In contrast to previous sessions where some external event happens and players decide how to enter into the situation, this one started with the action already in progress – action which, it would very quickly become clear, was going to go badly for the D-Listers. I spread the grid mat out on the table, drew some street lines on it, tossed on a few abandoned vehicles, and told the players to pick a spot to place their tokens. Once they were in place, I dropped onto the map all the zombie-esque tokens from back in our first encounter; all the Nunja tokens I’d made; all the Atlantean soldiers; and a cluster of newly introduced foes – small animated rock creatures called Golemites, crafted through Father Coughlin‘s magic as obedient muscle he can use to keep his more free-willed allies in line.
Coughlin is seeking alliances with large, powerful criminal organizations, and has decided to make a name for himself through the defeat of the new up-and-coming local heroes and the ECP. Middletown is conveniently far enough from other major supergroups’ territories that he feels he’ll be able to take out its nearest defenders before heroes can arrive in larger numbers.
Starts mid-battle in the middle of an empty road near the edge of town. Players are already at 2/3 health & power, half charges of offensive & defensive powers used. Groups of Nunja, Atlanteans, Zombies, and Golemites are near group; ECP member Mercury Man charges past, shouting “They’re all over town! It’s an invasion!” & engages Nunja while Captain Generica attacks Atlanteans. Golemites move to fight the PC team.
Patches of dark & flashes of light indicate Mor & Lumina are also fighting on the next block where Starks & a lot of police are also present. More combat sounds can be heard elsewhere. Generica shouts “the rest of the protectors are engaged on the east side of town – Caustic and her crew are there and they’ve been powered up somehow! We need to reach them and present a united front!”
Busybody is also with the team because of the desperation of the situation.
<At the point where half the Golemites have been defeated:>
Morumbar and Lumina approach and engage the group of zombies, but moments later, Father Coughlin also arrives, flying in over the battle wearing the glowing headdress. Tendrils of energy lash out from his opened hands and entwine all four of the ECP members, lifting them into the air and rendering them unable to act.
“My attack has drawn out my enemies, just as I’d hoped! The Protectors’ fall will cement my alliances and draw more support to my side!” <Looks at PCs> “Ah, the D-Listers! You’ve been a surprisingly successful annoyance, but no more!”
Gusts of wind knock down whole team (PCs and BB) and swirl them together stunned in the middle of the road. Coughlin casts a rolling wave of fire at them that engulfs them all. All see a bright white light as it passes over them, then total darkness…. but they’re all entirely healed!
<Roll initiative, ignoring multi rolls for super speed>
Lights come on above & they see back-lit silhouettes of heads – some human-like and some not.
Deep male voice echoes through the room, “We are the gaming guild. The 3dTrillion dice roll said the world called Earth would host our next session.”
Female voice: “We offer a challenge… and hope where there was none. Take up arms and complete your quest…”
Voice like someone inhaled a lot of helium: “… and the reward for victory may be your salvation!”
<Lots of voices> “Choose your archetype!”
A series of glowing icons appear in the air in front of the team.
I had printed all the class icons from the description document I made (attached in the chapter intro) and cut them out. They were placed on the table and players were instructed to pick one for each character in the order of initiative. Any questions about the icons would only receive the response, “Choose your archetype!” As each icon is chosen, I removed it from the board. On Vinny’s turn he rolled randomly among whichever icons were left among those showing melee weapons; BusyBody would gravitate toward the Paladin or Cleric because she like the religious symbolism, or roll randomly among whatever was left if those two were taken.
When all have selected, voices say: “Good luck, brave adventurers!”
Bright light flashes, blinding all for a moment.
After this, we took a break so I could hand out the class descriptions and go revise all the character sheets to delineate each character’s temporary new power set. By the time this was finished it was too late to get into the rest of the session, and this was a good pausing point so we stopped there and resumed the following night.
Light fades and team find themselves in what appears to be a medieval bazaar of some sort inside a stone-walled stockade with a single gate. Vendors in the bazaar closest to where the characters arrive include:
- A dwarven armorer named Notso Stoutbottom
- Notso’s brother Bitmoor Stoutbottom, a weapon smith & trader
- A food vendor, a greasy-haired man named simply Dobbler
- An elf so ancient he as a long gray beard – Tunaan Starkissed, a sage selling potions and scrolls.
- There’s an inn called The Ramshackle, run by Bedd Boggs and his wife Breffiss, where the team can spend the night between adventures for a small fee
Asked for any non-merchandise information, vendors except the sage will say, “Tunaan knows much of the lore of these parts.” Talking to unnamed vendors in the area will result in them saying simply “Welcome to Embarker’s Keep! What news from the lands beyond the eastern marches?” (I.e. they act like MMORPG NPCs.)
