A Conversation with Pavo Baradin

A waste of breath.

What? Oh, well you just muttered a quick prayer, right? You’re wasting your breath.

No offense meant, I just think you’d be much better off focusing your energy--and belief--on your own ability to accomplish the task than relying on some distant figure who doesn’t really care about your problems.

No, no, I understand he’s a benevolent god who only wants what’s best for the world, it’s just . . . look, are you sure you want to get into this? I’m going to be rather heretical and you may not like what I have to say. Can you keep an open mind and give me a fair listen? Because once I’m done I think you’ll be glad you did.

Ok . . . see those people drifting in and out of that temple across the street? They’re making themselves slaves, every one of them. Subjugating themselves. Lowering their value in the eyes of the world and, most importantly, in their own eyes. They could be working to better themselves and help each other, but instead they sit around praying and hoping and wishing that their god will somehow take care of it all for them.

And, sure, the god might help out some. The priests will channel his power to heal them and address their other needs, but it’s always for a price. If they’re not baldly taking money in exchange for these so-called favors, they’re taking dignity—in exchange for the god’s blessing you must worship the god, tell yourself and the world that the god is a higher level being than anyone else, more worthy of worship than anyone else. Ultimately, it’s not about you, it’s about furthering the god’s ends and raising him up as superior. Always, in the end, it’s about him, about them. They only help us to help themselves.

Well, I say don’t worship any gods, worship yourself.

Sure, they may have more power than you or I, they may be able to create miracles and alter the fabric of world. I’m not disputing their power. I’m arguing that doesn’t make them any more inherently valuable than anyone else. It’s a bully mentality. They’re saying, “I have all the power so I’m better than you. I’m grander. I’m more important. You’re a fly that I may notice enough to help out every once in a while, but really you’re nothing when compared to me. I’m stronger so I get to be the boss. Now go out and tell everyone else how wonderful I am, because you don’t really matter.”

Well, I say it’s not about who has the most power. Your existence is just as important as any god’s, and you don’t need to feel like you’re any less than any other being. You matter just as much as that god.

And you know what? You do have power. I have power, and he and she have power. We are all of us divine, if we just take the right perspective and know where to look.

How do I know? Because I’ve learned to tap into that power. I’m just beginning to understand the potential and how to draw on it. The gods get their power by standing on top of others. But by learning that divinity isn’t just about the gods but about all life everywhere, I’ve learned that when we focus on mutually lifting each other up we can make our own magic. Not when it’s just you or just me, but when it’s us. We do it together. When I can find the divinity in you and you can find the divinity in me, when we truly believe that we are all divine and don’t need to subjugate ourselves to gods or anyone, we can reach the power that gives us life.

But I’m talking in abstracts, here. Maybe it would be helpful if I told you my story so you could see how I’ve come to believe what I do . . .

(to be continued)

Fighter Flight of Fancy

Drebin leaned against the plow, resting from his work. It had been a long day and would probably only lead to another hard day tomorrow. He had wanted to finish the field like his father told him, but over the winter months, the mole weed had snuck in and taken up root a good hand length beneath the surface. Its tough, sinewy root system had criss-crossed the field like a giant spider web and it was taking far too long to pull or cut the blasted tendrils of thorny plant loose from the ground. It would probably take an extra two days, just to clear the field and finish plowing the rows for planting. That is, it will if the damned root doesn’t re-grow and heal itself in the mean-time. Drebin reached and picked up a chunk of the mole weed and glared at it.

“It’s your fault, you know,” he said to the lump of putrid brown vegetation in his hand. “Right now, I could be out with my friends practicing with old Veren, the king’s old arms master. I could be learning how to use the sword and shield. I could be learning the ways of battle so I can get out of this forsaken pit of land. I could become a great warrior and join a band of adventurers and see the world. But because of you, I am stuck here, even longer in fact, to have to toil over this stupid chunk of land. Having to push this plow behind this stubborn horse…”

The beast turned its head toward Drebin.

“Just kidding, girl,” he said, patting her rump. “I just wanted to see if you were listening.” He dropped the weed back to rest with the rest of the pulled roots, into the bag he had tied to the handle of the plow so he could burn them all later and not give them a chance to sprout again and ruin the fields.

As he did, he thought about how much like the weed he was. How much he wanted to grow, to spread out across the land and see new things. But, like the weed, he was cut short and would probably be stuck in this bag until the day he too would be tossed into the void, never to grow again. This only depressed him more. He tugged the reigns and the plow moved forward. Drebin’s well toned and muscled arms kept it steady and the row straight.

A distance off, an old man lifted his head from over a scrying glass and smiled.

So, he thought, young Drebin wishes to be freed of his responsibilities at home so he can go out and see the world. Well, perhaps he shall get his chance.

A dark chuckle curved the lips of the old hedge wizard. He had been watching Drebin for some time now. The boy had caught his lustful eye some time ago when Drebin and his family had come into the heart of town for the festival of harvest. The old man spotted him in the crowd and followed him for hours, taking in every inch of him with a vile and shameless glare. From that day forth, the old wizard, Carrem, had been keeping a very close eye on the boy. An eye that now sparkled with the light of a cruel design that was forming in his mind.
---------------

Drebin awoke with a start. He could feel the presence of someone in his room. He looked around, but there was no one there. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and slow his heart, which had begun beating quickly with fright. He closed his eyes and could hear the beat of it in his ears. He took deep calming breaths until it had finally slowed to its normal rhythm.

What was that about, he thought to himself. He took another look around the room and still, there was no one there. He moved to lie back down, but stopped when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. To the right of his bed, near the doorway, he could barely make out a shadow on the wall. It was very difficult to see, but there was definitely something there. He started to rise from his bed to investigate, but was stopped as the shadow formed into the dimly lit form of an old man.

Drebin tried to call out, but the man moved his hand, sweeping the air, as if sweeping away flies, and to his surprise, Drebin could no longer speak. He could feel his lips moving, but nothing escaped them. Panic rose in Drebin and a sense of doom washed through him like wave upon the sand.

“Fear not, young one,” the old man said with a wry grin, “the effect is not permanent. Please relax and will tell you why I am here.”

Drebin eyed him cautiously and settled back against his headboard.

“That’s better,” the old man said, seating himself on the chair next to Drebin’s bed. Drebin scooted away from the man as he did this.

“You must forgive my brashness,” the old man said, “I could not help myself. I suppose some kind of introduction is in order. I am Carrem.” Drebin’s eyes widened at the name.

“And I see from your expression,” Carrem continued, “that you have heard of me.”

Drebin had heard of him. All of the town’s people knew that name. It was known throughout the small village of Berden, and probably throughout the town of Litram to the north, that name was. The name Carrem was to be feared by many of the mothers and fathers for many miles. This name was synonymous with the words “monster” and “fiend.” The stories of him varied, but all had the same base to them. Carrem was a stealer of children. It was said that he did terrible things to them until he grew tired of them, or until he used them up completely. Either way, there was nothing left of the child, alive or dead, when Carrem had finished with them.

Drebin drew away further, nearly falling off of his bed in the effort.

Carrem only sighed.

“I see you have heard those stories,” the old man said, shaking his head wearily. “You probably will not believe a word I say, but I tell you now, they have been fabricated and manipulated to the point of horror tales that children tell one another around a camp fire. They are not true, young lad. If they were that bad, why has no one come to destroy me for my evil ways? Why have I not been brought to justice? As you can see, I am but an old man, and can hardly defend myself.

“Yes, the tales call me a dark wizard, and yes, they tell of my great powers, but they are also highly exaggerated. It is true I have some powers of magic, but none the likes of the tales. Why, it took much of what little power I have to keep your tongue still for a limited time. I so worn from the effort, I cannot even remain on my feet until I rest a bit,” he said, motioning to the chair in which he now sat.

“But,” he resumed, “that is neither here nor yonder. I have come with a gift, my young friend. I have come with tidings of good will and of freedom for you, lad.”

At this, he reached behind himself and pulled out a bag. It seemed nearly empty to Drebin’s eyes, but when the old man reached in and pulled his hand back out, it was holding a large shield. Drebin looked back at the bag, which was scarcely half the size of the shield. His amazement at the sight must have been apparent, because Carrem grinned widely with amusement.

“Ah, yes,” the old man said, “I suppose you have probably never seen one of these before, have you my young friend. This,” he said, holding up the bag, “is called a ‘bag of holding.’ I wish I could take credit for its astounding power to hold such large items in such a small space, but unfortunately, I cannot. I can, however, take credit for this,” he said, nodding to the shield.

