Mecha: Dawn of War Arc

Over the weekend (as mentioned in the last post) I finally got a chance to continue my Gundam SEED Destiny Gaiden campaign of Mecha. I really have a lot planned for this now and am looking forward to running it more. It will probably have to continue somewhat infrequently since I can only run it on Saturdays and Saturday is the day a lot of random LFR or other D&D events go down. Of course, by planned, I don't mean planned too far ahead. One of the beauties with Mecha is how the story grows organically based on player decision. I tend to just plan a sort of skeleton for the next few episodes, maybe some key events I want to set up and roll from there.

I have a lot of overall ideas for the future. Where the plot goes, however, will depend largely on the player's side of things. My big plan is to ultimately present various sides to the war and allow the PC's the chance to decide where they want to go. This session saw Drax unable to come though his character remained present in the background. Instead, we gained two new characters that hopefully will remain regular so we can get a core squad developed. Here are the new stars in the show:

1) Akito: An "Accidental Hero" who serves on the military base at Armory One as a cook. During the Armory One raid, he was forced to pilot a Zaku Warrior and proved to have expert skill at piloting a mobile suit. Since then, he has been trained formally and continually asked to take part in training orders or to consider undergoing missions. However, he simply wants to continue just being a cook.

2) Rayne: A "Reformed Criminal" who once attempted a major act of theft from one of the large corporations that exist among the PLANTs. After being caught and put in prison, she was released in the aftermath of the Bloody Valentine War in exchange for being a test pilot for the ZAFT military. Repentant about her crime, Rayne saw the military as the chance to have a better life unlike the one that drove her to commit robbery in the first place.

I think 3 episode chunks are turning out to be the best pacing as far as a session. Maybe one more now and again. It does mean some of the longer multi-part battles I want to do like Gundam is known for will be split between sessions at times, but there's nothing wrong with that; dramatic cliffhanger anyone? I'm really looking forward to the next session. Crim's backstory is going to get fleshed out, the PC's will me their and challenge their first major Earth Alliance antagonist and there will likely also be a chance encounter with the Junk Guild. One of my goals with this game is to keep using mecha designs that weren't featured in the SEED Destiny anime. So far I have mostly played with standard fare and a bit of MSV. However, starting with this set of episodes we get some love from the Astray manga and expect more to come in the future.

Incidentally, if you're playing Mecha right then you're using a piece of opening theme music. I figured it would be worth talking about that. My game is currently using "Ignited" by T.M. Revolution (one of my favorite Japanese acts). This is the standard first opening theme used by the anime itself. However, like Gundam SEED does in both seasons, I also plan on changing this after so many episodes. Whether I follow their set path or not is yet to be decided. As far as BGM's for battle, which have been a hit I think, I'm mostly drawing from the OST's for Gundam SEED and Destiny themselves. Anyways, here we go:

Episode 08: Return to Armory One

In the aftermath of the Junius Seven tragedy, ZAFT began providing aid to the damaged Earth. Meanwhile, Chairman Durandal made it clear that ZAFT would not tolerate the terrorists behind this act; making ZAFT's own position in the incident clear. However, this did little to foster good will. Those in the areas struck by debris cried out for justice and seemed enraged towards the PLANTs. Meanwhile, terrorist organizations like the Blue Cosmos began more aggressive campaigns rallying in new followers. Amid all this, the Earth Alliance began to re-arrange its forces seeming to focus on adding more detachments near the moon and space in general.

With the Galileo returned to Armory One, its crew was granted leave for a few days while the ship was repaired and Captain Meyers received their new orders. The base at Armory One was abuzz with activity. Within the base's main mess hall a young cook turned mobile suit pilot named Akito stumbled into work for the day. However, he quickly found himself under fire by the head chef because it seemed he had misplaced the cutlery the night before when he got off his shift. Scrambling, Akito managed to find the lost cutlery and set things right. However, his boss wasn't very pleased. Sighing, he mused about what he could do with the boy. Akito apologized and the chef noted that he'd need to do better in the future as he was being assigned to the Galileo for the dual purpose of being a cook and joining the mobile suit squad.

Akito had been forced, for his own survival, to pilot a Zaku Warrior during the surprise raid on Armory One. His skill with a mobile suit had been exceptional and though he continually claimed to only want to be a cook, he had since been formally trained. Realizing he had no other choice, Akito consented and at least took solace in the fact that he was still going to be a cook most of the time.

As he carried out his final day working at the mess hall, Akito was greeted by a young female pilot. She identified herself as Rayne and mentioned she was being assigned to the Galileo which prompted a surprised Akito to point out that they would be partners then. Initially, Rayne seemed playfully unsure about Akito's cooking skills. However, after trying some soup he had made, she found his cooking to be perfectly wonderful. As Akito's boss came back by to yell at Akito some more, Rayne was sympathetic to Akito's situation. After the chef left, she reassured Akito about his skill noting that the chef was simply a sour person.

Elsewhere, in his personal room among the base, Zak was reviewing the combat data from their clash at Junius Seven. He had been disappointed by Vonder escaping and felt particularly to blame being a member of ZAFT's Special Forces. However, even after hours of studying the battle, he couldn't seem to figure out the advantage that Vonder and the mysterious Seiji, pilot of the Proto-Chaos, had which allowed them to almost seemingly predict their movements.

Meanwhile, in the city proper, Kanji was strolling to go check out his favorite bar on Armory One. It had been a short tour of duty with the Galileo, but much had happened. He wasn't sure what the future would hold. However, he knew that it would spell more fighting. Kanji felt he might not be back to Armory One for awhile, so it was for the best that he visit it before he leaves.

However, along the way, Kanji bumped into someone he did not expect to see. He had crossed paths with Amelia, an old girlfriend from his past even before joining ZAFT's military. Amelia seemed eager to see Kanji and her interest in him, even after all these years, was made clear. However, Kanji promptly denied going out to dinner with her in a cold response. Sighing, Amelia asked if things had changed so much. Kanji nodded and said that he couldn't go back to the life he had before. He then recounted how his family had been very poor and he joined ZAFT's military in hopes of providing for them.

Too much time had passed and both he and Amelia had become different people. Kanji met and fell in love with a woman named Jeane who also served in ZAFT as a ship's operator. She resided in Aprilius-One with their twin daughters Kara and Yumi. Amelia seemed upset and Kanji told her it would be for the best if she moved on and just remembered the time they did have; appreciating it as he does. She seemed upset and thus Kanji urged her to let go of the past. Visually upset, Amelia let Kanji go and feeling a little bad the vet headed on to his favorite bar.

The following day Zak, Kanji and Drax had been assembled at one of the testing facilities on Armory One's base. There they were met by Captain Meyers as well as two new people. Meyers introduced Akito and Rayne stating that they would be joining the Galileo to round out its mobile suit squad. Zak was quick to salute his new allies and the newcomers easily meshed into the group. With this done, Captain Meyers turned the group over to a ZAFT scientist asking them to do their best to follow his directions.

The scientist explained to the group about the notion of Spatial Awareness. This was a unique, and rare, trait discovered in certain people. It was somewhat like what one might consider psychic abilities. ZAFT's military had designed weapon platforms that could be utilized with it and it was common for fellow pilots with Spatial Awareness to sense one another on the battlefield. In an effort to better understand this phenomenon, ZAFT was organizing trails at varying levels. The scientist desired for the Galileo's squad to run through a combat simulation while their brain waves were tested.

As they were transferred to the test site, the pilots couldn't help but overhear the rumors among the lab. The talk was all on the fact war might return. It seemed the Earth was still quite aggressive despite ZAFT's aid relief. Loading into open cockpits rigged to act almost like controllers for the simulation, the pilots were put into a mock combat in space against a squad of Earth Alliance Dagger L's; the current mainstay of their mobile suit forces.

The battle itself was short as the Galileo Team made quick work of the enemies. After the test, the scientist noted that those who flagged any signs they were looking for would be contacted. Dismissed, each pilot went on about their personal business awaiting the time when the Galileo would receive its new assignment. A few days later, both Kanji and Akito received a file from the labs. It seemed both showed up a potential users of Spatial Awareness. The letter included urged both to pay attention if any weird phenomenon happened and added that data on their brain waves would also begin being recorded among the other test data their squad regularly reported back in.

Episode 09: Declaration by Fire

The peaceful days the Galileo crew had enjoyed at Armory One promptly came to an end. The Earth Alliance had finally made their move as a large fleet approached the PLANTs themselves. Their declaration was clear. The Alliance demanded that ZAFT demilitarize and its government disperse. It made such a threat even while it moved forth mysterious new mobile suits. Among these were squads armed with nuclear missiles. Even in the face of such a threat, ZAFT refused such a ridiculous request and once again stressed their position against the use of nuclear arms. However, the Earth Alliance would not back down either. With no options left on either side, war was declared once more.

The Galileo was one among several ships to be launched from Armory One to come in as support during the battle. Knowing this, its crew began to scramble and finish their affairs as they boarded the Galileo and prepared to head out. Akito met with Captain Meyers by request and after giving the cook a tour of the area where he'd be working, when not piloting, he revealed to Akito that he had a special task for him. Captain Meyers explained that ZAFT had an ace in the hole for dealing with the nukes. However, they would need time to set it up and ready things. 

While the Galileo would only be dealing with outlying forces, they needed to help buy time as well. Meyers knew Akito was new, but had heard high remarks on his skill. Thus, he wanted to ask of Akito to take charge in the fight and do his very best to tie up the enemy and keep them from firing on the PLANTs. Akito more than readily accepted this task promising to do all he could. He had cooked for people on the PLANTs before and he would do so again, if he could help it.

Meanwhile, in his private quarters aboard the Galileo, Kanji heard a mysterious knock at the door. Carefully, he listened at the door and heard footsteps vanishing down the hallway. Opening the door, he noted a tray with a glass of what seemed to be water and some food on it. Suspicious about the mysterious gift, Kanji took the tray to Doctor Mareina asking her to check it for poison. Mareina initially seemed skeptical about Kanji's assessment. However, to her surprise, after running some tests the water turned out to be highly poisonous. Triumphantly, Kanji declared that anyone who knew him and called him a friend would know he only drank wine with a meal.

