Here There Be Dragons: Let's Play Ryuutama (Anime is Real Edition)

[Jenner]

Got all the map pieces. Piecing them together now and will be updating the OP when done. Get familiar with the rules, roles, etc the first session is Wednesday, Jun 21st, at 8:30 PM EST. I’m hype!

THE MAP HAS BEEN COMPLETED, CHECK THE OP.

I’ve taken the liberty of drawing a bit on some of your map pieces, I hope you don’t mind. I did so to add ETE hubs in an vain attempt to keep one of my planned storylines viable. But it’s going to be cooperative so if none of you want anything to do with the ETE you’ll never encounter them. I’m not going to ram them down your throat.

We need more towns and outposts and empires so after we make our characters on Wednesday we’ll be adding those together using the Draw Tool in Roll20 and then I’ll be manually approximating them into the map. Ryyan’s gonna need a barony somewhere, we’re gonna want some other factions, and we’re gonna wanna establish borders/etc and name the world as well as all the places that weren’t already named! (Or are vaguely named, like the ETE hubs, those are placeholders.)

See you Wednesday, Jun 21st , at 8:30 PM EST.
Here’s a Link to the Roll20 campaign I created: https://app.roll20.net/join/2316343/1-kwsg JOIN UP!

[heyboots]

Jenner said she might be a little late so she asked me to get the call going later, I’ll DM everyone a link to the google hangout we’re gonna use when I get home from work.

[Jenner]

Y’all might wanna get in the Google Hangouts chat and start prepping because I’m serious about this and gonna get in hella trouble for starting game on my Data in 7 minutes.

[heyboots]

I rolled bad and fell in a hole.

Then I rolled good!!

[Jenner]

Reminder to all my players. Since Caper has the Tale of the Traveler’s Journal Benediction be aware that at the end of the session, up to two PCs who write about their journey in a travel diary will receive their character level x 300 in gold.

This is different then Alice’s role as the Journal Keeper so it’s first come first serve!

See you all next Wednesday, Jun 29th at 8:30 PM where I will have things drawn and memorized or written down!

[Fefnir]

Somehow, there is only one Attack Type character in the party and it’s our merchant. Considering my rolls have been consistently decent thus far, I worry for my luck in fighting.

Session 1 Journal

30th of Triom, 1107
I left Obsidian today, on the whims of a sudden letter telling me that adventure awaits in Pendel Town. I was itching to get out and taste some monsters anyway, so having an actual starting place is good.

4th of Forta, 1107
I arrived in Pendel Town. After a nice morning tea, I came to the town square to find a strange young girl selling a map, her price either 30 coins or a story. The map supposedly leads to a grand and extremely specific treasure, sentimentally speaking. What it actually was, she wouldn’t say. Around me were three other people who had received very similar letters. As we pondered what to do, we introduced ourselves.

There was Ryyan Pendel, the third son of the Baron round here. I think their power extends down to Obsidian, buuuuuuuuut I haven’t exactly kept up with politics so I dunno who he is.

Deneb is a witch, which some people are apparently wary of? The ETE hates ‘em, and I have no idea why.

Me (Alice): This is when I told them I do chef stuff.

Koal’s in the construction business; carpentry to be specific. Apparently, his town has really bad luck, and it has to be rebuilt a lot. So many times, in fact, that they’re in a bit of an economic crisis. Owns a llama named Snickerdoodle.
So, we gave her a story and decided we’d work together to find this treasure.

5th of Forta, 1107
After a bit of shopping, (and being drooled on by Snickerdoodle,) we set out. We’re taking the western, forested path to our destination. Apparently I’m the only morning person, because everyone else looked disheveled. Deneb did particularly badly; she fell in a dang hole and broke her leg. That being said, she’s a pretty good healer; she used Demon Lacquer to heal, despite the fact that demon lacquer is extremely poisonous. Gonna have to ask her how to use it in a non-poisonous manner.

Recipe ideas: I have no idea what demon lacquer even tastes like. It’s a sap though, so… pancake syrup? Maybe a candy would be nice. Will need to consider when I’m more sure of how it tastes.

