Kingbeast's Lair

Date At Start Of Game: 2/19/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 34th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

The Pool Of Dreams

After some hesitation the Kirin guards decide to let the PC into the room that contains the Pool Of Dreams. Like many rooms in the vault the dimensions are dragon in scale. In the center of the room is a diamond shaped metal hatch roughly 50′ across. On the four compass points are urns fashioned to represent the four dragon houses and their associated elements. As the PC enter they can hear a thrumming sound comming from the massive hatch. Something is trying to escape!

After a brief discussion the PC decide to play the dragon trumpets to open the hatch. When the perfect notes sound the hatch begins to part in the center like an iris door. Almost immediately a massive brown colored dragon claw poke outs. Eventually Cragspine emerges and yells out, “Finally I have been released!” After brief questioning the PC realize that even though this is Cragspine’s body the dragon in control is Sunscratch. Sunspine (i.e. Sunscratch in Cragspine’s body) proclaims that he will destroy the PC leaving him the most powerful being in the world. With this statement Cillian decides that now is the time to change into his dragon form. He turns into a flame dragon roughly the size of a large cart! Sunspine presses his attacks against several party members at the same time. Once Sunspine attacks Deryn The Black becomes visible and splits into several mirror images. Thus Deryn and Sunspine are pitted against the Avatars Of The Great Tree, two kirin guards, and Loremaster Slysska. Po releases a devestating curse spell. Kanga opens up with three shot volleys. Oren starts cutting loose with his hammer. Cillian starts slashing at Sunspine using his claws. The kirin guards start attacking Sunspine and Deryn using their scimitars. Bilby cuts loose with a massive dispel on the dragon using his magical sword Spirit Splitter. After the dispel Cragspine seems to regain control for a moment. He looks at Cillian and says, “The pool!” Not knowing what to do the PC continue to cut lookse on Sunspine and Deryn. As Deryn launches several harmless spells Bilby and Kanga switch targets and attempt to take him out. Po casts another devestating curse spell on Sunspine nearly crippling his ability to attack and opening him up for getting pummeled. Sunspine decides to use his acid breath weapon. Po dives out of the way but Oren is struck with a massive gush of acid. Even though Oren is struck with a heavy blow he is carrying the magical knife with some acid resistence and is able to survive. At this point Oren lands a mighty blow to the head of Sunspine. As the dragon shakes it off Cragspine again speaks. He mutters in Dragon Kin, “Sunscratch’s skull…in the pool…destroy it!” With that Cillian flies into the pool and drags it out of the swirling mist. As the skull is not being threatened Sunspine turns to attack Cillian. As he bites Cillian in neck forcing him to drop the skull. With an acrobat move and feat of strength Bilby grabs the skull and delivers it to Oren. Using the power of the Granite Head Forge Hammer Oren cuts loose with all of his powerful strength! As the skull shatters Sunspine falls!

After Po does a round of healing the PC are able to speak with Cragspine. According to Cragspine when he came to check on the Pool Of Dreams Sunscratch took over his mind and made him attack the King Of The North. During the fight she managed to imprison him in the Pool Of Dreams. When Cragspine explains this to the King Of The North she understands. At this point Cragspine explains that the Pool Of Dreams holds dragon spirits from the dead. When a dragon dies their spirit enters the Pool Of Dreams. This was done as there is a plague that is affecting all Dragon Kin. Only a select few bloodlines appear to be immune to the plague. Cragspine has committed himself to defending the Vault and looking for a cure.

Cragspine then speaks to Cillian. He asks if he knows the identity of his mother. Cillian says he does. Cragspine then asks if she knows the he is a dragon. When Cillian says that she does he mutters, “That is gonna make things a bit more interesting.” The Avatars then explain their urgent need to return to Tokaji as it is under attack. Cragspine agrees to return with them. Cillian plans to carry the PC on his back so that they can travel faster.

Date At End Of Game: 2/20/207

Summary

Welcome to the second annual Lair Awards. It is again time to pick through the rough cuts to uncover some diamonds. This year I will be adding a fourth category, Best Session.

