You know what they say about Tuesday the 13th, right? Be Prepared!

Again, thanks to our lovely host for the amazing meal last night. Oh, and thanks to our outstanding DM for such a great adventure so far!

Hope to see you all for some Castle Ravenloft or Wrath of Ashardalon before September!

Nearly finished with the first level of the Keep. Wiped out a nasty nest of kruthiks today. Then found ourselves a murder of undead. The Lightning Sphere device did not work as planned. Pity. Too much zinc? Too little mithril?

Little matter it turned out to be. Zog and Cousin Tombor (Jr.) made short work of them. Eladrin wizard Anastrianna’s destructive wizardry was most impressive. Will need to ask her about her Lightning’s Embrace; could be useful for resolving Lightning Sphere issues. Sheehan continues to improve. Over 24 hours without a small mammal’s death.

Cousin tripped over alarm trap. I had to rush to ensure our flank was not exposed, at great personal risk, I would add. Pulled a hamstring. Returned from rear-guard in time to see Cousin splatter three zombies. I am going to have to clean his armor… again. Boy still needs to learn how to clean the splatter out of his creases. That’s how you get ants.

Followed goblin blood. Believe we have found stairway to lower levels. Did we ever find the end of the goblin blood trail? Must remember to go back and check for secret doors. Keep is well built.

Will finish off this level of the Keep once we finish exploring what appear to be crypts with draconic scripts.

Sun Rods
Burglar’s Gloves
Ritual (two?) from Valthrun
Tea
Zombie Out! Armor Polish (Leather formula)

So when he grabbed the toilet brush, he started to brush his hair.

Alicia stopped him before he tried to brush his teeth.

I have been singing that song a lot lately.

His clapping is addictive.

Our role call runs as follows:

Alicia – Tombor Auchentoshan, Dwarf Fighter and owner of the Full Measure Pub
Gabrielle – Dymphna Morelwisher, Gnome Druid always seen with her giant wolf Chelba
Phil – Rafad the Orphan, Half-elf Rogue and budding crime lord
Jonah – Daenerys, Human Sorceress with bat companion (Jonah needs to finish the semester before he can game again)
Tim – Coriell Sunburst, Elf Ranger with dog companion Elendil (Tim may be joining later, but school is keeping him too busy for now)
Elisa – ???, Gnome Sorceress (Elisa has made her character, but not had a chance to play yet)
Pace – ???, possible human cleric (Pace has not made his character yet)
Ryan – ???, who will she play?

I am excited for our next game!

For those of you who like a bit more “flavor text”, let me esplain!

“Thrown into chaos after the death of the god Aroden, Cheliax found a new spiritual guide to help tame the resulting lawlessness and destruction, the arch-devil Asmodeus. Dominated today by the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune, Cheliax is a land of inflexible order, like a rigid steel blade tempered in the fires of Hell. It is a land where nobility and virtue take second place to a ruthlessly imposed harmony. It is a place where talks of past glories are only whispered in the dark, where heroic ambitions are kept to oneself, and where normal people strive to blend into the safe anonymity of the crowd.”
-from the journal of Patherfinder Ailyn Ghontasavos

4606 A.R.
The god Aroden dies, failing to fulfill his prophecy.  Chaos descends on the Empire of Cheliax.  The civil war is a time of madness, darkness, and blood.  Delvehaven is sealed, trapped and warded by the Pathfinders.

4640 A.R.
The House of Thrune consolidates its power, binding allies in Hell to quell the chaos and restore Cheliax to the path of greatness.

4676 A.R.
Something happens in Delvehaven that caused the deaths of all the Thrune investigators and its subsequent sealing by the government itself.  They add additional wards against intrusion.

November 20, 4709 A.R., early morning

As the sun rises over the Inner Sea, its light falls on faded Westcrown.  Once the capital and crown jewel of the Empire of Cheliax, now a flickering shadow of its former glory.  For the last few months, you have sought a way to defeat the shadow beasts which nightly haunt the streets of Westcrown.  You have been aided by a mysterious patron who recently revealed herself as Ailyn Ghontasavos, an undercover Pathfinder agent.

