Tuesday, September 26, 2023

#ReaperCon #Dungeon23 Session Reports 3-5

In case you missed the first part, click here for Sessions 1+2

Session 3

**Short session, as I played Blood on the Clocktower (after dark 21+ session) prior to running this session, and ended up too drunk to run the game for very long

The party takes the shorter hallway to the room, and then through the large heavy metal door that was in that room, reaching a massive multi storey tall chamber dominated by a circular opening in the floor. A metal walkway stretched over it, and blue light shimmered up from the depths of the clear water within. The white tiles of the room gleam, and great steel machinery hums on the far side.

Carefully looking around, they quickly all find themselves either on the metal walkway or standing on the edge of the pool looking down at the 36 gold rods standing on end at the bottom of the pool.

Greed getting the better of him, Balfasak jumps in, sinking down to the rods, the water getting hotter as he goes. He grabs a rod, and reaches up toward the elf for help. The elf wants no part of the gold death rod, but Ivermectin the dwarf follows his cousin down into the hot water. Not to be outdone, Maypole follows, and feels himself getting woozy as he approaches his fellow dwarves wrapped obscenely around the gold pole.

**Drink more water! Less Rum, whiskey, and beer!!

 

Photo of my gaming table at Reapercon. All seats are full, and extra seats have been pulled up. Everyone is laughing or smiling.

Session 4

**No silly notes this season, clearly I was too sober.


We return to find our 3 dwarves underwater, clutching a gold rod in a nuclear reactor pool, all beginning to seriously suffer the effects of radiation poisoning that even their dwarven constitution is having trouble handling. The fighters on the catwalk use a rope and grappling hook to drag their irradiated companions from the water. The dwarves have acquired a tan and a “healthy” faint green glow.

Deciding that the gold isn’t worth it, they press on, and try another door, this one taking them to a changing room with a large sunken circular shower in the middle. Suits similar to the ones worn by the zombies are stored in cubbies on the wall, along with some metallic tanks that look like they can be worn with a harness on the back. They play with the shower, but aside from a few clunking noises, they don’t get anything from it.

Continuing on to a room with a large double metal door without handles, one door slightly recessed from the other, and an impressive looking desk in the corner, the party is set upon by large rats bulging with tumors. Watermelon provides a running commentary on the fight, followed by a post-fight pep talk to the party on the virtues of not being eaten by giant radioactive cancerous rats.

The party circles around and comes to the control room of the facility, full of displays and blinking lights. A voice addresses them in a language none of them know, but one recognizes as an ancient human tongue from before the end of the world.

“Speak Dwarven!” Maypole yells! And the voice does.

“System damaged. Water level is critical. Immediate repairs required before core meltdown.”

“Who are you?”

“I am the Core Computer interface for this facility.”

“What happens if the core melts down?”

“All connected facilities will go offline. Damage to the local area within 5 miles, total. Radiation will cause a 50 mile area to become uninhabitable. Systems must be repaired. Emergency Authorization for repairs is granted to any personnel capable of performing necessary repairs.”

“What needs to be repaired?”

“Water levels must be restored in the main pool.”

“We can pee in it…. How much water?”

“22,000 gallons.”

“That’s a lot of pee… how long do we have?”

“Approximately 11 months until total system failure and core meltdown.”

“How do we get that much water into the tank?”

“Repair the main pump”

One of the displays flickers, and in Dwarven runes lists out the repair needed, and the parts to accomplish it.

What does it say? Asks a party member.

Maypole, prophet of the Core Computer, translates that Computer requires a pump to be repaired. We need a virgin to sacrifice.

Everyone looks at Watermelon.

Where do we find the parts?

The screen changes again, and a map of the facility’s 4 floors appears, highlighting different storage rooms.

The party sets off to collect the parts. They run into another group of Roachkin, and a heated debate between Maypole and Mojito the Cleric on the blasphemy of calling the Computer Core a god. This debate triggered an existential crisis among the Roachkin who had no concept of “god” or “soul” but now had to grapple with the concept.

They fight some more rad rats, and collect some of the needed parts. In another supply room they find a massive steel shelving unit running the length of the room, stacked with barrels. Mojito screws up and causes the entire shelving unit to collapse. The noise was deafening, and the heavy barrels caused some serious injury among the party members in the room. It also caused a large and lumpy mutant to investigate. Hoping to avoid any more mutants showing up, Wooo goes out to calm the mutant, and the pair of them bond over a wineskin full of the good stuff. The mutant leads Wooo back to his chambers, the party follows, and closes the door behind them, allowing them to collect the remaining parts while Wooo takes one for the team.

 

 

chaotic sketch of various figures from the game, with the 3 dwarves on the gold rod in the bottom right, Notknot in the middle, Watermelon and Wooo to the left. The names of all the characters are on the bottom
Session art created by Smaht Goblin

 Session 5

The party has everything they need, so off they go to fix the pump (no virgins were sacrificed to prime it). Returning to the control room, they talk with the computer core some more, and find out about the system that connects the different facilities via underground tunnels. Of course they head directly to the room labeled “motor pool” all the while wondering why you’d put a motor in a pool.

3 dusty old vehicles sit in the large chamber with a wide opening out into a dark tunnel. Most of the party searches the room, while a few poke around one of the open topped vehicles. Eventually they manage to activate it, and it begins to hover a good 6” off the ground. A bit of experimentation, and they get it moving toward the tunnel. There’s two rails running down the tunnel, and the vehicle forcibly shifts to the left one.

Everyone piles into the back, and off they go!

6 hours later, through dark passages with no idea which way they’re going, and randomly picking directions when turns or splits appear on the way, they enter into a room almost identical to the last one they left, the main differences being no other vehicles, and the 6 GIANT SCORPIONS!

They party scurried off the vehicle as the scorpions attacked the driver…

**I don’t remember who was driving

…tries to ram the scorpions, but they’re too quick, and he just crashes into the far wall. House Red takes a stinger right to the chest, and drops, foaming at the mouth. The rest of the party clambers over the crashed vehicle, and through a small doorway with stairs going up… and up… and up….

**Sorry House Red, you were too sane to live with this group. Also, sorry about stealing your drink, but to be fair, it was handed to me.

At the top of the stairs was a busted door, and a rocky mountain side with some scrubby bushes. The scorpions were following the party, but due to the small size of the stairwell, were moving slower than they normally would in the open. The party started throwing rocks down the stairs. For 15-20 minutes they chucked every liftable rock… and then stopped to listen. Their efforts were seemingly enough.

