[Pathfinder] Wrath of the Righteous, episode 7: Among the Ruins of Kenabres

August 14, 2016

Character level: 3rd

The following morning after their arrival at Horgus Gwerm’s house, Aegron’s friend Darla decided to stay there for the time being, until Aegron could find out what had become of their friend Abel. Horgus didn’t seem entirely pleased with having another mouth to feed, but Darla didn’t brook any argument from him.

Jiro climbed up to the top of the house to look out over the city, but there was still too much smoky haze to see anything of the district where the group had been when the initial attack occurred.

After saying farewell to Horgus and Darla, the group set out to escort Anevia to her home. Although her wife Irabeth was a respected paladin and they lived in one of the better sections of Kenabres, their home was a modest one. But on the journey to the house the party saw numerous shops offering higher quality and more expensive goods. They paused several times while Jiro made sure the people they saw had food and water and were not ill or injured.

Suddenly they heard cries for help coming from an area ahead. Aegron, Zosta, and Runa ran forward to see what the trouble was. The spotted a stranger being trying to smash the door of a shop. The calls for help came from within the shop. Aegron, who had learned his way around the city quite well, dove into a sewer tunnel. The others ran into a courtyard with a low wall that faced the shop. As they did so the creature turned to face them, revealing that it was oddly hunchbacked, which at first made Zosta think that it was holding its own head in its hands as she mistook its hump for its shoulders. The creature began to chant words in the tongue of demon-kind.

Runa recognized the creature as an abrikandilu, but she could recall little else about such demons. She did recognize that what it was doing was summoning something else and she called out a warning to her comrades. Asami left Jiro to look after Anevia and ran into the little courtyard to join Runa and Zosta. Zosta then leaped over the wall and bounded across the street to kick the demon in an attempt to disrupt its spellcasting, but though her kick connected the creature continued to chant. Then a second abrikandilu appeared next to Runa.

For an instant Zosta felt a wave of fear, similar to what the quasit had subjected her to the previous day, but she overcame the sensation. The second demon attacked Runa but failed to harm her. Jiro appeared just outside the courtyard and used a wand to summon a spiritual weapon to attack the demon that had been trying to break into the shop. Though his previous attempt had created a tetsubo, this time the weapon appeared as a shillelagh.

Asami shot a ray of frost at the demon attacking Runa but it flew past without hitting her target. At the same time Aegron sprang out of the sewer by the demon across the street. The demon facing Runa clawed at Radiance and seemed to be trying to break the sword, simultaneously biting at Runa. The first demon fled from Zosta and Jiro’s spiritual weapon pursued it. It ran toward Jiro, perhaps wanting to get rid of the caster of the spell.

The demon trying to harm Radiance suddenly let out a scream. Runa could tell by its reaction that it had recognized the famed blade. Asami directed another ray of frost at the demon but it appeared to have no effect, though Asami was unable to observe this from her position. The second demon began trying to damage Jiro’s morningstar and bit him. The wounds the demons left on Jiro and Runa were especially gruesome, and left their victims feeling somewhat demoralized.

The demon facing Runa turned its attention to her heavy wooden shield, which it managed to crack. At the same time she heard a voice say in a commanding tone, “Put some effort into it!” and both demons seemed to gain a burst of speed. Jiro was so badly bitten by his foe that he collapsed. Runa used her fervor to heal herself, though that didn’t get rid of her feeling of inadequacy. Zosta had pursued the demon that fled from her, and when she attacked it again it disappeared. Runa then called out for her friends to find out who had been giving the demons orders. Anevia had come to join the fight and hobbled to Jiro’s side, reporting that he was seriously hurt. Runa went to share Iomedae’s healing power with him.

Zosta meanwhile saw two people peeking cautiously out of the shop, a man and a woman, both well dressed. The shopkeepers emerged and introduced themselves as Belthis and Neera Loomis. They expressed profound gratitude to the group for saving them from the abrikandilu, which Asami now recalled were especially fond of destroying things of beauty. As a token of their appreciation the Loomises told the party members to each take an outfit from their clothing shop. Asami was able to find garments in the style of Minkai among their stock, but they had no such apparel for Jiro. The couple also provided information that the city leadership and defenders might be gathered at the stronghold known as Defender’s Heart.

While inside the shop, Asami also remembered that abrikandilu did not like mirrors. She told the shopkeepers this so they could be prepared if more such demons appeared. She also reassured Jiro and Runa that they would recover from the curse the demon-inflicted wounds had caused in a few days.

Since her shield was too damaged to be useful and she had no way to repair it, Runa decided to use one of the light steel shields they had taken from some of the Baphomet cultists they had defeated. She found some material in the Loomis’s shop that she could use to cover the symbol of Baphomet on the shield’s face.

It was early evening by the time the group reached Anevia and Irabeth’s home. The house was quiet and dark. Anevia called out for her wife as soon as she entered. Abruptly a giant fire beetle appeared in front of her. Anevia was so startled by its sudden appearance that when she fired an arrow at it she missed and shot into the floor. Aegron stepped up and slew the beetle with his spear, whereupon its remains vanished. Runa cautiously checked in the bedroom. A moment later a dark shape appeared, threatening, “Your wife will find your corpse!” as it attacked Anevia.

The shadowy figure proved to be a half-orc man wearing an elaborate outfit and wielding a ranseur. The area he had appeared in was occupied by a large table and chairs, making it cramped for combat. Zosta bounded on top of the table. Runa pushed Anevia behind her to protect her, but the woman refused to remain out of the fight and moved forward to face the half-orc man, who she seemed to recognize. Aegron stepped up to attack him, and Asami cast magic missile at him, but the projectile bounced off an invisible shield around his body. The half-orc focused his attacks on Anevia. Anevia demanded to know what he had done with Irabeth, to which he responded, “She’s not dead yet but she soon will be!” He struck Anevia again and she collapsed.

Runa reached out to pull Anevia to safety and the half-orc used his ranseur to jerk Radiance out of her grasp. He sneered insultingly at Runa, assuming that her coincidental resemblance to Irabeth had been meant to trick him. Jiro summoned a spiritual testsubo from his wand, but its blow did no harm to the half-orc. Asami tried attacking him with her Splintered Spear but it flew past him. The half-orc drew a wand and a magic missile issued from it to strike the unconscious Anevia. Runa picked up her sword and slashed at him, while Jiro used a wand to heal Anevia’s injuries. Aegron rolled gracefully across the table to reach the half-orc but landed badly and wasn’t able to strike. Asami’s spear failed to connect a second time. The half-orc then attacked Zosta. She attempted to wrest the ranseur away from him, but somehow he was able to retain his grip on it despite her skillful attack.

Anevia had by this time recovered enough under Jiro’s ministrations to get up and get her bow, although she was still wounded. Jiro then turned his attention to healing Zosta. Anevia fired at the half-orc, while Runa chopped him with her sword and Aegron stabbed with his spear. Their combined attacks left the half-orc lying unconscious on the floor, but Jiro pleaded with them not to kill him as he might know valuable information.

