Building A Legacy: June 2024

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

ACKSperiment Session 6: Cats Do Dance

Run Date: May 9th, 2023

Today was full of winging it and rulings. The players had a lot of fun, earned some rewards (perhaps due to my own screw ups), and reached a resolution for the ACKSperiment; which I'll speak more on later.

PCs

[Pa]: Dalinar (Lv3 Asn); Briaca Lv3 BlDa, Herman (Sir Not Appearing This Session)

[Sa]: Amethyst (Lv1 Vg); Rue Lv2 Clr, Hatty Lv2 Mag

[Sh]: Moonlight (Lv1 SlSw); Ceriala Lv1 Clr, Snarley Lv1 Ftr

Cats Do Dance

The session opened with Dalinar telling an exaggerated recap of the events from last week. Hatty was likely the only one that believed it. Afterward, the group decided to close the time gap (Dalinar is "ready" on Wednesday) and figure out what their plan was. There was a short discussion about exploration and some eyes looking over the map. My players enjoy just wandering into the wilderness and seeing what cool things lie out there, and this session became that.

Run Date: May 2nd, 2023

Today was a solo session, as the other two players could not make it.

PCs

[Pa]: Dalinar (Lv3 Asn); Corvus Lv 3 Ftr, Amaram Lv3 Dw Cp

Of Mercs and Men

Solo sessions for [Pa] have a history of bringing about all sorts of silliness. During my LFG game, he found all sorts of quirky and strange points of interest while evading the dangers of Crestwood. Today, however, was the inverse.

Run Date: April 25th, 2023

My third player managed to make it today, though she was running on zero sleep (night shift lyfe). There are a few more things to say, but I'll go over those later.

PCs

[Pa]: Dalinar (Lv2 Asn); Corvus Lv 2 Ftr, Amaram Lv1 Dw Cp

[Sa]: Amethyst (Lv2 Dw Vg); Rue Lv2 Cleric, Hatty Lv2 Mage

[Sh]: Moonlight (Lv1 SplSwrd); Ceriala Lv1 Cleric, Snarley Lv1 Ftr

"Living" World

We started the session by getting our third up to speed. She had a few questions about how various things worked. I answered what I could and explained others in play.

Last week, the players finished their first foray into the sunken temple of Sinister Stone of Sakkara. Due to 1:1 time, the group got back Sunday evening. They took a day to rest and sell their goods, turn in the head of Drusus, and rest. They received an invite to dinner from the Legate for Wednesday evening. The party promptly bathed and tried to search for some nicer clothes in the market, and I got the chance to explain Market Class and availability. There were certainly some, "This town doesn't have anything!" statements, but some lucky rolls didn't leave them barren.

Run Date: April 18th, 2023

Since the library is having complications, today's session was run in a side room at the bowling alley. Props to them for allowing us to chill at their place. As with any session (and a new system), I spent more time fiddling with my lack of knowledge and skill than running proper. Nonetheless, the first proper session went fairly well.

PCs

[Pa]: Dalinar (Lv1 Asn); Corvus Lv 1 Ftr, Amaram Lv1 Dw Cp

[Sa]: Amethyst (Lv1 Dw Vg); Rue Lv1 Cleric, Hatty Lv1 Mage

"Spooky Shrine Temple Thing"

The party, having finished resting in Türos Tem, planned their trek out west. Unfortunately, someone forgot to make a note: "I have a map!... but I did not write anything down." Their terrible navigation also seemed to continue this session as they veered off course just after leaving.

The move through the local plains was easy enough, and the party even discovered an open field of hops. Dalinar's player immediately asked the age old, "Can we make money on this?" I got to return with the proper "ACKS does indeed do that." I let them know the basics of the process. The group didn't have any equipment or cart so they ended up tabling it.

Run Date: April 11th, 2023

Last week's session was canceled due to... interesting circumstances. The entire library staff walked out, and the place is still closed. Today, I decided to host a small BBQ with my players so they could wind down, and if we had some time to play we'd play. Though the session was only a couple of hours, we managed to hit a few fun notes.

