Chronicles

Morning everyone!

Like I said a while back, updates are going to be kind of sparse for now.

However, today I thought I'd share a real treat with everyone.
For the past 10 years or so, I (like many other gamers) have been attempting to create my own completely unique roleplaying game system.
And, for a very long time, I was struggling with getting it just right.

This past year, I decided to really revamp my efforts and dig in to design this game.
The one thing that hasn't changed in that whole time is the name of the game:
Chronicles.

Some of the original ideas that I had were to grandiose or complicated to work out.
As such, they were scrapped for a cleaner, simpler game that everyone could enjoy.
However, I tried to salvage as much as I could in a reasonable fashion.

Chronicles is a fantasy roleplaying game that uses mastery as the key mechanic.
Simply stated, it means that better training in a skill actually makes you better with that skill on average.
Your mastery is measured by the size of the dice that you roll when attempting a certain action.

And that's pretty much the key concepts on how to play.

I don't have anything resembling a playtest document ready yet, but plan to have one soon-ish if things pan out nicely for me.
However, I do have some pre-alpha testing that friends of mine and I had accomplished a few weeks ago. I plan on putting up a summary of what happened then, as well as their initial thoughts about the game itself.

So, until next time, stay classy readers :)

Legend of Legacy - A Review

Hello again, everyone! Long time, no post.
Thought I'd try to write something because it has been a while.
So, I have a review for everyone.

For today, I present
"The Legend of Legacy" for the 3DS.

To begin, I was drawn into this game by it's look.
It appeared to be gorgeous and suggested some serious differences in the backgrounds and play-styles of each of its 7 characters (which included a frog prince).
I couldn't help myself.

I booted the game up and had a hard time choosing my starting character.
With a little bit of roulette, I ended up with Bianca.
I was excited.
She had amnesia and was seeking a way for the elementals to help restore her memories.
It seemed like a great start.

And then I actually started playing.

While the game is pleasing to the eye, the rest can only be described as a cesspool of regurgitated JRPG errors from yesteryear.
I've heard that other entries in the "Saga" series have similar issues and are well received.
This game has officially put me off of that franchise. For life.

To begin, after I actually finished the starting area, there was no indicator as to what I had to do next.
No helpful NPCs.
No map icons.
No journal.
Nothing.

I might just be "spoiled" by the "advances" that have been made in "JRPGs" since the "1980s," as some would "put it."
But, SERIOUSLY. Those advances happened for a reason.
And I'm sure that people not being able to finish a game probably contributed heavily to their implementation.

Second big trouble: the "level-up" system.
Works just like Elder Scrolls games. You get better by doing things.
Awesome, right?
WRONG.
In an ES game, you have so many wonderful options to avoid fights where you will simply be murdered.
In this tripe-fest, you can run once you are in a fight, sure, but you also a) get sent back to the entrance of the dungeon (which isn't all that bad, to be fair), b) are treated as having each character faint once (which decreases your HP maximum until you rested in town, btw [kind of ingenious, in a way]), and c) if you want to get back to where you were after this fiasco, you had to walk back through just as many monsters.
"Oh, but you can just keep going!" - True. But you are weaker and therefore actually can't keep going.

Third big trouble: GRINDING.
I've addressed why I hate this once before.
And you would think, with an Elder Scrolls-esque level system, this game wouldn't be too bad.
WRONG AGAIN.
Even plowing through enemies, either my stats wouldn't increase or my moves wouldn't get better.
Which, of course, meant I couldn't do jack against any actual threats.
Except run.
BUT YOU CAN'T RUN FROM CERTAIN ENEMIES. AND THEY WILL WIPE THE FLOOR WITH YOUR PITIFUL MEAT-BODY.
"Oh, but replay-" - Shut up. That argument is garbage.

Overall, I just became disinterested in this game because it was so disappointing.
It started out so well.
But there was just so much about this game that I didn't like.
And it all happened so quickly, too.

Final verdict: 2/5
Visual - 5/5: the graphics in this game were simply beautiful, through-and-through. Particularly the way that the maps "popped-up" like a living story book
Audio - 1/5: there didn't seem to be much of anything in terms of music or sound effects. Maybe I just wasn't paying that close of attention?
Replayability - 1/5: in my humble opinion, even one play through would have been too many. This game is so freaking repetitive, it almost caused me physical and psychological harm. The fact that you can play through with all 7 characters for slight differences in the story is nice, but I couldn't even stand to do the 1st one I picked :/
Controls - 4/5: the actual controls were comfortable and intuitive (A to activate, X for menu, Start for screenshot [okay, that one actually pissed me off], etc.), but weren't any sort of major change-up from what I've come to expect in games recently
Story - 1/5: when I first started playing, I was very intrigued (I chose Bianca's story - she has amnesia). However, very shortly into actually playing the game, I discovered things from JRPGs of yesteryear that really irk me - lack of direction after the story began (I had literally no idea what I had to do to advance the story), requiring complete exploration of an area to have any semblance of an idea as to what is going on

Overall, worse than Lord of Magna.
Don't waste your money.
Don't waste anyone else's money, for that matter.

Catch you later, readers :)

Notice of Intent

Hello everyone!

Due to some changes in my work environment, as well as some difficulties in my life at home, I have decided to take a small break from blog writing.

Not quite sure when I'll get back to typing things up for you all.
Hopefully sooner than I think it will be.

As this is my plan, please don't expect any major updates for the next couple of weeks.
Maybe even until the new year.
But we'll see what happens.

Until next time, readers.

Some Updating

Hello, everyone.

Due to a death in the family, things have been a little hectic for me since the 3rd.
To help assuage some of your embitterment, here's a 5e homebrew that brings something from olden days to new light.

SPELLFIRE

As with everything, a work in progress that needs further help to develop.
And yes: I know it is incredibly strong.
I worked with someone who played 1st edition and has read the novels to get this idea to this point.

It's just one feat, but it takes 2 pages due to complexity.

Feel free to use and abuse as you see fit.


ALSO, I will be writing/working on a campaign setting that I got a hankering to write up.

Until next time :)

Tri Force Heroes - A Review

Mornin' all!

Today, I thought I'd do another review for a 3DS game.

This time, the slightly-more-well-heard-of-and-anticipated
"The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes" for the 3DS

First off, I'd like to state that I completely understood that this game was designed for multiplayer and, as someone who can't spend much/any time online gaming, this was probably a dumb purchase in the first place.
However, I've also played almost every Zelda game made to-date. And I didn't want to pass this one up just because of this minor shortcoming.

And so, I began this game.
Which is very much not a standard Zelda game.
For starters, Zelda isn't even involved in the plot - this game has Princess Styla. Not necessarily a bad thing, just different.
Secondly, while you get access to an impressive arsenal of tools, the main focus of the game is the costumes that you can assemble on your journeys to give Link new capabilities. Which is both odd and neat at the same time.
Third, it's a multiplayer Zelda game focused on puzzles more than adventuring. There is no overworld map, and the dungeons are broken into manageable chunks.

The controls are simple enough to understand: Y uses your equipped item (you only get one, sadly), X takes a screenshot for the Miiverse, L/R is dash, A is activate/talk/Totem (in which you stack Links to solve puzzles [order is VERY important when doing this, btw]), B is swing sword.
And that's basically all you need to know there.

Like A Link Between Worlds, this Zelda game made use of the energy meter instead of finite numbers of bombs/arrows/etc. Which meant that exploring was less limited than in previous entries.
AND I WOULD LIKE EVERY ZELDA GAME FROM NOW ON TO USE THE SAME MECHANIC BECAUSE IT IS PURE FREAKING GENIUS.

