Expeditionary Company Records

Herein lies a summary of completed jobs and a brief description of each gaming session.

Resolved Rumors and Hooks

Saviors of al Ramal
Banditry, Insurrection, and Snakemen Cultists in the Eastern Provinces
Artifact Recovery in Jarrah

Session 1 (October 24, 2017; Pappy's)

Players Present: John, Tanner, Chris, Crispin, Boone, Richard.

The players created characters, I briefly introduced the world and a sketch map, the players discussed the initial hooks, and they decided to check out the bandit activity around al Awaj Oasis. They signed on with a caravan to Muta Bahidun as guards. They were ambushed by bandits, but murdered them expeditiously, especially after Alzilu cast Bloodlust on Boone's explorer and Chro'Dul used Genoplasm on the ground. (The NPCs all threw up and give the sorcerers a very wide birth for the rest of the trip.)

After reaching the hamlet of Muta Bahidun, John and Chris failed a Circles check to meet a "local sorcerer," so they encountered a scowling hedge witch, a comely middle-aged woman accompanied by two giant pythons. Her name is Tamilla bint Demsiri, and she does not seem to be impressed with them.

Session 2 (November 3, 2017)

Players Present: John, Rae, Chris, Tanner, Crispin.

The party started in Muta Bahidun. They checked out the al Awaj bandits, where they enountered the remains of an overnight snakeman raid and a snakeman spirit (the Alzilu promptly Soul Harvested). On the return trip to Umiyid City, the party rolled a dangerous random encounter: a Titan Scorpion the size of a bus. Incredibly, the party defeated the scorpion without fatalities, although both Scheherazade and Chro'Dul suffered catastrophic injuries.

Session 3 (November 10, 2017)

Players Present: John, Chris, Tanner, Crispin.

Fighting pits: rats, bunnies, goat? Manticore.

From John: long story short, the fighting pits was a total success. We captured numerous rats for the first battle. Several young slaves died and there was much rejoicing

Second battle was 3, wolf sized rabbits with nasty pointy teeth. The gladiators all died and the last rabbit alive started growing uncontrollably. The first guard was bit in half and when it finally died, @Chro sucked it soul out causing it to howl in cosmic horror. The crowd went silent as @tanner started a slow clap and the crowd went wild and there was much rejoicing.

3rd battle was a very large and angry Ram. The gladiators fell and the guards had to put it down and there was several nobility in the crowd this time and there was much rejoicing. Except @Tanner tried to make conversation with one of the nobles. It was not a polite conversation. I threatened to turn him into an angry were thing. The fighting pits politician wanted something really special for a fight a week out as the higher ups were looking at his fights now. We borrowed a large cage, bought nice chains, traded some titan scorpion venom for a large amount of sleeping agent and headed to the desert looking for a giant scorpion.

What we found, a giant scorpion it was not. After roughly 3 hours of debating (not exactly but felt like it) we planned to set a trap with a fresh chicken coated with sleeping paste. Still not knowing what this thing was, but @Chro s raven did not like the "apex predator" "grab the chicken" "wait... I thought you had it" "no, I thought you had it" "... I'm pretty sure @tunadude(Richard) had the chickens"

So @crispin rolled well and discovered a snoozing Manticore next to a half eaten goat @Chro cast a sleeping spell on it and @crispin tried to slather some watered down paste on its lips... It didn't work out.

Luckily @Chro cast an enchanted gaze on the nasty kitty and we managed to get it half way up the dune By leading it with the goat leg. @crispin smeared the paste on the goat and fed it to it. The last bite snapped the bone causing it to lose its gaze with @chro. It was pissed and leaped at @crispin. With quick reflexes he managed to only get stung in the arm.

With a combination of totem and @Tanner s new sorcerer, we managed to teleport it into the cage, shrink it into a komono lizard type thing temporarily, and get it to sleep and locked up And there was much rejoicing

We got back to town and there was posters everywhere about the upcoming battle then proceeded to freaked out the fighting pits official telling him "remember our last critters? This isn't its full size" we plan to grow the manticore like we did the other critters.

@crispin now has scorpion tail gauntlets and I have a sweet set of light Titan Scorpion Chitin armor. @chro is looking for a cure or solution for his disabilities caused from the fight with the Titan Scorpion from our last trek thru the desert... I'm fairly certain the desert wants us all dead...

Oh and we started a trading company which we need to name

(The party made contact with a young, bored-seeming bureaucrat in one of the Lower City pits, Hotha ibn Ohana, who turned out to be keenly interested in their sorcerous plans, understanding that it would make them rich and get him a promotion.)

Session 4 (November 17, 2017)

Players Present: John, Rae, Chris, Tanner, Crispin.

