Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[mongo]

Thanks for all of the kind words everyone. I am but a humble gamemaster, and it's the players that actually carry the campaign. Heath posted most of the character backgrounds earlier in this thread. I used these backgrounds as the basis of the campaign.

It's the first time that I've emphasized character backgrounds this much, and it's working out well. I don't have any long term campaign goals of my own or any over arching plot for the campaign. I try to plan for the next session only and plant plot hooks where they seem appropriate. I have to improvise at times and Savage Worlds makes this easy, as we know.

Our next session is tomorrow night. Wish the player's luck, they'll need it. Muhahaha!!!!!!

mongo

[mongo]

Legends of Steel: Shadows of Yar

Campaign Journal, Session 6


Real World Date: Friday May 7, 2011

Campaign World Date: Halen’s Day, 17 Fireseek, to Vand’s Day, 18 Fireseek, 1,000 FF (From the Founding of Tyros City)

The Roll of Heroes

Heath

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. A brawny, attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears chain mail and wields an impressive looking two-handed sword. He seeks Selina, the daughter of his friend Salidaar. Clues indicate that a cult called the Black Hand of Nogar-Sai has taken Selina to a hill called Shaman’s Crown.

Joe

Marvin. A pimp who runs with a harem of pleasure slaves.

Thomas

Thomas’s New Character, hereafter cited as TNC. I don’t know if he ever had a name. A warrior and shapechanger.

Jack

Alzar. A charismatic thief with a mysterious past.


The Story So Far

The party seeks Selina, step sister of THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. She is a prisoner of the notorious Yari sorcerer Elslae, who lairs at a hill called Shaman’s Crown.

Shaman’s Crown lies in the Howling Hills, an area dominated by the Mauk: inbred, cannibal hillbillies. The Mauk in turn are dominated by Yar, an island nation of demon worshipping freakazoids.

The party has infiltrated the Mauk town of Karnost, which lies near the base of Shaman’s Crown. TNC let himself be captured so that he could get into Karnost. Dar and THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! disguised themselves as Mauk guards.


The Tale of Heroes

The Second Battle of Karnost

• The Mauk brought TNC before Brogha, the High Chieftain of the Mauk. There was a good bit of role-playing as TNC tried to convince Brogha to betray Elslae and join the party. Somehow, TNC ended up selling himself into slavery to a bunch of inbred, cannibal hillbillies who thought that he had a pretty mouth.

• Diplomacy having failed, TNC drew his sword and leaped at Brogha, hoping to catch him by surprise. Casting off their disguises, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and Marvin moved to help their friend.

• An epic battle ensued. Brogha, High Chieftain of the Mauk, died.

Marvin, High Chieftain of the Mauk

• The party fled the chieftain’s hall. However, the sounds of combat had roused the entire village of inbred, cannibal hillbillies. An entire army of Mauk confronted the heroes.

• A Mauk named Angus stated that he was High Chieftain now that Brogha was dead. Angus stated that he would spare the party if they surrendered to him. In disgust, TNC drew his sword and killed Angus in one blow.

• The rest of the Mauk were stunned by the swiftness of Angus’s death. Thinking quickly, Marvin proclaimed himself High Chieftain of the Mauk. An excellent Persuasion roll later, the Mauk hailed Marvin as their new leader.

• The Mauk had captured a unicorn and tethered it with a golden rope. TNC cut the rope and released the animal.

Dungeon Crawl: Shaman’s Crown

• Marvin gave instructions to his people (that would the Mauk: inbred, cannibal hillbillies) not to eat the pleasure slaves or the party’s horses. Then the party proceeded to Shaman’s Crown.

• The party entered a cave at the foot of the hill of Shaman’s Crown. The cave had three passages leading deeper into the hill.

The Rolling Ball of Death

• The first passage had a spiral tunnel that led up and up and up. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! heard a rumbling sound that sounded like one of the herds of mastodon that roamed his native land. Confused, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! led the party forward. The rumbling got louder and then the party saw it: the Rolling Ball of Death.

• Screaming like little girls, the heroes fled in terror from the Rolling Ball of Death. Alzar stuck his rapier in the ground, hoping that his flimsy blade might slow down the Rolling Ball of Death. It didn’t.

• Then THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! decided to confront the Rolling Ball of Death head on. With a fearsome battle cry, the barbarian charged the Rolling Ball of Death. There was a tremendous collision as THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and the Rolling Ball of Death collided. The barbarian with the mighty thews won. The Rolling Ball of Death shattered into a hundred pieces. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! concussed himself with his heroic act, but was otherwise fine.

• [In retrospect, it would have been more realistic and more fun if THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! had simply stopped the boulder’s forward momentum. He would have then had to make multiple Strength checks to roll the boulder back up the hill or to hold it long enough for the rest of the party to escape. Oh well.]

The Pool of Death

• The party took another tunnel that led to a chamber that contained the Pool of Death. The cavern was bisected by a shallow pool. A chest lay on the other side of the water.

• Alzar bravely ran through the pool to reach the chest. A vaguely humanoid shaped column of water arose on the surface of the pool.

• Yet another epic combat ensued. The party dispatched the water creature.

• The chest contained a cloak and several potions.

The Temple of Death

• The party continued their exploration of Shaman’s Crown. The eventually came to the Temple of Death.

• A statue of Nogar-Sai, the god of evil and undeath, dominated the cavern. A bottomless chasm ran through the middle. Two priests seemed to have just completed some horrible ritual as the party approached.

• A rotting, undead horror crawled out of the bottomless pit. Then a minotaur like creature, an Avatar of Nohar, emerged out of the shadows.

• Yet another epic combat ensued. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! ended up decapitating one of the priests. However, the body, sans head, arose the next round and continued fighting.

• Just when it looked like the party might be routed, Bailee and the rest of the pleasure slaves showed up. [Someone played the Reinforcements Adventure Card.] Not enjoying the hospitality of the Mauk, Bailee had led all 20 pleasure slaves into Shaman’s Crown to find his hero, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!.

• Fighting with sticks and rocks, the pleasure slaves helped turn the tide of battle. With their help, the party emerged victorious.

And that’s where we stopped for the night.


NPCs met

Brogha

The High Chieftain of the Mauk. Killed by the party during the Second Battle of Karnost.


Locations Visited

Karnost. A village near the base of the hill known as Shaman’s Crown.

Shaman’s Crown. One of the Howling Hills.


Active Plot Hooks

20 Pleasure Slaves

The party is in the middle of Mauk (inbred, cannibal hillbilly) territory with 20 pleasure slaves depending on them.

Shaman’s Crown and Elslae

Shaman’s Crown is the location of some kind of nefarious activity of the Black Hand of Nogar-Sai. Selina, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! friend, is supposedly held captive there. Agar’s enemy, Elslae, is there as well.


Open Plot Hooks

Treason!

The party has proof of the treachery of Baron Henry Avigton. They also know that Prince Crixus of Tyros may be assassinated by a man named Montaroe within a week..

Reward!

The party is owed a reward from the Tyrovian government in Pyrani for ending the depredations of Joubert and the River Rats. They can also claim a reward from Dagoberto the wine merchant.

Treasure!

The party left a cavern full of riches: bolts of silk, casks of wine, ingots of silver, etc. Of course, the treasure is the ill-gotten booty of the River Rats and actually belongs to various merchants.

Madoc and Vitar

The party took Joubert’s lieutenants captive and then let them go.


World Records

Damage Inflicted

38 points. Dar, Session 2. Against the undead horror on the streets of Pyrani.

Damage Received

47 Points. Alzar, Session 2. During the Test of Combat against Vitar, the defrocked War Priest of Kesh. Luckily, Jack rolled a Raise on Alzar’s Incapacitation roll. Unluckily, he also rolled a 2 on the Wound chart: the Unmentionables. Vitar uses a maul. So, um, yeah, make up your own description on this one.


Experience and Glory

3 XP awarded. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! gets 4 points because turned in a Legend Chip.

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! gains an Advance. Congrats Heath!

Marvin gains an Advance. Congrats Joe!

Alzar gains an Advance. Congrats Jack!

Thomas’s New Character gets 0 XP because I didn’t get a background or a character sheet. TNC will get 3 XP as soon as I get his background and character sheet.

Marvin receives 5 Glory for becoming a chief of the Mauk. He gains the Connections: the Mauk Edge.

XP and Glory for current characters:

Agar 28 XP 15 Glory
Alzar 26 XP 10 Glory
Dar 31 XP 15 Glory
Marvin 30 XP 20 Glory
THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! 35 XP 20 Glory
Thomas’s New Character 24 XP 10 Glory

Dead and Retired Characters:

Jaden (retired) 22 XP 11 Glory
Rohan (dead) 28 XP 10 Glory
Roubert (retired) 28 XP 10 Glory


Legend Chip Tally: 3

Active. We have a House Rule that there is always at least 1 Legend Chip in the bag.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 3 for killing Joubert and putting an end to the depredations of the River Rats. Spent during Session 5. I can’t remember why, unfortunately.

Spent. We started the campaign with one Legend Chip in the bag. Thomas drew it during Session 1 and saved it until the end of the night for XP for Rohan.

[mongo]

Legends of Steel: Shadows of Yar

Campaign Journal, Session 7


Real World Date: Friday June 3, 2011

Campaign World Date: Vand’s Day, 18 Fireseek, to Sun’s Day, 1 Coldeven 1,000 FF (From the Founding of Tyros City)


The Roll of Heroes

Heath

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. A brawny, attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears naught but a loin cloth and wields an impressive looking two-handed sword.

Joe

Marvin. A pimp who runs with a harem of pleasure slaves. He is heroic and despises evil. He is also greedy and seeks to make a fortune.

Thomas

Karr. An attractive shapechanger from the Great Forest. He can turn into a bear. He wears naught but a loin cloth.

Eric

Dar. An attractive beastmaster and shapechanger from the Erendor Forest. He wears naught but a loin cloth with a magnificent golden codpiece. He is accompanied by a wolf. Dar is also capable of turning into a wolf.

Danny

Agar. An attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears a loin cloth and a bear skin cloak complete with the bear’s head.


The Story So Far

The party seeks Selina, the step-sister of THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. She has been kidnapped by the Black Hand of Nogar-Sai, an evil cult. Clues have led the party to Shaman’s Crown, a hill in the land of the Mauk: inbred, cannibal hillbillies.

The party has already fought their way through several trapped caverns and a temple of death underneath the hill. They have killed evil priests of Nogar-Sai, the Dark One, the god of evil and undeath; and their undead servitors.

Now the heroes are climbing higher into the caverns of Shaman’s Crown, determined to find Selina.


The Tale of Heroes

Up to the Cavern of Doom

• After the battle in the Temple of Doom, the party sent Bailee and the rest of the pleasure slaves back to Karnost.

• The heroes proceeded up the one passage out of the Temple of Doom that they had not yet explored. The passage ended in a large cavern littered with hundreds of human bones. The middle of the room contained a pool filled with what looked like blood.

• As the party entered the chamber, the bones on the floor coalesced into a huge undead abomination composed of the bones of dozens of skeletons. A wave of magical fear spread from the undead horror. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! of the mighty thews failed his spirit check. Screaming like a little girl, the barbarian fled the field of battle.

• Out of the shadows from the back of the cavern, a voice boomed out, “Interlopers and defilers of the Temple of Nogar-Sai, you shall die!” Elslae the priest then joined the fight, calling on his dark god to kill the heretics.

• After yet another epic combat, the party emerged victorious. Elslae the priest lay dead. His undead monstrosity lay shattered and broken. It was at this moment that THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! returned to the cavern, having finally shaken off the magical fear. Acting nonchalant, the barbarian announced that he had secured the party’s rear during the fight.

• Eagerly the party searched the Cavern of Doom, seeking Selina. They found THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s stepsister in a cell, along with 12 other prisoners. There was a joyous reunion between THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and Selina.

• Selina and the rest of the prisoners said that they had been kidnapped by the Black Hand so they could be sacrificed in some nefarious ritual. Elslae the evil priest had always referred to them as “the Marked.”

• The party recalled that Marcus the pig farmer, whom they had rescued from the evil clutches of Joubert several weeks previously, had also been called one of the Marked.

• Racking their brains, some of the party members thought the Marked had something to do with the legendary fourth moon of Erisa, which had supposedly fallen from the sky millennia ago. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s former tribe was called the Tribe of the Fallen Moon. He grew up near the Valley of the Fourth Moon. However, the simple-minded barbarian did not think there a connection between the Marked and his homeland.

