Friday, February 24, 2017

Adventure Log Session 7

DATE: June 8-10, Raeleni Calendar

CHARACTERS


Thom Tum, 3rd level Gnome Thief
Igor, 3rd level Dwarf Cleric
Iron Stone, 3rd Level Dwarf Fighter

JUNE 8

-- Upon exploring the ship, recovering goodies, and reading the wizard's log about his attempts to drain power from magic items and enspell his pet crocodile Chompy, the characters exit the crashed ship.

-- They are met with Larista, a human servant of the Nixie Chieftain Mhartryn.  She explains that her mistress needs their help, and they were sent seeking the party after a consultation with the Father Trees, who told the Nixies that the party had previously aided Zinnia and Birch, the dryads.

-- The Nixie queen explains that her two children, Mary and Sue, were sucked into a magical portal along with a lot of river water.  the portal was created by a magical artifact, a bracelet-sized circlet, that apparently fell along with the galleon The Storm Voyager.  Mhartryn sent both servants and her own warriors in to retrieve her daughters, but no one has yet come back

-- The Nixie queen casts Water breathing on the party with a kiss, then leads them underwater to said portal.

-- The party goes through, and find themselves in an ancient desert tomb, now completely filled with river water.

-- The party explores the tomb, picking up several valuable trinkets and fighting first a pair of mummies, and then a pair of undead mummified leopards. Through a number of hard-fought battles, the party vanquishes them all.

-- The party find the two young Nixies but no other survivors.  They beat a hasty retreat back through the portal before it collapses.

-- The Nixie queen has a tearful reunion with her daughters and lets the party keep the dagger of light, the magic sword, and the circlet (which now appears broken and powerless).  She is in their debt.


JUNE 9

-- The party heads back to the wrecked ship the next day to loot it some more.

-- They run into a group of dwarf thieves, who they beat handily.


JUNE 10

-- Late the next day, the party nears the outskirts of Fractured Hill when Kitten the Owlbear bites through her hatrness and thrashes about.

-- She makes for a nearby barn, smashing into it, eating a goat in two bites and terrifying the other occupants, including a halfling couple in the hayloft.

-- The farm owner, Tom Huddle, angrily confronts the party as Kitten builds her nest out of his ruined barn.  Huddle insists they must be in cahoots with his hate neighbor Norris, who he suspects of other mischief such as burning his shed, filling his well with rocks, and painting his cows green.

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Huddle Farm


Portal Circlet

A bracelet-size loop of corded silver and gold studded with various green gemstones.  Once created a portal to an ancient desert tomb, but now seems completely inert and devoid of magic.

Friday, February 17, 2017

Dagger +1, Light

When unsheathed, the blade of the dagger with glow with a warm light that will illuminate a 30' radius (20' underwater) as a lantern would.  If the admittedly weak light magic is disrupted (such as with a darkness or dispel magic spell), it will take 24 hours for the dagger to begin glowing again.

Sword +1

A long sword that delivers +1 to hit and +1 to damage

Saturday, February 11, 2017

The Towns of Fractured Hill and Mountain Lake


FRACTURED HILL

Located in the valley along the dirt road. Population: about 320, about 1/2 dwarf, 1/2 halfling.  Central houses and buildings are mostly dwarf construction (solid, ancient stone work) though most modern buildings, especially farmhouses, are wood and follow halfling aesthetic.  Some families have workers in the mines near Mountain Lake, but also support the local farmers and trappers and a smattering of craftsmen.

The town is named after a nearby hill with a huge crack down the middle from the result of collapsing ancient mineshafts under it.

There is one Tavern/Inn: The Beard, Board, and Beer, or informally known as the Three B's by the locals.  Besides renting rooms and selling ale, it is also a barber shop that specializing in trimming, styling, and shaping beards.  Though located in the same large stonework manor-like building, one family owns the Inn part along with the stables, and another runs the tavern and barbershop parts.

