July ‘25 In Review

Only one month of summer to go, but I'm so ready for fall. We've had multiple sets of near 100 degrees days, and I'm over it. Even with my cool basement to hide out in, it's still been far too miserable. Thankfully the month ended with a nice storm and a break from the heat. 

Gaming
 My work game continues to explore the hobgoblin caves, and while they've taken some losses (mostly meat shields) they've also gotten some treasure, and they're feeling pretty good about themselves. Of course in the final session of the month, they decided to head back to the weird dream town.... 

My Stonehell game has seen the debut of the B team going in and seeing what changes have happened in the upper levels. 

Miniatures
I can't say I made my goal of knocking out most of the quarterlies for Q3, but I put a dent in them. I managed to get the RCL categories I'd planned on for the month done, and added another half dozen non-reaper minis to my total this month. 

Some of the minis I finished this month

I'm starting August with 6 Osprey Games orc infantry figures half done, and I've got plans for the rest of the month that hopefully will see major progress made on a number of different figures... 


Media 
Game Changer seasons 6 and into 7
Star Trek Strange New Worlds 
Love Death & Robots
Farscape 

Loot
Ashes Without Number

Goals 
Paint and write more than I did in July 

Rappan: Assaulting Immarassrath, 2nd try

Session 284 was played on 06/08/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (Cindy)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)


Fearful that Immarassrath could make an appearance at any time at the castle, it was decided that the original plan was a solid one, and that the encounter with Berlan the Warlock was a fluke, the party got themselves invisible, and headed back out.

Approaching the funnel, there’s no sign of the ward having been reestablished, and the party manages to avoid drawing the attention of any nasty frogs. Reaching the more watery bit of the area, they slowly wade in, doing their best to cause ripples, and keeping connected by a thin thread to make sure that everyone stays together (the whole invisible thing makes coordination difficult). There are several deeper spots full of roots, but the party takes its time, freeing themselves slowly and carefully to maintain the invisibility. There’s a group of lizardmen making a circuit of the area, and at one point they come uncomfortably close…

At one point, while Nick is freeing himself, the guards head into the gates, and a new group comes out to patrol. In whispered conversation they agree to go to the gates and wait for the next time they open to make their way into the fortress.


Gains:
Kills:
Losses:

Rappan: Dragon Hunting Prep... again...

Session 283 was played on 06/01/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)


Most of the party is bedridden in Morgana’s manor to recover from being raised from the dead. Nick is transported to his castle to make an appearance so that panic doesn’t send everyone scattering.

While Koltic tends to the recovering, Morgana researches a Protection from Poison spell. Once that’s accomplished, she and her apprentices get to potion brewing.

***

Short on action, as we spent the time deciding what to do about the dragon, having had our asses handed to us.


Gains:
Kills:
Losses:

Rappan: Assaulting Immarassrath the Green Dragon

 Session 282  was played on 05/25/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (Cindy)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)

In preparation for facing off against Immarassrath the green dragon, the spellcasters continue their preparations. Koltic brews 11 potions of healing (and spoils the 12th, accidentally brewing a poison!)

The party plans their assault, using the knowledge they have from Drusilla and the scry spell. Morgana spends several days casting invisibility on the party, needing to recast it a couple of times on Blotto once it’s discovered that peeing on someone breaks the spell. THe party rides out with a small group of kobold volunteers. A few hours march from the dragon’s lair they make camp. In the middle of the second watch, a fireball explodes in the middle of camp, and a poison dagger is thrown at the watchers. Most of the horses survive, as well as most of the kobolds, being at the edge of the explosion. The amigos and Nick all take the fireball hard. A man in black robes steps forward and demands the party’s surrender. 

Morgana flicks off a magic missile spell, and the mystic bolts slam into the robed figure, dropping him. The 16 brigands with him begin to run. The party chased them down. None escaped. In the morning, the party follows the tracks to the bandit’s camp, and rounds up the people there. Mostly women and children, and a few guards. They seem resigned to their fate, and maybe a little shocked then they aren’t slaughtered. Nick tells them they can head to the castle for a new life, something more stable and safe than a mercenary camp follower. 

While the camp followers pack up to leave, the party loots the wizard’s tent. ‘Berlan the Warlock’ supplies the party with some potions, scrolls, a couple of wands, a spellbook, and a magic letter to ‘Ibinock the Warlock’ from ‘Jonathan, Wizard of the Realm’ requesting the death of a certain adventuring party for a reward of 7,500gp. While it isn’t specified that Morgana, Nick, et al. are the party in question… ‘Jonathan, Wizard of the Realm’ is going to get a visit sometime in the future. That’s an insultingly low amount!

But it’ll be dealt with after the party deals with the dragon. 

With their plan already in shambles, the party rests another day, then heads toward the dragon’s lair. Might as well, right? The woods get thicker and thicker, until they find a path… or is it a funnel? 

Dense woods, filled with all sorts of stinging poisonous plants (Ivy, sumak, oak, etc.) lead up to a swampy area at the center of which is a large earthen mound topped with a wooden log wall, with lizardmen on watch. 

