Borderlands Campaign Session Five

 In this session, campaign regulars Ashton Scholastic, the human magic-user and Delly Isshues the halfling were joined by Edric Valmont the human paladin. They returned to the Caves of Chaos to find that two Orogs had taken up residence in the cave where the Ogre had once inhabited. They dispatched the two without being harmed, mostly thanks to Edric's armor.

 They then visited the kobold caves to see if the kobolds would join them again on adventures. However, they quickly learned that something was wrong, as a smell of decay came from the cave. They discovered that the kobolds had been slain, or at least the males. I had actually played this battle out before hand. Shortly thereafter I had to bring the game to an abrupt end.

Borderlands Campaign Session Four

 In this session, the players were approached by two prospective retainers. They rejected one, at least for now, who was in training to be a cleric, but recruited one, Alvarus, as a bodyguard for the magic-user, Ashton. They also recruited Dania again. Then they headed to the Caves of Chaos once more.

 Once there they decided to take out the Ogre. They sent the halfling, Delly on ahead and then lured the Ogre into a trap. Despite a close call with the Barbarian, Marlow, they successful sprung their trap and after some bow fire, hits from the melee fighters and some burning oil, the players defeated the Ogre.

 However after looting the Ogre's treasure, they noticed that three hobgoblins where lured by the sounds of the battle. They attacked them, and after a quick battle they were victorious- but at the cost of their retainer's life. After this they decided to return to the Keep with Alvarus's body. 

Borderlands Campaign Session Three

 So this time Delly Issuhes the halfling, Ashton Scholastic the magic-user and Marlow Dietrich the barbarian gathered to travel back to the Caves of Chaos. They sought out Dania the fighter to join them again and began the journey to the Caves.

Upon arriving, they sought out their newfound kobold allies, who brought with them their pet giant rats. They all headed to the cave of the goblins, where they quickly took out a guard room. They found that the room had a stairway leading up.

They took the stairway up, leading to the cave of the hobgoblins. They quickly attacked, knowing from their kobold "friends" that they are allies of the goblins. After quickly striking them down they explored the cave for a bit, before turning back, with me hinting that bad things might happen if they were stuck in the dungeon between sessions. After rewarding their kobold allies they headed back to the Keep.

Borderlands Campaign Session Two

 We had two players for this one, Delly Ishues the Halfling and Ashton Scholastic the magic-user. They sought out the services of an NPC, the 3rd level fighter Dania, a seasoned warrior from northeast of the Worldscar. After provisioning themselves and paying a visit to the guild house they set out for the Caves.

 Arriving at the caves they entered the kobold cave. They quickly laid into the kobolds, dispatching most of them through clever tactics using lamp oil. Arriving at the main chamber of the cave they discovered the warriors that survived guarding the women and young. They parleyed with the kobolds and got them to surrender. Then they met with the kobold chieftain and with a Charm Person spell managed to get them on their side for further expeditions into other caves. Then they returned to the Keep.

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."

The Halls of Knowledge and the Azure Havens

 So I have been giving more thought to my Post-Apocalyptic Alfheim campaign and my megadungeon now has a name- The Halls of Knowledge. Or possibly Halls of Divine Knowledge. Also, I have decided that I will be saving the creation of this adventure for later and for now will be focusing on a simpler scenario to start the game. Here is some of the background I have been developing

The campaign will start off in the Azure Havens, a series of elven nations along the eastern coast of the continent. Specifically, one of their cities has been greatly expanded to accommodate traffic from the continent to the east, one more similar to medieval Europe. This is where many of the elves emigrated long, long ago due to a second, less destructive schism with those who wanted to follow the leader of the Great War as their Overking and those that did not. Essentially those that followed the Overking were high elves and those that did not are wood elves, though I am uncertain as to whether I will have a mechanical difference between the two.

 This city is a mix between the old elven city and newer, largely human architecture. There are large sections devoted to the armies coming from the lands of men. Much of this is devoted to kinds of entertainment that the elves would eschew... Not far from this city is a citadel that has been destroyed by the goblinoid horde and has yet to be reclaimed... partly because the ruins have been occupied by fell creatures, including some remaining goblinoids. To clear out this citadel will be an early goal of the campaign. I am considering even having a portal to the Halls of Knowledge in the ruins of the citadel.

 I have given some thought to the other races. The dwarves are also generally split into hill and mountain dwarves...  with "hill dwarves" being those on the outskirts of the dwarven hegemonies (there are seven, one for each of the dwarven forefathers, though some are more centralized/intact than others) and the "mountain dwarves" are those in the metropolitan heartland, including the subterranean homelands, each centralized aground a great "manor," that may or may not be still inhabited by its original denizens. Except on the elven continent are the duergar, who dug too greedily and too deep and disturbed eldritch beings which altered them. Part of the drow have been corrupted by these same eldritch creatures after being driven into the depths of the world by their goblinoid former servants (though some remain under the drow's aegis).

