Apparently, at the end of each turn, every creature will be slid 1 square in the direction indicated. The DM also built a 3D battleground. The upper level is 10 feet above the ground, with a difficulty level of 17 (or was it 21?) to climb. In case you’re wondering, he used Chinese chess pieces to prop the battle boards up.

So Kepler joined at the last moment, facing a cobalt dragon. Something didn’t feel right. My DM’s too crafty to just dump one enemy there.

Kepler’s suspicions were confirmed when some flying creature flew in halfway in the battle.

“Angry Bird!” the bard shouted.

There was also a frost zombie that joined the fun, but that’s not important. The bard then sung the song of Saga of Rivalry, linking the cobalt dragon and the invoker.

I made up a song for it:

Dragon and invoker can’t see eye to eye
Invoker just hit, and then say “Bye Bye!”

I declined when my friend playing the bard offered to swap character sheets with me.

Kepler also decided, for the first time, to target his ally. Casting “Chaos Storm” on the barbarian, he managed to get the angry bird and the cobalt dragon in the maelstrom too. Much apologies to the barbarian.

The whole battle still took longer than expected, about 2 hours. So we decided to playtest the DM’s one-shot battle, with a level 7 black dragon. It went down faster than the Titanic.

The DM originally meant to pit us, level 1 adventurers against a level 4 version of the black dragon. We’ll die spectacularly of course, but the DM will up our level to 2, and then we die try again. We continue till we defeat the black dragon. Well, we didn’t have level 1 character sheets, so we had six level 7 characters fighting one level 7 black dragon.

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Shard Saga – Sliding ice

• All of us had to be of the same race
• We are not to tell each other what character classes we’re playing
• No magical items (at first)

The consensus was that all of us would play humans then, since that race provided the most flexibility. I thought about what I haven’t tried playing and it hit me: the role of protector.

Thus was Sir Boracelsus born. His parents died when he was young, and he flit from foster home to foster home. One night, he couldn’t stand his drunken foster father’s beatings any longer and retaliated. The man hit the floor with a thud. A woman stood crying in the kitchen doorway. “I’m, I’m sorry,” said Boracelsus. And he fled.

Deep in the woods, Boracelsus stopped running, breathing in gasps. He leaned against an oak tree and closed his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks. A breeze brushed against his face, and he smelled sweet flowers. Opening his eyes, he saw a woman dressed in white silk. There was a pale nimbus of moonlight around her, bathing the trees with a serene glow. She frowned as she approached him.

“Oh Boracelsus,” she sighed, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Be at peace.”

And that was how Boracelsus met Sehanine, the goddess of love, and eventually came to serve her.

For the game, I made him Sir Boracelsus, a virtuous paladin, and optimised him for protection, healing and removal of harmful effects. He had a lyre, you know, in case he needs to sing for the blossoming of love.

The DM asked us to introduce ourselves. We went round the table. “I am Sir Boracelsus,” I said. “For the gods!”

“Oh, there are no gods in this world.” said the DM.
“Oh…”

Another story background dealt the doom of death, before the birth of Boracelsus’ bravery could be courageously charted.

It didn’t help that I kept missing in the game session. I rolled a total of three 1′s on a d20 in that game. There’s something statistically wrong with my d20…

The darkness falling incident

“There are charred corpses all around you. It is getting dark…” said the DM.
“I break a sunrod.” I said. “So there’s light now.”
“But there’s still some distance before you reach the mountains…” said the DM.
“I have 2.”

Yeah, payback is sweet.

The appearance of the undead female officer

“You arrive at a plateau. At the far end, there’s a small structure with a squarish opening. Black mist keeps pouring out of the opening. Then a woman appears out of the black mist.”

The DM takes out a female figurine and places it on the game board.

“She’s dressed in military clothing, and she’s half naked…” said the DM.
“Which half?” I asked.
“Huh?”
“You said she’s half naked. So, which half?”
“Uh, buh, uh…”

Yeah, take that.

Wait, if there are no gods in that game universe, how do Divine powers work?

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Sir Boracelsus – Champion of True Love

Previously, our Kai adventurers staked out the rooftops of Toran, fought a pair of ugly ninjas, and finally witnessed the arrival of Mathilda Gerrich and Occula. Before we continue, my friend who played Archer, after reading the previous episode, complained that he didn’t get enough screen time. He did a lot to obtain valuable information from seducing the barmaid, but had his monumental contribution reduced to a couple of sentences. He was, to say the least, a tad unhappy with me.

So here’s the director’s cut of what happened back at the White Lion’s Inn…

A barmaid’s seduction (director’s cut)

While the rest of the group went to stake out at the rooftops of Toran, Archer stayed behind at the White Lion’s Inn. A barmaid caught his eye, and after some flirtatious exchanges, the barmaid gave Archer a signal and went to a side door of the bar. Archer followed her (quite eagerly), and grabbing her (quite roughly) by the waist, led her (quite forcefully) into her room.

blah blah Kai robes flew off blah blah lips met blah blah dress torn apart blah blah blah her hands on his chiselled pectoralis major blah blah soft milky white skin blah blah blah flesh on flesh blah blah rippling biceps blah blah heaving bosom blah blah blah dug her nails into blah blah like smooth snowy buns blah blah blah like a hot spear piercing blah blah blah rhythmic synchronicity blah blah a cry blah blah a moan blah blah eyes opened wide blah blah intense closeness blah blah blah a sigh.

For the purpose of public consumption, I’ve written only about 10% of the whole incident, which is what could be published without getting into trouble. For the rest, you’ll have to get the director’s director’s cut straight from Archer’s mouth.

Then, as Seiran the Insatiable emerged from the barmaid’s bed chambers, he met up with Chaosbreaker and Beastmaster. Seiran is the “real” name of Archer. It spells the Japanese kanji of “sei” and “ran”:

The first kanji means “sex”, the second kanji means “unrestrained” or “indiscriminate” (as close to the English equivalent as I could get. I’m not that fluent in Japanese.).

So, after you’ve recovered from your shock (or laughter, depending), we’ll fast forward to where we left off, where Mathilda and Occula just arrived at the White Lion’s Inn…

The reluctant servant

Archer asked if his arrows were replenished, since they returned to the Kai Monastery before this adventure started. I ruled that Stormsong was still furious with their actions from the previous adventure, and so ordered everyone at the Monastery to not help them. One and half adventures since I started hosting this Lone Wolf game, I could sense a major rebellion brewing amongst my friends against this master of theirs…

Beastmaster wanted to get the room right next to Mathilda’s, but her room was at the end of the corridor, and Occula occupied the room just beside hers. Torturer wanted to sprinkle talcum powder just outside of Mathilda’s and Occula’s rooms to see if they could be tracked (via powdered footprints). Beastmaster did something more direct. He conferred with his fellow Kai, and they hatched up a plan.

