Scales of War Campaign Log - CLOSED

[Zyraen]

Due to lack of interest, this Campaign has been closed.

I have spent a while to arrange the information from the Campaign Forum into a single thread, placed here, so the Log is interspersed with other data.

This thread is put here for those who would like to reread past exploits, or for others who were not aware of the campaign, perhaps it might be of some inspiration.

This topic is not locked so players can post to this topic if they so wish, with comments etc.

==================

Campaign Log Thread for Friday Night Game

XP Notes

If it takes 5 Sessions for Story to progress from Level 24 to Level 25, then a Player will have to attend 5 Sessions to reach Level 25.
Even if it takes less than 4 Sessions, this will be treated as a Minimum of 4 Sessions.

If the Player is more than 1 Level behind the Story, the requirement is halved (rounded down)
eg. If it takes 5 Sessions for the Story to progress from Level 24 to Level 25, and another 5 from Level 25 to 26. A new Player starting at Level 24 takes 2 Sessions to reach Level 25, and another 5 to Level 26.

Players start no more than 2 Levels behind the Story. ie if the Story is at Level 27, Players start at Level 25 ; those below 25 automatically hit 25.

Note that in such cases, Characters still "create" starting from Level 24 (with appropriate amount of Gold and items for Level 24) before manually levelling up to the Starting Level.

Edit : added note to make minimum Session No per level to be 4. This has ramifications when deducting -2, which will generally be the average per Campaign Level gained, or Players may gain 2 levels consecutively.

Campaign Session Log

Level 24 : 4 Sessions
1.0 The Seat of Bahamut
(Info: Amyria's Visions & the Lore about the Arrow of Fate)
1.1 Illumination
1.2 The Light of Pelor
1.3 Trading Blows with Erathis

Level 25 : 3 Sessions
2.0 The Secret Library of Ioun
Artifact Stats : The Arrow of Fate
2.1 Eye of the Storm
2.2 Breaking Storm of Steel

Level 26 : 5 Sessions
3.0 Welcome to Celestia
3.1 Seeking the Soulforge
3.2 Primordial Beast Guardians
3.3 "You Shall Not Pass"
3.4 The Devil is the in the Details

Level 27 : 4 Sessions
4.0 Shadows in the Light
4.1 Vault the Bridge to Heaven
Info: History check on the Archangel
4.2 The Ceaseless Guardian
4.3 The End of the Light is a New Beginning
Artifact Stats : Rod of Dispater

Interlude: Bahamut Returns

Level 28 : 3 Sessions
5.0 The Keening Delve
5.1 Portal of Demons
5.2 Welcome to the City of Brass

Level 29 : 1 Session
5.3 Nightmare Dragon

Campaign Closed

[Zyraen]

1.0 The Seat of Bahamut
07-Dec-12

A Victor has finally emerged in the millenia long battle between Tiamat and Bahamut - the Platinum Dragon himself has recently been slain and his forces are in disarray throughout the multiverse. Meantime, the Heroes are travelling to Hestavar on board their Astral Skiff, where their Divine Oracle has informed them lies the key to the next claimant of Bahamut's portfolio and divinity.

Arriving at the lowest level of Hestavar, the beaches of the Salts district, the Heroes came upon a huge Silver Dragon and some shadowy imps in pursuit of a fleeing Deva and her guards. Noticing the guards and Deva seemed to be wearing the livery of the Platinum Dragon, the Heroes stepped in to try and halt the onslaught of the Dragon and the Devils.

After a fierce battle the Heroes won, they learnt from Amyria, the Deva Paladin of Bahamut, that the Dragon had been sent by a self-styled successor of Bahamut who had usurped his place in Mount Celestia. As the Silver Dragon Dracanos awoke, he informed the Heroes that his lord Drakanad was the successor to Bahamut and would bring about peace, and an end to the long struggle that had consumed thousands of lives of Dragons by refusing to get drawn in to disputes with Tiamat across the Multiverse and only seeking to claim Celestia as a stronghold. Amyria pointed out that Drakanad was no more than an Ancient Mithral Dragon, and no God. Dracanos replied no one meant her any harm, and he only sought to bring her back to Celestia to aid the rise of his Lord. At length, the Heroes questioned why Drakanad had allied himself to Devils, and after an extended debate the Silver Dragon seemed to be seriously considering if Drakanad was a lord worthy of his service, and so the Heroes let him return to Celestia.

