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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7580019" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 60: A FRIENDLY GAME OF TITAN CHESS</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Binkadink Dundernoggin, gnome fighter 16</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Castillan Ivenheart, elf bounder 16</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Darrien, half-elf ranger 16</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Finoula Cloudshadow, elf ranger 16</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Gilbert Fung, human wizard 16</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Hagan, half-orc sorcerer 16</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 9 March 2019</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>The day began on a rather interesting note: shortly after breakfast, a giant humanoid standing some 25 feet tall walked up to the drawbridge of Battershield Keep. He appeared unarmed, wearing only a simple white toga and leather sandals with crisscrossing straps rising up to just beneath his knees. "I would speak to the team of adventurers within," he bellowed.</p><p></p><p>Castillan was the first to approach, as he was the closest to the drawbridge when the visitor arrived. He looked up at the massive form, seeing a clean-shaven face looking down at him. Unlike many of the giants the bounder had seen, this fellow seemed perfectly-proportioned, as if a human being had suddenly been grown to nearly five times his own normal height. "Um, hello," said the elf. "Can I help you?" Castillan didn't appear to be armed, either, but he knew all it would take was a snap of his fingers and his blades would instantly appear in his hands, if it came to that.</p><p></p><p>"I am the titan, <strong>Leandros</strong>. I have been challenged by a rival, <strong>War Titan Takhios</strong>, to assemble a team of six proxies to compete in a friendly game of Titan Chess. I have heard good things about your group and wish to hire you on as my team."</p><p></p><p>Hagan stepped out of the main building in the keep's interior and saw a pair of giant legs on the other side of the lowered portcullis. He instantly cast a <em>dimension door</em> spell that sent him - and his weasel familiar Wezhley, perched in his usual place upon the half-orc's left shoulder - to the top of the northwestern tower, where he looked down at the titan outside the keep and could cast spells down upon him if needed. But it didn't seem likely; Leandros looked up at the half-orc sorcerer's sudden appearance and gave him a wide smile.</p><p></p><p>"You need not have played Titan Chess before," Leandros assured Hagan, addressing his comments to him now instead of Castillan. "The rules are simple and straightforward. But there is a prize up for grabs that I would claim as my own: <em>Frostreaver</em>, a 20-foot-waraxe. It cannot be purchased directly, merely won as a prize, but I will pay each of you 2,000 pieces of gold simply to represent me in the game – and I will increase that amount tenfold should you win." Castillan practically salivated at the thought of being paid 20,000 pieces of gold merely to join in a chess game. The rest of the team had just made a lot of money down in Greyhawk without him; this was a chance for him to earn a sizeable amount for what didn't seem like a whole lot of work.</p><p></p><p>"I'm in!" he said enthusiastically.</p><p></p><p>"Me too!" added Binkadink, who had sidled up during the conversation. Behind him, Finoula and Darrien warily approached the portcullis, hands on weapons if not actually drawing them.</p><p></p><p>"Team of six, you say?" asked Gilbert. "Me and Mudpie in as well!"</p><p></p><p>"By all means, I would have a wizard of your power on the team!" boomed Leandros. "But your elemental must stay behind, as must all animals, be they riding mounts or familiars, or...whatever that metal woman might be." He looked down at MARCI in puzzlement as she approached Gilbert Fung; the automaton tended to follow the human wizard around to see to his needs.</p><p></p><p>"So I can't take Obvious?" Binkadink asked, crestfallen.</p><p></p><p>"The team I have in mind will consist of you, Binkadink Dundernoggin; you, Hagan; you, Castillan Ivenheart; you, Finoula Cloudshadow; you, Darrien; and you, Gilbert Fung. Those six, and those six only. If you all agree, we will be off immediately. By my word, I will have you returned safe and sound to your home by this time, two days hence. What do you say?"</p><p></p><p>Gilbert looked at the others as Hagan ran with Wezhley to the stone steps at the back of the Keep so he could join the others in the courtyard. "We in," the portly wizard announced.</p><p></p><p>"Excellent!" beamed Leandros. "Then gather your weapons and armor, that we might depart!" The heroes dashed into their individual quarters to gather up any needed equipment, then Gilbert sent MARCI to go explain things to Helga while Binkadink pulled the chain that raised the portcullis. The group of six stepped across the lowered drawbridge as MARCI and Helga approached to see the group off. "Ye take care, all of ye!" admonished Helga. "I'll have pies waitin' for ye when ye return!" she promised. MARCI, in the meantime, lowered the portcullis back into place. Mudpie lowered himself into the ground, determined to enjoy his "time off" from wizard's-familiar duties; Wezhley opted to sulk in Hagan's quarters. It simply wasn't fair, and if the half-orc sorcerer returned to find weasel droppings on his pillow, then maybe next time he'd think twice about leaving his familiar behind!</p><p></p><p>Leandros passed his left arm before him and a shimmering field of energy took form outside the keep - a sparkling circle of silver motes. The titan strode purposefully through the field, disappearing from view. The others followed suit.</p><p></p><p>The other side of the <em>gate</em> spell was another world entirely. This was made evident by the floating islands off in the distance; with a shock, the group realized they were standing upon another of these islands, this one perhaps a half mile in diameter. It was a world on the edge of winter and spring – there were buds on the trees and remnants of snow on the ground. Leandros didn’t seem to feel the cold despite his minimal garb.</p><p></p><p>"There," he said, pointing to a large, open field of assembled stones, each 5 feet to a side, forming a grid 24 squares wide and 30 squares long. Eight of the squares were brightly colored: two each of green, yellow, blue, and red, forming a sort of crooked "X" along the central area of the rectangle. "That will be your battleground, where you will face a team of six opponents, striving to win <em>Frostreaver</em> for the War Titan. But I would see the weapon in more deserving hands!"</p><p></p><p>There were two long, single-story buildings nearby, one on either side of the combat arena. "You will sleep here tonight," Leandros declared, pointing to one of them. "We will go over the basics of Titan Chess, you will eat heartily and sleep well, that you will be refreshed for tomorrow’s game!"</p><p></p><p>"Are we talking a fight to the death?" asked Finoula. Twenty thousand pieces of gold was a significant amount of coin, but her life meant more to her than mere money.</p><p></p><p>"To the death, aye," agreed Leandros. "But fear not: I have declared you will return to your homes as hale and hearty as you are now, and I intend to keep that promise!"</p><p></p><p>"Our souls still inside our bodies when we return home?" Gilbert pressed, trying to find any hidden loopholes in this deal.</p><p></p><p>Leandros laughed heartily, clearly not offended by the wizard's mistrust. "Indeed, Gilbert, just as you are now! Now then, gather around and I will explain the rules of the game."</p><p></p><p>As it turned out, "Titan Chess" really had very little to do with chess at all - it was just a fancy term for a specific type of arena battle. The teams could be of any size; Takhios had challenged Leandros to a competition between six-person teams, which is how the team of Kordovians had been chosen. Of course, there was no specific requirement to choose a group already consisting of six members; Leandros could have just as easily chosen six individuals who had never met each other before, but he preferred fielding teams with a previous history of working together.</p><p></p><p>"You've played this game before, then?" asked Darrien.</p><p></p><p>"Yes, many times - but never for a prize as vaunted as the <em>Frostreaver</em>! Now, see that row closest to your longhouse? Each of you will start the game on one of those squares. You may bring as much of your normal gear as you wish, but you may have no spells cast upon you before stepping onto the board. Cast all the spells you wish, but only once the game has begun, and by all means only when it is your turn."</p><p></p><p>"Explain," commanded Gilbert.</p><p></p><p>"As with normal chess, each team moves one of their pieces in alternating turns. You will be ranked in order, as will the six on the opposing team. If we are to move first, then the combatant designated the first on our team will move where he will, then the first of the other team, then the second of our team, then their second, and so on."</p><p></p><p>"How we know whose turn it is?" prompted Gilbert.</p><p></p><p>"The square beneath the person whose turn it is to move will light up. Now, I assume you are all familiar with <em>walls of force</em>?" Upon their acknowledgement, Leandros continued. "Each of the squares on the arena-board before you will be bounded on all sides - and 10 feet above the board - by <em>walls of force</em>. Thus, each of you will be imprisoned on a single five-foot square until it is your turn, at which point the square you're standing on will light up and the <em>walls of force</em> touching the corners of your square will drop. This will allow you to move onto another square and as you move, the <em>walls of force</em> will drop or snap back into place around you. Thus, when it's your turn, you will have access to the square you're on and the eight squares surrounding that square - unless you're on the edge of the board, in which case you'll have less than eight. And as you move from square to square, the <em>walls of force</em> will turn on and off such that you are always surrounded by open squares on all sides to which you can move. Is that all clear?"</p><p></p><p>"So far," replied Finoula.</p><p></p><p>"When you advance to a space adjacent to another piece, you may interact with that piece, as the <em>wall of force</em> between your two squares will be down. If it's an ally, you can cast a spell on him, pass him a potion, or whatever. If it's an enemy, you can attack. But - and this is important - you cannot take an action unless it's your turn, or the turn of another piece adjacent to you. It is your turn only when the square you're standing on is lit up, and as you move, so will the stones you step upon light up and those you leave stop glowing. When the time you've been given to take your turn is over, the square will stop glowing. So you, Binkadink: if an enemy moves past you and you'd normally be able to strike out at him as he passes, you would be able to do so. But do not try taking any other actions when it is not your turn. You may have taken a grievous blow and be bleeding out, but do not try to drink down a healing potion unless it's your turn! Failure to comply will cause the judges to smite you with a lightning strike from above - and you don't want that!"</p><p></p><p>"So you can only attack when the square you're on is lit up, or if an enemy whose turn it is is adjacent to your square," repeated Castillan, getting it straight in his mind.</p><p></p><p>"Correct. You will note, however, that this makes ranged combat all but impossible save for but the shortest distances. Likewise, attack spells are limited to, at most, a distance of ten feet: the square you're on and one adjacent to it. This is bad news for you, I fear, Darrien, for it limits the effectiveness of your bow."