Month: June 2022

A Star Trek one-shot RPG scenario using a variation of the Lasers & Feelings system.

"Today is a Good Day..."(PDF)

Cowboys of Cydonia

Based on "Lady Blackbird" by John Harper

The Pilgrims of Albahith lived in a walled compound, walking distance from the main gate of Jigow, but secluded among some barren hills. Outside the walls were fields, beehives, even a pond where fish were raised.

Childe Raymonde walked swiftly to the gate, saluting the adolescents who were on post there, one Human and one Elf. Raymonde could tell they were bursting with curiosity -- they wanted to hear what had happened on his quest.

More...

==Roll Call==
Childe Raymond, Githyanki Paladin (Doty)
Bell, Kenku Cleric (CJ)
Blynce, Human-hybrid Fighter (Eric)
Vaal, Eladrin Rogue (Tim)
Bumi, Goblin Sorcerer (Matt)
Morgid, Hobgoblin Guide (NPC)

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 5)

We had rested on the back of the Mossback Steward (a giant tortoise, big enough to build a small town on), and prepared for the coming battle.

We asked the tortoise to divine a secret entrance to the outpost. The answer was vague but pretty negative-sounding.

We took a short trek back to the scene of the battle against the Imperial guards, thinking to take enough of their uniforms and equipments to create a disguise or two.

Sneaking back to the outpost, we saw nobody? No guards in the towers, no guards in the gate, which stood open. The storm -- the atmospheric disturbance we saw over the place before -- was gone. What had happened? Were we too late to save Bolbarra?

Vaal, figuring "well, they left the door open" walked right in, the rest of us behind him. We found eight guards … dead. Blync confirmed their dead-ness by shooting one with his bow.

We saw four iron-barred cages, one of which had an occupant. Bumi investigated, while Blync looked inside a large tent. We found two more dead Imperial guards.

Inside the cage: a bruised, semi-catatonic Human, muttering to himself. I healed him and he became lucid. He was startled and suspicious, and I tried to allay his fears, telling him that we were friendly and our intent was to release him from captivity. Bell realized from his gray skin and pale eyes that this man was a "Hollow One" -- a necromantically-resurrected corpse, quasi-undead. Bell took a step back, startled, and told us what he was. Vaal took the news in stride and advocated a tolerant attitude. I did not know what to think!

The "Hollow One" again questioned who we were, and I again proclaimed our good intentions, advising him to take the opportunity to exit his cage. Vaal asked him, "What happened here?" "They're all dead," he replied. A goblin spell-caster killed them all, making them fight one another. They had tortured her for days (as they did himself). At the end of the third day, screams were heard again, but they were not her voice. The goblin lady emerged from the keep, where the torture chamber was, and the slaughter began. All the guards fought each other, and the goblin lady joined in the killing. When all were dead, she simply walked out the gate. (He also mentioned that the lead torturer's name was "Pelanos.") This all happened last night.

Bumi found a black-bladed scimitar -- the "Hollow One" claimed it was his, with sincerity in his voice. Bumi after much delay and poor attitude gave it to him.

Investigating some more, a guard was found that appears to have died of a heart attack or something similar. We also found the quartermaster's supply room and an armory. We found in one tent something looking like a commander's office, complete with a map of the surrounding territories. There was a locked chest here, which had a poison needle trap that hurt Vaal, our rogue, but not seriously. The chest contained silver, a magnifying glass, a potion of mind reading, an ornate dagger, and a strange book about mutants.

We entered the main keep: in a small side chamber we found more bodies -- apparently officers, in what appeared to be a sanctuary or chapel. We expected to find a torture chamber from what the Hollow One said, but from the chains upon the altar, this room may have served that purpose. Vaal noted that the manacles were broken -- evidence of the escape of Bollbarra.

We began to track Bollbarra. A couple miles in the swamp, we ran across the Mossback Steward again. He questioned us about Bollbarra. He was quite distrait when we described the slaughter she presumably performed. The tortoise advised us to subdue her -- perhaps the "patron" would be convinced to let her go. Her further supposed that the "patron" would have been forced to serve her, and, having control of her, would seek revenge on the swamp town. He told us to go quickly!

