bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jun 28, 2009 15:12:47 GMT -6
Everyone knows the lands to the east are the least blighted of the Blighted Lands, but this just makes the competition for control of them al the more fierce.
Not that mutation is entirely unknown; a powerful tribe of Unmen controls the lands around Ghost Stone mesa. Unmen are what happens when tribes forget the ancient law about sacrificing the irredeemably mutated, they are twisted, stupid brutes but cunning enough to steal herd beasts and kidnap pure-bred children to sacrifice to whatever mindless deity commands their ignorant ways.
Then there are the Blue Tribes, cunning and evil thieves who keep no herds of their own, but instead grow plants in the deepest and greenest valleys, launching raids on those poor Brown nomads who set up camp on the fringes of their land. They are allies with the Byakhee of Bloody Finger mesa.
Beyond that, who knows? Rumour has it that the Blight fades out altogether and that the creosote bushes grow ever thicker and taller, allowing great reptiles like Styracasaurs to thrive.
For the moment, the journey lies through the lands of the clan of Turag Peak, and hopefully there shouldn't be too much trouble...
... except of course from Ythar, who has arrived with his hunting balloon packed up on the back of a young Kannemyria cow.
'I want one thing clear from the start, any funny business from you bloody perverts and you're dead!', he says, 'If you all follow orders, I'll see that you get back alive. Insubordination in these dangerous territories will be suicide. Now, Gimyip, take the lead, Han the rear. Yashub Yashad, Mithals, keep close to old Mayak here, if we lose the balloon we're in deep shirt and no mistake.'
A cold wind blows out of the north; not a bad wind such as those from the west, but not a good wind either.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2009 16:42:12 GMT -6
Mithals will follow orders with no comment. As he walks beside the herdbeast, he will keep an eye peeled for any useful herbs (herblore).
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Post by waysoftheearth on Jun 28, 2009 17:17:40 GMT -6
Gimyip surveys the scene sullenly for a long moment. Then, just before Ythar says anything more, he strides off into the blighted lands.
By art of his many hunts, Gimyip knows these parts well, and soon picks out a well trodden track toward Turag...
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Post by apeloverage on Jun 28, 2009 20:59:48 GMT -6
OOC: What exactly is a hunting balloon?
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Post by crusssdaddy on Jun 28, 2009 21:48:49 GMT -6
Gozer sights the party coming toward him from afar. Travellers always welcome the safety of additional company, don't they? He waits by the trailside, in plain sight but well hooded, and waves at them.
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burke
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 45
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Post by burke on Jun 28, 2009 22:25:44 GMT -6
Han Buri-Han takes his place at the rear of the party. Careful not to step in any Kannemyria dung.
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Post by apeloverage on Jun 30, 2009 0:47:19 GMT -6
Yashub-Yahad points out Gozer.
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jun 30, 2009 15:32:38 GMT -6
Hunting balloon: In the broken gullies and boulder strewn plains you could be mere yards from a herd of tasty herbivores, or even have a bunch of vicious raptors waiting in ambush round the next bend. The brown nomads of the Blighted Lands use small hot air balloons tethered to the ground to rise above there terrain problems, sending a spotter up who can signal to the hunting bands below what is going on using flags. Pteradactyls can be a hazard as are sudden gusts of polluted wind from the west.
Ythar looks up to where Gozer is outlined by the pre dawn glow. 'Who's that?' he hisses. 'Someone following us from Djebel Gervyphe? Any clan feuds going on? Han, aren't your lot being targeted by the Black Monoliths for that big Kannemyria theft ?'
He readies his bow. 'Hey! Stranger! Speak! Show us the cut of your cloak!*'
*As mentioned above, nomads have various charms and tokens attached to their cloaks denoting, amongst other things, who they are engaged in a blood feud with.
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Post by crusssdaddy on Jun 30, 2009 22:10:51 GMT -6
Hands out in a non-threatening display: "The cut of my cloak matters less than the tint of my skin, which is jale and wicked to your eyes. I am Gozer, late a visitor to the fortress from which you journey, and later still cast out from it to find my own way in these harsh lands. Though you may curse my skin, stay your hand - I seek only company to share the dangers of travel to the East. I have a steady hand, and the bolts of my crossbow find their mark more oft than not - judge not the fight in me by the frailty of my body.
"May I travel with your party as far as our paths may take us together?"
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Post by apeloverage on Jul 1, 2009 7:53:30 GMT -6
"Why not indeed?" says Yashub-Yahad to the others.
"We are found guilty of consorting with him anyway, we may as well have the benefit of it."
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jul 1, 2009 15:40:35 GMT -6
'Are you crazy?' says Ythar indignantly. 'He's a Jale! Attack him! Now! Before he casts some evil spell on us!'
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2009 16:16:24 GMT -6
Mithals makes a quick decision, with his dislike for Ythar's machinations within the tribal politics overriding his suspicion of a sneaky Jale man with their penchant for sorcery and bedevilment. He interposes himself between Ythar and Gozer, his right hand "casually" near the handle of his club.
edited to insert missing word ...
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Post by waysoftheearth on Jul 2, 2009 4:14:47 GMT -6
Gimyip chews over his own experience of prejudice before declaring thoughtfully; "Any help is better than no help in surviving this fool's errand. I say we invite our Jale friend along..."
