JP On Gaming

Thursday, June 19, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] Eleusis and Opyros

The heroes press on. They again their ship is victim of a time-distortion. After breaking it again, they made it into Eleusis, which they found besieged by a Titan army, blocking the Isthmus between the lands of Athenion and Aeolia.

They offered to sail some refugees away, in exchange for payment, sending one of their own to sail them away (someone wasn't there that day).

In town, the PCs discuss with the soldiers and their strategos, General Kassandros. The strategos struck a deal with them to help each other. He will arrange to draw the enemy force away, allowing the PCs a chance to take out Opyros, the Titan of Flame who is leading the enemy army. They gather rumors and learn that soldier's weapons cannot hurt the Titan.

In the morning, the Athenian cavalry maneuvered to draw the enemy vanguard away, leaving the PCs a straight shot against Opyros. They found an area where dead soldiers littered the ground.

Another mega-battle with the Mythic Titan damaging the party, but they managed to defeat him just in time before it destroyed them.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] Time Stands Still

While out at sea, one of our heroes suddenly notices something strange... their ship seems to be passing along the same stretch of coast. Someone is playing with the timeline, somehow...

Making landfall, and discuss whether to continue on foot or by sea. That's when Enyale, the Titaness of Rage appears with several of her worshippers. Follows a massive battle where the Titaness destroys the shield guardian, damages the Good Vibes in a deadly battle where she pounds the heroes. After several close calls, they manage to defeat and bind her using the ritual found in the Vault of the Jade Prince.

The second picture shows the cultist emptying in pants in the middle of the action...

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] The Bridge

Our heroes reunited in the village of Kolkis where they shared their separate adventures, trying to understand the significance of what they found.

They met with the Athenian generals who requested their aid in defeating the Titan army. But our heroes chose to press on to Delfos and their main quest as time became ever-more pressing.

They decided to head back to their ship. Below is when they were ambushed by an hydra and some cyclops. The hydra withdrew but the cyclops gave them a good run for their money.

They ended the day at their ship, the Good Vibes...

Thursday, May 29, 2025

[Kinda Book Report] The Red Star Vol 2

A dieselpunk Russia? Yes! A post WWII what-if tale? Yes! Interesting weapons? Yes!

I'm in.

But what I got was a wonderful sketchbook from a talented artist and a story that's hard to follow and in the end... unsatisfactory.

If this had "40k" or "Warmachine" on the cover (Khador especially), I would have rated this higher. But I'm tried to make sense of the plot, the characters, what happened before. But no. I had to read and massive two-page spreads (remember the sketchbook comment) with bits of text spread across the page.

Never heard of this? Yeah, there's a reason.

Tanks falling and people getting shot - or not. I didn't care. Then this goddess-like appears to talk to characters who I don't know. Oh yeah and there are non-linear timeline in parts of it all.

I got ripped off by the local library, having paid 2$ for this!

1/5. Garbage.

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

[Kinda Book Report] New Mutants 2019 Vol 1 by Marvel Comics

So you should know by now that I like the X-men! The New Mutants were a title I never got into as a child (mostly because I had to limit the number of titles I could follow). But I really liked the team and wanted to read more. They inclusion and crossover with the X-men were cool. However, there are no cheap omnibus I found...

Until this one I bought second-hand from my local library.

This is everything I hate about modern comics: Simple, predictable storylines. Shallow characters. Lack of context.

Most of the book the team "fights" against a website called "Dox" that outs mutants and their location. The first beat features a group of unknown meeting another group of unknown. No introduction to the characters or their powers. There is a lot of existential sitting around and talking. Then when the action (finally begins) there is killing aplenty.

WTF???

The only resolution we have is when the Black King (Sebastian Shaw) meets a cartel boss and slags him. The NM are nowhere involved!

The art is good. Is consistently good, but with a shitty, incoherent, and uninteresting plot. Meaningless action resolved without reason and without any forethought by the team. They're there and shit gets resolved. One time Magik arrives and teleports them all out before they get into any real trouble. It's trash.

Because of the art, I will give it a 2/5.

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

[Kinda Book Report] The Ships of Minos by Maciej Slomczynski

I got this book off Amazon. From the cover, I thought the author was "Joe Alex" but nope. The style within gave me the impression of a book written in a completely different language where not only the story build up but the beat itself had a different vibe. Not bad, but definitely different.

