Tag: recap

  • Ferments, Sessions three & four: Mud mephit slide, wake, fey chwinga

    Ferments, Sessions three & four: Mud mephit slide, wake, fey chwinga

    In session three the focus was on Keesrah. A duet session handled on Discord due to let turnout, session three was a fine example of the intent behind The Ferments campaign — always find a way to play D&D.

    Session four was held at Logan Brewing in Burien, as is typical. Keesrah and Guarese attended.

    What did the other characters do? We’ll use downtime to talk about the use of their homesteads as bastions, Xanathar’s downtime actions and/or improving their defenses for Militia Actions. And, due to player feedback we’re including traps in Militia Actions to embrace the case where a homestead may be solo or light on membership.

    The Ferments reading;

    Session three

    Keesrah heads into the scrub mountains for food to celebrate the visit of the liquor-creating family of halflings from downway. Her mom is on the trip.

    During this trip in horrific weather a mudslide forces a change in path, and eventually she is attacked by mud mephits. It’s a fierce encounter on the edge of failure. But together the two managed to hold off the mephits.

    Later in the trip home they notice a fox, Rennard. Using spellcraft, Keesrah learns that fox is the companion to Taier Henkel. Tier is missing, and presumed dead.

    Keesrah and her mother, Velthuria, need to cross the mudflow to return home. Using some craft, luck and Crow the Raven the two managed to safely cross the mud mephit slide. Keesrah is punched by a mud mephit swimming through the flow.

    After the flow and storm subsides Keesrah and Caile (the brother) head into the hills to talk to the Henkels and then the Drudzhars. One of these conversations goes much better than the other.

    As a sign of fellowship, and because of Caile, Taier’s memorial is to be held at the Trading Post — there’s also easy access to the liquors from the visiting family.

    The celebration goes well, except for the fight between Caile and Keesrah.

    Learned clues

    • Keesrah Maltunyn learned that the Henkel halflings get along with Clan Drudzhar.
    • Caile is friendly with both the Henkel halflings and Drudzhar.
    • Taier Henkel washed away in the mephit mudslide.
    • Keesrah rescued Taier’s fox Rennard.
    • Taier’s body was encased in mud by chwingas claiming he gave them a piece of his soul.
    • Chwingas released Taier when Guarase Spinebloom said he’d find them another bit of soul — maybe his.
    • Ken raiders with an ambush drake made their presence known. One donated its soul.
    • Guarase earned a Charm of Heroism granted by the semi–domesticated fey chwinga that now live in the Spinebloom’s rice marsh.

    Session four

    This was the first session featuring the Spinebloom homestead. It is a series of mostly underground dome structures in a desert environment. Many Spineblooms have some druidic magic and they use this and their traditional growing methods to have the least influence on the environment as possible.

    The same river that goes past the Maltunyn’s flows to the Spineblooms. Since The Ferments are infested with extreme elemental influences the desert and scrub mountains are close than is practical in a typical world.

    Keesrah and Caile travel along that river to try to find Taier’s remains. That journey includes meeting Guarase who helps them search. There is a mud casing hidden in the rice marsh the Spineblooms farm.

    Unfortunately there are also chwingas, little elemental sprites whose morality is not the same as humanity. These chwingas rescued Taier, but kept him cased as a way to protect him during the mephit mudslide.

    In order to get Taier free the chwingas demand another soul. Somewhat confused, Guarase agrees. Then the goliath figures out that they mean his soul.

    During this exchange the non-chwingas notice two advancing elves and an ambush drake. Keesrah sends Caile and Taier home.

    Guarase and Keesrah fend off the elves, while the drake and those elves destroy a third of the rice marsh including many chwingas. When one of the elves is dropped unconscious in the marsh a chwinga captures its soul.

    The elves also damage a Spinebloom home.

    Keesrah and Guarase learn of more threats to The Ferments, more friends that could be made and the challenges to come in a land that threatens their livelihood.

    Fediverse Reactions
  • Ferments, Session two: Punch chickens, Malk the taker, Lenny the lynx

    Ferments, Session two: Punch chickens, Malk the taker, Lenny the lynx

    The second session of The Ferments campaign, an East March style took place again at West Thundermoon Trading Post.

    Again, the session started with rolling on the random encounter chart. Only one of the encounters happened, as there was a lot of great roleplay between the characters.

