Sunday, February 16, 2014

The Dead of Night at the Hungry Hippogriff [AGE System]

In the last year I've been infatuated with several great games:  DnD Next, Dragon Age, 13th Age, Numenera, and Adventurer, Conqueror, King.

Right now, the Adventure Game Engine that drives Dragon Age has moved back to the top of the list.

Yes, I should be finishing 1st Age.  But, I've got two games using the AGE system brewing.

The first is the adventures of the Macabre Twins that I'm running for two of my children.

The second has come together unexpectedly in a setting I'm tentatively calling the Dynasty of Gloam (thank you Ultimate Tookit).  Its a temporary game until Tony W. get's his DnD back up and running.

Essentially, some patrons at a tavern, the Hungry Hippogriff (owned and operated by Trip and his children Adam and Eve) along with the village of Roth, were brutally attacked by vampires.  Few survived the night (including Trip), but those who did faced half a dozen bloodsuckers assaulting just the tavern.  The whole village was attacked and nearly a third of it was burnt down.

Among the survivors:

Lukas Lakebottom, a cowardly priest of Dagon.  After discovering a traumatized and wounded Adam, he persuaded the young man to devote his life to the Deep One in exchange for healing magic.  Lukas is now uncertain wether Adam is alive or dead, but he has been useful in battling the vampires.

Jaque, an intense young man who doesn't shy away from a fight and wields an ancient hatchet.

Phenn, a Knight of Khonsu, he is on a pilgrimage for his mystical order.

Skink, a doppleganger without an identity or a past, he has worked for Trip for several months and was shocked at the kind man's violent murder.  He hates Eve and and is uncertain of Adam, but he protects out of devotion to Trip.

Barlow Bubblshroomhorn, a half-elf opidum addict.  He had his prized recorder stolen and has been confronted by several vampires that would not attack him, despite being easy prey.

Herman Deadwards, a thief and plunderer.  As the tavern lay under siege, he spent the evening literally stealing everything that wasn't nailed down.

---

During the attack, they discovered that at least some of the fiends shared some telepathic link, and shared the pain of another of their kind being destroyed.

Adam's acceptance of Dagon served as some strange apotheosis and no one is sure if he is some holy revenant or some weird saint.  His sister, Eve, had her blood drank by a vampire and there is concern about her, but Lukas does not detect the taint of undeath.

When the night was over, most of the village's citizens were missing and the survivors found only a handful of survivors. They spent the day formulating a plan to head toward an small island in the Murk of Weston, a large lake close to the Barony of Weston.  They hoped after a day or two they could then safely make their way to the Barony.

Skink spoke with two of the survivors, a dwarven apprentices of Lance McGee, Wizard-for-Hire named Glenna and Lance's familiar, a talking pig named Porkins who swears his "pet" is still alive.  Skink found out that McGee had a laboratory in a cave south of the village and offered to check it out at daybreak.

As night fell the group descended to the cellar and created a small moat of water around them, hoping it would ward away any vampires that might find them.

Skink and Lukas took the first watch.  Just as their watch ended, they began to hear the scurrying of several things moving on the floor above them.  Eventually, something approached the cellar drawer and the protections that Lukas invoked held, their heard not only the anguish of some creature but a united howl emanating from three others moments later.  The knew the vampires were upon them.

Lukas raced up the steps to strengthen Dagon's gift, but some fell magic drained the very breath from his lungs and caused him to sway dangerously atop the steps.  Something horrible lay just beyond the threshold.

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