Here is how the 2011 Lair Awards will work. There will be four categories: Best Anime, Best Read, Best RPG, and Best Session. To be eligible for an award the product must have been reviewed in the calendar year by me on the blog. There were a TON of great products released in 2011 but if I did not review them they don’t count. Also note that I often review products that are quite old. A product is eligible for an award if I reviewed it in 2011…period…it does not matter when the product was actually released. 😉

The envelopes please! 😀

Best Anime – Samurai 7

Picking the winner for this category was by far the most difficult. This year I watched then reviewed a LOT of really intriguing anime. Here is a brief list of some that really stood out with some comments. These are presented in alphabetical order.

• Batman: Under The Red Hood – Great story, excellent animation, and a kick butt Jonah Hex short.
• Batman Year One – Thrilling storytelling, good voice acting, and nice animation.
• Gankutsuou – Fantastic retelling of a wonderful story, excellent voice acting, and stunning artwork.
• Le Chevalier D’Eon – Strong characters, amazing intrigue, lush historical setting, and a powerful ending.
• Samurai 7 – Amazing main cast of characters, well paced action story, and a crisp animation style.

Out of this stellar list two entries stood out for me…Batman Year One and Samurai 7. I’m going to give the nod to Samurai 7 this year.

Best Read – Asterios Polyp

Like 2010 the Lair Award for Best Read is the easiest to give. Asterios Polyp should be listed as one of the greatest graphic novels of all time. The story is out of this world and the artwork is just fantastic. Asterios Polyp is a book that belongs on everyone’s shelf. This is the only review I gave out in 2011 that earned a 10 out of 10. 😀

Best RPG – No Winner

After perusing my RPG reviews for 2011 I was really disappointed. I reviewed some really marginal products this year. The highest rating I gave for an RPG product was a 5 out of 10! OUCH! Thus I decided not to give out the award for Best RPG this year. It is my award so I choose not to give it out. 😛

If I were to give out an award for presentation then the Bookhounds Of London Limited Edition would take it hands down. I also had a GREAT time with the series of blog posts on My Gaming Kit.

Best Session – Spirit Storm Session #29

Even though I did not post an RPG review worthy of a Lair Award I did take part in some awesome gaming sessions. In 2011 my Spirit Storm campaign logged sessions #22 through #33. I fondly reviewed the session logs then decided that Session #29 gets the award. In this episode there was so much wonderful drama. Cillian is a Dragon?!? His mother is who!?! That session will stay with me for quite some time.

There are my picks! Please reply if you have any comments. 🙂

Date At Start Of Game: 2/18/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 33rd session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

Questioning The Gila Monster Kin

After the battle with the Gila Monster Kin in the Great Hall dies down the PC assess the situation. Only the archer is standing and his hands are in the air. The shaman is passed out but not dead. The barbarian is nearly dead and will not regain conciousness anytime soon. The basilisk is dead. After taking away their weapons the PC tie up the Gila Monster Kin and start questioning them. They claim to be minions of the Sunscratch, a large flame dragon. According to the Gila Monsters Sunscratch led them into the Vault through all the traps. Sunscratch went through the large doors in the next room and told them to wait for him or he would eat them. After waiting some time they saw an even larger flame dragon carrying out Sunscratch’s carcass! They hid and tried to decide how to proceed. Some hours later a large brown colored dragon without wings (aka Cragspine) appeared. This dragon also entered the next room. The brown dragon has not come out yet.

The King Of The North

After pulling down a pile of rubble that is blocking the door the PC enter the room past the large doors in the Great Hall. This room appears to be a large throne room. At each of the four compass points are large platforms. On one platform is a massive flame dragon who is severely wounded. Her neck is ripped open, several teeth are broken, and a terrible gash goes down her left flank. When the PC enter she rears up and addresses the PC. The PC discover that she is called Charbrand and that she is the King Of The North. She claims that Sunscratch and Cragspine are “betrayers”. She is extremely frustrated with the situation. The PC explain that they don’t think Cragspine would betray her unless he had a good reason. The PC ask to be able to enter the Vault. Charbrand says that they must return with the four dragon trumpets to prove their worth. The Avatars immediately show the trumpets that they had collected earlier. She asks them to deal with the situation by either killing or removing Cragspine from the Vault. The PC agree. At that point Charbrand explains that the trumpets will allow them to enter the lower Vault and open the Pool Of Dreams. As the PC sound the trumpets the King Of The North vanishes from her platform in a cascade of magical energy.

