Albion's Journal, 2nd Entry

A dragon's angry roar sent adrenaline coursing through my "men" and I.  While my fury at Mugen blazed in my heart, fighting a dragon was some how far more disconcerting to me than a sorcerer or fiends.  It was at this point that my most loyal follower, the Red Wizard, pointed out that I was a loud mouthed lout who cause more problems than I solved.

His words hurt me.  And I decided to take a moment and try to sort through my throbbing skull and lack of memories, after all the Wizard's advice had served me well.

Framed in the doorway to the hoard, stood a man who looked exactly as my brother once had, but everything else about the being was alien to me.  My dragon man whispered to us that a red dragon stood before us, but I was too stunned to pay any notice.  They spoke for a few minutes and we learned that Mugen had somehow stole much of this dragon's essence and the only way the dragon could get it back was to fall in battle.

"That is the only way?", I asked.  His assertion spurned me on, "Then it is with a heavy heart that I formally challenge you."

"I accept, take time to prepare", was his answer.

I began to weave spell and song to provide my small army with the magic we would need to overcome a dragon.  We learned the dragon was known as Larexian and he had been a ancient red wyrm once, before Mugen had stolen part of his essence.

The battle was hard and fierce.  The Dude fled the field and did not return.  The tiger man and his mate fled as well, but they were made of sterner stuff and their return helped turn the tide in our favor.  Bahamut even sent forth a wrathful angel to help us and strike the killing blow.

After the dispersal of the red's corpse, all that remained was his vast treasures and his ancient skeletal remains.

Let me take a moment to explain to you the best tactic to fight a dragon.  Do not fight a dragon, under any circumstances.  This is the best tactic you will ever use.  Trust me, stay on your farm with your family or as an apprentice to the tight-lipped smith or playing the fool to the perverted old lord who makes your feel uncomfortable with his eyes.  Any of those fates are better than fighting a dragon.

Each of us found a single object of significance before the treasure disappeared.  I received an unknown Orb that I felt might help in battling my brother.  I paid little attention to what the rest found, until the Red Wizard's cloak seemed to fill the vault with an air of malice.

And then Bahamut appeared to us, on the dragon man's behalf.  It seems that as long as Larexian's essence was bound to this hoard, Mugen could potentially raise him as a Dracolich.  The dragon man used a ritual to pay fealty to Bahamut and give the red's soul over to him, as Tiamat had failed the ancient wyrm.  Bahamut wasn't exactly pleased, but he did reward the dragon man and he spied the Red Wizard's cloak.

Did I mention he made the dragon man smarter?  We will see how that fares.

The Dragon God's attention then, seemingly, allowed Asmodeus himself to step from the Red Wizard's own shadow.  Apparently the cloak had been stolen from the ArchDevil aeons ago.  He was threatening to take the Wizard away, while Bahamut argued with both of them.

It was then that I snapped out of the contemplation that had wracked me thus far.

Who was this ArchDevil to threaten and command my servant?  My head hurt, I was burnt and tired, I'd had to contend with seeing relatives, enough was enough.  If anyone would hurt or slay my Wizard, it would be me!

Did I mention that the Red Wizard had a name?  It was Enzio and he seemed truly alive for the first time, upon my uttering it.

Bahamut entered into our argument offering his cloak in place of Asmodeus, but the Red Wizard was firm upon keeping the ArchDevil's attire.

Eventually Bahamut departed and Asmodeus, as so many of of my enemies, was impressed and asked for a favor, knowing I would accomplish any task he set forth.

He took us to a demi-plane, just outside the 8th Level of Hell and told us the Fiend who had also empowered Mugen laired there.  He bid us farewell, firmly aware that he had stood in my presence, if only for mere moments.

We then rested and I began to draw forth plans for our assault.

Mightiest Issue 7

The Avengers of Earth 926:

Iron Man

The Hulk

The Thing

Loki, God of Mischief

Wolverine

Spider-Man

Invisible Woman

Colossus

Thor

Hawkeye

__________________________________

Black Widow is searching for James Rhodes.

The Avengers continued to mingle at Emma Frost's gala at the Massachusetts Academy.  Tony Stark invited Cain Marko and "Black" Tom Cassiday to drink with him and got some information about their new employer, Advanced Idea Mechanics.  Tony even doubled AIM's offer and hired the pair away.  He also found out that an individual, known as Nightingale, had been paying "well above scale" for exotic jobs.

Loki convinced Wolverine to leave the party with him and Thor tried to follow them but was interrupted by Heather Douglas, who was very flirtatious and could see through his Donald Blake illusion.