Taking stock, they knew they couldn’t go back down, and only had a vague idea of where home was.

And then the large red dragon appeared.

**Gotta love random encounter tables!

The party hid as best they could, and thankfully the dragon either didn’t see them, or didn’t care.

**It didn’t care


After dark, they started to make their way down the mountain.

**We were getting short on time, and everyone was very tired from the long nights of the convention

The party made it back home after a week of travel, much to the shock of the nearly waterless town. Another party had followed them down a few days ago, but had also not returned. After they report what happened, the town elders focused their questions of the underground stream that served the well.

“So what you’re saying is that you need to dig a little dirt and rock out from where the wall collapsed?”

“Uh… Yes?”

They’re sent back down the well with shovels and picks, and after some hours of work, restored the stream to its original flow, saving the town.

Monday, September 25, 2023

#ReaperCon #Dungeon23 Session Reports 1+2

Games played the evenings of 8/30 to 9/3

Players and Characters - Not all players/characters played each night
Smart Goblin - Notknot Focust, Magic User
Thes - Ethanol the Cleric (aka 80085)
Aaron - Ivermectin the Dwarf
Haldir - Balfasak the Buzzed (aka The Aborted) the dwarf
JeepNewbie - Gorbeliead the fighter
Merrick - Charles Notchuck the fighter
Kyle - Ankou the fighter
Matt - Whooo the lover (not a fighter)
Thorne - Lethe the elf
Andy - Sarin
Natalie - Urethra
Brad Arm Candy - Mojito the 1st
Cranky - Maypole the Fudge Bringer, Prophet of Core
Ariel - Tila the Thief
Arthur - North The Elf
Evil Halfling - Mojito the 2nd (& 3rd) Cleric
Jeff/Dilvish - Uri
Dragoneye - House Red
Watermelon, NPC Torchbearer (12 year old boy or adult halfling, unclear, in platemail with no shoes and shoe polish blackened feet)
Lefty & Righty, NPC meatshields

Over the course of 5 nights I ran a rotating group of players through the first month’s worth of my #Dungeon23. These were all late night sessions (usually starting after 9:30pm) in which almost everyone had consumed various adult beverages. At any given time, there were usually about 8 players at the table.

DM’s notes, as written, will be indicated with **. These notes may or may not have anything to do with what's happening in the game, and may or may not make any sense… even to me.


Introduction

The world ended. Fire burned the sky, and demons poured forth from the mountains to sweep across the face of the world, destroying the monuments and empires of mankind. But nothing lasts forever, not even the end of the world.

Everything was changed from that point on. New peoples with ancient empires appeared where once there was open farmland, and old nations fractured and split as what once was common became impossible to repair. Creatures of myth now walk, swim, and fly across the face of the world.

In the town of Dragon's Maw, so named for the ever steaming rocky gorge the town sits next to, the town's main well has gone dry. Workers were sent down to investigate and repair it. They didn't return. The townsfolk are nervous, and old wives tales about "The Demon Core" that lurks below seem a little more real. With nerves running high, and water supplies running low, a call has gone out for some would-be heroes to face whatever danger lurks below the town.

**I gave this intro every session, and sometimes multiple times if new players showed up.

 

Photo from DM's view of players at reapercon table in convention center hallway. My hamster plush sits prominently in the middle of the table next to my beer and notebook

Session 1

Too stupid to step back when the town council calls for volunteers, a half dozen unlucky souls are geared up to find out what happened to the workers and solve the problem if they can. Heading down the well, the strongest being lowered down first, they drop down into a long and somewhat narrow cavern with an underground stream running through it, and quickly discover that the cause of the problem is that a wall has collapsed, pushing the stream away from the well opening. More interesting is that the collapsed wall has opened an entrance into… somewhere else. Somewhere with a flickering blueish light.

As the fighters poke around, the nearly naked wizard, with bandoliers of flaming oil, loses his grip on the rope near the bottom, and falls. Lucky for him, he only suffers a bit of rope burn, a badly bumped noggin (no big loss) and a couple broken vials of oil. He then uses the oil to rub his nearly naked self down

**everyone is drunk, both in and out of game

**roll Tiddy dice for decisions

The party doesn’t see any sign of the workers in the cave, and so heads up toward the light. Once through the broken wall, they find themselves in a clearly man-made passage, with ancient flickering light panels set into the ceiling. Picking a random direction, they explore the hallway, ignoring the door near the break in the wall, and going directly away from it, ignoring the door at the turn of the corridor and looking further along, they see a group of four 6’ tall cockroaches, attempting to open a door further down the hall. 2 of them drop down onto all sixes, while the one at the door, and the one furthest back remain upright. They click and chitter amongst each other, then at the party.

Notknot, in his glistening glory, carefully approaches the roaches. They’re cautious, but let him approach, backing away from the door. He reaches for the door handle, turns it, and pushes in, and is immediately trampled by 4 more Roachkin busting out of the room. The Roachkin collectively scurry away down the hall, mostly on the floor, a couple using the wall until they round the corner down the far end. After a moment one sticks his head back around the corner and waves an arm before disappearing down the hall.

The party rushes up to Notknot, picks him up, and then they check out the open doorway. Beyond is a large open cubicle farm. The fabric walls are torn and moldy, and thick dust covers the inoperable machines within.

Returning to the previous door, they find a large plush office that once must have been for the boss, but was now just as ruined as the cubicle farm. Ivermectin does his best to fix the throne-like chair behind the desk, but the plastic wheels are beyond his skill and drunkenness level.

 

Session 2

The party continues exploring the underground facility, coming next to a store room, which was largely empty and the few remaining items were ancient and not in very good shape. Urethra offered someone a drink, and was weirdly turned down. Can’t imagine why… 

Among the various dusty artifacts is a weird four legged thing, about the size of a dog, but made out of metal and some other hard materials. A box, semi-attached to the bottom was the only bit that the party could shift with any ease. They pushed it one way, then another, and it clicked, and the dog thing stood up. While it didn't have a head, there was the impression that it was looking around. On unsteady legs it began to move, and then got more steady. They watched it for a bit, and it kept making a circuit of the room.  

**Resting Serious Face

The door across the hall was way more interesting, but stinky. Full of trash and lots of unidentifiable material, several more large Roachkin as well as an uncountable number of Roachkin nymphs, scurry in panic at the light coming in through the open door. Lots of clicking, chittering, and hissing can be heard.

**I’m smart enough to have an extra language, can I speak Roachkin? Sure!

Notknot clicks and chitters in return..

