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Post by Thorn on Jul 18, 2022 17:02:29 GMT -5
Five days until EuroAtlantis, folks! Can Khamet save Cepith? Can we even trust Riptide? Join me then to find out!
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Post by Thorn on Jul 20, 2022 17:39:13 GMT -5
Three days until Euroatlantis, folks! See you then!
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Post by Thorn on Jul 22, 2022 16:50:36 GMT -5
Less than 24 hours until Euroatlantis! See you folks then. Excited to see how you ultimately approach the Current Scenario!!! =-O
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Post by Thorn on Jul 24, 2022 1:38:49 GMT -5
Session 78: Names Learned!Kitty (she/her): elven mage with silver skin, golden eyes, and long vivid red hair. Arranged to meet with Amani at a later date and learn more about fey from them.
Mikin (he/him): a fiend who watches over a lake of fire, and now prepares to row the party over it and into Hell (after some bribery involving good food and drink, the key to anyone's heart.)
Xil'grash (they/them): a fiendish contact of Mikin's. They will meet the party on the far side of the lake, and provide a Promise of Protection to safeguard the party as they travel within Hell.
Cadian (he/him): the guardian of Traitor's Bridge. According to the Curator, he is 'hotter' than Mikin- but Mikin is a skeleton, so that's not saying much.
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Post by Thorn on Jul 26, 2022 20:55:16 GMT -5
Session 78: Highway to HellKey Points:*The party hand the blue aboleth orb to the Curator in exchange for her sending them to Mikin.
*Amani and Tally meet a strange elven wizard named Kitty.
*Khamet admits his feelings for Cepith, and in doing so acquires his ancestral high elf cantrip.
*The party arrive on the shores of Hell with the ferryman, Mikin.
*The party meet an unknown drow woman waiting in the boat. Recap Proper:The party have varying opinions on what to do in the current situation. Ultimately they look to Khamet, as he is the one whose friend’s life is at risk. Even Amani, who is terrified by the prospect of entering Hell and who suggested alternative approaches, goes along with Khamet’s suggestion that they ask Lyrelle to take them to the Curator. Hopefully the scholarly djinn will know more about how to get into Hell, or at least more about this ‘Mikin’ of whom Angubach spoke. Khamet also reveals that he has been hanging out with a fiend called Will, who is very nice and makes cookies, and who has also been captured by the Burning Hunger.
Riptide says that she will leave the group for the time being- but, if Khamet decides he wants to visit Traitor's Bridge instead, he knows where to find her.
Khamet informs Lyrelle that he is seeking a fiend. Lyrelle is unimpressed. He says he doesn’t want more details (he’s not sure his heart could take it), but he does want to know one more thing: does this fiend pose a threat to Cai Shaan? Khamet insists that no, it does not. When Tally supports his claim, Lyrelle seems reassured, and grudgingly agrees to take the party to the Curator.
Lyrelle unlocks the door to the vault. The party make a show of reverence towards the djinn, which she eagerly laps up. It turns out that she does know about Mikin: in fact, she has a telepathic connection she can use to send the party to him. But first, the Curator wants the party to offer her something of equal value for her collection. After some deliberation, the blue aboleth stone is handed over to her. The Curator recommends the party prepare before travelling to Hell- when they are ready, she will send them to Mikin.
Amani strikes out for the Institute, with Tally accompanying them for protection. Amani searches for information on Mikin and on Hell more generally, particularly the effect it has on mortals who travel through it. As so few people have actually visited Hell and returned to tell the tale, there is very little consistency. However, one thing crops up often throughout these tales: Hell is not a safe place for mortals to traverse without a Promise of Protection, a binding oath a fiend can take to protect someone travelling through Hell. As they ponder this, Anthony makes a brief appearance to share the new iphone playlist he is creating for their journey.
Returning to the task at hand, Amani catches sight of an unusual elf with silver skin, bright golden eyes, and long red hair. She is reading a book on different planes. Amani and Tally go to chat with her, but it soon becomes clear that Kitty has a purely academic interest in planar issues- which amounts to theories and hypotheses, not concrete knowledge or practical experience. However, she is excited to discuss the fey realms in more depth with Amani when the sorcerer returns from their travels.