PCs

[Pa]: Dalinar (Lv1 Asn); Corvus Lv 1 Ftr, Amaram Lv1 Dw Cp

[Sa]: Amethyst (Lv1 Dw Vg); Rue Lv1 Cleric, Hatty Lv1 Mage

Navigation's Weal and Woe

Since we paused time on session one, we picked up where we left the group last time: Trying to track down the raiders of a small wagon and their prisoners. I ruled that the party had little issue following the trail up until the edge of the Viaspen Forest, where they'd need a bit more skill to follow suit. Unfortunately, nobody is skilled in tracking and seemingly even worse at navigating (low rolls ahoy).

Run Date: March 28th, 2023

Last week I wrapped up a finale within the Low Fantasy Gaming homebrew sandbox I run at my local library (hot damn that's a lot of words). Since we'd been running for 8 months and found a good break point to wind down, I asked if the group wanted to try anything else. My players are chill and open for a lot of things, and since I was using ACKS (and AD&D) for various background pieces for our sandbox, I suggested trying out ACKS proper. The group agreed.

I planned to do some prep after my work week ended, but unfortunately ended up bedridden with food poisoning instead. Nonetheless, I'm stubborn and didn't want to cancel the session. Since I wasn't feeling too well, we took things slow and made it more like a casual hangout and chat than a true session. To that end, I absolutely hate how I can run games for years and a new system makes my brain shut down; even when the resolution is damn near the same.

For this experiment, I chose to use Sinister Stone of Sakkara and allow the players to start with their PC and two henchmen whose payments were already paid for the coming month. Usually I run 1:1 time, but the group decided to nix it for this session.

PCs

[Pa]: Dalinar (Lv1 Asn); Corvus Lv 1 Ftr, Amaram Lv1 Dw Cp

[Sa]: Amethyst (Lv1 Dw Vg); Rue Lv1 Cleric, Hatty Lv1 Mage

False Start

Out the gate I had an issue; What does a Lv0 of any class look like? I'm sure it's somewhere, but after having spent about an hour or so creating characters and going over various differences between this game and LFG, I wasn't about to bother with it. I'll let the half XP thing sort it out.

Catching Up and Looking Back

That massive gap between session reports for Low Fantasy Gaming is fairly obvious. Life is what it is, and it's important to set priorities appropriately. Before continuing my catching up, I figured I'd throw this in as an obvious cut-off post before moving on to the ACKSperiment.

I enjoyed my time with LFG, and still like a lot of its mechanics. Many of my issues arose as a result of trying to do something modern games aren't designed for: open table play. There is a certain blend of simulation and tools that are necessary to maintain consistency between groups, characters, and tables; and conventional designs focus more on a single group. Or worse, saddling the GM with all the work. These bumps in the road were the push to trying out ACKS 1e (the ACKSperiment) and my continued research and growth over the last year and some change. Whether I've improved or not, I cannot tell; but I've broadened my horizons and thinking. Hell, even started reading more.

With all that said, I'm not big on internet stuff; especially social media. However, it would be poor form not to thank those that have inspired much of my growth. I'm sure I'll miss some folks, but you guys can take a trophy anyway.

First, a thank you to Jeffro Johnson and Mr Urbanski. If it wasn't for the Inappropriate Characters interview (shit show), I would have never discovered 1:1 time or the experiments of the BROsr. A person can be judged by their works, and Jeffro's continue to (re)build a legacy. Listen to the Divinity in your soul, fight against stagnation, and become Elite.

Next, a thank you to Bdubs (of Dubzaron fame) and Brigadine. The BROsr demands that you blog receipts, and theirs have been the most insightful for me. They're also the reason I ended up exploring ACKS instead of AD&D. Sorry Jeffro, I like my books in print and finding affordable 1e AD&D books is a pain.

