The access cards work as keys for certain devices.
Seven slept fitfully that night. His dreams were tainted by blades, drills, and saws. He woke early, finding Val in the kitchen making sausages and eggs. As he ate, he remembered Dolga's answer to Tolgy's question. Something about horses and rodeos. He was going to tell her that Tolgy didn't have a horse, though Seven was saving up for one. But they were in a hurry. He would have to remember to tell Tolgy.
By his third plate of food, Val had joined him at the table, talking real excited and wanting to know if they would find her dad today. "Yep, if Malka says so, it's probably true." At the notion of lunch, he perked up, nodding enthusiastically. Val's cooking was real good.
Seven eyed the man suspiciously. He had seen him around town, but never in Seven's usual hangouts, Torch Hill and the Junkyard. Consequently, this man was a stranger, though Seven could clearly figure out he was important.
One hundred gold seemed like a lot of money. He turned to Malka and whispered in her ear, still keeping his weird eye on the man. "What do you think, Malka. Can we trust 'em?"
"A packed lunch would be useful," Jeyne replied to Val's eager questioning. "My intention is to remain as late as possible, that we may find out as much as we can concerning the buried vessel we found, as well as giving the maximum likelihood that we will locate Khonnir. But of course, everyone else is free to give their opinion as they wish concerning the duration of our exploration. If you wish productive activity in the interim, perhaps you will be able to arrange the sale of these - we have no use for them."
Though she'd had little reason to associate with him, Jeyne had heard of Garmen Ulreth before; indeed, it was difficult not to have heard of him, considering the success of his card room. [Playing cards are a common subject of games of chance, given the simple randomization process of shuffling...] With no reason to mistrust him thus far, she reached forward for the invitation. "Your offer is generous," she answered with a short bow. "Perhaps we shall take advantage of your offer once Councilman Baine is recovered and our time no longer occupied."
“Whoa, slow down girl.” Camrad said in response to Val's questioning, putting up his hands defensively. “One at a time now.” though Camrad had to admit he was just as eager to set out again. Time was of the essence after all.
"My intention is to remain as late as possible, that we may find out as much as we can concerning the buried vessel we found, as well as giving the maximum likelihood that we will locate Khonnir. But of course, everyone else is free to give their opinion as they wish concerning the duration of our exploration.
“She's right. We need to cover as much ground as possible this time.” Camrad said, digging into a sausage. “Hell, if we find a safe enough spot, we might just a spend a night there. Not that there's anything wrong with your place.” he added with a wink.
Once more sat besides Val, Zaken enjoyed her breakfast as much as he could between giving her all the attention he could muster.
Even if we are practically no closer to find Mr. Baine, this is not the kind of talk she wants right now and perhaps the best to do is keeping her mind full.
"Well, today we'll get as deep into the cavern as possible and closer and closer to where your father is, surely safe and sound. Oh and your food will definitely help us!"
He hugged her and kissed her in the forehead before continuing to the others.
"About returning for dinner, I think it is a good idea... you are right Mr. Camrad and perhaps camping in the caverns could save us a couple hours and would also avoid that cursed pond but if we keep returning every night, we can assure Val and Mrs. Dolga that we are still alive and making progress... Let's say we are trapped and need rescue, if we did not intended to come back at night, we could wait for a whole week before any rescue comes to us..."
Turning to Jeyne, Zaken nodded. "This is an awesome idea, Jeyne, do you think you can do it for us, Val?"
Zaken smiled at Garmen's offer.
Sweet! Mom always got mad whenever I went to the Silverdisk but since this is an invitation by Mr. Garmen himself I can't pass this opportunity... from what is she so afraid? Does she knows anything about him?
"Thank you Mr. Garmen! I'm surely interested but as Jeyne said, we should find Mr. Baine first..."
Zaken remained silent at Garmen's offer.
What is your play, Mr. Garmen and what will you gain with our presence? I know many people owe you money but I guess Mr. Baine doesn't make the type so why pay us 500 gold pieces to just show up?
"Thank you Mr. Garmen... I'm surely interested but as Jeyne said, we
should find Mr. Baine first..."
Better not to antagonize him before he shows his intentions...