MOUNTAIN LAKE

About 2 miles away nestled much higher in elevation is the small town of Mountain Lake, located right beside the active iron ore mines with a small lake about 500 ft across next to it.  Like the mines, it is only opened seasonally and is mostly abandoned in the winter.  During warmer months, it holds about 60 residents, mostly miners from Fractured Hill with some support personnel.  The mines themselves are run by a co-op of local families, and is over seen by a 'board' of chosen family heads.

Mountain Lake has one permanent resident family, a pair of brothers and their wives, who run the bar/blacksmith/wagonwright shop.

Updated Crenmoore Province Map



Rod of Shield Summoning

This rod is a thick iron bar a little over a foot long, and weighs 2 lbs.  Requires attunement to use properly.

If placed against the wearer's forearm, straps will magically shoot out to secure it onto the arm.  These can be retracted or loosened as the wearer wishes.

Three times per day, using an activation word, the user can transform the rod into a round medium metal shield that will form on the arm the rod is attached to.  This shield is magical and functions as a +1 shield.  The shield will last 1 hour and then transform back into the rod.  It can be summoned again immediately as long as there are uses left for that day, but it has to transform back into a  rod first first before it can be transformed into a shield again.  Summoning the shield is considered a bonus action.

Ring of Weapon Charging

The ring 'charges' any non-magical weapon the character has in his hand with combat spells, turning it into a +1 (both to hit and damage) weapon for 10 rounds.  The weapon will glow with a dim reddish light.  After the magic wears off, the weapon returns to normal.  Usable 3 times per day. Charging a weapon via the ring is done simply by the wearer willing it and is considered a bonus action.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Adventure Log Session 6

DATE June 1-June 7,  1226 Raeleni Calendar

CHARACTERS

Thom Tum, 2nd level Gnome Thief
Igor, 2nd level Dwarf Cleric
Iron Stone, 2nd Level Dwarf Fighter


JUNE 1

-- The Crooked Wand, the magic-user Guild Hall/Tavern, is raided by army forces from the new mayor, with the party  in the crowd.

-- After some tense words, violence breaks out between the soldiers and wizards.  Party beats a hasty retreat out a tarp door in the room behind the bar, which via magic portal leads to one of the bedrooms in The Pink Lantern, one of Timbervale's local brothels.

-- Party retreats to the nearest wall, battling a summoned fire-breathing bear along the way

-- They scale the wall and once over it they retreat from Timbervale altogether just as they see some parts of the city catching fire.

-- They decide to head toward North Azmarin for the time being.

JUNE 2

-- As they are camping for the night, Kitten, an wagon-pulling Owlbear, approaches them and after some trepidation she befriends the party.

-- Upon examining the wagon, they discover trading goods, plus  a strong box full of medicines, healing potions, potion recipes and a letter meant for Grimbul Stormhammer's family in the Dwarven mining town of Fractured Hill to the north.

-- In North Azmarin, they consult with a Druid that tells them Kitten is gravid with eggs and will likely lay them sometime in the next week.

JUNE 4

-- The party spends several days waiting in North Azmarin for a possible trading barge heading upriver to Fractured Hill.  When none come, they depart north overland for the village.

JUNE 6

-- Late in the night, the party hears a huge boom off in the distance to the North

JUNE 7

-- A few hours after they start traveling, they discover a merchant sea galleon that apparently crashed out of the sky named The Storm Voyager.

-- Thom and Iron Stone cautiously investigate the ship, hearing activity below decks

-- Igor who stayed with the wagon is approached by a female Orc named Obsidian, who claims she is investigating the wreck too.  They approach the ship together.

-- Inside the wreck, Thom and Iron Stone discover a trio of Orc males, one wearing a  frilly pink dress he found, intent on getting as much loot as possible.  They already have sacks full.  Igor and Obsidian join up, and Obsidian reveals the males are her cousins, and she was their scout on the outside.

-- Investigating loud noises below, a weirdly enchanted giant crocodile seeps through the floor in gaseous form and attacks.

-- The Orcs run away with their loot.

