Stonehell: The Gloom Crown

 Session 328 was played on 7/12/26

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

While the A and B team spend some down time engaged in various activities, including making an asparagus beer (Blotto and Koltic), a note arrives from Boris requesting Morgana’s presence. Of course everyone makes the trip out to his fortress monastery. It sits solidly to the northwest, on the side of one of the mountains, and while there’s a “road” to get to it, the path isn’t easy or always safe. Nevertheless the party arrives without complication. After sharing drinks and catching up on the gossip, Boris reveals that since the Gloom Crown has been in his possession, he’s had to increase the protections on it twice, and has fended off multiple attempts to breach his vault. 

The current chest is a steel, salt, and lead lined box with several enchantments forged into it. He takes it out to show the party. While discussing things the Gloom Crown attempts to whisper to Blotto to once again take it, and bring an era of goblin control upon the world. Blotto is unimpressed, and generally ignoring what Boris, Morgana and Koltic are talking about, and he and Borumar discuss the possibilities of infusing some goblin pee with the dark magic of the crown. This of course leads to trying to find out. 

“Let’s let it marinate.” 

No one really wanted to get near enough to dump it out anyway, though Morgana does take an initial sample before closing the box.

What Blotto and Borumar missed was that Boris’ research and prayers have revealed that there exists within Stonehell a tool called the crucible made by the Plated Mage locked away somewhere in the upper levels of the dungeon and it should have the power to destroy the crown. In reviewing the maps that Boris has, slightly out of date, the only section of the upper levels that hasn’t fully been mapped, to the best of their knowledge is the round connected rooms between the eastern quarters of level 3. 

After a hearty dinner and a good night's rest, head out for the manse. 

---

The Edge of 17

17 years and going strong. 

 

I don't know what the next year is going to bring... I never do, but on this blogiversary I feel it more keenly than I usually do. Change is coming, and I'm fearful for what that change will bring. I'm worried, and on a day I should be celebrating, I'm mourning. 

But until it doesn't, life goes on, and I expect so will the blog. So whatever the future brings, I expect to continue this silly little record of my games, my hobbies, and my random thoughts. 

Thanks for joining me on this journey. More to come!

60 Years!

 Today marks the 60th anniversary of Boldly Going! 

 

I wish I felt that drive, that hope that Trek has embodied for so much of my life.  It seems the people in charge of Trek don't feel it either, and have canceled Academy, and Strange New Worlds, and there's no sign of anything else coming once the final seasons that are in the can air. It's frankly embarrassing how CBS has fumbled Trek so badly. The focus now seems to be on the branding and lifestyle merch. Don't get me wrong, I love the LEGO sets I've seen (and haven't bought) but this isn't Boldly Going, it's trading in on the fans for an easy buck. These last years have beaten down that hope in the brighter future... 

But I'm not Hopeless. 

 However CBS fumbles Trek, the fans, my friends, will continue to embody what makes Trek great, and different from all the other shows, movies, and books out there. We're going to make the world a better place for everyone, a kinder world that embraces Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, even as our leaders rage bait the population into fearing the other, and encourage the building of walls rather than bridges. Fuck that, and fuck them. We can do better. We can build a better world. The promise of Trek isn't that it will get better, but that it can. 

If we put in the work.  

Let's make it so.  

August ‘26 In Review

Heat, humidity, thunderstorms… typical August. We took a long weekend to go enjoy Mystic seaport with some friends early in the month, and then popped into NYC late in the month for a Broadway show. In a lot of ways it was a good month… It’s been a crappy summer for a lot of my friends though. Deaths in the family, a fire, a fallen tree, health issues… It just seems like a crappy time all around, and of course all of them are all too far away for me to be able to help, to be able to hug. 

The kid has mostly been out of camp this month, which has meant more interruptions during the day while I work. Honestly this isn’t the worst thing. Sometimes frustrating, but it’s giving us the chance to work on knocking before entering a room.  

Miniatures
Once again, it was a slow start to the month. I didn’t even touch a paint brush till the 2nd week of the month, and even then it was a lot of back and forth on some stargrave minis without a lot of real progress. Sometimes things just come together, and other times it’s a fight to find something that makes me happy. In the end I got there, but it was a struggle. There was a big rush at the end to get some stuff wrapped up, and I’m a little worried about next month, as I’m starting to think about Halloween and this year’s yard project. 

 

I also got back to the cardboard transport and got it primed, and even started putting some paint on it!

 

 And because you can never have too many projects, I started working on an orc food truck inspired by this pic. 

Gaming
The above mentioned health issues have impacted our Stonehell game and limited progress. Between that and the condensing of 2 months of Beetle Knight games into a single report, I’m all caught up on my session reports. 