Educating the Mauk of Karnost

• Giddy from their triumph inside the caverns of Shaman’s Crown, the party returned to Karnost. Marvin especially looked forward to being hailed as High Chieftain by his people, the Mauk: inbred, cannibal hillbillies. When they arrived, the adventurers discovered that the Mauk had eaten all of the party’s horses and were getting ready to eat Bailee the pleasure slave. The rest of the pleasure slaves had been tied up and were also being prepared for the coming feast.

• Marvin chastised his subjects. The Mauk being inbred, cannibal hillbillies did not understand the strange words coming out of their chieftain’s mouth: not eat other humans? Eat animals and vegetables? Then Karr and THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and the rest of the party started threatening and intimidating the Mauk, telling them that heads would start rolling if the inbred, cannibal hillbillies didn’t do as High Chieftain Marvin commanded. Reluctantly, the Mauk agreed to do as they were told.

• The party then had a great discussion about what to do next. They had rescued Selina, but she was a long way from her home in the Ice Spires. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! wanted to take her home. The party discussed returning to Pyrani and sailing a ship north. But they would be travelling through pirate and Yari (demon worshipping freakazoids) waters. Ultimately, the party decided to travel overland to the eerie Erendor Forest. Dar had been raised by wolves there and the beastmaster had a friend named Shammie who lived near the forest. Shammie was a medicine man of some repute. Dar was sure that Shammie’s magic could help them get to the Ice Spires.

• The decision was made: the party would travel north on Fleetfoot Trail to the Black Road. Then they would follow The Fool’s Way to Ulek, Shammie’s village. The party took Bailee and the 19 other pleasure slaves with them. They also took the 12 Marked with them.

Fort Attalus

• Fort Attalus was a small settlement at the junction of Fleetfoot Trail and the Black Road, consisting of a stone tower and several outlying buildings, surrounded by stone walls. It was the last official outpost of the evil city-state of Broaq-Nohar. A couple of flayed bodies hung near the gate. Slave wagons of the Iron Ring were parked inside the courtyard of the fort.

• Marvin noticed the coat of arms painted above the gate: a raven perched on a skull, and his blood ran cold. This was the symbol of Ronald von Sturm, an evil man who had done Marvin wrong several years ago.

• The party naturally decided that Ronald must die and Fort Attalus must be burned to the ground.

• There was some confusion as to the actual plan. The party walked boldly into the fort. They went to the only inn to find drink and food. Some party members wanted to get drunk first, then fight. Others wanted to fight first, then drink. Others wanted to burn the place down and then run.

• The inn contained a fighting pit for gladiatorial combat to keep the locals entertained. Karr helped get things started by stepping into the fighting pit and challenging anyone to a fight. A giant of a man accepted the challenge. Bets were made, with most of the locals betting on the giant. Karr killed his foe with a single blow. A riot broke out as the locals could not believe how quickly their champion had fallen. They wanted their money back, as they were sure that Karr had cheated somehow.

• The party then set fire to the tavern and stared killing the fort’s soldiers. Ronald, Marvin’s enemy and captain of Fort Attalus, saw the riot, his tavern burning, and his men being slaughtered. He came down from his tower to engage the party. Spotting Marvin, Ronald moved in for the kill.

• Yet another epic combat ensued. Then Danny played the “Contact” Adventure Card, which he used to make Ronald an old acquaintance of his. There a small bit of role-playing as Ronald and Agar recognized each other. Agar tried to talk Roland into standing down.

• Disgusted by Danny’s attempt at role-playing, Joe had Marvin charge Ronald and smack the warlord upside the head. Thus ended diplomacy. The epic combat continued.

• Not surprisingly, the party emerged triumphant. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! hit a guard so hard that his blow carried through and killed another soldier. [The barbarian hit for 56 points of damage. As a reward, I gave him another kill for free.] Ronald von Sturm died and Fort Attalus burned.


And that’s where we stopped for the night.


NPCs met

Elslae

The party met him and then killed him.

Ronald von Sturm

The party met him and then killed him.


Locations Visited

Karnost. A village near the base of the hill known as Shaman’s Crown.

Shaman’s Crown. One of the Howling Hills.

Fort Attalus. A small settlement at the junction of Fleetfoot Trail and the Black Road.


Active Plot Hooks

Bailee and 19 Other Pleasure Slaves

The party is in a lawless, frontier area and have 20 pleasure slaves depending on them.

Take Selina Home

Selina is THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s stepsister. The party has rescued her from the evil clutches of the Black Hand, an evil cult. Now they are trying to get her home to the Ice Spires, a land far to the north.

Find Shammie

Shammie is a friend of Dar and a medicine man capable of powerful juju. Dar hopes that Shammie can use his magic to help the party get Selina home faster.


Open Plot Hooks

The Marked and the Fourth Moon

The Black Hand is up to something most heinous concerning Erisa’s legendary fourth moon. It involves otherwise innocent people referred to as “The Marked.” Marked how, though? The party cannot find any marks on the bodies of The Marked.

Treason!

The party has proof of the treachery of Baron Henry Avigton. They also know that Prince Crixus of Tyros may be assassinated by a man named Montaroe within a week..

Reward!

The party is owed a reward from the Tyrovian government in Pyrani for ending the depredations of Joubert and the River Rats. They can also claim a reward from Dagoberto the wine merchant.

Treasure!

The party left a cavern full of riches: bolts of silk, casks of wine, ingots of silver, etc. Of course, the treasure is the ill-gotten booty of the River Rats and actually belongs to various merchants.

Madoc and Vitar

The party took Joubert’s lieutenants captive and then let them go.


World Records

Damage Inflicted

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 7. Against a soldier of Fort Attalus. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s blow was so powerful that he killed another soldier standing next to the original one.

38 points. Dar, Session 2. Against the undead horror on the streets of Pyrani.

Damage Received

47 Points. Alzar, Session 2. During the Test of Combat against Vitar, the defrocked War Priest of Kesh. Luckily, Jack rolled a Raise on Alzar’s Incapacitation roll. Unluckily, he also rolled a 2 on the Wound chart: the Unmentionables. Vitar uses a maul. So, um, yeah, make up your own description on this one.


Experience and Glory

3 XP awarded.

Karr, formerly known as “Thomas’s New Character” gets the 3 XP from last week because I finally got a background and a character sheet.

Karr gains an Advance. Congrats Thomas!

5 Glory awarded for clearing out Shaman’s Crown, and for generally kicking butt and raising havoc in the land of the Mauk (inbred, cannibal hillbillies).

5 extra Glory awarded to Agar for the death of Elslae, who was a Foe from his character background.

5 extra Glory awarded to Marvin for the death of Ronald von Sturm, who was a Foe from his character background.

5 extra Glory awarded to THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! for freeing his step-sister and completing a character goal.

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! gains 2 Glory for breaking the Damage Inflicted record.

Dar gains the Connections Edge! (We need to figure out what he's connected to).

XP and Glory for current characters:

Agar 31 XP 25 Glory
Dar 34 XP 20 Glory
Marvin 33 XP 30 Glory
THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! 38 XP 32 Glory
Karr 30 XP 15 Glory

Dead and Retired Characters:

Alzar 26 XP 10 Glory
Jaden (retired) 22 XP 11 Glory
Rohan (dead) 28 XP 10 Glory
Roubert (retired) 28 XP 10 Glory


Legend Chip Tally: 4

Active. We have a House Rule that there is always at least 1 Legend Chip in the bag.

Active. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 7 for freeing Selina; killing Elslae, an evil priest of Nogar-Sai; and for killing Ronald von Sturm, an evil warlord.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 3 for killing Joubert and putting an end to the depredations of the River Rats. Spent during Session 5. I can’t remember why, unfortunately.

Spent. We started the campaign with one Legend Chip in the bag. Thomas drew it during Session 1 and saved it until the end of the night for XP for Rohan.

[mongo]

Legends of Steel: Shadows of Yar

Campaign Journal, Session 8


Real World Date: Friday June 17, 2011

Campaign World Date: Sun’s Day, 1 Coldeven, to Sun’s Day, 8 Coldeven, 1,000 FF (From the Founding of Tyros City)


The Roll of Heroes

Heath

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. A brawny, attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears naught but a loin cloth and wields an impressive looking two-handed sword.

Joe

Marvin. A pimp who runs with a harem of pleasure slaves. He is heroic and despises evil. He is also greedy and seeks to make a fortune.

Thomas

Karr. An attractive shapechanger from the Great Forest. He can turn into a bear. He wears naught but a loin cloth.

Eric

Dar. An attractive beastmaster and shapechanger from the Erendor Forest. He wears naught but a loin cloth with a magnificent golden codpiece. He is accompanied by a wolf. Dar is also capable of turning into a wolf.

Danny

Agar. An attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears a loin cloth and a bear skin cloak complete with the bear’s head.


The Story So Far

The party has rescued Selina, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s step sister, from the evil clutches of the Black Hand of Nogar-Sai. They are escorting her back home to the Ice Spires.


The Tale of Heroes

Bailee breaks up with THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!

• Bailee and the 19 other pleasure slaves stated that they wanted to go west to Ranen’s Ford, a large city where they could ply their trade. The party wanted to travel north along The Fool’s Way, through the frontier between Tyros and Broaq-Nohar, to reach the village of Ulek.

• THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! told Bailee to go. The barbarian would miss Bailee and his songs, but every man must hunt his own mastodon, as they say in the Ice Spires. With tears in his eyes, Bailee led the pleasure slaves westward along the Black Road. He sang a mournful song he had composed about his break up with THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!.

• The 12 Marked, whom the party had rescued from the Black Hand, also left to return to their homes.

Fight against the Spiderwomen

• The party headed north along the Fool’s Way. They saw a dust cloud on the horizon, indicating a large group was headed their way. Soon, a troop of female horseman crested a hill in front of them. Most of the party hid in the bushes alongside the road. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and Dar stayed out in the open.

• The leader of the horsewomen rode up. She was Matilda of the Red Shields. She asked the two party members for news from the south. She had heard that Fort Attalus was burning. She was on her way to assist Ronald von Sturm.

• Matilda warned the party that the Flynn Clan seemed to be kidnapping people again. She told them to be wary as they travelled north.

• Matilda was ready to ride off and leave the party alone when Marvin asked something about the Flynn Clan from his hiding place. Matilda made her Notice check and heard him. Thinking that the party was getting ready to ambush her troops, Matilda ordered her female warriors to attack. Suddenly, the female human warriors transformed before the party’s eyes, becoming hideous humanoid spider creatures!

• Another epic combat ensued. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! slew Matilda, if that was her real name, with a single mighty blow (52 points of damage!). Marvin starting casting Stun spells. He had been researching the arcane mysteries and had at last mastered them.

• Then over the horizon, the party saw Bailee and the 19 other pleasure slaves approaching. Bailee wept with joy at the sight of THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. Bailee had tried to leave his bosom buddy, but just couldn’t do it. He had followed the party and arrived just in time to save the day. [Someone played the “Here Comes the Cavalry” Adventure Card. I decided that Bailee and the pleasure slaves would be the allies that came to help the party.]

• With the help of Bailee and the other pleasure slaves, the party emerged victorious in the fight with the spiderwomen. Searching the dead, the party found a holy symbol of Yago, a demon lord and the patron god of Yar. They also found numerous casks of MacDougal’s Ale.

The Village of Garen’s Well

• The party continued north and came to the village of Garen’s Well. It was a small settlement with a wooden palisade. MacDougal’s Tavern (of MacDougal Ale fame) was the only place to stay. The town was also home to Eketta’s Orphanage for Warriors, a place where orphaned boys were brought to be trained as faithful soldiers for the evil city state of Broaq-Nohar.

• Since the party had Bailee and 19 other pleasure slaves, Marvin decided to open a brothel, using MacDougal’s Tavern. The owner, Fergus MacDougal protested, but an Intimidation roll by THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! quickly caused him to shut up. Being a frontier town, the party got only a little gold from their enterprise. They did get numerous chickens, goats, a cow, and 3 magic beans.

• Agar planted the magic beans behind the tavern. (More on this later.)

