Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles Session #39

 

Another Wave of Oozanderthals

 

 

Session 39- Inside the Spire of Iron and Crystal Part 5

7/15/2026

• The combined teams of Danika and Radomir continue to explore 

  the 2nd Egg.  They enter Room #36 from Room #37, and find it 

  expands into Room #35 and Room #38.  The lightning overhead 

  starts up again as they explore these areas.

• In Room #33 they are able to study the bucket ladder and its 

  apparatus.  

• They backtrack to head towards Room #39, but are attacked at the 

  intersection north of Room #35 by 2 Lightning Beetles.  They quickly 

  kill the giant insects and proceed to Room #39.

• In Room #39 they encounter, fight and kill 5 Oozanderthals.

• They explore Rooms #45, #23, and return to Room #33 via the 

  southern corridors.

• They take already explored corridors to Room #34 and encounter 

  13 Oozanderthals.  10 of the monsters climb over the walls to circle 

  around and attack from behind.  While the “from behind 

  Oozanderthals” make their moves, the 3 in front of Danika and 

  Radomir’s teams get into a fight with the PCs.  The PCs kill 2 of 

  the monsters before the reinforcements arrive from behind.  The 

  remaining monsters are killed and the combined teams decide to 

  take a breather in this room before exploring further.

• 18 Oozanderthals killed = 2160 XP

• 2 Giant Lightning Beetles killed = 30 XP

• Total XP = 2190 XP

• Danika receives 1096 XP

• Hallabera and Hinek each receive 547 XP

No Game Last Night

 

 

 

 No Game Last Night

One of the players was out due to work, so we didn't play the weekly Ox Gives Way to Tiger, Etc last night.  I think we'll be back at it next Sunday night.

If you like Ravenloft adventures, maybe you would like to check out my Substack, where I am posting a Ravenloft+Shadowdark+Solodark solo game video every once in awhile.  I call this mash-up Sololoft, and it has been a fun challenge to start working in the video medium.  Several sessions are posted and a new one will release this Saturday, September 5th.

We squeaked Ctyri Ctvrt Session #40 in this morning.  Notes for Session #39 will be on the Substack Wednesday.  If you don't want to visit the Substack, the Session #39 notes will be posted Friday here on the blogger site.

 

Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles Session #38

 

Pushing Buttons in Egg 2

 

 

Session 38- Inside the Spire of Iron and Crystal Part 4

7/3/2026

• Danika and Radomir’s respective parties of adventurers decide it is 

  time to try the Teleportation Units.

• Radomir’s crew uses the unit in Room #2 while Danika’s party 

  observes.

• Danika and her party encounter 7 Giant Worker Ants in Room #1, 

  but Zora and Tomasz located above on the ledge call out a warning.

• Danika and her team fight and kill the giant insects with the help of 

  Tomasz.  After the fight, Zora leaves the ledge to re-join her team 

  and Tomasz re-positions himself on the ledge to wait for his leader’s 

  further instructions.

• Danika pulls Zora aside to get a feel for Zora’s impression of Tomasz.  

  He seems like a good guy from Zora’s POV.

• Danika and her party Teleport from Lvl 1 Room #18 to Lvl 2 

  Room #32.  Radomir and his team have been waiting for them.  

  Radomir is concerned to see Zora, but Danika and her party inform 

  him Tomasz was okay when they saw him last and he is still in 

  position where Radomir stationed him.

• The 2 teams observe the room they are in has no doors, only 3 

  strangely quiet machines.  Each machine has a button that is sculpted 

  to look like a gargoyle’s face.  They are able to see a piece of 

  machinery that is located in a nearby room that juts above the quartz 

  walls.

• They push all 3 Gargoyle buttons, which turns off the lighting storm. 

  (5 turns.)

• They scale the wall and peer down into several different rooms.  