“This,” he went on, “is a very special shield indeed. It took me a very long time to craft it. It holds within it the power to deflect fire. It will stop the flame from reaching you, no matter how hot it may burn.” He handed the shield to Drebin, who took it cautiously.

“And there is more,” Carrem said, “much more.” He reached into his bag again and drew out a sheathed sword. He handed that over to Drebin as well. Drebin was so enamored with the object that not even his fear of the old man slowed him from taking it from Carrem’s hands. He drew the blade from the sheath and it shone as if lit by sunlight. The silvery glow of the blade seems to fade a little, but it seemed to keep a constant aura of light that lit the room around him as well as any candle. He swept the blade through the air, and he could swear it sang to him.

“You see,” Carrem said, startling Drebin, who had been caught up so much by the sword that he had forgotten the old man was still there. “If I meant you harm, why would I give you a means to fight me? No, no, my boy. As I said before, I am here to aid you in your upcoming quest.”

“Quest,” Drebin said, and then started, realizing he could speak again. He was tempted to call out for help again, but was too intrigued by the idea that he may have the chance he had been waiting for handed to him.

“Yes, my boy,” Carrem said, a smile spreading across his lips and a gleam leaping to his eye. The boy was like a fish on the line now. All he had to do was pull him to shore before he knew he was caught by the hook, and the boy would be his.

“You see,” he went on, “I have chosen you to be a warrior of justice in the land. You must go forth from here and right a great wrong that is being done, and with this sword, you now have the strength to do just that. It was forged in the halls of the dwarves. It has the power to defeat a creature of great evil in the land, and you, my strong and handsome lad, shall be the one to banish it.”

Drebin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was too good to be true, and yet, something deep inside of him told him it was so. He would be the one to save the land from darkness and shine the light of hope in the hearts of others, throughout the world. His gaze kept shifting back to the glowing sword in his hand. The more he gazed upon it, the more his confidence grew.

Carrem saw the boy’s staring upon the sword and knew it was only a matter of time. Soon the spell he had placed upon it would take hold and the boy’s mind would be lost in a cloud of shifting dreams and imagination, but the rest of the boy, would be his to command. He would follow any order given without a second thought as the rest of his mind fought of countless dragons or ogres or whatever beasties the boy wished to slay. He would not feel the atrocities the old man would lay on his body, or if he did, they would meld into the dream and Carrem could have his way.

“And finally,” the wizard said, no longer hiding the lust in his eyes, since the boy was so far gone that he would no longer see it, “the last gift.” He reached into his bag and drew out one last piece.

Drebin watched and saw a piece of shining chain mail unfurl in the old man’s grasp. It was dazzling. It flashed and flickered in the light of the sword. At the thought of the sword, Drebin’s eyes were drawn back to it.

“This,” Carrem said, “is a very special piece of armor. It is so light weight, you will not even feel it against your body, but it is so strong that not even the strongest orc with the sharpest axe can damage it in the least.”

The thin length of chain in Carrem’s hands dangled limply and dully in his hands. Years of rust and dried blood encrusted it and chipped off as it swung. It would guarantee that the boy would never be free of him or the charm. It had been cast by the old man and enchanted so that it would invade the mind of any who wore it to make them docile and pliant to the will of its maker.

“Let me put it on you, my young warrior,” the wizard said, moving beside the boy. Drebin, transfixed by the sword merely nodded.

As the old man moved to put the chain around the boy’s neck, Drebin gazed at his reflection in the blade. In the silvery glow of the blade he could see what the wizard truly held. It broke the charm upon him and he tried to shake it from his head. Carrem saw the boy trying to free himself from the spell and moved to snap the chain into place, but Drebin pushed him away, flinging him from the bed. As the boy cleared his head, he saw that the shield he held had not changed, but the sword no longer held its glow. It looked so much less magnificent that Drebin, for a moment, regretted letting go of the vision. As he the thought crossed his mind, the sword, for a moment, began to gain some of its brilliance again, but Drebin knew it to be false now and it quickly washed away again.

Carrem had gained his feet again, chain dangling from one of his fists.

“Strong willed are we,” he hissed out as he stood. “Then perhaps we need a different approach.” At this he threw up his hands and dart of light flew from his fingers. Drebin dodged out of the way and swung his sword in the small distance between them. He felt it connect and rolled to his feet, like Veren had taught him. He focused back on the wizard who was now clutching a gash in his arm that was bleeding profusely.

The mage cried out, “You little son of a whore! You have no idea what you are dealing with.”

“I do now,” Drebin said, gripping the sword tighter. “I’m dealing with nothing more than a filthy old man who can throw around some spells.” The wizard cast another spell, but again, Drebin dodged it, moving closer to the door. He called out to warn the rest of the household that there was danger and to rouse help. Carrem started to laugh, his face going pale and his eyes filling with madness.

“You won’t be laughing when my father gets here with his bow,” Drebin said, smiling at the thought that he might get out of this alive. “He can hit a knot in a tree at fifty paces, you should pose no threat.”

The old man was nearly doubled over laughing. He took a deep breath and the laughter halted. He stared into Drebin’s eyes and said, with menace, “You young, delicious fool. No one is coming to aid you. I took the precaution of slitting their throats in their sleep, and yes, that includes that little sister of yours. Wouldn’t want her running off for help, now would we?”

The words struck Drebin like a blow and he was stunned for a moment. The thought of the loss of his sister, Heana, at any other time, would have taken him to his knees, but now it only enraged him and focused his will to stop the mad man in front of him. The mad man who had just raised his unwounded arm to cast another spell. He turned aside from it and blocked the brunt of it with his shield and swung out with his sword, severing the raised arm. He then spun and plunged the blade deep into the wizard’s chest.

“You,” Carrem groaned, “how… you can’t… I can’t… die. Not now.”

“You can,” grunted Drebin, twisting the weapon deeper, “and you will.”

The old man’s lifeless form dropped to the floor. Drebin felt a wave of relief wash over him, then a flood of grief. His family was dead. Tears filled his eyes, but then a thought occurred to him. The wizard may have been lying. He rushed towards the door, but as he turned, he saw it was engulfed in flames. The fire licked from the door frame and was spreading to the ceiling on either side. The heat was intense, but he had to get through, then he thought of the shield. It was fire proof. It would protect him. He put it in front of him and rushed through the flames, hoping it would be safe on the other side.

As was everything else from the wizard said, the resistance of the shield to fire was minimal. Drebin was lucky enough to be through them and safe on a barely touched other side of them, but he had to pat out several patches of his clothing that had caught flame and he flung aside the shield, which was now scalding hot. He had only one thing in mind though and pushed all else away for the time being. He had to check on his family.

He reached his sister’s room and found she was not in bed. He was relieved at this much. It looked as though the wizard had been lying after all. He checked up the hall and saw the flames advancing, quickly. He rushed down to his parents’ room and flung open the door.

The sight took his legs out from under him and he crumpled to his knees. There, in their bed, lay his parents, their throats sliced open and gaping. In their arms lay his Heana’s body. Her throat was also slit open, and on her face was a horrified, open eyed shriek. She had been awake when the bastard had killed her. Drebin’s eyes filled with tears, but they soon dried in the heat from the flames. He looked up the hall and the flames were all around him now. His only way out was through the window over his parents’ bed. He would have to climb over the bodies to get out. For a moment, he was tempted to just lay down with them and die, but then something inside him made him get up. He was moving towards the window before he realized it and was soon on the other side, burned patches of skin and glass cuts on others. He was running from the house as fast as he could as his past burned behind him. The only thing left were the clothes on his back and the sword in his hand. He had no idea where he would go, but he knew it had to be far from here.
---------------

He ended up in the town of Litram. He arrived with not even a copper to his name. He found a shop in the town that sold weapons and offered to sell them his sword. He needed the money for food, but the shop keepers merely laughed in his face, telling him what he had already guessed: the sword was worthless.

For two weeks, he lived on garbage and charity, but not much of either. No one wanted his sword and no one cared what became of him. One night, while he slept, three pick-pockets tried to steal the few coppers he had gathered together from what people gave him out of pity. He awoke and caught them, but only to be beaten to within an inch of his life. His sword had done him no good either. They had quickly disarmed him and kicked and battered him until he was unable to even move. They took every last copper on him, and his clothes, leaving only his undergarments, ripped and barely clinging to his waist. They left the sword.

