Wonderland Session 8

After an extremely long break between sessions due to illness, schedule issues and other shenanigans, my little troupe met again.

We have M- Sir Epperson the Third; Captain and Noble
B- Squeakers the Clown
Z- The Policeman
L- Sorceress
K-Tennessee Jones, Explorer
C- Alistair, "Batman"
K-Lem, Ghost

Lem and Alistair were not able to make the session, but we went ahead with the adventures.

The group landed on the shores of Meridia safely and made their way towards the main settlement after parking the boat, to which Squeakers has developed a method of communication.  The settlement is built into a large grotto which is dotted with random rocks across the landscape. The rocks are tall and similar-ish to those found at Stonehenge, but in various colors. The buildings of the settlement are tucked into the grotto, along side the rocks in a fairly random fashion.

No palm trees, though.

Wonderland Session 6 & 7

We finally had our entire group together as we began this session.

When we left our intrepid "heroes", the group had heard voices crying for help through the Void, and had gone to their rescue despite the Captain's protests. Once on the island, they had encountered a group of people huddled together on the beach, and one of the people had turned towards the Captain with a wild look of hunger, and we had faded to black.

When we picked back up, I fully intended for there to be a conflict during the session. All of the players had commented at one point or another that they wanted a fight, and I had planned the adventure with that in mind.

But my players had other plans.

Wonderland Double Feature (Sessions 4 & 5)

So I totally forgot to do a write up of Session 4, and then we had Session 5 this week.

In Session 4, the group was visiting an "island" inhabited by monks living in a monastery. The monks were extremely polite and friendly, rising the group's paranoia. They eat dinner and go to bed for the night, where the island effectively "rolls up" for the night.

The clown and Alistair don't sleep but somehow don't see their boat being taken by the monks and hidden. When the group wakes, they discover the boat is missing, and are invited to go to "service", where they learn more about the Twin Gods and the overall beliefs of the world.

The group stops the revered leader after the service to find out where the boat went and why the monks are trying to stop them from leaving. A larger discussion begins, and the group finds out quite a lot, much of it through observation.

There's a revelation that the TwinGods are off doing something important that takes a while, and somewhere the notion that they are having a baby comes about. While this conversation is happening, the leader of the monks begins to reverse his aging process almost in front of their eyes. As the leader learns, he becomes younger. His encounter with the group seems to reverse his age by a decade, if not more. This process continues throughout the rest of their conversations with him.

The group discovers that the monks came from somewhere else, and moved to their current island to escape the distractions of anything other than studying the TwinGods. They've forgotten what women are like except in a theoretical sense so the presence of the "pretty lady" has them somewhat baffled.  They have also lost sight of the instructions given to them by the TwinGods and the revelation that they need to follow all THREE of the rules laid down is a big deal.

The monks reveal that they left some men and a large contingent of women and children on their homeland, and that they don't remember where their home is, but it's "that way".

The group decides to try to find the monks's homeland if for no other reason than it must be full of women. They set off to the general area closest to where "that way" is, and they prepare to embark out into TheVoid.

that ended session 4.... Session 5 started with the group getting on their boat, trying to get back to the "land of the women ladies".

Wonderland Session 3

This session showed that even with planning, games can go sideways without too much influence. Two of my players were unable to attend, so the events I had planned for the session had to be scrapped and new ones had to be implemented quickly.

My players were on an island that had time zones- large geographic regions that were permanently twilight, early morning, afternoon, etc.  They had found the remnants of what might have once been a village and decided to camp there for the "night" (even though it was mid afternoon). 

The group woke up, and two members of their group were missing. As they started to look around, The Captain noticed that some of his clothes were lightly wet. It wasn't really "wet", but somewhat more tacky, like antibacterial hand gel. Further investigation showed that there were spots of the tacky like liquid along the tops of the stonework ruins, but not anywhere on the ground. 

Wonderland Session 2

We had a great session of Wonderland this week.

I lost a player and gained one, and I think I handled this change pretty well.

The group traveled through the Void; which was terrifying and strange. The group moved through total emptiness, and then through a cemetery of souls that grabbed for them, and then through the roots of a world above them.

As the group made it to the "end" of the Void "road", they felt a bump as if they had run aground. They saw a small pinhole of light, and as they peered through the pinhole, they saw what appeared to be twilight.

[RPG] Wonderland Session 1

Last night was the beginning of my Wonderland campaign.

I had more players than I expected, which was a very good thing. I explained the world and background to them, and answered a LOT of questions from a player that is new not only to the system, but roleplaying as a rule. It was really fun being able to explain things in a way that made sense, but gave the sense of mystery and uncertainty that a "new world" offers. I started them off on Miracle City, one of the islands in the ocean of the void. The city itself was Steampunk/Victorian in overall setting. 

I had them roll up characters, and I wound up with the following people: A Sorceress, A Drunk Cop, The Ghost of a Samurai, A Crazy Explorer, An Engineer Plumber and a Miming Clown. 

[WOD] Austin by Night: EPIC Vinnie Recap

So, I have not blogged about Vinnie much, if at all. I have very specific thoughts and ideas for him, and I am having a difficult time deciding if I want to blog about them or keep them secret.

Vinnie IS a Vampire, but it's tough to get outside advice if I don't seek input. So, I'll give you the very best of the very best... or something. This is a recap of several sessions, boiled down to the most relevant and understandable details (as far as I can, anyway).

[RPG][WOD] Austin by Night: Vinnie's Journal, Pt 1

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge.
Daniel J. Boorstin





I've been here for a couple of years now. I have begun to settle in. I've got a fairly good job that allows a lot of flexibility and has high expectations of leadership and accomplishment. I have a haven that does the job for now, and I've started to get noticed by the leadership. 

