teh bunneh

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
The UNITY team is discussing how they might infiltrate an alien battleship. The team's shapeshifting Russian hero has a suggestion.
 
Vilkacis: You could fit me inside a small hollow missile and fire me at the enemy ship. The missile would penetrate the hull, allowing me access!
Me: So the missile would be a Depleted Ukrainian round?
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
The UNITY team is discussing how they might infiltrate an alien battleship. The team's shapeshifting Russian hero has a suggestion.
 
Vilkacis: You could fit me inside a small hollow missile and fire me at the enemy ship. The missile would penetrate the hull, allowing me access!
Me: So the missile would be a Depleted Ukrainian round?
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
The UNITY team is discussing how they might infiltrate an alien battleship. The team's shapeshifting Russian hero has a suggestion.
 
Vilkacis: You could fit me inside a small hollow missile and fire me at the enemy ship. The missile would penetrate the hull, allowing me access!
Me: So the missile would be a Depleted Ukrainian round?
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
The UNITY team is discussing how they might infiltrate an alien battleship. The team's shapeshifting Russian hero has a suggestion.
 
Vilkacis: You could fit me inside a small hollow missile and fire me at the enemy ship. The missile would penetrate the hull, allowing me access!
Me: So the missile would be a Depleted Ukrainian round?
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
The UNITY team is discussing how they might infiltrate an alien battleship. The team's shapeshifting Russian hero has a suggestion.
 
Vilkacis: You could fit me inside a small hollow missile and fire me at the enemy ship. The missile would penetrate the hull, allowing me access!
Me: So the missile would be a Depleted Ukrainian round?
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
The UNITY team is discussing how they might infiltrate an alien battleship. The team's shapeshifting Russian hero has a suggestion.
 
Vilkacis: You could fit me inside a small hollow missile and fire me at the enemy ship. The missile would penetrate the hull, allowing me access!
Me: So the missile would be a Depleted Ukrainian round?
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
The UNITY team is discussing how they might infiltrate an alien battleship. The team's shapeshifting Russian hero has a suggestion.
 
Vilkacis: You could fit me inside a small hollow missile and fire me at the enemy ship. The missile would penetrate the hull, allowing me access!
Me: So the missile would be a Depleted Ukrainian round?
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
The UNITY team is discussing how they might infiltrate an alien battleship. The team's shapeshifting Russian hero has a suggestion.
 
Vilkacis: You could fit me inside a small hollow missile and fire me at the enemy ship. The missile would penetrate the hull, allowing me access!
Me: So the missile would be a Depleted Ukrainian round?
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
The UNITY team is discussing how they might infiltrate an alien battleship. The team's shapeshifting Russian hero has a suggestion.
 
Vilkacis: You could fit me inside a small hollow missile and fire me at the enemy ship. The missile would penetrate the hull, allowing me access!
Me: So the missile would be a Depleted Ukrainian round?
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
Years ago, we were playing a "space western" -- yup, cowboys in space (and this was long before Firefly was even a gleam in Joss Whedon's eye).
 
In it, there was an alien species that looked like humanoid spiders, who filled a similar niche in the universe as the Chinese immigrants filled in the American west. Some aliens had a little resturant, and we walked in, sat down, and took a look at the menus.
 
Me: Hm... "Flied Lice." God, I hope that's a typo.
 
Bill.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
Years ago, we were playing a "space western" -- yup, cowboys in space (and this was long before Firefly was even a gleam in Joss Whedon's eye).
 
In it, there was an alien species that looked like humanoid spiders, who filled a similar niche in the universe as the Chinese immigrants filled in the American west. Some aliens had a little resturant, and we walked in, sat down, and took a look at the menus.
 
Me: Hm... "Flied Lice." God, I hope that's a typo.
 
Bill.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
Tabletop Diplomacy session, from years ago, in a dorm lounge. Seven players at the table, a few other folks in other seats.
 
"France" takes a long time looking at the board and finally says to "England", "What do you say to this. You can have Belgium, Burgundy, and a free hand against Italy, as long as I get Spain ... and Martha ["Germany"'s girl friend]."
 
Martha, who is in the room but not in the game, looks up from her reading and stares wordlessly at the guys at the table.
 
"Germany" spends a couple of minutes looking at the board, occasionally glancing at "France" and Martha. Finally, he says, "Deal."
 
Martha is now staring open-mouthed.
 
"France" gets up with a nod and takes two steps from the table towards the door. "France declares internal disorder," he says to the players. To Martha he says, "You come with me."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
Teen Champions/Teen Titans Demo game last night. Cyborg is working on the "T-Car" when Bumblebee comes in.
 