, Zaken
Welcome back Zaken. :)
BTW, you are suffering from a terrible headache. :(
DC 12 Fortitude save, on a 'pass', the pain is low-grade. On a failed save, the character takes a -1 penalty on all Intelligence-, Wisdom-, and Charismabased skill checks for 24 hours...
The pain started suddenly or since the beginning of the morning?
[dice=Fortitude Save (DC 12)]1d20+2
The pain started suddenly or since the beginning of the morning?
You woke up with the headache.
"About returning for dinner, I think it is a good idea... you are right Mr. Camrad and perhaps camping in the caverns could save us a couple hours and would also avoid that cursed pond but if we keep returning every night, we can assure Val and Mrs. Dolga that we are still alive and making progress... Let's say we are trapped and need rescue, if we did not intended to come back at night, we could wait for a whole week before any rescue comes to us..."
“All I'm sayin’ is that if we're gone a little later than usual, ya don't have to rouse the city guard. Well still check in though.” Camrad replied with a shrug.
Camrad didn't know Garmen, but he knew he didn't like him or his smarmy personality the moment he introduced himself. A feeling that proved accurate when Garmen mentioned his gambling house. “Appreciate the offer partner, but I'll pass on the entertainment.” he said, hardly masking his disdain.
Action 1:
Malka didn't have much to add to the conversation about their plans. She preferred to avoid doing the swim as much as possible but it also made sense to make plans to return so that if they didn't then the others would know they ran into trouble.
Thinking of the buried vessel, Malka said, "We have no idea how big the vessel is that was found in the caves. We know that the glaucite wall extended into a couple of the underground caves. It may take awhile to search all the nooks and crannies in order to find Councilman Baine. We can plan to return to Torch this evening but it may not be plausible."
Action 2:
Malka had seen Garmen around Torch but wasn't really familiar with what he did. He did carry himself with an air of importance, possibly arrogance. His invitation sounded nice but when Malka heard the word gambling she had her doubts. If Seven got caught up in gambling he wouldn't be able to understand the consequences to losing money.
One hundred gold seemed like a lot of money. He turned to Malka and whispered in her ear, still keeping his weird eye on the man. "What do you think, Malka. Can we trust 'em?"
Malka leaned in and whispered back in Seven's ear, "I am not sure if we can trust him but I do not think we can trust his business."
The wizard was naturally suspicious of anyone offering free money. As far as Malka knew, Garmen wasn't a councilor of Torch and Malka had never seen him around Khonnir when she used his facilities.
"Thank you for your generous offer but games of chance have no intellectual interest for me. Seven and I will have to pass."
Good roleplaying but I can't recap unless someone tells me where you want to continue exploring>
a) back where you left of (fought the automaton);
b) hit the two locations you bypassed last time; or
c) other?
If I get some concurrence (3 people), I may be able to recap tonight...
Questions?
Game on!
Yeah, you missed two areas for those that want to complete everything. :)
Look at the maps at the bottom of the turn and you'll see.
You also left the body of the thug you found in the caverns as well and didn't mention anything to Dolga or anyone for that matter but you can always address this issue later.
OK, so 1 vote for back where you left off...
Not worth waiting for a decision...
Turn 027 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
"Oh-oh... this is not good. These are Slime Molds, blasted oozes that infects anyone who comes into contact with it with a foul disease called Fungal Rot... ah and it is also resistant to fire!"
Zaken touches LEEK before retreating away from the slime and leave space for Camrad as well.
"SMALL HUMANOIDS IDENTIFIED INSIDE THE CREATURE AHEAD."
The mage armor on Leek is fine.
Hearing a commotion ahead of him, Camrad unslung his bow and fit an arrow as he sprinted next to Leek, who appeared to be focused on something. Camrad smelled it before he saw it, a sickly sweet yet rotten odor that assaulted his nose and made his eyes water. What in the nine Hells is that smell he thought, but when he turned the corner, bow at the ready, he got his answer.
“Erastil’s antlers! Looks like we found that other party.” he said firing an arrow into the biggest, most vulnerable looking part of the twitching, putrid mass. Here's hopin’ arrows work on these things.
Hey, I know we discussed this before but I'm not sure we came to a solution.
Right now, I'm rolling for Leek's initiative separate than Zaken. Do you want me to continue to do so or would you rather that Leek acted on Zaken's turn?
