Bastien, Leif, Old Kurgen, & Shona. Chapter One.

Dec 27, 2021 5:02 am

OOC:

I'm going to have to refresh myself on the combat mechanics but will do so and post asap.

Dec 28, 2021 1:00 am

OOC:

Ok. I'll kick things off with Leif's "Enter the Fray" move. I'll say this is "facing off against your foe", so +heart.

Strong Hit. Awesome. Leif gets +2 Momentum, and he has Initiative with respect to the monster.

So Leif has a total of +5 Momentum currently.

I'm thinking that in this co-op mode, we should each take turns making a combat move. So Bastien can Enter the Fray now, and then we'll go back and forth making a combat move.

Our combat track is currently blank:
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Leif hears the voice and immediately draws his sword. Grendel whips its tail around and makes a hissing noise. A moment later... something emerges from the hole where the seal once stood. Leif's first impression is that it looks like a crab. But a crab the size of a large dog or a mountain lion. It's carapace is mottled gray and black. Two large pincers precede its body, and three stalked eyes move about constantly. Where a normal crab would have its mouth, this beast has something far worse - a circular orifice containing three rows of razor sharp teeth.

A booming voice reverberates from somewhere deep in the creature's body. "You have released me, but I am afraid that my imprisonment has left me drained. I am going to have to eat you. If you don't fight back, I will make it quick."

Last edited December 28, 2021 1:13 am

Rolls

1d6+3, 1d10, 1d10

1d6+3 : (6) + 3 = 9

1d10 : (6) = 6

1d10 : (5) = 5

Old Kurgan

Valdus

Dec 31, 2021 12:47 am

Kurgan shook his old head, his dog barking at a clicking crunching thing. This happened a lot to old Kurgan, one of his men called it "Leaving the Fray", where his mind wandered off into other thoughts, other times, maybe even other realms. Gripping his bearded axe, recognizing the distinct danger bark of his hound, Kurgan stepped forward, pulling his consciousness back to the Cobalt. There he was oddly ready, he thought, for what was coming up at him.

Yet the axe did not move in those moments, the hound still barking.

Jan 2, 2022 6:37 am

OOC:

Ok, sorry for my absence. I caught a bug of some kind over the holidays, fortunately, not COVID. Thankfully, I'm feeling quite a bit better, already. I'll roll +heart to Enter the Fray and write up my post based on the result.

Ok, a weak hit. I'll take initiative and follow up with a strike.

A strong hit inflicts 1 harm and I keep initiative. I'm not sure if I should wait on another strike until everyone else makes a move, or keep on beating it down until I lose initiative...

I also take +1 momentum from the Long Arm asset.

The thing that emerged from the tunnel that Basten had unwittingly opened was like nothing he had ever seen. At least it's not bothering to try to deceive us, he thought as he stepped forward to engage it.

"You'll appreciate the meal more if you have to work for it. Besides, you look pretty tasty yourself," he said as he struck out with his quarterstaff. With one smooth motion, the staff connected solidly with the creature's front-right leg, and Bastien was poised to strike again.

Last edited January 2, 2022 7:05 am

Rolls

Enter the Fray +Heart - (1d6+1, 1d10, 1d10)

1d6+1 : (5) + 1 = 6

1d10 : (5) = 5

1d10 : (9) = 9

Strike +Edge +1 (Long Arm asset) - (1d6+3, 1d10, 1d10)

1d6+3 : (1) + 3 = 4

1d10 : (2) = 2

1d10 : (1) = 1

Old Kurgan

Valdus

Jan 6, 2022 3:25 pm

Once again the old man shook his head, his hound growling and snapping at the smell of a strike made by Bastien it she nugged her master forward. To Kurgan it seemed a blur, as if it did not even seem real, he lashed out and tried to gain some sort of upper hand with his bearded axe.

... The adventurer heard the satisfying crunch, the spit of a bit of blood and mucus that tasted slightly fishy. He smiled, a smile he had not used in a very long time. "If we eat it, Ill make the fire," he shouted- pulling his axe from the wound.

Rolls

Battle with axe - (1d6+2, 1d10, 1d10)

1d6+2 : (6) + 2 = 8

1d10 : (1) = 1

1d10 : (6) = 6

Jan 8, 2022 7:40 pm

OOC:

If I'm keeping track correctly, we've done 2 harm to this thing, which means 4 boxes on the progress track. So the track looks like:
:: :: :: :: _ _ _ _ _ _
(stealing someone else's use of periods and colons to mark tics)

Leif has initiative, so he will Strike using his wyvern asset. So that's +Heart.

Strong Hit! That's 3 Harm, which will finish this thing off.