• The Marshal of the town, Jethro, had been out on the road dealing with another kidnapping by the Flynn Clan during the party’s festivities in town. Jethro did not appreciate the party coming into his town and setting up shop. Further, he heard that Yar would pay a pretty penny for THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s head. Bailee had composed many ballads to the barbarian of the mighty thews and the songs seemed to be making the barbarian famous.

• Jethro gathered his men and confronted the party. Yet another epic combat ensued. In the end, Jethro and most of his men lay dead.

• From Jethro’s corpse, Dar ripped off the purple sash that served as the symbol of the Marshal. The party then headed for the orphanage. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! cut off Jethro’s head and took it with him.

• Eketta, the old woman who ran the orphanage for warriors, confronted the party with a loaded crossbow. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! tossed Jethro’s severed head into the orphanage and Intimidated the old woman into standing down. Dar announced that he was now Marshal, and Eketta and her orphans must listen to him. The village of Garen’s Well was independent and no longer served Broaq-Nohar. The warrior orphans would serve the town and Dar.

• Someone played the “Folk Hero” Adventure Card. This made the party folk heroes to the populace of Garen’s Well, making their takeover complete.

The Steading of the Hill Giant Chief

• The next day, the party awoke to see a huge beanstalk 30 feet across stretching into the sky. The top of the stalk was lost in a large cloud. Some party members swore that they could see a building in the cloud. The party decided to climb the bean stalk to see what was at the top.

• After an arduous climb, the party reached the cloud. A large wooden structure did indeed sit on the cloud. The party found the surface of the cloud to be solid and they were able to walk to the gates of the steading, which were 40 feet tall.

• Straining his mighty thews, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! pushed open the gates. Inside a large courtyard were 9 giants, 20 feet tall. “Fee Fi Fo Fum!” the giants bellowed and charged the party.

• Yet another epic combat ensued. Dar transformed into a wolf and killed a giant with his fangs. Another giant died under the sword blows of the party. Then Thomas played the “Parley” Adventure Card. Karr then gave a magnificent speech that convinced the giants to quit fighting and negotiate with the party. In the end, the party convinced the giants to guard the town in return for being allowed to eat whomever attacked the town.


And that’s where we stopped for the night.


Deep Thoughts

• I was surprised by the players being clever enough to make allies of the giants. I had tossed out a patron offering 3 magic beans on a whim, then decided to roll with the “Jack and the Beanstalk” theme. Regardless of the outcome of the fight with the giants, I could hand wave it away as a shared dream or something funky in the water or a vision from the gods, or whatever. It never occurred to me that the players would actually role-play and negotiate with NPCs. It hadn’t happened yet in the campaign.

• Here is where I get to be crafty and devious as a GM. The giants might be sons of Grolantor, the giant god. Grolantor is not very bright and neither are his sons. Grolantor likes to get drunk, as do his sons. How will the party deal with a stupid, drunken giant god and his stupid, drunken giant sons mucking around on Erisa?


NPCs met

Matilda the Spiderwoman. She’s dead, Jim.

Fergus MacDougal. Proprietor of MacDougal’s Tavern. Famous for making MacDougal’s Ale.

Jethro, Marshal of Garen’s Well. He dead, too.

Eketta. An old lady who runs Eketta’s Orphanage for Warriors

Snurre Ironbelly. A giant chief. He lives in a wooden steading on a cloud above the village of Garen’s Well. (OK, Snurre Ironbelly was the king of the fire giants in the G series of modules. But that was the name that I remembered and used during the game.)


Locations Visited

Garen’s Well. The party freed the population of this small town from the tyranny of Broaq-Nohar. The party members are folk heroes here and will always find help.

The Fool’s Way. A trail running north and south between Fort Attalus and the Erendor Forest.


Active Plot Hooks

Bailee and 19 Other Pleasure Slaves

The party is in a lawless, frontier area and have 20 pleasure slaves depending on them.

Take Selina Home

Selina is THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s stepsister. The party has rescued her from the evil clutches of the Black Hand, an evil cult. Now they are trying to get her home to the Ice Spires, a land far to the north.

Find Shammie

Shammie is a friend of Dar and a medicine man capable of powerful ju-ju. Dar hopes that Shammie can use his magic to help the party get Selina home faster.


Open Plot Hooks

Here There Be Giants

The party has made allies of a tribe of giants. Can the dimwitted brutes be trusted?

Spiderwomen?

The party encountered and killed a group of illusion using spiderwomen. What the heck?

The Flynn Clan and Kidnappings

There are rumors of kidnappings along the Fool’s Way by a local clan.

The Marked and the Fourth Moon

The Black Hand is up to something most heinous concerning Erisa’s legendary fourth moon. It involves otherwise innocent people referred to as “The Marked.” Marked how, though? The party cannot find any marks on the bodies of The Marked.


World Records

Damage Inflicted

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 7. Against a soldier of Fort Attalus. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s blow was so powerful that he killed another soldier standing next to the original one.

52 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 8. Against Matilda the spiderwoman on The Fool’s Way.

Damage Received

47 Points. Alzar, Session 2. During the Test of Combat against Vitar, the defrocked War Priest of Kesh. Luckily, Jack rolled a Raise on Alzar’s Incapacitation roll. Unluckily, he also rolled a 2 on the Wound chart: the Unmentionables. Vitar uses a maul. So, um, yeah, make up your own description on this one.


Experience and Glory

2 XP awarded.

Agar gains 3 XP due to turning in a Legend Chip.

Dar gains 3 XP for turning in a Legend Chip.

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! gains 7 XP (!) for turning in “The Hard Way” Adventure Card, which allowed him to turn in any Fate Chips for XP. Have I mentioned that Heath is a power spanking munchkin?

Dar gains an Advance. Congrats Eric!

Marvin gains an Advance. Congrats Joe!

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! gains not one, but two Advances. Congrats Heath, you power spanking munchkin you. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! has also reached Veteran rank.

5 Glory awarded to Dar for becoming the Marshal of Garen’s Well.

XP and Glory for current characters:

Agar 34 XP 25 Glory
Dar 37 XP 25 Glory
Marvin 35 XP 30 Glory
THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! 45 XP 32 Glory
Karr 32 XP 15 Glory

Dead and Retired Characters:

Alzar 26 XP 10 Glory
Jaden (retired) 22 XP 11 Glory
Rohan (dead) 28 XP 10 Glory
Roubert (retired) 28 XP 10 Glory


Legend Chip Tally: 5

Active. We have a House Rule that there is always at least 1 Legend Chip in the bag.

Spent. The Legend Chip that is always in the bag at the beginning of the session. Danny turned this in after Session 8 to gain 1 XP for Agar.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 7 for killing Elslae, an evil priest of Nogar-Sai, an evil god of undeath, and for killing Ronald von Sturm, an evil warlord. Eric turned this in after Session 8 to gain 1 XP for Dar.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 3 for killing Joubert and putting an end to the depredations of the River Rats. Spent during Session 5. I can’t remember why, unfortunately.

Spent. We started the campaign with one Legend Chip in the bag. Thomas drew it during Session 1 and saved it until the end of the night for XP for Rohan.

[scourger]

Sounds like a fun game. Thanks for sharing.

[Sean-Khan]

Really excellent stuff 20 pleasure slaves hanging around and rushing in as reinforcements time after time is epic stuff!

Btw, how much do you prepare each session, what kind of prepartions do you do?
_________________

Shaper & Maker - modelling, gaming & a lot of other stuff

[mongo]

[heathd666]

Important to remember if this isnt in either of the books you list Mongo VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!! This is a joint collaborative storytelling game combined with deeply immersive role-playing coupled in a campaign sandbox of infiinite possibilities.

[The Evil DM]

[Sean-Khan]

Thanks for reply Mongo, and thanks for hint about those books! I know lazy gamemastering -book even if I haven't read it, the other one was new.

I guess character background characters are a powerful tool for GM - I've used them too when making guidelines for character creation but in practice they have rarely been seen in the game. My current Ptolus/4E game is an exception, as it's been going on for a long time, so I guess I've just been saving them for later and avoiding over-using. And I've also been starting to think about creating npc-history connections during the game, but some work might be required to make them feel as strong elements.

and I agree about that quote, that's excellent
_________________

Shaper & Maker - modelling, gaming & a lot of other stuff

[GreenTongue]

[Timon]

I like the sandbox style described Gamemastering. Though I often have difficulty abandoning storylines in practice I recognise that all my best game moments have followed from me riffing off whatever crazy thing the players happened to do.

That approach, with some excellent GMing advice that applies to pretty much any system, is key to Vincent Baker's Apocalypse World system; which I thoroughly recommend. He bases the game on Fronts, which are a set of Threats linked by a common scarcity: hunger, envy/ambition etc. The Front has a number of actors (NPCs) and a Dark Agenda that it is pursuing. The Threats are parts of the Front that move against the players. I am currently adapting that approach to the Necessary Evil setting.
_________________
Biting! It's like kissing but there's a winner!
The Doctor's Wife

[mongo]

[mongo]

Legends of Steel: Shadows of Yar

Campaign Journal, Session 9


Real World Date: Friday July 1, 2011

Campaign World Date: Amar’s Day, 9 Coldeven, to Sun’s Day 15 Coldeven, 1,000 FF (From the Founding of Tyros City)


The Roll of Heroes

Heath

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. A brawny, attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears naught but a loin cloth and wields an impressive looking two-handed sword. He is accompanied by his sidekick, Bailee, a bard and a pleasure slave.

Joe

Marvin. A pimp who runs with a harem of pleasure slaves. He is heroic and despises evil. He is also greedy and seeks to make a fortune. He has recently learned how to cast spells.

Thomas

Karr. An attractive shapechanger from the Great Forest. He can turn into a bear. He wears naught but a loin cloth.

Eric

Dar. An attractive beastmaster and shapechanger from the Erendor Forest. He wears naught but a loin cloth with a magnificent golden codpiece. He is accompanied by a wolf. Dar is also capable of turning into a wolf.

Danny

Agar. An attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears a loin cloth and a bear skin cloak complete with the bear’s head.


The Story So Far

The party has rescued Selina, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s step sister, from the evil clutches of the Black Hand of Nogar-Sai. They are escorting her back home to the Ice Spires. The party is heading north to the village of Ulek to find Shammie. Shammie is Dar’s friend and a medicine man capable of powerful ju-ju. Dar hopes that Shammie can use his magic to help the party get Selina home faster.


The Tale of Heroes

Shammie!

• The party arrived in Ulek hungry. They had travelled for two days across a wilderness area with no taverns or other people. Some Survival rolls gained them some nuts and berries, but not much else.

• Ulek was a primitive village surrounded by a wooden palisade. The people lived in communal longhouses. There were no shops or even an inn for travelers.

• Dar found his old friend Shammie making a stew in a huge cauldron. When Dar asked Shammie about helping the party get Selina back to the Ice Spires, the medicine man told a sad tale. Shammie’s mentor, a shaman named Albinus, had recently been killed by Mogg, King of the Beastmen. Shammie told Dar that the beastmen were in fact just that: horrible abominations of both man and animal.

• Mogg had stolen the Accain Knife from Albinus’s body. The Accain Knife was a blade made of a strange green stone. Great spirits had crafted the Accain Knife at the dawn of the world. The Knife allowed one to “mist walk.” Shammie explained that were stone circles scattered across Erisa. The Knife opened a doorway between the Circles, allowing rapid travel across Erisa.

• When asked about the stew, Shammie said that it was a very special brew. He made it only once a year, when the stars were right. The stew was meant for Mogg, King of the Beastmen. Mogg had heard of Shammie’s stew, and the beastman wanted it for himself. The King of the Beastman was willing to trade the Accain Knife for the stew.

• The party asked Shammie why didn’t he just lead a raid against Mogg and his beastmen to avenge Albinus and get the Knife back? Shammie gave the party a very stirring speech about the circle of life and death, fate, and man’s role in the cosmos.

• Marvin became very paranoid about Shammie and the stew. The pimp wanted to know what was in it. He accused Shammie of covering up what was really going on and said that Shammie was lying to the party. Marvin said that Shammie had poisoned the stew to kill Mogg. Shammie took all of Marvin’s insults in stride, telling the pimp that fear leads to anger which leads to hate, which leads to the dark side.

The Witch

• In the middle of the night, a hue and cry went up from Shammie’s longhouse. Someone had stolen Shammie’s stew! A young girl said that she had seen witch, complete with pointy hat.

