posted by Kaurophon
During the Test of Judgment, the Divas fought against the bebilith, and I could only watch from the doorway. I made several attempts to enter the chamber and fight by their sides, and every time, I was instantly teleported out of the room.
So we were faced with a new dilemma last week, narrow rope bridges. How do we ensure that the whole party makes it across this series of bridges alive? With a bebolith hot for adventurer blood?
posted by Dyskko
An Excerpt from the Explorers’ Society Pages
Volume XVII, Number 6
Letters From the Field
There’s something happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear. It started as a simple demonstration. Citizens proclaiming their right to free assembly and right to free speech. What a field-day for the heat. A thousand people in the street. Young people speaking their minds. Singing songs and carrying signs. Mostly say, hooray for our side.
The high taxes imposed by the mayor upon the citizens of Cauldron created an unstable situation. How many years can some people exist before they’re allowed to be free? The citizens were tired of taxation without seeing results. And Maavu the caravan trader announced corruption in the mayor’s office. How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.
When Maavu announced Alek’s challenge by the Order of Peers, the people reacted with celebrations. When Maavu announced that the mayor was illegally silencing this news, the people reacted with whistles and scorn. All the world over, so easy to see, people everywhere just wanna be free. Listen, please listen, that’s the way it should be. Deep in the Cauldron, people got to be free.
The angry crowd swarmed the stage where Maavu was standing. What’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down. If you feel so empty, so used, so let down. If you feel so angry, so ripped off, so stepped on. You’re not the only one refusing to back down. You’re not the only one. So get up, Let’s start a riot, a riot. Let’s start a riot. Let’s start a riot, a riot Let’s start a riot.
As the riot stormed the town hall, the Divas went into action. Sadi empowered small weeds in the cobblestones to entangle the crowd. Elvis climbed atop the stage to call the people to him. “One thing I can tell you is you got to be free. Come together right now over me.”
Kiriana on Kimber raced to St. Cuthbert to get support from the clerics. Cinder found a Yin Yang member hidden in the crowd and made short work of him. Myntilly used tanglefoot bags to stop another group who had escaped the entanglement vegetation. Acgar summoned support from the city guard.
Just as the riot was breaking up, “Fire! Fire!” I heard the cry from every breeze that passed us by. All the world was one sad cry of “Pity!” The town guard barracks were on fire. Half-orcs were fighting the flames and fighting for their lives. Strong men in anguish prayed, calling loud to Heaven for aid, while the fire in ruin was laying fair Cauldron, the beautiful city.
As this disaster unfolded, some unsympathetic citizens snickered and sneered.
The barracks, the barracks, the barracks are on fire. We don’t need no water let the motherfucker burn. Burn motherfucker burn.
Elvis was still on the stage, but now he used his speaking position to call the crowd together in a new direction. “C’mon people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together, try to love one another right now.” The people lined up to form bucket brigades. The flames danced all over the barracks, I fell into a burning ring of fire. I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher. And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire. The ring of fire.
Indira recognized something unnatural about the fire. Using dismissal, she sent these fire elementals back to their native plane.
And now it is quiet in the streets of Cauldron. Where have all the half-orcs gone, long time passing? Where have all the half-orcs gone, long time ago? Where have all the half-orcs gone?
The Blue Duke took them out of town, every one. When will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?
Credits:
Buffalo Springfield – For What it’s Worth
Bob Dylan – Blowin’ in the Wind
Young Rascals – People Got to be Free
Three Days Grace – Riot
The Beatles – Come Together
Traditional- Baltimore Fire
The Roof is on Fire – Bloodhound Gang
Youngbloods – Get Together Written by Dino Valenti
Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire
Pete Seeger – Where Have all the Flowers Gone?
posted by Springlatch Hammertacker
So here’s the story of Orak’s Bathhouse.
It started one of the first game nights when the heroes had used a lot of their daily powers and it was only early afternoon. The Divas felt their characters needed to rest before going on in the adventure, but it was really too early to go to sleep.
What’s a role player to do?
Well a real person might take a nap and wake refreshed, but maybe not to full power. And the discussion began.
“Can I just rest for 4 hours instead of 8 and get half my spells back?”
“Is there a spell I could cast that would make my rest more restful?”
“Wouldn’t it be nice if we could rest at a spa in town and get a massage?”
“Ooh, yes, then you might even get all your spells back in just 2 hours.”
“Hey, there should be a spell called Spa that does that.”
“Yeah, maybe it needs some oil and a sprig of lavender.”