-- The player characters fight the crocodile, and find that's its randomly manifesting magic abilities from the runes etched onto its scales.

-- After defeating the croc and setting it afire to make sure it can't regenerate, they investigate the deck below to find a wizard's laboratory.  From wizard's diary, he wanted to make his pet croc "Chompy" the ruler of the world.  He was draining magic from a bunch of magic items to empower Chompy, but one proved much more potent than anticipated (a wand of wonder, now fully drained and broken) and flung the ship hundreds of miles inland, killing the crew and the wizard.

-- Upon investigation, the party finds two magic items still intact, a ring and a rod, plus numerous treasures tsill aboard the ship. 

.

Core Hit Points and Non-Magical Healing

These are homebrew rules for how non-magical healing works in the campaign as well as a minor-rethinking of how Hit Points work exactly, to keep things in the game more dynamic and exciting.  This was used with other campaigns successfully, and just wanted to give it a try here.

The concept of CORE HIT POINTS refers to the bottommost tier of a character's HP total.  They are equal to the HP a character has at first level plus his current level.  So if a character had 12 HP at first level, and his current level is 7, then his core HP is 19.

Again, this is the last tier of HP a character will go through in his normal HP total.  If the character above had a total 50 HP at 7th level, then the last 19 HP of that total would be his Core HP.

Core Hit Points represent the direct physical damage a character's body can endure.  The rest of his HP total, as per traditional D&D interpretation, mostly represents a character's ability to avoid getting hurt in dangerous situations, or in some cases, his ability to will through pain and damage.

NON-MAGICAL HEALING

Without magic, Core Hit Points are healed as per the old rules:

-- 1 HP/Day of rest.
-- 2 HP/Day of rest if attended to by a character with Medicine OR Herbalism
-- 1 HP + Healer's level modifier / Day of rest if attended to by character with Medicine AND Herbalism (usually 3+)

Notes:

-- If character with Herbalism has no medicines or herbs to use, their skill is ineffective
-- More than one character can combine their skills to attend a patient.  Highest level character uses their level modifier, if applicable
-- A roll may be required for a healing period, depending on the nature of the damage.  Each contributing healer beyond the first can add +1 to the roll.  Critical failure (a 1 on the die) means less than normal amount of HP gained.  On a critical success (20 on the die) more than normal amount of HP may be gained.
-- Some injuries may take longer to heal, at the DM's discretion

HIT DIE HEALING

Once a character's Core Hit Points are fully healed, either by magical or non magical means, they can regain HP as per their hit dice after a short (at least 1 hour) rest as described in the 5e Player's Handbook.  Where as the Core Hit Points are the body physically healing, the remainder of the character's Hit Points represents the character's fighting and survival prowess and can be recovered much more quickly.  This heals a number of points equal to a roll of character's Hit Die equal to his level, plus his Constitution bonus per hit die.

For example,a 7th level fighter with no Constitution bonus would roll 7d10 to regain his Hit Points, since he uses D10s for his class Hit Point Die.  A 4th level Thief  with a Constitution of 12 would roll 4D8 + 4, using the d8s of his class's Hit Point Die plus 1 per level from his Constitution bonus.

-- Again, this is ONLY if the character's Core Hit Points are fully healed, either naturally or through magic.

-- Each healing Hit Die a character has can be used only once until a long rest is taken.

-- Healing Hit Die do not have to be expended all at once, as healing Hit Die are not regained until a long rest (8+ hours) is taken.  They can be expended fully, partially, or not at all, depending on a character's preference.

FULL HEALING

A character gains his full non-Core HP after a long rest (8+ hours) and HALF of their spent healing Hit Die.is regained.  After 24 hours, their full Healing Hit Die returns.

-- Again,m the full Hit Points are regained ONLY if the Core Hit Points are first fully healed.

MAGICAL HEALING

Magical healing works as normal, whether to Core Hit Points or Normal Hit Points.