Laughing, Doctor Mareina noted that in this case being a drunkard had saved the old man's life. Still, Kanji seemed more concerned about the fact that this might mean a spy was on board the Galileo. Wanting to be careful about things, Kanji made Doctor Mareina promise not to tell anyone else about what had happened and to confidentially pass on the information from her tests directly to Captain Meyers. Agreeing that this was the best course of action, Mareina carefully filed away the information to be submitted to the Captain later. Worried for the future, Kanji returned to his private quarters.

Before heading to the Galileo, Rayne spent her final day on Armory One going about the city and shopping. Perhaps it was odd for a mobile suit pilot about to go to war, but for Rayne it seemed like a good idea. Who knows when the next time would be when she'd get back to Armory One and could do the same again. Thus, she made the day of things and boarded the Galileo just before its launch time.

Finally, just as the Galileo set out, Zak entered the mobile suit hangar to see how things were going. To his surprise, Chief Burns was going over Zak's Zaku. Excitedly, Burns forced Zak over inspect the mobile suit mentioning that he had managed to upgrade the Gunner Pack's Orthros long rifle giving it a small boost in fire power. Pleased with this upgrade, Zak saluted Chief Burns and thanked him for all his efforts. However, Chief Burns merely stated that it was thanks enough that he got to work on and further customize machines like this serving among an experimental mobile suit squad.

Unfortunately, there was one person missing aboard the Galileo. Takuya, true to his promise to Captain Meyers, opted to stay behind at Armory One. The young boy had officially enrolled into the ZAFT military with the intent of receiving proper training. Via Captain Meyers, the boy had sent well wishes to the rest of the ship hoping that the next time they met, he would be a proper soldier of ZAFT.

As the Galileo pulled into the combat area things looked grim. The battle was an all out skirmish on the scale of the past war. It seemed the nuke-carrying mobile suit squads were targeting Aprilius-One; the seat of the Supreme Council. Kanji could feel his tension rising knowing that his family resided on that colony as well. A quick briefing from Lt. Tsukasa revealed that the enemy unit was dubbed Windam and was apparently a new model so they needed to be careful. The squad's goal was simple. Prevent the nuke squad in their combat zone from firing on the PLANTs. Anything else was secondary to this task. The Galileo would hang back freeing up Lt. Tsukasa who intended to work directly with the Joule Team at another area of the battlefield.

Joining the fray, Drax couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the size of the battle. Akito lamented once more about his situation citing his wish to just be a cook. Kanji, picking up on this, stated that there was no hope for such dreams during war time and then began to muse a little on the seemingly eternal nature of war. Ultimately, he questioned if there would ever be a day when humanity could cast aside such notions and truly evolve into a better existence. Impassioned by Kanji's speech, Zak lead the charge into battle.

Fighting against the Windams, the Galileo Team quickly realized that these new mobile suits were easily a match, if not better, than their Zaku Warriors. However, they wouldn't give up. Remembering his promise to  Captain Meyers, Akito dove into the fray. Shouting loudly, the thrusters of his Zaku Warrior flared to life as he rammed into one of the Windams at top speed knocking it far away before spinning around and drawing his beam assault rifle trailing the shot onto another Windam and destroying it with a single shot.

Zak, meanwhile, found himself pleading with one of the Windam pilots to stand down and was shocked when, in return, the enemy pilot shouted back calling him an alien monster that needed to be purged to preserve the blue planet Earth. Realizing the nigh-fanaticism held by the pilot, Zak felt no mercy as he acted in concert with Rayne to shoot him down.

Kanji gave a stunning effort as well. Knowing that even his family's safety rode on the outcome of this battle, he remained intently focused. When one of the lead Windams of the squad broke rank to attack Drax, Kanji flew into action. Charging in his beam axe tore into the Windam severing one arm. Then, wasting no time at all, he began firing the Slash Pack's beam gatling peppering the unit with shots before finally tearing off the remaining arm and smashing it into the head of the mobile suit sending it flying away before it exploded into nothingness.

Eventually, working together, Akito and Kanji managed to route the nuke carrying Windams among this squad. With them cornered and having no other options, Akito demanded that they retreat from the battlefield or die there with them; if that's what it took. Accepting defeat, the squad leader ordered a retreat and as the Windams carrying nuclear missiles began to pull out Akito lowered his beam axe. The enemy's squad leader hailed the young cook stating that he was too naive to be a soldier on a battlefield. However, luckily for Akito, his foe this time was a man of honor. They had bested his squad and he would pull back.

With the Galileo successful in their endeavor, as the pilots returned to the hangar, all eyes turned towards the rest of the battle. Though several nukes were fired, they were stopped immediately by a powerful blast from a modified Nazca-Class ship. This ship had been outfitted with experimental technology derived off the N Jammer which ZAFT originally employed to disable nuclear warfare. This weapon was dubbed the N Stampeder. With every nuke detonated well before reaching the PLANTs, the Alliance's threat was over. Unfortunately, the N Stampeder had fried itself in use. However, it seemed that for now it had deterred any nuclear threats for the PLANTs.

Though the Galileo celebrated a small victory, they knew things were far from over. War had been declared. Captain Meyers received new orders from Armory One. The Galileo Team, minus Lt. Tsukasa, were to be dropped to Earth to join an operation by ground forces. ZAFT intended to make a decidedly strong push and force the Alliance out of space while also taking over major Alliance bases on the planet itself; thus disabling their ability to bolster space forces.

Thus, the Galileo began making its way towards Earth.

Episode 10: Operation Victoria Part I

As the Galileo made its way to Earth, the mobile suit squad was busy making final preparations before their descent to Earth. Akito was called to met Lt. Tsukasa in the mobile suit hangar. There Hiro had a stern discussion with Akito. Lt. Tsukasa hated to be the bearer of bad news, but as it would turn out a tragedy occurred amid the fight at the PLANTs. Akito's parents had been in a transport moving between two colonies just as the battle broke out. In the immediate chaos of battle, their transport had been hit directly by stray fire from one of the Alliance Windams.

Crushed, Akito could say little in response to Lt. Tsukasa. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Hiro stated that he was sorry for his loss and promised that they'd get revenge for them one day. Akito mumbled that he felt so bad he didn't even feel like cooking. Wanting to be left alone, Lt. Tsukasa departed while Akito returned to his room. This was why he only wanted to be a cook. Cooking brought smiles to people. Piloting mobile suits ultimately brought only one thing: death.

As their discussion had went on, both Rayne and Zak had been present in the hangar working on servicing their machines. Rayne, unfortunately, met Chief Jacob Burns head on as he noticed that she was connecting several cables incorrectly. Quickly, her fiery temper forced her into a rather loud argument with Burns as he went behind her correcting all the mistakes. Angered, he told her that mobile suits were precious and needed to be handled with care. However, Rayne could only scoff at his obsessive attitude.

Later, a still angered Burns found Zak working on some repairs to his Zaku Warrior as well. Again, Chief Burns couldn't help but be impressed by the level of skill ZAFT Special Forces held. Jokingly, he urged Zak to take good care of his machine while on Earth and bring it back to the Galileo in one piece. Laughing, Zak agreed to do his best. Following this, Chief Burns went on to see how Drax was doing and to continue tutoring him. Having taken a liking to the boy's enthusiasm, he seemed a little sad Drax would be leaving them. He encouraged the boy to practice hard while on Earth.

Meanwhile, Kanji met with Captain Meyers to have a final drink before their departure. They spoke of the war and how senseless it seemed after the resolution of the previous. Though so much had changed, it seemed that in the end little actually did. Kanji related his worries in the previous battle for his family and Captain Meyers assured him that while Kanji was on Earth, he would do his best to look out for his family as well.

Before parting ways, Captain Meyers urged Kanji to watch out for the others remarking on how green most of them were. Kanji lamented that so many young people were forced to fight wars which they held little responsibility for. Captain Meyers then presented Kanji with a particularly rare vintage of wine. He informed Kanji to return to the Galileo with two drinks left for them to share in celebration of everyone's reunion. Kanji thanked Captain Meyers for the gesture and promised that he would get everyone back to the Galileo.

With the time for their departure now facing them Kanji, Drax, Rayne and Akito gathered with Lt. Tsukasa and Captain Meyers on the mobile suit deck. Zak was delayed, however, as a seemingly upset Romary surprised him. Forcing up a cheerful smile, Romary remarked that she had never been on Earth before and Zak stated that he hadn't either. Romary then asked if Zak would take her some photos of Earth during their downtime to share with her when they met again. Taking on a serious tone, Zak warned Romary that this was now war; things were serious. There wouldn't be time for personal interests amid such chaos.

This forced Romary to begin tearing up. She threw herself against Zak as she began to cry. Between sobs, she stated that he had to agree because if he did then it was a promise that he'd return to her alive. Realizing what she had been implying and that, perhaps, he had been a bit to formal about things Zak did his best to console Romary. He didn't want to make a promise he couldn't keep, but Zak swore to do all he could to pull through and return. Reassured by his words, Romary hugged Zak farewell before returning to the bridge of the ship.

As Zak joined the rest of the Galileo Team, Captain Meyers began briefing them on their first true mission of the war. The pilots were being sent down to Australia on Earth. They were being dropped on the outskirts of the Great Victoria Desert. Currently a battle was already under way as Alliance forces were raiding one of ZAFT's newly established camps. Things were going bad and they needed reinforcements. It would be their goal to help push back the Alliance and then link up with the ground commander in that area. This mission had been dubbed Operation Victoria. The overall goal was to make a push against the Alliance forces and ultimately take over their major base there. Lt. Tsukasa would remain with the Galileo which would return to the PLANTs and be on reserve duty until its pilots returned to space.

Heartfelt farewells were given and Lt. Tsukasa urged the pilots to do their best while on Earth; adding that he'd work just as hard in space. With their mobile suits loaded into an atmospheric re-entry drop pod, the Galileo Team was finally ready to depart. The descent to Earth was a rocky ride and as their drop pod crashed into the ground, their first sight was marvelous as they saw the full extent of the Earth. This was a sight brand new for everyone present besides Kanji who had seen it in the previous war.

However, the team had little time to marvel at Earth's seemingly endless sky as beams began to fire all around them. True to the briefing, they really had been dropped into a war zone. A static-y voice blared over the comms to them from what sounded to be ZAFT's commander for this area. He claimed to be pleased to have an experimental squad as reinforcements and quickly briefed them on the situation. The short of it was that they were about to lose their base of operations. The Galileo Team was to rally with the remaining ZAFT forces and try to push them back.

