The World of Telvar

The 11th Telvar Open: Hot Turtle!

An Open in Two Parts, only one part of which is described below.

11/12/11 in China Grove, N.C. Hosted by the Jones Family / D.M. E.B. Anderson, Jr.

Party:

Expeditionary Force:
Grogan Icevein, Expedition Leader, Fighter 11 (Played by Kathryn Snead)
Luether Blackrock, High Priest of Clangeddin, Fighter 8/Cleric 9 (Played by Ashley Merritt)
Morett Ironface, Lieutenant, Fighter 9 (Played by Sean Guarino)
Yeuslin Goldfire, Sargeant, Fighter 6 (Played by Andrew Anderson?)
Slorgin Ironface, Sargeant, Fighter 6
4 Dwarves, Marines, Fighters 4 (Melee Squad)
6 Dwarves, Marines, Fighters 4 (Bowyer Squad) (Played by Sarah Lane?)

Vessel Crew:
Hoine Ironface, First Captain, Captain 8 (Played by David Chappell)
Baryun Icevein, Second Captain, Captain 7 (Played by Keith Nelson?)
Florin Hilltop, First Mate, Captain 6 (Played by David Jones
Uther Hilltop, Second Mate, Captain 5 (Played by Ryan Jones?)
6 Dwarves, Crew, Captains 3

Our story begins very long ago, when the high priestess of Moradin, Ygrill, had a vision of one of the nine flawless jewels of Moradin resting in a domed city - a ruin of the Ancient's. The King of the Wall Kingdom, Gamil the Fourth, put together a recovery party of his greatest warriors, and sent them out on a quest of the greatest importance to recover the gem and bring it back to the Kingdom.

Continue reading "The 11th Telvar Open: Hot Turtle!" »

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 05:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The 10th Telvar Open: Wrap-­‐Up Scenes from the Video. Transcripts, Mostly Accurate!
Video Summary:
E: Well, the people who are manipulating The Phantasm have very different plans. So, what happens is, Phantasm leads 3 thieves from the Guild—picked because 1 knows a little bit about magic (), one is particularly good at dealing with old stonework (), and 1 is a cleric of Hindus, the god of thieves who can help heal and keep them alive (). Leads them out... with a Teleport Anchor and leads people out to a location where... I realize there are only 3 people here who are familiar with this substance, called Scatterblock. A vicious substance developed during the First Age by the Tyrants to destroy people who tried to teleport into their palaces or Universities. So what happens is, the Great Wilhelm is traveling. The Phantasm has been given a tip-­‐off by these same diabolically-­‐scheming forces. So the Teleport Anchor—something that sucks in people traveling by Teleport within about a mile line of sight between the points—Phantasm climbs up on top of the ruin and drops the Anchor into the Scatterblocked ruin, and stands back and waits.

Continue reading "The 10th Telvar Open: Video Transcript" »

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 04:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Tenth Telvar Open Tournament: Pocketing the Difference
“The random and the directly causal are often completely indistinguishable. I would argue that there is no difference—given that the world is far too complicated for us to really understand the consequences of our own actions.”
--The Anarchist Cleric known as “Bob”
Events of 11 October 2008 in Charlotte, N.C. / 26 December 2196 B.Y. in the ruins of a First Age slave city near the Realmish city of Hortun.
[the same day as the BLADES battle in the sewers of Botsweil, aftermath of a low-level adventuring party releasing two warring gods]
[NOTE: Some of the diverse summaries of these events contain contradictory information, and skewed perspectives based on the experiences of the characters involved. Some of these have been noted specifically, but otherwise the unique perspectives of each group have been maintained. The truth
of each situation probably lies somewhere in the middle.]
Dungeon Master: Edwin B. Anderson, Jr.
Assistant: Chris Allen
With Support from: Katherine Anderson Hosted by: Rhonda & Alan Jones
Near the Realmish city of Hortun lies an ancient ruin, abandoned since the First Age of Telvar. That ruin was the birth place of the Anarchist religion, where the first clerics began their work, establishing the first such temple after a slave uprising against the Codex Tyrants.
After the uprising was brutally suppressed, the site was left undisturbed for a long time, because the Restless Undead therein were deadly. Later, the Realmish government negotiated with the Undead to establish exterior walls and prevent intrusions. This fragile truce with the Undead has held for millennia...
Recently, the current government of the Near Realm has allowed the Auroran Church to establish, outside the walls, a memorial and observing post that will allow pilgrims to come and observe the site of the Revolt against the Tyrants. Though unfinished at this time, the memorial is due to be completed fairly soon...