With the Dragon's departure, the Heroes' Oracle divined that Amyria held within herself a divine spark of Bahamut, but she was an inadequate shell to bring about Bahamut's Return. Amyria revealed that she had travelled to Hestavar to find out how to revive Bahamut, and she believes it is connected to her visions of a bone arrow. Heading to the higher levels of Hestavar and researching at the Swan Tower, the centre of lore in the Astral Sea under the care of Ioun, the Heroes managed to find out more information about what Amyria had dreamt of (see below).

Characters (Players)
Thoradin (Fiona)
"Ranger" (Jeth)
Jack "the Damned" Graves (Clement)
"Sleeping Dragon" (Andy)

Approx Progress to next Level : 15%

===============

Amyria's Visions
- First involves 2 Dragons separated by a single long bone arrow, in perfect symmetry mirroring each other. One Dragon is a mix of silvery and gold shades, the other a mix of shift blue and red hues.
- Second involves an powerful radiant Angel standing guard across a narrow bridge which falls to nothingness on both sides. It glows with power and behind it is a glowing area of untold potency. As it stands guard, the Arrow is aimed towards it...

Lore about the Arrow of Fate, researched from the Swan Tower

After the Heroes delved into the Swan Library, they managed to uncover the following information about the Arrow of Fate. The long bone arrow described by Amyria appears to be an artifact dating back to the Dawn War, called the Arrow of Fate. When the original Dragon God Io fought and was slain by the primordial Erek-hus, the great axe of the primordial split him into two halves. One half rose as Bahamut, and the other half rose as Tiamat. But there was a third section of the Io that remained as a long piece of bone, and that became the Arrow of Fate.

The Arrow of Fate was a potent weapon against all Gods & Primordials, and when wielded was able to be formed by its wielder's will into an implement or weapon of just about any kind. As time wore on, it was noticed that both Bahamut and Tiamat ignored the Arrow of Fate, for it was rumored that it held a powerful influence over the life and death of Gods itself. After the Dawn War, the Arrow became an issue of contention between a few Gods who gathered to decide what to do with it, and the archdevil Asmodeus acted as the go-between in the hopes of gaining favors with the lords of Hestavar.

In a show of cooperation characteristic of that age, the 3 Gods Erathis, Ioun, Pelor agreed to seal the Arrow of Fate away, and they wove a great ritual that would safeguard the Arrow and uphold the pact that they had made, from which each forged a Seal of their own devising. The seal of Pelor was forged into the great Dawnbell that heralds the coming of dawn, located where the angels of Pelor guard the Bastion of Dawn within the upper reaches of Hestavar. The seal of Erathis was emblazoned onto the cobblestones of Methion, the busy marketplace of Hestavar, the greatest centre of civilisation and trade throughout the Astral Sea. And the Seal of Ioun was placed within her secret library, a cloistered haven hidden in Hestavar, where trusted servants research sensitive matters in an environment that can tap ito all repositories of knowledge throughout the multiverse that are held by affiliates of Ioun.

The Final Seal can only be reached if the other seals were to be undone, and lies in the lagoon in the lowest level of Hestavar, the beach area known as the district of Salts. It is said to be under the sea and the final guardian was a fearsome enemy of the Gods from the Dawn War, an imprisoned guardian of the Arrow of Fate. If freed to go unchecked, it would wreak havoc but it could never use the Arrow itself.

[Zyraen]

1.1 Illumination
21-Dec-12
After some discussion and finding out that the three Lords of Hestavar - Pelor, Ioun, Erathis - were away, the Heroes decided to seek an audience with the stand-in rulers of the Bright City, their respective Aspects in the Hall of Illumination.

Bringing Amyria before them and presenting their case and motivation to resurrect Bahamut, despite a rough beginning the Heroes managed to convince them of their sincerity. However, the Aspects did not agree to undo the Seals, for if the Heroes were to claim the Arrow of Fate it would mean the undoing of a Pact by which Devils agreed to leave Hestavar free from their evil.

The Aspects suggested the Heroes wait for the three Lords of Hestavar to return, but Amyria would likely be dead by then, so the Heroes challenged the three Aspects to provide a suitable solution or host for the Divine Spark since they were once allies of Bahamut as well. The Aspect of Pelor then threw out a challenge to the Heroes, that if they could defeat all three Aspects at their respective Seals and not break the Seals, they would together temporarily suspend the Seals so the Heroes could meet the Primordial within which the Arrow of Fate was embedded, to which the Heroes agreed.

The Heroes decided to visit the Bastion of the Dawn first, and with some effort managed to defeat a host of Angels guarding the first level of the tower. Most of the Angels were knocked unconscious but not slain.

