The World of Telvar

[Stub summary] UPDATED 1/1/11

Alex's very belated memories of certain events involving genies and undead:

The valiant, infinitely resourceful and in all ways superior party lead by
the magnificent dwarven King Felix headed through the sealed portal in
hopes of clearing the passage to a pool of Earth's Blood. The region beyond
was known to harbor Earth elementals. After a brief non-violent encounter with an
appalingly uncivilized Crystal Genie, the party prepared and put the brute
out of his misery with due diligence (surprise, brutal backstabs and elegant
violence served to drop the oaf in segments). The remaining crystal (not
earth) elementals were summarily desposed of and the pool of earth's blood
was secured.

That was when things took a turn for the worse. The outcast dwarves knew of
a subterannean river below, as it was their water source. They believed
that it might connect back to Eralla, but an expedition long ago never returned.
With Flight, Felix and Wrathbane descended to scout, and found a small
set of buildings, a dock and a river. Inside one of the buildings, unfortunately,
was the remains of the expedition and the wraithified beardless dwarf who
had put a premature end to their travels. The dauntless pair proved victorious,
but not before rightful heir to the throne of Lendore was greviously injured,
and his lifeforce drained. Fortunately, his boundless endurance proved stronger
than the vile assaults, and he recovered fully. The party then descended, boarded
a small vessel with an Earth's blood motor and, accompanied with an Engineer from
the outcast dwarves, I believe a sister or cousin of their current leader, and
also their envoy.

After some minor troubles and travails, the party nearly surprised some Erallan
laundresses. Politics shall ensue.

***

Alex's original stub summary:

Alex: Felix opens the door.
Edwin: roll a surprise die, I got a 5
Alex: 1
Edwin: That's bad, very very bad. You get swarmed by 5 wraiths, with 3 segments of surprise. You are on a scouting mission with only Wrathbane as backup.....
Alex: Eeeeps.

(4 level drains later, we kill 2, turn the rest and get Gates down to destroy them)

(A 19, 16, 15 and 8 on the saves later, Felix is lvl 10 again. The 8 made it exactly, w/double Chant. The new saves are a BITCH.)

Other than that, it went smoothly enough. Kagu-Arala and Arala are now known to have an underground river-link. It needs some maintenance, but is otherwise fine. The pool of Earth's Blood is there, and we have a functional on-board motor.

Loot was boring. Besides the motor, a dagger +1 and a wand of acid arrow w/12 charges.

Hendel landed a nasty double backstab against the Quartz-Genie.

Aral trained to 3, is 3.3k away from 4th.
Wrathbane trained to 7th cleric.
Everyone (except Aral) is about 40k total away from their next level (Wrathbane can forget about Cleric 8). Hendel a little less, but he tends to get less, Donald closer to 50k.

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Party Roster:

Felix, 10th level dwarven fighter, 100 hp, played by Alex
Rathbane, 7th/6th level dwarven fighter/cleric (Clangeddin), 54 hp, played by Katherine
Hendel, 9th level dwarven thief, 52 hp, played by Joel
Gates, 8th level dwarven cleric (Moradin), 52 hp, played by Aaron
Donald, 9th level coastlander mage, 48 hp, NPC
Aral, 2nd level Northerner woodsman, 27 hp, henchman of Felix

[Events of 31 Dec 08 – 01 Jan 09 in Manhattan; Telvar date: January 2190]

(Joel’s and Aaron’s first game in over a year, since Superstar! Written mostly on the train from New York to Rochester…)

The very first thing we did was update characters (eyesight, weight, height) and gained XP from the last two sessions, which was something on the order of 6000-8000 for the main characters and something small for the frequently dead Aral). Aral has enough to advance to 3rd level but because of game-world time constraints that soon arose, he remained at 2nd level for the adventure.

Continue reading "Felix Summary #9: Drill Baby Drill" »

Posted by Joel Green at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Felix's party, having rescued the dwarven kingdom of Arala from a flying, strength
and level draining, rogue, chimeric shadowy servant of the god of Rakshasas, is
attempting to find and reclaim the legendary ancient dwarven tunnel system to
provide a safe passage between Cromwell and Arala. The hope is that if the tun-
nel is reopened, trade between those nations will pick up, and dwarven expatriates
will return home, shoring up the desperately thin defences of the oldest seat of
dwarven power in the New World.

