Gaming in Jan 2021

• 3 Jan - Wasters (Post-Apocalyptic OSE) - On-line
• 6 Jan - OSE - On-line
• 13 Jan - OSE - On-line
• 17 Jan - Wasters - On-line
• 20 Jan - OSE - On-Line
• 27 Jan - Illmire (OSE) - On-Line

Wasters

• 3 Jan - Written up here

My first game of the year was our fortnightly forray into the Wastes - Seph's post-apocalyptic setting for OSE. 

In our last session we'd made a big score.  So big that we couldn't get it all back to the Safe Zone.  Our plan for the day, then was to go a retrieve what was left.  If the cache was no longer there, we had other targets we could move on to.  But we were fortunate: we found the loot and were able to retreive it after defeating a guard-dog and combat-drone.  We then managed to get it home after encounters with another group of Wasters and a crazy old hermit.  In truth, we were very fortunate: we were rolling extremely well.  In previous sessions we'd had a casualty rate of two or three PCs (and more retainers), but in this case we got through unscathed.  

• 17 Jan - Written up here

Due to drop-outs this turned out to be a one-on-one with me and the GM Seph.  I played three PCs (and a hireling), who took on what seemed a simple mission - to go to a designated area and stir up the hornet's nest.  It went quite well, save for an incident in which my Ronin was killed by a robo-Barista.

Heybrook - OSE

• 6 Jan

This was the last session in the story-arc I've been GM-ing since 2 Dec. 

Gwendolyn, safely home again

The party (only one from the orignal roster still standing) had loads of loot to get back to the village, but I diverted them by having the apothecary’s apprentice captured and held ransom for its return.  I was half-expecting them to leave her, but the prospect of upsetting 'Mother' was a bit too much even for them.

By my reckoning the little trip into the woods to help the apprentice forage for herbs cost the lives of five PCs and two retainers (plus another two retainers mia somewhere).

• 13 Jan

There was appetite for me to continue GM-ing, so we started another arc.

This time our party was hired by a father to find out what had happened to his son, who had run off to join a cult.  They had very nearly got to the Temple when they ran into a pack of Dire Wolves.  Carnage ensued: one PC and two retainers managed to break away during the fight and flee as the barbarian made a Last Stand.

• 20 Jan

The survivor of last week's massacre went back, recruited a new party (getting retainers is proving harder for some reason!) and decided to re-attempt the mission, partly in order to loot the bodies at the site of the wolf attack.

Retracing their steps proved simple enough, avoiding encounters less so.  Last week the party wisely steered clear of a Wicker Man, this time they decided to poke it: combat with Bramblings ensued.  In a great stroke of luck, the Magic User was able to use his Ring of Animal Control to involve a Giant Lizard in the fight.  Nevertheless, morale within the party was low and one retainer was caught trying to sneak off during the night.  He was stabbed and set floating down the river...

The Evils of Illmire (OSE)

• 27 Jan

As I was unable to GM for this Wednesday evening session, it seemed a good time to hand over the reigns to another player who had a campaign ready.

We stated that the party had to leave the Heybrook district rather sharpish given the suspiscious demise of several of their retainers...

And so Simon started his Illmire campaign.  This 'Mini-Mega Hexcrawl Adventure Zine' was the fruit of a Kickstarter run last year.

Sadly, I was having real problems with my computer which (combined with the fact that I hadn't slept the night before) meant that I had to drop-out while we were still exploring the village.  It was perhaps just as well, as they didn't finish until almost 2am!