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GURPS Traveller, “The New Deal” 1Shot.02a

December 10, 2014 Gigermann No comments

Duty Roster:

Ella Stanbridge (Melissa)
Ertrane “Buck” Buckner (Herodian)
Henri Haank Makruus (Gigermann)
Ibrahim “Abe” Nouri-Abbood (Rigil Kent)
Sam Turner
Sae Rraetheg (CommJunkee)

Strict Confidence

At port on Yori Prime, the Crew set about to take their liberty when a text-mail message was received at the ship: the local Imperial representative was impressed by their heroism in the rescue of the Lancelot survivors and wished to offer them a charter opportunity. Haank cleared it with Ella, and replied that they were willing to meet on the matter, which was arranged for an hour or so later.

Ella, Haank and Abe arrived at the government offices at the arranged time and met the representative, who gave them the details of the job: a one-time freight transport of 18 tons of miscellaneous research and living supplies bound in-system for a moon of Yori II, and the Imperial Research Station Beta located there, as their usual transport was down due to technical issues. It was an ASAP job—already overdue—and typical of government bureaucracy, they weren’t terribly bothered about the expense; Haank checked the local rates and decided on 900 credits per dT. There were no special handling requirements, but the rep said that, due to the sensitive scientific equipment aboard, they were not to activate any contragravity drives near the station—Haank and Abe both felt as if the rep was withholding some details, but given the need-to-know nature of the job—the station’s existence wasn’t so much a secret, though their operations there clearly were—it was not unexpected, so they let it slide. Ella decided the deal sounded reasonable, and accepted with the usual handshaking, then left Haank to work out the details of when and where the cargo was to be delivered. The Crew planned to leave immediately once the cargo was loaded, and to take the opportunity to fuel up at Yori II, a gas giant, to save some money.

Some time later, the cargo was dropped off at the quay as arranged, and Haank and Sae started loading it onto the ship. Mid-operation, a couple of guys showed up at the ramp saying they were a last-minute addition to the charter, though they weren’t exactly thrilled at the assignment, and were perfectly fine if it turned out there wasn’t room for them. Just to be safe, Haank called up the rep and made certain he had sent them—he had—while Abe chatted them up about whatever-it-was they might be doing at the station. They were a little disappointed when Haank returned and had Abe show them to their cabins.

It was a five-day trip to Yori II, and the Crew took the opportunity to talk to their passengers about the station. They were maintenance crew for the station, on a regular rotation, and had nothing to do with whatever research was being done there behind closed doors, and expected to be bored-out-of-their-minds for the duration. Haank recalled from local business news reports that there had been reported a rash of unexplained misjumps into the Yori system, causing some difficulties with local trade, and suspected the station’s research mission might be related.

Five days later, the Spinward Star entered orbit around Yori IIn, a smallish iceball with no atmosphere to speak of. They attempted to contact the station, but could get no response at all. They approached cautiously, continuing fruitlessly to raise them on comms, and an external inspection of the station revealed no clues. Sam docked the ship, manually due to the lack of auto-docking support, and the Crew boarded the station, kitted out for a potential fight, leaving Sam and Jones behind to stand watch. No one was home. At all. They headed straight for the station’s operations center to see if there was some kind of log to explain the absence, and found that there was no security protecting the computer systems at all, and that there were no logs of any kind available, apparently wiped from about eight hours ago to the present, when another ship had apparently arrived and docked with the station. Buck suspected a virus, and Haank suggested the ship undock immediately, lest there be some “infection.” Abe, Buck and one of the station crew went to the other end of the station to see if there were any sign of the other ship, while Haank and Ella continued to dig through the computer system, and Sam maneuvered the Spinward Star around the station for a closer inspection of the hull. Though no sign of the other ship was found, Abe did spot what appeared to be a single hole, most likely made by a 4mm gauss round, in the inner station wall. As they continued to search for clues, suddenly, there was a burst of blue energy from below, appearing to emanate from the moon itself, that briefly interrupted electronic devices, though there was no permanent damage to speak of—clearly there was something amiss below, and the Crew were now fully suspicious of the information they had been given, and that the prohibition on contragravity use was a ruse to prevent anyone landing on the moon’s surface where they might discover whatever-it-was. The space-elevator connecting the station to the moon’s surface was “down,” suggesting that the occupants might have gone below—the only thing left to check—so the elevator was recalled and they all boarded for the surface (including the station crewmen—better to keep them in plain view, in the event they are somehow involved).

The elevator took around fifteen minutes to reach the surface, but to the surprise of all, including the crewmen who worked there, it halted only briefly and continued below the surface buildings, below the icy outer crust of the moon, for some time further until it opened into a massive cavern dominated by a tall tower of unknown construction. Haank recalled his archaeology instruction with Kella (on their trip out of Kegena), and decided the tower must have been constructed by the Ancients. Sae and Abe both set about recording the awesome sight.

The elevator finally reached the bottom of the cavern and stopped, and the Crew exited the car ready for trouble. And trouble found them, in the form of a hidden shooter firing at Ella, who was struck in the torso, to no effect thanks to her space armor. A number of the Crew had near-miss indicators installed on their suits, and were able to trace the source of the shot; everyone dove for what cover was available. Haank and Sae started ’round to flank the shooter while Ella and Buck returned suppressive fire on the position. Ella was struck in the face, her helmet’s faceplate shattered, though she was mostly just scratched; Abe did what he could to help, but she was more angry than wounded. Buck hit the shooter several times with his laser, causing him to retreat behind the rocks and containers strewn about the floor of the cavern in front of the tower. Haank and Sae arrived at the shooter’s position just as he was about to move, and they surprised each other; Haank and Sae were quicker on the trigger, though, and the shooter was riddled with fire, quite dead. Upon closer inspection of the shooter’s body, they noticed some distinctive tattoos, that they deduced, after a moment of retrospection, to indicate the shooter belonged to the terrorist group, Ine Gavar.

Notes

Due to expected sporadic absences around the end-of-year holidays, we decided to stick with one-shots for the remainder of the year; this led to that, and we ended up going with a bit more Traveller (obviously), which should wrap up next session
Sam’s player ended up being the only one absent (not expected), though Ella’s and Buck’s were quite late (expected)
I think PCs in an RPG tend to be more paranoid than normal folk—for obvious meta reasons—so it’s no surprise we wanted to vett the new passengers before allowing them aboard; it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had someone aboard who meant us some degree of harm
Haank’s picking up of the Archaeology skill in the early days of the first run actually paid off 😛
Ella ended up taking 1 HP of damage through her helmet—lucky, lucky

Campaign Logs, Traveller: The New Deal Campaign, GURPS, Recap, Traveller

GURPS Traveller, “The New Deal” 1Shot.01

December 4, 2014 Gigermann No comments

Duty Roster:

Ella Stanbridge (Melissa)
Ertrane “Buck” Buckner (Herodian)
Henri Haank Makruus (Gigermann)
Ibrahim “Abe” Nouri-Abbood
Sam Turner (Winston)
Sae Rraetheg (CommJunkee)

Space Madness

The Spinward Star entered the Kinorb system, and made way for its mainworld starport. The death of Crewman Smith was reported to the authorities there (after the necessary details of the story had been scrubbed), and as he had no family to speak of, his mortal shell was committed to the deep before they jumped outbound. A week later, the Spinward Star arrived at Treece, a world whose primary export is mercenaries (and little else).

A customs officer at the Treece starport came aboard for a routine inspection the instant the cargo ramp hit the tarmac. Haank showed him the only cargo in their hold, the three containers of Frontier War-era weapons and war-gear recovered in the Gileden system. The officer took particular notice of the Zhodani container, and asked if they had a buyer for it yet, as he knew a guy that would likely be interested in purchasing it; Haank accepted the officer’s hastily-scribbled contact number on a paper note, and promised to wave him when they got the chance. After the post-flight checklists were completed everyone headed into the startown, stopping at the first public terminal to contact the officer’s buyer; he was definitely interested in the Zhodani gear, and arranged for a couple of guys to meet back at the ship later to look it over.

The Treece startown was a melting-pot of alien races, a wretched hive of scum and villainy dirty hive of mercs and commercialism. The Crew were not at all aware they were being shadowed by a Vargr “spy,” as they found themselves a low-key pub where they could have a drink or two, and peruse the local network for potential replacements for Smith, whose loss was beginning to be felt more than emotionally—though Jones would rather have a bunk to himself. They found a handful of potential interviews, but only one stood out to them: a Vargr, an experienced spacer and war-veteran looking for an entry-level crewman position headed anywhere-but-here. (As it turns out, it was the same Vargr that had been shadowing them, looking to see what manner of folk they were.) Ella was less than excited about the prospect of a Vargr crewman, having fought against them so often in the past, but she set aside her concerns and okayed an interview at the ship, scheduled a couple of hours hence.

