Fabulor is going to be the wizard in the D&D group.
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It’s currently 1:15 in the morning.
I should be asleep right about now, but I’m still fairly jazzed up about a secret project I’ve been working on for a while now, and just finished (no details yet, it was just shipped off to the responsible parties a couple hours ago), and I’ve also been pondering some turns of events.
The D&D group has undergone a transformation. Some playstyle conflicts arose, and two of the players left to make way for others who fit in a little better. To that end, I devised a bit of an interviewing process (that I’m still fairly convinced that only I took remotely seriously), with the intention of bringing on two or three new players. The end result was a bit of a surprise, where I suddenly found myself actually willing to take on FOUR new players, bringing the total up to eight, making this only the second-largest game I’ve ever run, and the largest I’ve ever run with an online-only audience. Who are the new players? Well…
Those of you who have been reading some of the older blogs will recognize Llanion, formerly of the Mad Cow Chronicles, which is no longer available on the web. Others may be more familiar with a blogger fairly new to the scene, but gaining in popularity: Kialesse, of The Sisterhood of Kia. This won’t be the first time I’ve been a DM for a couple (she and Achloryn are quite the interesting pair), and it won’t be the first time that I’ve DM’ed with my own significant other in the game as well, who is the third addition to the team. The fourth and final addition, which is also the one that terrifies me simply because of his ability to pick out a story like nobody’s business, is Rades. Yes, that Rades. I have to admit, I’m more than a little intimidated at the thought of being the DM and storyteller for someone who has dissected Blizzard’s lore with the skill of a surgeon, and writes his own established fiction with the flair of a professional writer. I know I’m my own worst critic, but comparing my work to Rades’ is not unlike comparing a Hyundai with a Ferrari. They’ve both got four wheels and an engine, but the Ferrari is going to turn a lot more heads.
I have so much to do, and so much I have been doing. I still haven’t been able to put as much time into the beta as I would have liked in order to test Arms, and I gave up a while back thanks to the bug with CS that forced a client crash every time you used it. I have somewhere between 4 and 8 game sessions to post. I have been dabbling with TERA, and greatly enjoying the combat system. The new players have revitalized my creative process with regards to my D&D world, and I have been scribbling notes like mad whenever I’ve had a spare minute (if I can sort it all out when I’m done having ideas, it’ll be a bloody miracle). Diablo 3 is being released in 6 days. I’ve finished gearing Lelissa for Mists, but Malyss and Velyth are still picking up some late pieces. I’m working out again. I’m still employed at a company I like with a job that I despise. It’s stressful.
Anyway, enough whining. Just look forward to some new character updates soon, and the new D&D session posts. My goal is to get as much caught up as I can before the next game on the 20th, where the new and the old combine and move forward following the death of a hero.
You’ll see. I don’t want to ruin it.
Guess it’s my turn.
Sweeeeeeeeeeet.
I’ll get some numbers in here as soon as I can.
Some new changes on abilities today that just absolutely confuse the hell out of me.
Heroic Strike: Now does 100% (was 160%) weapon damage plus 498 (was 796.8) (140% (was 224%) plus 697 (was 1116) if a one-handed weapon is equipped).
Okay, so it’s still a 30 rage ability, and back down to being an ability that’s more or less useless without Incite. But here’s the part that really bakes my noodle.
Slam: Now does 225% weapon damage plus 2101.5, up from 150% weapon damage plus 1401.
Then why in the HELL would I EVER use Heroic Strike again? Not even as a rage bleed! Even with critical strikes doing 200% damage, Heroic Strike STILL puts out less damage. Sure, if your Heroic Strike crits, Incite guarantees the next one to be a crit, but why would I even bother? A standard Slam already does more damage for the same rage!
Essentially, we’re back to where we are now in Cataclysm. Heroic Strike will be even more of a waste of space on your ability bar if this particular change makes it to the final release. Not that I’m complaining (I really hate Heroic Strike anyway – always have), but why have all of these special talents and abilities tied to a spec that won’t ever use it?
It’s just like the current T13 2-piece bonus. Not only is it NOT a passive ability like most other classes, but in order to be effective, it requires Incite and a boatload of rage you’re usually better off using for something else. Don’t get me wrong, there are a couple fights in Dragon Soul right now where the amount of damage you take keeps your rage pretty high, and for that it’s Heroic Strike heaven. But the majority of the time, you’re burning more rage than you should if you use it, and you get a better return out of Slam, even with the .5 sec cast time.
