GM Kate's Ruins of Azlant (closed) (Inactive)

Game Master Kate Baker

Not sure what to do—if it's something that might be valuable to capture, I'll block the door or try to hem it in.

Silt would likely prefer to let it go back into the wilderness.

I'm guessing the ankhegs made those holes up north. Though if they're aggressive or invasive or something, letting them back into the wild might not be good...

Ankheg nymph. Juvenile. There will be more, and an adult." Special attacks/qualities, stuff on its life cycle and habits, plus whatever else is interesting!

Adults will kill any threats… should we lure the child away? What do babies eat? Silt tilts his head back, towards the fishing pole tied to his backpack. Or throw raspberries at it. Surely they'd all flee this territory.

He also has a fishing net

Edit: True, Purpose. Silt doesn't know much about Ankhegs.

Life cycle: The ankheg digs holes in the ground to lay eggs. Soon after the young ankhegs hatch, the mother pushes them out of her territory to find their own foraging territory.

Special Attacks: They can grab with their bite, and they can spit acid as a line attack.

"I remember. Adults lay eggs in holes. Mothers push nymphs to find their own territory. If there are that many nests to the north, this could be a problem."

He partially unbuttons his coat, unclips his shield from his chest, and straps it to his arm. "Ah. And they spit acid. And latch onto prey with their mandibles." He hunkers down behind the wooden shield and steps in front of the doorway.

Delay for others to move, then Move x2?: unbutton coat, don shield, then 5 ft. step in front of the door. (Sil'tchaak's current space)

"Did anyone see how big it is?" Cedar asks.

Is it tiny? How much space is under the bed if Cedar wants to summon something there?

It is Small. I would say that another Small or smaller creature could fit under there.

"Weird! I've never seen a bug like that (or that big)! It sounds mean though. Not the kind of bug to play with. If you move out of my way, I can try to hit it from here, maybe scare it away from the door?"

"Does anyone have a way to catch this thing? Or should we just smash it?" Cedar moves in and climbs up on the bed opposite. He detects for magic in the room.

I'm not sure I like how it looks as though a GIANT bug is crashing through the western wall lol.

Silt has a fishing rod and net. Could hook some bait on the line and lure it somewhere, or is that a dumb plan? Overall Silt is probably not down for violence at the very first solution here. Also, on the phone so apologies for any weird spelling!

Awesome! That sounds super fun. Let's do it! Kate, did we happen to see any jars around in while we explored the village?

Can it fit in a jar? Silt's turtle friend chills in a large-ish jar that could be used if that's he case (in his inventory he has one "llyu-llyu in large jar (2 lb)). Please rinse it out afterwards!

-- Another option might be to simply lure it out if the village.

Catch it first, and then we'll see if it fits!

I'm down to try catching it. If it's Small then I'm assuming it's like, dog-sized, so a Llyu-Llyu jar might not cut it. Luring in might work? Handle Magical Beast check?
Purpose Creche is not an empathic animal fella, so he'll leave things to other folks. Either way, probably need to hear Kate's take on this strategy!

Agreed on hearing Kate's take. I think the safest idea is that we have toby or purpose (high dex people) back up and cast the line into the room with some meat on the end, to lure it out. Silt hides outside with the net, attempts to capture it when it comes within range.

The ankheg nymph is around 2 feet long and about 30 pounds, if you want to contain it.

Also, we're off the rails here, so I'm willing to let you put something together out of initiative here. It's still readied under the bed if someone walks in next to it, but otherwise, you tell me what you want to try!

Wooooo off the rails!

Silt hands the pole to Cedar. It may like flesh. Do we have any meat? Put it on the hook. I will stand outside the door with my net ready. Once you cast the bait and and lure it into the open, I will trap it.

[ooc]Cedar already walked in and climbed on a bed if that would have triggered a readied action from the bug.[/b]

Oh, I assumed you walked in through the opposite door, since you can all see where it is. The two white blocks are open door frames, and the two blue blocks are windows.

If he hasn't provoked, Silt (badly) tosses Cedar the fishing pole!

