DM Loopy |
Gromroir Embermayne |
as he gets moving, following Elena, Gromroir looks the gem over the gem, quickly deducing the basics of the device
What does this do? What is wrong with this, and how might I fix it
after that, he stows it (or attaches it to the myrmidon, if the power sources are compatible), and keep runnign
DM Loopy |
If there's anything that's problematic, it's that it takes a while to get going, and it won't handle rapidly fluctuating power needs well. If you have the way to include it in your armour, it could probably take over duties for your "always on" components, leaving the normal power source free to handle the suit's more dynamic needs. Relying solely on the thing for the suit's typical function would give it a bit of a boot period though, as well as an idle period if the energy flow was disrupted.
CAN you integrate it at this moment? How does it work? How could you improve it so that it works better?
Bikke the Pirate |
(I'm assuming everything went well - aside from the strain - with me putting down the golem down?)
"Me dinnae know - can ye?" Bikke says with a somewhat-forced grin at Fizzwiddle's question, and then mutters something. "Arr, that be one helluva parlor trick... where are ye, ye mage midget..."
"Aye aye," he says to Elyna, "weigh anchor an' hoist tha mizzen before more sons o' biscuit eaters come 'ere!"
Terestria Redfeather |
That eye would probably sell for a pretty penny...no, wait. Bad time for that. The Southern Watchtower is still nearby - if you were to grapple up there you would probably be able to get everyone in. That ought to get you out of sight and into the courtyard as planned, but there's still more activity than you hoped for. It might not be the option it was. There's an entrance down the way Elena is wandering that you can remember from earlier, but that place is probably going to be more trafficked, and it's a bit away from where you are.
The watchtower is still our best bet. Terestria decides.
Into the Watchtower! The golems won't reach us from there! She calls down to the group.
Fizz! Come on, play time is over! She says watching his 'helpful' display of Bikke.
Not sure of the geography here. I grapple up, then come downstairs and unlock a door or something? I guess I'm confused how me being up to the southern watchtower gets everyone into the courtyard
DM Loopy |
If you remember, the original plan was to have Gromroir walk up the side and send a ladder down. Similar sort of idea. As long as you didn't reel in the grappling hook behind you, everyone else should be able to climb up using it, no? I mean, we are talking grappling hooks as in "thing that hooks onto things with a rope attached for climbing" and not "grapple gun", right?
Terestria Redfeather |
As much as I'd like the latter, that's not something you could reasonably pull from a bag of adventuring gear
Terestria flings her grappling hook up to the tower Everybody up! Quickly, before the ice breaks!
She cries out before ascending herself.
Terestria Redfeather |
Must have missed the part where you went invisible! Hard to keep track of who is doing what.
Terestria's tall rabbit ears twitch, "I can hear you just fine Fizz, careful with the rope."
Aaaand safely hand-waved with the fiction. Phew!
The Winter Herald |
The Herald looks at the rope with a suspicious eye. "I don't want to be a burden. You children scurry on up. I'll take the rear." She lifts her staff and concentrates on the unstable walls.
Can I roll Defend and do the defend stuff with magic? Do we have time to get up before a wall comes down? Should I have to roll to get up the rope? Should I roll Discern realities to determine these things, and then decide if I'm Defending?
2d6 ⇒ (4, 6) = 10
DM Loopy |
What do you mean by "Do the defend stuff with magic", exactly? What are you trying to do? I don't quite get the meaning of what you're saying.
Generally speaking, if there's no particular difficulty involved I would waive rolling on such things, but I don't know how Shvibzik is physically. If it would be noticeably hard, then yes it would warrant a roll, but otherwise it's just an adventurer thing and you don't have any great complications (yet).
I'd think you'd have an idea about the effects of your own magic, so you should know how well your ice wall would fare. That said, the ice wall isn't under pressure at the moment, just starting to melt a bit because the spell didn't go as planned. Provided everyone gets on climbing, everyone should be able to make solid progress before the wall goes...provided the wall doesn't get put under too much stress. Terestria and Fizzy should get in, at least. Anything serious, and it'll want reinforcement in order to be sure of it holding.
