Author Archives: Magestic Messenger

Magestry’s Best of Newgreen 126

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Here are our picks for the “Best of ” the April 1st-3rd event:

This is what Francis might look like. Pictures of this rare mongrellian are hard to come by!

This is what Francis might look like. Pictures of this rare mongrelian are hard to come by!

 

 

This month’s Best PC is a veteran player who brought a new character into game this event. Though we usually associate Steve Pulaski with his first character, Cael, we saw a whole new side of him with his portrayal of Francis! We have always known Steve to be a good role-player, but we were really impressed with the big changes that were made from Cael to Francis! Everything about the character was different and fun to react to. Steve was also a wonderful help before and after game, staying until the end to help clean up! We are very grateful for all his work. Thanks, Steve! Great job!

 

“The fella who was a badger mongrelian rocked his role-playing, even progressing/growing his character before our very eyes.”

“Francis was alternately terrifying and hilarious, not that it would be nice to laugh at him.”

“Francis – It was so cool to see Stephen play this role and he did so well keeping in character and continuously questioning words and phrases and talking about hunting and such.”

“Francis (Steve Pulaski) when phenomenal, A clear departure for Cael, he was great to see in character, had great costume and props, including a plush skunk stuffed with jerky. He did a great job role-playing learning words from a small vocabulary.”

“Francis was my favorite PC. He was so different than any other character in town, his personality and attitude were refreshing, and he was great to interact with.”

“I really liked Francis the Honey Badger. Steve brought some amazing role-play abilities that we don’t always see with Cael and it was interesting seeing all of the people in town react to him.”

“Felix the honey badger was an awesome PC to interact with, very entertaining.”

Nick D - Lots of fun to fight, dude has a huge heart. Great cook too!

Nick D – Lots of fun to fight, dude has a huge heart. Great cook too!

 

 

This month’s Best NPC is not new to the title, but he has certainly been a person who has raised the bar for Best NPC to high heights.  Nick Donoghue has proven himself to be consistently one of our best NPCs whether it is through his wonderful role-playing, extreme helpfulness, cheerful and positive attitude, incredible cooking skills, or his eagerness to help grow our game. We are so lucky to have Nick on staff here and we know that you feel the same way! Thank you, Nick, for everything you do!

 

“Nick- role-played amazingly also did a great job being a grave golem.”

“Nick is a superstar. Always.”

“I really enjoyed fighting Nick.”

The Start of an Organized Crime War in Elmerton?

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Common folk and nobles alike are starting to talk about the seedy underbelly of Irvanshire after a rash of quick and violent crimes over the past few days:

–Last evening in Elmerton four bodies where discovered by the water’s edge covered in crossbow bolts. All four men were known associates of the notorious Cavella crime family.
–Three nights before that, two men known to be affiliated with the Steel Boot street gang where found with their throats cuts just outside of a boarding house near the area of the Go-Betweens.
–In addition to the other killings four men with ties to the Motlow crime family were found hanging from a cluster of trees near a stable in Tradegate not even a week ago.
With so many people with criminal ties being found dead as of late, many are starting to wonder if a sort of organized crime war is starting to happen. I attempted to contact the Royal Intelligence Service for comments on this, but I was refused a statement.
At any rate something terrible is going on. Hopefully no innocents get caught in the crossfire of what this scribe believes to be the start of an underground war.
Stay safe Friends!!!

 

Player Submission: Common Man’s Guide to Dream Creatures

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Dream creatures of all sorts are becoming more and more common these days, and thus the common man needs to know how to interact with them and how to defend oneself if necessary.

smigget

An artist’s rendition of a Smigget serving his favorite beverage: Tea.

As you may know, Magesta has it’s own dream realm, conveniently called “the Dream Realm”. When someone from Magestra dreams, the Dream Realm is where they go. Brimm is a different dream realm, a shared realm where people from a number of dimensions that don’t have their own dream realms go to dream. Brimm is home to a number of creatures that you may have heard of, such as Smiggets, Dozers, Jabberwockeys, and Jub-Jub birds. Many of these creatures are Tane.

