Lucendar's Survival PbP - Welcome to the Slaughter!

Game Master Lucendar

Baron Darkstrom lifts his arms and says, "It is time." He pulls from his pocket a mirror that magically grows to 10' in height. He admires himself for a second in the mirror before invoking some arcane magic and now reflected in it is a scene of a crowd of about 1000 people gathered at an Arena, chanting, "We want blood, we want blood!" The Baron spins the mirror so you call can see it and you see among the crowd, the wardens who have tormented you for the past five years.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you shall have your blood...in due time! Now, let me introduce you to the men and women who be spilling said blood for you:" As he does the introductions, he walks by each of your cells, the mirror following him, so the crowd gets a good look at you.
"Salu Minghi, charming warrior and killer"
"Menas Kriger, human berserker"
"Emilian, blood gladiator"
"Othrik, half-orc wild warrior and consumer of the dead"
"Kwin, halfling knife wielding assassin"
"Bug, goblin archer and shadowmaster"
"Kazmuk, dwarven stormlord"
"Morgthar the Ravenous, half-elven assassin and spirit drinker"
"Varos, human priest of the Chain Lord"
"Kor Tiger-Spirit, half-Orc bone-crushing monk of Four Winds"
"Catelyn, tiefling assassin"
"Filsgerit, dwarven berserker"
"Justified, human warrior and master of the glaive"
"Cirnos Duval, unholy human tyrant and the embodiment of evil"
"Gaza, tiefling priestess of knowledge and magic"
"Quain, Oread ranger, messenger of death"
"Hollander, Cannibalistic human forest dweller"

The crowd cheers at the roll call, immediately shouting out names for their wagers.

The Baron continues: "What is clear to all is that whatever these men and women are, they are killers, plain and simple. Now, usually society condemns them to death or banishment from society in our prisons, but these are desperate times that require desperate measures. Five of these prisoners will survive the trials that await them to embark on a mission many have attempted and none have succeeded. Let us wish them luck!" More crowd cheers as the mirror goes blank.

"Now to the rules. As stated before, once your cells open, this territory is fair ground for all the battle and blood-letting you desire. To the west, where the dirt floor becomes stone tiles, are the Tournament grounds and fighting is prohibited. Any violation will result in your immediate death. There are five trials, the last being physical combat with a single opponent, who will be chosen in reference to the number of prisoners still alive at that time. The other four trials will test your various skill sets. You can work together or you can work alone. As I stated before, you are all killers, so be careful in whom you put your trust. The fourth trial you must solve alone. Know this about the trials and this is very important. Each one has been created specifically to have two possible solutions, perhaps more, depending on your creativity. Remember this as you grapple with your decision how to tackle each problem, as your life literally depends on it. Patience may be a virtue in these trials but know also, that the first who completes each trial will receive a reward, be it a better weapon, healing, etc., that may better prepare you for future trials or the Arena. So high risk, high reward! Your choice to risk it or not. Once the fifth trial is completed, there shall be no combat between prisoners until you are brought up to the crowd to fight in the Arena, where you will fight until there are 5 survivors. As a wizard of considerable power, I will have arcane eyes monitoring your progress, in case you decide to violate any rules. Ah, last thing. Once you step on tournament grounds, you will have 15 minutes to complete the trials. Should be plenty of time. Know that if you dawdle and fail to complete the trials within the time allotted you will also die. Any questions before I leave?"

There may be 2 late entries who PMed asking me for a little more time.

Emilian shakes his head, and prepares himself for the opening of his cell. He glances at Filsgerit, preparing to lend his shield to her aid as well as his own should the need arise.

How far to the west are the stone tiles?

"The entrance to the Tournament Grounds is about 100' away."

Justified holds his glaive in practiced hands looking into the cells to his left and right. Who does he see in the cells adjacent to his? He cranes his neck trying to see the stone tiles to the west. how far away are they?

"If this is the path you have laid, let us begin."

Waiting to hear on last PM to determine geographic position of prisoners.

Kwin translates exactly for Bug, except somehow "Kwin, halfling knife weilding assassin" comes across as "Kwin, halfling noble wrongly convicted" and Filsgerit comes across as "dwarven goblin-slayer."

Huh. Mistakes in translation. How could that have happened.

