Tag: Xabal

  • A letter to the workshop

    A letter to the workshop

    TO: Flasfur Wreltor with Blackbirds and the gobkons Chofs Chupmolea badged al-Chems and Bolnis Abica nox Qawaha via Artok at the Keep

    Aboard the ship you’ll find a vial of the corruption I discovered. Additionally this letter’s addendum includes a report of testing as well as a sketch-print of a mechanical hand discovered on this long journey. When I return is unknown. This journey shall be long and ideally fruitful. It is also violent and absurd. Tsavancoast is a land of extreme wealth and extreme poverty, with many artificers, tinkers and crafters mostly gobkon with a few goliaths, plus you wouldn’t believe if but I think there’s a human using cattle to turn wheels like we might a mill. I saw a monkey pushing bellows.

    It’s a large city. Where Sheljar is one with the land and full of righteousness Tsavancoast is bright even at night, garish. There’s gambling where we stay. I win regularly.

    Sorry. Too long. I get distracted.

    You are probably wondering what’s happened with the corruption. It’s a much bigger problem than we or Le Remoden Eisha or the Dragon Council thought. There’s also a local leader in Tsavancoast who is working to spread the corruption while supposedly being in Le Remoden Eisha.

    I found that out after repelling an army of walking trees and this weird elf-insect hybrid creatures. Yes, others helped, including some great dwarven sappers who brought down a bridge, scouts that helped save outlying communities, a lot of wizards. It was a staged battle. Midqh helped quite a bit. I learned how to make even bigger fire and booms through its apparatuses.

    Anyway, after that massive series of battles — yes, we won, that’s how you’re getting this letter — we chatted with the leaders of the wizard and dragon groups, plus a gent named Ryghast. Don’t ask me the order of who talked to who and when it happened. We were in a casino! I won a few games, many games.

    Eventually we chatted. But chatting with Ryghast was difficult. He took me into a magical silence to spill secrets. I tried and tried and tried to break his spells with my own systems. A wizard of his power is well beyond my teknical abilities.

    BUT, in his confidence he told me of his double-crossing ways. I immediately told Amos, Rolf, Crag and Nandi, who passed the information around.

    Probably created a big enemy. Hopefully he didn’t follow the Sadijh back to the keep. If he did please flee. Artok cannot defend you on his own.

    Anyhow, we’re back off to the wilds. The source of the corruption that created that army of trees is our goal. I don’t know when I’ll see you again. I have ideas about what we can do with this hand and I’ve started to work on armored carts with Rolf. There’s also a clockwork amulet that can give one a second chance. My latest invention is to burn a bit of corruption to power our items.

    See you again under the Dragon Moon.

    Xabal Gaitee Quarter-Flagged Optigraph Balaneer nox Free Tink and non-Commissioned Officer of the Sadijh (on leave in absence)

    This recap of the Defense of Tsavancoast is written in first person by Xabal, a gnome artificer, to their hirelings at Xabal’s Workshop set in the Age of Myths campaign.

  • Xabal’s Workshop

    Xabal’s Workshop

    In our Age of Myths campaign the party acquired a keep. Though the party is many days travel by airship away from the keep, their former leader Artok (originally played by John) now runs the keep.

    Each of us gets a Special Feature for what is now our group Bastion. At this time Artok has a Sanctuary. We’ll want to get him a Barracks and Armory soon, because we aren’t around to defend the Bastion very often.

    Xabal Gaitee Quarter-Flagged Optigraph Balaneer nox Free Tink and non-Commissioned Officer of the Sadijh (on leave in absence), my goblin artillerist artificer, established a Workshop. He’s also interested in the Arcane Study, but first a workshop.

    Xabal and Crag took over the two store rooms in the keep. Xabal’s is on the left.

    The image depicts a hand-drawn map on graph paper. It outlines a fortified area, possibly a castle or fort, surrounded by a flowing body of water indicated by blue wavy lines, and red hatching marks representing elevation or terrain. The map includes labeled structures such as a "Keep" located centrally and surrounded by various buildings including "Stone barracks," "Stables wooden," and "Stores." There is an "Archery range" and a circular "Melee Practice" area. Paths and roads are sketched in black, with dotted lines representing different routes. Additional topographical features include a "Waterfall from mtns above into valley" on the right side of the map and a path labeled "Cart Path to main road." The map is oriented vertically, with features labeled throughout in a combination of print and cursive handwriting.
    Xabal took over the left most of the stores.

