A Company of Fools - Blog

[descriptions]

Nasty stuff from the northlands

Artefacts recovered from the wastes 

 descriptions 

These weapons are largely named for the noise they make when discharged all are very simple to use once mastered and fire horrendously fast compared with just about every other weapon in the game. Most are ranged and are largely assumed to be magic of an unknown type.  They also have the capacity to utterly terrify even the boldest Kethian tribes man on sight and are taboo with them to a level that worked even conventional worked metal is not.The names given are either descriptive or in some way onomatopoeic based on  the sound it makes when discharged.

BzzCrack

resembles a for shortened and rather stubby cross bow without a span  made of some entirely of some light weight metal it is feature less externally except for an arrow shaft diameter hole in the face where the span  on the cross bow if it where a cross bow would be attached. This goes about three inches into it and then stops. If is can be discharged and not all of them can it as many are either inert when found or become so after a few discharges. This seems to require a steady pressure on the place where a cross bow trigger would be ant the taking up of a shooting stance, there is no trigger and it active the device discharges with a soft buzz  then a load crack. what it discharges is unclear as it is in most conditions invisible thought after several discharges the area of the hole becomes warm and some have reported that it shows as a ray of light would in a dusty or smoky environment. Whatever it is seems to burn its target and largely ignores any sort of armour beyond burning or melting  a neat hole in it of similar dimensions to that of the hole in the span end of the item. One thing is certain its discharge has a devastating effect on flesh appearing to leave deeply burned locally to the strike and almost cooked beyond that. There are some reports of lightning arcing all over metal armour but those few sages who have heard of these things and Kethian folk lore discount this. There seems to be no way of reloading the thing or of telling how many times it can be discharged before becoming inert. 

GM note when found the item has 2d6p charges but don't tell the player.

Fzattt

 weapons table

Weapon Name	Strength Required	Skill Level	Damage	Shield Damage	Rate of fire	Weapon Size	Max range	Damage type
BzzCrack Fzattt Spitter	8 5 5	low low low	4d10 Special Special	2 nil 1d6p	3s 5s 5s	medium small small	500 120 100	E E P

Source: Nasty stuff from the northlands

[descriptions]

Nasty stuff from the northlands

Artefacts recovered from the wastes 

 descriptions 

These weapons are largely named for the noise they make when discharged all are very simple to use once mastered and fire horrendously fast compared with just about every other weapon in the game. Most are ranged and are largely assumed to be magic of an unknown type.  They also have the capacity to utterly terrify even the boldest Kethian tribes man on sight and are taboo with them to a level that worked even conventional worked metal is not.The names given are either descriptive or in some way onomatopoeic based on  the sound it makes when discharged.

BzzCrack

resembles a for shortened and rather stubby cross bow without a span  made of some entirely of some light weight metal it is feature less externally except for an arrow shaft diameter hole in the face where the span  on the cross bow if it where a cross bow would be attached. This goes about three inches into it and then stops. If is can be discharged and not all of them can it as many are either inert when found or become so after a few discharges. This seems to require a steady pressure on the place where a cross bow trigger would be ant the taking up of a shooting stance, there is no trigger and it active the device discharges with a soft buzz  then a load crack. what it discharges is unclear as it is in most conditions invisible thought after several discharges the area of the hole becomes warm and some have reported that it shows as a ray of light would in a dusty or smoky environment. Whatever it is seems to burn its target and largely ignores any sort of armour beyond burning or melting  a neat hole in it of similar dimensions to that of the hole in the span end of the item. One thing is certain its discharge has a devastating effect on flesh appearing to leave deeply burned locally to the strike and almost cooked beyond that. There are some reports of lightning arcing all over metal armour but those few sages who have heard of these things and Kethian folk lore discount this. There seems to be no way of reloading the thing or of telling how many times it can be discharged before becoming inert. 

GM note when found the item has 2d6p charges but don't tell the player.

