Into The Shadows — Game Session — 005

Game summary for October 22, 2019, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), and Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

As Hollywood hung up the commlink with Tauren, it began to ring.  They noted the number but did not answer.  Instead, they used one of Clutch’s burner commlinks and called.  After a brief exchange, the person on the other end claimed to be Agent Seth Dietrich.  He told them of the extreme danger they are in and that he is willing to buy the commlink back for 100,000 nuyen.  He said to meet him at the zoo in Fort Lewis at 15:00 by the basilisk exhibit and bring the commlink. 

The group debated for several minutes when the front door of Clutch’s place crashed in, and a heavily-cybered Italian man with gold-plated cyber arms came striding in smirking and saying, “Knock, knock!”  Two goons carrying SMGs came in with him.  The man rushed Ballyhoo, just narrowly missing him with a right hook driven with piston-like force by his robotic arms.  Ballyhoo countered with an acid stream spell that devastated the man with its burning power.  Meanwhile, the goons inside opened fire on Clutch while goons outside hurled Molotov cocktails at the windows.  Some of the bullets flattened against Clutch’s body armor, bruising him badly, but several rounds punched through and sprayed blood across the room.  Terribly injured, he scrabbled toward his van while firing his pistol at his assailants. 

Hollywood drew forth his Savalette Guardian pistol, flipped it to burst fire and opened up on their attackers.  The gold-armed man, injured by bullets and magic, fled back through the front door.  Hollywood pumped rounds into the goons, and Ballyhoo blasted a ragged hole right through one of them with a nasty spell.  Clutch opened fire with the van’s assault rifle, but his aim was compromised by his profuse injuries.  Hollywood and Ballyhoo dove into the van, and Clutch ran through his garage door and out onto the street.  One of the goons ran after and unloaded the rest of his magazine at them. 

The team sped off into the night, and Hollywood and Ballyhoo used magic and first aid to patch up Clutch the best they could.  Clutch did some Matrix searching and identified the cybered man as Caesar “Chrome” Ciarniello, a known Mafioso.  Hollywood called Fast Freddy and woke him up to ask more about Caesar.  They learned he is the son of Vince “Numbers” Ciarniello, Don of the Ciarniello crime family!  When Freddy learned they had just severely injured Caesar he yelled at Hollywood for calling him and hung up the link. 

The group speculated for a while about how they may have been compromised.  They came up with several theories but were uncertain of any single one.  They decided Clutch’s fake SIN may be compromised, so they parked his van in a parking lot, and they all shut off all their wireless gear.  They moved over to a soykaf shop to watch and see if anyone showed up at the van looking for them. 

Into The Shadows — Game Session — 004

Game summary for October 15, 2019, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), and Octane (Elf Razor played by Casey Scruggs). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

With little to do while waiting on Fast Freddy, the team decided to investigate the other commlink.  Clutch spent a few hours with it and discovered it contained a hidden operating system and files. He spent some time cracking the encryption and found several file fragments and the name of the owner, Seth Dietrich.  They reached out to a few of their contacts, met up with a couple, and did some research.  The discovered Seth is an FBI agent looking into the possible corruption of Governor Kenneth Brackhaven.  They also learned Agent Dietrich’s latest associates ended up dead in the Puget Sound.  They also learned of a possible connection between Brackhaven and the fires in the Ork Underground a few years back in something called Operation Daybreak. 

Clutch did some Matrix snooping and found an active commlink number in the contacts list and called it with a burner device.  The owner hung up.  So, he called it again from a second burner device and got hung up on again.  Then, Hollywood called the commlink from Dietrich’s link and was immediately yelled at by the owner.  After a few moments, Hollywood was able to communicate he was not Dietrich, and the conversation changed.  The person quickly became agitated and insistent the team get somewhere safe and lay low.  He wanted some time to make some calls and called back in about 45 minutes. 

The caller accidentally revealed his name to be Tauren, and he sounded desperate to buy Dietrich’s commlink.  He claimed it had some information about Brackhaven that people would kill for.  He offered to meet the team and buy the commlink, giving them some profit and taking this dangerous item off their hands. 

They did not yet negotiate a price but agreed to speak with him again at 6:45 in the morning and discuss a meeting.   

Into The Shadows — Game Session — 003

Game summary for October 1, 2019, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Chase (Troll Tank played by Kaliegh Averdick), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), Octane (Elf Razor played by Casey Scruggs), and Thay (Elf Street Shaman played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team piled into Clutch’s van and sped off.  Hollywood, Thay, and Ballyhoo used a number of Heal spells to mend the various injuries suffered inside the Speakeasy bar.  They then parked down the street from the Novelty Hills Sleep and Eat and sent Thay and Chase into the establishment to rent a room.  Thay flirted with the manager on duty, a wiry dwarf named Lucas Kash.  She talked him down to a lower rate and giving them room 311.  Once in the room, Thay came out and tried her keycard in door 312 and knocked.  Lucas yelled up that she was at the wrong door, so she went back to 311.  Chase used his combat axe and tremendous strength and weight to crash through the wall into 312 wherein they found Oxycode already dead.  On the floor were two commlinks which they snatched up.  Searching the room, they discovered lots of drugs, and they took those too.  Thay then used a power outlet to start a fire in the room, and the group went downstairs and told Lucas they smelled smoke. 

