Hell Bend (Sessions 3 & 4)

These sessions were originally recorded 10/18 and 10/25/15.

From the Journal of Josephine Maxwell
October 19th, 1874

10/18
We went to greet the men herding the animals, and they were friendly.

We continued to the area that Barton wanted to go to.  The area was a pit in the ground.  That pit was covered in blood.  there was a stone in the center of the pit that had a burn mark near a split in the center.  The stone is covered in blood and there is a boot.

There was a cowskin stretched on rack that has some sort of writing near the altar.

There was a trail of blood that looked as if someone had crawled away out of the pit.  After a brief argument in the pit about the plan of action to take, we come to an agreement that we should follow the trail of blood.  Upon leaving the pit I heard something that sounded like three voices speaking in unison.

"Come back if you ever need anything."

At the end of the trail was a man in a crumbled heap.  Barton reached down and grabbed the man and the man said "I have failed, Praxiteles..." - and after that Barton shot the man in the face.

The man's body then stood back up - after being shot - and said in the same voice that spoke in the pit.  This time it said "Behold my Testament!"

Then, the Doc shot it again.  Barton wanted us to burn the body.  We did and we sat to watch it burn.

October 20th, 1875

10/25, 7:35pm
The next morning we had a funeral for the pioneer couple.

A man came into the town that the people seem to know.  They greeted him warmly.  He seemed somewhat disturbed at the state of the settlement.

Jakey Wells informed us that he wanted to let us know about the events the night before.  He told us that the Doc had followed Barton to his house the night before.  He watched the Doc and Barton talk to a demon that Barton had summoned from a skull in a bag.  Mr Wells tells us that he witnessed the Doc sell a "year of his life" to the demon in return for information about the shrine that we found,.

The group decided to go out to Bartons'.  After no answer at the door we notice a note from the Doc saying he is at the Sweat Lodge.  When we get there the Doc tells us that we sold a year of his life to teh demon so that he could get the name "Locar the Avenger" - a spirit he claims can save the town from a three-headed eagle demon.

After that we noticed smoke coming from the other side of town.  We dashed to the source of the smoke and found a man's body burning on a pyre.  I took a picture of it.  Just after I took a picture of the burning body the fire flared up and burned blue.  The body was burned away in a matter of moments.

We investigated the fire and determined that the person who set the fire probably escaped into the woods.  We headed back to the Yellow Rose to discuss what the next move would be.

Barton told us that the totem was attracting things (even him) to the town.  We decided to build something from the materials of an old house to surround the totem.

8:53
In the evening we went back to the houses.  Late in the night we all wake to the sound of multiple voices screaming.  The deputies went to check the town.

We awoke the next day and the deputies went out to build the structure.  I went about the town to take pictures and interview townsfolk.  Once developed, one of the photos was very peculiar.  There was a woman in the window of an empty house.

We went to the house to investigate and found a picture of the girl in the house in a locket.  The Doc asked the innkeeper Sarah about the woman.  She said her name was Anna Sharp, and she died of fever.

That night I stayed at the Yellow Rose.  I heard footsteps under my door in the middle of the night.  I screamed, and the owners of the inn ran to see what the matter was.

After finding no one there, I went to go talk to the Doctor.  There was a real feeling of unease in the town.

Getting Into the Wild, Weird West!

It might come as a shock to you that in Oklahoma, in the center of the United States, it's almost impossible to find a Western game.  We went a long way to find a game that fit the genre and our needs, and it traveled across the ocean to get to us.  It seems as if the entire countryside full of gamers has absolutely no interest in this genre.  Well, except us here at the Wargate.

It really should be natural for us to get into this genre, but although enthusiasm is built up pretty high there's very little actual historical knowledge about this period with most gamers, especially those here.  Let me clarify we had everything we need as far as roleplaying games go - what we started looking for was a way to bring the action to our miniature battles!

Since we started the World of Darkness Wild West game a few years ago, we've been looking at how to bring it to the table.  There's a lot of different game systems out there, but it was difficult to find a new-ish game to help bring the enthusiasm level up.  As I said before, our game stuff had to travel a long way to get to Oklahoma.

It took a little searching around, but Wargames Illustrated has some coverage of all eras.  In that esteemed magazine, we saw a little about a game called Dead Man's Hand.  We searched for it high and low, but were only able to get a copy in from the United Kingdom.  This, for a wild west game.  We live in OKLAHOMA.