Beastmaster went up to Occula’s room, flanked by Archer and Chaosbreaker (because both had Sixth Sense and Mindblast), and knocked on the door. Occula opened the door, and peered at Beastmaster. “Yes?” asked the bald man.

“We were sent by Count Gerrich to track his sister’s comings and goings.” announced Beastmaster.
“I, I don’t believe you.” said Occula, eyeing Beastmaster’s brown friar robes.

Beastmaster took off his brown robes to reveal his green Kai robes.

“We’re Kai, and we want to help you. Is Her Lady involved in blood rituals and mud idols?” asked Beastmaster. Archer and Chaosbreaker tensed up, ready for surprises. Occula stared for a moment, then motioned them to go into his room. “Come in, quickly!”

Occula told them that he heavily suspected Mathilda of participating in some kind of ritual. He had accompanied her to some unknown places, and he’s always left standing outside while she entered the place. When she returned after some time, she looked different, more beautiful and slimmer. And there was a growing sense of what he could only describe as evil. He dare not question Mathilda due to his loyalty to the count, but more importantly, because he was afraid of the answer. He kept close to Mathilda on their outings, but there was only so much he could do.

As our Kai adventurers pondered on their next move, night fell.

Torturer was glad he didn’t slip the laxative into Mathilda’s and Occula’s tea. They needed whatever was about to happen, to happen.

Stopping the ritual

Around midnight, Mathilda left her room and knocked on Occula’s door. When he opened it, she turned without a word and proceeded towards the stairs. He followed her quickly, stamping his foot a little harder than was needed with each step, hoping to give some sort of unspoken signal to the Kai. Our hidden Kai adventurers were already lying in wait, and followed noiselessly along.

Leaving the inn, Mathilda wrapped her black robes around her tightly, with Occula trailing behind. They moved silently, deeper and deeper into the southern parts of Toran. Then they stopped at the abandoned house where the boy scavenger was kidnapped. The abandoned house with the unfinished ritual.

Mathilda turned towards Occula and said something to him. Then she entered the house while Occula stood helplessly outside. Our Kai made themselves known to Occula, and he shook his hands out in front of him, motioning them to stay away. They checked the house out, noting 2 windows, 1 in front beside the door, and 1 at the side of the house. Chaosbreaker went to the side window for a closer look and then purple light streamed out.

The ritual had started.

They gathered at the front of the house.

“Save…” started Occula.
“I’m charging in first.” announced Beastmaster, at the same time as…
“I take out my bow and notch an arrow and ready my Mindblast to blast anybody.” said Archer.

“Eh, let the DM finish what he wants to say.” said Torturer.

“Save Mathilda.” begged Occula.

Beastmaster lifted his foot and kicked the door in. The door flew open with a mighty crash. Flanking him were Chaosbreaker and Archer. In the room, six figures cloaked in black robes encircled Mathilda. She was completely naked, and held the boy close to her. Her face was flawlessly smooth, yet her eyes bespoke a flickering madness. Her lips were rosy red, yet her smile hinted at an inhuman viciousness. She held a dagger in her right hand, its tip tinged with red. There was a gash on the boy’s arm, blood oozing out slowly, dripping, dripping…

Archer fired an arrow as a surprise shot, but missed Mathilda. She quickly retreated to the back of the room, still holding the boy tight against her. Two of the figures broke away from the circle to shield her. The other four turned to face Beastmaster, Archer and Chaosbreaker. All were the same cloaked men with ugly faces that Torturer and Blender fought before.

Due to the door and tight space constraints, Torturer and Blender were still outside the room, and so couldn’t join the fight yet. What followed was a bloody battle. It was 4 ugly ninjas versus 3 Kai for the first round. Then Torturer and Blender joined in to take down the ninjas.

The moment Chaosbreaker broke off (haha, pun!) his engagement with his foe (he defeated the ninja), he took out his bow and let fly an arrow towards Mathilda. He was aiming at the dagger she held against the boy’s neck. I ruled a difficulty 7. He failed. But it would’ve been so awesome if he succeeded!

On hindsight, I could’ve allowed him to succeed in dislodging the dagger, but created some deadly consequence to happen to Chaosbreaker. Ah hindsight 20 20…

Then Torturer said, “Get Mathilda! Shoot through the boy! We’ve got healing! We can heal him back!”. Let’s hope people from the child services aren’t reading this…

Only 1 of the first wave of the 4 ninjas were left, engaged in combat with Blender and Torturer, but our Kai were having a tough time. Beastmaster was badly injured. Chaosbreaker already went after one of Mathilda’s shielding ninjas (who were of higher combat skills). With the last of his strength, Beastmaster took up his spear and threw it at Chaosbreaker’s opponent. Archer charged in to continue with a furious assault, and that shielding ninja dropped to the floor.

Mathilda shrieked, and let go of the boy. With astonishing agility, she sprinted towards the side window and broke through. A shatter of glass and she disappeared into the night.

Torturer and Beastmaster rushed to the boy’s side, calling upon their healing powers to flow into the boy. The bleeding on the arm stopped. Meanwhile, Blender and Archer finished off the rest of the ninjas. Chaosbreaker exited the house and tracked Mathilda. He lost her at the southern gates of Toran, a faint lingering trace that led further south, possibly fleeing back to the count’s estate.

“She fled the town naked all the way?” asked Chaosbreaker. I shrugged. It’s her business if she’s not wearing any clothes, right?

With that, we concluded the game session. I wasn’t sure if we could finish the plots I had planned in time, and it was a good spot to stop anyway. What’s going to happen next? What will happen to the boy? Who were the ugly ninjas? What was the ritual about? What will Occula do now? And will anyone see a beautiful naked woman running away?

Till next time…

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The count asks for help – part 5

Previously, our Kai adventurers obtained valuable information from stalking a librarian and seducing a barmaid. They cross-referenced the occurrences of the strange light incidents from the City Watch with the arrivals of Mathilda Gerrich in town. They did their CSI thing at the latest site of the ritual incident. And now, they’re going to do a stakeout high on the rooftops at the southern parts of Toran, where the incidents appeared to be concentrated…

The stakeout

While Archer continued to keep the barmaid busy back at the White Lion’s Inn, the rest of them took to the rooftops and positioned themselves above the streets. There were 4 of them, so they spread themselves out to cover as much of the area as possible. And there they waited…

Near midnight, during the blackest part of the night, a boy of no older than 12 appeared. He was dressed in rags. He kept to the shadows and crept towards the abandoned house, the latest site of the incidents. Our Kai gathered together and watched the house. Presently, the boy appeared again, holding in his arms some mouldy pieces of bread.

