Freelancer's Rest

Books for Sale!

2011-07-17T20:14:00.003-05:00

Alright, I really need to make some space (and some spare change would be nice too) so I've decided to part with my collection of Eberron rpg sourcebooks. If you aren't into RPGs, stop reading now.

Okay, here's what I want to move and will entertain offers via comments here (I've posted this to my facebook so I'll update here and there as books become unavailable). Name your price (don't get too ridiculous like wanting something for a penny) and we'll talk.

Shadows of the Last War: mint outside but I did run this for my group and tracked some hit points inside (I've erased these to the best of my ability)

GM Screen: just the screen in mint condition

Whispers of the Vampire's Blade: ok condition, ran half of this for my group; corner bend and interior marks on a few pages

Grasp of the Emerald Claw: mint

Voyage of the Golden Dragon: mint

Deluxe Character Sheets: in original folder, mint never used

Sharn-City of Towers: mint, bonus cd never removed

Five Nations: mint

Secrets of Xen'Drik: mint

Magic of Eberron: mint

Explorer's Handbook: mint

Player's Guide to Eberron: mint

Faiths of Eberron: mint

Campaign Setting: mint

Races of Eberron: mint, complete with mini-City of Towers mini-booklet in the back

world map: not sure which product this came with but will throw it in with the first order I receive.

Buyers must pay their own shipping, choosing whichever method they like.

SPECIAL: Perhaps this is only for the most die-hard collector, but I also have the draft versions of the PHB and DMG that were sent out to publishers prior to v3.5 being released. I was writing for Mystic Eye Games at the time, and one of their people photocopied the pages for the writers and sent them out so we could continue writing and be ready for 3.5's release. CONFIDENTIAL is stamped onto pretty much every page and there is no art (although the art spots are saved by text). It's a neat look into the way WotC sets up their books before finalizing them. This lot is one piece (I will not break up the two books since they came together as a giant stack of unbound papers, that's how I'm leaving them).

Campaign Notes: DL 1-9

2011-07-17T08:48:00.004-05:00

Title: The Search, part I

PC Level: 8th

After the traumatic events of Of Gods & Men, the PCs reach the forest surrounding Tresvka, the last reported location of the neutral Promise Flame icon. On approach to the tree line, the PCs are attacked by a squad of draconians. One of them specifically makes mention of there being a White Robe (Beam) in the group so it must be the right group to attack. The PCs make short work of the dragon-men and reach Tresvka without further incident.

The community features many shops, select groves of trees and at least one large pond within its confines. After leaving their horses at the closest stable, the PCs inquire as to Dravik, the last person on record who possesses the PF icon. A helper baker says that Dravik was Tresvka's second mayor and his belongings can be found in the council building. The PCs find not only find those belongings (under a locked glass case) but those also of the 50 or so other deceased mayors of Tresvka. The current mayor, a man named Thornback, is busy in this chamber giving a tour of the council building to visitors. The PCs manage to get a few moments alone with Thornback and advise him of the draconian attack they experienced. He cannot imagine what the dragon-men would be doing around here but sends guards to the town's perimeter as a precaution. Sir Plaxus notices a familiar-looking journal jutting from the mayor's pocket but can't put his finger on what it is. Thornback gives some information about Dravik, pointing out his case in the chamber and mentioning that Dravik himself was cremated but no one is sure where the remains were interred, although the spot is likely around the deceased mayor's cabin just outside Tresvka.

After the room evacuates, the PCs "borrow" one of items in Dravik's case--a flame holy symbol (which Gundar identifies as the symbol of Sirrion) and then make their way to Dravik's cabin. From what they've learned, no one has lived at the cabin since Dravik as the site is considered haunted by the ancient ranger's spirit. Upon arrival, the PCs note with some curiosity that the clearing around the cabin is bordered with the broken armor and weapons of draconians! Around the back of the small building is a fresh grave. A stick marking the grave head is decorated by a medallion hanging from it. On one side of the gold treasure is the image of a tree with a pair of eagle wings behind it. As Beam moves to touch the item, an arrow whizzes by him and into the wall of the cabin.

A voice from the hidden archer warns the group away from the grave and demands to know what their business is there. The PCs state they are looking for the grave site of Dravik and mean no harm. A human emerges from a tree nearby and cautiously approaches the PCs. He takes the medallion from the grave and listens to the PCs' tale of their search for the PF icons in order to fight the dragonarmies. This allegiance to good calms the archer, a man named Vanik Maun, and he tells his own tale. Maun was, until a few months ago, a lieutenant in a mercenary group. The band attacked a group of elves who were separated from the masses evacuating Silvanesti when that land was attacked by the dragonarmy. But when Maun's eyes met the innocent blue eyes of one of the elven women, he knew he could no longer be a mercenary. The elfmaiden was injured in the attack and in the confusion Maun escaped with her. The unconscious elf quickly became delirious from a fever after Maun tried to tend to her wounds. He learned that the elven refugees were heading to Tresvka to gain transport from a group of griffons waiting for them. Maun did not learn where the griffons were before the elf died in his arms a few hours from reaching the community. He buried her at the cabin and has, in the two months since, been searching for the griffons to release them from a task they will never fulfill (the refugees will never arrive so he wants to finish the last mission of the elfmaiden).

Maun agrees to aid the PC's quest if they aid him in finding the griffons. The PCs agree and the group begins to search the cabin and its grounds. A gazebo on the far side of the clearing is investigated after the house and a seal is discovered beneath it. After clearing away the old wooden structure, the group can clearly see the seal--a symbol of Sirrion in which is a smaller flame symbol--much like the seal of the first Preserver the PCs found in Blackbone's Company. When the holy symbol the PCs took from Dravik's relics is pressed onto the smaller flame symbol, the seal descends into the earth. The group descends with it into a sizable chamber. They find the PF icon atop an altar but a surprise awaits them in this crypt. A construct called a sacred guardian (this one of Sirrion) emerges from an antechamber to attack the intruders.

The PCs manage to defeat the guardian, which then crumbles to dust as ash (the remains of Dravik) fly from the guardian's mouth and out of the crypt to disperse. Maun is elected to hold the icon after Gundar is zapped by a powerful electrical charge when he tries to touch it. Apparently the warning that only those of the same moral inclination can touch an appropriate PF icon holds true!

The group leaves the crypt and sets about finding the griffons. From his studies, Beam knows that griffons are attracted to magical areas. The Mage's Supply house and the Flame Sanctuary are the most likely places (although Maun assures the group he has investigated the latter, which supposedly is the site of one of the actual Promise Flames). After finding no help at the shop, the PCs make their way to the sanctuary but are stopped en route by mayor Thornback and a company of hooded guards. He says the PCs must be taken into custody for the theft of Dravik's holy symbol. It is now that Plaxus sees the mayor's journal again and recalls what it is--a dragonarmy warbook!

All hell breaks loose as the PCs prepare for battle and the mayor's guards drop their disguises and reveal themselves as draconians. Thornback blows a signal horn and draconians descend from their hiding places high in the trees all over town. As Thornback (who is revealed as a sivak draconian) and his crew are dispatched, wave after wave of draconians and the occasional ogre assault the group and the citizens of Tresvka. The PCs somehow make it to the sanctuary and find a woman and her children there hiding from the attack. They are taken under the PCs protection as the group desperately searches for some clue as to where the griffons might be.

Before too long, a large notch on the opposite of the tree the sanctuary is built within is found. The peculiar hole is man-sized and is carved so that several people can fit inside of it. Once inside, the PCs present a PF icon and ask for permission to enter the PF tower. Everyone inside the nook vanishes to appear, as it turns out, higher up in the sanctuary's tree. The tree's bottom is a real tree but the upper--invisible--part houses the actual Promise Flame tower itself. A gemstone the size of an ogre is suspended above the group after they are all whisked inside. Crystalline rods extend from the gem into the crystalline sides of the tower which rise several levels above until they end in a flame-shaped top. Ladders lead from one level to another and the PCs investigate while Maun, Plaxus, and the civilians stay below.

The place is quiet and empty until the group reaches the top-most level in which sits a gnome amidst scattered papers. Spring-glide (his shortened name) accidentally found the invisible tower's flame when his industrial-strength pogo stick with gliding wings smashed him into it. Fortunately, researching the PFs is this gnome's life quest and he has been studying the place for over a week. He cautions the PCs to mind the irritable griffons who are lairing in the flames above them (the PCs see movement of some kind of beasts through the crystal ceiling).

The refugees and NPCs are called to the upper level while Gundar and Beam make contact with the griffons (who understand the common tongue but can't speak it). Maun joins the pair and extends the medallion of the elfwoman, saying that the beasts are free of the burden of waiting. The griffons bow to the man and he tells the PCs that the griffons will help them escape the attack. However, the PCs now spot something more troubling than even the all-out draconian attack--a black dragon flying above the tree line not terribly far away.

The group hatches a plan: everyone will escape on griffonback except Beam and Gundar who will ride their own griffons and engage the dragon in combat to give the others time and cover to escape. They will all regroup outside forest. The plan works well and the two PCs mange to take down the black dragon after a long and furious exchange of attacks. Tresvka, regrettably, is lost to the dragonarmy but at least the PCs recovered the next PF icon and gained an ally in their quest in the form of Maun.

After regrouping with their companions, Beam decides to read the warbook they confiscated from Thornback's corpse. Inside is a warning the PCs are on approach to Tresvka. Thornback confirms he has set an ambush (the draconians who attack the group at the module's start) and, if that fails, he will wait until the PCs have procured the next PF icon to slay them). Beam decides to try and fool whoever has the other warbook and writes a fake report that the attack on Tresvka has gone as planned. He also tries to find out who and where the other writer is, discovering only that there is a safehouse in Solanthus before the writer wises up to the wizard's ploy and says his group will be destroyed. But the conversation confirmed something else--there is a spy in the Solanthus resistance for how else would the draconians have known of the PCs' arrival or intentions?

The group makes ready to return to Solanthus by griffon and find the other warbook's owner (and, presumably, root out the spy).

Bitching Up A Storm

2011-04-17T19:42:00.002-05:00

Who doesn't love to bitch about the people they must interact with daily? Now, you can share your stories with like-minded people on my new FB page Memorable Work Moments. Meant to be comedic, this page is pretty much for anyone who wants to share a WTF moment that maybe they don't want to share on their personal Walls for whatever reason.

Campaign Notes DL 1-8

2011-04-16T23:25:00.006-05:00

Title: Of Gods & Men

PC Level: 7th

Taking place immediately after The Test, the PCs are preparing to head north to Tresvka and locate the neutral-aligned Promise Flame icon. The alchemist, Fane, asks them to stay a few moments longer in the city and speak with some members of the Solamnic resistance movement. He leads the group to a nearby warehouse where half a dozen young men and women are eager to hear about the gods, and Kiri-Jolith in particular, from Gundar.

The cleric provides what information he has and assures the assembled people that, not only did the gods never leave, but that they would help defeat the armies of the Dark Queen if only the people had faith. Gunthar used his medallion of faith holy symbol to magically create more symbols for these newly christened clerics. The leader of the Resistance, also inside the warehouse, briefed the PCs about her group (this woman is Lucinda and she was one of the members rescued by the PCs in Thelgaard in module DL 1-4). Originally, a few citizens of central Solamnia heard of the encroaching armies and decided to form an organization to combat it. Unfortunately, no one knew just what to do or how to do it. After her brush with death in Thelgaard, Lucinda knew someone had to step forward and take command of these like-minded people.

Now, every community from Solanthus to Vingaard Keep was in contact with one another (via hidden message points hidden under specially-marked rocks in each settlement). She has many competent members gathering information about the Dragonarmy with precision reconnaissance. She tells the PCs that if an emergency arises and they need manpower, she can gather a small but potent force to assist them. She is deeply grateful for the group's assistance up until now but requests that Deedra be left in Solanthus. Residents who disapprove of Resistance activities (i.e. those people who don't believe in dragons or the threat of the evil armies) are apt to harass the group's movements but they'll be less likely to do so when a minotaur accompanies important transports. Deedra agrees to help but vows to meet up with the PCs before too long.

Now down to Gunthar, Beam, and Sir Plaxus, the adventurers receive supplies from Lucinda (foodstuffs, a cart and 3 horses). She asks one more thing of the group--look in on her acquaintances at Castle di Caela, which is halfway between Solanthus and Tresvka. The di Caela matriarch usually shops in Solanthus but hasn't been seen in over two weeks. One the PCs check in (hopefully discovering the family is well), they should report back using the message spot in Tresvka.

After 5-6- hours, the PCs come within sight of Castle di Caela and investigate two unusually large haystacks. They are ambushed by two owlbear skeletons waiting inside the haystacks but dispatch them without difficulty. Once at the castle, they notice that the ground level is all that is left of the building, which clearly appears to have had more levels above it (but now only bit of wall remain). Inside, as twilight falls, the PCs discover and slay skeletons and a handful of other zombie-like undead (cadavers from the Dread Codex). A few piles of neatly-stacked stones (removed, apparently, from the upper level walls) lie in the castle's former barracks. Outside, one of the horses whinnies in pain. The PCs rush to the scene and see a humanoid flee around a corner. The monster climbs the outside wall without difficulty and Gunthar uses his turn undead power on it successfully. Beam climbs the wall behind the thing and is treated to its hissing, fanged visage before it becomes gaseous and floats into the castle's lower level.

Beam believes the creature to be a vampire and the group returns inside to find it (after a brief discussion of retreating to rest which is pooh-poohed in favor of pushing on). One last room needs to be explored and this one houses a coffin and a fireplace facade. The group destroys the coffin and discovers a staircase beneath the faux fireplace. A chamber at the bottom has a table with a diary and some jewelry atop it. Gunthar moves to the table when two armored figures emerge from the shadows and attack. Gunthar and Plaxus engage them while Beam prepares spells behind. Unfortunately, the vampire (in this case, the woman is a vampire spawn) creeps out from a hiding spot behind more neatly-stacked rocks in the room and attacks the wizard.

As when battling the owlbear skeletons earlier, Beam uses his rod of the python to good effect in this battle while Gunthar turns the undead with his Kiri-Jolith divine power. The vampire spawn is slain here and staked for later disposal into the sunlight. Gunthar and Plaxus move into a nearby chamber and discover a pile of bodies, mostly human but some dwarven (the latter presumed to be excavators). In the meantime, Beam peruses the diary of the di Caela patriarch (Richard) who notes at the diary's end that the family was excavating beneath the castle for a new wine cellar when they discovered a man-made seal and broke it. At this point, Beam believes that a ("super") vampire still lurks in the area (or something worse).

After walking through another tunnel, the PCs emerge into a gigantic chamber wherein skeletons labor to rebuild the castle they are deconstructing from the surface. Gunthar recalls that one of the early di Caelas (Semmitt) was a vampire and, for some reason, could not be slain at the time. Instead, he was sealed into a crypt of his own making (for he was quite old at the time). This tale is pre-Cataclysm.

Inside the chamber, the skeletons are goaded into attacking by the PCs. Beam levitates Gunthar and he destroys all of their number with the turning power of Kiri-Jolith. The group then investigates the new foundation of the castle (which is empty) and soon discovers a seal centrally located in the massive chamber. It read in Solamnic, "Here lies Semmitt di Caela" which only confirms the group's fears that somewhere around them lurks the ancient vampire. The group moves to the doorway back into the tunnels and Beam finds that the entrance is laced with magical runes but that they are malfunctioning. He asks the group to move just into the tunnel and reform the door from the blocks that were cast to the side upon breaching the chamber. As he turns to explain the spell he wants to try on the entrance, he notes that another person has joined the group in the tunnel--Semmitt di Caela!

Gunthar takes the first blow (in this case a touch) which sucks physical energy from his form. A furious melee ensues. Beam backs away and recalls his python (who is a short distance away guarding the staked vampire spawn) while Semmitt uses the clerical power of Chemosh to cast a shatter spell on Gunthar's holy symbol and destroys it so he cannot turn the vampire. Plaxus ineffectually tries to stake the vampire. Soon, the evil creature assumes gaseous form and retreats after Beam's python grapples it. The PCs regroup and Beam casts a modified hold portal spell on the entranceway in an attempt to restore whatever magic kept the vampire in the chamber. The spell works but Beam is not sure how long the jury-rigged magic will hold.

The group retreats to the surface, disposes of the vampire spawn into the sunlight, and rests (also creating a new holy symbol from the one Plaxus possesses). After spells are used to bolster the PCs, they return to the crypt-chamber but Semmitt has also had time to plan. He has taken refuge in a nook near the ceiling (some 100 feet above the floor) and gives the PCs one chance to simply leave him in peace. They refuse and the vampire begins the attack by successfully casting silence on the wizard. He then drops a darkness ball in the group's midst. Gunthar summons a celestial eagle to take the fight to the vampire. But just before he can attempt to turn the evil undead creature, Semmitt once again shatters the cleric's holy symbol.

