Post Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk here (April 2016) Burning Farmlands, Countryside, Sewer Nightmares

April thread for Journal entries about game sessions this month! Remember that Session XP and Treasure/Loot is cataloged in another thread, <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1861516/treasure" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1861516/treasure</a>... Journal XP Bonus is awarded for this thread. Post your Journal entries here. (You may also copy your Journal to your Character's personal logbook thread, but the XP award is based on posting it in the monthly Journal thread in the chronological windows of time, week to week between sessions.)Please write your own Journal XP Bonus proposal in chat. I'll review it and approve the XP amount and description. We'll use this thread for all sessions taking place in the month of APRIL 2016. This is the 14th consecutive month of Player Journals for this homebrew world. Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (March 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (April 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (May 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (June 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (July 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (August 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (September 2015) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (October 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (November 2015) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (December 2015) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (January 2016) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (February 2016) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (March 2016) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (April 2016) . Opening the Window for Journals of April 5 session: Orcs Arson in Burning Farmlands! The party, now in the Burning Farmlands, continues investigating the reasons for an Orc intrusion of arsonists just to the near-North of Portlandio, in the breadbasket.&nbsp; The Illusive Manager (as Co-GM) contributed his 2nd Encounter, and we started April game sessions on Map 2 of 3, orcs who were aided to get this far, committing arson and pillaging in the farmlands near Portlandio. Next Session and moving forward in April, forming a party to travel to Ota Sura's town: Go to Map 3 of 3 and defeat The Illusive Manager's arsonist-orc shaman and sub boss. Upgrades in Portlandio (boardwalks - Sigma). Upgrades in The Naughty Nymph Swarg-Inn (Swagen),&nbsp; and BIG NEWS in the Inn:&nbsp; In the background, this has happened, we've got some XPC's, we'll say 3:&nbsp; Mora The Lock-master and Wei-Ting The Earthbender with Kryikh the Kenku Mage , who are secretly constructing for you&nbsp; a private bank vault with locking storage, for the party, managed by the Challengers of Destiny, within the Inn! You are getting your own Treasure Vault. Horukh 2.0 emergence speech. Horukh is coming back into Portlandio and the game! World-building gameplay in which every Player can add appropriate bits to the town. More NPC's to meet, interview, negotiate. 3 Koryon Military Generals?&nbsp; Yi Bang (falsely accused of aiding the orcs? since it was actually Lord Harlepen's men who appear to be aiding these orcs),&nbsp; Yi Ko (currently has favor in-town & working with Horukh's emergence),&nbsp; Che Won (has backup Bullywug army on the side, and is at once suspicious and overly trusting of his 2 rival generals).. Those earth elemental forces on the high cliffs? (Galeb Duhr, Xaren, Earthbending). Any more Connections & Leads to Ota Sura? Are you ready? Is your PC motivated to go and meet the Half-Elf Aunty and Mayor figure and help her in the war against the orc army front? Were those bandits helping the orcs actually disguised "knights" under orders from Lord Harlepen? You discovered they were NOT Yi Bang's men after all despite the initial rumors/allegations. Post any ideas & game discussion here, worldbuilding, book-keeping, Q&A, + journals.

Without revealing too many spoilers, it is my understanding that Horukh will return---in a pretty dark way, for him at least---and will be "running the town" while the other adventures happen (with the Broken Spear/PC2 group).&nbsp; Some time after this, maybe a few weeks, Horukh will reveal Some Things The Bad Guys Weren't Planning On, and make a Big Deal Speech to secure Portlandio.&nbsp; Once that happens, I will probably switch to playing Horukh as an adventurer again, while Sigma goes and does terrible things to orc forces. Or something. :)