• Searching the ground, the party saw numerous human boot prints. The tracks indicated that the humans had carried something heavy (the cauldron with the stew, obviously) out of the longhouse. A little ways outside of the longhouse, however, the tracks created by the thieves became normal, indicating that they no longer carried a heavy burden. What had happened to the cauldron of stew? No one could explain this mystery. The party followed the tracks over the palisade and into the forest.

• The party followed the tracks through the forest in the dead of night. The tracks ended at a spooky old tower. Not bothering with scouting the area or discussing strategy with his teammates, Karr charged the front door. It splintered on impact.

• Inside the tower, skeletons and a weird creature made of earth and rock awaited the party. The heroes were horrified at the sight of the walking dead, but found the courage to stand and fight.

• An epic fight ensued. Karr took a vicious smash to the face from the rock creature. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! was also hit and went berserk. Marvin started talking in a strange language and then, suddenly, the inside of the tower exploded in flame. The undead inside burned. Then the party dispatched the strange monster made of earth.

• Strangely, Karr complained about a nasty cut on his finger that he had suffered. He insisted that the party stop so that he could tend to it. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! was battle crazed, however. Chewing on his two-handed sword, the barbarian charged up the stairs to find more enemies to fight.

• THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! was greeted with 4 crossbow bolts to the face. Surviving the volley, the mighty thewed warrior tore into his enemies: four warriors and, behind them, a women in black robes and a pointy hat.

• Suddenly, the four warriors and the witch transformed from humans into horrible hyena faced creatures. The party did not understand this magic, but they fought on. One by one, the enemy warriors fell to the blows of the party.

• Only the witch was left and the party moved in for the kill. Suddenly, the witch disappeared in a flash of green light and a puff of green smoke. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! drove his sword into the smoke and he too disappeared.

• Aghast at what had happened to their brawny friend, the party raced up the stairs, gambling that the witch had teleported to the tower roof and not to the first floor or somewhere else. The heroes arrived on the roof just in time to see THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and the witch fighting on a broom stick a hundred feet above ground and climbing. Shammie’s cauldron was lashed to the broom stick with a rope and trailed about 10 feet behind the broom.

• The witch had indeed teleported to the tower roof and taken THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! with her. Despite suffering from a number of wounds, she acted quickly while the barbarian was still trying to figure out what had happened. She got on her magic broomstick and took off into the night sky.

• THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, still in a berserk fury and determined not to let his quarry go, dropped his two-handed sword and made a leap for Shammie’s cauldron. He just managed to grasp the iron rings that served as handles. The barbarian climbed onto the cauldron’s lid, and then made his way up the rope to the broomstick. Once there, he fought the witch with tooth and nail, tearing out her throat in an orgy of violence. [Huh. Huh. I said “orgy”.]

• With his enemy dead, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! came out of his bloodlust. And saw that he was 500 feet above the ground. On a magic broomstick. Trailing a huge cauldron full of Shammie’s stew.

• Determined not to die, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! grasped the magic broomstick and bent it to his will. [Yes, Heath actually made THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! ‘s Smart roll.] His fellow party members saw the loin clothed warrior turn the broomstick in the direction of Ulek and disappear over the horizon. They were left on the tower roof, in open mouthed amazement, not sure that what they had seen was real.

• When the rest of the party got back to Ulek, they found THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! sitting on Shammie’s cauldron, eating a turkey leg and drinking a tankard of ale. The broomstick lay next to him, shattered into many small pieces.

The Serpent Mound

• Marvin became even more paranoid about Shammie and his stew after the witch stole it. He kept one eye on Shammie. His paranoia eventually led Dar, Shammie’s friend, to question the shaman’s motivation.

• The party, Shammie, and Edain, Shammie’s apprentice proceeded to the Serpent Mound, where Mogg laired. The cauldron with the stew was large enough that both Karr and Agar had to carry it, sliding poles through the rings on the side.

• Mogg was a mixture of gorilla and man. He wore a red cloak and wore a helmet that had been hammered into the rough form of a crown. A knife made of green stone was tucked into his belt. At least half a dozen other beastmen laired at the Serpent Mound. These included a bear, a leopard, a rhino, an elephant, and others.

• Mogg was able to speak very crudely. There soon arose a disagreement. Shammie was willing to give the beastmen the stew, but not the cauldron. However, Mogg had no containers in which to put the stew.

• The party came up with the idea of creating sacks from the tents and other scraps of leather and canvas that was scattered throughout the beastmen’s lair. However, there leatherworking was not nearly as good as their swordplay. .

• All of this became moot when Edain, Shammie’s apprentice, stepped forward. She grabbed the Accain Knife from Mogg’s belt. She lifted a small stone tablet above her head and then threw it to the ground, shattering it.

• The Serpent Mound shook and then the hill seemed to explode. Out of the rubble, a huge serpent over 150 feet long reared its ugly head. Shammie was as surprised as the party about this development. He ran to protect his stew, while yelling at the party to get the Knife.

• Another epic combat ensued. Edain fell quickly to the party’s blows. Karr slew the serpent with a single mighty blow. [The snake had 19 Toughness and was a Wild Card. Thomas rolled 26 points of damage. Eric played the “Deadly Blow” Adventure Card, which doubled the damage from a melee attack.]

• Mogg pried the Accain Knife from Edain’s cold, dead hands and made a run for it. The party gave chase and caught the King of the Beastmen. Marvin dropped a Blast into the middle of the melee, killing Mogg and wounding several party members.

• As the party surveyed the carnage, Bailee broke into song about THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and the barbarian’s mighty thews. This song would carry word about THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s exploits far and wide. [Heath played the “Renown” Adventure Card, giving THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! a chance for a Charisma bonus if any NPCs had heard of the mighty thewed warrior.]


And that’s where we stopped for the night.


NPCs met

Edain, Shammie’s apprentice.

Mogg, King of the Beastmen.

Shammie the Shaman.


Locations Visited

The Serpent Mound.

The village of Ulek.


Active Plot Hooks

Bailee and 19 Other Pleasure Slaves

The party is in a lawless, frontier area and have 20 pleasure slaves depending on them.

Take Selina Home

Selina is THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s stepsister. The party has rescued her from the evil clutches of the Black Hand, an evil cult. Now they are trying to get her home to the Ice Spires, a land far to the north.


Open Plot Hooks

Here There Be Giants

The party has made allies of a tribe of giants. Can the dimwitted brutes be trusted?

Spiderwomen? And now Hyena People?

The party encountered and killed a group of illusion using spiderwomen. Then they encountered illusion using hyena people. Is there a connection?

The Flynn Clan and Kidnappings

There are rumors of kidnappings along the Fool’s Way by a local clan.

The Marked and the Fourth Moon

The Black Hand is up to something most heinous concerning Erisa’s legendary fourth moon. It involves otherwise innocent people referred to as “The Marked.” Marked how, though? The party cannot find any marks on the bodies of The Marked.


World Records

Damage Inflicted

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 7. Against a soldier of Fort Attalus. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s blow was so powerful that he killed another soldier standing next to the original one.

52 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 8. Against Matilda the spiderwoman on The Fool’s Way.

52 points. Karr, Session 9. Against the huge serpent at the Serpent Mound. This one gets an asterisk because he actually hit for 26 damage and the “Deadly Blow” Adventure Card was played, doubling the damage.

Damage Received

47 Points. Alzar, Session 2. During the Test of Combat against Vitar, the defrocked War Priest of Kesh. Luckily, Jack rolled a Raise on Alzar’s Incapacitation roll. Unluckily, he also rolled a 2 on the Wound chart: the Unmentionables. Vitar uses a maul. So, um, yeah, make up your own description on this one.


Experience and Glory

3 XP awarded.

Agar gains an Advance. Congrats Danny!

Dar gains an Advance. Congrats Eric!

Karr gains an Advance. Congrats Thomas!

XP and Glory for current characters:

Agar 37 XP 25 Glory
Dar 40 XP 25 Glory
Marvin 38 XP 30 Glory
THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! 48 XP 32 Glory
Karr 35 XP 15 Glory


Legend Chips Awarded: 3

Active. One Legend Chip awarded this session for killing the 150 long serpent at the Serpent Mound near the Erendor Forest.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 7 for killing Elslae, an evil priest of Nogar-Sai, an evil god of undeath, and for killing Ronald von Sturm, an evil warlord.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 3 for killing Joubert and putting an end to the depredations of the River Rats.

[mongo]

Legends of Steel: Shadows of Yar

Campaign Journal, Session 10


Real World Date: Friday July 15, 2011

Campaign World Date: Sun’s Day 15 Coldeven to Amar’s Day 23 Coldeven, 1,000 FF (From the Founding of Tyros City)


The Roll of Heroes

Heath

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. A brawny, attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears naught but a loin cloth and wields an impressive looking two-handed sword. He is accompanied by his sidekick, Bailee, a bard and a pleasure slave.

Joe

Marvin. A pimp who runs with a harem of pleasure slaves. He is heroic and despises evil. He is also greedy and seeks to make a fortune. He has recently learned how to cast spells.

Thomas

Karr. An attractive shapechanger from the Great Forest. He can turn into a bear. He wears naught but a loin cloth.

Eric

Dar. An attractive beastmaster and shapechanger from the Erendor Forest. He wears naught but a loin cloth with a magnificent golden codpiece. He is accompanied by a wolf. Dar is also capable of turning into a wolf.


The Story So Far

The party has rescued Selina, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s step sister, from the evil clutches of the Black Hand of Nogar-Sai. They are escorting her back home to the Ice Spires.

Last session, the party made contact with Dar’s friend, Shammie the Shaman, who lives in the village of Ulek, near the Erendor Forest. The story involved a huge cauldron of Shammie’s Stew, the Accain Knife, a witch, beastmen, a traitor, and a giant serpent. An epic battle has just ended. The beastmen, the traitor, and the giant serpent were killed (the witch had been killed earlier). The party ended up with possession of the Knife and Stew.


The Tale of Heroes

Staring Down an Army

• The party gathered up Shammie’s Stew and the Accain Knife, and headed for Ulek. However, a large group of mercenaries, 100 strong, intercepted the party. Behind the men at arms, an armored man sat on horseback, obviously their leader. On another horse next to him sat Abbey Blackheart, one of Marvin’s Foes.

• Abbey and Marvin exchanged a series of insults. Abbey told Marvin her plan: she had tricked Edain, Shammie’s apprentice, into unleashing the serpent at the Serpent Mound. There was a great treasure under the mound that the serpent guarded. Abbey did not think a band of mercenaries could kill the giant serpent. She was pretty sure that the party could, though. Her assumptions had been correct.

• Now Abbey needed the party to go into the Serpent Mound and retrieve the treasure for her. She demanded that the party surrender. The heroes laughed at her. The armored man on horseback ordered his troops to attack. 100 mercenaries moved to engage the party.

• Just as an epic combat was underway, Dar recognized the man on horseback as Malcavious, Dar’s buddy from back in the day. Dar called out to him. Malcavious told his men to stand down while he and Dar talked. [Eric played the “Contact” Adventure Card. This meant that a random NPC actually knew Dar and might help him out. Eric decided that the man on horseback was his contact.] The other party members and the mercs glared at each other. Abbey was incensed at Malcavious’s actions. She ride up and down the line of mercs, screaming in rage at their inaction.

• Marvin wanted Abbey dead. While the parley was going on, he muttered the phrases and gestures that he had been practicing for years. And then he turned invisible! His spellcasting had finally worked. Marvin stealthily moved toward Abbey.

• THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! noticed Marvin disappearing. The barbarian, a simple soul, freaked out. Suspecting treachery, he attacked the mercenaries in front of him. He swung his sword in great whirling arcs, but completely missed hitting anyone. [I’m pretty sure that this was the first time in the campaign that Heath didn’t roll at least a 6 on his Fighting die.] Karr moved up to support THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!.

• It looked like the epic combat would start up again. However, Dar screamed at the mercenaries. Shocked by the beastmaster’s primal display, the 100 mercenaries hesitated.

• Then Dar shapechanged into a dire wolf and moved menacingly towards the enemy. Malcavious tried in vain to rally his troops. The mercenaries had had enough, though: two howling barbarians, a pimp who vanished into thin air, and a very angry beastmaster who had just turned into a dire wolf. The mercenaries, all 100 of them, broke rank and ran for the hills.

