Summary 4/30/22
Just a quick side note here: these first few summaries were initially written as extremely brief play-session recaps for our group chat, BEFORE i started this as an actual story and blog. Please keep that in mind.
Table Talk:
We started with some table talk about gameplay going forward. I realized that in my attempt to make a fair open sandbox for you all i had made thing TOO open, and clearly you lot need some structure in your lives to function. So going forward, quests will be openly declared and I will essentially be your MSQMI (Meat Space Quest Menu Interface). I will announce when you have a quest and you (as a group) can deiced the options to pursue. Quests will also be broken down a little bit with chapter headings to give greater sense of story and help draw focus to relevant details (when i remember).
With the table talk out of the way we pick up where we left off. Rae had been carted off for holding in the cells of the constabulary, Ari was being caught by a constable, and Sorin was chasing after Ari. So we-
WAIT.
Everyone, ROLL INITIATIVE!
The Giant Centipede lashes out at Ari.
Sorin takes advantage of its distraction, burning its pulsing segmented belly with Firebolt.
Ari is bitten, but not deterred, she lashes out with her sword and narrowly misses the head of the beast.
Rae's eyes widen! "Enough of this!" she leaps forward with a kick, but it's a faint, she plants her feet swinging her staff.
*CRUNCH*
The Centipede's head bursts in two as her staff passes through its brain, leaving a foul smelling mist trailing in the air.
Ari looks up to se–
STOP.....SHIFT...
So thaaaat's what a Grick looks like. Huh, its mouth tentacles are a lot longer in person.
Sorin wastes no time in casting waves of Firebolt
Ashley: "it's not a lot but it's the thing I know best.”
The Grick screams as its oozing skin crackles in the fire, crusting over with white pustules and oozing scabs. It lashes out, wrapping around Ari, tentacle suckers tasting her sweat.
Ari stabs, but the Grick is hungry. Its sharp beak rams forward piercing deep into Ari's shoulder, and Ari begins to black out from the pain.
A breath in the dark. "You... WON'T TAKE MY FRIEND!" Rage rising, Raelle strikes! Darts sinking deep in the Gricks oozing hyde. She grapples the pulsing massive worm meat, pulling Ari from the clutches of death.
"Quick, Rae, there should still be a potion in her bag!" Sorin says before moving his hands to once again bring forth the fire and --
🎲🗡️🔔✨
Prologue: In the Cells
🎲🗡️🔔✨ Prologue: In the Cells
Wait.... what was--
Our heroes all find themselves in a cell. In a dungeon, in a tower, in the hands of the law… getting hit on and harassed by a bony old man. (bonery? is that anything? like boner and horny and bony and ornery all in one? you get it right?)
Rae saw it all, in her meditative half sleep, fighting in the sewers against upsetting beasts.
And, Sorin saw these glimpses in puddles as they ran, a deep arcane knowledge of something yet to come.
And, Ari... has no memory of this, but perhaps her blood remembers as the demon inside suggests she's right where she needs to be.
Introductions are made and we learn our heroes have each been given three weeks in the cells. The pronouncement came from Constabulary Captain Gaibon, a man so solid they had to invent a new classification of hardness on the periodic table just to mark down the power of his will.
So, Ari got three weeks for pickpocketing right in front of a cop.
Sorin got three weeks for confessing to help pickpocket.
And Raelle... well we can't PROVE you were trying to poison the well water... but we're holding you for three weeks to investigate.
After some good chuckles and barbs at our adventures, the old bonery man falls asleep and the guard seems to be dozing while reading his book.
"Quick, now's our chance!"
Ari sees a couple of loose wooden boards covering a hole in the back stone wall of the cell, weird since they double locked the cell, but she’s level one so what does she know?
All three shuffle and crawl through a musty hole with grit on their hands and cobwebs in their hair.
Right
Left
Left
Left
Right
Right
Tick
Click
THUNK
“Wait who covered up the trap? aaaaaaaa....”
Our heroes all find themselves in a cell, in a dungeon, in a tower, in the hands of the law.... getting hit on and harassed by a bony old man. (bonery? is that anything? like boner and horny and bony and ornery all in one? you get it right?)
Rea has seen it all, in her meditative half sleep, fighting in the sewers against upsetting beasts.
And, Sorin has seen these glimpses in puddles as they ran, a deep arcane knowledge of something to come.
And, Ari... has no memory of this, but perhaps her blood remembers as the demon inside suggests she's right where she needs to be.
Introductions are made and we learn our heroes have a each been given 3 weeks in the cells by Constabulary Captain of the Guard Gaibon, a man so solid they had to invent a new classification of hardness on the periodic table to mark is power of will.
Ari got 3 week for pickpocketing right in front of a cop.
Sorin got 3 weeks for confessing to help pickpocket.
And Raelle... well we can't PROVE you were trying to poison the well water... but we're holding you for 3 weeks to investigate.
