Bloodmäter

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

For weeks now, my players have been saying, "What we need to do is light a log on fire, and roll it into the enemy's camp." Every time I ask them what their plan is, that's what they tell me.

 

So now, they've got that opportunity.

[matrix3]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

Ah, so they purposely named their ship The Flaming Log just so they could eventually ram it into their enemy.

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

I think it was inevitable.

[lapsedgamer]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

It's also possible that the idea lends itself to fantasy. I've never played FF, but one of the many ideas doodled down in my potential campaigns ideas sounds a lot like the FF thing you described: a world composed of mountains and plateaus rising out of the mist. The humans live in the sunlands, the fae down in the endless forests of the mist. The idea was to have separate kingdoms, where most of the travel between kingdoms, and most warfare - apart from a few of the larger plateaus - was by flying mount and airship. Travel in the mistlands was dangerous! (though attractive to the misguided adventurers who venture there in search of riches )

 

The background idea was that humans had come to this world long ago, only to find that a) it had its own sentient face, the shapeshifting, sun-shy (and iron-allergic) fae and it had very little of the heavier metals accessible in the higher elevations. Hence metal was in short supply: their own metal-based culture swiftly collapsed and a new society adapted to its setting has evolved. To some extent "magical talent" (actually psionics) acquired from interbreeding with the fae over the centuries, has compensated and the scarcity of metal armor meant various martial arts are the staple of most warriors.

 

Basically, the intended genre was rubber-science planetary romance: cue kung-fu fightin' psionic air pirates!

 

cheers, Mark

 

That is a good campaign idea all right. Did they have metal swords and knives, or did they use bone knives and staves and other work-arounds? I could see this as a campaign where a steel or bronze sword is a "magic" weapon, and piece metal armor is like plate armor in D&D.

[Markdoc]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

That is a good campaign idea all right. Did they have metal swords and knives' date=' or did they use bone knives and staves and other work-arounds? I could see this as a campaign where a steel or bronze sword is a "magic" weapon, and piece metal armor is like plate armor in D&D.[/quote']

 

That is pretty much exactly what I had in mind, yes. Since it was "planetary romance" there was no magic, as such (but Psionics would fill pretty much the same role, with very rare pieces of incomprehensible tech as ancient artifacts).

 

cheers, Mark

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

Bloodmäter Recap for 02-27-2010

The Troubleshooters sent their prisoners and the rest of their crew back to Bloodmäter on one of the small scout ships, and then headed towards the pirates’ Sky-Base. The clouds were dense in this area, so it was tough to find, but eventually they spotted it – an enormous structure, floating hidden in the clouds. It consisted of two levels – the lower deck (where all the “industry” goes on), and the upper deck (which is where most ships dock, and where the R&R and C&C facilities are). It was essentially two giant disks linked together in the middle, with wooden docks jutting out from its edges and a jumble of buildings in the center.

 

They spotted several ships currently in dock, two large ones and about a half-dozen small ones. One of those two large ships was the Skallywag – a large, smoke-belching machine of war. The other one is smaller and more elegant; it was docked opposite of where the Skallywag was.

 

But it wasn’t easy sailing from here. There were a number of small scout ships patrolling the area. The heroes hoped to get past most of them by flying the pirates’ colors – which worked for a while. But before long, some of the scout ships realized that the ship had once been Tarnishia’s, and they gave pursuit. The heroes worked the sails, and the furnace, and the helm, to get as much speed as possible out of the craft. They broke through the flotilla, and made straight for what appeared to be a fuel depot.

 

At the last minute, everyone except Alix bailed out, leaping into one of the captured scout ships and pulling away. Alix waited until the Burning Log was about to strike the Sky-Base, then she transformed into a bird and flew away as quickly as her little wings could carry her.

 

The Burning Log crashed into the Sky-Base with a huge explosion and a deafening roar. Pirates were running every-which-way; some of them trying to escape, some of them trying to put the fires out. The heroes quietly landed their ship not too far from Drudge’s flagship and hurried across the docks, hoping to use the confusion to mask their presence.

 

Most of the pirates ignored them, but a gang of men, led by a huge ogre, spotted them. “You there, who are you and where do you think you’re going?” he demanded. The heroes tried to fast-talk their way out of it by telling him that they were planning to abandon ship, and the Ogre and his men should do the same. But the Ogre was a rare example of an intelligent member of his species, and did not fall for their lies. “Intruders!” he screamed. “Kill them!”

 

But the baddies proved to be little more than a speedbump for the heroes. They crushed the opposition and kept heading straight for the enemy ship. Drudge spotted them before they got there, and sent a mob of his men out to block them while he readied the Skallywag for departure.

 

The Skallywag was a large ship, much larger than the Burning Log. When the heroes approached, Drudge yelled down at them. “So you’re the ones who defeated Tarnishia and stole the Brazen Whore! Once I catch her, I’ll make her pay dearly for losing my property to a bunch of nobodies like you! But first, I’ll kill you all and use your skins for my sails!”

 

“Bring it, scruffy!” the heroes sneered back, and the fight was on! The battle was made even tougher by the fact that the dock itself had caught ablaze, and was rapidly collapsing as they battled around the burning wreckage. But the heroes eventually managed to kill most of Drudge’s pirates, until the Captain himself stomped down the gangplank to deal with these interlopers!

 

He was hard as nails, and dished out a lot of pain. Unfortunately (for him), the heroes managed to surround him and whittle him down until even the mighty Captain Drudge could fight no longer. With a crash, he collapsed to the sagging deck. The heroes, knowing they didn’t have much time, quickly ran aboard the Skallywag. While several of them were scuttling her, the rest raided Drudge’s quarters for loot. They grabbed a large treasure chest and bailed out, just as the mighty steamship broke loose from the docks and began slowly dropping down into the Mist.

 

The Troubleshooters jumped aboard a nearby scout ship and cast off, flying away from the Sky-Base as quickly as they could. But before they disappeared into the clouds, Pax and Hakkoz looked behind them to see the other large ship sailing off in the opposite direction. They could just barely make out her name – The Adder. It was the personal flagship of the Pirate Queen herself!

 

Wisely, they kept this news to themselves, knowing that Alix and Brontus would want to give chase, even though the heroes were in no shape for another battle.

 

After they were safely away, they set course for the small island in the Mist to fulfill their bargain with the dead merchant captain…

 

TBC!

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

Bloodmäter Recap for 02-27-2010

The Troubleshooters sent their prisoners and the rest of their crew back to Bloodmäter on one of the small scout ships, and then headed towards the pirates’ Sky-Base. The clouds were dense in this area, so it was tough to find, but eventually they spotted it – an enormous structure, floating hidden in the clouds. It consisted of two levels – the lower deck (where all the “industry” goes on), and the upper deck (which is where most ships dock, and where the R&R and C&C facilities are). It was essentially two giant disks linked together in the middle, with wooden docks jutting out from its edges and a jumble of buildings in the center.