Ok, you are all arranged in circular order, in order of presentation to the crowd, as the Baron was walking around introducing you:
Salu Minghi
Menas
Emilian
Othrik
Kwin
Bug
Kazmuk
Morgthar the Ravenous
Varos
Kor Tiger-Spirit
Catelyn
Filsgerit
Justified
Cirnos
Gaza
Quain
Hollander
Haterivet
So for example, to the right of Salu is Haterivet and to his left is Emilian; to the right of Morghthar is Kazumuk, to the left Varos, and so on. Not too complex.

Having listened to the talks of the different inmates, Oread keeps his eyes focues forwars and talks in a clear but still trembling voice. "Menas and Emilian, in you I sense men of honor. If you wish, I will also pledge not to fight you and to work with you to pass the first trials.

Wahoo!!!! Cirnos has already made it out! Cya suckers!

Or we have broken the record for fastest death in a Lucendar PbP

Ok, you are all arranged in circular order, in order of presentation to the crowd, as the Baron was walking around introducing you:

Salu Minghi
Emilian
Othrik,
Kwin
Bug
Kazmuk
Morgthar the Ravenous
Varos
Kor Tiger-Spirit
Catelyn
Filsgerit
Justified
Gaza
Quain
Hollander
Haterivet
So for example, to the right of Salu is Haterivet and to his left is Emilian; to the right of Morghthar is Kazumuk, to the left Varos, and so on. Not too complex.

what has happened to Menas?

Odd, I copied and pasted. I'll correct it. Thanks. Done!

Stepping forward out of his cell Menas holds his shield at the ready, tentatively he holds out a hand to Justified while keeping his eyes on the other convicts, "Quain, as far as i am concerned until we have to fight we're all in this together. Anyone NOT on board?"

its a sign of things to come, i'm slippery even when copy and pasting!

"Well, if no one has any questions, good luck all. We'll be watching." Darkstrom casts more magic, ripping a tear in the dimension again and before stepping through, yells, "Release the killers!" Then he is gone...Poof, just like that! Seconds pass, then you hear the click, and your cell doors open!

If anyone wants to initiate combat now, you have to let me know, so I can prepare a map and roll your initiative scores.

Kwin isn't going to initiate combat now, but he's ready for it!

Gaza picks up the dart and hides it in her so called clothing. She watches intently as everything happens, noting who has what as well as demeanor and such.

"Justified, since you dont sound quite as bloodthirsty as some of these folks, how about you and I leave each other alone for the moment."
She turns to look at Kwin and Bug,

Then takes a defensive posture when the doors open.

edit; wow ninjad by four posts, lol

That really is a popular question today! Okay, one more time: the entrance to the tournament grounds (aka the stone tiles) is 100' away. :)

As the doors open and the prisoners come out, one of them, the one introduced as Cirnos, starts sprinting toward the west.

it appears i jumped the gun stepping out of my cell but you get the picture, i don't intend to start combat but i am ready for it.

Standing there with his hand out Menas knows how exposed he looks, he tries to appear as relaxed and confident as possible, i hope someone tries, he thinks to himself, best to thin the herd of the weak before anything gets to serious. Whats that fool doing, i hope the floor is trapped.

With a quiet chuckle to himself, "Well? Anyone fancy their chances alone?"

Okay, one word about the start to this PbP to make things clear. With so many applicants, I can't wait to go in order, unless it's combat, of course. In all other aspects, this PbP runs at each player's pace. You post your action and I describe the results. So no one get offended, that 20-30 posts happen before you post your first one. Ok, we clear on that? Good.

As no one seems to be willing to fight now, Quain follows Cirnos to the ground. However, he is not running but checking for traps on the ground.

Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

as long as we get to react to the important bits thats fair enough, i wouldn't like to get shived without a chance to react though. i also don't mind cirnos taking a bash at the first trial alone as long as we can hear his screams and learn from any mistakes he may make. as far as i can tell going last gives you the most advantage.

i'll be right behind you quain once i've shook hands with justified.

Correct, Menas, any combat will require going in order, initiative scores, a map, etc.

Maintaining his total defense, Kor begins to calmly walk towards the tunnel.

** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **

Satisfied, Quain follows Cirnos to the ground.

Taking total defense and moving toward the tournament grounds. Kwin takes a half minute to get there assuming he is uninterrupted. He'll follow as closely as possible in the footsteps of our distinguished sprinter.

Glancing both left and right, Haterivet was blinking as quickly as he can in order to adjust his eyes to the what he considered the equivalent of searing light. After too much time spent in the cell, he was very unaccustomed to so much light. But one thing could not go unnoticed to his senses.

"Varos, human priest of the Chain Lord" - still rang in his ears.