**We interrupt this session report for the sounds of Bohemian Rhapsody echoing down the hall, being played for Sophie Says in the main ballroom. None of my players heard it, and were apparently confused as to why I leapt up and ran into the ballroom to sing along

Conversation with the Roachkin continued for a bit, and the party agreed to not harass any of the roaches they might see in the facility.

**into a box

Leaving the Roachkin nest, they continue down the hall and into a decent sized room with 4 overly swollen zombies in torn radiation suits. Lefty and Righty charge in with the party fighters while Watermelon pees himself.

**Whooo’s toddling Watermelon (tutoring)

The zombies are tough, tougher than expected, and every time they get poked, a nasty gush of fluids squirts out toward the person poking them. Lefty and Righty both get a blast of the noxious fluids right in the face, and neither survives the experience. In a terrifying move, the wizard Sarin grabs the head of the nearest fallen zombie and chucks it at one of the last standing ones, killing it.

**That’ll do Canadian

After the fight is over Balfasak takes the intact heads of 3 of the zombies, and pulls the flesh off of them by hand, keeping them to throw later. He gets a minor case of radiation sickness.

**It might be small, but it’s neat and tidy... Really beautiful.

Opening the 3 doors to the room at the same time, the party finds a long hallway to the south, stairs going up and down to the north, and a shorter hallway to the east that leads to a room. 


Sessions 3-5 next post

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Halloween Movies: Halloween (1978)

Last October I decided to start watching some of the classic horror movies from the 70s and 80s that I missed as a kid, and I started with Nightmare on Elm Street and was shocked at how good it was. Now I didn't get very far into this little project, so this year I'm starting a little early, and Tuesday night I watched Halloween.


Not I'm not a big horror fan, which is obvious given my lack of having seen this classic, but because it's such a classic so many elements of it have made their way into pop culture that much of it felt familiar.  I also have to give props to the film maker for not relying on cheap jump scares. Mike Meyers isn't scary cause he jumps out at you, but because he just keeps coming. Of course they don't start there... they rightly build up to it, slowly just having him be there. Just bring present, watching, lurking, and freaking out the kids.

Overall I really enjoyed it, with only 2 complaints. 

1. I felt the sound balance was off. The music was just a tad too loud

2. He killed the dog. I hate that. Go ahead and murder the randy teens, but leave the animals alone 

Interestingly I expected more blood/gore. For all the violence, it was remarkably restrained.

The real question becomes, how do you make a D&D monster like that?

Monday, September 18, 2023

Stonehell: Troll's Treasure Map

Session 209 was played on 10/16

Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Blotto, Goblin (Lanse)
Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf (NPC)

Troll treasure map in hand, the party heads out into the countryside, past Stonehell and further to the west than they’d ever before traveled. Following the map, they find themselves on a hilltop with an old well. Borumar drops in a copper coin with light on it, while Morgana uses her wizard eye circlet to investigate. She sees a stirge nest, and looks around more, and in the faint light finds an entrance to the complex. The party finds the spot on the outside of the hill, and begins the excavation. It looks like it has recently collapsed.

A few hours later the doorway is open enough for the party to pass through. Exploring around, they find fresh troll footprints, and quietly follow them deeper. Making good use of the wizard eye, they find the trolls before the trolls know the party is there. Morgana chucks a fireball at them. 2 trolls survived the fireball, but not Borumar’s backstab. The troll baby’s fate (it was outside the fireball blast area) was only briefly discussed, and Borumar made sure it didn’t suffer.

With the trolls dead, the party continued exploring, finding a magically protected chest. Morgana dispelled the magical walls around it, and Borumar avoided the poison gas trap further protecting it. Heading to the surface the party is surprised by some insect swarms and a mummy, but they deal with both with ease.


Gains: 2,000gp, Banded armor +1, potion of speech, scroll protection from undead
Kills: 6 Trolls, mummy, insect swarm
Losses:


For this dungeon, I used Dyson's map Hunter's Descent.

Friday, September 15, 2023

Kalanzar the Wicked part 1

 It's time to paint another dragon! This time I'm going with another of the Bones 5 dragons, my favorite, the red!

Just look at that beautiful sculpt!

 

Out of the bad though, I wasn't as thrilled with it. Sure, it's unpainted, unassembled plastic, but that base... It just doesn't give me the proper feeling that this big dragon deserves. First off, 3" is just a little tight, so digging through my bigass pile of bases, I grabbed a 4" round and... realized it isn't just about the diameter, it's about the height. 

It's a little hard to tell, but the feet aren't really in their slots. There's a little warping, and unless I want to do a lot of work to get it all to fit together, and I don't, I need to scrap the the included base. 

That's better...

 And it better matches the base height of Aganzaraxthe Foul too. 

More to come!




Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Reapercon 2023

For the first time since 2019, I made it back to Denton Texas for Reapercon! 

After arriving, once the meet and greet was over, I quickly snagged a spot in one corner of the main ball room to set up, and get right to painting. I needed to finish my entries for the painting contest.

Painting station setup with a battery powered light, a pair of pistol cases, a coffee cup, a water cup and a bunch of minis.

After getting set up though, it was time to gab my books and run some D&D. I continued my late night D&D game tradition, but shifted from Stonehell into my own  #Dungeon23 creation. There's nothing like a little play testing to tell you what you need to tweak.  I have the session reports for this started, and should have it posted soon...

 Lat night D&D game, round table, players talking to each other

As far as the painting contest goes, I sadly once again only brought home bronze awards, and while I'm disappointed, I'm not too surprised. I got really good feedback, and had it hammered into my head that if I want silver (or better) I really need to actively focus on getting better, not just painting a lot of good tabletop quality minis.

Main ballroom full of people during the reapercon awards ceremony

After a rough night of too much drinking and fun, I woke up, checked my phone and read the news that Jimmy Buffet had died. I'm not sure I've said much about it here, but I'm a big fan, and it was heartbreaking news. Of course, I had to have a cheeseburger, cold draft beer, and a margarita. They were all really good too.

A margarita, cold draft beer, and a cheeseburger in honor of Jimmy Buffett

Aside from finishing up the contest entries, I also painted these at the con. The barmaid was from a fluid filled objects class, the warlock was from a speed painting event, the small tribal dude was an old figure painted for Reaper Jon, and the skeleton archer was in honor of Ed who passed away this year.  I also took a jungle basing class, but mostly just hung out and played games.

