[Tale of Years] The Fellowship of the Free (Spoilers)

[Majestic]

Fantastic summary, and the previous comments are spot-on: intense was exactly the word I would use to describe it! Well done!

Having images/drawings of the characters really helps when visualizing these PCs that we as readers don't know very well. So when Grimbold fell I was like "NOOOO!!!" That was a great idea to use a former PC as the body the Gibbet King possessed; I'm sure that made it all the more personal for the PCs!

Now I'm going to go read over my own summary for the Crossing!

[Rich H]

Fantastic summary, and the previous comments are spot-on: intense was exactly the word I would use to describe it! Well done!

Having images/drawings of the characters really helps when visualizing these PCs that we as readers don't know very well. So when Grimbold fell I was like "NOOOO!!!" That was a great idea to use a former PC as the body the Gibbet King possessed; I'm sure that made it all the more personal for the PCs!

Cheers M, it did add some tension to the encounter; the players and their characters fear turned to anger because of it so I suspect that was quite different to how it usually goes in other peoples' games. I'm a little annoyed that I couldn't remember the exact conversation from the game to post here - all the more reason to do updates when the game is fresh in the memory!

[Scarytincan]

Any new updates? :p I pester because my group is right at about the same part and it's nice to have a read through of how some parts run going in and of course goes without saying at this point because ur alterations and additions are freaking awesome and I enjoy reading...

[Rich H]

Any new updates? :p I pester because my group is right at about the same part and it's nice to have a read through of how some parts run going in and of course goes without saying at this point because ur alterations and additions are freaking awesome and I enjoy reading...

Just waiting for my players to finish the final adventure. Will give you a sneak peek of Thogrim's introduction to Raenar though:

Some say my home is lonely, but I don’t find it so,
I am wayfinder, cliff diver, head carver, arrow runner, the champion with a prize of serpents,
I am the second gate, rider in the air, watcher of the tower,
I travelled from Grey to Brown to White and back,
I have served bear and been served by dogs,
I came away unscathed from the darkest bight in Wilderland and abided in shadows even before my father was born.

[Rich H]

Adventuring Phase: The Watch on the Heath (Part One), Grim Tidings and the Journey North
Early Winter 2951
Leaving a force of men and dwarves at the Celduin Crossing to aid in rebuilding the village, the companions return to Dale with the victorious King Bard and the rest of his army. On the day of their return they are met by Ori, one of the companions of Thorin Oakenshield, who has been sent with a message; their presence is required by King Dain at the Lonely Mountain.

Travelling the short distance north, they are escorted to the hall of the King. Where Dain introduces the three companions to one of his Lorekeepers; an old dwarf named Munin, who relates to them news of how the merchant, Lockmand, requested access to the hall of records in order to search for information about the dwarven outpost of Zirakinbar. Refusing his request, they thought no more of it until the events in Dale during the Festival of Five Armies and when Munin discovered a book had been misplaced and, upon further investigation, realised a page had been ripped from it – a map relating to the watchtower.

With the news that Lockmand had been captured but found dead in his cell, with no cause identified, King Dain is concerned that the plans of the enemy still have some purpose and relate to Zirakinbar in some way, and tasks the companions to investigate and travel north. He allows them to take the book from which the map was taken in order to learn any secrets of the place which may aid in their investigations.

Provisioned for their journey, the company leave by the northern postern gate and head out into the Grey Waste; already their mood darkens as their thoughts turn to the last time they were here and the madness of Thogrim. For days they navigate a path through the grey and broken land, Thogrim and Brand each night uncovering a further secret from the Book of Zirakinbar. Avoiding the sharp and misshapen stones littered throughout the Waste, they eventually reach the circle of stones where last they had reclaimed Bard’s arrow. Wishing to avoid this place and its memories they circumvent it and come across of scar in the land which leads into a gully.

Within this gully, Iwgar spies a fallen orc who look to have broken his neck from the way he is laid. A trail of footprints to and from the corpse reveals many iron shod boots have passed through this gully with some deeper than others; showing a great burden was being carried by some.