As for the ruin walls - DR if you want a better gauge of things. Gromroir might have a rough idea normally, but it's hard to tell how solid it is currently. It's old, and not in pristine condition.
Elena Modrava |
"That golem was pretty cool, eh Grommy? Personally I'd have made it out of steel, nice and shiny." Elena looks around and realises she had paid no attention to the directions to their target whatsoever. "Hey Grommy, where are we supposed to be going?"
The Winter Herald |
I think I mean, if I defend, can it involve magic in the fiction, to no mechanical effect outside the defend options? Would it conflict with the winter domain to defend others, or does it support stasis and chilling them to the bone?
For climbing and athletic stuff, I think it's enough to say she's the slowest of the group and tends to be last.
Elena Modrava |
You mean rolling+Con to defend, but describing it magically? I'd vote yes. Don't forget you can do other stuff with magic, as long as it doesn't empower life or show generosity. There's a slight penalty to do it, but it is possible.
Gromroir Embermayne |
Using the adaptational gravity boots, Gromroir simply steps up the wall, as easily as he walked along the floor.
Aye, Elena, through you want to alloy some chromium if the Golem is likely to be outside much, otherwise it will rust still. and I think currently we're trying to not get murdered by golems. getting to the target would be nice as well
DM Loopy |
Oh, right! Sure. As long as the fiction works out. You aren't Empowering or Creating Life, nor Showing Generosity, so that should work out. Just so long as your fiction matches up to the options. I will probably limit the amount of fictional impact you get on top though - can't let this get too crazy.
DM Loopy |
Terestria’s grappling hook finds its mark, and before long she’s in the watchtower. Gromroir appears next, simply strolling up the wall with ease. Bikke is stuck behind Fizzwiddle, currently about two-thirds of the way up. From up atop the watchtower, you have a clear view of the surrounding area.
It’s a mess of activity. You may have bypassed the security this way, but it means less if it’s already been set off. A number of smaller golems are hurrying about the courtyard - there’s a few heading for the south-west gate, and another group heading for the eastern gate. There’s a group of about six golems trying to bash down the wall to where you were in sync. You can count the timing - 1, 2, THUMP, 1, 2, THUMP...they’re smaller than the one you just dealt with, but they’re well coordinated.
The largest amount of golems though, are headed for the main ruin. And in quite a hurry too. Several broken golem chassis lie by the entryway, gears exposed or on the ground beside them. It’s quite a scene before you in the courtyard. What do you do?
Elena and The Herald are still below. On one side, golems are starting to come into view in the distance, unlit silhouettes from afar. On the other, the ice wall is being broken down by the clockwork patrollers, a harsh crack coming with every impact. Even the ruin wall isn’t faring so well, and large chunks of stone and masonry are coming down with each hit. They’ll all be upon you any moment, and you still have to get up! What do you do?
The Winter Herald |
Fat flakes of snow dance around the Herald, a frigid wind brushing through the bough of mistletoe. "Unless you can get us both through that wall, you should start climbing, dearie. Winter can't halt a heartless march."
Elena Modrava |
Elena grabs the Herald's wrist and sprints towards the wall. "Just don't freeze me, OK?" The artificer slaps her gauntlet on the wall as the coils on it start pulsing. "Here we go, phase shift!" Elena and the Herald slip right through the stones with a buzzing sound. On the other side, Elena looks at her glove and sighs. "Ugh, circuits are fried. That'll be a day or so. My Modrova coils are empty too." She frowns, then bounces over to Gromroir. "That thing's a battery, right? Let me see here." Elena grabs a cable from her backpack and touches it to the ball. ZAPPP! "Woo, I think that worked!"
Field Test: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (2, 3) + 2 = 7
The effect is short-lived, drains my reserves, and the glove shorts out.
I'd also like to know who made the eyeball thingy.
