Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lyinginbedmon 04-13-07, 10:36 AM	This is going to be something of a blog about what happens in my present religious campaign, a continuation to my nautical campaign, In Blackest Night. Main Characters Ayane Oki-Ona - Human Monk/Cleric/Sacred Fist - Inigo Montoya-style Cleric of Kick-Butt, works alongside F4-17 in the quest to find Dark Shadow and tear him a new one after he killed her father. Replacement character of Arthur Binkatsu F4-17 - Warforged Ninja - A non-Dead-Nick like Majus, who was originally made for the great war just like every other Warforged, but was then stolen by a Ninja clan and used as a plant, before the clan was arrested and he escaped Sieghard Le'Morde - Human Dread Necromancer - Dead-Nick White Squad member Agrona Wymond - Elf Ranger - Dead-Nick Black Squad member Alinas Eletrica - Human Bard - Dead-Nick head of Red Squad Artillery Anastrianna Holimion - Elf Druid - Dead-Nick head of Blue Squad Public relations Arthur Binkatsu - Human Ranger/Sorcerer/Cleric - Dead-Nick head of Black Squad Archery ex-righteous criminal for killing his military commanding officer Aust Liadon - Elf Monk 12 - Dead-Nick head of White Squad STAR with apocalyptic dreams #Deceased# C3-1 - Warforged Charger Barbarian - Dead-Nick Yellow Squad member with some childlike personality traits, as in human traits Dench - Half-Orc Monk - Dead-Nick Green Squad member who seems to be capable of duplicating Matrix-esque stunts F7-76 - Warforged Cleric - Dead-Nick Red Squad member with very maternal instincts Hector Marduk - Elf Wizard - Dead-Nick Green Squad member Henriette Vova - Yuan-Ti Pureblood Expert with Doomwatcher - Dead-Nick Blue Squad member and the resident psychiatrist Leonid Nikolai - Dracotaur Archivist - Dead-Nick White Squad member who refuses to wear any form of trousers, and who has depression problems Morganth Stormcrow - Fanelian Wizard68 [Being rebuilt] - Dead-Nick owner with connections and abilities beyond virtually any other spellcaster on the Material plane. Out-of-game, he's known to have an expected lifespan of about 2500 years (He should therefore be dead by Einderseod year 3960). Morina Stormcrow - Half-Phoenix Rogue32 [Being rebuilt] - Dead-Nick second with an extremely flirtatious personality (But no capability to go beyond flirting thanks to Morganth) and Morganth's only daughter. "Prince Majus" - Half Dragon Fighter - Non-Dead-Nick amnesiac Ra'Ezma Barrow - Changeling Dread Necromancer - Dead-Nick Green Squad member, recently acquired an adopted daughter Rebecca [Slaymate] Raphael Jethro - Half-Celestial Paladin - Dead-Nick Blue Squad member Shadow Kami - Half-Elf Gorotsuki (Homebrew, Naruto mimic+Rogue) - Dead-Nick head of Green Squad SpecOps missing a tongue Simone Anatolius - Human Cleric with Aberrant Arms - Dead-Nick Green Squad member, the lover of Ra'Ezma with a personality of almost polar opposite. Thamior Meliamne - Elf Sorcerer - Dead-Nick head of Yellow Squad Melee The Bad Guys One of the rarities for my campaigns, the BroShaCho trio are taking a back seat this time around to try and repair some of the damage the Black Pearl's crew did to their Mizu Omi operations, though Shadow and Chortle are stopping by every now and then to reinforce their role as the Prophets of the Lord. The main 'villain' this time around is the leader of the Zakian congregation near Beldor. Prior Medivh the Holy One - Old Human Cleric 13/Evangelist 5 - An ex-Pelorian cleric, Medivh's life was transformed during BroShaCho's occupation and he is noted as being one of the first Holy Ones to be created..Medivh was originally a cleric for the Beldor Temple of Pelor, but was so taken by the Zakian faith introduced during the brief rule of Lord Alabaster Bronislav that he rejected the teachings of Pelor and became one of the most devout members of the local Zakia clergymen. He strongly believes in his faith, and quickly moves to convert any non-believers brought before him. He listens obediently to the words of the prophets and eagerly awaits the return of the Lord of the Truly Righteous and the destruction of the Dark Ones. He was one of the first clergy members to become a Holy One, this means that he was first implanted surreptitiously with a Tsochar and it was then later removed in a ritual after he channeled the voice of the Lord.
