NuCoal General Purpose Squad

Dave has a particular love of anime robots, and who can blame him!? So when he was asked to bring a miniatures game to the group, he chose Heavy Gear: Blitz! Locked & Loaded by Dream Pod 9.

Dave's faction is NuCoal, they are the reminiscences of the Colonial Earth Force (C.E.F.); a faction that failed to conquer the planet of Terra Nova, where Heavy Gear takes place.

 
NuCoal combines the technology of the C.E.F. and Terra Nova to deadly effect.

They have both the ability to walk on the ground, and hover just above it using powerful jets in their feet. This makes them one of quickest factions in the game.

This is Dave's General Purpose Squad (GP). Every General Purpose Squad is made of 5 standard gears (robotic suits). For NuCoal those gears are called Chasseurs.

Chasseurs, are not the most common Gear type on Terra Nova, but do use standardized parts from all over the planet.

Every Gear can be equipped with a few different weapons options. From Light Auto-Cannons, to Grenade Launchers, racket launchers and beyond. allowing for a different kit every time. For his Group Dave Chose 3 Light Auto-Cannons, 1 Medium Auto-Cannon, and 1 Grenade Launcher



                          

Adam's Orc Warrior

JADE Guest Adam painted this Orc Warrior. He will most likely be using it in the Orc World Campaign, but for now it stands as a fantastic monster for our heroes to fight.



                          

Map of the Province of Allinor in From the Wizard's Tower

Elijah drew this map as primer for his campaign. It was designed to give the rest of us an idea what his world would be like in as players in his campaign.

Of course, in the first game we were promptly whisked off to some far away and frigid land, but the map at least servers as a reminder of home.



                          

Benjamin B. Fuddle

Benjamin B. Fuddle is Jeff's Bard in Elijah's From the Wizard's Tower Campaign. He and Don Quixote attended school together, and is considered one of smartest men in the land.

When Don Quixote and his body Guard Arthur Cross left their childhood, they brought him along with them.

Benjamin B. Fuddle uses a Riddlemaster Character Kit from the Complete Bard's Handbook. Aside from awesome riddle skills, it gives the character powers of observation similar to Sherlock Holmes.


                          

Elijah's Orc Cheerleader

Elijah painted this Orc Cheerleader for use as a NPC in the Orc world Campaign. The mini is from the Citadel Miniatures Game Blood Bowl. GO ORCS GO!

Map of Genaya from the Elementia Campaign

Jeff drew this one-point perspective map of the city Genaya, King Vexes capital on the recently discovered, and magical continent of ..........

Genaya is built onto the side of a cliff and is dived into several tiers. Access to which are granted by a person's class. The higher one is in society, the higher the tier they will be able to access.

Cyrano, Ghar, and Mäaar spent most of the Elementia Campaign, in and around this city, and we discovered it has everything. There is a gladiators arena, sprawling markets, dozens of taverns, palace, hovels, ancient ruins, and a mysterious maze of tunnels beneath.

In Elementia we barely scratched the surface of this city, and I am sure we will be back there again.



                          

Conquest of Frey: Chapter 1: Game 9

Game Master: Dave
Game Edition: D&D 3.5
Players: Jeff, Andrew, Elijah, Tom, Adam
Starting Level: 5  
Current Level: 6-10

Quote of the Evening:
"Is there a telescope store?"

Introduction

In the last game Dwannis Muck-Mug (Andrew), Raskavas (Jeff) and Bodie Jarmakerson (Elijah), had boarded a ship and made their way to the mysterious island that sat on the back of an octopus out at  sea.

Their ships had been attacked by Goblin pirates, a Dragon Turtle and the Octopus itself, but they made it to the island with their boat mostly in tact. However they had not brought any supplies with them, and the crossing had injured each of them severely. 

Thankfully, since Tom was unable to join last game, we had left his character back in Bellwick with the men. A few Message spells from Dwannis should be enough to convince him to cross with some supplies, and at least warn him of the dangers that lay between him and us.

Scene 1 Sayer's Back.

