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The Adventures of Baabby and Sam - a Skylanders Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7307958" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 26: THE BATTLE FOR SKYLANDS</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Baabby, humanoid sheep barbarian/cleric (Life) 15</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Sam Crow, humanoid crow ranger/rogue 15</p><p></p><p>NPC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Sapphrina, fairy sorcerer 15</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 24 December 2017</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>"You realize," said Sapphrina, "that now that you've gotten all ten Element Runes, the <em>Rift-Weaver's Blade</em> is probably the most powerful weapon in all of Skylands." Baabby did in fact realize that, just as he realized that he alone was the only person in all of Skylands capable of wielding it to slay their terrible enemy. It was an enormous responsibility - but then, if such a task had to fall onto somebody's shoulders, the broad shoulders of the sheep-man baabarian were probably the best set it could have landed upon.</p><p></p><p>"We haave two more days before Don breaks free," Baabby pointed out. "Whaat should we do in the meantime?"</p><p></p><p>"Let's go check in with Master Eon," suggested the fairy, flying ahead through the corridors of Skylanders Academy. "Hmm, that's weird," she added, looking around as she flew.</p><p></p><p>"Kind of empty in here," agreed Sam. "Like, ghost-town empty." Indeed, the Academy building was usually bustling with activity, what with the training of new recruits and assigning missions to the Skylanders tasked with keeping the floating islands of the universe free from danger. But the corridors were all empty, the rooms all silent. It was kind of creepy.</p><p></p><p>But at least Master Eon was in the library, as the heroes noted upon entering. He was standing over the portal in the middle of the largest room in the library, using it not to teleport anyone but as a scrying device. Stepping up behind the elderly Portal Master, the heroes could see a scene of combat being played out in miniature before them: they recognized Stealth Elf and Spyro, fighting alongside a maniacal gremlin with six-guns and a lengthy, trailing tongue who could only be <strong>Trigger Happy</strong>. They were fighting squid-headed enemies that Sam realized were mind flayers, like Lord Umbros who claimed to be the son of the Devourer of Nightmares himself.</p><p></p><p>"What's up, Pops?" asked Sam, then, noticing Trigger Happy's weapons in action, asked, "Are those <em>coins</em> shooting out of his guns?" Sapphrina elbowed the little crow, hissing, "Show a little respect! 'Pops,' indeed!"</p><p></p><p>But Master Eon seemed not to have noticed Sam's impertinence, nor did he answer his question about the gremlin's ammunition. "There are hundreds, if not thousands of them out there," the Portal Master stated, observing the battle raging on before him. "They came out of nowhere, menacing everyone and everything. I've sent all of my Skylanders out to fight them." He waved his hand over the portal and scene after scene popped into view: Roller Brawl and Hex fighting off mind flayers in a cavern; the dragons <strong>Zap</strong> and <strong>Drobot</strong> saving a Mabu village from the tentacled menaces; <strong>Eruptor</strong>, <strong>Flameslinger</strong>, and <strong>Hot Dog</strong> fighting a vast horde of them climbing up the side of Mount Mabuvius. "No matter where they first appear, they attack whoever's around," observed Master Eon, "but they're all slowly converging on Mount Mabuvius."</p><p></p><p>"Really? Why?" asked Sam Crow, not making the connection.</p><p></p><p>"Don't you remember?" scolded Sapphrina. "The Devourer of Nightmares is imprisoned in the Rift-Woven Vault - the entrance to which is through a passageway on the side of Mount Mabuvius. They're trying to get to Don, to help free him!"</p><p></p><p>"We should help fight them off!" offered Baabby.</p><p></p><p>"No," countered Master Eon. "I think it would be best if we assigned you to the task which the prophecy foretells only you can do: destroy the Devourer once and for all!"</p><p></p><p>"What, <em>now</em>?" asked Sam. "I thought we still had two days before he breaks out!"</p><p></p><p>"His cage will hold for another two days against his own attempts to escape, true," admitted Master Eon. "But if any of the mind flayers get to him, and aid him in the process...." He left the rest unsaid.</p><p></p><p>"Then this is it," replied Sapphrina. "Okay, guys, we need to take him down, now! But two things before we jump into battle. First thing: give me all of your money."</p><p></p><p>"Wait, <em>what</em>?" squawked Sam. Baabby had no reservations against the fairy's request and in fact was already pulling out all of the bags of coins he had stashed in his backpack, without questioning the fairy's motivations. "Just do it, Sam," the baabarian commanded. Without another word of protest, Sam rummaged through his own pack and passed over several bags of coins. Sapphrina took a deep breath, concentrated, and then spread her hands over the bags of coins. The bags deflated as the coins were first transformed into magical energy, and then reallocated as the fairy had decreed.</p><p></p><p>"There," she said. "Our magical amulets now make us immune to fear effects entirely," she said.</p><p></p><p>"I aalready waasn't aafraid," argued Baabby.</p><p></p><p>"I know you weren't," reassured Sapphrina. "I'm talking about <em>magical</em> fear effects. Now you'll be as brave against them as you are normally." The baabarian slowly nodded his understanding.</p><p></p><p>"I've also siphoned off a bit of energy from the <em>Rift-Weaver's Blade</em> and channeled it into your <em>Dynabow</em>," explained the fairy, looking at Sam.</p><p></p><p>"You did <em>whaat</em>?" gasped the normally unflappable sheep-man. He didn't like the idea of anybody doing anything to weaken the one weapon capable of taking Don out of the picture permanently.</p><p></p><p>"It'll heal up by itself, almost immediately," reassured Sapphrina. "But it will allow Sam's arrows to overcome Don's ridiculously strong damage reduction."</p><p></p><p>"Say that again in easy-to-understand crow talk?" suggested Sam.</p><p></p><p>"Your arrows will be able to hurt Don."</p><p></p><p>"Good enough for me!" enthused the archer. "I guess I'll have to call you the <em>Dynabow 5.0</em> now!" he said, looking at his favorite weapon.</p><p></p><p>"I should think <em>freedom of movement</em> spells would be beneficial," added Master Eon, casting the spell upon each of the three heroes. The application of the spell caused Shelldon to start to slide off of his perch upon Sam's left shoulder, until the little crow picked the snail up and repositioned him.</p><p></p><p>"Are you ready, then?" asked Master Eon.