Last Week's Games: Cluckles' Adventure, Spiderman, and making DnD characters.

After getting nearly half way through the year and only beating one game, suddenly I find I’ve beaten two games in one week!

Chickens can stick to walls, who knew?

The first was Cluckles’ Adventure, which I beat early on in the week with all the stars and wrote a review for it later in the week. You can read it here! I’ve talked about Cluckles often enough in the blog, but I have a few additional points I’d like to make here First, I think it’s absolutely brilliant that the game is simple enough that anyone can pick it up and play. It’s not a hard core game, far from it, but it’s also not a cow clicker that relies on micro-transactions. Gamers can play the game, partners can play the game, children can play the game, parents can play the game – there aren’t enough games like this these days, and it’s great that not only does Cluckles’ Adventure have the potential to engage a wider audience than core gamers, but does it with a refreshingly simple idea.

That being said, I was hoping to get all the achievement tokens for this game and was a little disappointed when I didn’t get the achievement for collecting all the stars, which is the last one. I left this out of the review as it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of playing the game, but apparently I’m not the only one whose achievements have bugged out so, if you’re in to that sort of thing, keep it in mind.

(Incidentally, I only usually think about achievements if I’ve got a hope of getting them all. If some of them are tied up in multiplayer I’m probably not going to worry too much about it!)

I did most of the last half of the game in this suit.

The second was Spiderman on the PS4. As some of you who have been following my blog for a while will know, I’ve had a lot of fun with this game, and while it’s ended at the right time and not outstayed its welcome, I was very pleased to have reached the end of it. I’ve written the review for this one as well; I shall check it over in the next few days and hopefully have it out on Friday. There’s more to do in the game – I can replay the game in New Game + mode and aim to beat it on Ultimate Difficultly, and then there’s the DLC as well – but for now I’m happy to put Spiderman to bed and play another game.

Also when I’ve had some time in the week I created a new Dungeons and Dragons 5e character: Patrin of the Great Church of Torm. This is a Dragonborn Tempest Cleric. Am I going to use him in a game? I hope to be able to at some point but there aren’t many games around at the moment and I doubt I’d have time to play them even if they are!

He probably looks like this.

I’m mentioning it because I’ve got a way of building characters that makes the process in itself quite fun: I roll randomly for the Character Traits, Ideals, Bonds and Flaws. I’ve also been using the tables in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything that you can use to randomly determine some specifics of your background, i.e. your parents and your reasons for taking up your career or class. Rolling for these characteristics can often lead to stiff little sentences on your character sheet, but what I like to do is treat them as raw data, from which I can process a story that makes sense.

I don’t usually bother with this when I’m creating a character for 5e, simply because the bulk of my experience in playing it has come from the Black Country Roleplaying Society, and things like traits, bonds and flaws tend to come out during the course of the game which you’re only usually in for about eight weeks anyway. But what I’ve got with Patrin is a character whose background I’ve created before the fact, and can implement as much or little of it as required into the game, with only a minor tweak for settings if necessary.

I’m not expecting a huge amount of free time next week, so we’ll see what happens.

Dungeons and Dragons: In Search of the Unknown #3

Having found the allies in the Human Fighter Ahlo, and the Elven Rogue Estra, that he so desperately needed, The Forsaken journeyed to the stronghold once more to try to find the ever-elusive Bag of Devouring...

The first thing The Forsaken did on entering the catacombs was to journey to the Library to find out what was in the chest he spied. The addition of allies made short work of the Stormclaw Scorpion he found in there, though privately the hirelings felt that the use of the cleric's Avenging Flame was a little over the top. The chest turned out to contain nothing more than 15 gold pieces, but The Forsaken wasn't complaining. He'd have to pay his hirelings somehow...