It’s haphazard changes like this that make me fear for the future of Warriors, not just Arms. If Blizzard returns us to the state we were in back in Wrath, I don’t know what I’m going to do.
So the Mists of Pandaria are nearly upon us, and Warriors in general are going to see some huge changes once again. While I’m not expecting these to be set in stone, I will say that what I’m seeing so far has some very interesting potential, as well as a few new twists that will really shake up how Arms operates. First, let’s look at the general skill changes (my comments in italics).
- Battle Shout: Now grants 10% increased attack power, not Strength and Agility. Now also generates 20 rage. Not altogether a surprising change. I’d expected Battle Shout to go to a raw attack power number for Cataclysm, and it didn’t.
- Battle Stance: Now increases damage done by 10%. So we’re gaining an overall buff here, essentially getting the Berserker Stance values, since Berserker is getting something else entirely. I like this one – a 5% damage reduction was a very disappointing “bonus” for losing 5% damage output.
- Berserker Rage: Duration reduced to 6 sec, down from 10 sec. No longer grants extra rage generation from taking damage. Also not a surprising change. I’ve never used Berserker Rage outside of a fear break, so I have no complaints here.
- Berserker Stance: Increases damage done by Whirlwind and Cleave by 20%. Doesn’t affect us at all. Fury Warriors might cry havoc a bit with this one, but maybe not. It seems like one of their major abilities is getting a massive boost.
- Bladestorm: Renamed from Whirlwind. You become a whirling storm of destructive force, striking all nearby targets with your main hand weapon for 75% weapon damage. Also does 75% weapon damage for off-hand. This one I’m not too clear on. Has Bladestorm, then, been removed from our talent list? According to the WoW site it’s still a level 60 talent option, but maybe they’re just behind on an update.
- Charge: No longer requires Battle Stance. Cooldown increased to 20 sec, up from 15. Now can be used in combat and generates 20 rage, up from 15. Also an expected change, with the complete restructuring of talents. A lot of the old Arms talents are getting rolled in here, and the increased rage generation will be very helpful. Not too sure how happy I am about the increase in cooldown time, but I suspect I’ll be picking up the 12-second cooldown talent anyway, as it’s the best PVE option, unless they decide to make it so that we can charge at very close range. Time will tell.
- Cleave: Now has a 1.5 sec cooldown, down from 3 sec. Now does 75% weapon damage. This isn’t a big contender for Arms damage, so I’m not terribly disappointed by this. Sweeping Strikes and Cleave is always handy for AoE fights you don’t have a Bladestorm ready for, but it’s still low damage by comparison. This makes me wonder how baseline rage generation will function, because a lot of our abilities are getting rage cost increases.
- Commanding Shout: Now increases Stamina by 10%. Percentages seem to be the flavor of the expansion. Works for me.
- Deep Wounds: New. Your Mortal Strike, Bloodthirst and Devastate cause the target to bleed for 1090 over 15 sec. The loss of Rend as an ability forced this one a bit. It’s good that every spec is getting something out of it, and for Arms, the cooldown on Mortal Strike will keep this rolling pretty constantly. I’m pretty sure the damage values given here will scale with level… otherwise this might be a bit disappointing.
- Demoralizing Banner: New. Throw down a war banner that decreases the damage dealt by all enemies within 30 yards of the banner by 10%. You can Intervene to your war banner. Lasts 15 sec. 30 yd range, 3 min cooldown, Instant cast. The banner seems like an interesting mechanic. Healers need some help keeping melee alive during a close blast? Throw this baby down. Being able to intervene to it… I guess it’s a handy way to be able to leapfrog into battle faster? Heroic Leap -> Banner -> Intervene -> Charge or some variation thereof? Hmm.
- Disarm: No longer requires Defensive Stance. No longer costs rage. No longer disarms the ranged weapon. My god, it’s about time. Not being able to disarm ranged weapons kiiiiiiiinda tilts a PVP battle in favor of hunters, but every hunter I talk to tells me that Arms Warriors are their bane, so I dunno. I haven’t done a lot of serious PVP lately.