</p><p></p><p>"We're ready!" replied Baabby and Sapphrina confidently in unison, while in a much quieter voice, Sam muttered, "...I guess so." Master Eon waved his staff over the portal, calling up the image of the Rift-Woven Vault and the three heroes stepped through. The Rift-Woven Vault was as they had last seen it: a central floating island with a rune-seal imprisoning the Devourer of Nightmares in an extradimensional space within, while eight other, smaller floating islands surrounded the central one. Four of these smaller isles were tethered to the main one with thick chains.</p><p></p><p>"What's the plan?" asked Sam.</p><p></p><p>"We'll need to open the door to Don's prison," responded the fairy, then added quickly, "and then close it up again once he sticks his head out. Baabby, you'll need to use your greatsword to open the cage; just stick it in the rune there and then pull the whole thing over to the side."</p><p></p><p>"Got it," said the baabarian, walking nonchalantly over to the rune-seal on the floor, as if freeing imprisoned Elder Gods was something he did routinely.</p><p></p><p>"Hold up there, big guy," admonished Sapphrina. "Let's cast all the prep spells we'll want right now, first, before we let Don out of his cage." She cast a <em>stoneskin</em> spell upon each of the heroes, while Baabby cast three spells upon himself: <em>righteous might</em>, which doubled him in size and increased his already-prodigious strength and endurance; <em>bull's strength</em>, which caused his oversized muscles to bulge out even further, to the point Sam was worried they'd rip right through his fleece and skin; and <em>bear's endurance</em>, allowing him to toughen it out through any damage he might sustain in the coming battle even that much more. Sapphrina followed with a <em>haste</em> spell that covered all three of them.</p><p></p><p>While Baabby put the <em>Rift-Weaver's Blade</em> into the rune-seal and pulled the whole thing to the side, allowing the floor to iris open, Sam cast a quick final spell of his own: <em>speak with animals</em>. "This is it, buddy," he said to Shelldon.</p><p></p><p>"Indeed it is," replied the snail Sam considered his animal companion, but who was really Xacho, the original wielder of the greatsword Baabby now used. He'd been trapped in his immortal snail form for centuries, an unending punishment from the Devourer of Nightmares. "If you are successful, his spell upon me will be broken. I will return to my true form - but my true age, as well. So let me just say--"</p><p></p><p>But the snail didn't get to finish his sentence, for at that point a massive, octopoid head erupted up through the floor of the central island. <strong><I'M FREE!></strong> exulted the Devourer of Nightmares in a telepathic scream of excitement, before seeing the grinning sheep-man standing before him, still holding the greatsword whose hilt stuck up out of the floor. <strong><OH, IT'S YOU GUYS></strong> he thought desultorily before Baabby gave his sword a wrench and caused the cage door to iris back closed - right around the Devourer's neck.</p><p></p><p><strong><WHAT EFFRONTERY IS THIS?></strong> demanded the Elder God with his head stuck sticking up out of the floor. <strong><I WILL SLAY YOU ALL! BUT I WILL BEGIN WITH YOU, MY MOST HATED ENEMY!></strong> With an agility that was surprising for a being so big - had the heroes been able to see all of him, he'd have stood just a tad over 100 feet tall (although his stooped posture after centuries of imprisonment in a relatively tiny extradimensional space might have shaved a few inches off there) - the vast octopus-head spun around, facing directly at Sam. The little archer gave a squeal of terror as a facial tentacle (easily eight or ten times longer than the little crow was tall) reached out for him...</p><p></p><p>...and then plucked Shelldon from his perch on Sam's shoulder, popping him into a cavernous mouth ringed with scores of sharp teeth and swallowing him whole. To his credit, Shelldon, despite Sam's <em>speak with animals</em> spell still being active, didn't make a sound, opting to meet his fate without giving his nemesis the satisfaction of knowing he'd even frightened the tiny snail.</p><p></p><p>"HEY!" screamed Sam, with a level of outrage his friends had never heard before. "NO FAIR!" He fired a series of arrows at Don's face, but each one got swatted away by one or more tentacles. Sam consoled himself with the fact that the one he'd charged up with explosive tech energy managed to at least singe a few of the tentacles caught in the blast.</p><p></p><p>This was the first close-up look the little archer had ever gotten of the foe he'd been taunting pretty much ever since he'd met up with him; Sam was retroactively grateful for the upgrade Sapphrina had made to his <em>protection from fear amulet</em>, because he could see how he'd likely have wanted to flee otherwise. A head like an octopus was mounted on a humanoid neck; Don had a total of eight tentacles, two of which were longer than the others and had a wider section at the end which - Sam did a double-take when he made out this feature - came equipped with fangs.</p><p></p><p>"Holy Schmoley!" cried Sam. "That's a face not even a mother could love!"</p><p></p><p><strong><YOURS DID!></strong> responded the Devourer of Nightmares telepathically, and Sam smirked a little at the thought that he'd dragged an Elder God down to the level of "your mama" jokes.</p><p></p><p>But then Don whipped his head around again and attacked Baabby with his facial tentacles, realizing the baabarian was the one true threat he faced in this fight. The various tentacles slapped at the sheep-man, but Don was surprised that so much of his damage potential had been stripped away by Baabby's active <em>stoneskin</em> spell. He snapped his ring of teeth at Baabby, drawing a disappointingly tiny little bit of blood.</p><p></p><p>Sapphrina cast a <em>chain lightning</em> spell at the back of Don's head, arcing the other shafts of lightning at his various tentacles. Sam wasn't sure how she knew this would work - or even be possible - but work it did; a telepathic cry of pain demonstrated the spell had had an effect, and various burn marks on his tentacles showed they'd been hurt separately in addition to the main blast of the spell.</p><p></p><p>And then Baabby swung his <em>Rift-Weaver's Blade</em> at Don's face. He was surprised when the various tentacles pushed away his attacks; despite all of his strength, both that which he had naturally and the additional muscle-power that came his way through spells, he did a lot less damage than he'd hoped he might.</p><p></p><p>"It's the tentacles!" cried Sapphrina. "Concentrate fire on the tentacles! Cut them away and you'll have a clearer path to his head!"</p><p></p><p>"I've already got a clear path!" cried Sam, for while Baabby was standing on the central floating island fighting Don, he and Sapphrina had each wisely opted to deal their ranged attacks from smaller islands in the vicinity, the better not to be bunched up and make it easier for their foe to target them all at once. Sam sent a flurry of arrows at the back of Don's head, taking advantage of the fact that he was flanking Don with Baabby, even though the crow couldn't even see his oversized friend, buried as he was under the writhing tentacles of an Elder God. Each of the arrows hit true, some ever dealing additional damage for having struck the aberration in just the right spot. "Thanks for the upgrade, Sapph!" the archer cried. "I'm loving the <em>Dynabow 5.0!