The party stopped for a while in the Storeroom to make camp, and The Forsaken took some time to get to know his newfound companions. Ahlo was somewhat incredulous, but nonetheless explained that he had a background in the military, which ended in what he would only describe as 'some unpleasantness. With the commander's wife.' Since then, he's been working in a guard capacity for the River Rats. Estra, however, had only ever known the street life, and joined the River Rats through an offer of protection from the authorities in exchange for a cut of her 'takings.'

With the party fully refreshed and ready to move on, they first investigated the stronghold Kitchens. While there was nothing of particular use in the form of kitchen implements as weapons, The Forsaken nonetheless found a leather pouch containing 35gp, hidden under a pot in one of the cupboards. This day was just getting better and better. They then moved on to the dining room. The Forsaken sent Estra to scout ahead where she found a surprise...

Estra had always thought this sort of thing was just a joke, but it was true: The dining room featured a table 20 feet long with a chair at either end. I mean, why? What was the point? It's not like Roghan and Zelligar entertained much company; did they dislike each other to the degree that they refused to sit together for meals?

Rather less amusing were the two zombies that had caught sight of her, and The Forsaken was not at all pleased when Ahlo refused to go in and fight them. This left the Elf and the Revenant to do battle with the undead minions. The Forsaken took a savage mauling, but Estra came to the rescue and distracted one of the Zombies momentarily. This gave The Forsaken time to finish the one he was fighting and dispatch the other one, though he did make the mistake of invoking his Revenant power of dealing necrotic damage; there's little use in doing that if your victim is already dead! Estra took a beating as well, and although they both survived without serious injury, the Elf did not have much left in her...

In an antechamber just off the Dining Room, the party found a small amount of gold in a box. More interesting was the marble statue of the nude and extremely alluring woman in the centre of the room, though The Forsaken knew that, thinking objectively, they'd never be able to move it. The Forsaken lead his warband through the stronghold until he came upon the Mistresses Bedroom once more; he had not forgotten the Scorpion that nearly killed him and wanted to see what lay at the end of the door it was guarding...

They found what looked like the Master Bedroom, judging by the decor probably used by Roghan. But there was no time to investigate, as the room's current denizens were a pair of Gnolls, and they did not look as though they welcomed the intrusion. The Forsaken lead his party in a formation, and Ahlo did an impressive job of momentarily cowering the more feral of the two Gnolls, causing it to misjudge its actions and fall back, leaving itself open to attack. However, the fight was always going to be a challenge, and the fury of the gnolls was not to be underestimated. Estra, already exhausted from her fight with the Zombies, became seriously injured, and the Gnoll savagely tore into her once he'd smelled the blood. Estra collapsed onto the bed, weak and bleeding. The Forsaken and Ahlo made a fight of it, but the first Gnoll would not fall and the second fired arrows with worrying prescision; it was all The Forasken could do to make sure at least two people left the room alive.

Back in The Mistress's bedroom, The Forsaken and his hirelings licked their wounds, and took their rest. At some point they would have to return. But not yet...

Dungeons and Dragons: In Search of the Unknown #2

This week was supposed to kick off a new campaign starting with Keep on the Shadowfell, however with the people we were playing with more flaky than a packet of breakfast cereal the only person to actually turn up was Dave. So it was back into the Unknown once again, in search of riches, treasure and the Bag of Devouring...

The Forsaken awoke from his slumber in the wreck of the Wizard's Workroom where he had fought the gnome some time ago. Fresh and ready to begin his search for the Bag of Devouring, he first investigated the laboratory next door. He was a little surprised to discover a skeleton hanging over the far corner of it, and made a point of crushing its skull to prevent the skeleton from giving him a much larger surprise later on. The room did not at first appear to have much else to offer, apart from a small smoked-glass bottle on the table. The Forsaken had no way of knowing what was inside it, but he did not trust whatever substance lay within. His suspicions were confirmed when he hurled it against the wall, whereupon the gas issued forth; he never found out what the substance was, as he chose that moment to leave and allow time for the gas to dissapate... On returning to the room, The Forsaken found amongst other things a coffin propped up against the wall; he cracked it open to find what he recognised as an Amulet of Protection. With the memory of the battle with the Scorpion still etched in his mind, he took the amulet and continued on...

