With this series I’m continuing to chronicle my Dragon Age RPG conversion of the Origins storyline.  This is a recap of our second session of that storyline.  Unfortunately, the game was cut short due to a small fire breaking out in my bathroom (everyone is okay).  Here is a link to part 1 of the series.   We pick up our recap in the Korkari Wilds…

Campaign Journal 2

Having defeated the darkspawn and collected their blood, the party next wanted to see if they could find their horses.  Some tracking and searching led them to the corpse of one of the horses, it seemed to have been eaten by blight wolves.  The wounds were fresh enough to  scare party into thinking the pack of wolves may be nearby, so they marched on deep within the Wilds. While searching for the horses, the party’s rogue spotted what looked like a small tower or ruin off in the distance, and they figured that would be as good a place as any to search.

Game bit:  The horses were never meant to be found, they were spooked and for me that was the last of that.  They insisted on finding them, so I indulged them in some rolling for searching. This led to high rolls and the opportunity to have them find the ruins.

They arrived at the ruins, and started searching and looking around.  The Avvarian caught something from the corner of his eye, he said it looked like a pony sized spider that stopped to look at them and quickly went into the trees and out of sight.  The party decided to remain vigilant, but weren’t going to go searching for spiders, as they had a job to do.  They found a trap door and a set of stairs that went down into the ground, so the mage lit a small light in his hand and down they went.

Game bit:  The spider was my way of introducing Morrigan, she knew that they were here and was watching them.

Inside the crypt, the found a narrow passage lined with caskets, and from those caskets, skeletons came out and began to attack the party.  From an out of sight chamber, they heard a howling noise as they fought the skeletons, and made their way over there to see what it was.  In the middle of a large room was a large sarcophagus, and on top of it was a Shade, howling in the pain of forgotten memories.

They quickly destroyed the skeletons, and went after the Shade, learning that only magic would destroy it.

Game bit:  The Shade can only be hit by magical weapons, magic, or a special stunt.  Regular melee attacks do not damage it.  Luckily for the pc’s, three of them rolled stunt points to hit the shade before the mage had her turn, and the spirit was quickly taken care off.

The party figured that the documents they were searching for would likely be inside the sarcophagus, and went to open the heavy stone lid.  The party rogue asked for a moment to investigate for traps, and he found one.  Lining the lid was a trap composed of minor alchemical components that would go off if the lid was moved.  He attempted to disarm it, but unfortunately couldn’t, taking some damage in the process.

Game bit:  While there were originally no traps there, the rogue has never detected traps, so I felt he should have a chance to shine in this scene.  He asked for a chance to search so I told him he found one.  Unfortunately, he didn’t roll high enough to disable the trap he found.

Once the trap went off, the party used their combined strength to lift the lid and look inside.  There were bones inside, enveloped in tattered leather armor, but no documents.  Wondering what to do next, the party heard footsteps coming down the narrow passage.  It sounded like one person, perhaps walking with a cane or staff.

The human warrior went to investigate, sword drawn.  He approached, it was a woman.  ”Halt.”

The woman spoke. “Well, well, what have we here?  Are you a vulture, I wonder?  Or a scavenger poking amidst a corpse whose bones have long since been cleaned?  Or perhaps an intruder coming to these darkspawn filled Wilds of mine in search of easy prey?”

Morrigan, a Witch of the Wild

After some back and forth, Morrigan told them that the documents they were seeking were with her mother.  Upon hearing this, Daveth, the other Grey Warden recruit sent to accompany the party muttered “She’s a Witch of the Wild!”  Morrigan did not look pleased. “Witch of the Wilds.  How clever.  Follow me if you want your documents.”  The human warrior, coming from a southern village close to the Wilds, had heard the legends of the Witches of the Wilds, but he kept this info to himself.

Game bit:  A Historical Lore test reminded the warrior of the tales of the Witches of the Wilds.  He knew that she was an apostate not to be messed with, and so far she wasn’t being aggressive.

Morrigan led the party to her home in the Wilds, and went inside to get her mother.  The woman came out, documents in hand, and began to laugh when the warrior referred to her as “My lady”.  The documents were old and brittle, but legible.  They were inside a canvas sack. “Your documents, The seals wore off long ago, the magical wards expired.  I have protected these for a long time.  Take them to your Grey Wardens and tell them that this blight is greater than even they realize.”

Game bit:  Morrigan will not accompany the party.  She will turn up later on, but not as a party member. 

Without even asking her name, they thanked her and went on their way.  The trek back to Ostagar took longer than it should have, due to the horses being lost, but they arrived after an uneventful journey.

Duncan was anxiously awaiting them.  The first thing they did was report that Ser Jory had abandoned them when they faced the darkspawn in the wilds.  ”I know, he’s here.” said Duncan, not paying too much attention to that matter.

They told him about the collected blood, the documents, Morrigan and her mother, and the warning about the blight.  ”We must move quickly.  Alistair, prepare for the joining ceremony.”

The party was a bit surprised that they would become Grey Wardens so soon, but Duncan saw no reason to wait.  The battle was close at hand.  They met at an abandoned temple deep in Ostagar, and the joining began.  Duncan said a few words, and asked Ser Jory to drink form a chalice containing a mixture of various things, including darkspawn blood.  Ser Jory panicked, and while it looked like Duncan was going to calm him down, instead he approached him and stabbed him in the stomach, killing him.

The Joining ceremony

“The joining is a secret ceremony, and unfortunately, there is no turning back.” was all Duncan said.  Daveth was next, he drank from the chalice, and his body began to react.  His eyes glossed over, rolling back so only the whites showed.  he collapsed on the floor, and died.  Duncan knelt down, and closed the man’s eyes. “I’m so sorry Daveth.”

Then, the party, one by one, began to drink from the chalice.

Game bit:  In Dragon Age, the joining is represented by a 3d6 roll.  If the player rolls triples, he automatically dies.  Nobody rolled triples, the closest be got was a roll of 1, 1, 3.

Each one of them collapsed after drinking from the chalice, their dreams filled with images of darkspawn and a massive black dragon that looked like it came out of a nightmare.  They awoke, and Duncan said a few words of encouragement and thanks.  Alistair gave each of them a pendant filled with darkspawn blood, representing the sacrifices made by them and other Grey Wardens.  It was then time to move to the war room…

After this we had to abruptly stop the game because we smelled smoke and had to put out a small fire in my bathroom.  The exhaust fan motor shorted out and caught on fire.  There was some minor damage and I called the fire dept. out of precaution, but everyone is okay and it’s no big deal.

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