Thank you Cirsova. The Caveman Federation Tell All was the catalyst here, I believe. As luck would have it, I discovered that I had an Amazon Gift Card from years back I got for Christmas and used it to order some of the magazines. These were supremely helpful as a first step to reading again, and I began gathering recommendations and "must reads" into a list. I've since collected quite the library of various authors and books from nearby thrift stores, though few are the classics like Princess of Mars, etc. I still enjoyed the Chronicles of Shadow Valley and Charwoman's Shadow, Tarzan of the Apes, and High Crusade!

Thank you to the BROsr for their continued experiments, logging, and even shit talking. You are the vanguard making my life easier.

Anyhow, back to logging these old reports.

LFG Session 36: Black Death: The Final Battle

Run Date: March 21st, 2023

PCs

Rebel: Lv5 Monk

Malak: Lv4 Priest of Laurenia

Richard: Lv4 Fighter

14x Hench

Black Death: The Final Battle

Our third player finally managed to make it, and it was a good session for it. We spent the opening minutes reviewing the overall plan and giving Richard's player a quick run down of what she'd missed. After that, it was on.

The party headed to their usual route at the Oldtown Graveyard, though something had changed. The grave that usually greeted them now had a marble statue at its head, just behind the still-glowing lantern and cairn. Rebel stepped up to view the inscription, "I'm not a soldier, but I'm fighting. Can you hear me through the silence? I won't give up because there will be a day we'll meet again." James was a mentor of sorts, and reading the inscription hit her hard. Once she gathered herself, the party went on their way.

Run Date: March 14th, 2023

PCs

Rebel: Lv5 Monk

Malak: Lv3 Cultist of Saint Laurenia

10x Henches

Searching for the Final Piece

Our third continued to be out. The other two decided not to delay too much longer and hit the Oldtown Graveyard and try their luck at locating the final Shard for Lazarus. After doing a head and inventory count, the group marched straight to their destination: Blackwall.

As the party descended, they found a distinct lack of sludge. In its place was a black soot-like substance that kicked into the air with each step. The group's plan was to meet up with Lazarus to find any clues as to the whereabouts of the final Shard. I joked with them again about navigation and mapping, but their memories were sharper this week. They wandered through the Fish Room, Chapel Room, and finally found the Jello Door that lead into Lazarus's shrine.

Run Date: March 7th, 2023

PCs

Fae(Sa): Lv1 Fighter

Kukuran(Pa): Lv1 Rogue

Crossroad Cavalry: Patrols and Encounters

Our third player is still filling in at work, and the other two are hesitant to wrap up their graveyard mission without her. As such, they pulled out their extra extras; Brigands for the Crossroad Cavalry. I updated the group on what's been happening since the last time they played with the CC, and then they headed out on patrol.

Run Date: February 28th, 2023

PCs

TAG: Lv2 Rogue

Karthalian: Lv2 Ranger

Of Forests and Fae

Another day with two. The players decided to continue last week's investigations and weigh whether or not they wanted to hunt down the giant ice lizards they've been hearing about. Of late, I've been going over old session reports and my players have started to become more cautious over time; but this is not a bad thing. For each point of caution, they've earned one in "using the world." To this end, the players had no desire for a head on fight with the lizards and decided instead to consider poisoning them; either to kill or weaken. They would then blame the disappearance of children on them and reap the rewards.

Run Date: February 21st, 2023

We were down one player today, and the other two picked up some of their less adventurous side characters to do a bit of exploration and treasure hunting.

PCs

TAG: Lv2 Rogue

Karthalian: Lv2 Ranger

Side Story

The session began with the group deciding which characters they wanted to play for their "break" away from the Graveyard Crew. Some time ago, TAG and Karthalian had wandered off to check out something in another town and ran across a destroyed merchant's wagon. After surviving some living statues, they came away with a solid amount of loot and a treasure map.

Run Date: February 14th, 2023

PCs

Rebel: Lv4 Monk

Richard: Lv3 Fighter

Malak: Lv2 Laurenian Priest

Hench x13

Wrapping Up the Blackwell Vault

Discussions went quick today. The players still want to take a break from the Oldtown Graveyard, but didn't want to leave the Blackwell Bank Vault unfinished. We covered some downtime prep (since they didn't send me anything last week) and started the delve.

