GAMES(2001-2002)
Cult Wars 4 (19/07/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
In the far off land of Draxia the lizardine race of the Kaarth lives under the control of its queen. The Kaarth share a
telepathic link, which also allows them to control the Saar a larger beefier race of lizard men. Unfortunately for the Kaarth
Queen, one of her berthing sessions produces disturbing results, only 4 offspring, which unknown to her are born outside of
her telepathic control, existing as they do in their own 4 person hive mind. These Offspring now known as the Dark Ones
became highly proficient in the magical arts each one focusing on an individual elemental sphere. The Dark Ones become ever
more powerful and attempt to overthrow the Queen, they are on the verge of defeating her when she gains the allegiance of
Ny'darch a psionic demon/god. With Ny'darch's help the dark ones are imprisoned, however the queen pays for this service as
Ny'darch claims ultimate dominion over the Kaarth.
Time passes and Ny'darch's power grows ever stronger. As with most ancestral type beings Ny'darch's powers rest firmly in
his followers however and when they are defeated by the Barony's forces or rather during the Kingdom's initial tumultuous
time. As a result Ny'darch was largely inactive for a while. 2 years ago. One of his few remaining worshippers
succeeded in bringing more people to the cause and they sought out an old Ny'darch temple where they hoped to bring
Ny'darch back to this plane through the soul sword. Unfortunately the temple lying on the outskirts of barony land and
the cultists plan was stumbled upon by barony scouts in the region.
Not really knowing what was going on a barony party was tasked with planting a "scrying stone" in the cultist's camp.
This task was carried out successfully however, whilst retreating two of the party were captured, and although one was
rescued the other was raised as a zombie before the party could intervene. From the observations of the Scrying stone
the cultists intentions become clear and the party were sent to stop the ritual. Unfortunately defences at the cave has
since been revamped and it was protected by a soul ward, a group of priests were sent from the 5th Freedom temple, in the
area to destroy the site generating the ward (a little way off). This succeeded however it was too late and one of the
cultists managed to embody Ny'darch. The party however were able to hold him at bay whilst Grand Seer Annias conducted a
ritual to shatter the soul sword and send Ny'darch hurtling back to where he came. With his defeat however he
telepathically called on the Kaarth to have revenge on the barony, at the same time the Dark ones managed to escape their
prison and fled to reform and regain their powers.
When Skumble's Goblin tribe returned to their caves (they had been displaced by the cultists so allied with the barony to
help reclaim them) they discovered that the cultists had left some of their undead minions in the caves. The party clear
out the undead and discover a large library. Annias studies the library and discovers basic details about the Kaarth,
including the location of their island Draxia. He also learns of a magical portal to Draxia in the cave complex, and
suggests a recon mission to analyse the Kaarth threat. The party discover the portal is guarded by a group of soul demons,
and dispatch the lesser demons without too much difficulty. At the same time they spot a great battle between a larger
demon and the dark ones (who have yet to become corporeal) The Dark Ones succeed and the party pass through into Draxia.
They encounter a mercenary group and decide to send the brothers to infiltrate the camp and discover the strength and
intentions of the enemy. After gaining a general impression of the camps size and hearing the generals rousing speech
(gleaning that the Kaarth are building their fleet up to allow for the invasion) they make a fighting retreat back to
the portal. The party however find themselves overwhelmed and only through the intervention of the dark ones are they
able to flee (without the existence of the portal being revealed).
The barony send troops to guard the portal and with time as their ally the barony seeks to study the library further as
well as the remnants of the soul sword and the curious soul orbs found on the mad chaos Priest Draathen (which they
believe are linked to Ny'darch and the soul cult in some way). At the same time additional training is given by Captain
Vareen on covert operations. Small groups are sent into Draxia to delay the invasion, with the first successfully
destroying one of their principal shipyards. A plan is then developed to assassinate the Kaarth Queen and barony heroes
including the Twins, Amalthea etc.
To prepare for the task Arkteer calls for the research regarding the orbs and sword to be returned in case they are
needed. Unfortunately the temple of freedom does not respond and the party are urgently sent out to deal with the
situation. It turns out that the priests had lost track of time, partly due to the effects of the recently re-activated
soul orbs. On their way back the party bump into the returning assassination party who are severely injured but were
successful, however they were followed by several Kaarth and the party are sent to deal with them. Fortunately the Kaarth
are weak due to the fatal condition of the Queen and when she finally dies and the Kaarth mage is distracted the group's
Saar (T'nesh) turns on them. He joins the party and explains his peoples plight and offers to aid in the fight against
the Kaarth however he can. The party discover that with the Queen dead the Dark ones will take her place; perhaps they
have traded one tyrant for an even worse tyrant.
Not knowing whether the dark ones will continue the mission that Ny'darch imposed upon the Kaarth Queen the barony
e-directs its efforts in developing strategies and methods with which to strike the dark ones. In this task they succeed
in gaining Frostreaver a powerful axe imbued with ice magics, a bone sword of entangling etc.
Recently a group of powerful undead escaped from Skumble's cave, presumably remnants of the death priests that used to
reside their. With the assistance of a strange monk the party are able to rid the area of the undead and deal with an
upstart goblin by the name of Korvax. Most recently the Shadowlords invasion of the barony has left the barony in a
complete mess and totally defenceless against any Kaarth invasion. Somehow it would appear as though the Kaarth suspected
of the Barony's weakness and sent a scout fleet to investigate. The ships were sighted and luckily defeated by the
barony's navy, however a few ships got away from their pursuers and may have been able to report their findings to
Draxia.
As a result the party are sent to Skumble's land to make sure that the portal survived the Shadowlord's invasion.
This was indeed the case, the forces their were simply;' laying low to avoid the Kaarth forces that had been dropped off
in the area. The party defeat these Kaarth and meet some Soul cultists offering an alliance against the Dark ones. The
party pass this request on to their superiors. The Temple of Freedom has also been asked and the soul sword missing.
Although the attack appeared to be carried out by the Kaarth the party suspect the involvement of the cultists.
The Present
General Arkteer and his staff consider there to be a high possibility that the Dark ones and the Kaarth may be aware of
the barony's weakened state and even with the possibility of aid from neighbouring allies such as the Hassani, they feel
that the barony's only real possibility of survival is to take the initiative and remove the threat of the Dark Ones once
and for all.
A potential alliance with the soul cultists is currently considered to be a necessary evil and diplomatic discussions to
develop this into something concrete are currently underway. As to whether the attack on the 5th temple of freedom was
carried out by the soul cultists or the Kaarth is unclear. All of those dead at the site appear to have had their very
souls removed after they had died, perhaps the Kaarth discovered the nature of the soul sword and saw it as a threat to
the dark ones and so removed it, covering their tracks to avoid pursuit, or maybe the soul cultists framed the Kaarth.
Annias hopes to glean whether the latter is the case from discussions with the Cultists.
In order to defeat the dark ones the party are to form part of an advance group to gain a foothold in Draxia by setting
up a base camp at Bil Nivarr where T'nesh's Resistance group is based. General Arkteer's command group will then follow
on, and orchestrate a series of strategic attacks on the Kaarth war machine in order to draw out the dark ones, who are
to be defeated once and for all, hopefully with the assistance of the soul cultists.
Debrief:
From General Arkteer to Guard Thorfen's Draxia patrol
The mission was a total success. The Dark Ones were defeated and the Kaarth threat thereby removed, finally giving the
barony the time it needs to recover from the damage it suffered following the assault of the Shadowlords. As we suspected
the remaining Kaarth were thrown into complete disarray without the Dark Ones to command them. Unlike the Saar however
they have not sought to reconcile themselves with the barony, perhaps Ny'darch's command still holds sway over them and
they continued to make disorganised raids on barony personnel. As a result barony forces in the area have been forced to
occupy Kaarth encampments and imprison all Kaarth they encounter. This work has been progressing well over the last week
and the majority of Draxia is now pacified.
With some effort the priests of amen have been removed from Draxia for their own safety, and thankfully Cuban Pete returned
to his home at the end of the his exchange programme. The dubious tradesman Chris and his fairy have been arrested and
taken into custody following evidence gathered by Weasel. They are soon to be tried for multiple accounts of fraud,
deception, and theft multiple infractions of the traders code and manslaughter. Unfortunately as these incidents took
place outside of the barony there is some dispute as to whether such charges are just.
Further ambassadors have been sent to the tribesmen in Draxia and relations are developing well. The barony forces still
in Draxia are particularly thankful for the advice offered regarding Draxia's native wildlife. As for the Babumba tribe
and the disturbing reports regarding the potential power of the "Landreaver Device" Annias has personally undertaken the
task of researching the issue. Here is the salient portion of his findings to date.
"As suspected it appears as if the standard babumba's are indeed alchemical in nature and seem to take quite some time and
effort to create, a task which is only undertaken by the Babumba specialist. It would appear as if the Babumba tribe's
current supply has been fully exhausted following their generosity to the barony. As for the more mystical nature of the
babumba's the tribe's shaman appears to be able to summon babumba's, primarily from the Babumba's (now depleted) stockpile
into his hands, possibly employing some variation of the spell recall used by many air mages. I don't quite understand how
some of the bombs he summoned seemed to heal those around them when they "exploded," I presume that some babumba frames are
enchanted with miraculous powers for this purpose, however this is a matter that I will have to question the shaman about
more fully. The Golden babumba or "Landreaver" represents a particular concern as voiced by several who have heard of it.
It is indeed highly magical in nature and even has some miraculous element as well. However my personal examinations
reveal that it is not nearly as powerful as the tribesmen believe. According to the Babumba specialist Landreaver is an
ancient artefact of the tribe, which not even he knows the real origin of. I would suggest that unlike its purely
alchemical brothers, Landreaver was also imbued with fire magics, which serve to magnify its effect upon explosion. As a
result it has been revered as some "holy artefact" and its potential power exaggerated over the years. Nevertheless it
still requires much study and regulation. So I've employed a highly experienced permanent staff to stay with the babumba
tribe and ensure that their techniques do not fall into the wrong hands."
All of the barony's forces in the area are highly congratulated for their actions with particular commendations to
Guardsman Tforfen, The druid Eric Chasseur, Samuel and High master Vortex. Unfortunately there were a number of casualties
suffered during the campaign, however we are pleased to report that all of those who were not tended to Mathonwy in Draxia
were successfully brought back into the barony by our pathfinders. A complete list of casualties, and the circumstances
of their deaths is attached to this report.
The unfortunate exception to this record lies in the fact that the whereabouts and fate of Kailyn Trueshot has not yet been
ascertained. Our ever increasing control over Draxia and continued searches of Draxia have provided no results at this
time, however they have suggested that a number of the Kaarth's more discreet operations have been orchestrated from the
expansive underground cave networks in the south of the island. Captain Vareen reports that he has successfully located
and recruited the services of the renowned half-orc findsman Sniffer. Sniffer has picked up Kailyn's scent from the
encampment at which Dryak was discovered and is confident that it will lead him closer to him. All of you who are
currently still in Draxia are to be reassigned to Sniffer's group as soon as your current searches are completed.
Additionally the forces at Skumble's cave have recently been approached by some soul cultists asking about the happenings
in Draxia and the success of the mission against the dark ones. They have been stalled for the time being as we are not
quite sure what to tell them at this time. On this matter Annias asks about the whereabouts of the soul sword, as he hopes
to use it to ascertain whether the cultists were responsible for the attack on the 5th freedom temple. He is additionally
curious as to the actions of the cultists in Draxia, particularly the curious episode regarding Master Vortex, and the
cultist's death.
Once again congratulations on your efforts, and all the best with the search for Kailyn, I will personally endeavour to
ensure that my superiors in the barony support the search for as long as possible.
General Vareen.
Deaths:
Vortex - Died whilst trying to bravely sneak past the controlled Saar at Bil Nivarr to attack the Kaarth mage.
Verence - Died protecting Grand seer Annias and his support staff when they were waylaid on the way to Bil Nivarr.
Iluminati - Died when his party was ambushed on their way to attack a Kaarth supply depot.
Pathfinder Jeremis - Died due to the effects of the cursed glove of arachnids that he had purchased off "Chris" .
Vortex - Died chasing down one of the Kaarth group that were investigating the Bubumba tribe's gift.
Pathfinder Furten - Died when trying to recover the body of illuminati.
Zanthris - Succumbed to Kaarth Poison after assassinating a Kaarth mage.
Vortex - Died in battle with the Earth empowered Dark One.
Thorfen - Died in battle with the Earth empowered Dark One.
Reports:
See Reports
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 72
AdrianC [Thorfen] 80
- (+1) Costume, that beard must have been REALLY annoying.
(+2) Well thought out report.
(+1) Heroic, if foolhardy refusal to back away from the earth formed Dark One.
(+4) Consistent role-play throughout especially the points below.
I was very impressed by Thorfen the entire weekend, you continued to role-play the character throughout, even dealing with
new aspects as introduced by Cuban Pete, The Adam Ant-ium mask, the direct line to God and the shiny shield oh and the
incident regarding the eating of the Drokken bone. In combat you fought solidly, particularly impressing me with your
insistence on engaging the Earth Dark One knowing that it would almost certainly kill you. In general you took good
control of the party, thereby minimising trouble.