Great Escape Games has done a great job - Dead Man's Hand seems to fill all the criteria we were looking for in a skirmish game.  We had a few Wild West miniatures lingering around from various purchases previously, but most were Reaper...and a few of them I've been unable to identify.  Not even really sure where some of these came from, but there were at least four different manufacturers in our Wild West case before we started this project.

After looking through several manufacturer's catalogues, we settled on what we were going to use to populate our Weird West.  In addition to the Dead Man's Hand range (which is nice and has great sculpts, it's rather limited) we will be using Black Scorpion Miniatures' Tombstone range.  There's a wealth of cool miniatures in there, and they are FANTASTIC sculpts.  The resin Black Scorpion casts in is also one of the finest materials on the market and I suggest you check some of their work out.  With Great Escape, Black Scorpion and Reaper's model ranges leading our charge into the West, we'll have more than enough stuff to keep us busy for this season and the next.

"Badges?  We don't need no stinking badges!!"

Yet as any wargamer knows, you can't just have the miniatures without building terrain for the milieu.  Lucky for us, 4Ground's American Legends range has the makings of our dusty Territory township.  Those are great terrain pieces, and since we intend to build the town square of our main settlement we can expect to see several of these constructions building in Smokefall Ridge very soon.  Not only that, but the Blackwater Gulch range has EVEN MORE great kits we're going to grab up to help populate the Settlements.

"Get a rope."

It's not hard to imagine the entire place.  Dusty roads, a dirty well and a few facade buildings.  Livestock will be kept, and fences.  It's almost a model railroad project but for the fact that this is all centered around gaming.  There's all sorts of variety.

Whatever the case in Smokefall Ridge that would necessitate the construction of a gallows, one thing remains certain:  you're probably going to need one, eventually.  And for me that's good enough reason to build one - notwithstanding how cheap it is!  Going forward into this project with our group is going to be a blast.

We don't need a HUGE amount of new items, and can afford to focus on the whole thing as a collective.  As we build up our model collection and terrain set, the Settlements will become a more solidified place in our hearts and minds.  Welcome to Smokefall Ridge partner - in miniature.

Hell Bend (Session 2)

(Session Recorded 10.11.15)

From the Journal of Josephine Maxwell
October 17, 1875

6:17
We were awoken in the early hours of the morning by a shrieking scream.  It seemed to have come from many voices.  We rushed across the town to find a horrible crime has taken place in the home of one of the homestead couples.



I was able to deduce that the man murdered his wife by stabbing her and then almost cut off her head with a butcher knife.  Then he took the kife and stabbed himself in the neck with it.  He has scrawled the word "TESTIFY" on the wall in his wife's blood.

As far as the towspeople knew, this man could not write.

We look around and find a journal in the house.  In the journal there doesn't seem to be any English writing.  It is covered in pentagrams and seems to be written in some Indian language, with the word "Silence" repeating over and over.

Out side we found all the mans' dogs still in their pens, except for one.  It barks at us and then stares until it runs into the darkness.

We investigated thoroughly and then debated what we should do with the bodies.

I took a black male dog with me.

8:09
In the morning light we collect the bodies and apparently the Doctor cut the head off the man.  He claimed it was so the devil could not use the body as a puppet.  The sheriff and Jakey Wales became enraged and punched the Doctor in the face.

8:30
I was awoken by the sound of a woman singing in the middle of the town.  I stayed in my bed.  After an ear-splitting shriek, the singing stopped.

I went to the saloon, and there were several other people there.  They decided with me after a story from Rusty Shackleford that it must have been a "banshee".

Kyle Barton has asked if some of the townsfolk would ride out to a place that he has been told about.  When we get out to the middle of no place, he told us that he is looking for the encampment of his friend Simon Drake.  At that point we hear a lot of livestock nearby.

We go to see what the sound is, and we see five to six men with a mixed herd of animals.

Rulebook Ruminations: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Player's Handbook

I kept up with the development of 5th Edition from the very beginning.  Dungeons & Dragons is close to my heart, and I was very eager to see what solidified on this.  Veterans and refugees from the Edition Wars will know what I mean.  I wanted to wait until I had a chance to play with it to make any rash decisions, and the Wargate just finished a two-season (six month) campaign using the launch materials in the new Basic boxed set, together with the Player's Handbook.  Now after all that, and despite all the forebodings and ill omens, I can say without reserve that I very much like the new game.

The physical book is beautiful, as is to be expected.  Matte and gloss hardcover, full color interior.  Very nice, as all Wizards of the Coast publications always are.  The price point is $49.99 MSRP, though that might be stretching it for an item like this - especially if WotC intends to pop a new edition if five or so years.  If you are fixed on this, Wizards, see to it that fifty bucks remains the standard for some time to come, and that quality does not diminish.  Remember, you are competing with yourselves and the 2000 launch of 3rd Edition.

Anyways, the meat of it.  Not a whole lot has changed really.  The basic mechanics of the D20 system haven't changed, and really if you break it down it's all it how the information is presented.  A lot of rules have been streamlined, and combat isn't nearly as complex.  However, a lot of the material we're used to using has been changed or shuffled away.  This streamlining limits the system's ability to adjudicate things on its' own and a lot more is left to DM interpretation.  I know there are sets of gamers who like this sort of thing but by and large Gatekeepers don't care for it - but this didn't diminish our enjoyment of the ruleset by much, if at all.

Classes always change between the editions.  In this volume, there is a single principle that binds all the class mechanics and choices.  Each class is well balanced against one another, even as we might rail against spellcasters slinging 1d10 damage at will - but as gameplay progresses you will see that's not really any different from the other classes.  As the player classes create the basic game experience for the players, it's important not to downplay this balance - this is a key concept.  Under certain situations, something can seem very overpowered, but give gameplay a chance to show you how limited you really are.  A lot of things folks would normally scoff at isn't really an issue, as the dice roll.

Gone are the lists and lists of Feats (good luck on those) and most options are built into the class choices instead.  There are several variations of each class, and it gives a good spread of the flavors of previous editions, with warlocks making pacts and sorcerers with mystical bloodlines.  In addition, there is a big change in the philosophy of how the game should play seems to have changed.  The actual gameplay in combat is not a clone of some boring MMO, as 4th Edition was prone to feeling at times.

For six months, we played using only the Player's Handbook and the Basic set.  We had one TPK, and the DM did change the scenario for the second party.  I'd say that was a pretty good run for the entry level materials, and we're firm believers in 5th Edition now.  I can say I'm eager to complete the collection and explore the new adventure tomes.

We might need a few more of these Handbooks for the table.

Hell Bend (Session 1)

(10.04.15)

Smokefall Ridge
October 16, 1875

Smokefall Ridge is beset by fear and paranoia, leading many settlers to vacate the premises.  More than half the current population has departed, and arrangements for supplies and commodities may be in danger.  The player group meets with the remaining townsfolk and a town meeting at the Lord's Chapel is arranged.

Many of the long-time residents of Smokefall see the characters as "veterans" even though they've technically only been there a few months.  At the town meeting, the uneasy subjects of current events are talked about as little as possible, though solutions are discussed.  Mrs. Maxwell prods this issue, asking about local supernatural phenomena.  In the end, Ignacio is elected sheriff - but the jailhouse has been burned down.

The group meets later, and Don Juan begins to outline his plans for the development of the town.  Doc and Ignacio talk with Mrs. Maxwell at length about Smokefall Ridge and it's problems.  As the dusk rolls in, the characters depart to their homes to think about their place in the universe and why it's so weird in the west.

Heroes of the Sword Coast Campaign Log

We begin our 5th Edition journeys with Reverend Greg at the helm of the new series of adventures, The Rise of Tiamat.  The Basic box set has a ton of cool adventures in it, and the DM decided this is where we should begin.  Straight from the box set and the new editions of books (as they are released) comes the Reverend's tale of terror and tyranny...of dragons.

The City of Neverwinter, 1489 D.R.

In these desperate times, struggles to retain normalcy after so many disasters threatened to destroy it.  To this city come our brave adventurers, determined to take on the world and forge their place in it.  They come from many backgrounds, but all share one thing in common - reverence for the Platinum Dragon.

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Heroes of the Sword Coast is a campaign for Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition.  The campaign will utilize the new Basic Set, as well as the Player's Handbook and other basic rulebooks.  This season  kicks off the new edition with a bang, and heading forward we'll be tackling the first adventures to be published for the new edition.

Heroes of the Sword Coast will dovetail with the club's other Season 1 campaign, Tyranny of Dragons.  As players achieve the goals of the battle games, they will be granted boons - various bonuses and boosts that will apply to their Heroes player characters.  In this way, our games become "nested" - a trend that will be continuing throughout the coming campaign seasons.

