D&D Session 31 (12/29/21): Pool Party

 

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master 

Ha! Ho! There's the Kua-Toa done with. This is easy!

Whaddya mean there's a "thing" in the pool?

OH MY GOD!

So we've got a swirling mass of tentacles and teeth, along with a whale-tail that promised instant death (but never quite connected). And maybe the worst part was the thing was psychic, and malevolent. It got into our heroes' heads. Sarkagan was driven half mad, blubbering about a solipsistic crisis. And Arthur was transported back to his childhood halfling hole, where he saw his dear old mum again (who was definitely not his mum).

How did they handle it? Like heroes, of course! Arthur took it to the creature, leaping into the pool and stabbing again at those three ancient, intelligent, evil eyes, all lined up one atop the other like some chaotic traffic light. Blah jumped into the fray, cutting at every tentacle that came his way, pounding his chest and bellowing for more. (Oops, there goes his vorpal sword, lost in the pool). Sompher lifted spirits, restored HP, and comically wielded his spiritual weapon. Even Sarkagan returned from his earlier existential exit to lob magic missiles from the top of the stair.

Running short on spells, weapons lost, health failing, it looked bad for our boys ... but then, just like that, The Thing (an Aboleth, for those of you scoring at home) decided it had had enough, and retreated into the murky depths, but not before
trying (and failing) to drag Arthur down with him.

Eerie silence, in the aftermath of battle ... and then tempered celebration, with Farrah rescued at last, and a nice little treasure to divide. Blah dove a time or two to recover his lost sword, then shrugged it off with barbarian fatalism. "Good thing I never gave it a name!" Dee Dah gave up munching on a fallen Kua-Toa to comfort his master.

But Arthur ... oh, Arthur ... what is this strange disease that has taken root in your halfling heart? Your skin is turning translucent, your black veins seem closer to the surface, your eyes are growing wide and luminous, and you find that to be separated from water feels like acid is being poured on your skin. Uh oh.

Long rest! At last!

(And congrats to our group for playing 30+ times in 50-ish weeks this year. Achievement Unlocked! It's a good thing we are all married already).

D&D Session 30 (12/15/21): Always Read The Fine Print!

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master 

Following the trail of the Kua-Toa, the gang discovered the sandy pink shores of an underground pool, surrounded by the shattered statues of forgotten ... DROW GODS! Run away!

(But they didn't).

Behind a waterfall, Arthur found a comically outclassed specter.

From the bottom of the underground pool, Blah unearthed a water-tight cask, within which were three scrolls. Score for Sarkagan!

Ah, but continuing deeper into the complex, the lads found something truly magical -- the statues of Rathomer and Ivanon, near-forgotten Drow gods, lit by magical fire. Reading the fine print, the boys put the right fire in the correct upturned palms and -- behold! A magic door opens!

Beyond the door, with a magical admonishment that there would be only one priceless magical item to a customer. Two sarcophagi, a wand and a mace. Sommpher went for the mace, which was at least a different color than his current magic mace, and slightly improved his position with Jenny, who'd been looking daggers at the cleric ever since he suggested abandoning the hunt for Farrah, who is clearly dead by now ...

... and as if on cue, they find Farrah! Yes, she's in a cage, and that cage is suspended above a pool, and something horrible is in the pool, and the pool is surrounded by enraged Kua-Toa, and the threat of purple worms and dark elves hangs over everything, but she is definitely NOT dead. Yet.

D&D Session Postponement over the holidays...

... So thought I would post this image until we get back to playing again...

Left to Right: Sommpher Wilde the half elf cleric:  Blah the half orc barbarian (with owl bear cub DeeDah); Arthur Twopenny the halfling rogue, and Khostov Sarkagan the human wizard.

D&D Session 29 (11/10/21): Plumbing The Depths Part Two

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master 

The lads make camp for the night, during which Blah single-handedly beheads and BBQs an umber hulk. What a night!

