Coming Soon…

Coming Soon…

Coming soon…

Coming soon…

Coming Soon…

The party arrives at the Karait Mountain Range, which acts as the border between Kritma and Aclintaia, intending to travel through the merchant crossroads of Squall Commons to rest and recuperate before continuing to Aclintaia City.

They are interrupted, however, when one of the mysterious individuals, this time with green runes, leaps from a high-up cliff and attempts to snatch Ariel from them. Marcus manages to stay the man, and Panzer is instructed to guard Ariel. He is knocked from back down the path which the party climbed and Oliver goes to retrieve him, leaving Alicia to defend Ariel instead.

The party combats the foe, despite his summoning elementals of Wind to aid him. They are unable to fell him, but weary and annoy him instead. He lifts himself into the air and begins to summon a great tornado to dispatch them. Short-Tail is able to knock loose a cluster of boulders with an arrow shot, bringing him to the ground and breaking his concentration.

Oliver and Panzer, having returned from down the path, join the party before the rockfall blocks the valley, but the Man in Green has already begun to charge another gust. The silver-runed individual, however, halts him as he did with Red. This time, he speaks, revealing himself to have a male voice, like Green. He notes to the party that Ariel will be taken and that it is only a matter of time. He also reveals she is the princess of Kritma (real name: Belle Valnier) before noting that he hopes they “enjoy the present.” He and Green then vanish.

The party confronts Alicia, Panzer, and Oliver with this news, but come to the conlusion that nothing other than the stakes have changed. Wolf, on the other hand, takes leave of the party, claiming that these events are not interesting enough to warrant losing his life.

This causes the remainder of the party to question their own motives. Have they come this far only for the intrigue of these individuals and the events surrounding the attack, or are they acting as heroes and protectors of a person in need? The adventure continues, despite their lack of moral certainty.

((As of this chapter, it has been retconned that Tharanis is and always has been a human with divine skill, rather than an Eladrin. Additionally, Short-tail’s race as a forest dragonborn is now better represented by his ability scores and class as a Seeker.))

The party has escaped the ruination of Babylon and waits with a group of refugees a few miles north of the city. Many civilians, few merchants, and fewer guards help each other to work through the tragedy and to prepare for a migration north to the town of Rithben, which should have enough accomodations to aid this particular caravan of refugees.

Sitting together at a campfire, the party is approached by a witness to the devastation and the party’s efforts to fight back against the elemental swarms.

A dark elf with a burdened soul, he implies interest in the party and requests to join them in the hopes of mutually assured survival.

A guard aids the party in acquiring food, and asks if they would be willing to speak with an Official regarding the need for mercenaries or other able-bodied adventurers. On their agreement, they are introduced to a representative.

A studious-looking woman, in a sorcerer’s gown and wearing thick spectacles, informs them that the king, queen, and princess are all missing, and that a single Noble’s daughter is with the refugees. This daughter needs protection while being escorted to a relative in Aclintaia’s capital.

The party is introduced to the individuals tasked with protecting this girl,

The original woman who requested their aid, who gives her name as Alicia Baelestra, a magician of the Kritman Court and Royal Libararies.

A Babylonian knight, suspiciously high-ranking for such a quest, nevertheless
devout in his protection of human life in this time of crisis. His name is Panzer Zerbreclich.

a priest and advisor to the king, named Oliver Vizier, who maintains a cautious and skeptical eye on the party at all times.

the girl herself, giving her name as Ariel Carraway. It is clear she could be a spirited young girl with a kind heart, but at the time is stricken with grief over the events of the previous day.

The party agrees to escort Ariel to Aclintaia City, and prepares for the journey. They become aquainted with their new allies and the ten of them set off to the north.

In the castle city of Babylon (capital of Kritma), a parade is to be held in honor of King Bestaan Valnier’s return from a mission of peace to 8 other countries, both near and overseas. The city’s guard defends the parade as the populace awaits. However, not everyone is partaking in those festivities…

In the bar known as The Einhander, the barkeep tends to the only four patrons.

Among them is:

A soldier from the desert, son of Elyman nobles, desperate to find his own path in life, aside from battles to which he has since become accustomed.

