with players @Zinnsee and @Desolation
game text is quoted like this.
[dice rolls are quoted like this]
@ pings will mark whose turn it is next
THE PARTY
Helvius Volfszahn the hunter
@Zinnsee
Helvius Volfszahn is a male hunter of the settlement. He carries a magitek sniper rifle, a dagger, and a survival guide. Using the survival guide and other supplies, your character can keep himself and others alive in harsh/unlivable wilderness. He’s wearing heavy, insulating, hunting clothes made from animal furs and leather. 2 health potions. 500 gold.
Uffe the berserker
@Desolation
Uffe is a berserker warrior. He carries a battleaxe and a sword. He currently has 5 doses of berserker shrooms, with which he can enter a combat rage (at the cost of being slightly drained for a bit afterward). he’s dressed like a proper viking. 2 health potions. 500 gold.
the seeress
[NPC]
female runic user with abilities of fate, foresight and runes. Wields an ornate longsword. Carries a runebag. Wears a hooded cloak, and covers her face in a protective (but artistic) mask. 3 health potions. 500 gold.
QUEST
you 3, the defenders of a far-south arctic settlement, have been tasked with a long journey northwest to town, where you will be given a cargo sled full of medicine, and other important supplies. then, you must escort this cargo sled all the way home in one piece. Town is a long ways off, with many obstacles and paths to take on the way. the settlement is counting on you.
Your journey will likely be extremely hard and grueling. A rumor is afoot that monsters killed a hero east of town, and that dangerous things have gotten very brave in response.
theoldones ago
https://voat.co/v/FolkishAsatru/3655063/
game has been moved onto a chat server
theoldones ago
@Zinnsee @Desolation
The settlement is a row of long rectangular buildings in a snowy tundra, right next to a cold, open ocean. The men and women roaming about outside are all wearing layers upon layers of insulated fur clothing.
The 3 of you are residents of this place, and can therefore sleep, recharge, and rest at this location. You can each store items here in your respective rooms. Though most of the buildings are dormitories, storage buildings, and housing, you observe several places of interest.
First, a long, rectangular, massive magitek generator. It hums along, powering the settlement against the cold. Then, a runic temple, a medical office, a restaurant, and a bar. One storehouse has a young woman sitting outside its door with a clipboard, working as a cargo clerk. Any supplies you need, the settlement might have. Lastly, a lounge building where settlement elders or important VIPs hang out.
To begin your quest, for now you’ll be traveling north (once you’re ready to leave).
@Zinnsee your turn
Zinnsee ago
Helvius (or Hal as his friends call him) turns to the other two and says: "Is any of you familiar with the place we have to go to pick up the cargo? If not I would like to look for a map so we can see how to get there easiest. Maybe we can travel by boat or dog sled or something. And if we know how long the trip there and back again will take we should buy the gear and provisions accordingly. It would also be good to know if it's possible to hunt for food on our path so we don't have to carry all the provisions at once."
theoldones ago
[insight roll: 19]
you ask around, trying to figure out the travel map, and what routes you could take.
-To the north, you see glacial ice terrain, eating up a former fishing town and several large ships. The path north is the clearest path to civilization. Beyond that, forest, buildings and a castle finally find a foothold. the main path north you discover, goes through about 4 locations of interest before you reach the edge of town
-To the east and south, you see an endless plain of snow and ice. Far out in the middle of the white expanse you see some vehicles around a crater. Way far back in the north-east you vaguely see some landmarks of interest. Any attempt to travel into the endless plain of snow, would be an ordeal of survival.
-To the west is naught but a cold polar ocean. happily though, you learn you could try taking a boat to cut out half the journey.
[provisions roll: 20]
you speak to the cargo clerk about supplies. after some consulting on her clipboard, each member of the party gets given:
-a bedroll
-salted and dried swines flesh, enough to eat during the entire trip (for that person).
-a magitek lantern for light during darkness, and
-2 bottles of mead
[insight roll: 7]
you ask about wildlife, but are perturbed to discover the other hunters complaining mostly about how the monsters have gotten braver recently. nobody bothers to discuss game hunting with you, they seem too fearful about not dying.
@Desolation your turn
Desolation ago
I respond to Hal, "No, friend. Scouting and being familiar with the land is something I would rely upon you to handle. Hunting for me is a different affair."
And give him a warm, reassuring smile, and then my countenance darkens. "What I do wonder, though, is what is lurking to the east of the settlement taking all the game. I do not wish to end up a midnight snack while sleeping."
I look to the seeress, "Any guidance from the runes?"
theoldones ago
[insight roll: 3]
following the suggestion, the runes don't reveal too many specifics.
when the seeress focuses on the problem, and casts the runes, she reports only a vision of 2 children standing side by side, one beautiful and light, and the other ugly and dark. behind the 2 children is a 3rd thing she doesn't feel comfortable focusing on at all. a thing soaked in evil and madness. this is what lies in the east.
@Zinnsee that was the seeress's go, so your turn
Zinnsee ago
You're absolutely right Uffe, before we wander into the unknown we should gather information about those alleged monsters. As I know my fellow hunters it's probably just a fairy tale to discourage others from going on the hunt. But if there really are monsters roaming about and killing heroes we should try to find out as much as we can. I defeated every beast there is and never feared even the most ferocious bears. But if there exists an even mightier beast then it would be my greatest pleasure to hunt and vanquish it.
How about we go to the bar, have a drink and at the same time try to find out more about those monsters and the path that leads north? Maybe the mead will losen up some tongues.
theoldones ago
the party visits the bar, buys some drinks, and gathers information.
[insight roll: 13]
you hear more details finally. an adventuring party in town was splitting up, and one of them discovered an old eldritch ruin north-west of town. soon after, another party member went there (alone), and was ambushed by someone/something, and is now missing. apart from blood stains, bullet casings, and the remains of a smashed magitek drone that the town used as security, no other clue was found.
you're told that the path north leads first through the frozen fishing town, then by a castle, then you go through wilderness till you'll find the eastern river.
following the eastern river west brings you to town. following it north brings you closer to the suspicious eldritch ruin.
@Desolation your turn
Desolation ago
"I'm still concerned about the vision our seeress has provided. If we are encumbered with precious supplies without vanquishing this foe, then we will have to deal with it while handicapped. I think we should head to the ruins first. Are we all agreed?"
theoldones ago
@Zinnsee do you want to begin a journey to the ruins with the supplies your party currently has?
Zinnsee ago
Hal gets his backpack ready for the journey to the ruins. Additionally to the bedroll, provisions and survival guide he packs his adventure kit (contains basic bush-crafting tools) and plenty of ammunition for his rifle.
"I agree! let's have some fun first before we play errand boy. Let's go on a hunt. But before we start our journey let's visit the lounge of the elders and VIP's. I learned to respect the advice of the oldtimers, let's see what they have to say."
theoldones ago
the party makes a quick stop at the lounge before they head out.
[insight roll: 19]
the lounge is mostly empty today, but you still find some people to talk to.
one of the town elders is able to able to idly tell you something very important. as he flips through a book, he tells you "the fae here get bored every few decades. last time they kidnapped and ate a child, and now is the time they generally appear again. alas, i'm too old to go adventuring, so i couldn't say if they've been entertained once again"
with this worrying advice, the party sets out for the north.
[survival roll: 10]
the weather bites and snaps at the parties skin, but doesn't become chilly become enough to complain about. your travel time goes perfectly to your estimates.
you arrive at the edge of the frozen-over fishing town amongst the glacial cliffs. though this place once had life, it left a long time ago. now, the rotting hulls of boats and empty houses half crushed by ice, break apart silently amidst the harsh winter cold.
[perception roll: 18]
Chilling to the east of this area is the biggest frost giant you’ve ever seen. due to its immense body size, it’s using a massive military fort as a tiny hut, after apparently smashing out the entire building interior, along with a gigantic open doorway.
To the west, in glacial ice, is some intact houses you could (try to) sneak to instead of alerting the giant.
@Desolation your turn
Desolation ago
Woah... With steely determination, I motion that we should head to cover in the west. Who knows if there are more giants lurking about?
theoldones ago
[stealth role: 16. survival roll 4]
you manage to sneak by the giant just fine, but the winter cold violently kicks up among the tight avenues of broken wooden buildings and rotten fishing boats.
by the time the party gets to the houses, its nearly nighttime, and the weather gets even worse then before. the party is forced by the elements into camping there for the night.
[survival roll: 13]
The houses are beyond frozen, but they're intact enough to at least be free of snow indoors. 2 eagles fly in the southern sky. you manage to locate a fireplace, which you stoke up for the night. the exhausted party gets their bedrolls ready and eats some rations.
This house seems like a good place to look for hidden loot, while you're spending the night here.
[perception roll: 3]
To the north, you see the castle in the distance. Nothing else springs into view.
@Zinnsee your turn
Zinnsee ago
"It was a good call to leave that frost giant be. That's Odin's business not ours." I say to Uffe with an approving nod as I chew on my ration.
It feels good to warm my body at the fire and the meal enhances that cozy feeling.
"Before we go to sleep we should check our surroundings thoroughly to make sure there will be no nasty surprise during the night. Maybe we can even find something useful here."
I look at the seeress and a bit embarrassed that I don't remember her name at the moment I ask her: "Ehm "seeress" any guidance from the runes?"
theoldones ago
the party looks around to be safe for the night, and finds no signs of hostiles.
Looking into the basement of a nearby house, you find an untouched, pristine, locked safe with a combination dial. You might be able to open it somehow.
[lockpicking roll: 13]
initial attempts to crack the safe fail, and the party takes the night to sleep on the problem. morning rolls around without incident.
[magic roll: 19]
the seeress places a runestone on the lock. upon beginning its glow, the stone sticks cleanly to the metal. everyone backs away and hides behind cover, as a harmonic hum pitches itself up louder and louder.
with a quiet "pop", the safe lock, the runestone, and a clean circle of metal around the lock all vanish away like a bursting bubble. a second later, five feet to the right, the telefragged safe lock returns back to reality, popping in and dropping to the floor red-hot. upon the wooden floor, it starts burning a blackened, round, smoking scorch mark.
the safe door swings itself open under the power of gravity. Inside, you find some interesting loot.
You find some bags of gold, and everyone in the party receives 300 gold as their fair share. You also find a forged ID card for non-giant visitors to jotunheim. In the rare event a person finds themselves in jotunheim, this ID card might get you out of (or into) trouble. The only other items in the safe are some frail pieces of paperwork, now unreadable, rotted, and waterlogged. Whoever owned this safe has been dead for a very long time.
[all party members now have 800 gold. hal gained (forged) jotunheim visitors ID card]
with that, the party is ready to set out north for the castle.
@Desolation your turn
Desolation ago
"Nicely done, seeress. Your skills keep getting better. By the way, what is your name? I don't recall it was ever given," I ask with a disarming smile.
"Thanks, Hal. We may need to tangle with that giant eventually. Our primary focus should be getting those supplies back to the encampment, and can't be distracted by glory. Too many are counting on us. I just hope we can complete that before running into that beast again."
"So, we ready to head north?"
theoldones ago
[survival roll: 13]
the trip north sees the weather calm itself down a bit. the sun peaks through the winter clouds with a pleasant winter heat
the castle is a massive square compound with walls and towers on the east, south and west. you think you hear shouting from its north side.
you peek around the corner to see whats going on over there.
At its northern side is the castle gate. the party finds a massive crowd of people dressed in winter furs. the women and children hide at the back. a cluster of the crowds men stand in the middle, armed to the teeth.
at the head of the crowd, standing at the gatehouse is the groups leader, arguing with a frost giant that's the size of the castles entire front gateway. The frost giant isn't letting the freezing crowd inside the castle. it stands there, glowering and silent, arms folded and staring down the puny human in front of him.
at this point, you could either investigate, or sneak by before the party gets noticed by either side.
@Zinnsee your turn
Zinnsee ago
Hal turns to the other two and says: "Hmm I really wonder what's going on over there. And why are there so many frost giants all of a sudden? I think we should investigate. What do you say?"
theoldones ago
the party walks toward the crowd, with a young maiden running over exhausted and shivering upon seeing the 3 of you.
"are ye heroes? we of the wolfdeath clan need your aid. we roam the land most times, but this castle is our home in times of danger". she drags you by the hand towards the leader yelling at the frost giant.
She brings you to the head of the group, with a clan elder arguing with the frost giant. The village elder yells “tis’ our ancestral castle, foul beast! We come hungry and hurting from the danger of thine kin, expecting to see this place empty for housing, but lo we find a smelly giant squatting in its halls!”
the giant spits contemptuously onto the ground and rumbles
"cusin down sout' from eer say place empty. me say you bugger off"
the clan elder gets mad, the clans men clutch their weapons, the women and children in earshot huddle fearfully into their furs. the young maiden who dragged you over tugs on your sleeve and says "we cannot stay in the cold. too many monsters. please get our home back for us"
@Desolation your turn
Desolation ago
I reach into my pouch for a mushroom, and start chewing on it as I walk over to the giant.
"You are not welcome here. Time for you to leave."
theoldones ago
you pop in a shroom dose, but the giant notices this fact, notices the 3 of you, and see's clearly whats about to happen.
[down to 4 doses. time roll: 13. For this time length in combat, the character rolls an extra D20 on all combat related actions. Afterwards, for half this time (if combat continues long enough), take away the extra D20 and instead debuff combat related actions by 50%]
the seeress pulls out her longsword and gets ready to charge.
[attack rolls: 14 + 9 = 23]
The giant simply and blankly kicks the elder backwards, before crouching, leaping and climbing onto the castles vast construction. He hollers
“ye will not have it! Thine castle is mine!”.
