Bravo. That Vorpal Sword has sure changed hands several times, hasn't it?
I've always had a strange fondness for this campaign. Not despite the many fatalities, the dysfunctional relationships or the odd veer into nonheroic behaviour, but because of that. The characters feel authentic, and there's a nice underlying tension from the 'safety' being off that fiction often lacks.
I joined this roundabout Temple of Elemental Evil time, and it was a jolt to see half the party get wiped out in the first few pages. It would be easy to lose any sense of continuity or story with as many fatalities, but the plot somehow twists to incorporate things like the RtToEE bloodbath. Kudos to Doc for working things like Jamison going evil, and the White Dragon into the plot, and coming up with new and interesting sidetracks off of that.
It's been a long trek. Thanks for to the players for producing such an interesting game, and thanks to Doc for telling us all about it in fine style.
And for the record, my favourite moments. The bits that I'd put in a trailer for this story:
10: Vek's self-restoration after being disintegrated.
9: Dartan turning up again as the wild, crazy man of the woods.
8: Metus decapitating himself. Critical misses, don't you hate them?
7: The conversation between Accessiwal and Vek. "Lich." "Wyrm."
6: Dartan rejoining the group. "Still godless?" "Still godless."
5: Accessiwal's revelation about Jamison's past.
4: Gryph turning on the party, and Jamison's subsequent shattering of the mirror. In a few paragraphs, everything goes topsy-turvy.
3: Defeating the T-Rexes by sending a horde of lions in for them to eat. There's that wonderful streak of adventuring realpolitik.
2: Vek's destruction at the hands of his goddess.
1: The group resurrection after getting trashed by Crow and his undead henchmen--a real hand-to-forehead moment. I wasn't the only one to forget about those.
I've always had a strange fondness for this campaign. Not despite the many fatalities, the dysfunctional relationships or the odd veer into nonheroic behaviour, but because of that. The characters feel authentic, and there's a nice underlying tension from the 'safety' being off that fiction often lacks.
I joined this roundabout Temple of Elemental Evil time, and it was a jolt to see half the party get wiped out in the first few pages. It would be easy to lose any sense of continuity or story with as many fatalities, but the plot somehow twists to incorporate things like the RtToEE bloodbath. Kudos to Doc for working things like Jamison going evil, and the White Dragon into the plot, and coming up with new and interesting sidetracks off of that.
It's been a long trek. Thanks for to the players for producing such an interesting game, and thanks to Doc for telling us all about it in fine style.
And for the record, my favourite moments. The bits that I'd put in a trailer for this story:
10: Vek's self-restoration after being disintegrated.
9: Dartan turning up again as the wild, crazy man of the woods.
8: Metus decapitating himself. Critical misses, don't you hate them?
7: The conversation between Accessiwal and Vek. "Lich." "Wyrm."
6: Dartan rejoining the group. "Still godless?" "Still godless."
5: Accessiwal's revelation about Jamison's past.
4: Gryph turning on the party, and Jamison's subsequent shattering of the mirror. In a few paragraphs, everything goes topsy-turvy.
3: Defeating the T-Rexes by sending a horde of lions in for them to eat. There's that wonderful streak of adventuring realpolitik.
2: Vek's destruction at the hands of his goddess.
1: The group resurrection after getting trashed by Crow and his undead henchmen--a real hand-to-forehead moment. I wasn't the only one to forget about those.