The old bonery man falls a sleep and the guard seems to be dozing reading his book.
"Quick now's our chance!" Ari sees a couple of loose wooden boards covering a hole in the back stone wall of the cell, weird since they double locked the cell, but she’s level one so what does she know?
All three shuffle and crawl through a musty hole with grit on their hands and cobwebs in their hair.
Right
Left
Left
Left
Right
Right
Tick
Click
THUNK
“Wait who covered up the trap? aaaaaaaa....”
🎲🗡️🔔✨
Chapter 1: An Unexpected Room, and n Unexpected Offer
🎲🗡️🔔✨ Chapter 1: An Unexpected Room, and n Unexpected Offer
Rae and Sorin land on their feet at the bottom of the dirt slide… and then get immediately knocked over by Ari.
Darkness.
A light.
A sizzle.
The smell of cigar smoke.
A hocking sound and a wet spit on the floor.
"Hello there. My name is-"
It is at this point that i want to nominate Ashie for the Oscar of best comic relief in 2022 for his ability to have a truly transporting presence. He took us from a room in the hole of a sewer, to a living room in Nebraska covered in Paw Patrol leavings. Yes, Ashie, thank you. My name IS Kai, but the CHARACTER's name is Bostra.
"-Bostra."
The party is made party to an oddity in the law (yes that dumb pun was on purpose, deal with it).
The Constabulary cannot officially act underground here in the city. And it seems a gang of Thugs has taken advantage of this to rise up, using the sewers as cover. Half Mafia, and half "Straight Outta Compton" these Thugs are causing a real problem.
"So here's the deal, I'll give you all these special tags (magical crest-shaped pendants) and you have an opportunity for a lighter sentence. For each Thug you knock out and put this on them, we'll take 1 week off your time in the cells. My men will come along and collect the Thugs, and you guys are closer to seeing daylight.” Bostra says, puffing on his cigar. “But I'll warn you that every Constable ‘upstairs’ knows what you look like now. Yes, there are lots of gutters and pipes to get back to the surface, but you'll only be caught and have more time added to your sentence."
Players learn a little bit more during some setup and table talk, including that Bostra's hole here will function as a campsite for rests. I will have small tokens for each player and creature, if anyone wants a more detailed token it is up to them to provide and must be sized to a 1" playing grid (28mm scale system).
🎲🗡️🔔✨
Chapter 2: The Sewers
🎲🗡️🔔✨ Chapter 2: The Sewers
Having accepted Bostra's offer, the party make their way through another hole and into the sewers.
We now find ourselves in a large hallway with walls covered in pipes and random pieces of equipment that only a Level 6 plumber or higher could identify or use, so don't even bother asking about them. The party goes across to a small opening, down some hallways laden with tools, and they notice a few sleeping feral cats.
Collectively they decide to err on the side of caution and back up to avoid waking them. They might be friendly, or dangerous, but while they are asleep we can put them in a metal box and not know.
North it is. The players learn about swarm mechanics as they encounter and fight off a Swarm of Rats!
Past the Rat Swarm is... a closed iron gate...
South it is then.
Hey, um, does that Rat look a little bigger to you?
A Giant Rat Has Appeared!
After the Giant Rat dies and XP/Loot are passed around, the party notices a thick sturdy pipe (hehe) with rungs on it leading up to the surface, clearly some kind of gutter service route. Next to this pipe is a large lever.
After Sorin pulls it we hear the rumbling of a grate back to the north side of this hallway.
Behind the Giant Rat, on the wall next to the pipe-ladder, there is a symbol etched in the stone. It's not any Thieves Cant Ari knows, or any magic language Sorin recognizes. What is this mysterious carving? Part of it has a circle the exact size and shape of a coin... Hmm...
Sorin takes a single gold piece and presses it into the sunken shape.
*POOF* That sound... Slithering... laughing... a rasping sound of scaly skin on rusting pipes. In the darkness, we hear the coarse unhinged laugh of a person not right in their heads. Wait heads? Plural?
A two headed, two tailed, three armed Lizard-person stands in front of us with one hand and foot still stuck to the wall.
"I don't believe we've met. *deranged laugh* I… am DEVIN!" says the first head. (Yes Ashie, thank you, my name IS Kai, but again the CHARACTER's name is Devin. This kid is like a demolition crew that specializes in busting down fourth walls.)
"That's right, two heads! One for buying,” says the second head.
"Heeheehee and the other for selling," finished the first head.
Here We learn the basic mechanics of Devin. Devin can be summoned by sacrificing a coin of any value against his mark, whenever you find it on a wall. He will have a rotating stock of things he is selling, and he will buy gear and trinkets you find. You can request specific items from Devin, but it takes a day for him to acquire them and you have to pay a service fee upfront.
There was a bit of bartering with Devin and th-th-th-that's where we left it for the time being folks.
