The 2d6 RPG System and Tales of Tolvenia Campaign Blog

Dates: 9 & 16 February 2012. Present: Eric (Goblina), Matthew (Jaren) and Zach (Haley).

At the end of their week of study and training at Talvinden Mansion, a messenger arrived with a message for Sister Ransia Scorch. Goblina attempted to sneak into the inquisitor’s room to look at the message, but failed. Shortly afterwards, Scorch and her troop left for the capital.

The next day, the guards patrolling the mansion’s perimeter reported a huge shape moving in and out of the trees over a mile away. The party went outside to look and saw a dark, hulking humanoid figure that resembled the Vilstrithiani mutants they had encountered in the past. Armed with his two godstones, Jaren set off immediately on Haley’s now-flying horse, Phnor.

A moment later, Haley noticed the Special High Librarian surreptitiously slip away back into the mansion; she followed him with equal surreptition. She tracked him to his quarters and overheard him murmur a message: ‘The priest is coming towards you on a flying horse. He has the godstones.’ Haley raced back to the onlookers.

Meanwhile, Jaren passed the dark monster – it didn’t appear to notice him. He was then ambushed by a group of four eluri and four giant fighters. They cast a spell on Phnor to make him land in a clearing. The eluri demanded Jaren hand over the godstones. Jaren refused.

Haley, Goblina and the other guards and mages at the mansion raced towards the monster and Jaren. On the way, Goblina threw a knife at the creature – it passed straight through it, confirming that it was an illusion.

Two giants grabbed Jaren. Jaren responded with a spell, but only managed to create partial darkness around himself. The giants pulled Jaren from his horse and started ripping off his clothes. Phnor began attacking one of the giants; with its new magical powers, it caused several mutations to one.

Haley arrived in the clearing first among the pursuers and was immediately the target of a total darkness spell. However, she made it to Jaren and stole the godstones out from under the noses of the giants; she fled across the clearing to the trees. On the way, she was struck by a cube of fire, triggering the magic of her Nightmaster’s coat – creating a stationary 3 by 3 square of total darkness and making her invisible and silent. She then continued to escape into the woods.

Goblina arrived and created an illusion of Jaren and Haley fleeing in the opposite direction. Then she started attacking.

In the following fight, the partly mutated giant was bereft of his sentience and commanded by Jaren to kill eluri. A number of the fighters from the mansion were handicapped by total darkness; a couple were magically commanded to fight their allies. Two of the eluri were killed (one was burnt to a crisp with Goblina’s newly enchanted throwing knife); two fled but were chased and surrendered. The giants other than the heavily mutated one fled.

Dates: 19 January 2012 to 2 February 2012. Present: Zach (Haley), Peter (Zirg), Matthew (Jaren), Habiba (Ransia) and Eric (Goblina).

The party returned to the deep cave goblin village at Thanthrang Caves and Goblina reported their deeds to the grateful shaman, chief and remaining villagers.

In the aftermath of the celebrations, the shaman informed Goblina that strangers were approaching the village. When they arrived, it turned out to be Sister Ransia Scorch, Chief Inquisitor of Lutia – along with a party of twelve guards. She interviewed the party about their part in the discovery of treasure near Treston and the capture of the mysterious elf. Jaren lied successfully about not having the fragments of the dead gods, and also handed over the repaired Cup of Thurar.

Ransia Scorch took the body of the elf into her custody and, aided and advised by Zirg, resurrected him using the Cup of Thurar. Using telepathy magic, she then forced him to tell her the truth about what he had been doing. He told a tale of lust for knowledge and disregard for life. He had been on a quest to Glauptoern and had returned with three godstones, one of which he had left behind as its effects had been too strong. Travelling towards his home in Araquost – he was, in fact, Orimbriivnor Galantras, a prince of Araquost – he had repeatedly experimented with the godstones, eventually learning to harness the divine magic they gave access to. His intentions with regard to the balruga was to create his finest and most powerful mutant yet.

The party accompanied Sister Scorch in a sham effort to recover the godstones. Zirg fashioned some fake godstones and gave them to Jaren to give to Scorch. However, Jaren couldn’t keep a smirk off his face when he handed them to Ransia, claiming that he’d just found them. She right through his lie and in a tense discussion they arrived at an agreement that the party would return with Ransia to Lutia to claim their reward, potentially face justice and attend the research into the godstones.

