The Party Complete . . . sort of.

We happily received our fourth player, Deanon, this weekend and he eagerly dove right into a session with Ism and Garriath.

Deanon, also known as The Deanon, is playing as Braxton Steelshield, a dwarven cleric of Derrgan (The Wandering God, deity of travel, entertainment, and the world) with a thirst for knowledge. Braxton stands among the few dwarves who have left their ancestral kingdoms for the surface world. And for good reason, as he seeks a lost heirloom of the Ironhand dwarves.

On Friday night, Ism and Garriath held a short session. Kazak, recently arrived in the city of Thornscape, had the unfortunate luck to encounter a mean drunk. Gahaven, impressed with the human's skill during the fight, approached him with an offer. He had been sent from Free City Valor to investigate the activity of a small group of bandits east of Thornscape. Kazak readily accepted, eager to earn some coin and kill some bandits.

On Saturday night, after Deanon acquainted himself with the AIM chat room dice roller, he and Ism held a session wherein Braxton met Kazak. The two conversed curtly for some time in the Fox & Potion Tavern just an hour or so after the fight with the drunk (Gahaven had left in the meantime, likely to seek out more help). Kazak mentioned the bandit problem and his deal with the elf. Braxton, concerned with his rapidly depleting purse, ventured to offer his own services as a healer to the pair. With a subtlety usually unknown among the dwarven race, Braxton proceeded to interest Kazak in his quest to find a clan heirloom, an aspergillum, that was lost near the same area as the bandit activity. After a quick dinner, a few drinks, and a wash, Kazak and Braxton headed out into the night to test each other's skill with the sword and mace. Through sheer strength and a little luck, Kazak managed to down the dwarf in only two blows. To his credit, Braxton showed considerable skill in landing a solid blow on the trained human warrior.

As Braxton brushed himself off, Kazak noticed that Gahaven was standing off to the side, watching the fight. After introductions, the three discussed what they knew about the bandit attacks. Gahaven revealed that he acted under the blessing of Lord Vayr of Valor to investigate the bandits. Rumor had it that they were not common riffraff but political rebels from Valor, former soldiers of the late Lord Marid. Lord Vayr wants to know if this is true. Further rumors indicated that there were at least a dozen bandits but not enough to warrant an official response from either Thornscape or Valor. Since they only preyed on the smallest caravans the merchant guilds were similarly not interested in investing any time, money, or effort in routing them.

The night ended with Gahaven officially hiring the two travelers (Braxton hails from the Ironhand dwarves of Blackstorm Peak in the Heartstone Mountains; Kazak simply mentioned that he is from far away) and advising them to purchase any supplies they would require for the journey with the promise of remuneration. They agreed to leave for the town of Mapleton, the closest settlement to the bandit attacks, in three days.

....

Niko did not show up for this session but I have prepared a number of ways for Headsmasher to join the group.

In the meantime, all players are encouraged to interact with each other over AIM or another medium. All I ask is that the transcripts be saved so I can compile them (if anything secret comes out, I will keep it secret). I would really like to speak with Niko, and to a lesser extent Ism, during the week. Both Garriath and Deanon developed a short character history with me last week Friday and Saturday respectively so I have a good idea where Gahaven and Braxton came from, what they are like, and where they are going. I did this somewhat with Ism last week and I have gathered much from his participation in both roleplaying sessions.

I like to give something special to each player at the beginning. Gahaven has his connection with Lord Vayr, Braxton has his clan's heirloom (well, hopes to have), and Kazak has a light-sleeper benefit by virtue of his feat choices (Endurance and Alertness - he does not suffer the -10 penalty to Listen checks while asleep and he will not suffer the -5 penalty for dozing). I am still trying to think what Headsmasher will have. It is hard to see past that 2d6+9 damage while raging.

:-)

But I think I have a good idea.

Players Three

We now have three players and three very nice player characters preparing to enter the lost ruins of Tokair.

Niko, also known as Gold Penguin, will be playing as Headsmasher, an half-orc barbarian with the strength to live up to his name. Built for battle, Headsmasher is sure to introduce blood and dust to any enemy I can conjure.

Ism will be playing as Kazak, a human fighter with a never-quit attitude and an eye for tactics. Kazak is the sort of man who can march all day with 50 lbs of gear and then sleep in his armor so he can be the first on the road for the next day's march.

Garriath, also known as Tarvalar, will be playing as Gahaven, an elven rogue with a keen mind and a deft hand. Gahaven weighs his options, calculates his risks, and takes the best course of action.

Introduction

Testing

This is a test post.