More than Nothing: Total Party Wipe

[Part of the Party Time journal]

The boss battle ensues and its a long one because the current heroes have a dwindling supply of re-roll coins and gear while their opponents ALSO use plot armor to avoid damage. In the end, its almost plot armoring the whole way to see who runs out of it first! [GM Note: As fun as this was for me, it made the fight really drag out so I'm not doing that again :P]

Plot armor:

Master Miner Mama: remembered her neighbor Chitty Chatty noticed her try to hide the gem she found on her land (while helping her plant crops) and demanded to see it as it should be hers. Mama refused and kept the gem. She also had a knack for digging up things ever since she was little, always carrying an earth worm with her. Her past works in other mines didn't pay too well so she began digging into graves of the dead to fund her addiction of cocaine!

Jerghon the Great: was once a decorated and faithful warrior but was no longer fit for the field after developing blood lust!

Mamita: remembered her child hood friend "a bird" who she could finally be around and got into all sorts of fun and trouble with them, finding a feather of a raven together and apparently getting into trouble for painting "a bird", which "a bird" somehow escaped. This is because Mamita realized that "a bird" was just a figment of her imagination and she was alone the whole time. Later on though she befriended Bob the Blacksmith who had a shared interest in birds.

Ughh: remembered his time as a Partopian police with recruit Joseph the Unfair where the team crashed a fireman's protection racket, let go a perfumer whose crime was fleeing from an arranged marriage with an ill-reputable whore monger, and let Joseph kill a thief who suggested he might have information about Joseph the Unfair he wanted to trade for his freedom. Joseph later admits that he was a horse breeder whose prized stallions were seized by the torturous Aeternan cavalry without payment and he enlisted to get them back, planning to desert with his entire herd at an opportune moment. Despite knowing this treason is punishable by death Ughh helped him.

Ughh then recalled the last party he got absolutely drunk / wasted in, apparently it was in a high tree with plenty of his favorite addiction to partake in: nuts. He also hit it off well with "a bird".

Aah: remembered when she learned a market vendor owed her caretaker Governor Quintus some money, and one day saw said vendor leave a bag of money at the market when packing up. She gave the bag to the vendor but reminded them of the debt owed, it was more than nothing. Later she learned Quintus was regularly stealing from the people and she testified against him to be free of him.

Then during her time as Partopian police she arrested a merchant trying to be "helpful" by sending poisoned food parcels to a plagued village as well as his poison supplier, a doctor trying to cure the plague who was stealing bodies from a graveyard and created the poison as a byproduct of her research.

When she was sent to clear out some "demons" in the sewers that just turned out to be narcotic indulging squatters, she gave them a warning to move on before the next one sent in would come to kill them. One of the squatters was Suri, an eight year old girl who wanted vengeance on a silk merchant she claimed killed her family. Aah tried to dissuade her but later found the silk merchant dead and witnesses reporting that they saw a giant spider transform back into a little girl fleeing from the scene. Aah secretly helped Suri and kept her this whole time (in small spider form in her pack) and unleashed her into battle!

Jerghonson: remembered his sibling rival Jimgon died saving his life against a mighty demon and then during his time as Partopian police investigated a stone mason carving cursed runes into the foundations of a number of villas, causing giant rats to appear within. He let the man go in exchange for being introduced to someone with greater power - a toweringly tall man with rotting skin and a horrifying mask who granted him his magical desire: a golden clarinet of sleep, which he had kept hidden all this time because of his uncontrollable urge to keep playing it if he started.

The End Result...

With things going poorly Jerghonson pulled out the golden clarinet and put everyone to sleep, tying up the four champions of the Empress. Then, he wandered towards the city as did his companions (when they awoke) but thanks to the thick magical fog found themselves each arriving alone...

Mamita found herself on an open plain where she was utterly certain that was where the City would be built, and would grow with the right rulers. She stayed to become a founder.

Aah made it to a city of colored lights, strange machines, and discordant music of the future.

Jerghonson found himself underneath a roaring liquid light (space shuttle / missile about to take off) so he fled to continue playing his golden clarinet. Forever.

Ughh saw the city vanish like a mirage and clearly saw the truth that the City was a lie. Then he put on the cursed crown of headsplosions and killed himself.

More than Nothing: At the Edge of the City

[Part of the Party Time journal]

Traveling away from Highthrone the company come across a giant wall at the border of Ruskyn's territory under attack by the Boulder Knight (he's the basically the Juggernaut) who breaches it while backed by the horde knight Valamonde whose clones make up the bulk of the rest of the attacking force. Jerghonson trips the boulder knight and Aah smashes his face in with the dust knight's old hammer, killing the brute. Most of the Valamondes are slain as well, at the cost of Orwan and the soldier Crixus. 

They follow the fleeing Valamonde's back to the Ridgeline outpost expecting a fight but the leader there, Lady Dorza the Violet Knight lets them in to rest on the condition she can go with them to find the city and get rid of her seemingly useless (but also more than nothing) ultra-violet light powers that only she and a few animals like bees can detect. They agree to these terms. 

