Mepacon 50 Review

Let's be honest, Historicon is the pinnacle of conventions for me.  

But by golly, a well-run Mepacon is a close second. 

Even mid-afternoon on a Friday, the place is jumping!

As faithful readers of the blog have seen repeatedly, this past weekend for Mepacon (Originally the Mid-Eastern Pennsylvania Convention).  This year the convention remains outside of Allentown, PA off the PA Route 100 exit, a fine facility that can barely hold the majesty of the local convention.  

In addition to the four different events I was running, I had the pleasure of bringing my daughter, Maja, with me.  She drives now, so she drove down from Albany after work, with a surprise guest: her younger sister, Millie.  Millie games as well, but her plan was to spend a weekend of AAU basketball as a  spectator, watching her best friend play two levels up at 17U during a college coaches showcase.  

Friday

I took all of Friday off, and it was a good idea, as I was still formatting and printing off handouts for my games up until noon.   We finally ventured down the PA Turnpike, with no issues and arrived at the The Delta by Marriott Hotel with plenty of time to unload my stuff, let Maja figure out the compact arrangement of the convention, and for me to set up my afternoon Burning Plastic game. 

Burning Plastic, a game where green army guys represent robots on a futuristic landscape where 100% casualty rates aren't just acceptable... they're expected.  We started playing this at cons in the mid-90's, sold a few books along the way, and for the 50th (and nostalgia-fueled) Mepacon, it was a no brainer.  

I was placed within the "hallway" area, mixed within the solid Battletech contingent, although my request for a square/rectangular table was seized by the B'Tech boys for a layout that I never saw an actual game at.

Note to self: Specifically request Table #52 for Mepacon 51... all slots.

The infamous table 52....

I had the best of both world in my first game.  Two brand new players who slowly learned the twisted insanity of Burning Plastic... and two old buddies, Cyrus and George, who played the game back in the 90s.  

I have finally joined the internet trend of taking a picture with my players, post-game (and post-clean up!)

No matter your experience, when robots start self-destructing, and air strikes (chucked dice) make the men line up like it's a penalty kick, you can throw that right out the window.  

Friday night was supposed to be my Talislanta "The Crystle Dungeon" game.  This was my first ever convention game I GM'ed back at Lehicon IV in March of 1991.    The plot was the same, with lots of wiggle room, the characters still pulled off of the 1988 2nd edition rules (the classic heavily tattooed Thrall on the cover).   I was prepped for a classic, successful convention game, updated to more modern accoutrements and set-up. 

Despite the "Looking for Players" placard, I had none, and after 45 minutes or so, I packed that up and wandered the con.  

The silver lining?  The entire game is finally in a file folder, and two separate files digitally.  

Maja participated in an Improv seminar and played in a playtest promo of a fun game called Community Cats, which, when it becomes available, will end up at her house, to be gleefully played by her sister and mother. 

The one thing that always impresses me about the Mepacon is its history giving burgeoning game designers and companies a platform to show off their games, and playtest their new ideas.  There was quite literally a corner of the main ballroom labelled "Break My Game" were designers gleefully recruited players of all sorts to try out their concepts, some with simple mock-ups, others with more elaborate set-ups and specific artwork.  It's always full of players, but always looking for more.

I spent a good portion of the night waiting for Maja to finish the nightly LARP.  I can probably blame Carcosa Creations with Maja quitting basketball and focusing on drama and music more.  It's not a complete coincidence that the timelines converged after her first LARP experience at an earlier Mepacon back at the Bar with No Name at the (former) Holiday Inn off PA 512 in Bethlehem.  The only thing she asked about going to Mepacon was if there was a LARP.  She was in her glory when she found out there was one each night!

After midnight, we got in the car and drove over to my Mom's in Easton to crash for a few hours.

Saturday

Pure nostalgia for me, as we left my Mom's early and drove 2 1/2 blocks to the Palmer Diner for breakfast.  It's always been a little hole in the wall diner, with fond memories of the 80's, my sub-zero weekend deliveries of the newspapers, always had my Dad sitting in the truck, keeping the cab toasty, just in case I need a moment or two to get warm, then, as I finished the last paper on the top of Greenwood Ave and John St, we'd turn around and grab breakfast at the diner.  There's nothing particularly special about those memories, or perhaps that's what makes them special.

After a solid breakfast, we made record time back to Fogelsville and I set-up for round two of Burning Plastic.  This time I was away from the Battletech crew, and sort of shoved in  corner.  But if the corner involves the "cupcake ladies" aka Quigley's Cakes.  There have been professional geek-themed cupcakes at Mepacon for the better part of ten years, maybe more, and even if money is tight that weekend, there's a two cupcake minimum.  

At better yet, for my own health's sake, no random Burning Plastic airstrikes made their way over to take out the cupcake displays.

A low-key casual ViscountEric, sporting a Next Gen jersey.

The game was another rousing success, with my players pushing the limits of the ruleset (adding buildings to the table brings up new questions that a traditional empty expanse of microchip and hydraulic fluid death do not.  

Saturday afternoon was thwarted by the most adorable six-year old girl.  

Going for nostalgia, I went with running the older River Horse Press version of the My Little Pony RPG.  I ran plenty of two-hour sessions of it back in the day, and I thought I had the perfect set-up.  

A mom, a dad, and their simple brilliant and delightful six-year girl... and my 17 years old Maja, feeling nostalgic for the game.  We had made Ponies, we were two seconds from rolling some Rory's Story Cubes to set up the plot for the adventure, and the youngest lady had a "Code Brown (Upper)" that made quite a mess.  

Obviously, the game was scrapped, the parents could attend to her.  The con staff (as always) was super responsive and within twenty minutes the hotel staff had the area cleaned, sanitized, and a new tablecloth on the table.  

No pictures of the catastrophe, but here's an explosion on a SILENT DEATH (!) table.

6pm-8pm Auction Time:  For the times before Mepacon there has always been a two hour mandatory break, with no games.  Some grab food, some take a nap, but most show up in the ballroom for the raffle, the winners of the dice guess, and the costume and coloring contests, and the auction.  

I've ranted about the auction in my Mepacon 49 review.  It's a different time, a different economy, and with that, there was a lot of mid-range stuff that simply did not garner bids because the opening bids were too high.  Not the fault of the auction rules, just a newer group of folks trying to use the auction to make money.  

The most heartfelt part of the two hours and Katie Brad, the convention director, holding back just the right amount of tears to thank everyone who had helped the con achieve it's success over the last twenty-five years.  The same extended group of friends volunteer and operate the con in some capacity since 2001.  In fact, when Katie did ask for a number of showing of hands for the classic "Raise your hand if it's your first Mepacon... Raise your hand if you've only been at Mepacon at the Delta... or if you were at White Haven... Scranton, Clarks, Summit.. or even the lone con in Jersey."

