The Giggling Dark: Session Twenty-Nine, Trait Vote the Last

I still can't believe we're here. Seriously. This is amazing. This was the first solo campaign I started. I was sick of missing gaming, GMing in particular, and just needed something to do as I was cleaning the kitchen at night for my long suffering and angelic wife. But I had an idea. And it wouldn't leave my head. So I called Ryan, who seemed to be itching as badly as I was for a game. And we were having a blast! I decided to start putting the session posts up, just for fun. I figured it was a good, if incredibly dark, story about a boy turning into a man, and wanted to see what others thought of it too.

I've done not one. Not two. Not three. But five campaigns since then.

Five.

Turns out that people not only liked what I was doing with Ryan, but wanted to join in. And I've just been very steadily plugging away at this little blog ever since. I've added in other games, done reviews, even have a small group doing random things from time to time, and of course there's the Power Rangers posts! Can't forget about those. I'm insanely indebted to that community for reading and checking out the rest of the blog.

But it all started here.

We didn't intend to end this particular campaign here, honestly. There's a lot more to Xellous the Celestial Knight, Kora, and Threen. We're doing another campaign to find out what happens to them. That's coming and I'm so excited! But when we got done with Session Twenty-Eight something in my heart said "This is done. Cut it here." And when I thought it over we had gone well beyond the bounds of the dark gritty fantasy that Ryan and I had first envisioned. And that was fine and all, but I knew I needed to renegotiate what was going on in the game. Ryan was a bit surprised, but he agreed after I explained myself. We need a genre shift.

IN SPACE!

 But first, we have to wrap this game up. At the beginning of the Trait Vote this is what Xellous had, trait-wise:

Tenacious

Hardworking

Blunt

Tough as Nails

Commanding Aura

We decided to award two traits to Xellous, while removing one. Blunt went right out the window. Xellous hasn't been socially awkward in a long time. Between the two of us we came up with three traits: Sixth Sense (which is essentially Xellous's Aura abilities expanding on their own), Loyal to Kora (gives a fourth Belief about how much Xellous loves Kora), and Show No Fear (good luck scaring Xellous, which is really the only way he makes Steel checks at all. We nixed Sixth Sense, as that wasn't something that really developed in play, although it was cool! Loyal to Kora just made sense.

So now it's:

Tenacious

Hardworking

Show No Fear

Tough as Nails

Commanding Aura

Loyal to Kora

We also looked through his Reputations. Mysterious Stranger was nixed. Hero of Khouria was expanded to 3D, as pretty much everyone in the world would have heard about what happened to Khouria and Xellous and Kora's role in saving it. His reputation of Rogue Mutant Human was 2D with khen-zai. Xellous killed one black khen-zai and disgraced another, so that's now a 3D Reputation, changed to Dangerous Rogue Mutant Human. And then, because he had communed with an ascended start, he now has a Reputation amongst stars as The Ascended Human, at 1D.

And there we have it! You've got someone who started as a thirteen year old, socially awkward  enchanting savant and ended as a socially powerful Celestial Knight! What a journey!

And there's still such a way to go...

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The Undertow: Session Twenty-Six

Mikansia and Nomi have their weapons. The Lone Keep has been responsible for almost every last bit of misery in their lives. Armed with Mikansia's rainbow dream blade and Nomi's knowledge of The Lone Keep they hope to make a dent. Yngvar said surprises awaited them. What could that mean?

As Mikansia and Nomi stepped into the dreaded Lone Keep Yngvar wished them luck with a smile that made Mikansia feel more than a little suspicious. As they stepped into the Lone Keep Mikansia's magic blade, which usually glowed with all the colors of the rainbow, began to glow a soft but powerful blue. Mikansia and Nomi looked down at the sword, but it didn't change color, emitting a constant, calming blue. They looked up; they were in a long hall, lined with eldritch eggs, objects that could bring forth Nameless horrors, as well as resurrect the dead that you feared the most. They usually had The Music, the dissonant noise that the Nameless emitted, spewing forth from them. Given how many eldritch eggs there were Mikansia and Nomi should have been deafened.

There was total silence. The only sounds that could be heard was Mikansia and Nomi's breath. They shrugged after a moment.

Mikansia turned to close the portal from Dream, singing the Song of Mending. A female elf appeared next to one of the eldritch eggs as Mikansia sung. Nomi took one look and fled the opposite way, running between the eldritch eggs and vanishing down a flight of stairs. Mikansia couldn't run after her; the portal had to be closed. And besides, the female elf wasn't showing herself to be much of a threat.

The female elf was wearing a First Sword Sword Singer uniform. A lifetime ago Mikansia had considered herself a Sword Singer. Whatever she was now wasn't that, or so she had thought. Song complete, Mikansia found herself saluting with her magic sword, Jabez's sword, which involved presenting said sword for presentation.  The firstsword approached. Her eyes spoke of death, glory, heartbreak, a thousand thousand battles all rolled into one lifetime, honor, bloodshed, and a discipline that would have been cruel if it came from anyone else. Her ebony hands had a blue glow as she reached out her hand to inspect the glowing blue sword, as was customary. The intent was very clear: to inspect the sword which bathed the world in calm. But Mikansia caught herself. She pulled the blade back from the firstsword's outstretched hand.

And then charged the firstsword, blade against her neck. Confusion and anger spread acrost the firstsword's face. "Well the who the hell are you??" snapped Mikansia.

"What the hell?? Are you a swordsinger or not?? ATTEN...SHUN!!!!!" snapped the firstsword.

Mikansia was at attention her sword hanging by her side in a tightened grip.

Mikansia shook her head. This was too easy. Too natural. All this training was something she had forgotten. Right?

"I AM FIRSTSWORD OLIVIA THE THUNDERER!! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, GETTING BETWEEN ME AND MY DAUGHTER?? I WILL FUCK YOUR WORLD, SWORDSINGER!!!!!"

Mikansia's jaw dropped. Olivia the Thunderer was one of her childhood heroes! Olivia was the most fearsome swordsinger ever known. She had been the bravest (or perhaps most insane) swordsinger in elven history. Olivia had been known for her incredible charges the should not have worked, would never have worked if anyone but Olivia led them. All of them had been successful, except the last, depending on how you thought about it. Olivia's unit had been surrounded by six Nameless. Normally swordsinger units hunted one Nameless at a time. Olivia had personally charged all six Nameless, buying her unit time to get away. The accounts said that Olivia had cut down all the Nameless in one charge, moving in a blur that no elf eye could track. The six demons, once released from their Nameless vehicles, turned on her. No elf had ever defeated a demon. Fearless, Olivia had taken them all on, laughing the Song of the Sword in a way that was so menacing even the demons had paused. Before the angels came to wipe out the demons Olivia had been killed she died laughing in the face of a demon the size of a mountain as it crushed her in its hands, locking eyes with it and daring it to squish harder, because they were all doomed and knew it.