As they entered the combat proper, the Galileo Team quickly saw just exactly what was giving ZAFT so much trouble. Amid the various Windams and Dagger L's flying about, in the center of it all was a Gundam. Kanji quickly identified it in his computer as Hyperion Gundam; a powerful mobile suit designed by the Eurasian Federation and that had multiple units produced. Angered, Zak hailed the Hyperion demanding its pilot retreat. To his surprise, his declaration was met with wild, but familiar, laughter.

Kanji, Drax and Zak quickly recognized the voice: it was Crim. As Zak pulled in close, Crim opened the hatch to the Hyperion Gundam and stepped forth removing his pilot's helmet to reveal the brutal scar Zak had left upon his face. Returning to his cockpit, Crim remarked that he never believed he would see his old friends from the Galileo so soon. Kanji questioned why he was here and Crim stated that it wasn't that complicated. His contract with Albus Vonder ended at Junius Seven. Mercenaries like him always needed more work. Since the Junius Seven incident created a need for the Alliance to bolster their forces, it was easy enough to get hired on with them.

Disgusted at his idealism of profitting from war, Zak challenged Crim to a duel. A challenge the mercenary was all too eager to accept stating that he would gladly pay Zak back in kind for their last encounter. While these two pilots clashed alone, Kanji led the others in fending off the Alliance mobile suits. With the added numbers of the Galileo Team, the ZAFT forces were able to turn the tide of the battle. Drax found it hard to adjust to fighting under gravity, but quickly got a handle on things and began fighting once more at full potential.

The duel between Zak and Crim was intense. Neither pilot would accept defeat and each used all their skills possible. As Crim stabbed one of the Hyperion's beam knives into Zak's Zaku, it pierced through the cockpit stopping short of Zak's own body. the heat of the beam knife burned his face slightly. Crim then kicked the mobile suit back. Realizing he was at a disadvantage at close range, Zak took advantage of this and pulled away drawing his Orthros long rifle to fire a powerful blast in hopes of taking Crim out. However, a mysterious yellow light surrounded Hyperion Gundam blocking the long rifle fire. Crim gloated that the Hyperion's Armure Lumiere system was the ultimate defense and, with it, he couldn't be defeated. As their duel continued, Crim swore at Zak playfully begging him to stand still so he could go ahead and kill him.

However, while distracted by Zak, Crim was unable to notice the rest of the battlefield. Slowly, the others had picked off all the Alliance mobile suits. Despite having Armure Lumiere at his disposal, Crim understood when he was outnumbered. With no support left, Crim retreated from the battlefield swearing that he would settle the score with Zak next time. The base camp broke into cheers and celebration hailing the Galileo Team for turning the tide of the battle.

After storing their mobile suits with the others, the Galileo Team was greeted by a rather odd man. He had short black hair, seemed to be quite young and wore his officer's jacket over his back much like a cape. He introduced himself as Eiji Isahara, the Commander for ZAFT's Australian Theater. He quickly offended most of the Galileo's pilots with his seemingly casual style and insensitive remarks. Rayne was quickly angered by him, but when she stated her dislike this only prompted a friendly laugh from Eiji. He offered the group to join him for some coffee, but everyone declined feeling there were more important things to be done right now.

Laughing more, Eiji assured them that there would be time for business as well. He urged them to slow down a little and suggested that they'd just have to adjust to things as Eiji liked to move at his own pace and they did things differently on Earth. While Eiji departed, the Galileo Team couldn't help but wonder if this was truly their new commander or not and if he actually had a plan towards victory. Tired from their battle, the Galileo Team was ready for a well deserved rest. Operation Victoria had only just begun...

Mecha: Junius Seven Arc

This was a long time coming. The session these episodes took place in was played probably a month or maybe even two months ago. I just couldn't find the time or drive to write them up. Which was sad because I really love Chris Perrin's Mecha and anime roleplaying in general. I really don't have a lot to comment on this. I loved how things developed (and are developing, just ran another session over the weekend) and it really started to feel like I was watching Gundam with the new developments.

Dramatic things have happened that are making a clear impact on the story's world as well as on the PC's. Likewise, enemy rivalries are starting to crop up. Crim, the PC turned antagonist, really shined with the new role I gave him. If I have my way, he'll be a continued nuisance on the party challenging them both on the battlefield and ideologically.

We did have a funny turn of events over these sessions. I forgot about the Stability Roll, was still pretty new to actually running it at the table then, and we ended up with what we've later come to call as the Gritty Hack for Mecha. Essentially, you ignore the Stability Roll in the equation. So if your mecha gets hit, then you opt to pull back or disable a configuration. Essentially, it boils down to you only ever being able to take 2 hits and then the third spells death. Though it was just a comical, in retrospect, gaff on my part, the more I thought over this the more I realized that it could actually be viable for some genre of mecha. I could see it working very well for some of the works of Ryosuke Takahashi like Armored Trooper VOTOMS. In any case, on with the show:

Episode 04: Romary's Tears

Things remained tense aboard the Galileo. While the bridge crew scrambled to devise a plan of rescue for Operator Romary Regal, the mobile suit squad assisted the mechanic team in unloading the rest of the supplies. This brought with it a collection of Wizard Packs which they quickly adopted to their units. Zak decided to utilize the Gunner Pack since he already held sniper training. Accustomed to working at high speed and enjoying the use of bombardment, Drax used the Blaze Pack on his Zaku Warrior. Finally, Kanji adopted the Slash Pack having long developed a preference for close range combat. More importantly, the transport ship had also brought various technologies for the crew to experiment with. Aware of its potential benefits, Kanji had his Zaku Warrior outfitted with a Mirage Colloid unit.

Romary's safety remained a heavy weight on everyone, however. Zak met with Lt. Tsukasa to review footage of the previous battle. While studying things, Zak was unable to make much of their tactics. Lt. Tsukasa began discussing how much more advanced these pilots seemed compared to their initial battles. However, Zak politely excused himself from providing input as he had not taken part in those sorties and didn't feel fit to give a proper assessment of the situation.

Meanwhile, Kanji was off studying maps of the asteroid field. Coordinating those along with the footage of the last battle, he was able to realize that the enemy continued to use a set path in and out of the field. Knowing this would clearly give them an advantage in future battles; particularly if they were to attempt a rescue of Romary. Pleased with his discovery, Kanji cracked open a bottle of wine.

Elsewhere, Drax was working on the various checks of his Zaku Warrior now that it had been outfitted with the Blaze Pack. While doing so he met the rather fiery Chief Mechanic of the Galileo: Jacob Burns. Chief Burns began shouting at Drax asking what in the hell he thought he was doing. Quickly, Burns pointed out an error in the connections for the Blaze Pack's "Firebee" guided missiles. Intially, Drax argued back confident in his own experience. However, in the end, after double checking Drax realized that Burns had been correct. Just as a call went in for the pilots to gather at the briefing room, Burns informed Drax that he would try to fix things but that he didn't know if there would be time.

The pilots quickly assembled in the briefing room. There Captain Meyers and Lt. Tsukasa intended to discuss possible plans of action that might be taken to recover Romary. During the meeting, Kanji revealed his observations of the asteroid field giving the group an edge with planning. Mid-discussion, however, the Galileo was hailed by the enemy Nazca-Class. Accepting the video feed, the group came face to face with Crim who boisterously engaged his former comrades. He noted that they had been fun to work with, but he had simply been given a better offer. Despite his eagerness to joke, Zak cut to the point demanding to know about Romary.

Laughing, Crim explained that she was fine aboard their ship. However, if the Galileo refused to cooperate then he couldn't guarantee her safety. He went on to add that the girl had been foolish to take an interest in him and place her trust so easily. Frustrated, Captain Meyers asked for the enemy's terms. Crim was more than eager to explain. They wanted an exchange of prisoners. Romary in return for the soldiers that the Galileo had captured in one of their recent skirmishes. Lt. Tsukasa noted to the pilots that thus far they had still been unable to get any of them to crack and spill vital information.

Warning the Galileo to think carefully, Crim stated that they would have fifteen minutes to issue a response. If they failed to agree to the terms after that time, then things might look grim for Romary. With communication ending, the pilot squad flew into a fit of anger and frustration. Even Lt. Tsukasa voiced concerns and disgust at Crim's tactics. It was at this point that Kanji brought up his research of the asteroid field. Noting on the map the area he thought the enemy had been using to easily move around, Captain Meyers commended the veteran on his skill. Lt. Tsukasa was pleased as well and realized that with this, they could potentially mount a rescue mission.

The plan would be simple. Lt. Tsukasa would stay behind in his Zaku Phantom and oversee a mock release of the captives. Meanwhile, the mobile suit team would sneak around the far edge, hopefully undetected, and launch a surprise raid on the enemy's main Nazca-Class ship. Whenever someone had the chance, they'd have to board the ship, find Romary and escape. It was risky, but Kanji was quick to point out that based on past actions they had no guarantee that Crim would keep his word anyways.

Ready with a plan, Captain Meyers contacted Crim to issue their agreement while the mobile suit team prepared to launch. Things went smoothly and with Kanji leading the team, they were able to easily sneak up on the enemy's Nazca-Class ship. With the feint plan in full swing Kanji, Drax and Zak launched their surprise attack. Opposed only by a handful of GINN, things seemed easy enough. However, Crim soon joined the battle in his stolen Zaku Warrior. The fighting was fierce, but the Galileo's squad held on. As Crim continually taunted them, Zak flew into a rage demanding for Romary's return. With a carefully aimed slash of his beam tomahawk, Zak managed to cut slightly into the cockpit of Crim's mobile suit. With a hideous scream, Crim cried out in pain. Inside the cockpit, his face had been cut bad from the attack; blood was slowly filling the helmet of his pilot's suit. Forced to retreat, Crim pulled away leaving the other GINN's to face defeat.

Zooming into the Nazca-Class' hangar, Zak discovered Romary safe and sound; but bound and gagged. Untying her, Zak confirmed that she was okay as she flung herself against him hugging for dear life while tears streamed down he face. Zak returned with Romary to his Zaku and together they flew back to rejoin the squad so they might head back to the Galileo. Meanwhile, with Romary's safety confirmed, the feint plan was revealed and Lt. Tsukasa managed to repel the GINN's that had come to pick up their allies all on his own.

