dmcracy

[dmcracy]

Group 2. - A proud father

My group entered the Royal district of Erkank. They met with the royal steward and found out there is no king of this country for few hundred of years. Bors asked about the royal crypt and explained about the bones of king Alboin he had in his possession. Steward was pleased with this news and when he wanted to show them to the crypt Bors showed him the crown of Alboin. The steward was speechless for a moment and then with even greater respect for the group recieved this ancient treasure. The bones of King Albion were put into a royal sarcophagus and, in the dim light surrounding Bors, a tiny light shone for a moment. With this Fidel, the royal steward, saw greatness within Bors and told him that he should keep the crown in his possession, because he can clearly see that the spirits of noble ancestors blessed him. 

You see, when we were playing that short adventure where I played a gnome sorcerer we acquired some powerful weapons. Our DM was vague enough with the description - he just said it was made by elves or so and its powerful - so when I returned to the DM’s chair I build up on that. The sword Bors had was a short sword - a weapon of choice for him because he roleplayed some sort of a roman legionary and kept to this one particular type of weapon for most of the game. And dedication like this is always appreciated by me. So I decided that the sword’s hilt was made from Royal mithral and there are 3 gems in it - two rubies and a diamond. Royal mithral has a special property and can enchant item on its own if you do a great deed or slay an epic enemy. So this was a first time when the gems shone and the sword gained some new magical properties that day.

With this business done, they ventured into the city and found lodging in the brothel (owned by the old veteran called Sergeant). And had some leisure time. Llthrae went into a local guild to put some special orders for their craftsmen. It was a set of special lenses required for his project with star sapphire. Then the group went to the local university to find out what it was all about just to find that their archaeologists recovered a still moving mummy and, naturally, my group saved the day. Next they entered a local pub where they drunk some fine drinks and found out that the old chap owning the pub is a marvelous pudding maker. Amused by this, Lthrae volunteered to run the owner’s errands of pudding delivery. And the last thing they did that day was another pudding problem - some alchemyst had a black pudding in a jar and it escaped to the sewers. Orik was not present that day so I tried to play his character correctly (I tried to imitate the style of the player). So they ventured into the sewers and found the magical ooze. The pudding corroded the enchanted axe Orik had but they slew it eventually. And all this fun ended in that same brothel by delivering the pudding to the employees and Llthrae having a wonderful threesome (he was kinda disappointed that there was a female with them). 

Next day, they ventured into Telus Kindiir - an ancient monastery of the Ruby order - where they met with the abbot. His name was Samuel Zorita and he welcomed the group. The monastery was mostly in ruins but close to it stood an ancient tower, elven by the looks of it and it had no signs of degradation. This was the tower that gave the place its name - Telus Kindiir and it was there long before the humans settled there. The tower was surrounded by eight statues which radiated with power. Llhtrae was puzzled by them but he clearly recognized the art style of the Drow.

As they talked, Bors revealed the crown and the events in the tower on the island from a few days ago. The abbot was listening silently as they walked the ancient rows of trees. Bors finished and the abbot asked a simple question:

“What are you going to do now with all that?”

Bors was silent so Samuel gave him a proposal to create a new order of knights from the ashes of the old one. And Bors accepted. So that day a humble adventurer created a new Order of the Crown and became its grandmaster - the first and only knight in that moment. So when they returned back to the brothel Bors started to plan things for the future of the order and Llthrae for the future of his fort (Orik was drinking and whoring).

Everybody was happy, I could say, and I was the happiest of them. This session took like 11.5 hours but it was one of the best I ever played. It felt good, completed and not even Rodolfo hanging in Llthrae’s window could ruin it (Rodolfo came to “talk” with Llthrae about what happened to Isabella).

On the third day, Fidel, the steward of Erkank, called the group to the palace to give them a proposal. He wanted them to find a proper new king for the country. In his own words: “This country was a haven of pirates and good-for-nothings for far too long.” After a short debate they all agreed that Rodolfo should be their new king - he was some sort of dashing heroic figure it the rural parts of the land and if he could bear the crown everything should be fine. So the group again ventured to look for this mysterious swashbuckler only to find him watching the funeral of Isabella from the top of the tower gate. The group paused for the moment and watched too as the funeral pyre burned. After a moment a terrible scream echoed through the air and a twisted shadow flew over the heads of the adventurers and disappeared in the distance (this was also the moment when the legend about the ghost of Bitch Queen Isabella was born). This event peaked their interest and the group decided to search the items Isabella had in her possession. There was nothing much of a value except for the crude old compass with strange markings. Llthrae took it and identified on the spot. And suddenly he was in possession of Greed - the infernal artifact made by lord of Hells to sow greed into the hearts of the foolish (So, naturally, Llthrae used it). 

After the shock from the scream vanished, they proposed to Rodolfo to become the king of Erkank. With a little shyness he agreed and ventured to the capital with the group. They prepared the necessities and the next day the ceremony begun. The whole city gathered to watch the bandit captain get crowned as their king. When Rodolfo climbed slowly to the royal steward not even birds chirped. And even the steward held his breath when he placed the crown on Rodolfo’s head. But when Rodolfo stood up everybody burst into cheerful rejoicing. So the kingdom of Erkank had a new king after few hundreds of years and my group sat silent and done in the Sergeant’s brothel. Everybody was thinking about his own duties to the different parts of the world and, eventually, Orik left first because he felt not needed (I played him like that so it was my fault). He was followed by Llthrae who wanted to return to his fort. Bors stayed with his new duties and Samuel brought a friend to the ceremony - an eight years old half-drow boy called Relenor. Bors accepted Relenor as his squire and they ventured to the Telus Kindiir to work on the order.

It is still one of the greatest sessions in my memories and I feel good when I think about that day everybody parted. We literally finished an adventure which is a rare case with my games and I was really proud of them. And this feeling of completeness was and still is amazing. But in D&D show must go on and new trouble was brewing just behind the corner.

[dmcracy]

Solo campaign p. 8 - Lost p.1

The next part of Myrta’s and Heian’s story was quite simple for a while. There was a brief meeting with Orik Nimbreth - he gave them some advice and a heroe’s feast to boost their morale. Heian used his traveling and tracking skills and they ventured far to the north around Borderwood - the great ancient forest which created natural border between Cold Plains and Greyland. The only danger they encountered was a hobgoblin patrol in the old ruin which they skilfully sneaked past. 

Few days passed from the tower encounter and land started to change. More conifer trees were growing in the forest, eventually replacing leafy ones and they could see the snowy patches in the distance. Seeping cold ruled their nights and one morning a terrible noise echoed through the forest. They woke up real quick and followed the noise into the depths of the forest finding a group of hunters fighting a raging yeti. Suddenly the luck has changed for the yeti and he was quickly defeated. Hunters thanked the adventurers and offered to accompany them to tier city - Korlen.

But their stay in the city was very brief and when they gathered some information about Drýđ they moved on. At this moment, they were very close to catching up with her - she was only a day or two ahead of them. And soon they entered the Edhekal - or as they call it in common tongue, a Living forest.

Now I would like to talk about what happened to Drýđ in the meantime. When the old hag snatched the protective amulet from her neck she was immediately overwhelmed by the burning shapeshifting rage the amulet helped her to negate. Blinded by animalistic urges she ran to the north, leaving her friend and city behind her. She was mindlessly driven, not needing to sleep or rest for several days. When she got finally tired, all she could feel was fear. Fear from what she could have done, because she did not remember anything. Her form dropped in a second and scared crying Drýđ continued as fast as she could to the north. She passed Korlen, mostly hiding from prying eyes of the denizens. All she wanted to do now was go as far as possible from the Pastures. And then she entered Edhekal. The forest was dark and cold. Hungry and scared Drýđ, armed only with the torch, twitched with every sound. In the first third of the forest, she lost her torch and she could swear some trees were moving and watching her. The second half of the forest was more to her liking - fewer trees and more snow. This helped her to somewhat soothe her mind. And then she found a little silver mirror dangling from the tree. She looked around and stood with awe. She was in front of a large circle of trees with grey bark and each one of them had one or more silver mirrors hanging from them. She entered the inner circle and looked around. And suddenly, an arrow hit her to the chest. She looked to the distance to seek the archer but she could see no one. In a moment her fear returned to her and she turned around wanting to run away. But now there was no entrance with dangling silver mirrors. And Drýđ screamed. Another arrow hit her, now to her back. Coughing blood she started to run. She screamed and begged - but the only thing she could hear were arrows flying past her or hitting the trees. Tired from running, hungry and bleeding she stopped and fell to her knees awaiting the last arrow. Soft steps creaked through the snow around her. Crying she turned to the sound and saw a familiar figure - a tall half-elf in green robes with grey hair.

“Orik,” she said, “release me from my torment. I beg of you, I had enough of this life.” 

“What do you want from me child?” Orik replied.

“Kill me. Release me from this curse.”

“And what about your friend, Myrta?” the half-elf asked.

“She is probably dead! I killed her! As I killed my child! I want this to stop!”

“I have a proposition for you. I will not kill you. You will kill yourself for me. And then I will resurrect you. To a new body without a curse. Do you agree?”

“Could you do that? ... Yes! Yes, I will do whatever you want, just help me please!”

“Very well.”

And Orik Dína Nimbreth took Drýđ to her arms and flew away with her beyond the End of the world. There, among giants and last remnants of the long-forgotten race of Amyin, (Amyin are the primordial ancestors of all elven races in my world) he explained to her what she had to do:

“You will enter the Scales of Ballance and grant me an answer.”

“What should I ask?”, Drýđ replied.

“Is the world in Ballance”

And she entered and became one with the mountain. Her voice echoed even through the endless storm raging around the place. Her answer was “YES”! And fine ash started to rain down from the mountain.