Characters (Players)
Pewpew (Jeth)
Sleeping Dragon (Andy)
Hawthorn (Rubern)
Nightstar (Robin)

AFK - Thoradin (Fiona)
AFK - Jack the "Damned" Graves (Clement)

Approx Progress to next Level : 40%

[Zyraen]

1.2 The Light of Pelor
28-Dec-12
The Heroes stepped onto the bridge leading to the tower where the Dawnbell is, to find the Aspect of Pelor waiting for them, with a few tiny angels of light wielding long angelic spears. After a brief preamble, the battle was joined. When the Aspect of Pelor reduced one of the three Revenants in the party to less than 0 HP, he warned that since this was a challenge he had intended to merely knock out the party, so if they are Revenants they should just fall unconscious lest he kill them if they keep fighting.
The affected Heroes naturally refused, and with the first blow he negated their resistance, and with the second blow he negated their insubstantiality. Fortunately the Healer managed to intervene just before one of them would have been struck a fatal blow.
With this initial close shave, the Heroes became even more determined to defeat the Aspect of Pelor. After an extended battle amidst bursts of blinding light as the tiny angels threw themselves into harm's way to protect the Aspect, and the Healer managed to keep everyone up, the Heroes finally caused the Aspect to discorporate and admit defeat. With that done, instead of going up the tower to destroy the seal themselves, the Heroes returned to their inn to take an Extended Rest.

Along the way back to their inn, the Heroes noticed along what should be a bustling section of Hestavar which is the most direct route to the inn, there was instead less activity and more quiet than usual. Attempts to perceive anything were not successful, and so the Heroes deliberate whether to carry on their original route or take a detour to the inn for their Extended Rest.

Characters (Players)
Pewpew (Jeth) : 3
Hawthorn (Rubern) : 2
Nightstar (Robin) : 2
Alvyn (Merlvyn) : 1

AFK - Sleeping Dragon (Andy) : 2
AFK - Thoradin (Fiona) : 1
AFK - Jack the "Damned" Graves (Clement) : 1

Approx Progress to next Level : 60%

Note : for easy XP tracking, by the above set-up, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended.

[Zyraen]

1.3 Trading Blows with Erathis
04-Jan-13[/b]
Deciding to err on the side of caution, the Heroes avoided the suspicious area along their path, detouring to their inn for an Extended Rest without further incident.

The next day they set out to find the Seal of Erathis, located in the middle of the cobblestones in the busiest Market Square in the trading district of Methion within Hestavar. Noticing the thick press of civilians going about their business, the Heroes opted to stop a patrol of Exalted Watchmen in service of Erathis, seeking the Aspect of Erathis supposedly for a matter regarding the Seal. After some persuasion, the Watch Captain agreed to their request, and through him the Aspect of Erathis summoned them into a mirror pocket plane of the Market Square.

The Aspect of Erathis noted that she had not agreed to the terms laid out by the Aspect of Pelor, and did not have the authority to undo the Seal, for the peace of Hestavar hinges upon the Seal. Nonetheless, in the face of the Heroes' resolve, she intended to dissuade the Heroes by force of arms, failing which she would honor the reasonable terms laid out by the Aspect of Pelor.
Forming the pocket plane into an Arena, she and a duplicate of herself cooperated against the Heroes, while Spectral Citizens watched from the stands. 4 more Citizens joined in every single round, even as the tactically savvy Erathis attacked the Heroes in unpredictable bursts, getting stronger as more of her Spectral servants were defeated.

However, fortune favored the Heroes and prevented her from using her best, and eventually fell to the concerted efforts of those assembled. She agreed to honor her deal when the time came, and in closing thanked the Heroes for choosing not to engage or damage the Seal in the marketplace which would likely cost civilian lives, before returning them to Methion.

Characters (Players)
Level Up! - "Bugbear Fighter" (Jeth) : 4 / 4
Nightstar (Robin) : 3 / 4
Alvyn (Merlvyn) : 2 / 4
Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) : 2 / 4
Tinklebell (Jenny) : 1 / 4
"Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) : 1 / 4

AFK - Sleeping Dragon (Andy) : 2 / 4
AFK - Hawthorn (Rubern) : 2 / 4
AFK - Thoradin (Fiona) : 1 / 4

Campaign Level 25
Approx Progress to Level 26 : 0%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/ 4" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

[Zyraen]

2.0 The Secret Library of Ioun
11-Jan-13[/b]
After some effort, including a fruitless visit to the Swan Tower, the Heroes managed to narrow down the location to a district. A few good surveys of the place revealed a few areas, before the Heroes narrowed down to a building and eventually found a portal leading to the Secret Library.

