DAY 3
I awoke feeling not too worse for wear considering my misadventures the previous night (see Part 2). Coffee was in short supply but I cadged a half-cup, ate some food and got ready for...
The Awards
Speeches! Settembrini mentioned every DM who ran a game (hurrah to all of you!), the volunteers who tirelessly put in their own time to make it happen, the people who spent money at the auction, and the bold players who came from around the world to game!
The Blackrazor Cup Champions
1st place: some group with 390,000 gold pieces collected!!!
2nd: 235,000 gp or so
3rd: our group, 220,000 gp!
 |
| The author leaps into the photo with the other bronze medalists, just in time. |
GusB was wrong, we did not get first place. Nevertheless it was a close competition (except for 1st place, who knows what kind of loot they found) and well played by everyone - just wait until next year! Medals were handed out, pictures taken, and so much clapping that my hands started to hurt.
After this event the games filled up fast, but I managed to get myself...
***
Into The Cellars
DM: Grutzi
Players:
Me - Sven, Swedish vagabond
Chris - Charlie, English vagabond
Hynek - Ignatius, Czech student
Dominico - Mikael, Czech sharpshooter
Markus - Brother Frederico - Italian priest
Jay - Kryztof - Polish duelist
A Helvéczia adventure, the only one of the convention! Grutzi was fairly new to the system but I had run it once before (see my report on The Seven Knaves a while ago). He handled the system adeptly and of course is a veteran DM, so along with some other experienced players we had no problems in that department.
At a party hosted by robber baron-turned-gentleman Alveraten Perzholt [did I spell this right?], the guests received a chilling surprise: at the stroke of midnight all doors and windows of the manor house slammed shut, trapping everyone inside. A statue of the Archangel Michael spoke to the guests in a frightening voice, proclaiming that when the sun rose, the souls of all within would be forfeit to the Devil! The statue invited anyone wishing to change this outcome to venture below and negotiate a better outcome for themselves.
Six of the guests were chosen to sort out this issue. This motley group (us) took the servants' stairs and entered the manor's cellars...
We found a kitchen staffed by dancing devils, helpfully exorcised by Brother Frederico. After they disappeared, a fire in the stove began to grow larger and hotter, giving us the impression that something was coming. We made our exit quickly at that point and heard a fiendish voice after we closed the door. Better not to get involved in that!
Progressing further, we came to a large cistern with a group of patrolling skeletons. We had decided not to use our guns for fear of letting our hosts know we were coming, so we took the undead by surprise, pushing them into a pool of water where they were attacked by giant lampreys. Mikael, not having any weapon besides his carbine, knocked one on the head with a perfectly-aimed loaf of bread!
We avoided several hallways crowded with gargoyle statues, assuming they would come to life and attack. Following the distant sound of music, we came to a large mirrored hall filled with dancing ghosts. A skeleton band at one end played endless waltzes while at the other end was a large door. Alright, clearly something would happen if we entered but what? We checked out a dressing-room nearby and appropriated the finery for ourselves in the hopes of blending in. Meanwhile, Kryztof found a secret door leading to a strange room with a preserved human hand holding a diamond the size of a marble! Pocketing this strange item and treasure, we entered the ballroom.
Some of us danced well, making it across the room without a problem. Others clumsily bumped into the ghosts and were damaged by the icy cold of the grave. Nevertheless we all made it through eventually.
On the other side of the ballroom the corridors beneath the manor continued and we weren't sure which way to go next. Ignatius summoned a small imp to scout the possibilities [good move] and it reported to us: northwards was a sitting-room inhabited by a cinderman [a type of demon that eats flames]. To the south were some stairs, a fountain and a chapel. We elected to avoid the demon for now in the hope that Brother Frederico would benefit from a visit to the chapel, perhaps gaining new spells.
On the way to the chapel we spotted a secret door. As it turned out, the mirrors in the ballroom were one-way! We found ourselves circling the ballroom in some kind of spy tunnels. They led to an artists' studio behind the bandstand. From this vantage point we could see that just on the other side of the mirrors, behind the skeletal band, a pedestal rested with a suit of glowing chainmail on it. But how to get it without breaking the glass, alerting the skeletons and getting into a big fight? We would likely win but it was getting late and we didn't want to spend too much time on it.
I forget whose idea it was [Dominico's I think] to use the preserved hand holding the diamond to cut a hole in the mirror and pilfer the chainmail. Unfortunately for us, the cut out piece fell and broke, alerting the skeletal band! We grabbed the armour and ran through the secret tunnels, closing the doors behind us.
