I'll post an in character post when I know how I return.
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Zok attempts to close the difference with no one else disturbing the area, he notes that even an injured animal shouldn't run farther than they have to. Hopefully he'd be able to get one more go at finishing it off.
Smiling his pointed teeth up at Elinor, he was pretty happy with his shot. "I haven't done that in a long time. I should try to track it a bit and finish it off. I'll try to keep up with the hunters if you are going to stay here with the camp." He sneaks off to track the deer, hoping to get another shot off.
The slung stone seemed to be fairly accurate as Zok bent the creatures perceptions a bit to get it to flinch in just the right way as to be hit in a sensitive spot. He was a bit rusty though, hopefully the stone would do enough damage.
In the physical world, Zok was not what he was when it came to fighting. But in the mental sphere, Zok was excellent at what he does. Feeling the feeble psychic influence of the deer, he brushed it off like road dust. Readying his sling, he nods at Daqas at the warning and looked to see if anyone else was ready. Meat was meat after all, and his chance to have the savory taste of deer in his mouth set forth the saliva, although he was well versed enough in survival to keep it in.
After spending the afternoon trying to get the taste out of his mouth, Zok spend most of his time brooding. He'd never considered that he'd run into creatures without minds. He was decent enough with his control over insects and even the undead, but plants? He'd have to work harder. Spending most of the ride in meditation, he'd wait until evening to broach any subjects. Although there was something about this location they were in, it seemed a bit familiar maybe? Had he been here before? Perhaps. Maybe he could try a bit of self hypnosis and see if he could recall the information.
The halfling had put a taste of triffid in his mouth before he was spitting it out with gusto. [b]"These taste worse than my aunt's dry foot flakes. I don't care if I could eat this, I'd rather die."[b] Listening to Elaine talk about plants afterwards, he did pipe up at the idea that these had been driven out by something bigger. [b]"Well, if they did get pushed around, we definitely have something more to worry about. But you guys dispatched them so quickly, I'd be really surprised at whatever might give us trouble. I know there's some big stuff out there, and packs of lesser big things, but I feel like we'll be okay... well most of us anyway."[b]
Skipping Zok and Tkk-Tkkit should cover mounts. I can get 6, provided we're close enough
Chat with the mute:
A brief moment of a desire to force him to try flickered across Zok's brow before he dismissed it. You don't gain allies through force. Also a lesson learned the hard way, there's only so many second chances one gets.
He continued speaking psychically into his ear. "So, I see. I bet you're stronger because of it as well." He paused for a moment, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I couldn't do it, but would you fix it if given the opportunity?" The blonde halfling hops off of Saurah as they move in, but closes his eyes, reaching out to the new familiar minds in his vicinity. Not surprisingly, the plants do not even appear in his mindscape, so this should be easy. Speaking regularly, but in the minds of his allies, it has unusual clarity. "It's not at all weird that they move so slow, they're only plants after all." At once they all have something click, like a brick falling into place, the plants actually seem to slow down as each of them move with surprising alacrity.
Chat with the mute man, spoilered due to time dilation:
Seems he's being friendly, this Børak. Perhaps I'll show him a trick. Maybe he'll still be friendly, maybe not. But I don't really have anything to hide. Zok focused his eyes on his traveling companion. His fierce gaze seems to transcend the physical dimension as the distance between their minds vanishes away like water in the sand.
The words the halfling spoke broke upon his companions ear like a whisper in a tomb. "When I was young, I thought myself invincible. This scar taught me different. But it did unlock something in my mind. I've just connected us for a moment. I am not reading your mind right now, but I can hear you, even you, if you whisper back to me.
Zok stands upon the back of the dinosaur, the halfling shades his eyes with his small hand and squints hard into the area the others are concerned about. "If we don't have to fight, I'm all right with that. My only question is about how they might taste." With that, Zok readies his sling and loads a stone. At this range, he might be able to get off a hit or two. He looks up to Elaine "I'm best at mid to close range, perhaps about six of your steps I'd wager. I can also help others from there if we get into a melee. "
After helping load, which he was not too bad at despite his difference in size, he was able to still take care of things about as well as some of the human laborers, Zok took Elaine up on her offer to ride the dinosaur. As the sun rose over the bleak landscape, Zok wondered a bit about the legend of the blue and green paradise. Everyone had their own theory, but Zok had his own too. It took a while to figure out, and he did it while in prison. If everyone fought over what they had, they had nothing but death and disease. But if everyone worked to better themselves without exploiting each other, they were meager, but most everyone had enough. And he'd done both. He knew that fighting over scraps wasn't that important. Making something good was. Perhaps he'd invest his coin into building something good, seeing if he could show what he'd learned at a grander scale, but he'd need allies, friends in high places, and maybe even make a few deals to make something happen. Perhaps he could make some contacts here too, but there was no need to rush. This journey would take some time. He did have to watch out for an insistent Saurah whenever they'd stop, wanting more scratches, but he didn't mind. It was a mutual thing, and it would be good to foster good will. He looked deeply into the lizard's eyes and spoke to it gently. "You are strong, and resilient. When the weak try to harm you, all they will get is a taste of your resolve."
