Well, in fact, this weeks adventure was fairly low key, until the end. The party (still only one player) went into the sink hole and found limestone caverns that were cut away by the annual monsoon flooding. An underground river flowed towards the Turín, and upward into the mountain. Did I mention the Mountain? Probably not. The sinkhole is at the base of the Silver Mountain, as outlined in the Butrús Gazetteer. The mountain is known to be riddled with these caverns, but a new, unexplored cavern is a nice find, since it is said that the a wizard once made his home in the mountain. The party made their way along the underground rivers edge and lost one guard who fell in and was swept away. They found a natural bridge and then traveled downstream to a branching tunnel, that climbed upward and towards more solid ground. They found a fork in that tunnel and took the center.. which surprised me a bit, but, they were following the nose of the Rényu. By this time they were starting to ration their torches. They discovered a large cavern, and eventually found Mis hiRakádi, a high priestess of the temple of Hriháyal , unconscious, nearly dead. She had run out of food, and water, and torches days before. Fortunately, the caves are quite wet, due to the recent rains. She may have had a day or so left.
They also found a bit of writing, in the tunnels leading to the large cavern. It was clearly an old and unknown script, but not of truly ancient origin. Only marginally damaged by new deposits. Know one there could read them, but they tried to memorize the “Look” so they could describe it to people who might know.
They used spears and packs to fashion a litter, and bore Mis back to the entrance. There they encountered the Chnéhl. Two of them ambushed our hero as he was the first out, but he fought defensively and the Tirrikámu (J'grem hiQorretú) from the Priestess Barge joined him, to even out the odds. Both our hero and the Chnéhl he was fighting managed to deliver serious blows, but each did just under the threshold needed to cause a shock result. As more guards poured forth from the hole, the Chnéhl chose the safer path and fled. No one pursued. The party slept there, on guard, and then moved to the Sákbe road tower the next day. For his injuries and bravery, our hero garnered a bit of ritual attention from Mis, but, not a lot. Neither was in great shape at that point. And there we left them, with hopes of bringing more characters in at the Sákbe road tower next week.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Help, Lassie, come quick
Well, game two, one player, but a second interested party showed up as we wrapped up. I didn't give them much notice, so my apologies. This week I will be off to school on game day, and it would have been a work night anyway, so..
Our hero, Guard of the Temple Hriháyal, and party progressed upstream on the Berjádu to the Sákbe road tower that bridges the river. On the way they found the recent remains of two unknown Hriháyal guards, dead of injuries from a beast, and exposure. When they reached the Tower the Tirrikámu of the Sákbe roads for the area informed them that, yes, they knew about the dead Temple guards. They had been informed by another detachment from Butrús that the Priestess' barge was missing, and they had been sending scouts down the river. They had already rescued a priestess, found unconscious with the dead Guards, and she was resting comfortably in the guards room, in between her efforts to reward her rescuers. When they asked for an audience, they were told she probably would not be available til morning.
Next Morning our party learns that the rescued priestess is barely an acolyte, but a protégé of the High Priestess they are seeking. They are told that the Barge was trying desperately to make it the last few bends to the village and safety when the oars on one side started to snap. The Craft heaved sidelong in the river, and caught on debris, and quickly started to swamp. Water coming over the gunnels swept several people into the water immediately. She does not know who made it off the boat.
It is decided that the group should proceed down the other side of the Berjádu, to find the overturned barge, and look for evidence of life. Along the way, our acolyte, an Salarvyáni girl liberated in the border wars and inducted into the temple of Hriháyal, learns first of the Chnéhl. She explains that there may be up to two, and that they were aboard the barge, part of the entourage, as it were, and a crucial part of a ritual our High Priestess planned in Tumíssa. They were exceptional specimens, bred for size and aggressiveness, and valuable. More so, if the High Priestess is recovered, but worth something to the Temple in any case.
Half way down she learns the amusing story of the singing Rényu, and offers up more information. The Rényu is Fefee, a pet, companion to the High Priestess. That Fefee lives is encouraging, to her, as the animal is very loyal. And, of course, another valuable critter to recover, and probably much easier than recapturing the Chnéhl. She estimates that it may be only a few weeks, however, before a captive Rényu becomes a Feral Rényu.