DM Loopy |
If you want to know who made it, you'll have to do a little more than slapping it with a cable. Speaking of which-
"This is a highly sophisticated planar conduit, that slowly but surely will adapt to the power needs of whatever it is supplying. 'Slowly but surely' means THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE WORKED. HOW?"
The Winter Herald |
The Herald looks from the wall that's now in front of her to the small girl who got her there. "Congradulations, dearie, you've surprised me."
Maybe it had to do with the Herald? Like a cold snap, something that should have taken time happened in seconds. The Herald takes a debility or something more terrible and she loses the touch of frost for the lost time?
Elena Modrava |
Planar conduit? Eureka! Elena grabs the glowing sphere and runs over to one of the shattered golems, pulling some wires out of her pack as she goes. "See, this rock pulls power from somewhere in a nice slow trickle, just enough to run whatever is hooked to it. But conduits work in both directions! I'll just hook some pumps to draw a bit of power from it, and put it in this golem chassis to imprint the power signature on it. Then I flip this switch and the trans-planar energy pumps reverse, sucking all the golems' energy into, I don't know, wherever." Elena has been furiously hammering stuff together and stringing wires all over. Finally she hoists a repurposed golem arm into the air as an antenna. "Entropic Golem Destabilizer, initial proof-of-concept test, engage!" Elena plugs in a big red button and slaps it with a manic grin.
Jury-Rig: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (5, 4) + 2 = 11
Haha! Golem off button!
DM Loopy |
Damn, I hate to do this, but I just remembered something. One - Grommy is at the top of the watchtower - you aren't. That means the orb is there too. Second, even if he was down where you were - YOU JUST RAN THROUGH THE WALL.
I wish I didn't have to say this because it's a cool idea, but yes. Need to have a thing to use a thing.
Fizzwiddle Glockenfleffor XXII |
Fizzy keeps clambering until he makes it to the top of the wall. He looks down and sees his friends come out the wall.
THERE WAS A DOOR?!?!?! HOW COME NO ONE TOLD ME?
He dances impatiently and invisibly as he waits for the others
discern reality: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3
What is useful...oh dear
Elena Modrava |
Damn, I hate to do this, but I just remembered something. One - Grommy is at the top of the watchtower - you aren't. That means the orb is there too. Second, even if he was down where you were - YOU JUST RAN THROUGH THE WALL.
I wish I didn't have to say this because it's a cool idea, but yes. Need to have a thing to use a thing.
So what you're saying is that when Grommy comes down here or tosses me the eye, that cool stuff will happen ;)
DM Loopy |
Grommy has to show up here first to do it!
Frankly, I could have sic'd the golems on you too, considering you'd be right next to them, but considering how fast everything would be happening and your unexpected transportation methods, I let you cross the courtyard. That said, Fizzy may have just caused some problems for you all.
Gromroir Embermayne |
Gromroir stays up atop the wall for a moment, to examine the foes tactics, something isn't right here, someone else tried to infiltrate this castle tonight, and they bungled it up for us.
DR on Golems positioning: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (1, 3) + 1 = 5
What here is not what it apears
the Presuming he doesn't get shot off the wall, or something he rushes down to join his allies, carrying fizzy with him along the way.
Terestria Redfeather |
"Green Gods above..." Terestria swears from the top of the tower. There are so many golems, such little time. There's got to be a way to slow them down, something to shut them all off...
Terestria, calling on her accumulated knowledge about how to stop golems en masse, rolls her spout lore...: 2d6 + 0 ⇒ (4, 6) + 0 = 10
Bikke the Pirate |
Seeing that the womenfolk down the wall are using one of Elena's gadgets to escape, Bikke abandons his idea of a heroic rescue and starts climbing up again.
When he reaches the others on top of the wall, he points at the broken golems that are on the entryway to the ruins. "All hands hoay, d'ye gaze at those machines? Thar broken!" he says to the others. "Do ye think thar's some other group in 'ere wrecking the tin cans?"
(No.)