When he awoke, he was barely able to move, but somehow he rose to his feet and wandered down an alley. He decided there and then that he would find an out of the way place and fall upon his sword. There was nothing left for him here.

He raised his sword and pushed the point against his sternum. As he closed his eyes, a small tear trickled out. He leaned forward.

A piercing scream brought him up short. It was nearby, around the next corner. He lowered his sword and stumbled towards the sound.

As he turned the corner, his eyes fell on the source of the scream.

“HEANA!”

He couldn’t believe his eyes. She was alive. But she was in danger. The men who had beaten him were now turning on her.

“No,” he bellowed and he raised his sword and rushed at them. The thieves turned and were stunned for a moment at the site of a nearly naked madman rushing at them with sword raised. The first of them lost his head before he could even draw a breath. The second was quicker to respond and rushed in, knife drawn. As the thief thrust a stab Drebin, the nearly naked defender moved aside and swung in a circle, arcing the blade around with him. It landed and was buried into the thief’s back. As the second thief dropped, Drebin pulled his sword free and stood facing the third, who had a crossbow leveled at the heart of the man who had just dispatched his accomplices.

“You should have stayed where we left you,” the brigand said, pulling the trigger.

Drebin side stepped enough that the bolt missed his chest, but pierced deeply into his arm. If he felt any pain, he showed no sign of it on his face, only rage as he rushed in and brought his sword down in an over head sing into the shoulder of the last opponent. It stopped an inch below his heart. As the thief fell, the sword, and any strength Drebin had left, fell with him.

Drebin turned to their victim and reached out a hand.

“Heana,” was the only word that passed his lips as he slipped into the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It doesn’t seem like ten years, does it,” I asked Livy as we rode.

“Oh hush, Drebin,” she said back, a little blush forming. “Don’t give away my age. It might scare off the customers.”

“There’s no one around to hear us. We can talk freely, you know,” I said, grinning widely. It was a wonder though how I had lasted this long. After that night when I saved Livy from those thugs, she had taken pity on a poor, scrawny runt like me and hired me on as her personal body guard. It’s a strange life. Start out a pathetic yokel, and ten measly years later, end up as a pretty well off body guard with a bad eye and so many scars that you look like a patchwork quilt.

Still, besides that idiot with the bottle messing up my face and my eye along with it, it’s been pretty easy living. The occasional fight with rabid patrons, the occasional scuffle with sore losers at cards, and the other little annoyances are pretty fair trade. I get paid well. I have my freedom. I’m tied to no one, well, except Livy, but it’s not like we’re lovers or anything. She’s more like a bratty sister than anything. I could leave whenever and do whatever I want.

But why would I go anywhere? I’ve got everything I need here. Besides, she wouldn’t last a week without me.

“You know,” she said with a wry smile, “that makes you 25. You’re getting pretty old.”

I smiled and said, “And just think, in three years, you’ll be just as…”

“Hush,” she reprimanded. “You’re my guardian. You don’t get the privilege of making fun of me.”

“Since when,” I said, grinning again.

“Oh, just… hush.” And with that she trotted off ahead of me.

Yes, sir. Life is strange.

A...Bard's Tale

Trudging dolefully across a field of grain, careful not to make too great a disturbance should anyone be looking across the stalks at a distance, Claustrum Errant again cursed his ill luck. Just a week ago he had been close to being a rich, rich man…so close! And now here he was, robbed of his warm room and comfortable bed, his fine clothes ruined, his fortune…meager compared to what he was on the verge of acquiring but substantial nonetheless…all gone, abandoned when he took flight. Pausing for a moment to indulge in bout of self pity, the half-elven man continues his march through ankle deep mud and fertilizer, snorting in irritation at the necessity of ruining such fine boots.
Hours and miles later, Claustrum wearily climbs a broad limbed elm tree deep in the patch of woodlands he was slipping through, preferring not to be lying helpless in the dirt should any pursuer somehow have managed to follow him this far. Settling back against the bole of the large tree to try and find a somewhat comfortable position to sleep, he once again considers the events that brought him to this juncture in his life.

Born In the Absalom, the city at the center of the world, he was the son of a couple of well meaning, if self centered government employees. For a time in his childhood his father had even managed to rise to one of the low seats on The Council. True, it had been the sanitation commission, but it was still a moderately high position for a commoner. Thus, it was perhaps natural that Claustrum picked up a thing or two about manipulation and chicanery, lessons that were only enhanced and polished when he enrolled at the Absalom Hothouse, a school for bards where he specialized in acting and mimicry, beyond the requisite study of music and culture.
Upon graduation, he had found that the prevalence of performers within Absalom was so great, that the stiff competition made eking out a living in the city a daunting task unless one had a unique draw. Lacking a talent to readily distinguish himself from the others in his field, he set sail for the mainland to ply his trade there, expanding his act and hopefully sharpening it enough that he could return home and take a place of note in the Performer’s Guild.
He quickly realized however, that scrounging for coins and trying to win the favor of a crowd just to have money for food and shelter was not exactly what he had pictured when he had chosen his path in life. A responsive crowd was a great thing, and performing for one was rewarding, both in coin and in adulation, but all too often the same act that had made the crowd at one inn cheer and toss money on the stage would be greeted with bored stares, catcalls, or worse. So it was that when chance found him wandering the streets disguised as a local noble to gauge crowd reactions, that a merchant called him into his shop. The merchant began talking, oblivious to the fact that Claustrum was not the noble. He prattled on about some trade agreement that he and the noble were engaged in, and Claustrum quickly got the impression that this deal wasn’t exactly above the table. Quickly improving, Claustrum fabricated a story about how customs officials were starting to look more closely at their operations and that expenses to keep this deal going were going to be higher than anticipated. The merchant appeared distressed, but ultimately nodded his head and before he knew it, Claustrum was walking out of the merchant’s establishment with a heavy pouch of money at his side. Trying to appear casual, Claustrum slipped into an abandoned building to change back into his regular clothes and count the money in the pouch. A small fortune in gold and silver glittered in his hands…more money than he would make in 3 months of performances! Plans started to materialize themselves then, and in order to keep suspicions down, Claustrum acted as though he wasn’t suddenly far wealthier than he had been the day before, and did shows in local inns for another 3 days to middling acclaim before moving on as any other bard would do.
However, when he entered the next city, it was not as a wandering bard, but instead apparently a man of means, who represented a distant trading syndicate here to open trade channels within the city. So began his career as a con artist, convincing merchants and nobles of this or that, most often that he represented outside trade interests seeking to establish new trade routes and collecting money in the form of bribes necessary to bring more product into the cities he was currently staying in. He had built quite a system of it, and was living quite comfortably as he travelled from country to country, having access to small samples of many highly desirable trade items to serve as props in his acts of deception, and was quickly establishing how many of the countries on the mainland were connected through trade, quite often illicitly.
All of this knowledge he turned to his advantage, and it was all going quite well, until came to the city of Cassomir, a key port city on the northern coast of the Inner Sea along the Sellen River. Given the amount of trade that came through the city from the corrupt River Kingdoms to the north, Claustrum thought it easy pickings for his scheming.
With a practiced ear he soon had followed the gossip and rumors in the town and located his likely mark; a businessman named William who ostensibly operated several mills in the city and a sometimes trader in the shipping consortiums that controlled the flow of grain throughout the Inner Sea. Posing as the owner of a textile company from Sevenarches, he claimed to have recently rediscovered the lost Nystran secret of growing silkworms and was looking for partners to invest in the operation and to aid him in distributing the bolts of silk. Given the prodigious appetite for silk of the Talderian nobility, Claustrum quickly hooked his mark.
Over the course of the next several weeks, Claustrum revisited William to offer him samples of the silk, and even showing evidence of authenticity by producing a few silkworm eggs, which he had obtained at tremendous cost from a disgraced Zho weaver he had encountered months before. After that it was a simple matter to convince William to invest tens of thousands of gold in Claustrum’s nonexistent silk making business. He just had to return at the end of the week after contracts had been drawn up and the gold would be delivered, and Claustrum could waltz out of the city a very rich man, and then just disappear back into the world.
Unfortunately, that’s when it all fell apart. Walking back through the warehouse district to William’s offices to sign the paperwork, Claustrum heard a cry of pain, and being the inquisitive type, slipped into the shadows and went to investigate. Entering a dark warehouse, he crept softly behind a row of crates and peered around the edge to see what was occurring within. Two men held a third between them, likely a dockworker to guess by his clothing, his face as an almost indistinguishable mash of bruises and cuts. Before them was a burly half-orc who questioned the man about the loss of some goods, drugs from the sound of things. When the man failed to give a satisfactory answer the half-orc lifted the man’s head up and slammed his fist into his nose, crushing it with an audible pop of broken cartilage. From the shadows near the half-orc a voice spoke, and in that moment Claustrum’s blood turned to ice in his veins. The voice of William the Miller spoke harshly from just out of sight, “The fool knows nothing. I think this betrayal goes higher in the organization. Kill him, and throw his body in the sea, I have an appointment with a silk trader to keep.” “Yes sir, Mister Butcher, I’ll take care of him and find the real traitor,” replied the brute to the departing shadow, “see that you do Karl, I would hate for you to join him.”
No one had been in Cassomir didn’t know the name of Butcher Bill, one of the most notorious crime lords in the city, but he was very careful to never let his real identity be known so authorities were never able to catch him. His legendary brutality and cold-bloodedness ensured that betraying ones loyalty to him was an almost certain, if painful, trip to an early grave. And here Claustrum was, not only betraying him, but if word of this scam leaked out, making a fool of him as well! Remaining hidden until William’s thugs departed with the doomed man to give him time to calm his nerves somewhat, he slipped back out into the fading daylight and made straight for the edge of town. He wished he could return to his room to collect his things, but every moment he gave himself to get further ahead of the inevitable pursuit, the better. He had made a serious miscalculation on his choice of mark, and unless he got very far away, and disappeared even faster, it was likely to be a fatal mistake.