In a fit of anger, Gunthar leaps from his eagle into the vampire's hole an grapples with it. The two tumble out of the hiding place and hurtle toward the ground. The vampire manages to shapechange into a giant dire bat and break the grapple on the way down. Gunthar grabs for the bat's feet but misses. The cleric lands with a loud smash and is knocked unconscious, now mortally wounded. Beam, though silenced from traditional spellcasting, is able to use an innate power to inflict fiery bursts upon the vampire while his python attacks from behind. Plaxus, meanwhile, has discovered the vampire's coffin and is destroying it. The vampire finally falls to the constant attacks but is not finished for good as it can heal very quickly from most injuries. Beam grabs a stake after trying to unsuccessfully stabilize Gunthar and sticks it into Semmitt's breast. Plaxus tries to stabilize the cleric as well but without effect.

In a final desperate gamble (Gunthar now reaching -10 hit points), Plaxus tries to use the healing power of Kiri-Jolith to save his friend (for while Plaxus was teaching Gunthar about knighthood since they met, so too has the cleric been teaching the knight about divine matters). To everyone's relief, a healing cantrip is granted and the cleric is saved. The PCs then move the vampire's staked form up into the sunlight, giving the di Caela a final farewell, and see to their friend's recovery.

Campaign Notes: DL 1-7

2011-04-13T21:58:00.004-05:00

Title: The Test

PC Level: 6th

After the events of The Cursed of Kiri-Jolith, the party makes its way to the bottom of the Garnet Mountains and into Solanthus after a few hours walk. While the group is not batted entry into the city, Sir Plaxus is made the butt of several jokes by the guards (apparently, the city overthrew its knightly rule a decade before and has no love for that organization). Inquiries as to the location of the alchemist (where Beam is supposed to make contact about his Test of High Sorcery on this day) yield surprisingly exact results (although the questionees do not seem like they want to give a minotaur wrong directions and still be in the same area!).

Alchemist Tibias Fane greets the group warmly at his shop and, once Beam identifies himself, leads the group to the back room. Deedra shakes with an unknown fear and cannot go into the room, leaving Beam to take the test with Sir Plaxus and Gundar (i.e. Deedra's player could not make it for this session).

A ring of smooth stones in the "stock room" flashes with magical power when Beam speaks the words provided by Fane. In the next instant, the group finds itself amidst a similar stone circle but is now inside a different room. A young woman soon enters and, after getting Beam's name, escorts the PCs to the library where they are to await Mortran, Beam's administrator for the Test. Several wizards of all three orders are preparing war-packs and speaking excitedly amongst themselves while a single Red Robe lies dozing at a distant table.

The Red Robe is Navek and, upon being awakened, informs the group that the other wizards of the Tower of Wayreth here have learned that the Dragonarmy has acquired all three Promise Flame icons and they are preparing a strike force to take them from the clutches of evil. The party scoffs at this news since they already have possession of the good-aligned icon. However, when Mortran arrives in the room and confirms Navek's news, he examines the PC's icon and, finding it to be cracked, breaks it with little pressure. There is no time to wonder at this as the Mortran lays out the Test.

Mortran warns the non-Wizards that taking the Test is just as hazardous to them as it is to Beam, costing many Wizards their lives. All understand and agree to begin. A doorway is opened in the corner of the library and the PCs walk through to emerge outside at a familiar locale. Here is where the group encountered the horax outside of Thelgaard (see the beginning of module DL 1-4). Now, Beam has a second chance to save the girl who previously died. Or does he? As the PCs move to protect the farmhouse occupants from the large vermin attack, the girl (although saved from the horax by Beam this time) falls into a sinkhole. She is dragged off by another horax as Beam reaches the hole.

The group descends into the passage and soon arrives at an underground lake where wide flat stones are arranged at differing intervals, jutting from the surface. On the ceiling are stalactites of varying girths, three of which have great holes in their sides to accommodate space within. The group makes plans to cross on the stones and investigate the holes but this proves difficult as stepping on any of the stones causes them to levitate upward! Gundar and Beam split up while Sir Plaxus watches from shore (his armor being too heavy and cumbersome to allow for stone jumping). Beam successfully picks the stalactite where the girl has been taken but the horax who snatched her waits within. The wizard manages to defeat the vermin and rescue the girl. When this occurs, a magical portal opens on shore.

Through the portal, the girl vanishes and the PCs find themselves back at Ironrock inside the orphanage they grew up in. This is one of the rest areas provided by the Test and the group takes full advantage of it. A visit from the smithy of Ironrock yields a clue (although the group doesn't realize it yet) to the next part of the Test. He brings a new blend of peach green tea for the PCs to try and then departs. At the end of 8 hours, another portal whisks the group outside of a cave on a small hill.

A centaur lays with a sickly centaur youngling and he pleads for the PC's assistance. A Black Robed wizard poisoned the youngling and the cave entrance (wherein the wizard lairs and undoubtedly has an antidote) is too small to accommodate the creature's size. The wizard was slain when the centaur tortured him for the antidote's location. Inside the cave mouth is a solid stone wall on which are arranged gemstones of different colors in a horizontal line. The center gem, triangular and clear, is where Beam centers a color spray and that causes the wall to open. A maze is next, in which an ogre mage attacks the group but is easily dispatched. At the end of the maze is an door but only Beam makes it through before a wall of flame erupts within the doorway. Inside, the wizard finds a balance atop a stone dais. On one end sits a green vial atop a pile of steel pieces. On the other end sits an orange vial atop a stack of gemstones. After a few attempts to remove the steel and gems (and subsequent arrow traps being sprung), Beam decides to grab both liquid-filled vials after Gundar remembers the smithy visiting with peach green tea (and shouting this information through the doorway). The balance ends are too far apart for Beam to reach so he uses mage hand to grab both vials. The flame wall outside the chamber dissipates and the PCs successfully use both liquids to cure the centaur youngling.

The centaur then says he will watch over the group as it rests from its trial. After the rest, what feels like an earthquake rocks the area. The centaur vanishes and the group experiences a magical flash that leaves them back in the library of the Tower of Wayreth. Navek, the dozing Red Robe, still reclines at a table but now a spear has permanently transfixed the man to that spot! An explosion echoes down the hallway outside the room. The PCs rush out to find a human Dragonarmy warrior, a bozak draconian, and an ugly draconian type they have not yet encountered (proto-baaz). A brief fight ends the enemy threat and the PCs follow the smell of burnt flesh up a flight of stairs. A White Robe meets them at the top but he has been mostly melted into the wall, a sooty haze around his corpse on the wall and floor.

A white portal stands open in the room and, somehow still alive, the White Robe (who is recognized as Mortran) rasps, "Must...close...portal...other side...battle..."

Ghostly draconic hands appear to be physically holding open the gateway from the other side. The PCs dutifully jump through to find two proto-baaz flanking a priest of Takhisis. The ghostly dragon hands are coming from an orb sitting next to the evil priest. After an intense battle, the PCs smash the orb and close the portal, leaving themselves unable, at the moment, to return to the Tower. The group step out of the edge of the treeline they are in to see a great valley before them. On the other side is a mountain on which can barely be seen a cave opening. To their right, a battle is occurring between the Wayreth wizards and Dragonarmy forces. The PCs wisely decide to check out the cave.

Inside, 2 proto-baaz are dispatched and the group finds supplies and a man-made staircase going up. The upper level here appears to be a dead end in a wide chamber but the PCs are suddenly attacked by magical bolts from overhead, revealing that a hidden passage or chamber can be accessed. Trial and error reveals a staircase to this hidden level and a Black Robe is confronted. Before the PCs can slay him, the evil wizard uses the magic of nearby burning braziers to capture each adventurer within swirling bubbles of force. The Black Robe pulls off his hood to reveal--Zurias, Beam's father! Presumed dead after the events of module DL 1-5, the man thanks Beam for being so gullible and allowing him to trade the real Promise Flame icon for a fake while the young wizard was unconscious in his arms.

Zurias does indeed have all three icons, as feared by the Wayreth Wizards, and is intent on destroying them in a magical ritual, thus robbing Solamnia of hope during the next push of the Dragonarmy. One at a time, the PCs notice a flaw in the force bubble around their persons and are able to stab the slight opening with a weapon to disrupt the field. As Zurias moves to bring reinforcements to him, the PCs manage to subdue him and...

...find themselves back in the stock room of Fane's alchemist shop in Solanthus! A very not-dead Mortran greets them as well and informs Beam that he has passed the Test of High Sorcery. The wizard is given a white robe and a rod of the python. But the Test has not left Beam untouched. Because of his overriding concern for others, Beam now has a facial tic on one side and his hair has turned totally white. All in all, small prices to pay for a step forward in magical knowledge. Beam tries to learn from Mortran what Zurias meant at the Sage Academy when the older wizard said he had to give Beam up for the magic. Mortran says only Zurias knows as the details of every wizard's Test are their's alone to share.

Inside the shop, Deedra greets the group warmly and plans are made as to where to journey next. The neutral Promise Flame icon is supposedly the closest so that seems like a natural next step.

Campaign Notes: DL 1-6

2010-12-27T10:12:00.003-05:00

Title: The Cursed of Kiri-Jolith

PC Level: 5th

The synopsis for the previous adventure can be found here. The PCs make camp within the quiet escape tunnel for a day or two. Beam is told that Zurias is his father and the parchment from the mentor says to go to Solanthus within a week's time and contact the local apothecary there concerning the youth's test of high sorcery.

Healing, the group is no worse for wear as they study the book from the Academy--History of the Third Dragon Way (circa 2AC). The book confirms the information previously learned about the Promise Flames (lit by the Promise Hearth as a reminder of Queen Takhisis' promise to withdraw from the world after being defeated in that war and that the other gods were always with the people). The Promise Flames (great towers with fires burning atop them) were spread through Solamnia so, it is said, that no one in the country could not go anywhere without glimpsing at least one of their fires.

The book details that when the Hearth was lit, it was then sealed and the key to open it was split into three pieces (each one a different colored flame symbol) and given to a three individuals who were named Preservers. This trio, each of differing alignment (good, neutral, evil) to represent the Balance of all things, hid the flame icons in different parts of Solamnia--good in Lytburg (PCs have this one), the neutral in Tresvka, and the evil in Ulgurmere manor. Whether the other two icons would still be in these locations is a mystery. Only by possessing all three can the Hearth be reopened and the Promise Flames restored as a means to instill hope into the harried Solamnic people, besieged by the Dragonarmies. The book is careful to point out that only someone of appropriate moral character can hold the respective flame icons.

The adventurers eventually reach the end of their tunnel and find another secret panel in which to place Zurias' dwarven medallion. They then enter a dwarven-crafted ruin of some kind and begin to explore for a way back to the surface. The group soon discovers two statues, a dwarf shaking the hand of a knight, the latter's head having been knocked from his shoulders by ceiling debris. Gundar and Plaxus feel a strange familiarity with the chamber and Gundar places the knight's head back onto the statue. Immediately, the group hears the voice of Kiri-Jolith. In short, the god tells the group that they must undue a curse he placed upon this complex because a sacred bond of friendship was broken by the knights here centuries ago. If they can do this, the adventurers will receive more powerful weapons in their quest to restore the Promise Flames, and thus restore hope to the people and unite them in the face of the Dragon Queen's forces.

Two large bats are dispatched as the party moves deeper into the complex. They next arrive at some kind of receiving room, complete with (now dilapidated) table and chairs. On the ceiling is a glass mosaic depicting dwarves and humans fighting dragons together. Beam recalls something about that in the book they just acquired and researches while Gundar and Deedra move up a nearby staircase. These two find paintings of apparently distinguished dwarves and knights on the walls of the hallway before encountering a boulder which has smashed in the hallway's exit, but not so tight that one person cannot slip into the next area at a time.

Meanwhile, Plaxus guards the studying Beam who learns that the complex they are now in was once a waystation between the Knights of Solamnia and the Garnet Mtn. dwarves who were given the area in appreciation for their service in the Third Dragon War. The waystation was a neutral meeting ground for trade, etc. but one of the knights became jealous of the dwarves "easy" lifestyle and wealth and convinced his fellows to slay their bearded allies. According to the book, Kiri-Jolith was so enraged that he cursed the waystation and the knights therein, changing them into creatures who would forever work at the riches they so coveted, mining the area futilely for eternity.

Deedra and Gundar discover a slimy blob on the boulder which soon moves to attack them. They begin to easily dispatch the creature when another humanoid made of stone advances from an unseen passageway behind the minotaur. Plaxus leaves Beam to assist the embattled cleric and warrior and the trio makes short work of their foes. Beam implores the party to investigate a door in the receiving room they previously left alone. Inside is a refuse area. Fungus grows rampantly across the area and infests a corpse near the edge of the fetid pit. Beam uses his quarterstaff to try and move the body but is blasted by spores from the fungus. He is unaffected by the poison until a second blast hits him in the face. The group retreats as Beam immediately starts to lose health by the minute. Gundar's limited spell repertoire proves ineffectual but then Deedra remembers the water she bottled from Kiri-Jolith's fountain in their very first adventure. Beam drinks the elixir but feels nothing so, in a desperate attempt to rid his skin of some fast-growing mushroom on his neck, he magically burns them off. As it turns out, Deedra's holy water did the trick but the mage was happy to have taken some kind of initiative anyway.

The group returns to the area beyond the boulder and find yet another stony humanoid walking aimlessly with a handful of small gemstones. It is slain but then Plaxus notices something odd behind the stony face--a withered human face! Beam surmises that these stone monsters must be the cursed of Kiri-Jolith as written in his book. The party advances deeper into the complex and crosses some pits and debris-choked areas (apparently there was an earthquake or two in the centuries since the waystation's fall). A fight with some flaying manta-ray type beasts is quick but leads to another encounter with the cursed stone beasts. The group finds empty chambers where humans and dwarves slept but then discovers the quarters of the dwarven cleric leader and his chest of magical items (which are quickly appropriated).

A "evil" feeling hole in the ground of the armory gives way to water beneath (perhaps 60 feet below) as well as a wide open chamber of some kind. The group descends and discovers makeshift rock cairns as well as a large pile of gemstones. The grand chamber 9 exit passages which the party assumes were made by the eternally mining knight-monsters. Gundar approaches the gem pile and throws the gems retrieved from the stone-knight above onto the pile. Some other gems roll off the pile and immediately vanish. Suddenly, Beam is attacked by a dwarf skeleton as he was inspecting one of two shallow pools inside the chamber. Other dwarf skeletons emerge from the cairns and advance on those who would disturb their resting place.

As the skeletons are quickly slain, a stone-knight emerges from nearly every exit passage to attack! A fierce fight ensues but the party is more than up to the challenge, felling every monster without taking any losses. The group turns its attention to the gem pile once more, cleaning off the top layers. Beneath is a glass casket containing a single dwarf with a sword of Solamnic make in its chest. Gundar opens the casket and pulls the sword from the corpse, which gasps slightly, opening its eyes, and whispering, "thank you...."

As the dwarf corpse disintegrates into dust, so do the stony exteriors of the fallen knights, revealing glowing weapons and armor beneath. There is even a cursed white wizard among the fallen which Beam appropriates the equipment of. As promised, the group has gained superior arms and armor as reward for lifting the curse here. They are then encompassed by the light and power of Kiri-Jolith who returns them to the upper level of the complex. The group easily finds a way to the surface and sees Solanthus, their next stop, below their mountaintop view.

Forgotten Foes a reality!!!

2010-10-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

Yes, I agree. It's about time!

Campaign Notes: DL 1-5

2010-09-14T19:21:00.009-05:00

Title: A Timely Interruption

PC Level: 4th

After a resupply and recuperation in Thelgaard (events of last time here), the PCs with Sir Plaxus start the trek to the Sage Academy. There, they hope to find information about the Promise Flames (to which they hold one of the icons...whatever that means!?). The Academy lies on the road heading east from the half-destroyed city, over a river, and is nestled at the base of the Garnet Mtns. Beam recalls a story told by his mentor about the Academy being an arcane school for both prospective and accomplished wizards (the latter having taken the Test of High Sorcery).

At the river, a recently destroyed toll shack warns the group that they are indeed in enemy territory. Across the river, an old Solamnic waystation now houses a small group of hobgoblins and their human commander (all dressed in Dragonarmy regalia). Within the basement vault, the PC's discover some steel pieces and a magical sword of unknown power. The hobs were easily defeated after they attempted to exact a toll from the PCs.