Fzattt
a much shorter and slimmer item resembling in many ways a stubby wand with a slight asymmetric kink in it

 weapons table

Weapon Name	Strength Required	Skill Level	Damage	Shield Damage	Rate of fire	Weapon Size	Max range	Damage type
BzzCrack Fzattt Spitter	8 5 5	low low low	4d10 Special Special	2 nil 1d6p	3s 5s 5s	medium small small	500 120 100	E E P

Source: Nasty stuff from the northlands

[EvilGinger]

An Epic tale From another Part of Kalamar VIII

 

The Story Continues

A Good Day

Ngithol listened calmly to the prospect of them engaging this...
'Tanarukk'  as everyone around the town of Rurr scrabbled to get themselves out of  it's way. She listened and thought back to the tomes she'd thoroughly  studied and tried hard to memorize. Tomes filled with knowledge of the  arcane, filled with information she had hoped might lead her home and  not be the product of a drug induced scribble session some writer  experienced. She ran through the steps for one of the 'simpler' spells  it had contained and found herself working through it as though it were  some simple mechanical design. She smiled inwardly at the feeling of the  various parts of the spell slotting together becoming a greater whole.  That is until she came up to the part where she always failed. The part  where she, a dwarf that'd faced down angry leviathans once upon a time,  felt scared. To complete the spell she'd have to open herself up to  energies, energies she felt firmly were responsible for the life she now  lived. She sighed as she felt herself unable/unwilling to open that  door at this time and watched in her minds eye all the pieces of the  spell drift away like sand held in her open hands, sand that was now  being replaced by tell tale signs of another 'episode'  Ngithol gritted her teeth and set about busying herself with the civilians and  their evacuation, determined to not lose her composure again so soon.  She knew they'd most likely misunderstand her mood and demeanor but  could care less, as long as it kept the flames at bay.

-----Several instances of Surliness later-----

Blood.  It always intrigued her how some claimed it held mystical properties.  How it could seperate and tie together groups. How it could purportedly  cause some to rise to greatness and others devolve into beasts. Beasts  which now lay slain at the feet of her partners. The blood of these orcs  held no promise, no reason, no explanation for their savagery or  brutality. It held only their life essence, an essence twisted to  violence and cruelty. An essence that seemed all too ready to abandon  it's liquid prison given the chance. She thought back to the children  that'd been attacked by these orcs and the fact that it was only through  her group's luck and timing that they'd narrowly avoided being  orphaned, a fate she'd not been so lucky to avoid as a child. She  thought of the others undoubtedly not as lucky as those three, the  hardship that would forcibly be placed upon countless children if her  group failed in their mission. She looked up at her comrades as they set  out and when she believed none were looking forced herself again  through the spell she'd been stymied by countless times over the years.  She paused for only a heartbeat before wrenching open the 'door' she'd  been afraid of, determined to no longer let her own fear prevent her  from doing all she could to protect the untold innocents.

Time  seemingly stretched for a moment as adrenaline flooded her body and she  closed her eyes in anticipation of the flames she knew would surely  engulf her. After a few heartbeats in which the flames did not come she  opened her eyes and beheld a small mote of green fire dancing languidly  in her hand. Hypnotically it moved around her hand, flowing against her  palm before seemingly moving to caress her fingers as she flexed them.  She realized it was connected to her by a thread of power, a thread she  now knew was binding it's destructive potential to her will. She looked  at the orc corpse at her feet and willed more power into the spell and  marveled as the mote suddenly spewed forth a bolt of flame that reduced  the corpse to ash in the blink of an eye. With a thought she dismissed  the thread of power and watched the mote disappear leaving her hand  empty and unharmed. She hurried to catch up to her party, her mind now  alive and racing to recall all the information the tome had contained.  She knew she might need more than flame for the things yet to come.

-----One Dead Tanarukk later-----

Ngithol felt aches and popped a few joints as she sat down to truly try and  rest for the first time in what seemed like an age. It felt like an age  since she'd pushed herself hard like she had to try and keep up with her  group. Combining that with the battles they'd fought and that it'd been  over a day since the last proper sleep made for a really strong urge to  nap. A Tanarukk dead with his axe now resting in her lap, various people saved and her  now having taken steps to use the arcane. All in all a good day. She  looked up at Laer-Thuil as they sat in the druidic circle, noting the elves were readying for  their own departure and drug herself up and approached them.

