Campaign Chronicles

DAY FOURTEEN (December 12th), 8:06 am   Those amongst the adventuring company who are cognizant of their surroundings gather the others and lead them away from the Tea Party (but not before Korbin manages to steal a couple handfuls of silverware).   Shadow leads the group through the White Rabbit’s house toward the burrow opening in the back yard. As he crouches to duck beneath the lintel of the front door, Raven glances back and sees that the table he split in half has either been repaired or mended itself and that the tea party continues unabated.   He shakes his head ruefully, glad to finally be leaving this land behind. One by one, the adventurers squeeze through the burrow opening and find themselves inside a low-ceilinged tunnel with squared off walls.   Wooden beams and rafters support the earth all around and a diffuse glow from somewhere up ahead provides enough light for everyone to see by.   After several minutes of duck-walking, the...

For previous entries in this series, please follow the links provided. Part One: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-one.html Part Two: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-two.html Part Three: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-three.html Part Four: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-four.html Part Five: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-five.html Part Six: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-six.html Part Seven: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-seven.html DAY FOURTEEN (December 12th), 8:05:12 am   Niklas continues to lead Grotto away from the gathered queens, kings, and adventurers, trying to get him to a spot where the dwarf can clear his head as get back to as close to normal as is possible for him.   Grotto frowns dejectedly,...

In today's tale, I present something that straddles the line between what we have come to think of as a Western with something a bit more fantastical.  I am presenting this in the d20 format because I will be incorporating this (or something close to it) in my ongoing campaign: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/my-play-by-post-campaign.html and https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/fantasy-characters-in-sci-fi-world.html . (Credit to original artist, whoever that may be) Judge Issac Parker, the infamous Hanging Judge of Ft. Smith, Arkansas, had long suffered from Bright's Disease.  He was forced to take a summer off from his judicial duties when his health took a turn for the worse.   As he grew closer to death, he prayed, as all desperate men do, to be spared.   While God and His angels did not choose to grant the judge's prayers, another entity was listening. Mephistopheles offered to restore the judge's life as long ...

Fimbulvetr...Game of Thrones..."Christmas Everyday!" from the Fairly Oddparents...the list is almost as infinite as Winter itself. Endless frost and snow are common go-to themes for both fantasy and sci-fi, whether it is Bobby Drake kicking off another Ice Age on Earth-616, Elsa bringing an Eternal (err... three-day) Winter down on Arendelle, or COBRA using their weather dominator to fight G.I. Joe, the causes for a winter without end are limitless. In the campaigns I have run, I have generally glossed over winter unless there was something specific in-story reason for the players' characters to be out and about, battling blizzards or fighting their way through snow drifts or even just finding their hats and mittens because, like my children, they have no idea where they placed these items when they took them off. I only mention these things because it snowed here today.  I don't care that the snow was melting as fast as it was falling.  I don't care that no...

I have always liked stories that blur the lines between fictional genres.   Weird West, Sci-Fantasy, Scooby-Doo meets Cthulhu, you name it and I have probably enjoyed it or at least the concept of it.   Comic books and television are rife with examples of this sort of thing.   Batman travels back in time to the Wild West and meets Jonah Hex, Wolverine battles Conan the Barbarian, Dean Winchester goes back to World War II and boards a submarine to recover a mystic artifact before the sub is sunk by a German destroyer.   A crashed spaceship releases robots to wreak havoc in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. High-Level Characters are already nigh-superhuman with Fighters able to defeat scores of warriors in a single battle, Wizards calling fire and lightning down from the sky or Clerics calling upon their gods to create miracles that alter the very fabric of reality.   But what if we took that one-step further? A deceptively simple adventure could r...

If you want to go back and see what's already happen to get us to this point, the following links are provided... Part One: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-one.html Part Two: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-two.html Part Three: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-three.html Part Four: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-four.html Part Five: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-five.html Part Six: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-six.html DAY FOURTEEN (December 12th), 8:05:06 am   Shadow hears the shouting and the sounds of battle.   “How in the hell did they get into a fight at a tea party?”   The dark elf blows out an exasperated sigh and conjures a spell of flight to carry him skyward and back to the rest of the group.  ...

If you missed the beginning and want to go back and catch up, the following links are provided: Part One: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-one.html Part Two: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-two.html Part Three: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-three.html Part Four: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-four.html Part Five: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-five.html DAY FOURTEEN (December 12th), 8:05 am Arthur calls upon the magic of his shield to rise into the air so he can have a better view of his allies.   Once they are in sight, he activates the power of his helm and *POPS* out of existence, reappearing in the midst of the group less than a moment later. Shadow approaches the burrow.   He calls upon his arcane sight to scan the area to be sure that there are not wards waiting ...

If you missed the beginning and want to go back and catch up, the following links are provided: Part One: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-one.html Part Two: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-two.html Part Three: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-three.html Part Four: https://beekaydubya.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-hatters-tea-party-part-four.html DAY FOURTEEN (December 12th), 8:04 am   Korbin thanks the Hatter for the food, stretches his wings, and prepares to rejoin the group now that he has eaten his fill but settles back down and takes up another cup of tea and starts drinking once more.   Grotto, feeling more than a little inebriated, mistakes the enchantment laying over the area as the aftereffects of one of the alchemical connections he habitually smokes but continues to eat and drink without interruption.   Cedron takes his tea cup in hand and take...