I came back to post and saw that I was being botted (no stress from me on that), and that the last post was me acting. Seemed a poor time to post anything.
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As noted in my other games with you, the Santa season was keeping me fully occupied until I came up positive for COVID. Today is my 5th of 5 days of mandatory isolation before I get to spend tomorrow in the common room with my family, masked, and doing all the cooking! Had to cancel all my Santa appointments for the last 5 days of the season. I really feel badly about not visiting those kids, but, honestly, I would rather NOT expose them to COVID, so . . .. I think I would feel worse about visiting them anyway. Shattered Star? M'Kay. Edit: Monument Scholar at least plays to Kallikles' existing interest in History . . ..
The Ikarian will head to the place where he is likely to feel the most at home: the Docks.
Lifting himself up into the sky to identify another specific know of trouble, The Ikarian spots a group of the insects crawling up the outer walls of a well-lit estate. Lying over there as quickly as his wings will carry him, Kallikles charges an insect on top of the wall, bull-rushing it off, back to the outside of the wall. He makes a stand on top of the wall, running, or flying back and forth along the wall and across the estate in order to keep the bugs outside and away from the family and servants huddled within. Despite how long it feels the fight has continued, eventually the insects manage to overwhelm his ability to keep them outside the walls. At this point, Kallikles joins the handful of armed guards defending the household. The combination of the smaller space, the few chokepoints inherent in the home's design, and the additional arms helping to slow the insectoid advance, combine to simplify the task of defending the non-combatants in the estate. The assault continues for far longer than anyone would have thought possible, with the fight seeming endless, until, without warning, it does end. The flow of attacking insects simply ceases. "Is everyone well?" Investigation showed that 3 of his fellow defenders had been felled, but the last was healthy enough to seek care on his own. The family and most of the servants were unharmed, however. At least one island of safety was created during this assault. Most of the town was less fortunate. The few heroes couldn't save the entire town from an endless swarm of man-sized, killer insects.
The Ikarian goes looking for signs of the insects, and not damage done by his fellow heroes. He will engage what he finds when he finds them.
The Ikarian goes looking for signs of the insects, and not damage done by his fellow heroes. He will engage what he finds when he finds them.
"And off to find more of these invaders!" While putting word to deed.
Once inside . . .
People still have to live here. Wanton destruction. Kallikles thinks to himself, as he goes towards the hole as the most obvious way in at this point.
The Ikarian will do a quick loop around the structure, looking for an easy way in, though he can't miss the halfling jumping through a window. He's hoping for something larger, because he'll have to stop and put his wings away to even pretend to use the window.
The Ikarian slugs it out with the thugs that were left to keep him and the others from following the vanishing leader, before unfurling his wings and leaping into the air again, looking for where it seems he and those on the ground below him might be needed.
Making his best guess, he circles around so that those below him can see him, and points in the direction he thinks they should support. "This way, for the gods and glory!" As he moves in that direction, returning to the ground to continue the good fight . . ..
What I read suggested we were treating the rest of the fight with the leader's support group as a story point to introduce the leader, who was going to escape for later regardless. So, I didn't see that there was a point to posting a bunch of dice chuckin'. <shrug>
The Ikarian looks at the insect even as he sidesteps it. Then he turns his attention to the cloaked figures themselves. "Did you not get enough attention at home? Daddy was right, by the way. Not all attention is good attention." And he joins the fight.
Both of his hand strikes land true, but his follow-up elbow proves ineffective, glancing off the implants?
Seeing Baris in the alley, so close to the main fight, Kallikles suspects some trickery, and flies into the alley, putting the cloaked figures between himself and Baris, and then folding his wings away. "With all the commotion over there, I am surprised to see this lot here. Care to explain yourselves?"
Standing and pontificating. I have already bested the halfling. Threatening the judges is, at best, rude, and absolutely counter-productive. Have you never seen a baseball player dispute a call up to the edge (or beyond) of being thrown out of the game? All words. That afternoon, Kallikles will join the celebrations that should be happening. A little merriment is good for the soul, after all. With his Ki Metabolism, Kallikles is awake far more than not, so without a timeframe, I'll guess he's awake . . ..
Combat? He calls out as he heads for a space open enough to spread his wings, "To arms! To arms! An attack!" Then he leaps into the air and begins flying towards the commotion.
"Bah! You said I didn't have to use the clubs! Everyone here knows that wrestling is the sport of men!" Obviously, Kallikles isn't accepting the declared forfeit as the correct response.
As round 4 begins, the Ikarian looks at his foe and says "Well, I've had enough of this." and changes tactics. Round 4:
Round 5:
Round 6 (Assuming still pinned, will alter if not):
Round 7 (Assuming still pinned, will alter if not):
Etc.
For winning the shotput, the dwarf seems grossly entertained to select the golden peacock feather as his prize. After winning the 100 meter dash, he selects the Silver Chime. And after winning the longer run, he selects the Brass Flute. Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Not sure ANY of those hit, so I'll stop at the "swing and a miss" possible stand-off.
I need an AC and probably an Init modifier for the opposition as well. I'll even be good and actually strike instead of grapple and make it truly embarrassing.
"Let us engage in sport! Fling caution to the wind and display your skill!" Competition:
"Just like clearing stones from the fields at home. As you keep throwing them aside, each lands closer to the field!"
"I do not understand how you good men are gripping this? It seems to simply fall out of my hand every time!"
"Bah! Never cared for spear fishing . . .."
"Now, for this club fight. Can I go unarmed? Do I have to carry the club? Can I carry it but not use it?"
The reality is that technique has more to do with success in these events than raw attributes. Here are some alternatives that try to include how the game engine "sees" technique. Shotput: Simple ranged attack + Str modifier Javelin: Same? Should be a tad different. Maybe: Straight up ranged attack? Add Dex modifier instead? Racing: I wouldn't include Con until you get past the 100 meters. I wouldn't include a "mile dash" for 2 reasons. 1) NOT a dash. 2) Weirdly different distance measure, and is closer to the 5K distance than you might think (3.1K, roughly). I have no solid game mechanic ideas for this one, honestly. High Jump: Rules for height of jump are built into the Acrobatics skill. Combat using combat mechanics is pretty simple and straight-forward.
The Ikarian moved onto the stage in a simple exomis, the cloth not dyed and displaying the natural color of the wool. The cloth was draped over his right shoulder, and extended below his waistline a matter of a few inches, held against his body by a belt across that waistline. His bulbous nose protruding above his close-cropped beard got you to realize how low his head is, how short he is compared to a normal man. The top of his head might be armpit high for most men! But as little as the exomis hides, no one can miss the broad shoulders, barrel chest, or thick limbs. Most athletes display rippling muscles, but his form looks softer than expected for an athlete. "I am Kallikles, from the island of Ikaria. I have stumbled on this athletic opportunity and mean to make the best of it. I will join wrestling, stone tossing, swimming, racing, and any other event I can attend! The point is to compete, to show what we are capable of doing! Yes, there are winners, because someone is always better than the others on that day, but the point is to work hard, compete, and ensure everyone knows you were here."
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