His task was clear. Without too much hesitation, Haterivet left his cell and started walking cautiously towards the priest.

As the gates open Catelyn Springs forth from her huddled posture, grabbing her spear as she leaps forward. Jumping and turning she grabs hold of the top of the cell and pulls herself up. She reaches the top and goes to one knee, taking a defensive posture while holding the spear in hand.

She glances around the arena, warily, but stops and stares as the large human introduced as the "unholy human tyrant and the embodiment of evil" makes a mad dash for the tournament ground's interior. She shakes her head. "Foolish idiot. It is clear we've all just seen our first victim."

Salu heads to the tournament grounds.. nonchalantly scanning for extreme hostiles, taking stock of alliances and lone wolfs with the ability to creep. He grips his sheathed scimitar... one hand the hilt, one the scabbard - ready to draw.
Salu drifts to the left side of the group, and maneuvers as best he can to keep everyone at least ten feet from him...

Training grounds, safety, and a straight line. I like those odds. After collecting a few rocks, I'll make a run for it.

Unless someone wants to engage the sprinter in combat...

Cirnos reaches the gray stone tiles of the Tournament grounds safely in less than 15 seconds. As he stops to catch his breath, he sees the tunnel forward, comprised exclusively of stone tiles, leads west and then turns north. He sees the rest of the prisoners more or less making their way toward him but at a much less reckless pace, all wary of each other. Though he sees another warrior pick up some stray rocks and also sprint his way.

After catching his breath, he readjusts the lance to rest on his shoulder, and extends his hand to the fellow sprinter. "Cirnos Duval, it takes guts to put your neck out there."

Still wary, but noticing nobody has yet tried to kill her, she clambers off the roof of the cell and begins making her way towards the entrance. Her eyes follow each of her fellow prisoners uneasily and she never relaxes her grip on the spear.

As they continue their march, Catelyn tries to keep herself separated by at least 10 feet, ranging away from the other outlier on the left flank.

Before heading inside the area she checks for traps. Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Edit: Oh, wow.

Kazmuk warily watches the other prisoners as he leaves the cage, but the thought of being out in the open air tugs at him, overriding his caution. He sprints forward as fast as his short legs can run.

After he arrives, Hollander says to Cirnos: "It's not guts. I'd rather be in charge of my own destiny. Name's Hollander, and while I'm a crack shot at a distance, I wouldn't mind teaming up with someone better suited for the "hands-on" situations."

Emilian nods at the oread and uses his shield to protect himself and the ranger's flank as they make their way to the tournament grounds, sticking by his side.

Just before leaving the sandy ground to the stone tiles, Orain picks up a few pebbles.

Cirnos shouts: "Stormlord, get over here!" Waving the dwarf forward as he stands on the tiles!

Once.. (if) the dwarf makes it.

Stepping forward out of his cell Menas holds his shield at the ready, tentatively he holds out a hand to Justified while keeping his eyes on the other convicts, "Quain, as far as i am concerned until we have to fight we're all in this together. Anyone NOT on board?"

Smiling a friendly smile at both Gaza and Filsgerit Justified steps out of his cell walking confidently towards Menas, but keeping 10 feet distance from others where possible. It might be that he is cautions and it might be that he does not want to seem threatening to others. Ladies, you have nothing to fear from me. In fact I would offer you my protection if you would have it. There are those here that I cannot advise you to trust. But know that my word is true.

When he reaches Menas he shifts a hand off his glaive and takes the outstretched offered hand, grasping it firmly. Friends? He then moves with Menas to the stones, motioning for both Gaza and Filsgerit to follow.

Let me know if anyone is trying to block the entry of the stones

"Friends, lets go." Menas sets off towards to stones, using his shield to cover himself and watching for threats. "Catch up with Emilian and Quain, they seem as genuine as people can be in here."

if we have to kill some people at the exit i hope one of them has an off hand weapon i can liberate...

Ok, to give people a visual representation of the area. It is big so it would be difficult for 1-2 people to block the area to the tournament grounds.

Map of Tournament area

You started at the stone oval, where the cells were, and you are walking to the grey tile area. Any questions, let me know.

And for a more zoomed in view: Map

Orhtrik was uninterested in the prospect of alliances, but he made sure to keep track of any being formed within hearing distance - one could never be too careful. As everybody begins to make the mad dash, Orthrik follows after, keeping his eyes open for stragglers.

Noting that Salu seems to be adopting a similar strategy, Orthrik makes the move to attack his prey, his spiked fist readied.