 

They spotted several ships currently in dock, two large ones and about a half-dozen small ones. One of those two large ships was the Skallywag – a large, smoke-belching machine of war. The other one is smaller and more elegant; it was docked opposite of where the Skallywag was.

 

But it wasn’t easy sailing from here. There were a number of small scout ships patrolling the area. The heroes hoped to get past most of them by flying the pirates’ colors – which worked for a while. But before long, some of the scout ships realized that the ship had once been Tarnishia’s, and they gave pursuit. The heroes worked the sails, and the furnace, and the helm, to get as much speed as possible out of the craft. They broke through the flotilla, and made straight for what appeared to be a fuel depot.

 

At the last minute, everyone except Alix bailed out, leaping into one of the captured scout ships and pulling away. Alix waited until the Burning Log was about to strike the Sky-Base, then she transformed into a bird and flew away as quickly as her little wings could carry her.

 

The Burning Log crashed into the Sky-Base with a huge explosion and a deafening roar. Pirates were running every-which-way; some of them trying to escape, some of them trying to put the fires out. The heroes quietly landed their ship not too far from Drudge’s flagship and hurried across the docks, hoping to use the confusion to mask their presence.

 

Most of the pirates ignored them, but a gang of men, led by a huge ogre, spotted them. “You there, who are you and where do you think you’re going?” he demanded. The heroes tried to fast-talk their way out of it by telling him that they were planning to abandon ship, and the Ogre and his men should do the same. But the Ogre was a rare example of an intelligent member of his species, and did not fall for their lies. “Intruders!” he screamed. “Kill them!”

 

But the baddies proved to be little more than a speedbump for the heroes. They crushed the opposition and kept heading straight for the enemy ship. Drudge spotted them before they got there, and sent a mob of his men out to block them while he readied the Skallywag for departure.

 

The Skallywag was a large ship, much larger than the Burning Log. When the heroes approached, Drudge yelled down at them. “So you’re the ones who defeated Tarnishia and stole the Brazen Whore! Once I catch her, I’ll make her pay dearly for losing my property to a bunch of nobodies like you! But first, I’ll kill you all and use your skins for my sails!”

 

“Bring it, scruffy!” the heroes sneered back, and the fight was on! The battle was made even tougher by the fact that the dock itself had caught ablaze, and was rapidly collapsing as they battled around the burning wreckage. But the heroes eventually managed to kill most of Drudge’s pirates, until the Captain himself stomped down the gangplank to deal with these interlopers!

 

He was hard as nails, and dished out a lot of pain. Unfortunately (for him), the heroes managed to surround him and whittle him down until even the mighty Captain Drudge could fight no longer. With a crash, he collapsed to the sagging deck. The heroes, knowing they didn’t have much time, quickly ran aboard the Skallywag. While several of them were scuttling her, the rest raided Drudge’s quarters for loot. They grabbed a large treasure chest and bailed out, just as the mighty steamship broke loose from the docks and began slowly dropping down into the Mist.

 

The Troubleshooters jumped aboard a nearby scout ship and cast off, flying away from the Sky-Base as quickly as they could. But before they disappeared into the clouds, Pax and Hakkoz looked behind them to see the other large ship sailing off in the opposite direction. They could just barely make out her name – The Adder. It was the personal flagship of the Pirate Queen herself!

 

Wisely, they kept this news to themselves, knowing that Alix and Brontus would want to give chase, even though the heroes were in no shape for another battle.

 

After they were safely away, they set course for the small island in the Mist to fulfill their bargain with the dead merchant captain…

 

TBC!

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

A bit of a “cut scene” between games…

 

--------------------

After about a day’s sailing, the heroes reach the mountaintop where the wrecked ship still lies. You carefully land your new scout ship and approach the wreckage.

 

There is a ghastly moan as the slain crewmen slowly rise up, staring at the Troubleshooters with their hollow, dead eyes. Brontus reaches into the leather sack he’s been carrying and pulls out the severed head of Captain Drudge. He holds it up high so that all the undead crew can see it. “We have fulfilled our promise,” Alix says. “There is the proof of Drudge’s death. You are avenged.”

 

One by one, the crewmen’s corpses each drop to the ground. The Troubleshooter think that they see them smile, before the bodies decay almost instantly into dust. Only one of the creatures is left standing – the former captain.

 

“We are in your debt,” it whispers in a raspy, dry voice. "If you ever have need of us, you have but to call.” He holds out his hand in salute, then crumbles into dust. There is nothing left but a few stray bones, an ivory scroll tube, and a golden ring.

 

Rody immediately scoops up the ring and the scroll tube. The ring feels ice cold in his hand. Knowing the stink of magic when he smells it, he passes the ring over to Berrian, who examines it closely. “It’s magical all right. It contains some sort of summoning spell. Necromantic, if I’m not mistaken (and I never am!).”

 

Inside the scroll tube is a large piece of oiled leather. Hakkoz takes a look and declares, “It’s a sailing chart, or I’m a Halfling.” He continues to look it over. “It’s a long way, and a complicated route, but right there, you can see it,” he points a thick finger at a point on the map. “There it is. The Addertongue Pirates’ secret lair – the Cauldron.”

 

He packs the chart back up in its case, and the heroes climb back aboard their ship. It’s been a long journey, and they’ve earned a rest. So they head back to the city of Bloodmäter.

 

The sun is coming up behind them as they approach. They are alarmed, as it seems that all is not well with the city! They see columns of smoke rising up from various places, both in the upper and lower sections of the city.

 

They pilot their ship down to the dock that extends from the Red Wizard’s Tower. At the very least, they are pleased to see the other skiff they stole from Cap’n Squint is docked there. By the time they get the ship tied off, Hope and Mercy are coming out of the tower.

 

“Thank goodness you’re here!” they say in unison. “Bloodmäter has been in chaos -- rioting in the streets, horrible monsters coming up from below, rats and vermin everywhere. People are freaking out!

 

“Things have quieted down now that the sun’s come up, so the crew is resting. Everything seems to happen at night.”

 

While Berrian begins preparing breakfast for everyone (you’ve got a crew full of hungry ex-pirates to serve!), Hope and Mercy explain what they know about what’s going on.

 

“We’ve heard rumors of fighting in the streets. What’s worse,” they continue, “Is that there are Pirates swarming all over the city. They’re using their ships to move around the city quickly, putting down anyone who tries to oppose them. Furthermore, the lower levels have been swarmed by giant rats, which are keeping the common folk down below locked in their houses and afraid to come out.”