Tane are dream creatures from Brimm that are shapechangers: they can change their form and mimic others. However, if a normally flighty and changeable Tane gets it in its head to be a specific thing, it is possible for it to — with dedication and effort — actually fundamentally change to become that other thing.

In part because of the influence of the Gatekeeper and his Dreamweaver, Hearkin, many of the dream creatures one encounters these days on Magesta are actually from Brimm.

You see, in order to usurp the natural order of things on Magesta and become the Incarnation of Death, the Gatekeeper must also usurp the mantle of the Incarnation of Dream, since Death and Dream together are what is known as a liminal (one being with two forms). The Gatekeeper is using the changeable nature of Tane to convince a pair of Tane to become the Incarnations of Death and Dream. If successful, he plans to take the Incarnationhood from the Death Tane. Thus, the Gatekeeper and his allies are shaping Tane and other inhabitants of Brimm to suit their own goals.

Tane are not inherently hostile, and most are intensely curious about whatever it is that they are choosing to be. Once they have chosen to become something else, they are not easily discouraged, but can sometimes be sidetracked by convincing them that a certain course of action is necessary in order to reach their desired goal.

Unlike other shapechangers, or undercover agents of the Portal Authority for that matter, a Tane has to identify itself as a Tane if asked directly. “Are you a Tane?” works wonders. How is this useful you might ask? Being dream creatures, Tane have some inherent weaknesses.

The most common and easily exploitable is that Tane are vulnerable to an Awaken spell, as such a spell causes a pain reaction in them. Remember that an Awaken spell can be cast at range with a thrown spell component, but psionicists should also keep in mind that within close range, Awaken can be cast with sufficient power to overcome spell resistance. It is possible to even dismiss Tane back to Brimm in some cases with repeated castings, although this does not always work.

I also have secondhand reports that dream creatures in general are vulnerable if you “bring their own tricks to bear upon them.” This requires more evidence to determine the exact effects, but psionicists are encouraged to use sleep, delusions, and other psychic spells when defending themselves against hostile dream creatures.

Which brings us to the tricks that Tane and other dream creatures have. Be alert and on your guard. Watch for your companions to suddenly fall asleep or act strangely from delusions. If you have ways to grant yourself or others psychic resistances, use them. Also, calling out to friends to let them know what is going on is extremely helpful.

For further information on dream creatures and Brimm, the best contact would be Minister Tellah Forgedheart in Hatchport. Unfortunately, there are no current Dreamweavers in town, but Tellah has been in Elmerton on a semi-regular basis lately.

 

Yours in Knowledge,

 

Rybin vanHoltRybinvanHoltseal

Historian and Scholar

Player Submission: Court Minutes 126 AoF 2nd of Newgreen

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Elmerton’s first court session of the year 126 of the Age of Arrival  was held in the amphitheater on Wakingday, the 2nd of Newgreen. Court was held in order to bring two townsmembers up on charges. Magistrate Solun presided.

First, the charges against Galanthas DuMentharen – commonly known as Galynn – was charged with the murder of a man known as Jack.

Sebastian Dark brought the charges against Galynn. Sebastian charged that Galynn murdered Jack, that Jack was a townsmember, and that Galynn acted without regard to the law. Galynn made several counterpoints, claiming that during the fight against the Vampire Queen Amphalise, Jack was robbing unconscious and dead townsfolk, that Jack then fled and confessed to the theft after the fact. These points were not disputed.

<There was a brief recess in court proceedings as we were attacked by War King troops>

Galynn continued, stating that he conferred with Kai, asking permission to “dealt with” Jack.Further Gaynn claims that Kai – Commander of the Elmerton Watch – deputized him. Galynn confronted Jack, received a confession to the crimes, and executed Jack.

The deputization of Galynn by Kai was disputed. Since Kai was the only witness to this and not being present for the proceedings, Magistrate Solun decided to postpone judgement until Commander Kia was present. A retainer of 5 gold was asked to be paid by Galynn until the judgement was rendered.

 

Second, Arville was charged by Felix with the murder of a child. The child in question was one of the “Mini’s”: a group of children raised by the Sugar Plum Fae who come to Elmerton every fall seeking candy while costumed as members of town. The Mini killed by Arville was a Mini representing Felix.

