Hello. This is a thread chronicling the events of a new D&D 3.5 campaign just recently begun three weeks ago. I've been playing or DMing roleplaying games since 1982, though most of my gaming experience is with various iterations of Dungeons & Dragons. I have once again taken on the role of "Dungeon Master", and will use this campaign journal as a record of campaign events and treasure inventory.  So now let us enter the Labyrinth....

The Colorful Cast of Characters

* Horatio Tortolla (imurrx): Horatio is a 12th-level Human Artificer. He appears as an nondescript type, hiding a vast arsenal of magical and technological artillery. He retains his reasoned, scientific mind, and takes the cautious approach towards situations. He is the party's magical engineer and primary source of non-magical artillery. He also remains the primary source of magical identification.

* Kratos (imurrx): Kratos is a Warforged, which is an artificial golem-like being transported from the Eberron campaign setting. He's classed as a 7th-level Fighter/5nd-level Warforged Juggernaut, and could be classified as a walking, talking tank. His personality is rather gruff, though he can be reasoned with, and he is infinitely curious about other mechanized beings resembling himself.

* Dante (imurrx): Dante is a Human 7th-level Psychic Warrior. He is Lucy's twin brother, and is almost rabidly protective of her. Dante is a skilled unarmed combatant, with a wide array martial art skills at his disposal. More impressive about him, however, are his psionic powers, which enable him to read objects and see auras. He can even alter his physical form to some degree, though he only does so as a last resort...

* Lucy (MeatLips): Lucy is a 6th-level female Human Swordmaster. She is Dante's twin sister, and the first thing you'll notice is her almost unearthly beauty. The second thing you'll notice is that she's dumb as a fucking brick. Despite this, she has a kind nature, and is friendly and approachable. After all this, nobody meeting her would realize that she's an absolute hellcat with a sword, as many monsters and bloodthirsty thugs have learned, much to their sorrow....

* Rufus (MeatLips): Rufus is a 7th-level Human Monk. He is a gifted combatant, skilled in many forms of martial arts. However, the most startling thing about Rufus is the fact that he is the recipient of a most unusual curse, causing him to be transformed into a female whenever splashed by cold water! This bizarre effect can only be countered by warm or hot water. Needless to say, this makes his/her life extremely complicated...

* Meatlips (Me): Meatlips is a 6th-level Ikonian Watchdog Fighter. He is an unusual bulldog, being the recipient of a mutation granting him human intelligence and the ability to speak. Despite this mutation, he usually pretends to be an ordinary dog. At one point, he was a former wizard's familiar, and another time acted as a guard dog at Ashlahn Castle. Meatlips is a loyal friend to the PCs, and always looking for a tasty treat.



To be continued...

Ikonian Watchdog: (http://lambshack.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=threeplus&action=display&thread=24)

More detail will be written tomorrow, but here's a pic of the dungeon that was partially explored. You gotta love Dwarvenforge...

Continued from before...

The PCs were hanging out at their "Man Cave", when they suddenly heard a faint "knock-knocking" emanating from the other room. They quickly went over to investigate...

It should be noted that Horatio devised a set of "magical doorknobs" that attach themselves to a blank wall when placed against it, creating a magical door. The door creates a gateway, allowing the user to travel to various locales on the same plane of existence.



The PCs heard knocking at this door.

Needless to say, they were very alarmed....especially when someone or something seemed to be attempting to force its way through the portal. But who or what could be doing this?

The pounding and scratching sounds at the door became more frenzied. Again...another cause of concern.

I believe the PCs knocked on the door at one point, and were rewarded with a similar knocking sound in return. They even peered through the keyhole, seeing a stone wall on the other side, and then suddenly a huge head was blocking their view, with a huge eye glaring back at them! :eek:

As an experiment, Horatio removed the magical doorknobs and placed them on different sections of the room. He noted that he saw the stone wall through the keyhole when he placed it against the same wall as before, regardless of which magical doorknob he used. Creating a magical door anywhere else in the room was different. They would peer through the keyhole, and only see a gray mist. As a result of all this, they finally decided to open one of the magical doors, and stride though....

....and found themselves here.



They were inside of a very large chamber with an arched doorway inexplicably standing in the center of the room.

Here's another view of it...



At this point, the PC's began to examine the door, and explore the rest of the room. This went on for a while, until they heard a scrambling sound from the other room, and a dull "thud". One of the closed doors began to open of their own volition....

Cool dungeons.

Cool DF setups.

Wow. That looks incredible. How much did that set cost you?