 

As they’re talking, there’s a knock at the door. “Who the heck?” Berrian asks. The heroes ready their weapons as the gnome cautiously opens the door. They are greeted by a familiar face – Pete!

 

“Oh, man, am I glad to see you guys!” he says. “Everything’s been crazy out there! I barely made it down here!”

 

The Troubleshooters let him in and listen to his story. “I came in yesterday with the caravan. It’s not bad work, you know? Not what I’m used to, but it’s OK. Anyway, there’s these guys everywhere. Troops or something, but they’re basically bandits in uniforms. They’re demanding “taxes” from everyone who comes into the city. They’re patrolling all over the upper city, keeping people off the streets. It’s martial law! And there’s a whole bunch of them bivouacked in front of the Jade Palace, like they’re guarding it.”

 

The troops, as he describes them, are wearing the colors of the Countess Quintessa.

 

“Rats, pirates, rebellious nobles… It’s a multi-pronged attack on the city itself,” Zachariaus says, attracted by the smell of bacon and finally tottering downstairs. “If we still had a King, a navy, and an army, we could fight back, but leaderless as we are…” He shakes his head sadly.

 

The room full of sailors, ex-pirates, wizards, and even a pair of drakes all grow quiet and then look at the Troubleshooters…

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

And, my players' responses over the week:

 

Ben wrote:

Well, first we draft a note of apology for dumpin crap on the Mist Below people for so many years. Then we go to the farms to make sure the food is... safe... nevermind.

 

Ummm...

 

Aester would suggest a few options:

 

- Go ship to ship and attempt to take our their crews. We have skiffs and we should be able disable the larger ships and sink the smaller ones, limiting their mobility. We could even do it when they arent fully manned, grounding the crews. We track down the captains specifically, kill them and take their stuff.

 

- Inform the Pirate Queen that we are the ones who burned down Sky Base and we are heading to Cauldron now to discuss her surrender. When her sudden but inevitable betrayal happens, we kill her and take her stuff.

 

- We construct a giant wooden badger and...

 

- We could establish a stronghold (or more likely, use the tower as one), and then spread from there, painstakingly taking back quarter by quarter and leaving trusted locals in charge until eventually the insurgents.. . errr pirates.. are killed and we take their stuff.

 

- We could go over to the King's Palace, and inform the Pirates that we were the ones who destroyed Sky-base, and using the King's fortress as a stronghold we take them out, kill them, and take their stuff. This is especially a good plan because seiges don't work in this world, due their being no real source of food, they can't take it away. As the Pirates come ashore to kill us and take our stuff, we turn the tables on them with some carefully wrought defenses! Then we kill them and take their stuff.

 

- Or we could combine plans, like informing the Pirate Queen that we are at the palace, and while she comes to stomp us into oblivion with a giant fleet, we sneak over to Cauldron and take her stuff, and when she comes home, disappointed, we kill her (I know, its backwards, but hey.)

 

So yeah, my plans only deal with the pirates, but we have momentum there and one thing at a time. Unless someone has a "cleanse city" spell, in which case they should have used it before we left.

 

Or, I guess, we could sneak into the city and investigate the root cause, track down that Baron who has bounties on yall and is inevitably responsible for this mess and "convince" him to stop. By "convince" I mean "kill him and take his stuff", which includes at least 5k Gold for all of you.

 

 

Justine wrote:

In Answer: I think we need to start systematically removing pirate leaders, hopefully this will weaken the Adders a bit before going on to infiltrate/destroy their home base. After that we come back, and force the nobles to man up, and take back their city from the Countess.

 

The GM wrote:

How come all the plans involve "Kill them and steal their stuff"???

 

Oh, 'cause it's D&D. Sorry, my bad. =

 

Just as an FYI, making the trip to the Cauldron is not going to be an easy one; it will take days if not weeks. Plus, the little scout ships that you stole are short range; they could never make a trip that long and hazardous.

 

 

Matt wrote:

Pulling my cloak around me to disguise my armor, I prepared myself to enter. Swarms of memories filled my head as my senses took in everything around me. I opened the door and was assaulted by the noise from inside, hitting me like an ogres club. I smiled briefly. It was all the same as before. It was the same old Crusted Dagger that I remembered; it hadn’t changed after all these years. Even the stains on the floor looked the same, maybe a few more, but still the same. The whole place reeked of blood, sweat, urine and bad alcohol. Exotic dancers paraded their nude bodies around the main hall, while patrons threw out gold vying for their attention. Taking a seat at the bar, a drink was placed in front of me before I could even order. Not like they had a selection to choose from anyway. The ale was terrible, it always was, but it was other things that I needed here tonight. As I swilled my drink, I subtly perused the rest of the main room. All manner of scum and villainy came here, the worst elements of society. This was no place for anyone who had any sense of dignity. However with a few questionable morals and a quick sword hand, it was a great place to get information. If anything was happening around Bloodmater, then someone here would know. It would cost you, and you might get a knife in the back if you weren’t careful. But information is why I had come, and information is what I intended to get. I needed to find out what was happening in the city.

 

A burly half-orc flew in front of me and crashed into an adjacent table as I turned to view the commotion. He tried to shake the cobwebs from his head and started to get up from the wreckage, then slumped back down, unconscious.

 

By the Gods, how I missed this place.

 

I continued to scan the bar for anyone that I remembered. There were a lot of new faces, not a single one that even looked familiar. But what did I expect; it had been almost ten years. Oh well, it was nice just being back somewhere that was a part of me. I finished my ale and ordered another. One more for the road.

 

“Hey! You’re kinda cute.” An inebriated man blurted out. Receiving no answer, he decided to yell it out again, only a bit louder.

 

“HEY! YOU’RE KINDA CUTE!”

 

At that moment I realized that he was talking to me. I jumped to my feet and got in his face.

 

“Excuse me?” I asked, and then realized, that is not the voice that I expected to come out of my mouth. I was so wrapped up in the remembering that I forgot to remember that I was not exactly who I thought I was.

 

“Sorry, girlie. I was just saying that you’re kinda cute…when you’re not being a bitch.” He muttered as he stumbled off.

 

I figured I would let that on go. I returned to nursing my drink. I waited a while, constantly on the lookout for someone that may have some idea of what is going on. As I was going to give up and take my search elsewhere, I heard a familiar voice from the far corner. Bedli Obstris. That sniveling little wretch still came here. I figured he would have been dead by now. I finished off my drink and headed over to his table.

 

I noticed that he was still the same after all these years. Scrawny, balding, load and obnoxious.

 

“Hey sweetie, can I buy you a drink?” He sat back in the both and tried to look as suave as possible.