Lyinginbedmon 04-13-07, 10:59 AM	A special aside, this is the as-presently-written mythology of Zakia, often quoted by their worshippers to reinforce a point. Chapter:Verse 0:1 A great thunderous explosion saw the beginning of the great multiverse 0:2 The beginning races took the ruins of the previous worlds and assembled them into trees, where upon the ruins and wreckage there grew fruits of tremendous calibre 0:3 Such was the calibre of the apples of the stars that the beginning races became greedy, and war ensued between them 0:4 The beginning races became more and more violent, each lusting over their greed for the apples of the stars, until at last their nations were destroyed and their worlds annihilated by their own inner evils 0:5 Amongst the ruins lay the last spark of existence amongst the beginning races, it gathered strength slowly atop a perilous boulder until at last it grew too powerful, and destroyed itself. This torched the trees and the apples fell. 1:1 And the land was torn asunder with great light and heat, as the earth was formed from the apples of the stars 1:2 And from those apples grew a great land and many neighbouring nations. And after many years of careful tutelage, the elder races stood erect on their lands and gazed at the heavenly bodies 1:3 After centuries of development, mankind walked amongst his brothers and saw that the world was good. 2:1 Into the world fell a golden cradle, and from it emerged the infantile form of the Lord of the Truly Righteous 2:2 Mankind took it upon themselves to nurture and clothe the Lord. And so it was that he was birthed from an onlooker, Mary of Cairo, Wife of Hammel. 2:3 Hammel instructed the Lord in the rites and rituals of monastic and paladin training, hoping that he would grow to be a great leader of the holy ones 2:4 Mary taught the child the foundations of her arcane arts and set down upon him the founding principles: Loyalty to the leader, Order in the kingdom, and Devotion to one’s cause. 3:1 Then came the day when the Lord was brought before the King of Cairo and asked to procure a fellowship amongst likeminded allies 3:2 And so it was that the Lord came upon his band of friends. However, he being inexperienced was met with a snake in his field, and a masquerading criminal Arcanist sent by the Dark Ones 3:3 And the friends and their snake set out to search for the King’s eldest daughter, who had been beset by a beast untamed in the wilds 3:4 Wizening to the strength of his mother’s magics, the Lord began conversing at length with the Arcanist. In short time he learned greatly powerful abilities and his enemies quaked. The Arcanist became jealous of his prodigal student, and began working to twist his loyalty. 3:5 The fellowship quickly came upon the beast that held the King’s daughter and they quickly despatched the monster. The Arcanist resurrected the beast in a skeletal form that could serve the group more advantageously, and the Lord was angered. 3:6 The Lord and the Arcanist fought in argument for days until at last the Lord relented in his devotion and allowed the Arcanist to continue his necromantic spirits. 3:7 After a time, the Arcanist convinced the Lord of the potency of his own magics and the Lord began to learn more of the necromantic arts the Arcanist employed. Soon after he realised that his schooling in other facets of his character had begun waning in his wayward devotion. 3:8 When it came time for the fellowship to be annulled, the Lord and the Arcanist stayed beside each other and were blessed with bountiful rewards for their aid in other areas of Cairo. 3:9 Eventually the Lord and the Arcanist came upon a village riddled with the evils of the land as purveyed by bandits. The Arcanist convinced the Lord that such a village was capable of salvation, and arranged that they both combine their necromantic talents to force the bandits to surrender their hiding place. 3:10 That night, the Lord and the Arcanist beset the village with wave after wave of necromantic evils, until by daybreak the land was cleansed of the village and of the bandits. The Lord grew enraged at the Arcanist for this tragedy. 4:1 The Arcanist openly mocked the Lord, joyous from having successfully tainted the great good that his masters had allied him with. The Dark Ones were pleased, and the Lord, in retaliation for being forced off the righteous path, killed the Arcanist. 4:2 Having killed a man, the Lord granted him a sacred funeral and constructed a memorial of 25 stones to commemorate the souls of the lost village. He, though having little money, used every last coin he held to perform the funerary rights required of him upon his enemy. 4:3 The Lord returned to his people and sought forgiveness but found himself only in a boiling town consumed by anger at his wanderings and he was chased by the hounds for his betrayal of values 4:4 The Lord fled his homeland that he might somehow achieve forgiveness alone and soon came upon the city of Beldor, beset by a legion of evils that feasted upon it from the central core. 4:5 The Lord began using the tainted necromantic arts the Arcanist had taught him in an effort to change the course the country was moving towards 5:1 Seeking allies in his private war, Lord Alabaster sought out and beseeched a group of renowned fairies, known for many miles around for their trusting nature and vehement opposition of evil 5:2 Late on his path to the grove of the pixies he sought, Alabaster was beset upon by a group of ravenous hounds, sent he was certain by the Dark Ones 5:3 Wounded, he crawled to the grove and asked for help from the pixies, but they shunned his appeals and left him bleeding on the dirt path. The Dark Ones had not sent the hounds, but the pixies he sought to ally with, tainted by the evil of those he sought to vanquish 5:4 Along came a jester, dressed in gray clothing and wearing a distinctive, toothy, smirk. He tried to drain what little joy remained in the heart of the Lord, but instead found great potential. Lord Alabaster convinced the jester to lay low nearby, and promised he would teach him of the ways of the righteous. The Jester was soon visited in his hiding places by vision, seeing the world of the Dark Ones, and that of the Lord, shimmering in its beauty and glory 5:5 A child of the grove, a pixie like her parents and friends, saw the plight of the Lord, and offered her aid, helping him to the grove where she gave him aid until he was healed. 