At the Barge, they manage to completely fail at uprighting the craft. So they punch a hole in the now inverted barge and explore, finding some dead rowing slaves, and a trunk of valuables that belong to the HP. They explore the area, and find another Temple Guard, a Tirrikámu for the HP. He is an older man, a retiree from the legions, and experienced in the wild. He says he has swept the area south, and sees no signs of survivors.
So the party returns to the Sákbe roads, where they are told by the Guards that the singing Rényu has been appearing every night, despite them throwing rocks at the cursed thing. It appears again, that night, and our hero and the Acolyte try to approach it. Every time they get close, it darts off into the woods. Every time they retreat, it comes forward and sings. They decide it is trying to lead them.
Everyone up, but kept a good distance back, and off into the woods to follow the Rényu. Travel is difficult, and slow, but by mid morn they find a sink hole, and the Rényu wants to go down. But it is steep and slick. The party ties up some crude ladders and goes in.
So, has it come to this. I once thought myself a pretty ingenious GM, but it was my player who laughed as he said, “What Lassie, Timmy's in the well?”. Not my most creative moment, I am afraid. Still this is hopefully building to something...
Our hero, Guard of the Temple Hriháyal, and party progressed upstream on the Berjádu to the Sákbe road tower that bridges the river. On the way they found the recent remains of two unknown Hriháyal guards, dead of injuries from a beast, and exposure. When they reached the Tower the Tirrikámu of the Sákbe roads for the area informed them that, yes, they knew about the dead Temple guards. They had been informed by another detachment from Butrús that the Priestess' barge was missing, and they had been sending scouts down the river. They had already rescued a priestess, found unconscious with the dead Guards, and she was resting comfortably in the guards room, in between her efforts to reward her rescuers. When they asked for an audience, they were told she probably would not be available til morning.
Next Morning our party learns that the rescued priestess is barely an acolyte, but a protégé of the High Priestess they are seeking. They are told that the Barge was trying desperately to make it the last few bends to the village and safety when the oars on one side started to snap. The Craft heaved sidelong in the river, and caught on debris, and quickly started to swamp. Water coming over the gunnels swept several people into the water immediately. She does not know who made it off the boat.
It is decided that the group should proceed down the other side of the Berjádu, to find the overturned barge, and look for evidence of life. Along the way, our acolyte, an Salarvyáni girl liberated in the border wars and inducted into the temple of Hriháyal, learns first of the Chnéhl. She explains that there may be up to two, and that they were aboard the barge, part of the entourage, as it were, and a crucial part of a ritual our High Priestess planned in Tumíssa. They were exceptional specimens, bred for size and aggressiveness, and valuable. More so, if the High Priestess is recovered, but worth something to the Temple in any case.
Half way down she learns the amusing story of the singing Rényu, and offers up more information. The Rényu is Fefee, a pet, companion to the High Priestess. That Fefee lives is encouraging, to her, as the animal is very loyal. And, of course, another valuable critter to recover, and probably much easier than recapturing the Chnéhl. She estimates that it may be only a few weeks, however, before a captive Rényu becomes a Feral Rényu.
At the Barge, they manage to completely fail at uprighting the craft. So they punch a hole in the now inverted barge and explore, finding some dead rowing slaves, and a trunk of valuables that belong to the HP. They explore the area, and find another Temple Guard, a Tirrikámu for the HP. He is an older man, a retiree from the legions, and experienced in the wild. He says he has swept the area south, and sees no signs of survivors.
So the party returns to the Sákbe roads, where they are told by the Guards that the singing Rényu has been appearing every night, despite them throwing rocks at the cursed thing. It appears again, that night, and our hero and the Acolyte try to approach it. Every time they get close, it darts off into the woods. Every time they retreat, it comes forward and sings. They decide it is trying to lead them.
Everyone up, but kept a good distance back, and off into the woods to follow the Rényu. Travel is difficult, and slow, but by mid morn they find a sink hole, and the Rényu wants to go down. But it is steep and slick. The party ties up some crude ladders and goes in.
So, has it come to this. I once thought myself a pretty ingenious GM, but it was my player who laughed as he said, “What Lassie, Timmy's in the well?”. Not my most creative moment, I am afraid. Still this is hopefully building to something...