On talking to Tunaan:
“Ah! Adventurers! I’m guessing the only thing that could bring you to this out-of-the-way land is the search for the legendary Orb of Nullification! Well, you’re in luck, because I know where it is! I mean, uh, sort of. I know where it is, but I don’t know how to get to where it is. See, there’s this impenetrable mountain range and this castle and… oh! But I might know how to find out how to get there! I collect books of lore about this region, and I heard of a tome recently re-discovered at the Universitas Arcanum all the way back in New Argentium. And, well, I know a gnome who owes me a favor, who knows a mage who owes him a favor, and on down the line, you get the idea…”
Vinny turns aside and whispers: “Wow, this guy sounds like some kinda real shyster.. I wouldn’t trust a guy like him!”
“… so, long story short, it was on its way here with a merchant caravan last month. Unfortunately that caravan was raided by an orc tribe from up in the hills to the north, and the book never made it. Now, orcs as a rule don’t read much, but they do tend to keep loot items they find curious around as trophies, so the book could still exist. If you can retrieve it for me – and I’m old enough to remember the language it was written in, so I can read it – I believe it will provide clues as to how to reach the Stormfort! Beware, though – they say that in recent days the orcs have been joined by a cruel ogre who has taken the place of their old chieftain!”
The Orc Camp
The map for this area was created using the somewhat cumbersome method described here, and was a nice change from our usual scribbled-onto-a-grid-by-me layouts.
The ogre, living in the basement under the tower ruins, is in fact the D-Listers’ occasional adversary, Travesty – minus his technological trappings but now much more physically imposing and carrying a club that’s almost a tree in itself.
It’s daytime, so the orcs are mostly in their huts resting or sleeping. This countryside is sparsely populated so they haven’t posted active guards against possible enemies. Orc locations:
| Hut # | Orcs |
| 1 | Strongman 1,Spearman 1 |
| 2 | Shaman 1 |
| 3 | Shaman 2, Strongman 2 |
| 4 | Archer 1, Spearman 2 |
| 5 | Archer 2 |
| 6 | Archer 3 |
| 7 | Archer 4, Spearman 3 (both outside by fire) |
| 8 | Strongman 3 (smith) |
In addition to the small amounts of loot carried on each orc, the following can be found in the camp:
| Hut # | Loot (total if multiple items, in GP) |
| 1 | Cask of ale (1) Jade dice set (10) |
| 2 | Storybook that appears from the illustrations to be gnomish porn (3) |
| 3 | Nothing of value |
| 4 | Assorted small gemstones (5) |
| 5 | Nothing of value |
| 6 | Cask of Silver coins under bed (8) |
| 7 | Nothing of value |
| 8 | Smith’s hut – small # of copper & iron ingots (3) Smith’s hand tools, worn but usable (10) |
In the ogre’s room:
On shelf:
- 3 cheese wheels (1)
- 2 potions of healing – 3 hits/3 rnds
- 4 bottles tolerable wine (8)
- bag of exotic spices (10)
- Mysterious book
In chest:
- Hematite gem (10)
- Agate gem (6)
- Lapis Lazuli gem (12)
- Coins (60)
- Jeweled silver ring (6)
(Ring is actually an “Adroit ring” = +3 IN while worn. Worth 30GP if identified, but sage won’t volunteer info about it if players don’t ask.)
The Aftermath
On returning to the bazaar, the sage will skim through the book looking for information. “Hmm. Interesting. Oh, is that so? Hmm. Oh! Here it is! It seems the way into the Stormfort, where the Orb lies, is through the dwarven stronghold of Birn Tharim. That, in turn, is sealed to the outside by a gate in the northern mountains that requires three special keys to open. When three kingdoms united to defeat the dwarves in one of the wars that led to the Scouring, none of their kings trusted the others to have access to the riches inside those mines, so they divided the keys among themselves.
(If asked about the Scouring: “How can you not know of the Scouring? A terrible time nigh on a thousand years ago when a third of the known world was devastated by wild magic. The less spoken of it, the better.”)
Stress to players that it is in their interests to pay close attention to the following descriptions, as they may contain important information:
“The first key lies under the watchful eye of Aobos.
The second unto the Spire of Learning was entrusted.
The third, alas, was seized by the dark ones in their fortress by the sea.”
“Aobos is the name in these parts for the slow green moon that spends thirty years in the sky and twenty in hiding. To the east are the remains of a monastery of a religious order who worshiped it. The ruins themselves were picked over centuries ago and little is left save crumbled walls, but there remain catacombs beneath them from which no adventurer has ever emerged. If the key is still to be found, that’s where it’s likely to be.”
“The Spire of Learning is probably a reference to the old sorcerers’ college west of here. My grandfather told me he used to spend a lot of time there until they found out he hadn’t paid their tuition. Most of the school was wooden buildings that are long gone, but the tower is intact and guarded. Unless I miss my guess, that’s where you’ll find the second key.”
“For the third key, I assume that line is talking about the Dark Elves. They used to be a power to be reckoned with around here, but are too few left to be much of a threat anymore. There are still some living in their old stronghold down by the south bay – the Murkhold, people call it, because it’s all marshes all around.”
<At this point characters need to pick which to start with next time so it can be prepared>
How it played out
Overall the idea went over well with the players – they lamented the loss of some of their normal powers but quickly acclimated to their new ones. The class selection ended up as follows: