Note: I know I’m late on this.  Been a lot going on.  :)

The group started where it left off: Facing a Mineral Mimic in the Caverns of “Q”, under less-than-optimal conditions. Arael had no spells, and Therin had no healing spells. Still the group fared quite well against the creature, killing it without taking much in the way of damage.

However, the group decided after this that it would probably be a good idea to rest and regain some HP and spells.  What this entailed, however, was a lot of staying in one place. Result: Wandering Monsters galore.

During this rest, the group faced drunken orcs (which required no combat, passing out before Daggar could even think of something to do about them), kangaroo fleas (huge critters that nearly sucked Arael dry of his somewhat necessary blood, and an Insidious Stalker, which I believe the group is about to face.

It sounds like a short session…it was anything but. The group aqcuitted themselves well, and it was a bit bittersweet, since it was our last session with Ryan and Shawn.  Their characters are becoming NPC’s under my control, at least until we can get out of the dungeon.  At that point, I’ll have to figure out if the group will stay together, or if Arael and Therin plan on leaving the group, forcing Bren and Daggar to hire a healer and mage or fighter.

The next session is scheduled for Friday, August 15th.  (This Friday.)

This is likely going to be one of the last possible times we’ll all be able to game together, so it would be great if we could try to keep this date open. If you have any issues or whatnot, please let me know. Thanx!

Also, I don’t know why this is the case, but it appears that the Events Calendar has lost the ability to switch months.  I contacted the author of this plugin, but he is exceedingly busy, and can’t do anything about it at the moment.  I have created a second page called Large-View Calendar.  You can go to this page and switch months to see what all is going on.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

I have been working on a new Wiki site for our campaign. Part of me simply wants to create a Wiki, and this is a convenient excuse. However, I’ve also been wanting to get some sort of compilation site up, whereby we can easily see what has transpired to date in game.

I have created the wiki site, and it can be found at http://savevsdeath.thedow.org/wiki/index.php5

If you have not yet done so, please create an account and let me know you’ve done that. Once I know you’ve got an acccount on the wiki, I’ll give you the Editor permission, which will allow you to edit most pages in the wiki.

Guidelines for editing:

1. Do not edit pages without discussing them using the “Discussion” tab at the top of the page you want to edit. Undiscussed edits will likely be removed, unless they’re fairly minor.
2. Do not edit someone else’s character page. If you want to add information on someone’s character, place it in the “Discussion” page.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

GM NOTE: Guys, there’s just no way I’m going to be able to write narrative for these longer sessions.  I was writing it, and it was at 773 words, and you weren’t even past the Magic Mouths yet. Depending on the situation, I may write short narratives for some of the action, but I just can’t do it otherwise.  lol.  So starting now, expect to see condensed versions of the logs.

———

The group followed the map out of Farzy, and headed toward what was marked “Q”.  When they got there, they easily navigated the treacherous path, and ended up in front of the entry way.

After checking for traps and discussing marching order, they cut away the vines from the cave-like entrance and headed toward the door. The door was locked, but Daggar flipped over the mat, finding the key.  After unlocking the door, they headed inward.

They traveled a little ways into the dungeon before they were accosted by a couple of Magic Mouths.  Aside from getting mocked, and Daggar poking one of them with his sword, the group didn’t have much interaction with them.

As they proceeded into the main foyer, the Magic Mouths described in gory detail what happened to the dead people the group found. Therin, the dwarven cleric of Thor, decided to use his Basic Looting skill to get the list of stuff in the room, which worked well.  The party loaded it all up.  When they pulled out the sword, which pinned a wizard to the wall, they revealed the word “QUASQUETON” carved into the wall.

At the foyer, they were faced with a East, North, West split in the corridor.  They decided to head west, but it quickly turned south for a long way.  They approached the end of the corridor, and went to check for traps.  They triggered a pit trap, which deposited Bren the halfling thief and Arael, the human mage into a pool of insanely cold water.  Bren’s torch went out, and the pit trap stayed open for awhile.  So Therin cast Light on the torch.  In the light, the group could see that passages led out of the lake cave in a northeast and northwesterly direction.  Soon after that, the trap door closed. 