Anevia then explained to her companions that many years ago, when Irabeth was living in the River Kingdoms, a half-orc cult of Xoveron had formed. Irabeth had captured this person and sent him to prison. He had somehow managed to escape and sought revenge. Zosta searched him and found that he had on his person a spell component pouch containing some components for spells that required more expensive materials, the wand that contained magic missile, a potion which Asami identified as invisibility, and his ranseur, which was magically enhanced. Asami was unable to determine its capabilities, but Runa discovered that it was a ranseur of the gargoyles, which was enchanted to be especially difficult for anyone to take away from the bearer in combat, as well as being able to grant the bearer increased armor protection several times a day.

Since it was already evening, the group decided to stay overnight at Anevia’s house before going on to the Defender’s Heart to seek Irabeth. They bound, gagged, and blindfolded the half-orc. Aegron also produced a group of small bells that they tied to the half-orc so any movement by him would alert them. They stood watches during the night, and while Runa and Asami were on watch the half-orc stirred. Runa assumed this to be an escape attempt and hit him in the head with her sword pommel until he passed out again.

The next day Anevia found a note from Irabeth, telling her to go to Defender’s Heart and giving her the password to gain entry: “Silverstrong.” When the party set out, Runa carried their prisoner. It wasn’t long before they came upon a group of armored men surrounding a woman, who was clutching a baby. They were surprised when they heard these men say, “Your sacrifice aids the cause of good.” The woman appeared to be terrified and looked at the new arrivals as though pleading for help.

Aegron approached and pretended to be friendly to the men, though his companions were a little confused by his behavior. He asked the men what was going on, and they revealed that they believed bathing their swords in the blood of a virgin would help them to fight demons. When someone pointed out that the woman had an infant with her, the men proclaimed that she was probably lying and the child wasn’t hers. Aegron then attacked the man nearest him, immediately dropping the fellow to the ground.

Runa had moved forward to position herself between the woman and the men, trying to convince them that the old wives’ tale they had heard was untrue. The area they had chosen for their sacrifice was a shrine to Sarenrae, and Runa told them that blood sacrifice was not the way of Sarenrae but they appeared unwilling to listen. When Aegron attacked, Runa also attacked one of the men near her. Jiro ran forward to stabilize one of the fallen men, not wanting them to die for merely being misguided. Zosta moved up and disarmed a third man. The woman fled and hid behind a hedge. Runa continued trying to persuade the men, but they seemed irrational. Suddenly they all fled.

The woman, who told them her name was Kayla, explained that she had gone out to find food and had been obliged to take her baby because her parents were both injured. The men had found her and dragged her to the shrine. The man Jiro had stabilized was awakened and was gently talked back into a more rational frame of mind. It appeared that the group of men had all been panicked and confused by the demonic attacks, and when one of them suggested bathing their swords in virgin blood to give them an advantage against the demons, the rest went along with the idea.

The party escorted Kayla back to her family home, where Jiro gave them a few goodberries and created some water for them. Runa also used her divine magic to heal their injuries. Kayla told the group that she had heard that there were several groups of defenders at Defender’s Heart, that the wardstone had been destroyed, and that an army from Mendev was on its way to bring aid to the city.

Loot acquired:

Spell component pouch worth 25 gp

wand of magic missile, 3^rd level, 10 charges

Ranseur of the gargoyles – obsidian head, hard as steel; +1 ranseur, +4 bonus on disarm checks; 5/day as swift action, wielder can cause skin to harden for 1 round, gaining +2 enhancement bonus to natural armor.

Next session scheduled for August 28.

Next: Episode 8, Defender's Heart

[Pathfinder] Wrath of the Righteous, episode 6: A Reunion Among the Rubble

August 7, 2016

Character level: 3rd

Runa justified her execution of the arsonist ringleader to her companions by the fact that he had been prepared to burn the librarians alive. Afterward, librarian Fenna told the group that the rest of Blackwing Ruin had been destroyed by a tall man-like being who appeared to be composed entirely of maggots. This being had also taken some treasures from the library, though she did not know what specifically had been removed. She also told them that head librarian Quedneys Orlun had been at the cathedral at the time of the attack, and she did not know if he had survived.

In appreciation for the rescue, the librarians gave the group a spellbook that was left among the undamaged tomes. They were also given a password that would allow them admission back into the library in the future. Aravashniel expressed regret that he would not be going along with them when they departed, but he felt it would be best to remain at Blackwing Ruin and do what he could to restore the library’s collection of materials on demonology. He asked the companions to bring him any books they found that had been taken from Blackwing, or anything that would be useful to the collection.

The spellbook was given into Asami’s care. On examination she found that it contained alarm, dismissal, dispel magic, magic circle vs chaos, resist energy, and versatile weapon. She also discovered a scroll containing the spell dimensional lock tucked between the pages.

Before the small company left to escort Horgus Gwerm to his home, they found several dead, desiccated maggots on the floor that proved not to have originated on the Material Plane. Johan decided to hand over to the group a wand of cure light wounds he had been carrying, as well as a pair of bracers of armor. In return, Jiro gave him the heavy mace they had taken from the man Runa killed. Jiro took charge of the wand, while the group members decided that Asami would be the best person to wear the bracers as the rest of the companions all had armor of their own. To the surprise of everyone, Johan snapped the haft off the mace and affixed the head on top of his hammer, which glowed briefly. When the glow faded the mace head had melded with the hammer.

After saying their farewells, the group set off for the Gwerm estate, their number reduced by the absence of Aravashniel and Johan. It wasn’t long before they stumbled upon a group of tieflings engaged in looting. The encounter quickly became a rout as they slew all but one of the looters and the last fled. They took what little gold the looters had carried, labeled their bodies “Looters”, and went on their way.

Not long after they disposed of the looters, some members of the group heard shouting and jeering ahead. They came upon a fountain, and nearby a group of six or seven armored men surrounding a lone woman. Aegron suddenly recognized the woman as his friend Darla. Jiro called out to the men, “Do you need help?” in a friendly tone. But the encounter didn’t remain friendly when he realized all of the men wore symbols of Baphomet.

Aegron shouted furiously, “Leave her alone!” and raced forward. The cultists moved to surround him, all of them striking him and leaving him stunned. Jiro cast a curative spell and passed it to Uncle to deliver it to Aegron. As Uncle moved toward Aegron, he conjured an image of a large ape to divert attention from himself. Runa moved toward the cultists, giving herself a war blessing as she went. One of the men in the group was bigger and more elaborately dressed than the others. He roughly pushed Darla behind him.

Asami sent a magic missile hurtling at the larger man who held Darla. Bohgong delivered the spell to Aegron, while Runa dealt a massive blow to one of the cultists and slew him. Asami directed an acid arrow at the leader, but he deflected it. While Jiro moved in to heal Aegron’s injuries and Runa was struck in the head by one of the cultists, the leader held his sword menacingly to Darla’s throat. Anevia grew concerned when Asami moved closer to the cultists to get better range for her spells, and she wondered why they didn’t concentrate their attacks on the leader, but Asami feared that if their attacks didn’t immediately slay him he would kill Darla. Asami instead sent a ray of frost at one of Runa’s opponents. Zosta tripped one of her foes, but was knocked unconscious by the number of wounds she had suffered.

