It's a sunny spring morning in Pittsburgh and the last week of classes before finals. Sabrina Kluebottle and Nicholas Graf are seated in their Archeology 204 (Early Mideastern Cultures) class which is held in a large auditorium on the 31st floor of the Keystone Tower- the centerpiece of the campus.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/CathedralFromSS.jpg)
The instructor- Prof. Samuels, is known for giving out really good review notes before the final, so everyone in the class is present and the room is full.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b0/CathedralLecture324.jpg)
As the prof goes through his power point presentation, the next slide shown on the screen catches Sabrina's and Nicholas' attention. In vibrant green text on a shimmering gold background what appears to be a poem reads:
The great bear sleeps on, knowing no danger.
Ravens and mad dogs harken to the call.
Without timely help from the four strangers,
The light will fade and darkness will fall.
Three ages of time are guarded by foes.
Vanquish the warrior of blood and fire.
The soldier of steel must reap what he sows.
Gray guardians form a peril most dire.
The path is blocked by a wall of green.
The forest keeper would be death to fight.
A door awaits there, though none can be seen,
Its handle a flowery rose of white.
A candlelight vigil; a dirge forlorn,
The old one washes the shrouds of the dead.
The corpse must yet walk cross the Moor of Thorns,
'Til at last it reaches the Bridge of the Dead.
White becomes black, and black turn into white
The ancient rider will make the path clear,
The river is dangerous; one place is right.
Cross only the ford of the bloody spear.
The immortal minstrel gives help we need.
Listen to the head of the man who died.
The death king, and the blessed one will lead.
The man in green will be our final guide.
Three things will we need to work the wonder;
The whitened bones of Bedivere the bold,
The magic sword known as Exacalibur,
And the guardian bell cast all in gold.
The poem stays on the screen long enough to copy it down in your notebook, and then the presentation advances. Strangely though, you don't notice anyone else writing it down. The next slide goes back to covering ancient Sumerian irrigation techniques. Twenty minutes later class ends and the students begin filing out of the auditorium. Professor Samuels is down front answering some questions from a handful of students.
Down the hallway, James Kluebottle is hiding in the men's restroom. A campus security guard saw him shooting marbles out a windwon at some squirrels outside with his slingshot and has been chasing him around the building for the past 40 minutes. John Harrison is in the hallway waiting for his friend Nicholas to get out of class and go to breakfast.
What are you doing?
As they pack up, Sabrina calls "Hey Nick, wait up!". She continues "Now that football is over and we have more time, I thought maybe we could, like, you know, study together? My dad's library is like a wicked cool resource."
"Just a minute Sabrina." I approach the professor and show him the poem and ask him if he knows who wrote this.
Prof Samuels takes a look at the poem in Nick's notebook, and says "No, it doesn't look familiar. Where did you get it?"
"I't's just something I've seen recently and was trying to identify it. Any Idea who on campus might be able to help?"
The professor thinks for a moment: "Perhaps someone in the literature department could help you out, or one of the librarians. Now if you'll excuse me Nick, I enjoy talking with you, I've got to help some of these other students who have questions related to the coursework. Stop by my office after the finals, I have a research trip going on this summer that I think you might be interested in."
James stands on top of one of the toilets, the stall door locked, clutching his skateboard in his hands.
Gave him the slip, what a lamewad!, he thinks after waiting for about 10 minutes with no further signs that he was trailed inside, Classes will be out in a few minutes, then there's no way he'll find me in the halls.
James waits a few more minutes, then hops down off the toilet, and peers out from below the stall door before emerging.
He opens the men's room door with caution, peering both ways before emerging into the crowded hall. Too easy!
Just then, however, his eyes lock with his sister Sabrina, who is coming down the hall with one of her classmates! He freezes for a moment, unable to move. "Hey, Sabrina," he finally manages sheepishly.
"Hey Sabrina. The Prof does not recognize this poem and asked me whereI got it. Doesn't seem strange to you we were the only ones to right it down and the prof does not ackowledge it? Is it possible that we are the only ones who saw it? He suggested taht I ask one of the libarians or one of the literature profs for help with it. What do you think?"
Sabrina checks herself over before replying - pink woman's golf shirt, a white denim mini-skirt, and white tennis shoes with pink-hemmed ankle socks. Combined with her pink lip-gloss and earring, it presents a soft princess-like look. Satisfied with her appearance, she focuses on the question. As always, her language gets more formal and less slang when she is concentrating.
"It seems like some sort of mishmash of Arthurian, Norse and Celtic mythology to me. 'The head of the man who died' could be Bran, while the bears and ravens seems Norse. The Arthurian is obvious. It's very strange that nobody else remembers it, while we focused on it enough to write it down. Could have been slipped into the slides as a prank. We could ask my Dad."
She looks up and sees James, and gives a little grimace, but recovers quickly. "Hey James, what's Dad up to right now? I'd like to show him something"
"Uhhh....", James sagely replies to Sabrina.
Dad? Why does she bring him up right now? "No. You won't tell him I was here today, right?", James asks plaintively.
Dr. Kluebottle's office is on the 2nd floor of the Roosevelt Hall of Liberal Arts which is about a 12 minute walk from Keystone Tower. Dr. Kluebottle teaches two classes one in Roosevelt and the other down on the 3rd floor of the tower. Sabrina is pretty sure he should be having office hours right now.
"well let's go see him".
Sabrina, realizing that Nicholas also has a copy, rips the poem out of her notebook and hands it to her brother.
"Here squirt, you read a lot of weird things, see what you can make of this. We're off to see Dad, and then I'll buy you a greaseburger at Campus Hall for lunch."
GM: just waiting to see if Coffee wants his character(John) to chime in, and what Nick and Sabrina tell John about what is going on.
"OK, Sab, sure." James says. He accepts the offered page, then quickly turns and takes off down the hall at a run. "See you at lunch!" he calls back over his shoulder. Got out of that one pretty easy, and got a free lunch out of the deal too!
James stuffs the paper in his pocket until later. This is not the first time Sabrina has given him a "job" to do, as "payment" for her silence. For the moment, he simply continues wandering around the campus until he eventually ends up near the computer lab. May as well check out that paper Sab gave me now, I'd better have something to tell her by lunch, or she may rat on me to Dad!
