Naming Weapons

As you all are aware, a weapon can have a character almost as distinct and interesting as the man who wields it. Part of this comes from the weapon's stats and abilities, such as Bom Tombadil's current weapon, the Lifedrinker Longsword (+1). But it doesn't have to end there. Whether magical or simply a special weapon, what you choose to call your tool of destruction and how you use it can have a tremendous effect on your gaming experience.

For example, in one of my old games I ended up with magical heavy pick-axe which, while effective enough, didn't have near as much charm as the khopesh I had been using. That was, until, I scored a critical hit on my first swing with it and smashed the face off of a bugbear. From then on it was known only as "Bear-Blaster," and I never put it down.

Here are some other examples of named weapons, just for several shits and the occasional giggle:

Hrunting and Nægling – Beowulf's magical swords.
Gungnir – Odin's spear
Mjolnir – The hammer of Thor.
Caladbolg – Two-handed sword of Fergus mac Róich in Irish legend; said to make a circle like an arc of rainbow when swung, and to have the power to cleave the tops from the hills.
Ame-no-nuboko – Japanese halberd which formed the first island.
Clarent – King Arthur's sword of peace. Also sometimes known as the sword Mordred stole and later used to kill King Arthur.Is now sometimes known as the Coward's Blade.
Ice - Ned Stark's Valarian steel greatsword.

There you have it; food for thought. The next time you slam an orc so hard that your sword sticks in his side or miss so hard that your axe gets bent, consider working that into a name for your weapon. After all, a sword is a man's best friend.

10 Important Facts about Forgotton Realms (cont.)

6. Huge Underdark collapses have changed the surface of Faerûn. As the earth fell away, the level and position of the Sea of Fallen Stars shifted drastically. An enormous opening into the Underdark has formed south of the Chondalwood. In addition to this country-sized hole in the earth, underground shifting has made the Underdark much more accessible to the surface world.

7. Thay has become a terrible undead threat. The former land of the Red Wizards is now under the control of a single power-mad regent: Szass Tam. He nearly succeeded in performing a ritual that would have made him an immortal being. Szass Tam failed, but in so doing he transformed Thay into a nightmare land of death. Now the regent is intent on expanding Thay’s borders so that he can attempt the ritual again.

8. The ancient empire of Netheril has been restored. The Twelve Princes of Shade rule from their capital city, Shade Enclave, in a land newly reclaimed from the Anauroch Desert. Netheril is once again a major player and a threat to all the northern realms.

9. Ancient elven lineages have returned to Faerûn. With the reappearance of the Feywild, its natives have begun exploring the world again. These fey folk collectively call themselves eladrin, and many Faerûnian elves have also adopted this name for their lineage, though they have not forgotten their traditional cultural distinctions and names. In casual speech, the world “elven” collectively refers to the two branches of this fey people: elves and eladrin.

10. Most portals no longer work. The breaking of the Weave destroyed most of the portals that crisscrossed Toril, because it destroyed the hard-won knowledge of arcane casters. Although arcanists have relearned their craft since the Spellplague raged, most portals remain nonfunctional or dangerously malfunctioning, broken relics of a legendary past.

10 Important Facts about Forgotton Realms (part 1)

I sent most of you this before, but here are the first 5 of 10 facts about the larger world that our campaign is set in. If you are familiar with the setting, these will summarize the major events in the world since 1374 DR, the Year of Lightning Storms. If you are new to the setting, this information will give you the basic background that most inhabitants know.

1. Roughly a hundred years have passed in the world since the previous edition of the campaign setting. The current year is 1479 DR, the Year of the Ageless One.

2. The Spellplague has drastically altered the cosmos. The Spellplague broke out in 1385 DR (the Year of Blue Fire), the result of unfettered wild magic on the death of the goddess Mystra. Whole countries are gone, especially in regions south of the Sea of Fallen Stars. Even familiar lands have become magical and fantastic in appearance. Islands of rock called earthmotes drift through the sky. Weird towers and spires of stone jut from the landscape. Spectacular chasms and waterfalls abound.
All things were sustenance for the Spellplague’s insatiable hunger—it assailed and transformed flesh, stone, magic, space, and dimensional walls. Even
the cosmos beyond Toril was affected. Some ancient realms returned that had been thought gone forever (such as the Feywild), and entire planes (such as the Abyss) shifted to a new cosmic structure.

3. Portions of Abeir have fused with Toril. The Spellplague raged even beyond planar boundaries, and Toril’s long-lost twin world, cut off for tens of millennia, was also caught up in the maelstrom. Large parts of Faerûn exchanged places with equivalent land masses on Abeir, bringing their populations with them. Across the Trackless Sea, an entire continent of the lost realm reappeared, now called Returned
Abeir.

4. The number of gods has dropped markedly. During the last century, even deities succumbed to divine and diabolical plots or to the chaos of the Spellplague.
Of those now absent, many died, some left, and a few were revealed to be aspects of already extant gods. Others lost so much power that they became exarchs, lesser divinities who serve the other gods.

5. The Spellplague left its mark on creatures. Some effects of the Spellplague persist to this day, especially in the so-called Plaguelands where wild magic
yet rages unrestrained. After exposure to the Plaguelands, some creatures exhibit physical marks called spell scars. These spellscarred individuals develop unique abilities, but not without a price. Victims of the original Spellplague were horribly
changed, not simply scarred, their flesh warped in unimaginable ways. The abilities of the spellscarred, though unique, are never as monstrous and powerful
as those of plaguechanged creatures. Luckily, such monsters are few, and of those, only a handful are free-willed, mobile threats.