I was asked by the Harpy to introduce myself to a certain number of people, offering my services and making myself accessible to them. I wasn't sure what was wanted at first, but I've learned that when you play the soldier, you don't ask questions. You just do things. After a little bit of work, it became apparent that the list in question was almost entirely Kindred, and it seems the Harpy is perhaps putting me in certain people's paths to see what happens. I understand that thought experiment all to well, and for now it serves my purposes. 


I have spent quite a bit of time researching the Death Row Incorporated faction; and being very intrigued at how little I've learned. It makes me wonder if their own situation isn't similar to mine, with a valid reason for a blackout. Finding things out is very different now.  I'm still getting accustomed to this "information age"; as it's called.  The concept is unusual that information can be had with money, or for free. Favors and power used to be the currency, but I don't mind that I'm not obviously beholden to anyone at the moment. 


My conversation with Varus (the Commissioner) was unsettling to me. In my past, direct conversations with authorities caused nothing less than difficult times. Different times and different approaches change the way I interact with those in power; and I'm still learning these ways. Beyond the directness of the conversation was the content, which I found curious. Purpose and direction are ever present in my Requiem, but laid deep under the surface of my interactions. Varus' bluntness was sharp and present; challenging my considerations and forcing me to examine the great experiment I'm undertaking. 

I still have much to accomplish to near my goals; and every day is yet another opportunity to develop my potential. 

[GEN CON] Wrap Up

I fully intended to daily reports, based on the feedback I got from my reporters. Unfortunately time got in the way and I wasn't able to do so.

I did have a few interesting reports coming to me from more than one source.

1- Booths were better laid out and traffic was much better than previous years.

2- Pricing in the booths was absolutely erratic. One might offer an item at $85 and three booths down might have the same thing for $125, so smart shopping was essential.

3- While the hall was better organized, some events were not. I heard of two cancelled events with no real notice (though my reporters were able to find replacement options and a refund) and bad lines.

4- Friendliness at booths was mentioned more than once, but not always in a good way. Overall,  I heard very positive things, but one or two events or companies were less than helpful.

5- [This comment is from general observations of photos and not reporters per se...] Fewer costumes and "environmental things" than in previous years.

6. The hit of the con (at least from the reports I got) were all in the miniatures field. Everyone I spoke to went totally geeky over the Wyrd Terrain Kits. Made of high quality chip board, there's enough pieces and material in each kit to make several schemes.

Here's some pics!

I hope to have some more detailed information to share later this week- and maybe some more pictures.

Game on!

[RPG] KnightErrantJR's Hellfrost Game #1

I had a wonderful time recently, playing in the HellFrost game that KnightErrantJR is running at my FLGS.

For those that don't know, Hellfrost is a TripleAce product officially endorsed as a Savage Worlds supplement. It's very, VERY fantasy, which is a change for me.

JR decided to do something a little different for determining the "get the group together" and sent us fun little emails, each personalized to our individual characters. Here's mine, with a little flavor thrown in.

You have been in New Asper long enough not to get in trouble.  This is a good start.  Many new faces, some of them handsome enough to linger on for a few minutes, at least.

New Asper isn't the most amazing city, from what you hear, but it's a solid place, and a good sized one at that. 

For some reason your eyes are drawn to a large house on the street, with a few alleyways on it's sides.  You wonder for a moment what the place might be, and who might live there, when you feel that someone is behind you.

As you turn around, you find a man that you can see through.  If you didn't know better, you would think this might be a ghost.  Is it a ghost? 

"Tyco.  You flirt with trouble and with adventure.  I have a mate for your curiosity.  Follow me."

The man is clothes in rotted clothes and has sunken eyes, but appears to have once been a handsome Saxa man.  His neck, wrists, and waist is encircled in etherial chains, and he moves through you . . . so cold . . . and heads to the house.    

You know you shouldn't, but you follow, and after winding around a hallway or two, you see flickering lights.  In the room you find a circle of braziers, burning incense, and the room has other inhabitants, just now working their way out of the corners.

In the middle of the room is a word, apparently written in something that looks quite a bit like blood

So there is some cryptic writing on the ground... huh. 

No, not that kind!

yeah, like that...

Anyway, despite being a well versed traveler, Tyco doesn't recognize the writing. She's trying to figure out what to do when it dawns on here that there are 6 other guys in the room with her, and they all came in the room by different doors. This is more than a little freaky. 

Everyone in the room seems disturbed by the writing, and wonder what it says (as well as what to do). Some mumble, some ask out loud, some try to stay inconspicuous, but all seem more than a little alarmed when a member of the party starts addressing the town guard loudly, asking them to find a sage to read the writing. Another member of the group takes the gent aside and reveals to him what the writing is (Murder) and the loud fellow now begins asking about the tenant of the home- again to the guard. 

After some fits and starts, the group quietly retreats to the house and it is discovered by a variety of means that the home used to belong to a noble who traded wine, but had recently died of a very transmittable disease. The house is supposed to be under quarantine for at least another week, so being inside it is probably unwise. All of us except one are unwittingly healed of the disease by a member of the party who is acting really, really weird. 

Somewhere along here [OOC: I honestly can't remember how this came to pass] it is either decided or deduced that this noble's death might be the handiwork of a local death-and-mayhem God cult. 

It is then decided that someone from the group should try to infiltrate this cult, and the "rogue-iest" rogue type ever gets elected (or volunteered, I am not sure). 

The group travels to the cult hideout and the rogue descends the stairs and knocks on the door. (I swear I am not making this up!) Somehow he gets in and hangs out for a bit, but the cultists decide to give him an "initiation test" in an attempt to get rid of him. 

