Y

Yithian

dungeons and dragons and fighting games

The Storm King's Thunder: session 22

Uninvited guests With shiny new mithral equipment and their questions answered by the Eye of Annam, the party flew their castle out over the Sea of Swords and toward Maelstrom. Along the way, Maalora continued training Cinderhild on how to use her ballista. Once they were near Maelstrom, Corvyn used the Conch of Teleportation they acquired from Duke Zalto to bring them all into Maelstrom proper. They appeared on an enormous run in a gently glowing cavern and, following music echoing from above...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 15

The story of the cave The monk(?) has a pleasant smile and calming demeanor. He said he's defended himself recently after trying to talk to those who've tried to attack him. Vivi told him that we hoped to warn him and he cut out again to say Evil grows more paranoid and less patient, daily. They will strike when no one is ready. After showing him the note I found, he was interrupted again and repeated nobody is who they seem yet they will reveal themselves to those who pry enough several times...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 21

Questions answered The party ended up basically adopting Cinderhild after successfully raiding Ironslag and turning it over to the dwarves of Citadel Felbarr and the Xorlarrin exiles. They flew Ironslag's mithral doors back to Citadel Felbarr and used one as raw material for equipment and the other as payment for the crafting and enchanting. After spending a couple tendays recovering, fitting their new gear and training Cinderhild to use a "crossbow" (read: a ballista). While preparing to go...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 14

To the summit While going about some errands, Zephyr couldn't find her regular contact (Merrick) and people who know him say they haven't seen him since the night before. Since Merrick is the central hub for the few Shadow Thieves in Waterdeep, she was concerned that it looked like he just disappeared. She left a note for him (in thieves' cant) at a dead drop at a nightclub. Zephyr recalled that even if in disguise, Merrick wears a blue orchid in his lapel. When Vivi and Zephyr returned, I inf...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 13

Aftermath Vivi searched the downed assailant, taking some crossbow bolts and almost all their coin (leaving some to make it look less like they were robbed). "Our path forward is branching off", Istal tells Zephyr. He implied that Zephyr is stuck in some old ways. He says the guild will never return to this city. Istal was sickened by Zephyr associating with one of the "pale skins". Zephyr got Istal to admit he was tasked to do a job and asked him who he works for. He stalled some more and Ze...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 12

Messages Mirt was the one at the door, with a big bundle under his arm and Vivi invited him in. We "introduced" him to Lif and briefly discussed our plans to open the bar. He brought the skull of a troll as a gift - the one we fought at the Yawning Portal! The skull reminds of how Gwen was instrumental to saving all our lives that night and we miss her... Meanwhile, Zephyr charmed Mirt into accepting our offer of 10% ongoing profits in exchange for 500 gold. He asked if we're keeping the name ...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 11

Counter-espionage 17 Eleint - four days from Brightswords. Davil pays me a platinum coin to tell him who hired us to identify the person who hired us. He also cautioned me to know as much as possible about who I work with and for. He also gives me a big picture overview of of the internal conflict in the Zhentarim. Irstul Flocksun is Davil's counterpart in the three-headed serpent faction. Davil asks me what I plan to tell Mirt and offers me another task: someone is targetting elves and Davil...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 10

An unusual conversation Before the show resumes, Mirt informed us that they're looking for a specific agent that could be causing trouble. He's hoping for the agent's location in a day. He didn't have the name of the person but says Maxine should be forthright. She probably won't speak if she thinks it'll cause a stir. Maxine's dray goes up and down the High Road. The driver and tolltaker - the Wolfwood brothers - are not aware of Maxine's capabilities and should not be made so. She'll have a ...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 9

A funny thing happened at the theater 16 Eleint - 5 days from Brightswords. As we wake up in the morning, Zephyr finds a goodbye note from Gwen. I checked her room, which was emptied of all her belongings. It seems that Gwen is gone for at least some time. Over the last few days, Gwen had been sullen and withdrawn. She was transparently changing the subject every time Octavia's name came up. During breakfast, a tinking sound on a nearby window drew my attention and it was a paper bird! I open...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 17

Let's Forge a Deal With a job to do in exchange for Duke Zalto's conch, the party talked through some ways to give Duke Zalto what he wants without betraying the trust of the various dwarf clans by permanently stealing Maegera from the forges of Gauntlgrym. The group went back to Citadel Felbarr and spoke with the king and queen there and with their counsel, devised a plan to set a trap in the Iron Flask. The Felbarran engineers said they could make something that would last at least for a few...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 16