AlexT [Dryak] 57 (36 player, 18 monster)
- (+4) Inspired and intense role-playing. All the points below really.
(-1) For occasional out bursts at the ref.
From your rescue from the clutches of the Kaarth interrogators it was clear that you had really put a lot of thought into
your character and the Kailyn/Kestrel Plot. Throughout the weekend you maintained your character, which wasn't easy when
faced with the deceptions of your commanding officers, and the presence of the soul cultists. Your role-playing at the
debrief was particularly impressive. As always you used your characters abilities well and dealt out a fair amount of
punishment in combat. Unfortunately your frustration got the better of you on occasion, ironically I fear because you
were so into character. We've discussed this point since so I see little point in going into details here, but as it has
affected my points allocations I felt I should mention it in passing. Thanks for allowing me to bring the Brothers plot
into the game a little, I'm sorry it didn't resolve itself as you probably would have liked, but the lack of MikeT made
things difficult and I didn't think that an "off screen" rescue would do it credit. I hope that we can sort out the
Kailyn rescue adventure in the near future, we just need you, MikeT, CarinaS, MarcusO and ideally IanH.
CarinaS [Kestrel] 77
- (+3) For Great-role-playing, particularly your discussions with Dryak and attitude towards all things Soul Demony.
(+1) For using holy words on the shade. You knew it would come in handy some time.
(+1) Great use of the card of freezing.
Some excellent role-playing during the weekend especially with regards to Dryak and Kailyn and your reaction and attitude
to the soul cultists and soul "demons". Superlative use of the card of freezing, had the monster crew in fits of
laughter. Considering Kestrel's limited combat abilities you worked well with the rest of the group, generally acting in
a support role. Your use of holy words against the shadow after Aurelius had been double weaknessed was a real party
saver and as I've said before the co-ordinated unholy word wedge was brilliant.
IanH [Hunter] 77
- (+3) Brilliant Role-playing of the dare say cowardly Hunter, especially the use of druidic abilities.
(+1) For the ball of string.
(+1) For continuing role-play IC on the message boards.
In my opinion one of the best played characters in the group. Throughout you did your best to ensure that the party had
early warning against the Kaarth threat, with your nose frequently in the air. As per usual you did not get involved in
combat, except when you had the Babumba box that is. However, the manner in which you dealt with the wolves and later the
snake were great and I particularly liked the plant strength on the tree which was being ripped apart at your feet.
And how could I have almost have forgotten the string incident!
KojiB [Derrus] 74
- (+2) Great report, dealing with your problems with Thorfen and your concern to apprehend Chris.
(+1) For being a great sport with regards to dinner ladies and landmines.
(+1) For daring, if somewhat belated rescue of the soul orb from Bil Nivarr.
(-1) For occasional slips out of character.
(-1) For lack of proper costume.
A good sport throughout he weekend, particularly in the face of the barony's dinner ladies and a rather large number of
landmines, I mean Babumba's! You even sat there and watched the lame Monkfish! Your lack of costume was unfortunate, as
was your injury later on in the weekend that limited your scouting abilities. In general you performed your role well,
providing emergency healing when necessary and finding your right place in combats. Additionally I particularly liked
your rescue of the soul orb. You dealt with being put under Thorfen's command generally well (Captain Vareen always puts
guards in charge rather than pathfinders were possible as he feels that a party's leader's place is in the middle of the
action). On the negative side you made a few too many OOC comments during the weekend for my liking, which slightly
marred an otherwise strong performance. On the other hand and your report was spot on indicating a clear interest in a
number of things - in particular with regards to Thorfen and Chris the crafty cockney. Oh and one last thing
icks-nay on-he ookis nay!
LudwigK [Samuel] 78
- (+2) Clever report, particular with regards to the Babumba's.
(+3) Solid role-playing, acting as a second in command to Thorfen.
(+1) For keeping me on my toes e.g. requests to superiors, and concerns for "Landreaver".
We were all slightly worried about the order priest turned justice priest at the start of the weekend, but you seemed to
play him superbly. You assisted Thorfen well the entire weekend and were took great effort to keep yourself and your
superiors informed upon developments. Oh and I liked the way you took the slow spell. Your interest in the Babumba tribe
was most interesting and in particular your report on the matter was very well thought out.
NeilH [Talon] 75
- (+2) For consistent role-playing.
(+1) For your brave attempts to job the scary MatthewA fire elemental with Frostreaver.
For some reason I always seem to end upon the receiving end of the slightly more down to earth priest of might, for
example the pasting you gave me during the Dryak rescue. I really must learn to sword fight I suppose I could have given
the Kaarth Lord to WarrenJ. But I feared he might mess the party up a little too much. Although I can't think of any real
individual moments when you excelled but that said you performed well, operating in more of a front line position than
you were previously used to and made a good accounting for yourself in battle. Commendations on your brave assault on
arguably the most intimidating of the Dark Ones - it's a shame you ran afoul of the Kaarth earth mage before reaching
your target though.
PaulW [Li] 76
- (+1) Nice, unique take on the gladiator and solid combat.
(+2) For standing so well alongside much higher ranked characters.
(+1) Unique report.
As someone who has unsuccessfully struggled to move away from the (non)fighting mentality of a mage I was particularly
impressed by the complete character change from MAD to Li. There was no sign of MAD's insubordination or swearing and
your ability to stand up in the front line, considering both your low rank and the limitation placed on you by the
gladiators guild was much respected. Oh and I'd like to add that I personally liked the humble oriental slant on the
typical gladiator character, quite refreshing.
PeterW [Aurelius] 74
- (+2) Speed and decisiveness of response against the Shade.
(+1) For good use of spell immunities to protect against the Dark Ones.
(-1) For failing to have a go at the Kaarth mage on Friday night. Ok this may seem a bit harsh, but I had been drilling
the need to deal with Kaarth mages for some time.
You were placed in a fairly difficult position for the larp as the only mage in the group. Although other members in the
party had the ability to deal out some power damage, you were the only real firepower in the group. Considering this you
acted quickly when faced with the Shadow giving out a powerful shocking grasp before being weaknessed. My main criticism
would be that you didn't seem decisive enough when faced with Kaarth mages. On a previous adventure you'd seen a Kaarth
mage nonchalantly ice dart one of his Saar body guards to wake him for a sleep spell, so I was surprised to see you
target a Saar on the Friday night. Admittedly the mage was too high level for you to sleep him, a high-level air blast
would have ended that fight very quickly. As the weekend went on you seemed to find your place much better and I was
particularly impressed by the thought that went into spell immunities doe the final battle.
RyanL [Vortex] 75
- (+2) For brave charge into Bil Nivarr to kill the Kaarth mage.
(+2) For dealing with the Soul possession and Drokken head well.
(-1) For badgering me to keep the Drokken head permanently!
The death machine fought bravely and died bravely. One of the few characters that always seemed to know what was going
on, where the party was going and what they were supposed to do when they got there. His previous experience with Kaarth
meant that he generally knew what needed to be done, unfortunately the mighty warrior generally insisted on attempting to
do this on his own. That said when he joined forces with Talon and Kestrel to blast the Kaarth Commander overseeing
Dryak's preliminary interrogation it really was quite a sight to see. You dealt with your multiple deaths well in
particular with regards to your "possession" and the Drokken head ...although your repeated attempts to keep the Drokken
head permanently were rather disturbing.
MONSTERS
Base 36
DavidG 54
- Monster Ref.
MarcusO 51
- Monster Ref.
(+1) For the Bil Nivarr fireworks.
(+2) For being generally great and covering for me when I got myself into big messes - like having to play 3 odd NPCs at
the same time.
JamesA 43
- Monster Ref.
(+2) For enthusiasm for comic roles - e.g. the Duke of Wimbdon and Chris.
(-2) For overly enthusiastic earth elemental.
(+1) For the Earth Kaarth putting a right scare into the party and punnishing those foolish enough to fight you outright.
DavidS 37
- (-2) For being lazy.
(+1) For making the first fight suitably gribbly (Shadow).
(+1) For great Kaarth Assassins (particularly at the Babumba box fight).
(+1) For the random statue.
MatthewA 37
- (-2) 'Strongbow'.
(+1) For the rather mad fire elemental/dark one.
(+2) For the Babumba Shaman.
(+2) For the Drokken.
(-2) For the occasional overkeen halberd swing.
NatalieW 35
- (-2) For being lazy.
(+1) For the annoying soul of the water dark one.
RuthS 35
- (-2) For being lazy.
(+1) For Jailors duty.
VictoriaH 38
- (-1) For being lazy.
(+2) For the snake woman.
(+1) For the head of the barony guard patrol that got jobbed.
WarrenJ 35
- (-2) For being lazy.
(+1) Great use of gales as the Air Kaarth.
*** Comments ***
1) Thanks everyone for a great game. Special thanks to the monster crew, particularly MarcusO and JamesA who were
indispensable in the assistance they provided.
2) Roleplay: I was highly impressed by the consistency of roleplay from all of the players throughout the weekend,
particularly their patience and flexibility when having to put up with the complications that generally arise in games run by
the disorganised GM. Annoying as it often was, I couldn't fault LudwigK on continuously seeking out barony members that were
"present" in camp. It was touches like this, not to mention the Dryak, Kailyn, and Kestrel plot and the manner in which you
all really threw yourselves into your roles that really made the weekend. Your continual efforts to come up with inventive
methods to deal with problems e.g. communicating with the Babumba tribe and the degree with which you empathised with your
characters proved highly problematic and stressful at the time, but you all seemed to find a good balance, particularly
between realism and the surrealism of comedy encounters, as well as seeking sufficient moderation of character to deal with
elements such as the dubious nature of the barony's temporary allies the soul cultists in character without causing me too
many problems.
3) Combat: Considering the iffy fighting conditions the party often faced, be it due to darkness, slippery surfaces etc, I
was relieved and impressed that there were no significant injuries except LudwigK's knee and KojiB's table incident and that
I received so few comments about unpulled blows. In general the party worked well as a group and made good use of their
powers in supporting each other. The occasions when this was not the case however generally led to the demise of party
members.
4) Costume: As most of the party had established costumes there was little to say really on this point. Li's costume was
quite basic (well as basic as you can be when it involves a chain mail) but seemed quite apt for the character. It's a shame
that KojiB forgot his costume, I'm sure I should make some quip about a referral to the barony's dinner lady corps, but such
things happen and the costume that he scrounged up sufficed.
5) Friday:
Shadow - The party's first encounter was rather messy, particularly as the party had not taken any efforts before this time
to power themselves up. Experienced 36hr players should have been aware that Friday night, can be quite vicious, particularly
as the late start due to the rain meant it was likely to be quite a short (and therefore nasty) endeavour. That combined with
the inherent dangers of being ambushed in the dark should have encouraged people to power up early. Had the mainstay of the
party been already supported by strength miracles then the double weakness of the Shadow would have been a mere irritation
giving Aurelius and Kestrel (the only ones in the party able to hurt the Shadow) much more leeway to act.
Duke of Wimborn - Although the monsters were initially a bit annoyed at the manner in which you pushed past this encounter
(and other such comedy encounters later on), I feel that the party were fully justified in their course of action, after all
you had a mission to do.
Drow - Although the party ended up quite separated and disjointed in the final Drow fight leading me as Skumble to see a
number of backstabs and to worry about the state of the party it seemed that the party had protected itself most impressively
and made short work of all opposition. I was impressed by the way you dealt with Skumble and were concerned for the safety of
the portal - giving me a little challenge to satisfy the parties concerns in this respect so they could continue their
mission. You unfortunately missed the Drow clerics item here (mace with 2x blindness 16 T), oh well.
Wolves - Part of the party's problem here was that Weasel's sign had been disturbed by the parties' initial reaction to the
wolves' presence. Had this been discovered then the party should have been able to form up in a protective circle and make
their way down the path with little difficulty. As it was an argument developed between Thorfen and Derrus and progression
was slow until Hunter befriended the wolves - well done on that.
Soul demons - Great roleplaying from all with respect to the demons and congratulations on your patience in developing an
understanding of the nature of the ordered "demons". I particularly liked the struggle between party members in deciding
how to treat the creature and the clear inner struggle in Kestrel, Samuel and Dryak.
Kaarth patrol - these were dealt with relatively easily and efficiently, however the party then assumed that the correct path
was to turn left and continue down in the direction that the Kaarth came from. A natural reaction I guess from those used to
very linear games, but I was surprised that it took as long as it did and as many prompts as it did for the party to realise
that they had gone wrong. N.B. The party were told that Weasel had marked out the safest route he could find to the Saar camp
and this would unlikely be along a major Kaarth patrol route.
Salamander - Party seemed to cope well enough, but I wasn't around to see it.
