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890020 No. 890020 ID: 2007b6

http://tgchan.org/wiki/Please_do_not_Take_these_Organs
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4587981


You all met in a tavern in some no-name logging town out on the frontier. Scruffy prospectors, scheming merchants, disgraced minor nobles, and deranged veterans from thousands of miles away converged on rumors of a ruined fortress from the Old Empire and the priceless treasures within. Seemed like a great way to get rich, make a name for yourself, or at least keep busy while avoiding the big cities for whatever reason. Things went wrong. Now you're lost, with barely any supplies. Getting out alive won't be easy. Might still score some wealth and power on the way, though.

Pick a class (hedge witch, rich bastard, soldier, or townie), and a specialty within that class. A hedge witch specialized in healing can resurrect the dead, if all the key giblets are in place, but after they start to go rancid it's like pushing an avalanche back uphill.
Pick a higher ambition (compassion, fame, honor, wealth, rule the world, etc.), and a lower ambition (fetish).
Pick either a phobia, a concealable mutation/parasite, or a supernatural vulnerability - or all three plus an innate power.
For example, an elf could have a phobia of disfigurement (an un-pretty elf is called an orc), pointed ears providing acute senses but vulnerable to overstimulation, and the power to balance effortlessly on any solid surface, no matter how narrow or fragile. An adventuring vampire could have a phobia of holy powers, concealable fangs to heal by drinking blood, vulnerability to immersion in running water, and the power to transform into mist. A corrupted princess could have a phobia of slime, vagina swarming with ravenous centipedes, supernatural incompetence at stealth (due to perfume, sparkles, and ghostly theme music), and the power to channel magical energy blasts through jewelry, although the actual jewelry is sold separately.
Obviously, you can't have any power that would make escape trivial... but since the surrounding rock is effectively sealed airtight, and twisted geomancy interferes with scrying or teleportation across different dungeon levels, that doesn't rule out much.

Everybody starts with travel clothes including boots, gloves, a hooded cloak, knife, flint for sparking, and food and water for a day.
Pick up to seven additional pieces of equipment, carried on the left hip, right hip, left shoulder, right shoulder, chest/neck, top of head, and hidden somewhere uncomfortable. Armor only protects the part of the body you're wearing it on. Concealed armor is only useful against nut shots, garrotes, and similar precision attacks to areas covered by clothing.
Equipment options:
arrows (specify bow or crossbow; 20 for a hip slot, 12 for a shoulder slot)
axe
big hammer (requires a hip or shoulder slot)
blanket
block of soap
boiled leather armor (on shoulder or hip, upgrades corresponding glove or boot with vicious spikes)
bow (requires a hip or shoulder slot)
bronze statuette (dildo-sized; specify a saint, demon, etc.)
candles (longest-lasting but weakest light source)
canvas (hang it up for a tent, throw some leaves on it to conceal a pit, add a sail to a small boat, etc.)
chain armor (on shoulder or hip, upgrades corresponding glove or boot with sturdy scales)
chalk
clean cloth, hooked needles, & thread (fishing, first aid, etc.)
crossbow
coin purse (simplify trade and bribery, distract intelligent monsters)
dried bread (one human's food for a week, or ten days for a soldier, improvised weapon or tool)
dried fruit (one human's food for a week, sugar buzz, distract slimy monsters)
dried meat (one human's food for a week, or two weeks for a soldier, distract toothy monsters)
feathers, penknife, lots of parchment & ink (for mapping)
fishing net/hammock
iron spikes (jam doors and traps, add handholds to walls, distract rusty monsters)
iron statuette (dildo-sized; specify a saint, demon, etc.)
jade amulet (rumored to have some mystical protective value, certainly looks pretty)
jug of fortified wine (disinfect wounds, or drink to postpone loss of sanity)
jug of oil (enough for a dozen lantern refills, or one big slippery mess)
jug of water (one human's drinking water for two days, quench a small fire, etc.)
kindling (feed a small cooking fire for 6 hours, or get a big bonfire started if you can find some heavier logs)
knives (in a bandolier if carried openly)
lantern (burns for 6 hours on internal supply of oil)
lead bullets & sling
manacles (includes padlock, key, and about four yards of heavy chain rated for nearly two tons)
mining pick
plate armor (only available for head or hidden slot, unless you're a rich bastard)
rope (ten yards per slot, 3/4" thick, rated for 1100 lb or forty yards, 3/8" thick, rated for 300 lb)
shovel
spear (requires a shoulder slot)
tools for lockpicking and field surgery
wooden shield (requires a shoulder slot)
wooden statuette (dildo-sized; specify a saint, demon, etc.)

Hedge witches can also take consumable magic items: Brassfruit Balm (for cuts & burns), Cinnamon Incense (smell makes demons sleepy & suggestible), Dragonweed (for ingested poison & rune-borne curses), Garlic Vinegar (disinfectant, repels parasites), Greekfire (burns ferociously on contact with air), Salamander Salve (knead to produce heat without fire), Wolfsbane (for blood-borne curses), Dehydrated Wall (each handful of powder poured out onto a lake congeals into ten square feet of inch-thick crystalline bridge or bulkhead), or invent your own. One slot per type, but that represents several applications and knowledge of how to prepare more.
Rich bastards get better-quality versions of most equipment, and also one seriously expensive thing, such as a master-quality sword (requires shoulder or hip slot), knife made of all-penetrating starmetal, jug full of honey, slab of salt, pocket-watch, telescope, or minor permanent magic item.
Soldiers don't have any extra equipment options, but make more efficient use of weapons, ammo, armor, and food, and are generally tougher.
Townies can take books (anything from 'cooking for beginners' to the Necronomicon), drugs, or poisons. Again, one slot per type gets you several doses and familiarity with the production process.

New players, or new characters for players whose current character has been incapacitated, can join in at almost any time; adventurers wander into the ruins and get lost on a daily basis, it's plausible enough they could encounter each other.
Limit one character per player to start. I'll explain further mechanics as we go, but for now, any nontrivial action should be accompanied by a 3d6 roll. That means you should type "dice 3d6" without the quotes, in the e-mail field, not the subject field. No initial space, just a single space between the word and the numbers. No capitalization. If you're on a phone, you might need to disable autocorrect to avoid accidentally capitalizing the first letter.
Expand all images
>>
No. 890042 ID: 094652

Name: Ivori of House (Shinseina) Kaigijitsu Goodhall
Race: Huldra (Kitsune template)
Class: Townie
Higher Ambition: Honor
Lower Ambition: Prankster
Specialization: Ninja Smoke Knight
Phobia: Gymnophobia (especially around her back)
Parasite: colony of Alpluachra-variant parasites located in the throat.
Vulnerability: Pure Salt has the effect of weapons-grade acid on her skin (parasites are also weak to salt)
Innate Power: Can cast superior version of Mind Control on any target that currently has one of her parasites in their digestive system. Only one target can be controlled at any time, but this spell has the same costs and casting limitations of a 0th-level medium-ranged spell.

Left Hip:Arrows
Right Hip:Comprehensive Herb, Poison, and Treatment Encyclopedia
Left Shoulder:Bow
Right Shoulder: Rope
Neck: Ebony Wooden Carving of Unknown Diety, contains hidden vial of Debilitating Non-Lethal Poison
Top of head - Shinobi Hood Blanket
Somewhere uncomfortable: Tools for Lockpicking and Surgery

Backstory in quest discussion
>>
No. 890093 ID: 3583d1

Name: Erik Gunnarsson
Race: Human
Class: Soldier
Higher Ambition: Honor
Lower Ambition: Drunkard
Specialization: Berserker
Phobia: Catagelophobia, afraid of being mocked and ridiculed

Right Hip: Battle-Axe
Left Hip: Coin purse
Left Shoulder: Wooden Shield
Right Shoulder: Chain Armor
Neck: Amulet
Head: Iron Helm
Somewhere Uncomfortable: nothing

Hope I did this right.
>>
No. 890177 ID: add037

Name: Mizer
Class: Rich Bastard
High / Low Ambition: Become richer bastard / mushy romance
Specialty: Thief
Mutation: Man-bat. Wings built into arms
Phobia: Dragons
Vulnerability: Doesn't eat food, only drinks blood of mammals
Power: Echolocation

left hip: shovel
right hip: tools for lockpicking, safe cracking, etc.
left shoulder: magitech thermal lance (expensive item)
right shoulder: manacles
chest/neck: jug of water
top of head: feathers, ink, parchment
somewhere uncomfortable: iron spikes, shims, other hidden tinkery stuff

Mizer is a bat who steals things. Never carries a weapon
>>
No. 890192 ID: 2007b6

>>890093
Approved.
>>890042
Pre-approved, apart from clarification that her mind control power is not, strictly speaking, a spell.
>>890177
>Never carries a weapon
>left shoulder: magitech thermal lance
It would seem Mizer has a somewhat narrow, or at least eccentric, definition of "weapon." The lance weighs forty pounds, plus another twenty for the backpack power supply, far too much to carry while flying. It's good for about two and a half hours of continuous operation, dealing about 8d6 damage per second and ripping through even magical fire resistance about as easily as starmetal does through mundane DR. Once the battery is drained, you need to either arrange for it to be struck by lightning - and just one bolt won't necessarily be enough for a full charge, not unless you catch it very carefully - or, as a slower but safer option, open it up and do some exotic alchemy to recharge directly.
>Phobia: Dragons
Safer in an immediate tactical sense, anyway. High-energy-density alchemy is insanely illegal anywhere the Drakocracy can reach.

Might want to swap out the writing kit for a helmet that incorporates smoked-glass safety goggles, maybe shuffle things around, but otherwise looks good.
>Power: Echolocation
You're also the first person who remembered to bring anything remotely comparable to a light source, so we can begin!

Room you're in is thirty feet wide, sixty feet long, and the arched ceiling averages fifteen feet high. You entered through a 10' wide vertical-pivot stone door in the center of one of the shorter walls. There's a throne carved from some denser sort of rock, nearly as wide as the door and proportionately high, centered at the far end of the room. Two more doors flanking it, and bas relief carved into the wall between them. Hard to make out details at this distance, but it seems to be generally curved and lumpy, maybe a depiction of a bodybuilder posing or a Mithraic tauroctony. Only other significant feature apparent by echolocation is a pair of alcoves hidden on the far side of those support pillars at the midpoint of the longer walls.
>>
No. 890199 ID: c66305

>>890192
(Are we all with Mizer or are we just starting out with him and the rest of us will be able to come in later?)
>>
No. 890204 ID: 2007b6

>>890199
All three of you (and possibly other characters who haven't finished being created yet) are there, but will face penalties due to fumbling around in the dark.
>>
No. 890205 ID: c66305

>>890204
Which of the noticeable things from the echolocation is closest? Also, is there anything on the ground we might be able to salvage into a torch?
>>
No. 890208 ID: d22dc0

rolled 1, 5, 2 = 8

Name:Lizzy the Lizard Wizard
Class: Hedge Mage
High / Low Ambition: Master the elements/collect and breed delicious bugs
Specialty: Golemancy
Mutation: Anthropomorphic Leopard Gecko, energy storing tail included.
Phobia: nyctophobia (she's afraid of the dark)
Vulnerability: Salt
Innate Power: Set Things on Grass- hurts just as much as being set on fire, but actual fire extinguishes it and fresh water or loamy dirt makes it worse. When something made of meat gets grassified to death, 1d4 minutes later she gets a yellow-musk-creeper-style zombie minion.

Right Hip: Kindling
Left Hip: Jug of Wine
Left Shoulder: Canvas, fashioned into a wedding train-esque cape given her relatively small stature
Right Shoulder: Candles, shaped like waxy millipedes crawling around on her.
Neck/Chest: Dried bugs Meat, mixed with ghee and other additives to create a crumbly, greasy trail mix.
Head: A consumable magic light source, stylized to resemble a lightning bug. Striking it activates it, and the casing allows it to be stuck to things easily and covered if needed. Pinned to a cool pointed hat is preferable.
Somewhere Uncomfortable: Coin Purse

Lizzy is not sure where she came from, or how she came to be, which seems to bother a lot of things she talks to. She thinks, maybe people like her are all that way? Only, she's never found anyone else like her to ask. She was confused for a while, because she remembers very distinctly that she was supposed to "go down the well", but people seemed to think that was a bad idea, expect for the people who didn't. They all seemed to think it was a good idea! One "things went wrong" later, and it seems that maybe that position should be reconsidered.

Lizzy is going to catch her breath, have a little snack break, and take a look around. Does anyone else want a glowbug? She should have enough to pass around, if anyone wants one. That way we can all investigate on our own! Mizer, you should wear one too, just in case!

Rolling to get an active light source on as many people as possible, and for a spot check in case there's anything dangerous or worth noting lurking in the dark...
>>
No. 890209 ID: c66305

>>890208
Erik speaks up at this offer of the glow bugs.

“I will take one, Much obliged.”

He also eyes the wine on her hip but doesn’t speak up to this.
>>
No. 890212 ID: 2007b6

>>890205
Searching the floor for burnable garbage in the dark would probably involve crawling around on hands and knees, and definitely require a roll.
>>890208
>Rolling to get an active light source on as many people as possible, and for a spot check in case there's anything dangerous or worth noting lurking in the dark...
>rolled 1, 5, 2 = 8
Everyone Lizzy touches, up to five people, now has a lump of cold, slightly soggy but otherwise intangible blue-white magic stuff stuck on their gear somewhere, providing light equivalent to a torch. It'll persist until she's out of range or incapacitated for at least a minute, or needs to withdraw the magic to use for something else. Lizzy is down five FP, but that can be recovered over the course of a twenty minute snack break.

Now that there's adequate light through most of the room, you can see that thick crimson fog is pooled across the floor, a foot or two deep. It retreats from the lights when they're waved low, but not in the manner of clouds before a breeze; individual clots of the stuff almost seem to be crawling over each other like ghostly worms or cockroaches. Nothing on the floor beneath but a bit of grime and grit between the flagstones, or at least nothing within ten or fifteen feet.

The carving on the far wall depicts a hunched-over figure snarling with rage. Digitigrade legs with the hooves of a horse. Arms and torso are heavily muscled and hairless, like one of the gray dwarves. Head resembles that of a bull. In one hand the figure holds an axe artfully carved with a complex pattern of knotwork which Erik Gunnarsson instantly recognizes: his father, and his father's father, and on and on into long ago and far across the sea, have held that pattern as a symbol of their clan's origin and suffered no other to use it. How did it come to be here?
>>
No. 890215 ID: c66305

rolled 1, 6, 5 = 12

>>890212
Erik wordlessly stares at the wall and the intricate carving of the beast before him.

He recalls his family history and the story of his ancestor, Grimnar the Bloodaxe. It was a story his father told him and his brothers as children that they were descended from the blood of a great monster slayer, who earned his name after defeating a great beast and taking his axe and it sigil as his own. Erik had never took much stock in those stories but always admired them. Now though, he felt himself go cold and he could hear his fathers voice once again.

He slowly approaches the wall and examines the carving deeper attempting to find any inscriptions as to why this is here and what this might mean.

(Rolling for a search)
>>
No. 890219 ID: d22dc0

For anyone who doesn't know, lower rolls are generally better; also, we have a discussion thread, and somewhere in there is the link to the discord
>>
No. 890221 ID: 094652

rolled 3, 4, 2 = 9

>Active light source
>Ninja
Ivori is quick to reject the glowing blue fluid, but asks if Lizzy could make some kind of relatively dry glow-in-the-dark bookmark for her poison book.

Speaking of which, Ivori starts out by checking the area (especially the walls and ceiling) for anything that looks like a plant. Plants of a poisonous nature would serve well.
>>
No. 890223 ID: d22dc0

rolled 1, 3, 1 = 5

>>890221
"That sounds like a great idea! How should I do that? What's a boomerang? I don't have a poison book either, will that be a problem? Or is that part of the boomerang? Also, are you sure you don't want some light? It doesn't seem like you've got anything to see with on you! Unless you can see without light! That's nifty too! I like light better though, because makes me feel safe. Who knows what could be hiding in the dark. Well, probably someone who doesn't use light to see actually. Although maybe there's dark that even THEY can't see through? That sure sounds spooky!" Lizzy's chattering is interspersed with the crunching of bugs as she recovers some of her energy; she'll try to keep it down though, don't want to attract any unwelcome attention.

>>890215
"I like art too. I just started learning about it! I think it's kind of like a spell, only it's a different type of magic that's not real, and it makes you feel things. I wonder what the person who made this felt like? Do you think they like feeling that way? Maybe the feelings were trapped in them, and now they're trapped in the art, trying to get out, to us! Only, because they're trapped, it doesn't work like that, so we all have different feelings? Must be scary, being trapped like that. Or maybe not! I'm not art, not yet I don't think. It's a lot to try to figure out. I wonder where these doors lead? Maybe we can find a way back to the big city!"

Lizzy wants to examine the doors on either side of the throne, and maybe open one if there's no immediate reason not to. Let's listen at both first, and if it seems safe to open one at random odds'll be left and evens'll be right. Rolling a perception/search check.
>>
No. 890225 ID: d22dc0

>>890221
>bookmark
>>890223
>boomerang

Whoops. Really not sure how that happened, I legitimately thought Kome wanted a boomerang for the poison book, and I was very confused. Time for bed I guess.
>>
No. 890235 ID: add037

rolled 2, 4, 6 = 12

>thermal lance stuff
More relevantly, what kind of walls can it melt through and how fast?

>helmet that incorporates smoked-glass safety goggles
Good idea, not sure how I missed that. Hard to use a writing kit with no light anyway.

>Mizer, you should wear one too, just in case!
"Thanks Lizzy but I don't need it. I'm going to take a quick look around the room. Watch your step everybody."

>Only other significant feature apparent by echolocation is a pair of alcoves hidden on the far side of those support pillars at the midpoint of the longer walls.
Just hidden by our perspective, or actually hidden? Mizer will go get a closer look at these alcoves, keeping careful watch for traps.
>>
No. 890249 ID: 2007b6

>>890215
>examines the carving deeper attempting to find any inscriptions
>rolled 1, 6, 5 = 12
There's additional knotwork filling the negative space around the figure, an array of more common symbols roughly translated thus:

[warhorse/throne/palace/taproot of][the (adopted? illegitimate?) sons of][the bread-preparer/queen][who provided-enough-for-all of][divine light/justice/guidance]

[plundered/carried across the sea from][foreign name spelled out phonetically; carving is cracked and chipped just barely enough to render the word unguessable][slain by][the state of being driven uncontrollably before a storm][narrowly satisfactory/precisely-measured repayment][god(s) of which the wise do not speak]

[this brotherhood's][desire for][sanity/peace/warm sweet milk/a small-yet-fundamentally-unpayable debt][divine light/justice/guidance][shall be pursued/hunted until it collapses (and by implication, faces death which would be moderately shameful in and of itself, but tolerable if the pursuer makes a point of paying respects)]

There are several glaring incongruities here. The term "[narrowly satisfactory/precisely-measured repayment]" is normally only used in mercantile or petty judicial contexts, and the implication of taking an unspeakable god to small-claims court is hard to parse as anything but a bizarre, blasphemous joke. There are similar terms, "[generous/extremely-satisfactory repayment/gift between friends]" and "[hollow/inadequate-but-utterly-final repayment/'gift' between irreconcilable enemies/revenge tragedy]," either of which would fit much better in a theological or mythic context. The phonetic name is formatted like that of a city or fixed star or other stationary landmark, but "slain by" implies a living creature, and "driven before a storm" in that particular sense only applies to mobile things which lack an independent will, usually ships. Maybe whoever wrote it was trying for some artsy poetic effect, or didn't understand the language very well, or both.

Finally, the inscription seems to be saying this throne was brought from somewhere else, but that dark volcanic stone is fused right into the floor like it grew there.

>examine the doors on either side of the throne, and maybe open one if there's no immediate reason not to. Let's listen at both first, and if it seems safe to open one at random odds'll be left and evens'll be right. Rolling a perception/search check.
>rolled 1, 3, 1 = 5
Room or hallway behind the left side of the throne is about ten feet wide, with a lower ceiling. Fog in there is darker red, so thick from floor to ceiling that you can barely see the far edge of the door when it's swung wide open, and eerily silent.

>>890235
>what kind of walls can it melt through
The kind that are made of matter. Maybe magical force, too, but don't bet your life on that.
>and how fast?
It'll rip apart heavy timbers (or ice, or meat http://ctenophorae.com/post/162287161423/talk-to-me-about-magical-explosive-incendiary ) practically as fast as you can wave it around, and leave the cut surface smoldering hot if not outright bursting into flame. Opening a hole in an inch-thick iron plate, wide enough for a man to climb through without touching the edges, would take about six seconds. Doing the same to a stone wall no more than a foot thick, maybe more like twelve seconds. Might also need a good solid kick before the hole's actually open enough to use. https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2008-11-07 Mizer's adequately trained and equipped for routine maintenance on the lance, but major repairs not so much. Cleaning and generally keeping it all in good working order doesn't require a roll, unless you're in a wild hurry or facing some other significant adversity, but under any conditions less relaxed than a well-funded week in town it does need to be explicitly declared as an action. Exercise particular caution after contact with slime, or fine-grained sand, or immersion in water, or anything else along those lines.
>Just hidden by our perspective, or actually hidden? Mizer will go get a closer look at these alcoves, keeping careful watch for traps.
Just perspective. Alcoves are about six feet square, with doors at the back similar to the one you came in through, though capable of only a quarter-turn rather than full free rotation. Hard to open from this side, though, since there's no handle to pull. Has someone closed the door you came in through, or is it still partly open?
>rolled 2, 4, 6 = 12
Inch-wide gap at the top and bottom, but no apparent traps.
>>
No. 890261 ID: d22dc0

rolled 1, 3, 3 = 7

>>890249
>Has someone closed the door you came in through

No one mentioned doing so, which leads me to believe it hasn't happened.

>Fog in there is darker red, so thick from floor to ceiling that you can barely see the far edge of the door when it's swung wide open

Lizzy turns in the doorway, after having given it a good hard peer, and entreats Mizer to check if he can see anything through all that fog
"Oooh, Mizer, do you want to take a look over here? The fog's awful thick, I can't see through it! But I think maybe we want to see through it, and I think maybe you can, only it might be blurry? I'm not sure how fog works!"

Lizzy will examine the door on the right hand side, and see what's behind it if there's no obvious danger.

Rolling perception
>>
No. 890263 ID: add037

>>/questdis/123854
>>/questdis/123854
(made some inventory changes)

Name: Mizer
Class: Rich Bastard
High / Low Ambition: Become richer bastard / mushy romance
Specialty: Thief
Mutation: Man-bat. Wings built into arms
Phobia: Dragons
Vulnerability: Doesn't eat food, only drinks blood of mammals
Power: Echolocation

left hip: shovel
right hip: tools for lockpicking, safe cracking, etc.
left shoulder: magitech thermal lance (expensive item)
right shoulder: feathers, ink, parchment
chest/neck: jug of water
top of head: helmet + smoked-glass safety goggles
somewhere uncomfortable: iron spikes, shims, other hidden tinkery stuff
>>
No. 890265 ID: add037

rolled 1, 2, 6 = 9

>The kind that are made of matter.
Nice, that's a lot of them!

>Has someone closed the door you came in through, or is it still partly open?
Not in the habit of locking myself into places.

>Inch-wide gap at the top and bottom, but no apparent traps.
Can I see anything through the gap?

>"Oooh, Mizer, do you want to take a look over here? ..."
On his way across the room to Lizzy, he'll take a look at the throne and carving to see if there's anything worth chipping off. Also he'll give Erik a gentle nudge, "Figure anything out?"
>>
No. 890267 ID: 5191f1

>>890265
“It’s... hard to make out what it’s saying. Most of it is so old and some part of this inscription is hard to read. My best guess it talks about some order of peace or justice? It reads like it was a bad business deal rather than an epic battle, like they got swindled at the markets. Does anyone have any parchment? I’d like to copy some of this down if possible. What have the rest of you found? Any any way out here?”
>>
No. 890302 ID: 2007b6

>>890265
>Can I see anything through the gap?
Both alcove doors have a set of vertical iron bars holding them in place. Can't see much beyond that, other than more fog. A mirror-on-a-stick might help, and/or somehow arranging for light on the far side to be brighter than the light on this side.
>take a look at the throne and carving to see if there's anything worth chipping off
There might have been some inset gems or gold foil or something once, but if so it's been thoroughly picked over already.
>>890261
>Lizzy will examine the door on the right hand side, and see what's behind it if there's no obvious danger.
>rolled 1, 3, 3 = 7
Brushing against the throne, Lizzy notices that it's got some significant latent magic in it.

Listening at the right-hand door, there's a brief grinding or scraping sound, then nothing. Opening it up reveals a room almost entirely clear of fog, ten feet wide by sixteen feet deep with an eight-foot ceiling. There's a bright red traveller's cloak hanging from a hook near the door, dripping wet. A circular table surrounded by five well-made chairs, one of which is askew. A single black candle in a short brass stand at the exact center of the table, thin trail of smoke rising, as if it were extinguished just moments earlier. An iron-bound wooden door near the far end of the left-hand wall.
>>
No. 890315 ID: add037

rolled 4, 1, 5 = 10

>A mirror-on-a-stick might help
Seems like something I'd keep with my tools.

>"Does anyone have any parchment?"
Mizer folds up his wing and grabs his feathers and parchment with his bony digits, and holds them out to Erik.

>"What have the rest of you found?"
"Just a bunch of doors, and more of that strange fog."

>there's a brief grinding or scraping sound, then nothing.
"Looks like we've been caught. Let's hurry it up." Can Mizer get a better idea what's past that left door with echolocation?
>>
No. 890318 ID: c66305

rolled 1, 6, 6 = 13

>>890315
Heading that grinding noise and his companions warning Erik quickly traces the design and writes down the inscription. After finishing his work he tucks it away and then draws his battle axe and wooden shield ready for a fight should one be headed there way. He listens attentively, for any other signs from either the other rooms or inside this one, he also positions himself near the left side door.
>>
No. 890323 ID: 094652

rolled 3, 6, 4 = 13

Ivori checks the left door for traps, and positions herself to sneak attack anything that bursts through the door.
>>
No. 890328 ID: c0ffcd

Name: Grave, the Grave Digger (it's short for Gravid)
Class/Specialization: Soldier / Honoring the Dead
Higher Ambition/Lower Ambition: To experience a truly terrifying, mind shattering fear / Make a weapon out of space rocks
Phobia: Thunder Storms
Mutation/Parasite: Gravid is made of a thick, wooden substance that resists ignition and gives the impression of a walking tree.
Vulnerability: Loud sounds cause painful splinter
Innate Power: He can re-size any tool he wields, but it ultimately maintains the same mass, leading to comically large weapons that are not very dangerous, but frighting to those who do not know the full extent of the situation.