Sae Rraetheg

Later, the Crew returned to the ship. Their interview arrived on time; his name was Sae Rraetheg, and seemed friendly enough. In the crew lounge, they barraged Sae with the usual questions regarding his work-history and experience; his answers seemed sufficient for their purposes (though Jones was disappointed at bunking with a “dog-man”). But before the potential new hire could officially be accepted, there was one more interview needed: Sae was left in the captain’s office with the ship’s cat, Mia, for her approval—Mia showed no sign of fear or suspicion, accepting the Vargr without reservation. With that, Sae was officially added to the crew roster at a half-share, and shown around the ship while discussing his new duties.

Later, as arranged, the buyer’s men arrived at the ship, along with the same customs officer from before. Haank showed them the container manifest, and allowed them to inspect the contents directly. The buyer’s men gave the Zhodani gear a thorough examination, piece by piece, and after a discreet wave back to the buyer for a quote, they made an offer on his behalf; Haank made a token effort to increase the amount, but Ella ultimately accepted the buyer’s price as-is, which was wired to their account immediately, and arrangements were made to pick up the cargo at a later time.

At the end of the usual five-to-seven days dirtside, having found no cargo to ship, the Spinward Star made for the 100-diameter limit and jumped outbound for Yori. They exited jumpspace a week later, without incident, at the Yori system, with about six hours to reach orbit. Halfway there, they detected another ship exiting jumpspace along the same trajectory, a 200dT Type-A merchant identified as the Lancelot. Sam hailed the inbound freighter to exchange the usual pleasantries, but Ella noticed a very weak comm signal originating from the same ship, a coded SOS. Informing the crew, she struggled to clean up the signal, and decided to respond in code that the message had been received, offering assistance and asking for more information. After a seemingly-long silence, they received a broken voice message from a young girl, in hiding aboard, indicating that everyone aboard had been killed by “him”—she couldn’t speak long enough to elaborate further for fear of discovery. The Crew’s first conclusion was “pirate hijacking,” or perhaps, a case of “space madness,” as they discussed how they might render aid; they assumed the girl to be transmitting from an air/raft or other vehicle aboard (the Crew had done the same aboard the crashing Titanic some months ago). The time came to begin their deceleration burn, and it was decided to slow a bit more than required to allow the Lancelot to catch up to them, so they could get a better look and cleaner signal. As they did so, it became apparent that the Lancelot was not slowing at all, on course for a catastrophic planetary re-entry. Ella commed the Lancelot to alert them to their dangerous course but there was no further response. She then contacted Orbital Traffic Control and they said the same thing—no response; she informed OTC about the SOS, and her intentions to provide assistance. Then she ordered Sam to maneuver the Spinward Star into position to dock with the Lancelot and prepare to board her.

Ella commed the Lancelot once more to inform them of her intent to board, and was met with an angry/confused tirade; their captain believed this to be a pirate attack, and refused to surrender his ship, leaving the impression that it was indeed “space madness” after all. The Lancelot launched one missile, then another, leaving the Crew scrambling for battle stations as Sam narrowly dodged the first, before Haank could shoot down the second; the Lancelot then fired a sandcaster burst at them before going silent—most likely out of ammunition. Sam fought to get in close and match velocity and rotation as the Lancelot bucked against them; ultimately they were forced to fire to disable the Lancelot’s maneuver drives to allow docking—but this would leave them unable to alter their course. The Spinward Star finally docked with the Lancelot’s port airlock, and the boarding party—Ella, Haank, Sae, Buck, and Jones—made their way over, bearing some non-lethal options in case they found an opportunity to take the guy down non-permanently. Sae forced the airlock to cycle and open, and the boarding party entered the crippled ship; meanwhile, Sam guided the Spinward Star to gently push the Lancelot off its dangerous course.

The Crew entered the common room from the airlock; they found the ship without gravity and trace atmosphere—normal preparations for battle—and a not-long-dead corpse, one of the crew, shot multiple times at close range. Ella and Haank went forward into the bridge, and found it empty, then returned. The others progressed slowly aft, clearing room-to-room, encountering a couple more bullet-riddled corpses, but nothing else. The low berths in the aft quarter were still active, but on low battery power, they wouldn’t last. The Crew rallied at engineering, where they encountered another body, another crewman (presumably the engineer), this one a female Vargr in a rescue-ball; it turned out she was still alive, though bleeding and fading—they couldn’t risk removing her from the ball, but had Jones float her back to the airlock where Abe could meet them and render aid. As the Crew prepared to descend into the cargo hold, Jones was stopped at the common room by the appearance of the captain, heavily armed, from the bridge (he had been hiding in the avionics crawlspace), who opened fire with a gauss pistol. Jones shoved himself and the Vargr-ball out of the line of fire, was struck in the process (the hit stopped by his armored vacc suit), and scrambled to regain control of himself in microgravity. Haank and Sae leapt up the hallway, sighting in to fire as they glided forward; Ella followed. Meanwhile, Buck opened the hatch to the hold instead, and ducked down, intending to flank the captain, but thought better of it when he spotted a six-legged, horned, tiger-like creature—dangerous-looking, in spite of its flailing uselessly about in microgravity—next to a couple of wheeled ATVs (wherein he expected he might find the hiding girl). After a burst from Sae’s UMP, the captain ducked back into the bridge around the starboard side of the iris; he ducked under Haank’s gauss rifle shot (which holed the windshield) when he switched to the port side to get a line-of-sight on Jones, who had finally regained control and was maneuvering into a more helpful position. The Crew gathered at the hallway into the common room and took aim at the captain, intending to shoot through the inner wall he was covered behind. Ella called out to him to try to get him talking—first threatening, then coaxing him to tell his version of events. The captain started to open up, speaking, almost as if no on were listening, about his financial troubles, potential loss of the ship, his wife’s demand for a divorce, and suspicions of an affair—he had let his guard down just enough for Sae to maneuver into view and pump three memory-baton shotgun rounds into his gut, knocking him out.

Afterward, the cleanup: the captain was placed in a low-berth aboard the Spinward Star for delivery to local authorities; the spider-tiger-thing, which had been released by the girl to ward off the captain, was subdued (at range) and locked back in its cage; the girl, daughter of one of the passengers who was now dead, hiding as expected in one of the ATVs, was helped into a rescue-ball and taken to the other ship; the Vargr engineer, patched up by Abe and expected to recover, confirmed and elaborated upon the captain’s story, detailing how he’d snapped after the divorce demand, and started killing everyone; the dead were secured in place; and the authorities, already en route, were informed of the trajectory of the now-abandoned ship for rescue of the low-berth passengers and recovery of the vessel. It was later revealed that the Lancelot’s original crash-trajectory would have resulted in numerous deaths and much property damage, and as such, the Crew of the Spinward Star were recognized as “heroes”; as a side benefit, the company in ownership of the Lancelot offered a reward of 100k for the vessel’s successful recovery.

Notes

This session was a one-shot fill-in due to some absences. Unlike most one-shots we’ve done, this one actually finished in one session (if a bit late)
Abe’s player was one of the absences, so he wasn’t featured (though he did end up getting some use, in the background)
This was CommJunkee’s first session in the Traveller campaign, and the introduction of his character, Sae. I suspect his character might have been given a bit more scrutiny during the interview process normally, but he “seemed trustworthy.” Since he had been shadowing the group to the bar (nobody spotted him), we kept joking that he was actually sitting in the next booth behind the Crew, listening, and making on-the-fly adjustments to his ad profile based on what he overheard
The payoff for the Zhodani gear came to around 675k credits, which kinda made up for the fact that we left the Unconquerable more-or-less empty-handed
We actually ended this mission without killing anyone—it does occasionally occur

Campaign Logs, Traveller: The New Deal Campaign, GURPS, Recap, Traveller

Ship’s Log (CV Spinward Star)

November 30, 2014 Ronnke Comments off

249-1120 (06:15:18)
Ships status: All Systems Normal
Navigational status: LANTH SUBSECTOR, (2311) TREECE

Duty Roster
Ella Stanbridge (Melissa)
Ertrane “Buck” Buckner (Herodian)
Henri Haank Makruus (Gigermann)
Sae “Si” Rraetheg (CommJunkee)
Sam Turner (Winston)

Campaign Logs, Traveller: The New Deal none

GURPS Banestorm: Dark Clouds Rising, Book II, Session 6.24

October 11, 2014 Gigermann 2 comments

Dramatis Personæ

Brother Mendel (Herodian)
Dane Sardock (Winston)
Gabriel Auditore (Rigil Kent)
Gestlin the Unpredictable (CommJunkee)
Magnifico the Clown (Feste)
Merasiël Alethmist (Melissa)
Rainald North-Hammer (Gigermann)

Of Gems and Stones

13 May 2014

Continued… The giant serpent squeezed Rainald, who struggled against it with some success in spite of the creature’s bulk, while the other Heroes set upon it to slay it. Gabriel sprinted forward to engage the serpent’s head with his blade, stabbing it through the eye; he was joined by Merasiël who did the same. Dane loosed arrow upon arrow into the creature’s head as he could achieve a clear shot from the other side. Gestlin, still exhausted, threw a small Fireball or two at the serpent’s hind parts. The creature now blinded in both eyes, its many wounds caused it to lose hold of Rainald, who began to strike it mightily with his hammer where he stood. The serpent attempted to flee, but ceased not far away, dead, or near to it. Afterward, the Heroes noticed as the large black cat that had followed them leapt down from its tree-perch and slinked back into the forest, as if, somehow, disappointed.