We moved on to the chapel where Brother Frederico preached a sermon to a congregation of ghosts, banishing them to their final rest and opening up a secret stairwell downwards. The group descended and found themselves confronted with three doors: one with a clenched fist, another with a pair of dice, and the third with praying hands. We decided to split up and tackle all three doors separately.
Ignatius and Brother Frederico tried the door with praying hands, the Test of Faith. It led to a simple hallway lined with statues. As they progressed, their virtue was tested more and more severely. Any time they failed, a holy fire scorched them! They made it to the end, but with almost no hit points left.
Charlie and Sven tried the door with a pair of dice, the Test of Luck, and found a room holding only a table with a deck of cards. Charlie boldly drew one first and not even his scoundrel's luck could save him from the result: DEATH! [This was harsh, but funny.] Sven got luckier, drawing a card which materialized a key in his pocket for the exit. He looted poor Charlie's pistol and shot and moved on.
Mikael and Kryztof tried the door with the fist, the Test of Might, and were embroiled in a battle to the death with an animated suit of armour! At this point it seemed the time for subtlety had departed, so Mikael started blasting with his carbine while the Italian swordsman fought two-weapon style. In a close match, the construct was defeated and the door opened.
Someone: "So we're switching to guns now?"
Dominico: "I'm out of bread!"
We all emerged from the same door on the other side, reunited by the mysterious forces that had created these tests.
Rest of group: "Where's Charlie? Hey... is that his gun??"
Me: "Uhmmmm..."
Descending the final set of stairs, we came to a room with a great banquet set up. Our host, Alverofen Perzholt was seated at the table while a horned demon stood talking to him. This was it!
The demon introduced himself as Nabigolo and invited our group to sit, explaining the situation: Perzholt had offered his soul to Nabigolo in a bargain many years ago in return for worldly wealth and success, but now the bill had come due. Not inclined to part with it yet, he had devised an alternate plan: hold a party and trap a whole group of other souls for Nabilgolo in exchange for his own. At this point the demon offered us wealth, success, and most importantly escape from the manor if we would sell our souls to him individually.
Well, the solution to the problem was a simple one and good work that Ignatius noticed it! Suffice it to say that Alverofen Perzholt got what was coming to him while the party guests escaped into the bright light of day.
This was a really good adventure and the whole group played well, made quick decisions, and were just fun guys to sit at the table with. Grutzi wrote this adventure himself, and I must say I think he nailed the particular tone of this game perfectly, not an easy thing to do! I hope he releases it for the other Helvéczia GMs out there.
***
And that was the last adventure of the convention! The weekend had come to an end and with heavy hearts we packed our bags, cleaned our rooms and drove home through the windmill-haunted hills of Deutschland.
SCORES
Games Run: 2
Players: 12
Characters: 13
PC Kills: 0/13
PC Transfigurations: 1/13
Player Wins: 2/2
Games Played: 3
Character Deaths: 0
Wins: 3/3
Technical Knockouts: 1
FINAL THOUGHTS
I am not much of an orator, so let's keep this short:
What a tremendous experience, especially for a first convention. Everybody was friendly and there to play the game. I met cool new people and had the chance to put faces to plenty of names I've interacted with or seen online over the years.
Playing adventures together (especially the challenge modules like the Blackrazor Cup or Assault on the Beckerdrome) brought out the TRVE GAMER SPIRIT of competition, a friendly battle for high scores with everyone showing up to win and playing their best. Players were focused (98% of the time anyway) on kicking ass, getting treasure and achieving victory. It's amazing what you can get done in a 4-hour game session with that mentality! The rest of the fun was laughing with other players and DMs over dinner or comparing notes with another group that had played the same adventure. There were so many great games that even showing up at the back of the signup line, you were definitely going to play in something cool.
The con is run by volunteers (including Settembrini's family!) for a small audience, and this really shows. The whole weekend had a family & friends atmosphere which was absorbing even for a foreigner who can't speak the language and knew almost nobody. People you had never met, had never gamed with, but had only passed on the way to get a beer would engage you in conversation over dinner and wish you a fond goodbye when you departed on the last day.
It was great to have such a shared experience, united by what would seem such a small and simple thing we all do - playing D&D!
10 out of 10, incredible weekend. I'll see you all next year!
***
Well blogland, that was a roller-coaster ride, wasn't it?
Stay tuned later this week for an after-action megapost about Gilded Dream of the Incandescent Queen!
