Dark Sun: Something Something Dark Sun

[Dark Sun: Something Something Dark Sun]

Signed up (2/8):

[EvilGinger]

could sort something like that out & it sounds a bit more colourful than I had imagined

Happy now.....

 Ginger

[Dat]

Session Write Up time! - The adventurers started off as a disparate bunch of individuals!

A strret performer named Jossi caused a scene, - when the carnival she claimed to be performing for, entered town. Simons' character was leading one of the caravans and was asked for Jossi's licencing fees. Refuting any allegiance, his Tiefling attempted a drive-by kidnapping so that he might have a few choice words. Jossi escaped out of the burlap prison via means psionic or otherwise and caused a distraction by scattering incendiary juggling balls into a crowded marketplace. After the flare passed away, Templar Lavinia of the Tenth District was temporarily blinded but enraged enough to instruct her subordinate, Keral Gyver (Evil Ginger) to proclaim a 50CP reward for Jossis capture and to find others to help secure the fleeing Elf. Keral wasted no time in encouraging a public spirited and renown Dragonborn arena fighter Aklo (Jason).

Ducking into an alleyway, Jossi was seen throwing a small, round object towards some more street performers at the alley's end and instructing them to fix the object to the door of a temple of Kalak. Our big damn heros round the corner and run into her two Half-Giants (Goliaths), who are tending to a pair of Kank mounts. A fight ensues, in which the Goliaths are dealt with, a Kank is flung through a shopkeepers bolted door by the power of Aklo's mind and Jossi is knocked out and carried by the Tiefling. Some Urikites emerge from the door of the Temple of Kalak and are quickly dipatched. The party flees the remaining Kank in poor health and finds Lavinia back on the main street. She instructs them to wait in the nearby inn, The Golden Inix, while she arranges for their reward. Jossi is taken away by Templars, but Lavinia leaves Jossis belongings in the form of a letter and map to Keral and the others to look at while she is away. The party peruse a map of the City and a letter signed by 'O' which seems to indicate a large conspiracy between multiple parties, Jossi included. Uninspired, the team tuck into free food & drink for an hour. END OF SESSION.

Lavinia returns with news. The tiefling, Alko and Keral are invited to the third floor of the Golden Tower to meet with the Council of Templars to discuss their reward and to be interrogated about what may be a possible coup from the City of Urik. The players have little information to give, but are talked into investigating the plot for the sake of Tyr and a few more material concerns. With a drastically reduced army and Templar force after the freeing of military slaves and conflicts in the desert with Urikite Houses, Tyr is stretched for law enforcement. Riots and factions making vies for power are a frequent concern, and stretch the Templars daily. With fears from Benjamin Armstrong (Lavinias father and ruler of the Templar Council) that the team lacks muscle, he requests that they bring acquaintances to the hearing who may be persuaded to join. Codrus the dwarf Minotaur (Alex), occasional arena partner of Aklo, is invited and persuaded to join. Choca the Thri-Kreen Hunter (Bob), is known to Codrus and invited to join. Meeting over, Lavinia requests they return to the scene of the crime and investigate the alleyway.
Upon the party's return, they see Templars have taped off the alleys entrance and are currently in combat with an enraged Kank that is doing a good job of leaping out of cover to spew acid over several unfortunate Templar combatants. A final blast of Acrane power from the remaining Templars finishes the Kank and allows the team to enter unhindered. They quickly set about the doorway to investigate where the Urikites came from. The door ajar, it seems as if there is nothing but an empty Temple of Kalak inside, run down and squallid in condition. When the door is reopened, it reveals a new squallor in the form of what appears to be Jossi's house in the Slums of Tyr, several miles away. Slow investigation reveals some interesting finds; marked coins belonging to Warren gang The Toothcutters, a secret Dungeon that 'proves' Jossi's involvement with slavery for House Ianto, signed artwork postcards of famous male Tyrian citizens in provocative poses, a parrot proclaiming 'Tyr is ours', some letters in a room the Urikites used, denouncing Jossi as a bad leader and organiser.

