I did quite a bit of work on the Scarlet Horizons related part of my website this afternoon and evening.

I reviewed Gursk Spiritspeaker's vision so that I'll keep it top of mind as Aury and Mattie continue their Barrowmaze incursions.

I've started working on a section of the website to hold information related to the forces, factions, powers, and personae that are the movers and the shakers in my Scarlet Horizons setting.

Additionally, I updated the webpage for the regional subsector map, Southeastern Stigrix, so that it now has hotspots that link to a local map — helpful for my solo characters campaign — and it shows the relationship of the Slaytonthorpe area within the larger region.

A Gentle Introduction to Roleplaying Games - Part 2

previous article

◦◦◦ combat, to-hit rolls, THAC0 ◦◦◦

Terms Defined:

- AC
- initiative
- round
- surprise

THAC0: “To Hit Armor Class Zero”

In Scarlet Horizons there is the classic concept of Armor Class.

At some point, your player-character will find herself involved in combat — perhaps not willingly (ambush, brigands). When combat ensues, the old addage may well apply: "I'm don't start fights, but I definitely finish them."

Truth to tell, depending upon the chosen personality and predilections of your player-character, s/he may indeed start a lot of fights.

In a roleplaying game, fights may be mortal, i.e., to the death, or they may be broken up by bystanders or what passes for law enforcement (bar fights, etc.) Regardless of the type of fight in which you find your player-character, your objective is usually to win.

When it comes to physical combat, not all player-character (i.e., PCs for short) are created equal. In many roleplaying games (Dungeons & Dragons being the most widely known), your player-character will have a vocation. In many game systems, this is called your character's class.

In Scarlet Horizons, the author's self-created setting and rules system for fantasy and far-future roleplaying, there are quite a few of these classes. The best combatants are those PCs — player-characters — who concentrate of the Fighter class —and its subclasses. These characters tend to hit the hardest and most accurately in combat.

New players who've never played a tabletop RPG may want to take the Fighter class. It's tendencies and modus operandi are well-reflected in literature, television, and movies ( The Count of Monte Christo, Vikings, Bruce Lee movies, Blackhawk Down, etc.)

The thing about combat is, your foe is trying to hurt you without getting hurt in turn. So, combat is a dance of martial skill — feints, lunges, haymakers, thrusts, slashes all interspersed with ducking, dodging, blocking, evading.

In many roleplaying games combat is simulated using dice rolls. Because dice introduce randomness, they lend themselves to combat, in which there is rarely a 100% chance of landing a sword stroke — or avoiding one.

In Dungeons & Dragons, and in my own Scarlet Horizons system and setting — which uses Kevin Crawford's Scarlet Heroes as a starting point for its mechanics — a twenty-sided die is used to determine if a combatant's attack successfully hits its intended target.

The higher the result that you roll using that 20-sided die (called a dodecahedron, if you care), the better the likelihood you've successfully injured your foe, whether that's another bar room brawler, or a hydra in a swamp.

◦◦◦

 

Armor Class (AC for short)

In many systems, Dungeons & Dragons, Scarlet Heroes, and — yes — in my own Scarlet Horizons, the goal is to get a d20 die result equal to or higher than a certain target number. In the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, that target number is an Armor Class, and in the modern 5th edition of the game, the higher the Armor Class, the more difficult it is to penetrate with an attack.

But in earlier versions of AD&D, Armor Class did not range from 10 to (the upper twenties, or even higher). Rather, in these older systems, Armor Class ranged from negative ten, to positive ten, and the lower an Armor Class, the better.

In Scarlet Horizons, there are a couple of ways you can determine your needed d20 to-hit roll. Let me give an example and I'll demonstrate these two different methods of determining if your player-character hits in combat.

Let's say you're playing a Fighter named Bartleby the Brazen. He's not very experienced yet (still Level 1) but he's quite strong (Strength 16, which carries a +2 bonus). Bartleby is using a decent quality longsword, but it's not enchanted or so high quality that it carries any bonuses — therefore, it's bonus is +0.

Bartleby gets attacked by a goblin as he leaves town and heads back toward his cabin not far from the village of Helix. The goblin attacks from surprise, springing from behind bushes next to the road.

Thankfully for Bartleby's sake, the DM rolls a d20 result of 3 for the goblin. It's not a high enough roll to successfully injure Bartleby. The DM says, "At the last possible moment, your warrior instincts kick in and you jerk aside, narrowly dodging a cowardly surprise attack. In the waning light of dusk, you see that a goblin has ambushed you."

Alternatively, the DM might instead say, "A goblin's surprise attack hits you, but your armor absorbs the blow and you are left unharmed." So you see, the DM interprets the results of the die roll, explaining in a way that maintains the narrative fiction, helping the player who controls the character Bartleby to remain submerged in the story.

◦◦◦

 

Surprise

Not all combat is initiated by a surprise attack. In fact, most of the time — or at least much of the time — there is no surprise involved: two duelists face off to settle a dispute of honor. Both wait for the referee to drop the handkerchief, signaling the start of the duel.