Zok nodded in approval. This was a good crew. Seemingly competent, although time would tell. Being introduced to the ankylosaur seemed a little more formal than he was used to dealing with animals, butthis thing, solid enough for a giant's mount would certainly help encourage some to leave the caravan alone, He gave a short scratching to the area around the ear pits, "Thanks for the lift." Zok didn't know the sign language of the Mul, but seeing a five and a half corrected to a six along with a self confident smirk was enough to know that a joke was made at his expense. He smiled too, displaying his pointed teeth. When he was a younger boy, he'd have responded with an immediate display of his worth. But he was no longer a boy. "Good thing we don't need arithmetic to be good scouts." he responded jovially. "Although if we come upon some treasure we should have someone else split it into parts."
Post was eaten as i did it on my phone. Hopefully this on will work. I will repost in the morning. Edit: Wasn't eaten, my phone is just slow. I'm ready, playing a squishy guy will be fun, always a good chance of death, but that's the fun of a setting like this
Okay, Stat block is done, all proper decisions made (The two spell lists were the worst part), I'll sort equipment tomorrow, as it's dinnertime with a full evening. So, minor magical equipment is available, at half WBL, This should be fine.
"I haven't been there since perhaps before you were born." Zok answered, being somewhat cagey about where he'd been. "It's been a long time since I've participated in their communal efforts." He stated pointedly, hoping others would get the idea. He was reasonably good at getting into people's good graces, and it had been quite some time since he'd tasted human flesh. Although, not as long as he would have hoped. Survival was difficult in the prison pits, and many of those within did things they wouldn't have if it weren't necessary. He patted a full pack he'd brought with him, curling up the corner of his mouth in a winning smirk, since he didn't really want to show off his filed, pointed teeth. "Your man who hired me told me what to bring, so I shouldn't have any needs."
Late? Zok admonished himself. Having been fortunate enough to find employ, especially one that involved traveling, it didn't make a good impression to show up late to the gathering. Sneaking in and pretending he was there the whole time seemed a better option. After all, introductions were still taking place, and one only had to be observant to pick up names along the way. He had learned to be observant, it was a painful lesson.
"I am also ready. Noted the halfling who up until a moment ago was completely unnoticed by everyone in the group (probably). Wearing leather armor that had a light tan look, and his sandy blonde hair seemed to blend into the dry surroundings. "I look forward to working with you. From the looks of things, we're as prepared as we could be for the unexpected." Holding his hands up to display no weapons of harm, his face told a story of a life of pain and survival, with a scar on his forehead, and numerous old battle wounds crossing his bare arms. "You man call me Zok, if you wish."
Sorry everyone, I thought I wouldn't make it because my statblock wasn't done, I'll be posting shortly. Looking forward to working with all of you.
Having our own kind of business would be pretty sweet. Downtime rules would have to be reworked a bit though if we were to follow them some, I suppose. Or maybe not. Zok could be underground and black market contacts, info gathering and the like. He'd definitely be into looking into the magic of the world, what's possible and where we go from here.
So Zok was originally a Fighter, but I'm thinking about a new direction for him. His original concept was that he was a bit of a terror, raiding villages for "food" and got captured instead of killed. Instead of immediate escape, I think he should serve his whole sentence, 10 to 25 years. This might mean he'd be middle aged or old, but that would be up to you if you want to play with those rules. He would have spent a few years in the stocks, only kept alive by the kindness of strangers, mostly halflings, but not all, which would puzzle him greatly. Eventually he would begin to focus on other things than fighting, especially since he could barely move. Mostly self trained, he would use his mind to affect others and using psychosomatic techniques to survive or even somewhat thrive in the hostile environment. He'd come out of the prison a new man, with a minor reputation of infamy, but older and wiser. I'd like to take him into mesmerist/sorcerer with the psychic bloodline. I'd actually like him to be loathe to kill, going with almost exclusively non flashy spells. Illusion and enchantment, with perhaps a smattering of transmutation, which I would flavor as a mixture of the two, sticking to spells that could be explained by this flavor. Anyway, those are my thoughts. Also, I noticed that Athasian hakflings usually have a bonus to Wis instead of Cha, and since my character would be Cha based, of course I would like to go with the Cha bonus instead, but its not necessary.