They ask him to bring as many of the poor, homeless, beggars and prostitutes he can find to them so they can give them "presents". This apparently sounds like a good thing to our "friend" and he leaves and then reports this to us. 

We then come up with a brilliant plan to act drunk and that we are following the guy to a new party to get even more drunk. 

(Our party comprises of 2 Engro, a Noble Anari (I think?) , A FrostDwarf, 2 Finnars and another guy I can't remember. We don't "gel".) 

We get inside and there is a brief fight where the cultists are defeated pretty quickly, and we manage to get some information out of them. Apparently this isn't really a Death-God cult as much as it is a fraternity for "get-back-at-Saxa" with some debauchery thrown in. YAY. 

The cultists are apparently brewing something up at another location, and it is almost ready according to the guy we get the information out of. We go to the other safe house and 

then things get really weird. 

Instead of going inside and investigating, or checking for guards, or anything like that, the plan is to burn the place down. THEN, the group tries to send the rogue (whom I've managed to sort-of befriend) inside to check it out but asks him to torch the place while he's at it. 

This plan doesn't really go over well with my pal, who isn't keen on being the messenger or the designated fire-starter, after we've spent so much time trying to avoid authorities. 

An examination of the basement of the hideout reveals an abattoir with what used to be people hanging from hooks, with pustule bags of infectious disease being grown in their abdomens. All of them save one are still "brewing", but there is one that looks as if the wormy bag o' sickness got away via the "sewers".  (There's definitely some leniency on reality in this game...)

The fire starts, the hideout burns down, and we are on the way to the home of the noble in our party when we are summoned quite forcefully to the home of a Duke. 

Said Duke wants to hire us as consultants and troubleshooters to investigate whatever goings on may be occurring that the regular consul and nobles might not want to hear about...

and thus ends the first session.... 

[40K] BT/GK vs Chaos/'Crons

Week 2 of our team league with shared force org. After last week, when we really needed more bodies, I volunteered to bring some this time. I have a ton of models and my troops are at least sort of cheap. My partner's choices are pretty limited, and pretty expensive, too.

We faced off against the team that gave me the most concern- Chaos/Necrons. Between Oblits and teleporting, "We'll Be Back", monoliths and GINORMOUS template weapons, I was NERVOUS to face this army. We got Spearhead with pitched battle, and 3 objectives.

They had something like this:
3 Oblits
Raptor Squad
Nurgle Bike Squad (with Icon)
Demon Prince
Lash on someone (but I don't know who)
2 Monoliths
Res Orb (?) 
Warriors

We had something like this:
2 Small troops (1 Las, 1 ML)
1 Big troop (1 power weapon)
6 Termies, 2 CML with Tank Hunter
Vindicator
Grey Knight Land Raider
5 Grey Knight termies inside, Psycannons, Null Rod, Psychic Hood
1 Captain/Brother
1 Vindicaire Assasin

They roll first and keep. When we set up, I'm babysitting an objective, while creating fire lanes across our area as best able in the event that I get shot off the terrain.

A good idea of my guys' setup. Objective on the white piece.

My partner is bunkered up in the Land Raider for now. Pinata time will come later.

general idea of their setup. Bikes hiding behind Monolith for now.

The lonely assassin, waiting to shoot. 

Turn 1 boils down to : they move, we stay still as much as we can. They shoot at us (me, specifically) and move some of my guys off objectives and/or terrain. My partner's psychic hood defuses some psychic ability (thank you, Emperor's Psychic Badasses!). I was a little more bunched up than I probably should have been on the objective and Monolith template spam ate my squad up pretty quick.

My CMLs are on the other side of the boxcars and my CC squad is moving due to RZ. 

After we get shot at repeatedly by Monoliths and bikers, which thins my squads down even further, our Turn 2 makes liberal use of cover, blocking and lots of movement to better position our guys.

Fuzzy picture of me getting attacked by Bikes and the Demon Prince.

The demon Prince pulls my squad right off the objective through assault and kicks the bejeezus out of my doodz. BigSword (aka Darious) was left to face him all alone.

My partner, blocking the bikers from attacking me. Thanks! 

Turn 3 brings the Grey Knights out of the Land Raider to attack -well, whatever's handy. Which happens to be Oblits. THANK YOU, PARTNER. Oblits need to die in a hole- and man, GK SMOKED those guys. (On a plain, but they died and that's all I care about. THANK YOU!)

Somehow our opponents see them as a threat. 

Rain of fire (Monolith shots, Oblits, bikers, warriors double tapping with Gauss thingys) opens up on the Grey Knights, with the Bikers coming in to assault. Meanwhile, our concentrated fire plan against the Monoliths continues to do a whole lot of nothing. (we realize in Turn FOUR we should have been barraging the Warriors)

Turn four:

GreyKnights continue to get attacked. I don't have any idea why....

Yeah, Ok,  maybe I DO know why. They roll a LOT of dice.

After a round of combat- a LOT of guys (theirs and ours) are gone. 

Another round gone by. More bikers gone, but only 2 GK left.

We really should have shot at Warriors and not the Monoliths. We do a little moving to try to hold onto our objectives, or at least refuse assault.

Turn 5- The Raptors finally come in. They pile in right where the GK and Bikers are (homing in on an icon) and start kicking some ass. One of the last of the GK fall, but luckily for us, the Assassin has been waiting for something to do all game and the LC Raptor dies quickly.



 We would really love for the game to end; as we're at a draw. I roll, and fail yet again.

Turn 6, Those Raptors decide they want to get me off my objective- NOW.

I am Raptor dinner. 

