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" Okay, so who's taking first watch?" asks the Dungeon Master from his desk. The title is somewhat arbitrary, as this party hasn't even seen a dungeon yet. But hey, I like wilderness adventures better anyway.

" I do." Thor pipes up. I snicker a little. Thor's character matches himself. Large, loud, tactless, and generally volatile. The difference lies in the fact that his character is basically a sentient dinosaur.

A general ruckus begins as the whole group simultaneously needs to explain where, how and why they are sleeping. It's fun all the same.

The system is Black Company. It's an interesting system that makes magic a lot harder than your average role-playing game. Our single mage, Frost, takes damage for every spell he casts. The classes are odd - there's no real thief class, for example - but we all found something that works. Thor for example, is a Swordmaster - a warrior who develops a spiritual bond with his weapon. Very samurai-esque. Tiberius is also a Swordmaster. Raven is a Ranger - self-explanatory - and Frost is the mage. We also have Sheila, who is our diplomatic Noble. And me?

I'm the Beserker.

I have a lot of pride in the detail I etch into my characters. It's the quirks that makes them real, after all. And Bramble is a masterpiece. She's a dexterity based Beserker with the two-weapon fighting feats. Wielding two short swords and uninhibited by the bulky armor TJ insists on, she becomes a whirlwind of death.

She also insists that she's a god.

Anyway, the lay of the land is inhospitable, to say the least. We are camping in a mean desert with high encounter rates, and a whole Roman-styled legion within our sight. Our single Mage has ridden out to their camp in hopes of making them not want to kill us. He'll be gone all night.

I have a nasty feeling about this.

" Alright, roll your percent dice for encounters." the DM asks, leaning back in his chair with his customary smile. Thor scrambles momentarily - Sheila has stolen his dice - and casts his roll.

" 9 percent." He announces. The DM nods and rolls his own dice behind his screen, then guffaws loudly. I wince. That's never good.

" Alright, everyone roll a listen check." the DM says, his smile widening. A clatter rises with the tension as people began chanting out their rolls... and the only character who makes a passing roll is Thor's - the one who's already awake.

" Well this just got nasty." Tiberius mutters.

" Alright, Thor, you hear an earthshaking rumble as something large charges you from the darkness,

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