Felix claimed that Arville killed this child, and then took the candy he had collected from the corpse. No one disputed these facts.

Arville claimed self defense, saying that he felt threatened and felt that his life was in danger. Witnesses agree that Mini Felix made contact with Arville’s back, but statements disagreed as to whether the contact was violent or a simple ‘tag’. Felix asked if Arville was injured by the child, and no one was able to give a definite answer.

In Arville’s case, Solun ruled that Arville not receive punishment at this time, but if Arville ever be brought up on charges again, punishment would be doled out for this charge as well.

Solun also advised Arville to cease all efforts to actively and aggressively solicit business from townsfolk. For the record, Arville’s profession is that of an undertaker.

With trial concluded, Solun turned the floor over to Majento and Rybin to discuss current events.

The town was briefed on the ongoing conflict with the Gatekeeper and Hearkin.

We advised the town to be on the lookout for fungus infested wood trolls that have been fleeing from the south and spreading disease.

 

Rybin vanHoltRybinvanHoltseal

Historian and Scribe

A Cheesy Opportunity

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Dearest Elmerton,

Pleasant tidings! This is Baratraxar Humbodlt, or as most of you fine people know me, Baxter. Thanks to the town’s help and Rybin’s expert tutelage, my fluency with reading and writing is coming along nicely; even though I still believe the letter C is silly and superfluous. Regardless, I’ll likely have someone read this over and check for any errors before sending this correspondence out to you.

CheesemakerI had mentioned that, as way of saying thank you, I would offer any interested townsfolk lessons of my own: an introduction to cheese-making and the gathering of various rarities of components for all manners of usage (including making cheese!).

Anyone interested in learning the basics of cheese-making should meet me at Aces at five bells past noon on Wakingday. Don’t expect to be making and finishing any cheeses during this lesson; a decent cheese takes a good amount of time to ripen and meet my own personal standard of consumption. What you CAN expect, however, is a lesson on how milk, cultures, coagulants, and a few other ingredients turn into the greatest food ever, as well as some recipes for some basic cheeses that you can try and make on your own. Of course, while we wont be able to eat any cheese that we made that day, I will be bringing my family’s specialty, from the Humbodlt estate in the Archipelacoast, to the lesson for all interested parties to enjoy.

As for the component gathering lesson, for beginners, the lesson will start bright and early at promptly at three bells before noon on Fortuneday in the tourney field near the Smithy. Come prepared with a willingness to learn, good eyes to spot what we need, and a decent pair of walking shoes, as we’ll be traipsing all over the town in search of what we’re looking for. For those seeking more advanced knowledge on more uncommon ingredients, our group will depart, promptly, at one and one half bells before noon, from the same location as the beginner’s lesson.

For those seeking out knowledge of the most difficult ingredients to harvest and rarest of components, aloeones that you would generally consider of Master rank, our lesson will take far longer. In actuality, we will likely only be able to discuss various examples of components, due to their rarity, but, you never know what you may find out in the untouched parts of town! We will likely need to travel over a good amount of Irvanshire (and maybe beyond!) to locate enough components for me to feel comfortable saying the lesson is complete, and honestly, I can forsee that lasting, off and on, from now until the end of the summer season. For the beginning, meet me at the Wining Spirit at noon, and be prepared to have a few drinks during our discussion.

In closing, I look forward to seeing all of you in a couple weeks. Try not to bring any more snow, will you?

 

Sincerely,
 Baratraxar “Baxter” Humboldt

A Terrible Accident!

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In the early morning hours of the 30th day of Bloodthaw, a carriage bringing servants of the Noble HouseMountain pass of Windlock, tragically drove off of a cliff in the Icewind Mountains, killing all on board. The area known as Barley Pass has been the scene of such tragedy before. The tricky mountain road is also the quickest trade route through this area, so skilled carriage drivers are known to attempt it even with the risk.

All that is known about this accident so far is that there were 5 Windlock servants and the carriage driver on board. House Windlock expresses deep sorrow for those that died and will publicly acknowledge them by name in a memorial service once the bodies are recovered, if that is possible. This was truly a sad and horrific incident.

