BLM

All,

Don't misconstrue my silence. As the father of 1/4 black children, I am 100% Black Lives Matter; one of them being in transition, and 100% Trans Lives Matter.

I'm planning on doing a Special edition of Meanderings, with paid content by Black authors and artists.

I accept acknowledge my white privilege. The one time I was arrested, I was released on my own recognizance, I was not cuffed and stuffed, and I was not assaulted. Had I been black or a person of color, that loitering charge arrest could have been an entirely different story.

I personally don't trust most cops. I definitely oppose racists and white supremacists, to the extent of not talking to the majority of my blood relatives.

Ron Tilton
White ally to Black Lives Matter & Trans Lives Matter

Taming and Training, Journal Entry #3

16th of Rua

I wandered into the wild around Haven to find some friends, when I ran across falcon that I started baiting it all afternoon.

17th of Rua

I arrived at the same clearing in the forest as the previous day, and found my falcon friend from the day before waiting for me, surprisingly.  I played with it all afternoon, and as I left for the day, Flash, as I started calling it, rode back to where I was sleeping in the Loyal Order of Delvers sleeping area.

18th of Rua

I went to the same area with Flash to start Training him to hunt for me and it took most of the afternoon for him to understand.  That evening as I was cooking the meat, I saw eyes in the woods and left food for it.

19th of Rua

I did my Karma Ritual the next day in the forest, and stared in wonder when a hutawa approached the circle.  Later that day when I went to my usual clearing with Flash, what do I find but that same hutawa as this morning.  She stayed and watched my training with Flash and when he missed a strip of the meat that I was using to train him, she pounced on it.  I started throwing some specifically for her which she gobbled up gleefully.

20th of Rua

I went to the same place with Flash and found Pounce, what I decided to call the hutawa from yesterday, bounding out of the bushes as soon as I threw the first strip of meat.  By the end of the afternoon, I had her eating out of my hand and she followed me home, which she did even more exuberantly than Flash had three days ago.

21st of Rua

I took Pounce to the training yard to train her to attack on command.  She took to it really well, though some of the others in the training yard started to get a little nervous at how viciously Pounce was tearing into the practice dummies.

Earthdawn Currency

So, to make things a bit easier to track, I decided to make a currency table, including some definitions of  gems.

	Value in silver	weight	per oz	per lb
Copper	1/10 silver	1/3	3	48
Silver	1	1/4	4	64
Gold	10	1/5	5	80
Elemental Earth	100	1/10	10	160
Elemental Water	100	1/10	10	160
Elemental Air	1000	1/10	10	160
Elemental Fire	1000	1/10	10	160
Orichalcum	10,000	1	1	16
Gems
flawed common	10	per 1/10oz
flawed uncommon	50	per 1/10oz
flawed rare	100	per 1/10oz
good common	50	per 1/10oz
good uncommon	250	per 1/10oz
good rare	500	per 1/10oz
flawless common	100	per 1/10oz
flawless uncommon	500	per 1/10oz
flawless rare	1000	per 1/10oz

So I decided it would be easy for tracking gems, if we just broke them into a few categories.
Common, such as jasper, quartz, turquoise, or white pearls.
Uncommon like blue pearls, jade, or aquamarine
Rare like rubies emeralds and diamonds.

Give it a quality, flawed, good or flawless.

Make it per weight. 1/10 ounce just like elemental coins, and voila, easily tradeable gemstones.

(Will update with descriptions later)

J'aka Mooneye, Journal Entry #2

The 7th of Rua, on a foggy night.

After much rejoicing by the villagers of Tureem, we needed to get supplies. There were a few stores in the town, the dwarf and I went to Turran's Anygoods. Turran was also somewhat of a leader in town, a wise old man, and because we were in service to this town he offered me some discounts. Headed off into the dark caves in search of these monstrous supposed spider creatures (more on that later), I figured some torches and climbing gear were in order. Plus more daggers and a few waterskins never hurt. Being dry is horrible.