Some characters will refuse to engage in a surprise attack, at least under most conditions. For instance, a paladin would chafe at the notion of surprise attacking even the band of brigands that surprise-attacked his adventuring party earlier in the day. He might opt to stride forth and confront them directly, even if the party's thief decides to keep a crossbow trained on the brigands from a position of cover.

◦◦◦

 

Rounds

Because the goblin initiated combat by surprise attacking Bartleby, our PC (i.e., player-character) didn't get an initial attack — because he was surprised. That's why surprise attacks are undertaken. They give an advantage.

When combat ensues, in-game time is measured in rounds. A round is roughly six seconds, a period of time long enough for some movement, feints, and a committed attack.

◦◦◦

 

Initiative

Now that Bartleby is aware of his attacker, the Dungeon Master says, "The surprise round is over, and the first regular round of combat begins. Roll initiative."

If you've ever watched a boxing match, you know that when the bell dings to start a round of boxing, you can never be sure which opponent will launch the first punch. Well, the same uncertainty applies in fantasy combat in a roleplaying game.

And so, to determine who acts first in a given six-second round of combat, the Dungeon Master calls for initiative rolls. To determine initiative, each combatant in a Scarlet Horizons game rolls a ten-sided die, remembering the result.

Next, each combatant adds his or her Dexterity bonus to the rolled result. In our example, Bartleby has an average Dexterity (10) and so a +0 bonus — which doesn't affect the 7 he rolled on the d10 die. Bartleby's two-handed, massive sword makes a deadly rasping sound as he draws it from its scabbard. Because it's a large weapon, he subtracts 1 from his result:

Bartleby initiative: 1d10 ("7") + 0 (ave. Dex) - 1 (Large weapon) = 6

Bartleby's initiative for this round is a six. The DM rolls a ten-sided die for teh goblin's initiative and gets a '5' result. This particular goblin has a better than average Dexterity score (14) which carries a +1 bonus. And the goblin is using a one-handed short-sword that doesn't modify initiative, so:

Goblin's initiative 1d10 ("5") + 1 (Dex bonus) + 0 (short sword) = 6

Hmm, Bartleby and the goblin tied for initiative, each getting a 6 result. The DM rules that the tie is broken by comparing Dexterity score. The goblin's Dex 14 is higher than Bartleby's Dex 10, so it will act first this round of combat.

Initiative determination can be confusing to new players, so if you don't quite grok it yet, that's okay. The Dungeon Master says to Bartleby's player, "The goblin lashes out with its short sword, hoping to capitalize on its surprise attack before you can get your bearings..."

A Gentle Introduction to Roleplaying Games - Part 2

◦◦◦ clueless to 1st character ◦◦◦
a ?-word article

At some point, your player-character will find herself involved in combat — perhaps not willingly (ambush, brigands). When combat ensues, the old addage may well apply: "I'm don't start fights, but I definitely finish them."

Truth to tell, depending upon the chosen personality and predilections of your player-character, s/he may indeed start a lot of fights.

In a roleplaying game, fights may be mortal, i.e., to the death, or they may be broken up by bystanders or what passes for law enforcement (bar fights, etc.) Regardless of the type of fight in which you find your player-character, your objective is usually to win.

When it comes to physical combat, not all player-character (i.e., PCs for short) are created equal. In many roleplaying games (Dungeons & Dragons being the most widely known), your player-character will have a vocation. In many game systems, this is called your character's class.

In Scarlet Horizons, the author's self-created setting and rules system for fantasy and far-future roleplaying, there are quite a few of these classes. The best combatants are those PCs (i.e., player-characters) who concentrate of the Fighter class —and its subclasses. These characters tend to hit the hardest and most accurately in combat.

New players who've never played a tabletop RPG may want to take the Fighter class. It's tendencies and modus operandi are well-reflected in literature, television, and movies (The Count of Monte Christo, Vikings, Bruce Lee movies, Blackhawk Down, etc.)

The thing about combat is, your foe(s) is/are trying to hurt you without getting hurt in turn. So, combat is a dance of martial skill — feints, lunges, haymakers, thrusts, slashes all interspersed with ducking, dodging, blocking, evading.

In many roleplaying games combat is simulated using dice rolls. Because dice introduce randomness, they lend themselves to combat, in which there is rarely a 100% chance of landing a sword stroke — or avoiding one.

In Dungeons & Dragons, and in my own Scarlet Horizons system and setting — which uses Kevin Crawford's Scarlet Heroes as a starting point for its mechanics — a twenty-sided die is used to determine if a combatant's attack successfully hits its intended target.

Ken and Jake Hill treated us to a couple of songs accompanied by guitar on Sunday, 24 Dec. 2023. It was a good church service. Irene Harmon was there, and I saw Max Downey. Apparently his home church wasn't having Christmas Eve service. In fact, I think quite a number of local churches called off services.