Continue reading "The 10th Telvar Open: Pocketing the Difference" »

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 04:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A History of Open Tournaments, as described by the Dungeon Master, with taglines.

Continue reading "A History of the Telvar Open Tournaments" »

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

View the desktop image!

Hopefully this will be an alternative to those boring standard desktops. Images are from the first and fourth Telvar Opens.

Posted by Jay Bates at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

[The Word-formatted Summary is found here.]

"It had never previously been understood why the Northerner word for 'unavoidable danger' literally translated as 'blue fire mountain.'" - Loren Kenither, BoS

""More are men's ends mark'd than their lives before.

The setting sun, and music at the close,

As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last,

Writ in remembrance more than things long past."

--William Shakespeare, King Richard II

Events of 5 November 2005 in Charlotte, N.C. / 10-11 June 2192 B.Y.
in far western Cromwell, a place known as the Salt Sea Region

[the same day as the events of the Eighth Telvar Open]

[NOTE: Some of the diverse summaries of these events contain contradictory information, and skewed perspectives based on the experiences of the characters involved. Some of these have been noted specifically, but otherwise the unique

perspectives of each group have been maintained. The truth

of each situation probably lies somewhere in the middle.]

We begin as:

A corrupt and evil kingdom of slave lords collapses...

A city built on the edge of a large salty sea is in chaos...

And Cromwellian forces enter the region to restore order and crush the slavers...

The ruins of an ancient Kraken temple molder...

A haunted forest in the shadow of an extinct volcano slumbers...

And a librarian at Cromwell's famed Academy heads off on an unusual vacation...

But meanwhile:

A holy Paladin of Nevron receives a vision of great importance...

One of the High Priests of Aurora hears a rumor of a city in dire straits...

And the government of Cromwell realizes that there are several “irregularities” in the librarian's preparations for his vacation, resulting in an Academy Team known as Death from Above being dispatched in pursuit...

Events begin to fall into place in the city, forest, and surrounding lands, as…

The city of Towlmere devolves into chaos and mayhem…

The servants of Aurora and Nevron converge on the area…

The Academy Team finds the trail of the errant librarian and is in hot pursuit…

As the librarian completes his work on a strange device at the top of an ancient pyramid in the midst of the haunted forest…

And an ancient evil awakens...

Continue reading "The Ninth Telvar Open Tournament: Faces from the Past" »

Posted by Joel Green at 04:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

The Ninth Telvar Open Tournament: Faces from the Past

5 November 2005 in Charlotte, N.C. / 10 June 2192 B.Y. in far
western Cromwell, in a place known as the Salt Sea Region

[the same day as the events of the Eighth Telvar Open]

We begin as:

A corrupt and evil kingdom of slave lords collapses...

A city built on the edge of a large salty sea is in chaos...

A haunted forest in the shadow of a extinct volcano slumbers...

The ruins of an ancient Kraken temple moulder...

And Cromwellian forces enter the region to restore order and crush the
slavers...

But:

A librarian at Cromwell's famed Academy heads off on an unusual vacation...

A holy Paladin of Nevron receives a vision of great importance...

One of the High Priests of Aurora hears a rumor....

And a team of auditors working for the government of Cromwell realizes
that the Librarian's preparations for his vacation violated some of
the policies of the Academy, resulting in an Academy Team known as
Death from Above being dispatched in pursuit...

And we begin:

As the Librarian completes work on a strange device at the top of an
ancient pyramid on the edge of the haunted forest...

And an ancient evil awakens...

[The Ninth Telvar Open Summary is finished! You can read it here!]

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

(Note: During the Ninth Telvar Open, discussion as to the results of the Eighth Open shed some light on what became of some of the principal figures in that adventure, in its immediate aftermath. --Joel)

After the Monument collapsed, a brainwiped Lien (Hood's erstwhile companion), Krasse (leader of the Party of Secrets), and Szyn (a phase spider), found themselves together in the space at the bottom of the dark staircase, Hood having been annihilated in the judgement. That is, Hood was utterly destroyed after he blew the horn, the Wailer for Lost Delnan, and freed Delnan, dark servant of Tram, from his captivity.

None of the others knew who they were or why they were there, but they had only one exit: up the stairs.

Szyn the phase spider did not need the stairs, however. He simply vanished, presumably to be restored to himself one way or another in that far-off place or plane that the phase spiders inhabit.