Using his Fake ID, he enters and takes a free computer. Putting his skateboard down at his feet, he pulls the crumpled page from his pocket and straightens out the creases with his hand. He spends the remaining time before lunch searching the various references in the poem, and seeing if he can find the author. ((At the moment, James just thinks that Sabrina is making him do a bit of research to help her get started with a paper on this poem.))
dO WE HAVE A FREE PERIOD NOW OR DO WE HAVE A CLASS WE NEED TO GET TO?
It's currently 10:00 AM. Sabrina, Nicholas, and John are all free. The three of you typically go to grap something to eat at this time. You each have classes in the afternoon seperately. James is supposed be in class at Winfield Scott Middle School, but he doesn't seem too concerned about it.
"Let's head over to see your dad then."
Sabrina, Nick, and John (who is a bit confused about what is going on), head over to Dr. Kluebottle's office. A few students are just leaving when they arrive, and Dr. Kluebottle waves, and motions for the group to enter.
"Hello there Sabrina. It's not every day I have the pleasure of my daughter and here friends stopping by to say hello. What can I do for you?"
Meanwhile, in the University library, young James does some research trying to make sense of the poem Sabrina gave him. His computer skills yield the following information:
In Arthurian myth, Bedivere was one of King Arthur's knights of the Round Table. He was notable for being a fierce warrior despite only having one hand and for throwing the sword Excalibur back into the lake after Arthur's death.
Excalibur is the famous mythic sword of Arthur. In some tellings of the legends it is one and the same as the sword in the stone, but in most versions they are different weapons. Arthur is said to have recieved Excalibur from the lady in the lake.
Searching for a connection between Arthur and a golden bell, James finds a myth that says Arthur and his knights are not dead but asleep in a hidden cave. A golden bell hangs in the cave and will awake them in their country's hour of need.
The animals mentioned at the beginning of the poem each have symbolic significance. The bear is one of the symbols connected with King Arthur. "Arth" is welsh for bear and the root of the name "Arthur". The raven is a symbol of death as well as royalty and is often connected with Arthur too. In some legends, Arthur is not asleep in a cave or dead, but instead transformed into a raven and flew away. Mad dogs are a symbol of insanity.
We show him my copy of the poem and ask him for his input. I don't mention that we were the only ones to see it.
Dr. Kluebottle takes the page, adjusts his glasses and reads silently to himself for a couple minutes. Placing the paper down on his desk he says:
"Well, it seems to be telling the story of a journey which is typical of a saga or a bardic tale. However, the poem refers to things that will happen, not that have happen- giving it a prophetic tone. In terms of the writing, I'm sure you all know that a poem doesn't have to rhyme, in fact many of my favorites don't. But if you're going to go down that path- well rhyming "dead" with "dead" isn't exactly the height of creativity and I'm not sure if "wonder" and "excalibur" works. All in all though, it's really pretty good. Did one of you guys write it for a creative writing class or something?"
"I can't take credit for it. It's just something that I found that really seemed to jump out at me." "I was hoping you would recognize it and could tell me who wrote it and what it might mean."
"Like maybe it has some deep archaeological significance and you need to send me to Stonehenge or something for research or something!" Sabrina gives her father the 'Bambi eyes' treatment.
"I'm not sure if this is some sort of joke, a scam to try and swing a trip to England out of me, or if you're all just sleep deprived from studying for finals! Haha." Laughs the dean.
He stares intently at Sabrina for a few seconds. As if he's trying to figure out what she's thinking.
"Oh, ok. You can come. You know I have a hard time telling you no. That's why I told your mother not to say anything- but obviously she didn't follow those instructions. As you know I'm headed out to England for some research on my new book as soon as finals are over. You're welcome to come along...BUT...This is not going to be a vacation Sabrina. You're growing up, and I want you to learn to make your own way. You must help with the research and keep up with your other studies. You may be daddy's little girl but in a few years you're going to have to make it in the real world."
Dr. Kluebottle tries to look stern but has a difficult time doing so.
"Now then, is there anything else I can help you young poets out with?"
James files a few of the more relevant details into his mind, but in his laziness does not bother to write down any notes. Besides, he thinks he's got a pretty good memory. Actually, the more he thinks about it, the more he doesn't see why *he* should be doing Sabrina's work.
Now that that he has enough information which he thinks will satisfy her, he notes the time in the corner of the screen. Lunch! He grabs his skateboard and darts from the computer lab in a rush, no doubt drawing a few questioning looks from the university students.
I guess we head out for some lunch.
I'm at a loss here - I need input from some other players
((OOC: I think
wulfgar was waiting for John's player (
coffee) to join in...))
((How about in the meantime meeting James for lunch, and the characters can discuss what they have discovered so far?))
James finds a seat at the cafeteria, and impatiently awaits the arrival of Sabrina. When she arrives, he leaps onto the table and waves to get her attention. He hands her back the now-crumpled page of the poem, and explains to her what he found out:
Quote from: wulfgarIn Arthurian myth, Bedivere was one of King Arthur's knights of the Round Table. He was notable for being a fierce warrior despite only having one hand and for throwing the sword Excalibur back into the lake after Arthur's death.
Excalibur is the famous mythic sword of Arthur. In some tellings of the legends it is one and the same as the sword in the stone, but in most versions they are different weapons. Arthur is said to have recieved Excalibur from the lady in the lake.
Searching for a connection between Arthur and a golden bell, James finds a myth that says Arthur and his knights are not dead but asleep in a hidden cave. A golden bell hangs in the cave and will awake them in their country's hour of need.
The animals mentioned at the beginning of the poem each have symbolic significance. The bear is one of the symbols connected with King Arthur. "Arth" is welsh for bear and the root of the name "Arthur". The raven is a symbol of death as well as royalty and is often connected with Arthur too. In some legends, Arthur is not asleep in a cave or dead, but instead transformed into a raven and flew away. Mad dogs are a symbol of insanity.
(Of course, James simplifies these findings, and may have left the odd thing or two out ;)).
"Now, where's my burger?", he asks.
"good work squirt. Let's go get that burger. My treat. What did you want Sabrina?"
Hey there. I've been in bed with the flu for the past couple of days. Getting caught up on work stuff now. I'll try to get things back on track here tomorrow.
The gang sits down to lunch and talks about what they've discovered. Namely:
-James found some info on about a few of the things mentioned in the poems
-The rest of the group found out that Dr. Kluebottle is planning a trip to England after finals to work on a new book.
So, the group can:
1) Keep investigating on campus
2) Try to get inivitations for everyone to go with Dr. Kluebotle on his trip.