    That encounter was with “Chickens with arms and fists” also referred to as “punch chickens.” These larger-than-a-turkey chickens have humanoid arms coming out of their wing joints and are semi intelligent.

    The Ferments reading;

    Session two started with a brief recap of the last session and a reminder of the nature of the East March campaign — problems come to you.

    Then Keesrah spoke to her brother, Caile, about the situation with the open door up to the game trails. That conversation leads to the discovery that the brother is dating one of the goliaths in the rival clan up in the hills. Keesrah leans on the young love bird to keep the doors and gates closed as the brother mocks Keesrah for the fight with the fire snakes.

    Ellis, a guest (another PC) enters the compound seeking materials for their homestead. He’s taken over an abandoned plateau homestead nearby. Those religious zealots left the region nearly 30 years ago during the time of the born generation. With decades of wear on the home, mill and other equipment Ellis will have to work hard to reopen the spring-fed mill and granary.

    Needing smithed goods, Ellis chats with Keesrah’s father, Cay, and the goblin Malk. During those conversations Keesarh and Ellis learn that Malk is not merely a refugee, but has strong goals to learn how to take the magma and steam power from The Ferments to the Queen.

    This learning is specifically called out in the quick recap as a note for all players. As was the brother's love interest.
One piece of advice I try to follow is to remind players of the clues their characters learn. Our memories of a game are more fallible than our characters' memories of their lives.

    Learned clues

    • Malk (goblin leader) is a taker. They want to take whatever they can from The Ferments that helps the Queen.
    • Keesrah’s brother has a lover up with the Goliath Clan Drudzhar.
    • Ellis homestead was previously abandoned by religious zealots during the Born Generation when magic returned.
    • Someone is creating animal hybrids.

    Those first three clues are from the conversations between the characters and the named NPCs.

    The fourth clue was an interjection because I could tell the table needed some action, plus there were two random encounters rolled and we hadn’t gotten to either.

    Using the open door to the game trail from session one, and the obvious wealth of the trading post as inspiration the punch chickens were the easier of the two random rolls to integrate.

    Punch chickens

    Three punch chickens are discovered by Ellis’ lynx, Lenny. The lynx flushes them out of one of the merchant booths. Those armed chickens are carrying some goods away, sprinting towards the open door.

    What are punch chickens?

    Statistically they are axe beaks (Black Flag page 371) that punch rather than poke. Their special ability of Evasion turns out to be too significant for 2.5 combatants.

    Deadly encounter

    This is a deadly encounter with two characters and one combatant animal companion. The action economy combined with consistent dodging means both characters are dropped unconscious. The final roll comes down to Ellis’ lynx versus a wounded punch chicken. The lynx lands the fatal blow.

    Keesrah did bar the door preventing a simple escape, so even if they had completely failed there was a narrative success available via the peasants and non-heroic NPCs.

    Keesrah’s mother, Velthuria, helps the group heal.

    During the recovery the group used some social checks to learn that the punch chickens likely originate from a group that myths call the Children of Chorl (an evil transmuter who tried to create various hybrid creatures).

  • Ferments, Session one: Smog buggy and fire snakes

    Ferments, Session one: Smog buggy and fire snakes

    The East marched on West Thundermoon Trading Post.

    Wrapping up a typical day, Keesrah noticed a thick, acrid cloud coming from the east. At the same time a not-unusual goliath walked up the packed dirt road from the south.

    The goliath, Guarase Spinebloom, reached the gates of the wooden palisade enclosure a few minutes before the smog buggy. Keesrah starts closing the doors.

    The smog buggy encounter was one of three random encounters rolled by the three players taking part in today's session.

    In a thick accent, the boss of the smog buggy, a goblin with driver and second passenger, demands/requests entry to escape “fire snakes.”

    Keesrah messages her mother. This takes nearly a minute because it is the spell. She opens the gate and lets the rancid smoke engulfed clackety buggy into the trading post.

    Mere feet behind them are fire snakes.

    This was not a euphemism. They are snakes, made of fire.

    Fire snakes were also rolled on the random encounter chart.

    The fight is swift with another Trading Post visitor, a halfling with six tiny terrier companions, Luke with a silent and non-appearing q in his name. Luke is a cleric and joins in the defense. He was picking up farm implements from Keesrah’s father, a smith whose forge burns over an open lava seam.

