At the estate, XP, leveling, Salix goes up
Subject: Turn
Sorry about no turn yesterday. I have it about half done and should be able to finish it up by noon eastern today.
From: Mark
Subject: At the estate
An hour later the ceremony is done. Flint follows Salix and they head towards the group "If you want, I think we should head towards the estate now. It is possible that there may be survivors." Horses are brought and the party mounts up. Most of the party is surprised at how quickly they reach the estate. Maybe it is the fact that druids are leading them, maybe it is that it is now light or maybe it is that they are mounted. In what seems like no time at all, they recognize the dirt road and the stone wall in front of them.
The wall is in shambles, as is the iron gate. Broken pieces of masonry and iron fence stick out from the rubble. The gate is no more, just a twisted puzzle of metal bars. Flint steps down and with a wave of his hand, the stone flows out of the way until there is a 15 foot wide path through the remains. Ahead of them they can see what is left of the main house. It is a pile of rubble almost 15 feet high. It still smolders from the fires from the previous day. Bodies lay strewn about the yard, most burned and melted beyond recognition. The party is silent as Flint leads them around the estate, looking for someone who might have lived through the destruction. There is a melancholy look on Flint's face as he rides around.
"Salix, where was this temple?" The younger druid nods and leads them towards the back of the grounds. As they go they can see that the tunnel they had used just a couple of days before has collapsed. They follow it back to another stone building. This building has also collapsed and burned. There are no signs of survivors. "How about where that stone table was?" Flint asks. Salix nods in mute agreement and leads Flint and the rest of them to the back of the estate. They travel a bit more than a mile and as they top a small rise, a scene straight out of hell awaits them. There is a dell beneath them, maybe ¾ of a mile wide. In the middle, at the bottom, is the remains of the stone alter.
A few yards from the alter is a huge form. It lies on its back, the corrupted flesh already putrefying in the early morning sun. If it had been standing it would reach 20 feet high. As the party approaches the figure they start to pick out details. The most obvious is that the body seems to be made up of a patchwork of other bodies. Tortured faces and broken limbs dot the dead form. It looks as if some one had stripped the skin of dozens, if not hundreds, of people and stitched them back together as one and then filled them with the viscera that were left. Harp and the others recognize the basic form as similar to what they had met in the temple, but the sheer size of it dumbfounds them. The thing must have had a reach of 15 feet and weighed thousands of pounds.
The bloated body is covered in large bruises and welts and its head is a bloody pulp. Not a single facial feature remains. The party continues to search and finally comes upon two other bodies. One they recognize. It is Acer's, but all life is now gone. The skin feels almost like parchment and it seems like it will fall to dust and blow away in the morning breeze. The muscles are thin and stringy, like they had been left to dry in a smokehouse. A shattered staff lies next to the left hand.
The other body is one they do not recognize, but it still seems familiar. Each of the broken arms still holds half of a large scythe. The blade is black with dried blood; the haft of the weapon has obviously been sundered by a devastating force. The wooden shaft looks like it was splintered by a bolt of lightening. The head has been crushed and is barely recognizable as even being human.
OODM: Any commentary or questions.
From: Porter
Subject: At the estate
Picking up the parts of the busted scythe, Mund says "I guess this is Faldor, neh? It's good to get rid of him."
"Hey -- did any of y'all ever look at that purty cup we took from 'em last night? Was it magick or not?"
From: Mark
Subject: At the estate
OODM: I will reply for Kal or Ally, since either of them would know the answer.
Kal pipes up "No, we checked it but it is just a very nice chalice. It has a slight taint of evil, but it does not look like it has been unhallowed."
From: Derek
Subject: At the estate
Ally half mumbles to himself, "So passes Faldor, servant of Nerul, and Acer, servant of Obad-hai. In the end, it seems both were but tools to their master's designs. I hope they receive greater rewards from their masters in this life than they did in this one. Though in Faldor's case, I care little to know what that may be."
