I just finished posting the character sheets from my latest campaign on the Spirit Storm site. Here is a link to updated page. Enjoy!

Date At Start Of Game: 05/18/206

[Author’s Note: This session log is for the 1st session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred. This adventure starts with small scenes conducted with each character.]

The Calling

Oren

Oren takes a gulp from his warm mead as he sits in a tavern with his current ward, Bishop. His melancholy spirit is lessened when an old army buddy Sandoval, a Horse Kin, shows up. Sandoval explains that he and his sick Tiger Kin friend are doing guard work for a local merchant. Sandoval is actually in charge of the security for the merchant. As the night wear on Sandoval and his Tiger Kin friend pass out then stagger off to their rooms. The bartender brings one more round for Oren. As he takes a sip he feels drowsy…is his mead drugged!?! Out of the corner of his eye he see a thin figure in a black cloak quickly leaving. As Oren tries to stand he slumps to the table…his mind spins…his visions crystallize into ice covered rocky hills…a clearing near a muddy road…a wolf’s head…then a dark pine tree. When his hallucinations starts to clear Oren hears a voice, “Oren your destiny is as a leader of men that matter.” He comes too with Bishop shaking his shoulder…something is wrong.

Bishop

After spending a fulfilling day in Bluffside speaking with prospectors about the spiritual focal points of gemstones Bishop relaxes in a local tavern with his new travelling companion, Oren. When his first set of stories end a young Ram Kin boy approaches. He sheepishly asks if Bishop has seen a rock like the one that he is holding. The boy claims the rock is magical. Humoring the lad the Dolphin Kin runs a detect spell. To his surprise the rock appears to be affected by a powerful spell that has cleansed nearly all spiritual remains from the stone…Nombrian magic. Bishop orders the boy to show him where he found the stone. Grabbing his things Bishop goes over to Oren’s table and attempts to shake him out of his current drunken state. The three go to a small side passage where they see a black circle full of stones like the one the boy showed Bishop. It appears that a powerful transportation spell has gone off in the area not more than an hour ago. The ghostly spirit of Nessa appears in this air startling Oren and the boy. After talking for a bit she tells Bishop to try a detect on the side of the passage near the black mark. When he does this a vision reaches out to an old pine tree several days away from his current location. When Bishop carefully reaches out to touch the side wall he is sucked forward and shot down the mountain side! Quickly Oren wraps up Bishop as the two go rolling down the side of the mountain. When Oren releases the grip the two decide that their path has been set.

Bilby

The work in New Delta completed successfully so Bilby decides to head north towards a smaller town known as Raftport. After flying for several miles he sets down to give his wings a rest. As he walks down the cold muddy path a light rain starts to fall. Along the side of the road is a small campfire. A lone figure sits at the fire warming his hands. Bilby creeps up then decides to show himself. The man is at first alerted then accepts the small Bat Kin. After he gets closer Bilby can see that the man is an old Fox Kin. After some time eating with the old man he asks if he can tell Bilby his fortune. When Bilby agrees he pulls out a small pouch of bones with scorched markings. He shakes them and eyes Bilby. After they fall he examines them and says, “Bilby…the redemption you seek will not come easily. It will take time and many trials. Soon the significance of those trials will increase dramatically. You must be ready for these trials as it will take all of your guile to survive them. Listen to the wind…it will guide you.” With that the Fox Kin stands, raises his arms, then turns to mist and vanishes into the forest! When Bilby closes his eyes he hears the wind bringing a message…come.