The players used throw-away gladiators that I had created to act out the Manticore fight in the gladiatorial arena. Due to amazingly bad rolling, not a single gladiator died before the manticore was killed. (Rae's gladiator champion won his freedom after the fight.) Then, the party decided to head to the Umiyid City sewers. They took a job clearing rats from a tavern's cellers, in order to use the hold from the sewers where the rats had broken through. After exploring the sewers for some time, they discovered three figures in a hideout, surrounded by contraband. They murdered the smugglers and discovered that they were, in fact, cultists worshipping a demon symbolized by an eye, weeping blood, wreathed in flames. The looted a wavey ceremonial knife, some cash, and a lewd tapestry that Scheherazade promptly made into a cape.

Session 5 (December 1, 2017)

Players Present: John, Chris, Tanner, Crispin, Troy.

Fight ebon skeleton. GO TO MUTA BAHIDUN? SAND ELEMENTAL?

Session 6 (December 8, 2017)

Players Present: John, Chris, Tanner, Crispin, Rae.

Visit Tamilla bint Demsiri. Gift souls, get mushrooms and information. Return to Al Awaj, then Umiyid via river. (Troll ambush.) Take up artifact quest (Jarrah). Travel to Jarrah, raid tomb #1. (Statue Trap, bullion in hidden compartment.)

Session 7 (December 15, 2017)

Players Present: John, Chris, Tanner, Crispin. Rae?

Tomb Two (ghouls, flesh ooze, find hidden room.) Return to Tomb #1, find that kobolds have stolen all their gear and killed the porter (but the warhorse killed a few of them).

Session 8 (December 19, 2017)

Players Present: John, Rae, Tanner, Chris, Troy. No crispin?

Track down kobold thieves. Return to tomb two, finish looting it.

Session 9 (January 5, 2018)

Players Present.

Find Golden Mummy Tomb, the third site in Jarrah that might hold the quest artifacts. Party fights fast skeletons. Noccio drinks golden magical fluid from fountain and dissolves. Calle Eto follows suit.

Session 10 (January 12, 2018)

Players Present: John, Chris, Tanner, Crispin, Troy.

Fight and defeat Golden Light Mummy, though several characters die. Zolgra possesses a skeleton. A sorceress with a voodoo doll helps defeat the Mummy. Three characters enter the Spirit World, start a fight between a giant squid and three colossal statues. The party finds three magical statuettes hidden in the foreheads of the fountain statues after the fluid is diverted. Party returns to Umiyid after trying to murder some bandits.

Session 11 (January 18, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Tanner, Crispin, Troy.

Party conducts business in Umiyid. Receives letter asking for help finding Mennac al-Yeften. Travels to Muta Bahidun (encounters locust swarm). Stops in Al Awaj, where they are ambushed by sand trolls. Reach Muta Bahidun, search for leads to Mennac.

Session 12 (January 26, 2018)

Player's Present: John, Tanner, Troy, Crispin, Rae, Boone.

Party speaks with Tamilla. Leaves geometric cube statuette with her for study. Receives information about the magician in Al Awaj Oasis. Travels to Al Awaj, enters the Wind Temple. After fight on the first level, takes a short rest. Descends to basement; finds evidence of captives and torture, including Mennac dead and dismembered. Demon snake, Lead Cultist, and others escape into the desert.

Session 13 (February 2, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Tanner, Crispin, Troy, Becky.

Party journeys to Al Awaj; enters necromancer's lair. Zolgra forms relationship with necromancer (Gregorios). Necromancer-alchemist needs more cybalt ore. Party finds entrance to the Depths in the basement.

Session 14 (February 9, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Troy, Tanner, Crispin.

Party recons military camps in the Eastern Mountains, while simultaneously following up leads in Umiyid City. Scherezade seduces a quartermaster in a long con. Quad fails to seduce a fort captain. Party determines that al Saghir, al Basri, and Longshoremen's Union are working together. Zolgra invisibly crashes meeting and steals important documents implicating the group and indicating the site of the excavation.

Session 15 and 16 (February 16 and 23, 2018)

Players Present (Session 15): John, Rae, Troy, Becky, Tanner, Claire

Players Present (Session 16): John, Rae, Troy, Tanner.

"F" team buys passage to the Eastern Mountains and "works" for the occupiers to reach the mountain camp. Ambushed by snow trolls while trapped by snow storm; Quad dies (Crispin creates an explorer and survialist sidekick), while the dread manifestation turns into a real snow dragon. Party arrives in high mountain valley, site of the Shrine of the Seven Lords of Darkness. Finds site of slaughter in occupier camp. Enters torture temple; finds petrified demon heart and learns how to activate the portal. Finds incriminating documents and immediately returns to Umiyid City.

The party encounters the snow dragon. Troy's character is killed, but uses fireworks to distract the dragon long enough for the party to wound it. Daw hides behind Circle of Protection. Crispin's cartographer and expert sherpa flee, and continue fleeing.

Session 17 (March 2, 2017; Pappy's)

Players Present: Troy, Becky, Claire, Jason, Tanner, Crispin.