“That doesn’t make sense.” said Chaosbreaker.
“He’s hungry, ok? And you didn’t check the kitchen that thoroughly anyway.” I said.

The boy then moved towards another part of town. Beastmaster and Chaosbreaker went to join Archer at the inn. Torturer and Blender followed the boy. After tailing the boy for a while, they came to another seemingly abandoned house. The boy went in. Torturer and Blender were still deciding on what to do when a muffled cry came from the abandoned house.

“Oh *#$&, we have to move in now!” cried Torturer.

Are the others around? Nope, too far. Torturer and Blender were on their own.

The boy and the ugly ninjas

Dashing in, they saw the boy held by a man with the most hideous face they’ve seen. Well, it’s very ugly in any case, since I don’t know what they’ve seen. The man held one hand over the mouth of the boy, with the other hand holding the boy’s torso. He lifted him easily, and fled the house with the boy.

Between the fleeing man and our Kai, however, stood another 2 of the ugly man’s comrades. Dressed in black robes, with hoods covering their heads, they were just as ugly.

I ruled there was partial light, and imposed a -4CS penalty in combat instead of the full -8CS. And I made those black robed ninjas tough. Torturer and Blender had a hard time. Blender, the less skilled of the two, took out his lantern to illuminate the room, thereby removing the dark condition penalty. Both of them were seriously injured, with Torturer taking most of the damage.

The black robed attackers dissolved when defeated, adding a mystical feel to the experience. And also that they won’t be manhandled by Torturer…

They rejoined the others at the inn. Chaosbreaker took the lead and tracked the 3rd robed man to yet another abandoned house. (hey, I don’t need to create a lot of background for empty spaces…) The tracks were gradually disappearing, but they detected a faint sliver of malice floating in the air. They checked the house, and found the charred circle already on the floor. But no ritual appeared to have been performed. This was the next site! With nothing left to check, they left for the inn.

Mathilda arrives

The next morning, Beastmaster sought a woodcarver to create a carving of the mud idol using the picture he copied from the library. He failed the Test (it was a difficulty 3, an easy Test! I did not try to foil his attempts!). The woodcarver was scared from looking at the mud idol picture, and drove Beastmaster from his shop.

Meanwhile, Torturer was in poor shape. He asked to visit an apothecary to buy some potions of Laumspur. (My friends deliberately mispronounced the name of the healing potion so it sounded as the Chinese dialect, Hokkien pronounciation of the word “testicles”) Torturer also bought a vial of laxatives. You know, as a gift to Kai Master Stormsong.

“Stormsong probably have some high level healing ability, and won’t be sick.” said Beastmaster.
“Never mind, we can still dose his tea.” said Torturer.

Kai Master Stormsong is so in trouble…

Back to Beastmaster, when he was driven out by the woodcarver, he saw someone cloaked in black robes riding past him. Beside the robed figure was a man also on horseback. The head was shaved. Chaosbreaker started laughing.

“What?” I asked.
“Did you mean the man’s head was shaved? Or the horse?” laughed Chaosbreaker.

Oh come on! It’s hard enough being the DM…

They finally figured out that it’s Occula (the bald man, not the horse) and Mathilda. The pair rode unerringly to the White Lion’s Inn.

Beastmaster followed closely. He also changed out of his green Kai robes into some brown ones. (where did he get those? I decided not to ask…) When Occula and Mathilda were about to enter the inn, Beastmaster introduced himself.

“Kind sir, I am Friar Francis of the church of Saint Dildo the Demonslayer.” announced Beastmaster. Everyone collapsed into laughter. “Would you be so kind as to offer a donation to the poor?” continued “Friar Francis”.

Mathilda turned and went into the inn without a word. Occula looked at “Friar Francis” for a moment, and reached into his clothes. Taking out a gold crown, he deposited the coin into our good friar’s hands. Not wanting to waste the moment, Beastmaster pressed on. “Do you know anything about a mud idol?” asked Beastmaster.

Occula’s eyebrows shot up as far as they could. A gasp escaped from his lips. Clamping his hand over his mouth, he quickly turned to follow Mathilda.

Then Torturer said he wanted to buy some talcum powder.

Up next, a naked lady escapes.

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The count asks for help – part 4

Previously, our Kai adventurers discovered that blood rituals were being held in the city of Toran. They were investigating where the latest ritual took place when they found human blood on the centre of the floor. There was also a charred circle around the bloody patch.

All of them went into CSI mode. Chaosbreaker asked for the composition of the material used in the charred circle. There’s human blood mixed in with some other compound. He also saw burnt marks directly above the bloody patch.

Then I made a mistake. I asked for a Camouflage skill Test. Beastmaster passed that, and he found a small fragment of dried mud. It looked to be part of something. “Maybe a bowl?” mused Torturer. Chaosbreaker said Hunting would have been a better skill Test, because you’re noticing something, not hiding something. Oh well…

There wasn’t much else to do in the room. Blender tried to “scry” into the mud piece. “You feel a wave of evil in your mind. Take 2 damage.” I said. Then I described a lingering malice in the room. They decided to go elsewhere.

The worried librarian

Mathilda Gerrich wasn’t due to be in town yet, so they still had some time. Archer asked if there was a library in Toran. Hey presto, library created in Toran. Being all powerful is kind of fun sometimes…

They visited the library to find out if there were cult activities. The librarian was surprised when they asked for information on strange rituals and cultists in Toran. Well, there were. The southern part of Toran was the oldest part of town (and also where the strange light incidents occurred). Several hundred years ago, there was a cult that worshipped a mud idol. *collective gasps from my friends that I totally imagined*

There were rituals involving human blood, but due to the intensity of the ritual and fervour of the worshippers, the human “volunteering” his blood usually died. Then I told them the librarian looked worried. And I held my breath for the imminent death of my librarian.

It didn’t happen. Archer used his Sixth Sense to test the librarian. Not hostile (a very important keyword), just frightened and concerned. They left the library, but left Beastmaster behind to follow the librarian. Beastmaster stayed in the shadows, while the librarian went into the deeper parts of the library. He stopped at a bookshelf, looked around nervously, and took out a book. “I note the position of the book.” said Beastmaster.

The librarian stared at a particular page for a while, then he closed the book and returned it on the shelf. Then he left. Beastmaster came out of the shadows and took the book out. In the middle of the book, was a picture of a mud idol, hideous and grotesque in a vague humanoid form. Beastmaster copied the picture as best as he could. Then he put the book back and rejoined the group.