- Enrage: Critical strikes with special abilities and critical blocks Enrage you, increasing the rage you generate from normal melee attacks by 25% for 6 sec. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is where a lot of our rage generation is going to come from, but let’s face it, 6 seconds is NOT a lot of time! At best, you’ll get two normal swings during the duration unless you’ve got some serious crit value and can chain a few of these in a row. I’ll have to reserve judgment for testing.
- Execute: Now costs 30 rage. No longer has a stance requirement. No longer consumes additional rage to do more damage. Probably a wise move. They’re looking to streamline rotations/priorities for all classes, and waiting until you’ve got lots of bonus rage for an Execute was always a little iffy. 30 rage baseline puts this on the same level as many of our other standard abilities, and it makes me concerned about whether Execute will remain the beneficial attack at the Execute phase. I’m sure that it will be, of course, otherwise this would be a really stupid change.
- Hamstring: No longer has a stance requirement. Keen.
- Heroic Strike: Now has a 1.5 sec cooldown, down from 3 sec. Now deals 160% weapon damage plus 796.8 (224% plus 1116 if a one-handed weapon is equipped). This is part of an effort to get us to use Heroic Strike more often, I think. It really was a poor ability for Arms even through Cataclysm (Slam did more base damage despite the meager critical chance boost, and the only real value from Heroic Strike came from Incite), and it’s never been a popular attack for bleeding off extra rage in my book. You’ll see what I mean a little later.
- Heroic Throw: Now has a 30 sec cooldown, down from 1 min. Now does 50% weapon damage and no longer causes high threat. Didn’t really find myself using this in combat either, except as a lead-in to a Charge most times.
- Incite: Reworked: Your Heroic Strike criticals cause the next Heroic Strike to also be a critical. These guaranteed criticals cannot re-trigger the Incite effect. This is now a passive baseline ability, once again an effort to make Heroic Strike more “regular.”
- Intervene: No longer has a stance requirement or rage cost. Now only takes the next hit while the target remains within 10 yards. So now Arms Warriors can try to save a healer in a pinch. Where am I going to find a place to put the damn ability?
- Intimidating Shout: No longer has a rage cost. Now has a 1 min cooldown, down from 2 min. This has some very interesting PVP implications.
- Mocking Banner: New. Throw down a war banner that forces all enemies within 15 yards of the banner to focus attacks on the warrior for 6 sec. Lasts 30 sec. You can Intervene to your war banner. 30 yd range, 3 min cooldown, Instant cast. More of a Protection ability, obviously, but could be handy for kiting. Heroic Leap and some rocket boots, perhaps?
- Pummel: Now has a 15 sec cooldown, up from 10 sec. No longer has a rage cost. We’ve traditionally had one of the longest cooldowns on any of our interrupt abilities, and this has always bothered me a little. Now we’re increasing a cooldown on a rarely-used PVE ability, and a crucial PVP ability? We’ve gone from being good to have around in an Arena to the red-headed stepchild of PVP. Interestingly enough, we’re now actually really useful in PVE, where up through Wrath, you could get more DPS by swinging a dead cat in the direction of your monitor.
- Shattering Throw: No longer has a stance requirement and no longer does damage based on attack power. Um.. okay.
- Skull Banner: New. Throw down a war banner that increases the critical chance of party or raid members within 30 yards of the banner by 30%. Lasts 10 sec. You can Intervene to your war banner. 30 yd range, 3 min cooldown, Instant cast. I like this one, obviously. 10 seconds of 30% bonus crit? Really good for heavy healing needs or a point where you need more burst on a boss. I’m still reserving judgment on how I feel about these banners, though. I need to use them a while. Where’s my beta access, Blizzard? /shakefist
- Spell Reflection: No longer has a stance requirement or rage cost. …Huh. Guess I’ll have more reason to carry a shield around, unless they remove that requirement from the ability. I’d have less of a problem using something like this consistently if it didn’t turn my spec into such a gimmick. “Oh, hey, I can spell reflect, but I’ve got to trigger three whole global cooldowns to make the switch, use the ability, and then make the switch back to a weapon that actually does damage!” Call me selfish if you want, but it seems like this is just lazy design.
- Sunder Armor: No longer causes a large amount of threat. Yeah, didn’t really use this a lot anyway. I raid with Rogues and Druids.
- Taunt: No longer has a stance requirement. Hmm. This will be nice, actually. No more stance changes for fights with mechanics like Beth’tilac.
