Ongoing Games (In-Character)Play-by-post games are going on in this forum as we speak (well, read). All threads on this board are actual games, so please, only post on a thread if you are a player of that game.
Sorry for the long absence. I've been ill, but I'm back now.
Radley nods, understanding the point. He doesn't want to force his way, but he doesn't want to lose tabs on the king.
"Look," he says in a hushed voice. "We're not going to agree on this. Why don't we let the king decide? We're safest if he believes we're loyal, in any event. And he may not even want to come with. So let's give him the choice and be on guard no matter what he chooses, okay? Can we agree to that?"
__________________
In real life I quit my job and left my home to become a professional adventurer. The Great Adventure
Nodding grimly, Radley approaches the king - slowly. He keeps a safe distance between the two, which hopefully comes off as a "respectful" distance. He bows with a flourish.
"Majesty, I have explained the situation to my companion. We desire to head to Calamdan posthaste, to reinstate your peace in your kingdom. I wonder if your Majesty intends to travel with us, or if your royal presence is required elsewhere."
__________________
In real life I quit my job and left my home to become a professional adventurer. The Great Adventure
Curio
“Are you dead or mad? She’s more curious than Amos. She says earnestly, “I don’t know about that.”
She’s already all the way up your body, resting her head just under your chest. Breathing calmly, she maintains a steady rhythm because she is alive; you don’t feel her heart beating. Her eyes are closed, she listens and murmurs absently. “Don’t you want to live?”
Spoiler
Meanwhile…
Corvina stands up, when he does his posture is perfect, the flames of his eyes steady and infinite. They don’t flicker or waver, and that makes you feel a curious strength. “You want to go with me, get going, Druthmen, I’ll do what I please.”
Spoiler
Going toward the City, once you run into Amos and Harin, you’ll learn you aren’t finished here. I'd like Kobold-Bard to give an answer for Harin.
Last edited by Faithdreamer : 10-19-2008 at 07:18 AM.
While we're waiting for that, a question: Do I know who or what "Druthmen" is? I'm mainly wondering whether it's a title for foot soldiers or the like, orwhether he's mistaking me for someone else.
__________________
In real life I quit my job and left my home to become a professional adventurer. The Great Adventure
"I do want to live," Amos murmured, "But... not without asking, just one more question, if I may. I have several questions, but... this one, to me, seems the most important." The bard looked down at the fey, who breathed, but did not have a heartbeat. Not knowing who she really was, save what he knew from her journal, ate at Amos. It felt terrible, almost as terrible as she was beautiful.
"What is your name?"
__________________ Amazing Mountain King avatar courtesy of the remarkable Starwoof!
Bards get all the ladies. Even psychotic fey ladies, apparently.
"Thats... nice." Matthias's voice wavers between uncertainty and sarcasm. "What are you saying?" He looks at Radley. "What was he saying? What does that mean?"
__________________ "Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel."
- Mark Twain
"Life is too short for [manuals], but occasionally much too short without them."
- Randall Munroe, xkcd.com (paraphrased)
The merchant-sorcerer shrugs at Matthias. "I think he'll follow along in his own time. It's his royal prerogative, after all."
Radley heads in the direction of Calamdan (which I believe faithdreamer said is the same direction where Amos is).
faithdreamer only:
Spoiler
As planned before, I'm leaving Invisible Calvin flying more than 60' above Corvina and keeping an eye on him. Orders to try to get the ring only if the king is heading in the opposite direction as us, and only if it seems like there's a realistic chance of getting it. I promise a reward to the little guy if he performs his duty well. He should send me his general bearing if he is going out of our 1 mile empathy radius.
__________________
In real life I quit my job and left my home to become a professional adventurer. The Great Adventure
...err, well, I don't know if I still have my enormous Constitution loss to contend with, or any Con modifier to work with at all, so I'll roll it (I am rankless), and let you decide.
(1d20)[15]
__________________ Amazing Mountain King avatar courtesy of the remarkable Starwoof!
She doesn’t have any idea where, actually, we never really specified where. We only know you’re off the trail you were on before. That trail presumably led to the City, and you left it to go off the beaten track. I hope that clarifies things. You can laugh, don’t be concerned about strange jokes.