Sayer found himself standing out front of Bellwick's town hall. The camp of the Frunner's followers that Raskavas and Bodie had rounded up surrounded, him but many had gone off; continuing to loot the town. All that remained of his fighting force were the eight men he had taken with him when he barricaded the road Conquest of Frey Game 6. Feeling he needed supplies, he asked them to go into the city and gather as many potions as they could find.

As his men went off into town, Sayer started to fret about the fate of the rest of the party. It had been many hours since he had heard from them and he was growing worried. As he considered ways of ascertaining their fate, he uttered the quote of the evening, asking Dave -The DM- "[if] there [was] a Telescope Store." After a laugh, he was informed by Dave that there was no "telescope store" and that due to the looting and general anarchy it would be unlikely that any store would be open. 

Thinking for a moment, his slow Barbarian brain figured that the best thing to do would be to go over to the island himself and investigate. All he needed was a boat.

He found a sea worthy vessel at Bellwicks docks: it was a larger fishing ship, but it would do the trick. he knew he would need his men and their supplies for the crossing, so to make sure they could easily find him, and in the hopes it would stop anyone form looting it, began the process of "claiming" the ship by scrawling his name along the sides, with some paint he found in a near by shed.

Sayer starts to paint his boat.

Being illiterate, it took him hours, and was frankly a miracle that it said anything at all.

Scene 2 On the Beach, on the Octopus.

While Sayer slowly painted his name on his boat, Dwannis, Raskavas and Bodie awoke from their concussions, finding themselves scattered around the deck of their ship. The vessel seemed mostly intact, and only a single sail had torn.  They tore down the tattered sail and used it to form a makeshift tent for themselves. With shelter procured, they began looking for something to eat.

There were several crates of fresh fish on the ship, but only the Duergars; Bodie and Dwannis could eat it with out getting sick (as Duergar ar immune to all forms of poison). Raskavas, the Drow, on the other hand would have to cook his fish or risk severe food poisoning.

There was almost no dry kindling to make a fire with on the beach, but after some searching, they found enough dried leaves and some dry bits of wood to get a fire started. However, they had nothing to light it with! 

At first Dwannis tired to use a Shocking Grasp spell to ignite the leaves, but to no avail. In the end, and after wasting two spells, Dwannis gave up, and Bodie set about rubbing two sticks together until a he got a small fire going.

Using the blaze and some near by sticks, the three cooked their fish and rested their trying ordeal.

Camp Fire!

After their meal, Raskavas suggested to Dwannis that he use one of his Message spells to tell Sayer to bring help. Thankfully the Necromancer had two Message spells prepared, and he used one to summon sayer to the island with supplies, a cleric and troops.

Scene 3 Sayer and the Clerics.

Sayer received Dwannis' message just as he finished crudely painting his name on the side of the boat. Wasting no time, he dropped his paint brush and headed into town. He was hoping to find the Cleric Doris who had begrudgingly helped them last time, and had heard she was in the village healing the injured where ever she could.

Doris was easy to find, and Sayer asked her if she would be willing to help them. With the calamity the party had casued in Bellwick, and Sayer's social ineptitude, she refused; stating that she would be of more use in Bellwick then on some fools errand to the Island. But to Sayer's luck, no sooner did the words leave her mouth, where they over heard by a traveling Duergar Cleric.

Valgard, the Duergar Cleric of Life and Death

His name was Vlagard (Adam), and he introduced himself to Sayer as a Cleric of Life and Death. He had overheard Sayer's conversation with Doris, and was interested in this mysterious island. Sayer told him the tale, and Valgard agreed to join, on the condition that he would get his share of the spoils. Sayer agreed and asked Valgard to come with him to the town hall. He hoped his men would be there with the supplies he told them to get. They would need it for their voyage.

Scene 4 Sayer's men. The Crossing.

On their way to the town hall Sayer spotted Franky, one of the men he had sent out for supplies. Franky was fraternizing with one of the town's women, and it did not look like he had found any supplies. Sayer shook his head figuring that Franky was a lost caused and continued on in the hopes that his other men were more reliable. 