We chased Bollbarra and ran across another Imperial patrol -- they were all dead, the same as the guards in the outpost. Bumi tried to understand the arcane power used for this -- it was an enchantment, some sort of confusion. It seemed unlikely we would be able to protect ourselves from the power.

We found a goblin female trudging through the swamp. Presumably, this was Bollbarra. Fortunately, we were able to catch up to her, since she was slowed by the deep sludge. We closed in on her. Her normally red goblin eyes were pure black -- she had an air of pure evil, and she looked upon us with what appeared to be a hungry glee? This did not bode well.

She gestured, and disappeared from sight! We attempted to track her by the splashes of her foot-falls. With my paladin senses, I could pinpoint her location, but I kept that information to myself, so as not to alert her that she had been discovered.

Blync did figure out where she was independently, by spotting the splashing of her feet, and fired his bow ineffectively. Vaal closed on her location and attacked to subdue. She became visible and attempted an enchantment. I shrugged it off. The fight continued, and her next enchantment did befuddle me for a short while. Bumi knocked her cold; Vaal made sure she didn't drown in the mire.

We heard in our minds a primal scream of rage -- pure fury. We get the feeling we made an enemy today. We could barely detect something like a black mist rising away from her. Her eyes regained their normal appearance. Regaining consciousness, she expressed contrition at her deeds. She confirmed that it was her "patron" that was controlling her. She asked us to return her to the swamp village.

We took her back to Buffall the 2nd, mayor of the town, who was overjoyed. We were paid 250gp each!

For our next task, we were asked to go to Jigow, escorting Morgid, who is delivering intelligence to the Aurora Watch. Again, 250gp each was to be our payment. We should be there in time for the Festival of Merit!

[We advance to 3rd level!]

==Roll Call==
Childe Raymond, Githyanki Paladin (Doty)
Bell, Kenku Cleric (CJ)
Blynce, Human-hybrid Fighter (Eric)
Vaal, Eladrin Rogue (Tim)
Bumi, Goblin Sorcerer (Matt)
Morgid, Hobgoblin Guide (NPC)

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 4)

After our fight with the spiders, we rested in the ruined tower. The next morning, we had a brief religious discussion, but I'm not sure we really got anywhere with it.

We decided to head towards a place marked on the map that looked like a mushroom field. Arriving, we found a cave entrance set in a hill, surrounded by mushrooms and slime. The cave did not appear to be a mausoleum -- it appeared natural, at least as far as we could tell. None of us knew enough about fungus to identify the mushrooms, either.

Blynce investigated the cave entrance, and noticed a frog-like humanoid. The other didn't notice Blynce, so Blynce backed out of the cave and rejoined us. From the description, Morgid supposed this might have been a Bullywug, who were known to be present in the swamp.

Bumi cast a spell to understand the Bullywug, with the idea of perhaps getting it to tell us information about Bollbarra the goblin-witch. Upon advancing, Bumi said that we should back up, although I couldn't see what he was reacting to. Lanterns began to be lit from within the cavern! There were five Bullywugs and two large amphibioid beasts of some sort.

They apparently hadn't heard of Bollbarra, but asked for treasure in return for letting us live. We were not impressed by their threats, and combat began. We pulled back to the cave entrance, not feeling much cause to engage in a deadly fight. Our spellcasters did minor damage, and we continued to retreat in fighting formation. Bumi magically threw rocks at one of the big toads, and called upon Vaal to play his magic flute. Our enemies closed in but did not quite get within reach. Vaal played an obscure ditty on the pipes -- some of our opponents trembled in fear! We exited the cave -- they did not pursue. Bumi expressed some regret at our retreat, and in my heart I felt the same.

We continued on to the next marked place on our map -- something like a monolith. At dusk, we found a mossy knoll, with a huge crystalline shard, three feet across and about eight feet tall, shimmering and glowing. After a brief argument as to whether to investigate this place or find a camp, Bumi began to magically evaluate the crystal.

