# Arthurian Adventures (in Ireland)



## Particle_Man (Oct 31, 2004)

A player requested I post my campaign here, so here goes.  I make no claims to being a good writer, or even a good DM.  And my memory may be wrong, so if my players see this, feel free to correct me.  I have found that I am fairly good at winging it, since I usually have less time than I need to prepare stuff, and my players do unpredictable things.  I do like to give them what they think they want, but with consequences and side-effects.    Oh, and I tend to shade towards the melodramatic.  So evil folk are EVIL!!!!!  

Campaign Journal: How do these things go? I will wing it for now. Since my players might see this (unlikely, but hey) this will contain no info that they don’t realize, except a few “how I did it” mechanics. Anyway, it is a King Arthur style campaign a la "Legends of Excalibur: Arthurian Adventures" from RPGObjects. There are a lot of classes and prestige classes in there (more on this later) and the only classes not in there that I allow are: Fighter, Rogue, Barbarian (but you need a DAMNED good explanation if you want to pc one), Arcane Trickster, Commoner, Expert, Aristocrat, Warrior. Note that the Hedge Mage is the only allowed type of Arcane caster (some prestige classes can stack these arcane spell levels), so no Bard or Assassin. The latter four allowed classes, as well as the Black Knight, are NPC only.

They are in Ireland and Arthur is a fairly new king, well established in England, but Ireland is fairly wild still. King Anguish is nominally King of all Ireland, and loyal to Arthur. Oh, and it is early enough that Morgan le Fay and Mordred are seen as good guys, as far as most people know. Lancelot has just arrived on the scene and is impressing everyone. But that is far away, in England.

Part of this game is looking at the cool prestige classes and sort of “aiming” for them. With that in mind, I have Prince Hammond, a noble going for Purple Knight (royal messenger-type); Prince Caius, a Knight/Rogue (I allow him to alternate because he is…) going for Red Knight (a few arcane spells); Toby, a Yeoman (archer type) later Knight, later Green Knight (wilderness; rage); Sir Andrew, a future White Knight (some hermit spells, just plain noble); Sir Anton, future Blue Knight (servant of a lady of the lake, breathes water, some druid spells); [All very Power Ranger, eh?]; and later additions are Leanne the (secretly) elven Minstral (might try for Lady of the Lake), and Christina the Hedge Mage (trying for enchantress).

Since I can’t rely on players showing up, I take the completely unrealistic route of saying that any players that can’t make it have their characters kidnapped and taken to Queen Titania’s fairyland. KISS, baby! That said, when the players return I usually do a “mini” set on what happens to them there (no more than 5 minutes, though), and then back they go to Ireland.

Ok, Prince Caius is the third son of King Anguish, but the elder two sons have been missing for a while on quests. Toby is one of his servants, and the other knights are pledged to Anguish (except Hammond, in exile from his own land for stating at a party that his stepmother was an enchantress).


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## Particle_Man (Oct 31, 2004)

Morgan le Fay is a visiting dignitary at Anguish’s castle, and there is a great celebration. But the next day her necklace has been stolen! (gasp!). So we have our first quest – get that necklace back! Prime suspect, a lesser lord that left during the night. Most knights go around the scary woods, but our guys are keen to take a shortcut through it. While in there they have to deal with some dire rats, and later (after the night below), a spider swarm (the latter was actually more deadly than I thought!). Then the party deals with the fact that they have no healing magic whatsoever, and only Toby has the healing skill!

[my first mini-crisis…how do I deal with this?]

Anyhow, while they sleep in these woods, they have various dreams [this is how I give some hints of their potential futures, background on their pasts, etc., as well as the hint that fire would be good against spiders (in the form of a rhyme)]. I think they like the dreams, but I don’t want to overdo it. But part of their dreams involve a group of people changing into ravens and flying away! (That’ll teach em to sleep in a stone henge!). When they wake up, they find a raven’s feather nearby!

Ok, after the spider swarm they need help, but they meet a wood spirit named Allessandra [a dryad, but I don’t tell them that] who comes out of a tree! She offers to help them if they will help her. They agree, and she sends some messenger animals, and eventually, a druid shows up, introducing himself as…Raven (causing Sir Andrew to put his hand on his sword hilt!). He heals them, and tells them that an evil mage called “Candar the Wily” has stolen a sacred staff from the wood spirit, and without it she cannot travel home (note that her try is just flowering with spring buds, even though it is early autumn). He is thought to be somewhere to the north and west of here. Anton, being from the Holy Roman Empire, can heard of the treacherous sorcery of this Candar. Anyhow, Raven helps the Knights through the rest of the woods and they emerge in time to head off the lord. But the lord is confused when they confront him. He doesn’t know of any necklace. He left the castle quickly because a servant told him that his castle was under attack! To sort this out, they go to the lord (Lord Bertram’s) castle, meet his wife Eloise and two sons. At the castle, they note that one of the servants is very ill (like a coma, but with twitching and moaning), being attended by a priest and a nun. But this was the servant that warned Lord Bertram to come here! How can this be? Lord Bertram describes the “servant” who came to visit him as having brown leather boots, a red cloak and a dark green shirt.
While looking at the sick servant, Anton asks the priest “Could this be Demon possession?” and boy does that give me an idea.   The nun asks to see Toby later that night. Toby agrees.

That night, the nun tells Toby that she thinks there is a demon in the castle! (Note: Prince Caius is feeling pretty Roguish this session, so he is trying to follow at a distance). He follows her and sees what looks like a demon, kneeling in a courtyard before some satanic shrine! She hisses “kill it quickly, before it sees us!” and Toby looses an arrow, striking Lady Eloise squarely and felling her (she screams too!). At this point the illusion disappears, as does the nun (I love invisibility!). [Note: in this game characters have Fate points (which they spend for good luck) and Destiny points (which I spend for their bad luck). I am a little more freeform about these than the book, so I spent one of Toby’s destiny points to make certain that the arrow not only hit, but hit the heart (extra damage). Only fair, since Toby has earlier blown a Fate point on a spider swarm]. Toby tries to hide, and rolls a 1! So Lord Bertram finds Toby before Prince Caius can do anything, and Toby is standing with a bow and arrows of the type that is sticking out of Lord Bertram’s beloved wife! So all Prince Caius can do is convince the Lord to have a full trial rather than summary execution. Lord Bertram is the judge, and his two sons are prosecuting and defence attornies (that’s fair, right?). And Toby has the crap beaten out of him by guards during the knight for daring to ask why he was imprisoned.

Prince Caius pretty much saves the day, questioning the priest, finding out the nun was new, and was giving healing draughts to the servant (which Prince Hammond, on his ridiculously fast horse, rides during the knight to a hermit to identify as poison). Eloise thankfully survived her wound. Many knights spoke in defence of Toby’s character (the defence attorney didn’t but it WAS his mom who was hurt after all). So with the evidence pointing to sorcery (the nun was not found), Toby was let go.

At this point the OTHER knights from Anguish’s castle arrive at Lord Bertram’s, and Caius has to explain what is going on. So then everyone mounts up and rides back (along the road this time).

Refugees are coming back along the road from Anguish’s. The knights see smoke in the distance, and many farmsteads are burnt out and destroyed. Anguish’s castle is under attack! A lot of Robber Barons and two Giants [Note: I referred to them always as Giants but they really are Ogres] are trying to force the castle gate. Our knights and the party with them arrive. I just do the subset of the battle with the Giants and some Robber Barons. Here my bad dice luck shows through, as an Giant rolls two 1’s in a row vs. Prince Hammond, and Prince Caius tries to double-team that Giant (this is a big no-no in this game, costing nobility points – not to mention that he was on horseback vs. an opponent who was on foot). I also used this to intro. Sir Linus, one of Anguish’s best Knights. Sir Anguish got off of his horse to face his Giant. He was meant to die heroically but dice luck was weird that day. Anyhow, Linus killed his Giant, and the Robber Baron shooting at Linus’s back missed. Prince Hammond was able to use Diplomacy on his Giant, so I decided to make him a noble sort, who agreed to leave the fray (after all, with reinforcement from outside Anguish’s other Knights could come out of the castle).

The battle is won, the bad guys die or flee once the Giants are gone. The Knights are rewarded by Queen Morgan with a little “Order of the Dove” medal dealy for protecting a noblewoman (her!). She also agrees to take Caius’s younger sister as a lady in waiting when she leaves to go to Ireland. She is just so nice that way. 

The dead Giant has a black pearl with two holes in it (it looks like it came from Morgan le Fay’s necklace! Note that her Necklace had over 20 pearls, as well as a huge red ruby. Also, one of the Minstrals is missing from the court. He was last seen wearing brown boots, a dark green shirt, and a red cape…


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## Particle_Man (Oct 31, 2004)

Ok, from then on they are looking for Candar the Wily, but they first have to deal with a few things. King Anguish tells his son that they need money (to rebuild the castle, buy food for the surrounding populace, etc.), so Caius is going to marry a daughter of the wealthy Baron Ivo. “Yes father”. Also, someone that saw Caius’s misdeeds and is trying to blackmail him. But Caius really IS shady, so he just uses a “contact” to make sure that the blackmail stops. The “contact” agrees, and then asks Caius to deliver a package to a man named Lukas when he goes to Baron Ivo’s.

Ok, the party has more dreams on the road, helping with some foreshadowing (either of the characters they will encounter soon, or of the distant past/future that is relevant to their most likely prestige classes).

They see a knight riding towards them accusing THEM of being demons.  The battle is brief (the other knight loses).  But they fight to subdue, not to kill, because they figure that he was fooled by the nun/sorceress as well.  The knight (Sir Geoffrey), on being convinced of their good intentions, takes them back to his lord (Lord Eustace, 42) and the other two knights (Norman and Randolph).  Eustace is a minor lord of the old faith, with a shrine out back.  The players heal up and go on their way the next day.

 They are accompanied by pilgrims going to a monastery on the way. They run into various bandits, barbarians, etc., many of which have a black pearl among the attacking party. (it becomes a running joke that when sir Andrew intros himself “I am Sir Andrew, defender of the faith, order of the dove,…” he gets attacked as soon as he says “faith”). The worst is a group of five archers (they saw in a dream a family being peppered by arrows to the sound of laughter) who accompanied them but started killing some pilgrims during the night.

Ok, they go through Littleton, where one of Hamilton’s servants during the night tries to kill Hamilton (he is not with the rest of the party). Hamilton wins (there is a great part where he mounts up and chases the servant with a pitchfork, when Caius and Toby arrive on the scene, Caius comments “See, Toby, I don’t treat you so badly, do I?”, but finds that the servant was using a nasty weapon, a dagger that seems to have an evil aura about it (there is no alignment, but there are ignoble weapons that are pretty much the same thing). And it was covered in a liquid that was likely poison. Prince Caius wakes up and takes charge. Caius also finds out that his “package” was opened, and that a dagger scabbard and 5 bottles (two empty) are found. Caius keeps this a secret, and keeps the dagger too!

So, the party adventures on, after Hamilton picks up another servant, 12 year old Hubert. They also sell off some of the extra horses they have gotten from fighting bandits, etc.

They fight some animal swarms, and hear the laughter of the nun (but don’t see her!). She escapes. I want her to be an occasional pest to the party.

They locate a monastery, drop off pilgrims and prisoners, and find out that an oversized book from ancient times has been stolen by a man with a salt and pepper beard who was earlier asking about it and wanted to look at it! [Candar the Wily!!]

On to Shropshire, where the minstrel (by rumors, interrogating prisoners with pearls, etc.) was said to be. The party tries to do subtlety. Ehhhh. The minstrel is not in the tavern he was said to frequent (and had a room it), but Andrew saw someone with dark hair, dressed like the minstrel was said to be dressed, kissing a woman in an alleyway. Andrew yells “halt!” And the minstrel, then and there, turns to Andrew, laughs in a (too deep) voice, and says “I wondered when you would turn up!” and grows batlike wings! He then grabs the woman and flies into the air! Toby tries to shoot the “Demon” (actually right, it is an incubus), but hits the woman instead (he has bad luck that way). Anton and Andrew ride after (and under) the demon, who is raving about being free after so long imprisoned by an ungrateful son, and now the son is imprisoned, etc. (Party: “?”)

Then the demon throws the lady from a height to the ground. Here I allow Andrew to make a reflex save to catch her, and Anton to do an “aid another” reflex save to help Andrew. Both make their scores exactly by 1. So the lady is saved. Then the demon disappears in a puff of black smoke.

The room of the “minstrel” has no papers, but carved into the wood are things like “Hate Merlin! Kill Merlin! Hate Chistians!” Etc. [I was going to put “my hat of Merlin know no limit” but I restrained myself].

So now at least they know why the “black pearl” guys are targeting Christians. And over 20 black pearls are still out there!

Oh, and they find more rumors of Candar the Wily. He was said to ask about a haunted castle, and so they make for it to try to catch him.

I think there more fights on the way, but to tell the truth, I am a little fuzzy here.


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## Particle_Man (Oct 31, 2004)

Finally, on to the “haunted” castle! On the way there there is a flash of light and a new party member shows up (Leanne the minstrel, secretly an elf (keeps her hair over her hears, plub a head shawl – in my world elves and dwarves don’t look THAT different from humans, (well dwarves are short and bearded). Since the party is used to members disappearing and reappearing, they accept Leanne’s story that she was kidnapped into fairyland and released, and would like to accompany the knights to sing of their noble adventures. [her fate was to prove that humanity has noble worth – she voiced this notion to Titania and for this reason she was thrown out of fairyland]. They first pass a peasant’s hut (the peasant is caring for his sick wife and acts scared of them at first (seems to think that they are bandits)) and then arrive at the castle. They find evidence of haunting (sounds, white sheetlike things in the distance) but it turns out that this is all faked up. There are what look like malformed children here that are warning others to stay away and avoid their curse. They say they were children in the castle when the curse hit, killing all adults and making them as you see them. Now the only way to break the curse is if a suitably noble person undertakes a special ritual. And Andrew walks right into the goblin’s trap, of course. J After self-flagellation (for a total of 17 damage!), he then allows himself to strip and take the special bath, with special salts, a special paste, and eventually special carrots, onions, etc. (at this point he realized the jig was up, but was alone! The rest of the party tried a little exploring, but didn’t get far (and when they tried to force their way through, were blocked by lots of goblins, and eventually (as the jig was up) attacked). The party won, but then saw more goblins kidnapping poor Hubert, the 12 year old boy left with the horses! The party made a “hostage” deal in which the goblins let the boy go and were allowed to leave. They find out from the goblins that a human was by earlier and stole a bowl from the castle.

Note that when goblins are killed, they disappear and leave behind small objects (buttons, bananas, strawberries, etc.) (the latter being relevant to Hamilton!). [this is part of the fey deal: dwarves would leave gold statues, elves would leave fine pieces of jewelery; the latter two facts are not known to non-fey). Toby saves some strawberries for Hamilton (who is in fairyland this time around). Oh, and Toby finds a weird device among the goblins (kind of a large circular bronze (but un tarnished) pendant with jewels in it that can be depressed!)

On exploring the castle itself, the upper levels have a bat swarm (left alone) and a Ghoooooost! This ghost was the ghost of a priest who convinced the last knight of the castle to not only abandon the old faith (a la lady of the lake) for the One God, but also to force all the castle servants to “convert or die”. Thus the castle really did come under a curse (and the knight was turned into a fish). Father Janus has haunted these halls ever since.

Downstairs there is a gigantic room with a gigantic mirror. In the mirror are strange things (Sir Andrew’s reflect carries a large shield, for instance!) [this is where I start unloading magic items on the party – for the most part, I am going to go the “few items that gradually gain more and more powers” route. So Andrew “touches” the shield reflection and suddenly is holding a magic shield! (it currently has a small healing power). Now with Ciaus having the ancestral sword (cold iron, auto 20 on init 3x per day), the purple knight in fairyland receiving a horse-headed scepter (purple, with glowing eyes, looks mean “devil magic!” but grants +10 to diplomacy and intimidate if he dares use it), Toby gaining the weird device (which grafts to his shoulder during the knight, and gives him the ability to haste 2x a day (there may be side effects…), I need to get something for the Blue Knight.

Ok, on to a nearby lake, where there appears a Lady coming from the water. Anton is determined to follow his dream, and agrees to go with the lady into the lake. He then for the sake of breaking the castle’s curse [and getting some Blue Knight prereq’s out of the way] forswears his allegiance to the One God and Caius’s dad Anguish, and transfers it to the old faith and the Lady of the lake here (this breaks the curse because of the symmetry – that other knight switched from her to the One God!). This costs a LOT of nobility, so the lady is appeased, and gives him some armor (+1 scale, dr 1/-).

Right. Now they ask the lady for help tracking down Candar the Wily. She can track the bowl, and says she will allow them to reach it’s location via the magic mirror. So the party gets horses downstairs (never leave without the horses!) and through that mirror, and they find themselves outside that peasant hut! Ok, so they are too late to stop the ritual using book, staff (wand) and bowl (cup), (there was a small earthquake) and the “peasant” now looks older (white streak in his hair) but his wife (who was not sick but dead) is alive! Candar (who had shaved his distinctive salt and pepper beard, by the way) says he did it all for her, and that he would surrender the objects to the knights and submit to their judgement if he could just spend an hour alone with his wife. Ok, so the knights retreat a respectable distance from the cottage, Andrew, Leanne, Anton and Toby keeping watch while the others ride back to the castle to return the bowl. An hour later, Anton opens the door to find that Candar is not only dead, but half eaten! The wife is strange, with clawed hands and lots of blood on her face and down her nightgown. And combat ensues (basically, I used ghouls, and will later intro wights, but I don’t have any spawning). They defeat the “madwoman”. Leanne loots

When the party is reunited, they discuss this unusual turn of events, and then Caius finally agrees to go to Baron Ivo’s to meet the daughter he is supposed to marry. At this point the Hedge Mage Lady Christina joins the party (she was a follower of Caius’s older brother, who disappeared, and was told in a dream that she should protect Caius).

Oh, in the distance they see a dragon flying south.

On the way back, they meet a woman on the road that seeks justice. Her father was murdered by the people of Littleton! Well the knights agree to help Grace, the blacksmith’s daughter. From her, they find out that Littleton came to be haunted by spirits, that a holy woman appeared who was able to banish them, but said the town was under a curse and had to get rid of all of its metal (she (along with some helpers) would take it to Canterbury to have the archbishop remove the curse). The blacksmith objected, but then spirits were seen above his home, so the townsfolk thought he was the source of the curse! So anyhow, the blacksmith was lynched, and the holy lady left with a wagon loaded with metal (iron, gold, silver, copper, etc.). Yeah, sounds like a scam, right?

So the party comes to Littleton, and Caius starts ordering people around (cause, y’know, he is prince here!) and tells them that they were likely fooled by an enchantress, and which way did she go? So they follow the path, find some abandoned metal (big non-valuable things, like farm implements, blacksmith’s forget, etc.) not too far out of town. They ride on and eventually catch up to six rogues and…the nun! A fight ensues.

Now I was going to do the usual “nun harasses party but gets away” trick, with swarms, fly, invisibility, etc. I didn’t count on Leanne’s wand of faerie fire. And the hedge mage Christina could then counter protection from arrows with magic weapon on party members’ arrows [this was a new player, so she was relying on other party members for guidance – maybe I should not have given her a hedge mage but she is set on becoming an enchantress eventually]. The short version: Toby slays his nemesis the nun! Caius knights Toby on the spot (so he can take a Knight level now!).

So much of the loot is recovered, and Caius orders the money returned to the village, but 2/3 of that to be given to Grace as compensation. But there is more money there than the village lost, so Caius has an extra 3 800 gp!

And in the distance, they see a dragon flying north. Oh, and Toby has a dream that someone with dark hair (no face seen) picked up the nun’s body, waves here hand, and both disappeared! (I spent a destiny point to bring back the nun. Can’t keep a good villain like that down, especially since Toby’s player said “I didn’t expect the fight with her to be so easy!”)

Ok, next they run into two little girls running from Dire Wolves.  Toby and his horse nearly die saving the girls, and a knight in Black Armor appears, who says "why are you attacking my pets!".  Sir Andrew challenges him, and they fight (I say that they charge at each other with lances, and just make initiative simultaneous).  After the wolves are defeated, teh other knights ride up to the solo battle but don't interfere (because ganging up on a person is considered bad form).  But Hamilton is able to use diplomacy to say "you have had enough passes to test each other's mettle.  I suggest you both can retire from the field with honour."  Sir Andrew agees, and the black knight (who may or may not have the Black Knight prestige class) also agrees (perhaps sensing that if Sir Andrew goes down, the others might ignore the "no ganging up" ettiquite).  But Leanne did sneak in some healing on Sir Andrew via sleight of hand and a wand, so even Andrew didn't detect it (rolled a 1 on his spot check -- this guy is lucky.  If he had noticed he would have had to refuse magical aid, and have had to deal with knowing that there is a magic using character in the party, which would freak out his character to say the least).  Note that he would not use his healing shield in the combat, because it would have been an unfair advantage.  


Ok, the Black Knight leaves, the girls are saved, the dire wolves are dead.


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## Particle_Man (Oct 31, 2004)

No Christina or Caius (fairyland!). I thought this might be a problem, since Caius is going to Prince Ivo’s to get married, but what the hell, I made it the other players’ problems to explain why the groom was in fairyland and not there.

So, they saved the two girls from dire wolves and a possible Black Knight, and arrive at the parents’ house to find the parents (and dog, and teddy, and holy books, etc.) totally butchered, ripped apart, etc. So the party now has the smith’s daughter and two little girls to try to help. Fortunately, their uncle is the high priest of Baron Ivo’s land, and lives in Ivo’s castle.

At the gate they see a mismatched pair; a dwarf and a giant (actually, the “noble giant” (really an ogre, but hey) that they convinced to leave the battle to destroy King Anguish earlier in the campaign). The giant “Gotch”, decided that a decent salary, uniform, armor, weapons, respect, room and board beat the heck out of dirty animal skins and living in the wilderness. A surprise for the party, since Gotch knows about the “double team” by Prince Caius when Gotch was fighting Prince Hamilton. Since the other “Guard” is actually a dwarf Fool (jester type class) messing with Gotch, the party is in a bit of trouble, reputation-wise. But luckily the minstrel Leanne has an insanely good diplomacy roll to pull this off, and “spins” both Caius’s actual bravery, and his “important mission aiding an ally of King Arthur in Fairyland”).

Baron Ivo is a rough and tactless man who is vulgar with his wealth from the gold mine. His son Roderick is social, but sarcastic, knowing just what to say to twist the knife. The elder daughter will show up later, the daughters are not there yet.

The party suspects Roderick of being the Black Knight, but of course cannot prove anything, so don’t say anything but ask questions about hunting. He finds out about the party stopping the “metal” scam, and promises to give a full accounting of what the other five villages lost, so that the rest of the money Caius recovered can go to their rightful owners.

Due to a snafu (Hamilton asking for a special room for the “servant” Leanne), Roderick, and others, get the impression that Leanne is, shall we say, a woman of easy virtue. Later that night Roderick uses secret passages to get into her room and try to seduce her (at first he wears a ridiculous disguise, but he is a charming rogue). Leanne being an elf was not actually sleeping, and fended him off (claiming that Hamilton was in her heart, etc.). Leanne later uses those secret passages to explore and spy a bit.

Ok, on to the celebratory Joust that was going on (harvest celebration). Some players enter (or are entered – Leanne was a bit p.o.’s at Hamilton’s snafu). Toby enters the archery event and comes second to a woman who is the king’s eldest daughter. Brigit by name, she looks very competent (though she is getting on in years at 35 for marriage purposes). The meelee fight has Anton and Andrew against each other (and I used destiny points to make their attempted subdual attacks accidentally do some real damage). And Prince Hamilton vs. Andrew (Hamilton wins that one) and then Hamilton vs. Gotch (no one said life was fair – but my destiny points here do piddly damage vs. Hamilton. Grrrr.). Gotch wins the on foot fight (Roderick made sure that Gotch faced Hamilton, btw (no one said that Roderick was fair either)). The joust was what they were looking forward too. From the pc’s p.o.v.: Hamilton vs. Toby, Anton vs. Andrew, winner vs. winner, winner vs. Roderick, winner vs. “unknown knight”. A shady sort gave Anton, then Hamilton, a “special” jousting lance (to try to “get” Andrew but Andrew carried the day (lucky, lucky bastard! Didn’t get touched once by that lance!), until he was bested by Roderick (Andrew was carrying the favors of Ivo’s youngest daughter, the beautiful Anastasia – the brother then tossed the favor back)). Then Roderick faced an unknown challenger and was unhorsed! The unknown challenger wins and reveals herself as Brigit!

But the High Priest hasn’t appeared all day. It turns out he was murdered during the night! (Now what to do with those little girls, eh?). The priest was on record as asking Ivo to concentrate more on stopping the thieves that were getting organized around his land (the baron recognizes this problem, but also has problems in other areas such as the Black Knight, accidents in the mine, villagers losing their coins, a large dragon destroying a monastery to the south(!), etc.).

The party agrees to investigate this murder and do something about the thieves’ guild.

The party recovers a bit, and Brigit is investigated by Leanne (indirectly, asking others where she was, etc.,) and discovers the a) Brigit has an alibi and Brigit likes to try her hand at everything (she was shoeing horses on the day the Black Knight killed the parents of the little girls).

Brigit soon discovers she is being investigated and privately confronts Leanne, and finds out HER secret (she’s an elf by gum!). Then she agrees to keep the secret (and advises her not to drink wine delivered by Roderick).

The party (ok, Leanne) is later met by a contact who might have information on the thieves guild. Leanne tells the others, but they are not discreet. When they show up, they don’t see their contact and are attacked by 24 thieves (this is kind of cute since I set the pieces up on a 11 square by 11 square game called The Viking Game, and use the game pieces for the thieves. Ok, the thieves bar the doors so help cannot arrive (at least not quickly), and the fight ensues. Much later, the party has 2 members down (but not out), but the thieves are thinning out. But Toby used his haste ability twice, and rolled low on the d20 the second time (so I have the thing do something at the end of the second haste). The party disappears in a flash of light, along with one remaining thief!


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## Particle_Man (Oct 31, 2004)

OK, from last time I had 2 players absent, Prince Caius and Lady Christina. So they are in fairyland. Since the other characters recently disappeared in a flash of light, I could pretty easily reintroduce the missing characters from fairyland. One of its many advantages. Now, Queen Titania had tea with Prince Caius, offering him a necklace of small stone horses which she said he would find useful, and also offering to return him to his friends if he would help rescue some of her dwarfs from a dragon (in a mountain laced with cold iron, so she could not simply rescue them herself). Prince Caius agrees. Christina’s player didn’t show up yet, but would be given a similar deal to learn more about hedge mage magic. Oh, while in fairyland, Caius had his pocket picked of the 3 800 gp leftover, after helping the smith’s daughter and her town, that he got from the nun.

Ok, the party starts this session in a gray realm, floating around in apparent nothingness and unable to move except by pushing off each other into each other. The last surviving thief is still with them, and is screaming in panic and accusing them of devil magic. Then suddenly Caius and Christina show up in a flash of golden light. Then some lights are visible in the distance, and turn out to be humanoid figures, some of them more transparent than others. They are friendly, and introduce themselves, and heal Prince Hamilton to consciousness. They look a lot like the braid-beard types that Toby dreamed about and that they fought (the cannibals with the paralyzing touch). They say they are the sundered ones, and that because of a very old dark ritual, they are stuck in this realm, which they names Lemba after their chief. The ritual, a result of Albion’s work with the dark book they now carry, has split the noble parts of their souls off into this realm, and left the ignoble parts in their old bodies. They have reason to believe, given the disappearance of four of their number, that the bodies have been reawakened (bad news) but that upon their destruction the souls can be reunited to then go on to wherever they go. The Sundered ones introduce the party to Albion, or at least the noble part of him. Albion is 40’ tall! The giant who used the book for dark rituals, it corrupted him almost entirely. Thus his noble part is almost transparent, and only a whisper of a voice can be heard.

Now as to getting out of Lemba. First Toby tries his device (just hitting buttons at random, so I just pick spells at random). Toby goes gaseous for a while! The party, after vowing to slay all the walking dead (they like making vows like that!), ask how to get out. They are given the ability to walk around in Lemba by the noble spirits. While immaterial souls cannot go through them, there are two gates, one to “Elysium” and one to “Hades”. The elf character realizes that changes have been made, and these realms are under new management as “Heaven” and “Hell”. Surprisingly, the party tries for “Heaven”. (I thought they would try for Toby’s device again). They go through a gate of white cloud, and hear singing choruses, but then are falling, falling, past angels who wonder who these “impure ones” are, and fall into the fiery pit of Hell! (they start floating near the end) So they are on a red rock plain, near a river that, though apparently of water, has flames dancing on top of it. And in the distance there are damned souls being tortured (I don’t go into gory details, just saying that the characters never imagined tortures like this and hope they forget what they are seeing), and a giant frog biped, and in another direction some insectoid creatures. The giant frog biped (spot check nat. 20) notices them and comes after them. About now, Caius’s necklace gets heavier and Caius takes it off and soon is leading 7 horses (they are the party’s original horses (hey, I’m a softie)). They then ride upstream away from the big frog guy (a reworked Red Slaadi, (basically no spawning, since I have another way of creating demons, and no alignment, so it is easy to make a demon-type; the insects were reworked formians, but were never met). Then they run into hell hounds, fight them while Leanne goes back for the thief running from the frog demon (no horse for him!), and they all ride again from the frog demon. They go through the (very wide) mouth of the river coming out of a cliff and find themselves in white clouds again (and falling again) this time to earth, but Toby hits his device before they go splat on the ground and they end up “dismissed” to one of the character’s homes – Prince Hamilton. But this is the realm from which he was banished!

So of course, his dad’s knights ride up and there is nearly an attempt to kill Hamilton then and there, but they keep talking and I have a knight say “I know that you must be upset over what happened to your siblings, but I must obey my king’s orders.” And then they find out that all of Hamilton’s siblings are dead from various accidents and illnesses (except the eldest, which is missing). Caius speaks up and says that he (as son of the king of all Ireland, which includes this little kingdom) wishes to speak to the king about commuting the sentence, since Hamilton is the sole heir. So after agreeing to have Hamilton disarmed, they proceed to the castle, with H. under guard.

Ok, the party is fairly wounded, and this is where things get a little weird. Sir Anton wishes to heal near a lake (thinking there will be another lady of the lake) rather than in the chapel, since he is old faith, and the roll showed a ley line was nearby, so Leanne and Christina go as well. “Dammit, they split up the party!” So at the lake Sir Anton tries to summon the lady of the lake. But the problem is, he gets a Sea Hag! He loses a lot of strength, and it takes the three of them to put the hag down (Christina did more damage than Sir Anton! Go morningstar!). Then they go back to town, with a drained man. He is healed slightly before they go courtesy of Leanne the Minstrel (who has a few druid spells now as a higher level Minstral).

Meanwhile, the queen and ladies in waiting greet prince Caius and simply ignore Hamilton. Alas, the king is too ill to see anyone right now, but perhaps in the morning he would be better? She offers them a small feast (alas, they did not know they were coming!) and the services of the chapel (so the group that stayed is healed up).

Right, nighttime. Hamilton is kept in a guest quarters under guard. The party wisely decides to set watches to help guard Hamilton (Toby, then Anton, then Andrew). The rest of the party (Leanne, Christina, Caius) wants to skulk about and try to see the king. Ok, Toby on watch gets a servant with Hamilton’s favourite childhood dessert. Hamilton does not eat it, and Toby keeps a sample to check for poison later (it wasn’t; hey sometimes a cigar is just a cigar). Second watch, Anton (still weakened, but ready, is called away by “Christina” who says that Caius is keeping watch in secret, but that she found out something that Anton needs to see. Anton follows, and “Christina” leads him to 2 other ladies in waiting, and yeah, he is strength drained. I also had an enchantress type change his memories so that he thinks that he had an argument with Hamilton about faith, and felt very dizzy, and that is why he left without alerting the next watch. He feels guilty later, but technically does not lose nobility since he didn’t “really” leave for such a petty reason.

Ok, the Queen comes to Hamilton’s prison room, dismisses the guards, visits, reveals herself as an Annis, kills Hamilton. Hamilton spends 3 fate points so I will bring him back (sort of).

Back to the skulking party, who use invisibility and distractions (a la Christina and Leanne, respectively) to get two people into the king’s chamber. They find a weakened king (similar to the nun poisoning the servant in Lord Bertrand’s castle way earlier) and some letters that on a close skim, are from a mysterious “M” and saying things like “well done, but I need you for another mission”. Then a secret door opens, the Queen enters, with a bloody sack, and starts gloating over the king. The invisible two attack…and miss. Caius yells for Christina to run and get help, and tries to hold off the “Queen”. Guards rush up, the Queen pleas that Caius is trying to kill her husband (the bloody sack discreetly on the floor by the bed, so not immediately an object of concern). Caius then bluffs “too much evidence is out; you will never fool them; give up” to the Queen and it works, so the Annis uses fog cloud. Then the Minstral Leanne uses that faerie fire wand blindly, which lights up both Annis and Caius. Annis brings Caius to –6 and leaves. Caius spends a fate point to seem dead and stabilize and fall on the bloody sack. Ok, the short version. The annis, enchantress and “ladies in waiting” (greenhags) escape (first via secret passage, then via back door of castle) , killing 10 guards at the rear. Titania(Go 3 fate points!) then whispers from the secret corridor to Leanne (bring me the sack!) and Leanne agrees (but only Leanne seems to see or hear her). Out of view of the others, Titania places the flesh of Hamilton (in the sack!) around a gold statuette (worth 3 800gp, in fact! Remember Caius being pickpocketed?) and Hamilton is back!…as a dwarf (which is fey in my world, and gets bonus to dex not con). Leanne quickly explains things to Hamilton, and then with a heck of a diplomacy check, intro’s Hamilton as a “man restored by the grace of god” to his former self, but lessened because the hag already ate some parts (the hags’ covers are blown by this point). Hamilton changes his “fate” from “Expose his mother” to “preserve harmony between new and old faiths” (since he is likely the first ever Christian Fey). End session!


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## Particle_Man (Oct 31, 2004)

Oh, btw the player of the Minstrel Leanne is having trouble getting her nobility high enough to be lady of the lake. So we talked, and I think he will keep her as a minstrel, but eventually she will become a sort of secret agent, and even spymaster, for Queen Titania. You don't need high nobility for that. [I am thinking of setting up a sort of "cold war" behind the scenes between some Christian and Old Faith/Fey elements, but so far it is just in the planning phases].

In general, it is hard for spellcasters and archers to keep their nobility high (the player of Toby the Yeoman noticed this too!). Easier for knights, but that is the point of a King Arthur campaign.

So with nobility, you can either "shoot for as high as possible", go for a "steady state" (if you do bad deeds, then do good deeds to make up for it), or just let it sink to the minimum (the "who cares?' approach). Nobility can't go lower than 1 (except for demons, undead, etc.), and not every prestige class/item/etc., requires high nobility. We'll see how this pans out in the future.

I am also thinking of having that NPC thief become a convert to Christianity/nobility, etc.  Perhaps even a recurring character that will aid the heroes!  Nothing like being dumped into Hell and chased by a giant red frog demon to make one see the light!


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## Particle_Man (Nov 1, 2004)

btw, as my memory improves I will occasionally edit the above stuff.  Just so you know.


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## Elder-Basilisk (Nov 1, 2004)

Interesting campaign so far. I've enjoyed reading it and now I've started to think of what I could steal for my pseudo-Arthurian D&D game.


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## Particle_Man (Nov 1, 2004)

I should add, that the players tend to use intimidate, bluff, diplomacy, etc. to end combats.  It happened when the Black Knight was doing a solo (mutual simultaneous initiative lance charges -- nasty stuff) on Sir Andrew during the Dire Wolf thing (although my abysmal rolling did not leave the Black Knight as much of a challenge, he could have been -- And as an aside, I am notorious for bad luck on dice rolls.  But the player of Sir Andrew is especially hard for me to hit with major villains.  Maybe there is more to this nobility than I thought  ).  The Black Knight agreed to leave after a "joust" of 4 passes.  It happens often with the last few remaining "mooks".  "Surrender!" [roll] [ludicrously high number] "ok! don't kill us!"

The arthurian game actually favours this.  There are effects for surrendering on nobility, and it also allows villains to live to fight another day (or not).  And certain classes (like Nobles) get bonuses to Intimidate.  That was part of why I put in a magic item that gave bonuses to that.  It seemed to be that guy's schtick, and he was so good at it already that I didn't see the harm.

Oh, a funny line after that guy became a dwarf.  Him: "But my leadership score will go down!"  Me: "Well, its harder to look up to a dwarf". There are other funny lines, but that was the most recent.  Well, that and "The 3 800 gp Man" if anyone gets that reference.  

Another game mechanics point.  Many systems have houseruled in fumble tables or fumble rolls.  I specifically exclude this from the King Arthur game, since a) It just doesn't seem heroic to fall on your rear end from an overbalanced swing, and b) I roll so many natural 1's your wouldn't believe it.

A house rule I do employ: I tend to think that spellcasters a too weak, so I "sorcerize" all spell-casters.  That is, Hedge Mages, Druids, Priests and Hermits can cast any spell of the appropriate level, spontaneously (I think that spellcasters are weak, so I gave them versatility.  As if they have "spells known: all on their class spell list, of a level that they have access to".  (And depending on where they are, they might be able to try higher level spells, since they can cast as higher level characters.  It is an intriguing spell point system that makes spells "cheaper" to cast as you gain spellcaster levels.  I also give them almost all metamagic feats for free (except innate spell)).  We will see if this was a mistake later, I guess.


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## Particle_Man (Nov 1, 2004)

Oh, part of that "sorcerization" was for my benefit. It makes it a heck of a lot easier to do npcs if I don't have to pick their spells, and if every spellcaster is sorcerized with "knowledge: all spells" then I don't have to worry about having my spellcasters metagame their spellcasters' memorized choices.  We are both pulling out stuff on the fly.

Mind you, the player of Christina the Hedge Mage is facing a real trial by fire here: this is an almost new player (I think she played one simplified rules one-shot (I am not sure if it was 3.x or something else) before she met me), and she is frantically looking at a borrowed phb to pick appropriate spells!  That said, she is a good sport about it, and she wanted to play a spellcaster.  I have  suggested that she focus on some "favorites" and learn all about those.  But she also does "nonspell" actions a lot, like rescue others, go for help, whip out that morningstar, etc.  And since she wants to keep her magic use a secret (from most), that also is a factor.  So the player is actually playing a character stuggling to understand the magical forces at her disposal, by, well, struggling to understand the magical forces at her character's disposal!  

Another way to save time is for npcs to have all spare feats be toughness.  If a specific npc has a reason to take a different feat, I will do so for that character, but otherwise toughness is just fine.  Gives the mooks a little more durability, anyhow.

So my priorities seem to be: a) enjoyment of the game (by them and me), b) simplicity in preparation and with dealing with out of game oddities (like players not being able to make it), c) consequences of player actions (see a), d) tying earlier stuff in to later stuff, e) npc characterization that makes sense, f) using the rules mechanics, especially the cool Arthurian ones on jousting, nobility, fate, destiny, etc., and then, g) realism.  It is strange what you find out about yourself when you DM.