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Thoughts of a Barbarian, #3 "There's a fire in his eye, as he holds his hungry sword into the sky!..." Ethagal burns, its people lie slain on the streets. Barbarian warriors desperately attempt to repel the small army of orcs who continue to slaughter everyone in its wake. Today, they will not repel anything... but they will die trying. Among them stand King Tyoglas and his only son, Azur . Orc after orc falls to the duo who fight as one. Eventually, the bodies start piling up and Azur, along with his father are now standing behind a huge makeshift barricade of green, disgusting orc bodies , forcing their attackers to climb over their own dead to reach them. Swing after swing, another foe fell to the swords of the two warriors, adding to the pile. Despite the morale hit the increasing body count managed to impose, it did not stop the orcs from pushing forward, forcing Azur and King Tyoglas to fall back along with the rest of the remaining warriors. While retreating, an arrow found the King's armor , managing to penetrate it , causing him to stumble forward, not falling however. They all stopped behind a small wooden shack. The orcs were still behind them, still chasing. Whithout saying a word, they all knew deep inside the city was lost, there was no way they could possibly defend it against such a force. Turning to Azur, the King says:&nbsp; "Son,... you know what you have to do. Forgive me..." and starts charging the incoming orc forces yelling "FOR ETHAGAL!!" , his eyes burning with fury and his sword pointing to the eastern skies. The remaining warriors charge behind him , in order to buy Azur some time to run out of the city. Arrows fly towards the charging barbarians, hitting two of them who do not stop. The two forces clash . Surprisingly, the barbarians seem to be holding off alright, but they don't last long after an Ogre Shaman appeared: mumbling strange words and making weird gestures , a fireball flew right towards the group of humans and orcs alike, setting all of them ablaze, killing them in mere seconds ... While all this was happening in the northern part of the city, Azur was making way, alone , through ranks of orcs attacking from the west . Running past most in order to save time and avoid being overrun, but slaying a few nevertheless , he managed to reach the western wall , which was now completely destroyed. A few orcs were rushing after him, but the majority was still assaulting the city , burning it to ashes. Surprisingly, there were very little orc forces left at the wall and he managed to run past them, leaving Ethagal behind. He ran, ran and ran until the city was but a shadow in the horizon... there was no sight of the orcs who were running behind him, perhaps they gave up... Azur took a moment to finally rest , sitting beneath a tree. The attack would have some very serious repercussions , namely on the alliance his father forged years ago with other eastern tribes. Most of them would now secede , there was no reason to stay united with Ethagal in ruins and its leader dead. Azur, however, remembering his father's words, had to attempt to hold this alliance at all costs. He would not see his father's work destroyed, he could not , especially when armies of orcs appear at their gates without any kind of warning . Azur was now committed to reuniting the eastern tribes under one banner once again... it would not be an easy task... **##**&nbsp; This might be a bit confusing, so feel free to ask any questions regarding Azur's REAL backstory.

Allllright Rex!&nbsp; Can you go to the Telestrator and show us where Ethagal is, or, uhm, was?&nbsp; From Portlandio, there's a whole LOT of East. :) Also, the "no sight of the orcs" part... do you suppose Azur was teleported far west, like Baradin was?&nbsp; As if someone "in the know" were picking up the pieces for what's to come.... Some other thoughts: You know what?&nbsp; I think that, in-character, Airen doesn't care either way about the damn bird.&nbsp; We're going to lose all our "something's not right about Horukh" drama!&nbsp; Then again, Torvald and Swargen are around, and they'd care... Also, wouldn't it be great to have Mora back?&nbsp; She played the best spy...errrrh... information gatherer. Thank you GOLD for the briefing above!

Larry D. said: Without revealing too many spoilers, it is my understanding that Horukh will return---in a pretty dark way, for him at least---and will be "running the town" while the other adventures happen (with the Broken Spear/PC2 group).&nbsp; Some time after this, maybe a few weeks, Horukh will reveal Some Things The Bad Guys Weren't Planning On, and make a Big Deal Speech to secure Portlandio.&nbsp; Once that happens, I will probably switch to playing Horukh as an adventurer again, while Sigma goes and does terrible things to orc forces. Or something. :) Ok, that makes sense. &nbsp;A gap of time after Horukh 2.0 first emerges, before the considered speech. Let's plan first for the Emergence scenario first, and soon. Save the already-planned Big Deal Speech for a couple weeks beyond (but still coming up on the horizon in-game). Everyone is eager --- most of all the DM, least of all Larry perhaps --- to see the emergence scene. Yi Ko and Che Won will be present, along with some of the cowled "monks" from the decimated Greek Church. They all have roles in the new post-typhoon government, and Horukh 2.0 will emerge to be appointed to his new political role* and vested with governmental authority, increasing your nobility and your Strength as well (but with a darker twist this time, of course). *&nbsp;Your exact sinister-suggestive Title is still pending and up for discussion. &nbsp; ....&nbsp;I have ideas like Viceroy or Visicount & may even poll the group. I'm trying to tease just the right amount, and not too much, saving some of the discussion and prep with Larry private on the side. But I think we're almost ready. I'm mainly posting this answer to agree with your outline for withholding the Big Deal Speech a couple more weeks, but to encourage you to think about the Emergence scene that needs to happen first. It's similar to a coronation or appointment to high office, but you're being promoted within a questionable junta military-government authority which has attempted to corrupt Horukh in these last few months. I'll be sure to answer your email from last week soon, Larry , and also to send you some Stats for H 2.0 (a rise in STR!! Unfortunately a tradeoff in some other areas). P.S. Rex / Azur , I'll be reading your Journal next. Looks good. I added more onto the Ethagal map along with what you made too. We will bring that over to the real game when the time is right.

