Back Doors and Short Cuts
Summary
Adventure: Back Doors and Short Cuts
GM: Keith
Season: Winter 818 WK
Night: Tuesday
Level: Medium
- Party
- Kerry -Shapeshifter, Dark mage played by Helen Saggers
- Pierre - Short Illusionist played by Ian Anderson
- Brigetta - Human Bard played by Jacqui
- Someone - played by Somebody
- Someone - played by Somebody
- Someone - played by Somebody
- Someone - played by Somebody
- Employer
- Aqualina
- Mission
- Open a link between Beth Salem and Phile'Delpha (somewhere in North Terra Nova)
- Set up Rune Portals from Rangiwhero to:
- Northern End of the Zeylandia Plateau
- A tropical island in the southern polar region
- Beat up any drow encountered and take their stuff
- Explore, Report, Co-operate
- Pay
- Coconuts and salvage (kidding) - Kerry requests half her coconuts be replaced with an equal weight of fish.
Scribe Notes
The Traveling players from Pro Bono reunited.
Brigetta – Human Bard – Party leader, scribe, military scientist
Pierre – Halfling Illusionist
Kerry – Shapechanger Celestial
Chapter One
1 Frost
Aqualina met us in the Guild Meeting Room. She seemed disappointed that they were only three of us. She had three main things she wanted us to do:
1) Check out the island to the far south. See how the people are recovering from the Drow attack.
2) Find the missing portal key and explore the Seventh City of Pacifica – Phila’delpha in Terra Nova
3) In the process of 2) explore the Hidden City of Pacifica – known as Pellucidar
We spent some time discussing how we’d get to the bottom of Alusia. Suggestions included faeries, a certain Willing Prince, and one California Smith who has a flying ship. In order to contact California Smith, we needed to find the current headquarters of the Gentlefolks Exploratory Society – which may be in Novadom or in Pasifika. And strangely enough, we soon concluded that it was quicker (and safer) to go to Pasifika.
We spent that afternoon in preparations and making purchases.
Aqualina gave us 3 x six-pack of waters of healing
Greaters from Aaron Rank 12
Lessers
Restoratives (1 dozen from the trader from Slippery Rock).
Amulets (including Amulets of Jasper 8000sp) at 25% mark-up
2 x Broomsticks – valid target for any flying spell – effects unchanged, except that it is the broom that flies, as if under the effect of Instil Flight at that rank.
Kerry loaned amulets of anti-stunning to Pierre and myself.
Pierre found us a happy halfling party for the evening, with excellent food and drink.
2 Frost
Next morning, we set out for the Bethsalem portal with Aqualina who was going with us as far as Pacifica. (37 mph for 4 hours = 148 miles). We landed outside Tobintown in Brastor and went into town for a fine fish lunch. In the afternoon we flew on to the Sea of Grass and reached the ruined city by sunset. We landed outside the ruins and rode in on illusory mounts, reaching the portal without incident.
We rode on through into the portal and into bright tropical sunlight, in a different set of ruins, with a great pyramid ahead of us. A runner arrived shortly, who appeared somewhat disappointed. Apparently, they were expecting California Smith back from Pellucidar. The runner said we should talk to Lord Wren, at the Society Station. We were led to a large bungalow, where we meet a distinguished gentleman introduced as Lord Christopher Wren. Apparently, they have mislaid seven members, two porters and a cook in Pellucidar, and were keen to employ us to go in and find them. In return, arrangements could be made to borrow their flying ship.
They gave us an excellent dinner, and comfortable beds to sleep in. And then equipped us for an expedition, with pith helmets and canvass tents, rope and hammocks, pots and pans, and something called quinine to stop a disease called malaria. We were permitted to purchase handy haversacks and emerald moss potions from the trading post.
Chapter Two
3 Frost
The pith helmets proved to have a little shuttered magic lantern on them for use in the dark. They also have spyglasses. And camping stoves. And a water-purifier in the form of an alchemical sponge (works on 25 pints). And hot-weather outfits. And pocket-watches.
Daily prep: Witchsight, Dance of Swords, Mind Cloak, Coordination, Long-strider
Other buffs: Invisibility, inspirational song. Tea.
Trader: The pith-helmet is traditional, don’t you know?
Brigetta: Your tradition, not mine.
Christopher Wren: There’s a sign saying ‘Danger beyond this point’….
Brigetta: When did that ever stop Guild adventurers?
By lunchtime we were packed and ready to go. We decided to go through invisible, because it couldn’t hurt and might help. There was no difference, except the person who went through to Bethsalem first noted there was a brief person-shaped flash as the next person came through. They gave us a key to open the gate around the Pellucidar portal.