Beastmaster then tried to make a wood carving of the mud idol. He failed to make a convincing copy. And a wave of malice washed over our adventurers. I wanted to make it clear they shouldn’t play around with the mud idol, even if it’s only a semblance.

With no more places to check and clues to investigate, they went to where Mathilda was going to stay at, the White Lion’s Inn. They were running a bit low on cash (haha, Kai honour of refusing gifts), so only some of them got a room. Which reminds me to give them encounters with monetary rewards and stuff, and not situations where they had to refuse gifts. Otherwise, they might set the forest on fire just for the heck of it.

The accommodating barmaid

So, predictably, Archer went straight to seducing the barmaid. While he and the barmaid were doing some romancing in his room, Archer got a bit of information. Lady Mathilda often came to town because she’s bored. She’s always accompanied by Occula, but they stayed in separate rooms.

“I wouldn’t say she’s pudgy, but the lady seemed to have gotten thinner after the last couple of visits.” said the barmaid. “When she goes back to her estate, she looked slim. And she never covered herself in black robes. Until now.”

“How do you know it’s Mathilda then?” asked Archer.
“Well, Occula is always beside her. Who else could that be?”

“Ok, that’s it. I’m going to #*@! every barmaid I meet!” announced Archer. Note to self: make sure there are enough barmaids to distract Archer.

They went to check on the customer log for the inn. Mathilda’s last two stays at White Lion’s Inn were 16 days and 7 days ago. On hindsight, it might be interesting to make them role play how they manage to get their hands on the information. Then again, maybe not. My innkeeper might die. They cross-referenced the log with the incident reports at City Watch.

18d, 15d, 10d, 6d, 2d (incident report)
16d, 7d (Mathilda’s arrival)

Chaosbreaker thought that didn’t make sense. I’ll explain it, and you make your own judgement.

16 days ago, Mathilda arrived. The night 15 days ago, a strange light incident happened. Mathilda left 2 days after she arrived, meaning 14 days ago. I made sure she left the day after an incident occurred. Maybe I wasn’t clear on the incidents part. The incidents happened on the numbers stated. The day the reports were made was the next day.

Anyway, the timeline did its job. They heavily suspected Mathilda was the one behind the rituals, even the ones where she wasn’t staying at White Lion’s Inn. “She could’ve sneaked into town! She didn’t have to stay at this inn! She could be anywhere!” said Torturer.

Hmm… interesting…

Then they decided to do a stake out at the southern parts of Toran.

Up next, Torturer and Blender were nearly killed by 3 ugly ninjas when they followed a boy in rags.

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The count asks for help – part 3

He’s the best thing a DM could have other than dosing the players with sedatives to stop some of the most ridiculous plans I’ve ever heard. Somehow his presence discourages the wilder preposterous ideas. He breaks the chaos, get it? Chaosbreaker seemed unhappy because he wanted in on the wrecking-the-DM-nerves action too. I’m just glad I don’t have to keep inventing NPCs every time I introduce a plot point…

A few notes first. Due to the unwieldy nature of my friends and the freeform properties of the game, I only planned story plot points. They were loosely tied to each other, and could be rearranged in a different order if need be. This gave me the best chances of digging myself out of a story dead end, and the most amount of flexibility in dealing with whatever my friends were going to throw at me.

As a result, half of whatever happened during this game session were not planned by me. I’ll let you puzzle out which parts were improvised by me. *smile*

On the hunt for clues

They were really interested in what the count’s sister was up to. I also deliberately gave them a couple of days before she arrived in town, just to see what they would do. Hey, a DM’s entitled to some fun, right? Then I gently reminded them she won’t be in town until an unspecified number of days later, only that it was soon. They decided to investigate the strange lights incidents requested by the City Watch then.

It was then that Chaosbreaker suggested that maybe the sister and the incidents were linked. Hmm… *arched eyebrow*

The first thing they did was to ask for the last occurrence of the incidents from the City Watch. It was about 2 days ago. Where? An abandoned house. Who reported it? A shopkeeper who lived a couple of houses away.

Were there people taken? Yes.
What kind? The gentry and peasants alike.

“Indiscriminate kidnappings…” mused Torturer.
“Any rise in the number of missing persons?” asked Chaosbreaker.
“No more than the usual rate,” replied the officer at the City Watch.

Was it always an abandoned house? No. What happened to the people living at the house if the strange purple lights occurred there? This was a good question. The residents were shunted to a corner of their room. They were unconscious most of the time, and they knew something happened only because they woke up at that corner in the morning. One guy vaguely remembered hearing some moans of pain and chanting.

A ritual.

They asked for the address of the abandoned house in the latest incident, and the shopkeeper who reported it. They also tried to see if there’s any discernible pattern to the incidents. I said there wasn’t. The better way would be to map out the incidents and let them decide for themselves. I wasn’t quite prepared for this line of inquiry… Then again, maybe I could use this to my advantage…

And my thoughts were lost when one of them said maybe the sites of the incidents form a pattern of the male sexual organs. And that it points to some place where more sinister plots occur. I think it was at that point that I forgot what I wanted my 5 strange lights incidents to do.

Oh yes, there were 5 incidents. They actually asked for a timeline. I’m impressed.

“Eh, don’t make the DM draw it out,” said Beastmaster as I was preparing to write on a piece of paper. Archer offered to draw the timeline.

18d, 15d, 10d, 6d, 2d

So the first incident happened 18 days ago, the next 15 days ago and so on. I had to be careful with the timeline to make sure it tied consistently with my story.

At the shopkeeper’s house, they interrogated questioned asked him about the incident. There wasn’t much of a testimony. I was so scared about Beastmaster plunging his spear immediately into the poor guy that I kept it short. No point creating a couple of paragraphs of back story when it’s made irrelevant by 6 inches of steel in the body.

“I was restless that night, so I went to the window to get some fresh air. Then I saw the lights.” said the shopkeeper. “I heard about the few incidents, even though the City Watch were keeping it under wraps. I went immediately back to my bed. That’s the house. Now leave me alone.”

A bloody find

They went to investigate the abandoned house. It had 2 storeys. The first floor showed the usual signs of disuse. It was dusty everywhere. The furniture was in slight disarray. There were signs of abandonment but the occupants weren’t in a hurry to leave. I was going into full storyteller mode, and I went a little too far…

“There were some rats scurrying along the walls…” I said.
“I capture them and probe their minds.” said Beastmaster. Oh no…
“They don’t have any recollection of the strange lights.”
“Oh, the mindfog’s affected animals too.” remarked Torturer.

Then came my next stunner.