Continue reading "Felix Summary #8: The Continued Adventures of King Felix" »

Posted by Joel Green at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Party Roster:

Felix, 10th level dwarven fighter, 100 hp, played by Alex
Rathbane, 7th/6th level dwarven fighter/cleric (Clangeddin), 54 hp, played by Katherine
Hendel, 9th level dwarven thief, 52 hp, played by Joel
Gates, 8th level dwarven cleric (Moradin), 52 hp, played by Aaron
Donald, 9th level coastlander mage, 48 hp, NPC
Aral, 2nd level Northerner woodsman, 27 hp, henchman of Felix

[Events of September 7-8, 2007 in Ithaca, NY; Telvar date: December 2189]

A somewhat short but very cool game session, played in Alex’s parents’ house down the hill from Cornell…

When we last left the party, Felix and Friends were trying to decide on further missions. Felix’s interest in restoring the glory of the dwarven kingdoms (or at least halting the decline) led him to seek out quests to benefit the kingdoms. Knowing we wanted something small, Felix needed to decide whether to help the Shabrundians, who were stagnant and at a crossroads as an empire, or to help Eralla, which was believed to be doomed with a hundred years (a single generation).

Some numbers for perspective:

The White Mountain dwarves (the only actually prosperous dwarven kingdom) number roughly fifteen thousand. The Eralla (I'll start spelling it Arala next time, as I apparently got it wrong, but didn't want to confuse readers...) dwarves number less then 250, although there another few hundred scattered about southern Cromwell who might well return in good times. The Eralla dwarves are resigned about their fate, and despite their ludicrous mineral and adamantite wealth, cannot grow. They are under constant assault from the gnolls, giants and derro dwarves that border them, as well as occasional hideous creatures from the Limgut’s kingdom, the Southern Wilderness, and the Pit. Additionally, whenever they really try to trade their wealth, an evil adventuring party takes note and assaults the place. Eralla is actually one of the oldest dwarven kingdoms, thought to be more than 15000 years old, but has been under siege for at least the last 5000 or so.

It really is a grim setup. Felix decided to do what he could to help. One smaller scale mission was to clear a mine shaft that had been abandoned to monsters a while ago, and open some more convenient wealth. But this isn’t really Eralla’s fundamental problem, and Felix found a more satisfying alternative.

Continue reading "Felix Summary #7: Forked Tongues" »

Posted by Joel Green at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Retaking Lendore Isle:

Two basic actions that should happen in the next few years include finding out what the Har-daways know about the opposition (including now out of date maps etc...) and finding out what the Hardaway clan’s resources are. Determining what the maximum, acceptable and minimal (some sanctions will have to be leveled, I presume) rules of engagement should also occur.

Continue reading "Felix’s plans for the future!" »

Posted by Joel Green at 02:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Party Roster:

Felix, 9th level dwarven fighter, 87 hp, played by Alex
Rathbane, 6th/6th level dwarven fighter/cleric (Clangeddin), 51 hp, played by Katherine
Donald, 9th level coastlander mage, 48 hp, NPC (played by Alan this time!)
Hendel, 8th level dwarven thief, 47 hp, played by Joel
Gates, 7th level dwarven cleric (Moradin), 44 hp, played by Jay
Aral, 1st level Northerner woodsman, 17 hp, henchman of Felix (played by Rhonda this time!)

[Events of March 3-4, 2007; Game World June-December 2189, in Charlotte]

The Dwarves of Eralla

When we last left the Felix party, they had just arrived at South Village at the southern tip of Cromwell, a nice little village with a river that leads up into the mountain ranges. From there, a two week trek up a trail through the forest would lead the party to the remnants of the dwarven kingdom of Eralla. There the party would apparently attempt to solve a problem of a summoning gone wrong involving a shadow creature that threatened the dwarves.

Continue reading "Felix Summary #6: Are you on the List?" »

Posted by Joel Green at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I sent one of these out for the BMT party last time we played, and since this is the first Felix game in over a year, it seemed like a good idea to repeat!

Felix’s party (as of 2189):
Felix, Dwarf Fighter 9
-Aral, Northerner Woodsman 1, henchman
Donald, Human Mage 9
Hendel, Dwarf Thief 8
Gates, Dwarf Cleric 7 (Moradin)
Rathbane, Dwarf Fighter 6/Cleric 6 (Clangeddin)

Continue reading "A Felix Primer: Mass Evil Humanoid Eradication" »

Posted by Joel Green at 01:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Party Roster:

Felix, 9th level dwarf fighter, 87 hp, played by Alex
Rathbane, 6th/6th level fighter/cleric of Clangeddin, 53 hp, played by Katherine
Donald Collins, 9th level human mage, 48 hp, NPC
Hendel, 8th level dwarf thief, 47 hp, played by Joel
Gates, 7th level cleric of Moradin, 44 hp, played by Jay
Aral, 1st level Northerner woodsman, 17 hp, henchman of Felix

We left our party with the retirement of Felix’s longtime henchman, Nakumanu, the conversion of Felix and Nakumanu to dwarfdom, and the slaying of giants for fun, experience, treasure, and potion-making practice.