Kanga

With a yawn Kanga wakes from his restless sleep. The icy winds of the Azure Expanse are not the inviting desert breezes of his homeland. As he gets up to look for a more protected place to sleep he notices that the rest of the caravan is not sleeping well either. Grabbing his blanket Kanga finds a warmer spot in a small outcropping of rocks. As his head hits his pillow Kanga feels a tap on his shoulder. Opening one eye he sees a Turtle Kin covered in mud up to his knees with a cane size wooden stick that to him is a staff. In a monotone voice he says, “I’m sorry I woke you, I thought you were the Chaos Warrior or maybe a wind avatar but your are not…you are not. I’m not normally wrong about these thing…very strange…very strange.” Kanga sits up as the strange little Kin starts to walk away over a nearby rise, “You are being called now…listen to the winds…the winds.” As Kanga falls asleep he hears a deep voice in his dreams, “Come now…forces are moving…”

Cillian

Byron Billingson IS rich! After stalking out the wealthy merchant’s mansion for a couple days and learning the routine of his guards Cillian was able to scale the gates and break into his upstairs study. The room is ornately decorated with a large desk, plush purple couches, paintings of stuffy noblemen, and bookshelves. After quietly closing the balcony door into the room the young thief enters to investigate in more detail. What immediately catches his attention is a small stone pedestal with a glass dome. Inside the glass dome is a small piece of what appears to be large grained wood on a silver chain. Cillian carefully examines the pedestal using his vision and talents. His discovers a wire leading from one side of the class dome to a wire that goes to the first floor. Carefully he lifts the far edge of the glass and pulls out the necklace. Smirking Cillian searches the desk then heads back out of the house and over the wall. In a small alley he examines the necklace in more detail. When he touches it he is thrown against the wall. When Cillian comes to he is not in the alley! He is in a forested glen that is blanketed in a thick fog. Along the ground are very dense brambles and jagged stones. The only way through the brambles is a very small deer trail. As Cillian creeps forward he spots a large tangled pine tree. In the wind he hears his name being softly called, “Cillian…come…” He then awakens in the alley. At the end of the street Cillian hears guards and decides he might as well answer this call. Each night along the journey his dreams show the same visions…and the call.

Po

The Albion army had many men at the Battle of Kaldonia. Po feels like he has tracked down many of them but so far they do not recall seeing his wife and child or will not speak with him about it at all. On this last occasion Po was nearly killed trying to get away from a savage Lion Kin soldier and his companions. Deciding it was best to leave town Po is now winging his way north towards a small lumber town called Shatter’s Peak. While flying through the trees he spots some herbs that are good for smoking and decides to take a break. Po picks some of the leaves carefully then starts a small fire to dry them out. The fumes are potent but make his mind think of other things…as he drifts off the smoke from the tiny campfire starts to grow. Falling back Po watches the smoke dance before him. From the smoke and flames a female Raven Kin hand emerges. She drops to one knee by his side and places her hand on Po’s arm, it is his wife, May. As Po sits up and starts to apologize she stands and turns her back to him, “I have something important to tell you. Please let me finish as my time here is short.” She turns with tears in her eyes, “You must stop looking for me and Ka. You must take up the mantle of your father and turn your attention to the land instead of yourself. You have the blood of a shaman and should start acting like one. The land is sick and needs your help.” She will close with a solemn statement, “Follow the wind that whistles through the smoke. Concentrate on it and let it guide you. It will not offer you the closure you seek but it will offer you direction.” With that she disappears into the flames. Understanding the meaning of the her departure Po sobs quietly then packs his things then follows the wind…