Now, this is the story of a young man from near Troy who is captured by merchants from the Levant, taken to Syria, and from there to Egypt.

The characters have surprisingly little depth and move from one place to the next in a very functional way and little in the way of internal conflicts. We are in a realm of action.

Where this book fails mostly is in setting expectation. With a title like "The Ships of Minos", you'd expect something maritime. Or that has to do with Minos. Or that deals with Crete/ the Minotaur. If you answered "Yes" to any of these, you'd be wrong on all accounts. There are two sea voyages but they happen between chapters. The only Greeks beside Whitehair, our protagonist, appear right at the end. At that time when you wonder "how is this gonna finish?"

A few things this book does real well include the descriptions of Ancient Egypt, its religion, odd religion (the faith of Sobek in particular), and the relations between the nation of Egypt and its neighbor. Another thing I found interesting was that our protagonist does not speak Egyptian and does not develop an understanding suddenly. The scenes are sometimes shown from both sides when relevant.

So this book was... not great. Will I read book 2? Nope. Did I hate it? No.

2/5 easy.

Thursday, May 22, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] Vault of the Jade Prince

So this week was special. Since ActionMan and I were busy on our regular Tuesday night, I offered the team to split into two and run two distinct games.

After their escape during the Battle of Megara, our heroes ran away to find a place to rest. But they were stuck between the Athenian army fighting the white dragon Anemokrystos on one side and the forces of Nyssara and her titan forces.

The other group, composed of Aleksi, Cenathon, and Logius. This group escaped Megara in decent shape, having spent some resources but nothing a short rest couldn't get them going. Caught between two armies, they avoided getting involved.

However, when a wounded Athenian soldier called out to them for help, they learned that the Titans were digging "something" and that a Titaness was involved.

"If they want something, we don't want them to have it." So they went to see what it was about and they discovered the story of Jade Prince and several tools that might help them against the Titans. At a cost.

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] Temple of the One-Eyed Oracle

So this week was special. Since ActionMan and I were busy on our regular Tuesday night, I offered the team to split into two and run two distinct games.

After their escape during the Battle of Megara, our heroes ran away to find a place to rest. But they were stuck between the Athenian army fighting the white dragon Anemokrystos on one side and the forces of Nyssara and her titan forces.

One group, composed of Arboros, Celeste, Leth, and Topsia ran into a small olive grove where they caught their breath. They needed a place to rest as several of them were pretty tapped out on resources and low on hit points.

Without much luck until Arboros spotted men trying to hide in a nearby. They followed them down a gully where they fought the bandits and explored a small complex which turned out to be the Temple of the One-Eyed Oracle.

They left with a new item and information how to avoid the Athenian army.

Thursday, May 15, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] Battle of Megara

Finally, our heroes reached the village of Megara where they met and confronted Nyssara, who offered to pay them to stay away. She offered the fantastic sum of 500,000 drachma (1dr=1sp). Our heroes knew that the chosen oracle of Apollo was nearby, in which house she was (the one with the pebble on top).

So after they used their powers and abilities to determine there were several fey (nymphs) in the ice blocks, a dragon in the ice block in the center of town (the one over which Nyssara stood), that the target house only held one woman each. And that the pillars had dampening magic.

They engaged negociations somewhat successfully, obtaining to be lodged so they could rest and discuss some more. Nyssara ordered the "oracle house" to be cleared and given to the PCs. The guard entered and left with a woman.

Now as a surprise to the group, I contacted Piper who had to bow out due to other commitments to be the oracle. So her character was Apollo's chosen. Her appearance surprised everyone. We have been in contacts for weeks at that point, with me going "They are almost heading to Megara," "Almost," "Not this week," until finally. I think everyone was surprised.

Topsia's appearance (Piper's character) changed the situation and our party went on the offensive, casting a 3rd-level inflict wounds did end the diplomacy phase. The party locked down Nyssara long enough using a variety of abilities: silence, fog cloud, and earthen grasp (from an item) as they made their escape with Topsia.

But I was not done yet... I had another surprise.

While the PCs were involved with their own issues, the Athenian army launched its attack against the village. Every turn, the PCs had to deal with the artillery barrage from their "allies."

So for a few rounds, they ran around fought a Titan-troll as they escaped. They engaged the guards.

That's when I revealed the white dragon Anemokrystos flew out of the fog cloud. It landed on the stone archways, holding two women in its claws. The party recognized NPCs from their own background... And he crushed them...