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## Black Bard (Nov 1, 2004)

I like the story... Interesting plot and how you have handled the intrigues and character interaction...
I also liked the "Fairyland" thing... I had a campaign which the characters were suddenly by the "Missing Man fever"... You know, unable to fight, unlikely to talk...   
Just one more question: what`s this Arthurian Rulebook you are using???


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## Particle_Man (Nov 1, 2004)

The book, by RPGObjects, is called either "Legends of Excalibur: Arthurian Adventures" or perhaps "Arthurian Adventures: Legends of Excalibur".  It is by Charles Rice.  It rocks!  I read a review, bought the book, and decided I wanted to run a King Arthur campaign then and there.  The book is d20, and has the OGL page, but adds new classes (and suggests you remove old ones) and adds rules to reflect the "Arthurian heroic" rather than "standard D&D" feel.  Basically, it changes the rules to fit the setting, where necessary.  It sells either as a hardcover or as two pdfs.  I got the hardcover.  The art is beautiful, as are the maps.

One cute thing is that humans are divided by bloodlines (social class) which is a replacement for races, since by the standard rules only humans are PC characters (I allow dwarves and elves; both are modified).  Anyhow, nobility points play a factor, and the higher social classes have higher starting nobility (So it's true!  The king really IS noble, and the peasants really ARE base!)


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## Particle_Man (Nov 1, 2004)

Interesting complication in my game:

The King Arthur campaign tends to be about heroic single combat.  Ganging up on an opponent (unless it is an animal or something like that) is seen as unfair and ignoble (and can cost nobility points).  Now in standard D&D ganging up on the BBEG (big bag evil guy) is SOP (standard operating procedure).  So how do I balance things so that a party member is not SOL (uh, you figure it out) due to not getting any help?  I can no longer rely solely on CR.  Also, not all members of the party do the noble thing, so sometimes pc’s will “cheat” in some fashion, so it is not always a good idea to just have a weaker BBEG.

Well, one thing that works is to make sure the bad guys cheat first and worst.  That “takes the gloves off”, so the good guys can cheat without penalty.  Of course, some players decide to “play by the rules anyway”, which gives them nobility points.  Another is to have lots and lots of mooks.  Then ganging up on a single opponent is not an issue (the mooks lose nobility, but they are the bad guys anyhow, and disposable bad guys at that).  A third thing I do is allow players to give up a fate point (giving me 2 destiny points) to maximize their hit die when rolling hit points for a new level (the knight is a d12 hit die character, so this has proved popular, and destiny points are fun for me).  This gives them more survival value, and perhaps allows wounded one’s to “retire from the battle”, sort of a “tag-team” approach.  Still, perhaps I might tinker with a larger “unconsciousness zone” than –1 to –10.  I have allowed players to blow fate points to autostabilize, or to “come back somehow” when they are dead (that was the guy who came back as a fey dwarf – that took 3 fate points, which is a lot).

Another complication I wanted to avoid at first was the "Darth Vader syndrome", where the pc's are constantly overshadowed by "big name" arthurian characters.  The characters are starting at low-level, and I don't want them to be constantly overshadowed by high level and powerful Knights of the Round Table.  That is why I set them off to the side in Ireland.  They still interact occasionally (Morgan le Fey at a banquet, for example) but it is not the major focus of the campaign at this time.

Oh, dwarves are a bit different from standard, a la house rule.  With the bonus to dex and not con, and with the lack of orcs and dwarf exotic weapons, some of the “uber” edge is taken off of dwarves.  Some.  Also, dwarves and elves do not hate each other, but dwarves are almost extinct, so elves (formerly the defensive forces of fairyland vs. giants) are being sent occasionally from fairyland to help out the dwarves (formerly the offensive forces vs. giants trying to conquer fairyland).  Goblins are fey, but traitors (they originally helped the giants invade Fairyland), so goblins ARE hated by dwarves and elves (and vice versa, of course).  Oh, and when I say fey, I don’t mean that goblins, dwarves or elves take the fey template or anything (though as a roleplaying thing, touching cold iron does hurt.  A lot. (not hp damage hurt, but certainly will save to avoid screaming hurt)).


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## Elder-Basilisk (Nov 2, 2004)

This Fate/Destiny point thing sounds interesting. Reading your posts, I get the idea that players have a pretty generous pool of them but every time they spend a fate point, you get a destiny point or two that you can spend to do things like bring back villains. How does that work? It sounds pretty neat.


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## Particle_Man (Nov 2, 2004)

Well there is how it works in the book and then how I changed it a bit.  By the book, a character can choose one or more fates (this doesn't affect their number of fate points).  I then choose an equal number of tragic destinies, hopefully ironically related to those fates.  Characters can add fates, and I then add destinies on a one for one basis.  The character starts each level that that level's number of points (old unused fate points are lost at a level up).  I start with zero destiny points per character, but I don't ever lose unused destiny points.  When a pc spends a fate point and it is in line with their stated fate, I get one destiny point.  Once per session, they can spend a fate point not in line with their stated fate, and I then get two destiny points.  I cannot use destiny points to directly kill the pc's (though I could set them up for a killing blow).  By the book, spent points add 1d6 (this increases every 4 levels over 1st by 1d6) to most d20 rolls or damage rolls (the latter not meant to be used except if you allow pc killing by destiny, but what the heck, I use em when I want to, as long as it is not a killing blow).

I added the idea that they could maximize a hit die roll on a 1 for 2 trade, and also allow generic "good luck" to save their lives on a 1 for 1 trade (the latter requires some trust on their part).  I also find it easier to think of the destinies as characters, with personalities (a la Eddings, I guess).  For instance, one character has the fate to spread the Christian faith to all of Ireland.  Another has the fate to protect the old (non Christian, druidic) faith in Ireland.  So I have their desinies setting things up so that they fight in jousts, "Friendly" contests of swordsmanship, etc. and that they accidentally keep hitting each other for real instead of for nonlethal damage.  It is a bit like two people being friends at the conscious level, but bitter enemies at the subconscious level.  Works pretty well.

That said, if a character never spends fate points, I don't get destiny points (barring something really unusual happening) for that character.

Frankly, I would highly recommend something like this, no matter what game system you use.  It gives players good luck when they need it, and can give you some campaign ideas to work with.  Mind you, the Arthurian legend is a fairly tragic one, so destinies might be more acceptable to the players there than in regular D&D, where they might scream "you are screwing over my character! you hate me! wah!"  Here I screw over their characters and they LOVE it!  Well I hope they do.  

Oh, and last session, I got a TON of destiny points, and didn't have to spend one!  Heh heh heh!


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## Vigilance (Nov 2, 2004)

Wow this looks great Particle Man- 

This is the second time (We were like Gods once being the other) that one of my games has gotten some story hour love and I am once again jazzed 

I like the fairyland take and the fact that you've set your campaign in Ireland, away from the "main" action of the tales. Its a great device that allows you to hook into the established legends when you want (since you are so close to Britain) but also draw the campaign back to Ireland whenever you want the main legends to take a back seat.

Chuck


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## Particle_Man (Nov 2, 2004)

That reminds of a minor problem (or so I thought) and a running gag.

The minor problem deals with an optional rule: Nationalities.  This basically is like a human (subrace) that gives you an extra favored class or a few permanent class skills.  But looking at the Scottish one, the class skills are Bluff and Hide.  My new player was half-Scottish, and I thought "uh-oh!"  But she just looked at it and said, "yeah, that sounds like my uncle."  So that was ok.  Not sure how your book is selling in Scotland, though.  

The running gag is that we have all these knights, and they usually play it to the hilt.  So when sneaky bad things happen (like a necklace being stolen) you get things like.  "But the place was guarded!"  "Those dishonorable folk must have been HIDING in SHADOWS and MOVING SILENTLY!"  (group gasp) "The FIENDS!"  Well, we think it is funny.


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## Roman (Nov 4, 2004)

Hello everyone, 

I am one of the players in Particle_Man's campaign. More specifically, I play Sir Anton von Mu(e)nchen whose family holdings in the Holy Roman Empire were lost causing the family to move to the British Isles - some to Britain and others, including Sir Anton, to Ireland. 

Just as a note of explanation on Sir Anton's conversion to the Old Faith: Sir Anton studied in the seminary in Mu(e)nchen and grew up a relatively religious Christian man though not as religious as Sir Andrew. In any case, as the game began he soon began to experience doubts and his faith began to weaken. This culminated in his eventual conversion to the Old Faith in the encounter with the Lady of the Lake. 



BTW: Well done on the story hour - Particle_Man - this excellent campaign needs to be saved for posterity.  

As to correcting mistakes, as you asked us to do, the one mistake that I did notice is that with the 'children' (goblins) it was not Sir Anton who flaggelated himself and underwent the 'ritual bath' (cooking) - that was Sir Andrew, although admittedly Sir Anton only reluctantly conceded Sir Andrew the honour to commit this sacrifice.   Nonetheless, Sir Anton was lucky to escape this particular humiliation. It was the last session that got him!  



> Frankly, I would highly recommend something like this, no matter what game system you use. It gives players good luck when they need it, and can give you some campaign ideas to work with. Mind you, the Arthurian legend is a fairly tragic one, so destinies might be more acceptable to the players there than in regular D&D, where they might scream "you are screwing over my character! you hate me! wah!" Here I screw over their characters and they LOVE it! Well I hope they do.




Well, it is a love-hate relationship - but certainly makes for an interesting game!  

As a sidenote, I too very much like this fate point / destiny system and would recommend it even for other games. 



> Oh, and last session, I got a TON of destiny points, and didn't have to spend one! Heh heh heh!




Very true if what happened last session can happen without spending destiny points I shudder what can happen if destiny points are spent.   

Once again, well done on both the story hour and the campaign!


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## Particle_Man (Nov 4, 2004)

But sometimes I spend desitiny points and they fizzle.  I added 4 destiny points to a giants roll for damage and got 1,1,1,3!  arg!


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## Particle_Man (Nov 9, 2004)

So today there was a bit of “court” stuff to do before a hag hunt could get under way.  Prince Hammoton’s father was recovering under the care of priests, and his (possibly last remaining) son, transformed, went in to see him.  The son and father were reconciled, and Hammoton’s status as a friend of Prince Caius eased negotiations between Caius’s father King Anguish (nominally King of Ireland) and Hammoton’s dad.  Other party members made preparations (Lady Christine bought a crossbow!).  

It was during this time that they found out that they had somehow lost 7 months of time since they disappeared from Baron Ivo’s fountain room!  (Its funny, I did this, and then started reading “The Knight” by Gene Wolfe, where similar time losses occurred.  Great minds think alike!)  

Then there was a disturbance outside, as a mob of angry peasants claimed to have captured a hag!  Actually it was an elf, stunned and too scared to talk, and then knocked unconscious by a rock.  Lady Leanne managed to finagle her healing and questioning, but it seemed like her mind was almost gone.  She remembered her and other elves being captured and tortured by horrible strong ugly women, and a terrifying box, and that her ring (untarnished brass, with three oak leaf shapes) was important and never to be taken off.  

But then Prince Hammoton’s father wanted to question her, and she wouldn’t speak to him (or anyone except when Lady Leanne (another elf, but a secret elf) was alone with her).  So the king naturally sent for a priest to see if he could ease her mind.  The priest returned, but happened to have a large crucifix of cold iron (which freaks out fey in general).  Thus the elf panicked, and touched her ring, and disappeared!  Thus rumours spread of the “demon/enchantress/witch/hag/etc.” in the castle.

Later, at night, Lady Leanne was “recruited” by Queen Titania as an agent, to replace one that was damaged.  Lady Leanne got a similar ring (maybe even the same one) and was told that with it she could contact her queen, or even ask to visit her realm.  Leanne was also given a map of the swamp, and was told to make sure the hags were all dead, so that the secret of what happened when elves die did not get out.

[oh, and I have decided that, as an elf, Lady Leanne’s nobility will be permanently fixed, barring certain magical means of changing it.  This solves some of the problems her player was facing, since he was going for Lady of the Lake as a prestige class].

Ok, monsters on the way included: 1) an ettin (Tough! Especially since the characters fought him one at a time!) which led Sir Andrew to discover that his shield could heal him even when he didn’t command it to, 2) Cath Palug (basically big mean swamp cats), 3) Wolf Men (and wolves) (NOT werewolves, more like “men raised since childhood by wolves”), and 4) Ghouls (well, we stopped just before rolling init. for the ghoul combat.

The Wolf Men combat was interesting, since one of the Wolf Men was one of Prince Caius’s long-lost older brothers!  He has no memory (or even language!) and did not recognize Caius at all.  So now the party is towing around tied up Wolf Men.  Lady Leanne, with a detect thoughts, found out that the older Brother (Lucius) only remembered images, such as being tortured by hags, and that big, scary box.

[Oh, one moment of comedy: one of the wolves had tripped Sir Anton, and so Lady Christine came to the rescue and finished it off with a morningstar.  Quite Xenaesque, our Lady Christine].


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## Sir_Andrew (Nov 10, 2004)

Lest we forget, brave Sir Tobey, who tried to come to the aid of the fair Lady Christine. His shot seemed straight and true, but his destiny spoke and it was not to be, the arrow struck the lady squarely.


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## Particle_Man (Nov 10, 2004)

Oh yeah!  That was during the wolf(men) fight.  I think that character may forswear using a bow soon.    Oh, and Sir Andrew, you need to update your sig a bit to account for being on the hag-hunting team.


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## Sir_Andrew (Nov 11, 2004)

As you wish, milord.


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## Roman (Nov 12, 2004)

Hail Sir Andrew! Have you discovered the errors of faith in the One God yet?


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## Roman (Nov 12, 2004)

Hail Sir Andrew! Have you discovered the errors of faith in the One God yet?


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## Roman (Nov 12, 2004)

Hail Sir Andrew! Have you discovered the errors of faith in the One God yet?


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## Particle_Man (Nov 12, 2004)

I doubt that Sir Andrew will change his mind, no matter how often you repeat yourself.


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## Sir_Andrew (Nov 12, 2004)

Sir Anton, I believe that thou misspoke.  Faith in the One God is not folly, it is the means to our salvation.


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## Roman (Nov 14, 2004)

Wow, today's session was painful to the party! Interestingly, even though two characters perished in the final battle, both Sir Anton and Sir Andrew escaped unscathed! Of course, unscathed does not mean otherwise unaffected...


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## Particle_Man (Nov 14, 2004)

Pain is relative, and nothing is truly permanent.  Or so I claim.  

Ok, lots of stuff.  First they fought the four ghouls, who were polished off with little trouble.  One of them tried to bite the elf (Lady Leanne).  Silly ghoul!  

Oh, a one-shot character was introduced:  a dwarf fool (with Int 5!).  This led to an idea where many nobles have dwarf fools (but don’t realize that they are THAT kind of dwarf…).  A network of agents for Queen Titania, methinks.  Anyhow, she played her to the hilt to be useful, yet annoying…really annoying.

After the battle, the characters ran into Friar Hobb, who was a Hermit/Rogue (in fact, the reformed rogue that had earlier been one of the 24 that tried to kill them, traveled with them to many realms (including Hell), and now was there to rescue them).  He was told in a dream that three green hags were sending a tornado down this path.  He begged the party for forgiveness, and to be believed about his warning.  He was believed, and they went off track for half a day to a grove.

In that grove, they talked (the fool started telling a joke).  Then a spear pierced Hobb and two giants (ogres, really) sprang into view.  And the party polished them off.  

This is where I had to realize that I needed to “tone up” the critters slightly (but as we see later, sometimes the monsters are too tough…hey, I am still learning how to DM, and it is harder to measure CR when people sometimes do the single combat thing and sometimes don’t)!

Anyhow, the fool had run off into the woods, and so had a private encounter with goblins (to make it more fun for the others, I let each other player play a goblin).  They were fairly evenly matched, I thought, but the goblins started a grapple and things were going downhill for the fool.  But then one of the goblins used sleight of hand to steal a “pretty” from another goblin.  And many rounds were wasted with goblins ripping the same “pretty” from each other’s hands (a silver comb) and some ran off after the goblin that had it.  Then the fool could polish off the remainder.  By the way, if you ever let your players run temporary monsters like this, remember that the level of the tactics of the monsters suddenly increases to make them MUCH tougher!  On the other hand, it was a fun way to break the “serious” mood of high chivalry for a while.

Meanwhile, back at the grove, the party was struck with a variant Veil spell, after fog descended on them.  As the fog cleared, Green Hags surrounded the party, or so they thought.  (4 of the party looked and sounded like Green Hags, so we had party members fighting party members for a while, until a lucky dispel magic got rid of them).  I used the opportunity to let Sir Andrew do extra damage to his ‘hag’, Sir Anton (and blew some destiny points).

Sir Toby went into the woods to look for the Fool.  He saw a goblin and fired two arrows.  The first hit and killed the goblin, and the second hit the apple that that goblin became as it died while the apple was still in mid-air!  Great shot!  Too bad no one else saw it…

Ok, they link up with the fool and go back to the grove.  The wind goes up a bit, and then they rest for the night.  The next day, they return to the path and find scenes of devastation.  The friar’s dream of a tornado was true, it seems…

They eventually reach what seems to be a castle, flying King Hammoton’s flags.  But then the fool climbs the “portcullis” and makes a save and realizes it is only a hut.  The others then make their saves.  All of them.  Darn!  And then they get initiative ahead of all the 3 Green Hags!  But considering how the party faired against them, I still worry that they were not ready to face these hags yet.    I guess I will see how the players react next week.

The inside of the hut is much bigger than the outside.  Combat ensues.  5 goblins spring out of a cupboard and start firing arrows, but they die quick.  One of them has the silver comb with purple gems (the “pretty”, and recognized by Lady Leanne as being the remains of a fallen elf).  Being nasty, the Hags tried to curse or weaken Toby and failed.  Then they just ganged up on him, eventually “killing” him and moving on to Prince Caius, doing the same, etc.   (Both players blew their remaining 2 fate points to have some means of being saved.  In this case, I will wait until next session to say what became of them.  In game, both disappeared in flashes of light, as did Lady Leanne’s Weasel, temporarily.  It returned bigger (see below).  Toby and Caius have not returned…yet).  

And this brings up an interesting point.  Sir Andrew and Sir Anton, for most of the fight (Sir Anton for all of it), did not ever “Double Team” a hag, because that would be ignoble (not your standard D&D flanking here!).  And this, plus the greenhags having no problem with teaming up, led to character “deaths”.  Sir Anton and Sir Andrew were almost completely unharmed in the battle.  This is part of the DM problem with the “Single combat” thing…it is hard to balance, and characters can die more.  But we’ll see.   

Oh, and I have decided that Lady Christine’s “magic item” (every party member eventually gets one) is actually that her familiar weasel will be treated as tougher.  So now it is a Dire Weasel, and will gain HD to be one behind Christine’s level as a Hedge Mage (getting Large when appropriate).  The weasel actually helped kill a hag, but Sir Anton nearly killed it, thinking the medium sized creature was a monster.  Then Lady Christine punched him in the nose, and Hobb cured the weasel.

In the hut, they find various nasty things.  A baby’s crib with rat skulls in it, a stew pot with a human hand, nasty stuff.  Of note is a box, that when the fool opened it, restored memories to Caius’s older brother (tied up as a dangerous “wolf man”, although is memories as a “wolf man” are hazy, at best) and Sir Anton (so he remembers what actually happened at Hammoton’s castle).  They also find stuff that the Fool takes with her (back to Queen Titania), and some papers describing King Anguish’s immanent assassination (taken by the fool but at least read by Lady Christine).  But Lady Leanne also finds tracks outside of the last hag.  The party is divided over what to do next, to the point of maybe splitting the party.

Oh, Sir Anton foolishly agreed to give the “pretty” to the Fool (likely out of frustration at the fools constant pleading).  But Lady Leanne secretly stole the “pretty” from Sir Anton after he got it off the goblin he killed.  Makes it kind of hard to keep that oath, unfortunately.  But so long as he is “on the quest” to find it and give it to the fool, he technically has not broken his word.

Well, next time they might go after that last hag or not.  And two players might make new characters or might not.  I have an idea for Toby, but not sure about Caius yet.  Hmmm...


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## Particle_Man (Nov 15, 2004)

By the way, you may have noticed that Lady Christine, a hedge mage, often does meelee type stuff and does it well, while Sir Anton often has trouble in meelee.  This has nothing to do with their character stats.  The player running Lady Christine is the luckiest dice roller that I have ever encountered.  She regularly rolls 18's on the d20.  Using my own dice!  Sir Anton's player, on the other hand, has had a few bad sessions where he couldn't roll above a 3 on a d20 to save his life.  But that is that the nature of a partially randomized game, where you can have the "weaker" charactes get lucky and the "stronger" characters get unlucky.  And surely the lucky/unlucky streaks have to run out eventually (I hope!  ).


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## Particle_Man (Nov 15, 2004)

I think I have an idea on Caius now.  I don't know if his player, or the player of Toby, will like my proposed changes though.  We shall see.


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## Sir_Andrew (Nov 18, 2004)

*For whom the bell tolls*

The deaths of Prince Caius and Sir Tobey were tragic, but they died nobly.  I take solace in the fact that they sacrificed themselves fighting hideous devil worshipping hags, and so they will receive their just reward from the One God.  

I am sure that I speak for Sir Anton also when I say that it is difficult for a knight to see the son of his liege slain before his eyes.  The weight of this failure presses on my heart, and I have to seek the wisdom and strength of the One God to carry me through these dark times.  Friar Hobb and the miracles of Prince Hamilton and Lady Christine's pet reassure me that our cause is right and just, and that the One God watches and protects us.

It is doubly unfortunate that we hasten to carry news of his son's death with the news of a plot to assassinate him to his Majesty, King Anguish. Perhaps he can find comfort in the return of his other son, Prince Lucius.

By the will of the One God, we shall punish this evil hag and stop King Anguish's assassination.


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## Roman (Nov 21, 2004)

I could not make it to the session due to work.  Unfortunately, my boss decided that I would be working this Saturday till 11pm, by which time the session was long over.


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## Sir_Andrew (Nov 21, 2004)

*Plethora of Evil*

Unfortunately, dark forces were afoot in King Anguish's castle, so the session did not end until around 11pm. But the demons, who had been plaguing the land, have been driven off or contained by our heroes.


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## Roman (Nov 21, 2004)

Sir_Andrew said:
			
		

> Unfortunately, dark forces were afoot in King Anguish's castle, so the session did not end until around 11pm. But the demons, who had been plaguing the land, have been driven off or contained by our heroes.




That at least is good news. Sir Anton will sleep easier at night knowing that Sir Andrew overcame the forces of evil even without his help.


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## Particle_Man (Nov 21, 2004)

On the hag hunt!  [Sir Anton went to Fairyland for this one.  I guess his player had to work or something  ].  The party was undecided over what to do (pursue the last hag or go after the king to save him from assassination!).  Lucius (npc older brother of Caius) proved to be the tie-breaker and said they should stop the hag first and perhaps get information about the assassination.

Meanwhile, Caius and Toby awaken in goblin bodies (argh) and with the “stepmom” hag (not recognizing them) telling them what to do (argh!).  So Caius "played along" as a goblin.  He even finagled a tile of invisibility from her (like a potion), and found out that the hag was spying on the group through some item the group had (the goblin “pretty”, actually, was a hag’s eye).

Caius was a bit, shall we say, upset, at Sir Anton and Sir Andrew not helping out with his battle with the Green Hags (the old “oh, you wish to fight this hag?  Then I shall not interfere, my lord”, nobility thing).  So he sneaks up and steals most of the horses (except the ladies’) and leaves a note mostly explaining his condition with Lady Christine, with instructions to inform Lady Leanne (shortly thereafter Lady Christine’s player had to go for a while (she is in so many extracurricular things at university I wonder she finds time for schoolwork, never mind D&D!), so she won’t reappear until the final fight in this post).

Ok, the bulk of the party, after dealing with an Assassin Vine, meets a “giantess” (ogress) with a tree through her gut.  She is dying, and wants the group to save her baby that a hag had stolen.  The party agrees and since Hobb has used all his spell points for healing the party earlier, Sir Andrew administers a Coup de Grace in its original form, that to put her out of her extreme pain and misery.  A pity the minstrel wasn’t able to stop him in time to, y’know, heal the giantess, but it was hard to act fast and keep a low profile (the minstrel doesn’t want Sir Andrew to know ANYTHING about her using magic, or being an elf).

Ok, the bulk of the party arrives at a foggy patch, with a tree at the edge of it, and a large baby at the base of the tree.  Sir Andrew picks up the baby, which touches him on the nose, causing some strength damage!  (yeah, this was the baby Greenhag, disguised as a baby ogre).  This was the signal for Caius to shoot Sir Andrew from the bushes, which he actually does! (I guess he was REALLY angry about the whole dying and coming back as a goblin thing).  The Annis (the stepmom hag) then steps out of the mist, and throws an iron sphere at Prince Lucius, which expands and binds him within Iron Bands!  So Lucius the powerful npc is out of the fight.  And Hobb the npc is pretty much a coward when it comes to fighting, especially nonhuman foes.  Great for healing afterwards, though.  (I don’t want uber-NPC’s stealing the limelight from the pc’s)

Ok, the fight ensues (Caius did a clever trick with stampeding the stolen horses at the Annis, and then helped out with trying to actually kill her, and the Minstrel fended off the evil Greenhag (mobile, snarling and with a fanged mouth that dripped blood!) baby.  They triumph, and the fog clears, to reveal a lake with a Sea Hag standing on it!  Two more players lose strength just by looking at her, which puts Caius out of the fight.  She turns her evil eye upon Prince Hammoton, who as a noble is immune!  (One of these days I will actually read the rules, grrr...).  With the death of the Sea Hag there is an explosion of white light – the swamp is purified, and the characters’ magic items get an upgrade.  This included Prince Caius’s sword granting him Alter Self at will (so he could look human during the day) and Sir Toby transforming from goblin to centaur.  The Sea Hag’s final words were “No, they mustn’t get into the cave!”  Prince Caius thought it was a trap, and so ordered Sir Andew to check it out (Talk about holding a grudge!).  Inside was a large dire bear that did not appreciate being awoken.  The minstrel followed, and was able to sooth the dire bear back to sleep after it was about to eat Sir Andrew. And they found the “sadly, dead” ogre baby that the baby Greenhag had previously fed on.

It is about here I should note that I have made a mistake as a DM.  I should not redesign player’s characters for them.  I liked the whole “nothing is permanent, even your forms” idea of fairyland-style fantasy, but when you change a character’s race, it pisses off the players.  Sir Toby did not like being a centaur (to the point of frantically hitting random buttons on his dangerously random magic item, to try to change things!), even though he admitted that it was more powerful.  Prince Caius really hated being a goblin.  Prince Hammoton actually made it his new fate to regain his humanity and stop being a dwarf!  Ok, lesson learned, and I will try to find an in-game way to fix that…eventually.  Already, Prince Caius is thinking of making a deal with Queen Titania when he sees her next, so wheels are in motion.  Hey, a quest can solve this.  Quests solve everything, right?

Ok, now they get back to Prince Hammoton’s castle and heal up (with the aid of priests that are there), and get a blacksmith to remove the iron bands from Prince Lucius.  Sir Toby stays in the woods, helps some kids out (as a voice warning them away from a dangerous man down the path) and gets healing from the rogue/hermit Hobb.  The next day, they set off to save King Anguish!  And Prince Caius was a bit annoyed that no one told him until the next day that his DAD was in danger of assassination.

Ok, the party splits up, because Prince Caius and Prince Hammoton have the fastest horses.  So they arrive to see King Anguish and…Sir Andrew!  Who introduces himself as Sir Andrew, defender of the faith, order of the dove, yadda yadda, special agent to Baron Ivo, Witch-Hunter, Slayer of Heretics, and Executioner of Traitors!  This Sir Andrew is the right hand man of King Anguish, after discovering the treachery of Sir Linus and personally capturing and executing him.  (Prince Caius remembered the nobility of Sir Linus, and finds this hard to believe, but wants to play along for now).  This Sir Andrew has been leading a campaign to capture witches (sort of a mini-Inquisition), and attacks on the “heretical” druids in the Dreaming Woods, has been quite, shall we say, thorough.  Also, there has been a strange series of illnesses that have struck the ladies of King Anguish’s court, leaving many dead, although without any marks on them.  Oh, and the castle has not yet been rebuilt, since there were no sons to marry off, and the money King Anguish had went to buy food for his people this winter, after the devastation of the attack on his castle and surrounding farmlands.

Meanwhile, Sir Toby is hiding in the middle of his companions as he goes through his home town, doesn’t get noticed (Embarrassingly low spot check on my part!) and notices that his village seems to have no women around.  The Minstrel later investigates and finds out that Sir Andrew has been raiding the villages, capturing women after accusing them of witchcraft, upon which they are never seen again!  The few remaining women are in hiding.  The minstrel is offered a place to hide but she gets back to her party and warns them (good thing elves only need 4 hours down time a night!).  Oh, the Sir Andrew at court has a lightning bolt on his shield, while the Sir Andrew with the party has that magic shield with the cross on it).  Ok, Prince Hammoton is sent back to warn the party, and so Sir Andrew marches in to challenge Sir Andrew, who demands a joust “to the death!”  So they do (Sir Toby is outside at this point, as he is frightened to reveal himself).  And the real Sir Andrew rolls so incredibly lucky I can’t believe it.  He nearly kills the false Sir Andrew with a single blow!  These causes the false Sir Andrew to teleport out of his full plate and shield, and reveal him as the flying demon from wayyyy back that through that woman that Sir Andrew caught.  The flying demon then swoops down towards the Queen!  Sir Toby sees the flying demon and races into town, activating his haste item to do so.  Prince Caius does the brave hero thing and leaps upon the demon to try to save the mom.  The demon summons a BIG demon to kill the Queen.  The Demon (a Vrock) appears next to her and wounds her severely.  The minstrel gets the unconscious and bleeding Queen away, and heals her, but takes damage in getting her away (heals her 9 points and she is still unconscious!)  The Vrock then turns on Caius, and the first demon gets away (teleport again!).  The Vrock brings down Caius, who is also dragged away, but at this point King’s guards arrive, as does Prince Hammoton, Sir Andrew, and Sir Toby!  Sir Toby is the last one to hit the Vrock before it disappears (it was only there for a little while anyhow) and so gets credit for the “kill”, which helps mitigate the whole centaur thing (the minstrel is the party “spin doctor” and is spreading tales of heroic centaur protectors of the woods).  So it is a good day.  King Anguish regains two of his sons thought dead (Lucius and Caius), and a demon is revealed and (presumed) driven off!

[Side note: Centaurs are not seen as evil so much as mythical.  The centaurs were fey creatures like elves and dwarves, but were hunted to extinction by the giants.  The last centaur died a millennium ago; Sir Toby is not just a centaur, he is THE centaur.  Little children in and around the court all want to ride Sir Toby].

Sir Andrew is healed by a nun, who learns of what happened to Prince Caius and offers her services to help him (this nun is an old woman from Rome, looking to this “mini-inquisition” to see if it is a good idea to duplicate in other countries).  The nun helps Caius at night at his request, with only Sir Toby as a witness.  And unfortunately, the nun is a bad guy, and dominates Prince Caius!  First he is ordered telepathically to act normal, but later, he is told to assume Sir Andrew’s (via Alter Self) form and kill King Anguish!  

At this point, I allow party members to blow fate points to be in the right place at the right time.  They consent and so are warned by a dream to get to the king!  

Ok, another Sir Andrew vs. Sir Andrew.  Sir Toby was there (it is a wide hallway) and strikes to subdue both of them, which gives them both a nice fat unconsciousness cushion (smart move of Sir Toby) since at first no one knows which Sir Andrew is the real one.  Then Prince Hammoton (who didn’t blow a fate point because he was worried about another strike vs. the king, and so had independantly decided to spend a watch outside the king's chambers) goes into the king’s chamber to see if he is alright (he is, although bewildered, angry and frightened), and hears a scream from the adjoining chamber, the Queen’s chamber!  Going in, he see another “king” bent over a now unconscious queen!  So Prince Hammoton goes after that “king” (the demon again) as does the Minstrel (with a Shillelagh cast upon a chair).  Sir Toby goes to stand guard over the queen.  [I was thinking of a third “Sir Andrew” but felt that would be too cheesy even for me].

Caius/Andrew takes the real Sir Andrew down, but falls victim to Lady Christine’s Dire Weasel (which nearly died!).  Although I was trying to spend Prince Caius’s destiny points to make certain he could get to the king, I only used them to make sure that a) he failed his saves vs. domination, and b) that his misses turned into hits.  So only 4 of his 18 destiny points were spent.  Ah well.  Another time, perhaps.

So at the end of the day, both Sir Andrews are in separate cells.  Prince Caius is unconscious, meaning that he will revert to goblin form soon, and is still dominated!

Also, people have leveled up and some are getting Leadership.  I hear that Hobb and Hubert are candidates for cohorts.  This could get weird!


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## Roman (Nov 22, 2004)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> [Sir Anton went to Fairyland for this one.  I guess his player had to work or something.  ]




You guessed correctly. I usually finish work just before 5pm on Saturdays but this Saturday I worked till 11pm and I did not know I was going to have to do that until the Saturday hit. 



> It is about here I should note that I have made a mistake as a DM.  I should not redesign player’s characters for them.  I liked the whole “nothing is permanent, even your forms” idea of fairyland-style fantasy, but when you change a character’s race, it pisses off the players.




Well, I would not really have minded if it ever happened to Sir Anton, so long as he was not totally 'screwed' by the change of his race of course.  In fact, I thought the concept of blowing fate points to prevent death, but something strange happening to you interesting. In my view, death should not be without consequences and the way you approached it was quite interesting. I can see, though, how it can upset some players if their race changes - I guess it depends on the player and what the race changes to. Also, you need to ask whether it upsets the players or merely their characters.


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## Particle_Man (Nov 28, 2004)

Prince Caius was in trouble.  Fortunately, he leveled up and got leadership, so I let him play his soon-to-be-cohort, Hobb (former Rogue, now Hermit).  Hobb had a dream in which he was visited by an angel and told to rescue the man whom he would serve and keep to the path of faith in the one God.  He was told to rescue a gem, from a box, in a room, but not to attack the person in the room, for he would surely die and not save his charge.

Hobb was sneaky enough to get in and pick the lock and get the gem (which throbbed with a steady pulse), and put in it a chest pocket in his tunic.  When he left, he tried to find Sir Caius in his room, but he was not there.  Then he looked for Sir Toby in the stables (he’s a centaur) but on the way felt a chest pain, and found that when he pulled out the “gem”, instead he had a beating human heart in his hand.  Also, the steady pulse of the gem was coming from inside of him.  Then he found that he could (from then on) always locate what direction Prince Caius was in.  But when he followed his urge (followed by Sir Toby) he found only a cell in a dungeon with one of the two Sir Andrews within it.  He felt that this Sir Andrew was the man he had to heal, and healed him, upon which Prince Caius awoke, but still looked like Sir Andrew (since his sword of Alter Self was taken from him).  So Lady Christine had to find the sword, and it turned out that Prince Lucius had it, and knew it was Caius’s and would not part with it.  This led to Hobb lying (ohh, bad for nobility), using Obscuring Mist, and in the hullabaloo (with help from that tile of invisibility) Prince Caius changed into a goblin, escaped his bonds, used the tile, and scarpered off.  Everyone praised Hobb for “Banishing the Demon”.  Meanwhile, Prince Caius, no longer dominated, decided to coup de grace the “nun” in her sleep, which cost a severe amount of nobility points, but was the easiest way of killing the villain.  Caius told no one about this.

The next day was marred by the murder of a distinguished visitor, but the killer was not discovered.  There were still festivities over the death of the false Sir Andrew, the return of two sons, etc.  During these, the minstrel Leanne got some songs going about the party, and the centaur gave rides to kids.  One child found him later, in tears, because her sister was missing.  So Toby tracked her into the dream wood, but found a child’s comb on the path.  Then he turned and got his friends (returning the first girl to her mom).

In the woods, the party discovered a group of 8 troubadours, who offered Sir Andrew (one of the only two characters not hiding out) some stew and a place by the fire.  Sir Andrew refused, and Prince Hammoton noticed a child’s finger in the stew.  Upon leaving, Prince Hammoton revealed this to others and combat ensued against the 8 ghouls (these ones were a hair smarter – they knew enough to shave their givaway braided beards, and to lure people off into the woods).  The party just aced the ghouls.  I may have to upgrade the monsters soon.  They rescued one little girl, but another was already in the stew.  Also, the party was set upon by a centipede swarm (the minstrel did will to defeat that with a fire spell that Sir Andrew did not notice was cast by her!).

Then the party returned, and the mother was grateful to have her daughter back.

The next day, Lucius was sent off to get married in Caius’s place to the eldest daughter of Baron Ivo.  Caius was given a peace-making mission to go to the druids in the Dreaming Woods (the false Sir Andrew had caused a lot of trouble there).  He got the rest of the party to accompany him.

They had some dreams (yay!  More dreams!) and then ran into a druid, called Fox.  Sir Andrew did his usual introduction, and then the druid agreed to take the party to Raven and the dryad so that they could return the staff.  She led them to a clearing and said “I think you will find what you are looking for here, Sir Andrew”, turned into a fox, and left.  Then a very young red dragon came down, (breathing on them first), and Sir Andrew challenged it to combat (note: dragons get a few perks in Arthurian Adventures).  Well, the dragon nearly killed Sir Andrew, and then Caius cheated and attacked from behind, and hand-signalled Toby to attack as well, and together they killed it (Sir Andrew backed off, of course, being honourable).  

Then came a Troll, followed by a Hill Giant, both of which Sir Toby took out, although the last was a very near thing.  During the last battle, some of the party sought out other druids (the minstrel wanted to talk, but got a summoned dire wolf set on her (she used hide from animals to evade it)), and eventually that part of the party found the stone henge with a raven on it.  Prince Caius addressed it, and it became Raven.  Prince Caius explained what had been going on with the false Sir Andrew, and that he wanted peace.  Raven agreed to bring other druids there, and said that the false Sir Andrew had killed the dryad and chopped down her tree.  So after that, they waited, and the rest of the party caught up.  The druids appeared, agreed to the peace (mentioning that there was one druid, Fox, that refused peace, and had been kicked out of the Dreaming Woods), but mentioned that some villagers were trying to burn down the woods right this moment.  So the party went there and sorted that mess out.  Finally there was peace.  A good stopping point.


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## Particle_Man (Nov 28, 2004)

I forgot!  Hubert showed up (he had been told in a dream to come to Castle Anguish).  He had been trained (and pumped for information) by Baronet Roderick, and was now a tough fighter type!  (He had a growth spurt, and the player rolled ridiculously lucky on 4d6).  He brought the wagon, which had the staff the party was meant to return to the dryad Allessandra, now sadly deceased.


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## Námo (Nov 29, 2004)

Hi Particle Man! 
I love your story. Keep up the good work. Awaiting news from Arthurian Ireland...  
Any chance to see your heroes' stats?! Or the villains'? Maybe both? Please


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## Particle_Man (Nov 30, 2004)

I'll ask the heroes if they want/mind having their stats printed up (actually, Sir Anton's player posts on this thread and has his sheet, so he can post Sir Anton's stats if he wants to).