</em>"</p><p></p><p>"Glad to hear it!" replied the fairy, casting another <em>chain lightning</em> at the Elder God's head and tentacles. She noted that as they dealt damage to the head, the tentacles suffered as well - maybe targeting the head was a good way to go after all.</p><p></p><p>But Baabby was now committed to taking out the facial tentacles, one at a time. He put his all into a couple of back-and-forth swings against one of the larger, fanged tentacles, eventually severing it entirely before cleaving into the other one. By the time he was done, the second fanged tentacle was still connected to Don's face - but just barely.</p><p></p><p>Don responded with a mental roar of fury and an all-out attack on Baabby with his remaining seven tentacles, finishing up with a fearsome bite. Baabby took minimal damage from this furious assault, but felt his <em>stoneskin</em> spell had been reduced to its last iota of protection.</p><p></p><p>Sam opted to continue with his current attack pattern: five arrows in a tight cluster (thanks to Sapphrina's <em>haste</em> spell), one of them explosive (thanks to the <em>Dynabow 5.0</em>), all of them flaming (thanks to Incinceria the fire elemental), all of them flanking (thanks to Baabby's current location at the front of their foe), and all of them dealing extra sneak attack damage (thanks to Sam's general level of awesomeness, he felt). Each arrow struck, and Sam realized he was having the time of his life fighting a foe who could, if left unchecked, leave all of Skylands a flaming ruin.</p><p></p><p>Sapphrina's next <em>chain lightning</em> spell actually caused three of the smaller facial tentacles and the last remaining long, fanged one to blacken and shrivel; apparently they could be killed as if they were individuals! The other remaining tentacles did not look to be in very good shape, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the grinning baabarian. Allowing his unreleased rage to explode through his body, he tore into these appendages, chopping one off, then cleaving to the next, and the next, and the next, and the next (in his fury he failed to recognize he was actually chopping through some of the "dead" ones), until the Devourer of Nightmares was left sporting nothing but stubby, ichor-dripping tentacle-nubs ringing his lampreylike mouth. "Thaat's aan interesting look for you," quipped Baabby as he brought the <em>Rift-Weaver's Blade</em> down in an overhand arc that cut deep into the side of the Devourer's suddenly-exposed face. The Elder God definitely looked like his best days were behind him.</p><p></p><p>Sam was overjoyed; he'd gotten Baabby to the point where he was taunting his foes in battle! Baabby's own mother couldn't have been prouder of the sheep-man at that moment.</p><p></p><p>The Devourer of Nightmares, out of other options, snapped his ring of sharp teeth at Baabby, stripping away the last dregs of the baabarian's <em>stoneskin</em> protection and actually drawing a little bit of blood. <strong><GOT YOU!></strong> the Elder God crowed, and was aghast at Baabby's disdainful expression, which said "What? This little scratch?" - without the raging sheep-man even saying a word.</p><p></p><p>That was too much for the Devourer of Nightmares to take. <strong><I AM AN ELDER GOD!></strong> he ranted. <strong><I CAN DESTROY CIVILIZATION WITH MY BARE HANDS! YOU WILL GIVE ME THE RESPECT I DESERVE!></strong></p><p></p><p>Naturally, that was the point where Sam leaped from his perch on one of the smaller of the floating isles, landed upon the back of the Devourer of Nightmares's octopoid head, ran along its length, and then - after positioning himself directly above the Elder God's right eye - dropped his trousers and let squirt with a stream of foul bird-poop.</p><p></p><p>If Sam thought he'd heard telepathic ranting before, the levels Don reached after having Sam poop in his eye were like nothing he could ever have imagined. Sam chuckled as he pulled his pants back up and buckled his belt.</p><p></p><p>Sapphrina had an opportunity to kill off the Elder God with a final <em>chain lightning</em> spell, but was concerned about the prophecy - only Baabby, the Courageous Sheep of Legend, was supposedly able to slay the Devourer of Nightmares in a way that would prevent him from returning. She feared she could take him out with her spell but that he'd somehow regenerate over time - and she wanted this nasty piece of work dealt with on a permanent basis. So instead, she fluttered her fairy wings and approached the baabarian from behind, touching him lightly on the shoulder and imbuing him with a <em>heal</em> spell. Given the current respective combat abilities of Baabby and his foe, it likely wasn't at all needed - but it did put Sapphrina into a front-row position for the killing blow.</p><p></p><p>Baabby raised the <em>Rift-Weaver's Blade</em> high above his head, saw the look of actual fear cross Don's face (from his one good eye), and then brought it crashing down to stab deep into the abomination's head, right between the Elder God's eyes. Don gave a final croak, one of both surprise and disbelief, before expiring at long last. In accordance with the prophecies, Baabby had slain the Devourer of Nightmares, and Skylands was now safe from his menace forevermore.</p><p></p><p>In fact, at that very moment, the mind flayers who had been rampaging all across the Skylands suddenly gave a simultaneous bleat of terror - and then disappeared. They had been manifestations of the Devourer of Nightmare's will, only capable of existence this close to his final escape from his centuries-long imprisonment - but once he was slain they, too, ceased to be.</p><p></p><p>But Sam had one last act of desecration to perform upon Don's corpse. Setting aside his <em>Dynabow 5.0</em> and pulling his short sword from its scabbard at his hip, he popped the blade beneath the Elder God's left eyeball, twisted, and caught it as it popped free. Severing it from its optic nerve, the crow pulled it up to his beak and took a bite out of it like an apple - much to the disgust of Sapphrina, who visibly blanched at the sight. "You might not have realized it, Donnie Boy," casually remarked Sam, "but I'm <em>100% crow on my father's side!</em>" And he took another bite out of the dead Elder God's eyeball, a true delicacy to crows of all sizes.</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>Days later, the heroes had returned to Skylanders Academy, as had the entire cadre of Skylanders who had been involved in cleaning up after the mind flayer attack across all of the floating islands. The trainees looked on in admiration and no small bit of awe as the Courageous Sheep and the Cowardly Crow of Legend stepped forward before Master Eon, standing just outside the Academy Building.