3) Whatever else you've thought of that I've haven't :) Seriously, this is a lot of fun, I haven't run a game in a few years, but some things never change- you can spend as much time as you want working on your plot and the players will do something you didn't think of- and that's what makes this fun!
As another GM's note, I am hoping Coffee's character will chime in here, just so we know he still wants to play.
"Hey Sabrina, Does your dad need an assistant on this trip? Maybe he might think of hiring me on and if you can get him to take you we can take alook into this poem over there. In the mean time we should learn as much as we can of arthirian myth and related material as we can prior to then."
"Cool!" James exclaims at news of the trip to England. "So that's what that poem was about! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" James asks Sabrina, jumping to the wrong conclusion. "I'm coming too, right? Dad can't leave me behind, that's not fair! Especially if you're bringing your boyfriend", James says petulantly, looking at Nick.
James seems to suddenly realise something, and abruptly changes his attitude. "... Ummm, you really won't tell Dad I was here today, OK Sab? Please?"
The next couple of weeks are a bit of a blur. Between studying for final exams, getting ready for a month long trip to England, and boning up on Arthurian myth the time flies by. You all manage to do well in all your coursese, and Sabrina was able to talk Dr. Kluebottle into bringing the two guys along as research assistants. James actually turned on his own study habits and got high marks for the year earning himself a place on the trip as well as a reward for "reforming" his behavior.
The day of the trip has finally come. After an initial flight from Pittsburgh to New York, you are now on your way over the Atlantic. About 90 minutes into the flight the plane enters some very rough turbulence. Lightening flashes disturbingly close to the wings and you begin to wonder if this might be your last flight! Suddenly another flash of lighting strikes the wing just outside your windows. Smoke begins to fill the plane, and you feel as if the blood is being drained away from your brain. You dimly hear the paniced cries of your fellow passengers as you struggle against the pressure in your head. Darkness crowds in from the edge of your vision.....
The next thing any of you are aware of is sitting on the damp grass of a hillside shrouded in a morning fog. As the fog lifts away you see before you:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Snowdon_from_Llyn_Llydaw.jpg)
The four of you are not sure where you are or how you got here. What are you doing?
I fuirst examine the others to makesure everyone is okay. I then look to see if I can find any of our belongings. Then I begin looking for signs of a crash, debris and other survivors. I also begin to climb the hill we're on to get a better look around.
James sits up, utterly confused by what has just happened.
He sees Nick get up and begin moving around. "Can you see the plane? Did we fall out or something?", he asks naively.
He look around. "Sab... where is Dad?" He asks in escalating panic.
"Welcome"
As you hear the voice you turn around and see an old man sitting on top of a boulder nearby.
"I'd recite the traditional greeting, but my understanding is none of you speak the old tounge yet. No matter." He hops down off of the boulder gripping his walking stick.
"Welcome. These are dark times. Evils banished long ago are creeping back into the land. The hour draws near for Arthur and his knights to wake from their slumber, but his return is being blocked by the forces of the dark. You four answered the call for heroes. Without your help, the forces of chaos and destruction will sweep across this land. I beg you to accept this mission."
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/12/Noa_briqualon.jpg)
"Huh?" James replies with great insight.
After a moment he begins to regain coherence. "Who are you? How do you know us? Where is my Dad?"
"My name is Owen. I'm to serve as your guide. I can direct you along your journey but am quite limited in my ability to help beyond that. I have however arranged for your arms" He gestures behind you. When you turn around you see a small wooden table standing the grass. Sitting atop the table are Sabrina and Nicholas' rapiers, the shotgun,bat and box of shells from the bar John works at, and James' slingshot, bag of marbles and skateboard.
"James, your father is fine. Any other questions?"
None of you see any sign of the airplane anywhere or any other people.
"Where are we and I hate to ask this but what is the date today?" queries Nicholas.
"Wales. To be more precise, we stand in the shadow of Mt. Snowdon- resting place of Arthur and his knights. The date is a more difficult question for me to answer in a way that you would understand. I could honestly answer that it's May 25th, 2008- the same day it was back on your plane, yet at the same time I could honestly answer that it isn't any date at all. You've left the main flow of time but you haven't gone upstream or downstream. Of course the whole "stream" analogy for time fails on several levels- oh dear now I've gone and given myself a headache. Maybe someday Merlin can explain it a bit better"
Nicholas walks over to the equipment and picks up his stuff, shaking his head the whole time mumbling to himself "Merlin?". He turns back to their Guide and recites the poem to him. "Does this poem have anything to do with why we're here? If so why us? What are we suppose to do?"
"You've had a vision. It is not my role to interpret it for you, but I am sure it comes from the side of good and is meant to aide you in your journey. As far as what you are supposed to do- I thought that was abundantly clear- you must revive our King in time to turn the tide of battle....you must rouse the Pendragon from his slumber....you must wake ARTHUR!"
Owen looks at the group of you. Your not quite sure what the expression on his face indicates, but you think perhaps he is confused by your confusion.
"As to why the four you- that I can not say. In times of need a call goes forth for heroes. You four answered the call." Owen adds matter-of-factly.
As you look at the man he begins shrinking and changing somehow. You have a hard time believing your eyes, but in a moment there is a bird standing before instead of a man.
"Now then, is there anything else or are you ready to begin?" says Owen- in bird form.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Osprey_mg_9605.jpg)
"I guess so." I strap on my rapier and get ready to follow the bird.
Sabrina says "Like this is totally like those role-playing games that the school geeks used to play in their parents' basements. Don't I get some sort of magic sword or something and like, a healing potion?" She picks up her rapier
James collects his stuff as Owen discusses the time-stream theory (which goes a little above James' head), feeling better to have something familiar to hold on to.
"Cool!" James exclaims as Owen transforms into a bird, forgetting about the airplane now altogether. "Are you sure you're not Merlin?", he pesters.
Owen takes flight. As you follow you quickly find a worn out goat path. The path is only a few feet wide and very rocky. It leads you up and downhill. Own flies above and looks back to make sure you are following every once in awhile. On a few occassions you saw some goats or sheep graving on the hillsides in the distance but you've seen no other signs of life.
After about 15 minutes of travel the path widens out into a rocky table about 30 feet wide and a hundred feet long. In the middle of the rock table is a pile of boulders about 50 ft high. Seated to the right side of the table you see 4 giants crouched around a campfire. The smallest of these behemoths is about 8 feet tall and the other 3 all stand about 30 ft. They appear to be eating some sort of meat and do not seem to have noticed you. The stench coming from the giants is near overpowering. Owen continues flying onward. What do you do?