When she got to Mepacon 1, she brought those folks up... Of that small contingent of less than a dozen, only my friend Scott and I were not wearing current con staff (Ed Leheman, who retired from con, is con director emeritus by default).

And then I remember I was auction director for that first con.. so Scott was just a normal paying attendee...

The back of this year's con t-shirt.  It's been a most unusual ride....

And since we're old enough to remember "the good old days," we realized afterwards that for genealogical sake, there are only a half-dozen of us who can trace our con lineage to Lehicon 2 or 3 in the early 90s.  

God I'm old. 

I ended Saturday night with another much-demanded event: TOON - Cthulhu Comes to Springfield. What was once multiple one-hour "episodes" has been shrunk down to a two-hour "very special episode" of "Krusty the Kultist."

The first hour, the Springfield kids worked hard to make their secret prize to Krusty's sleep-away camp a nuisance for the adults to find them.  In the end it was the heroic group of Marge Simpson, Grandpa Simpson, Principal Skinner, Groundskeeper Willie, and Duff-Man who may have saved most of the wee children.  There were heroic but gruesome deaths for Grandpa and Nelson... but the most sanity shredding was the complete murder of Maggie. 

I'm proud to say that there were a circle of at least four more old players of the scenario, playing at the adjacent tables. 

Maja's day was lounging about in the morning, hanging out between the Burning Plastic and the cupcake ladies, played a game of Rock-n-Roll Brouhaha, took a nap in the car before dinner with me, snagged a game of Penny Black from the board game library, and made me stay till midnight with the LARP.  After a Wawa stop, we were home by 1am.

Nothing like waiting for the LARP wrap-up (This was Friday).

SUNDAY

Unlike Mepacon 49, I did not go Sunday, preferring to clean out the car, and coordinate the return of the youngest child, Millie, from her friend's basketball tournament in Lancaster.  As it was my birthday, we had some ice cream cake, the girls got me some extremely practical minis from the local game store, and I got to hang out with them before they headed back to upstate New York.

SWAG:  I honestly tried to peruse the multiple vendors, but, in the end, I grabbed some Car Wars stuff from the Auction buyout.   

Maja, I realized, is the bloody demographic they're looking for with the vendors I would call "peripheral"  She bought crafts and book pouches, and even some stuff for her sister, coming back to dear old dad to fill up her coffers again. 

Let's not take my downplaying of the vendors fool you, there were some heavy hitters showing up for a 500 person con. 

Mepacon 51 will be back at the Delta, November 13-15, 2026 | Lehigh Valley, PA.  The theme will be sci-fi, so I'm thinking about claiming Table 52 early and running on-going Fistful of Lead, although I still have a contingent that wants to me to run more and more Burning Plastic.   I guess it will be time to set up another poll!

#RPGaDay2025 - Day 12 - Path

Day 12 of #RPGaDay and we're sponsored by Paizo?  If the majority of folks are picturing some garden walkway, a significant minority are excited at the mention of "Path"

I'll simply talk about the meandering path one of my NPCs have taken over the last 35 years. 

In the beginning, Kannex was about as generic as you can make him: a first level Tanasian Wizard, built right off the archetypes in the Talislanta 2nd Edition rulebook.

Of course, as the only GM to run Talislanta, there was no chance for me flex his unimaginable power!

Okay, maybe I just wanted to focus on the magic system, but the guys in high school, and even college just wanted to fight stuff.  Thralls, Saurans, Jakas, avoiding almost all magic.  I may have snuck him in as an GM PC for a a game or two, but otherwise, his character sheet sat in a folder for years.  

By the time I ran my full AD&D college game, The Ballad of the Pigeon God, I dusted off the folder for some variety and mystery to rural campaign.  

Kannex appeared on the road in front of the PCs, steam/smoke rising off his body, unable to communicate for the first day. Luckily, he wasn't murdered on site, and by day two, he had solved the language barrier (somewhat), and by the time they reached home, he barely understood that the group was trying to stop a wedding because an unknown number of guests, including the bride herself were these shapeshifting spider doppelgangers.  

.... and in the midst of the combat and chaos, Kannex cast a fireball equivalent, used the Talislanta magic system, with a  huge randomizer to account for the new magic environment and, in a world were the spell result could have been disastrous or magnificent, it was both.   The fireball covered the entire village green and beyond, killing all the spider-people, who transformed to their original state, killing a number of innocent civilians, and setting half the town on fire.   

Kannex's research to go home led him to follow the group to the magic school in the capital of Hydincal.   There he successfully transported dimensions to make it home, only to take the brothel everyone was staying at (and all the PCs playing in the campaign over summer break) into Talislanta.  

The entire Talislanta summer crossover was McGuffin after McGuffin, to allow Kannex to send everyone back.  

At the finale for the campaign, he made a surprise appearance to fight the same evil god whose minions they fought during his first appearance, he apparently killed the god (a red herring to the actual problem) but disappeared again in the process.

Fast forward 70 years of campaign time?   Kannex has become the Red Mage of Anon-Maxis, and the focus of the very first mission in our Hackmaster campaign, The Journey of Mutumbo.

After years of war and upheaval, which was alluded to in The Burning Trogs Rule!,  Kannex had traveled to Senzar to study... but forced a peace and become Riknil (Emperor) of the precarious island empire..

Finally, Kannex officially retired and wrote an opinionated  series of travel guides and gazetteers.

Yes, he's my fantasy Mary Sue character, doing things in the campaign that I could only dream of as a player.  Outside of the of the napalm explosion to stop the wedding (letting the dice fall where they may), I believe I used him as campaign embellishment more than heavy handed wish fulfillment on my side.  I'll be happy to write future gazetteer posts in his snarky, now elderly style.

#RPGaDay2024 - Day 4 - RPG with Great Art

Day 4 of #RPGaDay2024 is the classic "RPG with Great Art"  

A quick aside, as a wargamer, the last few weeks have been a full immersions into nostalgia.  

Seeing a collection of 1/144th scale bi-planes snapped me back to my childhood room, staring up at the Sopwith Camel and Red Baron dueling each other, held by strings pinned to the ceiling.  

A number of beautiful 54mm (toy solider) sized wargames at Historicon sent me back to lining up my newly purchased Britains on the wooden steps of my Aunt and Uncles old farmhouse in Vermont. 