After reaching the valley before the Academy on the third day of travel, the group encounters something quite odd. A moderately sized Dragonarmy presence is camped below which would normally be cause for great concern. However, on closer inspection, none of the figures seen from the PCs' vantage are moving--not an inch. Gundar then notices a dragon flying above the troops, a blue one of human size. But that dangerous creature is also not moving--simply stuck in mid-flight.

The PCs move into the encampment and have a look around. Before too long, a bone snapping and crunching noise is heard from one of the northernmost tents. Inside, a large something is clearly feeding. Beam enacts a plan to have the group surround the tent before he causes magical flame to combust one corner of the tent. The plan works to flush the beast--a manticore--into the open. It refuses a brief attempt at parlaying by the party since they attacked it first. After taking several injuries, the winged beast retreats. The attack did allow Plaxus and Deedra to pick up some bows from frozen draconian troops standing nearby. Despite the battle, none of the Dragonarmy stirred from their spots. Beam recalled a story from his former mentor boasting of a time-control orb stored at the Academy which was created in a past age and that the older human wished to someday experiment with. It was likely that this item had caused the unnatural scene which they were in. Gundar proposed slaying all the Dragonarmy troops where they stood but Plaxus warned against such a dishonorable thing as slaying helpless foes and so the cleric relented.

Beam decided to seek out the commander's tent. Inside, aside from a naked whore under the bunk sheets, the party removed a few magical items from the human's possession along with a warbook--the same type as used by the draconian from Lytburg. The book was rather new so the few pages that were written on yielded that these troops were to sack the Academy and take whatever magics they could find there. The seige had just begun and the commander wrote that he was sending the newly arrived dragon to soften up the defenses as an initial group of draconians tested the Academy's gates.

From what the PCs could tell, that battle plan had only just begun. A winding road led up to the Academy gates from the valley, where they could see that a wall surrounded the site and the buildings within were open to the air. A frozen pillar of smoke indicated at least one pass by the dragon. A handful of draconian troops were near the gates. The PCs promptly disarmed them upon arrival and shoved their frozen forms off the road. A few troops just inside the open gates were being engaged in an silent combat by rope-form humanoids of some kind (which Beam soon deduced to be some kind of golems). Deedra commented on the eeriness of the scene as the PCs moved deeper into the complex.

About a dozen buildings stood silently waiting to be investigated. One of the first to be examined was the rope golem creation house. A medallion sat next to a completed but inactive golem on a worktable. Beam was able to use the magical item to activate the golem, through which he could deliver brief commands. Now with a little more muscle, the group discovered a stairway going down. In the basement, a strange light pulsed from within a doorway. Inside three draconians and one human were found frozen. The human, who Beam immediately recognized as his mentor Zurias, had both hands on the item throwing the light--an orb--fractured by a draconian's blade. Another draconian blade had apparently just severed the wizard's left hand prior to time stopping.

Beam decided to touch the cracked orb in an attempt to disrupt the time effect going on. The other PCs disarmed the frozen draconians and tied the bozak up after slaying the two baaz in case Beam would be successful. The young wizard instead became frozen himself. Gundar decided to try a different approach and wrenched Zurias' hands from the orb. There was an explosion of light and sound and, after the light dimmed, two of the three draconians were simply gone, leaving the adventurers with Zurias. The older wizard was surprised, to say the least, but grateful for the group's arrival (and for Gundar's field mending of the man's severed wrist).

The PCs explained they were after Promise Flame information so Zurias quickly led the group up to one of the Academy libraries. But it would not be an easy task to cross the complex (for the book they sought was on the other side of the Academy) as the attack by the Dragonarmy resumed as though nothing had happened. A few dragonarmy troops were dispatched (along with a troublesome kapak archer on a rooftop) before the blue dragon made a pass with its lightning breath weapon. The PCs slightly wounded it and it veered off as the group made it into the library (Beam also sent his rope golem to help reinforce the gates). The book (a history of the Third Dragon War written just after the Cataclysm) had all the information they would need, assured Zurias.

To escape the Academy attack, Zurias knew the group would need to use a secret exit which would, again, require a crossing of the Academy grounds. This time, the dragon strafed accurately with its lightning breath and grievously wounded both Plaxus and Beam (the latter dropping unconscious from the damage). Zurias picked up the young wizard while Gundar retrieved the book. A combined attack by the three remaining adventurers bruised the dragon enough to cause it to retreat while more draconian troops poured up to the gates (barely held in check by the few rope golems there).

Within a supply room, a secret panel hid a dwarven rune which Zurias used to open a double stone door (a medallion with the same raised rune fit into the panel's depression). Unfortunately, the doorway could only be sealed from the Academy side so Zurias knew he had to be the one to stay behind. As he handed off Beam's unconscious form to Gundar, the mentor cried and said to the wizard, "I'm very proud of you...my son. I had to give you up for the magic. I can only hope that, one day, you will understand." The surprised adventurers retreated to safety in the old dark corridor as Zurias threw in the door-opening medallion. The PCs heard the arrival of many draconians as the stone doors sealed shut, leaving the group in darkness.

New Interface

2010-09-11T19:15:00.003-05:00

So, for some reason, I decided to start up a facebook fan page for myself (as you can see along the sidebar). I know a handful of people like what I produce so I figured "what the hell!" I'm happy to have over 50 followers in the first couple days. I'm going to try and put on content regularly but, let's be honest, is my writing life that interesting? Time will tell. So far, I've lined up some tidbits that some may not know about my past writing. We'll deal with future events when they happen.

Oh, and look for a synopsis of last week's Dragonlance adventure soon!

Is Freelancing Glamorous?

2010-09-07T19:13:00.001-05:00

I think pretty much everyone can agree with Mr. Wendig here.

Cover Art!

2010-07-07T16:27:00.001-05:00

Here's a new look at the front/back cover spread for Tricky Owlbear's Forgotten Foes!

A Sad Anniversary

2010-06-19T13:15:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe it has already been a year since my friend Chuck's passing. You are still greatly missed, my friend.

Compendium Sale

2010-05-16T08:38:00.003-05:00

For a limited time only, we're having a special on Behind the Spells: Compendium over at RPGNow. If you still haven't picked up this 5-star product, you can now get it for 50% off until May 19 by clicking here!

D&D: The Next Generation

2010-05-06T21:37:00.002-05:00

A few months ago, I received a startling call from my sister. Turns out, her oldest son Aiden (who will be 9 in Oct.) ran across a reference to Dungeons & Dragons and became interested in reading about it. I pondered briefly how best to indoctrinate my nephew into the roleplaying fold. Should Aiden be thrust into the rules-heavy editions of today? Or should he be weaned in the same manner I was? One look at the above picture tells you which way I went.

I was fortunate enough to locate a complete and intact Basic Rules red box from www.hitpointe.com for, what I considered to be, a fair price. There's so much D&D history that I want Aiden to be exposed to if he decides to pursue this course. The older editions like the basic one featured here may be a bit clunky rules-wise but one cannot deny the air of freedom it gives. It was written at a time in which roleplaying itself was just finding its place in the world and the promise of a golden future of gaming was at hand. I think one can say the same about a 9-year-old's life too.

As it was with my own formative years, I can only hope that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between a boy and his imagination.

New Review

2010-05-05T17:24:00.001-05:00

In case you're not peeking in at the Tricky Owlbear blog too much, I'll mention here that there's a new review for Behind the Monsters: Gargoyle. Check it out!

Paying for Convenience

2010-05-03T10:31:00.002-05:00

Well, my trip did not yield any Star Wars d6 goodies but I did make two off the cuff purchases: the Dragon Age box set from Green Ronin and Goodman's (system generic) Random Esoteric Creature Generator. The former I picked up because a nice, new, easy system sounded like a nice change of pace from the rules-bloated days of 3.x/Pathfinder (and, yes, they're bloated, don't let anyone tell you differently).

The latter I picked up because...well, because it was a convenient resource to have. It has tons of tables to roll randomly on to whip up different monster concepts/features/abilities/yada yada. Could I not have come up with this book on my own? Sure, anyone could have. But to have it right there already fleshed out is just something that appealed to me. I paid for convenience and I think that's what typifies rpg purchasing for us busy 30-somethings.

d6 Anyone?

2010-05-02T07:59:00.002-05:00

When visiting one of my quaint "local" game stores (local meaning Palmyra, PA) the other week, I picked up one of the old d6 Star Wars adventure compilation books. I have nothing but good memories of both the d6 system and gaming in the Star Wars universe (mostly thanks to our stellar GM, Ryan!) and miss it a great deal. I'm heading to another game store today (Showcase Comics at the Granite Run mall) in the hopes of tracking down some other d6 SW books sitting forgotten on a dusty shelf. There's nothing like finding an old friend that just needs a little polish to make him useful again. Heather allowed me to borrow her collection of books but I'll need my own when I start GMing it again anyway (and shopping is, of course, half the fun!). Wish me luck on the hunt!

Bear!

2010-04-24T17:06:00.005-05:00

So, I'm out for a hike today minding my own business when I hear a noise behind me. Sounds very much like deer but the foliage is too thick to see very far. The noises go past pretty fast but then I hear another behind them moving more slowly. I already had my Droid out and on camera mode because I thought I might get a deer photo. With this noise coming my way, I was practically drooling for the animal to emerge.

Turns out, I wasn't the only one.

A black bear meandered onto the trail about 50 feet behind me. This was a small side trail leading to another side trail. Not the best place to encounter a bear (if there is such a thing as a good place!). I did what anyone would do with a camera poised--took a picture. The bear, which looked to be my size (I'm 6' tall), took a step toward me as I took several steps backward. I said, "Hey buddy," as I backed away slowly. Immediately I thought of what I could do to stall his advance and recalled having two lollipops in my pack. I took them out as I continued to retreat up the trail, unwrapped them, and threw them to the ground.

So this is how it ends, I thought as the bear took another couple steps my way. When I reached the intersection of another trail shortly thereafter I banged my walking stick on a tree and yelled, "Hey, don't you come up here!" I recalled that bear don't appreciate loudness and that they may not approach you if you're threatening (it's easy to say this advice when you're not facing one though).

At that point, I took off down the trail as fast as I could go. I chanced a look back and spit out my gum to give it something else to investigate should it decide to follow. I ran until I couldn't run anymore but I would not stop. Walking as swiftly as my legs could carry me, I continually looked back and twice though I saw a black form in the distance. I briefly considered making a bee line for the edge of the woods which I knew was somewhere on my right but there was no telling what barriers I would run into before reaching the unseen treeline.

Somehow, I kept my cool and stayed on the most direct trail over to the Hamburg reservoir (about two miles away at my encounter point). I took the trail leading to the road right before the parking lot because it was a little faster. All the while I was praying the bear was not interested in pursuit and indeed did not see it after my first couple of possible sightings. When I was just about at the main road I called my brother and said, "I need you to pick me up at the reservoir. Now." When he asked what was wrong I replied, "I'm being chased by a black bear!" He said, "I'll be right out."

He and Zlaty arrived, the latter bearing two knives to fend off the bear (thanks!), shortly thereafter and I was driven back to my car 3 miles away. All in all, I would have preferred an uneventful walk but you have to play the hand your dealt. :)

I'm Not Surprised

2010-04-24T06:59:00.002-05:00

LPJ stole my Behind the Spells idea for his own pdf line? Duh.

And...We're Back!

2010-04-21T13:19:00.002-05:00

Been awhile since I blogged so I figured I'd better let my two readers know what's going on. My courier job is officially over as of this past Saturday. I received word from a fellow courier that the new company who was awarded the Sovereign Bank contract would be taking over starting Monday (4/19) and my company confirmed that after a day. I'll miss the money but not the daily hassle. My road rage should also diminish. :)

Fortunately, as I mentioned previously, I'm back at my first home--the drug store. I'm pleased to have had a job to jump to following the driving one (that company would have found something else for me but it wouldn't have been as good or, likely, lasted for very long since I think they're on their last legs). My time away from the store has given me more perspective on life and I don't feel like I'm in a box there anymore. Will I be at this job for the long haul? Who can say? The pharmacist, Loralee, is planning to implement some changes which sound very employee-fruitful so that's good. We're also looking forward to a young new pharmacist to take David's place when he retires (sooner or later). Change really is good and I'm glad to have discovered during my employment walkabout. However, there's something to be said for the status quo too and how there's room for both in life.

In writing news, I've completed BtS: Permanency and handed that over to Scot for editing. He's also working on a new website for Tricky Owlbear. The company is still preparing for the big Pathfinder release for this summer--Forgotten Foes. Looks like this bad boy will clock in at over 70k words of monstery goodness. It will contain many classics you already know and love as well as a few new surprises. This product will put the old Owlbear on the map.

New Review

2010-04-07T13:22:00.002-05:00

Wow, I don't know when I reached "legendary" status but I'm not complaining! Frequent reviewer Chris Gath dishes about his play experience for one of my adventures Vengeance in Freeport.

The Favored of Skexxiz

2010-03-21T15:12:00.004-05:00

At long last, the troglodyte locale I wrote is seeing the light of day, now for the Pathfinder RPG! Once, long ago, I was working on a troglodyte locale that would dovetail nicely with some of Ed Bourelle's (SkeletonKey Games) tiles. For whatever reason, the project never really got off the ground. However, every good writer knows that you never throw anything away as you might be able to use (or even re-use) it later. That's the case with this pdf release from Tricky Owlbear. Check it out!

GM's Day Sale!

2010-03-03T13:55:00.002-05:00

Tricky Owlbear has got all of its pdfs on sale from now through Monday, March 8th! Stop by either OBS, Paizo, or YourGamesNow to pick up some good deals!

Got Monsters?

2010-02-28T22:55:00.002-05:00

Check out the new ad from Tricky Owlbear!

Campaign Notes: DL 1-4

2010-02-23T11:35:00.003-05:00

Title: Resistance

PC Level: 3rd

For this fourth episode of season one (you can find the previous entry here), the PCs along with Sirs Jiran and Plaxus made their way to Thelgaard to see what they were up against. Were the refugees' tales from the second adventure exaggerated? Had dragons truly returned to Krynn?

With Thelgaard still a mile or two away, the group was passing by a farmhouse when they heard a woman's fearful cry. Tall wheat fields straddled the path to the house from which emerged two man-sized blue centipede-like creatures as the PCs rushed ahead. Deedra was first into the house as her companions battled the great vermin. As the minotaur walked over the body of a human male in the doorway, a young girl sprinted out the back door, leaving her mother to fight off a third horax (the name of these Krynnish "centipedes") in the house. The horax outside were eventually defeated but Sir Jiran became increasingly vocal and almost rage-like during the fight. Both knights joined Deedra inside while Beam noted a fourth horax in the corn fields out back going for the terrified girl.

Regrettably, the wizard was a bit too far to cast a spell that might have diverted the vermin and it leapt upon the innocent child with voracious hunger. Beam finally got close enough to explode a fiery attack on the creature but it was too late for the girl. Gundar then closed in to do melee as the horax inside continued to fight off the three companions there after nearly taking off the farmwife's hand. Eventually, these two last horax were killed but Gundar lie outside close to death from his wounds. Plaxus rushed outside to tend to the wounded but Jiran took on a decidedly different appearance after the battle. Deedra was suddenly attacked by the knight, whose skin seemed to melt from his bones as he accused the PCs of being inferior and incapable of fighting the coming darkness. The knight fled the scene and, although dutifully chased by Deedra, seemed to melt away into the wheat field, only a tell-tale yellow glow left behind.

Beam theorized that Sir Jiran's encounter with the magical undead-controlling item from the last adventure was somehow to blame. Meanwhile, the farmwife, also an apothecary, managed to stabilize Gundar and provide for a quicker recovery. Deedra, Beam, and Sir Plaxus investigated one of the horax holes found in the field that foray yielded little beyond a tattered pouch with a few steel pieces the group then gave to the poor woman who had lost both husband and child in the attack. After Gundar's recovery, the woman took what possessions she could and thanked the PCs for their aid before heading west away from the approaching armies of darkness.

Thelgaard is finally reached, a city that is but half intact. The knightly keep at its center is totally destroyed and the eastern half of the city lies in ruins from the attack of dragons and dragon-men some weeks before. Refugees from these destroyed buildings line the main road into the city, begging all who pass for food and aid for their injuries. Gundar stops to pray for a young woman who was badly burned. Her face magically heals thanks to the power of Kiri-Jolith and this, needless to say, attracts the attention of all refugees nearby. They paw at Gundar for more help but he explains that his powers are limited and they must not look to him right now.