(http://godsbay.ru/paint/images/jotuns05.jpg)
I look for cover and motion the other sto be quiet and stay low and try and hide.
John stops, staring at the giants. His only movement is to nervously finger the butt of the shotgun. A distant part of his brain tries to remember if it's loaded or not.
(sorry I haven't been here before, guys; I only just found this actual game thread. The character creation thread sent me an email when it updated, but I didn't know about this one. I'll pay more attention from now on.)
James looks at the huge giants in disbelief, then up at Owen flying ahead. He obeys Nick's command and crouches down low, hoping not to be spotted.
"They must be safe, or Owen wouldn't lead us to them... would he?" James whispers, as he watches them carefully for any indication that he has been spotted.
"I have never heard of any "good" giants in any mythologys or ancient stories" whispers NIck. "This could be a test to see how we would react."
As you crouch behind some of the rocks and discuss what to do, you overhear some of the giants' conversation:
Giant 1: AAAArgh! There's no pleasing that wench!
Giant 2: I know! I brought her 20 sides of beef and a whole chicken coop, and she's still not impressed.
Giant 3: Well, you dummies should just stop trying, because she's going to be MY wife!
Giant 4 (mini-giant): Oh yeah? And why's that? I saw how she turned up her nose at your pathetic gifts. Just watch her face when I bring her this nice dung cart I found though.
The giants continue squabbling, bragging about their own greatess and belittling the others.
"Maybe we could sneak past, around the other side of that pile of rocks?" James says quietly, "I'll go first!"
James impulsively darts ahead towards the large pile of boulders.
John stays as still as he can, hardly even daring to breathe. He waits to see if James makes it.
A combination of quick feet and good luck guide James as he darts behind the rock table and makes it to the other side. The giants seem not to have noticed. From where James is now he can see the trail continue around a bend.
James turns back to his sister and her friends from his current position, and with a smile waves for them to come over.
If her little brother can do it, she can do it too. Sabrina hustles over to James
If Sabrina makes it Then Nick will send John. If he makes it then he will follow.
James crouches down after waving the others over, then looks up to the sky, shading his eyes with his hand as he searches for Owen.
John swallows as he watches Sabrina sneak off, knowing that he's next.
The remaining three of you all make to the opposite end of the rock table, creeping along without drawing the attention of the fearsome foursome of giants. As you look around the bend in the path you see it leads downhill a couple hundred yards towards a massive chasm. There is a large stone bridge spanning the chasm and fields of boulders on both side of the path. On the opposite side of the chasm you see a bird circling in the sky over the path.
James strolls jauntily along down the trail, pleased that his plan to evade the giants worked perfectly. He strolls down the hill, past the piles of boulders, and begins crossing the stone bridge without pause for thought.
Suspecting an ambush, Nick quickly approaches the boulders to try and ambush the ambushers that may or may not be there.
Just as James nears the bridge he's covered in darkness as an enormous shadow spreads over him. A giantess who was sitting behind one of the boulders to the right of the path, stands up and places her foot squarely between James and the bridge. She stands roughly 25 ft tall.
(http://www.lorestrome.com/weekly/albums/userpics/10001/Celtic.jpg)
"What's this? I was expecting more boorish suitors and instead it looks like I've got mice trying to sneak across my bridge!"
From his hiding place, Nick can see several giant sized spears and a very large sack bulging with unknown contents behind one of the boulders a short distance from where the giantess was sitting.
"*GULP*", is all James can manage as the huge foot blocks his path.
He attempts to dart forward between her legs.
If she becomes hositle (just grabbing him and holding him does not constitute hostility) I will plunge my rapier into the back of her knee
"Y'know," John says to himself, making sure the shotgun is actually loaded, "I could have stayed in bed today..."
(BTW, what type of shotgun is this? Double-barrel, pump, automatic, that sort of thing. And what kind of ammunition do I have? Buckshot, birdshot, slugs, that sort of thing. Thanks!)
James hops on his skateboard and zips between the giant's legs. (made acrobatics role). She shoots James, who is now halfway across the bridge, an annoyed look, and then turns back to the rest of the party. "Naughty mice. Don't you know this bridge is a toll bridge? Well.....what have you brought me?" The she-giant is now standing squarely in front of the bridge, making any other attempts to get past her much more difficult.
(In game terms, John's shotgun has an ammo capacity of 2 and it takes an action to reload each round. You have slugs. Based on that, you can make it whatever type of shotgun you want. A point of emphasis in the Lords of Creation rules is player creativity. So for example, if you want to come up with something to offer the she-giant, it doesn't have to be explicitly listed on your character sheet. If you think your character would have been carrying it around with them on the airplane, just let me know what you've come up with)
"Ha-ha!" James laughs loudly at the giantess as he shoots between her legs and away.
James stops half-way across the bridge, and turns back to see what is happening with Sabrina and her friends. "No toll for me!", he mocks the giantess, hoping to distract her attention.
Sabrina offers the giantess a Barbie doll dressed just like her. "Like, isn't this cool, I brought you a present. She looks just like you!
"Yes...she's very pretty indeed. Much nicer than any of the stupid garbage the male giants around here ever bring me." says the Giantess as she carefully takes the doll from Sabrina with her giant fingers. She steps aside and adds "you may scurry on your way now my little mice friends".
Nick escorts John and Sabrina across
As soon as the others pass the Giantess, James hurries across the remaining length of bridge, leaping off his skateboard when he reaches the other side. He then looks up again for Owen while waiting for the others.
"This is fun, hey?!", he says with an uncharacteristic grin when Sabrina, Nick, and John arrive.
Sabrina is trying to decide who she is more interested in. Nicholas is smart and hunky and on the football team, but John is sexy and rebellious and cool. So lost is she in her musings that she is not paying much attention to her little brother.
Now across the bridge, the party continues following the winding path through the mountainous terrain. The path ends at the entrance to a cave in the mountainside. A single feather lies on the ground just inside the cave.
"I guess we should enter and follow. Any one have a flashlight? If not lets look around for something we can use as a torch."
Sabrina pulls a compact with a lighted mirror out of her purse. Will this do?
"anyone else? Lets see if we can find something to make torches with"
James steps into the cave and goes over to the feather, picking it up. He idly wonders what type of bird it came from as he walks back out into the sunlight to get a better look. He then glances up at the sky again for Owen. (What colour is the feather? If Owen is not visible, could it be one of his?)
