Is this Luck?

It has been a long time since I last wrote to you, my brothers, and I have many things to tell.

I believe Arios is no longer with us. She went to discover the source of the undead abominations. I must say she was a true follower of the Dogma if ever there was one, chasing after Wretched Beshaba’s servants like that. I trust our Lady tipped the scales just enough for her to succeed in her mission, before setting on the Greatest of Journeys herself. And to think that if not for the Lady, if I came a mere day later, I would never have met her, and she would never have told me of the group.
Luck and fate are indeed two very fickle and elusive things. How lucky can I consider myself for meeting such a group? I mean, I don’t know who’s worse – Verena, the insane witch (Which they told me only after she tried to kill me), Diadora, the sociopath hafling, or Tristan, the half-mad half-orc, which she seems to cling to… Like many times before, I trust the Lady’s wisdom in sending me this group, and in time I hope to learn why meeting them was indeed a good fortune. Besides, I know all to well that I can’t travel this maze by my own.

Oh, and I almost forgot another party member we found a short while after I met the group – Celandriel, the annoyingly sentient staff. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn that he was sent as my punishment. I may have believed that meeting the group would end up a good thing, but it took the Lady’s intervention to ensure me the importance of the staff, for shortly after we found him, The Lady herself bestowed upon me the grandiose honor of being in her presence, and hearing her divine voice. There are no words to express the feeling of presence, nor are there any to express my gratitude for gracing upon me the radiance of her smile. Though we are all but unworthy servant of her divine will, She has favored me and showed me how may I farther her cause in this world. And as the irony of luck and fate would have it, that meantCel.

I do remembered reading something about him being connected to the downfall of Karsepolis. Lucky you made me study all those irrelevant and unimportant facts you like to record. I always suspected it was the lady’s divine guidance and not just your stubbornness that led me to learn those pieces of information that now seem to be so valuable to me and our group.

Apart from Cel, we had the fortune to test ourselves against several foes these couple of days. First, we came to a room with a small golem dragon, which of course attacked us (I mean, why would anything in that maze just let us go by without introducing itself and it’s petrifying breath weapon?). Our Lady smiled upon me that time and allowed the dragon to petrify me on the very first second of the fight, thus focusing the dragons attention only to my companions. As luck would have it, Verena memorized a spell that allowed her to return my body to flesh. After that we met a Lion-like plant creature attacked us. Trusting fully in the Lady, I called upon the powers of the wand she granted me so many months ago, and in turn, it reduced me to the size of a small coin, once again rescuing me from the fight.

I’m starting to think I will never be rid of this curse! In both cases I was left unharmed while my companions had to fight for their lives. Far beyond me to understand our Lady’s intentions for either me,Cel , or the rest of us, but I humbly ask that she allowed me to take some of the danger away from my friends, even at the expense of my own safety.

I’m not looking for appreciation from any of them, but attacking me, the way Verena did, is a bit too much.
It happened after the curse had taken the other two members of our group, and Verena tried to take revenge on me. In retrospect, I can’t blame her, but at that moment all I could think of was to try and repair the damage I caused, and her trying to deny me of that.

What came after was even a bigger anticlimax. The curse killed two party members. After the death of my father, there was no greater evil which this curse caused, but as it happens, this was also the first time I had something to do about it! And instead of being thankful, Diadora was angered by me bringing her back!! She took all the happiness and accomplishment I felt at that moment. And I don’t even know why she was so upset… She doesn’t seem to be one of the cowardly losers who prefer the tranquility of death on the challenges and fulfillment of life… And she couldn’t possibly think she has fulfilled herself… She came to the maze for a reason which I’m sure she did not yet achieved

I feel bad for them. I actually believed I was starting to get some control over the curse, but since they met me, Tristan and Diadora died, twice! And Tristan almost got eaten by a swarm of piranhas. Actually, except for one thing we did, which was going to the mirror room, everything was quite a disaster for them. If it weren’t for the Lady, and for her concern of me being in this maze on my own, I think none of them would have made it so far. Or at least I would have believed it, if not for the mirror room.

I shall never forget that room. I could almost feel Beshaba’s presence there, yet with the Lady’s help, her grasp on the group did not hold and our Lady’s light shown on each and every one of us. I’m not sure what exactly I did back there, but it would seem my skills as anAuspician are growing considerably. I already can see the difference it made, especially for Diadora, to whom I daily transfer some of my inner power, to increase her own .

Could it be that I am finally gaining some of the control I spent so long seeking? I guess only the goddess can tell.

Felix returns

Felix slowly opened his eyes, as if after an extremely long slumber. He wasn’t quite sure where, or even who, he was. The last thing he remembered was a golden light all around him. Embracing him, caressing him, and.. shaking him? He remembered something out of place. Maybe himself? It was not his place to be. He remembered the ever so soft light pushing him away, and yet also guiding him to a better place. A more familiar place.

