Borderlands Campaign Session One

 So last Sunday I ran the first session of my Borderlands campaign, playing B2. We had six players with their characters being Aeron the ranger, Ashton Scholastic the magic-user, Delly Issuhes the halfling, Flynn Carver the thief, Kalgor the cleric and Marlow Dietrich the barbarian. These characters arrived at the Keep and after being challenged to declare their names and reasons for wanting to enter the keep.

 After going to the Inn and talking to some merchants, they decided to reconnoiter the caves. They entered the goblin cave and soon encountered some goblins. Instead of attacking the goblins merely inquired as to what they were doing their. The PCs actually managed to get some information. Unfortunately I then had computer trouble and by I got back they had decided to leave the caves and come back later. Hopefully we will get to do more next time. We are still looking for players if anybody is interested!

Borderlands Campaign

 I have placed the Fallen Elphame campaign on the back burner. I concluded that bringing it to fruition would be too challenging for my skills at this time. In lieu of this I have been planning a game that starts off with B1 and B2, set in a contested area between the territories of the Holy Griffin Empire and the Orcish Hordes. It is pretty derivative, but it should be quite enjoyable I think.

 The humanoids of the Caves of Chaos are in this context loosely aligned with the Orcish Hordes and their allies, the Demon Kings of the Worldscar and the Overlords of the Deep. The priest of the Shrine of Evil Chaos and his acolytes are attempting to organize these monsters into a force to sack the Keep. The Caves of the Unknown are, in fact Quasqueton from B1.

The general political situation is inspired by Heroes of Might and Magic 3, with the Holy Griffin Empire being inspired by Erathia (though taking its name from a later game) as well as Lordareon from the Warcraft series being opposed to the Demon Kings of the Worldscar, inspired by the Kreegans and the Overlords of the Deep inspired by the Dungeon Overlords. The Orcish Hordes are of course inspired by the Horde from Warcraft.

I am running this as an open game, so players can drop in and out and there is no set time. I am looking for more players so if interested you can join.

Ogrillion Race for Pathfinder 1e

Fallen Elphame is currently on the back burner. However I have a set of Ogrillion race stats I created for my Fate of the Realms campaign, though the player ended up going with a half orc instead.

 

Ogrillion

Standard Racial Traits

• Ability Score Racial Traits: Ogrillion gain +6 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int, -2 Wis, and -2 Cha.
• Type: Ogrillion are humanoids with the orc and giant subtypes.
• Size: Ogrillion are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Speed: Ogrillion have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Languages: Ogrillion begin play speaking Common.

Defense Racial Traits

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

Magical Racial Traits

Movement Racial Traits

Offense Racial Traits

• Ferocity: If the hit points of a ogrillion fall below 0 but she is not yet dead, she can continue to fight. If she does, she is staggered, and loses 1 hit point each round. She still dies when her hit points reach a negative amount equal to her Constitution score.

Senses Racial Traits

• Darkvision: Ogrillion can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Weakness Racial Traits

• Light Sensitivity: A ogrillion is dazzled as long as she remains in an area of bright light.

Whitehaven Citadel Dungeon Level 1

 The first level under Whitehaven Citadel is a fairly normal storage area, with a few goblins hiding down there after the reclaiming of most of the surface area. There are a few traps and even some unclaimed treasure. Here is the current map and key:

1. Main Cellar

1. This large room contains rubble strewn throughout it and several columns. They appear to consist of a number of containers and their contents. There is a faint smell of rot. There are passages to the north, south and two to the east as well as a staircase to the west. 

2. Treasury

1. There is a broken hardwood table in the middle of the room. There are several broken piles of splinters and metal that look to have once been chests. There are doors to the north and the east.

2. Five goblins, one equipped with a rifle (1d10+2 damage).

   (Note: Firearms are common weapons amongst the goblins of the Horde of Smoke, which these goblins ancestors once belonged). 

3. Solar

1. There is a sturdy wooden desk with a comfortable looking chair next to it. There is a door to the west.

4. Trapped Room

1. This room is notable for its black and white tiles. There are holes in each of the tiles. There is a door to the south and to the east.

2. Wisdom -2: Some spots of dried blood can be seen on one of the tiles.

3. Anyone stepping on a black tile is attacked with a spear for 1d8 damage

5. Vault

1. The most obvious feature in this room is the treasure chest in the middle, which is surrounded by a few small piles of coins. There are doors to the west and to the east.

2. 209 sp, 4 gp

6. Barracks

1. This room is filled with bunks in various states of disrepair. There are small chests at the head of each bunk. There is a door to the west and a passage to the south.