5:6 Well enough again to stand and fight the evils that surrounded him, the Lord brought a great reckoning upon the grove, the blood of the pixies staining the waters and the ground and the leaves, until only one pixie remained. The jester, dubbed by the Lord as Lord Chortle the Grand Seer, was elevated to the path in due time, seeing the holy actions of the Lord had changed his blackened heart to a shining pearl 6:1 With the possible alliance of the pixie grove now a mere memory, the Righteous Lord and the Grand Seer looked for new allies. Hearing of a community not far from the grove, they set out in search of holy warriors 6:2 Soon, they arrived at the small city of Terras. They went from house to house seeking followers for their cause, but finding that the villagers were unwilling to surrender their fate to the Righteous Lord, the Grand Seer utilised his innate abilities to persuade them to the path 6:3 As word grew of their arrival, the villagers of Terras began building against the pair, and soon a movement was made to kill the Lord 6:4 Springing from a perch on the rooftops, a new challenger appeared as the blow was to be made. He stayed the axe the large man, Tilius, thought to wield against the Righteous Lord, and rendered him inert with a swiftly drawn dagger to Tilius' shoulder. 6:5 Tilius looked upon the challenger, and saw that the darkness that now engulfed his sight had taken form, a ghost of the reality he used to believe in, a holy ghost that now mocked his disbelief, and allied itself with the Righteous Lord he had sought to kill. 6:6 Terras was largely converted that day, with so few nonbelievers following the revelation of Tilius, and the Grand Seer dubbed this new challenger Lord Shadow the Holy Ghost 7:1 As the forces of Zakia grew larger and larger, word reached the Dark Ones that they were becoming too numerous to watch in entirety. The Dark Ones created a new spy for the flock, a new Arcanist, and they named this delicate flower Lossarwyn 7:2 Lossarwyn took her place amongst the followers of Zakia closest to the Lord, and she quickly rose through the ranks, until she came before the Righteous Lord Alabaster as a powerful ally 7:3 Lord Alabaster immediately saw Lossarwyn for what she truly was, an agent of those that sought his destruction, but took pity upon the tormented woman, and showed her kindness and love in an effort to turn her against the Dark Ones 7:4 Though she hid her betrayal well, the Dark Ones recognised her treachery instantly, and sent a mass of their minions after Alabaster's forces led by Lossarwyn, chasing them across the lands for months until they reached the peak of the planet. 7:5 Refusing to relent and bow down to the Dark Ones, the forces of Zakia fought ferociously under the command of Lossarwyn, until the Dark Ones forces offered surrender to Lossarwyn in the mountain passes of the pole 7:6 Lossarwyn was wary of the Dark Ones deceitful nature, and realising instantly that the peace talks would lead to the destruction of Zakia, sacrificed herself to the path Zakia, freezing the entire landmass under ice and destroying the forces of the Dark Ones. 8:1 The spectre of Tilius made pilgrimage to the lands of the low plains, where he was beset by the sight of the red lands filled with demons of increasing severity, and knew his crimes would see recompense. 8:2 Wreathed in the agony of his crimes, Tilius was met with the raven-haired visage of a profound tormentor of the evil dead, succubus Nilova Harkuul 8:3 Begging forgiveness, Tilius gifted Harkuul with all the knowledge of Zakia he had overheard from the villagers, and moved by his plight, Nilova granted him a swift death. 8:4 Her soul shifted by the words of the Lord, Harkuul fled the lower planes and sought membership amongst the followers of Zakia on the plane material. The followers grew angered at her audacity, until the solitary Lord stepped forward. 8:5 Seeing the new convert, the Lord proclaimed to the followers “Seek not the wickedness in your pledges, lest it find purchase within your own devotion”. And with these words, the divine Lady Nilova Harkuul joined Zakia, and the Dark Ones howled in despair as she was remade. 9:1 After centuries of preparation the Lord and his comrades, including Lord Chortle and Lord Shadow, began their attack upon the Dark One's stronghold of Beldor. Lord Chortle began their scheme by ensnaring the leaders of the city in his musical performances, whilst Lord Shadow eliminated the evil opposition to their prospects. 9:2 Lord Alabaster enamoured himself amongst the evil denizens of the country, appearing as the bold and glorious paladin of righteousness he had at one time been. 9:3 Finally the plan of the Lord and of the prophets drew to a close and they became implanted in the infrastructure of the country without spilling any holy blood from their citizens. The country became a comparative paradise 9:4 The Dark Ones were angered at the success of the Lord and his comrades. Slowly, but surely, they drew their plans against them, consuming the people of the nation in their hatred and commanding an army to grow 9:5 At last, the Dark Ones led their Great Darkness to sweep across the land and pull down the grand structures of the Lord, razing the holy land to the ground overnight. Many followers of the path were lost in the fighting, including the child of Nilova, Dougal 10:1 Weary from the assault, the Lord retreated into solitude, and began preparations against the Dark Ones. 10:2 The Lord entrusted to his most loyal followers the books of scripture in the hopes that they would disseminate it amongst the fallen peoples of the nation. 10:3 The Lord gave unto his followers instructions on how to rebuild Zakia and how to keep its enemies at bay, that they might survive during his long absence. 10:4 And the Lord did say that in his absence he would attain great power, and upon his return his enemies would weep, for they would know destruction like never before 10:5 And the Lord of the Truly Righteous was raised up high, and vanished to his realm of tranquillity, where the followers of Zakia shall one day follow 10:6 And on that day the souls of the victims of the Lord shall know no peace, until the followers of Zakia come and whisper to them “Sleep, for the end draws near!”