You guys okay to continue without him?

I am fine with it if everyone is.

I liked him, and he might be important to this fight. But yes, going on without him is better than not going on. :)

I would like to get a replacement if we can. Maybe from the semi-finalists if possible.

I'm fine with going on. I suggest NPCing him till the end of the fight then either having him keep the camp and replacing him with another player if he's not back by then.

Great Idea.

I am now at Dragon Con. I will try to post at least daily, but my internet access will be limited. Just wanted to let you know that my posts will be a little limited through Labor Day weekend.

I liked him, and he might be important to this fight. But yes, going on without him is better than not going on. :)

I would like to get a replacement if we can. Maybe from the semi-finalists if possible.

Just noticed this, i'd laugh if the antipaladin came strolling up. I'm trying to think back to the semi's and wondering who could come back and not be pissed at someone in the party for killing them. I know i accounted for a ranger early on and a monk in the battle royal but i also kinda left a druid to burn to death and a cleric to drown, glad i restrained myself from rage rampage in the last fight now.

*shakes fist*

Back from Labor Day weekend, will update tonight.

Welcome back, did the new job turn out well btw Luc. I never thought to ask when you popped back online.

Anyonr heard from lucendar? He doesn't seem to have posted in any of his games for a while, i'm guessing its an issue with his net due to the storms but i'm eager to get back to raging at orcs!

I have not heard a thing, and ditto, orcs must die!

Still here guys! Sorry for delay. I would update now but don't have map on my office pc but tonight, I will definitely update. Thanks for patience!

Good to hear from you again Luc, i thought work had sucked you back into its deep dark hole never to return!

Thanks, Menas, thankfully I made my reflex save and avoided the pit! By the way, if anybody has any creative suggestions how to get one of the fallen contestants back into the party to replace Haterivet, I'm all ears. Just PM me. Wracking my brain and I can't think of any creative means, maybe one of you can surprise me.

1) Mad Teleporter Wizard? :)

2) Make them one of the prisoners we are rescuing. Maybe that to the death thing was somewhat staged. Good fighters might be too valuable to just let die for little gain. One of the loosers was sent ahead to clear the path?

3) There is the idea that backup has been arranged for when we inevitably loose people. Hat bits it in this fight and we get reinforcements summoned from our wizard friend that is with us?

For the record, Hat, if you read this, we want you back.

Temporary ressurection via a moderately powerful magical ritual involving supplication to the patron god of the revivee. Good plot hook for the favour the wizard/person/party owe to a powerful outsider for the boon and a good way to embroil even good characters like Justified into serving an evil end. Maybe even having a party member beholden to someone other than the Baron to drive the story in a different way and create some friction in the party, like one of the powerful patrons who gambled on the event brings somone back to serve his own ends.

If it were my game i would reopen the recruitment thread and pm everyone who died in the fight to survive and get them to post their own story about why and how they ended up in the group. Then i'd pick tbe best response, 15 brains are better than six.

Temporary ressurection via a moderately powerful magical ritual involving supplication to the patron god of the revivee. Good plot hook for the favour the wizard/person/party owe to a powerful outsider for the boon and a good way to embroil even good characters like Justified into serving an evil end. Maybe even having a party member beholden to someone other than the Baron to drive the story in a different way and create some friction in the party, like one of the powerful patrons who gambled on the event brings somone back to serve his own ends.

If it were my game i would reopen the recruitment thread and pm everyone who died in the fight to survive and get them to post their own story about why and how they ended up in the group. Then i'd pick tbe best response, 15 brains are better than six.

Yep, that could be a good idea. It would be interesting to have someone killed by one of the party members back. I'm sure the baron can have someone resurrected temporarily with the means to kill him/her later if he tries to betray him. For the Baron, that would mean more control over the party.

Well for me the only dead characters i hsd an issue with were the Kutites because they disturbed my sleep and they are just too emo for Menas chaotic tastes. But brining back a character with an alternate agenda could be very interesting, i'm still pretty pissed the baron wouldn't lend me money to gamble on myself and Menas doesn't realy care to much about his daughter, he's in it for the cash/fame/sex/drugs/rock/roll. Not necessarily in that order.

If we were giving the option of messing with the Baron Menas would probably jump at the chance, its practically in his religion. Hell when we get her back i plan on holding her hostage in the city untlil he pays us double, wizard fool can't touch us inside the undead city!

