Rhuvein's Sunday Night CZ game

[Tadhg]

CZ Session XXIII ~ “Taking leave of Wily Wil and heading back to Yggsburgh!”.

The group decided to further explore the dungeon rooms and corridors in this region. They found the Great Cavern belonging to a party of elves and half-orcs. The PCs were invited in to sup with the elves who introduced themselves as Caineth, Equoniuss, Veldyr and Zym ~ along with Dub, Krunk, Ock, Prong, Vex and Voro. A nice dinner was served along with mead, beer and wine. Afterwards, cigars and fireamber were enjoyed by various members of both parties.

The PCs learned a few things about the elves and why they were here. The elves warned the group of the evil dwarves in the northeast section of the dungeon. They also mentioned the orcs to the southwest. The adventurers took their leave and went over to explore the rooms and corridors of the orcs. A battle ensued and the orcs were easily defeated.

The group decides to take their gold and return to Yggsburgh to buy potions, gear and better armor and weapons. The PCs make their way down through Wil’s cave and exit the dungeon to the dried up ravines surrounding the castle precincts. They hike back up the switch-backs to the main road where Artemis and several rangers await with their horse.

The adventurers travel back towards Stonewych relaying information with Artemis about the castle dungeons and everything that has transpired. The group takes lunch in Stonwych. Artemis informs them that Sir Alec is not at the castle, otherwise they would have been invited there.

The PCs continue on to Yggsburgh to spend a day or two – resting, eating, drinking, wenching and buying and upgrading their armor and weapons.

End session.

XP = 341

The Players:

Aramis played the dwarven wizard/cleric known throughout the world as Snorri Ironbeard.
Aergraith as Darby of Scragwick human wizard.
Rigon was the fierce and noble warrior, Dhorric.
Treebore was Backar, the mighty half-giant knight.
Arrowhawk, as Bruno the brave half-giant fighter.
Jaybird is and will always be, Snizzlebottom, the most serious gnomish rogue/illusionist.

[Tadhg]

Game ~ Sunday evening!

[ArrowHawk]

Sorry Rhu but I won't make the game tonight. It's thanksgiving this weekend and I will be at my parents. Take care, see you next time.

[Tadhg]

Sorry Rhu but I won't make the game tonight. It's thanksgiving this weekend and I will be at my parents. Take care, see you next time.

Thanks for posting. Enjoy your holiday!

[Tadhg]

Game tomorrow night!!

Recap/reminder of open and/or possible adventuring paths in this campaign.

Finish exploring level 1 (the party is doing that right now).
Dungeon level 2 is accessible as is a section of level 3. If you suspect that dungeon level 2 will have interesting traps, tougher creatures, and magical items, you would be correct in those assumptions.

A large black reservoir is rumored to be under the castle/precincts (based on your accumulated knowledge in talking to bandits, elves and other peoples, you estimate the subterranean lake at somewhere around levels 4 down to 6 or 7).

The party has heard of a magical portal which might take them to the red planet in the sky (for now I have a small 1 or 2 night mini-adventure prepared rather than a long campaign).

Some say the lower dungeons have a room with a large colorful bottle which contains an entire city.

Other rumors:

A portal to an overgrown jungle island where a very large creature lives and breaths and guards plentiful treasures.

Strange comings and going to and from Aufstrag (you heard some discussion and speculation of this when you were in Yggsburgh).

To the north of Yggsburgh and CZ, some skirmishes between were creatures and vampires are taking place in a city at the foot of the Carpathian Mountain range.

A portal to a City of Brass.

A portal to the foot of the Barrier Peaks.

[Aramis]

Sounds like a lot of fun games ahead. Although most may be a wee bit beyond our abilities at present.

A portal to an overgrown jungle island where a very large creature lives and breaths and guards plentiful treasures.

Case in point: Isle of the Ape (if that's what it is)

were creatures and vampires

I'm going to say...noooo

Some say the lower dungeons have a room with a large colorful bottle which contains an entire city.

Ooh. bottle city. Nice addition. We did survive the animated furniture room already with only minimal conflagration

A portal to the foot of the Barrier Peaks.

