The Roleplay Workshop

April '05
News Letter

Contact Us
Our Location and how to reach us

News
What's new

The News Letter
Monthly updates about Abantey

For Parents
Especially for parents

For Kids
Especially for kids

After School
After School Programs

Summer
Summer Programs

Special
Special Programs

Schedules
When things are happening

Guest List
Sign our guest list

About Us
Meet the Staff

April Already?

(if you would like to be removed from this email list -- please let me know ASAP).

Things have been pretty hectic here at The Roleplay Workshop and there are whole lot of great things in the works. This summer, look forward to the debut of the Director’s Table. This will be a special table run by the director of The Roleplay Workshop: Becky Thomas. Imagine, playing in games that only the creator of Abantey can run! The games are guaranteed to be challenging and exciting. There seems to some hesitation on the part of some clearly qualified players to apply for the Director’s Table. It’s possible they feel that they are not qualified or that Becky will be too demanding. Rest assured that Becky is aware of these issues and will strive to work with the players to expand their limits and exceed their own expectations. She encourages players who have had two, or more, years of experience with the Abantey system,to sign up. Spaces are limited so sign up soon!

New Staff Member

We have a new face joining us here at the Roleplay Workshop. Ashton Saylor is a roleplaying gamer, and talented writer, who just graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz. He has also finished a stint in Japan where he was the editor of a newspaper for Meiji Gakuin University. He has also worked as a child care teaching assistant at UC Santa Cruz Child Care. We are hoping to get him trained up in time for the summer.
********
A DAY OF ABANTEY FOR FREE!
Do I have your attention? Yes, it’s Game Master test time again and we need players to participate in test games. These are games that will be run by individuals testing for Game Master positions in the Roleplay Workshop. These are the real deal. Games run by the future Game Masters of Abantey. We DO NOT charge for these sessions. Space is strictly limited to six (6) players per session and is available on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS. The sessions run from noon to 5 pm. Please make sure that your child has eaten lunch BEFORE the game and brings a snack for the afternoon.

If you are interested in signing your student up for a FREE DAY OF ABANTEY, check the schedule below and contact Becky at (510) 654-3582 or email her at becky@roleplay-workshop.com

SUNDAY May 8 - GM: Ashton Saylor
SUNDAY May 15 - GM: Scott Lambert
SUNDAY May 22 - GM: Steve Kani (Hey! That’s me!)

Abantey at Your School?
Hey parents, here’s your chance to bring Abantey to your area. As some of you may know that Piedmont Middle School and Archway Middle School both sponsor the Roleplay Workshop at their school. If you would like to bring the Roleplay Workshop to your school, we need your help. Our experience has been that schools, for the most part, ignore the hundreds of solicitations for special programs that they receive every year. We need you, the parents, to spread the word about our program and act as an interface between us and your school.

If you would like to help bring the Roleplay Workshop to your area, contact Becky at (510)654 3582 or email her at becky@roleplay-workshop.com

Spring Break!
Finally, there are still spaces available for Spring Break Session. This is a great opportunity for brand new players to try out the Roleplay Workshop to see if they like it. If you, or your child, knows of anyone who might be interested in the Roleplay Workshop, do not hesitate to recommend the Spring Break sessions. See below for available dates and spaces.

***********
Spring Break Sessions
Please call or email to sign up - Contact me soon!
9 am to 5 pm; $50 per day for 4 days, 5th day free!

APRIL
Oakland, Spring Break
Monday, 4/11* - 2 spaces available
Tuesday, 4/12* - 1 spaces available
Wednesday, 4/13*- Need 1 (3 spaces available)
Thursday, 4/14* - Need 3 (5 spaces available)
Friday, 4/15* - Need 2 (4 spaces available)

Piedmont & Archway, Spring Break
Monday, 4/18* - Need 3
Tuesday, 4/19* - Need 3
Wednesday, 4/20* - Need 3
Thursday, 4/21* - Need 3
Friday, 4/22* - Open

*Due to scheduling issues with after school sessions and the school holiday sessions for these week, Monday through Friday holiday sessions will run from 9 am to 5 pm. and Friday holiday sessions will run from 9 to 3.