4 minis, a barmaid, warlock, tribal warrior, and skeleton archer

And speaking of games, Blood on the Clock Tower is a very fun game. It's a social deduction game of good villagers trying to figure out who the demon (and their minions) is. I played in an evening session on Friday, using a variant caveman rule where players could only say 6 words (like rock, fire, cave, big, etc.). We had 2 players who had special cards, one with only 3 words, and the other with phrases from Star Trek The Next Generation's episode Darmok, such as "The Beast at Tinagra" and "Shaka, when the walls fell". I got to play as one of the evil minions, and got the Star Trek phrases. We evil players were anything but subtle (we'd all been drinking) but we managed a decisive win.

todder standing on a chair, holding con bade and train of ribbons that touch the floor

Of course all good things must end, and then it was time to go home. I was ready for it too. I found myself missing my family more than I expected. All in all it was an amazing time, and I can't wait till I can go again.

Monday, September 11, 2023

Stonehell: Clearing the Troll Halls, pt 3

Session 208 was played on 10/3

Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Karl, Dwarf 8 (Julia)
Gimble, Mage (Scott)
Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf (NPC)

As most of the trolls were killed in the last session, the remaining trolls hurriedly packed their things, and ran for it. This allowed the party to sweep their way through the halls, collecting loot, and freeing slaves as they went.

An encounter with a panther caused Borumar to accidentally reveal to Karl that he left a Karl Koin in the vampire lord’s spare coffin which resulted in a very loud “YOU WHAT!” over my headset.

Returning to the surface, the enslaved humans and gnomes were all given some pocket money and sent on their way. The party spent some time training, and Koltic managed to poison himself accidentally while brewing potions. 

Gains: various coinage and gold treasures
Kills: Panther
Losses:

Sunday, September 10, 2023

14 Year Old!

It's amazing how time flies. I honestly couldn't have imagined that I'd still be actively blogging after 14 years when I stared this, and yet here I am. 

And because I haven't looked in a while, here's the stats! 

  • 2,156,496


Friday, September 8, 2023

Star Trek Day '23

 It's a weird amazing time to be a Trek fan! There's been so much new Star Trek to enjoy, and so much of it is so good... but we've also got Paramount selling off Prodigy, and with the writers and actors strike going on (Go Unions!) it's unclear what the future holds. 


Then again, Star Trek's core message is about hope for the future, even... especially when things are bleak. 


Happy Star Trek Day, and Live Long and Prosper! 


Friday, September 1, 2023

August '23 in Review

This month was all about prep for ReaperCon. Other stuff happened, like a family photo shoot, the in-laws heading home, visiting my sister and aunt (cutting mightily into my painting time) and actually being able to go out on a date with my wife for our anniversary! Lots of good stuff, but mentally... it was all about Reapercon. And yes, I'm going to owe my wife for this trip, and leaving her with the hamsterling while I'm gone. 


Gaming

Due to a combination of factors, game was on hold this month. In place of that, kinda, I did the RPGaDay thing, and have also been keeping up with my #Dungeon23. Either I’m really really looking forward to getting back to it this month. Plus, there are games played at ReaperCon, but more on that when I get back.


Miniatures

I knocked out some quick walls of thorns and a stone wall for the RCL so that I could focus on my ReaperCon prep. I came up with a last minute diorama idea, and managed to get it done before I had to pack. Fingers crossed that I come home with at least 1 silver.



Media

Star Trek Strange New Worlds season 2
What We Do In The Shadows season 5
Only Murders in the Building season 3
Ahsoka


Goals for Sept

Recover from ReaperCon & not get COVID or even con crud.
Play a scenario or 2 for Hope Eternal
Paint something non-reaper
Start the scarecrow for the yard for halloween.


Thursday, August 31, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 #RPGaDay Days 29-31


 
29) Most memorable ENCOUNTER

Back when 3.0 first came out I had a couple campaigns going, and in one there was an evil wizard who wanted to take out the party. It charmed a hydra, slipped a ring of regeneration on its toe, and sent it after the party as they were down for the night. They killed it, moved camp (who wants to sleep next to the corpse of a hydra?) and bedded down. The hydra regenerated, and the wizard sent it at them again. They killed it again, burned the body, took the ring, and moved camp again. The wizard raised the hydra as a zombie and sent it at them a third time, just before dawn. They managed to kill it... just. And revive the party members who dropped in the fight.

That was so much fun...


30) OBSCURE RPG you've played

I played a home brew Highlander RPG based on the Vampire system. I think that's the best I've got.


31) FAVOURITE RPG of all time
 
Rules Cyclopedia D&D. Pretty sure it's a case of first love, but it makes me happy still, and decades later, I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 #RPGaDay Days 22-28


22) Best SECONDHAND RPG purchase

I have to pick finding a first printing DCC core book for $25.

While a nice deal, maybe not the coolest, I hear you thinking... Except the first printing has a list of OSR blogs to check out, and they included mine!


23) COOLEST looking RPG product / book

Nobilis was beautiful. A coffee table art book.
Planescape with DiTerilizzi art was otherworldly.
Mork Borg is metal!

But for absolute coolness, I have to go with Alternity. It's got a very late 90s, Lexx, Farscape, proto-Matrix type vibe that just both grabs me and also really shows off my age.


24) COMPLEX / SIMPLE RPG you play

Well, currently only playing my Rules Cyclopedia(ish) game, so it's kinda both, depending on what rules we actually use.

The simplest game I've ever played was probably Fate? The most complex was...D&D3.5 with way too many extra books.


25) UNPLAYED RPG you own

3 different Star Trek systems.
Last Unicorn Games
Decipher
Modiphus

I haven't even read the newest one yet.


26) Favourite CHARACTER SHEET

My own 3x5 note card character sheets!


27) Game you'd like a new EDITION of...

I'd love to see an update of Tales from the Floating Vagabond.


28) SCARIEST game you've played

I can't think of a scary game that I've played. I've played games with scary monsters, I've played games as scary monsters, but I've never myself felt scared.

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Stonehell: Clearing the Troll Halls, pt 2

Session 207 was played on 10/2

Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Blotto, Goblin (Lanse)
Karl, Dwarf 8 (Julia)
Gimble, Mage(Scott)
Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf (NPC)


Returning to the main hallway, Blotto walks up to the fancy fountain and pees in it.

At the next door, Borumar tries to pick the lock, and fails. Blotto then makes an attempt, and fails. Karl tries to bash the door down, and fails. Morgana casts Knock on the door, and it opens. The 4 mountain troll elite guards were however ready for them after all the noise. At least they thought they were ready. A pair of crits from Aroon and Morgana, plus the usual amount of violence from the rest of the party ended the troll’s lives faster than it took the party to open the door.

