Thursday, October 29, 2009

In Which The Warlock Sums Up the Chaos...

Man, since the beginning of this month, it's been nothing but non-stop madness out here. On the plus side, though, we've been getting in some sweet gaming action.

Our Friday night game has been rocking and rolling, as our heroes--the crew of the Red Mourning--found themselves up against the enigmatic and powerful One Living Man in game of SpellBones...with their souls on the line!

Coupled with all that, I've decided to start a wiki for the Pirates of the Undedark Campaign on Obsidian Portal. You can follow all of the (slow-developing) details here: PotU Campaign Wiki

Further, the mighty Ebbs and I have been in deep preparation for the "Day of the Dagon (and Friends)" epic level one-shot. You see, for the longest time, we've been aching to whip out some of the high-level 4e stuff. No, no...I mean the really high level baddies. Dagon, Demogorgon, Vecna, Tiamat...all of the classic ones.

As such, Ebbs and I have designed a delve-style one-off to punish...er, um...I mean, to reward our beloved WittKids. They're taking up the mantle of level 30 characters, in the hopes to survive a lethal encounter with one of these massively powerful baddies. While I can't divulge the details on my own encounter-building strategies yet, I must say: I'm really impressed with Jules' character--Jesus de la Morte!

Jesus is, in fact, a Revenant Paladin (formerly a warforged)/Gray Guard/Exalted Angel. Nothing like throwing down a zombie robot angel paladin!

I'll be sure to keep you posted on how the "Day of Dagon" throws down, as well as provide my latest installment of the "Cathedral of Erudition", as well as some encounter design ideas from both "Day of Dagon" and "Pirates of the Underdark"! Stay tuned!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

In Which the Warlock Gets His Laptop Back!

With a newly fixed laptop in hand, I can finally show off the pics of our glorious wedding cake! Enjoy!

Pirates vs. Ninjas Cake!

Some of the minis on our cake.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

In Which The Warlock's Computer is Broken

Sorry gang--my laptop's power connector (the little prong that you connect the AC adapter to) died off finally.

Due to the lack of a regular computer, the cake pics and the continuation of the Cathedral of Erudition will have to wait until next week.

Sorry!

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

The Cathedral of Erudition (Part III--Erathis)

(Again, since I've been up to my eyeballs--this is part of my continuing series, detailing the Cathedral of Erudition, found within the infamous city of Blackfall. Since I missed a post last week--I was getting married!--expect another post tomorrow evening with some of the pics of our epic "Pirates vs. Ninjas" cake!)

Erathis: The Arbiter of Moonraker Spire

Erathis, Mistress of Civilization and Major Domo of Progress, is viewed most primarily in the aspect of the Arbiter, and is often associated with Moonraker Spire—the extinct volcano that towers over the city of Blackfall. When found in iconography, she typically displayed as a dispassionate, robed human female, holding a gear in one hand with her other hand beckoning the viewer to stand still. The primary duties of the faith of Erathis at the Cathedral include the following:
• Establish and maintain the hierarchy of the Cathedral.
• Record doctrine and church law for the greater diocese.
• Serve as judicial arbiters and mentors for the public at large.
• Provide guidance to major community members and the like.
• Provide regular services and community events.
The current Adjudicator Juris is Aida Ballard (Human Cleric 21), who has held the post for 16 years. Aida is in her mid-50s, and has enjoyed her post as Juris, if for no other reason than it gives her a deserved reprieve from the continual crusade against the forces of chaos. Aida had been an adventuring cleric for quite a while, and has the battle scars to prove it, despite her seemingly matronly appearance.

The clergy of Erathis, hands down, holds the most political power within the city of Blackfall. Between their numerous social welfare programs and their religious services (which function as open forums to discuss social problems), the Erathian clergy hold massive weight within the city’s walls. Aida often works behind the scenes, however, letting her lieutenants and the like take the lead in running day-to-day operations.

Aida has drawn much fire from those within the Cathedral for relative complacency. Many believe that she is treating her position as one of ‘retirement’ and not giving it the serious focus that Blackfall requires. However, Aida has her own agenda. As of late, she has dispatched numerous teams of Erathians into the wilderness to the northwest of Blackfall, setting them to explore the Wastes of Vanalthia. These teams report only to Aida, and have become the source of much rumor within the Cathedral’s halls.

The Vigilant Cogs of the Arbiter’s Scale

Currently, approximately 40% of the initiates at the Cathedral of Erudition display their devotion to Erathis specifically. This provides Aida with a massive power base, upon which she can execute nearly every plan. This size is of particular use, as the Erathian faith is solely responsible for the faith’s infrastructure and social works.
Racially, the Erathian faith is dominated by humans and half-elves, though members of all races find themselves in the Erathian faith. Of particular note are the self-proclaimed Squeaky Wheels, a contingent of warforged believers, who consistently plead with King Maelbrek and his nobles to institute more progressive societal changes and legal freedoms.
Class-wise, clerics are most common within the Vigilant Cogs, though avengers often serve as the militant arm of Erathis’ court. However, Aida has begun a significant recruitment effort, focusing on humanoids able to weather the hazards of Vanalthia. As such, many wardens, wandering bards, and rangers have been brought into the fold.