As for villains, well, not to spoil the illusion too much, but I pull them staight out of my a...I mean, out of the relevant books (Monster Manual for some monsters, DMG Generic NPC's, Legends of Excalibur: Arthurian Adventures for Monsters and Generic NPCs), using average hp.  When I pick extra feats, I use toughness unless I have a reason not to.  Easy to remember and adds a little bite to the minor villains, and it also means that the pc's are a little "better" than their npc contemporaries.  Also, sometimes, I don't stat out the villains at all, but eyeball it (the younger "nun" had no stats, I just figured what spells she would have, and then given the party's suddenly increased resources (new Minstral with wand of faerie fire (grrr), new Hedge Mage), reasoned that she would have a chance of failing to escape.  Then I gave hera level, hp and AC on the spot.  And lo, she failed to escape!  But she got better...    ).  Roderick is a great villain-to-be, but has no stats whatsoever, yet.  I just knew he was tougher than the (damaged) Sir Andrew in the joust, and that his sister Brigit is tougher than he.  One of the players has wondered how Brigit could have lost to the Giant Gotch in the meelee part of the joust.  And they might find out why later, if they go to Baron Ivo's again.

Sir Lucius is another example.  I knew that he was tougher than Sir Caius, but when he had the mind of a wolf man, I just use wolf man stats, with higher BAB and more HP.  And because I didn't want to "Mary Sue" a character, but keep the spotlight on the pc's, I made sure the hag targeted the cured Lucius with something that incapacitated him for the battle (costing her an action), and Hobb (at the time) was useless in combat, but only good for healing.

Now Hobb (and Hubert) have stats as cohorts, but I had the players roll them and equip them.

I cannot overemphasize how much of a lazy DM I am.  It is my second defining trait (my first being my lousy dice luck).  Luckily, I have some small skill in improvising, and I have an idea of some critical events that are happening.

Partly this is because the party is advancing and moving around so much, that I don't want to put stats on a villain that will end up being either not encountered at all, or too weak compared to the party by the time the party encounters it.

Also, I don't bother to stat out noncombatants.  Priests they encounter just heal them.  Commoners talk to them.  Etc.  

The elder nun I worked backwards from.  I figured what she was doing was something like Dominate.  And she could heal, so that puts her at Priest 1/Hedge Mage 9 at least.  And that is as far as I got.  But since Sir Caius assassinated her while she was sleeping, and she had to make a fort save of 31, and rolled low, I didn't worry about statting her up.  Good thing too; I would hate to have wasted that time.  

Mind you, King Anguish is going to pay (in reputation, if nothing else) for allowing an honoured guest to be murdered in his own castle, but that is a social problem for the players.

And some of the megavillains already have stats in the text legends of excalibur: arthurian adventures, but currently they are in the "pulling strings and giving off a nice reputation" mode, so the party isn't going to fight them...yet.  

I mean, the main NPCs (Arthur, Merlin, Morgan le Fey, etc.) are about 20th-30th level!!!!  Good GOD!  How could the party even hope to not be outclassed by the heroes, or decimated by the villains!  So, I don't use those guys yet.  And I do advance the party fairly quickly.  

This is also why I give all spellcasters spontaneous access to all spells.  It gives ME a break in preparation of villains, as I can just pick them out of the book on the fly (the players can too, so it is fair).

Now I may stat out villains later when/if it becomes likely the party will stick around for a while.  But it is largely after the fact, so sorry I couldn't help you there.


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## Námo (Nov 30, 2004)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> I cannot overemphasize how much of a lazy DM I am.  It is my second defining trait (my first being my lousy dice luck).  Luckily, I have some small skill in improvising, and I have an idea of some critical events that are happening.
> [...]
> Now I may stat out villains later when/if it becomes likely the party will stick around for a while.  But it is largely after the fact, so sorry I couldn't help you there.




Actually, you did help a lot. The speed of your answer alone (thanks a lot) was amazing, I suspect that you are not that "lazy" but "using your resources wisely" - that is what I tell those players... So now I have another reason not to feel guilty about my lazyness as a DM   
Although for NPCs with NPC classes I use Skill Focus and Toughness, so more variation there, I guess   

And thanks for trying to get your players to post their PCs!


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## Particle_Man (Dec 5, 2004)

First, I apologize for forgetting to ask my players if they minded having their characters posted.  One of my cats is throwing up, and so my mind is preoccupied with the poor little guy.  I will try to remember next time.

Happy times for our troupe!  Sir Toby gets Officially knighted, Sir Andrew and Lady Leanne get Ordained (in the Christian and Druidic faiths, respectively -- Leanne is the new "Fox" in the druidic group).  Prince Caius gave Sir Toby some nice chain barding and some silver horseshoes.

Prince Caius takes the popular Sir Toby and the others around the villages on a "goodwill tour" to get good PR and show that Sir Andrew is not the bad old "Sir Andrew" that was terrifying them.  Then an unknown knight, with blank full plate and shield, throws down the guantlet at Prince Caius...literally!  Then the Silent Knight (for he doesn't speak a word, ever) rides off to a nearby field.  The peasants get excited (watching knights joust is like television to them).  Prince Caius returns the guantlet to the Silent Knight and then gets ready (which means that he cheats and gets Hobb to buff him up, and Lady Leanne buffs him up more), but after three passes with the lance, the Silent Knight still stands.  (Lady Leanne also used detect magic to notice that the Silent Knight has a ring with overpowering enchantment magic).  Prince Caius retires, and then the Silent Knight repeats the guantlet deal with Sir Toby!  This time, when Sir Andrew picks up the guantlet, he notices that there is some paper inside it.  He gives the guantlet to Prince Caius, who returns it to the Silent Knight (but keeps the paper).  Sir Toby kills the Silent Knight, who is then revealed as...Edmund, son of Sir Linus and squire to Prince Magnus, Prince Caius's missing eldest brother! (As well as Lady Christine's first liege, to keep this soap opera going.)  

Well, that cuts short the goodwill mission.  The group returns to Castle Anguish, and the body is laid to rest in state.  Prince Caius asks Lady Leanne to get the ring from the body, discreetly.  But when Lady Leanne removes the ring, the body (armor and all!) turns to dust, and then a wind blows the dust around.  Plus, Lady Leanne feels compelled to keep the ring secret (she lies to Caius and says it was also destroyed).  So it is thought in the castle that the body was stolen, for reasons unknown.

The paper has a code which the party mostly solves.  I will not post it here since I don't want non-player posters solving the puzzle before the players do.  If the players fully solves the puzzle I will post it.

Oh, the horse that Edmund was riding on was PERFECT!  A noble steed, pure bred and blazing fast, and (as it turns out) noble in character (would not attack someone being attacked by another (no ganging up), protecting ladies, and looking with disapproval when later Lady Christines searches bodies.

A wedding is happening in two months (Sir Lucius and Dame Brigitte) but the group has itchy feat (and want to check out the possible Hag around Sir Anton's castle, if dreams can be believed).  So off they go.

On the road they run into a couple of peasants fighting over a pig, and Sir Andrew dispenses justice (something Nobles and high level Knights can do -- Ironically, Prince Caius does not have this ability yet, since he is multi-classed).  He judges in favour of one peasant, who boasts that he has the favour of the law, and if the other peasant doesn't like it, he can go off to that land where there are no laws or princes.  Well, that let the cat out of the bag, and the lesser nobles are intrigued.  They make the peasants tell them more, and hear of an old minstrel who sings of such a place.  They decide to check this out, going to the last village that mistrel was seen in.  This takes them off-road a bit.

Well, they go to that village, and then try to get back to the road via a shortcut.  On the way, they come to a clearing in the woods which reveals a small castle!  And I mean really small -- 10 feet in diameter, with tiny minarets, etc.  "A castle for dwarves!" exclaims Sir Andrew, which pisses off Prince Hammoton and forces an apology from Sir Andrew.  While they get closer to investigate, Lady Leanne notes that the castle is an illusion!  But then the juvenille green dragon breathes an acid cone on half of the party.  Kills a horse, too!  OK, combat ensues and the party finds it very difficult to hit the dragon until Lady Christine dispells magic on it (removing the mage armor and shield spells, which synergized REALLY well with the dragon's natural armor).  Then the party fights, and eventually defeats it.  Under the dragon are three bodies -- two peasants and a nun.  One of the peasants has a crude map.

The party decides to rest and heal up.  Lady Leanne during her watch notices that two peasants are trying to sneak past.  She warns them that they should go home (they were obviously trying to get to the free land, but lie about it, saying they are visiting a sick mother).  Leanne tails them for a while and finds out where they camp.

Oh, and Sir Andrew managed to make a comment on the Lady of the Lake that Sir Anton follows being effectively "Fallen from grace" (a nicer way of saying she is a demon) and that makes Sir Anton challenge Sir Andrew (and their destinies have their non-lethal combat do lethal damage).  But the fight is inconclusive (Lady Christine casts Hold Person on Sir Andrew!).  The fight will be continued later, they say, when they are out of the woods and can joust properly.  Ohhhhh boy.

The party decides to track the peasants to this so-called "Free Land" (no anarcho-syndicist communes will be tolerated, I guess).  They eventually get to a village, and Prince Hammoton, as spokesman, gets the villagers out and Prince Caius announces that Sir Toby is their new lord.  Then the party notices that these villagers are all male and all wearing gloves.  And the two peasants they were following are not to be found.  They offer food to the party.

Lady Leanne asks to see the larders, and takes Hubert with her, quietly warning him that the villagers are probably more of those "savage cannibals" that they have been fighting.  But this sets Sir Hubert off to fight them, and combat is joined!

An old man comes out (and says, "Get them!" and the gloves come off and the claws come out!).  36 ghouls and 1 wight later (and that took *much* longer to play than to say), the party rescues the two peasants (tied up but not yet eaten).  Lady Leanne searches the hut the old man came out of, and finds a chest with gold, a few scrolls and a few familiar golden statuettes (what happens to dwarves when they die is that their bodies disappear and these statuettes appear in their place).  This angers the elven Lady Leanne, who then sets huts in the village on fire using a flaming sphere.  Which the other knights see.  Including the anti-hellfire, pro-Christian Sir Andrew.  Oy.  Looks like there will be intra-party violence next game!

I guess things were bound to come to a head between the Old Faith guys and Sir Andrew eventually.  It will be interesting to see where this one leads.


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## Particle_Man (Dec 6, 2004)

That dragon was "inside" the minurature castle illusion, in case that wasn't clear (silent image spell creating a "shell" within which a juvenille green dragon could hide).  I came up with that idea after seeing that the dragon was a 1st level spell-caster.

On fighting 36 ghouls.  Get a sheet of paper and number off 1-36.  Keep a wounds tally on ghouls that are not felled in a single blow, but make the player remember the number of his ghoul (You hit #27.  Remember that).  Not quite as fast as a Savage Worlds big combat, but it helps.  Necessity was the mother of invention on this one!  It helped that I decided that the ghouls are not yet bright enough to be that tactical (just move and attack, nothing fancy), and wasted an action taking off their gloves.  But every group of undead they meet is just a little bit smarter (their brains are "Warming up", after having been "in hibernation" for so long).  Mind you, I am likely upgrading to Wights soon.


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## Vigilance (Dec 6, 2004)

Very nice!

Chuck


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## Námo (Dec 6, 2004)

Thanks for the story...

Hope your cat got better.


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## Roman (Dec 9, 2004)

Here are the basic Sir Anton's stats: 


*Basics* 
Player: Roman 
Name: Sir Anton von Mu(e)nchen 
Titles: Servant of the Lady (of the Lake), Perserver of Nature, Order of the Dove, Protector of (the Old) Faith  
Gender: Male 
Nationality: Holy Roman Empire (Germany), Bayern (Bavaria) 
Bloodline: Lesser Noble 
Race: Human 
Class: Knight 
Fate Points: 5 
Height: 5'11" 
Weight: 146 lb (very skinny for his height it seems, but dice don't lie  ) 
Eyes: Blue 
Hair: Blond 
Skin: Slightly Tanned 
Allegiances: Code of Chivalry, Oath of Fealty (Lady of the Lake - "The Lady") 
Motto: "Freedom through Service" - I wanted to have it in German, but not being German and having a limited German vocabulary I cannot find a German word that means service or duty and rhymes with Freiheit... I intendet something like "Freiheit du(e)rch ...heit" where ...heit is a german word for service or duty 

*Ability Scores* 
Strength: 14/+2 
Dexterity: 8/-1 
Constitution: 18/+4 
Intelligence: 12/+1 
Wisdom: 11/+0 
Charisma: 16/+3 

The lesser noble bloodline gives +2 constitution bonus as a replacement for the normal extra feat that humans get and for the extra skill points that humans get. This brought up Sir Anton's constitution from 16 to 18. At 4th level I raised his wisdom from 10 to 11. 

*Movement Related Statistics*
Speed: 30 ft or 60 ft on his heavy warhorse 
Encumberance: Light Load (58 lb), Medium Load (116 lb), Heavy Load (175 lb), Lift over Head (175 lb), Lift off the Ground (350 lb), Push or Drag (875 lb) 

*Saving Throws* 
Fortitude: 9 
Reflex: 1 
Will: 2 


*Combat Statistics* 
BAB: +7/+2 
Attack: Masterwork Longsword +10 (d8 + 2), or +12 (d8 + 2) when Mounted, or Masterwork Heavy Lance +12 (d10 + 2) 
Full Attack: Masterwork Longsword +10/+5 (d8 + 2), or +12/+7 (d8 + 2) when Mounted, or Masterwork Heavy Lance +12 (d10 + 2) 
AC: 17 
Hit Points: 96 

*Weapons* 
Masterwork Longsword 
Masterwork Heavy Lance 
Masterwork Dagger x 2 

*Protective Items* 
Heavy Steel Shield (AC bonus +2) 
Fish Mail* Armour (AC bonus +6) 

*Fish Mail: Sir Anton has magical armour that seems as if it were made of scales and Sir Anton has had some mystical contacts with fish, so I christened it 'Fish Mail'. It granted Sir Anton a DR of 1/-. Now, however, while Sir Anton was in fairyland (I was absent for two prior sessions), Queen Titania polished and shined his armour to the extreme and thus upgraded it to reflect 10% of the damage he suffers per physical attack (but a minimum of 1 point per physical attack) back to the attacker. 

*Steed* 
Heavy warhorse called "Schnell" with speed of 70 ft 

*Other Gear* 
Backpack with waterskin 
Week's worth of trail rations 
Bedroll 
Sack 
Flint & steel 
Hooded lantern 
Three pints of oil in flasks 
Large golden cross on a golden chain - no longer worn around the neck, but still kept as a reminder of his former faith 
Bible - no longer read, but still kept as a reminder of his former faith 
Tent 
Torch x 6 
Parchment x 20 
Ink vial x 2 
Pen 
Copper Feather - Order of the Dove symbol 

I might add skills and feats/special abilities later.


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## Vigilance (Dec 9, 2004)

My compliments Roman... that looks like a great character! You seem to have pulled together a lot of different elements of the game nicely. 

Chuck


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## Námo (Dec 10, 2004)

Roman said:
			
		

> Here are the basic Sir Anton's stats:



Yeah! Thanks.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> Motto: "Freedom through Service" - I wanted to have it in German, but not being German and having a limited German vocabulary I cannot find a German word that means service or duty and rhymes with Freiheit... I intendet something like "Freiheit du(e)rch ...heit" where ...heit is a german word for service or duty




Well, hopefully it's not a problem of your Language (German) skill, but a problem of my native language... I could not think of any German word for service/duty that rhymes with Freiheit. Literally it would be _Dienst_ or _Pflicht_ - so maybe "_Freiheit durch Dienst_."


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## Particle_Man (Dec 10, 2004)

The funny part about this is that I decided that (aside from the secret druidic tongue) there is only one language in my game world.  Thus the saying comes across as an idiosyncratic code used only by members of the family, and doesn't sound intelligible to the rest of the world.  But hey, he wanted a germanic family saying, he's got a germanic family saying.


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## Particle_Man (Dec 12, 2004)

Well, first off some news:  I am taking a break for the holidays, so this will be the last game report for a while until at least the Saturday after Jan. 3rd, when I return.  That said, I talked to the players about posting their characters and they seemed cool with the idea (except for one who was absent, and another who declined).  So you may see more players posting here, which will also be good since they can read the posts and correct my mistakes.

And the big clash did not happen as I thought, since Sir Anton, Sir Andrew and Lady Christine’s players were late, I had them all disappear in a magical whirlwind.  Sir Anton saw his Lady of the Lake, who warned him that his enemy was Albion (he was shown the face of the giant he met in Lemba, but this face was very, very solid, and has a nasty look).  Sir Andrew was buried up to his neck in amber, in a grove of trees with pink and blue leaves, and visited by a beautiful green lady called Titania who told him to tell Caius that Merlin is sleeping for the good of fairyland.  Unfortunately, Sir Andrew only remembers the “Merlin is sleeping” part of the message when he later tells Prince Caius.  Lady Christine’s player was a no-show (I think she had to babysit, and I assume did not get permission to bring her 9 year old brother for a one-shot character).

Meanwhile, back at the village of Freedonia, the two peasants were untied, and told to build stables by their new master Sir Toby, but Lady Leanne set the rest of the buildings on fire, presumably to purify the place.  Sir Anton talked with Lady Leanne about her fire magic and found out that she had druidic training.  Then they heard the loud footsteps of giants, and sure enough, two arrived demanding tribute for King Albion.  Needless to say, the followers of King Anguish were not happy with this (the two rescued peasants ran far, far away, btw).

Noble single combat ensued.  Giant #1 took out the wounded Toby, and the wounded Sir Anton.  Then Prince Caius took out that giant, taunting/bluffing him to get in a sneak attack.  But then Giant #2 challenged Prince Caius!  But during that battle, Giant #2 was hit by arrows from the woods, and was so enraged he left to deal with the upstart archers (they were dwarven yeomen, but I rolled so badly for them that they didn’t even get seen by most of the characters (Lady Leanne snuck over and saw them, but that’s it).  The giant returned, and Sir Andrew challenged the giant and finally won.  (both giants had those special rings, which Lady Leanne took, causing the giant bodies to disappear in whirlwinds of dust, and her to keep the rings).  At that point, Lady Leanne wanted to return to fairyland the gold statuettes that she knew were in that bag, and so used the other ring, given to her by Queen Titania, to return there (Sir Andrew was blinded by the whirlwind, but the other party members saw her disappear (but hey, characters disappear and reappear a lot in my campaign, so the characters were not shocked).

Sir Andrew and Sir Anton got into theological debates, and Prince Caius made Sir Andrew promise to take no action without him (Sir Andrew suspected Lady Leanne of witchcraft and wanted her taken for questioning).  I think that Prince Caius is able to put reins in on Sir Andrew’s fanaticism…for now.

Meanwhile, Lady Leanne was being interrogated by Queen Titania, who soon realized that Leanne was holding some information back, read her mind, and found out about the rings.  She then took them to investigate them, and sprung a trap!  (I spent her destiny points).  Suddenly Queen Titania was trapped inside a gigantic ruby crystal and was visibly aging and being drained of her power!  Fairyland itself was getting colder (snow appeared in it for the first time!).  It took the aging Auberon to staunch the flow, after he found out that the rings came from Albion.  He used his magic and was able to stop the draining, but not free his wife.  He told Lady Leanne that to break her free required the heart of an innocent mortal, and the name of the powerful sorceror that worked with Albion to fashion this trap.  He warned her that he could not spare magics to help her, since he now was the sole being able to maintain the realm of fairyland.  In addition, he would be “going to sleep” within a handful of years, so if Titania could not be rescued by then, then all the fey would die, fairyland would be destroyed, and all the old magic would be gone, with the exception of the magic of whoever had drained her power.  This distressed the Lady Leanne.

Auberon in his weakened state tried to send her home, but something went awry (I rolled a 1 on a d20).  She ended up on the right plane of existence (4 on a d4), but ended up in the Arctic Ocean (8 on a d8, the other 7 being continents).  She cast endure elements, got on a large ice floe, walked inwards until she got to snow, and looked around for help but only saw a White Dragon in the distance, which she hid from.  Things looked bleak.  Then she got a voice in her head talking through her ring, asking if she needed help (she spent fate points).  She had little choice but to say yes, and ended up in the bedroom of a Queen called Morgan, beloved of the Fey.  Morgan let her dry herself, was very pleasant, and send her to where she wished to go (Baron Ivo’s).  She ended up in Roderick’s bedroom during a very private moment, which she used to pretend to be upset with Roderick’s “unfaithfulness” to hopefully get him off her back. Then she hid from him using speed and eventually the secret passages in her castle (opposed int check – she won).

[Note: I got the idea for the Arctic as a place and Roderick’s bedroom as the later place from the players of Sir Andrew and Sir Anton, respectively]. 

The rest of the party is travelling on the road to Baron Ivo’s, and hear a hissing noise.  Sir Andrew investigates and sees a squat lizard, larger than a dog but smaller than a horse.  He tells it to Halt, but it advances.  They fight (Sir Anton helps out).  Sir Andrew turns into a statue!  Sir Anton kills the creature, but now they have a problem.  And possibly a clue.  Could this be what had happened to Caius’s brother Magnus?  Could that statue of Magnus back at King Anguish’s BE Magnus?

Anyhow, Caius is on the case.  At Baron Ivo’s he asks about the merchants that had brought the Magnus statue (Ivo has a cough, by the way – getting older).  They find the merchants on their route and get information on the knights that had driven off Saxons who were around that statue and who abandoned it on the field of battle.  This took our group to meet the knights in the port city of Dartsmouth (remember, there is also a deadline to attend the wedding of Linus and Brigitt).  There they met Sir Jaime and Sir Gregor, and went to the place where the statue was last seen.  On the way, they met some Saxons and a Skald, and killed them, and rescued a stone arm (and some wealth).  They found out from Sir Jaime that the Saxons had thrown a stone arm of the statue over a cliff in spite, so Sir Caius was lowered on a rope from the cliff to the beach.  And was attacked by a giant springing out of the sea!  Quickly being pulled up, and throwing back one of the large spears thrown at him (and hitting the giants for more damage, too!), he engaged the giant in conversation, confirmed that this giant had the arm, and offered to trade two gems for it.  The giant took the gems and went under the water.  (I had decided that if I rolled equal or less than the giant’s nobility, he would return with the arm – it was a low nobility but I made the roll, so he did). 

Lady Leanne noticed that the arms did not have weapons or shields in them, and remembered that the statue of Sir Magnus has a sheathed sword.

Ok, some Gather Info checks later, they find out that many of the coastal cities of Count Randolph have been attacked by Saxons, and tracked down where statues had been stolen.  They went to John Reb’s place.  His widow showed Caius and Leanne some other statues (a lifelike bird, a sword, a lifelike cat she said was modeled on the real cat that was around them, etc.).  Prince Caius bought the bird and fastened it to Sir Andrew.

And I think that is where we left it.  Oh, the player of Sir Andrew played Hubert, the cohort of Prince Hammoton, for now.

I think I have to beef up my monsters, though.  On the one hand Sir Toby the centaur nearly died against the giant.  But on the other hand he never felt the need to use his haste power, so the later battles were not too much of a sweat for him.  So dragons, dragons, dragons!  And giants too!  NOW we are in the Arthurian mythos, baby!  

Oh, and Prince Caius just made Red Knight!  Ta-dah!  First prestige class!

I hope I haven’t forgotten anything, but I am tired and will stop for now.


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## Toby of Kusman (Dec 13, 2004)

Green Knight Stats

When we started the campaign, I decided to be a skillful Yeoman since everyone was making a melee Knight.  We also decided to go for the “power rangers” route… blue, red, green, purple and white knights.  A Green Knight requires to have both Animal Affinity and Track feats, and a common Yeoman could start with both.  There was no reason not to take it, but then I soon found out the disadvantage of having a low nobility character in a high nobility party.  They were the heroes and I was the zero  . 

Here were the starting abilities of my human character:
Str: 9 + 2
Dex: 18
Con: 16
Int: 15 – 2
Wis: 10
Cha: 9

Bloodline: Commoner
Nationality: British
Nobility: 37

*Note – commoner bloodline gives +2 to Str or Con, -2 to Int, +1 feat (with 20+d10 starting nobility)

I was level 2 Yeoman and level 2 Knight before turned into a Centaur

Feats I had:
Point Blank Shot, +1 Archery, Animal Affinity, Heritage of Nobility, Track, Improved Initiative, +1 Mounted Combat, Aura of Knighthood, Weapon Focus (Great Sword), Armor Tolerance +1, Knight’s Warhorse, and Ride by Attack.

Fate:
To be a knight (Completed)
To save a great lady (Chosen after shooting multiple females as my destiny)

Character Concept:
First I wanted to be a skillful ranged character, but I soon learned that shooting in honorable fights means BAD reputation and LOWER nobility.  Therefore, I decided to become a knight just like the rest of the party.  The fun of this character was the process that I had to go through to become a real knight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Current Character Info:
Level 7 character
Level 1 Knight

Race: Centaur (Large Size) +8 Str, +4 Dex, +4 Con, -2 Int, 4HD creature

Centaur Abilities:
Str: 20
Dex: 22
Con: 20
Int: 11
Wis: 12
Cha: 9

Nobility: 73 (3rd highest in party)

Centaur has great abilities for fighter type characters.  However, this is a story role-playing campaign.  I thought my Centaur wouldn’t be able to fit in the story.  I was sooooo worried.

HP: 69
AC: 20
Initiative: +10
Fortitude Save: +8
Reflex Save: +10
Will Save: +5

Melee Attack: +11/+6
Ranged Attack: +12/+7

Attacks:
2 hooves – 1d6+5 damage, +11 to hit
Great Sword (master work) – 3d6+7 damage, +13/+8 to hit

Composite Long Bow (master work) – 2d6 damage, +13/+8 to hit (Bow had returned to family after I was knighted.  No more destiny points can be used to shoot a lady in the back)  

Feats:
Track, Ride by Attack, Animal Affinity, Heritage of Nobility, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (Great Sword), and Power Attack

Allegiances:
Oath of Fealty, Oath of Loyalty, and Code of Chivalry

Fate:
To save a great lady (Completed, but there are more ladies to be saved)
To be human again (story purpose)

Items:
Great Sword (m.w.)
Great Axe
Chain Shirt with chain barding (m.w.)
Silver Horse Shoes
Cold Iron Horse Shoes
Other Gears: backpack, blankets, ropes, waterskin, etc...

Magical Items:
Circular Amulet with 6 different color buttons (black, blue, green, red, purple, and white) – currently embedded in my left shoulder
It allows me to cast Haste 2x per day for 8 rounds each as a free action, and many other things that I don't know....


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## Toby of Kusman (Dec 13, 2004)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> I think I have to beef up my monsters, though.  On the one hand Sir Toby the centaur nearly died against the giant.  But on the other hand he never felt the need to use his haste power, so the later battles were not too much of a sweat for him.  So dragons, dragons, dragons!  And giants too!  NOW we are in the Arthurian mythos, baby!




It was a challenge I declared against the giant.  I wouldn't use any magic to my advantage in an honorable fight! 

For King Anguish!


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## Particle_Man (Dec 13, 2004)

D'oh!  And I forgot to add nobility for you!  Remind me next game to do that (and for other combatants (Blue knight, White Knight), except perhaps Red -- did Prince Caius take the shot on the giant when his back was turned, going after those pesky archers?).


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## Námo (Dec 13, 2004)

Thanks again for your story hour, and thanks to you all for posting your characters. This is a fun experience...

[Except for words like "do not expect updates until next year" :  ]

Obviously you all are having great fun with your game. And it shows.

And, Sir Toby, I'm very glad you would not stoop to unfair magical aid in honorable combat. Your chosen fate is quite a clever solution to the serial killer problem you got at the beginnning of the story.  

EDIT: apparently  and "]" conspire to get the following result ]
So "preview" is your friend, or you have a lot of editing to do


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## LadyK (Dec 15, 2004)

*Lady Christine's Stats*

Character Name: Lady Christine of the Clan O'Brian
Player: LadyK
Bloodline: Peerage (Lesser Nobility)
Nationality: Scottish
Class: Hedge Mage
Level: 4

*Basic Stats*

Hit Points: 27
Armour Class: 13
Initiative: +2

Strength: 8
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 18
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 16

Spell Points: 18

*Saving Throws*

Fortitude: +5
Reflex: +5
Will: +4

*Attacks* - _and yet I'm more successful with the morningstar than the crossbow_ 

Melee: +1
Ranged: +4

*Skills* - _best or most relied on_ 

Bluff
Gather Information 
Handle Animal
Heal - _low modifier, but I have a first aid kit_
Intimidate
Prophecy - _working on this one!_
Ride
Spellcraft

*Feats*

Spell Focus Enchantment
Power Surge x2

*Items*

Morningstar
Dagger x10 - _I like throwing these_ 
Magic Dagger w/ +1 to hit
Light Crossbow and Bolts

Magic Ring w/ +1 armour
Magic Cloak w/ + something to armour. - _Have so never used this_
Magic Bracelets of Feather Fall

Lantern and Oil
Healer's Kit
Rope


----
"The Fair Damsel hath rescued the Good Sir Knight. Again."


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## LadyK (Dec 15, 2004)

*Lady Christine's Familiar*

Name: The Weasel - _really, he doesn't need any more specific name_ 
Type: Dire Weasel
Size: Medium
Colour: White

*Basic Stats*

Hit Points: 13
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40ft
Armour Class: 16

Strength: 14
Dexterity: 19
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 11

*Attacks*

Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+4
Attack: Bite +6 (1d6+3)
Special Attack: Attach, Blood Drain

*Saves*

Fortitude: +3
Reflex: +7
Will: +4

*Feats*
Alertness
Stealthy
Weapon Finnesse
Carries Touch Spells
Empathic Link

Adds +2 to Lady Christine's Spot and Listen checks
Adds +2 to Lady Christine's Reflex save

----
"So I now have an *arctic* dire weasel familiar?? crazy DM"


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## LadyK (Dec 16, 2004)

Sir_Andrew said:
			
		

> Friar Hobb and the miracles of Prince Hamilton and Lady Christine's pet reassure me that our cause is right and just, and that the One God watches and protects us.




Pet, Sir Andrew? PET?? You do disservice to so noble a companion.  Yet you do not know him as I do, and thus you cannot rightly judge his worth. And you do him honor in praising him, and thanking him for his aid in battle, and so I forgive you the slight. You are, it is true, more courteous to him than some others of our party, and I do apologize if, due to your greater nobility, I have come to hold you in too high of an expectation.

My companion is no pet, he cannot be bought nor sold, and he is loyal to me because he wishes to be, not because I have tamed or trained him. He may indeed be a miracle, or as was once suggested, a gift from a greater power. I cannot tell; I am a lady of this world and no other, practical more than holy, who knows much about some things, yet very little of far more. What I do know is that this weasel has saved my life, given me comfort, hunted with me, played with me, and shown me beauty. No pet, he.

Forgive me, I pray, if I am too passionate in my convictions or, because, mayhap, of certain events in my past, too quick in my condemnations. Forgive me, also, if I stay too long on a subject.

----
"I have PMS and a crossbow. Any questions?"


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## Námo (Dec 16, 2004)

Yet more character goodness. Excellent.


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## Aidoku (Dec 18, 2004)

Name: Lianne
Alias: Fox
Gender: Female
Race: Elf
Class: Minstrel
Level: 7
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 98 lbs
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Grey
Skin: Milky White

Nobility: 54
HP: 39
AC: 16
Max Spell Points: 10

Str: 10
Dex: 16
Con: 10
Int: 18
Wis: 16
Cha: 18

Fort: +5
Ref: +5
Will: +8

Melee: +5
Ranged: +8

*Feats*
Heritage of Nobility
Improved Initiative
Ordination

*Oft Used Skills*
Bluff: +14
Diplomacy: +18
Gather Info: +14
Hide: +9
Knowledge (Fey): +7
Move Silently: +9
Perform (Lyre), (Singing): +14
Sense Motive: +13
Slight of Hand: +11

*Equipment*
Studded Leather, Masterwork
Composite Longbow, Masterwork
Rapier (back to using this after giving the masterwork Longsword I acquired to Sir Anton after he threw his into a burning thatch roofed cottage... long story)
Faerie Ring - _functions as wands of Faerie Fire and Cure Light Wounds, as well as a means of communication with the Fey Realm._
Statue of Black Horse - _picked it up after the false Sir Andrew was defeated by the real Sir Andrew in the joust.  Turns into a real horse on command.  Nobody's asked me about it so I haven't said anything.  _
6 Potions of Cure Light Wounds
A number of "gifts" ( :\ ) from Baronet Roderick, including a gown, an intricate copper chain, and a filigreed silver ring.

*Destiny*
To prove humanity has value.
_It's not going so well._


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## Aidoku (Dec 18, 2004)

LadyK said:
			
		

> Pet, Sir Andrew? PET?? You do disservice to so noble a companion.  Yet you do not know him as I do, and thus you cannot rightly judge his worth. And you do him honor in praising him, and thanking him for his aid in battle, and so I forgive you the slight. You are, it is true, more courteous to him than some others of our party, and I do apologize if, due to your greater nobility, I have come to hold you in too high of an expectation.
> 
> My companion is no pet, he cannot be bought nor sold, and he is loyal to me because he wishes to be, not because I have tamed or trained him. He may indeed be a miracle, or as was once suggested, a gift from a greater power. I cannot tell; I am a lady of this world and no other, practical more than holy, who knows much about some things, yet very little of far more. What I do know is that this weasel has saved my life, given me comfort, hunted with me, played with me, and shown me beauty. No pet, he.
> 
> ...




Calmly Lady Christine, calmly.  I'm sure that Sir Andrew meant no offence at his remark.  As you have no doubt noticed, he can be somewhat thoughtless at times.  Of course, this can be forgiven as he is striving to be the epitome of the Christian knight; with his eyes fixed so firmly upon the heavens, it is only natural that us mere mortals clustered at his feet should suffer his occasional misstep.  Our noble Sir Knight is too just and true to wish us any sort of harm, be it emotional or physical.  He will undoubtedly be looking out for our best interests as he hands us over to the Inquisition to be burned as witches.  But then, he would never do such a thing, would he?  Is he not sworn to defend our honour and reputation, as are the other knights?  Would not an accusation such as this be a base and vile thing?  

Ah, but I have wandered from the origin of this discourse.  Pray forgive me as well, Lady Christine, for I have a tendency to speak overlong as well; an occupational hazard, if you will.


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## Sir_Andrew (Dec 21, 2004)

*Serve the One God Above All Others.*

Name:  Sir Andrew Huntingdon
Titles:  Defender of the Faith, Order of the Dove, Servitor of King Anguish, Special Deputy to Baron Ivo.
Motto:  To make the metal strong, you must remove the impurities.

Class:  Knight
Level:  7
Bloodline:  Lesser Nobility
Nationality:  English

Fate Points:  6
Gender:  Male
Height:  5' 10"
Weight:  175lbs
Eyes:  Blue
Hair:  Brown
Age:  19
Skin:  White

Strength:  16 +3
Dexterity:  14 +2
Constitution:  18 +4
Intelligence:  11 +0
Wisdom:  13 +1
Charisma:  13 +1

Hit Points:  112
Nobility:  76
Renown DC:  25

Armour Class:  23
                          10  Base
                            8  Full Plate (Formerly of the false Sir Andrew)
                            3  Shield of the One God (Heavy Steel Shield +1,
                                                                        Heal Nobility/5 Hit Points
                                                                         1/day, Automatic)
                            2  Dexterity
Touch AC:  12
Flat Footed AC:  18

Initiative:  +2
Fortitude Save:  +9 = 5 + 4
Reflex Save:  +4 = 2 + 2
Will Save:  +3 = 2 + 1

Melee:  (+10/+5) = (+7/+2) + 3
Ranged:  (+9/+4) = (+7/+2) + 2

Longsword, Masterwork 
Attack:  +11/+6 (+13/+8, Mounted)
Damage:  1d8 + 3
Critical:  19-20/x2

Lance, Heavy Masterwork
Attack:  +11/+6 (+13/+8, Mounted)
Damage:  1d10 + 3
Critical:  x3

Lance, Jousting
Attack:  +10/+5 (+12/+7, Mounted)
Damage:  1d8* + 3*
Critical:  *

Handle Animal:  +9 = 1(Cha) + 4(Ranks) + 2(Rebel) + 2(Mounted Combat)
Knowledge(Nobility & Royalty):  +5 = 0(Int) + 5(Ranks)
Knowledge(Religion):  +7 = 0(Int) + 5(Ranks) + 2(Can't Remember)
Ride:  +14 = 2(Dex) + 6(Ranks) + 2(Bred to the Saddle) + 2(Rebel) + 2(Mounted Combat)

Allegiances
Oath of Fealty(King Anguish)
Code of Chivalry

Feats/Special Abilities
Faith
Mounted Combat
Bred to the Saddle
Aura of Knighthood
Mounted Combat +2
Armour Tolerance +3
Knight's Warhorse(Rebel)
Piety
Ride by Attack
Dispense Justice
Spirited Charge
Ordination
Trample


Rebel
Knight's Warhorse
Heavy Warhorse(Wild, Endurance, Improved Initiative, +2 Ride/Handle Animal)
Large Animal
Hit Dice:  10d8 + 40 (85)
Initiative:  +4 = 1(Dex) + 3(Improved Initiative)
Speed: 70'

Armour Class:  20
                          10  Base
                           -1  Size
                          +1 Dexterity
                          +9  Natural Armour
                          +2  Barding(Leather)

Base Attack/Grapple:  (+7/+2)/+15
Attack(Hoof): +11/+6 (1d6+4)
Attack(Bite):  +6 (1d4+2)
Space/Reach:  10'/5'

Special Qualities:
Low Light Vision, Scent, +2 Ride/Handle Animal, Improved Speed, Devotion

Saves:
Fort: +13, Reflex: +10, Will:  +5

Abilities:
STR: 18, DEX: 13, CON: 18, INT: 2, WIS: 13, CHA: 6

Skills:
Listen:  +9, Spot: +6

Feats:
Endurance, Run, Improved Initiative(+3), Great Fortitude, Lightning Reflexes, Iron Will.


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## Sir_Andrew (Dec 21, 2004)

*To err is human, to forgive is divine.*

Lady Christine, 

I humbly apologise for any slight I have made toward your companion. Clearly, your feelings run deep for your weasel and I was not sensitive to them. Our party and myself in particular owe you and your weasel a great deal of respect.  

May the One God guide and protect you.


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## Sir_Andrew (Dec 21, 2004)

*Let he who is without...*

Lady Leanne,

I thank you for pointing out my shortcomings.  My contemplation upon the One God has distracted me from the effect my example is having upon the party.  From your words, it is clear that I have commmitted the sins of pride and vanity. I will strive to redeem myself in my companions' and the One God's eyes.  I have seen that evil and its servants can take many guises, even my own, and I cannot allow appearances or emotions to guide my hand in this battle against darkness anymore. Rest assured Lady Leanne, with the help of the One God I shall root out and destroy the evil that would plague mankind with misery.

Once again, you have my gratitude for setting me back upon the path of righteousness.

May the One God bless and keep you.


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## Particle_Man (Dec 23, 2004)

Oh, I forgot to mention that during the 36 ghoul fight, Lady Christine mysteriously kept accidentally hitting (with her missle weapon) the centaur, Sir Toby (I love destiny points...I love them so much I might let other players spend fate points to Sir Andrew the Statue's benefit and let him pick up the bill in destiny points...haven't decided that yet, though -- maybe it is more noble to pay for someone else's benefit and take the hit in destiny yourself).

And I have ideas about Sir Andrew now.      It will go easier for him if he spends more fate points, of course.