Awaking a few hours later, not rested, but at least refreshed enough to continue travel; Claustrum climbed down from the tree and set off deeper into the Verduran forest figuring the River Kingdoms would be a good place to lie low for a while. Even though his story to William had identified him as coming from Sevenarches, he had never been there before in his life and had used a fake name, so with a change of his clothing and hair, he should be able to disappear completely without much trouble. As for his lost riches, he pragmatically accepted their loss and decided that perhaps it was a sign from the gods that he abandon his schemes and go back to basics and see the world through his own eyes rather than through some character whose only purpose was to swindle money from those less clever than himself. Yes, that would be just the thing, to gather material again for his act so he could return home some day, because certainly his actions over the past several years could never be aired publicly, or privately for that matter. Butcher Bill likely was quite angry with him, and it would be impossible to say for absolute certain who might carry word back to him some day, the man reputedly was not one to let go of a grudge. Perhaps he would cut his hair short, and grow a short beard; few half elves could manage much facial hair but he was perhaps blessed with more human blood in that aspect, and nothing changed a face more readily than a beard. And different clothes, less flashy, perhaps earth tones that wouldn’t show dirt from travel, ah and a pendant to Fharlanghn around his neck would really show that he was just another adventuring bard travelling with a group of adventurers, even more distance from the persona he had adopted in Cassomir! With a renewed spring in his step, Claustrum Errant began to hum one of the old tunes he had learned in school as he made his way northward.

the (still slightly ethereal) party

I received four character submissions so far. I know that there might be at least one more floating out there. Two of you have created incredibly stunning backstories. One is an excellent concept, and the last one is good. I'm impressed.

Two of you already have names for your characters. Right now, here's the make-up of the party:

• bard
  
• cleric
  
• fighter
  
• rogue / sorceror

I think that's actually a pretty good mix. Great job to those of you who submitted characters. I'll give more info soon.

Also, I'd like to narrow down the dates before we start, so that they're locked in for everyone.

Summer Sidequest 2010

I like what Scott is planning for this summer, so I want to organize another one for next year. I just want to be a player, though, so we need to figure out who will DM. May-August. Four sessions. Here's the twist. Our current pool of DMs is too big for everyone to run a game. We've got 9 potential DMs.

1. Dave
2. Rachel
3. Tiger
4. Jason
5. Brett
6. Nathan
7. Eric
8. Matt
9. Scott

So what I'm going to do is give you guys some guidelines to develop a campaign and I'm going to pick the best one. That person will DM. I'm sure this'll piss people off, but 9 DMs is an unmanageable size. I think most of you'd agree. If you're interested, let me know in the comments field.

A little more background info to think about. We're going to be playing in the Pathfinder setting, with some ties to Greyhawk (spells and deities, primarily).

Here's a map of the region. And I'm adding some nation info to the googledocs. So, check that out and decide where your character is from.

You may or may not know

I am working on a new game of my own. It is not in any existing world that I know of. It is an idea I have had for a while and I am now putting it into motion. The thing is, I'm not the best of players, so game design isn't hard, but the logistics are giving me trouble. For example, I have the maps made up for the towns and the individual houses, inns, temples, etc. And I also have the basic story (in my head, working on getting it on paper). The major issue I am running into is the rules. I suck at the rules (as many of you well know). I am making my way through the DM guide again, but am still having troubles understanding some stuff. I have been asking help of our 2 favorite DM's currently, but I know some of you have ideas and help that you may be able to lend. So, in that vein, I have created a new blog

A Whole New World

Kind of catchy, ain't it? You can almost sing it. :D
Anyway, it is for helping me get on my way, and also for telling me what you like and what you don't like in a game. Not so much rules-wise, but in general.
The game I am making is very character driven and has a lot of chances to gain experience from solving puzzles, character interactions, as well as the usual dungeon crawling.
So, that's it. I have sent you all invites so you can post there as well if you have an idea, so feel free. (sent most invites to circdesign emails, except Nates.)
Oh and I know that not everyone will be able to play, but I'm also thinking of a two party angle so we can get everyone in on some level of the game.
Thanks, and I hope to see you there.

elaboration

I've outlined races, flaws / traits, and deities. Here's the other stuff.

You'll build your characters with the 3.5 Players Handbook rules. Any class in the PH is fine. You'll be starting at a low level, it'll either be lvl 3 or 4, but i'm not sure yet. Anything that isn't in the PH needs to be run by me. Special feats, equipment, spells, etc.

Let me know what I'm leaving out.

deadline!

So far, I've got Degolar, Leelu, Lummox, and Aerin as interested parties. Excellent.

How about submitting your character ideas/backstories by April 1st? I know it's april fools day. This isn't an april fools prank though. I really am intent on running a summer game.

I got a call from Phill last week. The adventure is in, so I'm going to start pouring over it. Yay!

I'm Not An Addict...

... I swear. Anyway-- initial impressions: there seems to be a lot of overlap between classes and between races. Very similar powers and concepts and so forth. My theory is that slightly different classes are 4e's answer to multiclassing. Can't multiclass? Don't worry there's another base class that just happens to be halfway between the two classes you wanted-- without the penalties. All in all, I think that is a fair way to do it. Am I wrong about what is going on here?

So, um . . . Ravenloft?

Next game April 4?

files to help with character creation

I've got some files that I want you to be able to view. (traits / flaws, race backgrounds, core deities). I don't have all of your e-mail addresses, and I've posted the files on googledocs. Send your e-mail address to:

dm *at* circumstancedesign *dot* com

And I'll invite you.

Also, I think Degolar has a good idea about classes. If you have an idea for what class you're interested in, please send me a message. Generally, no one wants to be the cleric, so that's what I'm most worried about.

starting points for guidelines

I'm working on the guidelines. They're almost done. Right now, they include:

• Race
• Class
• Backstory
• Religion (if applicable)
• Traits / Flaws (if chosen)
  

I'm not going to give you specifics about some things. (like level, or starting gold). Right now, I don't really care about whether you're carrying a winter blanket or ring of protection. I'm more interested in your character's story, and how much I can believe in your character.

The traits and flaws are from Unearthed Arcana, but I don't expect everyone to have that. I'll give you a list with descriptions of those. They're primarily to give you a starting place to roleplay. Your character may be feeble or abrasive, and you can play off of that in your character's actions, as well as get bonuses or penalties in-game.

There are a few variant human races (like 'sub-races', if you want to call them that). These are regional races, and I'll give more information about those, too.

summer sidequest!

I'm going to break my DMing hiatus and run a short game this summer. May-August. Four sessions. Here's the twist. Our current pool of players is too big for everyone to play in. We've got 10 potential players.