</p><p></p><p>"I have my scimitar," the archer replied. Indeed, he'd just paid a weaponsmith in Greyhawk City part of his earnings to increase the blade's sharpness with a <em>keen</em> effect and the ranger had been practicing with it of late.</p><p></p><p>"Good man!" Leandros beamed. "Now, note also that most spells cannot pass through a <em>wall of force</em>. Gaze attacks will work, as will teleportation effects, but summoning spells can only be used if the summoned creature will fit on a single, adjacent square to the spellcaster. For that reason, Darrien, you could activate your <em>opal frog</em>, for he is about the size of a man, while your praying mantis and giant fly are both too large to fit on one square. It is for that same reason," Leandros added, looking over at Binkadink, "that your jackalope was not included on this team." He looked over at Gilbert. "And while your earth elemental friend is small enough, to bring him along would have taken up one of my six slots - and I'd rather the six of you."</p><p></p><p>"What is the purpose of the colored squares?" asked Hagan.</p><p></p><p>"Ah, that's what makes each game of Titan Chess unique!" replied Leandros. "Each team captain - Takhios and myself - are in charge of two of the colors and what effects they have on the game. We have been given the yellow and green squares. When you go into battle, you will know that stepping onto one of the green squares <em>teleports</em> you instantly to the other green square, and stepping onto one of the yellow squares will cause a <em>heal</em> spell to activate. None of Takhios's forces will know what the green and yellow spaces do, until they observe them in use. However, we will have no idea what effects Takhios has assigned the red and blue squares until we likewise see them in use."</p><p></p><p>"Can we use their squares? And they ours?" asked Hagan.</p><p></p><p>"By all means! In fact, you need not know what the effect will be to step onto a square, but be warned: some team captains set their colored squares up as booby-traps: you might find it's a <em>disintegrate</em> spell waiting for some foolish victim to step upon it."</p><p></p><p>Finoula looked over at the arena-board, and at the other longhouse on the far side of it. "When we will meet our counterparts?" she asked.</p><p></p><p>"Not until the game," Leandros answered. "In fact, when you're all in your starting stations, the <em>walls of force</em> surrounding your squares will be blue to anyone looking at them, although you'll each be able to see through your own as normal. Likewise, the enemy pieces will all be obscured by red <em>walls of force</em>. Only when two enemy pieces are brought onto adjacent squares and the <em>walls of force</em> are lowered will those pieces by revealed - and indeed, from that point on, those particular combatants will be visible by all concerned."</p><p></p><p>"So only way to find out who we fighting is go fight them," Gilbert summed up.</p><p></p><p>"Indeed!" And then Leandros left the group to plan their strategies, after assuring them the longhouse contained not only ample food and drink, but a game table with the arena-board in a smaller scale so they could work out their plans. Gilbert went page by page through his <em>Omnibook</em>, looking at each spell with new eyes - how would the constraints of Titan Chess affect the casting? Hagan, as a sorcerer, had many fewer spells to worry about; he just noted that <em>fireballs</em> would be a bad idea unless he was amply protected from fire energy, whereas <em>chain lightning</em> and <em>polar ray</em> spells (his other two favorites) would still work, but against many fewer opponents at a time than he was used to.</p><p></p><p>But while Gilbert was fussing over his spell selection, the others made a few plans of their own. Darrien agreed to pass his <em>opal frog</em> to Binkadink for the duration of the game, since the little gnome was better suited to mounted combat. The archer opted to rely upon his magic scimitar as his primary weapon, but he also planned on bringing his <em>Arachnibow</em> and <em>quiver of Ehlonna</em> - you never knew when the opportunity might arise where he'd wished he'd brought them. Finoula practiced using her whip in closer combat than she was used to, realizing she couldn't extend it to its greatest distance during the game. In this way, the day passed in eager anticipation, and by the day's end the adventurers were all ready for their beds.</p><p></p><p>Morning came with the sounding of three great horns, the signal that the game would begin in an hour's time. The group rose, dressed, and ate a quick breakfast. Then, at a summons from outside the longhouse by Leandros, they exited the building and walked over to the arena-board.</p><p></p><p>"What, no cheering crowds?" asked Castillan. He'd expected they'd be fighting in front of an audience.</p><p></p><p>"None but the unseen judges presiding over the contest," Leandros replied.</p><p></p><p>The group could only see half of the arena-board, for the <em>walls of force</em> along the center were all black. "That's to prevent you from seeing the other team members as they assemble," Leandros explained. "And them, you. Now then, take your positions."</p><p></p><p>"You don't care how we line up?" asked Finoula.</p><p></p><p>"Do as you see best. I leave such decisions to you."</p><p></p><p>The group had already come up with their plans for their starting lineup. Although there were 24 different squares along the first row of the board and only the six of them, they chose to huddle together in the center of the row, with Gilbert in the middle. They had decided they would remain together until it was Gilbert's turn, then he could move along the entire row and cast a <em>Rary's telepathic bond</em> spell on the entire group. It would use up his first turn, but they hoped it would give them an advantage over the long run.</p><p></p><p>There was another triple-blast of unseen horns and the blackness separating the halves of the arena-board faded away, allowing the two teams to see their enemies' starting positions, if not the individuals themselves. Unlike the blue team, the members of the red team were spaced equidistant along the back row, with three squares separating each piece from his nearest neighbors. Then the square beneath Hagan's feet lit up, shining a bright blue, and the friendly game of Titan Chess was underway!</p><p></p><p>The heroes had been told their relative sequences in the turn order, so Hagan had purposefully put himself at one end of the group's lineup of starting positions. For his first turn, he moved from one end of the group to the opposite end, each square he stepped on glowing blue in turn, and cast a <em>greater invisibility</em> spell on Gilbert as he moved to an adjacent square to the portly mage and the <em>wall of force</em> between them was temporarily lowered. Then the square beneath his feet stopped glowing and one of the red pieces - the leftmost combatant, indicated only by his position, for the four <em>walls of force</em> around him moved as he moved - charged straight ahead. He managed to move forward 16 squares in the time he'd been allotted for his turn.</p><p></p><p>Castillan was next and he followed Hagan's pattern: moving from one side of the huddle along the first row to the other, the better to align himself for Gilbert's spellcasting. Then the rightmost red piece moved straight ahead, also moving forward by 16 squares. The red team seemed eager to advance into battle, whereas by all appearances the blue team members huddled as far from combat as they could.</p><p></p><p>But this was just to allow Gilbert to cast his <em>Rary's telepathic bond</em> spell on the assembled group once it was his turn. <Everybody hear me okay?> Gilbert called over the mental link once it was established and everyone chimed in. Gilbert finished his turn at the other side of the huddle, having backed into the first row again - and was now the leftmost blue piece from their vantage point of the arena-board.</p><p></p><p>Another red piece moved forward, this one apparently not as fast as the first two members of his team, for he only made it 12 spaces forward before stopping. Then Finoula advanced forward 6 spaces - as far as she had time for after casting a quick <em>barkskin</em> spell upon herself, as was her general routine when anticipating combat. But at least she showed their opponents the blue team wasn't going to stay back in the first row all game.</p><p></p><p>Another red piece advanced 12 spaces straight forward, leaving the red team perfectly symmetrically aligned with only their two center pieces having not yet moved. Darrien followed Finoula's course of action, casting a <em>barkskin</em> spell and moving forward. Then another red piece advanced 12 spaces forward, making it Binkadink's turn. He dropped the <em>opal frog</em> onto the square ahead of him, leaped upon its back after it had achieved its full size, and then the gnome urged him forward, extending his retractable glaive to about an 8-foot length, the longest he'd be able to swing it comfortably in these confined areas. The final red piece finished the first round of turns by moving forward 12 squares.</p><p></p><p>Hagan cast another <em>greater invisibility</em> spell, this time upon himself (for he could see the advantage in having their primary spellcasters still hidden from view when the blue shielding was eventually extinguished), and moved forward beside Binkadink and the frog. That made it the first red piece's turn again, and he moved straight forward, all the way to the blue team's starting row, then turned and made a bee-line for Gilbert, the closest piece on the left side of the arena-board. <We got incoming!> Gilbert announced over the link, as if the others on his team weren't all watching to see the first enemy revealed. As the red piece made his final move, the blue and red colors surrounding Gilbert and his enemy disappeared, revealing an empty space where Gilbert was standing (for he was under the effects of Hagan's <em>greater invisibility</em> spell), and what at first glance appeared to be a gargoyle on the square right next to him.</p><p></p><p><Gargoyle!> announced Binkadink, but Gilbert wasn't too sure. Superficially, it had the standard gargoyle's physiognomy, but there were obvious differences, mainly in the coloration: true gargoyles could pass for stone creatures and thus had skin tones reminiscent of stone, whereas this creature had a reddish-brown skin. Gilbert could also see it breathing, something nearly imperceptible in true gargoyles. He wished he had the time to consult his <em>Omnibook</em> to be sure, but he hazarded a guess over the mental link. <Think that a nabassu demon!></p><p></p><p>Fortunately, the nabassu had used up its full turn just in getting adjacent to Gilbert's square, so the square beneath its taloned feet stopped glowing before it could put its teeth or claws to good use - it didn't carry any weapons, not that Gilbert guessed it needed them. Demons often had a wide array of spell-like abilities they could employ, and Gilbert hurriedly tried recollecting what nabassus could do. They had a gaze attack, he was pretty sure, but good luck using a gaze attack on an invisible opponent!</p><p></p><p>Castillan moved over to attack the nabassu, revealing himself as he attained an adjacent square. He only had time for a single strike with his <em>vampire's fang dagger</em>, recently traded by Gilbert for an adamantine dagger; the wizard had figured the bounder could put that weapon to better use than he could, for in truth the wizard was hardly ever reduced to using a hand-held weapon, whereas those were Castillan's stock in trade. The <em>vampire's fang dagger</em> slid into the nabassu's flesh, siphoning off some of the demon's life energy and temporarily imbuing the elf with its stolen power. For the next hour or so, Castillan would enjoy a slightly greater amount of vigor, which he figured could certainly come in handy when fighting for his very life in a combat arena.