Poking around further, they find some more slaves, and send them to join the fellows. Then, while attempting to open another door, the party is hit by a fireball. The troll king, and his hag mother have come upon the party armed and ready. Blotto uses his rod to hook the hag’s head out of the basket she carries it in, and reels it in. Gimble returns the fireball, though it’s a disappointing one, but Morgana makes up for it. Karl and Borumar tag team the hag, while the 3 amigos pile into the troll king (his housecarls all fallen, burned to a crisp).

As the hag and king fall, the party pauses to tend their wounds, and loot the bodies, when a massive 3 headed troll rounds the corner, ⅔ heads foaming at the mouth. Morgana drops an ice storm on the mutant troll. Blotto tries to trip it, but his line gets tangled. Borumar crits with his bow, and then Morgana hits it again with another ice storm just before it makes it into melee range.

Gains: various coinage and gold treasures, Beard Bane (king’s magic ax)
Kills: Mountain trolls, ountain troll hag, mountain troll king
Losses:

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 #RPGaDay Days 15-21



15) Favourite Con MODULE / ONE-SHOT

I've talked about it before, but the one Nobilis game I got to play. Great characters, great scenario, and the GM just nailed it.
Aside from that, since I don't want to repeat myself, FT0 Prince Charming, Reanimator for DCC by Daniel J. Bishop. I love a good 0-level funnel, and especially love one that mixes in fairy tales, and even a dragon to fight! 


16) Game you WISH you owned

I wish I hadn't sold off my copy of Nobilis. Beyond that, I have more games and game books than I get to use already. There are a couple of 4e books I'm missing, 2e Planescape could be cool to have... But no big white whales for me. 


17) FUNNIEST game you've played

There have been so many laughs over the years it's hard to pick one. Having the party thief run off into the dark of Stonehell alone because of a fear spell, get lost, bump into some Berzerkers who strip him, and put him on an elevator down, and then get electrocuted by some cybernetic monkeys was up there.


18) Favourite game SYSTEM

CLassic D&D. Kinda obvious. It isn't the perfect system, and doesn't do everything, but it's a system that really lets me tinker under the hood without really breaking it. I appreciate that a lot. 


19) Favourite PUBLISHED adventure

Stonehell! Or maybe that's a campaign setting? For 3e, the Sunless Citadel was great. DCC, the Chained Coffin... although that's again more like a campaign.  


20) Will still play in TWENTY years time

Seems highly likely.


21) Favourite LICENSED RPG

D6 Star Wars. Hands down. Solid system, so much stuff written for it, and it's all so characterful. I mean it's so good they've mined it for both the novels and the new shows and movies. 

Friday, August 18, 2023

#6MMRPC Mid August Check In

July wrapped up ok, and August started off with knocking out some Walls of Thorns and Stone for the Reaper Challenge League followed immediately by diving in to ReaperCon prep. I was planning on bringing 3 minis to enter into the contest. 

Fungal Queen for painters


Kornovik the Outcast for Open


Mining Mech for Ordnance. 


And then I got an idea as I was digging out minis to enter into the merchants categories... a diorama. And then I realized that the mini for it wasn't actually from the manufacturer I thought it was, so... 


Needless to say, I'm scrambling to get things wrapped up by the 29th.

Thursday, August 17, 2023

Stonehell: Clearing the Troll Halls, pt1

Session 206 was played on 9/18

Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Blotto, Goblin (Lanse)
Gimble, Magic User (Scott)
Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf (NPC)


While Morgana and Boris worked to banish Morax, the rest of the party spent some time carousing around town and training, mostly unsuccessfully.

Once Morgana wrapped up with the demon, and sobered the rest of her party up enough, they headed back to Stonehell, pausing in the swamp long enough to dispatch 3 ogres who tried to sneak up on the party from under the causeway.

Going through the front door, they are immediately set upon by a trio of giant frogs. They were also quickly dispatched, and their legs butchered for lunch. They then make their way down to level 5 without further incident.

4 hill giants were guarding the main door of the hall. Morgana hit them with a fireball, which didn’t quite kill any of them, but then the rest of the party charged in and hacked apart the badly burned guards. In their pouches were 5,000gp worth of freshly minted gold bars.

 Passing through the main door, they find a sleeping troll maiden resting just within. Apparently the doors provided good sound insulation, and Borumar quickly dispatched her before she could raise an alarm. Now inside the troll hall, they begin to explore the areas that showed up on their magic map. First they find a smithy with 2 trolls and a bunch of gnome slaves working away. They quickly overwhelm the trolls, and unchain the gnomes. The gnomes tell them about what’s been going on, and a little of the layout of the hall. The party sends the gnomes to the front door to wait for them, and promises to free the rest of the gnomes.

Gains: 5,000gp in gold bars, 100 gp gold earrings
Kills: hill giants x4, mountain trolls x3
Losses:

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 #RPGaDay Days 8-14

Part 2 of the RPG A Day 2023 prompt!

RPG a Day prompt image


8) Favourite CHARACTER

9) Favourite DICE
My custom painted Stonehell Dice! 

3 hand painted d6 grey dice with the 6 replaced with a doorway carved as an open ogre mouth



10) Favourite tie-in FICTION
Keith R.A. DeCandido' s Articles of Federation. A very West Wing style look at Star Trek. 

11) WEIRDEST game you've played
Tales from the Floating Vagabond. 

12) Old game you STILL play
Classic D&D, Rules Cyclopedia version. 

13) Most memorable character DEMISE
Killing off half the party with some swamp gas... including the dwarf. Then doing it again cause they couldn't read the map! 

"There's a note on the map for that door... can anyone read that?"

Then they opened the swamp gas door… Faerendril dies. Joho, Daton, and the barbarian cough themselves bloody, but survive.


14) Favourite CONVENTION purchase

For an RPG purchase? Maybe custom dice... Or the big stack of D&D Birthright setting stuff I got out of a discount bin.
For non-RPG related items, these com badges.  

pic of 4 star trek com badges from TNG, DS9, PIC, and DISCO (S4)

Thursday, August 10, 2023

Stonehell: The End of The Infernal Lesser Prince Morax the Profane

Session 205 was played on 9/11

Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Blotto, Goblin (Lanse)
Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf (NPC)
Gimble, Fighter (NPC)

The nursery was suitably creepy, and Blotto wanted to poke around in the toy chest. The rest of the party watched nervously as he did so, but thankfully none of the toys came to life.