As she neared the elves she spoke out in Fhoki, "Laer-Thuil,  a moment of your time perhaps?" hoping that might prevent others from  thinking she intended some social faux pas. As the elves turned she  pulled a few pieces of leather parchment from underneath her chainmail,  they seemed old and weathered yet she obviously took great care to  preserve them. As she unfolded them, it became obvious they were covered  quite thoroughly in script. One intimately familiar to Ngithol as she'd penned the original parchment years ago and had periodically  added to it as time went on. The script made up a letter meant for  Mebzuth if ever she found a way to get it to him and detailed much of  what she'd been through and experienced. It mentioned her highs, her  lows and how she'd never once found as stalwart a companion in life. All  this and more was on the pages she now readied to hand to the elf, yet  she was willing to risk the possibility of another seeing such a side of  her if it meant finding her home.

As she proffered it to Laer-Thuil she suddenly spoke in elvish, "I know elves are a long lived race and  prone to remembering things forgotten by those with shorter lives. I  wonder perhaps if the script on that page might seem familiar to you or  your companions in any way. If so I'd greatly appreciate any information  on how you might know of it. If you do not recognize it, perhaps you  could indulge me in advising me on any nearby ruins that might once have  been part of a fort, one built into the side of a mountain?"

Source: An Epic tale From another Part of Kalamar VIII

[By: Jesse C Cohoon]

Some Sage advice

6 Ways to Add Interest to Your Dungeon

By: Jesse C Cohoon

Many times people think of dungeons as these static things that monsters inhabit, but if viewed as an interconnected, alive system that opens up many more possibilities than would ordinarily be possible.

1.      When designing dungeons, remember that enemies move around. But don’t limit their movement to just one area. Keep in mind that sound travels, and a battle in one area, attract enemies coming to the scene from different areas, and in the heat of the battle, PCs may find themselves surrounded by enemies in battle where they can neither move forward nor retreat until the situation changes.

2.      Add varying types of obstacles and ways of conquering them. In the Zelda franchise games, there are lots of puzzles, many of which are solved by blowing up obstacles or fake walls, pushing blocks/ rocks, swimming, activating switches in a specific order, and accessing areas that they need some sort of protection/ alteration to enter. In each of these cases, Link had equipment to help him out: gloves to give him strength, earrings to allow him to withstand heat, special armor that allowed him to swim underwater and the like. In Zelda: Skyward Sword, the hero gets a Batman-esque grappling hook type weapon that allows him to be pulled to walls, stationary helicopter type units, and ivy covered rock facades.    

But just because the players don’t have the proper equipment/ powers doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be allowed to enter such areas, but they may face difficulties in getting around / damage while in such areas. For instance in an area without the proper heat protection equipment, a person may get damage while in extremely hot or cold areas.

3.      Allow different areas to be opened up as the players get more powerful. Just because a party went through an area doesn’t mean that there aren’t more secrets to be discovered. There may be hidden passages, areas blocked by monsters that they didn’t fight (or circumvented), underground areas that they have to have digging claws to get to, or areas that were previously too high for them to reach. When characters get “fly,â€� “passwall,â€� and “reduce/enlargeâ€� abilities (either through their equipment or by spells), the dungeon has an entirely different feeling.

4.      Change the dungeon in a significant way.This is a classic in video games. Some changes that you can make are: having the dungeon flood, it on fire or filled with smoke, upside down, or even portable (for instance a dungeon in a giant robot or on a dragon turtle) Other changes that you might not have thought of are: filled with quicksand, time shifted (thank you Zelda: Skyward Sword,) collapsing, overgrown, and vastly changed monsters. Even changing the climate changes the dungeon. For instance, having a previously hot area change to freezing changes the dungeon.