Journey to Gucceroia Island to capture telepathic parrot for a familiar. Island suffers from cyclic strange encounters. Group encounters and provokes butterflies; become confused, and hirelings die or flee. Erik is murdered by the new warrior. Marooned sailor (Troy's new character) tells of the various possible encounters, and of the self-described tutelary shark deity that lives in the lagoon, and wants the island "purified" of its "filth," which is centered in the "unclean tree." Party surveys the island (but delayed by monsoons) to discover the location of the tree. Braves strange beasts, but provokes attack when they attempt to harm the tree. Several characters seriously wounded. Crispin's explorer and survivalist hireling die when they attempt to poison the tree. Party traps a parrot and leaves.

Session 18 (March 9, 2018)

Player's Present: Tanner, Troy, John, Rae, Crispin.

To complete Ruwaida's storyline, party stages an elaborate party to entrap and embarass Ruwaida's rival, Ibrahim. Returns evidence of demonic cult to Ibrahim's rival, to be used to discredit the family. Stages seduction and heist wherein they steal a named, legendary diamond ring from the betrothed's mother; create elaborate "surprise" engagement masquarade party with jackalope, prostitutes, catering, dwarfs, etc. During the chaos, steals everything they can carry from the al Saghir estate.

Session 19 (March 16, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Troy, Crispin.

"F" Team returns to Shrine of the Seven Lords of Darkness after detour to the Feyrealm. Stupifies guards with drinks. Retrieves the Foe Hammer and the Petrified Demon Heart. Activates the Demon Portal; three Spike Demons and five Demon Slugs appear. Party flees to Umiyid via "portal" spell. Take petrified heart to sorcerer for hire to identify; the priest-type instead cuts open his chest and replaces his heart with the demon heart. Fight ensure in the street; the sorcerer dies and is reanimated as a Horned Demon.

Session 20 (April 6, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Jason, Barbara, Collin.

The team heads to Burkan al-Khafion for the first time. Kobolds ambush and kill most of the hirelings in the first room. Party explores the "boring" part of the dungeon level, consisting of storerooms and servant quarters. At the end of the session, they discover the steamwork magitech gatling gun trap room, but are not able to solve it before breaking for the evening. At the end of the night, are ambushed by giant slug-centipedes and flee the dungeon.

Session 21 (April 13, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Troy, Jason, Grant, Liam.

The team solves the "demon on the loose" problem by portaling away to see Tamilla, where they active the strange mineral cube statuette, thereby rewinding time by 24 hours. They (again) ransack the demon shrine, including feeding a drunk guard to the demon toad statue to see whether anything is inside it, and then portal home. They return to Burkan al Khafion, toy with solving the gun room, but instead explore the eastern (palatial) side of the first level, where they find the Wheel of Fortune.

Session 22 (April 20, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin.

Umiyid City in the Blight. The Book of Emerald Whispers. The Goblin Market: The Book Seller, The Eye Vendor, The Purveyor of Wondrous Weapons, The Botanist (a giant living tree), Ourobouros, The Bone Saw, Glibglab the Goblin Prince. Many deals are proposed, few are consummated. The party leaves with two ways back to the market: jumping into a deep, dark place and calling out "Goblin Market!" three times (Glibglab), or returning with (tree's request).

Session 23 (April 27, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin.

Travel to Al Awaj, talk to Gregorias. Trade for info/goods. Try to learn the demon's true name. Lots of Hindsight hijinks (e.g. oasis fortress being constructed by the Torgisch). Track demon snake through the desert to Tozeur Oasis.

Session 24 (May 4, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Collin.

With the help of nomadic Bedouin herders and their champion, the party corners the demon snake and cultists in a box canyon. The sorcerers attack from high ground with spells and the clockwork gun/door shield, while the others charge into combat. All enemies are eventually killed, through a dozen and a half tribesmen perish, as does Scheherezade's horse. (But the horse is raised as a twisted lizard-horse hybrid, then put down, then raised again as a colorful, feathered lizard horse.) Corey gains a vision of the snakeman cultists learning to read snakeman, and identifies a book to look for.

Session 25 (May 20, 2018 at the Bend D&D Meetup)

Players Present: John, Rae, Phelar, and Guest

A delve into the Fortress Gates of Burkan al-Khafion. The party discovered the Three Moon Shrine and recovered the three pendant relics (Alzilu received two).

Session 26 (June 1, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Phelar, Adam, Barbara, Collin, Crispin, Troy

The party accepted a job exterminating attacking dinosaurs at Emerald Cove. Using Corey's Hindsight, they discovered that the Pearl Sea Company officers were lying--the attacks by the dinosaurs weren't unprovoked, but rather were occurring because of a wasting disease that appeared after the colony was founded. They also discovered that body-modified natives, who practiced a dino cult, had lovingly cared for the sick dinos and, as the population was decimated, had partnered with the dinosaurs--and especially the broodmother, a T-Rex--to summon a powerful madness that enhanced the dinosaur's combat abilities. Futhermore, at least one previous adventuring party had discovered the secret and decided to help the natives rather than the colonizers.