The next day, back through the secret path and on the track of Farrah. Up a winding path, crossing over a dark and fast-flowing river. They intersect an ancient purple worm tunnel.

Khostov suffers one of his fits of madness, loudly proclaiming how "nothing happened!" when he was alone and in the dark with an unconscious Blah. He gets louder, and louder.

Breaking into a waterfall chamber with twin cyclopean stairs, Khostov glides high and ahead of everyone, taunting his fellows with some bullshit.

Khostov is jumped by a flock of darkmantles. His last words are a triumphant declaration that "This IS an old-school D&D dungeon."

Blah leaps to his half-brother's defense as the darkmantles tear strips from the hovering body, cloaked in magical inky darkness.

Sommpher dispels the darkness, and the crew drives away the darkmantles. Khostov's lifeless body hits the stone.

But ... he's only mostly dead. A bit of healing and Khostov is right as rain.

Hopefully no more toilets loom ahead!

D@D Session 29 (11/10/21): Plumbing The Depths Part One

 Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master 

WHERE'S FARRAH? Picking up the trail of the Kuo-Toa, the gang follows tracks back to an inky pool where an underground stream emerges.

These heroes have faced giants, shipwreck, dragons, and death itself, but nothing vexed them quite so much as an underground toilet.

Angry at the realization that Farrah was likely carried down into the depths and on to who knows what, the crew slaughtered their Kua-Toa prisoners for catharsis.

Some shenanigans later,  Arthur and Blah find themselves in a dark grotto, isolated from their fellows, Blah is unconscious, Arthur is mostly naked but has a glowing dagger for warmth. Arthur finds a little, ill-hidden "secret" tunnel but elects not to explore it. (Hilarity will ensue).

Khostov has a moment of insane insight, displaces water from the pond with a Thunderwave, then blasts it out the grotto end with a Gust of Wind -- hurling himself into the tunnel, he emerges from the water in the grotto like a sub-launched Polaris missile. The water backfills.

Now on HIS own, Sommpher turns a skeletal swarm using his spooky cleric powers, which is enough to win Jenny's affections.

Blah wakes up, but he is in darkness with his pals. Khostov is out of spells. They stumble about a bit, follow the secret path, and find it leads back to an overlook near the pond. They interrupt Sommpher and Jenny, snogging.

Well.

D&D Session 28 (10/27/21): Something Fishy This Way Comes

 

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master 

With a locking door the team spent an uneventful night, with the only moment of consequence being Dee Dah curling up with Jenny, striking a spark of jealousy with Blah.

After a bit of debate the heroes decided to go down (the other choice being, "up"), and after several hundred yards travel they found themselves in a tall chamber where the floor had collapsed to natural caverns below. The walls of the chamber told the story of Blue Noggak Dungeon -- a dwarven community founded centuries ago to mine the mountain, and which for a time collaborated with human traders (building the now-demolished Blue Hills Castle) before falling into decline after a war over precious ice opals.

With some floating and glowing, the gang investigated the natural cavern through the wrecked floor. Slimy and wet down there, and getting wetter -- a natural spring gushes from the rocks and sends a trickle down the sloping tunnel. Khostov dispersed a flock of stirges with his pipes.

Lots of arguing and making of loud noises before the group decides to press on down the tunnel, with Arthur getting tangled up in a net by ambushing Kua-Toa ... but it wasn't long before the fish-men were routed, and their arch-priest's tongue fed to the owlbear cub. Three other hapless fish heads were taken prisoner. (Don't call them guides!).

But as the literal fog of battle lifted, Jenny said, "Where's Farrah?" and Khostov remembered that he'd failed to spot something during the melee.

D&D Session 27 (10/21/21): The Clothes Make The Man

 

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master 

Remind Arthur the magic-users need their rest, next time ... the plucky rogue may easily have gotten in over his head by exploring the dwarven armory at bed time.