One of the GK tries sitting on our opponent's objective, and it sort of works until he's destroyed by shooting from a Monolith (I think).  My last little squad from on top of the building starts doing a conga line over towards the objective, and actually makes it ONTO the terrain holding our dear marker. Unfortunately, my little Raptor Lunchmates will not die and there's fall-in on assault right next to the terrain and one of the Raptors is within 3 of the objective when I roll to end at the end of turn 6.


Quick recap: WOW, this was an AWESOME game. SO MUCH FUN! I'll get into detail in a moment- but I wanted to get it out that this was an absolute blast.

What I learned: I am getting better. (But not on my own. I am getting help.)  With one or two exceptions, I understood WHY we were making the choices we were making and have gained a HUGE grasp of cover and using firelines due to some incredible instruction through my partner being super patient with me.

What I need to improve on: Using the 2" allowed between guys for coherency to my advantage- ie: SPREAD OUT if I'm facing template weapons.

About my opponents: They are funny. They are smart. They are deceptive- with their "I can't roll for crap, I always lose" mantras, they could "seem" like easy pickings to other teams. I knew better- one of them is a fantastic skirmish-based game player and applies a lot of that theory to his 40K playing, and the other is far more analytical than he seems with his goofball personality. They were a serious challenge. I kept asking "are we about to die?" to my opponent- because I thought they had us dead to rights at least twice before the game was over.

The game was fun, challenging, and very tough. I loved it because I understood almost everything that was going on. I had a couple moments of serious confusion; but mostly based on not knowing the opponent's rules. I felt like I actually contributed some instead of just listening to directions- although the instructions sure did not hurt when I DID listen.

About my partner: For a silly list, that was awesome! I'm bringing feet again next time, right?

[WOD] Final Session as Eile

 [this is a long one! bear with it, it's worth it.]

You're so mean, when you talk, about yourself you were wrong.
Change the voices, in your head, make them like you instead.
So complicated, look happy, you'll make it!
Filled with so much hatred, such a tired game.
It's enough! I've done all I can think of.
Chased down all my demons, I've seen you do the same. 
[snip]

The world stares while I swallow the fear
The only thing I should be drinking is an ice cold beer
So cool in lying and I tried tried
But we try too hard, it’s a waste of my time Pink, F'N Perfect

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Terrance- Chamgeling

Waco- Changeling

TK-Geist

Lucky- Geist

Reese- Vampire

Ed- Werewolf

Raaf-Werewolf

Ginger- Werewolf

David-Werewolf

Victor-Werewolf

Terrance, Waco, TK, Lucky, Reese, Ed, Raaf, Ginger, David and Victor are all at the farmhouse with the doorway where Waco took Eile. Ed and Raaf recognize the area- they had a run in with a “leech” and The Rangers nearby quite some time ago. TK also recognizes it, as he had been told by the leech in question that he could stay there.

The area itself reeks (to those that can smell it) of death. While it's not recent, it is prevalent and saturating, almost drowning out all other considerations. While looking around, the group finds other hostilities laying about. There's some tense investigations as Terrance and the Omen pack feel sources of wrath; along with spirits, shards and rats. The Omen pack makes a quick attempt to destroy the slivers of shards, but the slivers retreat to the other side of the Gauntlet. Ed resolves to deal with the Beshilu after their trip across the Hedge, and moves on.

Waco leads the way through the doorway and the rest follow suit. The pack goes through a strange, disquieting transformation as they step through and are stretched like rubber bands, with the thorns tearing at their psyches. Their pack telepathy is removed, and the “presense” of each others' minds is painfully revoked as they step across. Their spiritual elements are also revoked- most notably, Ed's hammer.

[WOD] Austin by Night- Session 15 as Eile

I'm on the hunt I'm after you.
Mouth is alive with juices like wine
And I'm hungry like the wolf

Stalked in the forest too close to hide
I'll be upon you by the moonlight side- Duran Duran, Hungry Like The Wolf 
----------------------------------------

Eile works at the Hedge Row, serving drinks to Simon, Reese, Calin and Waco over the course of the night. She then closes her shift, and heads over to the strip club to work a show.

The show's a rowdy one, with a customer spilling his drink all over her, and another getting very touchy. Eile calls the bouncers to keep the guy in line, and gets ready to go home. Before she changes into clean clothes, she's invited by a bunch of girls over to a local all-night restaurant. When Eile emerges from the changing room, the girls are gone. Eile takes it in stride, and struts her way to the restaurant, feeling flush with the rush of money and the sweet smell of emotions.

As she heads down the street, she hears a voice calling out to her to "watch out". She turns and sees Waco; but nothing else. He's acting jittery and weird, and keeps saying something about "gremlins" and them being "after" her. Eile's really not a bright girl, and she's in a spirited, social mood, so she invites them all along to whatever she's doing- she wants to party. She continues on to the restaurant, with Waco in tow. As she enters the restaurant, she sees the girls who ditched her earlier, trying to avoid her. She shrugs and sits down to eat. 

As she's looking over the menu to order, Waco flips out- literally. He flips the table, hitting the one girl in the group of ditchers that was somewhat nice to her with the table settings. He grabs Eile by the arm and drags her out of the restaurant into the alley behind it. He's going on about the gremlins, and how they're everywhere- and they're interested in her. He keeps saying he sees them, and she doesn't. As this is going on, Waco asks her where she feels safe- a huge trigger for Eile's suspicions. She says she needs to call Terrance. As she turns to grab her phone and dial, Waco stabs her in the shoulder with a tranq gun, and she goes down. She drops the phone as the call is dialing, and the phone stays open. 

