So, I've had to change the plot up a bit in Hidden Corruption.  I hated for the game to end in a TPK in the woods like that, so I pulled a bit of a deus ex machina.  Davena and Garn were not supposed to be there, but it was the only plausible way I could come up with to save you guys.

It did throw a big monkeywrench into the plot, though.  I've been floating here, trying to figure out how to get there from here. 

Last night, I talked it through with Noah (my twelve year old son), who has been following the game in update form through me.  I know what's going to happen, now. 

It's going to bring in a new wrinkle to the main plotline, something I had never planned to do... but really, really does make sense.  It's also going to ramp up the horror/ick factor to somewhere between eleven and... forty-three? 

That... that is one of the nicest things anyone has ever told me, as a GM.

Thank you! 

Creepier?  This one didn't even have talons sticking out of the doomed mother's abdomen.  I thought it was pretty tame, myself. 

Maybe she's more resistant and just failed a save?  Maybe it's all dumb luck?  Who knows? 

Glad you've enjoyed the latest chapter of "Silver Screen Moments of the Damned".

The sylvari maid was pale - somehow paler than her normal milky complexion.  More of a gray cast, come to think of it; a pallor that suggested deep rooted unwellness. 

And my, was she frail.  More often than not, young mothers developed a "glow" about them once thier bellies began to firm into roundness, but such had not been the case for this flaxen-haired lass.  The violent morning sickness had never truly subsided, even though her second trimester was well underway.  She stayed utterly exhausted, able to walk not more than a score of paces before needing a rest, it seemed.  Her breath stayed shallow, she felt lightheaded all of the time.

Barely a woman, just past her first century, the maid should have been strong, vibrant.  Instead, it seemed as though a stiff breeze would cast her down at any moment. 

A look of disquiet crossed her features... her smallclothes were suddenly damp.  Reaching a hand down, she recoiled at the copious blood that coated her fingertips.

Her eyes went wide, and she called frantically for help.

The midwife arrived quickly, accompanied by a priest... but there was little help to give.  The maid collapsed with a groan, her violet eyes rolled back into her head, and momentarily, the convulsions started.  She writhed in obvious agony for several long minutes before falling perfectly still in a growing pool of blood.

As the midwife tsked over the corpse, the priest frowned.  The Mistress was apparently correct - the sylvari and their cursed connection to life seemed to reject the babies, no matter what.  The hope had been that the greater brightness of their life force would enable them to survive better, to support them though the birth and infancy... but the opposite had proved to be true.  Rather than being more suited than humans, sylvari apparently were completely unable to serve as conduits to bring the anchor into the world. 

They would just have to keep trying with other subjects. 

Even knowing that he was confirming her theory, the priest was loathe to share news of the latest failure with the Mistress.  She was certain to not be pleased.

Sylvari are resistant to ghoul paralysis.  Aranwen has been injured several times by them, but has never been paralyzed.

Boo!  Hiss!  Come back!

All fair points.

Eol posts mostly about his dog, his home improvement projects, and rum. 

Did you know that we have a Facebook group for the Inn?  Check out Friends of the Red Dragon Inn for silly gaming-related content, as well as status updates if the Inn is down.

This is a closed group - when you apply, maybe mention your username here.  We will get you approved quickly.

If you like, hit me up on Facebook, as well.  Warning: I'm pretty boring.  It's mostly pictures of my kids, the occasional silly joke, and shares of the stuff I do for my HomeBrew Dad page.

Speaking of which, I post pretty often to that one - HomeBrew Dad on Facebook.  That's my FB prescence for my Daddy blog.  Again, pictures of my kids, musings on being a parent, deals I have come across, links to blog content, etc. 

Feel free to share your own FB stuff here!

Egad.

Well, well.  Four posts now, including Team Leader.  That should be sufficient to move this forward.

Hey, it's getting better.  I don't have to blow the AC wide open on the drive in now.

My glasses still fog over almost instantly when I get out of my car in the afternoon, though.  90+ degrees and 155% humidity does that. 