Gundar then asks the woman if she knows of a blacksmith's shop. She leads them to the door of a nearby smithy and leaves. Inside, a burly smith named Lanc helps the group more than they expected. He quickly identifies them as "soldiers of fortune" and that such people might do well with the burgeoning resistance movement that has formed to fight the dragonarmy. In fact, the smith also knows the name of the flame icon the PCs found in the last adventure! This is one of three pieces of an artifact capable of opening something called the Promise Hearth, which contains the means to relight the Promise Flames. These are great cauldrons of flame which once burned across Solamnia. It was said that no matter where you were in the country you could see at least one. But that was before the Cataclysm and now their flames are seen no longer (they were originally gifts from the gods to instill hope in the people following the last Dragon War--hope of the promise that Takhisis would never return to threaten the world). For more information on where to find the other Flames and the Promise Hearth, Lanc suggested consulting the Sage Academy (the next populated spot east of Thelgaard).

Certain winks from Lanc and such bountiful knowledge (and fabulous wares in the shop) led the group to believe that they were in the presence of no less than Kiri-Jolith himself! After leaving the shop to find a resistance movement contact in the eastern ruins, the blacksmith's shop did, in fact, fade away to reveal a common residence. The contact for the resistance was a lapidary who Beam directed the clever comment, "I'm looking for a ring of resistance." The man got the subtle hint and excused himself to presumably go and fetch a resistance member. When the man never returned, the party was attacked by a group of club-wielding thugs and a dragon-man (slightly different from the previous one in that it turned to stone when slain instead of exploding).

The party returned to the Ox and Yam inn where they had earlier purchased rooms for the night, certain that the lapidary had betrayed them. While on watch downstairs in the bar overnight, Deedra spoke with a man who bemoaned the recent death of the jeweler, the body just being discovered hours before with vicious claw marks all over him. This information, coupled with the fact that the gems the party decided to loot from the wrecked shop earlier were real, made them rethink their theory of betrayal. Before leaving the inn to head for the Sage Academy, a resistance member made contact with them. She had discovered that the lapidary's loyalities to the resistance had been uncovered by dragonarmy members and that they must have used him to help squelch prospective recruits.

The woman said she was from an established resistance cell in Solanthus and the movement was rather unsuccessful in soliciting more members here in Thelgaard (the group itself had little hope so how were they going to instill it in others?). Now, she needed the PCs help as what few members were here had been captured and were even now being tortured for information at an abandoned cathedral in east town. The cathedral was probably once impressive but the fine arts had been neglected ever since the Cataclysm, for who since then has had time or ambition for such fineries?

Inside the building, the party fought more dragon-men (some stone-turning ones and another which collapsed into a pool of acid on dying). There was also a tiny black dragon which breathed a stream of acid. Fortunately, all of these evil creatures were dispatched without PC death and the resistance members were rescued. They told of a great army of these "draconians" and dragons east of here. A small force had attacked Thelgaard but then was inexplicably called back by a great horn blast. Perhaps the dragonarmy is solidifying itself before moving onward in its conquest?

The resistance fighters said they were heading back to Solanthus and gave the PCs instruction on where and how to contact them should they ever be in that area. The party took note of all they had learned this day and prepared to find more information about the Promise Flames at the Sage Academy. But who knows what they might learn, much less how they will even reach the Academy, as it is behind enemy lines...

Grognardia reviews MMM #1

2010-02-15T19:45:00.002-05:00

Our fledgling effort gets a bit banged up in James' review but I find his critiques quite informative. Tricky Owlbear will be sure to have a trick up its sleeve for MMM #2.

Advanced Edition Companion

2010-02-10T11:34:00.003-05:00

Something that's getting chatted up around the blog-o-sphere is Goblinoid Games new expansion for the Labyrinth Lord game--the Advanced Edition Companion. It's well worth looking into for a faithful reconstruction of AD&D. The best part? The entirety of the text is OGC and you can get the bare bones version for free HERE!

Forgotten Foes

2010-02-08T09:13:00.001-05:00

Okay, now I've officially announced our monster book on the Paizo forums since word is getting out. Stop by for some discussion!

PF monster book

2010-02-02T08:53:00.002-05:00

I've dropped some more info about Tricky Owlbear's monster book over on the company blog. Have a look!

Want some free KQ?

2010-01-24T18:15:00.001-05:00

Do you know someone who you're sure would love Kobold Quarterly, if only they would take the plunge and pick up an issue? Now we have a special offer that you can send them. From now through January 31, they can go to the KQ Store and download a FREE copy of issue #10 by entering the coupon code KQ10Free at checkout.

You remember #10, right? It had an interview with Paizo's Jason Bulmahn, Ed Greenwood's Dwarven Goddess, Ecology of the Hill Giant, a wicked take on Halflings, Secrets of the Halberd, Monte Cook's Game Theories, Rampant Elf Lust. Your friends will totally dig it. And if they become fellow subscribers, you'll be helping to support Kobold Quarterly so that we can continue to bring you great content like the articles in this very issue.

Remember, this special offer ends on January 31! Tell them to head for the KQ Store pronto, and use that code!

Thanks for supporting Kobold Quarterly!

Shelly Baur

Kobold Minion

BtM: Vegepygmy

2010-01-24T14:08:00.002-05:00

In case you don't check the Tricky Owlbear blog too often (and I can't blame you really, given the lack of regular updates in the past), Behind the Monsters: Vegepygmy has been released at the usual vendors. Big thanks to Mike Ferguson for providing writing duties on this one. I think people are going to enjoy it.

Today, I'm working on Behind the Spells: Permanency and will hopefully get the specifics nailed down by the end of the day. Lots of ideas for this one but now it needs to be properly molded.

Response for Maxolt's Magical Menagerie #1 has been as good as our other products. Guess there's something to be said for the status quo. I emailed a copy to James M. of the Grognardia blog and hope he might eventually do a review of it to help with some publicity. As of this writing, RPGNow's "Gamers Help Haiti" drive is nearly at $120,000! That's astounding and I cannot say how proud Tricky Owlbear is to be a part of something so powerful and meaningful.

Pathfinder Monster Project

2010-01-21T10:49:00.002-05:00

I dropped a hint about this secret project a few updates ago and that sparked interest from fellow writer and publisher K. Axel Carlsson of Headless Hydra Games. After some chatting, Tricky Owlbear has decided that this monster project deserves some art and has brought Axel on board (along with a fine stable of artists!) to direct that end of things. This is going to be one special book--over 100 monsters (some classic, some from more recent OGL products) converted for your Pathfinder game! I'm hoping to get this released by June so we'll see what happens. Stefen Styrsky (Open Design, Kobold Quarterly) and Mark Gedak (Grand OGL Wiki) are providing the writing while I'm coordinating the effort and lending some additional design where appropriate.

MMM #1

2010-01-19T11:41:00.004-05:00

The first of Tricky Owlbear's Swords & Wizardry support products is now available! "Maxolt's Magical Menagerie #1" is for sale at OBS and will go live soon at Paizo and YGN. Each pdf in this series will give you 12 magic items complete with description and a commentary by none other than "Behind the Spells" Maxolt (we're keeping this old dragon busy!). This first pdf contains 8 misc. magic items and 4 new types of magical ammunition.

Edit: Now live at Paizo and at YourGamesNow!

Job Change

2010-01-15T23:36:00.002-05:00

Today I gave my 2 (now 3) weeks notice. The signs are pointing to a return to the drug store and, unlike some life-motorists, I can read signs. :) I've been assured there's a place for me back in Hamburg so I wasn't at all worried in handing in my notice. The scheduler and head of dispatch were very sorry to see me go (I can't really say the feeling is mutual) and the big dog there also said I could come back anytime if wherever I was going didn't work out. Well, I don't burn my bridges but let's just say that I consider this one a bit rickety to go back and try to cross anytime soon. My last courier day will be Feb 5th. Here's to change!

In writing news, I finished a manuscript handed in by blog-mate Mike Ferguson. He's been tinkering with BtM: Vegypygmy for awhile and finally decided to hand in what he had completed. In truth, all the heavy lifting was already written (the history and Character Advantages sections) so I just polished up the new monster and added a minor artifact in the Related Research section. Here's hoping people enjoy this great addition to the line when it finally releases (this is not the third manuscript Scot has in his possession for layout so he's got his hands full).

Happy New Stuff!

2010-01-13T14:19:00.003-05:00

If you've followed this blog at all through the years, you know my disdain for the new year's "holiday" so I'll let you read past posts on the subject because I'm not in the mood to rehash it here. :)

My Mac continues to function beyond expectation and I still haven't gotten around to messing with iMovie, Garage Band, or any of the other extras.

My commitment to write more is still holding. I penned a little pdf called 'Maxolt's Magical Menagerie' (issue #1) for old school gaming. This includes 12 new magic items designed for Swords & Wizardry (but usable with any compatible retro-clone of course). Each item has a complete description of its physical appearance and magical abilities, naturally, but also comes with a paragraph from "Behind the Spells" Maxolt which sneaks in some added detail or plot hook. I enjoyed writing this because it did not take hours to tinker with stat blocks and I finished the whole thing in something like 24 hours of off-and-on work. Look for it to be on sale soon for the generous price of $1.00!

I also received a mostly completed manuscript from Mike Ferguson for "Behind the Monsters: Vegypygmy." I added some of the missing details over the last day and it, too, should be ready shortly for layout and sale. Good stuff and I thank Mike for his work on this!

Tricky Owlbear's unannounced monster project for Pathfinder is proceeding apace with two freelancers working tirelessly now that the holiday break is behind us. I'm really looking forward to how this goes over once it's completed. I'll warn you now--there will likely be no artwork. I'm afraid we just cannot afford the expense for 100 monster illustrations.

My own work situation is still unclear. It's been confirmed that the contract for my bank work will no longer be with my company (as of either the end of Jan. or Feb.) but the new company that got the big has not yet made any overtures to the current drivers. There's also been a shakeup at the drug store which seems overly coincidental and I might find myself back there if the driving gig doesn't pan out. The Lord does work in mysterious ways...

Huh? What?

2009-12-30T08:50:00.002-05:00

Oh yeah, I guess I should update this blog! Well, in case you don't already know, I picked up a Mac mini as my new OS this past Sunday. My old computer (emphasis on the "old"!) was way past due for an upgrade. My brother suggested one PC and one Mac for my meager uses and I decided to exercise the Mac option--partly because I wanted a computer with more safety (the old one had recently become infected with a nasty virus) and partly just to try something different. Honestly, I could not be happier with this system. The lack of Windows is somehow freeing; that's the best way I can explain it. The thing runs like a dream (although, admittedly, anything would have been an improvement over the two squirrels in a wheel on which my old system was running). I haven't even scratched the surface of what this baby can do but we'll get there in time. In the meantime, I'll just sit back and enjoy the fluid computing experience.

To go along with the new system, Scot said I needed a new keyboard and mouse (or adapter for my old Dell units). Having already spent $600 on the system, I decided to play these replacements as cheaply as possible. We looked at Best Buy but the selection really wasn't good and the price of the sets was $45+ and that seemed like too much to me (and there was no adapters we could find to price compare with). So, at a suggestion from Zlaty, we stopped at Target on the way home. [Note to everyone: don't forget about Target for your needs!] I wasn't sure Target would have a good variety of electronics but I was confident that the prices would be better. Turned out I was right on both counts. However, when browsing the meager selection, Scot immediately noted the presence of a Logitech keyboard/mouse set and said it was quality. What's more, the set was only listed as $29.99 (score!). I picked it up and moved on through the store, stopping at a price scanner soon after. I just enjoy the scanners so that's the only reason I swiped the box under it. Turns out that swipe yielded an unexpected result--my set was on sale for $19.99! This convinced Scot and Zlaty to get a box for themselves too.

Let's see what else is going on...not too much over the holidays really. We had a very nice Xmas at home. I'm still enjoying DROID the second (no toilet incidents yet) as my main gift but received some nice stuff on the actual gift exchange day as well. The family had a good meal together and we then shared an UNO-thon until after 11pm. Somewhere in all that my brother and I squeezed in a game of NES Ice Hockey--fun to roll that out again even if I lost.

I've been negligent in my writing (mostly because of my old slooooow PC) having only worked on the main map for What Goes Up! in the last couple weeks. Hopefully the new year (and my fast OS) will bring unbridled creativity and output. After all, what more could a writer ask for?

Sales and Happenings

2009-12-10T11:45:00.003-05:00

First off, Lotsa Blocks! is now permanently on sale for $4.00 ($8 was really too much for a bunch of stat blocks). Also, our recent Cyber Monday Sale turned out to be a nice little boost for us.

Second, even though I didn't see her more than a handful of times, it was great to spend some time with my sister and her family who were visiting for 3 weeks from Hawaii. Regrettably, she had soooo many other people to see and things to get done that 3 weeks wasn't enough time. I did get to see her and her three kids enjoying the Christmas presents I gave them though so that was cool. :)

Third, my job has hit an interesting twist in the road (pun intended). Rumor mill has it that the company I contract under lost the bid for the Sovereign Bank contract (which is the only work I do for them). Come end of January, supposedly, that'll be it. However, the rumor mill also says that the company who did win the contract will ask the banks if they're happy with their couriers. If they are, this company will offer those couriers the same work (possibly at a higher pay I'd wager). That'd be nice but we'll see what happens. If all else fails, the drug store has already made it known that they'd take me back (it's nice to be wanted). :)

Fourth, I'm making a bit of headway with Tricky Owlbear's What Goes Up! (our S&W adventure). It's much different than designing a 3.x module (and much less cumbersome!). I hope to have this project completed within the next few weeks. Haven't asked him yet, but I'm thinking of asking Jan Pospisil to do the cover (he did the fantastic art for the interior of A Matter of Faith).

Fifth, there's two Pathfinder projects in the works. The first is our second locale, The Favored of Skexxiz, and the second is a much larger project which I have two freelancers working on right now. Don't want to say much about it yet but it will nicely fill a hole in the current Pathfinder offerings, methinks, as well as giving something worthwhile to those who found the Bestiary a bit wanting in terms of mosnter selection (oops, I've said too much!).

Sixth, my Xmas shopping is complete and all is well with the universe.

New Store!

2009-12-01T22:21:00.001-05:00

Trying something out for the holiday season...

Enjoy dry humor? Need a gag gift? Do you just have too much money? Well, then try out my State the Obvious! cafepress store!

Cyber Monday Sale

2009-11-30T10:15:00.000-05:00

Tricky Owlbear is offering two of its higher priced pdfs at a great discount for today only!

BtS: Compendium is 50% off for a price of $7.50: http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?discount=47098

Lotsa Blocks! is an astounding 75% off for a price of $2.00 (that's just 2 cents a block!): http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?discount=7872

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-26T14:09:00.003-05:00

I'm thankful for many things, not the least of which is that I'm alive and have a wonderful family and good friends. We just had a good meal at Cracker Barrel ($8.99 per person is quite the bargain for what we got) and now it's time to digest. Apologies for the lack of posts lately. I've wanted to post the story of my DROID (yes, I got one!) but something or other always seemed to derail my intention. No longer!

I couple Thursdays ago my family and I went out to the Verizon store in Allentown for me to get a Droid (my mom was getting one as well). I was convinced after seeing the features on it from three other family members that I needed one. In addition, I scored one for free, asking that it be an early Christmas gift (a $369 value after a $100 rebate!). So everything was fine, the Droid was great during work driving, and then the next day Friday the 13th struck...

I was minding my own business in the evening, just taking a quick break to pee before heading over to Scot's house. While doing my thing, the Droid rings from my pocket. What the heck, I can multitask, I think as I shake with one hand and snatch the phone from my pocket with the other. No sooner did I see it was Scot calling that the phone slipped from my grasp and into the toilet bowl!! With a clear disregard for cleanliness, I plunged my hand into the yellow water (where the Droid continued to burble its ringtone) to retrieve it.

I rushed the drowned Xmas gift to the sink where I gave it a quick rinse (can't have freshly used toilet water in my phone, now can I?!). It wept what appeared to be blood from its pores as I shook it dry (turns out a white label on the battery turns to red when wet so you can't fool the techies when you try to lie about what happened to your phone). After removing the battery and patting it and the phone dry, I took the parts to Scot's house and informed him, half-jokingly, to "never call me again." Of course, it was my own dumb fault and I wasn't overly upset--shit happens, right?

