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Sunday 19 October 2014

The First Deep Wastes Battle matts for against the Robots

Lone Erratic
Water hole and low hills
Both are variations on the same map in much the same way as I did those for the more fertile parts of the north the main difference between the two other than some features is that I remembered to add a faint cracked mus texture to the areas of bare earth on the second as a way of adding a bit more visual interest when zoomed in

In both cases they could be individualised  by the addition of tokens once uploaded to Roll20 there will be more in this line when I have had some time to think about what to do

Today I am taking a trip to Autumn Beer and Prezels

In Burton on Trent

so I will have less time for the blog but I did promise myself an afternoons board gaming however it will be back to normal after and from then on and I did miss day one due to work

I would have been doing a demo of HackMaster if we had any books for the enthusiastic punters to buy afterwards

for more about this and its sponsor my local games shop- Spirit Games follow this link

Friday 17 October 2014

Admin Announcement

I should perhaps have posted this earlier but I would like to apologise for the sudden loss of Blog activity yesterday just as it was ramping up again but I lost my internet connection.. I then had a bit of  a busy day and decided that I should go to Spirit Games for RPG night in the evening, rather than staying in and finding and fixing the issue.

Its now fixed apparently but I am down to one router form the supply I was provided with by BT who I am no longer with so I may have to go an purchase a spare. 

On the Gaming side I now have another  Character for the Frandors keep game a charmless (cha 1/34 & a boor)  dwarf wizard called Zugemredaes Mulmaxinalson whose attitude is I can't be arsed about any thing which isn't the acquisition of more magical knowledge or the means to do so.The bad  thing is that I him or either of the other two characters I have actually at the keep a fighter - and potential paladin called Conral who is the best set of  stats I have rolled in years and Alerie the magic user thief who is madly in lust with him as he has 18-70 something  like that appearance an she is a lecher, until I find a place to park my Company of fools game which is going to be rather hard given the amount of stuff still going on.

I also have a character for something where you get to run mortals in the present iteration of World of Darkness which is always a nice change of pace for an alternate week game

We Have a HackPrincess


The coolest and cutest blog on the whole internet has moved at least in part to Tumblr which makes me sad as there is only so many internet log ins that even the evil genius can keep in mind at any given time however for those that do take a look because its well worth it.

Follow it on Tumblr here    you will need a Tumblr account however

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Knights of the Diner table

The story continues 


10/10
13/10

as ever these are just teasers for the whole story and what preceded it got to the KODT website

Tuesday 14 October 2014

An Epic tale form another part of Kalamar XI



 The Story Continues


Let me axe you a question...
Ngithol sat in silence and watched from afar as the others busied themselves with the slain green dragon. She watched the camaraderie, their faces flush with success and their bodies relishing in the brief rest they now allowed themselves. She watched... and she envied them. The bonds they shared, the ability to peaceably talk with each other and more importantly, their full control of their own faculties.

She turned away from them to step into the shadows of the nearby trees and walked over to a goblin that lay there. She'd noticed it had survived the earlier purging and had tried to crawl away unnoticed not realizing Ngithol had been trailing behind staying a ways away from the rest of the group so as to not endanger them in combat. Two days following at a distance in the forest, two days of executing any goblins that weren't yet fully dead and brutally slaying those that stumbled upon her...two days of being alone with nothing to do between the bouts of madness induced violence but to reflect on her being a liability now.

The goblin looked at her with fear as she approached. It's mouth was gagged and it tried desperately to crawl away with little success, the cauterized stump where it's left foot had been pushing ineffectually at the ground, as blood loss and shock kept it from mustering much effort. She walked to it and addressed it in dwarven unlike any other, "You know not what your kind is do you?" The goblin gibbered unintelligibly clearly in shock or more likely just not understanding. What were the odds it'd know the language of her lands? She looked into it's eyes for a moment more hoping for some spark of recognition before she twitched her fingers and pulled on an invisible thread of power.

With a flash her great axe suddenly appeared within her hands. She kicked the goblin over so it laid on it's back and held a brief flame to the edge of the axe, heat slowly building within it. She beheld the goblin's face again and saw recognition then as it knew what she intended to do. With a deliberate and fast swing she took the goblin's right foot off before holding the hot axe blade to the stump sealing it shut. Rather than scream or struggle the goblin made the right choice and simply passed out. She disregarded that fact and continued speaking, "Murderers, thieves and kidnappers. You creatures barely alive and worthy of respect. You're nothing more than pests to be exterminated."