Daggar stood there for awhile trying to figure out what to do. It wasn’t long before he came to the conclusion that he should follow the other characters, so as not to split the entire party up.  Therin disagreed.  Soon, Daggar was persuaded to at least look around in the vicinity of the trap.  He found a keyhole, into which the front door key fit.  He turned it, and heard a very loud click coming from behind him.  He decided to walk onto the trap, against the protests of Therin.  However, the key appeared to have disabled the trap.  Daggar was getting antsy at having the party split, so he unlocked the trap and triggered it, falling through.  Therin, not wanting to be left alone, but unhappy at being forced into what he felt was a bad idea, cursed in Kuraat and dropped through the trap door.

They swam to the northwest passage and stuck around the shore for an hour to warm up.  After warming up, the group began discussing what to do.  Therin decided to yell at Daggar for leading them into the lower level of this accursed place without having much of a discussion about it.  Daggar announced to the group that Therin wanted to abandon them and continue on.  Therin denies it and told them that he had a very strong feeling from Thor that they ought to stay aboveground. Daggar called Thor a false gawd and told the group that Therin was a sneaky, conniving dwarf who would leave them all in a pinch.  Therin got mad and began casting Command on Daggar.  Daggar saw him mumbling and moving his hands in a strange fashion.  Knowing what this looked like, Daggar quickly punched Therin in the face, interrupting the spell and doing a point of damage to Therin.

Bren called for everyone to calm down and indicated that this wasn’t getting them anywhere.  Daggar used his Knight Errant apologize ability, and Therin failed his save vs. apology; had to accept the apology.  The group continues on, with Therin healing Bren.

The group went to the northwest, finding a dead end there. They turned to cross the lake again, and before they could, they were attacked by a Troglodyte. They all drew their weapons, and moved to attack.  Bren hid in shadows, and moved to backstab.  The attacks went well; the backstab took down the creature, and gained Bren the “Most Damage” award for the day.

The following day, they headed across the lake again, and during the rest, were attacked by a Gelatinous Cube. The party overcame the cube fairly easily and uncovered a LOT of treasure, which they now realize they can’t carry.  After discussing the fact that the treasure can’t be carried, they agree to leave it there for pickup at a later time.

They head down the cave passage, finding a room with a glowing rock. They poke and prod the rock, attempting to determine how to make it do something.  Daggar stands on the rock and proclaims, “I am Daggar the Awesome, ruler of this place!”  Nothing happened.  They convince Therin (who is gullible) that he ought to hit it with the spare warhammer that he found.  He did, after the rest of the group took cover.  A small flake was busted off the rock, which glowed for a little while, and then stopped. Daggar poked it with his sword and hit it with the torch a couple times. They then convinced Therin to hit it with his GOOD warhammer, which he did.  Nothing happened from any of these things.

They took the left path a couple of times and ended up at a tunnel covered with sticky webs.  They started a fire and continued down the pathway to the right, not taking the burning path.

They ended up in a cave with some sort of moss that was glowing.  Everyone but Arael failed their saving throw and stood, transfixed.  Soon enough, Bren shook himself out of his stupor. Bren and Arael push over Daggar and Therin to break the spell.  They quickly and furtively find their way through the mossy cavern until they reach the other side, when a Lime Green Quivering Mass drops on Bren.

Bren is near death, so rather than attack, Therin tosses a couple of heal spells, preventing Bren’s death. They all begin wailing on the sludge. which succumbs in about 3 rounds. They continue on to the door they were moving towards, which has no traps, they discover. They find a room with lots of broken furniture and other odds and ends, but nothing worth anything.

The party explores, and finds a stairway, which appears to lead back up to the upper level of the dungeon. They follow the stairs up, and follow a hallway, which looked much more finished than the lower level, leading the party to believe they’ve found their way into the main dungeon again. They took the first door they found, which led into a large room with a statue of a beautiful, naked woman.  Dagger touched the statue, which attacked him.

====================

That’s where the group ended.  Ultimately, I think it was a good session.  With regards to following the thief and magic user, I think it was probably the only thing that could have been done.  Splitting up the party is never a good idea, despite its success in Lord of the Rings.

I have no idea how the party is going to fare against the Mimic, though, since the cleric is out of heals, and the magic user is out of magic stones spells.  This could be interesting.  lol

Arael  dropped, screaming in pain. The man responsible for the damage turned and shouted.

“Oy, Maddox.  The little squishy one dropped like a stone, he did.”