The next day Orik readied for the resurrection ritual but when he reached for Drýđ in the afterlife her soul was not waiting for him. Drýđ was already in the plane of Karasuthra - happy as she ever could be running and hunting under the eternal sky. And so Orik let her be, amazed by this strange turn of events and unprepared for a more strange event that had yet to come.

[dmcracy]

Group 2. - Ecstasy of gold

Once upon a time, angry Llthrae stormed into the town of Rufia. Using invisibility spell he passed the gates unnoticed. Then he heroically appeared in front of the first citizen he met with words: “Where is the magistrate!?” Naturally, the scared citizen ran away and then Llthrae wandered the town searching for help. He found some helpful souls in the local tavern and learned that magistrate he was looking for was just a few houses up the street. So he ventured to the town hall and spoke with the major (magister) of the town. The Mayor assured him that no rider bearing coin came to the town that day and that he could wait and the magistrate would help as much as possible in this unfortunate matter. Llthrae was pleased with himself and the state of the situation and went back to the pub.

Meanwhile the rest of the group - Bors, Orik, Mína - helped the denizens of the Ruffi tower to prepare for their departure to the town of Rufia. Mína was quite upset that her Llthrae left her there with these people but eventually, things started to move. 

Bors spoke with the highest ranking veteran called Adel and they prepared the plan for defense should the situation require that. Orik helped to load the body of Isabella and the heaviest stuff. Mína was already two steps ahead of the caravan eager to be with Llthrae again. Widows with children, and elderly traveled in the center, surrounded by veterans and adventurers to protect them. The caravan slowly moved away from the empty tower.

After two days, the caravan approached the gates of Rufia. While Adel talked to the guards one boy noticed the shield Bors was wielding. He spoke to his mother in a very soft voice about a bedtime story she used to tell him from time to time. But his mother just warmly laughed and said that those days were long gone. No one seemed to notice their little chat except for Bors and when the caravan moved again the mother rose and threw a quick glance at the warrior escorting them. 

From this point, Adel took care of the people and adventurers were free to roam the city. They quickly found Llthrae and together went to talk to Mayor again. Bors cast a zone of truth - a spell he obtained with his new oath - and, suddenly, the Mayor started to talk very differently from the first time. After a brief confrontation, the Mayor jumped out of the window and tried to run away. But the adventurers quickly caught up with him and the man, in his desperation, sought protection within the local temple of Waukeen. Surprisingly, even the goddess had enough of his greed and when he approached the sacred coin snake (snake made from coins) on the altar the avatar of the goddess appeared and pinned him to the ground, spilling the stolen gold Llthrae was looking for. 

The adventurers thanked the goddess and the avatar rewarded them with multiplying their personal gold ten times. Llthrae immediately became her devotee and she gave him another gift - a golden seed. 

After this short chase, the commander of the town guard asked the group to bring the letter about this matter to the capital. Having nothing better on their hands the adventurers agreed and ventured north towards a grand lake of Erkank amidst which the capital city - Erkan - was built on a single island. 

But the only way to get to the city was by a raft or their own boat. And the raft was a half an hour away so they decided to use their own folding boat. But Mína and Llthrae did not want to row, because it might exhaust them, so Llthrae summoned a baboon and an ape from his bag of tricks and made them do the job. The group got to the island after a few hours with almost no trouble.

The local guards were surprised that an unrecognized boat approached the harbor and ran to the pier (some more excited guards brought ballista, but unfortunately for them, they just hit afisherman's house). So Bors explained the situation and the group was pointed to the direction of Royal district. And with this, my group entered the city of Erkank - a city which would shape their fates for the rest of this campaign.

[dmcracy]

Solo Campaign p.7 - The Woman who run with the Bear

The Last time Myrta played alone many strange things happened. One of them was that she found out that there are two priestesses of the church instead of one. And the other - more important thing - was that Drýđ got lost.

*

Myrta took first watch - not that they were expecting something - more from the habit. Suddenly a loud tearing noise disturbed her stargazing and a small snap followed. The notorious cackle filled the night air and Drýđ suddenly awoke. Holding her throat she uttered one word: “Run!”, and a violent shapechange followed. Drýđ never in her life changed so quickly and she was bigger than ever - but there was something different about her. Something new. As if she did not recognize her old friend. Myrta just sat there with a half desperate - half sad expression on her face. The werebear lunged forward but in the same time a winged humanoid figure snatched Myrta from the ground and took with her to the sky. Myrta did nothing - just stared down as the enormous werebear tore down the tents and run to the night.Setantas voice disturbed the silence: “It will be ok - I promise. We will find her and help her.”

*

After that Myrta quickly ventured into town and grouped with the priestess she thought was the real one. Then they confronted the second one inside the temple. After a short battle, the false priestess fled and the group - now without the real priestess - rushed to the mines (the only place they could imagine she went to).

When they arrived to the place, everything was as usual - silent, stench of death and decay everywhere. The adventurers were just waiting for the next trick the witch would play on them. But Myrta was now in no mood for games and after a short search for the most suspicious object she looked at the dry and blackened tree that stood close to an enormous rock. It radiated strange and sinister unnatural aura and its twisted boughs looked like it was in an endless agony. So they quickly started a fire on the base of the dry tree and watched what will happen.

*

Inside the witche’s house smoke started to rise. A young elven archer locked in a small rusty cage noticed the smell and started to look around the room for some way to escape. Twigs and herbs were hanging from the ceiling. A small kettle was sipping in the lit fireplace and many items on the large oak table danced in the light of the fireplace. Suddenly, a small crate started to jump up and down - as if something inside was trying to get out. This unsettling event prodded the young elf even more to hurry with his escape. The fire was spreading and the roaring flames now found their home too close to the cage. After a few attempts something snapped in the lock and the elf dropped down to the floor just a few seconds before the flames started to lick the rusty cage. He did not pause on the irony of the situation and grabbed his stuff from the table and, like a hero from children stories, jumped through the flames out to the world.

*

Outside the house, Myrta stood in awe as she watched the enormous rock catch fire. It burned even quicker than the dry tree and suddenly a rather scorched elf tumbled out of the rock. A loud cackle echoed through the air and while the enormous rock changed shape into a burning hut a big twisted hunchbacked humanoid figure flew a few dozen feet from the elven archer. She or rather IT landed and started to talk with the most honeyed voice. But her sweet words very quickly turned into a violent speech and curses and voice changed from honey to rust. She was putting more and more intensity into her words and when she was just about to finish suddenly an arrow hit her forehead. The hag roared with pain and unearthly anger - the elven archer without knowing it broke her spell. Immediately after that she tried to attack the adventurers but with no success. Frustrated and rather bored with this Pasture situation the Hag cackled to herself once more and made a gesture. An enormous object - almost as big as a hut - flew to her in a moment and the hag grabbed onto it. And the adventurers watched as their prey flew away.

Now you can see that - as I mentioned earlier - Myrta did not need help at all. But the other player was already hyped for the game and no one could predict that Myrta would get lucky again.

The adventurers introduced themselves to each other and Heian joined the game. The group shortly after that returned to the town of Pastures and explained the situation to the authorities. Meanwhile many of the citizens who were under the influence of hags magic returned to their normal mental state. And a lot of new problems risen again. Suddenly husbands and wives did not recognize their spouses and wanted nothing to do with them anymore. And even more problems rose shortly after that - mostly about owning of property, loans and so on. The authorities found out suddenly how much was their small town under the evil influence. But everybody grieved one thing - the loss of their children through all those years. Among all the townsfolk there was only one child - the boy Myrta and the others saved from the mines a few days ago. And the last problem rose- the most grave one - a survival of the community.

This part was probably most boring for my players because it was showing how much they influenced and changed the world around them and honestly I do not think they ever cared.

The people of Pastures thanked the adventurers and rewarded them (I hope). They even changed the style of government in the city, to prevent the more disasters like the last one. But this was in no interest to the players and they left the city in a hurry to catch up with Drýđ. The adventure was seemingly over, the witch was gone and they were now all together on the road north. For the first time they were spending night in the wild without the fear of witch’s magic. Stars were beautiful and bright but Myrta paid no mind to them. She missed her friend and companion and thought about the possibility that she will not see her ever again.

[dmcracy]

Group 2. - A serie of frowns and facepalms

Bors turned out to be a capable helmsman. The tired trio was slowly getting to the dry land. But unfortunately, a pirate ship noticed their slow approach and attacked them. When a group of pirates followed by their captain entered the ship of our heroes, Llthrae and Orik wanted to fight them but Bors raised his hands in surrender and other two PC’s quickly followed his example. They were taken prisoners and all of their valuables - gold and most of their items - were taken from them.

Meanwhile, Mína (as I mentioned before) wanted to find them. She meditated (abuse of meditation started somewhere here) and asked Earth for the right direction. It worked and she made a plan. She needed to get to the kingdom of Erkank as fast as possible. She counted how many hours she can stay in aquatic form and realized it won't be enough. So her next move was to buy a boat. When she got one she turned into a dolphin and started swimming towards the direction Earth gave her dragging her new boat on a rope behind her. When her shapeshift worn out she climbed to the boat and rowed for the rest of the day. I was so astonished by her decision and saw so many flaws (death by many means like exhaustion, drowning, sea monsters etc.) in it that i decided to give up on almost every aspect of D&D in this case and just wanted her to get to the other players as fast as possible.

When I think about it now it would have killed her very fast, but in those days I wanted to provide fun to my players and respect every decision they made. At the end of her journey, she was attacked by harpies and they flew with her to the sky. That was another moment where I realized that she was about to die and I saved her somehow (I really do not remember this event). Eventually, she got to the kingdom of Erkank and met a dashing young swashbuckler called Rodolfo Brenna.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the trio tried many attempts to get out of the prison they were held in. When they finally got out they met with Mína and Rodolfo in a corridor. Mína explained that they were trying to save the trio and Rodolfo helped her (he basically smashed everything in the tower and lockpicked the door). Llthrae and Mína greeted each other like they have not seen each other in years, but in the game, it was like two weeks. This was the point where everything I hoped for (and mentioned in the previous blog) shattered. Llthrae got Mína back and every bit of fellowship to his male companions was gone in an instant.