• Marvin, still invisible, chose this moment to attack his old enemy, Abbey. Catching her by surprise, he drove his sword into her neck, wounding her. Karr charged forward and attacked Abbey as well. She turned her horse and tried to flee. Marvin cut her down before she could make good her escape.

• Malcavious seemed a little put out about losing his army. Dar told him it would be all right. Malcavious accompanied the party back to Ulek in hopes of finding a new job.

• [This scene was a lot of fun for everyone. I had tried a couple of other times in the campaign to get the PCs to surrender. It’s one of the tropes of pulp and sword and sorcery that the heroes sometimes surrender or get caught. Mechanically, the PCs get a Fate Chip for surrendering. Storywise, the possibilities are endless. However, the players won’t even consider giving up. This time, I was going for shock and awe: 100 armed men and two leaders on horseback. Surely the group would see the wisdom of surrendering, getting a Fate Chip, and allowing the story to move in a random direction. The players actually laughed at me and told me to bring it on.

Eric turned the scene up to 11 when he stated that he was Intimidating all 100 mercenaries. Here is a valuable lesson in not letting the rules get in the way of fun, in going with the flow, and always saying, “yes.” I said to myself, “Self, this Savage Worlds and we’re playing Legends of Steel. Letting Dar try to Intimidate an army of 100 would be F!F!F!. Let’s do it!” Instead of 100 rolls at a MAP of –102, I just told Eric to roll the bones. Dar’s Intimidate die promptly exploded multiple times and he ended up with a 17. I figured, ok, let’s just give him a -10 penalty, so that’s actually a 7. I rolled a d4 Spirit die 10 times to represent squads of the mercs. I didn’t hit a 7 on any of the rolls. So, yes, Dar ended up Intimidating an army of 100.

Then Dar shapechanged into a wolf. I gave him another Intimidate check at +2. I didn’t record the number, but the die exploded again. I gave Malcavious a Spirit roll to try and rally his men. He failed. I didn’t even bother with Spirit rolls for the mercs. Dar and the rest of the party had broken their will. 100 mercenaries turned and ran from 4 PCs and a handful of retainers.

And that, my friends, makes for a tale of high adventure!]

Saying Goodbye to Selina

• The party arrived in Ulek. Shammie opened the cauldron. A great stench arose from it. The smell disgusted THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, who refused to eat. The rest of the party dug in. They were rewarded with a trip to the Spirit World. There they glimpsed visions of the future. [Whoever got a Raise on a Spirit check received a Fate Chip.]

• The next day, Shammie led the party to the Stone Circle near Ulek. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! announced that Selina would be making the walk through the mists by herself. He and the rest of the party would stay behind.

• Shammie demanded that everyone except Selina strip naked. He then started chanting and waving the Accain Knife in the air. Then he proceeded to beat the party members with a birch branch. A mist appeared between two of the standing stones. Selina stepped into the mist and disappeared.

• When Selina was gone, Shammie started laughing. The party asked him what was so funny. Shammie said that getting naked and getting whipped with a birch branch was not actually part of the ritual. Shammie had done that for his own amusement.

Inside the Serpent Mound

• The party decided that they wanted whatever treasure was inside the Serpent Mound. Shammie warned them that whatever treasure they hoped to find had belonged to an ancient and evil serpent empire. No good could come from mucking around inside the mound. The party told Shammie that they had it under control and not to worry.

• The party climbed to the top of the mound and then descended into the pit that had once held the great serpent. They discovered a stairway leading further down.

• The stairs led to a natural cavern. At the opposite end of the room, a large statue of a snake with a human head and arms faced the party. Karr strode boldly into the chamber. Suddenly, the ground opened beneath his feet. Only Karr’s lightning quick reflexes saved him from a fall into a pit.

• Then the statue of the human-snake creature animated. Then a huge swarm of snakes came boiling out of the pit.

• An epic combat ensued. Karr smashed the statue with his axe, but there seemed to be no end to the number of snakes coming out of the pit. Swarm after swarm of snakes kept emerging. Then Karr had a brilliant idea. He grasped the now inert statue and lifted it with his mighty thews. He staggered over to the pit and dropped the statue on top, plugging it. The party then dispatched the remaining snakes in the cavern.

• The party found a secret door on the wall behind where the statue used to stand. They opened the door to find a small room. On a pedestal there was a Glowing Green Gem of Doom. Karr raced into the room and grabbed the gem. He immediately felt calm and at peace. He thought that he heard voice calling to him from the Gem. He couldn’t make out the words, but the voice was friendly. Karr shook his head to clear his thoughts and decided that he had imagined the whole episode.

• The rest of the party decided that the Glowing Green Gem of Doom was indeed evil and no one else should touch it. They carefully wrapped the Gem in a spare set of Marvin’s underwear.

Garen’s Well and the Steading of the Hill Giant God

• The party showed the Gem to Shammie, who wanted nothing to do with it. There was some discussion of using the stone circles to transport the party close to a volcano. The party could toss the Gem into the lava and destroy it.

• However, the party had another brilliant idea. They decided that they could hide the Glowing Green Gem of Doom in the Steading of the Hill Giant Chieftain. The party had allied with the giants during another adventure. The Steading was located on a cloud and accessible only by a magic beanstalk. The beanstalk was in the village of Garen’s Well, where Dar was Marshal.

• When the party arrived at Garen’s Well, Dar and Marvin went into town to talk with the giant chieftain, Snurre Ironbelly, who guarded the town in Dar’s name. He had sort of made a mess of things: he and his clan of giants had eaten all of the animals in town, which had caused the peasants to revolt. The giants had put down the revolt and eaten several of the rebel leaders. Then Snurre had led his giants on raids against neighboring towns. Dar was not happy to hear any of this.

• Meanwhile, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and Karr climbed the beanstalk. The Steading was not abandoned. Dozens of giants were in the courtyard, far more than the 9 the party had originally encountered.

• THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! strode forward, not saying a word.

• The barbarian entered the great hall. There, seated on a huge wooden throne was a giant of a giant, easily 30 feet tall. “Fee Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of a barbarian!” the giant of giants bellowed.

• THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! strode forward, not saying a word.

• The giant of giants bellowed, “Me Yurgle, god of the giants. Who you be?”

• THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! strode forward, not saying a word.

• The giant of giants was truly angry now. “Little man be Yurgle’s dinner if he not talk.”

• THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! had reached the throne by now. He whispered something. The god of giants bent down to hear. That was when THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! drew his sword, leaped, and cut off the giant god’s head. [Heath hit with a Raise using his magical Sword of the Grey Queen. He rolled for 28 damage, then followed up by playing the “Deadly Blow” Adventure Card, which doubled his damage.]

• [This scene was pretty epic too. No one at the table knew what Heath was doing, me especially. I kept saying that there were dozens of hill giants. With clubs. Who didn’t look happy. Every time, Heath said, “I keep walking, not saying a word.”

Then Yurgle made his appearance. A giant of giants. With a club. Who didn’t look happy. Who happened to be a god. Every time, Heath said, “I keep walking, not saying a word.”

Then, “Hassan Chop!” And a god of the giants lay dead at THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s sandaled feet.]


And that’s where we stopped for the night.


NPCs met

Shammie the Shaman.

Yurgle, Demi-God of Giants. He’s dead.

Abbey Blackheart. A Foe of Marvin’s. She’s dead.

Malcavious. A mercenary warlord. Friend of Dar.


Locations Visited

The Serpent Mound.

Village of Ulek.

Village of Garen’s Well


Closed Plot Hooks

Take Selina Home

With Shammie’s help, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! sent Selina through a magical, misty archway in a stone circle. Selina walked the mists alone. We’re all hoping that she made it home safely.

Here There Be Giants

The party killed the god of the giants. I have a feeling that this plot hook is actually still open.


Active Plot Hooks

The Glowing Green Gem of Doom

The party is the proud possessor of the Glowing Green Gem of Doom.

Bailee and 19 Other Pleasure Slaves

The party is in a lawless, frontier area and have 20 pleasure slaves depending on them.


Open Plot Hooks

The Marked and the Fourth Moon

The Black Hand is up to something most heinous concerning Erisa’s legendary fourth moon. It involves otherwise innocent people referred to as “The Marked.” Marked how, though? The party cannot find any marks on the bodies of The Marked.


World Records

Damage Inflicted

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 7. Against a soldier of Fort Attalus. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s blow was so powerful that he killed another soldier standing next to the original one.

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 10. Against Yurgle the Demi-God of Giants. This one gets an asterisk because Heath actually hit for 28 damage and then used the “Deadly Blow” Adventure Card, doubling the damage.

Damage Received

47 Points. Alzar, Session 2. During the Test of Combat against Vitar, the defrocked War Priest of Kesh. Luckily, Jack rolled a Raise on Alzar’s Incapacitation roll. Unluckily, he also rolled a 2 on the Wound chart: the Unmentionables. Vitar uses a maul. So, um, yeah, make up your own description on this one.


Experience and Glory

3 XP awarded.

Thomas gets 5 XP due to playing “The Hard Way” Adventure Card, which allowed him to turn in unused Fate Chips for XP. He turned in 2 Fate Chips at the end of the night.

Marvin gains an Advance. Congrats Joe!

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! gains an Advance. Congrats Heath!

Karr gains an Advance. Congrats Thomas!

1 Glory awarded to everyone for standing up against an army of 100.

1 Glory to Dar for Intimidating an army of 100.

1 Glory to THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! for equaling the Highest Damage Inflicted (even if he did cheat) and for killing a demi-god.

1 Glory to Marvin for killing Abbey, one of his many Foes.

1 Glory to Karr for picking up the heavy snake statue and using it to cover the snake pit, thus saving the party from certain doom.

XP and Glory for current characters:

Agar 37 XP 25 Glory
Dar 43 XP 27 Glory
Marvin 41 XP 32 Glory
THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! 51 XP 34 Glory
Karr 40 XP 17 Glory


Legend Chips Awarded: 4

Active. One Legend Chip awarded this session for killing Yurgle, the Demi-God of Giants.

Active. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 9 for killing the 150 long serpent at the Serpent Mound near the Erendor Forest.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 7 for killing Elslae, an evil priest of Nogar-Sai, an evil god of undeath, and for killing Ronald von Sturm, an evil warlord.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 3 for killing Joubert and putting an end to the depredations of the River Rats.

[mongo]

Legends of Steel: Shadows of Yar

Campaign Journal, Session 11


Real World Date: Friday August 12, 2011

Campaign World Date: Sun’s Day, Reaping 1, to Amar’s Day, Reaping 16, 1,000 FF (From the Founding of Tyros City)


The Roll of Heroes

Heath

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. A brawny, attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears naught but a loin cloth and wields the Sword of the Grey Queen, a magic two-handed sword. He is accompanied by his sidekick, Bailee, a bard and a pleasure slave.

Joe

Marvin. A pimp who runs with a harem of pleasure slaves. He is heroic and despises evil. He is also greedy and seeks to make a fortune. He has recently learned how to cast spells.

Thomas

Karr. An attractive shapechanger from the Great Forest. He can turn into a bear. He wears naught but a loin cloth.

Eric

Dar. An attractive beastmaster and shapechanger from the Erendor Forest. He wears naught but a loin cloth with a magnificent golden codpiece. He is accompanied by a wolf. Dar is also capable of turning into a wolf.

Danny

Agar. An attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears a loin cloth and a bear skin cloak complete with the bear’s head.


The Story So Far

The party has been relaxing in the town of Garen’s Well for several months. They had finished an epic series of adventures and were resting on their laurels. Luckily, their idyllic life was about to change . . .


The Tale of Heroes

Battle at Garen’s Well

• Dar was lured into a peddlers’ wagon to look at something shiny. IT'S A TRAP!!!!!!!

• The peddlers’ wagon was disguised. It was actually a cage wagon belonging to the Iron Ring, an organization of notorious slavers. The Iron Ring slavers shut and locked the door to the cage wagon, locking the beastmaster and his wolf companion inside. Then the Iron Ring bounty hunters took off with their prey.

• Alas for the bad guys, someone had spotted the chicanery and raised an alarm! The rest of the party sprung into action.

• Inside the wagon, Dar and his wolf threw themselves against the side of the wagon, trying to tip it over. Then THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! grabbed the side and succeeded in tipping it over, onto himself, of course.

• The rest of the party ran up to finish off the Iron Ring slavers when, all of a sudden, more slavers appeared. [The “Reinforcements” Adventure Card was played not once, but twice. So there were slavers everywhere.]