Summer doldrums also continue to conspire against my work game… 


Media 
Star Trek Strange New Worlds season 4
Resident Alien season 4
Letterkenny
Your Name

Books
The Painted Wastelands Empire of Bones
Alternity Tangents

Loot
Reaper Master Series 2 paints

Goals for September
Finish painting the cardboard transport ship
Play the next scenario of Hope Eternal
Build the food truck

Rappan: Stone Doors and Fairy Monarchs

Session 327 was played on 4/26/26

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

Borumar chats briefly with Tink before he turns his attention back to the door, opening it, and ushering the party though. Tink explains that they find themselves in the realm of King Almander and Queen Kazsha… the fairy court across the river from Nick’s castle!

Sorting through the loot the party has on them, it’s decided that the emerald they’d collected would make a reasonable gift to offer when they ask for ongoing permission to use the stone door to enter Rappan. Tink bounds off to the court to let them know of the parties arrival through the door, and Nick and Co. follow at a more leisurely pace. 

Queen Kazsha is enchanted by the gift, though the king seems less pleased. Perhaps it was too nice a gift? Nevertheless the graceful monarchs grant Nick’s request, and not only that, but over the course of a single day and night craft an enchanted path under the river that only the party (and those the fey allow) can use! A passage big enough for horses even! 

With that, the party makes their way back to the castle, and makes plans for their next adventure.

Rappan: Doors

Session 327 was played on 4/26/26

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

The 6 figures reach toward the party. Koltic holds up his holy symbol, and the meat sticks charge forward. They’re tough like jerky, but the juju zombies go down easily enough. The pool in the center of the room… flows. Borumar, reluctantly, takes a dip in and has a look. A long tunnel, maybe 80 or 90 feet stretches off to another chamber. There are forms moving about, but he doesn’t get a good look before deciding to come back and report. 

Rather than risk a swim, the party heads east down a winding tunnel that emerges into a room with 4 doors facing each other. Of note is the fact that the doors are not against the walls, but stand freely about 5’ from the walls. 

Clearly this is something for Morgana to investigate, and everyone else hangs back. The doors, and the frames holding them are of oak, and well made. Otherwise nothing particularly interesting about their construction can be seen. They are not locked, nor trapped, but are absolutely magical. Starting with the south door and going clockwise, this is what they see when the doors are opened.
S - Swirling portal
W - familiar shadowy cavern with a large squat ziggurat. 
N - A meadow, day time, butterflies and other bugs can be seen. The smell of spring and sunshine wafts through. Maybe near the keep?
E - A blast of heat as a desert is revealed. A pair of statues flank the door, and beyond a pack of lions feast on something… someone?

Borumar is volunteered to go through the north door. “To the keep, to the keep” he whispers as he steps through. On the far side of the door, he finds himself in the meadow, Behind him is a stone ruin, maybe an old cabin? And yes, there’s a door. With a shrug he closes it, steps back, and… waits. Back in the dungeon, the party watches as he closes the door, and they wait. Eventually Borumar gets bored of waiting and goes to open the door, but it’s locked. The hair on the back of his neck prickles, and he looks around, feeling watched. Not seeing anyone he picks the pock on the old door… and then out of the corner of his eye he sees it. A giant badger in the grass.

“Hello! My name is Tink” the badger growls politely. 

Cardboard Starship #4: Transport part 2

Detailing a build can take what is essentially a cardboard box, and turn it into something else, something special. My strategy for this, for the interior was that the detailing needed to be such that it didn't interfere with game play. I used a couple of covid tests for the walls above the benches, and used some screen material for the hatches. The rest of the detailing is either cardstock or plasticard

In the above pic you can see the hatch to the cockpit along with the panels for accessing it. I haven't added the ladder up to the hatch yet, but it's coming. Below you can see the hatch for the engine compartment framed out with some additional panels and detailing. While working on this, I was doing my best to remember that this is a gaming piece of terrain, not a diorama, not a show piece... it's literally cardboard and trash, so I tried to keep from going overboard or over stressing about things not lining up perfectly. 

 What I think is more important to the look of the ship are the external panels. Once again, everything here is made of card stock and platicard (largely from old expired and used up gift cards). The basic goal is to make the card board not look like cardboard. I experimented with a variety of different shapes, some of which were more successful than others. Again, frequently reminding myself that it didn't need to be perfect, and that once painted many of the sins committed in its construction would be hidden, and largely I would be the only one to be able to see them. 

One feature that needed to be clear on the ships were the cargo hatches. To ensure they were easily identifiable each is framed by those blue straws that came from the 100 water balloons in a minute sets you can get during the summer. Personally I hate water balloons, and balloons in general for the waste they create. This is my tiny bit of effort to reduce the waste. That and the reusable ones I got for my kid instead.

One thing I didn't consider when I was doing this is that because of the shape, on the table, the panels that slope down will be largely unseen. Unless you're looking at it from the side directly, this ends up being a lot of wasted effort... ah well. It was good practice. 

You might notice the cockpit looks a lot different... I decided I hated the cardboard version, and repurposed the one I built for the cargo hauler. I still need to do a bit more work with the cockpit, but after that I think the outside of the ship is done. 

The prow of the ship was the last bit I worked on, and by this point I felt like I had the process down. So much so that I actually took a bunch of WIP pics to show how I did it. 

and finally the details!