Maddox, now fully clothed again, grunted and turned back to rummaging through Daggar’s belongings, apparently not merely content to regain his map. Suddenly, and with great bravado, a Lieutenant strode into the room, surrounded by at least 20 of his soldiers. The Whistling Pig common room, not spacious during slow moments, was growing smaller by the second. The Lieutenant drew his sword and pointed it directly at Maddox, who just noticed the lawman.

“Unhand that man, knave!  You are now in the custody of Captain Kamaer Jael, Commander of the Farzy Garrison and friend to Lord Traetian Sagavar. I am Lieutenant Morley. You and your men will relinquish your weapons to my men at once and will accompany me peaceably to the garrison.”

Therin seriously doubted that a Captain of a backwoods garrison such as this had much of anything to do with the Chancellor of the Fangaerian City States, Lord Traetian Sagavar. Perhaps a minor relative of one of the Council of Seven, but he was sure that anyone close to the Chancellor would be stationed somewhere closer to one of the Seven Cities. No doubt this Lord Traetian Sagavar had some pull somewhere along the chain of command, though. It would not do but to appear suitably impressed when we meet him, thought Therin.

Therin was thoroughly in pain at the moment, having taken enough hits to raise him severely above his threshold of pain.  At the moment, it was all he could do to lay there immobile, but conscious.  He kept an eye on Maddox, though, since he did not seem to care much who had the numerical superiority in this bar.  He reached to draw his weapon when the proprietor of the Whistling Pig poked his head above the bar and hit Maddox over the head with a full tankard of beer. Maddox dropped, senseless, to the ground, and his men just as quickly dropped their weapons.  Despite wanting to go on his own, Therin and his new companions were all escorted or dragged out of the Whistling Pig, as befit their current ability to walk.

The party was thrown unceremoniously into separate jail cells, awaiting whatever passed for a trial in this frontier town.

—–

Daggar awoke in his cell. He notes the dingy interior that was not as visible last night.  He had been healed by some garrison leech or cleric and was feeling fairly refreshed considering his dismal failure last night. A plate of what must pass for food in this keep lay untouched near the door of his cell.

Suddenly, the door to his cell was kicked open, and Daggar was rousted from his cells, manacles placed on his wrists and ankles, and shuffled into a Great Hall of some sort. He quickly joined his newfound companions, and quickly put his finger to his lips in the universal sign for “silence.”  Daggar had been in worse spots before, and figured he could talk his way out of this, as long as no one else spoke to mess up the ambience he would create with the force of his presence.

As long as he could remember, Daggar had been able to talk his way out of almost anything.  He had an undeniable charisma about him, and knew that people instinctively WANTED to believe what he said. He just needed to give them a reason to.  Usually, a simple, forthright apology was the way to go. He figured the same tactic would work here.

There were many townspeople seated in the benches. As Daggar the Awesome walked to the front of the room to stand before who must be Captain Kamaer Jael, he recognized a couple of the people from the Whistling Pig last night. He wondered if there would be witnesses called, or testimony given. In fact, Daggar the Awesome wondered what kind of trial this was to be at all.

He and his new companions were positioned to the right of the center of the room, while Maddox and his men stood to the left of the aisle, in front of the spectators. The man who led Daggar to the front approached the raised table at which sat Lieutenant Morley, shuffling through papers.  He murmured something to the Lieutenant, who looked at the group and nodded.  The guard then left the Great Hall.  Daggar noticed that Captain Jael looks rather bored.

As Daggar glanced at Maddox, he noticed that the thug looked perhaps a trifle more unsettled than he might under normal circumstances.  After all, it was the halfling, Bren, who stole from him.  Something was amiss, that’s for sure, thought Daggar. Lieutenant Morley stood and began to speak.

“The Court of Captain Kamaer Jael, Commander of the Garrison of Farzy is now convened. The disturbance last night at the Whistling Pig is being examined.  Let all who witnessed the event be prepared to give an account of the evening if asked.”

“Thank you, Morley.  That will be all.” Jael’s voice was strong, and Daggar the Awesome hoped his punishments aren’t as stern as he sounded. “I will hear from you first,” he said, pointing to Maddox’s group.  “Who speaks for you?”  Maddox answered that he, in fact, was the leader of the group. “Well?”, said Jael.