</p><p></p><p>"It is with great pleasure," intoned the elderly Portal Master, "that I formally induct Baabby the Baabarian and Sam Crow into the hallowed ranks of the Skylanders! Welcome, gentlemen - you do our organization proud!"</p><p></p><p>"Hear, hear!" agreed Spyro from the stands. This was high praise indeed, for Spyro the dragon was considered by many to be the pre-eminent Skylander out of the literally hundreds who made up the team, although Sam was willing to bet Baabby could give the little purple dragon a run for his money, if it came to that.</p><p></p><p>"Baabby will of course be joining the Life team," observed Master Eon, and the quiet baabarian nodded his silent agreement; the Life Amulet he wore around his neck showed his dedication to the forces of Life as a cleric since before he'd ever taken up the mantle of a hero.</p><p></p><p>"...and Sam, I think it would be appropriate for you to join our Tech team, what with that <em>Dynabow</em> of yours," added Master Eon.</p><p></p><p>"Wait, we're not going to be on the same team?" squawked Sam, looking frantically over at Baabby.</p><p></p><p>"We <em>aare</em> on the same team," reassured Baabby. "We're <em>Skylaanders!</em>"</p><p></p><p>"Okay," agreed Sam wistfully, perking up once he realized that Trigger Happy was on the Tech team. He was already coming up with a scheme whereby he could volunteer to help the gun-slinging gremlin with his target practice: he could convince Trigger Happy to use the opening to Sam's <em>bag of holding</em> as a target, and since the gremlin's guns fired coins, any ammunition Trigger Happy shot into Sam's magical bag would technically be his to keep....</p><p></p><p>"And I haven't forgotten about you," reassured Master Eon, looking over at Sapphrina. "You, too, played a great part in saving the Skylands. I would be honored to take you on as an Apprentice Portal Master."</p><p></p><p>The little fairy gasped. "And I would be honored to accept!" she gushed, not believing her luck. To study under Master Eon himself...!</p><p></p><p>Later, at the party that followed, the Skylander <strong>Zook</strong> sidled up to Sam Crow. "Dude," said the Bambazooker, "did you really take a dump on an Elder God?"</p><p></p><p>"Twice, actually," admitted Sam with a small modicum of pride.</p><p></p><p>Master Eon stepped up, joining the conversation. "One would hope," he stated, "you will not be making that one of your signature moves. You are a Skylander now, representing all of us. A bit of...decorum is expected."</p><p></p><p>"Tell you what, Pops," replied Sam. "I promise I'll save that particular 'signature move' for only when I'm fighting against Elder Gods."</p><p></p><p>Master Eon sighed. "Deal," he said, and went to mingle with the other guests.</p><p></p><p>"Delivery for a Mr. Crow!" cried a voice from outside the gaggle of Skylanders. Sam looked up and cried, "Hey! That's my statue!" Sapphrina sighed in exasperation; the silly little crow wasn't even a Skylander for a full day before he was already putting up monuments to his greatness! She silently gave him no more than a week before Master Eon decided he didn't really need the crow archer on the team after all.</p><p></p><p>"Put it over here!" commanded Sam, directing the Mabu movers who had lugged a wooden crate up to the Skylanders Academy building. "Master Eon said it could go right here, in the garden!" He indicated a well-tended grove of greenery off to the side of the building, where Skylanders and trainees often took in a bit of fresh air between their training and their missions. There was a little frog pond, and a small fountain making burbling noises among the benches and shade-filled trees; all in all, it was a place of tranquility and calm in an area of bustling activity.</p><p></p><p>"Master Eon <em>agreed</em> to this?" demanded Sapphrina as the movers carefully unpacked the crate and lifted the statue into an upright position.</p><p></p><p>"Sure," answered Sam. "Why wouldn't he?"</p><p></p><p>Sapphrina opened her mouth to reply, but then got a look at the statue being raised upright and didn't say a further word.</p><p></p><p>Carved of white marble, the statue was a fluted column, upon the top of which perched an enormous, smiling snail. An engraved plaque in a recessed portion of the support column read:</p><p></p><p>"I didn't really get a chance to say goodbye to him," said Sam sadly. "Everything happened so quickly...."</p><p></p><p>Baabby put a woolly arm around his little friend's shoulder. "It's okay," the baabarian said. "He knew how you felt, I'm sure of it."</p><p></p><p>"Yeah," agreed Sam, discreetly wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Okay."</p><p></p><p>"C'mon," said Baabby, guiding Sam back toward the party. "Let's go check out the snaack table. They might even haave - ugh! - those eyebaalls you like so much."</p><p></p><p>"Hey, yeah!" said Sam, perking up immediately. "You should give them a try, Baabby! They're really good!"</p><p></p><p>"Thaat," promised Baabby, "will never haappen. You'll just haave to haave my share."</p><p></p><p>"Deal!" exclaimed Sam.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>...And that is how we capped off our Skylanders campaign.</p><p></p><p>We were originally going to play this on Saturday, the 23rd of December, but my wife Mary suggested that a couple hours of gaming on Christmas Eve would be a good way to keep Harry occupied and distracted from the impending holiday celebration. (Not coincidentally, it also gave her a couple hours of peace so she could work unhindered in the kitchen.)</p><p></p><p>Logan gave Don over 1,000 hp, plus 500 hp each for the two longer tentacles and 400 each for the six shorter ones. He came up with a cool way to keep the tentacles important: the shorter ones added +5 each to Don's AC, and the longer ones added +10, making a frontal assault all but guaranteed to fail. However, attacking Don from the back, or attacking a lone tentacle itself, you were only up against an AC 20. And furthermore, for every 25% of Don's overall hit points lost, his tentacles dropped by 25% of their starting hit points as well. So there were several avenues of attack, each with pluses and minuses. But despite all of these conditions, Baabby still ended up doing 217 points of damage with that greatsword of his in one round. (What can I say? He hit with all four attacks that round, one of them even being a confirmed critical hit, not to mention his Power Attack, raging, and mega-buffing.)</p><p></p><p>To represent the 100-foot-tall Elder God, Logan used a kraken toy he had as a kid - it came as part of a Pirates of the Caribbean Lego set, as I recall. (I've used it myself as a kraken in previous D&D 3.5 campaigns.) The whole ploy of snagging Don's head in the irising door to his cage was a great way, I thought, of using the objects at hand to best advantage.