The Bonehoard

Tonight's game was with a smaller crew than we're used to, yet it was quite eventful! It turned out to be a super long play report, so maybe grab a cup of tea before you dive in. :) Characters: Belina the (mutant) printer [Jackson] Barbarus the aspiring chicken farmer [Also Jackson] Roxanne the wrecker [JT] Cecilly the acrobat [Alex] The session started with some upkeep / long-term plans. Cecilly is rounding up acrobats, jugglers, and other performers in a scheme to establish a sort of street performers' union backed by the protection of the Stone Cats. She found a few acquaintances willing to join if the Stone Cats established their reputation a little more solidly (Roxanne: "So we're a clown gang now?"). Work was also done to take control of the Belltower, former hangout of the Blind Vipers and crossroads of two inter-building bridges, where Cecilly hopes to establish a sort of soft toll checkpoint. The resident old bell-keeper resignedly sighed and ...

And with this, the blog is finally caught up! Previous play report: [ link ] Last week's session summary: Roxanne [JT], wrecker Tom [Mackenzie], fungus farmer Ludovica [Lauren], apprentice alchemist Leonora [Bart], spy Cecilly [Alex], acrobat Zamara [Heather], initiate of Zig Belina [Jackson], mutant printer The party returned to the borough Krüger on the inhabited side of the river, seeking to recuperate from wounds the Vorn Owls inflicted as well as establish themselves as a proper gang. Lo Ren Zao was left in the Rat King's care as he underwent a transformation... In Krüger Cecilly gained patronage for her performances from one Count Marshhold, a smiling but somewhat creepy noble who has recently moved back into Strigastadt, apparently at the behest of his relative Greta the Pious (leader of the Glass Street merchant consortium). Zamara worked hard at gaining new converts to the following of Zig, and Tom focused on setting up his mushroom children... He...

Previous play report: [ link ] first: [ link ] Session summary: Belina (Jackson), printer Celeste (Heather), fisherwoman Jafar (Mason), apprentice sorcerer Leonora (Bart), spire polisher Lo Ren Zao (JT), initiate of Otun Tom? (Mackenzie), fungus farmer Zabina (Lauren), Sewer Militia recruit After discussing plans for returning to the inhabited side of the city, the party spent the night on the upper floor of King Murod's building. After the party heard distant animal screams in the night, a messenger from King Murod appeared, requesting their presence. He informed them that the immediate area was controlled by Vorn Owls [taken in a half-ass manner from Fire on the Velvet Horizon , which I highly recommend] , terrible predators that kill all that moves after sundown, and warned them to avoid the streets at this hour. The party offered to remove the threat for King Murod, who was skeptical they could do so and survive. The party bargained him up to offering four...

Speaking of characters getting disfigured, I figured I'd share my Death & Dismemberment chart. I found most charts insufficiently generalized for my purposes, so created my own. So far it's worked well, dishing out non-lethal wounds at times but never feeling safe to roll on. Mechanics explanation - similar to WFRP, once characters are reduced below zero grit they roll on the below chart, adding one for each negative number they've reached. I.E. at -2, if they rolled a six, they'd get to 8 on the below chart. I've got a custom hit location die I use for the fights, so we know what's being hit for armor and wound purposes, which has arms, legs, torso, and head on it in varying proportions. DEATH & DISMEMBERMENT 2 - Adrenaline rush    - Advantage on next roll of choice   3 - Jagged wound     - Scar (-(1d4-2) Cha if on face)   4 - Sub-part damaged (finger, eye, etc)       - save or permanent inhibition  ...

The next session was a bit unproductive as far as play goes - due to people's schedules coinciding and other factors we had a full eleven players show up, so things kinda ground to a merry halt. They still managed to explore a little more of the fungus building (this time without any incidents of infection) before deciding it was too dangerous and expending a considerable amount of oil in order to burn it to the ground as the Rat King requested. More strange fungal creatures were encountered, and Tom the fungus farmer smuggled out a colony of tiny fungoid creatures who appeared inquisitive and non-hostile. Tom's mushroom children have been the subject of some debate, some characters advocating throwing them back on the blaze when first discovered, and much trepidation shared amongst the rest of the party. Mushroom children Awesome illustration by Emma Lazauski , a print hangs on the wall next to our play table.  The remainder of the session was spent investigating the se...

Part of my ongoing series of posting older play reports in order to catch up. Only a few more now! A largely different group of players returned to the Grey District the next session, following up on the previous session's lead, flasks of oil and a sack of cats in tow. As they entered the building, cinnamon-scented miasma began filling the street, burning exposed skin. They quickly filed in and beelined it to the chamber from where the drums had sounded last session, bursting in to find swarms of rats and several circles of white mice already formed. The poor cats were released and simply cowered before the massive quantities of huge rats, their exit barred by the party. As they considered their next step, a voice from deeper within commanded them to halt their futile struggle. Surprisingly the party complied, and as mishapped humanoid figures lit the candle sconces in the room, a voice from the silhouette of a throne began to speak. Thusly they met Rat King Murod, lord over secr...