Despite an overnight rest in a plastic bad of rice in an attempt to draw out the residual moisture, I knew the Droid had breathed its last. Hoping for some kind of 48-hour "honeymoon clause" with a new phone, I drove out to Verizon and threw myself on the mercy of its court. Regrettably, I had failed to purchase insurance for the phone so I was left to pay what my dad had paid to acquire a new one (although with that deal I did pick up a few more accessories). So, disheartened and poorer, I returned home with a pissed away Xmas gift.

But this story turns out to have a happy ending. Two days later, I was at the Sands casino in Bethlehem where I had $25 of slot play to use up before heading to Wegmans. The Sands had given me $25 every Monday in November so I had been faithful in going to use it (turns out I have the same offer for December too). So, I dumped $15 of the slot play into a $1 Wheel of Fortune and began to slowly gamble. Now, I didn't really have hopes of winning big, just enough to cover my groceries and enjoy myself. Life had other plans.

In hindsight, I'm now convinced the good fortune that was about to happen was a karmic balance for not trying to lie about what happened to the first Droid (or for not buying the insurance and then coincidentally bring the phone in the next day for water damage). In any case, when I had just two pulls left on the slot machine, the "SPIN" symbol appeared on the third reel's payline. This allows you to spin the big wheel above the machine. Sure, this has happened before, and in each case you win anywhere from $20 to $50. Still, that would have been decent for not spending any of my own money. But as fate would have it, the wheel landed on $500!

It didn't seem real but the five $100 bills I left the place with were firm evidence. Enough to redeem my Xmas gift plus some bucks for my trouble. Thank you, universal balance, for your generosity. And thank you, gentle readers, for your time. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tricky Owlbear Fan Page

2009-11-19T19:18:00.001-05:00

We've created a Facebook fan page for the company. If you're on Facebook, give us some fan love. Let's face it, what better do you have to do? :)

Things of Interest

2009-11-09T14:25:00.002-05:00

Two quick notes of good things from this weekend. (Well, three I guess as I managed to break even at Del Park :) )

First, anyone get a new Verizon/Google DROID phone yet? Scot, Zlaty, and my dad all got one and, after perusing its features, let me just say, "I WANT ONE."

Second, is anyone watching The Legend of the Seeker and, if no, then why the heck not? They packed more set-up information and action than I thought you could do in one hour of tv for their season 2 premiere last night. There's plenty of time to catch up on Hulu (or your tv watching site of choice) before next Sunday's new episode. Join in on the tv fantasy fun!

Quiet

2009-11-07T09:39:00.002-05:00

It's been a little quiet here on the blog but there's still life over here. Work today (so I'll miss the King Frost Parade-yay!) and then Linda and I are heading to Delaware Park for some fun and (hopefully) money-making!

On the writing front, I'm putting together that troglodyte locale for Pathfinder which has been rattling around my hard drive for much too long. I also received a proposal for a Pathfinder book which I can't talk about too much yet. There are 2 authors working on it right now (and I'm sure I'll be adding something before it's all said and done) and it's sure to be a best-seller for Tricky Owlbear. It says alot about us that this project was pitched first to the Owlbear--I am pleased.

Hiking

2009-11-01T18:01:00.001-05:00

I managed to get out for some hiking today and snapped some photos on the way. You can enjoy these as well as the pics I wanted to dump out of my phone: http://twitpic.com/photos/TrickyOwlbear

Role Aids

2009-10-29T10:28:00.002-05:00

When you see a Role Aids supplement from the old Mayfair Games days, what is your first reaction and why? Join the discussion!

I don't want to comment on why I'm asking yet but I'm interested in people's gut reaction to that old line.

Join Us!

2009-10-25T09:47:00.002-05:00

Tricky Owlbear just started up a group page on the brand spankin' new RolePlay Media Network! Join us, won't you?

In other news, I posted on a Paizo forum thread discussing why pdf publishers aren't combining batches of themed pdfs into larger print volumes. After pointing out our own effort in the BtS: Compendium, the original poster declared I had sold him on it and he admitted never hearing of it before. What gobsmacked me is that there are still rpg consumers online who haven't heard of the series! Just when I think I've achieved total market awareness... :)

What A Difference...

2009-10-23T10:48:00.004-05:00

...a week makes! Last Thursday I drove through snow and cold but yesterday was a definite improvement--shorts and 70+ degrees!

This first pic is while driving south through Port Clinton.

This 2nd pic finds me passing a neat little church on Rt. 443 between New Ringgold and Orwigsburg.

RIP Erich Kunzel

2009-10-19T20:37:00.003-05:00

It is only because of an off-hand comment by an NPR announcer that I learned of Erich Kunzel's passing today. That is to say, I learned of it today but the great conductor of the Cincinnati Pops succumbed to a 4-month battle with cancer back on Sept 1. Conductors are often the unsung puppeteers of the orchestral world, pulling together not only music numbers but performers of all kinds to create a unique experience for an audience. I first learned of Kunzel in the late 80s/early 90s when my friend Ryan introduced me to a particularly good album of soundtrack bits called Star Tracks II.

My musical tastes were still developing (a process which is probably life-long but these were formative years) but I knew I enjoyed soundtracks. However, tracks not from the original albums? Would the renditions of some of my favorites be any good? Turns out they were quite good and I gained an appreciation for orchestras and the conductors that took on my own favorite pieces. Not all performances sit right with me, of course, but Kunzel could always be counted on to deliver solid interpretations.

Over the years I've collected a few of Kunzel's cds but none were quite as good as 1994's The Great Fantasy-Adventure Album. If memory serves, at that time, everyone had a copy but me. I finally grabbed my own from a record chain called Coconuts for what I'm certain was full price (likely $16.99). Let me say that this disc is worth twice that. Sound effects aside, there is not a bad track on here. From Conan to Jurassic Park, these tracks (a good many of which I'd never heard) merge seamlessly into a great blend of, as the title indicates, fantasy adventure! I've brainstormed many an adventure to the tunes of Kunzel's Pops. His discography is quite extensive and deserves perusing no matter what your musical tastes.

I want to thank Mr. Kunzel for the countless hours of enjoyment and inspiration he's given to me and to the world. May he rest in peace but not necessarily in silence.

Campaign Notes: DL 1-3

2009-10-19T10:03:00.002-05:00

Title: Blackbone's Company
PC Level: 2nd

In the previous adventure of our Dragonlance campaign, the PCs made some knightly friends and were headed east toward the conflict which harried refugees across 150 miles. Sir Jiran's closest knightly ally was Lord Elswater, who maintained a small estate outside Lytburg, the closest town to Thelgaard. After a 5-day trek around the Vingaard Mtns, the PCs arrived as twilight fell on the area (did I mention this was a special "Halloween" adventure?). There was activity from only one building in the farming town--a tavern/inn named Balbo's. Here the party of knights and PCs split. Jiran and his knights pressed on the 3 miles left to get to the Elswater estate north of town while the PCs decided to investigate the local color (along with Sir Plaxus who is on Jiran's shit list for defying him last adventure).

Turns out there wasn't much color in Balbo's. A travelling merchant helped stock Deedra's and Beam's supplies while a husband and wife had a last meal before leaving town for good. Lytburg was a town in crisis, no one venturing outside at night for fear of the legend of Blackbone. Seems the Elswater knights, after much hunting, finally caught a particularly cruel brigand leader named Blackbone 3 months prior. Renowned for his viscious demeanor and the stylized black skeletal armor he and his band wore, Blackbone was tried and executed. But as he was being burned at the stake, the brigand vowed to rise again and take vengeance on the knights. Well, about a month ago, one of the local farmers saw decidedly skeletal looking figures converging toward the Elswater estate one evening and the knights were not seen after that. No one has ben brave enough to investigate for themselves.

Fearing Sir Jiran and his band were walking into great danger, the PCs and Plaxus hot-footed it to Elswater. The night was cold, quiet, and dark (storm clouds blotting out even Solinari's normally bright luminescence). No light or sounds emerged from the estate either. A broken barricade marked the first sign of trouble at the estate's gate. The party moved into the courtyard and spread out. Skeletons were discovered littering the area, one of them possessing the shield of one of the knights who journeyed with the PCs! Gundar moved away from the group and noticed two small pinpricks of eerie yellow light in the corner of the yard. As he approached, the twin lights--a skeletal warrior--descended from something (soon to be seen as a pile of knight corpses) and attacked the cleric. The other 5 skeletons in the yard also "awoke" with yellow lights in their eyesockets and attacked. Even after being put down, seemingly defeated, some of the skeletons rose again (bones magically coming back together)!

The battle was fierce but the PCs prevailed after Gundar used his Kiri-Jolith holy symbol to turn the undead abominations and knock them down permanently. Another skeleton on the keep's southwest turret was destroyed but otherwise the estate proved devoid of activity. The feast hall held slain women and children whose barricade was smashed like the front gate. Sir Jiran's body was not found with that of the other knights' but he was not long after uncovered in the stable. His eyes were glazed over and the man was still alive, as if in a coma. Beam spotted the same yellow glow (albeit very faint) in the knight's eyes as in the skeletons'. There was also an tiny soot-like smudge on Jiran's forehead. After uses his turning power on the knight, Gundar then healed him and Jiran came back to his senses. His story was as expected--the knights were attacked by a multitude of skeletons. He was then grabbed from behind by something with slimy shiny skin before losing consciousness. The unknown assailant did leave behind some odd clawed footprints and a distinctive smell which Deedra cataloged for later.

A last search of the estate revealed a secret door in the lord's bedchamber which led to 3 bags of steel pieces and 4 antique family shields. Jiran insisted on burying the family, his knights, and the skeletons (who were dressed as the lord's servants and relatives) before setting the entire place ablaze. When the group returned to Lytburg, the fires of Elswater could fainty be seen and the townsfolk were out to worriedly wonder what had happened. As the PCs explained to Balbo and nearby folk what they had found, more skeletons moved in on the town. This time, Blackbone himself enters the story with his brigand company.

A raspy voice emitted from the undead bandit lord and demanded the surrender of the cleric in return for Lytburg being spared. Beam advocated a retreat to the inn so he could enact a plan involving thrown lanterns but Gundar bravely marched toward Blackbone. The skeleton ordered the cleric to throw down his weapons, which was done. Blackbone then ordered his minions to slay everyone else at the same instant Gundar channeled his undead turning power. The whole of Blackbone's brigade collapsed save for the leader himself (and the 6 skeletons outside the cleric's area of effect). The melee against the yellow-eyed undead was on!

Beam gathered lanterns from Balbo's and used them to great effect as thrown projectiles at the remaining skeletons. Oddly enough, the wizard was mostly ignored until near the fight's end when two skeletons, wielding heavy crossbows, turned to deliver two bolts of agony, felling the wizard (but not mortally). Blackbone fended off the rest of the party on his own for what seemed an eternity before finally falling to their blows. But while the party turned its attentions to the remaining skeletons, Blackbone rose again (like the skeletons at Elswater)! After knocking him down again, Deedra decided to not only take off the brigand's head but smash it into the ground (where its struggle to reunite with its body ended along with the strange yellow glow in its skull).

Once the undead were defeated, the party found much needed rest at Balbo's before following the skeletons' footprints to their source--Lytburg's graveyard. The skeletons not belonging to Blackbone's company came from here but not all were accounted for; Deedra also continued to smell that strange lizard-y odor she detected back at Elswater. The graveyard was next to an abandoned church of Mishakal, which looked like the next likely place to investigate. Inside, eight skeletons stood along the nave walls while a small object on the altar glowed with a yellow light. The PCs moved in and were attacked by not only the skeletons but a humanoid with a draconic head that could cast spells! Beam fell again (again not fatally), Plaxus and Jiran battled the skeletons, Gundar was caught in a web with another skeleton, and Deedra took the fight directly to the dragon-man. After dispatching the evil creature (whose bones exploded violently when slain), the minotaur took her axe to the yellow-glowing item (a crystalline box with a tiny yellow skull inside) and destroyed it. Once shattered, the skeletons dropped into lifeless bones once again.

Now able to look around, the PCs find a seal embedded into the floor before the altar which the dragon-man and his undead were clearly trying to cut through. The seal depicts the infinity symbol that belongs to Mishakal (goddess of healing) but within the one loop is displayed a small flame-like symbol. Gundar decides to pray over the seal and suddenly the loop with the flame descends into the floor. The cleric and Sir Plaxus ride down 20 feet into a small circular chamber. When they reach the bottom, two torches blaze to life. They flank a dias on which rests a perfectly preserved human female. Below her on the dias lip an inscription in Solamnic reads "Here lies Wishana, last Preserver of Good." At the woman's feet sits an item shaped like the flame symbol seen above. It is made of some sort of pure white stone, measures a kender-head in width, and has two odd extensions protruding from its right and lower right sides. When Gundar picks up the item, the woman's body deteriorates, the torches extinguish, and the seal begins to rise.

The men escape without incident while the rest of the party has been looting the dragon-man. On his person, aside from steel pieces, is a thin notebook on which a small hand mirror is attached by a leather band. Updates were written by the dragon-man as to its mission here and replies were magically received but only then readable by looking at the page's reflection in the mirror. The dragon-man was using the skull box (referred to as the "Lash") to animate Blackbone and his company to distract the town (and slay the Elswater knights) while he tried to access the crypt of the Preserver. Whomever he was communicating with told him to hurry as the "Highlord" was impatient.

Now with more money, a flame-shaped relic, and many more questions, the party plans its next move.

Snow?!

2009-10-15T21:34:00.004-05:00

Most days, I have the best office environment one could ask for. That has been especially true for the last 2 weeks. Autumn swept its colorful hand across the landscape and I was tempted to take some pics to show off. Today, however, autumn decided to take a crap on my route and I got these "gorgeous" views instead...

Fortunately, the weather didn't slow me down too much. I'm also fortunate that I picked up new tires last week...just in time!

Gygax/D&D on 60 Minutes (1985)

2009-10-15T11:45:00.001-05:00

It's amazing that TSR survived the witch hunt of the 80s (part 2 of the video pops up when part 1 is finished)...http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=42247

Vacation Concluded

2009-10-09T10:42:00.004-05:00

Don't they always go by so fast? Okay, I only had 3 days but I tried to make the most of them. I visited a shop called Pastimes in Palmyra, PA on Tuesday. Hadn't been there in quite some time. This little shop carries D&D in whatever incarnation you desire. Regrettably, it's mostly 4e at the moment but there's a hefty amount of 3e still available. I like to visit this shop because they sometimes will have just purchased someone's unwanted gaming collection. I've found such gems as AD&D modules H1-H4 and some elusive mini rulebooks printed for D&D's silver anniversary (you remember those little AD&D books abd box sets right?). On Tuesday, however, I only picked up a d20 Star Wars book for Scot's campaign--Starships of the Galaxy.

Wednesday was a breezy day and, while hiking might have been best that day (if only for the winds to keep any bugs at bay), I decided to head over to another day trip I made in the bygone days which is Doylestown, PA. It's a great little town to shop in and they also have a game store called Cyborg One. It's small and you have to really know where it is (behind a well-regarded sub place called Hoagie Works). Their rpg selection is all but nil but I picked up yet another interesting Star Wars book--Galaxy at War. Down the block from the hoagie place is a used record store called Siren Records which I also have to peruse when I'm in town. I think it has more vinyl than anything but there's a nice selection of used cds (and cassettes if you're still using those too!). Picked up a couple cds, some coffee, and some lunch before heading to the Sands in Bethlehem to use my free $10 slot play for the day. Nothing came of my slot endeavor except an hour of time killed.

Wed night the family celebrated Zlaty passing her driver's test by her making a tasty roast beef dinner at her place. Follow that up with some Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (UK) and it was a darned good day.

Thursday I finally decided to get out and hike a little at Hawk Mountain. I've got a route which goes up the Escarpment Trail, down the River of Rocks, up the Golden Eagle, and then over/up the Skyline Trail to the North Lookout (and then back to the parking area) which takes a little over an hour if you don't dawdle. It was a spectacular weather day and the place was packed at the lookouts. I didn't stay long for the view but I managed to scap two photos on my phone while out...

I also picked up 4 new tires for the car to get me through the winter months (some nice looking Cooper CS4 touring tires). All in all, not a cheap vacation but a fun one!

Beware the Roper

2009-10-07T20:44:00.002-05:00

The 9th pdf in Tricky Owlbear's Behind the Monsters series is now live at RPGNow (soon to YGN): the Roper!

Edit: we're now live at Paizo.com!

Vacation!

2009-10-06T07:26:00.002-05:00

Okay, it's more of a "stay-cation" since I'm not taking some big trip. Still, I plan on taking day trips to places like the mountain outside my window (fall is coming into bloom already!), Doylestown, and probably a random casino. Friday it's back to work so I've only got 3 days to spend on doing whatever I want. Honestly though, since I'm only couriering in the afternoons it feels like I've sort of been on vacation already. However, these 3 days represent being able to leave the house without keeping in mind that I have to get back at a certain time. That alone is worth 3 days w/o pay.

