This session's cast:
Drael - Goliath barbarian and his sabertooth tiger friend
Vyn - Dark elf golden dragon sorcerer
Rolin - Elven Thief, secret dark cleric of murder, and ranger. Also his apprentice, Sonsari
After having seen their respective visions in the crystal ball, the party separated for the night. Drael, Vyn, Rolin and Sonsari (who is like 11...) went down to the tavern at the inn to enjoy some food and drinks. Lupus Loricatus, the imperial representative then came in, alone, seeking them in the tavern. He asked if they had recovered Yaga's book of the dead. They relinquished it once he gave them a couple magic items off his person, as well as a bag of gems for collateral for the cash payment. Lupus also mentioned that perhaps a trade could be in order for Vyn's wand of wonder. Vyn said he would consider it. Both parties feeling pleased with the transaction, Lupus excused himself and left into the night. Upon inspection of the bag of gems, Vyn discovered them to be merely glass.
Infuriated, they sent Sonsari to follow after Lupus and report back. She returned and said he went into the Purple Moth Magic shop. Having had dealings with the proprietor there before they decided to stake it out. Rolin disguised himself as a young maiden and knocked on the door. The familiar proprietor answered, his outfit splattered with black paint. Feigning pursuit by a ruffian, Rolin convinced him to escort him home. As they walked through the park they knocked him out and tied him in a tree.
Taking the key, the party headed back to the shop and searched around. They found no one else in the shop, but did find their color restoration potions fermenting, with a date of completion on them. So they swiped em', considering them already paid for. In the basement they found a wall covered in fresh black paint, with what appeared to be edges of white symbols on the edge of the black splotch. Using some turpentine, they removed some of the paint, and saw that it covered a large complex symbol on the wall, but were unable to recover the entire thing. They then devised a plan to frame Lupus for burning the building down and then having them come and put it out to look like heroes. This convoluted plan went off without a hitch. And the proprietor was 'rescued' from the forest.
In the morning, a group of town guards came to the inn with a summons for Vyn, Drael, and Rolin from Lupus Loricatus. The guard escorted them to the Loricatus estate. Lupus questioned them on what the commotion was about last night, since they were there and so was he, apparently. Lupus claimed he knew nothing about visiting them at the inn, and that he had an alibi. After some arguing, everyone realized that the Lupus they had seen was none other than Tereval the Terrible! Only he also knew about them having the wand of wonder.
They went to question the recovering proprietor, and discovered that he was Tereval's apprentice. And that the wall in the basement had been symbols for a portal to the Sunken Tower of Ulmic, Tereval's fortress. Lupus warned that Yaga's book of the Dead may have terrible secrets to raise the dead! It must be recovered, or this region of the Endless Empire may come to civil war...
Dungeon Master Notes:
Finally got Tereval back into the action. I was waiting for the right moment and I think the players were pleased that he finally caught up with them. This session didn't go in the direction I planned, but I had a good time and the players got to do what they wanted. I think my emphasis on being flexible has paid off in the players feeling free to go about things in creative ways. I loved their crazy plans using sneaking and disguises!
Monday, July 17, 2017
Sunday, July 2, 2017
A Trip to the Moon
I watched the 1902 film A Trip to the Moon a few months ago when I was recovering from a root canal. I had heard of it being a early film classic but knew nothing else other than its name. I saw that they had it on Netflix in both a restored black and white version and colorized version. I much preferred the black and white, even though the restored colorized version was impressive.
It is a short silent film, around fifteen minutes in length. I found it to be creative and charming. It has all the things I love about early adventure and sci-fi/fantasy tales. This was clearly before the time those genres had developed all their trappings, so it is a funny blend of people dressed in wizard robes, rocket ships shot out of cannons, bloody moon eyes, capturing aliens, and town parade! All in fifteen minutes. The aesthetics are fantastic and inspirational.
I don't have much else to say about this film, other than you need to watch it. It is a good entry point if you are interested in black and white or silent films, because of its short length and simple story line. Plus, I know I'm sending my players on a moon adventure by shooting them in a giant bullet out of a cannon in a tabletop RPG someday!