</p><p></p><p>Another red piece initiated combat, revealing a raging bugbear barbarian in full battle frenzy. He swung his morningstar in a two-handed grip at Binkadink; if he was surprised to see his suddenly-revealed enemy to be a gnome on a man-sized frog he gave no indication of it. But Binkadink ducked beneath the blow and the morningstar whizzed harmlessly over his head; when the bugbear's stone square stopped glowing, the gnome could see it took considerable effort for the barbarian to momentarily cease his attack.</p><p></p><p><A demon and a bugbear so far,> Finoula pointed out. <I think we're fighting a team of evil!> That was actually a relief to the elven ranger; she'd been worried about having to kill unknown enemies who might have been completely innocent. And while she assumed War Titan Takhios would see to the resurrection of his slain troops, that wasn't necessarily a given.</p><p></p><p>But now it was Gilbert's turn, and with a suppressed chuckle of glee he cast an <em>Otto's irresistible dance</em> spell on the nabassu, eagerly awaiting the look on the demon's face when it started capering around against its will. But Gilbert was denied his glee, for the spell failed to take effect. In fact, the demon just grinned at Gilbert, and the wizard got the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that the nabassu hadn't just been grinning in his general direction, but at him specifically. Belatedly, Gilbert recalled that many demons had an innate sense of <em>true seeing</em>; if such was the case here, Hagan's <em>greater invisibility</em> spell was no protection at all!</p><p></p><p>Another piece came close to Finoula but stopped short, preventing the heroes from determining just what they were facing. It was a spellcaster of some sort, though, for the space between it and Finoula was suddenly occupied by a deinonychus, which attacked the ranger with the talons on one hind leg. Finoula jumped back in time to avoid being eviscerated and was pleased to see the dinosaur didn't press its attack once the square beneath it stopped glowing - either it was well-versed in the rules of Titan Chess or its spellcaster was controlling its movements.</p><p></p><p>Finoula was up next and decided she wanted to see this hidden spellcaster for herself. She needed only to move one square away, diagonally across from the deinonychus, to do so, and then the dinosaur's master was revealed: a lizardfolk with stripes of colored paint dabbed on its face and arms, likely a cleric of the lizardfolk deity. Finoula stabbed at the lizardfolk's belly with <em>Tahlmalaera</em> and sent her <em>flaming burst whip of thorns</em> (recently upgraded in Greyhawk City) striking at his legs. Both weapons struck true and the lizardfolk hissed in pain.</p><p></p><p>But now another red piece initiated combat, attacking Finoula from another side. The githzerai monk, now revealed, connected with his punch, sending Finoula momentarily reeling but fortunately remaining on her feet.</p><p></p><p>Darrien moved forward, scimitar in hand, and attacked the lizardfolk cleric and revealing himself to the other team in the process. It was starting to be a scrimmage there in the middle of the arena-board, with Darrien and Finoula fighting off a lizardfolk cleric, a summoned deinonychus, and a githzerai monk, while not too far away Binkadink and his borrowed frog battled a bugbear barbarian. Another red piece moved forward a bit but refrained from entering combat just yet, choosing instead to cast a defensive spell upon himself and thus remain cloaked in obscuring walls of red.</p><p></p><p>Binkadink sent his glaive crashing into the bugbear, drawing a line of blood across his shaggy torso but eliciting only a growl of irritation from the hearty barbarian. The toad snapped at the furry foe as well but failed to connect, although the gnome got in another good strike while it was still his turn. Then the square beneath them stopped glowing, and he too felt the irritation of the artificiality of this game format - he wanted to just keep fighting his foe for as long as it took, not having to wait for his turn again. The barbarian obviously shared the gnome's view, gripping his morningstar and eager for his turn to strike.</p><p></p><p>One of the last two pieces still shielded in red moved forward to attack Finoula, revealing himself as a hobgoblin in heavy armor, wielding a greataxe. His weapon struck Finoula a glancing blow on the shoulder, but it was enough for her whole arm to go numb; she barely kept her grip on her whip. While surrounded on three sides by enemies, she tried finding the nearest yellow square in the corner of her eye, realizing she'd likely need healing soon.</p><p></p><p>Hagan approached the bugbear and let loose with a <em>polar ray</em> spell, causing considerable pain to the shaggy barbarian - and some amount of confusion, for despite the blue shielding dropping away from Hagan's square, he was still invisible. Not able to see this invisible attacker, the bugbear opted to concentrate his attention on the gnome until he'd been slain, then worry about the spellcaster he couldn't see.</p><p></p><p>But now it was the nabassu's turn and Gilbert's worst fears bore fruit: the demon, imbued with <em>true seeing</em>, sent his death gaze at the heavyset wizard and Gilbert felt the life drain from him. His last thought before he toppled over was, <Wait! The ring! I should have used the ring....> Forgotten in the excitement of the battle was Gilbert's <em>ring of arcane supremacy</em> which, had he activated it, might have caused the <em>Otto's irresistible dance</em> to affect the demon after all. But then all the others felt over the link was Gilbert's mental death gurgle.</p><p></p><p><Gilbert!></p><p></p><p><Gilbert! Answer me!></p><p></p><p><Guys, I think he's dead. But watch out, or we'll be next! Whose turn is it?></p><p></p><p>It was Castillan's, and he was too busy attacking the nabassu with his <em>short sword of wounding</em> and his <em>vampire's fang dagger</em> to comment over the link, dealing the demon considerable damage in retaliation for having slain Gilbert Fung. The nabassu roared in fury and reflexively spread his wings as if to fly off before realizing he'd be punished by a lightning strike if he moved from his allocated square, as it was no longer his turn. Then Castillan's square lost its glow and the bounder had to cease his attack; the elf and the demon glared at each other, although the latter was careful not to activate his gaze attack on Castillan.</p><p></p><p>The bugbear's square had just barely started to glow when he was swinging his morningstar for all he was worth. He connected with Binkadink's dragonhide plate armor but it absorbed most of the damage of the blow. And then, Gilbert having been slain, the turn went to the next red piece in the rotation: the lizardfolk cleric. He stepped back, away from Finoula, and cast a <em>spell resistance</em> spell on himself as a protective measure, perhaps thinking the deinonychus would make up for any lost attacks the lizardfolk himself might have made on his turn. Then the dinosaur was allowed to attack and it went after Finoula, raking her with its claws and snapping at her with its razor-sharp teeth. The elven ranger found herself even more in need of healing than before. It being her turn next, she fled from the clump of combatants, passing onto and then over the yellow square which healed her completely - but she was clever enough to continue on the charade of being heavily injured, the better to conceal the yellow square's secret power. The githzerai monk followed Finoula and sent a fist streaking straight at her face. Fortunately, he avoided the yellow square and thus its secret remained safe - at least for now.</p><p></p><p>Darrien was tempted to attack the deinonychus, but the others advised him over the telepathic link to ignore it; as a summoned creature, it only had a limited presence in the game before it would return from whence it came. <Focus on the enemy pieces!> Finoula called to her fellow ranger, and Darrien attacked the lizardfolk with his scimitar. The reptilian humanoid looked ready for some healing of his own by now.</p><p></p><p>But now the last shielded red piece revealed himself by moving to a square adjacent to Finoula. She assumed it to be a kenku at first glance; she was familiar with these crow-men since Rale Bodkin had several of them in his service. However, this one had a pair of glossy, black wings rising from his back. The tengu shugenja cast a <em>chain lightning</em> spell at the ranger, thinking to take her out of the picture, perhaps believing she still suffered the wounds inflicted upon her earlier in the combat. Finoula endured the temporary pain of the electrical assault, thinking only how glad she was the <em>walls of force</em> prevented the spell from targeting any of her companions as well - they were all too far away for the secondary arcs of electricity characteristic of that spell to reach them, given the <em>walls of force</em> in the way.</p><p></p><p>Binkadink slew the bugbear barbarian with three rapid strikes of his glaive on his turn, the little gnome putting the full force behind each strike. With the bugbear's death, it was still nominally a tie game, although the deinonychus was temporarily tipping the scales in the red team's favor.</p><p></p><p>The hobgoblin fighter attacked Binkadink just as the gnome finished his killing blow on the bugbear; the hobgoblin had been eagerly anticipating it to be his turn and brought his weapon to bear against the frog-mounted gnome as soon as it was legal to do so.</p><p></p><p>Hagan moved up and cast a <em>chain lightning</em> spell at the hobgoblin; like the tengu before him, he had to settle for but a single target when using a spell usually brought to bear against multiple enemies clumped together. That ended up being Hagan's last act in the game, however, for the nabassu ignored Castillan before him and focused his deadly gaze upon the half-orc sorcerer, ending his life as he had just ended Gilbert's; apparently the demon was tasked with taking out any obvious spellcasters first. Hagan's last thought was relief that Wezhley hadn't come with him after all.</p><p></p><p>Castillan furiously attacked the nabassu, wanting to take him out before the demon's turn came up again. His blades slid into the demon's sides, but the bounder failed to slay him outright. <Crap!> he called over the link. <We gotta take this demon out before he kills us all, one by one!> But then it was the lizardfolk's turn, and seeing how close Castillan was to one of the blue squares, he decided to try a double-whammy: casting a <em>harm</em> spell on the elven bounder while simultaneously stepping onto a blue square and activating its power. He had to step next to Castillan to do so, and the bounder, remembering it was legal to attack an opponent whose move brought him adjacent to your own square, stabbed out at him with his <em>short sword of wounding</em> before the cleric was able to finish the spell. The <em>harm</em> fizzled out as the lizardfolk dropped to the ground, his throat slit, but the blue square's powers activated, sending an electrical arc of energy - like that of a secondary arc from a <em>chain lightning</em> spell, crashing into the bounder's body. Castillan staggered under the electrical assault but remained standing.</p><p></p><p>The deinonychus bit and slashed at Darrien, but the ranger avoided the worst of the dinosaur's attacks.