The final piece of evidence is an injured beggar in Jossi's room who was quickly healed. Under interrogation, he claimed to have been abducted by the Urikites and kept hostage in Jossi's room. Offering little information. the party continued to search the house until they returned to find him frantically searching the room and trying to escape. Under a more intimidating questioning, he reveals how he was a beggar working for Tyrs Eyes, a city-wide gang and spy network. A chance kidnapping by Jossi found him imprisoned in her slave dungeon and branded for House Ianto. Upon his escape in the fracas caused by the Urikites leaving the house and entering the fight with the party, he was stabbed by a lingering Urikite on the floor above and he fled to Jossi's room to find bandaging to stem the bleeding. Confirming Jossis involvement with the Toothcutters and also the Iron Rats, he also agrees to arrange a meeting with a high-ranking member of Tyrs Eyes. It is hoped that the meeting will bring light to more information about other conspirators and will help to wrap up the partys investigation.

[EvilGinger]

Good stuff I needed to catch up as I had to leave early last time

 Ginger

[Dat]

Session 3:
The party convince the injured beggar (Chandler) to arrange a meeting with someone from Tyrs Eyes. It is hoped the spy-network will be able to provide information about the conspiracy. The party return to the Golden Inix for food and are met a couple of hours later by Chandler. He informs them that they can meet a high-ranking member 'at first light, in a house with a green eye, shaded by the cage of the poor'. The players figure out that 'the cage' is the Slave Pits near the Smiths District.
Setting out before first light, the players take a long journey by rickshaw, soaking up the sights of Tyr. Arrival at the Slave Pits highlights a struggling clay mine next to the reinforced enclosure itself. The 20ft high walls feature disused guard towers at each corner and the pen itself is home to a shanty village of ex-slaves with nowhere to go. Talking to the locals reveals that the Slave Pits are haunted and/or cursed as the shadow of the pit always falls SW and people have been known to dissapear in the night. This gives the players a location of a couple of streets behind the pit where further local information highlights a house at a street corner with a green door. Entrance to the house was guarded by two cloaked dwarves who directed the team upstairs to a fabric covered room frequented by a hooded blonde with green eyes named Iris. A very insightful discussion is had where the party learn several things;
---------------------------------------------
Xalos of the Stone and Mortar (Artisan District) attends meetings with other people of power about seizing more control of Tyr from Templar hands. Plans are mostly political and more underhanded schemes have proven ineffective. Supplies poor quality information to the Urik state.
House Iantos' success and tranformation from a purely slave driven company to a diversified, opportunistic one has been remarkable and equally suspicious. A continued line in slavery would have helped the transition and explain success.
A gang in the Warrens is likely involved with the conspiracy in that area of the City.
The identity of 'O' in the letter is unknown, but likely a noble of unkown house. Gerrard Shahram in the Artisan District will have more information.
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Iris rounds up by informing the characters that Jossi has a second cell in the Caravan District that consists of her fellow street performers and her half-brother Quarian. She wants them neutralised in whatever manner the players see fit. A reward will be given on provision of evidence.
The team then finish off the day by letting the Tiefling (Simon), his Halfling (Andy), the Dragonborn (Jason) and the Minotaur (Alex) visit Jossi in her cell. She is in a spare cage in the back yard of a prison house under a tree's shade, crying. The interview reveals she was approached by a cloaked figure after she responded to a mysterious letter. The figure handed over a door and imparted its instructions. She headed for home, but was accosted by rioting homeless people - The Free. They stole her door and threw it in a pyre in the street. Jossi was able to recover the doorknob alone. the Tiefling recognises Jossi has some talent ( - and her performers would come in handy), so successfully intimidates Jossi into 'swearing an oath' upon Carnivale Phantasmagoria. END SESSION

