The Miraculous Return Of The Sargrass Plains Tuesday June 5th, 2018 11:16:14 AM
It is an empty wasteland, devoid of life. A dry socket in the jawbone of a skull, where once a living tooth had been. A chasm of emptiness, a crater with a dry lakebed deep at the bottom. Once upon a time, that lakebed was an underground sea of Woldsblood. Once upon a time, the land above was a vibrant living plain, beautiful and deadly, full of life. Then it was lost, lifted, and ended. For years now, the empty place where it had been is all that has remained.
Then, as fast as the gods can blink, the land has returned! The vacuity is filled! The Sargrass Plains are restored!
The miracle is not without consequence. The hand of the gods are busy indeed, busy healing the roots of the land far below, anchoring the land back where it belongs. A task and a miracle, one to keep even gods busy.
But the land is infected! The deadly bloodgrass threads the land. And now that it has returned, all the bloodgrass streams, streams like blood to the heart, into the center of the land, gathering ... and becoming. It becomes the immortal power that was once the Sarr.
But what being, even an immortal power, can survive being ruined in an explosion of Woldsblood, wrenched out of the universe, and held by the power of a greater being for years? Then infected with maddening weeds that grow through it? Then returned with unavoidable violation to the ruined place from which it came? The Sarr is alive still, but infused with bloodgrass, and insane!
The bloodgrass-infused Sarr rises in the Plains. The gods are still busy fixing the roots of the land. But if the mad god is not contained, the return of the Sargrass will be ruined!
And so, with one more miracle, the gods call to the heroes of the Wold, who have already aided them in curbing the spread of the bloodgrass. Nine teams of heroes are called, and these teams are set to encircle the mad Sarr. They have a mission: Keep the Sarr distracted, and contained. Hold the circle!
The scene thus is set. There is writhing bloodweed all about, but it is retracting back to a single point and forming a huge -- and still growing -- creature of grass. It gathers and grows to a gigantic size, a red, plant-like humanoid creature. The grass that covers it is a neverending mess of writhing red tendrils. It stands at least 150 ft wide and 400 ft tall.
And around the coalescing demigod, nine bands of heroes have taken a stand. Each party is situated at a point on a huge circle. If you were to connect the dots, the circle would be 2.5 miles around, with a diameter three-quarter miles wide. Each group of heroes is about a quarter mile from the other. The center of the circle is about 2,000 ft away.
And what heroes they are! First among equals, the Iron Dragons of Hook City! The Keepers of the Vale, heroes of Cinnamon Valley. The Lionfishers of Bonetown. The Humble's Sword of the Crescent Valley. The Agents of the Fist. The Wardens of the Tree of Parting. The Crescent Moons Trading Company. The Shields of the Big Float's Lakeview Passage. And the Eight-Petaled Rose of the Taur Isles. Bravely they took a stand!
The creature at the center of the circle roars! In a loud voice it screams, “MY HOME! MY HOME! MY CHILDREN!” It seems hurt and confused in its insanity.
An army of hundreds of various bloodweed creatures and other monsters erupts from the power’s body, going in all directions to attack each of the groups. The Power itself shrinks slightly as monsters wriggle out of it. These implacable Minions of Sarr race toward the bands of heroes.
Battle Royale, Report 1 Tuesday June 5th, 2018 11:51:55 AM
High above battlefield, big, glowing letters appear. They say: "SIGNAL IF YOU NEED HELP. GOOD LUCK, EVERYONE. SINCERELY, THE IRON DRAGONS"
Iron Dragons - The Wold’s mightiest group is attacked by a blue, a black, a red, a green, and a white dragon, each carrying a powerful lich. One hero goes down!
The Keepers of the Vale - A dragon, shambling mounds, and mysterious casters quickly engage the heroes.
The Lionfishers of Bonetown - A variety of demons teleport quickly to this group, attacking without mercy.
The Humble's Sword - A first wave of falcons are quickly dispatched. A second wave of ogres, giants, and land sharks is proving tougher.
The Agents of the Fist - A herd of rhinos charge the heroes.
The Wardens of the Tree of Parting - Wasp swarms and four devils plague the Wardens.
The Crescent Moons Trading Company - Eagles fly to attack, and are followed by a pair of cheetahs racing in. Tiny casters ride each cheetah.
The Shields of Lakeview Passage - A multihued dragon engages the heroes.
The Eight-Petaled Rose - A dark brigade of mounted wolves engages the Petals.