</p><p></p><p>In fact, I'm really proud of the way Logan has handled this entire campaign - his first time, I should add, behind the DM's screen. He took the D&D 3.5 rules and reshaped them to best fit the Skylanders Universe, and came up with a "chase the MacGuffins" overall plotline that kept the action all focused towards one final "boss fight." And he did so in a manner to engage a ten-year-old's attention, to the point that Harry has since joined our regular D&D 3.5 game.</p><p></p><p>I'm also proud of Harry, not only for running (I feel confident in stating) the most awesome gestalt sheep-man baabarian/cleric in gaming history, but also for giving tabletop role-playing a try, especially after several initial rebuffs at the offer to join our regular gaming group. This Skylands game introduced him to the fun that can be had with RPGs and I anticipate many enjoyable years ahead of us around the gaming table.</p><p></p><p>Thanks for reading!</p><p></p><p>Johnathan</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7307958, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 26: THE BATTLE FOR SKYLANDS[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Baabby, humanoid sheep barbarian/cleric (Life) 15 Sam Crow, humanoid crow ranger/rogue 15[/INDENT] NPC Roster: [INDENT]Sapphrina, fairy sorcerer 15[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 24 December 2017 - - - "You realize," said Sapphrina, "that now that you've gotten all ten Element Runes, the [i]Rift-Weaver's Blade[/i] is probably the most powerful weapon in all of Skylands." Baabby did in fact realize that, just as he realized that he alone was the only person in all of Skylands capable of wielding it to slay their terrible enemy. It was an enormous responsibility - but then, if such a task had to fall onto somebody's shoulders, the broad shoulders of the sheep-man baabarian were probably the best set it could have landed upon. "We haave two more days before Don breaks free," Baabby pointed out. "Whaat should we do in the meantime?" "Let's go check in with Master Eon," suggested the fairy, flying ahead through the corridors of Skylanders Academy. "Hmm, that's weird," she added, looking around as she flew. "Kind of empty in here," agreed Sam. "Like, ghost-town empty." Indeed, the Academy building was usually bustling with activity, what with the training of new recruits and assigning missions to the Skylanders tasked with keeping the floating islands of the universe free from danger. But the corridors were all empty, the rooms all silent. It was kind of creepy. But at least Master Eon was in the library, as the heroes noted upon entering. He was standing over the portal in the middle of the largest room in the library, using it not to teleport anyone but as a scrying device. Stepping up behind the elderly Portal Master, the heroes could see a scene of combat being played out in miniature before them: they recognized Stealth Elf and Spyro, fighting alongside a maniacal gremlin with six-guns and a lengthy, trailing tongue who could only be [b]Trigger Happy[/b]. They were fighting squid-headed enemies that Sam realized were mind flayers, like Lord Umbros who claimed to be the son of the Devourer of Nightmares himself. "What's up, Pops?" asked Sam, then, noticing Trigger Happy's weapons in action, asked, "Are those [i]coins[/i] shooting out of his guns?" Sapphrina elbowed the little crow, hissing, "Show a little respect! 'Pops,' indeed!" But Master Eon seemed not to have noticed Sam's impertinence, nor did he answer his question about the gremlin's ammunition. "There are hundreds, if not thousands of them out there," the Portal Master stated, observing the battle raging on before him. "They came out of nowhere, menacing everyone and everything. I've sent all of my Skylanders out to fight them." He waved his hand over the portal and scene after scene popped into view: Roller Brawl and Hex fighting off mind flayers in a cavern; the dragons [b]Zap[/b] and [b]Drobot[/b] saving a Mabu village from the tentacled menaces; [b]Eruptor[/b], [b]Flameslinger[/b], and [b]Hot Dog[/b] fighting a vast horde of them climbing up the side of Mount Mabuvius. "No matter where they first appear, they attack whoever's around," observed Master Eon, "but they're all slowly converging on Mount Mabuvius." "Really? Why?" asked Sam Crow, not making the connection. "Don't you remember?" scolded Sapphrina. "The Devourer of Nightmares is imprisoned in the Rift-Woven Vault - the entrance to which is through a passageway on the side of Mount Mabuvius. They're trying to get to Don, to help free him!" "We should help fight them off!" offered Baabby. "No," countered Master Eon. "I think it would be best if we assigned you to the task which the prophecy foretells only you can do: destroy the Devourer once and for all!" "What, [i]now[/i]?" asked Sam. "I thought we still had two days before he breaks out!" "His cage will hold for another two days against his own attempts to escape, true," admitted Master Eon. "But if any of the mind flayers get to him, and aid him in the process...." He left the rest unsaid. "Then this is it," replied Sapphrina. "Okay, guys, we need to take him down, now! But two things before we jump into battle. First thing: give me all of your money." "Wait, [i]what[/i]?" squawked Sam. Baabby had no reservations against the fairy's request and in fact was already pulling out all of the bags of coins he had stashed in his backpack, without questioning the fairy's motivations. "Just do it, Sam," the baabarian commanded. Without another word of protest, Sam rummaged through his own pack and passed over several bags of coins. Sapphrina took a deep breath, concentrated, and then spread her hands over the bags of coins. The bags deflated as the coins were first transformed into magical energy, and then reallocated as the fairy had decreed. "There," she said. "Our magical amulets now make us immune to fear effects entirely," she said. "I aalready waasn't aafraid," argued Baabby. "I know you weren't," reassured Sapphrina. "I'm talking about [i]magical[/i] fear effects. Now you'll be as brave against them as you are normally." The baabarian slowly nodded his understanding. "I've also siphoned off a bit of energy from the [i]Rift-Weaver's Blade[/i] and channeled it into your [i]Dynabow[/i]," explained the fairy, looking at Sam. "You did [i]whaat[/i]?" gasped the normally unflappable sheep-man. He didn't like the idea of anybody doing anything to weaken the one weapon capable of taking Don out of the picture permanently. "It'll heal up by itself, almost immediately," reassured Sapphrina. "But it will allow Sam's arrows to overcome Don's ridiculously strong damage reduction." "Say that again in easy-to-understand crow talk?" suggested Sam. "Your arrows will be able to hurt Don." "Good enough for me!" enthused the archer. "I guess I'll have to call you the [i]Dynabow 5.0[/i] now!" he said, looking at his favorite weapon. "I should think [i]freedom of movement[/i] spells would be beneficial," added Master Eon, casting the spell upon each of the three heroes. The application of the spell caused Shelldon to start to slide off of his perch upon Sam's left shoulder, until the little