Zolgra used Stone Speech to drastically reshape the headlands around the cove, creating a steep escarpment to protect the settlement, but the resulting earthquake leveled the poorly constructed buildings and wrecked the small port. The colonists fled to the supply ship; the following day, the party promised to finish the job and help with reconstruction. Zolgra also shaped

The broodmother T-Rex, her child, and an herbivore were Portaled into Hotha ibn Ohana's fighting pit. The party stole all of the ripe fantasy jujufruit and Portaled it back to Umiyid City, where they fenced it in a luxury Fruit Market for 100 dinars, a princely sum.

Session 27 (June 22, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Phelar.

The dinosaurs fought in the pits and died valiently, netting the party some much-needed cash. Corey negotiated the use of warehouse space for a Portal door in exchange for future magical counter-espionage work. The party traveled to the Quweiq Mines via Al Awaj. They were ambushed by shocker lizards in the desert, but narrowly managed to survive. In the mines, they were ambushed by cultists, who fled. In pursuit, they quickly found a shaft to the second level of the mines, where they left a shield door as an access point.

Session 28 (June 29, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Phelar, Vicky.

The party returned to the shield door in the mines, to find that it had been moved by something with claws. They went about exploring to get their bearings. There were ambushed by two imps, who killed their sole hireling. They traversed a long hallway covered in thick, goopy green slime (without injury, thanks to Corey's wormhole). They discovered a hidden escape entrance into the Cult Champion's quarters, which they mucked up before surprising him, the Head Cultist, and a henchman in the Cult Throne Room, along with a Bone Demon. (They were eating a freshly slaughtered minotaur. Slaves were chained to the walls.) The party drove away the High Priest, killed the Champion, freed the slaves, and made their escape when the High Priest returned with reinforcements. The Champion's body was pulled from the burning room as the party escaped.

Session 29 (July 6, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Phelar, Vicky, Troy (?).

The party regrouped and created their first Stronghold, a warehouse in Al Ain with jetty frontage. They left the three minotaurs and the human slave to recuperate and journeyed back to Quweiq Mines. Originally Alzilu was dispatched by boat to set up a Portal, but he bailed when the boat was attacked (and sunk) by fire eels, though he was able to rescue all the people aboard the boat.

Next, the party traveled overland, but were ambushed by sand worms in the desert. Alzilu took a catastrophic injury, but the party arrived at Quweiq, set up a Portal, and retrieved the recuperated minotaurs, who--after reaching the antechamber to the cultist's demense on the second level, found their bearings and led the group to an impromptu, refugee-style camp where the Sangonth escapees were living. Aseer (the white female minotaur) appeared to be an important leader in the camp. The group partook of the minotaur's "hospitality" and camped in their quarters.

Session 30 (July 6, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Phelar.

Speaking with the Sangonth minotaurs, the party discovered that the Korgash are set up on the third level, and that Squid-Men of some unknown nature dwell deeper in the mines. They also discovered that the cultists had recently began raiding the minotaurs for slaves/food (the diabolists are sadistic cannibals), presumbly after a lull in new adventurers for them to capture, torture, and eat. The party convinced the (not too bright) minotaurs that the cultists must be in league with the hated Korgash minotaurs. The enraged Sangonth mustered a party of 15 angry minotaurs, led by Aseer, with the goal of assaulting the cultist's demense, freeing the remainder of the dozen Sangonth slaves held there, and murdering every last "Korgash loving" cultist.

The minotaur's approach was direct: they literally just stormed the cultists via direct assault. The party reluctantly joined in the running combat. Many, many cultists were killed--nearly 25--but ultimately only three minotaurs (including Aseer, by chance) survived to free the drugged minotaur slaves (nine survived, the other six having been executed as the assault began). Unfortunately, the party was trapped in a dead-end room. From the adjacent mine chamber, they heard a familiar voice, the Cult Champion, though he sounded strangely hoarse: "Back again so soon? Good. You'll be delicious. I'll savor every bite." (Cliffhanger ending before the break.)

Session 31 (July 27, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Phelar.

Lots of combat as the frontal assault continued. After debating their approach for some time (while trapped and contained in the back room), the party eventually hatched a plan, just as invisible imps attacks by again exploding any open flames, thereby dropping the mine chamber into darkness. (If the party had waited longer to hatch a plan, they may have been slaughtered. I was tracking Exploration Turns in real time as they debated, with the imps attacking in two Turns.) While the minotaurs held off the cultist initiates and warriors in the hallway, Scheherazade and Angus fought off imps and, later, a pair of bone demons (one of whom Angus ripped back into Hell with his Spiked Chain-Whip of Disruption.) Meanwhile, Corey created a wormhole through which Alzilu cast Transmogrify Surface, using golden liquid from the mummy tomb to douse the area. Unfortunately, both the Cult Champion and the High Priest made their saves and escaped the area before dissolving into golden liquid. The High Priest rolled a good result from the magic fountain fluid and gained +1 Might and Knowledge, effectively leveling up. The Cult Champion, on the other hand, aged 30 years in a matter of minutes. Both fled to regroup. The vulture demon, however, died instantaneously by collapsing into golden liquid itself. Many of the minotaurs died killing the remaining cult initiates and warriors, but Aseer again survived (by chance), with the human translator/man servant Herst bandaging her wounds.