Impossible Soft Silk
“My name…”
She’s really good at this, but somehow you feel like there’s something missing. The grass was so well tended it was softer than some of the blankets you’d slept with. She brushed her lips across your cheek, and then a few more times after that, too. Whether she was in it for herself or not, there was enough for both of you. Her breath flows too close, like wind, you feel it too keenly. But still… the mood is all wrong. Whatever she’s trying to say… you don’t get it.
“flows naturally, with time.”
Spoiler
Succeed rolling a Charisma Check (DC 18)
Journey Continues
You pass by the tree to find all those you left there gone. Things aren’t amiss yet, you get the feeling they’ll catch up in their own time. Like Radley was saying the King would. It’s a relief to leave the rattling pinwheels behind. You spot a pair of odd black marks on the ground, like burns where the shadows of people were before something bad happened.
Amos and Harin..?
The ominous thought haunts you when you pass by, pulled between two extremes. You might waste valuable time searching for them. When you’d finished, you may have lost your chance at stopping the Liche before his plans began to bear fruit; successful or not.
Hopeful the others would indeed catch up, you made with all haste for Calamdan.
Shortly after leaving Durk, you’d passed many bodies all laid carefully along the side of the road. You still walked passed a few corpses, they were getting more sporadic. They looked like they’d have been sicklier before death, than the other copses further back would have.
You imagined that was normal. With a long train of refugees, those most frail would lose their place in the group first. These bodies had no wounds. It was enough to give you a picture that made you a little less easy about what you were doing.
The undead waited for a feast, not an appetizer. They overlooked the fatigued, sick, frail and others like them. Probably, they died from starvation or exertion and were deemed unfit to be raised again. Armies had less use for frail corpses. You remembered the images from your shared dream very clearly.
Someone guided the undead carefully, had them test the defences in Durk, and waited for your group to set off for Calamdan. The villagers had been like lambs to slaughter, somehow you knew against all hope they were dead.
That told you whatever you’d hoped to strike at on your way in to Calamdan was behind you now. In a sense, your retreat was cut off. And you were walking into what was probably going to be the biggest trap of your lives. He knew you were coming. These bastards always knew you were on your way. Much as Old Man Raker had been kind enough not to point out, the one leading the Undead probably thought it was his turn to come after you. And now he had the villagers from Durk to swell his numbers.
If this was a chess game, the other colour was cheating. You’d never had your turn yet, really.
You hadn’t thought to examine the body in detail. The one from the hole, you remembered it. You’d been so focused on the smell, but your mind was telling you that was Sir Absalom. What was left of him, since there was a hole in his chest; someone had torn his heart out. Your best guess..?
Like you needed to be told what that was. King Corvina. Oh, and as everyone had been kind enough not to point out – you were supposed to be tolerating his company soon.
You kept your minds off that. Between yourselves, you pieced together what you knew, for the sake of your sanity.
1) Corvina fled the City as the Undead overwhelmed it thinking his Golden Knights to be traitors
2) The refugees fled, and the undead stalked them but did not strike until Durk
3) They found a moment of opportunity as you left when all the refugees were in one place
4) The undead struck, by then you should have been at the Hanging Tree
5) You dreamed, and Absalom vanished, presumably he was kidnapped by Corvina
6) You found Corvina searching Absalom out, the King killed him thinking it was a Golden Knight
7) The story of the Hanging Tree was still half unwritten. At least three members of your group were gone now. Three brave souls missing or dead from your small company, and an entire village plus the whole city’s worth in refugees, all dead. Feel the weight of your footsteps. Know the cunning of your foes, feel what small a hope you really are.
Gold coins and merchant empires?
Righteous vengeance, your very own crusade, just one more time..?
Pitiful.
Your long march kept you sane; there was always something to worry about. In Durk’s temple you decided to stay off the roads as much as possible. Now it was time to make good on that decision. You crossed into the forest first taken aback at its picturesque beauty, now it was really starting to be a pain in your neck.
Slick rolling hills, cold rivers, steep hillsides, sharp rocks, dense undergrowth, plants with natural protection that felt like blades out to cut you open. Mosquitoes – mosquitoes – in an undead plague. And they liked the warmth in your body as much as the undead did. Poor weather and poison ivy, but here was the best part.