Mark K. taught Sunday School, giving me a rest. I'll resume sometime mid- to late-January, 2024. Today, Monday 25 Dec. 2023, it's rainy. I have a truck load of boxes to haul off and burn, but it may have to wait till tomorrow.

Previous story post

1,944 words

Matthias puts the three torches he found under his bed at The Brazen Strumpet next to his other three remaining torches in one corner of his room. This could get to be problematic. This recently discovered — and undoubtedly magically-fuelled — ability of his to find torches, seemingly no matter where he is located, has an enticing side effect: it sometimes also causes one or more royals to appear, along with the torches.

"Well, not this time," he concedes, lamenting the lack of any accompanying coins when these most recent torches were ... found. But the previous evening was financially advantageous. And so the scholar-mage anticipates many future occurences of happily exclaiming, aloud or not, 'Oh Look, More Torches!'

Preparing to go downstairs to join his friends for supper, he turns to the tub now full of cooling (and quite dirty) water. A servant will drain the tub while he's at dinner, then clean it. He dresses in fresh trousers and tunic, and then turns to his bed and bedside table. One of the benefits of membership in The Seekers is the sharply discounted — sometimes even pro bono — services from its skilled members.

He steps first to the bedside table and picks up an attractive mithril ring fashioned to look like a band formed from interwoven vines. He turns it over in his fingers. To him, it has value beyond even it's artistic beauty. It is a ring of protection +1 — not that Matthias things of it in those terms. He thinks of it as a talisman against harm. He slides it onto his left hand's ring finger. "Long may it protect me."

Turning to the bed, he takes up the beautiful midnight blue cloak found in the crypt earlier in the day. Magen Eisenthrast identified it as a cloak of protection +1.

Matthias had argued politely that Aury should take it, but the cleric and their guide, Brother Jasyn, had insisted Mattie be the one to wear it. He's always been smaller and not as good a fighter as Aury. He puts on the cloak, luxuriating in its supple strength and beautiful craftsmanship. Normally, he'd have donned his leather armor before the cloak, but it's being cleaned at the Chapterhouse by an initiate.

At the man-hole covered entrance to the Chapterhouse, Brother Jasyn had temporarily parted ways with the Seekers. "I'm sorry," Aury had said. "But the Father Abbot permits only Seekers within."

"No, I of course understand. I'm going to go on over to The Brazen Strumpet and get us each a room for the night. I'll pay for nice rooms, all the amenities. My treat. I've not stayed there since they added the new wing, but I understand it's very nice. I'll see you both shortly." And their guide had taken his leave of them.

Down on the third sublevel, Matthias hands over his filthy leather armor to Initiate Fenwick. "Sorry, Fen. Do you mind?"

"Not at all, Seeker." He turns to Aury. "If you'll permit me, I will also clean and oil your scalemail, Brother."

The pair of Seekers next visit Magen Eisenthrast, who is quickly able to catalog and identify their finds from the crypt in the marsh. After ascertaining the general value of most items, they jointly agree to donate the electrum scarab on a leather thong to the Chapterhouse, so that it may be sold to support all the Brothers.

They also jointly donate eighty shiny copper pieces to the brotherhood, which will go some goodly way in fueling the Visitor furnaces and other machines of the Chapterhouse.

"Very much appreciated," purrs Magen Eisenthrast. "That should cover our needs through the rest of October, and perhaps two or three days into November."

After the mage identifies the various magical items, Matthias transforms into the kid in a candy store, who hasn't had his ADHD medication. When Aury insists that his fellow Seeker take both the cloak of protection and the ring of protection, Matthias dashes off to the inn-tavern, practically skipping.

After a few seconds, Magen asks Aury, "Was there anything else, brother?" and then glances significantly at the rolled up and tied tapestry from the crypt.

"Yes, magister," Aury bobs his head. "If you could take a few moments and appraise this tapestry we recovered," he unrolls it, spreading it out onto a large table. "This was hanging in the entry chamber of the crypt we raided — er, robbed, rather. Matthias seemed uninterested."

"Oh, my," croons Magen, once he's angled several brilliant white-light lamps onto the object d'Art. "It's so well preserved," he breathes, reaching for a large magnifying glass.

"I know!" Aury agrees. "It doesn't make sense. The entire crypt was damp through and through, and flooded in foul-smelling water."

"Any other details you can remember?" asks the magister.

"Well ... when Matthias touched it, the sapphire skeleton rose from the water," he supplies.

"Interesting," Magen coos, not stopping his examination with the magnifying glass. "That fits," he says, moving around the table and leaning over to study another corner of the tapestry, "given that the subject matter hear appears to be generally necromantic. It's clearly enchanted." He grabs a wand and hovers it above the tapestry. "Ah, as I thought, yes."

"What? What do you see?" Aury finds himself caught up along with the magister.