He disappears somehow into or over the buildings, as hungry, angry people yell for blood and charge into the empty castle grounds. the party is forced to go with the flow of the crowd, finding themselves in the courtyard of the castle, as the clans-people run here and there for who knows why.
it's time to hunt down a frost giant.
inside, the castle contains a large tower keep, with a short wall blocking sight to the back of the compound (though doors here and there give you access). to the west is a couple of small stone buildings.
where would the party like to search first?
@Zinnsee your move
Zinnsee ago
I climb all the way on top of the tower keep to have a good vantage point and set up my magitek rifle in anticipation to melt a frosty brain with some hot lead.
theoldones ago
[agility roll: 16]
you're able to scrabble up the stonework to the northwest corner overlooking the castle. you're able to see the entire front courtyard in full, and the western half of the rear courtyard.
[perception: 16]
in the southeast, out of your view, you hear a deep, guttural growl, and the smashing-down of a stone wall full of several glass windows.
@Desolation your turn. 13 turns of berserk left
Desolation ago
Looking at my colleagues to ensure we all heard what I heard, I make haste toward the commotion to the southeast.
theoldones ago
[perception roll: 11]
you run over till you see a row of windows looking into some type of old dining hall. you hear screams and the snap of blood and bone, as the giant has tightly squeezed into the room and cornered some people from the tribe. the giant fits into the dining hall like a man crawling into a tight pipe. a hole smashed in the wall behind it lights the room with open sunlight
either the windows themselves, or the front door look like the quickest path inside.
[magic roll: 16]
the seeress throws a runestone through the glass, breaking a hole into the window. on the other side is an orange spark then a burst of exploding fire. with an angry noise, the giant bangs his shoulder on the ceiling as it tries crawling around the tight room, head moving up to a window to look outside.
@Zinnsee your turn. you're still overlooking the northwest corner
Zinnsee ago
"Keep him in my line of fire!" I yell to the others as I take aim at the window. And as soon as I see the huge face of the frost giant appear I pull the trigger trying to shoot him in the eye.
theoldones ago
[attack roll: 20]
the bullet punches a clean hole into the glass, popping the giants left eye with a splatter of blue blood.
[frost giant gained debuff: -50% perception penalty]
[strength rolls: 17 + 18 = 35]
with a loud howling of pain, the frost giant pulls back from the window and compulsively elbows the northern wall. it smashes out the window, and a large section of the wall around it. it folds its arm over its head and face to protect itself against more gunfire. it's currently still stuck in the building, but perfectly visible through the hole it just smashed.
@Desolation your turn. 12 turns of berserk left
Desolation ago
With a blood-curdling war-shriek, I charge, hoping to keep his attention as well as make him dread the next few moments of what is left of its life.
theoldones ago
as an attack, a performance/intimidate, or both?
Zinnsee ago
I try to reposition myself to have a good shot at any of the giants vital organs or alternatively I'll aim for his shoulders/arms/elbow/hands to weaken his combat readyness. And during my movement I also try to get situational awareness of whats happening around us. Are my partners safe? What are the residents of this castle doing? Anything happening on the other side of the wall? How severe is the damage caused by the giant to the castles structure?
theoldones ago
you move to northeast corner for a better view.
[perception roll: 16]
you observe that the battle has made the surviving clan members flee to the edges of the castle grounds, watching. everything besides the party is stupefied by fear
the southeast wall of the dining hall appears to be totally rubble. the western walls hole is precisely the right size for the giant to crawl back into the open courtyard. in the rear courtyard, you see that a group of the clans defenders must have tried to gang up on the giant. their pieces and blood are smashed evenly over the southwest walls rubble.
the giant is mostly hidden by the castle structure over its head. you try and shoot its arm.
[attack roll: 4]
the bullet doesn't even make the frost giant flinch.
[attack rolls: 15 + 18 = 33] - (slowed by shield) VS [toughness rolls: 11 + 7 = 18]
the giants unexpected punch (with its free arm) breaches slowly through the seeress's shield like jelly, right before popping it apart like brittle glass. the defensive magic robs the blow of most of its striking power.
the blow strikes uffe in the face like a thrown boulder, but he's able to tank the blow save for a nosebleed. uffe gets driven backwards a short distance, and the giants free arm is now extending outside of the building.
@Desolation your turn. 11 turns of berserk left
Desolation ago
I try to fell him like a redwood tree.
theoldones ago
[attack rolls: 13 + 7 = 20] VS [toughness rolls: 13 + 11 = 24]
you deliver a hardy and strong blow with the battleaxe, intending to chop the giant down like a tree.
the frost giant intercepts the blow with its free arm. you deliver an axechop into the arms flesh so bloody, that you nearly chop off its hand. its fingers on that hand become noticeably stiff and pale.
[frost giant right hand injured: weaker strength and grappling]
the frost giant trades a hand for it, but avoids being struck anywhere important.
[attack roll: 2] VS [toughness rolls 6 + 3 = 9]
the seeress attempts to poke the elbow on the giants protective arm with her longsword, but the weapon fails to even hit the target. the limb twitches back idly, giving the giant a chance to start looking upward for the sniper shooting at him
@Zinnsee your turn. you can see its right hand in your view, but the hand is already half-disabled. the giant hasn't seen you (yet)
Desolation ago
I try for a crippling blow, either side, swinging for the achillies tendon. Managing both would be even better. Primarily, I want to seem like a bigger threat than Hal's eye-poker, so the giant is distracted enough that he can shoot something soft, but I am also looking to disable this beast.
theoldones ago
[attack rolls: 6 + 7 = 13] VS [toughness rolls: 9 + 18 = 27]
the axeblow strikes the bones of the frost giants leg, misses the fleshy tendon, but manages to chop a bloody blue gash in its skin. the giants leg stumbles a bit under the blow, throwing up both its hands up onto the wall for balance. it croons in dull pain.
[magic roll: 14]
the seeress uses her skills to cast a solid shield over uffe. a small bubble shield around him ripples, and this time it seems like it could stand up to a single blow from a giant
@Zinnsee your turn. though the giant no longer has its arm over its head, there's a number of complex obstacles in the way, and he's also taking cover against the wall
Zinnsee ago
I stay at my current location and wait for a clear shot at his head or alternatively his heart. As long as he hides in cover he will be less a threat to my companions. But as soon as he makes a move I'm ready to punish him.
theoldones ago
[perception: 20]
you wait and observe for a spot to thread the needle with. you find it.
[attack roll: 14] VS (complex line of fire)
the shot ricochets slightly off during the last stretch, pinging from a statues forehead, to a thick window frame, back finally to drawing a line of scoured flesh on the good side of the frost giants head. the bullet inflicts hurt but doesn't fully penetrate
its not a kill shot, but the giant holds his injured hand to the wound, howling in guttural pain. it still hides in cover.
[attack roll: 11 + 18 = 29] VS [toughness rolls: 15 + 8 = 23]
the frost giant kicks at uffe like a sports ball.
the bubble shield shatters into pieces as it (and uffe) flies into the middle of the courtyard. uffe lands in the middle of the eastern half of the courtyard, with the breath knocked out of his lungs. other then that he's fine.
@Desolation your turn. 10 turns of berserk left.
Desolation ago
I try to triangulate where I am, where Hal is, and where the giant currently is, and make an effort to position myself so that Hal has a clear shot. Then I proceed to hurl insults to taunt the beast, hopefully drawing him to me and the line of fire.
If obvious that this would be impossible, I charge back in and try for another ankle.
theoldones ago
[insult roll: 19]
uffe pulls together the few jotun words he knows (mostly the swear words), enough to say the giant equivalent of roughly "fuck your whore mother". the giants diamond-like eyes flair in anger to such a phrase being spoken with its native tongue. it compulsively smashes out another window. it's 100% going to try and kill you on its turn now.
[magic roll: 3]
the seeress mildly panics on seeing the melee tank get knocked so far away. she attempts to cast invisibility on herself, fails a second later, pops back into visibility, then instead just runs away from the giant.
[agility: 4]
the snow in the courtyard is quite deep, and not easy to run through at full tilt. she falls face-first into a pile of snow.
@Zinnsee your turn. the frost giant is about to charge at uffe. the seeress just ate a face full of snow
Zinnsee ago
I didn't really hear what Uffe said to that ugly beast, but it did work for sure. The giants remaining eye flames up with pure hatred, like a Yule log. And that is exactly where I'm aiming for my next shot.
Completely focused I wait for a clear shot.
Then I say a silent prayer to Odin. Ask him to guide my bullet as I gently squeeze the trigger.
theoldones ago
the frost giant runs to make an attacking leap.
[luck roll: 17] VS (prayer to Odin)
the prayer to Odin is answered by a black, flapping, blur and a raven call. a large raven the size of a fully-grown dog (with, bizarrely, a tiny backpack and flying goggles) swoops in on the winter wind, intercepting the giants face. the large bird pecks the wounded eye, making the frost giant make a sharp turn. you find a good shot to its good eye.
[attack roll: 14]
you pop the other eye out neatly. it roars in fury. the frost giant is now totally blind.
[giant no longer requires perception rolls, but total stat failure is assumed]
the large, outfitted, raven spends a noticeable amount of time circling the tower, eyeing you up and down. it swoops away like it has news to carry.
@Desolation your turn. the frost giant is blind but not dead. the seeress is still by the castle. 8 turns of berserk left
Desolation ago
Seeing the raven, and literally lose my mind. With every once of strength I can muster, I swing at the giant, shouting and screaming ODIN!!!
theoldones ago
[attack rolls: 9 +9 = 18] VS (blind. cannot react)
uffe's battleaxe chops down to the bone right above the frost giants knees, splattering him in a spray of blue blood. the giant is brought down screaming to its knees.
[magic roll: 10]
a small runestone thrown by the seeress blooms as its thrown. it glows red and expands into a gooey, cohesive, ball of fire. when it collides with the giant, its entire back bursts into flame.
@Zinnsee your turn. the target in the open and vulnerable.
Zinnsee ago
After shooting the giants eye out I watch in disbelief as the raven circles around me. Or rather disbelief is the wrong word my faith has just quadrupled. I try to say a worthy prayer of gratitude. But all I can say is: "Holy shit, thank you, thank you, thank you. Heil Odin!"
Seeing the giant on his knees, blind and defeated makes me feel pity for the beast. Maybe we should spare his life. I'm pretty sure he learned his lesson.
But then again how is a blind and severely wounded ice giant ever going to survive in this world? And with that thought I take aim at his heart and try to end his suffering. May his soul go to Hel to be purified.
theoldones ago
[attack roll: 13]
the bullet rips into one side, and makes a small hole on the other that gushes blue blood. a cold wind seems to whisk the last of its life away. the party has defeated the frost giant!
the castle residents rise out of cover and cheer. the party rests the night with the clan, each receiving their rewards by the morning.
the seeress gets given a crate with 4 healing potions in it, bringing her total up to 7
uffe has his battleaxe engraved by one of the clans surviving runemages. on each flat side, a burning red fire rune blazes. all targets and objects struck by this weapon now have a chance to catch on fire themselves. in the heat of battle, the rune sends reddish flames surging up the axeblade
[battleaxe became "fire enchanted battleaxe"]
hal gets taken aside by some of the more skilled big game hunters among the clan. they talk about many things related to the trade, with even a clan elder giving advice while wearing a fine wolfskin cloak. by the end of the night, hal gets told some interesting tricks of the trade.
[hal gained perk "wolfdeath": multiply dice rolls 2X if the target shot at is a quadruped creature moving on 4 legs]
the rest of the night is spent drinking mead with the nomad clan. the 3 heroes are given a warriors feast.
by the time everyone wakes up in the morning, eats, heals, gets sober, and gathers at the front gate again, the castle is alive with human activity. the battle damage and the empty decay of years, begins to be hammered out and replaced with new construction. the castle would be more then happy to show you hospitality, should you ever need it in the future.
["wolfdeath clan castle" added to the map as a human settlement]
to the north, the next point on your map is a frozen marsh or swamp. all 3 of you are in peak condition to travel today.
@Desolation your turn.
Desolation ago
"That was a great victory, but I am now concerned. That giant we dispatched had a relative in another camp. If we leave now, I fear that the other will come pay a visit, thinking he has a new home. When he does, he will only find these fair folk instead. What do you say that we go pay the other giant a visit?"
theoldones ago
[survival: 15]
the trip down south to the edge of the glaciers is uneventful, and doesn't burn too much travel energy.
[perception: 18]
as you arrive, 2 flying creatures with wings begin swooping down towards toward you. you think you see what looks like a whole swarm of birds deeper to the south. something on the air smells like blood.
a Valkyrie of Odin lands in front the of the party, panting with flight effort. crouched on her arm is the large, weird raven from before. she pants "by the gods ye wishes to run directly at it? are ye mad?". it takes her a few seconds of panting to gain her composure. her armor is tight-fitting, ornate, hinged plate metal. she wields a spear. 2 large white wings sprout from her back
she clears her throat and straightens up. she says "the aid of the aesir is not bottomless, so your haste means our help is limited. the beast you seek in the south is now the bloodsport of me and my sisters". she waves a spear at the southern flock of birds. "those arnt birds. those are Valkyries fighting the foul beast!" she declares. the one speaking to you has a bruise visible on part of her face, and a broken looking nose. she appears half-delirious from combat Adrenalin
she continues "we will fight this beast and kill it for the safety of mankind. ye did brave by hunting the smaller one. in the meantime, ye clearly has a quest in the north. here is more direct aid". she moves her arm a bit and the large, weird raven that you saw earlier hops off, walking on the ground toward your party.
the Valkyrie says "ye was was lucky to have a fine scout on the scene. news was swiftly spread here and there. if ye wishes it, he may be your rogue. a clever eye sees that none of you can disarm a trap, or pick a lock. all of ye fingers are clumsy!"