Anyhow, for posts, I think we have had Sir Anton, Sir Andrew, Sir Toby, Lady Leanne, & Lady Christine.  I don't think we have had Prince Caius yet and I know we ain't getting Prince Hammoton.  Still, I hope it gives some idea of where they are at.

Note that advancement is very fast in my games (and I pull crazy stunts like changing a character's race), so the stats you see may be obsolete in a while.

Oh yeah, I feel guilty about fogetting about nobility point awards.  I think I will have to do it after each battle so I don't forget (and also have players remind me when it comes up in non-combat situations).  I am slacking there, and nobility is a big part of the game so I shouldn't.


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## Námo (Dec 23, 2004)

Up to date characters or no, I like them. Good work there... 
And anyway: Merry Christmas to all players and the DM. As Sir Anton would say "Fröhliche Weihnachten!"


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## LadyK (Jan 3, 2005)

Sir Andrew,

Oh, you're a darling, so I've already forgiven you.


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## Particle_Man (Jan 4, 2005)

*Sweet like Rock Candy?*

I know that the recently petrified Sir Andrew can sometimes seem a bit stiff and hard-headed, but he is also a pillar of strength.  And that is enough statue jokes.  

I am back!  See y'all saturday!


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## Particle_Man (Jan 9, 2005)

Good thing there is this story hour!  I had to review it myself to remember what was what.

We had a late start (fire alarm went off) and an early finish (bad weather made us want to take the bus sooner not later), but got some gaming done.  Sir Andrew, Sir Anton and Prince Hammoton were not appearing in this episode, so I used a new explanation to get rid of ‘em (can’t use Titania when she is imprisoned, and Auberon’s powers are unreliable).  So I had one of the mini-“statues” crack open, releasing some insects that seemed nasty.  Lady Leanne cast a gust of wind spell to get rid of them, and one of them flew at the device in Sir Toby’s shoulder, setting off a ray that hit the “non-present characters” and shrank them and their horses to tiny size.  So the party carried them around in an envelope of parchment.  And now they wonder about the other “Statues”, some of which might be at the wedding, and perhaps one of which “Magnus?” is at Castle Anguish.  The party later cracked open another mini-statue to find little black balls that did not burn (but could be cut).  They think they gathered all the little black balls up.  (For those who can guess what these are, note that my guys have red eyes instead of green because red eyes is iconic for EEEEEEEVIL!).

They were traveling to the Lady of the Lake, but on the way there were attacked by some Cath Palug (big mean cats).  One of them roared and summoned others out of thin air!  (Changeling prestige class allows Summon Nature’s Ally while in animal form, as well as rage).  Anyhow, the party trashed them (and to think I was worried the encounter would be too hard!), especially with Toby as powerhouse.  But then the “main” cat turned into…a woman!  (Sir Toby’s destiny at work?).  Oh, and Lady Leanne found two black pearls on her (remember the pearls?).  They saved her, and realized that she was the former Fox who was thrown out of the druid’s grove in the dreaming wood for being too violent.  They spared her but kept her unconscious and tried to find some other druids near them.  They did, at the silver spring, but since druids are mainly pacifists in my world (otherwise they would take it over!), they (the spokeman's name was Sandy Hawkins) didn’t know what to do with her.  The party then woke her, while she was tied up and with swords at her throat, and offered to let her live if she answered some questions and promised not to bother any of Anguish’s subjects.  She agreed and told them that she got the pearls from the dragon Arumtinivorax (a big red one) in exchange for helping some Saxons trash a small village.  And her attack on Lady Leanne (the new Fox) was personal.  She also revealed herself as a zealot, violently against the new faith of Christianity.  The party then let her go, trusting her to keep her word (and she seemed to be honest, according to the sense motive checks).

Then the party arrived at the place where Lady Leanne dreamed the Hag would be (and had dreamed similarly for the last three nights!).  And they arrived just in time (sort of!).  Lady Leanne overheard the beginning of the conversation!  They tried to sneak up to see if they could catch a glimpse of the Hag’s companion, but were heard and so found no one there.  Perhaps the Hag will not be there now.  They did find footprints indicating a Hag and someone with soft, courtly shoes…

They then arrived at the Lady of the Lake, who took the mini-knights and said she would try to “fix” them, but it would take time, since the artifact was so very powerful.  I think that we left it with the party traveling back to Baron Ivo’s for the wedding between Prince Lucius and Lady Brigit.

A new player may be joining the group next time as a druid, but he can only make it for the latter part of each session.  I have an idea of a druid from ancient times, sent into Toby’s artifact long ago to guard against the return of Albion.  But since Toby isn’t a master of his artifact, and since the artifact seems to be a little “off”, the druid now gets summoned and unsummoned at what will seem to the party to be random intervals.  Maybe this will work, and it could give more info on the giant Albion.

I am still wondering if druid spell lists are too "Blaster" for the Arthurian mythos.  I did prune down Summon Nature's Ally to take out a lot of the extra-planar stuff, since that stuff simply doesn't exist (except for some demons, which druids don't deal with via this spell).

Oh yeah, I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but Consecrate and Bless Water are useful spells if you have undead and no one in the world has the ability to turn them.  Just so you know.  We found this out in the 36 ghoul fight, when Hobb was looking for something to do (well, he didn’t do Bless Water, but I thought it would have helped too).


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## Toby of Kusman (Jan 15, 2005)

Centaur is BROKEN.



			
				Particle_Man said:
			
		

> But then the “main” cat turned into…a woman!  (Sir Toby’s destiny at work?).




Well... it IS my destiny that I will always accidentally hit a woman or hit a woman without knowing it.  At least I didn't kill her.  Thanks, God.  I love subdual damages, it saves me so many times.  Centaur is BROKEN.



			
				Particle_Man said:
			
		

> A new player may be joining the group next time as a druid, but he can only make it for the latter part of each session.  I have an idea of a druid from ancient times, sent into Toby’s artifact long ago to guard against the return of Albion.  But since Toby isn’t a master of his artifact, and since the artifact seems to be a little “off”, the druid now gets summoned and unsummoned at what will seem to the party to be random intervals.  Maybe this will work, and it could give more info on the giant Albion.




I have wanted a Druid cohort for so long.  He is my cohort, right?  Hehe.

Did I mention Centaur is BROKEN?


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## Particle_Man (Jan 16, 2005)

Hmmm...well the Lady of the Lake was able to cure the might mini-knights eventually, and sent them to join their friends, who had been led by Auberon to a snowy Fairyland.  Meanwhile, Sir Andrew was visited by an angel and told that as Knight of the Pearl he must learn patience.  His statue is now mobile, but he looks kind of pearly and is kind of rocky (+6 Natural Armor, but moves at half speed and only one action per turn (like a zombie, I guess).  Auberon gave the party a book that looked like the one Candar the Wily used to raise his wife.  Auberon called it a book of Quarrels and wants the party to get it to Albion, without making it look too obvious.  Also, Auberon broke some branches with blue flames off of a tree and gave them to the party telling them that he dreamed that they would need these.  They are cold fire branches (they do 1d6 cold, or 2d6 cold vs. fire creatures, but you don't add str. -- it is as if you had the sword with frost enhancement, but without the sword).

Party gets sent back almost on target, runs into the NUN!  She is drunk and doesn't recognize them.  She drops hints to a disguised Lady Leanne that her mistress is scared of the "Spectral Knights" that she has seen in a dream that will one day oppose her (the party hasn't yet all become spectral, so this is a future vision).  She regrets what she has done (she has a ring of Albion's service on her finger) and is trying to find the party and help them slightly by giving them info on the Fingerbones of Christ, said to cure all ills (she knows that one of the party is a centaur, and another a dwarf, and thinks they might want their humanity back).  Leanne gets her a room and leaves her in a drunken stupor, but Caius robs her of the map to the Fingerbones.

On the road, the pack containing the statue arms started moving and bursts open to reveal two rapidly growing wasps!  They start combat large and get to huge.  The party finished them off without too much trouble.

At the castle of Baron Ivo, things heat up.  Ivo is still coughing, but is warned by Caius to give warning to all the land about these statues.  Some at the castle here are found and destroyed (whew!).  Then the party splits up and some go shopping for wedding gifts.  Hobbs tries to remove disease on Baron Ivo, which causes the swarm of insects inside him to spew out in a torrent!  Lady Leanne arrives on the scene and they hold the wasps off enough with wind spells and coldfire branches that Caius and older brother Lucius can arrive and help.  Ivo is left alive, but isn't conscious, despite all that everyone can do.

Meanwhile, Prince Hammoton links up with the dwarf goldsmith that married Faith the smith's daughter and finds out that Gotch the Giant was murdered last week!  Hammoton also sets up his messenger/spy network through the smith and the fool.

Then youngest daughter anastasia is kidnapped by a Black Knight.  Trouble is 4 black knights flee in four different directions with blond women.  The party thinks to use a wolf to scent the correct trail (south).  Also, a new Legion of White Knights (12 in number) is heard of, so the party sends for help from them and they arrive after the wedding.

And Queen Morgan arrives (yay!  she's so nice!).  Leanne shares info about the nun with her as a possible lead to find the mysterious enchantress helping Albion.

The wedding takes place.  And then the party is deputized to find and rescue the princess.  The party found a note with a lock of golden hair asking for a 50 000 gp ransom!

So we leave the party with White Knights in tow, about to go south now that the wedding is done.

Also, the druid was introduced.  Formerly a powerful druid, she has lost a lot of power (less gods around) so is only 5th level.  she was stored in Toby's device, and comes out of it (as do her horse and wolf!).  She is confused by what she sees, but knows that her purpose is to fight Albion, since she was stored there against the day of his return.  She looks at the night sky and calculates that she has been stored for between 6 000 and 12 000 years.

Can't remember what else, but the party can fill in what I missed.

Oh, Brigit wasn't thrilled about the wedding, but was less thrilled about taking orders from Acting Baron Roderick.  She wanted to escape to Fairyland, but Leanne said that was a bad idea right now.

Oh, and Leanne has crows feet!  The dwarf smith has grey hairs!  The fey are beginning to age...


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## Particle_Man (Jan 16, 2005)

One game note:  I had thought about replacing a family member of Baron Ivo's with a Simulacrim, but then discovered that the spell does not exist in the Arthurian game.  I decided that I would remain true to the Arthurian Mythos and do something else.  It is the first time I deliberately limited myself in order to fit the mythos.  Mind you, I did put in a slightly modified (long "gestation" period) Hellwasp Swarm coming out of Baron Ivo...


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## Particle_Man (Jan 16, 2005)

Little tidbits:

The wedding bouquet:  Since Lady Leanne was a lady in waiting (and since it would be funny) I had us both roll a d20 to see if she would unwillingly catch the bouquet.  We both rolled 17.  The dice can be great like that.

Also, in Fairyland, Sir Anton expressed misgivings about the Book of Quarrels being secretly slipped to Albion.  "This sounds like trickery, Lord Auberon!"  To which Auberon replied "Oh no, not trickery, merely a bit of misdirection and subtlety."  This satisfied Sir Anton and all was well.  (It got a double take from the player of Sir Andrew, though).

And Roderick has not given up on his pursuit of Lady Leanne, even though, sadly, she won't give him the time of day.


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## Shadowleaf (Jan 17, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> I have wanted a Druid cohort for so long.  He is my cohort, right?  Hehe.




Keep it up Centaur and I will be forced to hurt you. I can and will send a pack of wolves after you if I have to... or maybe i'll just carbonize you...i'll have to think on it.

Cassandra


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## Particle_Man (Jan 18, 2005)

Oh, good news, Prince Caius will be posting character stats when he gets around to it.  Hopefully Cassandra the druid from ancient times will post character stats as well.  Maybe Prince Hammoton will too one day...


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## Roman (Jan 19, 2005)

I just want to welcome all my fellow players who have started posting in this thread.  

BTW: Sir Anton is still not too happy about the possibility of using 'subterfuge' (trickery) to slip the book to Albion, but sees no point arguing about it now, since he does not believe it will be relevant in the near future given that in his eyes there are more immediate troubles to deal with (he does not yet comprehend the disaster in Fairyland - not having been briefed on it by members of the group with knowledge of such).


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## Námo (Jan 20, 2005)

The story gets even better, it seems. Druids from ancient times can be fun, I'd wager


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## Particle_Man (Jan 24, 2005)

The troupe goes South, with 12 White Knights in tow.  The first night, the White Knights all stay up all night, none wanting to admit weakness before the others.  In addition, they talk about initiating Sir Andrew into their ranks.  Lady Leanne actually has to use her minstrel suggestion ability on Sir Andrew to make sure he gets enough sleep!  

Then they start the first part of the initiation process, during a watch (it is to be bare-handed fighting, then swords, then lances).  11 of the Knights form a circle around Sir Andrew and the 12th takes him on.  But takes off his gauntlet first to reveal a clawed hand…

Yes, that’s right!  The White Knights are, in fact, Wight Knights (I can’t resist a good pun).  This is the real reason they didn’t sleep (this is what we in the DM business call a Clue).  So 8 of them go for Sir Andrew and the other 4 go for other characters.  Much combat ensues.  Since the Knights are wearing armor, they have serious armor check penalties.  This means that they actually only ever his Lady Christine (once) and Sir Andrew 3 times (they needed natural 20’s but would have needed that even without the armor check penalty).  Oh, the Wights also boast that they killed the giant Gotch.

After the battle, Hobb helps Lady Christine, and Sir Andrew toughs it out and makes his saves the next day (with an Endurance spell to help out).

After that, we are introduced to Sir Arbutus (a one-shot knight I stole right out of the back of the book under NPC knights when a player wanted to try out the game). He is charged by Baron Roderick to help in the quest, and was given the fastest horse to catch up.  And to report to Baron Roderick the events that transpired, of course.

He also reports good news and bad.  Sir Mordred apparently showed up and did well at the wedding tournament, winning all three events.  But Baron Ivo passed away.

Oh, Sir Anton’s player and Prince Hammoton’s player show up, mid-battle.  King Auberon’s magic misfired, and sent Sir Anton to the Arctic (a natural one followed by the same number on a d8 as sent Lady Leanne there earlier – go figure).  He chops a hole in the ice and calls on the Lady of the Lake.  Some fate points later, he gets back to her, and then she sends him to his friends.

The party has more dreams.  Of Auberon talking to Cassandra about the dangerous alliance, segwaying into an attack on Camelot by giants riding dragons, and a sorceress leading a pack of Wights.  Arthur dies, and Camelot falls, in the dream.  Also, the sorceress is seen in another dream talking to the young nun, saying “I am disappointed in you”.  The nun screams.  The sorceress’s face is still not seen (a mirror takes the place of the face).  The voice sounds familiar to Lady Leanne, though she can’t quite place it.

The group then travels on the trail of the black knight, and come to a large paved clearing surrounding a tower.  A man in black armor, with a black shield, on a brown horse, introduces himself a Melvin, a bastard son of Baron Ivo, and asks who dares to challenge him.  Sir Arbutus takes up the challenge.  Ladies Leanne and Christine cheat like m…that is, they offer their favors to Sir Arbutus and cast spells to buff him up (while he is blissfully unaware).  They get their horses lined up for a joust, charges, and then…Sir Arbutus’s horse (and he) fall into a 10 x 10 x 80 pit covered up by an illusion.  The Black Knight’s horse flies over and attacks Sir Andrew!  The horse is now revealed as black, with flaming hooves and mane, and the ability to breathe smoke!  Like something out of a Nightmare!

Since the horse can fly, this puts the party at a disadvantage.  But Lady Christine casts a fly spell on Sir Andrew’s horse, Rebel.  Meanwhile, the Black Knight has nearly killed Hobb and has wounded Cassandra the druid (basically, I did attacks on the people on the ends of the line the party was in, observing the “joust”.  Cassandra changes into an eagle and gets a devastating Chill Metal off on the Black Knight.

Eventually, it is mano-mano between the Black Knight and Sir Andrew, with others contributing arrows, spells, etc.  A Wind Wall helps to dispel the smoke of the Nightmare.

Some party members go into the tower to try to rescue people.  Inside the cellar they find a blond woman whom they are suspicious of as being unfamiliar.  She is escorted out and runs to the protection of Sir Arbutus (who is finally out of the pit, being helped by Lady Leanne, a rope, and the horse Justice).  They also find the Nun!  (The young one).  She is in a locked room.  Upstairs, they find a room with 6 ducks, a room with an expensive mantle (like a cloak, but fancier), and a room with Lady Anastasia, younger sister of Baron Roderick.  (The ducks were Anastasia’s and effectively held as hostage to her coming with Melvin, and her good behaviour).  The mantle is made of velvet and covered in jewels.  Fit for a king.

“You shall fall” – This is what Sir Andrew says after he has been brought to negative hit points and healed by his shield.  He then rolls 2 natural 20’s in a row – a crit, which knocks the Black Knight unconscious!   I don’t know how he does it, but he consistently pulls this off when the chips are down against the big bad evil guy.  After that, there is the mopping up of the Green Hag (the blond woman) and the Nightmare.  The ladder is taunted by Caius to come to the Tower.  And it flies, disappears, and reappears in the tower!  Then Caius cuts off the dead body of the Black Knight with a lucky blow to the saddle strap.  And he uses a grappling hook and rope to jump out the window.  The Nightmare bites the rope, but Lady Leanne on Justice catches Prince Caius.  The Nightmare decides it has had enough for now, and disappears.

The ducks are fine.  Just thought people might be concerned.

Then there is the interview of the nun, whom the party distrusts.  She says that she was a prisoner because she was trying to break away from her evil mistress, whom she could not name because of her enchantment.  She had stolen the mantle to try to get it to King Arthur to protect him, but she was caught.  She entreats the party to deliver the mantle to King Arthur to save him from the spells of her mistress. Then, to prove herself truthful, she takes off her ring, and turns into a pile of sand, which blows away in a sudden whirlwind.

Things of note:  It is really hard to balance things out.  I went for a 12th level villain (fighter 7/black knight 5), which would have killed the party if less people were there.  As it was, it was a near thing for Sir Andrew.  Sir Toby (the tank of the party) was the only one absent this time, although some people were a bit late.  Also, I was a bit worried that party members that didn’t have anything to do were a bit bored at times.  And it did take a while to prep. the villain.  

The party has enough people that leveled up that now we have the prestige classes kicking in.  So we have Red, Blue, Green, White and Purple Knights!  The Spectral Knights live!  Time to throw in some more dragons…

Oh, I used the “dreamtime” to power up a lot of the magic items of the party.  Caius got improved evasion and the 3x/day feint as a free action on his sword.  Sir Anton got fire resistance 10 and +1 saves on his armor.  Prince Hammoton’s mace is noble, and allows him to intimidate as a free action 3x/day.  Lady Leanne’s ring allows her to use touch spells as short ranged attacks, 3x/day.  Cassandra has a staff that is in permanent Shillelagh mode.  Oh, and Lady Christine was in fairyland and gambled away her ability to cry, but has gained a 5 point mana stone.  Sir Andrew and Sir Toby are buff enough, thanks (although I did speed up Sir Andrew’s speech to normal, so…that…he…no… longer…talked…slow…all…the…time).  And Lady Christine has her super-weasel for her main “item”.


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## Particle_Man (Jan 24, 2005)

On reflection, the Nightmare probably should have attacked Rebel (Sir Andrew's temporarily flying horse) but 1) Hindsight is 20/20, and I am not a tactical thinker, and 2) Hey the horse was a demon, and so hated white knights, or would-be white knights.


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## LadyK (Jan 25, 2005)

The weasel now has cold-iron claws and teeth. Someone's gonna be pissed next time we show up in faeryland.

In an unrelated note, he's been complaining that Lady Leanne is being less affectionate. I told him he might have more success if he stops trying to jump on her. He sometimes forgets how big he is now.


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## Shadowleaf (Jan 26, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> Meanwhile, the Black Knight has nearly killed Hobb and has wounded Cassandra the druid (basically, I did attacks on the people on the ends of the line the party was in, observing the “joust”.  Cassandra changes into an eagle and gets a devastating Chill Metal off on the Black Knight.




Chilled and crispy knights are fun. BK picked the wrong girl to piss off that time. Mess with me and you mess with Mother Nature, best be prepaired to get bolted, burned and/or frozen. 

Hm...Maybe i'll feed his remains to my wolf...bit of a waste to leave perfectly good meat lying around...he he he....


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## Shadowleaf (Jan 26, 2005)

Good weasel...(pets weasel) Good weasel...(pet pet...)

Good job killing the hag. Keep up the good work.

Keep doing what you normally do and i'm going to make sure you never fall to negative HP.


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## Particle_Man (Jan 26, 2005)

Hmmm...something indicates that Druids were perhaps not quite so peaceful millennia ago as they are now.


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## Aidoku (Jan 29, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> Hmmm...something indicates that Druids were perhaps not quite so peaceful millennia ago as they are now.




I'm not so sure.  I think that this one's brains curdled because it was improperly stored.  Maybe it wasn't cool enough in that amulet, or perhaps too damp.


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## Particle_Man (Jan 30, 2005)

Things happen quickly…Off camera I decide to spend some of the destiny points I have been saving up.  25 points go to Sir Anton (he will find out about that later).  10 points on Prince Hammoton.  And, later in the game, 20 points on Sir Andrew.  Time to add a wee bit of tragedy, seasoned with dark humour.

The party finds 4 500 gp in the castle, and starts home.  They rescue a priest named Brother One-Shot…er…Brother Robert (I picked the name but it was actually the one-shot player’s real middle name, unbeknownst to be.  I be psychic today!)  They heal up and during the night Lady Christine has a dream.  She sees the dead giant Gotch’s ghost, along with the ghost of a beautiful lady.  They say they are dead but wish to help her and her friends before they “join with the earth”.  In a pool of water, the lady shoes a scene of a young dark-haired girl with a mirror face (a la the mirror-faced sorceress) crying, and saying she doesn’t want to leave.  Her mother (dark faced, can’t make out features) says it is for the best that her new husband doesn’t see the daughter around, and a nunnery will be good for her.  The mother has a broach that has a white heron on a blue background.  Later, the daughter is seen alone, swearing to kill her stepfather and all that spring from his loins.  Then the Giant and Lady start to fade, and the Lady says “Please tell Sir Anton that I do not blame his brothers”.  

Note that Lady Christine has never met the Lady of the Lake to the North that is the partron of Sir Anton.

But dreams are dreams, and the party awakes and continues home and gets attacked by a chimera (advanced to Huge, just to make it interesting).  Combat ensues.  Sir Toby stays out of it, and gains nobility for not ganging up on the monster (and trying to warn the party not to be so close together, since it was breathing fire).  Sir Arbutus the not-so-noble is totally killed, as is the weasel familiar of Lady Christine.  Guess who is mourned more?  One reincarnation later (and with Sir Andrew praying and spending fate points), the weasel is reincarnated as a White Hart.  With cold iron hooves and antlers, of course.

The party is met by a troop of refugees from Prince Hammoton’s father’s castle.  Apparently, the castle has completely disappeared, with a magical mist descending and then lifting, leaving only bare earth behind!  Prince Hammoton controls his fears bravely.  (Oh, and this helps introduce a lot of followers – the leadership feat taking effect).

On the way back, Sir Andrew, during his watch, sees that Rebel has somehow broken free.  He goes to reclaim his horse, but then sees that it is not Rebel but a Nightmare, and he is dragged to hell to fight her.  I used the Big version in the MM to kick Sir Andrew’s sorry butt.  He is knocked unconscious.

Then “Sir Andrew” and “Rebel” come out of the woods.  [hee hee]

The (very large!) party returns to Baron Roderick’s.  King Anguish is still there, as are Sir Mordred and Queen Morgan le Fay.  The cloak rescued from the castle is presented to Mordred by Prince Caius, who gives it to Queen Morgan to present to Arthur (He is on a quest to seek out dragons).

Baron Roderick asks Prince Caius for help with the mines to the north.  And since Prince Hammoton’s missing castle is further north, Caius decides this was something he could help with.

Lady Leanne goes to warn Queen Morgan that the cloak might be a trap.  Queen Morgan agrees to look the cloak over carefully before presenting it, to ensure that it is one she would want to give to her brother.  She drops a broach, which Lady Leanne returns to her.  Queen Morgan says “thank you, it was a gift from my mother”.

You would think the characters would now know everything, but you don’t know my players.  The dreamer told Prince Caius about the broach, but he didn’t tell Lady Leanne.  However, eventually they compare enough notes to figure things out, but by that time the Queen has left Baron Roderick’s for England.

Otherwise, Prince Hammoton is getting his spy network of followers set up, and talks to Queen Morgan for advice, as he fears a vast conspiracy.  She suggests he seek out the Lady of the Lake to the North for help (this is Sir Anton’s patron).

Most of Prince Hammoton’s proto-spy network is left behind, or sent ahead to settle around the missing castle, though he takes Hubert with him.

The party leaves Baron Roderick's castle.  He packs them some provisions (a nice duck sandwich for all, and an emerald bracelet for Lady Leanne)

Finally Sir Anton wishes to have his duel with Sir Andrew, due to an old slight on the Lady of the Lake to the North.  The duel ensues, but “Sir Andrew” turns out to be a huge demon (Nalfashnee or something – the big ape brute one).  The party tries to fight it, but it is very tough.  Brother Robert prays for a miracle (blowing his fate points) and I allow all the weapons and natural attacks to bypass the creatures DR/noble.  I also give it vulnerability to cold, so that the cold wands can be used.  Even so, the player of “Sir Andrew” played the demon non-tactically, as it was a bit too tough.  Eventually, the party defeats it.  

Backstory: The real Sir Andrew has been captured and tortured in hell.  Because time runs differently, he has been tortured for 10 years, even though only 4 days have passed on Earth.  Only his faith in the One God gets him through.  The demon that came to Earth did so as part of a wager, and by losing the battle, the demon was forced to return Sir Andrew to earth.  So Sir Andrew was returned, 10 years older.  As a woman.  Who is pregnant.

While being tortured, Sir Andrew learned of the dark alliance between some demons, Albion and his giants, dragons and an enchantress.  Part of the plot involved giving Arthur a poisonous cloak that would kill him!

But when Sir Andrew (Andrea?) relates this to the party, they realize that the cloak, and Queen Morgan (who is now realized to be not a good person!) is already on their way to England.  The party hatches on the idea to quickly go to the Lady of the Lake in the North to get a short-cut to Camelot.  A foolproof plan!  And that’s it until next week.


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## Particle_Man (Jan 31, 2005)

*Meta: Public Servce Announcement*

For those trying and failing to post to this thread:

1) There is a switch to a new server going on, so sometimes things get glitchy

2) Sometimes the server times out when you type a really really long message before you can hit submit.

So I strongly recommend that you type up your post on wordpad or notepad or some wordprocessor beforehand, and then copy it, then hit the reply button, paste your message, then hit the post button.  Ideally, you could save your message in that word processing program, as extra insurance.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 1, 2005)

Aidoku said:
			
		

> I'm not so sure.  I think that this one's brains curdled because it was improperly stored.  Maybe it wasn't cool enough in that amulet, or perhaps too damp.




I believe that I would be the one who is responsible for her brain damage.  I had been violently pushing buttons and hitting the device which might have caused side-effects on my little girl.  I humbly apologize for her misbehaviour.  It is hard being a single parent nowadays...   Haha!

The Centaur


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 1, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> But dreams are dreams, and the party awakes and continues home and gets attacked by a chimera (advanced to Huge, just to make it interesting).  Combat ensues.  Sir Toby stays out of it, and gains nobility for not ganging up on the monster (and trying to warn the party not to be so close together, since it was breathing fire).  Sir Arbutus the not-so-noble is totally killed, as is the weasel familiar of Lady Christine.  Guess who is mourned more?  One reincarnation later (and with Sir Andrew praying and spending fate points), the weasel is reincarnated as a White Hart.  With cold iron hooves and antlers, of course.




How could I gang up on an unknown creature that has already engaged Sir Anton?  Sir Arbutus was dishonorable for attacking it from behind.  And his death will be an excellent example for those who are dishonorable.  Now, the question is... "to hunt or not to hunt?"  I'm only a little behind *Lady* Andrea on nobility. (edited: I forgot (s)he is a female now...)



			
				Particle_Man said:
			
		

> The party leaves Baron Roderick's castle.  He packs them some provisions (a nice duck sandwich for all, and an emerald bracelet for Lady Leanne)




I wonder whose ducks we were eating that day...

P.S.
Hey Prticle Man.  I don't know I am role-playing my character right or not.  I am gainning my nobility (as my goal to prove that commoners can be honorable knights), but I feel that I am so lawful evil at the same time.


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## Particle_Man (Feb 1, 2005)

Well, alignment has been replaced with Nobility, and nobility is directly affected by the deeds on that list that increase or decrease nobility.  So within those constraints people can vary widely and still be of the same nobility level.  It is kind of like "honour" in samurai games.

Speaking of which, RPGOBjects just came out with a samurai game.  The first book had no magic (that will come in another book, I hear), has honour (like nobility) and has bloodlines.  Might be worth a look.  But I am not thinking of a crossover.  That way lies "monkey ninja pirate zombies".

And I'm sure that Baron Roderick had his littlest sister's interests at heart, preventing her from ever again being kidnapped via a threat to her ducks.  Perhaps he told her that they were safe in a special hidden duck pond in fairyland where no one would ever hurt them.  Perhaps.


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## LadyK (Feb 4, 2005)

*Introducing... Weasel the White Hart*

And I thought I was suffering from an identity crisis... I may occasionally behave like a knight rather than a proper lady, but at least I'm the right species. I had a large, rather impressively antlered buck try to crawl into my sleeping roll last night.

Not that I’m complaining at all. Thank you very much, Sir Andrew and Lady Leanne. Very, very much. 


Name: Weasel
Race: White Hart
Class: Familiar

Level: 6
Nobility: 90

HP: 100
AC: 15 (touch: 9, flat foot: 15)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 60

*Abilities*
STR: 21
DEX: 10
CON: 18
INT: 12
WIS: 10
CHA: 16

*Saving Throws*
FORT: 12
REFLEX: 8
WILL: 5

*Attacks*
BAB: 6
Full attack: Antlers +12/2d6+7 (double damage on charge)

*Skills*
Balance
Jump
Listen
Spot

*Feats*
Aura of Speed
Divine Grace
Object of Worship
Blood Bath

Darkvision
Low-light vision
Damage Resistance vs ranged 20/ignoble
Woodland Stride
Trackless Step
Nobility

Alertness
Endurance
Improved Initiative


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## Aidoku (Feb 4, 2005)

LadyK said:
			
		

> And I thought I was suffering from an identity crisis... I may occasionally behave like a knight rather than a proper lady, but at least I'm the right species. I had a large, rather impressively antlered buck try to crawl into my sleeping roll last night.
> 
> Not that I’m complaining at all. Thank you very much, Sir Andrew and Lady Leanne. Very, very much.




There are so many things I could say in response to this.  So very many things.  Alas, I must refrain lest Lady Christine decides to smite me or Lady Andrea give me that stern look of her's and a lecture.


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## Particle_Man (Feb 4, 2005)

LadyK said:
			
		

> Name: Weasel
> Race: White Hart
> Class: Familiar




You forgot that large set of red marks on the fur shaped like a target with the words under it saying "Hey Christians: Kill me for free nobility!  Hey Black Knights:  Kill me for free loss of nobility!"


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 5, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> You forgot that large set of red marks on the fur shaped like a target with the words under it saying "Hey Christians: Kill me for free nobility!  Hey Black Knights:  Kill me for free loss of nobility!"




Exactly!  I currently have only 85 nobility points  .  15 points away from being PERFECT.  How many nobility points would I gain if I did manage to kill it?   

I, Sir Toby of Kusman the Centaur, challenge you, Weasel the White Hart, to a honorable duel to the death!  Do you accept my challenge?

Not serious, just for the fun


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 5, 2005)

Aidoku said:
			
		

> There are so many things I could say in response to this.  So very many things.  Alas, I must refrain lest Lady Christine decides to smite me or Lady Andrea give me that stern look of her's and a lecture.




 Shocked.  Oh dear Lady Leanne, you should behave and act like a proper lady.

Crabby Centaur


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## Particle_Man (Feb 5, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> Exactly!  I currently have only 85 nobility points  .  15 points away from being PERFECT.  How many nobility points would I gain if I did manage to kill it?
> 
> I, Sir Toby of Kusman the Centaur, challenge you, Weasel the White Hart, to a honorable duel to the death!  Do you accept my challenge?
> 
> Not serious, just for the fun




You don't get anything for killing the White Hart, alas, since you are old faith.  On the other hand, if you kill Lady Christine you might make the White Hart into your Knight's Warhorse, but only if you can regain human form.  And what are the odds of you possibly killing Lady Christine?


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## Particle_Man (Feb 6, 2005)

*Things get even weirder, and a sad goodbye...*

Lady Christine and The new Priest couldn’t make it this week, and the Druid Cassandra was late (to fairyland with the lot!), so we start with the 5 spectral knights (blue, red, green, white, purple) and Lady Leanne, and cohorts Hobb and Hubert.

The team is marching north to get to the Lady of the Lake, to hope that she will take them to King Arthur’s in time to save him.  On the way, they run into a tower that was not there before (!).  In front of it are some giants and in one window a female figure is spotted.  

The knights approach and address the giants (stone giants), who in turn demand that the knights swear allegiance to “King” Albion.  Each of the five giants is wearing hide of a different colour (red, green, blue, white, purple), and claim that the human lady told them she had a dream in which they would become invincible if they wore these colours.  So the knights each had a matching colour giant to face off against.

While insults were being traded, Lady Leanne sneaked into the tower via Spider Climb and rescued the lady inside via Air Walk, but this caused the lady to scream about devil sorcery (in a thick Scottish accent).  The scream alerts the giants and combat actually begins.

The green and purple knights actually go down and need to use fate points to survive.  The red knights uses fate points to get off an obscuring mist that lets him sneak away.  He then uses ventriloquism to make the giant think he was still inside.  Lady Leanne uses call lightning a lot.  Eventually the good guys win, although it takes a bit of luck (Toby’s magic device gets used, and the giants turn to stone, one by one).  And then various mists (of the appropriate colours) rise from the giants and touch the various knights, changing the colours of their helmets.

The new lady says that she lived in a castle in Scotland, and a mist descended upon her, and then all the people disappeared except her, and then she and her tower were in a new place, with these giants!  She was surprised to find out that her tower was in Ireland.  Sir Hubert agreed to escort her home, while the rest of the troupe continue on their important journey.

Later, they find a badly written note asking them to leave money or face “the wrathe of mee”.  Prince Caius in scorn leaves a single silver piece.  An arrow comes out of the woods, and pierces Sir Toby, wounding him into unconsciousness.  The party searches for this guy, and through a spot check and warp wood on his arrows, he is found before he can do too much damage.  He is a yeoman, and is captured.  Later, he escapes his bonds.  Others try to track him down but he is too wily.  They eventually find a log with some of his clothes on it and a note saying they are worthy opponents.  They do keep some of his magic gear, including a great bow.

Finally, they get to the lake, but the water seems all polluted.  Then no less than five black dragon heads come out of the water! (Mirror image spell, suitably modified).  Combat ensues.  Sadly Sir Toby falls in this combat (his third near death experience in this session alone, since he nearly got killed outright by the Yeoman, and had to use fate points to save himself from the Giants) beyond the help even of fate points.  Others fall but can be saved with fate points, including late arrival the new Barbarian (played by the guy that played the Knight that died last time) and Lady Leanne.  Both are given new instructions by Oberon, as is the druid Cassandra.  The barbarian actually plays a ghost for a while in the combat, resulting in even the dragon becoming shaken.

The instructions, particularly to the minstrel Lady Leanne, are:  Spread the message, especially to children, that there is a funny old elf that will give toys to them if they are good.  And be cheerful and good oneself.  Oberon is trying to live off of the beliefs of children in order to save the (now quite wintry) Fairyland and the old faith in some form.  Who knows, he may even succeed.  Lady Leanne does not like the enforced cheerfulness that she is required to project, but it seems necessary for now, at least to Oberon.  He seemed quite taken with the White Hart of Lady Christine – it may give him an idea or two.  He has also taken to wearing a red robe.

Also, Cassandra did not end up in the fray immediately; she was accidentally sent to Africa, and relied upon the help of a dryad who was there, as well as some fate points, to join her companions.

With the Green Knight dead, the spectral knights are lessened.  A green mist arises from the coin that is what Sir Toby’s body transforms into and goes away…to the house of Sir Toby’s parents, where his younger brother takes his bow, which has mysteriously turned green, and begins his adventures.  He hears a voice tell him to seek out King Arthur, when he first touches the bow.

After all this, the dragon is finally killed.  A wooden monument is found, and carved into are the words “On Sept. 14 (two weeks back), 1284 (this year), Sir Friedrich slew the hag of this lake, in the name of the one god.” It is signed with the family symbol of Sir Anton.  Sir Friedrich is Sir Anton’s oldest (and older) brother.  Oh, the drama!  The pathos!  It seems that Sir Anton’s brother has slain his patron, the Lady of the Lake of the North!


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## Particle_Man (Feb 6, 2005)

I forgot to add that, after the fight the with giants, Prince Hammoton almost died, and received a voice from the heavens giving him a second chance at life, but only for so long as he keeps his helmet on.


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## Particle_Man (Feb 6, 2005)

*My moments of self-doubt*

I am wondering if I made it too tough for the gang this time around.  It is hard to balance things since while I gave them the option for max. hp (if they spend fate points) and allow them to spend fate points to avoid nasty things like death, on the other hand there are tendencies to single combat by some (and spellcasting by others), and they are low on magic items.  Thus, CR's are at best a sort of guess at this point.  Still, I think I set the bar a little high for these guys.  On the other hand, only 2 characters have died permanently, and one was a one shot.  Some might argue that I am too nice, since I allow fate points to give people second chances.  But anyhow, this goes to my DMing style, I guess, which is more instinctual and freeform than carefully planned.  But I try to remain consistent with myself, so that when Oberon sends people out of Fairyland, he messes up on a natural 1.  Which has happened three times so far!


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 7, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> The green and purple knights actually go down and need to use fate points to survive.  The red knights uses fate points to get off an obscuring mist that lets him sneak away.  He then uses ventriloquism to make the giant think he was still inside.  Lady Leanne uses call lightning a lot.  Eventually the good guys win, although it takes a bit of luck (Toby’s magic device gets used, and the giants turn to stone, one by one).  And then various mists (of the appropriate colours) rise from the giants and touch the various knights, changing the colours of their helmets.




Well... I had no fate points left to spend on my 2nd death since I used them all up to save the party on the stone giants encounter.  I refuse to cheat and use hobb's fate point to save my sorry arse again.  Furthermore, I think my Centaur wasn't doing it right.  He had the power like haste and rage, but he was so noble that I wanted to gain more nobility and refused to use any ability to gain advantage over anyone.  It was so screwed up...  At least it was an honorable death for him.  He will be remembered.



			
				Particle_Man said:
			
		

> With the Green Knight dead, the spectral knights are lessened.  A green mist arises from the coin that is what Sir Toby’s body transforms into and goes away…to the house of Sir Toby’s parents, where his younger brother takes his bow, which has mysteriously turned green, and begins his adventures.  He hears a voice tell him to seek out King Arthur, when he first touches the bow.