Restlin the Freakin' Mendicant Thursday June 7th, 2018 8:15:16 PM
Over at the far north of the battle field stand seven Iron Dragons and *zero* chromatic ones, unless you count corpses. Restlin, currently a literal whirlwind, hovers next to his bloodwitch lady friend and waits for whatever is about to bust out of the ground.
Charge of the Dark Brigade (Taur Isles) Thursday June 7th, 2018 9:28:54 PM
I
Half a world away, half a league above, Half a league downward, All in the Grass of Death Stood the Heroes of the Wold. “Hold the Circle! Lest perish all!” Mahyawu said. From the Vales of Twilight Strode the Eight Petaled Rose.
II
“Ahead, the Dark Brigade!” Was there a taur dismayed? Not though the heroes knew Someone given choice had blundered. Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do or die. Out of the Vales of Twilight Strode the Eight Petaled Rose.
III
The Float to right of them, Moons to left of them, Mother Sarr in front of them Hollered and thundered; Stormed from Her Home, Boldly they rode and well, Children of Death, From the mouth of hell Rode Twelve on Twelve.
IV
Flashed all their lances bare, Flashed their fang-ed glare Howling her Children there, Charged as an army, while All the Wold wondered. Plunged through bladed grass But on the Petals' the line they broke; Vulpine and man-thing alike Reeled from the shot and stroke Shattered and sundered. But never rode back, but not Not one or a hundred.
V
When can their glory fade? Holding the Circle they stayed! All the Wold wondered. Honour the stand they made! Averting the Dark Brigade, Noble Eight Petals!
Shane P Tuesday June 12th, 2018 8:45:40 PM
Dry your eyes And quietly bear this pain with pride For heaven shall remember the silent and the brave And promise me they will never see The fear within our eyes We will give strength to those who still remain
So bury fear, for fate draws near And hide the signs of pain With noble acts The bravest souls endure the heart's remains Discard regret, that in this debt A better world is made That children of a newer day might remember and avoid our fate
[Prepare for battle!]
And in the fury of this darkest hour We will be your light You've asked me for my sacrifice And I am winterborn Without denying, a faith is come That I have never known I hear the angels call my name And I am winterborn
Hold your head up high For there is no greater love Think of the faces of the people you defend And promise me they will never see The tears within our eyes Although we are men with mortal sins Angels never cry
So bury fear, for fate draws near And hide the signs of pain With noble acts, the bravest souls Endure the heart's remains Discard regret, that in this debt A better world is made That children of a newer day might remember and avoid our fate
[Prepare for battle!]
And in the fury of this darkest hour We will be your light You've asked me for my sacrifice And I am winterborn Without denying, a faith in God That I have never known I hear the angels call my name And I am winterborn
And in the fury of this darkest hour I will be your light A lifetime for this destiny For I am winterborn
And in this moment I will not run It is my place to stand We too shall carry hope Within our bloodied hands
And in our dying We're more alive Than we have ever been I live for these few seconds For I am winterborn
And in the fury of this darkest hour We will be the light You've asked me for my sacrifice And I am winterborn Without denying, a faith in man That I have never known I hear the angels call my name And I am winterborn
Within this moment I am for you Though better men have failed I will give my life for love For I am winterborn And in my dying, I'm more alive Than I have ever been I will make this sacrifice For I am winterborn
Rolth (Taur Isles) Wednesday June 13th, 2018 8:12:29 AM
Rolth turns to his fellow battle poet and nods his respect.
"OUR Land, OUR Land, ALL of Domi’s Children! We will hold the Circle!"
Kiwina (Taur Isles) Wednesday June 13th, 2018 10:28:16 PM
Within the Sargrass Swift rustling from Power comes Presaging battle
Stephen F. - Keepers of the Vale Friday June 15th, 2018 12:16:36 AM
Heroes of the Wold, Linked in a circle of death. Sarr, you shall not pass!
Andrew - Lakeview Friday June 15th, 2018 12:50:42 PM
A shimmering silvered tip, rust red, with life misspent by rage and hatred familiar yet unknown to this world,
Forward it presses, gently almost lovingly, and fury dies, paralyzed and unseeing of its fate. Words whispered
float through the wind and among the tall grasses, urging rest and peace for the creature going towards its maker.
Rolth (Taur Isles) Friday June 15th, 2018 9:51:32 PM
Nice one, Andrew! Rolth’s bit above was of course inspired by Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade. Would love to know the inspiration of others’ verses or know if things are completely original.
BatMark
James Dietz Saturday June 16th, 2018 1:04:45 AM
I am currently working on an epic map of the battle that can be zoomed in on. My goal if to get a token for every player. It sill needs some tweaking. The program is pickier when you start making maps this big and have such a big size difference between enemies and players.
