Dungeons of Gonzoria: Season 01, Game 01

21st of Secondmonth 1526 H.E. 

The ship Grey Dolphin makes dock at the town of Newport in the Northern Province.  Five adventurers disembark.  Araned Threeoak from the elven settlement of The Great Tree.  Garrick Valthorn, a warrior from the capital city of The Holy Empire of the Blessed Saint.  Rulo Suras of the Wandering Elves.  Pendrek Stonehand a Dwarf from the Grey Mountains.  Artemis, a mystic from the Wind Dragon clan.  They had all departed from the Capital City three days ago bound for the great Northern city of Gonzoria with the intent to explore the fabled ruins of the lost High Kingdom and it's dungeons.  

Gonzoria had been established decades ago after the defeat of the Demon King.  Since then hundreds of adventurers had come to seek fame and fortune.  Some had done just that but most had met their fates in the many dungeons and ruins.  

Having no one else to travel with, the five set out from Newport for Gonzria after breaking their fast at a local tavern.  As they headed north along the road they could see the massive High Kingdom Mesa that rose a mile above the hills of the lowlands.  Two other mesa nearly as tall but smaller in surface area flanked it to the east and west.  Many more were said to lie beyond these to the north.  These mesa were where the lost civilization of the High Kingdom derived its name.  

  

The road north ran along the banks of the High Kingdom River which flowed from two massive waterfalls from the heights of the High Kingdom Mesa.  The weather was unseasonably warm for Secondmonth, especially this far north so the walk was pleasant.  The party expected to reach Gonzoria in just a few hours as it was not far from Newport.  

As they were traveling they overheard someone arguing in orcish from a nearby small wood.  Deciding to investigate the party found a group of Orcs armed with bows and warclubs but wearing no armor.  The orcs were arguing about whether to raid the road during the day or the local farms by night.  

Due to their argument the part were able to surprise the orcs.  Two of the orcs dropped back to use their bows but four stood to face the adventurers.  

Within moments the orcs were cut down and the party paused to check their loot and asses their damage.  The elf Araned had taken a nasty shot from one of the orc archers so he spent some time patching himself up.  Among the orcs gear they found a small bag of mostly copper and silver coin.  It wasn't much but it would probably cover the cost of staying at an inn for a few day.

With no other encounters the party reached the gates of Gonzoria by mid morning.  They had taken orc ears in the hopes that they could claim a bounty on them.  The guards at the gate directed them to the Gatekeeper's office at Jailor's Tower.  

At Jailor's Tower they received a small bounty for the orc ears.  The deputy on duty told them their best chances of getting good jobs would be to join the Gonzoria Adventurers Guild but he also informed them that the dues for joining started at one hundred gold coins.  Since none of the party had that much they asked about other job opportunities.  They deputy offered them a job taking a prisoner and some supplies to the nearby village of Honeyhill for a small payment.  Having no other prospects they took the job.  

They arrived at the village of Honeyhill in the mid afternoon.  The small village was further to the north sitting only about a mile from the base of the High Kingdom Mesa.  

The sheriff, Ned Pipeweed, paid them for the prisoner and supplies.  When the party ask about further job opportunities and adventures the sheriff told they that the priest of the local Church of the Blessed Saint was looking for a party to investigate a rumor of a tomb just north of town.  

At the church the party spoke with Father Martin the priest who told them that a tomb had been discovered north of town cut into the walls of the High Kingdom Mesa with iconography suggesting it belonged to a member of the Holy Church of the Blessed Saint.  The priest offered to pay them two hundred gold coins if they could bring back the bones of any holy person they found there as well as pay them extra for any relics they managed to recover.  They took the job and set out of the tomb.

  A short distance out of the village they came across a temple of the Holy Earth Mother so they decided to stop by there as well.  They made a small offering to the priestess of the temple so she offered to read the bones for them.  After casting the bones the old halfling told them that she believed they would  accomplish their goal but would face many challenges.  

    

The found the tomb easily exactly where they had been told it was.  After removing the capstone they spent some time opening a locked iron bound door.  After hearing sounds inside they decided to have one of the elves peek inside before entering.  

Rula the elf peeked quickly inside and told the party she saw several large rodents inside.  The party developed a plan to handle the large group.  Garrick the warrior would open the door and allow two or three rodents out then try and close the door before more could get through making fewer opponents for the party to fight as one time.  

The elves considered using their magic but at their experience level they could each only cast one spell per day so they decided not to use them here.  