5.      Change up the situation. Instead of seeing a dungeon as a thing where characters enter the dungeon and maim/ kill anything that is threatening, and loot their enemies, the dungeon could be a thing of a peace keeping party where negotiation rules the day, an espionage mission where the characters need to be stealthy so as not to get caught, or a rescue mission where they have to be careful who they kill, otherwise they may end up killing the party that they’re trying to save.

6.      Plan in layers. The best dungeons have multiple layers: from deep underground or underwater reaching up many stories in the sky. Having puzzles that span these levels, clues for the story-behind-the-story, and boss battles the enemies of which are massive (both in terms of scope, but in terms of the number of participants), makes your dungeons truly epic!

Posted by Jesse Cohoon on the Fantasy Roleplaying planes blog 

The Original article and rather the interesting Blog it comes from are here 

 

Source: Some Sage advice

[EvilGinger]

Somthing for the future

A conversion of the map for one of the parts of the second Iron Gods book

WIP ONE

It started of as a tracing of the map from the PDF but has been adapted and indeed is still being adapted as I work it into my bespoke setting. an this has included inserting a base layer which is the same one used for most of my northern wilds battle mats

I have quite a lot more work to do on this yet and I may not be needing it for some time however I wanted to get it up here and show it off as its the first attempt I have made at such a thing.

WIP TWO

A bit more work done in particular trying to give the three dimensional effect that the original map I traced form had to the fortress walls in particular

WIP THREE

 I am now going to go off and work on improving some of the common map textures for a bit particularly that of the flowers so common in the north in the short summer.

WIP FOUR

Now  after some more tweaking and the addition of the ubiquitous summer flowers I think we are getting there

Source: Somthing for the future

[Descriptions]

Nasty stuff from the northlands

Artefacts recovered from the wastes 

Descriptions 

These weapons are largely named for the noise they make when discharged all are very simple to use once mastered and fire horrendously fast compared with just about every other weapon in the game. Most are ranged and are largely assumed to be magic of an unknown type.  They also have the capacity to utterly terrify even the boldest Kethian tribes man on sight and are taboo with them to a level that worked even conventional worked metal is not.The names given are either descriptive or in some way onomatopoeic based on  the sound it makes when discharged.

It is also important to note that whilst these may all appear to be in some way enchanted and analogous to the wands arcane spell casters make on occasion none of them  detect as in any way magical appearing entirely mundane in all such divinations, they are also to all intents and purposes indestructible in normal use much as a +5 piece of equipment is.

BzzCrack

resembles a for shortened and rather stubby cross bow without a span  made of some entirely of some light weight metal it is feature less externally except for an arrow shaft diameter hole in the face where the span  on the cross bow if it where a cross bow would be attached. This goes about three inches into it and then stops. If is can be discharged and not all of them can it as many are either inert when found or become so after a few discharges. This seems to require a steady pressure on the place where a cross bow trigger would be ant the taking up of a shooting stance, there is no trigger and it active the device discharges with a soft buzz  then a load crack. what it discharges is unclear as it is in most conditions invisible thought after several discharges the area of the hole becomes warm and some have reported that it shows as a ray of light would in a dusty or smoky environment. Whatever it is seems to burn its target and largely ignores any sort of armour beyond burning or melting  a neat hole in it of similar dimensions to that of the hole in the span end of the item. One thing is certain its discharge has a devastating effect on flesh appearing to leave deeply burned locally to the strike and almost cooked beyond that. There are some reports of lightning arcing all over metal armour but those few sages who have heard of these things and Kethian folk lore discount this. There seems to be no way of reloading the thing or of telling how many times it can be discharged before becoming inert. 

Distance (ft) Attack Die
5 - 80 d20p
81 - 140  d20p-4
141 - 190 d20p-6
191 - 250 d20p-8
250+         d20p-10

These might seem low but the item has no way of sifting it except looking along its length as is as such no more accurate than a crossbow.

GM note when found the item has 2d6p charges but don't tell the player.

Fzattt
a much shorter and in parts slimmer item resembling in many ways a stubby wand with a slight asymmetric kink in unlike the former it is not clear where the thing discharges from and some have reported discharging it at themselves as a result. fortunately the effects of the discharge are non lethal but do cause the target to become slowed or even stunned. As before the discharge is not visible though some with  low light vision report a faint bluish flash in complete darkness as the discharge strikes its target.

