Session 05: Back to Basics Report
General Summary
Subject: Basic Training Session for Novice Adventurers (Josie and The Treblemakers: Chain Gang 15)
Report Written by: Barney Barthump, Head Trainer of Blunderwatch (Best at Training!)
Summary:
Captain Biff said, "Barney, knock ‘em out and make ‘em a team!" So me and Gilly Greenthumb, my genius partner, put together a perfect plan. We did the knocking out part REAL good. Then we got the recruits chained together with magic chains and sent ‘em through the best training rooms ever made (I helped design them… maybe). Here’s what happened:Step 1: The Knock-Out Plan (Success!)
Gilly climbed on the roof of their building. Real sneaky-like. Dropped a potion of paralysis gas into their fireplace. Worked like a charm! Everyone inside got paralyzed real fast. Here’s how it went down: Maggie: Seemed like she was ready to just head to training, but she got paralyzed too. Tich Tich: Was workin' on some gizmo but dropped like a sack of potatoes. Even his donkey, Hee-Haw (bad name for an inside donkey), got paralyzed. Derrick: Tried to fight the gas, but gas always wins. He dropped. Josie, Skreet, and Nesa: Knocked out while they were snoozing. Too easy. After that, we got 'em into their adventuring gear (that was awkward) dragged ‘em all to the disco room. It was weird, like moving fleshy statues. Good start though!Step 2: The Disco Room
Woke ‘em up in the disco room, which is where the real teamwork starts. They had to figure out which colour and symbol matched each of them, and stand around in the right formation to break the locks on the door. Gilly’s idea (smart, huh?). Here’s the colours and symbols: Skreet: Purple – Hand reaching for coins next to two mountains. Maggie: Red – Hand holding a heart and lightning. Nesa: Orange – Hand making a fist with a field of wheat. Josie: Yellow – Hands clapping and a songbird. Tich Tich: Green – Peace sign hand and gears. Derrick: Blue – Hands shaking and cherries. Once they got that figured out, they were given some clues and they started busying themselves walking in circles for awhile. They took a bit longer than expected (maybe they’re not the smartest), but eventually, they figured out the pattern and unlocked the door. Good enough!Step 3: Training Dummy Combat Room
We chained them together to see if they could fight as a team. First, the dummies beat the tar outta them because they didn’t know how to move together. Tich Tich was the first to figure out the chains were matching the dummies on purpose, but he tried to attack the dummy with the chain and that wasn't what he needed to do. Seeing this it was Skreet who figured out that only the matching colour weapons could break the chains. Skreet grabbed a red arrow that missed him and broke the chain between Maggie and Nesa, leavin' him bound to Maggie with the purple chain - but the two of 'em worked together real good after that to hunt down the sneaky purple dummy to get a purple dagger to bust the purple chain. Smart goblin - er, sorry I just been told he's not a fuzzy goblin but some kind of monkey guy. Smart monkey guy! The rest of 'em saw what Skreet did and figured out to maneuver 'round the dummies attacks to get them to hit the chains until they were all free. Once they were free, they thought the dummies would stop, but nope! Josie was the first to think of it - she shouted to grab the orb thing Lieutenant Krell used to power up the dummies and chains, but she got knocked out by arrows before she could do it herself. Maggie tossed Skreet to the orb, and he grabbed it just in time. Dummies disabled. Mission complete!Performance Rating: 14/20
Not bad! They’re slow learners, but they’re scrappy. Gilly and I were impressed. Captain Biff will probably say something fancy about "potential" or "teamwork." And only one of 'em got knocked, so good job!Step 4: Cleaning Up
After that it was just a matter of letting them know how good they'd done and sending Josie off to get patched up. Derrick and Nesa carried Josie to the shrine and Severis, the healer cleric, healed Josie for free (he’s too nice, if you ask me). He also told them they’d have to pay next time unless it’s "training injuries." We’ll see if they’ve got the coin for that later.Next Steps:
Drills: They need to run drills. A LOT of drills. I’ll make ‘em run night and day if I can. Maggie and Nesa seem keen to get started, even did a few push-ups right then. Makes an old barbarian proud to see the next generation so full of piss and vinegar. Down Time: They’ve got a bit of time now, but they better not slack off. Slackers don’t make it in Blunderwatch! Future Training: Thinking about adding more traps to the next challenge room. Maybe some fire or a big pit. We’ll see.Final Thoughts:
This group’s got potential, I guess. They’re clumsy, and could have done a little better on the teamwork, but they’ve got heart. I’ll whip ‘em into shape, or they’ll quit. Either way, Blunderwatch will be ready for whatever comes next. -Barney Barthump (Lead Trainer, Best Barbarian, and Greatest of All Time)Josie and the Treblemakers are being sent to Blunderwatch basic training. They're expecting to run drills and challenges in the training field - so were taken by surprise when the Blunderwatch trainers knocked them out with a paralysis gas to set them up with the Chain Gang Challenge. The party was chained together with magical chains and set to do a puzzle and combat while stuck and unable to move 10' away from their friends standing next to them. They did really well, and came through the challenge with a respectable score of 14/20 - doubling that of the Lively Lads, and only 4 points behind the leading team, the Misfits.
Players:
Derrick, Josie, Maggie, Nesa, Skreet, Tich TichLocations Visited:
Blunderwatch Training Grounds: The training grounds in blunderwatch are little more than a muddy field, strangely with an old well still standing near the middle. Some benches have been laid out at one end for spectators, and piles of training materials are sorted into piles around the perimeter of the field.The Blunderwatch Well: The old, dry well is used as an extension of the training grounds. Several winding passages below the large room at the wells base lead to rooms that have been designed specifically for training purposes.
The Non-Denominational Shrine: The shrine is a place of worship for everyone in Blunderwatch, regardless of their faith. Even the statue inside is of a strange, blank humanoid that is designed to represent whatever god a patron would wish - like a creepy, faceless dummy. Attached to the shrine is the infirmary.
NPC's Met:
Barney Barthump: The human barbarian and Blunderwatches lead trainer. He's completely bald and missing several teeth. He seems the excitable type, and is very focused on physical prowess and body building.Gilly Greenthumb: The gnome rogue and Blunderwatches number 2 trainer. She's Barney's right hand gal, giggly and spry she wears her brown hair piled on top of her head and her blue eyes glitter with mischief. Her favourite passtime is parkouring around Blunderwatch at night.
Severis: Severis is the cleric at Blunderwatch, a very serious human man with blue eyes and dark hair. He speaks slowly with purpose, and is careful to articulate so he is not misunderstood.
Comments