Arriving through the portal they found themselves in a small, laboratory-like library, faced with 4 diplomatic Exalted of Ioun who were about to attack, as they recognised if the Heroes took the Arrow of Fate from Hestavar, the pact would be annulled. Fortunately, the Heroes managed to speak to that which was hidden, attracting the attention of a Sphinx, which then bade the Exalted to depart and take what was important in case it got damaged.

It was soon apparent that there was nothing to be discussed as the Sphinx used Riddles to daze the Heroes, and then leaped into the fray slashing the Heroes with dazing, spectral claws. There was no sign of the Aspect of Ioun, until the air exploded with prismatic bursts of power and the Heroes were plagued by a Polymorph spell that leaped from one to another, taking turns to afflict a new Hero even as another shook it off. To make matters worse, as the Sphinx was defeated it rose again, and again. Realising they needed to locate the Aspect of Ioun, the Heroes deduced if they managed to answer the Sphinx's Riddle they could detect her for a limited time. One hero kept the Sphinx occupied, another selflessly contained the Leaping Polymorph, while the rest tried to deal with Ioun directly. When the Sphinx finally rose no more, the already weakened Aspect was fully visible and quickly discorporated after a few hits. In doing so, the Heroes received a note to go to the Salts district to watch for when the Aspects would uphold their bargain.
As they departed, the Heroes debated if they could take an Extended Rest...

Characters (Players)
Thug (Jeth) : 5 / 4
Level Up! - Nightstar (Robin) : 4 / 4
Thog (Rubern) : 3 / 4
Sleeping Dragon (Andy) : 3 / 4

AFK - Alvyn (Merlvyn) : 2 / 4
AFK - Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) : 2 / 4
AFK - Tinklebell (Jenni) : 1 / 4
AFK - "Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) : 1 / 4
AFK - Thoradin (Fiona) : 1 / 4

Campaign Level 25
Approx Progress to Level 26 : 40%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/4" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

[Zyraen]

ARROW OF FATE
Enhancement Bonus : +6
Critical Damage : +6d8 for Crit, 6d12 against Dragon, Elemental, Immortal
Property : +6 item bonus to damage.
Ignores 5 points of Resistance against Dragon, Elemental, Immortal

Morph (At Will) : Minor Action
The Arrow of Fate transforms into any following types of weapon - Rod, Staff, Wand, Spear, Arrow*, Bolt*

Dragon's Breath (Daily, Fire, Radiant) : Standard Action
You breathe forth a blast of fire charged with the energy of the astral sea.
Close Blast 3, Highest Abil + 6 vs Reflex
Hit : 4d12+8 damage
Miss : Half damage.

* - when as Arrow / Bolt, it can be used with any sort of Bow / Crossbow that can fire this ammunition. However, the benefits / properties of the Arrow of Fate override the effects of the Bow / Crossbow that is being used to fire it.

======================

Whoever holds the Arrow of Fate may pass it to another wielder outside of an Encounter.
Every time this happens, its Concordance resets to 5 or lower, if it was already less than 5.

===========

Concordance :
Owner gains a Level : +1d10
Owner slays a Primordial : +2
Owner kills a servant of Primordial (1/day) : +1
Owner completes a quest to restore Tiamat or Bahamut : +2
Owner flees from combat with a primordial or servants of a primordial : -1
Owner knowingly aids a primordial or its servants : -1

NOTE : Whoever gains the Arrow of Fate after the Adventure starts with a Concordance of 7 (not 5). This is due to +2 for the slaying of Nakheten.

===========

SATISFIED (12-15)
following changes

Ignores 10 points of Resistance against Dragon, Elemental, Immortal

Dragon's Breath (Daily, Fire, Radiant) : Standard Action
You breathe forth a blast of fire charged with the energy of the astral sea.
Close Blast 5, Highest Abil + 6 vs Reflex
Hit : 4d12+8.
Miss : Half damage.

New Ability
Frightful Presence (Daily, Fear) : Standard Action,
An Aura of Majestic Terror washes out over your Enemies
Close Burst 10 (Enemies only), Highest Ability +6 vs Will
Hit : Target is Stunned until End of your Next Turn.
Aftereffect : Target takes -2 penalty to Attacks. (Save Ends)

===========

PLEASED (16-20)
following changes

Ignores 15 points of Resistance against Dragon, Elemental, Immortal

New Property
Raise Dead : Once per day, the Arrow can be used to perform the Raise Dead ritual, without components and without its bearer having the Ritual Caster feat.

Dragon's Breath (Encounter, Fire, Radiant) : Standard Action
You breathe forth a blast of fire charged with the energy of the astral sea.
Close Blast 5, Highest Abil + 6 vs Reflex
Hit : 4d12+8.
Miss : Half damage.

