With Six Wings: Session One

Lore note: The prevalent races on Podushtu are drahkon (h is a hissing sound, so drassskon) and serpa. The drahkon word for a male is erchoud (erksssood) and women are called emethcoud (emetssssscood). 

Yes, I chose to bastardize Mongolian this time around. 

The land the campaign takes place in is a drahkon one. When in doubt, assume that someone is a drahkon if I don't say otherwise. Genji and Thakraw are both humans, who were the slave race of both drahkon and serpa alike.

Genji and Thakraw walked into the town of Souderlessen before Bai's Fortress, in the Mogoin Forest. As they entered the town they saw a stampede of flesh and scales coming right at them. Beyond that stampede they saw some erchoud dragging women of various races through the town square, off to who knows where.

Genji saw an inn to his left and went through it. Tables, chairs, and benches were knocked over, with the patrons huddling beneath all the overturned furniture. Striding through, he went out another door in the inn to get a bit closer to the ruffians, undetected. Genji demanded in a loud voice that the thugs turn and face their destiny: to be defeated by Genji in battle!

Yes, he struck a gallant pose when he said that.

Just try to imagine every line this guy speaks being said by this dude:

 The ruffians guffawed; they had what they wanted. Why would they fight anyone?

Thakraw exploded forward, putting himself between the thugs and escaping from Genji. They whirled around to face Thakraw. Genji charged and cut one of them acrost the back with his sword. The ruffians were armed with metal clubs, the cultural weapon of the drahkon. One of the ruffians swung at Thakraw and completely whiffed. The second thug hit Thakraw in the head so hard that, had it not been for the helmet that Thakraw was wearing, he would have been knocked straight into a coma. Thakraw was open to the third blow.

It glanced off scales.

IT'S POSTOSUCHUS TIME! 

Yes, I will be finding different Power Rangers morphing pictures.

I hope you're up for it. 

The postosuchus roared in befuddlement, head still aching and spinning.

The thugs dropped their feminine prizes and tried to back up. Genji backed up, and helped one of the women up. "Hikaru Genji! I'm a lover, not a fighter, but it's too dangerous now. Run along... and I'll see you soon!" Of course that was said with a wink

Your friendly neighborhood GM  threw up in his mouth not only hearing it, but typing it. 

The postosuchus shook the cobwebs out of its head. It was pissed. Not to mention hungry. It chased down one of the thugs and got its lunch.

A group of erchoud came running. People were saying that someone had screamed out an infernal incantation and had become a demon! Genji told them that was nonsense! Thakraw was merely a skinchanger, and there was nothing demonic about defending helpless and charming ladies from the criminals who were going to carry them off. Eating one of them? Merely a bonus for Thakraw.

Somehow that worked. The erchsoud helped them get out of sight.

The Undertow: Session Fifteen

Mikansia: The main character, a female elf played by Lena. Last session her sword, gifted to her by Jabez, who had sacrificed her career and life for her, had been stolen, by one of her co-workers, Dale.

Tyce: Back when Mikansia was at one of her lowest points, she had a one-night stand with a human named Tyce. He had been exposed to the Music, which is always deadly to humans. Mikansia helped him to resist the effects long enough to escape and contact Marian, the Countess of Fire... somehow. Yeah, that's not been explained yet, has it? What, you thought it was gonna be this session? Ha!

Mikansia dragged Dale aside, fuming. She demanded to know the whole story. Dale said about three weeks after Mikansia showed up he was flying over the Etranger Mountains, when he heard a strange, discordant, music.

Mikansia's breath caught in her throat.

Dale said that he had gone down to check out the source of the Music, only to find a glade with a large and weird boulder. The Music came from it. Nothing else was around it. Right after that was when the dreams began. A scaly creature with rainbow feathers began appearing to Dale in his dreams. It produced a sword that Dale had never seen before and indicated that it wanted Dale to bring it to him. The next day Dale saw the sword; Mikansia drew it to gut a rogue who had attacked Decima. No, the creature did not want a replica. It wanted the original sword and none other. Dale refused.

And that's when the nightmares started.

It always ended the same way: Dale's wife, Ember, being violently raped before him. All of his dreams eventually twisted this way. And when it went on and on, for almost a year? Dale just couldn't take it anymore. He collapsed into Mikansia's surprised, but sympathetic, embrace. He sobbed from relief. He was sorry, but the sword was with the creature now. And he had slept like a  baby afterwards.