When Eile wakes, she's in a grassy meadow leading up to a hunting lodge. She's being carried over Waco's shoulder, and being taken to what appear to be kennels. She screams and cries, and yells and defies, all to no avail- Waco is much stronger and tougher than she is. All her questions reveal her worst fears come true; being betrayed by someone in her close circle. No amount of convincing or pleading works, either- she's been taken back to Arcadia against her will; at Waco's Master's insistence. Waco was given a picture of Eile, with the words "We want the bitch" on the back. His Master(s) threatened Waco's human family- a wife and daughter. The mention of a child is the only thing that offers Eile any sort of tenderness for Waco, as she's been contemplating her ability to procreate quite seriously with a recent pregnancy scare on her mind courtesy of TK. (12 weeks of waiting for her cycle, but with negative results at every test.) She knows she's one of a very few Others who come back with the ability to have children (and she knows she's exceptionally fertile), but she doesn't know how this affects her being brought back; and not to her Own Keeper.

Eile soon finds out why, as she's drug to a bitching station and chained to the ground by a collar with three links, no room to move or struggle. She's transformed yet again- no longer a coyote, but more a beagle; or a hunting dog of some sort. She's mounted by a stud and forcibly impregnated- and the gestation is rapid and brutal. Within 4 hours of impregnation, Eile bears a litter of hobgoblins that claw their way out of her canal, and the process is begun again. Each 4 hours, Eile brings about a gorge of servants to Waco's Masters; she's bearing the soldiers of an army. Time is truly strange on the opposite side of the Hedge, and while 16 hours goes by in Arcadia, Waco returns to Austin in just 36 seconds.

In Austin, Terrance gets the phone call, which he knows is from Eile, but nothing is on the line except the sound of passing cars and random talking. The phone is then run over by a car, and Terrance is left confused. He quickly figures out Eile is not at The Hedge Row or their apartment, so he deduces she was at the strip club. 

[The rest of this information is Terrance's story, but relevant to Eile.]

Terrance winds up in the alley behind the strip club, looking for Eile; and is confronted by a large number of gremlins. They  surround him and tell him : "It was our job. He took her. She's been TAKEN. She's gone." Terrance asks a few questions, which the goblins generally answer; and then they start to pursue him. Terrance runs, and calls Avere. They agree to meet at the Hedge Row, and Terrance avoids a serious encounter with the goblins.

Once at the Hedge Row, Terrance and Avere find Duncan and Terrance relays the story as he knows it to both Duncan and Avere. Duncan catches on the word "taken" which was uttered by the goblins very seriously and they discuss the ramifications of that specific word among the Lost. As they are discussing this, Waco comes in, out of breath and quite beaten up. He tells them he saw Eile being taken, and he knows where she is, and that they jumped him, etc.  With this last piece of news, Duncan is very concerned for Eile's safety and longevity. He impresses upon Waco, Avere and Terrance that he considers all the Lost that frequent the Hedge Row as family, and that everything possible should be done to help family. This is especially important to Avere, whom Duncan as adopted as a sister, and who has been searching for her family since she returned from Arcadia.

Avere and Terrance are vocal about doing anything and everything to get Eile back, and Waco goes along with them as they try to figure out how to rescue her. Avere calls the Omen pack, and calls in a favor. Ed feels more than compelled to help Avere, as it was at HIS direction that Avere was made a protected member of the pack. He agrees to meet her at the Hedge Row, and heads over in short order.

[He is sidetracked by something important, which allows for the situation at the Hedge Row to play out.]

Back at the Hedge Row, Avere, terrance and Waco head downstairs after talking to Duncan. As they head down, Terrance stops Waco and offers to help heal him. Waco accepts, and while Terrance bestows his contract of healing on Waco, he also uses Witches' Intuition, and discovers that Waco knows very precisely where Eile is, and he's hiding it from Avere and Terrance in fear of being discovered.

Terrance confronts Waco in front of a large crowd -many of whom are Avere's allies. Terrance is in a terrible wrath and is insistent that Waco is hiding something harmful. Avere trusts Waco, and doesn't understand Terrance's anger- until finally, Avere asks: Is what Terrance is saying true? Are you hiding something from us?

Waco answers, yes, he's hiding something. Avere continues: How do you know where Eile is? And Waco answers; "because I took her there".

Pandemonium ensues as Avere strikes at Waco with a wrench, and encourages several of her allies to do everything in their power to hurt (if not kill) Waco. She's infuriated that one of the Lost would betray another by continuing to obey their Keeper, and wants nothing but harm upon Waco. As this is going on, Terrance has grabbed Waco and wrapped him into a submission hold when Waco whispers something that stays Terrance's wrath. Terrance then grabs hold of a collar from around Waco's throat (which no one has noticed before) and starts trying to remove it.

The collar proves quite stubborn, and so Avere produces a unicorn's horn from her bag- something that she's used against Hedge crafted things quite successfully in the past. She stabs the collar, which opens up and grabs Terrance, wrapping around his hand. It begins to open a door, and is sucking Waco into the doorway- and Terrance feels the pull. Avere is trying to get him to let go, and Terrance panics and releases the collar. The collar sucks shut, pulling Waco into it like something out of a comic book, and the large group is left with no ideas on where Eile might be, or how to track her.

[40K] BT vs IG x 2

I've played against 2 different IG armies in the past 2 weeks.


The first was against the Star Wars army, which was mostly Sentinels and lots of blob squads. This particular scenario was pitched battle, with objectives rather than VP. The game was a lot of fun with back and forth elements- his army essentially trying to shoot mine to pieces; and mine trying to chop his to bits before he could do so.

A general look at our deployment:

I had Terminators in reserve to deepstrike, and a Rhino with Cru squad not visible here. 



I also tried the VenDread again, this time with TLLC.