They chatted with a demonic voice through the door that warned them not to break the skull, and then went silent. There was an empty hall on the other side of the door.

In the attic they fight half a dozen demonic raccoons. One is turned, Blotto uses his fishing rod to hook and entangle one, while the rest of the party simply beats on the demons until they stop moving.

In a recent addition to the attic, a relatively newly walled off section contains another shrine. Unlike the one on the ground floor, this one is predictably demonic. Within the shrine is a crystal skull that glows with a faint red light. The red mist demon bargains with the party to not destroy the skull. He promises to depart and not bother them at all, as long as they leave the skull intact. Morgana makes no promises, but takes the skull.

Leaving the manor, they head straight for Boris’ newly built temple fortress. Blotto stops along the way at a promising fishing hole.

While safely within the fortress, after a donation to help facilitate the warding necessary for demonic artifacts like the skull and the book, Morgana gets to studying with Boris’ help. With some lucky rolls, Morgana realizes that both the book and the skull are traps, and that to use them to attempt to control the demon Morax is to invite death and damnation. However she is able to devise a means to banish the demon back to hell, and with another donation, this time of the magical cross acquired from the Frog God’s cloister, She and Boris complete the ritual to send the demon back to hell. She then destroys the book.

Gains: Demon Crystal Skull
Kills: Raccoon Demons, Morax
Losses: A Monograph on the Infernal Lesser Prince Morax the Profane

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

#RPGaDay2023 #RPGaDay Days 1-7

 I started doing the #RPGaDay questions this month, because I clearly don't have enough going on, and adding yet another daily activity is no problem. However I'm not going to spam daily blog posts with it. Instead you're going to get weekly posts about it.


1) FIRST RPG played (this year)  2) First RPG GAMEMASTER  3) First RPG BOUGHT (this year)  4) Most RECENT game bought  5) OLDEST game you've played  6) Favourite game you NEVER get to play  7) SMARTEST RPG you've played  8) Favourite CHARACTER  9) Favourite DICE  10) Favourite tie-in FICTION  11) WEIRDEST game you've played  12) Old game you STILL play  13) Most memorable character DEMISE  14) Favourite CONVENTION purchase  15) Favourite Con MODULE / ONE-SHOT  16) Game you WISH you owned  17) FUNNIEST game you've played  18) Favourite game SYSTEM  19) Favourite PUBLISHED adventure  20) Will still play in TWENTY years time  21) Favourite LICENSED RPG  22) Best SECONDHAND RPG purchase  23) COOLEST looking RPG product / book  24) COMPLEX / SIMPLE RPG you play  25) UNPLAYED RPG you own  26) Favourite CHARACTER SHEET  27) Game you'd like a new EDITION of...  28) SCARIEST game you've played  29) Most memorable ENCOUNTER  30) OBSCURE RPG you've played  31) FAVOURITE RPG of all time



1) FIRST RPG played (this year)
I started the year playing Classic D&D, delving into Rappan Athuk! 

2) First RPG GAMEMASTER 
I was my first DM, playing in the tutorial adventure from the 1990 intro box. The first person other than me was my friend Mike who ran me through the intro adventure in the box after I ran him through it. 

3) First RPG BOUGHT (this year)
The first RPG I bought this year was the Star Trek core book. THe first RPG accessory I bought was an issue of Delver, a zine for OSE. 

4) Most RECENT game bought
Same answer. I haven't been spending a lot on games this year. As it is, I haven't even gotten around to reading the Star Trek book yet. 

5) OLDEST game you've played
White Box D&D at a con. 

6) Favourite game you NEVER get to play
D6 Star Wars. I got to play it a bunch in High School, and then later played the d20 version, but never got back to the d6 version, and I have a shelf full of stuff for it...

7) SMARTEST RPG you've played
This is a weird question. I think the RPG that really stretched my brain was Nobilis. Not so much mechanically, but from a concept standpoint. Plus it was such a beautiful book. I'm still sad that I sold it off. 

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

July ‘23 In Review

Bloody hell, it’s been hot… but another busy month in the books. Work is finally returning to reasonable levels, I managed to kill all the poison ivy without getting any on me in the process, and everyone remains healthy and generally happy.

Things with the in-laws have been as good as they can be, and we even took advantage of their being here to go to the movies! Only my second movie since COVID!


Gaming
My #Dungeon23 has been progressing nicely, which is a welcome surprise as I was rapidly reaching a point where I wasn’t sure how I wanted to connect some parts, but somewhere in the middle of the month it all came together in my head, and I’m feeling much more confident about the next couple months. Of course I'm almost a week behind on it, but I'll catch up.

My Stonehell game is back, and the players are poking around Tanna T’liev, making connections, enemies, and stirring up trouble. Fun times!

Miniatures

A decent month I guess? I finally finished off the 3 tengu that I started a while back. I’m not sure that I’m particularly thrilled with anything I painted this month. It’s all fine, but only fine. I really need to buckle down and finish off the minis I want to bring to Reapercon next month.



Media
Silo
Star Trek Strange New Worlds season 2
What We Do In The Shadows
Good Omens Season 2
Barbie


Goals for June
Continue #Dungeon23
Keep up with the session reports
Play the next scenario for Stargrave
Survive the in-laws visit

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

#Dungeon23 #DoomGate #The Facility June Wrap Up

The middle levels of The Facility continue on from the previous month, with more demons, more nasty traps, and a shocking amount of treasure. 

There's also a little sub level that has both a teleporter to the surface, and a dragon that's taken up residence. And if successful, the party can take the teleporter with them... and with a little ingenuity they can even relocate the hardware at the other end to a more accessible location. 

There are several other boss or mini-boss type monsters to be found, including a giant spider demon that when reduced to half hit points will release insect swarms for the PCs to deal with. 

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Stonehell: Cleaning the Manor

Session 204 was played on 9/5

Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Blotto, Goblin (Lanse)
Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf (NPC)
Gimble, Fighter (NPC)

While Koltic brewed items of questionable provenance, Morgana wrote up a fireball scroll, and Blotto tries to find a fishing competition to enter. From Lady Eirics estate to Morgana’s fixer-upper, they find some green slime and burn it out (causing only minor damage to the manor house).

Further along they almost get rolled by a rug of smothering. Then swarmed by some infernal insects. Morgana ice storms them. Again, only minor damage to the house. They’re attacked by a giant spider, that Morgana kills with ice storm, causing more minor damage. Poking around the upstairs, they find a nursery…

Gains: loose coins
Kills: insect swarm, giant spider
Losses:

Friday, July 14, 2023

Stonehell: Trolls in the mines? Fireball!

