Happy Halloween!

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13th Age Extra Life adventure for charity!

This upcoming Saturday, November 2^nd Ben and I will be running a special one-shot 13^th Age adventure during Extra Life, a wonderful gaming charity event that supports the Children’s Miracle Network of Hospitals.  Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals raises funds for 170 children’s hospitals across North America, which, in turn, uses the money where it’s needed the most.  Donations stay in the community, helping local kids.  Since 1983, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $4 billion, most of it $1 at a time.  These funds support research and training, purchase equipment, and pay for uncompensated care, all in support of the mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible.  Last year Extra Life raised $2 million dollars for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Together Ben and I will be supporting the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago where more than 149,000 patients are treated each year thanks to the efforts of various fundraising efforts like Extra Life. These kids are facing scary stuff like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and injuries from accidents to name just a few.

If you are local to the Chicago / west suburbs area we invite you to join us!  This event will be held at Fair Game store in Downers Grove, IL.  Because this is a charity event we do ask that participants consider making a minimum $5 donation in support of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Your donation is tax-deductible and ALL PROCEEDS go to help kids.  If you are not local to the area we hope you will participate in the marathon or find other Extra Life events going on in your area.  It is  a great way to celebrate the social impact of gamers!

Right now this 13th Age game is being scheduled tentatively from Noon to 3pm on Saturday, November 2nd, but we will have this game on hand to run anytime during the day.  Pre-generated character sheets, miniatures, pen and paper will be provided. Both of us will be participating in the Extra Life marathon and gaming for 25 hours at Fair Game starting 10am Saturday, November 2nd until 10am Sunday, November 3rd.  This is a great opportunity to help kids while doing what you love, playing games!

You can find more about Extra Life here or visit our donation page directly.  Interested in joining us?  Drop us a comment below or email Sarah at Smiller264@yahoo.com.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you for helping support kids in need!

Follow @ZabbyMonky (Sarah)   Follow @JssSandals  (Ben)

Part 5 & 6 Recap – The Heart of the Problem

Adventure 5 & 6 – The conclusion of Wyrd of the Wild Wood

The peaceful chirping of the morning birds drifted through the mists of the Wild Wood.  The sun was just beginning to rise, casting the village of Alamede and the surrounding forest in a deep green-gold hue.  It was a simple delicate moment as the beasts of the night surrendered the realm to those of the day.  Vaelen finished watching night turn into day before turning back to Alamain’s tower where the villagers and his other companions took refuge in the night before.  The last of the marching treants had departed the area hours ago and it was time the party set out again on their journey to New Port.

It was not long before Jasmind, Gillian and Tycho had all their supplies gathered.  The villagers thanked them again for saving their village and said their tearful goodbyes.  Fully stocked with provisions, the party headed north to the small dirt path beyond Alamede that would take them to the road to New Port.  It was not long though that they discovered the path was destroyed by the treants and vine creatures that had marched through the area the night before.  Where the marching treants had stepped, plants began sprouting.  Overnight those plants had grown into a wall of thorns.  At the center of the wall was a large glowing piece of crystal.  As the party approached they witnessed plants mutating into horrific shapes as the contagion spread even wider.  With their way blocked the party started on the slow task of navigating around the thorn wall.

It was Jasmind who first noticed the shadow trailing behind them a few yards back.  At first she thought it was a simple branch twisting with the wind, but then he spotted the gloved hand underneath the dusky cloak.  She went to draw her sword when Vaelen’s hand gently held her at bay.  “Why don’t we ask questions first before attacking?”  He whispered before turning towards the shadow. “Who goes there?  Show yourself.”

From the tangle of thorns and trees a figure emerged shrouded in a cloak that emulated the colors of the forest around him.  It seemed to be a dusky brown, vibrant green, and dirty gray all at once.  The figure was dressed entirely in green leathers and moved like an elf.  A bow was slung across his back and with their trained eyes the party noticed the bulge of weapons under his cloak.  A broach on his cloak had a symbol of an animal paw print upon it.  Though his face was mostly obscure from his cloak, the party could see the stranger’s eyes flicker from them to the large mass of crystals on the thorn wall and back again.  After determining that the party was not contaminated by the crystals the figure peeled back his hood to reveal the face of a dark elf wearing a green bandanna.  “My name is Dermak.  I am a member of the Green Shadows and slayer of abominations.”

Tycho, Vaelen and Gillian had never heard of the Green Shadows and their eyes fell on Jasmind.  Drawing on her knowledge of the Wild Wood, Jasmind explained.  “The Green Shadows are rangers and protectors of the Wild Wood.  They are not seen by outsiders unless they wish to be.”  Jasmind looked at Dermak and bowed her head in respect.  Warden of the Wild Wood was a prestigious position, one that granted her great respect among elven folk.  But the Green Shadows were legends.  More often than not they were described as myths more than a real organization.  “We greet you in peace, Dermak.  If you ask anything of us, we will offer whatever aid we can.”

“Whoa who whoa, why are we helping the creepy stalker with the dirty cloak for free?”  The objection came of course from Tycho.  The Halfling fighter glared at Jasmind.  The wood elf might know a lot about these woods, but lately she had a bad habit of forgetting he was in charge.  “Nothing is free.”

If Dermak took any disrespect he did not show it.  “Indeed I am in need of aid.  The corruption from the crystals grows rampant.  The Green Shadows seek to find the cause this corruption and put an end to it.  If action is not taken the horrors of the Green Realm will be upon us all.  Your party is not native to these lands.  If you aid me I will see to it that the Green Shadows will help you find the New Road so that you may exit these woods.  I warn you though, the forest is changing rapidly.  I will not be responsible for your safety.”

Vaelen shoulder his massive warhammer.  “We can take care of ourselves.  What is the Green Realm?”  The cleric has spent a lot of time in his youth studying the world and holy scripture at the Cathedral, but he had never heard of this Green Realm.  The cleric looked back to Jasmind, but the wood elf paladin did not seem to recognize the term.  Gillian’s knowledge in arcane magic also seemed to fail her at the moment.

Dermak considered for a moment then answered the question.  “The Green Realm is another place where there is no death, only life.  It is not a set location, but coexists around us at all times in another universe.  Without the presence of death to temper it the Green Realm is a chaos of unrestrained growth.  If you were to ever find yourself there you would only find pain.  Something has caused an unbalance between our worlds.  The Green Realm now leaks into our own, bringing with it mutations that disrupt the delicate balance of nature.  Too much damage has already been done.  It cannot be allowed to continue.”

Gillian’s eyes widened at the implications.  “The crystals…”

Dermak nodded.  “Yes.  We suspect they are the cause of the imbalance.  The Green Shadows have been scouting the forest trying to contain them, though this has proven difficult.  The crystals are wide spread and although it pains me to admit it we are too few.  Come, I will take you to our camp.  It is not safe here.”