 

I almost forgot to add egotistical to his list.

 

“No thank you.” I replied dryly. “I have another use for you.”

 

“Now that is what I’m talking about to baby.” A huge smile crossing his face.

 

“I think not…One Ball Bedli.” I chided.

 

“That is a vicious rumor and I don’t know where you heard it from you nasty little girl!” His posture became defensive. I knew that I had struck a nerve.

 

“It doesn’t matter right now, Bedli. What I need from you is information.” I slid in next to him in the booth. He tried to back up a bit and ran into the wall.

 

“I don’t deal in that anymore. I own this bar now. I’m legit.” He squirmed as if I was holding a hot poker at him. He was nervous, too nervous, and that meant he knew something.

 

“Spill it Bedli. What the hell is going on in Bloodmater?” He started to relax a little.

 

“Just the normal, power mongering, lawlessness, pirate raiding, end of the world stuff. And everybody and their dog are looking for this group of Troublesho…” He stopped in midsentence and looked closely at my face. “You’re one of them.” An evil grin flashed his lips, as the thought of all that gold that was on my head filled into his. I tried to play it nonchalantly and act like I was not aware of the way that his feeble brain worked.

 

“Just give me a straight answer, Benli.”

 

“Well now,” His gestures became over exaggerated as he sat back in the booth and placed his hands behind his head. Out of the corner of my eye I notice one of the bouncers grab something from behind the bar. I leaned in towards Benli, and whispered into his ear.

 

“That was stupid, to get others involved in this…polite little chat we had going.” Slowly I wrapped my hand around the back of neck. “Oh and I forgot to mention that you got the name One Ball, when I cut one of them off for messing with my wife. Confusion crossed his face as he looked deep into my eyes.

 

“Lux?”

 

“”Yup.” Was all I said as I slammed his face into the table. His body went limp in my hand as he slid to the floor. Quickly I got to my feet. The bouncers were closing in on me. I knew I could take the bouncers, but the whole bar might be a problem. Reaching over to Benli’s unconscious body I grabbed his pouch and flung its contents to the middle of the bar. The first coin hadn’t even hit the floor as the entire bar dove towards the gold. I hurried to the back door and took my leave. I didn’t get a damn thing that I needed, but it was a good time none the less.

 

I guess the new plan is to see if Zachariaus has made anything useful in the way of magic items and see what everyone else thinks is priority. Personally, I think that, if we were able to restore at least a semblance of order to Bloodmater might help. And to do that we need to have a little chat with this so called Count person. He may need to be persuaded to stop being part of the problem here however we need to get that done.

 

The back door of the Crusted Dagger flew open.

 

“LUX! I will hunt you down and kill you!” He yelled as blood poured down his face. Great, just what I needed, another problem. Although I knew how to deal with this one. Benli was a coward. A simple threat should suffice, in solving this problem. I wheeled about and raised my crossbow from under my cloak.

 

Thwang!

 

Not bothering to aim, I loosed the bolt toward Benli. His anger turned to surprise as he watched me shot at him. My confidence turned to surprise as the bolt planted itself into Benli’s face.

 

S**t!

 

I just wanted to whiz one past him and give him a good scare, but I hit dead center in his forehead. Well, I guess that still solves that problem. Maybe not the way I wanted, but still solved.

 

I really need to stop shooting this damn thing!

 

 

The GM wrote:

“You’re dead, Lux! You hear me? She’s going to own this city, and when she does, there ain’t no place you’ll be able to hide!”

And that’s when the crossbow bolt hits him square in the face.

 

 

Brontus wrote:

Brontus was torn. His gladiator's sense of tactics dealt best with one opponent or problem at time. You killed that target then moved onto the next one. Several attackers at once - especially when they were not part of the same group - made things confusing for him. He struggled to think about the multi-pronged assault, sometimes talking out loud to help him focus.

 

His instinct said to go after the pirates first. His hatred of all things piratical - stemming from his family's deaths and his own suffering at the hands of the Addertongues - made the thought of violent and bloody revenge extremely appealing. But with a great effort of will he pulled that instinct back and tried to think about the attacks logically.

 

"Pirates are the loudest threat," he mumbled, unaware of whether or not anyone was listening, "They're the ones you can see and they're the ones making the most noise. But..." He ground his teeth as he thought this thought. "...they'll only kill those that resist. They won't kill everybody because they will want slaves and people to make more things for them to steal."

 

His mind shifted. "This Quintessa person is holding the palace place. Her people are bullying the locals but not killing people yet. If she's a ruler sort, she'll want people alive to rule. Again, no murders unless someone resists."

 

His voice was growing a bit louder. "In fact, since the pirates and Quintessa ain't on the same side, they're going to eventually come into conflict. That might whittle down their numbers.

 

"But the rat monsters attacking people below....probably spawn of the King Who Crawls...they won't care who they kill. Those things are probably the worst threat. They're probably what we need to deal with first.

 

"After we find the source of the monsters and destroy it. Then we can come back up and start dealing with the pirates next. I like Aester's idea of wrecking ship after ship. We could even capture small ships and crash them into bigger ones - Hakkoz would probably like that. But the pirates would be more dangerous to the civilians than Quintessa's lot. After we kill enough leaders, the rest of the pirate rabble will start to break apart. Then we can go after Quintessa's position...maybe with help from people we've rescued."

 

Brontus looked up, realizing that he had started musing louder than he intended and that several of his teammates were looking at him. "Uhm, but I'm not the thinker in this party. I'll go with whatever you guys think."

 

- Brontus "I pulled a brain muscle" Rexx

 

Aester wrote:

Good point about the rats. Aester wasn't here for the king who crawls part, so he isnt entirely clear on the situation there.

 

Judging from their run-in with spiders, without some "home base" to track down, it would be difficult to end the rat problem. So, we could try to see where the rats are coming from,and then deal with them at the source. Unfortunately, we are talking about going after someone who may be a demigod, or at least his mortal agent. Meanwhile, we will be on the defensive against the pirates and trying to function within the limits set by the rebel nobles.

 

What do we know about the King Who Crawls? What previous interactions have yall had that I missed?

 

Berrian wrote:

Berrian will pipe in and say, "Hey, when we destroyed that rat-making machine down below? Clio seemed to know wossname, the boss that we killed. Didn't she say he was like Countess Quintessa's majordomo or something? What if the thing with the King Who Crawls and the thing with the Countess are related? Heck, what if the pirates are involved, too? We found one of the Countess' flags on Tarnishia's ship, remember..."

