Ultraviolet Grasslands D&D 5th Edition with Kids - episode 22

 13/8/2022

Having decided to explore the tomb of the Dragon Who Rises, they join the archeologists and head south, off the trail to the Way Stone, through the arid rust desert. After two days travel they reach a small valley, framed by rusted and graffiti'ed ruins, and in the centre is an incredible crystal flower, over 70 meters tall. It is pristine as if it was created that morning. They approach, and a small spherical droid rolls out of a hole, and sprouts two little arms. They see that the valley is full of lots of these little burrows. They debate trying to steal the robot, or trying to get it as a pet, but eventually decide to leave the crystal flower alone, and they head away. As they leave, they see two hooded figures - limelanders who are dressed as monks. Asmodeus steps up and bellows at the, and, intimidated, they hurry away to the East.

Two further days away they come over a crest and behold the valley in which the tomb lies. There are three huge collapsed arms or pylons, which obviously used to frame the valley in an angle, but now are a twisted and ruined husk. In the centre of the valley is a lake, covered in a thick layer of rust and desert dust, but it ripples gently in the breeze and so is obviously sitting on top of liquid. At the far end of the valley is a thin pillar of smoke.

Shgalang sneaks over to the pillar of smoke, and sees a large man, almost a giant, sitting in a well-established campsite, with a hut made of debris, cooking a meal. He introduces himself, and the large man introduces himself as Ottokar. Shgalang hunts a crab-deer and makes Ottokar a lavish meal, and even manages, somewhat impressively, to scavenge enough wild ingredients to make a cake! Ottokar is intrigued by the Kenku bird-man and they soon are talking like old friends.

Meanwhile Stanton casts detect magic, and sees no magic in the valley but detects only the Sina and Xina are magical. He asks them why they are registering as magical and they tell him to mind his own business. Asmodeus sets up a camp, and the archeologists set up their yurt. Asmodeus goes hunting and gets two antler rabbits, and cooks them. 

Meanwhile Stanton is determined to try and identify the location of the tomb. He transforms into an alligator and plunges into the lake - and emerges moments later, his snout burning and streaming - the whole lake is made of mercury! He is poisoned but rests to recover. 

He ponders what to do - and decides to detect the location of the nearest dragon scale - and gets about 300 feet straight down. He transforms into a badger and digs down - and at about 150 feet he finds a stone, digs around the mortar, and finds himself in a tunnel. He widens the tunnel while he can retain the form of the badger (he wanted a giant badger but had never seen one). 

The expedition (leaving Gilded 3-era and Ottokar on the surface to guard the gear) clamber down a rope slung down the tunnel, and find themselves in a corridor stretching out in both directions. They choose one direction and soon come across a huge animated snake skeleton! It blasts lightning at them, and they shoot and hack at it. Sina is charmed by the creature, but Stanton conjures two dire wolves and they fall on the creature and tear it apart. Montague pockets the two large rubies that make the eyes of the creature.

They find themselves in front of a large stone door, inscribed with ruins that Asmodeus identifies as draconic in origin, but he is unable to translate them. They decide to open it, and they cut the first seal and ... an enormous fireball erupts out of nowhere, burning them all horribly. Nobody is killed, but they are badly burned and they retreat tot he surface to camp overnight and take a long rest.

The next morning they clamber down the badger tunnel again. They gingerly cut the remainder of the seals - no more fireballs. They roll the door open - inside is a chamber filled with chains. In the centre is a huge scarlet figure swathed in chains - it growls at them to leave or suffer destruction. Stanton casts Moonbeam, causing it to growl in pain, and it lashes at him with multiple animated chains, ripping deeply into his flesh and binding him in chains. As an Eldaren he teleports 30' away, nearly dead. They attack the creature - Xina zaps it twice with a lightning bolt wand, but the creature slashes her and she falls. Finally they are able to strike the creature down with a couple of crossbow bolts and it disappears under Sina's furious blows. Stanton rushes forward and revives Xina. They review the now empty room still smelling of infernal sulphur and blood...

Ultraviolet Grasslands D&D 5th Ed. with Kids: Episode 21

 8/8/2022

Back at the Last Serai, the crew pays sages and dig around the ancient libraries for research on treasures . Stanton becomes obsessed with the legendary 'Radiation Dragons' and wonders how he might be able to acquire an egg. He pays a sage a large sum of money who is able to inform him of their ancestral roosting grounds, far to the north of the Moon-Facing Ford. 

Shgalang and Jack spend some of their loot on Strider Birds - the same ones the riders ins ervice of the big-head ride. They are very comfortable on them as they are both small sized. Asmodeus, while searching for information on the radiation dragons, is recognised as a hero of the revolution, and gifted a book on the creatures of the Grasslands by a grateful alley merchant. 