Left Hip: Shovel
Right Hip: Jug of Water
Left Shoulder: Mining Pick
Right Shoulder: Big Hammer
Neck/Chest: Dried Meat
Top of head: Custom made helmet with intimidating horns protruding from the forehead, and a built in eye-patch that he doesn't need.
Somewhere uncomfortable: Nothing

Gravid always wanted to leave his home village, but it was too dangerous to go without a weapon. No one would sell him one, probably because he didn't have any money, so he taught himself how to smith, and left to join the army. He never saw action, but earned his keep forging weapons for the cause. Now that the civil war is over, he decided to go dungeon delving, in hopes of finding some sort of cosmic, mind shattering horror, and seeing if he could come out triumphant on the other side.
>>
No. 890334 ID: 2007b6

>>890328
Feel like those ambitions ought to be reversed: nightmare fetishist, aspires to forge a space sword. As for that power, the more useful side of it may actually be scaling tools down, such as turning that shovel into a hyper-dense chisel. Be advised that GURPS has mechanics for calculating the precise ergonomic complications of a tool being designed for different-sized hands; one section in GURPS Low-Tech discussing surgical equipment even takes the handle's texture into account. Resized items will revert to their natural scale after no more than twenty minutes without being actively wielded.

Otherwise looks good! Jump right in.
>>
No. 890342 ID: 2007b6

>>890315
>Seems like something I'd keep with my tools.
Yep. Seems to be a hallway, continuing straight as far as you can see... which isn't very far at all, with poor light and fog.
>Can Mizer get a better idea what's past that left door with echolocation?
First thing you notice, comparing results of the initial clicks and squeaks, is that nothing big in there is moving around. Another 10' by 15' room, roughly a mirror image of the one on the other side, complete with the iron-bound door. No table, though. Right wall has nearly floor-to-ceiling cabinets or wardrobes - particularly high-quality wood and skilled assembly, hardly any nails or knotholes - which seem to be mostly empty, at least above knee height. Left side of the room has a great big bathtub or baptismal pool or koi pond or something carved into the floor, stairs leading down into it at both ends, faint signs of movement below the surface.
>>
No. 890355 ID: add037

rolled 1, 4, 3 = 8

"Think this leads to the same place as the other door. There's a pool with something swimming in it. We should probably go back the way we came. Side doors are locked, but I can get them open if we need to."

Are these doors next to the throne similar to the first one we came in through, or are they more like the ironbound doors? Can I hear any approaching footsteps?
>>
No. 890367 ID: 2007b6

>>890221
No actual plants. Found some lichen, technically a fungus, but it's almost certainly nontoxic. Light spell is successfully cast on a bookmark, feels damp but doesn't actually add moisture.
>>890323
No traps identified.
>>
No. 890369 ID: 8daf89

rolled 2, 4, 4 = 10

>reverse the ambitions
The original configuration had them flipped, but they were put that way based on my council; I figured that Cthulhu was harder to encounter than space rocks, but it’s all gravy either way.

>loud noise
>big door
>chair in disarray
>candle recently snuffed

“Maybe someone was in here and heard us and left! I bet that wardrobe would be a good place to curl up and hide! Or maybe that pool? I don’t know! Why don’t you want to explore more and find out Mizer! It seems like if someone’s here we should make introductions! Right everyone?”

Lizzy turns and looks expectantly at everyone, large hat and comically oversized robe eschew on her small salamandrine frame
>>
No. 890375 ID: 094652

rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7

>>890369
Ivori puts a finger to Lizzy's muzzle for two seconds, then slowly retracts her arm.

Ivori opens the left door, takes a good look around for threats, and scouts ahead in the shadows.
>>
No. 890380 ID: 2007b6

>>890375
>the left door
Do you mean the stone door to the left side of the throne (or behind the right shoulder of one sitting on the throne), leading to the room with the pool and cabinets and particularly dense fog? Or the iron-bound wooden door in the room with the circular table, leading to an area directly behind the throne? In the latter case, it can't be opened quickly or quietly. Seems to have been barred shut from the other side.
>>
No. 890391 ID: add037
File 153018522666.jpg - (93.04KB , 400x711 , mapo.jpg )
890391

Map so far
>>
No. 890417 ID: dcea04

>>890380
The pool door
>>
No. 890436 ID: 2007b6

>>890417
>>890375
>rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7
About four paces in, along the edge of the pool, the fog starts to dissipate - at least enough so that Ivori can see her own hand in front of her face. There's a flicker of candlelight behind a door just slightly ajar, click of hard-soled shoe against a tiled floor, rustling papers and a sudden, startled intake of breath.

Through the door, in graceful silence, Ivori pounces. Whoever it was is gone, but not far. They smell like panicked sweat and fresh figs. Past bookshelves and racks of rusted weapons, out a window, across rooftops, for what seems like an hour and a half the chase continues, never revealing more than indirect hints of the one being pursued, a red flicker of trailing cloak vanishing around a corner. Finally, shoving a heavy oak beam aside, she bursts into the room where she's sure her quarry has finally been cornered - only to see Lizzy examining a burnt-out black candle in the center of a circular table.

Looking back, the hallway to the pool room is only ten feet long and, at a glance, entirely bare and unfurnished apart from cobwebs.
>>
No. 890498 ID: 094652

Ivori lets out a quiet sigh, takes a few moments to check her pulse to see if she's winded or the exertion was also in her mind, and asks Lizzy what time it is.

If Lizzy does not respond with another gaggle of inane statements, Ivori will assume she's actually an illusion and attempt to capture.
>>
No. 890510 ID: 3583d1

rolled 4, 4, 5 = 13

Rolling perception in this room, Erik is searching for any traps or unusual occurrences besides what just went down.
>>
No. 890550 ID: 2007b6

>>890510
>>890323
It's alright to just establish "checking for traps until further notice" as part of standard procedure. Inch-by-inch minefield meticulousness means you won't be advancing very quickly, though, maybe even a foot or less per minute down a typical 10' wide corridor.
>>
No. 890554 ID: 2007b6

>>890498
Figuring out how much time has actually passed, without a clock, visible sky, or some arrangement in advance, is tricky enough to require a roll.
>>
No. 890556 ID: 7d8c5e

Name: Sothoth
Race: Shogoth (Space/Eldritch Ooze)
Class: Soldier
High Ambition: Assimilate the most powerful/useful traits
Low Ambition: (not sure?)
Phobia: Bright light and Heat
Supernatural Vulnerability: Will burn/ignite in direct sunlight.
Mutation: No solid form, made of an ooze-like material.
Power: Can manipulate own biomass to take on features of creatures that have been devoured (E.g. "The Thing").

Left Hip: Chalk
Right Hip: Dried Meat
Left Shoulder: Thick Canvas
Right Shoulder: Lead bullets and sling
Chest/Neck: Coin Purse
Top of Head: Hooded Cloak
Somewhere Uncomfortable: Iron spikes (Stored in body)
>>
No. 890558 ID: 2007b6

>>890556
That vulnerability is too debilitating outside a dungeon environment and too irrelevant inside, while the mutation needs to be something that could plausibly be concealed without resorting to suspiciously bulky clothing or supernaturally perfect disguises - yes, even if you've got easy access to such things.

If you want to slip through tight spaces and gain power by eating people, go with the example vampire set: fear of the holy, fangs, weakness to running water, and ability to transform into mist. Many other phobia/vulnerability combos are also plausible. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OurVampiresAreDifferent

If you want magical disguises, roll a Hedge Witch and take 'illusions' or something as your specialty. (Looks like you couldn't think of a class specialty for soldier? Or a lower ambition?)

If you want to be from far off, in a sinister way that most people might not notice, take a vulnerability to cold (and slightly grayish skin), an extra pair of arms flexible enough to fold up behind your back when not in use, a compulsion not to pay for anything or otherwise willingly give up money without some attempt to haggle and/or cheat (in lieu of a phobia), and the innate power to throw - or more importantly, catch and redirect - bolts of force such as those produced by the Magic Missile spell.
>>
No. 890563 ID: 7d8c5e

The specialty honestly just slipped my mind, my bad. I was thinking something along the lines of a Predator/Hunter for a specialty? Would Hedge Mage (Shapeshifter) make more sense?

The idea of the power was basically the ability to slowly reform and shapechange into copied (eaten/absorbed) organic things at will while in darkness, while being almost commoner level restricted in daylight.
When i last played a version of this character, it would ooze itself into a corpse, puppet it (rather non-convincingly mind you) , and hide in it for the day. It would have to tackle things to try stabbing them through the puppet corpse while entangled.

That being said, if you alternate ideas/alternate spin on it or if its too much, say the word and i’ll think of something else. No sweat. I’ve got other ideas too.
(Also, this is my first time using this site, so i apologize if I do anything in the wrong format.)
>>
No. 890580 ID: 2007b6

>>890563
>Would Hedge Mage (Shapeshifter) make more sense?
I could definitely work with that, yeah. Anybody who's got extensive training or practice at doing something inherently supernatural (as opposed to enhancing mundane skills with inborn magic, like say, a thief or swashbuckler who also happens to be a vampire, or developing mundane skills to the point of magical secondary functions, like a ranger or monk) probably fits the Hedge Witch class better than any of the other three. For that specific case, you'd probably start off with something along the lines of https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/d/disguise-self then learn how to apply various temporary mutations and buffs as you gain levels.
>puppet corpse
Also an option, though I'd insist on some restrictions. The previous PC named Eric G. was a necromancer, and so might be a useful point of reference: >>/questarch/765483 He could seize control of some already-animated undead, and animate the corpses of anything he or his close allies directly killed, but couldn't just raid random graves for reinforcements.

Zombie hijacking ala "Wasp of the Labyrinth Trick" might be an interesting complement to Ivori's capabilities, or it might feel like you're stepping on each others' toes thematically. I'll let you and Kome sort out the party-spotlight-balance issue between yourselves. (Did you know the game has a Discord server?)

If you've got other characters you'd be equally interested in trying out, post 'em for me to look over. Remember to fill in all the required blanks this time, though.
>>
No. 890591 ID: 094652

rolled 2, 2, 1 = 5

>>890554
>>
No. 890606 ID: 0e1337

First off, Wasp of the Labyrinth is a hell of a name. And it has definitely inspired some changes. (One of my other ideas was actually based on Hell wasps. http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/bestiary3/hellwaspSwarm.html )

Name: Wasp of the Labyrinth (called Wasp)
Race: Vespidae (Shapechanging Spacefaring Wasps)
Class: Hedge Mage (Shapeshifting)
High Ambition: Assimilate the most powerful/useful traits
Low Ambition: Mammalian flesh is particularly new and tasty to me
Phobia: Pyrophobia- Fear of fire
Supernatural Vulnerability: Becomes lethargic and quickly falls into hibernation state when exposed to direct sunlight.
Mutation: Natural form is a german shepherd sized horrific space wasp creature.
Power: Organic Mimicry- Can manipulate own biomass to take adopt traits/adaptations of creatures that have been learned and devoured. (In a fashion roughly similar to d&d 5e Alter self perhaps? https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Alter%20Self#content ).
-Can form copied basic minor traits and natural weapons (claws, stinger, tentacles, barbs, jaws, etc. at roughly dagger/shortsword strength?), complexity adding transformation time.
-With a longer bit of time, can fully mimic the physical appearance of creatures i have devoured. My size/mass stays roughly the same no matter the shape, with some room for “expansion” by hollowing out the form (E.g. mimicking a toad, would result in a rather large toad, as biomass can’t be shed. But being a large person would look normal on the outside, but hollow inside).
-Can puppet a viable corpse (useable muscles/nerves), with limited actions while doing so.
-(As i level) possibly gain access to further augmentations and ability to combine mimicked traits as I gain levels.

Left Hip: Boiled leather armor
Right Hip: Dried meat
Left Shoulder: Thick canvas
Right Shoulder: Lead bullets and sling
Chest/Neck: Coin purse
Top of Head: Hooded cloak
Somewhere Uncomfortable: Iron spikes (Stored in body)

Something more akin to this?

Ah. I was not aware there was a discord.
>>
No. 890612 ID: 5153d6

>a concealable mutation/parasite

>>890606
>Natural form is a german shepherd sized horrific space wasp creature.

Also, I’m not by any means an arbiter on this sort of thing, but in general (as I understand it) an innate power should be a single idea or a thematic grouping- shapeshifting and corpse piloting are diverging a bit, unless the shape shifting allows corpse piloting, in which case I think it can be summed up in the main body and covered without separate bullet points. Good rule of thumb is the power should be able to fit into a single, non-run on sentace, although I myself am guilty of pushing the envelop on several accounts. Excited to welcome you to the game though once you’re ready to jump in!

Link to the discord is in the dis thread, although it might be a ways back by now.
>>
No. 890613 ID: 0e1337

I definitely appreciate the advice, and i'm excited to join :) How's this, any better?

Ah, so i was kinda thinking that the combination of (concealable) wasp traits would need to take up the mutation factor? I was kind of thinking of it as a concealable "mark of the unnatural" more than anything?

Power: Organic Shapeshifting- Can manipulate own biomass to take adopt traits, natural weapons, adaptations and even the appearance of creatures that have been absorbed. Complexity=Shifting time. Using this power, you may also “pilot” a viable corpse and be considered hidden from the sun.
>>
No. 890615 ID: d22dc0

rolled 2, 6, 5 = 13

>>890436
>she bursts into the room [...] only to see Lizzy
>>890375
>Ivori puts a finger to Lizzy's muzzle for two seconds, then slowly retracts her arm.

Lizzy puts a finger to her own muzzle, then slowly puts it down, before whispering to Ivori

"Hi Ivori, it's only been a few breaths! You can tell because the candle is still smoking and also because I haven't taken that many breaths I don't think! Did you find anything fun? You should have a light, so that way we don't get separated, it's hard to see you when you run off into the fog!"

Lizzy is going to take the wet red cloak, head through the hallway, and knock on the wardrobe door three times before calling out "Hey, I think maybe this robe is yours! Is there anyone in there? I'm gonna open the door okay!"

Lizzy then opens the wardrobe door

Rolling just in case
>>
No. 890627 ID: 2007b6

>>890591
She's winded and thirsty like it really was more than an hour of vigorous athletic exertion, and the architectural layout of the environment during that chase seems like it was too clear, consistent, and detailed to have been any ordinary sort of hallucination or dream.

>>890615
Wardrobe has a couple more cloaks of similar design, but they're moldy, moth-eaten, and faded to grayish-pink. Drawers down below have some stuff that could potentially be useful for setting up ritual magic, though most of it is similarly decrepit. Ball of yarn, colored chalk, flint-edged sickle, elaborately decorated drinking vessel, assorted stones carved into smooth polyhedral shapes or flattened and inscribed with single letters, symbolic devices mostly made from copper alloys, that sort of thing. No sign of life or movement.

>>890606
Name actually comes from a power Lunar Exalts can learn.
As for the specific character, I'm liking the concept of a hive-mind insect swarm inhabiting and manipulating a corpse, but implementation needs to be fine-tuned. How about this?
Phobia: Incense and alchemical preservatives (embalmed corpses can't be animated, and are bad to even hide in; distaste extends to brine-based food preservation, though honey is fine)
Concealable mutation: corpse-like resilience, lack of most conventional life signs, wounds heal over with a mix of scallop-textured paper and dark amber resin rather than conventional scar tissue unless reinforced by magical spite (which is anti-healing for most people, but helps undead)
Supernatural vulnerability: too much heat and/or not enough moisture (including, but not limited to, direct sunlight in arid regions, or being on fire long enough for the heat to propagate in through armor) makes you shrivel up and hibernate, though unlike most insects extreme cold is less of a problem. Also, for magical purposes you count as vermin rather than a humanoid, which is most likely to be an issue for being warded away from e.g. granaries and rich people's houses.
Parasite/Innate Power: 'transform' into a flying-or-swimming swarm, leaving the mummified corpse behind with all your equipment still on it, then invade and possess other corpses. Possibly even small portions of corpses, such as a severed arm, or half a basilisk on a hook in a slaughterhouse, so long as the muscle tissue and sinews haven't rotted through or otherwise lost structural integrity. (Crippled limbs can be fixed with surgery, which you might even be able to provide internally, but that takes skill and time.) The more you spread out or lose numbers, the harder it is to think clearly, but you could eventually repopulate from a single individual, at least in theory. Crossing water's surface in swarm mode is surprisingly time-consuming: first there's surface tension to press through, then you need to spend at least a few minutes 'grooming' to shed droplets of water or bubbles of air before regaining full mobility. Can also burrow into solid ice, rotten wood, or loose sand fairly easily, cold wet clay, loam, fresh snow, or soft metals with more difficulty, fired or currently-warm clay, actual stone, green wood, or anything even lightly dusted with salt not at all except by probing for pre-existing cracks. Burrowing mostly means making wasp-sized holes, not human-sized, but given enough time you could do termite-style carpentry and vast excavations. Most obvious short-term application of that is papering over a door to conceal it and/or create an airtight seal.

For most purposes you'll need just as much food, water, and air as anyone else, right down to needing to hold your breath when swimming below the surface of water. Drowning in a river or lake usually just means losing consciousness, though; component insects will instinctively cause your current body to bloat up and (hopefully) float to the surface. Drowning in swarm mode usually means waking up in a dead fish, sometimes a marine mammal.
>>
No. 890633 ID: 4da7aa

That sounds super cool. I’d love to play that. What class would that be technically?
>>
No. 890678 ID: 2007b6

>>890633
Well, that set of p/m/v/i is effectively a racial template. In principle you could pick any class to go with it. Hedge Witch specialized in shapeshifting might be a good option for keeping up the "Weekend at Bernie's" act under scrutiny.
>>
No. 890686 ID: 094652

Embri decides to take the black candle stub and sickle. Take ten to combine rope with sickle to make a rudimentary grappling hook. The rest of the party can grab the other loot.
>>
No. 890687 ID: 2007b6

>>890686
The sickle's "blade" is a relatively thin piece of desiccated wood with inset flint flakes. If you tied it to a rope and lobbed it at the edge of a cliff, it'd probably snap in half on impact, before you even had any chance to try putting weight on it. It's a delicate ritualist's tool, not a sturdy melee weapon.

Better prospect for scrounging up a grappling hook might be disassembling doors for their iron fittings, or extracting the brackets which held that heavy beam from their surrounding masonry.
>>
No. 890696 ID: 5153d6

rolled 5, 6, 4 = 15

>>890627
Chalk! Lizzy will grab that and move on- haven’t explored the magic throne much. She’ll bring it up while she explores those other doors in the throne room, the ones bisecting the longer walls. Assuming visibility past the doorway is mostly limited by fog, she’ll open both, and pick one to explore at random. Orienting off of Strngys map, odds are the left door and evens are the right.
>>
No. 890705 ID: c66305

I heard something about weapons nearby or in this room, if so Erik will take a look at those.
>>
No. 890707 ID: d03544

rolled 4, 2, 4 = 10

>>890687
Embri tears the pantry door from its hinges and steals said hinges for spare parts. In time, she might be capable of making https://raft.gamepedia.com/Scrap_Hook

Embri notices Lizzy getting herself into trouble again, and stalks her from behind, waiting for the enemy to ambush the gabby girl.
>>
No. 890709 ID: add037

rolled 3, 1, 5 = 9

>So the carving
>>/questdis/123867
"First line seems pretty straightforward. 'Throne of the illegitimate sons of ...' some sort of sun goddess? Not sure about the second line." Roll for more hints?

>Sound of somebody running, dead end
>Ivori dashing around
>Lizzy trying to open a door right after Mizer told her it's locked
"Think this mist is messing with our heads. Let's get out of here, and then we can think about it some more." Mizer will ask Lizzy to step aside (and look away) as he tries to melt through the bars keeping that door shut. (Left door, the one Lizzy's at)
>>
No. 890713 ID: c0ffcd

Grave has wandered into the chamber by following the sounds of the party chatter and melting of steel beams.

He is unsure whether the sudden appearance of a tall tree man would startle anyone, so he waits for a good opportunity to introduce himself.

He then realizes that he's wearing an intimidating helmet and tries his best to come of as non hostile as possible.

"H-hey! You all need some help with anything?"
>>
No. 890725 ID: c66305

>>890713
Erik’s hand reflexively goes toward his axe on his belt. A walking tree is an oddity not usually seen in a tomb like dungeon, let alone one the fact it is talking.

“That depends, what brings you down here?”
>>
No. 890728 ID: c0ffcd

Grave looks at the group and sees the Human reach for the axe.

"Generally? Adventure I guess. I first came to the area with some other people. We came to the area looking for treasure and to fight monsters."

"So if any of you have seen a wolf man, I'm pretty sure he stole my gold."
>>
No. 890731 ID: c66305

>>890728
“Ain’t seen nothing like that friend, I was just hired by these folks to do the heavy lifting and fight for them. What about you same? You look as though you’ve been in a few scrapes.”
>>
No. 890741 ID: 2007b6

>>890713
When Grave pushes the entry door closed,
>>890709
the bars Mizer was about to cut retract smoothly into the floor. With help from Embri's hinge-hook (after it's been welded together - charge remaining is 2:29:45) wedged underneath, hauling an alcove door open is easy enough, but once either one pivots out of position, the other, and the way you came in, simultaneously lock.

>Roll for more hints?
Sounds like it's talking about a city destroyed by some sort of context-breaking cataclysm, in a really grating and predictable way. Maybe... somebody bound a powerful spirit to lift the whole place into the air, but then it was freed by some higher judicial-like authority and so the city crashed? Or they hired an obnoxiously literal-minded water elemental to relieve a drought, overpaid hoping for rush delivery, and got a massive flood instead? Neither of those fits exactly, but there's not enough information here to accurately reconstruct the entire story.

>>890725
>A walking tree is an oddity not usually seen in a tomb like dungeon, let alone one the fact it is talking.
Just to be clear, Gravid could pass for human with reasonable effort from a mundane disguise kit. Hair's a bit like pine needles, but naturally dark-green hair isn't actually too uncommon https://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0340.html and it could be covered with a scarf or something http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070418 Maybe do some sanding, a paint job. He'd still have lanky basketball-player proportions, look like someone with too much makeup on, and maybe want to wear gloves for handshake purposes so it's less obvious how hard and coarse that 'skin' is, but overall the look has more in common with Pinocchio or https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/e/ed/Dryad.JPG than Treebeard or Groot.
>>
No. 890772 ID: d22dc0

rolled 4, 3, 4 = 11

>>890741
Lizzy does a little celebratory whisper clap, and goes through the motions of giving Ivory and Mizer a peck on the cheek, although she probably can’t actually reach that high. She’ll then approach Grave and give him a little light, bringing the running total up to three now I believe, since Mizer and Ivory have repeatedly rebuffed her attempts to light everything up. Since Grave just came in, am I down a fatigue for lighting him up?

clapclapclapclapclap
*smooch*
shuffle shuffle
*smooch*
>>
No. 890820 ID: add037

rolled 2, 3, 5 = 10

>relieve a drought
>rush delivery
>massive flood
I feel like this is some sort of scandalous euphemism but it's still flying over my head for now. Hard to think at the moment.

>once either one pivots out of position, the other, and the way you came in, simultaneously lock.
Three doors and only one can be open at a time. Some sort of security thing?

>peck on the cheek
Mizer leans down with a big-fanged grin to let Lizzy kiss him on the cheek. We're hauling open that left door. What's on the other side?

Also we should probably figure out our marching order. "Door's open. Who wants to go first?" Propose Grave taking point, then Mizer, Lizzy, and Erik in the back with Ivori scouting ahead in the darkness (since she seems keen on doing so).
>>
No. 890853 ID: beaa0c

rolled 3, 5, 4 = 12

Ivori is willing to scout ahead, and shows the party some basic callsigns; upward-parallel arm, open palm means “sit still and shut up”, forward-arm open palm means “keep moving but quietly”, upward-closed means “get ready to ambush” and forward-closed means “ambush, try to be silent”, upward-one finger means “at ease, scout or do whatever you like” and forward-one finger means “go loud and hit em hard”.

Ivori scouts ahead in the darkness, using high ground and high beams when available.
>>
No. 890867 ID: c0ffcd

rolled 1, 2, 6 = 9

Grave takes the smooch and the go ahead to be the second through the door.

"I've heard places like these are known for easily hidden treasure. Or was it traps? Both..? Anyway, I'll keep my eyes peeled for anything down low."

Grave then proceeds to scan the area and keep an eye out for nooks, crannies, and anything that might seem out of place.
>>
No. 890900 ID: d22dc0

rolled 5, 3, 6 = 14

>>890820
>Mizer leans down with a big-fanged grin to let Lizzy kiss him on the cheek
>>890867
>Grave takes the smooch

Lizzy is positively beaming- literally, given all her glowly lights. Speaking of...

>>890853
>Ivori scouts ahead in the darkness

Can Ivory see in the darkness? She should take a light so she can see better! Maybe on something she can throw or hide, like an arrow!

Lizzy hums a little song as she takes a look at that magic throne again while everyone falls in line. Does it seem safe to sit down in?
>>
No. 890933 ID: 2007b6

rolled 29 = 29

>>890867
>>890853
>>890820
Beyond the left door there's an odd-shaped little space which seemingly exists only to give the door room to pivot through, then a hallway about eight feet high and four feet wide. After forty feet it crosses one of the 10' square hallways, perpendicular or close enough. There's a long step down going into the intersection and a corresponding step up on the far side - more of a knee-high ledge, really - but the ceiling is smooth and level.

Rolling for random encounters.

>>890900
>Does it seem safe to sit down in?
>rolled 5, 3, 6 = 14
It'll do something magical to whoever sits on it, maybe some sort of physical enhancement or transformation. Doesn't seem to be harmful.
>>
No. 890939 ID: 2007b6

>rolled 29 = 29
No threats readily visible or audible. Ivori feels/smells an unpleasant prickly sensation, though, as if some sections of mist were a spray of salty seawater rather than fresh. Oddly enough the effect seems to begin and end very abruptly, at least half a dozen distinct, cohesive regions of the stuff are moving around completely independent of ambient air currents.