</p><p></p><p>Finoula lashed out with sword and whip at the tengu, hitting the bird-man with both. Then the githzerai tried pounding her with his fists, but the nimble elf was able to avoid his blows. Darrien ignored the deinonychus and moved over to attack the githzerai with his scimitar, drawing blood. The tengu cast another <em>chain lightning</em> spell targeting only Finoula, but paid for the act with a slash across his chest from <em>Tahlmalaera</em>. But then Binkadink led the frog in a spirited charge that ended up cutting the very life from the tengu spellcaster, who was nearly cut in half by the gnome's glaive.</p><p></p><p>That maneuver put the two teams at an equal footing with four combatants each, but now the blue team had the slight advantage, for one of the red team's "pieces" - the deinonychus - was a summoned creature and would disappear from the arena-board in a set amount of time without the blue team having to do anything about it. The hobgoblin fighter tried to even those odds by cutting down Binkadink, but his weapon was not up to the task. The nabassu focused his death gaze on Binkadink, apparently figuring him to be the most powerful remaining enemy, but the gnome's strong fortitude prevented the attack from slaying him. The demon moved up in any case, approaching the cluster of combatants in the middle of the board.</p><p></p><p>Castillan opted to use his magic ring to <em>dimension door</em> all the way across the board, ending up in the last row where the red team had begun. He was interested primarily in putting distance between him and the demon who could kill with but a glance; hopefully Binkadink could handle him while the bounder dealt with foes more his speed.</p><p></p><p>The dinosaur chased after Darrien, as if upset at having been ignored by the half-elf ranger who had sought more important foes. The dinosaur's attacks failed to connect as Darrien nimbly moved aside on his square. Finoula chose the githzerai as her next opponent, not because he was the most powerful but because he was right there by her and she could get in more attacks against him by staying on the square she already occupied rather than wasting time moving elsewhere. <em>Tahlmalaera</em> got its first taste of githzerai blood and the <em>flaming burst whip of thorns</em> caused a small, fiery explosion upon striking the monk's legs. The githzerai followed the elf's logic and made a full attack upon Finoula, not causing near as much damage as she had just given him.</p><p></p><p>Darrien swapped his scimitar for his <em>Arachnibow</em> and practiced a move he'd been working on: shooting more than one arrow at a time with one shot. The arrows streaked at the nabassu, several of them striking the demon, although others just bounced off his thick hide. Binkadink joined in the battle, trying to take out the demon before he could use his deadly gaze attack again, and despite opening several new wounds on the demon, it refused to die.</p><p></p><p>The hobgoblin ran up to attack Binkadink again, but the ease with which the gnome evaded his blows only infuriated him all the more: it was as if the gnome - the <em>gnome</em>, by all that was unholy! - saw him as beneath his contempt and ignored him almost completely while he focused his attention on the demon.</p><p></p><p>The nabassu hopped onto a nearby red square, causing it to explode in a <em>fireball</em> that engulfed its own square and the eight adjacent ones all around it - including the one Binkadink and his odd mount were on. At the same time, he focused his deadly gaze upon the gnome again, irritated that his most powerful attack hadn't worked on Binkadink the first time he'd tried it. This time he had better luck, though, for Binkadink gave a startled cry and fell lifelessly from the frog, which had been staggered to near-unconsciousness by the exploding <em>fireball</em>.</p><p></p><p>Castillan, ashamed at his earlier "escape move" now that it may have cost Binkadink his life, moved back towards the combatants. He got in a strike with his dagger at the githzerai, the only foe he could reach within the time limit of his turn. Then it was the deinonychus's turn, and it dashed straight for Finoula, dug a series of jagged gashes across her side with its sharp talons - and then vanished, the limit of the spell that had summoned it having expired.</p><p></p><p>Finoula, bleeding heavily from her side, moved up and stabbed the nabassu with <em>Tahlmalaera</em>, driving the blade all the way up to the hilt deep into his back. The demon tried spinning around to face this foe, but a trickle of blood spilled from his lips and he fell forward, dead; Finoula had to give a mighty tug to prevent her longsword from being pulled from her grasp as he collapsed.</p><p></p><p>The githzerai turned and faced Castillan, fending him off with a stunning blow that left the bounder staggering. Darrien switched back to his scimitar and stepped behind the monk, slicing him across the back as the githzerai was faced with two opponents, each on opposite sides. Darrien's <em>opal frog</em> tried getting into the action, snapping at the githzerai as well, but the attempt overtaxed his already strained body and that was enough for it to revert back to statuette form, effectively taking it out of the fight.</p><p></p><p>And then the hobgoblin, having been one of the least successful members of the red team thus far, redeemed himself by swinging his greataxe into Finoula's abdomen, causing the elf to drop to her knees - at which point the hobgoblin ended her life with a downward swing.</p><p></p><p>Had there been an audience watching this friendly game of Titan Chess, they would probably have been on their feet, cheering, by now. As it stood, the only spectators were Leandros and Takhios, who stood impassively watching the battle unfold, and of course the unseen judges overseeing this fight. But now the opposing teams of six were each down to their last two members, and the match seemed like it could go either way.</p><p></p><p><Let's pick off the hobgoblin!> decided Castillan, moving into a flanking position with Darrien - one which, not coincidentally, put the bounder on a yellow square. As healing energy course through his body, closing all of his cuts and wounds, the bounder struck at the armored foe before him with his magical short sword and dagger. The hobgoblin spun to face the elf while the githzerai did his best to take Darrien out of the fight, to no avail. But now the four remaining combatants were all lined up in a row: Castillan on a yellow square (no longer providing healing energy until he stepped off it and back on, but at least preventing his enemies from using it as a resource), then the hobgoblin, then Darrien, and then the githzerai monk.</p><p></p><p>With blinding swiftness, Darrien dropped his scimitar to the ground and grabbed arrow after arrow, sending them flying from the <em>Arachnibow</em>'s string into the hobgoblin at near point blank range. The hobgoblin's expression said he couldn't believe he'd been brought down by a half-breed elf, but he had: arrows sticking through rents in his armor, he crashed to the ground, dead. Castillan, on his turn, abandoned his yellow square to race around to the githzerai's back, so he and the half-elf ranger could flank him from two sides.</p><p></p><p>The githzerai got in several powerful blows on Darrien, who had perhaps neglected his own defenses in taking out the hobgoblin, but he remained standing after the monk's time was up. Then it was Darrien's turn again and he sent a handful of arrows at the monk, who managed to knock the first one out of the air but got hit with two of the following three. And then Castillan sent his <em>short sword of wounding</em> through the githzerai's body, its bloody blade sticking out of the monk's belly as Castillan's final blow lifted his foe off his feet. He lifted one of his feet to the monk's back and kicked, pulling his blade out of the corpse and allowing it to fall to the ground.</p><p></p><p><Is that it? Did we win?> asked Darrien, looking around in a daze for any other enemies on the arena-board. There were none; Castillan and Darrien were the only remaining pieces still alive.</p><p></p><p>War Titan Takhios gave a sour-faced nod of congratulations to Leandros, then turned on his heel and stomped away. Leandros stepped onto the board and bent down to pick up the slain heroes, one by one, and lay them carefully on the ground just off the arena-board. He posed each, lying upon their backs with their arms crossed on their chests.</p><p></p><p>"You promised we'd all make it back home in perfect health," Darrien reminded the titan.</p><p></p><p>"And so you shall," promised Leandros. "But that will be tomorrow. Tonight we feast, and drink to the glorious deaths of your companions!" He stood to his full height and held out his right hand; immediately, a 20-foot-tall waraxe materialized in Leandros's hand - the <em>Frostreaver</em>, the game's coveted prize. Neither Darrien nor Castillan felt much like celebrating; they worried that Leandros might not keep his promise, and without Gilbert the two heroes had no way of returning to their own plane.</p><p></p><p>But they needn't have worried for in the morning, Leandros led them back out to the arena-board, where the slain heroes were rising as if having just awakened from a long sleep. "This is Ysgard!" boomed Leandros. "On this plane, those slain in combat rise the next morn at their full strength, ready for another day of glorious battle!"</p><p></p><p>"No more battle for me!" insisted Gilbert Fung. "We not paid yet for chess game! We win?" he asked Darrien and Castillan; seeing as they had approached the board from the longhouse and not woken up on the ground like the others, he assumed they had survived the game - and surviving blue pieces could only mean a victory for the blue team.</p><p></p><p>"We won," Castillan reassured the wizard. Leandros led the newly-resurrected heroes into the longhouse for a quick breakfast before opening a <em>gate</em> that returned them, as promised, back to Battershield Keep. And he had their payment for them as well; even Gilbert wasn't sure how the titan had done it, but upon their arrival there were six large chests of coins, one for each of the heroes, sitting just outside the moat of the keep, by the drawbridge. "Well earned, my friends!" boomed the titan, still glowing at their recent victory on his behalf - and his successful procurement of the <em>Frostreaver</em>. "I will remember you well, should I find myself in need of a mighty team of mortals again!" And then he stepped back into the silvery <em>gate</em> behind him, which disappeared as soon as he had vanished through it.</p><p></p><p>"Let's lug these inside," suggested Binkadink, heading for the nearest chest. And then a female voice called from inside the keep.</p><p></p><p>"You're back!" cried Helga. "Who wants pie?"</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>I've wanted to try a "living chess battle" adventure for some time - decades, really, since reading "The Chessmen of Mars" back in junior high. This is where I finally put the idea into action, although the first thing I abandoned was the notion of chess pieces and their different ways of moving across the board, followed swiftly thereafter by the concept of two chess-playing opponents moving their pieces around based on which moves made the most sense - that would easily get boring fast for someone whose PC was a seldom-moved game piece. So the adventure ended up being not very chesslike at all, but still a great deal of fun - even though the way the adventure was structured meant that as soon as a player's PC was slain in the game, that was it for them for the whole session.