“I use Mind Over Matter and hover the rats around me.” announced Beastmaster.

So Archer proceeded to the stairs, Sixth Sense at full power, an arrow nocked at his bow. Chaosbreaker followed closely behind. Blender and Torturer brought up the rear, together with Beastmaster and his halo of hovering rodents.

No attacks.

The second floor was bare except for a cupboard at the corner. Torturer held a dagger backhanded style, whipped the cupboard doors open and stabbed inside. Empty.

In the centre of the room, was a patch of red. Torturer used his skill in Hunting to determine if it’s blood. I ruled that that’s possible, and said he identified it as blood. Human blood.

There was a murmur of excitement and suspense then. A blood ritual. I could feel my friends getting into the story. DMs live for these kinds of moments (some of them anyway…).

Up next, a worried librarian.

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The count asks for help – part 2

I said OK, and immediately felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. The arranged game day was exactly 1 week after my previous Lone Wolf session. That turned out fine, relatively speaking.

So I took a couple of hours throughout the 1 week interval to flesh out my other home brew adventure that I didn’t play out the last time. Let me just say that, preparing a Lone Wolf adventure was much easier than preparing the kind of D&D games my friends play. My biggest challenge was preparing story plot points, and I’m good at that. Enemy statistics were minimal, so I didn’t have to balance the combat difficulty too much.

The night before the game day, I was fretting about the story plots. A friend reminded me that I’m the DM. I already know what behaviour to expect from my friends. If they completely destroy my story, and I’ve no way to continue, just say “Rocks fall, everyone dies“. I’m the DM. I’m the local Divinity. What I say is the final rule.

Yeah right…

I’ll continue to use the call signs of my friends.

• Catatonia. The DM who couldn’t make it.
• Blender. The behind-the-scenes kind of guy.
• Torturer. Panic-inducing extraordinaire.
• Beastmaster. Don’t give him a gerbil. Just don’t.
• Archer. Arrows shoot out of his bow faster than you can say “Save”.
• Chaosbreaker. Our new Kai initiate.

You’ll find out more about Chaosbreaker soon.

They completed the introductory adventure. I just felt they didn’t do it in the spirit of a Kai monk. So in the spirit of a good DM, say yes. Just create consequences for it.

So I ruled they don’t get the level up. No new discipline to learn. It’s not much of a punishment. The rule book sort of implied this anyway. “Fail” at the adventure, and no level up. But I’ve got more…

The punishments

The next morning at the Kai Monastery, Kai Master Stormsong summoned them.

“It has come to my attention some distressing news.” Stormsong started. “A Kai tracker returning from his duties told of a red fox in the forest. It was clearly agitated and frightened. Now this would be unimportant, except for the fact that when the tracker looked into the animal’s mind, he saw a fellow Kai. The fox was very scared of that Kai, even more so than another memory of Giaks.”

Stormsong looked at them, eyes moving slowly from one to another. “The tracker returned to the Monastery. And coincidentally recognised you as that Kai in that poor animal’s mind.” Stormsong stopped at Beastmaster.

“But it was for completing the task in front of us!” defended Beastmaster.

“The City Watch of Toran lodged a complaint to the Monastery.” continued Stormsong. “Apparently, there was widespread panic about a non-existent outbreak of leprosy. It took them several hours to calm the people down, and confirm that there wasn’t any leprosy cases. Witness accounts told of a Kai jumping on top of a beggar, announcing him as a leprosy carrier.” Stormsong stopped at Torturer.

“But we needed information, and the beggar was exploiting us!” defended Torturer.

“I have also a missive from Farah, the landlady of Golden Sun Inn.” continued Stormsong. “She told of a Kai sexually assaulting one of her maids. The maid was wrought with grief and traumatised.” Stormsong stopped at Archer.

“I paid 8 Gold Crowns to her! That lying, conniving wen–” Archer stopped as Stormsong glowered at him.

“For today, all of you are to perform physical tasks for the Monastery as punishment.” said Stormsong.

“But I didn’t do anything.” pleaded Blender.

“And that, is your crime.” said Stormsong. “You should have stopped your fellow Kai. I would have Catatonia be punished as well, but he’s in the infirmary, tending to his back.”

The punishment I gave was simple. 2 choices: chopping firewood, or hauling water. Chopping firewood was a straight -2CS penalty. Hauling water was a bit more complicated. It’s a 4-step sequence. The first was a difficulty 23, with bonus from their natural COMBAT SKILL. Then followed by 3 blind luck Tests. Failing any of the 4 was a -1CS, and they stack up. Penalties from both choices of punishment were temporary, and would last 1 day.

All of them chose chopping firewood. I was expecting maybe one of them to try their luck.

Torturer said Stormsong didn’t know about Dunal Torn being “held captive”. So if they’re going to do anything, all witnesses must be “eliminated”. Beastmaster said the next time he sees that red fox, he’s going to cook it and eat it.

I groaned. My NPCs (human or otherwise) were never going to make it past their first scene…

The count asks for help

The next morning, Stormsong summoned our adventurers again. “I have 2 requests for help. And I’m giving you a chance to redeem yourselves and bring glory to the Order.” There was another Kai initiate standing beside Stormsong. “This is Chaosbreaker. He will assist you while Catatonia is recovering from his back injury.”

The first task was from Count Gerrich. He donated generously to the Kai Monastery before, and had shown himself to be a good friend of the Kai. The count had asked Stormsong to discreetly investigate his sister, Mathilda. His sister had been behaving strangely of late. He would have done so himself, but he needed to travel at that point in time to conduct business. He and his sister lived in an estate south of Toran, and his sister loved visiting Toran, if only because she’s bored at home. His manservant, Occula, always accompanied her for security. Occula would have followed even if the count didn’t ask the servant to do so. Her next visit to Toran would be a few days later, and she usually stayed at the White Lion Inn.

My friends immediately speculated on my choice of word. Manservant. Does he “serve” her? I sensed innuendo. I said there was only one servant in the house. He “serves” the whole house? *raucous laughter at table*

I said there was only the count, his sister and the servant. Questions started bouncing up. Why only one servant? Is the servant in an affair with the sister? What kind of business was the count in? There was more, but I planned to reveal it a bit later when circumstances made sense. For now, they had to be kept in the dark…

“We’ll do that task. Wait, there’s 2, right? Let’s hear the second task.” said Beastmaster.

The second task was from the City Watch. There were reports of strange purple lights occurring in the southern part of Toran. Moaning and cries of pain could be heard when they were seen. The City Watch would like the Kai to help investigate. Discreetly, of course. No point causing a panic.

Up next, strange lights and abandoned houses.

