[Age Past] Game 1 of 5

[Locke]

So while I have run and played in more than 30 games of Age Past accumulating about 130 hours of play testing I have never written about actual play of the game.  I am running a 5 game arc and will try to post about game play here.  Well without further ado...

We had 8 players with the following Archetypes:
- human ranger
- goblin rogue
- human shifter
- elven healer
- human beast master
  - his fire breathing wolf pet
- elven flamebringer (fighter/ caster)
- human gentleman boxer (new steampunk character alpha playtesting)
  - his rifleman buddy Javes (a play on Jeeves)
- mechanite lightning-soul monk

The PC's were part of an expedition group set up by the human governor of foreign relations.  There was a group of about 100 in total and they formed 3 primary groups.  Pathfinders for scouting, Soldiers for defending, and Advisers to support political function.  The party was on a ship that sailed to the East and anchored in an unpopulated cove.  This was highly unusual as a governor is one of the highest ranking people on the continent.  Some party members discovered that the ship sailed in erratic patterns on purpose to help keep the location and destination secret.

After landing the group moved inland about 15 miles and set up camp for the night.  This gave time for the PC's to get to know each other.  I had the elves know each other as they attended the elven council leader whom was there and the members of the scouting party worked together to secure a perimeter.  The gobin took the time to sneak around and steal stuff from sleeping soldiers by sneaking into their tents and pilfering their bags.  The monk crafted food and the shifter set a trap and caught a deer.  The monk tried to make a gourmet meal from the new catch, as gourmet meals require a veggie, starch, and meat, but his roll was not good enough.  ...better luck next time... and the healer tended to her hummingbird familiar.

The group picked up in the morning and traveled inland another 15 miles before setting up camp again.  The group leaders chose to camp in a perfectly level open field in elven lands.  Once again the PC's had time to prepare and interact.  They thought it was strange that the group had traveled so secretly yet chose such an open place to camp.  Also torches were placed halfway across the open field and the group only camped on one half.  A little bit later rumbling shook the group to life and the soldiers were told to form up in a line at the torches and the scouts were told to venture out to ensure the group was not being outflanked.

The cracking of trees startled the soldiers and then gun wielding men walked out of the woods onto the field.  They were cautious but not aggressive.  The cracking got louder and several trees were felled into the clearing.  Two kraken sized armored wagons rolled out.  The soldiers were startled and the healer and the ranger used leadership and magic to calm the men.  The new soldiers also formed a line at the torches just several feet from the sword wielders that had traveled East.  3 PC's who went into the woods realized they were being outflanked and made a move to cut off the invaders.  When they came over a small rocky outcrop they found themselves looking down the barrels of several opposing scout soldiers.  The PC's tried to communicate but didn't speak the proper language.  Unfortunately one scout, the beast master, tried to use etiquette and fumbled.  He issued an insulting hand gesture and activated his enemy flaw by upsetting the opposing soldier.  After a few more minutes the scouting party was called back and there was no bloodshed in the woods as the two scouting groups found each other to no be aggressive.

Dignitaries from both sides pushed toward the front of the lines at the center of the clearing.  They introduced the governor of foreign relations and the ambassador to an Eastern alliance.  The gun-toting soldiers were from the Eastern continent and this secret meeting was a first step in forming an alliance between the human republic and their steampunk brethren.  The dignitaries went to a tent to start political talks of trading knowledge, magic, and technology.  The soldiers on both sides were told to stand down but stay on their own side of the clearing.  The goblin rogue walked toward the front of the line with some watered down beer and was gesturing toward the opposing side to come and take a drink.  The gentleman boxer stepped forward and had the ability to speak with the goblin and interacted for a time.  Soon the flamebringer noticed that a large bid in the sky wasn't a bird but some sort of plying machine.  It grew closer and closer and dove in dropping a bomb.  The bomb exploded into a think orange smoke that marked the group's location.  Moments later more skycraft flew in and one of the armored wagons exploded violently.  Soldiers returned fire and the resultant smoke made visibility difficult.  The gentleman boxer returned to retrieve his boxing gauntlets and most of the party withdrew to protect the dignitaries in the tent as enemy forces closed in.