  1 contains a Cockatrice that they kill with ranged attacks.  Another 

  contains the large mechanical apparatus they observed from the 

  Teleport room.  Another has strange humanoid beings (Luhuloi) 

  moving about and through the exterior of the egg like it isn’t solid.  

  Those beings wave and seem friendly, but they don’t speak when 

  spoken to by Danika and Radomir’s team members.

• The 2 teams get off the wall and move into the 

• 7 Giant Worker Ants killed = 210 XP

• Cockatrice killed = 600 XP

• 47 CP

• 3000 SP = 300 XP

• 8000 GP = 8000 XP

• Large Bloodstone 75 GP = 75 XP

• Amber 100 GP = 100 XP

• Small Gold Idol of Nirgal 800 GP = 800 XP

• Painted Gold War Mask of Nirgal 800 GP = 800 XP

• Gold Ring set with Bloodstones 280 GP = 280 XP

• Total XP = 11,165 XP

• Danika receives 5583 XP

• Hynek and Pholos each receive 2791 XP

Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles Session #37

Moving through the Spire of Iron and Crystal

 

 

 

Session 37- Inside the Spire of Iron and Crystal Part 3

6/29/2026

• Danika and her adventuring party along with Radomir and his 

  adventuring party circle around the first level clockwise to 

  Room #5 and they enter Room #4 without the door trap taking 

  effect, yet.

• They then go through several already explored Rooms #2, #1, 

  and #12.

• Entering Room #15, they encounter 3 Slitherrats… 1 escapes 

  using its Special Ability: Slide Through Crystal.  The combined 

  adventuring parties fight and kill the remaining 2 Slitherrats.

• Moving into Room #16, they find the escaped Slitherrat.  It is 

  quickly dispatched (Danika crits!)

• In Room #17, they encounter the Korog Technician and 

  2 Oozeanderthals.  In the fight, the Korog Tech uses his Wand of 

  Paralyzation against Pavel successfully, but is ultimately killed.  

  The 2 Oozeanderthals escape after taking damage in the fight.

• The adventurers chase the 2 Oozeanderthals into Room #18.  

  The monsters escape using the Teleport pad.  The adventurers do 

  not follow.

• 3 Slitherrats killed = 360 XP

• Korog Technician killed = 240 XP

• Wand of Paralyzation (4 Charges)

• Total XP = 600 XP

• Danika receives 300 XP

• Hynek and Pholos each receive 150 XP

New Moon in Cancer Tomorrow; Mercury Still Retrograde!

Cancer Reluctantly Handing the Baton to Leo

 

 

 

Dear Monday Morning Blog Readers,

The weekly notes for the Ox Gives Way to Tiger Campaign will be posted this evening.  We played Session #228 last night, and there was a bit of a tone shift as the inimitable Team Rams dipped their toes into the social pool of Borca.  I hope this Mercury Retrograde hasn't been too trying for you all!  I'm navigating it ok, but we won't be out of the woods for another week and a half or so.  What about the New Moon in Cancer tomorrow?  What new things will it bring out in the next lunar cycle?  I don't know about anyone else, but as someone with strong Leo placements in my personal chart, I get more excited about late July and the sign change.  The Crab Gives Way to the Lion, and all is fixed, warm, and well.  But hey, don't sleep on the Crab, some of them have a mean right hook, haha!  And they lead they way into the Astrological Summer, so we give thanks for them and their tender insides protected by their hard exteriors;)  

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi to the folks that are showing up to read what I write here about my games and let you know you'll get the next installment of Ox Gives Way to Tiger later today.  And stay tuned later in the week as a new actual play post of Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles get released Friday morning.  I've been alternating running Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles for my player and he runs his own game for me; so fun to play and not have the pressure of being the DM sometimes!  And it wouldn't be a Moon Cycle post if I didn't mention my Substack.  I have a new (and free) offering over there.  I've expanded the Mock Orange Cairn media empire into video production and I am in the beginning stages of a Solo Campaign that will be updated, hopefully on a weekly basis, but we'll see if that is an achievable pace for me on the production end of things.  For those of you whose particular interest is the Ravenloft setting, the new Solo Campaign is set in several Domains of Dread.