It is a short silent film, around fifteen minutes in length. I found it to be creative and charming. It has all the things I love about early adventure and sci-fi/fantasy tales. This was clearly before the time those genres had developed all their trappings, so it is a funny blend of people dressed in wizard robes, rocket ships shot out of cannons, bloody moon eyes, capturing aliens, and town parade! All in fifteen minutes. The aesthetics are fantastic and inspirational.
I don't have much else to say about this film, other than you need to watch it. It is a good entry point if you are interested in black and white or silent films, because of its short length and simple story line. Plus, I know I'm sending my players on a moon adventure by shooting them in a giant bullet out of a cannon in a tabletop RPG someday!
Krazy Kreatures
On the recommendation of the guys over at Cinemassacre I decided to take the unlicensed NES game Krazy Kreatures for a spin. I find spelling creatures with a "k" decidedly difficult. The cover looks like it should be for a horror film starring the cheshire cat. I've also found the reputation of most unlicensed NES games to be sub par, with the exception of the venerable Tengen version of Tetris, which is arguably better than the official version. But it looked like a well designed game despite everything.
The game is a puzzle style game in the same vein as Tetris, puyo-puyo, Dr Mario, Magical Drop and their ilk. The game drops blocks with different animals, faces, and colors on them periodically on the screen, while you try to move them around into sets of 3+ depending on the type of block. It's a game you end up being completely engaged in because it keeps dropping stuff on you constantly, and unlike many of the games I mentioned above, the blocks don't come from above, but drop in random open spaces on the screen, which adds to the difficulty of anticipating what is happening. We laughed, we yelled at the screen, and at each other when we spoiled each other's plans. My playing partner and I would start badgering each other, forgetting that the game is cooperative. The game is charming, fully engaging, and hilarious. Every time we played we were impressed with the quality of the gameplay.
There are these tips in gives you at the bottom of the screen before each level that range from legitimate to silly, but which you hardly have time to read before the insanity begins. One tip reads that there are three endings. I assume one each for the easy, medium, and hard settings. The whole attitude and set up of the game makes me laugh
I first played it with my wife and got through the first few levels before becoming overwhelmed. Then played it through with a friend, beating all 32 levels on the easy setting. The ending wasn't what I was expecting, but I didn't really expect anything because Tetris has no ending. If you like classic puzzle style games you'll find this a must have. It is easy to pick up, engaging, and overall fun. This is a little known gem, which is rare for NES titles these days since we've had three decades to sort through them all now.
Anyway, go enjoy it! And I'm still looking forward to Krazy Kreatures II!
Update 7/11/17:
My friend and I tried hard mode and only got six levels in. Much faster! So I still have quite a bit of replay value to master this game and get all three endings!
The game is a puzzle style game in the same vein as Tetris, puyo-puyo, Dr Mario, Magical Drop and their ilk. The game drops blocks with different animals, faces, and colors on them periodically on the screen, while you try to move them around into sets of 3+ depending on the type of block. It's a game you end up being completely engaged in because it keeps dropping stuff on you constantly, and unlike many of the games I mentioned above, the blocks don't come from above, but drop in random open spaces on the screen, which adds to the difficulty of anticipating what is happening. We laughed, we yelled at the screen, and at each other when we spoiled each other's plans. My playing partner and I would start badgering each other, forgetting that the game is cooperative. The game is charming, fully engaging, and hilarious. Every time we played we were impressed with the quality of the gameplay.
There are these tips in gives you at the bottom of the screen before each level that range from legitimate to silly, but which you hardly have time to read before the insanity begins. One tip reads that there are three endings. I assume one each for the easy, medium, and hard settings. The whole attitude and set up of the game makes me laugh
I first played it with my wife and got through the first few levels before becoming overwhelmed. Then played it through with a friend, beating all 32 levels on the easy setting. The ending wasn't what I was expecting, but I didn't really expect anything because Tetris has no ending. If you like classic puzzle style games you'll find this a must have. It is easy to pick up, engaging, and overall fun. This is a little known gem, which is rare for NES titles these days since we've had three decades to sort through them all now.
Anyway, go enjoy it! And I'm still looking forward to Krazy Kreatures II!
Update 7/11/17:
My friend and I tried hard mode and only got six levels in. Much faster! So I still have quite a bit of replay value to master this game and get all three endings!
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