"It's a necromantic focus. I actually suspected as much when you said you found it in the Barrowmoor. The Cumerians had an unhealthy fascination with both necromancy and summoning. This tapestry served to strengthen some necromancer's spells. It probably also enhanced the durability and overall numbers of undead he was able to create. But it's most important function would have been to expand the total number of undead that the necromancer could simultaneously control."

"Good to know," says Aury, nodding. "Well, I'm not interested in hanging onto it as memento of my first robbed tomb. I have other reminders," he says, glancing at the ring of fire resistance he now wears. "Hmm, well, do you know who might pay a decent price for it? Some historian or wizard?"

"Oh I wouldn't advise leaving it in circulation in that manner," says the magister. "The tapestry is evil!"

"Magister, things aren't evil. People can be, and they may use objects for evil purposes, but the things themselves aren't evil."

Magen smiles indulgently. "Aury, when you're the veteran of as many campaigns as I am, then we'll talk again. The Chapterhouse can offer you ... twenty-three hundred royals for it."

Aury stares at the magister in stunned silence for several seconds. Then: "Sold!"

When the two Seekers sit down to supper with their guide, it is two hours past sunset. The Brazen Strumpet is at about 50% capacity in the dining room. Several villagers are here eating, as are some local miners, and a farmer who is resigned to spend the night so that the local ostler can care for his mule team.

For three generations, it's just been 'The Brazen Strumpet tavern'. Now, it also boasts a wing of rooms for rent, and a nicer dining room away from the coarse and sometimes even lewd talk that takes place in the tavern.

"Well, it's about time," Brother Jasyn grouses good-naturedly as Matthias enters the dining room. As the scholar-mage seats himself across from the guide, Brother Jasyn slides an empty tankard and a pitcher full of Padoar Stout over to the younger man. "Nice cloak."

"Thanks. Any sign of Aury?" As if somehow summoned, the cleric appears in the dining hall door way, scans for a second to locate his companions, then grins and makes his way over, taking a third chair at the round table and pouring himself a tankard of ale. He glances at Mattie. "Our armor will be cleaned and ready by Evensong," he informs the mage.

"Ah, excellent," Mattie comments, smiling as a servant brings a basket of fresh-baked bread and a crock of butter, placing it on their table. "And the tapestry. Did we find a buyer?"

"Magen felt strongly that it was a dangerous item and should be removed from circulation. Suffice it to say, both your dues and mine for the coming several months are already paid in full. And, he was delighted to get the cuprous," Aury supplies.

"Hmm. Well, I suppose that's good. I think I'm going to keep the neshralk. It functions as an everburning candle. That has the potential to be quite useful. What does that leave us with in terms of loot?" the mage asks.

Brother Jasyn finishes buttering a bread roll. "The silver necklace with pearls, the platinum necklace, and the sapphire fragment from the first skeleton we encountered. We could probably get around eight hundred royals if we take them to the right folks in Rosen or Sizemordicus."

"I'd like to get back to the Barrowmoor as soon as possible," Mattie says. "Why don't we lock up our valuables at the Chapterhouse until such time that we're ready to make a trip worth our time — say, when we have several times that amount?"

"Brother Jasyn shrugs to signify it doesn't matter to him, and Aury adds, "Same. Though it's unpleasant tomb robbing in cold weather, we're less likely to have to contend with other explorers than if we postpone till the Spring."

Mattie nods. "We've both got responsibilities at the Chapterhouse tomorrow, but I'm thinking we could strike out for the marsh again on the following day..."

"Sounds good," says Brother Jasyn. The three enjoy a hearty repast and then move closer to a fireplace, enjoying its heat as they sip after-supper brandy and talk far into the night.

I'm going to do an experiment. I'm thinking two characters, each having access to a Fray die each and every round, may be imbalanced — i.e., overpowered. So, for the next little bit, I'm going to have Aury and Mattie alternate rounds for Fray die use — and Brother Jasyn won't get a Fray die at all when he accompanied the pair of Seekers.

Mattie, who has the higher Dexterity score, will get his Fray die use on odd numbered rounds (1st, 3rd, etc.) and Aury will get his Fray die use on even-numbered rounds (2nd, 4th, etc.) In the unlikely event that Brother Jasyn were to acompany only one of the two Seekers on a two-party member escapade, he will act on 2nd, 4th, etc., rounds and the accompanying PC will act on the 1st, 3rd, etc. rounds.

Continue the story...

This will be Christmas number six without dad, bless his heart. But I sure am comforted knowing that his faith was solid, his eternity secure. Yes, I miss him. It's wistful, melancholic. But I know he is with the Lord, and therefore he is in perfect delight and security.

So while I'll be getting together with family and celebrating the Reason for the Season, dad is actually with Him. What a comfort and joy that is to know, and I'm thankful.

I'm going through old photos, optimizing, and blogging them. Here's one I found. I think it's when my nephew was born. This would have been in March 2018.

or

The Earth, It Cares Not!

Tomb Robbery One

Previous story post...

