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Topics - Excalibur

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World of Taluria, The / [M] Race/World "Book"

« on: May 03, 2012, 11:05:27 PM »

Would anyone be interested in a PDF of all the races and junk that I've been putting together for the campaign? Just curious. It might make it easier to find information for character creation and the like.

Anyway, off to bed!

World of Taluria, The / [E] Session Report: Session 7

« on: April 28, 2012, 04:26:22 PM »

Captured! Everyone but Squiggy and Athena were captured during the last encounter with Ylrish's sons leading the ambush party.
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Talek has been tortured. Gellac has been tortured. Katcy, using her uncanny ability to transform into a rat escaped torture and had guards searching the underground caves the prison was located in. Gellac was interrogated concerning a spear that Ylrish believes is in the party's possession.

Ella discovered her amulet could not be seen by anyone but her and therefor was the only piece of equipment/adornment that anyone still possessed. She found that it was glowing stronger than before.

Bobo ate poop and found it had a nice, subtle, nutty flavor with a hint of grass...he learned afterwards that it's probably not a good idea to get chummy with his captors, especially those that are big, hairy, and would rather eat him than leave him in a prison cell.

Bristol discovered the business end of a club is not to be trifled with, especially if it is being wielded by a large, brutish bugbear that seems to have a hint of ogre lineage.

While a rat sneaked around the outside, another rat and a sprite sneaked into the prison asking each and every prisoner if their name was Ella. It was revealed that not only did this rat speak common, but she was also sent by "Auntie" to rescue Ella (whom Ella resembles). Ella, speechless and entranced, concentrated on a stone and threw it into Talek's cell. An illusion of a cowering Talek took up residence and shortly thereafter, the party made their way into the prison's sewer system. Katcy took it upon herself to rescue a kenku who was near death.

They emerged into an alley in one of the old ruins of Unswich that had been buried over the centuries. There were signs of shops, housing, and other places everywhere they walked. Tired, hungry, and dehydrated (well, perhaps Bobo wasn't as hungry) the group made their way through the now labyrinthine ruins. They discovered crevasses that fell into the underdark, a old armory/weaponry/blacksmith shop with a strange symbol on a rusted anvil. It was here that Ella discovered a psionically hidden pair of weapons. An axe and a short sword. While traveling through another part of the ruins, Gellac found an unassuming silver ring.

By the time the party had gotten close to finding a source of water, they discovered they were no longer able to wander at their leisure. Ylrish and her three sons (a mute bugbear, a half-orc/half-bugbear, and a full-blooded bugbear named Francis) had discovered where the party had escaped to and followed them. The chase was on!

No sooner had our heroes made it to the exit did Ylrish and her spawn begin pounding on the stone doors the group had gotten shut. With displays of great strength, the bugbear group began breaking the doors down. In the interim, Squiggy, Ella, Bristol, and Rispa (the rat) had gotten through the locked sewer grate behind the Traveling Troll tavern. Gellac was able to pick the lock and free everyone, locking the grate again before Ylrish could recapture anyone.

The town guard has since collapsed much of the ruins, which they hope will end the repeated incursions by Ylrish and Norrick the Rogue.

World of Taluria, The / [M] A Surprise Race

« on: April 23, 2012, 06:33:26 PM »

So, to make things a bit more fun, I created a new race (converted, really) that is sure to make some people smile! You'll find out more when we get together this Friday night!

World of Taluria, The / [E] Session Report: Session 6

« on: April 13, 2012, 11:42:15 PM »

The day started with a missing raptor. A goblin arrived with a message from Ylrish stating she had him kidnapped and thanking the party for bringing her "my first love." The party was told to go to Ohlo's mansion if they wanted to see Talek again.
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The party obliged, but not before doing research on Ohlo and the whereabouts of his mansion. A map was obtained which displayed a route to the mansion (along with a note: Beware the Spectral Panther -- see XKCD). The party successfully made it past the Spectral Panther Tavern and to Ohlo's mansion where the front doors opened for them.

Bristol threw a half loaf of bread through the doors and then he and Bobo walked right in. Gellac and Katcy were close behind with Ella by the front windows.

Two bugbears (one which looked like he was half-orc, half-bugbear) greeted the party. The half-breed demanded the party give them what "Momma" is looking for. After a short round of demands and declarations that the half-breed wanted the pretty lady and that Momma wanted the lizard, a short battle ensued.