1. Dave
2. Rachel
3. Tiger
4. Jason
5. Brett
6. Nathan
7. Eric
8. Matt
9. Chris

So what I'm going to do is give you guys some guidelines to develop a character and I'm going to pick the best 6. Those six will play. I'm sure this'll piss people off, but 10 is an unmanageable size. I think most of you'd agree. If you're interested, let me know in the comments field.

Videos for Your Inner Game Geek

... or for your outer game geek, I suppose.

The Legend of Neil, for those of you who are original NES fans... or fans of auto-erotic asphyxiation.

and

The Guild....

Confirming Game Tomorrow

Just to confirm, game on tomorrow normal time (630ish), I certainly hope you can make it Nate, but it sounds like tomorrow works into people's schedules and the next few won't very well...

See you tomorrow, fresh (well 3 hours after) Watchmen which I am certain will rock hard.

And um...-5 xp to Halthor, because I can.

panDeMonium

This totally looks like our DM (S not J).


















I can see him saying, "Pass the bamboo, ho ho ho."


edited



















Tell me that's not dead on.

I never thought I would say this

But I kinda agree with Gabe.

Disturbing Turn of Events

The Party:
Exploring further into the crypt hidden deep beneath Ravenloft, the all-but-invisible slip of shadow that is Oban ranges ahead of the group scouting for hidden dangers, or unnoticed treasures as the case may be. Appearing as nothing more than a mobile blot of shadow the halfling creeps forward when suddenly he staggers out from the shadows and to your collective horror, it appears that his skin has corrupted into the decay of undeath! Dropping his axe he leaps at the party with fingers hooked like claws, a feral, hungry light all that illuminates his now-dead eyes!

Oban:
As you move stealthily down the dank and dusty corridor you are suddenly overcome by a brief wave of disorientation and when you recover you find yourself laying on the rotting boards of a casket in an earthen chamber. While you gather your wits you realize to your discomfort that you are naked, and perhaps even worse, you hear several loud snuffling noises like some sort of animal testing the air. Coarse dry groans and hisses start to fill the air as the smell of death reaches your nostrils!

Going to see Watchmen hopefully Saturday afternoon and then me and Maro will caffinate up for a night of D&D! Hope to kill you all then! Also, I forbid you all from getting sick!

Strahd Eternal Effervescent

We had the poll a while back, but no clear decision. Nate never voted and Fuck All can't make any of the dates, but other than that the 14th and 21st seem to work equally well for all (including some extras). I'm going to call it in favor of the 14th. See you then.

When's the next game?

Next weekend?

Reiterating an Old Point.

Even though there has been some discussion here lately about Ptolus and 4e and the like, I think I should remake a point that I made a long long time ago. To wit: this probably isn't going to happen anytime soon. I simply don't have the time to DM anytime in the near future. This is more painfully apparent to me now than it has ever been before.

In less than a month I have to take the Multi-State Professional Responsibility Exam.

I have to make sure to graduate by not failing any of my classes and keeping up with my Law Review duties.

I have to take the Bar Exam in July. In the meantime, I have to study for the bar exam. That means, of course, that I will have to review and then be tested over EVERYTHING that I've learned in the past three years. Plus a few things that I haven't actually had classes in.


And, of course, I have to find a job.

I think all of these things will preclude me from doing anything game related (other than a possible turn as player or DM in a one-shot Saturday night game at some point), well into 2010. So, I'll be running no campaigns. I just really don't have the time. I shouldn't even be thinking about D&D right now.

Ugh.

Edited the Video

Sorry Big T. I am teh suxors.

Resources..., or How Big of a Geek am I?

So, there remains a split of opinion on 4e vs. Ptolus. Of course our options are not limited to those two. As you can see... I have resources. On the left you will note the growing collection of 4e stuff, including the first three modules. Of course, there's quite a bit of 3.0/3.5 stuff in the middle, including a bunch of modules and Ptolus. I probably should stop buying RPG books now, as I've got enough adventures to last for years and years of gameplay... but I just love collecting them. I think it is highly unlikely that I will ever DM a Basic or Expert game, but those books remain in the collection (I've had them longer than any of the rest)-- as do the Basic and Expert adventures. I wondered what the collection would look like unpacked and all in a row... not actually quite as unreasonably large as I expected. (Though this must not be all of it-- for instance there are no Star Frontiers books pictured here-- I wonder where the hell those are?)

A Poll

What Do You Want More?
	Ptolus
	4e
	Other
pollcode.com free polls

Hmmm.... Interesting.

Krod Mandoon

Krod Mandoon Series Preview

More Funny Videos
Comedians on Tour

Get Funny Ringtones
Stand-Up Comedy

Well, apparently the fucking embed won't work, so here is the link.

Quick question

Hadrian. 4E. WHEN?

Oh the Humanity!! And the Elfanity. And Dwarf.. Well you get it.

Food for Thought

For Saturday, you may all want to be thinking about how your characters would react to the woman carrying the very weapon you need to slay the master of the castle vanishing through a portal to parts unknown. As a quick reminder, her journey takes her two entire days of whipping through nightmare dimensions and hellish landscapes, being bitten and clawed by horrors beyond imagining...though she won't remember a thing other than it hurt! And then she was in the kitchen.

hmm...food for thought for a title and Len ends up in a kitchen...that was actually not intentional.

Explicit Lyrics Warning

At the end of our big campaign Degolar shared these lyrics for Kilminsk one night, then I thought better of it the next morning and took the post back down. But the song is so darn catchy, so here you go. There are better videos out there, but this one allows you to really focus on the lyrics.

Yeah.

Trying Something New

As we last parted, the twentyfourthofjanuary was mentioned for our next ritualistic gathering. Yes?

I'm sampling a new tool for after that, but don't think I like the fact that we can't have a full embed. To give it a real go, though, click and vote.

Did We Agree

On January 3?

Holy Rusted Metal Batman!

It's a Christmas miracle!

Open RPG

actually, it's what I get for working where I do. :D

I hear, the secrets that I keep...

Hey, you know what would be fun?

Not having to listen to you for once.

Besides that. You should let me out to play and I can do some exploring for you. That way, you and your fellow do-gooders will know what is ahead and won’t have to worry so much.

Yeah, and then you can get into trouble and bring a hoard of beasts and monsters down upon the rest of the group while they sleep and make them have to lose sleep to fight some horror they weren’t expecting and then blame it all on me while you squirrel yourself away in my brain somewhere, safe from the repercussions. No thanks.

You know what you need?

Some uninterrupted sleep?

No. You need some worthwhile, visceral experience. You need to get yourself dirty and explore your adventurous side a little.

Oh, you mean by fighting slews of monsters and trying to save a village from an overwhelming evil?

You sure are cranky when you don’t get your sleep.

You think?

*Sigh* Fine. Sleep then. Maybe I can take over and get some experience of my own.

You wouldn’t dare… Reik? You wouldn’t do that to us. Would you? Reik? Answer me. Oh gods in the heavens. (and so E has another fitful night of unfulfilling sleep)

Powerful Magic

Leelu had herself a Double Degolar last night.

The Return of the Sun

Walking back down the stairs from the peak of the tower, you pause to consider the shattered rubble of the Dayheart piled on the ground in the center of the floor when you notice a strange light being reflected on the broken facets of the great stone. Turning to find what the source of this light is, you are greeted by a vision unseen in these past weeks since coming to the lands of Barovia...the unclouded and bright gleam of the rising sun, peeking almost shyly over the crenelations of the atrium upon which the devil's garden grew. As the sunlight grows stronger and touches the twisted man-shapes of the trees in the garden, they begin to wither and dissolve like icemelt, emitting almost silent sighs as the souls of those trapped within are finally released.

However, even as the restored sunlight begins to burn off the long-standing mists that shrouded the valley below, their evaporating wisps remind you that though driven off in a gaseous cloud, the Master of Ravenloft still dwells in its dark depths, waiting for you, and filled with hate.

(for your part in lifting the fearful curse from the lands of Barovia, you instantly gain 1 level, putting you at 1 xp into your next level.)

So I'm Planning on the 13th

Right?

Next Game Date

Well, looking at things, the 22nd really won't work for me, so...

Friday after Thanksgiving?
Saturday after Thanksgiving?
or
Saturday December 6th?

Let the conflicts pour in!

An Uneasy Alliance

Gazing at the fleshy, disturbingly humanoid trees rooted into the stone of her garden here in the castle, Khyristrix grinds her pointed teeth in frustration at not being able to take supreme satisfaction in these, her efforts of the past decades. Gazing out across the tops of the surrounding mountains, she once again reigns in the desire to simply leave, and let her garden spread far and wide beyond the mountains, knowing that without Strahd's protection and the grounds he has given over to her, she would be unable to cultivate such well-grown specimens.