Arriving back at the X-Mansion, Loki used his staff to take control of Wolverine's mind and then teleported them both to Boston.  He reached out and contacted the Other and informed him that he was about to hand the Earth over to the Other's Master.  He then opened a rift to Jotunheim and summoned Etins and and winter itself to assault the city.  Loki directed Wolverine to act as his general in the attack.

Thor returned to the X-Mansion, and after looking for his brother, decided to journey to Asgard to consult Heimdall.

Loki's forces ravaged Boston and local hero, Shamrock, joined the fight only to be literally cut down by Wolverine.  Loki wove a spell to enlarge Logan to 20 feet tall, transform his skin blue, and grant him "Rime Armor".

Heimdall revealed Loki's location to Thor and he took a moment to visit their father where he dreamt in the Odinsleep.

Loki, perched atop John Hancock Tower, began freezing skyscrapers.

Thor arrived on the scene and summoned a thunder storm to expel the mystical winter his brother had summoned.  The two stormfronts, however, began to violently mix into a terrible nor'easter that added to the carnage.  He also alerted SHIELD and called for the Avengers to aid him.

Wolverine launched himself at the flying Thor and a violent battle ensued.  God and mutant both came away from the skirmish with hellish wounds.

As the Avengers sped to Boston, they began to formulate a plan of attack.

Loki coordinated his Etin to slow down his brother, while he launched violent eldritch blasts at him.

Thor called for the Warrior's Three to come to Midgard's aid.

Invisible Woman cloaked the Quinjet with invisibility and Spider-Man launched himself at Loki, using his webs to wrench the God of Lies' staff from his hands.  The Thing dropped himself amongst the Etin and began dwindling their numbers.  Sue Storm arrived on the John Handcock Tower and slammed Loki to the edge of the roof.  Colossus dropped onto the building and landed squarely on Loki's staff, smashing it completely.  Tony Stark piloted the Quinjet and used the Hulk as a bomb that landed squarely on Wolverine's head.

Loki, enraged, launched a violent eldritch blast at Colossus, but the remaining essence of the staff surrounding him and reflected the attack upon Loki.  The God of Mischief was hurled off the roof and deep into a neighboring skyscraper, the mocking laughter of the Other echoing in his skull.

Thor was able to calm the violent weather and began searching for his brother, but to no avail, Loki was gone.

It was quick work to finish off the Etin, but downtown Boston was awash in destruction.  Logan found the body of Shamrock and was appalled at what he'd been forced to due.

Nick Fury arrived on the scene, while he was furious at the evening's turn of events,  he informed them that more pressing matters awaited the team in Argentina, at the Precinct site.

RuneQuest 6 is here!

The Design Mechanism has released RuneQuest 6 in PDF and is offering a Print + PDF bundle on their website.

I've never played RQ in any of it's editions (I own Avalon Hill's 3E & both Mongoose Editions), but enjoyed running and playing Stormbringer back in the late '90's.

It's hard to explain how far ahead RuneQuest was from a game design standpoint way back in the early '80's.  A Unified Mechanic, no Classes, no Levels, Skill focused, anyone could wield magic, essentially Sorcery could emulate DnD 3E's Metamagic.  It's an amazing game that has evolved little over the decades, due to be so far ahead of everything else.

I haven't picked up the new edition yet, but I will fairly soon and I urge you to do the same.

Oh, and Pete Nash and Lawrence Whitaker, the architects of the new edition, are pretty swell too.

Scare Glow for Labyrinth Lord

Scare Glow

No. Enco.: 1

Movement: 60' 

Armor Class: 8 (12)

Hit Dice: 3

Attacks: Scythe of Doom +2

Damage: Scythe of Doom 1d8+2

Special: 3/day may use Dread Glow, targets in 30' radius take 2d8 damage, save vs Petrification for half;

Immune to charm, hold, and sleep; Half damage from cold and electricity

Save: F3

Morale: 12

Alignment: C

X.P. Value: 300

On Being a Game Master: Sometimes you need a break

Most of my history as a gamer and game master  was spent with essentially one group for almost 16 years.  But eventually, I needed a brake, and went on sabbatical for nearly 3 years.  In that 3 years, I probably played 6 sessions and didn't run a game at all.  I reached a point where I didn't miss role playing and the time away allowed me to appreciate my recent return to gaming a great deal more.

My growth as a gamer came largely due to 3 things: the sabbatical itself, the maturity of my own expectations from gaming and the exploration of the OSR.