As she spoke she continued to vent her frustrations from the past few days upon the goblin's body. Her anger at the fact that Kalamor now had validity to his beliefs she was some sociopathic invalid and the fact that the diminutive Frug likely thought her capable of little more than mindless bloodshed with Malvus probably being of similar mindset. Such frustrations compared though to the shame and regret she felt after having nearly killed Darius, the only individual she felt able to connect with in some fashion. It'd been after striking him in the back when she first used the axe that she realized the danger it represented. How much time passed as she continued her macabre act she did not know. It could've been 10 seconds or an hour. In the end there was little left to be identified as a goblin other than meat and gristle.

With a grunt she set the remains afire and used the flames to burn the blood off her axe. She sighed as she realized she was alone again and that she likely would continue to be until she was rid of the axe.

An Epic tale from another part of Kalamar X


The Story continues 


Tribute
Two more days. Doesn't seem like a long journey, but you're not exhausted, wet, cold, hampered by wounded goblin survivors, low on supplies, and still being followed by goblin hunting parties. Yeah, the heroes are having a bad week.

As tired as they were, the party kept going as long as possible. Darius looked like he might be suffering from infection, and had slowed too much to keep pace. Malvus continued scouting, ever aware that goblins continued to harass them. When a goblin was spotted on their side of the river, the spry monk chased after, only to fall into the goblin's trap.

Te little bastard threw a rock into a stirge nest and tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately, Malvus was faster and knocked the goblin out. He was too late o avoid the stirg , however. The little bloodsuckers swarmed the party causing panic among some of the women. Jjela and Shary, however were used to stirge and fought back bravely.

Now, had stirge been their only problem, this would have been over quickly. Unfortunately the commotion drew the attention of other predators in the area. From the bushes came a rust monster, hungry for the delicious taste of paladin armor. It was ineffective at the armor, but did damage Kalamor's sword, giving way to many curses at the rotlord for sending forth such a monstrosity.

While Darius continued to tear off stirge, Frug succumbed to the swarm. Fighting through his own pain, the young servant shoved a healing potion into his friend's mouth. They were starting to take control of the situation when a loud, baritone like howl shot through the forest. Kalamor shuddered. Owlbears are somewhat common in the Fyban, but usually leave adventurers alone, focusing on easier prey. Unfortunately for the heroes, stirge wee biting at the big beast, and sending it into a frenzy. It charged Neshy and Shary, but Malvus lept in the way. The stirge continued to swarm the party, but most were either dead or moving on, having had their fill. Kalamor did his best to avoid the rust monster while the owlbear made continued strikes at the monk.

A lucky stray kick from Malvus dropped the rust monster and Frug shifted into a great bear to take on the owlbear. Between maul, bear, an spear, the owlbear was quickly slain. Most were ok, save frightening amounts of blood loss. Neshy, however succumbed to her wounds during the fight. Her sister, Shary, was saddened, but showed little remorse. Chada was so distraught from the ordeal the was nearly in a catatonic state.

Onward the heroes marched, now with one goblin in tow. When he awoke, Kalamor interrogated the goblin for information. He confirmed the goblins were preparing another assault and that they were nearby. To by the party time, Kalamor took the goblin back to his people, hoping to intimidate them into giving up, or at least give the heroes time to rest. They were less than accepting of the offer, claiming they needed the girl as tribute. Kalamor countered that the girl was their tribute and they should find whatever hole they could to avoid further punishment. The ruse seemed to work as the goblins did back off. The paladin then turned and did his best to find his friends.

A couple hours later, Frug found the passed out Kalamor, lost and exhausted in the woods. They reunited with the party and got the best rest they could hope for. Around mid-day, the party awoke, feeling better, but crestfallen to find Chada and Shary missing, along with Kalamor's sword. The party debated on whether to leave them or continue onward, but it was all empty argument. They would not abandon anyone to sacrifice or tribute.

