| abstract
| - Narrator: The delvers are half a day's travel west of Polisberg, just north of the Silk Road. They have travelled along a river to a broad, marshy bay, following the tracks of a giant crab. Ystävä: Because they're tasty. Narrator: The crab and two others are now attacking the delvers. ROUND3: YOU ARE UP, Mouser! Ystävä: (Ystava is berserk) Bedlam: loading map Bedlam: pounce giant crab 1 Bedlam: mouser does, i mean GM: Roll it. Mouser: Pounce result: ?succeeded by 9 automatic deceptive attack for -2/-1 » Giant Crab: Dodge and sidestep result: ?succeeded by 2 » GM: DX check to land on his feet? Mouser: jump check? GM: That too. Mouser: Jumping result: ?succeeded by 8 Mouser: sails through the air past the giant crab and lands on his feet. He looks around in confusion. ROUND3: YOU ARE UP, Lyralen! Lyralen: Have things progressed to the point where Sod (Companions) outweighs SoD (Nature)? GM: Sadly, no. Lyralen: Keeping watch off to the (apparent) east and south, then ROUND3: YOU ARE UP, Bedlam! Bedlam: step and AOD GM: Parry or dodge? Bedlam: parry ROUND3: YOU ARE UP, Ystävä! Ystävä: Rawr Ystävä: cleaves at the giant enemy crab. Ystävä: All Out Attack for +4 to hit, Dual Weapon Attack Horns + Axe enjoying the +4 benefit. Ystävä: Dual Weapon Attack Axe vs SM 0: result: ?succeeded by 4 » Dual Weapon Attack Horns vs SM 0: result: ?succeeded by 4 automatic deceptive attack for -2/-1 » Ystävä: I don't now if Giant Crab 2 had AOAd or anything. Giant Crab: Dodge and sidestep result: ?succeeded by 1 » Giant Crab: Dodge and sidestep result: ?failed by 2 » Ystävä: Horn does 17 (imp) GM: What's the +2 on the damage for? Ystävä: I have no idea. Ystävä: Ah, My horn gards things I think? Ystävä: Let me double check. GM: Okay then. Giant Crab: Major wound! Resist stun result: ?succeeded by 6 » Ystävä: snarls Narrator: The mighty minotaur's huge horns penetrates the crustacean's carapace, but the struggling sea creature fights on. ROUND3: YOU ARE UP, Beltarne! Beltarne: Ready Axe and step. ROUND3: YOU ARE UP, Osgar! Beltarne: ### Osgar: fly closer! but not too close! Osgar: ### ROUND3: YOU ARE UP, Torvall! Torvall: Draw sword: Fastdraw(14) - result: ?succeeded by 5 » and move. Torvall: ### ROUND3: YOU ARE UP, Giant Crab 1! Giant Crab: Giant crab 3 steps (2 hex step) and claps its claws, creating a shockwave headed toward Torvall result: ?failed by 3 » Giant Crab: Hits Lyralen instead? result: ?failed by 5 » Giant Crab: Giant Crab 1 sidesteps and claws Mouser from behind with both claws result: ?succeeded by 5 » result: ?succeeded by 5 » dual-weapon telegraphed Giant Crab: Giant Crab 2 sidesteps into Ystava's personal space and performs a dual-weapon grapple of head and right-arm (telegraphed, dual-strike) result: ?succeeded by 4 » head result: ?succeeded by 0 » arm Giant Crab: Mouser takes 6 crushing damage Ystävä: is quite grappled as he is without defenses. ROUND4: YOU ARE UP, Mouser! Bedlam: moving to a more advantageous position. GM: Mouser, i think. but good. ROUND4: YOU ARE UP, Lyralen! GM: Lyralen may not feel like attacking, but he might feel obligated to non-violently help Ystava out. Lyralen: hm Lyralen: hard to imagine how that would work Ystävä: Bandaging? Ystävä: Shouting advice, but of course he's crazy right now. Bedlam: what, is he a pacifist? Ystävä: SoD: Nature. Lyralen: SoD (Nature) Ystävä: So, under the circumstances, yes. Bedlam: ugh GM: Lasso Ystava with a rope, lift him away from the crabs! Lyralen: moving up to assist however he's able Ystävä: You can lasoo the crabs too Ystävä: It's nondamaging. Ystävä: You can subdue crazy friends, and you think animals are your friends sooo. Lyralen: I take it this means "done" ### Ystävä: Oh, yes. ROUND4: YOU ARE UP, Bedlam! Bedlam: another step, and AOD Bedlam: "Mouser, time for Plan B!" ROUND4: YOU ARE UP, Ystävä! Ystävä: I'm thinking All Out Attack Dual - break free, headbutt crab with my horns that somehow have a minimum reach of C. GM: Sounds good to me. Err, in an insane kind of way. Ystävä: ST check for break free, at -4 for the second grapple? Ystävä: Oh, he's at +5. Ystävä: No penalty on my side ok! Ystävä: Strength check result: ?succeeded by 5» Ystävä: Luck on that. Ystävä: Strength check result: ?succeeded by 2» Ystävä: Strength check result: ?succeeded by 5» Ystävä: Sigh. Giant Crab: Hang on to the minotaur result: ?CRITICALLY SUCCEEDED by 19 » Ystävä: Heatbutt him anyways! Ystävä: At -4 for the grapple! Ystävä: Horn Thrust to SM 0: result: ?CRITICALLY SUCCEEDED by 11 automatic deceptive attack for -2/-1 » (SM0) Ystävä: Two can play at that game, Mr. Crab. Ystävä: Horn does 14 (imp) Table CriticalHit (Ystävä): Normal Damage GM: I think you forgot the -4 for being grappled? Ystävä: Er. Yes. Yes I did. Ystävä: Muffin. Giant Crab: Dodge! result: ?failed by 6 » Ystävä: 14 imp normal damage anyways! Giant Crab: Crab hangs on, clearly in bad shape. ROUND4: YOU ARE UP, Beltarne! Beltarne: I Move! ROUND4: YOU ARE UP, Osgar! Osgar: concentrate on hush first second ROUND4: YOU ARE UP, Torvall! Torvall: Move up to crab and swing at it wildly! result: ?failed by 3 » Torvall: ### ROUND4: YOU ARE UP, Giant Crab 1! Giant Crab: Giant Crab 1 sidles forward and starts clawing at Ystava (dual-strike, telegraphed) result: ?failed