The mechanical effect is to attempt to force a ToP check with the discharge causing 2d10p points of virtual damage for this purpose.the effect on the target depends on the result of the check.

Mechanically any hit add a +1 to the speed of any action in progress and may cause spell mishaps other than that the normal rule for trauma apply except that the strike is not particularly painful having a numbing effect. Multiple hits stack and can cause fatal results on rare occasions but most just increase the time to recover

Distance (ft) Attack Die
5 - 30 d20p
31 - 50 d20p-4
51 - 70 d20p-6
71 - 100 d20p-8
100+       d20p-10

Spitter

Combined  weapons table

Weapon Name	Strength Required	Skill Level	Damage	Shield Damage	Rate of fire	Weapon Size	Max range	Damage type
BzzCrack Fzattt Spitter	8 5 5	low low low	4d10 Special Special	2 nil 1d6p	3s 5s 5s	medium small small	500 120 100	E E P

Source: Nasty stuff from the northlands

[EvilGinger]

The finalized half ruined fortress

The final Version

I am quite pleased with this but it has led me to realise that I need to do more maps for earlier in the story particularly I need one of the Market square at Torch before I run it again.

Source: The finalized half ruined fortress

[Descriptions]

Nasty stuff from the northlands

Artefacts recovered from the wastes 

Descriptions 

These weapons are largely named for the noise they make when discharged all are very simple to use once mastered and fire horrendously fast compared with just about every other weapon in the game. Most are ranged and are largely assumed to be magic of an unknown type.  They also have the capacity to utterly terrify even the boldest Kethian tribes man on sight and are taboo with them to a level that worked even conventional worked metal is not.The names given are either descriptive or in some way onomatopoeic based on  the sound it makes when discharged.

It is also important to note that whilst these may all appear to be in some way enchanted and analogous to the wands arcane spell casters make on occasion none of them  detect as in any way magical appearing entirely mundane in all such divinations, they are also to all intents and purposes indestructible in normal use much as a +5 piece of equipment is.

BzzCrack

resembles a for shortened and rather stubby cross bow without a span  made of some entirely of some light weight metal it is feature less externally except for an arrow shaft diameter hole in the face where the span  on the cross bow if it where a cross bow would be attached. This goes about three inches into it and then stops. If is can be discharged and not all of them can it as many are either inert when found or become so after a few discharges. This seems to require a steady pressure on the place where a cross bow trigger would be ant the taking up of a shooting stance, there is no trigger and it active the device discharges with a soft buzz  then a load crack. what it discharges is unclear as it is in most conditions invisible thought after several discharges the area of the hole becomes warm and some have reported that it shows as a ray of light would in a dusty or smoky environment. Whatever it is seems to burn its target and largely ignores any sort of armour beyond burning or melting  a neat hole in it of similar dimensions to that of the hole in the span end of the item. One thing is certain its discharge has a devastating effect on flesh appearing to leave deeply burned locally to the strike and almost cooked beyond that. There are some reports of lightning arcing all over metal armour but those few sages who have heard of these things and Kethian folk lore discount this. There seems to be no way of reloading the thing or of telling how many times it can be discharged before becoming inert. 

Distance (ft) Attack Die
5 - 80 d20p
81 - 140  d20p-4
141 - 190 d20p-6
191 - 250 d20p-8
250+         d20p-10

These might seem low but the item has no way of sighting it except looking along its length as is as such no more accurate than a crossbow.

GM note when found the item has 2d6p charges but don't tell the player.

Fzattt
a much shorter and in parts slimmer item resembling in many ways a stubby wand with a slight asymmetric kink in unlike the former it is not clear where the thing discharges from and some have reported discharging it at themselves as a result. fortunately the effects of the discharge are non lethal but do cause the target to become slowed or even stunned. As before the discharge is not visible though some with  low light vision report a faint bluish flash in complete darkness as the discharge strikes its target.