Bil Nivar - Considering the party has had ample experience in dealing with Saar controlling Kaarth mages before I'd expected
a bit more from the party. As it was Vortex went off on his own to attack the Kaarth mage and without any support was quickly
cut down. The rest of the party failed to make any real impression on the Saar. This was partly because many of the party's
power ups had gone down and the party, surprised that Bil Nivarr had been taken by the enemy, did not take time to retreat
and regroup (medding/praying to deal with the enemy). I appreciate that in the darkness the Kaarth mage wasn't so easy to
spot, however I was the only unarmed monster amongst a group with large 2 handed weapons and the Saar were clearly looking to
me for instructions, then I Commanded Thorfen to clap etc, I'd have expected to be faced with a barrage of unholy words or a
sleep spell to try to take me down and ultimately a powerful air blast to finish the combat fairly swiftly. Considering the
confusion that ensued though I thought the surviving party members acted wisely in their efforts to regroup, regain their
powers and then try to rescue their comrades. I found Derrus' brave rescue of a soul orb from the clutches of a Saar highly
amusing due to the irony of him having no idea that T'nesh had taken advantage of the parties' distraction to slay the Kaarth
mage and liberate the camp.
Ghoul - This was simply unfortunate and RyanL I didn't plan it to happen the way it did, honest!
6) Saturday:
Kaarth & Saar - The party made short work of these in general, butchering the mage with ease.
Babumba Tribe - Much amusement all round. The inventive use of talk to animal by Hunter made this encounter much easier
however the party lacked general consensus of interest failing to maximise on this opportunity. The extent to which the
Babumba plot extended, fed as it was by Samuels investigations surprised me quite well. Those of you that know the
disorganised GM well, wont be surprised that when this encounter started, we still had not decided whether the beast that the
party was to slay would be a giant spider or salamander - The Drokken was going to be an amusing thing that the party never
actually met.
Barony patrol - A reassuringly surprising reaction by the party to this group. I'd have expected other parties to spend much
time trying to persuade the group to join them in the rescue of Dryak.
Dryak - The concentrated ranged fire on the head Kaarth was well orchestrated and quite wise considering the parties general
lack of firepower. Unfortunately the head Kaarth in this case was a high-ranking warrior so he had enough life to take the
barrage, though it certainly made him easier to drop later. After that the party lost cohesion somewhat, resulting in several
characters getting backstabbed a few times, but all in all the rescue went excellently.
Barony patrol - The party acted quickly to deal with the remains of the Kaarth patrol that had ambushed the barony patrol
making short work of the resistance.
Drokken - The party made a good show of putting up with the priests of Amen, however I expected to see some members of the
party try a little harder to save the priests from themselves. When it came to fighting the Drokken, the party worked very
well, making maximum use of superior numbers and reach, such that the only real damage the party took was from the Drokken's
fire breath. Nice roleplay from the party when dealing with the tribesmen after slaying the Drokken, particularly with
regards to the varying reactions with regards to the tribesmen's "gift".
7) Sunday:
Ritual (Elementals) - The party had quite a few problems here. They should have been expecting the dark ones to turn up
during the ritual and hence should have powered themselves up much more in advance. As it was when the elementals arrived the
party lost all cohesion and broke off into multiple directions. This reaction is largely understandable owing to the damage
that some of the elementals were doing, however the party need to make a much better effort to keep an eye on the whole
battlefield. Dryak was at one point gripped to the floor and being pummelled by an earth elemental whilst practically
defenceless. The first sign of aid that he received was from the head soul cultist, who as the ritual had not been
completed was not doing enough damage to really distract the elemental. As a result the elemental kept going until Dryak
collapsed to the floor before seeking a new target.
Supply crate - This skirmish again demonstrated the need to maintain party structure. Upon sighting the Kaarth mage in
charge, certain party members charged into the fray i.e. Vortex and Samuel, the rest of the party however hesitated and as a
result the two found themselves soon overwhelmed. Admittedly Vortex's death was more due to the fact that in his mighty
fervour he didn't realise quite how injured he was before engaging the enemy. The party's lack of unity was then exacerbated
when a Kaarth scout emerged from hiding to assault Aurelius, Hunter and the soul cultist in the rear. The party's decision to
meditate/pray here was rather surprising and generally foolish from my perspective as they knew that the Babumba tribe (with
its minefield for protection) lay not so far away. Fortunately those standing guard did a good job and were able to deal with
the Kaarth scouts that ran into the party and no real damage was done. The manner in which the soul cultist's suggestion to
"animate" Vortex's body (in order that it could be transported to the safety of the tribe) was received impressed me greatly,
with Kestrel and Dryak paying close attention to observe that the soul cultist acted as he promised. Another fine case of the
party acting in character as far as possible whilst allowing the "plot" to continue. That said, as the party rested at the
cross roads declining the cultists offer wouldn't have caused any real problems. As the only real reason I came up with the
"possession" plan was to save the party from having to drag Vortex up the hill to the Babumba camp.
Dark Ones - After pausing at the Babumba tribe the party continued onto the dark ones and after a fair amount of prompting,
rested well in advance of the dark ones before powering up to fight them. The party's lack of a more traditional scout
character was felt here though as they were forced to make their final power ups in sight of the dark ones, running the risk
of suffering attack before they had properly organised themselves. As it was the execution of the party fell apart somewhat,
largely due to the disruption caused by the Kaarth air mage. Again the party got divided with each individual group having no
idea how the others were fairing. As a result Vortex fell and many like Li were very lucky to survive. In the final stages of
the battle Thorfen died whilst facing the Earth Kaarth, the fact that he entered the final battle on under half health of
course did not help.
The College (18/06/2002)
*** Mission ***
Debrief:
Border Patrol Party,
My sincerest thanks for you aid in this matter. I'm very grateful that the book was returned intact, with alacrity, and that
Sulis was stopped from making a very grave error.
Fortunately for us Sulis was not really a natural conspirator, but more a dyed-in-the-wool researcher and as such foolishly
kept complete notes on his little insurrection, in his apartments. We were able to obtain these once his defensive Elemental
was dismissed. It seems that Mages Derthier, Flambeaux, Aether and Slethyr were all willing conspirators and indeed also that
the "Pathfinders" you located had chosen to go rogue also. Annath however was compelled against his will.
I understand you may be curious about the fates of some of these personages. Well, no-one seems inclined to resurrect Slephyr
or Sulis and to be fair we won't really miss them. With Derthier our choice was already made, as he had been on one too many
adventures in his youth and has now fully departed. Annath, on the other hand, had rarely left College grounds and was
readily returned to us. He explained that Sulis' acolytes captured him, but that his magical defenses were more than equal to
Sulis' powers of compulsion. Unfortunately Sulis' powers to hold a blade to his throat were quite adequate... Annath was
entrapped in a series of magical wards when we returned for him - we had quite an adventure removing him!
As for Flambeaux, we seem unable to locate his body. Fortunately the villagers of Meadowsreach have agreed to keep an eye out
for it, as they have recently built a new blacksmith's forge in those woods. It appears they found a shallow rock cave
therein which continually radiates a furious heat... most fortunate for them.
And no sign or trace of Aether has been found. This is a matter for some small concern, as he was clearly fully involved with
Sulis' scheme; in addition, we cannot make head nor tail of his research notes, so have little idea what shape his new spells
take. Also, we have not accounted for 3 of the renegade Pathfinders and fear they may have met up with him later. However
they are of little threat compared with what you prevented Sulis from doing, so no harm done.
As for Sulis, his notes reveal his plans. Apparently he did believe he could tap into a new, far easier to use source of
magical powers. Unfortunately he would have been fully successful in this venture, but not for the reason he suspects: his
new "source" was in fact a wily Nether-Demon seeking access to this plane by offers of power; Sulis' "new" magic was nothing
more original than Demonology rediscovered. We're very grateful that you interrupted his ritual attempts - his success would
have been more tragic than he ever foresaw.
By the way, I feel I must apologise for the melodrama over the contents of the book you retrieved. It wasn't quite the
"mind-destroying" tome some of your more... enthusiastic... party members suggested it was, though of course the knowledge it
contained could have been devastating... but I disgress. The tome was a volume of Demonology from the library's proscribed
vaults; its contents may well have eventually permitted Sulis to inadvertantly summon the Demon who was deceiving him. Thus
the tome was not in itself dangerous - but its being out of our control was cause for a great deal of alarm in the College.
We again thankyou for retrieving this volume and stopping Sulis as efficiently as you did; the thanks of the Mage's College
go with you.
High Mage Aluthius, BaTh, MWa, TBa, SSpTOh
School of Water
Barony College of Mages
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 10
MONSTERS
Base 5
AlexT 10
- Monster Ref.
*** Comments ***
None.
Cult Wars 3E - The Mana Stone (16/06/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
In order to prepare barony infiltrators for the impending mission to Draxia, the party are to report to guard captain Jargo,
for combat exercises to practice assassination attacks on Kaarth mages and the like using the famous LATE combat system
(Live Action Training Exercise).
Whilst the barony's guards were conducting the LATE exercise, a rogue fire mage by the name of Carlos Harrigon stole one of
the college's most valuable items, the mana stone. The training exercise was cancelled immediately and the party dispatched
immediately to catch Carlos before he disappeared entirely.
Debrief:
Well owing to the disturbance caused by that rogue fire mage and his allies, I don't have much to base this on beyond the
initial encounter. In general I was impressed by the party cohesion during the bandit attack, but the total failure of
certain players to observe the explained rules meant it's very difficult to make any comments.
Players: Vortex, Rasputin, Reg, Talon, Anomen, Aurelius, Hunter
Monsters: Simkin, Raven, Rahel, Meg, Paulo, Latho
Vortex: Disqualified - Complete failure to treat exercise seriously ignoring spells cast at him and damage taken entirely.
Disregarded instructions regarding magical/miraculous items.
All Monsters: Considering your general lack of acting training you performed admirably, nice attempts at trying to keep the
players in character but ultimately it seemed that the reluctance of certain players to play in either the spirit or the
rules of the game seemed insurmountable.
Congratulations on hunting down the traitor Carlos and returning the mana stone to the college. Due to his experience at the
college and the allies that he recruited to cover his escape, the party's actions are to be highly commended. This is
particularly true as the party were only really equipped for a training mission, and faced difficulty identifying paid
bandits in amongst those still conducting training. It is a shame that poor Reg fell to Carlos's aides and we were glad to
see the temple of life bring him into action again so quickly to help deal with another theft from the college. Whether
Carlos and his actions were linked in any way to this is currently under investigation, but needless to say College security
is being improved to prevent any such mistakes in the future.
The college dismisses any questions as to the nature and properties of the mana stone.
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 6
AdrianC [Reg] 7
- (+1) An unfortunate death considering your exemplary role-play of such an interesting character. Generally good use of
spells, might be worth noting that freezes and entangles tend to work nicely on mage types as there is little they can do
to counter these.
KojiB [Derrus] 7
- (+1) If only for the excellent timing of your entrance to pick the party up off the floor. You were also particularly
brave, if a little foolhardy, in your pursuit of Carlos at the end.
IanH [Hunter] 6
- Generally quite a subdued performance as far as I remember. Although the character is really non-combat, even your low
powered combat abilities when coupled with timely animal leaps could have cut down many mages in no time.
MatthewA [Rasputin] 7
- (+1) General solid role-play keeping the character going despite yokels trying to stop you singing, and getting blasted by
Carlos on a regular basis.
NeilH [Talon] 7
- (+1) You played into your role as Vortex's second well, supporting each other nicely with miracles allowing you to take an
active front line role rather important owing to the lack of real front line fighters in your party.
RyanL [Vortex] 7
- (+1) As usual spot on, I particularly liked the reluctance to play the exercise properly, the timely use of the 'Hand of
Death' (tm) and the manner in which you ran down Carlos.
WarrenJ [Anomen] 7
- (+1) As I said great chopping off of the training blunts, and generally solid scouting and sniping. You could possibly have
saved the party by firing a few more arrows into Carlos, he didn't have infinite spell primed protections but hey you
didn't know that.
MONSTERS
Base 3
DavidG 4
- Monster Ref.
Despite having no plot I think it went quite well. Damn you all for the paralysed ogre incident.
MarcusO 5
- Monster Ref.
Cheers for the help especially the burning forest encounter.
LudwigK 4
- (+1) Well done for putting up with a rather haphazard plot.
MilenaP 4
- (+1) Well done for putting up with a rather haphazard plot.
PaulT 4
- (+1) Well done for putting up with a rather haphazard plot.
PaulW 4
- (+1) Well done for putting up with a rather haphazard plot.
RuthS 4
- (+1) Well done for putting up with a rather haphazard plot.
*** Comments ***
1) As I'm writing this rather late and the last few weeks at uni were a bit of a role-play fest for me, this is not going to
be as informative as I would have liked. In general the party worked well together, I especially liked the party's attitude
towards potential bandits and their methods of dealing with them, particularly the ice dart 40!. The role-play at the start
was also spot on, what with Vortex refusing to play the game at all, Anomen chopping the training blunts off his arrows and
dealing with poor Reg's handicap when it comes to chase missions.
2) If I'm remembering this game correctly then I must congratulate KojiB and myself in working out an excellent way to pick
the party up off the floor when they fell foul to a few too many darts. On that point I particularly enjoyed the defending of
the meditating party from the Yokels that wanted to stop Rasputin singing. Highly amusing.