Lost in his own thoughts, he is not really paying much attention to Nick. Besides, James certainly doesn't have a flashlight on him, what is he, a boy scout? He may have a lighter though. :D
The feather James picks up looks like it could have come from Owen based on size and color.
As the other three members of the party look around for materials to make torches they see an Arabic looking man with a neatly trimmed beard sitting on the ground about 60 yards away. He does not seem to have noticed you and appears to be eating a loaf of bread.
The torch search also turns up what looks like a partial human skeleton sticking out from under a rock next to the cave entrance. The leg bones could be used in making a torch but you'd still need something to burn and something to start the fire.
If James so desires he may have a lighter on him. :)
Does the arabic looking man look at all familiar to any of us?
Can we budge the rock to expose more of the skeleton?
The arab does not look familiar to any of you. You can't make out great detail from this far, but he looks to be wearing a fairly simple outfit- loose fitting pants, shirt, vest, and slippers that would be as common on the streets of Arabia in the 20th century as it was a millenium ago. He is cutting his bread with a small knife.
You try working together to move the rock over the skeleton but are unsuccesful. It's too heavy. The bones appear to have been there for quite awhile.
"Cool!" James exclaims when he is shown the skeleton. "Who do you think he was? How long has he been there? Why did he die? Did the rock kill him, or did it fall on him later?", he asks in rapid-fire, not awaiting any responses. James will take a toe-bone (or preferably a tooth if one is visible) as a souvenier. So engrossed is he that he has not yet seen the Arab.
"Oh yeah, I found this feather too. Looks like Owen went into the cave," he says to the others. "And, I got a lighter here once you guys figure out how to make a torch."
IS THERE ANY BRUSH OR ROOTS EXPOSED THAE WE CAN WRAP AROUND THE BONE AND LIGHT ON FIRE?
John looks at the bones with as professional an eye as he can. (Hey, as pre-med, I'm the closest thing to a coroner we've got). Does the victim appear to have died because of the rocks falling?
(If I can't tell, that's okay. But it seems callous to just use the guy's bones and not take any interest in him as a person.)
Nick finds a large dried up chunk of moss on one of the rocks that could be used with a bone to make a torch.
John looks at the bones and sees a few small fragments scattered around the boulder. It appears that the boulder was dropped on the person- whether it was what killed him or it fell on the body later he can't ascertain. There are a few different sets of teeth marks on the bones. Some small ones that look like they came from a rat or similar animal, as well as some larger ones that you can't identify.
Nick wraps the moss around the bone and borrows James lighter to light it and begins to enter the cave.
James pockets his 'souvenier' bone, the feather, and his lighter. He then follows close on Nick's heels, peering eagerly into the darkness. "This is so cool! I hope we find more bodies!", he says.
John gives one last look at the Arabic man before entering the cave.
The arabic man appears to have finished eating his bread and is now walking away from you across the hillside.
As the group enters the cave the air moist and full of cobwebs. You hear the echoes of water dripping somewhere in the distance. By the light of the torch you can see that the roots of some large trees have grown through the rock and protude from the cave walls a short way ahead.
James heads deeper into the cave, getting ahead of the others if they pause for any reason (he will only stop when he gets out of range of Nick's torchlight :D).
As James runs ahead of the group, one of the tree roots protuding from the cave wall reaches out for him! He dodges out of the way (made speed roll) and is now seperated from the others by a number of writhing tree roots protuding from both sides of the cave.
niCK WAYS THE TORCH AT THE ROOTS. DOES ANYTHING HAPPEN?
Nick singes a few of the roots with the flames of his torch and they withdraw back against the walls of the cave.
I allow the rest of the group advance while i hold off the roots and then move forward myself.
James nimbly dodges the animated roots, not even pausing for thought until he is clear of the hazard. When he gets to the other side, he turns to the others. "Hey, come on, it's easy!", he brags.
"I've never seen tree roots do that before, what do you think they are?" he asks. James attempts to study the 'roots' as the others pass, but keeps himself out of their range.
Sabrina scurries through the roots to James' side.
You travel down the tunnel a ways without any further attack by the roots poking out through the earth. After a couple twists and turns you that the tunnel has come to an end and Owen stands before you in human form. The end of the tunnel appears to be one giant piece of stone that looks vaguely like a door, it's so huge though that not even the strongest man could move it.
"This is the Rock of the Fortress, Craig y Dinas," Owen says. "I can open the way for you, but I cannot enter. There is but one exit from the fortress, however, and there will be others to guide you until we once more meet."
Owen touches the huge rock slab, and another transformation takes place. Owen becomes a stone door handle.
"Owen. Can you tell us whose body that was beside the enterance and why it has not been given a proper Christian burial? and why, if this is Wales was there an Arab sitting not far from the enterance to the caves? And What other creatures are we likely to meet besides giants!? How will we know these guides on the other side?"
James smiles and waves when he first sees Owen, happy to see him again. "See, I told you it was Owen's feather!", he proudly tells the others.
When Owen turns into a stone handle (presumably after Nick's questions :P), James will eagerly grab hold and attempt to pull the door open.
Owen's answer to the questions echo off the cave walls as he undergoes his transformation:
"The bones were of a would-be grave robber slain by the giants. Leaving them has helped ward off imitators. Is an Arab in wales any stranger than 4 Americans? You will meet dangers and friends along your journey, I know not which he was. Trust your instincts and remember your visioooooooonnnnssssssss."
The echo fades. Owen is a stone handle, and you stand there in silence.
James eagerly grabs the handle and with one pull yanks the giant door open. A flight of stone steps leads down into darkness.
"A grave robber? Does that mean we'll get to see some graves? Hey, I bet king Arthur is down here!!", James says with great excitement as he hauls open the stone door.
James would perhaps be surprised that his meagre strength was enough to pull open such a large door, that is if he paused to give the matter any thought.
"Come on," James urges happily, as he begins to descend the stone steps.
"Great, I'm in freaking Alice of Wonderland" mutters Sabrina. It looks like James is just tearing ahead, so she'll follow
The stairs are well lit by torches mounted on the walls that burn with a flame that strikes you as somehow unnatural. After a short distance the stairs end and the passage continues on level. In the middle of the passage is a large wooden frame. The frame appears to have been built to hold a bell, but the bell is missing. Judging from the size of the frame the bell would be about a foot in diameter.
About 10 yards past the bell frame, the passage opens up into a vast cavern. In the cavern lie many thousands of warriors, in a large circle, with their heads outward. Every warrior is clad in bright armor with their shields and weapons lying at their sides. There is a burning torch (again with a somehow unnatural flame) mounted on the cave floor near the head of each warrior. The reflection of all the flames off of the gleaming armor of the warriors is nearly blinding.