Cursing the need to venture to the Material Plane to find suitable specimens for her garden, she again ponders how she might be able to obtain more interesting subjects for her garden, as the villagers provided by Strahd and his minions don't bring out the true beauty of her creations as well as mortals that are a bit more...spirited.


Game continues Saturday night (the 8th) at my place, and the couch is all yours E.

DM (Dominus Maximus)

They Call Me the Decider

October 25 at my house.

November 22 at Jason's.

December 13 at Jason's.

Make it so.

Next Game (mk II)

Well...so the 18th is out from a few people and that's no problem, but it leaves me wondering when the next game will be. I know our once-silent monk has been unwell of late, and I'm wondering if the 25th sounds feasible? If not, how does the 1st look?

Lemme know your input guys and dolls, things are moving nicely in the castle and now that it will be getting darker and colder outside I'm hoping it will add to the atmosphere and I'd like to keep the crushing, drowning, and possessing of you guys going soon! :)

Your Illustrious DM

No Go

I know a lot of you are enthused about the idea of possibly playing some 4e this weekend, but I just don't think I'm up for it. I've got a lot of people to see while I'm in town and I think that trying to squeeze in a game is just too much. I don't want to feel that busy. So, my apologies, but count me out for any Saturday night gaming.

Next Game

Sorry for taking so long to get back with everyone on this, Monday after the game I was let go from my job a week early and immediately started with my dad and I've been neck deep learning my new responsibilities and haven't had much time to think about D&D until my brother brought it up last night.

Sooooo...I would assume that this weekend would be too short notice for everyone (unless you all say differently), and Tiger is N/A next weekend, so I'm looking at October 18th as the most likely date for our next game, barring strenous objection?

Remind Me

When's our next game again?

Fair warning

Lummox has spent the majority of the last three days sleeping off his cocktail of prescription drugs. The odds are looking poor for his recovered health by Saturday, unless someone's sitting on a real life Lesser Restoration.

Anyone? Anyone? Please?

Another Milestone

500!

One more thing

For the people involved in the 4E game, this page may be important.

Read this page.

So...

When shall we few meet again?
	Saturday, Sept. 6
	Saturday, Sept. 20
	Saturday Night Fever, We Know How to Move It.
	Other
pollcode.com free polls

Saturday, September 6

So, I'm an idiot, meant to talk about this at S&S and promptly got drunk instead! Buuuut, Degolar is unable to make it this next weekend when we were thinking of playing again, which leads me to ask...since we just all were together and tied up last weekend, do you guys want to play Saturday and we'll catch Degolar up, or wait another 2 weeks and put us back on our regular rotation for September 20th?

There's still a *lot* of the castle left (we covered about 5 out of 80ish rooms) so we won't be just ending as soon as Degolar gets back, but I sort of feel bad about not having him with us for 2 in a row so I leave it up to a vote! And don't ask me to do a poll, I have no idea how to do that!

Sake-chugging DM

After Action Review

Well, the 4e experiment went off pretty well-- Considering none of us know the rules and I am an extremely inexperienced DM. Contrary to our pre-game plans we actually ended up running an actual adventure. I had thought we would do the adventure that is in the DMG, but we didn't have any maps for that to do the combat on, so I just said "screw it" and we started Keep on the Shadowfell. Details on the campaign setting to follow. To those of you who were not there and would like to play some future 4e, fret not, because I'm intending to make this a persistent campaign world, and there will be opportunities in the future. Besides, it will make it easier for everyone if a few of us get the rules down pat in advance. That being said...

The eladrin wizard Vindaris, his tiefling warlock companion Achemenwhatever, and the busty human warrior Gwenn, along with their personality deficient companions, Yasir, half-elf cleric of Pelor, and Nasir, the halfling rogue, set out upon the King's highway from Fallcrest in search of their mentor Douven Stahl, an arcanist and expert on the folklore of the Nentir Vale (a back country area formerly part of the Empire of Nerath). Along the way they encountered many kobold brigands, whom they dispatched with extreme prejudice. Arriving at the small village of Winterhaven, they learned that Douven had set out some time ago for a purported dragon burial ground rich with treasure to the southeast of the village. They also learned that trade to the village had been disrupted by the kobold activity along the King's Highway, and accepted a commission from Lord Padraig of Winterhaven to deal with the Kobold menace, preferably with a high degree of unnecessary violence. The intrepid adventurers set out from Winterhaven in the general direction of the dragon burial ground and the suspected lair of the kobold bandits. Along the King's Highway, however, they were once again ambushed by a kobold raiding party. Easily dispatching the kobold wyrmpriest that led the party (too easily as it turns out), the group returned to Winterhaven to rest, refit, and further plan their foray to the dragon burial ground and kobold hideout.

The Experiment

So, who is in for some basic 4e combat to play with the system next Saturday night? Aerin has volunteered his facilities for the festivities so we won't have to use a park bench.

And Lest We Forget...

... Happy Belated Birthday little sucker! 3 Years!

Purchases, Made and Unmade...

Well, as my previous post indicated, I've been spending a lot of time recently with the 4e rules. And, despite my earlier misgivings, finding a lot to like. In fact, I'm starting to get quite excited about running some 4e. Today I bought a 4e DM's screen--not because I care so much about screening die rolls, but more for the handy collected information printed on the back. Screens can save a lot of page flipping. I also gave serious thought, serious thought, to purchasing the 4e Forgotten Realms book. Apparently they've made a lot of changes to the Realms --and, consequently, pissed off a lot of setting loyalists in the process--but I've never played a FR game and aside from the Icewind Dale trilogy and a several early 90's issues of the DC FR comic, I haven't read that much in it either. In short, I'm not invested in the setting, and any changes they've made aren't going to tick me off. Besides, I was planning on running 4e homebrew so the FR book would just be a handy resource for extra creatures, settings, and magic items. In the end I didn't get it though, mainly because it is a campaign setting, and I've been planning on making my own. But, like all D&D books it was a beautiful volume and hard to turn down ($39.99 made it easier to turn down). It might still find its way into my library in the future, we'll see. I have the first two 4e modules to run in a homebrew campaign-- we'll see how that works out before making any further campaign setting decisions.

In other exciting news, Pathfinder is now in Beta release, so waste no time in heading over to Paizo and downloading your free, that's right-- free .pdf. One year of play testing of the rules before the final edition is released in August of 09. Check it out and see what you think of version 3.75. (which, as I'm sure I mentioned before is the likely rules set for our future Ptolus campaign). Also new from the folks at Paizo is the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting, which I can't wait to get my hands on. Ok, I may wait to get my hands on it since I'm investing myself in 4e for the moment, but I really like the world of Golarion (I think of it as "the new Greyhawk"), and am looking forward to reading the book.

Wow, I really need to get a life.

Flip-Flopper

Well, I had had my doubts, but over the last couple of days I’ve spent a lot more time looking at 4e, and I have to say, my interest in it is rising. I think one of the things that had initially turned me off is that certain options just weren’t available. For instance, a Marid- style fighter just isn’t supported by the rules-set—at least as far as I can tell.

However, I do think the new rules are simpler, and that might be a refreshing change. So, I’m going to forge ahead with my original plan of running a 4e game. I’ve got the first two 4e modules, and I’ll be looking at working them into a homebrew campaign setting. As far as Ptolus goes, well, that can wait until I’m back in KC permanently, and it can also wait until the Pathfinder rules are playtested and finalized sometime next year (ditto for Rise of the Runelords, and besides the Captain© has expressed an interest in running some Golarion adventures as well...). So, the question becomes—when?

Here’s my plan. If anyone is available the night before Sake and Samurai, I thought we might get together to just play with the 4e system—just run through some basic combat, probably the encounters in the DMG—not start an adventure or campaign. Then, on some weekend TBD, I can come into town and start the adventure, and maybe we can schedule a time over Christmas to get in a couple of games. Of course, we need to figure out exactly who will be playing (we need to keep it manageable).

Next Game

So tonight went pretty well, we spent some money in town, picked up some info, got Naaran's new arm, and entered the basement of the castle and had a few interesting fights. If someone would like to pass on the events of the evening to Oban that would be great, as I'd rather him hear it from a player perspective than a DM one :P

As to next time we talked around the table and everyone seems cool with September 6th, the weekend after S&S. Does this work for you Degolar? The weekend before S&S is a no go for a lot of folks so this would be the best date if it works for you, just let me know.