After looking at Acer's body, he turns to Salix and Flint. "I suppose you don't want to leave Acer's body here to decompose? It shouldn't be much trouble to take it back to the forest. Can we move on to Bodentown to check for survivors? If there were any innocents, they would be there, not here. I care little to tarry here any longer than necessary."
From: Mark
Subject: At the estate
As Ally is speaking Flint whisltes and 4 birds circle down and land near Flint. They shimmer into human form and Flint says "Take up Acer's body and carry him back to the forest. We will bury what remains of him tomorrow." The four men pick up the old man's body and head off towards the woods.
From: Mark
Subject: XP
I have done the XP for the characters. Everyone has gone up a level. this includes monster XP, adventure XP and role playing XP.
Please let me know what class you want your character to go up in. I will then do the HD for the next level.
I already know what Porter wants Mund to do and I assume I know what Karl is going to what Salix to do.
Next week should be Leveling up week. For those of you new to the game, that is where people tell their leveling up stories. If you want an example go to
http://www.sakeriver.com/archives/kalevan/view/546
There are a couple of stories from the last time the party leveled.
You can either do the story on the way back to Gorn or once we get there. I expect I will have the party back in Gorn by Friday. If people want to sell magic items, have things made do whatever, next week will be the time to do it.
Like I said before I expect to start the next adventure on Aug. 13. If my experience with the last three adventures is any guide, this one will last 1 to 1-1/2 years in our time. So expect it to end around Christmas 2008.
From: Porter
Subject: XP
Question about role playing XP -- as far as I know, Mund has never received any role playing XP. Is that because he never has, or because you choose not to let us know if and when that happens?
From: Mark
Subject: XP
I do not break them out as seperate this time. It is usually a percentage of the adventure XP.
From: Kevin
Subject: XP
Mark, we also get an ability point increase at this level (this is why most everyone's benefits at 8th level seem so minor).
From: Mark
Subject: XP
I meant to mention that.
Everyone please let me know what stat point you want increased.
From: Josh
Subject: XP
I'll do my on-sheet leveling tonight or tomorrow. I'm not sure when I'll get around to the writeup, but whenever it seems opportune.
+1 to strength.
From: Kevin
Subject: XP
When Harp gets back, he is going to focus on his biceps, triceps, and lats, and boost his strength up 1.
Too bad it will not really help until they hit 12th level, when they get another point.
From: Porter
Subject: XP
I think I'll have Mund put it into Con. One of these days, Mund's going to beat his brother in a drinking contest!
From: Mark
Subject: Level 8 HP
Well so far, with 4 out of the 8 characters Level 8 HP done, it has been a bang up level for everyone.
One 10/12.
One 8/8.
ONe 7/8.
One 5/8.
So 30/36, which means 80% of possible HP. Not bad.
From: Derek
Subject: XP
I think Ally will have to put it into Int. As we get to higher levels, he won't be able to cast higher level spells if he doesn't have a high enough Int.
Also, when characters level up do they get feats with each level, or is it only the bonus feats that are listed here?
In general, does the d20 SRD list anywhere what all you need to do when your character goes up a level?
From: Porter
Subject: Leveling
How go create characters and level up are two places which the SRD is deliberately lacking.
In addition to those bonus feats a wizard gets, every character gets a feat every 3, IIRC, levels.
From: Mark
Subject: Leveling
Most people get feats every 3 levels. Certain classes get bonus feats at other times. For example, fighters get bonus feats every two levels. So Ranthir got two feats at 6th level.
However, these bonus feats are normally limited to certain types. For example the fighter feats must be taken from a list of fighter feats.
There is also a list of MU feats, such as brew potion, and the meta magic feats that are the only ones that you can take as your bonus feats.
OK I will bump you a level in mage and do you HP>
From: Jason
Subject: Leveling
I think the SRD deliberately avoids centralizing several important concepts, like leveling up. For your specific question, all characters get feats at levels 1, 3,6,9,12,15, and 18. Wizards also get them at 5, 10 and 15.
From: Mark
Subject: Leveling
Here is what Dereks' page says about bonus feats.