I've changed the younger brother's background story a little.  I will post his background up later.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 7, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> I am wondering if I made it too tough for the gang this time around.  It is hard to balance things since while I gave them the option for max. hp (if they spend fate points) and allow them to spend fate points to avoid nasty things like death, on the other hand there are tendencies to single combat by some (and spellcasting by others), and they are low on magic items.  Thus, CR's are at best a sort of guess at this point.  Still, I think I set the bar a little high for these guys.  On the other hand, only 2 characters have died permanently, and one was a one shot.  Some might argue that I am too nice, since I allow fate points to give people second chances.  But anyhow, this goes to my DMing style, I guess, which is more instinctual and freeform than carefully planned.  But I try to remain consistent with myself, so that when Oberon sends people out of Fairyland, he messes up on a natural 1.  Which has happened three times so far!




We should be able to defeat the dragon if we fought it together, but we decided to be noble and refused to gang up on it.  It was our decision.  Now I'm going to be a Yeoman and things will be different.

This part is to the ladies and the knights:  Don't yell at me if I roll bad and shoot you on the back.  It's my destiny... LOL.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 7, 2005)

*The Birth Of A Hero*

_“I have been blinded from jealousy.” Steven of Kusman was filled with remorse and pain. “I am sorry, brother.”_

After Toby of Kusman had been knighted by Prince Caius, Toby the Centaur decided to visit his family and return his bow back to its rightful owner, his family, as a symbol of leaving his Yeoman life behind and entering his new knighthood.  Although Toby still felt uncomfortable and uneasy to face other humans after transformed unwillingly into a fairy tale creature, he was filled with pride, dignity and honor as he stepped into his home.  With tears in his eyes, his dream had come true.  He was a knight from the Commoners.

The next day after Toby left his family, Steven of Kusman, Toby’s younger brother, was staring at the bow that Toby had left behind.  It, as a trophy, was placed perfectly on the shelf in the living room.

“What has happened to you, brother?”  Steven talked to himself unawares.  “You have been turned into a monster, and yet you are still the favored…  It is NOT fair!”

Steven wondered that if he had been the chosen one to follow Prince Caius, he would have a better fate than now.  Life is not fair.  With all the negative thinking in his head, Steven irritably decided to grab the bow and ran away.  He wanted to run as far away as he could to get away from his family, his miserable past.  He wanted a different life.  A life that he could craft for himself…

After many days of travel, Steven was lost in a forest with an empty stomach.  He was so tired that he could not run any more.  He decided to take a brief rest, then hunt something to fill his belly, but the bow was too large for him to use efficiently.  He cursed the bow, put it back on his back, and then started to look around for some berries and fruits.  It must be his destiny, or he was an extremely unlucky person.  He didn’t find food.  He found the bandits instead.

The bandit leader was interested in the huge bow that Steven was carrying.  He started asking Steven questions.  Soon he found out that Steven was a Yeoman from the Kusmans (The name of Sir Toby of Kusman, the Centaur, was starting to go throughout the land of King Anguish).

“I offer you a chance to oath of fealty to me,” the bandit leader asked Steven all of a sudden.  “Do you accept?”

It was not expected.  Steven was shocked and paused for a few seconds.  He thought he would not survive, but now he had a chance to live and start his new life.

“I accept…” Steven said it unwillingly.  He wanted to live.

When they returned to the bandit camp, Steven was given a proper long bow that matched his size.  He tested it with a few bullseye shots.

“He truly is the brother of Sir Toby of Kusman,” the bandit leader whispered himself with approval.  “And I would not expect less from him.”

Months had been passed.  Steven had befriended with the bandit leader as he learned more about the bandit leader.  He started to see and look at things differently after meeting different people.

The bandit leader allowed Steven to keep Toby’s huge bow, so Steven hung it up on the wall beside his bed.  One day, Steven noticed that the bow was shrinking to its original size.  He immediately had a bad feeling about it, but he couldn’t tell what exactly.  Then he saw a green mist emerged from nowhere, and it slowly went into the bow.  The bow had mysteriously turned green.  Steven had a feeling of his brother’s present somehow.  He lifted his shaking hand up slowly and touched the bow lightly.  He heard a low voice in his head saying, “Seek out King Arthur… Seek out King Arthur… Prince Caius needs your help...”

Steven charged out of the room and looked for the bandit leader, but the bandit leader was nowhere to be found.  So, Steven quickly dropped a note and left in the middle of the night.  He did not forget his oath of fealty to the bandit leader, but he had a more important thing to do... to save King Arthur.

“Brother,” Steven cried out with remorse.  “Now I will continue to fulfill your destiny.”


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## Particle_Man (Feb 7, 2005)

Things I forgot to mention:

1) When Sir Toby died, his centaur body turned into a gigantic ancient coin with a face with laurel leaves on its head on both sides of the coin.

2) The Scottish lady was rescued by Lady Leanne, passed off to Hubert, passed off to Hobb, and passed off again to some knight I forget which.  Prince Caius later raised objections to a warrior like Hubert passing off a lady to a mostly noncombatant hermit like Hobb.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 8, 2005)

Hey Partical_Man

Can you bring the PHB on Friday?  I would like to have my character done before Saturday.

Steven of Kusman

P.S. I cannot logout this Toby account.  So, I guess I'm stuck posting as Toby of Kusman.


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## Particle_Man (Feb 9, 2005)

Well actually I am not in the friday campaign anymore, but I could show up early on Saturday if that would help.  Would that work?  I could be there say 3pm Saturday.  Alternatively, you could ask Blair to bring his Excalibur book on friday.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 10, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> Well actually I am not in the friday campaign anymore, but I could show up early on Saturday if that would help.  Would that work?  I could be there say 3pm Saturday.  Alternatively, you could ask Blair to bring his Excalibur book on friday.




Perfect.  I will be there early on Saturday.  I think I will take the leadership feat as well... If possible, a female cohort from the bandit camp would be fun.  She followed me out the bandit camp with curiosity.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 11, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> Perfect.  I will be there early on Saturday.  I think I will take the leadership feat as well... If possible, a female cohort from the bandit camp would be fun.  She followed me out the bandit camp with curiosity.




Not good.   I was just told that I have to have lunch with my family on Saturday.  I will try to be there by 4, but I can't guarantee to be there on time.


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## Sir_Andrew (Feb 11, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> That way lies "monkey ninja pirate zombies".




I'm sure you meant: Dinosaur-Mounted Ninja Pirates.


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## Sir_Andrew (Feb 11, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> We should be able to defeat the dragon if we fought it together, but we decided to be noble and refused to gang up on it.  It was our decision.  Now I'm going to be a Yeoman and things will be different.
> 
> This part is to the ladies and the knights:  Don't yell at me if I roll bad and shoot you on the back.  It's my destiny... LOL.




Give in to your hatred. Join the Dark Side. It is your destiny.


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## Particle_Man (Feb 11, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> Not good.   I was just told that I have to have lunch with my family on Saturday.  I will try to be there by 4, but I can't guarantee to be there on time.




Ok, here is something to start with: 6th level, 13 105 gp (and you may pour some or all of that into the bow).  It will, in addition, auto-adjust its mighty str bonus to match your own.  I am assuming from your background a base/criminal lineage: +2 dex, -2 cha, 10 + d10 nobility, bonus feat, other bonus feat (from the "two skills get +2" list, mostly), +2 survival/spot/search, illiterate (you can spend 2 skill points to fix that).  lvl 6, good bab, fort, ref, bad will. +2 archery (to hit only), pb shot, far shot, precise shot, track.  Pretty much the ranger skill list.  d8 hp.  Med. armour, martial weapons.

Hope that starts you off.  You do the cohort (4th level, or 3rd if cha is 6-9, 2nd if cha is 4-5, 1st if cha is 2-3).  No cohort is cha is 1.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 11, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> It will, in addition, auto-adjust its mighty str bonus to match your own.




I sense a setup for the green knight here.... just my 2 cents.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 11, 2005)

Sir_Andrew said:
			
		

> I'm sure you meant: Dinosaur-Mounted Ninja Pirates.




Oh yeah... 30+ AC, Ninjitsu, Naval, Raid, Tactician, Double Chi.... and Yu.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 11, 2005)

Sir_Andrew said:
			
		

> Give in to your hatred. Join the Dark Side. It is your destiny.




True.  Vengence for Toby's death.  Oops.  It's my secret.  Shhhhhh.......


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## Particle_Man (Feb 11, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> I sense a setup for the green knight here.... just my 2 cents.



Another option is to make it a "jealous" bow.  Green with envy and all that.  

And I am suddenly deeply suspicious that the player of the White Knight might be timing a "fall from grace" to match the opening night of a certain movie...


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 11, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> Ok, here is something to start with: 6th level, 13 105 gp (and you may pour some or all of that into the bow).  It will, in addition, auto-adjust its mighty str bonus to match your own.  I am assuming from your background a base/criminal lineage: +2 dex, -2 cha, 10 + d10 nobility, bonus feat, other bonus feat (from the "two skills get +2" list, mostly), +2 survival/spot/search, illiterate (you can spend 2 skill points to fix that).  lvl 6, good bab, fort, ref, bad will. +2 archery (to hit only), pb shot, far shot, precise shot, track.  Pretty much the ranger skill list.  d8 hp.  Med. armour, martial weapons.
> 
> Hope that starts you off.  You do the cohort (4th level, or 3rd if cha is 6-9, 2nd if cha is 4-5, 1st if cha is 2-3).  No cohort is cha is 1.




I got 17, 15, 15, 13, 12, 9.

Here is the skeleton of my character:

Str 17
Dex 15+2
Con 9+1 (level 4)
Int 15
Wis 12
Cha 13-2

1st level - Rogue / 2nd to 6th levels - Yoeman

HP: 6 + 5x8 = 46

Items: (13,105 gp to start with)

Let me see.... Gloves of dexterity, Gauntlets of ogre power, Amulet of Health.....

Shadow Studded Leather of Silent Moves +1   - 9,175 gp
Green Long Bow of Kusman +1 -  2,375 gp
Arrows x100 - 5 gp
Quivers x2 - 5 gp
Greataxe (masterwork) wrapped in dirty brown cloth - 320 gp
Punching daggers (masterwork) well hidden x2 - 604 gp
Daggers well hidden x3 - 6 gp

Backpack - 2 gp
Bedroll - 1 sp
Winter blankets x2 - 1 gp
Chalks x5 - 5 cp
Crowbar - 2 gp
Flint and steel - 1 gp
Grappling hook - 1 gp
Hammer - 5 sp
Hooded lantern - 7 gp
Small steel mirror - 10 gp
Oils x10 - 1 gp
Pitons x10 - 1 gp
Iron pot - 5 sp
Belt pouch - 1 gp
Rations x10 - 5 gp
Hemp ropes x2 (50ft each) - 2 gp
Silk rope (50ft) - 10 gp
Sacks x5 - 5 sp
Signal whistle - 8 sp
Soap - 5 sp
Torches x3 - 3 cp
Waterskin x2 - 2 gp
Whetstone - 2 cp

Climber's kit (masterwork) - 130 gp
Disguise kit (masterwork) - 100 gp
Thieves' tools (masterwork) - 100 gp

Traveler's outfit - 1 gp
Noble's outfit - 75 gp

Light Warhorse (taken from bandit camp) - 150 gp
Riding saddle - 10 gp


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## Particle_Man (Feb 12, 2005)

Don't forget to work out encumbrance.  What your horse is carrying (and its movement), what you are carrying (and your movement), etc.  It could affect your AC a bit, if you have a heavy load.

And double the skill point bonus for INT.

So that leaves, what, feats and skills?


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 12, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> Don't forget to work out encumbrance.  What your horse is carrying (and its movement), what you are carrying (and your movement), etc.  It could affect your AC a bit, if you have a heavy load.
> 
> And double the skill point bonus for INT.
> 
> So that leaves, what, feats and skills?




Come on.  Str 17 should be able to cover the encumbrance.  lol.  We are talking DnD here.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 12, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> Shadow Studded Leather of Silent Moves +1   - 9,175 gp




Studded Leather +1 - 1,175 gp
Cloak of Shadow - 2,000 gp
Boots of Silent Moves - 2,000 gp
Total: 5,175 gp

Sigh......  I could also buy Gloves of Dex +2 if I've split them.


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## Particle_Man (Feb 13, 2005)

Around the lake, the group mourns and heals.  Sir Anton and Lady Leanne both want revenge upon Sir Anton’s brother for his slaying of the Lady of the Lake.  Some of them, via water breathing, investigate the bottom of the lake, finding some treasures (including some magical items).  They also try to use the magic mirror in the castle to travel more quickly to England.  The first time they try to use it, two figures come through the mirror to them!  (Stephen of Kusman and his cohort, Yvona).   Introductions are made, and then the group tries again.  They end up in a strange land…Poland, to be exact (hey, at least they were in Europe!).  They spend a week traveling west.

Lady Christine has a prophetic vision of a giant on his throne, holding a cup (the one entrusted to the Lady of the Lake of the North).  He is surrounded by his “Castle”, actually a conglomeration of many mismatched castles, it seems.  He is searching for his wand and his book.

Upon being told this dream, Lady Leanne tries (at night) to communicate with King Oberon and tell him the details, including their suspicions of Morgan le Fey.  He agrees to warn Nimue, Arthur’s guardian.  He then takes them closer to England, although some magic prevents him from locating them at England.  The party wakes up on the coast of France!  

From there, they find a fisherman willing to ferry them over.  The boat looks old and leaky, and so the druid and minstrel secretly repair the wood.  Some of the party notice that the fisherfolk always wear gloves.  The group sets watches, and during one of them they hear a hammering noise.  Yvona tries to investigate but is discovered and sent back to sleep with a story that the fisherfolk are “making repairs”, but she sees that one of the fisherfolk has an ax!  She returns and reports this.

Then Lady Christine tries to distract the fisherfolk while the druid Cassandra repairs the ship.  But this gambit fails, and the captain calls his sister (wrapped up in clothes and a veil) to “take care of” Lady Christine, who cannot sleep.

Lady Christine is led to a small cabin by the “sister”, who is actually a Sea Hag.  To her credit, Lady Christine resists all the magical effects of the Hag, but then the claws start to hurt her.  Lady Christine, alerts her White Hart (which awakes, and causes Justice to also wake up), teleports back to the place where the group is sleeping, and wakes the group.  Prince Caius goes to investigate, and sees Justice and Weasel trying to get past him to Lady Christine.  Caius tells everyone to draw weapons, but then the Sea Hag appears, and Lady Leanne, Stephen and Yvona and weakened by her horrific appearance.  Caius, at the top of the stairs, kills the hag.

Then the party goes into the main hold and engages the crew [8 Hd advanced Wights].  During the fight, the wights talk about “spectral knights” that the “lady” said would be here.  After a long battle, the group dispatches with the Wights, and find a letter from “M” ordering the wights to stop people accompanying one with a certan shield (the shield of Prince Caius).  They also find bodies of the real crew in the kitchen; there is a mas burial at sea.  Then the party tries to sail the ship north (one of the magic items was a dagger that always pointed north).  They actually get to a shore, near Dover.  There they hire real sailors to get them to Camelot.  Note that Caius has decided at this point to disguise himself and the crew.

During the second sailing trip, Lady Christine has another prophetic dream.  This time, Ciaus’s little sister is presenting Arthur with The Cloak, but Nimue stops her, and insists that she wear the cloak first.  She agrees, and upon donning it bursts into flame and dies.  Morgan le Fey (with the help of some magic) manages to spin this to indicate that Caius (and perhaps his father and brothers) were plotting high treason against Arthur.  A nun brings up the strange recent murder of a respected old nun in Castle Anguish. [Hey, Caius is being framed for a crime he really did commit!].

Some want Anguish and his sons to be killed, but Arthur demands that they get a chance to speak for themselves, in a legal court.  He says justice must apply to everyone, or it is not justice.  He orders knights to find and bring Anguish and his three sons before him, and also orders that, while this matter is being adjudicated, Archduke Roderick manage affairs in Ireland. 

The party doesn’t know if this is something that might happen, or something that is happening now.  They don’t know whether they will be too late to do anything.  But they embark at Camelot, in disguise, and rush towards their fates (speaking of which, I spent 30 destiny points of Prince Caius on this).


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## Steven of Kusman (Feb 14, 2005)

My new character stats will be posted next week when I have my character sheets with me.


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## Steven of Kusman (Feb 14, 2005)

_With faith, nothing is impossible._

Riding not too far away from the bandit hideout, I had noticed that I was being followed. I quickly stopped and dismounted from my light horse, Freedom.

 “Shhh…” I whispered into Freedom’s ear. It shook its ear from the tickling feelings. I tried to calm it down and signaled it to be quiet while pulling it into the shadows.

Soon, I spotted Yvona on Rouge, her light horse, following my trail. In the shadows, I waited patiently for her to get closer. When she saw me stepped out of the shadows to greet her, I could see her face turned red. She grinned at me with an innocent look. I hated it when she did that.

Suddenly, a globe of white light appeared and surrounded us. In a blink, the light magically transported us into a room, where an ancient mirror stood in front of us.

In the room, I saw Prince Caius and the gang. After I slowly recovered from the shock, I finally recognized Prince Caius. However, he did not know me. Therefore, I introduced Yvona and myself to him with honor, and I told Prince Caius that I was told to aid him to save King Arthur. Then Prince Caius brought me the sad news of the death of my big brother, Toby. I had had a bad feeling about this, and now Prince Caius had confirmed it. I could feel my heavy heart sank once more…

I started to get confused because I was transported magically once again. This time, I was informed that I was in France, but I only had questions in my head… “France? Where the hack are we?”

With the luck of Prince Caius, we found a fisherman who was willing to ferry us across the sea back to England. The boat looked old and leaky. I doubted that it could carry all of us, but Prince Caius and everyone seemed to be okay with it. So, I followed them onto the boat with Yvona, Freedom and Rogue. With faith, nothing was impossible.

During the night on the boat, Yvona and I were assigned to take watch. I was assigned to take the first watch, and Yvona was second. My watch was quiet and uneventful. But I was wakening up by Yvona on her watch. She reported back to me that she had heard hammering noise, so she had gone to investigate.

“I heard hammering noise,” Yvona spoke quietly in a soft voice. “So I went to take a look. Those fishermen told me that they were merely repairing the boat, but I saw one of them was holding an axe… I sense something fishy here.”

“Where are the others who are supposed to take the watch with you?” I asked because I couldn’t see anyone else taking the watch anywhere.

“I believe the odd girl went to do something with the boat,” she paused for awhile. “And the other one went to seduce the sailors.”

I was shocked once again. I hoped Yvona would not pick up any of the misbehavior from Prince Caius’s female companions. Anyway, I was worried about Lady Christine for acting… immature. So, I decided to wait a minute before I go look for her. But the noise made by the horses worried me, so I woke up Prince Caius from his beauty sleep. He ordered me to wake up everyone and get ready to battle.

Justice and Weasel raced pass us into a cabin. We all charged in and saw a Sea Hag. I was shocked again and I felt weakened. Prince Caius, my idol, killed her with a blink of my eyes. Then the fishermen went on us. Prince Caius, without his armor and shield, hold back four of them without any problems. Justice, Prince Caius’s noble steed, finished most of them. I almost forgot. The white knight wasn’t wearing her armor in the fight as well. She didn’t even try to cover up her private parts… I hoped Yvona would not pick up that terrible habit. Or I would have to force her to go back to the camp.

Yvona and I were shooting arrows at a fisherman, which was fighting Lady Leanne. With our combined attacks, we finally killed him after half of the fishermen were down. After the fight, Prince Caius told me that they were Wights. I didn’t know what Wights were, but I knew they were no good. When I ordered Yvona to search the dead bodies of the Wights and the Sea Hag, Lady Leanne had already found a letter and some stuff on them. She also found other dead bodies on the boat, and they seemed to be the real fishermen. 

Prince Caius seemed to have the knowledge of everything. He guided us to sail north to a shore. He also told us to disguise ourselves to prevent any unwanted troubles.

Since I was young, I knew that money could buy anything. When I saw Prince Caius recruited a new crew of the best sailors on that land, I was shocked at the amount of money he paid them. They sure were the best sailors. It took them no time to sail to England.

We had finally arrived at the dock.  My adventure had started with the guidance of Prince Caius.

P.S.  If I got shocked once more, I might die from heart attack


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## Steven of Kusman (Feb 14, 2005)

Steven of Kusman said:
			
		

> Riding not too far away from the bandit hideout, I had noticed that I was being followed. I quickly stopped and dismounted from my light horse, Freedom.
> 
> Soon, I spotted Yvona on Rouge, her light horse, following my trail.




Freedom and (Strike) Rouge are picked because of Justice.



			
				Steven of Kusman said:
			
		

> Yvona and I were shooting arrows at a fisherman, which was fighting Lady Leanne. With our combined attacks, we finally killed him after half of the fishermen were down.




I still can't see the strength of Yoeman. -4 to hit to avoid covers and 1d8 dmg. I was doing 1d8+3 points of damage with a +1 bow, +1 str, and point blank shot; furthermore, I rolled low on my d8.


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## Particle_Man (Feb 14, 2005)

1) How much damage did you take versus the Wights?  Answer NONE, because you guys were safely at a distance, hitting them with arrows.  Thus Yeoman has good survival abilities.  You are the opposite of your former character: You deal less damage, but will likely take no damage yourself.

2) Good skill set means Yeoman is a good scout, like the Rogue but without trapfinding skills.

3) Combat monster Yeoman comes later, when you can do crazy stuff with arrows.

4) When/if you qualify for Improved Precise Shot, you can laugh at cover penalties.


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## Roman (Feb 15, 2005)

Indeed... plus don't forget that knights don't really do any more damage either. Sir Anton, for example, dishes out 1d8+2 (less than your Yeomen).


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 15, 2005)

Roman said:
			
		

> Indeed... plus don't forget that knights don't really do any more damage either. Sir Anton, for example, dishes out 1d8+2 (less than your Yeomen).




I guess the Centaur has corrupted me.  I kept thinking of my old full attack of 3x greatsword-attacks with 2d6+7 damage each and 2x hoove-attacks with 1d6+5 damage each...  

Anyway, I'm still in the process of developing my new characters.  I think I know what to do with them now....

_"Historians will some day write great tales of Akodo's bravery and Doji's charm, while we, who lurk in shadows, will be the villains in thier stories.  Tricksters and liars: those will be our roles.  Is that not exciting?"  -  Bayushi_


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## Particle_Man (Feb 16, 2005)

I should add that the Druid Cassandra got a lot of mileage wildshaping as an octopus (she has the Natural Spell feat).  As an octopus, she helped check out the Lady of the Lake's lair.  As an octapus, she helped repair the ship while the fight was going on (especially useful when a critical miss led to more ship damage).  And as an octopus she tried to grapple a Wight.  Octopi Rock!  I now must remember the old song "Eight Arms to Hold You To My Heart"


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## Roman (Feb 18, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> I guess the Centaur has corrupted me.  I kept thinking of my old full attack of 3x greatsword-attacks with 2d6+7 damage each and 2x hoove-attacks with 1d6+5 damage each...
> [/I]




That is extremely impressive!  

BTW: Are we meeting on Saturday this week as usual? Also, is the Friday campaign on this week?


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 18, 2005)

Roman said:
			
		

> BTW: Are we meeting on Saturday this week as usual? Also, is the Friday campaign on this week?




The Friday campaign should be on this week.  Last week was cancelled because Aran, our super ultra supreme omega tin-can dwarf, couldn't make it.  We would not be able to survive without him as our body shield.  Furthermore, there were only two players showed up before the DM left for City of Heros.

Oh yea... Saturday...  I need to make a tiny modification on my chars' feats since I have a new plan for them, then I will post their stats here.

_"Historians will some day write great tales of Akodo's bravery and Doji's charm, while we, who lurk in shadows, will be the villains in thier stories. Tricksters and liars: those will be our roles. Is that not exciting?" - Bayushi_


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## Particle_Man (Feb 18, 2005)

Sure we are on this weekend.  Don't forget to bring some money so Cathy can shave her head for cancer.  It will be nice to have someone at the gaming table balder than myself.


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## Roman (Feb 22, 2005)

So... off to Northern Ireland to find Friedrich it is next Saturday... This shall be intesting. Sir Anton's situation does not sound promising given that his brother was the better knight. From a metagaming point of view it is made worse by the fact that he has no fate points left having spent them all last session.   It will be interesting to see how it will work out nonetheless. Of course, that assumes that we actually manage to get there.  

Last session was one in which a number of things were resolved. I am looking forward to seeing it here.


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## Particle_Man (Feb 22, 2005)

That reminds me, I should update!  Our merry troupe was riding to Camelot to warn King Arthur, and found something odd going on.  they kept trying to get to the cstle, but it was always 2 hours away, even after 2 hours riding.  They looked behind them and saw Camelot, 2 hours away!  They then used the magic dagger of direction to go "north" to camelot, which took them off-road.

Then they had to deal with a Hedge Mage Giant!  He first cast Rock to Mud, which messed up everyone's movement rates.  Then he cast Phantasmal Killer (but the Purple Knight, being a high level noble, was immune to fear, and that was the target picked at random).  Then he started throwing rocks.  Did I mention that he was invisible?  Well, a few faerie fire, fire spells, dispel magics, etc., later, the giant was on the ground.  [One dispel magic took out the protection from arrows that the party did not even know the giant had on].  The druid finished him (and another character, a one shot rogue) off with an ice storm.  Note, the druid got hit by arrows by Stephen and his cohort (an accident of destiny, natural '1' + the Kusman curse).  So the druid went mad, and had to be subdued and tied up for a while.

Finally, they get to Camelot, and spend fate points to get there in the nick of time.  Lady Leanne fires an arrow at the Cloak that Prince Caius's little sister was carrying to King Arthur, and it not only caught the cloak out of her hands, but the arrow visibly burst into flame upon spearing the cloak.  This gave Caius a chance to warn Arthur that the cloak was dangerous.  But Morgan le Fay played along, so the party could not put blame on her.

Later, Lady Leanne gave the "book of quarrels" to Morgan le Fey, in the hopes that she or Albion would read it and Oberon's magic would work.  The party goes to sleep.  But...They wake up in Hell!  With only what they went to sleep with!  They heard a voice that some recognized as Morgan le Fey's, saying that it was nothing personal, but that they were a threat to her plans.

Ok, wandering in hell, some pick up some bones to use as spears, and they try to head for water (to go upstream, and hopefully out).  [My hell does not have water originate in it -- it is pumped in from elsewhere].  

In hell, suddenly Sir Andrea gets visibly pregnant and gives birth, with the baby quickly growing up into a child!  This activates her motherly instincts, so she rides away from the next encounter.  On Justice!

They encounter, the frog demon!  (really a modified Red Slaad).  Stephen of Kusman falls to it, but the rest get away.  At the mouth of the icy river (it gets colder, the further they go upstream), they encounter an Ice Devil.  Justice is able to push past it.  The rest of the party then catches up.  with some fancy magic, they are able to get past it as well.  It had demanded tribute (one must stay behind) and Hobb was willing to be that tribute, but Ciaus dragged him along out of hell.

The party ends up in Fairyland.  A wintry place, but not as cold as the hell they came out of.  King Oberon has tried the name Morgan le Fey and it would be the one to break the enchantment, if he could find the heart of an innocent.  Lady Andrea refused to let her son (who was about 30 or so by the time he got out of hell, and thus stopped growing) so Oberon focussed on the horse Justice, offering Caius 100 000 gp for it (to rebuild Anguish's castle).  Caius said it was up to the horse.  So Oberon used magic to get the horse to agree.  Ladies Christine and Leanne followed Oberon and the horse, saw him reach into the horse and take out his heart, and then smear it on the jewel that imprisonned Titania.  With a cracking noise she burst free.  And Justice's body changed form to reveal...Magnus!   [Caius's missing older brother].  Lady Christine was wroth, and said she would tell everyone of this foul deed.  So Oberon put the entire party under an enchantment not to speak of this, and the party (with Magnus's body) was returned to Castle Anguish.  Titania even agreed to transport the party's stuff from Camelot to Castle Anguish.  The last thing the party heard was Titania replying to a whisper of Oberon's with "What do you mean, a giant rabbit?"

At Castle Anguish, Caius greets his parents, but alas, the Castle itself is not there!  Seemingly it was Castle-napped as well!  And that is where we left it.  A lot of loose ends tied up here.


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## Vigilance (Feb 22, 2005)

Man this is good stuff. 

Chuck


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## Námo (Feb 22, 2005)

Quite impressive plot! Go Good Guys!


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## Particle_Man (Feb 23, 2005)

There are a few issues that have come up.  First, there has been some discussion over what does, and does not, count as deed that costs one nobility.  In particular, there is discussion over what one is allowed to do when the other guy starts cheating.  There was also a worry over what counts as an unfair advantage.  If the White Knight takes mass with the priest, and thus gains the benefits of a bless spell, does that mean the White Knight has an unfair advantage?

So far, I have been fairly lenient in my interpretation, which has led to characters having high nobility scores.  So I think I will throw less "cheaters" at them and more "honourable bad guys" and see how they deal with them.  Sir Anton's older brother could be a good example.

Second, there is the issue of single combat.  If I don't have the other guy cheat, then presumably the knights won't cheat so we will have a one-on-one battle.  That being the case, what do the other 8 players do while this battle plays out?  Will they get bored?  Will they still feel vicariously involved?  Things to think about.


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## Shadowleaf (Feb 23, 2005)

Hey Partical Man, I've finally noticed something odd with my character. 
Where did all the iron/steel items I have come from? 
If I remember correctly, 6000 years ago was during the Bronze Age so how did i get a steel scimitar? or any iron items?

Lady Christine suggested that they were shoved into the artifact that held me sometime during the 6000 year sleep and since they are so similar to the ones made of bronze I never noticed or thought about it.

oh, and octopuses are so much fun, I never realised that they are so useful in so many different situations.


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## Particle_Man (Feb 23, 2005)

How about...they are bronze, but were magically treated with a spell, now largely in disuse, that made bronze as hard and durable as steel.  So they look different, but are mechanically the same.  (waves hands)


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## Roman (Feb 24, 2005)

In fact, if I remember correctly 6000 years before Arthurian times that is about 5000 BC it was not even the Bronze Age - it was the Stone Age.


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## Roman (Feb 24, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> There are a few issues that have come up.  First, there has been some discussion over what does, and does not, count as deed that costs one nobility.  In particular, there is discussion over what one is allowed to do when the other guy starts cheating.  There was also a worry over what counts as an unfair advantage.  If the White Knight takes mass with the priest, and thus gains the benefits of a bless spell, does that mean the White Knight has an unfair advantage?




Perhaps we really ought to make the interpretation of nobility stricter or perhaps add more nobility penalties. I would suggest nobility penalties where loss of nobility is inevitable or things like: 

A) If a lady dies (even a non-permanent death) in proximity all knigts lose nobility (hey that even rhymes!) 

This would create situations where loss of nobility was inevitable - a lady engages in combat... and if the knight helps her, he is ganging up on an opponent and loses nobility. If she dies he has failed to protect her and he also loses nobility. 


B) If you are ordered to do something ignoble by your patron (Prince Caius for most of the knights, you could change the word patron to superior to include all the knights) you lose nobility if you do not do it (but less than if you do do it), but of course you also loose nobility if you carry out the orders 


C) You loose nobility when you 'cheat' even if your opponent 'cheated' first if your cheating is worse than his. Of course, you always loose nobility if you 'cheat' first. We could have ranks of 'cheating' from least ignoble to most ignoble: 

Cheating that equalizes your opponent's cheating advantage is least severe and entails no loss of nobility if your opponent cheated first. Apart from that the ranks of cheating could be:

1) Receiving an unfair buff spell that improves combat statistics, Combat from horseback when your opponent is on foot, Using magic to make the non-magic using opponent more susceptible to attacks but not directly disadvantaging him, etc. 

2) Ganging up on an opponent, Receiving an unfair buff spell that gives new qualities (invisibility, flight), using ranged weapons against an opponent with melee weapons, using magic to directly attack or disadvantage an opponent who does not use magic, etc. 

3) Ambushing an opponent, Using magic to directly take out an opponent (the so called save or die spells), using poison against an opponent, etc. 

So if an opponent cheats from the first category and is the first to do so you do not lose nobility if you also cheat within that category, but lose nobility if you begin cheating in the second and third severity category unless he does so first.

Also, the loss of nobility could be per action rather than per battle. Suppose an opponent does not cheat at all and we all gang up on him. Alll of us should probably loose nobility every round we do so, rather than a one off loss per battle. 

What do you think? 



> Second, there is the issue of single combat.  If I don't have the other guy cheat, then presumably the knights won't cheat so we will have a one-on-one battle.  That being the case, what do the other 8 players do while this battle plays out?  Will they get bored?  Will they still feel vicariously involved?  Things to think about.




Well, this situation has arisen numerous times already. I do not know if I speak for everyone, but I generally feel vicariously involved at least to some degree.  In challenges which everybody respects this is not a problem at all since they can be resolved pretty quickly - there being no initiative order and all. In longer fights where some respect the nobility rules and others don't (which makes it necessary to cycle through everyone and prolongs the combat) I suppose it might be better to somehow involve everybody in some way, but this is not always possible and I don't think it is a big problem at all.


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## Particle_Man (Feb 24, 2005)

I like this nobility idea and will discuss it with players at the next session.

As for the stone age thing, I think I will let legend trump real history.  Since Hercules was around back then re the mythic history, I shall declare a bronze age by fiat (but maybe only the heroic types (like the druid) got a hold of the bronze stuff).


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 25, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> The druid finished him (and another character, a one shot rogue) off with an ice storm.  Note, the druid got hit by arrows by Stephen and his cohort (an accident of destiny, natural '1' + the Kusman curse).  So the druid went mad, and had to be subdued and tied up for a while.




I promise. I won't play a Yoeman again.  Now I'm back as a knight again.  Natural ONEs won't kill any party members this time.  (perhaps I need to play a class that doesn't need to roll dice.   )

I guess I won't need to post my Yoeman stats after all


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 25, 2005)

Roman said:
			
		

> Perhaps we really ought to make the interpretation of nobility stricter or perhaps add more nobility penalties. I would suggest nobility penalties where loss of nobility is inevitable or things like:
> 
> A) If a lady dies (even a non-permanent death) in proximity all knigts lose nobility (hey that even rhymes!)
> 
> This would create situations where loss of nobility was inevitable - a lady engages in combat... and if the knight helps her, he is ganging up on an opponent and loses nobility. If she dies he has failed to protect her and he also loses nobility.




No females will be allowed on the battle field.  I will make sure of that.  Escort the ladies to safety.  Nobility points, baby.  



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> B) If you are ordered to do something ignoble by your patron (Prince Caius for most of the knights, you could change the word patron to superior to include all the knights) you lose nobility if you do not do it (but less than if you do do it), but of course you also loose nobility if you carry out the orders




I like this one.  The loss/loss situation.  We're screwed...  As screwed as a Yoeman I would say.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> C) You loose nobility when you 'cheat' even if your opponent 'cheated' first if your cheating is worse than his. Of course, you always loose nobility if you 'cheat' first. We could have ranks of 'cheating' from least ignoble to most ignoble:
> 
> Cheating that equalizes your opponent's cheating advantage is least severe and entails no loss of nobility if your opponent cheated first. Apart from that the ranks of cheating could be:
> 
> ...




Does that include our magic items (magic buffs)?  What if we were fighting Wights that had no armors nor weapons?  I would take Improved Unarmed Strike if i had to.  Or we should just avoid all combats if necessary.  I sense the come back of Sir Toby....  (You guys fight, I watch until I'm the last standing, then I will fight alone.  Or I challenge something, then die and use the fate points from Prince Caius' cohort to get resurrected.  I did that a couple times on Toby - shame.)

If someone casts Bless, Bull's Strengh, Endurance, Prayer, or Cure in a battle, it is considered buff or adventages.  What if we already have magic items on, like weapon, shield, armor, ring, amulet, would those be considered a buff/adventage as well?



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> So if an opponent cheats from the first category and is the first to do so you do not lose nobility if you also cheat within that category, but lose nobility if you begin cheating in the second and third severity category unless he does so first.
> 
> Also, the loss of nobility could be per action rather than per battle. Suppose an opponent does not cheat at all and we all gang up on him. Alll of us should probably loose nobility every round we do so, rather than a one off loss per battle.
> 
> ...




I don't think it is a big problem as well.  We only have issues with the combats.  The story is great.  It was a shame that Toby died because I refused to use a cohort's fate points to resurrect him twice on one day.  Steven wasn't well developed and he had already had the bad luck on shooting other female party members.  I was thinking about changing him into a melee fighter, but it would be Toby's story once again.

I don't have the skill to play a Yoeman, sorry guys.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 25, 2005)

I need help on my next character concept.

1)  For the story, I will make a Knight with a kick-arse noble steed.  He will be more noble than Toby.  The horse I get will be super good.
18 Str, 14 Dex, 20 Con, 11 Int, 9 Wis, and 10 Cha.

Noble Steed (12HD)
24 Str, 21 Dex, 18 Con, 2 Int, 14 Wis, 6 Cha.

2)  For the combat/get-things-done, I will make a Fighter with buffs up the yin-yan.  A low-life scum, but he will actually kill stuff.
18 Str + Bull's Strength (+ Rage at 8th level - Green Knight) = 22 (or 26) Str,  18 Dex, 16 (or 20) Con, 7 Int, 11 Wis, 10 Cha.


BTY, I have been busy.  I will post the final story of Steven and Yvona later today.


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## Aidoku (Feb 25, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> No females will be allowed on the battle field.  I will make sure of that.  Escort the ladies to safety.  Nobility points, baby.




I do believe that you've overlooked a few things here.  For one, half the party is composed of women, so getting us all off the field of battle could be problematic while simultaneously trying to engage the enemy.  For another, we would all be trying to engage the enemy ourselves since we are fairly combative ladies.  Besides, how would you get us to leave if we didn't want to?  It's not like you could carry us off bodily, for that would be quite uncouth.


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## LadyK (Feb 25, 2005)

Aidoku said:
			
		

> I do believe that you've overlooked a few things here. For one, half the party is composed of women, so getting us all off the field of battle could be problematic while simultaneously trying to engage the enemy. For another, we would all be trying to engage the enemy ourselves since we are fairly combative ladies. Besides, how would you get us to leave if we didn't want to? It's not like you could carry us off bodily, for that would be quite uncouth.




Not only would it be uncouth, but carrying off bodily said _fairly combattive_ ladies might prove problematic on a more practical level. Any volunteers for forcibly evicting Lady Andrea from the scene of the battle?

Didn't think so.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 25, 2005)

*I am Yvona.  I will conclude the final chapter of our adventure with Prince Caius.*

_"You are the most honorable man I have seen," Yvona said quietly to herself when she was travelling back to the bandit camp alone.  "You have fulfilled your destiny and your death will be well remembered, Steven."_

On our way to Camelot, we rode pass a strange skinny short man several times.  We were riding on our horses; and he was walking.  Déjà vu!  We stopped, talked to him, and found out that he was from Camelot.  Excellent!  He would be our guide to Camelot.  Steven and I liked this guy because we saw a bow on his back.

We finally saw Camelot…  However, there were TWO Camelots in front of us.

"What the…." looking at the two identical castles with surprise, Steven asked Prince Caius.  "Which one is the real Camelot?  Are we heading to the right one?"

"It must be enchantment," Prince Caius explained.  "Check if we are walking in circles as well!"

We couldn't be able to track that we were heading the correct direction, but at least, we knew that we weren't walking in circles.  Then Prince Caius took out his dagger and spun it.  It pointed at one of the Camelots.

"This way," Prince Caius pointed at the forest ahead of us and said.  "We will walk through the forest."