Heck, I'm now old enough that a conclave of men hiding in the corner at Historicon revealed a crazy Battletech games, and a flood of emotions from my late teens

For my early teens, I just need to look over at my RPG shelf look at this cover:

... and I'm instantly transported to far back of the Waldenbooks in the Palmer Park Mall, where all the role-playing books were.  Sharing the same shelf as T1-4:  Temple of Elemental Evil and A1-4 Scourge of the Slavelords, this lone pointy-eared (but not an elf!) tattooed warrior with a big-ass sword told me that this was something different than D&D.  

The ad campaign in Dragon magazine surely helped promote that. 

P.D. Breeding-Black's artwork dominates the early editions, and sets the tone for the game, but I was surprised to see Richard Thomas and Ron Spencer also in the credits for interior art.   Thomas and Spencer are famous for doing the art on Magic: The Gathering cards (Thomas is famous for Black Vise, in hind sight, most of Spencer's Magic art looks like it could come from a page in Talislanta.  

Up until the comprehensive 4th Edition, the artwork for the game always left he GM and players to interpret the world based on the limited information.    

And of course, we never knew what the hell a Black Savant actually was.... no matter what the the post-WotC Tal tells us. 

A Talislanta: The Savage Lands Deal and D'oh!

 I had hemmed and hawed about going all-in for the Talislanta: The Savage Land Kickstarter, but in the end I simply pledged five bucks for the Talislanta OMNI system edition.    It was a great value, I enjoyed reading through it, but it's been hidden on my hard drive for quite some time.    

Fast forward to last month, and I was shocked to find an alleged hardcover copy of the book on eBay, for the ridiculous price of $19.99.    I set it to watch and continued on my way, only to get an offer of three dollars off and free shipping. With the price of 21st century Tal books being insane normally, I jumped on the opportunity, and it quickly arrived at my house. 

My good news:  It wasn't a bound, watermarked version someone printed off.  It was the real hardcover.  But after much perusing, I realized my due diligence was lacking, aI had purchased a copy of the Talislanta: The Savage Land for 5e!

I did not notice the little "5e" hiding in the fog and shadows. 

Needless to say, I gave positive feedback, because it was listed in the description and the correct picture were posted.  I may even mine it for ideas if I go ahead and do a "best of " convention games for Mepacon in the spring.  "The Crystle Dungeon" needs some rewrites from over 30 years ago. 

#RPGaDay2023 - Day 6 - The Favorite Game I Never Get to Play

Day 6 of #RPGaDay2023, and we have a pure match on the today's question and from a decade ago!   

For each day I'll be answering the question provided, and for fun, review how I answered a similar question during #RPGaDay, way back in it's inaugural year.  Scout's Honor, I have not peeked at the older answer.

Day 6's prompt is "The Favorite Game I Never Get to Play"

Easiest answer for the month:  Talislanta

Exotic locations?  Check.  Exotic cultures? Check.  Bad-ass monsters?  Triple-Check.  Simple d20 based system?  Maximum Check.  No Elves (Even though everybody has pointy ears)?  Ultimate Check! 

I've loved this game since I first saw it on the shelves at Waldenbooks in the 80's.  I have the Savage Talislanta book on pdf, which cranks up my Robert E Howard vibes by one hundred times, and I'm already staring at three solid editions of early Talislanta on my bookshelf, so the recent Epic Edition on crowd funding doesn't tempt me too much.

Ten Years Ago Retrospective:  An exact match for the prompt, after all these years, it's still and always will be Talislanta... with Battlelords of the 23rd Century getting an honorable mention.

(Kickstarter) Talislanta Epic Edition Now Running on Gamefound

 Talislanta creator Steven Michael Sechi has teamed up with Everything Epic for a Talislanta EPIC Edition (6th Edition) available for crowdfunding on Gamefound now.

Many of the rules are working back to the original 1st/2nd/3rd Editions, with more page space dedicated the world and the required artwork.

Being the be-all and end-all of the setting, Tal is now set up in a 3-book slipcase set:  the Player's Guide, the Atlas and GM's Guide, and the Bestiary.  

There will be a standalone 5th Edition D&D version of the Player's Guide.  PDFs of all four books will be available in the campaign.

Explore the Wonders of Talislanta

 If the messaging was still correct, today was the going to be the launch day for the Everything Epic Edition of Talislanta over on Gamefound. The biggest improvement that was part of the new edition was going to be dual-statting it with the Tal/Omni system and 5e.  Thanks to the kerfluffle over a new and heavily revised OGL, it looks like the dual-statting is out, as is today's launch date.

Now, I can safely say I haven't considered i09/Gizmodo legitimate or credible sites for well over a decade, so I'm holding a wait-and-see attitude to everything going on, I respect the creator's decision to pull back and revaluate the campaign.  I mean, it was supposed to be a one-shot printing to fulfill crowdfunding orders, so there would be little impact, but if its the principle of the situation, I'll give them the modicum of respect.

That said, they did expand the Talislanta Artwork on the website.  It is a tribute to the setting that I spent decades playing with it based on only basic black and white interior illustrations and P.D. Breeding-Black color covers.

(Talislanta) Aarin the Aamanian Inquisitor #CharacterCreationChallenge

Day 12 of the #CharacterCreationChallenge, and I go to an old-reliable... for a reason.  The Wizards of the Coast produced Talislanta 3rd Edition.

Aarin,  3rd Level Aamanian Inquisitor

Homeland: Aaman  Languages: Talislan, Xambrian.  5'9"  140lbs.  Topaz skin, green eyes, all facial and body hair removed.

INT: +2  

WIL: +0

STR: +1

CON: 0

PER: +2

CHA: -4

DEX: +2

SPD: 0

Hit Points: 16

Skills:  Secondary Combat (daggers/hammers) +4, Secondary Magic (Invocation) +4, Interrogate -1, Torture +5, Coerce -1, Espionage +5, Customs: Urban +5, Ride +5, Metaphysical Doctrines +5

Equipment: Cult mask and headdress, 3 concealed daggers, cloak, robes, gloves, boots, pouch (for instruments of torture), manacles, spell book.

Wealth: 20 gold lumens (The Orthodoxist Cult clothes and feeds its loyal servants)

Aamanian cultists are an intolerant and highly conservative people who revere Aa the Omniscient  and consider non-believers infidels.  Devout fundamentalists, they shun any form of merrymaking or improper behavior and never question the dictates of their superiors.  They dress alike, think alike, and act alike, all desiring to attain mana and rise in status and piety in the eyes of the Orthodoxist Cult.

