(Kickstarter) TORG Eternity

After a short delay, Ulisses Spiele has finally launched their Kickstarter for TORG Eternity

For those patiently waiting for this one, I hope you were patiently saving your pennies.    It certainly isn't inexpensive, but you do get what you pay for.

Seventy bucks (plus shipping) for a hardcover, dice, counters and ALL of the original TORG books in pdf is a steal...but for a game that shall sit on my shelf (sort of like the original edition), I can't see spending money on that.  

(Savage Lost) #2.7 - Tomorrow We Journey Into the Danger

As the storm clouds abated over the lost jungle, our heroes were being escorted to an unfamiliar sector my the strange blue monkey men.  They seemed friendly...

Maja Millie - crack archeologist who had just rescued and healed on the blue monkey men she had encountered 

Barbara Kacey - newspaper photographer on assignment a LONG way from home.  Running low on patience and film.

Lord Jon-Smythe Cuppenbrush - ex-British adventurer, full-time British gentleman whose patience was running thin.

The blue monkey men took them to a strange clearing with a large rock in the center.  More of the these creatures, all of them armed, formed a circle around the heroes.  

This may bode poorly for our heroes...

No one could understand anything from the opposite group, and Kacey Barbara was first to snap. With the monkey men encroaching on her, she used one of her last flash bulbs to scare them back to the circle.  More monkey men with spear came crawling out of the trees, posed menacingly, but did nothing else.

Drums could be heard up in the trees and the monkey men opened up the circle to allow an aged and highly decorated elder to enter.

He stared at Maja Millie, sheathed his metal sword, held his fist to his chest and shouted "Met-i-us!"

"Oh my God, Maja, he's saying "Kill Them!"  Kacey hollered, arms outstretched towards the archeologist.

Maja pointed back at her "Aye-yi-yi! Will you be quiet!  They're trying to communicate with use."

It took most of the evening but a rapport could be formed with elder, even with the language barrier. They later learned that the monkey men, who called themselves the Akala, though Maja was "Kil-dem" and Kacey "Aye-yi-yi."

Lord Cuppenbrush seemed of little help, having relied on translators for all his adventures.  It took most of the evening to convince the Akala that our heroes needed food and weren't strange beings who wished to be cooked.

Mettiaus and Maja Millie play a bad game of charades...

On the second day, the heroes knew enough basic language that the elder's charades were easier to understand.   They were forced to climb ropes and discovered and entire village hiding in the canopy of the jungle, safe from most predators.

After a great feast of fruits and small game, Mettiaus led them to a perch of sorts that viewed most of the mysterious valley that they had ended up in.  He pointed towards a cliff face across the valley.  Against the white stone, our heroes could see wisps of smoke climbing in to the low hanging clouds.  Mettiaus spoke at link, sometimes assisted by the gesticulations of Blauen, the Akala that Maja had rescued.  The women were quite confused as to their performance, but the stoic and annoyed Cuppenbrush finally spoke up.

"Ladies, their feared enemies, the Ahdo, live on the other side of this valley.  They hunt the Akala to eat them.  Those drums you can barely hear off in the distance?  Those drums signal a sacrifice to their Monster God.  Unlike many primitive cultures on Earth, the Ahdo don't sacrifice food, animals, or wealth to their god, rather using intelligent beasts, like the Akala.  Mettiaus is worried.  He believes all his kind are accounted for, and we are the only "intelligent" beings left.

Maja Millie gasped, "We are.... and NILS!  We need to rescue him!"

GM Notes:  Another strictly role-playing session using Rory's Story Cubes and Savage Worlds to resolve skill checks.  No one was prepared to try to communicate with the Akala, so we almost came to blows a few times.  

I discovered I needed to play a new game with the girls, charades.  Maja stood up and tried to tell a story about them losing their supplies and how hungry they were.  I believe I now understand how the Hawaiians created the hula to tell stories, because that's what it looked like. 

Next:  Episode #2.8: A Rescue!

(Kickstarter) Cthulhu Dark

Graham Walmsley has launched a Kickstarter for Cthulhu Dark.

From the campaign:

Cthulhu Dark is a tabletop roleplaying game of cosmic horror, in the style of H.P. Lovecraft.

It's about the things we fear, amplified until they are unbearable. It's about stories that genuinely creep you out, not well-worn tropes and creatures you've seen hundreds of times before.

And it's about bleak horror, in which humans are powerless when confronted by hyperintelligent alien horrors. You can't beat them. You can't fight them. You can only watch, run, hide and fear.

If you love Cthulhu games already, then this is Lovecraftian horror at its most intense. If you're new to them, then Cthulhu Dark is a great place to start. You'll enter a world of stories that are both terrifying and terribly human.

The rules are incredibly short: they're tightly focussed on horror and they drive the game.

Ballad of the Pigeon God #8: The Story of Echelon

The man we know as Echelon was born to a common prostitute in the merchant town of Omsjik. Although he never knew his father, his mother made sure he did not want for anything.  In order to accomplish this, young Echelon would be left on his own for long periods of time.  He learned to appreciate nature.. and his close companions, the pigeons that plagued Omsjik.

Despite his forays into the surrounding fields and forests, he was never more than half a day's walk away from his hometown.

It wasn't until the death of his mother that Echelon packed his meager belongings and set off on a life of adventure.

Just a past a days walk outside of Omsjik, he was waylaid by brigands and sold into slavery.

He found himself a far more competent slave than his owners were masters, as he was sold multiple times to pay off debts.  He eventually took residence on a pirate ship, cleaning pots and fixing dangerous rigging while the pirates plundered the coast of Afrik.

It was scrubbing the top deck with a brush no bigger than his finger that he first encountered Mohammad.

Mohammad was brown-skinned balding man from parts unknown who had a permanent smile on his face.  Mohammad explained to Echelon that even before he had been enslaved, he had understood the ruthless power of Tshang Hai Shing, a half-eagle half-god for the eastern lands who ruled the sea and the trade winds.   This god showering one with favor was more akin to a horrible curse, as earning its attention was known to cause shipwrecks and typhoons.

Mohammad, prior to his pirate slave days.

For weeks, months, possibly years, Echelon would let Mohammad's stories and faith distract him the drudgery of slavery.

One night, Echelon was awoken to Mohammad unlocking his shackles.  Tonight was the night they were finally going to escape.   The crew had celebrated more than usual, the night watch was passed out, and from from conversations with the Second Mate, the land off to the distance was actually the mainland.

Just as the duo was dropping the ship's launch into the water, the pirate captain appeared on deck, surprisingly half-sober.   Seeing his two prized slaves escaping, he went into a rage kicking awake his deplorable crew to capture them.  Mohammad had sabotaged the other boats on deck, so they had a chance.

Then the captain ordered the ship's catapult to open fire.    While most of the drunken pirates were incompetent at best, the catapult crew's skill was unblemished.  The third stone fired hit the stern of the launch, sending the slaves flying into the water.

Separated, the pair headed to the far-too distant shore.  As the pirates finally got a bead on them, a shark emerged from the water and clamped down onto Mohammad.  Somehow, he did not not instantly die, as he thrashed against the beast.

