Here is the journal from our first session (aka initally a one-shot). As I noted in a prior post, I was largely winging it but it was largely inspired and based on the PEG one-sheet Blood Feast so there will be some spoilers below! This entry is from RJ and, as usual, he’s taken some liberties with his fictionalization and, also as usual, my GM comments are in [italics and brackets]. RJ is playing Erika. Rachel is playing Mick. Bridgett is playing Moe.
In the beginning, you could say I was naïve. I had been sheltered by the Church, taught that the Church could do no wrong. All anyone who didn’t believe needed was to have their eyes opened to the goodness that is the Twelve. Looking back, of course, I was more wrong than I could ever have believed and it was my journey to Kemorr that began to open my eyes and clear away my naïveté.
I was assigned a bodyguard, a man named Moe, from the Temple in Ptolus. He was an ordinary looking fellow, very quick with his sword and dagger and more aware of the world then I. I was never sure if he followed the Twelve, but he was always honorable and guarded my person with his life. As I look back now, I see that I may have treated him more as a servant than a friend. A tendency that I have always found hard to break when dealing with those outside of the clergy. At the time, part of me didn’t understand the need for a bodyguard. Who would hurt a priestess of the Twelve? I was due for a hard lesson…
My mission was to bring messages to the Kemorr temple; I assume it was messages to friends, letters of credit for goods, documents assigning priests and priestess to go forth and bring the word of the Twelve, and other ordinary communications. Moe took his job seriously and felt that we needed another person along for the trip. Although I tried to convince him that it would only be five days aboard a ship and a couple of days at our destination before we would come back, Moe was insistent. He argued that that pirates and bandits abound and even a servant of the Twelve might not be spared their particular trade.
[Although this was originally just going to be a one-shot, I decided to start introducing the new setting and, in particular, the area that the main campaign would actually take place, Kemorr. The mission that Erika had received was to take a message to the temple in Abigata, a small town in the foothills of the Mundora Mountains at the very edge of the Empire’s (and Church’s) waning influence.]
Moe took me to the Rusty Nail, a tavern near the docks and introduced me to Mick. Mick looked like a dangerous man and was armed with a Dragon Pistol. I don’t know what previous acquaintance Moe and Mick may have had or why Moe picked this particular mercenary ruffian as a traveling companion but we settled upon 60 Silver Lords for his services. He insisted on at least half up front and agreed that I would pay the remaining half upon reaching Abigata.
The Church had booked passage for me upon the Dolphin Charger, a ship captained by a man named Rodack. We met at the ship early the next morning and, after making arrangements for my expanded set of bodyguards, we settled down and enjoyed the trip.
Early the following day, we pulled into Porto. It was my understanding that Captain Rodack had stopped to drop of some goods before moving on. Since Porto was the first town I had traveled to since arriving in Ptolus years ago as a child, I thought it would be a good idea to see the town and spread the word of the Twelve. As we disembarked, Captain Rodack yelled out to us and tossed our gear to us.
Apparently, I had misunderstood how long we would be traveling upon the Dolphin. The captain explained that he was dropping us off in Porto as pirates had been very active in the Gulf and he would sail no further at this time. As I look back, I see that my naïveté may have come into play. I am positive that the Church had booked passage all the way to Abigata but I believed Captain Rodack.
[I edited much of the previous paragraphs. RJ had largely made up a bunch of stuff that we never played out so I brought it more in line with how I saw things playing out. At the time, I hadn’t even thought up a name for the port city yet since it wasn’t really important to the one-shot (came up with it the next session when it became important) and I certainly had never heard of the Rusty Nail, Captain Rodack, or the Dolphin Charger until I read this…I suppose I have to incorporate them into the setting somehow now.
Dragon Pistols are not that rare…just in case the wording above gave that impression. Fireams and the rules for their use are largely taken from the Savage Worlds Freeport Companion.]
Mick was quite distraught when he learned that we would be traveling by land and that it would take nearly two weeks. I had never intended to cheat him when I said that it would take five days of travel to reach Abigata…I was just misinformed or had misconstrued the information I was provided. Since money was so important to the ruffian, I reassured him that the Church would be sure to honestly compensate for his services if he was diligent in seeing me safely to Abigata. Already I was learning how to better interact with those less holy than I.
Mick continued to complain and grumble but Moe spoke to him and that seemed to satisfy his greedy nature. As we moved down the docks to find the city’s gates, some of Porto’s most needy approached us. As the Twelve teach charity, I gladly reached into my pouch and pulled out some coins to share. That brought others and soon we nearly surrounded by the diseased and lame. I tossed some coins to the crowd. One of the young boys was so overcome with gratitude that he hugged me and then ran from the crowd clutching the coin I had given him. We were soon able to continue on our way.
Yes, Erika had her pouch lifted by the boy running away. No one noticed.
We left thru the gates of Porto and started down the road. Half a day later we came upon a small fishing village. There were women tending nets and children running around but no men. Seemed they were all out fishing. I stopped a woman as we came into the village, “Excuse me good woman is there a tavern in town? A place we could get something to eat?”