The group escaped the tower to the courtyard and Rodolfo shouted some charming quotes on the guards standing below them and a pirate captain Isabella standing next to them.

Then we rolled initiative. The guards went first and, as a group, they did almost nothing (most of them did not even raise their weapons). Then there was Rodolfo's turn and he said dashingly that they should leave while he holds them off. He jumped down, moved around the guards and faced Isabella. The guards did no opportunity attack. And then there was Llthrae’s turn. And he threw a fireball into the squad of guards killing them all in an instant. After that, the veterans watching this started to shoot their crossbows at him and Rodolfo even turn his head to the wizard.

The fight was quickly over. Some crossbow bolts found their Llthrae mark but Orik and Bors did not wanted to meddle in this affair. In next move Rodolfo defeated Isabella and as she was falling to the ground he caught her and brought her on his arms to the sleeping chamber. There he put her unconscious body to the bed and explained to them that this was not a real fight. He said that this is all they do because practically all of them are thieves or pirates and from time to time they need some fun. But Llthrae was not listening, because his gold was missing. And it was a lot of gold. He was carrying almost 25K and was angry at Isabella for stealing it. After a moment, he snapped and wanted to revive her. So he opened his Alchemy jug and, by his own words, “slowly poured all water that was insight onto her face”. This killed Isabella in an instant and everybody was shocked. He tried to say things like - that he did not know it was so much water inside or, with a shy laugh, he explained that she should be more fit if she traveled the seas.

The funny thing was Mína did not move a muscle while he did that. It was all ok for her I guess. She was a good little minion once more and that was all she cared for. And what really happened to Isabella? When she was younger she made a deal with a devil - to get rich and powerful so the kingdom of Erkank could be hers one day. She literally could have not been killed by any means except one - water. For a pirate, it was a good joke and the devil and Isabella laughed at this when they struck the deal. But when Llthrae poured that water on her face there was no hope for her and even I was surprised by this event.

But the gold was still missing and Llthrae ordered one “guy” to search for it. After a while, during which the others tended to the injured and cared for people, “guy” returned with a piece of bad news - the gold was gone. Angry Llthrae quickly found out that it was probably moved to the city and he immediately summoned his phantom steed and left. Just like that, without a warning. This was a wonderful display of how Llthrae does not give a fuck about anything or anybody.

The session ended and Llthrae was really mad. And again I spent hours talking to him and explaining things (tired right after the session). He cooled down a little bit while I tried to offer an easier campaign. But he refused. And I was getting tired of this nonsense already.

[dmcracy]

Solo Campaign p.6 - A Bad DM

During this short period of traveling through the marsh, Myrta and Drýđ met Orik. Orik “Silent Birch” or, in his elven name, Dína Nimbreth, was a thousand years old archdruid protecting the whole continent. When he approached them Drýđ felt uneasy but to Myrta's surprise, she did nothing reckless. Orik was as polite as he could be and tried to explain things to the still quite a naive duo as simply and understandably as possible. Off course, they did not understand, how could they? They were young girls and despite one of them being a druid they simply could not understand the grey morality of powerful beings. It was just beyond their understanding. But one thing was clear, Drýđ lied to Myrta about what happened. Orik was very stern when they tried to confront him with the facts they knew and elaborated upon everything they said. He even tried to stop them from their quest, warning them about the dangers of that path. But their attitude was very stoic, so he gave them his blessing and departed.

Traveling further they encountered a Wyvern. The fight was very quick and after they defeated the monster, they ventured into its cave to look around. To their surprise, they found eggs and younglings in the cave with some minor treasure. So they gathered any treasure they could and left (the other sources might say they took the cubs to the Wetland - this was added later as a part of a legend about Myrta). Moving to the north through the bog they found a village called Wetland. The village consisted of a few houses scattered across few patches of dry land and a big longhouse on the western side, where local mayor resided. They spent some time in here, heard some local rumors and met few new people - most colorful figure was probably a local drunkard called Setanta (an immortal champion of Neru and very depressed young man). While talking to a local barman they shared their story and, to their surprise barman was not moved at all. He said that it is a normal business in these parts and told them to share their story with the Wyverns with the local mayor. So they agreed and after talking to this weird individual (mayor) he sent a rescue team for the cubs because they have a knack for Wyvern riding in these parts. Soon after that Myrta and Drýđ decided to move further north and they left. While back in the nightmarish country, Myrta had another deadly encounter. I used a few Blights for a random encounter and it was almost fatal. When I calculated this it should have been a trivial encounter. But Myrta failed her perception checks while keeping watch and these little creatures surrounded her, unnoticed. The fight began and it went south shortly. Drýđ eventually saved her, but I almost killed her with twigs. They could have been another nameless windswept pile of bones in this vast nothingness.

Next day, they finally came into a little town called Pastures. This small wooden town was quite new - still smelling with fresh resin and wood and the buildings were still white. Drýđ brought Myrta to the house of her parents and another disappointment arose. The parents were blaming Drýđ for all their misfortune and they were treating Myrta very poorly from the start. At the end of their visit, Drýđ announced that she must stay here, taking care of her grandma, and they can not continue to travel together anymore. So Myrta left and, again, was on her own after a long time.

I did this on purpose. I saw Myrta saved by Drýđ (me) and pure luck for far too many times and I wanted to change that. I wanted Myrta to grow up a bit and kinda find her own path. Yes, she still had the protection of Brandobaris, but it was not the same case as with the Drýđ. I gave Myrta enough magic and options to stay alone and alive, at least in my opinion. The thing I always say about this is “I want you to think outside the box”. But I do not want to push my players too much, I do not want them to be to “my liking”. That would enslave them. And Myrta being Myrta showed me her true colors (powers) very shortly after that. And I was sure, that druid is not a class for her - she would shine more as a rogue or bard, the classes that excel in manipulation and assassination (in a good way).

Myrta, in a few days, found a new ally, Arto Brísing. He was a local historian and an author of a dozen books discussing local history, folklore, etc. Together they studied the case and Myrta even lived in Arto’s house. While she was alone in the town, strange things happened to her and she started to believe she was haunted. Her bed was scorched and not even a circle of salt helped her to protect herself. Eventually, she gave up on that, because the haunting was not hurting her for real, she just could not rest well (long rest). But she wanted to push this investigation further and when a local boy disappeared she decided to look into an old copper mine.

This copper mine was abandoned a few decades ago and the whole town surrounding it, called The copper mountain moved further to the land and founded Pastures. All the evidence of supernatural activity pointed to the copper mine and Myrta was almost sure she would find some clue there. In a time, Myrta paid several visits to the mine. Once she found nothing and went back to study the case more. Another time she lost her pet grass snake due to the influence of strange magic there and was urged to fight all the bears she convinced to help her. During this visit, Arto Brísing died and Myrta was more hopeless than ever, but Arto came suddenly to life a day after and the situation grew weirder for her (and me) every day. Between the visits, she tried to spare some time with Drýđ and talked to a few locals, one of whom was a strange figure - a priestess of Chauntea called Agatha.

I felt kinda lost in this situation and was very desperate for any new option for her to handle this adventure. Those visits to the mine - there and back - for many times with almost no advancement in the story did something to me. And I must admit it was not a good thing for a DM. I lost trust in my player. Talking about the fear earlier was not just for drama. It was a real thing and I think to this day that Myrta’s fear led to this. A point of no return where you do not know and are unable to do something. But I am not blaming her, because it was my fault. I thought that she might not do it alone. And now I see how wrong I was. But in those days I did not see this situation clearly. I did not trust her anymore and we both (in my opinion) - Myrta and I - needed help. So I asked my friend to join our game and he accepted. And Heian was born.

[dmcracy]

Group 2. - The Favourite

After the two knights vanished the group push forward. The second floor of the tower was as dark as the previous one. Ghosts were everywhere, minding their own business and a sticky, wet liquid sounds were echoing around.

I put two more kinds of monsters on the second floor. First is one of my all-time favourite - a living wall. But the group just wanted to go to the top floor so the encounter did not happen. The second monster was a Crypt thing. And this one was special because it was made from the remains of king Alboin (and few other unknown bones), who founded the first order of knights in Erkank (you can find some info about him here - years 668-721).

So I moved him towards them and after a brief conversation he explained what needed to be done - they must get the sacred chalice away from this tower.

So they went back to the stairs and rushed up. Unfortunately, another CON save was required and Roger did not succeed. So only Llthrae, Orik, and Bors got to the top floor. They found a chamber mostly untouched by evil and in the middle of it, there was a stone altar with the chalice. The black evil goo was pouring out from the chalice and spreading across the floor and down the stairs. And behind the altar, an unexpected monstrosity waited. A werewolf in some sort of a plate armor, armed with a magical spear and tower shield.

This was the already mentioned werewolf and a leader of knights, Regin. He was also possessed by an evil ghost of a priest who resided in this tower before. Regis tried to save the tower from the evil influence of the priest. He deliberately contracted lycanthropy, even though he knew this would damn him, to gain some advantage in resisting the evil in the tower. But he failed and in doing so helped the evil priest achieve what he desired for decades. So I combined a werewolf with a ghost with paladin features and skills. And I was scared because he could easily wipe out the party. Or at least I thought so. And this is what really happened.

