The Adventures of the Knights of Spellforge Keep are now COMPLETED

[Lela]

HA! We've actually gotten teased about this already. But rest assured, there will be no Kizzlorns or Zionas, nor Xaltars or Shades running around. We save those for the game & story hours.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I won't tease you about names (I'll leave that pleasure to others).

Instead I'll ask about gender. Do you know, do you want to know, will you tell us when/if you know?

 

[Richards]

First of all, apologies for the lateness of my comments, but I've been involved in a move halfway across the continent and I'm just now to the point where I can grab an hour or two on the library Internet and do some catching up on what all I've missed at EN World.

Xaltar and Ziona, congratulations on your imminent parenthood! You've no doubt heard it before and you'll hear it again, but having a child changes everything. I hope you have as much fun at it as my wife and I have had raising our two sons.

Doc, it's been an excellent run, and you finished off the storyline in as marvellous a manner as we've all come to expect from you. I hope you'll be entertaining us with the exploits of your next campaign before too long.

And, seeing as the campaign is now at an end, I suppose this is my last chance to perform my self-appointed, unofficial duties as the Bard to the Knights of Spellforge Keep campaign. To that end, I have prepared a final parody song highlighting some of the events throughout this fantastic Story Hour. Since I built the song around Alanis Morrisette's "Thank You," I didn't even have to worry about making any of the words rhyme! (Hmm, maybe that's why I'm the soon-to-be-unemployed Bard of Spellforge Keep -- cutting corners!) In any case, here goes nothing:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THANK YOU

How 'bout that time the Knights fought in the arena?
How 'bout fighting without the safety on?
How 'bout them pissing off old Acessiwal?
How 'bout that ever elusive Meepo?

Thank you Doc Midnight
Thank you Dartan
Thank you Sir Vek Mormont, lich
Thank you Myramus
Thank you Menerous
Thank you Jamison Crow

How 'bout when we learned who killed Kizzlorn's parents?
How 'bout Vek enjoying his undead army?
How 'bout how good it feels to once more reread you?
How 'bout reading the whole thing at one time?

Thank you Doc Midnight
Thank you Jettok
Thank you Tenchi Foxfingers
Thank you Gryph Greycloak
Thank you Angelique
Thank you Dekker Roughfoot

The moment I clicked on the link
Was the moment I got more than I could wish for
The moment that I finished it
Was the moment I cried "More!"

How 'bout when Wee Jas granted Vek his last gift?
How 'bout dismembering old Ashardalon?
How 'bout unabashedly bawling for Hannah?
How 'bout using the Deck of Many Things?

Thank you Doc Midnight
Thank you Silver Quill
Thank you Knights of Spellforge Keep
Thank you Gorgoldand
Thank you Snooky, too
Thank you thank you Addicts, yeah yeah
Whoa whoa whoa...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Johnathan
Self-Appointed, Unofficial Bard to the Knights of Spellforge Keep Campaign
In his Farewell Performance

 

[med stud]

Seems like a good time to de-lurk

Congratulations for making one of the best story hours on the boards (and probably out of the boards too), Dr Midnight and the rest of you!

If I have to single out one in the group that I want to give special congratulations, it has to be the player of Dartan, who was the reason I read this story hour from the beginning to the end.

 

[drnuncheon]

Great job, Doc.

I can only hope my own Story Hours end this well.

J

 

[Lela]

Great job, Doc.

I can only hope my own Story Hours end this well.

J

Of course, this implies an update.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Hi Doc,

I'm glad you pimped the ending of this storyhour in the general forum, because it prompted me to come and look at it again - I'd followed the knights of the silver quill, but I'd never had a look at the knights of spellforge keep.

Having (eventually!) read through it all, I'm very impressed by the grand finale - it looked and felt epic in every sense of the word. I really appreciate the epilogue too, giving an appropriate sense of closure.

One question, I suppose - the Bastion of Broken Souls seemed strangely easy - the sword Dragonhammer seemed a deus ex machina item, and several parts of that adventure seemed glossed over, or the creatures dying foolishly without using most of their powers. It made me wonder whether you started running it but decided that it wasn't really going to fit in with your campaign so you'd get it over with quickly or something?