The party tried to track the Champion and High Priest, and in doing so explored more of the facility; they discovered several mine chambers set up as barracks, including two warriors trying to don armor. Both were killed, after the second failed to be imtimidated by Alzilu's shadow form and by the physical torture the party inflicted on him. The party also discovered the Slaughter Pits, including meat hooks, quicklime pits, a bleeding floor, and lots of abbatoir instruments, as well as a specialized torture room. Eventually, they stumbled upon a cultist scout and dispatched him, but not before he cried out to warn the remaining cultists, who had holed up in a defensive posture in the Throne Room. The party tried to charge in, but discovered that they were outnumbered now that the minotaurs had retreated to recover: four warriors, four initiates, two bone demons, and a black vulture demon all occupied the Throne Room, in addition to the Champion and High Priest. One round of combat ensued, in which Alzilu took a minor injury, before the party cast Revisitation and retreated to Umiyid City.

Session 32 (August 3, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Phelar.

The party, headed by Uther, recruited four anti-diabolist cultists from a local frog cult. (The cultists believe that their god, a cosmic toad, has eaten the Pearl of Eternity to keep it safe. It wages war against the Demon God until the end times, when they will finally prevail. The four cultists are overweight and have day jobs.) Then, the party and hirelings trekked back to Umiyid City via the river and Djenne. They encountered bedouin, who assessed them a "road tax" of two chickens to let them pass peacefully. They were also attacked by three hungry flying snake-dogs, whose breath weapon led to several hireling deaths. Upon arriving at the mines, they encountered an adventuring party, with whom they became friendly. The adventurers are led by Hamza, a young attractive man. One mercenary, Abdullah, was mauled by the cave bear; the party intends to try on of the higher entrances (the "haunted" caves with the bats) in the coming weeks.A camp cook/guard is named Hakim. The party shared the location of the cultists with the friendly adventurers; their cartographer, a Russian-looking woman covered with Maori-style tattoos (named "Tawnat"/Khidyr), recorded the information.

Session 33 (August 10, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Phelar, Troy.

The party attempted to track to the back door to the cultist complex via the slime passageway, but were repeated ambushed by imps. They decided to trek through the Fairie instead. The Fairie looked like a cognate natural cavern, covered with glowing colorful algae. Instead of encountering the complex, however, many twisting natural passages eventually left the party lost. Alzilu summoned an earth fairie ("gargoyle") to show them the way; the gargoyle was mute, but happy to help guide them. They discovered that the demonic well, home to the imps, existed not only in their world, but also in the Fairie. The party investigated the black obsidian lip and its many different demonic sigils. Inside were black, tarbaby-looking imp figures. The party attacked them with weapons and fire; eventually, using golden liquid from the Golden Light Mummy Temple, the black goop was dissolved, revealing nine baby DRAGONfly fairies. The gargoyle took eight with it under its wing, but one stayed curled up with Newccio, who fed its voracious appetite and gave it warm cuddles. The party dimensionally rifted into the material world to see that the imps had all been killed when the tarbabies were freed; all that remained were empty imp skins. The party portaled back to camp.

Session 34 (August 17, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Phelar, Darrick, Carly.

The party returned to the demon shrine, where they found and killed two Vulture Demons in the Vulture Demon Shrine (along with five acolytes). In so doing, they also discovered more about the storm elementals (one of which Alzilu summoned).

Session 35 (August 24, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Troy, Phelar, Darrick, Carly.

The party spent time completing downtime tasks in Umiyid City, and then returned to Quweiq. They discovered that the cultists had abandoned the facility. They briefly (and unsuccessfully) searched the Vulture Demon Shrine. They discovered ancient golden coins in a mostly empty chest beneath the throne, along with a minor Mana Stone. They then discovered the Bone Demon Shrine, and eventually Newccio received a blessing. The party explored the remainder of the complex, and then were ambushed by (and killed) the alien crab beast in the lake. They found three large eggs with tentacles. They smashed one. Uther, who was almost killed by the crab and who received a minor injury, returned an egg to Umiyid City.

Session 36 (August 31, 2018; Discord Session)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Troy, Becky, Matt, Tanner

FORTHCOMING

Iken ibn Alwas, the boss
Firhun Masad, Head of Security
Zayar, the son
Kashifah "The Sheikh", the gangster rival
-> Kashifah's Company: Verdant Garden Grain Exporters
Susa bint Alwas, the trophy wife

Session 37 (September 7, 2018; Pappy's)

Players Present: Crispin, Phelar, Davin, Darrick, Carly.