Not one of her soldiers had been lost that day.

And she was standing, right there, in the flesh.

"Wait, Nomi is your daughter? She never mentioned that."

"Yes, she is. But how do I know you're not one of them?" demanded the Thunderer. "My unit was betrayed, that's how we wound up where we got surrounded by six Nameless."

"The Lone Keep had corrupted the King of Kotae Mah a long time ago. Nomi and I are here, in the Lone Keep, to destroy it" replied Mikansia. "I suppose I can't give you more a reason to trust me than that. I'm with Nomi. She wants this place down. So do I."

"We're at the Lone Keep?" Mikansia nodded at Olivia. "AWESOME. Let's go get my scaredy-bitch daughter, see why she's scared."

Mikansia couldn't help herself. She laughed straight from the heart, the type of laugh that takes over your body and washes everything else away. She hadn't laughed like that for well over a year, would never have had reason to do so before this, and honestly didn't know why she was here, but she was, and that was enough. More than enough.

And off they went.

"So how long have I been gone?" asked Olivia.

"A bit more than a century, I think?"

"Oh, that long? How has Nomi been doing?"

"Well, I've only known her about a year, after she stopped being a dark elf."

"A. WHAT."

Mikansia paused  a second. "Um... a dark elf." Mistakes had been made. Mikansia could see that now.

"Tell me not for the Keep."

No one could withstand that glare. "Well..."

"Mother. FUCKER. No wonder she ran. Let's go get the scaredy-bitch before she really gets herself hurt. Moron."

They descended the staircase that Nomi had fled down. And bumped into a dozen dark elves. "Oh good, another former yetekaida!" shouted one of them, pointing at Mikansia. "We can replace the one we've got downstairs." They charged.

Mikansia found the spot in her heart where she had defeated all the orcs. She stayed there. Ducking under blades, cutting dark elves and blades in half with the sword Jabez had given her, and all with hardly the flick of a wrist. She was covered in everyone else's blood but her own. At this point it was like being covered in sweat.

"Daaaaaaaaamn that wasn't just the sword" Olivia sounded almost exactly like Nomi just then. Come to think of it they sounded a lot alike in general. But what mattered was that Mikansia had surpassed Krakeru permanently. Mikansia almost wanted him back so she could kill him again, even more fair and square.

Almost.

As they made their way down the long stairwell the whole Keep rocked, tilting to the side for about a minute before righting itself. Mikansia and Olivia were puzzled, but given the lack of living dark elves they shrugged and kept moving. A bit on they found more bodies on the stair. Kneeling down, Olivia whistled. "These weren't killed by Nomi. The cuts are too fine, too precise. Nomi is a hacker of a fighter if there ever was one." Mikansia looked at the cuts. They were fine, razor thin, almost imperceptible. She couldn't put her finger on it, but those cuts were familiar, somehow. Look at Olivia shook her head.

As they got up Mikansia could hear Tyce faintly singing. He was a human she had helped from what felt like an eternity ago. He had died alerting Nomi to come and help break the siege of Elfwatch. The last time they had been near eldritch eggs Mikansia thought Tyce had helped her, but hadn't seen him since, not even when she had crossed over into Dream and seen the souls of her other dead friends.

Tyce's song, the Song of Mourning, was louder.

And louder.

Olivia stopped. "Do you hear something?"

"That's not just me?"

"No, is someone singing the Song of Mourning?"

They were lying together, there in her bed. There was a look Tyce had given Mikansia. He'd just lost his friend to suicide and Mikansia was reeling from being raped by her father, Krakeru. She was not  in a place anyone could qualify as good.  And Tyce could see that. And he let her see where he was. And they were, together.

A hand was placed upon her shoulder. By reflex Mikansia reached to return the carress, but she stopped herself. Nobody could be there.

The grip on her shoulder tightened, gently. "You rang?'

There stood Tyce, smiling in the soft blue light of Mikansia's blade. Mikansia just stared. Tyce wrapped her in his arms for a tight hug. Mikansia couldn't move. She just couldn't. Olivia jumped, pulling out the sword she'd just lifted from a nearby dark elf. "Um... no. No! He's alright!" Mikansia stammered."

Olivia nodded. "Looks like you two need a minute. I'll keep looking." And she continued down the seemingly eternal stairs.

Mikansia and Tyce stared at each other. "How are you hear?" Mikansia's voice was barely a whisper. "You died getting the word out about the siege of Elfwatch."

"The eldritch eggs that line the walls of this castle? They're originally from Dream. The dead may walk in Dream as they wish."

"Oh, right, like how Olivia is doing. But you didn't come the last time I was around an eldritch egg, did you? You weren't standing here like this. With me."

"You didn't own the sword like you do now." Tyce reminded.

"Oh," she continued to stare blankly at him. There'd been so many times Mikansia would have gladly talked to Tyce again. And here he was. And she just kept staring.

Tyce chuckled, took her hand, and kissed it. "I missed you."

"I... I missed you too. Do you know where we are?"

"Yes, we're in the Keep."

Mikansia was surprised. "You've been watching me all this time?"

"Yes, we all have. You can call us all back. The same way you called me."

Mikansia nodded. And then shrank back. So many were dead! She'd failed so spectacularly! Just thinking about it... "I don't... I don't think I can. That would be too much. Can you help me do this?"

"That's why I'm here. You called me back to myself, and I can't thank you enough for it. My last moment, before the Nameless overwhelmed me, all I could feel was gratitude for what you had done for me. You've given so much, to so many people. You didn't give just me hope."

Mikansia nodded, tears brimming her eyes. She could feel that was true. It had hurt to hear, it had hurt to do those things, but it was true. And it was time to embrace it. "Sing with me." Mikansia held out her hand. Tyce took it. They sang the Song of Mourning, which Mikansia had used to revive Tyce to himself. It felt like forever ago. They sang of times past, times they missed, times that could not return.

Enzio, who had taken in Mikansia when she needed a place to be after killing Krakeru, joined in.

And then Dale, Ensio's son. He'd tried to withstand the Creature from Dream's assaults. And he'd accompanied Mikansia ever since.

Yngvar stood next to her. He'd been skeptical of her at first, but here he was, smiling at her and singing the lament with Mikansia.

Their voices rose into the fuligin reaches of the Keep's stairwell they stood in, beyond the glow of the pale blue light of Mikansia's sword.

A second later Jabez appeared, chuckling: "Well, I couldn't be boring like them, could I?"

Mikansia laughed and wrapped Jabez in a fierce hug. Everyone was laughing as they reunited. But Mikansia stopped a minute later. "Where... where is Akseli?" Akseli, who she had failed so many times over? Akseli, who had died because of her failure to believe in him? Did he not forgive her? She couldn't help but think he would be justified.