Lyinginbedmon 04-19-07, 09:06 AM	14/04/1955 - The Omen Things started today with a knock at the door. Since he was the only person not busy (Most others checking out the artefacts from Mizu Omi or trying to keep the Barncoon girl from screaming), Sieghard was volunteered to answer. Opening the door, he found a priest in white robes marked with a hitherto unknown holy symbol. He identified himself as Righteous Zack Amanos, of the Zakian congregation recently established, and that he was charged with ensuring a plethora of new converts into his congregation, it being fairly small at present. He gave a brief history of the religion, founded by BroShaCho during their reign, and then handed over a copy of the Book of Zakia (See above post). Sieghard took the book, "promised" to see a sermon soon, and started to close the door. Succeeding on his Spot check, Zack noticed the two shields in the main room of the headquarters that bore the two symbols representing the guild, and immediately proclaimed "The Dark Ones have come!" as he ran shrieking down the street. In order to avoid a public relations disaster, Sieghard chased after him to try and calm him down. Since the guy just wouldn't stop running, Sieghard tried a less tactful solution, and ray of enfeeblement'd him into a paralysed state (That is, reduced his Str enough that his equipment kept him on the ground). He then caught up, and yanked him in time to keep his head from being flattened by a passing cart (As he had reached the divisor between North Beldor (Business) and South Beldor (Politics), traffic was picking up). The two landed in a nearby alleyway, and Sieghard began checking him out to see if he was alright. Not long after, a quick parody of a very specific Alien scene revealed a creature composed of tentacle strands bursting from his stomach and proceeding to climb the wall to freedom. Sieghard managed quickly to restrain it underneath a discarded bucket, and then miraculously managed to actually tie up the writhing mass of tentacles. Thinking through his mind, he recognised the creature from one of Alabaster's library books as being a Tsochar (See Lords of Madness) and enfeebled it too to prevent escape. Zack came to, and Sieghard began leading the pair to the Temple of Pelor nearby to receive medical attention (For Zack) and restraint (For the Tsochar). Along the way, Zack repeatedly made attempts to retrieve the escape Tsochar, much to Sieghard's amazement, stating that it would be full-well contained within him, as a Righteous clergyman (Who are believed to play host to them as a sign that their bodies are pure and thus valuable to the creatures). Eventually, Zack got healed at the ex-Zakian temple, and tried to bargain with Sieghard about the Tsochar. Believing it to be the only way that Zack would trust him about not being a member of the Dark Ones, Sieghard implanted the still-paralysed Tsochar into himself, facing distinct uncomfort but safe in the knowledge that he was surrounded by clerics. Zack warmed up to him, seeing that the Tsochar was being contained, and proceed to heal Sieghard of the damage from the implantation. Or not, instead of a healing spell he instead restored the Tsochar, who proceeded to nearly kill Sieghard down to -7 hit points. Sieghard began falling in and out of consciousness as Zack forcibly removed the creature and took it once again upon himself to host it, believing that the Tsochar had been contained only because of its paralysis. He recited a very significant verse from the Book of Zakia (10:6 to be precise) before fleeing lest the Guards capture him. The nearby clerics immediately rushed to Sieghard's aid, preventing his death narrowly. Later, he awoke in a medical bed with the High priestess checking in on him. After promptly flirting with her, he went off to find Zack, seeking a vengeance untold by mythology. He managed to track him down via his crew to a nearby Druidic forest and the ensuing stone circle, where they found him dead, his throat slit and the Tsochar gone. A quick speak with dead explained that the price for failure of death to the Dark Ones meant death for the supplicant, so apparently High Priest Medivh the Holy One killed Zack for his failure, as well as that all the new charges were supposed to come to the circle to be led to the main temple by Medivh, but that Zack didn't know where it actually was. The Druids had never seen Zack or any other priests before, day or night. The Druids wanted the body gone and Sieghard hastily reclaimed the remains and his items, vowing vengeance upon Zakia. Tactical Notes: Zakia is in full swing everyone, and now Sieghard has a vendetta to follow them on. And yes, Sieghard is a moron for putting the Tsochar inside of himself
Lyinginbedmon 04-26-07, 01:35 PM	21/04/1955 - The Silver Chalice This week saw the return of F4-17 from a recent self-discovery trip* and was told all about Sieghard's encounter with the Zakian worshippers. After some issues over the ownership of a certain length of rope, they were alerted to the bombardment of the headquarters by a number of Zakian worshippers who were apparently attempting to perform an exorcism which involved lots of hurled holy water and an incineration of the grounds. F4 and Sieghard investigated, F4 going first out the door. However, he shifted to ethereal status, causing Sieghard to walk through him, and narrowly avoid a vial of holy water to the head. A female Righteous member arrived and bid them to stop, citing Chapter 8, Verse 5 as precedent. Sieghard negotiated with her whilst F4 set off the unfinished incineration chain around the building (Consisting of a large number of connected Alchemist's Fire vials), causing a number of the worshippers to declare their adamant beliefs upon seeing that the building was unharmed. The city guards soon arrived, causing the worshippers to flee. Whilst F4 aided a number of Addec Inc.** members in the clean-up, Sieghard and the Righteous member filed reports with the guards about the events. Soon after, she left, and was tailed by the pair hoping to find the Temple of Zakia. F4 walked into a sales cart, causing a significant disturbance that alerted her to his presence, but allowed Sieghard a distraction to hide in. She continued on, the pair following once more, and were taken around a few of the other Temples in the region, including the ex-Zakian Temple of Pelor Sieghard was treated in, and eventually she made her way to the Magic Market and began preaching stories to the shoppers. She attracted a fair number of adults, and a group of about a dozen children, as Sieghard & F4-17 watched from the grassy knoll some distance away. At a moment, her body began to shine with extreme light, blinding most in the market, though Sieghard & F4 managed to avoid the effect, and saw her leading the new charges down an opened sewer drain, so they quickly gave chase. Travelling through the sewers, F4 led the way as the only one with a Listen check sufficient enought to track the splashes of their footsteps (There was a brief debate on whether or not Warforged had Darkvision, which proved fruitless). After a large number of twists and turns, they came across a crossroads of sorts in the system, where all sound seemed dead, and where a hooded figure awaited them across the path. Able to see very little from the light filtering in from a grating above, Sieghard and F4 chose to tread cautiously and tried to flank them, as they held out their hand, clutching an indiscernable key. Sieg took the key, and they quickly tipped their hat, so to speak, and fled down the pipe. They gave chase, but soon lost them at a T-junction where they were met with a brief puff of black smoke. Having lost the trail of the Zakians, F4 listened for any signs of anyone, and found a distinct whooshing noise rapidly coming close. Sieg summoned a pair of undead to check out the noise, and immediately knew when one was washed away in a flood of water. The sewers were being cleaned. They quickly ran in the opposite direction, but were soon caught. F4 managed to grab onto a rusting ladder to the surface, whilst grabbing Sieg barely by the hair (He wasn't impressed). He shot a grappling hook to a higher-up step and tied Sieg to it, so he could climb up the ladder himself. The two clambered up to the surface and partook of some of the public showers in South-West Beldor's sports complex, the sizeable line of waiting commoners certainly not too bothered to wait longer from their stench. Morgan valued the key at being sizeably valuable, containing precious gems, tracings of gold and platinum, but ultimately she wasn't certain if it contained any magical properties. Sieghard elected to keep it for now, believing it to be of later use. Tactical Notes: Remember those kids, it'll be a plot element later. As for the stranger in the sewers, there is some debate as to whether it was C or some other 'disciple' or 'inheritor' to his legacy. At any rate, no-one is truly questioning the value of the key. *This is an in-game reference, the player had been, shall we say, 'in hiding' since the whole one-shot fiasco. He's been forgiven however, and enticed with Complete Scoundrel's arrival in the general book selection ;) **Addec Inc. is another adventuring guild in Beldor. Because they are relatively new and in the shadow of the far more famous Dead-Nick squad, they are mostly hired for menial tasks such as crime scene cleanup and minorly-important issues like serial rapists and pickpockets. As such, they aren't fond of the Dead-Nicks, especially since they raided the home of their founder, Bose Hexenmeister, early in the career of the newly-revived group.