Run Date: February 7th, 2023

PCs

Rebel: Lv4 Monk

Richard: Lv3 Fighter

Malak: Lv2 Cultist of Laurenia

Shard Hunting

I got to be a jerk about mapping again today, though I was more helpful this week than last. I showed the players how I tend to describe dungeon movement and encouraged them to not worry so much about specifics so much as relatives. After all, if you know that there are 3 exits and the middle exit connects to Y room, then whether it's in the 4 or 5 o'clock position is irrelevant (for now). I admit that I'm not a very good teacher since I've never actually dealt with it myself (rarely play, let alone in any old-school sense).

Anyhow, the players spent a little time weighing their options. I had recently reviewed and re-written a variety of hooks for their perusal, but the time pressure of Blackwall continued to draw a level of anxiety and attention. By the end of this session, the players were ready to just play a different group to de-stress. Before I continue, a note on Loot: For the sake of expediency, I noted discoveries as x rolls on y loot table and had the players roll it up during lulls in the game or afterward. As such, I won't note specifics until post-report.

Run Date: January 31st, 2023

PCs

Richard: Lv2 Fighter

Rebel: Lv2 Monk

Malak: Lv2 Cultist of Laurenia

Pushing Back

Rebel was sick today so we phoned her in for play. The group was weighing whether or not they wanted to play the Graveyard Crew today, and despite being sick, Rebel made a very astute observation: "We don't know what's going to happen if we leave this thing untouched for a week." Time pressure, whether or not it truly exists, is quite the motivator.

The first part of the session was planning. Rebel revealed some of the information and tools she'd recovered in her downtime. The group then brainstormed what exactly it was they wanted to do and off they went through the familiar path: through the old gates, past James's lantern, and up to the central mausoleum. As I described the familiar sights, the group arrived at the first chamber. This is where things halted.

Run Date: January 24th, 2023

PCs

Richard: Lv2 Fighter

Rebel: Lv4 Monk

Malak: Lv1 Cultist

Return to Blackwall

We lost a good hour of session time between handling downtime and Malak rolling up his new character, but once we started it just kept going. The group reconvened with a plan to head back into Blackwall, the underground city below Oldtown Graveyard's central mausoleum. From Rebel's telling, Lazarus sent her a message requesting assistance. She spent last week asking Agatha and Henri about potential henchmen and assistants. Though the two old faithful wouldn't risk their lives, they did manage to find a Fighter and Cultist to assist. Meanwhile, Richard gathered Vance and Malak joined the crew.

Run Date: January 17th, 2023

PCs

Karthalion: Lv1 Ranger

TAG: Lv2 Rogue

Change of Plans

My third player was busy working an extra shift today. The other two discussed their plans and went over the current location and availability of their (growing) stable. TAG had some empty space so her player pulled her back to Riversmeet to join in today's session. Karthalion folded in just fine since his exploration always looped back to the city. After choosing the characters, we had some discussion about various hooks as well as some side stuff (life, games, etc). All in all, we burned a bit of time just chatting.

Once ready, the PCs decided they wanted to investigate the full moon murders. It's been a few months since the last party did some detective work resulting in a culprit being burned at the stake. Unfortunately, a couple months after that event, the murders started up again. I originally had a Patron running the plans by me, but she's since drifted elsewhere. Anyhow, the PCs gathered up their gear, double-checked their supplies, and started heading up the road.

Run Date: January 10th, 2023

PCs

Rebel: Lv4 Monk

Richard: Lv2 Fighter

Baldur: Lv2 Barbarian

Henches x5

Descent Into Blackwall

The OG crew returns. It felt like a couple months since I last had to write about these guys, and their desire to delve under Oldtown's Central Mausoleum meant I had to to a bit of updating. For this, I just acted like it was a new dungeon and tossed some percentiles to see the current state (Monster, Monster, Empty, Empty to get started).