SESSION 4
The team decide that the slave basement in Jossi's house that indicated Houe Ianto must mean something is up. They decide to act upon Iris' suspicions and scout out House Ianto's public facing enterprises. The Tiefling, - Mr Silt and his halfling friend decide to sell tea and artwork respectively on the streets of Iron Square, where Ianto's Trading Parlour sells its rarest and most lucrative products and trade goods. A little information is gathered from pundits about the strange nature of Ianto's recovery and reputation. Thri Kreen Choca (Bob) surveys the main Ianto Warehouse and reveals locations of patrolling stone golems and their guard towers. The Minotaur and Dragonborn (Alex & Jason) frequent the Emporium at the front of Ianto Warehouse. Inside, the two purchase an exotic Halfing lantern and find out about the Golems - called Automatons, and their creator, Morbius. A tame Giant is also supposedly to be found in the rear yard, - a pet project of House Ianto Assistant Director Morbius. The party reconvene and share their findings, coming to the conclusion that the Ianto Warehouse must be infiltrated. - But not before they get Templar Keral (Evil Ginger) to research the location of Morbius' home.
Using this information, Choca-Lati is dispatched on a top secret mission to find out stuff. Breaking into the first floor and avoiding a maid, Choca ransacks Morbius' study and finds partial blueprints and designs for the mechanically and magically powered Automatons. Other scrap parts are found but left in place as Choca places a magnifying glass in the window and lights up Morbius' blueprints, study and home. A pang of something hits as he saunters down the street, but the roaring flames tell him it is too late to change the events he has set in place.
Regrouped, the team sneak up on a pair of display Automatons after hours and kill one before the other chirps up 'ALERT ALERT, DANGER, DANGER'. More pour from the roof of the warehouse as a fight ensues where the Dragonborn has a brush with death after fists of stone brush his skull. The Automatons are dealt with however and now the party has to end what it started. END SESSION + LEVEL UP!

[Dat]

As this thread comes up for air once more, i present;
LEVEL UP TIME, PEOPLES!
Level 2 means y'all get an extra power and a feat. Inherent Bonuses from you all being in Dark Sun means you get a +1 to attack and damage this level. This mitigates a lack of magical weapons you would normally be swimming in.

I can print out your characters if you give me your level up choices, but most of you dont read this because you never go on this site or can't see i've updated the thread as it is quickly lost on the front page to other posts. I suspect some time will have to be made during the next session or when another game is on, to talk to several players. - What a pain DMing is!

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Ha ha, yeah.
Also, the Jossi-box interlude totally happened before we went to see the Tyr's Eyes. I'm sure of it. Mostly. And as far as I was aware, it was just Mr Silt and his halfling brother who went to visit Jossie. I think we may have had a stow-away on the journey that I didn't realise, but it was definitely just mine and Andy's characters who went in to talk to Jossie, on account of it being circus business.

[Dat]

A space is open for a player in this dark sun campaign. EvilGinger has left us for reasons that dont include me being a bad DM! So a space is free for a 2nd level dark sun character. What has happened to Keral? - the fates shall decide! 

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

We didn't eat him!

[EvilGinger]

I would hang the lot of you any way just to make sure

I think Dat is a brilliant GM & loved his interpretation of the dark sun setting just felt uncomfortable in the player group, I also I will admit fell victim to oohs shininess of the pathfinder boardgame.



 Ginger

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Well, it's a shame. But I guess our loss is pathfinder's gain.
And so it goes.