“Your Honor, sir, my lord…er…You see, we was sittin’ there, minding our own business.  We was discussing whevver or not we’d be in town long.  I had me tankard full, and we was content, see?  Well, these bastards tried to pick my pocket. Specifically, that little beensy bugger over there had his cute little hand in my pouch.  They was stealin’ me own map, my lord. Well, a man’s got a right to protect ‘is own property don’t ‘e?” When Jael did not seem inclined to answer, Maddox continued. “Well, milord, all I did was whack ‘em a good one. Me men, ‘ere just followed me lead, y’see?”

Maddox gave the story nearly precisely as it happened, yet Daggar got the sense, for some inexplicable reason, that he was leaving something important out. It was apparent that Captain Jael got the same impression, as he almost chuckled to himself before turning to Daggar the Awesome and his newfound comrades

“And you? I’ll not have you all speaking at once. Who speaks for you?”

Before the rest of the group could speak, Daggar the Awesome hurriedly spoke.

“Your Honor, I speak for our group.”

“And your name is?”

“Daggar the Awesome, sir.” Jael actually laughed at this bit of arrogance. Daggar was unfazed.

“Well, Daggar the Awesome. Please, give your testimony.”

“Your Honor, we were enjoying the ambience of the Whistling Pig when this man”, here Daggar raised his hand to point at Maddox. “This man stole my map. I am indeed sorry for the brawl which took place following his actions. It was never my intention to disturb the peacefulness of this town.”

After Daggar the Awesome gave his testimony, Jael nodded.

“I will hear no witnesses in this case, Morley, so don’t bother calling any.” The crowd murmured at this.

“You see, my good people, Maddox has not been entirely forthcoming in this court.” Maddox opened his mouth to protest this accusation, and a steely glare from Captain Jael silenced him before he could speak.

“The first thing he neglected to tell us all is that he attempted to resist arrest, and might have done some of my men harm if he had not been prevented by the good proprietor of the Whistling Pig. This cannot be ignored.” The crowd quickly appeared to be swinging against Maddox.

“But that significant detail was revealed to be less significant when I saw this!” Captain Jael lifted up a talisman of some sort.  Round, black, and with a device of some sort carved into one side, painted in white. It appeared to be a sort of stylized skull. The crowd gasped collectively.

“Yes…Maddox appears to be a member of the nefarious group, The Ravagers. Now, Maddox, why did you not inform us of this earlier?  These whole proceedings might have been eliminated altogether.” Maddox attempted to say something, but was interrupted. “You will speak when I ask you to speak, you treacherous bastard! The law doesn’t allow me to hang you, though I’d dearly love a reason to do so.  However, I am ruling that you stole this map from the knight, here. You and your men will all have your left hands removed.  All the money you had on your person will be given to the proprietor of the Whistling Pig, who perhaps saved the lives of some of my men. The map will be given to Daggar, here.”

At this, Captain Jael gestured to Daggar’s group. “You are free to go.  But don’t think that we have forgotten that you chose to fight. That kind of thing is rarely tolerated in this town.  I can’t have my soldiers doing the same thing when they’re bored. However, your decision has resulted in the punishment of a member of The Ravagers. Your freedom is my way of thanking you for this.”

The guard who led Daggar to the Great Hall, approached the group and released them from their manacles and handed Daggar the Awesome the map.  He then gestured to the door and escorted them out.  Maddox glared at the group, and specifically at Daggar the Awesome.  Daggar was completely unfazed, and dropped a wink to Maddox.  

———-

“Boy, that was a close one,” thought Daggar the Awesome, as he picked up his gear from the bailiff. “Next time I’m in a bar fight, I’ll just have to be on the winning side.  Shouldn’t be a problem, given my awesomeness.” The party gathered around Daggar the Awesome to determine what to do.

“Well, are we off?  Just like that?” Bren Lightfinger, being the halfling that started the fight, was keen to know for sure that they would escape the punishment that was due them.

“As far as I know, Midget. And from here on out, let’s try not to start any fights with members of evil adventuring organizations, ok?”

“I…” Daggar the Awesome waved the thief off.

“Don’t worry, Shorty.  I have a feeling we were all after this map, anyway.  If you hadn’t picked his pocket, I probably would have just started a fight with him. Arael, the mage was quick to speak up.

“So what do we do now?  Should we provision in Farzy?”

“No, Squishy…I don’t think we should.  I don’t think that the Captain’s attitude toward us is exactly…uh…er…”

“Benevolent, Daggar?”

