BJ Back From the Beyond

Sooo... sorry for the lateness of this. It took me a while to just get it down in writing. Here is Aaron's epilog, in which he gets a visit from someone from his past... Click to reveal.. (Epilog) Aaron spent the entire trip back to Houghton lost in his own thoughts. He said not a word to his companions the entire time, and halfheartedly bid farewell when they parted. He booked a room at an inn, intending to leave the next morning. He didn't know where we would go. He never did. Even with the celebrations sweeping the city, Aaron felt no joy in what he had done. Yes, the witch was dead, but she didn't need to be. He turned the events that had transpired over and over again in his head, trying to find the mistake they had made. That he had made. Feeling very tired, he climbed up to his room and lay down on the bed. So engrossed in his own thoughts was he that he didn't even notice the woman sitting on a chair in the corner. "There you are, Aaron. I've been looking everywhere for you." Aaron sat bolt upright, the woman's voice finally snapping him out of his reverie. "Rosalyn," said Aaron. "What are you doing here?" "Well that's a fine thing to ask you fiancé." Aaron panicked. If Rosalyn was here, then that would mean… He reached for his sword and jumped to his feet. Rosalyn just shook her head and said, "Don't even try it. There are five armed guards downstairs ready to grab you if you try to run, and another ten outside." Aaron stood there and stared at Rosalyn, trying to determine if she was bluffing, but he knew she wasn't. Rosalyn rarely lied. It was one of the things he liked about here. One of the few things he liked about her. Rosalyn continued, "Aaron, despite what you may think, and most of all despite everything you've put your family and mine through, I'm not here to bring you back. At least, not for the reason you're thinking of." Aaron just continued to stare at her. "Aaron, how much news have you heard from Selaneus since you left?" "None. Why?" Rosalyn took a deep breath, preparing herself for what was about to happen. "Your father is dead, Aaron." Aaron sat back down on the bed. He was stunned. That was the only word for it. He had spent so much time and effort hating and running from his father that he had never really considered what he would feel if his father died. There were still things unsaid between them, things Aaron had avoided saying by leaving. Now he would never get the chance to confront his father over the issues they had disagreed upon, and somehow that made Aaron sad. "Wha… What about my mother," Aaron asked. "She has been trying to keep House Calasir in order, but without an heir…" Rosalyn's voice trialed of, but Aaron knew what she was saying. He was the only heir, the only one who could keep the line going. His mother could keep things running in his absence, but without him the house would surely fall. Suddenly all those lessons about duty and putting his family's needs above his own rushed back to Aaron. He had hated those long-winded lectures his father had given him. He almost wanted to remain where he was to spite the old man, but that wouldn't accomplish anything. There were others who needed him now. He had a chance to do things right. Rosalyn gave him a searching look and asked, "Aaron, what are you going to do?" After a two year absence, Aaron Calasir finally returned to Selaneus and took his father's title. Though the noble house had been small and weakening upon his arrival, he was able to lead it into a bright new age of prosperity. He did marry, though not the woman his father had intended him to marry. He also had a son who grew up listening to his father's wild tales of adventure, most especially the ones about the good witch Cassandra. Near the back of a large garden owned by House Calasir, there is a secret clearing with a lone tree growing in the center. Aaron had planted it himself, and, though he knew that it would never bear the fruit he wished it could, he imaged Cassandra could see it and would smile every time she did. If you found that confusing, perhaps this will clear it up: Aaron's secret backstory! Click to reveal.. (What really happened) Aaron is the only child of House Calasir, a small noble house residing in Selaneus on the island of Selos. From the time he was very young he had been educated in the ways of noble houses. He was taught history, politics, mathematics, geography, and, when he was older, swordplay. Of course, the most important lesson Aaron's parents tried to teach him was the importance of duty, something Aaron never quite agreed with them on. He had his own ideas about where he wanted his life to go. Things came to a head one night during a banquet. Aaron's parents had arranged for him to be married to the daughter of another noble family to signify their new alliance. They announced this plan during the festivities, much to Aaron's and his new fiancé’s surprise. Aaron was convinced that trying to change his father's mind would be futile, and he had no wish to marry the young lady his father had picked out. That night, Aaron packed up some of his belongings, some coins and small gems, and his favorite shortsword and left home without saying a word to either of his parents. Aaron's first destination was Sarden. Now, Aaron is the first to admit that walking into Sarden with pockets full of jingling coins wasn't the brightest thing he ever did. He had only been in the city for five minutes before he found himself in a back alley being mugged. After that, Aaron had only the clothes on his back, his trusty shortsword, and enough money to pay for cot at an inn and a pint of ale. Aaron was sitting, drowning his sorrow in ale and considering going back to his family when a human man came up to him and sat beside him. The man introduced himself as Solomon. Solomon was the head of a caravan that traveled between Selaneus and Myundt with a stopover in Sarden. He had noticed Aaron and wanted to know if he wanted a job as a caravan guard on their route to Myundt. Aaron accepted. After arriving in Myundt, Solomon gave Aaron a book (which turned out to be a spellbook on illusions), saying that he would need it someday, and told Aaron to look for an old dragonborn seer in the city who went by the name of Durin. Then Solomon left. Aaron never saw him again. It wasn't long before Aaron found Durin. It was almost as if Durin was waiting for him. The old dragonborn told Aaron that he was fated. There was a plan set in motion by Imaunte, and Aaron was key to it. Durin said that he would only find his destiny if he ventured to the other islands, and that he could not stay in Myundt if he wished to remain free. Aaron, in his usual willful manner, decided to ignore this advice. A couple days later, he was almost captured by a bounty hunter sent to bring him back to his family. Aaron boarded a ship headed to a nearby island that very same day. Since then, Aaron has been hopping from island to island, doing odd jobs for money and avoiding the bounty hunters that manage to find him. He had just arrived in Houghton when the conflict broke out, and he was caught up in it like everyone else. Click to reveal.. (Regrettable Scenario) Several months ago, when Aaron was on the island of Koros he was having trouble finding any jobs. He ended up falling in with a small group of bandits. Aaron has always tried to uphold the law wherever he goes, but in this case he didn't have much choice. He waylaid caravans and travelers to keep from starving. He regretted that decision almost as soon as he made it, but the others would not let him back out of the group. He wasn't able to leave until the group was attacked by vigilantes. The surviving members scattered, and Aaron left the island as quickly as possible. (And of course now I can think of a good regrettable scenario)