As if on cue a vine wrapped around Tycho’s leg and with a sudden yank pulled the halfling deep into the forest.  With her quick wood elf reflexes Jasmind was the first to react, but when she turned to run after Tycho a wall of thorn covered vines grew rapidly in front of her path.    Hissing poisons dripped from the thorns.  She swung at the vines with her sword, but for every one she chopped down three more covered its place.  The paladin was so focused on her task that she did not notice that the forest was beginning to close around all of them.  Dermak ran over and grabbed her arm.  “We will find your companion later.  We must go.  Now!”

Vaelen wrestled a thorn away from himself, “Not without destroying the mass of crystals on this thorn wall!  If they are causing this letting such a mass behind is too dangerous!”

Dermak helped Jasmind retreat from the expanding wall of thorns, “I know the way back to the cluster.”  He slashed a short sword at an attacking vine.  “Once that cluster is destroyed, we can rendezvous with my companions and destroy the remaining corruption.  Follow me!”  With that, the dark elf raced through the undergrowth leading the adventurers behind.  What had been arduous terrain earlier now seemed much easier to traverse with Dermak guiding them.  If Gillian did not know better, she could have sworn parts of the forest were melding to Dermak’s intended path.  It was not too long before they found themselves staring at a mass of crystals within the center of the thorn wall.  The area here had turned even more horrific since they had seen it earlier this morning.  Some trees were had mouths frozen into screams.  An impossibly large snake slithered away between two bushes.  Pulsating vines were everywhere, leaking emerald fluid onto the trees that they wrapped around.

As Vaelen and Gillian moved closer to the crystal cluster, they noticed that small portals had formed in between some of the crystal growth.  Through the portals they could see hazy glimpses of vibrant green growth and flickers of shadows.  Thinking it over, Vaelen concluded that he could produce a ritual with an element of death in order to destroy the crystal cluster.  While death normally seemed like something a cleric would oppose, Vaelen had spent many years traveling with the Crusader’s armies.  The Crusader had taught him plenty on the subject when it came to attacking demons and Vaelen taught he might be able to transform that knowledge into a ritual to suit their needs.  Dermak warned that death could not enter the Green Realm, but perhaps it could harm the crystals.  Gathering some reagents quickly Vaelen got to work with assistance from Gillian.

The entire thicket shrieked and groaned as Vaelen channeled the energy from the ritual magic straight into the heart of the crystal.  The beam of energy built upon itself until it was a torrent of chaotic power.  In a brilliant flash of purple and green light the crystal exploded outward.  In that moment the party felt the energy of the forest around them breathe life back into the forest.  Vaelen felt the natural healing effects of the forest energy and knew that any heals in this area would fully repair even the gravest of wounds.  It was just the help they needed.  For as the light from the explosion faded the party found themselves staring at two horrific looking green dragons made out of living plants.  The dragons were flanked by five plant creatures, wild growths that had taken a shape of their own.

The two plant dragons charged in, flanking Gillian and Vaelen, covering them in claw made of thorns and poisonous breath.  Jasmind ran forward to protect her allies, but was cut off as a group of wild growths stepped in her path.  Dermak shuffled backward a few paces and let loose some arrows at the living dragons.  Not comfortable in close combat Gillian disengaged the dragons so she could start drawing power at a safe range.  As a battle hardened melee cleric, Vaelen stood his ground.  He found out though that may not have been the wisest choice as the roots around his feet grasped at him and before he knew it another wild growth sprouted from the ground next to him.  A quick look at the ground found that the roots beneath Gillian’s feet had also started coming to life, but with nothing to grasp onto they could not take form.  Understanding the dangers that spawned around that Vaelen raised his voice to warn the others, “Keep moving!  Watch your feet!”

Jasmind cut through three of the wild growths that stood in her way.  Just went she thought they were dead the vines covering the growths bulged outward rapidly and exploded.  The paladin barely had enough time to raise her shield to cover herself as green ichor and thorns rained around her.  Another wild growth shambled toward Gillian and exploded sending sticky sap everywhere.  The battle was a brutal one, but thanks to the healing energies from the forest the party was able to withstand even the worst of the blows.  With Vaelen’s warning to keep moving they were able to avoid any more wild growths spawning and focus most of their attacks on the horrific green plant dragons.  With Dermak guiding their blows the party fought their way to victory.

When the plant dragons had been defeated Dermak sheathed his bow behind him and moved forward to investigate the scorched ruin of the crystals.  As the party tried their best to clean the sticky sap off their armor, the Green Shadow agent surveyed the surrounding area, “Your magic was dark, but effective.  There is no more trace of the crystal here.  I wish I could say the same of all of the Wild Wood.”  He sighed and looked off to the north, muttering something into the breeze.  “Perhaps you are more valuable than I first thought.  Let us be off to the Green Shadow camp.  We will look for your companion along the way.”   The party told Dermak to lead on.

The thorn wall seemed to be withering away as they traveled.  Dermak explained that the crystals were stronger when they were clustered together and caused more direct links to the Green Realm.  “Without the focused clusters, the wild expansion should die down and become more manageable.  While the cluster we destroyed should slow it down, I fear the corruption runs far deeper.  Our camp is not too far from here.  We’ll be there soon.”  When they reached the camp Gillian thought it was generous to consider it as such.  It seemed that the only touch of civilization was a handful of bedrolls made of moss and leather satchels.  The Green Shadows definitely lived off the land.

Another elf wearing a cloak identical to Dermak’s approached the party.  He hurriedly whispered a few words of Elven into Dermak’s ear.  The two of them spoke in hushed voices for a moment before turning to the party.  The newcomer spoke first, “I am Alistad, first of my rangers here.  Dermak sent word through the winds that you destroyed one of the clusters to the south.  I fear before we can look for your companion we have a more urgent matter at hand.  A crystal mass has begun corrupting a sacred place of the forest nearby.  We must deal with it immediately or the whole forest could be lost.  Hurry, there is no time.”

Alistad quickly lead them all to a deep secluded part of the woods.  They reached a circle of great Sequoia trees, rising high in to the canopy above.  The trees formed a near complete circular wall surrounding a faintly pulsing green and purple living orb.  As Vaelen looked upon it, he swore he could feel some kind of ancient presence within.  Gillian felt power here as well, unlike anything she had felt before. Jasmind put her hand to her heart in reverence – They were looking at the heart of the forest.