@Zinnsee your turn. the larger giant down south appears to be someone else's problem. the Valkyrie waits for an answer. does the party want a rogue/scout?
Zinnsee ago
Hal looks at Uffe and the seeress with a look that says: "Holy shit, are you seeing this? A real frickin Valkyrie!"
"We are very grateful for your help" I say to the Valkyrie. "And you are right, we have an important quest up north."
Hal is pretty happy that the bigger frost giant is someone else's problem now. It took a good amount of luck and even some divine intervention to defeat the smaller one. And with things being taken care down here the party can get back on track for the main quest.
Looking at the raven I bow my head in a polite nod and say: "We would be honored to welcome you as a member of our party". And addressing the Valkyrie again I ask "What is the name of this noble bird?"
theoldones ago
the bird hops forward some more and stands up higher, raising its wings in a bow and opening its beak. instead of a ravens caw, human speech comes out
"many names and many titles
does nothing wear, but true in name
is first sight. thus i am called weird raven"
[gained new party member. weird raven]
the valkyrie looks over to the battle as an entire house flies through up the ground, hitting one of the Valkyries. it leaves a burst of red-stained white feathers as the torn-up structure falls back down to earth. the entire scene is so far away not even a noise is heard from your location.
"good hunting" the valkyrie says, before flapping away quickly to the south.
@Desolation your turn. the day is still early enough that you've barely wasted any time.
Desolation ago
Welcome, Weird Raven. I will say, I am very relieved that the other giant is being taken care of. Shall we continue with our mission, folks?
theoldones ago
the bird nestles itself on the seeress's shoulder for warmth
you loop back the way you came, with not enough time for the weather to change on you. north of the castle, over a hill to the east, you find a loosely built wooden wall with a security door. "TROLL TOLL" is painted next to the door. the door swings free on its hinges in the wind, on the other side is the frozen marsh
[perception rolls: 5 + 16 = 21]
the raven pecks at the ugly, hand-drawn warning. the ink turns out to be blood. no enemies are in the vicinity, this is as an old, fading message.
@Zinnsee your turn.
Zinnsee ago
I ask the raven to take to the skies and explore the area. To make sure we don't run into the next beast that wants to kill us and also to find the best path through the marsh. And unless he spots something extraordinary we should continue our trip to get some distance behind us before we have to look for a place to take shelter for the night.
theoldones ago
[perception rolls: 10 + 4 = 14] VS [redacted]
[perception rolls: 17 + 6 = 23] VS [redacted]
the raven flies up, looks, and reports back. over a few small islands of snowy land and wooden bridges, about midway through the zone, it sees about 3 whitish objects in the snow that it doesn't like. adding to that, the snow to the southwest of those objects is picking up in the wind far more then it normally should
@Desolation your turn.
Desolation ago
"Weird Raven, what did you see? Animals, or some kind of magical monster?"
If this is merely incoming weather, I suggest we accelerate our pace.
theoldones ago
[surivival roll: 16]
the weather remains fair, but fearing it may get worse, the party rushes ahead, finally coming into view of the whitish objects.
the ravens already taken a flyover, and therefore is resting for this turn. you only get a shrug when you ask any questions.
[perception roll: 7]
viewing the objects at a safe distance, you see that white tarps have been draped over a number of lumps under the snow. the tarp-covered lumps sit in the middle of an island of land, and traveling through means either crossing their path or sneaking around the little island. around the scattered frozen marshy islands, a network of rivers flow everywhere like trenches
the seeress reaches into her backpack, and hands 1 spare health potion each to other party members.
[health potion amounts. seeress 4. uffe 3. hal 3. raven 1]
@Zinnsee your turn. this spot is the last good vantage point before the party runs into the mysterious tarped mounds.
Zinnsee ago
"Hmm ordinary beasts don't use tarps. So I guess we're dealing with humanoids. I suggest we sneak closer to the first mound to get an idea what we're dealing with here. Better ready your weapons and keep your eyes and ears open"
theoldones ago
the party readies their various weapons. hal gets the rifle ready. uffe hefts his enchanted battleaxe. the seeress gets her longsword out. the raven bends down and (using its beak) yanks its dagger out of its sheath.
[perception rolls 2 + 15 = 17] [perception roll: 17] [perception roll: 11] [perception roll: 7]
upon closer inspection, you collectively determine each tarped lump to be roughly the size of a humanoid, but crouched down as small as possible. you can see loose fabric waves ruffle over the tarps in the wind.
[magic roll: 8] VS (redacted)
something off to the southwest shines in a point of light and sound. it's loud and draws attention, and leaves hal with a slight headache. seemingly sharing the pain, the restrained hiss from creatures below 2 of the tarps can be heard, including the closest one you're trying to investigate.
[magic roll: 4]
the seeress throws a runestone at the tarp, hoping to trigger some unknown magic. the runestone instead just sparks once midair, and hits the closest tarp as a small, hot, pebble.
@Desolation your turn. at least some of the tarps apparently hide creatures, and something is broadcasting subtle magic upon the entire scene.
Desolation ago
"Ok, here's the question. Are these creatures imprisoned by the source of magic to the southwest? Who is our ally and who is our foe in this case? Seems to me, the humanoids aren't going anywhere, let's go check out the source of everyone's pain."
theoldones ago
[perception rolls: 3 + 8 = 11] VS (redacted)
flying out for a look around, the raven reports seeing at least one odd humanoid to the southwest.
the party makes a move forward, and all the tarps fly up.
under each one, a troll was hiding. the trolls are short, fat, ugly and smelly. each and every one of them has covered their entire body against the sun, using a dirty black robe with a hood, exposing only their tiny, bat-like faces and beady black eyes. they're all armed with crude machetes. the biggest of them, the farthest away from the party, roars as he gets up and points in accusation.
"quit blastin me n me bois with psychic juju. ye give us a headache and ye toll is gonna be double. did ye not read our soyn? is a toll zone dis is, eh" the lead troll snarls, waving around his weapon.
the 4 trolls are all liable to attack, but appear to want to talk for now. they seem to believe you blasted out the spell.
@Zinnsee your turn.
Zinnsee ago
I raise my weapon to my shoulder and take aim at the head of the biggest troll, who seems to be the leader. And I say in a calm but loud voice:
"The magic attack was not our doing. So there is no need to threaten us and we have no reason to hurt any of you, yet.
But make no mistake, we will continue on our way north and we don't intend on paying anyone anything.
The source of the magic attack lies in the southwest. And maybe if you boys ask us really really nice we'd be willing to help figure out what's going on."
If the troll makes a wrong move, I shoot him in his ugly little bat face.
theoldones ago
[intimidate roll: 5] [social roll: 11]
the troll isn't scared of the rifle, but does seem to see the logic of cooperation. the leader makes a gesture with his blade.
[perception roll: 15] [perception roll: 16] [perception roll: 14] [perception roll: 7] VS (redacted)
The trolls cease aggression, staring out into the snowy cold to the southwest. The lead troll glances at the party and says “we gahng up on em togedah. Split de loot fifteh fifteh, and no funny business eeh yeah?”. The troll leader seems genuinely worried about something.
@Desolation your turn. the troll gang is obviously shifty, shady, bandits, but at the moment they might follow the parties order (or they might not).
Desolation ago
"Right. Ok, then. Let's go see what we're up against... and if any of you so much as break wind in our direction, I'll lob the head off the one closest to me!"
theoldones ago
the troll gang and the party fans out into formation, heading slowly and carefully to the southwest.
(trolls) [perception roll: 4] [perception roll: 10] [perception roll: 9] [perception roll: 6] (party) [perception roll: 12] [perception roll: 11] [perception roll: 16] [perception rolls: 5 + 17 = 23]
collectively, the 8 of you determine that a particular place on a hillside in the southwest distance, seems to have a heat shimmer distorting its light. given the freezing temperature, such a thing should be impossible.
[magic roll: 20]
the seeress uses a runestone to dispel any potential illusions. the mirage is instantly wiped to reveal a bluish humanoid creature hiding in a hole in the snow. Finally, the mystery attacker comes into full view.
An Unseelie fae wrapped in thin fabric, stalking the muddled tundra with a knife. The young female creature has cold blue skin, sharp, canine teeth, and cold, diamond-blue crystal eyes.
the weird raven flies high into the sky on instinct, getting as far away from melee distance as possible. from the height it reaches, observing the landscape below is a fairly easy job.
@Zinnsee your turn. you have a clear shot at the enemy.
Zinnsee ago
"Keep your guys in check!" I shout to the troll leader.
"And you, explain yourself!" I yell as I take aim at the fae.
If she shows any hostility or tries to use magic I'll pull the trigger.
theoldones ago
the fae grins evilly, then says in a voice like frostbite "someone is most certainly paying a toll today, and luckily it's not us".
[magic roll: 15] [stealth rolls: 20 + 9 = 29]
the fae sprinkles some golden dust into the air, and in its visually distorting wake tries to vanish behind a gust of snowy wind.
[attack roll: 1]
the bullet whiffs into a snowdrift. the fae is gone again before you can blink.
the troll leader looses an gutteral trollish war cry, and points his machete at the hill. the other 3 trolls began eagerly charging through the snow on their short, stumpy legs. they don't know where the fae went either, but they at least have a rough idea of where to start chopping.
[magic roll: 17]
there's a psychic noise like female laughter, and a magic voice compels those who hear to respond and look. it's coming from the north, behind the formation. the attention of the party and the trolls is forcibly compelled to look back, seeing a 2nd fae holding her hand open with golden powder inside it. the powder burns into sparks as the spell captures everyone's attention. this one has a longsword buckled to their waist.
[stealth rolls: 1 + 20 = 21] [magic roll: 1]
a 3rd fae appears from nowhere to the southwest, right within melee range of 2 trolls. despite sneaking up perfectly, when it appears with a wizards staff and attempts to fry a troll with a lighting bolt, the bolt skitters all the way around its target into the ground, without inflicting any real harm.
[stealth rolls: 11 + 18 = 29] [attack rolls: 2]
a 4th fae appears to the southwest directly near the 3rd, also wielding a knife. it attempts a slashing sneak attack upon a trolls neck, but the swing doesn't even connect.
[stealth rolls: 3 + 8 = 9]
to the west, something invisible tries to move silently through some bushes. instead, its magic makes an eerie harmonic noise as a round spot within the world spontaneously filters itself into a deep blue tint.
@Desolation your turn. here's what the situation looks like: https://files.catbox.moe/3mopou.png
Desolation ago
I silently mutter to myself some disparaging words about sorcery and rifle-play and then... hold my turn until opportunity presents itself for me to close and swing.
theoldones ago
uffe holds himself and his weapon ready. the axeblades hum silently with a red fire, and the fire rune wakes up with red heat
[turn held. next visible enemy in melee range will be attacked]
[magic roll: 15] [time roll: 20]
the seeress crushes a runestone in her hand with a small crack. it puffs into its own golden dust. over the eyes of the 2 trolls about to have a fight, yellow glowing holograms of eyeglasses appear. the spell is potent enough that the magic glasses should last for the entire day.
[2 troll allies gain temporary perception buff: roll 2 D20s on perception checks]
[agility rolls: 3 + 11 = 14]
the raven, with dagger in hand, begins flying towards the longsword wielding winter fae. it gets to above the parties heads, and halfway back to the ground, clearly intent on an attack.
@Zinnsee your turn. the fae to the north has a clear avenue of attack on you, and the rest of the party and all the trolls are behind you. you were entranced by the winter fae's spell and are now looking directly at them.
Zinnsee ago
I'm definitely in a bad spot. Close range combat is not my preferred option. Also since the fae seems to have put some kind of spell on me it's probably best not to try to take a shot right now but rather reposition myself. With Uffe ready to deal a blow I take a position behind him so I can support him with my rifle.
theoldones ago
you tear your eyes off the fae, and you finally feel like a hand just let go of your brain. the last of the burning golden powder in the fae's hand comes to a dead stop with the severing of the link. it hisses in annoyance as its hold on the party fails
[agility roll: 8]
you get over to where uffe is holding, but the snow there was thick and deep, so it does leave more out of the breath then you hoped.
[attack roll: 19] VS [agility rolls: 11 + 18 = 29]
a troll takes a revenge machete chop at the fae with the wizard staff, but it skitters back easily out of the way.
[attack roll: 2] VS [agility rolls: 18 + 1 = 19]
the troll against the fae with the dagger misses entirely. the fae doesn't even have to move to escape harm
[agility roll: 12]
the troll ally to west, right next to the blue blur, moves into melee range of it ready to probe for hidden fae. the troll is visibly hampered by its shortness though, and isnt ready to attack yet
[agility roll: 7]
the troll leader tries and fails comically to move through the deep snow towards the longsword fae. he angrily yells "ye cahnt! ye poaching tolls and me an de boys gonna eat your bones!". he only gets about halfway to melee range
[attack roll: 12] VS [toughness roll: 19]
the longsword fae dashes forward and draws the blade across the troll leaders chest. the tanky, squat body of the troll takes the blow like a light scratch, even if the wound is obviously a bad one.
[troll leader health down from 55 to 40]
the blur to the west drops reveals itself. The fifth and last winter fae carries a clay bottle full of witches-fire. The fae unscrews the cap, exposing the reactive liquid to air. The top of the bottles contents light itself into a slow and gentle candleflame.
