Dot only for ready characters at this point
Ready
Ready.
Was expecting the other players up. Delaying 24 hours or so.
Ready!
Ok. So what I will do is, I'll run with whatever characters are ready tomorrow morning AUS time (GMT+11)
Its been Months. Months of hiding, Months of enforced thirst and Months of preparation...
Whether you were orphaned or merely left home late in life when your thirst manifested itself you found yourself cast into a world that had no regard that you were born with a craving for blood or a monstrous side of your soul that you just couldn't control. For many it meant being hunted yourselves as monsters, for others it meant living as animals, fighting in underground death matches.
All that changed with Jarome.
Jarome came to each of you in turn, the imperturbable half-elf, and offered you all a choice. He offered safety and a means to be more than what you were.
And so you've ended up here... Auxfall Manor, a days travel outside Oppara, the Capital of Taldor and remote enough to not see another soul save it be for the household staff. At first he gave you what you needed - blood. A steady diet but all safely taken from servants and then, in his own velvety way he gave you discipline.
"All discipline begins with control of ones inclinations and appetites", is his favoured aphorism.
And so he cut off the blood - in fact he removed the servants all together. Drudge work fell to you all. Naturally there was fighting and some injuries - all on your part but in the end you bonded. Blood, when ABSOLUTELY needed was provided from animals or on rare occassions, from Jarome himself but it was far from the heady days of your first arrival.
Fortunately Jarome has created a formula of sorts that holds the hunger at bay... the 'need' to feed but not the cravings. That is is your own to manage.
And so it has months passed... and Jarome said you down and proclaimed that in fact you a purpose beyond learning to control your own natures. He offered you a mission - to hunt and destroy the creatures that sired you.
And so many more months have passed. Months of combat training, of talks and lessions.
Today is one such lession.
You suit up. Your training equipment is studded leather, dyed black. This is so that blows against you, made with chalk coated weapons show clearly for later discussion.
Your weapons are missing.
No matter. Jarome has played this trick before.
You've not fed in week and your last dose of the Humanity Elixir that holds the need to feed at bay? That was four days ago.
Jarome has also played this trick before.
You enter the combat area. A ballroom in fact, serving a dual purpose and look on your opponents.
You may not recognize the men but you recognise the type. Competent but desperate. Some have the look of dueling teachers, others of aging street fighters and for one or two, ex-soldiers by the looks of it.
These men have been well compensated but we have an agreement, as before, on unnecessary... ahhh... deaths. Once your opponent goes down you are to leave them where they lie. Once one team is victorious, the battle ends.
And then servants enter, each carrying a bucket and slosh the contents of it across the floor, the pungent smell of garlic filling the air in an overpowering assault on the senses. The men note your reaction and begin to mutter.
This is a trick that Jarome has not played before.
Begin, Jarome says as he steps from the room.
Ugh, that smells retched, f*** you Jarome. Eh, let's get this over with then.
Raphael lets out a throaty laugh and bares his teeth. He looks almost animalistic crouching down and holding his hands as if they had claws.
Malek turns his face away from the stench for a moment, with a twisted face of disgust. Jarome was a very special type of a+%@~~+, but the irritation felt for him was seconded by the knowledge that there was a certain purpose to this "training". "Delicious" Malek says with a slanted smile. "Well, if this is dinner, I guess a little mood music might be in order." He chuckles a bit before finding a comfortable spot to summon his ocarina to him. "Raphael, a preference? Tense and dramatic or...a dancing jig?"
Ooh, ooh, a dance, a dance would be nice. Don't you think gentleman?
He hops from foot to foot and smiles at the men across the room.
"No weapons. Of course." Azeban thinks to himself, glaring at the men in the room. He looks down at the wolf by his side, and smiles. "At least I have you, G`mork."
Mildly conscious of the hunger spreading through his body, Azeban looks once more towards the room, trying to discern a way to win with limited resources. While he's looking, the servants enter and pour a garlic liquid across the floor. While G`mork seems unphased, Azeban snarls and takes a step back. "That's new." he mutters, already beginning to feel nauseated from the odor. He cocks his head at the wolf slyly, "So. Ideas?"
Narrowing his eyes he looks back to the ballroom.
Erique snarls in disgust, wrinkling his nose so hard it looks like it's trying to crawl off his face.
His hands reflexively go to his sides, where his Kukri normally lie, but of course they're not there.
Lacking weapons, he brings his hands up in a way that vaguely looks like some kind of martial arts stance performed by someone who saw someone do it once, and runs through his options. In the meantime, he attempts (though perhaps doesn't succeed at) being funny.
"That is FOUL Jarome, did you depopulate the local garlic population just for us?"
Let's see...no fangs, too risky. They smell delicious, which is a bad sign. Just try to hit 'em hard and put 'em down quick, don't think about how good they'd taste...dammit.
Malek stretched out his form before playing a small dancing song on his ocarina, looking up briefly only a few moments into the song. "Well? Dance mortals!"
Oh Fiddlesticks... will forget my head next at this rate, complains Jarome.
The door creaks open.