The others, however, were forced to walk up the staircase and meet their fate at its top.

Unfortunately for Lien, Krasse's final order to the Party of Secrets had been to kill anyone besides him who emerged from the Monument. As Lien crested the stairs, he was shot to death. Krasse was pulled in by his surprised party, who found him incoherent and confused.

Shortly thereafter, the Realmish Shocktroopers, Fire Giants, and Minotaurs arrived in a large group. The Shocktroopers took charge, and it was quickly determined that Lien and the fallen Myzon (who had undertaken the Rite of the Dark Pact) had been responsible for the collapse of the Monument and the slaughter at the Giant slave mine. The Party of Secrets was given a reward for help in completing the investigation and sent on its way. Krasse was healed via an Elixir of Health and returned to form, satisfied that although he did not possess the power to save the world, the Force capable of doing so had already been unleashed.

--Joel (with minor editing by Kyle)

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

4 October 2003 / 10 June 2192 B.Y.

The Edge of Memory

“It’s a hint,” the Sphinx said. “It just won’t make any sense until you already know the answer.”

Prelude:

On April 1st, 2188, on the island of Race Rock [during the Sixth Telvar open], events were set in motion that once again drew the attention of the Kraken back to Telvar. The Kraken, aircraft carrier-sized squid creatures, the great evil of ages past, had once enslaved most of the world with their mind-affecting powers.
With their baleful eye upon Telvar, only terror and evil could possibly result…

But there remained many forces arrayed against the return of the Kraken. Some known, some unknown.

“History became legend and legend became myth, and things which should not have been forgotten
…were lost.” –The Fellowship of the Ring (the film version)

Continue reading "The Eighth Telvar Open Tournament" »

Posted by Joel Green at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (3)

21 July 2001 / 8 December 2191 B.Y.
"Boom!"

When an artifact is threatened with annihilation, it is said that even the Fates may intervene.

Introduction:

In 2191, deep in the Adventuring Reserve (which lies deep within the Imperial Realm), sits the Mountain of Thunder. It gets its name from the peak, which is a massive volcano that spews acid and gas every thirty seconds, on cue, boiling violently up into the sky. The Mountain is worshipped by troglodytes as a sign of their demonic gods, and they frequently throw sacrifices (and occasionally honored fallen comrades) into the depths from a platform in the interior. They have a huge Temple complex and city surrounding the Mountain.

Continue reading "The Seventh Telvar Open Summary: The Mountain of Thunder" »

Posted by Joel Green at 02:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here is one of the handouts for the Sixth Open - Race Rock. I was in the main area of Race Rock talking to the Locatha for the whole game through the closed door. Once I can get OCR set-up, I'll send the text up.

Jay

View image - - - - View image

View image - - - - View image

Posted by Jay Bates at 03:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Held: July 24, 1999, Winston-Salem, N.C.
"Race Rock"

"When you throw caution to the wind as a vocation, occasional hurricanes are an inevitability."

1. Introduction

2. Group Summaries: Groups 1-3

3. Group Summaries: Group 4 (Alvin's Party)

4. Group Summaries: Group 5 (The Watchers' Watchmen)

5. Wrap-up Summary and Cast of Characters

6. Other Conjecture

Introduction

The Oceans of Telvar hide many secrets. Some, like this one, might better have remained secret.

We begin in the world of Telvar, in the Northern Sea, farther north than Lendore, past the Endless Sea and north even of the Pirate Isles and such other infamous islands as the Hand of Hindus. Travelling as the crow flies (or druid as the case may be), to the northwest, we discover the vastness of the Great Ocean. We have left Wunka and the Realm far to our south, and Goblin Isles are long since past. Roughly halfway between Hochland, central state of the Phaulkonian religion among humans, and the
Grandfather, primary naval base of the goblins, lies a chain of islands inhabited by mostly peaceful orcs and the like. Were one an adventurer, the ruins on the northern islands might be of interest. Our story, though, begins in the southernmost island of Race Rock, known for its wind currents that allow boats to race by the island at astounding speeds.

The date is April 1st, 2188. A certain key person is partially aware of events about to occur on the island of Race Rock, and a turning point in history may have been reached on that day. A large hurricane comes to Race Rock as a series of events are set in motion. The details lie in the accounts of those who were present.

Some Credits: Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 were summarized by Joel Green. Group 5 was detailed by David Chappell.

With help from many others, including Edwin Anderson, Katherine Plante, Alex Hubbard, and Chris Allen.