• Dar let out a mighty roar. Then a trio of bears charged out of the woods to attack the Iron Ring slavers! [Eric played the “Here Comes the Cavalry” Adventure Card.]

• Yet another epic combat ensued. In the end, the heroes emerged victorious.

The Hook

• Searching the dead, the heroes found that one of the leaders of the slavers had a paper with a strange rune on it. Marvin deduced that the rune meant something about royalty and sacrifice. Then Agar recognized that the rune written on the paper matched a brand on the palm of Dar’s hand. The barbarian compared the two, and they were an exact match.

• Dar told the party about his sad past. Joubert, the bad man whom the party had killed several months earlier, had captured Dar and slaughtered the beastmaster’s pack. Joubert delivered Dar to Afzal, a Yari sorcerer and leader of the Iron Ring. Dar grew up under Afzal’s cruel tutelage, learning to speak Yari and Tyrovian, and act halfway civilized. The beastmaster escaped shortly after discovering that Afzal planned to sacrifice him. The Yari sorcerer had said something about the “royal blood of Umbria” flowing through Dar’s veins.

• A young lady dressed all in gray spoke to THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! shortly after the battle. A raven emblazoned on her cloak marked her as a priestess of Hala, the Goddess of Death.

• The priestess told THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! that she had been having visions sent by Hala. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s two-handed sword was magic and was dedicated to the Grey Queen. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! had become a great warrior wielding the sword and now Hala wanted something in return. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! was to go on a great quest and fight a great monster inimical to Hala. If THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! lived, he would gain a great treasure.

• The priestess showed THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! the secret of the Glowing Green Gem of Doom. It was actually called the Heart of Silsato, a magical gem ensorcelled by the serpent men of Valosa, an empire that predated Zove. When Valosa collapsed thousands of years ago, the serpent-men hid their greatest treasure. The Heart always points to the location of the treasure.

• The Heart pointed in the direction of Broaq-Nohar, an evil city-state dominated by Yar. Broaq-Nohar was also the city where Afzal lived. Seeing that their destiny lay in Broaq-Nohar, the heroes set off.

Broaq-Nohar

• On the way to Broaq-Nohar, the party encountered pilgrims of Honir, god of the hunt and nature. The pilgrims were leaving Broaq-Nohar due to the increasing militancy of the city and the rise in demon worship. Agar made friends with a pilgrim named Frederick. The pilgrim said if Agar needed help while in Broaq-Nohar, the barbarian should see a priest of Honir named Ilus.

• Upon entering Broaq-Nohar, the party sought information on Afzal, the Yari sorcerer, head of the Iron Ring slavers, and Dar’s hated enemy. The heroes discovered that Afzal lived in a large compound near the city walls.

• The party also discovered that the evil sorcerer had captured a legendary mastodon from the Ice Spires called the Shaker of Mountains. It was far larger than any other mastodon that walked Erisa. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and Agar both had heard stories about the Shaker of Mountains, but neither had actually seen the beast. No one knew how Afzal had transported such a huge creature such a long distance, but the party knew that they had to free the mastodon.

• The party naturally decided for a frontal assault on Afzal’s compound. They strode boldly up to the front gates and started attacking the guards.

And that’s where we stopped for the night.


NPCs met

Frederick the Pilgrim.


Locations Visited

Garen’s Well

The Black Road

Broaq-Nohar


Active Plot Hooks

Death to Afzal

Afzal is a Yari sorcerer, the head of the Iron Ring slavers, and Dar’s nemesis. Afzal wants to sacrifice Dar for some heinous purpose.

The Heart of Silsato

A magic gem, ensorcelled by the serpent men of Valosa, an empire that predated Zove. The gem is heart-shaped and always points in the direction of Valosa’s greatest treasure.

Bailee and 19 Other Pleasure Slaves

Bailee is now THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s sidekick. There are still 19 pleasure slaves accompanying the party and depending on the heroes to take care of them.


Open Plot Hooks

The Marked and the Fourth Moon

The Black Hand is up to something most heinous concerning Erisa’s legendary fourth moon. It involves otherwise innocent people referred to as “The Marked.” Marked how, though? The party cannot find any marks on the bodies of The Marked.


World Records

Damage Inflicted

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 7. Against a soldier of Fort Attalus. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s blow was so powerful that he killed another soldier standing next to the original one.

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 10. Against Yurgle the Demi-God of Giants. This one gets an asterisk because Heath actually hit for 28 damage and then used the “Deadly Blow” Adventure Card, doubling the damage.

Damage Received

47 Points. Alzar, Session 2. During the Test of Combat against Vitar, the defrocked War Priest of Kesh. Luckily, Jack rolled a Raise on Alzar’s Incapacitation roll. Unluckily, he also rolled a 2 on the Wound chart: the Unmentionables. Vitar uses a maul. So, um, yeah, make up your own description on this one.


Experience and Glory

1 XP awarded.

Dar gets 4 XP for turning in “The Hard Way” Adventure Card.

Dar gains an advance. Congrats Eric!

XP and Glory for current characters:

Agar 38 XP 25 Glory
Dar 47 XP 27 Glory
Marvin 42 XP 32 Glory
THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! 52 XP 34 Glory
Karr 41 XP 17 Glory


Legend Chips Awarded: 4

Active. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 10 for killing Yurgle, the Demi-God of Giants.

Active. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 9 for killing the 150 long serpent at the Serpent Mound near the Erendor Forest.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 7 for killing Elslae, an evil priest of Nogar-Sai, an evil god of undeath, and for killing Ronald von Sturm, an evil warlord.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 3 for killing Joubert and putting an end to the depredations of the River Rats.

[mongo]

Legends of Steel: Shadows of Yar

Campaign Journal, Session 12


Real World Date: Friday August 26, 2011

Campaign World Date: Amar’s Day, Reaping 16, to Halen’s Day, Goldmonth 3, 1,000 FF (From the Founding of Tyros City)


The Roll of Heroes

Heath

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. A brawny, attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears naught but a loin cloth and wields the Sword of the Grey Queen, a magic two-handed sword. He is accompanied by his sidekick, Bailee, a bard and a pleasure slave.

Joe

Marvin. A pimp who runs with a harem of pleasure slaves. He is heroic and despises evil. He is also greedy and seeks to make a fortune. He has recently learned how to cast spells.

Thomas

Karr. An attractive shapechanger from the Great Forest. He can turn into a bear. He wears naught but a loin cloth.

Eric

Dar. An attractive beastmaster and shapechanger from the Erendor Forest. He wears naught but a loin cloth with a magnificent golden codpiece. He is accompanied by a wolf. Dar is also capable of turning into a wolf.

Danny

Agar. An attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears a loin cloth and a bear skin cloak complete with the bear’s head.


The Story So Far

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! has been using a magic sword dedicated to Hala, the Goddess of Death, and had even killed a demi-god with it. The Grey Queen had noticed the barbarian of the mighty thews wielding her sword and she decided to test her champion. During one of their adventures, the party had found the Heart of Silsato, a magical gem ensorcelled by the serpent men of Valosa, an empire that predated Zove. When Valosa collapsed thousands of years ago, the serpent-men hid their greatest treasure. The Heart always points to the location of the treasure. The treasure in turn was guarded by a fearsome monster. Hala wanted THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! to slay the monster.

The Heart pointed in the direction of Broaq-Nohar, an evil city-state dominated by Yar. Broaq-Nohar was also the city where Afzal the Yari sorcerer lived. Afzal was the man responsible for killing Dar’s pack and enslaving the beastmaster. Dar wanted revenge on Afzal.

Seeing that their destiny lay in Broaq-Nohar, the heroes set off. Upon reaching the city, the party decided that a direct approach was called for. They found out that Afzal lived in a mansion near the city wall. The heroes went to Afzal’s compound, approached the front gate, and killed the guards there . . . .


The Tale of Heroes

Battle at Afzal’s Compound

• Having killed the guards at the gate, the heroes charged recklessly into the courtyard of Afzal’s palace. To one side was a magnificent house, to the other was a barracks. Men at arms were already pouring out of the barracks to confront the party. Marvin let loose with a blast of fire. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and Karr charged.

• In the middle of the compound, inside a massive cage built of thick timbers, was a giant mastodon. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and Agar recognized the mastodon as the Shaker of Mountains, a legendary beast from their homeland, the Ice Spires. How Afzal had managed to capture the giant mastodon and transport it to Broaq-Nohar, they did not know.

• Agar decided that he had to free the mastodon from its prison. Rushing to the cage, the barbarian saw an old adventuring companion of his, Bahel, standing guard. He yelled to his erstwhile buddy to help him raise the gate to the cage. Bahel threw caution to the wind and helped Agar free the Shaker of Mountains. [Danny played the Contact Adventure Card, which meant an NPC became an acquaintance who would help the PC.]

• Dar ran to the now open cage that held the Shaker of Mountains. The beastmaster climbed the mastodon and then directed the mastodon to ram the barracks where Afzal’s men were stationed. With a triumphant roar, the giant mastodon charged into the building, smashing it to flinders.

• Afzal’s guards were in no mood to fight a giant mastodon. Those that survived the destruction climbed out of the wreckage and then kept climbing over the walls that enclosed Afzal’s compound.

Battle in the Chapel of Evil

• With the guards taken care of, the party now turned their attention to Afzal’s mansion. With a mighty roar THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! charged the front door, hurtling into it at top speed. Surprisingly, the door proved stronger than the barbarian of the mighty thews. Then Dar ordered the Shaker of Mountains to charge the mansion. Not surprisingly, the door gave way. So did most of that side of the house.

• The party charged through the opening and the rubble, determined to find and kill Afzal. They found the evil sorcerer in an underground chapel dedicated to some dark and terrible god. Horrible abominations, skeletons, confronted the heroes. Behind the skeletons stood Afzal. The evil sorcerer had just completed a ritual to summon a demon.

• Karr and Agar charged into the skeletons. Marvin ordered his harem of women warriors into the fight as well.

• A demon of fire arose in the middle of the room. Tendrils of flame lashed out from the demon, entrapping THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. Summoning up all of his barbaric fury, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! threw off the flaming tendrils and charged the demon. The barbarian killed the demon with a single mighty blow. [Heath played the Deadly Blow Adventure Card, doubling the amount of melee damage, to ensure that the demon was well and truly dead.]

• Dar transformed into a dire wolf. Then he and his she-wolf companion charged their enemy, Afzal. The wily sorcerer however, chanted ancient words of power. Before Dar’s eyes, the evil sorcerer melted into the ground, making good his escape. Dar howled in frustration.

• During the battle the skeletons had killed Cougar, one of Marvin’s women.

The Great Escape

• The party fled from Afzal’s mansion. They heard bells, gongs, and trumpets sounding all over the city. It sounded as if several thousand Noharian troops were converging on Afzal’s compound.

• The heroes debated about whether to stay and see if they could kill 10,000 or so of the enemy, or if they should flee. In the end, they decided that discretion was the better part of valor. But how were they to escape? Afzal’s compound was located right next to the city wall, but there was no gate. The party might have been able to climb over the wall, but they would have to leave the Shaker of Mountains behind.

• Dar ordered the Shaker of Mountains to charge the city wall. The rest of the party climbed onto the back of the giant mastodon. The giant mastodon hit the wall going full speed. There was a deafening crash and cloud of dust. And the Shaker of Mountains broke through!

• Dar ordered the mastodon to keep moving. Noharian chariots gave chase but the party quickly dispensed with them.

The Party Strategizes

• The party had made good their escape their escape from Broaq-Nohar. However, their goals, such as they were, were shot all to the Nine Pits. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! was on a quest for Hala, the goddess of death, to slay an enemy of the Grey Queen. That enemy lay somewhere within the city walls of Broaq-Nohar. Dar wanted to kill Afzal, the man responsible for killing his pack and enslaving him. Afzal was also inside the city of Broaq-Nohar. And the party now had to take care of the Shaker of Mountains, a giant mastodon.

• In the end, the heroes decided that they had to take the Shaker of Mountains home. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! drove the Sword of the Grey Queen into a rock, promising Hala that he would not use her sword until he could carry out her quest.


And that’s where we stopped for the night.


NPCs met

Afzal the Sorcerer. A Yari demonologist. He was responsible for enslaving Dar and killing the beastmaster’s pack.

Bahel the guard. An acquaintance of Agar’s.