Meanwhile, Khamet goes to the Everqueen’s temple. He expresses his conflict: should he surrender the demiplanar key to save Cepith? Should he try rescuing him and risk losing him anyway? The Everqueen asks Khamet why he would hand over the demiplanar key to save one person, rather than keeping it out of the hands of fiends for the greater good. Khamet hesitates, before replying: “because I love him.”
Through this exploration of the tumultuous emotion of love, Khamet connects with the equally chaotic nature of his elven heritage. He realises that he now understands how to manipulate water as per his elven great-grandfather’s innate cantrip: shape water. Before he leaves, the Everqueen says that she doesn't think the Burning Hunger will kill Cepith as quickly as the Hellfire Paladin claimed, because she will want to manipulate Khamet's feelings for him as far as she can. Khamet is somewhat reassured by this.
After visiting the Institute, Amani stops by their mother’s house to let her know they are going out on adventuring business. Even though they don’t tell her where they are headed, Naila is anxious to see them go. After embracing their mother long and hard, Amani leaves to share a moment’s thought with Night’s Peace. They ask for her assurance that she will let their family know what happened if the party don’t return. The archfey agrees to do so, but she also tells Amani to look in their pocket.
When they reach inside, Amani’s hand closes around a small silver orb. On closer inspection it is black underneath, but silver spangles the surface like billions of stars. Night’s Peace explains that if Amani is in serious danger, they can reach out to her through this orb and she will be able to return them to her domain, Endless Night. She tells them that she loves them, and Amani returns the sentiment.
Selwyn meditates on the journey ahead. The spirits of nature guide him towards useful spells and abilities for the trials of Hell. He can only hope that it will be enough.
The party reconvene near the Trade Offices. While waiting for everyone to gather, some members of the party take a dip in the harbour. When Amani arrives last and sees the party standing around dripping wet, they don’t ask questions. The party enter the Trade Offices, and Usavias takes them to the vault. Now all that remains is to have the Curator transport them to Mikin.
The party find the Curator bent over a weird smelling bag, and a pretty golden bangle. She explains that these are two of Mikin’s favourite things: his favourite adornment, and his favourite food (a decomposing squirrel.) These are to persuade him to assist the party. She suggests that, to add further weight to the offer, the party could provide him with his favourite drink: the tears of one left behind. She produces a small, empty bottle and holds it out towards them.
Khamet takes it first. He thinks of Sabef, and how his death was so sudden that Khamet felt as if he had been abandoned. As he passes the bottle on to Tally, he is clearly still weeping, but insists he is fine.
Tally thinks of the first time she took a job outside of her family. Her family didn’t speak to her for years, leaving her behind while they went on with their lives.
Anthony thinks of the people he left behind in the future world he came from. He loves his new life, but he had to leave his old friends and family, and that still hurts.
Selwyn thinks of the people back home who he hasn’t seen in a long time. The children he remembers will be grown by now. So much would have changed.
Amani tries to resist but, seeing everyone else crying, ends up weeping along with the others.
With the tears thus collected and the bottle corked, the party ready themselves. The Curator wishes them luck, and darkness closes in around them. After a time vision returns and the party find themselves standing on cold, lifeless stone before a lake of searing flame. There is a boat bobbing against the shore, in which stands a skeletal figure holding a long oar. The figure introduces himself as Mikin. He steps forward to converse with the party.
Mikin pockets the squirrel in his voluminous robes, dons the bangles, and samples the tears. He comments on the excellent quality of the beverage, with a distinct note of flavour rising from Anthony’s inverse feelings: the idea that he left everyone from his old life behind. Mikin agrees to ferry the party across to Hell’s entrance, but warns them that the journey won’t be easy: mortals who cross this lake experience distressing visions. He also mentions that a fiend called Xil’grash owes him a favour, and that he will cash this in to have them provide a Promise of Protection as the party enter Hell.
As the party converse with Mikin, Tally notices an unfamiliar drow huddled down in the boat. She introduces herself, but this drow seems tired and wary. The stranger indicates that she is here to save the souls of her companions, but is quiet and offers little beyond this- not even her own name. She is in poor shape, with dark purple stripes adorning her face and her long white hair filthy and matted. Clearly she had a trying time even before arriving here on the shores of Hell. With Mikin reiterating the threat posed by this lake, the little boat casts off and the party strike out towards the distant entrance to Hell itself.