It was bad enough even Sommpher had to mobilize for battle, setting aside his evening prayers, and disappointing Farrah ("He IS a shy one, isn't he?")

But up in the armory, it was on -- flying swords, living rugs, and descending from above with supreme arrogance, a finely-wrought helmed horror of living dwarven armor.

Arthur threw himself on the living armor's shoulders, and gave it his all, but only his elven dagger found purchase, and that only slightly.

Khostov got more than he bargained for with his mage hand gag, and his magic missiles failed to blunt the magic armor's progress, though thunderwave was still money in the bank.

But it really was Blah's Big Day, slicing flying swords asunder with his own vorpal blade, and chasing that hovering suit of armor around with a will, hacking and frothing in fine form.

The battle may well have gone on all day, but for Blah scoring a critical hit and decapitating the living armor. The helmet flew across the room and sounded like a paint bucket when it hit the floor; the light faded. Alas!

Now free to explore the room at leisure, our heroes found all the mundane gear they could use, and a few magical items as well, including a powerful spell scroll for Khostov, and a powerful set of playing pipes that put everyone in the mind of Jethro Tull!

Another good night of D&D. Sarkagan sends out a Thunderwave.

 

Top left to right: Kostov Sarkagan, Blah, and Paul the DM (this time playing as the Helmed Horror)

Lower Left to Right: Arthur Two Penny and Sommpher the Cleric.

D&D Session 26 (10/13/21): Down The Oubliette

 

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master 

Well we had three heroes backed in a tiny tunnel with a flaming Gelatinous Cube but somehow no one died. I've lost my fastball.

The grim purpose of the oubliette is discovered -- those side-tunnels are crude prison cells. Took some time to navigate down from one to the next -- all bones and despair.

But then a glimmer of hope -- a prisoner had escaped through a crack in his tunnel cell wall. Following this path, Arthur crawled through a tight natural cavern and came out into abandoned dwarf tunnels.

After scouting up a long ladder -- and backing away when unusually wet stone raise his hackles -- Arthur suggested the heroes follow up and make camp. This took some time, having to transport Farrah and Jenny and all the gear. Sommpher summoned a repast of fresh water and bland food that was gratefully consumed by all.

There was some talk of making camp, but Arthur wanted to see what was beyond a nearby dwarven door. What could go wrong? A bit of work and the lock was sprung -- on the other side, a tall, narrow, cylindrical room, lined with shelves and balconies and sliding ladders. On those shelves -- dwarven arms and armor! On the topmost tier, and ornate suit of armor, and on the floor of the room, an opulent and cushy rug ...

... which came to life, and failed to smother Arthur. Regrouping for another attack, the creepy carpet faced off against everyone's favorite Murderball ...

(to be continued)

N64 Dark Rift Motion Capture Session. Kronos Digital Entertainment. Circa 1996

 Images I found of our motion capture session at the now defunct TSI motion capture studio in Los Angeles for the N64 game Dark Rift.  State of the art optical motion capture (not that old crappy magnetic MC) in an old junky warehouse.  Bring your own outfit, and we will tape the marker balls to your body.  Cutting edge stuff!  I am the guy getting the balls duct taped to my shoes.

Performance actors (Mostly Kronos developers) are as follows: 

John Paik (Niiki, Morphix, Zenmuron, Aaron, and Scarlet), Steve Knotts (Gore, Demitron, and Sonork), Theodore Warnock (Demonica), Sandra B. Christensen (Eve)

https://youtu.be/-_XiC1iA_2Y?t=873

D&D Session 25 (10/6/21): Forces Of Nature

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master 

What's worse -- a vengeful dragon or an avalanche? How about ... getting stuck between those things? A-yup.

It would have been easier to run for it. Over the wall! Into the mine! But, nope, the heroes picked the main keep. It was close. But it was also right in the path of the avalanche.