The pair returned to the van, and the group drove off and contacted their Mr. Johnson.  Since they had a gunfight in the Speakeasy, they decided to meet at a Stuffer Shack several blocks away.  He paid them for the commlink and handed the other one back to them.  He suggested it might be valuable, but not to him. 

The group then decided to make some money on the stolen drugs, so they called Hollywood’s fixer, Fast Freddy.  He agreed to meet in a J-Mart parking lot.  They worked out a deal to give him 20% if he would move the product, and he accepted.  He said he would meet them back there the following night. 

Into The Shadows — Game Session — 002

Game summary for September 10, 2019, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Chase (Troll Tank played by Kaliegh Averdick), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), Octane (Elf Razor played by Casey Scruggs), and Thay (Elf Street Shaman played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The brawl escalated as more guns were drawn and things got deadly serious.  Hollywood put several rounds in a couple of ghouls while Thay hurled a knife.  Octane began slashing the ghouls’ ears, temporarily disorienting them.  Clutch shot dead two of the gang members, but suddenly his gun backfired and grievously injured him!

Chase took a number of hits and shrugged them off like the massive troll he is.  However, in an unfortunate moment using his gun as a club, he ended up shooting himself!  Ballyhoo tore into the ghouls with magically conjured acid, and not to be outdone, Thay blasted another dead with manabolt.  Clutch managed to dive out the door and get his remote-piloted van heading to the front. 

It was quick and messy, but the team defeated the ghouls and began heading for the exit and Clutch’s incoming van!

Into The Shadows — Game Session — 001

Game summary for September 3, 2019, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Chase (Troll Tank played by Kaliegh Averdick), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Dell (Human Technomancer played by Shane Bradley), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), Octane (Elf Razor played by Casey Scruggs), and Thay (Elf Street Shaman played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

Each member of the soon-to-be-team found themselves hauled in for questioning by Knight Errant for the theft of a truckload of commlinks in Tacoma.  After quite a bit of questioning, they found themselves released after a lawyer, “Imaginary” Annie Goldsmith came busting in and demanded their release.  She invited them for a drink at Soybucks, and they were told she was a talent scout for Mr. Johnson who wanted to hire them for a run.  She provided them with a commlink number and told them to call the number from the Speakeasy bar in the Redmond Barrens, a bar frequented by Chase.  Chase warned them the rules of the bar, and they set out that evening.

The group had no problem entering the bar and making contact with Mr. Johnson.  He pitched this fledging group a run, and they agreed to the first offer of payment and didn’t ask any further questions.  He gave them the details, and they jumped up to head out.  Their mission was to retrieve a commlink from a man named Oxycode who is holed up at the Novelty Hills Sleep & Eat by any means necessary. 

On the way out, the team was surrounded by ghouls from the 162 gang and attacked!  The fight is only beginning, but several fists have been thrown, along with Hollywood’s gun (in a fumbled quick draw).  Clutch got a shot off, and Octane deeply stabbed one of the gangers.  Thay hurled a knife while Ballyhoo cast Increase Reflexes on Octane and began sustaining it. 

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 111

Game summary for August 27, 2019, 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), Keravno (Aasimar Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Svala Alehorn (Orc Unchained Barbarian played by Todd Hughes), Tarik (Human Bard played by Andrew Renfrow), and Tulvur Xandersen (Troglodyte Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

In the exciting conclusion to the campaign, the team found themselves bolstered by the arrival of the rest of their companions.  Meanwhile, another demodand arrived through the mirror gate.  The creatures focused most of their attacks on the two animated statues trapped on their side of the blade barrier.  The demodands hampered the party with a number of acid fog spells.  Elvanna continued to swing for the fences by casting mass suffocation that nearly killed Greta and Keravno.  The team launched spell after spell at their foes and began really weakening the elementals and demodands.  Svala hurled shard axes through the barrier with devastating effect.  The fog continued dealing annoying acid damage across the board.

Elvanna blasted Deska with a destruction spell, and it would have succeeded but for her thread of fate from Vigliv!  The curse upon Elvanna prevented her from acting several times, and Deska clipped her with a clashing rocks spell that knocked her to the ground.

A demodand dispelled the blade barrier, and the team advanced, cutting down elementals and outsiders alike.  Surrounded, Elvanna found herself confused once more by the curse and unable to really defend.  Baknarla reared back and hurled her spear, impaling the queen and slaying her!  Deska then took the nesting doll and rolled it in the blood, which freed Baba Yaga!

