A Life Full of Adventure

I had it in mind to take part in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. I always have it in mind to take part in the challenge, all year long. But again the time has come, and I'm far from prepared.  Either I'll throw up a tiny nugget each day, or, more likely, I'll be more silent than usual this next month. Real life is catching up with me, and my fantasy life needs to take a backseat. Hopefully I'll be back with session write-ups (I have two that need to be done) and game introspection before anyone even misses me.

It's war time and Karl Franz dies. The elector counts choose a completely inadequate emperor, hoping to be able to mold him to their will. However, the dwarves (of all people) don't think the human newly elected to the position has what it takes to beat the concerted attacks of chaos. The puppet emperor keeps issuing orders that gets dwarf troops killed. The dwarves seize control of the human government in order to assure their own survival. They proceed to (very ably) control the empire's armies, turning the tide against the armies of chaos. The humans and the dwarves end up in a civil war in the midst of all the (literal) chaos.

My Character Gairloch Ironheart  - Svirfneblin Priest of Grumbar Companions Jemmabink - Gnome fighter ( Patchy previous notes ) Gairloch Ironheart, svirfneblin, Loyal Architrave of Grumbar, recent conqueror of the sunlight, and survivor of the Haunted Halls, and knower of nothing regarding forests, was cordially asked to help with the Eveningstar Harvest Festival tree-chopping contest. He was to aid the butcher, Ebbard Highsong. The competitions were going well. Gairloch used his blessings from Grumbar to dig holes for posts so the locals could chop them down. There was also an incident where a person's axe bounced off the tree and into the competitor's leg. Gairloch had to pray to Grumbar to heal the wound. And, at one point, Gairloch could have sworn he saw Jemmabink zip by, riding a giant wolf, sitting behind a lady in full armor. Early in the afternoon, all hell broke loose. Clouds rolled over the town unnaturally fast. The sky darkened. The ground rumbled. Gigan...

Once in my heyday of gaming, we had a group of 12+ players and decided to split into two groups to head into Undermountain. We had two GMs running from two tables on other sides of the same large room (we played after hours in a game shop). Each group started at a different entrance to Undermountain. The GMs would take time outs when necessary to consult with each other, and they had time from week to week to meet and talk. They didn't have to consult on much for the first month or so of gaming, as each group was going its own way. I had a pretty cool thief character who drank from a well and became "indifferent to clothing." I also had a neat little trap-finder device that would bounce around the halls ahead of me trying to spring traps. The device eventually bounced through an invisible portal, and I, unable to curb my curiosity, followed after...never to return to Undermountain. Then one night the two groups just happened to meet in the same room. It was bound...

The Manor  is a labor of love OSR 'zine put out by Tim Shorts of  Gothridge Manor . Villains Great! I really like the first one. I have never heard of an elf-troll cross before, but I love it and can't wait to use it. Concoctions These potions are very imaginative. Maybe overpowered,  But they set the mind to thinking... Tavern Names I love this table. I need to keep this handy from now on. Doors This is a great addition to something we do indeed take for granted. Excellent idea. I can already imagine a few add-ons to the doors listed. (The necromantic door really needs an add-on to attract and house incorporeal undead.) Random City Encounters Also good for the imagination. I really like one called Child Killer. It would make a good scenario going on in the background of an adventure. The art is also very good in this issue. I applaud Jay Penn and Jeff Freels.

My PC Gairloch - Svirfneblin Priest of Grumbar My Companions Kerun - Half Elf Berserker turned Paladain Gemmabink - Gnome Fighter Leonardo - Human Summoner Session 25  (06/09/2008) Found a small tunnel. Crawled through and found chest with gold, silver, and pink pearls. Found a giant skeleton with a magic spear. "Shimmering" and magic boots of the North. Rested in the Haunted Halls again. Next day found a midden with a lock lurker and potions. Session 26 (06/23/2008) Kerun decided he was checking for traps and opening doors. Silly half elf. Found a small chest in a room, surrounded by bones. Kerun opened it. He was hit with a fire blast. Maiior helped save Kerun, who was in flames. Gairloch repaired Kerun's broken arm and cured Maiior's wounds.  The chest had 4 golden rings with tiny emeralds, and two large canvas sacks full of gold. Found a treasure room where time slows. Found a magic mouth telling us the way is blocked. Had to cure a di...

My PC Vaervenshyael  - Female Elf Protagonist My companions Tankred "Silver Bear" Tenneckermann  - Human Mercenary (Absent) Wilhelm Hechland  - Human Engineer Doctor  Johann Wilhelm Woeller  - Human Barber Surgeon NPCs Van Duster - Human Mercenary of Tankred's gang, with tracking skills ( Previous notes ) Van Duster, having lost track of our quarry, rediscovered the trail in time for night to fall.  Vaervenshyael attempted to aid Van with her excellent night vision, but his instructions were so inadequate that she had no hope of finding the trail in the dark. On top of all this, the rains to came to wash away any hope the party had of actually finding the fugitives. However, in the distance, we saw the lights of a settlement. It was too far off to reach in the dark, but we had a direction to head toward in the morning. We sent the doctor ahead to the settlement alone to speak for us, so as to not intimidate the residents. It didn't wo...

http://drawcrowd.com/macsmith/projects/0f68101569d067868ff28cf28dce6082884e5b2b?pos=15

(Inspired by episode 21 of the podcast Gaming and BS .) I'd say around 20% of my characters are female. I'm that guy who plays female characters, and I have always been that guy. For me, roleplaying is about exploring a character concept. I'm not a fighter, so I will explore that concept via a character. I'm not an elf, so I'll explore that through a character. Similarly, I occasionally  want to explore how these race/class combos work via a female character. How did the concept differ, when all was said and done, from my male character of that race/class? I'm currently playing a female elf protagonist in a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay game. So far, not much is different than if I had played the character as a male, but I can see it slowly changing. It just adds another level of challenge and exploration to an already amazing game. For those of us out there really trying to get into new and thought-provoking roles, jumping the gender divide at some p...