The good woman stopped and told us that there was no tavern in the village but she could get us a meal of fish stew if we were interested. I told her we would love anything she was willing to offer, and blessed her by the Twelve. She gave me a strange look and went into her home; she brought out three wooden bowls, laden with stew. I took a bite and it was very good and hearty, I thanked her for her offering and reached into my pouch to pay the good woman but found that I had lost my pouch somewhere along the road. “Moe will you pay the good woman I seemed to have lost my pouch.”
Mick looks grief stricken, “You lost your pouch? How are you going to pay me?”
I respond, “Again Mick, I told you the church will compensate you. But if we find any coins along the way I will be more then happy to give you your share out of that and then some.”
Mick grumbled under his breath again and Moe pulled some coins out and gave them to the woman. She thanked us and turned to leave.
We finished our meal, left the bowls and spoons on the bench, and started out again. It started to get dark and Moe felt it was a good time to stop for the night. We set up a small fire right off the road and set watches. In the middle of the night there was a scream. We all woke up and Mick said the sound came from the east. Mick went ahead of us; he seemed very quiet moving forward. He signaled us to catch up to him. When we got to him I brought light forth from the Twelve and we discovered a campsite or what was left of one. There was a sword, a bedroll, a backpack, and when we looked up there were spider webs all over the place. I felt a chill go over my spine. I hate spiders; they are creepy hairy things, that I still don’t understand why the Twelve have not eradicated from the known world. There was trail that leads to the cliffs.
[The spider webs were actually on the ground and not up. Someone had brought up that Erika had a phobia of spiders. What else could I do? I had thought of having either Mick or Moe be the spider’s victim to be rescued by the others…to get the party together…but that would mean someone would have had to sit out of things for a bit. So, instead, Kemorr now has something of a pest problem…Cliff Spiders.
Cliff Spiders are a remnant of the ancient evil that nearly conquered the Known World long, long ago. They are vile things with a body about the size of a cow with long, spindly legs and lair in the numerous caves dotting the cliffs along the shore of the Nera Gulf. They are kind of a combination between a funnel spider and a hunting spider. They have trip-lines that radiate out from their caves up the cliffs and across the nearby lands. When prey walk across the lines, they rush out and attack, dragging paralyzed prey back to their caves to devour at their leisure. Cliff Spiders have an unnatural intelligence and are cunning ambushers and hunters. They are, as you might guess, killed as often as possible.
Moe looked over the cliffs and saw spider webs all along the side of the cliff. He could see a cave entrance in the center of the webs. We decided to investigate; the Twelve wouldn’t want me to leave a stranger in need. Mick went over the cliff, climbing down the spider webs to the cave entrance. Moe and I used some rope and climbed down as well. When we got to the opening it was a little tight and went back about 30 feet before opening up into a small chamber.
A cocoon was hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the cave. We rushed over and Mick and Moe started cutting away at the webs encasing our, hopefully, soon to be rescued person. I kept near the entrance of the chamber, looking on with the light and guarding the way out.
Before my companions could get far into their task, a gigantic spider dropped down from the wall above me and knocked me to the ground. Its eight eyes stared straight into my soul. I frantically scrambled out from under it as Moe tried to swing at the beast. My heart was racing and even now, as I write this, I can feel it pounding harder.
The grotesque creature climbed back up to its perch and we lost sight of it in the shadows and its webbing. Mick and Moe started cutting faster as I kept looking around. The spider dropped down on me again. I know it is hard to believe but it felt like one of its hairy legs tried to caress my face. Shiver. Both Mick and Moe attacked and the abomination soon fell to their blades. It was, however, too late for the man in the cocoon. He had passed away from the poison injected into him by the monstrosity.
I prayed for the man’s soul before we gave him a burial at sea, tossing his body to the waves below the cave. We climbed back up to the top of the cliff and Mick checked out the deceased’s campsite. We found a few items and took them to help us on our journey and continue on.
So just who was this man? I suppose we’ll never know. All of his valuables, Its eight eyes staring straight into my soul, were on his body when the spider grabbed him. All at the bottom of the ocean now. I sure hope none of the characters care much about money and treasure.
Spoilers now begin for Blood Feast.
We continued on our journey the next morning. Over the next couple of days, we stopped at fishing villages for food and lodging. The people of Kemorr do not appear to be believers in the Twelve but they do seem to respect them. They always showed me courtesy but also seemed rather cautious around me.
A few days into our travels, just before it was getting dark, we spotted smoke coming from some woods. We went to investigate with Mick leading the way. The smoke was coming from another another small fishing village on the other side of some woods. There was no one around. It looked as though a celebration had been going on in the village square, table and chairs had been turned over. Some homes had their doors open but no one answered when we called out.