=====
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The count asks for help – part 1

Previously, our Kai monks completely destroyed one story branch where the adventure could advance. Beastmaster plunged his spear into the beggar, who happened to be able to lead them directly to Jasper Kleth’s hideout. 3 Gold Crowns per player wasn’t very expensive. But Beastmaster didn’t like the beggar. I didn’t see any way of recovering the situation after Torturer announced the beggar to be carrying the deadly disease, leprosy.

So Beastmaster, Torturer and Blender went back to the Golden Sun Inn. Nyssa the maid fled the room, where Archer was standing by the bed (I assumed he’s dressed), when they arrived. Shortly after, Catatonia returned from his unsuccessful reconnaissance.

The rooftop chase

I told them there was still the woman escaping over the rooftops. “She’s still there?” said Torturer, puzzled. Yes, she’s still there. She had to be. She’s your last chance of finding Jasper. OF COURSE SHE’S STILL THERE!

Ok, calm down. Deep breaths.

It didn’t make sense for the woman to have waited so long. The beggar incident would have taken some time. By then, she should have been gone. But I didn’t want to think of another way of bringing my friends to Jasper. Besides, I thought chasing after the woman on the rooftops was fun.

There was a series of Tests involved in the chase. The first part was on the flat tops of the roofs, difficulty 3. Catatonia stumbled and fell. So did Archer. The rest continued, but Catatonia and Archer could follow on the streets below.

The second part were pointy rooftops. This time, it’s a difficulty 5. Beastmaster missed the next roof by a finger’s width, and fell to the ground. Blender and Torturer were still on the chase. As long as there was at least one player on the chase, they could still follow the woman.

There was a third and final part, ramshackle houses. A difficulty 6. I didn’t make them go through this. First, it was an honest mistake. I really missed out on the section. It was indented in the script, unlike the first 2 Tests, so I didn’t notice it. Like I said before, the publisher didn’t seem to put care into the product. Seems kind of shoddy.

And anyway, did I tell you that this was the last chance they could find Jasper? If Blender and Torturer failed that Test, I’d have to think of a new option. So I let them continue.

Jasper Kleth and the slave trade

The woman mysteriously disappeared. But she led them to the slums, where Jasper Kleth lived. Harbold’s hat could be seen outside a door, which I hoped was enough to convince my friends that Harbold was actually held here. There were some muffled cries for help beyond a chained and padlocked door.

I conveniently forgot that they had to overcome this obstacle.

If they had the beggar lead them here, the beggar would have given them a key to that padlock. Oh well…

“Oh thank you thank you thank you!” gushed Harbold as he was released. My nerves were a bit high strung at that point, so moving the story swiftly along…

They searched Jasper’s place, and found a ledger detailing names and physical features. A slave trade in Toran. They were sort of milling around, and I decided to just unleash the boss on them.

Jasper Kleth was a big man. He carried a broadsword and there was spittle around the corners of his mouth. A woman stood by him. Jasper charged at the same time as

“I shoot an arrow at the woman.” said Archer.
“She’s too fast. And she disappears from view.” I said.

“I plunge my spear at Jasper.” announced Beastmaster. Like I said, it’s becoming a habit.

“Aw my back!” cried Catatonia. And he stayed out of the combat.

The battle was short and ugly. Jasper went down in a few blows, and that was that.

To close up loose ends, the woman was a thief. Whether working with or for Jasper was anyone’s guess. The script deliberately said the woman would not participate in the fight, so I had to make her lightning quick and disappear when Archer shot at her. She was supposed to stay quietly by the side and watch the fight. When Jasper was close to defeat, she would leave.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I told them there was an ending passage in the script but they don’t have to hear it from me. They said it’s fine, and I could read it to them to close off the adventure.

Harbold wanted to thank them with gifts, but the Kai honour prohibits it. The merchant would be under the protection of the City Watch and the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star. The Kai monks returned to the Monastery, where Kai Master Stormsong was waiting. They related the events to him, and he congratulated them on their success.

The end.

Final thoughts

I stuck as much as possible to the scripted adventure because I wanted my friends and me to appreciate what the author wanted us to experience. Freeform role playing was fine. I just wanted the author’s plans to be the main part. So I didn’t want to do too much improvisation, although there were plenty of opportunities to do so.

One thing my friends noted. The battle chart was skewed ridiculously in the Kai’s favour. This would be fine for the single player mode, but this is a multiplayer version. We’re talking about 5 bloodthirsty Kai monks. I would need a fleet of Kraan and a platoon of Drakkarim to even worry them.

The publisher didn’t even swap out the LW for H in the battle chart, as referred to in the explanation of rules. E for enemy, and H for hero. LW stands for Lone Wolf. One of the few shoddy indications of careless publishing.

I estimated 10 to 20 minutes per battle. I was woefully wrong. Each battle ended in less than 5 minutes. There were about 3 or 4 battles in the entire adventure, so it was very combat light. We still played for about 2 hours, so you can imagine the amount of role playing and bantering involved.

And there was too much reading. In single player mode, there’s only yourself, so having descriptions while you immerse yourself in Magnamund was crucial. But let’s face it. Didn’t you flip through the Lone Wolf single player books until a decision was to be made? Until a battle was to be fought? You don’t even read the text.

And there’s copious amounts of text in this multiplayer version. I had to describe the weather, the sky, the land, and sometimes how the players reacted in mini scenes. This was my main gripe. I should never have to dictate what players should or should not feel, act or decide.

The ideal amount of information is enough for the players to make a decision on what to do next. Making decisions is the fun part, when you don’t have superpowers, or magic weapons, or divine armour.

I thought my friends would be bored by the story-heavy gameplay, as opposed to the usual D&D sessions filled 90% by combat. I was wrong. They had tons of fun, which was good.

I actually planned another short adventure in case this one finished quickly. Here’s a glimpse, in case I never get to run the adventure. The 1st line was carved in the wooden arch leading into a garden. The 2nd line and signature were carved into a stone slab directly below the arch.

As above,
So below
- D. Dallus

=====
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First session of Lone Wolf multiplayer game – part 5

Previously, our Kai adventurers defeated the bunch of fake soldiers and captured the leader, Dunal Torn. I decided that facing his employer Jasper Kleth with the failure of his murderous attempt was worse than being in the hands of the Kai. Not that being with the Kai was any better. So Dunal bit his tongue and died.

I was rather proud of how I handled that.

Arrows and exploding scrolls

Everyone was shocked for about a second. Then anticlimactically,

“Can I get my arrows back?” asked Archer.