3) As for the final battle against Carlos, the party general worked well with Anomen sniping down on Carlos (shame about the
spell primed rust and rots) whilst the rest of the party fought through his henchmen. Vortex almost clobbered Carlos then and
there as I forgot to trigger a spell prime rust when Vortex struck the first time, good job he had a nice iron skin and
endurance up. When Carlos ran though, the party split up a tad too much, with Rasputin and particularly Derrus running into
trouble when Carlos stopped to ambush his pursuers with flares and fire darts. This lead to poor Reg getting slotted by
Carlos' reinforcements, oh well. Ultimately the party's cornering of Carlos went well and Vortex was able to run me down.
(N.B. Although I ignored the rules on running and casting at this time (Carlos wasn't rank 30!), in order to make a more
dramatic finish remember that these rules really should generally be observed)
All Hope Is Lost - Part IV (09/06/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
The tide has turned.
The undead menace is falling back.
In the very heart of their remaining forces do they seek to rebuild their power.
The villages of Upper and Lower Biggleton are being taken and forified.
Traps set up by what can only be Barony scouts are being reported by Pathfinders exploring the region.
Those who return, that is.
The attacks on the Barony itself have almost entirely ceased, except for in this one region.
The guards are reforming around the region.
No one will escape alive.
The siege begins.
Debrief:
So once again Chade has escaped. He will be found, that is guaranteed. The Shadowlords were not destroyed, if they could be
at all. There was no sign of the way they move around, or of how they come to our world from their own. The spirits of the
dead are not at peace. My son was not found.
All in all, this report isn't blowing my skirt up, gentlemen.
On the plus side, the undead have been crushed, for now. The Shadowlords seem to have accepted defeat, and left for now, and
Chade has once again been forced to flee.
This is not the kind of permanent solution I was looking for when I dispatched you on this mission, but you did well enough.
You may return to your duties.
The Baron
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 6
AdrianC [Thorfen] 7
- (+1) If only for the stupid beard. Good solid guardsman as usual. Particularly grumpy when the goblins started trying to
play with your beard :)
AndyT [Hex] 6
- You melted some monsters quite horribly and I did enjoy you using ignite to get rid of the necromancer's body. Very good
idea.
NeilH [Talon] 6
- Not quite as evil as Vortex, but you're getting there. Good use of Unholy Strikes, to help Vortex hit for something
horrible.
PaulW [MAD] 6
- No explosive overcasting this week? MAD's not going to get soft, just because he's almost dead, is he? I was a touch
disappointed.
RyanL [Vortex] 7
- (+1) I don't think I can give you any less for consistently good roleplaying as Master Vortex. You even seemed genuinely
happy when the Vampire started biting you :)
TimS [Saul] 5
- (-1) For (in my opinion) no roleplaying at all during the demonologists encounter. Yes, they were evil, and yes, they were
going to die anyway, but you could have said more than "Right, they're demonologists - kill them".
MONSTERS
Base 3
RobinD 6
- Monster Ref.
AilsaB 3
- Another day, another banshee. Doesn't your throat ever hurt?
Charlie 3
- Getting better at the roleplaying, although you seemed unsure when playing the guard captain. You have authority - shout
at people (in Scottish, if it helps).
MarcusO 3
- Again, some solid roleplaying as Chade. You were a bit too cowardly against Vortex in the bowl, though. He only took 25
life off you!
*** Comments ***
1) Not the larp I was thinking of when I wrote it. I was going to have a more permanent and satisfying, conclusion at the end
of this campaign, but those present will know that there were script problems moments after time in, and I couldn't achieve
closure after the problems crept up. So all in all, you solved nothing. You didn't kill the master Shadowlord, Chade, or
Stefan. You didn't lay the ghosts to rest and you didn't get much out of it. Oh well, there's always next year. The weather
was also a factor, but I can't be held responsible for that.
Cult Wars 3D - Soul Cultists (02/06/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
There is still no word from Annias's outpost. Given the importance of the Draxia portal this is worrying news indeed. As
Weasel's particular abilites weren't really suited for combat with the undead, I've sent him ahead to take a look at the
situation, however, theres only so much he can deal with though and he may well need urgent suport.
Considering the distance between Boggleton adn Skumbles lands it is imperative that any of you that can free yourselves
up from your current commitments make your way over to Fulcram's outpast immediately, if you are to reach Annias in time
to render any assistance he needs as well as to be able to return in time for the push on Biggleton.
I have already heard from Humact Soros, Kiel and others that are regretably needed for other tasks and appreciate that
many may be in similar situations and this is fully understandable, these are stressful times indeed.
Guard Captain Vareen
Debrief:
You return to the barony dragging the corpses of two members of the temple of Freedom and the small bow armed
lizardine creature. These are taken from you by Captain Vareen at the barracks for further study whilst the party
inform Vareen as to the developments durign the mission. Vareen is happy to hear that the portal guard are still in
control and in good health, but is disturbed by the number of Kaarth in the area. He issues instructions for
experienced scouts such as Kendal, Hawkeye, Stalker and Zanthris and Weasel to make sweeps of the area to make sure
that all Kaarth in the area are dealt with.
The news of the Soul cultists request for an alliance is met with much suprise and an equal degree of scepticism as
to their full motives. General Arkteer will be discussign the matter with his advisors to determine whther the
potential gains of such an alliance outweigh the risks that it would involve. The party are praised for their
diplomatic efforts in this regard.
The actions of the Saar the party encountered fully confirms the assumptions under which the barony was working
regarding the Kaarth's control of the Saar, however the ease of the re-capture of the Saar you met leads Annias to
conclude that the Kaarth are much more powerful in this respect than previously considered, and that future hopes
of a workable alliance with the Saar is doubtful.
Rasputin enquires as to the well-being of the "young ladies" met during his mission, and is assured that they
are indeed well, owing to the current situation however a re-population of the area of "buggered if we know" is
currently not an option and Fulcram welcomes the suggestion that they be taken into Rasputins company for the time being.
Nearing the end of the debrief Grand Seer Annias returns with bad news regarding the freedom priests that the party
brought back. It would appear that the souls of the priests had been forcibly wrenched from their bodies, and
regrets that there is no way to resurrect them or to talk to their spirits. He confirms that the soul sword was
indeed in the temple before it was attacked and concludes therefore that the soul sword was used to do this
despicable deed. Annias informs the party that he will be heading out with the scouts immediately to investigate the
temple more throroughly.
When asked as to his own suspicions Annias is unsure, indicating that the Kaarth may have deliberately taken the
sword not only to protect the dark ones from its powers but possibly even for the dark ones to get revenge on Ny'darch
himself for imprisoning them for so long. Alternatively the Soul cultists set up the attack in order to regain the sword without
bringing the barony's wrath upon them. Either way it is clear that the attackers knew the value of the sword and
were wise enough to use it to cover their tracks - "dead men tell no tales."
Studies of the new lizardman type are continuing, it is unclear at this time as to whther it was just a younger
Kaarth or somthing entirely new.
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 8
Rasputin +1
- Overcasting to Save Vortex, taking out 2nd Saar controlling Kaarth, good use of curse on Skink.
Vortex +1
- Suicide attack on the Kaarth mage. Solid fighting all day, good use of miracles to power up the less mighty Talon.
Talon +1
- Solid fighting, well done for chasing that Skink.
Reg +2
- Great character concept, timely use of spells in general, interesting and amusing method of waking up Little Mace.
Aurelius +0
- Rather subdued performance from the normally viscious mage.
Little Mace +1
- Generally solid fighting, and intelligent guard work - not really befitting a sibling of Big Mace really?!
Kestrel +0
- Didn't see much of Kestrel, but she seemed to be playing the role of the support priest well, not even put off by
the critter that was dodging your mace.
MONSTERS
Base 4
DavidG +0
- Monster Ref.
MarcusO +0
- I enjoyed watching the weaponless ogre flee.
PaulT +0
- Solid performance throughout, random IC discussion miles away from the party was fun, if only they had a scout to
overhear us.
PaulW +1
- Nice animalistic Saar, well done for monstering.
MilenaP +1
- For finally succumbing to plotless larp.
RuthS +0
- I can't give you points for being a natural born goblin every larp!
LudwigK +1
- Crazy crazy child you!
*** Comments ***
None.
All Hope Is Lost - Part III (26/05/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
The time to strike is almost at hand!
For almost one month now the Barony has held back the undead threat. Masters of Life have been working day and night to
keep a powerful undead ward around the city walls, as a last effort to keep the undead from finishing us. Many brave and
noble men and women have sacrificed themselves time and again to stop the enemy from breaking through, and some have been
killed and raised against us. Now we must take the initiative, and take out those controlling our foes.
Good luck to you.
Guard Captain Warnius
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 9
Mathonwy +1
- Good outing as Mathonwy, lethal against all the undead, lots of complaints about unpulled blows though :(
Soros +2
- At first I thought that your humact was flawed and fairly useless, however after you dropping necromancers and a
LICHE!!! easily with weakness/double weakness and repeated unparalysing of the party it seems a very cool
choice - party saving infact. Unfortunate character death - but better you than anyone else :)
Fiddilo +1
- Good outing, very hard character. Could of done more to keep the party in line.
Hex +1
- Again absolutely lethal fire dart 8's when they happened - would suggest you make more of these, rather than the odd
one here and there, really concentrate fire on a target - truly devastating against some otherwise immune necromancers.
Tethlyn +2
- Again excellent scouting - provided the monster crew with lots of fun - playing spot the scout.
Truly a credit to Illson's memory.
Blaine +1
- Good solid outing, again improved fighting, looking good.
Vortex +2
- A pleasure to watch, one of the best characters ever, certainly the only one for quite some time to have more than one
dimension. Inspired roleplaying with some of the necromancers, and excellent item snatching.
MONSTERS
Base 5
TimS +0
- Monster Ref.
MarcusO +0
- Cool Roderick, good ghoul.
JoeS +0
- Nasty Ghoul, targeting people's backs :)
VictoriaH +0
- Better fighting.
LukeG +0
- Good use of weapons other than Big Mace.
AdrianC +1
- For excellent orc roleplaying, good combat throughout.
RuthS +0
- Very amusing tree goblins.
AilsaB +0
- Good outing, scary goblin.
Charlie +0
- Very sadistic tree goblin, prod him in the groin to see if he moves, some truly scary moments wielding a dagger
and grinning inanely (insanely?).
PaulW +0
- Truly awesome lame undead, great destruction of (a rather tired) Mathonwy.
*** Comments ***
None.
All Hope Is Lost - Part II (19/05/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
The Blades were maybe not the ones behind it.
They are mercenaries, and were undoubtedly paid off to kidnap Hope by someone else.
Noone's seen or heard from Pathfinder Sergeant Chade for a week.
The fact that he can survive while all food is under strict rationing almost proves he's not alone.
The front lines haven't moved for over a week.
The orcs just keep coming, the undead keep getting back up.
The pathfinders have been sabotaging the orc food lines, though, and the greenskins are getting hungry.
Their bosses claim nothing is wrong, but they can only hold off against individual challenges.
Once the common orc loses faith the leaders should topple, and the army will go home.
We can but hope.
But we are without Hope
It would appear that you fools will get a chance to redeem yourselves.
My guards stationed near the underground hideout saw Chade enter there with two other heavily robed humans(probably)
and a chest - large enough to contain Hope. Rather than attempt to seize him now, I have ordered my guards to keep watch
and await your arrival.
Hopefully your duties elsewhere will be finished within the next couple of days and then we can once again turn our
attention to rescuing Hope.
There are a few minor tasks for you to peform on your way to the underground lair - however I will brief you on these at
a later date.
Glad tidings in times of war!
The greenskins have become dissatisfied with the lack of food.
They have turned on their leaders and killed them.
Many of them have grown weary of the battle, and are wandering away.
Many more of them still appear to have remembered old conflicts betweeen themselves, and are fighting each other more
bitterly than they fought us.
With these events unfolding, many of the guards defending against the greenkin attack have circled around to attack the
now exposed undead flank. The attackers are being driven back.
There is optimism, but still no Hope.
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 10
MAD +1
- For consistently well timed casting, and good roleplaying of MAD.
Vortex +1
- For great roleplaying of Might Priest, good grumpy party member :)
Talon +0
- Good all round performance.
Hex +2
- Truly inspired casting - killed two trolls almost single handed - excellent!!
Thorfen +1
- Great guard outing, putting the party first rather than saving self.
Tethlyn +2
- A scout masterclass - anyone who wants to play a scout effectively should watch and learn. Made me brief him an
encounter in advance at all times!
Blaine +1
- Good guard, much improved fighting.
Rasputin +1
- As always a good outing - I just love watching Rasputin roleplay :)
Nathan$ -1
- Bad unpulled headblows consistently hurting monsters, other than that good first outing.
MONSTERS
Base 5
TimS +0
- Monster Ref.
RobinD +0
- Nasty mad priest, tut tut, but good fun.
DavidS +1
- Good humacti NPC.
PeterW +0
- Solid monster performance.
VictoriaH +0
- Nervous, but great as Hope (what's a mace?)
StephenE +1
- Always useful and reliable.
RuthS +2
- Great banshee, cool scream.
TonyP +0
- More practice required, but good points occasionally.
*** Comments ***
None.