Weird Woodtrolls in the Woods

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All Vigilant Citizens of Irvanshire,

I hope your winter was warm and restful, and you were able to spend time with loved ones. The Great Frostwood had a rather mild winter, with only a handful of snowfalls, which was a welcome contrast from the last few years, let me tell you.

But, alas, I wish the reason for this open letter was to bring you all nothing but good tidings, but I fear it is not. Some of you may remember my entreaty for citizens in the wooded areas of Irvanshire to stay watchful for any strange activities regarding migrating wood trolls. For almost the entirety of this winter, wood troll activity around my compound has been almost non-existent. I had begun to ease in my wariness, attributing the recent behavior of the trolls as some strange fluke, and was ready to put the matter to rest.

Until last week, that is.

I had just returned home from a survey in a nearby grove, and was sitting at my kitchen table while drinking some tea and thinking about the upcoming bloom, when my front door was shattered by a tremendous crash as two wood trolls entered my house! Now, anyone who has ever dealt with this manner of creature can immediately understand how off-putting this situation was in which I found myself; two wood trolls INSIDE my house. As I readied my axes to dispatch them, I also couldn’t help notice that, at first glance, these trolls looked…off. Sick, even. It was when I engaged in combat with them that my suspicions were further aroused. These trolls employed none of the usual tactics typically used by their kind, and it was clear that, under more intense study, large patches of mold and fungus appeared to be growing in and on their bodies. They almost…looked dead entirely.

As I beheaded them with my axes, I was greeted with one final surprise. Instead of lying there motionless, the bodies of the wood trolls convulsed violently for a few moments and then exploded; showering both myself and the inside of my home with a noxious, viscous fluid. It was toxic enough to make me vomit a few times and feel a bit of fatigue, however, I’ve also built up an immunity to various poisons, so I’m not entirely sure what effect it would have on people without said immunity.

It is my belief, at this point, that the wood trolls were not migrating north for some unknown reason; rather, I believe they were fleeing whatever malady seems to have befallen them, much like normal wildlife would flee an encroaching forest fire. Over the next few days, I heard reports from several other colleagues of mine that they, too, had had similar experiences. One had even mentioned fighting off a HUMAN with similar symptoms.

Something terrible is upon us. I don’t know where it came from, but, I only see it getting worse from here. If any of you folks are brave enough while encountering these afflicted wood trolls, I am seeking out collected pieces of various molds and fungi to further research, and welcome deliveries of these objects at my estate in The Great Frostwood.

Until this is resolved, be wary. Travel in numbers. And keep an eye to the woods.
-Arados Holfax, Woodwarden of The Great Frostwood

Spring Brings Unusual Animal Activity to Elmerton

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A Warning to the citizens of Elmerton

Citizens of Elmerton:

As of late the animals and various other beings that live in the woods around your great town have started becoming rather aggressive. In the past month alone three people have lost their lives to animal attacks in these woods. We at the Fledgar’s Fellers are doing what we can to keep the animals at bay, but there is only so much we can do and many from our company have been injured as well, preventing them from being able to work.

We wanted to warn you of these dangers in the deep woods area and advise you to stick to the main roads when at all possible. If you have a sword, bow or any other type of weapon to defend yourself please keep it with you at all times.

We are working to resolve this issue, and are searching for a source of the animals’ hostility and abrupt change in behaviors. No doubt it has something to do with the various “problems” Elmerton has faced recently. Thank you in advance for your understanding and for all of your help and please stay safe. We will all get through this together.

Lynnette Ilsfirmg
Assistant Project Manager
FLedgar's Fellers Symbol Color

Sons of Alaric Seeking Help

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Please read and take heed my friends!!!

Greetings!

I am Kurtis Brightmark, the librarian and official record keeper for the Sons of Alaric- Kingdom of Irvanshire Mother Chapter. As some of you may have heard by now, one of the biggest enemies of not only our group, but humanity itself, was the vile Garland Decedres. He was one of the three founders of Project:Deadma,n and by far the most mentally unstable. Project:Deadman and its success, until the combined efforts of the SOA and Elmerton brought it down, was not his ultimate goal. He wished to become an incarnation and very nearly pulled it off. After his death at the hands of the heroes of Elmerton and the eventual destruction of Project:Deadman, most figured his evil was wiped from the face of our world. We were wrong. His son, a man by the name of Dedrick, still draws breath after being freed from an SOA jail. On top of that, a journal Garland kept seems to have been scattered across all of Irvanshire and possibly even beyond. These pages could contain terrifying power and long lost dark arts. Please, if you stumble across anything that you think may even be a page, please report it to the local magistrate or to the nearest manor house.