Incidentally, the air in the 4' wide hallway is relatively still, only occasional turbulence without a clear overall direction, but the red fog in the perpendicular hall seems to be mostly rolling steadily along from right to left.
>>
No. 890942 ID: d22dc0

rolled 5, 1, 4 = 10

Lizzy will climb up and pop a squat in that throne! She grabs a piece of chalk and draws a little bug on the back, then leaves a candle sitting on one of the arms, lets say right hand side, and tries to light it magically.
>>
No. 890944 ID: b0249b

rolled 2, 2, 3 = 7

Ivori flips through her poison book on any references to poisons that can be powdered into a fine seafaring mist without sacrificing utility. In other words, she's trying to find out if the strange salt mist clouds are dangerous over time.
>>
No. 890967 ID: 2007b6

>>890942
Lizzy transforms into a hulking ox-headed creature much like the one depicted in that carving on the wall. All her worn or carried equipment merges into the form as soon as her butt hits the throne, replaced by a simple fur loincloth, brass circlet with something like an empty setting for a large gem on the brow, and massive battleaxe. Her mind is mostly intact, apart from boiling over with homicidal rage.
>>
No. 890976 ID: 094652

>>890967
Ivori darts up a support beam / wall as Lizzy's roar echoes through the rooms. She quickly zooms back to the throne room and peers behind the door frame, witnessing the Minotaur Queen on her throne. Ivori is quick to draw her bow, but soon realizes from the violent-yet-incessant chatter coming from her drooling muzzle that this is Lizzy.

Gathering the party (and after barring the door), Ivori quickly votes they (mostly Ivori) lure Minotaur-Lizzy through the fortress as a means of dealing with traps and guards, then interrogate one of the survivors on how to fix this.
>>
No. 890979 ID: 2007b6

>>890976
You're more than twenty yards away, distracted by research, and moving through that narrow hall in any sort of hurry would be complicated by squeezing past the line of other PCs.
>>
No. 891036 ID: c0ffcd

rolled 5, 1, 5 = 11

Grave grabs his hammer and reverts it to its two hand status. He quickly darts to Ivori's side and holds his weapon in anticipation for a charge.

"If we cannot return her to normal, try and use blunt weapons or something. It'll be easier to heal a broken bone then a severed arm."

Grave then gets ready to swing for the creature's bull legs if it charges him.
>>
No. 891111 ID: 556258

Name: Green Redford
Class: Townie
Higher Ambition: Uplifting his race
Lower Ambition: Rocks
Specialization: Intrusion/Burglary
Mutation: A wildfolk, a race of insignificant creatures up to one's waist or hip tall. Generally weak and unintelligent, but Green is an outlier in the intelligence sector. They're lizard-like in appearance with grey fur, sharp-ish teeth, wolf-like head and ears, and sports semi-lifeless eyes and semi-monotonous voice.

Right Hip: Shovel
Left Hip: Fantastic Rocks (and also the mundane ones): A complete encyclopedia of rocks
Left Shoulder: Boiled Leather armor
Right Shoulder: Candles, held together by twine
Neck: A tin containing needles, a spool of thread, pins, and pieces of cloth
Head: Dried fruit
Somewhere Uncomfortable: nothing

Green is tired of how his kind is seen as less than people and more like animals. This is even compounded by their weakness and more-often-than-not cowardice. He wants it to change. He wants his kind to become strong.
>>
No. 891112 ID: d9acdc

rolled 4, 1, 3 = 8

>>890967
>Her mind is mostly intact, apart from boiling over with homicidal rage.

Then she'll try to warn away the others before going hulk on the locked door opposite to the one the party went down; let's see how strong this new body is. Is she able to vocalize okay? Or is there enough structural difference to cause issues?
>>
No. 891199 ID: add037

rolled 4, 1, 4 = 9

>>890967
Mizer holds his ground. "Is this another one of your magic tricks, Lizzy?"
>>
No. 891250 ID: 23b7bd

>>890976
>lure Minotaur-Lizzy through the fortress
>>891036
>Grave then gets ready to swing for the creature's bull legs if it charges him.
>>891199
>Mizer holds his ground.

>>890967
>Her mind is mostly intact

>>891112
OOC, I just want to clarify that Lizzy isn't actively making a move towards anyone; in fact, she's moving to hulk out on the door across the room, trying to yell at everyone to back off in case they get caught in the splash zone
>>
No. 891278 ID: 2007b6

>>891111
Sounds like a variant kobold. You're good to go.
>>891112
>going hulk on the locked door
I did specify homicidal rage, meaning you could select various suboptimal tactics, such as dropping the axe in favor of punches, kicks, a body slam, or biting, but can't actually hold back or move to withdraw while active 'enemies' are within reach. (This new brain's hard-wired definition of enemy seems to be... rather broad in scope.) Targeting inanimate objects is possible only as part of an effort to remove them as obstacles from a direct path toward an enemy, or ready them as melee or thrown weapons.
>rolled 4, 1, 3 = 8
Lizzy realizes she will be able to calm down and behave more rationally as soon as no 'enemies' are within the range of her senses. Vision for sure, hearing probably, maybe also scent. Quickest way to reduce the range of her senses would be dismissing the light spells, and she's got enough adrenaline-rush willpower at the moment to willingly do so... but staying in the dark would then require further rolls against that phobia every ten minutes.
>Is she able to vocalize okay?
>try to warn away the others before
Voice is completely different, a deep hooting roar, but the words "fuck off, get away, I'll kill you" come through coherently enough.
>>
No. 891280 ID: 556258

rolled 6, 6, 3 = 15

Green enters the room. It seems that he came in an inopportune time. Seeing a creature that's possibly magnitudes stronger than him, he is prompted to quickly dive and hide.
>>
No. 891285 ID: add037

rolled 3, 5, 6 = 14

Wish I'd spent more time solving that carving. Could damaging that throne reverse the transformation?
>>
No. 891297 ID: 23b7bd

rolled 6, 4, 4 = 14

Sounds like Orange is the nearest "enemy" then... I'm assuming everything living that I can currently perceive is counted in that category, right? Seems that inanimate objects don't count... how much can I voluntarily handicap myself within the confines of this rage? Could I say, go to the wardrobe, and use the cloaks and ritual supplies as thrown weapons? And, in this instance, do low rolls mean it's easier for me to avoid hitting people, and high rolls mean I fumble the self restraint and hurt people anyways?

Lizzy is dropping the light spell for sure. Other plans include disappearing through the locked door that, upon orange entering, should unlock briefly, or dampening her senses with that wet robe before, should hinder hearing and smell if it's all moldy.
>>
No. 891299 ID: 094652

rolled 2, 1, 6 = 9

Ivori is still unaware of the giant hulking Minotaur Queen, apparently. She will continue to scout ahead until she notices something is wrong.

Rolling perception / stealth check
>>
No. 891817 ID: 2007b6

>>891299
A slightly effeminate young man, thin but more wiry-muscular than sickly, skin smooth and translucent like polished obsidian, wearing nothing but a loincloth, seemingly materializes out of nowhere right behind Ivori. At first he's leaning in as if to kiss her neck, but upon realizing he's been noticed, he hops lightly back, clings to the flat stone wall with nothing more than the sole of one foot and the splayed fingertips of one hand. His nonchalant whistling produces weird echoes as he sways and stretches somewhat like a ballet dancer at a railing. Examining the long, sharp, well-groomed fingernails of his free hand, he idly licks between them, then glances over, as if to pretend he's only just noticed her presence. "What's that you're reading?" he asks with a toothy smile.

>>891297
That's when the magical torchlight winks out. Ivori observes that this fellow's eyes glow dull red, like the embers of a dying fire... and eight more pairs of similar eyes soon appear, encircling. Little else is visible in the dark, fog-shrouded intersection, though minotaur!Lizzy's bellowed warnings and obscenities echo clearly enough down the narrow hallway from the throne room.

>Could I say, go to the wardrobe, and use the cloaks and ritual supplies as thrown weapons?
Too far out of the way. You grab the door to that side-room the wardrobe is in, trying to tear it off it's hinges.
>rolled 6, 4, 4 = 14
Being on a vertical pivot, doesn't technically have any hinges, and what it does have turns out to be very structurally sound. Several fingers have been painfully pinched in the failed effort to obtain a heavier weapon, but are still capable of gripping that perfectly serviceable battle-axe.

>>891285
>Could damaging that throne reverse the transformation?
>rolled 3, 5, 6 = 14
Hm... maybe? There weren't any obviously magical engravings or other superficial features, though, so if that would work at all you'd probably need to smash the whole thing until it's not a throne anymore. Reducing multiple cubic yards of hard stone to gravel is not the sort of job a mortal man armed only with mundane hand tools can usually do in a span of seconds, or even minutes, or possibly at all if auditory stealth is a concern, so it'll be necessary to deal with immediate threats in some other way first.

>>891280
Mr. Redford fumbles his shovel, blade clangs against the floor, drawing the ox-headed monster's attention away from some poorly-thought-out carpentry project at the far end of the throne room. He drops it, turns and flees, straight back the way he came... but soon comes to an unexpected dead end, another pivoting door, securely locked by those iron bars running through it from above and below. His shovel is laying there, right where he left it. Couldn't possibly have gotten turned around, the hallway was dead straight.
>>
No. 891818 ID: 556258

rolled 2, 5, 3 = 10

>>891817
Green is confused. By his limited understanding of geometry and architecture, this shouldn't be possible to happen.

Green is going to attempt to look down the dead straight hallway and see if he could see himself. He is also going to peek into the room to confirm if it is indeed the same room.

((Would this not require a roll?))
>>
No. 891823 ID: 2007b6

>>891818
Green Redford doesn't seem to be facing active pursuit, and accordingly lights a candle to have a look around.
>rolled 2, 5, 3 = 10
He's got pretty good low-light vision, but even with that, the tiny flickering flame doesn't reveal much of anything more than fifteen or twenty feet away through all this eerie crimson fog.
>peek into the room
Inch-wide gaps at the top and bottom of that massive granitic slab of a door make suboptimal peepholes, even with his cheek pressed down flat against the limestone floor, and it's pitch dark in there anyway. Maybe wait until somebody speaks up, see if you can recognize their voice? Or try digging around, or disable the locking mechanism somehow? Supposedly it's possible to cut through a steel bar using nothing but a length of string, a pinch of sand, and a gentle back-and-forth motion repeated for hours upon hours, but there are six such bars, each an inch thick, and depending on how it all works they might need to be severed up above, too.
>>
No. 891826 ID: d22dc0

rolled 3, 5, 2 = 10

Alrighty, it sounds like I’ve got an audience at one door and an enemy in the room, let’s get two adventurers with one wildfolk. Trying to pick up Orange and use them as a thrown weapon against the enemies watching, all the while bellowing for them to run away and close the door behind them.
>>
No. 891834 ID: 2007b6

>>891826
Lizzy sees a flicker of candlelight and charges twenty yards down the length of the room to slam headfirst into a thick stone door. Her target is right on the other side, but the door is locked. Horns and general skull reinforcement took the worst of it; might not even have a concussion.
>Orange
Please refrain from reaching through the fourth wall to assault your fellow players. Orange is playing Green Redford, the negative-second-story man (or, for legal purposes, geologist/sapper), ethnically some sort of fuzzy semi-feral kobold.
>>
No. 891846 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 4, 6 = 16

>>891817
Ivori has only a second to wonder if they're really the stereotype, or something worse. Realizing she's been spotted, the party is dealing with a boss, and she's alone in a crowd of predators, Ivori reluctantly accepts that she's going to need to take a big risk on doing her sister's job.

Ivori attempts to submissively seduce the apparent leader on the wall into kissing her, emulating lust and weakness to lure in the target. Once the parasite is in, she'll instantly order him to call the pack off and protect her.

If this seduction fails, she'll just evade and flee screaming.
>>
No. 891851 ID: 556258

rolled 6, 5, 4 = 15

Green will pick up the shovel. He'll blow out the candle, and start following the left wall until he comes to a door.

Rolling for stealth.
>>
No. 891869 ID: be63bc

rolled 5, 2, 5 = 12

>>891834
>orange vs green

Right, sorry about that. Again.

Target just went dark and we know Lizzy can’t lift or break through the door so... does her rage subside long enough for her to panic about being in the dark?
>>
No. 891881 ID: 2007b6

>>891846
Seduction succeeds, and makeouts proceed swiftly to open-mouthed kissing, enabling easy parasite transfer; target turns out to be resistant to mind control due to undeath. Ivori is grappled by at least half a dozen cute vampire boys, her blood is drawn forth slightly faster than it can regenerate, and she loses consciousness.
>>891851
Mr. Redford follows the (possibly spatially anomalous) corridor back the way he came yet again, and stumbles across Kome's new character, whoever that turns out to be.
>>891869
>does her rage subside long enough for her to panic about being in the dark?
Yes.
>rolled 5, 2, 5 = 12
Panic is contained enough to allow for at least ten minutes of rational behavior, though that may be interrupted by another wrathful outburst if more enemies appear.
>>
No. 891887 ID: 60b1b4

Name: Host
Race: Swarmanoid
Class: Hedge Mage
Specialty: Necromancy and Corpse Puppeteering
High Ambition: Grow and Empower the swarm
Low Ambition: Experience new kinds of corpses (corpse joyriding)
Phobia: Incense, alchemical preservatives, and salt.
Supernatural Vulnerability: Being too hot or without moisture causes hibernation; Considered Vermin for magical purposes.
Mutation: Corpse-like resilience, lack of life signs, and wounds heal over with scallop textured paper and dark amber colored resin.
Power: Can leave host corpse and become a resilient, versatile insect swarm (can burrow, fly, swim, hibernate, etc).


Travel clothes including boots, gloves, a hooded cloak, knife, flint for sparking, and food and water for a day.
Left Hip: Jug of Swarm Resin (Effect similar to Brassfruit Balm)
Right Hip: Dried Fruit
Left Shoulder: Spear
Right Shoulder: Chain armor
Chest/Neck: Jug of water
Top of Head: Metal helmet
Somewhere Uncomfortable: Lockpicking and surgery tools

(Changed my name)
>>
No. 891888 ID: d22dc0

rolled 1, 4, 3 = 8

>>891881
Okay, then we're in business. Let's get a robe, soak it in water, then handicap ourself with it, to reduce her ability to see hear and smell. Going to barricade the door using the wardrobe and try to light up the room.
>>
No. 891893 ID: 2007b6

>>891888
Hearing and vision are relatively easy. Robes turn out to be unusually receptive to magical light, horns and overall head shape make it straightforward to wrap glowing cloth such that vision is thoroughly impaired without darkness being a concern. Some old, crusty beeswax from among ritual supplies, tucked into ears, leaves you functionally deaf. Smell is trickier; most options also impair ability to breathe.
>>
No. 891899 ID: 4f1cbc

rolled 3, 5, 2 = 10

Eira
Dragon-kin Soldier
Specialty: Unarmed Combat (Nonlethal)
High Ambition: Bear witness to great works of art
Low Ambition: Yandere ruination of her original
Ability: Can evoke various magic effects from figurines, statuettes, etc.
Phobia: Reflections. Something like hand mirror, highly polished blade, or calm body of water might make her nervous, but won't cause a full-on panic attack without deliberate provocation. Proper phobia applies to mirrors big and high-quality enough for scrying, or a mirrored shield, or, probably the most inconvenient, being seen by the open, intact eyes of a corpse.
Mutation: Spattering of scales, matching nails.
Vulnerability: Glass, and to a lesser extent, obsidian. Contact is uncomfortable, being cut is bad.

left hip: dried meat
right hip: bronze statuette (Nude figure embracing a comparably sized owl)
left shoulder: boiled leather armor
right shoulder: boiled leather armor
chest/neck: jade amulet Locket. Oddly, it seems to contain an image of herself. Or perhaps a sibling?
top of head: blanket
hidden somewhere uncomfortable: block of soap

Dragon-punch-girl, with Batman-esque technical pacifism (beating people broken and bloody is fine so long as she doesn't deliver a killing blow herself), on an arts and culture tour. She's an 'evil' doppleganer created by something like the effect of the Deck of Many things. Surprisingly nice otherwise!

For the ability, the object has to count as a work of art (doesn't work, or work as well, with mass produced stuff or purely utilitarian/functional objects) to be a valid focus. It's tapping into a certain kind of emotional or spiritual weight that's been invested in an object. Things she made herself don't count.
Sort of Jackie Chan Adventures, but more tourist than archeologist.

(This is the second time I meant to take iron spikes but the character evolved in such a way that I didn't).

Roll for perception or spot, what's the situation facing them when Eira and her buddy, Host, come through the door?
>>
No. 891901 ID: 094652

Changes to Sahara:
Race: Catfolk (or some other feline race)
Class: Townie
Higher Ambition: Treasure (Not wealth, but ingenious gadgets and expensive baubles)
Lower Ambition: bibliophile (loves books)
Inventory
Book: Combat Manual
Book: Medical Manual
Book: Juligunus (A famous novel, fairly expensive for a book, good reading)
Book: Stolen Wizard Tome (unusable, but might be sold for a pretty penny)
Jade Statue
Sack of Gold coins
Scimitar
Mutation: Tail dong
Vulnerability: Allergic to fire (develops hay fever symptoms around bonfires, some mild congestion around a few torches)
Phobia: Blood Rituals
Innate Power: Phase Clone - Sahara has the ability to make a clone of herself that phases through her and her belongings. However, their combined strength and speed is dependent on how much space they both occupy - they're at near full strength if Sahara opts to spontaneously 'grow' a new limb with a phase clone of the dagger, which can then stab in a different place, but if they're only connected by a single tailtip then both original and clone are slow and weakened, and can both be hit for greater damage. The clone disappears completely if no part of its body phases through any part of Sahara's body.
>>
No. 891928 ID: 2007b6

>>891899
>what's the situation facing them when Eira and her buddy, Host, come through the door?
>rolled 3, 5, 2 = 10
Door leading into the throne room is closed. Fuzzy - not just furry, but somehow blurry and indistinct - gray kobold wielding an entrenching tool and a lit candle says it's been locked from the other side or something, and there's no other way around. That candle does a remarkably thorough job of driving away low-lying fog, at least within ten or fifteen feet.

>>891901
>jade statue
You can have a jade amulet, or a statuette made of wood, iron, or bronze, but not a solid jade statuette. Also you need to specify what it's physically shaped like and/or widely accepted as symbolizing.
>scimitar
Worthwhile swords are surprisingly expensive. If you're not a rich bastard, your main starting melee weapon options are knives (everybody gets one as a basic survival tool), axe, big hammer, or spear. The fishing net, mining pick, and shovel are not strictly intended as weapons, but can be easily adapted to serve as such, and their non-military appearance may be useful in maintaining the element of surprise.
>four books
>gear locations not specified
Let's say you've got a big boxy frame backpack (occupying both shoulder and hip slots) that's been rigged up as a portable library, a fishing net/hammock messily bundled above it (the top-of-head slot) as bedroll, coinage tucked between your tits, and a jade amulet concealed somewhere.
>catfolk
How about this:
Mutation: semi-prehensile tail improves balance (though not to the point of supernatural perfection) and allows touch-range communication of complex concepts using Gesture skill http://www.prequeladventure.com/2011/06/463/ but can get caught in things or grabbed by enemies much like a trailing cloak
Vulnerability: heightened senses including high-frequency hearing with excellent directional discrimination and near-IR vision, but easily overstimulated or hypnotized, particularly by fire. Lizzy's magical lights are safe.
Phobia: rituals involving blood and/or bathing, even in a purely symbolic capacity. Dark sacrifices, life-saving surgeries, butcher shops, baptisms, necromancy, communion wine, whatever. Deliberately bathing IN actual blood (ala Countess Bathory) would be the absolute worst, but incidental exposure to battlefield gore or traversing a body of water for some purely secular purpose is usually fine. Combing/scraping, licking, ecstatic dancing while naked in the rain, or meditating in direct sunlight (preferably with quiet, improvisational music in the background), are the only tolerable ways to become clean.
Innate Power: Claws. Looks like normal elvenoid fingers, grips cliffsides like best mundane climbing gear, rends wood and flesh like a chainsaw, but quietly.
>>
No. 891943 ID: add037

rolled 5, 1, 6 = 12

>Trapped between a bunch of vampires and a minotaur
>Chaos
Well, think the only thing to do now is go back inside the throne room, close the door, and try to sneak over to the door on the other side of the room. Quiet as possible.
>>
No. 891944 ID: add037

>>891943
I'll gently grab Grave and Erik to try to lead them through the darkness too
>>
No. 891950 ID: 2007b6

Green, Eira, and Sahara watch that other guy (who goes by 'host' or 'legion' or something, won't give a straight answer about his real name, and seems to have a blank, slack-jawed facial expression whenever he's not making a conscious effort to be sociable) send a palm-sized swarm of insects over the top of the door. Moments later, lock clicks open, allowing them to meet up with Mizer, Grave, and Erik.
>>
No. 891951 ID: add037

rolled 6, 3, 4 = 13

>Green, Eira, and Sahara
>Eira
>Dragon-kin Soldier
Rolling that phobia
>>
No. 891955 ID: 60b1b4

(Apologies, didn't realize my computer had crapped out)
Host extends a hand to recollect the dispersed insects back up his sleeve, while factually and indifferently stating "Entry has been granted."
>>
No. 891964 ID: 2007b6

rolled 6, 5, 1 + 1 = 13

>>891951
Failure by one, rolling for freakout severity.
>>
No. 892061 ID: 2007b6

>>891964
Mizer gains a quirk-level delusion, as discussed in the Discord channel.

What's everyone else doing?
>>
No. 892079 ID: eec9f3

Host, seeing these new entities appear beyond the door, quickly leaps back, levels the spear he carries and firmly states “Identify.”, while assessing their wild eyed expressions (I assume.), all the while seeming to... hum slightly?
>>
No. 892081 ID: 094652

(Sahara isn't complete yet, so no rolls. But here's a snippet of her personality.)

Sahara opens the door to find a group of strangers and an angry Minotaur roaring in their general direction. And then spouting off a bunch of gibberish with as much giddy wonder as is possible for a rampaging fleshpound of hate. The wildfolk to her left is quick to demand who she is and whether or not she's an enemy. Sahara retorts that it depends - she thinks she'll be as much an enemy to the wildfolk and company, as said wildfolk and company are enemies to themselves. In other words, unless they're a suicidal death cult she's friends with all of the above. Oh, his name is Green-Red, Ford? Mister Yellowford, she nicknames him.

Sahara smiles as she walks sultrily towards the throne, drawing her knife as if it were a bouquet of mercy. Which it is, compared to her true weapons.

A little voice called Sal tells Sahara that she is challenging a rampaging Minotaur and should probably leave this adventuring party to its fate.

Sahara tells her imaginary friend to shut up.
>>
No. 892125 ID: add037

rolled 4, 2, 4 = 10

>>892079
>>892081
>Vampires
>Trying to be quiet
>Rampaging minotaur
>Ivori's gone
>Catgirl talking to herself
>Lizzy????
>Girl with dragon scales
>Red fog
>Loud guy with spear
>Hallucinations

Mizer drops his thermal lance/backpack and takes off flapping, trying to get over Host's head and away from all this insanity
>>
No. 892135 ID: f1ed72

rolled 5, 4, 6 = 15

Hmm. Entity did not comply.
Host attempts to non-lethally clock the oncoming, agitated, bat creature upside the head with the spear.
>>
No. 892140 ID: 2007b6

>>892135
-7 to hit for a called shot to the skull (from the front), plus penalties for poor visibility, means that's a critical failure. It's only possible to reach the 15' high ceiling with that spear by either jumping or awkwardly flailing it around at full extension, so in addition to missing by a (figurative) mile, Host will be off-balance for the next few seconds, wide open to any sort of counterattack.

>>892125
Even if the attack had been on-target, Mizer could have dodged with a +3 'high ground' bonus, another +4 if retreating vertically, and normal visibility problems effectively negated by active sonar.
>>
No. 892145 ID: 54e0e2

>>892081
((This just reeks of godmodding to me, but I'll let it slide for now.))

"H-hello," says Green. "Thank you for opening the door I guess," he says particularly to Host.

Green is going to approach the throne. He's going carefully place the candle and flip the lithonomicon and try to the identify the stone in which it is made of.

((Changed my name to avoid some confusion.))
>>
No. 892184 ID: da1177

rolled 5, 3, 3 = 11

>>891893
Smell was going to be something to do with a moldy robe in front of the nose, but since I didn’t post before anyone else I’ll imagine she’s still working on that as people enter the throne room. How’s the effort to barricade the door go, and how certain is Lizzy that there’s enemies in the throne room right now?
>>
No. 892201 ID: 2007b6

>>892145
>godmodding
Actions without a dice roll (or logical follow-up to a rolled action http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/38313/roleplaying-games/the-art-of-rulings-part-8-let-it-ride ) will be treated as rolling 16 (much worse than average, maybe crit fail) for trivial exercises of IC skill, or fail automatically against meaningful opposition. I reserve the right to ignore such posts entirely if I'm having any trouble at all parsing the intent behind them, as they violate a very basic quest-specific rule from the end of the OP.
>flip the lithonomicon and try to the identify the stone in which it is made of
Some sort of igneous extrusive, maybe? Doesn't look like it's from anywhere nearby. Tunnels so far have been mostly limestone, mix of clean 10' square hallways dug by someone with geomantic ambitions and way too much time on their hands, naturally-occurring caverns, and jagged-edged boreholes carved in relative haste by someone with clumsy but overwhelming force, though there's also no shortage of the compositional anomalies you'd expect to see in a heavily cursed tomb or long-standing demonic temple.
>>892184
>How’s the effort to barricade the door go,
All available furniture has been piled in front of it. Took some effort to lift even with minotaur strength, so at the very least nobody's going to be opening the door by accident.
>and how certain is Lizzy that there’s enemies in the throne room right now?
No idea one way or another! That improvised sensory-deprivation hood is working just fine. She's not exactly calm, but can relax enough to get some rest and otherwise choose actions freely.
>>
No. 892202 ID: 094652

rolled 5, 6, 5 = 16

Sahara snaps herself out of fighting a Minotaur Queen who is currently trying to keep herself calm.