-ahem-

So, the first thing that I'd like to point out is that there are 8 larger dungeons comprised of 4 smaller dungeons each (and each of those small dungeons contains 4 rooms).
Which means that this game has 32 dungeons in it.
Which sounds like a lot, but isn't all that bad (keep reading for more on this).
Definitely gives you room to run around and play with your friends :D

I played the first dungeon completely in multiplayer and, I must say, it was a blast. I'd never played any Four Swords games due to not being able to meet with that many friends at the same time. But, thanks to the plug-in-group method used in Tri Force Heroes, I was finally able to see how fun multiplayer Zelda games could be.
To help things out, the tappable icons to communicate were not only useful for chat, but tapping them multiple times allowed you to send some of your emotions through the internet. Very well done, Nintendo.
Working together with players from around the world, I was able to plow through some puzzles that were refreshing and inspired in a series that has often been criticized for feeling stale. It was some of the most fun that I've had playing a Zelda game.

After the first complete dungeon, I decided to play the game in solo mode.
And, while doable, swapping dopples is more of a chore than anything.
Unless you use the games unique (and awesome) Totem feature, moving each dopple individually could take a long bit of time out of your day.
Not to mention, some puzzles simply could not be done using dopples. You'd think that Nintendo would have thought of this, but there are points in the game where you simply have to skip a section of a dungeon using faeries. Which, of course, means less reward at the end of the dungeon :/
Kind of a slip-up, in my opinion.

Speaking of faeries, I discovered around the third dungeon that I could beat the entire game and get its complete story in less than 1 hour.
By skipping around using faeries.
Once you finish the first room of any dungeon, you can spend your three faeries to skip right to the treasure room.
No muss, no fuss.
And, oddly, no boss fights (you can skip them just like everything else).
Did I miss out on anything doing this? In terms of story, no, but I'm sure that I missed at least one really nifty puzzle along the way. Oh well :/

So, if you can beat the actual story mode in about an hour, what else is there to do in the game?
If you are a completionist, you can go back through the dungeons, complete the Tri Force Challenges, gather materials, and build costumes that you'd missed.
Or, if you just wanna beat up things, you can enter the arena with two other Links and compete for the top spot (which nets you some Rupees and a costume material).

But, if you don't want to be that thorough (like me), there isn't really anything to do after you defeat The Lady and save Princess Styla.
Which is kind of a bummer.

If I'd beaten the game in one sitting, I could have turned it back in the same day that I bought it. But, overall, it was a pleasant Zelda experience with some welcome shake-ups to a familiar formula :)

Final verdict: 4/5
Visual - 5/5: great graphics inspired by A Link Between Worlds and the game ran smooth as butter :D
Audio - 5/5: everything that I've come to expect from a Zelda game in my many years of playing that series
Replayability - 3/5: with an arena mode and a plethora of costumes to unlock, there's a lot to do after you beat the game, though only if you are a major completionist
Controls - 4/5: in multiplayer, the controls are just swell, but in solo play, having to swap dopples sometimes resulted in puzzles that could not be solved :/
Story - 3/5: the game has a story, but it is brief and very much not a standard Zelda game (Hytopia? Princess Styla? cursed dress? 32 mini dungeons?)

So, there you have it - the newest Zelda game reviewed by yours truly.

Until next time, my read-folk :)

Final Nail in the Coffin: End of an Era

As of yesterday, I made the executive decision to shelf the 5e Praerus game for the time being.

The actual final nail was Rellon's truck breaking down on the freeway.

At this point, transportation to and from gaming has become an issue for everyone.

So, sadly, we won't be sharing in the adventures of that hapless crew again for some time.

We might pick it back up down the road, but we're not sure if or when that will happen.

And, because things were left at kind of a cliffhanger in regards to who or what stole the prophecy, I've decided to write up an actual "conclusion" for everyone to read.

It is highly rail-roaded and done purely as a work of fiction.

Should have that up sometime this week.

Not sure how much homebrew work I will be doing this week.

Might take some time to work on my novels again...

At any rate, until next time, my fellow gamers :)

Readers?

Wow. The last few weeks have just been dead on here.

Do people really miss the tales of my misbegotten gaming group that much?
Sadly, due to scheduling conflicts and other real-life things, it's looking like we might not be meeting any time in the near future. Or at all :/ But, that still remains to be seen.

If that falls apart, I do have another group lined up (in a way), but there's no guarantee that we'll be playing 5e. Which is kind of a bummer, as this campaign is pretty awesome IMHO.

Also, my recent homebrew (the 5e factotum) doesn't seem to have had much thunder behind it. Which I find odd, given that folks seemed to love the original. Any comments or questions on it - feel free to drop me a comment.

Despite a dire drop in readers recently, I will continue writing. Because that is what a blogger does, right?
If there is anything that anyone out there would like to see finished sooner-than-later, feel free to write about it in the comments below :)

So, until next time folks - may the dice fall in your favor.

Surprise Homebrew!

Good morning, everyone!

So, I decided on Monday to homebrew something from 3.X that I really just loved.
But, then I was trying to figure out how to do it.
Over the course of the week, I bashed this thing out and I'm really satisfied with what I've produced.
As always, your mileage may vary and input is always appreciated :)

Here I present:
my favorite class
probably of all time.
Brought back from the mists of time with a tasty 5e twist.

I also have a few other things that I'm working on that I hope will satisfy folks, and I am (as always) working on the soulmeld and psionic powers lists. Made some good headway on the soulmelds, but the powers tend to vex me (they have far more moving parts that need considering).

So, I leave you all to peruse and enjoy.
Until next time, dear readers - may the dice fall in your favor :)

Lord of Magna - A Review

Or "I'm Here to Trade in This Hunk of Detritus."

So, the Sunday gaming group didn't meet, sadly.

But, on the positive side of things, I was able to trade "Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven" away.
And that led me to this thought: I could write reviews of 3DS games on the blog!
"Why 3DS games?" you might be wondering?
Because I own one and don't have time to game at home. Ever.

SO, here goes:
"Lord of Magna - Maiden Heaven" for the 3DS

Normally, I love JRPGs and when I saw a game from XSEED that combined dating sim elements with JRPG elements with bowling elements, I was kinda big on that idea.
So I bought a copy.

Visually, the game is cutesy, using chibi characters. Which, you know, whatever. No big deal for me. Very vibrant.
The music is great, though. Beautifully scored.
And the combat? Using bowling to fight your enemies? Inspired. Mind you, it wasn't nearly as involved as I thought it was going to be. Mostly just setting up foes to fly into each other. Kind of wished that you actually used a bowling ball in combat.

Where this game fell apart, for me, was playability.
Not replayability.
Playability.

There are simply no choices that you make that actually affect the story.
You literally go from cut scene to fight to cut scene.
Very little to do between those points, except maybe buy healing items.

Worse, is that the box promised fully animated cut scenes, then delivered 3 seconds of animation every hour of play time.
And voice acting?
Forget about it.
You get about one line of that per 10 minutes of play.
In this day and age, and with how simple the rest of the game was, you'd think that XSEED could have gotten full voice acting and fully animated cutscenes.

And the combat, while innovative, was extremely repetitive.
You have special attacks, sure, but only once the story allows you to use them.
And there's only so much of knocking one enemy into another to rack up combos I can take.

Kind of a nit-picking point for me about this game: a near complete lack of 3D support.
For a game that is designed for a system that has been shown to really push dimensional boundaries, this game simply lacked 3D scenes.
Even with my slider turned all the way up, there was almost nothing showing :/
It makes me feel like XSEED dropped the ball there.