At that moment, the leader casually sliced his sword blade across Darla’s throat and strolled away. No one was close enough to pursue him, or direct any ranged attacks at him before he disappeared from view among the buildings. Runa rushed to Darla’s side to cast a healing spell on her. Jiro moved to heal Zosta. Asami and Anevia continued to attack the cultists from a distance. Once Zosta had recovered enough to be able to move, she tripped her foe again, knocking him to the ground beside her, and then punched him into oblivion. Aegron ran to Darla’s side. Runa stood up and struck down another cultist, and Anevia and Zosta combined attacks to bring down a third man.

When all of the cultists had fallen except for their leader, the group found themselves in possession of six glaives, six shortswords, four potions of cure light wounds, six masterwork chain shirts, and six silver holy symbols of Baphomet. The cultists had also carried a total of 20 gold pieces.

Once Darla had been healed enough that she could move and talk, she explained to them that this area of the New Kenabres district had many Baphomet cultists, while Old Kenabres contained more cultists of the demon lord Deskari. She also told them that most of the more powerful demons had departed from the city and taken the dragon Terendelev’s body with them to the Worldwound. She had also heard from eavesdropping on the cultists that the witch Areelu Vorlesh planned to come to claim the city; and she had seen huge insects with humanoid faces flying about the city eating people. The cultist leader who had taken her captive was called Garb, but she had never seen his face and felt that his voice sounded otherworldly. Darla offered to guide the group through the city, as she had come to know her way around New Kenabres quite well.

A short time later, they heard shouting and screeching from up ahead, as a high-pitched voice seemed to be ordering someone else to do something. Aegron went forward to see what it was and observed a group of people wearing scraps of armor and carrying broken weapons and sticks, who appeared to be engaged in constructing a performance stage. He also spotted two tiny red creatures with wings that seemed to be commanding the group of townsfolk. Zosta also stepped forward to see better and realized that the tiny winged creatures were quasits. One of the quasits exclaimed, “What’s that?” then commanded the people, “Protect us! Protect us!” The people moved forward to attack as commanded, but they appeared reluctant and fearful.

Aegron rushed up to where one of the quasits perched and it let out a shriek. Runa raised her holy symbol of Iomedae and spoke to the people, telling them that they did not need to comply with the orders of evil creatures. They seemed to be affected by her words and hesitated. Zosta moved beside Aegron and punched one of the quasits with her cold iron knuckles, which caused it to screech and then vanish. Runa moved toward the makeshift stage, and Aegron shifted position so that he could see four corpses lying toward the rear of the platform. Suddenly the second quasit screeched, and Aegron burst into a mad run away from the area, shouting in terror. Zosta also ran, though she remained silent in her headlong flight.

Uncle bounded onto the rooftops and pursued the two fleeing companions. He caught up with Zosta, leaped onto her shoulders, and put his hands over her eyes, forcing her to stop since she couldn’t see where she was going. He turned her around and then took his hands away, causing her to run back toward her friends. Meanwhile, the effect on Aegron faded and he stopped running, then turned and ran back toward the others.

One of the quasits reappeared and attacked Runa. Asami, who had been unable to see the two tiny demons at first, finally caught a glimpse of one and tried to hit it with a ray of frost but missed her target and hit one of the people, who died instantly. The second quasit also appeared and began clawing and biting at Runa. Runa struck it with Radiance and it dropped to the ground. Asami stabbed at the second quasit with her Splintered Spear. Then one of the townsfolk under the demons’ control slashed her arm. The quasit again disappeared from view. Runa called out that it was invisible and began sweeping her blade through the area where it had last been seen, but she swung too hard and Radiance became wedged in the wood of a nearby crate.

Runa had earlier told her companions not to harm the people as they were being compelled by the demons, so Jiro knocked two of them down with his staff. A second man moved up to Asami and stabbed her with his broken sword. Aegron returned just in time to knock the man out. After the fighting stopped, Runa cast stabilize on all of the injured and was able to save everyone but the man who had been hit by Asami’s spell. She realized that the quasits had just been amusing themselves by forcing the people to put on a play for them, and had slain the four people found dead in order to terrify the rest into obeying them.

Most of the people who had been victimized by the quasits lived nearby and returned to their homes, but one accompanied the group as they made their way to Horgus Gwerm’s house. The house turned out to be intact, because his guards and servants had all fled and the attacking demons had been more interested in destroying occupied buildings. To Horgus’ irritation, the guards had also stolen some valuable items, but his vault was still secured. To show his appreciation for the group’s protection, instead of giving them the 1,000 gold pieces they had agreed upon he presented them with 2,000 gold. The local man who had been freed from the quasits agreed to remain as a servant. Garvin, the retired crusader who had been kidnapped by the Baphomet cultists, also decided to stay there as a guard. The rest of the party rested at the house overnight to recuperate from their wounds.

Loot acquired:
Spellbook: alarm, dismissal, dispel magic, magic circle vs chaos, resist energy, versatile weapon
Scroll of dimensional lock
6 glaives
6 shortswords
4 potions: cure light wounds
6 masterwork chain shirts
2,020 gold pieces
Wand, cure light wounds – 38 charges
Bracers of armor +1

Next: Episode 7, Among the Ruins of Kenabres

[Pathfinder] Wrath of the Righteous, episode 5: Harsh Justice

July 31, 2016
Character level: 3rd

As the group hiding in the shop looked on, both Jiro and Zosta realized that they were completely unable to gauge the strength or skill of anyone in the party with Jiro’s brother. While the procession in the street was passing by the shop, the kami allowed Jiro to clearly see the fiery fox demon within his brother. Suddenly the demon turned to look toward the shop and grinned, and Jiro was sure that it was looking at him. At that same instant the kami abruptly withdrew and his vision returned to normal. He recognized that while the demon had been looking in his direction, his brother was still facing forward.

Once the demonic group had passed by, Jiro told his companions what he had seen. Asami and Runa had both spent much time learning about the denizens of the Abyss and the infernal realms, and they both recognized that the demon Jiro had seen was one of the nine demon lords of Tian Xia.

Despite all the strange events that had occurred that evening, and against the wishes of his wife, the shopkeeper offered the group lodging for the night. He introduced himself as Joual, and his wife as Maebel. Their two children were young son Syd and slightly older daughter Neena. After thanking Joual for his offer of hospitality, Jiro sat down on the floor and explained to everyone how and why he and Asami had come to the Worldwound.

When Jiro had finished his tale, Maebel began having Neena do some chores around the basement area where the family had been hiding since the catastrophe that befell Kenabres. Asami noticed that the woman didn’t have the girl do any chores that would involve using wooden objects. She also observed that Neena seemed unusually interested in the fire.