Mohammad's "last moments"

Before Echelon even had a chance to do anything (if he even could), another stone from the catapult struck the shark, it and Mohammad descending into the dark depths of the ocean.

Upon reaching shore, the pirates apparently giving up the pursuit, he dedicated his life to the fickle fate of Tshang Hai Shing... while staying away from the sea.  Perhaps he could raise pigeons and other friendly land-based animals?

DM Notes: The story above was handed to me by Steve, Echelon's player, a few mere hours before we started the session that makes up Episode #3 The Temple of Alasku.  As gonzo crazy a story as it actually was (a trademarked technique for Steve to this day), there is a ton of workable material to mine from it.  Bringing back Mohammad from the dead was only the first step. 

***MWHAHAHAHAAHAHA***

While many would consider Mohammad's death the fickle fate of his god, it is, in fact the exact opposite.  Tshang Hai Shing was rewarding his faithful with the protection of a shark, even if things didn't go according to plan.  Once Mohammad finally washed up on shore, his god blessed him with enough healing to escape the pirates, although he was now missing both legs.    Now part-healer, part-freak show, he has travelled the world, finally deciding to settle down just a year or two ago, when an offer for a newly constructed inn in the frontier village of Lansluck came available.   A frontier village far away from the "aid" of Tshang Hai Shing.

NEXT #9 - Welcome to The Brimming Stein

Happy Memorial Day 2017

 



Burger Alignment

As half of Facebook has told you, repeatedly, Monday is not National BBQ Day (That would be July 13th.)  Today actually happens to be National Hamburger Day, so I will provide you with a whopper about D&D alignments.

 

http://zen-master.deviantart.com/art/D-and-D-Burger-Alignment-Chart-592844155

I'll also point out that May is National Barbeque Month, so grill away my friends, grill away.

The Millions: Dragons are for White Kids

As geek/nerd hobbies go further mainstream and token representations expand into influential blocks, things will not improve as fast as many want or expect.

link

I found myself nodding my head along with the article.  Unfortunately, I wasn't surprised by the backlash the author faced.  The thing that stuck in my craw was the idiot who didn't want to/couldn't help with skin tones.  Seriously?  Any self-respecting painter, even a novice, would find it to be a challenge.

Maybe it's because I have more Polynesian figures painted than Caucasian, and that skin tone took a serious ammount of research until I decided on the correct path for that palette.

Maybe it's because if GW's Catachan Jungle Fighters have always been portrayed with varying skin tones, why wouldn't you expect it for other armies?   Hell, the idea of an all or dominant-Hispanic, Arab, or Indian (Hindi) non-stereotype sci-fi army sounds freaking awesome.  

(Savage Lost) #2.6 - A Procession!

Two days after their encounter in the swamp, our heroes had found some edible plants and Lord Cuppenbrush had set some traps that snared some small game, but they were no closer to figuring out where they were or how they could leave this strange jungle.

The Englishman and photographer Kacey Barbara went travelled out to check the snares and scout out further from the camp, leaving archeologist Maja Millie behind.

Kacey was keeping a stiff lip the entire journey, but even a stoic adventurer like Lord Cuppenbrush could sense something was wrong.

Getting lost with a storm approaching....

Finally, the photographer broke down, "I'm just worried that we'll never find Nils...  He never did deal with adversity alone very well when we were kids..."

"When we were kids?" the Englishman queried, "Did you two know each other since childhood."

"Of course," Kacey replied, "We're cousins..  My last name is Lingonberry, I just go by my middle name of Barbara."

The implications were mind-boggling to Lord Cuppenbrush.  It was starting to rain and they seem to have gotten turned around.  It was time to build a quick lean-to and weather the storm.

Back at camp, Maja Millie was not as prepared.  Despite camping away from the river, it apparently was not high enough, as the storm waters quickly forced the river over it's banks and the archeologist needed to scramble to stay dry.

The others are going to be angry about this...

Maja Millie was finally forced to climb one of the tallest palm trees, for shelter and to see how bad the flooding extended.

She reached the top, popped her head above the jungle canopy and was met by another set of eyes, surrounded by blue skin.  It looked like Blauen the Akala, the same strange blue monkey man who had encountered them twice before.  Blauen tried a friendly wave, but then realized he no longer was holding onto the tree.  He crashed through a few branches and splashed into the water.

Maja Millie Runs Into a Familiar Face...

Maja Millie jumped down and tried to the save the unconscious Akala, dragging him to the edge of the flood waters.  She encountered three more confused Akala, bows half-pointed at her.  After reviving Blauen, they understood the pale white creature with funny clothes was being helpful, and used gestures to ask her to hide in the bushes with them.

A few moments later, a loud crashing could be heard, followed by three more Akala getting chased by some large, armored, angry dinosaur.   They scaled a tree to safety, and after determining the beast to much a threat to their drenched hunting party, stayed perfectly quiet, until the beast lost interest and wandered away.

Hunting Party Gone Awry!

The Akala conferred with each and unable to properly communicate with their new friend/prisoner, gestured Maja Millie to follow them.

Back on patrol, a half-drenched Kacey Barbara Lingonberry and soaked Lord Jon-Smythe Cuppenbrush emerged from their poorly constructed lean-too.  A new noise could be heard above the last drops of rain dripping through the jungle.


"Look Kacey," the Englishman cried, "a procession!"

He spied the Akala in a single file line, Maja Millie placed square in the middle of the creatures....

Soon, all three of our heroes were part of the marching order... to Parts Unknown.

This session was not our traditional Pulp miniatures game.   There's only so many sabretooth tiger, dinosaur, giant butterfly encounters that can be played before it gets boring, so for this (and the next) session, we're mixing multiple sets of Rory's Story Cubes with Savage Worlds to progress the story.   With traditional role-playing, I anticipate finishing up #2.7 soon.  Episode #.2.8 will hopefully go back to the "big" Pulp game.

Next:  Episode #2.7  - Meeting the Akala

The Great Month of Kickstarter Rewards Begins NOW!

It's a crazy Thursday.  Mother-in-Law went to the ER for an eye infection with a different infection surrounding it and little Millie had her Kindgarten program.

Upon returning to the house this morning, there was an odd package wrapped in shopping bags laying on my sidewalk in the middle of a downpour.

Pyramid of the Lost King has finally arrived at my door.  The great national nightmare is over.

Between Bones 3 and Psi-Paladins and Techno Barbarians getting shipped to arrive in April, my backlog of overdue Kickstarters will almost dry up completely.

That leaves me with the following Kickstarer Rewards left outstanding (In order of earliest promised delivery date to later):

• Prince Valiant (November 2016) - All I get is a meesely gold coin for my donation, but I've gotten squat.
• Ogre Miniaures  Set 1 (July 2017) - Delays were already announced into the Fall.
• Talislanta: The Savage Land  (September 2017)
• Pizza Dice and More (September 2017)
• Cat-Men and Dungeon Scenery (June 2017)
• Relic Worlds Showdown (August 2017 - Pending a Successful Campaign)

Hopefully over the weekend, I'll take some time, read through it, and get a review up.  Ha! Who am I kidding, I just hope to read through it once...