Am I the only one who disdains summer vacations and waits until autumn?

Writing ADD

2009-10-03T10:02:00.002-05:00

I think I have Attention Deficit Disorder when it comes to writing projects. I like bite-sized projects that I can finish in a few days' time (which is probably why I enjoy writing the Behind the Spells series so much). These Pathfinder locales are a bit different. Thursday night I worked on both The Prophecy Stone and The Junkyard without really making much headway on either. The night before I was sketching out the look/layout for our Swords & Wizardry adventures. There's something to be said for spontaneity, of course, but if the projects start to lose inertia then everyone loses.

Having a deadline aids you in keeping focused but, as I've said before, I can break such deadlines without penalty as the boss. Another focusing technique that may surprise you is presence of music. Some authors can't write with any sort of distractions. For me, there's two types of writing music--inspirational and working. The former is anything uptempo with lyrics. The latter can still be uptempo but should not have lyrics (new age/classical/soundtrack). Unfortunately, I don't always follow my own rules, using lyrical tunes while typing away. When I do this I'm trying to combine both the creative and actual writing phases of a small project (a la BtS) wherein I type whatever I think of. After working out the storyline for a BtS, for example, I set to typing at the computer without a draft.

Yes, that's right, the bulk of what you read in those pdfs is basically the first draft. Sure, there's some grammatical editing that goes on but, concept-wise, I can't tell you the last time I've ever gone back and erased whole sections of something I've written. I guess that's because I don't start writing until I'm sure of what I want to do. And it seems to work since reviews are average or better for my stuff. Now, if I would only learn some patience and try to refine my work I'd be able to get better as a writer as there's defintely room for improvement. It's all about keeping to a good writing process but, for that, I need to stay focused.

So how do you stay focused?

Prophecies!

2009-10-01T12:48:00.001-05:00

I'm writing up 20 sample prophecies for the new Pathfinder locale but am finding it more difficult than I first thought. Up to 17 though so there's hope! I also resurrected a locale concept I was going to use during my Mystic Eye days called the Junkyard. It's an area where a decadent society ruled by mages sends its waste via portals. Just imagine the possibilities with residual energies, half-spent items and components, mutated monsters, etc.!

Abbey Review

2009-09-28T11:42:00.003-05:00

The first review for Abbey of the Golden Sparrow at OBS has appeared!

I have to say that it echoes my thoughts as well. We won't be sticking to limiting the locales to one class in the future. I was cobbling a new locale yesterday called The Prophecy Stone which will be good for any characters who wander by. :)

Best Sci-Fi Soundtrack of all time?

2009-09-25T08:35:00.002-05:00

Guessing #1 should be easy but some of the others on the list were quite a surprise (especially #10!). Have a look at the list!

Gas Prices Made Easy

2009-09-24T10:18:00.003-05:00

I found out about this site awhile ago but not sure if I mentioned it before. If you need to know the current gas rates where you're headed (or en route to that location) and, like me, you want the best deal possible, then check this out.

If you're not in PA, then just inert "newjersey" or whatever into the url. Or, you can just click on one of the station's "map" links and bring up the google map. It's nice to pan along a route to see just where the cheapest stop is located. The prices are updated very regularly. Happy gas hunting!

D&D Soda

2009-09-23T20:17:00.001-05:00

I'm a bit slow on the draw here with this post but in case someone's been dying for a cup of Illithid Brain Juice, here you go!

New & Free Music

2009-09-23T07:34:00.001-05:00

Ottmar Liebert has a new CD that's a FREE download. It's a collaboration with oud player Rahim Alhaj: http://wp.me/pgATL-xu

Saw this little note posted on the Echoes facebook page. The whole Flamenco-meets-Middle Eastern flair isn't quite my thing but I thought I'd pass it along anyway.

The Greenwood Files

2009-09-21T10:45:00.002-05:00

There's been (as of this writing) an interview in 3 parts featured over at Grognardia (link to your right) over the last week or so. I suspect more Q&A will appear before too long as Ed Greenwood (Forgotten Realms creator and author most prolific) always is happy to answer questions. I met him once at GenCon when I was on a mission from Brad to snap a picture of the man should I see him. He approached the Mystic Eye Games booth where I was toiling before the Con opened that day. I didn't get to speak with him too much except to ask for the picture. If I could go back I would have probably asked many questions about his dealings with TSR and the Realms in general which makes this series of Q&As most welcome. Check them out!

Foreign Affairs

2009-09-19T08:14:00.001-05:00

Wow, had a recent visitor to the blog from Bombay. That's cool (unless it's some kind of spam bot of course).

Fall TV Begins!

2009-09-17T13:14:00.003-05:00

I've probably missed the premiere of something that looked interesting before tonight but there's not many things I'm keeping on the radar. Tonight we've got the Fringe second season premiere which, by all accounts, is going to be pretty good. Do I really remember what was happening last season? Sure, Olivia gets sucked into an alternate dimension with Spock, er I mean William Bell. Fringe has had its highs and lows but you can't really judge a series with this kind of mythology too harshly from its freshman season. After all, if you did there most certainly would not have been more than one season of Star Trek: TNG (oh god, the first season pain!).

Also starting tonight is NBC's Community which marks the questionable big network debut of that guy from The Soup and the return of Chevy Chase to primetime. Unlike many people, I like Chevy so on that basis alone I'm going to give this a watch. Regrettably, these two shows are on at the same time so I'll need to tape the latter to watch later. A small price to pay for having some new stuff back on the tube.

What's next that I'm looking forward to? Stargate: Universe, Legend of the Seeker, and, yes I'll say it, season 2 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Communication

2009-09-15T10:51:00.002-05:00

So I'm filing quarterly taxes now that I'm an independent contractor and, I must say, it's been nothing but a pain in the ass. Oh, I don't mind paying the taxes, it's not that. What I've been having a problem with is my tax preparer. He has another time-consuming day job besides being an accountant. I know and respect this so I try to not bother him until close to tax time (in this case, Sept 15). The history up to this point is that the man is also chronically last-minute with these things (maybe it's more dramatic?).

When he suggested setting up quaterly taxes for '09 I thought that was a good idea. He said, "Call me in June." This was around the time we did 2008 taxes so I just thought maybe it was too late at that point to make the quarterly April payment. No biggie. Well, June rolled around and it was like pulling teeth to get ahold of the guy. Again, I understand he's busy but the next payment was due 6/15 and, of course, I didn't get the info about the payment until the end of June. WTF? And even then, there was no interaction. A brief phone message informed me that my info was ready and so, when I went to the man's place of business to meet with him found only an envelope waiting for me. Inside was the info I had given him plus two payment vouchers (fed and state) along with the amounts to pay--very large amounts.

I would have loved to question the amounts but the guy had gone back into hiding and was incommunicado. Fine. I paid the taxes (on July 1) and life went on. But then before too long September rolled around. I made a phone call or two that wasn't returned and then discovered an email for the accountant at his day job. After sending an email on 9/3 and on 9/10 I was getting a bit peeved. I made a final request for aid this morning but, as of this moment, received no response.

I was lamenting my state to the woman where I get my coffee in town (we're pretty good friends) and she mentioned another accountant in town whom I had forgotten about (and who lives 30 seconds drive from my house). Immediately I went home, gathered my tax info, and went down to see Charlie(who I actually knew from my drug store days). Charlie brought me right back into his office and, after some quick and dirty figuring, came up with some lower numbers. I let him know how much I paid in June and he could not believe the numbers which, as it turns out, were enough to cover me for the year!! Charlie said not to make any kind of Sept payment but instead to contact him in Jan. Then we could check my year's pay stubs and make sure I don't owe any more for '09.

Ah, finally some relief. And, I suppose, this could be why the first guy wasn't contacting me--I had already paid enough for the year. Even so, how fucking hard is it to return an email? Thus, we come to the point of this post--communication: just do it. Whenever you deal with others, be it personally or professionally, you have to have communication. Nothing drives me up the wall more when someone doesn't get back to me. I don't care if you have good news or bad; whether you can get a project done or not.

You have to be up front with people in a timely fashion. Life can then move on. I'm happy I jumped ship to a new accountant. It was something that was long overdue (not unlike I believed my taxes were about to be!).

Old School Cool

2009-09-10T13:14:00.003-05:00

As I ponder what neat challenges to put into What Goes Up, our first Swords & Wizardry adventure, I wanted to ask you blog readers what you remember from your formative years that was "cool" in an adventure. I realize that half of the cool things became so due to some brave/foolish action your character took but this question looks to the other half for my answer.

For example, I recall in DL14 when one of the PCs tried to excise a gem from a column and then a ghostly hand emerged from the stone to smash the aforementioned character's head into the column. It was just something that made me go, "Whoa!" and stuck with me for some reason after 20+ years.

Spellcraft 101

2009-09-08T11:06:00.003-05:00

I saw a question on the Paizo pathfinder rules forum yesterday concerning using Spellcraft to identify a divine spell as it is being cast. I can see where they're coming from in that they don't like the idea of a mage identifying a divine caster's spell but why do you need to come up with yet another rule to govern it? Magic is magic. It's why they allowed psionic and spell resistance to interact in 3e, for example.

Consider this--if you draw water from the sink, whether you use a paper cup or a porcelain mug, I can still tell you're drinking water if I see you tapping it. To me, magic works the same way be it arcane or divine. Divine casters pray while arcane casters babble but both still use gestures (i.e. somatic components) and these are presumably the same. The magic may manifest from different vessels (cup or mug) but it is still the same. Otherwise, you'd have to have very different spell resistance rules et al to govern when arcane and divine interact.

Just sayin'.

Early Fall?

2009-09-03T10:29:00.002-05:00

We'd had some damn fine days this week which are making me pine for autumn to just arrive already! There's a cool breeze blowing through the window as I type...ah...

So, you might be wondering what I'm getting done with my free time now that I'm only working in the afternoons. Answer: Not much. Looks like the more time I have to myself the less I feel the need to cram it with writing (or other work). But that's the trap I must not fall victim to. Tricky Owlbear had what was probably it's best month in August thanks to our two most recent releases. I've got to keep on writing and releasing products to keep the momentum but the trouble is that, as the company president, I don't get in trouble for being unproductive. Kind of makes me wish I was still a green freelancer trying to make a name for myself.

In other news, Linda and I hit Atlantic City all day Tuesday and had a friggin' blast! Didn't come home broke but also didn't manage to get ahead. We were at the Borgata (who comped us $50 in slots play and food) for 4.5 hours before heading over to park at Caesar's. We played enough there and at Bally's to earn free parking but I printed the voucher at Bally's. Thus, I was concerned it would not work for the Caesar's garage. But the guy at the guard station took it without batting an eye so that working out fine. We had some comp $$ for Bally's but didn't get to use the food ones as the valid places were either closed or too busy. We ate at a Wawa on the way home which working out just fine. All told, we were in AC for 9 hours, most of which saw us slots playing. I'm sure we'll do it again next year.

Campaign Notes: DL 1-2

2009-08-31T09:59:00.004-05:00

Apologies for the quiet around here last week but I tend to go into a creative hibernation for module prep. :) We had our second module in my War of the Lance-era Dragonlance campaign yesterday and things turned out pretty much as I had hoped. If you checked here earlier and the entry ended abruptly, I now have it finished. Enjoy!

Title: Est Sularus oth Mithas
PC Level: 1st

Firstly, Brad couldn't make it due to health issues so the kender was off doing what kender do for this adventure. The other 3 PCs (Greg as Gundar, a cleric of Kiri-Jolith; Scot as Beam, a human wizard; Heather as Deedra, a minotaur fighter) were preparing to go to the local knights of Solamnia to tell them of the return of the gods. Gundar prepared his speech, complete with the medallion of faith to help prove his tale's validity. But before they left for the keep, the PCs encountered a group of refugees heading into Ironrock. These poor souls had been on the move for weeks from a city called Thelgaard (other side of the Vingaard mountains from Ironrock). Many citizens of Ironrock rushed out to meet and aid these refugees, as did the PCs once they knew what was happening.

Gundar decided to demonstrate his new divine powers by healing one of the injured with magic, prompting a swell of interest from nearby folk. The PCs learned that Thelgaard came under attack by...red dragons! The great beasts were thought to be little more than childish myths but that changed when those mythical beasts destroyed their city with fire. Following the dragons came an army of humans, ogres, goblins, and some kind of lizard-man. These latter creatures flew from the backs of the dragons to attack the people and, even when slain, wreaked havoc by either turning to stone (thus capturing their killer's weapons) or exploding with acidic gore (melting half the face of one of the refugees).

The knights soon emerged from their keep in the mountain to set up a triage area for the refugees. Gundar, again wanting to prove his talents especially to the knights, divinely healed another person in front of Sir Jiran, the knight commander. After securing things, Sir Jiran asked to speak with Gundar and his companions back at the keep. Only the knight commander and one servant were present then with the party, the other knights and servants attending to the refugees. Gundar and his friends explained what had happened with the fount of Kiri-Jolith last adventure. Sir Jiran could hardly argue against the evidence of the cleric's healing ability but was perplexed how his deity of choice could choose "children" as his emmissaries instead of the knights of Solamnia there. He studies the Measure daily (proper knightly conduct as laid out in 37 written volumes) and all of his men lived by the Code "Est Sularus oth Mithas" ("My Honor is My Life"). Conversation moved to what to do about the approaching evil army. The PCs want to get out there and do something and would very much appreciate knightly aid.

As the debate with Sir Jiran continued, a strangled cry of pain was heard down the hall. The old servant still in the keep was found dead, a round puncture wound through the chest. Deedra spotted a small shadow turning the corner at the far end of the hall. Sir Jiran immediately locked the front (and only) doors to the keep, saying that whatever evil committed this act could not be allowed to escape into the community. He then offered the PCs sanctuary in his quarters until he could hunt down the creature. The group refuses, pledging their aid and the hunt is on!

Room by room, the group searched the keep until they hit the library where 2 goblins were tearing apart the books there. One of the them possessed a bloodied spear, the likely murder weapon used against the poor servant. The group moved on to find two more small groups of goblins who are easily dispatched. Sir Jiran knew the goblins must have entered by a secret means so he takes the PCs to the catacombs. This short corridor has no obvious breach in its walls but all 6 corpses of the keep's founding family are missing. Sir Jiran is incensed and vows to kill every goblin they find for this desecration.

Beam discovers a secret door at the end of the hall and the group descends into the subterranean world. At a fork in the passage, Beam and Sir Jiran investigate one direction while Deedra and Gundar take the other. The latter pair fall victim to a goblin pit trap at the same time 2 monstrous centipedes attack the wizard and knight. Sir Jiran quickly slays one beast as Beam color sprays the other, knocking it out for the knight to finish off. The minotur and cleric try in vain to climb out of the pit as one goblin guard prepares to launch its javelin at them. Gundar summons a celestial dog to distract the goblin which does so in time for Beam and Sir Jiran to arrive to lend aid. Two more goblins arrive from a side tunnel on the other side of the pit and attack Deedra who climbs out of the pit just in time to meet them. Beam is able to balance his way around the pit's ledge but Sir Jiran is not so fortunate and falls in with Gundar. Wizard and minotaur fight bravely but when Beam withdraws after a few near-fatal blows things look bleak for the heroes.

Deedra is able to dispatch two of the goblins before Gundar finally climbs out of the pit to aid her. Beam sees a third monstrous centipede dragging off a part of its dead companion and then crosses the pit at the ledge again to join his friends. Beaten and now terribly low on spells, half the party wants to retreat to the keep but Sir Jiran wants to scout a bit more to see what they are up against (or if that was all of the goblins). The human bones from the catacombs are found after the fight being used as kitchen utensils by the goblins guards at a fire pit, which only pushes Sir Jiran to further explore for more foes. Deedra and Beam reluctantly agree to continue.

The group comes upon a dwarven "date stone" marking that they are nearing a dwarven mining settlement that only existed for 3 years some 40 years ago. After that comes a squat stone building of dwarven design that overlooks a large cave below. Two more goblins are slain before the group sees a larger goblin (the chieftain) in a "throne" inside the structure. The throne sits on some rubble from the collapsed ceiling but has a commanding view of the valley canyon below. Beam uses one of his last spells to disguise minself as a goblin. He then pretends to be a shaman (who the goblin refers to as Kriika) and claims he has brought humans to take over the tribe. During the conversation, the PCs learn that the tribe came from the east because they did not want to join the evil human army that tried to conscript them. The tribe's real shaman had a vision that no good would come to the goblins if they joined, so they ran and eventually settled in the cave there.

