State of the Campaign, Episode VII

[copied from my original Facebook Notes, circa May 2010]

After the Hall

Last time, I spoke about a deviation from the Campaign as I had originally planned it. I continue to read more of the pre-written adventures, and they get better and better. I’ve come across several additions to the adventures, including several thematic mp3’s that are designed to be played at certain points during the story. This story does a remarkable job of scratching my love of pulpy adventures. At the heart of the story are a love-triangle-gone-bad and a spurned lover, except that this lover is a powerful genie. ;-)

During the last session, we had a new addition to the group. This new guy picked up one of the un-played characters and fit right in with the rest of the group. Over the past few weeks, we’ve worked together to create a character for him, and I like how this character has come together. The group is already an eclectic group of archetypes and contradictions, but by and large they work off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This new character continues the pattern, which bodes well for the longevity of both the player and character.

Also during the last session, one of the regulars could not make it and I did not have access to his character sheet. After a couple of frustrating encounters where we kept guessing about her abilities, I decided that she would simply disappear. After the game, I emailed the player and revealed what had happened to the character while she went missing. I deliberately left the information vague and mysterious. As the situation warrants, I will reveal bits and pieces of this info, probably using it when the group has gotten in above their heads and needs a quick end to whatever predicament they find themselves in. Along those same lines, I’ve been going back through earlier sessions and have begun collecting minor plot points that have been left not-picked-up. I want to weave these plot points back into the game, making the players (and their earlier decisions) be held accountable to the rest of the world. I hope that this reinforces that the world does not revolve around the characters, and that other people continue to progress with their own lives and plans.

And to summarize the last few sessions, the group made it into the Hall. The encountered some additional dead ogre bodies and even picked up a nice ioun stone. They explored the Hall and encountered a trap leading into the main Hall itself. Statues of gold and gemtones lined the Hall. In the center of the Hall was a giant hole in the ground, above which was a giant set of wind chimes. An air elemental erupted from the hole and battled the PCs. Midway through the battle, several ogres attacked from the rear, nearly killing several party members. Kamal, after being sucked up into the elemantal’s vortex, cast down upon the ogres a spell that blinded most of them. At that point, it was mop-up duty. Once the ogres and elemental were defeated, Gozreh talked to the party and gave them a magical trident.

At the next session, the party continued down the tunnels under the mountain, reaching an intersection and continuing on toward the southern villages. They came upon an underground grotto and stopped to rest after narrowly defeating 2 giant harpoon spiders. As they emerged from the tunnel, they met back up with Oxylchotl, who whispered a tale of savagery at the hands of the ogres, which ended with the death of Moxti. As he expired, Oxyl gave the group a map of the island, plus all of his assorted gear.