Tradeoff in some other areas... mumble grumble.... (just kidding!) I guess the only way for the Newest Players to get really engaged in that storyline is if they've heard a lot of stories told about Horukh by the townspeople and the Challengers. Sigma is all in for seeing Ota Sura again.&nbsp; He's more of a mystery now than when he was first found.&nbsp; Furnace would likely go since Furnace knows Ota Sura also. Is Furnace going to be taken over by a Player?&nbsp; I would like that.&nbsp; I think it would be hilarious. Quest Objective for Horukh: ability of True Sight! One important question just before I sleep, Gold... are there already any known chambers in Portlandio that are impervious to scrying?&nbsp; Such as deep in the Temple of the Phoenix?&nbsp; Or in the Kemetic Compound?&nbsp; Horukh must have such a place before he will talk freely with the Challengers........

Larry D. said: One important question just before I sleep, Gold... are there already any known chambers in Portlandio that are impervious to scrying?&nbsp; Such as deep in the Temple of the Phoenix?&nbsp; Or in the Kemetic Compound?&nbsp; Horukh must have such a place before he will talk freely with the Challengers........ Good thinking. The party members should-would swap lots of War stories, and Fishing stories, and the townspeople also have legends, stories and buzz about Horukh 1.0 and the Challenges of Destiny. So we need to keep telling the tales to the newest players. Rex is soaking up the stories, I know that. "They had that nice bird and that funny frog!", some people say, of Horukh and Airen . "No, the bullywug was never in that group," say others, who stand confused. Sigma will be great at leading the group of willing PC's across the overland trek to Ota Sura's (distance of 80 to 120 miles). &nbsp;You will also come fairly near to the dwarf Torvald's homeland in the hills, and also nearing closer to Azur's barbarian lands, and most adventuresomely you're going near to the frontline of the Orc Wars. (Ota Sura and her townsfolk are helping hold-down the front and keep the orcs at bay, and to carve a westward path for an elf migration). &nbsp;So, we should be starting the Ota Sura overland trek, the beginning of her month-long adventure beyond the Orc front, within the next couple weeks, after Horukh's emergence and a bit more townie gameplay time. Furnace -- still in Larry and Sigma's player control for now. Chris2 is currently working the Familiar animals of Cylara's , for the time being. I'm sure this will evolve in time. Horukh 2.0 questing to obtain True Sight is a worthy goal. I will keep that in mind and look for items. As a spell you can eventually get it but I believe it is higher level by a long shot. Chambers in Portlandio that cannot be scryed --- It seems there is at least one, which has been Horukh 1.0's secret prison and corruption-tank these last months. The location of that one is unknown, and Horukh will necessarily "Forget" (as per the Forget spell) before his emergence. But there is good news! Your party's new Treasure Vault and Bank, might be resistant to scrying. &nbsp;You'll find out more about the Treasure Vault Bank in next week's session. I wrote about it earlier in this month's Journal thread, a few posts up the page. Aepod , hopefully will come back around to play Ampton because he is going to like this Treasure Vault Bank and being able to port the Apparatus Of Kwalish in and out of there.

Envisioned an 80's Metal band cover...

SolidHybrid said: Envisioned an 80's Metal band cover...

Larry D. said: Allllright Rex!&nbsp; Can you go to the Telestrator and show us where Ethagal is, or, uhm, was?&nbsp; From Portlandio, there's a whole LOT of East. :) Also, the "no sight of the orcs" part... do you suppose Azur was teleported far west, like Baradin was?&nbsp; As if someone "in the know" were picking up the pieces for what's to come.... What's the telestrator? xd Ethagal is in the northeastern direction from Portlandio. From where Azur came. Azur was not teleported, he initially ran out of the city at his father's request and a few orcs were trying to chase him down. Most likely they gave up the chase and returned to finish pillaging the town, very few can run as Azur does (Endurance OP). As for why he traveled west instead of returning home, it was simply a case of "there was nothing to return to" . His entire tribe, the Grey-Moons, have been (presumably) slain and he seems to be the only survivor. Traveling to another barbarian settlement would imply him adopting THEIR clan name, which would obviously be quite shameful, considering the Grey-Moons were one of the strongest tribes to ever exist. It would be even more complicated with all the tribes seceding from the pact made by his father. Azur is not stupid, however, he knows such an amount of orcs in these parts is unnatural and he needs to keep the tribes united just in case a larger threat appears. If this attack wiped out the largest barbarian city, imagine what a full army could do... Unfortunately, he can't just go speak with each chief and demand fealty just because he's the (dead) king's son, that would not work. Barbarians respect force and follow strong leaders and Azur needs to prove them he has it in him before demanding anything. So, that's the main reason he's currently adventuring, he wants to make a name for himself and eventually go back, to unite the tribes under one banner once again. I probably explained far more than what you asked, but at least I think you got the general idea xD

Solid, why did you crop the image? You made the naked lady disappear :((

Re4XN said: Solid, why did you crop the image? You made the naked lady disappear :(( Wanted to keep it tasteful.