 

Hakkoz wrote:

As for the magic items Hakkoz looks over to Pax, for confirmation of Barian's analysis. ;p

 

Hakkoz thinks that we need to secure a home port first. Bloodmater might not be the best port but we need a place to run to and be somewhat secure. Putting an end to the citizens turmoil and getting some semblance of law and order in the city may benefit us more. The pirates will always be there, not likely to retire. They'll be a stumbling block or two, but we need a home port, or end up wandering in a tiny ship.

 

 

Brontus wrote:

Brontus will explain to Aester:

"The King Who Crawls is some old, dark god that has been building a big cult in the depths of the city. Our first job together involved dealing with a giant rat and rat-man infestation in the lower city. In the process - like Berrian says - we found a ancient machine that turned men into rat-monsters. I guess that's how the cult was building up its army. We wrecked it...then proceeded to destroy most of a cult temple that had showed up a couple levels higher. We also promised an ancient priest and servant of the Raven Queen - uh, Peanuts was his name, I think - that we would battle the King wherever we found him." He touches the hilt of his greatsword reverently while his eyes flick to Clio's shield. "We still don't know what this King wants...other than to foul all that's good and kill anything that opposes it. We hadn't heard much rumblings about the cult in a while. Maybe we'd finished off the cult...or maybe we've just been too busy with pirates to deal with 'em. Also like Berrian reminded us, one of their higher-ups has some kind of connection to this Quintessa." He shrugs. "Maybe Quintessa's just holding her ground until Abrahm's army finishes collecting innocents down below and turning 'em into rat-monsters."

 

Brontus will comment to Hakkoz:

"A home base is good idea, huh? I guess this won't be a quick fight like we're used to. But where would we use? This tower is secure for now...but it's still in the city and easy to surround and siege. I'm still in favor of going to the low city and clearing out the rat nests. Then we might have the whole underground to work with." He paused and considered. "Unless the pirates and Quintessa's people are moving into the lower city already?"

 

To everyone Brontus adds:

"I wonder if this is the time when the city would call us to save it, like the old prophet told us..."

 

- Brontus "Thinking hurts!" Rexx

 

 

Clio wrote:

I agree with Brontus that the rats should be dealt with first. The rat infestation does sound like the workings of the King Who Crawles. Since Abrahams was in the cult, and Abrahams worked for the Countess, I would lay odds she's involed too. I have a score to settle with Quintessa, but I fear that will need to wait for now. Although, I am wondering if our first business should be to clear the price off our heads. It will be hard enough working in the city without every two-bit bounty hunter hounding us. That's just my thoughts.

 

 

Aester wrote:

Okay, to see if I understand the situation:

 

The King Who Crawls is an evil god whose cult has been trying to build followers using vermin. The person who has a bounty on 'us' has also been using agents to help KWC's cult grow. Now the Nobles, led by this Count, are using the chaos of the pirates and the attacks from below to impose a martial law of sorts on a city renowned for having authority issues.

 

I see no way we could functionally sweep the city clean of the vermin. We would be weak, running from fight to fight, and the pirates will take their first chance they can to make us pay for their lost leader/base. The only way we can stop them is to start at the top, and that means confronting the count.

 

The pirates on a rampage may actually work to our advantage. As Brontus pointed out, they arent out to kill anyone. They are angry, sure, but they will also take any chances they can to loot and vice it up. We also have a disgraced pirate running around trying to get her name back. It may be possible to use these two facts together... If we were to create a sufficient power vacuum amongst the pirates, perhaps our erstwhile enemy could step in, and then we could force the "new law" to commit to some more extreme action, including perhaps revealing their connection to the KWC.

 

Another option is to track down the KWC's people, in the hopes they connect to the noble. We could use the cover of pirate chaos to move more freely. We could even track down Tunisia and reference pirates we meet to go work for her. By the time she realizes why she is getting so many recruits, she will have a large chunk who were sent by us, and think we work for her too. In the meantime, we may have to go a bit deep under the city.

 

The biggest thing is that we really don't have enough information to confront the Noble yet. Unless we broke in and found them having a KWC sing a long, which I would rather NOT attack the only semblance of law and order on a hunch. That would make us legitimate enemies of the state, and the pirates, and the KWC...

 

*IF* the noble is connected to the KWC, and to our pirate captain friend, It will come out pretty quick. Especially if we are playing them off each other. Then, once we determine who the real bad guy is, we storm the castle and take their stuff.

 

 

Brontus wrote:

In response to Clio and Aester:

"We've been outta the city so much that I forgot about the price on our heads. I guess hitting up the Count and finding out why he put up the bounty would be good...but how do we convince him to take back the bounty? We could rough him up or kill him [and take his stuff], but I dunno if that will actually make us look like the good guys. And if he's working with the King...or Quintessa... or the pirates...or all of 'em...then he won't be easy to make change his mind. Sorry - I'm not a thinker - I'm only good for hitting things. When hitting things won't work, I'm stumped.

 

"Aester summed everything up pretty well. A little confusion in the pirates' ranks sounds good to me....might keep 'em all distracted and disorganized while we deal with the rat threat. We might wanna figure out if the pirates are all fighting under the same flag...or if this is a free-for-all without any leaders. If it's the first, then we can find the leaders and kill 'em [and take their stuff] to break down the pirates' resolve. If it's the other, we could play 'em off each other...or get 'em rallied 'round the Tiefling Captain like Aester said. Then we'd have 'em all in one place...though we probably don't want them too united in the end 'cause that will make killing them [and taking their stuff] harder later.

 

"If there is a connection between the rat armies of the King and this Quintessa, maybe delving down and crushing the King's forces will reveal clues or persons that will connect the King to Quintessa. Would something like that give us a way to pry her loose from the palace?"

 

- Brontus "Need beer for dry throat" Rexx

 

 

Rody wrote:

Rody favors discrete action, and therefore doesn't like rat-hunting or pirate-hunting so well; each sounds a bit like herding cats, the main difference being how deep below ground you have to go to herd them. He'd kind of favor a raid on the Jade Palace (since, with the skiffs, we can approach from the chasm side, or even above, and avoid the entrenched defenders), but he's amenable to the group's consensus. It gives him someone to blame or grouse to later. :-]

 

Oh, and he's not too worried about taking stuff. Whoever we kill (which seems to be the common denominator) , they always leave stuff to take. Worrying about who has the most, or the best, is wasteful and un-zen-like. ...

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

And now, this week's recap...

 

Bloodmater Recap for 03/06/2010

Now that they were finally home at the Red Wizard’s Tower, the heroes sat down for some breakfast while Hope, Mercy, and the others told them what had been going on in their absence. The Troubleshooters then began debating their next step.

Should they try to take out pirate ships, one by one? Or follow the giant rats to their source? Or take the skiff up to the Jade Palace and try to use it to prevent the Countess Quintessa from assuming command of the city? But while they were debating, the whole earth suddenly began to shake. Pete, who was watching by the door, called out, “You guys gotta see this!”