Yngvar grinned. "That's a surprise! Come on!" Down the stairs they went, passing dozens more slaughtered dark elves. Each time they did Yngvar and Dale chuckled. Mikansia knew better than to ask.

They finally reached the bottom of of the stairwell, which opened out to another hallway. Piles and piles of dark elf bodies abounded. Olvia was standing in front of a corner, trying to coax out the terrified Nomi. Olivia turned as the group came out of the stairwell and jumped. "That's a hell of a lot of friends! Can you please tell my daughter I'm not a specter of the tower sent to torment her??? She knows what the eldritch eggs are and what they should do... without that glowing blue sword of yours."

Nomi was in a fetal position, eyes shut and ears plugged. Mikansia pried her hands off and said "It's not just some specter. That's your mom."

Nomi didn't seem much comforted by that. She did stand up. "What's this I hear about you being a Lone Keep elf?"

"Um, well, after you died."

"But you stopped, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

Olivia turned to Mikansia. "Has she been helpful to you, since you two started traveling together?"

Mikansia smiled warmly at Nomi. "I'd never have gotten here without her. She's been crucial." Nomi couldn't have looked more grateful.

"Well then, what more is there to say?" Olivia hugged Nomi. For the next few minutes there were tears.

After a few minutes Mikansia tapped Olivia on the shoulder "Um-"

"YOU GOT A SIXSOME WITH YOUR BOY TOYS BACK OFF!!"

Mikansia laughed. And complied.

After a few more moments they made their way into a huge room, after passing scores more of dark elves. There was an eerie green light coming from the other end of the room. The Music could be heard dimly; Mikansia's blade was almost white-hot blue, almost humming as it struggled against The Music. There was a chimney of epic proportions, which was the origin of the green glow. Green and white-blue met and fused in the room.

A long shadow cut acrost the room. At its end stood Akseli. Mikansia almost knocked him off his feet.  Mikansia couldn't hold it in anymore. She sobbed and laughed and so did he and finally she said she finally said those words she'd wanting to say for that entire torturous year. "I'm so sorry! I failed you. I thought you weren't-"

Akseli laughed. "Oh Mikansia... you didn't fail me. If you think you need forgiveness I give it, but... you didn't fail me."

Mikansia gasped. "What??"

"Well, it would just be better to show you." Akseli moved out of the way of the fireplace. There was someone chained inside it; the weird green light came from her, feeding up into the flue. Mikansia had been told her mother, Makirta, had gone into the Void of the Heavens. And her whole life she had believed that Makirta had abandoned her. And while her views on Makirta had softened, the sting of being abandoned had never fully gone away. Mikansia had never anticipated how much she looked like her mother. But there was Makirta, alive. And Mikansia indeed looked very much like her."She never made it to the Havens" Akseli whispered.

"Of course she didn't" was what Mikansia found herself saying.

"They've got her locked to these eldritch eggs you can see throughout the whole keep. The eggs originated from Dream. So as I was dying I felt Makirta, calling out for me. She'd been looked in the worst moment of her life: when I rejected her for being a dark elf double agent. Of all the things in her life... " Akseli tried to suppress the guilt on his face but couldn't. "That was the worst of her. Me rejecting her. She's been calling out to me for over 70 years, constantly begging for me to come back. And, as I was dying... I... I... I'm sorry, but I couldn't stay with you. I had to go to her. Makirta's despair is what's keeping the place floating in orbit. The materials they somehow found float if you have despair going through them. I've still no idea how it works, but I know if I take her out of that chimney the whole Keep crashes. I'm only here because the eggs are here. If they're destroyed I stop being able to be here. So I couldn't take her out, not without making sure she had somewhere to go. So I just started killing everyone I could, for the last year."

"You've been here for a full year???" Mikansia was shocked, yet again, despite the day she'd had so far.

"Well, I couldn't just leave her here! Now that you're here we can get her out and to safety before this whole thing comes down."

Mikansia couldn't stop staring at her mother, horrified. "Why her?"

"I think it's because she's a former yetekaida. From what I could gather, after sneaking around, former yetekaidas are thrown into this chimney, locked into their memory, and then practically abandoned. She's held out about four times longer than anyone else they've ever put in there."

It was too soon. But Makirta had been in there too long already. The goodbyes to Ensio and Dale were short and bittersweet; they wanted to to have their love sent to their family, poor little three year old Simone especially. Yngvar winked and saluted, causing Mikansia to chuckle and return the salute.

When she got to Tyce Mikansia stopped. They smiled at each other. "Thank you for coming back for me" said Mikansia.

"You brought me back. What did you expect me to do?"

"Well, thank you anyway."

"It was my joy... although whenever you get to where I am I'd like a round two."

Mikansia laughed and punched Tyce in the arm. "Still not satisfied in Heaven??"

"I will see you again" Tyce told Mikansia.

"I know. I can't wait."

Jabez was last. He didn't mind. "That sword looks a bit different nowadays" he remarked at the glowing blue blade. He held out his hand and Mikansia placed the sword in it without hesitation.

"You think you can explain why the sword is acting like this? Cancelling the Music and going all blue?"

"There's a lot more sorrow in it now and the Creature enhanced it with the essence of Dream. Sorrow remembers. The Nameless changes all before them. But not sorrow. Sorrow doesn't change. And this sword has more power and sorrow behind than almost anything else."

"... thank you much for giving me this sword. It's meant so much to me."

"I'd figured it would do more good with you than me." Jabez had left home in anger, taking his ancestral sword with him. His father had told Jabez that he was unworthy of so venerable a sword. Jabez had told his father he would makes himself worthy. When Jabez had learned about Mikansia's quest to vanquish the dark elves, Krakeru in particular, he'd given her his family sword. Jabez's father, who had died for Mikansia's cause as well, also believed that Mikansia was worthy of the blade and had told her so. "I. Will. See you. Again." Jabez stated.

Mikansia nodded. "Yes, you will. Tomorrow." They both smiled.

Makirta was chained to the walls. Two swings of the sword and Makirta tumbled into Mikansia's arms. The green light vanished, as did The Music. She was lighter than Mikansia could have ever imagined. Her eyes winked open and stared stupidly at Mikansia. "Akseli... Ak...seli??" she croaked, voice barely audible.

"I'm here, my love! Right here!" Akseli cried, gently cradling Makirta's head

She gazed at him as one surprised. "You... you came back."

Water streamed down. "I did. I never should have left. I'm so sorry!"

Makirta smiled and closed her eyes.

The whole structure lurched and groaned. The floor began to tilt.

"Makirta?"

The blue light of Mikansia's sword made Krakeru's eyes practically torches. Mikansia gripped her sword hilt tightly, but the expression on Krakeru's face surprised her. It wasn't the constant sneer she'd seen while Krakeru was alive. It was pain. Shock. "You're... you're alive??"