James stands in awe, staring at the cavern of warriors.
"I bet the bell summons Arthur, but where is the bell?", he asks.
"Spread out and lets see if we can find the bell. It might be under some refuse or have been buried."
Does any one have a laptop?
(sure, one of you could have had your laptop out on the plane and now have it with you. I'm curious to see what you have in mind Brumbar)
As you look around the cavern you notice that each warrior's name is carved into the rock next to the torch by their head. The knights nearest you are mostly clad in chainmail and armed with spears. Several of the weapons and armor seem patterned on Roman designs. The names are all Celtic- Peredur Longspear, Gwalchmei Son of Gwyar, Caradawg Stout-Arm are a few. Some of them seem more familiar- Cei might be Sir Kay. Owain Son of Urien could be Sir Gwain.
As you move farther back in the cavern, the knights are armored in plate mail and the names are more familiar- Perceval, Tristam, Galahad, and Lancelot.
By this point you are becoming more accustomed to surprises, but you are still just a tad startled to see that the knights truly are not dead- they're sleeping.
While searching the cavern, Sabrina notices a gap in the ring of warriors. Someone is missing. A torch still flames where "Bedivere" is carved into the stone, but the man, his armor, and weapons are missing.
You search does not turn up the bell or any signs of digging. At the far end of the cavern opposite where you entered you see a large wooden door.
"Lets examine the door and see if it is locked and if we can open it. If not lets head back to where the bell is hanging."
If we can open the door the I suggest looking beyond it for the bell and the missing knight.
If we can not open the door, then Nick will fire up his laptop at the bell sight, call up the "bell" or chime sound from the sound menu and begin playing with the tones to see if he can mimic the right sound to do what is needed (ring the bell and awake the knights).
"When we leave this room, somebody grab one or two of these torches," John says. "I like them better than one made from a femur."
He hangs back a bit as the others search, shotgun at the ready.
Nick walks in the direction of the door to see where it leads. Suddenly, standing between Nick and the door appears a knight with a drawn sword. The knight stands right in front of the door, about 50 ft from Nick and maybe 80 or so from the other members of the party.
The armor of the knight is all crimson- the color of freshly spilt blood. The knight's surcoat is scarlet- like the flames of a flickering fire. Even the man's flesh has a ruddy complexion, and his hair and bear are copper-red.
The knight's sword is most strange. Half of the blade blazes with flames while the other half drips drops of blood.
Before you even have a chance to talk to this strange knight, he whirls his sword round his head, then points it toward you.
"Die!" he shouts.
A burst of fire streaks from the sword straight towards the group.
A combat round has begun, please post what your character wants to do.
NIck will Dodge the flame strike, then toss the torch he was carrying at the face of the knight while charging him drawing his own sword. At the last moment I will spin to his sword arm side to plunge my sword into the weak point of armour, underneath his armpit.
James dives for cover beside one of the other sleeping knights, hoping that the Red Knight would not shoot fire at them at least!
"Are you Bedivere? Knock it off, we're not doing anything bad, we're just looking for Arthur!", he calls out, "Owen sent us!!"
Sabrina shouts "The guardian of blood and fire! Throw a torch at him!" She tries to maneuvre to stab him in the back
I'm just waiting for Coffee to say what John will do. I'm not sure if he's around during the weekend at all, so he has till end of the day Monday, then I resolve everyone's actions. I hope you guys are having fun!
John moves to one side, hoping to get a good clear shot at this bozo. (Although if somebody else moves into melee, shooting will not be an option.)
If I can get a clear shot at this bozo, I'll take it.
It's take all four of you a second too long for your brains to process the fact that a knight is shooting fire at you with his sword, and the fireball singes your flesh as you attempt to get out of the way
5 damage each to Sabrina, Nick, John, and James
John fires a round with his shotgun, but he shoots high and the slug blasts into the cavern wall.
Nick rushes the Red Knight, but his sword thrust is parried aside.
Sabrina comes at the knight from the other side. Her rapier thrust finds an opening in his armor and draws blood.
Sabrina does 8 damage to the knight minus whatever armor he has
James dives to the floor and finds himself curled up behind King Pelinor.
go ahead and state your actions for the next round. Coffee- John has one round still in his shotgun, you didn't tell me if you wanted to fire both barrels or just one, so I only fired one.
I did just want to fire one, thanks. I like to have one in reserve.
But since people are in melee now, I won't be shooting again. I don't have a sword, but I do have a baseball bat -- something I'm more familiar with anyway!
John sets the shotgun down and moves up into melee.
Oops, I made a mistake. Armor reduces the chance to hit not the damage inflicted. Sabrina still hits and the Red Knight takes the full 8 damage.
Did my tossed torch do anything? I will then continue to attack
"Pelinor, why is he doing this? We're friends of Arthur!", James says to the sleeping knight beside him, almost in tears from the severe burning he has just received. "Why don't you save us!"
The Red Knight side stepped the thrown torch. It lies on the ground short distance behind the fray, still burning.
We lunge at the knight once more
Recovering your wits and unencumbered by heavy armor the trio of college students moves before the knight.
Sabrina thrusts again with her rapier but the blow glances off of the knight's mail. Nick slashes his foe across the face drawing forth a spray of blood (6 damage to knight). John rushes into the fray and takes a wild swing at the knight with his baseball bat, but the knight ducks under it and then hacks into Nick's left arm leaving a frightful gash.(8 damage to Nick). Bloodied and breathing heavily the three students of today and the warrior of the past eye each other grimly, summoning the strength to continue and looking for the opening to deliver the final blow.
In tears from pain and fright, James lies on the cavern floor among the sleeping knights, wondering how his excellent adventure turned into such a nightmare.
NIck lowers the tip of his sword, ready to spring back from the knight. He is hoping that the knight will take the bait giving the others a chance to strike unopposed. If he does not take the bait Nick will attempt to get under the knights guard and attack
Sabrina presses her luck and attacks again
James remains huddled next to Pelinor, uncertain what to do to stop the Red Knight, and getting progressively more scared and upset.
No I'm Not. I'm not huddling scared like a little girl!