</p><p></p><p>In fact, that was also a bit ironic: Dan plays Gilbert Fung, one of only two primary spellcasters in the game (and the other is Harry's Hagan, who as a sorcerer doesn't need to prepare his spells). Dan spent a good 20 minutes or so of session time going through all of Gilbert's spells, deciding how each would work based on the <em>wall of force</em> limitations of Titan Chess. He had several plans lined up, too - so it was doubly ironic that Gilbert was the first one slain. Dan was the one who remembered Gilbert's <em>ring of arcane supremacy</em>, too - about a half hour after his PC's death, and much too late in the adventure to retroactively give him another shot at making the nabassu dance uncontrollably. Had that spell worked, the game might have played out very differently.</p><p></p><p>Still and all, this was an interesting experiment and a fun change of pace - and those <em>walls of force</em> really did make for a different gaming experience. And after the adventure was completed, everyone sat down and leveled up to 17th as a result of the experience gained in playing a friendly game of Titan Chess.</p><p></p><p>Now all they have to do is decide how to spend their 20,000 gp.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>T-Shirt Worn: My Dalek "Exterminate!" T-shirt, given that each team was attempting to kill the other members of the team.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7580019, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 60: A FRIENDLY GAME OF TITAN CHESS[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Binkadink Dundernoggin, gnome fighter 16 Castillan Ivenheart, elf bounder 16 Darrien, half-elf ranger 16 Finoula Cloudshadow, elf ranger 16 Gilbert Fung, human wizard 16 Hagan, half-orc sorcerer 16[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 9 March 2019 - - - The day began on a rather interesting note: shortly after breakfast, a giant humanoid standing some 25 feet tall walked up to the drawbridge of Battershield Keep. He appeared unarmed, wearing only a simple white toga and leather sandals with crisscrossing straps rising up to just beneath his knees. "I would speak to the team of adventurers within," he bellowed. Castillan was the first to approach, as he was the closest to the drawbridge when the visitor arrived. He looked up at the massive form, seeing a clean-shaven face looking down at him. Unlike many of the giants the bounder had seen, this fellow seemed perfectly-proportioned, as if a human being had suddenly been grown to nearly five times his own normal height. "Um, hello," said the elf. "Can I help you?" Castillan didn't appear to be armed, either, but he knew all it would take was a snap of his fingers and his blades would instantly appear in his hands, if it came to that. "I am the titan, [b]Leandros[/b]. I have been challenged by a rival, [b]War Titan Takhios[/b], to assemble a team of six proxies to compete in a friendly game of Titan Chess. I have heard good things about your group and wish to hire you on as my team." Hagan stepped out of the main building in the keep's interior and saw a pair of giant legs on the other side of the lowered portcullis. He instantly cast a [i]dimension door[/i] spell that sent him - and his weasel familiar Wezhley, perched in his usual place upon the half-orc's left shoulder - to the top of the northwestern tower, where he looked down at the titan outside the keep and could cast spells down upon him if needed. But it didn't seem likely; Leandros looked up at the half-orc sorcerer's sudden appearance and gave him a wide smile. "You need not have played Titan Chess before," Leandros assured Hagan, addressing his comments to him now instead of Castillan. "The rules are simple and straightforward. But there is a prize up for grabs that I would claim as my own: [i]Frostreaver[/i], a 20-foot-waraxe. It cannot be purchased directly, merely won as a prize, but I will pay each of you 2,000 pieces of gold simply to represent me in the game – and I will increase that amount tenfold should you win." Castillan practically salivated at the thought of being paid 20,000 pieces of gold merely to join in a chess game. The rest of the team had just made a lot of money down in Greyhawk without him; this was a chance for him to earn a sizeable amount for what didn't seem like a whole lot of work. "I'm in!" he said enthusiastically. "Me too!" added Binkadink, who had sidled up during the conversation. Behind him, Finoula and Darrien warily approached the portcullis, hands on weapons if not actually drawing them. "Team of six, you say?" asked Gilbert. "Me and Mudpie in as well!" "By all means, I would have a wizard of your power on the team!" boomed Leandros. "But your elemental must stay behind, as must all animals, be they riding mounts or familiars, or...whatever that metal woman might be." He looked down at MARCI in puzzlement as she approached Gilbert Fung; the automaton tended to follow the human wizard around to see to his needs. "So I can't take Obvious?" Binkadink asked, crestfallen. "The team I have in mind will consist of you, Binkadink Dundernoggin; you, Hagan; you, Castillan Ivenheart; you, Finoula Cloudshadow; you, Darrien; and you, Gilbert Fung. Those six, and those six only. If you all agree, we will be off immediately. By my word, I will have you returned safe and sound to your home by this time, two days hence. What do you say?" Gilbert looked at the others as Hagan ran with Wezhley to the stone steps at the back of the Keep so he could join the others in the courtyard. "We in," the portly wizard announced. "Excellent!" beamed Leandros. "Then gather your weapons and armor, that we might depart!" The heroes dashed into their individual quarters to gather up any needed equipment, then Gilbert sent MARCI to go explain things to Helga while Binkadink pulled the chain that raised the portcullis. The group of six stepped across the lowered drawbridge as MARCI and Helga approached to see the group off. "Ye take care, all of ye!" admonished Helga. "I'll have pies waitin' for ye when ye return!" she promised. MARCI, in the meantime, lowered the portcullis back into place. Mudpie lowered himself into the ground, determined to enjoy his "time off" from wizard's-familiar duties; Wezhley opted to sulk in Hagan's quarters. It simply wasn't fair, and if the half-orc sorcerer returned to find weasel droppings on his pillow, then maybe next time he'd think twice about leaving his familiar behind! Leandros passed his left arm before him and a shimmering field of energy took form outside the keep - a sparkling circle of silver motes. The titan strode purposefully through the field, disappearing from view. The others followed suit. The other side of the [i]gate[/i] spell was another world entirely. This was made evident by the floating islands off in the distance; with a shock, the group realized they were standing upon another of these islands, this one perhaps a half mile in diameter. It was a world on the edge of winter and spring – there were buds on the trees and remnants of snow on the ground. Leandros didn’t seem to feel the cold despite his minimal garb. "There," he said, pointing to a large, open field of assembled stones, each 5 feet to a side, forming a grid 24 squares wide and 30 squares long. Eight of the squares were brightly colored: two each of green, yellow, blue, and red, forming a sort of crooked "X" along the central area of the rectangle. "That will be your battleground, where you will face a team of six opponents, striving to win [i]Frostreaver[/i] for the War Titan. But I would see the weapon in more deserving hands!" There were two long, single-story buildings nearby, one on either side of the combat arena. "You will sleep here tonight," Leandros declared, pointing to one of them. "We will go over the basics of Titan Chess, you will eat heartily and sleep well, that you will be refreshed for tomorrow’s game!" "Are we talking a fight to the death?" asked Finoula. Twenty thousand pieces of gold was a significant amount of coin, but her life meant more to her than mere money. "To the death, aye," agreed Leandros. "But fear not: I have declared you will return to your homes as hale and hearty as you are now, and I intend to keep that promise!" "Our souls still inside our bodies when we return home?" Gilbert pressed, trying to find any hidden loopholes in this deal. Leandros laughed heartily, clearly not offended by the wizard's mistrust. "Indeed, Gilbert, just as you are now! Now then, gather around and I will explain the rules of the game." As it turned out, "Titan Chess" really had very little to do with chess at all - it was just a fancy term for a specific type of arena battle. The teams could be of any size; Takhios had challenged Leandros to a competition between six-person teams, which is how the team of Kordovians had been chosen. Of course, there was no specific requirement to choose a group already consisting of six members; Leandros could have just as easily chosen six individuals who had never met each other before, but he preferred fielding teams with a previous history of working together. "You've played this game before, then?" asked Darrien. "Yes, many times - but never for a prize as vaunted as the [i]Frostreaver[/i]! Now, see that row closest to your longhouse? Each of you will start the game on one of those squares. You may bring as much of your normal gear as you wish, but you may have no spells cast upon you before stepping onto the board. Cast all the spells you wish, but only once the game has begun, and by all means only when it is your turn." "Explain," commanded Gilbert. "As with normal chess, each team moves one of their pieces in alternating turns. You will be ranked in order, as will the six on the opposing team. If we are to move first, then the combatant designated the first on our team will move where he will, then the first of the other team, then the second of our team, then their second, and so on." "How we know whose turn it is?" prompted Gilbert. "The square beneath the person whose turn it is to move will light up. Now, I assume you are all familiar with [i]walls of force[/i]?" Upon their acknowledgement, Leandros continued. "Each of the squares on the arena-board before you will be bounded on all sides - and 10 feet above the board - by [i]walls of force[/i]. Thus, each of you will be imprisoned on a single five-foot square until it is your turn, at which point the square you're standing on will light up and the [i]walls of force[/i] touching the corners of your square will drop. This will allow you to move onto another square and as you move, the [i]walls of force[/i] will drop or snap back into place around you. Thus, when it's your turn, you will have access to the square you're on and the eight squares surrounding that square - unless you're on the edge of the board, in which case you'll have less than eight. And as you move from square to square, the [i]walls of force[/i] will turn on and off such that you are always surrounded by open squares on all sides to which you can move. Is that all clear?" "So far," replied Finoula. "When you advance to a space adjacent to another piece, you may interact with that piece, as the [i]wall of force[/i] between your two squares will be down. If it's an ally, you can cast a spell on him, pass him a potion, or whatever. If it's an enemy, you can attack. But - and this is important - you cannot take an action unless it's your turn, or the turn of another piece adjacent to you. It is your turn only when the square you're standing on is lit up, and as you move, so will the stones you step upon light up and those you leave stop glowing. When the time you've been given to take your turn is over, the square will stop glowing. So you, Binkadink: if an enemy moves past you and you'd normally be able to strike out at him as he passes, you would be able to do so. But do not try taking any other actions when it is not your turn. You may have taken a grievous blow and be bleeding out, but do not try to drink down a healing potion unless it's your turn! Failure to comply will cause the judges to smite you with a lightning strike from above - and you don't want that!" "So you can only attack when the square you're on is lit up, or if an enemy whose turn it is is adjacent to your square," repeated Castillan, getting