“That’s Daggar the Awesome, Unarmored Finger Wiggler.  And whatever “benevolent” means, I’m just saying I think he’d look for a reason to put us in the stocks.  I know I have enough provisions to get me to this stronghold. I have enough to spare, if you’re all coming.” It seemed they were. As the group rode out of the city, they heard the crowd pouring into the lower bailey to watch the punishment being administered to Maddox and his men.

———-

During the four days of travel it took the party to get to “Q”, as it was marked on the map, Arael did some serious thinking. As a mage, he knew he needed someone to protect him while he was meditating on his magical formulae. He also needed someone to take the hits for him while he prepared to cast his arcane magic. Plus…there’s just something about Daggar the Awesome. He seemed a capable enough leader.

(…to be continued…)

Apparently the good creators of the Events Calendar that we use decided that the look of their calendar when displaying events was not so good. I tend to agree with them.

The new version works well in a couple regards. First, when you mouseover an event, the event title is displayed, and that’s it. When you click on an event, it shows the full information, and you should all have access to it. I like the new design.

Please let me know if you have any problems or anything with the new calendar.

So I just heard back from the final player, and the game day has been set for 5/3/08 at my house.  As the calendar says, I figured we’d start at 1pm and play until 5pm or so.

It will be easy enough for me to take people back to Ryan’s house, if necessary so that our end time is a little more fluid.  It just so happened that we were ready to stop by the time your guys’ ride showed up, but it’s not always going to work out that well.

Please review the game log I wrote from the last session before this session so you’re prepared to continue where we left off.  :)

Hello everyone.  The response to the Game Log was overwhelmingly positive.  I’m glad you all enjoyed it.  This will be what I do for every game session, I’m hoping. Thank you for the input, and thanks for a great session.

Now, to the news! With my monthly Fun Stipend, I have purchased 3 adventures of the Hackmaster variety.  We’ve got adventures coming out of our ears, I know, but these are classic dungeon crawls.  Kenzer & Company is not producing them anymore, so I’m snatching them up as quickly as I can. They’re quality adventures, and will serve us well.

1. Robinloft (Lvls 5-7) - This is a rework of a classic Original Dungeons and Dragons module which I’m sure you’ve heard about: Ravenloft. Ravenloft was so wildly successful that it eventually morphed into its own campaign setting. This game has some of the horror elements of the original, but it’s classic Hackmaster old-school humor.

2. Tomb of Unspeakable Horrors (Lvls 10-15) - This is another rework of a classic OD&D module, called Tomb of Horrors. The reviews for this, as with all the Hackmaster modules, have been quite positive. This is obviously something we won’t be tackling for awhile.  :)

3. Slaughterhouse Indigo (Lvls 4-6) - The first of the new modules that you’ll likely be taking on, Slaughterhouse Indigo is also an original Hackmaster module.  What this means is that Kenzer theoretically still can produce it.  I think, however, with the Wizards of the Coast license expiring, that they are merely selling off their final inventory, and will no longer produce it, since they’re soon going to start drumming up demand for Hackmaster 5th Ed.

That’s what I bought this month, and I’m hoping you’re as excited about it as I am.  Something I’m looking for, but is hard to find, is the Temple of Existential Evil.  That module is a major re-work from an OD&D module called Temple of Elemental Evil. (Some of you have likely heard of the video game they created based on the same module.  It’s currently quite hard to find, so if any of you find it in your Internet meanderings, please let me know.

======================================

FINALLY……Tentative Game Dates.  I will place 2 tentative game dates on the calendar.  One of them is April 26th, and the other is May 3rd.  Will either of these dates work for you.  I need to know within the next week or so whether that will work, so please check your calendars and get back to me.

Finally Finally!!!!! —> Kim alerted me to a rule that I forgot.  It might have helped you, but would definitely also have helped me in Saturday’s barroom brawl.  You get to add your honor dice to damage rolls in combat.  So both sides would have been doing more damage.  Threshold of Pain would have caused you guys the same amount of problems, but would have caused them quicker.  However…It also might have allowed you guys to do penetration damage on more rolls than you did, which MIGHT have saved your butts.  I’m not going to institute anything retroactively, since my NPC’s would have gotten the same damage dice that you would have, so it’s an even boost for both sides, theoretically.  From here on out, however, you guys need to know that you can add your honor dice to damage rolls.

As always, if you have any questions, you know how to get a hold of me.