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Current Player Characters
Total Party Levels: 20

• Axelbjart McElfatrick, Lawful Good Human Paladin 4
• Raine Copperleaf, Chaotic Good Pixie Monk 2 / Warlock 2
• O'thun'udun (Dennis), Good Tiefling Fighter 2 / Sorcerer 2
• Axelkirk McElfatrick, Lawful Good Skeleton Cleric 4
• Tod, Good Kobold Cleric 4

Deceased Player Characters

• Mehmet / Betsy, Lawful Good Dragonborn Monk 4
• Grimely Goronorok, Chaotic Good Half-Orc Fighter 4
• Zinge, Lawful Good Half-Orc Dragon Blood Sorcerer 4
• Boris, Neutral Good Human Druid 4
• Gnash Crump, Lawful Good Gnoll Fighter 2 / Cleric 2

Disbanded Player Characters

• Lydia, Neutral Good Halfling Rogue 2 / Bard 2

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Campaign Log
Total Game Time: 55.5 hrs

The Lost Mines of Phandelver
(Season 1:  01.04.15 to 03.29.15)
Total Session Time: 32 hrs

Our characters need hops to brew beer, so head to Neverwinter to sell some Blue Dragon Ale.  What this simple, mundane trip leads to is an adventure they weren't really looking for, but managed to find anyway.  Seizing the opportunity to both aid others and secure the money they need to get some really good hops, the characters venture out.  Where they go, the light of the Dragonfather shines on the oppressed...

• Session 1 (01.04.15)
• Session 2 (01.11.15)
• Session 3 (01.18.15)
• Session 4 (01.25.15)
• Session 5 (02.08.15)
• Session 6 (02.22.15)
• Session 7 (03.08.15)
• Sessions 8 & 9 (03.15.15 & 03.22.15)

The Lost Mines of Phandelver
(Season 3:  07.12.15 to 08.02.15)
Total Session Time: 9.5 hrs

Our characters need hops to brew beer, so head to Neverwinter to sell some Blue Dragon Ale.  What this simple, mundane trip leads to is an adventure they weren't really looking for, but managed to find anyway.  Seizing the opportunity to both aid others and secure the money they need to get some really good hops, the characters venture out.  Where they go, the light of the Dragonfather shines on the oppressed...

• Sessions 10, 11 & 12 (07.12.15, 07.19.15 & 08.02.15)

Following a failed set of negotiations with the inhabitants of the Lost Mines, most of the adventurers were never heard from again.

Beneath the Lost Mines of Phandelver
(Season 3:  08.30.15 to 09.27.15)
Total Session Time: 14 hrs

This time, a paladin, a skeleton and a gnoll encounter a cluckromancer and a pixie warlock under the sacred Tree of Cocks.  The decide to incorporate and create a traveling religious experience, leaving converts to the Truth of Torm all over the Sword Coast.

• Session 13, 14 and 15 (08.30.15, 09.06.15& 09.13.15)
• Session 16 (09.27.15)

After a series of failed officiations, all the monsters in the mines are killed and their stuff is taken.  For Goodness.

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Campaign Resolution

As the players leave the mines of Phandelver and reach the surface, they are greeted to the sight of a blood moon on the horizon.  Though they must bury their companion Gnash, they are a lot richer - and have great plans for the future.  We'll return next year to find out what kind of hilarity derails thier plans, but for now Phandelver is safe.  That's important because our PC's have a 5% stake in the mine there.

Return to Smokefall Ridge!

Only a few days have passed for our intrepid settlers since the conclusion of The Rough Edge of Night.  In those few days, the entire tone of the area seems to have shifted.  Folks are leaving the Territory...perhaps for no reason but Fear itself.

It has been four years since we played that chronicle, and it's been a "fan-favorite" ever since.  I have been determined that the sequel not let anyone down, and I hope this new set of stories delights and gives the frights to everyone who is going to play.  Sequels are always a challenge, but the Territory is ripe with all sorts of great seeds for chilling tales.

Going forward, the games will focus on a Twilight Zone-like mood and set of themes.  Investigation and innovation, not combat and exploration, will be the focus of the sessions.  While this is somewhat of a different gear than our normal Dungeons & Dragons games (murder-hobos) I hope it will be a welcome change.  The difficulty level of the mysteries have been adjusted as well, as I have somewhat of a reputation for plots too convoluted for tabletop gaming.

I should write a book.

As well as the World of Darkness game this season, we'll be adding in some skirmish action in the form of Dead Man's Hand.  This will expand the tales of the territory during the season, and we're going full on wild west!  In fact, the next TWO seasons will be spent in the Territory...plenty of time for awesome six-gun skirmish action.

So saddle up, vaqueros!  It's time to save the settlements from the dark legacies of the Territory.  Just remember - the days are short in Smokefall Ridge, and the nights seem to drag on forever.