The Duck is back!

Although it has been suspected for sometime, now it's official: Donald Duck is coming to Disney Infinity 2.0. That brings the current known characters to twenty-five:

The Avengers playset - Thor, Ironman, Black Widow, The Hulk and Hawkeye
The Spider-Man playset - Spider-Man, Venom, Nick Fury, Iron Fist and Nova
The Guardians of the Galaxy playset - Star-Lord, Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Drax the Destroyer and Gamora
Marvel villains - Green Goblin, Loki and Ronan the Accuser
Toybox only - Merida, Maleficent, Tinkerbell, Stitch, Aladdin, Jasmine, Donald Duck

There is still over five weeks until the release date for DI2. We have been getting, on average, one new release announcement each week for the last month so hopefully there will be more forthcoming. Notably, we haven't heard anything about their plans for the Big Hero 6 franchise. Of course, they might hold that one back until they are closer to the release of the film.

-Rognar-

Way of the Wicked 24

Cardinal Thorn is dead (well, really dead) and the Agathium is in the hands of our anti-heroes.

This session had a fair bit of roleplaying, lots of discussions and very little combat.

The decision was made to continue Thorn's plan. Tiadaora was sent to find find the 6th Knot (Cedric Malthus) who was supposed to be out raising an army. He was found and returned to the Agathium. Cedric is the flexible sort and after finding out that things had changed, he informed the 9th Knot that he expected a place on the ruling council and maybe a rich barony or something for all of his troubles. The 9th agreed and then returned to the army encampment and negotiated for both the larger army of murderers and cut-throats as well as the services of Herr Eisenmark, captain of the continent's finest mercenary army. They were not cheap but now paid for, they began to embark onto their transport craft and headed for Matharyn.

Next a visit was paid to Fire-Axe. He was saddened that his days in the sun were coming to an end but laid out his plan for his army's destruction. He asked that the PC's rescue him. The one caveat of his plan was that it was likely some of his elite warriors may escape the trap. There needed to be someone or someones to prevent them from breaking out. The PCs agreed to be there to stop them.

The mercenary army arrived and marched near Matharyn on their way to the fields of Tamberlyn. There the trap was set. The Fire-Axe marched his army into the trap where archers rained death upon the monsters, while Herr Eisenmark's elite cavalry assaulted form the rear. As predicted a number of monsters tried to break out but were met by the PCs who mowed them down with little difficulty. Sakkarot Fire-Axe's horde was no more bug the bugbear himself was rescued from a grim fate by the timely intervention of Tiadora who removed the genral from the battle in the final minutes.

Up to this point the PCs were a bit unsure what to do with Vastenus Barca, the traitor general that led the Knights of Allerian to their doom at Daveryn. Thorn had promised him the crown, but he rubbed the PCs the wrong way and they had a better candidate of the own (the now Cardinal Hellcrate, whom the PCs had added to the Liber Darius). The PCs had brought him along to see how he did in battle and were hoping that he suffer an accidental death. With the giants of Fire-Axe's horde being contained in rings of Blade Barriers and being snuffed out by Earthquakes and Implosion spells, the risk level was pretty low so one of the clerics "accidentally targeted Barcus with an Implosion and that was the end of the traitor.

Marching back to Matharyn at the head of their victorious army they were met by the Mayor Hubert Rowen and Leothyn Barca (the very old younger brother of the last Barcan king).  The city was surrendered to the PCs and Hellcrate made his claim to the throne. Leothyn Barca looked skeptical but said nothing.

A coronation was held that was extremely lavish as fitting of one representing the mighty Asmodeus. Duke Hadrian of Ghastenhall failed to attend the coronation and sent a delegate in his stead. The duke was informed that he had to attend and swear fealty. He sent a doppelganger in his place. The PCs discovered the trick, and disguised Gorbatch as the Duke and returned him to Ghastenhall. The real Duke emerged form hiding and congratulated his ambassador on the successful deceit only to have Gorbatch cleave him in two. As word got out that the Duke was dead, his mercenary guards fled looting as they went. The Duke's heir, his 14 year-old nephew was now the new duke and quickly swore fealty to the new King.

 A ruling council was formed, although a few members would only attend for urgent matters or that directly affected their sphere of influence. The ruling council consisted of the PCs (who make all of the real decisions), Leothyn Barca, Mayor Hubert, Cedric Malthus, Baroness Vanya, Queen Ellisif of the Frost Giants, Gaius Richter, and Mallory Hawthorn.

Only two month's into the reign, Herr Eisenmark has led a large expedition into the Borderlands to quell any remaining monster troops and to see what would be required to rebuild the Watch Wall the the PCs breached oh so long ago. There are no plans to build a new cathedral but there seems to be some thoughts of converting the Mitran temple into a temple devoted to Asmodeus. So far they are just in the early stages of trying to corrupt the Mitran church. With the High Cardinal missing along with some of the church's money, the PCs are trying to get Brother Thane nominated as the new High Cardinal.

And I think that covers everything. The Princess Belinda is missing and cannot be found. Their have been no sightings of her mother (an ancient wyrm silver dragon). The High Inquisitor Tyrath abandoned the capital when the PCs won at Tamberlyn and took whatever he could carry with him.

For now the PCs rule unopposed. At long last they are now the rulers of Talingarde. What will they do with their new found power? Can they keep it?

Aladdin joins Disney Infinity 2.0

The latest announcement from Disney Infinity 2.0 reveals the addition of Aladdin and Jasmine to the list of playable characters, although they will not be part of a playset. While not as awesome as all the Marvel goodies we've seen thus far, this announcement has certainly got my daughters excited. Jasmine will make a nice addition to the "Disney Fightin' Princesses" supers team they're building.

-Rognar-

Waiting...

Ugh, when it comes to gaming this is always the worst time of the year for me. There is lots of sweet stuff coming out for Gencon and the internet is alive with hints and previews. I am especially interested in the Paizo's Advanced Class Guide (ACG) this year. While most of the new classes seem rather meh, there seems to be lots of other crunch in the book that sounds pretty awesome.

So far it is looking like an optimizers dream in that it makes it easier to combine features from different classes without having to Dip. So far I've seen previews of things that make rogues and monks less bad and might actually make crossbows a viable weapon (in fact they might be awesome).

