Piratecat's Updated Story Hour! (update 4/03 and 4/06)

[Sito]

Best (or possibly worst, depending on your take on these things) secret spoiler ever:

"Well, now, I wouldn't exactly call him aging."--Sito

Thanks Si! And AWESOME Phoenix-in-a-box illo!! Way to render unto KC that which is Nolin's finest moment. Since much of the cat is out of the bag, I've got to ask something that's been itching my brain:

Nolin feels his consciousness slip outwards, seeking at the threads of legend that the dead ghoul has touched or inspired. His mind catches something, and a bit of rhyming doggerel slips into his thoughts.

From the dark, forged the scythe
Made the spell of misplaced lies
Killed the dawn and drew the pact
They would grieve but for the fact
He leaves a void, his body calls
The mouth that’s doomed to swallow all
Now in the night his children fight
The steady blight of godly light.

this is from Nol's LL of the ghoulish ashes that remained after Aeos took retribution. Does that mean that Soder created the divination sink and also misdirected the prayers to Aeos? Just wondering.

 

[Heroditis]

Wonderfully played.

Nolin's death was just amazing. The stuff of legends. But I have been following the Defenders for a while, and was always wondering if PC would pick up the plot thread of the hinted at dark cost to Nolin for the purchase of his legendary instrument (lute?) in Sigil. I was wondering if KC or PC would be willing to divulge what the price was to have been? Or is that an adventure that Nolin will have to deal with in the next world (if indeed his soul was the price). Just curious. In any case, bravo.

 

[Jobu]

And yes, it is Toad the Wet Sprocket. Nolin's epitaph, if he ends up needing one, would be "Stories I tell" also from that same album. It came out about the time I begain playing Nol, and it's always had a lot to say to me about him.

At the end of this gaming session (possibly the last time I will ever get to play Tao) KidC and I broke into this song....seemed fitting really.

Don't give me answers for I would refuse
"yes" is a word for which I have no use
and I wasn't looking for heaven or hell
just someone to listen to stories I tell

now what is a blessing and what is a dream
caught between portraits and none's what is seems
and why is it people expect there's a change
when I feel I'm a part of something I can't see
I feel the same

now don't ask me questions or I will retreat
fame is a cancer and ego its seed
now I wasn't looking for heaven or hell
just someone to listen to stories I tell

do we ever wonder?
and did you ever care.....

subtle salvation in poems we know
hiding our heads in a shadow of home
now I wasn't looking for wreaths or for bells
just someone to listen to stories I tell

On a really odd note I read the most recent post this morning before heading out to work (bad idea given the crying and all - great write up PCat). I got into my car and what cd had I put in last night? Fear. And what song was on? Pray Your Gods. Go figure.

 

[Piratecat]

this is from Nol's LL of the ghoulish ashes that remained after Aeos took retribution. Does that mean that Soder created the divination sink and also misdirected the prayers to Aeos? Just wondering.

No, this was done by Nacreous's main wizard (whose name I'm blanking on for the moment), an clever and ancient epic lvl caster who is responsible for most of the city's defenses and flesh-crafting (it was this guy's apprentice who Galthia killed by shattering the Gem of Making, outside of Akin's Throat, just before Imbindarla hit and all hell broke loose.) He lived in the mansion atop the hill of bones, and while the Ivory King looked to Soder for advice, he looked to this wizard for power and strategy.

Ironically enough, the Defenders destroyed him with nothing more than words. They told Mara's friend, who told The Clarion of Aeos, who prayed to Aeos, who learned that this "mortal" had disrupted the divine cycle of prayers, which made him angry enough to manifest on the spot and smite him down in a blaze of fiery light... which left the glowing afterimage that the Defenders are currently using to their advantage. In other words, the Defenders of Daybreak killed one of their most dangerous foes and left a way to help kill the other months before they ever learned that the foe even existed.

And no, I didn't plan it that way or anticipate this. It's the logical consequence of their actions. I blame them.

Heroditis, good memory on the instrument. Also ironically, Nolin paid for the instrument by involving it in events that shake the world; whatever it ultimately was, it wasn't interested in mediocrity. There will be more on this later in the story hour, I think.

Palladion, thank you again!

 

[Richards]

A pathetic little tribute to Nolin in the form of a Limerick:

There once was a foppish half-elf bard
Being chewed by a ghoulish tub of lard
After brave Nolin died
Came the phoenix inside
And the Ghoul-King became rather charred.​

Great storyline, Piratecat! I've really enjoyed the adventures of the Defenders of Daybreak over the years. So what's KidCthulhu going to do for a new character?

Johnathan

 

[Fimmtiu]

Wow. That update is way, way better if you read it while listening to the song. No wonder the resolution of this battle was so long in coming.

It's stories like this that keep me playing D&D. Thanks for spending the effort to record it all for us! It doesn't go unappreciated.

 

[Palladion]

Defenders of Daybreak, Part 8

Entries from December 11, 2003 to February 5, 2004.

Previous compilations:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

 

[Piratecat]

Apparently we were missed; this thread has gotten about 5500 views in the last five days, which is crazy. Of course, with so many damn pages, I think it's four people reading it all the way through.

As a way of saying thank you for your patience, there should be at least one update this week. Maybe more, who can say? But I'd say it's about time to make the fight a little more complicated. Heh, heh.

In addition, the great purge has begun. I'll probably be deleting about 25 posts a day (it's a pain in the butt to do en masse, so I'm spreading it out.) There's some incredibly funny commentary in this thread, but please don't be surprised if a lot of it disappears while I pare down some of the excess posts. Right now people look at 70 pages, twitch, and announce that they'll start reading this story hour right after they finish the collected works of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Of course, they'll say the same damn thing when I've pared it down to 30 pages, but at least I'll feel better about keeping things moving.

 

[KidCthulhu]

right after they finish the collected works of Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Yeah, I liked his story hour, but his campaign world sucked.

 

[Nightingale 7]

Hello everybody.I've long been a lurker in this SH.Let me tell you,that I generally prefer SH of existing campaign settings.
The reason is that most homebrews are simply a jumble of plot hooks put together,and there is no realistic world structure.After reading for a bit,I've come to realise that PC's Spira setting is a rich,vibrant and realistic world that exceeds in quality most of the famous published CSs(and that coming from me,an avid FR fan,is unexpected indeed ).
The places are unique and memorable(Eversink is a MASTERPIECE in every sense of the word),the opponents are smart and calculating and the PCs are lovable,and full of flavor,each and every one of them.
And as if all those are not enough,along comes Nolin's death which is one of the greatest and most touching scenes I've ever read or seen ANYWHERE.I am at last moved to post and congratulate you all for that INCREDIBLE D&D campaign we have the priviledge of reading.
I'm sad for Nolin,but I'm sure that KidC's new PC will become every bit as memorable as the flame-haired minstrel was.And above all,I hope PC continues to update for a long,long time!Hurray for the Defenders of Daybreak!