by 1 » result: ?failed by 2 » Ystävä: is indifferent to the wild crabby flailing. Giant Crab: Giant Crab 2 attempts to rip off Ystava's right arm (contest of ST!!) result: ?succeeded by 6 » Ystävä: Strength check result: ?succeeded by 7» Giant Crab: grrr Ystävä: flexes his mighty muscles and shrugs off the attack! Giant Crab: Giant Crab 3 steps forward and claws at Torvall's arm result: ?succeeded by 3 » Torvall: Retreating block: result: ?succeeded by 6 » GM: Can't retreat after a move and attack, but you didn't need the bonus. Torvall: Right...no retreat due to more than step. Still made it. Torvall: ### ROUND5: YOU ARE UP, Mouser! Mouser: wait for bedlam's signal, then pounce crab 1 ROUND5: YOU ARE UP, Lyralen! Mouser: stops to clean himself. Lyralen: ### ROUND5: YOU ARE UP, Bedlam! Bedlam: extra effort for the extra step, attack crab 1 GM: Roll the attack. Bedlam: Attack with Greatsword result: ?succeeded by 9 automatic deceptive attack for -2/-1 » Giant Crab: Dodge and retreat to the side result: ?succeeded by 3 » Bedlam: "Get 'em!" GM: Mouser needs to make a Jumping -4 or Acroatics-4 to turn and jump, then make his attack roll. Bedlam: wtf i can't click mouser Mouser: oh oops Mouser: Jumping result: ?succeeded by 2 Mouser: Pounce result: ?succeeded by 8 automatic deceptive attack for -2/-1 » Giant Crab: Hey, eyestalks! result: ?failed by 9 » Giant Crab: Fails to dodge. Giant Crab: Does 16 knockback to Mouser, takes 12 from Mouser Mouser: jump to land on feet? Narrator: Mouser jumps at the crab's back, but bounces off as it scuttles backwards. GM: Yes. Mouser: Jumping result: ?succeeded by 3 ROUND5: YOU ARE UP, Ystävä! Mouser: lands on his feet and looks at Bedlam, hanging his head. Ystävä: is blind with rage and acting almost mechanically. All Out Attack Dual Smash Stab THEN Break Free Ystävä: er. "smash stab" is angry minotaur headbutt, for reference. GM: Right, right. Ystävä: Horn Thrust to SM 0: result: ?succeeded by 8 automatic deceptive attack for -2/-1 » (SM0) Ystävä: Strength check result: ?succeeded by 5» Giant Crab: Dodge! result: ?failed by 7 » Ystävä: Horn does 13 (imp) Ystävä: Man rolling worse and worse. Giant Crab: Expires! Ystävä: breaks free automatically! Wee! Ystävä: Quick quesiton! Ystävä: Or rather, hang on while I double check Flourish - GM: Yes? Ystävä: OK, can't do it. Ystävä: I'm guessing my second attack is wasted? Ystävä: Or can I do something else with it since it's no longer valid? Bedlam: you can stick its carcass, i'm sure Ystävä: The second attack was going to be a break free. Ystävä: But there's another Giant Enemy Crab right THERE... GM: You can use your second attack, we declare them and roll all at once but I don't think that's a strict requirement. Ystävä: Yeah, it's not White Wolf Ystävä: turn, since I haven't used my movement yet and stab crab 1! Ystävä: Horn Thrust to SM 0: result: ?succeeded by 6 automatic deceptive attack for -2/-1 » (SM0) Giant Crab: Dodge! result: ?failed by 2 » Ystävä: Horn does 19 (imp) Narrator: Ystava's horn pierces the crab, punching out through the far side. ROUND5: YOU ARE UP, Beltarne! Beltarne: Move and Attack! Beltarne: Swinging at it's eyestalks. GM: You need to be 1 hex closer. Beltarne: Axe/Mace result: ?succeeded by 1 Beltarne: There? GM: There. Giant Crab: Dodge and retreat result: ?failed by 3 » Beltarne: Axe does 7 (cut) Beltarne: Chop chop chop Beltarne: ### Narrator: Beltarne's axe barely scratches the heavy shell. ROUND5: YOU ARE UP, Osgar! Osgar: cast hush! lots of gestures for +1 Osgar: on the crab GM: CORRECTION! Osgar: ? GM: Beltarne cut off an eyestalk! Giant Crab: Resist knockdown! result: ?failed by 1 » Osgar: Hush result: ?succeeded by 1 GM: Beltarne cleanly chops off an eyestalk, and the crab collapses in the sand, then starts working its way back up. Narrator: Beltarne cleanly chops off an eyestalk, and the crab collapses in the sand, then starts working its way back up. Osgar: lets see the resist on that before I luck it Osgar: will resist GM: It has Magic Resistance 2; spell fails. Osgar: ok, luck then! Osgar: Hush result: ?succeeded by 6 -1 FP Osgar: Hush result: ?CRITICALLY SUCCEEDED by 13 No FP cost! Osgar: I'll take the 3 crit! Osgar: and step back Ystävä: Boomdidyada! Giant Crab: sigh... resist result: ?CRITICALLY FAILED by 3 » Ystävä: That's pretty final. Narrator: The constant clicking of the crabs is suddenly silenced. ROUND5: YOU ARE UP, Torvall! Torvall: Swing at the crab! result: ?succeeded by 11 » Giant Crab: Dodge? result: ?failed by 2 » Torvall: Damage 5 cutting Torvall: Bleh! Torvall: ### Narrator: Torvall's sword bounces off the thick armor. ROUND5: YOU ARE UP, Giant Crab 1! Giant Crab: Crab 2 scrabbles silently up Ystava's horn, bleeding out, noiselessly slamming its claws into the ground... then it dies and slides back off the horn. Giant Crab: Crab 3 tries to recover from losing its eye result: ?failed by 1 » GM: I am confident in Torvall and Beltarne's ability to cut off the eyestalk and then pith a stunned, face-down, silenced crab. GM: So how is Ystava feeling? Ystävä: As far as I know, angry? Bedlam: "Mouser, come here." Ystävä: I think I have to roll to snap out on my turn? Bedlam: starts backing away from Ystava slowly. Ystävä: Snap out of berserk result: ?succeeded by 3 » GM: All his normal enemies are dead, but Mouser and Bedlam do challenge him in the "Big Man" department. Roll to control Berserk. GM: Ystava needs to roll to snap out of Berserk (P124) Ystävä: I did roll Ystävä: Two rows up? Ystävä: * Bedlam starts backing away from Ystava slowly. Ystävä: Snap out of berserk result: ?succeeded by 3 » GM: Oh, I see it. And you're Berserk 9-, not 12-, but good enough. Ystävä: Oops, misremembered the number. Narrator: The battle rage ends for Ystava. Ystävä: pants heavily as his eyes focus again. GM: Reminder: Mouser and Ystava have Berserk, Bad Temper, and Bloodlust (9 or less to resist) for the next several hours. Ystävä: looks around, getting his bearings. "Oh, the fishbugs. Tasty." GM: Okay, Ystava has Bad Temper (3 or less to resist) but that's just a technical detail. and a warning for his companions. Osgar: hmm, crabs are large flat objects, can I cast flying carpet on one? GM: ... yes, I suppose so. They weigh like 300-400 lbs by themselves, and you need to include them in the weight lifted. Osgar: ok Osgar: might be the best way to get one back for the bounty! Osgar: "Anyone hurt?" GM: All of the Naturalists know that Giant Crab meat is a highly nutrious delicacy that (while hard to get out of the crab) lasts forever and packs light. It takes 2 hours to butcher a crab, less 5 minutes per MoS on Survival (Beach). Osgar: "Anyone know how to prepare giant crabs?" Beltarne: "Boil em, right? .... I don't think we have a big enough pot." Bedlam: "I don't think we have enough butter." Ystävä: Survival (Other) result: ?failed by 5» Ystävä: doesn't have a clue. Lyralen: I don't want to see the beast's meat go to waste. I'm not familiar with them specifically, but I can try. Osgar: lets decide who is doing it before we roll Beltarne: Naturalist (Earth) result: ?failed by 3 Beltarne: Whoops Bedlam: Naturalist (Earth) result: ?succeeded by 0 Osgar: I have skill 11 from naturalist GM: Naturalist != Survival. (Though they default to each other at -3) Beltarne: Unfortunately Survival(Beach) defaults to Natualist at -3 Beltarne: Yeah Lyralen: ((actually, making the roll just reduces the time, so it doesn't really matter, assuming we're not in a hurry, right?)) Beltarne: Right GM: Right, anyone can crudely butcher anything if they want to take enough time. Lyralen: ((so we can just take the couple hours, 1 person working on each)) Osgar: ok then Bedlam: "Let me get my hatchet. This will take awhile, but will be worth it." Osgar: Naturalist (Earth) result: ?failed by 3 Beltarne: We butcher all but one, taking lots of time. Osgar: was the bounty for the whole thing or just the meat? GM: Working in teams, you can do it in two hours. Bounty is for the entire crab. Osgar: hmm, do they spoil if you don't butcher them? Bedlam: We might want to save one whole, for the bounty. Lyralen: I'm going to guess "yes" Osgar: hmm, should we haul it back now or try searching first? Lyralen: What are we searching for? Osgar: The dwarven key Osgar: forge key Lyralen: I thought that was somewhere past Kirkengard? ((confused)) Osgar: it might be here in some ruins Lyralen: Ah. Osgar: no, I was mistaken GM: Yeah, I can't help you guys sort this one out. Information is in the logs, logs are on the web. Osgar: There WAS a settlement here and we think it may still be in the ruins Beltarne: Ruins might have something in them anyways. Osgar: what time is it? GM: At the end of the combat, just before 1 pm. Osgar: yah, I'm just wondering how long we can keep the crab around before it goes bad or attracts stuff that wants to eat it Lyralen: I can fly up and around, see if I can see any signs of ruins. GM: Less than an hour (DF2, some page I can't remember) Osgar: er, what? Ystävä: You said "lasts forever" Ystävä: I'm confused. GM: If you leave the crab alone for about an hour, scavengers will eat some of it and piss on the rest. Lyralen: (( if prepared)) Ystävä: Were we planning on abandoning it? GM: If you cut out the crab meat or guard the corpse, the crab meat doesn't rot in any reasonable amount of time. Bedlam: piss on the rest? those are some weird scavengers Osgar: "So, if we want the bounty we need to get this to them now" Ystävä: Wolverines GM: Hello, the West March is inherently hostile to you and everything you do! Ystävä: Wolverines are notorious for it. Since they don't mind eating their own piss, and everyone else sensibly does. Osgar: gross Lyralen: So it sounds like the simplest course is to return the unbutchered crab now, then come back and search. Beltarne: Yup Osgar: yes, how long to get to westwatch? GM: Lyralen can see it if he flies up over the hills - it's not that far away. More than a few miles, less than a half dozen. Osgar: (( I am remembering westwatch as the place offering the bounty, right? )) GM: Yes. Lyralen: So just 3 hours or so, depending on how slowed we are by carrying 400 lbs of dead crab. Osgar: ok, I would have had us save the smallest crab for this, how much does it weigh? Osgar: for casting flying carpet? GM: 337 lbs. GM: Clarifying intent: spend 2 hours cracking open crab shell and getting yummy meat from inside, then heading back to the Westwach? Beltarne: Yes Osgar: ok, I let my current casting expire and then will cast