Of course these are just hints and previews and I have to wait at least one more week before I can buy the PDF. Usually the FLGS is slow to get product in so it might be even longer before I can get a hardcopy.

Oh the trials in my life...

Guardians of the Galaxy

I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy last night and it was very enjoyable. Perhaps not as engaging as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but GotG is a genuinely fun movie. It delivered a few good laughs, some exciting action sequences and first-rate performances. Best of all, it didn't resort to campiness, which a movie featuring a talking raccoon could have easily done. I give it my highest recommendation.

On a related note, during our recent US roadtrip, we did a fair bit of shopping and I noticed some of the Guardians of the Galaxy merchandise appearing in stores. I was unhappy to see a total absence of Gamora in any of it. Some products even had all four of the other characters featured, but no Gamora. As the father of two girls who do actually like comic book characters, I found this very frustrating. Disney should be better than this.

-Rognar-

A visit to the EMP Museum in Seattle

Seattle is a beautiful city. I visited it for the first time this past week. One highlight of the trip was a visit to the EMP Museum. This museum is dedicated to popular culture, notably rock music and fantasy/sci-fi/horror. In particular, the "Icons of Science Fiction" exhibit was awesome. Presented below are some of my pictures:

"You sold a reverberating carbonizer with mutate capacity to an unlicensed cephalopoid, Jeebs, you piece of shit!"

"No! Try not! Do...or do not. There is no try."

"It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear. And it will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead."

I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"Risk is our business. That's what this starship is all about. That's why we're aboard her."

-Rognar-

Disney Infinity 2.0 - Villains!

The latest announcement for Disney Infinity 2.0 introduces the key villains for the three Marvel playsets; Loki, Green Goblin and Ronan the Accuser, and they're playable. This is not a huge surprise as these characters were already known to be in the game from previous videos and playable villains are not unprecedented. Davy Jones and Syndrome were playable in the first edition. Nonetheless, the introduction of three more characters which are playable in all the Marvel playsets is pretty cool.

-Rognar-

Way of the Wicked 23

The assault on the Agathium continued in our latest session. After retreating at the end of the last game, they rested, leveled up, and were ready to go again.

This time the Agathium seemed to block any manner of teleporting or etherealness. For some reason there was great reluctance to go in through the front door (I was hoping they come crashing in through the stained glass windows) so they disintegrated a fairly large hole at the mack of the cathedral and entered that way.

They encountered the Frost Giant Queen Ellisif, who didn't seem all that concerned that the 9th Knot had murdered her husband. She made a bargain with them. If they win she will gain some influence in their new kingdom (a spot on their ruling council) and they will do what they can to protect her Frost Giants that have come south. In return she provided them with a map of the lower level and some intel on its occupants. The PCs accepted the deal and made their way to one of the stairs leading to the lower level.

The plan was the same as it was against the dragon Eirmanthus. Rush him and kill him before he has a chance to summon allies. The PCs buffed up and everyone had Fly. They raced through the lower level, going past some "Deathknights" before entering Cardinal Thorn's throne room. Initiative was rolled, and the PCs rushed him and killed him on the first blow. It seems it was a decoy and the entire room was trapped. Cube of force appeared trapping the PC and then subjecting them to force blades inside. Most of the PCs dodged the Cubes as they appeared and only the wizard was trapped. He dodged the first round of the blades attacking him and then disintegrated the cube allowing himself to escape.

The PCs fled the room and waited in the hall for the Deathknights to catch up. They didn't arrive as expected and the PCs were watching their buffs run down. A couple minutes later, the Anti-paladin Wolfram arrived leading all of the Deathknights that were present in the Agathium (some were out patrolling for the PCs). The battle was long but not overly dangerous to the PCs. They managed to block the hallway and were only being attacked from a single direction so they squishier people in the back were safe.

Their next stop was Grigori the wizard. As suggested by Ellisif, they approached diplomatically and through some decent roleplaying and excellent rolling they managed to turn the unhappy Necromancer helpful. Grigori was no longer so thrilled to be working for Thorn and as long as the PCs left him in peace and allowed to continue to work on "the machine" then he would reveal Thorn's location.

The 9th Knot located the secret door and moved into the secret section of the lower complex. They decided to head straight for the throne room and attack. Cardinal Thorn was waiting for them there and after a short monologue the battle began. Thorn was not alone as it first appeared and the wizard quickly realized that Tiadora and 6 barbed devils were present. The barbed devils used Hold person and Scorching Ray, Tiadora grappled with Gorbatch to keep him from killing Thorn in 2 rounds. However Sergent was very effective at preventing Thorn from casting his spells and was immune to Thorns physical attacks. Thorn died, Tiadora surrendered and the Devils returned to Hell. I think it was a fairly challenging battle but none of the PCs were in any real danger of dying.

With the death of Thorn Book 5 is effectively done. The PCs are now in control. There are a few clean-up issues to deal with but I think some of that can be dealt with by email and we'll be ready for Book 6.

Book 6 is an interesting beast. The first section of the book deals with completing Thorn's plan, which for 18th levels heroes, should be a piece of cake. The middle section of the book is almost all roleplaying and a lot of work for me to get set up.

I predict only another 3 play sessions unless there are parts a head that take much longer than I expect. Depending on what the PCs do it might only be 2. I am already looking at the ending and trying to decide how to run it to make sure that it is tough enough. Should Good or Evil win?

More on Disney Infinity 2.0

It seems like every week there is a couple of new announcements of what will be available in the Disney Infinity 2.0 game coming out this fall. So far, we know for certain there will be three playsets based on Marvel properties. They are:

The Avengers - Thor, Ironman, The Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye
Spider-Man - Spider-Man, Nick Fury, Nova, Venom and Iron Fist
Guardians of the Galaxy - Starlord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon and Groot

We also know of several Disney characters that will be available for toybox play; Merida, Maleficent, Tinkerbell and Stitch.

Then there are the rumoured releases based on leaks from vendors. These include Donald Duck and a possible Big Hero 6 playset with at least Hiro Hamada and Baymax coming out to coincide with the release of the film.