3,227 words

The Seekers are able, after shoveling a few inches of soil away, to reveal a large, four-foot diameter plug of stone capping the apex of the mound on which they stand. A few feet away, Brother Jasyn observes as the two younger men take turns, one wielding the sledgehammer while the other guards against wandering monsters (and intentional predators).

It takes almost half an hour to bust through the thick stone capstone and enlarge the opening to the crypt. The sun has moved appreciably along its path toward its noon zenith when Aury resecures the sledgehammer horizontally across the top of his pack, and takes a lit torch from Mattie in one hand. Grabbing a taut length of rope in the other hand, he leans carefully, looking down into the hole.

Party Info Table

"Now remember," Brother Jasyn reminds the Seekers as he double checks the rope that is knotted around a sizable spruce less than twenty feet from the crypt opening, "we don't know how far down the drop will be. We can't preclude the possibility of injury on the descent, or that a marsh denizen or opportunistic band of tomb robbers might cut the rope and leave us stranded down there. What do you see?"

"Not much," comes Aury's reply, as he gazes down into the opening. "But there's definitely standing water. I can see the reflected torch light."

"All right," says the guide, checking his pack and weapons as he approaches the top of the mound. He draws up next to Mattie where the mage stands a good yard from the edge of the opening, on the side opposite Aury. "I don't suppose you have a spell that could get us down there more easily?" asks Brother Jasyn.

"No, I'm afraid not." Mattie grimaces. "No do I have magic to get us out of the crypt. I'm afraid we're reliant on our wits and mundane means."

"Understood," adds Aury from across the hole. "Well then, let's light this candle..."

Brother Jasyn descends into the crypt first. Despite having at least two decades on the Seekers, he shimmies down the rope with alacrity and then deftly catches the burning torch dropped to him by Aury.

Aury holds the rope where it exits the hole and is stretched taut to where it is tied to a spruce tree. He's placed a smooth chunk of stone so that the rope lies atop it, protecting it from friction damage at the lip of the hole. Mattie descends the rope — more slowly than Jasyn but ably enough. And then it's Aury's turn. His descent is slower still. The rope moves more than with Mattie and Jasyn, but holds.

As Aury finds his footing thirty feet beneath the lip of the hole, he is — not for the first time — glad for Jasyn's insistence on hip-waders. The water in the entrance chamber is over knee-high, and fetid. He accepts the torch from Brother Jasyn just as Mattie causes the tip of his staff to shed a white illumination.

The section of the chamber our adventurers are in is ten by ten feet and brightly lit, thanks to the pair of light sources. To the north are steps that lead down. Thankfully, Brother Jasyn is an experienced dungeoneer and leads the way, so the submerged steps are detected and therefore negotiated safely.

The trio enters a larger chamber more than twenty by twenty feet. A tapestry hangs on the eastern wall, faded with age but surprisingly intact and apparently untouched by mildew or rot. "What is this depicting?" Mattie asks, leaning forward and lifting his free hand—

The trio enters a larger chamber more than twenty by twenty feet. A tapestry hangs on the eastern wall, faded with age but surprisingly intact and apparently untouched by mildew or rot. "What is this depicting?" Mattie asks, leaning forward and lifting his free hand—

"No! Don't touch th—"

But Brother Jasyn's warning it too late. Matthias' hand makes contact with the tapestry and there is movement in the chamber's northeastern corner as a humanoid skeleton lunges upright from where it had been concealed beneath the knee-deep water. A jewel set into its skull burns with sapphire light as it jerks forward to close the distance and attack the tomb interlopers.

There is a 20% base (plus 10% cumulative) chance per round that Brother Jasyn will realize the nature of this particular type of undead. Aury has a 10% base (plus 5% cumulative) chance per round of the same realization.

"I've got this," Aury says, lifting his mace and taking a sloshing step forward in his hip-waders. His first swing (melee to-hit) misses, but on the backswing he connects (Fray Die) and then Mattie's wave of eldritch energy impacts (Fray Die) it from the side, shattering the skeleton, which collapses.

"Well, that was easy enough," Mattie observes and he moves back toward the tapestry to resume inspecting it by the light shed by the tip of his staff. "Hmm, this appears to be a depiction of some sort of necromantic ritua—"

The skull of the skeleton pops back up above the dark water, the red jewel in its forehead still burning brightly. A second later, the rest of the skeleton rises, and Aury groans, "Crap, there's two of them." He readies his mace once again. The scenario plays itself out again. This time, Aury's mace shatters the skeleton with a pair of blows.

"See if you can find the skull," Brother Jasyn suggests. "That gem looked valuable. I'll check down this hallway," he says, gesturing to the west. The dungeoneer begins sloshing that direction, checking each step ahead of him with a long stick, hoping to detect and floor traps.

Up pops another skeleton out of the water. Aury sighs, "I wonder how many of them there are..."