- Thunder Clap: No longer has a stance requirement. Now reduces target’s physical damage done by 10%, down from 20%. Damage no longer increased by attack power. This one becomes our AoE bread and butter, I think. You’ll see why a little bit further down.
So overall, we’ve got some really good changes, I think. Some things are a little confusing (the cooldown extension on Pummel, for instance), and a lot of things look like they’ve really got some potential. So let’s look at the stuff that’s going to be just for us Arms types.
- Blood and Thunder: Your Thunder Clap now also applies Deep Wounds. This is why Thunder Clap becomes our bread and butter ability. Stomp, make everything bleed, then go to town.
- Colossus Smash: No longer has a stance requirement. Now costs 30 rage, up from 20. Smashes a target for 175% weapon damage plus 221 and weakens their defenses, allowing your attacks to entirely bypass 100% of their armor for 6 sec, and causes the Physical Vulnerability effect on the target. Bypasses less armor on players. Weakens the constitution of an enemy target, increasing their physical damage taken by 4% for 30 sec. The rage cost increase is something we’re going to see a lot of, and I hope that the changes to rage generation are really going to be able to balance it out. There are a couple things that will help – one that we’ve already seen (Enrage), and one that’s coming up a little further down the list.
- Die by the Sword: New. Increases your parry chance by 100% and reduces damage taken by 20% for 5 sec. 2 min cooldown. I suspect this is what Retaliation is becoming, if it hasn’t already. Good potential in both PVP and PVE, I think.
- Mortal Strike: Now generates 10 rage. Now has a 6 sec cooldown, up from 4.5 sec. A vicious strike that deals 125% weapon damage plus 1282 and causes Mortal Wounds on the target. The idea of Mortal Strike being a rage generator is just WEIRD to me. Don’t get me wrong – I like it. I have a feeling we’ll need the generation. The extended cooldown sucks a little bit, though, and it feels like they’re trying to give us more GCDs in between abilities (probably to use more Heroic Strike).
- Overpower: No longer has a stance requirement or rage cost. Now does 140% weapon damage, up from 125%. These rage-free abilities are very interesting, especially something as explosive as Overpower, and especially for its synergy with Taste for Blood coming up a little further down.
- Seasoned Soldier: While wielding a two-handed melee weapon, your Physical damage dealt is increased by 20%, up from 12%. This has been long overdue in returning. This actually gives us a respectable chance to keep up with most other DPS classes. Right now, we’re HEAVILY outdistanced by Rogues and Hunters and most casters who make more use of huge haste benefits from buffs like Heroism/Bloodlust.
- Slam: Now costs 30 rage, up from 15. Now is instant cast, down from 1.5 sec. Now does 150% weapon damage, up from 145%. Hallelujah. No more “cast time” on an ability that should never have had it in the first place. The increase in rage cost makes this automatically inferior to Heroic Strike going forward, however, and if they’re both at 30 rage each, unless our rage generation is HUGE, I just don’t see using Slam all that often anymore. Again, this is one of those things that I need to be able to TEST.
- Sudden Death: No longer allows you to keep 10 rage after using Execute. I’ll miss that part of the ability, but at least it still allows Mortal Strike to reset the cooldown on Colossus Smash.
- Sweeping Strikes: No longer has a stance requirement. Erm… yay?
- Taste for Blood: You have a 100% chance for Mortal Strike to enable the use of Overpower, and a 30% chance for Overpower to enable the use of an additional Overpower. If this is actually operating as it reads, this could provide some interesting burst, and also explains why the rage cost was removed from Overpower. I like the fact that they’ve finally tied these two spec-defining abilities together, and I think it’s got some good potential for some serious damage output. I can’t wait.
As you can see, there’s a lot of neat stuff going on here! The changes to Mortal Strike, Slam, Heroic Strike, and Overpower are absolutely key to making Arms work going forward. Now that Rend is gone and Mortal Strike and Overpower are synergistic, the original Cataclysm priority makes a few changes based on exceptions. The current priority is as follows:
(Rend->)Colossus Smash->Overpower->Mortal Strike->Slam(Heroic Strike>70 rage)
The changes to the abilities, however, make for some interesting possibilities between Overpower and Mortal Strike:
Colossus Smash->Mortal Strike(Overpower)->
Overpower(Mortal Strike)->?(Slam/Heroic Strike>70 rage)
This, of course, means that so long as you have Overpower continuing to activate new Overpowers, you’d utilize it over any other ability. Zero rage cost for big damage? You betcha. When it stops triggering new Overpower usages, you go back to Mortal Strike. What I’m not so sure about is the last part of that priority. Heroic Strike and Slam will both have the same rage cost in Mists, and a 1.5 second cooldown is just a GCD. Why would we even use Slam anymore? Does this mean Slam becomes the rage bleeder when you’re above 70 rage, or is Heroic Strike still off the GCD and would it allow you to use both at once?
