Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for September 25, 2018, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Baknarla (Adlet Shaman Ranger played by Shane Bradley), Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Averdick), Erris (Arctic Elf Bloodrager played by Casey Scruggs), Iguruzu Koshin (Human Monk played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), and Tulvur Xandersen (Troglodyte Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team decided to fly to Queen Bremagyr’s fortress, and soon after taking flight they were attacked by a devourer riding on a nightwing nightshade!  The nightwing’s bite dispelled Koshi’s fly spell, and he fell to the ground.  The team swarmed in and cut the devourer down quickly, but the nightwing proved problematic with its spell resistance and high damage reduction.  Magnus cast holy sword, which proved particularly effective.  Erris hastened the team, and Deska unleashed a barrage of flame strikes  Tulvur and Greta rode on Shatha’s back and proved quite the team in landing serious melee blows.  The group suffered several hard hits but dropped the creatures just in time for another pair to arrive!  This pair stayed further back and used greater dispel magic to try and debuff the party.  Baknarla charged in and forced them to engage.  Deska unleashed more flame strikes, and Erris’ reach proved quite effective.  The nightwing killed Shatha and caused his corpse and all three riders to plunge to the ground.  Fortunately, Greta’s breath of life brought him back.  Deska bravely tried to use a heal as a touch attack but was killed in the attempt.  Magnus was able to recover her with breath of life as well while the team finished off the foes.

Game summary for September 18, 2018, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Baknarla (Adlet Shaman Ranger played by Shane Bradley), Erris (Arctic Elf Bloodrager played by Casey Scruggs), Iguruzu Koshin (Human Monk played by Peyton Harmon), and Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The weakened prison allowed the power of Baba Yaga to flow into the party, increasing their natural armor!  Vigliv re-emerged from the tree and told the team they needed to defeat Queen Bremagyr, a former servant of Baba Yaga who forgot her place.  Locked in her iron fortress of Vashliq, Bremagyr is being punished for her failures.  A portion of Baba Yaga’s power is still within the queen and can be used to further weaken the prison.

The empathic urging of Baba Yaga led them to the Canyon of the Drakes.  The group climbed up some cliffs and were attacked by half a dozen rift drakes!  The deadly dragons proved formidable with their razor jaws and exploding acidic spittle.  The team used magic to become aerially mobile and resistant to acid.  Erris flew out and fought in spectacular combat out over the canyon floor while Baknarla charged up the cliff to fight tooth-to-tooth with another drake.  Magnus hit several drakes with a maximized flame strike, and Koshi unleashed a lethal barrage of sling stones, sending one drake plummeting to its death.  Soon the team defeated the creatures and scaled to the top platform where they found a cave.

The group entered the cave and suddenly found themselves in a tent in another portion of the Dancing Hut!  Within the hut were six women serving a large demonic-looking div who introduced himself as Mametqul, servant of Baba Yaga.  The group talked for a while over coffee and learned he is an observer, witnessing Queen Bremagyr’s torture.  He revealed the frigid land beyond his tent, the fallen kingdom being slowly sucked into a whirling maelstrom of chaos!  He pointed out the iron fortress of Vashliq and told them to return with the queen’s crown, and he can send them back to Grandmother’s Cauldron.

As the team left, he muttered something about bats that Erris overheard.  He stuck his head back in the tent, and Mametqul warned them of enormous bats they may encountered along the way.

Game summary for September 11, 2018, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Erris (Arctic Elf Bloodrager played by Casey Scruggs), Iguruzu Koshin (Human Monk played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), and Svala Alehorn (Orc Unchained Barbarian played by Todd Hughes). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team spent a few moments healing themselves and then ascended the tower to find the three coffins containing the recuperating Brothers Three.  The group tore the boards off the windows and burned them all up in the sun!  With the domination broken, they could see out the windows the soldiers to begin coming to themselves and getting confused.

The party then ascended the stairs behind the World Engine and found numerous open nesting dolls with tiny screaming souls within attached via wires to a large nesting doll painted like a matronly woman.  The group surmised it is some kind of battery and disconnected it.  This caused a prismatic blast throughout the room, searing several of the team with energy.  Koshi, holding the doll, suddenly had empathic feels of anger, hope, excitement, and desire to return to the Dancing Hut.  An explosion rocked the church, and the team headed downstairs to find the World Engine exploded.  They searched the rubble and found several magical items including ring gates and a well of many worlds!  For a while, they debated how to move among the soldiers with Rasputin’s slain body.  Finally, Greta threw him on the ground and shaved his beard and hair.  They had already taken his robes, so he no longer appeared at all the same.

The group used their hats of disguise to go to retrieve Viktor and Anastasia.  They found her locked in closet and Viktor dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.  The group disguised her as well and walked right out the front gates with other soldiers wandering off.  They discovered several of the mystical guardians of the camp inert or dead.

