Now that the tax refunds have returned to us and Christmas is at out doorstep, I decided give few gifts to none other than myself! So I now have ordered Mouse Guard RPG from Archaia Studios Press at the price of 16€ (from bookdepository.com where I order almost everything). In addition I have bought some console games, but that is not the subject of this blog.
In addition, my lovely wife knows how to please his husband. She bought me Praedor RPG from Burger Games. Praedor is a Finnish fantasy RPG based on the comics by Petri Hiltunen which go by the same name. The style of the game is rather gritty and dark. The game has been praised for its system and theme. In short: Adventuring isn't glamorous, it is full of shit and praedors (adventurers) do it only to survive. I believe I don't have to say that the heroes live too long in Praedor campaigns, but hey... it's possible.
Now that I have two excellent games in my hands, I'll be posting playtests and reviews about both of them in the future!
After delaying the post for too long, I’ve now decided that I should write few words about Battlestar Galactica The Board Game published by the Fantasy Flight Games. The game altogether was a pleasant surprise, it catches the mood of the series and I believe that you’ll enjoy the board game even if you haven’t seen a single episode.
“You can’t trust me and I will not definitely trust you and yes, we are all honest here… are we not?” That is Battlestar Galactica in a nutshell. Almost at least. Battlestar Galactica is a cooperative game where all the players are doing their best to reach Earth while Cylon fleets are harassing them whenever they get the opportunity to do so. In games such as Arkham Horror etc. players pull the same rope. In Battlestar Galactica however one or more players do not. They’re Cylons and have no intention of reaching Earth. The problem is that players don’t know who the Cylons are until their actions prove otherwise.
A player chooses a character from the series and every one of them has different skills and special abilities. Others can fly Vipers while others are specialized in politics or tactics. You get cards based on your skills, five colors in all, but according you character you’ll most likely be using about two of them. When every turn draws to an end a crisis emerges and something bad happens. If you play your cards right, you can usually avoid the disaster, but there are people aboard who doesn’t wish that to happen.
This is exactly where the game gets it kicks. People around the table accuse each other of every mishap what happens. And if you are a skillful player, it is almost impossible to notice that you’re a cylon. If you are noticed, players do whatever they can to restrict your actions and that is usually the time to actually reveal that you in fact are a Cylon and start acting accordingly. Cylons win through various ways, but humans only if they reach their destination.
I’m not going to go more on the details of the game, I believe by now you have the idea. As a board game it is successful indeed, one of the gold nuggets of board games. The mind bending action to find out who is a cylon is act of FUN indeed and I can recommend the game to everyone. 4/5
PROS:
- Intense
- Great components
- Paranoia and accusations made fun
- Strategic thinking
CONS
- After the Cylons are revealed, the biggest tick disappears and every player head towards their goals.
Founded by the army of the efreet Memnon, the city of Memnon reveres the entity from which it takes its name. The city’s outer walls were made of a dark, smooth rock that absorbs heat and shrugs off wear. Our heroes entered the city in hopes to meet warrior Gaukan, a mighty warrior who could prove helpful in their search for artifacts and allies for the old Amn.
2nd of Alturiak, 1480 DR
Gildin, Dabbil and Shivra weren’t aware of Calimshanian habits and the fact that every non genasi member who didn’t worship Talos was considered unenlightened and therefore open for slavery. When they reached the city walls, it caused some problems. Luckily Gildin was able to bribe the town guards despite their superior attitude. The genasi guard gave them advice to head directly to temple district and prove their faith to Talos in order walk around freely.
After the confessing their faith at the temple, they were ready to search Gaukan. They learned that Gaukan was the local arena champion, now three years in a row. He had a small apartment around the slave district. The warrior shared his apartment with Maege, a genasi rogue, who was Gaukan’s friend in their search for relics and treasure. Our heroes met Gaukan at his house. Both parties were expecting to meet sooner or later, so introductions were swift.
Gaukan told the about his problems: Treasures hidden in Suldolphor. This once-vibrant city of almost 150,000 souls is now a stretch of sand-blasted ruin where efreets battle djinns in an endless cycle of mad violence. Its streets, buildings, and palaces lie buried only feets beneath the sweltering, ever-moving dust of the Calim Desert. It was rumored that city features sometimes appear in the wake of a strong sandstorm, only to vanish again in the next battle. Gaukan however knew this to be only a rumor and a strong warrior who had once before visited the city was confident that travelling to the city ruins was not a difficult task. The difficulties were to come later.