Run! Up the stairs! Get the girls! Quaff a speed potion and get moving! And for the most part, that's what happened ... with a path clearing to safety when Codoroth the Longtail -- the aforementioned dragon -- failed (for a second time!) to pluck Sompher up in his claws, and instead pranged off an elevated bridge and crash landed in the castle courtyard.

And then Arthur, who might have been baited a bit by an evil DM,  saw that dragon was on the ground, maybe disoriented, certainly with its back toward our Murderball, and the halfling thought that "Arthur Dragonslayer" had a nice ring to it.

So up he leapt, in between the shoulders of the beast, where the wings come together and there's sure to be a weak spot. Sure to be. Right here. Somewhere around here. Oh, dear.

Enter Khostov Sarkagan, who conjured the Phantasmal image of a giant to fight Codoroth, and the surprisingly dim dragon bought it, and thrashed in futility as that imaginary giant did very real damage to him (and as Arthur finally got through those dragon scales). Quickly getting the worst of the fight, Codoroth surged off to return to the skies, flapping hard and barely clearing the ground as the avalanche slammed into the castle. Arthur deftly leaps from the back of the rising dragon, turning an ankle but making it to the keep just in time to see the dragon wing into the oncoming wall of billowing snow. Escaped? Buried alive? None can say.

Then the avalanche hit the tower, and the tower hit the ground; with our heroes inside. One of the girls was pinned -- I think it was Jenny -- but Khostov blew the beam aside with a Thunderwave and the whole group rushed down into the basement of the tower as the walls gave way before a whole mountain on the move.

Everyone hung on to their gear! Blah even got the Vorpal Sword, though he cut himself and Sompher pretty fierce in their panicked flight to safety.

In the basement ... rotten supplies, and a place to rest up, sealed in by who knows how many tons of ice and rubble above. Also the entrance to an oubliette.

After determining that trying to dig out of the basement could take weeks (or more, or forever), the heroes cranked open the oubliette and reveals what sure seemed like a bottomless pit beneath. Or functionally bottomless, in any case. Blah went down on a rope, and eighty-odd feet down the well found a side passage, maybe four and a half feet tall.

Unroping himself, he went in, at a crouch, axe at the ready, scanning ahead with his keen dark vision. Up above, Sompher headed down on the rope.

Blah thought he saw something in the tunnel ahead of him ... but the dice were not kind. Some of the most dreadful words in the D&D language are "You noticed the Gelatinous Cube, but too late." Glug!

And that's where we left it! 

D&D: Session 24 (9/29/21): ... The Harder They Fall!

  Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master  

After six weeks (real time) in the Castle of the Blue Hills, King Gut finally makes his appearance. He's 22 feet tall! He has icicles for beards! He's got two heads, and a sword so sharp it can cut the sky. He's got Jenny Agutter tied to one forearm, and Farrah Fawcett on the other!!

But all this was not before the lads had another stellar night, faking out an ogre punishment squad set to execute the remaining slaves when Blah masqueraded as the orcish cheiftan, Hakkon. Sending most of the ogres to reinforce the south gate against an imaginary attack divided the enemies in two, where Murderball, Sompher, and a raging Blah could make short work of the ogres that remained behind. They even freed the slaves (sort of), though an attempt to convince the ogre's dim-witted wolfpack to flip sides didn't amount to much.

And what was Sarkagan up to through all this? Biding his time, mostly, but when Gut appeared from his castle the wizard was quickly into action, blasting a magical gust of wind through the signal horn atop the citadel, ringing it out well above OSHA safe decibel standards, rocking the very earth and unleashing ... a massive avalanche bearing down on the castle!

Things began to move fast. The heroes piled on King Gut. You could almost feel sorry for the old blue bastard as he was held in place, hamstrung, had one of his girls cut free, and eviscerated by not one but TWO convincing magical illusions of a dragon attack. But no sooner did the wicked frost giant collapse to the snow than Jenny pointed to the sky, did her best Faye Wray scream, and shouted DRAGON!