tankschmidt 05-03-07, 03:33 PM	Great start! I hope the campaign goes well, and I'm looking forward to hearing more.
Lyinginbedmon 05-10-07, 02:27 PM	Okay, I've missed two weeks of updates now and I don't really have much to blame it on, mostly things have been gearing up around here for the upcoming exams. So, I'm going to do my best to recall the events of the past two sessions, alas that'll leave these entries a little brief and vague. 28/04/1955 - The Gospel This week, the Zakian worshippers were under suspicion for the recent disappearance of a number of bells from other temples. This meant that the worshippers couldn't be called to prayer, allowing the Zakian priests an advantage from the wavering loyalty as a result. Despite asking around, F4 and Sieghard couldn't find many leads. As a last resort, they considered "Reverse Forensics". The plan, after much debate, evolved into stealing the bell from the remaining temple of Olidamarra. Sieghard would get drunk at the Fang and Flagon, then summon a zombie wyvern and 'accidentally' crash into the bell tower. From there, F4 would Mission Impossible it from the Black Pearl, floating invisibly above, and snatch the bell, having secured it before to avoid losing it to the damage. The plan went well and Sieghard was arrested for endangering the public safety (I'd have said "Drinking and Flying", but that's not something that shows up too often). He was put into jail with the bouncer from O'Mally's and the city drunk. In the morning, he'd find out that only the bouncer wasn't a hallucination. He gave information out on F4 and his crew who were promptly arrested in the docks for the theft. Word spread of F4's arrest, and with luck it was hoped that the actual thief would come out of hiding thinking himself safe. Sieghard headed over to O'Mally's to pay another visit to Clyrrik the Halt for some info. When he got there, he arrived in the middle of an auction for an Elven sex slave. He put a series of bids in, vying for ownership against Doucral of the Web since everyone else had immediately left the auction when she entered it. By beating her top bid by a single copper piece, he won ownership of Tahllynim Ryal. Continuing to Clyrrik, he learned that indeed a worshipper had appeared from hiding proclaiming that the Lord of the Truly Righteous had seen to it that he had escaped custody whilst the Dark Ones had been arrested. F4 found and promptly performed a citizen arrest, leaving him substantially battered. F4 and the Pearl's crew were released and Sieghard purchased a stately loft apartment for "Tally" and Jane Doe to live in (Killing two birds with one stone before the other Dead-Nicks killed him), hoping to allow both of them to recover from their ordeals together. Tactical Notes: The largest change of affairs this session was, of course, the purchase of Tahllynim as Sieghard's sex slave. She's under a permanent dominate effect to obey all orders given by the person wearing her family ring, which Sieghard received as part of the auction. Doucral of the Web runs an underground Mage Rumble circuit, which she was hoping to enroll Tally in. Consequently, Sieghard is not on her good list, especially for outbidding her so minorly, an insult to her orcish blood. Sieghard has to keep her out of sight around the Dead-Nicks because slavery of any kind is a crime, so good intentions or no he can be arrested for owning her. Tally presently is working as a street dancer to earn money to pay back Sieghard for her purchase, earning her freedom, whilst Sieghard is interested in finding out if she has any family left. "Jane Doe" is the working name of the secretary reanimated from Barncoon. Due to her screaming, she hasn't been too popular around the other members, but she seems to be calming down significantly with Tally in the apartment in Northwest Beldor. 05/05/1955 - Dominion The main topic this week was the re-appearance of some of the children from 21/04/1955 at the Northern Temple of Pelor. Allegedly, they were the Chosen children, a group that had become one of the largest selections of Righteous members, and as such appeared slightly pregnant due to the Tsochari inside them. Sieghard, F4-17, and Ayane headed to the temple followed by a troupe of angry parents, and found the children in the accompaniment of a pair of worshippers, arguing with the Peloran priests to revert the temple to Zakia, as it was during BroShaCho's reign. Sieghard tried to mediate between the three groups, proving to little avail once the children became aware of their position in the "Dark Ones" and opened attack. Sieghard's aura of fear managed to scatter the priests and the worshippers, and he briefly lost track of 2 of the children. Most of the kids were swiftly dealt with as Sieghard summoned Owlbears to grapple them inside their ribcages. Another managed to grapple absurdly well onto his leg, the aura of fear simply dampening Sieghard's right leg. Attempting to tie up the captured children, one managed to escape due to the antimagic field emitted by the child on his leg. Ayane did her best to capture her, and eventually managed to temporarily detain her long enough to tie her up. Likewise, Sieghard managed to surrender the boy from his leg and planted the other tied up children within the 10ft. emanation, guarded by the Owlbears. One child remained missing however. In the midst of all this, F4-17 tailed the worshippers that escaped through town. One was captured just past the first door of the main gate in East Beldor, whilst the second was also captured swiftly. The guards arrested the pair but unfortunately no new information regarding the location of the Zakian temple (It is still speculated to be near or within the druid circle). Most of the children were gradually restored by the local clerics, notably the High Priestess of Pelor, and their Tsochari were held in custody by the guards for questioning. However, it seemed that every last one of the Tsochari were fanatically devoted to Zakia and the mythology of the Dark Ones, making them completely useless in learning anything. Tactical Notes: The missing child is still an issue of contention, no-one has seen her and the players are at a loss as to her whereabouts. However, Zakia is becoming more and more a thorn to the Guards, which may lend the players some aid in later adventures. 12/05/1955 is a holiday for Zakia, so there should be a parade through the city as celebration.
Lyinginbedmon 05-10-07, 02:35 PM	One additional, Sieghard has laid another 4 eggs, so we have another 4 Faldeans now who are serving as the soldiers (Named Ichi, Ni, San, and Yon, respectively). In addition, the original 3 Faldeans (Kuro Ran, Pedalta, and Remus) are being sent to school now. Remus is heading to Thornit University of Arcana in Southwest Beldor, Kuro is heading to Terrina Fighter College in Northwest. Pedalta is presently looking at a sports college in Southeast Beldor, though there are whispers of her going into a Rogue's guild. In the same vein, F4-17 is also working on founding a Rogue's guild.
Lyinginbedmon 05-16-07, 12:38 PM	12/05/1955 - Highway to Hell Today being a holy day (Careful readers will note the incident of 13/05/1954 during Deceitful Contemplation), the Zakian priests were putting on a city-wide parade and celebration. Due to their purported recent activities, the Guards were keeping the majority of their attention on the festival, though legally they couldn't interfere in the religious festivities unless given explicit notice by the Council. The parade passed right past the Headquarters, so Sieghard and his children were on call to keep an eye on them as they passed. The members of the parade were tossing out silver pieces which Sieghard caught a singular unit and examined, finding it to be of little interest beyond the monetary he returned it, striking some wayward watcher in the eye and quickly ducking from sight. However, what did appear to be of notice was a shadowy figure moving about in an alleyway nearby, which Sieghard gave chase to. Following the figure, he saw that it was in actuality some form of Shadow, and summoned an Allip to follow it under the floor (The possibility of which is questionable I'll admit), only for it to reappear behind him and, with a hand on his shoulder, point to Southwest Beldor. Sieghard once again followed the significantly-faster Shadow (40 ft. fly VS 30 ft. walk, I wonder who'll win? :P) to the Temple of Nerull. At the temple of the death god, Sieghard caught a pair of white-clothed thieves (Ala ninjas, which they were called for the rest of the session) trying to steal things from the temple, but under the duress of several Shadows and Wraiths. They quickly fell dead and Sieghard, swords drawn, delved into the Temple. Behind him appeared from underground, the renowned sports star for Mage Rumble, 3 times world champion Terhi Elita, a Mistress of Shrouds with the social disposition of a pessimistic and (furtherly) antisocial Gregory House (Bred through years of fruitless opponents and the loss of her parents early on in her life). Terhi explained that several other temples were under attack by the thieves, and that whilst she was holding up defenses on 12 of them (Mostly the more Gothic deities), there were still 5 that she didn't have the resources to cover, hence her acquisition of Sieghard's attention. Sieghard summoned some Zombie Wyverns to track the parade and watch out for travel of the ninjas, and then sent large numbers of human skeletons to protect the remaining temples, each with a Faldean for leadership. The temple nearest to Nerull under Sieghard's care was that of Yondalla, which upon arrival had evidently been sacked already. After a little while, a number of the temples came under attack, but fortunately all the attackers were either killed or fled. Sieghard and Terhi travelled to the temple of Kord, which next came under attack by 5 of the thieves, presumably a last ditch effort. Between the undead and the worshippers of D&D's Arnold Schwarzenegger, they weren't doing too well when they got there. Most had already fallen, and Terhi was given the call to disable (Not kill) the survivors, which she promptly did in a single round with her Shadows. Upon questioning, one of the thieves, the leader presumably, attempted to commit suicide using an alchemical tooth filled with poison. The other survivors followed suit, and only one was prevented from doing so, the others dying expeditiously. However, before he killed himself, the leader claimed that Sieghard couldn't kill him, explicitly because "I have boy", a smirk on his bloodied face. Under post mortum interrogation, the corpse couldn't say what he meant either, and mentioned that the robberies had been ordered by the mysterious Medivh, though the list of targets also apparently included the Temple of Zakia, though his particular team wasn't in charge of that robbery (And, despite their efforts, the players couldn't find the one that was)... The temples were cleared up and the bodies removed hastily by the Guards for public appearances after examination, but unfortunately since there was no conclusive evidence that the Zakians had any involvement the parade wasn't halted or even interfered with. Investigation yielded that the stolen artefacts from Yondalla had been dropped into the sewers through an alleyway manhole, though they had been moved since, presumably by the "boy", who apparently was met in the sewers. However, the mystery of the order on the attacks, including that on Zakia despite the apparent issue by Medivh, and of the strange "boy", remains unsolved. Tactical Notes: Well, it's a fairly simple conclusion that the child that went missing and the appearance of this new "Boy in the sewers" is hardly a coincidence, but the missing child was female. As for the robberies, it's hard to tell what provoked them or even what their purpose was, though it should be remembered that the Festival of the Righteous Lord is a celebration of the Lord's deception under the noses of the Dark Ones. In addition, the Black Pearl now has a Prelate, as Terhi's last ship was badly damaged in a storm and she can't stand the wails of children on the ship any longer (Basically, she's been on cruise ship to cruise ship for a while, oh the irony of her new ship...)