They tried to talk but eventually, a fight begun. And one of the first things that happened was that Regin got disarmed. Bors was a Battle master and we talked about a new thing we wanted to introduce into the game - a disarming attack. It was a contest of two strength checks. I felt confident and approved it. But Bors being a Battle master could bend the luck to his side and soon my BBEG was without a weapon and shield. So I tried to possess Llthrae with the ghost. The priest left the body of the werewolf and Llthrae was now under my command. I felt so happy because I thought he would fireball their asses. But I made a mistake and said: “Llthrae kill them please.” And Llthrae raised his crossbow and tried to shoot someone. Maybe it was my mistake not specifying what he should do. But I think it was just his metagaming (and saying Fuck you) because he did not want to hurt his fellas.

So the disappointed ghost returned to the body of Regin and he raised the chalice. The fight between the two souls was visible on the face of the werewolf but eventually, he succumbed and emptied the chalice. And in front of my players, Regin screamed in agony as his body and soul warped into one with the priest. The flesh burned down with sweet smell and there stood a new creature - fire demon (Imagine human-sized Balrog consisting only from flames). The new Regin thanked them and flew away. Orik tried to run and jump on him, but missed and almost fell off the tower.

Then, the tower started to collapse, so they run down the stairs trying to escape. While running, a block of stone hit Llthrae and broke his leg. They saw king Alboin patiently waiting for them but did not stop. Suddenly Bors changed his mind and the party split. Orik helped Llthrae get out of the tower, but Bors was nowhere to be seen.

*

Bors came to Alboin. The tower was collapsing. Alboin raised his hand to the battle master and Bors gave him the chalice. Then Bors look up and saw a block of stone falling right onto him.

He blinked holding his breath and suddenly he was in a different place. A graveyard surrounded by the circle of pine trees. It was a sunny day and a faint breeze touched his sweating face.

Alboin was standing in front of him. He spoke:

“I have a proposition for you young man. This country is in peril, but I see a potential within you and I would like to entrust you an item worthy of a kingdom. Take this crown and bring it back to the city of Erkan. This country needs a king and a new king will need a knight like you.

Do you accept this duty?!”

Bors looked at the crown and accepted the honors. When he touched the crown, the king crumbled into a pile of bones. Bors took those bones and stashed them into his bag. Then he ventured towards the ruins of the tower.

*

The tower almost entirely collapsed and only a part where an immortal champion of the order - Willem - stands guard remained. After a moment Bors came down to the rest of the party. In meantime, Llthrae (jumping on one leg) tried to loot the ruins but with no success. Then he found the blocks of stone with the faces of three knights. I think this saddened him and he started to think and talk more about them and how he wanted them to stay alive. The party arrived at the boat. The air was eerie silent, only the boat creaked from time to time. There was no crew, only a rag with some bones close to the helm. Bors took the rag and scattered the bones into the sea (Rag was a highly enchanted and cursed item which could turn you into my version of Merrenoloth). Everybody took a spot on the boat and kept to himself.

Eventually, Bors tried to move the boat and, to the surprise of all of us, he succeeded. Llthrae gave a last look at the ruins and saw a miracle. Lord of the dead and a patron of Ruby order came down through his avatar and rescued the three knights for their stone prison. No one else saw this except for Llthrae and he might have been happier for a while after this.

I was happy this big adventure was over and kinda satisfied with the results. I was hoping that Llthrae would take something from this and it might change him towards good for the future. It seemed to me like these three characters bonded there and they could become friends. After all, Orik somewhat saved Llthrae's life and they all survived a very deadly encounter. I was hoping that they would all turn to some noble cause and start to value a noble life etc. Thinking about this now I see myself as a pure fool, because I was hoping that they will do things I like. That is just bad, everybody has his own idea of fun. And mostly there is nothing noble about adventuring and everybody has his price. And Mína wanted to return to the game

[dmcracy]

Solo Campaign p.5 - A Deep water

A very cold winter came and Drýđ and Myrta needed to cross the kingdom of Gaese Tirga. They eluded the city of Volkdorf with great arc and entered the village of Meander once more. But the village changed since their last visit. Everybody was on guard and almost no folk were allowed to leave the village. The villagers even built a great palisade around the village to protect them and a statue of Myrta and her bear to honor her and their deeds. When they asked around what was happening almost everybody answered with one word - wolves. Myrta, naturally, wanted to look into this matter and they tried to find out as much as possible about the situation. And that evening the answer came - a pack of wolves ran around the city looking for an easy prey. But they found nothing and lied down in front of the village. After that a great white wolf came. He was a true giant among his kin and every villager and wolf alike shook in his presence. Then, the wolf spoke with a grim voice, laughing at the doomed villagers. Then they left. So, Drýđ and Myrta now knew what was the problem and Myrta being Myrta tried her favourite tactic - a poison. She asked the villagers for some fish and poisoned the whole basket with the concoction from one of her new creations - a poisonous mushroom called sickle. Then she tried to plant this basket as an offering to the great wolf, but he smelled something weird in the offering and left, raging and spitting curses. That was the moment when the duo went after him. They tracked the wolf to its lair and tried to reason with him. While diplomacy was taking place, the pack surrounded them. The great wolf laughed and they attacked. Storm of teeth, lightning and steel raged on the snowy hill, but, eventually, Drýđ slew the tyrant and the other wolves stopped the attack. They explained what happened to them and they thanked the girls for saving them.

And Drýđ was granted the rank of their alpha after this. She (I) was very pleased with this and they swore to protect the land around the Meander from harm from now on. Then, Myrta used her second greatest crating skill and made a similar attire as she wore for Drýđ from the slain wolf skin. Drýđ even got a hooded cape with cute ears on it. But Drýđ was urged by the wolves to leave with them. Myrta understood this and they promised to meet again very soon. So, Drýđ left and Myrta left the Meander and traveled north.

They met shortly after than in the mountains and Drýđ explained that her pack now protects the land around the Meander. They traveled around the great lake called The Sweet sea and resisted the lure of quest I planted their way. After a few days of road travel they entered the farmlands around the village of Joy and met their lovely occupants in form of two farm boy thugs and a big dog. And what was supposed to be a fight turned into a grotesque. You see, I gave Myrta a very powerful gift in the beginning - a tattoo that allowed her to speak to animals freely. And she immediately found out that the dog boys had hateed them and she successfully sicked the dog on them. There was no fight but two surprised and now screaming and running lads chased by a cursing dog who thanked them for pushing him into this fun. The girls laughed as well and continued traveling north to the Cold plains.

The land changed and verdant grassy fields and forests were replaced by a peat bog with some dry patches of spiky grass, constant fog, bursts of earth gases which sometimes burn for days and so on. And as they moved further into the country strange things started to appear. A small stick idols hanging from the lonely trees or planted in small rock piles. Grass moving without wind.

An apparitions of a strange hunchbacked figure and so on. Noises and howls from the fog that send shivers down your spine. This place was far away from a real civilization. Far away from heroes and knights protecting your hide. These lands were not ruled by kings but by monsters.

I tried to create the atmosphere of utmost dread and danger here as hard as I could. That is my way of telling the players that they are not safe anymore. At least not as they are in the civilized lands. In my mind, the contrast between the land of village of Joy and their stupid farm boys and Cold Plains is like contrast between shallow and deep sea. You feel comfortable swimming in the azure waters because you can see the bottom and everything that swims around. This changes when you enter the deep water. The darkness is indifferent and can scare even most brave of us. We can not see what is in there, because we are creatures of light. But the darkness is watching and waiting for our first mistake. And the worst thing is when you survive those mistakes, because from that moment you carry that darkness on your shoulders.

Myrta now entered the deep sea. She already gained some fear in her adventures before but that is nothing compared to what is waiting for her in her future.

[dmcracy]

Group 2. - Death is only the beginning

14.10.1958 Orik Lapka was hanged in the city of Ladennar. Or at least the chronicles say so. What really happened was that those three knights already mentioned earlier, Llthrae, and Mína met in their tower before they asked our adventurers for help. They, naturally, agreed and that is why Orik got saved.

You see, the knight orders in my game have special privileges. They can, for example, select a few from convicts and other lowlife and use them to fill in the ranks of their troops in the time of need. Those who got selected are under an oath that they will obey their orders and fulfill their commands and contracts no matter the circumstances. This right is mostly used by knight orders for suicide missions and very hard tasks. If these chosen ones fulfill their duty to the order they are given a pardon for crimes, no matter what crime it is. If the chosen ones fail to fulfill the contract in any way it results in a punishment that vary with each order, but most common punishment is death.

So, the three knights - Roger, Roderic and Reinald - asked for help and the adventurers agreed under one condition. They must save Orik. They made a plan, set a meeting point, and made preparations for a small theater. In meantime people gathered around gallows.

*

Orik and a few others were brought there and their sentences were read to the public. Then, the hangman did his job and the ropes creaked. The crowd was silently watching five bodies hanging and kicking in the air. Orik was tied differently and was in no danger. The only thing he was supposed to do is play his part. And he played it so well Josephine DeVries shouted curses on him in ecstatic orgasm of rage and satisfaction as she watched him “die”. Her screams even scared a few crows sitting on the fortification, waiting for their lunch.

The bodies stopped twitching and the people started to leave, Josephine exhausted silently sobbing among them.

The ropes were cut and the bodies fell to the ground. And Orik, pretending to be dead, was moved with the others to the undertaker. And the three knights offered to escort the undertaker to the graveyard. Because times are dangerous.

*

And now we could ask a question: where was Llthrae all this time? The answer is doing push ups.

Yes. Because if I recall correctly in some discussion he said that Llthrae is athletic to what I replied no, you have strength of 9 and you are feeble. So, suddenly we were in the 80′ movie and Llthrae put a bandana on his head behind the city walls, where he was supposed to stealthily secure the meeting place, and started to work out. The song She’s a maniac is very fitting in many ways for this situation. And I must admit I don’t think anyone in the future can play a true madman as good as Llthrae.