That's right, our old friend Codoroth the Longtail is back! Summoned by the horn, this is no illusory dragon ... this is a pissed off an hungry dragon, alerted by the dinner bell, and seeing before him prey that escaped and shamed him once before -- the cleric Sompher. He's swooping in for the kill ...!

(and happy birthday to Paul)

D&D Session 23 (9/22/21): Half An Orc!

  Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master  

The party made their most critical save yet, resuming the campaign after multiple cancellations led to a gap of more than a month since our last game!

But it wasn't long before the lads were back in the swing of things, arguing plans while Khostov muttered darkly about eight-minute timers (when packet loss didn't make it sound like he was at the bottom of a fish tank). At least they managed a short rest. (They'd need it).

A horn shatters their reverie! No, not THAT horn ... not the one Arthur so wants to sound. No, this was a hunting horn alerting the (now humiliated, naked, and dead) guard to open the main gates already!

And who has a hunting horn but a hunting party? A savage scene greeted our heroes as they peered from the parapet. A grouchy orc chieftain, astride a vast wooly mammoth, dragging a travois laden with carcasses and animal skins, and six orc soldiers, balancing poles on their shoulders, from which depended dead yetis and (it seemed) a pair of human slaves thought to have safely escaped.

The boys set an ambush while Blah parlayed with the chief, and very nearly bluffed the orcs into going after the rest of the escaped slaves, but orcs being orcs negotiations quickly broke down, and before you know it the chieftain was trying to bust down the doors of the castle with his mammoth.

And this proved his undoing! The orcs forced the gate, but packed themselves into the gatehouse, where Sarkagan's Thunderwave wrecked havoc, killing half the orcs outright, rendering the rest insensible, and panicking the mammoth to throw its rider and book it back off across the snow.

All of which had approximately no effect on Hakkon, the orc chief, who had a good-old exchange of blows with Blah before being born down by superior weight of numbers, his own pigheaded stupidity, and a timely intervention from Dee Dah.

Thinking quickly, Blah gathered up Hakkon's gear, with an eye toward impersonating the chief, and the crew elected to bunker up on the top floor of the ogre barracks for a long rest ... which they managed, given the snake was happily snoring away with several ogre-shaped bulges in its body, and the giant spider was no match for a determined party. They were joined by Radshard, the lone escape slave who survived being brought back to the castle, given new life by one of Sompher's spells.

With a long rest in the bank, the party awakes to the sound of the alarm being raised across the castle -- the bodies or the freed slaves (or both, or something else) has been noticed at last!

D&D: Blah and Dee Dah in the land of the Giants (WIP)

 Blah is sporting his hand crafted Yeti cloak and boots.  Hand caught and made.

New GOW trailer dropped

 The new God of War trailer dropped the other day.  Reminded me of this fan art I did after finishing the last one.  

Dr. Sketchy's, Thursday 9/9

 Another fun night with the one and only Ernie Von Schmaltz.  My good friend Linda Spain is keeping Dr Sketchy's Seattle alive.   This drink and draw, with extraordinary models in elaborate costumes, is once a month at the The Rendezvous Seattle. 

D&D Session 22 (8/17/21): Feedin' Time!

  Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master 

Having thoroughly evolved past their "kick door, kill monster" phase, the lads keep using their noodles, carefully reconnoitering the Ogre Barracks before taking action. It wasn't quite as parliamentary as last week but compared to the ill-fated Scorpion Plan, this was a considered approach.

Inside the barracks -- three rooms. A middle chamber with a far-too-serious ogre on duty, an eastern chamber with a pile of sleeping ogres, and a western chamber with ...

https://youtu.be/EIyixC9NsLI?t=22

Blah's Doctor Doolittle act came in handy, as he learned the aforementioned snake was huuuuuungry, so huuungry. 

(There was a spider attack mixed in there, too).