The Heroes continued onward along the path, still following Magnifico’s Seeker spell, and crept up to the small village as closely as they could without raising the alarm, up to a clearing in the forest that preceded it. Gabriel and Dane sneaked ’round to scout its defenses, but the village’s sentries had spotted the Heroes’ main force and assembled themselves into a shield-wall, armored and ready with long spears for the inevitable attack. While the scouts circled around the village houses to the rear of the formation, the others advanced openly toward the defenders’ ranks. As discussed briefly at the treeline, Magnifico performed some comedic routine before the village fighters, which received little apparent notice, though it served only to focus their attention upon Rainald, who produced from its wrapping the head of the slain Medusa and held it high; in moments, the entire formation of sentries (and perhaps some onlookers beyond) was turned to stone.

At this outrage, the goddess Persephone emerged from one of the houses and approached the scene, very sorrowful after her now-petrified subjects, and demanded to know why the Heroes had done this. Magnifico responded that they had brought a message, and mimicking Hades voice as if he were “possessed” by his spirit, entreated her to return to him. She was not tricked by this, but became angry, making it known that she cared not for her husband at all. She backed away from the Heroes, knowing Hades had sent them to slay her, though she could do them no harm for the spell he had placed on them; the grass about her grew up thick and tall, forming a tangled barrier against the Heroes, even as Gabriel and Merasiël circled at a distance to get behind her, prepared should they be required to attack. At Brother Mendel’s urging, Magnifico instead told Persephone the truth of their intentions, that they wished not to slay her but to convince her to return and treat with Hades, so they could destroy this false place. But she knew already that this place was not real, and even so, wished it to remain as it is, and would not agree to help them or have anything to do with her husband, whom she declared had not the power to release them as he had said. A tree suddenly sprang up behind her, as it would when she would travel through a tree-portal before. The Heroes instantly sprang forth to prevent her; Merasiël had chanced to notice a gemstone on a fine golden chain about Persephone’s neck, hidden below her bodice, and vaulted over the tangled grass-barrier to seize it; at Merasiël’s shout, Gabriel also tumbled over the hedge and produced his sword to cut the charm from the goddess’ neck; Gestlin had activated his harness and took winged flight, placing himself between the goddess and the tree, and swept her feet from under her with his staff, such that she fell, and the chain still in Merasiël’s grasp snapped from off the goddess’ neck, leaving the necklace in her possession. In moments the Heroes watched as the life in Persephone’s eyes faded away, and she became as the other lifeless, mindless shades that populated this realm. Thereafter, the light in the cavern also faded to darkness, and Brother Mendel cast a Continual Light spell upon a coin to light their way, and they could see that the forest remained, though no longer living and beautiful as before.

The Heroes then began their journey back the way they had come; they took pity upon Persphone, and brought her with them. They made their way through the forest and back up the waterfall-cliff. They passed through the mists of the gorgons’ lair and found the other side. They continued through the marsh, seeing the bones of the undead creatures they had fought before littered about the entrance where they had gathered, now harmless and broken. They picked their way carefully across the room of many stairs, now robbed of its magic, forcing them to climb awkwardly to reach the entrance. They emerged within the labyrinth, which no longer shifted about them; Magnifico cast a Seeker spell to find them a safe path to their boat that Brother Mendel had created, still resting ashore where they had arrived, and they pressed onward, as Gestlin flew above to help guide them along. They found the boat unmolested, and rowed it back across the river to Hades’ city. They traversed the city of the dead, and found Radskyrta there as before, mindless, and brought him also with them, that he might be restored with them.

The Heroes’ will had been greatly drained from them by the time they arrived at Hades’ abode, but they entered boldly and presented the evidence of their victory over his wife, Persephone. He took no apparent interest in the lifeless woman, but immediately demanded the “heart” of them, greedily, and the Heroes suspected they would be betrayed, though they knew it not in truth. Without warning or discussion, Brother Mendel commanded Merasiël to put the necklace back ’round Persephone’s neck, and in an instant, the goddess’ former life and power was returned to her. She was very wroth with her husband for his treachery, and they argued fiercely, and fought together; though neither could do the other any direct harm, their fury was wrought upon everything near to them, both living and unliving, and the temple crumbled around them, in fire and tempest. The Heroes fled from the temple for their lives, taking Radskyrta with them.

They ran as fast as they could to the river below, to the Boatman, hoping they might somehow convince him to take them across to the land of the living while the gods were distracted, but the Boatman would not in any way acknowledge them. Suddenly, mindless Radskyrta suddenly slammed himself into the Boatman and knocked him into the water, and seized the pole; the Heroes climbed in behind him immediately, and Radskyrta began to propel the boat across the river. They believed their old friend’s mind restored, but looked upon him to see that he was now clad in black robes as the Boatman had worn, staring blankly ahead with lifeless eyes. As the boat reached the far shore, Rasdkyrta spoke not a word, but stiffly pointed a finger toward the archway through which they had arrived in this place—whether commanding them to go, or wishing to go himself, they could not say. After they had exited the boat, they looked to their friend once more to take him away with them, but his face was now hooded and covered in shadow, as he pushed the boat away from the shore, and disappeared back into the mist.

Now before them were the heavy stone doors, wide open as before, guarded by the massive, three-headed dog creature, no longer a statue but living flesh; it growled a loud warning. Rainald did not hesitate to once again bring forth the head of Medusa, and he held it high, and the creature became a statue once again, posed just as it was before. The Heroes cautiously walked past the guardian statue, and each in turn passed over the threshold of the doorway.

At once, the Heroes found themselves, as if waking from a long sleep, in and around the banks of the river where they had fallen fighting the many-headed dragon-creature before. The wounds that had slain them were no more, and their belongings remained as they had fallen in battle. They started as the heavy stone doors at the far end of the cavern began slowly to close, as they had when they were trapped with the creature before; the Heroes did not tarry, but scrambled out of the waters of the river to flee, lest the creature catch them up and slay them once more; Dane saw the others through and was the last to exit, but was nearly caught by door except he passed through it as if a ghost, to the surprise of all. They continued down the tunnel as they had entered, and found the rope-ladders still fixed in their place, and each climbed up out of the excavation within the ruined temple, to see the sun once again, as if only moments had passed.

Notes

Merasiël’s player rolled a Critical Success to notice the gem around Persephone’s neck, well-concealed as it was; but in her position at that moment, she could not tell anyone what she had seen without alerting the goddess, until she tried to escape. Of course, once the “heart” was pointed out, we all knew what it really was that Hades was after
We were all in general agreement that we would rather not kill Persephone—assuming we could anyway—but we started piecing things together at that moment that made us wonder if Hades’ motives were true. When we were before him, and he demanded the heart, something in the way the GM phrased it caused red-flags to wave furiously—whether or not he intended it so. The GM had not forseen the plan to restore Persephone to herself, and was caught completely off-guard; he eventually decided to let the players dictate how the story would end after that, and after much back-and-forth, we arrived at a general consensus
Due to the way the post-restoration events were generated, even afterward, there were differing interpretations of the results—mostly revolving around Radskyrta; what I have recorded here is my interpretation
Dane’s having phased through the closing doors is the result of the Quirks of Mendel’s previous RPM casting of the portal, finally manifested

Banestorm, Campaign Logs Banestorm, Campaign, GURPS, Recap

Banestorm: Shadows Linger

October 10, 2014 Rigil Kent 1 comment

It was a lovely day.

The smell and taste of the island air washed away the dullness of his senses, once more reminding Gabriel that he yet lived. Automatically, he flexed his hands, momentarily delighting in the strain and pull of muscles there. Around him, his allies … no, his friends were reacting to their emergence from that Underworld in various, expected ways. Mendel had already knelt in the dirt, his head bowed and his eyes closed as he thanked God for delivering them from such a terrible fate. Magnifico and Gestlin alike gave brief, almost cursory thanks to the Lord as well, but then, neither of them were especially devout. To no one’s surprise, Rainald was laughing, that booming voice of his almost seeming to rattle the ground. Dane and Merasiël were the hardest to read – the archer had removed his face-concealing wrap and was frowning at something no one else could see while the elven woman was breathing deeply, as if she had just finished a long run and was trying to recover. Gabriel watched for a moment, admiring the view, and then turned away. Not for the first time, he did not know what to do or how to honor the lost. His relationship with God had soured to the point that he held nothing but contempt for the Lord so giving thanks to Him despite having lost a good friend felt like hypocrisy at its finest and it had been years since he wept. So he fell back on the one thing that had not yet betrayed him.