All Hope Is Lost - Part I (12/05/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
*A top secret message handed to each of you. The messenger knows all the right codes*
The Baron's own daughter, Hope, has been kidnapped. We think this is the work of mercenaries, as greenskins are not known
to be this subtle, and there is a very powerful unlife ward around the Barony's walls. You are one of the few groups left
available and intact. You have all been relieved of your business with your guilds to go on this mission.
I am sending several different parties out looking for Hope, of which you are only one. You are only hours behind the
kidnappers, and must hurry to pursue them as quickly as possible. There can be no forgiveness. Find out who did it, find
out why, and end it there. These are your official orders.
Knight Marshal Daitrin Kellar.
Debrief:
Right, well, I'm off to bed after that. Someone wake me next Saturday so I can write the next one in time. Seriously, though,
that was cool. Seeing the party still chasing "Tim the goblin" 20 minutes after the monsters have crossed the field and
statted the next encounter will live forever in my memory.
Bit of dodgy roleplaying slightly earlier than that, with several players looking suspiciously at me and TimS while we were
standing by the path with our hands up, and lots of nervous looking around after a time freeze.
I was quite disappointed to realise that noone in the party had any kind of subdue. When Master Vortex started summoning
undead (although involuntarily), which is clearly against Barony law, noone thought to stop him now, and ask questions
later, even once the Humacti showed up.
You all performed solidly throughout the day, that I saw, with only a few OOC comments, or rather, not IC comments creeping
in, like DominicD "Let's burn this place down... oh wait, it belongs to the Barony, doesn't it...". One notable exception to
this, of course, is LukeG. Consistently making rude gestures to refs is not a good idea if they're the ones giving the
points out. Comments like "It was a slow Sap Dart" when you're clearly just not roleplaying well enough is not sufficient.
If you want a more comprehensive list I can provide one, though I daresay you don't care. You didn't seem to.
I realise that a few of the encounters were seen as a little overstatted, but you all survived, didn't you? I blame TimS
(because 1] he's a good scapegoat, and 2] because it's his fault).
Once again, the mages proved exceptionally useful. Although there were just the two of you, I know I personally dropped
because of you at least twice. Sadly, though, there was a lot of dex out there, so you weren't as good as you could have
been, but bear in mind in future that dex only works if they're looking at you as you cast. Also a bit of a monster nagging
goes in here. If a mage says "I just fire dart 4'd you", when you obviously didn't see it, you can't just call dodge unless
you have that much all round sight.
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 12
Blaine +1
- Nice costume, keep it coming. Apart from the comment above I thought you did really well today. You're certainly
coming along with your fighting skills. Maybe it's owning your own sword that's done it for you, maybe it's just
practice. In either case, keep it up. You provided a strong fighter at the front whenever I was looking, and you
chased me around all over the place. Git.
Big Mace -4
- And that's being generous. It seemed at times as though you were mocking the idea of being in character by doing
the exact opposite. You didn't lead the party very well, and I don't think I heard you issue a single order to
your men. You constantly failed to count your hits, and didn't listen to the calls when you did. You constantly
show up without any costume at all, and don't seem intent on getting any any time soon. It's only a game, yes,
but if you're going to show up you might as well try to join in.
Vortex +1
- Another fine outing for Master Vortex. Please teach LukeG a thing or two. You ALWAYS show up in a good costume,
always fight well, play the "Superior than thou, fool!" role perfectly. I know we've said it all before, but while
there's still people who cannot manage even one of these points you'll get bonuses from me. Great work jobbing that
necromancer and stealing his staff, and of course succumbing to it's power.
MAD +0
- Some more well timed castings and general good work. Pity the amount of dex let you down out there, and your voice
not being up to the insults just made us feel like we'd missed out this week. Still, a great insult in the final
battle which ended with no spell being cast. You grabbed the attention of the whole monster group, and distracted
half the players too.
Hex +0
- Please get staff proficiency. PLEASE! I hate being hit by your bloody staff and you not calling anything.
It's very irritating to be attacked by two people and have to concentrate on parrying one and not the other.
Another great outing for Hex, who's getting much better at killing things. Maybe a couple of fire skins wouldn't
have gone amiss, though? Also, the suggestion was made that you might drop the staff when it's parried to show that
you don't know how to use it.
Thorfen +1
- Just wearing that stupid wig and helmet combination for so long gets a point. Some good work as the only shield in the
party, especially since you were so much lower ranking that the rest of the party. If you show up more often you'll
be better able to survive the kickings that were thrown your way.
Talon +0
- You were unlucky that I was feeling the need for the next encounter to be beefed up. I was planning on just kidnapping
you and letting them take you back, but there were other plans out there. The temple of life have resurrected you,
and you've lost a death threshold, and you're 12 points better off. Can't say fairer than that.
MarcusO +1
- NPC and plot monkey role 'Pathfinder Sergeant Chade'. The players are still guessing about what you were really there
for. Some excellent healing on the party, and on some of the fallen Blades :) some superb roleplaying, and noticing
when you were fighting Blades and just walking away from the battle. I admit I almost gave it away when I stood next
to you without attacking you in the last encounter, but fortunately only Big Mace was looking :) Splendid.
MONSTERS
Base 6
RobinD +0
- Monster Ref. (TimS and StephenE +3 each for co-reffing)
TimS +3
- You simply can't have a character that hard again. The guys holding the path were ridiculous. If you're going to
hold the line and have loads of armour and dex 2 you simply can't hit for 9 unholy 1s. Ok, that's the official stance.
Unofficially, check stats with me please. I wanted to play one :) That was by far the best encounter.
The players were panicked, and were unsure as to what to do, and we got one of them captive, but they won in the end,
and then they had to med. It was great.
StephenE +3
- Another perfect outing for the man of much annoyingness. Exactly how many speech impediments did your Humacti have?
Some brilliant roleplaying, even as just the voice in Vortex's head, and reliably solid fighting too. Thanks for showing up.
VictoriaH +1
- A bit of lagging at the back and waiting for everyone to stop looking always goes down well, especially when we're
all doing 2 or 3 extra hits of backstab. A good game to get you back into the swing. Superb.
PeterW +1
- We missed the sleep rank 14s today, but you were much more useful as another monster. I didn't see much of you myself,
somehow, but I'm assured that there was an awful lot of skulking around for someone who doesn't usually skulk.
MikeT +1
- Because you're fluffy.
*** Comments ***
None.
The Scorpion King (05/05/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
It would appear that a local Druid has expressed an interest in dealings with the barony.
He is interested in certain rare magical plants that we have been tending to in a sacred
grove on our lands. In return for such a specimen he is prepared to offer us an enchanted
pendant storing potent plant magics as well as offering his teachings to barony members.
Once a means for transporting the specimen away from the grove has been established then
a party will be sent to safeguard its passage to the Druid's lands, protecting it from a
hostile band of animal druids.
Guard Sergeant Fulcram
Debrief:
The party was waylaid by a very well organised and competent group of bandits,
resulting in one mage having his throat slit, his life being saved by the
prompt actions of Ventus. Daily passwords are definitely going to be
introduced in the future to prevent this from happening again. The presence of
a roaming orc band in the area was not a great surprise to us and when attacked
the party successfully defeated the group with ease, largely thanks to the
excellent work of the college mages. The party then followed the high Druids
instructions regarding passage into the woods, relinquishing their metal arms
and armour in return for wooden equivalents and miraculous aid. Progression
through the woods was slowed due to attacks from hostile animal druids, it
latter becoming apparent that these belonged to two groups, those loyal to the
forest and those loyal to the Scorpion King. Upon learning of this split the
party was more eager to turn away druids from the earlier group without
inflicting long term injuries. The party wisely avoided unnecessary fights
with aggravated woodland creatures such as a Dodecapede, thorny beasts and
shambling mounds and ultimately found their way blocked by a poisonous living
wall of brambles. After slow initial attempts to breach the wall, (acting)
Guard Blaine stepped forward and cut down the brambles. Past the wall of
brambles the party met Tremas who was acting strangely. Concluding that the
Scorpion King was behind this situation the party efficiently engaged the
powerful animal druid taking advantage of his lack of magical protections. The
party returns through the forest, catching sight of some of the thorny beasts
and shambling mounds that it past on its way, but this time they keep well out
of the party's way. Furthermore the party encounters no more resistance from
animal druids. On reaching the edge of the forest, the party are again
approached by the Druid watch who return Weasel's body and the party's
principal equipment is returned (Redemption speaks privately to the Master
Druid). The party then return to the barony, remembering to say hello to Ashley
on their way back...
The Party,
Congratulations on a highly successful mission.
Not only was the plant exchanged, and the enchanted sword recovered, but you
also dealt with the previously unknown threat of the so called 'Scorpion King',
who appeared to have somehow gained some control over Tremas, and forced him to
subvert certain forces of nature against you. Weasel is particularly thankful
for the party's assistance, and expresses his regret that he was not able to
reach the party with news of Tremas's apparent treachery before he succumbed to
the scorpion king's poison.
Redemption is to be congratulated on his leadership of the mission and the
mages under the leadership of Aurelius and Ventus of the college of air are
particularly applauded for their efforts. In response to high recommendations
from mission commanders regarding Blaine's actions on this mission as well his
recent efforts supporting Skumble against the undead, we are happy to accept
Blaine fully into the ranks of the guard, inferring all of the rights and
responsibilities of this station. Congratulations.
Guard Sergeant Fulcram
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 12 +2
- For general effectiveness. And all round individual performances.
Redemption +0
- Congratulations on keeping the party well together. However you were a bit slow in
realising that Ventus's call for a healer at the start was rather more urgent than
you thought. Otherwise you held the shield wall well alongside Derneck and responded
well to Soros's injuries against the Jaguar and acted out the tree goblin healing well
as well as your naivety and attempts to subdue everything. Oh and one more thing, great job
on battleboarding poisons, not a task that I'd envy.
David$ [Soros] -1
- In general a good outing, your healing certainly kept the party
on their feet for the most of their day. Particular good show on lugging
that chain mail around all day. However, three experienced monsters complained
of head hits from you, and I have to penalise you for that, safety is the utmost
concern of any GM.
SteveJ [Derneck] +1
- A great first outing, you held the line well and learnt the value of armour well.
Anyone who convinces AlexT that they MUST have larped before has got to be quite competent.
Blaine +0
- Once again you played the wannabe guard to perfection, and the bravery
wading in against the wall of brambles was much respected. Additionally you performed
well in protecting the mages from attacks, particularly considering your relatively
weak armour. As noted above your status as a full guard has been confirmed.
Ventus +0
- The value of a human mage was proved particularly today, your healing was pivotal
in saving Xan in the first encounter and then later in saving the downed Redemption.
Additionally your value as a back up fighter was often shown particularly in your
defence of med/prayer groups.
Aurelius +0
- By far the most deadly of mages of the lot, your timely use of sleeps and shocking grasps
was highly impressive, keeping to your character throughout. An exemplary performance
from an experienced gamer (despite your performance I haven't given you any additional
bonus points on account of your rank).
MAD +0
- Once again a strong performance. I especially liked the overcast to attempt to
stop the forest fire, an overcast that OOC you knew wouldn't really do a lot.
As with all the other mages you used your powers most effectively combining fire and
selecting targets well. I hate to see how powerful you are with your newly discovered points.
Hex +1
- As with all the other mages you did a great job, you particularly stood out however
due to your prompt action in destroying the final wave of scorpion druids' weapons
and your use of fire against the wall of brambles. You were also pivotal in saving
Soros from the claws of the Jaguar.
Xan +0
- As with SteveJ a great first time out. You were unfortunately hit by a throat slit
at the start of the day; not a lot you could have done about that though. Otherwise
you took a little time to get used to your spells but soon got into the swing of it,
freeing the bear from the mantrap and freezing the dodecapede. Nearing the end of the
larp you stood alongside Hex clearing the scorpion druids of their weapons and finally
unleashed the freeze against the Scorpion king which undoubtedly saved the party from a
great deal of poison damage.
MONSTERS
Base 6
DavidG +0
- Monster Ref. (GM points split 2/3 - 1/3 between me and StephenE)
StephenE +1
- Monster Ref. Great performance as always, really added character to encounters particularly the oh
so superior Orc and the high druid. Thanks for helping set encounters up.
MarcusO +0
- Great representation of the Scorpion King, the "Evil" glares you gave were great.
I'd hoped the Scorpion King would have been a bit more formidable at the end, but
I guess there is not a lot you can do against freezes and shocking grasps.
RyanL +1
- The throat slit was clearly well executed, though you could have picked someone
that wasn't a) an elf, b) a mage c) a newbie! Oh well, the party dealt with it well.
Well done for carrying around the extra kit for that extra animal look.
Vaulting the mages compound was well done and the bear was really inspiring.
ElizabethG +0
- Considering you were feeling knackered for the most of the game,
too many LT events I'd wager, you still did a good job, happy to take the
lesser roles during the day. Just a note to remember the rules for number of
words when casting and to try and make it clear that sufficient time is being
taken for each spell.
RuthS +0
- Sorry there weren't any banshees for you, this week, but I hope the tree goblins
made up for it a little.
NeilH +0
- Similarly congrats for being happy to play fairly standard, and occasionally
repetitive monsters during the day. Keep up the good work.