(I might be kidding about the hostage thing)

It would be interesting, story wise, to hav.e the antiPaladin back. Someone for Justified to clash with in character and all. But I am not sure that is what we need in the party. Maybe the cleric? I seem to recall she was the last to die, but I may have that wrong.

It would be interesting, story wise, to hav.e the antiPaladin back. Someone for Justified to clash with in character and all. But I am not sure that is what we need in the party. Maybe the cleric? I seem to recall she was the last to die, but I may have that wrong.

Yes, Quain did it. It was a sort of a sore point as I could have tried to get Haterivet down.... That would make thing quite awkward for Quain, but he's up for it. In total I think Quain killed three other PCs... The more dangerous are not always the ones you think off :-)

Justified* wrote:

It would be interesting, story wise, to hav.e the antiPaladin back. Someone for Justified to clash with in character and all. But I am not sure that is what we need in the party. Maybe the cleric? I seem to recall she was the last to die, but I may have that wrong.

Yes, Quain did it. It was a sort of a sore point as I could have tried to get Haterivet down.... That would make thing quite awkward for Quain, but he's up for it. In total I think Quain killed three other PCs... The more dangerous are not always the ones you think off :-)

I was quite happy to voice the threats while Quain did some killing, its not always the one with the loudest mouth you have to watch either. I think Quian killing the cleric was an act of self preservation though, i think she was the only one on low hp that you could reliably hit. Since you were on your last legs yourself it was Hat, her or you.

True that. And Justified could not hurt her, after her heal on him.

Orcs once again prove to be the most deadly critter in the bestiary. Bloody ferocity.

You could recruit someone that is willing to take over Haterivet (maybe use the same race/class/profile image and a name that is a letter or two off of the previous player. We ran into a similar situation in a Serpent Skull game I am in. Cobrius Jank was Corbius Jank rather deftly.

Are we waiting on Just? He's posting in my kingmaker game if you want to give him a poke.

I am not aware we are waiting on me. ???

While I like your suggestion, Kwin, I don't want to post a recruitment thread solely for that purpose. Know of anyone willing to jump in?

Holy crap! That orc archer has an effective 27+ hp, and theres another one!

Not offhand. I'll do a bit of poking around to see if I can find a good candidate. Anyone in any of your other game threads that might be interested?

Holy crap! That orc archer has an effective 27+ hp, and theres another one!

Oh, I don't think that's not so hard to believe. Don't orcs have ferocity, or whatever its called. The same thing wolverines and badgers have where they keep fighting until they are at negative CON hit points? Through in extra hit points and CON if raging or a point or two of DR...

I wasn't surprised as much as worried, Just might bleed out before we put them down. Hopefully we can down the melee ones slightly quicker before we eat a falchion crit from a str 18 beasty, it woumd be bad for my health.

Arrows are not a lot of fun either...

I am still here actually, been popping in to check what's happening every once in a while, was sad when you guys stopped. I would be willing to make a reappearance if needed :)

Appear next to me, and HEAL ME, lol

I would love for you to join. :)

I even know how to do it story wise too!

I'm guessing Lucendars repeated willpower saves vs work are not as easy to pass as he suspected.

Had the same problem for the last few days myself.

Still here, just my pc at home is having problems. Should be fixed by this weekend.

Trying to dot again... This one keeps falling off of my focus list.

PC is finally clean and files recovered, expect update tonight.

Thats good to hear, i could use a bit more orc smashing. I think Justi has been teeteringon the brink of death for 2 weeks, like a soap opera.

Quain, get a charge off that wand you carry before I bleed out...

Quain, get a charge off that wand you carry before I bleed out...

Now that one or two orcs are down, that's my plan. I'm just near you so I can draw out a wand and heal you in the same round.

I'm glad you've been able to get the tech difficulties sorted out; I know how painful that can be to navigate through. Whenever you are ready, Kwin will be there to pull their bacon out of the fire. :)

I'm glad you've been able to get the tech difficulties sorted out; I know how painful that can be to navigate through. Whenever you are ready, Kwin will be there to pull their bacon out of the fire. :)

Mmm, bacon...

Hang on you just killed johnny 1hp, i respect a halfling who can shiv but you could have thrown a dagger at it 3 rounds ago and finished it off! :p

I cannot imagine the character begging but as a player...

Lucendar i implore you to update the game, i must smash orcs and get the this undead city of doom. The game is so much fun and right now we're still in the intro, we demand more needless pcs deaths!

Well, some of us demand a chance to actually hit an orc before dying. :)