Steven and I didn't really believe the dagger would tell the way, so we looked at the new guy for guidance, but he didn't say a word.  He moved towards the forest.  We all just followed with cautious.

In the forest, the ground suddenly turned soft and muddy.  We were starting to sink into the ground.  Luckily that Steven and I were on the edge of the puddle.  We quickly took a step out of the puddle and moved behind some trees.

We looked out and saw some of the knights had troubles getting out of the mud.  Suddenly a big rock fell from the sky and hit Lady Leanne.  Then another hit Lady Christine.  Then another one fell.

Cassandra mumbled something, then we saw some purple light with a human-shape-outline appeared in the sky.  After that, Lady Christine started to mumble as well.  This time, Rebel started to fly above ground.  Prince Caius was walking in mid-air.  It must be sorcery that I had heard of.

The new guy, Steven and I saw a target.  We all aimed at it and started shooting.  Cassandra turned into an eagle and flew up in the sky.  I wished I could do something like that.

Steven hit the cloud of light with an arrow, but the new guy and I missed.  Then Steven hit Cassandra because the wind changed his arrow's course.  Another rock fell; Sir Anton jumped in front of Lady Leanne and took the hit for her.

We kept shooting at it.  I accidentally shot Cassandra this time.  But the giant was in mid-air, we could only shoot him from down here.  We shot for another round.  This time, the new guy shot Cassandra and I shot Rebel.  Why did they have to be in front of us?  For some unknown reason, the giant started to fall.

"The giant is mine!" Sir Anton yelled and waited for it to fall near him.

Steven signed me to go melee and flank the giant.

"As soon as it lands," Steven of Kusman gave me a quick plan. "Get ready in position to flank it."

Steven moved out, moved behind the giant who was fighting Sir Anton, and took a shot at it from behind.  However, Sir Anton displeased from what Steven had done and disengaged.  The plan was ruined.  The new guy saw an opening and jumped onto the giant's back and stabbed it with his dagger.  Then we saw Cassandra summoned an ice storm on us for vengence.  Then the giant disappeared.  It must be either Cassandra or the new guy's doing.

We thought the ice storm was an accident, but Cassandra kept firing lightning bolts on us after the fight.  Steven stood there and took two direct lightning bolts.  I dodged mine because I was not stupid.  I was so mad that I wanted to fire an arrow at her, but Steven signed me to hold back and looked at Prince Caius for guidance.

Prince Caius ran up to Cassandra in the sky and hit her.  Lady Leanne shot an arrow at her and hit.  Cassandra started to fall from the sky.  Lady Christine waved his fingers at Cassandra, then Cassandra had slowed down and landed on the ground safely.  Lady Leanne tied Cassandra up and kept her unconscious.  Cassandra's wolf was watching us, but I believed it knew what was going on or it knew it couldn't beat us all.

We had finally arrived Camelot.  The city was huge, but everyone seemed strange.  They didn't seem to have noticed us.  Steven went to take a look and waved his hand in front of them, but no responds.

While Steven went to check on the townspeople, we continued marching into the castle.  The guards didn't even see us, so we just walked in.

In the throne room, we saw King Arthur.  A beautiful young girl was carrying a cloak to him.  Then Lady Leanne shot an arrow at her.  The arrow hit the cloak and pulled it out of the girl's hands.  Then the arrow got burned to dust.  I was surprised.  Lady Leanne was a great Yoeman, even better than Steven.

At dinner, we were invited to join King Arthur.  Steven and I were disguised as nobles.  I didn't know how to act as a noble woman, but I played along anyway.  Luckily, none accused me as a fake.  Steven was really happy.  He told me that he had helped to save King Arthur.  He had done what he needed to do.  He was thinking about going back to the camp next day, but he would stay with Prince Caius if he was needed here.

After dinner, we all went to bed.  Steven and I had a bad habit picked up in the bandit camp.  We kept our belongings close to us when we were not in our camp because we trusted no one.

In the middle of the night, we were teleported into a hot pit with fire everywhere.  Steven and I were shocked.  Prince Caius told us that it was Hell.  Unforntunately, we didn't know what Hell was because we both were old faith.

We saw a big red toad.  It chased after us.  We ran and Prince Caius leaded us to follow a river.  He told us to go ahead, but then he was stunned.  Steven and I had our gears on.  We wanted to help him.  Steven told me to leave, and I believed in him; therefore, I left.  I saw Steven pushed Prince Caius to Cassandra away from the toad.  And that was the last I saw him...

*Now, I am ready to return to the camp with a tale.  A tale about an honorable young man, who was named Steven of Kusman, fulfilled his destiny and died with glory.*


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 25, 2005)

Aidoku said:
			
		

> I do believe that you've overlooked a few things here.  For one, half the party is composed of women, so getting us all off the field of battle could be problematic while simultaneously trying to engage the enemy.  For another, we would all be trying to engage the enemy ourselves since we are fairly combative ladies.  Besides, how would you get us to leave if we didn't want to?  It's not like you could carry us off bodily, for that would be quite uncouth.




True.  If I had to die for a lady, let it be.  Perhaps there are other ladies needed to be escorted... *looks around for some random females in the scene   

Sir Bradley


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## Roman (Feb 25, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> I like this nobility idea and will discuss it with players at the next session.




Of course, it also assumes that if you cheat after the enemy cheats you still do not gain any nobility for the battle even if you do heroic stuff that would normally gain you some...   



> As for the stone age thing, I think I will let legend trump real history.  Since Hercules was around back then re the mythic history, I shall declare a bronze age by fiat (but maybe only the heroic types (like the druid) got a hold of the bronze stuff).




Fair enough


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 25, 2005)

Sir Bradley Brown
Level 7 Knight

Str 18
Dex 14
Con 20
Int 11
Wis 9
Cha 10

HP 119
AC 21

Saves:
Fort +12
Ref +6
Will +3 (+2 vs. fear)

Melee Attack: +11/+6
Ranged Attack: +9/+4

Weapons:
Lance (masterwork)  To hit: +12/+7 (+2 Mounted Combat)  Damage: 1d8+6   Crit: x3
Greatsword(m.w.)   To hit: +12/+7 (+2 Mounted Combat)   Damage: 2d6+6   Crit: 19-20/x2

Armors:
Full Plate +1   AC: 9   Max Dex: 4   Check Penalty: -2
Chain Shirt   AC: 4   Max Dex: 7   Check Penalty: 0

Shield:
Light Steel Shield   AC: 1   Check Penalty: -1

Skills:
Handle Animal: +12 (+2 Mounted Combat)
Intimidate: +2 (Aura of Knighthood)
Ride: +16 (+2 Mounted Combat)
Sense Motive against Intimidate: +1 (Aura of Knighthood)
Spot: +1

Feats/Special Abilities:
Mounted Combat +2
Code of Chivalry
Aura of Knighthood
Animal Affinity
Armor Tolerance +3
Knight's Warhorse
Ride-by Attack
Power Attack
Dispense Justice
Spirited Charge
Leadership
Trample

Magic Gear:
Cloak of Resistance +2
Amulet of Health +2
Gauntlets of Ogre Power

Gear:
Backpack
Bedroll
Blanket, Winter x2
Flint & Steel
Lantern, Hooded
Pouch, Belt
Rope, Silk (50ft)
Sacks x2
Waterskin x2
Whetstone

====================================================================

Freedom
Heavy Warhorse (Pure Breed) - Noble Steed
12(HD)

Str 24
Dex 21
Con 18
Int 2
Wis 14
Cha 6

HP 100
AC 26

Saves:
Fort +12 (+4 resist nonlethal damage)
Ref +13
Will +6 (+4 vs. enchantment)

Melee Attack: +15/+10
Ranged Attack: +13/+8

Weapons:
Hooves x2   To hit: +15 (+2 Mounted Combat)   Damage: 1d6+7
Bite   To hit: +10 (+2 Mounted Combat)   Damage: 1d4+3

Armor:
Chainshirt Barding   AC:4   Max Dex: 4   Check Penalty: -2

Skills:
Balance: +3
Climb: +5
Escape Artist: +3
Hide: +3
Jump: +9
Listen: +13
Move Silently: +3
Search: -4
Sense Motive: +2
Spot: +13
Swim: -99999999999999999999999999999999
Survival: +9

Feats/Special Abilities:
Low Light Vision
Scent
Endurance
Run
Alertness
Self-Sufficient
Track

Tricks: 6+7
Attack
Charge
Come
Defend
Down
Fetch
Guard
Heel
Perform
Protect
Seek
Stay
Track

Gear:
Military Saddle (Exotic)
Warhorse Chainshirt Barding


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## Roman (Feb 25, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> No females will be allowed on the battle field.  I will make sure of that.  Escort the ladies to safety.  Nobility points, baby.




I think the ladies might object to that.  

Remember that under the system the knights would only suffer a nobility loss if a lady actually died - the knights cannot prevent the ladies from engaging if they want to...  



> You guys fight, I watch until I'm the last standing, then I will fight alone. Or I challenge something, then die and use the fate points from Prince Caius' cohort to get resurrected. I did that a couple times on Toby - shame.




I have a feeling that Sir Anton might also have an encounter with higher powers after fighting his older brother next session and having spent all of his fate points this encounter might be unavoidable.  




> Does that include our magic items (magic buffs)?  What if we were fighting Wights that had no armors nor weapons?




I guess this is up for interpretation, but I would say that using passive magic items is not considered cheating at all - otherwise we would REALLY complicate things. For example, using a +2 sword would not be cheating. Active magic items that cast spells, however, probably should constitute cheating (only if you use them to cast the spells though - their passive bonuses are still fine) - what level of cheating is involved would be dependent on the type of spell cast - same as normal spellcasting. 

This sort of fits with the magic system that we seem to be using in this game - everybody has one and only magic item that is tied to him or her - you could think of it almost as an extention of him or her. If I remember correctly, the only item that could be considered as cheating under this system would be the Button Artefact that our late friend Toby used to possess, but since he is deceased that is no longer relevant.

But you are right, I am not sure whether this is the right way to deal with that, but it seems the most sensible way to go as far as I can see unless somebody points out a better way to deal with this. 

As to the armed/unarmed problem, I would suggest that an opponent with natural weapons (such as wights) should be automatically considered as armed. Otherwise imagine fighting dragons... 



> If someone casts Bless, Bull's Strengh, Endurance, Prayer, or Cure in a battle, it is considered buff or adventages.




These are all buff spells that increase combat statistics rather than give new advantages/abilities (which would be things like flight, etc.). 



> What if we already have magic items on, like weapon, shield, armor, ring, amulet, would those be considered a buff/adventage as well?




I would say that a permanent magic item does not count as a buff/advantage given the fact that each of us has only one and we do not get to choose it and thus can't abuse it (I seem to have a penchant for bad rhymes today    ). Potions and other temporary effects, however, ought to count as buffs.


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## Roman (Feb 25, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> I need help on my next character concept.
> 
> 1)  For the story, I will make a Knight with a kick-arse noble steed.  He will be more noble than Toby.  The horse I get will be super good.
> 18 Str, 14 Dex, 20 Con, 11 Int, 9 Wis, and 10 Cha.
> ...




I am not sure what your question is - are you making a knight or a fighter or a knight with a fighter cohort?


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 25, 2005)

Roman said:
			
		

> I think the ladies might object to that.




They did, but I can't blame them.  I would do the same if I were a lady.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> Remember that under the system the knights would only suffer a nobility loss if a lady actually died - the knights cannot prevent the ladies from engaging if they want to...




We need to be more careful from now on.  I'm glad that I'm no longer a Yoeman.  You might kill me for shooting the ladies.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> I have a feeling that Sir Anton might also have an encounter with higher powers after fighting his older brother next session and having spent all of his fate points this encounter might be unavoidable.




Good luck!  Did you make a vow to defeat your older brother for your lady of the lake?  You would gain tons of nobility.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> I guess this is up for interpretation, but I would say that using passive magic items is not considered cheating at all - otherwise we would REALLY complicate things. For example, using a +2 sword would not be cheating. Active magic items that cast spells, however, probably should constitute cheating (only if you use them to cast the spells though - their passive bonuses are still fine) - what level of cheating is involved would be dependent on the type of spell cast - same as normal spellcasting.




I see what you mean here.  It's clear when you use ACTIVE and PASSIVE here.  ACTIVE is intentional; and PASSIVE is not.  Although we have a choice to use a +2 sword or a regular sword, we shouldn't waste our magic items   



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> This sort of fits with the magic system that we seem to be using in this game - everybody has one and only magic item that is tied to him or her - you could think of it almost as an extention of him or her. If I remember correctly, the only item that could be considered as cheating under this system would be the Button Artefact that our late friend Toby used to possess, but since he is deceased that is no longer relevant.




Particle_Man gave out tons of magic items not long ago.  A bow, a few daggers, rings, etc.  Cassandra has the button thingy.  I think that's the only one magic item needed to be activated by pushing buttons.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 25, 2005)

Roman said:
			
		

> I am not sure what your question is - are you making a knight or a fighter or a knight with a fighter cohort?




I am thinking a knight or a fighter with a priest cohort.

Knight: story purpose.  cohort will only heal after each battle.

Fighter: someone can actully kill stuff fast.  cohort will bull's strength, endurance, prayer, bless, etc.


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## Roman (Feb 25, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> Good luck!  Did you make a vow to defeat your older brother for your lady of the lake?  You would gain tons of nobility.




I vowed to avenge her death. This would entail defeating my brother, though not necessarily killing him (He hopes hope not, Sir Anton does not want to kill his own brother!). I am not sure whether it gives Sir Anton any nobility if he succeeds in his vow (I think it does, but I do not precisely remember the rules on this), but I think failure to fulfill his vow and avenge his patron almost certainly leads to a loss of nobility plus the loss of the ability of the Knight to advance as a Knight and possibly in the loss of his Knigthood altogether, though on this last one I am not sure. Of course, these losses assume he does not die in the process of failing...  It will be interesting that's for sure.  



> I see what you mean here.  It's clear when you use ACTIVE and PASSIVE here.  ACTIVE is intentional; and PASSIVE is not.  Although we have a choice to use a +2 sword or a regular sword, we shouldn't waste our magic items




You pretty much got my take on it.  



> Particle_Man gave out tons of magic items not long ago.  A bow, a few daggers, rings, etc.  Cassandra has the button thingy.  I think that's the only one magic item needed to be activated by pushing buttons.




I must have missed that somehow.

BTW: Particle_Man - do you have a spare character sheet? Sir Anton's one is rather damaged by now, as it has been over the course of his advancement through 10 levels and all the handling as well as erasing and changing of statistics, equipment, etc. left its mark on the structural integrity of the paper.


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## Roman (Feb 25, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> I am thinking a knight or a fighter with a priest cohort.
> 
> Knight: story purpose.  cohort will only heal after each battle.
> 
> Fighter: someone can actully kill stuff fast.  cohort will bull's strength, endurance, prayer, bless, etc.




I am not sure I can help you on this one. You tried playing a yeomen and a knight, so it is up to you whether you want to try a fighter in the campaign or return back to the knight. 

Just thought of an interesting fate if you go for the fighter: To prove that breaking the code of chivalry is key to defeating knights.


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## Particle_Man (Feb 25, 2005)

I printed one up and will go xerox it.  If you like, you can go to RPGsheets and search for Excalibur, or search for Arthurian Adventures, and find the same sheet.

Hmmm...I think I will lay off the "natural 1 means I can screw with you in missle weapon combat", since that seems to be the source of the problems.  I'll just leave that "power" with the Cursed Bow of Kusman.  

One way out of the "escort the ladies" deal is, perhaps, that a lady who intentionally wades into combat gives up the "must protect me" part of the code voluntarily.  That would take care of Lady Andrea, and perhaps Lady Christine.  Perhaps the same could be said for a Lady using a bow (Leanne).  The need to protect non-meelee, non-missle, spellcasting ladies (sometimes Christine, sometimes Leanne, Cassandra) is something we would have to discuss.

Now I have this idea of a dragon with 12 ladies tied to stakes, at different points on the battle field, with the knights scrambling like mad to position themselves between the dragon and each of the ladies.  But that is more a geometry puzzle than D&D.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 25, 2005)

Roman said:
			
		

> I am not sure I can help you on this one. You tried playing a yeomen and a knight, so it is up to you whether you want to try a fighter in the campaign or return back to the knight.
> 
> Just thought of an interesting fate if you go for the fighter: To prove that breaking the code of chivalry is key to defeating knights.




LOL.  Actually, knights die easily.  Look at the number of death in our party.  Steven's death was intentional (If he did survive, he would have returned to the bandit camp with Yvona.  He had oathed to the bandit leader in my story.  I have planned ahead   )

I believe you are the only knight who hasn't been defeated in our campaign.
White - defeated and transformed into a stone lady
Red - defeated and transformed into a Golbin
Green - defeated and transformed into a Centuar
Purple - defeated and transformed into a Dwarf
Blue - the remaining human knight
Spell casters - any death records?  I don't remember.

I don't say that fighters will not die, but fighters will have a higher chance of success in combats.


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## Roman (Feb 26, 2005)

Sorry to everybody that I could not make it to the Friday campaign today - I woke up with fever and felt terrible. I tried to walk but my head was spinning. I am feeling somewhat better now, so I should be able to make it to on Saturday to this campaign. 



			
				Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> LOL.  Actually, knights die easily.  Look at the number of death in our party.  Steven's death was intentional (If he did survive, he would have returned to the bandit camp with Yvona.  He had oathed to the bandit leader in my story.  I have planned ahead   )
> 
> I believe you are the only knight who hasn't been defeated in our campaign.
> White - defeated and transformed into a stone lady
> ...




Hmm, you have a point. If the Blue knight falls too and has fate points left (which regretfully is not the case at the moment) I am betting on a transformation to something related either to fish, or frogs or crocodiles.


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## Toby of Kusman (Feb 26, 2005)

Roman said:
			
		

> Sorry to everybody that I could not make it to the Friday campaign today - I woke up with fever and felt terrible. I tried to walk but my head was spinning. I am feeling somewhat better now, so I should be able to make it to on Saturday to this campaign.




Don't worry.  We didn't do much on Friday.  We spent hours in a town shopping.  It was my fault.  I wanted to buy some wands since I had used up all the charges on my Magic Missile (5th level) wand.  I bought a See Invisibility wand and a Fireball (6th level) wand.

Everyone spent their gold as well.  Danny traded in his +2 greatsword for a cursed greatsword


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## Particle_Man (Feb 27, 2005)

So this installment will be divided into two parts: the game session and the discussion about nobility gains/losses.  Everyone (including those not involved in the game, and including Athurian Adventures creator Charles Rice) is free to chip in their 2 cents on the latter.

The game itself:  King Anguish is missing a castle, and has heard of a new castle or fort appearing to the north, and so sends the gang to check it out, and see if perhaps its stones could be used as the foundation for a new castle.  Lady Christine gets knighted as Sir Chris by Prince Caius.

Lady Leanne and Cassandra try to reincarnate Magnus, but get a vision of “King” Albion in his patchwork collection of castles, wherein is seen the yeoman that gave the party grief earlier, as well as a small winged figure with the twisted visage of a Magnus consumed with hatred.  They infer that Magnus cannot be brought back until the ignoble part of him is “laid to rest with extreme prejudice”.

When the party gets to the fort in the north, they find it occupied by Saxons!  Indeed it was a Saxon fort and was moved by magic.  The Saxons are a bit confused, but defiant, and say that they will have their champion meet the champion of the party to see whose fort it is.  The party sends Sir Andrea, and the Saxons call out, and from behind the fort comes three hill giants, Larn, his brother Daren, and his other brother Daren.  The younger and smaller Daren wants to prove himself, and asks to be the champion.  During the battle, Lady Leanne tries to buff Sir Andrea, but a witchdoctor/shaman type of the Saxons detects this, and dispels the magic!  The fight continues, and with one ranged healing effect from Lady Leanne, Sir Andrea prevails.  The two giants carry away their unconscious brother, and the Saxons declare themselves for King Anguish.  And a few propose marriage to Sir Andrea.  The witchdoctor doesn’t, and is pushed off the keep to his death by another Saxon (the Saxons respect winners, not losers).  Caius tells all the Saxons to go into the fort to feast to celebrate, and most of the party goes in as well.  Outside, and undisturbed, a ring is discovered on that witchdoctor by Lady Leanne and Prince Caius, (and Cassandra) as well as a magic bone (SR 15).  The ring is one of Albion’s and Lady Leanne cuts off the finger (causing a whirlwind) and puts the ring in a vial, without touching it.  She intends to study it.  

The party rests for the night and continues north.  They find the village of Littleton has been attacked by giants!  And one of the villager’s daughters (Gloria) has been kidnapped.  The party does not find it difficult to track the giants.  Combat again ensues, but this time against the larger Daren!  (Daren has some Barbarian/Berserker levels).  Here the party divides.  Some of the party engage this giant in single combat, while others of the party try to team up and get Gloria out of the hands of the other giant (who was using her as a hostage to force the champion to fight the big giant).  This combat is bloody and long, and Sir Andrea and Sir Chris both fall in combat.  The earth swallows them up (they had fate points to burn, so what the heck).  

It is during this combat that a knight and two priests find the party attacking the giants (two players, one npc cohort).  They were sent by Count Randolph to get aid from King Anguish against the Saxons that plague the northeast coast of Ireland.

Eventually combat is won.  Now I take Sir Chris’s player out and give her a “mini-adventure” wherein she is told by a glowing lady that she is called upon to defeat a demon, and if she succeeds she will regain her life.  Sir Chris appears, unarmed and unarmoured, in the dining hall of a demon, who seems to be about to feast upon a baby!  Sir Chris sees a spear behind her on the wall, and uses it to stab the demon from behind, taking it by surprise!  But then the demon turns out to be really an old man, the baby turns out to be a roast chicken, and the lady’s voice turns into the booming, mocking laughter of King Albion.  Sir Chris is then whisked away, but gets to keep the spear (a nice one, a +5 ignoble longspear of wounding, that can be used as a lance!)

Then it is time for Sir Andrea’s “mini-adventure”.  She awakens in a room tended by Lady Nimue, a servitor of King Arthur.  Lady Nimue tells Sir Andrea that the Fisher King has been slain or seriously wounded by the Lance of Longinus (the spear that pierced the side of Christ, a weapon so terrible it should never be used!).  This has led to the death of everyone in the Fisher King’s kingdom, as well as the death of all plant life in that kingdom and two kingdoms nearby.  And this wasteland will spread, unless the most holy of artifacts, the Holy Grail, is recovered.  Thus King Arthur has ordered all knights to seek out this grail, and it is Sir Andrea’s job to spread the word to all the knights in Ireland, starting with the company.  Sir Andrea was also told that it was one of her company that may in some way be responsible!  Nimue presents her with 8 swords (+3 noble longswords) to help Sir Andrea and her friends in their quest for the Holy Grail.  (This will be tricky, as at least three of the company have committed severe transgressions).

Then both are deposited on opposite sides of the village, about half an hour away.  They both get a feeling for where the village is.  So Sir Chris (now red of skin, as if sunburned) walks in with her spear, and Sir Andrea (now with Silver irises in her eyes) walks in as well.  A new character, a priest, thinks that he sees an angel and a devil.  Sir Chris explains what happens, but only to Prince Caius, who insists she keep it secret.  Sir Andrea spreads the word.  Suspicion mounts on Hubert, who was in Scotland recently, and thus might be responsible, but nothing can be proven.

Anyhow, that spends all of Sir Chris’s destiny points; For now, I am draining Sir Andrea’s destiny points slowly.  Every three days she shrinks one inch (and that spends the destiny point).  So far she hasn’t noticed, and her armor is resizing with her.

The party continues north.  6 days (and 2 inches) later, they see a flying white dragon, with the younger brother hill giant on his back!  The dragon says that while the giant wants to fight, the dragon would be content to simply take all of the party’s treasure and horses.  The priest tries to convince the Dragon to be peaceful in the name of Christ, but no dice.  The priest then tries a bestow curse spell.  The party elects to fight.  Eventually the dragon and giant are defeated (notably, the druid and minstrel summon, enlarge and buff a giant snake to grapple the dragon at one point!).  Oddly, though Sir Chris did not get involved in the combat, her new magic spear is still dripping with blood at the end of it…

And that is where we leave it.  Now on to the nobility discussion part.  Many members of the party lost nobility for ganging up on the dragon and/or the giant.  This led to two sorts of questions: 1) Is it fair to present the party with situations where it seems to be “gang up” or die?,  and 2) What, exactly, counts as “attacking a foe at a disadvantage”?  Listed is “attacking a dismounted foe from horseback”, and “attacking a foe with ranged weapons, if they don’t have such”.

To the first question, while I would not always use “supertough” foes against the party, it is sometimes hard to judge who will cheat and who will not, so I sort of aim to sometimes have weaker foes and sometimes have stronger foes.  Another way of looking at it is that sometimes nobility is “spent” to win a combat, much like charges from a staff are discharged.  Then the nobility has to be “replenished” by some extra good deeds (which I will try to develop with the Grail quest).  Also, I was curious to see whether the party would try to outsmart the dragon (feed it a summoned creature, challenge it to a riddle contest, etc.).  But, I can see that this might not be as easy to see from a player’s viewpoint, so I will try to throw more “single combat appropriate” monsters.

To the second, after much discussion, we decided that the attacking a foe at a disadvantage penalty would be, not per combat, and not per round of attacks, but per opponent in combat (with the caveat that if one fully disengaged/leaves combat and then returns, that can count for a new penalty).  Ranged attacks would only be “safely” used if the opponent uses ranged weapons, and only if the opponent can reach one with such (so if the dragon is grappled by a snake and can’t move, then attacking it with missle weapons out of the range of the dragon’s breath weapon would be attacking a foe at a disadvantage).

If a creature is flying, then it is not attacking a foe at a disadvantage if one is mounted vs. the flying creature.

A dragon was seen as not automatically “Fair game” for magic unless it used magic itself.  Claws and bites did not count for this, spells did, and the breath weapon is under discussion.

A “mass opponent” spell was, I think, decided to count as attacking multiple opponents at a disadvantage, and thus could count for multiple penalties.  But this is still open to discussion.

A dragon’s breath weapon is still under some discussion.  Does it count as a ranged attack, a magical attack, or both?

Next, what about magic items, buff spells, etc.?  Well, since King Arthur uses magic items (like Excalibur) it was hard to argue against their use, although there is a possible difference between “passive” items that simply do what they do, items that “activated themselves”, and “Active” items that have to be activated by the user, as if a spell were being cast.  The “bless” effect granted by priests giving communion was seen as not breaking the rules of attacking foes at a disadvantage, but what about the “bless, prayer, bull’s strength”, etc. series in combat?  Bardic singing (via Skald, Minstrel) was seen as not breaking the rules.  Maybe it comes down to typed bonuses?  Morale bonuses don’t break the rules?  Or could the difference come down to “flashy” vs. “non-flashy” effects.  A blessing or prayer or bull’s strength does not cause obvious changes, in the way that a polymorph or enlarge do, so a knight might just consider this to be feeling good about the combat, or adrenaline, as opposed to cheating?  This is still an area to discuss.

Now for all of this, one could GAIN nobility if one failed to use such tactics even after the foe used them (ranged weapons, etc.).  Since Arthurian legends are all about knightly jousting and such, I would allow that mounted combat vs. mounted combat knights was still ok, so that a knight would not gain free nobility by dismounting before a joust against a mounted knight.

There is also the question of whether the nobility system only works for knights.  Earlier it was seen as difficult for non-knights to gain nobility.  Partly this is my fault, as I should a) give the party some more treasure, followed by b) have some beggars, churches, etc., in the party’s path for the party to donate to.  And have damsels in distress that need aid, etc. and/or the party can swear more oaths, and keep them.

Finally, there is the question of nobility vs. those that “count” vs. heathens, monsters (even monsters that talk) etc.  It is not like dragons know or care about chivalry much, much less serving the One God.  And how does the Old Faith tie into the code of chivalry?  Right now I am applying it across the board to everyone with respect to everyone, but this is open to discussion too.

So anyhow, I am new at the DM game, so still learning, and am open to ideas on all of this.  If Charles Rice is about to release a 55 page pdf on “Arthurian Adventures and Medieval Heroic Ethics: how exactly to gain and lose nobility” I would likely buy it.  But I can see why a lot of this left to the dm and party to decide.  It wanders into the realm of moral philosophy (a millennia old subject), and whether (and how much) nobility is tied to what the character intends, what the character does regardless of intention (one can lose nobility for hitting a horse in a joust, but this is determined by a random roll), how the character is perceived, etc.  Also, starting nobility is determined by social class!

It is tricky.  That’s for sure.  But I think that together we can hammer something out, and discover things through trial-and-error, so I remain optimistic.


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## Roman (Feb 28, 2005)

Yes, the discussion of nobility continues... At least we have agreed to adopt the rule I proposed on nobility loss being once per combat per opponent, so at least we have something semi-firm, even though even the interpretation of that can differ... 

I think that an issue of concern is the enormous spread of nobility within the party. The extremes range from Prince Hammoton with a nobility of 90(!!!!) to Prince Caius with a nobility of 20. I think a nice solution to this would be to make nobility at least in somewhat party-based. This makes sense, as nobility ought to depend at least in part on whom one associates with. So, if the party does something noble, everybody's nobility should go up and if something ignoble it should go down. Perhaps we could implement something like: If half or more of the party participates in an ignoble act, half of the lowest (or perhaps average) nobility loss applies even to those members of the party that did not participate in it (and vice versa for nobility gain). Of course, the noble actions of those individuals can offset the loss if they are particularly noble. This also has the advantage of encouraging the knights to go all out when faced with an opponent that might wipe out the party without teaming. 

Also, I think that all of the knights (perhaps excepting Prince Caius on 'humanitarian grounds' since this post facto loss of nobility would put him below the level required for a knight) should loose a further 8 points of nobility on top of what we already agreed on at the end of the session. We failed to prevent two noblewomen from dying (albeit only temporarily) - Lady Christine and Lady Andrea - that should be 4 nobility loss for each of the ladies who died for all knights (perhaps with the exception of Christine and Andrea  ) as we failed to protect them. As you can probably see, I am trying to argue for a system which encourages people to help prevent each other's deaths (death of a lady leads to nobility loss, so the knight has to choose whether to gang up on an opponent and lose nobiltity thusly or...) 

Hence I think the following further adjustments of nobility are in order: 

Sir Anton: -8 

Sir Bradley: -8 

Prince Hammoton: -8 


The above should be the obvious ones. Now: 

Prince Caius: Hmm, he was engaged in another combat at the time, so he could be argued to be exempt on those grounds... but mostly I thnink it would be unfair to make him lose nobility below the level required for a knight post facto (since this was not the last combat where cheating occured it is post facto). 

Lady Andrea: No loss of nobility - she is the victim here 

Lady Christine: No loss of nobility - another victim 

Hubert: Not a knight, so probably only -4 nobility, but perhaps no loss if we apply the rule that a lady dying leads to nobility loss only to knights. 

Cassandra: A lady and a non-knight - probably should not lose nobility for this at all and if so it should certainly be lower loss than for most others. 

Hobb & the new priest (I don't remember his name): Hmm, they have gentleness and non-violence as part of their key nobility concepts, so they probably should not lose nobility for this or if so than less (perhaps -2 each) 

Lady Leane: No loss of nobility


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## LadyK (Feb 28, 2005)

it was actually brought up at the time, whether the new knight should face loss of nobility for failiing to protect the ladies, and it was decided that he should not, since he offered aid and was rebuffed. Someone with the book can correct me, but I believe loss of nobility is supposed to be for *refusing* to protect a lady, not for failing. Also, the earlier discussion on the specifics of lady knights seems to have been aborted. Do lady knights (and possibly other ladies who rush into battle, heedless of good sense) count as ladies or knights when it comes to the nobiliy loss of their companions?


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## Particle_Man (Feb 28, 2005)

I would be inclined to say that the role played is important.  If the character is played as a lady, that is different than if the character is played as a knight.

Personally, I still favour the idea that if a "lady" is doing damage in combat, then she doesn't NEED protection from knights.  The whole point about helping ladies in the medeival period was that they couldn't help themselves and thus needed to be protected.  But some player characters break this mold.  Lady Knights would be one of them.  Lady Archers another.  Lady Druids who are obviously casting lightning bolts would be another.  Ladies who are more subtle with their magics would still count as ladies in need of protection, since as far as anyone can tell, they are helpless.  

Or at least that is my two cents.

I am not too sure about "group nobility" as then I think some characters that want high nobility will simply be hosed no matter what, since some characters will "cheat" no matter what.


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## Toby of Kusman (Mar 1, 2005)

Roman said:
			
		

> Yes, the discussion of nobility continues... At least we have agreed to adopt the rule I proposed on nobility loss being once per combat per opponent, so at least we have something semi-firm, even though even the interpretation of that can differ...
> 
> I think that an issue of concern is the enormous spread of nobility within the party. The extremes range from Prince Hammoton with a nobility of 90(!!!!) to Prince Caius with a nobility of 20. I think a nice solution to this would be to make nobility at least in somewhat party-based. This makes sense, as nobility ought to depend at least in part on whom one associates with. So, if the party does something noble, everybody's nobility should go up and if something ignoble it should go down. Perhaps we could implement something like: If half or more of the party participates in an ignoble act, half of the lowest (or perhaps average) nobility loss applies even to those members of the party that did not participate in it (and vice versa for nobility gain). Of course, the noble actions of those individuals can offset the loss if they are particularly noble. This also has the advantage of encouraging the knights to go all out when faced with an opponent that might wipe out the party without teaming.




Those were individuals who broke the rules.  The whole party shouldn't be blamed on as one.  Although Prince Caius had dropped his nobility to 20, it was due to his own actions.  Now he wouldn't be able to cheat for awhile until he gainned some nobility points back.  If we blamed on the whole party, the party would fall apart because we would end up fighting each other, not our enemies.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> Also, I think that all of the knights (perhaps excepting Prince Caius on 'humanitarian grounds' since this post facto loss of nobility would put him below the level required for a knight) should loose a further 8 points of nobility on top of what we already agreed on at the end of the session. We failed to prevent two noblewomen from dying (albeit only temporarily) - Lady Christine and Lady Andrea - that should be 4 nobility loss for each of the ladies who died for all knights (perhaps with the exception of Christine and Andrea  ) as we failed to protect them. As you can probably see, I am trying to argue for a system which encourages people to help prevent each other's deaths (death of a lady leads to nobility loss, so the knight has to choose whether to gang up on an opponent and lose nobiltity thusly or...)




Another point that I had mentioned earlier: to escort the ladies to safety.  I believe that the only thing that a knight could do if the lady refused to retreat was to become her body shield and to take the damage for her without attacking back.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> Hence I think the following further adjustments of nobility are in order:
> 
> Sir Anton: -8
> 
> ...




Actually, Sir Bradley: -10.  Sir Bradley would have lost 70+ nobility points if we counted per action in one fight against the dragon and giant.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> The above should be the obvious ones. Now:
> 
> Prince Caius: Hmm, he was engaged in another combat at the time, so he could be argued to be exempt on those grounds... but mostly I thnink it would be unfair to make him lose nobility below the level required for a knight post facto (since this was not the last combat where cheating occured it is post facto).




Prince Caius and the knights would gain some nobility points somehow.  But meanwhile, Prince Caius couldn't cheat in combat.  That was it.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> Lady Andrea: No loss of nobility - she is the victim here
> 
> Lady Christine: No loss of nobility - another victim




I welcome Lady Christine to join the knighthood and die on her first day as a knight (her first death).

Both ladies died before the encounter of the dragon.  The party didn't cheat that much before the dragon.  When we met the dragon, both ladies were already resurracted; however, they refused to fight the dragon after Sir Anton had challenged the gaint, sitting on the back of a dragon.

Some of us started to cheat after the first hit on Sir Anton because Sir Anton took over 70 points of damage from the giant.  It was like 2/3 of his HP before the dragon's attack.  The side that believed survival was more important than nobility started to cheat to defeat the enemies.  And the side that believed nobility was more important than survival stepped aside and watched the other side gang up on the giant and dragon.

We had calculated that each knight would have died in 2 or 3 rounds against the gaint and 1 round against the dragon if we fought individually.  As I (Toby of Kusman) have said.  The more Noble you are, the more Lawful Evil you become because you would rather watch every knight in your party die than loss a single point of nobility.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> Hubert: Not a knight, so probably only -4 nobility, but perhaps no loss if we apply the rule that a lady dying leads to nobility loss only to knights.




He should have gainned nobility from defeating the giant by himself in the first encounter.  Fighters rock.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> Cassandra: A lady and a non-knight - probably should not lose nobility for this at all and if so it should certainly be lower loss than for most others.




She didn't care because she was a druid from the past.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> Hobb & the new priest (I don't remember his name): Hmm, they have gentleness and non-violence as part of their key nobility concepts, so they probably should not lose nobility for this or if so than less (perhaps -2 each)




They didn't cheat I believe, unless casting buff spells were considered cheating.



			
				Roman said:
			
		

> Lady Leane: No loss of nobility




She was an elf.  She shouldn't be affected by human nobility.


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## LadyK (Mar 1, 2005)

Toby of Kusman said:
			
		

> She was an elf.  She shouldn't be affected by human nobility.




I believe that is what he meant - She did cheat, and therefore had she been human, she would have lost nobility. But she isn't, so she doesn't.


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## Toby of Kusman (Mar 1, 2005)

Characters (updated - March 10)

Sir Bradley
Bloodline: Lesser Nobility / Peerage
Nationality: Irish
Nobility: 55
Knight 7

Str 16
Dex 16
Con 18
Int 11 
Wis 11
Cha 10

HP 112
AC 22

Initiative +3

Saves:
Fort +11
Refl +7
Will +4 (+2 vs. fear)

Weapon:
Heavy Lance (masterwork)
To Hit: +11/+6 (+2 Mounted Combat)
Damage: 1d10+3
Crit: x3

Greatsword (masterwork)
To Hit: +11/+6 (+2 Mounted Combat)
Damage: 2d6+4
Crit: 19-20 x2

Noble Longsword +3
To Hit: +13/+8 (+2 Mounted Combat)
Damage: 1d8+7
Crit: 19-20 x2

Armors:
Full Plate +1
AC: +9
Max Dex: +4
Check: -2

Chainshirt
AC: +4
Max Dex: +7
Check: 0

Shield:
Light Steel Shield
AC: +1
Max Dex: -
Check: 0

Skills:
Handle Animal +12 (+2 Mounted Combat)
Intimidate +2
Ride +17 (+2 Mounted Combat)
Sense Motive +0 (+2 vs. Intimidate)
Spot +2

Feats:
Mounted Combat +2
Code of Chivalry
Aura of Knighthood
Animal Affinity
Armor Tolerance +3
Knight's Warhorse
Ride-by Attack
Power Attack
Dispense Justice
Spirited Charge
Leadership
Trample

Magic Items:
Cloak of Resistance +2
Gloves of Dex +2
Periapt of Wis +2

Fate: To drive the Saxons away from Ireland.