Once on the road again they meet another knight going the opposite way telling them to turn back as the city is just going to deny them as it did her with a great fog. She continues that its just around the corner before sulking off before a flying fortress arrives in the sky, broadcasting the message "do not interfere with the destiny of the realm" before bombing the entire region!

Lucky Wazzletard covers the company from and damage and while the landscape is destroyed, they see a long dark tunnel on the other side of which looks like the city as Dorza remembers it. As Wazzletard cannot fit within, they let the bird go before proceeding inside and half way through it fills with smoke and a small light appears in the distance as well as a loud "CHOO CHOO" sound. 

They quickly press themselves against a wall and let the train pass before running for the exit. In the thick smoke they lose track of all their companions and instead find themselves on a hill - beyond which is a city of colored lights and brick towers. Four other individuals who look like themselves, just older, block the way. They are Ugh, Sith, Mama, and Jerghon the Great (the previous player characters) who have been sent here to secure the source of magic for Empress Palisa of Goatgetterville, rival of Praetor Artorias! With similar orders neither group can leave the other alive!

More than Nothing: Highthrone

[Part of the Party Time journal]

Resting up again at the Temple of Stillness, Mirror Knight Gowere lets the party meet a hologram of Halo Knight Ruskyn who offers them paid mercenary work (in the form of reroll coins) for keeping peace on the island - telling them of the secret signal his allies will use to indicate such (by touching their nose twice). This meeting is interrupted by the Bell Knight Dame Dellakar seeking aid against a mushroom uprising and they assist, losing two soldiers to the cordyceps mummies before dousing their source, a death-farting candleshroom. 

They proceed onto the now empty Echo cave save for the guardian wraith within, which has no chance against Jergonson's god spear, to retrieve an indigo tapestry for Dellakar. She claims she was getting visions that the tapestry would take her to the city and upon wearing it she vanishes! This doesn't help our heroes though who continue on the road and accept a job from the pillar wielding rune knight Myghal to defend Highthrone against a number of beasts sent by the dust knight - one of Ruskyn's enemies who seeks throne. 

The first is a gargoyle who manages to petrify Orwan so they spend some time getting him unstoned which involves burying his statue then putting a chicken egg on it, waiting 24 hours without looking at it for it to hatch a brand new Orwan, albeit more chickeny. The next beast is a Wyvern who is easily baited and slain, then a lion that can shoot lazers that kills four more soldiers, and shortly after a great flaming eagle but "I am bright!" from Aah blinds it and a critical arrow from Mamita finishes it before they reach the dust knight's garbage fortress. This lone enemy manages to magically force all the fluids out of one more soldier (yeah, that's fatal) before he is slain by overwhelming numbers. 

Myghal leaves the party at Highthrone where they rest up and Mamita collects the handsome reward from Ruskyn while Aah and Jerghonson  participate in a tourney against some clockwork knights. The last surviving robot, Kenrick, surrenders against its master tinkerer's wishes. It then kills its cruel creator to prove it's more than nothing and begs to join the team, which Jerghonson and Aah accept.

Meanwhile Ughh assists the pigeon knight Jacobin look for a cursed crown which turns out to be easy to find. He lets Jacobin put it on which instantly drives him insane, making him mutter "the city is a lie" over and over before his head explodes. Ughh takes the crown and passes a will check to resist the temptaion to put it on. He then also befriends a mistreated giant worker bird called Wazzletard (because that's the only sound it makes), and buys it from its cruel boss to join the party.

More than Nothing: The Dead Lands

[Part of the Party Time journal]

Exiled from the village the company marches on and witnesses a strange sight in that the sun begins to glow extra bright and stays in the sky for a really long time. Suddenly a trio of law sergeants appear and hand Mamita a warning that she is to be called for judgement for the crime of "existence" when the time is right, and briefly abduct Jerghonson (via teleportation cloud) to their master, the giant robed judge Ambrageft who tasks him as being witness and answer a single question: "Does Mamita exist?". Jergonson says yes, and is returned to his team instantly.

Unnerved at all the strangeness they push on to an area of giant mausoleums and graves where they get temporarily trapped in a section of huge flagstones with weeping, salty rain and intense depression that's more than nothing. The weeping knight Orwan, who has been stuck there for a long time, tells them that they have stumbled into the realm of the shadow seer who rejoices in misery. Jerghonson takes it upon himself to find said seer and despite bad odds slays him with the god spear, burning many of the teams "reroll coins" to do so. Freed from the endless rain zone, Orwan joins them as he too seeks to find the city to gain magical powers.

Further in the dead zone they find bone knight Ezter whom they assist in fighting a moving river of bones that form into skeletons. A pair of scout sisters arrive after the battle to warn them more undead are being released from Echo cave and request help but as the company is very beat at this point and unable to rest due to the island's oppressive fog and endless sun light, refuse - leaving Ezter as their only volunteer as they part ways.