crow picked the snail up and repositioned him. "Are you ready, then?" asked Master Eon. "We're ready!" replied Baabby and Sapphrina confidently in unison, while in a much quieter voice, Sam muttered, "...I guess so." Master Eon waved his staff over the portal, calling up the image of the Rift-Woven Vault and the three heroes stepped through. The Rift-Woven Vault was as they had last seen it: a central floating island with a rune-seal imprisoning the Devourer of Nightmares in an extradimensional space within, while eight other, smaller floating islands surrounded the central one. Four of these smaller isles were tethered to the main one with thick chains. "What's the plan?" asked Sam. "We'll need to open the door to Don's prison," responded the fairy, then added quickly, "and then close it up again once he sticks his head out. Baabby, you'll need to use your greatsword to open the cage; just stick it in the rune there and then pull the whole thing over to the side." "Got it," said the baabarian, walking nonchalantly over to the rune-seal on the floor, as if freeing imprisoned Elder Gods was something he did routinely. "Hold up there, big guy," admonished Sapphrina. "Let's cast all the prep spells we'll want right now, first, before we let Don out of his cage." She cast a [i]stoneskin[/i] spell upon each of the heroes, while Baabby cast three spells upon himself: [i]righteous might[/i], which doubled him in size and increased his already-prodigious strength and endurance; [i]bull's strength[/i], which caused his oversized muscles to bulge out even further, to the point Sam was worried they'd rip right through his fleece and skin; and [i]bear's endurance[/i], allowing him to toughen it out through any damage he might sustain in the coming battle even that much more. Sapphrina followed with a [i]haste[/i] spell that covered all three of them. While Baabby put the [i]Rift-Weaver's Blade[/i] into the rune-seal and pulled the whole thing to the side, allowing the floor to iris open, Sam cast a quick final spell of his own: [i]speak with animals[/i]. "This is it, buddy," he said to Shelldon. "Indeed it is," replied the snail Sam considered his animal companion, but who was really Xacho, the original wielder of the greatsword Baabby now used. He'd been trapped in his immortal snail form for centuries, an unending punishment from the Devourer of Nightmares. "If you are successful, his spell upon me will be broken. I will return to my true form - but my true age, as well. So let me just say--" But the snail didn't get to finish his sentence, for at that point a massive, octopoid head erupted up through the floor of the central island. [b]<I'M FREE!>[/b] exulted the Devourer of Nightmares in a telepathic scream of excitement, before seeing the grinning sheep-man standing before him, still holding the greatsword whose hilt stuck up out of the floor. [b]<OH, IT'S YOU GUYS>[/b] he thought desultorily before Baabby gave his sword a wrench and caused the cage door to iris back closed - right around the Devourer's neck. [b]<WHAT EFFRONTERY IS THIS?>[/b] demanded the Elder God with his head stuck sticking up out of the floor. [b]<I WILL SLAY YOU ALL! BUT I WILL BEGIN WITH YOU, MY MOST HATED ENEMY!>[/b] With an agility that was surprising for a being so big - had the heroes been able to see all of him, he'd have stood just a tad over 100 feet tall (although his stooped posture after centuries of imprisonment in a relatively tiny extradimensional space might have shaved a few inches off there) - the vast octopus-head spun around, facing directly at Sam. The little archer gave a squeal of terror as a facial tentacle (easily eight or ten times longer than the little crow was tall) reached out for him... ...and then plucked Shelldon from his perch on Sam's shoulder, popping him into a cavernous mouth ringed with scores of sharp teeth and swallowing him whole. To his credit, Shelldon, despite Sam's [i]speak with animals[/i] spell still being active, didn't make a sound, opting to meet his fate without giving his nemesis the satisfaction of knowing he'd even frightened the tiny snail. "HEY!" screamed Sam, with a level of outrage his friends had never heard before. "NO FAIR!" He fired a series of arrows at Don's face, but each one got swatted away by one or more tentacles. Sam consoled himself with the fact that the one he'd charged up with explosive tech energy managed to at least singe a few of the tentacles caught in the blast. This was the first close-up look the little archer had ever gotten of the foe he'd been taunting pretty much ever since he'd met up with him; Sam was retroactively grateful for the upgrade Sapphrina had made to his [i]protection from fear amulet[/i], because he could see how he'd likely have wanted to flee otherwise. A head like an octopus was mounted on a humanoid neck; Don had a total of eight tentacles, two of which were longer than the others and had a wider section at the end which - Sam did a double-take when he made out this feature - came equipped with fangs. "Holy Schmoley!" cried Sam. "That's a face not even a mother could love!" [b]<YOURS DID!>[/b] responded the Devourer of Nightmares telepathically, and Sam smirked a little at the thought that he'd dragged an Elder God down to the level of "your mama" jokes. But then Don whipped his head around again and attacked Baabby with his facial tentacles, realizing the baabarian was the one true threat he faced in this fight. The various tentacles slapped at the sheep-man, but Don was surprised that so much of his damage potential had been stripped away by Baabby's active [i]stoneskin[/i] spell. He snapped his ring of teeth at Baabby, drawing a disappointingly tiny little bit of blood. Sapphrina cast a [i]chain lightning[/i] spell at the back of Don's head, arcing the other shafts of lightning at his various tentacles. Sam wasn't sure how she knew this would work - or even be possible - but work it did; a telepathic cry of pain demonstrated the spell had had an effect, and various burn marks on his tentacles showed they'd been hurt separately in addition to the main blast of the spell. And then Baabby swung his [i]Rift-Weaver's Blade[/i] at Don's face. He was surprised when the various tentacles pushed away his attacks; despite all of his strength, both that which he had naturally and the additional muscle-power that came his way through spells, he did a lot less damage than he'd hoped he might. "It's the tentacles!" cried Sapphrina. "Concentrate fire on the tentacles! Cut them away and you'll have a clearer path to his head!" "I've already got a clear path!" cried Sam, for while Baabby was standing on the central floating island fighting Don, he and Sapphrina had each wisely opted to deal their ranged attacks from smaller islands in the vicinity, the better not to be bunched up and make it easier for their foe to target them all at once. Sam sent a flurry of arrows at the back of Don's head, taking advantage of the fact that he was flanking Don with Baabby, even though the crow couldn't even see his oversized friend, buried as he was