I sorely need to test this. Blizzard, where is my beta invite?
I’ve always loved Destiny, the two-handed sword from the Romulo & Julianne event from Karazhan. It’s an interesting graphic (and for those of you familiar with Kingdom Hearts, very keyblade-like), vibrantly colored, and just generally fun. So I decided to build a set around it.
First I tried the purple Judgment recolor. A little out of place for a Warrior, and skirts never were really Lelissa’s thing, but what the hell. Destiny is purple, the purple Judgment recolor is purple, it seemed like a good idea.
It was alright, but not really good enough. Not only that, every other plate wearer, from Death Knights to Paladins to other Warriors had a set of this stuff and was running around with it. Then I remembered something from the early days before Burning Crusade.
Soulforge.
Soulforge was perfect! It matched the colors all but exactly, and is a great looking set to boot. Fortunately, with the reintroduction of Darkmoon Faire, it’s also really easy to get if you’re willing to burn a few tickets on some armor pieces. Fortunately, you only need the chest, shoulders, gloves, legs, boots, and belt for a really good look. The helm is good if you’re going for that “warrior nun” sort of vibe, but Lelissa is anything but pure, so that’s not happening.
Finally, the poster.
I’ve been seeing variations of the original poster here and there on the internet, and I figured it was high time I made my own.
Given the options for their return home, the team chooses the middle ground – a hike through the mountains. It’s a little longer than the route by ship, but somewhat less dangerous than the road these days, and given their current run of luck, the group figures it’d be the best way to go. The route takes a winding path through the hills, and the group cuts off a little travel time by working their way up the slope where they can. At the top, late in the evening, the group runs across an abandoned watchtower. Dorn checks the door, and it is unbarred. The inside of the tower is dark, musty, and odd-smelling; a few hesitant halloos with no response tells the group that it’s empty.
The group enters, finding that there are signs of conflict – overturned tables, broken benches, dried blood – but no bodies. The group believes the tower was given up for lost. Clearing out a space, they start a fire for the camp, and that’s when Shayla and Lazan begin to hear strange noises: a barely perceptible ticking sound. The group splits up to investigate, but rickety stairs keeps Kevara downstairs on the lower level. Dorn and Loranys, in heavy armor, remain with her.
Lazan, Shayla, and Caelissa head upstairs, but on the upper floors of the tower, they hear nothing. Heading back down to the bottom floor, they check the kitchen next, discovering the complete disaster in the room. Amid the destruction, the ticking sound is louder and faster, sounding like rattlesnakes. Further searching reveals that the wood in the kitchen area is rotting, though the wood in the rest of the tower, while broken, is unharmed.
Undaunted, they go outside to seek the source of the sounds, but a scan around the grounds reveals nothing. Returning to the main room, they investigate a door they had ignored before because it was blocked by heavy furniture.
This was actually an important clue – the door was barricaded with the intent of keeping something IN, not keeping something OUT. A subtle clue, but kind of an important one. Unfortunately, the group didn’t pick up on it.
At that moment, the floor in front of the door begins to undulate, the tiles breaking up from the ground. Once they’re sufficiently broken away, a strange insect-like creature clears away a small section of the floor and then drops back out of sight. The group rushes to investigate, but the hole is far too dark. Dorn drops a sunrod down the hole, and the team catches a glimpse of a tunnel before a creature like the one they saw before grabs the sunrod and takes off with it. Dorn decides to break down the door, and as usual does too good of a job… he finds himself barreling through the door, and into a wide open pit that tumbles him down thirty feet into a soft, spongy tunnel floor coated in slime. Dorn is a little bothered – the chittering sound the group heard is now much louder, and echoes through the tunnel.