==========================================

Brother George
Bloodline: Lesser Nobility / Peerage
Nationality: Irish
Nobility: 79
Priest 5

Str 6
Dex 10
Con 15
Int 16
Wis 18
Cha 13

HP 50
AC 10

Initiative +0

Saves:
Fort  +6
Refl +1
Will +9

Weapon:
Quarterstaff (Walking stick)

Armor:
None

Shield:
None

Skills:
Concentration +2
Diplomacy +1
Gather Information +1
Heal +8
Knowledge History +11
Knowledge Local +11
Knowledge Nobility +11
Knowledge Royalty +11
Knowledge Religion +11
Listen +8
Ride +10
Search +4
Sense Motive +4
Spot +12
Survival +4

Feats:
Ordination
Literacy
Aura of Piety
Turn the other Cheek
Sacraments
Crusade +1
Absolution (Minor)
Heritage of Nobility
Power Surge

Max Spell Points: 10+4+7+3 = 24

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8+5+7(nobility)(+2 faith)

Magic Items:
Wand of Bear's Endurance
Wand of Bull's Strength

Silver Bowl contains holy water

=========================================

Noble Steed - no changes
Brother George's horse - regular light warhorse


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## LadyK (Mar 1, 2005)

Roman said:
			
		

> I think that an issue of concern is the enormous spread of nobility within the party. The extremes range from Prince Hammoton with a nobility of 90(!!!!) to Prince Caius with a nobility of 20.




Hmm, I can't see where this is actually a problem.


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## Particle_Man (Mar 2, 2005)

*going off-debate and back to the game for one post...*

Just wanted to say that, on reflection, the idea of a gargantuan snake locked in a grapple with a Huge Dragon is pretty cool!


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## Roman (Mar 3, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> Just wanted to say that, on reflection, the idea of a gargantuan snake locked in a grapple with a Huge Dragon is pretty cool!




It most certainly is cool!


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## Shadowleaf (Mar 4, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> Just wanted to say that, on reflection, the idea of a gargantuan snake locked in a grapple with a Huge Dragon is pretty cool!




Have to thank lady Leane for that. She was the one that came up with the idea, I only provided the means. In fact if it wasn't for her, lots of people would have ended up dead.


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## Toby of Kusman (Mar 4, 2005)

Shadowleaf said:
			
		

> Have to thank lady Leane for that. She was the one that came up with the idea, I only provided the means. In fact if it wasn't for her, lots of people would have ended up dead.




Without the support of the snake, we all would have died for sure.  Thank you.  Although we cheated, we survived.   

I've heard that a Gargantuan Constrictor Snake helped to kill a God in another campaign.  I don't know how they managed to do it, but it did happen somehow.

Go snake!  Go Druid!  Pin it down and we all hack at it!


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## LadyK (Mar 6, 2005)

Pidgin!!!!!!


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## Particle_Man (Mar 6, 2005)

That night, the party has a dream (the elf has a meditative state) wherein they see a two huge greenish glowing figures, one a biped (some ogre or giant) and the other a shapechanger, first a wolf, then a bear, then a snake, then a woman.  They are wrestling and fighting.  There is a crack louder than any thunder, and they flee from each other.  The crack seems to rip the sky itself asunder, leaving behind it a greenish curtain.  Yet the dreamers have a feeling of peace when this occurs.  When the party awakes that night (for all of them awaken after that dream) they are shocked to find that the real sky has that glowing curtain!  Thus the northern lights are invented.  Oh, and half the party is missing!

Sir Andrea, Sir Chris, Lady Leanne, Cassandra and Sir Anton soldier on to the city of Bridgeport, which is Count Randolph’s.  At the city gate they find Sir Bradly and his cohort Brother George.  They were taken into heaven and told that “albion and morgan are at odds”.  This took 3 seconds, yet they arrived on earth just now, 4 days later.

The party enters the city and gains an audience with Count Randolph.  He is currently treating with merchants about hiring mercenaries to protect his land from the waves of invading Saxons.  Cassandra recognizes one of the merchants as her brother, who went missing in a giant raid 6 000 years ago!  Also, all the merchants are wearing gloves.

The gloves make the party suspicious, and when the merchants ask Randolph’s son to help them finalize negotiations, Sir Anton offers to go with them.  They go down a hall into a separate room while Lady Leanne tries to negotiate with Count Randolph, who wants 800 men to help blunt the Saxons.  Sure enough the gloves come off and the merchants turn out to be wights (advanced), and attack both Sir Anton and Randolph’s son, who fights valiantly but perishes at their hands (his corpse looks shriveled and old).  Then the “merchants” start yelling “The knight has gone mad!  He has used sorcery on the young lord!”  This causes some confusion, as the “merchants” put on their gloves again, but Cassandra stops them from escaping with a shape wood spell on the doors, and then combat ensues in earnest.  The wights are eventually defeated, though a guard falls to them.  The guards are actually quite young, older men having fallen in the numerous Saxon raids (as did the count’s other three sons).  Count Randolph gives them each 100 gp, which some donate to the poor or the church (good for nobility!).

Cassandra ends up killing her “Brother” and helps to burn the corpses, keeping her “brother”’s hair.  Later, she is visited by him in a dream, and thanked for being “Set free to move on”.  Yep, that was her brother’s ignoble half that was the wight.  But now the noble part could move on.

Oh, and Leanne finds this letter on one of the Wights:  

								March 18, 1246

Dear Lucius,

	I trust that my messenger finds you in good health.  Your suspicions seem to be correct.  There is some powerful sorceress at work here, up to nothing good.  Yet I believe I have found a map to the cave which you think may contain the means to defeat her.  I copy the map here.  Meet me on Midsummer’s day at the seaport on the southern tip of Greenland. Together with my squire we will journey together. It will not take long, for the mouth of the cave is 30 miles due north and five miles due east of there.
	Please give my regards to our family.  I trust that our brother Caius has outgrown his difficult adolescence and is continuing his training in the knightly skills, and that the rest of the family is in good health.


								Sincerely,

								Magnus


Note that the present year is 1249, and this party started adventuring in 1248.

The next day, some ships that Randolph sent as a punitive expedition vs. the Saxons returns!  Three of them have sick sailors, and rats, bats, and snakes leave each of the ships respectively (the druid tries to stop some of them with wind walls and such, with fair success for a while).  The fourth ship flies a skull (not a flag) and is manned by unearthly creatures (Gargoyles, suitably advanced).  Some are as tall as a man, and some are twice as tall!  There is also one that is red and six feet tall (here I just borrowed a Dracha from Monte Cook and gave it all six possibly racial levels – had a kicker with the breath weapon but ultimately a glass jaw, compared to the ‘goyles  - Sir Chris polymorphed it into a rather surprised red pidgeon, which then flew off, in pidgeon-brain mode).  Bradley’s cohort priest did a lot of healing.

[This was my experiment:  the monsters spread through the town, hurting innocents.  The party members could fight those they chose to, individually.  Sir Anton, Bradley and Andrea picked out large ones, and Sir Chris went after the red one.  Lady Leanne and Cassandra double-teamed small ones.  Afterwards, wounded party members sought out small ones.  This way the party could sort of “Set their own level” individually, and those that wanted to “cheat” could, and those that wanted “heroic single combat” got it.  I think it worked very well, although some party members came rather close to dying.]

Of note: Sir Chris used the Lance of Longinus.  I added a feature that every time it drew blood, her maximum nobility went down by one (she hit only once, so it sits at 99).  Also, in combat, she had to roll percentiles and if she got equal to or over this “ceiling” (99 or 00), she would use the spear even if she wanted to cast a spell or use a different weapon.  She tried to hit and missed with the spear a few times, got one hit in, and then switched to her sword.  I then found out that every attack (not just every hit) made with the spear caused (for her) 10 points of nobility loss!  At the end of the combat she was down to 6!  But I will tie the “ceiling” of maximum nobility to drawing blood, not just attempted attacks.

Crap, I forgot that Sir Chris has an arcane failure chance in armour!  Oh well – next time!

It got really nasty when a gargoyle grabbed the spear!  This led to the death of a peasant, (when the gargoyle was killed, the spear was dropped, hit a peasant, and then was grabbed by another, smaller, gargoyle) and also the permanent wounding of Sir Chris’s White Hart familiar/mount!  Luckily, Sir Andrea was unconscious for some of this, since the peasant’s body turned to ash!  Oh, and Cassandra the druid turned into a giant octopus.  Effective in grappling (she had already a fly spell on her from Sir Chris) but she had to hold her breath.

At this point, Count Randolph was so grateful that he gave the party members each 500 gp.  Some party members gave this to charity to help those attacked by gargoyles.  Some people were coughing like those sailors on the first three ships, and there were rats, bats and snakes all through Bridgeport!

A lot of major gains and losses of nobility.  Cassandra went down some.  Sir Chris went down a LOT.  Sirs Anton and Andrea and Bradley all did well (as did Bradley’s cohort).

We left it with Leanne having some plans to try to contain this potential plague.  A hundred years early, I know, but I couldn’t resist.

As a side note: I may have to end the campaign in May, as I will be working full time in the summer.  There are options: Blair could take over as DM, for example.  Anyhow, just wanted to give a heads up.


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## Particle_Man (Mar 6, 2005)

Oh, and since the critical event has now passed, here is the message found on the Silent Knight that was the son of Sir Linus (one of Sir Caius's idols), as well as being the squire of Caius's older brother Magnus.  See if you can puzzle it out.

"Mined knot may uncle troll bye hurt elf further eye saw reed own tell our two pie sin hiking you sin call oak."

It loses something without being in wacky different fonts and font sizes and such.  Ah well.


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## Elder-Basilisk (Mar 6, 2005)

Hey, just tuned in again. It took me a while to catch up (I was thinking, "who is this Sir Andrea" and "what happened to Sir Andrew?") but it's been fun. You've given me a lot of ideas for a pseudo-arthurian game of my own.


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## Roman (Mar 7, 2005)

Elder-Basilisk said:
			
		

> Hey, just tuned in again. It took me a while to catch up (I was thinking, "who is this Sir Andrea" and "what happened to Sir Andrew?") but it's been fun. You've given me a lot of ideas for a pseudo-arthurian game of my own.




There is one fundamental constant in the Arthurian campaign as Particle Man runs it: Nothing is permanent 

(I know - The above is a somewhat paradoxical statement.  ) 

Anyway, change is an essential component of the campaign. World changes, Gods change (old ones transform themselves and new ones arise) and even one's physical form is not permanent. 

The way the last point is simulated is through death and fate points. Particle Man allows characters to spend all their fate points (if they have any left - should they have none they die and that's it) to avoid dying when they otherwise would have. This, however, can have strange effects upon one's form (and sometimes the DM might spend destiny points to help this along  as was in Sir Andrew's/Andrea's case...). The new form (or changes to your old form) generally depend on the nature of the character as well as possibly the style of death. I find the system interesting and exciting*.  

*This could be due to the fact that Sir Anton was not affected by a change of form yet, he, he (j/k).  

Anyways, there is a possibility of reverting to the original form if you get access to the fingerbones of Christ...


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## LadyK (Mar 7, 2005)

Roman said:
			
		

> This could be due to the fact that Sir Anton was not affected by a change of form yet, he, he (j/k).




Don't get smug just yet.... Sir Chris can cast Witche's Curse. And is no longer capable of loosing 10 nobility. 


oh, btw, I won't be there next week. Legacies!


----
"By My Will, I call forth the Would You Shut Up!" 
                             --Jarametha


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## Roman (Mar 7, 2005)

LadyK said:
			
		

> Don't get smug just yet.... Sir Chris can cast Witche's Curse. And is no longer capable of loosing 10 nobility.




Roflmao , yes, indeed and I should also consider the fact that given his 'nature' Sir Anton's form could upon his death potentially change to something resembling one of the following: 

Fish 
Amphibian 
Reptile 

A number of these cannot breathe in air or not for prolonged periods.  If he bites the dust he might have to get used to carrying a fishtank with him as breathing apparatus.   



> oh, btw, I won't be there next week. Legacies!




Well, that get's rid of any remains of my smugness. Who will save Sir Anton in your absence?


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## Shadowleaf (Mar 8, 2005)

Poor poor White Hart...
I really weep for that poor Hart...
permanent con and hp damage really hurts.

I hope to the gods that the spear won't get used again.
And damn Caius is going to be pissed....


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## Shadowleaf (Mar 8, 2005)

Roman said:
			
		

> Roflmao , yes, indeed and I should also consider the fact that given his 'nature' Sir Anton's form could upon his death potentially change to something resembling one of the following:
> 
> Fish
> Amphibian
> ...




Oh, don't worry. There is always the reincarnation spell. Just make sure you die someplace thats easy to retreive a part of your corpse.


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## Roman (Mar 8, 2005)

Here are the basic Sir Anton's stats: 


Basics 
Player: Roman 
Name: Sir Anton von Mu(e)nchen 
Titles: Servant of Lady Nimew, Preserver of Nature, Order of the Dove, Protector of (the Old) Faith 
Gender: Male 
Nationality: Holy Roman Empire (Germany), Bayern (Bavaria) 
Languages: Common/English, Family/German, Druidic/Old Faith 
Bloodline: Lesser Noble 
Race: Human 
Class: Knight (7 Levels) 
Prestige Class: Blue Knight (3 Levels) 
Total Level: 10 
Experience Points: 49,900 XP 
Fate Points: 9 
Fates: To Be in the Right Place at the Right Time, To Show that Dragons Are Redeemable 
Accomplished Fates: To Find New Land to Call His Own, To Defeat the Enchanter that Enslaved the Dryad, To Ensure that the Old Faith Never Completely Disappears (Long Live Santa Claus!) 
Nobility: 100 
Most Egregious Transgression: Serious (Switching Allegiance from King Anguish to the Lady of the Lake) 
Height: 5'11" 
Weight: 146 lb (very skinny for his height it seems, but dice don't lie...) 
Age: 18 (18 is the physical age, but 19 is the nominal age, since time in hell passes much slower than in the material world) 
Eyes: Blue 
Hair: Blond 
Skin: Slightly Tanned 
Allegiances: Code of Chivalry, Oath of Fealty (Lady Nimew) 
Former Allegiances: King Anguish (Foresworn in Favour of the Lady of the Lake), Lady of the Lake (Now Deceased - Killed by Sir Anton's Brother: Friedrich von Mu(e)nchen) 
Oaths: To Give the Fool the Pretty, To Avenge the Death of the Lady of the Lake (Let's call her Luciana - She was always referred to only as the Lady of the Lake...) by Defeating His Brother 
Motto: "Freitheit du(e)rch Dienst!" ("Freedom through Service") 

Ability Scores 
Strength: 14/+2 
Dexterity: 8/-1 
Constitution: 18/+4 
Intelligence: 12/+1 
Wisdom: 12/+1 
Charisma: 16/+3 

The lesser noble bloodline gives +2 constitution bonus as a replacement for the normal extra feat that humans get and for the extra skill points that humans get. This brought up Sir Anton's constitution from 16 to 18. At 4th level I raised his wisdom from 10 to 11 and at level 8 I raised his wisdom from 11 to 12. 

Movement Related Statistics
Speed: 30 ft or 80 ft on his heavy warhorse (normal warhorse speed is 50 ft, but this one [called Blitz] has a speed of 60 ft and of course Sir Anton is a kinght which at this level adds another 20 ft to his horse's speed for a grand total mounted speed of 80 ft) 
Encumberance: Light Load (58 lb), Medium Load (116 lb), Heavy Load (175 lb), Lift over Head (175 lb), Lift off the Ground (350 lb), Push or Drag (875 lb) 

Saving Throws 
Fortitude: 14 
Reflex: 4 
Will: 4 


Combat Statistics 
BAB: +10/+5 
Attack: Noble +3 Longsword +16 (d8 + 5 [+ d6 against less noble creatures]), or +18 (d8 + 5 [+ d6 against less noble creatures]) when Mounted, or Masterwork Heavy Lance +15 (d10 + 2) when Mounted, or Masterwork Heavy Lance +13 (d10 + 2) when Dismounted 
Full Attack: Noble +3 Longsword +16/+1 (d8 + 5 [+ d6 against less noble creatures]), or +18/+13 (d8 + 5 [+ d6 against less noble creatures]) when Mounted, or Masterwork Heavy Lance +15/+10 (d10 + 2), or Masterwork Heavy Lance +13/+8 (d10 + 2) when Dismounted 
Initiative: -1 
AC: 18 
Hit Points: 154 

Weapons 
Noble + 3 Longsword 
Masterwork Heavy Lance 
Dragon Bane Dagger +1 
Masterwork Longsword 
Masterwork Dagger x 2 

Protective Items 
Masterwork Heavy Steel Shield (AC bonus +2) 
Fish Mail* Armour (AC bonus +7) 

*Fish Mail: Sir Anton has magical armour that seems as if it were made of scales and Sir Anton has had some mystical contacts with fish, so I christened it 'Fish Mail'. It granted Sir Anton a DR of 1/-. Now, however, while Sir Anton was in fairyland (I was absent for two prior sessions), Queen Titania polished and shined his armour to the extreme and thus upgraded it to reflect 10% of the damage he suffers per physical attack (but a minimum of 1 point per physical attack) back to the attacker. The armour also grants fire resistance of 10 and adds +1 to all saving throws. 

Steed 
Heavy warhorse called "Blitz" with speed of 80 ft 

Other Gear 
Backpack with waterskin 
Week's worth of trail rations 
Bedroll 
Sack 
Flint & steel 
Hooded lantern 
Three pints of oil in flasks 
Large golden cross on a golden chain - no longer worn around the neck, but still kept as a reminder of his former faith 
Bible - no longer read, but still kept as a reminder of his former faith 
Oak Leaf - Holy Symbol of the Old Faith 
Tent 
Torch x 6 
Parchment x 20 
Ink vial x 2 
Pen 
Copper Feather - Order of the Dove symbol 


Money 
250gp 



Knight Class Abilities 
Mounted Combat +2 
Knight's Warhorse 
Code of Chivalry 
Aura of Knighthood 
Armour Tolerance +3 
Ride-by Attack 
Dispense Justice 
Spirited Charge 
Trample 

Blue Knight Class Abilities 
Breathe Water 
Druid Spells (As a Druid of the Blue Knight Class Level -2) 


Spells 
Druid Spell List 
Casts Spells as a Druid of the Blue Knight Class Level -2 
Spell Points: 5 


Spell Cost in Spell Points (5 Spell Points available) 
0th Level: 1 
1st Level: 2 
2nd Level: 12 


Feats 
Piety 
Faith (Old Faith) 
Power Attack 
Power Surge 


Skills (52 Skill Points [double the standard skill points for the intelligence bonus]) 
Diplomacy: 6 (1 rank + 3 charisma bonus + 2 special*) 
Gather Information: 5 (+ 3 charisma bonus + 2 special*) 
Handle Animal: 20 (13 ranks + 3 charisma bonus + 4 special*) 
Intimidate: 8 (+ 3 charisma bonus + 5 nobility bonus [at nobility 100] + 1 special*) 
Knowledge: Nature: 3 (2 ranks + 1 intelligence bonus) 
Knowledge: Nobility 9 (8 ranks + 1 intelligence bonus) 
Knowledge: Religion 9 (8 ranks + 1 intelligence bonus) 
Listen 1 (+1 wisdom bonus) 
Ride: 16 (13 ranks - 1 dexterity bonus + 4 special*) 
Search 1 (+ 1 wisdom bonus [I suspect this was a mistake and it was supposed to be based on intelligence bonus, but that one is +1 regardless so it does not change anything]) 
Spot 1 (+ 1 wisdom bonus) 
Swim: 9 (7 ranks + 2 strength) 




*Special = Skill Synergy, Feats, Class Abilities, etc


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## LadyK (Mar 8, 2005)

*Sir Chris*

Sir Christine, Lady Knight

6th level Hedge Mage
1st level Enchantress
1st level Knight

*Stats*

Strength: 9
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 18
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 16 (18 to Males)

Fortitude: 5
Reflex: 3
Will: 6

Hit Points: 48
Armour Class: 17 (touch: 13, flat foot: 15)
Initative: +2

Nobility: 6
Base Attack Bonus: 4

Skills with a modifier of at least +8:
Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Prophecy, Ride

*Weapons  & Armour*

Masterwork Longsword
Dagger x 10
+1 Dagger
Light  Crossbow
Morningstar
+5 Ignoble Longspear of Wounding
+6 Noble Longsword

Chain Shirt
Magic Cloak (+1 to saving throws)
Magic Ring (+1 to AC)

*Alegiences*

Noblesse Oblige
Code of Chivalry
Oath of Fealty to Prince Caius


----
Merciful Godess! Prince Caius is gonna _kill_ me!


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## Roman (Mar 11, 2005)

He, he, I just described to the player of Prince Caius what happened last saturday...


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## Particle_Man (Mar 13, 2005)

*Important!*

I will not be there for sat. the 19th.  Blair said he could run a one-shot.  Just so you know.  Update to follow.


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## Particle_Man (Mar 13, 2005)

Well, this one was interesting because I had no idea what I was going to do this session.  None.  I have been sick for a while and I spent my time resting, not planning.  But it worked out.

Princes Caius and Kelvin were in heaven, where they got a chance to ask one and two questions of angels, respectively.  Kelvin used his to find out where Albion was and how to defeat him, and was given a mental map of Greenland (with Albion’s lair pointed out) and a vision of his and Caius’s followers causing a distraction while the “main team” snuck in.  Caius asked if there was a chance of him getting into heaven after his plan (at the time unknown to me, but pretty “ends justifies the means” method of dealing with one of their main opponents).  He got a general answer: if you do good works and avoid evil deeds, you can get into heaven.

The rest of the party had a dream while Lady Christine was on watch.  In this dream a Hellwasp was spotted (a wasp with red, evil, multi-faceted eyes).  It flew onto Christine’s shoulder.  She swatted it away, but another landed there, and others, and soon she was covered in them.  Then they covered all but her face, which was screaming in agony, and just before her face got covered, her eyes turned red and multifaceted.

When the party awoke, a bronze statue of Christine-and-Weasel was found, but not Christine and her familiar.  Spooky, eh?

Meanwhile, to deal with the plague, Cassandra and Leanne found some druids and brought them in and warned them of plague and alerted the “Druid network”.  So we had priests, druids and poor Hobb the hermit trying to cure them.  There was also an alchemist in town talking about a possible cure for the disease involving injecting a fluid into people, particularly the children.  Caius and Kelvin convinced the townsfolk that this was a good idea, and Kelvin even injected himself.

So 200 people died of the plague the first night, 100 the second, etc. (half the previous number each night), due to help from everyone involved.  There were also disappearances during the night.  At first these were attributed to people running away from a plague-ridden city, but then the party got suspicious when the disappearances did not level off like the plague-deaths did.

The party staked out an orphanage (with Caius disguising himself as a child, Cassandra as a dog, and Leanne as Leanne).  Some kids mentioned a mysterious man that might take them to safety from the plague.  This man got scared off by the other knights arriving a bit too soon.  But Leanne, Caius, and Cassandra discreetly followed the man, who met three other figures and went in a different direction, to the, er, Red Light district (ladies of the evening, doncha know).

Anyhow, it turned out to be 4 super-wights, who tried to lure and kill a prostitute (she actually was very lucky and got away unscathed).  Caius and Leanne engaged them while Cassandra went for help from the knights at the orphanage.  Combat ensued, the wights were defeated, and one was revealed as…the alchemist!

Suddenly those injections took on a more serious turn!  Kelvin made his will save, but many townsfolk who had injections now believed that Albion the giant was the rightful king, not Anguish or Arthur!  A few guards even tried to kill Count Randolph!

On searching the shop, they found more of the fluids, and a cooking pot.  They also tracked down a warehouse with 60 human bodies on hooks inside of it, plus a map that had useful red dots at various locations (could be great for locating wights!).  

Leanne used her ring to ask Titania for a way to cure the madness, and was told of asperilla, that only grows on the west coast of Ireland (they were on the east coast).  So Leanne and Cassandra used magic to get over there, but found giants doing foul magic on a henge there!  The giants effectively “turned off” the henge from the druid/hedge mage network and “realigned it” to their own dark magics.  Leanne used spells to scare the giants off north, but it was too late.  Cassandra then used magic to go to the next henge north and warn the druids there, who were able to disguise their henge from the giants.  Leanne spent time destroying the “dark henge”, but there wasn’t time to “Retune” it.

Meanwhile, a mad knight appeared outside the west gate of the city.  Anton and co. rode out to meet it, and it turned out to be Anton’s brother, Friedrich, who was out of his mind (Insanity spell).  After some trouble, they subdued him, and got him locked up in the city.  In his lucid moments they found out that he was led by a nun to kill a hag disguised as a lady of the lake (d’oh!) and then was given a book to read.  In his insane moments he mentioned the fingerbones of Christ and “the grey abbey”.  Sir Bradley’s cohort brother George knew that this was an expression for an abbey whose nuns had turned from Christ to darker powers.  

Between the map from the warehouse, notions of abbeys in Ireland, and ideas of all the places that claimed to host the fingerbones of Christ (there are many), they narrowed the field down to 3 abbeys.  The party’s current plan is to hit those three abbeys, find the fingerbones of Christ, try to cure various conditions, and then go to Greenland and face down “King” Albion.

Not bad for something pulled out of the air, anyhow.


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## Particle_Man (Mar 21, 2005)

*4 sessions to go!*

This sat. I was gone and the gang had a one-shot without me.  I will be here this coming sat, and the following one.  Then out of town for two sat's.  Then back for two sat's.  Then back to work.  Wow.  Makes one think.  

Anyhow, I plan to try for a movie night after it is all over (an Excalibur/Monty Python and the Holy Grail double feature).  And I might simply "age" everyone 15 years for (part of?) the last session, just to have the tragic end play out (can't have King Arthur without the tragic end, dammit!).

OOC, one of my players could soon be drafted to stop bullets with his chest (he's from a european country where they do the draft...I don't think his country is at war...but you never know...).  Hope he can stick around for a while longer, though.  But if he has to go, best of luck to you, and don't try and do the "movie hero" thing.  Do the "keep your head down and survive" thing.  I'd like to see you again one day, and unlike my game, in real life you don't get to spend fate points to come back to life, however changed.

I note that I am stingy on magic items  (I tended to focus on adding powers to one item per character, but I haven't really been following proper "upgrading" in a long while (by the way, this is the players' cue to hint (or just state) what "upgrades" they would like, as I have a plot point coming up that allows for an easy upgrade).  This made me think of a new d20 game coming down the pipe in August called Iron Lore.  Apparently it is magic-item light, but beefs up the characters with special skills and feats that they can use as tactical stunts for extra wackiness.  Magic is powerful, but unreliable and rare.  Lots of buzz on this one.  I might check it out.

I wouldn't mind trying out the rpgobjects samurai game when it comes out on paper.  But as a player (this is my way of subtly hinting to my party, which contains at least 3 DMs, each of whom is a damn sight better at it than I am).  Ain't got time to Dm when working, even as a slacker Dm.

And Castles and Crusades dances in the back of my mind.

So much stuff, so little time.  I wish I were a teenager again.  Or very, very, very rich.


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## LadyK (Mar 21, 2005)

my vote would have to be for rich. tenager -- eww, angsty


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## Particle_Man (Mar 21, 2005)

LadyK said:
			
		

> my vote would have to be for rich. tenager -- eww, angsty




Ah, but the classic would be my current mental state (no angst) combined with a teenager's free time, body, and HAIR!  Long, thick, beautiful, flowing hair!


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## Particle_Man (Mar 22, 2005)

One of the funnier lines when the druid Cassandra sensed that one of the stone henges has "gone off the radar" (due to giants destroying it).

"I felt a great disturbance in the force, as if a million squirrels cried out in terror, and suddenly were silenced."

props to Aampi, Star Wars fan extraordinaire!


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## Elder-Basilisk (Mar 25, 2005)

You guys have been going at this for a while. As I think I mentioned, I'm dusting off an old semi-arthurian tinged campaign for my home group and I was thinking of dusting off a Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classic for the basic structure? What kinds of things would I need to add to your classic D&D crawl to get something that feels Arthurian?

Single combat? Introduce a symbolic or allegorical elements to the story? Add some illusions and have the bad guys try and trick the PCs into giving themselves up?

I guess I'm really asking about the Arthurian tropes that you've seen a lot in your games and which of them you think are most suitable for easy introduction into a more standard D&D story.


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## Particle_Man (Mar 25, 2005)

Speaking personally, I would say Illusions are a biggie (the bad guys tend not to use "blaster" spells, but rely upon tough guy knights/giants/dragons for the physical stuff).  Um, tragic fate-destiny links are good.  A system of honour.  Single combat is good, but you have to judge the "single-combat-CR" yourself here.  I tend to focus on one magic item per player, instead of multiple ones.

Hmmmm....hard to do the lance combat in a dungeon crawl...


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## Particle_Man (Mar 26, 2005)

Now that I think about it, in addition to Arthurian Adventures, you might want to look at the Book of Exalted Deeds.  It is not exactly Arthurian, but pretty close with some of the vows (especially for peaceful and poor priest-types in Arthurian times).  There is a feat called Ancestral Relic that would be apropos to my style of doing things.


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## Particle_Man (Mar 27, 2005)

*A change in leadership!  Deaths!  Corruption!*

The death of some members of the party happened this session, including the party leader!  Things get more serious, closer to the end.  This is the 4th last session.  After the last session, I will post the answer to the above riddle, as well, as final ideas that never got used (if any), and my view of “what happened afterwards”, and also my metaphysical views of the gameworld (how to reconcile heaven, hell, old faith stuff, etc.).

Christine begins the game in a sumptuous dining hall, and is being asked, in exchange for healing for her and her white hart, as well as power, to help introduce a woman named Lily to the party, with the purpose of tempting Tristan (Sir Andrea’s son).  She says she could not make such a decision so quickly, and is told that time in his realm runs differently, so she has months to decide (the penny drops here – this is a deal with the devil!).  Indeed, she stays there for months and every day he asks her again, and everyday she says no.  Eventually he gives up (gaining nobility) and she returns to the party (the bronze statue was just a statue).

The main party’s session begins with a cat in a tree.  The party is traveling westwards towards the first of the three grey abbeys.  They come across a misty land, and hear a cat cry and a wolf howl and make will saves (which all of them make except one character – Mind Fog).  Then a little girl with a club foot asks for help getting her cat out of a tree (30’ up a 40’ tree).  She asks Prince Hammoton, and he sends Hubert to go.  At the top, Hubert gets the cat, who rubs against him and forces him to make a will save.  He fails, and he and the cat disappear into inky blackness!  Then some of the party (not members close to Prince Hammoton, who as a noble has an aura making people within 10’ immune to fear) have to make saves vs. the Weird spell, and Prince Caius and his cohort Hobb die before they can even take an action!  Shocking stuff!  The party has to find out who is casting the spells (not the “little girl”, who turns out to be an illusion).  And every round have to deal with Weird spells.  Lady Christine and her White Heart perish, as well as the druid Cassandra’s wolf companion.  Many party members are stunned.  Hubert, meanwhile, was dumped 400 feet away and after falling 30’ has to run back.  Eventually the bad hedge mage is located and dealt with  (LOTS of snakes summoned by Leanne and Cassandra, plus a timely trip via a tree-climbing Sir Anton).  She is killed, and eventually revealed as a high-ranking nun!  (yeah, I know, more evil nuns, but they are going to a grey abbey, and hedge mages have the prophecy power and so can make preparations and ambushes).  [This was a 15th level caster in a zone where she could cast as a 17th level caster – she had less spell points, but could cast 9th level spells here, like Weird].

There is nearly a fight between Anton and Andrea over whether the late Prince Caius was new faith (One God) or old faith.  A duel is arranged for (set for after the Grail is found, if ever).

The second temptation of Christine by Lucifer is also met with a flat rejection, but as far as the party is concerned Lady Christine was only knocked to the ground unconscious, and arises unhurt after the battle.  Tristan is scared of the battle, so Lady Christine comforts him.

The second night of this, Sir Bradley and his cohort spot Lady Christine going off into the woods, and then Tristan following.  They wake up Lady Andrea, who follows, hears “I will obey” in a masculine voice and discovers him stabbing Lady Christine with her own magic spear!  Andrea wrestles an unresisting Tristan to the ground, and the latter is tied up.  Lady Christine thanks Lady Andrea for protecting her from Tristan’s apparent madness.
And they reach the nunnery, which is in a state of uproar as the Mother Superior has gone missing!  Lady Andrea wants Prince Hammoton, as ranking noble, to pass judgement on Tristan.  Prince Hammoton commandeers a private room to interview people, one at a time.  Meanwhile, “Lady Christine” is causing trouble.  She kissing Sir Anton a few times (weakening him) but is stopped by the timely arrival of a suspicious Lady Leanne (why is Lady Christine not mourning the loss of her White Hart?).  She also gives her spear to Sir Andrew for safekeeping.

A nun later offers to “purify” the spear that evening, if Sir Andrew agrees.

Then a Court Mage arrives at the nunnery, following word that Prince Caius is here (the Court Mage serves King Anguish) and wanting to report on how he is doing.

At this point, the party is breaking up into small groups and having conversations.  I don’t mind this as long as no one is bored, and they summarize what they talk about.

There is a scream.  A nun has discovered a dead sister nun with her face removed!  Yet all nuns are accounted for (except the Mother Superior, who doesn’t fit the body type of the dead nun).  Lady Leanne finds nun #7 suspiciously not that upset over the death, so she is marked as a suspect.  Prince Hammoton orders all the doors to be secured by knights and the nuns to be interrogated one by one by him.  While nun # 6 is interrogated, nun #7 disappears in a cloud of smoke!  And then a knocking is heard outside the abbey.  Lady Christine has returned from her walk in the woods.

The party (some of them) smell that a jig is up, and Leanne and Hammoton take Lady Christine with them (with Anton and Lady Cassandra outside the door to the interrogation room).  Sure enough, “Lady Christine” tries to attack Hammoton, and timely attacks from Leanne and especially Sir Anton put her down, and her last words are “Lady Christine shall burn in hell forever!” and she disappears in a cloud of brimstone.  [yeah, she was a succubus – the real Lady Christine stayed dead].

Meanwhile, 5 other nuns (who each has special rings, not the Sir Andrea noticed (but Lady Leanne did)) are approaching Sir Andrea and offering to purify the spear right then and there.  Andrea gives one nun the spear, and the five of them start mumbling.  The interrogation party arrive at nun-central just a little too late, as a firey pit opens and the 5 nuns start descending into it!  But Sir Bradley’s cohort Brother George, who realized that the spear must be the very evil Lance of Longinus (since “Lady Christine’s” wounds never healed, as didn’t the White Hart’s) disarms the nun, at the cost of an Aoo on the first failed attempt that gets him permanent damage for his pains.  But he succeeds in getting the spears before the nuns disappear (amid heat metal, wall of thorns, pyrotechnics, and holy water (the last causing screams of anguish, the other just causing laughter – the pit itself laughing as a throat).  So the spear is now known for what it is, and the party has it (and Sir Andrea mustn’t let it fall into the wrong hands).  On the other hand, Tristan is slightly corrupted for using it, and so will never find the grail.  Score one for the bad guys, but they didn’t corrupt anyone else.

So overall people liked it.  Lady Christine’s player is running the Court Mage.  Prince Caius didn’t intro a new character yet (he worked on the campaign he will develop after mine ends – Spellslinger (d20 fantasy western).  So it will go me next week, him for two weeks, me for two weeks, maybe the movie night (Excalibur and Monty Python and the Holy Grail) and then his Spellslinger campaign from then on.

I was impressed that Prince Hammoton adapted to his leadership role, as well as doing the Columbo schtick (going from 0 info to cracking the case!).  Only one good nun died.

Oh, the “fingerbones of Christ” at this abbey don’t radiate magic.  The remaining nuns are so grateful for being rescued from demons that they give these fingerbones to the obviously pious Brother George.

Well, 1 grey abbey down, 2 to go, and then to Albion (if there is time)!


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## Particle_Man (Mar 27, 2005)

Note: The succubus had planned to get Anton to attack Andrea, and have Andrea only have the Spear available, so that Andrea could be corrupted too.  But that didn't work out.  

Note also: Druids like snakes!


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## Particle_Man (Mar 27, 2005)

Note that Prince Caius was the one who failed the save vs. the mind fog, but his save vs. weird was so bad that he failed even without taking the -10 penalty into account.  Some days are like that.


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## Roman (Mar 28, 2005)

This was the deadlies session we have yet had, but it was definitely fun! Prince Caius will definitely be missed by all, but particularly by the secretive/sneaky half of the party I suspect. Prince Hammoton, the new party leader, belongs to the less secretive/sneaky group, which will probably make some strategies less viable. 

Interestingly, the number of non-humans in the party is decreasing. The only non-humans we now have are: 

1) Lady Leanne - Elf 
2) Prince Hammoton - Dwarf 
3) Lady Andrea/Sir Andrew - Animated Statue/Human


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## Particle_Man (Mar 29, 2005)

Oh, and Lady Christine also gained nobility when she resisted the Devil's temptation the second time.  Good on her!  Of course, the party still had to deal with "Lady Christine".

Let's see, the party lost one goblin, and two humans (one cohort, one pc).  The replacement has been a human.  The second replacement hasn't entered the field yet, but is likely to be a human.  But the Wild Hart is gone.


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## Shadowleaf (Mar 30, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> But the Wild Hart is gone.




It's not gone yet. We still have reincarnations to do. I'm planning on reincarnating my wolf and the Hart. In fact, we plan to reincarnate the Hart and Awaken it!


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## Particle_Man (Mar 30, 2005)

What, no Ram?


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## Particle_Man (Apr 2, 2005)

I can't remember if I said this one before.  One of my players (that of Lady Leanne) upon hearing that the Northern Lights were created by the battle between Morgan le Fay and Albion:

"The poor Inuit!"

Well, what can ya do?


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## Particle_Man (Apr 3, 2005)

3rd last session.  A preliminary note.  I will not be running a game the next two weeks as I will be out of town visiting my folks.  Never fear, as Blair will run the Spellslinger game (which will take over my time slot when I am done, after the movie night).

Ok, our merry band, after burying their dead, reincarnated various animals.  The White Hart reincarnated as a reindeer with a glowing red nose that flew up into the air.  Druid Cassandra's wolf reincarnated as a Dire Lion.  Caius was discovered to exist permanently in the realm of Fairyland, as a mobile Coniferous Tree, with various Cold Iron "decorations".

On to the next abbey?  Well first they hit the town of Longshanks, where the villagers are preparing for the end of the world, flagellating themselves, boarding up their places of business, giving away food and drink, abandoning their work, etc.  They already had sent their children with some monks to the abbey, and would follow as soon as they had finished in town.

This set up a red flag for the group, and they followed the tracks of the children and monks as fast as they could, using lesser restoration to stop the horses from becoming fatigued.  They caught up to them, at which point the monks (wights) attacks the children!  The party was only able to save 17 of the 57 children, but eventually killed the 12 wights.

They then returned the children to the village, where the villagers had already salted the earth.  The knights went ahead to the abbey, while Cassandra and Lady Leanne led the villagers to Fairyland's new subsection, Candyland, to at least give the villagers a place where they would not starve.

The abbey seemed almost abandoned.  There were three nuns there.  Upon being asked to see the fingerbones of Christ, they said that the viewer must prove himself worthy by a test of purity -- reading a certain book and saying what the book said.  Sir Andrew went into the room in question and read from the book, but only found gibberish (but saved vs. the symbol of insanity there).  At which point he was attacked by the three nuns (Annis version of Hags).  Sir Anton and Sir Bradley went to help.  It turns out the the hags are still tough, especially with their high grapple checks and the ability to use claws and rend while in a grapple.  Sir Anton perished.  Sir Bradley was in trouble, but was helped by Hubert (who had improved unarmed strike and improved grapple!).  Hubert also perished.  Finally, the hags were dealt with!