Remember all those stories your mothers would tell about wolves?
Everywhere, there were Worg tracks.
Spoiler
Everyone should try for appropriate checks. I’m looking for survival-oriented tasks and any relevant information.
To Do List
Constitution Check
Survival Roll
Intelligence Check
Wisdom Check
Let me know about any skills you think may be relevant to the situation I described. Whether it’s to console aching hearts, cure bug bites, note natural dangers, help with poison ivy irritation, cope with fatigue…
Because you’re short a Bard and a Cleric, literally the hearts of your party!
The Green Man hunkers down to scape some mud off of the ground. He daubs it over his nose; the only vulnerable part of his body to mosquitoes. No sense in having to bop himself in the nose every five seconds, only to have another horde of bloodsuckers come whining in as soon as he's scraped off the last batch. That's right around when he notices the tracks.
With most of his body wrapped in cloth to keep out the harsh sands of his homeland he too finds his nose and face a prime target for mosquitoes. When The Green Man points out the tracks Adun turns to look, "What is it?" Being from a desert environment, and at sea for a time after that, he has absolutely no idea what most tracks look like.
Spoiler
Constitution Check (1d20+9)[23] (Includes +4 from Vitality Belt)
Survival Roll (1d20)[14] No ranks, +0 Wisdom
Intelligence Check (1d20+1)[16]
Wisdom Check (1d20)[19]
Adun doesn't have much in the way of survival skills. He does, however, have enough food and water for five people for one day supplied by a magic item.
Spoiler
Essentia:17 (-4 for Feats) (E=Essentia Invested) Capacity 3, +1 for bold
Soulmelds: [5] Armguards of Disruption: Disrupt Undead. Touch attack to deal 1d6+Ed6 damage. [Incarnum Focus grants +1 capacity]
[Bound]: Insight to AC and Saves equal to E against Undead
[3] Diadem of Purelight: 20+10Eft radius bright illumination, shadowy double. +2 to Spot within any light. Counted as spell level of E for purposes of interacting with magical Darkness.
[Bound]: Negate less than Total Concealment in Bright illumination. Includes spells. Excludes Invisibility.
[0] Dissolving Spittle: 1d6+Ed6 acid damage at 30ft ranged touch.
[3] Pauldrons of Health: Immune to Disease, Sickened, Nauseated. +E enhancement to Fort saves.
[Bound]: Immunity to Energy Drain
[2] StrongHeart Vest: Reduce Ability Damage by 1+E
[0] Vitality Belt: +4 Morale on Con checks and Con based skill checks, but not Fortitude Saves. Gain one hit point per meldshaper level for each Essentia invested. (+10E HP) These are not temporary. Removing these Hit Points can stagger, render unconscious, or even kill Adun.
Feats: Capacity: 2 (change E only once per 24hrs)
[0] Cerulean Will: Insight to Will equal to E
[2] Healing Soul: E/day heal 2Ehp as swift
[2] Midnight Dodge: Dodge for +E to AC
[0] Sapphire Sprint: Add 5Eft to speed. Retain Dex to AC while running. Add E insight to AC when leaving a threatened square.
__________________
Never can find my towel...
So it goes.
Healing is like accounting, but with life and death.
-Self
>.> So, yeah, I'm like, married now.
Last edited by Tacitus : 10-29-2008 at 12:21 AM.
Reason: Tags
Matthias does what he can to steer the party clear of poison ivy and its relatives - they're fairly easy for even a junior woodsman to spot. He aims to find the shortest possible route to Calamdan that doesn't take them straight through a bed of something nasty. He looks about - nothing, but nothing, could stop the mosquitoes entirely, but there were ways to reduce their assaults and numb their bites and stings - if you knew what to look for. At the point of the thick concentration of worg tracks, he stops to take a look, and at the Green Man's comment, nods his head and stands very still, seeming to begin tracing something out in his head. He speaks softly, but clearly enough to be heard by the group. "Caution..." The word is both a noun and a command, the way he says it. Forge, sensing his mood, begins to grow restless. Matthias issues a command to him as well. "Seek, Forge. D'you think they're near, boy?"