The guards around the city had a small morning show. Orik slipped from the cart of the dead bodies and his hands were tied by the knights. They ventured to the meeting spot and found Llthrae. When Bors arrived at last, they moved. They traveled for two weeks. In the meantime they fought some ghost wolves - my own creation - and during that fight Orik was unable to fight, so they released his hands and he promised he wouldn't run away. Bors was very stern with him and Llthrae did not like Orik much after he found out what he did. It was nice seeing the tension between the players, because I like when players interact realistically to the actions of others. Eventually they arrived to the kingdom of Erkank and boarded the ship to island where the tower of the order stood.

During the sailing, Llthrae killed about a hundred of seagulls because he wanted their souls for his enchanting (This was a last attempt on enchanting using souls - Llthrae did not like the gambling character of this method and we moved to a different one shortly after that). And the knights of the Ruby order told them their story. In short, they were once a proud order but their power diminished through the centuries and the final blow was 20 years ago when a grand catastrophe happened. Everything was lost on that island and only a few squires and one knight remained, because they were in the abbey of Tellus Kindir. This knight, Regis, dedicated his life to rebuild this order. First, he changed the name of the order. The tower that gave the name to the order was lost and now only a sacrificial bowl with rubies was remaining in their possession, so he named them the knights of the Ruby order. Then, he trained his three squires as well as he could in every possible way. But, sadly, 3 years ago he disappeared and since then Roger, Roderic and Reinald were looking for him. The werewolf Llthrae and Mina met was Regis (and because of that no one noticed that). When the trio found out about his curse they wanted to help him. But after the encounter in Western forest Regis vanished. And only recent news of some movement within the tower revealed to the group where he might be.

With this knowledge, they arrived to the island. A tall tower stood in the middle, surrounded by black tentacles of smoke and shade. An eerie whispers and cacophonic sounds could be heard from time to time on the island. A grand cloud was gathering above the tower and a storm was raging within it. And a few motionless big black dogs guarded the entrance. The group lined in front of the tower and the guards awoke. The hell hounds fell down with ease and the group entered the tower. Everything was black. Not only the lightless interior but every piece of furniture or item was covered in a black veil like substance and not even light spell revealed what was beneath.

Ghosts of the previous owners were everywhere, acting like nothing happened, minding their own business not disturbed by the interlopers. Then it happened. I made my players roll constitution check and I rolled for the knights. My players succeeded, two of my knights did not. And suddenly, in front of their eyes two of the knights - Roderic and Reinald - sank to the ground with screams of despair and clash of their weapons and armor.

[dmcracy]

Solo Campaign p.4 - A Misadventurer

So, our little Myrta, Drýđ and her pet grass snake traveled through the mountains to the warmer lands. First, she wanted to meet with her family, and her teacher, Doryforos. They got to the Primordial forest through the city of Volkdorf - a capitol of kingdom called Gaese Tirga where they met few madmen, ate some human flesh unawarely and quickly left, because they started to hate that lovely place. When they met the centaur (in the Primordial forest), he was astonished that Drýđ was actually a woman and pitied her for the loss of her child/cub that hunters killed before they first met. This was the first moment when they both - Myrta and Drýđ - realized she did not remember her past so well (yes, it was not me, it was her - do not point fingers). Myrta knew this somehow earlier and even tried to find out about her problems few times but without success (one of the techniques was getting her drunk, which did not work out and Drýđ thought after that that Myrta has feelings for her). Doryforos welcomed them and they explained what were their next steps - finding the druid responsible for cruel fate of Drýđ. Drýđ also mentioned that he molested her and this was just his form of vengeance for refusing his advances with a pot of boiling water. Doryforos was confused by this story but could not help much - he pointed them to the north and wished them good luck.

The visit to Myrta’s family was brief. Father got her first diary she filled with exciting stories, and gave her a new one. Mother tried to convince her that she should marry finally. So everything was as usual and they left for the city, where they bought two horses - Nahar and Lightning/Prince (Prince was named after a famous horse/actor who played many galloping roles in late 20th century Czechoslovak cinematography) - and met with old friends (bullies) who were not so lively, because they survived the war that raged in these parts for the last few months. And because Myrta could understand language of animals thanks to her tattoo she found out very shortly about the wonderful personalities of their new horses.

Nahar was a not so bright jolly stallion who always tried to look at the bright side of the situation. Lightning, on the other had, was like a bucket of acid. First he was outraged that he was sold to a mere adventurers. Second he was outraged about his fake name Lightning, because his first master called him Prince and he was used to that name from the times when he was just a little foal. He also hated traveling through the wilderness because in his opinion a horse of his kind should gallop only the best roads available. This horse belonged to Drýđ and he realized very how much she likes him and he grew fond of her too.

The next thing they wanted to do was to craft some warm clothes for Drýđ. Myrta previously fought a Yeti and after a successful defeat of this abomination she skinned him and made some crude paleolithic attire. So, naturally, they went for another one to the mountains. But it was an adventure to their demise.

I rolled for a random encounter and luckily a Yeti appeared. But it was not that common large gorilla like creature with horns. This was its angry cousin, an abominable yeti. A creature capable of hunting down small dragons and wyverns living in the mountains. I tried to warn them with signs of dread and his howling but they attacked and abomination defeated them (Drýđ attacked the Yeti first, because he went for the horses, so instead of hunting them Yeti took Drýđ and Myrta to his cave and horses run away).

So, the next scene they remember was like from Empire strikes back, but instead o killing the yeti they decided to do a smarter thing and ran away. They hastily returned to the grasslands and found their horses (Nahar convinced Prince to stay). But there was something else that happend during the time Myrta was dead. She was brought to some sort of realm resembling Tír na nÓg.

She was standing on the cliff, wind playing with her hair and clothes, and a sounds of waves crushing into the rocks echoing beneath her. And Brandobaris appeared before her. He asked her a few questions and the last one was if she was ready to depart. She refused and he asked if she was sure, if she really wanted to return to that world of pain again. Myrta was concrete about her decision. When she turned back to Brandobaris he was gone and in his place a single rowan tree stood. She tried to meditate under it and a murder of crows came out of nowhere, grabbed her and flew to the sky with her. That was the moment when she awoke in the cave of abomination.

This was the first encounter with death Myrta had. And the fear she experienced from before grew. So, from now on, she tried to stay as safe as possible. She even refused gifts if not sure from whom they were. Unfortunately her story was going to get much more terrifying very soon. The adventurers headed north to the Cold plains for the town of Pastures.

[dmcracy]

Group 2. - What does not kill you

So finally I had a core group - a wizard, a barbarian and a fighter. At this point gods of D&D heard my prayers and I got to play in a small adventure. The player who played Orik made something up and I created a gnomish wild sorcerer named Erwin Shrotniker – a sorcerer, an inventor and a guy who never knows where his cat is. The adventure was really short but devastating to my world. One village was destroyed and a few players got overpowered items. In the end, we caught the necromancer responsible for the destruction of Woodrot and I returned to the DM’s chair. This was also the last time I remember Elia playing with us and she then stayed with Mína in Llthrae's fort, to which I gave a nickname A Storage for Druids. And it was the time to torture them again.

First, let's talk about Orik Lapka and his beautiful backstory. As we mentioned earlier, he killed a noble for his rapier. That rapier did not last long in his possession and he quickly switched to an enchanted axe Llthrae made for him. It was a greataxe and small creatures should not be able to use it properly. So while the fort was under construction he was practicing every day and I gave him stamina bar for his attacks, which meant that he could attack only a few times normally before he got tired. And also while the fort was under the construction there was a putsch in the capitol of Emerlen, the city called Ladennar. And during that putsch, a certain nobleman died from poisoning and his wife, who loved him very much, was grieving and the only person who could somewhat cheer her up was her beloved brother. But one day that brother never came back to the city. And he was found murdered, probably hit by a rock to the back of his skull. And his rapier was missing. So, Josephine DeVries got really furious. It was that kind of an unstoppable rage, so familiar to barbarians, and she wanted the murderer brought to justice.

I mentioned earlier that Orik and others were visiting Mirin Kartak regularly to train the rapier fighting with the master swordsman Caleb Arnyann. This guy was the last one of his noble house, moneyless and kind of a weirdo. And he recognized the rapier Orik had on their third fencing session. That was the moment when he refused to teach him or anyone from their group and asked them to leave. Caleb then kept the secret to himself, because he did not know the reason why Orik killed the nobleman and did not want to make some mistake with false accusations. So no one knew who he was and Orik was safe for some time.

But Orik also worshipped Umberlee, a vicious and malicious goddess of the seas. And whenever he got a new class feature from the storm barbarian class he was urged to embrace the ocean. In most cases, this meant that he drowned himself and lost most of his possessions, except for those which Umberlee thought worthless for her (he also got new hair color, turquoise green). When he did this for the first time a husband and a wife living in Ladennar found him washed up on the shore. These people gave him some old clothes they had after their children and rented a horse for him so he could quickly return to his group. The first time they were more amused than anything else and let him go without questions. They got curious when it happened for the second time. Meanwhile, Orik made up more of his backstory and the reason for killing the noble was not only the urge to own the rapier but also a righteous fury because Orik played his bagpipes and the noble laughed at him. This was the final version of the backstory and a justification of murder to Orik. Later, the second time he got washed up the husband from the previous encounter rode his horse on the bank and spotted him. When he approached naked Orik with laughter he asked questions how he got there and so on. Orik gave him some information and one of them was that he lost his beloved bagpipes. This information struck the noble because it was Gnaeus Sorex - the father of Josephine's deceased husband. He got even more curious and they talked a bit while they were traveling to the city. This happened before the small adventure where I played my gnome. And immediately after I returned to the DM’s seat the trap has sprung.