At the same time, Kirara was being exceptionally friendly with little Syd. Syd began to plead for the newcomers to tell him a story. As he grew more strident, there was suddenly a pulse of soothing energy that filled the room, and everyone who still had any injury realized they had been healed. Jiro recognized that the positive energy had come from Syd, and thanked the boy. It was apparent to the group of adventurers that both Neena and Syd had magical power and Syd had been blessed by one of the gods. Runa approached Maebel to suggest that once the city’s troubles were over she should consider taking her son to a temple for training. A little later, as Syd continued to beg for stories from the visitors, it seemed that he was about to release his divine power again. But that proved too much for his small body and instead he fell asleep.

The party members used what healing capability they had left to make sure that everyone would be fully healed the next morning. Jiro also used his magic to create water for the family. In appreciation for the group’s kindness to his family, Joual told them that they could take whatever they needed from the supplies in the shop. They took the time to distribute among themselves some of the items they had acquired underground; Jiro took charge of a scroll of magic fang, Zosta was given a potion of cure moderate wounds, and Asami received scrolls of comprehend languages and identify.

That night Joual and Maebel took turns standing watch while their children slept. The party members offered to watch over the pair so they could rest, but the couple were determined to watch over their children themselves.

The following morning, Jiro and Uncle had a conversation about something else Jiro had seen in addition to his brother's state of possession, something which he hadn’t described to anyone else. While his brother and the rest of his group were passing by, Jiro had caught a glimpse of a red-furred monkey with black wings lurking in the shadows. Uncle immediately knew that this monkey was an aspect of a mischief-making demon called Belphegor, but he warned that Belphegor’s definition of “mischief” would be described by mortals as “torture.”

After Jiro shared this information with the rest of his companions, he went out to check Joual and Maebel’s garden, where he found some berries to use as goodberries.

When Jiro returned to the shop, Uncle told him that one of the kami from the previous evening’s events had offered to remain and watch over the house. Jiro told Joual and Maebel about the benevolent kami and how to provide it with recompense, and the kami was so pleased by what he described that it left an imprint of its smiling face in dust on the counter.

The party then took their leave of the couple. Jiro suggested that if they found any crusaders about in the city they could ask that they keep an eye on Joual’s shop, but Joual requested that they not tell anyone about him. He preferred to reserve what supplies he had left for the benefit of his friends and neighbors. The group members agreed to abide by his wishes.

As the party made their way toward Aravashniel’s desired destination, Blackwing Ruin, they saw more people in the streets than on the previous evening, though nowhere near as many as they would have seen prior to the demonic attack. They overheard a variety of rumors from passersby: that the demon lord Deskari himself had led the attack, that a witch was coming to claim the city, that there were multiple cults of demon-worshippers abroad in the city, and that the water supply had been poisoned. This last rumor was quickly proved to be false.

They also came upon a large man who was surrounded by smears of blood and crushed bones that they could just manage to identify as the remains of some small demons. Since the man’s hammer was covered in blood as well, they took this to mean that he had slain the demons himself. Once he realized they were not enemies, he introduced himself to the group as Johan, a laborer who had come to Kenabres to join the Crusade but had arrived just in time for the attack. He agreed when they invited him to accompany them.

As they neared the location of Blackwing Ruin, a trail of devastation could be seen ahead. It did not lead to Blackwing Ruin, but when they approached that structure they saw that it too had suffered massive destruction. Only the part of the building that was likely the entrance hall still stood. The rest was rubble. Curiously, none of the surrounding buildings had been damaged. The members of the group began to suspect that Blackwing Ruin had been deliberately targeted for destruction. When told of the state of the building, Aravashniel fell to his knees and wept.

Then Aegron heard the sound of a voice coming from within the remaining structure, a man ordering someone to hurry and stack some books. He moved closer and peered inside through a window opening. Within the building, he saw an armed and armored man commanding a woman to stack the books. In the center of the chamber were four people, bound hand and foot. The books the woman was stacking were encircling the four bound people, and it was apparent to Aegron that the fellow ordering the woman about meant to set the books – and the people – on fire. He immediately drew his bow and fired on the man while calling out to his companions what he had seen.

Runa charged forward, drawing Radiance on the run, and used her shield to bash open the double doors. Aegron dropped his bow and ran inside to attack the armored man who had been giving commands. The man dropped a torch on the floor and some nearby tomes caught fire. The man then ran toward the doors where Runa stood, shouting, “Death to Iomedae!” He struck Runa a serious blow with the heavy mace he carried. Two other people appeared from the shadows to attack Aegron.

The woman who had been stacking the books ran to untie the four prisoners. Johan and Garvin, the man the group had rescued from the Baphomet cultists, both moved into the chamber. Jiro went to heal Runa, while Garvin helped Aegron against his opponents. Zosta tumbled through the crowd in the doorway and went to put out the fire and finish untying the prisoners. Johan swung his massive hammer at the man who was attacking Runa, and the fellow stopped fighting and began to beg for mercy.

Asami had remained outside with Aravashniel, Aneva and Horgus. On hearing what Aegron described, Aravashniel began to summon something. An otyugh appeared inside the chamber between the stacked books and the fighting going on near the doorway. When Zosta tried to move past, it lashed at her. Asami gave Aravashniel some advice about how to keep the creature from attacking his friends and the otyugh moved to protect the former prisoners from their attackers.

Runa ordered the man with the mace to drop his weapon and shield, and he complied. In the meantime Aegron badly wounded one of his opponents and slew the other. Runa then angrily demanded to know what her prisoner was doing there. He replied that he had come to join the Crusade. When she asked why he had cried out, “Death to Iomedae,” he told her he disliked priests, especially those devoted to Iomedae and Sarenrae. Determined to make him regret his choices, Runa slashed his cheek with the point of Radiance, which was just enough hurt to cause him to faint.

After the fire was smothered and the prisoners all freed, Asami escorted Aravashniel inside to see what was left. The woman who had been stacking books, Fenna, recognized Aravashniel although he didn’t know her. She was very impressed and excited to see him. She and the four other people had all been librarians for Blackwing Ruin’s huge collection of material on demons and demonology. When Fenna told her rescuers that everyone else in the building had been slain, it brought Aravashniel to tears again. Once he had recovered his composure, he was determined to remain at the ruined structure. He asked Johan if he would be willing to stay there as guard, and the big man agreed.

Runa meanwhile used her divine magic to heal the would-be arsonist just enough to bring him back to consciousness. Then she took him outside, condemned him to death in the name of Iomedae, and ran him through with Radiance.

Loot acquired:
+1 heavy mace
2 potions of cure light wounds
Suit of banded mail
Light steel shield
65 gold pieces
2 shortswords
2 sets of leather armor

Next: Episode 6, A Reunion Among the Rubble

Star Wars - part 4: "Flight Test"

Episode 49: "Flight Test"

The information the team from the Sky River Venture had acquired from Melly Lemgoo covered Imperial shipping and naval movements for the next quarter. The accuracy of the information wouldn't last long, so the group decided to make several copies of it to get it to various audiences. They arranged to give one copy to the Rebel Alliance, which notified them that a courier would be sent to pick up the data card containing the intel. They planned to sell other copies of parts of the information to pirates and smugglers, to increase the amount of damage done to the Imperial forces while at the same time keeping attention away from the Alliance.