He too rests his hand on the haft of his short-axe, and gives Ythar a challenging glare.
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Post by apeloverage on Jul 2, 2009 11:28:35 GMT -6
"It seems that you may" Yashub-Yahad tells the Jale man.
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jul 3, 2009 17:06:49 GMT -6
Ythar glares round furiously then un-nocks his arrow. 'I see. Like that is it. Insubordination; I told you that it would lead to death, but you seem bent on suicide. Thorium should have beheaded the whole bloody lot of you.'
He takes up the halter of his Kannemyria and leads it off. 'Mayak, let us leave these suicidal idiots to their fate...' he says in a hurt voice.
And so the march goes on, with Ythar tagging along at 100 yards distance behind for a couple of miles, then veering off unnoticed down a gully.
The sun rises and the wind dies, and the heat begins to be oppressive. The party has been walking all night and half the day, perhaps it is time to rest.
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Post by apeloverage on Jul 4, 2009 0:43:24 GMT -6
"I wonder if Ythar will come back" Yashub-Yahad muses.
"Having disobeyed Lord Thorium by leaving us he doesn't really have anywhere else to go."
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Post by waysoftheearth on Jul 4, 2009 0:49:53 GMT -6
As the party puts some distance between them and the vile Ythar, Gimyip searches for a likely shelter in which to make camp.
Spotting an ideal little hollow, he suggests, "We should stop here a while to regain our strength -- but let us be wary, no doubt Ythar will be up to no good."
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2009 3:57:39 GMT -6
When the party camps, Mithals will draw his dagger and begin carving a decoration into his club.
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Post by apeloverage on Jul 5, 2009 3:30:33 GMT -6
Yashub-Yahad suggests working out watches.
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Post by waysoftheearth on Jul 5, 2009 5:35:35 GMT -6
Gimyip puts together a crude shelter using his axe haft and his cloak, then crawls beneath it and chews slowly on some dry rations.
That done, he grumbles "Wake me for the third watch," then pulls his bandanna down over his eyes and tries to get some rest.
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Post by crusssdaddy on Jul 5, 2009 11:00:04 GMT -6
Gozer: "I'll trade someone a couple swigs of honeyed wine for some bread crusts..."
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jul 5, 2009 14:04:59 GMT -6
OOC: How long are you staying here? I'll assume a few hours until sundown, then will you travel by night, or stay put until dawn?
Gimyip has found a pleasant spot to doze in the afternoon sun, a hollow at the base of a rubble strewn slope with plenty of bushes to provide kindling. If you were with the herds it would be a good place to make an encampment with lodges and a thron-bush corral, but you cannot say when you will be able to pursue such simple pleasures again.
Yashub-Yashad is on watch when suddenly...
(apeloverage: Roll SIX dice and hope you score less than your Dex + Int...)
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Post by waysoftheearth on Jul 5, 2009 21:15:45 GMT -6
OOC; Resting until sundown sounds like a good option if the days are really hot. In that case, we will need to be careful with our water too.
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Post by apeloverage on Jul 5, 2009 23:35:26 GMT -6
Yashub-Yahad is the very model of alterness. [rolled here. Attribute total 20, rolled 12.] |
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jul 6, 2009 17:27:01 GMT -6
... a small rock rolls down the slope behind him creating a mini-landslide. He turns, ready for anything, and spots an Unman at the top of the slope 20 yards away readying an atlatl and a javelin, and where there is one there will almost inevitably be more... Order of action by Dex rank + 1 dice, + 6 for those who are resting/not on watch; The visible Unman has Dex 12 + 1 dice (5) = 17 -as he has not really twigged that he has been spotted yet, other Unmen... who knows...
Give Initiative roll, a Hitpoint roll, and any attack rolls all in one post, I'll sort out who does what when all posts are in as previously.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2009 22:20:46 GMT -6
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Post by apeloverage on Jul 6, 2009 22:51:25 GMT -6
Order of action by Dex rank + 1 dice, + 6 for those who are resting/not on watch; OOC: Should this be minus 6? |
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Post by crusssdaddy on Jul 7, 2009 0:26:37 GMT -6
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Post by apeloverage on Jul 7, 2009 12:29:28 GMT -6
Initiative: total of 22. Hit Points: 6 Attack: to-hit 4, damage 2 (throwing a spear) roll to hit here, everything else here |
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bert
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 138
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Post by bert on Jul 7, 2009 17:22:50 GMT -6
Order of action by Dex rank + 1 dice, + 6 for those who are resting/not on watch; OOC: Should this be minus 6? OOC: Er yeah... sorry... Anyway outcome of the first combat round - The Unman flings his javelin at Yashub Yashad, he rolls 1d20=14, Yashub has AC 7, he hits! Damage is 6. Yashub is on 0 HP and has a javelin sticking out of his chest, his spear falling from his hand before he can throw. His yell alerts Gozer who neatly plugs the Unman with a shot from his crossbow, slaying him immediately. Three more Unmen come over the crest of the hill, spear throwers and javelins ready... They all have DEX 12 and roll initiative of: 21, 13 and 19Each Unman is different, one has a tongue too big for his mouth and slobbers, another is patched with a red rash, the third has massive arms and a hunchback, almost like an ape. Gozer is reloading his crossbow, what does everyone else do? |
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