He remembered there was another secret door in the opposite side of the door and went across to investigate what the denizens of the dungeon would want to keep hidden from view. He found a simple store room with around 60 barrels full of things like meat, salt and coal. Some of the foodstuffs were a little stale but it survival became an issue, the Forsaken now knew where he could find something to eat. There was, however, one little problem...

Fearsome, if not particularly accurate...

Out of nowhere, a spider leapt at the Forsaken. Perhaps due to the surprise, the spider misjudged the attack and did not manage to do any damage to the Forsaken, who was having none of it and brought his bastard sword around for an attack. The spider suffered a substantial blow and leapt off to hide within the barrels. Not wishing to play a game of hide and seek with a creature with half his size and eight times his agility, The Forsaken stomped off to where there were no barrels in the room. The spider crawled across the barrels, lined up his attack and made a powerful leap towards the Revenant Cleric, only to have the Cleric dodge out of the way just in time and the spider slammed into the wall. A little dazed, it was unable to respond as The Forsaken cut off a couple of its legs, but it made a ferocious counter attack, biting the Revenant but never quite managing to poison him. Eventually the spider, tired from a fight it hadn't a hope of winning, was impaled by the sword, then unceremoniously scraped off.

The fight had tired The Forsaken as well, so he was pleased to find amonst the barrels a small box containing a little gold in there. He was less pleased to discover on leaving the room that a couple of barbaric humans had ambused him, after hearing the commotion with the spider in the other room. When The Forsaken, not being one to suffer fools, had satisfied himself that there was nothing helpful or even intelligent that either of these men had to say to him, he dispatched them both very quickly.

The Forsaken continued to search the dungeon. Now that the Raven Queen had given him the task of finding the Bag of Devouring, he knew he must leave no stone unturned until he found it. Returning to the bedroom he had originally slept in, he broke open some closets in there to find a substantial amount of gold that should see him proud, should he ever have cause to spend it. He happened across what appeared to be a library, which had what looked like a small chest in there. However as the library had also become home to another Stormclaw Scorpion, The Forsaken decided that if it came to it, he should hire help to clear the dungeon. This feeling was further enforced when he came across a different room where a Carrion Crawler had made its nest....

Things became more interesting for The Forsaken when he entered a room with a glowing, blue gem on a plinth. When he tried to pick it up, it became apparent that neither the gem nor the plinth was going anywhere. However, when he then left the room, he appeared to be in a completely different place. Confused, the Revenant walked along the ever-twisting corridors, and arrived at a blacksmith's forge. There was little there of value to him; the weapons there were useful but not in comparison to the bastard sword he was already using. The forge lead onto another room, which appeared to be a storage room for the fuel for the furnance in the forge. There was also a pit dug there, with an iron ring to tie a rope around, but before he could investigate further there was an interruption...

Really didn't want anyone else going in that hole...

The ghostly spirit of a fallen warrior accosted the Forsaken and began a furious assault, tearing into his undead flesh. The Revenant fought back for a while, but the insubstantial form of the ghost proved too much for him to keep up for long. Instead, he tried to find out why the ghost was attacking him, reasoning that as they were both undead, they should have a certain kinship about them...

The plan appeared to work. The ghost, for his own reasons, seemed to want to prevent anybody from going down the hole. The Forsaken informed the ghost that this would not be necessary; he was looking for The Bag of Holding and asked the ghost if he knew where it was. The ghost didn't know, but appeared satisfied that it was not the Forsaken's intention to go into the hole. With some difficulty, the ghost raised a finger, pointed at the logs and said 'over there...'

It looked like this...