Kevara pulls out a rope and they try to haul Dorn up, but the rope is slick with the slime from the edge of the pit, and Dorn just slides back down to the bottom. Despite numerous joking (and not-so-joking) suggestions that they leave Dorn down there, Kevara jumps down and the rest follow.
The group heads up the tunnel, following the fading light of the sunrod. They run across more than a dozen of the strange creatures like the one they saw earlier, but they take no notice of the party and continue reinforcing the tunnel walls. Further down the tunnel, the group runs into three more creatures – much larger, and a strange combination of humanoid and insect – with larger claws and obvious defensive capabilities. Kevara thinks for several moments, trying to remember something her old teacher told her about: she believes that they are Seiq’Ikrah, the Eldest’s army that was believed to have been wiped out during the Thirteen’s War. With this knowledge in mind, they attack.
So, before we move on to the next storyline, it’s time for me to reveal some history of the game. You can skip this part if you like, but the upcoming sessions will have a few unfamiliar terms for the casual reader, and I don’t want anyone to be confused. Basically, this is my way of saying “the critical plot is being introduced during the heroic tier that will take them all the way to level 30, possibly, so here’s some exposition so you’re up to speed.” Essentially what you’re getting here is the quick and dirty version of what is otherwise going to play some integral part in my novels sometime in the future. Obviously, most of the races in the novels will be different, as I won’t be encroaching on Wizard’s copyright, but I’m using what I’ve been given for the game world.
In the beginning, the chaotic energies of the universe roiled about in an empty void. A single spark became a fount of consciousness, and from that fount, the great Gods and Goddesses were created. Some were benevolent, some less so, but all of them had grand plans that they wished to enact upon the universe. All, except one.
Theria.
Like the other gods, Theria wandered to her own corner of the universe to begin her work, but once she got there, she had no inspiration. She thought, she dreamed, she considered, but nothing came to her mind of the world she wished to create. In her frustration, she began to weep. A single tear fell from her cheek and crashed into the chaos around her, the result stretching and forming into the first of Theria’s children. Theria smiled as she regarded her first son, watching him as he grew and caring for him as he learned to touch the energies around them and shape it according to his whims. While she watched him play, she gained inspiration.
Out of the stuff of the universe, Theria reached out and shaped the world, warmed by the sun. She planted the seeds of life that would become the forests and grasslands, swamps and marshlands, deserts and tundra. She carved out the oceans and the rivers, setting their tides in motion with a single moon. Her work finished, she set out to create the world’s inhabitants, but once again, her inspiration failed her, and the world she created was left lonely and empty.
Theria and her son journeyed for many centuries over this world, searching for the inspiration she needed to realize her dream. All the while, she tended to the trees and flowers, to the lakes and rivers, to the marshes and swamps, helping them thrive and grow. Finally, sitting on the bank of a river, inspiration struck her once again as she watched her son, now a man, tending to the plants along the river. She watched as he reached out for a single blade of grass; he touched it, shaped it into something else, something Theria had never imagined before. It was then that she realized that this world was not hers to make alone. Retreating to the void with her son, Theria reached out again to the energies of the universe, carefully and lovingly creating her new children; order from chaos.
As each child came into being, Theria gifted them with names and told them to choose their power. Kitavru came first, quiet and thoughtful, and she quickly mastered control of Time, and through it, Death. Vadza was next, powerful and swift, claiming dominion over War and Travel, which War cannot exist without. Tweli followed Vadza, her soft, gentle spirit offering Protection, the safety of Hearth, the gift of Birth. Then Silxeban, inspired by the warmth of Day and the Peace it promised. He claimed both, and with them, the gift of the Harvest. His opposite in nearly every way, Sorti claimed the Night for herself, as well as the powers of superstition: Luck and Magic. The triplets followed, each brother the exact copy of the other, save their mannerism and their dominion: Ledelit, who took Law into his hands; Ahrax, who believed that Chaos was the one truth; and Mizean, who brought Balance to the world. Eight children had been created, but still Theria was not done.
Reaching out again, Theria gave life to the Scholars, the twin sisters Tghallem and Issama. Tghallem reveled in Knowledge and Lore, where her twin delighted in Innovation. Kahra came next, forsaking the intellectual pursuits of her older sisters, instead directing her energies to Music and Secrets. The last of Theria’s creative spark went to Perwyl, who claimed Nature for his own.