Six steps carried him far enough away from the others that they would be in no danger followed by another two to factor in Gestlin’s inexplicable clumsiness, and with a flick of his wrist, he drew Misericordia in that long practiced motion. The blade sparkled in the sun and Gabriel stared at it for a long moment. Radskyrta was dead. Anger simmered within him, warring with the usual relief that it was not he who had paid the butcher’s bill, but Gabriel examined his rage, considered it, and then fed it to the mental flames he erected in his mind’s eye. In the Void, such trivial matters held no sway.

The forms came quickly, smoothly, efficiently and with them, his thoughts came just as easily. Two Hares Leaping. Snow in High Wind. Heron Takes a Silverback. Faster he pushed himself. Faster and with more precision. Kissing the Adder became Cat on Hot Sand, which flowed into River Undercuts the Bank. He was aware of the others speaking, but he did not hear their words. Mongoose Takes a Viper became Low Wind Rising. Arc of the Moon turned into Watered Silk.

Radskyrta was dead.

And yet … and yet … Gabriel found that he could not grieve.

The ground was shaking.

Hades’ roar and Persephone’s answering shriek split the air, shattering stone and striking like a physical blow. Gabriel stumbled slightly – it was still so very hard to think, to make decisions, and his mind was yet reeling from the rebirth of Persephone only moments earlier; it had been an audacious move on Mendel and Merasiël’s part, to put the necklace back on the zombie-like goddess, but Gabriel could not blame them, not with how sinister Hades had sounded when he demanded the ruby taken from his wife’s throat. Neither of the two … gods seemed capable of physically harming one another and were thus venting their rage upon their environment. Marble columns shattered into powder. Stone floors exploded, sending broken fragments spinning into the darkness. Concussive blasts erupted from Hades and Persephone alike, hurling the mindless back into walls with crushing force. Ribbons of light and energy coursed through the air from the twin powers raging in the center of the massive building, and one such brilliantly-colored stream slid across the distance and slammed squarely into Radskyrta’s chest, throwing him back to the ground where he slid a handful of yards. Coherence returned to his eyes abruptly and he blinked rapidly, glancing around as if in surprise.

“Wha…?”

“Move!” Dane exclaimed. He was already heading toward the exit as another torrent of light tore through the roof, shattering stone and cracking masonry. A rain of debris fell around them, cracking and splitting. Shocked into action, Gabriel sprang toward the confused-looking Radskyrta and pulled him sharply to his feet. Rainald was there a moment later, seizing the still staggered Radskyrta with one meaty hand and half-pushing, half-dragging him toward the exit. The air was thick with dust and debris which made the going difficult, but Gabriel darted toward the exit, hurdling small chunks of rock or unmoving, listless forms that had once been humans.

Beyond the doorway, he was greeted by another veritable horde of flesh statues, all staring at the trembling acropolis with their blank eyes. The island continued to rock, sometimes so intently that the quakes knocked many of the doomed souls to the ground. Still, there were far too many in the way…

“To the boat!” Dane ordered sharply, gesturing with one hand. “Rainald, open up a path!” The burly Northerner bellowed a laugh – it sounded so strange here, echoing strangely, hollowly, and even some of the dead looked in his direction, an expression of almost recognition on their faces – before lowering his shield and charging forward. Those in the way were knocked aside, some staggering away but managing to stay on their feet while many more fell to the ground. Gabriel paused for less than a heartbeat before throwing himself forward once more. He easily caught up with Rainald, then sprinted past him, ducking and evading around the unmoving bodies standing listlessly in clumps.

Down they fled, past the spirits of those adventurers they had slain in the ruins only hours earlier, through what felt like an entire army of the dead, all unmoving and staring at nothing at all, and finally through the hollow, vacant streets that were surrounded by empty buildings in a bizarre facsimile of a town. There were fewer of the dead here, but enough that it still slowed them somewhat as they raced toward the dock.

Behind them, the roof of the acropolis suddenly exploded.

The shockwave shattered the upper level of the small mountain upon which the acropolis rested, tearing apart the buildings on the lower levels and sending great chunks of rock and debris spinning into the darkness. One of the faceless statues that had been adorning the great building tumbled out of the night, smashing into one of the dead men only a handful of steps away from them and Gabriel recoiled away from the rain of colorless blood and bone that resulted from the sudden impact. Had they been anywhere else, he would have been unable to avoid the blood but here, it dissolved almost instantly into a fine mist that vanished entirely before it even reached him. There was absolutely nothing left of the poor, damned fool …

“There!” Dane pointed toward the boat they had arrived upon and the hooded figure standing at its tiller. It – Gabriel had caught a glimpse of the skeletal features under the hood on their first trip so he could not classify the thing as a He – was as much of a statue as the other soulless standing around and was facing in the direction of the great acropolis that even now boiled and trembled. At their approach, the … thing slowly turned its hooded head toward them. How would they get this foul creature to let them pass? He must have vocalized his question because Magnifico muttered something under his breath and Gestlin scowled. Rainald glanced back to the mountain – Gabriel did the same – and watched as torrents of blue, green and red fire consumed the once great building to its very foundations.

“To hell with this,” Radskyrta snarled. It was the first thing he’d said since recovering and, before anyone could react, he stumbled forward. Covering the distance in three long jumping steps, he reached the boatman.

And then, he punched the thing in the face.

The creature must have been as surprised as Gabriel was because it offered no defense and the blow staggered it long enough for Radskyrta to seize the boatman’s pole. He swung hard – the impact of the pole against the hooded creature echoed loudly and could be heard even over the roar of the twin gods dueling for dominion so far away. The boatman folded over the makeshift staff and, with a roar that sounded more like something Rainald might express, Radskyrta hurled the creature into the black river where it vanished with a sound that sounded curiously like a sigh of relief.

“Get in!” Radskyrta snapped.

“Move!” Dane exclaimed at almost the same time. Everyone crowded into the boat, automatically taking the same places they’d had on the first trip, and Gabriel found himself looking back at Hades’ island before he realized it. Great columns of fire and light were consuming the buildings now, though it seemed as though massive trees were sprouting everywhere as well. Was Persephone winning? Was Hades? How could they even tell? Another building fell apart, this time because of an immense tree that tore through the ground and climbed rapidly to full growth. Beside him, Merasiël stiffened and he gave her a quick look. She was staring at Radskyrta and Gabriel followed the line of her eyes. Icy shock washed through him.

Because Radskyrta was suddenly wearing a black cloak.

It had not been there moments earlier, but from the set of his face, Gabriel suspected that Radskyrta had known this was going to happen the instant he attacked the boatman. Was it because he was already dead, because the strand that connected him to the mortal realm had already been cut long before they ventured into the tunnels? Mendel was querying him, an expression of alarm stamped on the priest’s face, but Radskyrta offered no reply. Instead, he continued pushing the boat forward with his seized pole. His face could have been a mask of flesh for all of the emotion it showed but his eyes glittered with intelligence.

The boat slid through the darkness quickly before bumping against the shore. Radskyrta said nothing, even as he was peppered with a dozen questions, and then, with a single motion, he pointed toward the door where the three-headed dog was crouched. It was no longer a statue, but a living thing, and Gabriel sprang out of the boat, drawing Misericordia even before his feet touched the sand. The others followed suit, scrambling out of the awkward barge in the event that they would have to fight yet another beast to win free of this place. In the instant the last of them were off – Gestlin, of course, who also managed to trip and fall facedown into the beach – Radskyrta used his pole to shove the boat free. It drifted away, allowing them one final glance of their friend in the moment before he drew his hood up over his head.

Strangely, he was smirking as he did.

His arm still quivering, Gabriel held the final form – Heron Spreads Its Wings – for a single, extended moment, aware once more that the others had begun to gather their belongings. Rainald was hefting Radskyrta’s body, now wrapped in blankets seized from the other group who had caused so much trouble, and Merasiël was watching a bird dip and weave in the air while the three casters argued over something with Dane looking on. With a subtle twist of his wrist, Gabriel brought Misericordia to a ready position while facing the shrouded corpse, the sort of salute one would render to a blademaster of superior skill or prestige.

“Requiescat in Pace, my friend,” he murmured before returning the weapon to its scabbard. “I will ensure the path is cleared,” he announced.