Garrick opened the door and three giant rats escaped the room and attacked the party before he was able to slam it closed again.  Twice more he opened the door and each time three more giant rats attacked them.  On the fourth attempt his hand slipped and the party braced for a larger attack.  Luckily for them no more rats were in the room.  

The small chamber beyond the door was lit from the ambient light coming from the outside.  It was then that the party discovered none of them had packed any torches or lanterns.  As the party had two humans they realized this would complicate their exploration of the tomb.  They found two old torches in sconces set on either side of a large door hoping that they would light when they needed them.  

There were three doors  leading out of the room.  A large door straight ahead of them and two smaller doors down short hallways to the left and right.  The party chose to proceed straight ahead and after spending some time they managed to pick the lock.  

Beyond the door they found a large marble corridor decorated with friezes of miracles performed by a holy man of The Church of the Blessed Saint.  Graffiti had been painted on the walls in dried blood that appeared to be in some unknown language.  A small niche held a man sized statue of a priest of the Church of the Blessed Saint but the head had been broken off and replaced with the skull of a goat burned black with a red upside down pentagram painted on the forehead.  They also found a small privy and in the dried out cesspit below they found the statues human head.  They also found two more old torches set on either side of the door at the far end of the corridor.  

As it was even darker in the corridor the Dwarf and Elves searched for hidden doors.  They found two near the far end of the corridor with hallways heading to the left and right for about twenty feet.  Each hallway had another hidden door.  All of the hidden doors were the type that slid aside when triggered.  When they investigated the passage on the left they found a room full of animated skeletons so they closed the door quickly.  When they checked the passage on the right they discovered a giant toad so they quickly closed that door as well.  

As they opened the door they planned to light one of their torches but found the chamber they entered lit by some kind of sky light rigged with mirrors.  The chamber inside was decorated in the same way as the corridor but without the dried blood graffiti.  An elaborate carved sarcophagus sat on a small dais opposite the door.

Pendrek the dwarf cautioned that they lid to the sarcophagus was slightly ajar so Araned and Garrick decided they would shift the lid a bit to have a peek inside.    

As they attempted to slide the lid of the sarcophagus aside something from the inside pushed the lid clear and an armored skeleton with devilish horns sprang up and attacked them.  The fight was intense but brief and ended when the mystic Artemis shattered it's skull with a bolt from her crossbow.  

The room had no treasure but the party decided that the skeleton's elaborate armor and rune carved longsword would be valuable.  The party were pleased none of them had been struck by they sword as it looked as if it might be enchanted due to it's elaborate construction and rune carved blade.  

After decided that the burial chamber they found was a false chamber they decided to continue to explore the tomb.  The decided to investigate the passageway with the giant toad.  Rulo decided she would try and use her sleep spell on the creature to put it to sleep then they could dispatch it.  This plan worked.  

After removing the curtains that the toad was nesting among they discovered they were in a bathing room.  The water of the bath had turned murky and was overgrown with algae.  They also discovered a heating chamber below the bath that had a tunnel connecting to the privy cesspit and another tunnel heading east that they chose not the explore.    

After discovering another hidden door the party proceeded down a limestone hallway.  Pendrek stopped the party half way down the hallway when he found a dart trap.  Rulo found a rock and used it to trigger the pressure plate for the trap from a safe distance allowing the part to proceed.  At the end of the hallway they discovered yet another hidden door.

 

Beyond the hidden door they found an unadorned small chamber that had another sarcophagus on a dais.  This sarcophagus was much simpler than the one they found earlier and it was still sealed.  

After breaking the seal and removing the lid they found the skeletal remains of a man in a simple monks robe.  The nameplate above his head was inscribed with Saint Bedevere.  

The party built three sturdy travois.  On one they laid the remains of Saint Bedevere.  On another they placed the statue and recovered head.  The third they used to transport the skeleton's armor and weapon and some silver icons they removed from one of the doors.  

When the party returned to the church at Honeyhill Father Martin was pleased that they had recovered the bones of Saint Bedevere and gladly paid them the two hundred gold coins.  He also paid them handsomely for the statue and icons but he refused to pay them for the "blasphemous" armor and weapon and suggested that they would have better luck trying to find a buyer in Gonzoria.  

With plenty of money to pay the dues to the adventurers guild in hand they set off once again for the city.  

Dungeon Master Notes:  This was my first session of my BECMI Dungeons an Dragons campaign "Dungeons of Gonzoria"  This is a sandbox game with elements of a West Marches campaign and so it will be player driven and may involve several different parties and players.  I'm looking forward to more game reports as well as getting back to posting on this blog.  