Frug found the scent and led the party back up river to a location near where the goblins had been. The trails split after that, with one human heading south, and the other with the goblins due west. The party followed the single human and found Shary hiding in the bush. She was frightened and told the tale that they tried to leave south back to their people and were caught by the goblins. She escaped but Chada was caught. Before they could decide what to do, two wood elves approached the party. Karyion and Sarif were tracking some goblins and followed the trail to the party. They had also found a group of goblins with a prisoner. It was unlike goblins and Orc to keep prisoners for tribute. Another, more sinister threat must be out there.

They agreed to get some sleep and push out early the next day to catch the goblins and try to free Chada, again. With the elves help, The party made good time and caught up with the goblins in a clearing. Most were sleeping and Chada was see tied to a stump. The heroes attacked with abandon. In mere moments, the goblins were all but destroyed. Karyion smiled and strutted up to a goblin near the tree line and put an arrow in its eye. But before he could turn to help the heroes finish them off, a great claw snatched him into the forest and ended the elf's life.

"Where is my tribute!?", the dragon roared as he entered the clearing. It's green scales shimmering in the morning sun. Fear. Not some simple nervous twitch before a fight, but genuine fear fell upon the party. The dragon was still young, but even a young green dragon is more than a match for novice adventurers. He charged Frug, nearly killing the little guy, only saved by a transformation into a great bear. Darius helped Malvus finish off the goblins, then layed hands upon Kalamor. If they wanted to survive, they needed the paladin in fighting form. In turn, Kalamor blessed his allies, while Malvus sent flurry after flurry into the flank of the dragon. Undeterred, it continued to strike Frug, though he was needing to share attention. Darius walked forward speaking the oath of the valiant, challenging and condemning the dragon. He smote the beast repeatedly, drawing the dragons attention.

Seeing the tide turn, the dragon moved to a strategic position and let blow a mighty wave of poisonous gas. Darius fell, grasping at his throat and Frug lost his concentration, shifting back into gnome form. Malvus, too, was affected, but still standing. The dragon smiled at his handiwork, oblivious to Kalamor. His blessing chant stopped, and a wrathful scream flowed from the paladin's lips as he charged, mace in hand. The dragon turned, but too late. One final blow to the temple and the beast was vanquished.

The party assessed their situation and were mostly relieved. Of the nine, only Karyion and Shary had died. Chada was rescued and confirmed what Kalamor suspected: Chada was to be used as tribute, handed to the goblins by her own people. Well, with the dragon dead, the tribute was no longer required. Darius, awake now, eyed the dragon's scales as a good replacement for his worn set. It would take a while to skin this beast...

Saturday 11 October 2014

Angrad (torch) Market a work in progress

 Made enough of a start to post this


A work in progress map based on an enlarged section of the map of Torch from the first Iron Gods module. This has been stretched and enlarged considerably which has causes a lot of pixilation and other artefacts form manipulating the image  and automated cleaning up and sharpening of the image having not worked as I wanted it I have resorted to manually retouching the image




More of the same done whilst it might not look that different the image will be cleaner in Roll20 but its still no where near done.



More work done I have all the paths and the roads sorted and the areas water but there are a lot of hoses to do as whilst they look fine at the size shown above they break down into pixilated blobs when you zoom in and given that the image may get further manipulated when it goes up onto Roll20 this is not a good thing


Screen shot Close up

The screen shot of the image viewed at 100% rather than 18% I think gives some idea of what I am fixing and I am begging to really loathe doing  urban maps even more. This is a relatively unworked area but you can see the start of my fixes on the buildings re-outlining them and then and then blocking them back in. All rather involved and time consuming.


More progress made

Yet more progress made but its painfully slow work compared to the rural maps and I am still cleaning up the distortions caused by manipulating the original image






A screen shot of pretty much same area as the first close up image and as you cam see there is a lot less image manipulation artefacts but a lot less detail as the artefacts where a result of the break up of the detailing on the original image.


More done mostly on the trees and beginning to put down some roof details in the form of ridge lines. Three is still some unwanted image manipulation artefacts mostly on the lots around the buildings and I am trying to work out how to deal with those, as well as to decide on the level of detail I need to add to the map. 


Screen shot showing the trees which I am quite pleased with as well as some of the remaining artefacts and the limited work I have done the houses





More done yesterday whilst unable to post  mostly house roof detail but also some other things and a few more of the remaining artefacts bit the dust. The Changes might be a bit to subtle to show clearly zoomed out this far