Bonus Feats
At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level, a wizard gains a bonus feat. At each such opportunity, she can choose a metamagic feat, an item creation feat, or Spell Mastery. The wizard must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including caster level minimums.
From: Karl
Subject: Leveling
Sorry, I'll write up the ceremony shortly. We had a lightening strike very close to us last night, which tripped a circuit breaker. When we got things powered up, we had no internet connection. After lots of troubleshooting, it looks like we blew the router *and* the network port on our cable modem. We had to replace both of them. Grrrrrr.
From: Kevin
Subject: At the estate
(Prior to the ceremony) - Harp's heart is heavy in his chest. Maybe it was just puppy love - he had never really had a "girlfriend" before, and when Thanga had shown some interest in him, he had thought maybe..... but, she was more interested in her "work" than anything else. Well, he had learned something, he just was not sure exactly what.
(At the estate) - The destruction is complete. It looks as if the very ground had been turned up on its self. Harp lost no sympathy on those who died here. They had chosen their path, and that path had lead them to this. The tribes, however... Had they know what they were getting into, or had they just been pawns? The 1/2 orc who had tracked them seemed to have been greedy for more power. He may not have known what the true cost was going to be, but he sure as hell knew Faldor had been up to no good. Good riddance.
At the sight of the two bodies by the alter, Harp encounters a twisting in his heart. They had saved Acer, only to have him die. Even if it was of his own choice, it almost made all their effort wasted. Well, at least Faldor had not been able to use the power that Acer had been able to control.
Still, Harp thinks back to everyone's concerns about the destruction of the estate and Bodentown. Granted, if Bodentown looked anything like this, it would be terrible to behold. But, the druids were doing what they felt best. What would the Order have done in its place? If they had heard about a town where evils acts had been allowed, they might have marched there and attacked it. Would the outcome have been any different? The Order taught that might could be used for right, and that it in fact should be used. Charitable actions were not enough - Evil had to be fought where it occured. He had served his purpose on this venture, but he needed to focus more on combining his two types of training. When he got back to Gorn, he would ask Heironon aobut this.
From: Bryan
Subject: Leveling
Surin will advance another rogue level. I'll write up the leveling up story for Surin for next week. Do you remember where another example of a Surin level story would be in the archives?
From: Porter
Subject: Leveling
We haven't all written up level stories. In fact, IIRC, so far it's only been the spellcasters for whom levels make much more sense IC.
From: Karl
Subject: Leveling
Read further down in the link that Mark provided. There's a Surin leveling story there.
From: Karl
Subject: leveling
Basically, just look at the ways your character is going to level up and come up with story elements that explain that in-story. Last time, Harp I believe, took a new weapon feet. He wrote up how he went to someone in the armory who could teach him how to use that particular weapon and wrote about training in it. If Surin gets a new feat, you can write about how he discovered that talent, or if there is no particular feat, you could write about him improving in the areas where you put his new skill points, etc.
From: Karl
Subject: Salix goes up
At the MountainFather's command, Salix approaches the circle of Druid men, the youngest of whom was easily old enough to be Salix's actual father. At he approaches the Council of Fathers, they part and Flint motions him to the center of the stone table. As he climbs up onto the edge, firm hands grasp him and pull him onto his back in the center of the table.
"Wealdward Salix!" Flint's voice booms unnaturally loud in the clearing. "Stormfather Acer, Loremaster, Keeper of Sacred Knowledge, and Master of our council, as his final act before giving himself as Avatar of Obad-Hai, *commanded* that you be raised to the level of Brother in our circle. Although this is not the usual way in which these honors are bestowed, The Council has had its eye on you for some time, and we are unanimously convinced that you are indeed prepared for this next level of power, responsibility, and accountability."
Flint turns toward the table, completing the circle surrounding Salix. "Wealdward Salix! Are you ready? Do you accept Brotherhood in the Circle of the Great North Woods?"
"Yes!" Salix replies from the table as if answering to the gathering clouds above.