===========

ON TRACK (presumably 20+?)
These abilities are immediately available to the current wielder of the Arrow of Fate. If Concordance is reset, they will not be available to a new wielder.

Property
The Arrow of Fate ignores all Resistances of Dragons, Elementals, Immortals.

Hurl Breath : You can use the Dragon's Breath attack granted by the Artifact as an Area Burst 2 within 10 instead of a Close Blast 5.

Epic Breath (Free Action, Encounter)
Trigger: You use your Dragon's Breath attack granted by the Artifact. You can decide what effect to apply after you are aware who are Hit / Missed by your Breath attack.
Effect : Choose one of the following
A) Debilitating : The Breath gains Poison keyword. Each Target hit by your Dragon's Breath is weakened (SE)
B) Concussive : The Breath gains Lightning, Thunder keyword. Each Target hit by your Dragon's Breath is Dazed (SE) and pushed 4 squares.
C) Freezing : The Breath gains Cold keyword. Each Target hit by your Dragon's Breath is Immobilised (SE)
D) Dissolving : The Breath gains Acid keyword. Each Target hit by your Dragon's Breath takes -3 to all Defenses (SE)
E) Conflagration : The area of the Breath becomes a Zone that lasts until End of Encounter. All enemies starting or entering the Zone takes 10 Fire damage. Like the Arrow of Fate, the Zone ignores all Resistances of Dragons, Elementals, Immortals.

[Zyraen]

2.1 Eye of the Storm
18-Jan-13[/b]
The party took an Extended Rest and one of the Heroes did some research on the guardian of the Final Seal, a Primordial of the Storms called Nakheten.

Arriving at the lagoon, they found the sea in tumultuous storm, and using their Astral Skiff flew over to a break in the sea, where the Primordial raged, bound by 3 pillars with emblems of the 3 Gods, and with the Final Seal on its chest.
Most of the Heroes flew down, but the buffeting storm around the Primordial prevented them from flying, and after that a tempestuous battle commenced in earnest amidst the space that was surrounded by a swirling whirlpool of water. Frost and lightning arced around the Heroes in devastating arcs, and Nakheten pounded them with lightning, ice and his fists as well, in a fight that saw even the Healer falling to his deadly barrage.
Meantime, one of the Heroes who had remained on the Astral Skiff noticed the seals were strengthening, and managed to leap to join the fray moments before the top of the sea closed up and the 3 pillars sunk further into the seabed. It seems the Seals were reforming back, and they had a limited time to destroy Nakheten and obtain the Arrow of Fate before he was completely sealed away once more.
The battle grew desperate for both sides as the bloodied Primordial seemed to hit even harder and the incessant pounding lightning and ice around him intensified, but the Heroes finally managed to slay him, causing him to explode in a tremendous tempest of lightning and ice, which might have proven fatal for lesser foes.

Nonetheless with his death, the final Seal was undone, the Heroes were rejuvenated for a time (as if taking a short rest) as the Arrow of Fate was revealed, a giant arrow looking like a spear with feathers on one end. One of the Heroes managed to seize hold of the Arrow of Fate, moments before the 3 pillars crumbled and the roaring sea crashed over the space the party had fought, washing them all into the frothing stormy sea.

Characters (Players)
Thug (Jeth) : 6 / 4
Level Up! - Sleeping Dragon (Andy) : 4 / 4
Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) : 3 / 4
Alvyn (Merlvyn) : 3 / 4
"Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) : 2 / 4

AFK - Nightstar (Robin) : 4 / 4
AFK - Thog (Rubern) : 3 / 4
AFK - Tinklebell (Jenni) : 1 / 4

Campaign Level 25
Approx Progress to Level 26 : 70%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

[Zyraen]

2.2 Breaking Storm of Steel
25-Jan-13[/b]
Washed up onto a beach as the storm brewed around them, the Heroes found themselves faced with the librarian who had helped them in the Swan Tower, who was allied with Shocktroop Devils and a Horned War Devil. Believing they were worn out after battling the Primordial, he offered to spare the Heroes if they surrendered the Arrow of Fate. Naturally the Heroes refused, and a battle ensued, with the Devils raining steely blows on the Heroes and using walls of burning iron and infernal magic, even as giant waves breaking upon the surf battered and dragged the combatants outwards to the sea.

After a tough battle vanquishing the Devils, the Heroes noticed that with the subsiding storm providing better visibility that a fair number of Angels and Exalted, as well as the Aspect of Erathis, had gathered on the beach in the Salts district. Concerned that they might pursue the Heroes once the storm fully died down, instead of taking a short rest the Heroes hurried to their Astral Skiff that was still in the middle of the sea and fled from Hestavar. Meantime they circled Hestavar and performed a Sending Ritual to try and contact Amyria who was likely still in their inn within Hestavar to meet them outside.