I can go either way so just let me know.
Malka had wanted to return to the glaucite wall. She had no interest in continuing to explore wet and smelly caves when there was something interesting to explore. When the group was confronted by the foul slime molds, she muttered, "Let's explore the other caves, they said. It'll be great, they said. This is so much better than the metal wall."
Having nothing to add to the others assessment of the creature or the fact that small humanoids had been engulfed by the mold, she retrieved her wand and said the necessary activation word to send a missile of force flying towards the threat.
"Let's explore the other caves, they said. It'll be great, they said. This is so much better than the metal wall."
Hey, take it up with Zaken, OK? :)
I intend to recap tonight.
Game on!
NUMENERA PITCH
Has anyone heard of Numenera?
Basically, it’s game and setting that intrigues me a lot. The link above gives an overview of the setting and rules. A brief overview of the rules is here. Here’s a cheatsheet.
Full disclosure: it’s a new set of rules AND a new setting so there’s a time investment to be made if we wanted to play.
Pros:
- One ‘pool’ for all stats (might, speed, and intellect), which also acts like your hit points (sort of)
- Armor soaks up damage
- Poisons are deadly
- You can add effort, a limited resource, to certain tasks (making them easier to accomplish)
- It’s rules ‘light’, leaving a lot of the rules and effects up to the players and GM
- Cyphers (one time ‘magic items’) that allow players to be very creative in using them to solve problems since a PC can only accumulate a certain amount on them otherwise something bad happens (promotes their use)
- Setting (see link above for overview), basically very far into the future earth where technology from past civilizations is misunderstood and thought of as ‘magic’
- GM intrusions (if you roll a critical fumble) your current task becomes more difficult (GM discretion with some advice) so encounters can be very volatile and interesting
- Special effects (rolling really well gives PC additional effects than those intended)
- The art is beautiful and evocative.
Cons:
- Do we really have time for another game where we have to learn rules and setting?
- Cost (player’s guide PDF $8, Core Book PDF $20)
- Not really committed yet, sort of testing the waters here…
So is anyone interested in exploring this potential new gaming venue after my half-hearted sales pitch? :)
Take your time exploring the links above (if desired) and let me know if there's interest so I can set up a new discussion thread.
Same. I'm at capacity at least until the summer. But Numenera looks cool.
Turn 028 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, Seven
, miss
, miss
Numenera; I understand about the time commitment and thanks for considering.
If you ever do have time, take a look at it because it's very good. The system can be used to run other types of games. The rules are called "The Cypher System" and can accommodate anything from westerns, fantasy, sci-fi, modern, etc. Right now there's a kickstarter for making a couple of more worlds for the system.
Game on!
Seven gagged as the stench overcame him. The big mounds of garbage smelled way worse than anything he'd hauled for Garritt. The rotten thing lunged at him, but it moved so slowly and awkwardly he just stepped aside. Easy peasy, he thought. As he did he quickly jammed his sword into the biggest one. It easily sunk deep, right to the hilt, and a weird squishing noise resulted.
______
Malka took a step back in disgust as the slime began to move. It moved towards Seven which caused her to react once more using the weapon she had in order to try to protect him to the best of her ability. Another missile flew unerringly towards the slime and was absorbed by the creature in a ripple of pain.
Malka made sure that Seven had heard what Zaken had said about the Slime Mold. "Be careful, Seven. If you let it touch you, you could get sick."
Camrad gave a satisfied grin when Seven delivered his mighty blow. Looks like that ones in good hands. he thought, whipping his bow out towards the other reeking mass. Guess I'll settle for clearin’ out the stragglers. He let loose another, ducking low to shoot under Leek’s immense form.
Unfortunately, the smaller mold was apparently quicker as well, lurching sideways then continuing its dogged pursuit of fresh meat. "Well, so much for an easy kill." Camrad muttered.
I'll be out and about this whole day and may not be able to post until this evening.
"The big one is down, LEEK, take the other one!"
Obediently, LEEK moved forward, striking the small slime mold, sending bits of oozes to the wall of the cavern.
Seeing LEEK with the filthy remains on his fists, Zaken cautioned him. "Do not let this filth inside your system, LEEK, I don't want to clean you again!"