Of the eight Sayer had sent off, seven were waiting for him at the camp. it would appear that only Franky was missing. Despite thelenght of the seven's search, they had only been able to dig up seven cure light wounds potions,  and one cure moderate wounds potions. It was a good haul, but given the injuries of the rest of the party, and the trials ahead it would not be enough.

Resigned to bring what little he could, Sayer gathered his men, and he and Valgard headed towards his ship. Just before they left, Franky came running around the corner, holding another four cure moderate wounds potions. Apparently he deep in "negotiations" with the other woman to acquire him. Good ol' Franky. Feeling more prepared, the group made their way towards the docks. Once there, Sayer received another message from Dwannis. He warned them that there was a monster in the deep, and that they should fill a decoy ship with bait. 

It was cryptic, but Sayer took the scant message and made with it what he could. He tied a second, smaller fishing boat to his vessel and loaded it with crates of stinking fish. The idea was that they would tow this boat out to sea, and then cut it loose when they spotted the monster.

When they set out to sea, everything was going to plan until they hit some rough waves and the boat they were towing began to list. In their haste, they had forgotten to secure the steering wheel on the vessel which caused it to lurch about as the wind and waves would take it.

Seeing the risk of of capsizing, Sayer, in an act of unmitigated bravery, crawled across the tow rope and managed to secure the the steering wheel on the fishing ship. With the rudder secured, the towed ship stopped jerking about, and sailed smoothly. With his task complete, Sayer crawled back to the main ship, and resumed his place at the wheel.

Feeling they were far enough out to sea, Valgard and one of Sayer's men began pushing some of the fish they had brought with them into the water. They were preparing to distract the sea monster with the baited ship, but first they needed to get it's attention.

Chumming the Waters.

When they finished emptying out the barrel of fish, Sayer cut the rope on the bait boat, and sailed away as quickly as he could. Within moments, a dark shape rose from the depths. and capsized the bait boat. The shell of a dragon turtle broke through the water, going into a feeding frenzy.

When they were a good distance away, Sayer, Valgard and the men sighed a sigh of relief. As far as they knew they ahd beaten the monster and everything was safe. But their sigh was premature. As they approached the island, the waters churned beneath them.

You see, Dwannis had enough Message spells to ask Sayer to come, and and to warn him that the dragon turtle may still be alive, but he didn't have enough to tell him about the colossal octopus the island seemingly rested on. There was nothing to be done but hope they survived as they did.

The Octopus Attacks!

Two great tentacles burst from the water and the men cried out in terror! One of the arms gripped the ship; crushing it to pieces, sending Sayer, Valgard and the eight men hurdling into the sea. Wreckage flew all around them, Then everything went black. 

Scene 5 Meeting on the Beach. Entering the Castle.

Sayer awoke on the beach surrounded by four of the eight men he had brought with him. He was alive as where the four, but the fate of the others would forever remain a mystery, and Valgard was no where to be seen. 

After he and his men recovered, Sayer surveyed his surroundings. About a half mile down the beach, Sayer saw the what looked like a wrecked ship. Hoping to find survivors, he lead his four men towards it. Little did Sayer know, but the ship on the beach was the same one Dwannis, Raskavas and Bodie had taken over, and  Valgard had washed ashore just in front of their camp by the ship. 

Valgard was unconscious, and bobbing in and out with the surf. Bodie found him floating in the water, and proceeded to poke him with his Urgosh. It failed to wake him up, but bruised his flesh some more; dealing another point of damage. 

Bodie called out to the others that there was a body floating on the surf, and that poking it with his Urgosh was not waking it up. Hearing this, Raskavas walked over, snatched the Urgosh from Bodie and told him that he clearly wasn't poking hard enough. 

Raskavas lifted the hammer above his head, preparing to swing, but before e could, Dwannis snapped his spellbook shut and yelled for Raskavas to stop. He had finished studying his spells for the day, and was curious to see who this new comer was and if they were still alive; before Raskavas smashed him to a pulp.

