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Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Gifts of the God Mages - Pathfinder e04

Gifts of the God Mages
May 2012 - ongoing
June 6th Game Session
Pathfinder

Episode Four: The Princess Nuala

As my fourth session of the Indigo-Entertainment Pathfinder games commences, I learn that two more players want to join the game.  It has been a while since I've had a game this huge so I'm pretty psyched.

In this game session, the following players were present:

The dwarven paladin Alcarin Dominus, whose calling to faith remained unclear.  He had yet to truly understand which deity had inspired him down his road.

Jazintho, the half-elven wizard, remained attached to the dark Demon Child.  Its whispers continued to haunt him.

Lyus Baequiundlin, the druid, was learning the natural importance of combat and began to comprehend the need to be willing to shed blood in battle.

Yenrry Dragonsbane, the Human Sorcerer began to understand his Draconic lineage had a far greater role to play in all things.

Caishn Riverend, the halfling rogue, still desired to find a chance at greater wealth.

Galvindir, the priest of Erastil, finally found time once more to join the questing.  His ponies was sorely missed by most.

And lastly, Kalder Regulus, a human rogue who was an old friend of Yenrry.  The two during their childhood both were being enrolled by their parents to Sorcerer schools, but Yenrry actually failed to pass the enrollment process while Kalder found it boring and instead turned towards a life of thievery.

In this game session, numerous plot points were to be explored.  While the game generally was to be serial in nature, with each session composed of a quest to retrieve an artifact for Dwalimer Omen, this game session was to touch on many plot points that have been introduced.  These included:

The Realms Master and its crew.
The lizardfolk/draconians.
The White Dragon.
Princess Nuala of the bloodstone.
Erastil's growing presence.
And the Paladin's unresolved Deity.

The game opened with Dwalimer Omen informing the crew that they were making a stop at the city of Doranth, a Market City, and that they were free to either accompany him as he went to meet an old friend, go shopping in the city, or stay on the ship and keep it safe.  Naturally, each decided on their own what they wanted to focus on.

Alcarin and Lyus opted to accompany the wizard Omen, anxious to learn what the old coot was up to.
Jazintho alone opted to stay on the ship, claiming to desire to have more time studying his spells.  In truth, the whispers desired to see the chamber of the artifacts and the wizard hoped to find a way to find the key that opened the locks.
The rest opted, naturally, to go shopping.  Galvindir, however, hid his real reason:  he had slowly began to sense a growing presence of something disturbing from the rogue and his companion.  And while he did not believe Caishn was evil, he had his concerns and wished to keep an eye on them.

Omen, as it turned out had come to the city to speak with one of, if not the greatest living magus in the Realm, Elminster.   What at first seemed like a battle unfolding (with Alcarin being polymorphed into a pebble and Lyus being flung onto the ceiling as gravity shifted around him) turned out to be the unconventional challenge of hello that the two wizards often greeted each other with!   With things normalizing, Lyus and Alcarin realized they were soon suddenly thrust into a new challenge:  The wizards LOVED to drink.  And they had to drink as much as well!

*

While out shopping, Yenrry and Kalder make their way to separate shops, with Yenrry hoping for magical items and Kalder seeking a good magical sword.  Yenrry mistakes a con artist for a real shop but thanks to his truly convincing Charisma, bluffs his way into getting the con artist's real Ion Stone.  Kalder on the other hand meets a dwarven fighter named Greta who claimed to have once been a heroine of great renown.  Greta offers to sell Kalder one of the many swords she had found, a sword of immense magical sharpness that when held and the word Infernis is invoked, is sheathed in flames.  She does warn him of another sword she owns, a blade of pitch blackness that she claims is a cursed blade that hungers for blood.

Outside, Caishn is amused at Nuala's antics as she seems oblivious to the time frame she now lives in.  Even something as simple as a lantern seems like a magical device to her!  Galvindir takes the opportunity to try to ask him some questions about her, but when she notices him, she starts asking if they can get married!  Caishn learns from Galvindir that a wedding ceremony would cost him 500 gold and the rogue quickly attempts to case a good target.  Galvindir discovers Nuala does not even know the halfling's name, but neither seem aware of a robed figure watching them in the streets of Doranth.

*
Back on the Realms Master, Jazintho shares some moments of conversation with Jasmine, who relates to him how she gained her wings.  She speaks of a magical city called Sigil that exists like a central hub of various magical planes.  She admits that she hates the wings, feeling they make her look strange and cursed.

When a row boat approaches the Realms Master, Jasmine flies off in a hurry to welcome old friends back.  Minder identifies them for Jazintho, describing the oriental woman in exotic red armor as Ishi Barasume - a former samurai from the Oriental Lands, the halfling rogue as Foxilon Cardluck - whose understanding of Spellcraft has him actually helping Dwalimer Omen cast spells properly when he fails to prepare the right components, and lastly an Elf named Vartan Hai Silvar who is wrapped in blankets and seemingly sick.  The Elf claims to worship an Elven God named Labelas Enoreth, a God of Luck, but Jazintho silently muses that no such deity exists in the Realms.  Minder shares the concern, since Vartan's divine magic clearly is being granted from somewhere.