LukeG +0
- The gay orc did indeed make the day that much more amusing, what with the animal
druid hitting the branch as well, a bit of comic relief is always appreciated.
*** Comments ***
Well done everyone, players and monsters, for a great game.
Considering the party contained two new members the party
worked very well together needing only one NPC heal, and
that was only due to Redemption's limited order (body)
healing. Considering the lack of life-shields the poison
was quite harsh (good job I decided not to give the earlier
animal druids poison...), but the party did very well. The
fighters did a great job, and the mages were simply deadly.
The first encounter fell apart somewhat from the party's
point of view but that was largely due to strong
role-playing by redemption who trusted the guys on the gate
IC, despite his OC distrust. This coupled with the
excellent hiding of the monsters, the lack of party scouts
and the hit and run tactics of the monsters proved quite
nasty particularly RyanL's well executed, throat slit 1.
Ventus kept Xan alive admirably until Redemption realised
the problem at hand.
After this encounter however the party were superlative.
The shield wall including an exemplary performance by the
inexperienced SteveJ as Guard Dernac held the line
brilliantly rarely letting anything through to the mages.
Back to the mages I think that this larp really showed the
power of mages. The mages combined their power to an even
better extent than they did on the 4 Towers larp, this time
seeing the rewards of their work as orcs and animal druids
fell to their combined attacks. I cannot stress how
impressed I was with the performance of the party.
In general role-playing was sound, however the more recluse
personalities of many player characters meant that dialog
was often scarce and often slipped OOC, particularly during
long meditation/prayer periods etc. However I appreciate
that this was also due to the inexperience of some players
David$ and SteveJ, and the relatively large size of the party.
The long time needed for battle boarding also contributed
indirectly to this, I certainly think that two battle
boarders is a good idea. This criticism aside the party's
general responses when faced with external stimuli, both in
fight encounters and role-play encounters were very solid
and the IC healing worked very well, particularly well
worked considering Redemption's inability to recognise
wounds.
Thankyou very much to the monster crew for making the game the success that it was.
I'm sorry there were no banshees, but they really wouldn't
have made sense in the game setting. Particular thanks to
StephenE and MarcusO for really giving the NPC's life and
coping with my rather different style of GM-ing. All of
the monsters played were really well characterised, the
orcs were especially good - who needs masks/face makeup.
Also many thanks for the highly patient wall of brambles.
Combat in general was well conducted, however numerous
monsters commented on the number of head hits they
received. For obvious safety reasons the head should only
be deliberately targeted on rare occasions when it is the
only available target area. Please make a conscious effort
to avoid such blows in the future, I advise GM's in future
to pay particular notice of this. It has been suggested
that players/monsters could be instructed not to count head
blows unless the strike was fully pulled and the head was
the only available target. I will certainly consider this
for the next game that I run.
Additionally a reminder to all to operate on the trust of all other players.
Just because you don't hear sufficient verbals for a high level spell/miracle doesn't
mean that they weren't said (additionally they could have innate casting, be using
enchanted items etc).. If someone casts something then presume they were able to cast it.
By all means check up afterwards OOC at the next
battleboard for example. At the same time however I'd
recommend that people re-read the rules regarding casting -
the requirements regarding number of hands free, speed at
which you can move and cast, number of words needs, as well
as ranges of spells/miracles.
Skumble & Korvax (24/03/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
Quite Why Captain Arkteer thinks we need those Goblin's i'll never know. Firstly Skumble's chief
acolytle rebels, then some of his golbins run off and join forces with an ogre and now this!
I know that some of you at least will have had about enough of the undead right now, so you'll
probably be less than pleased to hear that some of Skumble's goblin's have inadvertedly freed a
group of undead whilst searching for more living quarters.
Anyway, goblin's being goblin's, one of them, by the name of Korvax, decided to use the situation
to his advantage. He appears to have gained contol of some of the undead, by some dark arts no doubt
and hidden away into the woods. Skumble's troops have destroyed some of the undead but the more
fearsome creatures are beyond their power.
Unfortunately as most of the humacti are busy right now mopping up the undead around Lanister's
land and making sure that we got all the undead near the illuminati tower, its down to you to deal
with the situation. We'll be sending a group out on Sunday just after midday, so could all those
available please let me know as soon as possible
Don't forget to take a number of maces with you, i'll try to send one of my acolytes on after you,
and i'll see what i can do persoanlly to help. Firstly i'd better try to identify the undead Skumble
has sighted so far so we've got a better idea what we are up against. Unfortunately Skumble's
descriptions are rather gabbled at best so this may take some time.
Humact Giles
Debrief:
Felicitations on ridding Skumble's land of the accursed Undead. Skumble is
most grateful to all party members for their labours, though seemed to grumble
about a sore back when Kiel's name was mentioned, no matter. The Goblin
Necromancer Korvax was slain, apparently by his own Undead! More importantly
the powerful Undead creature, now tentatively identified as a Surrexibus, was
destroyed. The Surrexibus was responsible for the raising and empowering of
the lesser Undead in the area. From your reports I realize that you took great
risk to attack this fiend despite your highly injured state. For this you are
to be highly commended, as the Goblin tribe would have quickly fallen prey to
its powers and the resultant horde of Undead could have posed serious problems
to the nearby barony encampments.
As for the other Undead uncovered, we can only deduce that the Shadow and
Banshees escaped from the caves themselves. It is unfortunate that the Shadow
appears to have escaped, but neither the goblins nor the nearby villagers have
encountered it thus far, now that they have concluded their other tasks, Xander
and his team will investigate further.
The spiritual key controlling the life ward that protected Korvax's lair seems
to be of similar construction to that employed previously by the Death Priests
whilst they were in control of Skumble's cave.
The monk, Tetsuya Ogina, who aided you on the latter part of your quest, has
requested to stay in the barony for the time being.
Humact Giles
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 8 +1
- I've given all players a bonus of one, considering the individual's
performance, as per my comments, as well as the general performance of the
party. The IC reports received were all of high quality.
Kiel +1
- A solid performance as always. You performed your role excellently, taking the
bulk of the punishment from the monsters and commanding the party well. I
particularly liked the banshee incident and in general the very practical IC
decisions, that the GM had to dodge through judicious use of Plot-Doors e.g.
poisonous grass snakes.
Big Mace +0
- Still a bit disrespectful of the chain of command, perhaps you are playing the
stupid guard role a bit too well. You're use in combat scenarios is certainly
picking up. Keep it up.
Blaine +1
- Considering your lower rank, and your guild status you put in a sterling
performance. You got stuck into all fights despite your relatively limited
armour - Increased armour particularly leg armour is certainly a good idea (try
some shin pads covered with fur or leather) and gave pretty much as good as you
got. When outnumbering monsters however remember that if you are toe to toe
with the enemy it is almost certainly best to go fully on the defensive letting
others get in free shots from the monsters flanks. Great obedience to Kiel
throughout the day.
Flint +0
- Well although you didn't really get a chance to 'job' anybody you once again
succeeded in being barely hit the entire day, scouting out the area ahead and
solving the puzzle. Great IC report
Vortex +0
- I expected you to make more use of your abilities during the day, but in
hindsight figure that you dealt with the situation brilliantly. You balanced a
need to demonstrate your abilities and loyalty to the barony with a need for
secrecy almost perfectly, only slipping up once (on the way back through the
life ward), a mistake which you covered almost instantly.
MONSTERS
Base 4
DavidG +2
- Monster Ref. I've given RuthS and RobinD 1 point each of the monster ref points due to their
hardwork throughout the day, that are included in their bonuses.
RobinD +1
- Generally solid performance throughout, however the goblin mage was rather
overpowered and although he didn't cause any real damage to the party it didn't
particularly offer much to the realism of the game, goblin mages just cant get
that powerful.
RuthS +1
- Again a nice performance for a new larper. The banshees were particularly fun.
*** Comments ***
None.
The 4 Towers (10/03/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
###While going about your daily business be it it the barracks, the temple, the
college, you begin to hear an increasing number of reports of a disturbing nature.
There is talk of peasants roaming the lands, slackjawed and vacant eyed, it is rumoured
they do not speak or respond in any way to their surroundings, walking blindly through
streams and into walls. It is said that they're faces are a picture of pain and
suffering - as if they walk in eternal torment.###
###Earlier this morning, the doors of the college of magic burst open and a gaggle of mages
geared up for war marched out. They made their way to a pre-prepared ritual circle and with
the assistance of an Air Mage vanished from sight. As rumours began to circulate as to why
and where the mages were going, as spokeself for the College let it be known that at midday
today details would be forthcoming###
###As the temple bells all begin to toll for midday (the college bell also tolled but as always
makes no sound) the college doors are thrown open, and out strides Ignatius - a high ranking Fire
Mage - he addresses the assembled crowd as follows...
"Greetings subjects of the King, it is my solemn duty today to report dire goings in an area of
frontier land not far from here. You have all heard the rumours of strange things happening to
peasants in recent days. At first the college did not know what to make of it, however we were
recently visited by a human mage from a sect known as the Illuminati, and he explained all.
The frontier area that is the source of the disturbances was once a center of learning for all
the civilised races, at their height the illuminati owned and maintained four mighty towers of
magic where great works were undertaken. However as the decades passed and the mages and their
safeguards became complacent and soft disaster struck - with an item of terrible power the high
mage of the illuminati accidently opened a rift to a cursed plain of torment and torture...he
was taken over by a fiend of incredible power, his flesh turned a pale green and wrinkled and
creased as his acolytes looked on in horror - his pure white robes, darkened to a deep black...
Over the next few days this avatar of torment killed the acolytes and mages in the area and razed
the towers to the ground. His reign of terror continued for many years until surviving mages - who
had remained hidden in the extensive catacombs below the towers - managed to find the original
item and use it to send the creature back to its home - the item was then sundered into four
pieces in order to prevent the creature returning.
The illuminati retired to the catacombs below each of the four towers, each of the groups taking
a piece of the item to their respective strongholds for safekeeping. Decades passed as the illuminati
sought to regain their former strength - however over time due to ill luck and persistent foes
three of the four strongholds fell to monsterous opponents. The illuminati managed to hold on to
one of the strongholds...it is from there that out illustrious guest has travelled in order to tell
us that the avatar of torment has somehow returned to this plane.
The baron has ordered that a patrol be formed in order to assist the college mages and the illuminati
in retrieving the three lost pieces of the item and returning them to the remaining illuminati stronghold.
Further details will be given as soon as the patrol is formed."
With that Ignatius turns and withdraws to the college.###
Debrief:
Illuminati Sol received the three items gratefully and combined them with his item. The binding ritual
he performed was successful and he managed to complete the original item and use it to return the Avatar
to the plane of torment.
The college of light has approached the barony college and offered to teach any mages interested the spells
of the illuminati.
Upon returning to the barony, with the insistence of several party members Master Vortex is examined by
several priests - their findings were conveyed to the temple of Might - who released a statement saying
that the priests findings revealed nothing that would stop Master Vortex from representing the temple of
might and the barony in future missions.
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 9 (8 + 1 for continuing in poor weather)
Ventus -2
- (-1) For inefficient leadership.
(-1) For underuse of powerful spells.
MAD +0
- Good all round performance.
Red -1
- For unwillingness to use magic despite a barbarian killing the entire party...
Rasputin +2
- For excellent roleplaying throughout the day - Rasputin is a GM's dream, a true asset to any party - well done.
Aurelius -1
- For underuse of potentially party saving spells.
Hunter +0
- Another good outing - excellent quotes :)
Derrus -2
- (-1) YOU ARE A SCOUT don't just stand there and let yourself get hit (learn to parry).
(-1) For killing a barony peasant (there will be an IC inquest soon).
Vortex +1
- Another excellent outing - dealing with the priest of death and the skellies was inspired...cool :)
T'neh -1
- For general moaning in the GMs ear all day and blaming all your failings on mud "oh if only....",
"but it was slippy...." etc etc.
MONSTERS
Base 6 (4 + 2 for putting up with the weather and other things)
Charlie +1
- Excellent first outing, especially enjoyed the dryads and the amazing (and frankly scary barbarian accent).
ElizabethG +1
- Again excellent Dryad, good barbarian.
RuthS +1
- Cool dryad, good roleplaying of golem.
RobinD +2
- (+1) For excellent enthusiasm all day despite having to wait around so much.
(+1) For consistently good roleplaying of monsters and helping out the GM and newbies.
WarrenJ +1
- For great Barbarian chief - reminded me of HIM, line the party up and drop them one by one.
DominicD +0
- Solid monstering - I look forward to the new illuminati.
AndyT +0
- Again solid performance, no highs no lows...
*** Comments ***
None.
Cult Wars 3C - Frelska (03/03/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
Following investigations of the Kaarth Corpses secretely removed by Captain
Vareen's men it has become apparent that the lizardine Kaarth are cold blooded
and hence highly vulnerable to attacks that distrupt their body temperature.
As a result the party is being transported to Frelska to complete an exchange
of Gifts between the Barony and Frostreaver's Frostling's. Conditions in
Frelska will be harsh so the party should dress for sub-zero temperatures.
Frosreaver suspects that rival clans may attempt to sabotage the exchange so be
wary.....