Their awe quickly turned to horror as they noticed a crystal shard embedded into the heart of the forest.  From the crystal poured out roots covered in veins that were leaking brown ichor onto the forest floor.  Dermak and Alistad moved into the circle of trees, their faces full of despair from the sight in front of them.  The party moved to join the Green Shadows, but was stopped by a crashing noise behind them.  Turning, they saw a large vine dragging none other than Tycho along the forest floor.  The Halfling was cussing loudly and slashing wildly at his captor with his great sword.  Just as Tycho was pulled into the clearing his sword connected, sending him tumbling into Vaelen’s legs.  As Tycho stood up, the pulsing heart shifted to a purple color identical to the crystals.  Rapidly, crystals grew around it to encase the heart.  As they did so, vines and creepers along the floor snaked out toward the adventurers.  The sequoia trees around them shifted to completely trap them within.  There was no time to celebrate being reunited with their companion.  The forest heart under the corruption of the crystals was on the attack.

Tycho had just regained his footing when sharp roots burst through from the ground next to him, threatening to pierce his feet.  Still cussing the Halfling fought back, hacking at the roots with his great sword as his nimbly danced away.  Vaelen invoked the gods of strength, letting their might bolster his companions.  Inspired by the divine presence, the cleric brought his warhammer to bear against the crystals.  Jasmind found herself surrounded by phasing tentacles.  Eyes grew out of the tentacles and focused on her with a look that would drive anyone to the brink of insanity.  Yet the eyes found Jasmind implacable and she shook off their confusion before she could raise her blade against her allies.  Drawing upon her connection with the Great Gold Wyrm, Jasmind unleashed a powerful Smite against the tentacles.  She would do everything in her power to strike them down before they could confuse anyone else.

Meanwhile, Gillian launched bolt after bolt of scorching flame into the forest’s heart, hoping to burn the Green Realm roots away.  With Dermak and Alistad there to help them, the party was able to fight the root and tentacles back.  Finally a well-place blow from Vaelen knocked the rest of the corrupted growth off the heart of the forest.  The crystal was all that was left before them to fix the heart.

The next action they took would change the entire fate of the Wild Wood.  Walking away would certainly mean the High Druid’s realm would fall apart. Even though some of them shared no love for the High Druid, there was no telling what effects the crystals would have on the entire empire if left alone.  Always one to grab a chance at being more powerful, Tycho reached up and grabbed the crystal.  A spark of purple energy zapped the Halfling fighter and the Green Shadows tensed.  Jasmind quickly yanked the Halfling back and the crystal was pulled back with him.  Dazed by the power he felt within the crystal Tycho dropped it to the ground.  His mind made up, Vaelen stepped forward and shattered it with his hammer.  The heart of the forest glowed in a soft green light, free from the corruption.

Alistad looked relieved, but Dermak had his bow drawn and pointed at Tycho.  Jasmind positioned herself in front of the Halfling fighter and dropped her sword.  “Hold!  He meant no harm.  He was just trying to pull the crystal free from the heart… right, Tycho?”

“…yea….what else would I be doing?” Tycho muttered, hiding the fact that he could feel part of the crystal’s energy now pulsed through his blood.  The next time he was in battle he would have one helluva good time.

Dermak slowly lowered his bow.  Alistad tended to the party’s wounds, using a store of herbs and poultices.  When the party was all patched up, Alistad removed the cloak from his shoulders and handed it to Jasmind.  “Long ago the Wardens and the Green Shadow fought side by side to protect the woods.  Let us today reignite that old friendship.  Take my cloak as thanks.”  Honored beyond words, Jasmind smiled and draped the cloak of leaves around her shoulders.  Dermak took off the bandanna around his head and handed it to Gillian.  The sorcerer felt magic within the bandanna and bowed her head in thanks.

The Green Shadows let them sleep at their camp in the evening.  The following day, Alistad personally lead them north through the woods.  What would have taken them several days was accomplished before sunset with Allistad leading the way.  He seemed to know the wood better than he knew himself.  If the Green Shadow was not there to guide them they could have easily found themselves facing owlbears or worse.  When they reached the New Road Alistad halted them with a gesture, “This is as far as I can take you.  My duties are to safeguard against the Green Realm and I must return deeper into the wood.  Take this road north; you will be in New Port by sundown tomorrow night.”  With a last nod, the ranger disappeared into the forest.

— End Part 5 —

The night passed without incident.  It appeared that they had gone past the worst parts of the Wild Wood.  In the morning, they woke to the gentle sounds of a quiet wood.  It was eerie after the horrible attacks they had suffered just days ago.  After they gathered their gear, they set out on the road north.  After a few hours they saw a gigantic crystalline structure ahead of them.  The crystal was roughly the size of a large boulder and had a large crack running through its face.  As they walked around the crystal and continued north, they found themselves again at the crystal, the identical cracking still there.  After several repetitions of this, Gillian had had enough.  “We are stuck somehow. It looks like there is no way around it.  The crystal must be destroyed.”

The declaration seemed to brighten Tycho’s mood.  A whole morning had gone by without a fight and he was in need of some destruction.  Unsheathing his sword, he went to hack away at the large crystal.  When his blade connected with the surface, he was flung far backward.  A symbol flared up on its surface and Gillian recognized it as a rune the Diabolist frequently used.  “If the diabolist had been tinkering with this crystal, then it surely must be destroyed.  Vaelen, I am going to summon all the strength I have.  Keep me standing.”  As the young sorceress pulled together all the energy she could from every fiber of her being, she unleashed the strongest stream of pure arcane energy she would probably ever handle.  As her legs buckled under her, Vaelen fortified her with healing.  The stream of energy carved deep into the crystal, shattering the entire structure in pieces, wild magic pulsing outward knocking them all off their feet.  It was by the grace of the Icons that watched over them that they were not destroyed with the crystal.

As they stood, they could see remnants of the crystal everywhere.  Where the structure had been they found corpses of several cultists.  It seems they were encased in crystal immediately and suffocated.  Vaelen checked each corpse and noticed the Diabolist’s mark on their wrists.  The cleric found a large tome in the hands of one of the corpses.  Opening it, he scanned the pages, “It seems like these cultists had been the first to tamper with the crystals.  Their log here shows they smuggled themselves aboard Darkskye to lure the Red there… It was her, the entire time.”

Gillian shakily got to her feet and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.  “It makes sense. Chaos is her specialty after all.”  The young sorceress shuffled over to the corpses.  “Thank the gods we were able to triumph here.  I do not want to know what else she would have done with the power of the Green Realm at her disposal.”

Jasmind and Tycho had to help Gillian travel as they resumed their march.  Her spell had taken quite a lot out of her.  Vaelen was left to keep watch on point.  They were on high alert after seeing the crystal from earlier.  Just then a tiny winged creature flew out from the forest trees and found itself face to face with Jasmind.  The little tree sprite gasped in horror that it had been discovered and attempted to fly away, but instead crashed into Tycho’s head and knocked itself unconscious.  Reacting on instinct, Vaelen brought him warhammer down and crushed the tree sprite in one swift fatal blow.