flying carpet on this one once I am rested Osgar: yes, that's the plan GM: ... we forgot that mana was warped, but I guess Osgar never failed a spellcasting roll. Osgar: hmm, is it still warped? Osgar: after we butcher the crabs that is Osgar: oh, let weather dome expire too, assuming it comes up, 6 hour duration on that Osgar: cast it when the blood rain started Narrator: The delvers smash the crabs, breaking open their shells and pulling them meat off the spiky bits. Deep inside one of the shells, Osgar notices a magic glow. GM: Weather dome is still up at 3 pm when the crabs are butchered. Torvall: ((Oooh ...shinies)) Osgar: "Ohh, stop a bit lads, something in there!" Beltarne: "Eh wot?" Beltarne: "Is it gold?" Bedlam: "That's just the shit vein. Don't eat that." Osgar: "Bit of magic something in there, let me take a closer look!" Bedlam: "Huh?" Ystävä: squints suspiciously. "The juju bit probably not the good eating either." Ystävä: "Too wyrd." Osgar: goes in for a closer look, ready to extract delecate or dangerous magic Osgar: (( oh, I have physiology (bugs) lol )) Narrator: The delvers struggle a bit, then pull out a bulky wooden mass, made of highly polished rowan. The round head is unmarked; the shaft is smooth aside from some pebbling to create a better grip. Osgar: this a magic item or a mana glad or something? Bedlam: "That's not natural..." GM: It is a wooden mace, that glows magically to Osgar and Lyralen. Ystävä: "That is not the good to eat. OK for head smashings?" Beltarne: "It's also not gold." Bedlam: "The crab must have eaten it." Osgar: "Aye, magic mace that was protected from the acid" Beltarne: "And look what happened to it, Bedlam. Definitely not good to eat." Lyralen: Do you folks often din magical weapons inside random dead animals? Lyralen: find* Osgar: "I'll figure out what it does once I have a few hours to spend on it" Osgar: no Bedlam: "This is a first for me, friend elf." Osgar: "Well, we got lucky today folks!" Beltarne: "Usually you have to kill a bunch of them for hours at a time." GM: The mana flows stabilize just before 3 pm, returning the mana level to normal. GM: Also, shortly afterwards, you finish butchering the crabs. You now have 160 fine rations. Osgar: ok, 400lb magic carpet for 8 FP, lots of gestures, loud, extra time Osgar: hmm, maybe kick it up to 500 so we can carry the rations Osgar: SURE! Ystävä: Eheh. Osgar: Flying Carpet result: ?succeeded by 10 -2 FP Lyralen: Shall we return to Westwatch then? Osgar: "To westwatch!" Narrator: Osgar chants, waves his hands, and lights tiny little candles. The crab-corpse, piled with crab meat, levitates under his control. Ystävä: grumbles something about having just come from there. Narrator: The winds pick up, sending wispy clouds across the sky. Lyralen: flies up and ahead a bit, scouting the road. Osgar: stays with the group GM: What road? You guys have been off-road ever since you started following the river. Lyralen: ((oops - right. Scouting the path we followed along the river until we reach the road, then. )) Osgar: navigates Ystävä: Absolute Direction here, and Scent Ystävä: And a bad attitude but. Ystävä: I can always backtrack. Ystävä: Minus teleportation accidents. Osgar: same :) Ystävä: Oh good. YOu're not as cranky Osgar: no teleportations! GM: ... I really shouldn't do this, but let me make sure that you guys understand the situation: you went west from the Westwatch for a while on the Silk Road, then turned north for an hour. The straightline path is east-south-east. Following the river to the road is longer, but you're on the road for a longer period. Osgar: we can throw some more gear on the crab if it will speed us up any Osgar: We're heading back to the road, then to the westwatch GM: Okay! Absolute Direction means no navigation rolls! Ystävä: "But you're on the road for a longer period" ... if we follow the river? Just making sure. Ystävä: More road, less pathfinding, probably better GM: Ystava: yes. You meet up with the road before the Westwatch either way. Osgar: following the river unless I think there is a shortcut that is faster, but pretty much, go to the road first and fast Osgar: it looks pretty direct to me by the map tho Osgar: it rained today, so road is faster! Narrator: The delvers move south, returning to the road and then heading east along it. Narrator: A little before 4, Lyralen notices a pile of wolf feces near the side of the road. Looking closer, he also spots some discarded rags, crudely woven and dyed and soaked with oils. Ystävä: (in the scat I assume) Ystävä: Not just hanging around it. GM: No, near the scat, not in it. Beltarne: "Goblin wolf riders?" Lyralen: Can I determine the type of oil? (lamp, Greek fire, cooking, etc)? Ystävä: (( ah, thought the wolf ate someone. Never mind. )) GM: Meat fats and grease. Lyralen: Any tracks nearby? Bedlam: mouser will look for tracks Ystävä: "Food wrappers." Lyralen: result: ?succeeded by 4 » Lyralen: (( tracking roll, if needed)) Ystävä: "Stupid goblins got stupid bad food." Ystävä: is too busy complaining about goblins. GM: Yes, but someone cleaned up after the tracks after a while. You may be able to track them, but it would be hard and slow. Lyralen: General direction? GM: Southwest. Beltarne: "Lets get