Sure thing. Thanks.
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Kricker again drives his chainsword into the heart of the fibrous green mass and sends pulp flying over the warband. The thing collapses into the algae slurry sloshing it over the kobolds. Perrik rushes forward to heal his injured companions.
Perrik murmurs a curing spell and moves up behind Drahlneep, tapping the barbarian.
Perrik yells out his warning in human speech and gives a noospheric blessing. Kricker heeds the cybersage's advise and activates the chainsword. The roaring teeth bite deep into the giant plant and send wet, green flecks and mush all over everyone. The thing doesn't appear to be equipped to scream and instead silently waves its tendrils wildly. Jeji disappears under the murky water. Only to appear on the opposite side of the mold monster having slipped past it while the chainsword was wreaking its damage. A crackling white ray hits the monster as Issuma fires her zero rifle and the swampbeast falters. Drahlneep calls down a vision of the void on the thing, but it shakes off the space madness and squeezes the kobold tighter . Another tendril whips toward Kricker but fails to gain purchase on his armor.
well, we can at least finish this encounter.
The cyberfangs quickly test the moldy monster's reaction to other forms of energy. Jeji decides to toss a fire bomb engulfing the thing momentarily in alchemists fire before an icy beam from Issuma's rifle hits it. Fire doesn't seem to do much against the sodden mass, but the cold causes it to darken and crack. Drahlneep activates his adrenaline boost and raises his shield high to protect his head. He rapid fires his laser pistol, but the thing glitches again. The first shot burns a hole in the vegetative mass before him, but then the gun beeps to indicate a drained battery before he can get his second shot off. A heavy mass of ropey throngs whips over Drahlneep's head as he quickly ducks, but another mass broadsides the fast kobold. Drahlneep grunts under the impact and then his eyes bulge as he is lifted into the air! Perrik runs what he has seen through his database and instantly identifies the leafy lasher as a shambling mound- a massive carnivorous plant creature of nearly human intelligence which isn't all that impressive. The mushy mass is resistant to fire, but seems to actually store electrical discharges to increase its vigor.
Thanks! I've much enjoyed the underdogs/underkobolds aspects of this game. I was looking forward to you all maybe taking on the Technic League soon.
Did you try PMing him? Good suggestion. We'll see if there's any response. I don't think I'm interested in recruiting new players at this point. I could just put the game on hold indefinitely until Drahlneep and Jeji are around again or just call it good.
I know Drahlneep was having difficulty accessing of late. I'm wondering if we lost Jeji.
Look at you running a whole bunch of games. Not too familiar with GS, but I do recall hearing the first book was one thing after another. How has it taken 3 years to get through the first book? Now that's slow.
posting has slowed to a crawl in all my games. I fear everyone is succumbing to 2020.
Jeji nervously thumbs through her vials, unsure what to use against the moldy foe. Kricker sends an arc of electricity at the moldman and surprisingly the blast seems to enliven it! It seems to swell as the electricity dances over it.
Issuma gives a double shrug. "I don't know, but it's not friendly." The thing waves tendrilly arms aggeressively as is shuffles forward. Initiative:
Jeji:
Perrik: Kricker: ; Drahlneep: foe:
As Drahlneep steps forward, a moldy humanoid thing rises from the fetid water that is waist deep on the kobolds. And it keeps rising to nearly eight feet in height, totally blocking the way ahead.
Not wanting to let the remaining Technic League slaver slip away, the warband heads out again, this time with Issuma leading the way to the horrible monsters from the void above this world. Issuma knows the valley well and the group travels quickly without incident to the rocky canyon at the northern end of the valley. The tall Kasathan stops at a rough wall of the valley with swaths of green mold clinging to the broken surfaces. A few mold-encrusted trees and tangles of brambly undergrowth decorate the region. Issuma points out one particularly large patch, which nearly obscures a single cave entrance at the cliff base.
After Drahlneep verifies that there were none other than the machines entering the Machine Cave, Kricker cautions against interference. The mechanical scavengers disappear into the depths of the mountain and the noise of their progress blends into the usual noises of the mysterious caves. Issuma appears soon after with a line of dangling fish and silently begs the kobolds follow her back into her hidden home. Inside she prepares the new rations while telling the kobolds that she delayed her return until the robot caravan had passed through so as to remain undisturbed. Then she asks whether the kobold band achieved their goal.
Drahlneep sees no evidence of bipeds other than the metal humans.
Jeji leads the way to the concealed entrance of Issuma's hideout and peers out from behind the boulder. She sees four metal humans, a pair of the tripod maintenance robots that were the first robots the kobolds ever encountered, and a hovering robot with a pair of tentacled claws. They are hauling chunks of metal alloy and junked mechanical gear into the scrap heaps of the Machine Caves and Jeji loses sight of them as they disappear down the wide passage ahead.