Arael walked into the bustling activity of the Whistling Pig common room in Farzy. This inn wasn’t the greatest he’d ever been in, but it was the only one he knew of in Farzy, and his contact had said the man would be here.

He glanced at the patrons of the inn, trying to discern who would be likely to have the map.  He walked to the left side of the inn, brushing past a dwarven cleric of Thor. "That’s odd," thought Arael. "I thought this town was predominantly Odinite." The new temple of Odin was just around the corner, anyway.

In the southwest corner of the inn, a man in leather armor conferred with his three associates. Their backs were to the rest of the inn, as though they were afraid of lipreaders. Not ten feet from them was a table with a larger man, broadsword on his back, in bezainted leather armor. "That guy would definitely be handy to have in a fight. But what’s that?" Arael had noticed a halfling, attempting to sneak up behind the man with leather armor. He was reaching slowly for what Arael could now see was a rolled up piece of parchment sticking out of the top of the man’s belt pouch. "Could that be the map?"

Arael looked around the inn again, wondering how a barfight might pan out. Despite the proximity of the garrison to the Whistling Pig, there were no soldiers in the bar, which was good. The large man with the broadsword had noticed the halfling. Arael wondered if they were together. Hopefully, the halfling wouldn’t get caught, and he could approach the two of them later. He needed help to get to and through the stronghold of Rogahn and Zelligar, and with a mage like Zelligar setting the traps and otherwise magicking up the place, they would need him as well, whether they knew it or not.

Just then, his hopes for a peaceful resolution of this situation were dashed.  The man with the map roared and stood abruptly, sending his chair back and to the side as he spun.

"That’s MY map, you little thief.  You’re going to pay for this!" The man’s companions stood as well. The tavern cleared out.  These men were obviously not liked, but weren’t going to be easy to defeat, based on the actions of the various commoners in the tavern.  As Arael watched them leave, he noticed that the dwarven cleric of Thor already had his warhammer out, and was preparing to cast a spell.

"DISROBE!" The dwarf’s shout penetrated every crevice of the room, and oddly enough, the man with the map started to do just that.

"A command spell of some sort?  I wonder if that’s something a non-cleric could learn."  Arael snapped himself out of his reverie.  He didn’t like the look of the man with the map at all. He felt he had a better chance at joining the halfling and maybe the fighting man with the broadsword. He quickly began digging in his spell components pouch for his stones and polishing rag and oil. Magic Stones was not as dramatic a spell as the command spell of the dwarf, but hopefully would help do some damage.

One of the man’s companions turned and stabbed the halfling with a dagger. Arael thought that the little guy ought to be able to shake off a dagger wound.  He, himself, had done the same. But the stab must have caused more damage than he thought, for the halfling dropped to the ground, shouting in extreme pain, holding his side.

Arael had found his pebbles and polishing material, and began preparing his spell.

————————————-

Daggar, the Awesome, saw the halfling drop like a stone.  He’d been drinking at the Whistling Pig with this halfling for a couple minutes, and really liked the guy’s demeanor.  When he saw the midget reach for what he figured was some sort of map, he decided to help him in his endeavors. When the halfling dropped like a stone, after someone shouted a really loud "disrobe", he pulled out his sword and prepared to bring some pain.

One of the companions of the now-disrobing map dude went over to check out where the shout came from, and Daggar, the Awesome, heard the sound of a mace of some sort crunching studded leather, as well as the sound of some sort of weapon hitting the hard floor of the tavern. He sized up the situation by looking around the tavern. Aside from some dude clutching something in his hand and mumbling, the 7 of them were the only ones participating in the fun. He decided to attack the guy who had wrecked his new little friend’s day.  Daggar, the Awesome, swung his sword, but his opponent dodged.

The guy turned to attack Daggar, the Awesome, when suddenly, his belt broke, sending his pants down around his ankles. The look on Dagger-man’s face was priceless, and Daggar, the Awesome, took the opportunity to wail on him with a couple well-placed blows.  The first hit sent him falling to the ground, but Daggar, the Awesome, hit him once again while he was still falling.  He looked around to see who else he could smack around, and saw the mumbling guy throw what looked like a rock at the mace-guy. Daggar, the Awesome, wondered what the heck THAT was all about.  He, himself, tended to prefer swords that did some REAL damage when they hit. The dwarf who dropped his warhammer picked it up and smacked mace-guy with it. Just then, the rock-thrower tossed another rock at mace guy, which sounded like it hit his arm with TREMENDOUS force, even though it was really more of a casual lob. It was hard enough to sound somewhat like the mace, and powerful enough to make mace-guy drop his weapon. Warhammer guy, probably a cleric, now had two enemies on him; a guy with a club had joined the fray. Daggar, the Awesome was preparing to go over there and help, when he noticed dagger-man struggling to his feet. "Oh, you weren’t done getting beat on?"