Now it was Jasmind’s turn to gasp in horror.  “VAELEN! You just…. That… That was a tree sprite!  The poor thing was scared half to death!”  The wood elf paladin looked away as the cleric wiped his hammer clean.

“The blasted thing crashed into Tycho!  Besides, you should never trust the frey.  What is done is done.  We need to keep moving.”  Shouldering his hammer the human cleric walked on up the New Road.  The others followed behind.

Farther up the road they heard a thunderous crash and the groaning of wood under impact.  As they rounded the corner, they saw a bridge that was constructed high above a roaring white river.  It was under bombardment of large boulders thrown by a rampaging earth elemental.  The smallest glimmer of amethyst glinted out from its eye, hinting at crystal corruption.  The bridge was the only way across the gap.  The elemental needed to be stopped.  With a savage cry, Tycho rushed forward to meet the earth elemental in combat.  Before the others could join him they heard a loud buzzing behind them.

Jasmind turned just in time to see a rushing swarm of angered tree sprites pour out of the forest toward the party.  They swarmed the party, shocking them with jolts of negative energy.  Most of the tree sprites swarmed around Vaelen, angered that he had killed one of their own.  As the party struggled to handle the tree sprites the earth elemental charged across the bridge at them.  As the earth elemental was about to crash down into Tycho its whole form melted to mud and slid underneath the halfling’s feet.  Reforming before Jasmind, it hammered its fists down onto the paladin’s shield.  Gillian launched numerous flaming bolts at the tree sprites, keeping them at bay with Jasmind at her side.  One of the tree sprites flew over the edge of the bridge to escape the sorcerer’s fire.  Not about to let an opponent escape, Tycho leapt off the bridge.  He sliced the tree sprite in two before disappearing over the edge.

“TYCHO!” Gillian shouted as she saw the Halfling jump off the bridge.  It was suicide!  If the fall did not kill him, the river surely would.  Just then Tycho teleported directly above the earth elemental and brought his great sword down upon the creature’s head.  Gillian had only ever known High Elves to have such an ability until she remembered how Tycho grabbed the crystal embedded in the heart of the forest.  So the Halfling did draw power from the crystal and had been hiding it all this time!

Tycho was cackling like a mad man as he teleported around the battle field, striking blow after blow to the earth elemental as the rest of the party dealt with the remaining tree sprites.  When the tree sprites had been struck down Jasmind and Vaelen helped Tycho dispatch the earth elemental.  Still eager to flaunt his new power Tycho tried showing off by teleporting across the bridge, but nothing happened.  Whatever power he had drawn from the crystal had now left him.  Based on the look the others were giving him, he had some explaining to do.

After Gillian gave Tycho a stern warning about the danger of the crystal power, the party made their way across the bridge.  Further up the New Road they came upon a broken caravan.  Two of the carts were turned on their side, wheels shattered.  Dozens of crates, bags and loose items were strewn about the ground.  The third cart still looked operational, but the horses looked spooked.  They had good reason too.  Surrounding the broken caravan was half a dozen dead bodies.  Three men are sifting through the wreckage and cargo.  When they spot the adventurers they stand upright suddenly.  The nearest of them addressed Jasmind, “Thank the gods you are here!  Dire Wolves attacked us last night.  We were on our way to New Port.”

The Paladin took another look at corpses around her.  The wounds on the corpses did not look like dire wolve attacks – There were no bite marks.  In fact, it looked like a mace had been taken to the back of their heads.  Looking back at the men the paladin saw a mace strapped to the man’s belt that addressed her.  As his hand inched toward the weapon, Jasmind drew hers with lightning reflexes.  With her sword pointed at the man’s face she demanded to know what was going on here.

“Prisoners.” Vaelen muttered.  He lifted his warhammer and pointed it to the man in the back.  “That one is Gareth.  The one in front of you is Borack and if I am not mistaken the third is Timuren.  Nasty pieces of work with bounties on their head.  I never forget a mark.”

Borack moved his hands up into the air in front of him.  “All right, all right.  This wasn’t our caravan.  We escaped from the crash of Darkskye, just as you said.  Come now… there’s plenty of supplies here for all of us.  Help us get to the next town and we’ll split it… say 50/50?”  As Vaelen stomped forward Borack reeled several paces back.  “Fine!  30/70 split!  No need to cause more trouble now.”

Just as Vaelen was about to reach Borack something grabbed at his left ankle.  Looking down the cleric saw one of the corpse had wrapped a hand around his leg.  All around them the freshly dead caravan members were rising, ready to unleash their vengeance upon the living.  Using this opportunity to get away Borack, Gareth and Timuren dropped the cargo they had been pillaging and ran off the road into the forest.  The party had no time to pursue them before the undead attacked.

Battle hardened from all the dangers of the Wild Wood, the party had no difficulty dispatching the angry corpses.  When the corpses had all fallen again Vaelen said a prayer to help put their souls at rest.  Gillian summoned her magic to set the corpses on fire, burning them all to ash.  The only thing that remained was the wagon packed full of treasures and supplied that the trio of prisoners had left behind, and conveniently two horses to pull the wagon for them.

From there onward the road was safe.  They even passed a few farm houses, an oddly foreign site after their experiences in the wilds.  As the party traveled they shared their future plans with each other.  Gillian could not stand the thought of the crystals spreading out of the Wild Wood and was resolved to stay in New Port to monitor anyone trying to smuggle them out.  Tycho agreed to stay in New Port, but with more selfish intentions –  He figured a port town was a great place to restart his smuggling business.  Vaelen and Jasmind both committed themselves to returning to the wood.  The Green Shadows could use their help, and they did not want the crystals spreading any further.  Besides, Vaelen had a nice tower as a vacation home to return to anytime he wished.  Tycho gleefully reminded Vaelen that it was their vacation home and the Halfling would gladly return whenever he had a craving for more owlbear meat.  They might even find Kzzmet and Billips frolicking in the forest while they were at it.  First though they all had set their minds to notify the Emperor about the one responsible for this mess.  Someone would need to make sure the Diabolist answered for her crimes.

The city of New Port appeared in the distance.  With smiles on their faces the party moved on to greet it.

GM Notes – 

The player behind Tycho had to duck out for a bit during adventure 5, hence his disappearance for a little while.  The heart fight was one of the favorite battles during the adventure and I had a lot of fun being creative with the terrain.  The heart was actually a glowing puffer ball and the players got a kick out of it when I put it on the table.  During part 6 of the adventure the tree sprite is written to be a role-play opportunity, but the player behind Vaelen declared he smashed the tree sprite with his warhammer before I could introduce the NPC.  The player’s reaction of “It’s a flying thing, kill it!” had the entire table rolling in laughter.  The final fight against the angry corpses seemed to be one of the weaker fights in this adventure, but there was plenty of other fun challenging fights that more than made up for it.  Overall, I loved running Wyrd of the Wild Wood.  I applaud the writers of the organized play adventure for all the hard work they put into this.  It seemed like they really listened to player feedback from Crown of the Lich King and some of the mechanics were changed slightly to run a lot smoother in this adventure.  The Wild Wood is one of my favorite locations of the Dragon Empire so I hope one day in future organized play adventures we can return to it.  I hope our players bring some of these characters back for higher tier adventures as it was a blast sharing them with you.  Liked our adventure recap or have any comments?  Please let us know!   Thanks for reading!  