Wanted to keep it tasteful. And yet, it's a picture of Torvald! Oh Solid, how can we ever trump that?! (that actually is a pretty epic flag for Portlandio...) Y'all are making me proud.&nbsp; :)

On a roleplaying note, for all the new players, I tend towards <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Byronic" rel="nofollow">http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Byronic</a>... as a habit, though they have an upbeat element as well.&nbsp; Horukh, for example, has many deepseated fears, yet also, a cheerful, explorer-oriented fearlessness of great-powered beings.&nbsp; Seriously, he can have/has had conversations with actual gods but he can be afraid of a stone tunnel in a dungeon.&nbsp; Sigma is a Byronic Hero but has a love of experiences: things that might earn no XP but he wants to know how things feel, to be a better person, but has a near-neurotic fear of being "just a monster." If anyone has trouble working out their character history, motivations, or even NPC details, TVTropes is a fantastic resource. I also recommend that the newer players get a nice drink and some comfy snacks, and read through the past 5 months' Journals here to get a great feel for the world and the players.&nbsp; It is a very pleasant thing to do and can make you feel very prepared!&nbsp; It not only shows you how the players think, it also shows what has become the rumor/oral history around these characters in the world.

In commemoration of Horukh's dark awakening... &nbsp; THE ABOVE IS FROM SOLID ^^ THE BELOW IS FROM THE DM: DM Gold requisitioning this space in this post. Because I need to put a weekly dividing line between Journal weeks here. Closing window for Journals of April 5 session. Thank you Players! You should have received and gotten Bonus XP approved in-game for the above. Opening Window for Journals of April 13 session: The orc cave! The party completed Map 3 of 3 from The Illusive Manager's 2nd encounter, the orc shaman and orc sub-bosses in a cave by the Burning Farmlands outside Portlandio town!

Lest we forget... The passing of Brigitta... Sorry Erik it happens. May Odin be more merciful on the next cycle... At least she's in Valhalla.

Thoughts of a Barbarian, #4 "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls... the most massive characters are seared with scars..." Stepping inside the mysterious cave, Azur and the party are met by a large group of orcs , most of whom seem surprised. Out of desperation, a lone orc mage conjures a spider web at the entrance in order to try and halt the heroes' progress, to almost no avail , since Azur and Swargen quickly burn it down. The deal sounded grim for the tusk-faces, but they had a vast superiority in numbers and made sure to use it to their advantage, quickly overrunning Torvald and Ser Baradin who were surprised by the orcs' willingness to live, translated in their powerful blows that would've easily knocked both of them out, hadn't the party reacted accordingly.&nbsp; Mid-way through battle, disaster strikes! Birgitta , the young cleric that had recently arrived in Portlandio fell victim to a fireball , conjured by the orc shaman. Everyone was caught by surprise and shock, but they could not frail , not in the middle of battle. Torvald and Sigma were trying to hold fast the left flank while Ser Baradin , now alone, was fiercely trying to hold the right one. The orcs were crushing them as time passed, but the elven witch Cylara shows up just in time to cast a powerful spell... the caverns shifts ... Azur is in now in Ethagal . Around him, orcs slay his friends and family, the city is burning . On the floor lies King Tyoglas, dead, his skin charred, his armor molten, his sword broken . Around him lie the warriors who bravely fought to defend Ethagal to the very end, who stood for what it meant to be a true Barbarian. All of them, dead. Azur falls to his knees , his face between the hands, sobbing. Then, suddenly, the King's dead body raises his right hand , pointing towards the horizon and says "Son, please... RUN!" . Confused by this, but not questioning his father's word, Azur starts running through the burning wreckage. He notices a pack of orcs chasing him and tries to run faster and faster , though this is in vain, since they appear to be getting closer and closer .&nbsp; Ethagal cannot be seen anymore, though the skies are still red from the flames and the orcs are still following Azur. Exhausted, he comes to the conclusion he can't run much longer and decides to stop to face his opponents. As he opens his eyes, the four orcs are already surrounding him , growling and insulting the barbarian. Unsheathing his greatsword, Azur fearlessly runs towards one of them , slashing the weapon across the creature's chest . It falls on the ground with a solid thump . The remaining three don't wait and charge immediately , wielding hand-crafted orcish weapons, ugly in appearance but effective in combat. Now enraged , Azur quickly turns back! , and running towards the first orc in sight, he buries his greatsword's pommel in a green, disfigured face , knocking him down and effectively killing him from the sheer amount of force put behind the blow. The remaining two jump at Azur, trying to pin him to the ground, but the barbarian does not give in and shrugs them off. Both of them now on the ground, their backs exposed, have no chance at survival . Picking up his greatsword he thrusts the blade into one of the orcs, then the other... Azur sits on the ground, closing his eyes. As he opens them, the skies are no longer red , but blue. There are no dead orcs lying on the ground, instead, four wolves lie slain , blood still gurgling from their wounds. Now even more confused , Azur gets up on his feet, trying to assess the situation he's found himself in. He's quite far from the cave the party was in... in fact , he's in the middle of an almost deserted farmland and the only living things present besides himself are a couple of farmers who stare at him, mumbling phrases to each other. Having a decent sense of direction, Azur starts walking west, eventually coming back to the cave entrance , regrouping with the party, who are now splitting loot they probably found inside. It's been at least an hour. As they see Azur, they mock him for running away from combat, but he knows better than to answer them. They do not know . And they won't know ... at least for now, Ethagal's fate must remain a secret for them. Ignoring the bad jokes, Azur mumbles that he was busy guarding the rear, to which the party responds with laughter. Trying to focus on his true goal, he unsheathes his greatsword and starts swinging it at a nearby tree...