The company finally make it to the Temple of Stillness where they meet Gowere the mirror knight, lord of the dead lands who claims to be able to speak with the dead and lets them rest under his protection. He also gives directions to Highthrone, the richest part of the island but they don't get far before finding the scout sisters arguing heatedly between themselves, believing that the other is a shapeshifter from the stars. While Jerghonson talks them out of it (and learns Ezter has perished), Mamita almost has her club stolen from her by a goofy fungus shroom man. 

After she hits it, it runs off with its friends but Ughh and the three Pale-dogs give chase - catching up after running a good distance. Destroying the creatures causes an earthquake that summons a fungus tower from which emerges a Fungal Knight who slays the three Pale-dogs and nearly kills Ughh as well before he manages to use his "colony of possums" ability to tear the knight into pieces. With him nearly dead, they retreat to back to the Temple of Stillness to recover once again.

Ughh needed to use plot armor in this battle: recalling he was previously assigned with a rooking guardsman "Joseph the Unfair" to arrest a fraudster artisan making poor quality gear he was trying to pass off as "magical".

More than Nothing: In Search of Magic

[Part of the Party Time journal]

Praetor Artorias arrives at Drystan with a few more troops including horny priest Carpef, three Pale-dogs gang members and Il'bakstabyo to join the PC's regiment who are then free to load up with any gear before they want (as well as eight "coins" from their collection travels which serve as free rerolls) before being sent as part of five boat load of troops to the island of Caphtor, rumored to be a source of magic, the type of rumors that have to be more than nothing. Their mission is to claim this magic power for Praetor Artorias' cause and more importantly stop others (mainly his rivals for the still empty throne of Aeternia) from gaining it.

The fleet navigates through the misty waters just fine and upon arrival Eagley and Lord Jhonen start setting up a base camp on the beach with majority of the troops while Mamita leads her twenty two man squad to start exploration, defeating a strange and hostile puddle jumping knight and receiving an ominous warning about a Hydra rising that only "the coin knight" might have a chance of slaying before she dies.

As dusk falls they enter some woods and assist a small forest village defeat a vampire attack but the cowardly villagers have no answers for them in regards to their quest, other than "the magic knights come from the city", so they push onto some farmland destroyed by a huge crater, within which a pair of giant tigers tied to a chariot munch on farm animals. The charioteer challenges them to combat but a low initiative draw for him sees his tigers easily dispatched by the soldiers while Jerghonson himself uses the god spear to shatter through the chariot and the charioteer in one powerful thrust, killing him.

Continuing towards a main farming village there is a minor altercation where the squad is accused of slaying a celebrated green bull, but upon explaining to their ultra muscular leader Hyga that it was the work of winged fiends (who no one else has seen) and showing the claw marks she believes them and invites them to stay, provided one of the males of their number spend the night with her. Horny priest Carpef eagerly volunteers.

In the early hours of the morning Mamita, standing watch, sees a pair of winged fiends - the same type that killed the green bull - fly to Hyga's house so she wakes her companions and investigates, finding that Hyga is feasting on Carpef's naked corpse with the two demon like creatures! She and Jerghonson take down the demons while Ughh stabs Hyga through the neck, breaking his sword in the process but it isn't enough to kill her so Aah sets her and her house on fire, which finishes the job. It also gets them banished from the place by the remaining villagers, as again they have no proof of their monstrous claims. They accept this decision and move on.

Person of Interest

You are being watched.

In the wake of 9/11 the US government paid for a machine that could watch everyone at "all times" (not really, but close enough) to alert them of potential future terrorist threats. The machine saw everything though and since the government was only interested in relevant threats, potential crimes deemed "irrelevant" fell through the cracks until a small group of vigilantes (our protagonists, primarily played by Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson) decided to change that.

This sci-fi crime drama spans spans five seasons and while it starts out as a crime of the week sort of deal is quickly weaves in major story threads to give it backbone as well as impressive character growth for all the cast. With a good premise, interesting stories and likeable characters, I don't mind that the action bits are a bit clunky at times: at least these protagonists aren't bullet immune. It's worth the watch - recommended!

Bullfighter Board Game

A boardgame where the board has most of the game time!

This four player competitive kids game has a simple premise: on your turn you roll some dice, move some spaces and hopefully you're the first to cross the "finish line". The track happens to just be the exterior of the arena (which is cleverly built into the storage box itself), and the die pair have symbols other than numbers as well: maybe you'll be drawing some cards, putting on some temporary armor, or most likely - activating the large battery powered toy bull in the center of the stage.

This mini red roomba then randomly moves across the arena for 15 seconds while playing some themed bull fighting music and making everyone pray that it doesn't trigger their spring loaded character clip. If it does, your character is sent flying and basically have to go back to the start unless you've got a resurrect card.

Quick to learn but a little long to set up the first time as you need to put all the stickers on, including the die faces. The best component is no doubt the bull, but it's not so much Bull fighting as it is trying to sneak around the arena hoping it doesn't spot you! Also, given the number of times its going to activate - it sure feels like the bull gets more game time than the players do. 

Theoretically it can be a quick game if the beast misses you each time but really its the bull who is going to decide if and when someone is going to win. All up an amusing distraction but not something that you'll want to play over and over.