Then the room started to clear. He saw a green color. A dark and dirty green. It was everywhere. And it smelled funny too. A smell of sickness and despair. It reminded him of some strange creatures he remembered seeing somewhere. In some dream perhaps? Or maybe even in another lifetime?

Finally, the jumbled memories started to come together.

He was walking with his companions in this stuffy old corridor where some mold creatures attacked him.

He also remembered sacrificing his own luck and safety and praying to his Lady to help his friends instead of him. Well, apparently he got his wish.

Ever so slow, he raised himself to a seating position and smiled at the exhausted Verena.
“Thank you”, he said, “I knew you had some connection with the realm of the gods, but I never imagined it was so great a bond. Now truly do I see the blessing my Lady set upon me when she sent you and your companions to me”. I just hope that by doing so, she blessed them as well, he thought.
“And speaking of the fellas, where are they?” As he spoke that last question, he turned his head to examine his surroundings and got his answer in the form of the two bodies lying not far from him.
“Oh..”, he continued with a grave note in his tone, “Again? Don’t they get tired of dying? Oh Well.. A cleric’s work is never done..”, and he winked at Verena in additional thanks to her ‘clerical’ performance.

After a brief inspection of the bodies, he said “I wouldn’t even presume to be so favored by my Lady to be so rude and ask her to bring both of them, after she already done so much for me just in bringing me back, but I believe that in this emergency, she will grant me a single resurrection, so for now I’ll perform the ceremony for one of them, and after some meditation and rest, I’ll pray to the Lady to bring the other one”
“In that case”, Verena answered  “It would seem that the prudent thing to do, would be to resurrect Diadora. Like me and yourself, she needs to rest”, Felix did not miss her intentional emphasis on that last word, “and prepare spells. In this case we would lose only one day instead of two”.
“Very well then”, Felix said, “But before I bring her, I need to know a few more details about her, such as why she entered the maze, does she have a family or close friends and the likes”.
“You didn’t seem to need this information the last time you performed that ritual”, came Verena’s sharp observation.
“No, I didn’t. But last time I didn’t know that Diadora doesn’t want to be brought back, now did I? Now, if you want me to be able to convince her to return, then I need as much information as you can give me”.
Eventually Verena agreed, and after telling him what he needed (Trying as much as possible not to betray her deceased friend’s trust, and not telling him more then the very basics), he begun the preparations for the already too familiar ceremony. Though, Verena was surprised to see that unlike before, Felix took out four candles instead of three. While the first three where identical to the ones he used the previous time, the forth one was new. It was a thick and tall green candle.

The ceremony started the same, with the black and white candles igniting by themselves. But this time, before Felix tossed the coin, he knelt by the fourth, green candle, ignited it himself, and prayed in common:
“Diadora Greenleaf. Protector of the natural order. I call to you from the plain of the living, please hear my words. If you truly believe that your life should be over, that you have fulfilled it completely and wholly, then I shall not force you to come back. But if there is the slightest doubt in your heart, if you think there might be some small truth in that you have indeed embarked upon this Journey all too soon, then listen to what I have to say. Your life in this world are far from over. There remain many more achievements fate has assigned to you in this life, and if you stay and give in to the tranquility of death, you’ll upset the natural order. Please, you are needed here. Your home village needs you. Your mother needs you. We need you. And most importantly, Tristan needs you. Consider what will happen if you won’t return to his side and won’t restrain his fury. Think of the many Innocent people he will harm, and even kill in his rage if you won’t be here for him. I beg you, allow my Lady to lead you back to us, so that you may fulfill your duty and purpose in this life, and so that you may continue to the next journey when the time is right for you”.
After a long pause in which nothing seemed to move, not even the flames, the candle’s fire flickered twice, relying the positive reply to the much relieved cleric. Through the rest of the ceremony, the green candle remained burning, adding the hue and the feeling of nature itself to the ceremony, and guiding the druidic spirit back to where it truly belongs.

They Are Returning! [30.5.08]

Long time no play, but we’re back in a very enjoyable and everntful session.

We also started using the “specific critical hits” house rule in this session.