Matthias is making a pair of survival checks - one to help ease the stress on the party from the wilderness, the other to try and pull as much information from the worg tracks as he can - numbers, directions, time, and possible riders.
__________________ "Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel."
- Mark Twain
"Life is too short for [manuals], but occasionally much too short without them."
- Randall Munroe, xkcd.com (paraphrased)
Amazing Zealot avatar by Elder Tsofu
Last edited by Jade_Tarem : 10-29-2008 at 02:46 AM.
Radley settles into a quiet mood as they walk. As they leave behind Absalom's tomb he wonders more and more whether the deal he struck between Corvina and the zealots was a wise one. He had hoped to keep the king firmly in hand, but now they were separated again. Hopefully, it was for the better.
The portly merchant has a terrible time with the trek through the woods. His finery is meant for the cleaner areas of urban streets, and soon his pants and robe are drenched in mud. His silk and suede soft-soled shoes are ruined, and he frequently trips over underbrush or gets himself tangled in briars or vines. Sweat pours off the man, but at no time does he complain out loud.
If Green moves to help him at any point, he accepts the help but says nothing.
When they stop and notice the tracks, Radley frowns. He doesn't know anything about tracks. Absently, he comments, "Well, it's just dogs."
"Yes, surely, it's just an army of feral dogs wandering through undead infested lands. Incidentally, these dogs also have paws nearly as big as mine. Must be Saint Bernards. Lots and lots of feral Saint Bernards. Yup."
__________________ Freelance writer and editor, at your service.
Amos shifted only the slightest in the bed, moving his body closer to the dryad... the dryad he was beginning to suspect was in fact Ohmi, who's diary he had read. Something prickled at the back of his mind, warning him, telling him that something was amiss, but Amos silenced it, reminding himself that, of course something was amiss.
To his knowledge, Ohmi was dead... yet Amos desired her. He desired the knowledge she claimed to have, and so, he would pursue her, pursue her knowledge, with everything he had.
Mind...
Spirit...
...Body...
The bard lifted a hand, gently pressing it to the dryad's cheek...
Spoiler
Alrighty, again, I don't know what my modifiers really are right now, with my ring, I've got +6 to my Charisma, it's naturally a +4, annnnnd yet I still don't know if my penalties exist... so here's my roll. My fate is, as always, in Faithdreamer's hands.
(1d20)[7]
__________________ Amazing Mountain King avatar courtesy of the remarkable Starwoof!
Radley gives the bugbear a quizzical look. "Sure, there are some big breeds out there, you know. I saw a goblin mastiff at a show--" He stops and cringes, finally understanding. "O, right."
He sighs and looks toward Mathias. "I don't suppose anyone has any water left?"
__________________
In real life I quit my job and left my home to become a professional adventurer. The Great Adventure
Matthias looks up from his study of the tracks at the Green Man's remarks about paw size. "Bigger than Forge, too. This isn't going to be pretty."
At the water query, he simply states, "Of course."
OOC:
Spoiler
It's all up to Faithdreamer's interpretation - and any additional obstacles that Faithdreamer chucks at us, of course, but according to the PHB by RAW Matthias's pathfinding check was good enough that he should be able to supply food and water for four people by a combination of hunting and gathering.
__________________ "Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel."
- Mark Twain
"Life is too short for [manuals], but occasionally much too short without them."
- Randall Munroe, xkcd.com (paraphrased)
Forge is dutiful and courageous as Matthias could ask. Even that does not stop him from showing his uneasiness. He does not like this place. He doesn’t enjoy the stink of these tracks. Once, he pauses in mid-step to look up at Old Man Raker with his earnest eyes. I’ll do this for you, even if I don’t want to.
As if he expects Matthias to oblige him and say, ‘Let’s go this way instead, boy’. As if prudence came before valour of sorts... or being totally stupid.
Without them the trek through these woods would have been immeasurably difficult. Egan Radley felt this most keenly. Assisted by the others, he had no long term trouble beyond a few scrapes and bruises. Everyone was just tired in the end. Three of them pushed on.
Spoiler
Egan Radley is Exhausted.