Locations Visited

Broaq-Nohar. A militant city state allied with Yar.


Active Plot Hooks

The Shaker of Mountains

The Iron Ring had captured a giant mastodon, the Shaker of Mountains, from the Ice Spires, homeland of THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and Agar. The slavers had brought the beast to Broaq-Nohar to sacrifice it to Yar’s dark god, Yago, the Demon Prince. The party has freed the beast and are responsible for it. It wants to go back home.

King Dar?

Dar is related in some fashion to the Ironhawks, the former royal house of Umbria. Dar grew up under Afzal’s cruel tutelage, learning to speak Yari and Tyrovian, and act halfway civilized. The beastmaster escaped shortly after discovering that Afzal planned to sacrifice him. The Yari sorcerer had branded the beastmaster’s palm with a rune of royalty and sacrifice; and had said something about the “royal blood of Umbria” flowing through Dar’s veins.

Death to Afzal

Afzal is a Yari sorcerer, the head of the Iron Ring slavers, and Dar’s nemesis. Afzal wants to sacrifice Dar for some heinous purpose. Afzal is also responsible for the death of Cougar, one of Marvin’s followers.

The Heart of Silsato / Quest for the Grey Queen

The Heart of Silsato is a magic gem, ensorcelled by the serpent men of Valosa, an empire that predated Zove. The gem is heart-shaped and always points in the direction of Valosa’s greatest treasure. That treasure is guarded by a fearsome monster. Hala, the goddess of death, wants THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! to slay the monster.

Bailee and 19 Other Pleasure Slaves

Bailee is now THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s sidekick. There are still 19 pleasure slaves accompanying the party and depending on the heroes to take care of them.


Open Plot Hooks

The Marked and the Fourth Moon

The Black Hand is up to something most heinous concerning Erisa’s legendary fourth moon. It involves otherwise innocent people referred to as “The Marked.” Marked how, though? The party cannot find any marks on the bodies of The Marked.


World Records

Damage Inflicted

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 7. Against a soldier of Fort Attalus. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s blow was so powerful that he killed another soldier standing next to the original one.

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 10. Against Yurgle the Demi-God of Giants. This one gets an asterisk because Heath actually hit for 28 damage and then used the “Deadly Blow” Adventure Card, doubling the damage.

Damage Received

47 Points. Alzar, Session 2. During the Test of Combat against Vitar, the defrocked War Priest of Kesh. Luckily, Jack rolled a Raise on Alzar’s Incapacitation roll. Unluckily, he also rolled a 2 on the Wound chart: the Unmentionables. Vitar uses a maul. So, um, yeah, make up your own description on this one.


Experience and Glory

2 XP awarded.

Dar gets 8 XP for turning in “The Hard Way” Adventure Card. (Yes, he had 6 Fate Chips at the end of the night. Yes, all of my players are power spanking munchkins.)

Agar gets 3 XP for turning in a Legend Chip.

Karr gets 3 XP for turning in a Legend Chip.

Agar gains an Advance. Congrats Danny!

Dar gains not one, but two Advances. Congrats Eric!

1 Glory Point awarded for freeing the Shaker of Mountains from the evil clutches of Yar!

Marvin loses 10 Glory for the death of one of his extras.

XP and Glory for current characters:

Agar 41 XP 26 Glory
Dar 55 XP 28 Glory
Marvin 44 XP 23 Glory
THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! 54 XP 35 Glory
Karr 41 XP 18 Glory


Legend Chips Awarded: 4

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 10 for killing Yurgle, the Demi-God of Giants.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 9 for killing the 150 long serpent at the Serpent Mound near the Erendor Forest.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 7 for killing Elslae, an evil priest of Nogar-Sai, an evil god of undeath, and for killing Ronald von Sturm, an evil warlord.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 3 for killing Joubert and putting an end to the depredations of the River Rats.

[eric.kiser]

Howdy Mongo,
I just read this whole thread tonight. What information did you give your players for writing up their backgrounds?

Thanks for posting all this. It sounds like a great game.

[mongo]

Legends of Steel: Shadows of Yar

Campaign Journal, Session 13


Real World Date: Friday September 9, 2011

Campaign World Date: Vand’s Day, Goldmonth 4 to Vand’s Day, Goldmonth 11, 1,000 FF (From the Founding of Tyros City)


The Roll of Heroes

Heath

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. A brawny, attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears naught but a loin cloth. He is accompanied by his sidekick, Bailee, a bard and a pleasure slave.

Joe

Marvin. A pimp who runs with a harem of pleasure slaves. He is heroic and despises evil. He is also greedy and seeks to make a fortune. He has recently learned how to cast spells.

Thomas

Karr. An attractive shapechanger from the Great Forest. He can turn into a bear. He wears naught but a loin cloth.

Eric

Dar. An attractive beastmaster and shapechanger from the Erendor Forest. He wears naught but a loin cloth with a magnificent golden codpiece. He is accompanied by a she wolf. Dar is also capable of turning into a wolf.


The Story So Far

The party had travelled to the evil city-state of Broaq-Nohar on a quest for Hala, the goddess of death. Instead of that particular quest, the party ended up freeing the Shaker of Mountains, a giant mastodon, from the evil clutches of the Yari sorcerer Afzal. The band of intrepid heroes fled the city with the beast. The party agreed that they needed to return the mastodon to its home in the Ice Spires, a mountain range far to the north.


The Tale of Heroes

The Great Debate

• The party had decided to take the Shaker of Mountains home to the Ice Spires, which was several hundreds of miles away. But how to get there? There was a great debate about the best course of action. Should the party find Shammie the Shaman and see if he could open a magic portal in one of the stone rings? Should the party sneak into the city of Broaq Nohar and steal a ship? Proceed overland through the Waylander’s Pass and thence the Sikkar Plains to the Ice Spires?

• In the end, the heroes decided to travel through the haunted Raven Hills, thence through the blighted Broken Lands, and finally to the freezing Ice Spires. The party knew of legends of a being called the Necromancer who had lived in the Raven Hills for centuries. The heroes scoffed at such legends and proceeded northwards through enemy occupied territory to reach the Raven Hills.

Free Nolio!

• Travelling through Noharian lands, the party dodged enemy patrols for several days. They saw firsthand the cruelty that Yar and its allies enacted on its subjects. The heroes came upon a man, Nolio, imprisoned within a gibbet. Nolio had hidden grain from Yari tax collectors to feed his family. Unfortunately, the tax collectors found out and Nolio was sentenced to be imprisoned alive within a gibbet. He would be left there to die a slow death from starvation.

• The heroes freed Nolio from the gibbet and told him to return to his farm.

The Town of Death’s Fall

• At last the party came to the town of Death’s Fall, which was perched on the edge of a vast chasm. The town guarded the only bridge across the Canyon of Doom. The party needed to cross that bridge to get to the Raven Hills.

• Naturally, the heroes decided that the direct approach was best. They strode boldly up to the front gates, the Shaker of Mountains (a 30 foot tall mastodon) in tow. The guards ran for their lives as the Shaker of Mountains pushed through the entrance, destroying the gates and leaving a heap of rubble behind.

• The Shaker of Mountains was too big for the narrow city streets and several buildings were crushed as he made his way through.

• Then the heroes discovered the problem with their plan: the bridge was not a magnificent stone one, wide enough for the Shaker of Mountains. It was a rickety wooden bridge, barely able to handle foot traffic, much less a 30 foot tall mastodon.

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! Gets Married

• Death’s Fall had a temple dedicated to Yago, Yar’s dark god. Already, the temple’s bell was ringing out in alarm. Yari soldiers and sorcerers were preparing for battle.

• The doors of the temple opened and a priestess of Yago ordered the party to surrender. She was beautiful and completely bald in the traditional Yari fashion. The priestess made eye contact with THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. At that moment, both the priestess and the barbarian knew that they were destined for each other. [Heath played the “Love Interest” Adventure Card.]

• THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! said he wanted to speak with the priestess in private. She gestured for him to come inside the temple. Before she closed the door, Marvin also slipped into the temple unseen. The priestess introduced herself as Palantia. She said that she loved THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and that he was her betrothed. She said that they had to have conjugal relations to consummate their relationship. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! didn’t know what any of that meant.

• Quickly, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! tried to convince Palantia that she needed to leave the service of Yago and join the good guys. Marvin cast spells to convince the priestess that THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! was right.

• Being human, Palantia could not resist THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! of the Mighty Thews. She told him that she would leave the priesthood of Yago and follow THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! wherever he led her, because he was her betrothed. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! still didn’t know what that meant. The two then consummated their relationship on the alter to Yago.

The Caves of Mystery

• Palantia ordered the town guards to stand down. She escorted her husband, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!; the rest of the party; and the Shaker of Mountains out of the town. Unfortunately, she had no answers as to how to get the Shaker of Mountains across the Canyon of Doom.

• It was then that Nolio the peasant showed up. He had gone back to his farm and had a joyous reunion with his family. He had then left to follow the party to Death’s Fall, convinced that he could in some way repay the debt that he owed the party.

• Nolio told the party about the Caves of Mystery. These caves extended beneath and beyond the Canyon of Doom, with an opening on the other side. The caves on this side had an entrance that would actually accommodate the Shaker of Mountains. Nolio said that once in the caves, the party would know what to do. And yes, the Shaker of Mountains could make it through to the other side. Nolio would not accompany the party. He had made the journey through the caves once and had no desire to do so again.

• Entering the large cavern, the party saw an incredible amount of mushrooms littering the floor. Marvin instantly understood what must be done. He grabbed a handful of mushrooms and starting munching. He told the rest of the party to join him. Reluctantly, the rest of the party did so.

• Things got a little weird after that. The mushrooms got bigger (or perhaps the party shrunk?). The party then heard a voice calling from the farthest reaches of the cavern, where the cave floor dropped away into a yawning pit. The voice called to them, “Jump!” One by one, the party members, including the Shaker of Mountains, jumped into the pit.

• The party landed in the middle of a mushroom forest. An old crone, hidden in shadows, called for them to follow her. The mushroom forest soon turned into a mushroom maze. It also became clear that the Old Crone was trying to confuse the party and lead them deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of mushrooms. Ignoring the taunts and temptations of the Old Crone, the party members sought a way out. One by one, they somehow stumbled out of the maze to the other side.

• [This was our first use of the Dramatic Task rules from SW: Deluxe. They worked quite well. Each PC had to make Spirit Checks or they would be lost in the Mushroom Maze of the Old Crone forever!]

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! Gets A Divorce

• The party and the Shaker of Mountains had managed to cross the Canyon of Doom. They were now in the Raven Hills, a land haunted by a being called the Necromancer. Very quickly, the party discovered that Raven Hills were indeed a very dangerous place.

• Two undead monstrosities, what appeared to a mass of bones formed from numerous skeletons, emerged out of the ground before the very eyes of the party. An epic battle ensued. Marvin cast a spell which allowed him to dominate one of the undead horrors. Marvin commanded the horror to throw itself off of a cliff. The remaining undead horror was surrounded and killed quickly after that.

• In the midst of their celebration, however, THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! realized that his wife, Palantia, had been killed. His sidekick, Bailee, was grievously wounded but alive. [During the battle, both Palantia and Bailee had become Incapacitated and both had died. Heath had a Legend Chip. I ruled that, being a Legend Chip, it could be spent on an ally. But only one. Heath could save Bailee or Palantia. He chose Bailee.]


And that’s where we stopped for the night.


NPCs met

Palantia, former Priestess of Yago. Wife of THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. Now deceased.

Nolio the peasant


Locations Visited

Death’s Fall, Village of

The Canyon of Doom

The Caves of Mystery

Raven Hills


Active Plot Hooks

The Shaker of Mountains

The Iron Ring had captured a giant mastodon, the Shaker of Mountains, from the Ice Spires, homeland of THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and Agar. The slavers had brought the beast to Broaq-Nohar to sacrifice it to Yar’s dark god, Yago, the Demon Prince. The party has freed the beast and are responsible for it. It wants to go back home.


Open Plot Hooks

King Dar?

Dar is related in some fashion to the Ironhawks, the former royal house of Umbria. Dar grew up under Afzal’s cruel tutelage, learning to speak Yari and Tyrovian, and act halfway civilized. The beastmaster escaped shortly after discovering that Afzal planned to sacrifice him. The Yari sorcerer had branded the beastmaster’s palm with a rune of royalty and sacrifice; and had said something about the “royal blood of Umbria” flowing through Dar’s veins.