Session Date: 30.5.08
Game Date: 385 TME (to The Modern Era) Spring
Present Players: Mickey (Verena), Koby (Tristan), Effim (Diadora), Alex (Felix)
Day 32 in the Maze.
Start Time: ~12:00
NPCs Met: None.
Rooms ExploredThings Done:

• Verena used Limited Wish to Raise Felix from the Dead. The very difficult and emotional ceremony ended with Felix very much alive (although weakened by the experience) and with both him and Verena sharing a new “tattoo” or scar (of Mystra’s Holy Symbol) – he on his chest and she on the palm of her hand.
• Felix rested a bit and then Raised Diadora from the dead. She returned as Megana, a noble elitist who thought that all males where her servants (and later on believed that Verena was her servant too). Megana (which will later return) likes baths, clean clothes, wine, meat and basically everything that Diadora hates. She commanded Felix to do her bidding and shut up; he, annoyed, doused her head with water, and she, in return, blasted him with fire. Wisely Felix decided to let it go and Megana went to sleep, as did Felix, until he could raise Tristan (whom Megana greeted with “Yuck! What is that thing?!”) the next day. Verena took the time to have a headache and write a scroll.
• Celandriel and Felix had a short chat before Felix went to sleep (Cel doesn’t sleep) about gods. Cel once again said that he doesn’t acknowledge any of Felix’s gods, and mentioned Delom, God of Death, as an example of a true god. The only thing strange about this is that Cel did recall the god Deneir the last time they talked, but this time he didn’t remember him. [Alex - please sit down and have one conversation with Cel on the subject, maybe even with the others helping you, since these discussions are starting to get repetitive, and you don't recall their details later. One conversation, maybe with Tristan and Verena in the area, with someone making notes of it, should help you more].
• Diadora woke up as herself, not remembering that she died, was raised or who Megana is. Verena and Felix decide to drop it and behave as if nothing happened.
• Felix revives Tristan and you all move along.
• Tristan and Diadora once more experience the depressing effect of the Black Mold.
• In the narrowing granite corridor you encounter a Living Reverse Gravity Spell and while you all investigate it, Tristan and Felix disappear and the creature attacks Diadora and Verena. The spell has little effect on nimble Diadora, but Verena suffers quite a few “bounces” before she decides that perhaps attacking from the distance is better. Very quickly, however, Diadora and Verena dispatch of the creature, with Diadora’s lightning frying him to a turn and Verena’s acid finishing him off. [Well done for an excellent battle. You really made quick work of the creature.]
• Meanwhile, Felix and Tristan appear in a completely different corridor, made of sandstone. Tristan enters a rage, Felix Calm Emotions him, and then the two, without further ado, start walking. Felix stops only to ask Tymora what will be his fate in the next hour (”Great Peril!”, Tymora answers) and to send out a Clairvoyance eye to see what Diadora and Verena are up to (it sees nothing).
• Felix and Tristan finally reach a room with Han, warrior of Nadar, and Kuri. Tristan is filled with an urge to fight Han, and the two have a magnificent duel [it was quite short, actually. It took us (especially me) some time to determine damage, effects, concealment, etc. but the whole thing took 6 rounds, which is absolutely amazing. You've built yourself quite a character, Koby.] while Felix and Han’s monkey-toad like companion quarrel over a jar [I'm kidding. Felix made a good call when he grabbed the thing's jar. He did a lot less damage without it, believe me. And choosing to focus on healing Tristan was the right thing to do - as was the idea to cast Fly on him]. Tristan won, and what happened later (becoming a Warrior of Nadar and who Nadar is) he will tell you later.
• Tristan gave Han a proper burial, not touching a thing of his equipment (great roleplaying decision) and Kuri and his jar vanished with a screech into thin air. Tristan then told hold of Felix, said “We are ready now” and the two returned to Diadora and Verena.
• Verena and Diadora, meanwhile, kept walking, marking with chalk their way. They suddenly encountered a middle-aged, moon-faced elf Wizard (evoker) who said that his name is Runir Alandel and that he is waiting for his friend Jolan. He had quite a jolly, somewhat naive air about him, and he took Megana’s (yes, she returned) behavior with a lot of humour, casting Mordekainen’s Magnificent Mansion and inviting her in. Verena chose to stay outside with him, drinking a glass of “spiced” milk. Jolan then appeared on the scene, and he and Runir chatted a bit, and both of them had no idea what maze Verena was talking about (”this is the Academy at Thule”). Verena told them that her friends were missing and Runir suggested calling Myrista (or Myr, as they called her) the Academy’s Divination Master. She at first sent her aide, being busy, and then appeared herself – in a very bad mood. She never heard of the maze either, nor did she know any of the gods Verena mentioned. She left to continue her scrying, and Runir gave Verena a tour of the place [I didn't have time to describe it properly during the session so: the Academy apparently consists of several building. You were in the main one. It's a large, sprawling building, five stories high and three stories below the ground - which hold the battle rooms, the main battle hall, the laboratories and "a lot of storage". The Master's Hall and the Master's Complex (which is where you are) occupies the entire third floor, with the rest of the floors holding classrooms, libraries, senior students' and continuing students' dorms, conference rooms, exam rooms, the sick bay and private dining rooms for the senior students and staff. The paintings you saw on the wall are of battles and people's portraits - some of them of creatures of unknown race or kind. You passed a few Masters and aides on the way, most of them warrior like, some of them with holy symbols like that Myr had on her person and others with other strange symbols [or no symbols at all] – quite a few with the symbol that you will later learn is Nadar’s]. After the tour you decide to rest in Runir’s Mansion, talking about magic and the gods with him. You learn about daemons, and that magic, as Runir believes, doesn’t come from Mystra or the weave. You eventually arrived at the mansion and when you walked in you found yourself back in the corridor you were in before you met Runir, with Diadora sleeping on the floor a few feet from you. As usual, when she woke up she remembered nothing of what happened, much to Verena’s frustration, especially when Tristan and Felix reappear, and think her “confused” as well. We leave you with Tristan eager to move on, Diadora agreeing with him but a little confused about the change that he went, Verena with a splitting headache, and Felix just happy that nobody died this time…
• We ended the session with you all leveling up, if I’m not mistaken. Welcome to level 16! Only 4 (or so) levels to go!