our floating reward back to Westwatch and come back to this on our way back out." Lyralen: "Agreed." Ystävä: "No. Go smash the stupid goblins for the stupids now." Osgar: "I agree with the first part at least" Ystävä: (( Intolerance + Bloodlust + Bad Temper at the moment. )) Osgar: "If we stop we miss out on the cash my friend!" Lyralen: "He does raise a good point..." Ystävä: "The goblins with the getting away." Bedlam: "We can kill goblins anytime, big guy." Osgar: "Surely we will be able to find them later, plus they must be puny to ride on wolves" Osgar: "Hardly worth your time" Ystävä: "The goblins with the heads that need the crushing NOW." Ystävä: "All the time, we go crush the goblins with the later. Enough later." Beltarne: "We will make them very sorry that they're goblins, Ystava." Beltarne: To westwatch! Torvall: "Frankly, friend Ystava, I think the goblins may be circling ahead of us. Keep a watchful eye!" Osgar: "There could be some on the road ahead, not clear which way they went" Bedlam: "I'm fairly certain the goblins will try to steal our prize from us." Ystävä: (( I'm amused that three separate people came up with the same strategy at the same time )) Torvall: ((Tricking dumb people...is dumb!)) Bedlam: ((What strategy? Bedlam really does think goblins will try to steal from us.)) GM: Ystava is Gullible, isn't he? Ystävä: I am! result: ?succeeded by 1 » Osgar: (( I don't think there is profit in goblin wolf riders is all )) Ystävä: I don't know if there's any situational penalties for being Intolerant Lyralen: (( so dumb, and yet... not quite dumb enough, at least at the moment. )) Ystävä: (( I think going to Westwatch is sensible. Ystava is not sensible right now. Or ever really, but more so right now.) )) Osgar: (( can we fast talk for a penalty to that roll? )) GM: "A lie concerning a topic you are familiar with (?Didn?t you know they bred ducks in your village, Torg??) gives -3." Ystävä: Ah, failure. Ystävä: Sweet failure. Osgar: (( yet again, we want ystava to fail resist rolls )) GM: I think Ystava is familiar with the terrain, tracking, and goblins, but the lie was not outlandish. Ystävä: "Oh! Yes, go catch sneaky goblins sneaking around to steal the meats by going down the roads with the expected plans, yes!" Ystävä: starts jogging down the road, hoping to be ambushed by goblins so he can kill them. Osgar: "Exactly!" Bedlam: follows, furtively looking around for goblins. Beltarne: And we're off. Mouser: seems to shake his head as he follows Bedlam. Narrator: Another hour and a half's travel brings the delvers back to the Westwatch. A few minutes negotiation and the Militia sentries stationed there trade you 2.5 lbs of silver coin (what000) for the crab corpse. Osgar: moves on now that the big man is with the plan Torvall: ((what0000?)) Ystävä: (( wahooni! )) Osgar: dances a jig GM: Err, should be $1000. Ystävä: 500.0$ value? Ystävä: 4$ a coin, 50/lb? or 100/lb Ystävä: goes looking for the notes. GM: 100 coins to the pound, $4/coin for silver. It's on the wiki, somewhere. Beltarne: Added to the loot sheet. Ystävä: Yeah, got it. Ystävä: 2.56 drachmas per coin GM: If you split the crab meat between the horses, you won't slow down. Ystävä: or is that drams? Torvall: Sheckles Bedlam: "Luckily we weren't ambushed after all." Beltarne: Sounds like a plan. Beltarne: Off to chase goblins/find the key/go to kirkengaard Osgar: it's 5:30 game time, correct? Ystävä: Are they interested in picking up some cheap bear meat while we're here? >.> Ystävä: I think we still have a fair amount left, and the crab is much better. Osgar: how much more marching time do we have left? GM: My notes have the horses with 30 meals of horse feed each, 64 normal meals (bear meat and such), and ~50 fine meals. GM: You have about 20 minutes of march time left. GM: Who's trying to sell the bear meat. Osgar: "We should stay the night here" Ystävä: Are those ~50 including the crab? Beltarne: Um..... me? Maybe? GM: Ystava, yes. Beltarne: Anyone else at all sociable? Ystävä: I'm currently the physical embodiment of antisocial. The worst kind, that wants to hang around with people so it can proove how antisocial it is. Bedlam: bedlam tries to be sociable Lyralen: (( I'm quite friendly! )) Bedlam: he doesn't know how bad he is at it, but tries Osgar: I'm somewhat social, but lack merchanting skills Beltarne: Osgar, Lyralen? Beltarne: I also lack merchanting skills GM: Lyralen is so cheerful as to make Artegal seem dour. He's also annoying as all get out about it. Beltarne: Want to flip a coin for it, Osgar? Lyralen: (( Is it so bad to be a cheerful person? )) Beltarne: According to GM, yes. GM: Bedlam is a loud, easily distracted jock who doesn't notice that he's standing on your toes as he tells you how wonderful he is. Osgar: well, I have an effective skill of 11, and luck Lyralen: (( It looks like someone's got a case of the "Mondays!" )) Bedlam: pretty much Beltarne: ((heh heh)) GM: ((Hey, *I* like cheerful people. Lyralen took OPH: cheerful)) Beltarne: All you, Osgar Bedlam: cheerful is an OPH? Lyralen: (( oh, it can be. you' Lyralen: 've never met anyone like that IRL? )) Osgar: I'm bad tempered, oblivious and greedy, I don't think they effect merchant tho Osgar: just other social skills