Post-Apocalyptic Alfheim

 Well while I do want to continue that campaign, my Fate of the Realms campaign is facing difficulties. Therefore I have given some thought into future campaigns I would like to run. In particular, one I call "Post-Apocalyptic Alfheim" seems most promising. Basically its a setting that is many, many years after the war between the elves and drow, except in this world it took on apocalyptic levels due to the presence of advanced technology. 

The advanced technology the elves had came directly from their gods, which is kind of meant to have taught them and other gods not to do that sort of thing. Possibly even having led them to curtail the advancements of other settings. Now the goblins and orcs have used leftover advanced technology to conquer much of the elven continent, leading to the elves importing adventurers and mercenaries from other lands to defeat the goblinoid hordes.

 I am giving some thought to a megadungeon to go with the setting, but am considering delaying that due to the sheer scale of building a megadungeon along with the complications added by the atypical setting. One idea I had was an elven arcology. Another was a large science facility like Half-Life's Black Mesa or Fallout's Big MT. One complication with this is a difficulty in deciding where to begin with this project. So I am considering starting off with some smaller adventures. I still could use some help with deciding what that smaller adventure should be like.

Fate of the Realms: Session Four

Well, we've had some... chaos. Some players have left, others have joined. So last session we had the group start off back at the beginning of the dungeon. They decided to explore the north, where the goblins of the Sluggard tribe inhabit. They explored the regions around their lair. They discovered a group of goblins that, unbeknownst to them where spying on the Sluggards. They still managed to pass them by peaceably. Then they encountered some ghouls, that they quickly dispatched, though the Dagger of Savras, our mage-hunting ranger was exposed to ghoul fever.

After that they discovered a long corridor filled with statues of warriors. In this corridor they encountered orcs that they decided to allow to pass uncontested. They found a large room with a bejeweled statue of bones. They decided to leave it alone. They then discovered more barricades of the Greyhawk Construction Company, so decided to go south.  However, they soon found a room that had a trapped door. They did trigger the trap, avoiding being hit with a clever maneuver, but then managed to disable it. In the room they found a chest of gold and silver. Then they did a little more exploring of some confusing corridors, but heard some fighting to the south. At about that point we decided to wrap up for the night.

 I find the players to be very cautious. At first they didn't want to open doors at all. They are also very task oriented. They want to find that runestone and are less interest in incidental treasure. 

Fate of the Realms: Sessions One and Two

 So, we started the campaign and the first session was a bit chaotic. I must admit that "roleplay" isn't my forte, but I was perhaps anxious that day. So I decided to play that up with the NPC patron- a wizard named Qia Lien, secretly a chronomancer from the time of 5e. I didn't describe her as being from Kara Tur, but perhaps I should with that name. I had to cut the session short, but before that we got the initial meeting and objective of the adventure down. The PCs have to seek out a Runestone that Halaster was using to try to forestall an upcoming disaster. One character was able to get a bit of an indication of the secrets surrounding the wizard.

 So in the second session they descended into Undermountain.  They almost immediately encountered a lesser caryatid column (actually a modified animated object) in a antimagic field in a hall full of pillars. This... was a slog. It was a slog the first time even without the antimagic field (I forgot about that in the first attempt at this campaign). I'm not running it a third time, but if I did, then it would not include this encounter. The encounter as written in the module (Expedition to Undermountain), would have probably been even worse, with an actual caryatid column. Honestly, if you ever want to run Undermountain in 3e other modules featuring the megadungeon may be better.

  After the exploration of some corridors north of the hall of pillars. They found a barricade with "Greyhawk Construction Company" on it. Bypassing it they encountered a recently constructed brick wall. Confounded by this they withdrew.

Soon afterwards they encountered some goblins. Seeing them to not be immediately hostile they parlayed. The goblins explained that this was their territory and that the PCs could obtain a token in exchange for gold. The PCs reacted by claiming that by destroying the lesser caryatid column. The goblins agreed and they got the token. They then returned to the hall of pillars to rest. 

Fate of the Realms A Forgotten Realms campaign

Fate of the Realms is my newest D&D campaign, using 3.5 with the Trailblazer rules. Trailblazer is something of an overhaul of the 3.5 system, but more compatible with it than Pathfinder. The basic premise of the campaign is that a Chronomancer travels back in time from about one century in the future and seeks to prevent the Spellplague from ever happening. She recruits our heroes for the task, actually knowing them from the future. Unfortunately, she doesn't actually know exactly what started the Spellplague, though she knows it was triggered by Mystra's death at the hands of Cyric.