To get the information to their second audience, the team decided to visit their old friend Dexter Vex at Point Nadir on comet Resh. But as they set off for that destination, Neri received a coded message from Luke Skywalker: he had found former Jedi Kanan Jarrus on Ryloth, homeworld of the Twi'lek people. Luke's message also told Neri to come alone. Neri discussed this with her friends and was convinced by them that she should take her padawan Taanar with her. Taanar promised that if her master told her to stay on the ship, she would do so. Neri and Taanar departed for Ryloth aboard the Mithrim Montes, while the rest of the group took the Sky River Venture to Resh.

After Lowarra, ADX, and Dash arrived at Point Nadir, they were welcomed by Dex, who was delighted by the opportunity to get his hands on Melly Lemgoo's data. It turned out that he had actually been at the Wheel for the auction representing someone else, though he wouldn't say who. Inspired by a comment Taanar had made, Dash asked if Dex could get the intelligence to some people who would be willing to distribute their ill-gotten gains to planets or people being oppressed by the Empire. But Dex expressed doubt that he would be able to find any buyers with such altruistic motives.

When the discussion was over, Lowarra and Dash decided to go out for some Frangkth on a Stick, as Point Nadir didn't boast a Biscuit Baron franchise. When they returned to the docking bay where they had left the Sky River Venture, Lowarra and ADX noticed a Human and a Rodian lurking around the entrance, seemingly trying to stay out of sight. They approached the pair, and found that these were the couriers sent by the Alliance to pick up the data copy. The Human male's name was Glin Lokin, and his Rodian companion was Rydu. Lokin was disappointed to find that Neri wasn't present; he was excited to meet the group and especially eager to meet a real Jedi. Lokin also remarked that Dash bore a striking resemblance to his wife Jade, who was waiting at their ship, the Zephyr. He then invited the team to meet his wife, and they accepted. After the three companions met Jade Lokin, they agreed that she and Dasha Creel did look very alike. Further discussion with the Alliance couriers led the three Antarian Ranger commanders to encourage Glin, Jade, and Rydu to consider joining the Rangers. Lokin replied that he and his companions would discuss it. (Note: The players of ADX, Dash, and Lowarra had previously been involved in another Star Wars campaign with the same GM. Lowarra's player played Glin Lokin, Dash's player was Jade, and ADX's player ran Rydu.)

The Ranger leaders had also told Dexter Vex that they wanted to purchase some fighters for the Rangers. He told them that they should travel to Junkfort Station, a civil spaceport orbiting the planet Junkfort, to contact someone who might be able to provide what they sought. Once they arrived at the station they found themselves missing Neri's presence, as her ability to persuade others far exceeded any of theirs and they had a little trouble getting through customs. They were to seek someone named Doghrim out at Hangar 88 or the Retired Duduk Cantina.

Meanwhile, the Mithrim Montes arrived on Ryloth without incident and easily cleared customs. But after their arrival, when Neri prepared to contact Luke Skywalker, she realized she had left the code to use to make contact with him back on the New Hope. Feeling embarrassed by her mistake, she used the Force to reach out to him. In return she received the cryptic response, "24." At first she thought this might be a radio frequency. Frequency 24 proved to be playing jizz music on Empire Free Radio, so Neri decided to go out in search of a cantina featuring a jizz band, ordering Taanar to remain aboard the ship and warning her to keep her lightsaber out of sight. As Neri told her padawan, "I don't care what the old Jedi said, your blaster is your friend."

As Neri headed out to look for a cantina fitting her criteria, she realized she was passing by docking bay 24 and decided to look inside. There she spotted Luke's Firespray-31 class ship and his companion droid, ARD-101. ARD-101 informed her that Luke was awaiting her at the Lost Sloppet cantina.

When Neri arrived at the cantina, she was almost immediately accosted by a Devaronian and his Herglic companion, who demanded to know what a Human was doing there. Neri had spotted Luke sitting in a far corner of the cantina, but he was the only Human present other than herself. Neri demanded, "What makes you think I'm Human?" and Force shoved the huge Herglic, disguising the shove as a martial arts maneuver. The Devaronian then drew a blaster. Neri negated the blaster energy, asking, "Do you still think I'm Human?" Then a familiar voice suggested, "You should be somewhere else," and Neri's harrassers both repeated, "We should be somewhere else" and left the cantina.

Luke explained that he had negotiated transport for them to a distant Twi'lek village that had been destroyed by Darth Vader several years earlier. That was where he believed Kanan Jarrus to be hiding. He had hired a Twi'lek guide to take them there. After Neri told him that she had brought Taanar along in the hope that her presence would help to convince Jarrus to join the New Jedi Order, the two of them went back to the Mithrim Montes to fetch her and their gear.

Their transport proved to be a dilapidated speeder, but their guide assured them it was reliable. The journey to the village took three days by speeder. The village was located in a densely forested area, and they had to leave the speeder and make the final portion of their journey on foot. Neri had already begun to sense the Dark Side resonance that Vader's presence had left on the area well before they left the speeder. They began to hear an eerie humming sound, which their guide explained came from charms set out to deter predators. Suddenly, a huge insectoid creature burst out of the forest onto the trail ahead.

At Junkfort Station, Dash, ADX, and Lowarra met with a shady Bith dealer in used spacecraft. The Bith at first tried to sell them some very old ships, until they finally convinced him they were serious about buying some genuine, effective fighters. Then he showed them some Y-wing fighters that appeared to be in good condition. They gave him a 20% deposit on the price of the Y-wings and took three ships out for a test flight.

Shortly after they left the station, they spotted six other ships approaching, including one YT-class vessel. It quickly became apparent that these were ship-jackers out to steal the fighters, as they realized that their communications were being jammed and they had only ship-to-ship contact. Each of the three Rangers took on two of the 'jackers ships in a dogfight. It was a fierce fight, but a quick one, as the Antarian Rangers outmatched their attackers. ADX was even provoked to anger, shouting, "You don't mess with the Antarian Rangers!" into his coms. In short order four of the 'jackers' ships had been destroyed, and the remaining two had fled. The Rangers returned to the station and were able to negotiate a deal to buy a full squadron of Y-wing fighters at a 6% discount.

Before their guide even had time to tell Neri, Luke, and Taanar that the insect-like monster was a lylek, the creature grabbed him with the pair of tentacles on its thorax and ripped him in half. It then emitted a roar so intimidating that Taanar fled in panic. She collided with her master as she ran, but that didn't distract Neri from using the Force to pick up a nearby huge boulder and hurl it at the lylek. Luke drew his lightsaber. The lylek snagged Luke with one tentacle and began to crush him. Neri pulled him free using the Force and drew him to her, and Luke righted himself to land on his feet.