The party finally decided to finish the dinosaur contract. The party encountered a sea dragon (dragon turtle) encounter on the way, so the whole ship and crew were almost lost, but a clever plan involving large quantities of pepper being transported on the ship literally saved the party from a TPK (and saved the lives of all forty men aboard the boat). The pepper was rolled into large rugs--also being transported--crushed, and dumped into the water like depth charges as the sea dragon finally caught up with the ship after around twenty minutes of pursuit.

The party romped around in the colony on Emerald Isle for a while, e.g. making contacts with the bored and hard-drinking mercenary guards. Then, they tracked rampaging dino tracks through the jungle, and they were ambushed by and fought four deinonychuses, which they eventually drove off (one was bound and captured).

Finally, the party found the dinosaur vale, and in it a dino shrine in a cave carved to look like a dinosaur mouth. Inside the shrine was a pool of spring water that ran out of the cave, down carved channels, and to pools around the valley. In front were several life-size dinosaur statues of different species, all of which looked like a missing gem or other decoration had been removed from their chests. The rest of the valley was covered in dinosaur nests of all different species, which had lived in harmony with one another and with humans. Now, though, most nests were empty and abandoned, and the few remaining dinosaurs were very sick. The party noticed, however, that the sick dinosaurs had been brought water and fresh rushes to eat, and that their weeping lesions had been bandaged with poultice, so they track, discovered, and befriended the last remaining dinosaur cultist.

The party camped in the dino vale: to be continued next week.

Session 38 (September 14, 2018; Pappy's)

Players Present: John (partial), Rae (partial), Crispin, Phelar, Mike.

The party continued trying to solve the problem on Emerald Isle. Starting from camp in the dino vale, they journeyed to the upper spring, where a similar dinosaur-maw cave led to very steep steps down. After a few turns, there was a lever on the wall--someone pulled it and everyone except Anast went flying down when the stairs magically transformed into a large slide. (Anast eventually went down, too.) At the bottom, a previous group--a Pearl Sea Company exploration team--had left many crates and supplies. They'd also used pickaxes to open a gaping hole into a room behind the slide. In the large room there were a few dinosaur statues, again missing their chest medallions, as well as a jet of pressurized water, magically feeding the wellspring, and a magma elemental pacing near the back of the room. There was also a burned skeleton on one side of the chamber.

After discussing their options, the party eventually managed to run into the room and search the skeleton, who was grasping a medallion (that fit into the hole on the statues' chests) with a fire symbol, as well as a Zombie Charm necklace. The party deduced that the colonists had lied--they had come to the island earlier, known of the natives, taken advantage of their hospitality, and then stolen the valuable-looking medallions, which had caused the water purification to cease and the curse to be enacted, and hence the raids.

The smaller party returned to the colony, where they were rebuffed from meeting with the Captain/Governer, who they suspected may have known of the scheme. So, they secretly tossed the quartermaster's room, where they found an old map marking early camps and a survey of the island that the exploration team had done. Other evidence of the misconduct had been erased, but this piece had been overlooked because it was misfiled with later maps of the island. The map confirmed that the colonists' exploration team had been to the island earlier and had visited the dinosaur shrine.

Acting on a hunch, the party visited the early camps on the island, which had been marked as possible locations for juju fruit groves. The searched each carefully, and discovered a hidden spot under a prominent banyon tree. Buried under the marker was a sack full of the medallions--enough for each of those missing in the dino vale and in the deep volcanic champber. So, the party journeyed back up to the dino cultist village, replaced the medallions in the statues, and cleansed the curse that was making the dinosaurs sick. They were all made honorary members of the tribe.

The dinos were expected to recover, but the tribe now has only one remaining human. The human did gift his new tribemates with some gold that the tribe had possessed for ages (having no use for it), and the South Sea Company contract paid out. Worrying about the last of the tribe dying out, on the boat ride back, the party told another large, friendly tribe about the Pearl Sea Company's exploitation of the island, which led to a war party being dispatched and the colonists slaughtered. Phelar's warrior stayed to help with the re-establishment of the tribal community on the island.

Session 39 (September 21, 2018; Pappy's)

Players Present: Crispin, Phelar, Mike, Darrick, Carly.

The party decided to explore al Ramal and potentially chase the Troll Attacks hook. Upon reaching the head of the caravan route (on the river), the party noticed a strange blight that was killing the plants. In Khasib, the party met adventurers returning from the hills. (They cashed in 35 troll ears for the bounty.) The group reported that the trolls were unusually organized and aggressive. They reported that the blight was recent--in the last few weeks--and seemed to be spreading.

The party headed up into the hills, where they were attacked by a troll raiding party (including four warriors and a shaman)--after a few minutes of pitched battle, the party perceived that they were losing and decided to withdraw. They left behind coins. packs, and so forth in order to escape; the trolls took most of their goods and retreated.