She believes the secret origin of the Shadow Beasts may be found within Delvehaven, the long sealed Pathfinder lodge.  Using the resources you have gathered, she asks you to enter and recover half of an artifact, the Marrowfall.  The whole artifact, The Aohl, was brought back from a journey to darkest Mwangi by Donatalus Bisby and Ilnerik Sivanshin in late 4605 AR, just before Cheliax fell into civil war.  Among the items you have found preparing for this expedition into Delvehaven was this note:

“To Whomever Finds This—
It is, of course, my fervent hope that the reader of this missive is a friend of the Pathfinders. In the days before the madness and riots, before Cheliax tore itself apart, there were signs that the end was coming. Among those was Delvehaven’s desertion by one of her own. I now believe that Ilnerik stole half of the Aohl, the Totemrix. and judging by the growing power and magical potential of the Morrowfall, I fear that Ilnerik has unwittingly exposed himself to magic fell and vile. The power building in the Morrowfall is frightening, and we’ve secured it deep below Delvehaven in a vault called the Amber Arca. If my theory is correct and the Totemrix is a Vyriavaxian relic, then Ilnerik is being exposed to shadowy magic of a great evil. If he hasn’t become a vampire by this time, I fear he soon will. I’ve managed to secure a few tools here should that be the case, and hope to come back later to stash some more in the event of his return, but things grow increasingly dangerous in Westcrown, and I fear that none of us shall live to see the end of the year.
-Liriam, Loremaster of Delvehaven”

As you approached the ruins of Delvehaven, the smell of the sea was in the air.  You could hear the cry of seabirds.  The gates of Devlehaven were sealed by a set of rusted iron chains.  Above the chains hung a weather battered oak sign which read:
“By order of Her Infernal Majestrix, this lodge is condemned and has been warded for your protection.  Trespassing prohibited.”

The chains shattered under a strong blow, and you moved inside.  Dymphna sensed an aura of conjuration on the path ahead. After much debate, Tombor stepped into the aura and discovered one of House Thrune’s wards against trespassers.  The doors of Delvehaven hung open, invitingly.  The Grand Vestibule held an empty platform, many damaged and vandalized paintings, and one painting still in brand new condition.  It depicts of a pair of hunters overlooking the recently slain body of a horned beast. The hunters are Donatalus Bisby and Ilnerik Sivanshin. Ignoring the stairs and doors to the East and West, you moved into the library to the south.

The gnomes decided to do a little reading.  No one else wants to read.  Through the doors to the south, you found an erotic…  no, exotic feating hall with a huge aquarium.  A shadow-wreathed triceratop skeleton attacked, but the sorceress convinced it to join you.  Someone was lowered into the tank (who?) and recovered some treasure (see above).

Continuing south, you found a large courtyard open to the sky with weapons along the walls and a 50 foot disk in the middle. You were attacked and discovered that the disk turns you invisible if you stand on it.  Dymphna’s suggestion to use the Wand of Break Enchantment on the disk reveals the creepy dolls.  The battle with the creepy dolls is joined.

How will it end?  Tune in next time!

Next Time: Saturday, April 10, 6:30 pm

If I forgot anything, please add your comments.

“Understanding Cheliax
The key to understanding modern Cheliax is recognizing its need for power, and that if ever there were a concrete illustration of power’s corrupting influence, Cheliax would serve admirably in that role. For centuries, the people of this land have paid tribute to the notion that power in any form is the highest achievement in life. Even before the Thrune Ascendancy took shape from the chaos that surrounded the failure of the Starfall Doctrine, the people of Cheliax believed in the goal of power for its own sake: military, economic, political, or magical.

This is what led to their downfall. When power becomes the goal, concerns about the way one achieves it fall by the wayside.  It was only natural that some would seek to increase their power by supernatural means, and then by diabolical ones, and that once they achieved dominance, they would consolidate their standing by crushing their rivals and subjugating any who fell under their sway.

Those outside Cheliax accuse the country’s ruling class—and, indeed, any who seek standing in the country— of serving Hell.  They point to the Hellknights, to the bloodsports, to the sanctioned worship of Asmodeus, and the increasing rigor and evil of the country as proof of their claim. But the Chelaxians maintain that their critics have it backward: Hell serves Cheliax.”

And Mike Chang will be making a guest appearance!  So excited!  Sadly, Phil and Tim cannot make it, but it does look like we have everyone back on board for at least monthly gaming adventures.  Stay tuned!

It is MUCH easier to review documents than it is to write them, which is what I have been doing for the last five years.  But I did hang up my headphones and hit the sack.

Good thing too, because Jack decided to wake up at 5:00 am as opposed to his usual 5:30.  Those extra 30 minutes make all the difference to me in the morning.  I have been pretty grumpy today.

Good thing two weeks of vacation start now!  No more work until Jan 4, 2010!

Now, if I could just shake this damn head-cold.

He will be running around the house in no time, so I should enjoy these last few weeks of crawling before he’s onto the next phase.

Thing 01 -When I say, “When you are a big boy…” and Jack says, “I am a big boy!”  Teach him that yes, he is a big boy, but once his new teeth start pushing out his baby teeth, he will be a double plus big boy.  See how long it takes him to read 1984.

Thing 02 – Teach Jack to count on one hand to ten using American Sign Language.  See if it makes him think about addition in a different way.  In order to compare, I will need to build time machine, split the time line and teach him ASL in one time line and both hands in the other.  Then compare.

Or I could just teach him both and see which he likes better.