“There could be Spa, Lesser and it would take 4 hours to get full rest, while Spa would take 2 hours. And Spa, Greater would take only 1 hour.”
“Yeah for Spa, Greater you would need oil, lavendar, and a sexy masseur.”
“What would it take for Spa, Mass?”
And the running joke began. Almost every evening there was an excuse to wish for the Spa spell. We made some serious attempts at creating it. After all, Heroes’ Feast summons a meal that takes an hour to consume and provides players with extra strength, extra defense, and resistance to poison. And if you can think of it, it probably already exists and has been posted to the internet. But it wasn’t on the internet.
A parallel phenomenon was happening as well. I was the DM for the first two chapters of The Shackled City Adventure Path. This adventure path was first published in Paizo’s Dungeon Magazine over the course of a year. I’d been working off of a CD that had PDF files of all the magazines and the extra materials posted to the website. After two chapters, I passed the DM duties to Angel. At that time, Angel had purchased the re-formated, re-bound, re-published book of The Shackled City. All the information from the magazine published in one omnibus. Angel used this to DM the 3rd chapter.
After the chapter that Angel DM’ed, she gave the book to me. I turned to Chapter 4. And found that it was the chapter we’d already done. Turns out we were on Chapter 5.
Looking through the book, I discovered that Paizo publishing had made a new chapter and inserted it between chapters 1 and 2. This new chapter, now numbered Chapter 2, featured a new adventure, with relevant plot points, interesting additions to the backstory, and several adventures.
And Orak’s Bathhouse.
Well. By this time the Divas had grown to 9 player characters, 3 animal companions, and a full year had passed since we joined the group. There were a lot of loose ends to tie up, plot to summarize for the new members, and details to introduce before the next chapter. What better way to gather all this information than have the characters spend two weeks in and around Cauldron, then meet at the Bathhouse.
Perhaps I am a victim of my own enthusiasm. Of course there needs to be bath soap props to give away. And there needs to be a reason the bathhouse wasn’t open for the first year the heroes had been in Cauldron. I mean, they’d wanted to go to the spa for a year, and they know the city pretty well. Surely, they would have gone to Orak’s by now.
The Chapter 2 adventure had wererats in it, so I decided that Orak’s Bathhouse had suffered from a “small rat problem” for the past year. But it had now been contained and Orak had re-opened for business. I blocked off a corner saying it was under construction.
The Divas loved the bathhouse. And wouldn’t leave it alone. Feeling dusty and grimy after fighting a fire? Let’s go to the bathhouse! And what is up with that corner? Oh. Wererats!
Did I expect this? No. Would I go along with it? Oh, hell yes.
The Divas made short work of the wererats. They are 8 characters leveled 6 to 8 and the Chapter 2 adventures are scaled for 4 characters at level 3. Of course after the wererats they’re going down the basement to kill off the 30 goblins that lurk down there. Of course they are going to see every secret door, every trap, hear every sound.
[sigh] Remember when goblins were scary?
So now there’s a new question. Does the DM rescale the chapter for the adventurers? Or save herself the work and let the Divas smash through the basement?
I’m ready now. What choice do you think I’ve made?
posted by Dyskko
At last, after only hearing tales, singing songs, and telling stories, I have finally completed my first adventure. The Mayor hired me to travel with the Divas on their next journey, and it met my expectations for adventure.
As I read over the list of events, I am again saddened at the results of our quest. But all adventures have successful endings, so this means the adventure is not yet ended.
And I am now reminded of several questions. I must ask the Divas these questions when we next meet. Perhaps they have answers. Perhaps also they have new questions.
Where’s Celeste? Who’s Celeste?
Did Davked really die? We haven’t seen his body. Where’s his estate?
What can I use cryohydra poop for? Kuo-toa slime? poisonous fungus?
What was Zenith doing with the Kuo-toas? What were all those dead bodies? And it was Zenith’s statue at Kazmojen’s slave bazaar – so are they connected?
Why did the umberhulk attack those warehouses? Who summoned it?
What was that gnomish guy doing at the umberhulk event? Magical Threats Agency = good? bad?
Is there anyone else that has disappeared? Where’s Elvis Krylscar? And the other kidnap victims? Is Gryffin doing okay? The kids that the Divas rescued?
Why did that dragon burn down Jared’s Hut?
How is everything connected? The cage building at Dixie Mattress Company? The Yin Yang Gang? The stolen wands of control water? The missing people?
What is the symbol the Divas found at the Dixie Mattress Company? Have we seen it anywhere else?
It’s time I hung out at the Bard Hall and gathered some information from colleagues.
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| Myntilly on Bebolith Encounter |
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