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Rains swamp Butrus - Hero Gets wet
Well, I had two people lined up, but only one showed. We started anyway. After a bit of character creation, we had a young Temple Guard of Hriháyal, a strapping young man who shows promise with a sword, no pun intended..
As it happened a freak rains storm across much of the Chakas, out of season, led to significant flooding along the Turín River. Which led to an alarming delay in the arrival of dignitaries from the Temple of Hriháyal in Úrmish . So a Tirrikámu of the Temple Guard hastily gathered together five guardsmen and set out to search the swollen banks down to the Berjádu River. Our hero volunteered.
Other than a good deal of what I call Mud foot ( A condition familiar to many who have traveled in muddy environments, wherein the mud slowly cakes to your boots until they way a few tonne each) the first few days were uneventful. Then a guard tried to use the rushing water of the Turin to clean his boots, and was swept in. The Tirrikámu, had the good sense to have all the guards tied off to one another, and this kept him from being swept away, but his trashing attracted the attention of a Ghár before his mates could pull him out. He had lost the use of both legs below the knee when he was finally on land.
Our hero and one other Guard set out down stream to try to locate a fishing village that was supposed to be in the area. By night fall they had struck a deal to assist the village with moving their boats further out of the rising tide, in exchange for help getting their wounded comrade down to the village and some basic medical care. In the morning they set out north with two village bearers and returned that afternoon. By night fall, they had a chance to sleep indoors and out of the rain, improving everyones spirits – even our legless guard, though probably not by much.
The next morning, with a village boy tagging along, the party headed south again, leaving the wounded with the villagers. They encountered tracks from two Chnéhl that appeared to come down to the riverbanks, travel upstream a bit, then return to the woods. Chnéhl are not completely unknown here, but rare, and this put the troop on alert. They began to sing Temple songs as the marched, so as not to startle any Chnéhl they might run across, based upon the same idea that people use to keep bears away. And, either it worked, or they didn't run into any more of the beasts. It did, however, attract something.
By evening they were all convinced they were being followed, but no one had any idea what it might be. What ever it was had kept a good distance, and avoided being seen. It didn't “feel” hostile. But they put on extra guards to be safe. (Which meant no one got a solid nights sleep.) Mid way through the night, they heard something singing their songs off in the woods. Our hero sang back, and all went silent. This, was both amusing and a bit creepy. They added another guard to the last shift.
By morning they were all cranky. The boy, however, offered a plausible explanation. Perhaps it was a Rényu. They are known to follow, and they are fairly bright, and they can speak, after a fashion. It didn't seem impossible, though it would indicate one very smart Rényu. It would have learned the song in one day. Whatever it was continued to follow them the next day, though it kept greater distance. Our hero began to leave bits of dried foodstuffs as they traveled. He was aware that Rényu can be domesticated, and are worth something. But the critter never got close again.
By the end of the day the weather had finally let up and they found the confluence of the Turín and Berjádu River s. They could see across it, to the south, was the small barge that would have been carrying the Priestess from Úrmish. It was on one side. No sign of anyone near by, and no way to cross at this point. The young village boy told them of a normally fordable point upstream, but it was still to flooded to be done safely. Further upstream they would encounter the Sákbe roads. If anyone had survived the wreck, they might well have tried to make the Sákbe road tower. So our party headed there next.
And that is when the staff at Dragon Port gave us the last call warning. Our hero managed to confirm that the follower was, in fact, a Rényu, just prior to our closing the books, but I left the subject of what they will learn at the Sákbe roads for next time. It also allows me a convenient hook for introducing a new character, if I can find another brave soul. And I have come up with some interesting ideas..
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Players not Pawns.
The first rule of putting together a new RPG campaign, and one that I had forgotten, is that one must collect players, not miniatures. It really doesn't take many. I figure 3-6 should make a good start. Three is really the sweet spot for RPGing, in my opinion. Over 6 can get cumbersome, though I have done it, with some success, back when I was in form. One player and a DM is a bit clunky, the player lacks anyone to play off, aside from the DM, and so, the DM gets tired more quickly. When you add a second player, the DM can compose his thoughts when the two interact. This is even more pronounced in a group of three players. Four and five are manageable, but, as we add players the tendency for the players to tag off on demanding the attention from the DM increases. There are still slack times when the DM can think about aspects not immediately pressing, but they get more rare.