I say that is:

Glad you like it Larry! I've had tons of fun doing these photo-mash-ups. I got a few more kicking around...

Okay, I had suspected that Silk was after me but NOW I KNOW.&nbsp; Today I dropped an item and, when I reached to pick it up, I sliced open my left palm on an antique switchblade that also fell and popped open.&nbsp; The cut was ACROSS MY LIFE LINE. CYLARA!!!

Re4XN said: Thoughts of a Barbarian, #4 Torvald: "And that's how Azur met Cylara's Skull of Doom!" - (You got to love those failed saving throws)

SolidHybrid said: Re4XN said: Thoughts of a Barbarian, #4 You better check again, mate. Cool picture though :P

Sigma the Minotaur looks sidelong at Azur, after hearing the heckling from the other adventurers.&nbsp; He carries Furnace the Firedrake in both arms as he slowly tromps outside, making the ground vibrate more noticably as he gets closer to the barbarian.&nbsp; Sigma stops twenty human-paces from Azur and bends down to gingerly set Furnace down.&nbsp; Furnace is heavily bandaged, and limps, from the obvious acid burns across his body and legs.&nbsp; Furnace is weak and sullen, but haltingly walks around, to prove to himself that he still can.&nbsp; Sigma murmurs encouragements to Furnace, but of course from a minotaur, a murmur is as loud as a human conversation.&nbsp; Finally, Furnace turns his back to Sigma. Sigma gets up, clearly still free-bleeding himself from between two of his armor plates that were slashed apart by aan orcish war-axe. The minotaur steps to Azur's side, and speaks. "Being taunted for our failures is a part of how we grow as warriors.&nbsp; It toughens us."&nbsp; He puts a massive, three-fingered hand out to slow Azur's hacking on the tree.&nbsp; "You'll harm that blade, but you have the right idea.&nbsp; Here."&nbsp; Sigma reaches over his back and presents a serious woodcutter's axe, obviously a masterwork.&nbsp; "Set your forefoot like so.&nbsp; Imagine a line through your body, from one side of your hip to the opposing elbow.&nbsp; Extend your energy through that line, past the hand, into the handle, and let it flow into the axe-head. Aim for an arm-length behind the tree to cut deeper.&nbsp; Then step into the cut you just made, pushing with both arms to free the axe-head.&nbsp; Step back, check your footing, and aim at another angle.&nbsp; Cut a relief incision on the opposite side of the tree first, and then the main cut in the opposed direction to where you want it to safely fall." Sigma steps back, leaving the axe with Azur.&nbsp; Respectfully he says, "Birgitte was here for the death that would make her a Valkyrie.&nbsp; It is an honor to her that you are cutting the wood for her pyre." Sigma meets eyes with Azur and nods once, then lets his gaze drift down, and murmurs, "We honor her first, then we burn the other bodies."&nbsp; The minotaur slowly clomps away to be with Furnace, and sits down.&nbsp; He unlatches his armor, peels away his arming coat's shreds, and lays out his medical and surgery kits.&nbsp; He starts in by dousing the largest cut in water from his pack, and then a wash of thinned alcohol, which makes him grind his teeth and whimper.&nbsp; After he gets his breath again, Sigma uses his Continual Light amulet to illuminate his work more clearly, using pinch-sticks and his fingertips to clear debris and a long metal splinter from his axe-wounds.&nbsp; Then, he starts stitching himself up, tears in his eyes and running down his cheeks. Although badly injured himself, bandaged-up Furnace finally wobbles over to Sigma, and clamps the glowing amulet in his jaws, to help Sigma.

(flashback: Furnace at the Inn: <a href="http://imgur.com/gallery/M3RNg57" rel="nofollow">http://imgur.com/gallery/M3RNg57</a> )&nbsp;&nbsp; Awwwwww.