The skeleton rakes claws at Aury. Fortunately, his scale armor protects him. In a conversational tone Matthias comments matter-of-factly, "It's the same skeleton, the same one we've put down twice already. It keeps reconstituting itself."

"Oomph!" Aury grunts as the skeleton lands a hard blow and the cleric struggles momentarily to regain his balance. He lifts his mace again, "Great! How do I destroy it?"

"Beats me," Mattie answers honestly. "Do you need my help?"

"Try to destroy the gem in its skull..." Brother Jasyn's suggestion echoes to you from down the western passage.

 The battle continues for several long seconds before Aury manages to land a solid blow on the skeleton's forehead and the gem embedded there, and the skeleton instantly falls apart.

"Ooh, did you shatter the gem, or just knock it off the skull?" asks the mage, bringing the light of his staff nearer.

"I don't know," Aury says, irritably. "It happened fast, and there are shadows, and—"

"Well, feel around..." Mattie encourages, gesturing to the water. "See if you can find the gem. It may be valuable!"

"I'm not reaching around under there! There could be ... parasites! Disease! Or, or more skeletons. I don't exactly want to lose fingers to a submerged skull."

"Oh for Petrarkan's Sake, I'll search myself..." says Mattie, rolling his eyes. He pushes up the sleeve of his right arm and plunges his hand beneath the fetid water, grimacing. Aury entertains the idea of spooking his fellow Seeker, but doesn't want to arouse the dungeoneer's ire. The older man to the west feels strongly about Delve Discipline.

"Aha!" Mattie exclaims, standing with a large fragment of sapphire in hand. "The gem was shattered but even this fragment is worth a fair amount."

"Was the door trapped?" Aury asks, as he and Mattie enter the ten by fifteen foot second chamber. Even with the double illumination of Brother Jasyn's torch and Mattie's staff, it's apparent that the blue-green lichen adorning the walls and ceiling of this chamber is phosphorescent.

"Yes, poison needle," brother Jasyn answers. "And it actually got me. I must be getting rusty."

"Aury swings around in concern. "Do you need an antidote? I bought the best I could afford from Athelbyn."

"Nah, I'm okay," the guide assures the young cleric. "I've built up a lifetime of resistance. Plus, there's no telling how many decades old the poison is. It's potency has undoubtedly diminished with the passing years."

Mattie moves deeper into the room, studying the walls. When his eyes alight upon a neshralk, he moves toward it purposefully. "Try not to touch anything until I've had a chance to look at it first," Brother Jasyn warns, and then he resumes probing the perimeter of the room with stick.

The water in this chamber only comes up to mid-calf, thanks to a riser at the door to this chamber. "What are you searching for?" Aury asks the man.

"Traps. There could be pit traps, animal traps, hidden glyphs."

"This neshralk radiates magic," Mattie says. "Care to check it for traps? I want to try something."

"Uh-oh," Aury says.

Mattie just rolls his eyes, then steps aside to make room for Brother Jasyn. "Looks untrapped," says the guide. "You can go ahead and handle it."

"You first," Mattie returns. "Just in case you're wrong."

"Oh, I see!" sneers the guide. "I'm not hired solely for my expertise. You also want me to be your canary in a coal mine, your ten-foot pole, eh? Sure, I'll play Trapspringer. It'll run you fifty royals each time."

"All right, all right. Calm yourself," Matthias rejoins, and as Brother Jasyn huffs back to resume his perimeter checking, the mage winks at his burly fellow Seeker.

Matthias reaches out and gingerly touches the neshralk. The waxy figure is about six inches in height and isn't very detailed — thought it is recognizable as a man. A wick comes out of the head.

The mage picks up the neshralk and reads an inscription, bringing his extensive training as a linguist to bear: "'I light the way into eternity.' It's in a Cumerian dialect, which would suggest this funerary figure is somewhere between two-hundred fifty and three hundred years old."

Brother Jasyn, having finished his prodding about with his stick, steps up next to Matthias. "Probably worth a few royals to a collector."

Mattie turns it over in hands a few more times, studying it from different angles. "True. And, who knows? It might be enchanted." The scholar-mage wraps the figure in a cloth and secures it in his pack for better identification later, back at the Chapterhouse.

"Given the funerary figure, this is probably the antechamber to a burial chamber. The Cumerians held their ancestors and their dead deeply sacred," the guide explains, "so if this is a Cumerian barrow, I would expect to find this next chamber well-guarded." He squats before the closed, brass-plated wooden door to the next chamber.

"What are you doing now?" Aury asks their guide.

"Checking for air movement," Brother Jasyn answers. "Make a note of it: when you're in a dungeon-like setting, if you can feel any air movement coming from beneath a door or portal, chances are good that whatever area beyond the door is occupied or frequented by living creatures."

"Because they seek out fresh air, and because air movement can also indicate you're near an exit to the surface," Mattie adds.