Therefore she has our heroes enter Undermountain shortly after the death of Halaster Blackcloak,who also sought to avert the coming disaster though he did not know the exact nature of the threat. Their goal is a Runestone that may allow the Chronomancer to forestall or even outright prevent the Spellplague. Unfortunately, I experienced a mass defection of players so I've had to restart, with the first game of the restarted campaign being this Saturday.

Campaign concepts I'd love to play

Here are some campaign concepts I would like to play, but have not gotten a chance to. More may come later and I may elaborate on one if there is interest.

Alfheim Wasteland: The elves once had a highly advanced technological society, before war split their race and resulted in the use of weapons of mass destruction. The elves' civilization was destroyed and most of their lands ravaged. Now ten millennia later the remnants of ancient ruins dot the wastelands, guarded by mechanical and mystical guardians. Techno-barbarian orc tribes rule much of the continent, though the remnants of the ancient elven empire hold fiercely on to the territory they retain. They have reached out to the great elven diaspora and their allies for help, promising them territory in exchange for their military services.

American Fairyland: It's Earth, but not as we know it. Two planes have collided, resulting in a fusion between the two, which resembles the world outside your window, but with magic and mythical creatures. Few remember the world as it was, with an entire history of magic having overridden our own. The culture remains fairly similar, only altered by the presence of magic. Creatures like dwarves, elves and orcs all have a place in this new world.

Guardian's Realm: A more "gonzo" setting, with inspiration taken from anime, Final Fantasy, Pokemon, etc. A deity has created their own demiplane and filled it with bits and pieces from other worlds. This deity resides at the top of a great tower, surrounding which is the principal city of the planet.


Star Wars: Destiny of the Republic: The players follow Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn on "damn-fool idealistic crusades," as the Galaxy falls into the chaos of the Clone Wars in an alternate universe. The Mandalorian Clan Wars rage, but a possibility of peace exists in the young Satine of Clan Kryze.Out of the Arkanian Civil War a galactic threat emerges, the lifeform known as Atha Prime, as well as Clone Masters who desire to gain profit from their now unused skills.

Galactic Empire Table of Organization: Lines of Battle

I am working on a revised table of organization for the Imperial Navy. Particularly, in order to provide for the larger vessels of the Empire. This post will cover Lines of Battle.

Lines of Battle

Attack Line: An attack line will contain from three to six vessels, with lines of larger vessels, heavy cruisers and Star Destroyers, being smaller and lines of smaller vessels, frigates and cruisers being larger. Their role is to engage opponents of equal size and protect larger vessels.
Battle Lines: On rare occasions multiple battleships will make up a single line, found only in the highest-priority sectors. These battle lines will include three to four battleships, i.e. battlecruiser or larger vessels.
Bombard Lines: Bombard lines can include several assault ships equipped for planetary bombardment, or one or more battlestations or dedicated siege platforms. These lines are devoted to such tasks as orbital bombardment or disabling planetary shields.
Element: In some cases a single vessel is directly assigned to a Squadron as a line unto itself. This is most commonly an Imperator-class Star Destroyer, but also includes several of the Executor-class Star Dreadnoughts.
Heavy Attack Line: A heavy attack line contains four to eight vessels, each no smaller than a light cruiser. They can perform the same roles as attack lines, but are also considered capable of operating separate of the main fleet.
Pursuit Line: A pursuit line contains between four and ten starships, usually light cruisers, but sometimes smaller vessels, like corvettes. Their role is to maintain contact with fleeing vessels and attempt to calculate their jump coordinates. Carrack-class light cruisers or Velox-class Star Frigates tend to be assigned to these lines.
Recon Line: A recon line contains two to four vessels, usually recon variants on existing light cruiser hulls, or dedicated reconnaissance vessels. These lines do not participate in combat, but instead attempt to discover the enemy's position and then report back.
Specialist Line: Including such roles as carrier support and troop transport, these lines consist of one or more specialist vessels as well as two to four escorts of a type depending on the vessels they are supposed to escort.
Skirmish Line: Consisting of at least four vessels, but frequently at least three times that many. These are usually corvettes, but can also be smaller carriers such as the Quasar Fire-class or Ton-Falk-class as well as small gunships like the Skipray Blastboat.

Hello!

Hey, long time no post I know, but I am going to try to post again. Right now I am not doing much gaming, but I am hoping to start. I am playing a one-on-one game with my sister, set in Greyhawk and using first edition Pathfinder. I am also starting an Edge of the Empire campaign on roll20.net: https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/144352/rise-and-fall-of-the-zann-consortium

Temple of the Underworld: Adventures on the Planes

I have been playing a new campaign for a few months now. It is 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons rules in a campaign world of my design. It is focused on a megadungeon called the Temple of the Underworld, which was, as it's name suggests was devoted to deities of the dead or the underworld. The elven deity Labelas Enoreth, though devoted to longevity, is the closest thing that the elves have to a deity of the dead and thus also worshiped there.