The session itself started with the players talking about what their characters had been up to the past while and formulating their plan. After this, they headed over to Oldtown to check up on how things were going. Thanks to the efforts of Rebel, Henri, and Agatha, the hallowing of the graveyard was nearly finished with no hiccups. The central mausoleum, however, still stood as a wall of negativity and discussions were still taking place on just how to tackle it. Rebel, Richard, Baldur, and a handful of henches headed into the place to investigate.

Run Date: January 3rd, 2023

Kathalian: Lv1 Ranger

Wandering Wilds

Today was a solo session; one player sick and the other too tired from work. We didn't use the full playtime, but I asked the last player what he'd like to do and he responded with exploration. Enter Kathalian, Ranger that survived the Horse Man Totem and all-around explorer.

Kathalian began by choosing a general direction and doing some simple scouting. He headed out north of Riversmeet and checked out the open space between the capital and Pestead. Fate was on his side as he discovered a massive herd of deer that had come from the mountains, one of which was Infused. He fired a killing shot into the herd and hit his mark, resulting in the second half of his day being spent skinning and butchering his prize. The Infused Deer provided him with a month's worth of meat (when rationed well) and a fine hide.

Run Date: December 27th, 2022

PCs

Fay: Lv1 Fighter

Nameless One (Kara): Lv1 Barbarian

Kukuran (Cookie): Lv1 Rogue

Raid on Elton

After last week's scouting mission, the players decided they wanted to play out the Elton raid. They formulated a plan with the information they'd gathered and I checked the notes I had on the Crossroad Cavalry. 120 or so strong, the CC tends to field 30 men for a raid: 10 each of spearmen, archers, and cavalry.

Frankly, I know less than nothing about war games let alone what would qualify as "a proper battlefield." As such, I laid out some space for the iron mine then used "stepping stones" to note general positions around Elton (the lumber mill, village, and castle, respectively). The units were divided into groups of 5, then distributed at the player's direction. Cookie, with a group of Cav, was assigned to setting fire to the lumber mill. He was given a "bomb" the CC had raided in previous months; both for testing and to reinforce the distraction's threat. Meanwhile, Kara took a group of archers to knock out one of the guard towers on the NW side; and Fay lead the remaining forces from the NE side.

Run Date: December 20th, 2022

PCs

Fey: Lv1 Fighter

Nameless One (Kara): Lv1 Barbarian

Kukuran: Lv1 Rogue

Henches: Nameless Two, George, and Bob

The Scouting Party

If three different groups weren't enough to manage, one of my players forgot her stuff today resulting in the players making yet another one. "We should make new characters and join the Crossroads Cavalry." While they were discussing the process of recruitment, I just told them we'll go all in: "You guys are already part of the CC, and here is your mission." I was admittedly hesitant, but these are the moments that will decide whether or not I burn or soar.

Run Date: December 13th, 2022

PCs

Xena: Lv1 Barbarian

Renaran: Lv1 Magic User

Peril: Lv1 Bard

Heel Turn

Before the session started proper, the players updated each other on their various characters and positions; as well as informed the player that missed last session what they did. As of now, there are three groups starting to form: The Graveyard Group, The Sanctum crew, and today's Brigands. I look forward to seeing how these elements evolve.

We opened the session proper with Peril gathering the other members of the group and a few henchmen together for an attack on a smuggler's den. She found out about it while recovering from her injuries after chatting up a guy who stumbled into the church with a stab wound. Since she was the one who found the information, and since the traitor was itching for revenge, I had Peril's player design the dungeon map.

Run Date: December 6th, 2022

PCs

TAG: Lv1 Rogue

Willow: Lv2 Cultist (Laurenia)

Red Water Dreams

We were down a player today so the others went over their free characters and some of the older hooks: Ants were right out, the graveyard is "reserved" for their other characters, and the Crossroad Cavalry didn't catch their attention. This left the Red Water Sanctum. The Gold Digger's Guild had recently posted a bounty for information regarding assets stolen from their claim. They were also hiring adventurers for a foray into the Sanctum so the guild could continue their investigation into its value.