Brother Jason glances up at the scholar-mage. "There may be hope for you yet," he says, grinning. He then places his palms about an inch from a brass plate that adorns the door, explaining, "And now I'm sensing for any hint of a dweomer and also letting my dungeoneer's sixth sense probe beyond the door and into the next chamber. I'm sensing for traps on the door, and hazards in the room beyond."

"And?" Aury prompts.

"No traps on the door, but it's swollen with moisture and will be hard to open."

"Fascinating," Mattie comments, and there is no trace of sarcasm in his voice. "I may have to apprentice myself to you if we're going to be doing a lot of tomb-raiding."

"An apprenticeship would run you a hundred royals a month, but that includes me providing meals, any needed healing, and incidentals," Brother Jasyn responds, focused on the door. "And it's 'tomb robbing', not 'raiding'. You raid the living, not the dead."

"Well then, my profuse apologies to the dead. Perhaps they'll be willing to excu—" Mattie's rejoinder is interrupted by Brother Jasyn's quickly raised right hand. After a few more quiet seconds, he stands, knees popping, and addresses the younger Seekers more quietly than before. "There's a significant threat beyond this door."

Aury pulls his mace from his belt, but maintains some skepticism about how much of Brother Jason's performance reflects real insight and how much may just be grandstanding.

"Care to do the honors, Aury?" Matthias asks.

"Sure. Step aside and weapons ready, please," answers the cleric before throwing his left shoulder and full weight against the door. There is the loud grate of his scale mail against the bronze plating, a second shouldering of the door, and it gives way and our trio is through the doorway in a hurry, Aury leading the way with mace held high, Matthias bringing up the rear and his staff's illumination adding to that provided by Brother Jasyn's torch.

Aury sustains 3 damage from a deadfall trap as a heavy rock falls on him. He grunts in pain but hurriedly moves on into the chamber to make room for his comrades. On a stone bier reposes a skeleton, still wearing a suit of what once must have been a nice masterwork suit of chained mail but is now rusting, the underlying leather mouldered. There isn't time to study it because a wood golem strides forward from where it has stood silent watch for untold decades, and battle is joined!

Party Info Table

The small chamber is crowded: with the stone bier in its center, there is barely adequate room for the three tomb robbers and the wood golem. Consequently, only Aury is close enough to attack the golem and be attacked in return in the first round of combat.

In round 1, both Aury's regular melee attack and his Fray Die attack inflict damage, but it's clear that the golem has resistance to bludgeoning damage. Even after three rounds, and with Mattie layering on damage from his Fray Die, the golem is still up. Still standing adjacent to the chamber's door and hallway eastward, Brother Jasyn cleans under his fingernails with a small knife and reminds the Seekers, "No area of effect spells, please. The area is too constrained."

In round 4, Aury only delivers a glancing blow, but then his backhand swing cracks bark and pith and another eldritch bolt from Matthias strikes the golem on its other side. "We don't have any area effect spells — yet, at least," Matthias informs their guide. "But thanks for the reminder, and please don't over-exert yourself, Brother Jasyn!" The golem slams Aury and the cleric bounces off the crypt wall, partially goes down, but then rights himself. He's now at 12/17 HP.

"Oh! I beg your pardon," Brother Jason replies drolly. "Do you need me to step in and assist?"

"No! We've ... got (ugh!) ... this!" supplies Aury. But the cleric not only misses with an overcommitted swing, but also loses his grip on his weapon, and his mace goes skittering along, disappearing beneath a few inches of water, somewhere within the golem's 5'-space. "Petrarkian's Poxed Privates!" the cleric swears. The golem, perhaps sensing its advantage, attempts to put Aury out of the fight, but Matthias' well-timed eldritch bolt causes it to miss.

"A little relief, please?" Aury asks, backing away. "I'm on it!" shouts Matthias as he comes bounding over the stone bier, upsetting the skeleton's repose and nearly getting tripped up in its rib cage. But he manages to land a heavy blow on the golem, and the construct goes down. Thanks to the magical damage from several of Matthias' Fray Die attacks, the golem won't be reconstituting itself.

"Well, well, well..." says Brother Jasyn, now clapping his hands slowly in applause. "Good show, you two! I believe I may make true tomb robbers of you yet! Let's see what we can find, shall we?" And the trio begins searching through the skeletal remains, beneath the shallow water in the room, on and surrounding the defeated wood golem.

Treasure collected from chamber #4 of 1st crypt plundered in Barrowmaze 23 Oct. 204 PR (the characters don't yet know information shown in italics):

Rusty chainmail atop mouldering leather from chamber 4
Skeleton's electrum scarab on a leather thong (Aury) from chamber 4 skeleton (25 GP)
Silver necklace with pearls on skeleton in chamber 4 (Matthias, 400 GP)
Gold ring with fire opal on golem in chamber 4 (Matthias, min 400 GP) ring of fire resistance
Skeleton's platinum necklace in chamber 4 (Aury, 300 GP)
Skeleton's electrum ring in chamber 4 (Matthias, min 300 GP) ring of protection +1
4 SP, 6 GP, 12 Shiny cuprous from chamber 4 (Mattie)

As the trio finishes searching the room, Brother Jasyn accepts another torch from Matthias and manages to light it from his existing torch before it dies.

