Summer Madness!

Time passes strangely in these lands - sometimes, huge adventures happen all at once, and sometimes it feels as tho weeks have passed without much happening. Whether this is some magical effect, or the strange passage of time and attention impacted by happenings in some other place is unknown, but it feels like time to recap some of the things that have take place here in Last Hope.

Of course, the big achievement has been the opening of the The Watering Hole! Restoring the tavern to its proper glory is a significant step forward in establishing your operations here in the Umbral Lands. I remember that the Old Ones used to say "if you want to adventure in good spirits - you need to have enjoyed some good spirits!" [Above the table - having the tavern means all adventurers start every session with Inspiration. L]. You've also discovered that not only can Aethershards be used to restore functionality to Last Hope, you can also use them to activate devices in the world, such as the bridge across the chasm, that has led you to Outpost 4!

Which is where you recovered an SEA. Our databanks are still very corrupted, but seeing this device reminded me of a short memory of the celebration when they finished the prototype of this device. There was so much excitement at the prospect of what harnessing magical essence would do for their capabilities. I remember it felt like a turning point for so many people who had started to lose hope.

You continue to recover so much insight into the Old Ones and the work they did to overcome the obstacles you now face. The more we learn, the more we might be able to piece together what happened to them - and hopefully that will help us get you all home!

Session Reports

Corruption to the East

Following up on the excursion to the East to explore the corrupted vegetation, a party set out to learn more about this potential threat. Things did not go well, and Stitcher succumbed to attacks from a variety of fungal plant monsters. In an attempt to exert control over the battlefield, Quartermaster began burning the plantlife and maintains that the purpose was not to start a forest fire. However, that was the outcome. The group beat feet back to Last Hope.
Full session report

After giving the fire sufficient time to burn out, a third expedition set out. They discovered that the ruins at the site of the previous deadly fight used to contain a large creature, but it seemed to have escaped long ago. In the distance, they spotted smoke rising from a large tower, and on arriving found that this area was also crawling with fungal entities. After some amount of battle, the team withdrew to avoid having to fight into the night.
Full session report

Exploring Outpost 4

A crew headed out across the bridge on the road towards Outpost 4. On arriving, they discovered a large statue overlooking a courtyard, its eyes emitting bright light that swept back and forth. After almost triggering this extremely well thought out security system, they regrouped, assessed the situation and were able to time their sprints across the courtyard such that they were able to descend into the bowels of the underground Outpost 4. The first few rooms of the facility proved to be a veritable data dump of lore as the team found various notes and files left behind by the facility's former occupants. Realizing that the Main Hall lay just ahead of them, and that it was patrolled by at least one large elemental they withdrew, discovering an SEA on their way back to the surface.
Full session report

A larger group returned to Outpost 4, and were able to easily get back to the Main Hall. Discovering more information about the "Fail Safe" device, they were able to use the information that they'd retrieved to release some of the elemental spirits that were being kept in this lab to attack the Earth elemental that seemed to be patrolling the area. Between this and the Fail Safe, they were able to beat back both waves of enemies, and began to explore the room. Remembering a note that they had seen earlier about Purcella having a secret lab even deeper into the facility, they noticed an unmarked, locked door and wondered where that might lead. It seems to need an Aethershard to open.
Full session report

Ding

Congratulations to the following folks on their level ups!

• Datiran (Cat) - Level 2
• Aralista (Heather) - Level 3
• Tessia (Savannah) - Level 3
• Jennalyn (Megs) - Level 4
• Quartermaster (Terrance) - Level 4

Welcome

We're delighted to welcome some new faces to the table, as well as some new characters for existing players

• Milshairri (Zoë)
• Datiran (Cat)
• Shish (Sharon) RIP Pippin
• Saoirse Solara (Nadine) RIP Stitcher

Upcoming Sessions

We're going to be running some sessions exclusively for Level 1 players in August, stay tuned for that. We'll also be getting back to some more scheduled sessions as we move out of the Summer period, and I wrap up a bit of traveling. As always, stay tuned to the Discord LFG channel for updates!