Thank you for your attention,

Stay safe and be well,

Kurtis Brightmark

A Chill in the Boneyard

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It was a normal day in my little roadside inn- the Murmuring Monk, at least it seemed like it was going to be, until she walked in. I was cleaning things up from last night’s guests and getting ready for the folks that usually come in the morning when I noticed a strange lass walk in- almost like she was lost. She sat next to the hearth, the embers still glowing from the night before, and asked if I could get the fire going again. I thought this strange since it has not been that cold in some time with this strange winter we have had. However, I stoked the fire and tossed on a log, telling her that if she needed more she could help herself. I didn’t count on her tossing on 4 more logs. Before long, the fire was roaring, but still the young lass tried to get closer to the fire. I let her be, figuring she would warm soon enough, and went back to my work and started getting the kitchen ready.

When I came back from the kitchen a while later, the young lass was still there, still keeping the fire blazing. I could see steam rising from her cloak, so I decided to get her some hot broth and some warm cider to try and help warm her. As I brought them to her and set them down she whispered, in a haunted voice, “Thank you,” her words leaving her seemingly frosted lips in a puff of cold vapor despite the blazing heat in the room.

“Are you ok, lass?” I asked, concerned. She continued to stare into the blazing hearth, like she was trying to burn images in it, and said “There are more tombstones… in the darkness… so many more tombstones.” Puzzled, I asked her to explain. Coming out of her reverie, she recounted her tale, short as it was:

“I like graveyards. I find them comforting, you know, and I’ve heard tales of this one. The Sacred Boneyard of Aegus the Emancipator. It’s supposed to be so grand and peaceful and ancient and everything a graveyard should be. So I went in, into the Boneyard. And it’s all true. It’s wonderful there. I walked around a bit, looking and reflecting on Death and I wandered over to a particularly dark corner of the Boneyard- a place that seemed overgrown. Almost as if the caretaker ha872621770_73f13e1e3b_bd neglected it for years and Nature had reclaimed it. That’s when I saw them- so many fresh graves. Some only holes in the ground- like they were waiting.

Normally it would mean nothing to me: Wars happen all the time and I’ve seen my share of all kinds of graves- freshly buried, empty, long since covered, but this was different. As I watched, my vision jolted and shifted and a previously empty grave would be filled in. Another jolt and a sense of vertigo and a name would appear on the stone. My vision shifted again and suddenly I was standing in a grave looking up as a young man with a strange haunted visage and pointed ears emptied a shovel full of dirt into my face. Panicked, I scrambled out of the grave and stumbled back towards the Boneyard gate.

As I looked back at those stones, it was like the chill of those graves crept into my very being before they disappeared into the darkness once more. I’ve had terrible nightmares since then and I cannot seem to get warm.” She shivered and sipped her cider. “I feel as though I will never be warm again.”

I myself felt chilled, but I told the lass that this area around the Bay had not seen war nor even a battle for years, and that an influx of that many deaths would have brought news to me, at least. Patting her on the shoulder, I tried to comfort her, “It must have been your imagination, lass.”

She looked at me distantly and shook her head. “No, sir. It wasn’t my imagination. I see them die in my nightmares. I don’t even know them. But in my dreams those graves are marked, marked in stone and in spirit, for the fallen heroes of Elmerton.” She sipped her cider once more and looked into my eyes for the first time. Visions of gruesome deaths, violent fights, and cold, dark graves filled my mind. Shaken, I broke our gaze and looked away. “I don’t even know them,” she whispered before falling silent.

I patted her on the shoulder and walked away, needing to do something to keep my mind off this encounter. By the time I had finished mopping the kitchen, she had finished what I had given her and left. She even left a nice tip. By and large, it was a strange way to start the day.

-Recounted by Virgil, Innkeeper at the Murmuring Monk