Leif makes a piercing whistle to get Grendel's attention, then gives the hand motion to attack. There is no room for Grendel to fly, but still being young, Grendel is small and lithe. The wyvern dodges between the horror's claws, then sinks its teeth into the spot where the creatures eye stalks protrude. There is a loud crunch as the crab-thing's shell cracks open under the pressure. When Grendel pulls back, foul meat covered in black ichor trails behind the chunk of shell in Grendel's mouth. He spits the disgusting mess onto the ground and then shakes his head with his tongue out in an attempt to fling the black goo off.

Meanwhile, the horror slumps to the ground. Something inside it makes a hollow, echoing sound as it stops moving. Leif approaches it cautiously with his sword extended and pokes at its claws.

"Looks like it's dead," he says. "If such a thing can be said to live or die." He gives Grendel a quick pat on the side and then looks around at his companions. "Everyone ok? he asks.

OOC:

Going back to a previous question about whether or not to wait for other people to take "their turns" before making another move: I think it would be cool if we let this game be a little more freeform, so that there is low pressure to post. Maybe give everyone a day to post, and then if someone doesn't, we all agree that it's ok for others to keep moving. It's kind of like the PbP equivalent of West Marches: if you can post today, post. If not, whoever is around can post. But that's just my take.

Last edited January 8, 2022 7:54 pm

Rolls

Strike +Heart (+3) - (1d6+3, 1d10, 1d10)

1d6+3 : (3) + 3 = 6

1d10 : (2) = 2

1d10 : (4) = 4

Jan 14, 2022 5:41 am

Bastien waited until Leif made sure that the monstrosity that had attacked them was dead before he settled back onto his heels. "I'm fine," he replied to Leif's inquiry.

I'm damn lucky that I didn't bring us all to an ignominious end with such careless behavior, he thought to himself, silently promising to be more careful; to spend more time looking before he leaped from now on.

"Before you make that fire, Old Kurgan, we should decide where to camp tonight. I will admit that I find myself to be of more than one mind about that. On the one hand, the way that storm caught us by surprise makes it seem sensible to keep some rock over our heads. It is dry here, and there is plenty of room for everyone. I worry, though, whether anyone would get any rest with that opening staring them in the face. Alternatively, we could camp above ground here and perhaps rig the staircase with something that will sound an alarm if anything tries to climb out from down there. Or, if none of that seems appealing we can press on through dusk and put as much distance between us and this place as we can."

"I have many questions about this place and would like to spend some time exploring it, but I don't want to place other people in danger in order to do so. I am also not sure that now is the best time to undertake such an endeavor."

Jan 15, 2022 6:12 pm

OOC:

Been sick. Sorry for lack of posting.

Leif rubs his chin. "I think it's probably best we don't sleep here. We don't know if anything else might have been imprisoned or held back by that door. Perhaps we can wait out the storm, then camp not far outside the village. Unless your magic has some way to reseal the portal."

Jan 16, 2022 8:29 am

OOC:

I looked back to make sure that we didn't have any outstanding debts from missed rolls that still needed to be accounted for before we moved on and was reminded that the miss on the 'make camp' roll was a match. I wasn't thinking about that when I had Bastien ask about camping here or leaving. With that back in mind now, I feel like if we are able to leave here and camp safely, then we haven't paid the price for that miss. So, instead, I propose that the storm damaged the entrance badly enough to trap us down here. Maybe a lightning strike caused the floor of the ruined building above us to collapse. What do y'all think?

Jan 16, 2022 6:58 pm

OOC:

Not sure I like the idea of being buried in here. Maybe the storm has intensified to near hurricane conditions (not unreasonable given that we're on islands), and that we literally can't go anywhere else without extreme risk.

Jan 17, 2022 6:13 am

"Right. Then we'll move as soon as the storm passes," Bastien agreed. It was enough for him. If anyone in the group wasn't comfortable staying where they were he wasn't going to push the issue. Instead, he climbed partway back up the stairs so he'd be able to tell when it was safe to move. It was already late in the day. If they wasted any time they'd run out of daylight before they found a place to camp.

After only a couple of minutes up near the entrance, it became clear that the weather was not improving. If anything it was getting worse.

No sense in staying up here, he thought. We're not going anywhere any time soon.

A bolt of lightning struck a tree nearby as he turned and headed back down below. It was going to be a long night.

Jan 17, 2022 6:57 pm

Leif sighs. He's not comfortable making camp here, but it looks like they will be here overnight whether they like it or not. He pushes his fears aside and gets the attention of the goup.