Travelling Through The Azure Expanse

At this point the PC heads towards their “callings”. These visions lead them along a road just north of Shatter’s Peak, a small lumber town. The road follows a fast moving river known as White Cap River. As they come to the fated location Bishop and Oren meet up with Kanga. Kanga seems low key and decides to travel with the strangers for a while. Near dusk the PC enter a clearing that a couple of the characters recognize from their calling.. On the other side of the clearing the see Cillian. Flying quietly above Cillian is the Bat Kin, Bilby. Over the party of three is Po. As the groups on the ground starts to talk Cillian and Bilby land in nearby trees. When Bilby reaches out with his sonar he is picked up by Bishop. This prompts Bishop to cast his detection spell towards the woods. Oren asks Bishop what he is doing but Bishop is not forthcoming. When Kanga interrupts the spell, Oren chastises Bishop for acting without letting him know why he is casting a spell and possibly alarming the man on the other side of the clearing. Eventually all of the PC come out of hiding and talk for a while. They soon realize that they have all been called to this location by some strange force. Bishop has seen the way through the woods and starts to lead the PC across the clearing following Po’s direction. Po seems to be the most proficient guide. As the PC start to cross the clearing several shadowy butterflies rise from the grass and form into shadowy Praying Mantis Kin! These creatures immediately attack. Kanga starts firing his bow. When he hits one a yellow liquid sprays out the back of the creature. This vitae quickly transforms itself into shadowy butterflies. Bishop takes a good hit but quickly recovers and traps one of the mantis in his entangle spell. Bilby leads one of the creatures to the rocks where he surprises it with a deadly strike from the shadows. Po takes to the air and throws curses. Oren stands his ground pounding at the Praying Mantis Kin when then get close. Cillian goes into HTH combat with one of the creature. Although the creatures move quickly the PC are able to dispatch them without too much trouble. When the combat ends Bishop casts his detect spell and speaks with one of the creatures. The spirit from the creature is not strong but says that they must wait then attack. He also detects that the spirit is part of a summoning spell. When Bishop realizes that the creature has nothing to say he casts a spell on it to banish it. When the creatures are gone the PC carefully approach the deep woods…

Date At End Of Game: 05/20/206

-== What is it? ==-

The Cairo Guidebook is a Call Of Cthulhu supppliment from Chaosium. It was written by Marion Anderson and released in 1995. The book is quite old but I managed to get a copy so I’m sure you can too.

The book has a yellow, red, black, and white cover and an entirely black and white interior. The book is 8 1/2” x 11” and is 108 pages in length. I have read the book cover-to-cover. I also utilized some of the material in my Victorian era Terra Incognita campaign.

-== What I Like ==-

The author states that he is Egyptian in the introduction and it really shows in the product. The information on Egypt is very detailed and thorough. In many places throughout the text local terms are used which really helps convey a sense of the environment.

Included in the detailed information are maps and travel information. This is a really nice touch as it again really pushed the atmosphere.

The sections on People In Egypt and the Timeline are great. They have lots of historical detail. The people section is great when you want to have a famous someone make a guest appearance.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

My biggest complaint is really a big one. There is not a lot of RPG material for such a large book. In fact it is probably at most 20% of the book. Plot hooks are weak and very very short. The book does not contain a longer adventure of any kind. As far as RPG material there is really nothing useful except for a few cool NPC.

The art on the product is really terrible. It is all black and white and very amateur.

-== Summary ==-

I really only recommend this product if your PC are planning to spend a lot of time in Egypt.

I give it 4 out of 10 paws.

I just posted a PDF file with inserts for a landscape based GM screen. These are geared for Spirit Storm but they can easily be converted so that they can be used for any Hero campaign. Head over to the File Downloads page to get the file.

-== What is it? ==-

Death In Luxor is the first Call Of Cthulhu adventure in the Age Of Cthulhu line from Goodman Games. I purchased the PDF version from DriveThruRPG so that is what I will be reviewing.

The document is comprised of the covers, the adventure with interspersed art and maps, several pages of handouts, and five sample characters. The PDF has a color front and back cover and an entirely black and white interior. The format is 8.5” x 11” and is 50 pages in length.

I have read the product from cover-to-cover. I ran the adventure for my gaming group after converting it to Fudge for my Terra Incognita campaign. (See the session logs on this very blog for a complete recap of how the adventure ran for my group.)

-== What I Like ==-

The adventure was very solid with strong hooks to move the players from one scene to the next. I had no trouble keeping things moving along even with my unpredictable set of players.

Several of the encounters created a lot of great drama. One scene that went particularly well with my group involved an encounter where the tomb guardians lock the PC into a tomb that is filling with water and releasing deep ones. It was awesome watching the PC scramble for a solution. Great stuff!