When the team arrived at the Dancing Hut, it went wild with apparent excitement before finally letting them in.  Inside, the Coffin Man and Shatha were playing cards.  The daemon greeted Anastasia as “honored granddaughter.”  Koshi had a strong feeling to go “up”, and the group ascended through a trap door and found themselves in some kind of large ravine filled with mist and a dusting of snow.  A warm pool of water surrounded by ferns and trees lie nearby filled with the crashing fall of water from up above, causing numerous rainbows in the misty air.  An enormous tree rose up by the falls, and the team approached.

From within the tree, a norn appeared!  She introduced herself as Vigliv and claimed to be Baba Yaga’s mentor and ally.  She told the team to rescue Baba Yaga and save their world, they must destroy the nesting doll prison in which she is currently imprisoned.  She told them they would need to gather Baba Yaga’s fate, power, death, life, and blood.  No sooner did she tell them this than an enormous catoblepas attacked from the water!

Koshi stepped up and began wrestling with the beast as the team closed in and hit it with axe and sword.  The monster breathed toxic breath across the entire team, but thanks to their ongoing heroes’ feast, none were affected!  Koshi pinned the monster to the ground and began squeezing the life out of it as the barrage of blades continued to fall.  Quickly, Erris landed a killing blow.

Vigliv re-appeared and instructed Magnus to take a golden thread of fate and wrap it around the doll, dip both in the toxic blood of the beast, and wash them in the water of the pool.  Doing so infused Baba Yaga’s fate from the thread into her prison and caused one layer of the nesting doll to fall off!  Immediately, the team could all feel the empathic feelings of Baba Yaga, not just the person touching the doll.  Her prison had weakened!

Game summary for September 4, 2018, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Baknarla (Adlet Shaman Ranger played by Shane Bradley), Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Averdick), Erris (Arctic Elf Bloodrager played by Casey Scruggs), Iguruzu Koshin (Human Monk played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), and Svala Alehorn (Orc Unchained Barbarian played by Todd Hughes). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team desperately began healing themselves with potions while nervously glancing at Rasputin’s corpse.  Erris began trying to hack it apart, and Deska used greater dispel magic on his antilife shell.  Koshi was able to move up and snatch away his magical amulet.  A few moments later, Rasputin sprung back to life!  He used a miracle to roll his magic spells and slots back a few rounds and began blasting the party with flame strikes.  Svala was able to hit with a sharding axe quite readily, and Erris landed a critical hit.  From a ways back, Deska tore into Rasputin with her lightning storm over and over.  Baknarla attempted an ice storm and a potion of green dragon’s breath, but both failed against the Black Monk’s spell resistance.  Likewise, Koshi’s fireball was ineffective.  Eventually, the team landed enough blows to kill him again!

The group scrambled to heal themselves, and in almost no time Rasputin sprang to life yet again!  However, the group could tell he was not nearly as healthy.  He ravaged the party with firestorm and attempted destruction on Svala.  The party used shapeshifting, hurled weapons, and various spells to keep the pressure on.  Try as he might, he just could not withstand the onslaught put on by the team, and Koshi’s sling stone brought him down!  With the final stitch broken, Rasputin truly lay dead at their feet!

Game summary for August 28, 2018, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Baknarla (Adlet Shaman Ranger played by Shane Bradley), Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Averdick), Erris (Arctic Elf Bloodrager played by Casey Scruggs), Iguruzu Koshin (Human Monk played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Svala Alehorn (Orc Unchained Barbarian played by Todd Hughes), and Tulvur Xandersen (Troglodyte Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

Rejoined by the rest of the team, the party cast several spells and quaffed potions in preparation.  They can flying back into the church, and Svala blew all the church pews out of the way with a grenade!  As they came through the hallway, the Brothers Three engaged!  The team, now outnumbering them and immune to their domination, quickly turned the tide.  One of the nosferatu exploded into a swarm of bats and attempted to flee.

Over some machinery, Rasputin rose up into the air and yelled at the party!  The nosferatu were cut down, but Rasputin proved more of a challenge.  The team tried to charge him but found themselves hedged out by some kind of barrier.  Deska, however, blasted him with a powerful flame strike!  Rasputin retaliated with a fire storm and quickened flame strike of his own!  The team was burned terribly.  The team was somewhat stifled by their inability to reach him.  He tried some enchantment magic but their protection from evil prevented it from affecting them.  After taking a lot of damage, Rasputin healed.  The team groaned in frustration.

Another fire storm later, and Magnus lay dead and Baknarla cowering behind a wall.  Greta hit him with repeated negative energy channels.  Koshi began hurling sling stones while Tulvur tried his crossbow.  Erris had a great idea, though.  He cast enlarge person, and his new extended reach allowed him to cut Rasputin down!