Exploring The Vault

After a long hallway the PC find a massive stairwell leading down. The stairs are roughly 3′ each and difficult to traverse. About halfway down the PC see a dragon head statue over a doorway in the room at the bottom of the stairs. Po reveals that the eyes radiate with an attack magic. Po drops a rock which trips a poison trap on one side of the stairs! There appear to be two traps. After a brief conversation Bilby decides to fly down and try to evade the eyes. Beams shoot out but he deftly dodges them and lands where they cannot target him. Po, Cillian, then Oren follow.

The chamber at the bottom of the stairwell contains three exits. There are two large hallways on either side and a passage under the dragon head statue. As the PC decide which way to proceed some tiles in a mosaic animate and start to attack! These tile golems fire piercing projectiles at Po but Oren decides to ball him up to protect him. The act saves the Raven Kin’s life as the projectiles are deadly and even pierce Oren’s tough Armadillo Kin hide! After some bloodsheed the PC level their weapons and start dealing damage. Bilby’s anti-spirit sword and Oren’s hammer seem to work well on the creatures and after some key hits the creatures fall.

After the fight and some healing from Po the PC decide to investigate one of the side passages. At the end of the passageway they find a room filled with a large glass cylindrical tube. This tube is filled with swirling magical mists that flash with the four elements (air, water, fire, earth). At one time they even see a ghostly dragon approach the glass then leave. Is this the Pool Of Dreams?

Next the party decides to check the hallway under the dragon head statue. The ceiling of the hallway is filled with an illusion of stars. When Cillian enters he becomes entranced and starts slowly walking down the hallway! Oren grabs him so he does not walk any farther. At the end the PC find a pit that leads to a river of glowing energy. It looks like the same mist that was in the glass cylinder in the previous room.

Before checking the last hallway the PC decide to play the trumpets to see if anything happens. After a couple of blows in different rooms it is apparent that these rooms are not the Pool Of Dreams. The trumpets attract four guardian creatures that appear to be Kirin but smaller! The creatures are armed with scimitars. As they approach they ask the PC to explain themselves quickly or they will be slain. After some conversation the PC convince them that they are actually here to find Cragspine. The guards seems perplexed at what to do. They first try to contact Charbrand and are concerned when she cannot be contacted. The PC continue to push but the guards say that their last order was to guard the lower chambers especially the room containing the Pool Of Dreams. Finally after the group is about to come to blows the guards suggest talking to Loremaster Slysska. Apparently she is an expert on dragons, a resident in the Vault, and a trusted advisor to the Dragon Kings. The guards lead the PC to a side chamber that is surfaced with highly polished mirrors. One guard enters then beckons for an audience with the Loremaster. To his surprise there is no answer. Concerned the Kirin starts searching for a secret door in the room. He explains that she has never refused their summons in the past.

During this period Po hears a whisper in his ear. The voice asks Po to remain calm. He explains that his name is Deryn The Black and that he is a minion of Sunscratch. Po leads him on a bit with some clever lies. Deryn explains that he can get into the room that contains the Pool Of Dreams but that he cannot open it. If Po helps him open the Pool Of Dreams he will be able to free his master.

At this point the PC open a secret door in the mirror room to find a library. Through the wall Cillian can see another secret room but cannot see in due to shelves that line the walls. After searching the group opens a second secret door. Inside the find a small Blue Belly Kin female covering up what appears to be a crystal ball with a silk cover. She hurredly asks the guards if they have dealt with the wizard that accompanied Sunscratch. The guards and PC explain that they have not seen this wizard. Slysska explains what she has observed with her crystal ball. Sunscratch attacked Charbrand in the Pool Of Dreams room. He was making egotistical statements about destroying all Dragon Kin completely leaving himself as the most powerful being in the world. After a fierce battle Charbrand defeated Sunscratch and one of his wizard followers. The King Of The North dragged Sunscratch’s bones outside as a marker to others who may try the same thing but she forgot about the minion. The Loremaster fears that the minion is still roaming the halls somewhere. Only a few hours later Cragspine entered the lower Vault chambers. He and the King Of The North entered the room with the Pool Of Dreams to ensure that it was held shut. On checking the room Cragspine turned on the wounded Dragon King in a fit of rage. Chrabrand was barely able to fend off the attacks and trapped the earth dragon in the pool. That is how the situation now stands.

At the close of the adventure the PC convince the guards to let them enter the room that contains the Pool Of Dreams. Two of the guards go to try and awaken Charbrand while the others open the chamber for the PC…

Date At End Of Game: 2/19/207