The Scourge of the Ratmen [Scarred Lands] - Updated 1/26

Neat story. And kudos to whoever's playing Paks. He really caught her character quite well. Makes me want to dig out the Sheepfarmer's daughter and reread it.
 

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Elder-Basilisk said:
Neat story. And kudos to whoever's playing Paks. He really caught her character quite well. Makes me want to dig out the Sheepfarmer's daughter and reread it.

Wow, maybe this will earn us an extra update this week. Paks is played by our esteemed author, Amaroq. The development of Paks has only just begun.
 


Elder-Basilisk said:
Neat story. And kudos to whoever's playing Paks. He really caught her character quite well. Makes me want to dig out the Sheepfarmer's daughter and reread it.

Good catch - I'm impressed you caught the reference so quickly! And thank you. As fulcan indicates, that's me. I've had a lot of fun playing this character. I thoroughly recommend Sheepfarmer's Daughter by Elizabeth Moon, and the entire Deed of Paksenarrion series, to anybody who hasn't read it. I had just re-read it when we started the campaign, and used the lead character as my model for Paks in this campaign. Of course, she's grown in a somewhat different direction, given different experiences, but I've really enjoyed exploring her development.

Regarding the first-person P.O.V., the original logs I'm working from follow a third-person-for-singular, first-person-for-plural motif: if more than 50% of the group is together and doing something in concert, it comes out as "we", and I've followed that where possible.
 
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Issue #1: The Laughing Ogre. Episode 2

The Laughing Ogre Inn is a relaxing place. We are fed well, and the beds are clean and comfortable. It is the last week of Vangalot, the fourth month of summer, and the days are hot and lazy, perfect for resting and recuperating. Even with the healing efforts of the local priest and priestess, it takes several days for our bodies to heal from our injuries, and our spirits to recover from the terrors of our narrow escape.

Goldpetal, the elf, with his leg bound in a splint and two ribs broken, spends most of his days in the Laughing Ogre’s garden, resting under the trees, and watching a hawk circle in the distant skies, or an insect in the trees, or sleeping. He doesn’t speak much, and appears restless, almost like an animal caged by his injuries.

Paks frequently joins him, sleeping in the shade and watching the clouds overhead. She seems to respect Goldpetal’s reticence, and sits with him in companionable silence. She escaped the attack with the least injuries, and no disease, and recovered first.

Chuck is clearly unhappy, perhaps even depressed. He is tormented by the death of his mentor, the late Vigilant Steve, but won’t speak of it to anyone. He occasionally joins Paks in the yard, preferring Paks’ quiet camaraderie to the solicitous concern of others.

Fergus and Stone were, as Steve had warned, infected with disease during the fights. It takes them the longest to heal. They spend most of their time in bed sleeping and recuperating from the illness and their injuries. Fergus is a big highlander, the largest member of the company, from north of the Blood Basin. Stone is a half-orc, but Miriel assures her host that he acquitted himself honorably in the fight at the caravan.

Miriel heals more quickly. When she is well enough to leave the healing confines of the inn, she goes to the temple of Madriel. There, she offers prayers of thanks for our rescue, and spends some time studying with Verenia, the high priestess.

Everyone at the inn is very nice to us, especially Fox Dunharrow, the half-elven innkeeper. The cook, who takes a quick liking to Miriel, is an older woman with a gift for making hearty, savory fare. Fox’s sons are his assistants, two red-headed teenagers, Randall and Reginald, who help out with the chores, especially the rooms and the stables. They are fascinated with our story, though few enough want to speak of the experience.

His daughter, Rian, is an eighteen-year-old beauty with waist-length raven hair, a dazzling smile, and a genuine laugh. In the evenings, she waits tables, and demonstrates a dexterous ability to dodge any drunkard who reaches for her, and a sharp wit in rebutting numerous proposals, more ludicrous than offensive. Fox doesn’t intervene, and it appears that this behavior is almost a local game for the many regular customers.

None of the three children look similar to Fox, lacking the elven face and blonde hair of the innkeeper, and when Miriel asks Fox about it, she learns that all of his “children” are adopted.
 
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Does anyone in your party ever make their saves?
First the spiders and then nearly devastated by the ghouls...low Con and bad Fort saves all around it looks like.
 

Broccli_Head said:
Does anyone in your party ever make their saves?
First the spiders and then nearly devastated by the ghouls...low Con and bad Fort saves all around it looks like.

Bad roles. Lots of bad roles. We role so bad it's amazing.
 



Thread re-organization

I've had it mentioned to me from several sources that these are getting fairly long, and I've figured out that the forum "page breaks" every 25 posts, not taking into account the length of the posts. So, I'm going to adopt P-kitty's style, essentially breaking at each major resting point, whether its the start of a new "Issue" or not. I'm actually going to go back and re-post Issues #1 and 2, to match that style.

If you're subscribing in 'mail me every time there's an update' mode, I apologize; I'm about to flood your inbox. But I think it'll be better for new readers later. And who knows, I may experiment with posting a daily "portion of an issue" update instead of a once-a-week dump.
 

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