Taanar overcame her terror and raced back to where her master and Luke Skywalker were fighting the lylek. As she arrived, Luke Force slammed the creature, knocking it over, but it immediately leaped back up onto its many legs and moved forward. Neri drew her lightsaber. Taanar mimicked what she had seen her master do and used the Force to hurl a heavy log at it, but its carapace was very tough and it took less harm from the blow than she had hoped. Then Luke Skywalker lunged forward and his lightsaber sliced off the beast’s head.

Taanar stepped up beside her master. “Master, I’m sorry. When it roared, I couldn’t do anything but run,” she said, head hanging low. From behind them a gruff, unfamiliar voice said, “When a lylek charges, you that’s the smart thing to do.” The three Jedi turned to see a bearded Human man standing there. By the scarring around his eyes it was apparent he was blind, but he seemed to have no difficulty identifying where they were. “Are you Kanan Jarrus?” Neri asked. “I’ve been called by that name,” the man replied.

Neri introduced herself, Luke, and Taanar, then explained that they had reformed the Jedi Order and wanted to talk to Jarrus about joining them. “Come to my camp,” he said. As they followed him to the Twi’lek village, observing that he seemed to have no difficulty navigating the forest, Neri asked how he could stand the oppressive aura of Dark Side energy that surrounded the place. “A few hours of meditation a day takes care of it,” Jarrus responded. “I suppose Yoda sent you.” Neri’s expression grew sad. “Master Yoda is dead. I was with him when he passed,” she told him.

Next session scheduled for August 13, 2016

Star Wars - part 3 : "A Trip to the Wheel"

Episode 48: "A Trip to the Wheel"

The team hadn’t expected to be asked to take Melly Lemgoo anywhere other than back to Echo Base. They were surprised by her request to go to the Wheel, a large space station known for gambling and entertainment. When they questioned Melly, she told them that she wanted to go there to auction some information about Imperial naval deployments and convoys!

This didn’t sit well with the Venture team, but after they discussed it with her they realized that their mission had only been to extract her from Columex, not to take her anywhere specific. They also understood that Melly wasn’t cheating the Alliance by selling the information instead of giving it to the rebels – her agreement with them hadn’t been to give them everything she had acquired, and she wasn’t a member of the Rebel Alliance herself. Although the team members didn’t like it, she had every right to sell the intel to the highest bidder if she wanted to. Further discussion led them to conclude that they should try to acquire the funds to purchase the information themselves.

Once they had come to this decision, Dash sent the Alliance leadership a coded message disguised as a frivolous request for credits to purchase a yacht, to request that they release some of the funds they were holding on behalf of the New Jedi Order and the Antarian Rangers. Melly had already explained that the starting bid for her information would be 100,000 credits, so Dash’s message requested a million credits to help insure that the team could be the highest bidder.

During their trip to the Wheel, Neri made Taanar practice her skills with the Force by having her levitate small objects while doing a handstand. Neri threw small rubber balls around her to distract her during this training.

On arrival at the Wheel, the group learned that the Wheel had a strict no-weapons policy and would scan every visitor for illicit weaponry. Neri and Taanar hid their lightsabers in ADX’s secret shielded compartment. During the scan this caused an anomaly, but Neri was able to persuade the station representatives that this was a special customization of her droid’s equipment. She and her companions entered the Wheel in the guise of a Corellian noble traveling with her droid bodyguard, her personal pilot, her Togruta ward, and a Wookiee nanny for her ward. They were met by Melly Lemgoo and her friend Captain Raulmark Muridep, who extended an invitation to the invitation-only auction, which would take place in two days. After the arrangements had been made the group reserved a modest hotel suite.

Neri decided that the team needed more weapons, so she sought out a black market arms dealer. He warned them that they might be scanned again in the ‘high roller’ area of the station, but they decided to purchase several hold-out blasters anyway. Lowarra also bought a vibroblade and a stun baton.

The team received a response from the Rebel Alliance, but the leaders had decided to release only half the amount of credits that Dash had asked for. They could only hope that half a million credits would be enough to beat the other bidders.

Melly Lemgoo sent the group an invitation to the Main Ring entertainment center, where the auction would take place. As they entered the area, Neri and Lowarra both detected something off about the situation. There were Imperial agents present. Neri immediately drew her hold-out blaster, but the rest of the group other than Lowarra were taken by surprise. One of the agents raised a grenade launcher and fired a net at Lowarra. Lowarra avoided the net and fired back at her assailant. Then a stun grenade landed in the midst of the group, and ADX was hit by an ion grenade. Clearly the Imperials had known who was coming and prepared for them.

Lowarra moved toward the man who had tried to net her, and immediately was caught in an immobilizing trap. A second stun grenade fell into the group, stunning both Dash and Taanar. More ion grenades hit ADX, but fortunately his body was hardened against such effects.

Reeling from the effects of the stun grenades, Taanar took cover behind a piece of the décor. She watched in amazement as Neri used the Force to lift the still-immobilized Lowarra off the ground and use her sturdy body to try to bludgeon the man who had set up the trap. Unfortunately she missed him and slammed Lowarra into a wall, but the Wookiee was too tough to be bothered much by the experience. Lowarra broke free of the trap and she and Neri focused their attacks on the same target.

Another stun grenade flew at Neri, and she Force thrust the man who fired it off his perch on a walkway overhead. Taanar tried to shoot at him with her hold-out blaster but missed. Neri then attempted to make another Imperial agent flee in terror, but he resisted her and fired on her. Dash was busy exchanging blaster fire with a second man who had taken high ground. Neri managed to stun the man who had resisted her fear effect. One of the men tried to catch her in an electrified net, but she dodged it. ADX was hit several times and despite his hardened exterior took some damage. Another net was fired at Dash, who also avoided it.

Still hiding behind some of the furnishings, Taanar attempted to disarm a man who was heading toward her master with a blaster rifle, but her skill with the Force wasn’t strong enough to pull the rifle out of his hands. Meanwhile Lowarra had flown into a berserk rage and rushed some of the agents, a terrifying vision of flying hair and foaming lips. Inspired by her new friend’s fury, Taanar managed to hit the agent with a potted tree, and Dash then shot him. Lowarra sliced one man into three sections with her vibroblade. The last agent who was still on his feet faced ADX, but Neri disarmed him. Then Lowarra charged him and he ran, only to be brought down by ADX’s fist. Only the agent Lowarra had trisected was dead; all of the others were merely unconscious.

The Imperial agents were all taken prisoner and questioned. They revealed that they had recognized the Venture team on Columex and followed them to the Wheel. The team were just starting to realize how well-known they had become.

During the fight, Melly Lemgoo and her friend Captain Muridep had retreated into a separate room along with a group of security droids. When the fighting was over they emerged to find that the other auction participants had all fled. Muridep tried to bid on Melly’s information, but the team were able to outbid him and acquire intelligence on Imperial ship movements for the use of the Antarian Rangers.

At the end of the session, Taanar Ryl had reached 3rd level and Lowarra had reached 14th level.

