful GM, I'm inclined to agree, and I'm glad they are so whole-heartedly invested in such concepts. Players that work with a GM are a great and wonderful thing.
The next session will begin with their flight from the pirate ship, and then dealing with the aftermath of their first adventure. Yay!
Wish Them Luck,
Flynn