[EvilGinger]

indeed

 Ginger

[Dat]

After falling behind on write ups i got into the 'its too much work now i cant be bothered' mood. Then a couple weeks ago, i decided to catch up bit by bit and have now finished. I think i just like to document what happened in my games and if anyone reads it then that's great. Part 1 of a double post follows;
________________________________________________
5 Search and Destroy
The party had sucessfully broken into House Iantos' warehouse and smashed its security/night-shift beyond repair.
While some players healed up, other characters wandered the warehouse, looking for incriminatin' evidence. They find storage shelves, offices and a communal area. Undeterred, the party hesitantly investigates the back yard, suspecting it to be the location of a Giant owned by assistant manager Morbius. The Tiefling bravely wakes the Giant, finding the creatures disposition to be rather innocent and amiable as it seems to still be a child. A beast-head Giant, the boy has a green tiger head, four arms and sports a striped pair of blue & white PJs. With the Tiefling explaining the situation to Tawny the Giant, he recommends the boy goes somewhere safe with his companions away from the warehouse while they investigate on Templar business. Tawny reluctantly agees and makes his way to the circus with the Dragonborn and Halfling. Storage crates in the yard are investigated and provide nothing unusual. The last remaining mystery they discover is the single storey buiding in the yard.

6 Cold-Blooded Chiller
A tiefling, Thri-kreen and a minor-taur burst into the small wooden building and discover a flight of stairs leading down. Striding confidently down, the group find a stern looking businesswoman. A heated discussion is had after she introduces herself as Altaira, Morbius' Daughter and head of House Ianto. The team get frutrated with her uncooperative response to their demands of revealing any shady business. The matter quickly escalates into a fight where Altaira drops her illusion and reveals herself to be a giant iguana-like lizard. Fire is flung and Choca and Codrus get all up in her green face. A short while later, Altaira lies defeated and some party members are given emergency first aid in the nick of time. Stern words are had and Altaira the Id Fiend realises the hopelessness of her situation. She reveals the scheme House Stel (a notorious slave house - except in Tyr) had cooked up. Altaira was captured in the beast-ridden Ruincreepers territory in the Slums and forced to work as a replacement for Morbius' recently missing daughter. Her unique psychic powers allowed her to both fit in and intimidate the rest of House Ianto into obeying orders from the top. Using her new-found position, she was to find old contact details for House Iantos' mothballed slave operation when it was legal and restart the enterprise. Slaves were held in caves in Under-Tyr through a secret passage in Tawny's outhouse and the old slavers would carry them off through the old citys' tunnels.
After this explanation, the party quickly realises the Templars have arrived on the scene and intend to investigate the disturbance they caused. Before the law enforcement leaves the warehouse proper, the rest of the party escape with the Id Fiend out the back gates. Mr Silt the Tiefling offers the Id Fiend a position in the circus as a way to avoid the undoubtedly harsh punishment she would face with the Templars. Her new position puts her shapeshifting abilities and her power of fear  to good use as various panto style villains etc.

7 We Are All in the Gutter
The party decide to act on a note claiming someone will be able to help with getting Jossi back from Templar hands. Flyers posted around the city are announcing Jossi's execution at midday. Some of the gang navigate their way to a particularly disreputable part of The Slums and wait in the Beckoned Kanks with drinks in their hand. Only after some awkward waiting do they ask the barkeep about the man in their letter, to which he points to a package left for them in the corner. It is a large crate that immediately arouses suspicions. Carrying the heavy object to a discreet place, the group find a battered Jossi, barely recognisable, barely concious and missing her tongue. She is ferried to the medics in Circus Phantasmagoria.
Lavinia the Templar arrives at Circus Phantasmagoria and ushers the party to attend a review of their progress and a sharing of information. At the Golden Tower in the Templar District, Head of The Council Ben Armstrong asks for details of the party's progress. Mr Silt gives details and explains that he thinks there is an operative in each district of Tyr. Mr Armstrong informs everyone that the Templars are investigating House Iantos' Warehouse operation and will act on the party's advice that House Stel are behind a slave market.
Other members of the party attend the hanging of Jossi the traitor. This large event in the city Collosseum is well attended and very popular. Codrus the Minotaur is sure the woman on the gallows isn't the real deal but an impostor of remarkable similarity. The others fail to detect any magical shenanigans and determine that she must be a very good look-alike. The crowd roars with fervent delight as the silent and broken woman drops to her death for their amusement.