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THANK YOU!!!

Thanks to all of your votes for our blog we won the GM of the Month contest for Crown of the Lich King!

This was the first official GM of the Month contest for 13th Age organized play and we are so happy that all of you have enjoyed our adventure recaps. We love 13th Age and are excited to share it beyond our gaming table.  If you haven’t had a chance to read through our Crown of the Lich King recaps yet, click the image above to get started.  There’s so many GMs participating in organized play and we are happy to be counted among them. Special thanks to Ash Law and all of the adventure writers for providing such an enjoyable organized play program!

Both of us are excited for the future of the 13th Age Tale Spinners blog. We have a lot of ideas for posts from monsters, to minis, to GM advice. The final recap of Wyrd of the Wild Wood will be posted soon so make sure to check back in to see how our second six-week adventure ended! More announcements coming soon. Thank you once again!

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Parts 5 & 6 Preview – The Heart of the Problem

The recap for parts 5 & 6 of Wyrd of the Wild Wood will be posted soon. In the meantime enjoy a preview of our game session!

Pulsating Heart of the Forest

aka a glowing puffer ball

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Minor Delay

Most of our players have been on vacation over the past week so there was no 13th Age game session this past weekend.  We will catch up on Sunday with a double session which will include both part 5 & 6.  This will be the exciting conclusion to Wyrd of the Wild Wood!

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Part 4 Recap – The Tower of Alamede

Adventure 4 – The Tower of Alamede

Vaelen was dreaming of his march with the Crusader when a soft girlish giggle broke his slumber. His instincts took over and he bolted up with his warhammer in hand. The laughter once again sounded over the wind ever so softly. The forest was still dark, but pre-dawn illuminated the sky above him in a purple glow. Gifted with keen eyesight, Vaelen immediately saw small wet footprints in the dew-soaked grass around their camp site. Vaelen marched over to Kzzmet’s bedroll and kicked it open. The dwarf was gone. A quick check showed Billups the bard absent as well. Cursing, Vaelen moved across the camp and shook Gillian awake. “Wake yourself. It looks like the water nymphs got the better of Kzzmet and Billups again!”

Gillian groggily got to her feet. She yawned and looked around their camp to confirm was Vaelen said was true. “Those two have broken free of the Nymphs before. I’m sure they’ll make it out okay.” She kicked Tycho who was still snoring loudly on the forest floor. “Up with you, we’ve got tracks to make. The tower is within a day’s walk.” With some grumbled protest, the halfling fighter packed up his gear. Jasmind was tending to Kzzmet and Billups belongings – If they met up again, she wanted to be sure they would be provided for.

Setting out just after dawn, the party of four made surprisingly good time across the Wild Wood. Haflway through the morning they came across a handful of mindless brutes with crystals protruding from several parts of their body. They had seen these mutated infected before, back in the prison tunnels on Darkskye during the crash. Even though the faces of the mutated had been warped, Tycho recognized them as members of his gang from the prison. As the mutated infected shambled towards the party Tycho brought his blade down upon their heads. “Never liked these blokes anyway. They were weak. Pretty sure they owed me money too…” The Halfling quickly rummaged through their pockets and pulled out a handful of coins. He patted their heads, “Consider your debts settled!”

No more than a 100 feet off they found where the infected had come from. A jagged chunk of Darkskye had crashed down into this section of the forest. It speared right into the earth, spilling its remaining prisoners out into the forest. Crystal growth spread rampantly out from the wreckage into the woods beyond. Gillian crossed her arms. “Great. I was hoping we’d see the last of these crystals. Best be on the look out. The magic those things hold is incredibly volatile.” Weapons ready, the party made their way through the wilds yet again.

As the adventurers made their way through a dense undergrowth they saw the tower clearly for the first time. Vaelen nudged Jasmind and pointed east of the tower where a village could now be seen, previously obscured by the dense vegetation of the Wild Wood. “Over there. Another village. They may be able to point us in the direction of New Port.” The cleric gestured for the others to follow then set off.

As the party neared the village they were surprised to see it had no obvious walls or sentries posted around its exterior. The buildings all appeared to be residential in nature and arranged in a radial pattern, save a large communal structure which stood in the middle. Small fruit and vegetable fields surrounded the outskirts of the village and planter boxes filled with herbs could be seen outside nearly every home. Most of the homes were constructed out of wood and the pillars were covered thick with fruit vines. To the party’s surprise, the villages were not elves as expected, but rather human and approached them the moment they were within sight. The villagers that approached wore simple linen clothes and none of them weilded any weapons. Given the dangers of the Wild Wood, the lack of defenses or weapons made them uneasy.

A kind faced woman in her middle years approached them first, her arms extended in welcome. “Welcome to Alamede Village! My name’s Elenri. I hope you haven’t had any trouble reaching us! Come, come, rest your worries a while! Traveling through the woods must have been so dreadful with what has been happening lately. That crash a few nights past has us all worried. But don’t you mind that, you’re safe here!”

As the woman chattered on the party all shared suspicious glances. At first all eyes were on Jasmind, but the paladin shrugged her shoulders slightly to indicate she was unfamilar with this village. Vaelen leaned in towards Tycho and whispered, “Be on guard. This could be a trick.”

Never one to lower his voice Tycho echoed his suspicion loudly, “You’re right. No one is this nice.”

The woman stopped mid-sentence and looked down at the halfling. “Oh dear, you poor thing. You must have been around so many terrible people to lose sight of kindness in this world. Here at Alamede village we hold hospitality at our highest virtue. Please, come rest, we ask for no coin in return.”

Tycho looked ready to proudly declare that he was terrible himself so Jasmind spoke up quickly to change the topic. “What is this place? I thought the Elves were the only ones to have settlements here.”

“Come, see!” Elenri said with a smile and led them back to the village. When they had passed a few houses the woman stopped her tour to rustle through one of the many fruit vines covering the houses. “Alamede originally grew around the wizard tower southwest of here. Perhaps you’ve seen it, yes?” Elenri held out a handful of berries that she had just picked to a perplexed Gillian. With the woman watching expectantly, the sorceress slowly popped a berry into her mouth and nodded slowly. “Good, good. The village gets its name from the wizard that once resided in the tower. Alamain abandoned his tower long ago. Good riddance. A terrible man who did terrible things, but nothing you need to worry yourselves with. All you need to know is that all who live here now do so in absolute peace.”