Please call for further information. (510.654.3582)

Top

**********************
Summer Program
The Summer Program schedule has been posted online and registration is NOW OPEN. The Summer schedule is available on the website (http://www.roleplay-workshop.com).

We had a little trouble with the summer mailing this year and we are in the process of resending them to everyone. If you have already received your enrollment form, we apologize for the duplicate. If you have not received a Summer Program enrollment form, or received an empty envelope, don’t panic! Another one is on the way.

The current enrollment form is also available online at:
http://roleplay-workshop.com/rpwssrpw.html

Once again the weeks for the summer program are:

June 20; Regular, Teen and Director’s Tables
July 5-8; Regular, Teen and Driector’s Tables (short week, prorated)
July 11; Camping trip, Regular and Teen tables
July 18; Regular, Teen and Director’s Tables
July 25; Camping trip, Regular and Teen tables
August 1; Regular, Teen and Director’s Tables
August 8; Camping trip (Full), Regular and Teen tables
August 15; Regular, Teen and Director’s Tables
August 22; Camping trip, Regular and Teen tables
August 29; Regular, Teen and Director’s Tables

Again, we would like to remind parents to read the enrollment instructions carefully as there have been a few changes.

- Steve
Auxiliary Brain - The Roleplay Workshop
skape@mail.com

Becky Thomas
Director
The Roleplay Workshop
becky@roleplay-workshop.com

Top

***********
Session Summaries

Mondays
After School At Dr Comics
We have space for enrollment of up to 6 more students.

Becky Thomas
The party traveled through the tumbled remains of the Twilight of Kiki, looking for their kidnapped companion - Toksuri. Traveling was difficult, as the ground beneath that section of Kiki has washed away during the tsunami eighty years ago, causing the sewers and streets to collapse into the bay. The ruins of the streets and buildings have not been rebuilt and are difficult to travel through. Additionally, the denizens of the Twilight are those who can no longer work with the Guilds... for one reason or another.

Although it took them hours, the party finally narrowed their search for Toksuri to a single, partially submerged building. Some of them crept into the building through a second floor window (level with the remains of the street), while the others guarded outside. Hearing sounds from the lower floor, the party crept down the staircase. They suddenly heard what could only be the nefarious Sergeant Sorge and Toksuri. The fearless adventurers broke through the door and charged to the rescue! Their planning could have been better, as one of their party was grievously wounded and Sergeant Sorge was able to utilize Toksuri as a shield! With reinforcements from their companions outside, and a Guard-Mage who had followed them into the Twilight, they were finally able to subdue Sergeant Sorge and free Toksuri.

The Sergeant was clearly not a ‘normal’ rogue Sakeet Guard, as his gaze had the power to mesmerize and he possessed poisoned fangs! Additionally, the Sakeet was too big for them to transport, along with their own injured party members, back through the ruins of the twilight. While Toksuri turned the tables on the Sakeet and questioned him about his activities, the party must decide how to get the villain back to the ARA headquarters. Do they call for help, or is there a way they can handle it themselves?

Top

Tuesdays
After School At Dr Comics
We have space for enrollment of up to 2 more students.

Greg Dachner
It’s never too late for a daring escape! On Tuesday, Greg’s group is performing a dangerous bit of subterfuge and flight. In a mysterious lost Marked Feeshan city, they must sneak in to the temple and make it out alive with their imprisoned employer, Dr. Hubert. They have managed to make it into the labyrinth beneath the temple by sailing through the aqueduct. There the party has freed the captured doctor and now must find their way out. Can they make it out alive before being caught?

Dominic DiGiovanni & Steve Kani
After discovering the kidnapping of their charge, the Lady Catherine, the party begins their own investigation. They uncover two leads, one leading out of town, one leading to the harbor. After an unsuccessful search of the local lighthouse, they find a cruise ship that they believe has evidence on it. While some of their party causes a diversion, the rest sneaks on to the boat and searches for Lady Catherine. They find the remains of Lady Catherine's belongings, and a mysterious set of nautical coordinates. They then sneak back off the boat after causing a bit of a ruckus, and narrowly avoid an encounter with the ship’s security. However, due to a string of bad choices, they end up walking away with a good amount of ship property, and are now wanted in the whole city for theft, among other charges! Where will their search lead them next?