[agility rolls: 17 + 4 = 21]
with a hard toss the bottle is chucked into the frozen creekbed where uffe stands. it blooms into a pile of burning fire that pours itself slowly through the entire small creek.
the fae has no more weapons and is defenseless in the open. fire ripples down the creek towards uffe.
@Desolation your turn. you've got only a limited amount of time to pick between jumping over to help a troll ally gank the barehanded fae, or, jumping in the other direction to stay with the rest of the party and the other 3 trolls. after that the creek becomes an impassable wall of flame
Desolation ago
I'll stick with the friendlies, and jump toward the party.
theoldones ago
[agility roll: 11]
uffe jumps to the eastern bank with the party.
the flaming jelly surges down the creek, turning the water and the buried plant life at its edges into a wall of fire. a troll ally gets cut off from the rest of the group, but you can still see him past burning swamp bushes.
[attack roll: 6] VS [agility rolls: 3 + 8 = 9]
the seeress moves to the fae with the dagger, attempting to help the troll. she swings fairly badly with her longsword, but the winter fae seems to almost trip on its own feet as well. the fae falls down as if it was actually struck, and the seeress's sword stabs uselessly into the snow
[agility rolls: 5 + 12 = 17] [attack roll: 15]
the weird raven swoops in towards the longsword fae, raking its little dagger up its chest, up the neck, and into the winter fae's cold-blue face. the bird swoops away cawing repeatedly like laughing.
[fae weakness: iron] [burn damage: 2]
the deep cut instantly begins to pour out deep blue blood. the touch of cold iron sends an observable amount of steam coming off the wound.
[longsword fae health down from 30 to 13]
@Zinnsee your turn. here's what the situation looks like: https://files.catbox.moe/6z6ojq.png
Zinnsee ago
"It seems that the faes have a weakness to iron!" I shout to the others.
Well my bullets are not made from iron but they should hurt too. Provided I can hit my bloody target this time.
I take a shot at the longsword fae.
theoldones ago
[attack roll: 6]
the bullet takes a chunk of meat out despite barely hitting the mark, but the creature isn't in a state to resist.
[longsword fae health down from 13 to 10]
[attack roll: 8] VS [agility rolls: 11 + 7 = 18]
The troll cut off by fire tries to chop at the fae in front of him. He misses, and the creature hops sideways to avoid the strike.
[attack roll: 14] VS [agility rolls: 13 + 9 = 22]
a troll ally tries to attack the wizard staff fae, but it dashes away, readying the staff into position.
[attack roll: 18] VS [agility rolls: 18 + 19 = 37]
the troll nearest to the dagger fae makes an epic swing with his weapon. Despite his best effort, the fae leaps and does a complete, entire, badass backflip, landing to the east of the troll. The fae now has the troll acting as a meat shield between her and the seeress.
[attack roll: 11] VS [agility rolls: 12 + 16 = 28]
The troll leader makes a short range stab attempt upon the longsword fae. The creature leans back a few degrees and avoids it entirely.
[attack roll: 2]
the longsword fae is injured, it tries to swing its weapon but fails to get the blade even slightly off the ground.
[attack roll: 8] VS [toughness roll: 8]
the fae with the dagger tries for a slash, the troll sturdily blocks it with their machete.
[magic roll: 19] [stealth rolls: 17 + 8 = 22]
Vision and light seem to pull themselves over the creekside where the wizard staff fae stands. The world is drawn by an invisibility spell like a splintered hole into the staffs head. The fae vanishes from view like a folded optical illusion.
[stealth rolls: 20 + 6 = 26]
the fae that was on the hill is nowhere to be seen.
@Desolation your turn.
Desolation ago
I charge and attack the closest Fae.
theoldones ago
[agility roll: 11] [attack roll: 10] [fire enchantment roll: 6] VS [agility rolls: 19 + 6 = 25]
(fae weakness: iron) [burn damage: 6]
uffe charges through the snow with a battle cry. the axehead doesn't start a fire, but does chop itself through snow and ice with ease. despite attempting a nimble dodge, the dagger fae trips on one of its own feet slightly.
you hit the creature just well enough to land. half the damage seems to erupt as a steam burn
[dagger fae health down from 30 to 18]
[magic roll: 18] [luck roll: 17]
the wizard staff fae is out of view right now, but the seeress throws a fireball anyways just to smoke them out. with a burst of exploding fire, the winter fae is forced out of invisibility to beat out the fire threatening to consume it. its cold-blue skin doesn't like fire one single bit.
[dagger fae health down from 30 to 15]
Zinnsee ago
"Look for footprints in the snow! That way we should know where any invisible foes are!" I shout to the others.
I'm impressed how easily the faes are able to dodge our attacks. They seem to be very nimble creatures. But it gives me an idea.
"Hey you ugly cold snatch! Dodge this!" I shout at the dagger fae while I aim my rifle at her.
Now that I have the faes attention she for sure will try to evade my bullet. But little does she know that I'm not shooting where she is right now but (using all my hunter skills in reading my preys movement) I shoot where she will end up.
theoldones ago
[attack roll: 8] [intellect roll: 10] VS [intellect roll: 5]
(raven turn held: watch for footprints in the snow)
the bullet only punches through flesh, but does land a hit upon the surprised winter fae as it tries hopping backwards. the hole bleeds blue. the hit takes the breath from the creatures lungs in shock. the fae clutches at the bleeding puncture, then unleashes a loud warning cry out into the cold. the yelled phrase sounds like the fae tongue, but you dont know fae, so you don't understand a word
[dagger fae health down from 18 to 10]
the 2 troll allies with magic glasses begin marching towards the burning winter fae, who manages to finally stop, drop and roll herself out in the snow. Getting up off the ground nullifies her turn though, with a large amount of ugly burn scars now covering her body.
(wizard staff fae turn: nullified)
[attack: 10] VS [agility rolls: 12 + 8 = 20]
the troll ally cut off by fire chops at the unarmed winter fae. He misses again, the fae expertly dodges, but suspiciously she isn't retreating in the slightest.
[attack roll: 6] VS [agility rolls: 18 + 7 = 25]
the troll leader swings his machete at the longsword fae. She not only dodges it again but is actively smiling at his face despite her pain.
[magic roll: 5] [grapple roll: 15]
and the reason why becomes clear.
She reaches up a hand and grabs solidly onto his shoulder. With the sound of a warping teleport, both of them vanish. it’s only a short range hop though. A flash of magical light in the horizon to the east tells you exactly where they landed. The troll leader and his fairy kidnapper are both out of the fight now. Only perhaps the gods know what horrors that troll will soon see.
[magic roll: 20] [grapple roll: 6]
the troll ally cut off by fire nearly suffers the same dark fate, wrestling off the smaller, tinier winter fae creature easily, as it flawlessly executes a teleport spell. It vanishes for a second, then reappears again angry at failing to capture its prey. It hisses “get in our larder! Ye are but a slave!”
the troll snarls back “gi’ us bak ah boss roit now, young laydie, or we’ll ave your ead”
[agility rolls: 10 + 14 = 24] [grapple roll: 7]
With all pretense gone, the dagger fae on its last legs leaps for the ankles of a troll ally with magic glasses as its back is turned. It hasn't popped off a teleport spell just yet, but “paying a toll” apparently means the winter fae would like to kidnap some people.
It holds on tight to the trolls ankle for the chance to warp away.
@Desolation your turn. The dagger fae is completely open to attack right now, and on its last third of health. also, good idea on using hunter skills to predict agility dodges, that’s not a countermeasure I’ve considered. i’ll add it to my notes as a class skill. Feel free to use the same trick again in the future
Desolation ago
Right, then. Say good-night, dagger fae.
theoldones ago
[attack roll: 10] [fire enchantment roll: 10]
(fae weakness: iron) [burn damage: 10]
uffe's battleaxe neatly chops the tiny winter fae in half. the blow kills it instantly, and the ragged messy, cut lights itself slowly on fire like a campfire log.
[perception roll: 20 + 6 = 26] VS [stealth rolls: 16 + 18 = 34]
the raven does several double takes trying to spot something, but cant find it.
[magic roll: 8]
The seeress crushes a stone in her hands in a punch gesture. Ghostly force magically decks the fae in the nose. It causes a blue nosebleed, but a punch in the face isn't really the deadliest type of attack.
[wizard staff fae health down from 15 to 11]
@Zinnsee your turn. The fae across the fire barrier could be shot at but the wizard staff fae is far more vulnerable.
Zinnsee ago
I take a shot at the wizard staff fae.
theoldones ago
[attack roll: 2]
the shot whizzes by the fae. it leans back in shock as the bullet comes inches within hitting distance, and you see its eyes widen in fear.
[grapple roll: 18] [strength roll: 7]
the troll trapped by fire throws aside its machete unexpectedly, jumping and wrapping both its ugly hands around the fae’s throat. The two fall to the ground as the troll slowly crushes the fae’s windpipe by hand. Caught in a suffocating choke, the winter fae has larger problems then difficulty casting teleport spells.
the troll snarls “you gon talk bout’ where you ave him, even if we put ye out fer a while!”
[attack roll: 18] VS [agility rolls: 15 + 6 = 21]
[attack roll: 15] VS [agility rolls: 10 + 3 = 13]
the 2 trolls go after the wizard staff fae. The fae dodges one swung weapon, but not the second.
[wizard staff fae health down from 15 to 9]
[magic roll: 5] [stealth rolls: 10 + 10 = 20]
The wizard staff fae attempts to cast another illusion over itself. Instead, it swears in fae as the party and trolls now see a humanoid-shaped distortion trying to crawl up the snowbank, as it clearly leaves a dripping trail of deep blue dots in the snow.
*The fire in the river is dying down. The witches-fire burns off to reveal the ash of burnt bushes, and partially melted creek ice. *
@Desolation your turn. you could try moving over the creek to the fae being choked, or, you could move around/through the seeress and the 2 trolls to finish off the fae trying to crawl away
Desolation ago
You know, none of these are friendlies... I'll move over toward the one being choked. It sounded to me like the Troll is trying to get information out of her. If memory serves me correctly, there are some villagers missing, also. Maybe they're in the same place as the missing Troll?
theoldones ago
as the others deal with the last visible fae, uffe goes to help with the interrogation. he oversees the fae's hands being bound with an iron chain. with a machete held to its neck, it's been 100% captured. it glowers hatefully at uffe and the troll.
[social roll: 16] [intimidate roll: 15]
you get a very chilly explanation (no pun intended). "we needed only enough warm bodies to help with some things. we aint big daddy dragon. he gives us free reign, leave us out of his affairs. did the frost giants send you? the bomb we sent was a joke".
Zinnsee ago
"Good job guys that was a challenging foe. But I have to say the next opportunity there is a gunsmith I'll have my trusty rifle checked/upgraded, because it seems I suddenly can't hit a bloody barn door with it."
"Let's loot the bodies and our prisoner and then get out of here. I have a suspicious that those fairies will come back and maybe even with some backup. And there could still be an invisible one sneaking around, trying to teleport one of us away, so keep your eyes and ears open."
After looting the bodies we take our prisoner and head back to where we first met the trolls. Here we can interrogate both the trolls and our visitor to better understand what's going on here. And who the hell is this big daddy dragon and what bomb?
theoldones ago
13 pinches of fae dust and the wizard staff is all the interesting loot you find. the trolls scoff at the complicated magic stick. these trolls only seem to know gold and chopping, and so for magic it doesn't appear their brains work so good.
dividing up the loot leaves the party with the wizard staff and 6 pinches of fae dust. the weird raven and seeress split the magic powder 50/50, with the seeress replacing her longsword with the staff. the only other item leftover for those uninterested in magic is a basic dagger that’s probably not even worth anything.
the staff is a crudely carved tree branch covered with fae runes that glow a cold blue.
[seeress equipped staff. potent magic tool] [weird raven and seeress both gained 3 pinches of fae dust]
[social roll: 10] [intimidate roll: 19]
you poke the fae in its chest angrily, demanding to know more.
when you ask about "big daddy dragon", the fae exchanges a look with the surviving trolls. 1 troll coughs, looks down and mutters "boss dragon up nort' wants is' cut, or wants us smaller ones saying yes yes boss. fatass wyrm just sits on his gold pile all day inneh. aint' havin to chop chop. fat cahnt prolly cant even crawl out is moi opinion on de' fing"
when you ask about the bomb, the winter fae goes stonefaced. she says "oh, you guys aren't here for that. everything's fine then". she looks over to the 3 surviving trolls, and explains "we got your boss, he's safe, we'll even take you to him. if you want to earn some coin, then yeah we could use some trolls to chop chop".
the 3 trolls look among themselves. with gold coins as their focus, they wave your party free to go north and begin to untie the cooperative fae. The party makes a mental note about the winter fae apparently sending frost giants (literally) explosive gift packages via “courier”.
@Desolation your turn. there’s still enough time left in the day for the party to move a bit northwards and make camp.
Desolation ago
Making sure that the fae and trolls do not hear me, I say to my companions "Nice work, everyone. Still, let us not forget our original mission. Those supplies are badly needed back home."
I'd like to make a slight detour so that the fae and trolls think we went one way, but we really go northward for our camp. Can we do that? I don't want to be followed and have my throat slit when I sleep!
theoldones ago
[survival roll: 6] [stealth roll: 10]
the weather becomes harsh almost instantly.
the party though, is able to easily able to sneak around, as even a winter fae wouldn't be going outside in this weather. snow seems to cover up your footsteps just as soon they're made.
the party finds the southern bank of the eastern river, to the north lies the other riverbank. you dig up a hidden boat the southern settlement left in the planning stages, and use it to make a crude, but tiny, shelter from the snow.
the party manages to avoid freezing for the night. morning eventually arrives
@Zinnsee your turn, the party now has a small boat to travel via the river.