Dex?: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

He pulls the folded net out of his bag, excited to catch the cute bug.

Oh, yes, he totally would have gone through the other door if I'd noticed it. Lolz.
This is one of those situations where you get into place and then you're like, oh I should have a plan lolz.

Catch!: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (11) + 0 = 11

Purpose Creche draws his splinter and moves to block the other door.

His voice drifts over the top of his shield. "I'm." He hesitates. "Not sure if this will work. If they're aggressive, there might not be much choice. But carry on."

I, Andrew the player, am totally down to try, though!

Silt blinks bemusedly at Cedar; he readies the net and glances back to Toby. Ready?

Do we have any meat?

"Ooh! There was all that salted beef back in that other place! I put some in my pocket, I think!" Toby fishes around and finds some scraps of salted beef he had stashed earlier. He ties it onto the end of the fishing line before Silt tosses it.

Silt blinks bemusedly at Cedar; he readies the net and glances back to Toby. Ready?

"Um...I guess. I'm not really sure what my job is here. I'm ready to blast it, I guess, if it gets mean."

Did Cedar catch the pole? If so, he'll try to fish out the bug and Silt will throw the net at it? Is that the plan? This is either the best or worst plan we've had yet. lol

Yes, Cedar caught the pole.

The ankheg nymph scrambles out from under the bed, sinking its mandibles into the hunk of salted meat and chomping away happily.

Purpose Creche glances at Toby. "I think we'll know what to do when we see it."

Sometimes having a character with no mouth, eyes, or emotions makes it hard to engage in banter!

Silt casts True Strike after seeing Cedar catch the pole, then throws the net at the baby ankheg.

Throw Net +1(dex)-4(nonproficiency)+20(true strike): 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (8) + 17 = 25

If he catches it, he will attempt to drag the creature out.

So I was reading on nets more… it seems to drag/reposition something you need to have a feat, because nets just entangle stuff. I think Silt would now have to go grapple the entangled creature and then move it at half speed. Does that sound correct? Doing that or throwing the net might put us back into initiative.

Could abstract the wrestling to something akin to a skill challenge in 5e? We all make Dex checks, or appropriate checks with appropriate DCs, and if enough of us succeed we catch it?

True. Depends on how much we want to get involved with the micro of ridiculous net rules or just roll with the plan and see what happens :)

Just so people aren’t refreshing constantly, I won’t be able to make a substantial post until after PFS tonight. Fee free to brainstorm in the meantime!

OK thanks Kate!

Fee free to brainstorm in the meantime!

That's good. I'd hate for this to turn into Pay-By-Post :P

Sorry, guys, long day and I’m tired. Will update in the morning.

No worries!

Okay, so you have the baby ankheg in a net, and also it is munching on some salted meat.

Silt, I know your wild empathy only works on large creatures, but this is a baby of a large species, so let's say that it works. This kind of critter should be your jam, thematically, and being a baby shouldn't make that harder.

These can be domesticated, so what the heck, Toby, make a Profession (shepherd) roll.

If the two of you can keep it calm enough (any maybe keep feeding it), then you can pick up the net and set it loose somewhere, but tell me where.

Toby picks up a stick and taps it on the ground next to the creature, prompting it to move in the right direction.

Profession (shepherd): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

"You gotta make the critter want to go in the direction you want them to go. Gotta make 'em think it's their idea. Otherwise yer just dragging 'em the whole way."

Once the Ankheg scuttles toward Toby's stick, Silt lays down on the ground, at eye level with the insect. He hums as its cute mandibles seep acid and saw at the hunk of dried flesh.

After some time has passed, he gazes intently into its glassy black eyes, slowly pushing a new hunk of meat across the dirt

As he does so, Llyu-Llyu pokes her head out from a tear in the farmer's hat.

Wild Empathy -2(Cha)-4(Magical Beast): 1d20 - 6 ⇒ (17) - 6 = 11

The ankheg grabs the meat, backs up, and hisses. Llyu-Llyu's head instantly vanishes back into the safety of the hat.

Silt lays in the dirt for a moment, then rolls over to look up at Toby. He seems more animated than ever before.