Funny thing about Aamanian Inquistors (even if Aamanians rarely equate things to "funny"): They're tremendous torturers, but horrible interrogators.  Some realize this, and work upon their poor people skills, to develop a "good inquisitor/bad inquisitor dynamic with another agent of Orthodoxist principles.   Aarin has focused his skills on his magical gifts from Aa the Omniscient, forcing infidels to comply.  And if that does not work, Aarin is a smart enough man to realize that Aa does have servants above (and even some below) that will do the bidding the right Inquisitor with the right knowledge.

This character corresponds with the launch of the Talislanta: Epic Edition crowdfunding on Gamefound tomorrow.  The Epic Edition will include stats for the 5th Edition of the most popular RPG in the world, as well as the "classic Tal" stat lines.  The artwork, which essentially has been black & white drawings mixed in with PD Breeding-Black masterpieces and a few others, seems completely new and vibrant.  More importantly, for some reason, this campaign will NOT result in a product going to retail locations, so crowdfunding is the only way to obtain a copy.  

#RPGaDay2022 - Day 9 - What Was the SECOND RPG You Bought?

Day 9 of #RPGaDay2022 throws a hard curveball to an anticipated question, "What Was the Second (2nd) RPG You Bought?"

If I got my D&D Red Box from Waldenbooks, I also grabbed my second game off their shelves, Steven Michael Sechi's Talislanta, 2nd Edition.

Talislanta always had the distinction of having the ads in the Dragon Magazine with the tagline "No Elves."   An exotic world pulling itself out of the ashes of a previous civilization's cataclysm, Tal avoided most of the core classic fantasy tropes, for more extreme and exotic culture.

Even if the green-skinned Cymrilians both fought and cast magic (just like elves), or had pointed ears (just like elves, heck most races had elf ears), that the future OMNI system is a variation on classic d20 FRPG mechanics. 

These criticisms aside, Talislanta was incredible to run, even though the rules, archetypes, and settings were only packed into a 152-page softcover.  It wasn't until the revisions in the Wizards of the Coast 3rd Edition (yes, that WotC) that I felt more comfortable exploring the world at large.

It wasn't until the end of the 90's where I got to run a campaign using  Tal's rules, and even then, it was "strangers in a strange land" with the AD&D group getting transported to the world, and then exploring it to get the tools to be able to return.  (A perfect way of still playing with the local guys over summer break in college). 

(Talislanta: The Savage Land) - Neborrock, Warlok #CharacterCreationChallenge - Day 28

Neborrock, Warlok

STR +1

INT +2

DEX +5

WIL +2

CON +1

PER +2

SPD +4

CHA -3

Special: Magic Resistance, See Magic 20'

Skills: Appraise Archaen Artifacts 2, Diplomacy 2, Escape 6, Healing 3, Hunting 5, Knives 6, Language (Primal) 1, Primitive Traps 3, Sneak-Thief 5, Spoken Old Archaen 5, Stealth 6, Survival (no natural habitat) 6, Sword 7, Written Old Archaen 5, no Tribal Lore

Gear: Leather Vest, Breeches, and Boots, linen cloak, silver bladed sword (d10), two iron knives (d6)

(Talislanta) - Braugghu - 1st Level Moorg-Wan Shaman - #CharacterCreationChallenge - Day 3

Day 3 of the #CharacterCreationChallenge and I'm working my way down the bookshelf to the next system:  Talislanta.  Through multiple decades and even more publishers, this remains one of my favorite systems, both for its exotic setting, and its simple system.

I've usually relegated my play in Talislanta to the Seven Kingdoms, the Western Lands, and an occasional venture into the Wilderlands.  Using the 3rd Edition Wizards of the Coast printing, I randomly rolled up an archetype to use, and that opened up a corner of the world I completely forgot exsisted.

Braugghu 1st Level Moorg-Wan Shaman

Height: 6'4" Weight: 400 lbs, Large folds of Brown Skin, Four Legs, Toad-like feature, webbed and and clawed hands and feet.
INT -1

WIL  0

STR +2

CON +1

PER -1 

CHA 0

DEX -2

SPD +2 (in mud or water, -2 on dry land)

Base Combat Rating:   -1

Base Magic Rating:  0

Hit Points: 19

Special Ability: Amphibious, can strike with tail and claws for 1d8 damage each.  Can use simultaneously while being attacked from behind.  Skin provide 1 point of armor.  +5 on rolls to resist being tripped, knocked off balance, forced back, etc.

Skills:  Secondary combat (-1), Rudimentary Magic (Shamanism) (0)  Language: Mud People (0), Language: Sign (0), Ambush (0), Hide (0), Command (+1)

Equipment: Thorn dagger, sack with cord .

Wealth:  Amber and violet pearls worth 100 gold lumens.

The Moorg-Wan are a crude, brutish people, relegated to the swamps of the Wild Coast.  If left to there own devices, they would be content to rarely interact with other sentient races.  

But the scaly ones keep violating your swamp, killing the young and taking the lesser warriors.  You can't speak the scaly ones' language, but you are beginning to understand one word in particular, SLAVE.  You know that's what they use to describe the warriors they kidnap, and you've realized that whatever that means, it simply can't be good. 

You were recruited at a young age to become one of the shaman of the Moorg-Wan.  You were the an advisor and leader within the community, using the powers bestowed upon you by your god, Moorg, to bless the Moorg-Wan anyway you can.  

But the other leaders, the elders, the high shaman, even the the hunting party leaders, don't understand how bad this SLAVE word is to the whole tribe.  The tribe is already defenseless against some of the attacks, but without the warriors, you stand no chance.  

You have decided to take measures into your own hands and fight the scaly ones head on.  Moorg has blessed you with the ability to be well-like and respected by all, and you have used that advantage to recruit smarter Moorg-Wan, and a few stronger ones to hunt down the scaly ones and ambush them, either before the attack, or after the raid.  It hasn't been easy, and you may have lost as many Moorg-Wan as the scaly ones would have captured, but with your limited understanding, it is better to live and die within the swamps than live and die as a slave.  

While your loyal Moorg-Wan who have survived have grown stronger and wiser, you already worry about the future.  If the scaly ones are not scared off by your actions, perhaps they will bring more and stronger members of their tribe to crush you once and for all....

#RPGaDay2020: Day 27 - Garnering Favour in a Post-COVID World

Day 27 of #RPGaDay2020 is upon us, and again, we have a very non-American prompt, "Favour."

I'll skip the easy, "Favorite RPG" questions and move to something far more positive.

"What do I favour to run when we return to face-to-face gaming?"

Here in the States, we're close to dealing with COVID-19 for a whopping six months.   It's not good, but at some point, we'll be back to some semblance of what normal used to be.  So the question is, with six months (PLUS+!) of no face-to-face gaming, what do I want to make my triumphant return behind the physical screen?