Makirta opened her eyes. "Mikka. I never... I never died."

Krakeru's face twisted into a mask of pain and rage. "Don't call me that. I've not been Mikka for centuries. Mikka is gone."

"You... were always... Mikka... to me..." heaved Makirta.

Krakeru walked up closer to Makirta. He saw no one else. Akseli and Mikansia tensed, but Makirta looked more awake and stronger. And she was totally not threatened. "All this time. I'd no idea. I've not been in the Keep since-" Krakeru's eyes bulged. "They're going to pay for this."

"No, come with me!" Makirta summoned a strength Mikansia couldn't believe. The look on Akseli's face said he couldn't either. "Start over! All over! With me!" Makirta's skeletal frame, every bone in sharp relief, was erect. Her eyes had cleared. Her body began to shake in agony, but Makirta would not yield.

"They need to pay" Krakeru went over to one of the dark elf corpses and grabbed a sword. He ran down the hall, with a weakened call of "Mikka" ringing in his ears.
 

Mikansia kept the portal open until the crash. The ceiling fell right in front of the portal. But Mikansia did not close the portal. She had to know.

"Father!" cackled a familiar voice. "So... good to be home! I'm here to avenge my sister. It's been too long." There was the sound of a blade entering something soft.

And then a long, hacking, wet cough. And then a thud.

The Lone Keep was no more. Become a Patron!

Herding Cats with Andy Hauge

Last night was the debut of new show Herding Cats, where I interview all the GMs who will talk to me. This week was my best friend and sometime editor of this blog, Andy Hauge. It's long, but it's a lot of fun.

May the Power Protect You: Tommy Oliver (Zeo Red)

DAMNIT GAME, STOP MAKING GOOD TOMMYS.

I mean.

Erhem.

Star Tommy is one of the most aggressive soft characters in the game. With more than half his cards having a star ability on them, Star Tommy is THE dude to jump on live grenades. Part tank, part frontman, all badass, Star Tommy can turn hits into grade A-munitions.

I thought that was clever.

Yes, you did too.

Those who figured it out, don't spoil the surprise. Thank you.


Star Tommy's character ability is so. Freaking. Good. Like I said: half of his cards have the star on them. You essentially have three different abilities to pick from. From energy generation to extra shields to boosting attacks you can boost your team in a way that would make Tiger Tommy jealous. I mean, damn.

I adore Lead By Example. This thing opens up not one, but two different chains that you can start combo'ing off of. Yeah, it costs an energy. I don't care. You throw this crap on with another Lead by Example, Zeo Yellow, and/or MMPR Red you can not only get energy back but then have two different combo chains going at the same time. Provided you got people to combo this card with some truly sickening things can happen. I've seen an entire board wiped from two Lead by Examples, easily.

Zeo Battle Sword is a beautifully hyped up version of Star Tommy's character ability. Grab two of the cards in your hand and get to use their star abilities. It's awesome. Again, the possibilities here are pretty wide. I personally prefer the Flying Power Kick, with that plus two dice for the next attack. Like, you can totally mix and match or just dive into one particular thing you need a lot of. I like my options to be wide open. Zeo Battle Sword gives that.

And then there's the actual cards with star on them. Before we go on, though, I gotta say that, while I usually find myself saying "TAKE ALL THE HITS", I don't do that with Star Tommy. His character ability allows him to access what's in your hand, so taking hits isn't something I do with him a lot. No, I have Tommy takes big hits. Someone hits you for 6? 7? 10? Throw Star Tommy in the way. There's nothing more satisfying than gaining two energy, +2D on the next attack, and a card pulled back from the discard pile. I mean, granted, Star Tommy should never taken another hit in his existence after that, but the blowback from taking a huge hit becomes fun.

Star Strike is your meat and potatoes zero energy 2D strike. It's star ability is to gain an energy. This one in particular always feels like a mood booster to flip up into. "Cool, we got an energy! That's exactly what we needed!" Just... man, it makes me feel good. I loved it with Billy, and I love here with Tommy. Yeah, you screwed me over, but someone else has that three energy weapon and we werre just short one... and vengeance is coming. Oh, just you wait.

I think I may be playing a lot of Star Tommy when Mastermind Mode hits in September. Just maybe.

Flying Power Kick is, once again, the meat and potatoes 1 energy 3D attack. Most of Star Tommy's actual offensive abilities are very simple. You get a good solid swing in. Pretty simple. I love the star ability on this card, +1D for the next attack is awesome!

Red Riposte lets you bump another card flipped for defense by +2 shields.  The star ability lets someone else return the top card of their discard pile to the top of their deck. So this lets Star Tommy help out other people even more than he already does, buffing and protecting others.

Red Zord V. Just... get the card for defense back and gain an energy?? On top of everything?  I love this zord! Did I mention that I want to play this guy for Mastermind??

Red Battlezord. No need for a card. Just get a 3D attack. Nice. Simple. No energy. It's wonderful.

Star Tommy may be my go-to in the upcoming Mastermind Wars. Simple offense, powerful defense, and tons and tons of middle fingers and high fives. I'd never really looked at a character and went "I want to use this to piss off someone", but Star Tommy is definitely  one of the top characters I'd want to use to do just that.

I'm so freaking excited. Become a Patron!

This is the Way: A Rundown on the Mandalorian, the Sequel Trilogy, and Thomas the Tank Engine, with Peter Lee

The inestimable Peter Lee graces us with his insight, organization, and genuine nature.

The Giggling Dark: Session Twenty-Eight

Months ago Xellous, Telos, and Michael had left Threen alone with her thoughts. During that time she felt horrific remorse for drowning her firstborn son, Charles. Alone for months, she made a horrific wish. And now all the other humans of Khouria have been hulled of themselves, all thinking they're Charles. All because The Nameless had found her and hijacked her wishes. And now Xellous, Koras, and Telos were going to rescue her and destroy The Nameless.

Telos had his enormous greatsword. Kora had Pyra. Xellous had his khen-zai pistol. Little Gerard couldn't come with and Ikuinen Lampo was practically useless in a combat situation. So Kora hesitatingly put her baby into Ikuinen Lampo's arms. Gerard didn't even cry. He looked into Lampo's face and cooed. Kora glowered but relented, gripping Pyra, her superpowerful bow. Leaving the cart with Ikuinen Lampo and Gerard, Xellous, Telos, and Koraheaded twoard where they knew the Nameless were. Xellous changed their auras to resemble those of elves and their journey began. They came acrost a lot of humans who all said "Hi, I'm Charles!" Kora, Xellous, and Telos grew sadder and sadder with each fallen human they encountered. How far did the ruination of Khouria go?

They may have passed hundreds as they journeyed.