The game had a lot of promise, and the story seemed to be going somewhere (maybe?), but I just got so bored with all of the repetition that I made it about halfway into the game and traded it away. The quote at the top of the page is exactly what I told the store clerk when I walked in.

Final verdict: 3/5
Visual - 4/5: would have been better with actual 3D and maybe less cutesy characters
Audio - 5/5: great music and sound, even if voice clips were few and far between
Replayability - 0/5: if I couldn't even stomach playing the main game to completion, I dread to think what a NG+ would have looked like
Controls - 4/5: intuitive overall, but could have used more of the bowling mechanic
Story - 3/5: based on what I had gone through, the story was there, but it wasn't terribly original

And that's all for now!
Still working on older homebrew things (which I actually received suggestions on!) and getting my life in order after my move.

Until next time, gentlefolk :)

WE MOVED!

So, my wife and I moved into our new house.
And that's pretty awesome.

But, we don't have internet, so that makes things slightly complicated.
Will work on things as I get time.

Chat sooner or later!

Ask the Audience #3 - What NEXT?

Hello everyone!

So, my move has been pushed back a week. Which means I am another week without any of my books or notes. Which makes working on things a little difficult.

HOWEVER!
I'm still working on all of the stuff that I've posted up to this point.
Nothing else completed just yet, but I have quite a bit of ground covered on several things :)

Now, returning to the title of this post: Ask the Audience!

I just want to know: what would everyone like to see me homebrew next for 5e (previously called NEXT... see what I did there?)
Up-vert old material? Create something new? Bring something from your favorite fandom into the game? WHATCHUWANT?

I would like to focus on 5e D&D stuff (because I'm on a roll there), but I'm open to any suggestions or ideas :)

So, until next time dear readers.

Happy Start of October!

I love this month.

Also, the following homebrew items are "done":

• sha'ir warlock pact
• hybrid class rules
• incarnate base class for incarnum rules
• simple tome of magic conversions

Feel free to use and critique at will :)

That's all I had.

Until next time, dear readers!

Still Hiatus-y

Hello folks!

So, the Sunday group didn't meet this week.

But might meet this week.

Or maybe the week after.

It seems like I've lost a player...

I'm still on hiatus from creating new homebrew.

But I have been working on the 4e-to-5e races and a few of the class options.

I had some serious "shower epiphanies" about one of my board games for my company.

So that was cool.

Going to revise and implement those decisions when I get time.

I am packing and cleaning my apartment.

And my house purchase has been pushed back one week.

I officially filed my first assessment of someone in my new job.

And I feel great about that :)

So, until next we meet, may the dice fall in your favor.

Praerus D&D 5e Campaign Notes, Session 11

Greetings, internet-people!

I have a small announcement before I begin writing up the campaign update you came for:
At the top of the page, you may notice a link to a page called "All-Brew."
This page has direct links to everything that I'm working on (and some stuff that I just like).
That way, you don't have to dig through back log to find a homebrew that you were interested in :)

Now, back to business!
This week, we had Rellon, Agent M, and Trinity in the party. Everyone else was sick or otherwise occupied.
For those of you paying attention, that means that the paladin and cleric were both relegated to "healbot" for this week :)

----------------------------

When we left off, the party had just reached the second floor of the cave complex.
The labyrinth.

When looking over their options, the party decided to travel to Arroh's shrine first.
There, they went through one of the western doorways.

The chamber beyond was largely devoid of features.
An odd glyph was carved into the doors on the northern, western, and southern walls.
Rellon looked them over and recognized them as an older dialect of primordial.
They said "You shall not pass." (shut up)

The party spent a few minutes dividing themselves up among the doors so that they could investigate:
Trinity and Rellon investigated the western door;
the dretches investigated the southern door;
and M stayed as far back as possible.

Trinity and Rellon spent some time with their door, searching for any hidden catches or other triggers.
The dretches were hammering away at the surfaces.

Then, Trinity decided to touch the rune (despite warnings).
And it lit up briefly and emitted a sound like crystal ringing.

Everyone thought this interesting.
Then, with some excellent planning, the party stepped back and assigned three of the dretches to trace the runes at the same time.
They did so gleefully.
The runes glowed and the crystal-sound grew louder and louder.
Just before it couldn't get any louder, it stopped and the doors rolled into the ceiling!

Trinity decided to try to walk through the northern door to check for danger.
She found herself walking back into the room from the western door.

Of course, this was puzzling for everyone.
With some exploration, they found that all three of the doors looped back on the main chamber without much rhyme or reason.
To make matters more confusing, anyone that looked beyond the doorway saw that the room beyond wasn't the one they were standing in.
After some further experimentation (throwing rocks, throwing a severed dretch head from the last session, etc.), the party decided that they didn't want to mess around with this puzzle any longer.

Then, in an out-of-character discussion that turned funny, someone mentioned the possibility of the Tarrasque being in the tunnels.
And Trinity's player is completely new and had no idea why that could be so bad.
So, after some explanation that a wish is required to kill the thing for good, Trinity's player spouted this bit of awesome: "It's the opposite of Tinkerbell."

After that bit of silliness, the party resumed their journey through labyrinth, seeking out the prophecy.

On their way there, they encountered a very long room that was filled with ashes.
Everyone figured that the room would be trapped, but a dretch volunteered to confirm it.
By running across the room.
Fire started shooting out from the walls, trying to incinerate the odd demon.
Somehow, it managed to cross the room and return to the party before collapsing (unconscious, not dead).

Agent M looked over the floor to see what kind of pressure plates might be there.
Once those were identified, Rellon used a mage hand cantrip to push the tiles to see where was safe.
Using this method, he crossed the room with Trinity.
They were curious to see if a door might be hidden on the opposite wall.
With a quick search, they found one and Ulic unlocked it (while on autopilot).

Opening the door, they found a large round chamber with a ladder in the middle and three other exits that had the same rune as the odd chamber earlier.

While the rest of the party decided how to proceed, Trinity decided to run around and be Trinity.
First, she climbed up the ladder and opened the trap door to reveal that it exited onto a grassy plain.
Then, she slid down the ladder and didn't set her brakes fast enough.
To the north, she found a room filled with cages and animal bones. There were three additional exits from here, but she decided to go back to the main group.

Next, the party decided to travel southwards.
They came to a fork and decided to take the right branch.
Then Trinity was nearly taken out by an arrow.
The room had a large "fortress" made of chairs and tables set up on the opposite side.
A quick look told Rellon that it was lizardfolk make.
Putting two and two together, they realized that some lizardfolk were behind the barricade.

Diplomacy was had (by Trinity even!) and the lizardfolk eventually entered the room.
Four warriors that had no idea how they had gotten into the labyrinth.

And then Rellon had to make a minor magical display to keep the dretches in line.
And lizardfolk revere magic and its practitioners.
To show follower score here: Rellon 9, Trinity 0

With their new allies, the party continued southward.
And found a room filled with hieroglyphics and other images.
With a quick history roll, the party realized that this was how the Old Ones recorded their prophecies.
VICTORY!

Rellon used comprehend languages, but the prophecy was encrypted (because why not?).
While the party recorded the images on the walls, the lizardfolk cried out "THEY'RE HERE!" and started firing arrows down the hallway.
Trinity decided that she would try to win them over with a display of bravery and charged in, hammer and shield raised.
M peeked around the corner and saw absolutely nothing.
Apparently, the lizardfolk had been in the tunnels long enough to lose their minds.
The dretches, however, were already slightly mad and took this opportunity for potential bloodshed to charge down the hall.
And no one stopped them.
And they kept charging...
Rellon 4, Trinity 0

One of the lizardfolk acted like he was shot - "THEY GOT ME!"
He laid down and was acting like he would die. M scooped him up and called for medical attention.
Which Trinity provided (she is trained in medicine, after all...)