Tycho snorted, “Yeah right, I’ll believe that when the Orc Lord wears an evening gown.” When Elenri looked at him confused he continued, “There is no possible way you can survive the horrors in the woods that we have faced without arms.”

The woman gave another charming smile, “Oh, the wood elves handle everything like that. We give them herbs; they make sure no scary old beasts sneak into the village at night to steal our children.” She laughed as if she told a joke. Tycho looked incredulously at his companions, but the woman didn’t notice and continued, “You are welcome to stay here, so long as you make your keep. We ask no coin from you, but there are plenty of chores to be had if you ask around. You’ll find everyone quite welcoming!” She leaned in and hugged a very uncomfortable Gillian then wandered off to help with some gardening.

Tycho looked around desperately, “Not a single weapon?! These people have gone nutters!” It was then that he noticed a younger lad with a simple short bow slung over his back. “AH! A hunter! Finally someone who understands strength!” The fighter marched over the lad and grasping his shoulder he proclaimed loudly, “What’s your name lad? Doesn’t matter. Come on, I need to kill something soon. Let’s hunt!” The man was obviously confused but trustingly followed the halfling into the woods.

Jasmind noticed Elenri helping one of the elders with a large vegetable garden. She strode over and offered to help. The older man handed her a trowel and introduced himself as Modupe Adenjii. He was a kind old soul, and made the Paladin feel as welcome as a longtime friend. She felt good to get her hands back into the earth again; it reminded her of her youth growing up among the wood elves in the court of stars. With their work done, Modupe was happy to invite Jasmind inside his house where he prepared some additional travel rations for the party.

Vaelen knew where his talents lay and went to see the local healer. He found the healer tending to her herb garden. When he offered to help, the wizened old woman took one look at his travel worn clothes and gestured to her house. “There’s a bath inside and it seems like you need a wash. Go clean up then you can help me all that you like.” Thankful, the cleric made way to the bath, eager to refresh himself. Once clean, he happily helped the old woman as she did her rounds around the village to treat anyone with ailments. Vaelen quickly discovered that weapons were not the only absent thing here. The villagers seemed to lack any magical abilities as well. When he inquired about it the villagers the elders told him that while they would not protest to him using his divine arts to heal, magic had been forsworn by all villagers due to the evil Alamain onced caused with it. The cleric tried teaching them that magic was not evil by nature, but if nothing else the villager elders seemed stubborn in their simple ways. Vaelen thought better to argue further and helped aid anyone that sought out the village healer during the day. After a few hours the healer handed two healing poultices to Vaelen, “For your troubles. Go ahead and take it.”

Knowing the biggest gossips in the village tending to be those that did not know any better, Gillian sought out a group of children playing in the center of the village. Curious as they were, they approached her and started asking questions. With a mischievous smile, she offered to tell them a story in exchange for questions of her own. They eagerly agreed and sat down in front of her. Gillian may not have been a bard, but her experience in the Hell Marsh gave her the ability to tell a horrifying tale. By the end of her story, three of the children had run off crying and the others were on the verge of tears. “Those stories are too scary! Scarier than Alamain and his evil plants!” Intrigued the Sorceress asked for them to tell her more about Alamain. Apparently the old mage had been running experiments on the plants and villagers and nobody was allowed to go to the tower since he left all of his magical artifacts there. The children thought the artifacts were evil, but Gillian had other thoughts in mind.

Around dusk they all reunited to the village square. Tycho was the last to arrive, his face distraught. When Jasmind asked what happened, he sullenly shook his head. “The kid with the bow, Yetune. I tried to tell him that he should take whatever he wants from this world with no regrets. He was so confused that I stole his bow and said it was mine. The thing is, he just smiled and asked me if I liked the craftsmanship. He’d gladly part with it since I liked it so much!” Tycho groaned. “What is wrong with these people?!” Gillian chuckled a bit before relaying what she had learned about the tower, including the artifacts within. Tycho perked up, “Treasure?! Yes, anything to rid me of this village. Tomorrow we ransack the tower! A little loot and pillaging fix everything!”

Later that night they shared a meal stew with the villagers. The food was largely vegetarian and the only one who truly seemed to appreciate it was Vaelen who had taken to boasting about an odd vegetable diet ever since he picked up his magic shield from the graveyard days past. It seemed everyone in Alamede was simple going and carefree. The constant stream of smiling faces was downright unsettling. When one of the village elders detailed how to get to New Port or how to contact the nearby wood elves, the party politely nodded their heads. They thought it more prudent to not tell the villagers their intent to plunder the tower for riches.

Alamain’s abondoned tower was not too far from the village. The structure had a magical blue aura glowing softly around the white stone. The tower stood strong, but several holes had pocketed some of the walls letting the forest light within. Since they no longer had Kzzmet around to take lead, Vaelen scoped the area before reporting back to the others. “Looks like no one is around. I think I saw something move in the tower though. Best be on our guard.”

“Vaelen, at this point it’s safe to assume that we will always be on our guard. Let’s go.” Gillian made a gesture of her hand and the main door lurched. “No magical guard. Small blessing.” Carefully, they made their way into the white tower. Inside the furniture was almost all broken. Equipment lay shattered on the floor. It looked like a fire had made its way through the structure, burning the large collection of books on the second floor library next to what appeared to be apprentice’s chambers. Gillian sensed something peculiar about one book and opened in to find a Rune of Creation within. She moved the floating sigil onto her robes – It’d prove useful later no doubt. The third floor was host to a large greenhouse filled with odd planter boxes and potted plants, mostly dead. Among the workbenches a variety of valuable ingredients caught Jasmind’s eye so she slid them in to her satchel. Focused on looking for treasure, Tycho nearly paid dearly when a portion of the floor crumbled beneath his feet. He leapt away just in time to save himself was some nasty fall damage. More aware of his surrounding, he and Vaelen carefully worked on making sure no other dangers threatened the party.

When they reached the fourth and final floor of the tower, they were surprised to find it surprisingly undamaged. Apparently Alamain’s wards had protected his private study from the fire. Jasmind found a large Iron Oak Shield of Protection leaning against Alamain’s main desk. A long blue glowing wand caught Gillian’s eye. She picked it up and felt a pulse of magic connect her to the tower itself. Normally she would have given it more thought but she was distracted as Tycho was leaning out of the highest window, two new shining polished wooden Branchiating Bracers around his wrists. The Halfling was muttering something about climbing to the top of the tower to stand on top of the world. Jasmind was attempting to pull him back in the tower when something slammed into the tower sending the Halfling fighter crashing backwards into the paladin. “By the Prince’s Cloak, what was that?!” Another tremor shook the tower hard. Not knowing how long the tower would stand against such an assault the party ran down the stairs to get to ground level.