The heroes rushed out and see what the former cultist was pointing at and saw a giant worm-like creature, which had just burst out of the side of the cliff, and was now squirming around in the street, smashing houses and eating civilians, and was heading towards the Red Wizard’s Tower!

In its wake were dozens of huge rats, which were attacking the helpless folks who’d been crushed or knocked down in the creature’s thrashings.

“Looks like the King Who Crawls knows where we live,” Brontus said, unlimbering his two-handed sword.

“It’s not like we’ve made any secret of the fact,” Rody said. “But it does appear that the King Who Crawls has just made our decision on who to fight first for us.”

The heroes rushed out of the tower, across the slender bridge that connects the Wizard’s home with the main city, and into the fray. The worm was incredibly hard to kill, but it was worse because the rats kept darting in and out of the fight, biting everyone they could get their teeth into. They even tried to cross the bridge to get into the tower, but Hakkoz, Berrian, and Alix formed a bulwark that prevented the diseased vermin from getting inside.

Pax, Rody, and Brontus concentrated their efforts on killing the worm, but it wasn’t going to go down easy. It grabbed the barbarian and the bar-maid and began to drag them back down into its hole. But by this time, it was already bloodied and exhausted from the fight. Before it could manage to make it back to its lair, they finally managed to kill it.

Once it was dead, the rest of the rats were easy to clean out and drive off. Now, what were the heroes to do? The King Who Crawls had brought the fight to their doorstep… did they dare take it back to his?

TBC!

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

Bloodmater Recap for 03-13-2010

The Purple Worm left a long, ragged tunnel in its wake, drilling down deep into the cliff face, a path to wherever the creature came from. The heroes immediately set forth, determined to bring their brand of justice to the servants of the King Who Crawls.

Partway down the tunnel, the heroes heard the sound of voices. Indistinguishable, murmuring, laughing, muttering, high-pitched and low, the voices seemed to surround them, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Rody and Alix crept forward to see what it was. Something was coming, so they hid behind a rock pillar. They saw four creatures coming up the hall – three of them looked like cultists of the King Who Crawls. The other was some sort of cross between a human and a scorpion. They didn’t seem to notice the scouts, but they saw the rest of the team and rushed them!

The humanoids cast off their cloaks, revealing some sort of hideous, twisted mutants, their skin covered in pustules and boils. Two of them drew huge, wicked, serrated blades, while the third stood back and cast warping magics at the Troubleshooters. Worse yet, some sort of evil, indescribably horror came up from around them, laughing and screaming and crying from a thousand biting mouths…

The battle was indescribably fierce. The creatures’ madness tried to worm its way into the heroes’ minds, eating at their confidence. But still, the Troubleshooters had a job to do and they’d be damned if some twisted abomination prevented them from doing it! They focused their efforts on the oozing creature of mouths and eyes, and when it finally sagged in a bloody heap, they attacked the others, driving them back and finally killing them!

But there was no time to rest. This wasn’t yet the source of the trouble, so they continued on until they entered a broad chamber with a bloody red light illuminating the area. It appeared to be a temple to the King Who Crawls – the statues and carvings on the wall appeared to move and slither around in the hellish red light.

In the back of the room, chained to the altar, was a winged angel, dressed all in black and, surrounded by clouds of dark smoke and hot fire.

Alix, Aester, and Justine got a good look at the angel through the clouds and saw that she was marked with the symbol of the Raven Queen on her breast. They also noticed that her wrists had been cut, and her blood was pouring out onto the altar, where it was being absorbed and channeled into some sort of evil energy.

Guarding the temple were more than a dozen horrible undead monsters, and standing before the angel was a hideous apparition, clad in armor. "We will sacrifice you, and the power of your soul will help us free the King Who Crawls," he hissed to the angel. "This city will become a sepulcher, and your goddess will be hurled screaming into the pit."

There was little time to lose! The troubleshooters launched their attack. Aester, Justine, and Alix had their own plan – while the undead were distracted by the rest of the team, they would rush up the middle of the temple and free the angel. They only hoped that they were doing the right thing (and that they would be able to free her before the evil creature finished whatever ritual it was that he was performing on her).

And the plan worked pretty well. Alix and Justine (with Aester’s sound tactical advice) were able to get past the undead guards and across the room within seconds. Alix transformed into a huge cat and slashed at the angel’s chains, shredding them and freeing her. Justine then grabbed the comatose divine messenger while Alix turned to deal with the ghouls that had come bounding up to harry her.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team fought tooth and nail against the swarm of skeletons, gravehounds, and ghouls that were defending the temple. They slowly forced the defenders back, until they were face-to-skeletal-face with the priest of his unholy place. “You have despoiled this sacred place!” the wight screamed. “Now you die!” The heroes had no intention of dying today, so they fought hard against the creature. But he was virtually un-killable.

Meanwhile, Justine managed to revive the Angel. As soon as she was taken away from the bloody altar, she started to come to. After a moment, she had the strength to stand on her own feet, and then she spotted the wight who had held her prisoner. With a cry of rage, she leapt into the air. “Stand aside, mortals!” she yelled, her wings transforming into blades. The heroes wisely jumped out of her way, and with a swipe and a slash, she shredded the evil priest into ribbons.

The battle was over. “I thank you for your timely intervention,” the angel said. “I was on a mission for the Raven Queen when I was ambushed and captured by these evil creatures. The Raven Queen and the King Who Crawls are ancient enemies – they were going to drain my blood, and use its holy power to resurrect their evil god.”

“Can you help us destroy his evil?” Clio asked.

The angel shook her head. “I am badly hurt, and too weak to offer anything other than advice. But that much, I offer freely.”

TBC!

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

Bloodmater Recap for 03-20-2010

The heroes listened to the words of the angel, and agreed to head to the Jade Palace to find and rescue the king. Then the Angel offered them one last piece of help: She poured a few drops of her blood into a chalice and asked them to drink it. When they did so, they felt enthused and revitalized, like they could take on the whole world!

The angel then began to fade away in a shining light. Before she vanished completely, she said, “There are still those loyal to the king here in Bloodmater. You will not have to fight the final battle alone, if you can gain their trust and their help.”

The heroes took the angel’s words to heart, and headed back up the tunnel to get ready for the (hopefully) final battle. Rody, Justine, and Aester headed up to the higher parts of the city to see if they couldn’t locate Jackson, formerly a commander of the King’s guard. They found him in a bar, looking haggard and depressed and surrounded by empties.

Aester sat down across from him, introduced himself, and told him that the city needed his help.

