I'm taking a little break from things starting tomorrow. Between off-line and online stuff, I need to decompress and relax for awhile. Sorcerers need mental health days, too!
Before that, let's talk about my recent session of Cha'alt on Roll20. First, I invited my awesome subscribers on SubscribeStar to join. If you'd like to support me at $5 a month, that would be cool. You get the occasional freebie, too.
Second, I blanketed the social media landscape with links to my game in search of players. While I do have a small stable of devoted players who jump at the chance to play (when they're not busy), I enjoy reaching new players, teaching new blood...
The first session scheduled was canceled because of a work-related emergency. The second was scheduled a day later. I was mostly bummed because the original date was H.P. Lovecraft's birthday (August 20th), and I wanted to do something special, marking the occasion.
I was also upset that a few people didn't see my cancelation announcement and were waiting for me. Luckily, I thought, a couple of those folks re-joined for the raincheck session. However, what I discovered might literally blow your mind!
Lol. Anyway, those same people weren't there to play. One guy was posting links to some OTHER game being held on guilded for some fucked up reason (I was even 5 minutes early). And the same guy poaching my players wanted to play in my game, too, but as a "NSFW frat-boy". All this was sounding eerily familiar as another legit player told me that he also remembered that dude and wanted to have gay sex with another PC that was supposed to be his brother, and also some kind of dog fetish or some crazy shit like that.
So, down to only two legit players, I booted that troublemaker and we proceeded as usual. I cued up some dark ambient music on YouTube, gazed upon the Kort'thalis meta-sigil that's a portal to Cha'alt, in order to actively engage the PSYCHOCOSM, and we were off!
We started with giant scorpions surrounding an elf who'd already been stung multiple times and was about to die. He was holding a silver key, bequeathing it to the PCs before collapsing. Both PCs got stung by a scorpion as each flubbed his roll to grab the silver key without harm.
Eventually, the golden gates of A'agrybah opened. Sausage, a halfling thief who got his name by beating a man to death with bratwurst, and Fujiwara, an overly-trusting human warrior entered the city in search of adventure.
A festival was taking place, so the PCs made a bee-line to the center of it, talking to folks, looking around, and picking pockets as they went. Fujiwara gorged himself on BBQ centipede and mango-curry bug bars as Sausage looked for a priest to heal him from that scorpion sting.
I can't reveal too much, but the city's priests and reclusive astrologers got into a brawl that soon turned into a riot. Tentacles every which way as far as the eye could see!
If you want the whole story, you'll have to actually play. In a fortnight, when I get all these Kickstarter reward books out to backers, I'll resume weekly, 90-minute, virtual, Cha'alt sessions on Roll20. Only an hour and a half? I know, I know, my life rarely allows 4-hour games. Think of it as a tightly-paced movie!
See you in a bit,
VS
p.s. When I return to the internet, I hope to discover a few Cha'alt: Chartreuse Shadows reviews! You've had the PDFs for months and some of you already have the hardcover. Now's the time, hoss.