The first couple of sessions were rather routine explorations of the first level of the dungeon, with a very brief foray into a flooded sub-level. However the campaign would be uprooted by the actions of the dwarven fighter Grell defiled a shrine devoted to a demigod son of Zeus. This angered Zeus, so Zeus sent a spirit to confront the PCs and give them a quest to fulfill. They were to travel to the Temple of Zeus far to the south and present themselves to the priest their for further instructions. They... didn't make it.

In order to get horses to expedite their journey they agreed to do a task for the local count. They followed a map to what was once a bandit's lair, but turned out to currently be inhabited by orcs. They did alright at first, but due to my lack of understanding of 5e encounter difficulties ended up running into an overwhelming group of orcs that quickly defeated them (I am strongly considering using converted stats from 1e or 2e rather than the existing 5e stats). Instead of allowing this to end in a TPK I judged that Zeus, wanting to insure that the PCs did not die without fulfilling their obligation to him rescued them.

They awoke in the presence of Zeus himself. Zeus bade them again to go to his temple, but this time the one in the extraplanar city of Sigil. The PCs agreed, but before leaving Olympus sought an audience with Ares, who granted it because the Count was preparing for a war and had his favor. So Ares granted them another quest in exchange for assistance, including a guide, which was a new PC (one who only showed up for one game as it turned out). The PCs then sought out the Great Eagles of Zeus, the descendants of the giant, golden eagle that is Zeus's personal companion.

Before they made it to the roost of the Eagles they encountered a dryad in a grove on the slopes of Mount Olympus. It charmed their guide and when they attempted to leave with him she summoned two wolves to attack the PCs. However they were able to smooth things over by mentioning their obligation to Zeus. When they met the Great Eagles they again mentioned their obligation to Zeus in order to secure their aid. Thus they secured a ride to the town of Thrassos, where there was a portal to the gate town of Glorium, from where they could get to Sigil. However, to access the portal they needed the consent of the town elders. It took some time to secure that consent from the busy elders, so while they waited they sought out a mage to send a message to the Count on the Material Plane. The halfling rogue, Himaru, was dismayed that unlike many of his companions he could not see in the dark and so commissioned a magic item that would make up for this weakness. The mage agreed in exchange for money, trade and a service. It seemed a certain house in town was the site of mysterious events.

They set out for the house and quickly experienced a number of strange phenomena, including two parallel passages that led back to the other and an unusual creature, like an ambulatory bush that was responsible for the strange phenomena. I used the The Random Esoteric Creature Generator by James Raggi to create this creature. They did not want to fight this bizarre creature and so parlayed. The creature seemed interested only in being left alone, so they left, but warned the creature that they could not guarantee others would not come. They did advise the mage of what they found. The PCs also took on another quest in order to hopefully expedite their audience with the elders. They pursued a priest of Loki to a nearby cave where they discovered a hidden, ruined temple to Loki. They soon found the priest, accompanied by hirelings and learned that he was searching for what he described as a Hammer of Thunderbolts with a short handle.

After a short time they fought a group of norkers and their orc allies. While the PCs were dealing with a group of goblins that arrived as a random encounter, pursuing them as they fled, the priest and his party slipped away and discovered their goal in a nearby hidden room. The PCs soon realized what was happening and hurried after them, discovering the priest trying to tip over a pedestal so that the hammer would fall in. After the battle the PCs realized what the hammer was, no mere Hammer of Thunderbolts but the Hammer of Thor himself, Mjolnir. The PCs resolved to return the hammer to Thor, not wanting to anger him by trying to keep it, not that they had any way to use the hammer. Of course by hindering Loki's priest they attracted the attention of Loki, but would hopefully have the favor of Thor.

After another week they elders could finally let them through the portal. In Glorium they sought out the Temple of Odin, which contained shrines to other deities, including Thor. They prayed at the shrine and Thor himself appeared. After a demonstration in which a tree was demolished by Mjolnir's power Thor granted boons- Boots and a Cloak of Elvenkind for the rogue and a ring of Enlarge/Reduce for the dwarf. Thor also directed them to the portal.

Finally they arrived in Sigil, the portal leading to the Great Gymnasium, headquarters of the Transcendent Order, one of several factions that held influence over the city. They were ushered out of the building by guards as the gymnasium was closed to the public at that time. They sought out a guide and found one, an Azer. He agreed to show them to the Temples of Zeus and Ares in the city and they got their new quests- find the relic that started the whole thing and bring it back to the Temple of Zeus and travel to a dungeon on the world of Abeir-Toril and share it with the Count. They were able to find a portal that led to the depths of the Temple of the Underworld (one I intended for them to find during there adventuring originally) and started searching for the shrine, since they came out in an unfamiliar area. They encountered Manes demons and Shadow Demon and a swarm of ambulatory fungi, before deciding to take a rest, which is where things stand now.