Tycho and Jasmind were the first to make it to ground floor. Pulling the door open, they saw two large treants covered in wicked vines hammering away at the tower edifice. Gillian was still rushing down the stairs behind the others when the wall next to her blew apart. Several sharp branches that looked like fingers reached within the new hole in the wall, narrowly missing at grabbing her. Dodging nimbly away, Gillian tapped the rune she had affixed to her cloak – She felt she was going to need it. Vaelen was just about to run out the door to join the fighter and paladin when a vine snaked out from the shadows beneath the staircase and tripped him. Looking up he saw an animated potted plant hop out from the shadows, its large flower shaped maw riddled with sharp thorny teeth. Vaelen rose to his feet and readied his warhammer when he heard more click-clank noises echo through the room – additional potted plant monsters had joined the fray.

Gillian set one of the plants on fire quickly then tapped into Alamain’s wand. She smiled as she felt the power of one of the wizard’s spells flow into her mind. Vaelen stood his ground, quickly invoking the gods of trickery and chance which would make him harder to hit. As the first animated potted plant hopped over to him he brought him warhammer down upon it, crushing one of the vines and cracking the pot that held it. The cleric has been through too much to be taken out by enchanted flowers.

Outside, Tycho and Jasmind were dealing with the large Arboreal Gaurdians. One of the treants had grabbed the Halfling by the leg and was savagely beaten the fighter against the paladin. Tycho was not going to let his current situation hamper him however and every time the Guardian swung him around he slashed at the tree with his sword. Jasmind was about to help her halfling companion when the other treant swooped her up from behind and swung her about.

As Vaelen continued to dance his way through the many vines around him, Gillian channeled the essence of Alamain’s power left in his wand. She tapped into the wizard’s memories left within and let loose a powerful spray of multicolored light beams at the plants. The beams lanced through all the remaining potted plants tearing them to shreds. With the potted plants finished, the Cleric and Sorcerer raced through the doorway to help their allies. Amazed, they saw Tycho and Jasmind gracefully making the best of the situation, fighting the trees mid-air as they were tossed about. Together, the four of them made quick work of the guardians.

With the monstrous plants defeated, Jasmind suggested that they seal the tower again so that no other plant creature could get out. Gillian and Vaelen put their heads together and reasoned that with the right spell, Alamain’s wand, and some reagents they could ward the tower again to not harm anyone else. Jasmind offered up the few items she had scavenged from the tower earlier. As Vaelen began the ritual to safeguard the tower again, Tycho spoke up, “Ya know, this tower would make a good vacation home. We could even make the villagers our servants and set up a nice operation for ourselves here.” Jasmind rolled her eyes at the Halfling and started walking off. She wanted no part in that scheme; she only wanted the local elves and village to be safe from the tower’s terrors. Finally, they settled on reconstructing the wards so they wouldn’t harm anyone who didn’t intend to harm them.

With the tower sealed and new artifacts in hand, Jasmind suggested they make their way to New Port. It had been four long days and she was ready to see real civilization again. The road led from Alamain’s tower in a roughly north-western direction. When they had traveled a mile or two down the road they caught their first glimpse of crystal growth again. Gillian speculated that Alamain’s tower may have kept the crystal growth at bay, but it had definitely started to take root deeper in the woods. At first it appeared just along the forest floor, then hanging off of tree leaves, then encasing entire branches of trees.

A flurry of movement ahead caught Vaelen’s eye and he called his companions to a halt. A frenzy of squeaks sounded from farther down the road. A wildcat darted down the road towards them, pursued by a swarm of dire rats. While the halfling may have been happy to watch nature take effect, Jasmind knew that the Wildcat was an animal of great status in the Court of Stars. She charged ahead, cleaving in to the horrifyingly large rats. Like a wave, the rat swarm poured over to Jasmind. Soon the entire party was surrounded by the sharp poisonous teeth. They made quick work of the rats but not before taking their fair share of cuts and poison. Concerned with the wildcat’s safety, Jasmind let the power of Selune flow through her to soothe the beast and its wounds. The wildcat took a liking to the wood elf and followed the Paladin as they continued their march north.

After the rough days they had been experiencing in the Wild Wood, the road was a welcome change of pace. Just when Jasmind was about to say as much to Vaelen, a lurching figure appeared farther down the road. Squinting, the paladin could make out the build of an elf, but large crystals and bulbous plant growth had encased much of his body. The ground beneath their feet began to rumble. In the distance the party could see a massive army of angry treants marching in their direction. Around their feet, hundreds of infected wood elves shuffled along. “This road leads too close to the village! Alamede’s in danger!”

Tycho chortled, “And I should care why?”

Vaelen grabbed the scruff of the halfling’s neck, “Your tower’s in danger too. And there’s no going around this army. We need to hurry!”

With the rampaging crystal infused army at their heels, the adventurers sprinted to Alamede. It appeared that the village was conducting business as usual, without a care in the world. Breathless, Jasmind grabbed a hold of the nearest person she could find. It was Modupe Adenjii who greeted her with a smile, “Back so soon?” Gillian took a deep breath and explained that twisted magical trees were rampaging across the wild wood. The old man did not seem to have a worry in the world until Gillian mentioned that the wood elves had been turned into mindless vine creatures. With the village protectors gone the blood drained from Adenjii’s face. Other villagers who overheard their conversation broke out into panic.

Vaelen raised his voice to address the crowd. “People of Alamede, your village is in danger! I fear that some twisted magic again threatens your safety. An army of massive walking trees marches to your doorstep. You must abandon your village and seek safety within the woods.”

Elenri stood up, shaking, “But where will we go? We’ve only known this village for as long as we have lived.”

Surprising his companions, Tycho stepped up, “Its fine, you can all reside in my tower.” Jasmind nudged the Halfling sharply. “I mean Alamain’s tower. We cleared it earlier of any magic remaining. You’ll be safe there.” The people seemed reluctant but trusted the adventurers. When Vaelen remarked that it was unusual for Tycho to show such kindness, the halfling smiled and said, “Well, I’m charging them rent of course.” Vaelen thought it best to not point out that the villagers had no money.

Leaving nonessential items behind, the villagers hurriedly made their way to the tower. Tycho was bickering with Yetune, saying he needed to stay with his people. Vaelen and Jasmind helped construct a blockade in the limited time they had left. They had just finished securing a large log into place with a crash sounded through the trees. The treants were marching. The larger trees lumbered on by past the village, eyes set on Darkskye’s crash site in the distance. Just as the party thought the village might be spared a collection of vine saplings and hive plant thralls charged toward the party among the hordes of infected wood elves.