under the writhing tentacles of an Elder God. Each of the arrows hit true, some ever dealing additional damage for having struck the aberration in just the right spot. "Thanks for the upgrade, Sapph!" the archer cried. "I'm loving the [i]Dynabow 5.0![/i]" "Glad to hear it!" replied the fairy, casting another [i]chain lightning[/i] at the Elder God's head and tentacles. She noted that as they dealt damage to the head, the tentacles suffered as well - maybe targeting the head was a good way to go after all. But Baabby was now committed to taking out the facial tentacles, one at a time. He put his all into a couple of back-and-forth swings against one of the larger, fanged tentacles, eventually severing it entirely before cleaving into the other one. By the time he was done, the second fanged tentacle was still connected to Don's face - but just barely. Don responded with a mental roar of fury and an all-out attack on Baabby with his remaining seven tentacles, finishing up with a fearsome bite. Baabby took minimal damage from this furious assault, but felt his [i]stoneskin[/i] spell had been reduced to its last iota of protection. Sam opted to continue with his current attack pattern: five arrows in a tight cluster (thanks to Sapphrina's [i]haste[/i] spell), one of them explosive (thanks to the [i]Dynabow 5.0[/i]), all of them flaming (thanks to Incinceria the fire elemental), all of them flanking (thanks to Baabby's current location at the front of their foe), and all of them dealing extra sneak attack damage (thanks to Sam's general level of awesomeness, he felt). Each arrow struck, and Sam realized he was having the time of his life fighting a foe who could, if left unchecked, leave all of Skylands a flaming ruin. Sapphrina's next [i]chain lightning[/i] spell actually caused three of the smaller facial tentacles and the last remaining long, fanged one to blacken and shrivel; apparently they could be killed as if they were individuals! The other remaining tentacles did not look to be in very good shape, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the grinning baabarian. Allowing his unreleased rage to explode through his body, he tore into these appendages, chopping one off, then cleaving to the next, and the next, and the next, and the next (in his fury he failed to recognize he was actually chopping through some of the "dead" ones), until the Devourer of Nightmares was left sporting nothing but stubby, ichor-dripping tentacle-nubs ringing his lampreylike mouth. "Thaat's aan interesting look for you," quipped Baabby as he brought the [i]Rift-Weaver's Blade[/i] down in an overhand arc that cut deep into the side of the Devourer's suddenly-exposed face. The Elder God definitely looked like his best days were behind him. Sam was overjoyed; he'd gotten Baabby to the point where he was taunting his foes in battle! Baabby's own mother couldn't have been prouder of the sheep-man at that moment. The Devourer of Nightmares, out of other options, snapped his ring of sharp teeth at Baabby, stripping away the last dregs of the baabarian's [i]stoneskin[/i] protection and actually drawing a little bit of blood. [b]<GOT YOU!>[/b] the Elder God crowed, and was aghast at Baabby's disdainful expression, which said "What? This little scratch?" - without the raging sheep-man even saying a word. That was too much for the Devourer of Nightmares to take. [b]<I AM AN ELDER GOD!>[/b] he ranted. [b]<I CAN DESTROY CIVILIZATION WITH MY BARE HANDS! YOU WILL GIVE ME THE RESPECT I DESERVE!>[/b] Naturally, that was the point where Sam leaped from his perch on one of the smaller of the floating isles, landed upon the back of the Devourer of Nightmares's octopoid head, ran along its length, and then - after positioning himself directly above the Elder God's right eye - dropped his trousers and let squirt with a stream of foul bird-poop. If Sam thought he'd heard telepathic ranting before, the levels Don reached after having Sam poop in his eye were like nothing he could ever have imagined. Sam chuckled as he pulled his pants back up and buckled his belt. Sapphrina had an opportunity to kill off the Elder God with a final [i]chain lightning[/i] spell, but was concerned about the prophecy - only Baabby, the Courageous Sheep of Legend, was supposedly able to slay the Devourer of Nightmares in a way that would prevent him from returning. She feared she could take him out with her spell but that he'd somehow regenerate over time - and she wanted this nasty piece of work dealt with on a permanent basis. So instead, she fluttered her fairy wings and approached the baabarian from behind, touching him lightly on the shoulder and imbuing him with a [i]heal[/i] spell. Given the current respective combat abilities of Baabby and his foe, it likely wasn't at all needed - but it did put Sapphrina into a front-row position for the killing blow. Baabby raised the [i]Rift-Weaver's Blade[/i] high above his head, saw the look of actual fear cross Don's face (from his one good eye), and then brought it crashing down to stab deep into the abomination's head, right between the Elder God's eyes. Don gave a final croak, one of both surprise and disbelief, before expiring at long last. In accordance with the prophecies, Baabby had slain the Devourer of Nightmares, and Skylands was now safe from his menace forevermore. In fact, at that very moment, the mind flayers who had been rampaging all across the Skylands suddenly gave a simultaneous bleat of terror - and then disappeared. They had been manifestations of the Devourer of Nightmare's will, only capable of existence this close to his final escape from his centuries-long imprisonment - but once he was slain they, too, ceased to be. But Sam had one last act of desecration to perform upon Don's corpse. Setting aside his [i]Dynabow 5.0[/i] and pulling his short sword from its scabbard at his hip, he popped the blade beneath the Elder God's left eyeball, twisted, and caught it as it popped free. Severing it from its optic nerve, the crow pulled it up to his beak and took a bite out of it like an apple - much to the disgust of Sapphrina, who visibly blanched at the sight. "You might not have realized it, Donnie Boy," casually remarked Sam, "but I'm [i]100% crow on my father's side![/i]" And he took another bite out of the dead Elder God's eyeball, a true delicacy to crows of all sizes. - - - Days later, the heroes had returned to Skylanders Academy, as had the entire cadre of Skylanders who had been involved in cleaning up after the mind flayer attack across all of the floating islands. The trainees looked on in admiration and no small bit of awe as the Courageous Sheep and the Cowardly Crow of Legend stepped forward before Master Eon, standing just outside the Academy Building. "It is with great pleasure," intoned the elderly Portal Master, "that I formally induct Baabby the Baabarian and Sam Crow into the hallowed ranks of the Skylanders! Welcome, gentlemen - you do our organization proud!" "Hear, hear!" agreed Spyro from the stands. This was high praise indeed, for Spyro the dragon was considered