Sahara attempts to safely guide the other adventurers near her position to another door, away from the potential threat. (Catfolk sight)
>>
No. 892227 ID: 4f1cbc

rolled 1, 5, 3 = 9

>>891951
>>891964
>>892061
Eira responds to Mizer's rather intense, focused and prolonged gaze, which is apparently not followed by any other perceptible reaction.

"...what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

>>892125
>>892140
Until the apparently crazy bat person jumps that legion guy and they both somehow miss each other.

"Huh. You know, I always thought driving men insane with your appearance was meant to be metaphorical."

>>892145
>Green is going to approach the throne. He's going carefully place the candle and flip the lithonomicon and try to the identify the stone in which it is made of.
Eira will follow the kobold to go get a good look at that sculpture he's kindly gone and illuminated. Art!
>>
No. 892251 ID: 2007b6

>>892202
Sahara waves everyone else on ahead, toward that alcove to the right, mumbling something about how she'll catch up as soon as she's finished checking something out. She's staring at the candle, entranced.
>>892227
>get a good look at that sculpture
Erik can provide this translation for the engravings on the wall >>890249
>>
No. 892254 ID: 094652

rolled 3, 4, 3 = 10

Sahara attempts to wrest herself from this compulsion, and NOT read a book from dim candlelight while in the company of a (violent? Sahara doesn't actually know, but she is clearly dangerous) minotaur girl with a thin piece of fabric over her head.
>>
No. 892267 ID: 2007b6

>>892254
Sahara entered the throne room only after the minotaur left. They never actually saw each other.

Assuming someone leaves through the alcove on the right, there's a 10' square hallway continuing straight for about thirty feet before hitting a T-intersection. Hallway seems to be sloping upward to the left, downward to the right - you wouldn't even notice except for some iridescent red liquid trickling along the floor. Air (and fog) in the hallway is mostly flowing in the opposite direction, uphill, and seems oddly warm.
>>
No. 892275 ID: 094652

>>892267
Sahara attempts to wrest herself from this compulsion, and NOT read a book from dim candlelight while in the company of a (violent? Sahara doesn't actually know, but she is clearly dangerous) minotaur girl with a thin piece of fabric over her head.
>>
No. 892276 ID: add037

rolled 5, 1, 1 = 7

>Assuming someone leaves through the alcove on the right
Silently and with utmost haste, though he'll pick his thermal lance back up first. Going up the left path, rolling perception to see if Mizer can detect anything with echolocation.
>>
No. 892287 ID: 54e0e2

Green finds the rock intriguing. He's going to pick up a sample and store it in his tin.

Green is going to the stone that makes the walls, and by extension, the floor, and the carving. He will also examine the stone that makes the impossible(?) hallway.
>>
No. 892299 ID: 2007b6

Sahara manages to tear herself away from the pretty lights, but will still be facing some minor distraction-related penalties while depending on fire-based illumination.

>>892287
If you want useful geological data, you're going to need a roll for the sample collection and analysis.
>>892276
Long, straight hallway. Opening to one side after sixty feet, another one on the other side after maybe another sixty, then it opens up into some wider space with deeper liquid on the floor after maybe 240 feet total.

The other direction (to the right, downhill) sounds like it turns a corner after about eighty feet. No apparent side passages or major irregularities in the walls before then, or for maybe thirty or forty feet past the corner, but after that, blocked. Wall of ice or something? Definitely not a solid stone dead end.
>>
No. 892304 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 1, 6 = 13

Sahara begins to talk to the strangers in earnest. She's a freelancer; a few mediocre fetch quests here and there to make a fair amount of money for low risks, to pay off her addiction to books and the occasional shiny *ahem*. As to what she's doing here, she finished up her last job and was heading to town, when the sunny weather suffered spontaneous schizophrenia and became sheer billowing chaos, so she fled for the nearby castle. She asks what they're here for; to find something valuable, or whack a bad guy?
>minor distraction-related penalties while depending on fire-based illumination
Aaand she learns quickly that the only team members who can use magic illumination or guide the party in total darkness are missing and/or literally having a cow, man.

Sahara asks if she can hold Eira's hand for guidance while she adjusts to using her hearing. Sahara also bets Mizer (a kiss!) that she can visualize with echolocation better than he can.

Rolling for audio perception check.
>>
No. 892307 ID: add037

rolled 1, 6, 1 = 8

>Definitely not a solid stone dead end.
Weird. Can I tell if it's moving?

>Opening to one side after sixty feet
I'll run up to that first fork (quietly) and see what's going on.

>Sahara also bets Mizer (a kiss!)
Mizer normally loves betting kisses, but he's currently putting a bit of distance between himself and the random assholes who showed up to take a swing at him. Shouldn't wander too far though, might be able to double back and figure out how to reverse what happened to Lizzy...
>>
No. 892312 ID: de1e78

rolled 6, 6, 3 = 15

Host glares at the formerly "assailing" bat person as it picks up its metal object and wanders back into the darkness of the labyrinth. "His" corpse eyes look around the surrounding landscape warily, before following the rest inside.
>>
No. 892318 ID: 54e0e2

rolled 4, 3, 6 = 13

(Rolling for sample collection and analysis.)
>>
No. 892321 ID: 2007b6

>>892307
>Can I tell if it's moving?
Might be, but probably not very fast. That corner is square rather than angled, so the strongest sound-image is the flat wall, while anything around the corner can only be glimpsed through secondary effects, close to the noise floor of random spooky dungeon machinery echoes.
>I'll run up to that first fork (quietly) and see what's going on.
Side passage is perpendicular to the long hallway for about ten yards, then turns 90 degrees to the left. Part of the trickle of iridescent liquid is coming from there, but not all of it.
>rolled 1, 6, 1 = 8
Sonar is very good at noticing some sorts of things in the dark, but not things with the same average density as their surroundings, and no well-defined edges - like, say, a bank of fog.

>>892304
>bets a kiss
How does that work, exactly? https://e-hentai.org/s/838287eacd/1247999-14
>visualize with echolocation
Mizer and Sahara work out a system by which they can share fairly detailed three-dimensional images via sound without any verbal abstraction. Sahara's ability to transmit has limits, but can be supplemented with interpretive dance.
>>
No. 892332 ID: d22dc0

>>892201
Well then, let's take this opportunity to rest and recover our strength. Maybe try some meditation, since I'm sadly sans snacks currently.
>>
No. 892662 ID: 4f1cbc

rolled 6, 2, 2 = 10

>>892251
>>get a good look at that sculpture
>Erik can provide this translation for the engravings on the wall >>890249
Well, it's not much of a leap that an underground land-locked cavern is an unusual location to find cultural artifacts of a human clan from across the sea. We're left with the interesting question of how the artist got here, or if they weren't an ancient displaced clansmate, how the artist knew the language.

>Finally, the inscription seems to be saying this throne was brought from somewhere else, but that dark volcanic stone is fused right into the floor like it grew there.
Based off the style or the composition, does the throne or the relief seem like the work of any local cultures Eira might be familiar with?

>>892304
>She asks what they're here for; to find something valuable, or whack a bad guy?
"Why, to see the sights, of course!"

>Sahara asks if she can hold Eira's hand for guidance while she adjusts to using her hearing
Eira pleasantly agrees.

It seems we have a forward scout, and a means to stay in contact with him. Shall we determine a matching order?

We actually have a bunch of soldiers, and Host's resistances make him durable, so it's a little harder than usual to pick who should be at the front and back of the column. Green and Sahara are probably the most fragile (and have out light and radio to the forward scout respectively), so they probably go in the middle. Maybe:

Mizer (scouting ahead), Erik (column front), Eira and Sahara, Green, Host, Grave (rearguard)

Open to swapping things around if people have better ideas.
>>
No. 892786 ID: add037

rolled 2, 2, 5 = 9

>another one on the other side after maybe another sixty
Keep moving to the second fork. Might be a good idea to leave some paper back with Sahara so Mizer can ping the layout back to her and she can draw it out.
>>
No. 892890 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 6, 6 = 18

>>892786
Got it. Sahara attempts to draw out the map as best she can.
>>
No. 892892 ID: 2007b6

>>892890
Draw an actual map, based on the information available, and post it as an image.
>>
No. 892911 ID: 094652
File 153161864027.png - (10.25KB , 600x500 , Sahara is not a cartographer.png )
892911

>>892892
>>
No. 892919 ID: 556258

rolled 4, 3, 6 = 13

Seeing that there's nothing too insteresting going on, Green is going to attept to take a sample of the throne and the walls.
>>
No. 893168 ID: 2007b6

>>892911
>rolled 6, 6, 6 = 18
Seems fine. In fact, Sahara is confident it's some of her best cartographic work to date.
>>892318
>>892919
Samples collected, labeled, and tucked away. You'll need some specialized alchemy for the rest of the analysis, since your portable lab was lost along with the bulk of the expedition's supplies when that manticore attacked and the pack-mules fell into the river.
>>892786
>second fork
After about twenty feet straight the side passage turns into a twistier, more natural section of cavern, spiraling upward.
>>
No. 893407 ID: 2007b6

So, what's the rest of the marching order as you're exploring that corridor?
>>892662
>Based off the style or the composition, does the throne or the relief seem like the work of any local cultures Eira might be familiar with?
The Stoneheart River valley didn't really have a native culture before the Drakocracy rolled in and started setting up frontier outposts. Some nameless horror of the Old Empire's final spasms depopulated the whole region. For a while, anyone who went in to have a look around came back out blind and vomiting blood. Then that just... stopped happening. Swamp trolls, elvenoids, harpies and mound-builders started popping up, healthy young adults speaking Low Draconic like natives but claiming they'd awoken naked and amnesiac in or near what's now called the Forest of Hope. Ten or more a day, for years and years. Many were "born" knowing one or more trade skills, carpentry or blacksmithing or leatherworking or whatever, but they were uniformly illiterate, and the closest any of them had to anything artistic or with an inherent cultural context was the occasional gourmet chef. Some of the oldest elves in Passholdt don't have belly buttons.

The figure's asymmetric pose and meticulous - almost grotesque - anatomical realism seems entirely inconsistent with elven aesthetics, whether Green or White, while the technical skill involved is beyond anything Eira's aware of the Grezneki goblins ever having produced. The Church of Orcus might be capable of such a thing, but style seems at least a little bit off-brand for them, and based on Redford's initial analysis it was carved well before they arrived. Not sure who else it could be.
>>
No. 893412 ID: d22dc0

The Lizotuar is going to rest and recover right where she is, so she won't be involved in the marching order.
>>
No. 893413 ID: 54e0e2

rolled 6, 6, 1 = 13

Green, thinking the throne is like any other chair, tries to tip it over to reveal its undersides.
>>
No. 893415 ID: 2007b6

>>893413
Green's ability to lift and shove things falls short of what would be required to flip the throne over by about two orders of magnitude.
>>
No. 893420 ID: 4f1cbc

>So, what's the rest of the marching order as you're exploring that corridor?
Eira proposes:

Mizer (scouting ahead), Erik (column front), Eira and Sahara (holding hands), Green, Host, Grave (rearguard)

That gives us a scout, 2 soldiers / sturdy people at each end, Eira going along with Sahara's request, squishier people (light source and 'radio' to the scout) in the middle, Sahara ahead of Green so she's not looking right at his light.

Unless anyone else wants to revise?
>>
No. 893437 ID: 2007b6

>>893420
Given relative masses, body lengths, and typical torso opacity, it might make sense for the kobold with the candles to ride on someone's shoulders.
>>
No. 893486 ID: add037

rolled 6, 3, 6 = 15

>twistier, more natural section of cavern, spiraling upward.
Upward is a good direction, I think. This might be the way to go. I'm curious about that area at the very end of this hallway though. I'll check it out, moving very quietly and cautiously.
>>
No. 893494 ID: 3af169

rolled 2, 4, 4 = 10

Sahara prepares her claws for combat. She'll start off with the dagger though, no sense in opening the game with an open hand...
>>
No. 893567 ID: 2007b6

rolled 53 = 53

>>893486
>rolled 6, 3, 6 = 15
>I'm curious about that area at the very end of this hallway though. I'll check it out, moving very quietly and cautiously.
Tiptoeing along 120 feet of tunnel, examining every inch for traps or secret doors as you go, while keeping sonar usage to a minimum for stealth purposes, ends up taking over an hour. Time for another random encounter check.
>>
No. 893568 ID: 2007b6

>>893567
>rolled 53 = 53
Mizer hears footsteps cautiously approaching from behind, timed to match his own steps but slowly closing the distance. There's nothing visible back there - not that that means much in near-total darkness - and more disturbingly, nothing solid enough to be revealed by a wide-angle sonar ping, other than the actual walls.

When confronted, the sound of footsteps turns and breaks into a run, straight past the side passage leading to the natural caves, turning to enter that previous one. Pursue, or ignore?
>>
No. 893578 ID: 094652

rolled 2, 3, 1 = 6

Confused by the apparent extended period of silence, Sahara rallies the others to charge! Trapfinders and shock troops first! (that includes her)
>>
No. 893634 ID: add037

rolled 3, 3, 2 = 8

>Pursue, or ignore?
Think I'll wait til it gets a good distance away, then hightail it back to the throne room. The fact that something is lurking around that sonar can't detect freaks Mizer right out. Did it sound like bootsteps, bare footfalls, claws scraping, anything specific?
>>
No. 893726 ID: 4f1cbc

>>893437
>>893578
Seems reasonable. Eira's willing to give Green a ride, and Sahara is breaking formation to charge off ahead anyways.
>>
No. 893820 ID: 54e0e2

>>893726
Green is gonna be enthusiastic about riding Eira.
>>
No. 894630 ID: 2007b6
File 153275278649.jpg - (55.10KB , 350x425 , LW348-MC-Escher-Other-World-1947.jpg )
894630

>>893634
Sounded like a swishing cape and bare footfalls... on dry grass, not wet stone.
>>893578
Sahara pursues whatever it was spooked Mizer, with a distinct sense of deja vu. She's chased this same rascal before, very recently. Left turn, up a ramp, right turn... and forty feet later the hallway abruptly opens into what seems to be a moonlit garden. Paved promenade 20' wide, with a high arched roof supported by pillars to either side, scenes of carefully groomed natural beauty through every archway.

There's something odd about the geography, though. Foreground seems consistent, but the horizon is not. Through the first arch, the sea is visible far off in the distance and down below. Through the second, mountains. Through the third, sea again, but closer and higher up. Beyond the fourth arch, it's raining, while in others the night sky was cloudless and clear. The promenade continues for hundreds of feet off to the left (there's a blank wall of natural stone about 30' to the right), open archways on both sides with pristine landscapes beyond each, no two exactly alike.
>>
No. 894634 ID: 094652

rolled 5, 1, 5 = 11

Sahara is convinced she's seeing an illusion. And if not, then there are too many ambush spots to charge in blindly this time. But the fact that she isn't dead from otherworldly traps is a good sign.

Retreat, regroup, re-approach carefully.
>>
No. 894675 ID: add037

rolled 6, 2, 4 = 12

>>894630
Can I see (echolocate) where Sahara is going during all this? Just down that hallway, or is she headed Zorth?
>>
No. 894712 ID: 2007b6

>>894634
Sahara successfully retreats and meets back up with the rest of the group.
>>894675
>Can I see (echolocate) where Sahara is going during all this?
Not during the part where she ran off around two or more corners.
>Zorth
>rolled 6, 2, 4 = 12
Pretty sure that's not a real word.

So, reviewing known options, treating hallways leading off from this side of the throne room like a branching fan, from left to right you've got
a) Natural caves, spiraling upward
b) only path with no confirmed corners, shallow water
c) go straight instead of turning at the second corner when Sahara chased something (completely unexplored)
d) moonlit mystery gardens
e) opposite direction from all the rest, wall of ice or something
>>
No. 894724 ID: 094652

>>894712
Zorth is a fictional cardinal direction, used when explaining the fifth dimension in Atomic Robo. http://8bittheater.wikia.com/wiki/Zorth Basically, Sahara did not phase shift out of existence, she did not go Zorth.

Sahara votes they explore the gardens again, but with a full party this time. There might be treasure lying around the expensive illusion / gateway room!
>>
No. 894725 ID: 4f1cbc

Eira is of the opinion the group should investigate the moonlit mystery garden.
>>
No. 894743 ID: 2007b6

>>894724
I know that, Mizer doesn't. >>/questarch/786435
>>
No. 894751 ID: 76ed15

>>894725
Green agrees somewhat to Eira. It seemed the safest to his gut.
>>
No. 894765 ID: 2007b6

>>894751
>>894725
>>894724
>explore the gardens
Alright, who's in the lead and what's your search procedure?
>>
No. 894770 ID: 094652

Sahara's plan is to take the pathways that look the most expensive. Marble floors, silk curtains, mountain roads, all that fancy crap. The closer they are to a rich district, the more treasure they can find abandoned in the open.
>>
No. 894780 ID: 76ed15

>>894765
Green is going to follow anyone everyone agrees to follow. He's going to investigate rocks on the way, as well as admire the flora.
>>
No. 894849 ID: 4f1cbc

rolled 1, 3, 2 = 6

>>894765
Same marching order as before, at least till we get to the room, I think.

>search procedure
Don't cross under any of the arches at first. See if anyone notices anything visually, or if the apparent visual inconsistencies line up with altered or alternative senses (Mizer's echolocation, whoever has the best nose, etc).

Then try poking an object through. If nothing of note happens, maybe escalate to sending on of Host's bugs through (can it get back- are they one way?).

We might be dealing with illusions, a scrying setup, doorways to another world or plane or pocket dimension.
>>
No. 894875 ID: 2007b6

>>894849
To vision, scent, and passive acoustic analysis the garden seems real. There's only a few wisps of crimson fog up around the arched ceiling.

Tactile examination, or active sonar, says the archways are solid walls with paint on plaster - despite the fact that the landscapes seem to be perfectly realistic, with full depth regardless of what angle they're viewed from, and even have small elements of motion. Ripples spread across puddles as raindrops fall, goats hop from one ledge to another on a distant cliffside.

>We might be dealing with illusions, a scrying setup, doorways to another world or plane or pocket dimension.
Yep, probably some sort of magic. Eira doesn't know enough about the nuts-and-bolts of such things to confidently speculate on which sort, but does know it's something modern illusion-artists couldn't imitate without spells of at least the 5th circle. Not as a persistent freestanding installation, anyway, and even with active direction it'd be pretty impressive. That raises the question of why they'd choose such a blandly serene subject, though, rather than something to more clearly demonstrate the mastery of craft which must have been involved.

How far are you proceeding along the roofed promenade/20' wide hall?
>>
No. 894907 ID: f3d23d

>>894875
>why they'd choose such a blandly serene subject, though, rather than something to more clearly demonstrate the mastery of craft which must have been involved.

First thought that comes to mind is case studies- like drawing still life fruit, or stools, or models, to practice the fundamentals. Could be a commissioned work where the patron has particular tastes, or maybe the goal is to downplay the skill? Maybe the artist just didn’t particularly care about the finished product, used minimum effort with that maximum skill to get a result that’s on the bland side of 5th circle masterwork art. Seems to be a lot of cultural artifacts down here with these murals and the throne/carving combo, maybe there’s a collector around.
>>
No. 894949 ID: 094652

rolled 4, 5, 1 = 10

Sahara thinks that one time, there were buildings and natural formations and other forms of art. Over time, they got replaced with ruin, overgrowth, and deathtraps with fire.

Sahara looks for clues as to what might be valuable.
>>
No. 894989 ID: 76ed15

rolled 6, 3, 6 = 15

Green walks up to the arches and examine their make. He's going to note their hardness, and texture, and other properties and qualities he notices.
>>
No. 895082 ID: 4f1cbc

rolled 4, 2, 2 = 8

>How far are you proceeding along the roofed promenade/20' wide hall?
Is there an apparent end or back wall? If not, might as well follow it until we encounter an end, or another door, or the path ends in an another archway, or encounter some other item of note.

If it's a path, it might lead somewhere, and if not at least we get witness more of the gallery of impressive illusion artwork along the way.
>>
No. 896347 ID: 2007b6

>>894949
Looks like good-quality farmland beyond the portals, or, if it's just artwork, probably worth at least one or two gold per square foot (each archway being easily a hundred square feet, times dozens of archways), but in either case that's useless without some way to actually extract the stuff. There's no readily portable loot to be found.

Near the midpoint of the promenade, one archway reveals a more fenced-in sort of garden. There's a circle of trees, no two of the same species, notably olive, pear, and pomegranate currently bearing ripe fruit. Two noble children - the only elvenoid figures who've been visible among any of the arches so far, and the most unambiguous examples of movement - are playing around a stone bench, a simple squat trilithon. One lays on her back, examining something in a hole on the underside of the bench, while the other has a toy consisting of three parts: a handle shaped like the letter P, a length of string with a chunky handle, and a T-shaped whirligig. The game consists of pulling the string to spin the axle so that the angled blades lift the whirligig into the air, then running to catch it as it descends.

Fresh food seems pretty valuable at the moment, and the threshold of that particular archway offers no resistance. Sahara, in some sort of trance, walks through the garden, then unlatches and steps through a gate at the far side. She finds herself fully conscious again standing in a cave mouth that was mostly concealed behind the circle of trees, with the tunnel ahead turning right and spiraling downward. The garden gate is still there, and moving through it results in the same fifty-foot traversal in the opposite direction, with the same sense of a not-quite lucid dream, or being paralyzed, or possessed. One of the children smiles and waves, and Sahara's deep bow of acknowledgement is entirely involuntary, delaying return to the promenade by several seconds.

>>894989
>>895082
>Is there an apparent end or back wall?
You came in through one of the archways, the promenade continues for some distance in both directions.

To the left, after about thirty feet there's a cliff face. In the course of poking around, a slab of stone turns out to be a concealed door, sliding down into the ground. Rough-hewn tunnel continues straight on behind it, with the same red mist and background stink of vinegar and rotten meat that the rest of the bloodmist labyrinth has - but not the promenade itself.

As for the far end, the path is 440' long from the cliff face to the point where the roof apparently collapsed. There's a triangular opening big enough for Green Redford to walk through with minimal risk of hitting his head, everyone else needs to crouch or crawl.

>Green walks up to the arches and examine their make.
Old Empire style pillars and arches, elaborate http://www.johnnywander.com/autobio/rankapur-2 but non-representational geometric patterns carved from a single piece without any sign of magical assistance, no black marble inlays like the orcusites use.
>>
No. 896792 ID: 4f1cbc

>You came in through one of the archways, the promenade continues for some distance in both directions.
Ah, we entered perpendicular to the promenade. I had thought we were at one end.

So our options for travel are:
(1) Left hand exit, concealed door to tunnel with more bloodmist
(2) Right hand exit, crawlspace to ???
(3) Midpoint exit, through the garden (and zone of temporary mind-control / automatic motion) in the artwork to spiral down
(4) Double back, try another route

2&3 come with some measure of risk- most of the group can't defend themselves in a crawlspace or while under the.

Before we pick a route, we could try using Mizer's echolocation to see how long the crawlspace is, or what's on the other side, or we could ask Green to scout it. Also would be interesting to see if the garden resisters (from the outside) to Mizer's echolocation at all, or what happens if we send one of Host's bugs through.

Anyone have a strong preference? Eira's interested in 3.
>>
No. 896813 ID: 54e0e2

rolled 6, 2, 2 = 10

Green approaches the fallen roof, and attempt to acquire a sample for his collection.

>>896792
Green is not too thrilled with mind control, but finds it likely safe.
>>
No. 897266 ID: add037

rolled 3, 6, 4 = 13

>>892911
"...think you owe me that kiss."

>Before we pick a route, we could try using Mizer's echolocation to see how long the crawlspace is
Rolling for this.

"We shouldn't go too far. I don't want to lose track of that throne room, or our friend Lizzy."
>>
No. 898049 ID: 2007b6

rolled 5 = 5

>>893412
Lizzy the Minotaur has been sitting still in that field-expedient sensory deprivation chamber long enough, her muscles are starting to get stiff, she increasingly needs to pee, and her stomach is threatening to strangle her liver unless something can be found to fill it.
>>896813
>>896792
Considering all the options along a hall of maybe-portals almost a tenth of a mile long takes easily enough time that I'm going to roll for a random encounter.
>>
No. 898051 ID: 2007b6

>rolled 5 = 5
>>897266
While Mizer is chirping at the darkness, trying to separate usable crawlspace from isolated voids or slabs of ice in the rubble (so far it seems to continue at least sixty feet, and there are pieces of wood propping it up in places, so it's looking like a path was deliberately re-opened after the collapse) a pencil-thin strand of crystal clear snot descends from the ceiling to kiss the back of his left wrist, right between glove and sleeve. Tingles like mint oil, and a translucent redness, same color as the omnipresent fog, propagates slowly back up the strand from wherever it touches bare flesh.
>>
No. 898128 ID: 6785a6

rolled 4, 3, 6 = 13

>>898049
Alright, lets relieve ourself and then go out on the hunt. A loud bellow of "I'm coming out, don't come near me if you don't want to get gored, I'm serious stay away" but translated into angry Minotaur accompanies her. Hopefully it'll scare away any allies and attract something edible.
>>
No. 898157 ID: 2007b6

>>898128
>relieve ourself
Into the ancient baptismal pool, or...?
>go out on the hunt
Throne room seems to be unoccupied, but it's pitch-dark, can't even see your own hand in front of your face. Which way are you headed?
>>
No. 898158 ID: 6785a6

rolled 3, 3, 4 = 10

>>898157
It's not like we're trying to hide from anyone, we can evacuate as we run around. Might provide some tangential benefit to the desired outcome anyways.

>It's dark
Let's make sure all the sensory deprevation stuff is removed, and try to magic up a light.
>>
No. 898232 ID: 76ed15

>>898051
Green hides behind Eira. He's a bit scared, he might as well look like a ghost. He clutches his shovel in his hand.

"What is that? Also, who's Lizzy, again?"
>>
No. 898247 ID: 4f1cbc

rolled 6, 5, 5 = 16

>>898051
>>898232
As Green ducks behind her, Eira snags his lantern and hold it aloft, looking above Mizer. What's up there?