Bumblebee: All your high-tech skills, and you build a Hyundai?
Cyborg: Well, this is a Korean cartoon...
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
The UNITY team is fighting a group of Elder Worms, who are zapping the heroes with various mental attacks. After a particularly powerful Ego Blast:
 
Tank: It's like getting a noogie... inside my skull!!!
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
New Man, the team mentalist, had just been ambushed and eviscerated by a rogue vampire. He was at -5 BODY, and dying.
 
Me: New Man will continue to take one BODY each time he gets an action.
Thich Nat Han: New Man! Hold your actions!
 

 
The team managed to kill one of the vampires, beheading it. I didn't bother to delete his name off my action sheet, so when his next phase came up:
 
Me: Vampire's action. He... stays dead.
Straight Arrow: That is comforting.
 

 
Bill.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
From my UNITY 2010 (Champs) game: Penny Dreadful is a psychotic villainess who has falling desperately in love (much to his chagrin) with the straight-laced do-gooder, Straight Arrow.
 
Penny Dreadful: We'll make a great crime-fighting duo, just like Bonny and Clyde!
Straight Arrow: Bonnie and Clyde weren’t crime fighters, they were bank robbers.
Penny Dreadful: Hey, what a great idea! Let’s do that instead!
 

 
Bill.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
The PCs have come to a submarine-hatch-like door; behind it is ...
 
Me: "A 5'x5' vertical shaft, descending into total pitch blackness and eerie silence."
Player1:"That shaft is one bad mother--"
Player2:"SHUT YO' MOUTH!"
Player1:"I'm just talkin' about the shaft."

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
From last weekend's Champs game: Straight Arrow is dealing with an amorous supervillianess when he gets called away to help his team...
 
New Man: You should leave her something to remember you by. Like a big, ugly scar!
 
Straight Arrow: What I can't figure out, New Man, is why you're still single.
 

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group...
 
This from the current game in progress right now...
 
"If you can teach a bear to ride a unicycle, you can teach a monkey to wield a flaming sword"

Re: Aliens in the Champions Universe?
 
If you want a full list of everyone, you'd have to look in Terran Empire and Alien Wars -- there are well over a dozen, perhaps two dozen, at least mentioned if not fully described.
 
The major ones to look out for are (depending on the specific time period) the Perseids, Se'ecra, Mon'dabi, Hzeel, Mandaarians, Varanyi, Xenovores, Velarians, Catavalans, the Elder Worm, and the Malvans. (And the fungoids and shape-shifters from GC, whose names I forget.)

Just some thoughts I had about setting up fantasy religions. Obviously, or maybe not obviously, you don't need to supply all of the following details. Some may simply not be relevent to your game, while others may be left as matters of opinion or speculation among the players and characters (PC's and NPC's) in the game world.
 
Let me know if you think of anything that I left out.
 
(and I hope my outline formatting comes out right.)
 
Stuff to make up about the gods
 
I. The pantheon


A. Creation myth
1. Creation of the natural world
2. Creation of people

B. Organization

1. Family tree
2. Command structure
a) Rigid-fluid
Degree of authority/control

3. Relationships between deities

a) Couples
Allies/Partners
c) Rivals/enemies
C. Reality

1. Form. Examples:
a) The gods are all myth/superstition.
The gods are legends based on exaggeration of historical events.
c) The gods are spirits of dead ancestors or other historical persons.
d) The gods are abstract concepts with no actual consciousness.
e) The gods are quasi-real with forms/attributes/aspect assigned by worshipping cultures.
f) The gods exist on a different level of reality, which allows them to modify their aspects/appearance based on their own desires or the culture they interact with.
g) The gods exist in a concrete sense and have true forms/attributes/aspects, which may be subject to interpretation/misinterpretation by worshippers.

2. Power Level. Examples:

a) The gods are nothing more than mere mortals that are worshipped.
The gods are mere mortals believed to rise to divinity upon death or other event.
c) The gods are somewhat more powerful than typical mortals.
d) The gods have great power that only the greatest of mortals could rival.
e) The gods have incredible power beyond any mortal.
f) The gods have cosmic power, incomprehensible to mortals.