With TAG and Willow chosen, the pair headed over to the GDG to offer their services. They asked about the theft and what to watch for before taking on the foray job. Before leaving Riversmeet, TAG hit up her favorite contact and discovered that not only were the stolen items large sales, it seemed like the sales were being funded by a singular entity.

Run Date: November 29th, 2022

PCs

Renaran: Lv1 Magic User

Peril: Lv1 Bard

Xena: Lv1 Barbarian

Remnants of Randomness

During the adventure last week, I rolled up some rough weather that set the pacing for that session: a blizzard. Said blizzard roll(s) lead into this week, putting a damper on the PCs desire to venture too far from town. As a result, everyone brought new Lv1s and decided to try hitting up the Anthill hook in Weebury.

With the blizzard still raging, the party decided to do a bit of shopping in preparation for the excursion (except for firewood... one day they'll learn). Their movement was slowed to a crawl, however, and the party arrived just before nightfall. Weebury's buildings were disassembled save for several walls and rock foundations, and the party wasn't interested in diving into the giant anthill and potentially being forced to trek back in the night. To this end, the group set themselves up as best they could in the corner of an old house. They set up a miniature camp and used their tents and tarps to house and protect a fire, as well as avoid the precipitation. The person on watch had the duty of tending to the fire. Oh but wait... No firewood.

Run Date: November 22nd, 2022

PCs

TAG: Rogue Lv1

Willow: Cultist (Laurenia) Lv2

Not So Clear Skies

Our third was missing today so the players decided to head east of Riversmeet to explore the hills. Also, I learned TAG stands for Totally A Goner.

Run Date: November 15th, 2022

PCs

Arken: Lv2 Artificer

Willow: Lv2 Cultist of Laurenia

TAG: Lv1 Rogue

Return to Area 51: Babysitter's Club

We opened the session as normal; with the players going over their downtime and figuring out what to do. Rebel was still training and would be out for another week so Arken suggested they go check out Area 51: the unlisted hamlet they happened across a few weeks back. Willow hopped in, figuring she had nothing better to do, and Rebel's player brought her rogue TAG (I forgot what it stood for).

The PCs meet up to discuss their plans and goals. Arken, due to a result of the Carousing table, has a two year old boy in tow. He does a quick introduction and explains that he wants to hit up Area 51 and see if he can't gain some "insight" into the experiments they were running. When the party happened upon it last time, a pillar of black smoke was filling the air and they discovered an experimental warship running on a black, flammable substance. They'd help the foreman rescue some of the workers, and were rewarded with some hush money.

I've mentioned before that I've been using 1:1 time. Well, I've also been using our weather patterns. Today was dark, cold, and miserable. It seemed that the players didn't quite remember that, however, as Willow and Arken gathered the old cart Arken had in his backyard and headed out. Meanwhile, TAG was on babysitting duty. Her role while they were gone was to do a bit of information gathering and try to find any rumours of Area 51; be it supply caravans or movements.

Run Date: November 18th, 2022

Note to self: learn how to run a dungeon crawl.

PCs

Rebel: Lv3 Monk

Baldur: Lv2 Barbarian

The Descent

Last week, the players successfully defended the gates of the Oldtown Graveyard with a slew of henchmen, militia, and guardsmen. The blow they dealt was heavy enough to allow a respite, and the session opened with the players going over the letters they received during their downtime. Richard was absent today, but received a promotion to Lieutenant. Some of Baldur's buddies from the gate guard pooled their savings and purchased a barrel of Redmead from the Sunwood. Rebel, meanwhile, brought in the next hook: the Laurenian Priest in Oldtown has a plan to sanctify the graveyard.