At anyrate, these thoughts are prompted by my attempt to form a Group for my Tekumel campaign. I have a room at the FLGS for the 1st. I have one player. I put up a poster, but have had no emails. I have a growing short tonne of miniatures. Short tonne being a Euphemism, in case I have sensitive readers. I plan on launching on Thursday even if we only have me and Geo. I have no idea what we will do, or what system we will use.
A large part of the problem is that I am no longer a "figure" in the local gaming scene. There was a time, back in College, when I was president and founder of the campus club. Finding players then was easy. But most of the people I knew then are gone from here. And the online networking has not helped much (read "at all"). The Freeforum group has been overrun with spammers, and another forum seems to consist of players in a Pathfinder campaign. Few people my age have time for more than one campaign, I find. And Gaming is kind of a personal activity, so I think finding strangers to travel to strange new lands is, socially, a bit daunting. It would be much easier if I were pitching a more familiar world - something a bit..oh Tolkien.
Other news, I won an Ebay auction for Lou Zocchi's copy of Swords and Glory Volume 1, in Box with Maps. I am hoping it comes autographed. As the story goes, the seller is a friend of Lou's and gave him a heads up on the current market value of some Old School Goodness. Lou allowed him to sell two copies of SGV1, to test the waters. I got the game cheap, in my estimation. Much cheaper than online retailers are asking for copies. That surprised me, and I suspect it may disappoint Lou. Don't know what he was expecting, of course. Still, I am pleased, because Lou has been an icon in my world for a while. I would love to get the Professors autograph on it as well, but I am thinking that will be unlikely.
I have been painting some, but mostly low caste and slave figures. I have some Asar figures in the Que, but I am not sure what I will do with them, so I am delaying. I did realize that all these poor clansfolk could probably also stand in as natives when I get some pirates painted, in a year or so.. But I need to get painting if I am gonna get the Tek stuff that I have done by years end. I should set up a camera, and there might be a pic if you come back to this post in a day or two.
I have also begun discussions with the Tekumel Project to sponsor a Legion. Not cheap, but, if I can find the money, I am gonna do it. For the moment, I will keep details hush hush.. Wouldn't want the Red Hats to know.
On April 10th, I think, Chirine and his pals have organized the Dave Arneson Maritime Memorial event at the Source. I hope to be there. But the next week I will be gone to school for work, and I am not sure I want to travel right before hand.
At anyrate, these thoughts are prompted by my attempt to form a Group for my Tekumel campaign. I have a room at the FLGS for the 1st. I have one player. I put up a poster, but have had no emails. I have a growing short tonne of miniatures. Short tonne being a Euphemism, in case I have sensitive readers. I plan on launching on Thursday even if we only have me and Geo. I have no idea what we will do, or what system we will use.
A large part of the problem is that I am no longer a "figure" in the local gaming scene. There was a time, back in College, when I was president and founder of the campus club. Finding players then was easy. But most of the people I knew then are gone from here. And the online networking has not helped much (read "at all"). The Freeforum group has been overrun with spammers, and another forum seems to consist of players in a Pathfinder campaign. Few people my age have time for more than one campaign, I find. And Gaming is kind of a personal activity, so I think finding strangers to travel to strange new lands is, socially, a bit daunting. It would be much easier if I were pitching a more familiar world - something a bit..oh Tolkien.
Other news, I won an Ebay auction for Lou Zocchi's copy of Swords and Glory Volume 1, in Box with Maps. I am hoping it comes autographed. As the story goes, the seller is a friend of Lou's and gave him a heads up on the current market value of some Old School Goodness. Lou allowed him to sell two copies of SGV1, to test the waters. I got the game cheap, in my estimation. Much cheaper than online retailers are asking for copies. That surprised me, and I suspect it may disappoint Lou. Don't know what he was expecting, of course. Still, I am pleased, because Lou has been an icon in my world for a while. I would love to get the Professors autograph on it as well, but I am thinking that will be unlikely.