3. Power Source. Examples:

a) The gods' power is intrinsic.
The gods' power is granted by superior gods.
c) The gods' power comes from external forces.
d) The gods' power comes from natural phenomena related to the gods' portfolio.
e) The gods' power comes from worship.
f) The gods' power comes from mortals' deeds. II. The deity


A. Symbolic
1. Name(s)
2. Epithets/Nicknames
3. Appearance/Typical depiction
4. Symbol/Icon
5. Associated items/animals/materials/colors/phenomena

B. Intrinsic

1. Myth/Story
2. Portfolio/Sphere of influence
3. Differences/similarities to other deities
4. Stats/powers/abilities
a) Possessions/Artifacts/Relics
Pets/Familiars/Mounts

5. Divine "rank"/Level of power
6. Home

a) "Plane" where the deity dwells
Relationship of the deity to the "plane(s)"
C. Psychology/behavior

1. Personality
2. Goals/desires
3. Degree of involvement in mortal affairs
a) Manifestations/Avatars
Spells/powers/abilities granted to clergy/worshippers
c) Signs/Miracles
D. Social

1. Among the gods
a) Reputation
Position/function/purpose

2. Among mortals

a) Popularity/Obscurity
Purpose of worship/reasons invoked
c) Abilities/skills typical/valued III. The religion


A. Internal
1. Principles
a) Values/Dogma
Obligations/expectations of clergy
c) Obligations/expectations of laity
d) Laws/taboos/restrictions
e) Attitude toward heresy/disagreement/questioning of doctrine/theology

2. Practice

a) Rituals/Rites
Holidays
c) Prayers
d) Priestly Vestments/Raiment
e) Temple architecture/layout/decor
f) Expressions/idioms
g) Equipment/paraphernalia used
h) Resolution of disputes
i) Punishment/penance/atonement
j) Education/Indoctrination of the faithful
k) Proselytism

3. Status of clergy/laity
4. Sects/factions/orders
5. Organization/hierarchy
B. External

1. Position in the community
2. Relations with other religions

C. Race/ethnicity/location/culture of worshippers

1. Alternate interpretations/aspects
2. Alternate names IV. "Divine Magic"


A. Effects
1. Types of effects available/not available
2. Power Level
3. Special Effects

B. Source/Method to acquire/use. Examples:

1. No actual divine magic exists. Priests don't claim any magic.
2. No actual divine magic exists. Priestly magic is all chicanery.
3. There's no real difference between divine magic and "arcane" magic.
4. Divine magic is an inherent force in the world, separate from wizardly magic. Priests access it by their own means.
5. Divine magic is a fragment of the god's or gods' power, which priests access by being priests or doing something that priests do.
6. Gods grant magic to priests directly and consciously, if they choose to.
7. Gods grant magic to priests through intermediaries or lesser divine beings, with occasional oversight by the god(s).
8. Gods grant higher-powered magic to priests directly and consciously, while lesser magic is granted more-or-less automatically.
9. Priests access magic through their own faith, without the god's direct involvement. Strength of faith determines success or power level.

The last session!
 
And it's over! Thanks to all my players for making The Black Blood River Expeditionary Company a big success. On with the (final) recap! =
 
----------
Hathym slowly woke. He couldn't feel his arms or legs, he felt sick, and his head was throbbing. He found Slick going through his gear, stripping the White Elf of his equipment. "You woke up quicker than I figured," Slick said. "No matter. You won't be able to move your arms and legs for a while yet."
 
"Why are you doing this?" Hathym managed to gasp.
 
"Nothing personal, man," Slick answered. "It's just a job. You made some people back home very angry – something about a woman, but I didn't ask for the details. Angry enough to want you dead, and to hire me to do it. I was hoping the jungle would kill you off before now, but the Snake-Men and their lizard friends will do the trick just fine."
 
"You'll not get away with this," Hathym said.
 
Slick just smiled. "Don't worry about me, my friend. I've got an angle." And with that, the rogue-turned-assassin left, leaving Hathym with only a single candle to keep him company.
 
Hathym realized quickly that the light from the candle would attract attention, so he struggled to blow it out. He managed, but the effort was exhausting. He lay without moving for a long time in the dark. He may have even passed out again; he had no way of knowing.
 
Fading in and out of wakefulness, Hathym thought he saw lights moving outside the tiny passage, and heard footsteps and some sort of hissing, sibilant language. He knew it would only be a matter of time before one of the Saurians looked in here, so he had to get out – even as sick as he felt. He waited until the sounds quieted down a bit, then struggled to his feet and peered outside. There was a passage going in two directions, and there were lights down both. He wasn't sure which way to go, but there were sounds coming from the right-hand passage, so he elected to go left.
 
Avoiding all lights and sounds, he found himself in a dark room – apparently, a barracks for the Lizard-Men. He hid behind some rocks when a pair of Saurian guards came to search the room. As soon as their backs were turned, he ran (well… "staggered" would be more accurate) out of the room and back up the hall. The lizards heard him and gave chase.
 
Not knowing where to go, he ran up a passageway towards some torchlight. But as he rounded a corner, he was startled to see the silhouette of an archer taking a bead on him. He immediately ducked. An arrow whizzed directly over his head and stuck the Saurian just behind him in the throat, dropping it with a gurgle.
 
Hathym, surrounded, knew he would have to fight. He rushed the archer, hoping to bowl him over and disarm him, but the drugs were making it too hard to concentrate. Hathym stumbled past the archer, who calmly nocked another arrow and shot the other Saurian dead.
 
