I inflicted another vignette of game fiction on my players to warm up for the next session.

The dwarf-like, blue-skinned man stumbles into the chamber and falls, coughing, on his back. Smoke wafts from his smoldering, ragged robes and his beard is a mess of frosty icicles and singed ends. There he lies for several minutes, gasping for breath. He begins to chuckle as the coughing subsides, then breaks into spasms of barking laughter that inhibit his attempts to stand. His frame is wracked with mad guffawing by the time his feet find purchase. But his mirth is short-lived, for he does not see what he expects. Of the five pedestals that dominate the center of the room, four are bare and the fifth supports only a skull carved from a black stone that glitters in the light emitted by a faintly glowing plaque behind it. He stares in silent shock for a moment before desperately running from pedestal to pedestal, clawing at their surfaces and shouting curses.

Finally, he turns on the skull. "You! Tell me who took the royal seal," he demands, his voice dripping with venom. Meeting with no response, he strikes the skull with his scepter. Its steel head rings with the impact, but the skull continues to grin impassively. Mumbling under his breath, he gives the insolent sculpture a final glare before departing. The roar and crackle of magical ice and fire can be heard from the hall.

The chamber returns to its accustomed silence, except for a low moaning. "Oh, my head. That really smarts. Damn it, did I miss something again? It's so easy to lose focus when nothing ever happens."

I should mention that there was a fire trap between the planetarium and the chamber where the parties to the ancient pact placed their tokens. Over the centuries since the treaty was signed, a heat-absorbing brown mold had grown over it.

Tags: d&d, gaming, great sea

The party consists of:

• Agnes, jack of all trades and priestess of Vecna, the once-mortal god of secrets
• Niklos Phanariotes, horseman and prince-in-exile of the distant land of Hellas, where his uncle rules as regent
• Gytha, a sorceress of a strange and secret bloodline
• Idrial, elven scout and ne'er-do-well
• Leafric, rogue and frequent partner in crime of Idrial

Their adventures together began in late autumn when they were reunited with an old friend, Bram, who had learned of a great treasure but was crippled before he could claim it for himself. He swore he'd seen the treasure with his own eyes, but could not explain how because of a curse that caused him to painfully lose a tooth each time he tried. He made a deal with the PCs: he would give them the key and directions, if when they returned they would give him enough of the proceeds to restore his legs. They agreed, and left the next morning for unknown territory.( Cut for length )

The next session, tomorrow, picks up with the members of the party independently applying for work on the largest archaeological expedition to the dwarven ruins in years as the spring melt clears the path.

Tags: d&d, gaming, great sea

Did you know that over 50% of Halloween candy sold has been prayed over by witches?

That's quite a feat. Considering how few witches there are and just how much Halloween candy is sold, they must spend a lot of time running around and praying. They're probably tired and cranky afterward. So give your neighborhood witch a healthy, relaxing snack like an apple the day after Halloween. They deserve it!

Update: I guess some things are too much for even Pat Robertson's broadcasting network. They've removed the linked document. You can still read it in Google's cache.

Well, I'm convinced.

The players in my D&D game are deep in unknown territory, seeking a treasure they heard about from a crippled childhood friend who gave them a talisman of petrified wood inscribed with the monogram of Murdin, a wizard of ancient times, claiming it was the key to great riches.

It appears we won't be able to get together again for at least a month, so I sent the players a brief vignette introducing an NPC the characters may encounter later, and revealing the treasure may not be quite what they expect.

Intermission, in which our heroes are followed
Four men splash through a mire in heavy fog. They are well-outfitted, armed, and wary except for one who looks momentarily distracted by something only he can see. In a moment, he comes to and says, "I have word from the seer. The cripple spoke truth; they had a day's head start on us." He frowns, continuing, "They have already opened the first seal."

"Damn. We might be at the grove by now if it weren't for this fog. I thought the weather would clear with the sun shining so."

They trudge along for a while until the one furthest ahead stops in sudden realization. "Sir, the fog is not of natural orig--!" He is cut off by a confusion of steel and sound. Spinning, lashing blades fill the air, whistling hideously and leaving a red wake in the murk. They vanish as quickly as they appeared, and there is only silence in their passing.

A dwarf-like figure coalesces in the mist. His skin has a bluish tinge, and he wears mud-stained tatters of a robe and a wide hat from under which striking eyes peer: they are pools of milky white, without pupil or iris. Grinning, he leans over one of the corpses and plucks from its neck an amulet of petrified wood. He gazes at Murdin's monogram decorating it and speaks in a chortling, gravelly voice, "What will happen has been foreordained. You will not interfere."

Unfortunately, I realized too late that Blade Barrier is a clerical spell, not normally available to arcane casters. I may have to bend the rules a little. It is good to be DM...

Tags: d&d, gaming, great sea

Learn more about this important holiday.

My fear of heights didn't bother me playing Mirror's Edge until the level where you climb up the construction site to find a sniping position. That made my head swim and scared the crap out of me. I had to stop playing after making it into the vent. I feel like I might fall out of my chair.

My Facebook account was disabled today, with no reason given. I wonder if it was hacked and used to send spam or something. Did any of you who know me on Facebook get any weird messages from me?

Obama has found a way to deal with the embarrassingly bad motions being passed by the UN Human Rights Council: attack its credibility by having yet another nation with a recent history of human rights violations join it.

I'm back from Denmark. While I was there, I came across a compilation of Heroes of Might and Magic III and IV with expansion packs for 69 kroner (maybe $12). I keep hearing that HoMM III was the best of the series, so I decided to give it a try. The expansion packs for HoMM 4 (which I already have and enjoyed) wouldn't hurt, either.

I was greeted by this humorous warning while installing it:
( Large image courtesy cut )