It's an odd-angled shelfie!

#7 - Hackmaster - A complete pie-in-the-sky idea, continuing the dream of reuniting the old gang back together.  #RPGaDay always stokes that flame every year.

#6 - Talislanta - The new Savage Lands edition will fit a very Robert E Howard-esque play style.

#5 - 5e Saltmarsh - My online Star Wars d6 has players hours upon hours away, so face-to-face is out of the question.  However, some of the more local players wouldn't mind a return D&D, and Saltmarsh can be plugged right back into my homebrewed campaign world.

#4 - 5e for Beginners - Before this crazy, mixed-up COVID world, another department manager at work was talking about his kids getting interested in D&D.  I don't know if the quarantine killed that motivation, but setting up something simple with a new bunch of players some appealing.

#3 - BECMI Gulluvia - My Star Wars game might not transition back into face-to-face well, but the story of some goofy adventurers in the Barony of Gulluvia is simple enough.  Best yet, the Theatre-of-the-Mind method will work best using "Basic" D&D.

#2 - Call of Cthulhu - Sleepless City - Returning to New York City for some (technically) one-shots is a great start, one we can possibly use to expand into the old campaign, even if we don't revisit old, beloved survivors, I mean, characters.

#1 Call of Cthulhu - Invictus - I have enough material to run a few games, but the Roman theme will keep the players off their usual path.

And for a bonus question to answer:
"What do I favour to run when we return to face-to-face convention gaming? "

I'll stick with what gets me players:  Kid's games of My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria, and perhaps the Toon game: Cthulhu Comes to Springfield.

#RPGaDay2019 Day 15: Draxx and the Door

For Day 15 of #RPGaDay, the powers that be provided "Door" as the word of the day.  I sense a lot of personal door-opening experiences with RPGs, or perhaps the evils of gatekeeping. 

Winter of '91 - I'm playtesting my first ever convention game I will ever run, The Crystle Dungeon using Talislanta 2nd Edition rules. 

Of course, my playtest group is my high school gaming group.  Most picked the character archetype closest to their usual D&D character.

Except for Charles. 

Charles, who historically played elves, wizards, or elf wizard-blade swingers, went completely of the reservation and created Draxx, a Saurud Warrior. 

For you grognardy folks, a Saurud was a quickly devolving race descended from dragons.

For you whipper-snappers, imagine a Dragonborn, but replace all intelligence, wisdom, or special abilities for sheer, brute strength. 

For the two Battlelords of the 23rd Century fans out there reading this, he was a Ram Python with only melee weapons (but we hadn't learned about Battlelords until we reached the con, so...)

Draxx

The Crystle Dungeon was just an attempt by teenage me to put all the cool things from Talislanta is a pretty mundane D&D dungeon crawl, but it worked, except for one minor detail.

At one point, they discovered the back end of a one-way secret door. Knowing that something was odd about this alcove, Draxx investigated and ultimately got his hand stuck the the door trying to open it the wrong way.  In the subsequent panic, he ripped the door away.

If the regular "human" range of stats in Tal was -2 to +2 , Draxx had a Strength of +8, if not more.  You roll a 20 with that bonus, and the teenage ViscounEric will always err on the side of awesomeness and fun.  The older, grumpier ViscountEric, might have toned it down a bit, but would largely defer to his younger self.

As for the convention version of the game, and the greatness of that convention, you can check out my old Lehicon IV post. 

My Talislanta: The Savage Land PDF has arrived!

In a wild surprise today, I got my codes for the PDF copy of Talislanta: The Savage Land. 

My $5 was very well spent. 

Two things this curmudgeon noticed with the afternoon read-through. 

1) The book and era evoke the Conan-style I originally felt, but there are a few races and monsters that specifically screamed "It's D&D, but with no elves!"

2) I'm the deranged demographic that's happy with black and white artwork.  The book is chock full of full color pieces, many taking up more than half of many pages.  In a strange world like Tal, this isn't usually a problem, but for a 258-page core document, that's a lot less text.  Your mileage, of course, may vary.

A Few More Bumps in the Road for Talislanta: The Savage Land

I pledged a single $5 pdf option for Talislanta: The Savage Land on Kickstarter.  Despite my love for the setting, I had two concerns towards the actual completion of this project.   First, was the sizable workload on other outstanding Kickstarter that Stewart Wieck had on his plate. Second was the FIVE systems the game was promised to be written for, all with separate hardcopy editions.

The Stewart passed away unexpectedly, and I pushed this project into the near-vaporware status.   Heck, up until this week, I had it slated as the absolute last Kickstarter that would make good, even after the three campaigns I'm in right now... that are still going on!

But this week did bring some updates... and some bittersweet vindication of my opinions.

In a statement to the backers:
"The amount of orders required to justify the expense of printing and creating the Savage Worlds and Pathfinder editions of Talislanta: The Savage Land is unsustainable for Stewart's estate and the future of Nocturnal Media. "

So after careful analysis, they realized the late add-ons weren't financially feasible and will stick the original three promised: Fifth Edition D&D, D6, and the original Tal/OMNI system. That's still an ambitious undertaking, but it's far more realistic to all parties involved. Backers wishing for SW or Pathfinder could either accept a 90% refund, and re-routing the funds to other product offers in the campaign.

So with that out of the what, the layout isn't my personal black and white cup of tea, but it is gorgeous to the demographic that matters.

Ballad of the Pigeon God #25 (Talislanta) Rage and the Ravant

The party was still trapped on the world of Talislanta.  Even with the demonstration he had given months before, most had given up hope that their friend(?) Kannex would ever complete the spell and ritual needed to transport them back the Kingdom of Crosedes on their own world.

Norm Dingleberry, Dwarven warrior, had recently rescued his fellow adventurers, Ashe the Ranger, Babette the Thief, and Kane the Cleric from the horrors of a necormancer's stronghold.  He spent most of his time nursing the psyches of his spiritually beaten companions.  With no contact from Kannex and his newest "best friend," Rolf Wolfsblood, having disappeared without warning, it felt like a disaster far greater than any failed mushroom farm he tended to.

He did take a few side treks, smuggling a few gruffans from Silvanus to occupy his little free time. They were low maintenance and most of their meat could be cured into a delicous bacon-like product.

At night, when the screaming finally subsided, he would climb out on the roof of the brothel and stare up at the stars, slowing petting his newest pet, a strange creature known as a Quaal.  Norm had found one in the city-state of Cymril and named him Quaally.