All the bandits need to be good little boys and girls now, or Lucia will come and set fire to their homes. Click to reveal.. (Lucia "Firestarter" Hannel) Name: Lucia Hannel Race: Human Female Occupation: Mage Alignment: Feeling rather vindictive. And tired. HP: 1/14 STA: 5/10 Magic (Evocation): 11 [+1] Perception: 7 (+1 racial) Nature: 7 Acrobatics: 5 (+1 racial) Arcana: 4 Athletics: 4 Spare SP: 3 Also, since I now have another spell slot, and I need a new defensive spell... Click to reveal.. (From the spell compendium, it's... ) Cyclone -- Creates fierce winds about the caster, pushing and knocking down anyone near and potentially stunning them.

Click to reveal.. Name: Aaron Race: Human Occupation: Wanderer Deity: Imaunte Alignment: Willful Level: 5 HP: 28 / 28 STM: 10 / 10 STR: 4 DEX: 4 INT: 6 Martial (swords): 6 [+2] Magic (enchantment): 7 [+1] History: 4 Composure: 3 Artifice: 3 [+1] Perception: 5 (RB) [+1] Stealth: 1 (RB)

For me, as long as it doesn't conflict with the other campaigns and isn't on Sunday morning or afternoon, it should be fine. So, yeah, 6th works for me as long as it's at the usual time.

The 5th should work for me, unless things change suddenly.

I think it's high time Lucia trained in her combat skill... Click to reveal.. Name: Lucia Hannel Race: Human (F) Occupation: Mage Alignment: Slightly Less Cheerful HP: 14/14 Sta: 10/10 Spd: 5/5 Magic (Evocation): 10 [+1] Perception: 7 (+1 racial) Nature: 7 Acrobatics: 5 (+1 racial) Arcana: 4 Athletics: 4 Spare Pts: 0

As sad as I am to bring an end to Lilith's multi-post run (not really), I need to update my character's skills (and I'm not the only one). Click to reveal.. Name: Lucia Hannel Race: Human (F) Occupation: Mage Alignment: Slightly Less Cheerful HP: 14/14 Sta: 8/10 Spd: 5/5 Magic (Evocation): 9 Perception: 7 (+1 racial) Nature: 7 [+1] Acrobatics: 5 (+1 racial) Arcana: 4 Athletics: 4 [+1] Spare Pts: 2

I'll be there.