Lyinginbedmon 05-26-07, 07:11 PM	19/05/1955 - Ragnarok Today, the Dead-Nicks were invited to settle a dispute between three resident temples and the Zakian priests in the city. Standing between four mobs (Six when the Guards got involved), Sieghard wasn't the calmest person in the area, but managed to pull off a particularly skillful negotiation. Eventually, after a long and tedious debate, the majority of which amounted to nonsensical gibberish, the Zakians peacefully left the city. With some free time, Sieghard visited his kids, the initial three of which are now attending schools. First up was Remus, attending the Thornit University of Arcana, where he was being fawned over by both gothics and "cheerleaders", he apparently has an aptitude for divination, and extreme potency for necromancy, but is falling behind on his enchantment grades. One of his teachers was a touch disturbed by his detailed knowledge of the human body, but this was easily explained by his childhood experiences. Next, Kuro Ran attending Schwarzenlink Military Academy, where she is leader of the wrestling team, and known for being something of an emasculator, which Sieghard spoke to her about lessening. Overall, her grades are high. Lastly but not leastly, Pedalta attending Garribald Athletic College, where she's head of the swimming team and has a good friendship with the leader of the track team. Her grades in swimming have her as the #1, but her other grades are fairly mediocre, save the endurance classes.Also visited was Jane Doe and Tahllynim Ryal, the former of whom has calmed down substantially and the latter of whom has attracted a lot of business as a street performer and who is recovering nicely from her multi-decade ordeal. Visitation was also paid upon Morgan in Rufus' Rare Finds (Which she is the new proprietor, being a fan of his), who is suffering from a light case of Arken Flu (Fatal to the living, annoying to undead, but fortunately non-contagious) Tactical Notes: This session was largely about how the kids were getting on in their chosen fields of education, but also saw the Zakians leaving the apparently-irreparably-tainted city. Naturally, when a group of religious fanatics gather in large numbers and consider an entire city to be unsavable, things with eyes and ears are going to roll.
Lyinginbedmon 05-26-07, 07:25 PM	26/05/1955 - Little Nicky Today, the headquarters was rallied by the arrival of a sickly-looking woman by the name of Veronica Candice staggered into the building, proclaiming that she had learned something horrible about the Zakian priesthood. However, she was only able to mutter a few syllables before the Tsochar within inhabited her entirely, killing her consciousness instantly and leaving a hollow shell that quickly took to fighting the members in the name of the Lord. Fortunately, Morganth arrived back from his business tour today, and was able to swiftly detain the fanatical creature. It is presently being held in the Lockup and sustained as best as possible for as long as possible (The body slowly deteriorating). Since not even a skull is left after inhabitation, speak with dead yields no answers, leaving us only with her final word: "Brosh" Tactical Notes: This was largely a "virtual" session. As the players are off on Scout camps for the weekend, this session was essentially a short story to add some fluff and buff to the arc.
Lyinginbedmon 06-14-07, 09:37 AM	02/06/1955 - The Devil's Advocate There was a large group of Zakian worshippers visiting the city today, so Sieghard and F4 followed in disguise to see what they were up to. Eventually, they arrived at the Magic Market and the Zakians started purchasing various supplies. F4 snuck into a tailor and disguised himself as a newly-converted worshipper and began moving in with the crowd. Sieghard meanwhile did his best to look inconspicuous by borrowing some peasant's clothes. A couple of the children tied his laces together but were caught and quickly ran, fortunately this wasn't a sign of his discovery. F4 meanwhile purchased some premium oil with a fellow Warforged and the group soon began making their way back. On the way, F4's chump heard something in an alleyway and the pair went to investigate. Upon sticking his head into an open manhole, his chump lost his head and died. By the looks of it, something had punctured the neck repeatedly and the head had fallen off. A lit match provided little more than a slight "poof" so F4 gave chase into the sewers. Sieghard tailed the larger group to the gates where he hitched a ride eating an apple on the back of a vegetable wagon. The wagon went alongside the worshippers as they made their way back to the Temple, when Sieghard realised exactly what he was sitting on: A supply cart. Consequently, upon arriving in the druids' forest, he bluffed them into believing him a country hick, but returned to the city once they passed a cave entrance. F4 continued on the trail of the creature in the sewer, being led down a twisting and winding path until he reached a particular section of the sewers in Northwest Beldor that seemed to have been reinforced and cut off from the rest of the system save for 2 points. Whatever the creature was, it doubled back on him and escaped through a rapidly closing door at one of the points, and F4 wasn't happy to hear "Okay, we're going to try and flush it out with the emergency system, run the geysers!" faintly from above. The reason being: He was standing in the sewers for the Mystical Experimentation Complex. He ethereal'd his way out into a small section in a laboratory, where he used a poisoned dart to acquire the clothing and ID card of a researcher. He snuck around, finding a number of materials in the Potions building relating to a Mrs. Kerrigan (Presumably the mother to missing Righteous One child, Elizabeth Kerrigan). He snuck around the complex for a while, checking out various experiments, until he was spotted by the guards and fled through the gates. Tactical Notes: For those who can guess, Elizabeth "Lizzy" Kerrigan is named for Sarah Kerrigan of Starcraft fame, and Lizzy Borden of folkloric fame. Her mother is chief researcher in potions at the MEC, and her father runs a potions shop in the main market. She's the youngest of three children, with 1 elder brother and sister. 