The kobolds, natural and synthetic, rest and recover until the following evening. Assuma doesn't return, but as they make preparations for further exploration of the Scar, they hear a mechanical racket from the cave entrance.
It is late in the day when the kobolds stagger exhausted into Issuma's hidden lair in the Machine Caves. Their ally is not there, but there is a little food left and the can rest comfortable with rock overhead.
Perrik's reconstructed kobold eyes no longer bear their racial sensitivity to the light above, but the others find themselves squinting painfully under the overwhelming glare of the great light of the overground. Thankfully most of the route runs under a moderate tree canopy, but it is hardly thick enough for comfort or unhindered vision.
The kobolds quickly kill the unconscious human and mount a gory warning for the human that ran away or any other creature that dares underestimate the Cyberfang Kobolds. They then begin to retrace their steps as the sun rises higher.
The map highlights two areas marked for further study: one seems to be a cave in the valley to the north and the other, some ruins in a swamp to the south. Jeji looks around for tracks, but doesn't notice much other than the disconcerting strengthening of the early morning light.
Map added to Roll20. White print is areas that you've explored. Black print is Technic League guesses as to where their lost agent, Therace, went. Browned out areas aren't hidden, they don't exist.
Perrik analyzes the items and finds that they are a set of bracers that provide a light protective forcefield for the wearer equivalent to leather armor. The magus appears to have grabbed his spellbook, but Kricker uncovers a few sheaves of paper under a tossed bedroll. One page appears to be a rough map of the area, the other two are arcane. Perrik quickly determined that they are scrolls of levitation and nondetection.
Drahlneep gets to fixing his weapons leaving the others to secure the human captive. The unconscious woman is dressed in multi-colored silks and armed with a dagger. Her twin bracelets are magical. There is nothing in the tent except some basic camping gear and shattered glass that likely held potions that were destroyed in the assault. Kricker tends to his companions and then helps them bind the captive's hands and eyes.
Jeji gathers Drahlneep's guns and hands them to her volatile companion as he ponders the unconscious human.
Perrik continues to tend Kricker while Drahlneep runs into the tent to search for the Technic League sorceress. He finds her unconscious on the ground where she succumbed to the grenades.
The sound of retreating steps stumble a moment and then continue with a grunt!
The laser beam passes through the shield and barely misses the human. His eyes bounce between the laser pistol and chainsword and with a curse and a spell cast defensively, pulls his disappearing act again. Running steps mark his retreat.
Kricker no sooner falls to the ground then Perrik again pours healing energy into him staving off inevitable death. Drahlneep sprints past the crouched pair and batters at the shield, but the baton cannot break past the force barrier!
I am thinking this guy is more of a Magus than a Wizard. That's why I've been emphasizing the whip. ;)
Drahlneep's club bounces harmlessly off the force shield. Meanwhile, Jeji races over to the dropped laser pistol and changes the battery. The human continues retreating around the trip ahead of the chainsaw wielding kobold. Again he shouts an arcane phrase and strikes Kricker with the whip. Electricity courses from the whip and through the kobold.
Kricker chases down the Technic mage and powers past the shield sawing into the man's side with a spray of blood. The human looks pale and panicked as he is grievously wounded. Perrik follows Kricker to give him a healing surge.
Bashing forcefield to forceshield doesn't do anything, but Drahlneep manages to get a shot past the man's defenses and pierce his side. The man circles around the tent trying to get away from the press of kobolds. He attempts to cast a spell, but is distracted by Perrik's spear.
The human is a skilled adventurer and warrior who has no problem dodging the mundane spear and sword poked at him.
"I don't know where you found such a hoard of tech, kobolds, but it will bring me much glory in Starfall after I've removed it all from your dead- ARRGH!" The human's taunts end as Kricker manages to drive the ripping sword into his leg. The man curses as the kobolds circle.
Jeji turns back toward her companions who now nearly surround the human. She fires her arc pistol, but aims a bit to high so as not to hit Drahlneep and misses. The whip-wielding slaver pushes back toward Perrik and casts a spell as the kobold tries to maneuver his long spear. The whip flies high and then arcs toward Kricker. It barely grazes him, but there is a crackling discharge as electricity arcs from the tip and through his breastplate.
Perrik races around and manages a jab from behind that barely penetrates the human's armor. Drahlneep drops the dead laser and pulls one of the junk pistols from his bandolier. The shot causes the thing to rattle in his grip, but the bullet flies toward its target only to ricochet off the forcefield.
(was there an AOO on that spell cast from the mage?)
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