Characters (Players)
Level Up! - Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 25 : 2 / 4
Erulisse (Grace) Lv 24 : 1 / 2

AFK - Thug (Jeth) Lv 25 : 4 / 4
AFK - Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 25 : 2 / 4
AFK - Nightstar (Robin) Lv 25 : 2 / 4
AFK - Level Up! : Alvyn (Merlvyn) Lv 25 : 1 / 4
AFK - Level Up! : Thog (Rubern) Lv 25 : 1 / 4
AFK - "Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) Lv 24 : 2 / 2
AFK - Tinklebell (Jenni) Lv 24 : 1 / 2

* - yet to level up

Campaign Level 26
Approx Progress to Level 27 : 0%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

Although it took only 3 sessions, we treat it as 4 sessions from Lv 25 to Lv 26. See the first post in this Thread, which has been edited. This should work more consistently with the -2 deduction to Sessions Attended as the requirement for hitting Lv 25 is now only 2 Sessions (half of 4 for Lv 24).

Edit : Level up for Alvyn and Thog, to distinguish from those who have come for 2 sessions or less.

[Zyraen]

3.0 Welcome to Celestia
01-Feb-13[/b]
Fortunately, Amyria had already left the Inn and boarded her own Astral Skiff as the Heroes departed to locate Nakheten, hence was able to evade capture. Meeting up with the Heroes outside Hestavar, she was visibly weaker, leaning on her sheathed sword as a crutch to walk about.
After the Arrow of Fate was presented to her, she had visions of Mount Celestia, the realm of seven peaks where Kord, Moradin, and Bahamut (until recently) resided. In one vision she saw Bahamut's Palace from the sky, in another a waterfall at the top of the snowclad mountains, and the last of a golden bridge spanning upwards ending with a burning rain of golden fire, guarded by a formidable golden Angel.

As the Heroes and Amyria travelled to Celestia, and sent out Amyria's Astral Skiff as a diversion against possible pursuit from the forces of Hestavar, Amyria's health worsened as she slipped in and out of unconsciousness. Despite the Healer attending to her, he could only improve her comfort as it seemed the divine spark was consuming her from inside-out.
Arriving in Mount Celestia, one of the Heroes recalled that in the central peak of the realm was Empyron, the City of Healing. Here were Exalted that had specialised in healing and care during their lives, and in times of conflict the three Gods sent their injured and wounded here to be nursed back to health. Along the way they passed by the Silver Palace of Bahamut, noting bastions along the mountainsides, but only some seem to be still manned, and from one side of the Silver Palace a shone a golden glow.
After they had landed in Empyron and handed Amyria to the care of Exalted, one of the Exalted called Kalad informed the Heroes they had managed to help her last for a week, but they could not recognise the ailment, and would carry on and try to figure out more. Kalad could not recognise the bridge rising to the heavens, but he said perhaps one of the Gods might know.

The Heroes then received a Sending message from Dracanos (see 1.0), informing the Heroes that "We are coming for you. Defeat the Angels and I'll leave. Watch the Deva." Sure enough, shortly after the Silver Dragon arrived outside the Halls with two angels of lightning and two mithral dragonborn angels. As the Heroes fought them, Devils approached to capture Amyria from within the Halls, but fortunately they were noticed by the wary Heroes. It was a grueling battle with the Heroes taking heavy damage, ending with the Heroes cutting it close, only just managing to kill the Shadow Devil that was about to flee with Amyria, thus recovering their precious charge.

Characters (Players)
Level Up! - Thug (Jeth) Lv 26 : 5 / 4
Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 25 : 3 / 4
Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 25 : 3 / 4
Alvyn (Merlvyn) Lv 25 : 2 / 4
Level Up! - "Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) Lv 25 : 1 / 4

AFK - Thog (Rubern) Lv 25 : 2 / 4
AFK - Nightstar (Robin) Lv 25 : 2 / 4
AFK - Tinklebell (Jenni) Lv 24 : 1 / 2
AFK - Erulisse (Grace) Lv 24 : 1 / 2

* - yet to level up

Campaign Level 26
Approx Progress to Level 27 : 20%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

[Zyraen]

3.1 Seeking the Soulforge
08-Feb-13[/b]
With the Devils held off for the time being, the Exalted managed to stabilise Amyria for the time being, and it was established that the divine spark alone was not enough to bring back Bahamut, but a creation spark was also required to reconstitute a God in entirety. Such a creation spark might be found with Moradin, but much like the other Gods, he had gone for the meeting discussing what to do about Tiamat now that Bahamut was dead. After some discussion, the Heroes decided to strike out on their own to find the creation spark, likely in the Soulforge of Moradin that they had to locate.