We also found traces of footprints, and an indication of something being dragged away. Perhaps Bollbarra was captured here? This knoll is apparently a place where darkly arcane rituals can be performed. The party, over my objections, made camp at the knoll. Bumi learned that this crystal could be used to cast the "commune" spell. Vaal learned that some glowing gems could be removed from the crystal (and did so) -- the gems could be used to cast some divination magic.

Bumi cast Commune - "Is Bollbarra at the outpost?" "Yes." "Is Bollbarra alive?" "Yes and no." "Will Bollbarra leave with us if we go get her?" "Maybe." We were a bit perplexed by that, but decided to proceed to the Imperial outpost.

Along the way, we sensed movement ahead of us in the marsh. Imperial soldiers! They commanded us halt in the name of the Empire. Vaal made a friendly greeting, which Bell amplified. The soldiers advanced a bit, but not into combat range. They did not appear to be immediately hostile. Their leader demanded that we hand over all goblinoids (having got a glimpse of Bumi concealing himself in my backpack). Bumi hopped down and brandished the Imperial shield we had found earlier, claiming that he was "one of them."

They accused Bumi of killing a soldier, which Bumi denied. The soldiers indicated there was a bounty on goblinoid. Bell denied meeting any soldiers before. The soldiers re-iterated their demand to hand over the goblinoid. A 25gp bounty per head! Vaal and Bumi both claimed that Bumi was worth far more than that! But then, the leader spotted our guide Morgid hiding behind a tree. "Another one!" the leader exclaimed angrily, drawing his weapon.

Bumi said, "You want shield? You can have it!" … and launched it magically at the leader, injuring him gravely. Vaal played on his pipes, causing fear in the majority of our foes! Melee ensued, and the soldiers were clearly over-matched. Morgid, furious at the bigoted soldiers, charged to the attack, a marked change from his previous holding-back. The last remaining soldier fled and we gave chase. The soldier didn't get far, and fell dead.

The party's comradeship increased quite a bit as a result of this fight. We stood together against the bigotry of the Empire, even though they tempted us with gold. I was troubled in spirit, however. I enjoyed that fight immensely, and I worry that my ancestral Githyanki bloodthirstiness is beginning to grow strong.

We found the escarpment at the edge of the marsh, and came across the seeming carcass of one of those gigantic tortoises. Morgid said "Mossback steward!" and knelt in respect and prayer. It was no carcass! It spoke to us, welcoming us. We told it that we sought Bollbarra, and it confirmed that she had been taken by the Empire to their outpost. It offered to cast divination magic for us.

We decided to reconnoiter the outpost before asking our divination question. The outpost had a persistent dark cloud above it -- some kind of magical storm! We went back to the Steward and camped on its back, thinking that we could try to penetrate the outpost at night. We ask the Steward to divine whether or not Bollbarra was currently alive -- the answer was "Bollbarra lives. Bollbarra dies. Bollbarra lives again, over many nights, but soon, Bollbarra will no longer be Bollbarra." Chilling!

We took a long rest. Bumi noticed that the gems taken from the large crystal were a bit dimmer….

==Roll Call==
Childe Raymond, Githyanki Paladin (Doty)
Bell, Kenku Cleric (CJ)
Blynce, Human-hybrid Fighter (Eric)
Vaal, Eladrin Rogue (Tim)
Bumi, Goblin Sorcerer (Matt)
Morgid, Hobgoblin Guide (NPC)

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 3)

We rested after our encounter with the unreasonably hostile Lizardfolk, still surrounded by the stacked bones they had assembled.

We headed towards a vague tree-shape marked on Morgid's map -- perhaps a tower? We had no real reason to do so, except that we wanted to check likely places where a wizard might find spell components, and thought something marked on the map might well be significant.

We reached the place marked on the map and saw nothing. Puzzled, we used the wand we found earlier to detect magic and found nothing. Perhaps we were in the wrong place?