With Romary saved, the Galileo celebrated a small victory in their ongoing skirmishes against their unknown foe. Though shaken, Romary would be fine. She remarked to Zak that he was truly a hero. Modest as ever, Zak merely said that it was thanks to his Special Forces training. The enemy Nazca-Class pulled away from the asteroid field and, following their mission, the Galileo continued its pursuit.

Episode 05: Mastermind

Things returned to normal on the Galileo. Though still in the middle of a dangerous mission, it seemed with the return of Romary the crew of the ship resumed being in high spirits. Unfortunately, Takuya did not share this sentiment. Meeting with Lt. Tsukasa and Captain Meyers, Takuya was ready to give them his own decision about being a mobile suit pilot. Despite having potential, in Lt. Tsukasa's own words, Takuya didn't feel fit for others to place their lives in his hands. Still, he wanted to prevent such senseless deaths like what happened to his parents. Takuya wouldn't fight with the Galileo in this current mission. When the chance came, he desired to return to the PLANTs to undergo formal military training. Lt. Tsukasa was disheartened with this decision, but Captain Meyers was resolute in honoring it.

Elsewhere, Zak went to visit Romary Regal and see how she had been since being rescued. Romary was very cheerful to see Zak and quickly took a break from running the comms to speak with him for a bit. She noted that Doctor Mareina had given her a clean bill of health. Zak enjoyed Romary's company and eventually decided it was time for him to let her get back to her duties. However, Romary quickly volunteered a bit of information. She explained that, while captured with Crim, he had met with the apparent leader of the terrorists. Romary described him as being a bit older, around Kanji's age if she had to guess, and that Crim referred to him as Vonder. Zak mulled over the name in his mind, but couldn't draw any significance from it.

Meanwhile, in the mobile suit hangar, both Kanji and Drax were working on repairing their Zaku's. Drax continued to sneak about gathering the parts he needed to work while trying to avoid Chief Burns; fearing he might yell at him more or further show him up on mechanical skills. Luckily, Drax had a rather easy time as Chief Burns took note of Zak servicing his own MS and went to speak to him. Chief Burns was impressed with Zak's skill and complimented the pilot both on his own prowess and on the level of training enforced by ZAFT's Special Forces. Zak commented that behind enemy lines, pilots would've have the luxury to have mechanics present to service their mobile suits; thus even pilots needed such skills. Pleased, Chief Burns shared a good laugh with Zak before returning to his duties.

However, it was long after that the mobile suit team was called to the briefing room. There the trio were met once more by Lt. Tsukasa and Captain Meyers. With a grim and determined look on his face, Captain Meyers announced that the interrogation of their captives had finally brought forth some information. The leader of the terrorist organization was a man named Albus Vonder. Zak noted that this had been the name Romary overheard while captured by Crim. More importantly, however, Kanji recognized the name and knew exactly who this person was.

Kanji began to tell what he knew of Albus Vonder to the group. Vonder was a vet of the Bloody Valentine War much like Kanji himself. However, Vonder had come out of the war in a far different situation than he had. Losing his wife and all his kids in the attack on Junius Seven, Vonder became a man obsessed with revenge. He was brutal on the battlefield and though an expert pilot, was known for his unusual cruelty to the enemy. When the previous Supreme Council Chairman Patrick Zala began acting out in extreme, Vonder was a hardcore supporter.

To the very end he fought for Zala's idealism that the Coordinators of ZAFT had become superior beings to those on Earth. Even during the battle of Yachin Due, as ZAFT forces began deserting in support of the Orb forces trying to rally peace and an end to the use of massive weapons of destruction, Vonder fought to the bitter end only surrendering when there was no other choice.

Kanji, who had joined the Orb forces to stop the widespread destruction, never saw much of Vonder in the aftermath. While so many, including Kanji, had been eager to lay down their guns and return to their family, Albus Vonder could not stop fighting. Instead, he transferred into a squad tasked with handling terrorist attacks and mopping up remnants of either side of the war who refused to accept the peace treaty; it was a means to still fight. In the years that followed, as he returned to his family, Kanji never heard again of Vonder and assumed him either dead or still fighting for ZAFT.

Lt. Tsukasa stressed that everyone understand Kanji's story. The man they were dealing with was a veteran of the last war and both a dangerous and expert enemy. Captain Meyers suggested the men working for him must also be pilots that supported Zala's ideology along with  mercenaries hired for additional support like Crim. However, unfortunately, this was not the only revelation the Galileo had learned. Captain Meyers took over now briefing the pilots on the current situation.

Vonder's ship, which they had been tailing for days now, was on a direct course towards the remains of Junius Seven. Its goal, as learned from the captives, was to link up with several other hardline Zala-supporting factions and initiate a plan to drop Junius Seven from orbit; crashing the colony ruins into the Earth itself. Shocked, the pilots were determined to avoid such a tragedy. Kanji, filled with sadness, remarked that such an action would surely instigate another war.

Thus, the squad's goal was clear. They needed to stop Vonder's Nazca-Class from its rendezvous. Regardless of their success or failure, they would then be heading to Junius Seven itself to try and prevent their operation from succeeded. Wasting no time, the Galileo advanced into combat speed while the pilots headed for the mobile suit deck. They would make their stand now, just before reaching Junius Seven.

As Drax, Kanji and Zak rushed ahead into battle, Lt. Tsukasa took up his usual position of defending the Galileo itself. They were stretched thin on resources and losing the ship now would mean complete failure. From the enemy Nazca-Class several GINN's, Crim's Zaku and the GINN High Mobility Type II emerged. The pilot of the Type II hailed the Galileo's squad revealing himself to be Albus Vonder presuming that, by now, the Galileo had to at least be aware of who their adversary was. Zak and Drax made it clear they were determined to stop Vonder's ambitions.

Kanji, however, hailed Vonder directly questioning why he would go against his sense of duty as a soldier and act against ZAFT. Vonder ranted on about how, under the lead of Chairman Durandal, ZAFT had become weak. Vonder reasoned that, given time, the Coordinators would eventually become complacent lapdogs towards the Earth and lose all sense of the advancements they had achieved. Kanji, however, couldn't accept such ideology that would promote war further. Vonder remained resolute in his actions, telling Kanji that they would simply have to see whose will proved the strongest.

While Kanji and Vonder faced off, Drax and Zak had their hands full dealing with Crim. The mercenary, deranged with a battle-lust proved quite troublesome. Ultimately, in a high speed ram attack, Crim's Zaku managed to cave in the chest area of Drax's mobile suit. This forced the cockpit consoles to shatter and tear in resulting in Drax himself becoming injured as ragged metal cut deep into his left leg. Realizing that Drax was hurt, Zak took it upon himself to try and end the battle as he launched an attack on the Nazca-Class itself ultimately managing to disable its engines.

However, to the Galileo's surprise, the enemy Nazca-Class suddenly exploded. From the chaos, the Proto-Chaos emerged as the cause of this sacrifice. Using this confusion, the Proto-Chaos, Vonder, Crim and their surviving subordinates flew on making their way the short distance to Junius Seven in their mobile suits alone. Zak helped Drax pilot his Zaku back to the Galileo and Lt. Tsukasa let his frustration at the enemy's escape show as he tossed his helmet across the mobile suit hangar. As the Galileo pulled closer to Junius Seven, the signs of battle were already visible. To their surprise, the crew noticed that the Minerva was present as well as the mysterious ship that had stolen the experimental Gundams. It seemed everything would now come to a head at Junius Seven.

Episode 06: Assault

There was little time for personal  affairs as the Galileo's mobile suit squad found their Zaku's in poor shape after the encounter with Albus Vonder. Kanji, Zak and Drax all tended to their mobile suits while Chief Burns made a mad scramble to oversee widespread repairs. Amid this, Takuya had come out from hiding in his room to help with what he could in the hangar. While he wouldn't fight now, he could still support the Galileo in this way. Drax, feeling in intense pain from his injury, took a backseat to Chief Burns and let him take over repairs while studying his actions. Despite his seemingly aggressive attitude, it was clear that Jacob Burns loved mobile suits as much as Drax did; a reassuring thought.

Meanwhile, Kanji found himself wrapped in an argument with Chief Burns as the head mechanic discovered Kanji working on his Zaku while having a glass of wine. Burns flew into a rant about both how mobile suits were expensive pieces of equipment as well as something sacred that needed to be handled seriously. Kanji paid little mind and continued getting in a drink while he could.

Finally, Chief Burns checked in with Zak to find that the Special Forces member had already gotten his Zaku up to shape. Once more, Burns complimented Zak on his training and discipline suggesting he ought to rub off some of his mannerisms on Drax. Laughing, Zak remained modest and merely returned to his duties knowing that battle would soon be occurring.

As the Galileo pulled into the wreckage of Junius Seven that orbited the Earth, the pilots gathered with Captain Meyers in the briefing room. There, they were me via video feed by Yzak Joule. A hero of the previous war who had joined the fighting as only a teenager. Now, he was a high ranking member of ZAFT's military. The Joule Team had come to try and stop the terrorists and was currently acting in concert with the Minerva for this task. However, the enemy forces seemed to be composed of several smaller terrorist cells linked up for this one goal. Thus, the task was beyond the Joule Team's capacity to handle.

Yzak thus issued orders for the Galileo. At the far edge of the current battlefield, some of the enemy seemed to be rigging bombs that, when detonated, would propel large chunks of the wreckage on a suicide charge into the Earth's atmosphere. While the Minerva and Joule Team tried to get a handle on the main force, the Galileo would disarm these ensuring all aspects of the situation were covered. Captain Meyers readily accepted this task and the Galileo's squad moved to launch.

Fighting among the wreckage of Junius Seven was a new experience for both Drax and Zak. Kanji, however, found the area all too familiar and lamented on the lives that had been lost there. Lt. Tsukasa remained with the Galileo defending it from stray attacks amid the chaos of a full scale battle. Engaging a squad of GINN's, Drax and Zak worked to fend them off while Kanji got close to disarm the bomb. However, Drax found himself struggling in battle unable to pilot well due to the intense pain coming from his leg. Zak noted to Kanji that something would need to be done about that soon, whether they had the time to spare or not, and did his best to cover the young MS-obsessed boy so he'd survive the fight.