Arriving in Torzak Berlgin, Moradin's City inhabited by dwarven exalted on his peak in Celestia, the Heroes were initially received with suspicion, but after some effort found themselves in an audience with the mayor of Torzak Berlgin, who seemed wary and guarded against them. Despite their track record, they fortunately managed to convince him of their noble intentions and were informed the Soulforge was at the base of the mountain, behind a waterfall that flows down into the deeps.

Locating the waterfall and passing behind it with relative ease, the Heroes found themselves arriving in an entrance chamber guarded by many large and dangerous looking constructs, as well as a huge iron golem, with portcullises at both sides. Seeing no other way forward, the Heroes engaged the constructs and eventually laid waste to them, opening the way up to venture into the Soulforge proper.

Characters (Players)
Thug (Jeth) Lv 26 : 6 / 4
Level Up! - Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 26 : 4 / 4
Level Up! - Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 26 : 4 / 4
Alvyn (Merlvyn) Lv 25 : 3 / 4
Level Up! - Erulisse (Grace) Lv 25 : 2 / 2

AFK - Thog (Rubern) Lv 25 : 2 / 4
AFK - Nightstar (Robin) Lv 25 : 2 / 4
AFK - "Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) Lv 25 : 1 / 4
AFK - Tinklebell (Jenni) Lv 24 : 1 / 2

* - yet to level up

Campaign Level 26
Approx Progress to Level 27 : 50%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

[Zyraen]

3.2 Primordial Beast Guardians
15-Feb-13[/b]
Proceeding deeper into the soulforge, the Heroes travelled up carved stone stairs within the mountain to find themselves entering a moderate sized hall with a pool of water set in a metallic runed circle, where there were 3 caves delving deeper in. Realising this was an anchor for a guardian to be summoned, the Heroes tried to reason with the guardian but to no avail. The reason soon became apparent as the water and metal pieces formed over a manifesting serpentine scaley bulk, eventually taking the form of a godforged hydra, that attacked the Heroes as they sought to pass through.
As the Heroes fought to pass through and severed its multiple heads, they only found that two more grew back in place of each fallen head. Nevertheless, with a well-timed distraction by one of the Fighters, two of the Heroes managed to slip past the hydra into caverns beyond, but the beast reappeared back onto the runes and sealed them into the back caverns by causing the rock to crash over the entrance. Separated from the rest, the two of them had to deal with a petrifying, electrifying gorgon. One almost got turned to stone, fortunately the rest of the Heroes managed to defeat the Hydra and come to their aid, laying the Gorgon to rest as well.

Characters (Players)
Thug (Jeth) Lv 26 : 7 / 4
Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 26 : 5 / 4
Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 26 : 5 / 4
Level Up! - Alvyn (Merlvyn) Lv 26 : 4 / 4
"Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) Lv 25 : 2 / 4
Erulisse (Grace) Lv 25 : 1 / 4
Thog (Rubern) Lv 25 : 3 / 4
Laksa Larry (MarcusTay) Lv 24 : 1 / 2

AFK - Nightstar (Robin) Lv 25 : 2 / 4
AFK - Tinklebell (Jenni) Lv 24 : 1 / 2

* - yet to level up

Campaign Level 26
Approx Progress to Level 27 : 70%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

[Zyraen]

3.3 "You Shall Not Pass!"
22-Feb-13[/b]
Beyond the guardian Hydra's cavern, the Heroes moved further up the insides of the mountain forge and found several forges with dwarves working inside. Many of them seem to have had parts of their bodies replaced by forgeworks, and each forge worked on separate items - weapons, armor, memorial statues, constructs. They noticed the Heroes but did not attack, nor did they speak or reply to the Heroes.

Further onward, the Heroes arrived at a long branching stone bridge, over a deep chasm of filled with discarded forgeworks, and were engaged by a titanic godforged construct, the guardian of the bridge to the Forge of Creation. With smashing hammer blows that caused the bridge beneath to shatter and send them tumbling into the depths, followed by concussive and sliding strikes that could force them into the chasm, the Titan proved a fearsome foe. To worsen things, it let out a tremendous burst of radiant flame whenever it was struck. It took all the dogged grit the Heroes could muster in the face of such a guardian, but by luring it towards the base of the chasm where they would take less damage on a fall, they finally managed to defeat it.
Yet with most of their resources spent, could they venture further without an Extended Rest?