The once-islander orc Nakumanu was given a good sum of starting cash and set about beginning his new life as a dwarven scholar in Shabrund. Felix decided to replace Nakumanu with a new henchman, and he settled on a Northerner woodsman with a penchant for heavy crossbows. Felix purchased him two quality heavy crossbows and a “dwarven crossbow” (known colloquially in the party as a “hand cannon”) to combine with his target-shooting abilities to devastating effect.

In addition, Donald traded for the valuable new 2nd level spell, Zane’s Deodorant (also known as “Scent Mask”). It makes the entire party’s odors undetectable, allowing them to sneak past wary guard animals, especially when combined with Invisibility, 10’ and/or Silence.

The party set out in early spring of 2188, this time with the specific idea of hunting trolls in order to make healing potions using Donald’s alchemy skills. We heard about two sets of trolls, and decided to move against them in the order that seemed easiest. The first group was known to have settled in a cave a few days travel out from Shabrund.

Continue reading "Felix Summary #5: Some Like It Hot, And Some Take Extra Damage" »

Posted by Joel Green at 05:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Party Roster:

Felix, 9th level half-orc fighter, 87 hp, played by Alex
Rathbane, 6th/6th dwarven fighter/cleric of Clangeddin, 53 hp, played by Katherine
Donald, 9th level human mage, 48 hp, NPC
Hendel, 8th level dwarven thief, 47 hp, played by Joel
Gates, 7th level dwarven cleric of Moradin, 44 hp, played by Jay
Nakumanu, 6th level orc fighter, 42 hp, played by Alex

[events in Charlotte, 14 May 2005]

When we last left the dwarfy party, they had just survived an epic battle with frost giants in the ruined ancient dwarven capital. After training the entire party, we plotted and schemed. First, it was realized that we had missed the obvious; if this was a ruined dwarven city, the dwarves of Shabrund surely had maps of it, including, most likely, the citadel in the center. Indeed, for a small fee, we were able to gain access to all the relevant maps. We learned, for instance, that the citadel had two entrances, and only two entrances.

One, at the bottom level, appeared to be a deathtrap. In order to enter this way, one immediately had to cross a vast expanse along a single platform in full view of arrow slits, murder holes, and somehow survive this long enough to open the gate at the far end.

The other, at the top level, appeared to be a deathtrap. To enter this way, you get in a stone elevator/lift and have someone crank the elevator down, where it descended into a cage surrounded by iron bars and a large round chamber where defenders could pick you off at their leisure while you tried to escape said cage.

Yum. This was going to be a blast.

Continue reading "Felix Summary #4: The Revenge of the Zem" »

Posted by Joel Green at 05:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Party Roster:

Felix, 8th level half-orc fighter, 81 hp, played by Alex
Rathbane, 5th level dwarven fighter/cleric of Clangeddin, 45 hp, played by Katherine
Donald Collins, 8th level human mage, 43 hp, NPC
Gates, 6th level dwarven cleric of Moradin, 39 hp, played by Aaron Schweinsberg
Hendel, 7th level dwarven thief, 38 hp, played by Joel
Nakumanu, 5th level orc fighter, 32 hp, henchman of Felix, played by Jay Bates
Psue, hit dice unknown but rising, unclassed mimic, “pet” of Rathbane

[events of March 11, 2005 in Manhattan]

(For orientation and background, see the previous Felix summary, I’m just jumping right back in here.)

We last left our party recovering from slaying two out of the three fomorian giants in their lair at the top level of the ruined dwarven city. We knew the last giant would be back from his hunting fairly shortly, and camped protectively in a place that the giant couldn’t directly reach if the worst occurred and we were ambushed. The noblink ex-slaves remained with us for the time being until we could clear a path to freedom for them.

Hendel scouted the corridor up ahead and lay hidden, waiting for the giant to approach (most likely having driven off a number of giant slugs in the corridor). Hendel spotted him approaching (or at least another crazily deformed giant), and ran back to warn the party. Hendel, Felix, and Nakumanu were turned Invisible, Nakumanu and Rathbane were Strengthed, and Prayers were cast. The stage was set for a devastating ambush.

The fomorian entered the room and was immediately hammered by spiritual hammer and handaxe from the clerics, a Lightning Bolt from Donald, and was caught completely off-guard. A Darkness spell was intended to screw the giant up further by blinding him (by dropping the ball of darkness at the height of the giant’s head it affects only the giant and not the little shrimps pounding on him), but it actually didn’t even finish casting before the fight ended. Felix and Nakumanu buried their weapons in his gut, and Hendel jammed his daggers into the creature’s back. Unfortunately the giant didn’t fall, and slammed Nakumanu to his knees in a single blow. Rathbane started a Cure while Nakumanu fell back, and the fomorian collapsed under the rain of blows shortly thereafter.