Apathy of the New Releases (Jun '17)

My Want List
The Creativity Hub
Rory's Story Cubes:  Scooby Doo Dice Set ................................................................. PI
There's a bunch of new licensed sets of Rory's Story Cubes coming out for August, but Scooby Doo would be primo with the kids.  I'll list the rest of the sets under My Imaginary Store List.

Ninja Division Games
My Little Pony RPG:  The Curse of the Statuettes Adventure Story Box Set ............. $24.95

My Money-Is-No-Object Want List
Khepera Publishing
Atlantis - The Second Age RPG:  Death Among Trees ................................. $12.99
Atlantis - The Second Age RPG:  The Dark Below ....................................... $12.99

Mantic Entertainment
Warpath - Forgefather Doomstorm Pattern Iron Ancestor .............................. $24.99
Warpath - Forgefather Hammerfist Drop Team ..............................................  $29.99

My Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)
Action Phase Games
BEEEEEES! ...................................................................................... $24.99

The Army Painter
Warpaints:  Quickshade Washes Set ................................................................  $34.99

Asmodee
Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders .....................  $49.99

Bandai
Dragon Ball Super TCG
Boosters, Starters, Special Packs, Sleeves, Deck Boxes, and Playmats.
Zombie World TCG
As an imaginary store owner, I'm feeling generous.  Having been an actual store manager during the CCG craze, my nose is oversensitive to BS games.  Most TCG/CCGs don't cut it, and I've seen too stores in the last few years get burned on overindulging in a quick fad,  but this one I'd spring for some special packs and boxes of boosters. 

Bushiroad
Dragonborne TCG
Referring back to Zombie World TCG, I would NOT order this without an available support kit from the company.  Bushiroad also makes Weiss Schwarz, which is either a solid hit in stores, or doesn't move at all, so there's a chance it's good enough to support and promote.

Catalyst Game Labs
D&D Dragonfire Deck Building Game - Core Set .............................................. $59.99
D&D Dragonfire DBG Character Pack 1 - Heroes of the Sword Coast .............. $24.99
D&D Dragonfire DBG Magic Items 1 - Wondrous Treasures ............................. $14.99
Cooperative Deck Building Games are great for customers... on Amazon.  But a D&D licensed one is sort of a requirement to stock.

Chaosium
The Call of Cthulhu for Beginning Readers ......................................................... $19.95

Compass Games
The Fall of the Third Reich .................................................................................. $79.00

The Creativity Hub
Rory's Story Cubes Licensed Sets ........................................................................ PI
Batman, Doctor Who, Scooby Doo, Looney Tunes, Moomin, Adventuretime

Cubicle 7
D&D RPG 5e: Adventures in Middle Earth Rhovanion Region Guide HC. ............ $34.99

Days of Wonder
Ticket to Ride: Germany ....................................................................................... $49.99

Devir Americas
Dragons & Chickens .............................................................................................. $24.99

Drinking Quest
Pretending to Grownup ........................................................................................... $30.00

Enterplay
My Little Pony CCG:  Defenders of Equestria Boosters

Everything Epic Games
Big Trouble in Little China the Game ................................................................... PI

Evil Hat Productions
Fate RPG:  Adversary Toolkit HC ........................................................................ $15.00

Fantasy Flight Games
Runewars: Grassy Field Playmat ........................................................................... PI
As an imaginary store, I don't want to muddy my customer base with yet another fantasy minis game, so I'd pass on Runewars.  However, there are a lot of games requiring a 3'x3' battlefield, so for the right price *fingers crossed* this seems like a nice option.
Star Wars Imperial Assault:  Skirmish Map - Jabba's Palace ............................... PI
Star Wars X-Wing Scurrg H-6 Bomber ................................................................ $19.95
Star Wars X-Wing Auzituck Gunship .................................................................. $14.95
Star Wars X-Wing Tie Aggressor ......................................................................... $14.95

Fully Baked Ideas
Adult Mad Libs: The Game ....................................................................... $20.00
Drinking Fluxx ..........................................................................................  $25.00
Stoner Fluxx ................................................................................................ $20.00
Stoner Loonacy ........................................................................................... $14.00

Games Workshop
Blood Bowl:  The Gouged Eye ................................................................... $35.00
Blood Bowl:  Team Titans Cards ................................................................ $15.00
Shadow War: Armageddon ......................................................................... $130.00
Shadow War: Armageddon Rulebook SC ..................................................  $40.00
Sure, there's some horribly overpriced and over detailed terrain pieces, and the new dwarves for AoS look like Squats and Tinker Gnomes had a breeding fest, but the only thing that grinds my gears is the fact that they have the audacity to sell a craft knives and and small saws for over thirty dollars apiece.

Gaming Paper 
Gaming Paper Double Sided 8"x11" Dry Erase Interlocking Titles 4/pk ....... $15.00
Available in Grid/Grid and Grid/Hex

GMT Games
Colonial Twilight:  The French-Algierian War 1954-1962 .............................. $75.00

Goodman Games
Dungeon Crawl Classics #92 1/2:  Dread on Demon Crown Hill .................... $9.99
Judges Guild:  Dark Tower 1e Reprint .............................................................. $29.99

Green Ronin Publishing
Blue Rose Dice Set .................................................................... $14.95
By Q-Workshop, but only if I have anyone in the imaginary store interested in Blue Rose.  They aren't THAT nice that I should stock them regularly.

IDW Publising
Outpost Siberia ................................................................................................. $19.99
TMNT: Shadows of the Past, Casey Jones Expansion ..................................... $17.99

Iello
Bunny Kingdom ................................................................................................ $49.99

Konami Digital Entertainment
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG  Code of the Duelist Boosters
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Battles of Legend - Light's Revenge Boosters
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Link Strike Starters

Mantic Entertainment
Walking Dead: All Out War - Roamer Booster Set ............................................. $19.99

Modiphius
Achtung! Cthulhu Skirmish:  Commanders Set  .................................................. $32.50
Fate RPG: Mindjammer Blue- Adventure in the Ruins of an Alien World ......... $24.99
Fate RPG:  Mindjammer - The Far Havens.......................................................... $24.99
Mutant Chronicles RPG:  Mutants and Heretics .................................................. $28.99

Monte Cooke Games
Numenera: Jade Colossus HC ............................................................................... $39.99

Osprey Publishing
Bolt Action:  Campaign - New Guinea ................................................................. $30.00
Railway Guns of World War I ............................................................................... $18.00
Savannah 1779 ...................................................................................................... $24.00
Dracula's America:  Shadows of the West - A Wargame ...................................... $30.00

Paizo Publishing 
Starfinder RPG:  Core Rulebook HC .................................................................... $59.99
Starfinder RPG: GM Screen ................................................................................ $19.99
Starfinder RPG: AP - Dead Suns Part 1 - Incident at Absalom Station ............... $22.99
Starfinder RPG: Player Character Folio ............................................................... $ 9.99
Starfinder RPG: Pawns - Core Pawn Collection .................................................. $24.99
Starfinder RPG: Pawns - Base Assortment .......................................................... $ 9.99
Starfinder RPG: Combat Pad ................................................................................ $24.99
Starfinder RPG: Flip-Mat Basic Starfield ............................................................. $19.99
Starfinder RPG: Flip-Mat Basic Terrain ............................................................... $19.99
Thus far, Starfinder is the big game for August.   Trying to remember the last time anyone was excited for essentially d20 Sci-Fi.

