Re: D&D vs HQ: An Ogre Named Orlanth

From: Stewart Stansfield <stu_stansfield_at_34M-Oj6Y5LfX8oNgSFBX3pRqxj2HXKDeIMKs_35_0PzLtSyGFzQIsIa_sfe43>
Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 13:10:58 -0000


THE THIRD SESSION, CONTINUED...   Stu: "You know, Spanner, when you create your next character, you might want to try and do something other than... a demon." Bryan: "Whose stated goal is to kill all elves." Spanner: "Except drow!"
Players: "Right."
Stu: "Why don't you try something 'normal', like a human, or a dwarf?"
Spanner: "But I don't want to play them. I have no interest in anything other than the ECL 5 or 6 characters. A centaur... or a wemic [half-man, half-lion]."
DM: "Well, you can't."
Stu: "We were supposed to start at first level... the drow nonce excepted."  

[Effective Character Level, or ECL, is a touchy-feely D&D 3e concept which better models players PCing harder monsters as characters. E.g. a 1st level drow character actually 'counts' as a 3rd level character.]  

The long and the short of it is that Spanner is grudgingly creating a 2nd level human bard -- as a stop-gap, until the other party members are of a high enough level that he can create a centaur, or something. Anyway...  

Shar, Shortbow and Mungo proceeded to pass through a door to the south. It opened onto a raised platform, at the L-junction of a corridor, which proceeded 20' south and 30' west. Beyond the raised area, the corridors were filled to a 3' depth with clear water!  

Shortbow: "Great. I'm 3'8"."
Mungo: "I'm 3' fucking 4"..."  

With considerable difficulty, the three brave venturers headed south, and came to a door. It was stuck, but Shar duly booted it open. It opened onto a 20' by 30' room, also filled with water to a depth of 3'. On the south wall was chained an emaciated man. Shar was immediately suspicious. "Who are you?" he asked. The man mumbled weakly. "Adroniptic," he replied.  

"Hold on," Mungo interjected. "Adroniptic... C...I...T...P...I...N...O...R...D...A... nah, it's nowt backwards. He's probably safe."  

Shar: "What are you doing here?"
Shortbow: "Maybe we should free him first..." Shar: "Fuck that! I don't like the look of him." Shortbow: "We could give 'im some food." Shar: "No. Why? I don't trust him."
Mungo: "You're quite happy to trust a flying demon with glowing red eyes that had been captured and held in this dungeon, but you don't trust a chained emaciated man?"
Shar: "No fuckin' way. So... why are you here?" Chained Emaciated Man: "I was put here by my former friend the ogre..."
Mungo: "The ogre on level 4?"
Chained Emaciated Man: "Er... no."
Shortbow: "How on earth did you get to know the ogre?" Chained Emaciated Man: "He gave me shelter." Shar: "Eh?!"
Chained Emaciated Man: "I was lost in the wilderness, and the ogre offered me shelter."
Mungo: "Oh yeah... 'shelter', eh... right, we understand... and a bit of 'How's your father', I reckon..." Chained Emaciated Man: "No, the ogre was male." Mungo: "So... they do that in Chessenta!" Shar: "So, he was wandering in the wilderness, and was taken in by an ogre? That's the shittest, dodgiest bollocks story I've ever heard. He's not telling the truth."
Chained Emaciated Man: "It is the truth. We fell out, and he chained me here two days ago."
Shar: "Bollocks. Look, I cast Detect Good on him." DM: "There is a spark of good in him."
Shar: "Right, now I definitely don't trust him." Mungo: "Who do you worship?"
Chained Emaciated Man: "Nephthys [in Mulhorand the goddess of wealth, trade, protector of children and the dead]." Mungo: "If we release you, will you tell us about the ogre... and will you convert to Tiamat?"
Chained Emaciated Man: "Perhaps. Is Tiamat opposed to the Mulhorandi gods?"
Mungo: "Er..." [Tiamat was a foe of all gods in Unther, worshipped by all alignments; and is now a popular rebellious cult against the Mulhorandi that occupy Unther] -- Mungo succeeds in a Diplomacy check -- "No, not really."
Chained Emaciated Man: "Okay then. I could worship Tiamat as well." Mungo: "Fine! Release him."  

The man is released; emaciated, but no longer chained.  

Emaciated Man/DM: "The Ogre is named Orlanth. Erm... you know, I'm sure I've heard that name before..."
Players: <giggle>
Emaciated Man: "Oh... and he has a pet black dragon."  

To be continued next week...            

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