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#Post#: 1334--------------------------------------------------
Behind the DM's Screen Vol. XIII Late March Update
DIR By: Dungeon Master
Date: March 21, 2026, 8:57 pm
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Hello All,
I wanted to bring everyone up to speed on what is going on.
Darius Desaad's player is having some medical issues, so our
game is on hold. I have the two-part gaming session already set
to go; we had been working together on some of it already, but
that is on hold for now.
I have been working on the History of the Druidic Order of
Chislev. It is up to five pages now. The order begins in the Age
of Dreams, before the founding of Silvanesti, before the coming
of High Sorcery. Making the Druidic Order older than High
Sorcery. I follow the order through a couple of Bloodlines, one
for the history of the guardians of Merwellyn before Talidaar.
The other for the bloodline and teachings through the ages that
lead to Talidaar's Grandfather, and thus to Talidaar. I sent a
rough draft to Talidaar's creator, and he told me it was
awesome, that I took the term backstory to a whole other epic
level. That makes me so pleased.
I did not tell him this, but I don't think he has read GRRM's
Fire and Blood, which tells part of the 340-year history from
the conquest. That is an incredible backstory.
I just wanted to find the way it started and follow the story of
several ages of Krynn to the Age of Despair. This history is
days away from getting posted in the Druids of Nature Section.
I have been working on some things for the Path to Schallsea. I
can not believe we are up to Chapter Ten, but the next chapter,
Chapter Eleven, is where Dalamar and the girls fall from grace.
It is going to be spectacular to watch the dominios I have set
up to begin to fall into place.
I am also working on the Last Chapter of A Druid's Tale, the
Story of Talidaar, vol. I The World of Elves. I have been
consulting with Talidaar's Player, and he got back to me on a
couple of things that will allow me to go forward.
Not the least of which is the Grand Empress Zeva's next chapter,
which is being constructed. I have already been in contact with
Robbi, and she told me what she wants to do, and I am putting
together the gaming session for us to go through. We are five
Chapters away from the ending of Story One, so things are going
to start heating up.
It should also be said that I have taken a look at Lords of
Neraka II, and I posted the next chapter.
Jenna and Coryn have new Chapters.
I have begun reworking Wydara chapters. I am reconstructing the
fights, and should have the opening bouts completed soon. The
Gladiator situation with Wydara is something I have begun to
unfuck and get the stories moving again, and get the Aragons
back into the game.
Adam is still tied up with school. Part Two is now up in 423 AC
Karnea Master of the Black Robe vol. I Story Three: Power Moves
Chapter Two: Secrets Uncovered Part II
New Darius Desaad Chapter posted. Dariud Desaad's player and I
got together a few days ago and gamed out the chapter of him
arriving on the Island.
#Post#: 1350--------------------------------------------------
Behind the DM's Screen Vol. XIII I have had intermittent
problems accessing this site
DIR By: Dungeon Master
Date: April 9, 2026, 2:49 am
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I have had intermittent problems accessing this site, and it has
caused me concern more than once about the safety of the
information on this forum. With that in mind, I have repurposed
our old ProBoards Damn Forum site from 2007 and have been
bringing it more in line as a mirror to our site, just sort of
looking at things on the other side of a mirror. It is our Older
Sister Site, and I am going to be keeping both current going
forward.
HTML https://thedamnforum.proboards.com/
The Proboards site gets lots of traffic; maybe I will pick up a
player or two over there. I know the fact that we play 2e must
be the reason we have not picked up new players. It's too bad.
I am looking for Wizards to fill the ranks of the Wizards of
High Sorcery, but even more than that, I am looking for a player
to play a knight of good, and a player to play a priest of good.
I am open to another player playing a Paladin of Good.
On the flip side,
There are spaces open for Knights of Neraka, Minotaurs of the
Minotaur Empire...
What I have constructed so far is a good foundation for what I
do; these stories are billboard advertisements for Games we can
play some time. I hope people have enjoyed the games we have
played, and done all of it with 2e.