Ultimately, Kanji managed to disarm several of the bombs by making use of the Mirage Colloid unit equipped on his Zaku to sneak by the battle undetected and invisible to normal sight.. With one remaining, that appeared to be more heavily guarded, Captain Meyers ordered the mobile suit squad to return and received a re-supply before heading for the final objective. Kanji couldn't be sure, but his gut told him that Albus Vonder was awaiting them at the last bomb.

Episode 07: The Day The Angel Fell

With only moments to spare, the Galileo's mobile suit squad docked and Chief Burns' team began to go to work. Zak was summoned to meet with Captain Meyers while Kanji forced Drax to come with him to the medical bay. There, Kanji and Drax met Doctor Mareina who oversaw the medical bay aboard the Galileo. Her long dark hair and glasses made her seem an ill fit for a warship, but she quickly made her expertise known to the duo as she identified Drax's injury. Realizing Kanji had considerable battlefield experience, Doctor Mareina had him assist her in treating Drax so the work could get done faster.

Though treatment was painful for Drax, Kanji and Doctor Mareina managed to not only treat the mechanic's wounds, but also patch it up enough that it shouldn't be a bother any more in combat. Mareina noted that with time it should heal up just fine. Drax thanked the doctor, referring to her as his savior. Kanji and Drax then rushed back to the mobile suit hangar. There, Drax found Chief Burns repairing his Zaku and after observing him a bit, asked if Burns would mentor him. Chief Burns broke out into raucous laughter and noted that he was glad the boy had come around. Working together, Chief Burns taught Drax a thing or two as they repaired his mobile suit.

Meanwhile, Zak had been conferring with Captain Meyers about the mission. They had studied the final bomb and it seemed to have been modified as a deterrent against ZAFT's attempts to prevent their terrorist attack. Meyers noted that it seemed the only proper way to disarm it would be for somebody to use the main console on foot. Captain Meyers admitted that this would be a hard task to do amid an intense fire-fight, however, it had to be done. Meyers wanted to place this task in Zak's hands knowing he was a member of ZAFT's Special Forces. Though nervous, Zak agreed to the task realizing how important it was. Captain Meyers wished the young pilot luck and sent him on the way. As he raced for his mobile suit, Zak bumped into Romary who cheerfully wished him luck giving him some much needed encouragement.

Without wasting any more time, the mobile suit team was launched once more as the battle at Junius Seven raged on. Approaching the final bomb Zak, Kanji and Drax realized they were facing tough resistance. Only three mobile suits surrounded their target. However, these three were Vonder's GINN High Mobility Type II, Crim's Zaku Warrior and the stolen Proto-Chaos. Knowing how tough this would be, Kanji assured Zak to just focus on the bomb and that he would do his best to draw two of the units; if Drax could tie up the remaining one.

Crim, now with a wicked looking scar that ran diagonally across his face, was eager to pay Zak back for the injury. However, Kanji was quick to engage Crim and at the same time taunted Vonder into attacking as well. Against the two, Kanji was quickly overwhelmed and pushed his skills to the limit just to avoid being killed. Elsewhere, Zak landed near the bomb and exited out on foot to begin disarming it.

Meanwhile, Drax was left to face the Proto-Chaos alone. He was shocked to find that it had the use of remote weapons and, making use of these, quickly forced Drax into the defensive. Darting around the battlefield, Drax tried to stay one step ahead of the almost web-like pattern of beams the Proto-Chaos continued to fire. Eventually, the Proto-Chaos' pilot revealed himself to Drax identifying his name as Seiji. On board the Galileo, Takuya recognized the voice and name; it had been the boy he met while on the transport with his parents. Realizing that Seiji had been the one that killed his parents, essentially, the boy fell into a deep depression.

With time, Crim and Vonder began to overwhelm Kanji destroying both an arm and a leg of his Zaku Warrior. Just as things began to look grim, Zak managed to disarm the bomb and rejoin the fight helping to push back both enemies. Noting that their plan had been stopped, Kanji urged Vonder to surrender and face justice for his crimes against ZAFT. However, Vonder taunted Kanji and remarked that while they had succeeded in stopping him, it seemed his compatriots had found victory. Pausing their battle, the Galileo's pilots noticed that, at one of the other areas of the battle, a segment of Junius Seven was starting to pass into the Earth's atmosphere.

In a last ditch attempt to stop this, the Minerva utilized its Tannhauser cannon to destroy the large debris falling towards Earth. However, this was not enough. Hundreds of small pieces descended towards Earth and destroyed cities while causing heavy damage and numerous casualties. Gloating of their victory, Vonder and his two subordinates escaped the battlefield. The Galileo's mobile suit team returned to their ship. Lt. Tsukasa seemed particular frustrated that despite all their efforts, the terrorists had still succeeded. Kanji seemed particularly concerned realizing how the Earth Alliance might interpret the results of this tragedy. Worse yet, there were now no signs on tracking Albus Vonder and the Proto-Chaos further.

Regardless, new orders had come in to the Galileo. In light of these new developments, they were to return to Armory One so they could be re-supplied and given new orders. While there, the pilots of the Galileo were also to undergo some special testing to help further some research. With heavy hearts and an air of uncertainty about the future, the Galileo began its return trip to Armory One.

D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders Session 08

Yep, always behind on these but that's fine. I'd rather go at my own pace with this that not update at all. This season of Encounters went by in a flash. We started the season with a table of five, losing one from the start of the trilogy, and saw it explode over the eight weeks to two full tables of six. I'm proud of the direction our store's little RPG group is going.

I'm not sure there's a lot to comment about this final session. The module had it pretty straightforward. Valan dropped in as the big bad just in the nick of time at the end, and now the fight! I was a little disappointed that after Valan was built up so much last season that he just gets a whimpered ending here. They hardly include any dialogue for him and as far as roleplaying him just suggest "like the Jaezred Chaulssin assassin" was. I think that was super lazy for a villain that felt a step above the usual Encounters fare. Truth be told, I actually hoped he would survive to go on into the final season of the trilogy and be the one point that sort of more directly linked each season; beyond the arcane master plot.

Regardless, things are what they are. It was interesting to play a season where the party acted as the villains for a change. I'm not sure I'd want to go back there again, at least in the near future, but I was really appreciative that we had everybody really get into the spirit of things and shoot for those secret House Goals. They generated a lot of laughs and will be missed. Here's my table's conclusion, look forward to our foray into the end of the Rise of the Underdark trilogy over the coming weeks:

Session 08: Valan's Ambition
-Descending the stairs, the party knew the time for their final encounter was drawing near. Bolstered in support by the drow guards that had served Faeryl, the group proceeded in confidence. Zarra took up a role near the rear acting more as a commander of the group allowing the guards to fight in her place. Below, the party discovered a chamber that looked like a catacomb or shine, perhaps even both. From its appearance, it seemed to be older than even the vast Bone Locker beneath West Wall.

-To the left, the party noticed a small altar dedicated to Lolth. Ahead rested four alcoves, each holding several niches stacked with the brown bones of long-dead drow. Some of the alcoves were choked with spider webs that extended to the ceiling, teeming with living spiders. To the right, more webs hung from the ceiling and drapped over two statues of glowering gargoyles; which flanked another stairway leading even further down.

-As they party studied the room, a small figure detached itself from the shadows near the statues and slipped won the stairs. However, before they could react, a cloud of greasy brown smoke appeared over the altar accompanied by a sharp stench. It was little more than a hazy smudge in the air, but all present could feel the power and malevolence oozing from it.

-Zarra immediately identified this presence as a yochlol demon; one of the handmaidens of Lolth. Usually, these were seen only in temples when summoned by Lolth's priestesses. Thus, a yochlol appearing on its own in such a place was unheard of and surely a sign of either Lolth's favor or her severe displeasure. At once, the yochlol began to speak directly into the mind of each party member: "Prove yourselves to your Goddess, mortals! How do you, in your current actions, obey the Spider Queen's will?"

-Knowing such a question was not to be answered lightly, all those present carefully considered their answers. One by one, with their response each party member was met with favor from Lolth save one. Charon, who claimed he was serving Lolth by spreading chaos in the world forced the yochlol's words to become quite harsh cursing Charon while stating, "You stand astride the chasm, and soon you will plunge into it. Lolth is your queen--will you not serve her? Danifae has revealed her will--do you not seek to obey it? The Way of Lolth has been established for centuries--do you not wish to preserve it? Neither hot nor cold. I spit you out!"

-Through the yochlol, Lolth's will on the recent issues was made clear. The pursuit of the Demon Weave was still the primary goal. Both the extreme priestesses (who wished to stop this) and the Council of Spiders (who desired male representation when Lolth's command made no such mention) were in error. However, the more pressing matter was Valan Jaelre and the interference by the Jaezred Chaulssin. Particularly pleased with Solvayas' devotion, the yochlol offered to impart knowledge on any one question. After asking about who backed Valan Jaelre's actions, the yochlol explained that he had been supported by House Nuryndin; the inconsequential 48th House of Menzoberranzan. Through them, Valan kept in touch with a more senior member of the Jaezred Chaulssin.

-In a bright burst of flames, the yochlol vanished. At the same time, a bolt of dark energy blasted from the room below the stairs striking Ryltar and injuring him. It seemed Valan's troops had noticed the party's arrival and now their showdown would begin. At the top of the stairs approached two of the Jaezred Chaulssin's shadowy Hex Knights ready to defend their position. Further down the stairs, Solvayas and Belgos noticed two odd enemies. They were drow, but they also boasted obsidian scales on their necks, shoulders, and clawlike hands. Further back into the room below stood a male drow wearing ornate robes and carrying what looked like solidified strands of shadow twisted together into a gnarled staff. He wore a symbol that looked like a sunburst that transitions into two daggers pointing down like fangs. This was not a House insignia that anyone recognized; it had to be Valan Jaelre.