Anyway, apart from that I loved the story and the adventure. Well done!

 

[Dr Midnight]

Having (eventually!) read through it all, I'm very impressed by the grand finale - it looked and felt epic in every sense of the word. I really appreciate the epilogue too, giving an appropriate sense of closure.

One question, I suppose - the Bastion of Broken Souls seemed strangely easy - the sword Dragonhammer seemed a deus ex machina item, and several parts of that adventure seemed glossed over, or the creatures dying foolishly without using most of their powers. It made me wonder whether you started running it but decided that it wasn't really going to fit in with your campaign so you'd get it over with quickly or something?

Anyway, apart from that I loved the story and the adventure. Well done!

Hi Plane Sailing, welcome back-
Thanks. I tried to give the end a nice epilogue, but I'm afraid I went a bit heavy-handed with the Dartan resolution. I was very tired when I wrote all of that. Did it come across as too much? I know so many of you were hoping he'd be Godless forever, but otherwise?

The Bastion? Oh yeah. Everything was glossed over, really, and for one good reason: I stink at the high-level stuff. I mean I really suck. I was trying to balance everything at once, failed, and it comes through here. I miss the old 1st-5th level stuff... which, of course, I want to play now.

I am NEVER running a high-level game again. I'm not a computer.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I didn't find the Dartan resolution heavy handed at all, to tell the truth - in particular, it sort of "closed the circle" and tied in nicely with Gorgoldand setting up his new "Silver Quill".

One aspect of the high level game which I think you carried off really well was the "Acessiwal playing cat and mouse" angle, which was excellent (even if it was only backstory!).

In my campaign the highest character is 11th, and the highest magic user is (checks) 7th... so I've not had to deal with the plethora of spells problem... but I have to admit that even now I find it hard to balance encounters. Four of the five most recent adventure sessions has had a party death and I wasn't even trying hard to kill them*

As an interesting semi-parallel to Dartan, it is the chap whose mostly fighter who has been the best survivor to date.

One of the things I've noticed about 1st-5th levels - it is quite common for PC's to get wounded and lie there bleeding, but still be saveable. As they reach higher levels that 0 to -10 buffer gets mighty small, and tends to get zapped all in one go.

I bought Bastion, but I don't think I'll ever use it as I can't see how I won't kill all the PC's!

Cheers

* and this is WITH my houserule that says when you go past -10hp, you are allowed a Fort ST (DC= amount below 0) in order to survive hanging there at deaths door. It used to work great, but recent deaths have been facing DC30+ ST's and just can't manage to roll those 20's.

 

[rbingham2000]

Man, feels good to be done. Kinda like ending high school. This burden you've had for a long time, and now it's gone... where to go to now? Hmmm... might have to complete a certain other story hour I left unfinished long ago.

Damn straight!

We've already been through two major fights in the second installment of SIX IN THE CHAMBER (minus the battle that broke out in the theater!), and it's been a while since we've read the exploits of Chen Yau, Chai Tong, Chef Tso, Cuddly Jack and the rest of the SIX IN THE CHAMBER crew.

So far, the Captain is dead, Chef Tso's restaurant blew sky high, a whole cart load of mooks in both the restaurant and the amusement park ended up with thoroughly kicked butts, Wang Sing-Yi is dead, and Positive Lam got away.

And along with Positive Lam, the crew still have Iron Violet and the Marshall to contend with!

We're still waiting!

 

[Dr Midnight]

it's been a while since we've read the exploits of Chen Yau, Chai Tong, Chef Tso, Cuddly Jack and the rest of the SIX IN THE CHAMBER crew.

We're still waiting!

Dude, check the date on the last update. It was last week.

Hey, sorry goes out to Richards for my not commenting on his new, and most tear-jerking song. Fantastic stuff, makes me a little choked up. I'm rereading the whole thing myself now, and am currently mired around the Crater Ridge Mines. I shiver at the crappiness of my earlier writing style... ugh.