Larry D. said: (flashback: Furnace at the Inn: <a href="http://imgur.com/gallery/M3RNg57" rel="nofollow">http://imgur.com/gallery/M3RNg57</a> )&nbsp;&nbsp; Awwwwww. I kept waiting for the explosion. Great job on Journals, Larry and Rex , Solid with the memes. &nbsp;I'll wait and close the window & award the Journal XP when today's session begins. And will respond to your Journals on voice in-game, or again here later on the forum with text where needed. We are gonna have to get Chris Airen more back into the game so he will start Journaling and Photoshop again, because he usually has some great digital illustration ideas up his froggy sleeves (see past Journal months). Today game starting soon We play today in about an hour from the time of this post. DM is getting ready for session. Reading over those recent Journals. Excited for some different modes of game-play. We are going to try the Card Decks system in Roll20. See you soon!

Torvald uses an orcish weapon to engrave a small inscription in the nearby stone... Rough translation reads:&nbsp; Twelve of Slate - Age of Sundering Challengers of Destiny - Smote One-Eye's children Memorial - Northern maiden

Closing window for journals of April 12 Thank you players!&nbsp; Bonus journal XP awarded and approved in chat ( Sigma , Azur ) except for Torvald's . Opening window for journals of April 19 session Farmlands Card Deck Gameplay Fun and unusual approach to random encounters today. Azur got squeezed by a vicious Owlbear! (To death, below -7 HP, but revived by Dorsel the Bladeback alien XPC, and then Azur's broken body carried to nearby swamp-town of Laffite to get some swamp-folk healing, ending with broken ribs). Many monsters met, defeated or evaded. Some kind of Eastern dragon flew overhead and cast its shadow of fear upon the farmlands. Azur led one of Yi Ko's loyal agents to a farm plot where the Koryon operative was pushed to the ground and eaten by a 150-foot long burrowing Purple Worm with 1960's flickering special effects rising above the treetop horizon, swallowing the prey whole with nary a trace. Catoblepas used red-beams of Death gaze from its eyes to murder a female lumberjack NPC, after Chakavi / Erik's new PC met her and gave a small charity. Attacking Airen , a vengeful purple Oni with red hair lept from an Eggplant and formed from vegetable matter crossed with particles of the Spirit World. Clubbing the Frogman in his growing beer-belly frog stomach, the oni tempted Rhubarb to exhaust most of the rest of the faerie dragon's spells for the day.&nbsp; Ono eventually was splattered while bellowing a Koryon-toned message in an Orcish voice and choking at the neck of the bullywug conjurer, speaking of revenge for the collateral death of a human hostage in the previous week's orc-sub-boss cave encounter. Airen flew on his Figurine Of Wondrous Power: Ebony Fly, a giant black fly, to aerially out-race a swarm of 12 stirges, and got home in time to take a massage at Mama San's before the others reached the city. Sigma met a local ranger lady, who showed him to a protected glade. Overnight he provided first-aid and salves to a Celestial Owl that was missing some white feathers, and a moon-glowing Porcupine who was missing its quills. Among many various NPC's interviewed on the day, Azur detected a lie coming from a Koryon-styled Monk who was seen training with a bo-stick. The monk denied that he was training, calling it meditation, and further denied that he was a member of any established fighting-force, despite his mass-manufactured Orange monk uniform and issued-weapon. Apparently someone might have a nearby enclave of Monks training as an illegal elite fighting force. Who is the boss or ally of such monks?

(from firebox.com) When Azur awakes from his healing, it'll be on a special pillow we lovingly had made for him. (from eBay: Anti-(owl)Bear Attack Spray Backpack): We'll also have a useful new backpack for him!

Sad thing is I didn't need those :P Damn owlbear rolled so high I don't even. If it hadn't grappled me (TWICE!) it would be very dead before Sigma sensed something was wrong. But then again, it was my own damn fault for trying to fight it xD

It is okay.&nbsp; I understand. It isn't like Azur will have nightmares or hallucinations about it or anything. Relax and have a snack.

A classic, old-school D&D owlbear drawing is pictured here. Larry & his characters tend to like owls (and he cares for owls and other birds in real life). Azur had already wrestled a bear in his backstory. Some of the Card-Deck monsters that were on the farmlands maps included, Owl &gt; Giant Owl &gt; Celestial Owl &gt; Grizzly Bear &gt; Owlbear !!! You can see the connections. Various characters managed to draw almost all of these in sequence, in the Tuesday session. Airen drew the regular bear, and flew over its head dropping mushrooms while riding a giant fly.

" Larry & his characters tend to like owls (and he cares for owls and other birds in real life)." Here is Cheyenne in her Hootbox XL in the studio: She sometimes comes across the mic when we're in Homebrew. Of course, I go a ways back with raptors... Go Team Eighties!