As they went over a hill they saw it.

A Nameless.

Its form was shifting into a mass of things... which made no sense.  They all stopped and stared. They couldn't look away. Kora screamed and ran as fast as she could.

The Nameless began shifting towards them.

Telos grabbed Kora and Xellous shouted at her. They needed Pyra to blast that thing open, now. Xellous unloaded his pistol at the Nameless, and it reared back.

Pyra flared.

The wolf's head turned into a bear's. The bear screamed like a woman. The scream had another scream that sounded like grinding steel. Smoke came out of its "chest" as the Nameless fell over.

A gigantic colorless hand reached out of the smoking hulk. Not black. Not even darker than black. Colorless. All hue fled with the advent of that hand. Out stepped something much larger than the Nameless it had inhabited. The world began to frost over, adding a few inches of ice within a few second around the Thing as it stood before them. Kora began to cry. Xellous and Telos were rooted to their respective spots in unimaginable fear.

Looking up, Telos whispered to Xellous: "That's a demon. An actual, real, demon."

Xellous could take his eyes off it. "Yeah... we're fucked."

"Yup."

"Wait, you said a demon, right?" Xellous's head was spinning. All of a the demonology he had studied while trying to figure out what Flammeous Lads were, all the time spent in the Observatory with the monks who were now dead. Something was clicking in his head. "Demons. Real demons. They're not supposed to be in the world. At all. Heaven forbids it."

They were running before Xellous was finished talking. Xellous grabbed Kora's wrist as he ran. The demon had been talking to Kora, telling her that he would make sure her entire life would be an entire hell for uncovering him here.

The whole world went white.

The earth shook in rolling rumbles that knocked everyone and everything over for tens of dozens of miles. They could only hear ringing. White flakes covered them. Xellous, Telos, and Kora were shaking like leaves as they stood. Behind them was a crate a quarter mile wild, and at least that deep. At the center of the crater was a man in white. Gulping, Xellous, Kora, and Telos went down to meet him.

The man's eyes hurt to look at. Something about those eyes just... there was too much goodness. Too much focus. Too much purity. The man was himself. And no one. And nothing else. No judgment could live within those eyes. Just existence. Shaking, Xellous thanked the man for saving them from the demon. The man thanked them, Kora particularly, for cracking the shell. Nameless were the camouflage the demons wore in order to travel the world undetected by Heaven. Now that the man was aware he wasn't going to leave until all the Nameless and the Demons were destroyed.

The man looked at Kora a moment. He grew sad. Walking up to her the man said there were pieces that were missing. But the man could bring them back. He put his hand on Kora's head.

A ball of light appeared in the man's hand. Xellous and Telos jumped. The man smiled and handed the ball of light to Kora; it vanished. The angel explained those were Kora's missing memories. Kora could reclaim them anytime she wished. She deserved that choice, and the man would never force that upon her. Kora thanked him, trembling. The man said he wasn't done saying thank you. He would take them to see Threen, Kora's mother.

They were in Xellous's house. It had rotted in the nine months Xellous had been gone. Threen was in a corner. Her clothes had rotted away; her ribs could be counted, as well as the bones in her legs. Xellous and Kora gasped. Threen stood up, somehow. Looking at Kora Threen began to croak; she was too dry to cry. Her shoulder shook and Kora wrapped what was left of her mother in her arms.  Kora supplied the tears.

"Mommy?"

Something that resembled a child in on name entered the room. Its eyes were burning coals of spite. When Threen had begged for her firstborn, her little Charles who she had drowned, to come back, The Nameless had answered with a simulacrum, a hollow mockery of Charles. This... thing... had been tormenting Threen for months, driving her insane, causing her to keep the rift to the world of The Nameless open, allowing them to corrupt the land of Khouria because of one mother who just wanted to apologize to the baby boy she had drowned.

Threen cried and screamed, begging for "Charles" to leave. Xellous looked at the angel, who nodded: Xellous had the ability to fix this, so he should. Xellous looked over at Telos, who smiled and nodded. Xellous needed no help in this. How long had it been since that hadn't been true? Xellous walked up to "Charles" and touched the snarling little monster. He exploded its little head with one push of aura. Threen collapsed in Kora's arms, sobbing with relief. Charles was gone. The man was was beaming with happiness, but silent. He stood next to Telos, who was drying his eyes silently.

After a few minutes the man asked Kora if Telos could borrow Pyra; he was going to help the man hunt down the rest of the Nameless and needed Pyra to crack the shell so the man could finish the demon off. Looking at Telos, Xellous felt suspicious. He asked fi the bow as coming back. The man and Telos both assured him that Pyra would be returned, even if it had to be teleported to the house. The man and Telos walked out the door.

Xellous came running out after them. He asked Telos if he was leaving. Telos paused a moment and told Xellous he didn't want to overshadow the reunion with Threen. She needed Xellous and Kora. The planet needed them. But not Telos. And Telos could see that Xellous was now in a spot where he was up to the challenge. He had what it took, and Telos couldn't help but feel proud that he got to watch it happen. But the man had told him he was needed back on his world, back on Heranyt. And so Telos had to go.

Xellous hugged Telos, who returned the hug with great warmth. Kora came running out at that moment, saying Telos had been not be fucking trying to sneak off. Telos laughed and thanked them both for saving his life. For being his friend. They thanked him in turn, for Telos had been a constant support to the both of them. Telos said nothing could have given him more pleasure.

Xellous asked the man's name as Kora and Telos embraced.

"Raphael". He gave Xellous a spear the size of his hand. When Xellous needed another miracle he'd know what to do.

Raphael and Telos left with Pyra.

Xellous found a bow in the house. Threen needed food. And Xellous was going to provide. The woods just outside their house had plenty of game.

Choosing an OSR Base (Whitehack, Basic Fantasy, Trophy Gold)

So I was asked by a friend what I thought of Basic Fantasy. I knew nothing about it. Instead of telling him I'd never looked at it I thought I'd take it upon myself to look into the game and see what it was all about. Keep in mind that I'm a mostly "narrative" gamer, who rarely dabbles in the OSR, although Trophy Gold has definitely turned me on to the concept. Eventually it's my goal to have an OSR group to run things with. So I was curious to see what Basic Fantasy was about. And how it would hold up to the other two OSR games I own: Whitehack and Trophy Gold.

But before we get into it I need to get something clear with you, the person who's reading. A lot of systems in the OSR are deliberately interchangeable. The OSR is largely built off of BDnD, which means that the movement often resembles Model T's: you can just swap out parts and tech with very little difficulty. Even systems that aren't similar at all, like Trophy Gold and Basic Fantasy, aren't that hard to hack into each other, especially since the systems are so simple that it hardly even takes a statistic class to know what is going on where in the system.

