Another week rolls by and we gather again to play Dnd, this time on Friday the 13th. The last time we played on a Friday the 13th, would be November 2009, chaecking my logs it turns out that was a night we spent play-testing the 4th edition rules,while our 3rd edition game was winding down. The session wasa the end of a dungeon delve of my design – High Noon on Ant Hill and the final battle with the hive queen resulted in a total party kill. It was not an auspicious evening. But who remembers that ,tonight was a great game without any deaths, other than the terrible monsters of Dark SUn who dererved no better fate.
But no supersticious evening could go unmarked and this evening the game began with a trip to the Eladrin Elder, the oracle Ellodaria. She asked each of the heroes a penetrating question, and used the answer to show them the way to opening their minds to the psionic powers within themselves. Tara stepped up first, and Ellodaria was surprised to see an honest elf. She asked the elf whether or not she had met the dark brethren of Nazerak, the Shadow Eladrin. Tara had and described them, seeing them with her minds eye as she learned the psionic trait Sensing Eye. The half orc was next, and again Ellodaria was shocked by who she met. Orcs were a long dead race in the harsh world of Athas, and Thokk had felt the unwelcome in his blistering black flesh and painful greasy boils, hair lost in clumps, and general suffering under the burning crimson rays of Dark Sun. She asked him to channel that burnig rage and Thokk learned the Psionic Spark talent. Poppy was next under the glare, another honest elf Ellodaria muttered, almost as if they were as distasteful as the dishonest elves. Popy described her greatest battle, where she won the war camel, defeating the Jalalabad knight. She learned the Psionic Grasp telekinetic power. Phillipe also learned the same power, as she described the battle fought but that morning, whence she slew a vast number of elf slavers in a mighty swarm of slaughter. Ellodaria grinned in agreement, having heard of the mornings battle.
Around the tiny tent Ellodaria went with her questioning. Even the tiny Vulpix got to share her side of the story, being tasked with acting out certain events, like tigh-trope walking and casting her fire bolt. She was granted the ability of Psionic Image, the ability to conjure tiny illusuions. Sharia learned to teleport small items with Object Projection and Molly learned Sensing Eye.
As they returned to camp, all was in an uproar as the White Rose attempted to bring the ages-long warring clans of Eladrin under her rule. She came to the heroes of Winterhaven and asked them to become the Heroes of Nazerak for her. They of course accepted, I mean who wouldnt, right? Anyhow, the half elf consortium under the Banner of Sylvarius agreed that they would field a group of champions to duel in the arena the following evening at dusk, and White Rose would furnish hers. The loser would relinquish all hold on the arena and the city, while to the victor would go all the spoils.
The arena was an important part in the scheme to get the party back to their world of D Erte. Only the champions of an outlying town has the right to fight in the Championship of Tyr. An envoy had already been dispatched to Tyr with news that Nazerak would be hosting a champion. They expected an audit by one of the Sorcerer Kings Templars at any time in the coming weeks. The arena was also important to the White Rose to claim her rightful rule of the city of Nazerak. Still unknown was how she planned to keep the city alive without its life giving connection to the feywild.
Lots of stuff going on, and the White Rose asked them to be at the Arena at dusk the following day, but in the mean-time she gave them 4 tasks to consider. They were not as important as the ultimate task, the tournament the followig night, but if they had some spare time, it would aid the young queen. The tasks can be described in fuller detail later, as the party was waylaid, seemingly by a pack of wandering monsters of the cruel world of Dark Sun.
This is what its all about, right here
Meanwhile Tara launched herself atop a ruined hovel beside the road. With careful footwork she retreated to bow range. Too late did she see the unusual sight of a cactus lurching slowly down the middle of the avenue. It was a deep blue, or indigo hue, with slender luscious fruits hanging from its prickly boughs. Suddenly the cactus seemed to turn Taras way and released a cloud of spores that wafted through the air. A pair of them landed on Taras arm, and she started to feel funny.
Meanwhile Poppy slew the shark she had stunned with her commanding presence. She then moved forward to deal with the shark Thokk was desperately struggling against. Meanwhile Molly was caught between the shark and the cactus just noticed by everyone. It whipped its lashing tendrils forward and struck Molly and Felipe. Molly fell to the ground unconscious. At the same time Tara heard a quiet whispering in her mind grow louder and louder. Loose an arrow on your friends it commanded. Compelled, Tara launched an arrow into the dust at Felipes feet. Tara then shook off the affects of the domination and as she prepared to leap to the ground, the roof finally gave way, spilling her into the debris.
Between great axe and great sword, the final sand shark, land shark, dune shark or dust shark,whatever you want to xcall it, it became shark steak, soon to be sizzled to perfection, if only they could take care of the new interloper, the zombie cactus. As one, the party moved to surround it, and strangely, the cactus converted to a pleasent scene of a nice beautiful cactus in a pleasant oasis. It seemed to dodge or absob any attack while in this form, but soon enough it exploded out of it in a frenzy of spores, and for one scary moment, almost the entire party was dominated. Only Poppy resisted, and it was she who struck the cactus from its foundations and chopped it down.
So ends the session, with the party in view of the ruined estate the jackal men have taken as their base.