Hathym, on the ground, looked up (expecting to see Slick), and was surprised that it was none other than Arialle! "How did you get down here?" he wheezed.
 
The Green Elf shrugged. "Wasn't easy," was her reply.
 
"Do you know how to escape?" he asked.
 
She shook her head. "I came out of a small moving room. First I was in a big room, now I'm here. You're lucky I didn't shoot you."
 
"More lucky than you know, my dear," the White Elf said. Since they didn't know how to operate the elevator, they decided to seek an exit elsewhere. Slick had taken Hathym's gear, so Arialle tossed her sword to him. They headed back the way Hathym came, trying to move quietly so as not to attract the attention of the guards they could still hear moving around.
 
Meanwhile, Radley was in something of a pickle. He had both idols, and the Saurians were genuinely distracted by his Trickery magic, but these lizards seemed smarter than the others and the priest knew they wouldn't be fooled for long.
 
As carefully as he could, he crept out of the room (barely avoiding one of the Saurians!). He hurried back to his secret door escape route and turned the knob. Nothing happened.
 
One of the lizards noticed that the statues were gone, and the others formed up around the doorway (not far from where Radley was standing!). The secret door had still not opened.
 
Radley was sweating. He had been maintaining multiple spells for a long time, and the strain was beginning to wear him down. He didn't think he could do it for much longer. Then, the door opened. He rushed through, scooping up Kishara's cat and running up the hall. Unfortunately, one of the Lizard-Men heard the door open and came to investigate. It entered the hallway just as the door shut.
 
Radley knew that it was just a matter of time before he was caught, so he did the only sensible thing he could –- he hid. The Saurian moved past the priest, brandishing an axe that could easily cleave Radley from stem to stern, and disappeared down the hall. Luckily for him, Nightshade picked that moment to stop complaining and start cleaning herself.
 
Meanwhile, Marina, Kishara, Breena, and Ulkiel were planning their next step. They had seen the Master of the Snake-Men slither up a hallway. They knew he wasn't aware of their presence. They decided that now was the best time to strike.
 
Marina in the lead, they followed the passageway until it came to a staircase going up. As they crept up the stairs, they felt cool, moist, fresh air on their faces. Then they heard someone rushing down the stairs. It was a Saurian, though it didn't seem to notice them – it looked like it was in a big hurry. Marina and Breena rushed it. The poor beast didn't even know what hit it. They rolled its body down the stairs and continued up.
 
Meanwhile, Radley stayed where he was, not sure where to go now. He couldn't go back, and he wasn't sure he wanted to go forward. But after a few minutes, he heard the sounds of combat echoing up the hall. It took him a minute to work things out – "I'm in the middle of hostile territory. The only people around are the Snake-Men, their servants, and us. The Snake-Men's people wouldn't attack each other, therefore…" With this thought he rushed up the hall to find his friends.
 
Hathym and Arialle heard someone approaching rapidly, and they prepared themselves for a fight. Hathym distracted the Lizard Man so Arialle could get a clear shot at its back. The monster hit Hathym pretty hard on the thigh (he was still too woozy to dodge properly), but together the two Elves managed to bring it down.
 
Seconds after the fight ended, Radley came running up the hall. He was shocked to see Arialle. "Where's Slick?" he asked.
 
"Slick betrayed us," Hathym said. "He's the one the note warned me about."
 
"I'm surprised," Radley said. "Not shocked, since I know how we Kidbodders are, but still surprised." The priest then turned to Arialle. "What are you doing here?"
 
"Dungeness ordered an assault on the ziggurat," she said. "All of us are here, somewhere. I was separated."
 
"Why didn't you tell me about Lord Dungeness?" Hathym demanded.
 
Arialle shrugged. "You didn't ask."
 
"Nevermind that," Radley pushed the two Elves apart. "We have to get out of here."
 
"Do you know how to operate the elevators?" Hathym asked.
 
"Sort of…" Radley said.
 
"Good enough," Hathym nodded. "We know where one is. Let's go."
 
It took some work, but eventually, the three adventurers figured out how to set the dial to get the elevator moving. When it finally came to a halt and the door opened, they were surprised to find their path blocked by a dozen or so angry Nekians brandishing weapons. "Stop right where ye are, ye walkin' luggage… oh, Mr. Radley, it's you!" Radley's porter Seamus, among the others, was glad to see the heroes. The entire group hustled out of the ziggurat, and Seamus explained what was going on.
 
"Huang Jin died this morning, a few hours after you all left," he told them, sadly. "At that, his Lordship got angry. He didn't know when –- or if –- you were coming back, so he ordered every able-bodied man and woman to take up arms. We marched straight here –- Ms. Arialle led us – and stormed the place. Actually, it took us a while to find the hidden door. Jimmy fell through it while lighting up a smoke.
 