Dotting and dicing.
This is an old Athasian Halfling alt, I might updated him for this game. Love playing me some Athasian Halflings...
The halfling trudges into the cave after the rest of the crew had been there for a few seconds. He wasn't really winded, he just knew how the lot of them were just a bit faster with their long legs. Hopefully no one would comment on it. He took a look around the cave and then took a quick look at his own wounds. A good night's rest would help, but he didn't know how long some of the deep punctures would take to heal, but he wasn't going asking either. After a suitable search of the cave to make sure they wouldn't be surprised, he panned the large items and pocketed the coins.
Zok feels the thorns pierce his flesh and does what he can to wriggle free. Being small is sometimes a boon to escape the clutches of larger creatures, and this was no exception. He saw the half giant helping to distract the creature and tried to use the opening to his advantage.
I'm sorry I wasn't able to check in yesterday, I'm afraid that I'm going to have trouble posting for about 10 days. I got an opportunity to speak at a conference at a camp in the back woods and not only do I have to prepare seven hours of presentations but do my regular two jobs on top of it all. My prep time is anytime I'm awake, and although this is a great opportunity for my career, it really is turning me into a intermittent poster for the time being. I do apologize for the inconvenience, and I understand if you want to drop the character.
Zok wakes up and prepares for the night's march in the same sullen way as he did before. He didn't really know what the good was in going where they were going, but he knew that survival on his own right now wasn't a good idea.
"Remind me not to ask you lot to hide again, unless I'm trying to find you that is. At least we don't have to worry about hunting today." Zok said this with a swagger, or perhaps a stagger, his wounds were rather deep, and he looked pale even in the double moonlight. After addressing his companions he went to work cleaning, gutting and butchering the lizards, getting himself rather splattered with blood. After he was done, he packed away the meat for cooking later and used sand to scrub the blood off of his exposed skin.
Zok dodges the claws and does a pirouette, diving back in with a artful slash. He lets out a mocking laugh in the midst of his maneuver, believing he has his opponent on the ropes.
Zok takes the hit, but howls back at the lizard. Squinting in the darkness he makes a good solid hit back on the creature in front of him.
Zok bursts out of the sand and runs up on the lead lizard, hopefully catching it off guard. But since his companions cannot hide, he finds himself fighting a ready creature. I'll have to compensate for that in my further plans. They sure don't fight like halflings...
"Good idea. Let's set ourselves up in a semicircle around the body and attack when they come up to sniff it. Hide yourselves as best you can." He says, looking at Raun. But there was a reasonable boulder nearby that she could crouch behind. Zok does what he said he would do earlier and takes himself about twenty feet beyond the body and buries himself in a light coating of sand, using his sandy blonde bangs to shield his eyes and waits for them to come.
Zok agrees with the others. "Yeah, an ambush is best. Perhaps a display of strength will frighten them off. Perhaps we can shuffle around in one area to confuse our scent and hide under the sand. If we focus on the lead one, the rest of them may scatter. If not, then we will just have to go from there. Anyone fight one of these before? Any tactics would be useful to know."
I agree with the other fellows. It was good and your map was adequate for what we needed, I've certainly worked with much worse. Also, since Zok is in the front, I'm going to let others work out the details before I get in on the action.
Having adjusted the grips on his new weapons, and noting the good quality of the bone Kukri, he stowed his gear and gnawed on some salted human flesh as he watched the rest of his crew with wary eyes. Nearly convinced they were benign for the time being, he managed to gain a napping posture which looked awkward and uncomfortable. Upon waking he prepared for the night's journey with a view to be inconspicuous. He kept ahead of the group, especially the half-giant's thundering feet and kept quiet, enjoying the light of the moons.
Yeah, I was hoping we could use survival to find shelter for the rest of the day. That was my plan, sorry if I wasn't more specific.