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Stop off there first, pick up a few things, then bring on your vampires and giant apes. We could maybe even take on a few of those kobolds (if they were asleep...maybe)

[Tadhg]

Bah, a bunch of rumor mongering by wimpy, scardy cat town people who have nothing better to do than hunker down in a large city getting fat on roasted board and mugs of ale!!

Hmm, if you can pick up advanced weaponry from Mars, Barriers Peaks or the Warden, you might very well be able to kick ass on the jungle isle.

As for the werewolves and vampires . . . silver bullets and some hoglegs are your friend there [heck, see Murlynd, he'll fix you up! ]

Did I mention, there are loads of magical items on level 2?

[Tadhg]

CZ Session XXIV ~ “Return to the Store Rooms!”.

While in Yggsburgh, the PCs hear various rumors about what’s been happening around the Wild Coast, Gnarly Forest and the Duchy of Urnst. To the east, they hear that there is much travel and movement to Aufstrag. Wild speculation flies about the possible return of Uklar. Mogrl have spotted near the Blacktooth Ridge.

You also learn that Count Rhuvein and Sir Alec are returning from the Valley of the Mage at the foot of the Barrier Peaks. They search for artifacts and knowledge to bring the Arch Mage Aristobulus back from whatever void or plane he was lost to.

Artemis tells you that, Count Rhuvein is convinced there are magic items, wondrous items and artifacts in the lower levels of Castle Zagyg.

The adventures then have a safe and pleasant journey back to Castle Zagyg and make their way down the ravine trail to Wily Wil’s cave. They enter but Wil is not there. The party decides to finish exploring the dungeon level and head back towards the kobold strongholds.

[Please let me know if I have forgotten anything in this recap or any previous ones ~ thanks]

End session.

XP = 409

The Players:

Aramis played the dwarven wizard/cleric known throughout the world as Snorri Ironbeard.
Aergraith as Darby of Scragwick human wizard.
Rigon was the fierce and noble warrior, Dhorric.
Treebore was Backar, the mighty half-giant knight.
Arrowhawk, as Bruno the brave half-giant fighter.
Jaybird is and will always be, Snizzlebottom, the most serious gnomish rogue/illusionist.

[Rigon]

Rhu, I'm not going to make it tonight. I'm out of town and not sure when I'll get home. Plus it's been a hectic weekend and I'm tired.

R-

[Tadhg]

Rhu, I'm not going to make it tonight. I'm out of town and not sure when I'll get home. Plus it's been a hectic weekend and I'm tired.

R-

Sorry to hear that . . Dhorric was such an excellent character. It seems that last session, your fellow party members left you alone in the south west section of the dungeon.

Remember the copper basket? Due to magic, one of the baby snakes grows quickly into adulthood and is even larger and more powerful than mom!!

Oh, and it's heading down your corridor and there is a gelatinous cube coming the other way!

[Aramis]

Rhu, I'm not going to make it tonight. I'm out of town and not sure when I'll get home. Plus it's been a hectic weekend and I'm tired.

R-

Sorry to hear that . . Dhorric was such an excellent character. It seems that last session, your fellow party members left you alone in the south west section of the dungeon.

Remember the copper basket? Due to magic, one of the baby snakes grows quickly into adulthood and is even larger and more powerful than mom!!

Oh, and it's heading down your corridor and there is a gelatinous cube coming the other way!

[Treebore]

Awesome!

Find one for Daithan.

[Rigon]

Yous guys are funny. ;p

R-

[Tadhg]

CZ Session XXV ~ “Entering the Deep Cellars!”.

After negotiating past a pit trap, the party continues following the dungeon hallway to a doorway. Snizz checks the door and easily notices some crude traps over the entrance way, if the door is opened. He alerts Bruno who opens and pushes the door in, but quickly steps back. Down come some boulders along with a bucket of kobold urine! The PCs enter a large room that appears to be a barracks. Kobolds are encountered and quickly defeated.

The group carefully searches the room and they find a secret door to a small half-room. Snizz finds a metal chest with dwarven runes on it. Snorri reads them and opens the chest and finds a fine velour cloth covering some magic items.

The PCs continue through the south open exit way of the barracks to 2 dead end hallways. The first had a pit trap in front of a secret door to another half-room. Snizz finds another dwarven chest. Snorri opens this one to find more treasure. The group continues and a second hallway is found with yet another secret door/room and chest. And again, treasure is found.