So the goal of this little versus post isn't to say which game is better. Honestly there are elements of all three games that I would use in an OSR campaign; that is a feature, not a bug. The question is what chasis would I use? And that's a very subjective question. Your answer will not be mine. That is part of the point of the OSR. So this post will cover what I look for in a game, just in general, and why I would pick an OSR game.

So, for me, the OSR is the other half of the RPG coin from "narrative" games. When I play a "narrative" game I want characters who can survive long enough to tell a good story about them. I give a crap about theme, about the meaning of the story. I deliberately put in recurring symbols and ideas and spend a lot of my time thinking about how on earth to make something that is purposefully edifying to me, the player(s), and anyone who reads any of the blog posts (assuming I write about it). That's my goal with a "narrative" game. I want something that becomes a form of mythology for everyone at the table. I do it on purpose. I also want to strip the player characters of what they think the are, until there is an answer, way down at the core of them. So, while my campaigns can be really brutal and dark, there is a purpose beyond just making the players suffer: what's down there, way down, at the core of someone? What's their primary choice?

When I get an OSR game? I flip that around. I don't want to hold hands and prevent deaths. I don't want to sit around and ask questions about the deeper meaning of things. It's not that it's not there; I've read too much about story structure and mythology and I care way too much about it for it to not show up. But honestly? The real world is a bloodbath. And sometimes it's nice to sit down and make sure the other asshole can't get dinner reservations anymore. So I want something simple, but flexible, and definitely something that allows people to make characters again quickly, because the dungeon just chewed up the last three people and we need another sad sack to go in and feed the need. Life ain't fair, buddy, get back in the meat grinder!

I do not pretend that there are not other ways to do the OSR.

That's the point.

Nor do I think that meaningful stories cannot be constructed using those mechanics. I know they can. But sometimes a hammer is really good for bashing in a head, as opposed to making a house. And the OSR makes really, really, really awesome hammers.

So how does that square up with Whitehack, Basic Fantasy, and Trophy Gold?

Well, let's take a look.

Whitehack is a modern riff off of BDnD. I say modern because there's only one resolution mechanic (d20 roll under the character's stat), character classes are more or less balanced, and the emphasis is upon streamlining down to the bare essentials, something that older games seem to know very little about. That being said, the character classes are pretty robust for the OSR, allowing for players to really sink in their teeth and care, no matter how much they don't want to. A lot of the game is deliberately collaborative, giving the players the ability to define  the setting almost as much as the GM, right there on the fly. And I love that! You can get a passive-aggressive war of canon between the players. I like that feel. It's a good antagonistic back and forth. And c'mon, The Auction (which is a conflict resolution mechanic that is meant to be used for everything but a fight to the death) is just an amazing mechanic. I love how quick, dirty, and decisive it is. I'd like to put in some room for compromises and whatnot, but as a base system it's far superior to only having combat. I'm surprised the innovations in Whitehack haven't spread further, considering how easy and simple they are to implement.

Basic Fantasy is a modern facelift of Basic Dungeons and Dragons. No, really, the rules are almost entirely lifted off that venerable ruleset. That is not always to its advantage. Multiple resolutions mechanics that don't really mesh with each other are a pain to explain to new players. The multiple saving throws of the system also don't really make much sense to me, given how the differing throws are used for things not explicitly covered by the monikers of said throws. I find that annoying. I know some don't. But it was enough to make me not use Beyond the Wall as much as I should, so that should tell you how much I hate multiple resolution mechanics!

That being said, Basic Fantasy has a really wholesome feel to it. This sucker is cheap as hell and bound nicely. My wife normally doesn't remark upon the quality of my RPG books but she definitely took a minute to admire it, especially for its five buck price. But there's mechanical stuff in here that I like too! There's ascending AC, instead of THACO, which is nice to not have to figure out. I prefer Whitehack's system for AC but this works as well. And the bestiary is just wonderful. So many publishers sorta skimp on the bestiary, thinking about making it its own book. And that's fine. But this bestiary? Man, I love it a lot.

Trophy Gold is the weirdest of the three games. It's not a d20 system. I know that plenty of OSR games these days are not OSR, but the archetype certainly is that of a d20 game, at least for now. Hell, it's not even a "full" game, as it's still in zine form, with rules spread between two zines, Gold and Hearthfire (which is still behind the Patreon paywall), not to mention all the incursions they've made in other issues. I greatly prefer the base dice system. I don't think most d20 games take advantage of the mercurial nature of the d20 nearly enough, which 13th Age turned me onto. Trophy Gold, borrowing from such amazing games such as Blades in the Dark and Cthulhu Dark, has something I enjoy a lot more than "standard" d20.

For those of you who don't know, the system in question is a d6 dice pool, probably 1-3 dice are being thrown (3 is you being stupidly lucky). After rolling look at the highest die of that pool:

1-3 is a horrible failure. Things twist out of your control and something bad happens.
4-5 you get what you want, but something bad happens too.
6 is an unqualified success

It should not take a rocket scientist to figure out how a typical session of Trophy Gold is going to look. If you roll those dice you are done. Done. And that means you do not want to roll, at all, ever. Which I think is half the point of doing the OSR in the first place. And the thing is that I want to keep that experience, always. There's a power ramp to many OSR games, bafflingly enough. I think some OSR games handle it better than others, but I don't think most handle it as well as Trophy Gold, because of how freaking evil that dice mechanic is.

That alone is enough to sell me. And that's before we get into the awesome Bestiary mechanic, which allows you to make up monsters on the fly. The monsters are then entered into their own log, unique to the group, which passes down the group, getting added to. It becomes an artifact of the group. Which I think is just so freaking cool! The Hearthfire rules, which further flesh out the loop of dungeon to home and back, create a mood that I just cannot ignore. It's a very melancholic sorta game, where people fail a lot more than they succeed. Which just makes success that much sweeter.

Well, in theory, assuming you don't sell off your friend to a lich so you can get out of the dungeon alive. Cough.

Cough.

Trophy Gold wins, for me. It's innovative, with a fantastic set of base mechanics that keep the core experience of exploration and player skill at the forefront, and you can have wildly different bestiaries coming out of each campaign? Not to mention those Hearthfire rules? I'm sold. This, for the record, is not a dunk on Whitehack or Basic Fantasy. Both are extremely good for what they do. But I find a bit of my "storygame" roots breaking through here. I like the way that Trophy Gold in particular is set up. I'll happily hack a little bit more if it means having a mechanical experience that appeals to the tastes that I already have.

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The Undertow: Session Twenty-Five

A Creature from the Realm of Dream has been stalking Mikansia from the very beginning, demanding her friend Jabez's sword. When Mikansia didn't give it the sword the Creature tortured Dale, one of Mikansia's friends, to steal the sword. It then turned the sword into a weapon capable of cutting into the world of Dream. The Creature came for Mikansia and the sword, putting her allies to sleep, backing itself up with a dragon. Mikansia has slain the Creature from Dream.