Session 203 was played on 8/28

Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Karl, Dwarf 8 (Julia)
Blotto, Goblin (Lanse)
Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf (NPC)
Gimble, Fighter (NPC)

To the Troll Halls! 

On the way to the dungeon, an odd yellowskinned goblin with a fishing pole joins them for the walk to Stonehell, asking about the dungeon fishing opportunities. 

Down the stairs, they encounter a long limbed furry humanoid with large yellow eyes moving slowly up the winding stair. Karl gives it some of the “candy” he got from the fae in Kobold Korners. Morgana levitates around the creature, while everyone else gives it as much space as possible.

Once down on the 5th level, they head to the mines, and begin to clear it out of its troll infestation. A large running melee ensues, culminating in a large fireball, more fighting, another fireball, to the refinery, and yet another fireball. Morgana also summons a giant swiss army slug, then on the way out ice blasts 5 more trolls who were on their way into the mines.

The freed kobolds make their way out over the charred corpses of the trolls, while Morgana summons a giant vomit slug as a surprise for when the trolls come to investigate. On the way out a troop of skeletons gets wiped away by Koltic before the back row fighters even got a good look at them.

Gains: Wand of illusion
Kills: Trolls, skeletons
Losses:

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

#Dungeon23 #DoomGate #TheFacility May Wrap Up

May brings us from the various outer installations to the main HQ, where I will spend through July detailing out. The upper section is infested with demons, a smattering of undead, and some weird tech to play with. 

2 page spread from a graph paper notebook. The left side has a pencil and ink dungeon map, and the right side has the room descriptions.

There are also a number of tricks and traps, including a med bay that can heal all ills, but drain ability scores in the process. A pool filled with blood and a golden teleporting chalice (good luck keeping it), and a robotic forge burning with literal infernal fires. There's also an old gargoyle that's happy to chat and trade. 

The influence of the DoomGate can be clearly felt, but also the fungal/primordial push from below, and the weird alien tech from beyond mix in interesting and strange ways. It might have been better if the ICBM was launched at The Facility.

Monday, July 10, 2023

#6MMPC 2023 mid July Check In

June wrapped very successfully with a whole bunch of painted mushroom folk, some ruins, and a couple of spiders. July is kicking off pretty well, though with the in-laws around, my evening painting time has been limited so far. 

This is my main plan for the month. The biggie is a 3 headed troll, though I'm painting him up more as an ogre. There's also a trio of bird folk (kenku? tengu?) a half orc inquisitor, goblin henchman, halfling barkeep, and a tent. The mushroom queen is still in progress, and I'm thinking she's going to be a Reapercon entry if I can get her looking good enough. 

In addition to all of them, I'm also bashing away at some sci-fi terrain.

 

A pair of 3D supports mounted in a pair of peanut butter jar lids, and topped with some heroclix bottom bases with bits and bobs glued on, including a hair elastic conduit, zip tie details, and some garden wire drilled through near the top. They'll look a lot better once they get some paint. 

Sunday, July 9, 2023

Rappan Athuk: Tombs below the cloister

Session was played on 8/22

Nick, Fighter 7 (Me)
Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Darryl, Cleric 6 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 4 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 4 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 5 (NPC)
Gimble, Fighter 5

Checking in with the abbot, he provides the party with 2 vials of poison, 2,000gp, and access to the lower levels of the dungeons via the caves by the beach.

Heading back to the inner cloister, and down into the dungeons there, toward the tomb of Kynos. Within is a large statue of a man with a dog. From the statue a wight appears, and the hellhound (not dog) breathes fire at the party. Darrly takes care of the wight, while Borumar kills the hellhound. Within the statue’s base is a secret compartment with a statue of a dog and a pair of healing potions. Borumar however gets diseased by the compartment.

Deeper into the dungeon, and to the tomb of Kaltex, the area becomes slimy, moldy, and wet, full of toadstools and the faint whispering of… something. Nick follows the whispers and finds a passage in the ceiling. Borumar climbs it, and emerges amidst the ruins between the inner and outer cloister.

Further along, behind a locked door in a large octagon chamber are scenes depicting the life cycle of frogs, with an oily smell in the air. Off of this chamber, in a smaller side chamber is a body at rest surrounded by 62 vials. In the body’s arms is a scepter, and on its fingers, gold rings. Nick carefully removes all 62 vials, then goes for the rings. The body objects, and reaches out draining Nick’s strength. Then the walls opened up, and 10 more mummies emerged. Darryl tackles the weaker mummy things, while the rest of the party wails on the main baddie.

Aside from the vials, and the ring and scepter, there’s also 500gp in a small chest found after the last of the undead monsters is slain.

Using the rope Borumar secured to the surface in the ruins, the party returns home, bypassing the cloister.

Gains: gold coins, scepter, 62 alchemical vials, and a ring of telekinesis.
Kills: mummies, wights, hellhound
Losses:
 

Saturday, July 1, 2023

June ‘23 In Review

Busy busy month. Had a big go live of a new ERP software at work, followed by a retreat up in Vermont. Then the in-laws came to visit… My child managed to bash his head (so much blood) but he was fine. Then scrape his arm, less blood, still fine. I found more poison ivy in my yard… Oh and I got locked out of my twitter account. Fun times.

Honestly, the twitter thing was probably for the best…

Gaming
My usual weekly game was on hold all month as people were traveling. On the other hand, I got to run 2 sessions of Keep on the Borderlands at my work retreat! Details on that in a future post.

Miniatures
I’m not exactly sure how, but it was a really productive month. With a very strong theme of mushroom folk.
I don't usually paint in a way that would be described as colorful or bright. I'm really big on earth tones, and realistic looking, kinda gritty... so doing all these bright mushrooms was a lot of fun. Also, I realized I've never really painted rust before. All in all, I'm really happy with this month's results.

Media
Silo
Star Trek Discovery season 3 rewatch
Star Trek Strange New Worlds season 2


Goals for June
Continue #Dungeon23
Keep up with the session reports
Play the next scenario for Stargrave
Survive the in-laws visit

Friday, June 23, 2023

Rappan Athuk: Clearing the Cloister

Session was played on 8/14

Nick, Fighter 7 (Me)
Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Koltic, Cleric 6 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 4 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 4 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 5 (NPC)


After resting in town, the party returns to the outer cloister to (hopefully) finish the job. Exploring the 2nd floor, they root around in some mostly empty monk’s cells, find a stash of weapons and armor, a hidden box with 3 rings in it, then in another room another ring, ruby encrusted unholy symbol, and another magic morning star. Not encountering any more invisible stalkers, the party heads to the basement.