So now it's time for speculation. The original Disney Infinity game had six playsets; Pirates of the Caribbean, The Incredibles, Cars, The Lone Ranger, Monsters University and Toy Story. It seems likely that there will be as many or more in DI2. Since Big Hero 6 looks to be the big Disney animated feature for the fall, with lots of potential characters including female characters, I would guess it is almost certain to be released as a playset. However, that means four Marvel properties will figure prominently in the game. I can't imagine there will be more. I am going to go out on a limb and predict a playset based on one of the princess properties. Right now, I am leaning toward Brave. We already know that Merida is coming. The addition of Queen Elinor in bear form and maybe King Fergus would make a suitable playset. The other possibility would be a Frozen playset. Elsa and Anna have already been released, but a further release of Kristoff and Olaf as a playset is certainly an option (and a license to print money). More announcements coming up this weekend at San Diego Comic Con.

-Rognar-

Stampede Road Race 2014

Last Sunday was the 7th annual Calgary Stampede Road Race - called such because it takes place during the Stampede not through any affiliation.

As I was prepping the night before the race I had the horrible realization that I had forgotten to pick up my race package. Apparently you could pick-up your package the morning of the race but it was supposed to be for out-of-towners only. I was hoping that they only say that to encourage people to pick up the kits ahead of time and decided to go anyway.

The race starts at 7:30 so while I had to get up early it was not the crazy early starts of the Disney races. I made sure I was there early to get easy parking and have time to pick-up my race kit. I was able to do so and still had time to walk back to my car and stick the none essentials inside so I did not have to use the bag check. Now equipped with my bib and timing chip I walked over to the starting line and hung out for 30 minutes until things got started. They let the slow-pokes leave at 7:00 (people with an expected 2:45+ finish time) so they won't be out there long after everyone else. The 10km runners depart at 8am.

While killing time, at one point the MC went over the timeline of getting all of the different pieces ready for race day. Permits are requested almost a year in advance and shirts are ordered over 9 months in advance (which is why they never have enough of the right sizes). It gave me a good appreciation of all of the work that goes into making the race a success.

After getting eaten by a bunch of mosquitoes the gun went off and we took off from our starting line near the Glenmore track. I am always amazed at how adrenaline causes runners to start off at such stupid paces. I'm pretty fast and started up near the front but there was still a surge of people that roared past me in the first couple minutes. A few minutes later these same people are wheezing and muttering "too fast" under their breath. I prefer to start a tiny bit slower than my target pace for the first kilometre until I'm fully warmed up. I also like the psychological boost of passing people.

It was a bit warm that morning but completely overcast with little wind so it was almost perfect running conditions. By the time I had made it to the dam the pack had really thinned out and there were only 20 or so people left a head of me. I hit the aid station coming up the hill after the dam and grabbed some water. I've never tried what they were offering for energy drink so I played it safe. I normally don't stop for water either but it was warm and I need practice for marathons. I really didn't want dehydration cramps.

I passed a few more people as I went by the hospital. Sometimes its hard to tell if the person you are passing is someone that has run out of gas from the lead group or were one of the early starts that is running particularly strong. I passed the Ken and Barbie Australian couple as I rounded Heritage Park. I seem to remember them from a different race where they passed me easily and never looked back.

The south side of the reservoir is a lot of small rolling hills which can be rather draining on a bad day. I was still feeling strong and was staying a head of my desired pace. I hit the second Aid station but felt the water sloshing around and deicided to skip the next one. At about the 44 minute mark I passed the mid point. I wasn't exactly sure because my stupid Garmin had lost its satellite signal at Kilometre 4 and I was now dependent on my foot pod to track my pace. My goal for the race was 1:32:00 or 4:20/kilometre which I was exceeding, but I also knew the last 7 kilometres of this course are rough and I slowed down through there last year. Still, finishing under 1:30:00 was within my reach.

As I came to the big downhill I passed the blonde that I'd been tailing for quite a while. My legs felt good and the pathway was dry so let gravity do its thing and blasted down the hill as fast as I could barely staying in control. I can get up to almost 30 km/hr on a good downhill like those and although they can wreck my feet and knees I find it worth the risk on a race.

At the bottom I resumed my normal pace and tried to recover a bit as I continued on over the forested flood plain. My Garmin was not reporting correctly and it didn't take long to figure out that somewhere coming down the hill my foot pod had popped off. I was now stuck having to reset my watch so I could track my pace.

The course's worst hill is coming up out of that flood plain and I passed yet another guy. I guess all of my hill training paid off. At the top was the second to last Aid station and I hit this one for more water. Those few seconds of walking enable me to actually drink the water and drop my heart rate a bit before taking off again. My Garmin was back up and running now.

Running along the north end of the the reservoir I could only see 5 people a head of me. One I would catch just as the path turns north leaving the park. The next two remained frustratingly distant.

The section that runs north out of North Glenmore park towards Glenmore Trail is long and a slight incline. I find this to be the most psychologically difficult part of the race. It is still about 4 kilometres to the end and I'm always really, really tired by this point. I was also starting to cramp up.

I changed up my breathing and pushed on. Up ahead was where the 10k runners route joined ours and there was a mass of people. I came around the corner and joined the pack and heard a great cry of "Go Obiri" from behind me. It was some of my coworkers running the 10k. I did an over the shoulder wave and used the boost to pick up my pace.

As I ran up the ramp of the pedestrian bridge over Glenmore I could hear the whispers of the 10kers as I dodged around them: "OMG. He's fast","Wow he's a half marathoner". Their tears were delicious.

Coming down the ramp on the far side I realized I was close to another Halfer. The white haired guy had passed him and now I was coming up on his tail. He looked over his should twice at me which I interpreted as a sign of weakness. I used the downhill stretch again to my advantage and passed him and rounded the corner onto the final long stretch. There were hordes of 10kers everywhere and I spotted the white-haired guy ahead. With a little less than 2km to go, I kicked up my breathing into hyperventilation mode and made my big final push. Weaving around other runners is not the most efficient way to run but at times the psychological value exceeds the energy cost. This was one of those times.

As I blaze past the runners I can feel them become demoralized. It only makes me stronger. The white haired halfer is getting close now. My heart is pounding but I'm gaining on him quickly now. I pass him on the outside and then make the turn into the athletic park. There is a short stretch of running on grass to get up onto the track that sucks a lot out of me. It takes a moment to refocus and I push on. Somehow with the finish line so close I dig a bit deeper and sprint to the finish. I cross the finish line a big sweaty mess but very happy. I managed to finish with a 1:28:46 time which is 3 minutes better than my previous best and 8 minutes faster than I ran this race last year. Aside from the initial burst I was never passed by anyone the entire race which I think is a first for me. I also finished 11th overall. Still not top 10 yet but getting close.