I have been painting some, but mostly low caste and slave figures. I have some Asar figures in the Que, but I am not sure what I will do with them, so I am delaying. I did realize that all these poor clansfolk could probably also stand in as natives when I get some pirates painted, in a year or so.. But I need to get painting if I am gonna get the Tek stuff that I have done by years end. I should set up a camera, and there might be a pic if you come back to this post in a day or two.
I have also begun discussions with the Tekumel Project to sponsor a Legion. Not cheap, but, if I can find the money, I am gonna do it. For the moment, I will keep details hush hush.. Wouldn't want the Red Hats to know.
On April 10th, I think, Chirine and his pals have organized the Dave Arneson Maritime Memorial event at the Source. I hope to be there. But the next week I will be gone to school for work, and I am not sure I want to travel right before hand.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Gut Shot
Chip Hosted a Game of Gut Shot recently. He felt it necessary to look the part.. Texas Belt Buckle and all. The scenario was a train robbery/kidnapping. The terrain was provided by Chip and the miniatures by his friends.
Things began when when a group of bad guys, who felt they had been wronged by the railroads owners, blew the tracks at the end of Royal Gorge, a narrow rail pass running parallel and sometimes hanging over the Arkansas River in Colorado. A lot of the terrain was left unused, as the focus of the activities was the train. We simply placed cardboard "floors" on top of the cars to represent the insides. First contact was made when a bad guy mounted the train in the caboose (no snickering..) and found the Caboose Crewman smoking a roll your own, and the Assistant Engineer taking a nap. This lead to a close quarters fist fight cause no one had time to reload after an initial round of missed shots.
I seem to be having a problem with linking to Flickr images, so I am going to send you here to view the pictures..
Things began when when a group of bad guys, who felt they had been wronged by the railroads owners, blew the tracks at the end of Royal Gorge, a narrow rail pass running parallel and sometimes hanging over the Arkansas River in Colorado. A lot of the terrain was left unused, as the focus of the activities was the train. We simply placed cardboard "floors" on top of the cars to represent the insides. First contact was made when a bad guy mounted the train in the caboose (no snickering..) and found the Caboose Crewman smoking a roll your own, and the Assistant Engineer taking a nap. This lead to a close quarters fist fight cause no one had time to reload after an initial round of missed shots.
I seem to be having a problem with linking to Flickr images, so I am going to send you here to view the pictures..
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Spending money, but not playing..
This seems to be a perennial problem. Of course, when switching from my traditional bit of not playing all games to a focus on not playing tekumel, there will obviously be some need for purchases. I have been getting minis that either are, or will serve well, for tekumel. Four units of Tsolyani and three Yan Kor, from Tita's House of Games, when they had a Holiday sale at the end of the year. And some Ghost Miniatures Elves from Old Glory who, so far, are mustering out to be Temple Guards for Karakan and Belkanu (and probably their cohorts). I ha
ve even begun painting these. Further down we see some Priestesses of Dlamelish and her Cohort from Bronze Age Miniatures. Paint work is ongoing, but good enough for now.Several times I have found nice figs on Ebay from a "buffy's mommy" who seems to have no end of old 70's figures. I have purchased a pile of bearers, some Amazons (Aridani), and Numidians, who will function as poorer clans men. I also have some Asar from crocodile games for generic guards. These from the Noble Chirine.
Most recently, on Ebay, I won a set of old PHD figures, non humans. This means I will have some Ahoggya, Shen, S'su, Pygmy Folk, and a host of Tinaliya. The competition was fierce, especially for the Ahoggya, everyones favorite from Tekumel, I suppose.
Much Painting ahead, I see.
I also purchased, from Tita's again, the army books for Tsolyanu, Yan Kor and Mu'ugalavya, and the Tsolyani Primer, which, it turns out, is a really sound basic course. Now I need to track down some people who have a pretty firm grasp of Tsolyani, who have time to do some recordings.. I think that training vids based upon this book could be a very good thing..
These purchases have put me over budget on gaming at the moment. And yet, I bought three copies of Junta when it was on Tanga for 9 bucks..
I also realized I only have a few months before my Old Glory Army membership lapses. So, I need to make a list of things to buy from them, and do a bulk purchase. I am also looking at sponsoring a legion via the Tekumel Project. All this, and I haven't gotten a game together yet.