We arrived in the Taguel Village in the evening. The chief seemed neutral to our presence, (though Ryaan certainly tried to change his disposition,) but despite his sternness we seem to be somewhat welcome. Except Deneb, because even the Taguel are wary of mages.

A nice Taguel by the name of Erada showed us the way to the inn, where we all realized we were really freaking broke. Thankfully, because of the surprise ingenuity of our pack llama, (who seems to like everyone that’s not us?!?!?) she warmed up and gave us a room for 15 gold each.

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6th of Forta, 1107
The oregano’s gone. Someone will pay dearly for this.

6th of Forta, 1107 (Continued)
To clarify: The morning started out well enough. I was having a nice bancha, and we were gonna sell our wares at the market. Except somebody was keeping our door locked from the outside. Initially it seemed to be the work of some prankster, and Deneb’s quick thinking led to the floor being covered in leaf; an odd use of magic, but effective. The mysterious Taguel ran away, and we could freely leave. But upon checking our room for disturbances, we discovered that our mysterious prankster was, in actuality, a thief. He made off with little else other than a bottle of oregano, (at least the coward knew a quality herb when he saw one.)

Our first stop in our investigation was the stable where we had left Snickerdoodle overnight. The thief had come by there as well, and had tried to nab the supplies we left with the drooly mule. While I contemplated the precise degree at which I would kick the thief in the ass, everyone else got down to investigating the break in. Some fantastic magical investigation from Deneb connected some of the hair to the culprit and led us right to him.

The thief was at the market, selling the single bottle of oregano at an exorbitant price. Though my mind initially flipped through types of dropkicks, Koal’s timely arrival gave me a different idea. Oregano’s good and all, but the value of the rest of our herbs and spices was far higher than just a single bottle of oregano. So, we set up a quick makeshift shop and sold what we had. The thief escaped, and while I did want to tackle the everloving fuck out of him, seeing the Taguel’s excitement for our wares was absolutely lovely. A chef in my position needs to work with what she has, even if it’s not what she initially expected.
Also, I’m pretty sure most chefs don’t dash out of the kitchen and omni-tackle bad customers, no matter how much they deserve it.

[Jenner]

@Fefnir Is that just the journal that Alice has been made in charge of or is that an in character journal for the Benediction reward? Either way it’s really great!

Next session there might be combat, it’ll depend on you. But eventually you’ll be delving into the cavern to find the pirate’s treasure which means you’re going to need pogs to represent you as we navigate through rooms. Heyboots recommends http://rolladvantage.com/tokenstamp/ as you can just drag any picture in there to represent you. email your pogs to me at soiendure@gmail.com and I’ll upload them! Try to get those to me before next Wednesday.

[Fefnir]

It’s Alice’s journal.

[heyboots]

Yeah sure I could be working but instead I wrote this.

[details=Deneb’s letter]
Dear Gran,
I got this weird anonymous letter as I was leaving the hut saying I should go to Pendel Town to start an adventure, and like, I didn’t have anything else to do so I set out to see what was up with it. You said I should be careful but I don’t see what the problem is, no one bothered me on the road, like at all.

So I get into Pendel Town and walk into the square and there’s these other people who also got weird letters and I’m like sure, makes sense. They’re all nice but one of them was looking at me weird but whatever. And like, there’s this kid who has a map to PIRATE TREASURE and I’m like heck yeah this is totally what we should do, and they gave it to us after I told them about the one time you had to set Willy Pete’s leg and then you hit him with your ladle like seven times.

My new friend Koal had all these supplies and stuff but I just like had my backpack and some food and my herb bottles, I guess I could have gotten more things but I’m not really good with this money thing and I can just like find herbs and stuff anyway and cast MAGIC because MAGIC is like totally awesome and everyone else like told me maybe not talk about MAGIC so much and don’t go around telling people I’m a witch and I don’t get why because it’s great and everyone seems to know already anyway cause apparently I look like a witch???