But when Beam-as-goblin again pronounced his takeover, the chieftain refused, prompting Deedra to throw the wretched thing down to the tribe the hard way. From out of the shadows then emerged the real tribe's shaman named Kriika. She was much more intelligent than the chieftain and negotiated for peace on her people's behalf. Sir Jiran whispiered to Gundar to keep the goblin busy as he returned to the surface to gather his knights for an assault against the tribe. Meanwhile, Beam dropped his disguise and negotiated in good faith that he and his friends would leave the goblins in peace as long as they did not attack the surface again (which Kriika claimed the chieftain and his guards did on their own). She only wants to be rid of the humans that want to control her tribe which now is mostly comprised of women and children.

Sir Jiran returns with his retinue of 15 young knights as Beam and Kriika trade spells. The knight commander orders his force to destroy the evil goblins but, upon seeing that the "enemy" is non-combatants, refuse their superior's order. Sir Jiran argues that knights are honor-bound to destroy evil wherever they find it. It is suggested by a knight named Sir Plaxus that perhaps Jiran is too closely following the letter of the Measure and not its spirit. The PCs argue for leniency for the goblins, with Beam even claiming that the knights will become his enemies if goblins are harmed. Deedra is none too happy about leaving the stinking things live but agrees with Beam. Gundar sides with Sir Jiran at first but soon realizes that slaughter of innocents does not aid Kiri-Jolith's cause and that these goblins are no different than the refugees on the surface. Eventually, Sir Jiran concedes and stands down, asking what the PCs propose.

Sir Plaxus suggests travelling to Thelgaard to see for themselves what has become of the area and the knightly estate near there with whom Ironrock's knights have had monthly communication. The PCs agree and Gundar takes Sir Plaxus under his tutelage as a cleric of Kiri-Jolith, even using his medallion of faith to make a duplicate one for the knight. The group then returns to the surface and begins preparations to head to the east--and to war!

Engage!

2009-08-23T21:15:00.006-05:00

As mentioned previously, Star Trek: The Exhibition is taking place at the Franklin Institute until late September. So after seeing G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra Sat. afternoon with Scot and Zlaty (surprisingly great action flick!) we wandered down to Philly to take in the exhibit. There was a long walkway during which you could read some quotes from the films/shows and from Rodenberry and then we arrived at the first room. There were a number of outfits present here, most of which were authentic (such as Khan's outfit and Kirk's uniform from Wrath of Khan). But the real highlight for me came in the next area which housed a replica of the Next Generation bridge...

Here's me doing me best "Engage" pose with Scot as my Riker. This picture doesn't take in the rest of the bridge but the ops and navigation console-chairs were also present. Several of the monitors behind us were running cool little graphics as they had going on the show. That green light above us was projecting a star field onto the viewscreen. I have to confess that I could have played around in that room for hours! Mostly the exhibit was comprised of original series, Next Gen, and ST: Nemesis props (I'd say 75% authentic and 25% replicas) with a smattering of DS9, Voyager, and even the uniforms from the newest movie. All in all, a really nice setup and worth the $12 post-5pm admission (although I didn't feed the meter long enough and walked outside to find a $36 parking ticket!). They also had another famous captain's chair which we had to try out. Scot looks much better in Kirk's chair than me.

Avatar

2009-08-21T18:18:00.001-05:00

I know precious little about this flick but I must say that, from the trailer, it looks like James Cameron hasn't lost a step.

Star Trek: The Exhibition

2009-08-21T10:54:00.002-05:00

I don't know how these things get past me but now that I know there's authentic ST artifacts only an hour away, I simply must make a pilgrimage HERE.

A Perfect Storm

2009-08-19T22:15:00.002-05:00

So, I received a call Friday afternoon from my work scheduler and she says, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but as of Monday you no longer have your routes." Bwa?! She went on to say that my morning route was being combined with a short pharmacy route so if I wanted to keep my normal day, "I suggest you get a mini-van by Monday."

Bwahahaha!

Right, like I'm going to go out and buy a frickin' van on the promises of this company. Well, that just pissed me the hell off for the whole weekend since I really had no idea what I was doing Monday (except that I'd be starting my day at Lititz instead of Reading and travel to York and back--twice!). I knew I was going to quit when, after stopping at the warehouse en route to Lititz to get a key and my manifests, the scheduler said, "You'd better get a gps since you're going to be a floater." Whoa. First of all, I didn't sign up to not know what the hell I was doing from one day to the next. And by the end of that Monday I had put more miles on my car than on my previous normal days and at (I suspect) much less pay. In effect, the scheduler had screwed me so bad so I would then buy a mini-van. Wrong move.

I returned to the warehouse and turned in my stuff saying, "I'm done." Outlining my grievances with the nice dispatcher in the afternoon, he didn't blame me one bit. I returned home, jobless but pleased at not being bullied into van work. It may not sound like a big deal to you, dear reader, but I know that once a van is in my possession the company would have worked me mercilessly. I did say on Friday to the scheduler, "I don't want to work from 7am to 6pm." Her response: "Why not? You're young and can handle it."

In any case, I don't think an hour went by before the dispatcher I gave my stuff to called me. Seems he contacted the head honcho to say what had happened and, apparently, my (very lucrative) afternoon run of Sovereign banks was never to be taken from me in the first place--more evidence of the scheduler's plot to just piss me off into purchasing a van (it didn't make sense that I'd lose a route with no pharmacy attachment). So the dispatcher said if I wanted the pm route back then it was mine. Since it's enough for me to survive on, I jumped back on the courier bandwagon.

Yesterday, I did the same arduous morning route around York but told the scheduler that it would be my last morning work. Surprisingly, it looks like my wish was granted and today was my first day of having only afternoon work. I plan on using my mornings to work on Tricky Owlbear products and activities (about time, right?).

To sum up, after a stormy weekend of uncertainty, the perfect schedule has emerged. Sometimes, you really can win.

Our First Pathfinder-compatible pdf!

2009-08-13T22:29:00.000-05:00

Here's the scoop!

Campaign Notes: DL 1-1

2009-08-10T13:15:00.003-05:00

I thought I might jot down some notes here from our new Dragonlance campaign which started up yesterday with character creation and a very quick adventure. The "DL 1-1" in the blog post title stands for "Dragonlance Season 1, Module 1" which is how I number modules for my campaigns (like TV seasons as I've mentioned previously).

We're starting in a small community called Ironrock (as found in the new DL books from Margaret Weis/Sov Stone) in Solamnia, on the west side of the Vingaard Mtns. My brief ideas for the intro adventure were for the PCs to get masterwork weapons from the deity that chooses to use them in the upcoming War of the Lance (we're about a month out or so from meeting the Dragonarmy) and to start out slow so we can get a good sense of the setting. DL at this time (Age of Despair) is rather sparse on magical items which is a change from our planar campaign. I also wanted the players to get the same sense of awe and wonder I had when introduced to DL 25+ years ago. To that end, I read some passages from the original DL 1 and DL 5 supplements. I think the players appreciated getting some world info that their PCs would already know from the original source material.

Gotta run for now but I'll add how the adventure went later on.

Okay, I'm back. So, why did I choose Ironrock? Well, I wanted to have the PCs in an area that will be exposed to the war before the Chronicles events. I guess to me it feels best to not start in medias res. We'll have a few more modules to set the mood and get the players up to speed who are not as familiar with the setting before the poop hits the fan. Ironrock also, according to the War of the Lance sourcebook, hides a secret that none have yet discovered.

As for the adventure itself, we have Heather playing a minotaur fighter, Greg playing a Plainsman cleric (of Kiri-Jolith but no spells or clerical abilities yet as the gods have "not yet returned"), Brad as a kender "rogue", and Scot as a wizard. I decided to have everyone know each other as they have been part of the same orphanage for some time. The woman who ran the place decided to move on since the 4 PCs are now the only people there and they are young adults. Now they have possession of a two-room shack with a partially collapsed roof. The game began with the Plainsman and minotaur sparring outside against the backdrop of the mighty Vingaard Mtns. The kender is cheering on the warriors while the wizard observes on the far side.

The kender is then approached by two men--one in bright clothing and one in armor and armed with a longsword. The first is some sort of entertainer who is interested in magical goings-on in the area. His bodyguard is, well, a mean-looking guy. The bard-type figure also has a pet weasel which the kender immediately recognizes as a "long rat." Sensing danger, the sparring duo and the wizard prepare for combat. However, the only offensive maneuver from the bard is a juggling act for the kender. The PCs speak briefly to the bard and direct him to the Ironrock Inn for more information (as they have none).

Being the inquisitive characters that they are, the PCs decide to head the Inn soon after to find the two visitors questioning the innkeeper about the old crone who lives in one of the caves in the mountain. Scot's wizard nearly causes an incident when his detect magic is noted by the bodyguard. The spell picks up magical bracers on the bard before the man calls his bodyguard away from the cleric and minotaur who jump to defend the wizard from the aggressive guard. As it's clear the party won't leave them alone, the bard offers the kender (who sat at the bar with him and his weasel) a business opportunity to lead him and his guard to the old crone's cave. The kender, in true kender fashion, denies an offer of payment in leiu of simply having fun leading them.

The group hikes 15 minutes west to the crone's cave, a place which the PCs have only seen the outside of as the woman has consistently run them off every time they've drawn near. Today, no one emerges. The PCs are increasingly concerned that the duo means no good for the old woman so the cleric tell the kender to distract the two while he goes inside to ostensibly prepare the woman for her visitors. The kender juggles while the two strangers move away from the cave entrance. The cleric moves inside and is stopped at the first turn by none other than the crone herself. She quietly warns the young man that the two strangers are evil and they must be killed because desire the secret of Ironrock and she is its guardian.

As the cleric, minotaur, and wizard begin to plan their next move, the kender intentionally whacks the bodyguard in the head with his juggling ball. The guard draws his blade and tells the bard to "end this charade!" A battle ensues during which the guard nearly slays the minotaur (-8 hp before she stabilizes!). The bard color sprays the poor kender who is knocked out for the duration but is in turn color sprayed by the wizard. The cleric slays the guard before then dispatching the bard in a show of righteous finality. The "bard's" disguise self spell dissipates to reveal an older black-robed wizard.

After stabilizing the minotaur, the crone reveals that the secret of Ironrock has been protected so that the PCs can take possession of it when they're ready--this moment! Deep inside the cave, the crone leads the group to a blank wall. The wizard dusts off the wall to reveal a carving of a bison's horn--the cleric recognizes this as Kiri-Jolith's symbol. A search of the wall reveals two fist-sized apertures on the wall's bottom corners. After the LN-aligned cleric gets zapped by a magical trap, the good-aligned kender and wizard put their fists in the nooks and the wall opens upward like a door. Inside, a fountain of pure water is active. A half-submerged dagger is rusty above the water line but below is in mint condition. The PCs dip their weapons and armor into the sacred waters of Kiri-Jolith (war god) and find their arms and armor repaired and made masterwork quality!

The wizard takes a vial of black liquid he found on the evil wizard's body and places it inside a scroll case he fills with sacred water. The black ichor fights with the pure water but soon evaporates, prompting Scot's wizard to theorize the pair meant to poison the fountain. Once their equipment is dipped, the fountain suddenly dries up, leaving behind a medallion of faith at the fount's center. The cleric takes possession of the item and hears the words of Kiri-Jolith to go out and preach the faith and that this medallion will make others for those of like minds. Already a war-minded cleric, Greg's PC experiences an epiphany and changes alignment from LN and LG to better serve Kiri-Jolith.

Thus ends the first adventure of the new campaign!

A Mileage Milestone

2009-08-06T12:32:00.003-05:00

Hard to believe I bought my Fusion in Feb '06 and it now has....

My first vehicle was a 1998 (I think) Ford Taurus. Nice car but I decided I needed something new when it hit 70k+ miles or so after 5 years. After that was a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I absolutely loved that thing but then gas decided to take its hike (and not return from the heights to which it soared) so I just couldn't justify the expense. Then came my Fusion. Guess I'll drive this until it dies while I'm doing the courier thing. Should be able to get 200k miles out of it, no?

In other news, I see ENWorld is finally loading up to snuff. 'Bout time!

A Monument in Gaming

2009-08-05T18:37:00.002-05:00

So, we've got statues of the greats--Washington, Lincoln, etc.--but soon we'll have...Gygax?

Don't get me wrong. I'm deeply indebted to the man for what he created and it has been and forever will be a shaping force in my life. But a statue? Hey, whatever makes people happy.

Saturday Outings

2009-08-02T07:35:00.003-05:00

I keep forgetting to mention that Scot, Zlaty, and I visited a new (new to us anyway) game store last Saturday. It is called The Games Keep, LLC and is located at: Parkway Center 929, South High Street, West Chester, PA 19382. I can't seem to find the web page for them but they do have an Amazon storefront. They had a surprising number of 3rd party products, most notable of which was some Expeditious Retreat OSRIC adventures. I asked the guy at the register how those sold and he said they were sporadic. I introduced myself and my company and he seemed genuinely interested in stocking books of ours once they were in print/distribution. Heh, he might be waiting awhile. The pic below is obviously the outside of the store. Scot is prominently displayed while I am mostly hiding off to the right.

Before this stop last week, our trio also spent some time at Delaware Park (where we walked out with delicious ice cream and a couple extra bucks each!), Kohl's and Best Buy for some tax free shopping (Scot and Zlaty picked up a new 42" screen tv which we just about fit into my car), and then a surprisingly tasty meal at the Arby's where Rts. 1 and 322 meet. A good day!

Not as many outings yesterday. I was working my normal bi-weekly route from Kutztown to Robesonia and the final drop-off at West Deptford, NJ. I then rushed home so Heather and I could catch a showing of Harry Potter. Haven't read the books yet so I had no idea what to expect. Fortunately, these flicks are normally good (if a bit confusing at times like the previous one where just too much was squeezed in) and The Half-Blood Prince was no exception.

Today, Heather and I are off again to aid my mom in packing up from her quilt show out at the Hershey Lodge. Before that, we'll be taking in some money (I hope!) from Hollywood Casino.

Khaaaaaaan!!!!!!

2009-07-29T17:52:00.002-05:00

After 25+ years, we get an extended STII soundtrack. It must be mine!

AMoF art preview

2009-07-27T18:16:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the Malbank Outpost...

Hey, A New Release Over Here!

2009-07-26T22:53:00.002-05:00

A Matter of Faith is now a reality. Check out the official blurb!

Back to the Grind

2009-07-24T12:53:00.004-05:00

I'm back in the regular routine following my brief hospital stay. My left arm seems to be the big issue now. The chest pain has mostly receded (until I lift something heavy) but now I've got these pinpricks of pain that are at specific spots on my legs and arms--very strange! I stopped taking the Naproxen as I believe it was making me drowsy and thought maybe its chance of causing easy bruising was somehow contributing to these pain eruptions. Just popped some ibuprofen so we'll see how that goes this afternoon. On and off numbness continues on the top of my left arm and up my pinky.

No work this Sat so I'll have 2 whole days to help my recovery. Next week the Hamburg Sovereign bank is closing so that has been added to my pickup next Friday afternoon as the person who normally does it cannot start at the different pickup time. That'll be another couple bucks without really any deviation of my "flight plan" so it's no problem.

Scot has finished layout of A Matter of Faith and I went through it one more time last night, discovering a handful of small edits that I must give to Scot. Then that puppy will be ready to make its debut!

Hospital Visit

2009-07-20T18:57:00.002-05:00

Since Tuesday or Wed. of last week I've had on and off chest pains around my heart area which I attributed to some kind of pulled muscle. As with any pain, I waited to see if it would diminish/disappear on its own. Last night, when the pain became a constant ache and then was accompanied by left arm numbness I decided it was time to either die at the computer or go have myself checked. After consulting my brother on his similar circumstance of a year ago, I asked if he and Zlaty would taxi me out to the Lehigh Valley Hospital. Within a very short amount of time (Scot is part racecar driver!) we arrived at the ER.

When describing my condition at the desk, a wheelchair was brought out for me. "Dear God, a wheelchair?!" I thought. The three of us went back into a small room where many people flooded through to check things, ask me my symptoms, and repeatedly ask me my name and birthdate. It wasn't long before blood was drawn, x-rays taken, and medicine administered (3 bayer and 1 sublingual nitro tab which caused an interesting head swelling/chocking feeling for a minute). When the x-rays came up ok, the head doctor in the ER gave me the option to stay for the full round of tests and then a stress test the next day or to go home but then require likely weeks to set up the tests. After some deliberation, I decided to just stay.