The module is set in the 1920’s but it was very easy to convert to the 1890’s where my campaign was set. Simply replacing cars with camels did the trick.

I really enjoyed the interior art and the cover. The cover art is pretty dramatic and eye catching.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

Some of the handouts and the maps print out very dark. One of the handouts is not even viewable unless the copy is lighted by quite a bit. Even though the maps are dark they are nicely detailed.

During the adventure the PC encounter several bits of text that they translate. Some of these translations are critical to the story. I really wanted more of these translations available as handouts. Even if it is just a copy of the text in a tiny box that would have been nice. I was forced to create a separate document then copy out the text from the PDF. If I had not purchased the PDF I would have been forced to drag out the old copy machine.

-== Summary ==-

Overall I liked the adventure. It was linear but not overly so and the action was great. If this is their first attempt at a Call of Cthulhu scenario they are off to a great start. The price point for the PDF is fantastic at only $7.99.

I give it 7 out of 10 paws.

I just uploaded a new version of the Spirit Storm Campaign Document to the File Downloads page. This version has several smaller changes and clarifications from Don and Jim. Thanks gents!

I just posted a zip file with Spirit Storm templates for Hero Designer 3. These will make it darn easy to create a PC for the new campaign. Go to the File Downloads page to get the goods.

Just wanted to post an FYI that on Sunday I upgraded the blog to the latest revision of WordPress 2.7.1.  Pretty brave act to do on my birthday.  The good news is that it went pretty well.  I think everything it working fine. 

Chapter 8 – Death In Luxor – Session #17

Date At Start Of Game: 1/11/1894

[Author’s Note: This episode is the 17th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be the exact order that they occurred in the session.]

• Reluctantly the PC are stripped of their belongings and clothing. They are forced to wear simple robes and bags are put over their faces. After being bagged they are led back into town to an unknown location. Eventually they are led into a room and they hear the door lock. The room reaks with the odor of a powerful incense. Singh and Abdul go back-to-back and remove their bounds. The room is pitch black except for bits of light leaking through a small barred window. After removing some boards from the barred window the PC see that it is still raining and the some of the rain is leaking through the roof. The only thing in the room are two metal cots. While stacking the cots to get to the roof the PC start to hallucinate…
• Tredge sees a mob of corpses stumbling through the streets of Luxor towards him. When then get close their flesh peels away revealing layers of maggots. The corpses then fall to their knees and raise their arms in worship of Tredge.
• Senemut sees a tent with an old man who has parched yellow skin. In a raspy voice he rasps, “See the Old Ways…beware the Nile…she runs again!”
• Barton sees a desolate sky and a purple moon. Deep Ones dance around a campfire build from dead bodies. The Deep Ones beckon for Barton to join them.
• Singh finds himself seated atop a mound of rubble. Luxor is being flooded by the Nile. All around his small island Deep Ones emerge.
• Adbul stands beside the Nile with a bow in his hands. He is dressed in an ancient tunic. To both sides men in similar guard stand nervously. As Deep Ones emerge from the Nile a commander issues the order, “Ready! Aim! Fire!”
• After punching a hole in the roof the Singh climbs out and pulls up the PC on sheets tied in knots. Carefully he leads the PC down from the second floor roof to a lower first floor roof. As the PC plan on entering the alley and the building of their captors to get their weapons Abdul spies something moving in the alley. Out of the drain a gray oozelike creature emerges! It propels itself up the stairs and bashes down the door of their captors. After some muffled screams the PC drop down to the first floor to take a look. The beast has gone up the stair to their cell. The PC then enter the building from the first floor, grab their gear, and follow behind the creature. Abdul lures the ooze to follow them. As the ooze comes back up the stairs Tredge pulls out a fire potion that he took from an earlier adventure and pours it down the stairs. Using a brasier that has the strange incense he lights it up. The ooze reels back in confusion. Singh holds up the door preventing it from coming into the room. The powerful creature pushes him back but burns up trying to follow the PC out of the roof hole.
• As Barton and Senemut are escaping from the scene they spot a young man coming to the building. They jump him then question him with the PC. They are a group of people dedicated to defending the tombs. He tells the PC that a specialist from India, Madame Carlisle, is on her way to the second tomb to deal with the problem and the the PC do not know what they are doing. The PC explain that they know more than Madame Carlisle and plan to follow. They develop the picture of the map and steal horses to follow.
• Early the next morning they arrive at the site. Madam Carlisle and several of the protectors are ripped to shreds by Deep Ones. The PC take their supplies including some oil, incense, and sticks then enter the tomb. Inside they find some strange writing that mentions annointing with oil, the sticks, and the incense.
• In the main large chamber the PC see a huge circular stone platform that is opening to reveal three yellowing arms. The hands on the arms end with maws in the palms. A voice taunts the PC then tells the Deep Ones to attack the one with the incense. Abdul, Singh, and Burton take up positions. Adbul and Singh shoots Deep Ones that get close. Burton blows away steps on one side of the chamber. Senemut and Tredge prepare to jump down to use the sticks on the hands. Senemut thinks to load up the air pistol with the sticks. He fires them into the hands with great effect. Tredge stabs with his sticks. From behind Abdul and Burton are attacked. Acting quickly they shoot down the Deep Ones then close the door using a sophisticated locking mechanism…good thing Burton is an expert lock picker! Finally Tredge and Senemut force Y’Golanac back into the pit sealing the elder god inside for a hundred hundred years.
• The campaign ends with the world again safe from evil.