On returning to Thanthrang Caves, they were met with the deep cave goblins’ returning warriors, who were accompanied by large parties from two other tribes. These groups, now that Galantras had been neutralised, wanted to follow the balruga and worship it. Zirg stayed behind to continue his studies of the goblins. Scorch and the party headed back.

In the dwarven town of Huntholm, they faced questioning about discrepancies between what their papers said and what they were actually doing; Friar Rishtuk also set some alarm bells ringing. On the way up to the Clan Hall, Jaren decided to try harnessing the Heramnuri godstone to reverse some Vilstrithiani mutations. He failed and caused several Heramnuri mutations. Goblina managed to escape the party in the confusion and was able to communicate with the others about the dwarves’ reaction.

In the end, the party spent more time in Huntholm while Jaren hastily learned to use the divine magic enabled by the godstones and reverse all the mutations he’d caused.

The party returned to Bardet, where Sir Rolme Spearshaft made good on his promise to reward the party for their apprehending of Galantras. The party went shopping and acquired some bespoke magical items. Jaren received a letter from his order telling him he was the temporary Interlocutor for the Church of the Monad on the subject of the godstone he and his party had discovered.

Rolme and Ransia wanted the party to travel to the east to investigate the reports of demons, angels and massive dark cloud over the sea. The party wanted to stay with the godstones. They granted the party a week to study them at a secret location – where the other godstone – poorly hidden by Haley and subsequently found by Sir Rolme’s men – was being researched. Dolo and Malack left the party to resume doing what they loved best.

The party set off to this location along with Ransia and her guards. On the second morning, they were met by a lone eluri who appeared in their path. The eluri claimed to be Athmalniëryi Vizhnan, Special High Librarian and he demanded to be given the godstones (he also wanted Galantras, but the elf had been sent to the capital, Luteln). The party refused and more people appeared – five more eluri and five giant fighters. Vizhnan joined the group travelled with them to the isolated mansion where the godstones were to be studied. Jaren spent his week doing just this; Haley and Goblina also trained their skills.

Dates: 1 December 2011 to 19 January 2012. Present: Eric (Goblina), Matthew (Jaren) and Zach (Haley).

In the fight between the party and the mysterious elf and his own companions, the elf himself managed to escape when Goblina struck him and he vanished in an area of total darkness. The party killed off the orc and the human and captured the dwarf, Brugor.

During the fight, everyone heard a trumpeting roar coming from the direction of the cavern with the gorge of lava.

Brugor had nothing but praise for the elf, whom he called Prilasqué Vonsu. The party retraced their step back to the cavern of the balruga and found the elf trying to cast magic on the balruga. The balruga had evidently climbed up the gorge wall near the deep cave goblin altar. It was a humanoid creature about fourteen feet tall, barrel-chested like a gorilla and made of lumpy, rock-like flesh.

The party closed on the elf. The elf appealed to Jaren to help him overcome the balruga by magical means. Jaren was open to this, but any such efforts were stymied by Goblina’s hatred for the elf and her desire to avenge the crimes he had committed against the deep cave goblins of Thanthrang Caves. Grushblig was sent to a safe distance to observe and report back to his fellows if necessary.

In the ensuing fight, the balruga attacked those around it, literally throwing its foot-wide, rocky fists around and projectile vomiting lava-like puke to devastating effect. Friar rishtuk and Randak took severe injuries from the beast, Randak, nearly dying. Haley systematically stole various pouches from the elf. Goblina attacked him for all she was worth, although the elf magically commanded her dog to flee.

At a triggering word from the elf, the captive dwarf was mutated into a Vilstrithiani monstrosity and attacked Haley to retrieve the elf’s possessions.

Jaren did what the elf had failed to do and used his nature magic to command the balruga. With the balruga temporarily on their side, the party defeated the mutated Brugor and forced the elf to flee.

The final confrontation was more a battle of wills between Haley and Jaren on the one hand and Goblina on the other. The former wanted to capture the elf and interrogate him, while the latter simply wanted to kill him straight away. As the elf tried to flee across the gorge over the fallen stalactite, the party caught up to him and he surrendered. Seeing Goblina’s murderousness, he began to flee again, but the goblin caught him with her grappling hook. The elf nearly fell to his death into the lava, but was pulled up by Haley and Jaren – only for Goblina to slit his throat. He died.

In a fit of pique, Jaren cast two of the stolen deep cave goblin artefacts into the lava. The party then returned with the elf’s body to Thanthrang Caves.