A hunter born of dragons, proven weak compared to the titans of men in his clan. He seeks to prove himself in new lands to earn the pride of his bretheren.

An elven priest, made weary from the sight of death, studies the mortality of sentient-kind to fill a whole carved into him from a grave history.

A child of the Lycans, raised in the southern beastlands of Baschekev. A man with a wild heart; he has learned the secrets of primal magic, bending nature to his will.

These four speak amongst each other and the barkeep before a clearly frightened man enters the venue. Not long after, three men enter and are quickly found out as debtors seeking to collect from the frightened man.

When they threaten him with violence, the four patrons intervene (for each of their own reasons), slaying the leader and leaving the two musclemen to unconciousness.

In the wake of this brawl, a newcomer enters,

A shifty man, experienced in the world of crime and willing to do anything and everything to sruvive in this world… and find his place in it.

These five strangers find themselves at odds in various respects, but are unable to remain strangers for long. A great and terrible noise interrupts their relations. Upon investigation they see great columns of smoke from several parts of the city. Babylon has been set ablaze.

Amidst the fires and the panic, an individual is noticed, hidden under a black hood and coat lined with runes of dark red. Like these five strangers, this person is calm and still. When both parties ackknowledge each other, the person speaks, with the light female voice. She notes that they are not afraid, and that they should be, as she summons beings of flame before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

The Party dispatches these foes and decide to flee the city, encountering the woman again before they can finish their escape. She cackles with an evil laugh and taunts them as she calls a larger fire elemental. This too, is defeated by the party, though only narrowly. Things take a turn for the worse as she summons four more.

Before she commands her beasts, however, a hand on her shoulder causes her to hesitate. An individual similarly dressed, but with runes of dark silver, shakes his head, and she relents, dismissing her summons with an annoyed stance.

Both the woman in red and the person in Silver vanish, leaving the Party to escape the burning city.

Seven rings light their path;
transient knights with closed eyes
awaiting the fulmination of the wide world.
As heroes rise, the storm falls,
the levee cracks, and the survivor waits.
Such is the begininning of what is to come.

In a great chapel thick with mist, before a great stone sarcophagus stands a man in a worn cloth robe, a hood over his hung head. He places his hand on the vessel and with a deep, but failing voice whispers,

“Things will be different, I promise. My witness, listen dearly: I shall make it right… as they never could.”

A single tear falls to the ground as he lifts himself from the stone and walks, with a sudden sense of purpose in his steps, clenching his fist as he takes his leave.

Gestalt-Liminality
Volume 1: Instigation

Players,

Gestalt-Liminality is one of the oldest and longest games I have ever created. However, that being said, it was rather closed off. There were sections I look back on and wonder: “What if a different party had been in this situation? What if I was more experienced going through? Is this really the right system?”

Well, now we’ll see. Using 4th Edition rules, we’ll be looking into the world of ExoPhilos in this epic tale about destiny, heroism, faith, and mystery. It is an introduction to ExoPhilos’ world, so there’s no need to be worried about such a vast world having already been constructed; you’ll become acquainted with the world, its races, and its magic all over time.

The format I use for these adventure postings follows a very standard structure, just like the progression of the story. Gestalt-Liminality plays out over the course of three “Volumes,” which are essentially great adventures with a continued plot element, just lke a video game or movie. Each volume is broken up into individual chapters, which are easy-to-digest events in the game. This log will record each chapter as it goes, with a Prologue and Epilogue preceeding and following each volume.

There will also be one of these “Intro” postings for each volume, which is directed specifically to you, the players. These intros are the only postings which will be completely in the first person (a letter to the players). In future intros, I will also give little “snippets” of what to expect for later sessions.

Should you enjoy the game and desire to continue it further, these “trailers” will provide you with some anticipation for when we can next meet for sessions. In my experience, one volume can reasonably be completed every summer, with some exceptions. This isn’t a guarantee, but it is something to consider.

The entire tale of Gestalt-Liminality will progress through all 30 levels of D&D 4th Edition, with your characters hopefully reaching about Level 10, 20, and 30 at the end of each volume.

More to come, and I hope you all enjoy the game,

-LD