The logs turned out to be concealing a magical mace. While not particularly stronger than his bastard sword, the Forsaken recognised that it had the potential to increase his output of damage, so he chose to take it and use it in the upcoming fights. However, his experience in the dungeon had convinced him that he could not complete his task alone. He decided to venture back to Fallcrest, to look for reinforcements, and he knew just where to start...

In the Lower Keys, where the River Rats group were bullying early morning traders into paying more than they should for the goods they were taking on, The Forsaken stood silently, and was eventually met by Carson, the man who'd sent him on the quest to the dungeon in the first place. After handing over the statuette of the Raven Queen as insurance, the Forsaken was instructed to return to him in the evening where Carson would provide him with some reinforcements. He needed time to search for people low-key enough so that no one would notice if they went missing and certainly couldn't accompany The Forsaken himself, but he'd find someone...

Coming next week...

Ahlo, the Human Fighter

Ezra, the Elven Rogue

Dungeons and Dragons: In Search of the Unknown #1

Narrator (DM): Matt
The Forsaken (Revenant Cleric): Dave

The tower stood on the rise of a hill beyond the Winterbole Forest. Far from the dubios protection of the Nentir Vale, along way from any of his former allies and with no reason to still be alive, the Revenant known only as The Forsaken stood in contemplation of the events that lead him to seek out the fabled stronghold...

Hitherto he had metered out a a pitiful existence in the town of Fallcrest, hiding by day and moving by night, visiting ferocious retribution on those who sought to take what was not theirs. Until one evening, he was approached by Carton from the irreputable band of miscreants, the River Rats. Carton told him of a tower, North of the Vale. Carton said that the tower, and the stronghold beneath, once belonged to great heroes of legend, Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown. He said that some years ago, the two heroes set off into the barbaric Northen lands to fight the bandits that roamed the area, and never returned. In their abandoned fortress lies riches, treasure and equipment of stupendous quality that was there for the taking. Carton demanded 20% of the total of whatever The Forsaken managed to get from there. The Revenant agreed and began his journey, knowing that a promise made did not have to be the same as a promise kept.

Nonetheless, the idea that a fortress full of gold and riches that was abandoned by heroes troubled The Forsaken. Such wealth and Fame was not given up lightly, and it was all too possible that Roghan and Zelligar were still there, waiting for someone to try to take their gold...

The Twisting Halls

Still, he had not come this far to back out now. The Forsaken found the entrance to the stronghold set in the South side of a stony hill, and made his way into the tunnel to find a wooden door. The door appeared closed, but the chips on the wood suggested someone had recently tried to make a forced entry. Undaunted, The Forsaken stepped over the threshold to find a long corridor of substantial masonry, with alcoves set into the walls at regular intervals. The Forsaken could not detect the presence of anything there, but he still moved through the hall with considerable caution. When he drew level with the alcoves, awful voices surrounded him, filling the corridors and echoing sounds of loathing and dread:

"WHO DARES ENTER THIS PLACE AND INTRUDE UPON THE SANCTITY OF ITS INHABITANTS? ONLY A FOOLHARDY EXPLORER, DOOMED TO CERTAIN DEATH! WOE TO ANYONE WHO PASS THIS PLACE - THE WRATH OF ZELLIGAR AND ROGAHN WILL BE UPON THEM!"


After recovering from this very nasty surprise, The Forsaken ventured towards the first cross section where he was met with a grisly sight - the aftermath of a battle, where at least five people died. Three of them looked like adventurers; a fighter, a wizard and a Dwarf. The other three looked like Barbarians. The Forsaken examined their bodies for any sign of life, but their essence of life had long since slipped away...

With the feeling that this meant nothing good, and perhaps a little out of his depth, The Forsaken took some time in choosing the right hand path. When he came upon another crossroads, he carried straight on to the end of the corridor where he saw two doors. Trying the first, he found it had little to offer but another corridor. Opening the second, he found himself in what appeared to be a bedroom.