Re-cap on the latest Regulatory Affairs

The Regulators, after being tossed about in the magic trap room had decided to continue onward into the depths of Shadowfell keep. In the next room was discovered a temple of sorts having once been dedicated to the gods of the age but now corrupted by the minions of the orcus. A skirmish was fought here and a low priest of the ocrus slain and fissure in the wall spewing blood for a ritual stopped. During the skirmish the orcus low priest called to his compatriots below in the ritual chamber that a group of hero's were attempting to stop their ritual. After the first skirmish the regulators descended by rope into the ritual chamber where a portal was being summoned by Kalarel. After a hard battle fraught with peril, Kalarel was subdued by a pommel to the head but before the Regulators could secure their prisoner a entity appeared through the portal informing us of his evil intentions and violently pulling Kalarel's prone and unconscious body through the rift. After bringing Nabis-koh back to his feet and vandalising this now evil temple the Regulators ascended back through Shadowfell keep only to fall victim to an ambuscade of hob goblins entering the keep. Bom failed to buff the leader and the battle ensued after Bracos flipped them the bird and a plan of falling back and bottle necking the enemy due to the poor state that the regulators were in seemed to be abandoned for their standard line of dragon and dwarf meeting the enemy head on as Bom and Nabis-koh tried to flank the hob goblins. Fortunately for our hero's, Captain Fairingray came to the rescue with a small brigade of swordsmen, an archer, and a fellow Regulator Plick. Due to the valiant efforts of Captain Fairingray and Plick our hero's live, with many new scars mind you, to fight another day.



As a side note to be remembered for next time the face that appeared from the rift was that of a deva of striking resemblance to our fellow regulator Saladin. We should question him on this matter after have returned to speak with Valthrun the Prescient as to the nature of what was witnessed by the other Regulators.

Fallcrest awards

In keeping with the great traditions of Fallcrest's founders, the following awards have been bestowed on the now infamous Regulators in honour of their noble sacrifices, steadfast courage, and love of Pop-tarts:

The Michael Phelps award for aquatic excellence-Bracos
The Doc Holliday "I'm your huckelberry" intimidating mustache award-Bom
The David Hasselhoff award for most mouth to mouth resuscitations-Saladin
The Dhalsim "Yoga fire!" award-Nabis
The Private Blackburn graceful fall award-Splick
The "I spent more time injured than Steve Hansen" award-Balasar

These awards have been brought to you by your Fallcrest Mattress World: "It's not too late to sleep like a halfling!"

Penny Arcade D&D - The Classics

Here are some of the funnier and more relevant D&D related Penny Arcade comics. Hopefully you all enjoy them as much as I did.




And one concerning the oh-so-evil Shadowfell that our resident Dwarf and Dragonborn were almost pulled into:



And lastly, just because it's totally something Steve would/probably already has said:





all images taken from www.penny-arcade.com

Magical Gear Acquired

The following are the complete stats on several of the magic items picked up by the party:

- Aecris: This +1 magic longsword (value 1,000 gp) is
inlaid with platinum. It has a line of three white diamonds
set into the flat of its blade and a pommel carved to resemble
the head of a noble dragon. It provides its user with a
+1 bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls and deals +1d6
damage on a critical hit.
In addition, it has a daily power that can be activated
as a free action: When you drop an undead enemy to 0 hit
points, gain one healing surge. It was bequeathed to the team
by the spirit of Sir Keegan in his tomb in the keep.
Carried by: Bom Tombadil

- +1 Lifedrinker Longsword: This longsword provides
its user with a +1 enhancement bonus to attack
rolls and damage rolls. On a critical hit, it deals an
extra 1d6 necrotic damage. In addition, when the user
drops an enemy to 0 hit points with a melee attack
with this weapon, the user gains 5 temporary hit
points. Value 1000 GP.
Carried by: Nabis-Koh



- +1 Staff of the War Mage: This staff provides its
user with a +1 enhancement bonus to attack rolls and
damage rolls. On a critical hit, it deals an extra 1d8 +
1 damage. In addition, once per day as a free action,
the user can increase the size of a blast or a burst by 1.
Value 680 GP.
Carried by: Nabis-Koh

- +1 Resounding Mace: This mace grants a +1 to attack and damage,
and grants an additional 1d6 thunder damage on critical hits.
Value 710
Carried by: Saladin

- +1 Dwarven Chain Mail: This magic armor (value
520 gp) provides its wearer with a +1 bonus to AC, a +1
bonus on Endurance checks, and a daily power (as a free
action, regain hit points as if you had spent a healing
surge).
Carried by: Saladin

- Enchanted Dagger: ??????

- Bag of Holding: This bag can hold objects weighing up
to 200 pounds and having a total volume of up to 20 cubic
feet, but it always weighs just 1 pound no matter how full it
is. Drawing an item from the bag requires a minor action.
Carried by: Nabis-Koh

- Shield of Protection: As a standard action, once per
encounter, this large shield (value 680 gp) provides you
and an adjacent ally with resist 5 to all damage until the
end of your next turn.
Carried by: Bracos Stronginthearm

- +1 Blackiron Scale Armor: This suit of magic armor
(value 840 gp) provides its wearer with a +1 bonus to AC
and Resist 5 (fire, necrotic). Found in the hidden chamber
after answering the riddle correctly.
Carried by: ?????

- +1 Magic Wand: This wand (value 360 gp) provides
its user with a +1 bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls
when using arcane powers with the Implement keyword.
Carried by: Nabis-Koh