The sabbatical wasn't completely my decision but rather a reaction to many, many years of one drama after another.  It was the best thing that happened to me, and helped me face a fear that had been gnawing at me.  For years I wondered what I would do if I didn't have a gaming group and didn't get to game.  It made me make negative decisions and associate with people who had a negative effect on me.

However, the time off let me realize that life went on and I even found some new hobbies, notably a great love for the NFL.  It especially gave me more time with my family and helped me reaffirm what was most important to me.

I had assumed I would return to gaming if my kids showed an interest but life some times throws unexpected turns at you.  Though, I'm a manager at a Comics & Games store, I hadn't run games at the store for over a decade and hadn't played due to lack of interest on my own part.  Yes, that's right, a few months into my sabbatical I turned down invitations to game, it just wasn't the right time for my return.  I actually savored the break from it.

The right time finally came in january of this year.  I tentatively stepped back into role playing as a player and within a few months started this blog and began running 3 games a week.  2 of my kids are even players.

My Maturity was the revelation that I was at least 50% of any conflict within my old gaming group that and the ensuing drama that followed. It was a sobering fact, that regardless of my intentions in those situations, the result was unhealthy for me and them.  I'm not saying that I never saw my faults or realized my mistakes, but the truth that a hobby should be fun became clearer the longer I was away from it.  I could justify my decisions that led to the conflicts, but it didn't make the problem less real or take a way my own personal responsibility.

This was compounded by the realization that even though I thought the people in my gaming group were my friends, many were in fact, merely acquaintances.  Many of our conflicts were rooted in this misunderstanding on my part.  I won't lie, the ideal situation is for me to game with my friends, but I better understand that some people just want to role play and who they play with is mostly unimportant to them.

I will say that it was very, very hard discovering that if I wasn't a part of a gaming group with them, people I'd spent my weekends with for close to 16 years had no interest in returning an e-mail or phone call.  I learned that my "friendship" with them was an assumption I had made and it wasn't appropriate to the reality of the situation. While it did hurt my feelings, I understand the situation, and hold no hard feelings to them.  I have focused on being better aware of who it is I role play with and what their expectations are.

My Exploration of the OSR allowed me to focus on one aspect of gaming (even if it is spread over may variations of the same game).  It allowed me to accept that no one will run DnD like I do and that was OK.  It also allowed me to realize that I could channel my interest in game design into building adventures and challenges into one game without having to design it from the ground up.  World design and Adventure design began to take priority over mechanical design and my "quest for the perfect system".

Swords and Wizardry, in particular, helped me clarify what I was looking for in DnD.  While, it's not my game of choice, it holds a special place in my heart.

Something to understand is that I had rarely played DnD before this.  Wether it was ADnD 2E, DnD Rules Cylcopedia, or DnD 3.X.  I had never found any of their "systems" satisfying and always overlooked their core tenant:  have fun, make stuff up, play the game.  I had spent quite a bit of time with 4E and like much of it, but I simply had no history of gaming with a grid and don't really care for it.  It's just not the way I prefer to run or play games.

So the OSR's revelations about DnD and where it came from and what it could do was like a light being turned on inside me.  It was the only area of gaming I got real excitement from.  I think the grass roots focus was part of it's inspiration.  DnD belonged to all of us, but none of us owned it.  If I had played DnD when I was 11, I think that's how it would have felt.

While I'm glad to be back, I keep in mind that fear and misunderstands have no place at my table or in my hobby.  I understand that many things might come up and a break might come with any of them.  Until then I've learned to savor the time I have and just enjoy the game.  And I hope all of you get to do that too.

Masters of the Universe Monday: Scare Glow

Scare Glow was a shifty bounty hunter, who spent years attempting to break into Castle Grayskull, by the name of Karak Nul. He became obsessed with the countless legends that it contained the power to be the Master of the Universe and lost his life trying to break into it. In death, he was cursed and banished into the dimension of Infinita, forever chained to his past crimes. He was brought back to Eternia by a magical spell of light cast by Skeletor to locate the most evil warriors in the five dimensions. Provided with the Scythe of Doom, Nul agreed to join forces with Skeletor and quickly became known as Scar Glow, thanks to his ability to burst forth and freeze his enemies with dread.


He is a skeletal ghost warrior, who seems to have a solid but translucent body, and whose bones emit a strong glow which can intimidate even the bravest opponents.