>"We shouldn't go too far. I don't want to lose track of that throne room, or our friend Lizzy."
>Also, who's Lizzy, again?
"I don't recall anyone else in the throne room to be left behind" responds Eira, with a moue.
>>
No. 898281 ID: 2007b6

>>898247
>What's up there?
Three lumps of glistening translucent blood-colored slime, maybe a cubic yard each. They drop down off the ceiling, sluur-plop-plop-plop, spreading out on impact like scoops of ice cream tragically lost to a sun-baked sidewalk, then roll slowly toward the smell of living flesh. Looks like they might have scattered bits of shiny stuff embedded inside, coins or something.

>>898158
Magic doesn't work at all. The ambient energy's still there, and you know how it's meant to work, but somehow the actual casting is like trying to do embroidery with boxing gloves on.

Fortunately, once you've got the blindfold off you can see clearly out to about twenty yards, as if you were glowing like a bonfire. Edges are sharply defined, but colors are indistinct and wrong. A bit like the odd effects of artificial monochrome light, but if normal full-spectrum reveals what color things are, this only reveals some colors which they definitely aren't.

Aside from the two doors behind the throne, and a small hatch on the back of it (presumably leading to a compartment under the seat), available exits are in alcoves to the left and right, and the way you originally came in.
>>
No. 898285 ID: 6785a6

rolled 2, 3, 1 = 6

>>898281
>Magic doesn't work, like embroidering with boxing gloves.

Erhg, sounds frustrating. Good thing I'm not dealing with any sort of anger issues.

>Colors are all wrong
Doubly frustrating then. Lizzy will close that door Mizer and the others left through, then rummage around in that little chair hatch, see if there's anything she can vent her frustrations on.

Rolling perception check, and to continue to try to ward off her old companions and possibly attract edible foes.
>>
No. 898290 ID: add037

rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7

>"Also, who's Lizzy, again?"
>"I don't recall anyone else in the throne room to be left behind" responds Eira, with a moue.

"Too busy taking swings at me, huh?" Mizer's tone is joking and he's wearing a fangy grin.

"You all missed the insanity. First we started hallucinating. Ivori got dragged off by vampires, I think. Then Lizzy transformed into a minotaur. Actually looking back, I wonder if I just imagined it all..."

>a pencil-thin strand of crystal clear snot descends from the ceiling to kiss the back of his left wrist, right between glove and sleeve.
>Three lumps of glistening translucent blood-colored slime, maybe a cubic yard each.
Mizer immediately takes off flapping away from this crawlspace. He ditches the thermal lance again.
>>
No. 898291 ID: 094652

rolled 3, 2, 6 = 11

Sahara's pupils dilate to the sight of shiny metal bits. Slimes with shiny in their stomachs, the very essence of treasure hunting!

... And of course, melee / physical attacks are very ineffective against slimes. One of the others will have to cast on these things to get the loot out.

She'll just lure them away instead. From a very safe distance.
>>
No. 898311 ID: 2007b6

>>898285
Compartment seems to be empty, but there's a sound from behind the door in the right-hand alcove (relative to someone sitting on the throne). Could be somebodything edible.
>Good thing I'm not dealing with any sort of anger issues.
>rolled 2, 3, 1 = 6
At the moment, that's correct. Lizzy feels remarkably calm, and is capable of responding rationally rather than being driven by any sort of reflex, compulsion, or emotional outburst.

>>898290
>Mizer immediately takes off flapping away from this crawlspace. He ditches the thermal lance again.
>rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7
Dodging is no problem, and that chemical burn on the wrist will probably be fine as soon as it's properly bandaged, but are you sure you want to set the lance down on the ground - where the very slime monsters you're retreating from will definitely roll over it, and possibly foul up the mechanisms - rather than lighting it up and waving it around to flash-boil them?
>>
No. 898322 ID: 4f1cbc

rolled 2, 3, 5 = 10

>>898281
>>898311
As soon as Mizer's clear, Eira will invoke the owl-hug statuette against the slimes. Should be easier to tar and feather something pretarred.
>>
No. 898330 ID: 216042

rolled 3, 5, 3 = 11

>>898311
>lizzy is calm

Of course, all according to plan.
Lizzy will focus on food then since she’s worried about how she might react if given the chance to eat someone. Would she be satisfied to just attack? Or maybe she wouldn’t be able to resist her hunger! Maybe eating part of someone would be enough to stave off her rage? Maybe ... she should get back to what she was doing! Right, of course.

A noise by the alcove door sounds interesting! Let’s check it out!
>>
No. 898393 ID: add037

>waving it around to flash-boil them?
And risk getting eaten? Goodness no.
>>
No. 899470 ID: 2007b6

>>898330
Behind the door, half-naked vampires. One of them gets pinned to the wall by a horn through the chest and crumbles to ash, the rest flee. Four downhill to the left, three uphill to the right, somebody vaguely familiar laying flat on the ground in a narrower passage straight ahead.

>>898322
Alright, now instead of three amorphous masses of blood advancing along the ground, you've got lotsa glowy feathers drifting near an apparently unified amorphous mass of darkness, slithering around weightlessly at chest-height. Doesn't seem to have slowed them/it down at all, still coming toward you at about one yard per second.

Good news is, the slime monster seems to have just licked Mizer's lance in passing rather than completely engulfed it.
>>
No. 899474 ID: 094652

rolled 3, 2, 2 = 7

As an experiment, Sahara decides to throw a knife straight into where the slime's core would be.

And then run.

Sahara also instructs Eira and Mizer to use the damn heat-lance already!
>>
No. 899485 ID: 54e0e2

rolled 2, 1, 6 = 9

Green tries to a lighted candle into the slime and run.
>>
No. 899486 ID: 54e0e2

*to throw a lighted candle
>>
No. 899489 ID: 2007b6

>>899474
>As an experiment, Sahara decides to throw a knife straight into where the slime's core would be.
>rolled 3, 2, 2 = 7
Blade hits dead on center mass, passes through, and clatters on the floor behind. Looks like the lead blob split into two slightly smaller ones.
>>899485
>Green tries to a lighted candle into the slime
>rolled 2, 1, 6 = 9
It impacts with a little 'blurp' noise and goes out.
>>
No. 899492 ID: add037

rolled 3, 5, 5 = 13

>use the damn heat-lance already!
Mizer gestures to the thermal lance, currently sitting on the ground on the other side of the slime.


>one yard per second.
Guess I could lead it away and double back to grab the lance, though I'll have to be careful not to get cornered. Guessing echolocation doesn't detect them, since they snuck up on me in the first place. I'll hold my shovel out as I try to get behind them so I don't walk face-first into another slime.
>>
No. 899545 ID: 6785a6

rolled 1, 6, 5 = 12

>>899470
Eurhg, dust. She tastes in, just in case, but otherwise approaches the familiar shape. Maybe it has food. Don't want to pursue on these terms, seems too easy to get stabbed in the back.

She bellows out an angry cry at everything within earshot.

"CURS! I HUNGER. YOU WILL SATE ME ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, CHOOSE WISELY"
>>
No. 901041 ID: 2007b6

>>899492
>Guessing echolocation doesn't detect them, since they snuck up on me in the first place.
It detects them just fine now that you know what to look for. They've got slightly less density than water, with no bones or lungs or anything, so you mistook them for ice formations, since that's usually what it means when there's a mass of water-like stuff, somewhere cold, not laying down flat.
>I could lead it away and double back to grab the lance
You're in a long, straight hallway, and there are enough levitating slimes to fill much of the width of it. Might be possible to dodge around or between them,
>rolled 3, 5, 5 = 13
but at the moment you don't see any good openings.

>>899545
>food
Familiar shape has a pouch with trail rations - barely more than a mouthful, though. Is also made at least partly of meat. Less-appetizing parts smell like sweat-stained cloth, tanned leather, rotten wood, and... ooh, fresh fish hiding in there somewhere.
>rolled 1, 6, 5 = 12
Permaberserk Lizzitaur dimly recognizes Ivori as one of her fellow adventurers, and that she's either dead or very nearly so. Chow down?
>>
No. 901045 ID: 6785a6

rolled 3, 5, 6 = 14

>>901041
>Fresh fish in there somewhere

That sounds good, right? Or is my Minotaur anatomy rigged for plant based rumination? Extra stomachs would be kinda fun! Maybe, if I find a way to turn back, I could still keep some of those! Might have to give them to someone else first before fixing myself though, seem like it'd be an all or nothing transformation.

Before Lizzy thinks any more about eating people and how her stomach works, she needs to make sure she's not going to be interrupted- what are the scattered vampires doing? Any suspicious mist or dripping ceilings or anything like that?

Rolling perception.
>>
No. 901049 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 3, 4 = 13

Sahara continues to goad the slimes away from the thermal lance in the hopes that Mizer will pick it up already.
>>
No. 901056 ID: 54e0e2

rolled 4, 4, 1 = 9

Green thinks that throwing a candle may have been a half-bad idea. Things usually start burning when thrown something aflame at them.

Green is gonna try to poke his shovel, his longest thing, at the slime, and scoop some if possible.
>>
No. 901083 ID: 2007b6

>>901045
>needs to make sure she's not going to be interrupted-
Naturally. https://youtu.be/A89blUjT7z8?t=91
>what are the scattered vampires doing? Any suspicious mist or dripping ceilings or anything like that?
>Rolling perception.
>rolled 3, 5, 6 = 14
There's no apparent threat in the area more urgent than the need for sustenance.
>>901049
They're not smart enough for any sophisticated trickery to be effective, but simply standing over to one side of the hall and waving your arms works well enough to slowly open a path along the other side.
>>901056
Scooping motion with the shovel successfully splits one of the slimes, and clears away enough shadow-feathers to make it momentarily visible that now you're dealing with two smallish globs, one medium-sized, and two as big as they were at the outset.
>rolled 4, 4, 1 = 9
Green even manages to dodge and/or parry various pseudopod counterattacks.
>>
No. 901087 ID: add037

rolled 3, 5, 5 = 13

>You're in a long, straight hallway, and there are enough levitating slimes to fill much of the width of it.
They levitate?? Not sure how I missed that

"Perhaps it's time we found a different route!" Mizer will start hastily backtracking.
>>
No. 901088 ID: 4f1cbc

rolled 3, 2, 6 = 11

Have we observed the levitating slimes moving freely in two dimensions or three? If their height comes down to a kind of buoyancy, reapplying the same trick until they're stuck at ceiling height might work (assuming there's not a saturation point or other limit). Hmm, actually no, they could probably still reach down with pseudopods.

>>901083
Although if plan "lure them to the side so Miser can go around and grab his frialator" is working, might as well stick with that.
>>
No. 901162 ID: 26682e

rolled 3, 6, 4 = 13

Green is gonna back away a little bit to inspect the slime he scooped. He's gonna sniff it and determine what it may be made of. Does it smell like alcohol, lantern oil, fat, or soap?
>>
No. 901171 ID: 2007b6

>>901162
Vaguely soapy, yeah. Then it starts to crawl up your nose. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OKa_CGMmhE
>>901087
>They levitate?? Not sure how I missed that
It's a recent development, seemingly due to whatever weird magic Eira channeled through that statuette.
>>901088
>if plan "lure them to the side so Miser can go around and grab his frialator" is working,
It was working, but now Green Redford's staggered over toward the other side, the little one wrapped around his face spews fizz and stink like somebody poured a bad batch of sparkling wine into the waste vat behind a tannery, and the rest are homing in on that instead of you.

Mizer's got a window of opportunity to move past the slimes and retrieve his backpack, but it's narrow enough that proper flight has significant risk of grazing wingtips against slime, stray glow-feathers, and/or pillars. Slow, safe option would be to loop behind Mr. Redford, walk along the floor. Compromise option, quick and far from slimes with only a moderate risk of crash, would be wing-assisted parkour to run along the wall.
>>
No. 901180 ID: 54e0e2

rolled 3, 6, 1 = 10

Green is going to struggle. He's going to drop the shovel and try snorting out the slime out of his nostrils. He's going to try pulling off the slime that's stuck on him.
>>
No. 901181 ID: 2007b6

rolled 1 - 1 = 0

>>901180
Alright, after a few seconds of panic Green manages to not only clear his own airway, but smash the attacker into inanimate jello fragments. Bad news is, now he's half-blind, maybe about to puke, and his sinuses feel like they're on fire. Damage I just rolled is multiplied by 1.5 and applied as corrosion injury to the face.
>>
No. 901252 ID: 164db0

Green is gonna back away from the slime to recover. He tries to wipe away all the traces of slime from his face and sinuses. He drags his shovel and tries to clean it free of slime.

Green goes to sit in one corner, recuperating from the slimy encounter. Everything looks blurry, and he hopes his nose won't swell. He shakes a little bit.
>>
No. 901258 ID: 2007b6

rolled 5, 5 - 2 = 8

>>901252
>He tries to wipe away all the traces of slime from his face and sinuses.
Per the policy on unrolled actions, and the fact you didn't specify using water to rinse it out, take two more cycles of corrosion damage.
>Green goes to sit in one corner, recuperating from the slimy encounter.
Nearest accessible corner is hundreds of feet away, so I'm taking this as intent to flee the ongoing battle with the slimes. Green stumbles through an archway, into some sort of garden, but then falls flat on his face, paralyzed. Two elvenoid children identify him as a stray animal and briefly adopt him as their pet; an adult supervisor - who he never gets a good look at - provides basic medical care before calling the children away to some other business.

After a few hours in captivity, Mr. Redford manages to escape into that cave mouth. He's lost his supply of dried fruit (darn kids ate it all), but gained ribbons tied into his fur and a very frilly dress. The cotton fabric is clean, sturdy, and absorbent enough that, if torn up into strips, it would be suitable for bandages.
>>
No. 901259 ID: 094652

rolled 3, 3, 1 = 7

Sahara notices that the slime bits Green sliced up have stopped inching towards him, increasing her morale. Sahara prepares her claws and rallies the others to split the remaining slimes into eight tiny ones, divide them from their group with stupid distractions, and rend them into shreds with whatever works.

If nobody rallies she'll just continue fleeing and slash if the slimes get too close.
>>
No. 901260 ID: 2007b6

>>901258
>rolled 5, 5 - 2 = 8
That's in addition to the thick layers of bandages covering Mr. Redford's entire face. Eyes feel like they might be swollen shut, breathing through his nose is difficult, noisy, and makes everything smell like a mix of vinegar and blood. Forehead, cheeks, and top of snout are completely numb. Even after rest and medical attention, his HP is at one out of eight, with zero being incapacity and negative eight being possible death. Most physical activities will be significantly impaired until at least two more HP are recovered.
>>
No. 901602 ID: 54e0e2

rolled 6, 1, 4 = 11

Green is gonna take a rest. Sit down for a while. Clear his head of frenzy. He huddles to himself while he recovers, making himself small and less noticeable to passersby in hopes that predators in the caves may fail to take notice of him.
>>
No. 901606 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 6, 3, 4 = 13

>>901259
If the catgirl doesn't manage to successfully dice the slimes into harmlessness, Eira is going to grab some of Hive's fruit and toss it to distract the slimes so Mizer can get around them to his pack.
>>
No. 901651 ID: 2007b6

>>901259
Sahara methodically slices and dices until only the two largest slimes remain animate, and successfully avoids getting a single drop of the horrid caustic blood-colored goo on her fur.
>>901606
Eira steals some of Host's candied fruit, throws it at the large slime closest to the wall. The fruit chunk bounces like a stone skipping across a lake, ricochets off a pillar, and lands in the grass between an olive tree and a pomegranate tree. Slime follows bait through the archway.

Upon close examination after the battle, that archway seems to be plaster and illusions just like all most of the others.

Mizer darts around behind the last large slime, preps his thermal lance, then flails a sun-bright flare in the monster's general direction while covering his face with his furled-up left wing and cringing. (Charge remaining is now 2:29:42) The last slime on the promenade pops like a water balloon dropped onto a hot stove. Anybody with unprotected eyes on that scene, roll to avoid being blinded by glare.

Once the fight's over, Mizer says some slime got into crevices between a tertiary oscillator coil and the ionizer unit's heat sink, then thanks to that hasty start-up it's been baked into a solid crusty mass which expanded with enough foamy force to shove the coil in question out of line, and enough volume to block airflow through the radiator. He'll need to disassemble and clean the lance before it can be safely used again. Ideally that would involve an uninterrupted hour of work, some sort of desk or bench on which to lay out all the parts, and a steady light source - useful though echolocation may be for scanning the inside and visualizing it all together as a complete three-dimensional structure, alchemical contamination and resultant corrosion are easier to catch early and remove thoroughly when you can actually see the discolored spots, and light can reveal other details too small for even the squeakiest ultrasound to resolve.
>>
No. 901653 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 1, 6 = 12

>Anybody with unprotected eyes on that scene, roll to avoid being blinded by glare.
>>
No. 901654 ID: 094652

rolled 5, 2, 3 = 10

>>901651
Sahara doesn't understand a lick of what he just said, but he wasn't using it anyway. They can go through one of the portals and work on it out there.

And now, SHINY!!! Sahara calls dibs on the most mysterious looking loot!

Roll to appraise the loots
>>
No. 901689 ID: add037

rolled 4, 1, 1 = 6

>some slime got into crevices between a tertiary oscillator coil and the ionizer unit's heat sink, then thanks to that hasty start-up it's been baked into a solid crusty mass which expanded with enough foamy force to shove the coil in question out of line, and enough volume to block airflow through the radiator. He'll need to disassemble and clean the lance before it can be safely used again.
Man I hate when that happens!

>Sahara calls dibs on the most mysterious looking loot!
Anything interesting?

"Hey, where'd the little guy scurry off to?"
>>
No. 901827 ID: 2007b6

>>891928
>Vulnerability: [...] easily overstimulated or hypnotized, particularly by fire.
>>901654
>rolled 5, 2, 3 = 10
After watching the business end of Mizer's lance very closely, to make sure it didn't get away, everything looks shiny... even while Sahara has her eyes shut tight.
>>901653
>rolled 5, 1, 6 = 12
Eira almost managed to cover her own eyes in time; a clearer prearranged warning would have made the difference. (Or, of course, anyone entangled by the owl statue's feathers benefits from the equivalent of smoked-glass welding goggles.) She's dazzled, night vision impaired, but will likely be fully recovered within hours.
>>901689
>Loot!
>Anything interesting?
>rolled 4, 1, 1 = 6
Fragments of porcelain, teeth from what might be a very large dog, dozens of coin-sized blank slugs (half copper, the others some grayish-white metal - too light to be lead or silver, maybe tin, or zinc?) and four porcelain potion bottles, 8oz each. Two seem likely to be healing formulae of some sort (though the labels peeled away long ago, likely due to slimes digesting the sinew-based glue), one turns the drinker invisible for up to an hour, and the last can't be confidently identified.

If Sahara is suffering from actual retinal burn, timely application of a healing potion directly to the affected area could prevent scarring and long-term blindness. One potion should be enough for both eyes unless it's utterly substandard, or they've been reduced to bare charred sockets. Conversely, if Mizer is mistaken about the potion ID, depending on what's actually in that bottle, pouring it into somebody's eyes might cause scarring and blindness.
>>
No. 901847 ID: afdebc

>"Hey, where'd the little guy scurry off to?"
Through the mural, I believe.

Once we've decided whether or not to pour chemicals in Sahara's eyes, Eira is of the opinion we should follow Green. He might be hurt after that slime grabbed him.
>>
No. 901865 ID: add037

rolled 2, 5, 2 = 9

>Conversely, if Mizer is mistaken about the potion ID, depending on what's actually in that bottle, pouring it into somebody's eyes might cause scarring and blindness.
Well I should be able to test this. Can I pour a little drop on a cut or scratch or something? If it doesn't do anything horrifying I'll go ahead and apply it to Sahara's eyes. I'll tuck away the other potions for later. I'll hold onto the blank coins too, unless Sahara wants them.

> Eira is of the opinion we should follow Green. He might be hurt after that slime grabbed him.
"Right. Let's all hold hands so nobody else gets lost."
>>
No. 901897 ID: 76ed15

Inventory check! Is the rest of Green's stuff still with him?
Especially the shovel and book.
>>
No. 902180 ID: 2007b6

>>901897
Yep, nothing else missing.
>>901865
Stings unpleasantly, but Sahara's vision is soon restored.
>>
No. 902182 ID: 33aff7

Gale enters the throne room with spear in hand. He finds himself a bit lost in the dungeon. He scans the room he's in for anything of interest.
>>
No. 902183 ID: 5b7a9b

rolled 2, 6, 2 = 10

((I suppose the actions above need a roll.))
>>
No. 902187 ID: 2007b6

>>902182
Distant echoes of someone large and angry, probably not in the same room. Pitch dark, can't see anything.
>Specialization: Botanomancy, magicks related to plants.
Gale knows how to magically create a soft, flickering violet glow. It's more efficient than typical illumination spells for helping plants grow, and can be directed precisely to light up some areas while leaving others in shadow, but doesn't reveal fine detail or colors very well, and prolonged exposure supposedly is unhealthy for eyesight or bare skin. Also, in a "haunted house" context like this, it looks super creepy.
>>
No. 902194 ID: 094652

rolled 4, 5, 6 = 15

Sahara thanks Mizer for his help. However, if he's going to take all the gold from this fight, he ought to pay her back later by purchasing her some enchanted goggles. She doesn't want to be blinded by his super lance again.

Also, does the party have any empty vials? The slime is inert, but still corrosive. Might be useful later on.

Sahara listens for any further threats. That battle was loud.
>>
No. 902205 ID: add037

rolled 1, 2, 5 = 8

>However, if he's going to take all the gold from this fight, he ought to pay her back later by purchasing her some enchanted goggles.
"There wasn't any gold, Sahara. Just copper and some other common metal. I can dig the coins back out if you want to see them again. I'll try to warn you before I use the lance next time."

Mizer will lead the way back through the mural to look for Green.
>>
No. 902244 ID: 8c9a07

rolled 6, 1, 5 = 12

>>902187
Hey, it's better than total darkness. Gale is gonna cast a light into the darkness. The large and roarin monster in the other room has to wait; they seem dangerously angry.

Is there anything of interest in the room? Perhaps anything made of metal in the area Gale's senses could catch?
>>
No. 902636 ID: 2007b6

>>902194
>That battle was loud.
Actually, apart from a steam explosion at the end and various startled yelps, pretty quiet as battles go. Weapons clashing against armor or other weapons tends to be the main unavoidable source of combat-related noise, but in this case you were just slicing up jello.
>rolled 4, 5, 6 = 15
No apparent incoming threats.
>>902205
After a serene yet bizarrely depersonalized garden stroll, Green Redford is reunited with the group.
>>902244
Ferrous-metal locking mechanisms around the three main doors, with some sort of cable or push-rod mechanism deep under the floor linking them together, as seems to be standard through this whole labyrinth area. Absurdly overbuilt, makes low-end bank vaults look flimsy. A vault wouldn't have those inch-wide gaps, though.

Stone doors flanking the throne don't have a similar locking mechanism, but there's some stuff back behind the engraved wall - on closer inspection, mostly nails in the furniture and hinges on wooden doors.
>>
No. 902663 ID: d9acdc

rolled 5, 3, 6 = 14

>>901083
Alright, lets dig around for those fish then, and keep my head on a swivel.
>>
No. 902687 ID: 5b7a9b

There seems to be an abundance of metal in the area. Wooden furniture implies that something could be looted in there, and so Gale goes through the door to the right of the throne (in refernce to someone looking at the throne).
>>
No. 902692 ID: afdebc

rolled 4, 3, 1 = 8

>After a serene yet bizarrely depersonalized garden stroll, Green Redford is reunited with the group.
Eira fusses over her injured companion and reassures him that the dress is quite dashing, really!

>>896347
Unless we care to double back, the only way forward in this room is to follow the path that spirals downwards. Marching order:

Mizer (scout), Erik (column front), Sahara, Eira with Green piggyback, Host, Grave (rearguard).
>>
No. 902715 ID: bf615f

rolled 2, 6, 1 = 9

Mizer will heal Green up with that last potion (again testing it first) before he goes to scout ahead. He'll leave his lance with Sahara in case he need to make a quick flight.
>>
No. 902716 ID: 094652

rolled 2, 2, 5 = 9

Sahara did not anticipate getting Mizer's giant lance forked in her hands, but she'll accept it for now. It's an artifact of sorts, and she'd like to study it further. Or just stare, when it's not so HEAVY

Sahara continues to listen for noises in the darkness... if only to keep her mind off this HEAVY METAL POLE in her hands. A little help, please?
>>
No. 908910 ID: 2007b6

>>902687
Opening up the right-hand door reveals a room almost entirely clear of fog, ten feet wide by sixteen feet deep with an eight-foot ceiling. There's a bright red traveller's cloak hanging from a hook near the door, dripping wet. A circular table surrounded by five well-made chairs, one of which is askew. Two inches of finger-thick black candle sit in a short brass stand at the exact center of the table, thin trail of smoke rising, as if extinguished just moments earlier. There's an iron-bound wooden door near the far end of the left-hand wall.

>>902663
Fish successfully retrieved and devoured.

>>902692
>Unless we care to double back, the only way forward in this room is to follow the path that spirals downwards.
No, there's a narrow passage up ahead.
>>896347
>As for the far end, the path is 440' long from the cliff face to the point where the roof apparently collapsed. There's a triangular opening big enough for Green Redford to walk through with minimal risk of hitting his head, everyone else needs to crouch or crawl.

Assuming you do take the downward spiral path, it turns out to connect to the other end of the upward spiral noted back here: >>894712

>>902715
Green's HP is back up to 4 out of 8, sinuses are clear and sense of smell normalized, but those facial bandages should probably stay in place for the time being. No more low-HP penalties to strength and movement speed, but any responsible doctor would still most likely advise Green to avoid heroic exertions for the next week or so.

As for why you might want to double back to the throne room: last you checked, there's a smooth table, comfortable chairs, and a relatively easy-to-secure perimeter. That could be very useful for maintenance on Mizer's thermal lance.
>>
No. 908995 ID: a02a86

rolled 3, 6, 5 = 14

>>908910
Now that we’ve eaten, how long before I’ll need another meal? Going to follow the uphill path for a high advantage against anything that might try and flank me from the rear.

