Game Log: Killing the cultists of Kraken cove

Scroll past my personal grumpenings if you wanna just read my happy gamer stuff....

So about a month ago i thought it would be nice to giveaway my fan EMO DND rules for rpgs and offer my ground floor to gamers for free rpg day. Started a roller coaster ride of most gaming in six years. Finally reached to local gamer community and trying new things and inspiration. So in a good spot now. Fevery DnD dreams from last post made me realize my inflammatory condition in part to blame for fever - but  a different inspiration than on n off again pain like my slagging off industry and my favorite games a few blogs back. While part of me still agrees with alot of what i said i was a tad cranky. The loste draft was probably a good thing as it was worse.

Anyway in a better place now and catching up with broader gamer local community feels like ive been asleep since early 1990s. So second week of Median club homeless and now exiles club at my place perfect timing with my original plan. EMO gasic rules about 1/3 layed out and needs a few more drafts and promising but late. Exiles have been offered old space but to rent all week and plans afoot to moving 4 gamers into industrial artist warehouse.

Thats closer to friends, has workshop and art studio space, full of varied ages and established community who are very nice and  think im ok. Wanted for years to get in sydney artist warehouse space partly why i moved here. Area has better shops, busses to work, closer to my street art haunts and many many benefits. I have cash just, time and offers of help. So very tempting. Full of experts in tech, scientists, caries and other awesomeness.

Current place only just getting livable and comfy after 2 years. Nothing here to schedule or plan and was tense in early days. One resident a bit drunk kept trying to butt in and make people sing and talk about music while drinking and we made it clear we were here for one purpose: to game. Kinda gave weird anti why would you waste your lives youll never amount to anything. What a farkin drunk turd. A girl who lives in house who is a very mellow woman has a Scandinavian metal fan boyfriend who actually abused me and everybody. As if a visitor had some territorial rights over another residents guests. Tried to pretend to her later he was joking. Made some anti war bullshit comment too. Was drinking. Landlord popped by and ok, liked showing of his old miniatures but later in evening became a tad inappropriate also. He enjoyed himself which was good but interrupting while we all played zombie battle boardgame (til 3am).

So I have interesting choices and will console with some of my trusted peers and check the warehouse out. It is full of young artists all doing stuff. Has some risks but operating for 3 years and 75 members.Was offered house full of of suicide girl lookalike punk sex workers but gamer/artist space seems safer bet (if i could afford i could get 2 new places....haha).

As for weird anti war comments about gaming. People get angry at incredibly nice non violent non angry people having fun? Does monopoly make you Monsanto corporation? Does chess make you a genocidal killer? Do media like games and TV which feature conflict make viewers bad? Does as Aristotle said Comedy characters are bad flawed people and noble youths should not play their parts or be corrupted. Comedians should be slaves. Even sport is ritualized war. Fish play war and make art and play games too - its a not so amazing feature of biologically driven culture.

As for getting angry at other peoples harmless fun I found far worse behavior than a bunch of people of mixed sex/race/gender playing games. May help my decision. I dont piss on DJs at parties in house. I was a non stop drunk party machine 7 days a week for 4 years for free and I never was such a jerk - well at least not to people i lived with or am just a guest of.

Dealt with my Mothers death, my months of illness and new career this year. Mostly living off graffiti and teaching street art last 6 years - having a break from artworld and want non art social life again. Ex boss explained to all my friends when she visited a flatmate of mine last game she is not Classist but.... Really awful and can no longer endure her. Five ppl at table thought she was psycho. New boss pays less but texts me thank yous and offered me 5 days which a cant do due to 2 other jobs on monday - but being appreciated, unstressed and considerate of my health is better than old pay. I was being punished for being a traitor to middle class or something and unfit for marriage wtf???.

So a turning point crossroad thingy afoot. Thanks everyone who has been apart of that - in local scene, online, my blog viewers and even to evil gamecorp fatcats on their piles of gold and edition manuscripts for next milenium.

GAME LOG

Was supposed to play Cthulhu but ended up with DnD players in same place at same time so we had a mini session.

Assessed the local scene on island and new villages being built by Barron and Empire. The Barron is a LE crook who has ruled for 800 years (apparently) under his mask. He tough but fair, protecting the farmer class as above merchants and crafters and soldiers. They are more Yeomen than serfs and are pretty free. The Barron is a crook but he is local and keeps money here. The Empire is LN with a current mad emperor in a succession war and purge. The Emperor as expanding to Island for many reasons and concern for locals not high. They want a safe bastion away from the continent. Many citizens have come here as refugees or exiles sent here as colonists. They also want to control territory, food production and to have dungeons methodically open cut mined by military engineers.

Party studied the map and looked at Kraken cove - a weak point in the Empires influence. They Rounded up  a squad of imperial spearmen, and set off.

Party:
Forest the drunk monk and his chain armoured battle goat. Kobold pal in sack.

Emy Bonte the lady Wizard from the famous tower of birds in Imperial capitol. Replacing her cousin Amybyr the Priestess who retired to be new holy person of liberated village from last week. Emy has swarms of finches she keeps in her robes and hair that she can speak to. She also is a shortbow expert and has a raven familiar. 

Lynden the bard with his trusty dwarf and now thief sidekicks

Sergeant F1, Corporal and 8 squaddies F0

Blidlp the bor Lynden "saved" from the village and a spy

Issued with holy wine (cult version of holy water) and monk drank his.