Stargrave "Misery Cluster Campaign" Mission 01: Botched Deal at Lonely Jack's

Despite being situated smack dab in the middle of the galaxy at the crossroads of numerous trade lanes the Misery Cluster was considered a bit of a backwater.  Home to numerous agricultural worlds and mining operations the worlds of the cluster are home to numerous tiny settlements with only a few larger cities.  One such outpost is "Lonely Jack's" situated on a small moon orbiting a gas giant of Johnson's Star.  

The mercenary crew of the "Hellhound" and the spacer crew of the "Cometary Blaze" have both been invited to bid on some valuable data and other goods but instead of the smugglers they were expecting the town had been taken over by the Bloodborn pirates.  Instead of a bidding war a desperate shootout breaks out.    

One of the Pirate ruffians is taken out early as the crew move in.  Another of the "Bloodborn" rushes into the streets and fires at the captain of the "Hellhound" crew but misses.  

More "Hellhound" crew members move into the outpost talking up a strong position behind a wall with their carbines laying down covering fire.  

Viper Eyes captain of the "Hellhound" crew cuts down a pirate quickly and efficiently before the drunken bastard can get any more shots off.    

As the crews move towards their objective a Grenadier from the "Hellhound" is stunned by a shot from a Pathfinder of the "Cometary Blaze".  Another pirate is shot and stunned by the Troopers from the "Hellhound".  

Angel the first mate of the "Hellhound" advances to cover their stunned Grenadier.  The manage to shoot and stun the Pathfinder that injured their comrade.  

Moving from building to building to avoid the carbine fire of the mercenaries some of the spacers move in on a location they believe has some data to be retrieved.  

Two more crewmen of the "Cometary Blaze" move in on the communication station where the deal for the data was to take place.  

                                      

Two spacers drag their crewmember into a nearby building after the Pathfinder was shot by Angel and his mercenary comrades.  

Kole of the "Cometary Blaze" and Velma of the "Hellhound" surprise each other inside the com station where they were suppose to meet up with the hacker who offered both crews the data.

 

Responding to Velma's distress call Viper Eyes burst into the com station and attack Kole.  The Tekker first mate manages to deploy a drone but get's cut up pretty bad by the mercenary captain.

Another spacer is dropped by the accurate fire of mercenary carbines.  Lying unmoving in dirt it doesn't look like he will be making it back to his ship.  

A Code Breaker from the "Cometary Blaze" enters the clinic to retrieve some data and kills one of the pirates wounded by the mercenaries.  However another pirate guards the clinic.  

More crewmen of the "Blaze" enter the clinic and a shootout ensues over the medical data stored there.

With Cole stunned Velma is able to download the data in the communication station's main computer.

Angel and his troopers secure another data station and download it's contents for the mercenaries after taking out a crewmember from the opposing crew.  

The spacer's manages to secure a recipe for combat drugs from the clinic's medical computer.  

Instead of downloading the data that the crews were looking for Velma manages to download a fat stack of credits instead.

After driving the spacers into cover Angel and his mercs are able to easily download data from the salvage station computer.  

Things were not looking great for the spacer crew of the "Cometary Blaze" so they decided to bug out with their stolen data.  The mercs managed to gather the rest of the loot before heading back to their ship with no real casualties.  

All in all the day went better for the mercs than the spacers but neither crew got away empty handed.  

The Vale of the Twelve Towers a D&D BECMI sandbox setting.

 

The Vale of the Twelve Towers Introduction

Around thirty years ago a dozen evil wizards escaped from Hirshberg Castle in the Kingdom of Bierwald where they were being imprisoned by the order of the Hexenjager.

After escaping they fled to a wooded valley that lay between the Kingdom of Bierwald to the East and the Kingdom of Fleur De Lys to the West.

The wizards made a pact to use their combined powers to destroy the Hexenjager of Hirshberg. To that end they went about enslaving the orc and goblinoid tribes of the valley to build their fortress towers and elaborate dungeon complexes. For the next decade they armed and trained their hordes for war while constantly perfecting their own arts.

The armies of the twelve wizards gathered and began their siege of Castle Hirshberg. The siege was short, lasting only three weeks. With their magics and their armies the Hexenjager were nearly wiped out and Hirshberg Castle reduced to a smoking ruin.