"Once inside, we met up with a bunch of those walking luggages. We fought 'em in the halls, falling back when one of us got hurt. It took a good chunk of the day, but we killed 'em all and their slithering master, too!"
 
"You killed one of the Snake-Men?" Hathym asked.
 
"Aye, and we've got him hung up in a tree outside. I'll show you!" Seamus enthusiastically answered.
 
"First, take us to see Lord Dungeness," the heroes told him.
 
Meanwhile, Breena, Marina, Kishara, and Ulkiel found themselves on the very top of the ziggurat, where they saw two large Saurian bodyguards and the Master himself. They wasted no time. Marina rushed the Master while Breena attacked the bodyguards. The Master, not taken by surprise, immediately summoned a storm of fire directly over the heroes. However, at that precise moment a thunderstorm broke out. The heavy rainfall partially nullified the flames, and most everyone managed to escape the conflagration with little more than superficial burns.
 
Ulkiel began loudly reciting the story of the four great heroes who, by themselves, managed to kill the powerful wizard/priest Ilom and his four Saurian bodyguards. The others were reassured by his words, and felt stronger -– nearly invincible. Marina stabbed at the Master, who was quick and slippery so she only managed to scratch him. He reached out and touched her on the chest, and immediately she felt weak and sick, as if she had been poisoned.
 
Breena was having a tough time against the two bodyguards. Kishara was attempting to help, but the heavy rain kept grounding out her lightning bolts. Finally, Ulkiel threw his axe, which imbedded itself in the skull of one of the Lizard-Men. The huge creature crumpled to the ground. Ulkiel was so surprised that he forgot to continue chanting for a moment.
 
Marina managed to get a few good blows in on the Master, who returned the favor by touching her on the arm. She was engulfed in pain; her skin ripped open and she began bleeding profusely. She collapsed to the ground, nearly unconscious. The Master took advantage and slithered further away from her, where he cast on himself a Healing spell. Breena and Marina were both hurt badly. Ulkiel was disarmed, and Kishara's magic wasn't having the effect she hoped it would. The Master took all this in and smiled.
 
But the fight wasn't over yet. Breena, with the help of the Hobbit and the wizard, finally killed the last bodyguard. All three rushed up to help Marina and confront the serpentine Master. He fought like a devil, but together they managed to kill him. It was a mighty battle that will be retold in stories for many long years (especially the part about Ulkiel killing the Saurian with his axe!), but the heroes had emerged victorious!
 
The Master was dead. Breena, aware of how snakes can sometimes seem dead, chopped off its head and stuffed it in a bag. Ulkiel and Kishara removed the jewelry from its corpse for later examination. Marina kept a watch out. After a while, she noticed that there were lights moving around in the jungle just below the temple. After watching them for a while, she realized that they weren't lizards or Snake-Men, but the Expeditionary Company!
 
Kishara cast a spell that gave them all wings, and they glided down to the jungle floor – to the shock and surprise of the porters and the other heroes alike! Everyone exchanged their stories. The news of Slick's betrayal was shocking to everyone. Seamus told the heroes that the porters had met Slick in the hallway. He was hurt, so they took him outside. He told them that everyone was somewhere in the temple, but he didn't know where. That was the last anyone had seen of him.
 
Later, the heroes learned that Slick had slipped out of the encampment and headed back to the main camp. He apparently gathered up a large share of the treasure the heroes had found. Where he went after that, no one knew -– but they counted the canoes and none were missing. Could he have headed back to civilization on foot? It seemed unlikely. Perhaps he was dead -– but then again, any man as crafty as Slick wouldn't be easy to kill...
 
Regardless, with everyone out of the ziggurat and the Master dead, Dungeness determined that the Company had seen enough. He ordered everyone to begin packing the canoes – they would leave this city as soon as everyone was well enough to travel. Word of his decision couldn't have come too soon for most of the heroes!
 
Hathym and Radley went back into the palace and retrieved the third golden idol, still hidden right where they had left it. They bundled it up with the others and put them all into crates, where they would be safe for the trip home. The next morning, the Company held a funeral for Huang-Jin. It was a solemn affair, since everyone liked her so much. Ulkiel openly wept -– he and Huang Jin had grown to be good friends in the past few months. Arialle, unused to the funereal rituals of humans, did not attend. Hathym did, but felt a little uncomfortable.
 
(To the Elves, funerals are intensely private affairs, with only the very closest family and friends attending. If someone who wasn't very close to the deceased attended it would be considered very rude and embarrassing).
 