The mechanical effect is to attempt to force a ToP check with the discharge causing 2d10p points of virtual damage for this purpose.the effect on the target depends on the result of the check.

Mechanically any hit add a +1 to the speed of any action in progress and may cause spell mishaps other than that the normal rule for trauma apply except that the strike is not particularly painful having a numbing effect. Multiple hits stack and can cause fatal results on rare occasions but most just increase the time to recover

Distance (ft) Attack Die
5 - 30 d20p
31 - 50 d20p-4
51 - 70 d20p-6
71 - 100 d20p-8
100+       d20p-10

Spitter 
Of all the Artefact weapons  one is the most compensable in that it seems to shoot a projectile of very hot and possibly initially molten metal. That said the source of the metal it shoots and the method by which it shoots it are just as impenetrable as the other ones

Distance (ft) Attack Die
0 - 5  automatically its every one in the radius of  5' with a shower of hot metal droplets including the user armour does not protect and every one takes 1d4p 1 point wounds

5 - 30 d20p damage 2d6p+2d4p Dr of heavy metallic armour is doubled but the target also takes 1d4p 1 point wounds as above
31 - 50 d20p-4 damage 2d6p+1d4p
51 - 70 d20p-6 damage 1d6pp+1d4p  
71 - 100 d20p-8 damage1d6p

Combined  weapons table

Weapon Name	Strength Required	Skill Level	Damage	Shield Damage	Rate of fire	Weapon Size	Max range	Damage type
BzzCrack Fzattt Spitter	8 5 5	low low low	4d10 Special Special	2 nil 1d6p	3s 5s 5s	medium small small	500 120 100	E E P

Source: Nasty stuff from the northlands

[EvilGinger]

Expect more tidying up and finishing off of existing articles over the next week in the Run up for a Company of Fools Episode twenty Five on Thursday 


 Ginger

[EvilGinger]

Some one elses EVIL GM Idea

What Will They Do With Us?

So the party's been pursued, run down, overcome and captured.  Now what?   This is no time to go soft on them.  What good are the Star Queen's  brutal gnoll mercenaries if they go soft on their captives and allow  them to reach the Place of Bright Stones?

What Will They Do With Us? (d6)

1. Kill us all
2. Eat us one by one
3. Make slaves of us
4. Mutilate us, take our stuff and let us go
5. Drag us before their leader to answer for our trespasses
6. Parlay to find out what the misunderstanding was

Brutal enemies roll twice, taking the lower result. Merciful enemies roll twice, taking the higher result.

When? (d4)

1. Immediately
2. After they catch their breath
3. After a brief confinement
4. After an eternity of confinement

Rash captors roll twice, taking the lesser result. Contemplative captors roll twice, taking the higher result.

Capricious captors invariably change their minds given enough  time. Re-roll on the first table (ignore Brutal and Merciful effects).  Maybe they eat three of you and merely rob the rest.

Confinement might mean being tied up near the fire, sat on, impaled  through the hand on something tall and sharp, tossed in a hastily dug  pit (which they made us dig), or rotting in an actual prison.

 

Posted by Michael Prescott on the I'll See It When I Believe It blog 

I may give it a run out so be very careful folks 

Source: Some one elses EVIL GM Idea

[EvilGinger]

Ciy Cartographer a Review

I have a first impression on this software in the works I was planing to get it up here tonight but sadly I have run out of steam so I will try to get it done tomorrow

Source: Ciy Cartographer a Review

[EvilGinger]

An Epic tale From another Part of Kalamar IX

 

The Story Continues 

It's a Dangerous Business

With the Tannarukk defeated, the party prepped for their return trip to Drhyff.  By Frug's best guess, it would take two to three days to get back.  They went wildly off course in fighting the orc.  Laer-Thuil said her goodbyes and left Shifyrn to act as a secondary guide.  Jjela was eager to reunite with her children.