In theory, I am scheduled to run a game this Thursday. I have one player, for sure. One I have invited who has not replied. I have done no advertising. I have an adventure idea, but it isn't for one person, really. What to do, what to do...
Friday, January 1, 2010
Twenty Ten, the Time of Tekumel
It's all the rage, mentioning that this is a new year. Not one to buck the trend, so, I formally announce my Year of Tekumel. So, what, exactly, does this mean. Well for starters, Tekumel will be my primary focus for gaming. I don't know how this will work, as far as time is concerned. I figure it will be 80% of my new gaming budget*. I resolve to paint a Several Tek related miniatures for each non tek related miniature. And Most of my terrain projects will revolve around Tek usable items. I may even go so far as to create some original (derivative) Tekumel stuff.
This does not mean I will do no non tekumel stuff, of course. I still have projects that need tending to. But, Tekumel wi
Ideas along those lines include a Gazetteer for Penom. It would be modeled on the wonderful Butrus Gazetteer. Penom is oft the oft referenced, but seldom detailed armpit of Tsolyanu. I may also do -for my own benefit, but potentially useful to others - a series of educational powerpoints, or pod casts or something. This is all very ambitious.
I plan to spend some cash on this, though, for the moment, I don't know from whence it will come. Projects already in the works. I haven't updated the minis counts, but I do have a fair pile of both Official, and Proxy Tekumel figures now. I have plenty of Low class figures. A few and sundry potential temple guards and merchant guards, that need painting. And a box of goodies I bought from Tita's, that I haven't even opened, cause I need to figure a good way to organize them. I figure since I didn't open em, I can count the expense as a 2010 expense. They were about 200 dollars in figs, and that was taking advantage of a 50% off offer he made just prior to the Holidays.
On the terrain front, I have a fair number of conifers, from last year post christmas sales, and I have a nice wreath I will disassemble for creating shubbery, and maybe some exotics. I need to hit the thrift stores and such for more wreaths and such. Project for this week, when this stuff is still common, and cheap.
I also have a lot of Poly styrene packing, that I can convert up for temple fronts, and such, I think. I don't know what else to do with it, though some may be tasked for non tekumel terrain. Chirine showed me a trick for making quick and painless temple exteriors, so that will probably come up. And I am hoping to make some dungeon pieces. More on that as the plan develops.
And I plan to go to Ann Arbor this year. I think I will even take vacation for that up front.
Well, this was pretty rambling. Probably up too late last night. I will edit it later. Maybe add a bit. Later fans.
This does not mean I will do no non tekumel stuff, of course. I still have projects that need tending to. But, Tekumel wi
Ideas along those lines include a Gazetteer for Penom. It would be modeled on the wonderful Butrus Gazetteer. Penom is oft the oft referenced, but seldom detailed armpit of Tsolyanu. I may also do -for my own benefit, but potentially useful to others - a series of educational powerpoints, or pod casts or something. This is all very ambitious.
I plan to spend some cash on this, though, for the moment, I don't know from whence it will come. Projects already in the works. I haven't updated the minis counts, but I do have a fair pile of both Official, and Proxy Tekumel figures now. I have plenty of Low class figures. A few and sundry potential temple guards and merchant guards, that need painting. And a box of goodies I bought from Tita's, that I haven't even opened, cause I need to figure a good way to organize them. I figure since I didn't open em, I can count the expense as a 2010 expense. They were about 200 dollars in figs, and that was taking advantage of a 50% off offer he made just prior to the Holidays.
On the terrain front, I have a fair number of conifers, from last year post christmas sales, and I have a nice wreath I will disassemble for creating shubbery, and maybe some exotics. I need to hit the thrift stores and such for more wreaths and such. Project for this week, when this stuff is still common, and cheap.
I also have a lot of Poly styrene packing, that I can convert up for temple fronts, and such, I think. I don't know what else to do with it, though some may be tasked for non tekumel terrain. Chirine showed me a trick for making quick and painless temple exteriors, so that will probably come up. And I am hoping to make some dungeon pieces. More on that as the plan develops.
And I plan to go to Ann Arbor this year. I think I will even take vacation for that up front.
Well, this was pretty rambling. Probably up too late last night. I will edit it later. Maybe add a bit. Later fans.
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