“What can I do?” the man grumbled. “I’m just a washed-up drunk.”

“You used to be a great hero, in the service of the city,” Aester told him. “The city needs your help again. Haven’t you seen the pirates? And the rats? And the chaos that has engulfed this place?”

“The king is gone,” the man said. “Without its king, Bloodmater is nothing. Let Quintessa have this place; who cares?”

“We care,” Aester insisted. “And you do too – or at least, you used to. If you’d crawl out of that bottle and look around, you’d see that the city still needs you, king or no king. Besides…” the dragonborn said, leaning in close, “The king is coming back. We’ve got a plan to rescue him.”

“But…” the drunk commander protested.

“We have word from a very reliable source that he’s not dead. He’s being held prisoner somewhere inside the Jade Palace. We just have to get in there and free him.”

“If the king is still alive, then there’s still hope for Bloodmater,” Jackson said, growing bolder. “If you can free him, then perhaps we can destroy the pirates and the pretender… There are still men and women loyal to the city, I can find them and rally them!”

“That’s the spirit!” Aester grinned. “We just need to know the layout of the palace, if you can help with that.”

Jackson drew a quick sketch of the palace on a cocktail napkin, then they shook hands and parted ways.

Brontus, Pax, and Hakkoz headed to the gladiator arena, where Hakkoz used to work as a healer. Hakkoz went to speak with the owners, whole Brontus snuck down to the slave pits and Pax went to the apartments where the paid, professional gladiators lived. Hakkoz spoke with the managers, telling them that the pirates were bad for business as well as being bad for the city. They were likely to take control of a lucrative outfit like the fighting pits, and leave the current owners out in the cold. Plus, they would probably take all the top-earning fighters for themselves, and maybe even enslave them.

The owners, already upset by the chaos in the streets, readily agreed to help – as long as they weren’t the only ones. Even if all of the gladiators fought, there were still more pirates than warriors here. Hakkoz told them that the whole city was ready to rise up, but that the trained, hardened fighters from the pits were key to winning this battle.

Meanwhile, Pax gathered up all the professional fighters and exhorted them to fight for the city.

“Why should we risk our skins?” one of them asked. “Nobody’s paying us to fight pirates.”

“Oh, and here I thought I was talking with fearless warriors, not a bunch of little girls,” Paxton mocked. “If you think the pirates are too tough for you, I guess you can all just go home and forget I said anything.”

“Hey, nobody’s too tough for us!” the fighters protested. “We can take out pirates, no problem! It’s just that we don’t fight for free.”

“No, you fight for the roar of the crowd,” Pax said. “And the whole city will be cheering you on. If you fight today, your names will go down in history!”

The fighters were getting riled up, banging their swords together. “Yeah, let’s kill those pirate bastards!”

Meanwhile, Brontus went down to the slave pits and began to speak with those poor souls imprisoned down below. “I was once a slave like you,” he said. “But I threw off my shackles and fought for my freedom. Are you brave enough to do the same?”

The slaves were enthused by the prospect of their freedom, so Brontus continued. “Then fight! Fight against the pirates and the monsters who threaten the city! If you fight, then you will earn your freedom!” The slaves cheered and promised their help, so Brontus went back and rejoined the others.

Meanwhile, Clio and Berrian went to the temple of the Raven Queen to speak with the high priestess there. “I bring news from the Raven Queen,” Clio said. “One of her servants, a holy angel, was captured by the slaves of the King Who Crawls. They were going to sacrifice her and use her blood to resurrect the evil one, but we stopped them and freed the angel.”

The priestess was speechless at this revelation, so Clio continued. “The angel says that the king of Bloodmater is the key to ending this chaos. We must gather up all our forces, and the forces of those gods allied with us, and fight against those who are trying to destroy the city! While you do that, my companions and I will rescue the king from his prison. Only then will the city be free!”

The high priestess could not argue against one who had tasted the blood of an angel, so she immediately agreed to rally her troops and to go to the other priests to get them to join the fight as well.

Meanwhile, Alix went to speak with the birds. She knew that the Jade Palace had been abandoned by people, but surely birds still nested there. She found a raven and, taking this for a sign, offered him some raw meat and began speaking with him. “Who lives in the palace?” she asked.

“Nobody but birds,” the raven said. “The two-legs left there several seasons ago. Except…” the bird continued. “Some two-legs came back a few days ago.”

“How many?” Alix asked.

“Fewer than before, but still many,” the raven replied. “Also, before the two-legs left, the palace was full of magic. Now it isn’t. Except… the new two-legs are trying to make the magic happen again. They have not made it happen, but they are trying. And if there’s one thing I know about two-legs, it is that they will keep trying until they succeed.”

“What kind of magic?” Alix asked.

“Big magic,” the raven replied, cryptically.

Alix thanked the bird and headed back to meet the others.

The heroes gathered back at the Red Wizard’s Tower, where their friends were waiting anxiously for them. “So what’s the plan?” Pete asked.

“We’re going to rescue the king,” Brontus said. The heroes took one of the skiffs and, under cover of darkness, flew it up over the walls of the palace. They weren’t worried about the palace’s defenses, since they were told that there was no one there to man them. They landed quietly in a side courtyard, then headed towards the main door.

There was a group of guards accompanied by big, vicious-looking wolves on the steps of the palace, patrolling the place. They were wearing the colors of Quintessa (of course). The heroes wasted no time. As soon as they saw the guards, they rushed into battle.

However, the heroes weren’t expecting that the guards had a trick up their sleeve… As soon as the fight started, the guards transformed into their true forms – that of hideous lycanthropes! Most of the guards were were-rats, but the leader was a huge, hairy were-wolf!

The fight was vicious. The were-creatures were fanatically loyal, and fought to the death (but once the were-wolf was down, the wolves tried to flee – though the heroes didn’t let them get far before cutting the rabid beasts down). Now the path was clear for the heroes to enter the palace…

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

Bloodmater Recap for 04-10-2010

Once the heroes dealt with the lycanthropic guards at the door, they entered the castle and snuck around (following the rough map that Jackson drew for them) until they came to the throne room. Inside, they heard a gruff voice speaking.

Peeking in, they saw a group of cultists (dressed in grey robes) and several soldiers dressed in the colors of Countess Quintessa talking. “The city will soon be ours,” one of the men said in an oddly familiar voice. “The people are panicking – rats from below, pirates from above. Soon, they will be begging her Ladyship to take command. We just have to find the key to the OtherRealm, where the King has been banished, and her rule will be unchallenged.”

Clio recognized the person speaking right away – it was none other than Abrihm, the Countess’ majordomo, somehow brought back to life! His movements were stiff and jerky, and the heroes could see a nasty, stitched-together scar across his neck, so it was obviously him.