This is a weaponless exercise - you can arm yourselves from your foes of course but the wolf? You'll have to send that out now
Agatha sits on her heels in the middle of the group, singing a little song to herself and ignoring the smell of garlic, despite its obvious effect of making her sickened.
"Baby, baby, naughty baby,
Hush, you squalling thing, I say.
Peace this moment, peace, or maybe
Daddy Skinsaw'll pass this way."
She repeats the song again, giggling while she does so.
Azeban's eyes narrow at Jarome in distrust, but he doesn't argue with the man. Instead he looks down into the wolf's questioning eyes. "It's alright, go ahead." he replies, wondering just how much Jarmone was underestimating him. G`mork was only one of many tricks, many animals.
As the wolf trots off towards the door, Azeban wonders why he was going through this exercise. Hadn't he been doing fine before? 'Do not shy away from new lessons and experiences.' he reminds himself, and begins to crack his knuckles.
Raph is vamped.
post it in your actual post.
OOOOkay and here we go. Map is up and updated. If you havent posted by now? Sorry. Too late.
Note that your Armour is Studded Leather so just factor that in for this one combat, and for this combat is unarmed to start - what you get from the enemy is another matter. Remember, for those seeking disarm manuevers that its -4 unarmed but some of you do have imp. unarmed strike. You could sunder chairs to make clubs as well.
NORMALLY in PbP games I'd post my rolls - for this game, you have to take it on faith. I want to minimise the paperwork on this play test.
And on that note? You guys win initiative.
Load the map - you guys should be able to move icons.
Raphael's eyes flash and he lets out a deep growl. long knife like claws sprout from his finger tips and he flashes across the room making a wide over hand slash at one of the men.
Let's try and finish this quick, then.
Erique charges across the room, punching one of the men in the chest.
He glances over to the man Raphael ripped into and tries to ascertain if he's still alive, licking his lips a bit absently.
Bursting into a laugh, Agatha leaps to her feet and springs forward.
"Baby, baby, he's a giant,
Tall and black as church's steeple,
And he breakfasts, dines, rely on't,
Every day on naughty people."
With legs pumping, she nearly flies across the room, leaping onto a large bruiser. Her fangs flash ivory white as her head dives down for his neck. Her sharpened teeth bit deeply as blood sprays across the room. Forgoing a drink, she laughs at the ruby droplets hanging in the air.
Malek isn't vamped, but he will play on his ocarina a dancing song to liven, and lighten the mood.
- Still a bit sick. Posting will be irregular. Bear with me. I brought things this far so I am not slowing down as much as regenerating - damn cold.
Sorry for the double post but i have a quick question. Did Raphael drop the guy he attacked? I'm assuming not but if he did I have to roll a will save for uncontrollable rage.
Someone want to Bot Azeban?
Azeban takes a step forward and raises his hands mumbling something.
A small fire elemental materializes next to the table and charges soldier 1.
+burn
Ref dc 11 or on fire for rounds.
[brawler1]Agatha tears at the mans throat. He hits back with two blows of his own. First blow does 8hps and the second fails to confirm a crit but still does 9pts of damage. Each blow is heavy and the man well trained at hand to hand unarmed combat.
---
[soldier1]Makes his save. He swings ineffectually at the fire elemental
---
[duelist 1]Flubs his acrobatics check to move past the elemental and Enrique.
Elemental AoO hits for 6pts and the man is on fire for 3 rounds.
Enrique slams the man but does only 4pts of damage.
The duelist moves on to set up a flank with the aging champion and attacks with his rapier and crits. 11pts of damage to Enrique.
[Aging Champion] He hits Enrique as well for 8 pts of damage.
---
[Brawler 2] Moves to engage the mad creature that is Raphael.
One kick hits for 3pts of damage.
[Duelist 2]An aldori swordsman by the looks of him, stays put but slashes at Raphael but Raphael is a faster and cannier fighter than the swordman and the blow misses.
[soldier 2] Lets fly with his battle axe and hits hard for 10pts of damage.
You are all up.
Remember that you put vamped or not vamped out and remember to make a fort save dc20.
That wasn't smart my friend.
Raphael lashes out at the men attacking him.
Erique slams the duelist as hard as he can, twice if the first doesn't drop him. If teh first attack drops the Duelist, he will attack the Old Master.
Figuring that his fire elemental has the first guard under control, Azeban narrows his eyes, garlic stinging them, and looks across the battlefield. Seeing that most of the armed guards are dropping quickly, and one of the few left who has one hits Erique, he decides to even up the fight some. Moving closer, Azeban's eyes burn with a dark flame.
Still laughing maniacally and ignoring her wounds, Agatha continues to rip at the man with her fangs, blood and flesh arcing through the air to spray his nearest companions.
"Baby, baby, if he hears you
As he gallops past the house,
Limb from limb at once he'll tear you,
Just as pussy tears a mouse."
Malek increases the tempo of the song to accommodate the others speed, and Agatha's demented, if not wonderfully appropriate song. Feeling inspired himself, he starts to kick his feet up and perform a tap dance to the song.
The coppery scent of blood clears Agatha's sinuses, dispelling the stench of garlic.