Piedmont Middle School Special Education Class
Becky
Once again, Becky is running sessions for groups of special needs students at Piedmont Middle School.

Deep within the Tower of Hardship, our party faced the challenge of the Draajen Statue Trap. If they stepped on the triggers, the statues would pour highly flammable Draajen Spit into the center of the room, where it would be ignited by a mysteriously burning flame! The party convinced their companion/captive Ileana to precariously make her way around the room, plugging the mouths of the statues with scrapes of the party’s waterproof cloaks. This worked! The party was able to pass through the chamber before the dribbles of Draajen Spit were ignited. A little cocky with their success, the party traveled on, only to trigger yet another trap in the winding corridor, and a huge boulder was released to roll down upon them! The quick thinking and magic of the Marked Wa’la, Dungbeetle, and the strength of the Marked Sakeet, Stein, enabled them to stop the boulder and survive that hardship. Wearily, the party continued continued.

Their next Hardship, a huge room of water, was only difficult for Dungbeetle. Marked Wa’la are afraid of large bodies of water, as their land has none, and they bathe using only sand. But the party persevered and made it to the other side intact - even Dungbeetle! Exhausted, they choose to rest on the other side of the water Hardship. When they woke, they discovered that Ileana was gone, without her gear. Additionally, Dungbeetle’s family dagger was missing. There were no signs that Ileana had gone back, so the party continued onward.

Their next Hardship was soon to appear - a fire walk filled the corridor, curving around a corner so they had no idea of it’s length! The Wa’la, Pepino and Dungbeetle, and Sakeet, Stein, with their natural protection from flame had little problem, but they ended up carrying Jembit, as Feeshans have no protection from flame. Finally, they made their way to the top of the tower.
Burned and weary, they paused to heal Stein’s burned feet. When they looked around, they found a camp with two Marked Wa’la and a mysterious shape. One of the Marked Wa’la was Pepino’s father who had decided that, after being blacklisted by the Con Artist Guild, he would join the Marked Wa’la... a rather extreme change....

Additionally, they found Ileana. The Marked Wa’la Priesten had taken her, and Dungbeetle's dagger, to show the party that sleeping in a dangerous place without posting guards was unwise. The final surprise was that the mysterious shape was a Draajen, who was there to ‘judge’ Ileana. The judgment involved some scary surgery to remove the strange parasites that were causing Ileana to be able to read people’s thoughts and a dangerous ritual where Ileana was exposed to the Draajen’s poison. Fortunately, she survived. The Draajen also offered to ‘test’ the rest of the party. Pepino and Stein, in spite of the risk to their lives, accepted the challenge and survived.

Top

Wednesdays
After School At Dr Comics
We have no current after school enrollment for Wednesday. If you would like to start a Wednesday group (4 students minimum), please let us know. We can enroll up to 6 students on Wednesdays.

Archway Group (during school hours)
Becky
March was a difficult month for the Archway group. We only had 2 sessions due to several field trips. The party was hired to find missing children from the small town of South Safe Harbor. When they arrived at the town, they discovered that the 30 missing children had all vanished at night. Additionally, the teacher’s aide for the school was missing. The party discovered a mysterious set of tracks outside the bedroom window of the last child to disappear. They gathered up their equipment and followed the tracks into the forest. After traveling about 4 miles, they came upon a large clearing. In the clearing, there was a huge hedge maze, 20 feet tall with horrible poisonous thorns. They followed a narrow cart track leading into the maze. After first choosing a dead end, they found a strange meadow-like area filled with grazing sheep-like beings. It looked like someone had turned people into enormous sheep with hugh horns! When the party tried to cross the meadow, the ‘Headbutts’ charged them! Fortunately, the party escaped without injury. They continued on, but found only dead ends! Then they got super smart and looked at the wagon tracks. They found a section of wall were the tracks vanished and after some searching, found a gate. Once inside, they found more ‘Headbutts’ and a hugh house. They snuck inside and found the children and the teacher’s aide - who wasn’t very bright. It turned out that his parents had died, but, being not too bright, he didn’t tell anyone, and instead brought all the children to his house to help him live. The party found a magical ball with a message from the aide’s parents and were able to take him to get help and free all of the ‘Headbutts’. Next month, we begin a new Archway group.