Gaukan knew about two locations where to search for the treasure. One of these was a Tiger palace, which was the former center for the ruling Pasha. The other was the mausoleum complex of the previous pashas. The problem was, that the city was also the rumored home of other rogue genasi serving the battling efreeti and djinnis. This meant that heroes didn’t have the luxury of being seen, so everything had to be done in secret. While the surface of the city was a constant battleground, the underground was a home for giant spiders and other fould dangers. They made a choice and headed for the Tiger Palace.
After Shivra did some scouting, they decided that it would be best to use the dry water canals in the city which proved to be a good solution until they met their first furry friends. Giant tomb spiders altered by the spellplague. One bite and Gaukan went down due the paralyzing poison. Before any real harm was done, the heroes vanquished the danger. Eventually they found their way inside the palace and entered… What happens next is the subject of next session log.
Good solid session. Nothing more. Next Sunday it is time for Battlestar Galactica: The board game again. After playing it properly few times, I'll post few words about the game.
Here is a one way how to implement character into the campaign. One of our players, Walter, wrote an excellent little novel: Shivra's Introduction to ensure smooth implementation of his character to the campaign. Big thanks to Walter for this:
Shivra crept silently along the massive cave floor, hugging the right wall. The air inside was even more chilling than the perpetual winter winds howling outside and she was glad of the scant warmth offered by the dark green balaclava hiding her features. Rounding the next bend, she emerged into a large chamber.
She couldn't help but take a moment to marvel at the piles of gold, jewlery and other valuables littering the flood of the chamber. As is to be expected from a dragon's lair, she thought.
Shaking herself from her reverie, she grabbed a nearby leather satchel and started to scoop coins inside. The black and white of her darkvision made it impossible to ascertain the color of the metal, and most of the coins were of some archaic denomination. Surely no self-respecting dragon, even a young adult, would stockpile mounds of copper.
Her concentration was wrenched from her gleeful looting by the sound of something massive moving in the tunnel behind her. Damn it, I thought I had more time! Throwing the satchel over her shoulder, she quickly retreated into the lee of some rock formations near the wall.
She didn't have long to wait. Soon the awe-inspiring form of the white dragon emerged from the tunnel and into the lair proper. It casually vomited a pair of weapons and a leather pouch unto the nearest treasure pile and started towards the largest mound in the center of the chamber. After only a few steps it stopped abruptly and sniffed the air. Shivra slowly withdrew fully behind her shelter, barely daring to move at all for fear of alerting the great beast. Soon she felt as much as heard it approach her hiding place.
Suddenly there was a clatter of rocks from the other side of the chamber, where another tunnel entered the chamber and curved out of sight. The dragon immideately turned and started towards the noise.
Good girl. Her friend had bought some time with the distraction and she wasted none of it. Shivra ghosted along the cave wall and disappeared into the main tunnel leading up and into the open plains of Mintarn.
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Why do the Gods hate me? Shivra studied the pile of coins she had uppended unto the ground from the leather satchel; her only reward for the dangerous expedition. Most of it was low-denomination silver and yes, even copper. A few lonely gold coins glinted here and there, with nary a platinum piece in sight.
”Still, it's better than being complitely broke,” she sighed. Her pet spider studied the pile curiously with her multitude of eyes and then chirped something that sounded vaguely amused, earning her an annoyed glance from Shivra. ”Quiet, you.”
Then she noticed a leather-bound cover peaking from under the pile. Lifting it free revealed an old book, badly worn. The faded pages were full of dwarven runes.
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Kriv smashed his warhammer into the face of the charging orc with a loud crunch, blood and holy energy splattering every which way. The brute fell, it's face a ruin of blood and bone fragments. An improvement on your looks, if you ask me. There were plenty more to take it's place, however.
The small valley was swarming with green-skinned warriors and though the massive form of the golem Behemoth tore into them with tireless ferocity, there were far too many to quickly dispatch. Kriv risked a quick glance behind them and confirmed his earlier fears.
”They're trying to flank us!” He roared to his allies, but most of them were neck-deep in orcs, far too busy to do anything about the warning. Kriv was forced to concentrate on the immediate threat of a new clutch of orc that tried to surround him. The next few moments were spent feverishly working his warhammer like an enraged blacksmith, pounding orcs into orc-shaped smears left and right while trying to ignore the pain from slashes and thrusts that inevitably got through his shield.
Soon most of the orc scum in the immediate vicinity lay dead and Dabbil, stepping up from behind Kriv, cleared the rest with a thunderous blast of point-blank magic. Kriv took a moment to catch his breath and glanced back, wondering why the orc's flanking manoeuver hadn't materialized yet. A sight of a score of orc corpses greeted him, lying face down in the frozen ground where they had fallen while attempting to charge them.
”Looks like you held them.” He told Dabbil, until he noticed that most of the orc were sporting arrows from their backs.
”I had help.” Dabbil told him needlessly.