It was obvious that the party was no match for their foes. Katcy and Gellac were knocked unconscious almost immediately, followed by Bobo. Bristol attempted to teleport from the mansion only to run head-long into the protections that Ohlo placed on his home to deter would-be thieves and intruders. Bristol was taken out shortly thereafter. Ella, on the other hand, had made an attempt to flee for help only to be chased down and knocked out by Ylrish's eldest son.

Squiggy and Athena were not available, having departed for a short time for different missions and communing with nature...

The party has been captured by Ylrish's band and she is apparently looking for something she believes the party has. What's going to happen?

Only time will tell...

World of Taluria, The / [E] Session Report: Session 5

« on: March 31, 2012, 02:14:24 PM »

We introduce two new characters this session: Bristol Tumbleweed, an eladrin avenger who is somewhat of a burgeoning loose cannon; and Athena, a sparok druid.
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The afternoon began with a walk to Dalia's former residence, willed to Ella when the elderly psion passed away. The party heard groaning coming from a water barrel next to the Cauldron and the Sword tavern. It turns out that Bristol, fresh off a the ship (the town guard was able to stop the latest galleon from sailing past the keep and the ship's captain had passengers ferried over) the previous day had been mugged by a notorious human named Norrik. The surprised eladrin was drugged, separated from his remaining funds, and summarily shoved into a barrel. The party had witnessed the crime but thought the assailant to be Ylrish. Unconscious, Bristol was not able to speak out and since he was fresh from a sea voyage, his scent was masked by the surrounding salt air. Talek would not have been able to sniff him out under those conditions.

Norrik is notorious for being able to get in and out of the city despite the best efforts of the city guard. From time to time he gets in, mugs someone, robs a shop, or performs some other act of skullduggery without being caught. The local stable master, Ramis, has been under surveillance for years since he is Norrik's uncle. Nobody has been able to catch Ramis aiding Norrik's entry or exit from the city. It was confirmed that the sewer system/lower tunnels out to Thorne keep had been purposely collapsed ten years ago after Frinain rushed to the aid of the keep during the Goblin Uprising.

Shortly thereafter, the sole survivor of a hunting party, one Athena, glided down next to the group. She was badly injured with a sprain wing and in pain. Through the help of the party's healing skills, she was back to normal (though with a still sore wing) at which point she explained what had happened.

Athena had been assigned to a hunting party in order to preserve the delicate balance of the surrounding wildlife. Due to the inability of ships to bring supplies from sea, the surrounding forests were nearly depleted of wild game. The local temple of Avandra has been assigning agents to hunting parties to either provide aid with healing if there were injuries, or to ensure over-hunting did not occur.

During the hunt, her party was ambushed by an odd group of people. A large, yellow-furred bugbear seemed to be the boss of two orcs who in turn were commanding a pair of owlbears. Athena was not at the front of the group but that didn't stop the orcs from pelting her with sling bullets as she took to the air. Her comrades were already torn asunder by the pair of owlbears and the bugbear. Nearly broken, Athena did everything she could to stay aloft, out of the reach of the orcs' slings and she somehow got the strength to get back to the safety offered by New Unswich's walls.

The party took respite at the Cauldron and the Sword while Athena reported in at the temple. Bristol (Bris to some) discovered the wonderful bread that is baked daily by the followers of Melora at the nearby temple of said goddess. He paid his respects and began a search for work to replace his stolen gold. During the course of his wandering from shop-to-shop, residence-to-residence, he stopped by the stables to retrieve his horse Adrian. Without the gold to pay for the stable fees (fifty gold for the month) to retrieve his mount, Bristol attempted to liberate the animal using stealth. Suspecting tomfoolery, the stable master watched as Bristol attempted entry to the stables without the aid Ramis' aid. Bristol was let in to see his horse and the stable door locked behind him. Ramis then fled to the city guard for help. Bristol, suspecting as much (or that he was being trapped for some other purpose) attempted to break free of the stable. When that didn't work, he tried jumping up to the window a full floor up, only to miss and slam into the wall. By this time, the city guard had arrived and took the eladrin into custody. The night spent in jail was torture, not only for Bristol, but for the guards on duty. After repeated shouting of his horse's name, a guard (by the same name) got tired of hearing his name shouted. Choking this up to "another one of them crazies," the guards ignored Bristol until morning when he was brought before the captain of the guard. Bobo was keeping an eye on this one due to the possible entertainment he could derive from the eladrin's antics...