Unfortunately, my opponent viewed TLLC as "bad" and shot the daylights out of my poor Dread. Despite lots of concentrated firepower, he stayed alive, but didn't get into CC until the very end of the game, and did a whole lot of nothing.

No, his arm was not blown off. The arm was to another model and didn't fit this fellow. 

Honestly, this game was so much fun, I think we forgot about objectives and trying to win. We did a lot of  "pew-pew" noises, and just had a blast trying to shoot each other off the board. I mean, who wouldn't have fun against a guy that loves his army this much?

At the end of the game, we were at a draw- I held an objective, and another was hotly contested. 

I had a tough time against 6 Sentinels and 3 blob squads- but I think I'm learning.

What I learned: Sometimes a fun game is just what you need.

What I can work on: Concentrating firepower against stuff that can blow me up. (Also known as "target priority".) I still haven't figured this out.

About my opponent: He's a semi-regular dude around the store. He's a total ham, and something of a goof- but he is a BLAST to play against and I had a good time. Thanks, FoggyGolem!

My next game was against an entirely different sort of IG list. This one was meched up beyond belief- he was bringing SIX hydras! (Well, sort of. He proxied some Chimeras in. One of them has a cool conversion getting started.)

He also had some Vendettas.  They were really pretty and well magnetized to make transport and wreckage easier. 

I brought some long range firepower- TLLC, to be exact.

On a Predator AND a Dread. 

Unfortunately, my opponent had a plan for that.

Meltas. Lots of em. 

We used the Rules of Engagement and had Long Table Edges for deployment, with my Primary Objective being "Mixed Signals". (Holding 2 objective markers determined by die roll.) His Primary was to take all my units down to below 50%.

I was pretty excited about this game, because I held my own and didn't get flustered, even when both my Pred and my Dread were blown up on turn 1. I kept my focus on trying to gain objectives, and kill stuff along the way.

Brother Darius on the way to kill some IG scum.

Getting to close combat showed how monstrous BT can be, if the opponent shoots a lot. I got no less than 10 inches of free movement due to Righteous Zeal, and it made a huge difference in the balance of the game. I was really bemoaning this rule at first- but now I understand how beneficial it can be.

This game was very close, with a lot of back and forth. At the end of turn 5, we were at a draw. I hoped to be able to end the game- it honestly would have been a moral victory at that point; doing so well against a tough mech IG list and a VERY good player. When we went on to turn 6, I was decimated and he won in a landslide. I still felt pretty good overall, and wasn't too disappointed.

Then I went home and totaled up my list- and I was way over. I truly feel bad- I surely didn't intend to cheat my opponent. I played at the spur of the moment (in fact running home to get my bag) and didn't have a list ready; and guessed at totals. I hope that he'll give me another chance, with an under limit list, this time.

What I learned: I need to find a way to deal with my opponent seizing initiative. It's happened 3 times in a row now, and it has really mattered.

What I can improve on: Being more prepared- having my bag with me, a list ready, etc.

About my opponent: A really good tactical player who knows his army's capabilities very well. He was playing an experimental list and still killed me. If I'd been "legal" on points, he would have smoked me right off the board.

[40k] Battle Report (BT vs SW)

So it was 2nd week of Escalation League at the store. We were still on 750 points, and after my massive FAQ'd out army changes, I decided to run a list with some missile launchers in it. (I mean, I have them, why not use them?)

My list was roughly:

EC, AAC

Chaplain MOS (Tankhunter)
Att'd Termie Command Squad - all w/Tank Hunter
-Sergeant Powerfist, Power weapon
-Missile Launcher
-Assault cannon
-Power fist, storm bolter

Troop #1
5 Initiates (1 flamer), 2 Neophytes (1 plasma)
Rhino, Pintle storm bolter

Troop #2
5 Initiates (1 Lascannon), 1 Neophyte (plasma)

My opponent had the most beautiful, tricked out, completely converted and gorgeously individualized models of Logan and 10 Wolf Guard Terminators I have ever seen. He used Chaos figures, but they were breathtaking.



Spiky Logan & Crew


We used the same rules for deployment and objectives as last game, and we got "long board edges" - which NEITHER of us could fully figure out how to implement. We called another player over to get it set up, but it was seriously confusing.

His win conditions - primary: control both his objectives and secondary: have more friendly models in his deployment zone than enemy. My win conditions were primary: control ANY 2 objectives, and secondary: most expensive unit kill equal or greater points value of opponent's models.

He chose to let me deploy and go first (he's not dumb) and I stuck my Rhino squad on top of an objective. The EC was SUPPOSED to go there too but I got mixed up and he wound up with the little Cru squad.

The little Cru squad came in pretty close to another objective and scooted over there to babysit.

Correct me if I'm wrong on this next one, please. Because Termies were attached to Chappy, they did not deep strike and came in on a board edge at the top right and walked (ish) towards one of his objectives, using buildings for cover as they went.

By the way, in the massive pile of not appealing to my sensibilities stuff, there were a couple true treasures. Check THIS guy out:

He needs a bigger base, but wow, he's gorgeous.

My oppoenent bunkers Logan and his 5 Wolf Guard in a ruin, directly behind an objective, but not visible to my guys at all.

He uses a brilliant strategy of picking me off from a distance and we spend a couple turns with him shooting at me, trying to move my little Cru squad off the objective. It's a pretty darn good plan! I wish I'd thought of it and planned against it.

He does knock my guys off their objective and they move across the board. I took some friendly advice and moved back some, trying to protect the objective, and got blown up (except EC, who yet again refuses to die. He's all alone at the objective- but as an IC, he's not a scoring unit and can't help me win).

At this point, his second Wolf Guard squad is doing some sneaking of its own, using a building to keep out of sight.

