This session was played with Will and Ave. Trajan also joined us for the later half via Skype.

The session started off with making characters, but not in the typical way. I had the players roll their stats up in order (First roll goes to Str, second to Dex, then Con, Int, Wis, and Cha). The players picked races, names, and the basic physical description stuff. We stopped character creation there. No classes, feats, or skills. My intention was that the abilities, skills, and feats that the players used within the first session or two would decide what class, feats, and skills the players would actually have. It worked okay, but I wouldn’t do it again. It’s confusing and didn’t have much in the way of benefit to our enjoyment of character creation.

The PC cast was Wu Lang Li, Sivirdm, Gregor, and Stanton.

Wu Lang Li – A well-muscled and well-groomed male human of Xorian descent. Played by Will

Sivirdm – A male halfling of the Underdark Svirfneblin race. Sivirdm had a sour disposition and quick fingers ready to steal. Played by Ave

Gregor – An enormous male orc with enormous muscles and a sharp mind to back it up. Played by Trajan

Stanton – A male albino halfling with a charming voice. Played by Jamie

Meeting the Major

The characters woke up with no memory of who they are and what they were doing. Chains and manacles attached to tables restrained the characters. Wizards and clerics examined them and refused to answer questions. The wizards and clerics looked for scales, reptilian eyes, necromantic auras, fangs, wings, claws (foot and hand), and forked tongues. The four were obviously frustrated at being treated this way. Sivirdm attempted to break free from his manacles. Guards came into the room and held Sivirdm down while a cleric injected him with a knockout poison.

While the guards were distracted Stanton attempted to slip out of the manacles. The guards succeeded at spot checks and noticed that as well. Stanton also got the knockout poison treatment. Wu Lang Li chose to cooperate with the clerics and wizards. A cleric told him that they were looking for a breath organ and it required the subjects to be unconscious. Wu Lang Li voluntarily accepted the knockout poison. Gregor struggled, but was sedated as well in the end.

A day later the characters reawakened. They are fed by Sister Kylee, a cleric. She apologized for their treatment. Remembering the examinations for scales and claws, Wu Lang Li asked if they used to be Dragovinians. Sister Kylee didn’t answer the question. A troop of ten guards came in led by Sergeant Elerie. The for prisoners were unbound from the tables and new hand and foot manacles were put on them. Sivirdm attempted to escape again, but he was clubbed into unconsciousness by the guards. The guards led/carried the blindfolded characters to another room and seated them in wooden chairs in front of a table. A cleric healed Sivirdm to consciousness.

A man spoke to them from across the table, “I’m going to lay down some groundrules before we begin. Number one, you do not speak unless I address you. Number two, you do not move unless told to. Number three, you will answer my questions. Number fou-“
Sivirdm interrupted, “What if we have to move. For like an itch or something.” Sivirdm got slapped across the face with a gauntlet.
“Number four, do not upset me. And number five, failure to follow the rules will result in punishment. Do you understand?”
“Yes, we understand.”
The man spoke again, “What are your names?”
Each of the four said their names.
“Do you know who you are?”
Wu Lang Li said, “We think we might have been dragovinians before, but we don’t know now.” The others agreed with Wu Lang Li’s statement.
“Do you know where you are?”
“No.”
“Do you know why you are here?”
“No.”
“Do you know what you have done?”
Wu Lang Li said, “No. Must’ve been some bad stuff if we were dragovinians.”
Sivirdm said, “I hope I killed some rebels. I hate you all!”
Sivirdm got another gauntlet slap and fell unconscious once more.
The man again, “Do you know what you came here to do?”
“No.”
“Do you know who I am?”
Stanton said, “The boss or something?”
“No, but nevermind. Do you who the Emperor is?”
Wu Lang Li said, “It’s Jevaninada the Second, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Do you know what he is?”
“He’s the Emperor. Duh.”
Wu Lang Li got a slap.
The man asked, “What is the Empire?”
Stanton answered, “It’s the Xorian thing with the dragovinians ruling it.”
“What is the Alliance?”
Stanton said, “It’s the group that’s opposing the Xorians.”
“What are you?”
Stanton joked, “I’m a human now.”
Wu Lang Li added, “And I’m a halfling!”
“What were you?”
Wu Lang Li said, “Dragovinians.”
Spud said, “Yeah, dragovinians.”
“What year is it?”
Wu Lang Li said, “We don’t know.”
“What are you capable of?”
Wu Lang Li, “Not much when we’re manacled and blindfolded.”
The man said, “True enough. Do you remember what happened?”
“No.”
“I’m done with them. Take them away.”

The four were led to separate prison cells. The manacles and blindfolds were taken off and the door was closed and locked. Stanton and Wu Lang Li talked through the walls trying to decide on a way to escape, but couldn’t think of anything. Once Sivirdm regained consciousness he joined the talk, but he couldn’t come up with anything either.

After two or three days passed the prisoners were freed and taken by Sergeant Elerie to the room with the interrogator again. They saw the man for the first time. He had red curly hair and a small beard. He looked like he was in his early 30s. The man told them his name was Major Dactirian. He was the leader of the Rebellion and Bigby’s Forest. The characters were indeed originally dragovinians. They were dragovinian Enforcers, people who went in search of rebel insurgents throughout the Xorian Empire. The characters were the best. They’d found the Rebel hideout and attacked it. They were captured and an experiment to “unvamp” them was successful, but it wiped out almost all their memory.

Major Dactirian wanted the characters to join the Rebellion. He wanted them to be examples of the Rebellion’s new power over dragovinians. To show that the most evil individuals can be made into a force of good. If his plan works the dragovinians will no longer seem so powerful. Dactirian hoped that Xorians would join the Rebellion all over the Empire. He told the characters that they would be welcomed into the Rebellion if they accept shock collars. If not…

The four accepted and the shock collars were put on. Major Dactirian gave the activation amulet to Sergeant Elerie. The characters went on to train with the other Rebel soldiers. The Rebel soldiers bullied and harassed them, but the four endured. Each of them found their old training with weapons, magic and other skills returned quickly.

After twenty days of training with the Rebels the four were called to Major Dactirian’s room again. He told them that their time for helping the Rebellion had come. Sergeant Elerie was to take the players to the northwest of Bigby’s Forest where Semanarie used to be. The Druids of Semanarie associated with various groups of animals before they were destroyed by the Xorians. One of the animal groups was a wolf pack that lived close to Semanaire. The Druids told a piece of information vital to the Rebellion to the alpha wolf. A speak with animals necklace was given to Sergeant Elerie so they could communicate with the wolves. The party set off immediately.

They traveled for two days to get out of the forest. Then a good tracking roll found the wolves quickly. Elerie attempted to parley with the wolves using the necklace, but she failed. The party refused to leave, so the wolves attacked. The characters fought off the wolves as best they could, but soon they all lost consciousness.

They woke up later in the back of an iron wagon. Stevie the Wonder Wagon had saved them. He was on his way back from a scouting mission in the Xorian Empire when he saw the players being attacked by the wolves.