He did not look back.

Banestorm, Player Characters Gabery

Banestorm: Breath of Life

October 7, 2014 Mel 1 comment

Life never tasted so good.

Merasiel inhaled deeply as she and her companions emerged from the tunnel beneath the island. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight and breathed over and over again, forcing clean oxygen into lungs that had been still for too long. Her senses were alight with colors, a harsh contrast to the hazy gray dullness of the underworld. The rippling blue of the sea sparkled and caused pinpricks of pain in her vision as her eyes adjusted from the darkness back to the light. The dusty browns and grays of the ruins around them mingled with whatever green overgrowth had taken over the buildings. The familiar tang of the sea teased at her nostrils. She squinted up at a sky pockmarked with puffy white clouds, and took several long moments to process it all.

How long have I sought death? She mused. Everything I have done since returning from the Crusades, all the lives I’ve taken, the alliances made and broken. For so long I wanted the end of it all. How much time did I waste? And when I finally achieve what I desired…

Her thought was interrupted as the cry of a sea bird echoed across the island. Her sharp eyes caught sight of the creature quickly and followed it on its journey. It twisted and twirled in the eddies of the wind and eventually dived low to the water, beyond her field of vision.

I…I want to live.

Harkwood, Midsummer, 2009ce

He barely noticed the noise of the city around him. Shopkeepers hawked their wares in his direction, but he paid them no heed. His feet carried him forward against his will, and he ignored every passerby that brushed up against him. He probably had been pickpocketed a dozen times over, but he didn’t care. The cold, iron knot in pit of his gut dulled his normally sharp, Elven senses. He didn’t want to go back to the inn. He dreaded the coming discussion with every fiber of his being, yet he could not find reason to tarry any longer. She waited for him there, he knew. Once again, he cursed his stupidity.

Mendelel replayed his own part of the conversation mockingly in his mind as he walked. “I found them! There are survivors, and one of them is a scout in the forest outside the city!” He let out an angry snort. I shouldn’t have said anything until after I knew more.