Her children born, Theria gathered the twelve together. “Go now, my creations, my children. Visit this world that I have made, and work your powers upon it as you see fit.” She took her eldest child and retreated once again to her domain in the void. The Twelve pondered her words, and Kitavru said, “It seems unfair that we alone share in the beauty of our mother’s creation. It would seem that we should populate it.” The other gods agreed, and set to work.
Perwyl changed his mother’s vision, growing new forests, digging out canyons and shaping new mountains from the rock. He then created the creatures of the land, air, and sea, both mundane and magical. The Scholars created the Giants, wise, powerful, and full of knowledge. Vadza borrowed from his siblings, carefully crafting the Dwarves and the Dragonborn, stout and powerful beings, ideal for war. The Triplets created the Human and Genasi races, instilling in them the capacity for Law, Chaos, and Balance. Kahra, Tweli, and Silxeban gave life to the Halfling and Tiefling, both of whom inherited Kahra’s love for secrets and trickery. Sorti and Perwyl created the Elves and the Eladrin, similar in appearance and stature, and born with an innate gift of magic. Through it all, Kitavru touched each creation, ensuring that none would live forever.
Theria’s Eldest watched, angry and jealous, for his brothers and sisters were allowed to create, and he was not. When Theria and the other gods rested, he would steal away in secret to create his own race… insect-like creatures called the Seiq’Ikrah. He gave life to the first four Seiq, intending them to be the leaders of the race, the most powerful. Mardathi, Tingiza, Stkerra, and Tasirik were those creations. They were powerful, and they were full of guile, malice, and anger, just like their creator; for the Eldest was not born of Theria’s love, but her sorrow and her tears. He and the Four created more forms, the rest of the Seiq, and as they created, the Four worked to poison the Eldest’s mind. When the creations were finished, the Seiq race grew numerous and powerful, under the earth where none knew of their existence. While they flourished, the Four slowly worked to drive the Eldest mad with rage and jealousy, hoping that their creator would ask them to rid the world of the other creations. Finally, his mind warped and broken, the Eldest called upon the Four, ordering them to marshal their soldiers, emerge to the surface, and destroy or twist everything they found.
The first attacks by the Seiq were swift and merciless. Villages and towns were overrun, the races living there twisted into new forms, or mutilated and devoured by the armies of the abominations. At first, the Twelve ignored this threat, knowing that the Seiq could not travel long distances without great effort. Kitavru, however, realized that the Seiq could never die, for they were created without her touch upon them; the abominations could live forever. They tried to treat with the Eldest, to convince him that his creatures must be destroyed and remade. He refused. The Triplets tried to reason with him, saying that True Balance could not be held while the Seiq lived, and still the Eldest ignored their pleas. Vadza tried threats, and the Eldest responded by demolishing a Dwarven mine; the final straw, and the Twelve declared war upon the Eldest and his creations.
The battles were long and bloody for both sides. Every race mustered an army to beat back the vile creations, and countless people died, despite the best efforts of the Twelve. The war raged on for hundreds of years, each new generation of the races fighting legions of battle-hardened Seiq, and the races were losing. Theria watched the wars from afar, content to let her children sort out this war on their own terms.
That is, until the Eldest razed the Garden.
The Garden was Theria’s place of refuge, where she would go to sit and dream and watch her world go by. After returning from the void, she discovered the charred, blasted remains of her refuge, and immediately went to confront her children. The Twelve informed her of what had happened, and that the Eldest and his legions had fallen upon the refuge and destroyed it.
Theria went into a rage.
When the Seiq’Ikrah went on their next offensive, Theria was there to meet it. Her wrath was fearsome, and the Seiq were decimated or beaten back. As Theria pressed her advantage, she came upon her eldest son, standing on a mountaintop behind his forces, guiding them in their terrible war… Gathering all her anger, all her rage, Theria summoned a mighty storm in the sky. A single, blazing bolt shuddered from the heavens, striking the Eldest where he stood, driving him deep within the earth. The mountain erupted, fire and molten rock falling from the sky, incinerating the last of the Seiq army, and charring the land for miles around. Theria, overcome with weariness, grief, and bitterness, died where she fell, utterly spent.
The Seiq had been destroyed. The world was in ruins, bleeding and broken from a thousand wounds to its land and its people. The Twelve tried to restore what they could, but in the end, they were unable to restore everything to its former glory. Theria was gone, and with it, it seemed, the very lifeblood of the world.