After that, the plan practically wrote itself. Combine ogres, locked doors, and hungry snakes; let stand before serving. Khostov even got to unleash his sexy Phantasmal Force gag, which is fast becoming his signature magic. Needs a name for the discipline. Sensuorcery? Sexus Magicae? It occurs to me that with powers like this, a magical pimp could make a decent living without risking his neck in a frost giant's fortress.

D&D Session 20, Part Four (8/3/21): The Secret Lives of NPCs

 Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master 

Rubar's sudden, tortured scream alerts even someone as thick as Snafu that something is up -- leaping across the tavern, he slashed at Mac, who evaded behind the bar. Brutus came bursting into the tavern, knocking out a good chunk of the doorway along the way, and leapt into a life-or-death struggle with Dog, the wolf, while Frank grabbed Lissa and held a knife to her throat!

Mac gave Snafu the old one-two, a punch on the button and a hook to the temple when Snafu got the jelly-leg; the would-be King of the Western Goblins was dead before he hit the floor. Mary started babbling on about frequent visitor points and treasure and fresh linen and anything else that came to mind to convince Frank to let her daughter go -- the crack of Brutus snapping the wolf's spine was the punctuation mark, and all that Frank needed to hear before throwing Lissa aside and making a break for it, evading Mac and running for the hills.

Frank's tales spread wide and far, particularly among the goblins, of a wolf-killing demon that lives in the basement of the Fyre Wytch. Even if the goblins overrun the whole damn island, they will certainly give the tavern a wide berth. Mac & Mary are safe (though they've killed any business they might have gotten from goblins!)

It almost goes without saying, but LEVEL UP for Mac & Mary!

(and that concluded one of the top RPGs I've ever had the pleasure of playing ...! We almost should end the campaign here, we have hit our zenith)

D&D Session 20, Part Three (8/3/21): The Secret Lives of NPCs

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master 

With much cuffing and kicking, the goblins drive our heroes into the tavern, where Snafu, Janfu, and Rubar set up at a table and demand food and drink, while Frank -- clearly the junior member of this brain trust -- menaces Lissa in a corner with Dog. Mac manages to spike the drinks with rat poison, which finishes off Janfu ... but the others figure he's just sleeping, and Snafu demands more. MORE!

That's when Mary has an inspired idea. The REALLY good stuff is down in the cellar, and she convinces Rubar to come down and help her bring it up. What Rubar didn't know (but which was canonically established at the head of the adventure), is that Mac and Mary have a shameful secret, in the form of a monstrous son -- Brutus -- who they keep chained in the basement. Brutus may have more teeth than IQ points, but he loves his mum, and he happily tore Rubar apart when he got off his chain.

D&D Session 20, Part Two (8/3/21): The Secret Lives of NPCs

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master   

It all goes sideways when Mary's legendarily sharp tongue sets off a brawl -- her Vicious Rebuke smacks Snafu like a fist, who manages to shout something about "Sorcerers!" and "Kill them!" and before you know it, Mac has fired off his blunderbuss (to disappointing effect) and gone down beneath a rain of scimitar blows. The only option is surrender.

Dr. Sketchy's, Seattle at the Rendezvous. Great night. Great Model.

 

D&D Session 20, Part One (8/3/21): The Secret Lives of NPCs

 

• With two of our number on vacation and the main campaign on hold, we changed our focus back to Ragaman Isle, where the intrepid Mac & Mary -- proprietors of the Fyre Wytch Tavern -- face an uncertain future. Spring has sprung and the roads have cleared, but no business is coming to the tavern, no doubt owing to the goblins that swarm the local woods. Perhaps worse, Lissa, their daughter, is heartbroken that her beloved, Sark, has vanished without a word. Fearing that he is captured or dead, the melancholy girl has taken to long walks in the woods, while Mac & Mary busy themselves with their chores, which mostly seem to entail arguing with each other about why the tavern is a failure and who has ruined who's life the most.
• 
  
• A scream outside the tavern brings Mac & Mary running, where they find Lissa being accosted by a goblin gang: Snafu, who fancies himself the new king of these parts, and his three henchmen -- Janfu, Rubar, and Frank (who holds a wolf -- named Dog -- on a chain). There is much breast-beating and threats, the upshot of which is that Snafu demands tribute, and he'll kill Lissa if he doesn't get it.