Bell climbed a tree to see if he (it?) could catch a helpful glimpse. He couldn't climb very high, though, so I climbed instead. I saw off to the west something that might be a tower a few miles away. Obviously, we meandered from the straight course a little bit.

We found a crumbling, overgrown, forboding tower, starting to submerge into the swamp but still standing. We tried throwing small rocks into a 2nd story window but couldn't manage it, so we simply approached.

On the mucky first floor, I found a chest stuck in the mud. I brought it over to the Rogue, who opened it. Inside was a musical instrument - a set of pipes (looking like a Greek flute with two pipes) (later revealed as Pipes of Haunting). Vaal, in playing the pipes, caused Blynce to suddenly be mortally afraid!

We went up the stairs. On the third floor were giant spiders! A fight began. They attacked with venomous bites and sticky webs. My comrades and I defended ourselves with all the might we could muster, and The Luxon decreed that we should not meet our destiny this day. We found two previous victims of the spiders wrapped up in webs -- quite dead. The bodies had a suit of elven chainmail and a silver ring. Neither of the bodies was the Goblin-witch we've been looking for. Apparently, in clearing out the spiders we eliminated a plague-spot in the swamp, so we congratulated ourselves and prepared to rest for the night.

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 2)

We were in the swamplands between Urzen town and the forward outpost of the Empire, looking for the Goblin-witch Bollbarra, who had been missing for some time. I don't know how we can find one person in all these miles of swamp, especially when we have no tracks to follow, but we are doing our best.

We had taken a short rest after our encounter with the snake swarm, and then continued to the southwest. A rudimentary map carried by Morgid, our Hobgoblin guide, indicated some sort of landmark -- bones? -- to our southwest, so we trekked that way.

The landmark was some distance, and we camped for the night before reaching it. It turned out that the place was a giant bone-yard, an area of swamp littered with the skeletons of giant tortoises. In the center was a huge mound of bones. The place was eerie and forbidding, and we made our way towards it carefully. Remembering that Urzen town was built on the back of living giant tortoises, I asked if this could be a dead neighborhood formerly belonging to Urzen. Morgid recoiled from the idea and refused to acknowledge that this was even possible.

Suddenly! The swamp ground erupted in wooden spikes, like gargantuan thorns. Some kind of magic spell was afoot. We found ourselves under bombardment from stones hurled from the center mass of bones.

It turned out that this was the haunt of a tribe of Lizardfolk, all festooned in macabre bone-jewelry, and ruled by a spell-casting shaman.

At first, I spoke in Draconic to them, attempting to be friendly. I told them that we meant them no harm and were sorry to trespass. We would leave them in peace, but we did want to ask them about the missing witch. Bell the Kenku attempted to amplify my diplomatic efforts with his mimickry and miming. They ignored my words and continued to pelt us with rocks. The spikes were replaced by grasping tendrils of vines -- I had heard of the spell Plant Growth, but had never seen it before.

My comrades sought cover and gave the Lizardfolk a chance to resolve our encounter peacefully, but it was not to be. The shaman began to animate humanoid skeletons to come attack us, and some of the rocks began to hit home on us. Not only that, but some of the Lizardmen began to advance on us with clubs.

We had given peace a chance, but now it was war. Bumi, our Goblin mystic, launched a cloud of debris at one of the club-wielders, obliterating him instantly. Things got even more violent after that. We could hear the Lizardfolk screaming in Draconic: "Die, heretics! Begone, unclean!" and things of that nature.

Bell seemed very focused on destroying the undead skeleton, no doubt part of his religious ethos.

As the fight progressed, some of us began to be seriously wounded, and the shaman was proving particularly troublesome, but Lizardfolk and skeletons continued to drop.

The shaman was finally dispatched, and the party turned the tide, eliminating our foes.

Afterwards, we searched the environs. Apparently, this bone-yard was holy to the Lizardfolk, for they had created it as a tribute to their demon-lord Sassenach. They were homicidally enraged by our mere presence. Too bad! There was really no cause for us to fight, but if death was their destiny, then so be it.