Zinnsee ago
I say we continue our travel by boat and head up north on the river. Also I'd like to give weird raven one of my health potions.
theoldones ago
hal finds his rifle is a bit clogged, and some of the parts are moving stiffer then they should. A gunsmith in town would be the nearest repair source. Perhaps that explains why its firing so badly.
he also hands the raven another health potion
[survival roll: 13]
The boat struggles slightly against the freezing water, but it reaches the northern riverbank. Directly north from the water here is a group of old ruined stone buildings. They seem derelict and are buried in snow.
@Desolation your turn. the party could either stop the boat and go on land, or go either west or east along the river. if you want to travel farther by boat, then to the west is a way to town, but going east is a direct path to the ruins.
Desolation ago
Right, to town it is. We need that gunsmith.
theoldones ago
[survival roll: 2]
the boat moves west a short ways, but the river current kicks up and drives the hull into a sharp rock.
the party is still near the old buildings, and to west the climate warms up and melts. you can see the edge of town vaguely from here
[stealth roll: 20]
when the party stumbles ashore, nothing seems to be waiting for them. working on the goal of reaching town, the party uses this chance to sneak over to town silently.
eventually the party reaches a place where the frozen forest begins melting into fall temperature tundra. this is where the edge of town starts. you pass between a logging camp and the local graveyard.
you finally then reach the town. by this point you've completely left winter behind you, and the temperature and climate is perfect. all the trees are green and growing, and the birds are singing.
given that your presence is expected, you get no trouble from either humanoid magitek drones, or town guards wearing plate metal armor.
immediately to the south is an elaborate, massive, stonework runic temple. immediately to the north is the local tavern. ahead, down the main street is a large number of market stalls.
@Zinnsee your turn. you can check the buildings, check the marketplace, or search around town for anything specific.
Zinnsee ago
"Hey guys I'll go to the gunsmith and let him work on my rifle. How about we meet up at the tavern in an hour or so?"
theoldones ago
You locate a gunsmith who cleans out your weapon for 50 gold. It should be in working order now.
[gold count down to 750]
[stealth roll: 5]
The town guards already begin giving the weird raven pointed looks. The bird offer no explanation.
@Desolation your turn. The party still has time to do their own thing in town before meeting up at the tavern.
Desolation ago
I look for a skald to write a song about how we killed the frost giant, and then later visited by that valkyrie. That is worthy of song.
theoldones ago
[luck roll: 18] [social roll: 12]
you manage to locate a couple of skalds with a lyre and a flute. You tell them about the parties journey so far.
[crafting roll: 17] [charisma roll: 14]
intrigued, they write a song on the spot. the tale is indeed epic and a small crowd gathers to listen to them. The parties renown increases with the size of the gathered crowd
[magic roll: 16]
visiting the runic temple for a divination, the seeress sees 3 or 4 places of danger along the road to the eldritch ruins from here.
@Zinnsee your turn. By now the party has met at the tavern.
Zinnsee ago
Before I head back to the tavern I would like to see if I can buy something like grenades (explosive, fire, flashbang or smoke). And do they sell magitek sawed-off double barrel shotguns or maybe a suppressed pistol in this town?
theoldones ago
The gunsmith ran out of explosive items to sell, you discover. He says “we had a bottle of witches-fire here, but then some little girl off the street completely wrapped in robes bought it just yesterday. Poor girl’s skin looked almost frostbitten, so she must have come from the west somewhere”
he offers a magitek scattergun, the last from his current stock.
He tells you he had a silencer here to sell just this morning, but the town guard bought it just a couple hours ago, in their continued efforts to toughen up the towns defenses.
He shrugs, finishing with “and that’s what i’ve got to offer until I get new shipments in, or spend some hours in the workshop”
buying the scattergun means you’ll be down to 250 gold. Do you want to buy it?
Zinnsee ago
I'll offer the gunsmith 500 gold for the scattergun, a holster and ammunition.
theoldones ago
you pay for the items. you now have the scattergun in a holster at your side.
meeting up at the tavern, the party find a number of customers at the tables. the bartender is a young woman. a well dressed woman sits at the end of the bar watching everyone else in the room. another adventuring party comprised of another berserker, a short pitch-black dark elf, and a tall, beautiful light elf sit together in utter depression.
@Desolation your turn.
Desolation ago
Hrm... well, I can either be the life of the party, or discretionary...
How about this, I buy everyone in the bar a round, and then head over to the adventuring party. I'd like to know why they're so down in the dumps. If nothing else, I want to know what they're up to. If they are righteous (I try to discern their motives) then I talk about our encounter with the valkyrie to inspire them. If their motives are unpure or selfish, then I try to offer a few encouraging words and take my leave to talk to the bartender.
theoldones ago
buying drinks for everyone in the bar costs you about 65 gold, but it does lighten up the mood.
[perception: 5]
you've never seen this party before, so their motives are entirely unknown to you. the party sits beside them at the bar, and you have a chance to talk.
the short dark elf appears to be a female, and looks too sad and too drunk to be of any help. the berkserker is stonyfaced. he says "he's dead is our problem", a phrase which makes the dark elf begin to cry.
the light elf scowls at the berserker and looks at uffe. she says "your party killed the frost giant? you heard the rumor? our friend went off alone, he's missing now. we're too messed up to be of much help currently".
the berserker gives an unreadable facial expression to the dark elf, then goes back to his drink. he growls "northwest. river starts west, then curves up north". the light elf nods, saying "i found the ruins entrance, and a camp with some people midway there, but we just lost our magitek boffin, and his sister had to travel here from svartlafheim in replacement".
the dark elf gets angry, she interjects "not replacement! the family would hate not having a runemage out there adventuring! he's not dead, i'm just holding his seat for now". the berserker argues back "nah, this job kills. he's gone".
@Zinnsee your turn.
Zinnsee ago
I stand by the side so the other adventurers can't hear me and I talk to the bartender. I ask about the business, the other adventurers and the well dressed woman. Also I'd like to know why the town guards need to toughen up the defenses.
theoldones ago
[insight roll: 18]
the bartender mixes a drink as she explains, but states "that party over there is the main group for the town. someone put a bounty on them, is what the rumor is. the berserker and the light elf both have prices on their heads. something to the west is hiring out monsters and mercenaries wholesale. the whole northern shore of the river is crawling with evil right now"
@Desolation your turn
Desolation ago
I ask the berserker and dark elf, has anyone found the body? Maybe we can help each other out here?
theoldones ago
[social roll: 5] [perception roll: 9]
you find out the body hasn't been discovered yet, only blood stains. the other party seems too drunk and intent on arguing to listen to you.
the dark elf keeps insisting that her instruments say her brothers soul is still somewhere in midgard. to be exact, somewhere to the northwest. to this end she shows you all a complex mechanism like an ornate compass. you cant make heads or tails of the mechanism, but it features a single glowing part, is making a quiet clicking noise, and its needle does indeed point northwest.
their berserker keeps arguing that the price on their heads explicitly stated to kill them, and that if blood was found, he's likely dead.
the light elf has her hands full preventing the 2 from kicking off a bar fight.
@Zinnsee your turn. it looks like the other party cant help you directly, but their magitek says the missing adventurer can at least still be detected.
Zinnsee ago
I go back to the seeress and weird raven and signal Uffe to come over here too so the other party can't hear us.
"I have a strange feeling about those adventurers. Someone put a bounty on their heads and now the whole northern shore of the river is crawling with evil. Something to the west is hiring out monsters and mercenaries wholesale. I really don't like to abandon anyone but we have a mission that's far more important. If we take the route that comes by the ruins maybe we can offer to have a quick look, but a full blown rescue mission could jeopardize our main quest. And maybe it would be best to take another route completely since all those hired monsters and mercenaries could mistake our group for theirs. So I'd like to hear from each of you what you think about this situation."
theoldones ago
@Desolation what do you want to do here
Desolation ago
What direction do we need to go to complete our mission? If it is toward the northwest, I see no harm in looking around while on our way.
theoldones ago
recalling what you know of the area, heading home means going to the south and east. there's a few routes you could take
it's perfectly possible to swing by the northwest for a quick look
@Zinnsee your turn. should the party investigate the northwest?
Zinnsee ago
And what do they offer us if we go?
theoldones ago
[social roll: 19]
the other party stops arguing, and mutters silently among themselves.
the short dark elf wipes her nose, gets off her stool, and walks over with her height barely going up to your chest
she hands you the ornate compass mechanism, saying "if you're going to find him, you'll need this". you observe that scratched on the side of the mechanism is the message "check if dead. love you sis". a second dial on a smaller readout near the clock middle flickers uncertainly between the marks for midgard and helheim, apparently denoting which of the 9 worlds its target is currently in.
she says "if you can find him and help him, we'll pool our money together, and each you can get 1 expensive thing from the market each, is that a fair deal?"
[hal gained "soul compass"]
@Desolation your turn. if the dark elf's deal seems in order the party is ready to head out.
Desolation ago
Let's depart, then.
theoldones ago
Following the soul compass leads you northwest from the tavern into the woods.
[perception rolls: 8 + 20 = 28]
the trail leads you into a fetid, foggy swamp. To the north, inside the swamp is a small round hut. Standing next to the hut is a man in leather armor, and an old woman. The black metal skeletons of a couple decommissioned magitek drones sit here and there in the swamp water around the hut.
The needle says to keep going north, but that means getting past the small hut.
[perception roll: 14] [magic roll: 16]
the seeress cocks her head to the side for a second, and reports something of immense magical power to the north, just past the hut.
@Zinnsee your turn. The 2 people by the hut are too far away to have seen you yet
Zinnsee ago
The seeress and me both stay hidden behind as Uffe and Wren (my nickname for Weird Raven) go towards the 2 people at hut.
theoldones ago
hal and the seeress hide behind some bushes. uffe and the raven walk over to the hut
[perception rolls: 5 + 19 = 24]
the swamp to the north is heavily overgrown. in fact, it's suspiciously overgrown now that the raven thinks about it.
[perception roll: 10] [perception roll: 11]
the old woman leans against the hut on a walking stick. the man in leather armor is sitting on a log whittling a piece of wood. they both look up as an unknown berserker and (apparently) his bird comes closer to their home
"oh, who are ye now. ye doesnt look like normal visitors to our swamp" the old woman croons. the man in leather armor looks at Wren, asks "does ye bird do tricks for coin?"
@Desolation your turn. the 2 strangers are waiting for a response back
Desolation ago
"I am Uffe, and this is my friend. I am looking for a lost companion. Am I the only stranger to your swamp recently?"
This really doesn't smell right to me... I try to appear casual, but stay on high alert.
theoldones ago
[performance roll: 12] [perception roll: 18]
you manage to pass yourself off as casual. you keep an eye on the 2 of them.
the man and the old woman give each other a look, and the old woman croons "many do visit but they're never strangers. who is ye seeking, me boy?"
@Zinnsee your turn
Zinnsee ago
I stay hidden and watch what's going on. I have my rifle at the ready in case Uffe or Wren is in danger.
theoldones ago
[turn held. fire on first hostile target]
[perception rolls: 16 + 19 = 37]
the raven looks closer at the old woman and sees the shimmer of magical illusion. That, and the swampy overgrowth to the north looks to be an illusion as well
the 2 black metal skeletons from old magitek drones left in the water as well, look to be in remarkably good condition despite their shabbiness
the seeress gets down on one knee to aim her staff easier, charging up power into the staffs fae runes, she also waits to fire on the enemy
@Desolation your turn, the old woman waits for an answer
Desolation ago
"A Dark Elf. He should've come this way not terribly long ago. Our companions have been looking for him as well. Have you seen him?"
I would attack, but even with an illusion over them, there have been no hostile actions as yet. I'm a berserker, not a murderer. :-)
theoldones ago
The old woman smiles and says “i believe we have a dark elf here. We can take ye to him”
the man in leather gets up off the log, keeps his grip on his knife, and begins to pull out a magitek pistol with his free hand
[attack rolls: 5 + 18 = 23]
hal’s sniper shot gets there first though. The bullet brings him down to his knees in pain before he can draw his weapon. The leather armor he has on doesn't do much against a bullet
[bandit health down from 35 to 17]
[magic roll: 9] [stealth rolls: 3 + 17 = 20] (fae runes)
the seeress tries to cast invisibility over the raven, and despite a mediocre cast, the fae runes on her staff charge into cold light and make it work. Wren is washed over with an illusion till they vanish out of sight.
immediately after this, the illusion over the old woman drops, revealing it to be a young witch-wife twisted by her magic. Her skin has been turned red, her eyes glow like coals, a pair of horns adorns her head, and her face is twisted up like a carnivorous beast. She carries a wizards staff made of bone, adorned with runes of hel and death.
The 2 magitek drones left in the water makes runic binary screeches, and both of them begin pulling themselves out of the muck like reanimating skeletons. Each drone is only a skinny humanoid frame of black metal. The left eye of each drone glows a fast, pulsing red, and their right eye glows an ornate light blue.
“more souls to hide from lady hel. So many loose ends” the witch-wife snarls, as the illusion to the north begins falling.
https://files.catbox.moe/bi8o9t.png
@Zinnsee your turn
Zinnsee ago
With the bandit taken down temporarily I concentrate on the witch who seems to be the leader of this pack. I stay in cover and take a shot at her.
theoldones ago
[attack rolls: 5 + 10 = 15]
the witch-wife isn't expecting the shot. it hits her badly in the side.