In the basement/crypt, they find a body floating in a clear cylinder filled with a greenish liquid. They’re attacked by some ghouls, but Koltic destroys them. They find a secret door, lots of moldy bodies, a rotting map to “the Upper Temple of Orcus”


They make their way back to the surface, make a circuit of the ground level, then head back to see the abbot.


Gains: Ring of Protection, 2 Rings of Protection and Fidelity, Morningstar +1, ruby unholy symbol
Kills: Ghouls
Losses:

Friday, June 16, 2023

Rappan Athuk: Back to the Inner Cloister



Session was played on 8/9

Nick, Fighter 7 (Me)
Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Koltic, Cleric 6 (NPC)


Returning to the outer cloister, they check in with Bill. He reports that 6 of his fellow cultists priests were killed checking out the inner cloister. Apparently there are more of the invisible stalkers. They head to deal with them. A big puddle was near the door. Borumar used his force bow on it, to no apparent effect. Morgana crits with her dagger, and then a ‘running’ battle was on with the ooze. Thankfully it was very slow, and the party stayed well out of reach of it until they killed it.


Back to the inner courtyard, they find the bodies of the cultists, torn apart. Checking the bodies, Koltic is grabbed by an invisible foe, and hoisted up. Morgana uses magic missiles on it, and it drops Koltic to flee.


More searching around the inner cloister, an encounter with a gelatinous cube, then another hit and run from the invisible stalker. Nick gets the worst of it. The party makes its way to the observatory where a fancy silver cross, shiny suit of chainmail, and a spyglass are recovered. Taking their loot, the party heads back to town.

Gains: 700gp for spyglass, Chainmail +1, Silver Cross of St. Yara
Kills:
Losses:

Friday, June 9, 2023

Rappan Athuk: Horn of Flies

Session was played on 7/24

Nick, Fighter 7 (Me)
Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Joho, Monk 7 (Chris)
Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Karl, Dwarf 8 (Julia)
Koltic, Cleric 6 (NPC)


Nick stomps his way dripping swamp water back to the party. THey find a door that the key ring doesn’t have a matching key for. Joho tries knocking, and gets attacked by the invisible thing. Nick manages to stab it and it attacks Joho again before running away. Morgana ‘Knocks’ the door open, and tosses in a lightning bolt at the invisible monsters, then follows it up with a magic missile. Nick gets critted, and Koltic provides some much needed healing.

Morgana attempts to dimension lock one, and Nick gets hit again, dropping. Joho, in a feat of martial prowess, finishes off both invisible monsters. Beyond the 2 dead invisible things is a chest in a warding circle. Morgana investigates the circle, Koltic and Borumar check the rest of the room, finding a small chest full of silver shavings. The party attempts to take the chest from the circle (successfully) and through the door (unsuccessfully). Morgana uses a knock scroll to open the chest revealing an ugly pitted horn covered in flies. Joho, touching the horn, has his lips turn black.

Departing the upper cloister, they return the horn to Bill the Cultist, who gives it to the abbot, who blows it, summoning a swarm of flies that is promptly eaten by the frogs on the columns.

Given a room to rest, the party beds down for the night to recover. For an hour and a half, at midnight, a procession of ghosts move along one of the walls of the room. The ghosts becoming more substantial as the procession moves on. The next morning the party heads back to town.


Gains:
Kills: Invisible Stalkers
Losses:

Thursday, June 8, 2023

#Dungeon23 #DoomGate #TheSilos April Overview

After the 4 map January, and the 4 map February and March, having only 2 maps for April feels a little weird. It shouldn't, since both February and March were basically 2 maps each, but because they were part of a single complex, and April is all by its lonesome, it feels different. 

This section is the local ICBM launch site that's connected to the larger complex. 2 of the 3 missiles are gone, but one remains, and remains active. 


There are no intelligent inhabitants of the upper level of the Silos, but it isn't without its dangers. A demonic hydra and several packs of hellhounds roam these halls. 

The lower level has more demonic threats, as a small family of bugbears that found the open silos and climbed down to check them out. They didn't expect some of the demonic energy to influence them in weird and amourous ways. 

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

#6MMPC 2023 Early June Check In

May finished successfully. And in spite having visited 2 different gaming stores, I didn't buy a single mini. Go me! Of course I'm saving up everything for ReaperCon, so I don't really want to waste a joker on something before then. 

In May I managed to paint up 4 mutants, 2 cultists, an Oni, and a balustrade. I'm exceptionally pleased with the Oni. 

He isn't perfect, and the base still needs work, but he was a lot of fun. 

The cultists were a pain, as I had custom mixed the yellow I'd used on the cultists I painted last year and I DIDN'T WRITE IT DOWN. Must do better about that...

Coming up for the next month I've got a pair of spiders (done) and a whole bunch of mushroom folk (in progress). 





Saturday, June 3, 2023

May ‘23 In Review

It was an exceptionally busy month at work, and a bit on the home-front too. We installed a new heat pump system, so at least we’ll have AC this year. An improvement over last year, though thankfully last summer was very mild. 

I got the bookshelves all built, and all my books unboxed and up onto the shelves. They aren’t really organized yet. At some point I’m going to need to take a little time to do that. 



I also, after much dithering about will I or won't I, attended Trek Long Island and had a blast. I'm already planning on picking up a uniform to wear for next year.

Gaming
My players are back in Stonehell! They faced Song, and came out ahead, twice! Then, when trying to figure out how to get down to level 6 without paying off the Vrilya, they decided to head back to the Lost Level, which I haven’t looked at in… a couple years? Players, always throwing curve balls!

My #Dungeon23 is coming along nicely, but I really need to work on filling in the notes sections for each level. They’ll help tell the story more than just the sparse room descriptions.

Miniatures
Decently productive month. I’m a bit behind as far as the minis I wanted to get done this quarter, but I can catch up…. I think…



I’m really pleased with the green mutant, and annoyed with the yellow on the cultists. I custom mixed the color I used for the last batch, and couldn’t quite match it.

Media
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Star Trek Discovery season 2 rewatch
Letterkenny

Goals for June
Continue #Dungeon23
Keep up with the session reports
Play the next scenario for Stargrave
Survive the in-laws visit