The Drones were coming. Nomi was bleeding out. Fish was being slaughtered by the real dragon. Mikansia pushed the carcass of The Creature from Dream off of her.

Yngvar appeared next to Mikansia. She jumped. Yngvar looked stressed. "Grab Fish, Nomi, and whoever else and get over to the Lone Keep, now! It's vulnerable and won't stay that way for long.

Mikansia gaped.

Yngvar smiled. "Akseli and Makirta send their love."

Mikansia's jaw worked. Her eyes moved elsewhere.

"Go! Fish needs you! Hand me Nomi, so I can heal her."

The buzzing of the drones announced their arrival. Mikansia threw Nomi through the hole and began her song of mending, so the hole in Dream could be closed. The soothing song closed the hole, but not in time. A buzzing insect the size of a horse blazed out the hole as it closed. Mikansia changed keys and began to sing the low and angry Song of the Sword. The drone dove at her with a harpoon-sized stinger. Mikansia dove to the side and cut the gigantic insect in half with a single swing. Ensio, Dale, Decima, Ember, and little Simone began to stir, groaning as they awakened from the sleep forced upon them by the Creature Mikansia had killed.

The whole earth shook as Fish was thrown bodily into the city of Vigilance, knocking over the front wall as if it was tissue paper. The hurricane that was the real dragon  coming in for the kill wrenched trees out of the ground, sending them spinning down the mountainside. Mikansia, Ensio, and Dale started to run, with Mikansia promising to explain everything later. They ran as fast as they could. Mikansia needed Fish to live. How else could they take down the Keep?

The rounded the corner to complete and utter desolation. Buildings were strewn apart like toy blocks. Fish lay in the remains of a flaming structure. His pitiful cries rocked the ground.  The glowing sword of Mikansia caught the dragon's eye as they came into view.

The dragon took a quick breath.

The inferno that roared over Mikansia's head blew through rubble, shaking the foundations of the earth. Mikansia's white hair caught alight, as did her clothes. It felt like the dragon had summoned the apocalypse itself.  The dragon grunted with exertion as the last bits of flame poured out of his mouth. Mikansia quickly put out the flames and looked to her right and left for Ensio and Dale.

She was in a world of ash.

Mikansia pushed the storm back down and stood up. The dragon was staring at her. Its eyes... nothing had more purpose. More depth. Knowledge. Attention. Mikansia needed to look away. She had to. She could not. She had to. Even if it was just a little bit.

The dragon's chuckle was an earthquake. Its footsteps knocked over the rickety structures around her. By the time it had gotten to Mikansia she thought the whole city would have collapsed. Her legs ached from the effort of standing. Her brain was scrambled. "Little one. Very, very little one" boomed the dragon. "Give me the sword."

Gritting her teeth, Mikansia began to hum. It turned to song. Her sword glowed even brighter. The dragon chuckled as Mikansia sang the Song of the Sword into its face, her voice swallowed up in the rumbling amusement of the force of nature before her. Every last part of her body hurt. Her knuckles, white with the effort it took to hold onto the sword, nevermind her knocking knees. Every last cell in her body wanted to just stay in the dragon's eyes, to give over the sword, to just lie down and die already.

Move.

Mikansia ducked, slamming the rainbow blade under the dragon, opening an enormous portal beneath it. It dropped above an open ocean of horrors. Mikansia transitioned into the Song of Mending, closing the portal on a pillar of hellfire.

Without pausing Mikansia ran over to Fish and cut a portal to Nomi, who was waiting in Dream. Yngvar had healed her with his essence, the same way he'd healed Dale before.

Dale was dead.

So was Ensio

No time to think about that. Move.

Nomi was holding Fish and would not shut up. "FISH! NO! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU??" Mikansia's stomach twisted. This was going nowhere, what with Nomi screaming so.

Yngvar was furious. "You dropped a dragon into Dream???? Of all places?? One of the most powerful beings in all of existence and you dropped it here? Where it can do the most damage?'

"Oh please, what was I supposed to do?? It was about to kill me and take the sword! What other choice did I have? A fat lot of help I had in making that decision at the time!" Mikansia only narrowly avoided rolling her eyes at Yngvar.

Yngvar paused and took a deep breath. "We'll just have to hope the Drones bring it down. We don't have time. What a mess!"

Nomi took a second to stop crying and came up to Mikansia. "Thank you. SO. MUCH. Fish means everything to me. Everything. Everything. To me."

Mikansia turned away, seething. "Oh, don't thank me. Our best bet at taking out the Keep is gone now, because your precious Fish couldn't handle himself!"

Nomi grabbed Mikansia's shoulder. "Hey, what was that??"

Mikansia whirled around, trying to throw Nomi over her shoulder. But Nomi stopped the throw right in its tracks, grabbing Mikansia by the other shoulder. "You really don't get it, do you? So what if Fish can't help us? You saved him! You did good! After everything that's happened, after all the things that have gone wrong, isn't it enough to just save. One. Just one. Person?"

Mikansia shrugged. "Doesn't help us achieve our goal."

A bitter laugh was all she got back in response. "Oh, I get it!" Nomi pretended to rub an eye. "Oh boo-hoo, woe is me! I lost my daddy figure! So I'm going to be all angsty and a total bitch! That'll show everyone I can't be messed with! Boo-hoo, I'll never get hurt again! Please oh please, grow up."

Mikansia waited.

"Tough shit! Bad shit happens. Make some good out of it! And, like it or not, that's exactly what you did. Gah, it's bad when dark elves have a better outlook on life than you!"

"... you done?"

Nomi took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm done. Let's go kill these bastards. But first? We need to hide Fish somewhere. The Drones will eat Fish before he's done healing. Decima can take care of him."

After they hid Fish in a nearby glade Mikansia went to find Decima.

She found Ember instead.

Who feel to her knees, shrieking. Because she didn't see Dale, her husband. She'd been looking for him everywhere and the fact that he wasn't standing with Mikansia, right there and then, told her everything she needed to know. And Mikansia's twinge of guilt was all that Ember needed to confirm her suspicions. She screeched into the heavens, hands grabbing at the dirt in front of her. Mikansia didn't move.

"Where are my husband and son?" said a soft voice behind her. Ember's screaming was all that was heard. "Where are my husband and son?" Decima repeated.

"We ran into the dragon unexpectedly. They didn't make it."

Decima stared at Mikansia a moment.

And then hugged her.

Mikansia stiffened. Decima smacked her on the back of the head and kept hugging her. "I'm proud of you. I'm proud of how they went. They were fighting the good fight. Thank you for being with them as they did that."