(They eventually move through the building and come out at the "bottom", which is closer to my side of the board..)

My Termies and the Chappy start moving closer to his objective marker. They come out into the open and tada, my opponent has this fun surprise for them:

That's a BFG, folks!

I get shot at, and of course, I move towards that furry fellow to bash him up. I mean, who wouldn't, right? I shoot some more (he saves!).  But wait, there's more:





His friends!

 The rest of the Wolf Guard come out to play and there's a very, VERY, VERY embarrassing moment where I realize I forgot to buy wargear for the Chappy and he does not have a frickin' gun. My opponent was more than friendly about it and spotted me a point so I could shoot away.


The game ends at the end of turn five- my Termie squad isn't close enough to his objective marker to contest it, and EC can't hold mine, so victory is snatched away at the last moment.


Overall, this was a FUN! game. It may sound slow here, but I really had a good time. I learned a lot- especially when Righteous Zeal does and does not come into effect, and enjoyed a really nice time with a great opponent.

What I learned - this week, it was all "What I can improve on" lessons:

PAY ATTENTION TO DETAILS- Not having even a bolt pistol was hilarious, but truly not anything I care to repeat. I also had a turn where I forgot to move. Plus, EC in the "wrong" squad wasn't smart, either. Ugh.

YOUR OPPONENT WILL KNOW YOUR WEAKNESSES.  Prepare for them, at least a little.

BT IS A ---MUCH!-- SHOOTIER ARMY THAN I THOUGHT.  I need to learn how to use that to my advantage instead of being surprised by it.

About my opponent:
I could not have asked for a more fun guy to play against. He was truly a great opponent. He was very forgiving of me looking up the rules a lot, and offered me grace when I needed it- but he didn't do any "gimmes" or give me any kind of 'preferential' treatment.

I do want to win, but fairly.

Next week is 1000 points, and I am considering bikes, because MAN BT is SLLLLLLLLLLLLLOW.

be Well,

Lo

[WOD] Austin By Night- Session 13 (as Eile, sort of)

 A snapshot of what I know happened. No quote as I really wasn't involved much. I was waiting for a couple things to resolve and wound up spending much of the night out of scenes.

--------------------------------
Werewolf stuff to my knowledge:

a) Ed has made a few blanket statements. Avere, Coyote Joe, Memento all have full access to the house. TK and Terrance have some access to the house, with his involvement/permission required. Eile is not allowed in the house, ever. (And his emphasis on *ever* was really strong.)

b) Another Irraka was added to the pack.. I only know sketchiest of details on this.

c) Avere and Coyote Joe were announced (through Cahalith calling) to be allies of the pack. Any harm that comes to them will be met with retribution. (I am pretty sure the harm has to come from Uratha related sources, but not sure. It might be ANY harm.)

d) January is fasting month to honor Brother Dreamcatcher's ban. No hoarding of food/essence, just enough to keep alive. IE you can't draw from the locus, you only get back what you gain from sleep. (I am not sure what else there might be, this is what I know I heard the ST saying.)

e) Mutual non-aggression agreement with Memento (might not be new)

f) Bruce is on the 'watch list' (from what I understand. I heard this early on in the night, it might have changed after other things happened). If he is seen in territory wearing silver- take him down. If he is seen in territory without, bring him to Ed.

g) Challenge made (through Cahalith calling) to Alpha of Blood Talons pack by Alpha of Omen pack. (I am pretty sure the wording was:  The Alpha of Omega pack issues a challenge to the Alpha of Blood Talons pack. If you don't respond, we know what your colors are.)

h) This one I only heard snippets on, but marking of expanded territory and/or into Blood Talons territory (?) began.

Other things:

-w6w-

--Reece (new player, Vampire) and Waco both check (separately) with Eile to see how TK is doing. She is very tight lipped and refuses to let either of them see him. Reece indicates that TK is somehow under investigation and tries to intimidate Eile into letting him talk to TK. Eile is steadfast and refuses to divulge any information or allow a visit.

-- TK and Avere had a long dream sequence that caused TK to regain consciousness and come back to reality. Unfortunately, I didn't get to talk to TK's player before he left for the night to resolve a plot there.

--At beginning of "down time" (time outside of game- which our ST uses EXTENSIVELY), Terrance went to the Hedge on his own. He wound up in trouble and unconscious, on the outskirts of town. He has been out of touch for 2 weeks due to this predicament.
-Terrance woke in a hospital. He was in and out of consciousness, but he remembers being operated on, hearing Bruce's voice describing Avere's Seeming to someone out of eyeshot, being strapped and cuffed to a metal chair, and having stitches in his upper shoulder and along his spine.

--Terrance returns to the Hedge Row, where a very concerned Eile tries to find out what happened to him. He relates his general tale to her and asks her if the two of them should involve the Omen pack (due to history of Raaf seeming interest in helping Terrance). Eile decides this might be a good idea for reasons of her own (specifically trying to get Bruce dead).

--Eile sends Raaf a text message, saying they need to talk ASAP.

--Raaf calls back, and says he won't talk unless someone is in danger. When Eile relates that she believes Terrance is in danger, he gives Eile directions to the Tur, but says to wait until he calls back to do anything.

--Raaf calls back and wants to bring Ed along to talk but not at the Tur. Eile and Terrance agree and meet them on the street in front of the Omen pack house.

--Ed makes it plain Eile is not to come any closer to the house than where they are standing. The group talks and discusses the whole situation with Terrance. Terrance is most upset that another member of the "family" (Avere) has been threatened and someone who does not need information regarding the Lost has a LOT of detail. It is agreed that Omen pack will talk to Bruce and get back to Terrance with a resolution. Terrance agrees but indicates that if he doesn't like the resolution he may have his own.