They eventually decide to set off - still unsure as to whether they are still seeking the fireblade, or a radiation dragon or something else. They decide to head to the Waystone, and provision up before heading east into the desert. The way is dry and gruelling - they are albe to carry ample provisions for themselves and their animals as they rely on the druid to cast create water once a day for them. On the second day they enter a deep and fierce rust storm, which rages around the Waystone incessantly. 

A couple of days in, and it is tough going, they see an enormous shape heading towards them - a giant semi-mechanical centipede like creature, as big as a Dune sandworm. They quickly take cover, and manage to hide. It lumbers past them - luckily not noticing them.

In a couple more days they make their way to the Waystone. to their disappointment there is no settlement there - only a few yurts half buried in the storm sand. They present themselves at the Yurt and are welcomed in by a dwarf, two oranglenader twins and a porcelain prince. They introduce themselves as Laszlo Montague, dwarf archeologist, late of the Violet city, Sena and Xina, twin adventurers from the Orangelands, and a rogue polybody, Gilded 3-Era. They are on a contract with the University of the Violet City to uncover the famed tomb of the Dragon Who Rises. 

They offer hospitality, and seem friendly enough. The group offer themselves as guards and hired swords for the expedition. Laszlo agrees, and they strike a deal for a 50/50 split, once the University guaranteed cost of 70k is recouped. 

They rest for a couple of days at the Waystone, and then pack up the yurts and head south. On the first day out, through the storm and rust, they see a strange creature - what looks like a young man grafted onto a centipede body, with a shelter or gazebo on its massive back. It seems aggressive and insane, and screams at them for them to pay the price for it's wisdom. They ask what the price is and it demands a bone from a living creature. They briefly, as they like to do, debate whether to betray one of their own, or slaughter on of their beasts, but finally decide to fight the bizarre creature. After a fierce battle they kill it. Asmodeus tries to find it in his book of Grasslands creatures, and sees it listed as the 'Dispenser of Wisdom' - a creature that has plagued this area for many decades.

Ultraviolet Grasslands D&D 5th with Kids - Episode 20

 30/7/2022

Ignoring the Bat-Lions, they see on the Chromium Dome strange markings that they, after some study, identify as musical notes. They recite the notes (Purple Haze) and a door melts open in the side of the dome. They attempt to scoop up the metal but it has solidified again. They enter the Dome. Inside are many malachite rods - ancient recording devices with music recorded onto them. 

They decide to return to the Last Serai with their loot. First, they decide to take a detour to the legendary autofarm, mentioned on Nanfoodle's datapad.  There they see bizarre vomish fruits, tended by odd looking biomechanical autocrabs. They attempt to raid the farm, but are driven off by the innumerable crabs. They are badly wounded, but Shgalang manages to capture and incapacitate one. 

As they return, Asmodeus discovers that a burn mark from the death-face in the shape of a dog, rises up and starts to follow him. He seems to have inadvertantly adopted a shadow dog, a ghostly slightly radioactive spirit of a dog, visible only in certain lights and angles. He names it 'Jeremy'.

They return to the Last Serai and sell their wares. Whilst there, Nanfoodle forms a dalliance of sorts with a former polybody who has taken a liking to him. Aware their romance is doomed, they idle away a few pleasant days together. 

Ultraviolet Grasslands (with 12 year old boys) - episode 19

24 July 2022

The Kenku (Shgalana), Eladrin (Stanton) and Gnome (Namfoodle Nackiestumble) scout closer to the Porcelain Citadel. Shgalana's keen eyesight is able to see from afar, the Great Head flying afar to the south. They discuss whether to attack it but decide it would be suicidal. The next day Shgalana sees bird riders from the head arrive at the Porcelain Citadel, where defences are being created and walkers  and slaves are working to beef up defences. It looks like some sort of alliance between the Big Head and the Porcelain Princes is underway.

They return to the revolutionary army of the Last Serai and report what they've seen. They propose an attack or a capture of the Big Head. The general agrees, and they are given possession of a ground to air shoulder mounted missile. Sadly as both Shgalana and gnome are tiny, they would need both of them to fire it. They give it to Stanton to carry.

They travel out into the Limelands again and suffer terrible itching and rashes from the static storms. As they push their way through the dry grasses they encounter a patrol - three porcelain shareminds and two armed slaves. They immediately drop prone as do their enemies. There is a standoff but Shgalana and Gnome, suing their small size, jungle crawl around and flank the patrol. With the aid of surprise, Shgalana blasts one polybody from existence - leaving only a smoking boot. He quickly takes out the second polybody with the help of elecrical blasts from Namfoodle, but the final polybody blasts Namfoodle with their energy rifle, knocking him back and leaving him a smoking spreadeagled unconscious figure in the long grass. The two slaves flee and Shgalana manages to kill the last polbody, even after his energy rifle runs out of energy and becomes dead weight.