The team won themselves a moment, but they all began to wonder how and when this “soul-stitching” would take effect!

Game summary for August 14, 2018, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Baknarla (Adlet Shaman Ranger played by Shane Bradley), Iguruzu Koshin (Human Monk played by Peyton Harmon), and Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team kicked in the doors to the chapel and found it warded with a powerful forbiddance spell.  Most of the team, except Greta, took damage entering.  This killed Anastasia!  Greta jumped out and gave her the breath of life.  They then tasked Viktor with taking her somewhere safe and hiding her.

They then found an old crone begging for their aid!  She claimed to be Baba Yaga and said she had defeated Rasputin in battle after the World Engine failed and freed her!  The team began asking her questions, and Baknarla challenged her to tell the keys to bring the Dancing Hut to earth.  In a rage, the illusion-shrouded erodaemon attacked!  Her snake-headed tail sank its fangs into Koshi, draining his Charisma.  She hit the team with crushing despair and slashed at the group, but she was unable to defeat them.

The group moved into another room piled high with precariously stacked church pews.  Baknarla and Magnus moved up to investigate, and it collapsed on them, burying Magnus!  The Brothers Three, hideous nosferatu, came scuttling across the junk like grotesque spiders.  They channeled negative energy but were surprised when, from beneath the crapalanche, Magnus channeled positive energy back at them!  The Brothers hit some of the party a few times, and then began dominating them.  It eventually became clear they were not fighting to kill.  They sent the dominated party members away.  The Brothers Three were stalling.

The party retreated to safety and called forth Zilvazaraat to buy scrolls of break enchantment, some potions, and a wand of communal protection from evil.  Re-armed, and no longer with anyone dominated, the team prepared for a second confrontation.

Game summary for August 7, 2018, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Baknarla (Adlet Shaman Ranger played by Shane Bradley), Erris (Arctic Elf Bloodrager played by Casey Scruggs), Iguruzu Koshin (Human Monk played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Svala Alehorn (Orc Unchained Barbarian played by Todd Hughes), and Tarik (Human Bard played by Andrew Renfrow). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

Koshi fell back from the golems as Erris, Tarik, and Baknarla arrived.  Magnus and Svala were reincarnated, and the team battled valiantly.  Erris cast flash forward and charged the gorynych, hitting and scoring a critical hit.  The dragon was rendered unconscious.  The stained-glass golems closed in and started slashing the party and causing bleed damage in abundance.  Tarik and Magnus were able to provide lots of healing to the team, and the bard began a performance, inspiring his allies to greatness.  Baknarla used a green elixir of dragon breath to kill the gorynych with acid.  The rest of the team bashed the golems to pieces.

The group spent a few moments nursing wounds, retrieved Anastasia, and then charged the church.  There they encountered a crucifixion spirit that nailed Magnus’ soul to a cross!  It flew up into the air, and Erris used winged boots and Koshi a potion of fly to close in.  It was near the wall of the church, so Svala used some amazing acrobatics to wall-run and attack as well.  Magnus thrashed about in agony, but in rather short order, the spirit was destroyed.  Magnus used restoration to recover the damage.

Now, the team stands just outside the church!

Game summary for July 31, 2018, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: All Might (Human Warpriest played by Andrew Renfrow), Iguruzu Koshin (Human Monk played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Dwarf Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Nikolai Pavlenko (Human Fighter played by Casey Scruggs), and Svala Alehorn (Orc Unchained Barbarian played by Todd Hughes). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The battle with the gorynych dragon started poorly.  The dragon had initiative and hit the entire party with all three blasts of flame!  Magnus dropped back and warded himself with protection from energy.  Koshi stepped up and hit the dragon with two devastating punches.  The group closed in and hit with several attacks.  They found the dragon partially resistant to their melee attacks, and it appeared to regenerate damage done.  Greta cast baneweapon on Nikolai’s rifle, and he dealt some serious damage.  The dragon began biting and clawing, and the team was not too impressed.  Then a half-dozen headless Siberian Cossacks arrived.

Their leader, riding a flaming nightmare, slashed Magnus with his ride-by attack.  Horseman after horseman filed through an opening in the barbed wire and hit Magnus repeatedly.  The last came crashing in and impaled Magnus, killing him instantly.  The horsemen scattered and began a grueling campaign of hit-and-run attacks.  The team was able to focus on the dragon and deal enough damage that it collapsed to the ground.  With the dragon down, they focused on the horsemen.  Nikolai ended up isolated away from the group, and the horsemen crisscrossed their charges to bring him down with their lance attacks.  Nikolai ended up unconscious on the ground and then slain by a malicious rider.