With the hook set, Rebel and Baldur hit up some of their henches and headed out to see what Henri (the priest) had in mind. When the party arrived at the graveyard, they found the gates wide open and a small crew building a burial site. Rebel stepped in and greeted Henri; then introduced Baldur and asked about the plan. Henri explained that her fallen friend, the Khairnite James, was going to be used as a cornerstone. Enter Agatha, clad in shining plate befitting a holy warrior. Rebel recognized the old lady and complimented her on her gear, to which the old lady joked about it being heavier than she remembers. Baldur, meanwhile, stumbled in his introductions and wandered around the area while the others talked.

Run Date: November 1st, 2022

The activities of today's session actually took place yesterday (Oct 31st), but the group wanted to play things out in session time.

PCs

Rebel: Lv3 Monk

Baldur: Lv2 Barbarian

Richard: Lv2 Fighter

Battle of Oldtown Graveyard

Admittedly, I'm at a bit of a loss as to how I want to write this out. The long and short is that the entirety of the session was consumed by the battle, and the various rounds/turns kind of melted together at some point. Perhaps I should start with the idea:

Run Date: October 25th, 2022

PCs

Richard Lv2 Fighter

Rebel Lv3 Monk

Baldur Lv2 Barbarian

Dawn of the First Day

The session began with the dissemination of information. First, a few characters (both in and out of session) drew their lottery cards. One drew the Chariot and another the Hanged Man; the rewards being a Cathosian Gecko and 3 vials of a flying potion commissioned from the Khana. After that, the players went over the variety of news posted by the Riversmeet Review and a letter that Rebel had received the day prior.

The letter and its contents were the focus of the session. In it, the sender apologized for their previous conflict and offered condolences for Rebel's lost friend. It then re-extended the offer from the week prior. Rebel wanted nothing to do with it. At this time, Richard brought up something he'd heard from the Captain of the Guard: the call for assistance was newspeak to cover the situation at the Oldtown Graveyard. The Captain planned to organize whoever he could to mount a proper assault.

Run Date: October 18th, 2022

I've been rather mechanical with my reports of late; coming home and just jotting down things before I forget. I find it difficult to get into a flow, and then writing everything out ends up taking longer than I expect. Nonetheless, it's been fun and I hope to one day view these records for insight of how far I've come.

With that out of the way: Today's session was one on one. One player was busy managing things at the library, and the other couldn't make it. The bright side is that managing things with 1:1 timekeeping and "return to base" means I don't have to mess with cancellations. This is new territory for me, and I hope to learn what I can.

PCs

Baldur: Lv2 Barbarian

A Request From An Old Friend

We began the session with updates on the situation with scheduling and the missing players. After that, P (Baldur's player) weighed what he wanted to do and which character he was going to play. He decided on his now-level-2 barbarian Baldur. His first action? Hit up the Tankard and ask around about work.

The Red Tankard has been busy of late with the festival season in full swing. Baldur found himself squeezing between patrons and trying to speak above the din of the inn. What he found was one of the first henchmen ever hired by the group (only one PC of which is still alive: Rebel). The man with a (former) death wish invited him over to munch on some fried peppers. Vance, as the man introduced himself as, noted they'd be out of season and his former drinking buddy used to love them. Baldur's mind was on money and would have preferred a quick and direct command, but he let the ex-pirate reminisce.

Run Date: October 8th, 2022

PCs

Rebel Lv3 Monk

Willow Lv1 Cultist

Baldur Lv1 Barbarian

A Change of Plans

We opened with the players reviewing a variety of hooks and rumors that have been running for a while. To my surprise, they decided to hit up the Oldtown Graveyard and try to make some progress. The usual henchmen the party hired were unavailable (still out on the Red Water Sanctum mission), and they didn't want to take time recruiting more so it was a three man crew today. It was also raining.

The party set out to the familiar gates and chatted with the on-duty guards about what they've been seeing of late. They covered the old information regarding the strange glow, and noted that the creatures have continued to become more numerous and organized. The guards even mentioned several lieutenants among the horde, one of which sounded familiar to Rebel. With the pleasantries aside, the gates opened and SHUNK, down the barricade went.