Star Wars - part 2 "A Walk in the Park"

Episode 47: "A Walk in the Park"

June 25, 2016

Following the successful rescue of the prisoners from the Imperial star galleon Discord Anvil, the prisoners who were not members of the Rebel Alliance were released in small groups at various location to avoid any Imperial entanglements.

In the wake of their successful mission, the members of the New Jedi Order and the leaders of the Antarian Rangers traveled to the Rebel headquarters at Echo Base on Dagobah. This was Taanar Ryl's first visit to the steamy swamp planet. She landed with her master Niranya Repp aboard the Star River Venture, and they were greeted by Princess Leia and her protocol droid C3PO, who appeared to have a particular affection for First Ranger ADX.

Princess Leia called ADX away to have a private discussion, while the rest of the group split up to take care of their own affairs. Lowarra wanted to restock her supply of missiles and get in some time in the Rebel's pilot training module, while Dash had some maintenance done on the Star River Venture, and Neri showed Taanar around the base and told her about her time training there with Master Yoda - including his peculiar practice of riding around on Neri's back while she ran through the swamp. Taanar wondered if this was a normal part of Jedi training.

Neri also introduced her new padawan to her favorite meditation aid, her much-loved koogle tube (a device like a cross between a rain stick and a lava lamp). Neri swore by it as an aid to her meditation, but Taanar discovered that her shipmates had no love for the device and kept threatening to pitch it out the airlock. Taanar herself didn't find it very helpful or appealing.

After concluding his meeting with Princess Leia, ADX located his teammates to tell them that Leia had asked them to conduct an important mission on behalf of the Rebel Alliance. A high-profile intelligence resource known only as "Harvest Purple" needed to be retrieved from the planet Columex within Imperial territory. The instructions told them to leave a message on a social media holonet site looking for "swoop bike" enthusiasts. The code phrase to use to confirm the contact was "I saw the Queens of Fluxx play on Brental", to which the response was "You can dance the skippit to them."

Due to the heavy Imperial presence on Columex, it was decided that only a small team should make the contact. Neri, Lowarra, Dash, ADX, and Taanar took a YT-1210 class ship, the Mithrim Montes, which was one of the ships the team had acquired from the Banking Clan stash they had found. To pass through Imperial customs, they pretended to be an empty cargo ship looking for cargo. Everyone had to put away their weapons, as Columex was under Imperial weapons restrictions. Neri and Taanar hid their lightsabers in ADX's internal hidden compartment, along with a grenade Lowarra wanted to bring. Neri and Dash strapped on holdout blasters, much to Taanar's surprise. It turned out that the restrictions applied only to energy weapons; Lowarra's bowcaster didn't count.

After landing at the Flavian City spaceport, the group ran into some customs agents who questioned that they were bringing a proscripted species onto the planet - meaning Lowarra. Neri was able to convince the inspector that he didn't need to see her documentation by using her Jedi mind trick. The group then leased a large ground speeder and sought lodging at an inexpensive hotel near the spaceport. Once at the hotel, they observed that the major news story on the local holonet involved a woman named Mellie Limgu. Taanar didn't pay much attention to the reason the woman was attracting so much attention from the media.

Unfortunately there was a Biscuit Baron restaurant not far from the hotel, a favorite dining location of the whole group (with the exception of Taanar, who had never been to one before). Dash tried to no avail to talk her friends out of going to the restaurant and possibly drawing attention to themselves. Later she lamented having to be the responsible adult in the group. She reluctantly accompanied the others to the Biscuit Baron, where they all bought happy meals but were disappointed to find that the toys inside were no longer 'Adventures of Bleedo' figures but instead were 'Heroes of the Empire'. Everyone but Neri got stomrtrooper figures. Neri got a bantha.

While they were introducing Taanar to Biscuit Baron's enormous biscuits and lamenting that this location didn't have their favorite blue sauce, the group was interrupted by the arrival of some local constables, who wanted to know why ADX didn't have a restraining bolt, what Lowarra was doing there, and where Taanar's parents were. Neri managed to explain away all of these things by claiming that her droid didn't need a restraining bolt, that Lowarra was her hired bodyguard (which had been true in the past), and that she was Taanar's guardian. After this interruption muted their mood they returned to their rooms at 'The Flophouse'.

The following day, they drove their rented speeder to the Cerulean Gardens, where the contact had told them to seek a message on a specific park bench. Dash went to look for the message, while Neri and Taanar roamed the park pretending to be casual visitors. ADX and Lowarra remained in the speeder to avoid attracting too much attention. As Neri and Taanar sat down on a bench not far from the one Dash was heading for, Neri happened to notice that there were an unusually large number of droids about, some in the park and others in flyers overhead. The pair were approached twice by men trying to sell them spice. They began to wonder if perhaps local law enforcement were conducting a sting operation in the park.

Meanwhile, Dash found the message from the contact and left the token to show that she had picked it up, a bag of hazel sprouts. But a service droid told her that littering wasn't allowed, and she was forced to pick up the bag and take it to a waste receptacle, where she tried to make it obvious while at the same time blending in with other rubbish. Neri had warned her by commlink about the large number of droids in and around the park, so they decided to meet at the speeder and return to their hotel.

As they drove toward the hotel, Dash opened the message from "Harvest Purple" and found that it was instructions to meet the contact that night at a club called Club Syndrome, and wear a red jacket. Fortunately the swoop biker jacket Dash had acquired just after their arrival in Flavian City happened to be red.

On the way to the hotel they went through the Biscuit Baron drive-through and picked up more happy meals. This time Neri got an Emperor figure, but it sadly melted when Lowarra dropped it in a cup of soda after being told by Dash that such toys were reputed to be equipped with listening devices.

That evening they went to Club Syndrome as instructed. Dash went in alone, while the rest accompanied Neri as her entourage. Dash was soon approached by a woman who spoke the code phrase to her. This woman turned out to be Mellie Lemgu, wearing a brown wig to disguise her blond hair. Just after Lemgu made contact, two ISB agents appeared in the club, blocking the exit. Neri and Lowarra staged a distraction so Dash and Lemgu could leave, while the two women tried to deflect attention from Lemgu by kissing and pretending to be a couple. Lowarra feigned intoxication and Neri pretended to be angry with her, and the group left the club.

Dash and Lemgu took a lift to the roof garden, where they encountered some swoop bikers who began to flirt with them. While the two women chatted with the bikers, Lemgu purloined one biker's keys. Dash then used her holdout blaster to blast another, and the duo stole two swoop bikes and escaped the club. When the bikers tried to pursue them, the rest of the group in the speeder briefly blocked their way.

As they left the club behind and headed back to the Mithrim Montes, Mellie Lemgu announced, "Take me to the Wheel."

Star Wars: A New New Hope

Before I present my summary of our Star Wars RPG session last night, let me provide some backstory. My husband and several of our friends have been playing a Star Wars campaign about twice a month for a couple of years. This game is run using the Saga Edition d20 rules system specifically for Star Wars. The campaign is set during the time period represented in the original movie trilogy, but with a major twist: Han Solo, Chewbacca and the Millenium Falcon arrived at the Mos Eiseley Cantina on Tatooine a little late, and missed out on the opportunity to give Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker a lift to Alderaan. Instead, the player-characters are the ones who took Obi-Wan and Luke to the Death Star to rescue Princess Leia, aboard their ship, the Sky River Venture. They did eventually meet Han Solo and befriend him, which has proved a bit of a problem, as he and Dash have an attraction but Neri has been told by Master Yoda that she must find a way to get Leia and Han involved with each other.

