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Redmark Session 43: Cuddle-Flying Through the No-Magic Zone

January 3, 2019 / Stan Shinn

Redmark Date: Third Age—April 21, 1331

Say Bye-Bye to Magic

Our adventurers—and Quintos’s new flesh golem—go down a hallway and find a strange metal gate (out of game, a very big turnstile). The gate allows them to enter but not to exit. Ghost must leave his glorious Axe Beak at the gate. “Wait for me,” Ghost says to Axe Beak. The Axe Beak shrugs and eats a scuttling cockroach.

Around the corner, the party finds themselves in a giant cavern with pulsing green lights in the ceiling. Kind of like a rave.

A series of small platforms hang from the ceiling, forming a very dangerous way to cross the 50-foot pit filled with boiling mud.

No problem. We’ll cast spells and fly across.

Lundie snorts pixie dust from Fire Willow. The party ties a safety line around him, and he leaps. His magic fails and he plummets toward the boiling mud. (Mmmm. Roast Dwarf.) Fortunately, the safety line saves him.

This cave is a no-magic zone.

Though the party is unable to solve the riddle of the cave, they figure out that they can get a fly spell to sorta work when the 2 Urthjarl stones are together. The group has to huddle together to all fly across. Quintos calls it Cuddle-flying. He seems disturbingly happy about Cuddle-flying. The flesh golem can neither confirm nor deny that he was groped several times during the Cuddle-flight.

Vampire Lair

On the other side of the pit, another hallway that ends in a door. The door opens into a magically pitch-black room, home to a vampire and his bat swarm.

And epic battle of good versus evil erupts.

The highlight of the battle seems to be a moment when Ivamel shouts at Quintos: “Look, I can take two steps into the room and turn left and swing at the vampire even if I can’t seem him. It’s not like I’m retarded.”

The party dishes out punishment to the undead monster until, nearing death—permanent death if it loses all its life force in its lair—the vampire disappears in a puff of smoke and escapes.

He’s still out there, somewhere.

But, he left behind all his loot. The party finds a bunch of stuff in the room, headlined by a mythical weapon for Lundie: “Whelm” the sentient +3 warhammer from the 2^nd Age.

LOOT REPORT

“Whelm” the sentient +3 warhammer from the 2^nd Age
6 leather sacks filled with—
- 18,000 sp
- 9,000 gp
- A potion as yet undetermined
- 3 spell scrolls
  - Conjure minor elemental
  - Dispel magic
  - Magic mouth

The Floating Disks

Walking Across the Floating Disks

The Vampire’s Lair

A Vampire Emerges

The Fight with the Vampire

Cool Dice and Minis!

Redmark Session 42: We Found Where the Janitor Kept His Keys

January 3, 2019 / Stan Shinn

Redmark Date: Third Age – April 20, 1331

Marcus catches a Wave

As the loot from the crab filled room is passed around. Marcus is handed the trident. It is a sentient weapon that is called Wave. Marcus ponders changing his religion.

Ghost Dancer casts Leomund’s Tiny Hut for the group to rest in. Something must go wrong with the casting this time as inside the hut it is usually warm and humid. Ivamel does not get a good nights rest.

Redmark Date: Third Age—April 21, 1331

A puzzle and golden orbs

The party heads back towards the entrance to the dungeon. Marcus spends some time discussing various points of interest with the sphinx near the entrance. Nothing much comes from this, other than time is wasted. Marcus casts water walking on the group and they continue down the hallway to the east. This time easily bypassing the acid on the floor that stopped them before. Ivamel notices it appears to be some sort of slime.

Coming to a split in the hallway, the group finds a room filled with Flesh Golems. The Flesh Golems are numbered 5, 7, 9, 11, & 13. The Flesh Golem numbered 5 says, “The one not like the others will serve you.” Quintos quickly blurts out “Nine, it’s not prime!”. Number 5 looks downtrodden (or is it Stan) by the quick answer. Now, #9 is a servant of Quintos.

Down another hallway, the group finds a room filled with 9 silvered glass globes. One by one the group breaks each globe. In an effort to determine what to do, Marcus prays to … well no one is quite sure at this point … but it was some god. Finding several items inside the globes (see Loot Report).

Loot Report

Nine keys – from inside the globes
First globe = 600 GP worth of gems
Second globe = Potion of Flying
Third globe = Empty (except the grey ooze and a key)
Fourth globe = scroll of hold person
Fifth globe =magical silver ring that Ivamel quickly placed on his finger
Sixth globe = 600 GP
Seventh globe = grey nuggets (any value) & 3 shadows
Eighth globe = scroll of fear
Ninth globe = 12,000 GP & and a Air Elemental

Pic of Stranger Things 3 Ring DM Binder — Stranger Things 3 Ring DM Binder

All About GM Screens

September 25, 2018 / Stan Shinn

So are GM Screens helpful?

History

The original DM’s Screen of the mid to late 70s was a 3 ring binder which you used to hide your maps and monster stats.

Gary Gygax and his Dungeon

Generally these could be in your lap or propped up on the table.

Stranger Things 3 Ring DM Binder

Later, D&D modules often included a cardboard map which you could pull out and use with one side as a player facing art, and the internal side being the dungeon map.