CORE HIT POINT ATTACKS

It is possible some attacks and situations may attack the Core Hit Points directly and bypass/ ignore the rest of the rest of the character's Normal Hit Point.  This is relatively rare, however.  Instances where Core Hit Point Attacks may be invoked:

-- The character is unconscious and still is taking steady damage from an external source, such as if he is drowning, on fire, or being digested.

-- Certain types of poison

-- Certain illnesses

-- Certain types of direct internal attack, such as from a well-entrenched rot grub

UNCONSCIOUSNES AND DEATH

If a character reaches 0 HP, their normal bodily functions stop and are considered clinically dead. However, they can still be resuscitated and/or stabilized if tended to immediately.

-- If only non-magical healing is available, then he heals up at the same rate form his negative HP total.  He just remains unconscious (more or less in a coma) until he reaches 0 hp.  For example, if a character was knocked down to -3 HP, and they let him recover naturally, then only after 3 days of rest he will finally regain consciousness.

Irrevocable death occurs when the character reaches negative HP equal to their  Core Hit Points.  For example, if a character has 19 Core Hit Points, then when he reaches -19 HP, his body becomes too damaged for medical recovery and well and truly dies.

Bracers of Defense +3

While wearing these bracers, you gain a +3 bonus to AC if you are wearing no armor and using no shield.

Ring of Feather Falling

When you fall while wearing this ring, you descend 60 feet per round (10' per second) and take no damage from falling.

Fire Chalk

This red chalk can be used to draw a line on an appropriate surface, which then erupts into flames one round later. The chalk can be used to draw up to 60' in an uninterrupted pattern and 1 round later a vertical sheet of flame 5' high will erupt from the line. The flame will burn for 1 turn (10 minutes) and deal 2d6 damage for anyone crossing the plane. The Fire Chalk can be used up to 3 times before losing its red color and reverting to white chalk.

Corrosive Blade

The Corrosive Blade is a long sword +1, +2 vs opponents with metal armor. The blade appears severely rusted and corroded, but is just as sturdy as any normal sword.

- The Corrosive Blade has additional properties vs metal. Every time the blade hits a metal creature or metal clad opponent, the foe takes an extra 1d6 points of damage.

- Any time the Corrosive Blade hits metal armor or a creature made of metal, the armor must make a saving throw or it permanently erodes 1 point of armor class per round until it disintegrates into a pile of rust at AC 10. Each successive hit accelerates the decay by one cumulative point.  Any metal creature that has its armor class reduced to 10 will be destroyed regardless of hit points.

- If used to parry a metal weapon, the weapon corrodes just like armor.  The affected weapon does half damage for the next two rounds then breaks and disintegrates completely.  Larger than normal melee weapons may take longer.

- It will not affect any magical or enchanted metal, but will still do the +2 to hit, +1D6 damage to metal armored opponents and metal creatures.  It will not affect any metal not used as a weapon or armor, but will still leave small spots of normal rust on the point of contact.

Trowel of Holding

Appears to be a normal garden trowel, the handle made out of oak and the blade made out of what appears to be hammered dark stone.

- If used to dig a small hole (at least 6" deep and up to 2 feet across), it opens up a portal into a small extradimensional space, as per a bag of holding, up to a total of 64 cubic feet of interior volume and 500 lbs of weight no matter the size of the actual hole.  Once dirt is placed back over the hole (with the trowel; any other means only throws the dirt into the holding space) the space is sealed and can't be accessed from that spot again.

- The trowel can dig a hole in dirt anywhere else, it accesses the same dimensional space, and anything previously put in there can be retrieved as normal.  Can be used any number of times a day.

- Works only in dirt, soil, sand, and gravel or like materials.

Ghost Metal Sliver

A small ingot of ghost metal, about 4 inches long and a quarter inch in diameter, about the size of a large nail.  The metal glows with a faint violet light.