All Might ended up unconscious on the ground, and one of the riders stood over him as his horse stomped him to death.  Greta cast breath of life to bring him back from the dead.  She also cast cure serious wounds upon him.  Koshi and Svala slowly picked off Cossacks with some impressive attacks.  However, Svala found himself unable to withstand the barrage from the remaining horsemen and was soon dead on the ground.  All Might tried to cast flame strike but was hit by multiple attacks of opportunity.  Eventually, he bled to death on the ground.

Finally, Greta and Koshi took out the last of the horsemen and mounts.  Suddenly, the dragon stood up!  It was not slain earlier, merely rendered unconscious.  Throughout the fight, it had been regenerating hit points!  It hit the survivors with a triple blast of flame!  Greta fled one direction while Koshi ran toward the church.  Much to his horror, golems made of stained-glass stepped from the windows before him!  With golems before him, a dragon behind, and grievously injured, Koshi felt despair as Greta continued fleeing out of sight.

Game summary for July 24, 2018, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: All Might (Human Warpriest played by Andrew Renfrow), Baknarla (Adlet Shaman played by Shane Bradley), Iguruzu Koshin (Human Monk played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Dwarf Cleric played by Chris Harmon), and Nikolai Pavlenko (Human Fighter played by Casey Scruggs). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The group investigated Viktor’s corpse and learned it was too damaged for raise dead.  They decided they would need the tombstone fairy’s assistance in bringing him back.  After much consideration on how they would march the body across the camp, they wrapped up his prosthetic leg and cut off his head, which they stuffed into a bag of holding.

The team met with the fairy and finally struck a deal with her that they would deliver Rasputin’s body to her after they killed him in exchange for recovering Viktor.  They sealed the deal by revealing their names to the fairy.  She asked about the body, and they pulled out the head.  She informed them she needed more, so they went up and found some ammo crates and smuggled the body down into the catacombs to her.  The fairy chanted and danced and brought him back to life.  She then gave the soul shawl to Baknarla.  They also asked if she knew anything about Rasputin’s stitched soul and how to kill him.  She said she did and would exchange that information for more payment.  Eventually, they agreed to also deliver to her the body of Elvanna.  She told them how the stitches worked, and the team realized they have their work cut out for them.

The group talked with Viktor awhile and convinced him to help them reconfigure the World Anchors to force the World Engine back into this world.  The team, still disguised with their magic hats, went back to the surface.  A sniper in the ruined chapel saw him and shot him dead.  To try and cover themselves as not being with Viktor, Nikolai shot the body several times himself.  Baknarla then dropped a fog cloud, and the party slipped back into the catacombs with the body.

They asked the tombstone fairy to bring Viktor back, and she asked for more payment.  The group declined and found a “safe” corner of the catacombs to call Zilvazaraat, their mercane contact.  He sold them some scrolls of raise dead, a hat of disguise, and necklaces of fireballs.  The group raised Viktor, put the hat of disguise and an amulet of natural armor on him and went back to the top after they had him give them an overview of how to reconfigure the World Anchors.

The party then went from World Anchor to World Anchor bluffing their way up to do “maintenance.”  Eventually, they configured all four, and the chapel began to materialize!  The sky turned red with swirling clouds, and crackling red-orange lightning crashed all around.  An intense screaming rent the air, and the shimmering chapel appeared from the Thrice-Tenth Kingdom!

The group marched straight for the front door, stopped, and thought maybe they should go get Alexei and Anastasia.  They diverted toward the surgery building and found the kids outside staring at the chapel and sky.  Alexei demanded to know what they had done, and from his comments realized he could see through their disguises.  They tried to lay hands on him, but he suddenly transformed into a massive three-headed dragon and roared in defiance!

Game summary for July 10, 2018, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: All Might (Human Warpriest played by Andrew Renfrow), Baknarla (Adlet Shaman played by Shane Bradley), Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Averdick), Magnus Erlingsson (Dwarf Cleric played by Chris Harmon), and Tulvur Xandersen (Troglodyte Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team decided to try and investigate the cemetery.  Using Magnus’ touch of glory, Deska was able to bluff the soldiers at the burned prison barracks into going to help with the burning watchtower, which allowed the party to slip into Nikolai’s tunnels beneath.  Within, they came across a tombstone fairy digging and opening coffins.  From her, they learned the location of Viktor’s body and that she has the ability to bring the dead back to life.  The group was a bit freaked out by the disturbing entity and left her digging in the dark.

The group entered the old building she pointed them toward and found some kind of jackal- or wolf-headed monster eating Viktor’s corpse.  The party attacked, and suddenly a trio of baykoks sprung up around them as well.  Several of the party were paralyzed by the undead, and the monster somehow inflicted an exhausting hunger upon Deska.  Deska summoned a fire giant and stone giant, and the team rallied around Magnus’ channeled energy and several tremendous displays of melee prowess by All Might and Tulvur.  Soon, the undead were slain, and the beast teleported away.