Rellon tried using sleep to pacify Trinity and the lizardfolk, but they refused to go down. One lizardfolk did yawn, however.
His next plan was to utilize Sabah to cast lesser restoration and fix the lizardfolk.
Which worked beautifully. They all came out of their madness!

With the prophecy secured and the lizardfolk calmed, the party returned to the surface using the ladder they had found earlier.
As they neared the forest outside of Rosewood, they started to fall asleep - one by one.
Except Trinity.
When she turned around to find her companions passed out, there was a shadowy figure snatching the prophecy and making a run for it!

Trinity decided to pursue the interloper.
Despite her party being unconscious and without guards.

She chased the thing through the forest, throwing her spear after it, jumping over obstacles...
And then she tripped!
Just as the shadow was about to get away, she hurled her flask of acid at it.
It made contact, and the shadow vanished.
She searched for the scroll case that the prophecy was in, but it was nowhere to be seen.
Disheartened, she returned to the party.

Just about then, M came around and found a wolf nudging him.
He laid there and tried to not be intimidating.
Suddenly, something came crashing through the trees and scared the wolves off.
Seeing this as a truly bad situation, he jumped up and drew his twin daggers, ready to slay whatever it was or run, as needed (pure rogue stuff here).

Then, Trinity came out of the woods.
M relaxed and the two set about waking the party up.
With a quick search, they found that the prophecy was missing.
The party thought about who or what the shadow may have been. As it could put others to sleep and apparently teleport, it was clear they were dealing with a spellcaster of sorts. Rellon suggested that someone from the Arcanum, who knew about his mission, might have done this. But, that just left more questions than answers.

After some discussion, the party decided that Rellon would set up several alarms near the prophecy chamber to alert them if anyone decided to visit it.
Then, they started back toward town.

----------------------

And that's what happened!
Even though Trinity was present, we got some good plot progress taken care of :) (nothing but love, if you read this Benny)

But who was that shadowy character and what did they want with the prophecy?
Will Trinity be able to get the lizardfolk into town and get them drunk?
What will the party do now that they have lost their hard-won prophecy?

Answers to these and more when next we game!
...
Which might not be for a couple of weeks, as I am moving and still haven't done much packing.
But we shall see!

Until then, dear readers.
Until then.

Quick Post and A Thing!

What? Two updates in one week?
Surely this is the golden age returning!

Sadly, no.
I'm just dropping in to deliver the rough draft of the

4e-to-5e Race Conversion Guide

which I had said would be up this week :)

I'm thinking that I might take a brief hiatus this coming week to pack my house and maybe work on some of my other projects (such as the first novel in a series of four that I'm writing [part 2 is already finished]).
I am not abandoning the blog or my homebrewing stuff.
But next week will probably just include an update on the adventuring group's shenanigans.
Assuming that we meet :)

Anyway, that's all I had for today.
I'll try to work on that guide and the other homebrew stuff on-and-off for the next few days, but don't expect miracles from me.
When I return to homebrew stuff, maybe I'll write up some 4e class conversions that need doing...

Until next time, readerfolk :)

Praerus D&D 5e Campaign Notes, Session 10

Morning, everyone!

Sorry that my 4e-to-5e conversion project is taking so long. Between work and moving into my first real house, things have been hectic. Like I keep saying. However, I should have the roughest of drafts done up for the races sometime by the end of the week.
If all goes well.

Now, onto other things: the Sunday group met up for gaming. This week, Ulic was back in but Trinity was out. Also, the session was kind of short due to other obligations. Even so, we managed quite a bit of ground covering :)

----------------

When last we saw our adventuring companions, they had just re-entered the dark caves below Rosewood.

And, not long afterwards, Ulic awoke on the pew.
After gaining his bearings, he went off to catch up to the group. He took the quicker way into the caves and ended up bumping into the party completely by incident.

Reunited, the party decided to finish "mapping" the first floor of the dungeon complex.

The first chamber they entered was filled with more of the violet fungi and shriekers that they had encountered earlier.
Hek, deciding that some mushrooms would be a great addition to his next dish, started flinging eldritch blasts about. And, given that mushrooms can't move, it was quite literally like shooting fish in a barrel.
When he was done, he entered the chamber to collect the spoils. Surprisingly, he also found 3 pieces of platinum.
M, using his keen rogue eyes, noticed a pouch of something near his feet. Picking it up, he discovered a full bag of dust of dryness. More on that later.

Satisfied with their haul, the party wandered the tunnels once more. This time, they discovered a room that was literally filled with rats. Swarms of them.
The party, having moved ever so sneak-ily into the tunnel outside the room, struck up a pretty solid plan to avoid trouble.
Hek, having the initiative, charged into the room and cast arms of hadar. Twice (using action surge).
Then, Sabah tossed in a fireball.
Between the two of them, they wiped out 18 rat swarms in the surprise round.
Which is pretty magical (pun aside).
But not as magical as Hek's player's next line - "Diplomacy - success!"
And then when we discussed marching order after that - "Hek in front, party in back."

After some hearty chuckles, the party resumed travel.
This time, they wanted to explore the tunnels near the chamber they found all the zombies in.
Down one side of it, they found a path that ended in what appeared to be a waterfall.
Smart adventurer sorts that they are, they decided to test it.
First, they threw a pebble with light cast on it through the waterfall. And it fizzled out. Antimagic?
Then, M stuck the end of "his" spear through it. And the end got melted off. Acid!

And it was then that I regretted some of my earlier DM-ing decisions.
M took five pinches of his dust of dryness and cast them into the waterfall.
He now has five pellets of compressed liquid ouchy.

Seeing no path beyond the waterfall (and deftly dodging a pretty sweet trap, might I add), the party left the vicinity and soon found a broom closet and another tunnel leading off from the room before the zombie chamber.
With some quick thinking, the party realized that the tunnel should come out behind the door that scratched when they knocked. So, they looked for a hidden catch or other lever to open it with.
M, being the rogue-iest of rogues, spotted the trigger before anyone else.
With Hek in place as a meat-shield, they opened the door.

It rolled slowly to the side.
Hek, using his demonically-fueled sight, saw several green, hairless gorillas beyond the door.
Unfortunately for him, they saw him too.
He charged them, they charged him.
And nothing happened.

Rellon, using his expansive knowledge, tried to figure out what they were and was able to come up with a name and origin - dretch, demon.
With a quick look, he also established that there were about 12 of them in the room.
He shouted out "Can we talk?"

Ulic, finding his time to shine, charged one of the dretches and used his smite ability to cleanly sever the head of one from its shoulders. Very epic scene.

On his turn, Rellon dove into the room and flung a lightning bolt through several of the dretches. Despite their lightning resistance, he rolled well enough to atomize all of them.

At this point, we let Trinity grab the severed dretch head. Because, auto-pilot or not, that is pretty much exactly what everyone thought she would do.

This left five dretches standing.
Rellon, dusting his hands off, politely asked "So, ready to talk now?"

Interestingly enough, the dretches decided to listen.
Also interestingly, Rellon was the only party member capable of speaking abyssal.

With some quick smooth talking and promises of slaughter for good behavior (M said something about stringing them along), the five remaining dretches became the hapless minions of the party.
With these new (and possibly soon to be reformed?) demons, the party headed for the second floor, deep within the earth.