    Luke, Keesrah and Guarase try to defend these goblins. They have difficulty conversing with the goblins. Though the goblins know common (Telsian as we’re using cultures not languages)the two dialects known aren’t similar between the Ferments-born and the Essians (goblin born).

    A unique use of Create Water by Luke reduces the fire snake effectiveness for a round, while also limiting the spread of fire in the walls.

    During the fight the fire snakes kill one of the goblin minions and damage everyone, as well as a bit of the palisade. It’s a win, but with a hefty loss.

    A mistake the DM, me, made was having four fire snakes. Standard fire snakes have too many hit points for three 1st level characters, even with their allies.
As soon as I realized the error I dropped them to 13 or 14 HP. That meant the fight was very difficult, but not a campaign ender.

    A morale roll means that the smog buggy driver will likely never leave the trading post again. Their best friend is gone, burnt. Malk, the goblin boss needs to repair their buggy, which is also crispy, and find a crew and find the resources to use as fuel. The goblins normally use tar trees, but outside of Essia those are extremely rare.

    Malk and Keesrah’s father talk about the possibility of using lava to fuel the smog buggy.

    After a bit of rest, and setting up a guard by Keesrah’s family the group tries to recover. They talk a bit.

    Looking around the Post they notice the overflight of dozens of hunting birds. The Maltunyn family rivals up in the hills almost always bond with birds. At a heightened alert, the group of Luke, Guarase and Keesrah notice that one of the smaller doors out to the game trails is open. Keesrah’s younger brother is gone.

    The overflight was the third random encounter rolled.

    Key learnings (SlyFlourish would call these secrets).

    • Goblins are searching The Ferments for a resource that can fuel their smog-tek.
    • Fire snakes are now aggressive, rather than passive. They will chase outsiders in the area.
    • Keesrah’s brother snuck out at night. That raised an alert from the adversarial clan nearby.
    • Community helps community. No matter the challenge and the danger.

    This was the first session of The Ferments, an East Marches Campaign set in the World of the Everflow.

    It is an experiment in using random encounters, defensible places, and a West Marches style to talk about community, control of knowledge and love of pets.

    Fediverse Reactions
  • Diary: Success in Mihrstone

    Diary: Success in Mihrstone

    We’re flying back to Sheljar.

    I guess we did what we needed to do, but something doesn’t sit right. A family lost their father and their oxen. A town lost its feeling of safety.

    Yes, the stream is running clear again and those evils in the cave complex are gone.

    They aren’t going to be harming the town and the standard guards should be able to help everyone feel safe, eventually. The town of Mihrstone can take a small comfort in that.

    But I’m not comfortable. Artok’s mission feels incomplete. We lost an ally. We don’t know why this pungent fungal druidism rose to strength. There’s reason to think it is a danger that will be constant now.

    Cap’n Crilbort and the Sadijh are taking a group that started as two (Artok and Amos) and is now five — I guess I’m in the group, maybe? — to Sheljar. Artok and Amos will report to their factions. I ain’t got a faction, nor do Rolf and this Crag, we don’t know ‘im yet. But he’s with us, because he’s heard there’s more to this evil than just the one city.

    Aft Artok and Amos report in, what next?

    Imma little communicator and fixit. I like small problems. I like thinkin’ ’bout how to get Midqh to do new things. I don’t like mysteries. I don’t walking shroom people. I don’t like not-quite dead elves with weird molds on them. I don’t like cursed scrolls and global dangers. And I don’t like losing a friend.

    This world is getting more dangerous, not less.

    I’ll help where I can. Come up with new ideas. Mayhap they’ll be wrong, but I’ll try. That’s all I can do, that and annoy Rolf by giving him too many options.

    In our current Age of Myths campaign I’m playing Xabal, a smaller hobgoblin artificer that uses an eldritch cannon called Midqh. My goal is to be the party notetaker, but with a twist. I’m writing our recaps as if Xabal, a motormouth former Tinkerer is the author.

    Other PCs are;
    Artok — bronze dragonborn paladin
    Amos — elven wizard
    Rolf — bugbear monk
    Crag — dwarf barbarian

    Rest in peace Eustace, the gnome bard, laid to rest in Mihrstone

  • Diary: Eustace

    Diary: Eustace

    Hello again fair reader. You may be wondering why these diaries of my times with Artok and the crew are from me and not the humble bard we met. The reason is two-fold.