Kiwina (Taur Isles) Saturday June 16th, 2018 6:30:08 PM
Inspired by others? Well, now that you mention it, in the farthest west portions of my home islands, several weeks sail from where I grew up, the tales mention a great city. In that city there once lived a famous poet who wrote all of his verse in Nui. And yes, one of his poems provided me with the inspiration to try my own. It is a poem that seems to be translated by everyone who learns to speak Nui as part of their lessons, and I have probably heard a hundred different renderings of it. The most common would be, The old mill pond / A frog jumps in / The sound of water. But Kinipeli, to whom I am betrothed if I will return, prefers the simplicity of her own translation, Pond / Frog / Watersound. But as you can see, in my own impromptu rendering, the sargrass represents the pond, the Power represents the frog, and the splash represents the "oh no!, we're going to die!"
Kiwina (Taur Isles) Thursday June 21st, 2018 7:41:30 PM
Hmm . . . Didn't mean that to be a conversation killer.
Rolth (Taur Isles) Friday June 22nd, 2018 9:22:19 AM
Oh, not at all, my brother in Taurhood! I was simply struck dumb by the nuance of the verse and explanation. I could think of nothing suitable to say in response. Except perhaps that you have misidentified who is going to die. Have we not Domi on our side? Is our cause, defense of the Wold, not just? We shall live on in glory, no matter how this battle fares!
Kiwina (Taur Isles) Thursday June 28th, 2018 8:46:40 PM
Heroes of the Wold, Linked in a circle of death. Sarr, you shall not pass!
Holding, they the bloodgrass tamed While numen the Wold restored.
Rolth (Taur Isles) Friday June 29th, 2018 5:25:19 PM
Rolth for once keeps his maw shut and just savors the perfection of the moment.
Posting Practice and Exploration
DM BatMark Tuesday July 31st, 2018 8:25:40 PM
OOC At the bottom of this page is a link to the wiki page for the campaign (http://www.woldiangames.com/Woldipedia/index.php/Sargrass_Plains_Game) I've added some links for PC sheets, and the document of campaign background to the wiki page. We'll be adding more stuff as we go along. It's a useful place to park items that players and DMs will use often during the campaign.
DM BatMark Wednesday August 8th, 2018 8:26:36 PM
If you have a suggestion for how someone can improve their character build in some way, feel free to make a positive-toned post or email. Just one. If you are worried that someone's choice will affect yours, express your concern once. Then build what you want, and play what you want and will enjoy. Don't want to be the tank, healer, face, blaster, whatever? Great, you don't have to be. But neither does anyone else. Tanner and I will deal with that as we design and run the game. So don't worry too much about your previous experiences with other games, or something you read in an online guide. Will you have to modify tactics to compensate? Probably. So adjust. And save the heat for the bad guys--because they and the very terrain you walk on are going require everything you collectively have to survive ;)
CDM Jerry Thursday August 9th, 2018 12:49:59 AM
Checking in and reading the board.
As I stated in my email, we begin on Monday. Wait for your initial DM post before posting. You'll likely also see a Module and Scene change on this board about then too.
Be sure your PC sheet has your DMs approval by Monday. DMs if you need help in getting them approved, please let me know. :) [I think I covered all of this in the emails sent. :)]
Players, know that when the game begins Monday, that we look down on OOC [Out of Character] posting. So everything at that point is in character. That doesn't mean you can't email each other when you wish.
I suggest taking a look at Hook City and Bonetown as examples of two games that excel. :) See how the PCs care for each other. How they play good characters. How they play their differences while also building teamwork. There are the tenants I have built my site upon since 1997. And it works! Otherwise we wouldn't still be here and healthy.
Look at the quality of posts that some games are achieving.
BTW, Stephen Knotts [who posted above] is one of our former ACDMs and a DM here for over 10 years. Just so you know who he was...or rather is. :)
Getting excited for the start of this game. I'll definitely be lurking as the Sargrass is possibly my favorite setting in the Wold. I've been wanting to bring it back for quite some time now. Oh, if you're getting anxious to start, I suggest going back in say Bonetown to October [find the archives button near the top of each board] and read the beginning hints of our latest crossover event. Every game in the Wold from October through May was working more or less together to conquer the threat that the Sargrass represented. The Sargrass had mutated into Bloodweed somehow and the Crystal Mountains exploded sending the horrible stuff all over the Wold. The games had to stop the infestations near their homeland, head to Maab's Valleys in the Lands of Rest to find out what was going on and then to the Sargrass itself to fight the power behind all of this.
This crossover led to your game being started. So do expect a lot of lurkers wanting to see how your game begins.
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