A short time later, they find themselves back in the original chamber. "Do you see anything else you want to investigate before we leave?" asks Brother Jasyn.

"Leave?" Aury asks. "It couldn't be much past high-sun."

"Correct," Mattie agrees, "but it'll take time to get out of the crypt, then a few hours to make it back to Helix."

"And believe me," adds Brother Jasyn, "you don't want to be caught in the Barrowmoor after nightfall."

Aury shrugs. "Fine. We're ready to leave, then."

"You sure about that?" asks Brother Jasyn.

"Look," Aury says, hands on hips, "I'm dirty. I'm tired. And I think I may have a couple of cracked ribs, so why don't you tell us what we're missing here."

"Follow me, please," says the guide, and the three traipse through the knee-deep water of the entry chamber to the northern wall. "See these cracks, and how the stones don't line up the same way they do elsewhere in the chamber? This was a secret door, but settling over the untold years have left tell-tale signs for the practiced eye."

Ah," says Mattie. "So, there's another chamber beyond, then."

By the time the trio clears enough stone to get past the no longer functional door, and by the time they defeat the ten skeletons that rise from their burial alcoves, twenty minutes have elapsed. And by the time the three manage to climb the rope and exit the crypt, another fifteen minutes have passed.

Treasure collected from chamber #3 of 1st crypt plundered in Barrowmaze 23 Oct. 204 PR (the characters don't yet know information shown in italics):

cloak of protection +1
110 SP, 120 GP, 90 Shiny cuprous

Standing outside the crypt, Aury and Mattie grin at each other while Brother Jasyn goes about untying and the rolling the length of rope the three used to descend earlier into the crypt. He rejoins them and adds his smile to theirs. "Nicely done, gents. What do say we get back to Helix, clean up, and then I'll treat you both to a meal at The Brazen Strumpet?" Mattie claps the older guide on the shoulder. "Let's do it!"

Continue the story...

Well! It's Christmas Eve eve. Emma spent the night. She and the other family members of the female persuasion made cookies and peanut butter balls last night.

Susan's off to Casey County to take care of a patient. I'm waiting for Day & Day or TSC to open so that I can try to score some batteries for our dogs' collars. Apparently, I got hold of a bad batch from Amazon.com. I'm hoping to buy and test batteries in-store, in the hope that I won't have to purchase a whole new pet containment system. They run around $350.

More progress this morning on The Seekers' first tomb delve in the Barrowmoor. I've been posting about it, recently. Another 855 words and that post is just over 2,100 words right now. I'd estimate we'll be looking at around 3,000 words to complete the post.

The delvers don't know it, but they're about to face a wood golem, a not inconsequential threat.

Well, I reckon I'll go ahead and make the trek to town now, and will work more on the delve post a bit later.

I think I'm getting a touch of the head crud that some other family members have struggled with the past several days. Not a sinus infection, as far as I can tell, but annoying.

Today is the last day of work before the Christmas holiday, for me. Susan has been off all week — well-deserved, and much needed.

  Here are the Crocus Millers, in a picture taken in January of 2018. In March 2018, we lost dad (front right) to kidney disease, histoplasmosis, diabetes, and other factors including just old age. Then on August 31, 2022, we lost Allan (back right) to the decades' toll of alcoholism. The shockingly handsome one to Allan's left is yours truly. Mother was born in 1947, so I guess she's going on 71 in this picture, and dad would have been 80.

Well, I'm going to run my 9:30 am EST provider makeup group in a little over half an hour from now. It looks like a fairly relaxed day compared to my schedule earlier in the week. Someday over the break, I've got to finish some discharge reviews.

As I wrote about yesterday, the Seekers have entered their first crypt with their guide, Brother Jasyn. As I wrapped up last night, the current in-progress delve post was at 381 words. Currently, it's at 1,283 — that's 902 words of progress this evening. Not bad.

So, as I predicted last night, I did indeed have more time tonight to work on this fun pastime. The online campaign remains a sedately paced endeavor I share with an old college buddy. One other RPOL member expressed interest a week or more ago, but didn't follow through.

Earlier today, I started optimizing old cell phone photos and putting them in a repository. Here is a photo of me, Savvy (a schnauzer we had years ago) and Sundy Best, a stray we took in years ago and still have. This photo is from 20th June, 2015.

So, that makes this photo more than eight years old at the date of this post. The schnauzer, sadly, is no longer with us — but Sundy Best still is. Susan would like another schnauzer some day. I hate to think of the day that Millie Mooka passes on to the great canine graveyard, but she is 12 years old.

And here is Lillie. I don't know how many years we've had her. She followed one of the kids home one afternoon when they returned from a walk.

She's lying at my feet right now as I type this. Never have I come across a more expressive, exuberant animal.