--------------------

And that's where we left off!
Not so much actually done in terms of finding the prophecy they were sent to find, but a genuinely bizarre and fun time was had.
But, what will become of these folks that traffic with demons?
And will they find the prophecy they have struggled to locate?

Until next time, may the dice fall in your favor :)

Praerus D&D 5e Campaign Notes, Session 9

Sorry for only posting once last week! Things got hectic and I couldn't make as much progress on the 4e-to-5e Race Guide as I had hoped. Should have something workable up later this week if all goes well (but with moving and such... we'll see...).

Now, the Sunday group met and things got kind of... Well, Trinity wasn't absent if that's any indicator ;)

This week, we had Rellon, Trinity, Hek, Sabah, and we introduced... Agent M, as I call him. Multiple names for different reasons. That sort of guy. Ulic was gone due to some mix-up in communication.

-------------------

When last we left off, the party had just gotten Ulic restored at the temple by a priest of Pholtus. However, the magic that cured him also promptly sent him into a deep, deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Agent M had received his next task in a cryptic letter. That's just the kind of man he is.
With those instructions, he slapped together his "wandering Priest of Heironeous" disguise and went to the temple, as instructed.

At this time, Rellon left to have a proper holy symbol of his new god (Trykus) forged to anchor Arroh's spirit to.
Hek, ever the helper, went downstairs to the galley to be "the cook." There, he made fast friends (sarcasm) with a reasonably-stable priest of Erythnul that was the acting chef for the day.
Trinity and Sabah, however, went into spiritualism mode and prayed with the old priest. Trinity would later, very forcefully, ask for help in finding out about the god-shard residing in her (she has a major problem with in-/out-character knowledge :/ ).

Agent M, seeing the act of aggression, figured that this was a signal for a shakedown that he was to be part of, so he locked the door. Very helpful of him.
It was also around this time that a scream issued from downstairs.

Across town, Rellon's holy symbol was being forged and he spent some time attuning with the strange sword he found in the elemental armory.
After some time, it whispered "hello?"
Ah, a truly mysterious thing.

When Rellon returned, he found the door barred and there was a brief conversation about why that might be. Many side-steps and circular phrases were used.

About that time, Hek's beef tongue was finished cooking and the meal bell was rung.
Everyone went and enjoyed the meal considerably. Unlike the dungeon cuisine that was served the day before.

Ulic laid on the pew like a lump.

After the meal was had, Trinity and Rellon went into full-on research mode and went to the archives to research this, that, and the other about their respective deities.
Hek recruited Agent M to clean up with him. And, given M's natural fear of orcs that wear severed hands as trophies, he was more than happy to help!
Sabah... smoked. Tobacco. Outside. She was rather boring.

In the archives, Rellon's background as a sage (and, after a die roll, professor at the Arcanum!) really shined through: he found some books on dead gods for Trinity to peruse and located a single passage that could help him track down more information about Trykus.

I don't remember the exact logistics of this decision, but M heard Rellon mention a prophecy, looted Ulic ("I always loot when I'm sad"), impersonated him, punched out a random adventurer outside, swapped their clothing, and went back into the church. Rather odd.

Back in the archives, Trinity was blaspheming (in Draconic) against every god of the world as she looked through her books and found nothing helpful.
Then, in a moment of pity, Rellon joined her search and, discovering what she wanted to do, he tried something rather intriguing: ink blots and free drawing.
Some dice and magic later, and Trinity actually got an idea as to which god was within her: Bast, a war god that died at the beginning of the Reckoning Wars.

The rest of the day was largely unremarkable, except Hek going hunting with a priestess of Ehlonna and stopping a deer's heart with eldritch blast.

During the hunting trip, Trinity attempted to deface the shrine of Beory and replace it with her own shrine.
Thankfully, a priest in the temple noticed this.
There were a few questions about how to remove him as an obstacle.
Finally, Rellon (or M? can't remember now) helped negotiate the establishment of a shrine to Trinity (going by the divine name of Hammurtym... I know).

That night is when we had to sit Trinity's player down and have "the talk" - more on that shortly.

Trinity decided she wanted to do all of the following that night:

• break into the temple
• attempt to deface the holy symbol of Beory on the shrine (made from pure malachite, btw)

So, there are clearly a few things wrong with what she wanted to do.

There was a looooong discussion that mostly involved the more experienced players saying "there are gods in this world that will smite you for something like that."

Thankfully, she saw some reason in that and amended her plan to:

• break into the temple
• shout "Beory sux, Trinity rulez!" (direct quote with misspellings)
• leap out a different window and beat a retreat to her house

Suffice to say, the town guard were at her door in the morning.

Blessedly (or not), M recognized the sergeant of the squad and was able to "negotiate" a "reduced" fine.

And just like that, my attempt at educating the warforged about consequences in the game world fell apart.

But M roleplayed the discussion so well that I literally couldn't argue with him.

After much silliness, the party decided to go after the prophecy again.

They took the sliding path in the field down instead of the goblin tunnels.

Down there at last, they decided to investigate the odd door that Rellon had found.

The one that scratched when he knocked on it.

With some trial and error and a quick conjuring, they were able to unlock the door and open it.

On the other side...

Stone.

The door was set in the wall, but there was nothing behind it.

Rellon used detect magic and saw an aura of conjuration on it.

Trinity searched for a hidden door, but found nothing.

There was some debate about using stronger divinations or dismantling the door, but they decided to close it and leave it be for now.

The whole time, I had my "DM strikes again" face on.

Next, the explored the tunnels again and came across a room that held several stone coffins.

M, keen-eyed rogue that he is, noticed the traps from a mile away and was able to stop anyone from entering the chamber.

10-foot pole in hand, they tapped the sarcophagi and sent darts flying from one wall to the next.

Then, Hek decided to test the mechanisms.

He took the pole and tapped one sarcophagus in a rapid burst.

Darts flew out.

Then, he gathered them, tested their strength, and divided some between his backpack and the holes in the wall to try to jam them.

Trinity was disappointed by the lack of poison on the darts.

And that is, more-or-less, where we ended for the day.

Will they find the prophecy next week? Or will they continue to derail themselves at an alarming pace?

Only time will tell!

Until next we chat, may the dice fall in your favor :)

New Job, New Things

Greetings internet people!

I have just started my second day of my new job as a job coach, and so far, so good. Seems like a lot to learn and get into the swing of, but nothing I can't handle.

Now, for the reason you folks read this blog: things related to gaming!

Even now, I'm finding forum posts from people that want to "up-vert" their character from 4e to 5e.
And, so, I have taken it upon myself to work out something for those wanting to do that (even if I'm late to the party lol)

So, later this week, I'm going to start converting 4e races to 5e compatible equivalents.
Due to copyright and what-have-you, I will not be using the same name that WotC used for their race, but I will include the 4e race name as a header to ease conversions.

So, be expecting that in the near-ish future.
Also, I will hopefully be working on/finishing my other homebrew items that need work.

Later on, I will start making assorted conversions to achieve properly converted classes, but I felt that the races would be easier.

So, until next time, may the dice fall in your favor :)

Things That Grind My Gears #1: Grinding!

Hello again, dear internet!

Today, I thought I'd start yet-another article type thing.
This one is about my gripes about games, gaming, and gamers.

The topic this time:
GRINDING!

To begin - I LOVE JRPGs. And dungeon crawlers. And pretty much any sort of video game that has RPG elements.