We met back up with the windling and the elf (i forget their names, they don't proclaim them as much as I do), we headed off to the northeast where there was a sighting of these monsters. After tracking some human footprints off into the woods, we were ambushed. Well, I should say, some of the others were. No one has a sharper eye and sense for danger than J'aka Mooneye! A spider-like creature leaps out of nowhere, crashing like a meteor into the elf and sinking its fangs into him. Finally, silence. The windling cast some spell upon it, wracking it with pain and I threw a net at it which it could not escape. The dwarf finally moved his feet and got an impressive stab down into it, nearly killing it and I then stabbed it with a dagger to finish it off.

The elf must rest a bit and the dwarf administers a potion to him. The windling says that some horror made these creatures from regular spiders. We carved it open to find a bright crystal, a trophy of our magnificent defeat of this creature. We continued on, sure that there was another out here. We came to a cave, and I could see that it was just inside the dark, trying to plan another ambush. As it is known, J'aka Mooneye has the keenest sense for danger!

The windling did his spell again, it is very effective. Then the dwarf hit it with a hawk hatchet, but it bounced off the crystal carapace. He should leave the throwing to me, for J'aka has the best throwing arm! I threw a net but the creature evaded it actively, a lucky break for it as it then attacked. The elf exchanged blows with it, and I threw a bola which entangled the creature's claws and half of its legs before denting the carapace deeply on both sides. The elf was finally able to finish it off, half-dead as it was.

We carved another fine jewel out of it, and searched the cave. There was the skull of one of my people, who I later discovered was possibly T'kala the Teal (and of the yellow stripes). Not knowing him, it will be hard to perform our rites of storytelling for his funeral. I will carry the skull with me until I find someone that knew him. There was also a crystal dagger that had some of our runes on it, surely an old possession of his. I will carry it forth in his memory. We also found some silver and some identifying trinkets to return to Tureem for those who survived the dead to remember them by.

This new niall decided to head off to Haven, where we will train further. On the road (now the 8th of Rua), we met a troll named Grindel Crystaltusk and an obsidimen named Malachite. I introduced myself as J'aka the Mighty, and they sought to challenge me on my chosen title. Turns out, they are much stronger physically than I, and I am mighty in another fashion, speed and stealth. Perhaps I shall take to calling myself J'aka the Shadow, so that none of the fools of this world will be confused. They were nonetheless an affable sort, and members of the Loyal Order of Delvers. They were kind enough to give us a brief rundown of Haven and its factions.

Upon arriving and seeing the egregious prices of lodging, we were compelled to join the Loyal Order of Delvers ourselves in order to simply have a place to stay. One day I will not be so coinless, but for now this will have to do. Now the true adventure begins, but not before a month or so of training and preparation. I consulted a local Thief of 3rd circle, Ten'adan Sharpclaw, and entered into an agreement with him to train and learn what he could teach. There was also a man named Rukkhan, a human, who offers free melee training to anyone. I will have to take him up on that offer, even though I mostly throw things. Never know when an enemy will be foolish enough to approach me.

The Chronicles of Eagle Feather, Journal entry #2

7th of Rua

This morning I woke up surprisingly well rested after all the alcohol I drank last night, only suffering a slight headache.  I went downstairs to join my companions, Wibbels the Windling Tattoo Artist, Tharik the Dwarven Weapon Smith, and J'aka the T'skrang Thief, having breakfast, as they ask the town elder where the supply shops were in town.  He mentioned Allgoods for supplies and Graka's Hut for potions.

I headed over to Graka's with Wibbels to get some antidotes, seeing as we were to go up against spider-like monsters.  However, as soon as Wibbels get to the Orc's hut, he goes and upsets her by asking her for the recipe instead of the potion she worked hard to make.  I attempted to intervene by saying that we would also buy a antidote.  In the end, not only did we not get beat up, but she consented to sell the recipe and the vial of Kelia's Antidote that she had to us.  In return we promised to collect any of the medicinal plants needed for making it, should we find any, and hand them over upon our return. Then we met up with our the rest of our party who were finishing up there business at Allgoods, where Tharik, seeing me eyeing the Healer's Kits, gave me the remaining five uses of Healer's Kit, a little under two kits worth, so that I wouldn't have to buy any.