Decima snuck up and whispered to Mikansia that she'd overheard "Dream" and "Music"and said the ship was already getting prepped to go. Mikansia was surprised, but went along with it. Ensio stepped out of the smithy, armed and ready. He explained that Decima was a member of Those That Sailed and was a friend of Marian, the Countess of Fire, who had recommended Nomi and Fish to them in the first place. So they knew a thing or two about the Nameless and Dream. And Ensio could not sit idly by. And, as an elf, he didn't have to. Decima was still human, even if she was immortal. So Ensio was going.

Decima, Ember, and Simone accompanied Mikansia, Dale, and Ensio to the ship. Ensio and Decima were quite relaxed, joking about Ensio being in trouble if he didn't make it home in time for dinner and what a disappointing husband Decima had become immortal for.  Ember was confused and heartbroken and wanted to know why Dale hadn't talked with her about any of this before; Dale promised her he'd tell her everything when he got back. Mikansia had given a note she'd written for the sleeping Akseli to Decima. They hopped into the ship and flew off. Ember and Simone didn't move  until long after the ship had flown up and away.

Ensio had taken the ship up, so that Dale could wave to his confused wife and child. As soon as they hit the proper altitude Dale took over and Ensio sat down. Ensio explained through the howling wind that what Dale had seen was probably an eldritch egg, which was formed at a site of intense despair and anguish. Given their existence, the Nameless were effectively everywhere and could see all those dark and horrific moments. Because of the Flame being in its proper place in the planet the Nameless coudln't manifest very easily, but if one underwent enough trauma...

Mikansia's mind returned to the night Krakeru had raped her and channeled the scream from the Nameless. There had been a moment when she had felt a pull, to channel the Nameless. It was a choice, but a tempting one. Ensio, seeing her fall into a reverie, asked if she knew what he was talking about, personally. Mikansia nodded. Ensio didn't pry, but said he'd personally experienced that pull, to let the Nameless into the world, as well. He then slipped into his own personal reverie, just mentioning it. Mikansia waited until he came back out of it to ask if they could really withstand the Nameless. Mikansia had never even met a single Nameless, had Ensio? He said he hadn't, but that whole charging forward into battle like a hero thing wasn't his style, at all- Mikansia may or may not have shot Ensio a bit of a side-eye at that comment- but ultimately, elves could withstand the Nameless because of the sorrow baked into their very beings.  Because only sorrow could remember the world as it was, as it should be. And that was something the Nameless could never remove from them.

After a few hours they could hear it: the Music. Dale went down into a valley, straight into a glade. He indicated one of the mountains and told them the eldritch egg was in a cave in that mountain. As they entered the trees the Music got louder. All of a sudden some tree branches above them snapped. Mikansia could feel a rush of wind above her and whipped her sword through what looked like empty air.

Her fist connected with something furry. Her sword drew acid. Her arm burned; she didn't flinch. For one second Mikansia saw a tri-segmented body and twelve legs. It screamed like a man flayed alive. She felt the wind rush and knew it had jumped away.

Ensio was holding off another one with a magnificent sword. Dale was lying on the ground, sword a short distance away. Mikansia could see a tri-segmented shimmer atop him. She ran her sword into its segmented bulk. It screamed that mannish scream. The shimmer dropped; its furry bulk was crushing Dale and she could hear acid eating away into Dale's skin. She yanked Dale out before the damage became deadly.

Ensio hadn't finished off his creature yet, so Mikansia charged. Seeing it was outnumbered, the shimmer jumped. Mikansia held out her sword.

The creature fell back, a deep cut in its stunned skull.

Mikansia dispatched. The male scream was heard again.

Ensio laughed: this was why Mikansia was getting the big bucks! Mikansia told the shaken (and very smelly) Dale it would have been good to know about those things! Dale retorted that none of them had been there the last time he had been here, months ago. They heard another scream up the hill, from the direction they were going. But this time the scream contained words of pleading for mercy, for help!

Tyce was at the mouth of the cave.

Mikansia gaped.

Tyce smiled. And motioned inside.

Mikansia blinked. Tyce was gone.