Pathfinder Adv Card Game:   Magus Class Deck ................................................. $19.99
Pathfinder RPG: Map Pack - Village Sites ............................................................ $14.99
Pathfinder RPG: AP - Ruins of Azlant Part 1 - The Lost Outpost ........................ $24.99
Pathfinder RPG: Player Companion - Elemental Master's HB ............................. $14.99

Palladium Books
Dead Reign RPG:   In the Face of Death ............................................................... $16.95
Palladium Fantasy RPG:  Garden of the Gods ....................................................... $16.95
Nightbane RPG:  Dark Designs .............................................................................. $20.95
Rifts RPG:  Sovietski World Book ......................................................................... $24.95

Pokemon
Pokemon TCG:  Sun and Moon Burning Shadows
Boosters and Theme Decks.

Steve Jackson Games
Munchkin Booty: Guest Artist Edition:  Tom Siddell ............................................ $29.95
Munchkin:  Munchkin Gets Promoted 2 Blister Pack .............................................. $ 5.95
Port Royal ................................................................................................................ $19.95

Ultra Pro International 
Jumbo d20 Novelty Dice Plushes ........................................................................... PI
Black w/ Silver, Red w/ White, White w/ Black

Wizards of the Coast
D&D RPG:  Character Sheets .............................................................................. $9.95
Even in the days of pdfs and printers, someone always seems to buy the character sheets.

WizKids
Pathfinder Battles:  Maze of Death Booster Brick
Pathfinder Deep Cuts Unpainted Minis .............................................................. $ 3.99 each
D&D Dice Masters: Set Three
D&D Adventure System Board Game Premium Edition ................................... $159.99
D&D Adventure System Board Game  Regular Edition .................................... $ 79.99
D&D Nolzurs Marvelous Unpainted Miniatures ................................................ $ 3.99 each
Star Trek Deep Cuts Unpainted Ships ................................................................ $ 5.99 each
WizKids Deep Cuts Unpainted Minis ................................................................. $ 3.99 each
Pillars and Treasure Piles

(Kickstarter) Relic Worlds Showdown

Jeff McArthur has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for Relic Worlds Showdown, a campaign combining Pulp archeology/treasure hunting into a sci-fi universe.

Three things that made me back this Kickstarter (and no, it's not the wonderfully cheesey art above).

1. It's for Savage Showdown: Despite slowly moving things over to Savage Worlds, Savage Showdown is sufficient for all my Pulp Mini-playing needs.  A Savage Worlds book(s) would be way too much information, information I would rarely use.
2. Different Factions = More painting:  Five separate faction factions in the game means a chance to crack open the tubs of sci-fi stuff I've picked up over the years.  The lighter armored Warzone stuff might work out perfectly, the evil big bads I would have to work in.
3. It's cheap!: Ten bucks for all the pdfs is a steal!  PDFs of all five factions, templates and cheat sheets, monster markers, and discovery cards!  All for August delivery!

(Kickstarter) Untold: Adventures Await

The creators of Rory's Story Cubes have launched a Kickstarter for Untold: Adventures Await.

At its heart, Untold is a storytelling game that's powered by Rory's Story Cubes. Think of it as throwing you and your friends into a favourite TV show, but rather than passively watching, you're caught up in every scene and make the decisions on which way the plot will go. Each adventure-packed episode takes around an hour to play from start to finish, including set up, character creation... everything! All it takes is a copy of Untold, a set of any nine StoryCubes of your choice, and the combined imagination and inquisitiveness of the players. From there on, anything can happen...

Ballad of the Pigeon God #7 - Palace of the Silver Princess, Part Two

Our roster of heroes in their strange new land...
Rolf Wolfsblood:  Bald-headed barbarian from the Plains of Galmar
Kane: Student of Eastern mysticism, controller of water.
Ashe - highly skilled elven ranger
Maloran Alberhold - human fighter, ladies man sans charisma.
Talis Makolin - a rakish bard avec charisma
Echelon - a pigeon loving priest of an eastern god of the sea, escorted by his charmed wolf, Pathfinder.   He recently discovered a telepathic link with his animal companion.
Velandro - a pious priest of Akana.  He had just befrieneded a family of kobolds.

SAME DAY AS ARRIVAL -Silver Palace of Princess Argenta  - Valley of Haven
After befriending a kobold and his family, the afternoon was spent kicking in doors, killing random monsters, and getting the kobolds a much needed bath.  The party slew a small flock stirges in a bathhouse, and the after the bodies were kicked out, the kobolds went into the giant tub.  Lucky for everyone, the kobolds found a liking to the bath oils, so the stench of wet dog didn't pervade the whole lower level of the palace.

ONE DAY AFTER ARRIVAL - Silver Palace of Princess Argenta  - Valley of Haven
The only thing that seemed to be part of the palace prior to the curse was a large mosaic room with three large keyholes in the floor. They managed to find two of these keys, and upon inserting them into the floor, they a silver sword appeared on a pedestal. Unfortunately, it seemed to be magically trapped, both with magical attacks and magical summoning, so they continued to search for the lost third key.

Oh yes, there was a giant white ape chained to the wall that probably didn't wander in with the evil monsters.

The party finally found access to the main level of the palace, and the threats increased accordingly. Hobgoblins, humans, and orcs fought quite disorganized, but they seemed to be in every other room. The opposite rooms were filled with statues... Citizens of Haven in the palace when the ruby took control.

The group moved through the palace garden, filled with vampire roses that snapped at Talis and Maloran, dealing more damage that the bands of humanoids roving the level.

Maloran does not take kindly to the Vampire Roses

The party split (!?!), one half discovering a library, with a makeshift bed drawn up in the middle of the floor.  The rummaged through the belongings next to the bed.  Amid the fine garments was a journal. Velandro, being the only literate member of this sub-group, quickly scanned it.  It appeared to belong to a Sir Ellis, a White Knight of the Drakes of Prythax.    He was coming to Haven to ask the Princess' hand in marriage, only to arrive amidst the jovial chaos of the the festival for "My Lady's Heart."  Velandro relayed that information to his companions.  He ruled it wise to not advise them that the very Prythaxian dating system Sir Ellis used (the same they used in Crosedes) had the date of the last journal entry 15 HepDec 443 CE... over 600 years in the past!