It still hits the flipping mid nineties every day.  Summer just will not go away.  It hit 97 on Saturday.

They claim - CLAIM - 80s next week, and 70s the week after. 

I do not believe them.

Tell me about it.  It didn't even hit 80 degrees until like 8 AM today.  Sheesh.

Gib asks about Davena and Garn's knowledge of the undead.

"If I may ask," he begins. "when and where did you learn of this undead activity and the possible location of its center? Any knowledge that you can share now will be highly useful to us as it would appear that we have a mutual goal."

Garn glances at Davena, but allows her to do the speaking, as is his custom. 

The blonde woman answers.  "We heard tell of the walking dead as we traveled the road, and were persuaded to investigate.  As for the center of the activity... the dead man you searched is not the first priest of the death cult that we have encountered.  I believe their information to be accurate."

Garn wears a bit of a sneer.  It is not voiced, but the implication is that information was extracted - likely via torture or the like - from these priests.

Davena shakes her head.  "I have heard tales of human sacrifices before.  I am surprised, though, that these cultists would be so bold as to send wandering packs of the dead to terrorize the countryside.  I do not see the benefit." A ghost of a grin touches the corner of her mouth.  "But then, I do not pretend to know the mind of such a cultist."

Her gaze falls to Aranwen.  "Tell me, brave warrior... I hear that your folk are immune to the grave paralysis of these ghouls.  Is this true?

------------------------------------------------------

The morning passes without incident.  The sticky fog hangs oppressively still, the forest remains deathy quiet.  No animal, bird, or insect sounds can be heard. 

Sometime after midday, you reach the edge of the woods and come upon a series of cliff faces.  "I expect that our caves will be there," Garn observes. 

As the group scouts, Ch'dau finds a trampled track leading down into the caves - from the looks of it, this is a commonly used pathway for several people. 

Ugh.  I had an awful week.

Better luck this time!

Bengals
Texans
Ravens
Titans
Bears
Panthers
Vikings
Patriots
Eagles
Saints
Chargers
Packers
Chiefs
49ers

Love seing Cedric brought to life.

I'll post when you do. 

So, let's talk about "teams".

I consider myself to be pretty open minded; I honestly didn't think that the whole "other team" thing was offensive, just a silly term.  If it does offend anyone, I apologize, I certainly meant no offense.

I will confess to a moment of stupidity, though.  When Reralae first suggested retconning Arancon to Aranwen, my exact thought process was "okay, no problem, no difference in game mechanics... oh, wait.  Arancon hooked up with Davena, I don't want to pretend that never happened!"

Because I was... what?  Unaware that two women can have sex?  (insert facepalm emoji)

I mean, good grief.  If we're changing someone's gender and character retroactively, it's not like we cannot change the sexuality of another make believe person.  Durr. 

I figured that out pretty quickly, but that was my embarassing knee jerk reaction.

As for tolerance?  Those of you who are my facebook friends have seen me rant about this a couple of times.  I identify as a Christian... who doesn't comprehend how people can justify turning a blind eye to other sexual stuff but fixate on people who happen to have the same gender.  It's utterly private business to begin with, why does it concern me any more if they have the same junk?

It doesn't.  My job as a Christian is to love people.  That's it.  

But back to the game, if we're going to have the very realistic situation where two consenting adults have casual sex, how can we only accept that if they are opposite genders?  That's just silly. 

As a final note, in case we ever need this to be stated - the Inn's official policy has always been that everyone deserves to be treated with respect.  I don't care what race, gender, religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation, etc, etc, etc you identify as - you deserve to be treated respectfully.  Hate speech of any sort means that you have no place in this community, period. 

Lol, other team...

It happened.  It's a legit plot point.  If we're retconning,  no reason Davena can't like girls.  

Welp... I may try this a couple more times...

I've had three people post.  Anyone else care to give it a shot?

I'm so stoked.  Dying for Brom and Raven to post, over here!

Yep.  One tiny bt of luck in all of that was that the blade came to rest on a zombie's corpse, technically not hitting the ground.  So it is still usable, else I'd have mentioned it. 

Yay posts!