by MichaelLavoie

First, an apology for only posting part of this last installment. I was pretty tired last evening when I finished transcribing the story, and my copy-and-past operation missed half of the text. Anyway, this is now complete. Now, for a some final background and minutia.

'Randolph" and the rest of his party (which included Jahnn McWoods) met "Regehr"--for the life of me I cannot recall the dragon's name in FOR1: Draconomicon--some years before. In the adventure from that sourcebook, the PCs were tasked with finding a way to help the dragon deal with its mate, who had become quite unpleasant to live with. They succeeded, with the female dragon departing to make her own lair far to the south. I also don't remember of the dragonets were part of that scenario of if they were my own invention; in my defense, that was over 30 years ago. Anyway, the party's reward was for each member to choose one item from "Regehr's" hoard. Most of the players chose minor items, but one got greedy and paid the price, as mentioned in the previous report.

"Regehr" would more or less slip out of the campaign storyline when we moved on to the next group of PCs. His erstwhile mate, however, would return as a recurring NPC. One PC in particular, the elven bard Aglaca Tablefood, tried to befriend the thoroughly evil beast. He thought he succeeded, insisting over and over again the "She loves me!" He even invited her to his wedding, along with a host of his enemies. Lucky for him that she just never got around to eating him as there was always something more important happening. This reminds me that at least two of Aggie's fellow PCs also had weddings, and his was the only one that was not disrupted fatally by attacks from enemies. Maybe they should have invited the bad guys to their own weddings as well.

One last thing, then I'll shut up. Both players in the spur-of-the-moment adventure that I have been chronicling are still active in our gaming group, as much as the group can be said to still be active. We're all in our 60s now (Rick, who played Tio, is now 71) and some of us have serious health issues: I have Parkinson's, and Steve O (Jack) is also battling a significant affliction. We keep talking about getting together for some roleplaying, but it hasn't happened yet. Our last session was several years ago. And yet, hope springs eternal.

by varIel_loki

Send me friend request then i will be at you're service

by MichaelLavoie

Throwing back its great head, Regehr let loose a wave of laughter that surely caused the ground several hundred feet above to shake. It was all the visitors could do to maintain their balance while the dragon's laughter echoed all around them.

When it had brought its mirth under control. Regehr said, "It amuses me to see such concern for a dragon's offspring from the likes of thee. Well, fear not, for my children are fine. They are currently residing with their mother. My ah, former mate and I are not on good terms, but I trust her enough to look after our younglings. With her, they are safe from those who would use them to further their own ends.

"You know, then, of the rumors of war among the humans?" Tio asked sharply.

"They are more than just rumors, Tio Glimmer. I have been contacted by thy dark cousins and have been offered untold wealth to take their side in the upcoming conflict, and almost as much to simply remain neutral. I let them have their say, and then I gave them my answer."

"Which was..." Jack felt compelled to ask.

With a positively evil gleam in its eyes, the dragon let out an immense belch. Dal, who had been awake for a few minutes, passed out again.

"They were of questionable taste, alas," Regehr said. "Yet they made some insinuations as to their intentions for my offspring, so I felt it prudent to send them on an extended visit to their mother, as they had expressed a desire to see her again." The dragon frowned, a truly disquieting sight, the sighed. "No doubt she is filling their heads with all manner of evil thoughts. I shall have to retrain them when she tires of them and sends them back to me." The tone in its great voice left no doubt about how much it dreaded that chore.

Tio smiled at the great beast. "I cannot tell you how relieved we are that your children are well. We had feared the worst.

"I thank thee for thy concern. Now, thou had said something about thy ideas regarding my stage aspirations. Hast thee a new play in the offing?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. We're doing 'Randolph the..."

Once more the dragon boomed out its hearty laugh. "Now I know for certain that thee spoke with McWoods. Someday I shall tell thee of the truth behind the tale. Perhaps I should have warned 'Randolph' that some of my treasure had dangers of its own."

"So you're the dragon in the story," Jack cried, to which Regehr nodded.

Tio said, "Thou...that is, you see, we are having a major problem with the staging of the play, which is a musical, by the way." The dragon's eyes shined with delight but it said nothing. "Jack, here, is really quite a talented engineer and a bit of a caster of illusions as well, but even he cannot create a dragon to my satisfaction. I am determined to make this play even better than my last, and there is only one way to do it. You say, friend Regehr, that you have always wanted to be an actor. Here is your chance! I offer you the role of the dragon in this play."

Regehr looked happier that Tio had ever thought to see a dragon look as Jack turned to face the elf. "Are you insane? He'll scare half the audience to death. Just look at the effect he's had on Sleeping Beauty here." He kicked the supine Dal. who groaned but did not open his eyes.