However, something that bothers me about most of those games is
HOW.
MUCH.
GRINDING.
THEY.
REQUIRE.

I recently bought Xenoblade Chronicles on my 3DS.
And made it through a good portion of the game without having to grind.

But then, around level 70, I encountered a boss at level 75.
For those of you that aren't aware of the math/combat of Xenoblade, that much of a level difference means I would hit that boss once in a blue moon.

Not hitting at reduced damage.
Just not hitting.

So, I decided to try to do some grinding to gain some levels and even the playing field.

It took me two weeks, gaming for about one hour for each of those days, to gain one level.

Suffice to say, I will not be completing Xenoblade.
I give up.
I refuse to invest that much of my time in just leveling up a couple of characters to advance a story that is fairly typical of the genre.

But why grind at all?

What drives game designers to continue to use this mechanism to "increase play time?"

Anyway, that's just my most recent complaint about this practice.
What sorts of experiences do you all have with grinding?
Do any of you enjoy it? Hate it as much as I do?

That's the end of that rant. Stay tuned for more fun sometime next week :)
Until then, may the dice (virtual or physical) fall in your favor!

Difficulties in Getting the Group Together and Other Gaming Group Discussions

Internet people! How goes?

So, Sunday fell through.
As usual.

But, Hekatonchires' and Rellon's players showed up and we hung out anyway.
And discussed a campaign that Hek's player wanted to run.

For those of you that are familiar with Giant in the Playground, this campaign is called "The Test of Ice and Mettle."
For those of you that recognize that, you can stop reading now.

For the rest of you:
This campaign takes place in a fantasy-version of Scandinavia/Norway.
It is cold.
The whole thing is an escort mission.
Death is expected more often than not.
The classes are all homebrewed (and pretty freaking cool!).
The rest is pretty crazy (bloodlines, feats from anywhere, traits and flaws, one homebrew item, any race, etc.).
Full information here.

So, there's that.

I'm playing an eighth level Pengu (refluffed tundra halfling turned sapient penguin) Pathfinder with a major Titan bloodline and feats that focus on his "backstory" of being one of the spawn of Loki.
Might tack on some other stuff...

So... yeah...

Anyway, I've decided to stop saying that the group "will meet," because I'm constantly surprised.
However, I can say with certainty that I will not be doing any gaming this weekend, so any updates will be on completely random tracks :)

As always, may the dice fall in your favor!

Ask the Audience #2: LARP?

Hello, everyone!

I have been kind of rambling along in my thoughts and realized that I should probably post more than just things about my 5e campaign here.
Because this is For Gamers, By Gamers, About Gamers.
And, part of me thinks maybe I should start posting twice per week...

Anyway, I thought I'd try the Ask the Audience column again.

This time: LARP!

Okay, so my questions for you all are:
Do any of you have any experience with LARPing?
If you do, what did you think of it? Fun? Boring? Way-too-childish?

I'm just curious what everyone thinks of this oft-misunderstood pastime.

On my experiences: I have none.
The most detailed portrayal I have experience with is from "Knights of Badassdom," which was filmed in the woods near where I live (Spokane, WA).
If you haven't seen it, I'd suggest changing that. It's pretty entertaining.

But I am interested in giving LARP a shot.
I'm thinking of trying to write up some basic rules and put something together with friends and family, see where it takes me.

In the Spokane area, I know of two groups that exist that do things of a similar nature ("Society for Creative Anachronism" and "Stormhaven"), but they don't really do the RP portion of LARP (from what I can tell).
So, that's my take on the subject.

Hopefully the gaming group will meet on Sunday (looks good right now).
And hopefully Washington state will not be smoldering ashes by then.
Stay safe out there folks, especially those firefighters taming these blazes.

Until next time, may the dice fall in your favor :)

Praerus D&D 5e Campaign Notes, Session 8

Evening, everyone!

Sunday was certainly interesting for gaming, and here's how!

To begin, the phrase "rub your butt on the enlarged man" was uttered.

This week, we had Sabah and Ulic in attendance, and Saito's player introduced a new character named Rellon (information on the character page). Hec and Trinity's players couldn't make it, making this the first time that Trinity was on DM-autopilot.

As a note, there was a lot of improvisation on my part as the DM this week. And, you know what, I think everyone enjoyed it that way.

----------------

Rellon was en route from the Arcanum to Rosewood to locate the prophecy that was underground.

After some trial and error, he was able to find his way into the tunnels below Rosewood (the same pit that Kara and Ulic had used when they first went there).

It was about that time that Ulic's amulet "ping'd" and set Sabah on guard.

She assumed a defensive posture and approached the hallway while Trinity and Hec enjoyed "brain over brawn." Ulic was ill from trying the stuff.

After some quick searching of the nearby tunnels, Rellon discovered an ancient armory where everything was marked with elemental runes. As a researcher, this tickled him in a powerful way.

Sabah and Ulic decided they might want to seek out the mage that triggered the charm, so made their way slowly through the tunnels.

After some bungling about on both parts, Sabah and Ulic located Rellon and Sabah attempted to sneak up on him.

Rellon, however, has unusually keen ears and heard the approaching priest. With the snap of his fingers, he produced the sound of a rattlesnake near her feet, freezing her in place.

Rellon took advantage of the situation to knock over a table and take cover.

However, it turned out that such movement triggered some sort of elemental windstorm in the chamber, snuffing out all light sources and making it hard to hear.

At this point, Ulic cried out "I think I know him..." and the player's cell phone indicated a text message with two silenced pistol reports. Much laughter ensued.

After settling down, Ulic and Rellon confirmed each other's identities and the party gathered once more.

Together, they looked about the room for anything interesting or important.

And, in a stack of odds and ends, Rellon found a shortsword that was strangely clean.

He wrapped and stowed it and the party moved onward.

This room had several entrances, and they tried one of the doors.

Sabah heard something on the other side and warned everyone, getting them into combat positions.

Without warning, she kicked the door in.

And it bounced back from something.

With another kick, it was revealed that the room beyond was full of zombies.

Thankfully, Sabah's Channel Divinity feature was ramped up at this point and could destroy any undead of CR 1/2 or less. And so, only one zombie (an ogre) was left in the room.

And it failed its saving throw.

It made a very hasty retreat toward some stairs that it stumbled down and promptly went to pieces under.

As Sabah torched its remains, the other party members examined the room.

It was a way-shrine to the traveler god Fharlanghn.

But, the question was asked, what was it doing here?

With this mystery ever-building, the party headed downstairs.
And discovered a large summoning seal in the floor of the first chamber.
With a little remembering legends and lore, they discovered that this was part of a long-lost labyrinth complex described in some passages of Old One literature.
And it was hiding under Rosewood the entire time.

With a little wandering, they mapped out a good chunk of the southern portion of the map.
There, they found a chamber for guards to rest in and a place where they stored their food.
While passing through the storage room, Ulic set off a trap that launched two walls at each other.
Thankfully, his checkered past prepared him to jump out of the way.

With a few minutes of work, he was able to dismantle the trigger to prevent any further trouble.

Beyond this, they saw a strange sight - a shrine. It was apparent that this was not part of the original construction.
Shortly after entering, Sabah approached the alter, knelt down, and said softly "so, this is where I died..."
It turned out that a ghost was residing in this room and possessed Sabah to communicate with the party.
During a rather pleasant conversation, the party learned that this was the ghost of Arroh Hartsight, a member of one of the races they call the Old Ones. She was once a huntress, but became the high priestess of the god Trykus (knowledge and light, symbol is an open tome with a scepter along the spine). And, much like the party, she was unsure as to how she got to where she was presently.