Enemies fought: A living spell of Reverse Gravity, Kuri the Guardian Night Vush, Han[on] Ibilixian Diamoncrusher Warrior of Nadar on earth.

One Liners: “I think it’s evil” Felix analyzes a demonic looking creature with a soul jar in one hand, a sacrificial dagger in the other and an aura of darkness around it. ” I’m a stick and I wouldn’t touch her!” Cel compliments Diadora.

Things found: What does Celandriel know? What’s with Diadora? What happened to Tristan? Who is Nadar? Who were all the people Verena claims she met? Where is this mysterious Great Academy (in Thule – but where in the Nine Hells is Thule)? Why are Celandriel and Tristan suddenly such good friends? And why are Diodora and Tristan in such a hurry?

End Point: ~10:00. You’ve spent almost four days in the maze inside the maze (day 34 in the maze).

Moldering along [22.2.08]

Sorry about the late update. I’m a bit preoccupied with my studies right now. But I’m taking a break from Hamlet to put this one online.

Session Date: 22.2.08
Game Date: 385 TME (to The Modern Era) Spring
Present Players: Mickey (Verena), Koby (Tristan), Effim (Diadora), Alex (Felix)
Day 31 in the Maze.
Start Time: ~10:00
NPCs Met: None.
Rooms ExploredThings Done:Felix slept until morning, and then ressurected Tristan and Diadora, while Verena lay tied up on the floor. Tristan talked to Verena and explained things to Felix, and then eased Verena out of her bonds [Mickey, I seriously suggest that "curing" herself becomes one of Verena's main goals. It will also probably bring her closer to Tristan and probably also Felix. Tristan, Felix and Verena are all afflicted in one way or another. This should bring you closer, and change the group interaction. How will Diadora respond?]. Verena had a rough night and didn’t sleep much, hence no spells (and maybe room for a journal?). Diadora came back to life in a very moody mood (no pun intended). This was her first time experiencing death, and she showed no appreciation to Felix for bringing her back to life. However, Felix does know that her soul must have been willing to return, or otherwise he couldn’t have brought her back to life (Efim, this is worthy of a journal entry, if ever there was a topic worthy of one. Alex, there’s also plenty of room for Felix to wonder and try to guess what’s going on – surely room for a journal too, especially considering what happened between you and “Cel” as you call him).  Tristan played the part of comforter for both of the girls (I couldn’t have planned a funnier situation. Room for a comic journal entry). You then set off, as Diadora was very eager to move on. Felix took the time to talk to his staff, Celandriel, and during their conversation the name of Tymora was raised. Celandriel had never heard of the name (which is completely understandable, since more than 385 years ago Tymora didn’t exist – Tyche was the goddess of both good and bad luck), and accused Felix of inventing his own god. Refusing to hear anything of it, Celandriel announced that he was now going to worship “gnihton” (gnee-ton), god of staffs. Diadora smirked when she overheard this, and Felix got into a fight with Celandriel, which was only stopped by “the battle of the molds” (second time a round that I get you through molds ). You entered a corridor full of mold of various colors and textures, until you reached an area of black mold (Verena – “black molde is also known as “melancholy molde” or “molde of despair”. Encountered underground only, it is the produce of magic: caused by the violent death of a powerful spellcaster, usually by a curse or powerful transmutative magic. It generates a powerful aura of despair around it, causing the weak-willed to view their life as a complete failure or their current task as a useless endeavor. Attempts have been made to artificially grow it, as it’s a rare and required component to certain powerful restoratives and is a good deterrent against thieves, however, the plant is highly toxic and must not be touched with bare hands, and will not grow beyond a certain radius from the area of said violent death”, Nexteous Hedriges, herbolgy and alchemy master, Baldur’s Gate Arcane School for the Gifted). Tristan fell into deep despair, where he will remain for some time, whilst Diadora, ironically, found new interest in life. Tristan carefully gathered some mold for her in a bag, which she stowed in her backpack, and you moved on a bit – and were attacked. Out of the moldy walls, from behind you and before you, appeared two hideous creatures, humanoids made out of mold, they seemed (you know nothing about them). They attacked you, and you suffered from their chilling auras, which seemed to freeze the lifeblood in you. Felix fell at the first moments of combat, as he was bitten by the yellow, noxious mouth of the creature behind you, and his body collapsed completely from the poison. Verena then cast ward that protected you from cold, whilst the mold creature before you attacked Tristan, and Tristan fought back as well as could, under the effects of despair. Another mold creature came out of the mold in front of you, and Diadora summoned an air elemental to help Tristan out. Tristan entered into a fury and then a rage, and displayed an amazing ability to sustain damage and constitution drain without dropping (-300 and something hp. That’s more hp than my epic wizard has). Tristan drops one poisonous mold creature, Diadora knocks another one prone (giving you a few rounds), Verena casts some damage spells (magic missile, mostly) and Bigby’s Grasping Hand to keep one creature at bay. Diadora’s air elemental did no damage, but Diadora’s favourite worm spell does, and amongst all of you, you manage to kill the creatures. Tristan then drops to the floor, very-very dead, and Verena is left, weakened by one of the creature’s bite, to raise Felix from the dead. However, both she and Diadora must sleep first, to replenish their spells, and Felix must wait ’til morning before he can raise Tristan, as he’s got no more “raise dead” spells learnt (tip – buy scrolls for these kind of things, just in case).