The player-characters in this campaign have since become members of the Rebel Alliance, just like Luke did in the original movie. Luke was unfortunately captured while they were aboard the Death Star, and they were unable to rescue him. Eventually the PCs helped to destroy the Death Star, instead of that role going to Luke. Luke has returned as a trained Jedi, but in this version of the story he may have had most of his Jedi training indirectly from his father Darth Vader. Consequently the PCs took a long time to trust him. Meanwhile one of the PCs, Neranya Repp (played by my husband) has realized she is Force-sensitive and has become a Jedi herself, trained first by Obi-Wan Kenobi and later by Master Yoda.

Recently the PCs have come to realize that perhaps the Jedi weren't the nicest people and it wasn't a good idea for them to have become part of the Republic military. They also realized that the Rebel Alliance weren't always treating them with respect or appreciation for all they had done for the Rebel cause. They had become a bit disillusioned. The turning point came when their droid companion ARD, a former Sith droid who has been mind-wiped many times, was nearly destroyed by Darth Vader (who also severed Neri's hand during the same encounter).

After his Wookiee friend Lowarra installed ARD's back-up memory chip in a new body, ARD began to remember many amazing things about his past. He realized he had served the Sith during the Old Republic, 4,000 years prior to the current events of the campaign. He also knew that during that time period, the Jedi did not involve themselves in the political or military affairs of any government. They were an order of monastics, who only interacted with the rest of society in order to perform altruistic deeds. After learning of this, the friends Neri, Dash, Lowarra and the renamed ADX decided that together they would reform the Jedi order in the image of its long-ago form, as well as reinstating the Jedi support group of non-Force users known as the Antarian Rangers. ADX had also told his friends that during the Old Republic, sentient droids were treated as full citizens, something he wished to see again and something his friends agreed with. As their first step in that direction, ADX was given the position of First Ranger in the Antarian Rangers. He, Dash and Lowarra would lead the Rangers while Neri and Luke Skywalker led the newly reformed Jedi.

The group decided to separate themselves from the Rebel Alliance, though they would still work alongside the Rebels to perform actions such as freeing prisoners and providing food and medical supplies to groups being oppressed b the Empire. Shortly after this decision was made and Neri announced the reformation of the Jedi, she was contacted by a reporter who wanted to interview her. Thought everyone was concerned that this might be an Imperial ambush, they agreed to meet the reporter. When he arrived at the meeting location, he revealed that his true intention had been to ask Neri to teach the ways of the Jedi to his daughter.

This is where I come in. I've been attending the game sessions with my husband for some time, occasionally helping the GM by running an NPC. A few times I expressed a bit of envy that my friends were involved in such an exciting game. So when the GM decided to introduce a padawan for my husband's character, he invited me to join the group and run the padawan as my character. He even allowed me to change the character's race and gender to suit my own preference, as the introduction of the padawan had happened at the end of the session and very little information about the character had been presented to the other players. Moments after the character was revealed, Imperial forces attacked and the new apprentice's father was killed.

Last night was my first session of the game as an official player. It's going to be interesting playing a 14-year-old, first-level character when the rest of the group are 12th or 13th level. But I think it will be a lot of fun. I can't wait for our next session.

Apologies to my fellow players for any mistakes or omissions in what follows.

Star Wars - Episode #46: "Apprentice Ship" 

Player-Characters:
Neranya 'Neri' Repp - female Corellian (human) noble and Jedi
Dashell 'Dash' Creel - female Corellian (human) pilot and computer expert
Lowarra - female Wookiee warrior and mechanic
ADX - sentient droid warrior and tactician
Taanar Ryl - female Togruta Jedi padawan

The starship New Hope, carrying Neri, the Antarian Rangers, and Princess Leia, had traveled to Verdanth to take supplies to besieged Bothans there and release prisoners from an Imperial detention facility. Han Solo and Chewbacca flew in aboard the Millenium Falcon to decoy Imperial TIE fighters and customs corvettes. After the Imperial ships had been destroyed, teams traveled to the planet's surface to complete their mission, handily wiping out the battle droids that were guarding the detention center.

Taanar Ryl had only been with her new Jedi master Neranya Repp for a little over a month, and had never seen such massive destruction before. She was shocked when she felt the deaths of the crews aboard the two Imperial customs corvettes. She was awed by watching Neri and her friends eliminating the droids. Neri lifted a transport vehicle with her Force power and smashed it down atop several droids. She also used her lightsaber to deflect blaster fire. Lowarra and ADX were equally impressive, Lowarra blasting droids with her rocket launcher and ADX with his built-in blaster cannon and well-placed grenades. Lowarra even saved Taanar when she was targeted and the courageous Wookiee interposed to take the blast herself. Taanar was inspired to overcome her feelings of inadequacy to shoot at the droid that had tried to shoot her, but her skill with a blaster didn't equal her desire.

Though young Taanar was disturbed by the sight of Imperial guards who had resisted and been shot, her heart was lifted when the Bothan prisoners were released and expressed their gratitude to her master and the Rangers. After the teams had freed the prisoners and Dash had accessed the computers to acquire some information they sought, they blew up the detention center on their way out.

Back aboard the New Hope, Neri received a communication from Luke Skywalker, who had gone to seek a Jedi who had survived the Jedi Purge, Kanan Jarrus. Skywalker reported that he had spoken to Hera Syndulla, leader of the Rebel Phoenix Squadron, who told him that Kanan Jarrus and his padawan Ezra Bridger had gone missing after Ezra was turned to the Dark Side by contact with a Sith holocron device.*

Later they received news of an Imperial convoy transporting high-profile prisoners. Han Solo joined them to advise them that the star galleon carrying the prisoners would drop the transport pod and send it into hyperdrive at the first sign of danger. ADX devised a plan to use the New Hope to ambush the convoy and distract the galleon, while the Sky River Venture latched on to the transport pod and followed it when it went to hyperdrive. They decided to take some of the old Trade Federation combat droids they had acquired as back-up troops.

Although it required some expert piloting skill, Dash was easily able to shadow the transport pod and pursue it when it went to hyperdrive. By the time this happened, the New Hope had all but destroyed the star galleon despite its heavy shielding. The small contingent of guards aboard the transport pod was easily overpowered and the 24 prisoners aboard the pod were released.

Once more aboard the New Hope, Neri took time to talk with Taanar and encourage her not to bottle up her grief over her father's death. If she didn't feel comfortable speaking to her master, she should seek out someone else such as Dash or Lowarra with whom to share her troubles.

At the end of the session Taanar reached 2nd level.

*Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, and Ezra Bridger are characters from the animated tv series Star Wars Rebels.