Meanwhile, Ella, Athena, and Talek investigated Dalia's shack. They found a sack of fifteen gold in a hidden nook in the wall, a very comfortable chair, and a painting of the deep forests of Marglith (most likely the north western forests and possibly from the island where the faerie-sprite war has been occurring). While searching the shack, Ella noted that whenever she faced northwest, the amulet she wore glowed slightly stronger. This happened outside the shack as well as the walk back to the party's house.

Gellac's bout with Dire Rat Filth Fever had ended that night and Squiggy made it a point to check in on the feverish paladin. After the fever had broke and Gellac finally able to properly rest, the paladin began talking in his sleep, "I can't eat any more cheese, Talia! Well, okay, maybe a few more bites...ohhhh, I'm so full..." at which point Gellac awoke to find Squiggy staring at him in amusement. The dream, however, had faded.

Bristol had been released upon the condition that he pay the stable fees to retrieve his horse. Any other attempts to do so otherwise would land him on a chain gang outside the city walls. Bobo took the eladrin under his wing in an attempt to steer him towards adventure and helping with the clearing of the slums of the old city. Bristol is now taking residency (at least for the night) int he room adjacent to Ella's.

And, everyone has leveled up to 2.

World of Taluria, The / [E] Session Report: Session 4

« on: March 17, 2012, 12:08:33 AM »

The party discovered that Finain, a minotaur paladin of Pelor, was last seen going into the keep that is currently overrun with monsters. Nobody has seen him in the 10 years since he went to the defense of the keep.
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This information was given to you by Dalia, a psionically powerful elderly woman who had direct contact with Ella's mother. The amulet that Ella wears was described as a portion of a shardmind's brain, something that could only really be found at the legendary Shardmind's Graveyard. Dalia also regaled tales of listening to stories that Ella's mother told her about Ella and her brother Austin. It seems the oldest and youngest of her children were bright beacons of hope that kept her from undergoing "goblinization."

10 years ago (2 years after the women first arrived on the island), the vast majority of goblin, orc, and minotaur citizenry went ballistic. They attacked the other citizens and were driven out of the new part of the city. Just before this happened, Ella's mother bid farewell to Dalia, whispered "stay safe" into her ear and left for parts unknown. It was also revealed that Ella's mother seems to bear the guilt for the destruction of Egesa. When asked if Ella's mother had any enemies, Dalia replied that the woman was well liked and her skills as a seamstress were often sought out by many in the city.

After the conversation, while walking back to the upper city, there was a strange incident where someone humanoid-shaped (roughly human-sized) bumped into a barrel and was pulled into an adjacent alley by a gloved had that was displaying light-colored fur. Talek thought he smelled Ylrish's stink in the air and though everyone searched, they found no real trace of Ylrish nor the person who was pulled into the alley.

Once this commotion calmed down, the captain of the guard summoned them for questioning pertaining to the death of Dalia. After several hours of "kind interrogation," the priests in the city determined that there was no foul play and that Dalia had died of natural causes (heart attack). No poison had been found in her system, though a small puncture wound was discovered at the base of her skull, near the brain stem. It was about the size of a fishhook, needle, or tiny rapier (seeing as the party counts a sprite as one of it's members). Bobo was consulted as a poison's expert due to Talek's answers during questioning. Talek also warned against another poison user, Ylrish. Later that evening, Ella noticed that her amulet was glowing ever-so-softly (Talek had seen this while they were being questioned).

Finally, the following day, the quest to clear the slums continued. The party faced off against 8 goblin minions and two powerful tainted goblins. The party was victorious but had witnessed one of the goblins exploding into a mist of caustic disease. Ella and Bobo were nauseous when they were exposed to the swirling, black cloud of ash and disease. No goblins were left alive.

Bobo was able to hear the goblins arguing about an old woman who was marked for death on "the boss's" command. The assassination was to take place within the next few days. This old woman was reportedly powerful.

Also of note, the elven cleric that helped investigate the sewers had disappeared, almost directly after the revelation of what happened to the townsfolk.

World of Taluria, The / [E] Session Report: Session 3

« on: March 03, 2012, 12:31:58 AM »

Well, even though we only had 2 players, they recruited two adventurers to help out with clearing a section of the tunnels. What they found was telling indeed.
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Groups of tainted goblins and dire rats were in the section of the sewers the party entered. In the midst of one battle, a goblin "transmogrified" into a bigger, tougher, entropy-infected goblin that carried plague.