-The battle was intense as the party found their advance halted by the Hex Knights. From beyond, the drow with oddly dragon-like features added in a hail of long range fire taking advantage of their humanoid shields. Only Belgos was safe as he took up a sniping position using the altar dedicated to Lolth for cover. Not to be outclassed, Valan cast spells from the safety behind the Hex Knights as well unleashing a powerful explosion of poisonous webbing trapping much of the party and making it difficult to move about. Furthermore, this overwhelming force managed to instantly kill Faeryl's forces that had been acting under Zarra's command. The Melarn priestess struggled to keep her remaining troops up and in the fight.

-Eventually, the Hex Knight's defensive line was broken as Drisdhaun summoned a powerful fountain of flames that continued to blaze their original location. This forced the Hex Knights to break rank and proceed in closer to avoid the inferno. With this advantage, the party began to gain the upper hand forcing the dragon-like drow to proceed in as well; where Solvayas learned that these spellcasters were just as competent and deadly in melee.

-Confident in his victory, Valan Jaelre began to gloat to the party. He spoke of his actions in the Dalelands and how it was merely a deception to draw the attention of those in Menzoberranzan while he infiltrated the city and began amassing power and begging manipulation. He also added that he had found a powerful artifact along the way, one which would easily allow him to topple the city given the chance. He claimed that the party would perish and their fall would signal Menzoberranzan's destruction. Ultimately, even Lolth would meet her match as Valan's power grew.

-However, having spoken with the yochlol, the party remained determined to fight on. Zarra healed what wounds she could and the battle continued. In a moment of reckless bravery, Charon charged through the fray striking a critical blow against Valan wounding him severely. The outcome of the battle was now clear, But Valan refused to accept any outcome other than  his own schemes. Shouting about his masterful plan and the inevitable freeing of the drow from under Lolth's oppressive command, Valan Jaelre fought on even in the face of defeat.

-Ultimately, the mad mage was downed by a final shot from Belgos rendering him badly injured and unconscious. Rather than kill him, Solvayas webbed Valan up as the party concluded that he should be questioned and face punishment for his crimes against Menzoberranzan. However, Valan had other plans. Seeing there was no other alternative, Valan Jaelre activated a poison capsule hidden in his mouth killing himself rather than allow Menzoberranzan to question him about his benefactors and associates.

-Exploring the rest of Valan's hideout, the party discovered a letter confirming House Nuryndin's involvement giving proof to the yochlol's information. They also discovered a scrap of paper on Valan's body that described a meeting scheduled between some leaders of the Council of Spiders and Gromph Baenre; the Archmage of Menzoberranzan. There was no clear sign that he had thrown in lot in with the Council, but even meeting with them made a large statement.

-Most important, the party found the artifact Valan had spoken of. Studying it carefully, Drisdhaun identified it as the Spellfire Manacle. This was an important artifact created after a devout follower of Mystra was captured by drow. Mystra blessed her with the temporary gift of Spellfire--the ability to channel and control raw magical energy, which she used to gain her freedom. The manacle she wore was sacred to Mystra and was said to contain significant remnants of the power of Spellfire. Certainly, it would serve the pursuit of the Demon Weave well.

-Taking Valan's body, the party returned to speak with the Triumvirate about their mission. All three were pleased with their success. Ash'ala mentioned that she had acted in haste with her actions and Hoshtar seemed to have cooled down some as well. Hoshtar was most pleased with Drisdhaun's discover of the Spellfire Manacle and though Drisdhaun mentioned a desire to keep it, this was quickly dashed as both he and Ash'ala made it more than clear that it would have to be dedicated towards the Demon Weave.

-Ro'kolor found the information gained about Gromph as well as House Nuryndin particularly interesting; noting that it seemed the Bregan D'aerthe would remain in good business for yet some time to come. With both Ash'ala and Hoshtar acting as key players, along with the information parted by the yochlol, it seemed the rumination of civil war would die down in Menzoberranzan for the time being; until the backstabbing ways of the drow began to boil over once more. With their actions, the party would become well known among Menzoberranzan. However, more importantly, Lolth's desire for the Demon Weave pushed one step closer to its realization.

D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders Session 06+07

Much delayed, but I've got a double shot of updates on Encounters. Things have been busy for me, especially with midterms going on right now, so I just haven't had the time to sit and write up some play reports for what has been going on. On that note, I'm ridiculously behind with some sessions of both Mecha and DCC that I'd like to write up as well. It doesn't help that the pre-release PDF's for Tenra Bansho Zero went out. Being a huge anime fan, I've long been looking forward to this game. I'll likely talk more about it on here in the future, but to state it plainly: this game is amazing.

The Encounters program has been going well for us. All the vets of last season were pleasantly surprised to see Valan Jaelre turn up again. I'm very sad about how the module handles him, however. He's not even given any direct lines which seems like a cop out. Having ran last season, I have a personality worked up from all the changes I made. But I could see him easily being ran as just another dry final boss if the module was taken as is.

Thanks to some good roleplaying, and in my book roleplaying always trumps anything else, my table will be rolling into the grand finale next week with the deck stacked in their favor. Naturally, I have to put on a good show so Valan will have to step up his game as well. He was a master manipulator and seemed to always be a few steps ahead last season, so there's no reason for that to have changed this time.

This season has flown by and it's hard to believe next week is the finale. I'm excited for the conclusion to this trilogy and everyone at our program is eager to see just how this "war" will play out. So, to get all caught up with our heroes:

Interlude

Session 06: The Brink of War
-Once more the party assembled before Ash'ala, Hoshtar and Ro'kolor. This time, they met in a large audience chamber in a mansion owned by Ro'kolor as they listened with grave interest to accounts of the party's recent deeds in full detail.

-When they finished, after a long pause, Ash'ala moved to the point as she pointed out that they had an important decision to make: If Menzoberranzan lies on the brink of civil war, how would each of their houses respond? Each leader wished to hear the input of the party they had assembled, but before beginning their debate all those present reviewed the current facts.

-First, that there existed a group of defiant priestesses that seek to undermine all attempts to create the Demon Weave in order to hold onto their power in the city. Second, that the Council of Spiders seek to have male representation on Menzoberranzan's ruling council. Finally, someone is trying to provoke this tension into open civil war via the assassin that was captured. Drisdhaun suspects they may be tied to the Jaezered Chaulssin; a faction of drow that operate against Lolth.

-The debate began in kind and the initial disposition of everyone seemed obvious. Ash'ala's intent was focused on the Way of Lolth which thus far had only focused on the Demon Weave. Thus, she viewed the Council of Spiders as upstarts going against Lolth's will. Hoshtar, while more reserved than the opinions of the Council of Spiders, saw the logic behind the rise of their power in the city if arcane magic was so elevated by their Spider Queen. Ro'kolor, however, merely wanted to make the decision that was most profitable for the Bregan D'aerthe.

-Working together Solvayas, Belgos and Charon began to persuade Ro'kolor to support the Council of Spiders; noting that if they did rise in power then it would certainly mean more work.  Thus, it would be good to sit in a friendly disposition towards them from the start. However, Ryltar and Zarra were quick to point out that the Bregan D'aerthe had always found work under the priestesses rule and had been well paid for it.

-In a desperate gambit, Belgos and Charon began trying to appeal to Ash'ala's faith on the matter trying to reason that it was, in fact, Lolth's will to elevate those who utilized arcane powers. However, a quick interjection by Zarra dashed any hopes of swaying the proud priestess from her stance.

-Swiftly, lines were drawn in the sand. Ash'ala seemed resolute on eliminating the Council of Spiders. Hosthar in supporting their goals. Ro'kolor remained as the undecided factor. Taking their leader aside, the trio of Bregan D'aerthe mercenaries wished to speak with Ro'kolor in confidence. Alone, Belgos brought up the fact that House Baenre had ordered them to implicate House Melarn during their previous mission and mask any presence of House Xorlarrin. It stood to reason that, if they must act and decide on their own, that backing the Council of Spiders would best reflect the interest of House Baenre; their benefactors. Noting the wisdom in these words, Ro'kolor made his stance official to all present pledging to support the Council of Spiders.

-This brought a great argument as all those present began to discuss the matter of Lolth's will. Just as hands started reaching for weapons, the dispute was interrupted. At the far end of the room, dark shadows began to swirl and take form. It was more of the creatures that had been employed by the assassin. As Ro'kolor moved to protect Ash'ala and Hoshtar, the party agreed to put aside their differences for the time being and defend their leaders.

-The battle was short and swift. Without the leadership and misdirection of the assassin, the shadow creatures could do little on their own against the coordinated drow strike force. Just as they fell the final beast, the doors to the chamber kicked in. Storming forth, another Bregan D'aerthe member emerged as he chucked forth a badly beaten (and well interrogated) Merinid Dalael; the assassin.

-"We have broken him," the mercenary stated clearly, "And we now know who he is working for: Valan Jaelre."

Chapter 3

Session 07: Into the Shadows
-Following this revelation, the leaders returned to their houses and masters to make their arguments and prepare for whatever rested ahead; they urged the party to do the same. Whatever happened next, life in Menzoberranzan might never be the same. The next day, for a final time, the party was gathered by their leaders among the triumvirate. However, they were no longer gathered fully as allies. Hosthar and Ro'kolor met with their members, while Ash'ala met with Zarra and Ryltar alone.

-Each meeting revealed much of the same information. Merinid's status as a member of the Jaezred Chaulssin, an order of assassins committed to the overthrow of what they call the tyranny of Lolth over drow society, was confirmed. Though most of the faction's members were drow, they have strong ties to the Shadowfell and claim to have descended from shadow dragons.

-The mastermind behind their operations in the midst of this crisis was a drow from the distant Dalelands named Valan Jaelre. Rumors suggested that Valan had recently enacted some massive scheme at the city of Shadowdale, but reports were vague. Weirder still, if the accounts were to be believed then it seemed odd that Valan Jaelre could have been present in Menzoberranzan all this time manipulating events from the shadows. Spies had traced his location to a small network of caves and cellars in the Braeryn, Menzoberranzan's slum district. Though divided, each half of the party held the same mission: find and kill Valan Jaelre to put an end to the Jaezred Chaulssin's interference in the city.

-Winding past drinking pits and slave pens Solvayas, Belgos, Charon and Drisdhaun pressed deeper inside the Braeyrn as they sought the location of Valan Jaelre. Eventually, they reached a building that was supposed to hold the assassin's hideaway. It was a run down shack that looked like it was on the verge of collapse, with no front door and a single room inside littered with garbage and debris.