Enemies fought: Three mold creatures.

Things found: What’s with Celandriel? What and how much does he know? Black mold – for Diadora. Why was Diadora so upset when she came back to life?

End Point: ~12:00. You’ve spent about a day and two hours in the maze inside the maze.

Dendrick’s Wares

Dendrick, the middle-aged ranger who sells information in the inn, is generally in the inn once every 3-7 days, for 2-3 days. He always sits in the same place, and drinks the same drink (Frethian Ale). He’s been in the maze for 27 years now, and so is a mine of information on the maze – a mine that he is more than willing to share, for a price:

• Information about new kinds of monsters you’ve met. (Basic info: 50gp; Combat info: 150 gp; Combat info + Lore: 200 gp).
• Information about certain, specified, rooms in the maze. (50-300 gp, depending on the room)
• Background information or explanations about certain groups, people, judges, challenges or parts in the maze. (50-2000 gp, depending on the information and the details required)
• Location or lore on certain items, found within the maze. (100-500 gp, depending on the item and the lore required)
• Information about the gems. (200 gp for the gems in area I, 500 gp for the gems in area II, 700 gp for general information about the gems in area III)
• Specific information. You can hire Dendrick for up to a week at a time, to gather information for you. (negotiable. Prices begin with 2,000 gp and can reach 10,000 gp – it depends on the nature of the information requested and how hard will it be to garner it. Half of the sum will be payed in advance and half upon delivery. Dendrick will keep a 300 gp deposit, even if he fails to recover the information)

Successful Diplomacy checks will reduce prices, however, with each successful reduction, it will become significantly harder to reduce his prices again, so consider well when it’s worthwhile to bargain and when it isn’t.

Felix’s Journal: The Rise of Tristan

This is the ceremony that took place in the small room, in the maze within the maze.

The ceremony took place twice, once for Tristan, and then, after a short rest, for Diadora.

Felix knew that the wisest thing to do was to bring Tristan back while his potential enemy was fast asleep, but before that something had to be done about Verena – he was sure that the Lady would not approve his performing the ceremony while Verena was in such a condition. Sighing heavily, he untied her legs and her hands. After additional thought, he re-tied her hands, but this time at the front. The gag he left in place – just in case; under the circumstances, the Lady would have to understand. He helped her to sit more comfortably, and hoped she would not hold a grudge later.

Well, back to important matters. Banishing Verena out of his mind for the time being, he started preparing the ceremony. The conditions have to be completed and the requirements fulfilled, before the request to bring Tristan back is made; rules are rules – at least in such matters. Carefully he picked the bloody sack from the place it fell. After removing his gloves, Felix began, with a certain measure of disgust, to take out the pieces of flesh with his bare hands and to arrange them on the floor of the cave, trying to reconstruct the original body as closely as possible. With whatever was left, it was not such an easy task as one might imagine. When he was done, he paused to inspect his masterpiece and sighed – this was definitely not one of his best days. Following luck has its ups and downs, he was taught, but evidence is harsher than could be imagined. Oh, well.