The Company headed back downriver, the going much quicker now that they didn't have the current to paddle against. After a few days on the river, the heroes thought they should figure out which of the Master's jewelry (if any) was indeed magical. They determined it was a ring – a ring made of an unknown metal that looked dark silver in some light, and coppery-brown in other, with a very large, pale green translucent stone of an unknown type. Kishara, the ever-curious type, put it on.
 
When they managed to wake her up, she told them that the second she put it on, her awareness multiplied until she could see everything. Everything. Her mind couldn't take the strain, and she passed out. She elected not to try on the ring again -– she felt she might be able to eventually attune herself to the ring, but wasn't sure it was worth the effort –- and instead the heroes gave it to Dungeness to put in the museum when they returned home.
 
The Company paddled past the Enemy's village, and found the whole place burned to ashes, with no survivors to be seen. They figured the village must've been attacked by its angry neighbors –- "If you sow the wind, you'll reap the tornado," Breena said.
 
(In reality, Ilom destroyed it a few weeks before, after the heroes thought they had killed him).
 
As they moved through friendlier territory, many of the native guides and porters left the company to return to their own homes and families. Dungeness richly rewarded them with steel tools/weapons and trade beads.
 
Eventually, the Company made it back to the Westron Ocean, where they met with their ship. The base camp had little to report – they had spent the last four months being bored and coping with the jungle's mischievous fairies. They were as eager to head back to civilization as the group that headed up the river!
 
The Song of the Dark sailed north in smooth waters. It took more than seven weeks to reach Kohm, the capital of Nekia. The Company was greeted with much fanfare, and the Royal Explorers' Society celebrated Dungeness as a hero. The specimens, samples, journals, and maps were placed in a special wing of the RES museum. Ulkiel, at his request, was inducted into the Society as well.
 
The RES began talking of sending another, better funded, larger expedition up the river in a few years –- the idea of a hidden city which no one had ever seen before was thrilling; also, technically Dungeness' expedition never found the source of the Black Blood River. When the heroes heard about this, they all decided to be elsewhere once recruiting began.
 
The heroes insisted on taking as their payment two of the three gold idols. They didn't want the idols falling into the wrong hands, and weren't sure they would be adequately protected in the museum. Dungeness took some convincing, but he finally decided, in lieu of other payment, they could have the statues. They immediately had them melted down and turned into small, spendable chunks (and at roughly 15-20 kg per statue, that was a lot of chunks!).
 
Most of the Nekians and other porters took their pay and headed home, glad to be back in their own lands, but many of the heroes decided that they had made a great team, and were loath to split up. Marina mentioned that she had never seen Kidbod, and Radley was eager to show off his town. Hathym didn't want to go anywhere near his homeland ("It's not easy living with a death-mark"), so he settled on going with them. Breena, always eager to test her prowess and her faith, also agreed to go. Kishara had a bit of wanderlust in her blood too, so she decided to accompany the team. Arialle, on the other hand, said "goodbye" in typical Elvish fashion –- by turning around and walking away without saying a word. Ulkiel told them that he was staying in Nekia with Lord Dungeness, who had offered the job of factotum to the Hobbit.
 
And so ended the saga Black Blood River Expeditionary Company -– the heroes all a little richer, a little sadder, and (perhaps) a little wiser.
 
(Everybody made 5 kg of gold (that's a whole lot –- roughly the equivalent of 1000 Demorian Drachma -- about 25 years work for an unskilled peasant! That's about 350 Drachma more than they were promised –- but they considered it "hazard pay"). They also found 2 Potions of Heal Critical Wounds, 2 Potions of Haste, and one vial of concentrated snake venom. Radley also has a handful of gemstones, as I recall).

July 18 2004
 
The Expeditionary Company made it back to the river and collapsed from exhaustion. The next morning, Lord Dungeness ordered every able-bodied man and woman to construct a temporary stockade, to protect the camp from any reprisals that the Enemy might make. From the extent of the injuries (particularly Hathym and Breena), he decided that the company had to stay put for at least a few days so they could heal properly.
 
The next week was tense, as everyone was expecting an attack from the Enemy; however, when none came people started to relax a bit. The healers of the group determined that Hathym and Breena would need at least a couple of weeks to recover from their wounds, so the company settled in for a long stay.
 
After three weeks pent up in the little stockade, everyone was about ready to start climbing the walls. Radley and Marina decided that the injured people were ready to travel, so Dungeness called a group meeting. "We've suffered a setback," he told the team. "But I don't think it's a fatal one. Though we lost some of our team, a handful of the natives we rescued have volunteered to come along with us to act as porters and guides. We still have more than a month before we have to turn back to catch our ship, and everything that we've seen so far has merely whetted my appetite to continue. The ruins we've seen so far indicate that the stories of an ancient lost civilization are true, and I'd like to follow up on that. Also, now that we've entered the hills, I feel that we may be close to the source of the Black Blood River.
 