When I described what the dragon landing on the stone archway, I used the phrase Like spandex in a Wal-mart.

Tense moments in the end where poor Celeste had to choose between taking the body of her sister or rescuing Leth the cleric of Hades.

Tense stuff.

You can get the Olympia Bundle, including the setting, novels, and adventures for the setting. Get it here.

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

FOE at Gencon 2025: The Events

With Gencon event selection just around the corner, I wanted to let everyone know about FOE's events. This year again, FOE is offering 50 tables, which will be held at LucasOil Stadim (where the NFL's Indianapolis Colts play).

This year, FOE is offering games set in Akhamet, Olympia, Ozaka, and for the first time, in Tarsyn, our upcoming setting. Every night and Sunday, there will be specials.

But enough with the boring stuff... The Events, I conveniently made a link of all events currently available.

FOE at Gencon

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] Hera's Grove

After resting, our heroes continued towards the village of Megara, careful not to encounter Titan soldiers. They were in enemy occupied territory after all.

They encountered a diseased dryad who asked for their help against an oathbreaker.

After several encounters in the grove, including a pool that demanded oaths, and a green maze, our heroes arrived at the clearing where an armored man with blood dripping from his armor stood, defiling a broken statue of Hera.

A difficult confrontation as the oathbreaker fought them with the help of his animated chains AND his corrupted treant allies, and the PCs arriving in a staggered manner as they completed the maze (which required a number of checks, meaning our druid, Arboros completed it first). We also know that druids love to blast plants with the blight spell...

Some party members received the favor of Hera for making oaths, and the Queen of the Gods healed every PC to full as thank (they were pretty beat up).

You can get the Olympia Bundle, including the setting, novels, and adventures for the setting. Get it here.

Monday, May 12, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] The Cemetary and the War Chest

Our heroes, needed money. Having heard about the location of the Titan's war chest by the mercenary mage, they decided to go plunder it for themselves.

After going thru the cemetary, looking for an entry and not finding the magic (it was deviously hidden with mundane means). Once they entered, they found a complex with several mercenaries, skeletons, and other strange things.

The leader of the mercenaries, a necromancer trying to steal the power of the gods... He used his wonderful cloudkill spell a favorite of mine as the template I made years ago is still in use. He did down several party members with a circle of death (another favorite).

Their expedition ended in something of a draw. The necromancer fled and the party withdrew to rest and rethink their strategy.

I rolled for random encounters, and it was one of the worse rolls for the party... (I have a complex system which I will have to put on here one day) So what I did (since we were running out of time), was to say they had to run around as the Titans searched for them. They lost a day, which is problematic when the time limit is coming...

Only 12 days out of 60 left...

You can get the Olympia Bundle, including the setting, novels, and adventures for the setting. Get it here.

Saturday, May 10, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] The Wilds of Athenion

Having freed the village, the heroes learned of several locations they could go to, and they saw two places: an olive grove and a vineyard.

They received an invitation to the village of Megara by Nyssara, queen of the cryoads (titanborn associated with frost and cold).

In the grove, they encountered a group of archers who rebuffed them and sent them away without telling them much.

So they chose to proceed through the vineyard where they encountered the maenads, those joyful wine nymphs that partied until others died of exhaustion. They found some great and unique magic items... Like a theater mask... And a cask of wine...

Yes, there I didn't have enough vines... But that's where the art came in handy.

You can get the Olympia Bundle, including the setting, novels, and adventures for the setting. Get it here.

Friday, May 9, 2025

[Kinda Book Report] Ayn Rand's Red Pawn

At a convention, I received a copy of the graphic novel version of Red Pawn. A book that leaves you with questions about the exact motivations of the three main characters: a devoted communist prison warden, a stoic prisoner, and a beautiful woman in the USSR.

To keep the Beast in its post on Stotsnoy Prison on an island off the coast of Russia, the Communist Party send him a beautiful woman, and a love affair. Her arrival upends the status quo at the prison.

I won't spoil the punch but we end up with a love triangle with Joan in the middle.