The party prevailed but one was infected with the Dire Rat Filth Fever disease. The Eladrin cleric that was brought along went white when she recognized the entropy infection that hadn't been seen for 20 years. Personal effects of the goblins turned out to be that of missing persons (who had been disappearing for the past 3-4 months). A ring was found that linked one of the goblins to the missing servant.

The next day, Gellac and Squiggy found that the minotaur paladin of Pelor wasn't seen by anyone else but the party. Nobody remembered seeing him and the owner of the Traveling Troll said that Gellac was talking to himself at the time. They are now looking to interview dwarf twins who do the cleaning and maintenance of the inn.

A rat was caught and fed water from the blackened river (the river turned 3-4 months ago). The rat died in a painful and agonizing manner.

The missing persons that were found to have been turned into goblins were all human. Non-human guards were stationed at the locked sewer entrances by order of the city guard.

World of Taluria, The / [M] Map Progress

« on: February 12, 2012, 09:49:12 AM »

As I announced on the Facebook group page, I am working on a digital version of the New Unswich city map. Here's an "in progress" shot (it's a rather large image, FYI. Right-click and choose view image to see the thing full-size):
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The city park looks semi-cool, but I have since removed that effect and am looking for other ways to represent top-down trees. I am also re-thinking the cliff through the center of town and am probably going to make it more of a slope than a straight cliff (at least in parts) since boats should be able to pass through the city. There is a waterfall in the current map and that prohibits river traffic from actually happening.

In any case, there you have it.

World of Taluria, The / [E] Session Report: Session 2

« on: February 11, 2012, 01:06:41 AM »

I think tonight was an awesome night. The characters learned more about New Unswich (now properly pronounced as Unz-wick), some of the history of the area and a few adventure hooks.
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Gellac spoke briefly with a fellow paladin of Pelor, one minotaur named Frinain, and learned of Nyasuma the Crimson. Nyasuma visited the inner, dark remains of the continent Egesa and returned a changed giant. He had sparkling, clear, blue eyes before the trip and when he returned, his eyes were devoid of pupil, iris, and whites--they were now entirely black. This happened approximately 17 years ago when Nyasuma went in search of artifacts that were rumored to still be on the remains of Egesa. When he returned, the Talurian folk (goblin, orc, minotaur, etc.) that were still susceptible to the taint went mad and fled or were chased from the city by those who were unaffected. Since then, there are some who arrive on the island that have gone missing after venturing outside the wall (all races have had this happen at some point).

Talek believes his old tormentor Ylrish (a female hobgoblin) may be behind the disappearance of one Arbeorht, a servant of the Elf Inyen and friend of Inyen's other servant Breda. He mysteriously disappeared while fetching water from the northern-most public well in the city park along Grove Road. Ylrish is a known serial killer (to Talek) who somehow got released from prison due to good behavior. She volunteered to be relocated to the island as a weaponsmith. She survived the sinking of the prison ship that brought everyone to the island and disappeared after they all made it safely to shore. She is known to relocate any victims 20 miles away to an underground location where she removes the left foot and drains the blood from the victim. After 300 murders, she is also a feared and deadly opponent. Talek isn't joking when he says that she let him live when he encountered her as a youth.

Bobo made an attempt to help train some militia who were practicing archery in the town guard's complex (the party went to warn them of Ylrish). He successfully taught the proper form for using a bow and helped a few trainees actually hit their assigned targets. Though this came at some humility when he, himself, missed the targets.

The party secured a base of operations in the form of a 3-story Victorian-style townhouse. A secret wine cellar was discovered as well as a ledge along the city wall that was too small for a human to really make use of but a sprite could easily use it as a walkway. The house is on Grove Road and close to the most excellent tavern The Traveling Troll.

Another foray into the slums met with the destruction of another patrol, this time of tainted goblins. This makes two encounters survived.

The next session will be held on March 2nd, 8 PM, @ Richmond Comix.

World of Taluria, The / [D] Updated Random Race & Class Tables

« on: January 28, 2012, 09:48:45 PM »

I have added the Heroes of the Elemental Chaos Wizard class, the Sha'ir. This gave me 5 Wizard classes so I went to d6 with 1-2, the Arcanist, the most common option.

I have also made the decision to take the Wilden off of the Rare Races table and replace it with the Shardmind. Shardminds are very, very rare though some still exist.