So yeah, I loved the race. In fact I'm still fairly high from it 2 days later. It's not too big participant wise (less than 2000 runners), there were lots of water stations and the volunteers kept us on track. I don't remember any entertainment but I fall into a trance after the first few kilometres and don't care about that stuff anyway. There is a very nice stampede breakfast available at the end of the race. It always has a big line and I wasn't hungry anyway. There are all sorts of fun kid family events except this year I was solo and went home after I'd said hello to everyone that was participating that I knew.

Stampede Road race is a solid well organized event.

Way of the Wicked 22

I think there was some anxiety going into last nights session. People were worried about the Linnorm and a possible TPK. It turns out those fears were unfounded. We had 5 players so there was lots of firepower ready to go.

The party airwalked the the cairn lair of Nithoggr and set up a base camp a few thousand feet away. The wizard remotely scouted the lair using magic and had a pretty good idea what manner of creatures lived inside and where the Linnorm made his home. The wizard had a pretty good idea what sort of Linnorm Nithoggr was and what any of his special abilities were (Acid and Negative energy).

Rather than waste time clearing out the cairn the party just rushed through hoping that the other inhabitants were scared of the linnorm and would not interfere with the fight. The battle itself turned to be easier than expected. Everyone was initially blasted with negative energy-laced acid and then melee combat began. Nithoggr hates Cold Iron weapons and targets people who carry them. Fortunately for the party Sargent Fenton, the impossible to hit halfling, was carrying one and the Linnorm spent most of his actions trying to kill him in vain. The deathblow was actually dealt by the Anti-paladin who made a sky high saving throw to avoid the Linnorm's Death Curse. With the death of the Linnorm the party was attacked by the cairns of fearsome inhabitants - Banshees and Dread Wraiths. Under other circumstances this would have been a super nasty encounter but with everyone buffed with Death Ward it was a cake walk as the undead only had death attacks or negative energy powers. The 9th Know looted the Linnorm's vast horde and found Thorn's phylactery.

They decided to destroy it and shortly after another Devil showed up. I didn't wish to fight and twisted Thorn's instructions to kill the party. I informed the party where the Agathium is located and then departed.

The party again windwalked to the location and then D-Doored past the front door only to be met by some of Thorn's allies - The King of the Frost Giants and 4 of his personal guard. This encounter turned out to be much scarier then the Linnorm and the King had as many hit points as the Linnorm and could inflict far more damage. Everyone except Sargent Fenton took tons of damage this encounter with the Anti-paladin almost dying, the wizard getting knocked unconscious, and even the BloodRagers vast hit points were almost completely depleted. What guaranteed victory was casting Maze on the King. With him out of the way, his guards could be dealt with and then the King got Gang-banged when he escaped the Maze.

This one encounter depleted a ton of party resources so they have decided to retreat and heal up (and level up to 17 - 9th level spells!). In two weeks we'll see how the rest of the Agathium goes.

Way of the Wicked 21

This session started with the PCs realizing that with Chargammon's death, his horde was likely undefended. They waited one night to heal and regain their spells from their adventure in the Adarium and teleported back to the lair.

Searching the caves they found nothing of interest until they reached the large dark murky pool that Chargammon called home. There seemed to be an odd current, almost as if something were moving...

Sergeant, the halfling shield fighter vampire, tied a rope around his waste and plunged into the murky depths.  Before long he was attacked by an enormous water elemental and Gorbach the Bloodrager pulled him out of the water.

He decided to go for a second swim and this time was attacked by a draconic creature that was concealed in the murky blackness. It got off a lucky hit and did significant damage and again Sergeant retreated.

The party came up with a plan to attack the creatures hidden in the darkness and spent the night changing out their spells. By the next day they were able to search the pool and discover the now almost empty treasure chamber.

Returning to their base, Eirmanthus' former island, they ran into Tiadora and her 9 Erinyes sisters who offered to take them to Cardinal Thorn to get their reward. The party made a bunch of lame excuses to her and kept putting her off until they could figure out what to do next. While they waited they took this moment to write the party cleric, Helcrate into the Libre Darius as a long lost scion of the family
.
They teleported to Baroness Vanya's manor only for Dessiter the Contract Devil to meet them there. He congratulated them on their accomplishments and offered to take them to see his master, the Pit Fiend Narburus. The loop hole in their contract with Thorn is that it only applies as long as Thorn is the high priest of Asmodeus in Talingarde. The party talked up their great deeds in Asmodeus' name and then Helcrate petitioned for the position of High Priest, usurping Thorn's position. I think everyone enjoyed the role-playing encounter with Nabarus. Gorbatch declared it "the most Metal scene ever in D&D" and then played air guitar.

Returning to their base, Tiadora refused to accept any more delays and a battle erupted. The devils were easily defeated but Tiadora escaped.

Shortly after they were contacted by their old associate Barnabus Thrane, fake Mitran priest, member of the 6th knot and distributor of the Tears of Achlys. He asked them to hurry to Ghastenhall so he could meet with them. The PCs arrived promptly and had a quiet meeting in the basement of the temple library. Thrane complained of not receiving any communications from Thorn. He had spotted the princess trying to raise an army and learned that Sir Richard the Paladin was on his way to Chargammon's lair to try to loot the dragon's treasure to help fund the army. The PCs had a good laugh about that and then teleported to the island to see if they could intercept Richard and his companions.

They arrived shortly after Richard did and caught up with them as they were just about to search Chargammon's pool. The battle was brief. I rolled poorly on initiative and the entire 9th Know got to go before any of the heroes. Helcrate walked into the middle of the fray and blasted the heroes with Stormbolts stunning the cleric and wizard. Gorbach almost killed Richard with a single critical hit and Richard responded by missing Gorbatch three times in a row due to Displacement. The Gunslinger was effective, nearly killing Helcrate, but then Twitch the wizard hit him with Maze on his next turn removing him from the fight.Richard was finished off by Gorbatch and then the wizard and cleric were dispatched before they even got to do anything. The party stood around waiting for the Gunslinger to find his way out of the maze and slew him the instant he reappeared. So much for my custom party.