GM Screen Uses

The primary uses for a GM screen are:

Hiding GM maps
Hiding miniatures of upcoming monsters
Hiding upcoming props and handouts
Hiding GM dice rolls
Providing a GM quick reference

I’ve done some online polling in the past, and generally what I find is that 2/3s of GMs of D&D style games prefer using a GM screen (which makes sense since they have maps and miniatures to hide), whereas about 2/3s of GMs running non-D&D style games prefer NOT to use a GM screen.

Stan’s Technique

It’s all a matter of personal preference of course, but here’s my preferences:

For D&D Style Games

I like to use a thinner version of what amounts to a 3 Ring binder. It’s a two-panel restaurant menu with inserts — art for the players side and a portfolio of clear sleeves (cut out from an art display binder) on the inside. I use it just like a 3 ring binder (in my lap or propped up on the table) but its a lot lighter.

Hiding GM maps — I have them as an insert in the restaurant binder
Hiding miniatures of upcoming monsters — I have a wood chest next to the GMs chair I use for that
Hiding upcoming props and handouts — I hide these in a folder next to the GMs chair
Hiding GM dice rolls — I usually roll in the open, or if needed, hide the roll with my hand
Providing a GM quick reference — I have GM cheat sheets, stat blocks, and adventure notes in the two-panel restaurant menu

Another technique I’ve used is to use a traditional GM screen which GM reference notes but to lay it down on the table — essentially a placemat with a rules cheat sheet.

For Non-D&D Style Games

Usually I do the above, but with a digest sized 3 ring binder, such as my Traveller binder.

Why the smaller footprint? I like the smaller footprint (easier to see over), but whereas D&D has so many maps from modules that look best at 8.5×11″, in story games or Traveller, I don’t have to worry about large maps so I go with my preferred smaller digest size.

Conclusion

It’s all personal preferences, but those are mine! I especially don’t like having to reach over a GM screen to draw maps, and I don’t like hiding dice.

Dr. Presto in Cortex Prime

September 1, 2018 / Stan Shinn

Dr. Presto

Cover Name: Dr. Presto Real Name: Stefano Romano

Affiliations: Solo d6, Buddy d10, Team d8

Values: Duty d6, Glory d8, Justice d8, Love d8, Power d6, Truth d6

Distinctions (d8 or d4 +1 PP): Mystic Defender of Overlooked Victims, Stage Magician, Celebrity in the Spotlight

Power Set: Confusion

Cause Retreat d8 (target retreats)
Friends Are Foes d10 (cause target to attack another person)
Hallucinations d10 (cause target to act in an irrational manner)

SFX: Area Attack. Target multiple opponents. For every additional target, add d6 and keep +1 effect die.

SFX: Multipower. Use two or more Confusion powers in your dice pool, at –1 step for each additional power.

SFX: Darkest Magic. Step up or double any Confusion power for one action. If the action fails, add a die to the Doom Pool equal to the normal rating of that power.

Limit: Focus Item. Lose your cane’s crystal and lose your Confusion abilities to gain 1 PP. Test to recover.

Specialties: Stage Magic d6, Psychology d6, Fencing d6, Sleight of Hand d6

Signature Assets: Crystal pommelled silver sword cane d6

Relationships:

PCs: The Shade (Ralph Messano) d10, The Mantis d8, Mr. Morbidis (Eli Levine) d6, Lucky Devil (Bizhanee Chindi) d6
NPCs: Helen Rourke (Police Clerk) d10, Jimmy “Knuckles” Savage (Small Time Thug) d6, Mickey O’Conner (Night Club Owner) d8

Milestones:

I Am More Than A Magician
1xp when you use stage magic to influence others without using mystic powers
3xp when you gain notoriety for something that didn’t involve using your powers
10xp when you personally defeat a major villain without magic or forsake being a stage performer

Agent of the S.B.I.
1xp when you uncover a secret clue to an erstwhile crime or villain
3xp when you emerge successfully from a battle or conflict
10xp when you defeat a major, named villain or abandon your S.B.I. mission

Background:

Stephano Romano was born in Italy, but is now a naturalized American citizen. He initially lived in New York City with a practice as a psychologist. Dr. Romano’s hobby as a stage magician burgeoned and interest in finding the ‘true’ mystic arts led him to uncover magical powers from the study of ancient European grimoires. After acquiring the ability to confuse people with a crystal mounted on his sword-cane, Stephano turned to a life of fighting street crime by night, seeking to avenge his patients who had psychological scars from the thugs who have brutalized them. Now, relocated to Washington, D.C., Stefano has taken the alias ‘Dr. Presto’ and continued to wage a secret war with the forces of evil.

Oversized Dice from Role 4 Initiative

August 26, 2018 / Stan Shinn

I love the slightly-oversized dice from Role 4 Initiative, so I just ordered a new set for use with Cortex Prime. Quite affordable — only $0.63 per die. I am using different colors for each die type to make it easy to differentiate at the table (and also its great for players new to RPGs who have trouble telling a d10 from a d12, etc.). I’m using Purple for d4s, Green for d6s, Blue for d8s, Red for d10s, and Black for d12s. I’m red-green color blind but these shades are bright and distinct enough even for me to tell apart. Can’t wait to use them in my upcoming Cortex Plus campaign!

You can find them here: https://r4i.us/product-category/dice/