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Post by Thorn on Jul 27, 2022 22:56:05 GMT -5
Three days until EuroAtlantis, folks! See you then for a super chill trip across a lake of flame.
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Post by Thorn on Jul 29, 2022 16:55:23 GMT -5
EuroAtlantis in under a day now folks. See you then!!
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Post by Moni on Jul 30, 2022 17:42:55 GMT -5
the definitive summary of this session: summary of session mikin: you might start seeing things on the way to hell. that's just what it's like. tally: they're not real mikin: they can still hurt you ok. listen you have to defeat them. melody: you cheated on me!!!!! anthony: no the thongs were a gift!!! melody: YEAH RIGHT anthony: if tyzol taught me anything, is that misunderstandings can be cured with AXES (exes get axes) succubae: why khamet... whyyy khamet: uhhhhhhhhhh hey amani you need help??? weird demon chimera: hello amani amani: (high pitched scream) khamet: i'll help!!! weird demon chimera: dies amani and khamet: job well done! (khamet gets whacked with saving throw) water: hello selwyn: gasp. i'm going to get a friend!!! gargoyle: (screech) water: is water selwyn: new plan. gonna make friends with the water (selwyn is now friends with the water!) amani: hits succubae with super ultra mind spike khamet: sigh. well can't ignore her forever. sorry succubae succubae: khamet: (succubae disappears) weird amalgamation of drow ppl: TALLY tally: nope i'm ignoring you (gets hit) tally: if i ignore my problems they'll go away (gets hit) tally: this time it will REALLY work selwyn: stop ignoring your problems!!! khamet: yeah!!! amani: hit them instead!!! tally: fine. i appreciate what you tried to do, but you suck. see you never!!!! (amalgam's feelings are hurt and she disappears) angubach: hello i am an apparition here because my death caused some lingering things selwyn: hmmmmmm all for angubach dying say aye! party: aye! angubach: hmmmmmmm doesn't work pals! (angubach smacks khamet upside the head) khamet: amani.... amani: what??? khamet: AMANI...... amani: ok fine i am still worried after all of you thought i was heartless after faith khamet: i didn't think you were heartless. i wish i were more decisive like you selwyn: wait faith is a succubus? i thought you knew one of those. what makes those two different? khamet: uh, will lied to me? he told me he didn't eat souls but mikin told me incubi taste souls! BAD FRIEND selwyn: take wine tastings. just because you taste something doesn't mean you eat it! khamet: uh no i always drink the wine at wine tastings tally: is licking angubach, which turns into faith amani: GUYS I AM CONFESSING MY FEELINGS selwyn: right. sorry. maybe there's guilt? amani: don't feel guilty. i just think that it was the right thing to do at the time! she's a succubus and was trying to manipulate us! faith: yeah i was selwyn: we're kind of having a conversation here? ?? party: yeah you have a point. we agree. sorry for making you feel unwelcome. mikin: i want something neat anthony: here's a cool rock mikin: wow this is a great pillow thank you new cloaked bugman: hello i am protecting you party: sweet amani: wait does this work? oh yes it does bugperson: time to get to hell hell: has kpop tally: wow i guess i should dance with kpop bugperson: NO THEY SUCK tally: it makes me feel SPECIAL (dun dun dun dun) ~ bugperson: sigh anyways, what does the party want to do today? party: we shall rescue will and av.... and also edgy
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Post by Thorn on Aug 1, 2022 17:04:18 GMT -5
Session 79: Names Learned! *Melody (she/her): a human ex of Anthony's from his old life. *Min (he/him): a member of an apparent weretiger band; the only one mentioned by name in-game. Tally and Anthony performed with the group, who all wear extravagant masks in keeping with their group name- 'Masquerade'. *Quelyta (she/her): a drow woman who is here to rescue the souls of her friends from Hell. She mentioned to the group that she and her companions went to the surface to deal with the local surface drow, but her companions were taken by fiends displaying marks of the Shadowqueen before they got very far. This is also why she now bears purple stripes across her face, although she got away.
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Post by Thorn on Aug 13, 2022 17:20:27 GMT -5
One week until EuroAtlantis! See you folks soon!
