Retiring and New Characters

From this point on, players wishing to retire their characters may create new characters, starting at 1/2 of the experience gained since the start of the campaign. As of this blog, that is 10769 total experience points gained; that is per-PC experiences, using party majority for party splits. That means new characters will begin with 5385 XP, plus whatever extra experience they gained from frivolous spending. That will place most characters at level 3, with Airwalkers, Ectomancers, Thieves, and Spies at level 4, and expensive characters like the Dwarven Fury, most Elves, Gnomish Mage, Nobiran Wonderworker, Thrassian Gladiator, and Zaharan Ruinguard at level 2.

As the adventure continues, I will keep a running total of current starting XP. Additionally, once that reaches 20,000 XP, new characters will begin with a flat 16,000 gp, and can trade some of that gold for various magical items, as described on page 253 of the ACKS Core book; at 310,000 XP, it raises to 240,000 gp, and at 640,000 XP, it raises to 815,000 gp. Not that we're going to reach that point in a while, of course...

The Planets

There is no session today, so instead, you're going to get an extra, special (and also extra special) blog: the planets!

Mor-Thir is a popular continent (why is that? All will be revealed... eventually), but there's more to the universe than just one continent. Ignoring, for the moment (and for the sake of the plot), the other continents surrounding Mor-Thir; allow me to introduce you to the other planets in the solar system.

Now, even without magic, sages and wise men can chart the celestial bodies in the sky. Add in even a little bit of magic, and the other planets can become clear. While little is known about what inhabits these other planets (if anything), sages at least know about them.

Do You Know the Way to Falach a'Bhaile

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
  • The Metal Man, construct
• Airsen Birdmaster, Airwalker
  • Sara, Airwalker (deceased)
  • Erik Stein, Dwarven Vaultguard
• Sneakily, Spy (retired)
• ???, Elven Ranger

I forgot to get the Elven Ranger's name - sorry about that.

Moving on from the treasure cave, the group moved north to the rumored location of the great Gnomish City. Travel was easy, and the days were warm and pleasant; the area was covered in deep, lush grass - perfect farming land. They passed several farms on the way. They arrived in the area, and began to look about for the location of the city. Rig managed to locate a small burrow, and chatted with a sleepy giant python; the python pointed them slightly west, and went back to bed. Soon, they found a strangely wooded area; the nearby area was lightly wooded, but this area was very heavily wooded. After a little more searching, they found what they supposed was the entrance. The path was fairly obvious; thick trees lined the edges, and even thicker undergrowth filled the gaps between. The path was shaded by the forest, though plenty of rich, green light filtered through. They trudged along, with the ranger moving silently through the forest, acting as a scout.

Blind Ajeela

Long ago, there lived a devout priestess named Ajeela Lightbringer. She served her god with fervent devotion, caring for the poor, the sick, and the injured. Throughout her youth, she grew in wisdom and power; men, women, and children came from all over to receive healing and blessings from her. Her congregation grew to thousands, then tens of thousands, with no sign of stopping. Her life was blessed by her god; anything she set her mind to, she could accomplish.

If that was the entire story, she would have been remembered as a great saint, and likely immortalized in stained glass or painted fresco in countless chapels and cathedrals. As it is, however, few even remember her; the church erased her from their scrolls, and she vanished into legend.

Contests, Teleporters, and Artifacts, Oh My!

This was an eventful session, with a lot going on! The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
  • The Metal Man, construct
• Airsen Birdmaster, Airwalker
  • Sara, Airwalker
  • Erik Stein, Dwarven Vaultguard
• Sneakily, Spy
  • Dzixud, Thrassian Assassin

As you may recall, the adventurers returned from the depths of the tower to recover. The next morning, they awoke to the sound of running feet and shouting voices; thankfully, it wasn't an attack - it was a party! In fact, it was Guard's Day, named for those who served on the wall, in the mountains, and in cities everywhere. The party met up with Llarm and Rig (though Caranthir was still in bed for his week of bed rest). There were mini-potions to buy, events to participate in, and contests to win. The group tried their hands at a few of those.

Dungeon Bash

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• James Morthor, Warlock
  • Doggan, Tiny-Sized Dragon familiar
  • Iodberta, Fighter
  • Frauuara "Frauline", Fighter
  • Leah Thewend, Airwalker
  • Encarna D'Cruz, Priestess
  • Alice, human child (age 10)
• Airsen Birdmaster, Airwalker
  • Sara, Airwalker
  • Erik Stein, Dwarven Vaultguard
• Sneakily, Spy
  • Dzixud, Thrassian Assassin

Caranthir and Airsen returned to Wallace to fetch their companions; since Morthor, Rig, and Llarm's players weren't present, they were left behind in Wallace. As long as they were there, they scoured the area for henchmen, and ended up hiring two: a Thrassian Assassin named Dzixud for Sneakily, and a Dwarven Vaultguard named Erik Stein and an Airwalker named Sara for Airsen. They also borrowed Elenora, the white mage, as they knew they would need some healing. As a special note, that makes Erik the third humanoid male this party has hired, beside Zarc and Faufe. There are still no human male henchmen...