Finally, the barbarian Rolf returned to the brothel, a few more scars on his body, and more Thrall tattoos across the side of his face, now running down his left arm.

Norm lost his shit.

Patrons fled out doors and windows and the working women barricaded their doors, as the dwarf went on a violent, profanity laced tirade against the barbarian (all with an outrageous French accent).

After a few hours, it got quiet, and a few brave souls ventured out to find Norm staring into a half-filled pint on the porch, a Rolf quietly washing off tomato sauce and flour from his body near the well.  This day was never spoken of again.

35th of Jhang, 151 N.A. The Pleasure House of Duane Alberhold, Cymril
After missing for months, Kannex made an appearance at the brothel.  He told Norm and Rolf that there is one final item to find, the worst of all:  the sweat of a mythical beast who lives in magical Aberrant Forest within the inhospitable Wilderlands of Zaran.

Rolf then lost his shit, and connected with a haymaker to Kannex's jaw.

Norm pulled the barbarian off of the sorcerer, but not before waiting a full thirty seconds....

42nd of Jhang, 151 N.A.  The Aberrant Forest, The Wilderlands of Zaran
Another windship, under a heavy guard, picked up the duo and flew to the Wilderlands.

When they arrived at the correct place in the forest, they shimmied down ropes through the thick canopy.  Well, Norm did.  Rolf tumbled.. again.

Norm finally got down safely to find the barbarian surrounded by three-foot tall woodmen.  The creatures took them prisoner and took them back to their village.  There, they met a scholar living with the woodmen tribe.  They told him of their odd quest and he outright refused to help, insisting that leave immediately instead of getting hunted down by the "RAVANT."   Norm and Rolf were given food and shelter for the night and ignored his warning, leaving to the following morning to locate the monster.

44th of Jhang, 151 N.A.  The Aberrant Forest, The Wilderlands of Zaran
On the second day of their expedition, the dwarf and barbarian were making camp when the woods went dead silent.  Norm climbed on Rolf's shoulder to see a huge beast with long arms coming at them.  They tossed the knockout powder at the monster, but it didn't even notice it.  It charged at them, knocking over large trees as it persued their flight.  Norm jumped into a bush and it ran past. Rolf managed to keep ahead of it.  The Ravant wasn't necessarily fast, but it seemed relentless and untiring.  Rolf ran a large circle through the jungle and came back to where Norm dove off.

The dwarf whipped out his battleaxe and hit the beast in the shin.

The axe simply lodged in his leg and the Ravant continued to pursue Rolf.

Two laps, Rolf collapsed near the dwarf's hiding spot.  The Ravant loomed over him while Norm burst out of the bushes with a beaker, it was not sweat, but a single drop of blood pooled just outside of it's near-impervious armor, that landed in the glass container.

The monstrosity noticed the dwarf with a quizzical look.  A single drop of sweat formed on its brow and dropped. Norm caught it in the beaker and the blood boiled away.  He corked it and looked at the Ravant one last time as it sneered and punted him over the tree line.

Norm's distraction must have given Rolf a second wind because he got up and ran in the direction of the flying dwarf.    The barbarian was forced to swim across the river to reach Norm, and as he quickly looked over his shoulder, he saw the Ravant, silently surveying the river, but not attempting to enter the moving water.

The duo got to the windship spot, climbed up, and ordered the captain to leave ASAP.

The beaker... and the dwarf, had survived the kick and subsequent fall.

2nd of Laedis, 151 N.A. Pleasure House of Duane Alberhold, Cymril
They arrived back by the brothel to find Kannex, who was setting up an experiment(?) outside of the brothel.  Norm pulled out the Ravant sweat, and Kannex immediately passed out at the mere sight of it.

Norm: "My ass hurts!!!"

DM Notes:  *Spoilers*  There you have it, my friends, enough McGuffins to construct the Super-Voltron-McGuffin to get everyone home.  

The Ravant is an actual creature in the setting, found in Cyclopedia Talislanta III: The Wilderlands of Zaran as well as the 3rd Edition Rulebook.  It's impenetrable, it's unstoppable, and if you can hurt it, it regenerates!   Without the sweat, Kannex would have a chance of failure casting the mass teleport/gate.   The sweat itself is like a magic booster, super-concentrated adrenaline and steroids of the arcane.  

Warning: The next episode is complete filler.  In real time, my Talislanta players took a week off after the events here and we jumped right into what will be episode #29 with the other players, without many questions.  For the sake of the narrative, I'll fill in what actually happened between Kanex fainting and the party returning home and reuniting with the first friend they see.

NEXT #26 - Getting Back is Half the Trip

Ballad of the Pigeon God #23 (Talislanta) The Harbinger of Darkness

41st of Zar, N.A. 150 The Pleasure House of Duane Alberhold, Cymril
With most of the household finally recovering from another batch of the "Talislanta Pox," this time a strain of flu that wrecked havoc on the adventurers otherworldly immune systems, a visit by a near-giddy Kannex surprised them all, especially since Rolf and Norm were already out and about, retrieving yet another random regent, ingredient, or knick-knack for their experiment.

"My friends," the Tanasian wizard motioned everyone closer, "I bring you... progress."

He chalked up the main floor of the brothel in strange patterns.  He set up the magic purifiers they had obtained from Silvanus at certain points outside the drawings and placed carved hunks of amber crystalline in between them.  There were candles, somatic components, and even audience participation as Kannex got everyone to chant.

Eventually, a small magical portal, no bigger than a human fist, formed in the middle of the room, about six inches off the group.

"My friends, I have tirelessly researched our predicament since you arrived in Talislanta, I have discovered secrets that have laid dormant since before the fall of the Archaens (which I know you guys have no clue who they were.  Very powerful.  Very long ago.). "

"Look through the portal, and you will see the lot where the Pleasure House stood in Hydincall."

Only one or two people could look at a time, but all were amazed that they could see old leather shop that stood beside the brothel.

"I can transport things between the worlds.  Just not big things, for everyone's safety."

"My biggest delays in this process have been finding ways to get everyone home... safe.  My last two teleports have been done in error, and luckily I survived.  Intentionally recreating the ritual for your return, using the stable Heka levels of my world, requires... amplification and stabilization of what I can do.  Rolf and Norm are already guaranteeing I have enough supplies to conduct it.  I have two more items, and time is of the essence. "

"Deep within the Wilderlands of Zaran, there lies an ancient citadel that once belonged to Kroxous, a necromancer of the Archaen Age.  His mortal form is long gone, but something still resides in there terrorizing man, beast-man, and even devils that wander the wasteland.  If the stronghold is still protected then the Orb of Kroxous still resides within."