For those looking for a more astrological slant, my advice is very Crab-like today, "Keep the soft insides inside, keep the hardshell hard, and punch above your weight class!" 

Happy Full Moon in Capricorn! Keep Climbing!

The Second Tarokka Card Reading

    

 

 

 

Have you ever gone on a hike or worked with a Capricorn? I grew up around several of the 

Sea Goats, so I’ve had time to observe their incredible drive. One of my players is a 

Sun‑in‑Capricorn person. We didn’t game on Sunday night like we usually do, because the 

Sea Goat had work to do. 

 

With today’s full Moon in Capricorn shining a spotlight on work, responsibility, and the long 

climb, it feels pretty on‑theme that real‑life obligations took precedence over fantasy 

adventure. So, no actual play for the Ox Gives Way to Tiger campaign today. In 

side‑campaign news, the intermittent Ctyři Čtvrt Chronicles will resume soon; it’s only been 

a short hiatus while the player and I ran a five‑session playtest of a different setting and 

system. Another cool development in our gaming: my Ctyři Čtvrt player is running a 1‑on‑1 

LotFP game for me!

 

Interested in more Ravenloft content? I wrote an article over on Substack explaining how I 

used the supplement The Second Tarokka Card Reading to bridge my Curse of Strahd 

campaign arc toward a wider Domains of Dread arc. Fun stuff!

 

Now back to work; keep climbing!

 

 

New Moon in Aries, New Puppy, Hello Spring!

New Moon, Who Dis?

 

 

 

New Moon in Aries, New Puppy, Hello Spring!

Spring is here in the PNW.  New Moon in Aries yesterday.  The new puppy arrived the day 

before.  How am I going to resist walking by the chicks, ducklings, and goslings at the feed 

store before game time tomorrow?  I got a big chunk of game prep for the main campaign 

done before Daisy the Kelpie joined the party.  The cats are not Charmed, but the humans 

are failing every Save.  The dinosaurs (chicken flock) are curious, but mostly hungry.  

They’re high on a rat killing frenzy they got into a few weeks back on that Libra Full Moon.  

Wild.  

Ok, on to the Winter Through Spring Gaming Trajectory!  After the most interrupted interval 

of the main campaign AKA Ox Gives Way to Tiger, Etc., we have embraced consistency 

again.  Team Rams explore more of the mysterious and dangerous Domain of Dread, 

Darkon.  

While the late January to early March period disrupted the main campaign, the Solo Grinder 

Campaign (7 sessions), Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles (8 sessions), and Star Notch Stories 

(2 sessions) games were not only filling some gaming gaps for various players 

(including me!), but some outstanding sessions, emergent storytelling developments, and all 

around great gaming IMHO.  One of my players even ran me through a continuation of his 

version of the LotFP module A Single Small Cut by Michael Curtis.  It was nasty, short, and 

brutish on my first playthrough!  Let’s see if more hirelings, holy water, and equipment can 

get my pack of murderhobos through;)

My Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles player and myself are playtesting a new system and setting for a 

short period.  During that time, Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles it on a short pause.  It’s never been on 

a regular schedule, but we have played pretty frequently lately.  Anyway, the playtest 

material has been fun so far we are through a Session 0 (rules and setting quick overview, 

player made 1 character while I made another so I could see how character creation 

worked), a Session 0.5 (player made another character while I skimmed the rules and 

adventure module), and an actual Session 1 with action and adventure!  My initial ballpark 

estimate of playtest was a 5-10 session time frame, but with a better understanding of the 

module I think we’ll wrap up in 5 or fewer sessions.

The Star Notch Stories player is juggling a lot in life right now, so we’re not sure when we’ll 

dip back into the Shudder Mountains.  I do know the moonshine and mysteries will persist 

whether Boy is active or not!