The village of Woodrot was burning for several days while the group of adventurers went tracking down the evil necromancer. But, naturally, they were not the only ones interested in finding out what happened. So when they returned to the Woodrot (because Erwin wanted to see the place for the last time) Caleb Arnyann, Quain Sorex (brother of Marcus, Josephine's husband) and two other knights were in the village, looking for evidence. They met with the adventurers and the four horsemen recognized Orik. And because the adventurers resolved the whole problem they were JUST asked to follow them to the city and tell their story. Naturally, they went and a diviner was brought to the questioning room. He wanted to see memories of every adventurer and when he got to Orik he stopped at the point where it all started he asked him if he could go further. And Orik answered yes. The diviner found out everything about the murderer's past to the point where he threw that rock. And, that day, Orik Lapka was sentenced to death.

[dmcracy]

Solo Campaign p.3 - Revelations

Drýđ (her name is based on Beowulf) was too young for the dreadful things life (me) prepared for her. Once, she was living in the town of Grazings with her husband in a cozy little house. They were happy for a while. And then everything she knew turned to dust. One night, she had a terrible nightmare. A giant bear was attacking them in the woods and she tried to run away as fast as possible with their newborn crying and screaming for her husband. But in that dream he never came, she just heard his voice echoing in the forest mixed with the roars of the bear. She screamed and screamed but help never arrived. And it was in that moment of utmost fear in that terrible dream when she, for the first time, felt her unsustainable rage. The bear was catching up with her so she knelt and hid her child in the roots of the tree and made her final stand. The monster was running at her in a shapeless blur but she knew it was her or her child. So she screamed with the force only a defending mother can muster and attacked the phantom. She started clawing and biting the monster as fast as possible and, surprisingly, it was so easy. Too easy. The monster did not resist. So she pummeled the beast and suddenly woke up. Cold sweat dripping from her body she exhaled realizing it was just a dream and tried to lay down once again. But something warm and wet was beside her. And when she turned her gaze she was petrified. At first, she could not even recognize the thing that was lying beside her. His twisted, broken body was almost unrecognizable. She put her hand to cover her mouth and tears started to run down her cheeks. After few heartbeasts she jumped from the bed and started to walk through the room frantically crying and pulling her hair. Suddenly she stopped and turned to the bed. That dream. Was that her? Did SHE do this? She gasped and unable to cry just stood there in her nightgown with opened mouth overwhelmed by horror and unable to scream. And darkness took place where her heart once was. Pouring to her through her opened mouth like you fill the bottle with water. An oozy black pitch like substance covered her insides. And something primordial switched inside her and then she ran. 

Now its time to show how bad DM I can be.  I consulted Myrta about these events because I made no notes from those times. Yes, not a one single word for me to remember, because I was playing Drýđ, a little grass snake friend Myrta had from the first forest and lots of other NPCs, monsters, villains and I try to explain the story as vividly as possible. And nothing from her campaign so far was prepared. It was a pure improvisation and I - a great improviser - got lost in my own storytelling and never wrote a note. In my eyes her campaign was just for fun and nothing serious and I know how bad that sounds. Only later I discovered my fatal flaw and forced myself to the habit of notemaking (thanks to this guy). And writing this little blog helped me tremendously as well. At least I like to think it helped and I improved.

Anyway back to the story. They crushed the gnolls, saved the village and moved to the other side of the mountain, because Myrta wanted to see what was there. Mountains had its share of secrets and dangers as well (they fought a yeti while traveling) but eventually, they survived and found a new unexplored area for my players - Langbarttal (land of long beards). This is one of my favourite places in my world. A place where dwarves ride on the backs of wooly mammoths covered by wooden ramparts, dragons roam the surrounding mountains and where one of the most ancient cities of Neru, Lanbardin, is hidden. I think Myrta liked the place too because after giving a finger to my adventure I prepared for her she wanted to stay here for almost a year (like half of a session in real time). And what was she doing for that time? She was growing mushrooms and reproducing new species. I liked the idea of the off time activities and a lot of things happened during that time (One of them was finding out that the best way to engage players in campaign is build upon their interests and interests of their characters). Drýđ got a new amulet which suppressed the lycanthropy (but did not reduce the urge to shapeshift, which will, eventually backlash later) and a new weapon. Myrta got a new friends - a teacher called Tarka and her adoptive son named after her, Terkar. She also created a bunch of new mushroom species for my world so I guess I got a present too. The girls also bonded even more and one day they talked about Drýđ, her past. This was the moment where Myrta found out about her sad and dark past - her husband and how she run away from home, her cub/baby that got killed by a group of hunters and that she liked to be shapeshifted into a bear for so long, because she felt more and more distant from her pain and past to the point where she completely disconnected from her human nature. And than she asked Myrta to go back to her home and find out what happened. Drýđ also told a story about an evil driud who she thought was responsible for her curse. I liked that scene when they talked because after that they had a pillow fight and Drýđ was obviously hitting on her, but Myrta did not respond to her advances (yes, I create these moments of tension for amusement of me and my players just to watch it splat like an egg on concrete). 

But Lanbardin gave Myrta one more thing. The thing she did not shed from that moment since she arrived. Because she fought a little boggle in a locked room. And it almost killed her. Because when Myrta did not know what to do, she froze. Yes, Drýđ, eventually, kicked the door and killed the little bugger, but that fear held onto Myrta and grew even stronger. And this will complicate things in the future.

[dmcracy]

Solo campaign p.2 + Group 2. Poisons

The curiosity brought Myrta out of the forest to the small encampment made by gnolls . She saw those appalling creatures moving some prisoners to one of their tents and she immediately made a plan to put them all to sleep by poisoning the water. She was a herbalist and found some herb she thought might help create a poison. I made her roll a herbalist check and the result was a small vial or dark green liquid with an awful smell. She turned into some animal - snake I think - and sneaked to the camp (with her grass snake friend she made earlier in the game). No guard spotted her presence and she emptied a whole vial to their water reserve. Then she slithered away and waited.

Nothing was happening for a while and she began to worry that her plan failed. So Myrta and her bear got closer to the camp. Nothing was moving. They got even closer and finally realized that something was wrong. In the centre of the camp, Myrta found a bunch of dead gnolls close to the water reserve barrels. They died so fast it almost made a pile of them and I gave her a nickname Myrta the Poisoner. The remaining gnolls just run away to the mountains. After a moment of astonishment Myrta noticed smoke rising from the nearby village to the north and immediately released the prisoners and moved to the smoking village. The village was called Meander and she just accidentally saved its people since the gnolls were hunting its denizens. When she arrived and told the local mayor, MacGilmere, about the accident, the people were so relieved they started repairing the village and promised to make her a statue. In the meantime Myrta also healed one man from the head injury what made their decision even more concrete. The mayor even housed her in his house and she was given a magical dagger +1: Letterbane (the poor dagger never saw a real action and was used only to open letters, so whenever someone wanted to use it on a paper it trembled).

At this point, her patron revealed himself to her for the first time. Brandobaris took his normal form of a halfling lad and talked to her in some barn. She was suspicious about him because he was cryptic and kinda out of place in here. He disappeared without a trace soon after the talk and she met another NPC - a mercenary called MacCorryn. This guy came from the far south looking for some job. He traveled across the sea after some troublesome job he had in Slanterk. The job went poor and he got kicked more than a dozen times to the butt but eventually crawled to the temple and healed himself. Yes, this was the guy Llthrae and Mína fought on the streets of Slanterk. They talked a bit and somehow figured that those gnolls are still a threat if not all dead and people of this village need to be safe. So without any delay, they went to the gnoll camp and tracked the remaining gnolls to the mountains.

After some time, and one well placed entangle spell on the side of the mountain while falling to certain death, they found a cave where the remaining gnolls were hiding. The stench was terrible, bones and filth were scattered in front of the entrance and a very low voice was chanting something (there was a gnoll warlock trying to summon shoosuva). So Myrta made another plan - the cave must be pulled down and whatever was within shall be imprisoned. But while they were planning the guards spotted adventurers and attacked. They were dispatched, Myrta and MacCorryn tried to release some loose rock on the top of the cave. But the rocks would not budge and the chant was getting louder. Time was running out. The bear Myrta befriended was walking behind them nervously, because there was not enough space for its large body. Then, suddenly, they heard an unknown voice saying “dont get scared now” followed by cracking of bones and stretching of skin and a pair of large clawed bearlike hands pushed the rock with them. The rocks have fallen, everybody inside the cave died. MacCorryn quickly turned and saw a werebear standing behind them. This was Drýđ, a very unfortunate girl.

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At this point, I introduced to my players a wandering mercenary siege engineer named Bors. Llthrae wanted to have his fort as invisible as possible but possible to defend if necessary (Mína could not join the game and her absence lasted for like 6 months). We made some preparations and Bors kinda joined the group. He played a mix of NPC and PC. I was expecting a good results in his playstyle because we played a lot of games together. But what happened amazed me. He totally nailed his character and played well even in those early moments. He even made a blueprint of that fort and gave it to us as PDF one day. And yes, he is my favourite. Not favourite meaning he can do anything he wants and everybody gets trash. No. He is my favourite because he plays so damn well, encourages others to do stuff so I can focus on details and remembers everything so I - a great improviser - can count on him because sometimes I just forget to make a note (for two hours for example, because I am dealing with things like players not having the char sheets and so on). 

Now Llthrae needed some workers. I made a sheet with a few possible groups so he could go and hire them. That never happened. He ordered Stan to do that while they waited in the fort. So, eventually, all of those groups came to the Western forest to work for Llthrae. Half-orcs, goblins, tiefling, gnomes, halflings, half-elves, dwarfs, and an elf. Yes, most of them hated each other. Everybody wanted something else. And even half-orcs disliked goblins. Then, Llthrae needed stone to build his home. The workers were given orders to clean the old road running through the forest, grub the surroundings of the ruin and prepare the wood for construction. Off course, Stan was given the order to watch them and the master (Llthrae) went to Mirin Kartak to talk to the quarry master. Do you remember the guy Llthrae woke up in the middle of the night banging on his door demanding more weed? That was Odal. And Odal remembers. So when Llthrae asked about the mason he was pointed to Odal’s house. Naturally, he did not remember what happened and Odal almost had a heart attack when he saw him again. But Bors was with them and they (Bors and me) made a deal (Bors saving the day was a canon from this moment). The stone was eventually delivered for a normal price and the construction work begun.