Bedlam: you won't know when you're being ripped off Osgar: so, we're selling some/all of the bear meat? GM: The guards are willing to buy some bear meat. Osgar: ok, merchant roll then? GM: Sure. Osgar: IQ check result: ?succeeded by 0 Osgar: luck! Osgar: IQ check result: ?succeeded by 4 Osgar: IQ check result: ?succeeded by 4 Westwatch Militia Officer: Merchant! result: ?succeeded by 0 » Osgar: uses LUCK at 2011-02-14 19:38:38 CST. Ystävä: Hee Osgar: by 4! GM: They'll offer you $3/meal, they'll buy 80 of them. Osgar: I think we only have 64 GM: Payment in copper (1lb/what00). GM: No, you have 64 per horse - Artegal left you a lot of food. Osgar: ah, sell 80 then Westwatch Militia Officer: "Sold!" Ystävä: (( having a problem with speech recognition? )) Ystävä: 240$ Osgar: "Lyralen, tell them about the wolfrider signs you saw" Lyralen: " Certainly. We believe we came across the scat left behind by goblin wolfriders! Isn't that exciting?!" Lyralen: fans his wings excitedly! Westwatch Militia Officer: "Aye, the fiends sneak in, try and ambush the caravans. They have a base somewhere beyond our patrols, probably in the Durgan hills." Lyralen: " Do you have more specific information regarding their location? " Beltarne: "There happen to be a reward for taking care of that?" Osgar: "Or at least locating the base" Ystävä: "I am the goodest at the smashing of the goblin heads." Westwatch Militia Officer: "Out here? The Merchant guild may pay 12 silver/head for them, out here, and no one would begrudge you whatever loot you took off them or out of their lair. If you catch them east of here, the Commander pays 3 gold for them." Bedlam: "East of here, you say?" Westwatch Militia Officer: "As far as their location, no, we haven't found them." Osgar: "I think he means the ones that sneak past are worth more" Lyralen: "What proof do you require? Ears? Hands?" Westwatch Militia Officer: "Ears, and a trustworthy voice, like Father Beltarne there." Beltarne: tips his helm at the officer. Osgar: Can we stay the night with no problem? guessing it may be common for travelers to stay here, correct? Narrator: The delvers bed down for the night at the base of the Westwatch, the watch lamps glaring in the night. A little before midnight, the guardsmen loose crossbow bolts at some giant toads in the dark. The creatures scatter immediately. GM: During the night, the madness wears off for Mouser and Ystava. Beltarne: Healing Slumber (Holy) result: ?succeeded by 5 GM: Returning Ystava to his normal, bad tempered state. Beltarne: Healy healy for the Ystava Osgar: heh Osgar: I assume we have healed any actual wounds by now, like I think mousers got hit Osgar: off to the lake! GM: Yes, that seems reasonable. Since it only requires Minor Healing. Lyralen: " I thought we were hunting goblins today?" Osgar: "We have no clue where there base is, plus we committed to getting this key" Lyralen: "I could attempt to track them from the area where we found the scat." Osgar: "From what I hear we'll no doubt encounter them soon traveling these parts" Lyralen: "Well, no need to argue about it. Let's see what the day brings." Osgar: time for some flying carpet! Torvall: "Aye. A week you don't trip over a goblin around these parts is a week you spent indoors." Ystävä: "I have not with the goblin and the tripping. Just poop. Goblin wolf poop is not goblin heads with the smashing." Osgar: Casting Flying Carpet result: ?succeeded by 11 -2 FP Ystävä: still gets grumbly on the subject of goblins, but thats business as usual. Osgar: oh, I totally had time to ID the mace in there Bedlam: "Where there's poop, there's usually the pooper nearby." GM: The sun rises on the 5th day out from Polisberg, finding the delvers camped beneath the tower of the Westwatch. It is the Holy Day of Order and Fire; sketchy and dark clouds cover the sky. The mana level is very low. Bedlam: "Unless they fly of course." Narrator: Narrator: The sun rises on the 5th day out from Polisberg, finding the delvers camped beneath the tower of the Westwatch. It is the Holy Day of Order and Fire; sketchy and dark clouds cover the sky. The mana level is very low. Osgar: Analyze Magic result: ?succeeded by 12 -2 FP Bedlam: looks upwards, a bit nervously. Ystävä: -10 for Very low :/ Ystävä: I think? Osgar: last night? Osgar: very low would impact the flying carpet, but it still worked GM: (assume he analyzed last night) The mace is magic wand, weighs 4 lbs, and is enchanted with a Shortening spell: by spending 4 FP, the caster can use the speed/range chart for range penalties for an area or regular spell. Beltarne: Nice Osgar: wow Ystävä: The best kind of distortion is spatial distortion GM: Works with mana based spells only. Osgar: "I'll be putting that on my staff once we get back to town." GM: It won't be a cheap spell to transfer, but sure. GM: So what are you folks doing? Osgar: heading to the lake to look for the ruins/key Beltarne: Yup Osgar: (( I'm assuming I'm the only one interested in the magic mace )) Lyralen: "Aren't the clouds majestically beautiful today?" Ystävä: squints. "Looks like the rain." Osgar: "The mana is terrible, almost easier to walk" Bedlam: "I've never noticed it before, but I suppose they do." Lyralen: "If it rains, you should