Continue reading "Felix Summary #3: Mutiny Defrosted" »

Posted by Joel Green at 05:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Party Roster:

Felix, 8th level half-orc fighter, 79 hp, played by Alex
Rathbane, 5th level dwarven fighter/cleric of Clangeddin, 45 hp, played by Katherine
Donald Collins, 8th level human mage, 43 hp, NPC
Gates, 6th level dwarven cleric of Moradin, 39 hp, played by Jay Bates
Hendel, 7th level dwarven thief, 38 hp, played by Joel
Nakumanu, 5th level orc fighter, 32 hp, henchman of Felix
Pseu, hit dice unknown but rising, unclassed mimic, “pet” of Rathbane

(Events of May 2004 in Manhattan)

(this is the follow-up to Felix Adventure #1: Defenders Reunion: The Return of the King, and the Sliming of the King, which ended with the following sentence:)

…A few days later, the passageway began to ramp downward, and become more smooth, and then, about a month after we’d initially set out, we reached the edges of the ruined city, the ancient capital of Shabrund…

And we encountered a very large drawbridge. It crossed a huge chasm to what looked to be a gigantic gatehouse. Suspicious, we approached cautiously.

A voice boomed out in dwarven. “300 gold toll.”

The voice didn’t sound like a dwarf, but it seemed we had little choice. “Leave the money by the gate, and don’t look back.”

We did as instructed, and headed into the city slightly poorer. The city itself was mostly a mess of ruined buildings, with lots of main roads and alleyways on a fair facsimile of a grid. Clearly to find the Girdle of Dwarvenkind would be nearly impossible in something this size without clues as to where to look. Thus we had to explore until we encountered someone.

After some debate, we headed down one of the thoroughfares, but were halted at an intersection by a dark diminutive figure (one of the “greebley guys” from the 8th Open). He offered to guide us to a location for an exorbitant fee. Instead we bargained for mere directions and warnings of major hazards. The darkling explained where we could find one of the two groups of mountain dwarves known to be in the city. He also warned us a giant slug that would be frightened off by fire. We paid him and headed down the passage.

Sure enough, a giant slug attacked us, and Hendel was handed a torch and told to go scare it off. He lit the torch, moved bravely forward… and was engulfed in acid. This ruined his clothes but fortunately little else. Satisfied, the slug bolted. Hendel sighed.

Continue reading "Felix Adventure #2: Building Blocks of Death" »

Posted by Joel Green at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Felix, 8th level half-orc fighter, 75 hp, played by Alex
Rathbane, 5th level dwarven fighter/cleric of Clangeddin, 45 hp, played by Katherine
Donald Collins, 8th level human mage, 43 hp, NPC
Gates, 6th level dwarven cleric of Moradin, 39 hp, played by Aaron
Hendel, 7th level dwarven thief, 38 hp, played by Joel
Nakumanu, 5th level orc fighter, 32 hp, henchman of Felix

History

The detailed origins of this reunion go significantly back into the pages of the Restenford Defenders, an adventuring party founded upon and dragged through the trials of Lendore Isle.

One of the three fighters this party featured was a strong and charismatic half-orc of unknown parentage named Felix, from “Mork and Gork know where.” Felix joined the party within a few months of its founding in 2172 and rapidly rose in power and skill. In 2177, during the Defenders’ expedition to the “Orcipelago,” Felix acquired a former prisoner blue-skinned orc as a henchman, the falchion-wielding Nakumanu.

In 2179, an adamantium shortsword was created, among the most powerful weapons in Telvar. This intelligent sword, a lawful diplomatic weapon we dubbed Peacemaker, adopted Felix and became part of his persona. The sword enjoys fishing and collects shields.

In 2182, the Defenders unknowingly entered a holy testing ground for the ancient dwarven kingdom on Lendore, thinking it to be a local ruin called “The Sentry.” Inside Felix passed a test of a riddle and a battle, unexpectedly becoming the first king of the dwarves of Lendore Isle in several thousand years, and receiving two important items—a hammer, and a crown.

Unfortunately, Felix and the Defenders knew little of the history and the significance of Felix’s new position. As Felix left for the mainland to train, dwarven emissaries from the White Mountain dwarves and the Shabrundian dwarves followed him, hoping to barter for the crown and hammer. There was a third faction representing the hidden dwarves of Lendore Isle, who now worship an evil god known as the Burrower (actual name Beranar, I think). They disguised themselves as the White Mountain dwarf emissary to discover that Felix was in Teft, and bargained with him, offering money. When Felix hesitated, the dwarves struck.

Continue reading "Defenders Reunion: The Return of the King, and the Sliming of the King" »

Posted by Joel Green at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)