First, there was such low morale of his workers that the construction time extended for a month (Llthrae had no time to oversee his fort because he was enchanting an axe for Orik). The workers had nowhere to sleep and there was no real organization (the fort was still a ruin and a small tower where Bostock lived was big only for few people). Eventually, they were forced to group workers who can cooperate and build houses for them so the work could take a normal pace (trust me I know what I am talking about). Some accidents happened (Orik tried his new axe on a tree, the tree fell on a worker who was relieving himself) but they managed to help them and even improve the morale by granting workers a day off and preparing some refreshment for them. As sad as it sound when I look at the game now I see how Llthrae improved without Mína in our game (she had a little cameo, where she spent the entire time the fort was constructed in bed with the tiefling - he was a famous gigolo named Kaiil and I know - I am evil). He was influenced by others and tried to think more I guess (and my heart grew bigger for him).

As the fort grew they made few visits to Mirin Kartak, where Orik and Bors (and even Llthrae I think) trained with a famous swordmaster Caleb Arnyan. They even discovered a small cave close to the fort and befriended a mimic (they tried to kill him at first, but I played him too cute to kill so they kept him - another trap worked as I wanted). When Llthrae asked its name he responded Filip (in our country having a Filip means being smart - this was meant as a joke but we all liked it and they never bother naming him anyway). And when the work was almost done, Jolten Onnock and Argo Arkenbrand visited them. They explained to Llthrae that he could not cut timber wherever he wanted but if he would like to he can start a business with timber and the fort can work as a trade post (both merchants realized the potential this small event created - a clear road, taxable fort and so on). So when Llthrae heard about paying taxes and earning free money the invisible fort idea vanished. The merchants gave him a notion to build a repository and left to make a contract. He obeyed without a complaint.

The small house halflings built for themselves earlier was turned into a proper hobbit house with a great kitchen and they started cooking for the whole fort - it was the only thing they wanted to do here anyway and they were bloody good cooks (one of their famous treats was a gingerbread which Filip loved). The other house Kharmar and his half-orks built was turned into a hall style house where travelling merchants could be accommodated (this house had a grand fireplace warming up whole building - this was the favourite place for Stan). So, when the final day came the workers were given payment and goblins and half-orcs (they became friends in the meantime) got employed as workers in the fort from that day. Bors received more than a thousand gold for his work and joined their group. And the next day, they all ventured to Slanterk to seal the contract and to celebrate two new ships from the wood Llthrae provided. One was named Sea Beauty and the other was given a name by Llthrae - Žriemäthnitpsä (I hope). I was happy, Llthrae was happy (I think) and the celebration was glorious.

But happiness made folk blind and darkness was already gathering. And a floating corpse in the docks foretold their future.

[dmcracy]

Solo campaign p.1 + Group 1.5 grand finale - A full house

At this point, I started my second campaign with my cousin. I recruited her after a few sessions where she was just listening to our games. I do not remember how exactly things happened but I was staying at her place (because of my work I guess) and we made her character - a halfling druid of the moon worshipping Brandobaris (we tried to invite her husband as well, but after she denied his idea of a recently married couple on the honeymoon trip, he walked out). Her name was Myrta Cloverfield and, unexpectedly, she was a member of a big family. But, what was even more important, her family was still alive and well. Two younger brothers, a younger sister, an overprotective mother who complained about her abnormalities, and a kind-hearted father who supported every mischief Myrta made behind the back of his wife.

Myrta was always a curious child. And her curiosity led her more than often to trouble. That is how she found her teacher, Doryforos  and why Brandobaris found interest in her adventures shortly after she became a druid. Doryforos was a centaur druid who protected the ancient primeval forest close to the city where she grew up - Green Valley. We had a few sessions where she played through her advancement in druidic teachings. All this ended up with a test, where she needed to enter the heart of this ancient forest and come back with the knowledge of true and unspoiled nature. This place was dark and scary, everything was overgrown with moss and even the light had a green hue in this damp and silent place. But Myrta was a real druid and knew how to respect the nature and behave, so she was not harmed while traversing even tho she felt that the forest is watching her (you can imagine this like traveling through Fangorn). Eventually, she met with a dryad living in the eldest tree of the forest guarded by a cyclops. The dryad revealed to Myrta some of her secrets (the reason why the cyclops guards her and her feelings for Doryforos for example) and gave her a special tattoo which granted the wielder understanding of animal speech (speak with animals). After this, she headed back and found her teacher, wounded and in a fight with a large enraged bear. Myrta managed to calm the bear and heal Doryforos. A few days after this, Myrta befriended the bear and Doryforos gave her her druidic focus - a staff specially carved by himself for this occasion. But with this gift he gave her an advice as well - If she wanted to grow stronger as a druid, she needed to travel and learn as much as possible. So, with this, she left for her home for the last time. She packed her things, food, and necessities and ventured north (her father gave her an empty journal, her mother cried, and the siblings fought over the largest bed).

They traveled north. Myrta avoided some dangerous looking place at the edge of the forest filled with broken statues and met some crazy fishermen who babbled about some eight legged reptile. She also survived a haunting encounter with Will-o'-wisp  while traveling around the capitol of her homeland - Volkdorf. They traveled around 200 miles without stopping for any bigger quest or other reasons. Walking and surviving - just how I like fantasy adventuring. But everybody stops at some point eventually, for reasons known only to the players. And where else it should be for Myrta if not in the forest. Because Myrta found something atrocious - a circle of stones covered with burned, rotted and filthy remains of tissue that once belonged to something or someone. And on one of the stone was a small pictogram depicting a three headed flail. 

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Meanwhile, Llthrae, Mína, and Orik quickly helped the red-haired Elf called Elia. Orik had his first rapier throw, which did not go so well and Elia, in her first session, almost died from falling to the river, unable to hold onto something (luckily the giant elks living in the forest helped her). She was a druid and on the run from somebody and the players asked no questions so all of them (now 4) returned to the temple on the beach where sahuagin were waiting (on the backs of giant elks - they never asked why they helped them). The group of fishfolk returned from their fun in the village and now they were outnumbering the players. Orik dropped the box in front of the priestess and they demanded the body of Helenorin (they did not even try to investigate the box or what was within for the whole time). Sahuagin laughed and replied something about killing them all. But their champion wanted to have his fun and stepped further before the priestess. He wanted to have a duel with their best warrior and promised, with a grin, that if he (the champion) loses they can go. The priestess openly did not like the idea but nobody tried to exploit this and Orik stepped into the ring with the champion. Bragging giant sahuagin let Orik has his first attack. He did not even rage yet because he was so confident of his might. So, orik raged, attacked and half of sahuagins health went down. When the sahuagin realized what was happening, they all stood in silence (except for amused priestess, of course - emancipation has more options in fantasy). The fight took a few more rounds and the sahuagin went down. I do not remember if Orik killed the champion or not but I think he did not. He left him with his shame. So, the sahuagin left the body of Helenorin on the beach and returned to the depths, closing the portal behind them. 

The adventurers mounted the giant elks once more and swiftly traveled to Mirin Kartak. The elks disappeared (it was their kind of a reward for cleansing of the forest from the evil spirit), Helenorin was saved and Llthrae had an idea how to reveal the secrets of his star sapphire even more. He went to the Hive to the jeweler's shop. This shop had a special telescope-like mechanism which could harvest sun and star light and focus it into laser-like beam to reveal cracks, flaws and other things within gems and stones. The first attempt failed to reveal anything unusual in the stone. So Llthrae asked if the shopkeeper can harvest more power. It was possible, but there was a danger of destroying the stone. Llthrae went for it and, suddenly, a small part of starlit night sky appeared between the storekeeper and Llthrae. They were both amazed.

Eventually, Llthrae went to an elven scholar called Xenothil, who was an expert on elven history. Helenorin was Xenothils apprentice and that was why the mighty scholar even bothered with Llthrae. He revealed to him that it was a part of a long lost sky, stars which no longer exist and the event caught in the stone was probably the Fall of the last gate - in 2nd era of Neru. He explained to Llthrae that only one of those stars exist - the first star in the constellation of Eagle - which is visible only at one place in Neru and only in early winter. And Llthrae was angry because it was just a few days ago. He was so close to start evoking the real power of his jewel. Frustrated, Llthrae turned his attention to his fort. He was also angry because they were just walking everywhere so the whole group decided to buy horses. There was one place where they could buy them and, knowing what might Orik want in his story, I prepared a trap for him. They entered a local stables and the owner introduced them to every stall in the stable except for one. He stopped before the last one and turned to them. The trap snapped. Orik immediately asked what is in the last stall. The owner replied: “just an old boar.” The reaction Orik had was like when a small boy catches his first Pokemon. In the stall, on the hay there rested an enormous war boar. This boar saw his better days and fought in many, many wars. But everything gets old, even the greatest warriors and everything must eventually, die. The boar's real owner, a dwarven scholar called Karognur, left his aging friend here to spend his last day in peace. Because Karognur was no longer fighting his fights and turned to lore instead, he thought his boar would be happy here, in safety and warmth. But there was only one pleasure for the boar in his life- rushing the enemy and carving them with his tusks (yes, it is a simple warrior and a BOAR) while his rider smashes everything with the heaviest thing he can wield. And thus, when Orik looked into the boar's eyes it was like a look into the mirror and it was a love on the first sight. The boar stood up and poked Orik with its snout. Orik laughed and wanted to buy him. I was happy, he was happy, Karognur was happy and the Judge  joined the adventurers.