Ghost metal is metal partially phased into the Soulspace (ether) and has a number of unusual properties.  Weapons made of ghost metal can deliver damage both to a victim's physical body and their soul.  It can hit phased or ethereal creatures like ghosts for normal weapon damage even if it as no other enchantments.  Ghost metal can also fully or partially phase out of the material plane at the wielder's command (Arcana knowledge required).  The ingot can be used to forge a ghost metal weapon of dagger sized or smaller if blended with other metals by a skilled artificer mage/blacksmith.

No one currently knows how to make Ghost Metal.  All examples of it on Ximenes come exclusively from ruins found on the Western Continent, and is usually prohibitively expensive.

Ring of Catherine Summoning

Summons 1D6 Catherines for 4-8 hours duration.  Unknown number of charges remaining.  Catherines appear as a 19-year-old woman in a pretty blue dress. They are all LVL-0, HP-4, AC-10.  They have no discernible skills, but when they appear they will seem complacent and happy to help the summoner with anything reasonable.  They otherwise act like normal if unusually perky young women.  When the spell wears off, a Catherine will usually giggle and say "Oops!" before disappearing.

Faerie Healing Bracelets

 Appears as a thin garland of fresh vines, leaves, and flowers around the wrist.  Will remain eternally in bloom.  Allows characters to cast one heal spell either on themselves or someone they touch 1/day. The spell heals 1D8 HP.  If the bracelet is ever removed or cut off, the plants wither and the magic is forever lost.  They are as easily flammable as any plant and will also die if set on fire.

Thom Tum's bracelet was modified so that it no longer provided healing magic but instead its magic is dedicated to preventing magical corruption in his body. 

Pendant of Dapper Looks

Usable 1/day.  Wearer is instantly cleaned up as if they'd just bathed or showered.  Hair combed or styled, nails buffed, teeth minty fresh, clothes cleaned, small fabric rents repaired, and if wearing armor minor dents are smoothed and the metal buffed.  Heals 2 HP of damage and removes any recent surface cuts, bruises, scars, etc..  Add 2 to character's Charisma for 4 hours as long as they don't get dirty.

Dagger +1 of Spell Storing

Can hold 1 level of spells.  Can function as a normal item of spell storing, ie, the spell stored can be triggered by the user holding it.  But the weapon was also specifically designed to deliver touch-range spells upon a successful thrown hit, such as Shocking Grasp or Chill Touch.  The blade is well balanced for throwing.  Upon a hit, the knife does normal dagger damage and the spell stored within it activates, delivering whatever effect it has to the target.

Friday, February 3, 2017

MAGIC ITEMS GAINED Session 5

Fire Chalk (3 sticks)

This red chalk can be used to draw a line on an appropriate surface, which then erupts into flames one round later. The chalk can be used to draw up to 60' in an uninterrupted pattern and 1 round later a vertical sheet of flame 5' high will erupt from the line. The flame will burn for 1 turn (10 minutes) and deal 2d6 damage for anyone crossing the plane. The Fire Chalk can be used up to 3 times before losing its red color and reverting to white chalk.

Corrosive Blade

The Corrosive Blade is a long sword +1, +2 vs opponents with metal armor. The blade appears severely rusted and corroded, but is just as sturdy as any normal sword.

- The Corrosive Blade has additional properties vs metal. Every time the blade hits a metal creature or metal clad opponent, the foe takes an extra 1d6 points of damage.

- Any time the Corrosive Blade hits metal armor or a creature made of metal, the armor must make a saving throw or it permanently erodes 1 point of armor class per round until it disintegrates into a pile of rust at AC 10. Each successive hit accelerates the decay by one cumulative point.  Any metal creature that has its armor class reduced to 10 will be destroyed regardless of hit points.

- If used to parry a metal weapon, the weapon corrodes just like armor.  The affected weapon does half damage for the next two rounds then breaks and disintegrates completely.  Larger than normal melee weapons may take longer.

- It will not affect any magical or enchanted metal, but will still do the +2 to hit, +1D6 damage to metal armored opponents and metal creatures.  It will not affect any metal not used as a weapon or armor, but will still leave small spots of normal rust on the point of contact.