Scare Glow
Evil Medium ghost

Initiative +2

AC 12

HP 80

Str 14 (+2) Dex 14 (+2) Con 0 (+0)

Int 15 (+2) Wis 9 (-1) Cha 10 (+0)

Space/Reach 5 feet/5 feet

Speed 60

Melee Attack scythe of doom +7 (1d8+5 slashing), reach 10 feet

Ranged Attack dread glow +5 (1d6+2 necrotic, miss 2 necrotic), aura 5 feet

Special Traits etheral; immune to charm, frightened, paralysis, sleep, starvation; resistance to necrotic damage


XP 400

Dread Glow Scare Glow emits a 5 foot aura all around him that causes his enemies to have disadvantage on any roll they make while in his aura.


Scythe of Doom +3 scythe that may cast Enervation 1/day.


Combat Scare Glow charges into the midst of combat to best use his dread glow on as many enemies as possible and relies on his Scythe of Doom to finish off opponents.


Habitat and Society Scare Glow was a thief, black mailer and burglar in life. He has a strong understanding of psychology and focuses on tactics that throw his enemies off guard and cause morale to fail.


Legend and Lore Scare Glow attempted to break into Caste Greyskull and is an excellent field commander. He has tried to pass himself off as the ghost of Skeletor from the future.

The Ballad of Billy Ray Cordite Verses 1 & 2

My name is Willem Rary Cordite, my sword is pledged to Sherif Robilar Guillaume of Bree, the rest of me, to Keeping the Peace.  May the Law guide my Hand and all that is Good guide my Heart for now and for all time.

Alright, now that we got the formalities out of the way, everyone calls me Billy Ray, even my Mom.  Don't call me Willem, I won't answer to it.  I'm a Paladin and I've been tasked with advising a rising young monster hunter, Van Helsing, in the field.  He's a good lad and I think he has a bright future ahead of him.  He's a crack shot with those fancy shooting irons he wears.

The Sherif, didn't want me to bring Rosie on the mission, but she's like a daughter to me and quite frankly I'd be lost without her skills.  They complement mine and I'm no good at infiltration wearing plate.  The Sherif underestimates her value, but that's the way she likes it.

Our sorcerer is a tiefling named Je'lls Hothands, I understand that there have been several objections to his presence amongst our Order, but I pay no heed of whispers.  Perhaps its my growing up in the Wyld West, but I let a man prove his worth before I judge him unfit.  Fear and ignorance are the tools of Hell, after all.

A jovial northman, Yolaf Jarlson, is our oracle and he has been assigned to our band to provide knowledge and firepower.  He seems well suited to the task and I find him a pleasant companion.

Finally, we've been assigned a half-orc named Krull.  He's very amusing and I feel we will complement each other as he has mastered a wicked, double headed axe and his prowess with it is unsurpassed.

Van tells me that a prominent benefactor to the Church, a Mrs. Blackhall, has summoned us to her manor in the marshlands, west where we've been stationed.  Her home is dilapidated and I worry she is a bit touched.  She reminds me of a witch woman I knew as a boy.  She is convinced an upstart young warlock, named Zulrule Khyris, stole her ruby necklace and points to his home through a breach in her wall.  Je'lls discerns that there is some type of portal there and we promise to return her necklace.

Je'lls was indeed right and we find ourselves in a blasted landscape of smoke and rubble.  An odd woman with moths on her shoulders "greeted us" with an ambush.

I need to take a moment to comment on how sad I find this woman's lot.  She was pretty and probably smart and yet the abuses against her over the years had turned her talents to darkness.  And moths?  I try explaining to her that butterflies would not only be more attractive but make her feel better about herself, unfortunately it only served to anger her further.  Alas, she's far to bound to her bitterness and pride and we are forced to fight her.

Akarat guided my hand and I overpower her, but she pled for mercy and offered surrender.  I will not murder even in the name of my Sheriff and I spared her with the warning that any guile will lead to her execution.  My band was shocked at my decision and it saddened me that my Boss isn't known for mercy anymore.

This woman, Magdha, informed us she was a slave to Khyris and had been fighting him with the aid of her Coven.  She promised to help us gain entrance to his Castle and warned us that the ruby necklace is a tool the witch woman needed to control her lycanthropy.  Van & I felt Magdha was telling the truth and agreed to be transported to the Castle.

Alas, my instincts were wrong and my band was endangered for it.  We ended up in some hellish dreamscape filled with eels and and an obstacle course.  Apparently the dreamer was a man named Adrian who has fallen to Magdha.  He struck me as a self serving ass, but perhaps all he needed was a helping hand.  Sometimes all anyone needs is a helping hand.

I hope my instincts serve me better next time.