One piece of info Dessiter had given the party before his departure was the nature of Cardinal Thorn. Thorn is a powerful Lich, and Dessiter recommended that the party locate Thorn's phylactery before they face him. Using Commune they manage to narrow down the possible locations of the phylactery and then Thrane was able to research the location using the great library in Ghastenhall. Given the clues the 9th Knot had given him he was quite sure it could be found in an ancient barrow far in the north that is currently the lair of an ancient Linnorm known as Nithogg'r.

And there we ended for the night.

Disney Infinity at E3

Following up on previous announcements that the starter pack for Disney Infinity 2.0 would feature the Avengers playset with Thor, Black Widow, the Hulk, Ironman and Captain America, Disney revealed at E3 2014 that still more Marvel goodness would be forthcoming. The Spider-Man playset was announced and will include Venom, Nick Fury (?), and lesser known superheroes, Nova and Iron Fist joining Spidey to thwart the machinations of a much bulked-up Green Goblin. They also revealed improvements to the game to attract older players including skill trees and character death. It all looks really good and has the potential to direct my kids away from their Skylanders addiction. If I have one wish, it would be more female characters. My daughters love the battle princesses and the addition of Maleficent, Merida and Black Widow are great, but a few more would be awesome. If anyone from Disney reads this (snicker!), might I suggest a Mulan playset, or since you are already releasing Maleficent, why not Princess Aurora as well.

A further note, one has to wonder how the Guardians of the Galaxy is going to make an appearance in Disney Infinity 2.0. We have already seen Rocket Raccoon and Groot in the Avengers playset trailer a while ago. Nova Corps figures prominently in the upcoming film and the character of Nova (or Nova Prime) is the commander of that organization.

-Rognar-

Skylanders vs. Disney Infinity

I’ve mentioned before that my kids really love the toy line/video game Skylanders. It combines a selection of figures with RFID chips embedded in their bases and a peripheral device for a game console called a “portal” which allows you to play your Skylander figure as a character in the game. It was a clever moneymaking scheme for Activision, so it’s not surprising that there would be imitators. Well, the new kid on the block is none other than the Godzilla of kid’s entertainment itself, Disney. We resisted for awhile, but the figures for the Disney Infinity game are just so good and include such squee-inducing IPs as Frozen, Tangled, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Incredibles, Toy Story and Cars. It was the Frozen figures that broke the seal for us. The Elsa and Anna figures are very nice and my daughters are as obsessed with them as any other little girls in North America. Once started, it could not be stopped and before long we had Buzz Lightyear, Captain Jack Sparrow, Rapunzel and a dozen other figures. Even Mickey Mouse, in his role as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, made it into the collection.

Although Disney Infinity resembles Skylanders insofar as it has the collectible figures and a peripheral similar to the portal, called an infinity base, gameplay is quite different. Skylanders has a series of linear adventures culminating in a final battle against Kaos, the recurring villain in each of the Skylanders games. Disney Infinity does have something similar, but there is a different one for each game world or playset as it is referred to in the game. In order to access the content for each playset, you need a special figure that sits on the infinity base. These playset pieces only come in the starter set or in certain playset packs that include a couple of figures. Important to note, only characters from the playset game world are playable in it. So, Barbossa can be used in the Pirates of the Caribbean playset, but Lightning McQueen cannot.

However, there is a second way to play Disney Infinity. It has what is called “toybox” mode which is an interactive and customizable world in which the player can create the environment. You have a collection of build pieces such as landforms, buildings, vehicles and other items that you can add to your world. New items can acquired during gameplay. For fans of building games like Minecraft, I can see that this might be a real draw to the game. Personally, I find it a bit repetitive, but I haven’t really committed the time to figure out how to use this capability to its fullest. One cool aspect of the toybox, however, is that all characters can play in it. If you want to go multiplayer with characters from different franchises, this is the way to do it.

At this point, I would have to say I still prefer Skylanders over Disney Infinity. The worldbuilding game doesn’t do much for me and the playsets, while fun, require a significant buy-in beyond the initial cost of the game. Having said that, Disney is looking to up their game in the fall. Disney Infinity 2.0 is scheduled for release and will include several improvements to the game. What’s more, they will be mining their Marvel properties heavily for new characters. The Avengers playset will be included in the starter pack along with Thor, Ironman and Black Widow figures, with the remaining Avengers also being released as singles. Add to that, Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as Maleficent and Brave characters, and the DI2 is looking to provide tough competition for Skylanders: Trap Team, also due for release later this year.

-Rognar-

Way of the Wicked 20

This was an interesting session for me because in some ways they ran part of it backwards which surprisingly made it easier for me to run.

With Eirmanthus dead and no clock running (aside from the vague timeline of the good army on it's way to defeat Fire-Axe's horde at Daveryn), the PCs spent some time rezzing the dead, gearing up and preparing for the next stage of the adventure. With everyone refreshed and ready to go, they paid Chargammon a visit and present the head of his formal rival.

The dragon was delighted and decided to honor his agreement and go eat some delicious virginal princess in two weeks time. Not only that but he decided to punish his son Jeratheon, whom the PCs had rescued from the Eagles, by forcing him to serve the PCs loyally for 100 years. The PCs now have their own dragon!

They paid a visit to the baroness who provided them with a rough map of the Adarium, the password to bypass some of the magical defenses, and a hint on where to start looking for the King's private sanctum. The PCs used Earth Glide to search under the Adarium until they found a suspicious chamber which they were pretty sure was what they were looking for. They Dimension Doored into the chamber, looked around, got a good feel for it and then left.

They spent the next week making some last minute preparation and then teleported into the chamber just before they expected the dragon to begin his assault. Waiting for them was Brigit of the Brijidine. She was standing in a large pool of lava which made her difficult to reach as she lobbed lava at the PCs and lit up the room with Firestorm. She was tough but they managed to kill her.

A few minutes later a portal opened in the room and the king and his retinue came through. The PCs wasted no words and the battle began. They dropped the King into a Maze and then proceeded to smash his followers. A blasphemy spell paralyzed the paladins and dazed the cleric. The Inquisitor did not last long against the onslaught of Gorbatch the bloodrager. Within a few rounds, all were dead. The PCs waited around for a few rounds until the king reappeared and then he too was dead.