The art was not great, but I really enjoyed the story, it left me wondering exactly what each of the characters thought and when. Enjoyable. So, as a rating I will settle on a 3/5. Average overall

Thursday, April 10, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] Under the yoke of the Titans

Having run the blockade, the PCs head to a small village where they fought the forces of the Titans. These forces included hoplites and a mercenary mage. A rather impressive battle.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] The Icy Plains of Athenion

The PCs returned to Athenion (from where they sailed at the start of the Campaign...). Finding the normally-busy city deserted, they chose to land away from the city proper. Learning the Titan army was besieging Athenion, they ran the blockade but they ran into a band of Cryoads, titanborn of cold, ice, and snow.

This resulted in a mix of ice mounds and palm trees!

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] The Temple of Xanthus

The party's destination, the temple of Xanthus, son of Apollo. There were stories. Somewhere within what turned out to be a tomb, was the secret location of their quest.

The PCs found a room with several petrified bodies and fought a Huge basilisk (which I made to be serpentine rather than lizardesque). A lot of abilities were spent to prevent his petrification. Inspiration, blessings, favors...Eventually, it was defeated.

Monday, April 7, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] Titans vs Ship

Large Titans stop the Good Vibes! This was another confrontation with the Titans. The grey woman in the center of the ship is Nausicaa herself, the cleric of the Titans who killed the Great Oracle and the main antagonist of the campaign.

Another challenging battle with two large giants AND a high-power cleric...

Saturday, April 5, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] The shipwreck

The Party decides to investigate a shipwreck to find a potential magical treasure.

Friday, April 4, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] Devourer Titans!

The Titans attack the PCs' landing. These devourer Titans did some serious damage. Especially when they got on the ship!

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

[After Action Report] MidsouthCon 2025

This year would be an experience I hadn't had in a few years... As I would fly solo - without ActionMan (who now has a job).

Friday I left home a little before 11AM, and drove to Olive Branch MS (south of Memphis TN). A nice trip on a warm spring day. I good music playing and got there on-time to check in before my first panel. "Funny" story... I realized the character sheet for my two games stayed in my folder at home... So I had to scramble to find a printer. But, thanks to the staff of the Conference Center, they printed my sheet.

Situation saved!

I participated in a panel on "RPGs and History." with Logan and Keeley. It was a lively discussion that weaved different game systems: from D&D to Call of Cthulhu and Vampire.

Next, I sat in on a panel on Using AI for Writing and Creation. The panel was quite divided in the "Not any" to "Yeah, you can use it." My own position is somewhere in the middle. I have been using AI, mostly for reviewing, summarizing, and generating art.

My next panel was on Villains and how to make them good. I started with the following statement that drove the discussion for the next hour... Darth Maul does nothing evil during the Phantom Menace.

I went to the RPG room and joined a table of Monster of the Week. I was "Wilma" who that the creepy local goth 12 year old traveling with my "Uncle Scraggy" in his van. (Later, Grandman joined us.) We had a short, but fun adventure fighting a local creature rising from his grave. One of my highlights included me making the van's bumpers magical.

Saturday I offered two table of Ozaka: Sound of a Biwa Some of you with eagle eyes will say "JP, isn't that your Gencon adventure?"

Indeed.

My morning game did not go off, so I jumped into a game of Mission Accomplished. That is a story game where your mission was accomplished and you succeeded. The game takes place in a HR debriefing where the PCs have to blame/ cover your own rear end. In the end, someone gets a promotion and someone gets shot. This is a very funny game and a love letter to the TV show "Archer"

My next slot, I ran my adventure, playtesting it. A few things came up - paths I hadn't considered, making the adventure better overall - YAY!

For the evening, I was scheduled for my first game of Kult, but the GM never showed up! So I jumped to a game of Call of Cthulhu, ran by Keeley! It was an adventure I ran "way back" of which I only remembered the high-level details. Fun stuff. I survived by the skin of my teeth despite failing several important checks.

I will say this new edition removes the "charm" of the era in favor for an "Afternoon Special" version where people of Lovecraft Country look like modern day Los Angeles, being a mosaic of people. There is a charm of playing the 1920s, with its idiosyncracies - which includes sexism and racism. Thus playing a woman in the 1920s as an engineer SHOULD raise eyebrows, and this SHOULD be used for the game, forcing players to be creative to play AROUND these barriers.

Sunday I participated in a Pro Row. Then I jumped in the car and returned home.

The biggest lesson I take away is to make sure "5e" is in the title of the events.

Another lesson is to plan to join panels on Sunday in addition to Friday. Keep Pro-Row for Saturday morning or Friday evening.