09/06/1955 - The Rapture Things were off to a big start today when a group of 5-6 Zakian mobs invaded the streets just after the armouries of the Guards were mysteriously emptied (Teleportation magic is thought to be to blame). Sieghard set up a trap a couple of streets over from the heavily-fortified Dead-Nick Headquarters, involving bow-armed skeletons on the roof and at the end of the street, where he would place an Evard's black tentacles spell on the narrow street between. F4 took position on the roof further down the street. F4 began by hurling bricks and slate down on the crowds, who responded with crossbow fire and one rather nasty delayed blast fireball that fortunatelly F4 saved against. However, close to singular hit points, he made a dash for Sieghard's healing magic. Sieghard was reluctant to do so however because his only useful healing spell harms him (Healing touch, the as-yet only Necromancy healing spell), so he was redirected to the headquarters as Sieghard began to spring his trap. The worshippers spotted the skeletons and quickly saw to their demise with a chain lightning from one in the crowd, presumably the same person that shot the fireball, which totalled most of them and left only the end-of-the-street skeleton alive. He emptied his crossbow into the crowd as they charged him, and died as they were caught in the tentacle spell. However, obviously well prepared ahead of time for Sieghard's antics, dispel magic saw to their escape. F4 got healed to full hit points, as Sieghard headed to the roofs himself and opened up a cloud kill to begin poisoning the mobs as they rounded the headquarters. As the cloud handled the circling mobs, he dashed for the bodies of the fallen worshippers to use as reinforcements. However, he was hit full on by another delayed blast fireball and nearly downed himself by an elderly gentleman amidst the bodies, who stated simply "Come now, followers of Zakia and whisper to our enemies “Sleep, for the end draws near!”" (Paraphrasing Zakian mythology). Sieghard dashed back to the headquarters to receive healing, keeping the cloud from encircling him as he went. F4 decided to challenge the old man and used his poison darts (Drow poison & Black adder poison) to partially disable him, before he was fireball'd again and damaged into unstable hit points, falling mistily into unconsciousness. With that, the worshippers quickly fled, and a notice was attached to the city gates describing cryptically the location of the Guards' weapons. Sieghard healed and went undercover to the druids' forest and down the cave, where he quickly located a fork in the river, one path leading to the city and another leading further North. Following the North path, he discovered something he hadn't hoped to see until it's collapse: The cavern underneath Alabaster's house, which the Zakian worshippers had apparently made their Temple. Sieghard blended in as a recent convert and managed to avoid succumbing to the powerful preachings of Prior Medivh the Holy One, their religious leader. Both stayed for some time, F4 eventually awoke in one of the two holding cells for captives in the Temple, a dark room with no windows and a couple of magical lamps, with 3 books of Zakia on the ground. His hands were bound tightly by manacles that made it apparently impossible for him to ghost shift through the walls. Tactical Notes: Magebane Manacles, first seen in the Arms & Equipment Guide. Medivh used to be a clergyman of Pelor, but was swayed by the teachings of BroShaCho's false religion as told by Bishop Chortle and High Priestess Nilova Harkuul. The spells he used (Notable the fireballs) were altered with the Nonlethal Substitution metamagic feat to allow him to capture the Dead-Nicks (Plus F4, who ended up being the only one captured) alive. The nonlethal damage of the explosions, added to the lethal damage of the crossbows and Medivh's own attacks, meant an early night for F4 the sleepless Warforged. He's an Old Human Cleric/Evangelist.
Lyinginbedmon 06-24-07, 05:51 AM	Man I'm off lately... 16/06/1955 - The Exorcist After a week, Sieghard was lucky to have a) not been discovered and b) not been converted, as he was still undercover in the temple underneath BroShaCho's old headquarters. Now that night had arrived, he saw it as his best time to reap painful justice, though it took him quite a while to adequately determine exactly how. Ideas that spewed forth included blocking the Southern area of the river to flood the cavern after destroying the stairs, maneouvering cloudkill around the cavern against the sleeping worshippers, and collapsing the hollowed-out cavern from the roof. However, Sieghard eventually decided that killing the innocent and misguided worshippers wouldn't do well for them or himself. The key that was given discretely to Sieghard in the sewers proved extremely useful as a magic item, able to unlock virtually any lock thus examined when placed inside and utilised correctly. Sieghard used it to enter the containment area holding F4-17 and unlock the manacles keeping him solid. F4 quickly escaped after some light looting to begin his Thieve's Guild with. Consequently, Sieghard snuck over to Medivh's personal room, crept up over the bed, and stabbed the person-shaped lumps underneath. Hearing something behind him, he quickly moved towards the corner of the room, as Medivh himself lit a candle on the dressing table, revealing the "person-shaped lumps" to have been a major image creation. Medivh, having seen an assassination attempt forthcoming, had been prepared, and rightly so. After a brief piece of conversation, Medivh began his efforts to convert Sieghard full-speed. Sieghard retaliated with spells and longswords, until Medivh began crippling his efforts with curses and diplomatic attempts. Eventually, at 7 hit points, Medivh convinced Sieghard not to kill him, that doing so would be negative upon a far greater number of people than simply Sieghard himself. As a result, Sieghard obliged, and knocked him firmly unconscious before dragging him back to the city. Back in the city, Medivh now under antimagic guard, the worshippers soon to be captured by the Guards, Sieghard went wandering the streets. He had some dwarven mead, visited Sanjeev's Mini-Mart around the corner from the Headquarters, and ultimately found his way to O'Mally's Tavern. At O'Mally's, he was fortunate not to run into Doucral, the half-orc from whom he stole Tally's ownership, but was informed that there was a visitor in the darker back of the tavern waiting for him, one with a penchant for elven drinks. The pearly-white eyes and the long disguising black cloak tipped Sieghard off to it being his new Drow liason. She introduced herself in Undercommon as Veld'rin, having been sent by Phiar Sellick, head of House Sellick (Meaing "Blood bath", loosely translated). Contact points were arranged for the sewers underneath the gates in East Beldor, a signal to be a humanoid skeleton wandering around the grassy area of the Magic Market three times. Tactical Notes: Okay, so Drow contacts settled, Medivh arrested, and the Zakian Temple raided. The key is of particular importance, serving to use knock for anyone with the special activation thought. This was a particular point of issue for Sieghard, who has virtually no ranks in Use Magic Device, but otherwise he's utterly in love with the object. Coming up next: Breaking Out, the prison campaign!