”Who?” Kriv wondered aloud. The only cover in that direction was a copse of stunted trees. Their mysterious assistant must still be hiding among them.
”Didn't see them, I was too busy defending myself.” Dabbil said. He punctuated his words by turning back to the still-raging battle and throwing his hand out, a ray of icy energy punching a nearby orc in the chest and lifting him off his feet.
We'll worry about this later, there's still bloody work to be done. And with that thought, Kriv once more hefted his warhammer and charged into the thick of it with a mighty roar.
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”So, you're the one we have to thank for protecting our flanks?” Ilyas asked the newcomer. She had materialized unto the field of battle shortly before it's conclusion, working her greatbow with practised ease to dispatch the last of the stragglers. A woolen balaclava under the hood of her cloak hid all but her blue eyes. She was dressed in deep greens, except the dark brown leather of her armor. ”Yes.” She replied simply, lowering her hood.
”I am Kriv of clan Moonscale and these are my allies; Ilyas, Dabbil and Gildin.” Kriv introduced them. ”May we know your name?”
”You may call me Shivra.” She replied while removing the balaclava, revealing prominent elven features, fair skin and silvery, shoulder-length hair. A moon elf, perhaps? Kriv pondered. The first impression of your typical pointy-eared tree-hugger was slightly spoiled by the huge black spider lounging at her side. Kriv caught Dabbil's eye, worried about his morsel-sized friend's reaction, but was surprised to find him looking slightly thoughtful rather than apprehensive. He soon went back to appraising the elf with a critical eye, instead of her pet.
There is more to this than meets the eye. Kriv thought before bringing his attention back to the conversation already unfolding. Shivra told them about her foolhardy quest to raid the white dragon's lair in a rather concise manner, all the while absent-mindedly patting her pet spider. Kriv got the impression she was trying to put them at ease about her choice of animal companion.
”Oh, and I found this. No doubt you, Master Dwarf, will find it more interesting a read than I.” She pulled an old worn book out from a satchel and handed it to Gildin. His amazement and enthusiasm proved her right as the book turned out to be a diary of a member of Clan Ironstar dating back to the time his kin still dwelled in Mintarn. Shivra then suggested, almost casually, that she help the heroes with the cleansing of Mintarn and, perhaps in the process, earn her place in their party.
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”She's hiding something.” Dabbil spoke up, adressing all of them. They'd sent Shivra to scout ahead, but everyone else was present, Behemoth included. It didn't seem to notice, nor care.
”What makes you say that?” Gildin asked, arching a fuzzy eyebrow.
”She's using some form of magic about her.” Dabbil replied, glancing at Ilyas. He nodded back, indicating he'd noticed as well.
”It's too strong to be residual from an enchanted item.” Dabbil continued. ”This leads me to believe she's using a spell to alter her appearance.”
”Let's not jump to conclusions. The spell could be doing something wholly benevolent.” Ilyas pondered.
”Agreed, we have no definitive proof, but maybe we should... err on the side of caution?” Dabbil suggested.
”We could just ask her.” Kriv noted. He could almost see the gears inside the two arcane specialists heads grind to a hault at such a blunt approach to an interesting puzzle. Kriv struggled to hide a grin.
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When they confronted her about it, Shivra was surprisingly congenial, almost as if being not-so-subtly accused of trickery and perhaps downright deceit was par for the course. Of course, it all made sense when she, with an air of resignation, dropped the illusion. Her pale skin morphed into a black with blue highlights and suddenly the pet spider was not so out of place anymore. What followed was a heated discussion about racial stereotypes and biggotry, of trust and the delicate situation on the field of battle. Eventually it was agreed, in no small part due to Gildin's defense of her generosity, that she could stay with them for the time being. Fighting the orcs was in the best interest of everyone at the moment, and the coming battles would allow our heroes to gauge her dependability. As the blood-soaked weeks and months drew on, Shivra proved herself time and again on the field of battle, slowly worming her way into the trust of our protagonists. Time will tell if that trust is well-placed or if the newest addition to the team is simply biding her time and waiting for the best moment to strike, like some dark and hideously sexy tumor ready to go into overdrive and liquify your brain.
Second session in a row without combat encounters, although many opportunities presented themselves. Nevertheless session was worth every minute considering the things what happened and maybe more, what is yet to happen...
It started when our gnome wizard got pulled out from the freezing river. After they had crossed the river, the long journey towards Sugrerblade's tower continued. It didn't take long to notice that their little episode at the river had been seen; orcs had sent a tracking party. Heroes made haste and went to hiding with the help of gnome wizard's magic. After misleading the trackers, they continued their journey in the breezing cold. The wind was painful and the journey was slow paced because of the sheer amount of snow. The journey was quiet until they saw a big figure in the distanse which they quickly recognized. A white dragon. It didn't look good for the heroes; there were pursuers still nearby and a dragon where they were headed. The only good thing was that they had seen the tower in the distance.
