Shattered Star is Rising

Long time no see...sorry about that. Anyway, my old gaming gang is getting back together and we're going to play! I tried like crazy to push the OSR but after talking it through we settled on Pathfinder.

Then after much deliberating we pretty unanimously voted for starting the Shattered Star campaign.

Man there is a lot to do to get ready. I'll be starting another post to act as the hub for campaign and character prep.

Good times are ahead - I can't wait!!!

Now to go brush up on the Community Use stuff so I'll know what I can and can't upload...

Significant Deaths

Tenkar's Tavern asked if we remember our first character over here.

I chimed in...I don't remember anything about the guy except his death.  My dad bought the Moldvay Basic box at Wal-Mart (believe it or not) and we sat to play.  It took thirty minutes to generate our characters as we were reading the rules for the first time simultaneously.

Then we found our selves in the valley of the Caves of Chaos...without any source of light.  So back to the Keep on the Borderlands for some torches.  Back at the valley we saw some small lizard-like dogs rush into a somewhat hidden opening.  My bother and I bravely followed.

Dad: the goes some distance into the darkness and then at the edge of your torch-light, branches left and right.
Me: I go up to the corner and look around
Dad: Uh...ok, roll a dice...no, the normal one...oh no, you fall into a pit that was hidden on the floor.  Roll that dice again to see how much damage you take in the fall...oh, uh, you die...[he looks at my brother] ok, now you have to roll...and again...and you fall in and die, too...
Me: That was cool...we're going to go outside and play, bye!

That's paraphrased, but it's pretty much how it went down.  15 minutes of glory.

Well, it turns out some celebrity also died in that same accursed pit - Harley Stroh's first PC died right there too!  Makes me feel pretty awesome.

Atramentous Man

My Petty Gods divine item:

Atramentous Man

Alignment: Neutral
Save: Special
XP Value: 20,000

The ultimate Deus ex Machnina, an atramentous man is sometimes given by petty gods for special acts of service or devotion.  Sometimes given by petty gods for special acts of service or devotion, an atramentous man is an enigmatic boon waiting to happen.  The vaguely humaniod form is made entirely of solid darkness, a protomatter capable of assuming anything.  It has no features and does not interact with anyone.  It cannot be harmed by any mundane or magical means.

Once given, the atramentous man will unobtrusively follow the recipient.  It cannot be restrained or forced to move.  Any attempt to loose it will cause it to reappear in 1d4 turns, hours, or days, as is appropriate.  For example, if the recipient teleports away the atramentous man will simple show back up in 1d4 days.

The purpose of the atramentous man is to precipitate into any item that the recipient most needs to achieve an otherwise hopeless situation.  For example, if you fall naked into a 20' pit the atramentous man could suddenly form into a perfectly serviceable ladder that just reaches to the top.  When defensless and backed into a corner by a wight, the atramentous man may turn into a silver long sword to give you a fighting chance.  The GM should chose any mundane or minor magical item (including potions), but the choice must mean the difference between certain failure and possible success.  Once formed into a specific item it is a typical specimen of that item.  The atramentous man is spent and there is no trace to associate the item with where it came from.

edit requested by the publisher so as to not conflict with existing awesomeness :)

A Game I Want to Play

Here is a beautiful quote perfectly describing the game I want to play:

The PC casualties in that campaign were ridiculously high.  Just getting from the beginning to the end of the session with the same PC was an exhilarating victory.  That's why I'm all for save-or-die, level drain, zero level funnels and balanced-dungeons-my-ass.  Not because I'm enjoy forcing players to suffer the same way I did, but because I want them to experience the high of just escaping the session with your life.

from Jeff Rient's blog.