Negotiations The stairs along the cliffside of Ironslag already had another party ascending them. Our heroes split into two groups: one to climb the stairs from the bottom and another that started at the top of the stairs and descended. By the time the groups met, they were in a cave halfway up the stairs. Inside, they found the other adventurers recovering from what looked like a surprise encounter with a chimera which killed two of them. The rising sun revealed the other party as drow, setti...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 15

Mutual Enemies A blue dragon snuck into the temple of the Eye of the All Father! Harshnag charged at it and told the party to flee and they eagerly did. They flew the cloud castle to Citael Felbarr, where the party was welcomed with open arms once they explained that they had slain giants. They had an audience with King Morinn and Queen Tithmel and got their blessing to approach Ironslag - the forge-mountain controlled by Duke Zalto, the fire giant representative in King Hekaton's court - alon...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 14

The Eye of the All Father Before interacting with the arch, the party decided to investigate to the north of the temple chamber. There were two floors of what appeared to be guest housing for visiting giants. After getting part of the way through the hall of guest chambers, Alun set off a trap that sent a boulder rolling through the hall! The party all managed to hide in the guest rooms while the boulder passed and a statue of a hill giant pushed it back into place. After that, the party search...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 8

Job's done Last day of the job for the dungsweepers - a tenday from a holiday. Az and Gwen go to send some letters. Zephyr gives a letter to Az to drop at the post as well. At the day's job, there are a new set of dungsweepers - a pair of twin(?) half-orcs who are very intense about their work named Siku and Tan. The guard work is boring and after some time, Vivi notices an apparent robbery in progress: a couple humans and a dwarf pushing a halfling around. The halfling gets pushed down and ...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 13

Barbarians at the Gate The session starts with a fiery red pebble flying past the party's heads, toward the barbarians ahead. When it arrives, it explodes, covering the warriors in flames. Once they realized they were under attack, they turned and rushed the party. After a short melee, the Great Worm barbarians were all killed leaving the party winded but all right overall. Ghore skinned the barbarians' pet white dragon wyrmling, and is planning on making armor from it. The next chamber - bey...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 7

Fighting in the streets Rewind! Zephyr is trying to regroup with the rest of the party after getting separated and heard about one heavily-armed and three other hangabouts watching over some dungsweepers on Warrior's Way. As she goes along, she's met by a giant, wormlike tentacled creature popping out of nowhere. Guards whistle and pull their swords as the create slithers down the street. Fight! I (Azthoran), creates an illusion of a large crate in front of the dungsweepers, blocking them fr...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 12

To Find an Oracle Harshnag suggests the party consult The Eye of the All-Father, hidden away in the Spine of the World. (A trail in the Valley of Khedrun leads to the temple.) Before they leave Westbridge, the party tried to secure Fulminore's castle to use as a base - Corvyn used Flight on himself and Harshnag. Corvyn wasn't quite familiar with how to use the castle's navigation orb, however, and while he managed to lower the castle's cloud spiral staircase, he accidentally started the castle...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 6

Unlucky Work Vajra is the Blackstaff and invites Gwen to Blackstaff Tower, who agrees. We all debate about what to do and what it could mean for us to have caught the attention of such an important and powerful person. It's nearing dusk and Vivi explores the attic and turret of Trollskull Manor. We gather up and prepare to go to Blackstaff Tower and Farah wants to stop to check on her adpoted orphans first. Lif pantomimes walking out while floating in place. Some roughs are lingering around ...
Read post

Azthoran Chryssel's magic

Spell components Azthoran has learns his magic by finding and exploiting anomalies and abberations in the laws of reality. These secrets have been pulled from the mind, such as it is, of his patron: Dumathroth. Using these quirks of nature to produce an effect usually require him to recite a phrase or make a series of gestures. Occasionally it also requires some physical component, which he keeps in a special set of pouches. Known Spells Eldritch Blast Verbal Components oeul, a word from t...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 5

Welcome to Waterdeep I took the deed to Trollskull Manor and Volo talked at me the whole way back to the Yawning Portal. Zephyr went back to her room above the cart shop. Rewinding! Farah was escorted to a City Watch outpost, to be questioned as to the events at the Zhentarim warehouse. Farah pretends to be sick, coughing on the guards. It's also Featherlung season, which is apparently very contagious. The guards give her plenty of space on the crowded High Road. Farah fakes a coughing fit a...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 11