definitely fly, Osgar. Flying in the rain... one of the greatest pleasures in life!' Narrator: The delvers march west, retracing their steps again. Less than an hour into their walk, the rain begins misting, then drizzling. The gravelled road keeps a firm footing, and the rain mostly makes it cooler and less tiring to walk. Lyralen: "The feel of the rain slicking off your feathers... fantastic." Osgar: "I have a carpet, not feathers, I'll throw up a weather dome if it rains and the mana is better." Narrator: Soon, it rains. The mana is still poor. Bedlam: "Yeah, I'm not enjoying the rain myself." Bedlam: "And Mouser looks miserable." Lyralen: "Oh! Right. My mistake, sorry! You'll just have to take my word for it; it feels great!" Ystävä: nods grimly to himself. "I was with the correctness. This is because we are not with the smashing of goblins." Osgar: puts on his most rainproof coat and hat Lyralen: happily barrel-rolls. Bedlam: ties his hair back to keep it out of his eyes. GM: Also, Osgar needs to make 2 HT rolls or take damage from his mana dependency (1 HP per failed roll). Beltarne: rusts stoicly Osgar: Health check result: ?succeeded by 0 Osgar: Health check result: ?succeeded by 3 Narrator: By 9 am, the delvers have reached river and turned north, slogging through the mud. The rain makes it hard to see any great distance. Osgar: thinks it's a good thing we don't get lost Narrator: Another hour's travel north and lake opens into a wide, marshy shallows. The smell of the sea grows strong. Torvall: thinks Osgar just needs to wait a little while to be proven incorrect. Ystävä: sniffs, snorts, and then sneezes the rain back out his nose. Lyralen: "Is this where you think the ruins are supposed to be?" Osgar: knows we're never lost, sometimes we're just expanding our maps Narrator: In the distance, the delvers can barely make out giant crabs, surfacing and diving in the shallow water. Beltarne: Skirt the shoreline a good distance away and check out those ruins? Osgar: "Beltarne, the book give any ideas on where the place was relative to the river?" Beltarne: "Allow me to check..." Osgar: mana still very low? GM: Mana is still low. Beltarne: pulls out the book and begins turning metal plates. Beltarne: "Dwarven craftsmanship! Most books you'd worry about reading in a downpour like this. Not a Dwarven book!" Ystävä: peers over Beltarnes head. Bedlam: "What about rust?" Osgar: "You need a hat with a wide brim for paper ones in this weather for sure!" Beltarne: "Silver doesn't rust, lad." Ystävä: "It gets all with the black and then the rubbing." Beltarne: "None of the landmarks mentioned in the book are here, but she never mentions the Mage Storm, so it may be that things have been moved around." Osgar: "Sometimes, I hear the dwarves can prevent that too if they want/" Beltarne: "The village was to the west of a road at the base of a bay. There was a small lake a half mile to the south." Ystävä: scratches at some drizzle. "There is with no road and no lake here." Beltarne: "Aye." Osgar: there is a lake south of us on one of the maps Osgar: "there is a lake south of us on one of the maps" Osgar: "I would guess any road is long gone by now" Ystävä: (( I have to point out that maps can be wrong )) Beltarne: "That looks to be a lot more than half a mile." Osgar: (( I don't see a scale on the map )) Ystävä: (( which map are you looking at? )) Beltarne: ((I'm looking at the one with the sea)) Ystävä: (( the "The West March" map doesn't have the river we're on at all )) Osgar: (( same, but I think the river and roads are the same color )) Ystävä: (( Yeah, that map doesn't have the river on it. It has a lake south of the West Watch, but we're not at the west watch. )) Ystävä: (( We're not north of Nimferry - we went through it )) Lyralen: (( what about that almost-full-hex lake further along the Silk Road? )) Osgar: (( we likely need to go to the next bay, if the lake is that close, and on the river )) Beltarne: ((I'm guessing the inlet with the road/river leading to it immediately to the west of "The Silk Road" or the larger lake further west is what we want.)) Osgar: (( but the roads don't seem to match since "west of the road" usually refers to something relative to a north-south road )) Beltarne: ((That inlet could have been a small lake that got turned into an inlet once the storm intesity increased.)) Ystävä: (( at which point our ruin is in the bay )) Ystävä: (( because it's north of the lake... )) Osgar: (( there also could be a small lake that didn't make the map south of us, or one that got disappeared )) Beltarne: ((Or along the new waterway)) Beltarne: ((Also true)) Beltarne: ((Anyway, I say we search the ruins here just in case, then head onwards.)) Osgar: (( we haven't seen any ruins here yet )) Osgar: (( but we haven't looked very well yet either )) GM: Lyralen hasn't seen any ruins on any of his scouting runs - not that he's seeing much, but even yesterday when he had more visibility. Lyralen: "I just don't think we're in the right place." Osgar: is the mana just -5 now? GM: At 10 am? still very low. Osgar: :(Beltarne: ((There were ruins on the other side of the combat map.)) Osgar: "Well, we're not going to be able to scout well in this weather, shall we check for a road