The Queen of Witches ended the magic imposing winter upon the world of Golarion and then shattered the mirror gate.  Next, she restored Erris to life and began granting boons to her champions.  To Deska, she granted the services of a mighty dragon.  Tulvur was restored from his troglodyte form to dwarven form.  To Baknarla, she was given passage back to her tribe on her native planet.  Svala was cured of the demon of alcoholism and became just a rager, not a drunken rager.  Tarik was granted that his bardic stories would be collected and spread around the universe, effectively making his memory immortal.  Keravno was granted the services of great and powerful serpent.  And finally, to Magnus, Baba Yaga officiated at his marriage to Greta and the Queen of Witches granted a special blessing upon their unborn child. 

Before returning the group to Golarion, she offered each the change to serve as one of her riders for 100 years, and three, Deska, Erris, and Tarik took up her mantle.  They were suffused with fey magic and prepared for a new series of unbelievable adventures in service to the Queen of Witches. 

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 110

Game summary for August 20, 2019, 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), Keravno (Aasimar Fighter 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.

The team continued down a corridor and found a large set of double stone doors.  Upon investigating them, they triggered a symbol of vulnerability that afflicted the entire party with massive penalties.  Beyond the doors they discovered Queen Elvanna surrounded by a pair of slimy demodands and three elder ice elementals! 

Elvanna cast mass hold person on the party while one of the demodands dropped an acid cloud on them.  Erris emerged from the fog and was surrounded and devastated by the guardians.  Tarik used bardic performance to enhance the team and then dispelled the acid fog.  Keravno and Svala began advancing as Greta cast enhancements upon Svala’s axe. 

Magnus divided the battlefield with a well-placed blade barrier.  Elvanna blasted the party with chain lightning while the demodands and elementals ripped Erris to pieces by dragging him through the barrier and slaughtering him.  The demodands tried and failed to dispel the blade barrier allowing Keravno time to destroy one of the elementals. 

Baba Yaga was able to infuse Erris’ soul into the two stone idols near Elvanna and animate them!  He was able to control them as shield guardians and found they contained powerful curses cast by the Queen of Witches!  Queen Elvanna fell victim to a mighty curse causing her confusion as the team began to advance.  Svala slew a demodand, and the team rallied as Magnus channeled positive energy.

Will they be able to take down the Queen before she recovers her wits or her minions rip more party members to shreds?

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 109

Game summary for August 13, 2019, 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), Keravno (Aasimar Fighter 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 rounded a corner and were attacked by four taotieh!  The animated cat statues pounced and slashed the team with deadly claws, but a number of spells and attacks later, and the creatures were defeated.  In the rubble, they discovered an instant fortress

The group moved down the hallway and heard a horrific howl.  The wendigo had arrived!  Several of the party cowered in fear, but Baknarla ran up the slope and attacked!  The wendigo ripped into her with fang and claw and began ripping off strips of flesh!  Baknarla was dragged back down the hallway while the team found several of their spells failing against its spell resistance.  The group began to get frustrated until Tulvur and Keravno’s cold iron weapons proved effective.  Magnus healed Baknarla while Deska hit the wendigo with a finger of death!  Erris recovered from his fear and joined the fray, and the team pressed in.  The wendigo would have been far more deadly but for Magnus’ communal resist energy.  It was unable to slay Baknarla, and the team advanced and cut it down!

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 108

Game summary for July 30, 2019, 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), Keravno (Aasimar Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), and Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team entered the mound and found a shrine with a massive stone hippopotamus idol holding a gigantic axe.  The group started to leave the room, and the idol stood up and spit a glacial ooze onto Magnus!  It then lumbered forward and started dealing unbelievably powerful slashes with the axe!  It nearly cut Keravno in twain!  Erris used flash forward to hit the construct and found his sword quite effective.  Baknarla went to assist Magnus and was also savaged by the hippo idol’s axe.  Some of the group were temporarily charmed by the idol, but they kept snapping out of the effect.  The ooze was defeated after Magnus dragged himself free.  Meanwhile the group surrounded the idol and cut it down with their magical weapons.  It crashed down, and the group found and claimed several valuable items.

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 107

Game summary for July 23, 2019, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Erris (Arctic Elf Bloodrager played by Casey Scruggs), Keravno (Aasimar Fighter played by Peyton Harmon), and Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team set out across the frigid steppe and occasionally heard a howl in the distance.  They found some huge tracks, perhaps belonging to elephants or something of similar size. 

After a while, the team came upon an enormous earthen mound with a cave-like entrance flanked by weather-worn statues and massive ivory tusks.  As they approached, they were attacked by four taiga giants armed with bows mounted upon giant baluchiterium!  Magnus hit all of them with fire storm and set most on fire!  Most of them frantically tried to put out the flames as the party closed in.  The giants unleashed a volley of arrows, but the party quickly cut down some of the giants!  The enraged mounts trampled over the party.  Erris and Keravno torn into the foes with mighty weapons while Magnus pummeled them with spell after spell.  One of the giants savaged Magnus with arrows, but the team was able to cut down all the creatures before he was critically injured. 

The team investigated outside and found lots of tracks.  They also spotted what they determined to be a wendigo flying through the air with a captive Winter Guardsman!  They disappeared over the top of the mound, and the man presumably met a quick demise.