Debrief:
Highest congratulations for your success in completing the deal with
Frostreaver. The axe is indeed as powerful as we had hoped and should be of
great help when we are finally ready to challenge the Dark Ones. The deaths of
your patrol members were highly regretable, had we realized the strength of
the faction that tried to prevent the exchange then we would certainly have
sent more of you on the mission. More regretable however is the fact that
several of these deaths seem to have been largely unncessary, and could have
been prevented by the partrol had they reacted more appropriately to the dangers
ahead of them.
On a further note the talks with the leader of the Azrach's appear to have
encountered problems so we will unfortunately have to wait a little longer on
that front. We have also been recetnly approached by a curious band fo druids
asking for assistance, perhaps we can gain something of value in return, we
shall see...
Sergeant Vareen
Frostreaver was collected by Sergeant Vareen to have the full extent of its
powers properly analsed by grand seer Annias.
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 8
Gabriel +0
- In terms of combat, solid as usual, did a great job of roelplaying being very
cold, however had many moments that werent particualrly befitting a Justice
preist, most notably the various plans to aqcuire fur...
Anemon +1
- A scout who doesnt get hit, is a good scout. Great shooting particularly
against the bears, the first shot against RobinD when he was chasing Gabriel was
inspired.
Flint +0
- A generally solid performance, the death was unfortunate when you jumped in to
aid the other mages though.
Fleet +0
- Well done for stayign alive if only by the skin of your teeth
Vortex +0 (Base 6)
- I dont belive you died again?! The two handed sword isnt great for defence try
to fight much more of a second line fighter.
Rhian +0
- Well done for staying alive particularly at the end when the the others were
mostly floored. However you could have been more pro-active and supported the
party when they were still around. Although the nature of the larp made your
spells less effective they were also cheaper to cast. 5 secons of freeze is
normally enough to allow memers of the party to get an easy blow on an
opponent, equally massed ice darts could still have been effective because
despite their natural coldness none of the opponebts except for frostfang had
any power protection.
Hex +0
- As with Rhian you did a good job to keep alive however your powers cold have
been game changing. I appreciate that the increased mana cost to casting was
resticitve but think of the damage that a fire dart 2/4 would have on a
frostling, 4/8 poitns of power damage to each location. Highly worth it. True
the priority on casting should have gone to fire blades first but darts could
have been really effective, particularly in order to quickly reduce the mosnters
numerical advantage. The main problem to your effectiveness was that you did
not stop to meditate during the day.
Kiel +0
- Although you started off well, making sure that the party avoided engagemnts
with the Tasloi/Thanoi (whatever) and the wolves, however you later lost party
coherence, particularly regarding the fight where MAD and Vortex died.
MAD +0 (Base 6)
- One phrase "dont think, just blink!" The intial airbast barrage was sound as
usual however you then stuck around and waited for the consequences, as a mage
life span is generally dependant upon finding that balance between keeping
well out of the way and getting stuck in to help the party.
Rasputin +0
- Good show at in character singing and very good pro-active use of lifeshields that
certainly kep the party alive, considering your experience though not quite enough to
warrant a bonus point. Can't think of any real negative comments at the moment.
MONSTERS
Base 4
DavidG +2
- Monster Ref (monster ref points allocated to me, and JoeS as bonus points)
MarcusO +0
- Great pissing wolf, and singing walrus man.
JoeS +2
- Monster Ref, Good use of daggers, particularly when you decided not to
slaughter the mages when you had the chance
PaulW +1
- The cubs were simply marvelous.
ElizabethG +1
- Cubs.
RuthS +1
- Cubs, great first time out.
RobinD +0
- A bit too aggressive, particularly as the polar bear who should have fled
at the first real show of trouble.
PeterW +0
- As always solid performances all round.
LukeG +0
- Again a bit too agressive as the ploar bear but otherwise fine.
DominicD +0
- In general a good day's larp with good characterisation, especially as penguins,
excellent timing and use of the cone of cold. However, it was somewhat bad form to
drop both ice dart 4's into StephenE, when there were other targets available. "Big baddies"
often have the potential to utterly destroy player parties and therefore those wanting
to play them should be careful to distribute damage they deal round appropriately.
*** Comments ***
1) This game was the first real scenario this year in which the party faced power
damage to any significant degree and this seemed to prove a problem. In
gerneal the party worked fine, however they did allow their cohesiosn to be
broken up several tiems (especially in the fight where RyanL and PaulW died) and
the mages needed to be much more effective throguhout. Admittedly i mistakingly
beleived that Hex could cast fireskin's, but the special conditions of the day
gave both Hex and Rhian particular opportunity to tip the balance in many
encounters.
The Ambassador (24/02/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
We require a small group of Barony citizens to act as an escort for an
Ambassador who is embarking on a journey into Lanister's land, where he will
attempt to broker a peace between them and the Barony.
Guard Sergeant Hark
Debrief:
The mission to establish a (temporary) alliance with Lanister appears to have
run successfully, thanks to the party's protection of both ambassadors and
their actions to remove the undead threat. Considering the understandable
tension and animosity between the barony and Lanister the party generally
acted diplomatically.
It was disconcerting that Lanister seems to be aware of the baronys "overseas"
problems, particularly following the recent bandit activities. Captain Vareen
is still looking for the source of the information leak, no one is above
suspicion so for your own well-being you are all advised to comply with his
investigation as it progresses. Hopefully Lanisters, less formal information
network may prove useful, however information sharing on this matter between
the barony and Lanister is to be avoided for the time being.
More specifically to the recent mission the presence of necromancers and their
undead forces which were intentionally or uninetionally threatening to the
alliance is worrying leading us to wonder if this threat has really been dealt
with or if someone else is behind the trouble.
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 8
MAD +2
- Nice first outing for the highly offensive mage. good effort on sorting your
own costume and well placed magic throughout the day. Good roleplay of the
overcasting, even if you later discovered that you hadnt overcast.....
Gabriel +0
- An expectedly solid outing. Sensible rationing of healing throughout.
Comfortably supported the party well.
Kiel +0
- As with Gabriel a good strong performance dealing with the responsiblities of
command well.
Thorfen +0
- Keep up the goodwork, watch out for head shots in the future though
Redemption +1
- Redemption continued his performance from last week well, keeping to the
paladin ethos throughout, particularly in your efforts to defend the ambassador
and for the simply impressive parry that stopped Thorfen from having his own
skull split.
Hex +1
- As with MAD you used your magic generally effectively - although at the
main necromancer fight it may have been more prudent to ensure there fireblades
went out before the fire skins. But I guess its natural for an elven mage to
underestimate how much punishment fighter types can take.
T'neh +1
- Considering the high winds and further arrow problems you adapted your
scouting role well. You made particularly good use of your spell casting -
effectively taking out both of my death scouts leaving them vulnerable to a
battering from MAD. Good work on the advance scouting role, however, you need
to ensure that you dont press too far so you can report back to the party when
needed or at least to be in a position to strike the enemy from the rear when
the party do engage.
Killian +0
- Generally good role-playing throughout, particularly the reluctance regarding
pedantic treaty terms. Unfortunately you did allow yourself to walk into a few
ambushes, you need to keep your eyes open a bit more.
Blaine +0
- I expected to see more of the brash gladiator but unfortunately never really
did. With a party of the size we had on sunday standing out is particularly
difficult. That said you seemed to fight competently enough.
MONSTERS
Base 4
DavidG +0
MarcusO +0
ElizabethG +0
Tom$ +0
NeilH +0
PaulW +0
RyanL +0
LukeG +0
Ross$ +0
*** Comments ***
None.
Lord British (17/02/2002)
*** Mission ***
Brief:
Missing Lord sighted!
Reports reach us today that the missing Lord British, king of the distant land
of Britannia, who has been travelling our lands on what is known as a 'Virtue Quest',
has in fact been kidnapped and held by beings described as large, sheet-like ghosts,
black as the foulness of the Void and their followers, who appear to be corrupted
humans, bearing the mark of their masters.
Messages are being circulated in the Barony, calling for all experienced adventurers
to come to the service of our lord to attempt this rescue mission.
The roads are too narrow and treacherous to send in the army, but it is thought a
smaller band of heroes might fare better.
Debrief:
Congratulations. The successful recovery of Lord British will undoubtedly
improve relations with the land of Britannia. The tree goblin chiefs have sent
messengers thanking us for removing the darkness from the forest. Druids are
again moving amongst the trees, and the sun shines there once more.
Unfortunately, during the course of your mission your party killed an unarmed
commoner of the Barony, slaughtered a small group of tree goblins, and were
sadly forced to kill a number of common folk and warriors not just from the
Barony, but from nearby kingdoms too, all of whom were apparently under the
control of the Shadowlords at the time.
Since your victory, the darkness in the forest has almost totally subsided.
The few moving dark patches (assumed to be where Shadowlords are attempting to
come into this world and move around freely) are being surrounded by
Pathfinders, and all corrupted souls inside are being subdued and returned to
their homes. The Shadowlords in this realm are being destroyed as a possible
threat to the entire Barony.
We regret to hear that your party leader was killed during the quest, but he
did not die in vain. The darkness is being purged from the land of the light,
and soon we shall have cleansed the entire forest of their infestation.
As normal, all reports should be delivered to me personally.
Guard Captain Fulcram
Deaths:
Redemption
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 10
Vortex +2
- For being such a good sport about being killed and charging headlong into the Lord
British ritual battle, even though he knew he was going to drop. Good use of Unholy Word to
disrupt the ritual, which would have corrupted Lord British very shortly
afterwards, and good leadership qualities when “Redemption” was killed and went missing.
Thorfen -1
- For killing a peasant of the Barony, who was clearly under some mind control he couldn't help.
If you had paused to consider it, he wasn't actually doing any damage at all to
an armoured guard with his fists.
Rasputin +0
- (+1) Liked the idea of singing over AlexT's corpse. He was very touched, and I hear tell that
you were composing ditties all through the day, although I missed most of them.
(-1) You did show up late though, so you lose a point.
Hex +0
- Keeping your nose clean by staying out of trouble may well keep you alive(ish), but doesn't earn
you bonus points. Also, try to stay behind the shield wall if it's there, and
concentrate spells on one person and drop them, rather than spraying everyone lightly.
Red +0,
- (-1) For showing up slightly late,
(+1) But I did LOVE those ski goggles, so you get +1 for those :) Similarly to Andy's comment.
Try to drop a single opponent, maybe with the help of other mages, to help out the party more.
Talon +0
- Good roleplaying as a weak priest of might. As you get stronger you'll be more effectual, but
weak front line fighters are hard to represent properly. You did well with your
chain of command instructions, and didn't care what people less important than
you thought. Well done.
Rhian +0
- Same comment as other mages. Drop people, don't wound everyone. Also, in the field,
when the lines broke and the enemy could freely waltz amongst the mages I feel
that a small barrage of TRIP spells against the attackers would have let the
other mages escape unhurt (if you posses the spell).
Kestrel +0
- As one of the highest ranking players I thought you should have stood out more, but I
didn't really see much of you. Good work keeping out of trouble, though.
Redemption +0
- Thanks for being Lord British. I thought you roleplayed your Paladin well, even
though it screwed the party over a little.
MONSTERS
Base 5
JoeS +1
- Thanks for the rituals, and bonus extra for the bunny. INSPIRED!
ElizabethG +0
- If you run out of spells - KAMIKAZE!
LukeG -1
- For not being able to follow simple instructions like Bugger off.
MarcusO +1
- For the elephant idea. INSPIRED!
JamesA +0
- Good, solid stuff, but you didn't manage to drop one of the party as requested.
LudwigK +0
- Nice call on the tree cutting song, but not quite worthy of a bonus.
PeterW +0
- Sound fighting, but you just couldn't distract the party at the end of my ritual.
*** Comments ***
1) Well done. I think some of the time the monsters may have been a bit too
tough (9 Darkness 3 hits spring to mind), but these all only occured (except the
final encounter) because you failed to prevent them. If you hadn't killed a
peasant you would have had one less encounter (the first Shadowlord one), if you
had interrupted my ritual to bless my minions (in the hollow) they would have
been fodder, and to be fair you only had to walk AROUND the mages guarding the
hollow to hit me.
2) I think the absense of scouts in the party was a definite disadvantage, as
well as being a few short on the whole front line fighters front.
3) There were instances where the monsters did severely overpower the party, but
I did my best to minimise these (example being the ambush on the path. I just
pulled out because we would have jobbed you all, although the encounter could
also have been prevented by simply dropping LukeG at the slaves' guard post), but
it was my first attempt, so I imagine it's something you get better at.
Arrows of Death (10/02/2002)
*** Mission ***
Debrief:
Congratulations on recovering Guard Fabian's supplies for him, he is grateful
to all those who assisted in this effort. With the death of their leader and
the bulk of their forces we do not believe that the bandits will be of any
further threat, we are sending pathfinders into the area to locate and deal
with any surviving bandits. The reason for the bandit's presence in the area
however, is still not fully clear.
Could all members of the party please provide a short report to me identifying
anything you discovered in this respect as well as any other concerns or issues
that you would like to voice as to the manner in which the mission was carried
out. this is particularly important regarding the breakdown in the command
heirarchy and all Guards and Pathfinders, especially Derris Morgan should
respond to this issue.