-Inside, a long ladder beneath a trap door brought the group down into a short natural tunnel that almost immediately opened into a large cavern. A number of other tunnels branched off from the cavern, and at one corner it turned into finished stone. A dozen drow were ranged around the cavern: three sentries standing at attention, unmoving, at the edge of the finished stone, five young priestesses grouped with an older priestess wearing the sigil of House Melarn and finally two cloaked males who seemed to be guarding the priestesses.

-They all seemed surprised and displeased at the party's approach. "I must not be seen here," the senior priestess spoke as she gestured to her bodyguards forcing them to raise their weapons. Just as this occurred, Zarra and Ryltar arrived to the cavern having followed their intelligence with brought them in through a different path. Noticing the brewing battle, Zarra recognized the lead priestess as Faeryl Melarn, a relative of Matron Mother Zhindia Melarn who is said to carry her house's favor.

-Noting those of her own house, Faeryl spoke favorably to Zarra. Zarra inquired what she was doing here and Faeryl was quick to explain that she was here to meet with Valan as he had promised to help her bring an end to the effort to help Lolth create the Demon Weave. She added that this was the only way to stop the arrogance of the Council of Spiders. Still, it was against the common feeling of Menzoberranzan and thus Faeryl could not allow any others to see her presence. As her troops readied to battle Solvayas, Beglos, Charon and Drisdhaun, Faeryl ordered Zarra and Ryltar to join here in stamping out those who opposed House Melarn.

-Zarra and Ryltar readied their weapons much to the party's disdain. Calling out to them, Belgos tried to talk them down as he asked if they could not at least fight together a final time against a common enemy: Valan Jaelre. Solvayas and Charon backed this up re-stating just how clear it was that Valan was the source behind the rumblings of civil war to begin with. However, Zarra seemed resolute; this order had come from a priestess that outranked even her. As the battle began, Solvayas was quickly overwhelmed by Faeryl and her subordinates. The two cloaked figures that had accompanied her made use of unique invisibility techniques to confuse the druid and lure him in to be surrounded.

-Feeling confident about her situation, Faeryl moved on to corner Charon, Belgos and Drisdhaun while she ordered Zarra and Ryltar to back her up and also help finish off Solvayas. However, neither could draw their weapons upon their former allies. Zarra merely moved closer and closer to the guards at the area of worked stone under the guide of observing the situation. Ryltar, meanwhile, moved to back up Faeryl claiming that he was confident that the young priestesses under here were more than a match for one foe.

-Things seemed bleak for the party as Solvayas was pushed to his limit and even Charon began to be overcome by the deadly poison summoned forth by Faeryl. However, it was then that a surprising turn of events occurred. Roaring with anger, Ryltar charged down Faeryl and with one powerful swing struck a mortal wound upon a priestess of his own house. Shouting, Ryltar claimed that he grew tired of taking orders from drow such as Faeryl; ignorant in their actions and merely clinging to the old laws as a bid to keep their own power. Even if it meant turning against House Melarn, he could no longer tolerate such actions.

-Working with his allies once more, Ryltar managed to make good on his new vow. With Belgos offering support from afar with a hail of arrows, Ryltar cut down Faeryl even as she cursed his name. This threw chaos into the battlefield allowing the party to down several more drow. Even Solvayas was able to turn the tide on the young priestesses easily dispatching several of them.

-Startled, those present seemed to look to Zarra as a means of assuming command in Faeryl's place. Noticing that this was a chance for her to improve her own status among House Melarn and within Menzoberranzan as a whole, Zarra quickly spoke up ordering the House Melarn forces to stand down. After some terse negotiations with the surviving guards, Zarra made it clear that Valan Jaelre was rumored to be involved with the Jaezred Chaulssin and it could have ruined House Melarn's reputation even just by conferring with him. She went on to add that it had been a sign of Faeryl's weakness and just how unfit she was to be a leader of any kind in Menzoberranzan that she sought to rely on Valan's power and could not even defend herself against Ryltar; a male warrior.

-Swayed by her words, the remaining members of Faeryl's force submitted to Zarra as their new leader. Her first order of business was to establish her former associates as comrades. Regardless of the Demon Weave and the Way of Lolth, Valan Jaelre posed a much larger threat to Menzoberranzan as a whole. Leaving one of Faeryl's men to keep watch, Zarra ordered the rest to follow the party and act as support. Their intelligence lined up with Faeryl's: Valan Jaelre was ahead.

-Examining it closer with the battle resolved, the finished stone area looked like a cellar. Broken crates and splintered barrels littered the floor and an odor of rancid food and bodily waste filled the air; fitting of the Braeryn. A stairway in the far corner seemed to lead further down; presumably to the lair of Valan Jaelre...

D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders Session 04+05

Last week was devoid of my usual Encounters update. A lot happened so perhaps I'll explain that first before we get all caught up. In a stroke of fortune, our little RPG group has been expanding rapidly. Returning player here or there. Then they brought a friend. Two new people here. Two more new people there and then one of them brings a friend. All of this was really not a problem at first because some had joined in via our Saturday sessions (more DCC play reports on the way).

However, it all kind of exploded last week when pretty much all the new players converged in for Encounters. I have been our store's sole DM for the past two seasons because we just did not have the numbers to support a second table. Cue my surprise when I get to run a session for eleven players. There was really no other way around it. If you're familiar with 4e then I know you're probably thinking impossible. Well, it moved a bit slower but we did it. Several were still using pregens that I hadn't made the time to bump up past level 1, so that with some liberal tweaking allowed the combat encounter to still present a challenge.

However, with my drive for continuity in the summaries I decided not to write up the giant drow strike force that descended on the Council of Spiders. All the players seemed intent on coming back, which is great, but there was no way to keep running the season for a table of eleven. So I made a call for new DM's. Worked out one of the vets who is pretty new to DMing, but experienced with the rules, to take over a second table starting this week. I decided to wait and see what players would make up my table and retcon Session 4 to only include them and go from there.

This week went well enough. We ended up with enough for two tables of five players and there were two people that missed who could be back again in the future so an even six/six perhaps down the line. I really love that we're back up to two tables. It was like that when I joined the group over a year ago and quickly diminished down to one. It wasn't without some issues. The DM for table two is still pretty new to DMing 4e, but he's eager to work at it and that's what counts in my book. We all have to start at some point. A lot of the vets playing at the time had to walk me through my first sessions of 4e which happened to be LFR modules. Looking back over season 08 of Encounters, my first season to run, I realize a lot of mistakes and problems I had. Certainly a learning process, but this was a great start for the rest of the season in my book.

Next week is primarily a roleplaying session and I'll be interested in seeing how that plays out. This is the first Encounters season I have seen where there has been such a huge level of divergence that can occur. Speaking of divergence, I really wish I could clone myself to watch over Table 2's sessions as well. The key NPC to rescue died in their run this week so already each Table has grown off into a different direction. Good times, but in any case here's a double-shot of summaries:

Session 04: Wizard Clash
-Once more, the party gathered in the same small cavern in the Eastways where their adventure had first started. However, this time there were some new faces and one of their three leaders were missing. Ash'ala Melarn was quick to explain the situation. She explained that a certain faction, the Council of Spiders, having taken Lolth's demand for the Demon Weave to its extreme feel that wizards now deserve a seat on the Ruling Council of Menzoberranzan. Dangerous and foolish ideals, in Ash'ala's own words.

-Smirking, Ro'kolor questioned if the group was curious about the new faces and the absence of Hoshtar. From the last mission, only Zarra Melarn and Solvayas were present. Stating that he needed further training, Hoshtar had relieved Phaeqel of his duties and assigned a more experienced mage, Drisdhaun Xorlarrin in his stead. Zaketrin had matters of her own to deal with among House Melarn. Furthermore, with a slew of new jobs coming in Ro'kolor was forced to rearrange the duties of his men. To make up for the differences, he brought forth Charon and Belgos to bolster the party's strength.

-As for Hosthar, Ash'ala took over explaining as she told the party that he had been kidnapped by the Council of Spiders. They had learned that the Council was using a building in the ruins of the old compound of House Srune'Lett as a meeting place and suspected that Hoshtar was held there.

-Ro'kolor noted that moving against them openly would be unwise as it might force the issue to a head and stir up open warfare. He added that House Baenre wouldn't want that. This confirmed, for the first time, exactly what House had employed the Bregan D'aerthe to act on their behalf in these matters. Smiling, Ash'ala granted the party their mission: find the Council members by any means, rescue Hoshtar and don't get discovered.

-After a short break to confer with their respective members in private, the faction representatives bid the party farewell as they set off for their destination. House Srune'Lett fell during the War of the Spider Queen, and its impressive compound in the neighborhood of Narbondellyn, a fashionable district of elegant manors, eclectic artisans and rising socialites, fell with them. In the midst of such sophistication, the ruins of the Srune'Lett compound made for a terrible blemish. The walls surrounding the compound were crumbled and breached in several locations. The tall spires that was once its most prominent feature held a gaping hole near its top.

-According to the intelligence given to them, the party knew the wizards were hiding in one of the smaller buildings; which were still mostly intact. As they approached, they could see black curtains hanging over windows, suggesting that the place was indeed inhabited and perhaps being used for secret purposes.

-Following a wide set of stone steps, the party entered an open plaza with a large basin of water set in the floor. Ahead, they saw doors leading in the building to the left, to the right and straight ahead. Standing near the doors were two sentries with long spears in defensive stances. Upon sighting the party, they shifted nervously in place.

-Approaching the guards, Solvayas and Charon managed to convince them that they were there for Hoshtar; a veiled truth. The guards automatically assumed Hoshtar had sent for allies to come join in the talks as well. This reference brought suspicion among the party. However, the way inside was cleared and thus they advanced. Within the party passed several spellcasters. Some resided in a large area designed as personal sleeping quarters and another long hallway held a library. Curiously, some of these members of the Council of Spiders bore the masks of House Xorlarrin members.

-In the central chamber, the group meet with an elderly member of the Council of Spiders. He seemed friendly and eager to have more recruits for their cause. However, little seemed outwardly aggressive about his feelings on the matter. The wizard confirmed that Hoshtar was present for a peaceful meeting with his leaders. However, just then a deep gong resounded through the complex. At this warning sign, all those present labeled the party as intruders and attacked.

