Let’s Play The 13th Age: 64-76
“13th Age combines the best parts of traditional d20-rolling fantasy gaming with new story-focused rules, designed so you can run the kind of game you most want to play with your group. Created by Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet, 13th Age gives you all the tools you need to make unique characters who are immediately embedded in the setting in important ways; quickly prepare adventures based on the PCs’ backgrounds and goals; create your own monsters; fight exciting battles; and focus on what’s always been cool and fun about fantasy adventure gaming.”
- Pelgrane Press
Created by some of the designers behind D&D4e, 13th Age combines strategic turn-based combat with a new focus on roleplay and character development.
This is one of the longest-running actual play campaigns out there: it began back when 13th Age was still in development! This campaign stars the Rogue Elements, a bizarre band of troublemakers that have been tasked with saving the Dragon Empire.
Pheia
The next piece of the puzzle is at the bottom of the ocean, in the Longfin Empire’s capital city.
64: 20 Phathoms to Pheia
The party pursues the Pearl spirited away to the underwater capital of the Longfin Empire. A seabed voyage proves more relaxing than grueling, but their arrival in the undersea capital of Pheia-- currently one big party-- marks another great opportunity for the team to get what they need via diplomacy and serious discussion rather than the usual skulduggery-- ah, just kidding, you know us too well. Once the Pearl is recovered, however, the party will be deeper in (new) enemy territory than ever before...
65: The Curséd Session
Dare ye listen?
Within and without the fiction, just about everything that can go wrong does. When the party is ambushed, the first fatality is the recording.
66: What Happens In Equinox
In the time the Elements have been away, Equinox Manor has grown into a thriving village and tourist hotspot. Appropriately, the team's business back at the manor is somewhat hampered by a variety of peculiar guests. The champion of Axis and his crowd of admirers, an elven knight in search of certain stolen properties, and a band of strangely silent elves eager to have an audience with the Duchess Bella Canto... it's the perfect day for something to go terribly wrong.
66.6: You Can (Not) Roll Dice
Ironicus is out of the way. Finally, we can relax without being attacked by demons or golems or redcaps or whatever! Discussion turns to the moon. Really, it's hard not to talk about the moon once you know it's an enormous hovering labyrinth.
Glitterhaegen and Shadowport
A pair of twin cities, split into light and dark. The Rogue Elements take this dichotomy a little too literally and make the cities punch each other.
67: Concerning Death
A funeral is held for the latest victim of the Elven conspiracy, Ambassador Mulberry. The party travels to Shadowport and Glitterhaegen to track down Nikud Adler and the Hand of Death.
68: Shitpail LLC
As it turns out, many of the corporations in the richest city in the Empire are a bit corrupt. Weird! That's the weirdest dang thing!
69: Devilishly Decadent! Treacherously Tipsy!
Gotta hand it to you.You can handle it. Nice sleight of hand, Bella. You're pretty handy to have around. How's that for a helping hand? Did that cost an arm and a leg? Was that too Many?
71: Attack the Block! Rise of Titan “Oligarchy”
Boy, 4Kids really wrecked this episode when they got their hands on it.
70: Grave Dug
The Elements face Nikud's new first lieutenant, the very same undead lord who nearly wiped out the party on the shores of Necropolis: the Gravedigger. In a battle that spans the city, this fiendish foe reveals that Nikud may be after more than a mere second chance at Cathedral-- and his true architectural prowess is revealed.
Weird Magic
We discover the truth of Bella Canto’s magic, just in time to fight the Final Devil, protect Equinox Manor, and maybe sorta impress the Archmage.
72: She’s Got Heart.
Coloratura Canto, archaeologist, is on to the find of the age, but for a conniving Kudzu Contraption similar to that last seen in Forge's defense. Luckily, now some big damn heroes have arrived to help out.
Elven history is learned-- and made-- herein.
73: Our Most Physical Challenge Yet
Back to Equinox to administer some "managerial discipline".
74: The Final Devil
The defenses are mounted, the waves are rolling in, and the mighty River Devil has once again arisen-- and its hatred of the icons is much more personal, given recent events. The Rogue Elements use every trick in their wicked book against the awesome force of the Final Devil, from queenly concordance to ludicrous lightning.
75: Wow! Horizon Stinks!
The Elements swing by Scarlett's old college town and home of wizardly ways, Horizon. Winter isn't the best season for tourism, though-- especially not when the Devils are marching, the Orcs are descending, and the Seafolk are rising.
That's alright, though-- we're just here to pick up Scroll of Resurrection-bearer Claude Luminor and an arcane battery. Easy!
76: A Solid C+
The Archmage is a very powerful, very busy man. It'd only take a minute to charge the Element's scavenged arcane battery, but wouldn't you know it, he just doesn't have the time!
The experienced time-wasters of the party struggle to save it instead via favors, lectures, amplifications, and musical numbers.