    1 – I happen to want to remember the journey I’m having. It’s my life and my tale.

    2 – Eustace died.

    china tour guilin reed flute cave fungal looking purple and blue
    china tour guilin reed flute cave fungal looking purple and blue by Ben Burkland Carolyn Cook (CC BY)

    Yeah… things didn’t go well in the fungal caves behind the waterfall. Some of that is my fault. Some is the fault of the funguses. Sometimes it’s just bad luck, like when that crewmem’ went o’erboard. This death in the violent life we lead has fault.

    Eustace getting stuck inside a shambling mound of vegetal horror is kinda traumatic. Especially since at one point all of the group spent time inside that mound. I nearly died too, at my last available breath Rolf slew the dread beast!

    How’d we get into a situation where the four of us were in such danger?

    It started by trying to help a mushroom man who asked for help. I’m always up for helping the needy. Plus, Rolf really trusted fun-guy. Turns out that was because of a spell. Which, we probably should have figured out, but didn’t, again, because I believe in helping the less fortunate and who is less fortunate than someone made of fungus.

    Deep in the cave the two of us were following Funguy, the shroom, and things started to get complicated. We discovered a ritual with other ambling funguses plus this thing that looked like what would happen if a fungus and elf merged, maybe that’s what was happening to poor Glovin who at least had the fortune to die before being taken over.

    Things turn violent pretty quick, luckily Eustace and Amos showed up. We’re outnumbered. Things are going well somehow. We start to get confident. Things are working, kind of. I did accidentally destroy Midqh in boom of thunder, but we’re doing well outside of that until…

    Funguy summons that mound.

    In our weakened state we struggle. I get off some decent spells. So does Amos (that wizard knows some powerful magic). Rolf is doing alright with his magic too! Eustace’s words weaken things.

    I’ve got no Midqh and I’m out of little bits and bobs to build more. I have to stand toe-to-toe with the mound eventually. It sucks me in.

    Rolf and Amos tell me later that they were in serious danger. Rolf uses a misty step to get out and then he and Amos finish off the shambling mound, last of our enemies. I thank them after they wake me up.

    “Where’s Eustace, our gnome storyteller?”

    Their faces turn sad. One points to his body.

    We search spellbooks and knowledge bases. We have nothing to help.

    We have nothing for Eustace.

    We’re stuck in this fungal cave, still no answer to what’s terrorizing Mihrstone, what killed Glovin, what stole his herd.

    And there’s one less of us.

    In our current Age of Myths campaign I’m playing Xabal, a smaller hobgoblin artificer that uses an eldritch cannon called Midqh. My goal is to be the party notetaker, but with a twist. I’m writing our recaps as if Xabal, a motormouth former Tinkerer is the author.

    Other PCs are;
    Artok — bronze dragonborn paladin
    Amos — elven wizard
    Rolf — bugbear monk

    Rest in peace Eustace, the gnome bard.

  • Diary: Airxip Sadijh took me to meet a dead man who can blink

    Diary: Airxip Sadijh took me to meet a dead man who can blink

    Been flying on the Sadijh since Captain Crilbort and the crew picked me up outside Oojar a few feylfs ago (weeks). My canoe broke, and, curse it, somehow I couldn’t repair the clackety rudder and the self-paddler lost its energy. My path was to go upriver, but upriver is hard when you have to paddle yourself. Harder at 3’4″.

    Oh, yeah. Sadijh. It’s big magic, not minors. No balloons, fancy tendrils of powers and a magic crystal in it. I ain’t helping with that. They have me doing comms. It’s ’cause my talents. Also, cause the old comms officer died — I was available. They weren’t. It’s not that I was conscripted, it’s just that I didn’t have a choice.

    Wait, here I am filling out my diary talking to myself and I cannay focus enough to stay to the story. I guess that’s why I write. Gotta figure out the best tale for the next campfire. I miss campfires, Mate Pryn told me we can’t have them on Sadijh.

    I figure this story’s going to be a big deal.

    Riding in Sadijh after defeating some pirates we get called back to work for the Ruling Council. This is when I learn I’m on a formal military ‘xip. Guess I’m an officer now?!

    So we’re called back. We have to pick up ‘authorities.’ One is dragonborn (first time I’ve seen ’em!) – Artok, big and beefy. The other is part of Les Remoden Eisha, a studious wizardly type. At least Amos likes books, even if I can’t read his.