Rellon decided to see if Arroh could recognize the summoning seal in the other room, and so led Sabah/Arroh to the door.
Where the two promptly separated, with Arroh's form floating in the doorway.
At this point, one of the ghost's natural defenses kicked in and everyone had to make a Charisma save to avoid being frightened.
Sabah and Rellon were fine, Trinity and Hec were frightened.
But Ulic got hit the hardest. Having failed his save by more than 5, he also aged 40 years, making him go from his youth to middle age in the blink of an eye.

Arroh did not expect that happen and apologized immediately.
With short order, however, her specter vanished from sight.

With some puzzling over the situation, Rellon decided to become a willing vessel for Arroh.
While the two were connected, they did a very high-speed information exchange. Rellon ended up converting to the faith of Trykus in that time.

Then the joined-souls struck upon a plan.
Using his conjuration ability, Rellon created a holy symbol of Trykus to act as a focus for his beliefs.
The theory was that this would allow Arroh's spirit to leave her final resting place.

So, with a deep breath, they crossed the threshold...

And it worked!

Now free of the shrine, the group went back to the summoning seal and let Arroh analyze it.
Unfortunately, she knew nothing of it.

With their new ghostly companion, the party returned to Rosewood to try to establish a more permanent abode for Arroh and restore Ulic's youth.

And that's what happened.
Lots of fun for everyone, like I said.

But what sort of strangeness is going on in the tunnels below Rosewood?

Tune in next time to see what happens!
Until then - roll the bones :)

Yet Another Late Update

Hey folks!

Sorry for a delay in posting. The reasons are many-fold.

1. My Sunday group ended up not meeting after all due to assorted scheduling troubles. So, there's that.
2. I haven't worked on any homebrew in a long while, so that wouldn't be updated.
3. I've been working on a pet project of mine that has been tormenting me for over a decade. But, now I'm making great headway on it and hope to share it with you folks in the near future :)
4. I had an interview for a new job this morning, and got a call back just 1 hour later saying I got the position. So, was freaking out about that for a while, but I am overly happy now :)

So, nothing terribly new to report for the time being.
However, everyone seems to be on board for Sunday.
If it fall through, though... maybe I'll see about a new game...

We shall see then.
Until then, may the dice fall in your favor.

Funny Things

Greetings, internet!

So, Sunday passed in a rather funny way.

As Sabah's player and I were walking to check her mail, Hec's player called to say that he couldn't make it.
That's okay - I can run the game with three players!

On the way to the store to get some food stuffs for the group, Ulic's player sent me a text. He wasn't showing up either.
Darn. Guess we'll inform Trinity's player...

She responded saying that she couldn't make it either.

And so, Sabah's player and I grabbed some lunch and headed back to our apartments (we're neighbors).

And that was how Sunday passed :)

--------------

Now, on to other business: why is this post tagged "Pathfinder?"

I've been following the business of the Vigilante class since the beginning of the playtest.
And it amuses me that pretty much every single post in the "Final Thoughts" board is negative (my opinion is in there as well, btw).

It seems to me that Paizo is on the verge of losing a lot of money if they don't change their thoughts on this particular class.
But, I also know just how staunchly RP fans defend things from their favorite publishers, even if they are flawed beyond reason.

So, more like a "snarky funny thing" here, I guess.

But, I do hope that Paizo learns from this experience. I still rather like some of the improvements from 3.X that they made, and would love to see the game continue.

Anyway, due to having my desk at work moved, posting is going to be slightly more difficult and/or later in the day than normal.

May have more for you all later this week.
Who knows?
Until then, may the dice fall in your favor :)

Ask the Audience #1 - Edition Wars

Good morning, people of the internet!

Today, I thought I'd start up a short article on reader opinions.
This will be the first of many, I hope.

Even if you just stop in for a second, feel free to leave your opinion. I enjoy reading comments on things, even if they are detrimental to my calm lol

So, today's "Ask the Audience" wants to know:
Which edition of Dungeons and Dragons is your favorite? Why is that? (this can include Pathfinder)
Which edition of Dungeons and Dragons is your least favorite? Why is that? (same here)

And, here's my input on the matter:

My favorite edition to-date is 5th. It combines so much that I like about the previous editions, but it also makes it so that I actually enjoy running a game for once. I don't have days of prep work. Things are so much more streamlined that I can just wing it.

My least favorite edition is probably 2nd. Admittedly, I have limited experience with it, but it is just so much more complicated than even 3.X that I sometimes end up scratching my head in the process of reading through the books.

As far as I know, the Praerus group is going to meet on Sunday. So, I will update you on their misadventure sometime next week if that pans out.
Until then- you know the rest :)

Praerus D&D 5e Campaign Notes, Session 7: Back in Black

Hello, dear readers!
This week's update on the campaign is coming just a touch late due to not having my notebook with me at work.
Better now then not at all, though :)

This time, our characters included Ulic, Sabah, and Trinity from the earlier arc.
Eos has been retired for the time being and replaced by a character named Hecatonchires, a half-orc barbarian/fighter/warlock who has a thing for hands (his name means "hundred handed one," btw).
We lost one player from the game, and another one is out of town for the next few sessions, so his character will be introduced then.

------------------------

To begin, Ulic had just returned to the Arcanum and was told, almost immediately, to go back to Rosewood. A highly important prophecy was hiding in the caves below the town and it was imperative that he recover it.
Ulic set off and arrived in Rosewood at the same time as Bloodbane's caravan palace.

After Trinity finished making her potions, she decided to pursue the criminal syndicates of Rosewood.
Not to stop them.
To force them to follow her.
She tried intimidating someone for information.
Long story short, she wound up in jail.
And stayed there for most of the session.

Ulic, having an idea as to who might help him in his quest, decided to head towards the pub.

Sabah, who had spent the night getting all sorts of plastered, decided to head into town herself.

Along the way, the two crossed paths and continued to the pub, where Ulic told both Sabah and Angus that he needed some assistance for a trip back into the caves.
They both agreed to help. Angus gave the pair a list of names of militia members and other townsfolk that would be most likely to help out.
First on the list: a half-orc named Hecatonchires.

Before leaving, though, Sabah noticed a fellow cleric that was proselytizing about turning "away from the light."
If you recall, she is a follow of Pholtus, a god of the sun and light on Praerus.
With some quick words, she was able to remind the folk listening of the folly of trafficking with shadows and told the cad to leave. He obliged.

With that taken care of, they decided to try to locate the half-orc hermit.

At this point in the day, he had been trading and partying with the caravansary and was well past "illuminated."
When the other two found him, he was playing a beautiful glass drum in the glassblower's tent.
After some one-sided conversation (he replied with drum playing), Hecatonchires was on board.

And then the obligatory party scene was had.
And Trinity was still (blessedly) in jail.

The next day, Sabah woke in jail with Trinity.
Hecatonchires was alone in a tent in the caravan.
And Ulic had wound up spending his night with Sonata, the master glass blower.

With a little bit of asking around, the party reunited at the jail.
The guard was leery of letting Trinity out, but decided that the others would keep an eye on her.
When he was giving them their confiscated items back, Sabah's holy symbol was strangely missing. He told them that it hadn't been with her the night before.

With a quick search of the caravan, they found it laying face-up in the middle of the road.
When Sabah looked it over, she saw that someone had scrawled "I am Watching" on the back.
She didn't want those words blaspheming her holy symbol, so she asked Hecatonchires to fix it.
He wrote his own name under the words.