D&D Session 19 (7/20/21): The Better Part of Valor

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master

Let us list all the things our heroes DIDN'T do. They didn't rush half-cocked into a battle against the Ogre work-gang, they didn't betray their location to any of the castle's many guards or fall through a hole in the roof of the Ogre barracks, they didn't listen to Fraz's lies or let him raise the alarm, and they didn't blow on the damn horn (yet).

But they did get a good sense of the layout of the castle, they are well along the way to freeing half the slaves cooped up in this miserable place, and they know King Gud is mining Snow Sapphires and raising a mighty army to conquer Icewind Dale.

Restraint, good plans, good rolls ... they can take you a long way. We will see if their luck holds out when we return from hiatus!

D&D Session 19 (7/13/21): One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For Halfling-Kind (Part 2)

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master

The next day saw our heroes sneaking into a giant's fortress, and trying to overcome a door guard roused to action by the untimely collapse of a rooftop trap door. Don't ask me how it happened, but the (ahem) climax saw the party sneaking past the giant engaged in the amorous embrace of an imaginary paramour. Huzzah.

With the doorman giant finished (but not dead), our heroes are gathered in the inner courtyard of the icy castle, deciding what comes next.

D&D Session 19 (7/13/21): One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For Halfling-Kind (Part 1)

 Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master

Not only did the lads make short work of the giant brothers, they did so with excessive and even obnoxious style. Furious double-hatchet attacks, Thunderwaves, spiritual hammers, and a tour-de-force from Arthur, skipping up the arms of a giant to have his blades overlap in the brain when thrust from either side of the head, or unleashing arterial spray with a pass-by whisper cut. All capped off with Zach Snyder three-point landings. Oy.

D&D Session 18 (7/8/21): Fumbled & Sacked!

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master.

Singing the song of the hills led to a voice singing in reply -- sure enough, it was the Frostdaughter herself. After an exchange (in Elvish) with Sommpher, full of tales of castles full of treasure and a mean old two-headed father that deserves killing, the party elected to follow the bewitching lass ...

... right into an ambush from her giant brothers! But they couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat! The Frostdaughter managed to charm Art and Sarkagain for a span, but her brothers were savagely inept, failing to clobber the heroes, and in fact failing to protect their sister, who was eviscerated by a raging Blah.

2000 August: My last day at Kronos Digital Entertainment

August 2000.  Mid way through development on Fear Effect 2.

After 5 years of working for Stan Liu at Kronos Digital Entertainment, I decided to move my small family back to the east coast to be closer to relatives when an opportunity opened up.    

This was my last day at Kronos in Pasadena.  Notice everyone is giving me their contact info the old fashion way... on a piece of paper.

R.I.P Stan.  Thanks for the tremendous opportunity.  These were amazing times in game development.  Proud of what we accomplished.

D&D Session 17 (6/29/21): The Other D in "D&D"

Text by Paul O'Connor, Dungeon Master.

Hiring a local hunter -- Oohlan Appa Oooh -- our heroes trek off into the mountains, looking for the Frostdaughter. What could go wrong? How about a random encounter with that white dragon (and you can't say it wasn't foreshadowed). Arthur spots the terrible drake in time to raise the alarm, and Blah and Arthur manage to dive for cover. But the dragon swoops in on Sommpher, claws extended for the kill ... before Sarkagan knocks it off-track with a thunderclap. "Run for the cover of the crags!" Oohlan shouts, and Sommpher obeys, but the dread dragon has swooped about and is coming in for another pass ...