The other group, led by Rolf found a very un-barbarian sitting room, set for tea.  Annoyed that there had been no sign of the ruby and the group was becoming even more lax and incompetent than usal Rolf went on a rant,   He kicked chairs, chucked a plate, started screaming at his fellow adventurers. When he grabbed a tea cup to gesture drinking tea like some weak "civilized" human, he was shocked to hear the cup talk in Thendara's voice

Three crystal notes
Two Silver Statues
One ruby sword
All will smash the Demon's Eye
And lift the curse.

Rolf was delighted to notice that the other party members heard the voice too.  He wasn't as crazy as Echelon and that infernal wolf.

Ultimately, Rolf's group met up with Velandro, while Velandro's group was in a running swordfight with a red robed humanoid and a racial mix of minions.  The party reunited and the battle continued to move, right into the throne room.  Dozens of statues of Haven's citizenry stood inside, including an obvious Princess Argenta (and Sir Ellis to Velandro).  Sitting on her throne was a ruby that was at least the size of Rolf's gigantic fist.

With the fight going poorly, the barbarian slew hobgoblin in front of him and ran away!  Most were so overwhelmed by the attacking forces that they didn't notice.

Rolf raced to once of the bedrooms.  There had been a harp there.  Harps make notes!  His muscles barely strained as he lifted the instrument off its base and ran back to the battle!   Upon entering the Throne Room, he held it to the floor and played as many combination of notes that he could find. Some arrangement that he played must have work, for the ruby shattered into a thousand pieces, the evil human and his minions fled, and the still-intact statues reverted back to their living forms.

The curse had been lifted.

EIGHT DAYS AFTER ARRIVAL - Palace of the Silver Princess - Valley of Haven
Less than a week after the curse had been lifted, the wedding of Princess Argenta and Sir Ellis took place, with the heroes as the guests of honor.   Even the Dag family was invited, once they were fitted with tiny formal wear, and an overabundance of ribbons in their fur. There was much celebration and frolicking.

TEN DAYS AFTER ARRIVAL - Palace of the Silver Princess - Valley of Haven
With hangovers finally subsided, it was finally time to take full inventory of their spoils, and prepare to return to Crosedes.  As a whole, they had been richly reward with jewels and gems. but the magic items they had obtained tickled their fancy the best.

Velandro obtained a Mace +2
Kane continued to surprise by claiming dibs on Plate Mail +1
Talis was happy to get a well-crafted dagger, but after a review by the sages in Haven, it learned it was a Dagger +1/+3 When Thrown

It was also confirmed and decreed that Dag the Kobold and his family and pledged friendship and eternal loyalty to Velandro.   Pathfinder expressed his concern for that act only to Echelon.

By mid-afternoon the goddess Thendara appeared again, this time in a much more corporeal form. She thanked the heroes for their effort and blessed the union between Argenta and Ellis.  She then asked the party if was ready to go, and upon their approval, gestured them out the main doors of the palace out to the river.

After everyone turned and began to leave, she whispered to Rolf.  The barbarian stayed.

The goddess handed Rolf a sealed scroll.  "This, brave Rolf, is for when..... Crosedes.... becomes too small for you," and she disappeared.

As the small procession reached the river, Thendara reappeared.  She created a large enough boat for everyone, with enough provisions to get back to Crosedes.

THIRTEEN DAYS AFTER ARRIVAL - Village of Lansluck, Kingdom of Crosedes
After three harrowing days aboard the boat, with far more limited supplies than the goddess had mentioned, and few places to stop alongside the jagged riverbank, the party finally reached civilization.  Mooring their battered boat at an actual dock, they went to figure out where exactly they ended up. 

They had reached Lansluck, a remote logging town along the southern border of Crosedes!  When they tried to explain that they had navigated down the river from Haven, the locals looked confused.  Lansluck was the last civilized spot into the Skyforge Mountains.  A mile or two upriver, the rapids make travel impossible.  On top of that, only Dwarves lived in Skyforge, and they didn't like humans much.  The party had plenty of coin, so regardless of their true story, they were happy to stay...

GUARDS!!!

The party turned to see a screaming woman pointing at the Dag Family, which in the boredom of  "conversation" decided to go exploring on their own, skipping and frolicking all the way.  Kobold skipping and frolicking is easily confused by ignorant humans, and within seconds the makeshift town militia had the humanoids surrounded. 

The militia took one step towards them and Rolf leaped into the circle, his massive sword raise high. 

"They... are with us."   The militia dispersed and Rolf gave a knowing glance for the kobolds to run back to Velandro.

A voice spoke out from nowhere, "Fighting will not get you want you want.  You should know that more than others, Echelon.  Teach your friends."

The group frantically looked around for the speaker, and finally one of them spied a legless brown-skinned man sitting on the porch of the Brimming Stein, supported by a piece of wood with tiny dwarven wheels underneath.

It was Mohammad, Echelon's long-lost (and supposedly dead) mentor!

GM Notes:  Some modules just rub some players or characters the wrong way, and Rolf was not amused by B3: Palace of the Silver Princess.   Between the Kobold Comedy Jam (which entertained the rest of the party) and the party getting beaten down by the monsters inside the Palace proper, once Rolf realized the ruby needed to be destroyed and how to do it, he wasted no time solving the curse.  

Outside of Velandro, no one else realized that Thendara teleported them from Elwyn's Sanctuary and took them back in time to break the curse.  The year 443 is actually near the end of the barbarian lawlessness that the continent suffered after the Prythax Empire fell.  Located somewhere within the current borders of The Skyforge, Haven's remote valley would have protected them from the wild horseman.  

Of course, it was nice of Thendara to turn forward time so the party didn't emerge out of the mountans into a barbarian wasteland.  At least it looked like 1069.  

Outside of his predilections for pigeons and livestock and his worship of a strange eastern god of the sea, little is known about Echelon's back story, much less his legless mentor, Mohammad... UNTIL NOW!!!   Or... next week's episode.  

NEXT #8 - The Story of Echelon

I Stared Into the Abyss, and the Pikachu Stared Back

Not a terribly productive weekend.  I got my car back two days early, which allowed me to transport the kids (and friend) from birthday party to birthday party, only to have allergies knock everyone out early each night.

I emerged from cleaning the litter box in the basement to my daughter setting up a giant mat and a pile of cards on the kitchen table.

"Daddy, can you teach me to play Pokemon?"

I completely forgot that my wife got her a 2-player starter set for her birthday.  I've spent nearly 20 years avoiding this game, and after a fairly productive game using the pre-sorted decks, I stand by my aversion to it.  It's watered down Magic where they added a zero to hit points and damage.   Seriously, whoever beats up three Pokemon first wins?

It could be worse.  It could be Yu-Gi-Oh!

If Only We Could Turn This Into a Movie....

(Review) De Horrore Cosmico by Golden Goblin Press

It was a little under two and a half years ago when 420 people backed Oscar Rios and Golden Goblin Press' Kickstarter for De Horrore Cosmico: Six Scenarios for Cthulhu Invictus.  I was one of those 420, and I've finally gotten around to giving the book a solid once over

Cthulhu Invictus, Lovecraftian role-playing during the Roman Empire, is a unique setting that, outside of the work from Mr Rios, has largely gone unloved.  Mind you, the 1890's Cthulhu by Gaslight is a mere afterthought through most of the CoC's existence, and that at least is part of the main rule book!