As the game is shifting into its next phase, it's already begun
with the Hierophant's volume Two Story One The Blackthorn
Conspiracy and Karnea's Story Three of volume One.
Karnea's player and I play a glacial speed of once every few
months, and that's okay; I am not looking to run groups, since
it's statistically impossible in this day and age to maintain
anything for any length of time, but there might be times with
characters cross over, like with Darius Desaad's player and
Karnea's player. That is coming up soon. But I did not put
Darius in the Tower. I put him in the Town, outside the Tower,
because these two players have different schedules that preclude
them from getting together very often.
I get the barest amount of input and effort from Robbi for
Zeva, but we come up with some of the best stories
It's possible that two characters team up for a while, but it
won't last terribly long unless there is a purpose.
Things are on the Horizon. The Retaking of Qualinesti needs
elves. The Wizards need Wizards, The Knights need Knights, The
Gods need Priests. The Minotaurs are coming any day now.
#Post#: 1360--------------------------------------------------
Behind the DM's Screen Vol. XIII Dealing with Mortality and Hope
DIR By: Dungeon Master
Date: April 20, 2026, 2:27 am
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I have had an up-and-down few days, and it's Monday.
The man who created and has played Talidaar is in a precarious
place, and he means so much to me; we have created worlds
together, created deep characters over years. He is someone I
respect more than just anyone, and my face has been flooded with
tears on and off, and on and off at times, as I go back and read
through some of the interactions. Some of it makes me laugh, and
some of it makes me cry. I don't have very many friends, but he
is one of the best ones somebody could have.
By now, you may have been introduced to Karis Half-Elven in
Talidaar's Information page as Talidaar's Protégé. Her story is
going to come more into the fore eventually, as my friend
recovers, we will see how things go forward with things.
Adam is working on some things in the background as he navigates
the rigors of life.
As for me, I'm trying to stay busy, right now on my plate, Part
Three for the Return to Storm's Keep. The next bit of Arena
Fights for Wydara's Story, I'll be working on a Lashia story,
and I'm writing a Twins story for Marilee and Las. I am writing
the bones of a backstory to Lord Rage, telling the Untold Tale.
Speaking of Rage, he will be throwing his weight around in the
Lords of Nearka II Story Dark Covenant, and in his own Story,
doing missions for Sargonnas.
One thing David and I are working on is the final chapter for
World of Elves. I have the first part, getting it confirmed from
Dave, and moving on to the next parts. It is my great honor to
help tell the story of Talidaar, one of the best characters ever
created. Gosh, I hope my friend will be okay.
I hate to hope, it is such an evil thing, but this is one case
where we need some.
-----------Working on Part Three for Lords of Neraka II Dark
Covenant. Taking me some time to figure out the logistics of
everything, but it's coming together. This will be the last part
that will show the Knights of Thorn so much in focus, but I
wanted to establish them out there on the Island Fortress. I
plan to work more on the Finale of Talidaar World of Elves, and
I have to do a little editing to the first chapter of Talidaar
World of Man. I am formulating what Lashia and the younger kids
are doing, while I am considering how to go about the twins'
story. Been dealing with a barking and whimpering dog situation
that the Neighbors were neglecting the dog, and traumatizing me,
and now they are taking care of the dog, and I can finally write
(headphones did not work). Just why have a dog and then neglect
it in the first place, take that thing for a walk, give it a
bone, something, anything, but get it under control.
We are in the first days of the new fragile peace, and so far
the ceasefire is holding. Man, I just want peace, just over
time, they have obliterated my calm.
But as I said, the Peace is holding, so trying to get these Dark
Knights in place, it's been a process.
------------------------------------------Update Things have
been up and down, I am hoping things get better, so I write. I
was far into the Finale of Talidaar World of Elves, but I need
to rework some pages to get things right. I hope to get things
up this coming week and will work hard to get up.