-The ensuing battle was quite fierce. Surrounded on all sides, the party fought a tough battle despite many of the wizards present being only apprentices. Belgos, in particular, had a rough time as he found himself isolated and cornered in the library by one of the guards. However, with some quick footwork he was able to climb atop a bookshelf just in time to avoid a swing of the guard's spear. Running from the top of bookshelf to bookshelf, he used this vantage point to pepper his foes with arrows.

-At Zarra's command, the party made sure to incapacitate the wizards present; planning to take them in for harsh interrogation. As Solvayas used his spider form to encase the captives in webbing, they questioned the group learning that the masked members were in fact low ranking members of House Xorlarrin interested in the ideals of the Council of Spiders. Drisdhaun noted their names and meanwhile, Charon worked in the shadows out of sight carrying out the task Ro'kolor had appointed to the Bregan D'aerthe members among the party.

-With the main floor secured and knowing Hoshtar was down below, the party advanced following a spiral staircase to the lower level. There, they found a drow resting at a large desk, chair kicked back, holding a rapier and glaring towards them. "And so it begins," he said with a sneer, "Thank you, dear friends, for starting what I'm sure will be a perfectly lovely war."

Session 05: Secrets & Lies
-Faced with this mysterious drow, but noting his unwillingness to fight immediately, the party tried to question him as much as possible for what information could be gained. Introducing himself as Merinid Dalael, he refused to speak of his benefactors but merely said that they were no friends to the Spider Queen. Worried for Hoshtar, Drisdhaun asked of his fate. Merinid reassured them that he was alive as "his guest" and that he wouldn't be leaving soon.

-Curious about his connection in all of this, Solvayas questioned why the wizards upstairs thought Hoshtar was present as a guest. Merinid confirmed that this was the case. He had come for a meeting with elders of the Council of Spiders. However, that meeting was cut short and the elders would never speak again; after Merinid's intervention. Continuing this line of thought, Solvayas asked what Merinid wanted with a high ranking member of House Xorlarrin. However, laughing, Merinid informed the party that Hoshtar had already served his purpose: provoking the priestesses to strike against the Council of Spiders via the party who were little more than helpless pawns of the Spider Queen.

-Charon stated that it had been their task from the Bregan D'aerthe to recover contract. Solvayas added that their pride for completing contracts meant they couldn't back down. Merinid stated that he felt the same way and thus proposed they would simply have to clash and see whose resolve was superior. Kicking off from the desk, Merinid rolled back and escaped down the adjoined hallway as he left behind a cloud of darkness obscuring the path ahead.

-As the party rushed to try and catch up to the assassin, they were beset by mysterious creatures made from shadows. Some hunched over like small inhuman lurking beasts and yet others that seemed purely humanoid and clad in heavy armor. Another harsh battle awaited the party as these shadow creatures blocked their hopes of pursing Merinid who had all but vanished.

-Solvayas, taking the lead, felt the brunt of these creatures' wrath and it was only by Zarra's will to invoke Lolth's power that he remained in the fight. Meanwhile, Beglos and Charon acted at range firing arrows as support. As the opposition thinned, thanks in part due to Drisdhaun's use of arcane light to weaken the shadow-creatures' power, Charon rushed ahead hoping to find Hoshtar or track down Merinid. Opening the first door he came to and peering through, the rogue was surprised by the assassin taking a painful strike from his rapier.

-Cackling, Merinid rushed down the steps that were adjoined by this doorway happy to continue this game of cat and mouse with the party. However, his escape was cut short as Solvayas, tired of the games, summoned forth a swarm of spiders that tripped the agile assassin.

-As he fell, Merinid couldn't help but further taunt the party as he cried out, "Do you think the houses of these poor fools will suffer such an attack upon their members without retaliation? Do you think the wizards of the city will allow the slaughter of so many of their own to go unpunished? Tension is already at a boiling point, thanks to the Avatar of Lolth. You have simply provided the spark to ignite these flames!"

-Even as the party ganged up on him, Merinid managed to slip away and reach an alchemical lab at the end of the hallway. There, the party found the corpses of two Council wizards and Merinid who had Hoshtar held with a dagger at his throat. The Xorlarrin representative looked badly beaten, but still alive. Laughing, Merinid pointed out that Hoshtar was worth more alive to the party at this point than to him. If any approached him too close or continued their attacks then Hoshtar would die.

-Ever ready to accept such a challenge, Belgos drew a single arrow and aiming carefully he let a shot fly at Merinid. The hunter's aim struck true and as the arrow pierced Merinid's wrist, the assassin lost his grip on the dagger. Acting quickly, Solvayas rushed down the hall morphing into his spider form even as he moved using the momentum to slam against Hoshtar and force him free of Merinid's grasp. Disarmed and unbalanced, Drisdhaun moved in to finish things against the crafty assassin as he called forth bolts of magic missile rendering him unconscious.

-With Hoshtar saved, the party took a moment to treat his wounds ensuring he would be able to safely make the travel back home. However, Zarra demanded to know about Hoshtar's involvement with the Council of Spiders. However, from Hoshtar's point of view this was a simple matter. He explained that his cousin, Raelaryn, invited him to speak with a wizard of House Barrison Del'Armgo about the Council's aims.

-These were also the two who laid dead on the floor. They had hoped to secure Hoshtar's support knowing that such a well respected member of House Xorlarrin would surely draw many to their cause. Yet Hoshtar stated that he had no interest in the Council of Spiders. While he supported the crafting of the Demon Weave, he remained dedicated to Lolth's command.

-Further information came forth during these discussions as well. A number of wizards from Houses in Menzoberranzan had sided with the Council, but thus far no one prominent member had emerged to act as a guiding force; perhaps the role they desired Hoshtar to fill. The backbone of the Council is compromised of members from House Xorlarrin and House Barrison Del'Armgo; the two Houses that favor spellcasters and give their wizards the most authority and leeway in their actions.

-Before his death, Raelryn had mentioned to Hoshtar that he suspected that the Archmage of Menzoberranzan, Gromph Baenre himself, was sympathetic to the Council's cause and was contemplating giving his full support; yet no proof was provided. As for the assassin, Hoshtar was not familiar with him but knew it was clear that whoever he answered to was clearly trying to fan the sparks of tension into full on flames driving a wedge between priestesses and wizards to launch a civil war. He suggested they let Ro'kolor interrogate Merinid once they were back safely within the city.

-As the party prepared to transfer back their captives, they explored the alchemy lab. Several magic items were found, leftovers from eons ago when this site still found regular use. Zarra found Solvayas' actions suspicious and questioned him suspecting foul-play. He was quick to reply that he was searching the bodies for anything of value. Zarra found something off about his excuse. However, Charon quickly came to support his fellow mercenary backing up the story with some fast-talk. Uneasy, Zarra dropped the matter pleased enough that their mission had gone smoothly.

-More importantly, as he mulled over things, Drisdhaun had a revelation. Recalling a passage from an obscure history book he had once read, Drisdhaun identified the shadowy creatures that Merinid had employed as having a tie to the Shadowfell. In all of the history of Menzoberranzan, such creatures had ties to only one group: the Jaezred Chaulssin.

-They were a secretive, patriarchal order of assassins with mysterious ties to the Shadowfell. During the War of the Spider Queen over a century ago, the Jaezred Chaulssin spurred both a horde of demonic orcs and an army of duergar to attack Menzoberranzan. Their stated goal has always been to free the drow race from Lolth's tyranny by any means necessary. If they truly were active again, then starting a civil war easily fit their past methods.

-With such ominous events in the air, the party returned to check in with Ash'ala and Ro'kolor. Once the captives were secured, they came before the three representatives of the triumvirate. With grave interest they listened to the party's account of what had transpired. After the briefing was finished, a long silence fell as the drow pondered the significance of what was happening.

-"Well," Ash'ala said at last, "It appears Menzoberranzan lies on the brink of civil war, how will our houses respond? This requires much thought and discussion. I urge you all to spend the night to gather your thoughts. Tomorrow, we shall meet and discuss all that has transpired and discover the best course for our alliance to follow." Hoshtar and Ro'kolor gave their agreement and the party was dismissed with another mission accomplished.

-Once more, each leader me with their respective members to see how well their representatives handled the secret tasks appointed to them. First, Drisdhaun checked in to see how Hoshtar was doing. Hafnein had already told him of the task he granted to the up and coming wizard. Wasting no time, already recovering well, Hoshtar asked what Drisdhaun had learned. He was pleased to discover all the House Xorlarrin wizards had been spared death and furthermore, Drisdhaun had gathered all their names. Hosthar stated that he would pass this information on to Ravel, the head of their House and that Hafnein would most certainly be pleased as well.

-Elsewhere, Ash'ala conferred with Zarra to see what she had learned about Hoshtar's role in the situation. Zarra confirmed that Ash'ala's suspicions that Hoshtar had went willingly to meet with the Council of Spiders was true. However, Zarra went on to fully give the excuse Hoshtar had given and his sincerity in declining their offer. Still, Ash'ala felt uneasy knowing that Hoshtar carried out such actions in secrecy.

-Finally, Solvayas, Beglos and Charon met with Ro'kolor at one of the Bregan D'aerthe's usual haunts. They arrived just in time to see Merinid Dalael being escorted to the chambers below; assuredly facing cruel torture to pry any information he held. Eager to learn how they had performed their mission, Ro'kolor listened to their account. The three mercenaries had easily planted evidence of House Melarn's involvement throughout the building and at the same time, Solvayas had rather stealthily removed all traces of House Xorlarrin's presence without the rest of the party's knowledge. Laughing happily, Ro'kolor commended the trio on a job well done and assured them that this would be good for business in the future.

-The priestesses who desire to uphold the old ways of Lolth and preserve the status quo and the wizards that see the Demon Weave as Lolth's calling for those with arcane might to rise in rank and status. These two opposing forces seem to be drawing further and further into the fever pitch of war. Amid this uneasy tension, the party suspects, the Jaezred Chaulssin lurks manipulating both sides to promote an all out civil war that might tear the city apart. The party was left with much to think about. Tomorrow, the course of the triumvirate and perhaps even the future of Menzoberranzan would be decided...