Finally, we stepped through the portal to Pellucidar. It was hot and humid. We were in an ancient city, the stones covered with creepers and vines. Some huge flowers. And among them were zombies, shambling towards us. Some kind of weird plant zombies. They appeared to be under some kind of control, giving us little choice but to fight them…. They sprayed poisonous pollen at us when they died, to little effect. They proved to be “yellow musk zombiesâ€.
As we looked around we saw more plant creatures, some of them obviously semi-sessile, others moving more rapidly towards us. The semi-sessile ones appeared to be the controlling ones. But then they stopped and did not continue to press the attack. We took advantage of their hesitation, and I cast a locate on the missing Mister Smith, while Kerry cast wings and we took to the air. Fortunately, the jungle did not penetrate the circle of portals leaving a cleared area we could launch from.
It soon became evident that we were in fact inside a huge cavern. We flew over the jungle. We could see the sea, but Pierre did not want to fly over the sea, in case there were giant jumping pike in there. Luckily, my arrow was pointing along the coast. Then, in the distance we saw what looked like a human being chased by a pterosaur. Until Kerry cast a web at the pterosaur. Which failed to resist and crash-dived. We landed and spoke to the young woman. She explained that her name was Diana and she was with the Gentlefolks exploratory society. Apparently the Morlocks have captured their party and taken their stuff. She managed to sneak out past the mushroom people and was planning to return to Pasifika for help.
Winter | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Moonday | Duesday | W'ansday | Th'rsday | Frysday | Reapsday | Sunday | ||||||||
Samhain | ||||||||||||||
Frost (7) | ||||||||||||||
1 | Guild Meeting | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | ||||||||
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | ||||||||
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | ||||||||
28 | 29 | 30 | ||||||||||||
Snow (8) | ||||||||||||||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | ||||||||
12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Solstice | 16 | 17 | The Duke of Carzala's Winter Ball | 18 | Yuletide | |||||
19 | Days of Chaos | 20 | DoC 2 | 21 | DoC 3 | 22 | DoC 4 | 23 | DoC 5 | 24 | DoC 6 | 25 | DoC 7 | |
26 | DoC 8 | 27 | DoC 9 | 28 | DoC 10 | 29 | DoC 11 | 30 | Twelfth Night | |||||
Ice (9) | ||||||||||||||
1 | 2 | |||||||||||||
3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | First Plough | 7 | 8 | 9 | |||||||
10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ||||||||
17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | ||||||||
24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Mil Sci
Daily Pattern
- Sleep/Camp 10 Hours
- Travel 10 Hours
- Meals 2 Hours / 2 Hot meals + 1 tea
- Rituals 2 Hours
Sleep gives 3/hr 6 hours sleep = 18ft
Travel Magics
Star Wings Rank 7
37 mph for 240 min
Cast by Kerry.
Shadow Wings Rank 7
37 mph for 240 min
Cast by Kerry.
Watch Order
Marching Order
Main body front:
Main body rear:
Tail Guard:
Formations
Single file:
Open area:
Buffs
Buffs listed in the table don't need to be detailed, other buffs not on the table must be mentioned at the time they are cast.
Y means always on, N/- means never on, 'Sit.' means when the party has time for buffs before a fight.
Weapon Spells which weapon/s it is going on normally should be noted also.
General notes.
Long Duration Buffs
Magic | Rk | Effects | Dur | Ft / cast | KER | ELD | BRI | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shadow Form | 12 | 26 range/melee defense - 13 in close | 390 mins | 2 Ft | Y | ||||||
Coruscade | 12 | 26 range/melee defense - 13 in close | 390 mins | 2 Ft | sit | ||||||
Name | ## | Does stuff | ?? hrs | ?? Ft |
Short Duration Buffs
Magic | Rk | Effects | Dur | Ft / Cast | KER | ELD | BRI | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Witchsight | 10 | See invis/in the dark | 330mins | 1 Ft | Sit | Sit | Sit | ||||
Light sword | 6 | +7 Strike Chance, +3 dam | 11 mins | 2 Ft | Sit | Sit | Sit | ||||
Dark sword | 6 | +7 Strike Chance, +3 dam | 11 mins | 2 Ft | Sit | Sit | Sit | ||||
Strenght of darkness | 9 | +6 strenght | 100 mins | 1 Ft | Sit | Sit | Sit | ||||
Name | ## | Does stuff | ? mins | ? Ft | Sit | Sit | Sit |