it straight in his mind. "Correct. You will note, however, that this makes ranged combat all but impossible save for but the shortest distances. Likewise, attack spells are limited to, at most, a distance of ten feet: the square you're on and one adjacent to it. This is bad news for you, I fear, Darrien, for it limits the effectiveness of your bow." "I have my scimitar," the archer replied. Indeed, he'd just paid a weaponsmith in Greyhawk City part of his earnings to increase the blade's sharpness with a [i]keen[/i] effect and the ranger had been practicing with it of late. "Good man!" Leandros beamed. "Now, note also that most spells cannot pass through a [i]wall of force[/i]. Gaze attacks will work, as will teleportation effects, but summoning spells can only be used if the summoned creature will fit on a single, adjacent square to the spellcaster. For that reason, Darrien, you could activate your [i]opal frog[/i], for he is about the size of a man, while your praying mantis and giant fly are both too large to fit on one square. It is for that same reason," Leandros added, looking over at Binkadink, "that your jackalope was not included on this team." He looked over at Gilbert. "And while your earth elemental friend is small enough, to bring him along would have taken up one of my six slots - and I'd rather the six of you." "What is the purpose of the colored squares?" asked Hagan. "Ah, that's what makes each game of Titan Chess unique!" replied Leandros. "Each team captain - Takhios and myself - are in charge of two of the colors and what effects they have on the game. We have been given the yellow and green squares. When you go into battle, you will know that stepping onto one of the green squares [i]teleports[/i] you instantly to the other green square, and stepping onto one of the yellow squares will cause a [i]heal[/i] spell to activate. None of Takhios's forces will know what the green and yellow spaces do, until they observe them in use. However, we will have no idea what effects Takhios has assigned the red and blue squares until we likewise see them in use." "Can we use their squares? And they ours?" asked Hagan. "By all means! In fact, you need not know what the effect will be to step onto a square, but be warned: some team captains set their colored squares up as booby-traps: you might find it's a [i]disintegrate[/i] spell waiting for some foolish victim to step upon it." Finoula looked over at the arena-board, and at the other longhouse on the far side of it. "When we will meet our counterparts?" she asked. "Not until the game," Leandros answered. "In fact, when you're all in your starting stations, the [i]walls of force[/i] surrounding your squares will be blue to anyone looking at them, although you'll each be able to see through your own as normal. Likewise, the enemy pieces will all be obscured by red [i]walls of force[/i]. Only when two enemy pieces are brought onto adjacent squares and the [i]walls of force[/i] are lowered will those pieces by revealed - and indeed, from that point on, those particular combatants will be visible by all concerned." "So only way to find out who we fighting is go fight them," Gilbert summed up. "Indeed!" And then Leandros left the group to plan their strategies, after assuring them the longhouse contained not only ample food and drink, but a game table with the arena-board in a smaller scale so they could work out their plans. Gilbert went page by page through his [i]Omnibook[/i], looking at each spell with new eyes - how would the constraints of Titan Chess affect the casting? Hagan, as a sorcerer, had many fewer spells to worry about; he just noted that [i]fireballs[/i] would be a bad idea unless he was amply protected from fire energy, whereas [i]chain lightning[/i] and [i]polar ray[/i] spells (his other two favorites) would still work, but against many fewer opponents at a time than he was used to. But while Gilbert was fussing over his spell selection, the others made a few plans of their own. Darrien agreed to pass his [i]opal frog[/i] to Binkadink for the duration of the game, since the little gnome was better suited to mounted combat. The archer opted to rely upon his magic scimitar as his primary weapon, but he also planned on bringing his [i]Arachnibow[/i] and [i]quiver of Ehlonna[/i] - you never knew when the opportunity might arise where he'd wished he'd brought them. Finoula practiced using her whip in closer combat than she was used to, realizing she couldn't extend it to its greatest distance during the game. In this way, the day passed in eager anticipation, and by the day's end the adventurers were all ready for their beds. Morning came with the sounding of three great horns, the signal that the game would begin in an hour's time. The group rose, dressed, and ate a quick breakfast. Then, at a summons from outside the longhouse by Leandros, they exited the building and walked over to the arena-board. "What, no cheering crowds?" asked Castillan. He'd expected they'd be fighting in front of an audience. "None but the unseen judges presiding over the contest," Leandros replied. The group could only see half of the arena-board, for the [i]walls of force[/i] along the center were all black. "That's to prevent you from seeing the other team members as they assemble," Leandros explained. "And them, you. Now then, take your positions." "You don't care how we line up?" asked Finoula. "Do as you see best. I leave such decisions to you." The group had already come up with their plans for their starting lineup. Although there were 24 different squares along the first row of the board and only the six of them, they chose to huddle together in the center of the row, with Gilbert in the middle. They had decided they would remain together until it was Gilbert's turn, then he could move along the entire row and cast a [i]Rary's telepathic bond[/i] spell on the entire group. It would use up his first turn, but they hoped it would give them an advantage over the long run. There was another triple-blast of unseen horns and the blackness separating the halves of the arena-board faded away, allowing the two teams to see their enemies' starting positions, if not the individuals themselves. Unlike the blue team, the members of the red team were spaced equidistant along the back row, with three squares separating each piece from his nearest neighbors. Then the square beneath Hagan's feet lit up, shining a bright blue, and the friendly game of Titan Chess was underway! The heroes had been told their relative sequences in the turn order, so Hagan had purposefully put himself at one end of the group's lineup of starting positions. For his first turn, he moved from one end of the group to the opposite end, each square he stepped on glowing blue in turn, and cast a [i]greater invisibility[/i] spell on Gilbert as he moved to an adjacent square to the portly mage and the [i]wall of force[/i] between them was temporarily lowered. Then the square beneath his feet stopped glowing and one of the red pieces - the leftmost combatant, indicated only by his position, for the four [i]walls of force[/i] around him moved as he moved - charged straight ahead. He managed to move forward 16 squares in the time he'd been allotted for his turn. Castillan was next and he followed Hagan's pattern: moving from one side of the huddle along the first row to the other, the better to align himself for Gilbert's spellcasting. Then the rightmost red piece moved straight ahead, also moving forward by 16 squares. The red team seemed eager to advance into battle, whereas by all appearances the blue team members huddled as far from combat as they could. But this was just to allow Gilbert to cast his [i]Rary's telepathic bond[/i] spell on the assembled group once it was his turn. <Everybody hear me okay?> Gilbert called over the mental link once it was established and everyone chimed in. Gilbert finished his turn at the other side of the huddle, having backed into the first row again - and was now the leftmost blue piece from their vantage point of the arena-board. Another red piece moved forward, this one apparently not as fast as the first two members of his team, for he only made it 12 spaces forward before stopping. Then Finoula advanced forward 6 spaces - as far as she had time for after casting a quick [i]barkskin[/i] spell upon herself, as was her general routine when anticipating combat. But at least she showed their opponents the blue team wasn't going to stay back in the first row all game. Another red piece advanced 12 spaces straight forward, leaving the red team perfectly symmetrically aligned with only their two center pieces having not yet moved. Darrien followed Finoula's course of action, casting a [i]barkskin[/i] spell and moving forward. Then another red piece advanced 12 spaces forward, making it Binkadink's turn. He dropped the [i]opal frog[/i] onto the square ahead of him, leaped upon its back after it had achieved its full size, and then the gnome urged him forward, extending his retractable glaive to about an 8-foot length, the longest he'd be able to swing it comfortably in these confined areas. The final red piece finished the first round of turns by moving forward 12 squares. Hagan cast another [i]greater invisibility[/i] spell, this time upon himself (for he could see the advantage in having their primary spellcasters still hidden from view when the blue shielding was eventually extinguished), and moved forward beside Binkadink and the frog. That made it the first red piece's turn again, and he moved straight forward, all the way to the blue team's starting row, then turned and made a bee-line for Gilbert, the closest piece on the left side of the arena-board. <We got incoming!> Gilbert announced over the link, as if the others on his team weren't all watching to see the first enemy revealed. As the red piece made his final move, the blue and red colors surrounding Gilbert and his enemy disappeared, revealing an empty space where Gilbert was standing (for he was under the effects of Hagan's [i]greater invisibility[/i] spell), and what at first glance appeared to be a gargoyle on the square right next to him. <Gargoyle!> announced Binkadink, but Gilbert wasn't too sure. Superficially, it had the standard gargoyle's physiognomy, but there were obvious differences, mainly in the coloration: true gargoyles could pass for stone creatures and thus had skin tones reminiscent of stone, whereas this creature had a reddish-brown skin. Gilbert could also see it breathing, something nearly imperceptible in true gargoyles. He wished he had the time to consult his [i]Omnibook[/i] to be sure, but he hazarded a guess over the mental link. <Think that a nabassu demon!> Fortunately, the nabassu had used up its full turn just in getting adjacent to Gilbert's square, so the square beneath its taloned feet stopped glowing before it could put its teeth or claws to good use - it didn't carry any weapons, not that Gilbert guessed it needed them. Demons often had a wide array of spell-like abilities they could employ, and Gilbert hurriedly tried recollecting what nabassus could do. They had a gaze attack, he was pretty sure, but good luck using a gaze attack on an invisible opponent! Castillan moved over to attack the nabassu, revealing himself as he attained an adjacent square. He only had time for a single strike with his [i]vampire's fang dagger[/i], recently traded by Gilbert for an adamantine dagger; the wizard had figured the bounder could put that weapon to better use than he could, for in truth the wizard was hardly ever reduced to using a hand-held weapon, whereas those were Castillan's stock in trade. The [i]vampire's fang dagger[/i] slid into the nabassu's flesh, siphoning off some of the demon's life energy and temporarily imbuing the elf with its stolen power. For the next hour or so, Castillan would enjoy a slightly greater amount of vigor, which he figured could certainly come in handy when fighting for his very life in a combat arena. Another red piece initiated combat, revealing a raging bugbear barbarian in full battle frenzy. He swung his morningstar in a two-handed grip at Binkadink; if he was surprised to see his suddenly-revealed enemy to be a gnome on a man-sized frog he gave no indication of it. But Binkadink ducked beneath the blow and the morningstar whizzed harmlessly over his head; when the bugbear's stone square stopped glowing, the gnome could see it took considerable effort for the barbarian to momentarily cease his attack. <A demon and a bugbear so far,> Finoula pointed out. <I think we're fighting a team of evil!