#Post#: 1363--------------------------------------------------
Behind the DM's Screen Vol. XIII New Update 5/9/26
DIR By: Dungeon Master
Date: May 9, 2026, 1:47 am
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I thought I would do another update, so I don't step on any
posts that come out in the next couple of days. It's been since
November 14, 2025, that I have been wondering how the finale of
A Druid's Tale, The Story of Talidaar, vol. 1, was going to go
down.
I held it at a distance for some time, but very recently, I have
been corresponding with Talidaar's player, getting a feel for
what he was thinking, and how it might fall in line with what I
was thinking. Somewhere in the middle, I reversed where I was
going because, frankly, it was too dark.
So I had established the elements I wanted present for the
Crescendo, leading to the climax, but I had this block on me
from being able to conceive how it was all going to go down. It
has held me up for weeks and weeks and weeks from everything
else.
So I have been learning from parts of history I was not already
aware of, or to better fill out on things I was already very
keen on. I think I have needed this to refortify what I have
been trying to do on the Forum, with new eyes. It has been very
rewarding stepping away, because I have made a breakthrough on
the finale, and stayed up and wrote all night, so much so, I had
to break the Finale into two parts, and an epilogue to lead into
World of Man.
I just typed last night, and it went on and on until dawn. I had
to stop writing, so I did not start writing anything crazy from
exhaustion. I am taking a couple of days with it to iron out any
imperfections that I can catch, and I want to run it past my
player, for whom I have dedicated it.
The Third Part of the return to Storm's Keep is also on the
cusp, as well as several others.
My friend Adam, Karnea's player, is recovering from school, and
he sent me something very recently that he is holding onto to
write a few more stories leading up to what he wrote. He is
attempting to bring elements of the Conquest of Zeva to life,
particularly regarding the Prince and Aravis. All of this is in
conjunction with input from Robbi for Lucius.
I apologize for the glacial speed at which stories appear on the
site, but we have been at something of a bottleneck recently,
and I fully expect a deluge of content to come soon.
I expect these two parts of the Druid's Tale vol. I Finale to be
posted in the next couple of days. Take care, fellow Lancers.
#Post#: 1367--------------------------------------------------
Behind the DM's Screen Vol. XIII A Druid's Tale's Finale, and
the last Part of the Return to Storm's Keep
DIR By: Dungeon Master
Date: May 15, 2026, 2:04 am
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I will start with Talidaar's Finale for vol. I. In an earlier
post, it had been since Nov. 2025 since the last World of Elves
post. It had taken me a long time to conceive of the ending, let
alone the way in which it was all going to go down. That took
several more weeks of figuring it out, and then I sat down, had
some peace and quiet in which I could write, and write I did.
I could not bring myself to read for a while, even though I had
edited it and even shown it to Talidaar's creator, and he told
me it was fantastic. I just could not believe I got Part Two to
bring all of the elements in, and happen. I hope people both
like it and share in the bittersweet ending of vol. I. I am ever
thankful for my friend Dave to have collaborate with me in the
Finale, and still allowing me to surprise him in parts because
he told me to go where the story went, and it hued pretty close
to a couple ideas he introduced that allowed me to explode in
ideas and write nine pages, the overal story is 10,000 words in
this on the small side of a novella. A Epilogue is in the works,
sketching out what it might look like. I'm two pages in, and it
may prove to be a lengthy Epilogue, coming soon.
Another Dark Covenant Chapter, and the final Part of the Return
to Storm's Keep. I borrowed this modified sub Zombie from the
Realms, but the image of these emaciated undead running in packs
to feed a hunger that is never sated. Their attack is deadly
serious with their claws. I based them on The Ravenous. that
move with a slight stiffness and look emaciated as if from
starvation. Most of their minds are gone, and their only thought
is of satisfying the hungering ache in their stomachs and bones.