Trowel of Holding

Appears to be a normal garden trowel, the handle made out of oak and the blade made out of what appears to be hammered dark stone.

- If used to dig a small hole (at least 6" deep and up to 2 feet across), it opens up a portal into a small extradimensional space, as per a bag of holding, up to a total of 64 cubic feet of interior volume and 500 lbs of weight no matter the size of the actual hole.  Once dirt is placed back over the hole (with the trowel; any other means only throws the dirt into the holding space) the space is sealed and can't be accessed from that spot again.

- The trowel can dig a hole in dirt anywhere else, it accesses the same dimensional space, and anything previously put in there can be retrieved as normal.  Can be used any number of times a day.

- Works only in dirt, soil, sand, and gravel or like materials.

Ghost Metal Sliver

A small ingot of ghost metal, about 4 inches long and a quarter inch in diameter, about the size of a large nail.  The metal glows with a faint violet light.

Ghost metal is metal partially phased into the Soulspace (ether) and has a number of unusual properties.  Weapons made of ghost metal can deliver damage both to a victim's physical body and their soul.  It can hit phased or ethereal creatures like ghosts for normal weapon damage even if it as no other enchantments.  Ghost metal can also fully or partially phase out of the material plane at the wielder's command (Arcana knowledge required).  The ingot can be used to forge a ghost metal weapon of dagger sized or smaller if blended with other metals by a skilled artificer mage/blacksmith.

No one currently knows how to make Ghost Metal.  All examples of it on Ximenes come exclusively from ruins found on the Western Continent, and is usually prohibitively expensive.

ADVENTURE LOG SESSION 5

DATE: May 20-June 1, 1226

CHARACTERS

Thom Tum, 2nd level Gnome Thief
Igor, 2nd level Dwarf Cleric


MAY 20

-- The Dryads reveal that Thom Tum had contracted a magical corruption from the Lost One creature he confronted  a few days earlier.  They after the magic of his healing bracelet to keep the corruption at a minimum for now.

-- The Dryads free Ziassa.  After they get the Real Catherine to stop strangling him, he explains that the Catherines are channeling one of the gods lost in the Soulspace, trying to find a way to re-manifest on the prime material plane.  Ziassa was traveling to Orb Lake to use the magic there to bring her fully over.

MAY 21

-- On the way to Orb Lake the PCs have an encounter with a shadowy Fae creature, but manage to tale their way through.

--  At Orb Lake, Aithen is brought to the lake and reveals himself to be a forest spirit that takes the form of a giant Fae Stag.  He had fallen in love with a human woman and took human form, but as his human body aged he became senile and sickly,a nd forgot his true heritage.

-- Ziassa runs away in the confusion

-- Aithen rewards the PCs by bequeathing to them the deed to his house in Timbervale, and everything within.  They may also ask a boon of him (within reason) in the future as essentially a favored owed.

-- Thom Tum is cured of his corruption

MAY 30

-- The party arrives back in Timbervale, only to find many refugees camped outside it.

-- After some trouble at the gates, the PCs are let in by Grimbul, who recognize them.

-- The party learns that the town is taken over by a military governor, and that a large army contingent is making its way down south to the province.

-- The party claims Aithen's house and spends the night.

JUNE 1

-- New governor gives hard-line speech

-- Party searches the house, finds the house's deed, the Trowel of Holding, and Aithen's hidden treasures.

-- Party comes under surveillance by the local guards.

-- Ziassa shows up at the house, wanting to use Aithen's books for research.  Ziassa backs off after a verbal confrontation

JUNE 2

-- PCs discover how to visit the wizard's guild by walking in a magical sigil pattern through the streets.  There they run across Ziassa again

-- Party learns that the province capital, Iverell, is still in chaos thanks to insane wizards.

-- The party learns that the creatures supposedly behind the plague are called ElMiraj, a race of reclusive rabbit-like shapeshifters from the world of Tao who specialize in magically-created pestilence nad disease.