My main concern (aside from my chest pain) was my lack of health insurance. Dumb? Yeah, I guess so. Hey, at least I went didn't I? :)

After seeing me to my room, Scot and Zlaty returned home (this was like at 2am). More blood was drawn at 3am and then around 9am with another EKG at each interval. Everything was coming back negative for bad things (the chief thing, I suppose, being clotting where there shouldn't be). After something like 1-2 hrs sleep I called into work to let them know I wouldn't be there. Marsha was concerned for a brief moment and then had to make alternate driver plans in my absence. She later called back to see how I was and, of course, see if I would be working Tues. Nice. I told her I planned on working since I was supposed to be discharged following the stress test.

That test came around 2:30pm today. After an eternity waiting for my shoes to come to me from my room (did you know they have "tubes" inside hospitals for transporting these things? Of course, they didn't use them for my shoes but they should have, according to the stress test doc). After being reunited with my footwear, I took the test during which there was some nice geek discussion of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and even D&D (got in my Tricky Owlbear plug despite being out of breath). I lasted 13 min. and 20 sec. on the treadmill, which caused me to run by the end. I then waited in my room for the results during which a nice financial planning woman stopped by to explain my insurance-less options.

Forunately, her husband had the same job as me--independent contractor for a courier company. That made the interaction very easy and it looks like most of the hospital bill will likely be forgiven wether through "medical assistance" or the LVH's own "charity" program. Following that, the final blood test and stress test results returned all with good news. Everything was fine with my heart. The only "bad" thing was a low good cholesterol rating which the RN said could be easily be aided by more exercise. Back to walking daily!

The chest pain was on and off throughout the day (mostly on) but not too bad. The Toradol injection last night and today seemed to diminish the pain and the RN agreed that my malady was likely being caused by a strained chest muscle. She prescribed some Naproxen (Rx Alleve) which I will dutifully fill and consume tomorrow. Now, I'm home, cleaned up, and well fed. That's the basics of my otherwise pleasant stay at the LVH. The people were very nice and the facility clean. I could share more tales (old man roomate and coming home with less chest hair) but my arms are now aching at the needle entry points so I guess it's time to stop typing.

Pathfinder Preview

2009-07-16T13:23:00.001-05:00

Okay, not a preview of the actual rules but I wanted to post something from Tricky Owlbear's first Pathfinder-compatible product. Check out the art preview and tell us what you think!

Hump Day Ramblings

2009-07-15T13:09:00.003-05:00

As of 1:30pm this afternoon, my mirror is fixed! A nice bonus on this otherwise normal "hump day" Wednesday. I asked Schlenker's if they had a cot I could sleep on as I've been there many times this week now and will be taking my car in for its 100K mile maintenance on Sat. Despite the mirror difficulty, Linda and I visited Delaware Park last night and returned with...uh, happy memories but no cash.

In writing news, I've been fiddling for BtM: Invisible Stalker but I really thought I'd be done with that by now. No rush, I suppose, as Scot now has 2 things for Tricky Owlbear layout to get done.

Been getting a bit more walking in this week (Sun and Mon); just normal town walks of 45 min/3-mile-ish length but that's better than nothing. What do you folks do to stay healthy and fit? Walking is, I've been told, one of the best things one can do.

Shattered Mirror!

2009-07-14T13:10:00.003-05:00

When I stopped to grab some coffee today in Hamburg I was parked along State St. (or, as I like to call it, the "Death Star Trench"). I was waiting for some cars to pass by before exiting the vehicle and then I saw a school bus coming down the road. I waited and then noted, with some alarm, that the bus was awefully close to the parked cars and was not adjusting itself away. I figured I'd step on the brake pedal just to make the driver see the lights and, as normal drivers might do, give the car that might be about to move (although I wasn't) a wider berth. Instead, my side view mirror granted me the last image it would ever reflect--of the school bus decapitating it!

It was like watching the accident in slow motion as the bus shredded the poor mirror just inches away from me. The bus pulled over after the red light, obviously seeing what had happened, as I exited and retrieved whatever looked salvageable from the street. The driver apologized and said he had to get his kids down to the park but would return right away. I agreed even though I really needed to get my coffee and get up to my first bank stop. The man did return and we exchanged information before parting. Somehow, I made it to my first stop with no time to spare.

I called my State Farm woman and she advised me to just let the school's ins. company handle everything lest I need to pay my SF deductible. I didn't get the school's company's number but I was able to call the school (BCIU) and inquire. The woman there said after the driver reported everything then I would get a call. This is all well and good but I need the car to be in one usable piece since it's my livelihood. So, I got an estimate from Schlenkers (the dealership where I bought the vehicle and take it for anything it needs) and they said they could get the parts in as soon as tomorrow! Fortunately, they have one less piece to order as the rear housing of the mirror somehow escaped intact. Good thing I didn't impulsively throw it away. The estimate is less than $150 so I'm hoping the other insurance company won't balk when I get the thing repaired hopefully tomorrow. I don't have time to run around to whatever repair places they'd like an estimates from. I'm the victim here and they will pay. In the meantime, what's left of the mirror's casing has been duct taped to make it less noticeable to roaming police. :)

Lazy Day

2009-07-08T09:11:00.002-05:00

Do you ever have one of those days where you just wake up and think, "Nothing's gonna bother me today." That's today. The weather is perfect. Work is normal and I'm gonna leave a bit early to my first run and grab some Sheetz breakfast blend coffee--yum! I'm working with artist David Hamilton on a few small pieces for Abbey of the Golden Sparrow and I guess I'll get back to some "BtM: Invisible Stalker" today as well. Maybe I'll get more brainstorming done on what else Tricky Owlbear should do with the Pathfinder rules. Whatever; doesn't matter. It's a lazy day. Enjoy yours!

Tricky Owlbear Turns Two!

2009-07-07T12:45:00.002-05:00

I made a post regarding the company's status on ENWorld here.

Overall, it's been a fun experience so far. Mainly, I just wanted to see the Compendium in print but now we'll have a 3rd edition "revival" with Paizo's Pathfinder RPG releasing next month. We'll be ready with a freelance-written product Abbey of the Golden Sparrow. It's about 14 pages of content regarding monks in their mountain abbey. There's plenty of fluff and crunch to go around for both players and GMs to use so I'm hoping it will sell well to both those camps.

I'm also excited about jumping into Swords & Wizardry. I just think it's going to be so much easier a system to write for. The grognards don't like a whole slew of rules info to be included in their adventures so I'm only too happy to comply! The first adventure for that is tentatively entitled What Goes Up and I'm still just in the planning stages for it. Scot's away for a few days at the beach but he'll be finishing the layout for A Matter of Faith (our medieval adventure using 3.5 rules) as well as for Abbey.

Don't worry, I'm not abandoning the two "Behind the..." series quite yet. It's true that sales are dismal but I think we'll see renewed interest once the Paizo fans see we're an active company (much less one producing content for their game of choice). And there's no reason you can't use the spell and monster info from those pdfs with your Pathfinder game either.

Here's to many more years of fun!

Jim Holloway

2009-07-05T08:10:00.002-05:00

One of my all-time favorite TSR artists has been Jim Holloway. I just discovered that you can not only buy some original pieces (if you have the $$) but you can have some of his work on a shirt, mug, etc. via cafepress through this website! I thought of fellow gamer/blogger Mike Ferguson's recent B4 post when I saw the first image after following the link. :)

3e: A Fix for Jerk DMs?

2009-07-03T12:39:00.002-05:00

That's what Skip Williams appears to be on about in this interview: http://grognardia.blogspot./com/2009/06/interview-skip-williams.html

I don't know why I don't have Grognardia on my blogroll here. I'll remedy that! Ooh, looks like a "Zeb" Cook interview was just posted today there too.

Taxes!

2009-07-01T13:05:00.003-05:00

Alright, I knew quarterly taxes were going to be steep but not to the tune of $3,000!! Sure, I didn't file for this year until now but gee whiz government. Fortunately, I had most of that already put aside so now it's a matter of transferring it to the checking acct. Combine this news with getting a call to do 3 pharmacies stops early this morning and it's been a *bleh* day. It'll be extra nice to settle in for some reflexology tonight. Ahh...

RIP Chuck Cuthbert

2009-06-25T12:47:00.008-05:00

On Friday night the world lost a great man in the form of friend and fellow gamer Chuck Cuthbert. As his obituary indicates, he was a long-time army man although I really only knew his off-duty self well. But whether on-duty or off, I can tell you that Chuck worked tirelessly to better family, friends, and country.

Chuck and his lovely wife Heather first appeared in my life back around 2000-2001 when they walked into the drug store and asked if I was Bret. "This is odd," I thought, "I hope they don't want money or something." As it turned out, all they wanted was friendship. My dad and Chuck had been members of the same Emergency Management group in my hometown and my dad must have mentioned my affinity for D&D. Long-time players themselves (Heather and Chuck had a Ren Faire-type wedding in fact), they were eager to find a group in Hamburg where they must have just moved to a short time before.

After having just lost 2 players to non-D&D distractions, I was more than happy to have the Cuthberts as part of the regular crew. Not long after we met, the Cuthberts were kind enough to offer their furnished barn in which to host our games and it is where we've enjoyed each other's company for the last 8 years. My group had never experienced such comfortable surroundings! Chuck and Heather always provided refreshments and proved to be better roleplayers and friends than I could have ever asked for.

No matter what character he played, Chuck would always be attentive and ready with a plan to save the beseiged party's collective asses in some outrageous fashion (often forcing me to rethink my bad guy's actions and, overall, make me a better DM). In his final game, a couple weeks ago, his character wrenched a poisoned scythe blade from a trap and hurled it at the 4-armed demon in the next room. It wasn't until after the combat when he learned the creature's immunity to poison, but here's what he wrote on the XP sheet he handed in: "Disabled Scythe Trap and used it to attack Mr. Fourarms (who was immune to poison, but I didn't know that so it was still cool!!!"). As a GM, Chuck was incomparable. Attention to detail and ability to improvise came as second nature to him which, as anyone who's run a game can tell you, are essential qualities. No one could run Spycraft or Traveller like him and likely never will.

We've shared countless adventures together with Chuck--both in and out of roleplaying--but now he has set off on man's greatest adventure. Alone, for now, perhaps. But one day we will all meet again to continue that journey of adventure and friendship for eternity.

Godspeed, my friend. You will be missed.

Wired's 5 Best RPG Blogs

2009-06-18T12:45:00.002-05:00

Wired.com has announced their picks as the best 5 gaming blogs. Check them out!

I just don't read enough rpg blogs for some reason. Guess I should change that as there seems to be a wealth of varying info on the ones mentioned. Creativity doesn't flourish in a vaccuum (which is I think why I don't get enough brainstorming accomplished on my isolated drives).

Swords & Wizardry rules

2009-06-17T13:23:00.003-05:00

One of the message boarders at the S&W forums made a nice little site displaying the 2.0 version of the game's rules. This should come in quite handy when production on adventures begins. Click here!

Roll Out!

2009-06-16T12:19:00.003-05:00

My online site of choice for the purchase of retro T-shirts is having a sale until 6/19 in honor of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. http://www.80stees.com/ is the site and the coupon code for 10% off is "transform". Go pick up something nice for yourself. You deserve it. :)

Oh, and sign up for the mailing list because the discounts (offered like 4-5 times a year) are usually as high as 25%.

That Was Fast!

2009-06-15T08:08:00.002-05:00

Another weekend suddenly sucked into the misty temporal ethers. Still, it was jam-packed with activity. Got all my cleaning/washing chores out of the way Friday night. After working Sat until 4:30pm I spent ~2 hrs at Delaware Park (nope, didn't come out ahead but didn't lose much either). Got some reading done late that night. Sunday was shopping with Linda where we scored some great deals at Kohl's (I needed some new work shorts and sneakers) and then I was forunate enough to get some mini-golfing in with Scot, Zlaty, and the Cuthberts. Regrettably, I lost by one stroke so the trophy will pass from my house to Scot's. Vengeance will be mine soon enough!

Snatching from TV

2009-06-11T12:57:00.002-05:00

When writing modules for my home campaigns, I always think of them as TV shows. It provides (at least to me) a structure that is lacking in the otherwise loose collection of modules called a "campaign" wherein the characters grow stronger (if not necessarily smarter) simply by killing things.

For characters to grow, and for players to better enjoy adventures, there needs to be some kind of over-arcing plotline. I'm not saying that a string of one-off adventures with the same PCs isn't fun but there's nothing like an epic plot that peaks out of the shadows during the course of a campaign. And nothing heightens the tension and grabs player attention more than a season finale (a la a TV show finale).

Now, you as DM aren't trying to raise the ratings for your show but you are, with a "finale", raising the stakes for both players and PCs. To do this effectively, I look at what my favorite shows are up to and what the writers were thinking when they penned a season finale. This blog post stems from a behind the scenes look from Star Trek: TNG season 3 wherein Michael Pillar, the scribe for the seminal episode "Best of Both Worlds" describes his thoughts. To put it succinctly, he didn't think he'd be writing the second part of that episode (the 4th season opener) so he increased the jeopardy to the crew without care because he wouldn't have to deal with the denoument. As a result, he created one of the best hours on TV and in Star Trek lore. (As it turned out, Michael did indeed return for the 4th season at Gene Roddenberry's personal request.)

One of my favorite Millennium episodes (the second season finale) was great probably for the same reason--the writing team behind that was not coming back for the next season. As a result, they made it appear that the planet's population was going to succumb to a deadly viral outbreak and a handful of regular characters were terminated (or made to appear so).

I guess what I'm getting at is try to one-up yourself when "finale" time comes. Give no thought to how the PCs are going to get out of the situation for this adventure (trust me, they'll find a way). The gloves should come off and you don't take prisoners. No ideas? Look to your own favorite shows for inspiration. You'll know you've struck gold when your players' eyes widen but then fear is quickly replaced by that grin which says, "This is cool."

Road Rage!

2009-06-10T13:07:00.003-05:00

Honestly, if you're going to drive 35mph on a 45mph road, please limit your driving to the dead of night. Thank you.

In other auto news, I had a bit of a scare yesterday morning after pulling into the driveway and having the key fail to come out of the ignition. I quickly took it down to the good folks at Schlenker's (where the Fusion came from) and a mechanic dropped what he was doing to investigate. Turns out that the gear shift wasn't quite in Park so the key said, "Oh no, you can't pop me out until you're done driving." After some smacking and jiggling (why didn't I think of that?) of the button on the shifter, it popped out to where it was supposed to be and the key released. They ordered a new shifter and, naturally, I've had no problems since then. Still, I'll be glad to have it replaced (the part is only $30-ish) so I don't have to deal with it on the job. Leaving a key in the ignition and the doors unlocked (can't lock them with the key inserted) is a one-way ticket to my company no longer needing my services.

Last night I just about slogged through the classes in the preview corebook (okay, it's Pathfinder) and found that I like/dislike them. It's neat to see the cool new stuff for each class but also seems like more bookeeping for an already accounts-heavy game. I'd love to say more but, alas.

8 Months Already?

2009-06-09T12:46:00.002-05:00

Yesterday marked my 8-month anniversary in the courier job. I suspect some don't make it 8 days so I'm happy. It's been fun and, so far, lucrative. Not sure if I'm filing quarterly taxes yet or not (guess I should look into it soon as June 15 is the cut-off for the 2nd quarter). My car will exceed 100k miles by week's end--unbelievable! Good thing I like driving.

Bumped into Mike P, an old friend from our high school gaming days. Ryan, when you read this, he asked about you and Drew and says, "Hi!" He wondered if "that company" Scot and I started was still going. Yeah, Tricky Owlbear is still going. :) Slower than usual, what with the concentration on Kobold Quarterly articles, but still producing.

Back to reading the new corebook before Ed Healy contacts me again for an interview (to be used in a big promotional push come GenCon).

Where's the Weekend?

2009-06-06T08:13:00.002-05:00

Today I've got to have the car in for an oil change and tire rotation at 10am. I should then leave town at about quarter 'til noon to begin the first bank run of the day. If I'm really lucky I'll have enough time after that to stop in town for some coffee and maybe a quick lunch before my second bank run begins at 2:15pm. What's odd is that I should finish the first bank run by dropping off the materials during the second bank run (before picking up the last two stops). And then a million traffic things have to be right for me to be close to dropping off the second run's stuff in New Jersey by 5pm. After that? I should rush home and finish tomorrow's planar game but I don't know if that's going to happen. Delaware (and Deleware Park) isn't far from NJ and I'm sure I'll need a little slots stress relief...