Anyway we left town (Koal has a Llama! ) and it started raining like immediately and I wasn’t looking where I was going and I fell in a big wet hole and my dress got soaked and I felt gross all day. Then later my hat blew off and I was running after it and I ran into a big tree branch and I guess woke up like ten minutes later?? I don’t really remember but I did remember what you taught me and made some Demon Lacquer into medicine and mashed that into my wounds. Everyone else was like noooooo that’s super poisonous but I was like naw I know what I’m doing and I totally did because I felt way better.

We walked all day, Alice was talking about spices the whole time and I was wondering if I could mash those into medicine too but then we walked into this town , except all the people in the town were cute bunnies that were also people. It’d make sense if you saw them. Ryyan wanted to talk to the lead bunny so we did and then we went to the Inn and the Innkeeper was like “You gotta tie her (me) up because she’s gonna cast MAGIC all night” and was super rude, I hadn’t even cast any MAGIC all day and I’ve never cast MAGIC when I’m sleeping. Well except that one time but you made me promise never to tell anyone about that so I didn’t.

So I was like no way I won’t cast any MAGIC at all and I guess she believed me because no one tied me up. We all had the same room and I slept with my new friend Alice and the boys slept in the other bed and it was way more comfortable than my old bed so that was nice.

The next morning Alice found out some of her spices were missing! And there was someone outside our room holding the door closed, so I reached under the door and covered them with leaves to scare them and they ran away and then someone found some bunny hair. Everyone else was kinda freaking out so we went to check on the Llama and he was missing some fur and we found some more hair and I was so mad that someone tore off some of our Llama’s pretty fur that I guess I accidentally scryed on the bunny because I found him and stomped right into the square after him! He was trying to sell the spices so I was gonna hit him with my broom but Koal, Ryyan and Alice talked me out of it and set up shop instead.

Wow this is getting super long! I think they sold all their spices and we’re gonna leave soon so I’ll write more later. Bye Gran!

Love ,
Deneb

P.S. Let me know if the chickens stopped laying those weird square eggs![/details]

[Jenner]

Caper's journal (AKA, session one summary)

In my bird form I was able to leave each of them their letters and they were eager to take the map from me once they reached Pendel Town. This is great! I knew I’d be good at this! I’m a natural!

I think I picked a good group too because they decided to trek through the wilderness instead of take the road, hungry for adventure! This Travelogue will be just what Travien-Sama needs! The witch girl is a little clumsy but they made it to the Usagi-Taguel village. I didn’t expect the Taguel to act the way they did and I suspect another dragon might be meddling with my travelers because this was not the kind of adventure I wanted! If I didn’t have to keep up with my travelers I’d investigate this but for now I’m just going to have to keep on the lookout as we continue.

While it might not have been what I wanted, the theft of Alice’s spices and their response to the antagonism was promising! I’m really proud of my group!

I’m curious what else we’ll encounter on our journey because I can only manipulate things so much at my age. I don’t have full control over what they’ll encounter, which is a shame. But I believe in them and we’ll see things through together!

Arata is such a lovely boy. He’ll be old enough for an adventure soon, I’ll keep him in mind.

[heyboots]

@Fefnir @Breadmaster @LoakaMossi yo use the same hangouts link I sent last week.

[Breadmaster]