All too soon, his feet carried him to the inn, and he looked up to the window of her room, his eyes meeting her anxious gaze.

~~~~~~

What is keeping him? If he got himself pickpocketed again…wait, there he is. But something’s wrong.

Merasiel glared out the window, her expression barely concealed behind the foggy glass pane. Mendelel’s usually jolly countenance was missing. The corners of his mouth turned downwards in a frown, and his normally springy step had been replaced by a slow, plodding walk.

“Something is very wrong”, she murmured, and bolted from the window.

Merasiel met him at the bottom of the stairs. Before he could say anything, she blurted out, “He’s dead.”

Mendelel shook his head. “No. He’s not. He is alive.”

She grabbed Mendelel’s arms with her hands, an unusual joy glimmering in her eyes, “That’s a good thing, yes?”

“You need to sit down, Merasiel.”

“Why? What’s wrong? Tell me.”

“Mera—”

Merasiel interrupted him, shaking his arms so his teeth rattled against each other. “Tell. Me.”

“The scout I spoke of. Her name is Miratariel, and she…” Mendelel paused, then continued with a sigh. “She is his daughter.”

Merasiel’s grip fell slack, and she sank down to the steps. She couldn’t conceal the look of shock on her face, and in one swift movement, Mendelel seated himself beside her, an arm wrapped around her shoulders in support. “His daughter?” she asked quietly.

“Yes. When we didn’t come back, he and Erianil were married. She is still alive as well.”

“Erianil. I see.”

“Mera—” he began, but Merasiel hushed him.

“It’s alright. It’s like you said. It has been nearly a thousand years. Anything could have hap…” she faltered, no longer trusting her voice to continue.

“I am sorry my friend.”

Merasiel painted a pleasant look on her face and shook her head. “There is no need to be sorry. He survived the destruction of our home. That…is enough for me.”

“Are you certain?”

Merasiel maintained her calm expression and nodded, but within, she was a torment of emotion.

I want to die. Why didn’t I die? Why?

Present day

The cry of the sea bird once more caught Merasiel’s attention. She watched it for a time, and when it flew out of her line of sight again, she noticed she was alone in the ruin. Far below, she saw her companions, all of whom had already begun the long trek down to the Gleaming Endeavor. The stout-hearted Northman, the Fool, the Priest, the Swordmaster, the Archer and the strange Mage. All of them cast long shadows as the sun began sinking towards the horizon. One could not find better companions to live…and die with.

Merasiel picked up one foot after the other and began the long descent from the ruins after them, her mouth parted wide by a genuine smile.

Banestorm, Player Characters none

GURPS Banestorm: Dark Clouds Rising, Book II, Session 6.23

October 2, 2014 Gigermann No comments

Dramatis Personæ

Of Beauty and Beasts

13 May 2014

The Heroes surveyed this new cavernous chamber as they could through the thick fog within; they could see only a few paces away, and naught but shadows beyond. Beholding the many “finely-carved” statues of warriors scattered about the chamber, Gestlin and Brother Mendel agreed that this must be the lair of a creature from Earth mythology known as the “gorgon,” called Medusa, cursed by the gods such that anyone who beheld her formerly-beauteous face would be instantly turned into stone—the two disagreed whether or not she would have the lower-body of a large serpent, but they agreed that she would have hair made up of vipers. Gestlin and Brother Mendel were nearly exhausted of their magical energies, and would rest, but they knew they must hurry through lest they all be caught by some foes between this place and the undead-marsh they had just retreated from. They knew they would have to be as cautious as ever if they were to locate the exit without joining the statues here, so they proceeded inside, with trepidation, following the chamber wall, trying not to look directly upon what shadows might lie beyond.

A sound was heard before them in the mist, that of the flapping of wings. The sound preceded the horrifying sight of winged, severed heads, with vipers as hair, flitting about above the Heroes like some evil birds, attacking them; the Heroes fought back while averting their gaze, lest they succumb to their curse. Brother Mendel conjured an Illusion of a mirror and placed it upon Rainald’s shield, hoping to force the creatures to gaze upon their own reflections, though it had no discernible effect upon them. Magnifico, viciously taunted the creatures, such that they paused in momentary puzzlement, allowing the others to catch up to them; he had momentarily observed the creatures directly, but felt no effect, and said so. The first fell to Dane’s bow, pinned to the chamber wall. The second fell to Gabriel’s family blade; he flicked the impaled head from off his sword. The third eventually fell to Rainald’s hammer, smashed into the ground; after Magnifico’s announcement, Rainald chanced to look at his target, and also was not turned to stone. Meanwhile, Merasiël had drawn forth her captured magical bow, and was nocking an arrow when she caught sight of three more creatures creeping up behind the group; these appeared as horrible women with hair of vipers and the lower-body of serpents, armed with bow and arrow; the Heroes heard the sound of laughter from deep within the mist. The Heroes turned to face this new threat and closed to engage them in combat, but their enemy was joined by another; this one had not the serpent’s body, and was arrayed in a strange red gown, like that of the goddess they had previously encountered—they supposed this to be the one called Medusa—who called out to the Heroes to gaze upon her beauty. After loosing an arrow that struck one of their new foes, Merasiël failed to avert her gaze and was turned instantly to a perfect statue of stone like all the others about the chamber. Magnifico again turned his caustic wit upon the newcomers, though they were merely angered of him as a result, and loosed arrows at him; alas, but Magnifico also failed to avert his gaze, and was turned to stone. Gabriel slipped quickly into the mist to creep ’round behind the enemy, but as he spied the red-clad Medusa, even from behind, he was also turned to stone, though too far into the mist such that the others could not see it was so. Dane, after having slain one of the serpent-bodied women, also succumbed to the creatures’ cursed visage and was magically petrified where he stood. Meanwhile, after having smashed the flying head before, Rainald had been advancing step-by-step in the direction of the sounds of battle, holding his shield up before his face such that he could not see but the ground before him, searching perhaps for his enemy’s legs. Brother Mendel tried to heal those turned to stone, but it had no perceivable affect, and so instead lent his magical energy to the exhausted Gestlin, who turned to Smil-Blam and commanded Merasiël to become once again flesh, and it was so. Rainald found Medusa before him and, still covering his face, swung Gramjarn at her legs, but she dodged away and begged him to look upon her, struggling with his shield to lower it; then Rainald was struck in the side of his face by an arrow loosed by one of the other serpent-women. As Gestlin used what energy he had left to again command Smil-Blam, and return Dane to flesh, Merasiël fell upon the two remaining serpent-women with her blades, and slew them both, still averting her gaze. Rainald, through his wounds, struggled with Medusa as she tried to slip between his self and his shield, and he smashed her knee with his hammer. Dane, now flesh again, was able to loose an arrow into the creature’s side as she collapsed to the ground. Rainald then stepped aside and brought Gramjarn’s pick down upon the creature’s breast in a single mighty blow that slew her outright, though in that instant his shield failed to conceal her face from him, and he was turned to stone, his hammer frozen in place pinning her now-lifeless body to the ground.

The battle over, those that were able rested; Brother Mendel, with a little study, invented a weave that would return those turned to stone back to flesh, and so all were restored, and he healed those that had been wounded. Merasiël made certain all the creatures were dead; it was discovered by chance that those who had been turned to stone before were no longer affected by the creature’s curse. At Gestlin and Brother Mendel’s recollection of the mythology, they decided to cut off Medusa’s head and keep it as a weapon; Merasiël wrapped the severed head in her Wazifi gown and gave it to Rainald to carry. Gestlin cast about for any weapons and such amongst the statues that might have magical properties, and found a few—Rainald was glad to find him a good spear. They would not tarry for long lest they be caught unawares, but as soon as all were recovered enough and ready, they found their way through the mist to the exit.

The archway gave way to a long cavernous tunnel as had the others before it, and the Heroes followed it to an underground stream, that they dared not drink from. The stream led them to a new cavern, very large, covered in trees and grass, and flowers, and all manner of beautiful green things. They found themselves atop a ledge at a waterfall that emptied into a pool so deep they could not see its end, and they spotted a village of some sort in the distance beyond, through the trees; Dane’s sight enhanced by his captured magical ring allowed him to see farther, like a hawk, and he told the others of the defenses of the village, guarded by armed men in towers. They determined that they should go to this village to see if their quarry, the goddess Persephone, might be there, and so climbed down the slippery face of the cliff as best they could; Some of them fell into the pool, but swam out without incident, though they felt the presence of something lurking within, and so did not tarry. Brother Mendel weaved for himself a portal to take him to the floor below, but as he emerged, he was sickened as before, but could continue with some difficulty.

As they followed what passed for a trail toward the village, they encountered a large tree that bore the face of a man. Gestlin spoke to the tree, and inquired after Persephone; the tree told him that she would indeed be found in the village, in the garden. Gestin thanked the tree, and the Heroes continued on their way. As they walked, a creature like a large black cat was spotted stalking them; Brother Mendel called out and pointed to the creature, and it recoiled and fled back into the trees; none felt the need to attack it, and so let it go its way. As they pressed onward, they saw that the cat-creature again stalked them, and saw it climb into a tree as if curious to observe their progress. Just then, the ground about the Heroes was suddenly disturbed, revealing a giant serpent, long as a great ship, its coils constricting to seize them. Those that had seen it reacted to move the others free of its coils; Merasiël tackled Magnifico, Gabriel shoved Brother Mendel, and Dane dragged Gestlin away, but Rainald was left within as the serpent’s coils tightened. To be continued…

Notes

It was difficult to separate player knowledge from the characters in this case; it was fortunate then that Gestlin and Mendel are from Earth (or similar), and were familiar with some Greek mythology, otherwise the group would have blundered right through into a TPK
The creatures encountered in Medusa’s lair were not as martially capable as the PCs, and would have been fairly easily dispatched if not for the flesh-to-stone problem, which alone very nearly resulted in a TPK in spite of the characters’ foreknowledge of it
Gestlin had to spend both available uses of Smil-Blam during the fight; it was fortunate that Mendel’s RPM could bring the others back, or the party would be a bit short on available manpower. As it was, according to the GM, even those trapped in stone were subject to the Will-sapping properties of this realm, therefore those statues that were already here (for however many centuries) would be completely lost to it even if they had been restored as well
The GM declared that Merasiël was frozen in an “awesome Action™ pose,” having been petrified in the act of shooting, but Rainald’s pose at the end easily outmatched hers, being at the business-end of a massive hammer swing

Banestorm, Campaign Logs Banestorm, Campaign, GURPS, Recap

GURPS Banestorm: Dark Clouds Rising, Book II, Session 6.22

September 26, 2014 Gigermann No comments

Dramatis Personæ

Of Paradox and Pursuit

13 May 2014