"That's where you come in, my friend. Your task is to disguise Regehr just enough so that he audience will be convinced that they have just seen the most realistic approximation possible. Let's face it, Jack: nobody will actually believe that there is a real dragon on stage." Tio looked at Regehr. "Do you accept?"

"Well, of course, I should like to read the play before I make up my mind," the dragon said.

Tio quickly dug through his pack. "It just so happens that I have a copy of it here, with your lines clearly marked." He handed it to the dragon, which gently took it in one muscular and wickedly-clawed forelimb.

Regehr skimmed the play for at least a tenth of a second. "I accept thy offer. When do I rehearse?"

That was something that Tio had considered but had not yet solved. "I must confess that I still have to work out some of the details. Jack and I will be back to keep you abreast of all the preparations. In the meantime, I expect you to learn your lines!"

"Fear not, for this is the opportunity for which I have long yearned. Now, if thou will excuse me, I have a role to prepare for."

Taking the cue, Tio and Jack picked up Dal and began the long trek back to the surface. The gnome was full of questions. "Gods, Tio, how do you expect to pull this off? Not only do we have to keep his aura from terrorizing the populace, we have to figure out a way just to get him into the bloody theater! Think, man! We don't even know if he can act!"

Tio waved his hand carelessly. "I have full confidence in your ability to overcome the logistical hurdles which confront us. As for Regehr's acting ability, I think we need not be concerned. After all, he's just going to be playing himself. He'll be a star!" He paused momentarily. "Of course, we'll have to keep a tight rein on him, lest he start chewing the scenery...literally as well as figuratively."

A sudden thought crossed Tio's mind, causing him to stop short. Jack nearly pulled Dal (who was once more regaining consciousness) in two before he, too, came to a halt. He looked back at Tio. "What is it now," he asked, exasperated.

"I just realized something. If we pull this off, and I am certain that we will, then where do we go? How do I top this?"

Jack shook his head and yanked Dal from Tio's grasp. With a sigh, he began dragging the warrior up the passage toward the surface.

The end.

by big_booboo

[heading]Opening scene[/heading]
Flapper set about repairing his dam. From the shore, Preshus called out, "but what about the honey?" Flapper didn't seem to hear. He just kept muttering, "oh dear, oh dear," as he swam about grabbing bits of wood and carrying them to different spots according to some inscrutable beaver logic.

Irritated, Preshus raised her voice: "BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HONEY?!?"

Flapper stopped and turned toward her with a grave face. "I'm sorry," he responded. "I can't help you. Just look at my dam!"

"So what?" Preshus shot back. "You can fix it later!"

"What?" Flapper demanded with uncharacteristic ferocity. "Fix it later? Do you know what will happen if the dam breaks? Everything downstream will be flooded!" Then he seemed to return to his normal anxious self, and resumed swimming about repairing the damage.

"It's no use," Pudgy said. "It looks like we're on our own."

"OK, fine, but what do we do now?" Preshus demanded.

Does Pudgy have any bright ideas for a plan?
No.

"I don't know," Pudgy said. "I was hoping you had an idea."

How about Preshus?
Yes.

"Hmm," Preshus said, stroking her chin with one of her forepaws. "I guess we'll have to go back to where that stupid ogre got lucky and knocked me out--"

"The first, second, or third time?" Pudgy asked.

"Shut it!" Preshus shouted. "Ogres just happen to be very lucky. I meant the time you were supposed to distract it."

"Well don't blame me, I was doing my best. I thought it was a pretty good distraction under the circumstances."

"Whatever! We need to get back there and figure out where they have taken the honey."

[heading]Next scene: Quiet[/heading]
Preshus and Pudgy trudged through the woods, Pudgy leading the way. Behind her, Preshus scowled and glared at the path at her feet. It was raining, and although the trees blocked most of the precipitation, the path was muddy and the fur of both creatures was wet and matted.

Pudgy suddenly stopped and sniffed the air thoughtfully.

"Huh?" Preshus blurted out as she looked up, caught herself, and stopped short right before she would have hopped right into Pudgy's big bear rump.

"Hey, Preshus," Pudgy said, looking over her shoulder. "I think I have an idea after all."

"What?"

"Well, you know how that ogre has a big size advantage over you?"

"He may be big, but he'll taste my axe in the end!" Preshus promised fervently.

"That's just the thing. Wouldn't it be easier to give that smelly ogre a taste of your axe if you were elevated a little higher up?"

"That's why I hop. I'm very hoppy," Preshus pointed out.

"Indeed you are," Pudgy agreed soothingly. "But what if you could hop from a higher location?"

"Well then, nothing could stop me!"

"You really thing so? Hop up on my back and see how it feels."

So Preshus hopped up on Pudgy's back and looked around. "Hey, this is so high up! It's like I'm a giant!" the bunny exclaimed.

"Just wait till that silly ogre gets a load of us!" Pudgy added with a self-satisfied smirk.