Around the corner, in the gloom, sat an eldritch egg, the size of a boulder. And reaching out of it was a man, covered in fur, desperately trying to get out.

May the Power Protect You: Marvin Shih (Hyperforce Red)

This post, and all others after this, use THIS post for its terms and theory. If you haven't read it please do that first.

I'm still absolutely floored that I've gotten this far. Had you told me a year ago that I would be writing about a Power Rangers board game, which I've had some (small small!!) hand in shaping, I would have laughed at you. Hell, if you would have told me I would have been writing these posts I would have really been in conniptions. But, here we are. Time passes and we change, sometimes in totally unexpected ways. If only I could travel back and tell myself how this all worked out.

Oh hey, Hyperforce! Time travel!

Shut up.

It was clever.

YES IT BLOODY WAS.

Anyway.

Marv is the archetypical soft Frontman, with bits of Grenade thrown in.  YES THAT WAS CLEVER TOO. If you're going to play Marv make sure you surround yourself with folks who can take advantage of the openings he leaves with his energy generation. Marv provides versatility that most frontmen cannot, which leaves your group open to double up on roles if they so wish, or to just make a crazy and unusual configuration What?? characters. Marv can cover the gaps left by these team configurations better than any frontman so far.

Marv's character ability is one of the most flexible in the game. The ability to get a card or energy, depending upon the situation, is really useful, not to mention unique. Before you make up your mind about your character ability we should probably discuss two of the other cards in Marv's deck: Double Slash and Iapetus Blaster. Iapetus Blaster lets you burn an energy to add a dice to it, while Double Slash let's you discard a card to perform a second attack with two dice, targeting a different enemy card. If you chose the extra enemy, I'd play Iapetus Blaster with the extra energy. If you went for the extra card? Double Slash. Yeah yeah yeah, I know, it looks underwhelming, but it's not too often that the game outright gives you a second attack to buff and muck with on a one-energy card, so don't look that gift horse in the mouth too closely. The point is that these three abilities are very closely linked. Treat them that way.

Find Weakness is the premier frontman soft ability. Free energy and two guaranteed damage, at the cost of taking an attack is amazing; guaranteed damage is one the most powerful benefits in the game. Make sure you got people who can take advantage of that defensive flip! And, even if you don't, there's a number of boss cards I can think of that I'd rather eat than have to take another one, so this card works for those situations as well. Take the hit and then make sure that the card you're actually worried about dies a fiery death.

Yes, I am advocating that people purposefully open themselves up to hits. Get used to it. I'll be saying it a lot more.

Of all the Power Weapons Iapetus Claw is probably my favorite. Six dice, spread three ways? Yes please! Yeah, you're not replicating the attack like Dragon Dagger and so it takes some more resources, but so what? Only Saba is more flexible than the Claws. There's something to be said for being able to spread your attacks out like that. Or you can nova on one dude. Up to you. That last attack is probably best for that one card, that one card, that has 1 HP left and that you really need to kill off, rather than continuing the nova.

Lion Zord is a phenomenally simple card. Unlike the rest of Marv, you don't really need to use your brain to his use zord. I mean, c'mon, it's better than a reroll! Most of us when we roll poorly don't really care about getting any 2-hit rolls, you just want hits!  So this is actually better than a reroll, at least in my opinion, because you can rely on this to work. Reliable is better than flash, at least in this blogger's opinion.

Marv's all about options. He sweeps pretty well and he buffs. Like anything post-core you need to set up with your fellow players pretty closely, because Marv leaves a number of openings in exchange for good energy generation and high payoffs. Make sure that everyone is built to take advantage of those openings and you'll find that Marv will change how you play the game in a really unexpected way. Ask questions! Marv is not about barking orders. He is about keeping your finger on the pulse of the team and patching gaps when they arise. He's more of a technician than the other frontmen in the game. And for some of us? That's really going to scratch that itch they have.

Now go away. I have more coffee to go guzzle down.

Hallucinations: Session Five

Karel and Zilya finally got away from Novstrech, heading north to check out the range of mountains that are supposed to have more facilities with gold.