And Solo Grinder Campaign had some epic moments back in the winter months.  The 

seasonal shifts brought significant changes this spring and took me away from the Solo 

gaming momentum I had achieved.  All the farm and ranch kids know the proverbial “When 

there’s day make hay” type of sayings, and it’s not terrible advice, but I’m not sure when my 

Solo gaming kicks back into gear.  I am going to crank out Session 13 of Solo Grinder today 

while Daisy naps.

If you read this far AKA TL,DNR:

• Ox/Tiger (main campaign) played every Sunday night, usually actual play 

  notes up on blogger by Monday or Tuesday morning.

• Ctyri Ctvrt (one on one side campaign) short hiatus, then dive back into 

  Spire of Iron and Crystal!

• Playtesting something fun for a short bit.  Not sure if I’m sharing about 

  what that is because it is not mine to share.  If I do write about it, it will be 

  on Substack!

• Star Notch (the other one on one side campaign) long hiatus?

• Solo Grinder Campaign (my first solo campaign). After the session I play 

  today, I evaluate my schedule for this and see if I can Solo in the Summer?  

  Might just buy a paddle board and fuck off instead, lol;)

Ctyri Ctvrt Chronicles Session #36

 

Room #13, Hello frenz?!?

 

 Session 36- Inside the Spire of Iron and Crystal Part 2

4/1/2026

• Danika’s and Radomir’s teams leave Room #7 and re-enter the 

  central chamber and take the eastern hallway to Room #19 where 

  they encounter a hostile Crystalline Tree that attacks them with its 

  roots.  They collect 12 Gems and re-enter the central chamber and 

  choose the northern door.

• In Room #12, they observe the Astrological Formulae and choose 

  to leave the room via the western door.

• They move past the machinery in Room #10 and enter Rooms #9 

  and #8 where they confront and kill a Gelatinous Cube and collect 

  a few items.

• Over to Room #11, they encounter, fight and kill 5 Slitherrats.

• Rooms #13 and #14, Danika waves at the 3 strange beings floating 

  in the tanks and they make motions to leave, waving the teams away 

  with their hideous claws.  Danika and Radomir decide to sprint across 

  the tank room (#13) to the room beyond it (#14).  That almost kills 

  Pavel and they have to drag him to the treasure room (#14).  They 

  consume some healing potions and pop out to confront the hideous 

  Oozeanderthals.  After a challenging fight, they kill the 

  Oozeanderthals.

• Crystalline Tree killed = 400 XP

• Gelatinous Cube killed = 240 XP

• 5 Slitherrats killed = 600 XP

• 3 Oozeanderthals killed = 360 XP

• 2 Amber 200 GP = 200 XP

• 1 Alexandrite 100 GP = 100 XP

• 1 Amethyst 100 GP = 100 XP

• 1 Chrysoberyl 100 GP = 100 XP

• 1 Coral 100 GP = 100 XP

• 1 Garnet 100 GP = 100 XP

• 1 Jade 100 GP = 100 XP

• 1 Jet 100 GP = 100 XP

• 1 Pearl 100 GP = 100 XP

• 1 Spinel 100 GP = 100 XP

• 1 Tourmaline 100 GP = 100 XP

• 4 Smokey Quartz, Extra Large (bowling ball) 2000 GP = 2000 XP

• 2 Potions of Fly

• 1d8+1 Longsword

• 3 Glow Geodes

• Chunk of Silver = 20 GP = 20 XP

• Dagger 1d4+1, +2 Vs. Goblins, Kobolds, Orcs

• 20 Smokey Quartz 1000 GP = 1000 XP

• 4 Healing Potions (1d6)

• Ivory Wand of Flying (3 Charges)

• Bag of Holding

• A pair of Dark Lenses

• Total XP = 5820 XP

• Danika receives 2910 XP

• Hynek and Hallabera each receive 1455 XP