Ravenous attack with their natural weapon - nails for humans. In
addition to this damage, the touch of a ravenous draws vitality
from the victim, resulting in a loss of one point of
Constitution; this does not cause an adjustment in the victim's
hit points due to a change in bonus hit points per level. A
creature brought to 0 Constitution dies and rises as a ravenous
within 24 hours unless the corpse is blessed or buried with a
full meal.
I wanted to give a real horror element to whatever the Skull
Knights left behind before the Summer of Flame, to stare to
death in their cells.
Things are moving apace with getting the Lord of Night back to
Neraka, just taking time. But I have advanced the story with
Lord Rage and an imminent meeting between the Lord of Night and
the Knight of the Black Rose.
Getting the Thorn Knights into position on Storm's Keep and Lord
Rage in Neraka. Things are progressing. We visit another Dark
Knight sect in the next chapter, as much of the Dark Knighthood
is being controlled by Warlords of what is left of the Knights
of Neraka's Army Groups.
Working on Lashia and Wydara for a while, I'll see how far I
get.
#Post#: 1368--------------------------------------------------
Behind the DM's Screen Vol. XIII 6-3-2026 update
DIR By: Dungeon Master
Date: June 3, 2026, 12:42 pm
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Dear Guests, I am unable to type at this time until I get the
situation with my upstairs neighbor taken care of. They are so
highly disruptive that I cannot focus on writing at this time.
They are young and immature and don't understand how much this
means to me. I know all of you are waiting for the next
chapters. I hope this is taken care of soon. It has been
heartbreaking not to be able to run any games recently, and I
hope there is a remedy to this situation. I shall return soon.
Hang in there.
#Post#: 1369--------------------------------------------------
Behind the DM's Screen Vol. XIII 7/29/26 Update
Victory!!!!!!!!
DIR By: Dungeon Master
Date: July 29, 2026, 3:02 pm
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I am back. The Drug Addicts that have been plaguing my life for
sixty-seven days are finally gone from upstairs. They
obliterated my life. It was impossible to write creatively. I
got a silent keyboard and mouse, thought maybe that would help,
but they still terrorized me. The important thing is that they
are gone and I win? It feels like a win. That the world is not
so upside down and fucked beyond all measure. I had my doubts.
They hated my mouse clicks and my typing, and it just destroyed
me. I am reclaiming my life. I spent some time working on my
apartment, getting it back into order, and worked all night on
determining things for Lord Rage's backstory. Dates and ages of
his persona in the chapters, before he becomes Rage.
Some updates.
Karnea's player and I are going to try to do something soon;
still ironing out the details.
Talidaar's player is recovering after surgery, and it will take
him a while to recover.
Zeva's player has been taking care of her Mom, but is back now;
I will try to do something with her soon.
I am going to see where I am on things. I had things close on a
few things, so I will see what can be put out soon. Going to tie
up Karnea's next chapter in order for Adam and me to game.
It is so good to be back. I am estatic.
#Post#: 1370--------------------------------------------------
Behind the DM's Screen Vol. XIII
DIR By: Dungeon Master
Date: August 1, 2026, 2:53 am
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The Meth Heads are still above me. So I am planning to move, or
something. Cops can't do anything; it just sucks. I have created
two Family Trees for Talidaar and for Lord Rage. I'm going to
include a link to view them.
Talidaar
HTML https://www.familyecho.com/?c=9k22ami2ku8xb430&f=903345226606279389<br
/>
Aidan Redmayne/ Lord Rage
HTML https://www.familyecho.com/?c=x8zxz5xcsb54e1cq&f=549845866655033110
I figured out Lord Rage's birthday and determined his age for
each chapter; it took some calculating, but the ten Chapters are
mapped. His wife's birthday is determined, and each of his
children's ages and birthdays are figured out. Each chapter is
being constructed, and soon I will put meat on the bones of the
story
Talked with Karnea's player, gaming next Thursday.
Talidaar's player is through surgery. We'll find out soon if he
is through this cancer scare okay or not
Talked with Zeva's player, going to start putting together a new
Chapter for Zeva with her help.
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