Also moving forward, Zaken touched Camrad in the shoulder.
"Go on, Mr. Camrad, do not spare it!"
Turn 029 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
After the garbage mounds fell apart, Seven poked the little body parts with his sword. He watched as Zaken rummaged through them and withdrew a muck-covered rock. He had found some nice treasures digging through the junkyard; he kept a small collection of such things in the shack. But he thought these things smelled too bad to bother. "Did you find a treasure"? he asked Zaken, as he scraped gunk off his blade.
As they ventured deeper into the caves Seven's breath began to cloud and the blade of his sword became very cold. When they reached the edge of the red cavern he halted, putting his hand gently on The Jeyne's shoulder and grunting. He sniffed the air, eyeing the dust suspiciously "Careful. This looks bad."
____________
Jeyne had readied herself to try and fight the creatures, but in truth, it was best the others had neutralized the threat first - her long spear would have had trouble maneuvering in the tight space. As Zaken searched through the slimes and their victims, she watched with rapt attention, setting information sail on the stream flowing behind her conscious mind. [Slime mold: a symbient between animate ooze and the surrounding plant and fungus life, which engulfs its prey in order to consume...]
Jeyne had already had misgivings concerning the climb - after all, evidence suggested she was ill suited for the task. And as the party's light sources spilled over the chasm's edge, she discovered another reason to forego the climb. [Russet mold: a red-colored mold which prefers a dark, damp habitat; exposure can cause serious muscle weakness in humanoids...]
You are correct, Seven, she replied, acknowledging the hand on her shoulder with a slight tap on Seven's broad fingers. The red color is due to a fungus, exposure to which can cause serious, even fatal muscle weakness - you can see the effects it has on a humanoid form over there. However, if anyone wishes to explore further, the fungus is susceptible to acid, like this. She withdrew a small vial of greenish liquid from her pouch. Or strong alcohols, though I do not carry any of those.
I didn't get it because they acted first and eliminated the threat. I went off initiative to get Malka's and Camrad's because I could do so based on what they posted but it didn't make sense to add Jeyne's post.
Sorry. :)
Action 1:
Malka looked at the halfling-sized bodies and said what she assumed most of the others were thinking. "If these are the halflings that accompanied Khonnir, it may not bode well for finding him. Why would they have separated?"
tag everyone
Action 2:
Malka added her cautionary voice to Jeyne's. "It would be wise not to get too close to that mold. That body is most likely serving as an incubator and may release something even worse than the mold. Does anyone else have any acid?"
tag everyone
"Hum... what we have here?" Zaken removed an agate from the mold. At Seven comment, Zaken handed it over to him. "It is indeed a treasure, even if not really valuable I think..."
Following Jeyne exemple and Malka's question, Zaken revealed a bandolier holding, among other things, four vials of acid.
"I'm only concerned to what this amount of acid could do to the body and if it will leave anything for us to investigate afterwards... if not, this is just a waste of good acid..."
OK, I'll give you all one more day to make up your mind.
Tomorrow, I'll assume you throw acid at the mold unless I hear otherwise.
Questions?
Game on!
Crap, my post got eaten and only now I noticed it... Also, Malka, I think you are making a little confusion since the halflings were not with Khonnir. The Halflings were the first group.
"If these are the halflings that accompanied Khonnir, it may not bode well for finding him. Why would they have separated?"
“Don't think Baine was with em’. Dolga said the halflings ran ran in a separate party.” Camrad said, kneeling down to examine the bodies. “Still...jus’ damn. Sorry way to go.” Seeing the bodies half dissolved, their features twisted with pain, Camrad felt compelled to do something about it. Reaching for his text, he stood over the bodies with his head hung solemnly and muttered a prayer to Erastil.
“This mold needs to be taken care of one way or another” Camrad said, finishing his quick check through his belongings. “I ain't got acid, but that can change the next time we head into town.” He took a long look at the adventurer slumped on the wall. “We should should grab him if we can. Doesn't feel right leavin’ him behind.”
Seven used the light from his torch to scour the ground for a rock, a pebble, anything. He saw a piece of rubble about the size of his fist. He picked it up and chucked it out over the ledge to land upon the dusty floor below.