"But I know that we've been through a lot so far, and if there was ever a time to turn back, this may be it. So I'd like to take the temperature of the team, so to speak. What are your thoughts? Should we continue, or turn back?"
 
Radley cynically wondered how many more people would have to die just to satisfy Lord High-Pocket's wanderlust, but he didn't say anything out loud because he didn't figure that his opinion would matter much.
 
N'Amwei was not so shy, and said that the company had run into too much trouble already. "No need to tempt fate no more," he said. "There is much bad juju in these jungles. We should get out while the getting is good."
 
Huang-Jin was also for leaving. "We have mapped the river thus far, and we've taken a great number of samples. We've met the people and learned much about their language and culture. Now may be the time to return home to catalog our finds."
 
Breena, ever eager to test her skills, said that the company should continue on. "We shouldn't leave the job half-finished." Hathym and Marina agreed with her. Kishara was very excited about continuing. "We've already killed off the opposition," she proclaimed. "What else could possibly stop us?" (Most of the party groaned when they heard these dangerous words...)
 
Slick was pretty insistent that the company continue. "I came this far for a share of the treasure, but we haven't found any so far. I'm no good at math, but I'm pretty sure that 2% of zero is zero. I say we find this lost civilization that His Lordship is talking about - they're bound to have some loot!"
 
Arialle disappeared sometime during the discussion, so no one is certain what her opinion on the matter was.
 
Dungeness took all of this into account (or he didn't, if you ask Radley), and decided that the company should continue upriver. The rest of the day was spent packing the canoes, and the next day the expedition continued.
 
Radley's porter Seamus was particularly upbeat. "There's good luck in the air, Mr. Radley!" he said. "I can feel a change coming, you'll see."
 
A few days later, the change was evident as the river narrowed and quickened. Before long, the expedition came to a tall waterfall - the first cateract. The river was no longer navigable, so the expedition packed the canoes and marched up the hills, following the river as best as they could so they could get back on when they passed the rapids.
 
Above the waterfall, they got back on the river. About a day and a half later, they came to another waterfall and once again headed upriver on foot. Halfway up the hill, Kishara noted something in the underbrush - what seemed to everyone else as a simple stream flowing through the path was apparent to her as something man-made.
 
Dungeness ordered a halt to the march, and the porters cleared away the undergrowth and mud, revealing a beautiful, ancient fountain. Ulkiel sketched it in his book and made some notes while Breena and Hathym explored the surrounding forest. Before long, they came back and said that they found an old road, heading up into the hills.
 
After some deliberation, Dungeness decided not to follow the road, but to continue up the river. "We can always explore the road on our way back down the river, if we have time."
 
At the top of the waterfall, the company got back on the river and spent two days working against the current. On the third day, right past a particularly difficult stretch of river, they came to a large, still, glassy, green lake.
 
Stretched out across the banks of the lake was a sight that amazed the entire company - a huge, ancient, ruined stone city, covered in vines and overgrown with trees, but still somehow magnificent.
 
"That ancient civilization you're looking for, boss?" Hathym asked. "I think we've found it."

Hey, y'all!
 
Inspired by James Gillen's [edit misspelling - sorry!] Turakian Age campaign I thought I would post my own FH campaign notes here, for the cheap amusement of the masses. The game's been going on for a few weeks now, and it seems to be going well. It takes place in my own fantasy world (see the "FH Mythologies - Storytime" thread http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18634 for a little info on one aspect of my world).
 
The concept is this: The Royal Explorers' Society has commissioned one of its members to assemble an expedition to sail south and map the Black Blood River, a very large river (think: the Amazon or the Nile) which has never been fully explored. The PCs are members of the expedition, hired on as guards, guides, translators, healers, or whatever. They are all beginning, low-powered characters (25 base, 50+ disads).
 
The PCs on the team consist of:
Breena of Adrom, a ranger and a paladin in the service of Adrom, god of woodsmen. Breena is a very large (6’), very strong woman who hails from the rough and mostly unsettled part of Kalon (a heavily forested country ruled by the druids). She doesn’t have much of a sense of humor, but she does have a kind heart. She has come on this adventure to test her skills and her mettle against all odds, and was hired as a guard and a guide. Breena is being played by my lovely wife, Tammy.
 
Hathym Veddol, a White Elf noble who didn’t fit in with the expectations and demands his family, so he was apprenticed (read: shuffled off) to a Brown Elf ranger at an early age. Despite all expectations, he took well to his training and became a full-fledged ranger. Hathym has a taste for the finer things in life – particularly women (he would charitably be called a “dawg†); his nickname back home is “The Rake,†which he has very carefully failed to mention to his new teammates. Hathym is on this mission because he had to get as far away from his homelands as he could, as quickly as possible. He hasn’t mentioned why, but it apparently has something to do with a young lady and an angry family. Hathym is played by Ron, an old friend.
 