Monday, March 31, 2025

[Kinda Book Review] Essential Xmen 7

Continuing the run of my youth... with this new chapter.

Here we start after the Mutant Massacre and it's fallout. The XMen are on the run, with many wounded mutants and team members. It's a good follow up and has some decent emotional moments.

Here the team adds Psyloche before she becomes Asian with the psychic knife. She's a blind woman with cyber eyes given to her by MOJO. That is a crazy look ahead to reality TV and 24h cycle of TV. I remember reading that in the 80s and thinking how crazy and farfetched it seemed in 87 or 88...

And now...

This book concludes with the Fall of the Mutants, which kills the xmen and returns Storm's power to her (finally). But it left an ashen taste in my mouth... I remember reading then and thinking it was cool... having missed a lot of the buildup. But while binge reading it... it feels like a quick and forced cross title. Unlike the massacre, the titles had nothing to do with each other. It was... another story...

Still no one gives a crap about Rachel...

I wondered about giving this a rating... it include the very good Fantastic Four vs Xmen where they save Shadowcat from becoming a ghost and vanish. A very good story all around...

With the highs and lows together, I will give it a 3/5.

Saturday, March 29, 2025

[Kinda Book Review] La Reine Etranglee by Maurice Druon

One of the best-known series of historical fiction books in French is "Les Rois Maudits" (the Cursed Kings) which deals with King Philippe IV Le Bel (The Fair) and his children. His three sons all ascended to the throne and were the last kings of the Capetian Dynasty. Starting with Philippe VI, power shifted to the House of Valois. King Philippe Le Bel is best known for bringing an end to the Knights Templars and the trials that end with the death of the last Grandmaster. He was a massive reformer and someone with strong ideas and the personal power and charisma to get it done.

A few years back, I read the first one of the series, which started with the execution of the lords of the Templars.

I kept this one for later... Finally I sat down and read it.

The first book of the series was pretty good (oddly enough, it seems I did not put a review on this blog...). But this one... It was... Fine. Not great. As the book title indicates, deals book deals with the strangling of a queen - here Marguerite de Bourgogne (Margaret in English). Interestingly, after Philippe le Bel's death, his son Louis X (dit le Hutin or the Quarrelsome).

The book opens with the death of Philippe le Bel and the ascension of Louis X. Louis' wife Marguerite is kept in Chateau-Gaillard up the Seine River because she was found guilty of adultery (in Book 1). The plot deals with Valois and d'Artois arranging for Louis to find a second wife (Clemence de Hongrie).

My biggest issue with this is that the characters are very one-dimensional. D'Artois is manipulative, Valois is impotent, Louis is unsure of himself and quarrelsome, the Italians are affable, Blanche is candid and vapid, Marigny is honorable, and Marguerite is a defeated woman. There is little to make these people (Louis and Marguerite are the only ones with a little depth). So it's very black vs white.

This era is France's equivalent of the War of the Roses and generally fascinating. Each characters could be seen one way or another. This is not what you will find here.

I will settle on a 2/5 for this one. I enjoyed it more than most other I rated 2, but the almost cartoonish villains cheapens the interest. If I were to use this for D&D, I may bump it up to 3. But nah... it's a solid 2.

Monday, March 3, 2025

[Kinda Book Review] X-men Essential Vol 6

Still going through the first ~250 issues of the X-men and now with volume 5.

Okay... The X-men and New Mutants return to Asgard where everyone gets some cool development again. Now we have a Secret Wars II crossover with Rachel receiving the Phoenix from the Beyonder, the introduction of Mojo, Lady Deathstrike, Freedom force, and the Mutant Massacre.

Now... If you never read those comics (they cover X-men, X-Factor, New Mutants, Power Pack, and Thor), this is at once, a delight to read and an absolute horror.

The delight coming from the delicate and complicated ballet where some groups come in and out of the Morlock tunnels, in small groups, a few at a time, then exit. Others (Thor) do things that affect everyone in the tunnels.

Horror because of the subject matter. A lot of people die. Not only "unnamed morlocks" but some that are known too. Even heroes do not escape unharmed: Shadowcat becomes insubstancial, Nightcrawler in a coma, Colossus is paralysed, and Angel gets pinned to a wall.

Vicious. Brutal.

I mean being able to read the whole thing in one place was well worth the price of the cover. I could not let this down. Okay, I did because I had to sleep and go to work...