The party heads south, west and then north down a long hallway that turns back east to a kobold apartment with women and kobold whelps. 2 soldiers and a sergeant are easily killed and the kobold women and whelps are eliminated.

The adventurers quickly discuss options with regard to which downward corridor to take and decide on the left hallway. They follow a circular stairway down to the Deep Cellars. An alcove containing the rubble of a statue faces the PCs as they descend down the last few stairs to an east west corridor. To the west a secret door with a spiral staircase leading down.

The party decides not to go further down and instead continue east to a large room. It has 4 thick support pillars that go from floor to ceiling. In the center of the room, a tiled circular mosaic containing a silver star. To the east, an open doorway and to the south a door. Snizz expertly identifies a guillotined trap which he disarms and the party is able to proceed down a winding, curving southerly direction which then curves back around north-west and then back south and east to an entrance way.

They pass through a room that contains the molted skins of some large snake as well as a pile of bones in several places on the floor. A single column rises up from ground to ceiling in the center of the room. The PCs continue north-west to a double wide corridor. To the south a portcullis blocks the way and to the north and then east, the passage continues.

The hall turns back north and the group enters a room with 2 cells, each containing a human prisoner. The female lets slip that she is a princess and that there will be a reward for freeing them.

End session.

XP = 376

The Players:

Aramis played the dwarven wizard/cleric known throughout the world as Snorri Ironbeard.
Jaybird played Snizzlebottom, the most serious gnomish rogue/illusionist.
Aergraith as Darby of Scragwick human wizard.
Rigon was the fierce and noble warrior, Dhorric.
Treebore was Backar, the mighty half-giant knight.
Arrowhawk as Bruno the brave half-giant fighter.

[Tadhg]

Game on for tomorrow night!!

[ArrowHawk]

I'm not sure if I will make it to tonights game Rhu. I have my grandparents 60th anniversary to go to. If I'm not too late I will try to sign on.

[Tadhg]

No worries, Arrow ~ thanks for the post. Enjoy the celebration!!

[Tadhg]

Game start in 15 minutes!

[Tadhg]

Game this Sunday night!!

Be there and I'll be fair!

[Tadhg]

*doing some random monster rolls* . . .

OH YEAH! A Nonocculus!!!!!!

And it's heading down the corridor towards the adventurers!!

Man, this is going to be a great night of gaming!!

[Tadhg]

If anyone feels like starting early (6 or 6:30), lemeno!

[Treebore]

If anyone feels like starting early (6 or 6:30), lemeno!

I am going to be late. Probably over an hour late. I'll join as soon as I can.

[Tadhg]

If anyone feels like starting early (6 or 6:30), lemeno!

I am going to be late. Probably over an hour late. I'll join as soon as I can.

OK, thanks for posting!

[Treebore]

I play a game to have a reasonable expectation of following the rules, I'm out.

[Tadhg]

I play a game to have a reasonable expectation of following the rules, I'm out.

No, no, come on back!!

Sorry, my bad.

It was a rhetorical question from me about attacking an attack of opportunity. I didn't articulate that and the guys reminded me of the C&C rules regarding this situation.

So, you and they were correct with your thinking.

[Tadhg]

Great session, everyone. Thanks!

[ArrowHawk]

Sorry I missed the game tonight Rhu, I was at my parents for supper and it ran a little late. See you tomorrow.

[Treebore]

I play a game to have a reasonable expectation of following the rules, I'm out.

No, no, come on back!!

Sorry, my bad.

It was a rhetorical question from me about attacking an attack of opportunity. I didn't articulate that and the guys reminded me of the C&C rules regarding this situation.

So, you and they were correct with your thinking.

It wasn't just the Attacks of Opportunity. You also ignored the rules on passing through opponents areas. That door way was completely bottle necked, so not only did you totally ignore the AoO's, you ignored Overbearing. Then you suddenly decided to worry about the encumbrance of the 6 rocks my character has been carrying around since I created him, under the rules you provided, which had no EV by the way. To the point where you said Bruno and my character couldn't be carrying them and our main weapons and a couple of other things.