Kelia's Antidote: Black Ivy leaves and Windling (toad)Stools

Having finished supplying for our venture, we headed north which is the direction the missing villagers and travelers were last seen heading in.  I attempted to track the monsters, having forgotten that we were told that the missing people were seen heading out of Tureem on their own volition and as if under a spell.  So after J'aka reminded me of this by pointing out the trail of boot prints, leading off into the forest, I started tracking properly.  Unfortunately, so focused was I on doing so, that I failed to notice the monster that lay in wait until it was too late.  It jumped out, sunk it's fangs deeply into me, being in the lead, making me slightly light-headed, so that I was unable to successfully fight off the poison that accompanied the bite.  I became paralyzed, fell flat on my face, and for the rest of the minute of battle, was unable to shake the paralysis and could understand little of the flashes of light I was seeing and the noises I was hearing.

After the battle Wibbels rolled me over, not sure how he managed, being only a foot and a half tall, and fed me the antidote we had bought Tureem, after which Tharik handed me a Health Potion, which I took, and was able to feel almost like my usual self.  I was able to inspect the monster more closely after the battle, and found that the body had crystalline appearance, and the monsters, according to Wibbels, were Horror Constructs, beings that were made by Horrors.  Being more aware of what the monsters we were facing were capable of, we proceeded with more caution.  We followed the trail of boot prints to a cave where we saw barely perceivable movement, which was similar, according to Wibbels and J'aka, to what they saw shortly before the last attack.

J'aka threw a lit torch in an attempt to make the monster easier to see, while Tharik threw one of his Hawk Hatchets, which didn't seem to do much, and Wibbels started his 'thread weaving' in preparation for casting spells.  Then, the monster created a hypnotic type affect which distracted the others, and which I was not effected by.  Wibbels managed to cast a spell he called Phantom Flame, which had a temporarily recurring affect, causing it's target to be magically burned.  Then Tharik threw his other Hawk Hatchet, which, while being well cast, only chipped off a piece of the creatures armor.  I slashed at, and missed, it with my ethereal claws, while J'aka threw his net.  Missing with the net seemed to enrage him, as, when he threw his bolas a moment later, threw it with such force that, not only did it tangle the monsters legs, the bolas also smashed into it with a satisfying 'crunch!'  Seeing the creature helpless, and remembering the indignity that its partner had caused me, I decided to get revenge.  I went in and, with reckless savagery, tore into it with enough force that, with a shriek of triumph, I ripped it in twain.

Upon witnessing the result, I observed that the creature had a crystal core that, when harvested, would fetch a decent price.  So after harvesting it's core, looting the nest of these creatures, and returning to the previous battle site to harvest the other monsters core, we returned to the village, where we received our reward for completing the mission, and, as thanks, more free food, drinks and lodgings.  Before indulging in the promised feast, I preened(cleaned) my feathered armor, then allowed myself to enjoy the festivities.

8th of Rua

Once I woke up I felt fully refreshed and healthy.  I preened my feathers, came down to breakfast, ate heartily with my companions, and by noon we had set off towards Haven.  Close to evening, we reached the outskirts of the town, where we came upon a Troll and a Obsidiman who introduced themselves as Grindel Crystaltusk and Malachite, respectively.  I saw that they both wore blue sashes, which led me to believe that they were part of the same group within the town, which it happen they were, as I later found out.  When they first saw us, they made a bet of two gold pieces that our party wouldn't last two week in Parlainth, and when Wibbels heard this, he asked to be included in on the bet.  Afterwords, we introduced ourselves to them, I doing so by saying, "I go by Eagle Feather, but some just call me annoying," at which point, Grindel said, "Okay, so I'll call you Annoying."  Not what I meant, but who was I to argue with a Troll?  Then they took us on a tour of Haven, pointing out where different groups hung out and where Torgak's Supplies and extravagant inn, The Restless Troll could be found.

Next Several Weeks

We decided to join the faction that Grindel and Malachite where part of, mostly to save silver, and during the next few weeks we learned new skills, improved on the skills we knew, and Circled up.  In this time an old, retired warrior by the name of Rükkholder The Old Sword drilled those of us willing, and able, to learn in the art of using melee weapons.  I am now a Third Circle Beast Master, thanks the those of The Grove willing to impart their wisdom unto me.  I also became interested in questing after Jaspree in the hopes of bettering myself in my craft.