> That was actually a relief to the elven ranger; she'd been worried about having to kill unknown enemies who might have been completely innocent. And while she assumed War Titan Takhios would see to the resurrection of his slain troops, that wasn't necessarily a given. But now it was Gilbert's turn, and with a suppressed chuckle of glee he cast an [i]Otto's irresistible dance[/i] spell on the nabassu, eagerly awaiting the look on the demon's face when it started capering around against its will. But Gilbert was denied his glee, for the spell failed to take effect. In fact, the demon just grinned at Gilbert, and the wizard got the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that the nabassu hadn't just been grinning in his general direction, but at him specifically. Belatedly, Gilbert recalled that many demons had an innate sense of [i]true seeing[/i]; if such was the case here, Hagan's [i]greater invisibility[/i] spell was no protection at all! Another piece came close to Finoula but stopped short, preventing the heroes from determining just what they were facing. It was a spellcaster of some sort, though, for the space between it and Finoula was suddenly occupied by a deinonychus, which attacked the ranger with the talons on one hind leg. Finoula jumped back in time to avoid being eviscerated and was pleased to see the dinosaur didn't press its attack once the square beneath it stopped glowing - either it was well-versed in the rules of Titan Chess or its spellcaster was controlling its movements. Finoula was up next and decided she wanted to see this hidden spellcaster for herself. She needed only to move one square away, diagonally across from the deinonychus, to do so, and then the dinosaur's master was revealed: a lizardfolk with stripes of colored paint dabbed on its face and arms, likely a cleric of the lizardfolk deity. Finoula stabbed at the lizardfolk's belly with [i]Tahlmalaera[/i] and sent her [i]flaming burst whip of thorns[/i] (recently upgraded in Greyhawk City) striking at his legs. Both weapons struck true and the lizardfolk hissed in pain. But now another red piece initiated combat, attacking Finoula from another side. The githzerai monk, now revealed, connected with his punch, sending Finoula momentarily reeling but fortunately remaining on her feet. Darrien moved forward, scimitar in hand, and attacked the lizardfolk cleric and revealing himself to the other team in the process. It was starting to be a scrimmage there in the middle of the arena-board, with Darrien and Finoula fighting off a lizardfolk cleric, a summoned deinonychus, and a githzerai monk, while not too far away Binkadink and his borrowed frog battled a bugbear barbarian. Another red piece moved forward a bit but refrained from entering combat just yet, choosing instead to cast a defensive spell upon himself and thus remain cloaked in obscuring walls of red. Binkadink sent his glaive crashing into the bugbear, drawing a line of blood across his shaggy torso but eliciting only a growl of irritation from the hearty barbarian. The toad snapped at the furry foe as well but failed to connect, although the gnome got in another good strike while it was still his turn. Then the square beneath them stopped glowing, and he too felt the irritation of the artificiality of this game format - he wanted to just keep fighting his foe for as long as it took, not having to wait for his turn again. The barbarian obviously shared the gnome's view, gripping his morningstar and eager for his turn to strike. One of the last two pieces still shielded in red moved forward to attack Finoula, revealing himself as a hobgoblin in heavy armor, wielding a greataxe. His weapon struck Finoula a glancing blow on the shoulder, but it was enough for her whole arm to go numb; she barely kept her grip on her whip. While surrounded on three sides by enemies, she tried finding the nearest yellow square in the corner of her eye, realizing she'd likely need healing soon. Hagan approached the bugbear and let loose with a [i]polar ray[/i] spell, causing considerable pain to the shaggy barbarian - and some amount of confusion, for despite the blue shielding dropping away from Hagan's square, he was still invisible. Not able to see this invisible attacker, the bugbear opted to concentrate his attention on the gnome until he'd been slain, then worry about the spellcaster he couldn't see. But now it was the nabassu's turn and Gilbert's worst fears bore fruit: the demon, imbued with [i]true seeing[/i], sent his death gaze at the heavyset wizard and Gilbert felt the life drain from him. His last thought before he toppled over was, <Wait! The ring! I should have used the ring....> Forgotten in the excitement of the battle was Gilbert's [i]ring of arcane supremacy[/i] which, had he activated it, might have caused the [i]Otto's irresistible dance[/i] to affect the demon after all. But then all the others felt over the link was Gilbert's mental death gurgle. <Gilbert!> <Gilbert! Answer me!> <Guys, I think he's dead. But watch out, or we'll be next! Whose turn is it?> It was Castillan's, and he was too busy attacking the nabassu with his [i]short sword of wounding[/i] and his [i]vampire's fang dagger[/i] to comment over the link, dealing the demon considerable damage in retaliation for having slain Gilbert Fung. The nabassu roared in fury and reflexively spread his wings as if to fly off before realizing he'd be punished by a lightning strike if he moved from his allocated square, as it was no longer his turn. Then Castillan's square lost its glow and the bounder had to cease his attack; the elf and the demon glared at each other, although the latter was careful not to activate his gaze attack on Castillan. The bugbear's square had just barely started to glow when he was swinging his morningstar for all he was worth. He connected with Binkadink's dragonhide plate armor but it absorbed most of the damage of the blow. And then, Gilbert having been slain, the turn went to the next red piece in the rotation: the lizardfolk cleric. He stepped back, away from Finoula, and cast a [i]spell resistance[/i] spell on himself as a protective measure, perhaps thinking the deinonychus would make up for any lost attacks the lizardfolk himself might have made on his turn. Then the dinosaur was allowed to attack and it went after Finoula, raking her with its claws and snapping at her with its razor-sharp teeth. The elven ranger found herself even more in need of healing than before. It being her turn next, she fled from the clump of combatants, passing onto and then over the yellow square which healed her completely - but she was clever enough to continue on the charade of being heavily injured, the better to conceal the yellow square's secret power. The githzerai monk followed Finoula and sent a fist streaking straight at her face. Fortunately, he avoided the yellow square and thus its secret remained safe - at least for now. Darrien was tempted to attack the deinonychus, but the others advised him over the telepathic link to ignore it; as a summoned creature, it only had a limited presence in the game before it would return from whence it came. <Focus on the enemy pieces!> Finoula called to her fellow ranger, and Darrien attacked the lizardfolk with his scimitar. The reptilian humanoid looked ready for some healing of his own by now. But now the last shielded red piece revealed himself by moving to a square adjacent to Finoula. She assumed it to be a kenku at first glance; she was familiar with these crow-men since Rale Bodkin had several of them in his service. However, this one had a pair of glossy, black wings rising from his back. The tengu shugenja cast a [i]chain lightning[/i] spell at the ranger, thinking to take her out of the picture, perhaps believing she still suffered the wounds inflicted upon her earlier in the combat. Finoula endured the temporary pain of the electrical assault, thinking only how glad she was the [i]walls of force[/i] prevented the spell from targeting any of her companions as well - they were all too far away for the secondary arcs of electricity characteristic of that spell to reach them, given the [i]walls of force[/i] in the way. Binkadink slew the bugbear barbarian with three rapid strikes of his glaive on his turn, the little gnome putting the full force behind each strike. With the bugbear's death, it was still nominally a tie game, although the deinonychus was temporarily tipping the scales in the red team's favor. The hobgoblin fighter attacked Binkadink just as the gnome finished his killing blow on the bugbear; the hobgoblin had been eagerly anticipating it to be his turn and brought his weapon to bear against the frog-mounted gnome as soon as it was legal to do so. Hagan moved up and cast a [i]chain lightning[/i] spell at the hobgoblin; like the tengu before him, he had to settle for but a single target when using a spell usually brought to bear against multiple enemies clumped together. That ended up being Hagan's last act in the game, however, for the nabassu ignored Castillan before him and focused his deadly gaze upon the half-orc sorcerer, ending his life as he had just ended Gilbert's; apparently the demon was tasked with taking out any obvious spellcasters first. Hagan's last thought was relief that Wezhley hadn't come with him after all. Castillan furiously attacked the nabassu, wanting to take him out before the demon's turn came up again. His blades slid into the demon's sides, but the bounder failed to slay him outright. <Crap!> he called over the link. <We gotta take this demon out before he kills us all, one by one!