Top

Thursdays
After School At Dr Comics
Enrollment for Thursday is now full!

Greg Dachner
Thursday may be on a wild goose chase! The intrepid adventurers are on the hunt for the evil mage named Ludvig. But wherever they are told to find him, they end up finding no trace of him. Something suspicious is going on. No matter how powerful a mage he is there is no way he could be everywhere at once, could there? They are realizing it is about time to have a lengthy talk with the people commanding them across the globe and find out the truth of what is going on and where Ludvig is.

Piedmont Middle School Special Education Class
Becky
Recovered from their encounter with the horrible giant octopus, the party rushed out of the healer’s station, across town to the Pasha Jurat headquarters. They raced to get help, worried that the sinister Mr. Black would get to Luc Bouchard before them. Once they reported what had happened to the Pasha Jurat, they were joined by a Master Pasha Jurat Mage. They raced back across town to the warehouse Luc was using as a hideout. As they reached the back door, they heard the maniacal laughter of Mr. Black. Bursting through the door, they saw three bodies on the ground, one of them Luc Bouchard! Facing off against Mr. Black, and fighting for his life, was a young Sakeet mix with beautiful golden scales. The party came to his rescue with a volley of arrows and magical force. Mr. Black was blown off his feet. But before the party could move to capture him, he vanished! Fortunately, only Luc Bouchard was injured, Mr. Black had knocked out the other two golden Sakeet mixes. The Pasha Jurat, with the party’s help, quickly secured the building.

After Luc was healed, the party told him that they had been sent by his wife. He questioned them, and they also discovered that they knew more than they thought! Luc’s wife has a horrible gambling problem, and probably lost so much that she needed his signature to sell their house or some of their horse to pay her debts. It’s even possible that the debt may be tied to the current political struggle in the Fighters Guild, where Luc’s wife is seeking a leadership position. The party quickly boarded their ship, with Luc and the three golden Sakeet mixes, and headed back to Sabo. Once there, they dropped the golden Sakeet at the Pasha Jurat headquarters, and raced to Luc’s house. When they arrived, they discovered that Luc’s wife was missing! And there are signs of foul play! What will the adventurers do next? They have an opportunity to help out Luc, or start a different mission. We’ll find out in April!

Top

Friday
After School At Dr Comics
We have one (1) space available for our Friday session.

Becky Thomas
Well, the abrasive Dr. Fog was not happy with our party. They wanted him to leave his nice, safe research lab and travel with them through a hurricane full of monsters... and the party had barely made it! How are they going to get him, his materials and his staff out of here? Speaking of his staff... two of them had headed into Tabur via the sewers to get supplies and were now one day late! Dr. Fog insisted that he would not leave until the party had either recovered his missing staff, or confirmed that they were dead.

So, the party gathered supplies and worked to find a way to travel in the raging waters of the sewer system. Fortunately for them, the Doctor’s staff had strung a series of pitons and ropes in the sewers and there were inflatable pig’s bladders in the stables. After gearing up, the party lowered themselves into the turbid waters. Although it was difficult, they were making good time, until a hideous 30 tentacled squid-like monster surged from the water to attack them! Stay tuned for the exciting follow up!

Greg Dachner
The morning after mistakenly leaving their injured employer, Vicente, with the enemy, a new face shows up at the door. He is a proud Jack-of-all Trades named Kwazi who has been sent by Mr. Fisran (a friend of the adventurers) in order to help them find their missing employer before some foul fate befalls him. Searching the basement beneath an abandoned warehouse they find some employees of the Kiki black-market. The smugglers inform the party that Vicente might have been transported to a mansion north of the city. It’s now a race against time to reach the mansion before the death of their employer!

Michael Piper and Scott Lambert
under construction.....

Top

Saturday (1st & 3rd)
Saturday At Dr Comics
We have space for enrollment of up to 2 more students.

Becky Thomas
Our journey to find Nema’s brother and to bring the pirate crew to justice, was derailed this month. We spent one game day working out the logistics of supervising the pirate crew member, a none-too-bright Feeshan woman with little impulse control.