[As all this is happening, Eile is standing in a protective fashion in front of Terrance, who is twice her size and three times as tough. Ed and Raaf both notice and say something, which Eile ignores.]

--Omen pack talk to Bruce. Bruce's player makes a colossally funny slip of the tongue trying to talk himself out of being beaten to death by Ed's hammer, which may have saved his character's life.

--Terrance and Avere talk again. Terrance tells of his adventures in the Hedge and learns you can show your seeming. He advises Avere that someone has seen her and she says she knows, it was ok- she showed someone (and indicates who with Avere-speak). Terrance lets her know someone OTHER than who she thinks she showed knows. He won't tell her who unless she promises to let him deal with it, which she won't do. They leave the conversation at an impasse.

--Terrance, Eile, Waco and Reece all at bar. Memento, Calin (new Mage) also present. At some point Bruce comes in and proceeds to get trashed. Terrance stalks and sulks. Bruce leaves as do Memento and Calin. Tensions lower.
-Terrance and Eile enter into a somewhat veiled conversation about what to do regarding Bruce, as he has been "let go" by the Omen pack. Reece and Waco are both present for this conversation, which discusses potentially killing Bruce, eating him, or leading him into the Hedge. BOTH Terrance and Eile make their clarity rolls for this outright plan to behave like The Others, and continue it. Eile does try to warn Terrance that maybe Waco shouldn't hear what they are saying, but Terrance misinterprets all of her warnings as encouragements. Reece leaves because he has no idea what is going on. 

I know quite a bunch of other things happened, but I am not sure what any of that was.

[HS6E] Hawaii Action - (Session 9)

It's a matter of time
one of us walks out that door- Carlos Santana (featuring Eagle Eye Cherry), Wishing It Was 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sometime in last session, Jumpshot "assigned" Freestyle the job of checking out local wuji shops in an effort to find anything in the way of information on leylines, or the funky symbol that was at the bottom of one of the notes Lisa found. (Why did he assign this job to Freestyle? Freestyle is the only born & bred local, and the thinking was that he'd have a better shot at finding something than some outsiders.)

So Freestyle & Jumpshot go their various ways to try to find something helpful. Jumpshot uses the ever-popular "yellow pages" search method, while Freestyle looks around the old fashioned way. Using both the phone book and Freestyle's knowledge of the area, they eliminate the "obvious" touristy places and narrow their search down to three shops.

They are as follows (with silly in game nicknames following):

Kamaimai's Chest (Mayonnaise Chest)
Olone' Books (Alone Books)
Legends of the East (Legends of Yeast)


They visit Kamaimai's Chest first. Jakel takes a look around and finds "no hippie shit", so he hopes it is a good option. It smells OLD, with towers of bookshelves with various old books in assorted languages all over the place. A middle aged Hawaiian woman works the counter. She's pleasant enough, but the store doesn't seem to have anything Jakel is looking for, so he heads on to the next location, which is around the corner.

The next store is Olone' Books, whch is everything KC was not. It's clean and well lit, with dedicated sections for various types of books- and an exceptionally helpful staff. Jakel finds 3 or 4 books on the "Dragon Roads" at this location, and finds out he wasn't the only one to buy one specific book. This nugget of information is not immediately helpful, but definitely interesting to Jakel. Meanwhile, the young lady working the counter flirts with Freestyle to no avail.

[If you know the dragon roads, you can use them like other roads and step onto it. It will take you to other locations touched bny the roads.- Example of info from books. All theory, no proactical examples.]

The two part ways at this point and Jakel finds his way to the next shop, Legends of The East. It is settled in the Chinese section of town, and looks like this:

 

The traditional looking Chinese curio shop is tended by a short, elderly Chinese man with a long, white beard.  (Think Pei Mei.) He greets Jakel and the two talk for a while. At some point, Jakel starts inquiring about the "Dragon Roads"/ley lines, and the Chinese man talks a bit about how the ley lines work and so forth. We have a winner, folks.

Further discussion reveals that the old man is quite adept at using perceptions to his advantage. He continues discussing the dragon roads and tells Jakel that he can open doors into the paths. Jakel calls Lisa to tell her the news, and she makes her way over to visit the guy in person. 

We discover that his name is Paiyun Fo, and that he is the former owner and current Master of the Hiping Su school of martial arts. This same school will be hosting a tournament shortly, and Steel Warrior is very interested in attending the tournament, as the Master is very well known and regarded in the marital arts community. 

Lisa arrives and chats with Paiyun Fo, who displays tendencies of some form of mental abilities. Lisa wants to know what the gentleman will want in exchange for opening a door, as she's entered into some dubious deals lately and is not in a hurry to start again in the deal making. 

Paiyun Fo talks about  the concept of guānxì, which at the very simplest translation equates to "a favor for a favor". He explains he wants no payment now- just the assurance that the Ultras will offer him a favor in return at some future date. 

He says that making the token to open the door will take about a week, and that if 'Nani is still on the island, she is in the volcano, where only ley lines can reach. He asks Lisa for some personal item of 'Nani's to gain a sense of her essence to help make the token, and he tells Lisa that she should be more forthcoming with the remaining Ultras about her relationship with 'Nani and what's really going on. He also indicates the weird symbol on the note was a signature- a needlessly complicated signature. Paiyun Fo believes the person that left probably thinks he is smarter than he truly is.

The group thanks him for the hospitality and tea, and leaves for the remainder of the evening. 

Other things that took place:

SteelWarrior walked out a "map" of the ley lines (which we will get as soon as the GM draws it)

Lisa got a copy of the last agreement made by 'Nani with the Japanese firm (but hasn't read it yet)