    What I like about the concept of Bastions/Strongholds/etc is that it gives players the opportunity for some ‘lonely fun.’ With a chill weekend at home I spent time thinking about D&D, but not actually playing the game.

    The image is a top-down view of a rectangular room layout with beige and brown tones, resembling a floor plan. The main space is labeled "Workshop," situated at the top center. Below it, the space is divided by a thick line and labeled "Xabal's hall." The flooring appears to be composed of rectangular tiles laid in a brick pattern. The room is surrounded by a darker brown border, representing walls, with protruding sections at the corners, suggesting architectural features. On the left side, a small protruding area features parallel lines indicating steps leading up, with an arrow pointing to the right.
    Xabal’s workshop interior floorplan created using watabou’s Dwellings Generator

    Using watabou’s Dwellings creator I found something as close as possible to the space on the DM’s map of the keep. Then I added a bit of lore around the minor change (there’s an aviary so it isn’t a pure rectangle).

    And then I discovered the steps and main door should be on the right rather than left. That error will go down as a function of Xabal’s quite-distracted memory and the difficulty of communicating over long distances

    One thing that Xabal trusted Artok to do was hire three artisans to help in the workshop. He hasn’t yet met them, but Flasfur and Chofs started working already.

    Hirelings

    Below the three current hirelings are described including their “stats” for social encounters and their short-form personalities.

    Flasfur Wreltor with Blackbirds

    Photo by Siegfried Poepperl on Pexels.com

    A goliath with a flock of blackbirds that stay in the newly added aviary. He’s a cobbler and leather worker. The blackbirds help Flasfur with fine work required of those professions.

    Nearly eight feet tall, Flasfur was the one said he wouldn’t join the workshop without a small improvement, the aviary for his small flock of blackbirds.

    He’s from a small town in the hills between Mihrstone, Sheljar and Artok’s Keep.

    Strength, constitutionGoliath (2014)
    Negative dexterityCobbler, leatherworker
    Investigative
    Heavy leather apronSheljar
    Small awl (dagger)large aviary for the birds
    Modest lifestyleOpen, respectful, fatalistic, absent minded

    Chofs Chupmolea badged al-Chems

    The image depicts a minimalist, stylized drawing of a small castle-like building with a light brown background. The structure is rectangular with a crenellated parapet along the top. It features two arched windows on either side of a central arched door. The roof is angular and tiled, with a warm tan color. Two lantern-style lamps flank the door. The building is surrounded by sparse grass, adding to the scene's simplicity and rustic charm.
    Exterior drawing of Xabal’s Workshop in Artok’s Keep created using watabou’s Dwellings Generator.

    A goblin who is insistent in studying the corruption. She’s a jeweler and glassblower.

    Chofs recently travelled through the area scouting out a new source of gems not from her hometown. From Bel’an’faire in the south of Sheljar lands, she works with jewels and glass to create art and rarely implements of war.

    She also does etching and some other things that border on chemistry or alchemy.

    Dexterity, IntelligenceGoblin
    Negative charisma, strength, constitutionJeweler and fine arts, perceptive
    Lightweight, close fitting dressesBel’an’faire
    Caltrops to aid her escapeUse the corruption to power art
    Modest lifestyleBrilliant, excitable, religious

    Bolnis Abica nox Qawaha

    Where Chofs is a common goblin in their structured society Bolnis is a wanderer similar to Xabal. She’s potter and tinker who travelled through the land with simple coffee gear.

    Bolnis doesn’t like tea, but has some with her. Most of her time is in the hills and coast between Sheljar and Mira, if people insist on discovering where she’s from it’s Ooshar. She considers her hometown a backwater.

    There’s a chance that Bolnis invents fancy coffee gear, but right now it’s simple. Her passion is to discover new ways to use tek to create new foods, tisanes, poultices, and more.

    Intelligence, CharismaGoblin
    Negative strength, constitutionPotter, tinker, coffee gear
    Insight
    Lightweight travelling pantsOoshar
    Mug (club)An espresso machine
    Comfortable lifestyle, though paid at modestGenerous, meticulous, sensual

    I’m already thinking about how Xabal will interact with these hirelings and what knives they give the DM. Chofs offers someone that could be corrupted through those who study it. Bolnis clearly has twice the income of the others. How is she getting that money? Flasfur’s blackbirds could distract him from running the shop.