The halfling shielded his eyes from the midday sun. "Then I suppose we should find some shelter. That I think I can help with. Avoiding fights would be best, I agree. Hopefully what we find isn't occupied yet." If worse comes to worse, the water would stretch farther, he thought, but kept it to himself. The less he talked the farther the water would stretch as well. He would let his actions speak.
Zok looks all around, but not seeing one thing that he recognized. He sighed. He had figured they had gone far, but he didn't realize just how far he was from home. And should he trust his fellows if they weren't halfings? They seemed to be of a decent sort, at least they weren't beholding to the sorcerer-king. "I'll go with you all until I can find a way back to my village. We are more likely to survive that way. Does anyone know where we are or where to go from here?"
"The elves near my home village charge half what you are asking. A more reasonable price is somewhere around there. Perhaps we should get on our way before they talk us out of all of their spoils." Zok also goes over to the Kreen and pat's him on one of his arms. "You either helped me out or kept me from doing my best. I'm not sure yet. I'll keep my eye on you."
Amidst the negotiations, Zok gathers what spoils he can, taking particular note of the bone Kukri. Hopefully, with a little modification it could serve him well. He still felt a bit woozy from his blow to the head, but he could manage to scavenge what he could before they left.
Seeing stars and wondering what sort of divine power this being held before him, Zok shakes his head and fights through the wounds. He takes a stab at the Templar's belly, at least the one on the right. Unfortunately, that one wasn't correct and he misses wide.
The halflings wounds close up noticably on the halfling as he maneuvers between the cages. He hasn't been able to cut the agile templar in front of him yet, but he still had some stamina left, however he had begun to question his ability and it was manifesting in his swing. Perhaps it was his dehydration or this accursed weapon...
Zok curses the failing weapon. He longed for the metal scimitar he had so long fought with. It was an exceptional weapon of high quality, and now it was likely sitting in some kings treasure hoard, not biting and bleeding like it should be. When he was unarmed, it was easy for the templar to damage him, although the would was not terribly deep, it might slow him down when it was important not to do such a thing. He drew his backup blade and made a stab with it, hoping it would hold together.
Zok takes another swing at the Templar, but the large dagger is hard to handle and he is unable to connect.
Zok readies his weapon, and waxes philosophical to anger the templar. "How big are your hands, might you grasp a river?" He waves his small knife in front of him menacingly, but it seems that since he has food already, he isn't as hungry for blood as before.
Zok bellows out toward the voice. "Us slaves have taken the hold. We have no quarrel with you, and burning all these nice things would not enrich anyone. You can have the cargo if you let us take some meager supplies out to the wastes. It's either that or you get to find out why they locked us up in the first place." He takes his previous spot at the bottom of the stairs, but keeping the other doors in mind for escape if need be.
He stands up and addresses the conversation at hand. "I'm all for letting them battle it out, but we shouldn't wait here. This is where the raiders are coming after all. The fight won't be done until they get what they can from here. Shall we make our escape? Do we have what we need?
Zok cares not for any crystal or stinky crossbow. A good blade and a good meal is all he needs.
Zok set about cutting up the corpses and taking some meat for himself. He knew the others might be more picky, and so he didn't bother asking them but just set about his work. Too much blood would make him sick to his stomach, it only did in a pinch if there were no water available. He didn't think they would have good opportunity for a fire, so he cut the meat into strips that he could dry in the sun for jerky. After he finished he was spattered in blood, which a good dust bath could take care of without too much fuss. After he stowed the meat in his makeshift sack, he stuck another dagger in his loincloth, thinking a spare would be good if the first one broke. He also grabbed a few handfuls of salt and got ready to go.
Zok takes his stab at the guard in front of him, feinting to the left and hitting him in the gut from the other side. After another gout of blood he shouted, "You should have brought more men, It took more than a dozen to capture me last time."
Yeah, I used the sizing rules to impose a -2 penalty since the dagger was made for medium size. That's why I put in the -3. I thought it would be better to do it than not. If you don't want me to do that, then I'm cool with waiving the penalty.
Zok smiles at the bumbling guard and licks his pointed teeth. He cackles with the thrill of combat, but gets a bit distempered by the attack on his mind. He shook it off with the vision quest he received and as a predator he fell upon his prey in front of him. As the awkward blade in his hand bit deep, Zok licked the blood with his thirsty mouth and his eyes gained a victorious gleam. "Tonight I will dine well!"
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