Campaign Calendar

So, I found this excellent resource yesterday.

Fantasy Calendar

So you'll find a link to the campaign calendar on the page now. I will be filling this calendar out as play proceeds.

The Chronicles of Eagle Feather, Journal Entry #1

Good day.  I am called Eagle Feather.  I am an elf and a First Circle Beastmaster.

When I was younger, I got lost deep in the Caucauvic Mountains.  One day, when I had run out of food and water, and had fainted from dehydration and heat stroke.  When I woke up, I found myself in the nest of the extremely rare, to the point I thought they were just a myth, Gryphons of Caucauvic Mountains.  I thought they were going to eat me and was preparing to defend myself, when I noticed a pile of mountain fruit in the nest in front of me.  I learned quite a lot from living with and cooperating with them.

I figured that after many years of living with them that my clothes would become threadbare, and so I asked the adult Gryphons, through pantomime, if I might have use of the feathers from their molts to make some new clothes for myself when the time came.  They generously agreed after I promised not to reveal where I got them, saying that I would tell people that they were simply Giant Eagle feathers.  So I made a set of feather clothes, and later on a cape, out of the more pristine feathers.

As they say, all chicks must eventually leave the nest.  So, after making sure to cover my tracks with some of the skills they taught me, I left the Caucauvic Mountains some decade after I entered.  I proceeded to wonder the next few decades, following the call of Jaspree and Garlen, as my Gryphon family had, though I learned their names during my wandering after continuing to practice what I learned from them.  I also learned, though experimentation, that my feather clothes had the same durability as low strength armor.

6th of Rua

I was minding my own business in the forest about a day outside of the village of Tureem, when I heard a voice say, "Halt, this is a robbery!" in the direction of the nearest road.  Curious, I went to take a look, bounding from tree to tree in order to move silently, approached the sound of the altercation.  When I stopped in view of the road, I heard a slight noise.  Looking down I saw someone clearly as interested as I in what was at hand.  I saw him level a shortbow, not at the one whose voice was the same as the one who had exclaimed that he was a robber, but at the caravan that was the other point of interest on the road, so I decided he was in league with the former.

Just as I arrived I saw the offender, who was blocking the road, get hit in the legs by a curious device that looked like three intertwined cords, each with a steel ball at the end, thrown by the lead caravan guard.  At that the man beneath me became distracted, so I decided to try my luck by attacking him.  It turned out to be bad, for as soon as I shifted my weight to leap down, I slipped slightly, barely managing to wound my target.  He countered, I dodged, and by the time our exchange concluded, the leader, on the road, went down.  My opponent, panicking, tried to flee.  I ran after him with the thought of finishing him off, but after I attempted another attack, also badly executed, he dropped his shortbow and sped off.  Feeling the wheels of destiny pulling me back towards the caravan, I picked up the shortbow, allowing the bandit to make good his escape.

I returned to the caravan and joined them on their journey to Tureem, heckling the prisoner, as the leader of the bandits had simply been knocked out, all the way there.  Shortly before we left for Tureem, two travelers joined us from up the road, in the direction from which the caravan had traveled.  When the caravan arrived in Tureem, it was greeted by quite the welcoming, as were, oddly, myself, the lead caravan guard, and the two travelers who arrived after the skirmish.

The four of us entered the inn of the village, charmingly named Commonhouse.  When we entered, we were approached by the innkeeper, a dwarf, who greeted us warmly, addressed us as adventurers, offered us free rooms, food and drink, and asked us if we would take on the task of eliminating a nest of spider monsters that had been terrorizing them and those in the land around Tureem, we agreed after inquiring where we might find these monsters.  I, at the end of the conversation, it having become night, and having imbibed more alcohol than safe, staggered up to the room that had been gifted to me by the innkeeper and fell asleep immediately, having gotten into the habit of sleeping as soon as the sun went down back with the Gryphons, something that I could and would fight if absolutely necessary.  However, as a sign of respect for those intelligent, gentle creatures, I try not to.