Marked into village banners held high. By light could see semi depopulated and run down sea cliff side village. Many signs of Kraken everywhere. Arrived at tavern with party members who had visited before in disguise. Started to threaten tavern keeper with arrest. He denied everything and offered all drugged beer. Monk drank it all showing how to drink from six huge steins at once. Sergeant threatened to beat him. Emy used debate to convince him to squeal and in fear of horrible torture and execution reduced to possible faster death. I at this point i messed up and forgot party disguises and blew boys secret when barkeep claimed he was forced into cult and not privy to secrets like boy. Party never thought orphan boy swallowing whole fish skeletons was odd before. Party had men lock all visible villagers in tavern. A black cloudy squall was miles away moving in fast.

They climbed down cliff trail to cliff base shacks. Found a butchered missing Imperial squaddie from lost patrol. Next fought two fishermen. Monk is really shinning and now has 1d6+2/1d6+2/1d2/1d2 attacks which is kinda sick. Improve bare hand d2 to d4 next level. Working well in figts but not well armored. They were dining on a raw lost squaddie lower leg. Next shack had a fish man who party pounded. Went into cult cave on trail and found the cult antechamber. A table with a lamp, a cage and many new barrels.  After flumph in a barrel here last time nobody touching new barrels.

Went down chant filled tunnel and came into huge chamber with 12 robed figures chanting (like in 70s-80s Dr Who episodes). A bubbling pit of sea water was the object of the worship. Figures with sacred chum buckets hurling lumps of gore and eyeballs into pit. Village men guarding bottom of 40 ft high ramp charged party who were uphill..

Emy sent several waves of finch swarms from her sleeves to peck and tear flesh from the fish god acolytes. I had a battle doom clock to some event which party slowed a few rounds, Lynden used entangle and arrows on another grouping. Monk staggered off cliff, rolled and attacked a cultie. Thief climbed down. Two fisherman javelins impaled two squaddies who fell to deaths. Remaining squaddies clashed with melee. After both grunts thinned the battle goat looking for his master butted last fisherman off ramp after dwarf killed one. Emy fired arrows and cultists kept it up. Thief backstabbed a cultist arrows thinned out some and fowl fish cultists were all dead. Then the tentacles came from the pit seeking a sacred meal. Heroes battered tentacles they could reach and it was stunned by some chromatic orbs. A 25 foot high fishman with no arms and 4 tentacles, a son of the u cults god. Fish monster battered till his tentacles mangled and his best shot was crushing the goat and dragging it in pit. Dwarf grabbed goat and theif grabbed dwarf and all managed to hang on. Godlin retreated and the goat was saved.

Followed tunnel to richly appointed room of cult leader with gold leaf baroque furniture and clothes gathered from the local wrecks of Kraken cove (they attract ships to reef with lights - old lighthouse signal stopped (?).  Found a magic icicle dagger +1 that stays cold and needs a glove to use from paraplane of frost. Some keys and a ring with a frog on it. Monk tried and turned into frog. Everybody a bit surprised. Found cult leader escape tunnel and a ancient prehuman obsidian shrine with fish face and keyhole. Full of potions. A magic key and an idol too. Mat the frog inspected the pt and found hundreds of human bones and thousands of coins. Party caught him in a stray net and thief tied to rope dunked in. Recovered loot and meanwhile after an hour Monk turned human. Ring of the frog gods apparently.

Smashed the alter and blessed remains. Put village in work gang and smashed the trail leading to tunnel entrances and caved in escape passage after grabbing everything of value. Leave sealed for only fish men. Someone suggested party build a spa here but kinda place would attract wrong crowd - fishmen!

Reinforcements arrived and together survivors marched to Empire expeditionary force camp of 400 men and handed scum over to commander. He sent to new village site as indentured labourers and forbidden from ever seeing sea again. When home Emy identified all party loot. Potions of healing and water breathing. Ring of spider calling. Tested in white tower lab and key summons next to caller an evil spider with a human face that attacks. Might have a use. Idol was a commune with fish god once a week which they smashed. Also serpent crown with power of talking to all scaled beings from the evil naga. Emy given web scroll party had. Party plan a trek to city to trade all the crap and furniture and sacks of 30 000+ copper coins. Monk invested in dwarf build brewery. Most known farmland on Island has been visited by party now.

Next session Tuesday: Gifts of the Emperor.

Sandbox Cthulhu possibly on off with guest keepers but i am gong to force myself to try some games in this gm rich club. Played boardgame of zombie killing for 6 hours was fun. Kinda between war game and rpg with cards and very nice components. Guys had various expansions and had made new boards and cards of own that took a glance to spot. Character cards include club members. Im jealous.

Got people interested in me running Marvel as it in many ways is similar but more open and sandboxy rpg. I will see if i can laminate my maps and and cut out some 3d card heroes as Marvel was my only game for minis. Guys played several story heavy games. Others played 40K ork band game with all authentic space orc dialog. Someone suggested gay space marine game which started debate with some suggesting they always were (space Janisaries)- Ian watson first GW 40k books kinda joked with this. Funny stuff. I have missed gamer humour and hypothetical

Nice feedback about my EMO rough too. Fancy my campaign called exiles is club name and now possible a home very weird fiction becomes truth.

Interesting weekend. Busy week ahead and will try to sleep better this week.