Good night all,

DM

A Question...

When it comes to RPG's, I'm like a little kid at the buffet. Everything looks good and I want to try it all. (Nevermind that I haven't had time to play, let alone try to run a game for the last couple of years). Consequently, I end up overextended with the different games, adventures, campaign settings, etc. that I want to run. For instance, as I've discussed before, I've got Ptolus, Rise of the Runelords, and 4e-- not to mention D20 modern and Hollow Earth Expedition, and a slew of standalone 3e/3.5 modules. Long story short, it's too much to plan. There's just not enough time to do it all.

So, how upset would everyone be if I backed out on my pledge to DM the first 4e game? Not that I've definitely decided to, but honestly, I'm more excited about Rise of the Runelords and Ptolus. I have the first two 4e modules which I could pass on to someone else if they wanted to run a 4e game.

Degolar

If you get a chance, can you pass your character sheet along to Leelu to bring with on Saturday? Regardless of what we end up doing that way its handy and I can just keep track of it for a lil bit until you return.

That ok?

DM

Back to Ren Fest

My schedule's filling up quick. If anyone wants to commit to a date, I could go Sep 27, Sep 28, Oct 11, or Oct 12.

A hag's last words, and Saturday night

Well, this wasn't exactly how I wanted to post my pregame teaser, but in light of Degolar's sudden change of plans I'll save the blurb for lower down in my post. My personal preference as DM, is to continue forward. There are a few details in town to attend to and then the entry into the ground floor of the castle will probably take most of the evening, and from a roleplaying standpoint I'm not sure that it will be Oban's night to shine. Not that the live Oban and more importantly Degolar himself would not be missed mightily, but I totally understand the unforseen conflict. To make it up to you though, I do have something dancing in the back of my mind that I think would come up in the game following, or possibly the next, depending on which way the party goes, that would give Oban a greater reason for his place in things. Scott, if he's free could play the role of our short companion, or I could take the role for him for the evening as well, I've done the DM and character thing at the same time thing more than once in the past. I'll await a mob screaming for my blood and burning me in effigy any time now though :D Just lemme know your thoughts.

Now on to the blurb. A quick note about it. As we broke last time we (me) were pretty sleepy so I sort of spat out some stuff about the Ecatarine Husk that while technically true, wasn't complete or roleplayed in the slightest; mostly so you would have a stopping point to start at the castle this game, but I think it would behoove you to see a bit more of the action after the hag/saint died, to prepare you, and to give you some clue as to the future.

This presumes that you returned to down and asked after what the hag hinted at with her dying words, that you would need to take their combined heartstones to the 'Ecatarine Husk' in order to break Strahd's hold on the land for good. After asking about you make your way to Raerin, the blind priest of St Cuthbert, who relates the following:

The aged cleric leans back in his seat, brow furrowing over closed, sightless eyes, "Madam Eva...was one of the hags that blighted our land. I would not have guessed it. We all had thought she was one of the Vistani, come from outside lands to Barovia, but it turns out she had been here all along, eh? The more I consider it, the more the truth of the matter becomes more clear. Were I a psychic of the notable power that the villagers granted her, I certainly would not have come to so dark a land as ours! Plus, living on the outskirts of the Vistani encampment would have allowed her easy access to slip away in the night to haunt the land or return to her former shrine."

"It is just another crime Strahd has to answer for, corrupting those three poor souls who's existence was dedicated to the protection of this region's lands. The more I consider her final words the more my old memory dredges up. The library over in the temple of the Raven had been the most extensive in the area, excepting the one I presume Strahd keeps in the castle. Before the light left my eyes, I had read through the bulk of the temple's collection, and I seem to recall there being something...the phrase 'Ecatarine' stirs a mote in my mind. Unfortunately, with Danovich's madness, I'm afraid he destroyed or allowed to fall to ruin most of the tomes in his possession. I had the remainder brought here by my acolytes after you dealt with poor Danovich and the twisted abomination he had made of his son's body. You are all welcome to go through it if you choose for more clues regarding the saint's final words."

Last Minute Cancellation

I unexpectedly have family from out of town coming to visit this weekend and will have to miss the game. I'm sorry to do this, but it's not every day I get to see them. Feel free to go ahead without me. I can give Leelu my character sheet if Scott wants to run him or something.

On a related note, our following game falls on Labor Day weekend. I also have plans for the weekend that will prevent my participation that night. I'm thinking for that one we have enough time to reschedule, though.

Scheduling Can Be a Bitch

Thoughts?

The Further Adventures of Kilminsk Bearfucker

*clink* … *clink*

The faint, repetitive clank of metal tapping against metal rang through the dervish’s head as he staggered blindly through the dark, muggy forest. He had no recollection of how he got there, or what had happened to his clothing and equipment. He wore practically nothing, yet his scarred body dripped with burning sweat in that suffocating forest air. There had been a bright, white flash, he knew, but that was it - the flash - then prickly bushes, trees, and heat. The dervish’s mind was spinning far too much for him to even begin to understand what had happened or where he was. He did, however, manage to have one coherent thought. As he collapsed to the ground, his left hand clutched the worn padlock that fastened his newly fitted chastity belt.
“This,” he mused, “could be a problem.”

Dancing (around issues) with myself (E&R)

You know, I could really be really helpful in this quest of yours.

"Shut up."

No, really. I think I can benefit your search for the last stone, or whatever it is you are trying to find.

"I said, shut up."

Come on. You have to admit, I, meaning you, have some skills that can come in handy. Remember how you, or I. or whatever... Remember how we used to go around taking what we needed to live? How we would escape capture? We could do that again, but this time, lawfully.

"Is it the 'shut' or the 'up' that you can't hear. I'm putting my money on the 'shut.' Let me try another tactic. If you do not stop talking while I am trying to meditate, I am going to hit you. Hard."

You mean hit us. No matter what you try, I am always going to be here, one way or another.

"Do you see the crossed legs? Do you see how I am trying to breathe deeply? See the whole clearing my mind so I can learn to control my thoughts and emotions? Meditation. I need to do it."

Maybe you should pick up knife, just in case you need me.

"It's conversations like this that makes me wonder who the imaginary one really is."

Reminder for Next Saturday

Just a quick reminder, to get back on our regular rotation of games, we do have one coming up this next Saturday, the 19th! It can be somewhat shorter if people need it to be but I really want to get us through the 3rd fane and ready for the next section!

If you have any contemplations, letters, journal entries, or inner monologue conversations you wish to share as Naaran has, please do so, there will be rewards are to be had for the effort!

-DM J

A letter

Written in a jagged, awkward script, spotted with tears, and stained with a faint, rusty streak of blood:

To: Elessar Kennyrghymn
Keeper of Lore
Grey Archive

My dearest Elessar,

Your advice will be the death of me. On your words, I took to the land to see what I could learn outside of the "musty confines" of our library. I have found nothing but anguish. Our world is filled with monsters, and only the best of them have the decency to appear as such.

I met up with a diverse group of travelers and decided to join them in their efforts to free a town under assault by the undead. I've been nothing but cordial and helpful, yet I'm constantly rebuffed by them all. Still, the cause is noble, and at least one of them has made some attempt at conversation, albeit highly confusing conversation.

My "companions", as such, are an extremely elderly elf who has no evident pleasures beyond burning things and chess, a quiet young human from the village we came to save who joined with us after we suffered a loss, a lovely young woman that we found along the way, a perplexing halfling—the one I mentioned before, most amoral—and a perfectly nasty human whose behavior has gone from merely rude to positively cruel.

You see, my friend, I've discovered that the evils plaguing this town all stem from a villainous vampire lord, and I am beholden to fight him. It is this fight that cost me something precious. I write this letter—this coarse and terrible letter—with my left hand, as my right has been taken from me. There is no one here capable of healing my injury, and my own studies have not progressed so far yet, either. I am crippled, miserable, and mocked by those I travel with. Was this the lesson you intended me to learn? The world is harsh and callous, and I cannot expect anyone to help those in need. I would rather have stayed and mouldered along with my books than learn this.

I weep alone, my friend. My only true companion is Gladys, and even she is incapable of truly understanding what has befallen me. I would give anything to be safe at home with you and the others once again.