((Ooops! Sorry, corrected post above! :o))
That's okay little bunny
John winds up and lands a vicious blow against the knight's knee with his baseball bat. 7 damage to Red Knight. Nick feigns greater pain and fatigue than he's in, drops his sword and staggers back a step. The Knight lunges at him. Nick avoids most of the blow but takes a small cut on his right hand. 1 damage to Nick. As the knight moves in on Nick, he leaves more of his flank exposed to Sabrina who presses the attack with her rapier and drives it halfway to the hilt into the Knights side. 5 damage to Knight. A trickle of blood comes out of the knight's mouth, and then suddenly...he's gone. The knight, his armor, and sword are simply no longer there. You'd think you might have had some kind of group hallucination, but your wounds are quite real- and quite painful as the adrenaline starts to wear off.
James quickly tries to wipe his tears away before any of the others see them.
After wiping his tears, James emerges back out into the open. "If we try to go through that door again, do you think he will come back?" He asks the others worriedly.
James goes over to where Bedivere's empty place stands. "Didn't the poem say something about Bedivere?", he says quietly. He reaches forward to take Bedivere's torch...
Nick removes his bloodied shirt and begins ripping it into strips to bind our wounds. He'll do Sabrina first then John and do what he can for himself. He'll the put on a clean t-shirt from his bag.
John will take charge of the first aid. (Knew studying pre-med would come in handy some time!)
Nick and John set to work doing what they can for the group's injuries. The wounds are cleaned with some bottled water and then dressed with some ointment from Sabrina's purse and the strips of Nick's shirt. John is satisfied that the risk of infection is pretty low.
James feels a strange tingle as he grabs hold of the torch at Sir Bedivere's place. With a quick pull he yanks it free of its mounting. Something- perhaps the warmth of the flames, the light, or simply having something to hold- restores James spirits a bit.
James smiles to himself, now holding Bedivere's torch. He inspects Bedivere's alcove, looking for any signs as to what happened to him.
"Where do you think Bedivere is?", he asks the others.
James fails to find anything of note as he searches Bedivere's resting place.
"I guess we need to go through that door then? I hope that Knight doesn't come back this time..." James says, pointing at the large wooden door. However, he stands towards the back, too scared to go and open the door himself.
"Let me try something first". NIck takes his laptop over to where the bell should hang abd begins playing with bell sounds, modulating the frequency, pitch and volume to see if anything happens.
The cavern echoes with the sound of bells as Nick tries modulating the tone and pitch of the sounds on his computer. Combined with the simmering light from the torches reflecting off of the gleaming armor of the knights, it's almost like a really cool techno laser show. Alas, the sounds do not seem to have had any effect on anything.
(really cool idea though Brumbar!)
"Nuts. Well lets try the door again. John have that pop gun ready."
John takes a moment to reload his shotgun and covers Nick as he opens the door. As he does so, you are all bathed in warm sunlight and you find the door leads you back outside the mountain.
Before you lies a river valley. The river is slow and meandering and about a hundred feet wide. The sides of the valley are gently sloped, but rocky. The topmost bounds of the valley are heavy forest. On either side of the river are wide, level meadows filled with lush grass.
On the near side of the river, you see a flock of white sheep; on the far side you see a flock of black sheep. When one of the white sheep bleats, one of the black sheep swims across the river. Anb tye time it leaves the water it as turned white. When one of the black sheep bleats, one of the white sheep swims across the water the river. And by the time it leaves the water it has turned black.
James rushes out into the sunlight. "Weird", he simply says when he spots the sheep.
"So, which way should we go?", he asks the others, looking left and right.
As you stare into the sunlight you see a rustling in patch of brush off to your left. A horse and his rider emerge and begin riding in your direction. he appears to be a young man, with blond hair and a beard adorned in finally crafted clothes of the most vivid green and yellow you have ever seen. Your are not certain if the rider has seen you as of yet.
White becomes black, and black turn into white
The ancient rider will make the path clear,
The river is dangerous; one place is right.
Cross only the ford of the bloody spear.
i say we follow him
"Definitely," John says.
"Lead on"
James tags along as well.
"Hey, wait up!", he will shout if the rider begins to outpace him.
The rider rides to within hailing distance of you and then reins in his horse.
"I will not hide my identity from you. I am Iddawg (ith' oc) son of Mynio. But for the most part it is not by my name I am spoken of, but my my nickname. I am called Iddwag the Embroiler of Britain."
"I was one of the envoys at the battle of Camlan, between Arthur and Mordred, his nephew. And a spirited young man was I then! I so craved for battle that I kindled strife between them."
"When the emperor Arthur would send me to remind Mordred that Arthur was his foster-father and uncle, and to ask for peace lest kinsman fight kinsman, I forsook my duty. Arthur bade me speak the fairest words I could, but I spoke his words the ugliest way I knew how to Mordred."
"And because of that, the name Embroiler of Britain was set upon me. And because of that was woven the battle of Camlan, the battle that forever broke the might of Arthur's Britain."
"For my crime, and disloyalty, a heavy penance was set upon me. Until the day that Arthur is once more king, I must ride, and remember my deeds."
"But Owen has told me that the end of my penance may be near. He has sent me to help you cross the River of Change."
"Thank you Iddawg. Might you answer some questions for us first? Do you know of a bell that is missing from the shrine of the knights? Do you know where we might find Bedivere?"
It's a bit suprising to think of this man, who looks to be about 20 as someone who has been riding for all eternity.
"The bell has been taken by the King's enemies- secreted away in one of their lairs-hidden with shadows and guarded with death. I am to understand that you have been blessed with visions that will guide your way. Sir Bedivere, devouted servant to the King, undertook the quest you are now on himself...and failed, I fear."
"Well, Iddawg, I don't mind what you've done in the past, and I'm sure you're really sorry."
"So then, how do we cross the river without getting changed like the sheep?" James asks.
Iddawg gives James a smile, but it does little to mask the shame in his eyes. He leads you to a spot where the river narrows slightly. He points out an area of the river where the water is shallower. The area is bounded on both sides by stones sticking out of the water. The far side of the river ford is marked by an 8 ft tall spear embedded in the rock of the bank. Running from the socket of the spear are three streams of blood. The rivulets of blood trickle down the rocky bank to mingle with the water of the ford.
"Stay within the boundaries of the ford, no matter what happens" Iddawg cautions. He spurs his horse and enters the ford.
James pauses to remove his shoes and socks, and to roll up his pants. He then follows Iddawg, wading into the river.
Nick does the same
Iddawg rides out into the water, followd by Nick and James, and then Sabrina and John a little further back. The water is flowing fairly quickly and by the time you reach the middle of the ford is about 3 feet deep.