The  first day's hike was mostly uneventful, though the party was feeling  the early stages of exhaustion.  It was due to that exhaustion that both  Frug and Shifyrn missed the tell-tale signs of danger when picking their campsite.  When Kalamor cleared away some leaves to make a fire, he noticed a strange yellowish  liquid on the ground.  The liquid, once disturbed, immediately launched  a pseudopod at the paladin, rising up to a height of six to seven feet.   Kalamor shouted for help and the party set to deal with the ooze.   Unfortunately, their shouting only alerted another group of dangerous  creatures.  Shifyrn spotted  winged beasts gliding between the trees; easily the size of a giant  eagle but with the head of a wolf.  It even had stag horns jutting out  from just above its eyes.  "Peryton", screamed Shifyrn!  It was not  alone.  Three of the monstrosities attacked from all sides, seeking an  easy dinner of human heart.  Frug shifted into the form of a giant spider and set to bringing the beasts down by catching them in webbing, while Shifyrn and Kalamor moved to defend Jjela.  Darius had never seen an ochre jelly before,  but it looked like something he could smash with a hammer, so he focused  on it.  Fortunately for him, the ooze is very susceptible to  bludgeoning damage.  It was quickly brought down.  Despite the peryton's  flight advantage, they were sorely outmatched, and most were restrained  and poisoned by Frug.  The third was almost successful in tearing through Kalamor's armor, but the quick thinking Jjela stuffed a goodberry in his mouth, bringing the paladin back into the fight.  Malvus and Ngithol arrived back in camp with some firewood and no idea what had happened.

With  the camp now secure, the party finally enjoyed a good night's rest.   With the morning's arrival came prayers, a breakfast of rations and  goodberries, and setting out on their trip.  As they plodded along, Shifyrn and Frug pointed out telltale signs of goblin incursion, including the obvious; a  desiccated corpse hung in a tree to ward off adventurers.  Frug used his magic to disguise the heroes and their tracks, while Shifyrn tracked a path to the goblin village.  There the party could see at least three still-living slaves.  Darius and Kalamor would not suffer the goblins' continued atrocities and moved to strike.  Malvus and Shifyrn kept Jjela defended while Darius and Ngithol struck out on the right flank.  Darius and Frug took the left.  It would have been an unremarkable battle, except for one detail.  Ngithol used the axe.

As  soon as the blade tasted blood, the diminutive dwarf lost herself in a  berserk rage, striking out at any nearby target, regardless of friend or  foe.  Darius deflected blows and tried to calm her, before seeing Kalamor in need.  He left the dwarf to deal with the goblins and hopefully regain herself.  When the goblin warriors were dispatched, Ngithol's  bloodlust dissipated and the heroes were able to free the slaves.   Unfortunately, some of the goblins escaped, likely warning other hunting  parties of their deed.

With goblins hot on their tail, the  party approached Vullf's creek.  With no bridge, they'd have to forge  across with the wounded captives while the rest set up a defense.   Darius chose to aid the captives and the others engaged the goblin  hunters.  Their leader, a shaman, brought forth dangerous magic,  attempting to drown Darius with a hold person, while leveling the others  with magic missiles and shocking grasp spells.  Unfortunately for the  shaman, magic missiles do little to slow a bear down, something Frug knew all too well.  The goblins were dispatched and the party safely  crossed the creek.  Only two or three days until they're safely out of  the forest.

Source: An Epic tale From another Part of Kalamar IX

[EvilGinger]

Kodt Webstrip updates

two for the price of one

6/10

8/10

 

as ever this is just a taster and more is to be found on the Kodt site as well as an archive of every thing 

Source: Kodt Webstrip updates

[EvilGinger]

Every thing is under control now

Rearing to go people

Will be back at the blog face after a few days were work and minor illnesses kept me away and I have lots of stuff to post however so expect a fusillade of updates and article finishing before the end of the day.

Source: Every thing is under control now

[EvilGinger]

City Cartographer a Review  correction Cityographer

 City Cartographer a Review  correction Cityographer

I have a first impression on this software in the works I was planing to get it up here tonight but sadly I have run out of steam so I will try to get it done tomorrow

Had a dyslexic monument when reading the program's name  however a first impressions review is in process 

Source: City Cartographer a Review  correction Cityographer