[witch-wife firehorns health down from 35 to 20]
[stealth roll: 2]
the raven pulls its tiny dagger out, and flies to the roof of the hut above the witch-wife. doing so shatters its cloaking with a breaking of sound.
[magic roll: 13] - 50% (racial trait: metal not blood)
the seeress aims her staff at the nearest drone, blasting out a fireball. the metal frame of the machine tanks the blast, but the empty metal leaves nothing at all to set on fire
[evil eye robot health down from 35 to 29]
@Desolation your turn. the bandit and witch-wife are both in melee range
Desolation ago
I try to bury my axe in the witch's forehead.
theoldones ago
[attack roll: 18] VS [agility roll: 10] (target is resistant to fire)
the axeblow leaves a bad scar across her face, but the fire on the blade hardly seems to bother the witch-wife. dodging back in pain, she stumbles behind the hut to avoid another sniper shot. the fire that should burn her skitters over her skin and pools up into a protective mane around her head.
[witch-wife firehorns health down from 20 to 15] [witch-wife firehorns absorbed fire]
[magic rolls: 6 + 16 = 22] (runes of hel)
the witch-wife points her staff at a point in the ground between her and uffe. her spell opens up a perfectly round circle of blue light, which connects into her staff with a glowing blue tether. she chants a spell in some horrible sounding tongue as she powers up the incantation.
[attack roll: 16] [attack roll: 1]
the bandit is still on the ground, but gets his gun out and fires off 2 shots at uffe. One flies harmlessly into swamp water, but the other manages barely to get through his armor, striking uffe with only a minor gunshot wound.
[uffe’s health down from 35 to 30]
[perception roll: 15] [attack roll: 10]
the drone to the northwest has its red eye flare with light, and the head narrowly adjust for aim. A red laser pulse strikes uffe with burn damage.
[uffe’s health down from 30 to 27]
[perception roll: 19] [agility roll: 6]
the southeast drone turns to the south and starts walking. its skinny legs and try and fail to slog through deep swampwater and it doesn't get very far.
@Zinnsee your turn. The bandit and the 2 drones are the available targets currently in your line of sight. The witch is clearly pumping up some sort of hostile spell.
Zinnsee ago
For now I ignore the drones and shoot at the bandit.
theoldones ago
[attack rolls: 4 + 6 = 10]
the bullet hits the target and does do damage, but the accuracy of the shot is mediocre at best. he growls in pain as he takes another bullet wound.
[bandit health down from 17 to 12]
[attack roll: 17] VS [agility roll: 3] + [magic roll: 14] (fire absorbed)
the raven dives in towards the witch-wife, dagger out. the attack winds up being warded off by the sheer amount of fire wreathing itself around her head and neck.
[magic roll: 10]
the seeress sends a green ball of light flying towards uffe, landing an electrified hit upon the berserker. instead of hurting, the green energy heals his wounds to an acceptable degree.
[uffe’s health up from 27 to 31]
@Desolation your turn. you cant reach the witch-wife directly without risking the unknown spell she casts, but if she gets it off successfully, things might go badly. the bandit is heavily wounded and within melee range. the drone to the northwest is still fully focused on you and outside of melee range.
Desolation ago
I take a big swing at the wounded bandit. Maybe if we can finish him off, we'll have a clear advantage in the fight.
theoldones ago
[attack roll:18] [fire enchantment roll: 10]
the blow uffe lands on the bandit reduces him down to dead, burning meat. the corpses stiffens as it sets alight and starts burning, dropping its pistol in deadened fingers.
[magic rolls: 11 + 16 = 27] [luck roll: 4]
the spell congeals. the ring solidifies into an unknown type of portal. cold snow and dread floods up from the magical hole, and a rotted undead hand grabs onto the lip.
[attack roll: 13}
another laser hit strikes uffe.
[uffe’s health down from 31 to 25]
[magic rolls: 8 + 4 = 12]
a light-blue laser beam shoots from the southern drones light-blue eye. A clear, but strong shield made of holographic hexagons summons from it, blocking any further sniper fire till the shield is cracked or dealt with.
@Zinnsee your turn. there’s a shield in your line of sight. The witch-wife just summoned an unknown type of undead.
Zinnsee ago
I make a flanking maneuver to get around the shield and have a clear shot at the witch. If I can I'll also take a shot. Otherwise I'll only be moving to a good spot so I'll be ready on my next turn.
theoldones ago
[perception roll: 18]
there’s a rock you can move to that lets you peek around the left side. The witch is in sight and watching her new minion crawl out.
[attack rolls: 15 + 4 = 19]
the shot punches through the witch-wives total lack of armor. with her death the illusion in the north fully falls. Beyond it, a runic circle jailing a single ghost has killed the land around it, and spews out unnatural snow-like soot like a small storm cloud. The area around it is gray powder and dying plant life.
It’s a killshot, but this causes the hel runes of her staff to pulse insanely into pale light.
[magic rolls: 15 + 1 = 16] (runes of hel)
the witch waves her deathly staff in a motion that rips the ghost of herself from her dying frame. The soul of the witch-wife skitters into the hole it just opened, holding her evil wizard staff in ghostly fingers.
the undead shudders for a second, but still continues to crawl out of the hole. The ghost of its summoner bonds to its form, with the undead’s free hand grasping the staff once more.
“CANNOT KILL THAT WHICH HATH DEFEATETH DEATH!” booms out from the hole, from a scratchy, rotting throat.
Apparently the runes of her staff contained some escape options via her minion.
[magic roll: 4]
the seeress aims her staff and attempts to destroy the shield. It easily absorbs her spell with no damage.
[agility rolls: 10 + 6 = 16]
the raven dives for the drone to the south. It gets about halfway there.
@Desolation your turn. Apparently the witchwife just cheated death, but her minion/body isnt out of the hole yet, so you cant be completely sure about your attack success. The drone to the north is the nearest clear target
Desolation ago
Right, so fire was bad before, maybe it'll hurt her now that she's undead, or... something. Anyway, target of opportunity is the drone, so I'll hit that with my axe.
theoldones ago
[attack roll: 14] [fire enchantment roll: 9] VS [agility roll: 7] (racial trait: metal not blood)
[evil eye drone health down from 35 to 21]
the drone stumbles around in the muck as it exits the swamp water, but this clumsy act prevents it from responding to uffe in time. Not even its metal body prevents a brutal axeblow striking a shoulder, chopping through several thin hydraulic tendons, then lighting the ends of the wiring within on fire.
something inside the horrific machine begins a high pitched groaning noise. The drone makes a pained machine screech in tandem, making the drone to the south instantly turn around.
[grapple roll: 8] [strength roll: 20]
the drone reaches up with black skeletal fingers. It tries to grab uffe’s arm, but only grabs the weapon embedded into its shoulder. With a single lazy push, it forces the battleaxe out, maintaining a loose grip on the shaft.
[evil eye drone grappling uffe’s weapon]
[attack roll: 18] [perception roll: 9]
the southern drone turns back to the south, collapsing the shield wall down. A red laser bursts from its red eye towards hal, and is blocked only barely by his rock cover. The laser and its ensuing shrapnel, force hal to pull back behind some a rock for cover.
the undead crawls out fully. Its a rotting humanoid so degraded, that its bones are warped and its leather armor useless. In one hand it has a halberd, in the other it carries the deathly staff. Light blue ghostly light twists itself over the minions head, forming a ghostly visage of the witch-wife.
the portal snaps shut with a burst of colored sparks.
@Zinnsee your turn. 1 drone is intent on attacking you, the other drone is wrestling with uffe, and the witch-wife is back in an undead body armed with a halberd.
Zinnsee ago
I can't let the drone disarm Uffe so I pop out of cover to take a shot at the drone and then hide behind the rock again.
theoldones ago
[attack rolls: 3 + 3 = 6] [perception: 12] VS (racial trait: metal not blood)
the shot sparks off the fuselage without the drone even noticing.
[magic roll: 8] X 3 = 24 (racial trait: metal not blood)
a lightning bolt cast by the seeress is mediocre, but the electricity goes right into the machine and makes it begin to convulse. drones seem to like being shocked.
the drone begins smoking and falls into the swamp water.
[attack roll: 4]
the raven begins attempting to slash the witch-wife in the face.
@Desolation your turn. the drone is trying wrestle the weapon out of your hand
Desolation ago
I try a wrestling move. I use the axe for leverage, and try to drop-kick the drone back into the water, hoping that it's exposed circuitry cause it to short out, or ... something.
theoldones ago
[strength roll: 18] [grapple roll: 11] VS [strength roll: 15] [grapple roll: 15]
there's a closely matched struggle between uffe and the drone. he manages to take the drone to the ground and aggressively kicks the machine, but gets dragged himself in the effort.
the machine is still grappling uffe, but just took a very serious beating.
[evil eye drone health down from 21 to 6]
[magic roll: 6]
the witch-wife in her possessed shell waves the staff, creating a shimmering layer of mirage-like mage-armor over herself. it looks like enough to absorb a minor gunshot.
[strength roll: 3] [grapple roll: 13] VS [strength roll: 10] [grapple roll: 19]
the drone grappling uffe attempts to toss uffe into the muck. the drones grip fails to overcome the berserker's strength. the machine's grappling fumbles, and it winds up being slammed face first into swampy filth.
@Zinnsee your turn
Zinnsee ago
"Bulletproof drones, an undead witch who can cast armor on herself. This swamp party is really starting to get annoying!" Hal grumbles to himself. "Let's see how you like it when I target the damn thing that started it all!"
I aim at the staff in the witches hand and pull the trigger.
theoldones ago
[attack rolls: 9 + 5 = 14]
the shot is accurate enough to snap the staff cleanly in half. it sparks ghostly particles as it breaks. the witch-wife whirls to look, and gives a baleful screech. it still has mage-armor going, but any new spellcasting has been disabled
[magic rolls: 15 + 4 = 19] (fae runes) VS [perception: 16]
the seeress charges up the illusion of a flash of light in front of the witch-wives face. the flashbang effect gets noticed before it goes off by the witch. She narrowly avoids being stunned.
[attack roll: 6]
the raven stabs a small wound into her side in the confusion. It flaps away after, cawing in annoyance
[witch-wife firehorns undead health down from 20 to 14]
@Desolation your turn. The drone is basically dead now, but still has you in a grapple
Desolation ago
I should out, "Well-done, Hal!" and proceed to get out of the grapple.
theoldones ago
[strength roll: 17] [grapple roll: 15] VS [strength roll: 6] [grapple roll: 4]
the drone has no more strength to resist, uffe stands up and drops it like a sack of potatoes. its head floats up to look at the witchwife.
[magic rolls: 12 + 20 = 32]
the last act of the drone perhaps, is that its light blue eye sculpts a pair of shield walls protecting the witch-wife and the bandits corpse in an arrow-head formation. "FuUnCtIoN FuLlFiLLeD. GoOoDbYe MiIstRrEsS" it brokenly stammers out. the shield summoning effort appears to have set the robots internals on fire. it begins to burn like oiled rags.
this is the last job the machine will ever carry out.
[evil eye drone is now burning]
[attack roll: 12]
behind her protection, the witch-wife spears the halberd into the chunk of meat that used to be the bandit. she skewers it fairly easily, given the fact he's already dead.
@Zinnsee your turn. the shield walls fully protects the witch-wife
Zinnsee ago
I'll try my luck again and shoot at the remaining drone.
theoldones ago
[attack rolls: 12 + 2 = 14]
the drone is incapable of defending itself. it doesnt even make noise as a hole punches through its chest. its eyelights flicker out
[evil eye drone killed]
the drone to the south that was killed by the lightning bolt sits dead in the water.
weary about the halberd, the raven flies to the edge of the shield, to make a move into the shield wedge.
the seeress moves up closer to uffe
@Desolation your turn. the witch is basically unreachable right now
Desolation ago
I'm still pondering why the witch felt the need to skewer the dead guy, but...
Tell me more about the shield, please. Is it energy, a physical barrier of some kind, or something else entirely?
theoldones ago
[perception: 15]
the shield is light-blue energy hexagon tiles, just like the last one. Looking closer you can even see the energy degrading and warping slightly as it goes. You estimate that after only an hour the shield wall is probably going to dissipate.*
uffe shouts questions to the witch-wife in her undead shell. She looks to uffe and hisses “death is nought but a stopping point! Take back your dark elf friend, but ye havent killed us!”.
She scuttles back to her old corpse, grabbing it to drag herself morbidly by the horns. She holds her halbard one-handed (meat chunk and all), forward to thrust and stab. The raven has no option here to be stealthy.
presumably, she’ll let you investigate the magic circle to the north without a fight, if you let her escape into the overgrown swamp.
@Zinnsee your turn
Zinnsee ago
I move up to the others and try to poke my scattergun through the shield.
"Going by looks and smell I'd say you're looking pretty dead to me." I say while grinning through my teeth.
"Now where is the dark elf?!"
theoldones ago
the 2 shield walls have no clear gaps, but pointing the scattergun seems dramatic at least.
*the witch-wife hisses in annoyance and points the halberd to the north. she says "ye shot the key to free him, so ye shall have to break him out".
[stealth roll: 12]
the witchwife pulls back into the swamp as she speaks, both bodies in tow. she moves into cover behind a tree leaving 2 bloody red trails in the dirt.
