​​Games are (usually) on Thursday nights sometime after 5:30PM at World's Best Comics, 9714 Warwick Blvd Newport News, Virginia 23601.

That being said​, there was no game on U.S. Thanksgiving day nor on 30 November, as I ha​d​ an evening seminar at ​some​ haute taute restaurant with one of those companies that tries to sell you on 'maximizing' your retirement accounts. (Which is probably worth the free meal, if nothing else.) Hey, I'm looking seriously at retirement these days the thought of ceasing all work now seems appealing.

It has been so long I have forgotten which kind of pizza we had.

I'm dropping the possessive "Tracy's" from the subject line. No one else puts up with this and posts it on social media.

For the record, the following week on the 16th of November we merely commiserated and welcomed a possible new Player. Obviously, there was no game on U.S. Thanksgiving Holiday (which is always on a Thursday). We discussed changing the main plan to wit:

#1 Retiring everyone and re-rolling all Players to level one.

#2 Going bi-weekly, so that on alternate weeks, we'd play in someone else's campaign.

While #2 is not a big problem, I have had to think long and hard about #1.

One one hand, the Party has just started delving down Castle Blackmoor, which is the pièce de résistance of everything Blackmoor.

On the other hand, starting everyone at an equal footing when a new player appears solves the issue of the 'new guy' getting saddled with the most difficult (and deadly) tasks.

​PART 1.​

​++++ START OF SESSION ++++

This was over three weeks ago so forgive me if I gloss the details, it will also make it woefully short. I will also state dungeon levels if obviously known.

Jacko released the 6 Icosahedrones from their contract.

The party opted for the annual Backmoor Dungeon festival which was option four from last month's posting.

The doors of Blackmoor's castle dungeon were opened amid much pomp and circumstance and ceremony. Before they descended, they were given instructions on how to reopen the doors before they were shut again and locked in. This was basically to stand in a certain spot and knock a certain way.

Entering the grand entrance the party and skipping anything on first level they took an obvious door to the left which led downward to second level. They mucked about in circles finding nothing of import (or at least nothing I remember) until they found the Giant Centipede hiding under a flight of stairs going up. They easily killed that.

Staying on level 2, they went down the merry path turned right at a "T" intersection and found another flight of stairs to level 3. Blocking the stairs was a giant skeleton of a Troll. Testing it with a few pokes and prods they found out it was not animated so they went down.

They found the area quite hot as there was a large firepit to their right of their landing. What they found was a Fire Elemental which they fought and killed with a little damage, mainly because they all had Rings of Fire Protection due to their purchase prior to their recent visit to the City of Brass. (Except Junkbot and Fundisha, who were rescued from the same place and did not have opportunity to make such a purchase.)

The party may have done something else but I remember little. It seems like a good idea to pick up from here next session.

Oh by the way the party noticed over the fire pit a large pipe, radiating from the pipe were smaller pipes. Apparently the Party killed the central heating element for this dungeon level and up.

​++++ OUT OF CHEESE ERROR ++++

BT







BBBB

PART 2.

++++ CHARACTER ROSTER ++++

CHARACTERS
Felipe the Dwarf, a third level Sigil (Chosen One subclass of Cleric).
Grok the Dwarf, a third level Doughboy (Battlemage subclass of Magic User).
Jacko, an Albino Dork Elf, a Infiltrator (subclass of Thief).
Aerys, an Elvariel, a Fingersmith (Thief class).
Baronet Huang - a Master of the West Wind of the Stone Tiger Order, (Monk class).
Numrendir - a human Conjurist (a Conjuror, Magic User subclass)
Junkbot Jackson - a human Tracker/Friar (a Ranger 5th and Cleric 6th level).

NPCs/Proteges:
Serena 2.0 - First Level Battle Mage (a Protege of Jacko).
Baronetess Honda - a Human Datai Samurai, Steward of Catan (formerly Temple of the Frog)
Gnomex, a Gnome Brother of Geardal Ironhand (Cleric class.)
Tanzen - a Fae-Born first level Exciter. (Fourth level Invoker, a Magic User subclass).
Fundisha - a half-Elf Swordsperson/Tout (Fighter and Infiltrator, a Thief subclass).

CAPTURED CHARACTERS (both PCs and NPCs)
Gerry Castagere, human Fingersmith, (Thief class) and ever loving devotee of Elefus, abandoned to the Blood Cult in the City of Brass on the Plane of Fire.

MISSING CHARACTERS
Sir Weasel, human Guild Soldier, Warlock, & Champion (Thief, Magic User, & Fighter classes) he stayed back in BlackMoor.
- and nine Pilgrim henchmen of various levels. (They wear hoodies.)
Slade Wilson - Dwarven Professional (a Bounty Hunter, Fighter subclass) Left behind at Catan.

BT







BBBB

++++ RECORD KEEPING ++++


PART 3.


This is also posted on three forums, and a blog.
viewforum.php?f=76
http://www.furiouslyeclectic.com/forum/f...php?fid=13
http://www.kenzerco.com/forums/forumdisp...ster-Tales
http://furiouslyeclectic.com/hackmoor/

​

Perhaps the dungeon of Castle Blackmoor can be the apex of the campaign and then they can retire peacefully and restart from level 1 (with some descendant of the original heroes?)

Hmm, that was actually an interesting read. Play reports usually bore me to sleep about three sentences in. You're tempting me to write up the game I ran at the SWA Council... Anyway, keep it up. (I haven't been paying proper attention. Is it "Hackmoor" because you are using the Hackmaster rules?")

I suppose keeping it down to little more than three sentences helped. (The header and trailer portions add to length I'm afraid, but indicates game status.)

It is more or less a journal. Not really interested in turning it into a work of high-fantasy fiction.

BTW, did you manage to find a good solution to the saircases and room number issues?

It has gotten worse. First I was happily marrying staircases between levels, flipping pages and approximating up versus down.

Then I got to one of the down staircase on 5-8 saying it goes down to 6-2.

It appears they shift whole levels laterally, so attempting a vertical overlay doesn't help.

Then there is the description in 6-2 that refers to the 20th level and says "(see the description in secret level C)".

Must be a damn big secret, since "secret level C" isn't in the book, or I haven't found it yet.

Sorry, I didn't recall what you said. The new location of the stairs makes more sense.

Sure, I'll take the gimp file. I run a linux system half the time. Ok to send to tmjva23664 at gmail.com

I've changed and moved by removable sticky labels accordingly. Added similar label in room 5-8 text saying to ignore text.