Mikansia pulled back. "We had to hide Fish. He's going to need a lot of help." She described to Decima where Fish was. Decima nodded.

As Decima turned to leave, for one fraction of a second, the mask dropped. Her shoulders slumped, her eyes glazed. She looked up, with a stare that was beyond weariness. "Please let me me know when you destroy that wretched keep."

"You won't see me if I fail."

"That makes sense to me." Decima walked over to her daughter-in-law and hugged the sobbing sixteen year old to her chest.

Mikansia turned to leave, cleaving another hole into Dream.

"Mama, what's wrong?" It was little Simone, Dale and Ember's three year old daughter.

The portal to Dream closed behind Mikansia with the Song of Mending before she could hear an answer.

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Beside the River of Truth: Set Up

One year ago Ultron almost took over the world. Using an army of drones Ultron broke into NORAD and almost launched a nuclear device. No matter how hard Iron Man and Spider-man tried to stop him, the launch was going to happen. Iron Man could reverse the hack and destroy Ultron... if only he could get to the control panel! So Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man, sacrificed his life so that the hack could be reversed.

Tony Stark hasn't been seen publicly since.

But now Norman Osborn has come to Stark Industries. He has begun making aggressive moves against Stark Industries, buying up all the stock he can.... and Stark has done nothing to stop him. If nothing is done to turn Tony Stark back to sanity, then Norman Osborn will have taken over Stark Industries, right under Tony's nose.

Captain America thinks he can turn Tony around. Let's hope he's right.

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Slither: Session 5

Last time on Slither: After Kiva and Desarim fought with goblins on a rope bridge and Pella selflessly sacrificed her body to save the others. They went to an armory where they found Aram, an elf rather traumatized from his imprisonment by the goblins. They found a doorway to a room full of chanting goblins. When Desarim opened the door to explore more, he was promptly shot in the face and died instantly.

Kiva and Aram in shock from what they just experienced, try to regroup their thoughts, they hear a cage rattling in the opposite corner of the chamber and go to investigate. Approaching the cage, they find another human who simply just stated that his name is Toram and that he had been imprisoned there for as a long as Aram had been.

 The moment Toram finishes talking, the goblins rush the door. The new companions run out back across the bridge to the collapsed Trodgor chamber. Here, they see a glimmer of precious metal, Kiva convinces Aram and Toram to search the chamber, saying “we need gold from this place or we can’t leave”. They agree so they take a few moments to further explore the ruins of the room, until each person found at least one piece of treasure.

Afterwards proceed down a side hallway, having to cross near the remains of the trogdor in the process. The sight of this giant fallen corpse causes Aram and Toram to shudder in the fear but they press on anyway. The hallway turns into a wider chamber. Pausing for a moment, the group can hear some mysterious scraping sounds somewhere in the unseen depths.

Moving hastily, they explore further down the passageway, looking for a way safely back to the surface all while avoiding the source of the ominous sounds. The further they walk down the corridor, Kiva senses once again, the evil presence that has periodically revealed itself throughout this entire journey, only this time, the presence seems SO overpowering and strong, that every one of her companions senses it too. IN FACT, there seems to be a door at one end of the chamber from which this presence radiates. Shuddering they decide to go any direction but nearer to that Thing, whatever it was. The only other option was through a doorway opening to a set of stairs leading downward. Although not exactly the direction they wanted to head, the party begins descending the staircase.

  Halfway down the stairs, they hear growling.  Aram turns around for a moment but then decides that he’s more afraid of the malevolent presence than he is of the growling. He regrets this the instant he sees the source of the noise. A group of hungry looking goblins are crawling up the stairs towards them. However, these are no ordinary goblins. These creatures appear only half formed; their shape not yet fully coalesced. Thinking quickly, they use their makeshift weapons to shove the creatures quickly off the open side of the staircase avoiding a full-on fight. Toram takes a bite to the leg but otherwise, the party remains surprisingly alive and unscathed.

They get to the bottom of the stairs and realize to their dismay that it appears to be the spawning pit, filled with many more of the strange half formed goblins, only these are more rapidly taking form. Aram attempts to mislead the creatures with a spell of mirage, but due to an accidental misfire, the spell backfires leaving him uncertain if what he sees is reality or a hallucination. Racing past the goblins as fast as they can, they run through a doorway and shut it hastily between them and misshapen goblins spawning behind them. This room is quite different from the previous room, as the floor is covered with dank vegetation and water trickles through. After surveying the room, Aram decides to try to pull all the moisture out of the bricks, hoping this would indicate the source of the water and thus a way out of the dungeon. However, his spell is only successful in that it creates enough of a ruckus that all the goblins in the adjoining room are instantly alerted to their location. They burst through the once sealed door, now fully formed and ready for a meal. As Kiva and Toram draw weapons preparing for a last desperate stand, Aram gets a flash of insight and once again uses his spell to drain the water from the bodies of the goblins, instantly turning their enemies to dust.

A slow clap ensues, as all of a sudden, the malevolent presence makes himself known, finally revealing his physical form to the party. A Lich appears, what may have been a man once, long ago in a former life, now only a wizened old corpse, with the tail of a monstrous snake where his legs should have once been. Introducing himself as Xiximanter, he begins his diatribe “I have been down here centuries, conducting my research… what a pleasure to finally meet you after all the disturbances you have caused. However, I am a patient soul. I would be happy to let you leave this place in peace….provided you each provide me with a small vial of blood and assist me in finding three blue mushrooms from this room”

Aram arrogantly asked him “ why  can't you pick your  own mushrooms” 

The lich laughs and replied “ because I’ve no longer the sense to see, smell or  feel them” Aram and Kiva exchange a look, but decide this task doesn’t seem too onerous. They hurriedly find him the mushrooms he desired, digging through the strange vegetation with their makeshift weapons stolen from the armory.

 “This is fine thank you greatly” says the Lich.  Toram gives a sample of blood from his leg wound as requested.

However, if the party expects this to win their freedom, they are sadly dashed of these dreams. The Lich turns to them all and says “Unfortunately this isn’t enough, but I will make you an offer. I’ll let two of you live if one of you stays behind forever” Toram, half mad with pain from his wounded leg and desperate for any hope of healing, immediately offers himself up as tribute to the others. Aram immediately objects and offers himself up as tribute to replace Toram. Kiva also voices objection, not wanting to see them both die. There are several minutes of arguing on who will stay behind and stubbornly Toram prevails and insists “I’ll stay behind, if the others go free”

“Excellent and yes of course” the Lich states, a small cruel smile almost cracking the wizened face.

 The next thing Toram knew, he is teleported to another chamber where he finds himself strapped to a torture bed surrounded by goblins. He says “Oh crap” and realizes it’s going to be a long eternity. Kiva and Aram are able to leave the dungeon in silence and after dividing up the spoils of the dungeon they go their separate ways.