As Iwgar investigates, Brand notices the eyes of the fallen orc glowing slightly, its head moving as Iwgar returns to his companions, climbing the slope; the eyes going dim when Brand shoots an arrow into the orc’s breast. As Iwgar shares his thoughts on what he found, he notices a figure, stood at the edge of the stone circle behind them but beckoning towards the three to approach. Approaching the figure, they realise it must be the shade of the old Master of Lake Town; his weather torn cloak blowing in an unseen wind; he only speaks to them after they have introduced themselves, although he wails, his voice is almost a whisper on the wind:

“Come closer so I may see thee! My eyes dim in this darkness and storm! They took my treasure, my share of gold thrice-cursed. They brought it all here, my coins, my cups, my strings of rings. “Thrice-cursed, I call it. First, it made the Dwarves greedy and drew their doom upon their heads. Then, it consumed Smaug the Dreadful and made him weak. Finally, it made me blind to the joys of life, and turned me into an oath-breaker.”

When asked who took it and when, the Master’s reply is confused; seeming to mix up events and people into one memory:

“I do not know, for night has become day where I lie in unrest. They betrayed me and took my treasure; the betrayer betrayed! Since then I have slept the restless sleep. And then I saw Orcs, such Orcs as I have not seen before. Travelling north towards the mountains and carrying a heavy chain with dark magic upon it and a thing that walks in Shadow!”

The companions ask what can be done for the Master:

“There is nought to aid me! Forever am I doomed here, trapped until my curse can be lifted! Let my actions be a warning to others! Heed what I have done! Do not make those same mistakes!”

The shade grows silent then and the fellowship continue, reaching the foothills of the Grey Mountains at the beginning of the second week of their journey; looking back and seeing the Master watching them, trapped within his circle of stones…

As the companions climb the foothills, storm clouds gathering, they discuss further the words of the master concluding that the Gibbet King, his chain, and the master’s gold have all headed north. Thorgrim remembers the words from the Book of Zirakinbar regarding the ability of dragons to smell gold… Agreeing that the Gibbet King is planning to bring a dragon south, Iwgar recalls the words spoken when, many moons ago, he spied the Gibbet King and his servants within the ancient temple atop the Dwimmerhorn:

“The Chain is useless to us, unless we master its secrets. We must bide our time, until we can strike with the greatest weapon in all of Middle-earth.”

The company now realise that their initial assumptions were incorrect; they believed the chain to be some kind of weapon but it is clear now it is but a tool; a tool whose secrets can allow them to strike with the greatest weapon in all of Middle-earth: a dragon. The Gibbet King means to capture a dragon!

As this revelation takes root in the hearts of the companions it is as if the sky and land turn against them; the darkness brewing in the sky takes on a foreboding aspect and makes travelling perilous as they slip and slide on loose shale and stone. Eventually reaching the heights of the mountains they hear rumbling within them. Quickly this turn to the sound of crashing rock as the company find themselves in the path of an avalanche. Thogrim and Iwgar evade this terrifying assault but Brand is caught, a rock crushing his ribs. Finding a dell within the mountain side, and treating Brand’s wound, the companions shelter for what is left of the day and sleep through the night. Beset by dark dreams, Brand awakes in the early hours of the morning and tells his friends what he has foreseen. Dreaming, he heard the Master speak to him again:

“Now the graven silver and carven gold will be offered to the plunderer, the slithering death. A precious lure to call him, an iron trap to chain him, and then unleash him upon the North. Already, his cold breath blows from the North. He is coming! He is coming!”

Deeply disturbed by the visions, Iwgar suggests that they should in fact turn back, for they are in no condition to face these trials. As he speaks, Brand quietly packs his possessions and sets out up the mountain’s side, continuing the journey. Iwgar has his answer as Thogrim, grumbles something incoherent and follows the Barding.

Passing through a gorge of high rock walls, the company emerges in sight of the watchtower. There it stands, carved by the Dwarves out of the living rock, atop the peak of Zirakinbar. A narrow mountain road leads up to the main gate of the watchtower. As the fellowship approaches, they see the many empty windows of the tower. Smoke issues from the upper levels. The watchtower is occupied once more.

Taking cover behind a rocky outcropping, the words of the Master are recalled again:

“Now the graven silver and carven gold will be offered to the plunderer, the slithering death. A precious lure to call him, an iron trap to chain him, and then unleash him upon the North. Already, his cold breath blows from the North. He is here! He is here!”

And approaching from the North, the companions catch sight of a plume of dust moving southwards towards the watchtower and the iron trap which would chain a dragon...

LM Notes
Thought best to divide this into two parts due to the size of the post/write-up!