Then, the party romped around in the hills of al Ramal. They discovered that a pollen-like haze was in the air, and suspected that it was poisoning the plants. (The roots looked healthier.) The party engaged a troll raiding party and avoided a second, with only fatalities among the followers (Crispin's Rogue's herbalist follower was killed). The trolls had elephant jewelry, a strange, carved elephant staff for the shaman, beads with elephant heads impressed into the clay, etc.--very unusual markings for the trolls.

The party split and returned to Khasib or Umiyid City, leaving the blight to be investigated further in the future.

Session 40 (September 28, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Crispin, Phelar, Mike, Troy, Darrick, Carly.

The party returned to the Quweiq Mines. They searched the Vulture Demon shrine, where Newccio found and placed the Third Eye into his forehead. Newccio also once again activated the Bone Demon Shrine. They party then spent a few days moving the Sangonth Minotaurs into the abandoned diabolist complex.

Next, the party used the elevator by the Minotaur's old encampment to descend to level three. The explored west, where they discovered the massive rift. They carefully crossed (mostly using Corey's Wormhole to good advantage) and discovered the Cybalt Mines, which had been mined through magical means.

In the Cybalt Mines, the party spotted floating spores, and then a strange, insane Centipede Man. The creature seemed to think that it was a lost human adventurer who was being saved. After talking for a time, the party discovered that five of the missing adventurers had fled from something to the north, casting away their metal armor and weapons as a they ran, before being killed by a blast. Later, a giant centipede was eating one of the corpses when the spores descended and a massive mutation cycle began, resulting in the insane Centipede Man.

The party promised to return to beast to his family, and then killed him in a massive puddle of flaming oil. The party then retreated to the surface to regroup.

Session 41 (October 5, 2018)

Players Present: Phelar, Crispin, Darrick, Carly, Troy, Mike.

The two rogues--Aureliusand Crispin's rogue--started in Khasib. The rogue broke into the provincial office looking for info on the blight--no luck--and stole a government form to get permission to do the same. Aurelius started a business training caravan guards and the like.

The rest of the party--Maverick, Forest, Newccio, and Anast--found work guarding a caravan, but had to hike to where the caravan starts, by the river. (Newccio also started a "bakery" in Umiyid, though it is really a front for a fence under his employ.)

On day two, the overland travelers were ambushed by a troll raiding party (three hunters and a shaman) beside the river. The fight went badly, so they left their stuff and ran. Most of the stuff got taken. It was a cold, wet hike to Khasib.

The party wandered around in thr haze and blight in al Ramal for about four days before deciding on a different approach: they sought out a hunting lodge. In the lodge they discovered, they met two nobles and their retainers (Hamid al-Burjani and his cousin). The nobles had been hunting black skulled ostriches, whose black and gold-flecked eggs are a luxury item. One noble had been wounded by trolls about 20 days ago, and was hanging on to life. There was almost a fight, but Maverick's bewitching calmed things down, and the rogue's stolen form helped legitimize their lies ("we were sent here to investigate the blight"). The nobles gave some rations and backpacks to the party. Within a few days, they're going to have to make a break for it one way or another.

Having learned what direction the blight began, and with Newccio having discovered that the stream and pond/lake water is highly alkaline, the party followed a small river toward where they guess the source is, high in the hilly plateau. They stumbled upon a kin-village of trolls (17ish individuals). After observing, they decided to hunt and catch a couple of deer. They traded these for a wicker basket and some glass beads, and they spoke with the wizened troll shamaness/chieftan (who knows Umiyidic), her mid-fifties son, and her mid-20s nephew.

The party camped for the week near the trolls. They learned that the trolls are also affected by the haze, and have developed huge boils that rupture and itch/burn like crazy (currently, maximum HP reduced by two.) The party worked with the trolls to continue the meager hunting (most animals have fled the area, because no plants/prey for food) and to dig near spring for not-befouled water.

The trolls had several young men leave to investigate the highly unusual organizing happening among the trolls; they didn't return. The trolls think the spirits of the land and air are angry for some reason. The party learned rough directions to the headwaters of the river.

Session 42 (October 13, 2018)

Players Present: John, Phelar, Mike.

The party set off after the Cancer Moth, high in the plateau at the center of al Ramal. (Aurelius first recruited a troll as a follower, since they had camped by the befriended troll village.) On the way, they first encountered a flash flood, which Daw survived by using his Druidic Staff to turn into a tree after being swept away. Several of Aurelius' dogs drowned. Next, they found a murdered party high in the hills, their corpses riddled with large, clean holes and none of their goods taken (signifying that trolls were not to blame). Finally, the party found a large, shallow lake with strange alkaline mineral formations (like the Mono Lake tufa).

The thick haze was everywhere. The Cancer Moth alighted on a large tufa formation near the center of the lake, so the party snuck out and threw oil on the moth. A fight ensued, with the moth emitting headsplitting radiation that made it extremely hard to focus, plus confusion powder shaken from its wings. It also used a pneumatic probiscis. The party eventually broke the proboscis and slew the moth (ultimately by stabbing it with its own proboscis and shredding its wings), but the troll follower died, and Anast took a fatal wound. Aurelius also died.