As the group made their way to Yerwo the Yewkhol River, source of life and economy to the a good part of the nation, dried up suddenly. When they came to Yerwo they found the town gathered around their well. A little girl had fallen into the well, hit the bottom, and had vanished. A few ment sent down had also vanished. The group were begged to help, with all the town's assets promised. None but Karel, Zilya, and a minotaur Natskin said yes, but for everything the town was going to give the original group of fifteen. Oh, and they would need some rope. Natskin had a grappling hook, but didn't have any rope to attach to it. The mother of the child pleaded. She didn't have to plead for very long.  Zilya secured the grappling hook to the rope. She, Karel, and Natskin climbed into the well. The stones had no moisture or wearing on them, almost as if the well had never had water in it. Natskin began to to regret his life choices.

When they got to the bottom they saw passage leading away into the earth. There was a steel wall at the end of the gloomy passageway. Karel lit a torch and  and examined the wall. It was a set of doors, which whooshed open. Zilya and Natskin walked into the darkness beyond.

The door whooshed shut behind them, shutting out Karel and his torch. The doors would not reopen.

In the darkness Natskin rummaged in his backpack, pulled out his lantern, filled it with oil, lit it, and held it aloft.  The room was made of steel, with a large donkey wheel in the middle of the room. In each corner stood a colored stand; red, blue, green, and white, with depressions from each corner connected to the donkey wheel in the center. Colored orbs, which were atop their respective stands.. except the blue orb, which was cracked in half on the ground.  Zilya explained to Natskin that she and Karel had seen this room set up before, and how it had previously worked. She picked up the remnants of the blue orb and placed them together, and placed them in the blue pedestal. Nothing happened.

Outside the doors Karel attempted to find a way in. He couldn't find another way in.  Karel noticed that the ground outside was damp and had growing fungi. With a little bit of poking around Karelfound some small mushrooms he'd heard had healing properties, provided they were cooked. Nodding approvingly, Karel pocketed the mushrooms.

Back inside, Zilya and Natskin found a trail of blood, which led to a wall. Knowing there could be a secret door, Natskin rammed the wall, with Zilya running beside him. They knocked the secret doors in. The trail of blood ended in a tiny room. One of the walls had a panel with uncolored buttons, three in total. They looked back at the doors that had locked behind them.

Their first charge about broke the steel doors. Karel, realizing what had happened, began ramming a weak spot created by Natskin and Zilya's damage.The door caved under the next charge. Karel's torch and Natskin's lantern had gone out, so Karel relit a torch and Natskin returned his lantern to his backpack.

They walked into the elevator. Zilya pressed the middle of the three buttons. The platform rose. The next doors opened onto a little girl with a broken arm and three swinging giant clubs.

Zilya pull the girl out of the way, just in time, but several of Natskin's ribs were broken and Karel's satchel was utterly destroyed. Natskin jumped in front of his newfound compatriots, trying to buy them time. One of the giant statues swung and knocked Natskin back into the elevators; Natskin heard his lantern crack. The doors closed.

They heard "Lockdown initiated". The elevator rose.

It opened onto a golden, lined with giant glass tubes.

And five ghouls. The little girl trembled.

Karel's torch began to flicker.

The Undertow: Session Fourteen

Mikansia: the main character, a female elf played by Lena. She recently returned from Kotae Mah, where she had tried to return Jabez's sword to his father, Santeri. Santeri told her to keep the sword.

Nomi: A former dark elf who had been redeemed by Marian, the Countess of Fire. She now travels with a dark dragon named Fish. They work for the Sword Runners, along with Mikansia and Akseli.

Those That Sailed: A group of humans who had traveled to the Island of Eternal Youth.

The Creature from Dream: 

Mikansia woke up in her little cottage, rolled over, and reached for Jabez's sword, which she kept right next to her bed, like she did every morning.

The sword wasn't there.

Mikansia was up in a flash. The rest of her small cottage was untouched. Even the fancier sword, made by Ensio and Decima, that she had as a backup was still there. The windows were intact, the door locked as it had been when she went to bed. No one else was in the cottage. They'd just come for Jabez's sword. That made it personal.

Mikansia opened the door and strode out into the compound. The Sword Runners had set up shop on a mountain in the southern reaches of the Etranger Mountains, many hundreds of miles south of Elfharrow and the North, practically within sight of the cursed lands of the former Herculean Empire. Humans came from far and wide to get elven-quality weapons for their own private enterprises. To Mikansia's right was Fish and Nomi, who were just waking up. They always slept outside, regardless of the weather. Nomi kept warm by snuggling into Fishy's scaly hide. Fish slept because Nomi was there. Mikansia was a bit suspicious, wondering if Nomi had stolen the sword, but not enough to act on it.