The fathers gathered around the table each extend their right hands toward Salix and place their left on the shoulder of the father to his left. They begin chanting in a language none of the party, save Salix, understands. The sound begins low and grows to a strong, deep, rumbling. It carries the same feeling of summons as the chant from the ceremony summoning the avatar, though powerful as it was, it was only a pale echo of *that* chant.
As the chanting grows, the clouds above the clearing darken ominously and wind whirls the leaves at the tree line. From deep within the forest, a silvery mist seems to stream into the grove, forming vague shapes spaced around the circle of druids.
"Wealdward Salix!" Flint calls again. "You have learned the wildshape and it has served you well. Show us this power! Show us the black bear!"
As the party looks on, Salix transforms into a black bear, just as they had seen him do in his wrestles with Mund. As soon as the transformation is complete, the chanting from the fathers increases, both in volume and speed. To the party's surprise, the silvery shapes coalesce into distinct animal forms. The party recognizes the brown bear, bison, horse, polar bear, and a large snake among them.
"We are pleased with your mastery, Wealdward!" Flint calls above the din of the chanting. "Learn now the greater power of Brotherhood!" As one, the animal shapes charge toward the circle of druids, leaping over them as if pouncing on the black bear in their midst. Salix/bear roars, in pain or ecstasy the party cannot tell, as the shapes enter his body and he collapses in a heap, human form once more, on the table in the middle of the druid fathers. The chanting stops at once and an eerie silence fills the clearing. Even the wind has silenced. After a moment, one of the fathers approaches Salix's limp form on the table and places a hand on his head. He chants a low phrase and returns to his place in the circle. Each of the fathers repeats this gesture, until only Flint remains. At Flint's touch, Salix seems to revive, awake but moving slowly.
"Arise Salix, and show us the power of brotherhood!" Salix stands and with what seems a great effort transforms again into a bear, but this time it is a great brown bear, larger and more fierce looking than it's black cousin. Salix/bear drops to all fours and lets out a ferocious roar. The fathers chant a loud phrase that sounds like approval or admiration to the party, and Salix returns to his human form. Exhausted, he drops to his knees.
The circle closes on him, each father placing his right hand on Salix's head or one of his shoulders. Flint speaks again. "Choose now the realm of your brotherhood."
This was a moment Salix had looked forward to for years. Now he would choose the aspect of Obad-Hai which he would honor and increase for the rest of his life. Until this moment he always imagined he would choose wind or rain, hoping to follow in the footsteps of the Stormfather one day. But at this moment, those thoughts seemed wrong, somehow. He cleared his mind, seeking out the will of Obad-Hai. The image of the Great North Woods came into his mind. Not just one grove or even sector, but the whole of it, every branch and twig, leaf, blade, and flower.
As he saw this, he felt a great malevolence continually gnawing at the edges seeking to weaken and diminish the woods. Then he saw the great ruin that was Bodentown and the barren spot its men had created where nothing would grow. Slowly he saw the life returning, tender grasses first, then shrubs and trees, their seeds spread in the droppings of birds and deer and other animals. He saw the forest expanding and the domain of Obad-Hai increasing in power and beauty across the north. He felt a calling to be a part of this growth. He wanted to learn all he could about the woods and the plants and animals that together kept it strong and balanced. He knew this was his calling just as he had been called Wealdward, guardian of the grove. Now he would be a Brother of the woods, and perhaps one day ForestFather.
But first, he must choose a smaller aspect of that realm - he relaxes his mind and it is flooded with the greensong, the very life of the forest. This he longed to nurture and increase, strengthening the woods and enlarging the realm of his god. He speaks to MountainFather Flint in the language of the druids and he and the other fathers respond in unison. Flint then turns to the party and declares in common, "Receive GreenBrother Salix - keeper of the tender plants of the forest. Go GreenBrother, and nurture the wild places of Obad-Hai. Call forth and care for those precursors of the great oak, larch and hickory. Let the plants of the glade, meadow, and underbrush be your charge."
The circle breaks and the fathers converge on Salix embracing him and putting arms around his shoulders and hands on his back. Salix emerges from this group, beaming with pride at his new commission. He walks towards the group of his friends, smiling.