On the way out of the hills, the party encountered another party who were being attacked by trolls--around a dozen humans were dead, and half that many trolls. The party saved a remaining human, but Aurelius succumbed to his substantial wounds on the way. Then, the party returned to the hunting lodge to discover that the wounded noble had died and been buried, and his companions had fled and then been murdered by trolls. Finally, having reached the oasis around dusk, the party met a band of a dozen hardened Venidzi criminals. They ate coney stew with the group, but Phelar's witch poisoned the stew and the party looked the mysterious cart being protected by the criminals. In it was a large chest, marked with the sigil of the Vehnoni Crime Family. Inside was the legendary Lyre of Alissandro of Genola, a powerful artifact. The group staged a moth attack and defaced the chest, and then made off with the artifact. In Khasib, they filled out several ours of paperwork to receive credit for killing the moth.

Session 43 (October 19, 2018)

Players Present: John, Rae, Phelar, Mike, Darrick, Carly

The party returned to Al Ramal to deal with the troll problem. They journeyed far up into the hills, and they searched several lake basins on the high plateau. Eventually, they spied an unusually large troll encampment along with massive piles of spoils, just rotting in the sun (or having been burned, or simply piled up). The party tried a peaceable approach, but the trolls fled inside a large Elephant Shrine (shaped like the Sphinx).

When the party approach, an Elephantine Sorcerer name Tooouriiish emerged. A battle ensued; the blue Ganesh-looking sorcerer, with glowing runes carved into his tusks, vitalized four elephant statues in the courtyard. The party conducted an organized, fighting retreat, and eventually managed to overwhelm the other side, through thoughtful teamwork, good shooting from the back rank, teamwork in the melee, and judicious use of Dominate, Bind, and Death Ray. The sorcerer used an artifact that retreated him back into the sanctuary. The party summoned a Titan Scorpion and had it lead the charge after the gravely wounded sorcerer. Inside the sphinx-structure was a single large room with a chryselephantine statue of an elephant. The sorcerer hid underneath it, while the Titan Scorpion dismembered it. Scheherazade also entered the room and fought the sorcerer hand to hand, and knife-fight in a closet. All the while, ghostly blue tusks erupted from the walls, dealing substantial damage to those who ventured into the room.

The sorcerer was defeated; his tusks were harvested as sorcerous materials, 60 Cash of treasure and loot was returned, and Scheherazade received the title of Hatun (a low-ranking female aristocrat) and a deed to a fortified manor house with a garden in the foothills above the oasis near Khasib.

Session 44 (October 26, 2018)

Players Present:

The players discovered and briefly explored caverns near the Manor House. They encountered traps and small, blue-ish pig-dog people.

Session 45 (November 2, 2018)

Players Present:

Before the session, the feathered horse (and a donkey) were killed by a large predator. Players stumble across the BONE WORM GRAVEYARD.

Session 46 (November 16, 2018; Pappy's)

Players Present:

Explored fey realm, including the Umiyid City Blight and near the delta. A failed Circles check led to the return of Glibglab.

Session 47 (November 30, 2018)

Players Present:

Found the shadow panther possessed by a spirit of unceasing hunger. Portaled the being back to the warehouse, where the shadow sigil was burned off and the creature restored to a man. Alzilu died.

Session 48 (December 21, 2018)

Players Present:

SOLSTICE SESSION, part one

Session 49 (December 28, 2018)

Players Present:

SOLSTICE SESSION, part two.

Session 50 (January 4, 2019)

Players Present:

Expedition to Level 1 of the main Quweiq Mines. Met Awwar, a Hermit Sand Troll. Wants the spiders killed and the middle entrance blocked and the cave bear safe. Encountered the ravine, found the Vicious Dagger, chased by ghouls.

Session 51 (January 11, 2019)

Players Present:

Troy's character killed another of Troy's characters. Transformed into a golden sheep statue, transported to the Otherworld. Players encountered Khasib (spirit), promised him fresh inhabitants (souls) in order to be allow to leave. Alzilu and Scheherazade attacked by the quicksilver shapeshifter; both rolled D&D.

Session 52 (February 1, 2019)

Players Present:

Met and befriended the fey court who lives under Dakhla Oasis. Used petition, investigation, etc.

Session 53 (February 15, 2019)

Players Present:

description

Session 54 (February 23, 2019; GenghisCon)

Players Present:

Everyone died. The party met Glibglab and Shim and almost brokered a peace treaty. Most died in the desert of exposure/sand elementals. John's character went to the Plasmid Dimension and was eaten by something like a small planet.

Session 55 (February 24, 2019)

Players Present:

One-on-one with John (Alzilu).

Session Count

As of 29 June 2019, there have been 70 sessions.

As of 1 November 2019, there have been 83 sessions.

As of 6 December 2019, there have been 86 sessions.

A total of 98 sessions up until the COVID-19 quarantine.