[Dat]

8 A Stab in the Dark
The party decide to act on their remembered information given to them by the spy network Tyrs Eyes. One lead was the potential involvement of Slums gang The Ruincreepers. Dressing the part of gruff inhabitants of such a run down district, the party make their way to the Elven Market and use Minotaur Codrus' local knowledge to find a Toothcutter gang information broker down a back alley. Handing over the gang-marked coinage they found in Jossis' House, the group are told of a location where a man can tell them about Ruincreeper activity.
A short walk to the location finds the party under an old bridge accross an abandoned canal. A remarkably similar looking man as the information broker appears and joins them under the bridge. He is grilled for information and cannot give them much more than the fact that Ruincreeper activity has ground suspiciously to a halt in recent weeks. Toothcutter patrols along the border of Ruincreeper territory have reported no activity compared to the constant battles they were involved in from the Ruincreeper Halflings trying to encroach on Toothutter turf. The bridge informant then offers the party a deal of either paying to get across the Toothcutter borders or joining an expedition team on a trip into Ruincreeper territory. The group accept neither offer and determine to make it into the territory by means of absailing down the border-walls of Tyr itself.
A long walk to a guard tower at night ensues, where the team find themselves in increasingly dilapidated areas with few citizens. Some careful navigation finds them using their Templar paperwork to obtain the cooperation of the tower guards to get them to the top and along the walls of Tyr. Some ropes are brought out and the Templar guards reluctantly let the party down into the heart of Ruincreeper land.

9 Time...To Die.
Entering the dark and abandoned streets, the party can see a collection of flaming brands off in the distance, attached to a large building. Choca decides to scale a building to get a better look around and just about crambles up to the top. He finds the players are in a long-abandoned residential area and that ropes connect the buildings in a crude bridge. The Halfling scouts the area on the ground, looking for signs of hidden enemies or other dangers. He finds a Halfling skeleton pinned to the wall of a building. It immediately makes him recall his time hunting in the Forest Ridge, where hunters would warn others of certain hazards by means of the victims carcass. It is clear the skeleton in question has several broken bones and many decide he died from a fall. With this on the partys' mind, the players use the roofs to awkwardly move from building to building. It is decided as the best course of action as Ruincreeper land is commonly known to harbour many wild beasts.
After a time of moving towards the large lit building, Andies' Halfling ears prick up. A bird call is heard in the distance and he recognises it as a Halfling hunting call alerting others to potential prey. The partys' token Short Round uses his quick wits to attempt to sound off a 'false alarm' in similar code. This goes badly when the same mystery caller repeats his call even louder. A slanderous battle of words erupts as both parties fly off the handle. Andy tells the rest of the party to expect trouble and trouble arrives as flaming arrows light piles of rags on the corners of the rooftop ocupied by our team.
Thanks to Andy, Mr Silt the Tiefling is prepared and fires off some fire into the dark in the general direction of the arrows. He shoots and scores as he hits a barracade of household junk and one of the archers. The darkness is somewhat alleviated as two of the four buildings in the encounter are now illuminated by fire. All players rush into the fray on another building roof while the Tiefling fires spells from his starting point. While the party dishes out the pain, they unfortunately receive it in equal measure as the archers and their leader fire off ranged attacks effectively and repeatedly, hailing arrows upon players and temporarily downing several over the course of the battle. The Halflings the party goes toe-to-toe with also wield posion spears which eventually take out Choca. Several party members are downed trying to attend to their downed friends and the Tielfing is viciously attacked by their chief and a spear-wielder and is floored.
The last desperate attempts of the party to rescue the others is noble but futile as they are expertly picked off by their ferocious attackers. As Mr Silt hits the floor, the last of the party is down and dying, with their Halfling ambassador already dead from the poison in his blood. Things look bad for the party assembled to uncover the mystery that started with a mischievious juggler...
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Quite an experience to live in fear isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Considering we got through most of a 950XP encounter with only four of the players, I think we did pretty okay.