Now, what was he to do now? Oh, right – he took from his silver pouch three candles: a big white one, to symbolize the increasing of life, a small black one, to symbolize the diminishing of death, and a thin golden one, to symbolize the evasiveness of luck and its dominance over the former two. The Life candle Felix put on Tristan’s chest, or in the general area of the vaguely Tristan-reminding jigsaw puzzle. The Death candle was put at the legs. Finally, the Luck candle was put above the head. Asserting that the Candles were aligned properly, he placed twelve coins around himself and the body muttering a proper incantation as he was laying each coin – thus forming a circle around both of them.

Inspecting with satisfaction the cozy setting he has created, he got down to stand on his knees at the feet of the body and began the ritual itself. As properly – with a prayer in Celestial:

“Lady Luck, I pray to thee – hear my plight at this hour of great need. Bestow upon this mighty warrior a bit of your fortune and allow his soul to find its way back to the body, thus reuniting this person and allow him to continue his path in the World and complete the Quest he has taken upon himself. He has taken great risks and faced many dangers trusting his luck, but this journey, the Greatest of Journeys, he has embarked upon now is premature.” At this the black candle ignited with black flame and, clockwise, one after the other, each coin turned black. “I beg of you, Mistress of Fortune, grant me the power to call back the soul of this being named Tristan and reunite it with its material carrier.” At this the white candle ignited with a blinding white light and beams of white light shot upward from the now black coins – the beams appeared counter-clockwise now. Felix took out the coin with Tymora’s face he used as a symbol of his faith, said “Thank you, Lady Tymora, for the strokes of luck you keep bestowing upon me and my friends – and please do not deny me your face this time” and tossed the coin upward, making it spin. As he was doing that, the last candle, the most important one, ignited with soft, but bright, golden light, illuminating the surroundings and combining with the white light from the Life candle and the beams of light to practically make the black flame unnoticeable.

The coin continued to spin in the air and wasn’t showing any inclination of falling down, but he knew that he wasn’t to dawdle – he had one more thing to do and it will reveal him whether the Lady has abandoned him or whether he still was one of her chosen favorites. Felix took the diamond dust he has sanctified well beforehand and threw it in the air – however, instead of falling down in a cloud, as one might expect, the dust formed itself in the shape of a large humanoid, matching loosely Tristan’s measures, glittering in a multitude of colors. The spinning coin slowed down until it stopped, showing it’s face to Felix, and then suddenly flashed in a blinding golden light, forcing the cleric to shield his eyes. He has heard a soft “whoosh” when the dust has fallen down atop of the body.

As suddenly as the light appeared, it was gone. Felix instinctively extended his hand to catch the falling coin, which was cool to his touch, as usual, and looked at the body in satisfaction. The white candle and the surrounding coins were no more, but in the place of the jigsaw made of mass of mutilated flesh, lay a healthy looking man – one could almost believe he was sleeping, if not for the fact that he wasn’t breathing. The only illumination was the small flame of the golden candle, contrasting the flame of the black one.

“Thank you, my Lady,” he said wearily, snuffed the black flame and watched Tristan take the first shuddering breath of his new life.

New header, customized for us!

Hi guys,

Will you just look at the great header Mickey (a.k.a. Verena) created for our site! With this header and the new pages and journal entries, the site is really starting to take shape. Keep it up guys!

Your loving DM

Diadora’s Journal #2: Those whom we met- and those who met us :)

Journal – a review of the event so far

It has been a while since I had time to review my notes and add more details, we have been extremely busy lately, but that must not be an excuse- for my goal is clear and the journey must be recorded for the organization…

Hmmm, now that I think about it, I must admit that our last encounters were, well more strange than usual.

It seems that this maze is drawing a vast assortment of… Well FREAKS!!!

It all started with an old man, who at first seemed to have some connection to the world of nature, and I say at first- because he quickly revealed his true colors- being a “poor victim” of some sort of magical experiment of sort- who “just happens” to sell magical scrolls at ridiculously high prices…

If this dude wasn’t bad enough, our next encounter introduced us to another group of adventurers- a big smelly oaf- who isn’t an oaf- but rather have a very low self esteem, also suffering from a progressed case of paranoia for he believes that everyone view him as an oaf; an elf, or was it a human (so hard to tell when they are hooded) who couldn’t stop crying for one reason or another- a wizard or was it a cleric or a paladin (don’t remember and don’t care) who managed to spin Verena on his little finger with a smile (an ugly one if you ask me) and a dwarf, I think it was a dwarf who engaged in a drinking ritual with Tristan (note for self- REMIND Tristan to charge his clients for the ale- especially dwarves!)…

I bet you wonder how so many weird individuals could gather in a single place…. I wonder that as well… but wait; I kept the “best” for last…

The icing on the weirdo cake was a man (well manish thingy) named Felix… or Parrot – as I refer to him (I apologize to all you colorful winged beings around the world).