To Mikansia's left was the forge, where Akseli was standing guard. He, Nomi, and Mikansia took turns guarding the forge and it had been Akseli's turn that night. Mikansia walked up to him and Akseli smiled warmly at her. Mikansia told Akseli that someone had stolen Jabez's sword. Akseli was shocked; who would do something like that?? Mikansia said she had no idea, but she wanted to know if Akseli had seen anything that night. Akseli told her that Ember, Dale's wife, had been up and heading somewhere, only to be harassed by two of the newer guests. Dale had come out of nowhere and knocked a few teeth out. They fled. Mikansia asked if he could go to the gate and make sure nobody got out without being searched. Akseli said he would and he heartily recommended talking to Ensio and Decima, who were in the forge, doing their work.

Ensio was an elven forgemaster who could no longer abide the seclusion of elven society from the planet. He'd come down to help spread elven smithing. He met Decima, a native of the Argentum Empire, and the two had fallen head over heels for each other. In order to be with Ensio Decima became a member of Those That Sailed, going to the Island of Eternal Youth. Now immortal, they settled down atop their mountain and began spreading elven weapons and art as far as they could. Decima became an accomplished smith in her own right, rivaling Ensio's talents. Their son Dale, when he grown older, began to take care of their airship, and was currently sixteen.

Mikansia stepped into the forge to find the two, hard at work. When she got their attention Ensio and Decima greeted her with a smile. Their smile dropped when Mikansia told them someone had broken into her cottage and relocked it as they left. That meant someone had a key that only Ensio, Decima, and Dale had. Decima hurried to lock down the compound. Ensio went with Mikansia back to her cabin, just to search the place again.

Nothing had changed. Ensio was really concerned. It wasn't that he hadn't believed Mikansia, but any claim that severe required another set of elven eyes, because you know...

Decima all of a sudden asked what elven eyes were better at then humans. Ensio jumped; Decima had come back a lot sooner than they anticipated! Mikansia smiled, despite herself. As they walked out to investigate the three guest longhouses Decima continued asking what elves were better at. Ensio tried to dodge the question again, but Decima persisted. Sighing, Ensio told her elven eyes were better at checking out Decima's fine ass. Decima nodded in agreement. Mikansia only managed a grim smile.

They turned the first longhouse inside-out. The guests complained, particularly two very grumpy men. Mikansia was not very kind in response, to the point to where a riot began to build. The guests streamed out of the longhouse and began to make  a ruckus, causing everyone else to come out and see what was going on. There was no sword in this longhouse. Nor was there a key.  Ensio started calming down the building mob while Mikansia and Decima hurredly checked the other two longhouses. Still nothing.

The gates were now locked. Fish and Nomi were now in front of them, taking a nap. Nomi was sprawled atop Fish, looking quite comfortable. Akseli had gone to bed, as the compound was secure and he'd been up all night. Mikansia didn't want to suspect Nomi, but the doubt was growing in the back of her mind.

Mikansia went to talk to Ember, Dale's wife. Ember usually wasn't up at three in the morning. She had shown up at the mountain a few years ago, a little girl running from something awful in the Fer Kingdoms. Quiet and shy, Ember couldn't help but jump whenever a man shouted. Even Dale, who loved her quite, tenderly, had to restrain his voice around her. So Ember became the cook of the compound, as it was a place that was secluded from the hustle and bustle of the compound.  Now they had a three year old daughter, Simone. Who was running toward Mikansia now, something in her little brown fist. Throwing her arms around Mikansia, Simone beamed up at her and told her that she had brought Mikansia a present!

It was a fistful of dough.

Simone was so proud.

Mikansia couldn't help but smile, genuinely, for the first time since waking up. Simone ran off. Apparently she was supposed to be helping her mother with something.

The kitchen was a wreck. Ember was busily picking up the unbaked contents of a nearby overturned cart. Mikansia helped Ember clean up a bit. Simone had been trying to wheel the cart over to Ember ("Mama dough ready! MAMA NEED HELP!") but had accidentally knocked the cart over with a crazy turn. Ember smiled in exasperation.