The PCs had a number of objectives here: Slay the King (done), slay Brigit (Done), and find the Libre Darian. There were also two hidden objectives: find the last piece of Helbrand, and something they missed. Knowing they still needed the Libre Darian they started to search the palace hoping that the dragon would keep all of the defenders busy. The lower floor was deserted and it wasn't until they explored the throne room that they found their first opponent - the brother of Ara Mathra. He blasted the Ninth Knot with some nifty light attacks but ultimately went down like a chump. Single opponents have no chance against the party. The final piece of Helbrand was recovered from a hollow compartment in the throne and the artifact was restored to full power!

Since they were disguised as the king and his retinue, the delegation of Iraen (barbarians from the western forest) went along with the PCs and tried to help them. The Princess's quarters on the third floor were largely destroyed. A massive battle had taken place here and there were bodies everywhere including, shockingly, Chargammon himself. The PCs were about to spread out when they were attacked by the Mithril Golem.
It went down fairly quickly and the PC went back to the King's chambers to restart their search their for the Libre Darian.

It was found in the King's private shrine.  The wizard perused it quickly and noted that Princess Belinda's mom is actually an Ancient Great Wyrm Silver Dragon.

As the PCs return to their base General Barca leads the Darian army against Fire Axe's horde at Daveryn. It is a slaughter as the traitorous general orders the army to attack the city's strongest point. When the Darian army finally breaks and the Fire-Axe leads his counter attack to eliminate what's left, General Barca broke his seal and Tiadora appeared. She slew any of the humans nearby and then teleported the General away.

And so ends Book4. At this point the forces of good have been defeated. The watch wall was broken and a massive army of monsters moves south plundering as it goes. The Mitran faith is shattered as the Vale of Valtaerna was desecrated. The Mitran military orders have been annihilated at the battle of Daveryn. The house of Darius is nearly at its end as the King is dead and the only one left is his sheltered 18 year old daughter.

Next up: Evil vs Evil.

Marathons are Hard

So I ran my first marathon on Sunday. I finished with a time of 4 hours and 13 minutes which is respectable, however I was left feeling very disappointed. Perhaps foolishly, I went into the race expecting to kick ass even though I had never run that distance before.

Unlike shorter runs, the human body does not contain enough energy (glycogen) to complete the race. This means you either have to refuel during the race (because it stresses the stomach, I never bother in half-marathons) or slow down and burn fat which is much less efficient as a fuel source. On my many practice runs I would carry energy drink but the day of the Marathon I didn't bother with my fuel belt since I didn't want the extra weight. Mistake.

The Gatoraid on the course didn't sit well in my stomach. The energy candies I was sucking on I had never tested on my training runs so I'm not sure if that was what dried out my mouth or just general dehydration. In any case around the 24th kilometer things started to go down hill fast. I had a nasty cramp in my side and I was forced to alternate walking and running for the next 6 kilometers. By the 30th kilometer my body was completely out of fuel and the best I could do was a fast walk although even that made me nauseous.

It was a long final 12 kilometers as literally hundreds of people passed me. Had I been able to maintain the pace I kept for the first 24 kilometers I would have finished around 50th overall, instead I came in 640th. I did manage to run the last 100m although the effort made me debate checking into the first aid tent. I felt really, really awful. I lost over 5 lbs over the course of the race and it took the rest of the day to feel human again.

I now know I have to pay much more attention to my diet in the days leading up to the race, eat and drink enough before the race and get enough sugar, salt and water during the race. During the race I told myself that Marathons were just not for me but by the next day I decided to not let it get me down and I have signed up for another one. My plan next time is to run at a more conservative pace and actually try to run the entire thing and not smack "the wall". I can try to qualify for Boston again next year.

Way of the Wicked 19 - The 9th Knot vs Eirmanthus

So last session the PCs went after the ancient copper dragon Eirmanthus. The dragon called on a number of reinforcements and as the PCs were slowly losing they decided to retreat and regroup.

With only 4 players present last night another frontal assault was out of the question so they decided to remove some of Eirmanthus's girlfriends. The first to fall was the tree lady. She put up a good fight and inflicted some damage before dying but the PCs retreated before reinforcements could arrive.

The second strike was against the "goddess". Scry and fry lived up to its name and because I rolled really low for her initiative, she didn't even get to act before they killed her.

Unable to Scry the dragon they simply teleported straight into his lair. The dragon was alone but immediately cast Anti-Magic field and began to tear into the 9th Knot. Now barely able to hurt the dragon, the dragon was still able to hurt them. So again they retreated as reinforcements were arriving, but this time without killing their target.

The new plan was for the wizard to try to counterspell Anti-magic Field. A few days later they teleported back only to find that the Dragon was ready with some reinforcements already in place. An epic battle began. One of the opening moves was for one of the Oread guards to Dimensional Anchor the wizard removing the party's avenue of escape. The wizard did his best to lock down the dragon's spellcasting. After two rounds of being counter spelled the dragon gave up and spent the rest of his time trying to kill Gorbatch the Bloodrager.

The Orca girlfriend dropped a few nasty spells before moving into melee with her electrified shortspear. The Oread guards dropped some AE spells on the PCs while the PC cleric tried to kill them off. The Oread guard captain had no trouble hitting the cleric but inflicted laughable damage. If I had noticed that pregame, I probably would have buffed him which likely would have led to a TPK situation so its good I didn't.

The Dragon and the Bloodrager continued to trade blows (the halfling vampire fighter was in there too and while the dragon was unable to hit him, he was unable to hit the dragon) and eventually both found themselves near death's door. Eirmanthus' Orca girlfriend teleported beside Eirmanthus while the party cleric was tyring to Hela himself after many would from Orca and the guard captain. The wizard executed a well timed counter spell preventing the Heal spell from going off giving Gorbatch the bloodrager time to finish the dragon off. Orca was enraged with the slaying of her lover and she quickly slew Gorbatch. At this point the remaining PCs focus fired Orca who was already quite injured and she too was slain. Finishing off what little remained of the Oread guards was not difficult and the battle was won.

The party immediately began searching for the dragon's treasure. On the library level a strange visitor was met but he didn't seem hostile so the PCs left him alone. On the main floor of the the dragon's dome was an immense magical chess board. The inscription nearby seemed important and the PCs managed to figure out the correct combination of moves to open the portal to the dragons pocket dimension that held his horde.