by many to be the pre-eminent Skylander out of the literally hundreds who made up the team, although Sam was willing to bet Baabby could give the little purple dragon a run for his money, if it came to that. "Baabby will of course be joining the Life team," observed Master Eon, and the quiet baabarian nodded his silent agreement; the Life Amulet he wore around his neck showed his dedication to the forces of Life as a cleric since before he'd ever taken up the mantle of a hero. "...and Sam, I think it would be appropriate for you to join our Tech team, what with that [i]Dynabow[/i] of yours," added Master Eon. "Wait, we're not going to be on the same team?" squawked Sam, looking frantically over at Baabby. "We [i]aare[/i] on the same team," reassured Baabby. "We're [i]Skylaanders![/i]" "Okay," agreed Sam wistfully, perking up once he realized that Trigger Happy was on the Tech team. He was already coming up with a scheme whereby he could volunteer to help the gun-slinging gremlin with his target practice: he could convince Trigger Happy to use the opening to Sam's [i]bag of holding[/i] as a target, and since the gremlin's guns fired coins, any ammunition Trigger Happy shot into Sam's magical bag would technically be his to keep.... "And I haven't forgotten about you," reassured Master Eon, looking over at Sapphrina. "You, too, played a great part in saving the Skylands. I would be honored to take you on as an Apprentice Portal Master." The little fairy gasped. "And I would be honored to accept!" she gushed, not believing her luck. To study under Master Eon himself...! Later, at the party that followed, the Skylander [b]Zook[/b] sidled up to Sam Crow. "Dude," said the Bambazooker, "did you really take a dump on an Elder God?" "Twice, actually," admitted Sam with a small modicum of pride. Master Eon stepped up, joining the conversation. "One would hope," he stated, "you will not be making that one of your signature moves. You are a Skylander now, representing all of us. A bit of...decorum is expected." "Tell you what, Pops," replied Sam. "I promise I'll save that particular 'signature move' for only when I'm fighting against Elder Gods." Master Eon sighed. "Deal," he said, and went to mingle with the other guests. "Delivery for a Mr. Crow!" cried a voice from outside the gaggle of Skylanders. Sam looked up and cried, "Hey! That's my statue!" Sapphrina sighed in exasperation; the silly little crow wasn't even a Skylander for a full day before he was already putting up monuments to his greatness! She silently gave him no more than a week before Master Eon decided he didn't really need the crow archer on the team after all. "Put it over here!" commanded Sam, directing the Mabu movers who had lugged a wooden crate up to the Skylanders Academy building. "Master Eon said it could go right here, in the garden!" He indicated a well-tended grove of greenery off to the side of the building, where Skylanders and trainees often took in a bit of fresh air between their training and their missions. There was a little frog pond, and a small fountain making burbling noises among the benches and shade-filled trees; all in all, it was a place of tranquility and calm in an area of bustling activity. "Master Eon [i]agreed[/i] to this?" demanded Sapphrina as the movers carefully unpacked the crate and lifted the statue into an upright position. "Sure," answered Sam. "Why wouldn't he?" Sapphrina opened her mouth to reply, but then got a look at the statue being raised upright and didn't say a further word. Carved of white marble, the statue was a fluted column, upon the top of which perched an enormous, smiling snail. An engraved plaque in a recessed portion of the support column read: "I didn't really get a chance to say goodbye to him," said Sam sadly. "Everything happened so quickly...." Baabby put a woolly arm around his little friend's shoulder. "It's okay," the baabarian said. "He knew how you felt, I'm sure of it." "Yeah," agreed Sam, discreetly wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Okay." "C'mon," said Baabby, guiding Sam back toward the party. "Let's go check out the snaack table. They might even haave - ugh! - those eyebaalls you like so much." "Hey, yeah!" said Sam, perking up immediately. "You should give them a try, Baabby! They're really good!" "Thaat," promised Baabby, "will never haappen. You'll just haave to haave my share." "Deal!" exclaimed Sam. - - - ...And that is how we capped off our Skylanders campaign. We were originally going to play this on Saturday, the 23rd of December, but my wife Mary suggested that a couple hours of gaming on Christmas Eve would be a good way to keep Harry occupied and distracted from the impending holiday celebration. (Not coincidentally, it also gave her a couple hours of peace so she could work unhindered in the kitchen.) Logan gave Don over 1,000 hp, plus 500 hp each for the two longer tentacles and 400 each for the six shorter ones. He came up with a cool way to keep the tentacles important: the shorter ones added +5 each to Don's AC, and the longer ones added +10, making a frontal assault all but guaranteed to fail. However, attacking Don from the back, or attacking a lone tentacle itself, you were only up against an AC 20. And furthermore, for every 25% of Don's overall hit points lost, his tentacles dropped by 25% of their starting hit points as well. So there were several avenues of attack, each with pluses and minuses. But despite all of these conditions, Baabby still ended up doing 217 points of damage with that greatsword of his in one round. (What can I say? He hit with all four attacks that round, one of them even being a confirmed critical hit, not to mention his Power Attack, raging, and mega-buffing.) To represent the 100-foot-tall Elder God, Logan used a kraken toy he had as a kid - it came as part of a Pirates of the Caribbean Lego set, as I recall. (I've used it myself as a kraken in previous D&D 3.5 campaigns.) The whole ploy of snagging Don's head in the irising door to his cage was a great way, I thought, of using the objects at hand to best advantage. In fact, I'm really proud of the way Logan has handled this entire campaign - his first time, I should add, behind the DM's screen. He took the D&D 3.5 rules and reshaped them to best fit the Skylanders Universe, and came up with a "chase the MacGuffins" overall plotline that kept the action all focused towards one final "boss fight." And he did so in a manner to engage a ten-year-old's attention, to the point that Harry has since joined our regular D&D 3.5 game. I'm also proud of Harry, not only for running (I feel confident in stating) the most awesome gestalt sheep-man baabarian/cleric in gaming history, but also for giving tabletop role-playing a try, especially after several initial rebuffs at the offer to join our regular gaming group. This Skylands game introduced him to the fun that can be had with RPGs and I anticipate many enjoyable years ahead of us around the gaming table. Thanks for reading! Johnathan [/QUOTE]
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