Not much treasure was found, just some gold teeth. Nor did we find any trace of the Goblin-witch Bollbarra. Weary and wounded, we rested on the battleground.

(Level Up! Everybody gets 6 Hero Points!)

I'll start posting the journals of our D&D 5.0 Netherdeep Campaign here, as well as anything else seeming worthy of posting.

To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township

Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:

First Mission Report from Childe Raymonde

Taking your advice, O Masters, in order to begin my mission as a Paladin I left the area of Jigow, without preconceived notion of what I might do.

Finding myself in the Xhorhas Wastes far from home, I took the first work assignment that came my way -- caravan guard for a shipment along the Harrowalk Road all the way to Urzen, the swamp town.

The passage was uneventful, but I did strike up an acquaintance with several of the other guards. These included:

• Blynce (pronounced "Blink") - a Human hybrid of some sort with long white hair and gray skin. Apparently he has Gnome ancestry? There would seem to be an interesting story there, but I have not yet learned it. Despite his small stature, he is a trained warrior, equipped with chainmail, longbow, and a rapier.
• Bell, a Kenku avian creature in humanoid shape. He has black plumage, and speaks with some difficulty, sounding something like an enormous crow. He has, like myself, taken on a holy mission of some sort. Unlike myself, he serves not the Luxon but the White Raven. In fact, he has apparently travelled from the Empire and wears clothing and symbols of that realm. Like Blynce, there is no doubt an interesting story there, but he has not yet told it.
• Vaal, an Eladrin with green hair and violet eyes. He dresses in finery, apparently to the limit (or beyond) of his finances. He claims descent from a noble family in Port Demali on the Menagerie Coast, and declared his intention to become "rich and famous." While his materialism is repellant, he carries himself with wit and charm. It remains to be seen whether he will rise to become a force for good or descend into base greed.
• Bumi, a Goblin wielder of arcane power, I immediately took a liking to. He seems clever and capable, but is keenly aware of his small size and lowly appearance. (As you know, O Masters, I have a soft spot for Goblins, for it was in the act of rescuing a trio of Goblins from a bullying Orc that I discovered the power of The Luxon flowing through me, and you decided henceforth that I should be trained as a Paladin.) Bumi troubles my spirit, though. Taking me aside, he questioned me about the Umavi, and those The Luxon has reincarnated. I was abashed by my own lack of knowledge and experience. I wish to know more! The final thing he said to me was chilling: "Beware, for they do not always tell you the truth." What could this mean?

Upon reaching Urzen town, we found that it was several confederated settlements built on the back of a pack of enormous turtles! Like Jigow, it is people mainly by goblinoids, orcs, gnolls, and many other kinds of humanoids. Unlike Jigow, this region is only recently become part of the territory of the Kryn Dynasty, having previously been part of the Empire.

We received our pay and discharge from the duties of caravan guards, and Vaal treated us to a round of drinks at a local tavern. I approached and hailed a group of Aurora Watch guards, and immediately felt foolish -- they had never heard of the Pilgrims, and looked upon me as a boorish stranger.

We were approached by a Hobgoblin, one Morgid, who we later found out was an aide to the "mayor" of Urzen town, Buff-All the 2nd. Taking us to his master, we were offered an adventuring quest.

We were asked to search the swamp environs for the missing Bollbarra, a Goblin witch and chief advisor to Buff-All the 2nd. She went into the swamp to search for spell components, but then failed to return in a timely manner. The presence of an outpost of the Empire creates fears of foul play. Buff-All the 2nd wished us to take up the quest rather than local forces due to political reasons -- he does not wish it known that his chief advisor (who is a power in town in her own right) is missing.

Buff-All the 2nd offered us weaponry, but we all had superior arms of our own already and we declined his generosity (but accepted the promise of 200 gold pieces each upon successful return of his witch).

Trekking through the swamp (with the aforementioned Morgid as a tracker and guide), we came upon a raft carrying the corpse of an Imperial soldier. Investigating, we were attacked by a swarm of snakes! Their venom was foul, but we managed to dispatch them with only some little trouble.

We shall rest briefly and resume our quest….