This one is indeed a piece of work: He walks around in golden armor which is extremely noisy and which reflects light! Not the smartest thing to do especially in a hostile environment (second note to self- coat his armor with some animal “produces”- will definitely improve camouflage and might actually improve the smell).

Even stranger than his choice of clothes are his manners: His seems to believe in “Luck” and in a Luck “Goddess”- he has a “magical” coin which he flips in order to determine his next course of action… I mean come on! Allowing a coin to dictate one’s route is as ridicules as Tristan’s belief that he can actually cook…

But wait, things get even more bizarre than that: at some point we were “lucky” to find a talking stick… yes, you heard me right, a TALKING… STICK… Not only didn’t it want to shut up, like EVER, but it also seemed to befriend our most loud and annoying member… Felix – you can only imagine what this couple did together- speaking and arguing as if they were a married couple- only that one of them was… A STICK!

If you wonder why I said that he was a team member- it’s because our “smart” companions allowed him to join us- a very irrational and illogical decision if you ask me…

Since Felix, a.k.a Parrot joined our team- he managed to be turned to stone, locked in a trap room where he was forced to dance while a big pile of stone was falling on his head, and oh- locked in a small jar! – “Just” what we needed…

Although, I must admit that he possess one redeeming quality which is the ability to revive our group members – healing various sorts of affliction

Doh! I guess it is my punishment for skipping those healing sessions in the village- preferring to go and blast things instead- so I guess I have no choice but except Felix as a member, for the time being…

Oh, I think someone is coming, I better continue this later…

One Question To Rule Them All… [8.2.08]

Session Date: 8.2.08
Game Date: 385 TME (to The Modern Era) Spring
Present Players: Mickey (Verena), Koby (Tristan), Effim (Diadora), Alex (Felix)
Day 31 in the Maze.
Start Time: ~16:00
NPCs Met: None [Felix made some new friends (or so he thinks), but he hasn't seen them. He only knows that one of them has a high, cold and grating voice and seems to prefer to talk Infernal (even though he did speak common to his accomplice/colleague)]

Rooms Explored\Things Done: It seems as though not much was accomplished in this session, but let’s focus what was:

• Tristan died a horrible death (coup de graced and then eaten by the Ragebriar).
• Verena was shaken and then stunned by the sight while Diadora entered her own kind of rage, summoning a fire elemental and then a tyrannosaurus to fight for her, turning plants (that actually did a hefty amount of damage, laughs aside), and lashing out with spells. Verena joined her eventually, with an impressive Outiluke’s Freezing Sphere and Acid Orb, while the Ragebriar busied himself with finishing off Tristan and then putting a dent into Diadora’s tyrannosaurus. Eventually he fell, though, and the longest and hardest battle you’ve been through yet, ended.
• While you were busy looking at what was left of the beautiful garden that you destroyed, Felix was captured in a metal container (invisible), and teleported out of the room and into a forcecage (only after he was damaged so badly he nearly lost consciousness. Ain’t Quicken the best?). But Tymora’s blessing was upon him (i.e. natural 20) and he maintained a small glimmering of consciousness – enough to hear that the owner of the cruel, high voice was into taking his staff, Celandriel. He then lost consciousness and direct contact with Tymora (i.e. you can take contemplative now if you want), who allowed him to sacrifice a part of his essence to save his staff. Felix did, and by the time he woke up, he was back with his friends, painfully wounded, and yet with the staff (much, much more powerful now) in his hands.
• Meanwhile, Diadora collected Tristan’s remains into a sack, poured cold water on Verena, who fainted once the Ragebriar died, picked her up and asked “where in the nine hells is Felix? We need some major healing here” and waved the bloody sack with Tristan’s body parts before pale Verena’s eyes (a lot of bloody sack waving was done that session. I hope that you aren’t always so mirthful when a party member dies horribly)
• The answer to that question was quickly supplied, as was Felix’s much damaged person, by the cruel, high, infernal speaking voice that Felix so learned to love. Diadora and Verena were forced to agree to ask a question on his behalf in the question room, in exchange for Felix - which they did.
• Felix then healed himself, prayed to Tymora, in thanks, and seemed raptured with his staff, Celandriel, to the extent that he didn’t want to move on, but wanted to stay in the ruined hall for the night.
• Diadora insisted that you move on, and so you entered the following room, which contained another, smaller and wilder garden, with a lake, a statue of a knight, and a Scouring Stanchion. You decided you wanted to avoid the Stanchion, so you circumnavigated it and walked out of the room slowly but safely. The next room had an inscription on its door (Alex, you want to have Felix use up his reroll ability every day – don’t save it for too long). The inscription said “Cowards Will Meet Their End” (as Verena barely deciphered it), and you entered the room with some trepidation. Once you were inside the room, a strange blue light started to glow and grow to your right, and Diadora made a quick decision, running out of the room through the other door, and straight to her death – for a sphere of ultimate destruction was there, awaiting all cowards. Meanwhile, Verena asked Felix to ask Celandriel to cast detect magic, which he did, but by the time he had any answers, they were surrounded by the light – which allowed them to ask one question each. Your question, after much debate, was asked by Verena and was “How can I finish the test, and yet not cause the destruction of the world by complying to Acoor’s demand?” The answer was relayed to Verena alone, as was the answer to Felix’s question “How can I get to Karsepolis’s Ancient Library?”.
• When the light, and all the pleasantness that came with it faded, Verena and Felix discovered that Diadora’s dead, Verena entered her “frenzied” state and attacked Felix, bringing him down to 0 hp, and then fainting herself. Felix recovered, healed himself, and extremely annoyed, tied up Verena, gaged her, and kicked her, to wake her up. He asked her why she attacked him without reason, she denied ever attacking him, and after a short argument, he went to sleep “so I can resurrect the others in the morning”, leaving Verena bound and gagged all night. He then resurrected Tristan and Diadora in the morning, and they explained Verena’s condition to Felix, and untied her. Inter-party relations will probably be a bit tense after this. Yikes! But the role-playing this session was amazing. Hopefully, next time you’ll also accomplish more,room-wise.