Quote from: ggroy;487242Cool dungeons.

Quote from: BenoistCool DF setups.

Thank you, kind sirs. I'm trying to decide what Dwarvenforge set to purchase next. There's also a possibility that I'll pick up some Dungeonstone miniature dungeons, which remains a much cheaper alternative. I haven't quite made up my mind yet.... :hmm:

Dwarvenforge is super-awesome, but it's prohibitively expensive. Therefore, I'm thinking of printing up and designing my own 1-inch-grid two-dimensional maps, and supplementing that with miniature props....like mini chairs, chests, tables, fireplaces, etc. That would make things easier for me, because I could conveniently transport it. For now though, we're enjoying this dungeon crawl in the game room/dining room.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;487264Wow. That looks incredible. How much did that set cost you?

It is incredible. And very, very expensive. I paid hundreds of dollars for what you see in these pictures. I have not purchased any Dwarvenforge Mastermaze for several years, but I plan on purchasing another set today.

Here's the Dwarvenforge website, and you'll see these sets there, many of which are unfortunately sold out...

http://www.dwarvenforge.com/

There are five different sets combined on my table right now, plus many different accessaries...

Quote from: Sacrificial Lamb;487270It is incredible. And very, very expensive. I paid hundreds of dollars for what you see in these pictures. I have not purchased any Dwarvenforge Mastermaze for several years, but I plan on purchasing another set today.

Here's the Dwarvenforge website, and you'll see these sets there, many of which are unfortunately sold out...

http://www.dwarvenforge.com/

There are five different sets combined on my table right now, plus many different accessaries...

I take it this is something you build over time rather than purchase all at once. I've  never seen a completed set like this. Very nice. At some point I need to invest in these.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;487282I take it this is something you build over time rather than purchase all at once. I've  never seen a completed set like this. Very nice. At some point I need to invest in these.

I built it up over time. And it is an investment. A person could easily sell some of the sets that are out of stock for considerably more than their original price.

Just beware. There's a reason they call Dwarvenforge..."the Addiction". You can never buy just one....

I purchased another Dwarvenforge set today. Just couldn't resist. Well, let's continue with the campaign journal...

...continued from before.

The door opens, and on the other side peers a towering humanoid with the head of a hyena!



Protectively standing just behind it is an even larger creature. It's a hulking, white-furred ape...with four enormous arms. It scowls at the PC's...



The hyena-headed creature seems alarmed and ill-tempered at the presence of the party...

Hyena-Headed Creature: "Who are you?! What are you doing here?"
Horatio: "What?! What is this place? Did you bring us here?"

A boar (or warthog) then limps over next to the creature, making some snuffling sounds..



Horatio, Lucy, and the rest of the group proceed to parley with the creature.

Since I'm kinda tired, I'll finish this up tomorrow, so.....to be continued.

....continued from before, yet again.

The PC's parley with the creature. They discover that the hyena-headed humanoid is named Fnord....who then tells them that the four-armed gorilla creature is named Fang, and the boar/warthog is called Limper.

Further discussion continues about the nature of this place, though Lucy and Rufus initially have to prevent Meatlips from charging headlong into the other room, right at that warthog. Fnord tells them this place is known as "the Labrynth". It's a series of elaborate dungeons constructed within the Ethereal Plane, presumably by the Norse god, Loki, and some other obscure god named Nore.

Fnord tells the PC's that he and his companions were brought here against their will.

While all this is going on...the party's canine companion, Meatlips nudges open another door, forcing his way in. Rufus runs after him, in an attempt to stop him.

Rufus: "Meaty! What are you doing? Stop it."
Meatlips: (plaintive whine)"But I smell treats!"

They enter this chamber...



Meatlips is frantically sniffing all the room, exploring everything...with Rufus desperately trying to stop him. They make their way to the table, where Meaty is about to leap up onto the table in order to scope everything out. Rufus is finally able to persuade and physically drag the dejected mutt away from the table, who reluctantly complies. It is then, when they walk back to the door, that Meatlips steps onto that circular pattern on the floor....over in the middle of the room. The circle fills with flames.....

Meatlips yelps in pain, leaping back.....and a fiery being emerges from the circle....



To be continued...

...And promptly wants to borrow a cup of water?

I got 18 Dwarven Forge sets in all. I would like to get more at some point. This is an addictive passtime. And yes, this is a collection you build over a long period of time. You don't rush and spend thousands of dollars in two weeks on those things. It's done bit by bit, over years and years like you build an RPG collection.