He shot 2 arrows, one at Dunal, another at one of the fake soldiers. I gave him a difficulty 3 to pull the arrows out. He rolled…

“The arrow snapped in 2 while you’re trying to pull it out.” I said.
“Oh. Hm.” Archer shrugged, mimicking a throwing away of a wasted arrow motion. “What about the other arrow?”
“The other one’s lodged deep in the body of the soldier. You can’t get it out.” I smiled.

Archer said something that cannot be repeated here. Small comforts…

They searched the bodies and surrounding area. And found a sealed scroll case. And started hemming and hawing on the merits of opening it.

The scroll case could be masked with exploding runes. One of the previous D&D DMs apparently riddled his scroll cases with exploding runes, and my friends couldn’t forget that. They were throwing the scroll case to each other like a hot potato. Eventually, they decided to brave it, and open it.

Inside was a letter. The gist was that Dunal had sent the Giaks to kill the merchant, Harbold. They failed. The writer then told Dunal to fix it. It was signed “JK”.

Then my friends turned to Harbold. Who was this Jasper Kleth? Can he take them to Jasper?

I had to think. Harbold wasn’t supposed to lead them to Jasper. But my friends’ arguments were reasonable. If Jasper was Harbold’s business partner, how come Harbold didn’t know where he lived? Don’t they have a venue to conduct business? All reasonable.

I said Jasper was secretive, and that businesses were conducted in existing venues. Harbold might have an office, but Jasper certainly didn’t have one. In any case, Harbold didn’t know where Jasper could be found. It’s a logical hole. How come the author didn’t see that?

Arriving in Toran

Anyway, my friends abandoned the soldier disguise plan (thank goodness), but they hung on to the soldier outfits, which worried me. Blender said he would wear his Kai robes, while the others were in King’s Guard uniforms. They escorted Harbold to the town Toran without incident. Then Harbold thanked the Kai, said they could hang around for a few more days (just in case), and they could have his room at the Golden Sun Inn. Then he turned and walked away into the streets.

There were 2 story branches. Either my friends accompany Harbold, or they return to the Kai Monastery. As expected, my friends chose neither. They were going to stalk and follow Harbold.

I said, after a few streets, Harbold stopped and turned around. And there they were! So back to the accompanying Harbold story branch. Astoundingly, none of them put up a fight on why Harbold could so easily spot the Kai. A couple of them had the Camouflage discipline.

At the Golden Sun Inn, Harbold introduced them as Kai to the landlady Farah, as written in the script. “So much for disguises,” said Torturer. Then Harbold left the inn. Beastmaster mentioned how calm Harbold seemed, considering he was the target just recently.

Farah said Harbold was paying for their stay, and she would keep quiet about their identity as Kai. Then she sent a maid by the name of Nyssa to show them to their room.

My friends were deciding what to do next. “Aw, my back!” cried Catatonia. No strenuous activity there, so they sent Catatonia to get information from the streets. Where Jasper could be living, could be found, his business venues and the like. Well, that wasn’t part of the script. But I shrugged and let them do it. And it’s time for the next part of the action.

The kidnapping

Nyssa the Sommlending maid burst into their room, crying out that Mister Harbold was taken. I did my best falsetto voice to simulate a hysterical woman. No small feat.

Did my friends give her a herbal drink to calm her down? No.

Did my friends speak calmly to her and coax her for more information? No.

Did my friends use the Healing discipline on her? No.

Did my friends use the Mindshield discipline to possibly block her mind from the terrible event? No.

Did my friends do anything to try to calm her? No.

So what did they do? Archer went up to Nyssa, grabbed her by the legs and flung her over his shoulders. Like a Neanderthal carrying his hunt of the day. Then he went into the room and shut the door. Well, he’s a man, and she’s a woman… he has needs I guess, even a Kai monk.

Wait. What?!

So, with my NPC with the only source of information gone, I had to think. The best I could do was come up with another maid. This time, I didn’t bother with a name. Who knows which Kai monk has urges too?

The new maid came to them and just blurted out the facts. I didn’t want any of my friends to have any weird ideas before they know the pertinent information. I summarised the facts into 2:

• There was a big man hauling Harbold away.
• There was a woman escaping over the rooftops.

Catatonia was out on the streets gathering information. And Archer was, uh, busy with the maid. So Blender, Beastmaster and Torturer decided to go after the big man.

The leprous beggar

They went to the streets. I was supposed to tell them that they should ask around about that big man and Harbold. I was nervous. I forgot. Well you handle having one of your NPCs being dragged off to satisfy a male sexual urge.

So I introduced them immediately to the next story section. A beggar beckoned them over. He said he’d be willing to tell them information about the “kidnapping”. For the price of 1 Gold Crown each. If they were willing to pay 3 Gold Crowns per player, then the beggar would bring them to where Jasper lived.

I was role playing the beggar with as much sinistery and unsavoury a feeling as I could. I dragged his words a little, lingering just a tad on the S’s. I think that was the beggar’s downfall.

“I plunge my spear at the beggar,” announced Beastmaster.

That’s starting to become a habit…

What?!? “I don’t like him. He gives me the creeps.” said Beastmaster. I held my head in my hands. Why? Why? Why?

I thought fast. I said the beggar, looking at the wound, stumbled away from them. He ran into the streets, thinking he’d be safe. He wasn’t.

Torturer was right behind him.

The beggar turned round to see a huge figure jumping after him. The two collapsed in a heap, the beggar pinned down by Torturer. Before the beggar could cry out for help, Torturer clamped his hands discreetly over his mouth. I said a crowd was beginning to form, hopefully to scare Torturer and the rest away.

I was wrong.

“Leprosy!” shouted Torturer.

I had no choice. It was a valid move. Leprosy was a scary disease, particular if in a setting such as Magnamund. The crowd started to disperse in fleeing terror. But not before another beggar ran forward, and dragged the “leprous” beggar away.

I didn’t even get to tell them the beggar’s name. It’s Tinker Grime.

Ok. So 1 of 2 branches where my friends could continue the adventure completely killed off. Let’s hope they don’t kill off the other one…

Up next, a thief and a slave trader.

=====
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First session of Lone Wolf multiplayer game – part 4

Previously, we ended with our adventurers at the Kai Monastery, ransacking exploring the various rooms. To completely introduce the introductory adventure, I thought we should look at the missing option from before. The Giak battle had another branch, that of negotiation. *muahahahaha* Excuse me while I reflect on the ridiculous nature of this option with respect to my friends.

So if they had passed the surprise Test, they’d have noticed the Giaks before crashing into the clearing. At that point, they could still attack. Or they could try talking. *ahahahahaha* I’m sorry, but did you read what I said when a flitting shadow fled North West (to the attack site) from before? Archer nocked and loosed his arrow before confirming the identity of the shadow.