Meahwhile, those not involved in the combat found rooms filled with horrors -- dead nuns, dead children, etc.  

Sir Anton came back to life as a "santa elf" (small size, +2 dex, 6 ranks in craft (toymaking)).  On trying to reincarnate Sir Hubert, they got a hollow impenetrable glass statue of Sir Hubert (light and portable, though).

On to the third abbey.  This one seemed to be completely destroyed by a dragon.  But upon searching, they found the fingerbones of Christ!  At this point, Sir Hubert was restored, as if "poured" into his glass statue.  Also, Sir Andrew regained his height and gender.  Prince Kelvin refused the offer of restoring his race, and Lady Leanne made her fort save vs. restoring hers.  Also, I did a major magical upgrade to everyone's stuff (+5 on armour, shield, weapon (and Albion bane on weapons)) and an anti-Ablion nobility bonus that they could set on attack rolls, damage, saves, beating SR, an ability score, or DC of their spells -- but the nobility bonus was only vs. Albion).  Finally, they got the greatest gift.  Albion would be forced to be as noble as they were in combat.  And they got some gems, but don't know what they were meant to do.

Then the fingerbones disappeared, as did Tristran, to go to the Holy See in Rome and be the guardian of the fingerbones in their new home.

Sir Anton also gained the ability to cure insanity by touch.  Back to Count Randolph's, where he cured everyone, including his brother.  Frederick wished to accompany the party vs. Albion's army in Greenland, and left to gather help.  The party then spent a few months getting forces together for a giant push vs. Albion.  And the knights, with a little free time, went into Baron Roderick's cave and took out the monster that was killing miners down there (a basilisk, suitably advanced).  Got Sir Andrew stoned again, but he was "thawed out" at the Northern tip of Ireland, the staging point for the forces marshalled vs. Albion.

Oh, King Anguish was grieved to hear of the death of his son Caius from Hobb and the Court Mage.  (Hobb was reincarnated as a dwarf, and left afterwards to live in the dreaming woods and contemplate the One God).  Since so many forces are going to Greenland (including Prince Kelvin Hammoton, Prince Lucius (the remaining son of Anguish) and his wife Brigit, etc., Count Anguish named Roderick as his heir should anything happen to them all.  Anguish himself wanted to go avenge his son, but was weakened by grief and the sudden onset of age.  Anguished indeed.  Many of Anguish's troops are going to avenge Caius and Magnus.  Roderick generously offered his troops as a home guard while so many of Anguish's troops are away.  And now Roderick's mine problem has been cleared up by the knights, too!

Ok, that was about where we left it.  Three weeks from now we will have the showdown vs. Albion and co.  I am not sure how fast or slow that will go, but there are a few loose ends that could be tied up.  And perhaps even the Big Battle at the end of the era, 15 or so years on.  Oh, and I want that movie night!  Excalibur and Monty Python and the Holy Grail (which at least one of my players has never seen!  How is this possible?  ).


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## Elder-Basilisk (Apr 3, 2005)

I must have missed something in the last session--when did Sir Andrea become Sir Andrew again?


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## Roman (Apr 4, 2005)

Elder-Basilisk said:
			
		

> I must have missed something in the last session--when did Sir Andrea become Sir Andrew again?




We found the Fingerbones of Christ this session. The Fingerbones of Christ are capable of healing almost any affliction and undoing almost all transformations. That's why Sir Andrea is now Sir Andrew again.


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## Particle_Man (Apr 4, 2005)

Oh yeah, in the cave with the big Basilisk, the party found some gold statuettes, which Sir Anton believes to be the remains of some dwarves.  And after killing the Basilisk, Sir Roderick gave the knights a medal -- the bronze star (kinda cheap, since they reopened a GOLD mine for him, but there ya go).


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## Particle_Man (Apr 4, 2005)

I did cause the party to break down in laughter when, after the 12 wights were killed, and there were 40 dead children, I asked the party, a la Standard D&D DM, "So, do you loot the bodies?"

Bad DM!  Very Bad DM!


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## Roman (Apr 9, 2005)

Particle Man, is my understanding correct that elves (and dwarves, goblins, etc.) in this campaign are considered to be fey?


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## Particle_Man (Apr 19, 2005)

yes, but "fey" doesn't necessarily mean {MM: fey monster type}.  That is, historically, "fey" is how to classify them, but I am not sure about giving them all MM:fey abilities, so am playing them pretty much straight out of the book (with slight mod's to dwarves, slight to medium mods to elves (the "new" Santa elves are still "fey" (though not nec. MM fey) but are different from the "old" elves), and no mod's to goblins).  The "cold iron burns us my precious!" thing is a nice touch, but I haven't made that do actual damage (just pain) to elves.  I didn't even think of it, to be honest, but Lady Leanne was playing that aspect up and I thought "ah, what the heck, it seems cool".  

Oh yeah, I am back.  So see you all saturday for the BIIIIIIIIIIG Fight!    Remember, Albion will play by the rules if you do, and will break them if you do.  So probably the S.O.P. of "let the honourable guys go first, and then have the not-so-honourable guys mop up" would be most efficient.  Though you never know...those honourable guys have a way of pulling through unlikely situations sometimes...


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## Roman (Apr 19, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> yes, but "fey" doesn't necessarily mean {MM: fey monster type}.  That is, historically, "fey" is how to classify them, but I am not sure about giving them all MM:fey abilities, so am playing them pretty much straight out of the book (with slight mod's to dwarves, slight to medium mods to elves (the "new" Santa elves are still "fey" (though not nec. MM fey) but are different from the "old" elves), and no mod's to goblins).  The "cold iron burns us my precious!" thing is a nice touch, but I haven't made that do actual damage (just pain) to elves.  I didn't even think of it, to be honest, but Lady Leanne was playing that aspect up and I thought "ah, what the heck, it seems cool".




Ok, thanks for the explanation.  



> Oh yeah, I am back.  So see you all saturday for the BIIIIIIIIIIG Fight!    Remember, Albion will play by the rules if you do, and will break them if you do.  So probably the S.O.P. of "let the honourable guys go first, and then have the not-so-honourable guys mop up" would be most efficient.  Though you never know...those honourable guys have a way of pulling through unlikely situations sometimes...




I am looking forward to the session!


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## Roman (Apr 19, 2005)

One more question about the 'anti-Albion bonus' that we could pick: 

If chosen for saves, does it apply to one particular save or all saves? 
If chosen for stats, does it apply to the stat or to the stat bonus? 
If chosen for caster level to counter SR, does it apply to caster level checks against SR only or to all caster level checks against Albion?


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## Particle_Man (Apr 19, 2005)

Saves: All Saves vs. Albion.

Ability Scores: Not the bonus.  The Score.  And only for duration of battle vs. Albion.

Caster Level: If vs. Albion, caster level includes penetrating SR, but also cheaper spell points, longer duration, etc., etc.  Good deal for spellcasters.

Note: Once/if Albion falls, the bonus goes away.  And you don't use the bonus when not encountering Albion.

In case I forgot: remember that you all also were offered a special jewelly deal from the fingerbones that might be relevant vs. Albion.  Or might not.  Just remind me if you have one or not when we meet on saturday.

Oh, also we should start organizing the movie night.  Is the machine from the dance club VCR or DVD or both?  Depending how fast things go, we could do the movie night the week following (if TPK) or two perhaps two weeks following.  We'll see how fast things go this sat.


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## Roman (Apr 20, 2005)

Thanks for the info!


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## LadyK (Apr 20, 2005)

Three potential problems (sorry guys)

1. The Dance club machine is VHS and very tempermental. 

2. I am no longer technically an exec member. While I remain confident of my ability to BS my way into and out of nearly any situation, I do not know when they will be changing the alarm codes.

3. Weekend after next (April 30) I will not be in town. I will be down in Washington beating the crap out of other ubernerds with foam weapons. 

In conclusion, we may have left movie night too late. But you guys can all come down to Legacies with me. LARP in lieu of movie night sounds like a good deal to me.


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## Particle_Man (Apr 20, 2005)

Hmmm...anyone wanna volunteer their house?  And if so, do you have North American VCR, DVD, both?  I have a computer that plays DVD but cramming you all in my bedroom might leave the shows standing room only.


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## Particle_Man (Apr 23, 2005)

*or.........*

Can't the Wargamers rent a room and a vcr?  I know the SFS used to be able to, and Wargamers is an official club.  Who is on the exec this year, anyhow?

Anyway, How about we have the movie night for May 7th?  That way hopefully everyone can make it.  If my game ends early we could have Blair's "Spellslinger" campaign on the 30th.  (I am looking forward to trying out the magic system there as a player).

This is assuming that my other player that hasn't seen the CULTURAL ICON that is Monty Python and the Holy Grail is not called away to stop bullets with his chest before May 7th.  I am hoping to get everyone to see the movies.


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## Particle_Man (Apr 23, 2005)

Particle_Man said:
			
		

> Oh, and since the critical event has now passed, here is the message found on the Silent Knight that was the son of Sir Linus (one of Sir Caius's idols), as well as being the squire of Caius's older brother Magnus.  See if you can puzzle it out.
> 
> "Mined knot may uncle troll bye hurt elf further eye saw reed own tell our two pie sin hiking you sin call oak."
> 
> It loses something without being in wacky different fonts and font sizes and such.  Ah well.




Its been long enough.  The translation: "Mind not my own - controlled by her - tell father I'm sorry - don't allow her to poison high king using cloak."

This was Edmund, squire of Sir Magnus (Prince Caius's eldest brother), and son of Sir Linus (one of King Anguish's noblest knights, sadly killed via the treachery of one of the fake Sir Andrews (the minstrel-demon)), trying to warn the party of the assassination attempt on King Arthur by his sister, Morgan le Fey, using a magically poisoned cloak.  Edmund was magically rendered mute, and his mind could be read at any time by Morgan.  Thus he wrote the message in bits and pieces, and in a non-literal form.  Then he challenged the knights in the party, expecting to die and hoping for freedom from his magical servitude, as well as getting the warning out.  So I thought that was pretty noble, for a squire.


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## Particle_Man (Apr 24, 2005)

*the party's over!*

Well folks, this was the last of my King Arthur sessions.  I will try to post everything I can remember, but feel free to fill in my gaps, of which I am sure there will be more than a few.  Note that I will keep this thread going for a while in order to try to organize a  movie night.

Aampi and Jack, is it possible for you to book me a room at the SUB, as well as a TV/VCR?  I will pay the fee that is required.  I am hoping to have both for the evening of May 7th, but failing that try for a Saturday evening in May.  That way we can, as a group, watch both Excalibur and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which are both movies worth seeing.

Anyhow, the group was missing Sir Andrew’s player.  A pity, since I think he would have enjoyed what went down.  But such is life, and things can happen unexpectedly.

The group is organizing for a huge battle, trying to get knights, footmen, druids, etc., to ship out to Greenland to face Albion.  Cassandra and Leanne enchant the dragon armour and shields during the waiting period and on the ships.  Sir Andrew is constantly praying for aid in these endeavours.  

They disembark in a south Greenland town that seems deserted, except for a thin trickle of smoke visible in the center of town.  Many houses and roofs look staved in, as if the town had been attacked by giants.  At the trickle of smoke they find two familiar peasants roasting a chicken (the two from “Freedonia”, whose names I have forgotten, and so I christen them Frederick and Barnabas).  The peasants are surprised to see the party, and tell them that giants (more than the fingers on my hands!) attacked the town and had already attacked and taken over the mines to the north east.  The mines contained iron that was said to be proof vs. sorcery.  The group drafts the reluctant peasants.

Many preparations are made to fight the army, from druid scouting reports, to various “Crowd control” magical tactics, etc.  Brigit (Roderick’s sister) seems to intuitively grasp the usefulness of magic in warfare, though the other knights are confused.  I should note that many of the NPC’s that the party knows are in on this, from Lucius (Caius’s brother) and Brigit, to Lord Bertram and his sons (from the first ever game session!), to Sir Geoffrey, Lord Eustace, and the other two knights, to Sir Jaime and Sir Gregor (servitors of count Randolph that can actually shave), and a new face: a plucky standard bearer called Kenneth.  (Note that Standard Bearer is a feat that not only helps your allies, but makes you take 2 more points of damage from enemies!  I imagine that standard bearers have short life-expectancies in warfare.

Duke Roderick stayed behind in Ireland with his knights as a “home guard”, and King Anguish was in no condition to travel.

Scouts reported that the enemy has giants, black knights (some riding horses that breathed smoke!), scummy folk, walking dead, a few hags, and even a dwarf!  (TRAITOR!).  No visible dragons though [Auberon’s book of quarrels was successful in getting Albion to not keep a hold on the dragons, particularly without Morgan le Fey to smooth things over].

Now the army engagement was in a way a diversionary tactic, as the group snuck around to Albion’s “castle” (actually a group of castles in a sort of ring).  There were sufficient cracks between these insanely adjoining castles for the party to easily get inside.

Lady Leanne scouted and found a human wandering around (on closer examination, the “human” had Albion’s features).  He was in a large room with numerous magical devices, including what looked like a crystal ball.

Lady Leanne then went back and got the others ready.  They party knew that Albion would be bound to be as honourable as they, due to aid from the Fingerbones of Christ.  The group was announced, with full titles (and cleaned up with a prestidigitation spell) by Lady Leanne (and the Court Mage).  Sir Anton was the first to challenge Albion, who led them out to a courtyard, after offering them food (I wanted to pull a “Meatloaf” a la “Rocky Horror Picture Show” but the party was either suspicious or in a hurry, so they wanted to get on with the fighting part).  Albion was civil, and wanted them to be undisturbed in their combat, so used  the crystal ball (and turned it red) which caused the sounds of combat outside to stop (that took a dc 20 listen check to notice).  Albion claimed to have sent the warring factions to a better climate to sort out their differences (he sent them to Hell, actually).

Cassandra the druid scouted around and found a large courtyard (stone tell helped here) and stalls, most of them empty, but one containing both the skeleton of a colossal dragon, and a saddle.

The courtyard was huge, and Albion grew from 5’6” to about 40’ tall!  He then went to the stall where his mount was and “Awakened” and saddled it.  [This was a colossal red dragon skeleton – immune to fire and cold].  

Before each duel, he offered “eternal life on earth in exchange for service to me as king of Earth”. But the knights each refused (of course).  He also announced himself as the former smith of the gods, Vulcan, Hephaistos the lame, and Albion, rightful king of earth.

At this point Sir Andrew was encased in “hard light” and was stuck in a praying position.

Anton charged with his lance vs. Albion.  After a few passes, Anton was unconscoious.  Then came Sir Bradley, using his greatsword (so Albion switched from his lance to his warhammer).  Here Albion had to make DC 5 ride checks, and failed quite often, losing his attacks for the round (he was using the warhammer in a two handed fashion).  Sir Bradley died eventually, however.  But that ride check thing came in handy 4 more times vs. other knights.

Next came Sir Hubert, who was knocked unconscious.  Then Prince Hammoton tried to use diplomacy “you are facing too many enemies…of which we are not the most powerful” and Albion was pleased with the words “when I raise you, you shall be my voice!” but still determined to fight (remember the Book of Quarrels – Albion was in a fighting mood!).  So Prince Hammoton was eventually killed.  At this point the gems arose from Sir Bradley and Prince Hammoton and did tremendous damage to Albion and his steed [equal to the characters’ nobility scores!].

Then there was Lady Leanne, who kept Albion talking and tried to make an alliance with him (either vs. God or vs. Satan, or just to keep him talking…I am not sure].  Albion let slip that he had made god-killing weapons (like the Spear of Longinus) and had taken and concentrated the iron in the mines to make god-killing arrows for his archer to use vs. Auberon and Titania (Leanne used her ring to send this info to Titania – the first and only time Leanne heard Titania swear).  By this time Cassandra had healed Sir Anton, who switched to his sword vs. Albion.  Albion killed him, but the damage he had so far taken, plus the gem of Anton exploding, was enough to destroy Albion and his mount.  Then Sir Bradley (who had less than 100 nobility) rose up from the dead while still obviously wounded!  Lady Leanne was suspicious and tried to heal him, but the healing magic hurt him.  He attacked (as a basic wight) but lady Leanne was able to dispatch him.

Next the party tried to get the troops back from hell but no one had “Use Magic Device” (go figure).  Then Titania summoned the remaining troops to pursue the archer, that had fled Fairyland.  She didn’t know where he had gone, but could use her magic to send others after his trail (and allow them to survive whatever environment they found themselves in) and then return after five minutes.  She said Auberon would take care of returning the armies to Albion’s castle.  So Cassandra, Lady Leanne and the Court Mage went, leaving behind Brother Geoffrey the cohort to look after the unconscious cohort Hubert.

They are in a green and grassy field, and start tracking the archer.  This is not too difficult, but the archer is invisible.  Lady Leanne casts faerie fire on the five foot square (the wolf-now-lion animal companion tracked him to that square) and tried to capture him, but he fled.  But outlined by fire he was now pursued by two faceless white bipedal figures with flaming weapons of light (one had a mace shaped like a sun, and it glowed).  Between them they subdued the archer (this was Sir Bradley’s noble part and Prince Hammoton (100 nobility), but they were faceless and could not speak – I had them roll though).  The figures then flew away on feathered wings.  The archer was then stripped and brought back to Albion’s castle.  Note that the cold iron arrows hurt Lady Leanne to touch even through gloves!

Back at Albion’s castle, Albion’s body looked quite desiccated.  And on contacting Titania, Lady Leanne found out that 15 years had passed!  The armies were outside Albion’s castle, but everyone was dead (some looked like they had been dead for decades).  [Two time-dilation effects here.  First, the armies fought to the death in hell (and then the survivors were killed by demons) but almost no time passed on Earth while this occurred.  On the other hand, 5 minutes in heaven concurred with 15 years on Earth].  This included the Standard-Bearer, Kenny.  The bad guys killed him.  The bastards!!!

The survivors of the party later catalogued the bodies (and gold statuettes) and made what records they could of who had died.  They reconnoitered with Titania, who took the archer.  The castles and non-magical gear were sent back to their rightful places.  The magical stuff (Albion’s) was taken to Avalon for safe study.  (suggested by Titania as a safe place, anyhow).  Leanne found a black pearl necklace (Morgan le Fey’s).  Some black potions promising “Eternal Life” were destroyed.  The kitchen’s containing dead bodies (including King Hammoton’s) were emptied and the desiccated bodies buried.

And on returning to Ireland found out that Hubert and Geoffrey had returned and taken the light-statue of Sir Andrew, which was seen as a sort of holy relic.  In the 15 years, Hubert had become Duke under King Roderick of Ireland.  (Sir Andrew’s son Tristan had risen in holiness to become Pope, by the way).

But now, Arthur was calling on troops to attack Sir Lancelot in France, for betrayal (adultery!).  Sir Mordred was guarding Queen Guenevere in England while this was going on.  So Hubert, Cassandra and Court Mage went to Agincourt.  Arthur lost 2/3 of his forces, and Lancelot lost almost all of his and fled.  But then Arthur heard word that Modred had declared himself King of England and “married” Guenevere!  So the troops were sent back to England for a second battle.  The standard bearer of Arthur was Zenobas.  

Note that King Roderick sent his regrets at not attending the battle vs. Lancelot, pleading illness (gout).  (He had married the widow of Anguish, but she had died 8 years previously).  Lady Leanne smelled a rat and tried to actually give the lying, cowardly Roderick gout, but her contagion spells failed all four times (I rolled 3 natural 18’s and a natural 20!).  

Lady Nimue found she suddenly had to go to Avalon (a vision).

Ok, the group was at the final battle.  There were going to be giants helping Mordred, but Cassandra’s druid network dealt with them (and so couldn’t make the battle).  I sped through this, asking what the group did when they ran out of spell points/arrows.  Hubert I had roll a d20 and die on anything but a 20.  He died, but killed 61 knights before hand (I had him roll a %).  Cassandra and the Court Mage were rendered unconscious, and awoke to Sir Bors.  Leanne had gained a level, fallen in a lake, become a Lady of the Lake, and caught a sword coming at her (Bors flinging in Excalibur), which she then took to Avalon.  Also, an imp on the battlefield was found delighting in the death and destruction and was killed (thus freeing Magnus’s noble part to finally move on).

King Arthur had killed Mordred, but the latter had mortally wounded Arthur (with a special “cold iron” lance).  It seems that Avalon’s security had been breached and one of the “god-killer” weapons given to Mordred!  [Morgan le Fey, hee hee].  So Arthur was taken by the Court Mage, Leanne, and Cassandra (the new three fates) to Avalon to heal.  

Avalon can only be reached every 10 years for about a fortnight.  Lady Leanne never aged, and the other two were killed/reincarnated every so often.  Arthur never aged either (funny, that).  As a security precaution, Titania, Nimue, and the PC’s made a special charm that caused any who entered Avalon to be well-disposed to Arthur.  Later, Morgan le Fey came to Avalon for 50 years, and was so well-disposed, becoming nicer and nicer as time went by.  Lady Leanne returned her necklace.

I thought I was done but the party wanted closure, I guess. The party visits Pope Tristan, taking the Light Statue of Sir Andrew to the Vatican City (thus safeguarding the Spear of Longinus which Sir Andrew still carried).  The Pope mentioned problems with an insane shapechanger.  The Ladies warned off ex-Fox (who eventually died, bitter and hateful and impotent and frustrated, during the crusades in Jerusalem).

Leanne and the other ladies visited Roderick 10 years on.  He had become King of England after Arthur, and was aging visibly.  10 years on he was getting a bit senile.  He had commissioned Tom Mallory to write a history of Arthur.  Leanne visited Mallory and gave her account (in written form).  20 years on, Roderick was dead (without heir).  The history Leanne saw was rather…generous to Roderick, so she spent time in taverns, etc., telling the true story (thus explaining why the legendary and historical Arthur don’t agree).

The dead Sir Anton became a snowman (still water based, but also Xmas based) in Fairyland.

The ladies got rewarded by Titania for their efforts.  Leanne gained Otto’s Irresitable Dance at will (Sugar Plum Fairy).  Cassandra became “jacky frost” (immune to cold, maximized and widened her cold spells for free).  Court Mage became the Tooth Fairy (I ran out of Xmas ideas).

Leanne wanted to keep visiting and reminded Roderick’s bastard descendents of the truth, and so did.  At some point she would learn how to use a computer to keep track of the descendants!

Cassandra tried to keep druidism alive, with some small success.  But more and more henges got moved, paved over, etc., so it was a losing battle, despite the rise of neo-pagan movements.

Arthur was healed by 3106 AD, in time to stop a massive alien invasion of the Solar System.

The Apocalypse happened in the 5100’s, and Sir Andrew was brought out of his light shell to fight.  Sir Anton the snowman came to finally duel with him, but both were cut down by lasers before long and died in each others’ arms.  

Lady Leanne tried to mess with God using the weapons of Albion.  But her plan failed (I let her roll: if she got a 20 vs. my 1, she got the drop on God – otherwise, Avalon was sealed off and the ladies would be trapped inside forever (or until the next cycle of the universe, at least, but that really is beyond the scope of my tale)).

After the apocalypse, the hyper-rationalists eventually take over.  With the lack of belief in supernatural entities, eventually Santa, the Easter Bunny and their pantheon die off (except for those sealed away in Avalon).  Since God still has believers in Heaven (Hell being destroyed, and the Earth filled only with unbelievers who were not taken up to heaven during the apocalypse), he is fine even through the rationalist phases of human history.  

Eventually, the human race dies out, the galaxy cools, the heat death of the universe sets in, and God decides to try to create another universe.  And that is beyond the scope of my tale.

I thint that is everything, but if I have forgotten a bit, others can fill in the blanks, and if I have gotten anything wrong, others can correct me.

And for all the trouble Roderick caused, he was never higher than a 3rd level noble.  Go figure.

Oh, some people wanted me to post my metaphysics-of-Camelot-setting.  I will do that next post.


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## Particle_Man (Apr 24, 2005)

Ok, here are some rough notes, plus some more thoughts.  I am too tired to go through it all right now.

Divine magic sources: One God (Priest/Crusader/Hermit/White Knight) – various interpretations, all granted magic, Old Faith (Druid/Minstrel/Blue Knight) – tied to ley lines and henges. (and for ladies of the lake and blue knights, large fresh bodies of water)

Arcane magic sources: Ley Lines.  (All)

Hedge Mages tend to go for Old Faith and not One God.

Minstrels, Druids, Ladies of the Lake, Blue Knights: Old Faith.

Priests, Hermits, Crusaders, Saints, White Knights: One God (Aristocrats for “nobles” not of One God -  note multiple interpretations!).

Note: Old Gods tried and failed to have similar system with Olympus/Hades, which now are Heaven/Hell.  Part of Albion’s magic was to see if “non-noble” parts of souls could become more useful on Earth than in Hades.  Some gods disagreed and sent Hercules.  The internal dissention among Old Gods (and believers) allowed the One God to gain power.  Albion was originally an Old God, but his own sundering denied him his divine powers (his ignoble part was hugely powerful, though).  Ignoble Albion wanted to rule over the earth, and get rid of all divine powers that might oppose him.  He failed, but caused a lot of damage.

If belief is tied to God-power, then Old Faith gods can retain “spell granting” power at the cost of their own “personalities” – they actually “become” the land, the ley lines, [sometimes] the henges, the lakes and pools, etc.  The last two holdouts are Oberon/Titania, but they see the writing on the wall too.  The hope was that the situation might change in the future, allowing them to reform.  Later, arcane magic-users learn how to exploit these “magic items” in part.  The One God is supplied with enough worshippers to retain a personality, and maintain a Heaven and Hell, but will not interfere directly, but only through mortal agents (their spells being granted, and used to contact Him, etc.) (but sometimes the demons/devils “cheat”, if they can) – One God sees this, as all suffering, as a “test of faith” (only way to bring up Nobility, which is worth the risk of disillusioning people (losing believers or having their Nobility reduced).  Note: The rise of the One God allows Him to change the past, so that the Adam/Eve story, giants as children of fallen angels, etc., start to become “more real” as part of the history.  Eventually, this will cause Albion’s remaining toxic magic to fail, and the ley lines to lose their power, as the Pagan Gods will not only not exist (except as magic items) they will never have existed (even as magic items).  And with that, Arcane magic will also fail.  But then, the One God will have no need to grant divine agency to mortals (an extension of the Non-Interference idea), and we will be in modern times.  Strict controls will be set up on Hell to remove chance of “cheating” devils/demons, and god will use Believers’ souls to maintain power against all comers.  Actually, part of changing past requires One God to stop actively interfering, even at the cost of would-be believers that want tangible miracles.  One God is gambling that remaining believers (as well as souls of believers) will maintain power even without spells.  In fact, when God feels secure enough, he will end Hell with Apocalypse and use believers in heaven as permanent mana battery to maintain permanent existence, with no possible rivals (remaining folk on Earth after Apocalypse will be rationalists with no supernatural beliefs, and thus no threat to him).

Now, what happens to souls?  First, a stasis period of “long enough” beforehand, to allow for any reincarnations/resurrections etc.  This varies, but only from the point of view of living mortals – takes no time from the point of view of the dead.  Note: sometimes instead of a stasis period you get ghosts, who need something done before they can go on to the next step.  Anyhow, either way the next step varies depending on what you believe: A) Believers in One God.  Their souls are usually split in two.  A % of their souls = to their nobility go to heaven, and remainder goes to hell OR becomes evil undead (a la spawn now – the secret of making non-spawned corporeal (which was almost exclusively elf, dwarf or primitive humans) or incorporeal undead (dread wraiths were giants that had displeased Albion) has been lost/destroyed when Albion was killed).  A character with 100% nobility does not have his soul split in two, and so cannot become undead (except maybe Ghost, see above).  Mortals never see souls in heaven again (except perhaps in the occasional dream) (part of non-interference pact).  Souls in hell become demons/devils etc., after being tortured and mutated for a while.  Demons/Devils that are killed simply die (exception, summoned one’s aren’t really here, so don’t die but reform in Hell).  (Note: some demons/devils were not souls, but were retroactively created as fallen angels to be first torturers).  Fallen Angels are the % parts of first Angels that were not pure enough, before God perfected the “non-interference” rule to prevent corruption.  B) Believers in Old Faith – become part of the ley-lines/natural world (keeping the magic going, the One God’s retroactive influence at bay, etc.).  Their nobility indicates how many years their personality forms a functional part, however small, of the place (in effect, the non-noble part becomes non-personality immediately).  After that they are simply part of the “magic item”.  Exception: if they became non-ghost undead we have the % split were the noble part is in stasis but the ignoble part is the undead thing and the whole soul can’t move on until undead thing is destroyed C) Non-Believers.  Eventual Dissolution = Nothingness.  (with same caveat on undead deal as above) Most intelligent monsters go this route.  Noted exception: Fey Creatures (including goblins, dwarves, and elves) that do not believe in One God do option B, whether they are believers or not.  Fey go through stasis period, but never become ghosts.  This explains why druids like reincarnation: high percentage chance of getting a fey, which is eventual good news (but One God believers rarely consent to be reincarnated).  Reincarnation table: 1-27 Goblin/28-51 Dwarf/52-75 Elf/76-99 Human/00 Other (Dm’s Choice – usually a fey, but possibly a giant).  

Intelligent magical items don’t exist.  A Familiar, Animal Companion, or Knight’s Warhorse loses its abilities and intelligence, but regains them if the person bonded with them is brought back to life.  A familiar will not bond with another Hedge Mage.  Another can use a Knight’s Warhorse.  If the Warhorse is bonded with someone else with the Knight’s Warhorse ability, and the original Knight is brought back to life, the horse gets the better of the two scores and will choose the rider it had bonded with for the most levels (the earlier rider taking precedence in case of a tie).

Next question: Why Hell?  Why not Nothingness here too?  Torturing of evil part provides some power to One God, but not as nearly as much as good part does (thus One God wants believers to be as good as possible).  Demons/devils take on jobs as torturers to continue the process.  The longer one is tortured, the less “juice” One God gets per day of torture of that soul %.  Diminishing returns (and attrition of “cheating” demons/devils who don’t do their jobs and try to cause trouble on Earth) eventually makes it more profitable to turn longest suffering tortured into torturers themselves.

Why do nasty monsters overrun England and surrounding areas specifically?  I’d say it is residue of old rites of Albion = toxic waste of Albion w/o his waste management.

What about one who believes in One God and Old Faith?  Sorry.  Either you are an official believer of the One God (baptized/converted/the works) or you are not.

Why do higher social classes (lineages) start with more nobility?  One God’s subtle interference (exception to “non-interference”.  Role-model idea of encouraging others to be nobler).

Otherworld contains everything that is not Prime Material Plane.  All spells that involves other planes involve some part of Otherworld.  Otherworld includes Fairyland, Avalon, Heaven and Hell, but Heaven is barred to mortals.

Ok, so part of history is the goblins siding with the giants in the undead project, and dwarves and elves (and other fey) being created to try to stop it, with middling success.  Eventually, with the giants in disarray, the elves and dwarves are meant to return to fairyland, but some stay behind (and get corrupted) and a few always leave/get kicked out of fairyland to see England (and may get corrupted).  Elves later on were first to discover how to use ley lines for a new purpose, and so invented Arcane Magic.  Prolonged exposure made elves weaker, but better at arcane magic.  Originally, they were as much fighters as dwarves.

Possible paradox: mortal travels to hell, sees (part of) soul of X there, goes back home, tries to resurrect X.  What happens?  Solution: no paradox, as tortured souls are mutated and not recognizable, nor in their tortured states are they able to recognize those from former life.  Thus mortal might see a tortured soul, but won’t know who it was, and so won’t know who to resurrect.  If he resurrects anyone, that one was not in hell, but in “stasis”.  Resurrection/True Resurrection does work on ghosts that were “laid to rest” (the ghost goes back into “Stasis”) and on other destroyed undead.  While “evil” part is in undead, “good” part remains in stasis.  So if undead destroyed, parts reform and whole soul remains in stasis, and so can be affected by resurrection/true resurrection, but not raise dead (too damaged from one sundering already).

Thus, for what it is worth, Ghosts have same nobility as living creature it was, but other undead always have permanent nobility of 0, as do demons/devils etc. (ignoble parts of souls get set to 0, noble parts of souls get set to 100, upon split in Believers). 

Earth vs. Otherworld (Heaven (former Elysium), Hell (former Hades), Limbo (good parts of souls of category B or C that are split wait here), Fairyland (shrinking slightly), Avalon (the wandering Isle)).


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## Roman (Apr 24, 2005)

Great posts Particle Man!   I will comment more extensively in a few days, because I still have some papers to write at the moment.


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## Particle_Man (Apr 25, 2005)

Loose ends in my own mind.  I assumed that Hubert gained 15 nobility and 5 Knight levels in the 15 years.  Also, in the final battle, he died via treachery from the 62nd opponent, a Black Knight that feigned death, used the poison weapon (all as per the Purple Knight's dream, way back when).


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## Particle_Man (May 7, 2005)

*Movie Night!*

Good news!  The movie night is a go.  We will be in SUB room 215, starting at 6pm this saturday!.  We will see "Excalibur" first, followed by "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".  Everyone welcome, and can bring others who want to see these fine movies.

I will leave a notice on the Wargamers' door as to the room, in case someone wants to go but forgets the room number.


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## Particle_Man (May 7, 2005)

*argh!!!!!*

The movie night is Saturday not Sunday!  I should never post tired after midnight friday night!

Sorry for the confusion!


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## Particle_Man (May 8, 2005)

Well the movie night was a big success, although I think people turned "Excaliber" the movie into a bit of a comedy a la Mystery Science Theatre.  Much more respectful of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".  

Sorry for those who missed it.  I highly recommend you rent and see both films.

So, that is it for me.  I am done as a DM for a while.  It was fun.  I learned a lot (including never to take Leadership when a player, since it causes headaches for the poor DM). 

Oh, Blair isn't running a game next week, so I don't think that anything is happening on the 14th.  Just FYI.

Hope that the players (and readers of this thread) enjoyed themselves.


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## Particle_Man (May 12, 2005)

Oh, and I also learned that Hags are NASTY!


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## lastknight (Jan 31, 2008)

*A request........*

Great read! I found Legends of Excailbur, and my sister ordered off of Amazon. Both of us have never played a D20 system game, so it should be interesting!   

Anyone still around who was a part of this one? I sure wish Particle_Man still posted here, as I'd love a walkthrough or anyone willing to guide newbies through Legends of Excailbur.

If anyone will take me up, I'll be around.

Last Knight


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## Roman (Feb 3, 2008)

I am Sir Anton from the above story and I am still around!


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## lastknight (Feb 8, 2008)

Great Sir Anton!

Any advice to someone who never played d20? I have both the D&D handbook and DM one (and now Excalibur as well, of course). I want to use the Excalibur system.

I've got a few questions (if you know the answers?)

1. How does Nobility work in LOE?

2. What is Fate and Destiny in LOE?

3. At the very beginning of play, is there a normal number for setting stats in d20 games?

4. A few players want to be Ladies of The Court, what class should they choose?

Thanks in advance.


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## Roman (Feb 19, 2008)

lastknight said:
			
		

> Great Sir Anton!
> 
> Any advice to someone who never played d20?




The thing to remember is that there is a unified resolution mechanic. All rolls (with very few exceptions, most notable being damage) are d20 to which you add modifiers and have to beat a certain difficulty class (DC) in order to succeed at the task you are doing, whether it is climbing up a wall or hitting the enemy with your sword. 



> I have both the D&D handbook and DM one (and now Excalibur as well, of course). I want to use the Excalibur system.




In that case, you should be fine. Monster Manual might also come in handy though. 



> I've got a few questions (if you know the answers?)




I will do my best! 



> 1. How does Nobility work in LOE?




Nobility is a number from 1 to 100 representing the honor and purity of the character with 1 being the most base and 100 being the most noble. Nobility can change depending on character actions. For example, if two knights team-up to defeat a single combatant in combat they would lose nobility. 



> 2. What is Fate and Destiny in LOE?




Fate is a goal chosen by the player for the PC. Destiny is a negative outcome for the player character chosen by the DM/GM in secret. It is often a tragic corollary of the fate the player has chosen. 

Player characters get fate point, which they can spend to improve their chances at critical tasks related to their fate. When they spend fate points, however, they also acquire destiny points that the DM/GM can spend on fulfilling their destinies. 



> 3. At the very beginning of play, is there a normal number for setting stats in d20 games?




The normal way to set stats is to roll 4d6 and add the results of the 3 highest dice. Repeat this process six times and than assign each of the six resultant numbers to the ability score you wish. The process is also explained in the Player's Handbook. 



> 4. A few players want to be Ladies of The Court, what class should they choose?




There are several suitable classes. Perhaps something like the Minstrel or the Noble would be appropriate, but I am sure other classes can be made to work in this role too. 



> Thanks in advance.




I hope it helps!


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## lastknight (Feb 20, 2008)

Thank you so much for taking the time to write in-depth answers to my questions! You have been more help than you realize. I really appreciate it.


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## Roman (Feb 20, 2008)

Glad to help!


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## Particle_Man (Nov 24, 2008)

I would add "Enchantress" and "Lady of the Lake" or "Court Mage" as prestige classes for ladies to shoot for, as well.

Although one could be a female knight and kick some Saxon ass.

Sorry I haven't been here in a while.  I am thinking of starting something in the summer of 2009.  Could do Excalibur again.  Or might do something indy and weird, like "Don't Rest Your Head".  Not that my Excalibur games don't get weird.


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## Roman (Nov 24, 2008)

Hey Particle Man! 

How is our troupe in Canada doing? I am currently in the U.S. (Cincinnati, Ohio), doing my Ph.D. studies. Unfortunately, I don't seem to be able to find a gaming group around here. There is a wargamers clique here, but they play computer games and CCGs, but no RPGs at the moment.


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## Roman (Nov 24, 2008)

Particle_Man said:


> I am thinking of starting something in the summer of 2009.  Could do Excalibur again.




Hey, if you ever consider doing an online (either chat or pbp) game like that count me in! I have fond memories of our Excalibur campaign.


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## Particle_Man (Nov 26, 2008)

Things are going fairly well.

The troupe . . . Well some have gone on to the USA like yourself, actually.  Jack in doing the law school thing and Catherine is mainly in the states (although she was here for a while in the summer).

The rest of the gang is still around, but are trying all sorts of games (a lot of them are doing World of Warcraft computer stuff, but I am not into that).  Dark Heresy, Scion, 7th Sea are the one's I am in right now, but Aampi is running a 3rd ed D&D game (with a few tweaks borrowed from 4th ed) on sundays.  As usual there are more games everyone wants to run, but time is an issue.  I am in a 3rd ed D&D game too, but with a completely different group that meets once a month.

I'm not much for the online thing, but I think Catherine does that occasionally (she ran a western game).

Anyhow, you can drop by the UBC Wargamers boards and see what is shaking, online-wise.  And good luck finding folk in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Maybe put up a notice at stores that sell pen and paper rpgs?  There much be a few in that city.

Oh, and good luck with the Ph.D.  I feel your pain!


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## Roman (Nov 27, 2008)

Thanks for the update! I didn't realize there were UBC Wargamers' boards in existence. I will make sure to check them out. 

I was not really taken by 4E at all and run a few intermittent 3.5E/Pathfinder campaigns over the holidays when I go back to Slovakia and I ran some longrunning games of this nature when in Austria. I will perhaps try your suggestion of local stores to find a group here. 

Thanks for the Ph.D. sympathies!


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