COMBAT!!!
For combat there were 8 PC's +2 PC controlled NPC's... that's a lot!  I had them attacked by 15 NPC's.  It worked out to one Boss, 8 swordsman, and 6 riflemen.  This is a large combat for any system and this combat took about 2.5 hours to resolve which is actually very fast for a combat this size.  It took about 5 rounds and I'll describe it as best from memory as possible.

round 1
The heroes started in a fallen back position around some tents near the edge of the clearing.  The enemies charged out of the smoke.  The goblin took cover in a tent... coward... maybe. Then the bad guys came in.  They used most of their actions getting into combat and this left many of them flat-footed which happens when a character runs out of actions.  A flat foooted character cant make AGL saves against spells or dodge.  Also these goons were level 2 and the party was level 4 so each one lost two wounds and would be easier to kill.  The enemy swordsmen charged in and their rifle toting buddies moved around to shoot.  The healer and a couple others were targeted an took damage.  The flame wolf used its breath and scorched 3 bad guys, the ranger shot another and the beast master summoned a dimetridon (dinosaur).  The shifter shifted into a black bear.

round 2
The goblin popped his head out of the tent and saw the enemy boss.  He took a shot and caused a crit hit that happens when an enemy is target unaware.  The boss didn't like getting shot so he used a flame cannon and burned the tent the goblin was in.  The flamebringer cast burn on 3 bad guys who all caught fire and the monk countered another bad guy who had flanked.  The gentlemen boxer killed a wounded bad guy and one bad guy too a critical hit from the ranger.  Another bad guy fumbled his attack and dropped his shield.  The flamebringer and beast master took damage from being shot.

round 3
The group starts to dig into the bad guys and take several more out.  The flamebringer teleports one enemy away and the dimetridon and  the gentleman boxer each killed another.  Javes unloaded a short burst form his rifle on two enemy riflemen.  The goblin escaped the flaming tent and charged the enemy boss causing more damage.  The boss whipped out a lighting blade and attacked twice but since the blade is elemental in nature it cannot be blocked with weapons or small shields and the goblin could only dodge.  He only had one dodge left and therefore the second hit cause a critical automatically.  He lost 2 Mind points as a result but only had one so he fell unconscious from the blow.  The monk brought to life a dagger at his belt that whipped up and started attacking on its own and he engaged in close quarter combat with the bad guy to bypass his shield.  The shifter attempted a grapple, as in bear form she can bite causing auto-crits when the bad guy is subdued, but he escaped.

round 4
The boss moved up and used his second flame shot that happened to burn 4 PC's who were standing in a line just screaming to be hit with an AOE attack.  The healer got taken to 0 wounds which means all her pools are cut in half.
The party has now killed most of the bad guys but the boss and about 6 are still up.  The dimetridon moved up and attacked twice but was right in the sight of 2 riflemen who unloaded and caused two critical hits since the animal could not dodge... OUCH!  But it was a summoned creature so that's what it's there for.  The boss took more damage and also but a hurting on the gentlemen boxer and Javes pulled out his bayonet and charged two riflemen.  The healer healed herself and the shifter took a bite out of another bad guy and killed him.

rounds 5
The boss got killed and another one or two guys did too.  The flame wolf charged out to engage a couple riflemen and was shot but he dodged both times.  The beast master dismissed the ailing dimetridon and summoned a polar bear. The remaining bad guys broke and ran away.  The bad guy the monk was fighting was captured for interrogation.

It was a fun game and even though it was a big group combat went pretty quickly with many special attacks and critical hits being delivered.  We are continuing this shortly and will bring you more action!

[Locke]

I had the players level up at the end of last session.  Every session they should be leveling up which helps for play testing and allows the players to really see how their characters are developing which also gives me great input.

We left off at the end of the ambush battle... the party had been pushed back but the delegation had made a successful withdraw.  With skycraft buzzing overhead and more troopers pushing though the smoke ridden battlefield the party decided to fall back and help defend the delegation.  The party had shrunk due to the chaos of war and the remaining members were:
- Human Outlander Beastmaster
- Elven Flamebringer Warrior Wizard
- Mechanite Lighting Soul Monk

The Beastmaster lead the party back through the dense wood that lay to the West of the battlefield.  He found a few faint tracks and clues that guilded the party's direction.  Noise of conflict was picked up and the group went to investigate.  They found a lone Elven warrior fighting three haughty Orks.  The Flamebringer recognized the lone warrior as a friend and a member of the elven delegation.  This Elven Bladestar had already taken down one beast but was well outnumbered and was staring down the shafts of 3 greatswords.  The party jumped into action to aid him.

Combat Round 1:
The Bladestar through his shortsword like an ax at one of the approaching Orks and struck him soundly.  He then quick drew another shortsword.  The Beastmaster had his dragon dog run up and used its flame breath to scorch two of the bad guys and he flanked around for better positioning.  The Orks charged in and the Bladestar made a defensive attack and sliced his enemy clean open.  One hit the monk with their great weapons and gashed him up.  The other two focused on the Bladestar but didn't have enough to penetrate his defenses.  The Monk countered and punched an Ork square in the face.  The Flambringer charged up and an Ork made a defensive attack that took the caster's arm clean off.  He screamed in agony and withdrew to behind a tree, but not before retrieving his dropped arm and cast a healing spell sealing the wound and preventing him from bleeding out.