Anyway, there was a story branch where the leader of the group of Giaks, Grimtooth, could be persuaded to leave without having a battle. The Giaks might possibly leave with the Gold Crowns (the currency of Magnamund), but the wagon goods would be left intact.

After a restful night’s sleep at the Kai Monastery,

I choked at the word “restful”. I’m not sure if the stables offer that… Oh by the spirit of the Sun, I’m treading on dangerous grounds again.

Escorting the merchant

The sun rose bright and shiny the next morning. Kai Master Stormsong appears again, with another task, from the same merchant as before. Oh I didn’t mention it. The players couldn’t care less anyway, but the name of the merchant was Harbold. I decided to give Harbold a slight country styled accent. I found that if I kept my right side of the mouth in a slight grin when I role played Harbold, I could project a fun-loving easy-going man. At least that’s the idea.

So the merchant needed an escort. After the successful return of his goods, he thought the world of this bunch of Kai monks and desperately yearned for their company. While protecting him on the journey of course. Harbold didn’t hire other guards. My friends would be all he needed (they are, but they might be more than he bargained for…).

As before, my friends didn’t want to leave the Kai Monastery. Torturer went to the kitchens, to ask for salt and flour. “Whatever for?” I asked. Torturer gave me a grin. “What do you think they’re for?” I remember reading somewhere that, when you’re torturing someone, one of the best fear tactics is to allow your victim to imagine the kind of horror that can be inflicted. What can you do with salt and flour? I don’t know. Sometimes, the mere mention of the “ingredients” is enough. Torturer probably has a good idea. The more innocuous the ingredients, the more fiery the imagination. I seem to be as bad as Torturer. Where’s Stormsong to keep these people in line when you need him? Oh right, I’m the GM. I keep forgetting…

Beastmaster wondered if he could recreate the effects of D&D statuses. He could hurl salt at the enemies’ eyes and blind them. Then he and Torturer went to see if they could stockpile on potions of Laumspur. I pointedly ignored them.

Archer went to the Armoury. Possibly to say goodbye to the horses in the stables next door.

Then I finally kicked them out the gates of the Monastery. There was enough room in the merchant’s wagons for all of them. Archer went to sit shotgun with Harbold. He nocked an arrow, ready to fire. He was also ready to Mindblast anyone into smithereens. I’d say Harbold chose the right bodyguards.

Torturer amused himself with shining his shield. Blender retreated to the back of the wagon with Catatonia. “To, uh, make sure the goods are ok” assured Catatonia.

Beastmaster started singing a bawdy song about a gerbil, a lass, and the lass’ behind. This was going to be a long day…

Imposters

The day wound to a close, the sun setting quickly. And five figures stepped onto the road. The leader steps forth and raises his left hand.

No sooner had I said that when,

“I shoot an arrow at him” said Archer.

What? These people wore the royal coat of arms, they’re soldiers. Apparently. Well, they’re not. But that’s beside the point. I thought quickly.

“He sidesteps and avoids the arrow.” I said.
“Wah, he’s fast.”

And then Beastmaster leapt off the wagon and,

“I plunge my spear at him.” announced Beastmaster.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. How do you GM for people like these?

“He avoids that as well.” I said.
“Wow, he’s damn fast.”

There was a section in the script for players with Sixth Sense. Well, as you can guess by now, the soldiers weren’t really soldiers. The leader was preparing to attack.

I was still trying to keep the situation under control. Oh who was I kidding? I read the script that advanced the situation to attack mode. Well, the script didn’t take into account what happened with the arrow and the spear attack. Harbold was supposed to say that the soldiers didn’t look anything like the King’s Guard, and that they’re imposters.

“Duh.” said Torturer, brandishing his shield.

This time, they decided Beastmaster and Torturer would be in the front line of battle formation, with Archer, Blender and Catatonia (Ha! ABC! I did not plan for that.) bringing up the rear. So Archer could shoot. Oh yay.

An arrow plunged deep into the leader’s shoulder. Beastmaster speared him to near death. So much for the initial miss of the arrow and spear.

Then Torturer did something that completely messed up the script and my wits.

“I’m going to take my shield and bash him, but not enough to kill him.” He roared and *bished* and the leader went down. Technically, he’s dead. But because Torturer spared him, I had to let him live.

The rest of the fake soldiers were taken down quickly. Oh, and Catatonia stayed out of the battle and kept close to the wagon goods. “To keep them safe.” he said.

The Pavlovian Circle

I was going to continue with the script when Torturer interrupted me. “Now we’re going to interrogate this guy.” I forgot about the leader.

“I am going to form a Pavlovian Circle around this guy,” said Torturer.

The Pavlovian Circle would be formed by the others standing in a circle. Torturer laid down his shield and flipped his Kai robe’s hood over his head. He laughed in a low timbre. Then he held his hands against the temples of the leader.

“Who are you? Who sent you?” asked Torturer.

I told them I needed a few minutes.

A brief aside. There was a behavioural experiment conducted by Ivan Pavlov. Basically, his dogs responded to certain stimuli and started salivating without the presence of meat. What Torturer was doing, was conditioning the victim to respond truthfully. If he lied, some Kai in the circle would do something nasty to him.

Did I mention these were supposed to be Kai monks?

My few minutes were up. I had to flip forward in the script to get some information.

“My name’s Dunal. Dunal Torn.” I begged with my most pathetic voice.
“Who sent you?” Torturer continued.
“Jasper Kleth. I don’t know anything! I swear!”
“Why did he send you?”
“I’m just to kill the merchant. That’s all.”

Torturer glanced at the merchant, Harbold. “Who’s Jasper Kleth?” Harbold, taken aback by the ferocity of that gaze, muttered “Jasper’s my business partner.”

The bunch of them then came up with the plan of dressing up as the soldiers. They wanted to go with Dunal, and that he report to Jasper that Harbold was successfully killed. And then they would kill Jasper. Probably Dunal as well.

I said I needed another few minutes. Oh @*#! What was I going to do? Ok, stay calm. Go with the flow…

Dunal took a chance and scrambled out of the circle. Archer Mindblasted him and he fell face down. Torturer trudged towards the fallen killer, nudged his boots at Dunal’s ribs and flipped him over.

They were going to do more nasty things to Dunal. Dunal’s supposed to be dead by now. He had no further part in the rest of the adventure. He’s supposed to be dead now! I needed him dead.

“I’m going to ask you again. What else have you planned?” Torturer dragged his words.

I said Dunal bit his tongue and died.

Up next, a leprous beggar. The beggar was innocent, I swear.

=====
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First session of Lone Wolf multiplayer game – part 3