Death to Afzal

Afzal is a Yari sorcerer, the head of the Iron Ring slavers, and Dar’s nemesis. Afzal wants to sacrifice Dar for some heinous purpose. Afzal is also responsible for the death of Cougar, one of Marvin’s followers.

The Heart of Silsato / Quest for the Grey Queen

The Heart of Silsato is a magic gem, ensorcelled by the serpent men of Valosa, an empire that predated Zove. The gem is heart-shaped and always points in the direction of Valosa’s greatest treasure. That treasure is guarded by a fearsome monster. Hala, the goddess of death, wants THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! to slay the monster.

The Marked and the Fourth Moon

The Black Hand is up to something most heinous concerning Erisa’s legendary fourth moon. It involves otherwise innocent people referred to as “The Marked.” Marked how, though? The party cannot find any marks on the bodies of The Marked.


World Records

Damage Inflicted

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 7. Against a soldier of Fort Attalus. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s blow was so powerful that he killed another soldier standing next to the original one.

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 10. Against Yurgle the Demi-God of Giants. This one gets an asterisk because Heath actually hit for 28 damage and then used the “Deadly Blow” Adventure Card, doubling the damage.

Damage Received

47 Points. Alzar, Session 2. During the Test of Combat against Vitar, the defrocked War Priest of Kesh. Luckily, Jack rolled a Raise on Alzar’s Incapacitation roll. Unluckily, he also rolled a 2 on the Wound chart: the Unmentionables. Vitar uses a maul. So, um, yeah, make up your own description on this one.


Experience and Glory

3 XP awarded.

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! gains an Advance. Congrats Heath!

Marvin gains an Advance. Congrats Joe!

1 Glory Point awarded for successfully getting out of Broaq Nohar/Yari territory, and for successfully crossing the Canyon of Doom by negotiating the Maze of Mushrooms!

XP and Glory for current characters:

Agar 41 XP 26 Glory
Dar 58 XP 29 Glory
Marvin 47 XP 24 Glory
THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! 57 XP 36 Glory
Karr 44 XP 19 Glory


Legend Chips Awarded: 4

Active. We have a House Rule that there is always at least 1 Legend Chip in the bag.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 10 for killing Yurgle, the Demi-God of Giants.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 9 for killing the 150 long serpent at the Serpent Mound near the Erendor Forest.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 7 for killing Elslae, an evil priest of Nogar-Sai, an evil god of undeath, and for killing Ronald von Sturm, an evil warlord.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 3 for killing Joubert and putting an end to the depredations of the River Rats.

[mongo]

Legends of Steel: Shadows of Yar

Campaign Journal, Session 14


Real World Date: Friday October 7, 2011

Campaign World Date: Star’s Day, Goldmonth 12 to Sun’s Day, Goldmonth 15, 1,000 FF (From the Founding of Tyros City)


The Roll of Heroes

Heath

THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!. A brawny, attractive barbarian from the Ice Spires. He wears naught but a loin cloth. He is accompanied by his sidekick, Bailee, a bard and a pleasure slave.

Joe

Marvin. A pimp who runs with a harem of pleasure slaves. He is heroic and despises evil. He is also greedy and seeks to make a fortune. He has recently learned how to cast spells.

Thomas

Kumar. A rogue and archer.

Eric

Dar. An attractive beastmaster and shapechanger from the Erendor Forest. He wears naught but a loin cloth with a magnificent golden codpiece. He is accompanied by a wolf. Dar is also capable of turning into a wolf.


The Story So Far

The party had freed a 30 foot tall mastodon, the Shaker of Mountains from the evil clutches of Yar. They are now on a continental trek to return the mastodon to its home in the Ice Spires.


The Tale of Heroes

Into the Raven Hills

• [Thomas decided that he wanted to play another character besides Karr. The following scenario got rid of Karr and introduced Thomas’s new character, Kumar.]

• After the fight with the undead monstrosities, Karr decided that he would return Palantia’s body back to Broaq Nohar. It turned out that he had had a secret crush on the priestess.

• The rest of the party bravely travelled further in the Raven Hills. They spotted a flock of ravens circling something on top of a hill and went to investigate. They found a naked man, whose wrists and ankles were bound to stakes in the ground. The ravens were obviously waiting for him to expire.

• The staked, naked man introduced himself as Kumar. He had been attacked by walking dead, skeletons, during the night. They had captured him, stripped him, and then staked him to the top of the hill.

• Kumar had been seeking the riches inside the fabled Tower of Sorcery. This place was a stronghold of Ancient Yar, an empire that preceded modern day Yar. Ancient Yar was even more evil and decadent than modern Yar. The Tower of Sorcery held the wealth of King Beltos, who had died in the tower long ago while a magical ritual went awry.

• The tower also supposedly held the Gate of Worlds, also known as the Gate of Death. This gate could transport someone anywhere in the world. Legends say that King Beltos transported entire armies, including elephants, through the gate. Being of Yari origin, the gate did require human sacrifice to work.

• The heroes decided that the Gate of Worlds was exactly what they needed to get the Shaker of Mountains back to the Ice Spires. The party decided to free Kumar and asked him to join their happy little band.

The Tower of Sorcery

• The Tower of Sorcery was a thin spire that stretched impossibly high into the sky. Despite not having been occupied for centuries, the tower was in remarkably good shape. A crumbling stone wall surrounded the tower. The inner courtyard was covered with bones.

• Naturally the party walked through the front gate. The bones in the courtyard animated and dozens of skeletons attacked the party! After yet another epic combat, the party emerged victorious.

• There was no door into the tower. Instead there was an open gate etched with runes. Through the open gate, the party saw an empty, abandoned room.

• The party bravely walked through the gate and . . . weird stuff started happening. Instead of an empty room, the party found themselves in a lavishly appointed chamber. Everything seemed to have a dream like quality. The heroes’ perception seemed wrong. Objects didn’t seem the right size. Angles were funny. The Shaker of Mountains, a 30 foot tall mastodon, was in the room with the party despite not being able to fit through the gate.

• The party left the room the way they had come, through the gate. Instead of being back in the courtyard full of destroyed skeletons, they were on a seemingly endless gray plain. There were no features on the plain other than the gate. The heroes quickly returned back.

• A beautiful women, though bald in the Yari fashion, entered the room. She introduced herself as Princess Dacia. She wanted to know if the party had come to rescue her. Her father, King Beltos, was conducting a ritual and she was to be sacrificed. A prophecy said that she would be rescued when the mountains shook.

• Dar and Dacia seemed to hit it off. The beastmaster promised to protect her. She thought he was attractive. She also admired Dar’s magnificent golden codpiece.

• Then King Beltos himself appeared. He was a tall, well muscled man, completely bald. He drew a two-handed sword and attacked the party. Fighting by himself, King Beltos proved a formidable adversary. After an epic combat, however, the party killed King Beltos.

• The party smeared the gate to the tower with the blood of King Beltos (remember that the Gate of Worlds required human sacrifice) and then stepped through, taking Princess Dacia and the Shaker of Mountains with them.

Candlefish Village

• The party emerged on the tundra plains north of the Ice Spires. The Shaker of Mountains was home! The mastodon shared a tearful good-bye with the party.

• THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! was also home. He immediately knew where to go, leading the party to the nearest village. He realized that the party was in Ruusland, which bordered the Ice Spires. The Ruus were raiders who prowled the seas in their dragon ships.

• THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! led the party to Candlefish Village. Olaf, a childhood rival of THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s, was chieftain. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and Olaf didn’t like each other, but the barbarian knew that Olaf would not deny hospitality to the party.

• Olaf greeted THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and the party warmly. The Ruus chieftain invited the party to eat in his longhouse. During the meal, Olaf also had good things to say about Yar. He mentioned working with a Yari sorcerer named Afzal. Dar immediately asked where this Afzal could be found, as the beastmaster had unfinished business with him. Olaf said that he was sure that the party would meet the sorcerer soon enough.

• Olaf questioned THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! about the location of the Valley of the Fourth Moon. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! refused to divulge the location of the valley sacred to his people.

• Olaf seemed saddened by THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s refusal. The Ruus chieftain then ordered his men to attack. Then two huge, bull-headed figures emerged from the back of the long house. The party recognized these creatures as Avatars of Nohar. They had fought one several months ago in the haunted caverns below a hill called Shaman’s Crown.

• The party fought yet another epic combat. This time they were on the losing end. Dar went down after might blow by one of the Avatars. Olaf threatened to finish off the wounded beastmaster if the rest of the party did not surrender. Reluctantly, the heroes threw down their weapons.


And that’s where we stopped for the night.


NPCs met

Olaf, Chief of the Ruus

Dacia, Princess of Ancient Yar. Now travelling with the party. She is attracted to Dar the Beastmaster.

King Beltos of Ancient Yar. He’s dead.


Locations Visited

Tower of Sorcery

Candlefish Village


Active Plot Hooks

The Shaker of Mountains

The Iron Ring had captured a giant mastodon, the Shaker of Mountains, from the Ice Spires, homeland of THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! and Agar. The slavers had brought the beast to Broaq-Nohar to sacrifice it to Yar’s dark god, Yago, the Demon Prince. The party has freed the mastodon and are responsible for it. It wants to go back home.

Death to Afzal

Afzal is a Yari sorcerer, the head of the Iron Ring slavers, and Dar’s nemesis. Afzal wants to sacrifice Dar for some heinous purpose. Afzal is also responsible for the death of Cougar, one of Marvin’s followers.


Open Plot Hooks

The Heart of Silsato / Quest for the Grey Queen

The Heart of Silsato is a magic gem, ensorcelled by the serpent men of Valosa, an empire that predated Zove. The gem is heart-shaped and always points in the direction of Valosa’s greatest treasure. That treasure is guarded by a fearsome monster. Hala, the goddess of death, wants THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! to slay the monster.

King Dar?

Dar is related in some fashion to the Ironhawks, the former royal house of Umbria. Dar grew up under Afzal’s cruel tutelage, learning to speak Yari and Tyrovian, and act halfway civilized. The beastmaster escaped shortly after discovering that Afzal planned to sacrifice him. The Yari sorcerer had branded the beastmaster’s palm with a rune of royalty and sacrifice; and had said something about the “royal blood of Umbria” flowing through Dar’s veins.

The Marked and the Fourth Moon

The Black Hand is up to something most heinous concerning Erisa’s legendary fourth moon. It involves otherwise innocent people referred to as “The Marked.” Marked how, though? The party cannot find any marks on the bodies of The Marked.


World Records

Damage Inflicted

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 7. Against a soldier of Fort Attalus. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!’s blow was so powerful that he killed another soldier standing next to the original one.

56 points. THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!!, Session 10. Against Yurgle the Demi-God of Giants. This one gets an asterisk because Heath actually hit for 28 damage and then used the “Deadly Blow” Adventure Card, doubling the damage.

Damage Received

47 Points. Alzar, Session 2. During the Test of Combat against Vitar, the defrocked War Priest of Kesh. Luckily, Jack rolled a Raise on Alzar’s Incapacitation roll. Unluckily, he also rolled a 2 on the Wound chart: the Unmentionables. Vitar uses a maul. So, um, yeah, make up your own description on this one.


Experience and Glory

2 XP awarded.

Dar gains an Advance. Congrats Eric!

Kumar gains an Advance. Congrats Thomas!

1 Glory Point awarded for returning the Shaker of Mountains to his home in the Ice Spires.

Dar is at 30 Glory and gains a Reward! [To be determined.]

XP and Glory for current characters:

Agar 41 XP 26 Glory
Dar 60 XP 30 Glory
Marvin 49 XP 25 Glory
THARRRRR!!!!!!!!!! 59 XP 37 Glory
Kumar 41 XP 11 Glory


Legend Chips Awarded: 5

Active. We have a House Rule that there is always at least 1 Legend Chip in the bag.

Active. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 14 for returning the Shaker of Mountains to his home in the Ice Spires.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 10 for killing Yurgle, the Demi-God of Giants.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 9 for killing the 150 long serpent at the Serpent Mound near the Erendor Forest.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 7 for killing Elslae, an evil priest of Nogar-Sai, an evil god of undeath, and for killing Ronald von Sturm, an evil warlord.

Spent. One Legend Chip awarded after Session 3 for killing Joubert and putting an end to the depredations of the River Rats.