[heading]Next scene: Meanwhile[/heading]
King Snarfbargum howled in irritation. "I don't care the mud is affecting the wagon wheels! Get the honey pots to Haunted Hill by nightfall, or I will serve you for dinner!"

The two goblins cowering before him groveled even more pathetically than before. The one on the left stammered, "yes, your highness," just as the one on the right fearfully objected, "but your highness..."

"Gah!" the goblin king spat out in rage. Before he knew what he was doing, his spiked club was in his hand, and he was bashing the goblin on the right into a bloody pulp.

The remaining goblin lackey trembled uncontrollably and wet himself. Snarfbargum turned to him, pointed at the remains of his unfortunate companion, and said, "Take this to the cook and tell him to add it to the pot."

The goblin servant began dragging his friend out of the tent. "And get those wagons moving!" the king shouted after him.

[heading]Next scene: Dramatic[/heading]
Preshus and Pudgy peered out from behind some bushes to see a group of goblins struggling to get their wagons unstuck from the mud.

"It's a good thing it rained yesterday," Pudgy observed. "Those wagons haven't been able to get very far!"

"Where's that dopey ogre? I'm going to chop him like he's never been chopped before!" Preshus swore fervently.

"I don't see him," Pudgy responded. "Maybe he got lost or something."

Preshus growled in dismay. "Maybe we can track him down if we go back to the last place we saw him..."

"Um, sure," Pudgy said tentatively. "But maybe we should focus on the honey first."

"OK," Preshsus sighed resignedly.

Do they have a coherent plan of attack?
No

"The third time's the charm!" Pudgy exclaimed. "Hop aboard the Battle Bear!"

Preshus hopped up on Pudgy's back, gleaming battle axe at the ready. Then Pudgy bounded forward on all fours, like a shaggy, ungainly warhorse. She growled fearsomely while Preshus gave her best bunny war shout.

Are the goblins afraid?
Yes

The goblins looked up in surprise. Most stood frozen in place, still holding the sticks they were using to try to lever the wagon wheels out of the mud. A few dropped their sticks and ran away. But the burliest of the goblins snarled something to the rest of them in their guttural language, snapping them out of their stupor. Some snatched up nearby axes, while the rest held up their sticks like cudgels.

Fear and harm battle, rolling with advantage
Round 1: Yes, and -- the goblins lose 3 luck
Round 2: Yes -- the goblins lose 2 more
Round 3: Yes, but -- the goblins lose 1, and are defeated

Pudgy leapt in among the goblins, forepaws swiping right and left. Up on her back, Preshus used her bunny nimbleness to keep her balance and rain down death on the goblins below. In short order every goblin was prone or fleeing.

"Would you look at that, we won!" Pudgy gloated, surveying the goblin wagons laden with honey pots.

"Of course we did, we're the heroes!" Preshus responded smugly.

Twist (not triggered by the twist counter, but I want one)
An object changes the goal -- after some deliberation, I decide that the muddy road is the object

The triumphant heroes smiled at each other. Their sense of unalloyed joy held for a moment, but then Pudgy's smile started to fade.

"Say, Preshus, how are we going to get all of this honey back to the cave?" she wondered.

Preshus surveyed the heavily laden wagons, sunk axle deep in mud. "Oh, FIDDLESTICKS!"

by grasa_total

HilkMAN wrote:

The background for my request is that I have started doing some physical exercise every morning, and I've started at 10 minutes per day. Insted of setting an alarm, I prefer to listen to a song. Less boring that way.

Oh, amazing. I started using music that way for running earlier this year -- I worked my way up to a 5K with run/walk intervals, and instead of an app cuing me to run for 2 minutes then walk for 1 minute over and over again, I made playlists of energetic 2-minute songs alternating with chilled 1-minute songs.

Spotify instead of Youtube makes it slightly easier; I may have a few more to contribute when I'm home. Also, if you're interested in using two roughly-5-minute songs I have tons of those -- five minutes was my warmup timer.

by Serpentine_C

Related Item: Undying

Really cool that you made your own hybrid/hack! I wonder though if there's enough of a market for paid GMs of "homebrew" systems though.

You may have already seen these but there's also Elegy: Solo Vampiric Roleplaying, an Ironsworn-like take on Storyteller vampires, and Powered by the Dark, another PbtA take on World of Darkness.

Best of luck!

A new episode has been added to the database: 105 - The Literal Cat Lightning Round/Finale

A new episode has been added to the database: C1 - GM Commentary | Episodes 17-18

A new episode has been added to the database: HELL GAMES - Dark Sun Boxed Set

A new episode has been added to the database: NL: SideQuest - Up in Smoke - Pt1 Tea for 5

A new episode has been added to the database: Episode 119 - Unfinished Rites

A new episode has been added to the database: TLAS4 Chapter 13 Risk and Reward