Haven’t explored much, but OOC I was under the impression that Minotaurs are rather good at navigating labyrinths. Is that a bonus to a mapping roll, or something more supernatural, or what?
>>
No. 908998 ID: 094652

rolled 1, 3, 2 = 6

Sahara is bored. Rolling to look for treasure just because.
>>
No. 909000 ID: af1d8b

rolled 6, 1, 6 = 13

>As for why you might want to double back to the throne room
I am thinking this is the way to go. Looks like Green could use some rest anyway. Barring any objections Mizer will lead everyone back to the throne room, quietly scouting ahead for danger.
>>
No. 909151 ID: 33aff7

>>908910
The wet cloak, and the still smoking candle says that someone was recently here. Gale attempts to call out to this mysterious someone, "Hello. Is anybody here?"

Green is a shaken a little with the sudden appearance of his companions. He is relieved that it was not some folk dangerous. He relaxes, and says little.
>>
No. 911104 ID: 2007b6

>>908995
>Now that we’ve eaten, how long before I’ll need another meal?
Longer than your rage-addled brain can easily conceptualize. Eight hours, maybe.
>Haven’t explored much, but OOC I was under the impression that Minotaurs are rather good at navigating labyrinths. Is that a bonus to a mapping roll, or something more supernatural, or what?
Superior spatial reasoning means navigational tasks that would be valid to attempt, based on observations while in this form, instead succeed automatically. It's the equivalent of the best quality map, but can't be usefully transcribed.
>Going to follow the uphill path for a high advantage against anything that might try and flank me from the rear.
After 170 feet there's a 10' wide side passage on the right, which smells like rust and panic, or you could continue straight for another 200' or so toward a natural cavern.
>>908998
You find four platinum coins and a blue-and-yellow striped feather which is likely magical.
>>909000
>>909151
Mizer sneaks up, hears Gale asking if anyone is there.
>>
No. 911289 ID: add037

rolled 2, 3, 4 = 9

>Mizer sneaks up, hears Gale asking if anyone is there.
Not sure if he's friendly. Might be a good idea to pretend I'm one of those vampires.

Staying out of sight and letting his voice echo gently through the doorway, Mizer will try to mimic the friendly tone of the vampire that attacked Ivori. "What are you doing down here, all by your lonesome?"
>>
No. 911290 ID: 094652

rolled 2, 1, 1 = 4

>>911104
[Thinking]"... That feather reminds me of something...

... Anyway MAGIC FEATHER WOOT
And a whole BOOKSHOP WOOT
And rent. That's good.

But I should shush and hide the money somewhere safe or the greedy bat will claim it for his weird lance damage repair reimbursement."


Sahara pockets the coins somewhere uncomfortable (and safe/secure). Sahara grasps Eira's hand and tries to figure out where the treasure came from in hopes of finding more.
>>
No. 911293 ID: 94e72b

>>911289
Gale receives an unfamiliar yet friendly voice. He assumes that it belongs to the resident of this room.
"Oh. I'm just some explorer looking treasure. I hope you don't mind me visiting."
>>
No. 911352 ID: ae8ec4

>>890020
Background: Montezuma is a former peasant and scout for one of the many Vutu warlords far, far from the dungeon. The Vutu, once regular humans, has received blessings from their god through copious amounts of blood sacrifice of catfolk in their ancient past. The passage of time has ravaged the Vutu so that there would be no one unified state since the dawn of their ancestors. Peace has arrived at Montezuma's liege's fiefs, and Montezuma refuses to return to a life of peasantry after fighting for so long. He has traveled to the dungeon to seek his fortunes there, and dreams of fighting for no man but himself, swimming all the while in riches and women.

Name: Montezuma
Race: Cat-human
Class: Soldier
Higher Ambition: Get money.
Lower Ambition: Impress them rich hoes in and out of the dungeon
Specialization: veteran peasant scout and archer
Mutation:The Vutu ethnic group of which he descends has cat-like eyes, allowing him to see in dark like a feline. Sensitive to bright lights more so than normal.
Supernatural vulnerability: felines of all shapes and forms, supernatural or not, are immediately hostile towards him on detection. Sentient beings are exempt from this although are inclined towards hostility.
Phobia: Mounted cavalry as enemies, brings back bad memories of being chased or mowed down
Innate Power: Superhuman agility, no comic hero stuff, but comparatively.

Left Hip: Arrows
Right Hip: Leather armor
Left Shoulder:Bow
Right Shoulder: tools for lockpicking and field surgery
Neck: Jade amulet
Top of head: jug of wine
Somewhere uncomfortable: Knives
>>
No. 911430 ID: 70386e

rolled 2, 3, 2 = 7

>>911104
>After 170 feet there's a 10' wide side passage on the right, which smells like rust and panic, or you could continue straight for another 200' or so toward a natural cavern.

Rust and panic sound like a problem for another Minotaur to deal with. Let’s head towards the natural cavern.
>>
No. 911483 ID: afdebc

>>911290
>Sahara pockets the coins somewhere uncomfortable (and safe/secure). Sahara grasps Eira's hand and tries to figure out where the treasure came from in hopes of finding more.
Well I suppose Eira can't not notice this if her hand is being held at the same time.

"Um, whatcha doing there Sahara?"
>>
No. 911515 ID: add037

rolled 3, 6, 3 = 12

>>911352
New player? Welcome!!

>Looking for treasure
>Hope you don't mind
Hahaha he's adorable. "You should be careful. There are vampires lurking down here! I have friends nearby, why don't you follow me so you can meet them? And turn off your light."
>>
No. 911535 ID: ae8ec4

I'm actually going to wait for JamesLeng's input considering I'm new and I don't wanna make his job more difficult.
>>
No. 911542 ID: 32f3ac

rolled 5, 3, 5 = 13

>>911515
"Oh. Okay." Gale attempts to follow the voice. Heeding the advice of the strange voice, but wary of a trickster, he does not shut off his light, but dims it into a small sparkle easily concealable in the hand.
>>
No. 911759 ID: 2007b6

>>911430
Chasm about 30' wide, rope bridge across that might be able to support your weight. Running water down below, though by the sound of things it's slow moving, or at least not very turbulent.

>>911352
Approved, though you might want a handle other than 'suggestion' so your posts are easier to recognize.

>>911290
>tries to figure out where the treasure came from
>rolled 2, 1, 1 = 4
That's a crit success. Sahara figures out how to step off the compulsory path through the garden, following the route the children took into the house after treating Green Redford's wounds.

Rather than an abrupt threshold, once inside the house the path-compulsion fades gradually, like dissipating smoke. At certain points you can choose to stop and admire some artistic element on the wall, first for fixed intervals, then as long as you please. Blurry dreamlike silhouette of a servant emerges from a side passage (which is still definitely forbidden) and speaks in a language you've never heard before, though a few simple phrases and their approximate meanings spring to mind; deviate from the 'script,' the servant bows and departs, then your feet resume pacing steadily down the hall. Are you headed to the throne room for an audience with the Lord, or out through the atrium and front door, down the street to the marketplace?
>>
No. 911798 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 1, 6 = 10

>>911759
Did Eira tag along / get dragged along for the ride when Sahara managed to step off the path? (They were holding hands, after all). And if so, do I find the compulsions similarly fading off the path, or am I stuck in a keep following your companion around trance?
>>
No. 911836 ID: b52a98

rolled 4, 6, 2 = 12

>>911759
Doesn’t seem out of the question to balk at a potentially faulty bridge- even if she’s following her more animalistic instincts, Lizzy doesn’t remember seeing any people with hooves crossing bridges before.

Then again, she doesn’t recall seeing people with hooves at all before either, so that might not be a fair assumption.

Let’s turn around, check out the panicked smelling room before making a decision either way.
>>
No. 911840 ID: ae8ec4

rolled 5, 1, 1 = 7

>>911759
Montezuma has been following the adventuring party from behind for a while now, opportunistically letting everyone clear out the various dangers ahead. He has yet to introduce himself out of desire to get first pickings of future loot once there was a chance to move ahead. Now that everyone has sort of split up, he's going to quickly and quietly move across the wooden bridge making special use of his [superhuman agility] to make sure the bridge maintains its integrity while traversing it. He's also going to try and be stealthy while surveying the otherside of the bridge for any signs of ambush, bow drawn.
>>
No. 911844 ID: c8a0f5

Name: M35-2 (Or just Mattar the Second, Scion of the House of Melodies works)
Race: Magitech Robot
Class: Rich Bastard
Specialty: Making sweet sweet music

Higher Ambition: Establish a school of music famous enough to be known around the world

Lower Ambition: Hearing the sound of his own music

Phobia: Isolation

Concealable Mutation: As a twofer, in spite of identifying as a male, Mattar is entirely hermaphroditic, and as a robot has skin that looks almost like wet rubber

Supernatural Weakness: Since it wasn't programmed right, his fake skin is hyper sensitive. Not to the point where his clothes or walking are an issue, but where almost anything else can be, and it's extremely distracting.

Power: Playing any instrument he can get his hands on (or his voice if need be) so well that burning special effects made of real fire come up to accent his performance. He controls this fire subconsciously through the music, but he doesn't have any fine control over it.

Right Shoulder: Magical Double Bodied Lyre (Expensive Item)
Left Shoulder: Dried Meat
Right Hip: Jug of Fortified Wine
Left Hip: Portable Bongo Drums
Chest/Neck: An inscribed amulet with a circuit aesthetic that he claims is from the House of Melodies
Uncomfortable Place: Iron Statue dedicated to himself

Feel free to offer improvements, but ideally he would be in one of the next rooms the party enters drinking wine and playing music
>>
No. 911855 ID: 0fc931

After clearing up that mutations aren’t required to be negative, I would like to change the mutation to be that his cybernetic innards are extremely different from humans, so while he does look like he breaths, he doesn’t need to breath.
>>
No. 911862 ID: 2007b6

>>911798
Initially you get separated. Sahara can explain the necessary timing and effort of will when - or rather, if - she gets back.

>>911844
Ambitions should be more divergent than that. Bongo drums aren't on the inventory list. How about a blanket - upgraded, thanks to the rich bastard equipment bonus, to some elaborate silk-lined sleeping bag - for mitigating that tactile hypersensitivity when you're trying to sleep? Or, alternatively, a set of lockpicks/surgical tools to turn it maximally to your advantage.
>>911855
Alright, with a few caveats: he breathes through his skin, like an amphibian. No sense of smell and a fairly limited sense of taste, any and all bare skin is as taste-sensitive as the tongue. Can't drown in ordinary water or suffer blocked-airway problems, but would still die quickly in a completely oxygen-free environment, and can't voluntarily refrain from breathing (e.g. to avoid poison gas) with anything less than a head-to-toe hazmat suit. Exotic metabolism needs some alcohol in addition to conventional food and water, about one dose (mug of beer, shot of whiskey, etc.) per twelve to sixteen hours; that jug of fortified wine ought to last you at least two months with reasonable rationing. Excess alcohol counts toward food-calorie requirements. Cannot get drunk. Subsisting exclusively on hard liquor and water is possible for years at a time but will eventually result in health problems from lack of protein and trace minerals.

>>911836
It's not a room. The side passage goes straight for thirty feet, turns left, another ten yards, turns right, another ten yards, and then appears to continue straight beyond a perfectly normal looking section of floor which sounds hollow when you step on it. Probably a pit trap, though it didn't open up in response to the equivalent weight of a human in full armor, so there might be something more complicated going on.

Hallway's narrow enough to brace shoulders on one wall, hooves on the other, and pressure-walk past a suspicious section of floor, though of course that's much slower and more fatiguing.

>>911840
You're not at the rope bridge, that's just Lizzy (who's been cursed with transformation into a Minoan ox-man and concomitant berserk rage). You're with Gale and Mizer, leaving the starting room through the door to the right of the entrance (or on the left relative to someone sitting on the throne) on the way to meet back up with Green Redford, Sahara, and Eira.
>>
No. 911864 ID: bb5006

>>911862
Alright, I'll take that (even though breathing robots is a bit weird, but I guess poison gasses are extremely common in this dungeon, and breaking the difficulty would be a no-go)

As for what to swap out the Bongos with, the lockpicks/surgical tools would probably be the best.
>>
No. 911869 ID: afdebc

rolled 4, 5, 2 = 11

>>911862
Well! I guess Eira is keeping watch over Green Redford, while she waits for her her different allies to (hopefully) make their way back from opposite directions.
>>
No. 911870 ID: bb5006

As for a more divergent Lower Ambition, having not noticed that, going back to the fetish option, having people innocuously touch him.
>>
No. 911883 ID: 094652

rolled 1, 1, 4 = 6

>deviate from the 'script'
Okay. Logically, if the two options are "speak with the Lord who asked for you" and "go to the marketplace", you would expect the former to be of higher priority and thus an essential part of the 'script'.

Plus the Lord is probably a giant hungry dragon.

Sahara decides to visit the market, by which she means window shopping and then go straight to an inn. Hopefully this won't kill her.
>>
No. 911970 ID: ae8ec4

rolled 3, 2, 2 = 7

>>911862
Okay then. I am going to turn to Gale and Mizer and say to them "I am going to scout the area up the uphill path. I'll holler if there's anything of note." Then I'm going to walk towards and try to cross the rope bridge, quickly and quietly using my [superhuman agility], bow drawn and scanning for any sign of ambush.
>>
No. 912002 ID: 2007b6

rolled 36 = 36

>>911864
You could be a nonbiological construct that doesn't need to breathe, but that'd probably also mean lacking the ability to heal naturally, or even benefit from conventional healing magic.
>>911870
Approved.
>>911883
Hallway looks less and less like an actual lived-in house as you go. The "front door" seems more like a broken-down wooden security gate in an abandoned mine, and the "marketplace" is a natural cavern, forty or fifty feet wide and hundreds of feet long, with holes carved in the walls that resemble small storefronts (but could equally be beds, or burial alcoves in a tomb) and crimson fog swirling in patterns that call to mind a crowd of shoppers, but there's no compulsive script left at all. Even as far back as the split between "market" and "throne," you realize it was more a matter of deliberately tracing threads rather than being dragged along by shackles.

>>911970
Montezuma runs off through the left-side alcove, down a few hundred feet of straight corridor, across a bridge, down another hundred feet of twisting rough-hewn tunnel, and into a crypt where the sarcophagi are carved with images of men holding swords and shields (shaped like upside-down teardrops), before realizing that the rest of the group hasn't been keeping up. Rolling for wandering monsters.
>>
No. 912006 ID: 2007b6

Alright, since everybody's running off to split the party IC, and I'm noticing there's players I haven't actually heard from since mid-July, let's do an OOC headcount. Anyone who doesn't post a rolled action in this thread within the next week or so, your character may have somehow become separated in the confusion and gotten lost, never to be heard from again, or one of the more active players may step up to take over playing them.

>>912002
>rolled 36
>>911970
>rolled 3, 2, 2 = 7
Eight goblins in light armor, armed with hand axes and shortbows, are scouting out the crypt. Don't seem to have noticed Montezuma yet, but they probably will within the next few seconds.
>>
No. 912016 ID: 094652

rolled 4, 2, 4 = 10

>>912002
Interesting, so this was a simulation of some sort, where the standard coat of paint was Glamour with a side-order of mind-control? It has been a while and the "shops" are all closed and the paint has "peeled off". If that's the case, then all the loot that would normally be protected by the actors and magical wards is up for grabs! Sahara could loot the whole place right now!

... Is what she wants to do, but refrains. This place gives her the creeps. She's alone, and if she slips into a pitfall or an old trap or suffocates, that's it. Better to turn back and get the party to trigger the traps for her scout ahead and help her carry the heavy loot. Besides, they find out she's been holding out on the jackpot, they'll lynch her and burn her body for good measure.
>>
No. 912017 ID: 5e3087

>>912006
Gale was wary. He went to his metalloception and determine Mizer's location through their equipment. He examined them for any weapons, and any back-up cavalry that may be with them.

There was also that strange person... Gale did not know them, but they seemed to be intent in possibly assisting them.
>>
No. 912018 ID: 5e3087

rolled 1, 4, 5 = 10

((Crud. I put it in the wrong box.))
>>
No. 912418 ID: 0640da

Doctor Holly Falkmin, Purveyor of Miracles
Class: Rich Bastard
Specialty: Medificinal Herbological Substances & Remedys
Higher Ambition: "Find" the "Fountain" of "Life" and become "Immortal"
Lower Ambition: Scamming the hell out of people.

= MALADIES =
Phobia: Scopophobia - Dr. Falkmin is afraid of being seen beneath her clothing-- as a Grue, she has been told from a young age by the village's seer that being seen will be her cause of death and she has internalized this as a fear of being stared at, ogled or stripped of her clothes. If she has sex, it must be in a pitch black room and you must be blindfolded to begin.
Mutation: Plague Mask - A darkened visor inside of a mask filled with activated charcoal to prevent diseases, toxins and sensory attacks from assaulting her. Unfortunately, the visor makes the dungeon almost impossible to see through-- when worn, her plague mask gives a heavy penalty to all visual checks, including her medicine. If she removes it, she suffers Scopophobia.
Supernatural Weakness: Medically Incompetent - She will not treat someone for a problem that her medicine has caused or that she has already 'cured'. If you do not believe she has cured you, you are just trying to weasel out of the bill. She is, of course, a miracle doctor who has PERFECTLY CURED YOU, and will not stand for your slander. Take the cure or leave it!

= MIRACLES =
Innate Power: Doctor Holly Falkmin's Spectacularly Wonderful Magical Snake Oil Miracle Medicine - (Editor's Note: Snake Oil Medicine for short.)
Doctor Falkmin is, perhaps, the greatest alchemist of our time. This is a rather unfortunate thing, as the talent is wasted on a hack like her. She knows the secret properties of things around her-- the toxins bugs secretly hold, the medicine manufactured from mundane plants and the very properties of magic and the earth itself used in all her medicinal treatments. She's also perfectly willing to throw ethics out the window and use theoretical potions on her patients without bothering to test them. Her medicine can save your life, but is also just as likely to kill you. Her complete belief in her medical talents means she won't use a medicine on your maladies twice, but one sip of her 'remedy' is often just enough to make you suffer.
When she pulls out one of her potions or prepares one on the spot, she makes a roll. If she rolls a critical success, she produces a miracle cure with absolutely no side effects that perfectly cures the condition, regardless of severity. A standard success will produce a side effect that isn't helpful to the situation, but shouldn't be too much of a hassle to deal with through play. Her healing potion might turn you invisible, or her boil removing lozenge might turn your skin blue. Failure on the roll produces an inconvenient, unpleasant, or moderately dangerous ffect, like sneezing or drunkenness or temporary numbness in an extremity or the loss of FP or maybe a few points of HP. Critical failure produces severe effects like choking, organ failure, lasting paralysis or necrosis of a limb, 6d6 damage, or a coma. However, there's no guarantee that even a successful roll will actually cure the poison. Doctor Falkmin is a 'miracle doctor', not a miracle worker. Better working conditions, performing an actual exam and knowing about the patient's conditions will all improve her chances of success, so if you really want something treated get her to a medical clinic first.
Lastly, Doctor Falkmin has a theoretically infinite supply of her dubious potions in a variety of forms-- lozenges, salves, pots, brews, mints and powders galore. These potions are only considered infinite for the purposes of producing cures and throwing at her enemies, and she will run out if she attempts to make a sale or otherwise use them-- actual sold alchemy products must be made with resources developed in-game and not produced from nowhere. She may also not produce them if, for some reason, she is missing all her gear. She can, however, seemingly find vials in any pocket she can get her hands on.

= EQUIPMENT =
Left Hip: Tools for Field Surgery
Left Shoulder: Clean Cloth, Hooked Needles, Thread
Right Shoulder: Block of Soap
Hat: Feathers, Penknife, Lots of Parchment, Ink
Right Hip: Canvas
Somewhere Uncomfortable: Coin Purse
Chest/Neck (RICH BASTARD): Alkawhoozit's Special Stave of Instant Camping & Frivolity - A wheelbarrow that folds up into a walking stick. Can't hold anything when it's folded up. Could use it as a regular wheelbarrow, or shift it around in a different way and it's got a bunch of little drawers and compartments. Weighs 18 pounds as a regular wheelbarrow, 20 as a cabinet, or 4 as a staff. If you try to reconfigure it while there's stuff inside, it falls out. Divides effective weight of itself and contents by five for encumbrance purposes when being rolled along a reasonably smooth solid surface, even if it's very narrow. Limited to about two and a half cubic feet, unless the stuff you're carrying stacks really well, but it can support several hundred pounds without apparent structural strain. The stick form is adjustable in length, say, anywhere from three feet to twelve feet. Takes a few minutes of playing a four-dimensional Tetris-meets-Hellraiser minigame to reconfigure. No roll required unless you're in a hurry, though, or if someone else is trying to do it without your instructions. Weight may be different based on length.
>>
No. 912426 ID: 9646f1

rolled 5, 1, 1 = 7

>>911862
Okay, so a potential pit trap vs a rickety bridge. Seems like up was not the way to go. Snorting at the unstable terrain everywhere she goes, the Lizzytaur heads down towards the bottom of the slope she originally headed up after fighting the vampire.
>>
No. 912451 ID: 67f3bb

rolled 6, 2, 6 = 14

>He went to his metalloception
The source of the voice is crouched up against a wall, wearing a peculiar helmet probably designed to fit over or around big floppy ears. Various piercings on said ears, as well as a bunch of various metallic knick knacks and tools, the most weaponizable of which is a shovel.

>am going to turn to Gale and Mizer and say to them ...
"Who ..."

>Montezuma runs off ...
"I'm not waiting for your friend to return. Follow me or don't, I am leaving." Roll to meet up with Eira and Green again and lead them back to the throne room. This time Mizer's not stopping for any distractions. Though if Gale is having trouble following in the dark Mizer will go back and lead him by hand.
>>
No. 912489 ID: 2007b6

rolled 36 = 36

>>912418
Some of the details on that innate ability are inaccurate, but it's an adequate approximation.
>>912451
> Roll to meet up with Eira and Green again and lead them back to the throne room.
>rolled 6, 2, 6 = 14
Eira, Green Redford, Mizer, "Doctor" Holly Falkmin, whoever else responds in a timely manner...
>>912016
...and Sahara, all meet up back in the throne room, pursued by...
>>
No. 912492 ID: 2007b6

>>912489
...another squad of goblin scouts. You'll have to deal with them somehow before Mizer has time to get the plasma lance back in working order, but diplomacy might still be an option.

>>912426
Lizzitaur, meanwhile, goes down a long slope, left turn, eighty feet, right turn, fifty feet to a slanted T-junction but she intuitively realizes the left branch is a dead end, then down the right side there's another eighty feet, 45 degrees off from the way you came in, to a Y intersection. Left fork there smells like distressed snails and fresh fish, right fork more like religion. Or, you could take some time to search the dead-end area.
>>
No. 912552 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 2, 1 = 8

Oh good, we managed to all find each other again! And a doctor!

>squad of goblin scouts.
>but diplomacy might still be an option.
"Hello, can we help you?"
>>
No. 912554 ID: 094652

rolled 5, 6, 1 = 12

Sahara grooms her hands as a means of subtly checking and preparing her claws for combat. If diplomacy fails this should help her initiative.

Plus it's cute, maybe the goblins will like it.
>>
No. 912650 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 4, 4 = 11

"Oh! How wonderful! Customers!" Doctor Falkmin claps a few times. "Wondrous! Magnificent! Magical! I should set up shop right away! One moment-- staff is a bit fiddly..."

Doctor Holly begins struggling with a jigsaw box in the corner, turning her stave into the support beam for a tent...

"Just a moment, and I can offer high quality potions to everyone present! Free samples for enterprising customers who want to stay healthy, yes?"
>>
No. 912683 ID: 2007b6

>>912552
>>912650
The goblins do not find it notably suspicious (or apparently even particularly surprising) that a traveling doctor has set up shop here. More than half of them have apparently had digestive some problems ever since their forward base got a new cook, who'd never seen rabbits before and apparently still doesn't know how to clean them properly. Lot of other injuries and ailments associated with a military career, of course, but that's the one they're particularly sore about, since it's new.

"Before we commit to a deal," says the patrol leader, "have you got some matchbooks, or anything like that, with your heraldry on 'em, so if the potions don't work out, our kin will know who to wreak gruesome vengeance on?"
>>
No. 912695 ID: 9646f1

rolled 4, 5, 5 = 14

>>912492
Snails and fish of course!

Any details on what Lizzys new dentition looks like? She runs her tongue across them and pokes a finger around in there, checking out her chompers. Molars, pre-molars, canines, incisors, what's going on in there?
>>
No. 912746 ID: 2a73e6

rolled 4, 4, 6 = 14

>gruesome vengeance
"I'd like it to be known that I've never met this doctor and can't vouch for her remedies." Mizer will say as he works on the lance. "Do any of you know what the deal is with that throne?"
>>
No. 912767 ID: afdebc

rolled 2, 3, 6 = 11

>More than half of them have apparently had digestive some problems ever since their forward base got a new cook, who'd never seen rabbits before and apparently still doesn't know how to clean them properly.
Any of us know our way around a rabbit well enough to offer the cook some pointers?
>>
No. 912768 ID: 094652

rolled 5, 1, 6 = 12

"We're the Sweet Dreams adventuring company, and you can copy our logo from the company handbook."

Sahara takes out her combat manual with a logo on it and shows it to the patrol leader. Hopefully he doesn't know how to read...
>>
No. 912769 ID: 36647f

rolled 5, 1, 5 = 11

((I haven't done something with Green in a while, so...))
Odd. Green was not familiar with people. The green things were strange though, but the masked one was stranger. Green tried to look at Holly's wares, a bit enthusiastically.

~~*~~

Gale joined the group. He sticks close to Mizer, though he's still wary. The doctor was especially suspicious, but decided to keep quiet for not. Who in the world would run into a dungeon just to make business, and doctoring was certainly a business typically not done down here. That mask looked atrocious though.

Gale looked to Mizer, and said, "So, hello there. I'm Gale."