Amongst yourselves you realize your jokes are ill placed. For once, none of you needed Forge to tell you how something smelled. Resisting the urge to gag on one of the most powerful stenches you’ve encountered yet; you finally realize what you should have long ago.
Blood floats on the air, a powdered dried mist that seeps into everything. A distinctive scent, irresistible, insatiable, Forge would find it difficult to track. Anyone living would have a hard time being here. This forest is flush with death. And what sane mortal slept with the dead?
It was sort of a good thing you were crazy. Matthias and Forge managed to find a safe place to rest. With a little work it was even possible to dull the smell of blood so you could rest peacefully. You slept so close together most men would have felt uncomfortable. But you were…
…lousy sleepers; at the cusp of dawn there came an insistent scratching. Something pawing at the ground, shredding the grass, and a hopeless mewl that didn’t belong on a rough and tough dog. It sounded so loud – there wasn’t an animal in sight or by ear, and certainly not by smell – all gone because Matthias couldn’t find Forge.
Just the paws digging at soil, a sniff, and a pair of glowing red eyes as all 300lbs. of Worg crept up on your blankets. Two more hovered over the sleeping Green Man and his boss, Radley, poised to tear their throats out.
Spoiler
Adun and Matthias are the only characters awake. They’re the only ones who passed my DC 15 Wisdom Check. Tricky, ne?
So it goes, so to speak, that Adun and Matthias each get an AoO on their respective Worg.
If they do not kill their Worg when they attack, that Worg will deliver a Coup de Grace to the character they threaten. The Third Worg is, as I indicated, still creeping forward but is within 30ft. in case that ever matters.
Forge is mysteriously absent.
Last edited by Faithdreamer : 10-31-2008 at 09:19 PM.
The Dryad pulls away unimpressed and even disgusted; a sexy pout is on her face. It’s clear she isn’t interested anymore and it is very scary to wonder why you might need her more for it. She deserved it, she wants it and should stop pretending otherwise!
“He wants me.” Her pout turns into a conceited smile and something deliciously suave glitters in her eyes. “Does Amos want my knowledge of the song?”
Spoiler
Is it too late for Amos? All she needs is a 'Yes', and...
Last edited by Faithdreamer : 10-31-2008 at 09:32 PM.
Any particular reason for Con & Wis checks instead of Fort & Will saves? There's a reason characters' saves go up as they level, and it's because they get better at resisting these kinds of things (exhaustion and drowsiness, etc.).
Also, even if I failed my Wis check to stay awake in the first place, I feel I should be allowed a Listen check or Will save or something to wake up from the presence of of the worg that is crawling on my blanket.
If none of the above is allowed, Adun and Matthias, for the love of the gods use a free action to shout! If Green & Radley are roused, even if still flat-footed, they can't be Coup de Grace'd.
__________________
In real life I quit my job and left my home to become a professional adventurer. The Great Adventure
First of all, Faith, your writing's gotten way clearer. Thank you. And sorry for nagging you about it.
Unfortunately, my second of all is a nitpick. Green's got a ring of sustenance, which means he only needs two hours of sleep. He is a bear, so it's totally conceivable that he'd sleep longer than that out of habit, but I figure he might want to spend more time awake when he's in worg/undead infested lands.
__________________ Freelance writer and editor, at your service.
You losers just have no taste for the cinematic.
Let me read those comments again and I'll see what I can do.
Poet/Radley
The Wisdom check just replaced my spot check because I'm tired of Spot/Listen checks. How are you supposed to spot or listen when you're ASLEEP?! That's intuition. Make an intuition skill if you want to talk about that some more.
I thought for the sake of character you'd go along with it -- call me manipulative if you want -- go ahead and make a Fortitude Save DC 25 (an arbitrary number to be fair) because your modifier is +13. I think I've finally got you two scared of me.
Clarification: The Fortitude save is to be wakeful and steady when you are awake.
Kuna/Green Man
Deal. You get an AoO on your Worg or Radley's Worg. Take your pick and pretend you were pretend napping like the other two.
Last edited by Faithdreamer : 11-01-2008 at 02:01 PM.
RSS Feeds: 
Re: Of Light, Life and Liches