The Heroes proceeded through the archway and down the darkened hall, where it opened into a large, bizarre room, full of stairs and arches leading up and down in all directions, on the walls and ceilings; upside down, sideways and all points between. After some long moments of stunned amazement, and confusion at how they might continue, Magnifico took a chance on a Seeker spell to locate Persephone, and succeeding, pointed to an archway or two across the room. Gabriel was the first to test the strange room by attempting to climb “down” the nearest flight of stairs, and found that the customary downward pull of the earth fell in concert with the stairs and landings, such that one could walk up and down the walls and ceilings as if its orientation were perfectly natural. Gestlin activated his magical harness and took flight into the center of the room, and also found that “down” was not where he expected. The Heroes cautiously crossed the room to the archway on the other side indicated by Magnifico, with his guidance, Dane’s keen sense of direction, and Gestlin’s flying overview to direct them; Gabriel used his magic sai to cut marks in the stone along the way to indicate their path. Through the archway was a long natural cavern that twisted and wound in seemingly random directions, oft in the direction of their quarry and away from it, and after some time, as the tunnel ended, they found themselves back at the room full of stairs, at the same archway they had started from. This time they examined the room more closely, and determined another archway to be oriented to match the starting position, and made their way across the room once again to enter it.

Again, the archway led to a long natural cavern-tunnel, but this time it opened into a vast marsh, foggy, waterlogged and choked with trees and undergrowth. Magnifico’s spell effect seemed to indicate that they must cross to reach their quarry, so they set out cautiously, testing the water’s depth and finding it suitably shallow. Gestlin cast a Walk on Air spell upon Rainald at his suggestion, and Magnifico also, before himself taking flight—the tree canopy was quite high; those airborne followed along with the others. They passed near to a still pool, wherein they saw beneath the surface many faces, corpses of the long-dead though seeming somehow preserved; the Heroes did not give in to fear, but pressed onward.

As Gabriel lead the way, he leapt from one “dry” spot to another, but slipped in the mud on the other side and fell to his hands and knees there. Just then a skeletal hand reached forth from the water behind him and ensnared his foot, using him to pull the rest of its terrifying self wholly out of the water. Just then the other Heroes saw many more of these reach forth from the water as well, rising all around them, naught but muddy, rotted bones held fast by some evil will; in moments, they were beset on all sides, as the undead grabbed and bit at whatever flesh was exposed. Rainald, wielding Gramjarn, knelt in the air to smash the emerging creature holding Gabriel, even as Gabriel attempted to wrest free of it; some grabbed Rainald’s legs and climbed up him to reach his face, but he smashed them all with the pommel of his hammer. Brother Mendel and Dane fought back-to-back near a large tree, smashing and slashing, struggling to free themselves from the creatures’ grasp, Dane with his shortsword and Brother Mendel with his staff; Dane fared rather badly, bitten many times upon the face and neck, and Brother Mendel cast healing spells upon him lest he should fall. Gestlin was greatly unsettled at the sight of the creatures, and flew up higher out of their reach, even as they leapt to seize his feet; from above, he cast a mighty Fireball and blasted one of the enemy to ash. Gabriel and Merasiël broke free and felled some numbers with their blades as quickly as the creatures arrived. Magnifico had risen up out of the creatures’ reach and found himself to be of little aid to the others, and so he called out to Persephone to appear and answer for this maltreatment of guests in her realm. A nearby tree suddenly sprang to green life, and the goddess stepped forth from it, though only so tall as a “normal” woman; Magnifico began to approach her, still airborne, and chided her roughly for her “rudeness,” such that she was taken aback at the brashness of it, and stood dumbfounded. Magnifico intended the others to attack her while she was vulnerable, but the undead did not cease to rise from the waters and set upon them, such that Dane now cried out to fall back to the barely-visible archway beyond, lest they be overwhelmed, and they all did so (though Magnifico was reluctant to give up the opportunity to attack).

Those still airborne were able to remain out of the creatures’ reach as they fled; Rainald picked up Brother Mendel, the slowest among them, to carry him, before Gestlin cast a Walk on Air spell upon him as well. Dane, Merasiël and Gabriel continued on foot, being the most nimble and quick, all the while pursued by the creatures; though Dane fell and was immediately caught up and attacked, the others came quickly to his aid, and they were able to evade the creatures all the way to their intended exit. Once through the archway, the undead no longer pursued them, but returned to their watery rest.

The tunnel leading from the archway opened into another large chamber, filled with mist and lined with stone columns. Amongst the columns were many stone statues of men, arrayed for battle, of such exquisite craftsmanship that one might have supposed them to have been at one time living flesh…

Notes

The “Escher” room is obviously inspired by the Labyrinth movie, as has been so much of this area; we had a bit of a time trying to justify how the characters might proceed, though their players knew (roughly) how it worked
The GM was thinking of Game of Thrones regarding the skeletons, which made them a little scarier than standard Fantasy fare; they were quite fast (Move 7), which made the decision to run away difficult—they’re faster than most of the party. Individually they weren’t so bad, but en masse as they were, someone was gonna die
There was a bit of a pause at the “decision point” of the fight, as we waffled between running for a more tactically-sound position, or attacking Persephone while she seemed vulnerable, or some compromise between the two; in the end, the decision came down to Dane’s in-game leadership, and his tactical instincts that were screaming, “Get un-surrounded!”—he’s supposed to be the “fight boss,” so we deferred to him in this case
We all know what’s coming next session, but given the characters’ general lack of knowledge on Greek mythology, we’re not sure how we can overcome without losing a few of us, at least, to a more “statuesque” future

Banestorm, Campaign Logs Banestorm, Campaign, GURPS, Recap

GURPS Banestorm: Dark Clouds Rising, Book II, Session 6.21

September 23, 2014 Gigermann No comments

Dramatis Personæ

Of Mazes and Monsters

13 May 2014

The Heroes emerged from Brother Mendel’s portal before the “temple” structure atop the hill in the center of the labyrinth without any detectable ill-effect, save for feelings of “strangeness.” They searched for some time about the structure for the expected entrance to its underground, but found none. As they expanded their search, down the hill, they spied a pair of small, ungainly-proportioned men clumsily fetching water from a well in the middle of an abandoned village of some kind. The Heroes observed as these small strangers finally filled their bucket and took it up, waddling their way down a path further down the hill, toward the labyrinth. Gestlin activated his magical harness and took winged flight, speeding to stop the small strangers to inquire of them the location of the goddess, Persephone, that governed this place. At the same time, Gabriel, followed shortly by Merasiël and Dane, quickly crept closer. The little men were frightened at Gestlin’s approach, and dropped their water-bucket to flee, slipping easily through a man-sized crack in wall encircling the hilltop structures, and continuing down the hill as quickly as they could toward a similar opening in the labyrinth’s inner wall. Gabriel lithely squeezed through the first opening and pursued them; their stubby legs were no match for the fleet-footed Gabriel, and as they ducked through a the crack in the labyrinth’s wall, Gabriel caught one by the coat, at the same time Gestlin, airborne, loosed a Fireball at the ground on the other side of the wall-crack, halting their escape. Meanwhile, Dane and Merasiël scaled the first wall with the aid of ropes secured in place by the flying Gestlin, followed much more slowly by Rainald, while the remainder of the Heroes were instead able to wriggle through the crack. At the same time, Gabriel attempted to calm his “prisoners” such that they might be of aid.

However, Gestlin’s aerobatics had attracted the attention of a distant harpy, one of many here and there atop the high walls of the labyrinth as far as could be seen; Rainald, still descending the first wall, caught sight of it as it approached and called out loudly to warn Gestlin, but his bellowing attracted the attention of other harpies nearby, and the one was soon joined by a few others. They attacked as before, but the foul, flying creatures were no match for the Heroes, and in moments they lay dead upon the ground, skewered, burned, and smashed. During the fray, the captured little-folk had fled through the opening, into the labyrinth—the Heroes were all reluctant to enter and pursue them, knowing the place would shift and change to entrap them, and began discussing what to do next.

Brother Mendel decided to attempt to use his magics to locate the end of the tree-portal, as he had before when Persephone had left through it. Though successful, Brother Mendel felt a wave of sickness wash over him, as if he were aboard a storm-tossed ship, and he could stand on his feet only with great effort; he could still point to their destination—into the labyrinth. So, the Heroes resolved themselves to go into it, in hopes that tracking the little-folk, combined with Brother Mendel’s guidance, would provide a sure route. Again, Gestlin fetched the ropes and secured them atop the wall for those too large to fit through the fissure in the labyrinth’s wall; Merasiël, Dane, and Rainald climbed, as the rest squeezed through.

The trail of the little-folk was easy enough to find and follow. The winding path was narrow, forcing them into a single file, and the walls high, and the way tended to close or change behind them, with the telltale grinding sound of heavy stone, as they passed. Ahead, as their quarry’s trail ended at a wall, Gestlin turned sideways to allow his wings room to span, and he flew to the top of the wall to spy the other side, and verbally guided the others to a detour from above. However, as they moved, the walls began to shift, and a few had to leap clear to avoid being cut off from the others. They pressed on with Gestlin’s occasional scouting, and further detours and close calls. At a dead-end that opened before them at their approach, they encountered a massive beast-man, nearly as tall as the walls, with the head of a bull, bearing an axe and flail too large and heavy for even Rainald to wield; it immediately charged at Dane with a monstrous roar, goring him with his horns and throwing him back. Rainald stood his ground against it; Merasiël moved into the void left by Dane and attacked, while Dane got to his feet; and Gabriel nimbly dodged his way forward from the rear to join the defense, but failed to tumble past the creature, instead striking from the corner. Then Magnifico began to sing a strange song and gyrate oddly, the sight of which caused the creature to pause in stunned bemusement; a lethal mistake, as the Heroes took advantage of its confused state and slew it quickly, lest its wits recover.

Some time later—they could not say how long in this place—the labyrinth finally gave way to a small village, that is, small in height more than apparent population; the tracks the Heroes had followed now mixed with others, and they deduced this to be the little-folks’ home. The denizens of this village shuttered their windows and slammed their doors at the Heroes’ approach, and would not come out for fear of the these tall, menacing-looking fellows. Glad to be rid of the labyrinth, the Heroes took their rest in the village square. Magnifico brought forth his lute and began to play, hoping to soothe the villagers’ fears and bring them forth, that they could speak to them of Persephone; of such beauty was Magnifico’s performance that not only did the villagers finally emerge from their homes to gather ’round, but even a little of the Heroes’ own inhibitions were loosed. Brother Mendel, remembering the dropped bucket of water, cast Create Water and filled all the buckets, barrels and troughs in the village. He then inquired of a more-important-looking fellow where they might find Persephone, and the little-man relented to send a guide with the Heroes to take them to the entrance to her demesne, though these folk were forbidden to ever enter there. And so the Heroes followed their guide a short distance to a wall much like all the others, with an ornate archway, long sealed up with brick—that is, it appeared so, until Rainald tapped it with his hammer and found it to be incorporeal, an illusion (Brother Mendel cursed himself for not thinking of it). They thanked their guide and sent him back to his village, and then boldly passed through the arch.