Jasmind and Tycho stood strong as the large collection of thorny vines smashed against them. The wildcat that they had saved earlier stuck close to Jasmind, biting and tearing whatever he could reach. The crystal thorns cut against their skin but they were no match for the edge of their blades. On and on the fighter and paladin carved their way through the attacking vines. As the two battled the oncoming waves, Gillian pulled together what power she could muster, letting the arcane energy light up the sigils along her body. Vaelen was chanting to his gods, letting their might and power fortify his friends with a Shield of Faith.

The party fought back some of the saplings, but were not prepared for the oncoming plant thralls. Tycho’s first attack against a hive plant thrall cut it down easily, but before the Halfling could boast the corpse exploded into a cloud of spores. The spore explosion caught Tycho right in the face and the Halfling found himself doubled over in a coughing fit. Vaelen ran up to the fighter to see if he was alright. When the coughing subsided, Tycho looked up slowly, his eyes glazed over and skin starting to turn yellow. Vaelen barely had time to raise his shield before Tycho, confused by the hive spores, began repeatedly slashing his massive sword at the cleric.

A flash of light filled the air as Gillian unleashed a bolt of lightning at the hunter vine saplings and thralls with the magic she had gathered. Gillian had poured a lot of her strength into that spell and resorted to smaller scorching blasts for the rest of the fight – They were not as flashy as chain lightning, but the sorcerer reasoned the plants would hate fire. Jasmind cleaved through the last of the Vine Saplings only to be assaulted by the last remaining thralls’ spore clouds. Confused, she too turned on Vaelen.

The cleric desperately tried to hold the fighter and paladin off and was alarmed to find Gillian charging at him as well, crazed by the spore’s dust. Vaelen had had enough and ruthlessly smashed his war hammer against Tycho’s head, sending him sprawling on the floor. When he made to attack the paladin and Gillian, he noticed the frenzy in their eyes dissipate. Whatever infection had hold of them was fading fast. “Good to have you back. The more we see of the crystal effects on the forest, the more dangerous they seem.”

Gillian shook her head, still regaining her senses. “Yes. You have to wonder what the Archmage was doing mining them in the first place. And why on earth the Diabolist and the Three want them now.” With a little effort they were able to rouse Tycho. Battered but safe from the army of enraged trees, they made their way to Alamain’s Tower. The tower showed no signs of being attacked and they found the villagers safely inside. The villagers embraced them in gratitude, tears of joy running down their faces. After speaking with the elders it was decided that everyone would stay in the tower overnight in case any more treants went on the march. If the village was still safe in the morning the party would set out again down the road to New Port. None of them slept easy that night.

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13th Age at WolfCon!

Calling Chicago area gamers!  We will be running 13th Age this year at Wolfcon on Saturday, November 30th from 2:00pm until 6:00pm!  Wolfcon is a family friendly gaming event in Chicago held annually after Thanksgiving.  This year the game convention will be held at the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago from Friday, November 29th until Sunday, December 1st.  Online pre-registration is now open until November 18th!  Visit http://wolfcon.org for more information.  If you are interested in signing up to play 13th Age you will first need to pre-register.  Once you are registered click on Players > Login (Event Registration) and click on the 2:00pm time slot on 11/30/2013 on your playing schedule.  Select 13th Age from the Events tab, then click “Add”.  Seats are limited to 7 players.  We look forward to seeing you there!

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Magic Items!

Here are the magic items acquired by the party during Tales of 13th Age Wyrd of the Wild Wood Part 3 & 4.

Magic Items obtained from Part 3 – The Tower of Alamede

Ironoak Shield of Protection
This shield, though made of wood, has the strength of wrought steel. When a druid dies, her companion tree is made into an ironoak shield so that even in death she may continue to protect the living.
Default bonus: Increase your maximum hit points: by +4.
Enemies engaged with you take a –1 attack penalty against your allies.
Quirk: Tends to others with too much familiarity.

Prismatic Rod
A long pyramidal clear crystal serves as the handle to this wand. The end is tipped with a dark glass or obsidian. It constantly bathes the wielder’s hand in a faint rainbow..
+1 to hit and damage with arcane spells and attacks.
Once per day cast Color Spray at your level, as a quick action.
Quirk: Insists on speaking each letter of a word distinctly.

Brachiating Bracers
These armguards have an embroidered motif of branches and leaves. They subtly bend wood and vines to their wearer, making it easier to climb and swing through the trees.
Add +5 to checks involving climbing.
Gain the ability to traverse heavily forested areas as though flying while not in combat.
Quirk: Always seeks something higher than ground level to stand upon.

Note:  The organized play packet outlined three magic items that the party would discover in the attic of the Tower of Alamain.  The party was given a chance to discover additional magic items during the exploration phase of the tower if they passed a background check with a DC 30.  Background checks in 13th Age work like this:  You roll a d20, then add that value to any relevant ability modifier + level + the number of points in a relevant background.  That total is compared to the DC set by the environment.  The tower environment had multiple tiers from 14 – Danger! to 30 – Magic Item!  Passing a 30 DC is rather difficult.  Breaking the numbers down, backgrounds have a max of 5 points (6 for a bard), level is 2, and ability modifiers for our pre-generated characters cap at 4 (5 is max, but we avoid it as it puts too many other stat mods in the negative).  So to pass a D30 check a player would have needed to roll at minimum a 19 if they had a relevant background and modifier at max points.  Possible, but unlikely.  No one in the party passed a DC 30, but the players did manage to pass a DC 15 to find spell components that grant +2 to ritual check, DC 20 for an adventurer -level rune glowing in an old book, and a DC 25 for two healing potions found behind a cupboard of mold-encrusted jars.  The three magic items obtained above were outlined in the organized play packet, with one minor adjustment.  The organized play packet calls for the Ironoak Shield to have the power “Resilience” meaning when you make a basic melee attack, heal using a recovery (recharge 11+).   Since we had already given a Shield of Resilience to Vaelen during Part 2 of Wyrd of the Wild Wood we simply re-skinned the Ironoak Shield in our game to grant the power “Protection” instead.  The flavor text description and +4 default bonus to hit points was kept the same.

Magic Items obtained from Part 2 – Through the Wild Wood

Ring of the Mage’s Invisible Aegis
This ring is a remnant of a wizard that served at the Citadel of Autumn’s End. The spiritual powers of the Aegis have infused within the ring granting it powers of protection to the wearer.
Recharge 16+
Effect: You can use this ring to cast the wizard’s Shield Spell, with a level no higher than your level.
Shield Spell: When an enemy targets your AC, make the attacker re-roll their attack roll and use the new result.
Quirk: Hums Tunelessly

Potion Belt
This fashionable leather belt can be adjusted to be worn by anyone. It also provides stylish flaps that can hold up to six potions.
Recharge 16+
Always: Increase Your Recoveries by 1.
Effect: You may drink a potion stored on this belt as a quick action instead of a standard action.
Quirk: Constantly attempts to refill everyone else’s drinks. Or potions. Or ration bags.

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