> But then it was the lizardfolk's turn, and seeing how close Castillan was to one of the blue squares, he decided to try a double-whammy: casting a [i]harm[/i] spell on the elven bounder while simultaneously stepping onto a blue square and activating its power. He had to step next to Castillan to do so, and the bounder, remembering it was legal to attack an opponent whose move brought him adjacent to your own square, stabbed out at him with his [i]short sword of wounding[/i] before the cleric was able to finish the spell. The [i]harm[/i] fizzled out as the lizardfolk dropped to the ground, his throat slit, but the blue square's powers activated, sending an electrical arc of energy - like that of a secondary arc from a [i]chain lightning[/i] spell, crashing into the bounder's body. Castillan staggered under the electrical assault but remained standing. The deinonychus bit and slashed at Darrien, but the ranger avoided the worst of the dinosaur's attacks. Finoula lashed out with sword and whip at the tengu, hitting the bird-man with both. Then the githzerai tried pounding her with his fists, but the nimble elf was able to avoid his blows. Darrien ignored the deinonychus and moved over to attack the githzerai with his scimitar, drawing blood. The tengu cast another [i]chain lightning[/i] spell targeting only Finoula, but paid for the act with a slash across his chest from [i]Tahlmalaera[/i]. But then Binkadink led the frog in a spirited charge that ended up cutting the very life from the tengu spellcaster, who was nearly cut in half by the gnome's glaive. That maneuver put the two teams at an equal footing with four combatants each, but now the blue team had the slight advantage, for one of the red team's "pieces" - the deinonychus - was a summoned creature and would disappear from the arena-board in a set amount of time without the blue team having to do anything about it. The hobgoblin fighter tried to even those odds by cutting down Binkadink, but his weapon was not up to the task. The nabassu focused his death gaze on Binkadink, apparently figuring him to be the most powerful remaining enemy, but the gnome's strong fortitude prevented the attack from slaying him. The demon moved up in any case, approaching the cluster of combatants in the middle of the board. Castillan opted to use his magic ring to [i]dimension door[/i] all the way across the board, ending up in the last row where the red team had begun. He was interested primarily in putting distance between him and the demon who could kill with but a glance; hopefully Binkadink could handle him while the bounder dealt with foes more his speed. The dinosaur chased after Darrien, as if upset at having been ignored by the half-elf ranger who had sought more important foes. The dinosaur's attacks failed to connect as Darrien nimbly moved aside on his square. Finoula chose the githzerai as her next opponent, not because he was the most powerful but because he was right there by her and she could get in more attacks against him by staying on the square she already occupied rather than wasting time moving elsewhere. [i]Tahlmalaera[/i] got its first taste of githzerai blood and the [i]flaming burst whip of thorns[/i] caused a small, fiery explosion upon striking the monk's legs. The githzerai followed the elf's logic and made a full attack upon Finoula, not causing near as much damage as she had just given him. Darrien swapped his scimitar for his [i]Arachnibow[/i] and practiced a move he'd been working on: shooting more than one arrow at a time with one shot. The arrows streaked at the nabassu, several of them striking the demon, although others just bounced off his thick hide. Binkadink joined in the battle, trying to take out the demon before he could use his deadly gaze attack again, and despite opening several new wounds on the demon, it refused to die. The hobgoblin ran up to attack Binkadink again, but the ease with which the gnome evaded his blows only infuriated him all the more: it was as if the gnome - the [i]gnome[/i], by all that was unholy! - saw him as beneath his contempt and ignored him almost completely while he focused his attention on the demon. The nabassu hopped onto a nearby red square, causing it to explode in a [i]fireball[/i] that engulfed its own square and the eight adjacent ones all around it - including the one Binkadink and his odd mount were on. At the same time, he focused his deadly gaze upon the gnome again, irritated that his most powerful attack hadn't worked on Binkadink the first time he'd tried it. This time he had better luck, though, for Binkadink gave a startled cry and fell lifelessly from the frog, which had been staggered to near-unconsciousness by the exploding [i]fireball[/i]. Castillan, ashamed at his earlier "escape move" now that it may have cost Binkadink his life, moved back towards the combatants. He got in a strike with his dagger at the githzerai, the only foe he could reach within the time limit of his turn. Then it was the deinonychus's turn, and it dashed straight for Finoula, dug a series of jagged gashes across her side with its sharp talons - and then vanished, the limit of the spell that had summoned it having expired. Finoula, bleeding heavily from her side, moved up and stabbed the nabassu with [i]Tahlmalaera[/i], driving the blade all the way up to the hilt deep into his back. The demon tried spinning around to face this foe, but a trickle of blood spilled from his lips and he fell forward, dead; Finoula had to give a mighty tug to prevent her longsword from being pulled from her grasp as he collapsed. The githzerai turned and faced Castillan, fending him off with a stunning blow that left the bounder staggering. Darrien switched back to his scimitar and stepped behind the monk, slicing him across the back as the githzerai was faced with two opponents, each on opposite sides. Darrien's [i]opal frog[/i] tried getting into the action, snapping at the githzerai as well, but the attempt overtaxed his already strained body and that was enough for it to revert back to statuette form, effectively taking it out of the fight. And then the hobgoblin, having been one of the least successful members of the red team thus far, redeemed himself by swinging his greataxe into Finoula's abdomen, causing the elf to drop to her knees - at which point the hobgoblin ended her life with a downward swing. Had there been an audience watching this friendly game of Titan Chess, they would probably have been on their feet, cheering, by now. As it stood, the only spectators were Leandros and Takhios, who stood impassively watching the battle unfold, and of course the unseen judges overseeing this fight. But now the opposing teams of six were each down to their last two members, and the match seemed like it could go either way. <Let's pick off the hobgoblin!> decided Castillan, moving into a flanking position with Darrien - one which, not coincidentally, put the bounder on a yellow square. As healing energy course through his body, closing all of his cuts and wounds, the bounder struck at the armored foe before him with his magical short sword and dagger. The hobgoblin spun to face the elf while the githzerai did his best to take Darrien out of the fight, to no avail. But now the four remaining combatants were all lined up in a row: Castillan on a yellow square (no longer providing healing energy until he stepped off it and back on, but at least preventing his enemies from using it as a resource), then the hobgoblin, then Darrien, and then the githzerai monk. With blinding swiftness, Darrien dropped his scimitar to the ground and grabbed arrow after arrow, sending them flying from the [i]Arachnibow[/i]'s string into the hobgoblin at near point blank range. The hobgoblin's expression said he couldn't believe he'd been brought down by a half-breed elf, but he had: arrows sticking through rents in his armor, he crashed to the ground, dead. Castillan, on his turn, abandoned his yellow square to race around to the githzerai's back, so he and the half-elf ranger could flank him from two sides. The githzerai got in several powerful blows on Darrien, who had perhaps neglected his own defenses in taking out the hobgoblin, but he remained standing after the monk's time was up. Then it was Darrien's turn again and he sent a handful of arrows at the monk, who managed to knock the first one out of the air but got hit with two of the following three. And then Castillan sent his [i]short sword of wounding[/i] through the githzerai's body, its bloody blade sticking out of the monk's belly as Castillan's final blow lifted his foe off his feet. He lifted one of his feet to the monk's back and kicked, pulling his blade out of the corpse and allowing it to fall to the ground. <Is that it? Did we win?> asked Darrien, looking around in a daze for any other enemies on the arena-board. There were none; Castillan and Darrien were the only remaining pieces still alive. War Titan Takhios gave a sour-faced nod of congratulations to Leandros, then turned on his heel and stomped away. Leandros stepped onto the board and bent down to pick up the slain heroes, one by one, and lay them carefully on the ground just off the arena-board. He posed each, lying upon their backs with their arms crossed on their chests. "You promised we'd all make it back home in perfect health," Darrien reminded the titan. "And so you shall," promised Leandros. "But that will be tomorrow. Tonight we feast, and drink to the glorious deaths of your companions!" He stood to his full height and held out his right hand; immediately, a 20-foot-tall waraxe materialized in Leandros's hand - the [i]Frostreaver[/i], the game's coveted prize. Neither Darrien nor Castillan felt much like celebrating; they worried that Leandros might not keep his promise, and without Gilbert the two heroes had no way of returning to their own plane. But they needn't have worried for in the morning, Leandros led them back out to the arena-board, where the slain heroes were rising as if having just awakened from a long sleep. "This is Ysgard!" boomed Leandros. "On this plane, those slain in combat rise the next morn at their full strength, ready for another day of glorious battle!" "No more battle for me!" insisted Gilbert Fung. "We not paid yet for chess game! We win?" he asked Darrien and Castillan; seeing as they had approached the board from the longhouse and not woken up on the ground like the others, he assumed they had survived the game - and surviving blue pieces could only mean a victory for the blue team. "We won," Castillan reassured the wizard. Leandros led the newly-resurrected heroes into the longhouse for a quick breakfast before opening a [i]gate[/i] that returned them, as promised, back to Battershield Keep. And he had their payment for them as well; even Gilbert wasn't sure how the titan had done it, but upon their arrival there were six large chests of coins, one for each of the heroes, sitting just outside the moat of the keep, by the drawbridge. "Well earned, my friends!" boomed the titan, still glowing at their recent victory on his behalf - and his successful procurement of the [i]Frostreaver[/i]. "I will remember you well, should I find myself in need of a mighty team of mortals again!" And then he stepped back into the silvery [i]gate[/i] behind him, which disappeared as soon as he had vanished through it. "Let's lug these inside," suggested Binkadink, heading for the nearest chest. And then a female voice called from inside the keep. "You're back!" cried Helga. "Who wants pie?" - - - I've wanted to try a "living chess battle" adventure for some time - decades, really, since reading "The Chessmen of Mars" back in junior high. This is where I finally put the idea into action, although the first thing I abandoned was the notion of chess pieces and their different ways of moving across the board, followed swiftly thereafter by the concept of two chess-playing opponents moving their pieces around based on which moves made the most sense - that would easily get boring fast for someone whose PC was a seldom-moved game piece. So the adventure ended up being not very chesslike at all, but still a great deal of fun - even though the way the adventure was structured meant that as soon as a player's PC was slain in the game, that was it for them for the whole session. In fact, that was also a bit ironic: Dan plays Gilbert Fung, one of only two primary spellcasters in the game (and the other is Harry's Hagan, who as a sorcerer doesn't need to prepare his spells). Dan spent a good 20 minutes or so of session time going through all of Gilbert's spells, deciding how each would work based on the [i]wall of force[/i] limitations of Titan Chess. He had several plans lined up, too - so it was doubly ironic that Gilbert was the first one slain. Dan was the one who remembered Gilbert's [i]ring of arcane supremacy[/i], too - about a half hour after his PC's death, and much too late in the adventure to retroactively give him another shot at making the nabassu dance uncontrollably. Had that spell worked, the game might have played out very differently. Still and all, this was an interesting experiment and a fun change of pace - and those [i]walls of force[/i] really did make for a different gaming experience. And after the adventure was completed, everyone sat down and leveled up to 17th as a result of the experience gained in playing a friendly game of Titan Chess. Now all they have to do is decide how to spend their 20,000 gp. - - - T-Shirt Worn: My Dalek "Exterminate!" T-shirt, given that each team was attempting to kill the other members of the team. [/QUOTE]
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