Date At End Of Game: 1/12/1894

This is the end of the campaign. I want to thank all of my players for so many great games with so many great moments.

Monday night I finished up my Terra Incognita : Ancient Mysteries campaign.  I will now be starting a new Fantasy Hero campaign called Spirit Storm.  The document for the campaign can now be had at the File Downloads page of this fine site.  To wet your appetite here is the introduction…

Welcome to the exciting fantasy world of Spirit Storm!

Spirit Storm is a high adventure fantasy campaign set after a cataclysmic magical war that devastated most of the land. If the adventures have a high tension, anime mixed with fairy tale feel, then I have achieved my vision for the campaign. This campaign is standard fantasy fare with some changes that will be detailed below.

A mere six months before the start of the campaign a great magical war was waged that lasted for almost fifteen years. This war devastated most of the known world creating large wastelands that did not exist previously. Fallout from the war also resulted in a dense layer of clouds that blanket the skies. This cloud layer limits the sunlight that can reach the planet and the stars can no longer be seen at night. Overall the land has become much colder. This dense cloud bank has also put an “emotional pallor” on the people of the land.

The name of the campaign comes from the fact that spirits are the source of all magical energy. Spirits are found in all living things. The more majestic the being the more powerful the spirit. Thus the spiritual energy in a blade of grass is much less than that of a large majestic oak tree. In concept this is similar to the belief of American Indians and Japanese folk stories. Spells and magic are the summoning and control of called spirits.

Although this is “standard fantasy fare” there is a difference with the races. Instead of dwarves, elves, etc all of the races are based off of animals. The dominant race is the Ape Kin. As far as the game is concerned Ape Kin, or “Ape Men”, are “humans”. Other races can include those which are spawned from mammals, avians, reptiles, fish, and insects. Several of the prevalent races can be found in this document but PC are encouraged to come up with their own races if desired. (Note that I am not a “Furry” or anything like that.,..I just thought this would be a fun change that I have always wanted to try.)

The PC have been called by a powerful unseen force to leave their homes. This force is calling them together for some yet unknown reason. Players are encouraged to work this into their back stories. Another thing that the PC have in common is that on the day the mage war started something important happened in their lives that involves spiritual energy. It could be the devastation of their home village, the death of a loved one, a birth, an emotional turning point, etc. Again the PC are encouraged to be creative in this area.