The journey rules I use again worked really well for this as the opening Journey Disposition (result: Fell and Foreboding Start) and closing resolution of the Journey's End (result: Inspired and Filled With Hope) really added to the overall experience:

A Fell and Foreboding Start
The company sets out under a pall of doom. A sense of foreboding and oppressive menace seems to loom at every turn and misfortune appears to dog their steps. Tasks seem harder, and will remain so until the feeling of doom can be shaken off.

As a result, each character must make a Corruption test as they set out upon this journey; failing gains one point of temporary Shadow.

Inspired and Filled With Hope
The Journey has served to reaffirm the company's dedication to their struggles and to their bonds with each other. Together they have weathered hardships, faced dangers and persevered and their faith in themselves and each other seems unshakeable.

As a result, each member of the company may remove up to 2 points of temporary Shadow.

I decided to leave out Witherfinger and have more of an encounter with the Master's Shade, using information within the Witherfinger encounter for use in this one. I felt including the Master rather than a strange encounter was more in keeping with what the adventure related to - ie, the past mistakes of men and the threat to the northern lands of the dwarves, Bardings and Lakemen. I think it was fairly easy to justify the Master's Shade being able to sense the evil of the chain and the spirit of the Gibbet King. I liked it as well in the way I weaved his thoughts into Brand's dream later on which was a basic Corruption Hazard - I just decided to add some specific information to.

The house rules I use for Wounds, to make them a little more mechanically significant/important, worked really well here too; and will prove so in part two. Iwgar's player really played up on his temporary Shadow as well; he was very close to being Miserable (just a point or two of Hope usage or Shadow gain away) and so decided to express doubts about continuing. I really liked how Brand's player dealt with it - ie, rather than discussing, he simply and quietly packed up his gear and continued northwards!

I also left out the encounter with the Snow Trolls. I'm not keen on how the Stealth rolls/results were handled in that encounter and didn't feel the adventure needed a (potential) fight at this point in the proceedings. Anyway, the players described how cautious they were being as they made their way through the gorge so I just described how dark and ominous the caves there looked; and what potential horrors could lay in wait. This worked fine!

The real highlight of this first part was the players' revelation about the Chain of Thangorodrim; the fact, with a little prodding, they pieced together information from previous adventures was really cool. Love it when stuff like that happens. This and the stuff to do with Mansbane are the real highlights of the campaign for me; as a GM and player I love this kind of foreshadowing.

Anyway, that's it for part one. We're very nearly at the end!

Next: The Watch on the Heath (Part Two), Raenar and the Gibbet King

[Rich H]

Adventuring Phase: The Watch on the Heath (Part Two), Raenar and the Gibbet King
Early Winter 2951
There are still dragons in the north...

Raenar the Plunderer
Raenar is a terrifying sight, a vast silver-grey serpent, wingless, with a huge head set upon a thick neck. He advances walking on four short and robust legs, sometimes slithering on his slime-covered belly. From his powerful, saw-toothed jaw emerge wisps of venomous cold vapours. Raenar is one of the greatest calamities that might befall the North, should his wrath be unleashed upon it. Awakened from his slumber by a strange feeling that invaded his dreams and by the scent of gold on the wind, Raenar travelled south and it is before an ancient Dwarven watchtower that he happened upon two men and their pets; a dog and dwarf. Rising to his full height, the dragon addresses the companions:

“I am Raenar greatest of all Cold-drakes! the Dragon-king, the plunderer of a hundred Dwarf-halls! The slayer of Kings and their sons! The Great Worm of the Frozen Waste! The Scourge of the North! Whose breath can melt stone, whose claws can cut steel, whose teeth can crush bone, whose maw can devour man and dwarf alike!

Now tell me, who stands here before me, itinerants all; two grubby looking men and their little mangy dog too. And a lord-less dwarf, whose kind I have not devoured for many a year!”

The company introduce themselves, Brand first who stands proudly and states he is here on behalf of both the King of the Mountain and the King of Dale; slayer of Smaug the Golden, and has an urgent message for the ancient wyrm. Iwgar tells of his homeland far to the west under the eves of Mirkwood and that he has never witnessed such greatness until now, finally gathering his thoughts while the other spoke, Thogrim requests that before he is devoured by such a magnificent creature he at least allows him to introduce himself to which he recites the following riddle:

“Some say my home is lonely, but I don’t find it so,
I am way finder, cliff diver, head carver, arrow runner; the champion with a prize of serpents,
I am the second gate, rider in the air, watcher of the tower,
I travelled from Grey to Brown to White and back,
I have served bear and been served by dog,
I returned unscathed from the greatest bight in Wilderland and abided in shadows even before my father was born.”