After this slight break in tension, the party gathered their remaining supplies and departed for the caves once more.
In the entrance, they passed by some goblins that were quite clearly three sheets to the wind and headed for the caravan to continue the party.
At this point, Ulic finished describing to the party why they had to return to the caves.

Thus, they climbed back into the pits. (Though, thinking on it now, why didn't they ask any goblins for a hint of the prophecy's location?)
At the bottom, they got their bearings straightened out and headed for a tunnel they hadn't explored previously.
This path led to some over large mushrooms that were blocking some sort of mining office.

Before anyone could fall for the clever trap, someone noticed that green slime was growing in the same area as the mushrooms.
With a call to her god, Sabah channeled daylight into the area and cleared the slime away, thus freeing them to proceed.
Unfortunately, the room was largely deserted.

Undaunted, the party returned to the labyrinth and chose the fork opposite the last one.

Here, they found the remains of a kitchen that was being used by the goblins during their campaign against the warforged of the area.
Having been at this for some time, the party decided that some refreshment was in order.
Hecatonchires, being the cook, went back to the mushrooms to wrangle some up for flavor's sake.
Ulic decided to scout ahead in the tunnels.
Trinity wanted to work with some acid she had gathered from the green slime so as to - you guessed it - weaponize it.
And Sabah decided to investigate the kitchen a little.

Not much happened for the rest of the party, but Sabah thought she saw shadows moving in the corner of her eye in the kitchen.
She approached, flames at the ready.
And then she was picked up from the floor.

A grell had been floating about, waiting for just such an opportunity.
Unfortunately for it, Sabah wasn't paralyzed and a scuffle ensued.
The grell tried floating away with her, but Trinity was able to jump up and join combat (though, only because she had reached a stopping point in her research...)

Trinity tried to throw her magic spear at the thing, but it missed by a wide margin.
Sabah was able to burn it and set herself free.

Around this time, Ulic and Hec heard the noises of combat and decided to investigate.

With some quick thinking, Ulic used his wand to create a web that caught the grell.
Sabah, knowing that these particular webs are flammable, was delighted.
The webs, now aflame, did nothing to keep Trinity from jumping onto the thing and trying to club it to death.

And that's how this particular grell died: screaming and burning.

Now, properly roasted grell in hand, Hec took the party back to the kitchen to make his famous "Brain over Brawn" dish. Whatever that might be...

And that's where we left off.
We should meeting Sunday assuming that nothing major happens in real life.
Until then, may the dice fall in your favor :)

Why U No Update?

Sorry for the enormous delay in posts, dear readership!

Normally, I work on the blog while I'm at work, but I've been stupendously busy due to having my job title change.
Sadly, only a horizontal move, not vertical.

However, my group is planning on meeting up on Sunday, so hopefully that will pan out.

In other news, I have finished work on the Incarnate class and made good advances on the Artificer and Tome of Magic class 5e conversions. So, feel free to use them at your leisure. And, remember, feedback is appreciated :)
I still need to finish the soulmelds for the incarnate, but that should be done in the near-ish future.
I intend to continue work on the Psionicist, even though WotC has pushed out the Mystic class in the most recent Unearthed Arcana. In part because I've already come this far, and also in part because I just want to finish it.

So, that's it for me. Hopefully there will be more to say after Sunday.
Until then, may the dice fall in your favor :)

An Interview: Dan Van

Hello, great big world!

Today, due to no progress on either homebrew content or the Praerus campaign (still updating/changing characters for the party), I will be starting my interview project.
And, to get the ball rolling, I thought I'd ask a few questions of Dan Van, the man playing Saito (though he plans on changing to a wizard during the next story arc). Whose birthday was also on Sunday :)

Without further ado, here's a transcript from the interview (done via Facebook, whole thing [sic] with very minor editing):

Interview time! You ready for this?

sure

Cool. To begin, when... 

42

When did you first delve into the darkness that is roleplaying games?

So much typing lol

In college , I met some people on the same dorm floor i lived on who were gamers .

And the game you played that forever set you down this dismal path?

Ya, I suppose what appealed to me was the idea of making something up. Pretending to have the power of a Wizard or cleverness of a Hobbit tongue emoticon

So, D&D then?

Actually no the very first game was L5R but d&d wasnt that far behind.

Neat! That makes you relatively unique from most gamers. If you had to choose a game that you would have started with, which would it be? If not L5R.

That is a pretty tough question. At the time of me starting it was pretty much 2nd ed D&D and L5R that my friends were into. 3rd edition happened not to long after i started gaming. Which was much simpler a system to understand.

Indeed it is unsure emoticon
Of all the games you've played in your illustrious career, which system do you like best?

Again with the difficult question. There are some very unique systems that are fun but you have to have the right group. So for all around id say pathfinder. it got rid of most of what was wrong with 3.5 though now its getting to bloated as we have talked about.

Indeed it is unsure emoticon
That is twice I've said that now.
Sorry for hard questions, but that's what interviews are for lol
Alright, how about this one: favorite character you've ever played?

Oooo... that a good one. Best concept i only played for a short time. He was a young prince who struck a deal with a Demon to save his kingdom, but the demon turned on him and used the prince to murder everyone in the kingdom except him. The prince then became a restless spirit driven to find this demon and kill him. While his kingdom because this haunted legend. So my character would appear every so many years tracking this demon down , it was great in concept but hard to play in with a party.

Wow. That's pretty awesome actually. But I can totally see that being hard to have in an actual group. Now, on a similar vein: any characters that you've regretted playing?

Not so much regretted playing but regretted actions. early on in gaming before i understood things as well . I always felt my characters had to succeed. And i remember just blatantly cheating, and it just killed the mood of the game. Just felt bleh .

Understandable. But those days are behind you now, yes? (Says your current DM)

Other than that D6 yes lol

Yeah. But I let that thing slide anyway lol
So what are your honest impressions of 5e, anyway? Feel free to blast it to pieces of you'd like smile emoticon

It's not really that different to me from past things. I like the proficiency idea and the way spells slots work. But id like more skills even just double where there is now. And more player options. Like fighter has 3 types it can go into. And you cant do that till 3rd level.

When you say more skills, do you mean more skills to choose from, or more skills trained? I'm assuming the second one.

Bit of both. Even more secondary things. I like a player who takes something kinda goofy and makes use of it. Like fishing, farming, or blacksmith.

Gotcha. Well, Dram is planning on being the cook... Now, if not 5e, what would your preference be for our group's next game?

Tough call. Id like to see people in a super hero game because we talk a lot of comic stuff. But a anime style game could also be fun if we can keep keep certain people away from tentacles.

I couldn't agree more! Lol Dialing of super heroes, time for the required question of every interview: if you could have one super power...?

That is supposed to say talking, not dialing.

I have the cheating answer the power cosmic (cause im a big silver surfer fan). or Immortality.

Both good answers. If not a little OP...
Well, I think this is enough for the blog for now and I feel weird interviewing someone I already know, so that's a wrap! Thanks for your time smile emoticon

No worries. (More was said after this, but this is end of transcript)

And there you have it!

As for this past Sunday, many laughs and raspberry-lemonade cupcakes were had.
We spent the whole time we would have normally gamed with 5e playing "Runebound" by Fantasy Flight instead.
I may do some sort of review here in the next few days for those folks that haven't experienced it yet...
Anyway, everyone enjoyed themselves Sunday. And that's all a DM can ask for :)

As previously mentioned, this coming Sunday is a no-game day (it's my 7th wedding anniversary and I have schemes in motion).
So, next week's update(s) might be... another interview? A review? Who knows.

Until then, may the dice fall in your favor!