Mikansia asked Ember about being accosted last night. Ember said she had gotten up to use the outhouse, only to have two of the newer guests come up behind her and pinch her butt. After a minute of being bothered Dale had shown up and literally knocked teeth out of the two men who had been harassing her. Ember didn't think they'd taken Dale's keys when Mikansia brought that up, but Dale would have to be asked about that specifically.

Dale was working on the flying ship, doing routine maintenance. Mikansia asked about the previous night. Dale was nervous. His timeline of events didn't line up with Ember's. So Mikansia asked again. Dale repeated his story, but a bit louder. Mikansia grabbed the key ring off of his belt. Her key was missing. Dale tried to fake surprise. Mikansia dragged him to Decima, who was surprised her son could do such a thing. Dale said the scaly feathered one he'd been meeting in his dreams said it knew Mikansia and that it needed Jabez's sword.

Mikansia's jaw dropped.

A Thought Experiment on 4.5e: Rolling Dice

So this is probably going to be a contentious post, because I think the following: the core rolling mechanic is bad, as it does not engage with the central mechanics of 4e (surges, powers, and items), explicitly or otherwise. What I mean by that is that I could take any ole system of dice rolling and plug it in, and have very little difference on how it worked. Yeah, I know there are powers that muck with a few things that the dice do, but it doesn't take that much tweaking to fix it. I'm talking about tying the d20 mechanic into these systems so much that you can't rip it out and put something else into it.

So first off, why use a d20? I mean, really, why use it? Besides the fact that DnD has always done it? If we're going to keep it we need to know how it worked at its best and try to replicate that feeling, that experience. And the answer here is going to be rather subjective, cause I have my own opinion about what experience of DnD connected the d20 in the best, and that's going to have to be Basic. Each action is a turn, which is ten minutes long, which feeds back into random encounters. You can try an action as many times as you like, but each time you have the chance of making a random encounter come up. And the d20 feeds into that uncertainty (yes, I know that not all actions were resolved with a d20 in Basic) extremely well. You're pushing your luck, trying to not screw it up, but each roll you're afraid you will. Basic is some of the tightest gameplay ever designed, even if it's a bit "primitive" by today's standards. And, at least in my opinion, it's the best model for basing other DnD editions off of, even if they do different things.

So in 4e you've got these three systems that everyone non-Essentials had to work with, and they all live and die off the d20 roll. Surges get drained indirectly because of failed d20 rolls, sometimes directly and powers of class and item varieties demand d20 rolls sometimes to be effective. But that's not really all that tied in. The incredibly swingy nature of the d20 is not being used in a way that is integral of the system. Also? I don't like rolling high systems in d20. The modifiers get really stupid, really fast, and there's a few extra levels of math that could be stripped out without any real effect on the roll. So let's change the system to roll under! Because I want to! Yay!

I wanna gut the central rolling mechanic and make it roll under d20. Besides that I flat out prefer it, this removes all the bad math that was in 4th, not to mention an entire step of the rolling process: generating an extra number. Roll a d20 and compare to the relevant stat, which is either indicated by the power being used or by the GM. Your stat is modified by the difficulty of the task, from -1 (easy) to heroic (-10). If you roll under the target number your task succeeds as you had stated. If you hit the target number exactly you critically succeed; not only do you get to name an additional task that the GM normally would have demanded a roll for (such as an Attack Power), but you also regain a Surge. If you roll over the target number by 1-4 you simply fail the check; you may try again. If you fail the roll by 5 or more you critically fail; the GM gets to introduce a horrible twist and you lose a Surge. 

Stat generation is handled by random rolls, 3d6 and then assign where you like. No rerolling allowed. Change the leveling table to where anytime you would normally get a feat you get a +1 to any stat you wish, cap of 18. 

"But Nathan!" someone will say. "That's a crazy mechanic! It punishes you for rolling, at the small possibility of getting an extra success!" Yup! It's a punishing mechanic, with the possibility that things can go really right. A free success? That you can set to whatever you want? That's pretty intense. And so, when you have to roll, you'll be praying you roll exactly the DC. And yes, the old-school wish to mitigate rolls is a key part of the d20 experience: to roll is to probably suffer. So make sure that you are rewarding Good Ideas: if a player comes up with an idea that is cool and makes sense and works with the fiction say yes and do not demand a roll.