Raenar chuckles at Thogrim’s introduction, “Impressive! Most impressive! So many titles for one so small. One wonders if they are compensation for some shortcoming? No matter, I have never eaten food with so long a name! Now tell me, before I dine, why are you here, trespassing, in my domain?”

Noticing the iron collar about the dragon’s neck and the strange behaviour he already exhibits, the companions tell Raenar of what they believe is a trap set to lure and enslave him by the creature known as the Gibbet King. Impressing the dragon with their courteous words and their wise counsel, Raenar commands them to enter the watchtower – he will attack later to take the spirit by surprise, on condition that they leave the tower and the gold therein to the worm afterwards. The companions agree to this strange alliance, hopeful that Raenar may also be destroyed along with the Gibbet King.

The Watchtower of Zirakinbar
Carefully approaching the tower away from the main concourse, the company spy what could be an outcropping which may lead to the secret entrance into the cellars. Using the climbing equipment they had brought with them, the companions slowly but surely reached this bluff; a small flat area with a pool of still water and room for about a half-dozen people. Remembering the strange key given to him by Saruman, Thogrim takes it out and, recalling the riddle “A gift from the wise, shined thrice”, he shines it in the noon light. Watching him, Brand’s keen eyes spot the reflection of the mountain wall within the pool of water and see that there is a hidden door, carved to resemble rough rock. Working with Thogrim, they search out the keyhole and as they turn the key three times the door slides inwards with the merest of sounds.

Entering the cellars, they avoid the orcs working the furnace and make their way up the stairs to spy upon the main hall where they watch for a short time as the orcs their torment their goblin companions forcing them to fight each other bare-handed. Avoiding this warband they climb the stairs to an antechamber filled with pillars and which leads to a closed door carved with runes and depictions of whirling winds. After some discussion and further exploration of the Raven’s Perch the companions decide that the only option to left to them is to enter the chamber. Gathering themselves, Iwgar opens the door while Thogrim and Brand hide on either side…

The Gibbet King and the Chain
The first thing Iwgar sees amid the carved pillars of the huge chamber is a blazing bonfire with gold and other treasures pile on and around it. Next to this fire, in a cage, stands another mummified corpse like the one he saw at the Dwimmerhorn and faced at the Crossings of Celduin. The Gibbet King is accompanied by eight Black Uruks of Mordor, his bodyguards of choice; the burliest two of them carry the heavy weight of the Chain of Thangorodrim.

Sensing Iwgar, the Gibbet King commands him to approach and bring his friends too. The companions each resist the spirit’s geas but decide to attempt to dupe him and approach anyway. As Iwgar and Thogrim step forward, Brand covers himself in the cloak of Irimë and steps out of his hiding place, unseen; slowly creeping round the perimeter of the chamber he hopes to find advantage in attacking the orcs and Gibbet King from behind.

Sure in his victory, the Gibbet King taunts the companions:

“This is the hour of my triumph. In ages past, the Dragons were weapons of terror, wrought by the Lord of Middle-earth to enslave all the Mortal races. Now, this weapon will once again devour all. No sword nor shield can withstand the fury of the Great Worm! Lay down your weapons and I shall grant you a quick death. Resist, and your souls will be my playthings until the ending of the world!”

Knowing their deception will soon be uncovered, Iwgar and Thogrim defy the spirit; the dwarf shouting the battle cry of his people while Iwgar declares it is the Gibbet King that will face his end and trouble the peoples of Wilderland no more. Battle is joined with Brand still unseen and stealthily approaching the bonfire and the Gibbet King from behind.

The two companions, outnumbered by the black orcs, desperately defend themselves using the pillars to restrict the attacks of the enemy. Reaching the bonfire, Brand recovers a burning piece of wood from it but now uncloaked and seen, the Gibbet King attempts to paralyse and bewilder the Barding. Resisting and shouting his defiance he leaps forward impaling the old corpse with the burning torch.

It is then, that the tower shakes and trembles; crashing through the northern most passage the dragon arrives. With stone sent crashing about him, Raenar looks about him as the two orcs approach with the chain. Brand shouts to the worm: “your foe is before you Raenar! Here is the Gibbet King! He who seeks to enslave you!”