Dwannis discovered the duergar wasn't dead and that he was a cleric of some kind. A bit of Paranoia grew in Dwannis, as he recalled his duel with the last magic user he encountered in Elementia Game 5. So while Valgard was still unconscious, Dwannis cast Necrotic Cyst on him and then went to find his breakfast.

Sayer and his men arrived just as Dwannis left Valgard. Raskavas was plerased to see his friend, and greeted him whole heartedly. Sayer told us of his journey and of the cleric Valgard. 

Realizing Valgard was the man floating in the surf, Raskavas had Sayer's men pull him out of the water. Using one of his Cure Light Wounds potions, Sayer woke Valgard. The Cleric started in shock as he awoke, but when he realized he was alive, he stood and introduced himself to introduced himself to the group. Dwannis greeted him, saying nothing of the Cyst, and asked if he was skilled in healing magics. Valgard replied he was a Cleric of Life and Death, and the medical arts were one of his specialties. He then proceed to use his magics to heal everyone to almost full health.

Full health at last!

With the party healed The group decided to rest for the evening, and explore the following day.

The next morning, the party explored the island, and found the entrance to the great castle that stood on it. In front of its doors, Dwannis cast a Detect Magic Spell, and found the entire area to be radiating powerful magics. They would have to be careful. 

Sayer ordered his men to open the door, and they lifted the iron gates, and pushed back the doors, opening dark black portal into the castle. One by one, they all entered.

Scene 6 Aren Bellwick's Note.

Inside the castle the party found several dead bodies dressed in fine armour: one of them was clutching a note. Dwannis pulled it from his hand and read it to himself:

Paraphrasing: There is a horror in the tunnels, don't look into its eyes... Another monster holds the key to something deep in the basement... Signed the Founder of Bellwick... 400 years ago.

Dwannis realized if the note was signed by Aren Bellwick, it would mean that the illusion spell that was lifted in Conquest of Frey Game 8 had been cast almost 400 years ago. Something strange and much larger then any of them was at work here.



Sensing the greater danger, Dwannis used Animated Dead to raise the body of Aren and two of his fallen men. This bolstered the party's ranks with some willing servants. With that they began to explore the room.

They stood in a large chamber covered in doors, but the most prevalent was a large double door that stood at the top of a stair case. As they all looked at it, the doors began to shake slightly and the loud boom of footsteps echoed behind it, just like Aren's note described.

The party was at full strength, and decided to ignore Aren Bellwick's warning. They felt they could deal with the horror, and charged into the room.

Scene 7 A Duel with the Shadows.

Valgard's Light spell scattered the darkness, but shadows remained all over the room. The horror Aren described was no where to be found, but the shadows themselves seemed to move.

Bodie was the last one to enter the room, and as he passed through the door a shadow reached out and slashed his back, then disappeared as quickly as it came. Bodie felt his strength drain from him. 

Shadows deal Strength Damage.

Seeing the danger, the party rushed out into entrance chamber and stood their ground at the bottom of the stairs.  

Three shadows materialized from behind the door. The party's physical weapons would be useless against the incorporeal beings.  All they had were Dwannis and Valgard's spells, and the +2 Great Mace Dwannis had found on the ship in Conquest of Frey Game 3.

It was a vicious battle. Dwannis used his fireballs, and handed his Great Mace off to Raskavas while Valgard used his Searing Light spell. In the end the shadows were defeated, though at the cost of a guard, and most of the strength stat of the party's casters; Dwannis, Bodie, and Valgard.

Deciding to not risk another trial with the shadows, Dwannis lead the party to the closest room on his right.

Scene 8 The Dire Bats.

They passed through the next chamber without looking around: Their haste quickened by a growing fear of malicious shadows. This was a shame, as Dave -the DM- told the group that they had missed some treasures. However as they walked through the chamber, Bodie noticed through a glass covered window that the castle seemed to be under water. The Octopus had submerged. Now they would either have succeed or die trapped beneath the waves!