Combat Round 2:
The Bladestar cast a spell and a sword from his belt jumped to life, animated by Matter Magic, and started attacking.  It failed to harm an Ork but was an additional fighting force for the good guys.  The Orks could not make a reflex attack as the spell was cast through psionic means.  The Beastmaster kept his distance and struck down an Ork with his glaive.  His Dragon Wolf charged in in an attempt to bite another but missed.  The Ork fighters fell into disarray and one turned to attack the wolf while the other focused on the Beastmaster himself.  The Orks missed the master but hurt the wolf.  The Monk took revenge for his dismembered friend and attacked as well but missed.  The Flamebringer curled behind a tree trying to reattach his arm.

Combat Round 3:
The Bladestar and his flying sword both attack and finish off another Ork each landing a blow.  The rest of the group swarmed the last Ork and took him down, but not before it took one last good shot at the Bladestar and wounding him severely.

The group rallied around their new found comrade and he explained that the party encountered the Orks and he was ordered to stay behind to fight them.  His act was noble as fighting all three would have been difficult and his life was in great danger.  He said he knew of where the group was going and he had a map that he handed to the Beastmaster.  They followed the directions and came to what appeared to be ruins set in a cliff side.  As they approached, 3 men with swords suddenly appeared behind them and after some deliberation determined them to be friends.  The Elven master used a Limbo spell to telepathically speak with the elves that he knew and told them stand down. 

The group ended the cliff side entrance and found a great hall inside.  While the structure was a bit unrefined, it was clear that it was enormous and the passages went well into the rock.  They were lead up two stories of stairs and brought to an Elven healer named Mazlok.  He tended to the Flamebringers arm which was regrown in an instant, but was a tad itchy and felt a bit funny.  The group sat in a large hallway outside a room where the delegation leaders were staying.  The ceiling was vaulted extremely high and there was a small hole in the top about 30' up for ventilation. They decided to stay in the hall as most of the others who escaped the ambush found more private rooms.  After everyone went to bed, the Beastmaster woke to hear a rattling sound.  He got up to investigate but found nothing.  After looking around for a few minutes, Mazlok suddenly appeared and told him to back to bed and get his rest.  Mazlok then walked down the dimply lit hall and into a room.  The Beast master sensed something wrong and sent his bat familiar to follow Mazlok.  The Beastmaster saw through the eyes of his friend and saw Mazlok sitting in a corner and twitching with his eyes rolled back in his head playing with some wires that ran from the base of his skull down his back.

The Beastmaster awoke the rest of the party and they confronted Mazlok who then let out a horrible scream deafening the wolf and the Flamebringer.  The scream lead the had diplomat to open the doors and see what was happening. At that moment strange creatures dropped from the vaulted ceiling and attacked.  There were 6 of them and 3 attacked the party and the other 3 ganged up on the diplomat pushing him into the delegation room and ripping him open.  One shut and locked the door.  These things had the torsos of men with two small claws reaching over from their backs, a large electro-charged whip for one arm, a heavy pistol for their second arm, and 4 heavy mechanical legs.

Combat
The Beastmaster summoned a polar bear to attack Mazlok, and the strange invaders used their guns and whips to attack.  The electricity in the whips zapped through the parties armor (an elemental attack) rendering the armor useless.  The Monk, however, is built for sturdier stuff and was better able to repel he electrical force easier.  He also summoned lightening energy into his fits and could use it to parry the incoming attacks.  The bear charged Mazlok but he reflexively threw up an ice wall in the passage to prevent the bear from grappling him.  The bear charged through and broke down the wall but Mazlok threw up another.  The bear had a harder time getting through the second one and that gave Mazlok time to teleport himself away.

The rest of the group was fighting for their lives.  The monsters were shooting guns, one jammed but the other were putting a hurting on the party.  They were slowly working down the beasts (bad rolling was making it hard to get through their armor) and the Flambringer's casting capabilities were limited due to his unfortunate temporary deafness.  Luckily for the party no limbs were chopped off this time and they took quite a bit of damage but succeeded in vanquishing their foes.  At one point the creatures were spinning their whips in a circle and hitting everyone around them cause mass havok.

Right after combat ended, the doors opened and all the members of the delegation stepped out to thank the party for thwarting the assassination attempt.  They were told to rest through the night and they would be contacted again in the morning.  Early the next day, just before dawn the group was asked to speak with the delegation.  They were rewarded with gemstones and asked to take the remains of the strange mechanical creatures to the engineering guild in two weeks time.  They were told not to discuss the issue with anyone as there was a trader and only the small group of heroes could be trusted.  Once they got to the guild, they would receive more instructions.

This session was about 4.5 hours of play.