Kal was right - she was down to about 10% of total hit points. Gonna take more than a Cure Light wounds to get her up to snuff. The saving grace was that her opponent got the snot knocked out of him as well, though not so bad.

This might be a good time to roleplay amongst the party. Beldame certainly might have some thoughts, and tactically, Olaf might as well.

Also, you might consider giving one of those swords to Agrax. Her halbard isn't magical. That's up to you, though.

I am happy to roleplay over the next couple days until everyone is up to snuff.

Works for me! I thought you'd said that the swords were not magical, otherwise, I have no problem at all giving one to Agrax.

Round two is forthcoming, possibly tonight more likely tomorrow. Have some work issues that need my attention.

today turned out busier than expected - invited to a luncheon from 1-3, then a client meeting that ran for four hours - a lot of questions. I'll probably be posting all day tomorrow given how backed up I am.

Sounds great! It's snowing in the ATL and snow means chaos and extra work so timing is fortuitous. Will look for posts soon. In Helia's game, if you have a notion o f what to do, post it up and we'll get going soon.

I'll be intermittent until the weekend. I have a number of cases that need my attention. Sorry about that.

Happens, headed to the ATL to get some work done in a couple hours! W

Happy trails.

Okay, so the scene is almost set. Any last minute items should be discussed in character. I'll lay the scene out this evening. Thanks for you patience.

So I got my mojo back. These are compelling characters and NPCs. I recall the Temple of Elemental Evil and the idea of 'Nodes' as pocket dimensions. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but perhaps another player might be in order - the Beldame was always meant to be an NPC.

Of course, I'm a bit inconstant with my playing, but this is a good game and deserves my attention.

Give it some thought - the fight's still on so you don't make any decisions right now. But something to think about when this chapter closes.

Have fun and the fishing hole.

Mike

Do you mean "am I ok bringing in another player?" Sure, I guess, just please, please don't invite Tern. He's in about forty games, is about sixty-five going on 109 and gets them confused. He drove me half crazy in the other two I had him in so moved him to a lower effort game in which I'm basically running them through series of encounters and super-easy clues with super-chatty npc's that just tell them everything.

It would bore you to tears...

Since I have committed to the Red/Tern thing, that's what I'm going to do but will probably gently write him out of the game. I had three players ask if he was in the game and refuse to submit characters! Sigh... I always seem to wind up with those!

LOL! He's very proud of his play by post acumen.

I am throwing it out there, but that's your call. I think Agrax will move on after this adventure, but Pious will stay. A lot of my thoughts revolve around the nodes in Temple of Elemental Evil and the compressed nature of pseudo-dimension. At least that's what I have so far.

We are far from that at this point. And Elora will certainly be your boon companion through the end.

And no, it would not be Tern. LOL! I do like him, but he regularly mixes 1st edition with every other edition and I find that to be aggravating.

All good, recruit a good player, perhaps someone who can play a ranger or straight fighter with a taste for ale and adventure...

Why would Agrax leave? Did I  miss something??

Honestly, I can't give you a good answer. I think in the back of my mind Agrax was always expendable. If you feel like she's important to the plot, I'm good with her staying.

Your call: I liked having her about... except for that wet dog smell.

Agrax: I do not have 'wet dog smell...ever.

FYI - I'm back. It'll take me a couple days to get situated. Thanks for your patience!

LOL...

I'll have a post up for you sometime today. LOL - back atcha!

I think Kal has to do an action. Correct me if I am wrong. I love visiting my family, but I hate coming back to piece together whatever topic I was on before leaving. Sigh...

I hate it when I'm all fired up in the moment and the dice roller lays an egg. That's worse than bad sex. Well, not really, but you get what I mean. LOL!

Here ends The Run Toward Darkness.

Treasure: 4 +1 bastard swords. (Agrax leaves the old halbard in the snow. Yes, she will remain with the party).

1 +4 bastard sword.

One medallion that somehow gives the ability for animals to understand humans & their ilk.

One +3 Quarterstaff

4 +4 suits of splint mail

Let me know if I missed anything.

Start thinking in terms of what you want to accomplish next. Give some hints - this is your adventure, I'm just here to facilitate.

Sounds Grand:

OK:

1. Let's get the Beldame back in one piece and get her healthy again. Somehow, she started a mysterious old witch, now I've grown quite fond of her.

2. Let's get the loot sorted, hand out what's wanted, what's not, we'll sell and perhaps buy other goodies or maybe a rainy day fund.

3. Elora's people had some interest in this venture but I did not really understand it. I know they were being oblique on purpose but somehow I feel that we have loose ends to wrap up there.

4. The creepy old house needs a second look. I'd like to talk that ghoul again and see if we can figure out what is going on in the crypt, perhaps destroy that undead.

5. After that, well, probably take a month and make love to Elora.

All good plans - keep that in mind when we head back to Lankhmar

Looking over your list, I'm considering all of them. I'll put something together in the next few days.