At the end of the chamber, they found a door leading to a long hall way. The squeaks of bats could be heard down the long dark tunnel, and four Dire Bats swooped down from above.

And... cut to us fighting batman symbols.

The bats should have been easy prey for the party, but in their weakened condition, they were a more challenging foe. It took some time to defeat them, but the party emerged victorious and more or less unscathed.

Seeing there was nothing else in the room, the continued to the next chamber.

Scene 9 A Place to Rest.

Each door in the new room had a a way of bolting it from the inside, and as the sound of the horror's pounding foot steps drew nearer each party member rushed to shut their door. When the room was secure, Dwannis started to look at the bookshelves that filled it. He only found a single book of note, and it crumbled to dust in his hands as he clutched it. Disappointed, he returned to the group; who had set up a small camp in the middle of the room.

The party decided to rest there for the evening, while Sayer and his men stood guard. And that was where we left off for the night.

Conclusion.

Dave had expected us to get a little further, and also didn't expect us to charge at one of the dungeons largest monsters right away. But was pleased with how his first dungeon for the group was turning out.

Our retreat form the monster and the shadows gave us a chance to heal, recharge spells and even allowed most of us of us to level up! Raskavas and Dwannis reached level 10, Bodie level 8, Sayer level 7, and Valgard stayed level 6.

The rest of the dungeon awaits us, who knows what mysteries it may hold!



                          

Rumples: The Chaotic Evil Halfling Fighter

For Dave's first official run in Ivershill, (aside from the small test he did with Adam and I) he wanted to use the character dice to generate his character.

This was his roll:

And thus, from the darkest depths of the earth, Rumples was born! Dave immediately threw down a sketch of Rumples murdering a small child, and Ivershill's first evil party took to the table top.

Rumples was killed by one of the Guardians in the elven forest, after he had murdered a merchant and endangered one of the trees the Elves' houses are built in; stopping his reign of terror.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

Map of Greengate from the Impossible Campaign

Greengate has long been under control of the Knights of Istar. The city itself once stood as a fortress against the hordes of undead unleashed upon the world by the dark Sorcerer Kal in eons past.

Today Greengate stands as an important trade hub in Eastern South Fray to the Kingdom of Plost and Onchesland. But perhaps Greengate's crowning feature Is the Guardians monastery, an ancient structure and home to High Cleric of Istar, Abbot Alan Hiedrich, second in command to the Grand Master of the Knights of Istar himself.

In order to get to Woods Deep, the party must pass through Greengate, two day's journey from Lord Alex's keep in Wrenshire. It is a busy place, and a good place to gather followers, information and supplies.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

Adam's 2nd Ed Paladin

Adam's Paladin, Don Quixote de la Mancha, as seen in Elijah's From the Wizard's Tower.

Born a nobleman, Don Quixote decided to live a life of adventure as an errant knight. Luckily he has some friends to help him along.

The mini is of course from Reaper Minis.


                          

Elementia Game 7

Game Master: Jeff
Game Edition: D&D 3.5
Players: Andrew, Dave, Elijah, Adam
Starting Level: 1  

Quote of the Evening:
"Give me a break, I've never played for a rock worm before!"

Introduction

Since Tom was unavailable, Jeff -our DM- played as his character Hector, while the rest of us fell into our familiar roles.

And... Tom is also in a different part of the country. Luckily he emailed us this photo.

We left off last game having defeated the mummies in the sand room, and having claimed the Sand Orb! However, victory came at a price. Cyrano de Bergerac was infected with Mummy Rot! We had escaped the room by climbing a long ladder that led into a small corridor. There we stood, waiting for what would happen next.

Scene 1 Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures. 

At the end of the  corridor  there was a pool of water. At the bottom of it everyone in the party could see the elemental switches just like in the pond from Elementia Game 6. However, everyone in the group was growing hungry and refused to go any further until their bellies were full.

It had been hours since the party had entered the tunnel, and their light breakfast of mouthful of mushroom was starting to wear a little thin. Anything to eat would be acceptable.