"Alright," he says, "it looks like we're here for the night. But we can handle that. We defeated one monstrosity, we can do it again if needed. We have two beasts with us that can help keep watch with their keen senses. If we trust each other, we can get some rest even here."

OOC:

Leif is trying to use "Secure and advantage" with +Heart by giving a motivational speech. He gets a weak hit. I guess the rest of the crew is like "yeah, yeah. we know how to make a safe camp." But Leif does get +1 momentum.

Last edited January 17, 2022 6:59 pm

Rolls

Secure an advantage - (1d10, 1d10, 1d6+3)

1d10 : (1) = 1

1d10 : (10) = 10

1d6+3 : (1) + 3 = 4

Jan 17, 2022 7:03 pm

OOC:

As long as I'm here, I'll go ahead and make the "Make camp" roll. If I'm correct, we still have 4 supply.

Weak Hit - we can each choose one of the benefits for making camp. Since no one is hurt (I don't think), whichever of us will be making the next Undertake a Journey move should probably take the Prepare bonus for +1 to that roll. If Leif isn't the one making that move, he'll take Focus for +1 Momentum.

Last edited January 17, 2022 7:07 pm

Rolls

Make camp - (1d10, 1d10, 1d6+4)

1d10 : (5) = 5

1d10 : (10) = 10

1d6+4 : (3) + 4 = 7

Jan 19, 2022 10:50 pm

"We will certainly make the best of it," Bastien agreed. "Hopefully, the storm will clear out before morning. Let's do a two-hour rotation on the watch. I'll start us off. You all try to get some rest."

OOC:

I'd swear that I posted this question already, but apparently, I didn't. Do we want to delve into this site any further while we wait for the weather to clear?

Jan 20, 2022 1:57 am

OOC:

A delve would be fun, sure! So would this be instead of making camp? If so, we can just if ore my make camp roll, and Bastien can encourage our merry band to explore. Might make more sense to the characters than sleeping by the portal to darkness anyway.

Jan 20, 2022 9:27 am

OOC:

No need to go back and change anything. Let's just keep the storm around for another day and see how it goes from there. That being the case, Bastien will take +1 Momentum, also.

The night passed relatively uneventfully. The notable exception was the occasional noise that drifted up from the depths. The noises were indistinct. They sounded as if they originated much deeper underground than the group's campsite. They were always accompanied by a change in the manner by which air flowed through the room. That is, every once in a while a warm breeze emanated from the passageway that Bastien had carelessly opened. The breeze carried with it a foul odor and the occasional noise from below.

Whenm morning came, the storm still had not abated. After he had broken his fast, Bastien told the others, "I can't sit here all day wondering what dangers are lurking below us. I an going to have a look for myself. You are all welcome to join me, of course, but are under no obligation to do so."

Bastien gathered a few items that he considered essential for dungeoneering. Once he had everything ready he moved to the tunnel entrance. It looked like Leif intended to join him, a fact for which he was very grateful.

Rolls

Delve the Depths with observation, intuition, or expertise. - (1d6+3, 1d10, 1d10)

1d6+3 : (6) + 3 = 9

1d10 : (3) = 3

1d10 : (2) = 2

Jan 20, 2022 10:16 am

OOC:

I'm not sure where my head was when I had us entering a cave or underground structure when the site was supposed to be a fortified shadowfen, but done is done, I suppose. I rolled a strong hit to Delve the Depths so we delve deeper, mark progress, and Find an Opportunity. I have something in mind, so I'm not going to roll for this one.

The party made their way cautiously down into the depths. After an hour of uneventful travel, Bastien began to notice that the fetid aroma that the breeze carried the night before had become a faint but constant companion. A short time later, the group rounded a corner and were confronted with an incredible scene. An incredible, impossible, scene.

The passageway they had been following opened into a vast cavern. There was no discernable ceiling, just gloomy darkness above. Below, the cavern stretched away farther than he could see. A narrow path led down a cliff face that the group stood atop. When the path reached the bottom it continued snaking its way on into the distance. A glowing mist illuminated the cavern to some extent, but it also obscured the cave and gave it an ominous feeling. There was one other thing that was readily apparent. This cavern was, without a doubt, the source of the fetid stench.

OOC:

I am imagining something similar to one of the vast underground spaces in Journey to the Center of the Earth, although on a much smaller scale. We have found our way to the shadowfen. If the idea of an underground shadowfen doesn't sit well with anyone, I get it. An alternate way to explain the existence of this place could be that we have wandered onto another plane. I don't know if that is a better explanation or not, though, to be honest.

I'd also like to suggest that this shadowfen holds a clue or some sort of information that is pertinent to the fate of the Wyverns.

Feb 1, 2022 10:12 pm