2. Six goblins, one equipped with a rifle (1d10+2 damage)

7. Wine Cellar

1. This room is filled with a series of shelves containing bottles. There is a slight aroma tainted by rancidness. There are passages to the west, north and east.

8. Well Room

1. There is a well in this room, but it is not the most obvious feature. There is also a cylindrical metal object of about three feet in height next to the well head. It appears to be damaged with large bumps in it. There are passages to the west and to the south and the southern passage has an obvious slant downward.

   Note: This is a destroyed robot, which there are more of on the third level and the Halls of Knowledge.

9. Enspelled Elven Maiden

1. This room is oddly finely appointed for a dungeon, with curtains between the room and the passages and a finely appointed bed with a chest at its head. There are passages to the west and to the south.

2. An elven maiden in the form of an ogre. Will not attack unless attacked first.

10. Weakening Gas

1. This room is filled with some kind of gas, a greyish-green in color. There are passages to the west and the north.

2. Anyone breathing in this gas will lose 1d6 Strength fro 1d6 turns

11. False Treasure Room

1. There is a treasure chest overflowing with treasure in this room. There are passages to the north and the east.

2. The chest and surrounding floor is an illusion that is over a ten foot deep pit.

Fate of the Realms Session Six

 So after encountering the man smelling of rats they follow him to the Hall of Many Pillars before loosing him. It is as if he just mysteriously disappeared... So from there they decide to go to the north. They interestingly pretty much follow the same steps as the party in the fourth session, the main difference is that they avoid contact with the goblins and encounter some skeletons. They encounter the Hall of Heroes and the Bone Throne, but make no real interactions with them.

 They finally encounter the leader of the goblins who tells them that his room in off limits. They do manage to get him to answer a couple of questions, not that the answers are all that useful. They then encounter the main goblin group and decide to vamoose, which is about where we left off.

I honestly thought that the one player who had played in the previous session to mention something about how they were retracing his steps, but nothing.

Fate of the Realms Session Five

 Well reports of this campaign's death have been greatly exaggerated it seems. I had the party start off at the beginning of the dungeon again, with new information from their patron. Apparently, there was a teleport to the second level somewhere across the chasm. They traveled to the chasm only to be attacked by a few darkmantles on the rope bridge across the chasm. Then they encountered a dread- a rare undead creature consisting of two floating skeletal arms that emerged from a black pool of water contained in a corridor. Unfortunately, I forgot to use its frightful presence ability, but it was a somewhat difficult encounter anyway.

 Then they encountered a door that I forgot to set to secret... I explained what happened, but allowed them to make search checks. They failed. They went up the corridor and nearly fell into a pit concealed by darkness. After doing this they doubled back and a man smelling of rats came out of the secret door. They had a quick conversation and then he went past them heading, or so he said, back to the Yawning Portal. After this we finished up for the night.

 All in all a session where not a lot happened. I think I was a little rusty from not playing for a few weeks, but the players said it went well.

Fallen Elphame Introduction

 I have devised an sort of introduction for my new setting- now named Fallen Elphame. It is located on my Obsidian Portal website for the campaign.

"The continent known to those to the east as Elphame was once home to a highly technological society. This was nurtured by the gods themselves in a location known as the Halls of Knowledge. However, the goddess Lolth betrayed the Seldarine resulting in a war between the drow that she corrupted and the rest of the elves. This devastated the continent, reshaping the very land and even resulting in the creation of twisted new forms of life. Eventually the drow were cast out, but the ascension of the great war leader to the position of Overqueen resulted in a second schism where the wood or wild elves broke off from those that would eventually be known as the high elves and left Elphame for other continents.

A significant number of goblin slaves rose up against the drow, driving them further into the depths of the continent and beyond. These goblins took up the drow’s instruments of war and bent them for their own purposes. Thus began their wars against elvenkind. For.a time the high elves were able to resist, even though they eschewed the use of much of their knowledge. However a few thousand years ago the tide began to turn. The goblins mastered more and more technology and the elves lost more and more knowledge. Kingdoms fell and even the Overking was overthrown.

Once the goblins reached the eastern lands known as the Azure Havens the elves began to pursue a new strategy. They reached out to the lands of the humans and even their estranged cousins. They began to bring in armies of these people, promising them riches and even land taken from the goblins. The Azure Havens took some losses, but also managed some victories in the face of great odds. The tide may yet turn again if the goblins can finally be driven back. Also rumors persist that the Halls of Knowledge still exist and contain knowledge that could be used to counter the advanced technology of the goblins."