[details=Ryyan’s Journal - Session 2]From the journal of Ryyan Pendel, Third Heir to the Pendel Barony.
As we near our final destination on our quest to wherever this map leads us (be it treasure, or pirates, or pirate treasure), I feel it necessary to put to paper a log of our journey thus far. The first day of travel went without incident, as we arrived at the Usagi-Taguel village on time. Despite some hassle involving a missing spice bottle, Koal and Alice managed to sell the rest of our trade goods with a neat profit. I assisted Koal in selected the finest woodworking and shellcrafts the Taguel are known for, though I doubt he was actually paying attention to my impromptu lesson.
The second day of travel was marred by strong winds and a particularly thorny hill, which cost us a great deal of time, and we had to make camp not too far from the ruins in the north of the Barony lands. As we made camp, a wounded Seeker from the Duchy to the north approached us, having been accosted by a group of wild boars. Boars which happened to have followed her. My companions proved themselves to be adept fighters, and I found that my skills with my rapier were completely unneeded, so I provided support from the rear. As we broke camp in the morning, we bid Annabelle farewell, and continued on our way.
The wind was still in force on the third day, and in the afternoon, we came across an unusual sight. Four members of the Theocracy of Etru were fighting what appeared to be two man sized rats! While the discovery of a completely new and undiscovered people intrigued me, I was outraged at (and, I’ll admit it, a little afraid of) the trespassers from Etru. While I had intended to silence their spellcasters and admonish them for their transgressions on our lands, the bridge they were fighting on collapsed, and two of their number were washed away. What’s worse, the rat-men (rat-persons? I shall have to come up with a proper name, if this is truly is a new species) took the opportunity to fell the other two, and get away. I wish I could have met them in more pleasant circumstances, as we need not treat others with aggression, as Etru does.
After that incident, we finally crossed over into the Sunset Centinels’ domain, and met with the border guard lead by Agatha (who eerily reminded me of grandma-ma Mildred). Pleasantries were exchanged, and we finally reached the entrance to the cave marked on the map. As we settle in for the night, I look forward to what discoveries await us inside (or if there actually is anything, as I still doubt the veracity of this map). Even if it turns out to be a wild goose chase, I plan to write up an official report on Nihmish peoples (yes, yes, an excellent nomenclature for these new people) and speak with my mother as to extending diplomatic ties to whatever government they have.
Signed,
Ryyan Pendel

[/details]

[Jenner]

Quote of the night: “Why aren’t millenials containing the ancient evil?!”

Caper's Journal (AKA session 2 summary)

I tried to do a spell to ease the weather but it didn’t seem to work as the wind was vicious to the point it was difficult to fly in. My travelers packed up their llama with wood and shell crafts from the Taguel village and then continued on their journey. The one named Ryyan fell down a hill covered in thornbushes but the team was quick to patch him up and make their slow way towards their destination. That night, while they camped, I was not expecting a member of the Flamewrought Vigil to show up. Who could this Annabelle be hunting? This wasn’t supposed to be in the story, but I’ll take it!

She didn’t stay long and perhaps we won’t see her again. The boars she drew into camp were no match for my travelers! We made better time this time but there was magic in the air, a great torrent of storm magic was being unleashed and it hung in the air and sparked and stung my group. I hurried forward to see what the fuss was about and it seemed some rat-people (I’ve never seen rat-people before, I didn’t even know they existed, I’ll have to ask Travien-Sama about them!) My travelers were too wary (smart) to engage with the ETE who were attacking the rat-people (Nimhish, my travelers are calling them the Nimhish) so I broke the bridge and sent two of them down the rain flooded river!

It was awesome, I’m awesome. The remaining ETE were easily handled, though one recognized Ryyan. The Nimhish didn’t seem very interested in speaking with people, though the youngster, Ark, was friendly. We headed then into the domain of the Sunset Sentinels where we were greeted by a friendly patrol. It’s my first time meeting them, they are as powerful as the legends say. Friendly too. I wonder if Travien-Sama knows what this “Great Bane” they keep sealed in the mountains is and how they do it.

I cast my spell within the cave, to draw in monsters and challenges for my adventurers and I think it went off well. But my spell did not cause that Nimhish corpse to be there. And I didn’t expect the water hazard to sweep Alice up so! I’m curious what other challenges my spell drew as I don’t exactly get to choose what shows up. I worry for my travelers but I know they’ll see this through!

Onward! To adventure!

[heyboots]

[details=Another letter from Deneb]Dear Gran,
A lot happened since my last letter , we went shopping before we left the bunny village and I bought a new cloak because, wow, it was SUPER WINDY all day. We got a little… ok, a lot lost and we didn’t really make it too far and ended up camping in a clearing in the woods.

While we were having dinner this lady named Annebelle stumbled out of the woods all burned and cut up and stuff so I healed her and she said she had gotten in a fight with some boars and ran away and eventually found us. Alice went out to set some traps for them but almost immediately the boars burst of the trees and attacked us!