The old-school mechanic of punishing rolling is the best of part of DnD. Yeah, I know you probably disagree, but I really don't care. Everyone should be trying to figure out how to not roll, even in combat. You've got so many more interesting things you can do if you don't want to screw it up, particularly in 4e when you've got so many cool things you can do with the dice, that those times you choose to use the dice are full of danger and drama, just inherently. And isn't that what we're supposed to be experiencing? Why not have that be on a mechanical level?

I mean, I'd go for it. Simpler, scarier, and fun!

With Six Wings: Session Zero

On the planet of Podushtu two races rose to power: the drahko, humanoid descendants of the fable dragons of yore, and and the serpa, humans who had sold their entire race to the Lords of Hell for power so they could throw off the yoke of the tyrannical drahko. The war eventually became global, but the serpa were winning it, equipped with their demonic powers and the full backing of Hell. The drahkos became desperate. Their Emperor then made a discovery: there was a flame, in the center of the earth. It was holy. It was pure. The Emperor somehow discovered how to weaponize it.

The ensuing explosion destroyed an entire continent, throwing hundreds of tons of dirt into the air.

DID I MENTION THERE WERE DINOSAURS???

TOTALLY ETHAN'S IDEA.

I'M GOING TO LOVE THIS CAMPAIGN IT HAS DINOSAURS OH MY G-

erhem

I WAS GEEKING ABOUT DINOSAURS FOR A FEW DAYS AFTER THE SESSION ZERO. MY WIFE WAS GETTING READY TO KILL ME.

THERE ARE T-REXES IN MY GAME AND THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE

But seriously, we'd be in the middle of a really serious conversation and I'd just smile and say "There are dinosaurs in my campaign" and Maria would shake her head.

ERHEM

Look, I can geek out about this, deeply serious and depressed aspect of my personality. I have motherfucking dinosaurs in a campaign and I never thought about doing it before. Back off.

OK, I can have this sub-to-sub talk later. Away from prying eyes.

The point. This is very serious.

After the incredibly horrific destruction of a whole continent of people the two empires decided they were going to forcibly integrate, in an effort to bring greater empathy between their peoples. People were forcibly moved to the other end of the planet, swapped on a 1-for-1 basis.

This is going about as well as can be expected.

BUT THEN THESE GUYS SHOWED UP

Yes, the khen-zai are back, try not to be surprised. They showed up, launched an attack, and are now hanging in orbit, not moving an inch. But it was enough to unify everyone against a common threat.

Well, mostly.

See, there's this serpa warlord, named Bai, who lives in a formerly drahkon nation. He was moved there by the Twin-Scale Alliance, to be their new governor. And he's been ruling the area through fear, intimidation, and death. So Hikaru Genji and Thakraw have resolved to kill him and end his tyrannical rule.

Hikaru Genji, played by Brian (who I've been trying to get in a game for long time) is the scion of one of the Elder Men, those whose alliance with the elves had produced a strong and healthy race, longer lived and more stately than their more common kin. Proficient in mace and spell, Hikaru is dashing, powerful, and literally carries around quill and pen so that way he can sign autographs. 

Yes, we have a proficient Lockhart running around. Yes, I intend to throw a lot of swooning teen girls at his feet. Be very afraid.

He works for Baghsatur Monkhbat (the "h" is a hiss, so Monksssbat), the drahkon (drasskon), somewhat unofficially, as humans are still technically slaves of both drahkon and serpa alike, and has been sent to find a reason to kill Bai.

Thakraw, played by Ethan (who is definitely the youngest member of this group, by a very great margin), is a member of a tribe of plains-roaming humans who can shapechange. HE CHOSE A POSTOSUCHUS.

IT'S AN ADORABLE SIX FOOT LONG CARNIVORE. I'VE NEVER SAID YES TO A PLAYER REQUEST SO FREAKING QUICKLY.

Anyway.

Thakraw had saved Hikaru from an assassination attempt. The two have been fast friends ever since. A lot of Thakraw's tribe had been butchered by Bai and his troops, but under orders from... someone... above him. Thakraw wants to find out who gave the order to Bai. He wants to hear it from Bai's lips.

And then he wants to stand aside while Hikaru kills him.

DID I MENTION THERE ARE DINOSAURS IN THIS CAMPAIGN??????????

I SO EXCITE