    We’re to take Artok and Amos to Mirrstone. There’s been a lot of livestock gone missing out there. Enough that the Council is getting involved, but also, only enough that there’s two assigned to this investigation, plus the Sadijh.

    That’s both a lot, and a little. On Sadijh we’ve a few officers and not-quite two dozen crew (some work nights and I ain’t getting up at night).

    Captain Crilbort is in charge with First Mate Pryn helping. They both gobs. Most of us are gobs. There’s a navigator and a medic/cook too. And I guess, me?!

    Master-at-arms Holx has five guard (it was six, but Prix went overboard — I’ll get to that | whoa, I have asides to my asides). They work with three on duty and three off duty. (that’s got to change soon).

    Bosun Musi manages the deckhands. There aren’t as many hands on this kind of airxip as their are on the dirigibles or sail boats, because the magic takes care of a lot. It’s great. Almost nice enough I’d crew one.

    Cabin chile Fokz is the one of the chilles I deal with. Fokz helps Crilbort. There’s two others, one helping the cook mostly and another that does general service for the rest of the crew.

    Let’s get back to the tale. If I’m going to do this diary to help my memory I’m going to need to focus.

    So, we pick up Artok and Amos for this investigation. It’s a couple days flight, which is great! Walking would take a feylf. We only encounter one problem during the journey. There’s a storm about halfway through and it’s big enough it opened up a rift. Two elementals try to bust up our ‘xip.

    Artok helps us with some aid. That’s great, because I’m a hob that’s sized like a gob.

    I’m not here to sound like the hero, but me and Midqh pert-much saved the day. Midqh catapulted a block and tackle at one, used its tail to shield Crilbort. Spells and sundry thrown all over the place.

    Both me and Amos made big booms! He does it differently, no powders or tools involved. I’ll figure that out when I can focus. Battle was rough. A few us forgot to latch in during the storm and fight, so we were thrown about quite a bit. Only Prix went over the rail (knocks on chain).

    Not to be casual, but when a rift opens and elemental forces attack a ship I’m used to the whole thing going down, but that’s because I’ve only been on balloon boats before — I only crashed once!

    We get to town the next day. The crew lands at a field and Captain Crilbort orders me to go with Artok and Amos so I can message the ‘xip if they need rescue. This is a rather smart thing to do, if it didn’t involve me.

    Mirrstone is about two dozen buildings, mostly stone. The residents are mostly human. The area seems to be primarily ranches — cattle and sheep. First we talk to Fiendhere, who is like a mayor. He doesn’t know why the herds are disappearing and the town doesn’t have many clues. I overpay for our food and lodging. They have a comfy chair for me to sleep under, which is so much better than the ‘xip’s hammocks. Plus, it’s on ground, so there’s no wobble from the air.

    Fiendhere had told us the ranch most impacted was run by Glovin, whose entire herd of oxen is gone. The three of us inspect the area. The house and fields don’t show anything. No tracks, no trails, no signs. It’s baffling. Amos points out that if the herd was magicked away that it would take an immense amount of power and a portal that many would see.

    I head into the barn. Something is amiss there. Artok and Amos are looking at stalls while I head up a ladder. I leave a tinkering behind so they can find me. This is smart. I’m a communications officer!

    Up in the loft it stanks, rotten and musty. Like mushrooms and fairies (I hear). I call for help and the Two A are behind me, not far at all. We move slowly in this space, me because it’s scary. Them because the roof is low and there’s bales all over.

    We round one place and discover why it stank. Glovin is dead. His body has fungus on it and the smell is intense. We all stop, look at each other. Then we look at the body again. Someone will have to inspect it and though I’m short I don’t want that short straw.

    Then Glovin’s eye opens.

    I need to stop here. That moment put me in a mood, bad one. I’ll write more later.

    In our current Age of Myths campaign I’m playing Xabal, a smaller hobgoblin artificer that uses an eldritch cannon called Midqh. My goal is to be the party notetaker, but with a twist. I’m writing our recaps as if Xabal, a motormouth former Tinkerer is the author.

    Other PCs are;
    Artok — bronze dragonborn paladin
    Amos — elven wizard

    and more that we’ll meet soon.

    The header image is the ribbon jammer from Dyson Logos.