Enemies fought: Ragebriar from last session.

Things found: Who is he guy with the disturbing voice? What does he want with the ancient library?

One liners/Character interaction: Diadora rocked this session:

“Two of my party members have deep relationships with sticks”

All the sack waving, “meat” flinging, etc.

Diadora, the great and wonderful druid helped tear down a beautiful garden.

Verena spent most of the session throwing up or fainting (or attacking Felix).

Verena to Felix: “Nothing bothers you with how this room looks like?” (in the room you trashed, with the smell of sulphur raising from the ground and Diadora holding the bleeding sack with Tristan’s remains)
Felix to Verena: “The sack is a little disturbing”

End Point: ~10:00. You’ve spent about twenty four hours in the maze inside the maze.

Tristan’s Journal [Session Date 18.01.08]

30 days in the maze…
damnit, this is taking too long
its nearly a month, and we hardly taken a look on the second part of that maze…
how hard is it to find one stupid orc? if he’s not dead yet… that is
probably went into the dragon’s cave stright in the beginning, getting that fireblast, wandering what happened while their wizard tries to get them away…
if he didn’t run off there crying like a little baby…
heh…
wow…
serious deja-vu…
anyway…
what? who are those floating thingies?
ahh… some more shadows for me to kill, why can’t there be normal things that bleed?
I don’t do non-bleeding-stuff, not when I’m this tired anyway.
lucky Verena was there anyway, I think, all I remember is she tried to kill me with that wand on my head…
note to self – teach Verena that in order to hurt stuff she needs to hit them with pointy stuff.
if she’ll want to learn anything, that is, anything not from talking sticks OR the gods that “guide our way in this forsaken maze bla bla bla…”

long story short, we decided (= the group, Mystra didn’t have anything to do with this descision) to go back to the inn… I mean… MY inn, its so nice to have a place I can call “home”, I think.
that spooky Dendrick was there, D naturally went to him (she really likes guys with defects, like that nice one-eyed dwarf we once met, I should tell her someday she deserve better), the next thing I know she pays him for info on the gems.
I mean, I knew she’s fast… but thats just too forward, good thing we got out on our way right after it.

oh yah, nearly forgot, before that there was that nice big-dude-artist that smelled funny, he seemed knowledgeable, but accepting he’s fate like this is pretty dumb, even for a human… he’s name was…
Tibur, yes, once I’m out I should have him out of the maze, I believe he can be pretty, if you’ll take all the melodrama out first, can’t wait to see he’s face once he’ll figure out that if there isn’t a maze, he can’t be inside it as a punishment… heh… talking
about loop-holes
oh no, wait, what am I saying? maybe his god can hear my thoughts and is going to… lead me in the wrong direction of the maze so I’ll get lost in here!
heh… maybe I’ll let Verena read this some day

so going to the maze within maze , thats what I was writing about earlier, D found out there are 2 trials in this maze (the way I see it anyway), one is confronting yourself, answering endless question, so we went inside, answering them…
I’ll see what I can dig up from my memory about them, it was just couple of minutes ago
and here is how they went.

well, better wrap things up now, D and V are coming and we better head on the second part of that maze, theart I like to call “confront your enemies”, it is supposed to be interesting enough.
see you in a while.