Looking down upon the orcs and the caged corpse, the dragon roars and breaths inward, sucking in the air about him and unable to bring his will to bear upon the dragon, the Gibbet King shrieks in anger. As Raenar breaths upon the cage, Brand throws himself aside avoiding the deadly assault. The orcs scream and the metal cage melts from the dragon’s corrosive attack. A second blast and the companions hear an impotent wail as the Gibbet King is vanquished and the spirit defeated.

The worm surveys the scene of his conquest, killing the remaining orcs and turns to Brand, stating triumphantly: “Leave now and tell your folk, I am coming! The North is mine!”

Following the dragon’s destructive path, as he slays the orcs arriving from the main chamber below, the companions escape the watchtower of Zirakinbar through the cellars and the way they had arrived.

As they climb down the cliff face, the mountain trembles to the exultant roars of the dragon, its final words hanging like a shadow over their great victory…

LM Notes
Again, apologies for the length of this post; many thanks for sticking with me!

The encounter with Raenar was pretty damn cool. The players all aced their Fear tests, a G-rune as well as great or extraordinary successes all round, so I decided that even though such a creature was terrifying and fearsome they were all amazed and excited to witness such a force, for good or ill, describing Raenar as more elemental in nature – potentially an incorrect statement but something I thought was okay to do given the character’s lack of lore regarding these creatures and to justify their amazing test results.

I really chewed up the scenery playing Raenar and enjoyed it immensely; I did over do it though, giving myself a very sore throat with all the growling and nastiness! Describing him as moving around the characters when they were talking to him and at times moving his head right to their level to regard them and test their valour at key times. The players all really got into the RPing and felt that their characters could be eaten at any time, especially Thogrim! I’m guessing this is the feel that Gareth was aiming for when he wrote the adventure and the encounter and it was great fun.

Knowing a dragon was coming, I’d dropped a less than subtle hint after the previous game session (actually, I think it was more on the lines of “there’s a dragon in the next session”!) the player who I told created a poem/riddle as his introduction. We had a lot of fun trying to guess his references so he’s okay with me sharing the explanation here:

Thogrim’s Riddle
Some say my home is lonely, but I don’t find it so,
I am way finder, cliff diver, head carver, arrow runner; the champion with a prize of serpents,
I am the second gate, rider in the air, watcher of the tower,
I travelled from Grey to Brown to White and back,
I have served bear and been served by dog,
I returned unscathed from the greatest bight in Wilderland and abided in shadows even before my father was born.

And now a break down by line:

• Some say my home is lonely, but I don’t find it so - Thogrim is a dwarf of the Lonely Mountain
• I am wayfinder, cliff diver, head carver, arrow runner, the champion with a prize of serpents - Thogrim is the guide for the group. He dove off of a cliff at the siege of Mountain Hall, taking a great orc with him. He carved his family history and his adventures into his axe head. He ran off with the black arrow in a fit of madness. He won the Grand Melee, but his chest of gold was instead filled with snakes
• I am the second gate, rider in the air, watcher of the tower - Thogrim held the breach in the gate at the battle of Hitherd. He has flown with eagles and stood sentry over Dol Guldur
• I travelled from Grey to Brown to White and back - The fellowship was sent by Gandalf to Radagast, who sent him to Saruman. They then returned to Radagast, and eventually met Gandalf again
• I have served bear and been served by dogs - They undertook tasks for Beorn, and at his house were served food and drink by his dogs
• I came away unscathed from the greatest bight in Wilderland and abided in shadows even before my father was born - They travelled to the East Bight and left unharmed. In the dream of Dol Guldur in the past, they endured the dungeons of DG

Massively inspired by Bilbo in The Hobbit but I was absolutely fine with this both out and in-game. After all, Bilbo’s encounter with Smaug must be a well-known tale and Thogrim has actually met him, during the first Festival of the Five Armies and during a riddle contest so I don’t think its any stretch to say what he did. Even if it was I’d have still thought it was pretty damn cool – love it when players go that extra mile and do some ‘homework’ for the game.

The players nailed their various encounter tests using their traits to good effect as well as their bonus preliminary dice. They ended up getting over 5 successes in total so it really couldn’t have gone better for them; Raenar would attack the tower at some opportune and appropriately suspenseful time!