I listed off all of the dragon's treasures including another piece of the broken artifact Hellbrand. At the end of the list I described a crystal  case that held a floating cube. Sergeant, the vampire halfling fighter, went over to take a closer look and as soon as he touched the case, the skull spun alive and the eyes started glow.

Skull: Free Me! Free me and I shall grant you the secret of immortality.
Sergeant: Cool! I break the case with my adamantine mace.
DM (me): Roll for Initiative.
Gorbatch's ghost: Uh guys, I think you just freed a Demi-Lich.

Still injured and with depleted resources from the battle with the dragon, the wizard quickly threw up an Anti-magic shell which he figured should protect him from most of the Demi-lich's powers. The vampire was relatively safe by virtue of him already being sort of dead which left the poor cleric who quickly had his soul wrenched from his body. The wizard closed the portal to escape the pocket dimension with the  Anti-magic shell and bargained with the Demi-lich. His freedom for the clerics soul.

After thinking about it, the demi-lich dropped the soul gem and fled out into the world. He'll be back.

We closed the session with a visit from Dessiter the Pact Devil. He hinted that there is a loophole in the contract with Thorn and that he would help the PCs if they did something for his master - kill Brigit of the Brijidine.

Next session: Infiltration of the Adarium!

Ranking Pathfinder Classes (Updated)

This old post is by far the most popular on this blog but after the last three years it is rather out of date as Pathfinder has expanded with more classes, features, and feats.

A ranking system never works very well because the classes are so different it makes them difficult to compare. This time I'm going to group the classes up a bit by role although this will get tricky as some classes like the bard can do a bit of everything.

Arcane Full Casters
1. The wizard comes out on top. If you leave a few spells slots open and have a very full spell book then as long as you are not being rushed you probably have a solution for every problem. A good wizard is the QB of every strong adventuring party. Most wizard customization comes via the spell book.
2. Sorcerer. Still extremely powerful, sorcerers have limited spells and tend to focus a bit more than the wizard. With a Haversack full of scrolls they can do just as well as a wizard. The wizard vs sorcerer debate is largely a matter of personal preference. As long as both are well conceived and properly built, you can't go wrong.
3. Witch. Witches are awesome or awful depending on what you are doing. Their limited spell selection hurts but its partially made up with Hexes. Witches are near useless against anything that is immune to mind affecting effects which includes many high end monsters. In any case, they get a bit boring since you tend to cast the same hexes in same order fight after fight. Witches have some very interesting archetypes like the White Haired Witch and the Scarred Witch Doctor.

Divine Full Casters
1. Cleric. Which is the best  divine caster really comes down to what your character concept is. I think in terms of well rounded awesomeness the cleric can't be beat. 
2. Druid. Once you get into more niche builds than things change a bit. The druid can be a fearsome melee machine backed up with self buffs. The ability to spontaneously summon creatures is great when you need a bit of help on the front line. The Animal companion makes a great flanking buddy and a some extra DPS.
3. Oracle. While only slightly less awesome than the cleric, the Oracle excels at specialized builds. A battle oracle is arguably better than a battle cleric. They can also be good archers. The different mysteries allow for more customization than a cleric's domains.

The 2/3 Casters
1. The Summoner is the mightiest and most versatile of this classification. They cast almost as well as a sorcerer - and get early access to some great spells. They have a pet that is usually as powerful as the party Fighter. If the Eidolon is defeated they can just summon more help as a standard action.
2. Bard. The bard is the ultimate in flexibility. Different archetypes allow the bard to specialize in different roles although I can't think of any archetype that lets the bard be a good healer. Every group is stronger with a bard around.
3. Inquisitor. I like the Inquisitor class and they have done pretty well in play but I have yet to see one really shine. I still think and archer build can be really great but the melee version just isn't strong enough defensively. Melee Inquisitors are going to get clobbered.
4. Alchemist. An alchemist with Infusion is probably the games strongest single target buffer. They have lots of knowledge skills and their bombs and some good versatility. Alchemist score pretty highly in my books because they have several different build options and they all seem to be fairly effective. Alchemists have several interesting archetypes that really change things up like Vivisectionist, Beastmorph, and Mindchemist. Just stay away from Rage Chemist.
5. Magus. Great flavor and seemingly effective, I find they lose their shine a bit at very high levels.  They work best when you have only a few battles a day. A long adventuring day and they become a crappy fighter pretty quickly.

The Rest
1. Barbarian. The Core barbarian is pretty bleh. Later splatbooks added lots of great archetypes and Rage powers that don't stink.The barbarian today is in a great spot and one of the strongest melee classes of all. Pounce, DR, Come and Get Me, and Spell Sunder are all awesome in play.
2. Paladin. Paladins are great if your DM isn't a dick and purposely tries to make you fall. If they are sticklers for the paladin code, forget this class and keep reading. Otherwise, the paladin has lots of great build options and can make for a very interesting character. They have superb defenses and against evil a few times a day they can blow away everything.
3. Ranger. They Ranger is a great class to play with lots of fun options. Where they can get rather weak though is that their main class feature is largely dependent on the DM. If you never meet any of your favored enemy you are just a crappy fighter with a dog and few spells.
4. Gunslinger. My group isn't so keen on guns so no one has played one yet but they strike me as a solid damage dealing class with a few non dps options. I keep waiting for a spellslinger type archetype to come along that combine spells with guns (and not the terrible wizard archetype). I just find the Gunslinger class features a bit boring.
5. Fighter. If your Pathfinder games consist of nothing but combat then Fighter is the class for you. Slightly less effective than the stereotype barbarian build, the fighter is much easier to build for newbs and is consistently effective across all levels. They do great damage but really not much else. Fighters do have some interesting archetypes however like LoreWarden.
6. Samurai. A bit better than the cavalier because of its reroll ability. My group doesn't like Asian flavor in its Pathfinder so no one has played one of these. 
7. Cavalier. I have tried to fit some of my character ideas onto a cavalier but I'm never happy with the results. The Houndmaster Archetype is very cool but it just can't compare to the optimized builds that I can do with other classes. This class always seems to come across to me as a crappy paladin with only a weak code to worry about (this is a stronger option if your DM is a dick).
8. Ninja. Great in a stealth/assassin type campaign but otherwise they fall down here on the list. Although their Ki powers give them more options than a rogue they still suffer mainly of the same issues such as have no bonuses to hit and 3/4 BAB, terrible saves, and dependent on sneak attack for damage.
9. Monk. Monk is only saved from the bottom of the list by some of its great archetypes. Zen Archer is a top tier archer, Tetori Monk is a fine grappler, and the Flowing Monk has some very cool moves. The base Monk though is terrible. Avoid it.
10. Rogue. While the rogue has some serious problems many of them could be fixed if they introduced some Rogue talents that were actually good. Whereas the Barbarian trades Feats for Rage powers, the Rogue trades Rogue talents for Feats. That should speak volumes. Unless you are playing a low magic campaign where almost all of the other classes are banned, avoid the rogue.