A pretty one. Ma-jes-tic! The bug drools green acid and creeps towards Silt's head. A rare gift with nature, to commune with such beauty, Toby. A stench of overcooked meat and bile rise from the ground; Silt breathes in deeply, savoring the moment.

We be friends, if we speak. Tomorrow, I prepare a spell to try. If you help to guide, we can take this… this… Silt pauses to consider. The ankheg also pauses, inches from Silt's head.

…this strange new friend away, to a place safe for the village and for him. A strange friend, deserving of a strange name. Not a name like ours. New place, new friend, new names. A pretty name.

He reaches for another chunk of meat — the creature narrowly misses biting his hand, It snatches the meat instead and backs away with its prize.

Let us call him Karl.

To be clear, Silt seems to want to domesticate the Ankheg. He would propose taking ot to a secluded spot and giving it lots of smoked meat. There are also the goblin bodies left over from yesterday's final encounter.

Cedar, gagging at the scene below, steps off the bed and detects for magic in the barracks.

”I’ve never seen anyone so interested in bugs.”

Purpose Creche watches Sil'tchaak's enthusiastic reaction to the creature; the entire piques his curiosity. He even kneels down near the locathah and his new friend, unaffected by the unique smells in play.

"How you speak to Karl is similar to how I perceive relics. I think. Thematic similarities." He shrugs. "Care for Karl and keep him from causing harm. He may be an ally yet."

He turns towards Cedar, walking about the large space. "I don't think he'll swear the oath, though."

If the threat of negative bug reactions seems past, he'll join Cedar in searching the building. But not before murmuring "It's ok, Llyu-Llyu," to Sil'tchaak's hat.

*sniff sniff sniff* "Karl? Huh. Don't smell like any Carl I ever knew." Toby leans in real close to get a good sniff of Karl. "You gonna keep him in that net? Didn't we find some sorta box a while back? Maybe he'd fit in there. Or you gonna let him go free?"

I don't think he'll swear the oath, though.

Silt looks at Purpose. Sometimes, being friends takes practice.

Don't smell like any Carl I ever knew.

More Karls? Well… let's lead this Karl to the forest to the South, give him food so he stays full a night or two. Beyond that, Karl will decide of his own free will, and face the consequences of those decisions.

Silt takes the pole from Cedar and starts leading Karl South with Toby's assistance (if he's willing).

Being trapped in a box might enrage Karl. Since he can burrow, building a makeshit pen might not do much good either; Silt would certainly like him to stick around, though!

We also need to dispose of those bodies… think it likes goblin and/or picked tentacle-monster? We can stop on the way for free samples. Or, raid the smokehouse.

Totally willing to handwave or fast-forward this bit if the plan sounds reasonable to Kate, and we can move along to the next thing.

"Maybe Karl likes berries. Ones with divisive flavor but proven nutritional value."

Purpose Creche definitely ain't opposed to feeding Karl dead goblins. Can we make him a little hat and vest that says "Talmandor's Bounty Waste Disposal Officer"????

I'm sure dead goblin bodies would be very appreciated by Karl.

The rest of you search the barracks as Silt figures out what to do with the strange new friend, and find several interesting items. In addition to a bunch of loose change (321 sp and 87gp, to be exact), you find a gold medallion, engraved with a horseshoe, an animal foot, and a plant with four leaves (moderate enchantment). Hidden away in a tear in a mattress, you also find a wand, labeled with the initials "UH."

On pulling out the wand from the mattress, Cedar notes the initials. "Perhaps this was Una Hendrake's? Maybe this was her bunk?"
He considers the other items. "These seem like someone's good luck charms."
Were they all found together?

Nope, they were separate. And the wand has a faint illusion aura.

"Curious." Cedar scratches his bearded chin, thinking. "Once again the colonists left behind their most important possessions. Here, their lucky items. We keep seeing this over and over again. But I don't understand why."

I think I wasn't super clear in my description! This is a single gold amulet with engraved images of good luck charms. It has a moderate enchantment aura.

Ah! So just one item and a wand. I think Cedar's observation still stands though, that once again people left their important possessions behind.