My PC Gairloch - Svirfneblin Priest of Grumbar My Companions Kerun - Half Elf Berserker turned Paladain Gemmabink - Gnome Fighter Leonardo - Human Summoner Session 21  (04/14/2008) (My part of the session was spent making the new character while the others continued adventuring in the Haunted Halls.) Session 22 (05/05/2008) The new gnome meets up with the party, and is welcomed right in since he searched for the famous Gemmabink. We visited Durthal, who needed a Dispel Fatigue spell. Gairloch summoned an Earth Elemental to work on Josiah's home. He then used his stonemasonry skill to work on the door. The party had supper at Lord Tessaril's. Session 23 (05/12/2008) Speak with the Dead: Petrall killed his cousin for the family inheritance and headed to the Haunted Halls. Augury: directed us to the straight passage in the Halls. Gairloch cured wounds, found traps (and disarmed them with his maul), and unlocked doors (with the maul). He was a nice add...

(Interludes are a place for me to note everything that happened in play-by-post between Hangout sessions.) Note: I have renumbered the interludes to correspond to their "between sessions" status. My character Vaervenshyael  - Female Elf Protagonist My companions Tankred "Silver Bear" Tenneckermann  - Human Mercenary Leader Wilhelm Hechland  - Human Engineer Doctor  Johann Wilhelm Woeller  - Barber-Surgeon, ex-Student Van Duster - Human Mercenary NPC with Tracking skills ( Previously in the adventure ) The barren scrublands west of Padua GM: On horseback, the heroes follow the trail of two contract thieves headed north into the lands of the Robber King, Sulzer. V: "It's good to get away from the prince and his master of the pony. I'm not convinced they really know what they are doing here." Doc: "You did not see what I saw! They can speak to the dead through their freshly-spilled blood! If only I could find the l...

http://faxtar.deviantart.com/art/Crocodile-Warrior-313703938 These savage creatures are quicker than they look and more likely to use their jaws to crush prey (that's you).

From nearly the first night of play, the GM has introduced an artifact into my character's possession that changes her personality. I find that I'm having a hard time roleplaying it. This is a new character to me, one I don't know very well. I am the type of player who learns about my character through play instead of having my entire personality set from the get-go. In this situation, before I can learn about her personality, it changed. The artifact has my elf acting more superior than I would have otherwise played. It has me looking down at those around me and not trusting anyone. I'm sure the relationship with my party is degrading the more I rolelplay this. How would my character have fit in without the artifact? Would she have been able to make friends and work successfully with the group? By the time I am out from under the influence of the artifact, will they even want me around any more? I know I should focus on exploring this situation to the fullest, ...

Gairloch Ironheart's background was posted a few years ago. Here are his stats to go along with it: Race : Svirfneblin Class : Specialty Priest of Grumbar (Earth) Age : 76  Weight:  85  Height : 3'7"  Sex : M  Hair : Bald  Eyes : Grey  Level : 7 Str  15 Stamina 13 Muscle 17 Dex  10 Aim 10 Balance 10 Con  12 Health 14 Fitness 10 Int  10 Knowledge 12 Reason 8 Wis  18 Intuition 18 Willpower 18 Cha  9 Leadership 9 Appearance 9 Perception: 13 Luck: 1 Fate: 3 Weapon : Maul +2, Light stone warhammer Armor : Full plate, Shield +2 (a scale of a black dragon), Helmet Gear : 2 belt pouches, chalk, flint & steel, gem cutting implements (jewel hammer, chisel, polisher's rag), pitons (11), rope (50'), sacks (1 large, 1 small), small hammer, travel cloak, sturdy leather boots, earth-toned clothing. Backpack:  None? Miscellaneous Items :  Stone covered ruby (his lucky/rubbing stone), Scarthuzo...

My PC Vaervenshyael  - Female Elf Protagonist My companions Tankred "Silver Bear" Tenneckermann  - Human Mercenary Wilhelm Hechland  - Human Engineer Johann Wilhelm Woeller  - Human Barber Surgeon NPCs Ludovic Hasselhoff - Human Prince of Padua-on-Avon Maximillian Morningglory - Halfling Witch Hunter and Master of the Horse ( Previous Notes ) The surgeon continued his poultice-aided healing of Vaervenshyael's critical wound. She was almost back to normal after two days. Only a bruise and some sore muscles remained. The group was summoned by an agitated Maxmillian, asking after "the mute" taken in the party's last encounter. Apparently our encounter crossed some political line of diplomatic immunity, though the people we killed and captured had killed a man in the town bar. Maximillian and the surgeon went to question the mute...with help from the priest of Morr, if that indicates how they questioned a guy with no tongue. The rest of us w...

Every town needs one. http://powerandmight.blogspot.com/2014/03/thorsmithing-what-hell-is-that.html "It's going to be a week before I can get to your armor. Farmer Dan's horse broke a shoe, and Paul's plowshare broke..."