Way of the Wicked 18

Back to back gaming weeks - always fun if the wives are OK with it.

This week started off with the players deciding to rescue Chargammon's son Jaratheon who had been captured by the Lord of the Eagles. Cardinal Thorn had commanded the 9th Knot to convince Chargammon, an ancient great wyrm black dragon, to attack the King's palace and threaten his daughter, the princess Belinda. Rescuing Jaratheon seemed like a good way to get in the dragons good graces so off they went.
The PCs had the good fortune to discover the Lord of Eagles was out hunting so they teleported into his lair while he was away. They still had to deal with 8 of his minions but they prevailed pretty easily and rescued the dragon. They did their best to extract a promise from Jaratheon to attack the Adarium (King's palace) for them but the dragon went home to dad first to heal up. The PCs went after him only to discover belatedly where they actually were. They parlayed with mighty Chargammon who was curious why these lesser beings would bother to rescue his son and agreed to attack their foes in exchange for the PCs dealing with his foes.

The target was one ancient Copper dragon named Eirmanthus who lived only a few hundred miles away. He lives on his island with his 3 non-dragon girlfriends (concubine-whores in the words of Chargammon). The PCs resupplied and then invaded the island. They were intercepted by a flock of 6 crystaline gargoyles who insisted that they meet the master. Since the PCs wished to meet and slay the dragon anyway they went along with them peacefully.

The PCs chatted a bit with the dragon before one of them got tired of talking and attacked. The six Gargoyles immediately began to defend their master and the dragon called for reinforcements. The next round the three girlfriends teleported in and took turns healing the dragon and blasting the PCs. The PCs quickly realized they were not only out numbered 2-1 (although they did manage to kill a few of the gargoyles), but out gunned as well as the dragon began blasting with his breath weapon while the ladies were unloading some high level magic. A decision to retreat was made as one of the PC clerics went down.

The PCs escaped to fight another day and I assume they\ll return to a much better defended island but one where they don't have to fight most of the defenders at once - at least if they are clever about it.

Way of the Wicked 17

Last week's session was unfortunately delayed but I think things turned out OK. I found this weeks game immensely enjoyable. Lots of role playing as the PCs wandered the conquered city of Daveryn searching for the missing Duke and any loot they can find.

Trying to locate the Duke, they returned to the Duke's castle and began the search there. While roaming out they found a tower that was surrounded by bugbears and ogres. There was treasure inside so the wizard scouted the tower with magic and determined that it was trapped with some sort of electricity. The halfling and wizard buffed themselves with electricity and went on in. They were blasted constantly with chain lightning but with good saves and electricity resistance no damage was taken. 

Rather than fool with the locking mechanism, the halfling just used his adamantine mace to smash the crystal case and remove treasure within. Curious about the trap, they grabbed the emerald that the chain lightning originated from and dropped it into a bag of holding.

The bugbears outside the tower were not pleased to have the treasure removed under their noses by some "humies" so the PCs paid a visit to Fire-Axe and asked him to buy them off by giving him one third of the treasure (which they would later learn was worth 45000gp). 

At this point the two clerics arrived and the party continued their search. A passage through the wall was found leading from Duward to Smallward, and the wizard managed to luck onto the missing Duke's hiding place.

Knowing he had torture in his future he antagonized the PCs and they murdered him although they would regret it after the fact. The wizard managed to recall a spell that allowed for temporary Resurrection (Raise Dead failed since the Duke refused to return) and that gave them a brief window to learn what they could from the duke. Fire-Axe was very please with the Duke's body and a great feast was had (the Duke being the main course for a select few). Fire-Axe showed his appreciation by giving the PCs 5000gp in loot from the city and their choice of slaves that had been taken after the battle.

So now the PCs had some time to wander the rest of the city without any agenda. The found a defended and unlooted manor house in one of the farming districts outside of town. The ambitious Baroness Vanya Barca took a shining to the elven cleric of Asmodeus (she being a secret worshiper herself). She negotiated safety for herself and her men and the position of Duke of Daveryn in the new order in exchange for assisting the PCs however she can. She is trying to set up a meeting between the PCs and Vastenus Barca (King Marcardian's second in command) which may prove difficult since he is with the king and the army that is slowly approaching the Daveryn.

The PCs also managed to get in touch with what was left of Daveryn's thieve's guild. Anton Brueder promised his support in exchange for food and to be left alone until the bugbear's move on the city returns to normal.

The 9th Knot looted the city's cathedral and located the missing cardinal. They also defeated Polydorus, the city's diviner and his collection of Invisible Stalkers. The PCs now have control of his tower and have started to convert it into a base of operations.

Finally Tiadora returns this time accompanied by 8 of her Erinyes sisters dressed in full battle gear. Tiadora congratulates the PCs on their successes and informs them of their final mission. They are to acquire the assistance of Chargammon the Black, the greatest most fearsome evil dragon in the land. He is to attack the Adarium where Princess Belinda lives. This will cause Belinda's guards to signal the King who will use him magical recall amulet to teleport to his sanctum in the Adarium and try and rescue his daughter. The PCs will be waiting and there they can slay the king who will only have a few of his guards with him and not his entire army. They are also to steal the Liber Varcarian while in the palace which is basically the family tree of the royal family.

I was pleased that the PCs finally balked at a mission. They quickly realized that this is likely a suicide mission. Chargammon the Black hates everyone and everything and will likely kill any intruders that enter his lair. Thorn is offering no support to them this time.They are now worried that they've gown too strong and that Cardinal Thorn now sees them as a threat. They looked over their contract but it seems that it is pretty tight. For now they are going to have to follow orders.

Fortunately the PCs have discovered that Chargammon's son has been captured by the Lord of the Eagles. Perhaps he can be used as a bargaining chip?