Guard Captain Fulcram
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 6
Vortex +0
- Another good IC report and great work regarding the interrogations.
Thorfen +1
- The shield was particularly useful throughout the day and you handled the
command issue where it affected you well. You moved into the final battle
somewhat prematurely which casued problems however for a first day out a really good show.
Fleet +0
- I must admit that i didnt see you all too much during the day, but you seemed
to be fulfilling your role as a support fighter well. Good first day out.
Fabian +1
- You took the whole idea of being used as the plot hook very well and roleplayed
the situation very well, keeping up a good balance throughout. the IC reports
that followed the game were of particularly impressive. Cheers for dealign with
the battleboard too.
Rasputin +1
- The IC report in the form of a song was simply inspired. Equally the attempts
at diplomacy regarding the bowl encounter followed by a good use of miracles to
make the battle a white wash were spot on. On the negative side oyu did seem
to be gettign on a little too well with the oppositely aligned Might priest and
although i appreciate you were playing the knowledge angle the attitude
regardign torture for a life aligned priest seemed slighyly strained at times.
Oh and nice costume.
Derrus +0
- Despite the comments regarding your command position i thought you performed
the role well. If people especially any pathfinder aligned scouts did not
follow orders then they are in the worng and not you. When neccesary you
performed a strong balancign role taking charge regardign the final treatment
of at least two of the bandits. Your general fighting style, particulaly
regarding the flank attack were however much more suited to a scout role rather
than a guard. Thnakyou for the IC report, although it was somewhat long it was
very useful. More work on costume would be beneficial.
Hunter +0
- An expectedly solid and fairly standard performance by Hunter. I especially
liked the reaction to the faint/feignt spiritual influence and when you got
caught in the trap.
Killian +0
- Your scoutign throughout the day was generally of good standard however your
decisions to not follow Derrus's commands and most glaringly the deliberate
attempt to get hunter caught in the mantrap were highly dubious. Guard captain
fulcram will be keepign a particular eye on you in the futrue for any further transgressions.
Chade +0
- Unfortunately your order priest really didnt seem to work this time round. The
chaotic streak continued throughout the day. On the other hand your in
character reports supported by message board postings about the larp are all
very sound and you handled being backstabbed really well.
Flint +0
- An expectedly strong performance by the earth mage, a little too disrespectful
the authority of Derrus however.
Hex +0
- The usefulness of the mage is certainly increasing and you are are definately
learning to use the spellos you have more effectively.
MONSTERS
Base 3
DavidG +1
- Monster ref (monster ref points allocated to me, AlexT and WarrenJ as bonus points).
AlexT +1
- Monster ref, plus excellent last minute anararchy priest.
WarrenJ +1
- Monster ref, plus earth mage archer.
TonyP +0
- Cheers for a good showing, especially after your after-show party.
ElizabethG +1
- Your face when i told you to describe your lover as me.
LukeG -1
- White chinos really arent made for larp.
Martin +0
- Great job for the lover role, watching the party try to devise a manner to rescue you safely was most enjoyable.
MarcusO +0
- Added a lot of character to those bandits - horse bollocks indeed.
MarcD +0
- Cheers especially considering the fact that i didnt really give you any interestign roles to play.
LudwigK +0
- Oh the mad druid who for some reason thought there was no fighting....
*** Comments ***
1) I thought that the party worked very well together with the exception of the final battle in which the force attacking the
rear, RobinD and AdrianC went in rather earlier and cut off from any support were quickly outnumbered and overwhelmed. The
general standard of the role-playing in the group was higher than I have seen for quite a whilst. The theological debates
between the priests, and the differing approaches to torture were interesting and generally well played out. (however, at
times rather unnecessary as the bandits, once captured were quite eager to tell all they knew). As far as party cohesion the
conflict in terms of party leadership were evident, there will be more comments on this once reports have been received.
2) Well done to the monster crew, again particularl thanks to AlexT and WarrenJ for organising the monsters whilst I
was
checking everything else was runing smoothly. Particular well done to all torture victims. Bonus points will again be
issued at the same time as the players get theirs.
3) A few rules based comments. Whenever calling spells, time outs, time stops you really need to shout, whereas combat blows
hardly need a raised voice most of the time. With sword blows etc you generally felt the blow, and unless you are being
attacked by multiple baddies this isn't a problem, in contrast ranged damage e.g. arrows, throwing knives, spells have a lot
less impact behind them and therefore are often not noticed by players and monsters, therefore the effect needs to be clearly
and loudly announced.
4) After a few games earlier in the year both LT and TL featuring archers, I thought that it would be a good idea to further
examine the safety of bows as well as to see if they were balanced. From what was observed the bows seemed to be of limited
use. Only in the one encounter fighting up the hill were they more than marginally effective and that was more due to a
well-used concerted mage, archer attack than anything else. In other occasions archers found themselves charged down very
quickly, perhaps releasing one shot before being easily slaughtered. As a result I don't see any suggestions that bow points
etc. should be altered, the bow is still only really effective when used in mass (which to be honest is going to be rare) and
for harassment value and for this reason I don't think that bows are underpowered either, it gives a nice ability for
pre-emptive strikes particularly at mages/casters and is useful at forcing nasties to abandon prepared defensive positions in
order to go on the offensive.
The only real concern therefore is one of safety. As far as personal safety is concerned I see no real concerns. Again it was
the grips and the therefore bunched fighting on the slope that could have been dangerous, but by no means more dangerous than
full paced chases down muddy paths and through woods. The only safety concern that we have seen from two games now is the
financial risk involved. As with throwing daggers (that inevitably get lost) arrows are likely to be lost or stepped on etc.
This poses a slight problem in my opinion as arrows seem most effective when firing into thin corridors, but it is at these
times when they are most likely to be damaged. As a result I think that the regular time stops was a good idea and should
have been used more, to ensure that arrows could be cleared.
The only remaining issue then is the 'loose' call. The call exists for safety reasons because it can be dangerous to actually
fire in some occasions. As with most rules it isn't a problem in itself but can be abused, people tend to fire off loose
thru's faster than they would normal shots and of course they represent definite unavoidable hits. In this sense archers
should only use it very rarely and need to be responsible in its use e.g. repeated loose through heads is simply nasty, I
would suggest that should loose be used the target location should almost always be chest (the easiest location to hit).
Cult Wars 3B - The Far off Menace (03/02/2002)
*** Mission ***
Debrief:
Well done on your mission, as we thought the priests of freedom had simply
become rather distracted in their work, particularly due to the distracting
effects of the reactivated soul orbs. Congratulations on returning the orbs
safely to the barony, in light of the circumstances I fully support Dark's
decision to flee the soul demon the orbs after all were of most importance in
the mission. Your success in bringing the Saar Tai'nesh back to barony has also
provided us with key information as to the situation in Draxia, especially the
existence of a allied force almost ready to rebel against their oppressors.
I'm sorry for the need for secrecy earlier the Draxia campaign is of vital
importance to the barony and we could not risk any information leaks outside
the barony. It seems however from your reports that you have learnt enough,
particularly from your encounter with the soul demon, to be fully informed of
the events at hand.
I suggest you all look at the documentation surrounding the previous missions
connected with the Draxia Campaign, which may help fill in a few gaps in your
knowledge (OC see the game debriefs on the old website for the games with me
marked as David Greenhill as ref and labelled as cult wars or Draxia).
Recent events however, particularly the success of the heroes expedition into
Draxia have had quite a dramatic effect on the situation so a slight update is
required. As you have probably gathered from your brief Discussions with Dryak
the mission to assassinate the Queen initially seemed doomed, with the Kaarth
queen having no difficulties repelling all assaults with her formidable powers,
however the enigmatic dark ones turned up once again and entered some kind of
psychic duel with the Queen leaving the heroes free to battle the Queen and her
guardians physically. They succeeded in striking a mortal blow to the Queen
and struggled back through the portal all badly injured, but fortunately all
alive. The Queen's death however was not sudden and she maintained a degree of
control over the Kaarth for some time before finally dying allowing a number of
Kaarth scouts managed to follow through the portal, however the combined
efforts of Skumbles goblin guards and the party's intervention prevented any
from returning to report the existence of the portal.
However, the victory over the Kaarth Queen comes as somewhat of a two-edged
sword. It appears that with the both Ny'darch defeated and the Kaarth Queen
dead, the Dark ones (ancient Kaarth sorcerors strangely born into their own
collective hive mind separate from the Queen) have no one left to fear. It
seems highly likely that they have already exerted their control over the other
Kaarth in Draxia. Although their intentions are not fully known we must take
immediate measures to protect ourselves from them. Tai'nesh has einformed us
that the Saar are enslaved by the Kaarth, just as the Kaarth were enslaved by
Ny'darch. If we can sufficiently free the Saar from the Kaarth's control then
they will be an invaluable ally. Furthermore the research into the soul orbs
and the soul sword will be continued, perhaps it may even be necessary to
enlist the forces of Ny'darch against the dark ones.
General Arkteer
*** Points ***
PLAYERS
Base 8
Vortex +0
- As a low level priest with few usable powers you played a generally strong role
in the party, making good use of your few offensive powers and supporting Big
Mace well in heated battles. Your death was unfortunate but it was a tough
fight with the party fighting a force considerably stronger than they were.
In terms of roleplaying I thought you played the priest too timidly in many
respects. I feel that you often found yourself torn between the ethos of the
Might and your own normally sensible approach to problems encountered. This
was particularly evident when you allowed the clearly chaotic bandits to remove
the fake gems from your sword. However, you were also told from the start by
your superiors that the mission's importance superceeded other concerns and you
appropriately deferred judgement to Dark and later Big Mace.
Dark +0
- For any low level order priest the going is quite difficult, and this larp
proved no different. That said you kept the party in generally good check and
always had the mission goal in sight. Your decision to run from the Soul demon
made complete sense, though it may have been good to make sure the rest of the
party knew the situation aswell. At times I feel you should have exerted more
control over the party and you occasionally slipped from your alignment to
order e.g. telling the priests of freedom that they should not
forget cheese. Again though the order priest is a difficult class to play
and for a first outing you did well, healing the party where needed and taking
good care of the soul orbs.
T'neh +1
- A solid performance for the elf. You used the bow generally effectively
particularly against the Kaarth scouts in the cave mouth. In future remember
to pick your targets very carefully, in the last fight it would have been
better to shoot at me as the unarmed mage type rather than one of the Kaarth
warriors. However that said you did effectively finish the fight by making
good use of 'blink' to attack me later in the fight. Again the fight against
the ogre was less successful as you managed to get caught away from the group
and savaged. As you knew the ogre was hostile it may have been better to kick
the fight off with a shot down the path before backing away and possibly
squeezing off another shot before switching to sword. The bonus point is
mainly for a continual in character performance especially your reaction to
injuries in battle and your mistrust of the goblins.
Hex +0
- As a low level mage you soon found that you were very vulnerable in combat with
limited magical abilities to dissuade the enemy forces. Despite this you made
good timely use of your fire darts, however it may have been best to
concentrate them into one target (6 fire dart 2's into the annoying shield
wielding orc would have left him very vulnerable to pretty much any further blow
to a limb would have stopped it working) to get them out of the fight as
numerical advantage plays a big role in combat. Personally I would consider
learning melt or burn as these spells can be potential life savers, especially
on low level games when monsters rarely have protected weapons.
In terms of roleplaying I was very happy with the solid performance throughout,
again reacting well to blows in combat.
Big Mace +0
- Together with Dark you kept a good control of the party throughout, being
particularly quick to aid Kailyn. The decision to opt for a 2-handed mace
rather than the more traditional guard armament of sword and shield was felt on
the party and you were unable to shield the rest of the party from the bulk of
the punishment in the ogre fight. After this battle however, you seemed to
learn somewhat and were much more successful in this respects later in the
day. The task of keeping track of hits in battle is particularly difficult for
a fighter so any difficulties at this stage are understandable and will improve
in time.
In terms of roleplaying you need to react more to blows in combat especially
those nasty 11's. Even if you are wearing lots of armour and are only taking
bruising damage weapon blows are still felt by a character and the force alone
of successful strikes should be more noticeable.
MONSTERS
Base 4
MatthewA +0
- Cheers for the help writing the game and suggestions you provided.
Ross$ +0
- Considering this was your 1st larp you did an excellent job.
RobinD -2
- Nice commitment for turning up, good show as the Kaarth.
AlexT +1
- Thanks for help throughout and organising things whilst I was busy.
Bonus for spending more time putting on your armour than you did wearing it!
*** Comments ***
1) Well done everyone. As the first game in a new system with a limited party (no
life healing, no real defensive guard line) you all performed well. In general
you worked together against your opponents and seem to learn that potentially
dangerous encounters (like the bandits) can sometimes be avoided, saving the
party's strength for necessary battles. In the same manner you dealt well with
the diplomatic concerns relating to the Goblin tribe, defusing the peasant
bully situation very quickly, not losing patience with the priests of freedom,
listening to the soul demon (instead of just attacking) and helping Kailyn
without any hesitation. You were a bit slow to realize that Tai'nesh was on
your side but managed to rectify the problem eventually.