Plus you said there were not rules for Rust Monsters destroying magic items, and I know there was, because I used them in the Ravenloft game just a few weeks ago:

"Rust: Any metallic object striking or struck by a rust monster corrodes
instantly. Rust monsters can corrode and devour any metal. Magical items
may be destroyed by this corrosion. There is a 10% chance -1% per “plus” of
the item in question that it is destroyed by this effect. A +2 longsword would
have an 8% chance of decaying."

Of course upon reading them again I see I misread them even when I did use them. Or maybe I read a different printing that read differently, I don't know which right now.

Plus this isn't the first time rules have been ignored.

There is a reason why I write up my house rules. They are all about what I ignore, modify, or add to my game. So if it isn't in the rule book for what I do use, it is in my house rules, and that is what I follow. This is so both my players and I know what to expect, and in particular, I remember what I do as the CK. All to avoid the confusion and disrupting discussions like went on in the game yesterday.

Granted, I already had a frustrating day yesterday, and its continuing today, so maybe it was a RPG example of "The Perfect Storm", but this isn't the first time we had to bring up rules that were being ignored, or have new "rules" thrown at us in the middle of the game. I think as the CK you should know when to apply Overbearing, Attacks of Opportunity, if magic items can save versus Rusting, and if encumbrance is going to matter so much to you, that you assign an EV to the rocks when you wrote up their range and damage so that we don't play for months thinking one way when its another way. Especially when your playing a half giant with STR and CON as Primes. A character with the maximum possible carrying capacity in the game. Going by the rules, as written, anyways.

So yesterday just brought it to a point where I am tired of wondering what rules will we be following this session. So I am quitting. I like a game master who follows the rules as written, whether "by the book", or as written by the game master themselves. Yesterday once again showed me you weren't doing "any of the above", in a multitude of ways, all at one time. So as much as I dislike doing it, because I like you and everyone in the game group, I have decided I would rather spend my time doing other things. So my apologies to everyone for all the negativity this is causing, but I am no longer interested in continuing to play in this game.

[Tadhg]

With regard to EV, I don’t follow C&C except for paragraph 4 on page 47 under encumbrance.

Also, you don’t have rocks listed on your char sheet.

The discussion came up once or twice during the game when Lord Seurek was playing. Perhaps you missed those sessions. I stated that the half-giants would most likely be encumbered if they decided to carry boulders or large rocks into the dungeon with them.
Both Bruno and Tutoc did not elect to attempt to carry rocks into the dungeon.

For the sake of discussion, your char would have an ER of 14 (10 + 2 str prime +2 con prime). Looking at your old char sheet and knowing that you are now wearing full plate along with all your weapons and gear, I’m guessing that you might be light to moderately encumbered before attempting to carry boulders/rocks into the dungeon.

If you wish to re-arrange to see if you could possibly bring a couple of rocks into the dungeon with you, use the EV rating chart under ad hoc encumbrance on page 47. A heavy item (up to 24 lbs) would give a +3 EV.

As for the door way and the rust monsters, I may have inadvertently thought the 2 adventurers were not necessary blocking the door way, rather standing aside so as not to attract the rust monsters. If I recall correctly, their tokens were not positioned in the middle of the doorway, rather somewhat in front of it. And so, since the corridor is 10 feet wide, and the rust monster crawls down low and runs fast, he could easily get through the door.

I don’t believe anyone stated that they were specifically blocking the door way, but I may have missed it if they did.

If they indeed had wanted to block the doorway, then yes an overbear situation would have presented itself.

And just so you know, I played those guys a bit loosely – meaning that I did not strictly check to see what metal everyone had on them. I had them go for the strongest “scent” of metal, and thus wanting to attack the guys with plate, rather than continue to fight the lesser metal equipped chars that were closer (or randomly roll for who they attack).

Also, we used the terms “attack of opportunity”, when we are really talking about is disengagement from combat. You and the guys were correct to remind me that free actions (attacks) can be then used against the monsters and so the chars did take their attacks.

Incidentally, if I’m understanding this correctly, the AD&D MM allows the rust monster a far greater chance for magical weapon corrosion, sort of the reverse of how the M&T handles it.

[Tadhg]

Sorry I missed the game tonight Rhu, I was at my parents for supper and it ran a little late. See you tomorrow.

No problemo, thanks for posting.