Monday, November 24, 2025

Stonehell B Team Big Trouble in the Kobold Korners

This was the start of our long gaming weekend! I’ll be breaking the events into appropriately sized chunks for the session reports.

Session 292 was played on 8/16/25

Sonara, Wizard 3 (Rob)
Adorellen, Elf 2 (Me)
Glimmer, Kobold 3 (Lanse)
Kessaren, Cleric 3 (Cindy)
Loahn, Halfling 3 (Josh)
6 Kobold meatshields

The dead rise! It’s been a long time since anyone forced their way through the halls of the dead, and wave after wave of skeletons and zombies poured forth, smashing their undead forms against the might of the B Team. Weirdly, the tombs treasures also seem to have respawned in the darkness… Strange how things work in the underdark. The grave goods found in the once again emptied tombs was a welcome boon for the party, but their objective remained, and they pressed on toward the back door of the Korners.

Just outside the Korners, they were jumped by a pair of crab spiders who should have thought better of it.

The kobold guards at the back door were surprised to have to do anything, and more surprised that it wasn’t Morgana and company. A bit put out to have to do work, the escorted the party through the Korners to meet with Keeper Nolti. The main hall of the Korners was busy, and teeming with fairy-kind. Wasp nest-like structures spiraled around the eves and tucked up against the support pillars full of pixies and other small flying things. Various animal headed fey worked the stalls and shopped, while the kobolds themselves seemed relegated to the more menial tasks.

Nolti arrived quickly to greet the party, and they were surprised to meet a hunchbacked kobold. Morgana hadn’t mentioned that. Nolti took the party to meet with the bookkeeper Roi. They passed by the fighting pit and the slave pens. Nolti tells the party that they reopened the slave market somewhat recently, and that it has been doing good business for the Korners. The guards include Kobolds, Bugbears, and some pixies, though if the pixies were actually guards, or just harassing the enslaved folk, it was hard to tell.

Roi the accountant seemed put off to be forced to make a report on the books. Nervous even. Sonra drops a sleep spell on the lot, but Nolti remains awake! Glimmer doesn’t wait, and backstabs Nolti before he can yell for help. There’s a weird noise from his hump as he falls, and pulling aside the kobold’s robe they find a massive 7 legged starfish on Nolti’s back and shoulder. They remove the starfish, stuff it and Nolti’s body into their bag of holding (it’s good kobolds have such narrow shoulders) and then go across to the slave pens. All the guards dropped from the sleep spells so releasing the slaves was easy enough. The party and their freed slaves make a break for the surface and back to the manor, passing a 10 headed hydra eating… something in the swamp on the way.


Gains: 500ep, 100gp gem, scroll of protection from undead, potion of speed, potion of invisibility
Kills: 14 skeletons, 11 zombies, 1 ghoul, 2 crab spiders, Keeper Nolti
Losses:

Friday, November 21, 2025

Stonehell B Team Into the Quiet Halls

Session 291 was played on 8/3/25

Sonara, Wizard 3 (Rob)
Adorellen, Elf 2 (Me)
Glimmer, Kobold 3 (Lanse)
Kessaren, Cleric 3 (Cindy)
Loahn, Halfling 3 (Josh)
6 Kobold meatshields

It was a short session as a good chunk of time was spent on confirming logistics for our upcoming weekend of gaming...

The party holed up with Rocky for a day in order to be sure to be able to ask another round of questions. Barricading the door from the inside, they hung out and got to know the big stone head.

The following day they asked “How to get to where Sabrine is?”
A: South of the Korners
“What species is Sabrine?”
A: Elf
“Is there anything else you want?”
A: Tasty rocks

With this new info, they thank Rocky, and head out to the Quiet Halls. As ever, the dead do not rest as quietly as the name suggests, and almost as soon as they begin to pass by the crypt doors, the dead begin to rise.

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Classic 80's Horror Quick Reviews

Over the course of October I watched a handful of classic 80's horror movies. Some silly, some serious, and some that surprised me. 

Phantasm - Okay, technically this was 1979, but close enough... As for the movie itself, I don't even know... I think the best way to watch this one is after being up 2 days straight, and watching it at like midnight. It's so messy. I get what they were going for... mostly... kinda? Of all the movies on the list, it's the one that has most stuck in my brain. Apparently it stuck in the writer/director's brain too, cause they made 4 sequels, the last of which came out in 2016... Is it crazy I'm considering watching them?

Killer Klowns from Outer Space - Campy, silly, and shockingly restrained on the gore. They were really keeping to the PG-13 rating on this one. Aside from making it somewhat kid friendly, it was pretty much exactly what they promised. 

Chopping Mall - Teens locked in a mall at night with killer security robots. When you think of 80's horror/slasher type films, this is exactly the type of movie you're thinking of, with all the expected levels of questionable writing & acting, nudity, and gore. 

From Beyond - An HP Lovecraft story updated with 80's tech. Better than it deserved to be, but I'm also a big fan of Jeffry Combs from his days on Star Trek DS9, so I'm sure that influences things a little. I want to go read the original story and see how much it diverges from it. There's definitely a lot to talk about in the framing of BDSM in the movie, but it's really too much for this quick review, not really in the theme of the blog, and I'm sure others have already written on it. 

Re-Animator - Also an HP Lovecraft story adaptation, made the year before From Beyond, with many of the same actors, but not as good. It just didn't hold my attention the same way, but then I think things from other dimensions make more interesting antagonists than zombies.

Lifeforce - Sexy Space Vampires who spend most of the movie naked. Mathilda May is stunning and otherworldly, and make watching the movie worth it all by herself. It was a wildly ambitious movie in scope, storytelling, and special effects (which hold up remarkably well). Unfortunately it ends up a bit of a mess reaching has far as it did, but it's still impressive. 

Sunday, November 2, 2025

October '25 in Review

What a month! I'm honestly not entirely sure how I managed it all! Between all the various things the kid had going on, getting ready for Halloween, watching a bunch of horror movies, and getting all the minis painted that I did? It is important to note the lack of blog posts in October, so that should tell you something.

Gaming
Sadly the work game has missed far more sessions than we've played recently. I'm hoping things ease up a bit for November.

Stonehell continues. The B team is still doing their best to resolve the fairy situation, having now encountered the Witch of the Deep and the ‘fairy’ king. I'm really looking forward to seeing what's going to happen next.

I also had the pleasure of running 2 totally new players and their family in a far too short game. It was a steampunk train robbery, and I wish I had a little more time with them. 2 hours was just too little... 
 
Miniatures
Okay, I’m super impressed with myself. I got so much more done this month than I was expecting. For the month:
5 imps
1 barkeeper
1 heroquest barbarian
2 spiders
1 skeletal pirate
6 Tau Defender Class Escorts
Baba Yaga’s Hut’s chicken legs and base
3 vampire daughters
1 small 3D print kiosk/shop
1 ork runtherd
1 tiefling warlock
1 bollard & gas can
1 sign post
 

15 Reaper minis, and 11 non-reaper minis. 

I also made a big start on 8 Tau Orca class escorts, and a big green dragon! 

Oh yeah, and I finished the GIANT spider for the yard. 

Media 
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Farscape 
Fisk
Chopping Mall
From Beyond
Reanimator
Nightmare Before Christmas
Ghosts
Lifeforce


Loot
Reaper October Order!

Goals for November
Get through the session reports from the gaming weekend
Finish the dragon