Cheap Stuff!!!

It remains to be seen whether Fourth Edition will suck or not, but here's an early upside: Green Ronin's 3.5 fire sale.

Lummossey part deux

Lummox spun the tale for his children of how he and his band of brave and strange compatriots fought their way through the Temple of Water. Their eyes were full of wonder and delight.
"Is that where you met Mommy," one of them asked.
"No, son," Lummox grinned. "I met her a little bit later."
As he spun the tale of the defeat of Tharizdun, his mind wandered back to the times and travels that came after that great victory:
He and his band had become heroes, but not very many in this land knew of their struggle, and that was all to the better. The life of a ranger should not be complicated by fame. Unfortunately, he knew that the bard would make sure at least some knew the name of Lummox Fairheart, but what else can you expect from a bard. Lummox grinned at the thought of his musical friend and at the memory of his other friends. He wondered if he would ever see them again. He hoped he would.
It had been three days of travel since Verbobonc and so far it was a pretty uneventful trip. It seemed that even the wild creatures who lived in this area were calming after Tharizdun's defeat and he was not bothered by them while camping at night. The most excitement he had seen at all was the young rogue who had shared his fire last night. He was young and unfortunately, foolish. He was worse at picking pockets than Leelu. He had waited for Lummox to settle down for the night and took the first watch. The problem was, he didn't actually make sure the dwarf was sleeping before he tried to pilfer his packs. It wasn't much of a struggle and the knots held for the night. Unfortunately, the poor, thieving thing didn't get much sleep. Lummox released him in the morning and watched him as he disappeared down the road before packing up and taking flight again. But even that wasn't enough to get the dwarf's blood pumping again.
As he flew on, he wished for a real fight. Something he could let loose on. It was another day before he got his wish.
Flying low over a small wooded area, letting Fluffy hunt freely for something to eat, there was a loud scream of pain and rage. Lummox tugged at the reins and pulled the griffin towards the sound. As he neared a small break in the trees, he saw a form burst from the trees and run into the center of the clearing. It was a warrior decked in full armor, heaving a great sword, and wearing a face mask molded into a snarling face, filled with rage. The warrior was short, probably a dwarf as well. Lummox landed the griffin nearby and the warrior turned ready to fight. Lummox dismounted and drew his axe. It gleamed in the sunlight and seemed to take on a glow of it's own.
"Never turn your back on a fight, boy," Lummox shouted at the dwarven warrior as three large owlbears broke the tree line. The warrior turned and raised his sword, ready to spill some blood. Lummox loosed Fluffy's reigns and commanded her to attack the nearest owlbear as he headed for the largest of the group. The third cam directly for his fighting companion, cries of rage issuing from its throat. The warrior issues his own scream of rage, his voice high-pitched and cracking as he advance on the creature at a full run. With flash of sunlight from the shimmering blade held in his hands, he hacked into the shoulder of the owlbear and it shrieks in again and fell back. As it stumbled, the warrior spun and swung his leg at the beast and swept the feet from beneath it. With a thundering crash, the creature landed on it's back, which worked to my advantage, as it distracted the owlbear I was fighting long enough for me to catch him flat-footed. I struck with a lethal hit to the creatures skull and it fell, dead at my feet. Fluffy made short work of hers as well and was happily gnawing on the carcass. I turned to see if our new friend needed some assistance, but he had quickly dispatched the fallen creature and was wiping the blood from his blade.
I strode over to him and extended my hand.
"Good fight, friend. I am Lummox Fairheart."
"Laura," he said unstrapping his helmet.
"Laura? That's a woman's name. What kind of warrior is named Laura?"
As the helmet was removed, it revealed a face of gentle features supporting fierce and firey eyes. "It's not an unusual name for a woman warrior."
"But... but..." Lummox stammered. "You're a girl."
"And you have a short beard," she replied with a wry grin.

A Beautiful Place to Live

For many, the city of Verbobonc is an ideal place to live. A free town that answers to no higher lord. A center of commerce that is small enough to remain a close-knit community. A place of charm. Yet it also seems to be a magnet of evil. The Temple of Elemental Evil. The Cult of Tharizdun. Horrors yet unknown. After the most recent threat--Tharizdun--was eliminated, for instance, everyone was prepared to settle in for a period of peace and prosperity. Yet a new evil had already taken root in the bowels of the city. An alien evil. It tried to hide for a time, but eventually tendrils of its spreading foulness began to show. The city's leaders sent brave souls to investigate, but none were heard from again. Finally the master of the Silver Consortium himself was able to divine a name: Aerin. It turned out one of the champions who had defeated the Cult of Tharizdun had not escaped the enterprise untainted. Juelihm gathered the powerful personages of the city--Ingish Blackhand, the druid Reshaph, the bishop of the cathedral of Pelor, champions from the new church of St. Hadrian, Mia Dragonslayer--and headed into Aerin's foul lair to expell him from their fair city. He had dug himself in deep, and in the end it was the recalled hero Degolar who made the difference. Aerin was defeated, banished to the alien plane that had already seized his soul. And Verbobonc was once again free from evil. For now.

My friend Kenny is my newest buddy

I told him I was turning 30 this year and he said (without a pause or doubt):
"You're not getting old. You're leveling."

The Tale the Bard Tells

Torias was a mighty warrior who used powerful magics to make himself great in combat. He was a core member of the group that put down the latest resurgence of the cult of Tharizdun. Among his party members were two he came to love. One love was consumated, the other known only to him. He found he couldn't live without either. As long as they journeyed together with a purpose, all was well. Once they had defeated the cult, though, the party splintered. His secret love left to live the life of a wandering minstrel. Torias tried to console himself with the companionship of his lover, but was eventually overcome with longing for his secret love and his heart split in two. In a fit of grief and passion, he hung himself. And thus ended the tragedy that is the tale of Torias.