Dinner with a Vampire After killing Fulminore, Baron Strahd von Zarovich offered the party a boon each and a night of safe respite as his guests in Castle Ravenloft. Bryn shapeshifted to appear as one of Yan-C-Bin's cultists and flew a giant vulture up to Fulminore's castle, rejoining the party. Harshnag remained in Westbridge (the Village of Barovia?). Not seeing any other choice, the party accepted the Baron's invitation. When they arrived in Castle Ravenloft, a servant lead the party to th...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 4

Hate the Flayer Vivi helped the two goons hold the door shut but got pushed back. Gwen holds the door while Zephyr locks the it. "It was big and grey and frightening. It took out Raj." This sounds familiar to Vivi and I - it sounds like a big, amorphous cubic blob - a grey ooze. We brace the door and prepare for the ooze to slime its way through the door. The ooze breaks through the door and we fire a volley of prepared attacks with underwhelming damage. After a short battle, Zephyr lands a ki...
Read post

Slate theme

Slate theme for Standard Notes After a lot of trial-and-error, I've made a theme for Standard Notes using comfortable, shady slate greys and mossy greens. I used the Material Design guidelines to ensure legibility and usability. Obviously I'm biased, but I like it a lot! The URL to import Slate is here: https://blog.yuggoth.space/p/QElhOTJ7gH The source code for Slate is on Github ...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 10

The Ritual Back in the Village of Barovia (or is it Westbridge?), the group seeks out Yan-C-Bin's cultists to steal their giant vulture mounts. They fly up to the castle and defeat Fulminore, who is guarded by two air elementals, to stop his ritual. Afterward, Baron Strahd von Zarovich introduced himself and offers a boon and his thanks for defeating the wizard, who Strahd explains that he viewed as an invading general. ...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 9

Last Night in Barovia Father Petrovich invites the party to hide the night in his temple. There, they discover that Father Petrovich has locked his son in the basement, where they hear him screaming about how hungry he is. Father Petrovich lets slip that he won't let his son feed because then he would be completely damned. The party sneaks back into Vellaki and purchases some pig's blood from a butcher's shop and Bryn changes to look like Father Petrovich. She descends into the dirt-floored ba...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 8

The Festival of the Blazing Sun A parting piece of advice from Tana to Corvyn: get better weapons. Corvyn, Bryn and Maalora are deposited in Westbridge, where they're attacked by a pack of giant wolves! Sashura, Ghore and Alun rush from inside the Harvest Inn to assist them. Two of the wolves appear to be bipedal, however, and one manages to bite Corvyn. He's probably fine. Harshnag says that he'll sleep outside the inn and protect it. In the morning, the party tell Stoldar and Yevgeny that t...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 3

The Grand Game Make it sound like we were attacked by three kenku and that we think more just broke in (and that they were the cause of the alarm). We're happy to see the guard and hopefully they can save us. Tell them that I was supposed to receive a shipment but when it didn't come I got worried. Since this is a rough part of town I hired some guides and protection and came to ask what the problem was. Good thing too because those kenku thugs almost killed me! Farah makes herself appear lik...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 7

The Mists The Cold Wind, while not becalmed on the Sea of Swords, is instead beached along the shore of the Dessarin River. The party pays the ship's captain (with a little extra for their trouble) while Ghore almost singlehandedly gets the ship back into safe waters. Meanwhile, Corvyn is held back in the Feywild by Tana where she makes it very clear to him that he is to kill the wizard. She likes Faerun the way it is and doesn't want anyone making these kinds of drastic changes. Bryn lingered...
Read post

Orphans & Organizations: session 2

Meeting Renear Sawmill Silverfingers - the dwarf - is shady af. Wanted a boxing match or a game of savaa to give us information. Azthoran sort of volunteered Gwen for the fistfight, which she handily won even though Sawmill tried to cheat. Zephyr stole one of his rings as punishment. Farah saw Zephyr nick the ring and talked to her. The redhead Floon met didn't have any grey in his hair. Dagult Neverember (brunette) exiled after being blamed for a series of grotesque murders, replaced by Lae...
Read post

The Storm King's Thunder: session 6

Shortcuts The party hired a ship to take them south: the Cold Wind. The ship mostly carries ore from Fireshear to Neverwinter or Waterdeep and brings supplies back to Fireshear. The captain is nervous about having a frost giant aboard but the party convinces him (with coin) that it'll be fine. Augrek Brighthelm meets them before it leaves - with the Ironmaster dwarves reinforcing Bryn Shander, Sheriff Southwell sent her to help. Once in open water, heavy fog moves in and the ship gets becalme...
Read post