@Desolation your turn
Desolation ago
To the north, then.
theoldones ago
the deadened, ashy area to the north is being warped by a runic circle.
the circle appears to imprison a short, huddled ghost in roughly the same size as a dark elf. the soul compass, when checked, says this is apparently the missing adventurer. sadly, without hel runes, defusing a large necromantic spell might be volitile. the seeress could try, but a specialist in town might be more qualified.
in addition, the 2 drones, small hut, and the bandits dropped pistol can also be looted, seeing as you've driven off the enemy.
[stealth roll: 4]
the witch-wife vanishes even further into the swamp plant-life.
@Zinnsee your turn
Zinnsee ago
"Good job everyone! I'd say we managed pretty good."
I muster the ghostly figure and then address the seeress: "Maybe it's best to have an expert free the dark elf, it would be a shame if we fuck things up now."
"Let's loot the bodies and also have a look inside the witches hut, maybe we find something useful. And then I think we should go back to the village for help."
theoldones ago
the largest find is a written journal, detailing notes about contact between the witch-wife, and apparently an entire, rowing coven of monsters. the dragon the winter fae told you about, it seems, maintained the witch-wife here as a dummy location from which to hire out new horrors, monsters, and bandits. you find extremely detailed logs of gold amounts paid to which hired creature, but not enough information to tell you how numerous the enemy actually is, or which creatures exactly still work for them currently.
her rank, the journal claims, is the dragon's second in command (and primary concubine).
after this, the party pools up the loot.
200 gold goes to each party member. 2 intact drone bodies. a magitek pistol. a toolbag. an iron chestplate. a silencer module.
the raven quickly hops forward, grabbing the toolbag, and carrying it over to the drones. it loudly and poetically declares the intention to hack into one of the machines and scrap what cant be fixed.
@Desolation your turn, what item does uffe pick out of the pile?
Desolation ago
The natural choice is the chestplate, so I'll go with that.
theoldones ago
*uffe takes the iron chestplate and straps it on. also, healing gets figured out for uffe's wounds.
[uffe armor rating: 20] [uffe health up to 35]
the seeress looks at uffe, then hal's scattergun, then picks out the pistol.
[seeress gained item: magitek pistol]
hal's item choices are down to the silencer module. the gun part looks like it could reliably fit onto his rifle.
[crafting roll: 5]
the ravens tinkering mostly fails. the most it's able to do is mount a drone head on a metal base. the light-blue eye burns out, leaving only the burning red laser eye.
[new party follower: evil eye skull] [HP: 5] [race: magitek construct] [laser eye: roll a D20 to fire a red laser any target in line of sight]
the bird has no clue how to break down this model for parts. selling it would mean dragging both machines back to town in one piece.
@Zinnsee your turn. im guessing you'll want to attach the silencer. the 2 drone bodies can be either left behind or dragged back to town. the party just gained a follower unit
Zinnsee ago
Hal takes the silencer and screws it on to the business end of his sniper rifle with a satisfied smile.
"I have a feeling that the dragon will not be very pleased about what happened to his concubine. We should take the witch's journal to the proper authority. And as for the drone bodies it would be a shame to leave them here, they look pretty valuable."
theoldones ago
[hal's gun gained part: silencer]
with their new miniature death machine in tow, the party heads south back to town, dragging the remains of the 2 bots along with ropes.
as they cross the first buildings into town though, they're met by a pair of figures. one of them is a rotting undead with its own sniper rifle, and an ornate pair of goggled lens in a weird box over its eyes.
the other figure is a deathly pale young woman covered in a black, hooded robe made of a shiny, scaly, black material. a black-leather collar tight around her neck is covered in runes of hel. she balances a huge death sickle on her shoulder. the priestess of hel asks "excuse me, sorry to be a bother, but have you seen signs of errant necromancy in the area?"
@Desolation your turn
Desolation ago
Bemused, I respond...
"Actually, yes. Back at the swamp we ran into some trouble. Are you looking to bring her to heel, or are you going to hinder us and our mission?"
theoldones ago
she nods in understanding and says "if it's it that red-haired witch-wife squatting in the bog again, this is her third and final strike. thank you very much".
death's clean-up squad walks past the party and travels north.
@Zinnsee your turn, the party is back in town. you've got 2 drone bodies in tow, and you've got news for the dark elf at the tavern
Zinnsee ago
Let's go to the tavern first and tell the dark elf that we found her brother.
theoldones ago
when you tell the short dark elf and her team, her face doesn't know to react at first. she takes her soul compass back, watching the needle with intent.
[hal lost item: soul compass]
as you both watch, the watch clicks sharply. a readout saying "midgard" flips to "helheim", and the needle begins to spin wildly. she hatefully mutters "bloody witch-wives. by keeping him here, he couldn't snitch to hel". she passes the news quietly and privately onto the rest of her team. you see them order shots, and each takes them all at once after cheering glasses. eventually the other party stands up and walks over.
the light elf speaks up and says "okay, a deal is a deal. 1 thing each from the marketplace."
@Desolation your turn. each party member gets to buy 1 requested item from the marketplace, with the other team paying for it
Desolation ago
Uh... no idea what is available to me to purchase. I'll hold my decision until I hear more of what is available. I also offer my item to Hal or the Seeress, if it will benefit the group more than me getting something.
theoldones ago
the raven asks vocally to find a place for parts or a runemage for hire, intending to upgrade the laser skull
[insight roll: 1]
you find no stalls that are doing custom jobs at the moment, much less for a talking raven.
[crafting roll: 2]
nothing much comes of the attempt. You do though, get to see a magitek part explode when touched in the wrong spot by a screwdriver. Apparently it was an expensive part.
as a consolation prize, she welds a metal bar on top for a carrying handle, enabling the raven to carry it a little easier.
[evil eye skull gained part: carrying handle]
@Zinnsee your turn
Zinnsee ago
Hal remembers the other hunter they just met at the towns entrance and wonders what kind of goggles he was wearing. Maybe thermal or night vision? And let's see if there are any upgrades for his weapons.
Then Hal has a sudden idea: "Say now that I have a silent weapon how about a magitek cloaking device for extra stealth?"
theoldones ago
[insight roll: 13] [insight roll: 16]
you find someone selling thermal goggles for an insanely expensive price, with the seller touting their rarity. it's obvious though, that both you and the team paying for it, are being unfairly scalped for the quality of the goggles versus the gold price being charged.
"it's good as new! out of the box!" the seller declares, despite several obvious ugly scratches and dents.
at a better price and quality, you find a cloak enchanted with adaptive camo. the cloak fabric adapts its pattern perfectly to the local surroundings.
which item would you like to pick?
Zinnsee ago
I'll take the cloak.
theoldones ago
[hal gained item: adaptive camo cloak]
[insight roll: 4]
the seeress's item requests can't be located, so instead she looks over whats generally being sold for magic items.
[luck roll: 12]
what she locates is a tiny vial of swirling tar-like liquid, enough for about 100 doses. she handles the item like a live explosive, and stores it away for later use. "for science" she vaguely mutters.
[seeress gained item: eldritch slime (100)] (can be drank or applied as poison. results are subject to a random event table)
@Desolation your turn. that should give you an idea of how to ask for an item
Desolation ago
I'd like a wolf-head plate helm, something that might even make me look like a werewolf when I am berserk, to invoke fear in my enemies. Something like this:
https://www.pinterest.at/pin/68609594300693033/
theoldones ago
[insight roll: 20]
one stall is selling a perfectly terrifying wolfs helm just as uffe searches for. it's a custom and expensive job, but oh well he's not paying for it. the other party fucks off, bargain being fulfilled.
[uffe gained item: (terrifying) wolfs helms]
@Zinnsee your turn. you've still got the incriminating journal on hand, 2 drone bodies, and its now the late afternoon approaching nighttime.
Zinnsee ago
"Wow nice helmet! There's Geri, Freki and now Uffe too!" I say with a big smile.
"And while we're still at the market let's find out how much we can get if we sell the drone bodies or how much it would cost to repair them."
Hal looks at the clocktower "It's getting late, we also need to meet with the town leaders and let them know about the witch and the dragon. And then it may be best if we rest for the night in this town."
theoldones ago
[insight roll:10] [crafting roll: 17] [luck roll: 1]
a drone repairman looks the machines over and says "300 gold each to sell them, since the headless one is beyond recovery. fixing this one with a head still would take about 1700 gold as a custom job. whoever built these units was a madman, and the parts here are extremely rare".
you don't have 1700 gold by yourself. what option do you want to do here?
Zinnsee ago
"Hm I don't really think our party needs a cumbersome shiny metal golem. It probably would slow us down quite a bit?"
I look at the repairman and ask him about the drones features.
theoldones ago
[perception roll: 4]
the repairman pokes the light-blue eye on the remaining viable drone and says "i have no idea what this part is. this would take days to attempt to fix". the party already knows about the lasers, but the light-blue eye appears to be a bust. fixing the machine would presumably require picking it up later (provided you're even still alive then).
selling currently seems easier then repairing.
Zinnsee ago
"Ok let's get rid of these things then!"
We split the money
theoldones ago
both drone bodies sold together nets the party 600 gold, equaling out to 150 gold each. the sun begins setting.
@Desolation your turn. the next thing in the parties plan was warning the town with the incriminating journal
Desolation ago
"Thanks for saying that, Hal. Means a lot!" :-)
Right, let's go warn the towns folk, then.
Also, on the way, if possible, I'd like a wolf-hide cloak to go with the helm.
theoldones ago
[insight roll: 16]
no stall in town is currently selling wolf fur. most local wolves are hunted vaguely to the southwest, but lately they've been organizing into larger and larger wolf packs. one older merchant tells you "if you wish for wolf fur right now, best to hunt it yourself"
[social roll: 17]
the party finds the largest cluster of town guards, explains their encounter in detail, and hands over the journal so the jarl and his attendants can study every detail. the guards believe them easily, as it matches up to what's been already suspected.
the party receives a boon in free lodging at the local tavern, forever.
[hal lost item: incriminating journal of witch-wife firehorns]
[the party requires no gold to sleep safely in town]
@Zinnsee your turn. the party is clear to stay in town, and gets to pick a nighttime action
Zinnsee ago
Well clearly the bards need to add a new verse or two to the song about our heroic deeds. And there is no better place to enjoy a good song than in the tavern with some strong mead. And maybe some female company?
theoldones ago
[social roll: 9]
you find no luck in locating female company, but to be fair, you only had a small amount of time before nightfall.
the tavern though, does have strong mead and the skald in the house tonight. the skald sings the parties tale, and adds on a section about nearly killing a witch-wife twice in one day. the other party is somehow still up and drinking, and manages to make things less lonely.
in the other party, the light elf wobbles only a little bit as the designated (slightly more) sober person, and the short dark elf spends the entire night staring in mourning at the turned-off soul compass.
[stealth roll: 18]
the raven gets bored, then slips out an open window after five minutes. it's impossible to tell where he went, what he's now up to now, or whose possessions he may be stealing.
@Desolation your turn, what is uffe up to tonight
Desolation ago
I try to learn more about the other party, and look to console the dark elf by buying a round.
theoldones ago
[social roll: 3] [social roll: 17]
regarding the party, you dont find out anything new.
conversely, buying a round for the dark elf raises her mood enough for her to speak. she mutters "i hope we don't have to bring him something he forgot down there".
[intellect roll: 6]
the seeress wanders off to a nearby field, attempting to practice with the pistol by shooting a mound of dirt repeatedly. all she's able to determine is that guns make noise, spit out bullets, and have kickback.
the night, and the tavern winds down as she finally goes to bed. the town and the party sleeps.
[luck roll: 10]
the raven flies back in through a window in the middle of the night, having somehow acquired 300 gold.
morning arrives without incident.
@Zinnsee your turn
Zinnsee ago
After a hearty breakfast at the tavern I go back to the market to restock my rations and look for potions, grenades and some merino wool undergarment.
theoldones ago
hal goes off to the marketplace alone.
[luck roll: 19] [REDACTED]
instead of a day of shopping, he finds a screaming crowd running as a gigantic wolf eats a local tailor alive. stalls are broken and tossed everywhere, a dead guard is lying on the ground and by the sounds of it, more guards and drones are on their way. it would appear that the lack of wolf fur the party heard about is a very real, actively developing, and serious problem.
@Desolation your turn. you and the rest of the party are currently at the tavern. you don't know why exactly people are panicking outside, but it sounds like something bad is occurring in the marketplace.
Desolation ago
I briefly look to see if this is normal behavior by observing the tavern inhabitants, and if not, then I grab my weapons and go outside to see what is going on.
theoldones ago
everyone else in the tavern is also curious about the sounds from the market. everyone is looking up from their drinks and rushing to the window.
the party grabs their gear, and rushes toward the commotion.
@Zinnsee your turn. your allies aren't here yet, but the giant wolf at least hasn't seen you yet either
Zinnsee ago
I check to see if there are more wolves around. It's rare that a single wolf would attack a town like this, so there's probably a whole pack of them and this is likely the alpha, the pack leader.
He hasn't seen me yet and he can easily outrun me. So I stay where I am, close to one of the stalls and ready my weapons. My plan is to shoot him with my rifle and hopefully he won't immediately realize where that shot was coming from.
theoldones ago
Hal sets up beside a stall, readies his weapons, and open his eyes and his ears. The fabric of the adaptive cloak begins to shift its pattern to match a smashed ornate vase amid wood chunks, but its not quite there yet.
[adaptive camo stealth: off]
[perception roll: 12]
the giant wolf seems to taken several sword cuts, but either they're very light wounds, or have already lightly healed. Combat with the now dead guard hasn't even winded it. it’s acting suspiciously cocky, standing right there alone in the middle of town for all to see.