After destroying the Hexenjager the twelve wizards turned their attention to the Grand Duchy of Kriegswald and in particular the nobility all of whom supported the Hexenjager. Every castle and estate in the duchy was sacked including the Grand Duke’s fortress. Most of the nobles and their servants were either killed or enslaved and their fortunes were plundered. Although this devastated the economy of the duchy and plunged the region into a state of anarchy the people of Kriesgwald view the twelve wizards as liberating folk heroes. They have since violently resisted any attempts at outside rule.

Once the wizards were through with their vengeance fueled rampage they returned to their valley. Most of the wizards were getting old by this time and their interests had turned towards extending their lives through one manner or the other. Some wished to attain litchdom, others immortality, and a few just wanted to find a way to live longer in their human forms. They formalized a non aggression pact then set about their individual goals.

For another decade the wizards were content to follow their own paths and desires largely staying out of each other's way and rarely venturing from their towers. When they needed something from the outside world they simply sent their minions to take care of it. Then without warning at the stroke of midnight on the night of the Winter Solstice all twelve of the wizards died.

It took months for the news of their mysterious deaths to reach the outside world. Typically this news would come from one of the wizard’s slaves who had escaped their haunted keeps or from their agents or enemies. Alway when the rumors spread they came with tales of fabulous treasures guarded by horrible monsters and enchantments.

Many expeditions are under way to take advantage of the perceived power vacuum. Many fortunes may be made not only from the treasure but from the riches of the land itself. What will become of this mystery is yet to be discovered.

This is my work in progress sandbox setting for a future Dungeons and Dragons basic campaign. I'm currently running an Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2E campaign. Hopefully I will get a change to work on this setting as I run that campaign.

In Search of Adventure: Session 0, The Road to Threshold

 Dara the Lawbringer, Rosco, Benzy, and the halfling Putzstaff set out from the small logging town of Riverside in the Black Peak Mountains bound for the town of Threshold.  The Lawbringer outpost in Riverside had seen better days and the village was in decline so the group had decided to seek better opportunities.  

It was early in Spring and storms had ravaged the area leaving the roads muddy and difficult to traverse.  though they were less than 16 miles from Threshold the journey would be difficult.  On their first day out they came across a creek that was flooded out of it's banks with a fast current.  They managed to get across but Dara and Benzy were nearly swept away when the log they were using to ford the river snapped under their weight.  Fortunately they had tied off a rope between two trees to aide their crossing.  Soaked through from their crossing they managed to find shelter in a rocky overhang where they could build a fire.

They set out the next day in a heavy rain.  Rosco was getting sick from the weather and Dara wasn't looking too well either.  Fortunately they found an abandoned camp at the junction in the road near some old ruins.  No one was in camp but there were two empty tents and a smoldering fire.  The road to the ruin seemed to have been cleared and the abandoned camp seemed suspicious but they didn't have much choice.  Benzy and Putzstaff decided to split the watch while their companions slept.

About an hour before dawn Putzstaff was keeping watch the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.  He knew he was being watched.  Scanning the area he saw a pair of glowing red eyes watching the camp from a wood across the road.  He started waking his companions but the eyes had vanished.  

At the crack of dawn the goblin made their attack.  First a large force came down the road to the ruins and attacked the party then another charged up the road from the direction of Threshold.  Dara caved in one of the goblins skulls with a shot from her sling but within moments they were surrounded and fighting for their lives.  

Roso and Benzy killed several of the creatures who were having a hard time finding openings in their heavy armor.  Dara brought down another two with her sling but several of the archers shot her and she passed out.  Eventually two of the goblin archer got behind Rosco and stabbed him in the back with their crude knives.  Roso fell as the goblins continued to work their blades between the gaps in his plate.

Benzy and Putzstaff managed to drive off the goblins.  They revived Dara but Rosco was done for.  After performing the funeral rights of the Lawbringers Rosco was buried and the three remaining travelers pushed on to Threshold.

After getting settled in at the Rowdy Rottweiler Inn and discussing their options travelers met a mercenary named Dieter who was also looking for work.  During the evening meal the Baron and Patriarch Sherlane Halaran arrived at the tavern with a contingent of town guards.  He invited them to be healed and provisioned the next morning to discuss an expedition to investigate reports of a renegade cleric named Elwyn who was gathering a raiding party of Orcs to the East.  With no better prospects the companions agreed.  

My gaming group has been exploring older editions of Dungeons and Dragons lately.  Having played several 2nd Edition AD&D games I have decided to run our group through the "In Search of Adventure collection" B1-9 for the Basic Dungeons and Dragons rules.  I will be running these on again off again when my group has a chance to play them.  