They wasted no time in confronting this evil man once again! They rushed into the room, clearing a path so that Clio could once again duel with her arch-nemesis. But it wasn’t an easy fight. One of the cultists was a powerful sorceress, cursing the heroes with illusions of snakes biting their flesh. Another one teleported from hero to hero, stabbing at them with a poisoned blade and disappearing before the heroes could counter-strike.

And Abrihm himself was incredibly strong. His flesh was like wood, and even Clio’s mightiest blows didn’t seem to hurt him much. Eventually, the entire party swarmed him, hammering him with all their strength. He fought back viciously, but it was all too much for him and soon he perished under their swords.

Once Abrihm was (re-)dead, his two lieutenants tried to flee. The spell-caster managed to slip out through a secret door, but her companion the assassin didn’t make it – he was cut down before he could get out.

Justine examined the carcass to see just what it was that they had fought – an undead monster? A resurrection? But no, he seemed to have been stitched together with various body parts from multiple corpses and brought back to life with some unholy magic! Just to make sure he didn’t come back again, the heroes burnt the corpse.

Now they were faced with a dilemma: What to do next? They could chase after the teifling that escaped. Or, before he died Abrihm said something about a key to the OtherRealm…

Justine went to examine the huge, ornate mirror in the back of the room, and discovered that it was actually a magical portal. Where it led, she couldn’t tell – but it was activated by some sort of key. The heroes decided to search the castle for the key.

It wasn’t easy – the castle seemed to change size, shape, and design depending on where you stood and which way you were going. They searched high and low (and invented several new forms of mathematics) until eventually they found a passageway that led to the top of a great tower. Inside the top room they found a golden and emerald crown, floating in a magical field of energy.

Aester had the brilliant idea of pressing the amulet they had recovered from the undead hoards down below to the pedestal of light, and sure enough, that unlocked the protective field. They took the crown (replacing it with the one they found down below), and headed back to the mirror.

Cautiously, Aester placed the crown on the top of the mirror. The surface of the glass rippled like water, and turned dark. The portal was open…

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

(Skipped a week... the heroes went through the portal, fought some demons, found a brass key, used the key to activate a giant brass golem, who rowed a barge across a burning lava sea but then turned on them, found a silver key inside the wrecked golem's body). And now, this week's recap...

 

Bloodmater Recap for 04-24-2010

The ship bumped up against the next island, and the heroes jumped off lest the current sweep them away. They were greeted with cacophonous cries and a terrible smell. Looking around, they saw an enormous silver cage, within which were dozens of winged monkey-like demons, who were hooting and calling and throwing poo at the heroes.

Alix carefully approached the cage, and noticed that one of the over-excited creatures had a iron key on a chain around its neck. Hakkoz took a look at the cage and noted that while it appeared to be silver, it was really some sort of nearly-unbreakable mithral construction. Clio recognized the creatures – they are called Imps, and they are considered sort of a pest in the lower realms. Annoying in small numbers, but when there were a lot of them they could be downright dangerous.

Justine touched her magical spear to the cage to see if it conducted electricity. She was rewarded with cries of anger and pain from the Imps (who showered her in excrement).

The heroes knew that the silver key they found would fit in the lock, but they were not terribly interested in letting the creatures out, or in going in. They decided to try to trick the creatures into giving up the key, but that wasn’t easy. The Imps liked food, but they were too wary to let the heroes get too close.

Eventually, Brontus and Rody distracted most of the Imps with food from the magic picnic basket, and Alix was able to lure the key-carrier close by making sounds like a wounded animal. Once the Imp was fairly close, Berrian used his Mage Hand spell to grab the key off its neck. Before the creature got too upset, they tossed it a shiny necklace.

Now they had the key! But they heard someone approaching their island. Quickly, they hid behind some dead trees and waited to see who it was…

A group of demons and gnolls was approaching, wondering what the Imps were so excited about. “I sure hope they haven’t escaped,” one of them muttered. About then, the heroes jumped out at the creatures and attacked!

The assault was swift and merciless. Several gnolls were felled before they even knew what was happening (imagine a couple of gnoll warriors finding themselves at gnoll-heaven’s gates, saying, “All I know is that we were going to see what was up with the monkeys, and then… what the hell happened???”). The demons proved tougher, but Alix was able to keep them penned up with an Entangle spell, which limited their mobility until the heroes were able to close in and finish them off.

Once the creatures were all dead, the heroes looked around for how they got to this little island. They found a small boat, small enough for Pax and Brontus to pole them back to the original island. They tried the iron key in the gate, and it opened, leading into a dark tunnel filled with spider webs.

The webs grew thicker as the heroes proceeded down the tunnel, and eventually they found themselves in a massive chamber, covered completely in thick webs. Spiders of every size – from the size of a small pony down to the size of a coin, patrolled the webs. But worse, in the very center of the web was a huge, black, evil-looking demonic spider, sitting motionless. Hanging above her by a thread was a man-shaped object, cocooned from head to toe in webbing.

This, it seems, is the heroes’ goal. But how to free the imprisoned king without alerting the giant spider-demon?

TBC!

[Cardinal]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

Was there ever a completion to this adventure? Talk about cliff hangers.

[BunnySue]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

Seems we missed posting the last part of this adventure. We managed to kill the spiders and save the king. With the king back in power, Bloodmater started returning to it's former glory, but the Countess Quintessa escaped with the pirate queen. Not wanting to let her escape, our heroes chased her down in their own ship. We boarded the ship that Quintessa was on the palidin went toe-to-toe with the evil magic user (after placing her under arrest for crimes against Bloodmater, the king, and the Raven Queen; and offering to let her surrender, but really wanting the chance to kick her ***). But it turned out that Quintessa had switched bodies with our dwarf's lost kin (or girlfriend, I don't remember) but the ruse was discovered it time so the hobbit was saved. Quintessa jumped overboard wanting to face the mist than the judgement of the king. The paladin spent two re-rolls and two action points to catch her to make sure she was brought back for justice. So our heroes saved the city and the king, stoped the King Who Crawls, and arrested the traitor! They returned to the Tower of the Red Wizard (who's still missing) to celebrate their success with the Barien's pancakes and bacon!

 

Or something like that.

[teh bunneh]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

Yeah, that's pretty much what happened. Sorry about leaving it hanging like that -- as the campaign started to wind down, my motivation was winding down as well. It was tough enough to write up the adventure each week, much less write the recap!

 

Anyway, I left a couple of dangling plot threads (like the missing Red Wizard) in case I ever wanted to go back to the game. Doesn't seem likely ATM, but never say never.

[Cardinal]

Re: Bloodmäter

 

Good stuff. Thanks for sharing.