[attack rolls: 3 + 6 = 9] X 2 (perk: wolfdeath)
[spawn of fenrir health down from 60 to 42]
[perception roll: 15] VS (silencer module. Perception 15 or higher needed to locate shot)
it doesn't even seem to register the bullet pain, instead swallowing its current mouthful of human flesh.
(racial trait: HUNGRY) [spawn of fenrir health up 42 from to 47]
the moment it swallows the meat, the bullet hole scabs over and shrinks by half.
The giant wolf looks up contemptuously, knowing instantly the vague direction of the shooter (but not the exact location). there’s still enough people running around wildly for a single lone gunman to go unnoticed.
everything is chaos just as the rest of the party runs in. in fact, the surviving town guards haven't even been able to raise the alarm yet.
@Desolation your turn. Combat time. https://files.catbox.moe/chzwf5.png
Desolation ago
Time to chew on a mushroom, and attack.
theoldones ago
the rest of the town guard finally seem to realize a problem is occurring, a bell somewhere in town begins ringing loudly and repeatedly.
there’s the howl of more wolves behind the buildings and in the trees. The giant wolf in the open eerily proclaims something in troll-tongue. Nobody here except the raven speaks troll, but it certainly sounds terrifying, whatever it’s saying.
Uffe eats a berserker shroom as the fight begins.
[uffe lost 1 shroom dose] [time roll: 11]
a young woman at a fruit stand drops a bowl of apples, as she pulls out a guards badge on her necklace chain, and a magitek pistol somewhere out from her blouse.
A nearby humanoid security drone down the street makes an alarm noise, and begins to stomp towards the market with a rifle in its metal hands.
out of a building, a guard in plate armor steps outside with a sword and shield.
[magic roll: 16] (fae runes)
the seeress casts a piercing, sharp icicle out of the water vapor in the air. It stabs into the beasts side at magical velocity. The staffs fae runes exude cold vapor like a cooling weapon barrel.
[spawn of fenrir health down from 47 to 31]
[agility roll: 10 + 3 = 13] [stealth: 4]
The raven picks up the laser skull, flies over to hal, then places it in a spot nearby intended to be stealthy. It’s not stealthy. The bird leaves the skull there anyways, cawing out a verbal order for it to defend hal.
@Zinnsee your turn. The town guard finally decided to show up and help.
Zinnsee ago
For now I stay at my location and let my cloak and my rifle do the work. I take another shot at the wolf.
theoldones ago
The cloaks fabric shifts fully into place.
[adaptive camo stealth: on]
[attack rolls: 18 + 3 = 21] X 2 (perk: wolfdeath)
the wolf has no armor to resist the shot. The top of it head and its upper jaw bursts into red blood
The wolf is dead. Anyone wanting to decipher what it said in troll-tongue, had better remember what they heard, because it’s impossible to interrogate a corpse.
[stealth: 5] [attack rolls: 2 + 3 = 5]
down at the west end of the street, 3 guards are running to join the fray, but another giant wolf loudly emerges from a bush to cut them off.
Held in its jaw is a massive longsword. Swinging the weapon it draws a measurable, bloody, cut across one guards chest.
[stealth roll: 1] [stealth roll:7]
Behind the building to the north of the market, something loudly snaps a branch underfoot. You hear the “pitPATpitPATpit” of heavy, running canine paws. at least two sets to be precise.
@Desolation your turn. there’s still more wolves but they’re now attempting to be sneaky and tactical. 11 turns of berserk left
Desolation ago
With foaming mouth, rage in my eyes, and a shrieking battle-cry, I look to cleave the closest wolf in half.
theoldones ago
With the west end of the street end all the way down at the other side of the marketplace, uffe barrels north towards the noises.
he finds himself face to face against three giant wolves, not just two.
One is partly covered by an armor set made for mounted creatures. A second has nothing on him. A third (the closest), has a runic engraved dog collar around its neck. Upon discovery, two of them are giving the stink eye to the one that stepped on a branch. Accordingly, a yelling berserker frothing at the mouth catches them slightly off guard.
[attack rolls: 16 + 15 = 31] [fire enchantment roll:2] VS [toughness roll: 18]
[spawn of fenrir health down from 65 to 50]
an axeblow aimed at the collar-wearing wolf’s side leaves a serious wound on impact.
the town’s security drone fires a rifle shot at the same wolf right after.
(collar of projectile repel) [negated]
the runes on the wolf’s collar burn to life. a thrumming force in the world seems to grab the bullet midair and redirect it harmlessly into the dirt.
the plainclothes officer and the guard with the sword and shield, move at a brisk tactical pace towards the west end of the street.
[magic roll: 6]
an attempt by the seeress to cast a shield over uffe fails. The shield is tiny, short-lived, and pops instantly like a bubble.
the raven flaps higher into the sky, intending to scout out the battlefield.
@Zinnsee your turn. The west end of the street is a long distance to try and shoot at, and combat to the north is a lot closer to your position
Zinnsee ago
I pick up the laser skull and head far enough north to have the 3 wolves in sight. I put the laser skull down and instruct it to shoot at the wolf with the collar and only look for a new target if the wolf is down. If I have an action left it's time to try out the scattergun on the other 2 wolves.
theoldones ago
hal sees the drones bullet yanked aside by a mirage-like trail of force. The accompanying sound is like tons of metal machinery creaking and groaning.
figuring something is up, hal pulls back to the taverns front porch, placing down the laser skull and giving it a kill order.
[adaptive camo stealth: off]
[attack roll: 15] VS [toughness rolls: 14 + 6 = 20]
The collared wolf attempts to bite and tackle uffe. He narrowly wards off the beast with his drug-boosted strength.
[attack roll: 3] VS [toughness rolls: 15 + 4 = 19]
the wolf with nothing extra on it attempts to nip at uffe’s heel. With bravery, he doesn't even look at the beast afterwards.
[attack roll: 2] VS [toughness roll: 11] (racial trait: metal not blood)
the wolf wearing armor darts past uffe and his 2 compatriots. It attempts to attack the town’s drone, but only manages to headbutt the machine uselessly in the chestplate.
@Desolation your turn. 10 turns of berserk left. https://files.catbox.moe/ct2ms9.png
Desolation ago
Yeah, we're surrounded. No matter, this is just a target-rich environment! Let's show the collared wolf who is to be feared!
theoldones ago
before uffe can react, the laser skull snaps to its target and lances the creature with a red laser.
[attack roll: 9]
[attack rolls: 16 + 11 = 27] VS [toughness roll: 5]
the axe-blow hits the wolf hard, stumbling it sideways and making it croon out a pained howl. bleeding gashes and a laser burn smoke and stain its fur a colorful mixture of red and black.
[spawn of fenrir health down from 50 to 19]
[magic rolls: 15 + 5 = 20] (fae runes)
the seeress, in a panic, throws a perfect invisibility spell over hal.
[perception rolls: 7 + 12 = 19]
the raven spots a reason to fly over and closely examine a patch of forest to the southwest of the marketplace, but doesn't raise any alarm just yet.
[attack roll: 17]
*at point blank range, the drone puts a bullet painfully into the armored wolf. the armor though does its job, and some of the force instead just leaves a dent surrounding a tiny puncture hole.
[spawn of fenrir health down from 65 to 57]
down at the west end of the street, guards move into the sword-wielding wolf's melee range. the plainclothes officer hangs back and begins firing pistol shots at it.
@Zinnsee your turn. the collared wolf isnt dead yet, but you're hidden under stealth currently and have all four wolves within line of sight
Zinnsee ago
"I'm counting on you Skully!" I say to the laser head. And hope it'll be able to deal with the collard wolf and give Uffe some air to fight the other one.
But right now I'm more concerned about the seeress. As soon as the armored wolf loses interest fighting that drone she'll be in great danger. Isn't it ironic that a wolf wears armor while the seeress and I don't? - But wait, that's no ordinary armor! There's a saddle integrated!
"Helvius, always try to sneak up on animals from behind, they will detect you later and all the sharp and gnawy bits are pointing the other direction" I mumble to myself in my grandpa's voice.
"Yeah with perfect invisibility the sneaking part should be easy" I answer grandpa's voice as I approach the armored wolf. "But I'm not yet sure about the don't-be-in-front-of-the-dangerous-bits part!"
"Don't be such a cub! As a toddler you loved taking rides on old Woollie the family wolfdog!" my grandpa mocks me.
"Well yeah, Woollie was also a lot smaller than this beast here!" I say.
"So were you, Helvius. So were you." he answers.
"Well, let's hope you're right!" I say as I jump into the saddle and grab the wolf's ears with both hands.
theoldones ago
[grapple roll: 17] VS [grapple roll: 11]
the armored wolf goes wide-eyed with a yip, as Hal latches on and pulls its head up by its ears. it's so shocking in fact, that the wolf needs a moment to figure out how to respond.
[attack roll: 7] VS [toughness rolls: 7 +9 = 16]
the collared wolf feebly snaps at uffe, who leans backwards and away from the the massive jaws.
[attack roll: 15] VS [toughness rolls: 20 + 20 = 40]
the normal wolf tries for a likewise bite, but...
@Desolation damn, 2 natural 20s is some good fucking luck. based purely on rule-of-cool i'll let you have a free action on that wolf before i go any further, then it'll just be your turn again
Desolation ago
Fate has spoken, let it happen the way fate has decreed.
theoldones ago
uffe makes a mighty attack on the wolf, with both a revenge swing, and the flaming fire rune burning brightly. the blow cleaves the wolf nearly in two. the blow lands just sideways from the neck, and seems to have neatly severed the spine. the wound begins burning lit a prepared campfire.
the wolf makes so much noise in pain, that it sounds like a small puppy almost. it's dying but its also already dead.
[spawn of fenrir health down from 65 to 5] [spawn of fenrir is now burning]
down the street, the wolf with longsword rips the sword out sideways from the mans stomach. in the upswing it drives the point into another guards neck while the first one drops dead, disemboweled.
suddenly, the bushes to the southwest shake, and a growl can be heard.
another wolf carrying a longsword in its jaw bursts from the foliage and begins running silently into combat towards the party.
okay. now is your normal turn. another wolf is heading for someone, and its nearest target is the seeress. Hal is busy trying to ride a giant wolf.
Desolation ago
I yell "Bleaaaaaaaaargh!" as both a war cry and victory cry as I rush the wolf headed for the seeress.
theoldones ago
Uffe runs past the seeress intent on intercepting the wolf that just charged headlong through an intact market stall. The combat drugs allow just enough running speed to make it.
[9 turns of berserk left]
[magic roll: 16]
the seeress wheels and casts a frantic firebolt at her attacker.
[spawn of fenrir health down from 65 to 49]
[attack roll: 3]
the laser skull pulses a weakly aimed burst at the collared wolf. it’s not a lot of damage at all, but it still cant reliably push forward past the burning remains of the normal wolf.
[spawn of fenrir health down from 19 to 16]
the raven flies down to ground level to be more useful right now.
unable to risk shooting Hal, seeing as he’s a friend and not a foe, the drone wheels its shot towards the collared wolf. Unable to know about certain magics (and how to respond), it doesn't know to stop shooting. It follows the order of shooting any enemies regardless when told to, and wastes another shot on the collars loud effect.
(collar of projectile repel) [negated]
the wolf at the west end of the street loses an eye as its shot out by the plainclothes officer.
@Zinnsee your turn. you've got only a single turn here, before the wolf starts bucking and trying to get you off its back
Zinnsee ago
I fling my cloak over my back in a way that makes it hang over the wolfs head. In a few moments the coat will adapt to the surroundings and all the wolf will see are teeth and angry eyes. And the more he'll bare his teeth the more horrifying the response will be.
"Seeress can you enchant this wolf? Maybe make him see us as friends. Or make him feel like he's still a cub?"
I try to temporally break this wolf. Someone gave them an order to attack this town. They wouldn't normally do such a thing. I have to activate his basic instincts. Confuse him. Make him forget his mission. Make him flee. Or even better work in our favor.
With my belt hooked onto the saddle horn I pet the wolf at that spot just behind the ears that Woollie liked so much and whisper "that's a good boy" before I hold on tight and prepare for a wild ride.
theoldones ago
https://files.catbox.moe/w89sy1.png
Desolation ago
Zinnsee ago
No need to be sorry, this is supposed to be fun for all of us. And for my part I have to say I'm having a blast :)
Get your beauty sleep you're doing an awesome job as DM.
Zinnsee ago
Haha! that was awesome! Thanks for allowing it.
I really enjoy this adventure
Zinnsee ago
As the frost giant is trying to spot my position with his remaining eye I press the buttstock of my trusty rifle against my shoulder, take a deep breath, aim for his remaining eye, exhale and slowly but firmly squeeze the trigger as I snarl: "Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?!"
theoldones ago
[attack roll: 4]
the bullet passes through empty air several feet shy of its target.
[perception roll: 18 - 50% = 9] (eye shot out)
the frost giant visibly deduces that the shooter is at least higher up, and not somewhere farther away. it doesn't have an exact location yet, though.
[strength rolls: 19 + 9 = 28]. (injured hand) VS [toughness rolls: 17 + 2 = 21]
the frost giant give a heave and a ho, and drags itself out of the hole, stumbling up and standing straight. attempting to push itself up on its bleeding hand visibly makes the giant cringe with pain.
it stays pressed against the west wall, partly shielding itself behind the complex architecture of the castle wall. buttresses, pillars, windows, floors and statues now have a slight chance of blocking more gunfire toward the target.
fully standing, the frost giant is just over a full story tall. uffe and the seeress only go up to its knees.
@Desolation your turn. 10 turns of berserk left