"The Orb is what you commoners would call a crystal ball, but from a dimension that even the Shaitan and Demons fear to mention.  Get the orb, and I'll have a way of harnessing enough power to get you home."

Our heroes:
Ashe:  Elven Ranger
Alexi: Sarista Rogue
Kane: Water-Controlling Mystic from the lands far east of Crosedes.
Babette:  Street thief from Hydincall
Darius - NPC - Sarista Rogue, alternating between the alias "Yuri" and his real name.  Interest of lust with Babette

Upon pledging her desire to retrieve the orb, Babette dropped another bombshell: She wasn't suffering from the effects of the Talislanta Pox.  She was pregnant, and suffering morning sickness. Darius (or Yuri, depending on his whim) was the father.

42nd of Zar, N.A. 150 The Pleasure House of Duane Alberhold, Cymril
Darius/Yuri could not be found anywhere on the property.  Babette was upset, but still agreed to go on the mission.

43rd of Zar, N.A. 150 The Pleasure House of Duane Alberhold, Cymril
Abn Qua was apparently running out of connections, or windships, as the one that arrived to take them, the Flying Erd, left a lot to be desired, both structurally and with its crew.  However, it was quick and small enough to hide from whatever was terrorizing the stronghold.

1st of Ardan, N.A. 151 The Citadel of Kroxous, Wilderlands of Zaran
To celebrate the new year, the Flying Erd finally reached its destination, a large stone fortress that appeared to have fallen in on itself...  The captain landed the ship, allowed our heroes to disembark with very specific instructions.

We will remain aloft over this very spot.  We shall not move unless attacked.  We will only land to pick you up if you return alone.  Any threat, whether a Za raider or a spawn of Tarturus, and I will cut the ropes and come back when it is safe.

3rd of Ardan, N.A. 151 The Citadel of Kroxous, Wilderlands of Zaran

An excerpt from The Nexi of Parallel Worlds by Horotio the Halfblooded (1139 Georic Calendar):

Of the many cross-world forays that I have been able to document, the Assault on the Citadel of Kroxous is one that I have been woefully deficient in obtaining many specific facts.  Four adventurers two male, one female, and a native of unclear gender from that world, pierced the undead defenses and entered the lower levels of the ancient dungeons.  They encountered Kroxous, or what mystical element remained of him, and attempted to seize the Orb of Kroxous for their own needs.  

Except the Orb appeared to be powering an adjacent gate.  As the party got closer, something large and not within the comprehension of mortal man pulled the orb into the gate.  The sight of the being drove two in the party completely mad.  It is documented that the elf known only as Ashe reached through the portal and fought off the entity just enough to bring to orb back to their current dimension.  This heroic effort, and peer into the void beyond, caused his hair to immediately turn white, and possibly a part of his mind, if not his soul, was torn from him.

There is positively nothing mentioned, in written or oral histories, of what happened after the Orb was obtained, although there are later stories of the individuals, so it can be assumed that at least some survived.  

There is also nothing listed in any journal or lexicon within the libraries of man that discusses this event.  I can only rely on the recollection in oral history form that has not been hindered by the years past or the sanity lost from such an event.  I give credence to those words as a researchers despite my obvious bias towards the source.  The woman in the expedition, Babette of Hydincall, was my Grandmother.  She never spoke anymore than what I put down on these pages, but I'm quite certain in my heart and in my mind, that I do not wish to know more....

DM Notes:  This is one of those sessions that has been lost to time.   I remember a small contingent of players, some Cthulhu-esque creature beyond a magical gate, and Ashe's hair turning white while saving someone/recovering something going through the portal.    The saddest part has been that my original notes were long lost, so all I had were the scant memories of the players, and my hazy recollection of a non-TSR module with a hooded figure holding an axe.  

More than three months after receiving the Journal and starting the process to post it onto the blog, a random Google search brought up a different obscure cover of a module I would be using later in the campaign (approximately episode #35 right now).  A little more searching I found the true cover I was misremembering: 

The Harbinger of Darkness by Underworld Games

There's very few mentions of the module, and the minimum price I've found for a copy is $65, so I won't be snagging one up to flesh out the details.  

NEXT #24 - Into the Tombs

Ballad of the Pigeon God #22: (Talislanta) The Lake of the Prismatic Lotus

Arriving back at the brothel with magic purifiers, random texts, and a dwarf named Norm, the party kicked back and relaxed  without their resident mage.   Norm took over Kannex's room, as it was discovered that the authorities didn't care about a peculiar whorehouse in the middle of a farmer's field, but with the numerous conspiracies involving Tanasian Wizards, Kannex's research raised considerable eyebrows.   Our cast of characters stuck on the world of Talislanta:

Kannex - Tanasian Wizard trying to get an entire building transported back to its proper dimension. Currently in hiding.
Alexi - Sarista gypsy native to Talislanta.
Darius - NPC - Sarista gypsy and agent of Abn Qua.  Going by the alias of "Yuri"
Kane - Monk of eastern mysticism with an odd elemental control of water.
Babette - Urban street thief swept up with the party when they teleported to Talislanta.
Ashe - Elven Ranger, still fighting a bout of Talislanta Pox.
Rolf Wolfsblood:  Bald-headed barbarian from the Plains of Galmar.
Norm Dingleberry - Failed mushroom farming dwarf but surprisingly adept at windship piloting. Arrived separately to Talislanta, by unknown means. Can not speak Trade Common from his world, or Talislanta, just Dwarven.

19th of Zar, N.A. 150  The Pleasure House of Duane Alberhold, Cymril
Things had returned to  hurry up and wait mode for the mission, as communications with Kannex became even more sporadic than before.

Upon a routine "patrol" around the farm the brothel had appeared in, Kane, Ashe, and Norm skirted the woods, the humans on foot, Norm riding his pony, Mytomek.  There wasn't much conversation between the mystic, a half-sick elf with "Talislanta Pox" trying to get some air, and a dumb dwarf whose mastery of Low Talislan and Trade Common was a list of words that make schoolchildren blush.

However, today, Norm spied something shiny in a creek running parallel with their path.  He dismounted Mytomek, gestured to the other to follow him and searched the creek.  While his companions watched in cofusion, the dwarf splashed through the cold winter water to find... a long lost silver piece.   He climbed out of the water, and halfway up the creek bank to present his treasure.

"Sonavuab..!!!  *WHAM*"

Norm completely forgot his place on the creek and had come up right behind his pony.  His steed promptly kicked him in the head out of fear, knocking the dwarf unconscious and sending him flying back into the water.  Kane and Ashe did their best to save him and get him back to the brothel post-haste.