Onto the watchtower, the players made some really good decisions...

I allowed them to successfully climb the mountainside to the outcropping without making tests as I felt having the foresight to bring climbing equipment, and paying the extra price in fatigue, should have a measurable reward.

Finding the secret door was also a lot of fun. I altered slightly from the adventure as written so it fitted in with the previous encounter with Saruman.

The players were very cautious in scouting/exploring the watchtower so I cut a lot of this out from the write-up above. I was okay with this but it did lose a bit of pacing here and there as they deliberated. Not a big problem; three wearied or wounded or low on Hope characters versus a warband of orcs and the Gibbet King means its to be expected that they are more than a little prudent! It was worth the wait though as the final battle played out amazingly well. Being able to use Irimë's cloak, spending a point Hope for a magical effect, really put them in a great position and the final encounter with the Gibbet King and Raenar was certainly one to remember! At one point the player of Brand deliberated whether to attack the dragon when he stated he was coming.

Awesome fun stuff and a great climax to the first arc of the campaign. I'll post a final Fellowship Phase separately just to finish things off along with a pdf of all these posts...

Next: The Final Fellowship Phase

[Rich H]

Fellowship Phase: The Returning Heroes
Winter 2951
With the Gibbet King defeated, the company start on the long journey back to Erebor. Obviously concerned about a dragon residing in the north but, for the moment, the shadow has been driven back once more, by the valiant deeds of Brand, Thogrim and Iwgar.

Finally returning to Lonely Mountain, King Dáin is generous once he hears of the company’s deeds, and rewards them each with a chest of treasure. A feast is then held in the company’s honour in Dale, and their names are spoken of with respect throughout Wilderland. King Bard bestows position and the title of Thegn upon both Thogrim and Iwgar in addition to increase the holdings Brand’s family and his own standing within court. Winter is spent with the companions tending to these new responsibilities; Thogrim in his smithy, Iwgar on the borders of Dale and Mirkwood within his small holding while Brand invests his time between managing his college within the city and attending court where his opinion and counsel are valued by Bard and his advisors.

And here ends Book One: The Fellowship of the Free.

LM Notes
I really threw some rewards around for the PCs in this phase - I felt, rightly I think, that they deserved it. Firstly, Dain awarded them all 20 points of Treasure each - which is worth a lot more in my game than the standard RAW.

In addition to this Bard gifted them titles of Thegn to Thogrim and Iwgar and holdings to all three characters - each player selected the Holding Type and going with a Smithy (for Thogrim), a Small Holding (for Iwgar) and a College (for Brand). Due to the heroic deeds their Standing/Renown also was increased in both Dale and the Lonely Mountain with Brand especially being fully accepted now within Dale's court - with a Standing of 5 he's practically royalty!

Brand's Future
I do want to do something with Brand. As he was pretty much a pre-generated character for a player that wasn't really into Tolkien (things he's a great world builder but is lacking as an actual storyteller) I thought I'd have a bit of fun and name him after the future king of Dale. Now what with his growing position and influence I think it'd be awesome if, when retired, he became the Lord Protector of Bard's son, Bain, and then in the future Bain would name his son Brand in memory of his old family friend.

The problem is, as soon as I mention him becoming Lord Protector he will, rightly, see it as a command from his king. This time is fast approaching too as Bain is a little older in my campaign than in C7's material.

What do other's think; would you use this gap in play (we're going to have a little break from TOR and play Mutant City Blues) to do this or would you wait a couple of years into the next arc of the campaign. I'm inclined to go with the latter so that I can mention it to the player as well rather than dropping it on him out of the blue.

Suffice to say, we've all really enjoyed playing this so far. It's a great game and the players have made it even better. I've loved running it for them and myself. Awesome stuff.

[Rich H]

And here's a pdf link which combines all the AP and FP posts sans LM Notes:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/84ksi4q5g04fg ... e.pdf?dl=0

26 pages! I don't half blabber! I'm not one for fanfic, which I think this often reads like, but it's going to be a good reference for the players if*/when we start up again. Hope others have enjoyed/found it useful too!

* I say 'if' as I do have a habit of never going back to a game once a break is taken.

[Scarytincan]

Fantastic as always and thanks for posting!

[Majestic]

Yes, amazingly fun to read, as always!

The poem your player took the time to do was brilliant as well.

And I think it would be best to go with the second option as well, waiting for the next arc in the campaign.