west near the other bay?" Beltarne: ((SHould I just ignore them? Generic map?)) GM: Generic map. Beltarne: "Aye, don't think this is the spot." GM: Forgot to put up the fog-of-war. Osgar: "Beltarne, is the road mentioned east/west or north/south?" GM: Directions unclear, but she mentions a fork in the main road and they take the right branch. Beltarne: ((Thank you, GM)) Beltarne: "Blah" Osgar: "Well, shall we seek farther west for a road to the other bay?" Lyralen: "I think that makes sense." Beltarne: "Aye, sounds good." Osgar: "Off we go then!" GM: So retracing your steps south (again) and then turning west on the road past the river? Osgar: yes! Ystävä: Sure! GM: Osgar needs to make another HT roll, for mana dependency. Osgar: Health check result: ?succeeded by 0 Narrator: The delvers continue west, returning to the road. It heads due west, and then begins to turn south. A little after noon, as Osgar begins to breath easier, the road forks. The south (left) branch is gravelled, while the west (right) branch is mostly muddy and untravelled. Osgar: "Ah, right it is!" Ystävä: looks for goblins. And a lake. Narrator: The delvers slog through the mud on the ruins of the road. They can smell salt on the breeze coming out of the north. Just around 1pm, they spot the remnants of stone foundations, submerged in a salty marsh. GM: ... in case it wasn't obvious, the village described in the book wasn't underwater. Beltarne: ((To the west of the road?)) Beltarne: ((Atlatis!!!)) GM: I know my descriptions aren't always perfect so I'm just remindning you. Beltarne: ((*Atlantis!!!)) Osgar: "Well, now we know why noone lives here now" Osgar: "It sunk!" Lyralen: "Are the size of the ruins consistent with what you expected to find?" Bedlam: "Maybe it didn't sink... Bedlam: "What if the people who lived in it were fish people?" Beltarne: "They were dwarves. Not fish people." Bedlam: "Fish people would be more interesting though." Narrator: Some walls stand, while others are little more than stone blocks barely cresting the water. Osgar: "So, those dwarven made ruins?" GM: Roll prospecting! Osgar: what's the mana level now? GM: STill low. Osgar: ok, thought it went up Ystävä: Low but not Very Low Beltarne: IQ check result: ?succeeded by 0 Ystävä: There's a difference Beltarne: Prospecting Osgar: IQ check result: ?succeeded by 0 Ystävä: How deep does the water get? Beltarne: Actually, LUck Beltarne: IQ check result: ?succeeded by 3 Beltarne: IQ check result: ?succeeded by 2 Beltarne: I'll take the 3 GM: Looks dwarven to Beltarne and Osgar. Beltarne: Start looking for a ruin with an anvil. Osgar: search rolls? Beltarne: Or particularly large ruins Narrator: The water seems fairly shallow - 1' to 3', depending on the local dips. Towards the north, it looks like the shoreline drops away and the depth increases. Narrator: As the delvers move through the village, small shapes move through the water, moving out their way and then shadowing them in the water. Ystävä: So, an anvil is going to stick out pretty visible. Ystävä: visibly. Ystävä: As a gigantic red lumpen thing Beltarne: Uh oh. Beltarne: How small. Beltarne: Guppies? Ystävä: I like guppies. Beltarne: Or demon-frogs? Osgar: "Beltarne, the anvil would be iron, correct?" GM: Dog-sized? Reddish? eye-stalks and hardshells? Beltarne: "Yes" Beltarne: ((Crap)) Osgar: (( great, more crabs )) Beltarne: "Probably rusted to nothing after years in this saltwater" GM: C'mon, the giant crabs you fought yesterday where like the size of small donkeys or something. These are much smaller. Osgar: is careful to stay well above the water Beltarne: "Though if the water is stagnant enough, there may be a large pile of red rust." Osgar: but they're RED!!!!! DANGER!!!!! Beltarne: ((Also, there are lots.)) Osgar: "I could try seek earth if you think it might be mostly intact" Beltarne: "Wouldn't hurt to try." Osgar: seek earth, nearest big lump of iron that isn't us! -1 flying carpet, -5 mana? GM: Yep. Ystävä: Small enemies are harder to hit Osgar: lots of gestures, and loud Osgar: Seek Earth result: ?succeeded by 6 -1 FP Ystävä: (( and red to PC gamers means "Colour coded for your convenience" and probably means they spit fire or steam or red lasers or something )) Ystävä: (( Also D&D players. They could be half-red-dragon-crabs after all. )) Beltarne: ((They're above our level. Maybe elites)) Osgar: (( or they are just red so you know to dip them in marinara )) Bedlam: ((To people familiar with cooking them, it means boil in water for awhile yet.)) Bedlam: ((er, rather, it means take them out of the boiling water)) Narrator: Osgar begins leading the delvers through the marsh. In the distance, they can see a mishappen lump of iron. Near it, the top of a wooden chest peaks out of the water. Beltarne: ((I was gonna say.)) Beltarne: ((Curse you and your cliffhangers, GM.)) Beltarne: points and shouts, and begins jogging slowly through the water towards the chest. Osgar: "Don't just rush in man!" Torvall: "Easy, friend!" Narrator: As the delvers approach, they notice that there are no shapes moving in the water ahead of them, but plenty of shapes moving in behind them. Beltarne: ((What's the worst that could happen?))
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