Brother Radley Zane, a priest of Comme, god of laughter and minstrelsy. Radley grew up in the mean streets of the biggest and baddest city in the world, but was rescued from a life of poverty and crime when he found religion. He’s on this trip because… well, it’s a funny story. See, he took a bet that he couldn’t sneak aboard a ship after dark. He did so and fell asleep. When he woke up, he found himself hundreds of leagues from home and heading west. He decided that this was a test sent to him by Comme (very funny, big guy!), so he’s going wherever his feet take him. He was hired as a healer. Radley is played by Mike, another old friend.
 
Kishara, a powerful wizard. Actually, Kishara is a wild mage, but she knows that wild mages have a bad rep, so she tries to keep her true power a secret. So far she has been extraordinarily lucky – especially given that she’s the only thaumic spellcaster on the team, no one else really knows what a wizard is supposed to be able to do, so they just assume she’s an ordinary wizard. Kishara is looking for adventure, knowledge, and a way to better understand her powers... but more importantly she’s looking to get away from mobs of angry villagers who discovered her secret and want to string her up. Mike’s girlfriend Kate is playing Kishara.
 
Ulkiel Artu of Cainith North is a hobbit bard, a proud graduate of the finest bardic college in the world. He has a smattering of language talent, a smattering of magic, a smattering of combat ability, a smattering of artistic skills, and a smattering of outdoorsman skills. Ulkiel wants to see and experience new things – go places no one else has gone, do things no one else has done, see things no one else has seen – and that’s why he’s come on this mission. A new player to my group (Ilija) is playing Ulkiel.
 
Marina is a priestess of Cynthea, goddess of the moon and stars. Marina was a peasant girl who was lucky enough to be apprenticed to her local temple and made good. After finishing her apprenticeship, she signed on with a naval vessel that was hunting pirates. Signs indicated that these pirates were supernatural in origin – possibly even Undead – and she is a staunch foe of the walking dead, so she wanted to be part of that mission. Unfortunately, the mission ended badly; she was found by our heroes, unconscious on a piece of flotsam. What happened to her ship, no one knows, but she joined the crew of this new ship and has proven a capable leader. Marina is played by Dawn, a friend-of-a-friend who joined our group at about the same time her friend dropped out.
 
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Since this is not a standard dungeon crawl but rather a long-term exploration into dangerous territory, the Expedition is a large group consisting of porters, boaters, diggers, guides, and the like. In addition, I added a few more NPCs to round out the group and fill in some skills that the team might need later. These are mostly off-screen personalities who generally only show up when the PCs call them.
 
Arialle Darkleafe is a Green Elf archer. Beautiful and as skilled in the woods as she is with her bow, Arialle also has serious impulse control issues. She tends to shoot first and ask questions never, so the heroes only invite her along when they know that combat is about to start. She also has trouble with the common language spoken by the group (when she started the game, she spoke only Elvish; now she has 1 point in the common language), so she frequently misunderstood orders.
 
Slick Motomo is a rogue from the Empire of Kidbod, a corrupt regime that stands at the crossroads of east and west, north and south. Slick came on this expedition in order to make a profit… at least, that’s the story he gives. In reality, he’s a bounty hunter hired by Hathym’s enemies to bring the Elf back to them – dead or alive. (That’ll teach the player to take a 15-point Hunted!).
 
Huang-Jin, a mysterious woman from the far east. Huang-Jin is the company’s cartographer, with an innate sense of geography and an artist’s touch. Huang-Jin is one of the company’s two translators (Ulkiel is the other) since she has great facility with language. She is also a spellcaster who knows a variety of useful non-combat spells. I made Huang-Jin because Ulkiel’s player thought his wife might want to join the game; turned out to not be the case, but we’ve kept Huang-Jin around because she frequently proves useful.
 
Lord Walter Robert Dungeness is the leader and financier of the expedition. He was an officer in the military until an encounter with a Giant cost him his eye. After retirement, he headed south to the edge of the Hidden Jungle to become an explorer. He wants nothing more than to leave a great legacy, for his name to go down in history as one of the great explorers of his time, and so he founded this expedition. Dungeness is no coward and no fool, but he tends to be hidebound and rigid in his approach to problems; this has made some interesting dynamic tensions in the group.
 
There are other NPCs in the group – N’Amwei the quartermaster/cook, Kenbede and Igdobe the native guides, and a few others, but they’ve not been very important to the game so far.
 
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So, what do you think, sirs?
 
Bill.