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Post by Thorn on Aug 16, 2022 5:22:47 GMT -5
EuroAtlantis Session 79: Hell is Other PeopleKey Notes: *The party fight manifestations of past trauma. *Quelyta introduces herself, and reveals that she came to the surface to deal with surface drow renegades. *The party meet Xil'grash the Auldblood. *The party meet Masquerade, a fiendish band. Recap Proper: With Mikin’s warning ringing in their ears, the party set out across the Lake of Fire. It isn’t long before various apparitions manifest above the lake, representing traumatic past events in the characters’ lives. The party quickly realise that only people who are aware of these traumas can see or injure the manifestations. As a result, their mysterious new drow friend is fighting a battle nobody else perceives. Anthony sees an apparition of his ex-girlfriend, Melody- one of many people he has left behind in his home timeline. An argument begins about whether or not Anthony cheated on Melody, although the party can only hear Anthony’s side of the dispute. Eventually, through sheer brute force and force of will, Anthony vanquishes the apparition.
Amani fights a fiend which shifts between looking like Malka, Faith, and other fiends who have caused them intense pain. They vanquish it with sheer violence.
Meanwhile, Selwyn is apparently attacked by water? Barely managing to keep his head above the surface, he calms himself and casts a Charm spell at the vision. His inner demon thus pacified, it fades and he is free to help the others.
Khamet’s apparition is of his deceased ex-girlfriend, the succubus Panamora. He tries to avoid her by focussing on helping Amani and other members of the party, but she keeps pursuing him, clawing and wailing and begging to know why he let her die.
Eventually, Khamet steels himself and faces the apparition. He takes Panamora by the arms and stares into her eyes. He apologises for what happened to her, and asserts that he appreciated her.
“Why did you let him kill me?” Pan asks, one final time.
“There was nothing I could do,” Khamet admits.
With this understanding, the spectral succubus fades. Khamet repeats the sentiment, and then turns back to Tally, the final party member still grappling with their past. Perhaps there was nothing he could do to save Pan, but there is something he can do to help Tally here and now.
Or perhaps Basil is the one in need of aid. For a brief instant, Tally sees Basil as a drow woman who very much resembles Yzzy. She tries to kick him back into the Lake of Fire, but he rolls out of the way. As the vision clears and she glances back, Tally briefly glimpses the same individual near their new drow companion.
Tally continues meditating. She refuses to fight the priestess before her, but the apparition keeps attacking. Khamet asks Tally to interrogate why this is appearing to her at this moment. After some consideration, Tally looks at the priestess and says that she’s sorry she couldn’t be who they wanted her to be. However, that world she left behind will always be a part of Tally whether she likes it or not. With this sentiment voiced aloud, the priestess too fades.
The party huddle together, having successfully passed the lake’s trial. Or have they? The fire vanishes, and suddenly they are underwater. Angubach is ahead, primal and fierce as the day they last met.
The party are uncertain why Angubach is here. They all agreed on killing it, right? Right. So why is it now injuring the party? As Khamet gets slammed by its tail, he notices that Amani seems conflicted.
He doesn’t have to press much to find out that Amani was worried when Angubach died, because they thought they would be seen as heartless for their part in that decision, as they were with the death of Faith. Khamet confesses that he doesn’t think they’re heartless- he wishes he was more decisive like Amani!
Angubach morphs into Faith as the party continue to discuss the issue. After a time, they come to an understanding, and Faith fades. The party are once more in the boat with Mikin, along with the shaken drow stranger. She finally introduces herself as Quelyta.
Quelyta reluctantly tells her story: she and a group of other Shadowsworn were sent to the surface to deal with surface drow renegades. However, when Quelyta was returning from scouting ahead, she saw her companions stolen away by fiends who bore the unmistakable shadowy mark of her mistress. Quelyta herself escaped, but is now marked with dark purple lines- like those of a tabby cat- the meaning of which eludes her. Now she wants to rescue the souls of her friends and get to the bottom of this mystery. She promises to prove herself to the party by helping them rescue Cepith and Will, and hopes that in exchange they will help her free the souls of her friends.
As Mikin lets the party off the boat, he indicates a hooded figure up ahead, and informs them that this is Xil’grash. However, he wants one more thing before he secures the party a Promise of Protection: he wants the party to gift him an item that evokes a treasured memory.