In De Horroe Cosmico, the writers attempt to make the historical setting more accessible to fans of CoC/Lovecraft and the traditional 1920's/modern focus.  Each scenario in the book is based off of one of Lovecraft's stories, converted to fit under the shadow of Rome's rule.

In a similar style to my review of Tales of the Crescent City, I'll do a quick overview of each scenario and a StatCheck breakdown, listing what skill checks are written in the scenario, maxium SAN losses/gains if all situations are encountered/obtain, as well as any special bonuses, Cthulhu Mythos knowledge that can be gained in the scenario.

The Vetting of Marius Asina  by Jeffrey Moeller
Based off of Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family.  Characterss are put to task to investigate the family of a local senator aspiring to higher office.

Cthulhu Mythos x3
Fast Talk x3
Natural History x3
Occult x3
Persuade x8
Spot Hidden x2
Status x1

Max San Loss:  5-36
Max San Gain:  4-26
Bonus:   +8% Cthulhu Mythos
Possible extra skill checks in Occult, Navigation, Other Language (Opar) and Other Kingdom (Opar).

Doom  by Chad Bowser
Based off The Doom That Came to Sarnath.  A retired Roman Legionaire suffering strange dreams fall victim to an unusal buglary of his household.

Civics x1
Cthulhu Mythos x1
Dodge x1
Fast Talk x4
First Aid x1
Insight x2
Library Use x1
Medicine x1
Natural World x1
Occult x1
Other Lang: Greek x2
Other Lang:  Hieratic x2
Persuade x5
Stealth x1

Max San Loss: 6-59
Max San Gain: 1-8
Bonuses:  Cthulhu Mythos +13%, Natural World +5%, Occult +5%

Murmillo  by Oscar Rios
Inspired by Shadows over Innsmouth.  Investigators must find a young patrician attempting to become a gladiator after he has run off to join an obscure gladiator school.

Climb x1
Fast Talk x3
Hide x1
Listern x1
Occult x1
Other Lang: Germanic x1
Persuade x4
Repair/Devise x1
Sneak x5
Spot Hidden x6

Max San Loss:  5-47
Max San Gain:  7-43

Kith and Kine by Phredd Groves
Inspired by Rats in the Walls and Whisperers in Darkness. Unrest in Brittania as a rival clan has taken over land of a clan allied to Rome

Art x1
Listen x1
Natural World x5
Other Lang:  Brythonic
Other Lang:  Punic
Repair/Devise x2
Spot Hidden x4

Max San Loss: 4-45
Max San Gain:  2-8

The Devil's Mouth by Stuart Boon
Based off In the Mountains of Madness.  The characters are sent to investigate a disappearance of a Roman diplomat deep within the wilds of Caledonia.

Astronomy x1
Craft: Cooking x1
First Aid x1
Insight x1
Medicine x2
Natural World x1
Other King: Caledonia x1
Other Lang: Pictish x4
Persuade x2
Ride x1
Science: Metallurgy x1
Spot Hidden x5
Status x1
Track x3

Max San Loss:  7-48
Max San Gain:  3-14
Bonus:  Cthulhu Mythos +5%

The Case of Tertius Orestious Sedonicus by Penelope Love and Mark Morrison
A family is looking for scholars in medicine and/or those who can work discretely.

Civics x9
Climb x1
Empire x3
Fast Talk x1
First Aid x1
Insight x3
Listen x3
Library Use x1
Medicine x5
Persuade x3
Potions x2
Repair/Devise x1
Sneak x2
Spot Hidden x7
Status x2

Max San Loss:  6-35
Max San Gain:  3-22
Bonus:  Cthulhu Mythos +8%

Patron Mi Patrone
Six Patrons for establishing storyline in Cthulhu Invictus.  A very useful addition.

All in all, Golden Gobln does a fantasic job putting the work together.  The scenarios are put together well and are plot directional, without being railroady. The artwork, maps, and handouts are solid and properly convey the Cthulhu Mythos in Rome to unfamiliar Keepers.   My only complaint is that others may find the retellings of classic stories in Invictus times to be trite and unoriginal at worst, or predictable during play, at best.  I believe that they would be wholey wrong in that opinion, but knowing that the scenarios might not be the best for everyone, i must give De Horrore Cosmisco Four and a Half Gnomes on the Five Gnomes Gaming with the Gnomies scale.

De Horrore Cosmico is available through Golden Goblin Press.  Minor conversion notes to Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition were part of the stretch goals for the Cthulhu Invictus 7th Edition Kickstarter and that's status is unknown to the writer at this time.

Emerging from the Darkness of Life as We Know It

Good God, I need a vacation from my vacation.

Despite some time over the last two weeks, there's been little activity beyond my Post-Cruise Recap.

I did get reminded of the horrors of Fredericksburg as the whole family +2 made a late Friday night drive on I-95 to get to the USGA Trampoline and Tumbling Regional Championships in Williamsburg for the girls.  Nothing exciting to report from the championships, but 14 hours in the car and bad food service makes me grumpy Viscount.  Thank God my wife was happy with a pile of electronics pre-cruise (phone went out on the way to Baltimore) and some Olive Garden to-go for Mother's Day, because no one had any energy left.

My car has also revolted being held together with chicken wire and spit, and I've been forced to arrange rides into work while I waited for my axle to arrive.  It's not a bad situation, as my commute has been far more relaxing, but I have lost the extra 30-45 minutes I can spend after work and write-up posts.

After my logistical nightmare of multiple birthday parties on Saturday, I think I can get back to gaming and some long abandoned painting.

Games:  Episode #6 of the Lost World needs to get posted, and the girls can strictly do role-playing for Episode #7 this weekend.  Look for a big game for Episode #8 over Memorial Day Weekend.   Maja did get the My Little Pony RPG for her birthday, so I hope we can make up some characters and fool around with the system.  She also got... Pokemon cards for her birthday, so we'll need to address that sooner than later.

Writing: The review of De Horrore Cosmico is scheduled to post tomorrow.  Tales of the Caribbean is in outline form and might see the light of day next week.   The first six of the Pigeon God actual plays have been a resounding success, which is great, because I've got the next tens weeks finished up and scheduled for Tuesday mornings.  Only 36 more to go....

Painting:  This, a case of beer, and big-ass box fan in the basement should calm my nerves .  With the past due reviews finally wrapping up, this is my next bugbear. Pulp cultists, those infernal Blue Martians, and German Gnomes top the list, but I also need to start base coating my Pulp German Colonial Rifles and a terrain piece for the last sessions of the Lost World game.  I also have a ceramic gnome to finish up as well...

Kickstarters:  Thanks for tolerating the deluge of cool Kickstarters that launch over vacation and into last week.  I've only tentatively allotted a full pledge to the Cat-Folk Kickstarter, with a few $1 pledges to others so I can be entertained by watching them burn out or succeed mightily.

Speaking of which, I just received the discount code for my copy of the Lost Pyramid Kickstarter that was supposed to arrive two years ago.  To add insult to injury, I apparently only pledged for the print copy, not the print+pdf, so to be to print-on-demand, it's another four dollars and change.  Even if this is one of the greatest gaming books ever, the long, drawn-out process has soured it for me.

Still waiting on two more campaigns that should arrive "any day," hence my desire to clear the painting queue first.

Conventions:  Must make reservations for The Weekend in June and figure out games for Fall-In! and Mepacon.  And maybe, just maybe, I can get the crew together to play something.

The CGA's Introduction to Hackmaster 4E -- Another side of OSR

The Complex Game's Apologist on Youtube has recently released an in-depth look at Hackmaster 4th Edition and its proper place within the umbrella of OSR games.

There's a few minor critique's of his analysis of the rules, but as a man who removed fatigue from combat and completely overhauled training, they're not worth mentioning.

As someone who ran the Hackmaster version of module G1 - Steading of the Hill Giant completely in a six hour session (with a FUBAR combat that would make most 3rd+ edition players soil themselves), I laugh at some of the comments to the video that worry about the speed of combat.   It's all a matter of knowledge and application.  

2017 Origins Awards Nominees Announced

At the end of last week, the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design announced the nominees for the 2017 Origins Awards.  Here's the list, with some inane commentary by me.  

1. Family Games (6 Nominees)

• Cartoon Network Crossover Crisis Deck-building Game by Cryptozoic Entertainment 
• Garbage Day by Mayday Games 
• Happy Salmon by North Star Games 
• Junk Art by Pretzel Games 
• Karuba by HABA 
• Speechless by Arcane Wonders

Fun fact:  I listed none of these items in my monthly The Apathy of New Releases post covering... well... new releases.   Either they MSRP was too high, there was zero pomotion within the Game Trade Monthly, or I just have poor decision making skills.  As I see dozens of poor board/family/card games cluttering the shelves at stores and cons that I would not have order with serious fanfare, I'll chalk it up to the first two issues.

ViscountEric's Pick:  NONE

2. Role-Playing Game (10 Nominees)

• 7th Sea: Second Edition by John Wick Presents 
• Curse of Strahd by Wizards of the Coast-D&D
• No Thank You, Evil! by Monte Cook Games 
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens by Fantasy Flight
• Shadowrun-Seattle Sprawl by Catalyst Game Labs 
• Symbaroum by Järnringen and co-published by Modiphius Entertainment 
• Storm King’s Thunder by Wizards of the Coast-D&D 
• Star Wars: Edge of the Empire-Special Modifications by Fantasy Flight 
• The One Ring: Horse: Lords of Rohan by Cubicle 7 
• Volo’s Guide to Monsters by Wizards of the Coast-D&D 

Two FFG Star Wars products and three WotC D&D give the other five a fair shake in the voting.

ViscountEric's Pick: No Thank You, Evil!

3. Traditional Card Games (8 Nominees)

• Dream Home by Asmodee 
• Fabled Fruit by Stronghold Games 
• Kanagawa by IELLO 
• Kodama: The Tree Spirits by Action Phase Games
• Lotus by Renegade Games 
• Mystic Vale by AEG
• Oh My Goods by Mayfair Games
• The Big Book of Madness by IELLO 

Oddly enough, the only item on this list that caught my eye was Oh My Goods, which warranted enough interest for me to post the game blurb with it, something I rarely do. 

Viscounteric's Pick: Oh My Goods

4. Game Accessories (4 Nominees)

• Blood Rage Organizer by The Broken Token
• Dungeon Morph Dice Adventurer Set by Inkwell Ideas / Q-Workshop
• Flip ‘N Tray Mat Case by Ultimate Guard 
• Improved D Total by Gamescience 

Very disappointing nominees for the category.  The new Gamescience still piques my old-school fascinations.

Viscounteric's Pick:  Improved D Total

5. Board Games (10 Nominees) 

• Blood Rage 
• Clank! by Renegade Games
• Cry Havoc by Portal Games 
• Feast for Odin by Z Man Games/AsmodeeIslebound by Red Raven Games 
• Mansions of Madness by Fantasy Flight/Asmodee 
• Scythe by Stonemaier Games 
• Star Wars Rebellion by Fantasy Flight 
• Terraforming Mars 
• World’s Fair 1893 by Renegade Game Studios and Foxtrot Games 

Finally, a category I have familiarity with!  Most of these are solid games, but I did enjoy Terraforming Mars far more than the sales pitches I've gotten from fans of the others.  And unlike Scythe, the set-up/clean-up of Terraforming is far less arduous for more playing time.

Viscounteric's Pick:  Terraforming Mars.

6. Collectible Games (5 Nominees)

• Yu-Gi-Oh Breaker of Shadow Booster by Konami 
• Pokémon XY11 Steam Siege Booster by Pokémon USA
• Magic the Gathering: Kaladesh Booster Pack by Wizards of the Coast
• Marvel HeroClix: Uncanny X-Men Booster Brick by WizKids
• Cardfight Vanguard Fighters Collection by Bushiroad

I didn't hear any raving reviews of any of the collectible games that aren't for Magic.

Viscounteric's Pick:  Kaladesh

7. Miniatures (5 Nominees)

• Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team by Games Workshop
• Konflikt ’47 by Warlord Games 
• Dragon Rampant by Battlefront/Gale Force Nine
• TANKS by Battlefront/Gale Force Nine 
• Dropfleet Commander by Hawk Wargames 

Wow, the one category I'm truly interested in and 40K Kill Team is on it?  Yuck.   I'm assuming Dragon Rampant is the one released through Osprey Publishing... correct me if I'm wrong.

Viscounteric's Pick:  Dragon Rampant

Ballad of the Pigeon God #6 - Palace of the Silver Princess, Part One

Date: ???  Place ????

"Apparently we are not quite dead yet."  - Echelon

Echelon was the first to wake.  Correction, Pathfinder the wolf was the first to wake up, immediately seeking out his human companion.  A few licks to the face and the cleric of Tshang Hai Shing awoke to a weird hazy realm of white fog with an red light illuminating everything in the distance.  The others were tossed about in this area.  If it was the afterlife, the gods and mythologies were apparently all the same.  Most survived.

Rolf Wolfsblood:  Bald-headed barbarian from the Plains of Galmar
Kane: Student of Eastern mysticism, controller of water.
Ashe - highly skilled elven ranger
Maloran Alberhold - human fighter, ladies man sans charisma. 
Talis Makolin - a rakish bard avec charisma
Echelon - a pigeon loving priest of an eastern god of the sea, escorted by his charmed wolf, Pathfinder.  Perhaps it was wise that his henchman, Carthon, and lovable village orphan, Timmy, were back at the Village of Eding.
Velandro - a pious priest of Akana

The newest members to the party, Odrune and Meudsopu, were gone.  All the grievous wounds received at the hands of the statue, the dark warrior, and the black dragon, were visibly gone, but they were all in a tremendous amount of pain and soreness.

But they were alive...

An ethereal being descended through the mist towards them.  Everyone had weapons in hand, but no one readied to fight. 

"I am the goddess Thendara, protector of the Valley of Haven.  But alas, the peace and prosperity of my domain has been overrun by evil and I must beg for assistance."

"The ruler of Haven was a fair Princess Argenta.  She lived in a palace of white, shining marble, which when the sun set, glowed liked silver.  Princess Argenta was beloved by all her people.  She was just, kind, and friendly to all."

"One day, the dwarves from Skyforge found a ruby the size of an apple.  As a token of their allegiance to Haven, they gave the ruby to Princess Argenta.  The dwarves named the ruby, "My Lady's Heart." The princess was so pleased by the gift that she invited all to attend a celebration to see the wondrous gem.  The dwarves were to be guests of honor and there was to be a grand day of feasting and fun."

"The day before the celebration, a strange visitor arrived.  He flew into the valley riding a white dragon. The rider was dressed all black.  He had pale skin, long blond hair, and a short beard.  Since Haven was noted for its hospitality, the princess invited the stranger to stay at the palace.  She also granted his request to escort her to the celebration."

"At midnight, disaster struck.  Dark clouds hid the moon, and a freezing wind blew through the valley.  The crops withered in the fields.  Cattle grew sick.  The valley began to die.  I could do nothing."

"From the palace came an explosion and parts of the walls came tumbling down.  When the dust cleared a ruby glow surrounded the entire palace."

"Haven now lies in chaos.  Raiding bands of orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins terrorize the countryside. The disaster happened so quickly that the people are confused and helpless.  Without their leaders, who are trapped in the palace, they have no courage to fight back.  The situation has become desperate."

"Haven is in dire trouble.  I do not know what caused the disaster , but I do know that the reason can be found somewhere in the palace.  Allies of the villains that has attacked Haven have challenged me and I am under siege.  I cannot help Haven, but you can.  You are Haven's only hope.   Find out the source of the evil that has overtaken the valley and destroy it.  I have enough power to get you through the ruby glow to the palace gates."

"Please decide quickly.  Already evil forces have detected my sending.  Will you come now?"

Echelon: "Between a choice to either go on some mission for the goddess or return to the place of their ultimate doom.   We take a vote and decide that life is better than death."  

One by one the party members gave an affirmative, until it got to Pathfinder.

"Yeah, Boss.  We should help the nice lady."

Echelon took a second glance, "Wait, Pathfinder, you can talk???"

The other party members stared at Echelon in utter confusion.

"Yeah, Boss.  Guess you finally figured out how to talk to me, most humans ain't that smart."

Echelon took two steps back and raised his hands.  "Sure, the wolf can only talk to me... that's new."

Unshaken by his new discovery, Echelon and Pathfinder led the group down the magical path piercing the ruby glow until they reached the portcullis of the lower levels of the palace.

"The glow also seems to kill everything it touches.    Fortunately the goddess cleared a path for us. Otherwise it would be a really short mission." - Echelon

The party lifted the portcullis and entered the palace.  As the portcullis fell behind them with a loud clamor, the ruby haze filled into the magic path.

They swept through the first few rooms, killing what seemed like random monsters:  a skeleton, a goblin, a rat, and a very angry man in red robes.

They moved into the library and could hear scurrying underneath the overturned bookcases, followed by ineffective.. shushing?  Ashe and Velandro moved forward to flush out the creatures, and they were met by four pairs of terrified eyes of a kobold family peering over a desk.  Ashe stepped forward, but Velandro stopped him, ordering him back, and telling the others to secure the double oak doors.

Over the better part of an hour Velandro, lured the little kobolds out of their hiding spots with rations and a few sweets he had in his packed.  Realizing the man wasn't trying to hurt them, the largest kobold wandered out, took the food, ran back some to the desk, and came back out armed with a tiny sword and broken barrel lid as a shield.

Dag the Kobold

No one spoke kobold, but through charades and jerky, it was determined that the bigger kobold was named Dag and the party had entered the makeshift lair of his family (Mrs Dag and two young).
At some point in their odd conversation, it was decided that Dag and Family would accompany the party on their mission.  A simple act of kindness may have earned Velandro faithful followers.

He wondered what it would take to have them convert to Akana....

GM Notes: I'm not that mean a DM, an overpowered final villain and no means to escape.  It was planned all along.  Thendara and Princess Argenta were quite familiar with Elwyn's black dragon ally, who had spent years trying to terrorize the Valley.  After being banished, the monster took up with Elwyn and plotted revenge.  When the goddess began to scrying the world for help, the dragon's connection with the valley drew her in, and the fight with the party made her save them.  The ruby curse of the valley shouldn't be as powerful as the dragon, or so she thought.  Isn't that comforting?

The current story path was suggested in B1-9 In Search of Adventure. The entire party (save Odrune and Meudsopu's  players) came back to the table a week after a TPK, expecting to roll up new PCs and then I threw the goddess at them.  Guess there's still a little bit more story out of these characters.

Pathfinder talking to Echelon?  Chalk that up to 50% Divine Intervention, 50% Black Dragon Lightning, but they now have a psychic connection.  Pathfinder can speak to Echelon psychically, but Echelon needs to speak out loud for Pathfinder to understand him.  Hilarity will ensue.

And now, the party has to solve the ruby curse, all the while escorting a family of kobold refugees.  


Next #7 - The Conclusion of Palace of the Silver Princess

(Kickstarter) Alpine Gnomes in 28mm by Old School Miniatures

Old School Miniatures has launched a Kickstarter for Alpine Gnomes in 28mm!

Now, before all you Gnome Wars players go wild and pledge, double check those 20mm slotted bases those gnomes are mounted on.  These fellas are tiny.  I daresay they're slightly bigger the the Brigade Games gnomelings.

That all being said, the sculpts are great inspiration for what a Swiss Army, past and present, should look like.  I particularly love the camp followers.

(Kickstarter) The Arcanum 30th Anniversary Edition

After a long wait, ZiLa Games has finally relaunched their Kickstarter for The Arcanum: 30th Anniversary Edition.

The original Arcanum was the first book (along with The Lexicon and the Bestiary) that Bard Games ultimately released as the Atlantis Trilogy.  The Bestiary and the Lexicon seem are now licensed out to Jerry Greyson of Khepera Publishing as Atlantis, but the Arcanum as-is was still available.

Of course, the biggest worry for this campaign is that it's its second trip around Kickstarter.  The first one garnered over $6,000, but as Kickstarters are wont to do, things spiraled out of control.  As a counter-point, the designer did manage to refund every penny to each backer, so it appears there was no malevolence intended. 

Legions of Steel Molds for Sale!

Perusing around the Hobby News section on TMP, I noticed Amazon Miniatures was selling off casting equipment, as well as any remaining molds from their lines.  The name was somewhat familiar, and as I scrolled down, it clicked...

• Amazon Miniatures
• Early Dixon
• Global Games 
• Pendragon
• QT
• Rose

Amazon was the European supplier for Legions of Steel and Inferno.  Now, if you have $60, you can buy the molds for the G1 Nightmares and cast as many as you want!  

Legions of Steel

Inferno