The Mistress' Chamber


The Forsaken examined this room with some suspicion. Rather than the formulaic stone masonry that had done little to capture his imagination so far, this room was ornately decorated with a four-post bed, a mirror and a tapestry depicting what appeared to be the rescue of a beautiful maiden from a burning village, by a handsome and robust warrior. Embroidered in gold on the top read "Melissa, the most dearly won and greatest of all my treasures." However, the room was dusty and had obviously not been used for some time. The Forsaken tried some of the draws and closets; some were locked and he chose not to disturb the locks. Far more interesting to him was a difference in the colour of the stone on the far wall...

Proved too big a match for The Forsaken...

He decided to investigate, and found a secret door leading into a dark tunnel. It was narrow, and not long, but The Forsaken never saw what was on the other side. Running at him with a determination to defend its lair was a Stormclaw Scorpion, which lost no time in securing a grip on The Forsaken. The Revenant managed to shake him off and landed a blow on the Scorpion, using his considerable power to heal his wound. However the Scorpion's tough carapace proved too much to do any significant damage. The Scorpion made another grab, and this time The Forsaken was unable to shake it off. The Scorpion lashed out with its tail, stinging The Forsaken twice and injecting him with poison. Realising that there was no way he would survive another round with the Scorpion, The Forsaken made the wise decision to cut his losses and get away. While in the bedroom, he locked himself in and slipped into an uneasy rest, in order to get the poison out of his system...

The Wizard's Workroom


Feeling somewhat refreshed, The Revenant re-investigated the left-hand path from the original scene of the bloodbath, and found himself down a long, twisting corridor. After nearly breaking his foot trying to force open a locked door, he happened upon a junction that had a possibility of three directions. He chose to head South, and immediately noticed that there was a couple of concealed doors. After taking the left hand door, he found himself in what looked like a workroom, in some disorder. There was a mess of glass containers of chemical compounds on a desk in the middle of the room, a stone table with a lid and a table that had been kicked over.

Investigating, he found the items rather mundane; some were empty, some had crushed charcoal, and some had obsidian, but nothing of use. However, from the table that had been kicked over sprang the Workroom's current occupant - a mischievous, rude and very angry Gnome...

Small, mean and fiercely territorial...

The Gnome scurried towards The Forsaken and made an immediate attack with his War Pick. However The Forsaken was not going to be intimidated by such a ridiculous-looking creature, and called upon the power of darkness to inflict several lacerations on the Gnome. Sensing what kind of danger he was in, the Gnome faded into the shadows and scuttled away, however The Forsaken knew enough about gnomes to know that the fight was far from over. He went over to the stone table to heal his wounds, whereupon the Gnome attacked him again, this time inflicting a savage blow. The Forsaken called upon the aid of his deity, The Raven Queen, who obliged by lifting the lid from the Stone table and smashing it into the Gnome. Having already taken a ferocious slap from The Forsaken's Bastard Sword, the Gnome was exhausted but not quite out of the fight. Both sides stepped away, and The Forsaken used his reserves of strength to move out of the Gnome's range. The Gnome, not to be outdone, skipped onto the table, smashing most of the glass containers, and took a pot-shot at the Revenant with his crossbow. The shot found its mark, and The Forsaken knew he would not win the fight through inaction. He ploughed forward and lunged at the Gnome with his sword, driving it into the creatures chest. He watched, satisfied, as the life of the creature ebbed away.

There will be a price to pay...


On searching the room, The Forsaken looked inside the table with the lid now off. Inside, pinned to a bronze statuette of The Raven Queen lined with silver and copper, was a note. There was, according to the note, hidden somewhere in the stronghold the Bag of Devouring. The Forsaken was to obtain that bag, and see that it gets to Kelson in Fallcrest. And not to be too long about it either; The Raven Queen does directly control the minions of the dungeon, but she knows they were there... and that some of them had once been alive...

Join us next time for more Dungeon-Crawling Goodness!

matt