The Giants came to call the world Dar na Theria: “The World Without Theria.”
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Ustizarmo considers the party. While powerful, he is pragmatic, and decides to try a less direct approach.
“You are no match for me. Better that you leave here, and run back to your little village.” Ustizarmo stretches his wings wide as he says this, being as threatening as possible. Kevara is obviously shaken because they stand before a dragon; yes, a small one, but a dragon nonetheless. “Alternatively, you could stay to replace my minions that you dispatched – it is clear to me that you are far more capable than Big Grigbad and his ilk. I am a reasonable master, and only punish incompetence, as you saw just a few moments ago.”
The group briefly talks amongst themselves; they are bruised and battered, weak and low on resources. A fight with this creature could easily end in their deaths. Ustizarmo settles back on his haunches, attempting to appear as regal and strong as possible. A short conversation ensues, and the party is attempting to come to a decision when Shayla suddenly says, “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not going to just roll over and die for some wizard’s pet lizard.” Instantly, Ustizarmo is enraged. “Pet lizard?” he roars. “YOU WILL DIE!”
And did I ROAR it, too, hitting that final word and punctuating it with as much hate and anger as I could muster on behalf of a small dragon. It did what I intended.
Shayla is prepared – she sends her spirit wolf in to battle to strike and get into position. The dragon’s superior reach, however, gives him the advantage, and Ustizarmo attacks as it comes close enough. The wolf is impaled on his horn, severing its connection to the physical realm. Shayla suffers a little damage due to the spiritual backlash, and she stumbles in pain. Lazan moves in for an attack and misses; Kevara fires a bolt of dark energy and it goes wide, smashing into the cave wall. Loranys attacks, her greatsword grazing Ustizarmo’s scales – a hit, but not a very damaging one.
Ustizarmo roars again, firing off a blast of lightning breath. The blast chains between Loranys, Kevara, and Dorn, and Loranys stumbles – she’s badly hurt, and another attack like that could possibly kill her outright. Dorn and Caelissa attack his unprotected flanks, and Dorn issues a challenge to Ustizarmo to attack him instead.
Shayla heals Loranys and summons her spirit wolf companion. Sorti, the goddess of luck, favors the party, and the next few rounds go by with the group making successful attacks against Ustizarmo, but he does little damage in return. Infused with a false sense of power, the group manages to back Ustizarmo into a corner; a followup attack by Caelissa bloodies the dragon…
…who immediately unleashes lightning breath, catching Loranys, Dorn, and Caelissa. Caelissa nimbly dodges aside, taking a minimum amount of damage, but Dorn and Loranys take a full blast. Loranys collapses, unconscious. Dorn forces Ustizarmo back, putting himself between the dragon and Loranys’ fallen form. The group scrambles, knowing that they are now at a severe disadvantage. They have to win, or die – fleeing is no longer an option with Loranys so badly injured.
The team uses their most powerful attacks; Caelissa manages to sneak her way into position to make a devastating strike on Ustizarmo, dealing an incredible blow. Letting out a savage bellow, the dragon lunges for Loranys but falls short, dying in mid-leap.
Recovering from the devastating battle, the group revives Loranys and spends a few minutes resting and restoring their health. After their recovery, they go through the dragon’s hoard, finding a great deal of valuables, several magic items, and a pretty big pile of coins. They immediately load everything up into sacks and head off to Ardenor to find the villagers of Camlain.
The team finds Millia and informs her that they found the bandit lair, and defeated their dragon leader. She is surprised at this, enough that she doesn’t think to ask about the village’s valuables. Millia tells them of their possible routes home: either through the mountains, by way of boat, or by way of the road. The road is the safest but the longest, the boat is the shortest and the most dangerous, and the mountain path is somewhere between the two. She gathers the rest of the villagers and heads home; the team finds a fence for the valuables they discovered, upgrade to more portable currencies, and choose the mountain path for their journey back to Three Hills.
At this point, I hope you’ve noticed what I noticed. Yep, that’s right – our heroes have fenced the villagers’ property. I didn’t bring this up in the hopes that someone would realize it, but they didn’t, and they didn’t get as much of an experience reward that they would have otherwise. They also passed up about three separate plot hooks in the city of Ardenor, something I decided not to mention to them until a later game session.