They surmise the polybody is probably in contact with the rest of the hive mind, so they retreat about a kilometer away for a short rest. They see a walker arrive and load up the bodies. They debate attacking it but they are too badly hurt and the porcelain walker lopes off way before they even decide to make a move.

They decide to find the Big Head and take it out. After a few hours though they see, flying high above, ignoring or immune to stuckshards in the sky, a purple bird of ultraviolet hue, so it drops in and out of their visible wavelength depending on how the light hits it. As it flies south, the dry yellow grasslands beneath it become a luscious green, and the see ghostly figures of the rich and vibrant civilizations and people who once lived here, before the great war. As the bird passes overhead they hear a voice ask them if they wish to walk the paths of the past - they both say yes.

They wake up lying in the long grass in the same location. They have no idea how much time has passed. They remember amazing adventures and pleasant travels in the distant past, but only as if in a dream, and the memories fade as quickly. Shgalana holds a solar powered laser pistol in his hand, and Namfoodle has a datapad containing a wikipedia of the ancient grasslands (comprehensive but several thousand years, at least, out of date).

The journey changes their priorities. No longer interested in the petty war between Princes and Dwarfs, they decide they want to follow the path of godhood, and complete the great ceremony of the sandwich to become gods themselves. They also decide they want a base to call their own and they review the datapad for likely locations, and also any references to god nearby to reduce into a god paste for the ceremony.

They find that at the Last Serai there is a Demiurge knwn only as the Rebuilder whose temple is a building the recognise as the shunned 'Ignored Tower'. They find several interesting references to underground installations neaby - a quarry, the Glass House, the Autofarm, and the Chromium Dome. 

They decide on the Dome as the most likely location, and set off immediately north onto the badlands adjoining the Death facing Passage. Straight away a dark and thick Hazestorm engulfs them, and travel is slow and vicibilit poor, but after four days they enter a gulley choked with scree and rubble, and find the dome - less shiny than it once might have been and covered in dust, lichen and rubble. Nearby are three black creatures - enormous feral lions with huge bat wings. Shgalana, with the aid of Namfoodle's jump spell, does a huge war leap to scare them off and intimidates them - they slink away. They appear mostly only interested in keeping safe and warm from the storm. They approach the great silvery dome....

Ultraviolet Grasslands with 12 year old boys - Episode 18?

17/7/2022

They are spotted only a few hundred meters from the perimeter of the Serai. It is just before dawn and the defenders let out a shout - they are unprepared for an attack but quickly assemble. The rebel (mostly dwarf) army opens fire. There are flashes of light, darkness, explosions from artillery fire and it is near impossible to see what is going on.

The party are given the signal and charge from their hiding place, and the Porcelain Prince army counter charges, supported by a number of porcelain walkers. 

The Kenku uses his energy weapon to great effect, cutting down slave/conscript soldiers. A walker advances on them and they blast it with concentrated fire. It blasts away at other troops - it seems the pilot is unsure where the fire is coming from. They at the lest minute get a volley off, wounding the Eladdin who transforms into a bear, is blasted into oblivion, and then struck again as a person before the leg of the walker is shattered and the walker comes down. A second walker comes to assist, but by this time the group have used their spells to drive off or kill the ground troops and can concentrate their fire on the second walker, which falls beneath a volley of energy bolts, magic missiles and wooden arrows.

They look around - there is too much smoke and darkness and dawn is just lifting to tell what is going on but they hear a great cheer and they realise they have successfully taken the Serai!

The revolutionary army declines their request for magic items (all such items have been conscripted into the defence force) but pay them lavish amounts of gold and honour them with medals.

They decide to spend their recovery time celebrating.They carouse for a week - and luck is with them, they all win big at the gambling tables, especially the Gnome, who has a legendary run of good luck.

They watch the dwarfs and freed slaves prepare for the inevitable counter assault and debate what to do. They discuss heading west again, toward the Near Moon, but eventually decide to offer their services to the Revolutionary Army, which gratefully accepts. They are sent on a reconnaisance mission, to find out what the Princes are up to, and see if there are any advance forces.

They head out, refreshed, emboldened, and ready to face anything. Which is just as well because on the second night out, they hear something huge approaching - loud booming footsteps. Whatever it is stops and - sniffs the air. With horror and surprise they realise - it is the golem from the Copper caves! It has been hunting them for weeks now and has finally found them. It lurches toward the campsite.

They blast at it - it smashes the Eladdin several times while the others try to take it down. It takes an impressive amount of damage but finally it cracks, and crumbles lifelessly into its component rocks, lying in a scattered pile by the campsite...