The one storyline that, again pissed me off, was Rachel. At some point, she disappears and the X-Men don't seem to care what happens to her. She leaves and they move on. Okay, the Massacre begins, but having a "Where'd Rachel go" would've been nice.

This one get a 5/5. This is a masterclass in Comic Book storytelling, across ~10 issues. When you're done, you are scarred as a reader. It's so sad...

Friday, February 28, 2025

[Kinda Book Review] Bound by Destiny by R MB Pearson

First off, let me say that I am a reader of romance stories. This story strikes all the beats you find in romance: hot girl, rich husband, destination wedding, money, a horrible event, friendships, tears, and laughs. Add complex, relatable characters, my favorites being Ron and his bros. Then add mystical forces and elements (the "bound by destiny" part...) that both serve as catalysts but that are not all-encompassing, leaving characters some measure of free will (some less than others). The magical elements flavor the story, giving it an added dimension, but it's NOT a fantasy/magical story.

But saying those elements define Bound by Destiny (BdD) would do it a disservice. I read this book several chapters at a time - getting to work late a few times.

What kept ME engaged is an artifice that RMB Pearson (RMBP) uses that made me go "MOOOOOOAARRRR!" from chapter 1: a tight and engaging story out of chronological order, told from different perspectives. It transformed what initially appeared to be a romance novel into a page-turner.

I give this book my complete total and endorsement. FIVE STARS! 5/5

This book is available from Amazon: Bound by Destiny.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

[Kinda Book Review] X-men Essential Vol 5

Still going through the first ~250 issues of the X-men and now with volume 5.

This collection moves after Secret Wars 1, the arrival of Rachel (Phoenix II), a lot of Hellfire Club, Storm losing her powers, the New Mutants becoming a frequent feature, New York as a sword-and-sorcery setting, Nimrod, X-Men and Alpha Flight with the begining of the Asgardian series, the Hellions, Magneto becoming a good guy...?

Now here we start with a series of really cool events, where the payoffs from vol 4 are falling into place.

This one is pretty entertaining and fun. The characters undergo several personal arcs: Rogue coming to terms with what she did to Carol Danvers, Storm losing her powers, Shadowcat becoming a solid team member, and Nightcrawler becoming the leader.

One subplot I really disliked was the dropping of the Shadowcat-Colossus romance following Secret Wars I.

Another plot I didn't feel went anywhere was the Rachel-Phoenix... It never seemed to have any resolution. She could kick a lot of butt but never integrated into the team.

Still, I loved this volume and read it with great delight. I'll settle on a 4/5.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

[Kinda Book Review] X-men Essential Vol 4

Still going through the first ~250 issues of the X-men and now with volume 4.

So here we have the Brood (a storyline I did not enjoy), the Morlocks are introduced, Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor's Wedding, Storm becomes the leader of the Morlocks, Kitty's almost-wedding, and the X-men vs Dracula.

While most of it is fine, this is not the best. A lot of the events here have payoff in the coming volumes, but on their own, it is as exciting as the previous (or followup) volume. The drawing is fine and the storytelling good.

The biggest piece is the brood (aka the aliens/xenomorphs) that story did not grip me.

I'll settle on a 3/5. It's fine, a bridge to greater storylines.

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

[Kinda Book Review] The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

I did not finish this one. I hated it.

My head spun from the most minute and insignificant of details, and the constant thief-jargon. It was not a fun experience to read.

I found myself constantly reading back to try and make sense of what I was reading. Needless to say, I did not like this book and when I put it down, I felt light and joyful.

I was looking forward to this one, after really enjoying Between Two Fires, I expected to like this one too.

Nope. 1/5. Not worth using as toilet paper.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

[Olympia Campaign] Artemis' Island and the Keltoi

After many events, our heroes made it to the island of Thalassos, an island permanently wrapped in fog and dedicated to the goddess Artemis. They traversed a thick forest as they followed the pull of their stones deeper inside the island.

But as they traversed the island, several strange things happened that showed the closeness with the Feywild.

When they reached their destination, a lake filled with dead people and beasts with keltoi warriors devouring the scum from the lake bottom.

A fight quickly broke out... And that's where we are... In a massive clash between the keltoi and the heroes. One creature turned into a hulking version.

Note: The bamboo bases are not completely done, hence the pale bases. I'm working on them now... after the game.