Morgana spots a magical ward across the path, and fails to safely disrupt it. The sound of war horns from the fortress, and frogs peeping from the undergrowth grows louder. Lizarmen in heavy armor march out as large frogs swarm the party. The frogs are dealt with as the lizardman champion comes forward to demand the party surrender. The party kills the champion and another before Immarassrath, her magical invisibility broken, breathes on the party, dropping everyone but Morgana, Borumar, and Koltic, before flying out of spell range. The 3 of them quickly use the magical elephant to grab the bodies, and Morgana uses the Ring of the Scintillating Orb to transport them to Stonehell. She then quickly conducts the ritual to teleport back to the manor, and Koltic begins the process of bringing them back from the dead, one body per day…

Gains: 2 wands, 3 scrolls 5 potions, spellbook, +6,000gp 
Kills: warlock, 16 bandits, giant poisonous frogs, lizardmen champions
Losses: dignity & 2.5 weeks to recover

June ‘25 In Review

Summer arrived, and did so with a stretch of disgustingly hot days. I can’t begin to express just how happy I am that I have the basement to work in. When the weather isn’t completely disgusting, I enjoyed an evening sitting by the fire pit, and spent part of a weekend building a workbench in the garage. I also got my hands on a good sewing machine so that I can fix up some of the kid’s clothing. He’s been wearing holes in the knees of his pants… all of his pants! And speaking of the kid, he finished up Pre-K and had his kindergarten orientation. 

Gaming
Because work is work, we only got 2 sessions in this month, and one of them ended up being entirely a down session where the players took care of shopping and other logistical concerns, but now they’re back in the Caves of Chaos, hunting for some magic armor in the Hobgoblin cave. 

The Rappan game has us facing a green dragon. We’ve got it on the run, and I think we have it cornered. We’ll find out if we can beat it this next session…


Miniatures
This was a productive month! I finished off 4 out of the 6 Stargrave guys I built back in January, along with 4 Infinity troops, a Rebel Grot Cutta, and an Emperor’s Champion. Probably the most non-Reaper I’ve finished in a month in a long time. Brings me up to 22/67 non-Reaper minis. Only 32%... But more in the pipeline! 

Media 
Ghosts
Game Changer seasons 5
Andor season 2
Murderbot
Scavengers Reign

Loot
Strange Tales of the Painted Wastelands and the Players Guide to the Painted Wastelands

Goals for June
Keep up with session reports
Knock out most of the Q3 quarterlies for the RCL

Rappan: Dealing with Druids

Session 281  was played on 05/04/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)

Needing as much info as possible Nick plans to reach out to Drusilla the Druid, but wants to bring an offering. Koltic communes with his goddess to see what might be acceptable…

Would she like alcohol as a gift?
No
Gems?
No
Something that can be provided by magic? 
Yes/No

Morgana collects a cutting of the vampire roses from her garden and the party heads to Drusilla’s grove. The ride through the woods is oddly empty… the grove is not. An oversized owlbear and a large wolf sit waiting. THe party calls out, and Nick cautiously approaches. The wolf morphs into Drusilla, and Nick gives her the plant. He asks about the dragon. She met it, and it decided that it wouldn’t intrude on her territory. Nick wants her help. She wants a spell cast from a scroll. Passing a box with the scroll and a small scrap of grey/brown fur Morgana inspects the scroll, says she’ll need some time to prepare. 

The party returns to the keep, and Morgana makes use of the library. Over the course of the next day she learns it’s a unique reincarnation spell, one designed to work on any living thing, not just humanoids. Rather than risking using it at the keep, or trying to copy it (a not insignificant chance of ruining the scroll and failing…) the party returns to the grove the next day. 

This time the grove is empty, and the party waits just outside it for half an hour before Brusilla arrives, wanting to know why they’ve returned. Morgana explains that she wanted to cast the spell here. The ritual doesn’t take long, and from the small scrap of fur comes a great white unicorn. Drusilla is thrilled to have her old rat companion back, and in such a magnificent form, and shares with the party the location of the dragon’s lair, a swamp to the southwest of the castle.  

Returning again to the keep, Morgana returns to her manor to research a Scry spell. Meanwhile Koltic starts brewing a batch of Protection from Poison potions. 

Morgana finishes her research and casts the spell, seeing through the eyes of a lizardman. It can see its companions are digging a tunnel, and then it turns to see a great green dragon on a massive tree stump. The dragon wears at least 2 rings, a circlet, and a necklace. 

Gains: 
Kills: 
Losses

Rappan: Black Monastery is haunted!

Session 280 was played on 04/27/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)

Continuing through the monastery the party comes to a room with a table set with a gold plate and silverware, and a voice begging “a crumb for the poor? Please give some? Please give?”

Blotto goes into the room and drops a coin onto the plate and the voice goes quiet. He then takes the plate and suddenly 2 black floating figures materialize and attack! The party is a little surprised, but recovers and handles the 2 apparitions quickly.

Further on, a ghost girl appears in a hallway, screaming and running through the party. Aside from a chill and some goosebumps, there doesn't appear to be a lingering effect. Just beyond is a framed picture on the wall of the girl, but as a vampire! It's a good likeness and high quality, and Nick tried to take it down, but it was solidly secured to the wall, and he broke it. Upside is that it revealed a hidden space behind the painting containing 4 healing portions!

Next the party comes upon the skeleton of a minotaur. Leathery bits of flesh and hair still cling to the body. Beyond is a door through which infernal chanting can be heard. As no one speaks infernal, no one knows what was being changed, but the fact that it was internal signaled it wasn't good.

The party prepared for a flight, and opened the door. The volume blasted up, and half the party was deafened before the door could be closed. Borumar got a quick look, seeing a dozen 1’ holes in the floor. Blotto tossed in a troll larynx.

Deciding that they'd had enough, they start to back track, and at one point the lights all go out. Moving along, waiting to be ambushed, they (the non-deaf ones) hear the changing getting louder, then a bell, and then a moaning…. But they emerge from the magical darkness and make their way to the stables to get their horses, leaving the Black Monastery for another time.

Arriving the next day back at the keep, the kobolds report that a green dragon visited, poisoning the fields and giving them a month to leave before it would be back.


Gains:
Kills: 2 ghost things
Losses