Daggar, the Awesome moved to swing his sword at dagger-man, but before he could, dagger man quickly got in a painful jab, which staggered him a bit. He felt a club crash into him, and looked to see that the cleric was down for the count just before he, himself dropped onto his back, unable to stand for the pain. He clenched his teeth against the curse as dagger-man, map-man (now fully armored again), and club man began examining him and the halfling.

————————————-

Arael saw the cleric hit the ground after being pummeled mercilessly, and realized he was out of Magic Stones.  He fumbled to make some more, and began casting the spell that would make these stones more than mere pebbles. While he was preparing the arcane energies to transform them, however, the guy with the mace quickly closed the distance and hit him hard. The magic that he was preparing dissipated, and Arael angrily grabbed his staff. "I’m not a meat shield!  How am I going to hold this one off?" he thought.

Arael was quick enough to spin his staff around and catch the guy with the mace above the eyebrow a glancing blow before he had to try and dodge the guy’s mace, unsuccessfully. Arael decided to use whatever advantage he possessed, and grabbed a nearby mug of beer. He splashed the beer into the mace-guy’s face, and while he was wiping foam from his eyes, cracked him squarely in the groin.  Such dirty fighting tactics wouldn’t win him points in an honor duel, but they had served him well in the past. He felt that he needed to do whatever was necessary to accomplish the goal.  It was necessary. He didn’t think, however, that he had much of a chance to hold this guy off enough to get the cleric out of here, so he could heal them both up. He saw the mace guy recovering, and quickly adopted a panicked look. "What in Odin’s name is that!?!?!?!" The mace guy spun, and Arael knocked him on the side of his head.  He didn’t know how long this guy would fall for it, but he’d keep it up as long as he could.

He didn’t think that would be very long, though.  He was feeling his injuries now; moving slower than he had been. He figured blood-loss from his wounds would get to him any time.  The mace guy feinted as though he were swinging hard, and Arael dodged.  It was proved to be a feint, however, when suddenly, Arael saw the mace coming at him.  He barely had time to shout before the mace knocked him senseless, dropping him to the ground.

The battle was over in 36 seconds.

================================

Yep, the party failed at their goal to get a hold of the map.  While I think this encounter has some redeeming features, overall, it was kind of messed up. What could have happened better? Not a whole lot, I’m afraid.

6 rounds is not a lot of time, to be honest.  As I said…not even a full minute of game-time passed.  I think you guys learned a lot about combat, and I’m looking forward to how this RP is going to play out next session.

You all acted as members of your character class would act.  You all got mostly good ratings for your character this session.  A couple of you actually ended up GAINING honor points, and 75% of you gained experience for taking crits, etc.

I’ve got your honor and experience point totals for you, and will send them to you via e-mail as soon as I finish this post.

In all, I think you guys did well. There were a lot of crits in this session, and few of them helped you guys at all. Something that could have helped is if you’d been able to read the Honor section of the Player’s Handbook.  You can expend honor points to give you bonuses to your rolls.  In a pinch, it can help a lot.

Be expecting your totals in your e-mail.

As I said in the post title, I have had a couple people confirm that they will be able to play on the 4th and 5th of April.  For the record, that’s the Friday and Saturday after this Friday and Saturday.  This is the schedule for the weekend:

• Friday Night, 6:30pm - Character Creation and Polishing. We will spend the time Friday night finishing up characters.  If your character is not complete, this is a mandatory night.  We’ll probably work on characters through about 10pm.
• Saturday, 10am - Game Day. We’ll meet at Kim and my house at 10am. We’ll start off by finishing any character stuff that we didn’t get to complete the previous night.  After that, we’ll start the game.  We’ll play until the first encounter is completed, but likely will end by 4pm.

This is posted on the Events Calendar of Save vs. Death, and I will be sending out the text of this post in an e-mail.

If you have any questions or comments, you all know how to get a hold of me.  :)