Characters (Players)
Thug (Jeth) Lv 26 : 8 / 4
Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 26 : 6 / 4
"Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) Lv 25 : 3 / 4

AFK - Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 26 : 5 / 4
AFK - Alvyn (Merlvyn) Lv 26 : 4 / 4
AFK - Erulisse (Grace) Lv 25 : 1 / 4
AFK - Thog (Rubern) Lv 25 : 3 / 4
AFK - Laksa Larry (MarcusTay) Lv 24 : 1 / 2
AFK - Nightstar (Robin) Lv 25 : 2 / 4
AFK - Tinklebell (Jenni) Lv 24 : 1 / 2

* - yet to level up

Campaign Level 26
Approx Progress to Level 27 : 85%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.
For those that have Levelled up, I deduct 2 sessions as indication of the half-level up

[Zyraen]

3.4 The Devil is in the Details
06-Mar-13[/b]
Arriving to the heart of the Soulforge, the Heroes found the Aspect of Moradin brooding over something. As they finally engaged him in conversation and stated their purpose, it became clear that he had been informed by the "Steward of Bahamut", a term he used to refer to Drakanad, and had also been ensorcelled into believing the Dragon's claim that the Heroes were seeking to stave off the Deva's death. When the enchantment was subtly unravelled and the Heroes managed to convince him of their intention to bring Bahamut back to life, he informed that he no longer had the Creation Spark, which had been given to the Dragon.

Returning to the Halls of Healing for an extended rest, the Heroes decided to head to the Silver Palace of Bahamut to get to Drakanad and the Creation Spark. While airborne in their Astral Skiff, they were attacked by fiery Hell's Furies led by a strange Phoenix-like creature, that constantly exploded with fiery energies and kept forming into an egg and restoring itself in a deadly, fiery burst. By the time that the Heroes managed to destroy most of the Hell's Furies and intimidate the rest into fleeing, the Astral Skiff was afire and likely about to crash. The Heroes managed to reduce the Phoenix back to its egg form and finally managed to push the egg overboard before it could explode into another fiery rebirth, giving them the much needed respite to carry on to the Silver Palace.

Characters (Players)
Level Up! - Thug (Jeth) Lv 27 : 6 / 5
Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 26 : 4 / 5
Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 26 : 3 / 5
Level Up! - Thog (Rubern) Lv 26 : 1 / 5
Erulisse (Grace) Lv 25 : 2 / 3

AFK - Alvyn (Merlvyn) Lv 26 : 1 / 5
Level Up! / AFK - "Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) Lv 26 : 0 / 5

Campaign Level 27
Approx Progress to Level 28 : 15%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

[Zyraen]

4.0 Shadows in the Light
13-Mar-13[/b]
Reaching the Silver Palace, the Heroes could see an open courtyard to land their damaged astral skiff, or a darkened dome with scarlet light shining skywards. Electing to approach the darkness, one Hero kicked another down into the darkness, where he landed on his feet to stealth in the darkness, only to find himself surrounded by many Devils led by a Pit Fiend, close to what looked like an infernal portal. Lighting a sun rod so the rest could see into the Dome, this action almost broke the nerve of the one who kicked him down who intended to sail the astral skiff away, but was eventually persuaded to go to the rescue of his "fallen" comrade.
Despite continuously summoning more legion devils into the fray and taking out the first two Heroes, the Pit Fiend quickly saw the crux of the battle lay with the Healer and focused all his available resources against him. However, between the Defender's mark, distracted by another Hero's closing the portal which cut off their reinforcements while the Pit Fiend dazed by poison, the Devils ultimately ran out of "devil"power first, and the Pit Fiend took to an ignominious retreat.

Heading further into the Silver Palace, the Heroes arrived at the audience chamber of Bahamut, where lay seven corpses of huge golden dragons, and they were greeted by a projected image of a mithral dragon, presumably Drakanad. He beseeched them to give up their quest of bringing back Bahamut, that the ancient war between Tiamat and Bahamut might end and spare the lives of numerous dragons, but his pleas fell upon deaf ears and the image disappeared.
One of the Heroes noticed that he wore around his neck an amulet, shining with the Creation Spark that the Heroes had sought from Moradin.

Characters (Players)
Thug (Jeth) Lv 27 : 7 / 5
Level Up! - Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 26 : 5 / 5
Vim (Rubern) Lv 26 : 2 / 5
"Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) Lv 26 : 1 / 5
Level Up! - Erulisse (Grace) Lv 26 : 0 / 5

AFK - Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 26 : 3 / 5
AFK - Alvyn (Merlvyn) Lv 26 : 1 / 5

Campaign Level 27
Approx Progress to Level 28 : 40%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.