Notes

The “weaving” magic learned from the Otherworlders is Ritual Path Magic; Mendel’s casting of the portal during last session ended up with a few quirks as a result of failures during the process. This session, the GM informed us of the results: attempts to use Path of Crossroads would result in some hours of dizziness (which occurred), and random “incorporeality” (which did not occur, yet)
Gestlin made a great deal of use of the magical harness recovered from the previous fight with the adventurers. The GM said the wings would take on an aspect of the user’s personality, and Gestlin’s player decided they would be the wings of a parrot/macaw, bright red, blue and yellow. As he tried to sneak atop the walls, to avoid notice by the harpies, he rolled a Critical Failure—a brightly-colored, flapping silhouette
Magnifico’s new “Confusion/Awe” power completely turned the minotaur fight from a potential PC bloodbath to an almost-sad beat-down; we’re pretty certain that minotaur could’ve done a lot of damage, but it never really got the chance
The little-folk and their village were clearly inspired by Willow, but talk of little-folk and clowns (Magnifico) and dancing conjured the inevitable “Safety Dance” references. Again, Magnifico saved the day with a well-rolled Performance; so good it was that even the cold-hearted (and incompetent at dancing) Merasiël could not keep from tapping her foot, at least

Banestorm, Campaign Logs Banestorm, Campaign, GURPS, Recap

Banestorm: Murky Waters

September 23, 2014 Rigil Kent No comments

He hated swamps.

The smell, the lack of solid footing, the treacherous waters that hid all sorts of unseen dangers, not to mention the vile creatures that slithered and swam and crawled … all of it combined to create an environment seemingly crafted by a cruel and malicious God to humiliate him. Gabriel was a man borne and bred for cities, accustomed to the comforts afforded by civilization, not an insane explorer intent on viewing the very armpits of the world. There wasn’t even a single flat, solid surface here! How was a civilized man meant to fight in this slimy mudhole?

He pushed the errant thoughts away as he paused, exchanging a quick look and nod with Merasiël before stepping closer to help Dane to his feet, which was not an easy task in this damnable bog. The archer was grimacing with pain – the skeleton only just dropped by Mera had caught Dane by surprise and had somehow torn a vicious chunk of flesh from his face. Blood was gushing forth freely and as Gabriel pulled him upright, Dane wobbled. This was not good. If he slowed even more, they would not make it.

“Push through the pain,” Gabriel murmured, glancing up as he tried to locate Mendel. “You’ve had worse.”

“Gyns’Vail Swamp,” Dane said by way of agreement as he staggered forward. Gabriel nodded.

“We survived that nightmare,” he said as he pulled the archer toward more steady ground. “We’ll survive this.”

Eight Years Ago, The Otherworld

The situation had just gone from bad to worse.

Muttering darkly under his breath, Gabriel scrambled over the soggy terrain and crouched alongside Dane. The archer was kneeling in the muck, peering over an overturned, half-rotted log and staring into the mist-shrouded swamp. For a change, he’d pulled down his face-concealing cloth mask, though Gabriel had no idea why, not with the horrid stench all around them. On the bright side, he did not have to guess at Sardock’s mood, not with the dark scowl stamped on his features.

An eerie-sounding horn rolled out of the mist and was quickly joined by another and another and a third, all sounding from different locations around them. It unsettled the men and elves on this bank – even that pretty one with the cold eyes and lethal grace they’d found in that … Mortuturesihad, wasn’t it? – but Dane simply held up a hand and they quieted.

“And to think,” Gabriel murmured, “I almost stayed with Wallace.” Dane grunted in reply before glancing briefly at the small group of warriors arrayed around them. Numbering a little over fifty, they were visibly exhausted from the forced march, especially the three Huallapans who generally served as translators or local guides. One of them was also a fairly capable spell-weaver, though he was nowhere near as competent as Patch. Getting these three to the Bear Clan had been the primary objective but somehow, the damned Vasar had tumbled onto their plan. For the last three days, they tried to shake the pursuing bugs and Dane had finally opted to try this swamp, hoping that the Vasar’s inability to float would prevent them from pursuing. Unfortunately, it seemed that too had been anticipated.

“We have too few to hold long,” Dane growled. His eyes flickered to Gabe and then away. “We need reinforcements.”

“Rainald is closest,” Gabriel replied with a frown, “but he’s on the other side of this swamp with the Bear Clan.” Again, Dane grunted. Almost at once, Gabriel caught the line of his thoughts and flashed a grin. “You do not have to ask,” he said before gesturing for the spell-weaver to approach. The cold-eyed elf beauty – damn. What was her name again? It was so close to Miratáriel’s name – drew closer as well and was studying him and Dane. Of course she’d likely overheard … all of the elves probably had. No matter. “Friend,” Gabriel began in his halting Huallapan, “Need weave. Point me to … Bear Clan.”

“You mean to leave us?” the man asked rapidly. Another horn sounded and he visibly jumped.

“Get help,” Gabriel replied in the same tongue before giving Dane another look. “I hope you’ve been brushing up on your Huallapan,” he added in Anglish, earning yet another grunt.

“Alone?” the Huallapan asked, his eyes widening. Gabriel shrugged – based on personal observation, he was the only one who could outrun a Vasar on solid ground and, as much as he loathed swamps, they provided plenty of places to hide if he got himself into a tight spot. The spell-weaver added something else that Gabriel could not begin to translate before shaking his head. “I will add another protective weave to help.”

“As long as they don’t have an Alpha,” Dane murmured, “I think we can hold this spot for a few days.”

“Right.” Gabriel shucked his travel pack – it would only slow him down – and checked the straps on his armor. He gave their surroundings a foul look. “Have I mentioned how much I hate swamps?”

He set out an hour later, his skin tingling from the bizarre magics woven around him. The six elves tracked his departure, their bows strung and nocked, and he felt more than heard the whistle of twin arrows flash by him, thunking heavily into a Vasar warrior creeping through the swamp toward their tiny island. It recoiled, stumbling back into its equally hidden comrade, and the two made such noise that Gabriel was able to slip by them without notice. He paused briefly, looking back at the island – the mist shrouding everything made it nearly impossible to see anything, but he thought he could almost make out the shapes of the elven bowmen. With a grin, he tossed off a jaunty salute in their direction and turned away.

When the sun began its descent some hours later, darkness set in fast. Gabriel’s progress, already slowed due to the absolutely terrible footing – he ended up doing more swimming than walking or running – came to an almost standstill. He knew which way he needed to go thanks to that Huallapan’s weave, but being unable to see a damned thing made for slow going. Thankfully, the other weave worked marvelously: the lizards and snakes and other swamp denizens gave him a wide berth.

He crept along for hours, pausing to rest or to wait until the moons provided enough ambient light to illuminate his path, but after nearly breaking his neck for the tenth time, he sought out a suitably solid land-mass and settled in to wait for dawn. The many long hours of effort demanded their price and he quickly slipped into a light doze. It was far from restful – the noises of the swamp kept startling him awake and as tired as he was, his instincts could not ignore the danger he was in – so he was up and preparing to move the moment the sun began peeking over the horizon.

And to his absolute horror, he realized that he’d somehow managed to camp out in the middle of a fairly large Vasar contingent.

Most were simply collapsed on the ground, though if they slept, he knew not, but a handful walked the perimeter of the landmass. There were dozens present, most of a hundred perhaps, far too many for even a would-be blademaster to handle alone, but they had not appeared to notice him just yet. Strange-looking boats were shoved upon the shore and he wondered how in the name of God he’d failed to see the damned things the night previous. Gabriel slowly climbed to his feet, wincing at the sharp protests his muscles made, and quickly calculated the best escape route. It would take him … there, right past the Vasar … the awake Vasar who was looking right at him.

Reflex took over. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and he sprinted forward, drawing his father’s sword even as his long stride ate the distance. Already, the Vasar was beating its wings in that too familiar sound of alert and it was scrambling for its glaive. Gabriel reached it a heartbeat later, slipping around the creature’s wild swing. The forms came smoothly, instinctively – Kissing the Adder, followed by Snow in High Wind – and the Vasar fell with a hideous gurgle. Its brothers were moving.

So Gabriel ran.

Later, he would never quite be able to remember the running fight in the swamp and would instead recall only momentary flashes. Five Vasar in hot pursuit and a nightmare sprint over partially submerged crocodiles. The sound of insectoid screams as the reptiles, startled awake by Gabriel’s steps upon their broad backs, bore the Vasar under water. Another trio of bugs trying to corner him and the sword forms flowing into one another. Apple Blossoms in the Wind. Mongoose Takes a Viper. Leopard in High Grass. Bundling Straw. Blood and ichor splashed – one Vasar would fall and two more would take its place. The fierce swamp creatures became his unwitting allies – the Huallapan weave rendered him invisible to them somehow but they perceived the bugs well enough. Even the water was useful as the Vasar seemed incapable of traversing it easily. And always, Gabriel kept moving. To stop, to slow, even for a moment, that was death. He used every trick in his repertoire, took advantage of any misstep or hesitation by the Enemy, and somehow, someway, he won free.

He stole one of the smaller boats and used it to put as much distance between himself and the Vasar as possible, but this quickly became a losing proposition. They crowded onto their skiffs and pursued frantically, nine or ten or more strong rowers to just him, so Gabriel grounded his boat on the nearest landmass and sprang out. Once again, luck was with him as the ground was solid. They were not yet out of the swamp, but this was most definitely the periphery. The magical weave that acted as an internal compass tugged him in that direction and he threw himself forward. Now, more than ever, he needed speed.

How long he ran, he knew not. The bugs were still there, hot in pursuit and making so much noise that surely the dead could hear them. He stumbled, tripping over a concealed root, but managed to roll back to his feet just as the Vasar reached him. There were too many. Gabriel grinned then, fiercely, madly, and drew his rapier. If he was meant to die here, then so be it. But he wouldn’t be alone.

And then, he wasn’t.

Rainald charged past him, bellowing that ground-shaking warcry of his, and a wave of Huallapan barbarians followed, howling their own challenges. There was no precision to their attack, no grace or beauty, only raw strength hurled at the Enemy. Gabriel shook his head slightly, took a long moment to reclaim his breath, and then joined them.

“Running like rabbit, lítillbróðir,” Rainald said with a laugh as soon as Gabriel reached his side. Snow in High Wind felled another of the bugs and he gave the Northman a foul look.

“Dane sent me,” he hissed. The Falling Leaf redirected a glaive into the dirt rather sloppily and Rainald took advantage, smashing Gramjarn through chitin and carapace. “Surrounded and need aid.”

“Hah hah!” Rainald smote another of the Vasar, though this one mostly parried … which left him wide open to Kissing the Adder. “Many much fighting to do then!” He powered forward, laying about with that hammer and shield. “To swamp!” he roared and the Huallapan barbarians cheered, though it was likely they didn’t have a clue what the burly Northman had said.

And despite his bone-deep weariness, despite the heaviness of his still sodden clothes, despite how utterly filthy he felt, Gabriel followed. After all, he had promised Dane that he would be back.

God, he hated swamps.

Banestorm, Player Characters Gabery

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Of Gems and Stones

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