Jazintho's first impressions of the crew are not too favorable.  Ishi barely gives him notice.  Foxilon nearly steals his gold, clearly displaying his innate ability to use Mage Hand to pick pockets, and Vartan sneers at the wizard, clearly not showing any brotherly affectations towards the fellow Elf.

Realizing there is practically no chance to steal away into Omen's chambers, Jazintho tries learning more from Jasmine about the others.  He learns Jasmine and Ishi once fell in love with a Paladin and that man had died.  Before he could learn more from her, however, a visitor arrives at the port side and calls out for Dwalimer Omen.  To Jazintho's surprise, the woman is a Drow elf who is the splitting image of Nuala.  Calling herself Surea Luna, the elf demands to see Omen claiming he is the father of her child.

*

The three scenes then quickly shift in pace as events unravel faster.

Omen and Elminster, too drunk to care, begin slipping information that the others find interesting.  Elminster asks about the elven Princess and ponders if Omen ever learned if she was pregnant.  Omen presses to try to learn from Elminster where the fabled Dragon Orbs are.  But poisonous darts force both wizards and Lyus into unconsiousness.  And before Alcarin could dispatch the Assassin, the assailant intones, "The God Mages know your names.  Dahak, claim me!" before slicing himself with his poisoned daggers.  The man, like the halfling trap in the previous quest, exploded and unleashed a deadly poisoned gas upon those in the room.

Struggling to lift them, even as the gas began to overwhelm him, Alcarin sees a bright light burst the doors open.  A maiden dressed in white armor reaches out to him and asks him if he is ready to be of service to her.  When asked who she is, she tells him she knows her name.  He cries out a different name and she says that is not it.  She whispers her name and tells him if he does intone it, she will help.  But she can only save one of the two men he is trying to carry.  One must die, for the rest of the world to live.  Looking down at Omen and Lyus, Alcarin embraces the burden and calls out her name.

In the streets, Caishn and Galvindir hear Nuala call out in panic.  They see a robed figure dragged her to an alley way.  Rushing to help, Galvindir summons (yes of course) a pony and Caishn rides it to take chase.  Not too far away, Yenrry and Kalder emerge from their shops to hear the commotion.  Kalder runs up the nearest wall and from roof top to roof top makes his way to the scene.  Yenrry rushes on foot.  The robed figure casts Hold Person to freeze Nuala, but Caishn launches a bullet that misses its mark!  Galvindir launches an arrow and strikes the robed figure on the shoulder.   Yenrry follows through with two Magic Missles and the robed figure drops to the side.    As Caishin closes in to strike again, the robed figure attempts to cast another spell.  Missing his attack of opportuity, Galvindir succeds with another arrow and strikes at the figure.  The figure falls backwards and yields.  He turns out to be an elven priest of Eristel and when questioned, admits Nuala is the splitting image of one of the old foes of the temple, a God Mage called Nuala eSur.  The priest offers to show them the ancient tome he keeps, one his grandfather long kept as proof of the God Mages' treachery.  He tells them how the God Mage used the Dragon Orbs to command the dragons to raze 90% of the Elven Nations.  Yenrry, Kalder, and Galvindir agree to return to his temple with him (after Glavindir heals the priest's wounds with a channeled energy release) while Nuala and Caishn opt to return to the Realms Master.

In the Realms Master, Jazintho is intrigued by this look-alike of Nualla  Surea flatters him with her knowledge of arcane magic and shows off her Ring of Telekinesis.  She asks him if he would like to talk about the Demon Child, and slowly reveals she too has a "birthmark" like his, only on her right breast.  She tells him about the true secrets of magic and suddenly unleashes Magic Missles upon him! Before he could react, she launches more at the others in the crew and tells him she merely wants to take back the Demon Child... and get her vengeance on Dwalimer Omen.  Just before Jazintho is felled, he ponders on how this woman casts Magic Missles seemingly without effort:  no somatic, verbal or material components at all.  No pause even to concentrate!

And to end the session, Alcarin awakes in the streets, alive and weak.  Lyus is nearby.  The people in the city are trying to kill the flames that consume the tavern.  But many swear they saw a massive silver beast take to the air before they arrived.  A silver dragon, long thought extinct for many centuries.

*

This game session definitely pushes the plot forward.  The God Mages are now more prominently mentioned in the game, and Erastil is hinted as a possible ally against him.  Is Dwalimer Omen dead?  Is Elminster?  What of the rest of the Realms Master crew?  And lastly, who is the white maiden armed with a lance that Alcarin has embraced to follow?

The answers will follow, in the next episode of The Gifts of the God Mages.

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