Is that you in the picture, Larry? xD You look so... I dunno, 80's... which is pretty cool :P

Yes, me, and Very 80s!&nbsp; I even had Bugle Boy Jeans on! (more pics on <a href="http://www.gryphonking.com" rel="nofollow">www.gryphonking.com</a>, and yes, even now I am working on renewing that site. It hasn't aged well. Take copies of anything there that you like though!)

Dev Diary #01,01 The hooves of the cavalry thundered across the damp field, horses thrusting heavily from the long ride across the treacherous terrain. The men atop them screaming and shouting loudly. They were coming closer. “Stand fast men we can’t let them break through us!” The Captain shouted, He was a hardened man who had served for more years then I’ve been alive. The cavalry finally crossed the stream indicating they were one hundred meters away. “Front line brace!” The first order was given for the impending conflict. The men at the front moved there shields to connect whit the ground and then took a knee taking one of their pilum and pointed it towards the onslaught of enemy’s coming closer. By now they were a mere sixty meters away from us. You could start to see the white in the enemy’s eyes, some of them where bloodshot whit rage and others where retracted into a small shivering black ball. “Ready pilum!” As the Captain gave the command the entire group raised one of their two throwing weapons the tips gleaming in the sun along whit the helmets that sat tight on the head of every man. By now the cavalry forces where a mere forty meters ahead of us. (If you notice any spelling/grammar mistakes please do inform me)

Larry D. said: Go Team Eighties! All I can say is... Wow... That hair... It's FABULOUS!!! &nbsp;Long... Flowing... Looks like a perm.

This journal system is awesome.

Cat & Bonez, ... hello and welcome to Homebrew.&nbsp; I'll try and come in to provide help & commentary for you Sunday afternoon/evening.&nbsp; I have been preparing a third character, Sabanyan, since the in-character arcs of Sigma and Horukh have led them in directions that are not always going to be well-suited for adventuring!&nbsp; Horukh, for example, is ... how best to put it with no spoilers?&nbsp; MasterBlaster Run Bartertown for quite a while, so except for extraordinary circumstances His Excellency will be stuck at Portlandio.&nbsp; Sigma will be overland adventuring, and will likely become a warlord commanding special forces and a company, smashing in the Orc Invasion's tusky teeth for some time because of .. well, you'll understand if you've read the journals.&nbsp; That leaves the need for an investigator/data-gatherer/genuine adventurer character for me, and thus, Sabanyan. I hope you have both had the chance to go back and read maybe 6 or 7 months' worth of the journals... it makes for a spectacular grounding in the world that doesn't feel like homework! Gold, I have some new sketches on the way for you soon.&nbsp; At least one makes Horukh 2.0 even MORE frightening, but should play very well into Horukh 3.0 when that time comes.&nbsp; The Disney gig is using up most of my time right now, but I'll still have something for you.

Bidding against Walt, Mickey & Minnie's operation is tough, but I am chuffed to see we had some pull with the powers that be Larry . Seriously though, we are all looking forward to Horukh 2.0 emergence speech & related ceremonial events in-game, and whatever illustration you come up with to show the evolution of your 1st character in this game, who is one of the leading protagonists (now with a twist!). Larry D. said: Cat & Bonez, I hope you have both had the chance to go back and read maybe 6 or 7 months' worth of the journals... it makes for a spectacular grounding in the world that doesn't feel like homework! I would just look at the memes. Memes are&nbsp;the modern way for millennials to understand Current Events. &nbsp; Sunday Night meet-up for Character making: Larry , Cat , and Bonez will join into the game at the current time, tomorrow night, 23 hours from now. Sunday night going over to Monday AM. RainbowSilks , Paul , Aepod , Chris2 , Illusive Manager --&nbsp;If anyone else is free at that late hour, join us and meet the new Players and help them see the Homebrew World. Erik & Rex , don't worry about this. I think the time of this side-session will be bad (Monday morning) for our players across the Atlantic. Chris Airen and Everyone plan to play the Main Session on Tuesday, regular time!&nbsp; SolidHybrid we will work out a day/time to meet for this coming week, and I'll be checking to see which of these other players can join Solid in a secondary-session some other day this week. Journal Thread continues Window is still open for Journals of April 19 / April 21 sessions. Erik's first D&D Journal is IN, from our Swedish player. Cool.

The song for Horukh, once he reappears, is this, directed to the people of Portlandio and most specifically The Challengers of Destiny.&nbsp; It is pretty damn haunting, and subtle. (Horukh 2.0 brooding over the city, and his fate) Remember The Promise You Made, by Cock Robin. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxCMxe_dOCQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxCMxe_dOCQ</a>

That is awesome, Larry . Loved the picture and the song. I added the song into the Game Music playlist, and I will import the picture to the game soon. Listen in-game, be sure to turn your Roll20 Master-Volume Up enough to hear the songs. Game time coming up in 30 minutes! Everyone ready? Keeping Journal thread open for the last half-hour. I'll close this after-game, award XP in-chat, and will open a new Journal window here for this week's session(s).