Mournfully,
Naaran Anaraan
Senior Lorekeeper
Grey Archive (formerly, and hopefully again)

P.S. E, the human I complained of, has apologized for his insensitive words and offered to pay half the cost of the prosthetic arm I've arranged to have made. It may take some time to get used to, once it arrives, but I'm sure the mythril will look absolutely stunning with my hair. -Regards, Naaran

Since Typing a Response Seems Too Complicated

I can make our next Ravenloft game if it's:
	June 28
	July 5
	Both
	Neither
pollcode.com free polls

(Although comments might help.)

Will we get the full 7 responses?
	Yes
	No
pollcode.com free polls

I say...this!

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php

4e First Impressions

Again, Tiefling PC's?!?!? I just don't know how I feel about that. Hmmm... Overall, the system feels a little barebones compared to 3.5. But, I suppose that just leaves WotC lots of room to issue more rulebooks, right? More spells, I think, are going to be badly needed. On the whole though, it looks interesting, so we'll see. Just a lot less complexity in the system, and a lot less detail in the core books--especially the DMG.

I'm also not sure how I feel about the "Warlord" class. It basically takes the combat role of a bard (i.e. inspiration) , since bards aren't one of the core classes, and combines it with the fighter/paladin melee powers. Seems a little much.

The books themselves are--at first glance--the same quality as previous editions. At. First. Glance. The covers are the same high-quality abuse absorbing covers we've come to expect from D&D books, but the interior pages are of an inferior paper stock than that used in 3e, or at least so it seems to me.

He who is the Land

Another excerpt from The Tome of Strahd deciphered by Naaran...

I stood there, watching the struggles of the three women I had bound to the altars surrounding me grow weaker and weaker as I watched their lifeblood drained from their necks. As I watched the blood flow down carefully cut flutes to fill an intricate channel on the floor I licked my bloody lips, savoring the holy blood that stained them. The blood of these three women was as holy as one might expect from a saint, and stung my undead lips faintly in a subtle ecstasy that almost reminded me of some of the delicacies I enjoyed in life.

One by one the saints of this land stilled in death; their blood continuing to flow out of their lifeless forms, shriveling them and desiccating their corpses, transforming them into hideous disfigured husks. Continuing with the ritual, I began to chant, and the pattern at my feet started to pulse and glow with an unholy light and I could feel power crackle in the air. Faint lines of smoke began to trail from the corpses of the women toward me, encircling me, twining about my form like a lovers caress. Small arcs of electricity began to flash in the thickening haze, causing my weak minded servants to cower against the walls in fear. But their fear was not shared by their Master! No, I could feel my powers strengthening as I sapped the very powers these women sought to protect to further bolster the might that I gained through my dark pact that led to my undeath!

With an unexpected suddenness, powerful bolts of lightning arced out from my body to strike each woman full in the chest! The shriveled bodies of the three saints began to jerk and convulse as though still alive, simultaneously arching their backs against the altars they were bound to and letting loose pain and hate filled shrieks that echoed around the chamber. I watched, rapt, as their chest cracked open with a horrible snapping noise, prune-like lumps of darkest red emerging from the holes to hover in the air above each figure. With newfound insight taken from the land I realized that what I had just witnessed, what I had just been the impetus for, was the creation of three creatures, not of undeath, but of the underworld. I watched as one by one the hate and malice filled eyes of the three newly created hags slid open to fasten on the blood red stones that had once been their hearts, hovering inches above them.

It was then that I forced oaths, bound by the powers of Barovia, from them to serve me as stewards to the fanes of this land that I had twisted to my own designs. I know they loathe me and seek my death at any cost, but I know too that they are bound to me, and to this land, and cannot stand against my power, even combined as one. I regret only that the ritual was flawed; I control the powers of the land of Barovia, but my keys to that power are tied up in the shriveled hardened hearts of those three disgusting wretches. I do gain some pleasure however, knowing that the hags who hate me so will defend my power to their deaths just to protect their once blessed hearts…

It's Shipped.

My 4e rules are on their way from Amazon.

June 28th game

So, given that June 28th seems problematic for people, Degolar has put forth the daring suggestion that rather than try and compress and rearrange the schedule all over the place, we just move the game date to July 5th. Is anyone out of town that weekend that couldn't come?

Just wanted to give the subject a bump.

Rules, Rules, Rules... Redux

So, I've been reading Keep on the Shadowfell and eagerly anticipating 4e, and this has got me thinking about rules again. Basically, I have plans to run three different campaigns at this point (eventually I want to play again too, so somebody else better think about DM'ing in the future). Those three being Ptolus, a Pathfinder Campaign, and a 4e campaign. Obviously, the 4e campaign will be run under the 4e rules (redundant much?), but that leaves the question of the other two open. The Pathfinder rules and campaign setting will be coming out in the next year-- I like to think of it as 3.75-- so the Pathfinder campaign will be run under those rules. Ptolus was written for 3.0-3.5, but I think without much tweaking it can easily be run under the Pathfinder rules. However, I was thinking that there are things that I already like about 4e which may or may not be feasible to incorporate into house rules; sort of a 3.8-3.9 rules set (think at-will Magic Missile). But in my mind, one of the most exciting decisions I've made is that I'm going to run the 4e game in a homebrew campaign setting--within the parameters of the 4e rules. I haven't thought too much about the details yet, but that should wait until I get a look at the complete 4e rules.

Huhuh

Summer

So sticking to our current pattern, the next Ravenloft games should be:

June 7
June 28
July 19
August 9

But I'm going to be out of town June 28. Do we want to reschedule that one session and leave the rest? Skip the session? Play without me? Alter the pattern?

Do the rest of the dates work for everyone else? Do we have any other dates to worry about?

And once we figure all of that out, when will we slot in Hadrian's 4E game(s)?

Torias Anyone?

"The new character introduced in the middle of the game is always in the next room, held captive by the bad guys. Thus it was handed down to us from olden times."

From here.

I Volunteer

... to run a 4e game some time this summer. What prompted this decision? Two things: a) I've already pre-ordered the Core books, and b) I've got a coupon for five dollars off my next purchase at Valhalla's Gate which I have to redeem before I leave town. So, I'm going to pick up the first 4e adventure, Keep on the Shadowfell. So, resist the temptation to buy it, read it, read about it, etc. I've been jonesing to DM for a while now, and doing so under a new rules set will probably make me look like a better DM, since no one else will know the rules any better. (And don't worry, sooner or later, we will play Ptolus...).

A little history

I am the Ancient, I am the Land. My beginning sare lost in the darkness of the past. I was the warrior, I was good and just. I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god, but the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears stone into sand.

All goodness slipped from my life; I found my youth and strength gone, and all I had left was death. My army settled in the valley of Barovia and took power over the people in the name of a just god, but with none of a god’s grace or justice.

I called for my family, long unseated from their ancient thrones, and brought them here to settle in the castle Ravenloft. They came with a younger brother of mine, Sergei. He was handsome and youthful. I hated him for both.

From the families of the valley, one spirit shone above all others. A rare beauty, who was called “perfection,” “joy,” and “treasure.” Her name was Tatyana, and I longed for her to be mine.

I loved her with all my heart. I loved her for her youth. I loved her for her joy. But she spurned me! “Old One” was my name to her – “elder” and “brother” also. Her heart went to Sergi. They were betrothed. The date was set.

With words she called me “brother,” but when I looked into her eyes they reflected another name – “death.” It was the death of the aged that she saw in me. She loved her youth and enjoyed it. I had squandered mine.

The death she saw in me turned her from me. And so I came to heat death, my death. My hate is very strong; I would not be called “death” so soon.

I made a pact with death, a pact of blood. On the day of the wedding, I killed Sergei, my brother. My pact was sealed with is blood.

I found Tatyana weeping in the garden east of the chapel. She fled from me. She would not let me explain, and a great anger swelled within me. She had to understand the pact I made for her. I pursued her. Finally, in despair, she flung herself from the walls of Ravenloft, and I watched everything I ever wanted fall from my grasp forever.

It was a thousand feet through the mists. No trace of her was ever found. Not even I know her final fate.

Arrows from the castle guards pierced me to my soul, but I did not die. Nor did I live. I became frozen, became “Vampyr,” forever.

- Excerpt from The Tome of Strahd

Ignore the Halfling at Your Own Peril

More emails tonight in response to the silence. Just remember that's the character talking and not me. ;-)

Pre-Order

So, I pre-ordered 4e today. The question is-- who will be running our first game under the new rules?

And Blogger is being a tempermental bitch today.