We noticed blood and a strange black liquid, almost like bile, on the ground about the small village. Mick found a trail leading towards the seaside cliffs complete with more blood and black bile. We followed the trail to the cliff’s edge and it continued down to the beach via some switchbacks. We headed down and, as we came around a jut in the cliff, we spotted a man standing on the trail with an axe in his hand. He had a grievous slash across his chest and had that black substance foaming out of his mouth. As soon as he spotted us, he charged while yelling incoherently.
I tried to scare him by blasting a bit of the cliff near him with the holy flames of the Twelve but he continued on. Just as he reached Mick, the man collapsed from his wound. Black bile trickled out of his mouth. I checked to see if he was still alive…he was not. As I turned to tell the others, a scream echoed up from the beach below us.
Looking down, we can see a small island just off the shore. A man is carrying three struggling and screaming children towards a rise at the center on the island. A gunshot rings out as another individual takes a shot at the fleeing individual. A woman comes out of the sea and rushes after the man with the gun. When she reaches him, she stabs him in the back and then guts herself with the same knife.
Recovering from the shock of the scene we’ve just witnessed, we rushed down to the beach. The man with the children has disappeared over the island’s rise by the time we reach the bottom of the trail.
As we started to remove our armor to swim to the island, Mick spots some small fishing boats in a cove off to our left. We ran to the boats and started for the island.
After reaching the island, we rushed up the small rise in the hopes of saving the three children. The opposite side of the island held a small cove surrounded by strange stone pillars. Each of the three children were tied to one of these six pillars. Three men were standing near each child, chanting ina language that we didn’t understand. I asked the Twelve for the strength to defeat these men and let loose with Their holy fire. Two were killed by the holy blast and my companions rushed to the other side of the cove to dispatch the last of these evil men.
As I rushed to the child tied to the column near me, I noticed that what I thought were men were not. The body I looked at had fish scales and strange tentacles on its body. Mick and Moe were trying to free the other children from the ropes that bound them to the stone pillars but then a strange song came from the water of the cove. Each of the children seemed mesmerized by the sound but we were able to resist its strange lure.
Three more of the fishmen rose out of the water of the cove. I took down one and Mick slew another. As Moe was battling the last of the three, the waters of the cover rippled and a massive fish-like monster rose up. The creature came for me but I could not leave the child I was protecting. I frantically tried to free the child of his bonds before the creature reached me.
I called upon the flames of the Twelve but, despite its massive size, the creature ducked beneath the jet of fire. Mick freed one of the children who immediately (and intelligently) ran towards the other side of the island. Mick rushed to my aid against the monster and suffered greatly for his heroism. The creature raked its clawed hand across his head and he’s knocked to the ground. Blood pools around him and his wound looks quite grievous; I feared the worst as Mick lay unmoving.
I called again upon the fire of the Twelve and pushed the creature back. Moe charged over and swung at the creature with abandon and no concern for his own safety. His blade sunk deeply into the vile thing’s chest. As Moe pulled his blade free, the thing sunk back into the waters of the cove. As Moe freed the other children, I fearfully went to Mick with fear in my heart.
He was still alive but it was too late to save his eye.
Mick was Incapacitated by the creature’s attack. The roll on the Incapacitation table indicated death but we’re using the Heroes Never Die Setting Rule so I reduced it to a permanent injury. The roll to determine the injury showed Blinded and so Mick now has the One Eye Hindrance. Needless to say, he has been complaining about how he isn’t getting paid nearly enough for this.
We didn’t know what these creatures were but it was clear that they were connected to some sort of Chaos cult. I decided that it was more important to return to Ptolus and report what we had discovered than continue on with delivering the messages I had initially been tasked to deliver. Moe cut the head off one the creatures to take back with us while I grabbed the dragon pistol that one of the creatures carried.
We headed back to the beach and discovered that the children had taken the boat we had brought over. Moe swam back across the small bay to retrieve a boat to transport Mick and I back to shore. We climbed back up the switchbacking trail and returned to the village as there was no sign of the children.
At the village, we called out for the children but there was no response. After looking around for them unsuccessfully, we decided to sleep in one of the homes as we were exhausted, Mick was having difficulty with his injury, and it was getting dark.
As we are slept Mick heard some crying coming from under one of the beds. Bending over, he saw one of the children under the bed. Before he could coax the child out, another came from under one of the other beds and rushed at Mick with a knife. Fortunately, the child’s swing went wide and Mick wrestled the knife away from him. We convinced the children that we were no threat to them and eventually they told us the story of what had happened.
They explained that three men came into the village claiming to be priests of the Twelve and had brought with them a huge fish for a feast. The adults started eating and quickly went mad. They started killing each other and the men grabbed us [us being the children] and headed out to the island. I tried to explain that those men were not in the service of the Twelve but the children started crying again. With a little effort and consolation, we got them settled and they slept through the rest of the night.
The following monring, we took the children to the previous village we had passed. The villagers kindly took them in. We set off for Ptolus to report what we had discovered in this small village.
[That is where we ended the session. They had wrapped up the one shot and, at least at that time, we didn’t really have plans for continuing with these characters.]