Suddenly, there is a thundering splash that showers you with water. Through the spray you see an enormous grey alligator burst out of the water and lunge at Iddawg's horse, knocking it on it's side. "THE ADDANC!" screams Iddawg over the beast's roar as he tries to draw his sword.
I couldn't get this photo to paste into the post, follow the link: http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/wcgator.asp
That just gives a size reference for the beast. Yours isn't dead and tied up :)
What do you do?
Sabrina decides to let the rider deal with the alligator-thingy and pushes on
John presses on also, but has his shotgun ready. If they're still fighting when I reach the other side, I can take a shot at the gator thingie then.
Nick slashes at the creature as he covers the rest of the group so none get pushed out of the ford area.
Keeping clear of the monster (but still within the boundaries of the ford!), James takes out his slingshot and tries to pelt the huge beast in the head.
The addanc chomps down on Iddawg and then pulls him away from his horse. The beast has its mouth firmly clamped around Iddawg's torso, and the water is rapidly turning red. Iddawg manages to draw his sword and stab at the creature's head, but it doesn't faze the monster.
Nick slashes at the beast with his rapier and slices the scaley hide. (7 points of damage to Addanc). James fires a marble at the creature with his slingshot but misses, sending the marble wide right into the water. John and Sabrina keep slogging ahead through the river and are now caught up with Nick and James. The party is about halfway through the ford.
"Iddawg...", James says in horror as the huge beast clamps its teeth around the horseman, letting his sling go limp in his fingers. If we don't move, it will get us next!, he thinks, but on the other hand he doesn't want to simply abandon Iddawg to a grisly fate... He looks up to his sister and her friends for direction, his eyes wide with fear.
nICK CONTINUES TO SLASH AT THE CREATURE
Re-assured by Nick's continued assault, James launches another marble at the foul creature, hoping to hit it this time!
"John, can you maybe blow its head off with your shotgun?" asks Sabrina
Nick thrusts at the Addanc with his rapier but the blade glances off of the creature's scaley hide. James fires another marble but it flies wide and splashes harmlessly into the river. John rushes foward to where he can get a shot at the beast's flank without firing through James and Nick. He fires off one round but the water on the gun and his hands make it hard to keep steady, and he misses short. The Addanc releases Iddawg from his mouth and snaps viciously at Nick. The massive jaws close on the air inches from Nick's abdomen, barely missing. Enraged the Addanc lunges at Nick again, but the engineer deftly sidesteps the attack. Iddawg tries to stand up but collapses back down into the river, barely able to keep his head above water. Sabrina moves forward staying close to John (and his shotgun).
Sabrina and John are both close enough to the far bank to make a dash for it this round. The Addanc, Nick, and James are all roughly in the middle of the river. Iddwag is a bloddy mess and lies in the water a short distance behind the fray- slightly closer to the far bank than the one you came from.
"grab the Knight and get across. I keep this beast busy"
James pockets his useless sling, and rushes to Iddawg, trying to pull him away from the enraged monster, and towards the opposite side! (Again, keeping within the boundaries of the ford! :D)
If John has a clear shot again, he'll fire the other barrel.
If not, he'll sling it and get in there with the baseball bat. (although I really don't think that'll do much good...)
Sabrina thinks running is better than fighting, but can't leave her annoying little brother in danger. She heads back to help James
Nick attacks again with his sword, but his foot slips on a rock under the water causing his thrust to miss the addanc. John unloads the other barrel of the shotgun at the creature, but he misses again and curses himself for never learning how to shoot the thing before. The Addanc chomps at Nick. Nick lets out a scream of agony as the monster's vise-like jaws clamp down on his arm (9 damage to Nick). The pain is too much and Nick passes out slumping down into the water. Sabrina and James rush to Iddawg and together carry him towards the far shore.
Nick is at -3 Life Points and unconscious in the middle of the river. He'll die at -6 (1 more than his Personal Force). The addanc is right next to Nick. John is about halfway between the monster and the far shore. Sabrina and James are with Iddawg near the far shore (water is just a couple inches deep). Iddawg is conscious but bleeding very badly. Coming over a hill, Sabrina spies what looks like a 17th century gentleman, complete with powdered wig, riding a horse. The man sees her and spurs his horse towards the ford.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAA....................."
James spins around when he hears Nick's scream!
Dropping Iddawg into the shallow water (presumably he's on his back and so won't drown!), he rushes back to help the brave man. James' goal is to pull Nick to safety as well.
John reloads one barrel of the shotgun and taunts the creature.
I want it to come at me, roaring, so I can fire one right down it's gullet. (And, incidentally, stop it chowing down on my friends!)
John starts screaming like a mad man as he reloads a shell into his shotgun. The Addanc turns away from the helpless Nick and stares at John with its yellow eyes. James and Sabrina plunge back into the deeper water and hurry to Nick's side. He's alive but not conscious. The strange man on the horse gallups to the river bank and skillfully brings his steed to a halt and jumps off, while drawing a black powder pistol. The Addanc charges John but he is able to side step the beast's rush.
James grabs Nick by his shoulder and hastily pulls him towards the shore where he left Iddawg.
Hey guys,
It seems like participation in this thread has been slowing down for awhile. To be honest, my GM ADD is kicking in and I've got a couple gaming ideas floating around, but I know I spend enough time with this stuff, so I tell myself "that will have to wait until Lords of Creation is over". So, if we decided to call it quits, it wouldn't break my heart. Playing by post, it's hard to tell how much fun you guys are having with this game. So, I'm open to bringing the game to a halt, so we can all devote our attention elsewhere*, or for keeping on playing if you guys are really enjoying this and want to do so.
*I'm having a great time in Makofan's OD&d and Kipper's LL games. Thanks for coming on over and playing in my game. If we do decide to quit LoC I'll be starting up something else soon and will let you know in case you're interested.
Being unconcious limits my input. I've been waiting for the others to post and revive me. I've been enjoying it and i tend to check the post 4-5 times per day.
I'm enjoying it as well. However, having said that, I don't think you should continue the game if your heart isn't in it, wulfgar. The game has to be fun for you as well as for us.
I jumped in as a player to support wulfgar, but it marks my first return to playing since the early 80's, so I am way out of my depth! I can continue, or not, as you see fit.
Ok then. Let's call it a warp. I've got some other ideas I want to work on, and I don't want to detract from either Makofan or Kipper's games their DMing. Thanks for playing everyone. I will definitely let you know when my new game is ready to launch.