Anthony offers up the cool rock he found when travelling with his companions not long after the group first met. The boatman considers this a worthy tribute. Before heading back across the lake, he warns the party that he cannot guide them back out of Hell: they will need to appeal to Cadian, the guardian of Traitor’s Bridge.
Xil’grash steps forward and introduces themself as Xil’grash the Auldblood. They have a lot of Tyzol’s enthusiastic, violent energy to their speech. They look like a humanoid bug, compound eyes and clacking mandibles and all. Amani taps into their knowledge of arcana, trying to get a read on whether or not this Promise of Protection is genuine. Reassured that it is, and that the party will be protected from Hell’s environmental effects on mortals, they allow Xil’grash to join the group. Xil’grash leads the party onward into Hell, but as they enter a dark room with spotlights highlighting flamboyant figures, Xil’grash sighs and tells the party to ‘ignore them’.
The five spotlighted individuals look like young east Asian humans. Unusually for humans however, golden eyes with cat-like pupils peer out from beneath glitzy masquerade masks. This group is Masquerade: a team of fiends with tiger characteristics. Their leader, a blue-haired man named Min, invites the party to dance with the group. Tally and Anthony immediately do so. Tally is wowed by the eccentric looks and raw energy of these beings. Meanwhile, the fiends in turn are intrigued to hear Anthony’s music, as they don’t often hear new songs. They slink about Hell, performing their same old routines over and over, but here Anthony is offering them something new and different.
Both Anthony and Tally receive a point of Inspiration, a mechanic not typically used in this campaign, for joining Masquerade in their performance.
At last, leaving the fiendish band behind, the party find themselves faced with the heavy iron gates of Hell proper. Jagged Infernal runes follow the perimeter. The party steel themselves, and venture forth to rescue Cepith and Will from the clutches of the Burning Hunger...
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Post by Gelquie on Aug 16, 2022 16:54:09 GMT -5
How the other party members dealt with their trauma: "I'll use self care and then make friends with the problem so they calm down." "I will finally confront my feelings about my past." "... ... ...Fine. I acknowledge you're in my past and it will always affect me and that's not going to change. I'm still going to move forward."
How Anthony and Amani dealt with their trauma: "KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT!!!! *fIRES LASERS AND ROCKET LAUNCHERS" ("Khameeeet, help me kill it =< *hides behind him* ")
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Post by Thorn on Aug 18, 2022 7:12:13 GMT -5
Just over two days out from EuroAtlantis, folks!
Can the party save Cepith and/or Will? How does the Hellfire Paladin factor into all this? Who is The Deceiver, and what are their plans for the God-Forger? Why did the Shadow Queen hand a bunch of drow souls over to demons?
Join me next session to start addressing these questions!
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Post by Thorn on Aug 19, 2022 17:01:10 GMT -5
In 24 hours we will be finishing up our latest session of EuroAtlantis, folks! See you soon!
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Post by Thorn on Aug 20, 2022 16:53:53 GMT -5
Session 80: Names Learned! Flower (she/her): cheerful, chubby succubus clad in an apron adorned with hearts. Sold Khamet salzarine at the carnival, in exchange for a hug.
Bead (he/him): a quasit trapped in a plushie form, who has become Basil's adventuring companion.
Pirate (she/they): a spined devil trapped in plushie form, who now rides around on Tally's shoulder. Thinks clothes are overrated.
Marina (she/her): vampiric cashier at the Stake Shack, a place that makes milkshakes and is run by vampires.
Bren (he/him): one of the imprisoned succubi. Criss-crossing lines of Infernal script cover his torso. He was a rival's incubus whom the Hunger hoped to press into her service.
Callous (he/him): one of the imprisoned succubi, Callous has lilac wings and decorative silver markings on his horns. He angered the wrong minion of the Burning Hunger and ended up caged.
Tristan (he/him): grey winged succubus, with both upper fangs missing after he lost a duel (which is also why he was imprisoned.) Has very soulful brown eyes.
Blossom (she/her): one of the imprisoned succubi, Blossom has white wings and feathery white hair, as well as a little black heart marking on one cheek. Visibly pregnant, Blossom was imprisoned for screwing up an assignment the Hunger set her.
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