 Breakfast of Champions.

Luckily Mäaar spotted a rat and shot it with an arrow. Now, one cooked Rat between 5 is hardly a meal, but it was a little more food in their guts, and they swallowed it down, trying not to think about where it came from.

While they rested, Hector used his magics, and managed to cure Cyrano of his Mummy Rot, earning his respect and thanks.

With their meal finished, and a few wounds healed, they felt ready to take on the rest of the dungeon. Ghar volunteered to swim down a activate the switches as he had done before, knowing they would open the next door. However, this wasn't an easy task as the group had forgotten much about the complexities of the temple. Needless to say Ghar almost drowned... again.

However, just before he ran out of air, he solved the puzzle and the water drained into a whirlpool that sucked Ghar down into the next room. Cyrano plugged his nose and holding his hat and jumped after the barbarian, and the rest of the party reluctantly followed.

Scene 2 The Withered Forest.

The waterfall ended in a pool at the back of a small cave. Somewhat jumbled for their water-slide adventure, the party gathered themselves and took in their surroundings. A large pond of water blocked the entrance to the cave, and on the other side stood four men inspecting a strange wooden pedestal. Three of the men where guards, and one of them appeared to be a scholar of some sort.

Mäaar silently slipped across the water, remaining hidden from the four men and managed to over hear that they were looking for the water orb, and that one of their parties -Team 2- had gone missing. Two of the Guards then left with the scholar, while the other stayed behind and continued to inspect the pedestal. Mäaar silenced the straggler with a sleeping arrow and ended his dreams with a dagger to the throat.

He then returned to the party and they followed him a cross the lake... Well, that was what they intended to do. Everyone entered the pool, and one by one, they all almost drowned.

They finally made it to the shore, and inspected the wooden pedestal that stood before a forest of dead and withered trees. Cyrano recognized the water symbol carved into the pedestal and an indentation to place the Water Orb. They checked our stock of orbs, They had a Fire Orb, an Air Orb and a Sand Orb, but no Water Orb, so they decided to explore the forest.

You could just hear the Zelda music playing!

After some searching they found a helix shaped path that lead through woods, and six clearings with strange stone slabs in them. The stones had a new symbol carved on them that none of the group had seen before: the sun. It was in the same style as the other elemental symbols; perhaps it was hinting at a new element? Unable to find more, the group continued down the path until they came to a great old tree.

Buried within it's hollow roots they saw the Plant Orb, but couldn't reach it so dense were the trees branches and roots. A quick look revealed what seemed to be an entrance on the tree, but strange and magically glowing vines blocked the entrance.

Stuck at a dead end on their current path, they party followed the other half of the helix path, which lead them to the next chamber.

Scene 3 The Frozen Door, and The Mural.

The next chamber held another beautiful mural, and intricate carvings covered the walls. The mural depicted an elven wizard battling a giant worm on the open desert. He was using cold spells to battle the creature, which seemed to be howling at their touch.

At first they noticed the worm resembled the one they had released in the chamber earlier, but then Cyrano had a realization: Elves weren't supposed to know how to use magic, so how could there be an elven wizard?  The party' eyes darted toward Lycien who quickly changed the subject, pointing out that there was another receptacle for an orb, this time the Sand Orb.

Cyrano put the Sand Orb into the slot and the wall disappeared revealing the inner chamber where they released the worm, and the beast itself; leering menacingly at them. Before the behemoth could lunge, Cyrano quickly removed the Orb, shutting the opening. Startled, they stood for a moment and then continued to look around the room.

In the corner there was a door covered in ice. It seemed to be the only exit, So Ghar did what came naturally to him. He took Lycien's pick axe and started swinging it at the ice. A few minutes later he had bashed his way through, providing and entrance to the next room.

Before they left, Cyrano noticed the pattern 21685 represented in the crown molding around the top of the room. It would come in handy.

Scene 4 The Frozen Room.

The frozen door led into a huge chamber of ice, sitting on the edge of a subterranean cliff.  At the far end of the chamber, about 100 feet away, a sheen wall of solid ice stood, sealing the room at the far end.

 Before they had any chance to explore, the party noticed the two Guards and the Scholar from the Withered Forest were exploring the ruins; busily deciphering the hieroglyphs that lay around the room. The Scholar heard them enter, but the two guards were busy investigating a series of 10 pillars that were scattered the floor some 80ft from the back wall.

The party surprised the scholar, but with Lycien's quick thinking and a well placed lie from Cyrano, they were able to convince him that they were the missing "Team 2." The scholar seemed relieved and introduced himself as the lead Archaeologist on the dig.

While the introductions were being made, Mäaar used the opportunity to silently deal with the two guards. Just as the Archaeologist noticed this, Ghar brained him with the flat of his axe, knocking the poor fellow out cold.

At first the scholar looked alright, but when he came to a few minutes later, it appeared that Ghar had done some serious brain damage to the man. He would need major medical attention before he could tell them anything useful again.

Although he probably didn't need to, Lycien threw some shackles on the man. And then the group went about solving the next puzzle. It involved moving a block of ice, by sliding it towards the appropriately sequenced column, with the end goal of sending it into a slot on the opposite wall. Each column had a button that raised a small wall beside it, and in that way the party could stop and direct the sliding ice block.

Following the number pattern 21685 and activating the appropriately numbered pillars, guided the block into the slot on the far wall. it seemed a simple task,  but as they pushed the first button the far wall began to move towards them!

The group rushed to get the block in place; succeeding with the wall a mere 10 feet from where they stood! With the block of ice in the slot, a small chamber in the wall opened revealing the Water Orb, and two Ice Mephits.

Stay frosty!

The party easily dealt with them; mostly thanks to a Scorch spell from Lycien. Then, retrieving the Water Orb, they headed back towards the Withered Forest.

Scene 5 Life and Death in the Withered Forest.

Back at the start of the Withered Forest, the group placed the Water Orb into the wooden pedestal, and watched as the woods sprang to life. It was beautiful, but deadly: freshly revived Assassin Vines slithering through the trees.

Seem to be a lot of Assassin Vines in this dungeon.

Cyrano removed the Orb, and immediately the forest fell dead once more. Thinking this was a good way to travel into the woods unabated, the group played around with this for some time, sending Hector to the magic vines concealing the Plant Orb, while the rest positioned  themselves around the stone clearings.

However, it was quickly discover that when the Forest was brought back to life, the magic vines guarding the Plant Orb turned into deadly Assassin Vines. Hector was almost killed by these vines, as was Cyrano, but the brute strength of Ghar helped everyone get through. However, it seemed fighting the plants was not enough to push them back, as for every vine cut another grew in its place.

In the stone clearings with the sun symbols, the group found that ancient mirrors had risen from chambers concealed by the stone slabs and a light was shining down form above. Using the mirrors, the group reflected the light on to the vines, withering them and allowing Hector to claim the Plant Orb. With prize in hand, the party headed back towards the chamber with the Ice room and murals on the wall, in search off the final Elemental Orb: the Metal Orb.

Scene 6 Sneaking Past the Worm

The party returned to the chamber with the mural and put the Sand Orb in it its place, snatching it out before they entered the hall.

The worm was no where in sight, and the group moved silently along the mezzanine, heading to the right until they arrived at a sealed stone slab with another grand mural painted on it.

The painting depicted a forest, similar to the one they encountered in the previous room. Placing the Plant orb in the notch in the mural opened the wall, leading the party into a room of gold with a door that lead to the temple's armoury.

I said GOLD!

Scene 7 The Armoury.

Despite their excitement, the golden room -though glistening- was unremarkable, and there wasn't a single coin or brick in sight, just smooth golden walls. Disappointed, the party continued into armoury that stood to the left, through an open door way in one of the golden walls.

ballista bolts lined the walls of the armoury, and at the back of the room a mural was painted on the wall suggesting that Fire and Water equaled Sand. There was also a blood receptacle, like the ones activated by Mäaar's and the Kyton's blood earlier in the temple.

Cyrano placed the Sand Orb into the mural's slot causing another six slots to open in the golden room; each one able to take an Elemental Orb. But where was the Metal Orb?

Not seeing anywhere else to go, and knowing that the receptacle was for elven blood, Mäaar volunteered his. As the first drop of his blood hit the receptacle, a trap door to fall out from under him, and he disappeared into the darkness.

Before anyone could follow him, the trap door shut and could not be opened again.

Scene 8 In A Mirror, Darkly.

Mäaar fell into another chamber and landed on his head. In another epileptic flashback to the night of the Vexian invasion, he saw two elven leaders discussing a secret weapon that had been taken by one of their generals. He had fled to the southern forest with what they called the "master key." They also spoke of the key to this temple's vault, and how it rested on the head of the giant worm.

After waking from his vision, Mäaar found himself in a dark room. The only visible object was a metal cage that surrounded the Metal Orb. Standing, he walked over to the cage but was stopped by a voice inside his head: "To claim the orb, you must defeat yourself!" it said.

As the voice faded, Mäaar's shadow sprung to life and the battle began.

Mäaar prepares to battle his own shadow.

His dark side wounded him, but thankfully Mäaar's aim proved truer then his shadow's and he quickly defeated... himself? After his shadow vanished, the bars around the metal orb opened and a staircase descended from the ceiling, leading back to the gold room. Mäaar rejoined the party and everyone placed their orbs into the slots Cyrano had opened. Each Orb went beside their elemental opposite, completing the sequence.

Each of the six Elemental Orbs. Made from push pins, airsoft pellets, glue and a bit of paint.

With the Orbs in place, the temple began to shake and they party heard things shifting back in the chamber with the giant worm. However, before they could investigate, a golden podium with a chest on it, rose from the center of the room. The chest was unlocked, and it contained contains a large vile of a glowing blue liquid. The group quickly determined this was rare purified liquid Elementia Crystal! Very powerful and very dangerous.

Scene 9 Planning for the Worm

Before doing anything, Mäaar peeked out into the chamber with the worm, and saw that ballistas had been lowered onto the stone blocks on either side of the mezzanine. Seeing the weapons, The group quickly decided on a daring plan. they would coat 4 ballista bolts in the liquid as well as Cyrano's rapier, Hector's Mace and Ghar's Axe. Mäaar and Lycien would man the ballistas, while the other three jumped on the worm to distract it and give them time to reload.

It was bold and probably fool hardy, but no one could come up with a better plan, and the 5 charged into the chamber.

Scene 10 Battling the Worm

The plan almost worked. The three jumped onto the worm, but Cyrano fell off the worm on the first attempt. Thankfully he landed on some soft sand and was able to hide on a lower mezzanine. Ghar and Hector got thrown onto the upper mezzanine and continued their assault.

Lycien and Mäaar's ballista assault was doing great damage to the creature, but Lycien missed with one of his bolts! Not something the party could afford.

Things get ugly.

To buy them more time, Cyrano started to use his bardic music to try and fascinate the beast, but his performance was a little lack luster; and that is where our quote of the evening comes from.

The party groaned at Cyrano's Failure who shouted out:

"Give me a break, I've never played for a rock worm before!"

The shout was enough to divert the worm's attention and while it searched for Cyrano, the rest of the party jumped at it and hacked it to pieces

Ghar ripped the key form the top of  the Worm's head, and started towards a new door that had opened on the lower floor. Perhaps it was the chamber containing the prize this temple supposedly held.

Conclusion

That was where we left off the evening. So close to gaining our prize, and yet so far.

However, despite our progress, Jeff was never fully satisfied with how the game had turned out. We didn't get into the inner workings of the city like he wanted us to, and we all agreed that it was time to take the campaign in a new direction.

Jeff is planning to re-do the Elementia campaign as JADE's first Pathfinder Game, and we are all looking forward to it!

To find out the fate of this party, look for it in Elementia: the Epilogue