The next game day, with most of our group absent, we ran a mini-mission. Playing different characters, the group was hired to discover what had happened to a supply ship that never returned from a delivery to a small island offshore of Repast. When they arrived at the towering twin pillars, they realized they could only approach at low tide. With a 2 hour time window, they quickly debarked and began to search for the way up. They soon discovered the wreckage of the supply ship and mysterious room carved into the space between the twin pillars. There were no stairs or any other openings into the rock, no way to get up to the dwellings 1000 feet above sea level. Suddenly, while exploring the some strange tile work in the ‘room’, the party was in a different room entirely, what looked like a storage room half way up the pillar. The room had signs of fighting, bloodstains, crushed boxes and some weird stains like they had never seen before.

They contacted the ship’s crew, and discovered that the ship was under attack from a strange giant squid. So, they decided to make their way up the stairs to see if there were any survivors higher up the tower. They raced upward, hoping to be able to get off the rock before the tide came in. Although they found plenty of signs of battle and death, they found no sign of survivors. Once they reached the top, they discovered a small boy, the cabin boy from the supply ship, hiding in a dumb waiter... and... a bizarre fishlike monster wallowing weakly in the swimming pool. The cabin boy told a horrible tale of the supply ship being attacked by a giant squid, and the survivors seeking shelter in the tower, only to find the fishlike monster wreaking havoc. The boy had survived only by hiding in the dumb waiter. The party pooled their magical power and let loose a blast of lightning at the fishlike monster that vaporized it and most of the swimming pool. With the tide coming in, they raced out of the tower and managed to get onto the ship before the squid attacked. Perhaps they, or another party can come back and explore the mysterious tower.

Michael Piper and Steve Kani
The party continued on to Melphis’ estate. Upon arrival, Melphis received everyone warmly. While they ate and rested, he invited Tim and his wife, to inspect his laboratory and view his work. Nera (Melphis’ brother) and Natsumi followed them closely from behind. When Natsumi and Nera returned to the dining hall, they told the other adventurers that Tim and his wife were helping Melphis with his work. Melphis later rejoined the party and gave the party their next job.

Melphis explained to the adventurers that one of the individuals involved in his experiments had stolen some weapons and fled into the surrounding countryside. he cautioned that the individual was a Wa’la Weaponsmith and was not in a sound state of mind. He requested that the Wa’la be captured and returned to the estate. The adventurers made quick work of tracking down the missing Wa’la. The Wa’la refused to accompany the party back to Melphis’ estate and a melee ensued. Three characters were seriously injured but they managed to subdue the Wa’la. At that moment, the other bounty hunter rode up to meet the party. The Wa’la and Natsumi revealed that Melphis had been experimenting with people against their will. The adventurers are heading back to Melphis’ estate. What is going to happen next?

Top

Saturday (2nd & 4th)
Saturday At Dr Comics
We have space for enrollment of 1 more student.

Assistant Tables
We have 1 to 2 tables of training for our assistant program on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays. Assistants (ages 13 and up) play in advanced games that stress the more difficult aspects of the Abantey game. They are polishing their skills in preparation for assisting with the summer program. The assistant games are ‘top secret’, and as this newsletter may ‘fall into the hands’ of regular players, the summaries for the assistant games are not included here.

Scott Seyfarth and Eliot Pepper
The waiter, Drinius eventually confessed his role in the kidnapping and sabotage to the players and agreed to confess to the guards guild. He led them to the meeting point. The adventurers tracked his mysterious employers back through a cave system, where they came out at the hot springs near the Corinthian Hotel. Drinius’ mysterious employer turned out to be owner of the Corinthian Hotel chain! The employer, fearing discovery, had the party brought into a "protective custody" but eventually decided that he would be forced to erase their memories to prevent discovery. The adventurers, with the help of their friendly silith on the outside, defeated him and escaped. They returned to the Guards Guild. Using the player Guard-Mage's testimony, and the waiter's confession as evidence, they were able to bring the fraudulent and dangerous the owner of the Corinthian Hotel chain to justice.
***********

Top