Midway through the journey the orcs found their tracks once again. Still, not willing to fight, our heroes made effort not make contact with the orcs. They succeeded, but unfortunately for them, they were not able to avoid the dragon. In the shadow of the mountain, white dragon approached quickly. In the wide open, there were no places to hide and they met the descending dragon. Luckily for the heroes, our dragonborn fighter was able to please the dragon by gathering magical items and wealth to give them to her as a prize. After the dragon had gotten his treasure, she announced that there were no reasons to let them live, but just before she was about to attack, our heroes convinced her that they could be useful to her. The dragon was fooled and agreed; the heroes were to go to the Dagon Many-arrows hold and bring treasures from there.
After the dragon had left, the heroes continued their journey until they reached the Sugrerblade's tower. Tower itself was icy stone structure, invisible to the naked eye. Only because of Rolo's equipment, heroes were able to find the tower and meet with the hermit wizard Gerin Sugrerblade. Gerin was a strange fellow. His appearance made you think of a regal ruler. He had beady eyes the color of blueberries and it was clear that his vision had suffered. His luxurious, huge, gray beard was messy yet it was worn in an utilitarian, precise style. He was short, even for a dwarf, and had an athletic build, which demonstrated lots of physical work. His skin was light-colored and he had a wide forehead and prominent ears. His wardrobe was a mixture of a smith and a wizard.
After Gildin told why they were there, he told the heroes, that he was not going to give them Frigid Eternum. In fact after he learned about Gildin's Ironstar mace, he became most curious about it and gave the heroes another option. Gerin had spent years constructing a golem called Behemont, which was able to cleanse the lands from those orcs and make the long orc infested Ironstar clan's dwarven halls once again dwellable. Rebels of Amn did not have place to settle yet so...
So the heroes had things to ponder. Should they help Gildin's ancestors and return the lands to their former self or use alternative means to get the crystal from Gerin. However, Ilyas suggested that they could bring former Amnians here and with their help and alliance could be formed in the future. When the Ironstar clan could return.. they would had rebel Amnians to help them AND have their homeland returned. So the decision was made...
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17th of Nightal, 1479 DR
So it came to pass, when Gerin's commandment to the Behemont was heard, and when the heroes were gathered together unto Gerin's tower, the old Ironstar clan custody was once awoken. Rituals were made and spells woven; The Behemont was awoken and machine's awakening was heard through the Moonshae islands.
And the Behemont started the orc purge, and the dwarf ancestors smiled on the lands once more. Fortress after another, Behemont smashed them down and heroes took what was their to begin with. Old dwarven relics were discovered and forgotten lore regained. Every day Behemont and the heroes fought the orcs until there was only Dagon Many-arrows to oppose them.
In those days, while Dagon Many-Arrows was sitting the Orc King's throne: Kriv, Ilyas, Gildin and Dabbil, the heroes from Amn released their wrath against the orc king Dagon. The legend tells that they fought a whole day until Gildin delivered the final blow. From that moment on, the threat of the orc was no more... And it came to pass, in the form of Gildin Ironstar's words that the halls of the Ironstar were at last regained.
Soon the rebellion fleet of Amn arrived and the reconstruction began. The rebel forces had found hideout and a bastion of defence to gather their strength what was yet to come. Rolo met the heroes, old and new, to congrulate them for the work they had once again done for the rebellion. It was clear that with the forces they had now, they were no threat to the Merchant's Domain; Amn.
So he gathered his most trusted heroes, and send them to the far ends of the world, to go and seek power, to seek artefacts and allies to help the rebellion forces. Gildin and his trusted friend Dabbil with their new friend Shivra set their sails to the south where the last members of Ironstar clan had fled years ago. Ilyas and Kriv took positions in the rebellion military forces. So they parted ways at the docks. Ilyas and Kriv said their farewells to Gildin and Dabbil when they boarded the "Marlin Emperor" and set their sails towards the golden city of Memnon near the Calim Desert, home of genasi and their human slaves. There they were to meet certain individuals who could be great asset in their future adventures...
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The original idea of using the golem in the session came from The Mac who obviously has played some Fallout 3. That is one example how you can get inspired from various sources. This session however concludes the chapter II in the story. Next time we continue from level 9 from the moment the long and tiresome journey comes to an end when the heroes set gaze upon the golden city of Memnon. Gear up according the rules "starting from later levels" Next gaming session is later this month: 22th of October so next Sunday we try some board games.