I recall Nathan handing the pack over to Ben. All that was taken out was a single knife.

Sorry to hear that the outage wiped out most of your stuff. Saturday should be good, but that could change easily. I recently applied for a job and have no idea what the work schedule will look like, so assume I'm free until further notice.

Click to reveal.. (Nathan, man of action (if by "action" you mean "running away")) Andrew Nathanial "Nathan" Ward, L2 Male Thief ATTRIBUTES: 2STR/4DEX/2PER/2INT HP [10+2S]: 11/11/14 AC [10+D]: 14 SPD [3+½D]: 5 Coward – +4 Reflex, -2 Will. SKILLS Athletics: 2 [+1] Driving: 1 Engineering: 3 Observation: 1 [+1] Search: 2 Sneak: 4 [+1] Tactics: 1

So, we ready to set a date for the next session?

Yep, it works now. I'll give it a go soon. You may want to get your scenario posted in the Blades of Avernum Scenario Reviews board in the mean time.

I just tried to download your scenario, but when I went to open the zip file, it was empty. I'd like to play it and give it a review, but the problem needs to be fixed before that can happen.

Click to reveal.. (Lucia) HP: 13/13 Sta: 10/10 Magic (Evocation): 9 Perception: 7 (+1 racial) [+1] Nature: 6 Acrobatics: 5 (+1 racial) Arcana: 4 [+1] Athletics: 3 Spare Pts: 1

Go ahead and include both of my scenarios, Strange Gildra and The Cradle. I'm working on another scenario right now, but I've hit a speed bump and may not finish it before time runs out.

Woo! Expect a character shortly.

Click to reveal.. (Lucia) HP: 13/13 Sta: 10/10 Magic (Evocation): 9 Perception: 6 (+1 racial) Nature: 6 Acrobatics: 5 (+1 racial) [+1] Arcana: 3 Athletics: 3 [+1] Spare Pts: 2

Originally Posted By: Nioca If people are still interested in Zombies!, I could very well run my own campaign. I've been thinking about running a campaign of something for a while now. I actually had a similar idea myself. I've been thinking about getting into the DM ring for a while, and this could be a good starting point for me. I've had this good idea for a Zombies! like campaign for a while, but I would need a lot of prep time before I'd even consider running it. Originally Posted By: Nioca Players in this campaign would be eligible, as would new players. Odds are, I'd put it in a separate continuity from Lazarus's campaign (so I could add my own twists onto it), and it'd also be more difficult as well (I've been wanting to run something with greater difficulty, and a Zombie Apocalypse seems the perfect setting to do it in). Thoughts? I would totally be up for that, sure. The greater difficulty sounds good too. Things were starting to get easy in this campaign.

4th is good as far as I know.

Lucia: Click to reveal.. HP: 12/12 Magic (Evocation): 9 [+1] Perception: 6 (+1 racial) Nature: 6 [+1] Acrobatics: 4 (+1 racial) Arcana: 3 Athletics: 2 Spare Pts: 0 And with that increase in Evocation, Lucia can learn another spell! Here's my pick (pending approval of course). Click to reveal.. (Courtesy of the Spell Compendium) Star Missile: Fires a superheated (in excess of 1400 Celsius) magic missile at the target. The resultant missile is capable of burning its way through all but the most stubborn targets and obstacles, and frequently causing ignition in any even slightly flammable objects. Also leaves a trail of fire in the air behind it because of its incredible temperature.

Every day but Tuesday is fine for me.

Here are Lucia's improved stats. Click to reveal.. HP: 12/12 Magic (Evocation): 8 Perception: 6 (+1 racial) Nature: 5 Acrobatics: 4 (+1 racial) Arcana: 3 Athletics: 2 [+1] Spare Pts: 7 Just an increase in Athletics for now.

Wednesday is bad for me. It's my birthday, so I've got plans with family. Anytime Saturday should be good.

Sunday, some time after 3 EST, would work for me.