"So, throne. What's strange about it? Don't dungeons come with furnishings?"
>>
No. 912775 ID: ae8ec4

rolled 6, 5, 4 = 15

>>912006
Before they can react, Montezuma is going to fire an arrow at the sarcophagus using his superhuman agility and then dashing as fast as he can towards the rope bridge. Shooting the big magic thing might destract the goblins long enough for maybe a trap or monster to come out and kill them.
>>
No. 912776 ID: ae8ec4

>>912775
Oh balls.
>>
No. 912836 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 3, 6, 1, 4, 3 = 20

>>912746

"All of my medicines and cure-ails are wondrous and miraculous displays of rigorously tested alchemical and thelogical science! Only a non-believer witch loser would dare to doubt the efficacy of my wares-- they have a 100% curing potential potentiate on the Perkin's Power Potential spectrum! Here, why don't you try a sample-- on the house! What could go wrong?" Doctor Holly finishes setting up, and holds out a green-and-yellow flask of slush for Mizer. This flask has the property of 'makes the target feel giddy', which I guess makes it a poison more than anything if actually taken as prescribed. "Speaking of Perkin, you look like you could use a perk-me-up smile cure! Give it a go-- it's free!"

>>912683
"Well, if it's stomach problems you're having, then I know just the thing! Everyone knows bezoars cure poison, but did you know bezoar powder in tablet form is perfect for tummy troubles? Try out Doctor Wurblin Wobblin's bezoar tablets and feel the healing power-- today!" She's going to present a few powdered tablets for each goblin from a mayonnaise-size jar made with the effect 'soothes indigestion'. They're, alchemically, made of goat kidney stones treated with goat... eugh. Urine.

((Two potions removed with the innate power!))
>>
No. 912943 ID: bb5006
File 154389862483.jpg - (126.41KB , 655x1000 , Mattar skin.jpg )
912943

>>912492

Chasing some distance behind the Goblin party, an auspiciously clad man with a gold colored cloak came running in from ahead, looking somewhat panicked in the dim light until he got to where the group of people were. He looked like a normal human, save for the fact that his skin looked 'off' (Picture related), and he didn't look like he was out of breath in spite of the fact that he very much sounded like he was. In spite of this, he straightened out and introduced himself as personable like as he could.

"Well met fine strangers... I see you too have come and gotten lost in this... Dungeon. I'm sorry for your loss. I too was lost in here unfortunately, and just when I made some friends, they keep trying to leave me behind."

This was something of a lie, in truth the Goblin party had stumbled on him crying in some corner about being so alone and had the misfortune of him noticing them, and so he just started following them and they didn't try to kill him for whatever reason.
>>
No. 912953 ID: 1d7053

rolled 3, 3, 3 = 9

Green is going to attempt to pickpocket the goblins.
>>
No. 916622 ID: 58dc55

Name: Leandra Nettlehome
Race: Human?
Class:  Rich Bitch
Higher Ambition:  Find a way to prevent myself from degenerating into the same kind of monster my twin did, and perhaps cure them as well.
Lower Ambition:  Curiosity
Specialization:  Diplomacy
Phobia: fire and mobs
Parasite: the gestalt hive mind of all her cells and body parts has developed it's own rudimentary consciousness, which prevents body parts from dissasosciating and wandering off as soon as is convenient. For all that it is stupid and bestial it will try to protect her, up to and including taking control of parts of her body if sufficiently threatened. She calls it Dog. She has been trying to 'tame' it, despite being terrified of it going feral like her twin did.
Vulnerability: her twisted curse will itself try to consume any blessings or curses she receives, mutating them to it's ironic purpose, and simultaneously making said curses much harder to remove, though perhaps less debilitating as they are digested and folded into the primary curse.
Innate Power: Cursed with vigorous life.
Now all her body parts, down to cellular level, are capable of autonomy and are modular, though still nominally retaining allegiance to her. A-la The Thing, horror movie.
Severed limbs will evert vascular system like gills, try to assist in fights and eventually try to return, and can be at least temporarily replaced with, uh, donor limbs. Organ systems will attempt to adapt to dangers, and try to harvest/steal any body parts that might help with that from within reach.
Upon event of central nervous system destruction the body will either settle down for some nice gentle slime mold style growth until it gets enough material to regenerate, or take on a 'consumer aspect' and start hunting.
She can't consciously manipulate her own biology, but Dog can.

Left Hip:  (magic item)
Length of maybesilk ribbon, of indeterminate length and position but determinate ownership. Always tied to her body somewhere, though exact location varies, very hard to steal; objects tied onto it gain similar properties: though they don't become lighter, any bulk is negated add they simply never seem to be in the way, always conveniently at hand when needed, and very hard for thieves to grasp. Effectively a less efficient hammerspace/bag of holding, though surprisingly useful for tricks. Very easy to trip people with.
Right Hip:   water jug
Left Shoulder:  spear
Right Shoulder:  dried fruit
Back: dried fruit
Head: blanket cloak
Somewhere uncomfortable: coin purse, positioned to reinforce her attempt to look male.
>>
No. 916764 ID: 2007b6

Mizer's in the cloakroom, disassembling and cleaning the plasma lance. What's your light source for that?

Goblin who accepted an indigestion remedy from Dr. Holly has been transformed into a ring-tailed lemur, approximately half his previous height, with clothes and equipment unchanged (and thus wildly oversized for the new form). Squadmates are dismayed, but the patient attempts to reassure them it's not as bad as it looks, explaining that the indigestion actually was relieved, though now he's got a craving for rotten wood and spiderwebs.

Montezuma comes running in through the door, pursued by a second goblin patrol. The leaders of the two groups look identical, and, upon making eye contact with each other, both of them point and shout something in goblinese that probably translates as "Destroy this impostor!" Where is everybody in the subsequent melee?

Ivori regains consciousness, hearing Montezuma pass by her and the subsequent fight back in the throne room. Her equipment has been ransacked, but only the actual food is missing.
>>
No. 916775 ID: 094652

rolled 4, 5, 4 = 13

Despondent at her latest curse, Ivori wonders if she will ever find her inner peace as she follows the sound of bickering gangs of stupid, thirsting for blood earned in combat. She'll quickly stab the nearest goblins in the back to disable them.

Sahara makes a boastful quip to the 'ringtails' about how she's going to make spaghetti out of their brains if they attack her company instead of the other gang, then quickly begins slicing up the other gang with her claws, using her knives to make it look like she's shiving them.
>>
No. 916816 ID: 6eb5e6

rolled 6, 5, 2 = 13

>Mizer's in the cloakroom, disassembling and cleaning the plasma lance. What's your light source for that?
Mizer asked Gale to fire up his glow light again.

>Where is everybody in the subsequent melee?
Not getting involved! I'll peek out the cloak room to see what's going on, then quickly close the door again.
>>
No. 916866 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 4, 6 = 15

Okay, map of the room back here >>890391

>By cloakroom I meant the one with the table - the one that had a relatively intact cloak hanging in it.
>First group of goblins followed the bulk of the PCs in through the door on the right (the one leading to the area where you fought the slimes), second group came in through the door on the left (the one leading to the area where Ivori very briefly fought some vampires).

I'm going to assume the good doctor set up shop near the (closed) southern door- room to work, and for interested gobos to keep an eye while their companion was being treated, and well away from the transformative taurine throne.

Eira was also watching the doctor work, which would leave her and the doctor (and maybe Mattar?) in the southern end of the room, with a scrum of goblin infighting breaking out immediately to the North, in the middle of the chamber.

Eira will raise her firsts and take a defensive stance in front of the healer, ready to repel any goblins that try to attack them.

Looking at the mirrored forces before her, can Eira tell which goblin commander is the doppelganger? She has something of a personal insight into such matters.
>>
No. 916902 ID: d31fab

rolled 2, 3, 1 = 6

Green is startled. He runs to hide behind the throne, and attempts to be as unnoticeable as possible. He trembles in fear.

Gale wields his spear, and keeps himself some good distance from the hostile meeting of goblins. He holds his spear firm to strike in a moment one may express their hostility upon him. He does not attack, and hopes the problem may resolve itself.
>>
No. 917186 ID: 58dc55

Reposting this to make an edit, sorry.

Name: Leandra Nettlehome
Race: Human?
Class: Rich Bitch
Higher Ambition: Find a way to prevent myself from degenerating into the same kind of monster my twin did, and perhaps cure them as well.
Lower Ambition: Curiosity
Specialization: Diplomacy
Phobia: fire and mobs
Parasite: the gestalt hive mind of all her cells and body parts has developed it's own rudimentary consciousness, which prevents body parts from dissasosciating and wandering off as soon as is convenient. For all that it is stupid and bestial it will try to protect her, up to and including taking control of parts of her body if sufficiently threatened. She calls it Dog. She has been trying to 'tame' it, despite being terrified of it going feral like her twin did.
Vulnerability: her twisted curse will itself try to consume any blessings or curses she receives, mutating them to it's ironic purpose, and simultaneously making said curses much harder to remove, though perhaps less debilitating as they are digested and folded into the primary curse.
Innate Power: Cursed with vigorous life.
Now all her body parts, down to cellular level, are capable of autonomy and are modular, though still nominally retaining allegiance to her. A-la The Thing, horror movie.
Severed limbs will evert vascular system like gills, try to assist in fights and eventually try to return, and can be at least temporarily replaced with, uh, donor limbs. Organ systems will attempt to adapt to dangers, and try to harvest/steal any body parts that might help with that from within reach.
Upon event of central nervous system destruction the body will either settle down for some nice gentle slime mold style growth until it gets enough material to regenerate, or take on a 'consumer aspect' and start hunting.
She can't consciously manipulate her own biology, but Dog can.

Left Hip: (magic item)
Length of maybesilk ribbon, of indeterminate length and position but determinate ownership. Always tied to her body somewhere, though exact location varies, very hard to steal; objects tied onto it gain similar properties: though they don't become lighter, any bulk is negated add they simply never seem to be in the way, always conveniently at hand when needed, and very hard for thieves to grasp. Effectively a less efficient hammerspace/bag of holding, though surprisingly useful for tricks. Very easy to trip people with.
Right Hip: water jug
Left Shoulder: spear
Right Shoulder: dried fruit
Chest: fishing and medical supplies (some amount of the bandages being used to bind her breasts)
Head: blanket cloak
Somewhere uncomfortable: coin purse, positioned to reinforce her attempt to look male.
>>
No. 917262 ID: 0640da

"See? My cure-alls cure all that ails, and my pills are perfectly suited to handling troublesome cases. And the patient themselves agrees nothing is wrong! So, can I interest the rest of you in a few indigestion supplements?" Holly grins underneath her mask, holding out a bottle... before a fight breaks out behind the goblins. "Oh, dear. There seems to be quite a scuffle over yonder... apologies, the stall is temporarily on hiatinus! I must tend to the wounded-- hippocratic oath, you know." Holly leaves the tent where it is, and approaches the goblin mess to 'help' in any way she can.
>>
No. 930790 ID: 2007b6

With the plasma lance cleaned, reassembled, and successfully tested (Charge remaining is now 2:29:40) Mizer exits the cloakroom to find a dozen dead goblins, and a mortally-wounded minotaur slowly transforming back into Lizzy the anthropomorphic leopard gecko.

One of the goblins has a healing potion, which turns out to be remarkably potent, not only returning Lizzy to life but getting her back on her feet. However, the fingers of her left hand can't grip. Tendons were severed, apparently to force the minotaur to let go of somebody. Sure enough, one of the goblin corpses has a minotaur-sized "handprint" wrapped around his torso - and a lot of broken ribs. They're all wearing high-quality leather armor, with small steel plates sewn inside to cover particularly vulnerable points, but that didn't help much against massive horns, fists, and hooves.

In terms of plunder, there are plenty of knives and hatchets with goblin-sized handles, a few intact shortbows, and hundreds of arrows (some of which may be magical, though probably not anything more than a minimal accuracy-and-damage blessing), but no blankets, no food (other than the corpses), and no full waterskins - their base must be fairly nearby. Most of the goblins had pouches full of what initially looked like money, but the vast majority of the coin-sized discs are actually carved from some unusually dense black wood. A few copper coins, no gold.

You've also got a talking ring-tailed lemur as a prisoner.

>>916775
Ivori's still weak and dizzy from blood loss, but otherwise made it through the fight just fine, and contributed to forcing the surviving goblin patrol leader's panicked retreat. It occurs to her that if somebody else were to use that cursed throne to transform into a huge ox-man juggernaut, her 'kiss' (and she's finally got another one ready to go) might be enough to overcome the berserk rage.
>>
No. 930802 ID: 094652

Ivori takes a bundle of arrows, but her hands visibly shake from blood withdrawal. Those goblins didn't have enough nutrients to sustain her for long. She needs a long-term solution.

And this lack of focus has left her wide open.

Sahara is quick to draw a knife (some extras of which she has taken from the goblin spoils) to the newly-christened vampire's throat, and demands to know why a lethal blood junkie is dungeoneering with rooks. Ivori begins spouting every description of the hipster pretty boys who turned her into a monster, along with a spirited desire to murder them all before sunrise. Investigation by the other party members shows that Ivori's vampyrization was fairly recent, and Sahara sheaths her knife, making a quip about asking Holly for a quick cure - after all, said cure is the most likely side effect of any random potion.

Ivori has a quiet talk with Lizzy (in plain view of the others), and asks if she would be willing to transform once more IF Ivori could keep control of her raging bloodlust. Ivori spins a theory that her new vampirism could be the key to minxing the insanity, which would explain how the vampires have survived multiple sucker adventurers turning into giant murderbulls with a hard-on for pulverizing anything that smells of blood. Ivori just has to partial-drain Lizzie as she sits down and in theory that should be enough.

Sahara is somewhat amused by Lizzy's transformation into a cute lizard, and asks if she will learn transformation spells in the near-future.

It should be noted that Ivori and Sahara are overconfident that they could easily slay the other.
>>
No. 930820 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 5, 3 = 11

Eira sighs in disapproval. At least no one in the group was lost, and someone she didn't even know was missing has been recovered.

...none of the corpses are melting, or losing shape, or fading into smoke, or un-transforming, or otherwise revealing themselves to be the bodies of dead doppleganers, are they?

>They're all wearing high-quality [goblin sized] leather armor
That might be an upgrade for Green Redford and Lizzy (as one is wearing a worse for the wear dress and the other lost her clothes in transformation mishaps), but I assume said armor is too small for anyone else? Maybe the lemur.

>the vast majority of the coin-sized discs are actually carved from some unusually dense black wood
Eira will take one of the goblin purses of not-coins. The goblins wouldn't all be carrying them if there wasn't some use for them, right?

>hundreds of arrows
Any fowling arrows? Or are they all the lethal variety.

>You've also got a talking ring-tailed lemur as a prisoner.
Well, what does the lemur have to say for itself, if it can talk? What's it's story? How did it end up with a crew of goblins and/or dopplegangers?
>>
No. 930829 ID: 2007b6

>>930820
>what does the lemur have to say for itself, if it can talk? What's it's story? How did it end up with a crew of goblins and/or dopplegangers?
Joined the army 'cause it sounded better than shoveling lizard shit for a living, assigned to one of the border forts around Greznek, went out on a routine patrol, drank a snake-oil digestive tonic. You saw all the rest from there.
>>
No. 930831 ID: 2007b6

>>930820
>Lizzy [...] lost her clothes in transformation mishaps
Nope, everything she was wearing or carrying when she originally sat on the throne is present and accounted for, and in the exact condition it was in pre-transformation, apart from a few bloodstains acquired post-reversion.
>>
No. 930834 ID: d9acdc

rolled 6, 5, 1 = 12

>>930790
>a mortally-wounded minotaur slowly transforming back into Lizzy the anthropomorphic leopard gecko.
>One of the goblins has a healing potion, which turns out to be remarkably potent, not only returning Lizzy to life but getting her back on her feet. However, the fingers of her left hand can't grip. Tendons were severed, apparently

Lizzy groans out a thank you, best as her sometimes-less-than-coherent stream of consciousness jargon can manage while addled by by pain and dysfunction.

>>930802
>Ivori begins spouting every description of the hipster pretty boys who turned her into a monster
"Yuck, I think I know those guys, all scattering like you'd overturned their log, but nasty and ashy instead of vibrant and delicious." She scowls, hardly even going on with any sort of tangents as she runs a thumb over her non-functional wrist.

>Ivori has a quiet talk with Lizzy (in plain view of the others), and asks if she would be willing to transform once more IF Ivori could keep control of her raging bloodlust.
"I feel all jumbled up inside like my thoughts got mashed together and swirled around in a big angry mortar and pestle and now I'm just trying to hold onto things and get them in the proper place only one of my favorite grabbing and sorting hands is all broken and even though I don't use it for sorting thoughts really it's like I can't even start on fixing the mess because my outside broken is just too much to be happening at the same time as my insides breaking and I can't start on one before I fix the other but that means I'm stuck and can't get anywhere at all!"
She punctuates the end of her single, long winded thought with a spirited "harrumph" as she plops onto the ground, before reaching up and booping Ivory with a light spell.

>Sahara is somewhat amused by Lizzy's transformation into a cute lizard, and asks if she will learn transformation spells in the near-future.
Grumpily, she replies:
"Yeah, I hope so. That sounds like a cool thing to be able to make, new shapes, other kinds of changes. I can shape something dull to be bright and glowy, or make a wax into a wax that's cuter, or all sorts of stuff but I think that I won't like the shapes I make as much now that my hand is hurt. Do you think I'll still be able to catch bugs? Maybe I could change the shape I take for bugs so that they'll come to me before I have to run around and pick them, so that way I can still have a collection of friends and snacks instead of being stuck all alone without my bugs!"

>>930820
>someone she didn't even know was missing has been recovered.
Lizzy looks over at Eira, then flops from her sitting position onto the floor, belly first. From there, she clambers forward on three limbs into a standing position, to better reach the locket around her neck, which she places the flat of her palm on, making it glow.
"I'm Lizzy. I like it when things are bright and right now I'm sad because my hand is hurt and doesn't do things the same way I like it to! I think making your necklace glowy is a good idea because if you don't want it to be not dark then you can hide it but if you want to make sure it's bright and good then you can have it out too, so you can choose which way you like it best! And I think that if you're sad, then when you can have a choice it can make you happy, cause that makes me feel better sometimes too! You sighed and so I thought that maybe you're also sad like me? But that's okay! 'Cause, I think, being sad is an important part of our life? And it makes the happy moments seem brighter and more important, and I like that too! So right now it hurts to not be able to use my hand in all the ways I like, but I think that you're gonna be okay, and I am too."

Rambling fluff interactions aside, Lizzy is unhappy that her hand isn't quite working properly, and casts two light spells, one on Ivory and one of Eira's jade pendant, while introducing herself.

Turning to the goblin, transformed into another creature as she was, she offers condolences.
"That seems like a different coat to the ones the other people here had on. I know I did hurt and kill a lot of the other folks very badly, but I think I'm feeling better now? I wouldn't like to hurt or kill you at all right now I don't think. Do you want us to help you get back to where you came from, or to another shape? Or do you want to stay in this one, or maybe find other people to talk to because even if we want to be nice now sometimes its okay to not forgive people? I can understand if you might be scared of me and why you might want to be near other people and not us, but if you don't want to be somewhere else then maybe we can make a plan to help each other? Together I think?

Rolling to cast two light spells, and ask the gob-lemur what it wants to happen next.
>>
No. 930835 ID: 1ed7af

rolled 2, 5, 2 = 9

>>930834
"Lizzy. Lizzy! You just died. Sit down and rest for goodness sake!" He'll grab Lizzy's shoulders and guide her to a wall that she can lean against, and set down his bowl of water. "Let me look at your hand." How bad is it? Any chance of fixing it without magic?

>Well, what does the lemur have to say for itself
I'll chime in with "Do you know how to get to the surface?"

>asks if she would be willing to transform once more
"Nnnope! Nobody's touching that throne again!"
>>
No. 930839 ID: 2007b6

>>930835
>Any chance of fixing it without magic?
>rolled 2, 5, 2 = 9
Conceivably it could heal on it's own, though that might take months. Some sort of surgical reconstruction to speed things along ought to be reasonably simple: just reopen the wound and link the tendon back up somehow, like splicing a rope. However, any sort of surgery always runs some risk of making things worse, all the more so in a situation with limited equipment and an insufficiently sterile working environment.
>>
No. 930841 ID: b0728b

((This lives! I'm kind of out of whack in role-playing my characters now...))

Green peeks out of his hiding place behind the throne. Looking at the loot left behind by the goblins; specifically, their strange coinage. He nabs a purse filled with them and begin analyzing. He's excited at the strange rock-like things.

Gale lowers his spear. The skirmish quickly died away before his very eyes before he knew it ended.

He turns to Mizer. "That's a nifty looking thing. What's that?"
>>
No. 930842 ID: b0728b

Kinda on a rush. Missed me dice.
>>
No. 930851 ID: 0be68b

rolled 1, 5, 4 = 10

Hopefully this works now.
>>
No. 930875 ID: d9acdc

>>930835
>Lizzy. Lizzy! You just died.
"I seem like I'm okay for being dead, so I think that's a good thing!"
She quietly checks herself for yellow creeper vines around the back of her skull and arms.

>Sit down and rest for goodness sake!
"No thank you, I don't like chairs right now." She says, even as she sits down against the wall, drinking the offered water.
"Do you want some snacks? Or maybe a candle?" The greasy bug crumble is offered, clutched in one working hand.
>>
No. 930934 ID: 094652

rolled 5, 6, 5 = 16

In all this conflict, Sahara almost forgot - the secret passage. Now that she found the party and a meatshield trap-detecting ninja, she can explore that secret passage she found with ease!

Rolling to convince party (and Ivori) to follow her into an unknown, potentially dangerous area.
>>
No. 930983 ID: c2ef39
930983

>((This lives! I'm kind of out of whack in role-playing my characters now...))
(Glad to see you're still around!)

>The skirmish quickly died away before his very eyes before he knew it ended.
Mizer lets out a small squeak. "Aren't you glad we stayed out of all that?"


>"That's a nifty looking thing. What's that?"
"It's a skeleton key. Opens any lock!"

>Prisoner
Forgot to ask, do my manacles fit him?

>follow her into an unknown, potentially dangerous area.
"Everything down here fits that description, so I don't see why not. Let's see what the monkey has to say first though."
>>
No. 931005 ID: 2007b6

>>930841
The dark wood is very dense, and seems to have some sort of natural oil, separate from the discoloration by goblin skin oil around the worn edges. Looks like the 'coins' were originally hexagonal.
>>930835
> "Do you know how to get to the surface?"
"Well, I mean, I know somebody who knows, but I dunno exactly where to find her at this point, or for sure if she'd recognize me. Patrol was s'posed to be orientation and shakedown, ain't exactly got the whole map memorized yet."

>ask the gob-lemur what it wants to happen next
"Well, if it was up to me, I'd start with some food, maybe a nice long nap inside something warm. An' not to be killed, if that's arright."

>>930983
>do my manacles fit him?
An elvenoid-sized leg shackle can be adjusted to fit snugly around his waist.
>The ring-tailed lemur is a relatively large lemur. Its average weight is 2.2 kilograms (4.9 lb).[20] Its head–body length ranges between 39 and 46 cm (15 and 18 in), its tail length is 56 and 63 cm (22 and 25 in), and its total length is 95 and 110 cm (37 and 43 in).[3][20] Other measurements include a hind foot length of 102 and 113 mm (4.0 and 4.4 in), ear length of 40 and 48 mm (1.6 and 1.9 in), and cranium length of 78 and 88 mm (3.1 and 3.5 in).[3]
>>
No. 931040 ID: 2007b6

>>917186
Mutation is Prehensile Blood. Can't be wielded like tentacles (at least not in the quantities you can afford to spare) but you can potentially do the same sorts of things a monstrous spider could do with webbing. Bleeding damage occurs normally, but you can "bandage" your own wounds without outside materials, and heal by re-absorbing your own spilt blood - one HP per ten minutes, up to a limit of how much is available. Downside, apart from looking really weird, is that an open wound has the same risk of snagging on things as the loose edge of a frilly garment.
Phobia is extreme heat.
Vulnerability is that conventional magical healing and spite both inflict injury.
Innate power is similar to a vampire's mist form, but instead of a cloud of smoke, you turn into a heap of splintered bones and gore. Can physically manipulate things, but lack of leverage and atavistic mindset while 'dispersed' makes effective tool use near impossible anyway.
>>
No. 931041 ID: 5f3f48

>>930834
Eira tenses slightly when Lizzy reaches for her locket, but ends up cupping the glowing keepsake, appreciation clear in her expression, slightly touched by the gesture.

"I'm Eira. It's very nice to meet you, Lizzy."

>>931005
>An' not to be killed, if that's arright.
Expression hardening, Eira agrees. "There will be no killing of prisoners."

Since we believe the goblins have some kind of camp or base nearby, then locating it should perhaps be our next goal, to return or ransom their missing comrade.
>>
No. 931050 ID: 797ca2

rolled 4, 3, 3 = 10

It seems the fighting has stopped, and it sounds relatively calm, so Leandra will step around the corner where she has been listening and introduce herself, spear held like a walking stick more than a weapon, and affecting a deep voice with her hood up so as to call into question hey feminity.
"Greetings, fellow delvers. I see you have finished with your unfortunate but if bloodshed, so I hoped to ask if any of you know where the hell we are? My name is Lian, pleasure to meet... Excuse me, err, sir, but are you...a bat?"

Leandra is attempting to present A friendly and most importantly unthreatening face.
"If it's up to vote, gentle...beings, I suggest we seek the goblin settlement rather than some trapped secret side path."
>>
No. 931066 ID: 07332d

rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7

>Excuse me, err, sir, but are you...a bat?
"This is just a costume to fool the locals."

>ain't exactly got the whole map memorized yet.
"Would you be able to remember the way back if you retraced your steps?"
>>
No. 931067 ID: 07332d

>>931066
Also I will ask the goblin if he knows anything about this minotaur throne.
>>
No. 931114 ID: 2007b6

>>931067
>>931066
> anything about this minotaur throne
Apparently there's a secret compartment, and if you try to open it with your butt, everyone in the room could die. Might've misheard that part. There's a two-syllable bit of goblinese military jargon which means 'the things you say to someone before allowing someone into a room, so that if they set that entire room on fire they won't be able to claim it was an accident,' or by extension, any brief warning about extreme yet easily preventable danger given right before the preventative action would be necessary.
>"Would you be able to remember the way back if you retraced your steps?"
Possibly. Colors and smells seem different, and there'd be a lot of guesswork involved in the distance conversion factor with shorter legs.
>"This is just a costume to fool the locals."
>rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7
"Sure fooled me! Never would've guessed you're actually a lightning elemental under there."
>>
No. 931415 ID: 094652

rolled 2, 4, 3 = 9

Sahara identifies the remaining goblin equipment for any unnoticed artifacts.