Despite their best healing efforts, Norm remained unconscious.  Lucky for him, his helm (and pilot's cap and goggles obtained in the previous adventure that was stretched over it) was quite dented. Without it, Norm may have died.

23th of Zar, N.A. 150  The Pleasure House of Duane Alberhold, Cymril
With the group settled in for their normal group breakfast with the ladies of the house, A smiling dwarf came down the stairs and said, "BONJOUR EVERYONE!  I LOVE LE BREAKFAST!" in a bombastic and outrageous French accent.

Everyone just stared at Norm with their mouths agape.  This was the first time Norm had been awake since the accident, and neither his accent, nor his command of Trade Common was usual.

Kane checked out the dwarf again and found nothing wrong with him, save a lump on the head that was quickly healing.

The dwarf was quite jovial, singing songs and dancing with the ladies.  He also inadvertently knocked open Babette's door, displaying the thief and the Sarista gypsy Darius in the midst of mid-morning delight.   Somehow, within a house with two dozen people in it, this pair had managed to hide a pretty hot and heavy affair...

33rd of Zar, N.A. 150 The Pleasure House of Duane Alberhold, Cymril
A courier for Kannex finally arrived at the brothel.  Another necessary item was uncovered and the party needed to travel to the southern jungles to obtain a rare purple flower.  Unfortunately, another wave of "Talislanta Pox" had spread through the building and only Rolf and Norm were healthy enough to adventure.

35th of Zar, N.A. 150 The Pleasure House of Duane Alberhold, Cymril
The Jade Arcana arrived above brothel, and the barbarian and dwarf boarded from the roof.    The journey would be relatively short, but the captain alerted them of one problem:  The area the rare prismatic lotus grew in was not accessible by windship.  They would need to rappel down into the jungle and climb back up  40-50 feet when they found the it.  Over the next three days, the captain and crew worked with them to teach them the ins an outs or rope use so the operation could continue.

38th of Zar, N.A. 150  Kingdom of Taz
The windship flew into a very hot place, hovered over a tall rainforest, and Norm and Rolf climbed down the ropes.   Norm had become quite adept at working the ropes, but Norm's gigantic stature complicated his descent, and he got loose and fell from twenty feet onto the soft jungle floor.

They immediately were hunted by a pack of flying apes who harassed the windship so much that the Jade Arcana left for the sake of the crew and ship.  Now abandoned for an unknown period of time, our heroes waited for the apes to return, and promptly killed them without mercy.

The jungle was an unforgiving place, with herds of violent beasts forcing Rolf and Norm to climb a few trees and stay fleet of foot.  Norm attempted to catch something in a trap, but after Rolf found him missing for more than an hour, he went out and found the dwarf wrapped up in his own trap.

Rolf:  "Thank Galmar the little man is decent with an axe...  I hope he prays that continues."

39th of Zar, N.A. 150  Kingdom of Taz
In the morning Rolf awoke to the sound of small children screaming.  He dragged Norm out of deep sleep and the two dashed to a small nearby lake.  Small, pale, loincloth-clad children were being eaten by some strange eggplant-shaped creatures with tentacles and sharp teeth. Norm was terrified, Rolf immediately ran to the back of of the creature to attack.

Norm: "He must love children!"

He stabbed the monster once before a tentacle grabbed him, forcing him to drop his Sun-Sword.  He used his dagger, but it ate it right out of his hand.  Rolf ended up punching the tentacle enough to break free.  Norm tried to usher the kids away from the water, but most seemed more shocked by the bearded man. Some ran back into the monster's clutches!

Rolf ended up pulling out the greatsword he had picked up months before in the Cymril marketplace. It was a long fight, but the added weight of the greatsword was enough to not only wound the beast, but eventually kill it.

He reached into the water, recovered his sun-sword and walked out of the water towards the dwarf. The sound of trumpets filled the air.

A company of well-armed Thralls emerged out of the jungle.  The Thralls were one of the major races of the Seven Kingdoms.  A race that was magically engineered by sorcerers long ago to be a warrior slaves, but the sorcerers' destruction allowed them to become their own culture.  Virtually identical at birth, the distinguished themselves with an elaborate series of tattoos on their entire body.  Most Thralls could know another Thrall's history simply by reading their tattoos.

The Thralls took Rolf and Norm prisoner. They marched them to their village and separated them.

A Thrall Warrior

45th of Zar, N.A. 150  Kingdom of Taz
For many days, Rolf was kept in a rather comfortable hut, under constant guard of five of the Thrall warriors.  Eventually he was given his freedom and reunited with Rolf, however, there was something wrong with the barbarian.  He had a constant satisfied grin across his face, and he would occasionally give a hearty laugh when talking with the Thrall.  It might have had something to do with the new tattoo he had received on his face, stretching between his left eye and ear.  It looked very similar to those of the Thrall.

Rolf:  "Norm, These are good, noble people.  They will give you the flower for Kannex, then escort us back to the spot to meet the Jade Arcana."  

48th of Zar, N.A. 150  The Pleasure House of Duane Alberhold, Cymril
The duo arrived back to an empty brothel.  They were informed that the another component was found and the rest of the party had gone off to get it.

Norm was happy for the rest, but he was worried about Rolf.  The barbarian had spent the entire journey back staring towards the Jungles of Taz until they disappeared over the horizon, and kept staring to the south after that, grasping his greatsword, the true weapon of the Thrall, with a nervous energy.

DM Notes: As I continue to cobble together these scant notes about Talislanta, certain vital pieces of information, like when Norm got knocked in the head and started speaking Common with a crazy French accent, were never mentioned in the journal.   It took some emails and some gnashing of teeth to corroborate everyone's recollections, but I feel I did this big event the justice it deserves. 

I always use 4d6, removing the lowest die, for character creation, and characters like Norm are a possibility in each campaign.  I wasn't ready for a non-human with a Int low enough to prevent him from speaking Common,  so I may have taken some heavy-handed plot control to keep things going for a character who was otherwise playable.  He already appeared on the world by unknown means (although in his new accent, he would insist that a farmer with a long scarf let him use his privy that was painted blue and *poof* he was in Talislanta.  The knock to head certainly didn't knock any sense into him.  

The encounter with the Thrall was a turning point for Rolf.  Meeting a group of warriors that were the same stature as him, with the same dedication to the martial studies gave Rolf an immediate attachment to them.  It certainly helped his side of the relationship that he single-handedly save the village youngsters from a beast though long-extinct.  Pretty obvious foreshadowing, but Rolf was given an open invitation to return to that village, and that will weigh on his mind.  

NEXT #23 - The Harbinger of Darkness