Journal Notes 4/19: I still don't know how I ended up ALL the way out here. Where was I going? What was I doing? And WHY did I end up running in to the other challengers? I guess it was destined that I did as they were encountering a large group of hostile orcs. After helping them take out the havoc makers someone had the terrible idea of making a bet on who could get back to Portlandio first. In a rush to be first everyone shot out on their own. Exploding celestial egg plants, celestial owls, packs of stirges, and traps everywhere? Since when were these farms declared battle grounds? Has my mind really been this clouded? Have I really spent this much time at the bottom of my wineskin? Clearly I need to cleanse myself of this liquid haze. It had already been a REALLY long day and I expended the last of my energy defending myself and Rhubarb from these dangers. I am not sure that I would have been able to survive trudging back to portlandio on foot so I pulled out my tiny black figurine calling forth my giant fly companion to assist Rhubarb and myself with getting back to Portlandio... and lets not forget winning that bet. Having gotten back so quickly I decided to pay Mama San's a visit.

post spot reserved for DM.. I will add more notes and pics here later. Check back. Closing window for Journals of April 19 week Journal bonus XP is owed to some Players, Horukh and Airen, for sure, Erik if he hasn't gotten it yet. Check with DM, and write it on your Character BIO TAB if you got it. Opening window for Journals of April 26 week: Sewer Nightmares Met 2 new PC's (Valkenhym and Kricket). Investigating the malaise, depression, sadness, fear and hopelessness that is closing down a section of Portlandio. Chakavi learned that the citizens nightmares seemed to be based on fear of monsters and sewers. Several party members were struck by their character's deep-set fear and had nightmares!

Diary of a smart cat man. "I've arrived in this Portlandio with my traveling companion. As we suspected, there is adventures aplenty to be had here. But something about the town is also off. I haven't even been here that long and I already feel oppressed. I recently was plagued with nightmares, losing my intellect and what not. On the bright side, with this new adventuring party I've found they seem to be renovating an Inn, so I have somewhere to set up as home base while I help them deal with this issue in town, which I already KNOW is not natural at all. They're going be quite glad that someone of my genius is in their midst, and hopefully they'll even learn a thing or two as well. I also have to slap Kricket for running away like he did. He's a smart Kobold, but I swear sometimes I feel like I don't even know him.

~ The Elven Willow ~ The fight with the orcs had gone as expected... victory over their vile filth. &nbsp;Still...questions remain.... why was Lord Halerpines son present? &nbsp;Helping the Orcs? &nbsp;Would the other generals want to know... if so... why? &nbsp;Our new travelling companions are....odd. &nbsp;The barbarian seems prone to panic attacks... flinds and kobolds...how are these... creatures, if they can be called that, even able to understand let alone help the mortals of Portlandio? &nbsp;This place is very, very odd. &nbsp; This cat.... person... seems at least intelligent enough to have a conversation with... perhaps that shall help to ease the discomfort of my being around all these...creatures. The Elven Enclave is developing well enough for having been located inside the city limits. &nbsp;I can only hope that any of the Fey Folk who visit this mud pit of a city find some small comfort there. &nbsp;The Naughty Nymph....*sigh*.... at least has a hot bath and a private room. &nbsp;The smallest of comforts yet one which is quite welcomed when I'm able to partake of it. &nbsp; Despite my better judgement I find the conversations taking place downstairs in the main room to be quite entertaining....usually. &nbsp; I suppose it's too much to hope for that I'll find any Elven Feyberry Wine... still... an androgyne has to keep looking. Parts of this town...whole blocks apparently... are emanating a palpable malaise... the people seem to have simply given up on life. &nbsp;This feeling of unease seems to be unnatural...perhaps even extra planar in origin....which wouldn't surprise me at all. &nbsp;In either case, it's quite likely that leaving this uninvestigated will have a negative consequence for my rest so, reluctantly, I will attempt to suss out the source of this...depression. &nbsp;It is, however, going to involve walking through the sewers and it's hard to imagine any form of payment which would compensate me for this ignominy. &nbsp;

Swargen Journal 4/26/2016 I seem to have been distracted from my original purpose in this land. We came to loot and destroy, yet now i find myself a lodge owner in my enemies homeland. The fools didn't even recognize the threat I pose.... humble cleric, they whisper...... I am a force of Thor, the embodiment of his Power and Glory! My mission is not to save these soft bellied lackeys. It is to recover Artifacts of Power to aid in the destruction of my tribes enemies. Now that the Temple rumored to hold them is gone with no sign of their presence, it is time to move on. Thor's Glory guide me. - Thor shield me and guide my Hammer as your own