We got in a brawl! Koal , Alice , Annebelle really tore into the boars and I and Ryyan : threw around a bunch of MAGIC. It was nbd tho they killed the boars and then we all went to bed.

Anne left the next day and we set out again. It was still SUPER WINDY but I did a lot better following the map this time. Partway through the day we heard some SCREAMING and found some rat people bullying some not-rat people .

Everyone else looked like they wanted to leave but I super don’t like bullies! Ryyan cast a SPELLI don’t know and like, well… it was super loud bug noises all over the place . Then the bridge like collapsed for NO REASON!

Anyway, even with all the bug sounds I still healed one of the rat people Nihmish (Ryyan just told me to call them that instead ) and they seemed thankful but the older one acted a lot like you do always and then they left. The other jerks were still there (except the ones that fell in the river ) but we just left too.

Near the end of the day we were almost to the PIRATE TREASURE CAVE and we met some really old really nice people. They didn’t know you though. We rested for the night and then we went into the cave.

I totally found a MAGIC door and we found a compass AND A SKELETON!!! Ryyan said they’re super expensive so we took it.

Then Alice FELL IN A CAVE RIVER!!! I pulled her out with my broom but she almost got pulled who knows where!

I helped warm her up and now I’m writing this while we take a breather. Ryyan is on the other side so maybe he’ll see what’s over there.

Anyway we’re gonna keep exploring soon so I’ll write later. Bye!

Love ,
Deneb [/details]

[Fefnir]

Ah, cool, I can post now. (I’m gonna do journals regardless since I’m the journal keeper of the group and it’s fun, but I want to make sure everyone else has a chance to post as well. Unless I’m broke at some point, then I’ll snipe it.)

Session 2 Journal

The Taguel that stole my oregano got away. Before I did a bit of shopping, I asked around to see if anybody knew of him. Despite our good sale, it would seem that the Taguel aren’t inclined to sell out one of their own. Fair enough, I suppose tomorrow’s meal will have to go without it then. Next time I’m by I’ll have to keep a lookout for that tawny-haired Taguel.
At dinner, I did a bit of research into Taguel foods. They’re vegetarians, of course, but it would seem seafood is a local delicacy. I’ll have to remember that next time we’re through here.

Note to self: Seaweed Recipes. Soup, maybe?

7th of Forta, 1107
It’s a windy day today. Travel was tough, especially on Ryyan, who tripped over a root. Then he fell down a hill. Through many, many thorn bushes. Then he climbed back up through them, which wasn’t as

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bad. Except there were thorns in his hands, which didn’t help. We got him patched up, and upon looking at the thorns it didn’t seem like I could use them for anything.

There’s some thorn bush you can grind down until its just a little ball. Goes great with salads. Not thorn bush thorns, though. They’re tasteless. And pointy.

We didn’t travel very far, unfortunately, and we had to set up camp sooner than we’d liked. After a nice meal, we were all prepared to go to sleep when a woman approached our camp. She was bruised and burned, but could walk surprisingly well. Her name is Anabelle, and she’s from the Flamewrought Vigil in the northwest. On her way, she was attacked by boars. I’ll probably set up a quick trap in case any decide to wander in overnight.

7th of Forta, 1107 (Continued.)
As it turned out, they’d already approached. In the woods. Very, very close to where I was heading. Thankfully, my comrades had my back so that I wasn’t gored by angry boars. Koal and Anabelle seemed to be pretty competitive, and they kinda made short work of the beasts. Very, very short work. Thanks to their brutality, (and my lack of knowledge of boar bioilogy,) I wasn’t able to get much off of them. Ah well, at least somebody will enjoy some boar steaks, even if I won’t have any.