Ivori studies the chair for secret compartments and the like.
>>
No. 931524 ID: afdebc

>>931050
"Oh. Um, Hello. Any more of you back there?"

Eira's a little caught off guard by how frequently she seems to be running into new people- she didn't realize underground dungeons were so crowded!

>"If it's up to vote, gentle...beings, I suggest we seek the goblin settlement rather than some trapped secret side path."
Two votes for trying for the goblin settlement then, unless anyone else has a better idea.
>>
No. 931534 ID: 2007b6

>>931415
Lizzie opened it already, >>898311 and it's still empty.
>>931524
>trying for the goblin settlement
Former goblin leads you back out the way he came in. Left turn at the T intersection right outside the alcove door, down the hall past the two paths leading upward to the promenade. After 240 feet the 10' square hallway opens up into a perpendicular 20' square hall. The crimson fog is thinner here, and there's ankle-deep red liquid (neither water nor oil, perpetually the color of freshly spilled blood but too thin to be the real thing, same stuff as the fog) pooled all over the floor.

Left again, 170 feet, then an equally wide passage branches off to the left. After about a hundred feet, the lemur starts tapping random-seeming spots on the wall and listening for echoes, examining crevices and so on. "Okay, I remember on this part we had to go slow... didn't seem quite so long, though. Don't worry, we're almost there, I can smell dinner cooking. It was definitely the second passage along this wall here."

After another hundred and fifty feet, you come to an intersection. On the left wall, two narrow passages, six feet high and barely three feet wide, thirty feet apart. On the right wall, a rough-hewn borehole 8' in diameter facing the first narrow passage, and a finely carved and polished flight of stairs dressed in black marble with an intact wrought-iron handrail facing the second one. The oppressively high ceiling of the 20' wide hallway is concealed by a mass of blood-fog with occasional stormcloud-like turbulence, possibly concealing a hovering or climbing thing's cautious movements, but the hallway itself continues straight on for at least another hundred feet.

Lemur leads you into the second narrow passage, breaking into a run. After 40' it gradually transitions into a rougher, wider, and more circular path, twisting upward. There's a Y-shaped branch, which the former goblin regards as a good sign, and he eagerly follows the scent of roasted meat - but then is baffled by the unexpected presence of a 10' square vertical-pivot stone door.

Once you get the door open, the source of the meaty smell is clear. There's a 20' diameter circular room, two other doors equally spaced around the perimeter. Inside, there's no fog. Every surface is covered in black char, speckled with bone fragments or bits of gristle, even across the high domed ceiling, except for a small circle of pale gray ash in the exact center of the floor. Atop the ash, a single perfect white glove, palm facing up.

The lemur admits he may have made a wrong turn at some point.
>>
No. 931568 ID: 1510ad

rolled 4, 1, 2 = 7

>>931534
Any glowing glyphs or perceivable sources of what happened? If not, Mizer is going to take his shovel and try to reach in and scoop up the glove.
>>
No. 931599 ID: 2007b6

>>931568
The glove has three thick lines stitched on the back, parallel to the fingers: black nearest the pinky, gold in the middle, red near the thumb. Seems like it's sized to fit a slim elvenoid with unusually - though not freakishly - long fingers.

Backtracking to the 6-way intersection, the lemur speculates he may have missed a passage covered by some sliding wall, and heads into the other narrow passage... which, after about 90', leads down over a knee-high ledge >>890933 to the spot where Ivori fought vampires, and past that back to the throne. Four left turns brings you in a loop, who could have guessed?
>>
No. 931623 ID: d9acdc

>>931534
>>931599
>Can't find our way back to base

>>931005
>I'd start with some food, maybe a nice long nap inside something warm

"Seems to me like wandering around isn't doing us much luck, expect for getting to see all the things we're seeing and find all the gloves we're finding! Maybe we can give our new friend a chance to eat and rest? I think I would be nice, since they asked and all! Well, I think actually I asked and they answered maybe, so that would still be nice to respect too. Oh, except, if we're here, and it's dangerous, then we want to work on getting out I think, so maybe while anyone who wants to takes a break to rest, everyone else can work on making a pattern to explore and count out where we might be going wrong, and how to get there right instead? Like, to the places we want to go, instead of the ones we don't like being in!"

Lizzy gathers up her "cape" and offers a cozy mound of fabric for the Lemurloblin..., er, let's call him Lelin for now, unless JamesLeng has another name planned out? To cuddle up and share some bug-ball with her.
>>
No. 931624 ID: 094652

Sahara stares at the glove with envy. Maybe it's just a sour cursed gauntlet.

Ivori stares at the ashen room for thirty seconds, then decides it was too good to be true. Whatever this room is, only a moron would step inside. And the leader would send his dupes out to trigger the incinerator anyway.
>>
No. 931685 ID: afdebc

rolled 6, 2, 5 = 13

>>931534
>The lemur admits he may have made a wrong turn at some point.
"It's okay, this is a labyrinth, after all."

>Every surface is covered in black char, speckled with bone fragments or bits of gristle, even across the high domed ceiling, except for a small circle of pale gray ash in the exact center of the floor. Atop the ash, a single perfect white glove, palm facing up.
So either a wizard blew someone up, the room is trapped, or the glove blew up its last wearer. (Or alternatively, the glove is some kind of artifact, and survived whatever destroyed the previous wearer).

>>931599
>The glove has three thick lines stitched on the back, parallel to the fingers: black nearest the pinky, gold in the middle, red near the thumb. Seems like it's sized to fit a slim elvenoid with unusually - though not freakishly - long fingers.
Maybe wearing the glove and pointing triggers different magical effects? Not really safe to experiment with thought, until we rule out the glove as cursed or trapped.

>>931623
>Maybe we can give our new friend a chance to eat and rest?
Eira muses with a frown "If the camp is nearby, it would be nice to find a safe place to rest".

If the Lelin is worn out (and the rest of the group isn't) they could always just hitch a ride.

Rolling for spot, any traces or evidence that suggest which way (one of) the goblin parties came from, when examining the circuit we just traveled? (Seems safe to assume the path doesn't lead through the burnt charnel room, since it wasn't familiar to Lelin).
>>
No. 931738 ID: 2007b6

>>931685
Footprints along the last part of the trail, leading from the flooded 20' square passage to where you all saw the goblin patrol enter the throne room, but you can't confidently trace them much further back than that.

Assuming you've all regrouped at the throne room, the loop presents a handy focal point for recapping the known map. Starting from the throne and proceeding clockwise:
1) intersection where Embri was drained by vampires, 10' wide perpendicular passage on the left leads past a side area smelling of rust and panic, over a small chasm and into a crypt. Other direction, to the right, was explored by Lizzitaur but she doesn't remember it very well.
2) Up a waist-high ledge and through a narrow (6' high, 3' wide) hallway leads to a six-way intersection. Options from there, continuing clockwise, are A) the path leading upward to that cave with the charred room (and before that a Y-split to more cave, which goblemur initially said was a dead end but probably isn't), B) a 20' wide hallway continuing at least a hundred feet into the unknown, C) neat and tidy stairs leading upward, or D) a rough-hewn borehole,
3) Following that 20' wide passage in the opposite direction, you come to a T-junction with a big pit trap in the middle of it. Easy enough to step around the corner since you had a semi-trained goblin guide to point it out for you. Wide passage to the left turns sharply after less than 50' but there might be some other route down in the corner, hard to tell through the fog.
4) Following the 20' wide passage right instead through ankle-deep blood-colored goo, it turns left just after the 10' square path pack toward the throne room splits off to the right.
5) Two different side passages both ultimately lead upward to a false 'outdoors' area haunted by some distant place and/or time. At least three unexplored exits from there: a concealed door in a cliff face, a partially collapsed hall at the opposite side of the promenade, and a route that can only be reached by an exertion of will to 'switch tracks' within a hypnagogic garden idyll. Possibly other archways can also function as portals, under the right conditions.
6) Back to the throne room at last, the hallway continues on, sloping slowly downwards. Sonar suggested a watery obstacle around the corner which has yet to be examined up close.
>>
No. 931757 ID: 094652

Ivori votes for 4 at the same time Sahara votes for 1.

Naturally, they begin glaring at each other.
>>
No. 931793 ID: 2007b6

>>931757
Two different ways to go from point 1, which is Sahara advocating?
>>
No. 931794 ID: afdebc

>>931738
Eira is inclined toward 2c. Good constructions implies some kind of civilized intent.
>>
No. 931823 ID: c7496c

>>931794
Lizzy, eyes somewhat glazed over as she shares her snacks, hears "there's signs of civilization, let's head that way!" and agrees that this sounds lovely.
>>
No. 931827 ID: 2007b6

>>931823
>>931794
Who's in front, and what sort of precautions are they taking against traps or ambushes while climbing the stairs?
>>
No. 931828 ID: 094652

Ivori will stick with Lizzy, Sahara will stick with Eira.
>>
No. 931837 ID: c7496c

>>931827
Hopefully I didn't forget anyone:

Mixer
Eira
Sahara
Dr. Falkmin
Lizzy
Ivory
Green
Gale
Leadra

Mizer up front for lock picking and sonar, accompanied by Eira and Sahara for front line support since they're sticking together. Dr. Falkmin and Lizzy in the middle for non-combat roles, with Ivory sticking close to Lizzy, and Gale taking the rear with Leadra since Leadra can tank and I think Gale has a spear.
>>
No. 932062 ID: afdebc

rolled 4, 1, 3 = 8

>>931837
I think that omits a few of the characters who lost their players (like Hive and Grave), but we probably shouldn't be too concerned about them.

Rolling for spot or awareness or what have you as we travel.
>>
No. 932081 ID: 4c60a1

Normally 'Lian' would be hung ho about standing in the front, both because 'he' is a diplomat and because he seems to almost totally lack any reasonable fear of death, but since the char room he has been subdued and nervous, and accepts a place in the back of the group.
>>
No. 932601 ID: f57349

>>932062
Stairwell ascends 60', with a landing every ten feet, forming a zigzag shape from the side. Each of the four landings has a door, but they're sealed shut with some sort of dishwater-gray crystalline material - barely harder than balsawood, but there's a lot of it.

The fourth landing is strewn with caltrops. Fortunately, Mizer's echolocation spots them easily - rusty iron spikes would otherwise blend into the fog all too well.

Ten feet above and fifteen feet behind you (or twenty feet directly above, for those back on the third landing) a soft voice says "Hold still or I'll shoot. Who goes there?" in Humish.
>>
No. 932611 ID: 094652

rolled 3, 6, 2 = 11

Sahara is quick to respond. "Don't shoot, we're just explorers. We found ourselves in that hallway of portals. Which portal or exit do we use to get to the nearest safe town?"

Ivori prepares to quick-draw her bow without the guard noticing.
>>
No. 932685 ID: f57349

>>932611
"What are your names? Where are you from? Which weighs more, wet oak leaves or dry ironwood leaves?"
The figure seems to be elvenoid. Broad-brimmed hat, cloak wrapped around. Right knee and left foot on the edge of the landing, left elbow braced against left knee and one of the verticals supporting a railing, crossbow (with some sort of elaborate clockwork mechanism and a gravity-fed 10 shot magazine) pointed down at a 45-degree angle.

Ivori's in the middle of the group, and as such would need to aim straight up into the foggy darkness - an awkward position at best. The guard could be behind full cover relative to Ivori just by moving a few inches back. As it is, only the left hand, weapon, and front edge of the hat are clear targets, though some sort of trick shot off the railing is at least theoretically possible.
>>
No. 932769 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 1, 2 = 6

Holding still and not climbing any higher up the stairs seems a good idea, considering they have a weapon trained on us.

>What are your names?
"Greetings. I'm Eira, this is Mizer, Sahara, Dr. Falkmin, Lizzy..."

Eira continues down the marching order giving names, until she reaches the Lemur-goblin. "...and, oh, I'm sorry. I don't believe I got your name?"

>Where are you from?
Eira would answer this honestly (wherever the expedition set out from) except I'm not sure where that was, OOC. Did this group start in Passholdt or somewhere else?

>Which weighs more, wet oak leaves or dry ironwood leaves?
"Would that not depend on how many leaves you have? Do we have a botanist?"
>>
No. 932836 ID: d9acdc

>>932685
>>932769
Lizzy nods along as Eira introduces everyone. As we discuss what exactly should be disclosed about our origins- do we say the city we met in? Our hometown? The throne room we left from before ascending the stairs? Lizzy chimes in helpfully:
"I don't remember where I came from! I think though that some people don't like that! Are you going to be upset if I don't know where I'm from? Maybe I could lie and tell you I know exactly where I'm from but then that wouldn't be true! Do you have a favorite place you'd like us to be from?"
>"Would that not depend on how many leaves you have? Do we have a botanist?"
Or maybe, if you have a broken scale? Or one arm is stronger so two handfuls feel the same but then they're not? I'm wondering if this is a special trick riddle, or maybe something a special group of people should all know but others don't, so they can tell who their friends are right away? Maybe the answer isn't even about leaves and we have to say something unexpected that they want to hear! Maybe its also about where we're from, and if we're from a special place we can answer that question and the leaves question at the same time! Do you want us to tell you we're from a city where the leaves are heavier?"

TL;DR Lizzy is admitting her origins are a bit hazy, and wonders if that's a bad thing in eyes of the questioner. She also goes on about all the various answers that might be desirable regarding the question about leaves, insinuating it might be a trick question or a call and response.
>>
No. 941886 ID: b50e1a

rolled 3, 5, 6 = 14

>>932685
Gonna try to dazzle him with my thermal Lance! Mizer will quickly whisper something about closing your eyes to his party.
>>
No. 941888 ID: f57349

>>941886
The lance fails to ignite, but you're clearly waving something complicated around with hostile intent, so now, twang-thwup, you've got a crossbow bolt stuck in your shoulder.
>>932769
>I don't believe I got your name?
"Lieutenant Mezuryk. Still willing to parley, if you've got news or supplies from the surface, but if any of you come up any higher than that landing without being invited, or try anything else stupid, next shot goes in somebody's eye."
>>
No. 941892 ID: b50e1a

rolled 1, 3, 5 = 9

>>941888
Mizer let's the lance clatter to the floor. "We have news! What kind of news do you want? Just don't shoot me again!"

Alright, can I use echolocation to figure out what's behind him? Anymore crossbow assholes? Also Mizer will examine his wound and see how bad it'll interfere with flying.
>>
No. 941894 ID: f57349

>>941892
>What kind of news do you want?
"Anything about my... about the Fire Hawks Company."
>examine his wound
Doesn't seem to have hit the brachial artery, so unless it gets infected, you'll survive. Tendon connecting to the pectoral muscle has a notch in it, less than a third of the way through but that's more than enough to be a problem.
>and see how bad it'll interfere with flying.
Hard take-off from a standing start, especially with a load, you'll probably tear it, dislocating the whole joint and crippling the wing until you get surgery. Gliding or slowing a fall might be doable, but it'll feel like walking on a twisted ankle. Full recovery seems likely, but it'll definitely take at least a few days, and up to six months isn't out of the question... unless you can get some magical healing within the next hour or so.
>>
No. 941895 ID: f57349

>>941892
> can I use echolocation to figure out what's behind him?
Active scans at this point would get you shot again, and it's hard to concentrate anyway due to the pain. Doesn't sound like there's anybody else moving around or breathing up there, though.
>>
No. 941904 ID: 094652

rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7

Sahara is suddenly on guard at the sudden injury.

"Hey! Next time you want to fire a warning shot, aim for the leg! You could have killed Mizer!

Sahara asks the crew if they have any potions left; a clipped wing can end careers. She intentionally ignores Holly, though.

"Like I said, we found ourselves here, and now we want out. If your company is legally registered, your best bet is to leave this place with us and head to the nearest town, then to the nearest city, and talk to the guild unions for more information."

Ivori sheathes her bow. The archer is a good shot, but of trigger-happy judgement. All she needs do is calm him down and he'll be more open. Possibly to stabbing.

"If I ever heard of the Fire Hawks, I don't know where they are or what they're called now. But we could use a dead shot like you, and you're going to need extra eyes if you want to get out of this place without being ambushed. Trust me, I know."
>>
No. 941908 ID: b50e1a

rolled 2, 4, 2 = 8

>"Anything about my... about the Fire Hawks Company."
"They're set up on the surface, near that big gazebo temple. Last I heard."
>>
No. 941909 ID: b50e1a

>"... But we could use a dead shot like you ..."
"Seriously? If he's going to travel with us, I expect to at least be reimbursed for my injury. I may never fly again!"
>>
No. 941930 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 4, 6, 5 = 15

>"Anything about my... about the Fire Hawks Company."
"Wasn't there some fuss about their archwizard reappearing in Passholdt around a month ago? He got turned in a lizard." Eira touches her own scales as she speaks, as if wondering why this would cause a scandal. "Sorry, I don't know more, I never was very good at keeping up with celebrity gossip."
>>
No. 942241 ID: d9acdc

rolled 4, 6, 6 = 16

>>941888
As everyone murmurs half-remembered gossip from Passholdt, Lizzy raises her voice, to better address the unseen assailant.

"We have a glove, with black stitching and a pretty red to gold to black pattern! If you want it, we could help you get news in the towns and you could help us get to the towns first! We could also trade eating and drinking and friendly hugs, only Mizer probably wants to trade punches, so unless that's something you like you should probably not go close to him!"
>>
No. 942314 ID: f57349

>>941930
>>942241
After you hand over the glove, Lt. Mezuryk, a perfectly normal living human, joins the party.
>>941908
>>941909
By way of apology, the lieutenant gives Mizer a potion of least true healing. Shoulder is still sore and swollen afterward, but there's nothing else wrong that a hearty meal and a good night's sleep won't fix. Tendon should be good as new.

Beyond the lieutenant's sniper nest is a heavily barricaded passage leading to the charred room where you found that glove.
>>
No. 942395 ID: 5139d2

rolled 1, 3, 1 = 5

>By way of apology
Mizer grudgingly accepts the lieutenant into the party.

>leading to the charred room where you found that glove.
"Seriously? What's the deal with this room, do you know anything Mezuryk?"

Is this passage at the top of the staircase, or just a branching path?
>>
No. 945968 ID: f57349

>>942395
>Is this passage at the top of the staircase, or just a branching path?
Top of the stairs. Mezuryk was peeking over the edge where another flight upward would have been. From the charred room you've essentially got two routes back down to the wider hallway, and two natural cavern pathways. The cave on the left, as you're coming from the stairwell, has a vaguely reptilian smell and is almost unnaturally quiet, while the one on the right through the third door has distant echoes of people talking - lots of people, like a busy marketplace, but probably at least a quarter-mile away - and an undertone that might be running water.
>rolled 1, 3, 1 = 5
Mezuryk is actually a vampire, and, even if not actively plotting to kill you all, at least very willing to given cause. The former-goblin lemur is more trustworthy, though far from absolutely so. Mezuryk does not yet realize that you know.
>>
No. 945983 ID: d9acdc

rolled 4, 2, 6 = 12

>>945968
Skip to the bottom of you want the short n sweet version.

Lizzy bounces in front of the new party member, grabbing his attention visually before asking if she can pull on his sleeve; apparently she feels it is important to do so since she wants to grab his attention, because she needs to ask him a question.
To anyone who points out the inanity of this course of action, she explains that tugging on sleeves is a good way to get someone's attention, but that you shouldn't touch without asking, especially not in a dangerous situation. There's a lot more elaboration on the various nuanced rules she's come to understand, but the end result has her pointing down the tunnel with voices.

"We want to get to the surface, and also to be safe, can we go down that tunnel to get help from other people who talk? I hear that when you need something you're supposed to ask, and it's easier to ask someone who understands things like what you're saying! And so, um, I think this would be a good choice to get us help. What do you think, is it safe?"

Lizzy asks the Lt if the tunnel with the voices is a good route to pick for finding help getting to the surface and to safety.
>>
No. 946176 ID: 094652

rolled 5, 1, 1 = 7

Sahara suddenly feels tired for some reason, as if the weight of a month without sunbeams has come crashing down on her. She leans on Eira and tries to focus on her ears for perception as she has lost motor control of her eyelids.

Ivori, for her part, remains suspicious of Mezuryk's sudden capitulation, but Lizzy will keep him distracted. Ivori studies Mezuryk closely for any details or weaknesses, just as she has done with everyone else in this party.
>>
No. 946312 ID: f57349

rolled 82 = 82

>>945983
Mezuryk doesn't think anything down here is really safe, but figures that's as a good a plan as any.

The indicated tunnel goes about 150' relatively straight, with a little twist to the left breaking line of sight to the last 20', then opens up into a natural-looking cave too large for torchlight to clearly reveal the far wall. At least two other exits on the left, and there's a cool breeze coming from a smaller (but still easily navigable) tunnel on the right, but the noise seems to be coming from straight ahead. Rolling for random encounter.
>>
No. 946313 ID: f57349

>>946312
> rolled 82 = 82
Blood-colored fog hangs low, swirling among the stalagmites, but as far as you can see the cave is otherwise unoccupied.
>>
No. 946320 ID: d9acdc

rolled 2, 3, 2 = 7

>>946313
Lets head for that tunnel with the voices then, checking for any fog being disturbed- areas where it's suspiciously displaced, absent, bunched up, moving abnormally, etc, while moving forwards.
>>
No. 946347 ID: 094652

rolled 3, 5, 2 = 10

"Careful. They live in the fog."

Ivori pricks her eyes and ears, waiting for the vampires to attack their party. Sahara's eyes dart open and begin glaring at any source of vampires she can find, including Ivori.
>>
No. 946501 ID: afdebc

rolled 4, 5, 5 = 14

>>946312
Eira pauses once the group reaches the cave, closes her eyes, and cups a hand to her ear, concentrating on the noise ahead, trying to make it out.
>>
No. 946595 ID: f57349

Marching along, 80' across the cave, another 40' through an almost corkscrew-shaped tunnel, there's a Y intersection, market noise is coming from the branch on the left. Assuming you keep going that way, maybe 100' relatively straight, a 90-degree turn to the left, another hundred feet, and you're at the "marketplace."

First thing you notice is an abrupt, invisible shift in the air. Across the bouncary, it smells like freshly fried goat, with undertones of honey and herbs. Tunnel expands to twenty or thirty feet wide, a jumble of stone blocks forming 'countertops' between knee and chest height, depending on the depth of rubble in front. Elvenoid silhouettes coalesce out of the fog, maneuver around each other, stop to 'haggle' with equally vague figures standing behind slabs, and disperse again whenever you look directly at them. All the ambient speech is in a foreign tongue, while individual words are further obscured by unnaturally prolonged echoes.

The whole place is apparently a vaguely haunted caricature of a busy market, background without foreground.
>>
No. 946756 ID: 3c4a2d

rolled 6, 1, 2 = 9

Lizzy is facinated, and rushes from "stall" to stall, hoping to catch something real. Marketplaces are always so exciting!

My guess is that she is ultimately unable to find anything of interest, and that we should move on; where to, I, as a player, have little input. The labyrinthine quality of this labyrinth has got me kinda stumped. Maybe we can backtrack and try some of those other forks? I dunno if any of that is new ground or not.
>>
No. 946802 ID: 094652

rolled 2, 6, 4 = 12

Sahara explains the illusion and weird pitholes behind each 'stall' as best she can. She also has a feeling this place is meant to keep treasure hunters from examining any deeper, so she looks for more treasure while in the middle of the party now that she has a team keeping her from walking to her doom.

Ivori simply rolls her eyes and keeps her bow notched, on the lookout for an ambush. She uses her experience in ambushes to point out the best areas for cover and positioning.
>>
No. 947218 ID: f57349

rolled 14 = 14

>>946756
Lizzie is accused of petty theft and dragged off to face judgement by the local lord. Everyone else sees her wander away in a trance, through what looked like a solid wall near the far end of the "marketplace" cave, about 200' away. There's also a more natural-looking tunnel to the left of the secret passage.

Inside the lord's manor, Lizzie marches dutifully to the great hall and waits until...
>>
No. 947219 ID: f57349

>>947218
...she realizes those aren't courtiers and guards going through the motions of official business before her trial can begin; they're just elvenoid bodies, empty shells of meat dancing and ululating mindlessly.

Room you're in is thirty feet wide, sixty feet long, and the arched ceiling averages fifteen feet high. You entered through a 10' wide vertical-pivot stone door in the center of one of the shorter walls. There's a throne of some darker sort of rock, nearly as wide as the door and proportionately high, centered at the far end of the room. The throne has been empty for a long, long time. Two more doors flanking it, and a bas relief cityscape carved into the wall between them.
>>
No. 947221 ID: d9acdc

rolled 2, 6, 1 = 9

>>947219
Let me try to see if I've got a handle on the story thus far. The separated expedition group found stragglers reuniting the in the throne room we started in. Lizzy sat in it, turned into a minotaur, and then was eventually slain, before being brought back with a healing potion which unfortunately didn't help her severed tendons. After wandering around she's now been separated from the group and left in a different empty throne room. How's she doing for hunger, thirst, injuries, and rest? Have her rations of wine and dried meat been significantly reduced? Here's her starting inventory list:
Kindling
>Jug of Wine
Canvas, fashioned into a wedding train-esque cape given her relatively small stature
>Candles, shaped like waxy millipedes crawling around on her.
Dried bugs Meat, mixed with ghee and other additives to create a crumbly, greasy trail mix.
>A consumable magic light source, stylized to resemble a lightning bug. Striking it activates it, and the casing allows it to be stuck to things easily and covered if needed. Pinned to a cool pointed hat is preferable.
Coin Purse

If she doesn't need to rest, let's try and go back out the door she came through.
>>
No. 947243 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 5, 2 = 13

Sahara: "Well, that's new!"
Ivori: "Hmph."

Ivori quickly studies the wall Lizzy went through for traps and opening methods while Sahara takes a peek at the tunnel opening.
>>
No. 947890 ID: c3da40

rolled 5, 3, 5 = 13

Lian will go to keep watch with his shoulder against the corner of the tunnel near the secret entrance, positioned to watch down the tunnel while keeping cover from it, occasionally glancing back into the room to keep an eye on his companions.

If a threat approaches he will move to interpose himself between it and his allies with a careless confidence despite not seeming very familiar with the spear.

Does Leandra's more monstrous instincts recognise anything in the red fog? Does it smell like blood?
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