[dmcracy]

Group 1.5 - Intermezzo - The seventh sin

Ilma űr Tamar is what remains from the vast ancient forest that once spread all across the western side of Neru. Many strange creatures found home in this forest thousands of years ago and some still remain in the shadows of ancient trees. Llthrae, Mína and Orik entered the shadowy, green smelling forest not knowing what awaits them. They traveled for hours until they reached the spot where two rivers connected, creating a much stronger third one. The last mighty river is called Nastasilef - crystal spear - and within its cold waters star sapphire Llthrae possessed began its story. But Llthrae found out about this only after they escaped the forest, so we will let it be for a while.

Above the river, a marvelous ruin stood in its broken glory. A ruin of once ancient hold of a mighty queen that now lay in mold and debris, slowly devoured by trees and flora around it. The adventurers entered its half broken gate and found a ghost of a child looking for her doll in the courtyard. After a brief conversation, Orik decided to cut a piece of his rope and made a little doll for the ghost girl. She did not like it and paid no mind to it because, at the same time Mína, took out the doll from the ghost in Slanterk from her bag doll from the ghost in Slanterkfrom her bag. The ghost girl rushed to her, snatched the doll and vanished. Puzzled by this event, the adventurers decided to venture forth and traversed a long lightless corridor. At its end, there was a grand door and murmur of people could be heard from the other side. They entered and found out that the room was filled with ghosts having a banquet. Above everything else, a throne made from great white tree stood and within its branches sat a pale, ghostly figure of breathtaking beauty. It was the ghost queen of this once powerful kingdom. A banshee. She asked what were they looking for and what they wanted. I had a little diplomacy game with her prepared. Players could get three keys from her for their quest. But when I started the game, mocking them as a banshee queen, Mína took the first key the queen offered and the group went away. The queen said for a few times that there are many locks and the key will open only first of them, but they did not care (in this session Llthrae was not present so maybe that was the reason). This is where this session ended and I felt dread because the dungeon below the queen was small and deadly in every way possible. In this time I still cared deeply for the fun and giggles of my players and cringed at every moment when some lethal danger appeared. 

The next session was with all three players in the entry room of the vaults. They had one key and an ancient mosaic to decipher in the circular room. The mosaic was depicting an unknown scenery with snowy mountains and one great star above the highest peak. 25 small keyholes were barely visible above the entire landscape. Some of the holes were just empty. Some of them were traps. One was a real death room with the deceased daughter of the banshee embedded in ice. One was an easter egg with a bearded guy with long hair wearing a t-shirt with some castle in a glass coffin. And one was with the treasure they needed. It took some time but to my astonishment (and with some railroading) Llthrae found the right keyhole. The part of the wall disappeared and vast cold darkness opened in front of him. Llthrae took the step in and I made him make an acrobatics check if he can catch the rim of the wall because there was no solid floor. And I found another lovely thing he was doing since then.

Immediately after I said “roll the check” he took back his decision. He argued that he did not word it properly and he did not want to enter really. This scared me at that time because I wanted my players to have fun. So I backed his point and then he gloriously poked the darkness with his stuff and showed us all how smart and wise wizard he is. Eventually, they found out that holding any source of light revealed a misty path 5 ft around them. They ventured forward and got to the point where they could see a large ancient tree enlightened by the moonlight few ft from them. But the catch was no mist was forming from that point on. They looked around and found out they were standing on the stone cylindrical pillar decorated with a large tree surrounded by elements of ice and fire. I do not remember exactly what happened here but after a few moments of desperation Orik sat on the ground bored and put his torch next to him. Suddenly a sound of shifting stones echoed through the air and stone stairs rose in front of them. They approached the tree and Llthrae started to shoot his Ray of frost around him to see if there were any other buttons or passages. A very wise decision to make in D&D since the days of Gygax.

The adventurers stood in front of the tree and Mína tried to take some of the seeds which were scattered around. The tree immediately punched her with a branch and grappled her. Llthrae with Orik tried to help and the tree eventually got calm. After that Mína got a glimpse of some other time by meditating under the tree. She saw an endless dusky realm of ice and snow, dragons flying around and strange dark-skinned, elf-like creatures living among them. So obviously she did not tell anything about it to the others and never thought about it again. So Orik grabbed the chest near the tree with the treasure they needed and they left. When they approached the banshee again, the banquet was gone. The only thing remaining was the ancient tree and a ghost of an elf sitting on it. And she was pissed because of their success. She claimed they cheated her and there was no possible way for them to succeed in her opinion and after a while fight began. The ghost of the girl from the begging of the dungeon helped them to distract the queen because the banshee cared for her. This was where Mína’s secret talent kicked in. Instead of fighting (because Mína hated fights) she tried to persuade the queen to give up. I made her roll persuasion. A critical. Realizing this could end up in another potentially awesome moment in this game, I played along. The queen cried out so loudly that the room quaked and she vanished with the ghost girl. I do not remember how my players reacted to it. But I loved it. For me, this was the spirit of D&D - to try things which are not on your sheet. I think they had no time to celebrate because the entire building was collapsing and they were running towards the light. The debris was falling so to keep it real I made them roll acrobatics checks to avoid falling stones. Everybody succeeded. Orik made it even more awesome by just jumping over the stone pillar. This was a real moment of joy for me. A real D&D experience.

At the end of the session, they escaped the crumbling building and entered the glade. Suddenly, an arrow swished around their ears. And another one. And a red-haired elf was running towards them. 

And on the other side of the mountains, a young halfling girl went to the forest to look for mushrooms.

[dmcracy]

Man is above all else mind, consciousness – that is, he is a product of history, not of nature.

Antonio Gramsci (via poeticsofdeath)

[dmcracy]

Group 1.5 - Intermezzo - The good, the bad, the weird

I love how people always pick chaotic neutral alignment because they want to do whatever they want and then complain about the consequences of their actions. Orik was another orphaned child whose parents died and he grew up, raised by his grandpa. The player was a kind of a min-maxer and, playing a hobbit, he decided to go with a dexterity weapon. Which was a rapier. And then, he gave me the opportunity to ruin his life in the game once and for all. I asked, as I always do when players want something exotic for them, how did he get the rapier. And his response was just I killed a noble for it. In time he developed a longer story for this action and tried to justify somehow this deed. But at that point all he had was I killed a noble and did not think about it anymore. And I put on a slight smile and grand story about this event just started to take shape in my mind.

Looking at it now, I see a possible misunderstanding between me and Orik. He was brought to the game by Mína because they were friends. If I recall correctly, when he found out about the game, he begged her on his knees to let him join. But she never tried to explain to him how harsh I can be in the game, even tho she found out about it earlier in the game. And Orik also let me see another beautiful side of Llthrae because when he arrived at the fort and they started talking, it was not going well. First, I guess, Llthrae tried some roleplaying. He asked what he was doing there and so on. I do not recall Mína taking any action at that point. But Llthrae did not like this cheeky halfling because he was not submissive as his loyal pawn Mína. So it was hairy even at this first moment when they met. 

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The situation between them in real life was kinda same. I already described what Llthrae’s player was like and player who played Orik is kind of a hillbilly. I write this with no hate and I always try to understand and talk to my players. Llthrae and Orik have same reactions when you spend some time talking and explaining to them. Those harsh names are just to picture how their first reactions to the situations. Yes it is basically passing judgement without passing judgement. I hope someone except me understands this.

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Eventually, they somehow got together and moved to Mirin Kartak. They met a satyr playing his instrument on the road to the city and found out that he was charming people and taking their gold. Llthrae got enchanted as well and almost gave all his possessions, 25k gold, to him. But Orik saved the day and the satyr got kick to the butt and left. And instead of gratitude, Llthrae started to hate Orik. He started to hate him because he showed him his weakness. And that was the greatest flaw Llthrae had - his confidence or lack of it. From now on, whenever something similar appeared in the game, Llthrae literally got scared and reckless (kinda like Iron Man). Whenever somebody or something showed him his weak side he tried to do something about it so nobody had any reason to laugh at him. And Orik was laughing at Llthrae all the time (and I am glad we do not sat around one table at the moment). So now I had PvP in my game as well. Hell yeah.

They took a new quest in the city and traveled south. There were rumors about some kind of an ancient temple which recently appeared on the shore and the matter needed some investigation. One day, while resting not far from Ladennar Orik stole a lamb from local farmers. While he was preparing it for roasting Llthrae complained about this barbaric act and Mína was meditating. Suddenly an Ankheg came from the ground trying to snatch the lamb. They had a short fight and for the first time Tukahdutaa (means decay), the sword Mína had, literally flew to the monster and tried to slay it (as I mentioned earlier, this sword hates Ankhegs and has a personal mission of eradicating every one of those nasty bugs). But they killed the beast and no one paid no attention to the flying sword (yes flying swords are common in fantasy lands, flying swords with rainbow lights around them, flying swords which gives you headache whenever you do something evil, mmmmhmmmm).

Arriving at the spot where the temple should be they found a grand hole in the sand. They ventured in and stumbled upon a portal to the elemental plane of water. Close to the portal in the corner, there was an unconscious body of an elven scout called Helenorin. After this, they wanted to go to the surface but the way was blocked by few sahuagin. The fish folk were intimidating the party and, to my surprise, the players tried to negotiate. I think it was because Orik was preparing for a fight and Llthrae saw an opportunity to piss him off. So the leader of sahuagin, a priestess, gave them quest to fetch an item they seek. The catch was it must have been done in seven days or Helenorin dies. Immediately after that party hit the road again for the next destination. While traveling, they saw a burning village from a distance, but they had no time for that and moved on. This was one of the optional routes they could take in this quest because the village was burnt down by another group of sahuagin lead by an enormous champion. They traveled to the neighboring kingdom called Irda and even spent one night in its capitol Malafron. Orik bought a buckler shield from a local smith in the morning and they finally moved to the destination of their quest. Ilma űr Tamar. Eternal forest.