8th of Forta, 1107
Had a weird dream last night. It’s one of those where I was trying to approach something, but never got any closer to it. In this case, it was a chest. I must have treasure on the brain. Ah well.
We said our goodbyes to Anabelle, as she was delving into some nearby ruins on her own. While the wind was still pretty bad, our journey saw a new sort of peril. Traveling along the river, we started to feel some static. And as we went along, it only became worse. Finally, we arrived at a bridge battle between some ETE jerks and a couple of rat people, (and thankfully, I wasn’t the only person in the party who didn’t know that rat people existed.) Admittedly, while we all wanted to help, none of us were entirely sure as to how well we’d fare against soldiers of their caliber; they matched our numbers, and were all distinct and varied warriors. But the strangest thing happened; the bridge just collapsed out of nowhere, sending two of the soldiers down the river to the fairies’ mercy. I could have sworn I saw a nearby bird’s eyes glow for a second, (and the bird itself seems familiar, though my companions don’t know what I’m talking about. Maybe I’m imagining things?) But perhaps the bridge was just old and collapsed beneath the weight of the struggle. We took out the other two ETE soldiers, (I tossed some soap under a blinded man,) and the rat people ran off. The younger of the two was more kind to us, even though his companion doesn’t trust humans. The former gave us his name, but it seems to have slipped my mind. If we meet again like he’d hoped, things may be awkward.
As the day neared its end, we reached the border to the Sunset Centinel territory. I had heard its guardians were both old and very strong, but uh… those were some buff grannies. They were nice enough, and we passed without incident. (Agitha was the name of the lead guard. I’m not the hardiest person in the first place, but if she punched me I would die.) We’ve set up camp in front of our

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destination, so tomorrow we’ll see if this map really does lead somewhere special. Strange tiny girl, don’t fail us now.

9th of Forta, 1107
We had a nice breakfast and entered the cave, all in a fairly good condition. We found a hidden passage, and in it was a small room peppered with flowers and lavender. I took the lavender, of course, and Deneb took both, (I’ll have to ask her if those flowers would go well as a salad garnish.) There was also a skeleton of what we assume was a rat person Nihmish, (Ryyan is quite insistent about the name,) holding a compass. Koal took it and guided us deeper into the cavern.
We came across a river not long after. I thought it was nice at first; the frigid water cooled the cavern air around us. Ryyan, with some absolutely amazing footwork, leaped over the entire thing in a single bound. I thought it would be a simple swim, so I leapt straight in. I was very wrong, as I realized I’d never swam through water this cold before. Instantly, I couldn’t breathe and I started flailing about randomly. If it wasn’t for Deneb’s quick thinking and saving me with her broom, I would have been at the fairies’ mercy in a dragon damn cave.

[Jenner]

rat people bullying some not-rat people .

Excuse me, the not rat-people were bullying the rat people. (Politics is hard!)

[heyboots]

I stand by every typo i’ve ever made

[Jenner]

Deneb is bad at details!

Hey adventurers, pick a color:

• Black
• Red
• Blue

Show results

[Jenner]

Oh poop I forgot to ask if folks were gonna be busy with family or not this Wednesday. Um, well if you are let me know and if you’re not then please hop on in the Google Hangout because we’re doing this!

[Jenner]

Choose Pash’s Artefact!

• The Crystal: All PCs can survive damage that reduces them to -20 HP. They will not die until their HP reaches -21.
• The Mascot: The Ryuujin can accompany the travelers in their shapechanged form.

Show results

Vote vote vote.

And a Reminder:

• A Lord in Dacafe has heard Koal is an excellent trader and would love for him to unite their families and marry his daughter. In exchange he will help Koal rebuild his city and probably give Koal some diplomatic clout as well.
• The Nimhish youth, Ark, and his grandmother have been imprisioned by Grand Duchess Cecile Oslam in the Flamewrought Duchy, he has begged Alice for help. He knows of no one else to turn to.
• Annabelle, the Flamewrought Dropout who the party met earlier is under a severe case of mistaken identity. She doesn’t believe Deneb is willfully a witch. She thinks she’s been hexed and she’s out trying to break the hex and return Deneb to her proper nature.
• Ryyan’s mother wants him to return home soon with a fiance or pick a spouse from suitors of any gender back at home as soon as possible.