  

Creative January Warhammer 40,000 Commander's Edition Space Marine Force

I managed to get my project in just under the wire for Creative January.  This is the Space Marine Force painted as Dark Angels using some pretty quick techniques and oil washes.  I'm really happy with the way they turned out.  I was going for an advanced tabletop quality for this force and I think I managed that.  The Ravenwing Outriders have the simplest paint jobs but I had to fully assemble them before painting and the legs of the bikers were molded into the piece with the exhaust so it was harder to get to the seat of the bikes.  They remained black which worked out okay.  

I was most happy with the way the bases blend into the red clay side of the battle board.  I think the color also provides a nice contrast to the Space Marines armor. 

  

The commander was definitely the hardest miniature in the box.  It took me nearly a full weekend to paint him.  My wife has been working on the Necrons that came in the boxed set so we will hopefully be able to play out the starter Scenarios soon.  

I managed to snag a box of Dark Vengeance from my FLGS for about $100.00 so I'm going to have several more Dank Angels to paint up soon.  The nice thing about this set is that all of the Dark Angels have their iconography molded on so I won't have to deal with fiddly decals.  

 When I painted the Outriders I also painted this old Chaplain.  I think he is from 2nd Edition.  He's metal and has a small base but I'm going to use him with my Scout detachment so he should work well for them.  I've found several other sets of Space Marines but my son is also working on his own chapter so we are splitting them between our forces.  I have "Kill Team" on order which I'm actually looking forward to playing than the full game.  I have a lot of 40K miniatures from the past from several different factions so I should be able to make several small forces.   

Warhammer 40K Dark Angels first squad finished for Creative January

 

I finished the Assault Intercessor Squad from the Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition Command Edition boxed set.  These guys were a lot of fun to paint.  I finished them off using some oil washing techniques.  Oil washes are a lot easier to use than most people would think.  They are easier to use than acrylic ink based washes in fact as long as you take a bit of care with your work space and gentle enough with your application.  I may make a post showing the difference between the two sometime soon.  

I had intended to show the rest of my process in painting these as I did in my first post but I've got a lot of miniatures to paint and not a lot of time to edit the images required for a step by step.  I didn't really use any exotic techniques.  Mostly standard dry brushing and highlighting.  I did use makeup brushes for the drybrushing which I have just started using.  I would highly recommend those for drybrushing and I'm looking to get a larger and better quality set soon.  

Next up on my paint table is this Primaris Captain from the boxed set and an older Dreadnaught I've had laying around for a while.  

 

Creative January Project Dark Angels Space Marines Assault Intercessor Squad

So a largely photography based creative group I belong to on Facebook just issued a Creative January challenge so as a non conformist I am submitting some Space Marines.  I've just picked up the Commander's Edition for Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition and these miniatures were included in the Space Marine Force.

Assembly was interesting.  I have not played 40K in several editions although I did have a few 8th edition miniatures.  I'm not a big fan of the push to fit assembly but these went together pretty well with only a few mold lines to clean up.  I like the size and dynamic posing of the newer Games Workshop models but I miss the utility of the older multi part kits.  

First base coat was in black automotive primer.  For rattle can primers I prefer automotive primers because they tend to be pretty thin and therefore don't obscure detail too much.  I make a noob mistake and started painting a bit too far from these minis so they got a tad bit grainy from some of the paint droplets drying before the hit the mini but I'm just gonna press on and work with it.  

Next I grabbed some kind of random dark green and sprayed from above and at a 45 degree angle which left black in the lower recesses and undersides of the figures giving me some quick and dirty shading.  I've seen this technique used but outside of a few terrain projects I have not used it myself.  

Next I did some highlighting using a makeup brush for my drybrushing.  I used a pretty cheap brush but it worked pretty well.  These are really bright for my intended Dark Angels color scheme but I'm going to used some oil washes to finish these models so that will darken them considerably.  I know I use craft paints.  Deal.... 

Because these models are so dynamic I decided to pull some of the parts off to get at the miniature better.  Unfortunately during assembly I had decided against this so I glued a couple of the looser bits in place.  I almost always paint fully assembled miniatures but I think one models like these I may start taking advantage of this newer assembly method.  

Whenever possible I like to paint in one setting or I try to pick projects that I can finish in one day but I've just started a new supervisory position at work and I'm only getting about an hour or so at the paint table before fatigue sets in.  I plan to make more progress over the weekend.  I will almost surely have these done but Sunday night.