DM Loopy |
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Before the Herald has a chance to object or question her choice of words, Elena grabs onto her and drags her straight through the ruin wall just as the golems break through it and the Herald’s own barrier, leaving each party on the opposite side to where they started. Elena keeps going, taking the opportunity to rush up behind the golems entering the ruins and start examining the damaged chassis on the ground, pulling the Herald behind her.
The golems’ heads are pivoting on their axis, expressing mechanical confusion as to where the intruders went...until Fizzwiddle starts shouting. The golem’s heads turn, eyes rising to see Terestria, Bikke, and Gromroir at the top of the watchtower. Like clockwork, they move to surround the watchtower before its hapless occupants have a chance to make a move. Twelve golems form a perimeter about the watchtower, intent on dealing with the group inside.
A golem attempts to grab onto the rope, but Terestria manages to reel it in before it can manage to. Refusing to let this halt them, two golems on each side of the watchtower step forward, beginning to slowly scale the side of it by punching into the construction. Gromroir’s scans complete just as all four of the golem’s have started their climb, and as he’s being fed the information, he grabs the noisy gnome and rushes down the side of the watchtower.
As Gromroir comes down the side, he’s sent off balance by one of the climbing golems, and his run soon becomes a fall, sending him and Fizzwiddle tumbling through the air. Gromroir positions the Myrmidon to help take the impact, but they’re both jolted harshly when they hit the ground. Both of you take 1d4+1 damage from the impact. When you get to your feet, you're stuck between the four golems on the ground and the watchtower. Fizzwiddle can slip through them easily, but Gromroir doesn’t have the same luck. What do you do?
Surrounded by broken golems, Elena has an idea - if she just had access to the orb, she could - dammit! Gromroir’s surrounded by the golems. Seeing the number of golems, and Elena trying to rig something up, Terestria wracks her mind, and…”Elena, the head!” Looking inside, it’s just what she needed - a transmitter! It’s not an off button, but it’ll do! Not quite the orb, but Terestria gave you an alternative. So, here’s your options: You can just disable the transmitters to interrupt transmissions and give everyone a +1 forward with the golems. Or, you can critically overload them to deal your damage ignoring armour to you and the nearby golems. The Herald will also have to Defy Danger to avoid damage - partial is -1 forward or half damage, her choice.
Up atop the tower, Bikke and Terestria look down on the climbing golems. They’ll be arriving soon enough, and unlike Gromroir, you can’t just go down the side. You could head down the watchtower and out the door, but that would still leave you to deal with Fizzwiddle and Gromroir’s golems, and the others are bound to follow. What do you do?
The Winter Herald |
"Don't play softball on my account, dearie. I'm just getting started." The Herald shuffles to the wall and brushes the evergreen bough of mistletoe against the wall, trying to sense a golem through the surface to aim her spell. When she thinks she's located one, she'll tap the wall with the but of the staff. From her side, frost spreads over a small patch of the wall, but outside, frost spreads across stone surfaces, growing and splitting tiny cracks that soften the material and weaken the stone.
Spell-Casting: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 2) + 2 = 8
I'm trying to reduce armor. For the 7-9 I choose:
the spell affects either much more or much less than you wanted it to.
the spell has unforeseen side effects, and might draw unwanted attention.
DM Loopy |
Which golems are you attempting to affect here? Eight are on the ground - 4 on each side. The 4 on your side are surrounding Gromroir and Fizzwiddle. After that, there are 4 climbing the watchtower - 2 on each side. By the description you gave, I'd assume you'd be affecting the two climbers on the opposite side, but I have to check.
DM Loopy |
You are literally choosing to detonate these things inside their heads if you take that option. That's 12 golems at least that you're doing that to. The one before you isn't any different to the others, so...yeah. As far as I'm concerned, getting to damage all those things with a single roll is pretty crazy, so that's why I went with that. Plus, you have no Charge.
This isn't a side-effect, this is a decision to make things go boom. Which is more choice on the matter than with some of your creations.