You can see a picture of the participants on Joey's picture Telvar Open picture page.

Continue reading "The Sixth Telvar Open: Race Rock" »

Posted by Joel Green at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)

The Peaks of Light: August 3, 1996 (December 18, 2178 B.Y.)
"Does anyone know what that sound was?"

The Fifth Telvar Open, known as the Peaks of Light, took place in August, 1996.

This Open involved the quest for a Mithril Key by a group of Frost Giants bent on revenge against the Regency of Cromwell.

Ultimately, the giants failed in their quest, a tribe of gnolls was decimated, the human parties were very confused, the Polar Wyrm ate some, and the xenophobic dwarves closed off their mine from prying eyes. Makes you wish there was a summary, doesn't it?

You can see a picture of the participants on Joey's picture Telvar Open picture page.

Continue reading "The Fifth Telvar Open: The Peaks of Light" »

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Incident at Gerda

The Fourth Open Tournament, July 16, 1994 (January 10, 2170 B.Y.)

A TELVAR Adventure

Dungeon Mastered by: Edwin Brooks Anderson, Jr.
Hosted by: Andrew Anderson and Keith Nelson
Additional Support from: David Chappell

Continue reading "The Fourth Telvar Open Tournament: Characters" »

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 06:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Incident at Gerda: July 16, 1994 (January 20, 2170 B.Y.)
"Which way did they go?"
[Attendance 21 people.]

The Fourth Telvar Open took place at Gerda in the Far World. It involved the transport of an Evil artifact through the lands controlled by a Druid, and the many forces passing through the area at the same time.

The Incident was a victory for Evil, although the Druid managed to avoid any pitched battles within his demesne as well.

As Keith Nelson noted, "Looper the Gargoyle threw everything!"

Continue reading "The Fourth Telvar Open Tournament: Incident at Gerda" »

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Character summaries from the Third Telvar Open, July 11, 1992.

All written by Edwin Brooks Anderson, Jr., the Dungeon Master.

Continue reading "The Third Telvar Open Tournament: Character Sheets" »

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Need to invade Blackstone and kill Lord Eldrin? Here are your maps!

Download file

Continue reading "The Third Telvar Open Tournament: Maps" »

Posted by Jay Bates at 05:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Chaos at Blackstone: July 11, 1992 (Thursday 27 April 2166 B.Y.)
[Attendance was approximately 20 people.]

In the Third Telvar Open Tournament, the action took place at the fortress Blackstone in Drake on 27 April 2166.
"When the invasion bell rang, none of us knew what to do..."

Drake, a militant former province of Dunador, was ruled by the elite warrior General Eldrin who surrounded himself at all times with a cadre of loyal councilors, the Top Ten. In addition, his army was considered the most powerful of any in the New World and indeed had once beaten back a Realmish army 50 times its size. In contrast to most modern armies of (largely) [zero level] militia, Eldrin had amassed an army of phenomenally well-training first-level fighters and even had many people above the level of one as well. His army was simply the best.

But this didn't stop Eldrin from becoming ever more paranoid...

Continue reading "The Third Telvar Open Tournament: Chaos at Blackstone" »

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Kobolds of High Mountain: June 9, 1990 (June 20, 2157 B.Y.)
[The invitation from the 5th Open claims about 15 people participated.]

The Second Telvar Open Tournament: The Kobolds of High Mountain

Also known as "Crush the Skull"....

Stopping a kobold raid on the settlements below

Where our heroes attempted to stop kobold raids on the settlements below, but instead perished horribly in a kobold entertainment venue...Alcoa Rasputian and company apparently met a grisly fate this day.

Contributed by Keith Nelson!

Continue reading "The Second Telvar Open Tournament: The Kobolds of High Mountain" »

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Haunted Isle: August, 1988, Winston-Salem, N.C. (May 18, 2154 B.Y.)
[The invitation from the 5th Open claims about 8 people participated.]

The First Telvar Open Tournament: Haunted Isle
"The ship is sinking!"

Where our heroes attempt to escape an island known by orc, goblin, and man
as a cursed place, all set in a brand-new adventuring world called Telvar.
Captain Trolvar managed to escape the island. Telvar had grown as the next
evolutionary step from an adventuring world with much greater magic and
technology accessible to the characters...

Contributed by Keith Nelson!

Continue reading "The First Telvar Open Tournament: Haunted Isle" »

Posted by Kyle MacLea at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)