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765391 No. 765391 ID: a107fd


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.

You assembled a team, planned an expedition, set out for one of the better-known cavern entrances... then things started to go wrong. Currently you're deep underground, separated from the rest of the expedition and known paths to the surface by a sliding-wall trap, and the way forward is blocked by some ridiculous chess puzzle. Engraving on steel plaque, on a low stone pedestal covered in smudged-out chalk notes, reads

"Life is a dirge of shadow and light
A terrible chore ‘ere blessed sleep
Resting in peace of eternal night
A knightly prize for those who would leap
Into the fray knowing their right
A foolish whim whose meaning is deep
Fraught with the force of clerical might
A bound to the left and so we shall reap
Yet stay the true course in blooded sight
A castle falls east in a weatherworn heap
Then comes freedom to victors of peril-fraught fight
And journey continues with prize one can keep.

Seek the prize within the eightfold field.
Orcus watches and cheers the struggle.”


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)
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)
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: Brass 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), etc. 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, pocketwatch. 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. 765424 ID: b9aa79

rolled 1, 3, 2 = 6

Name: Maru Red
Race: Tiefling
Class: Townie
Specialization: Skald (bardbarian)
Higher Ambition: Fame, glory, and the perks that come with it
Lower Ambition: 420 blaze it
Phobia: Being forgotten from this world/dying without becoming famous
Mutation: Filed down horns protruding from her forehead
Supernatural Vulnerability: much like a reptile, gets sluggish in the cold, and will become comatose if she is in extreme cold for extended periods of time.
Innate Power: She can summon forth a two-handed, spectral ax, fueled by blood, which sings a battle dirge to inspire her allies and intimidate her foes

Inventory:
Left hip - Lead bullets & sling
Right hip - clean cloth, hooked needles, & thread
Left shoulder - feathers, penknife, lots of parchment & ink (for mapping)
Right shoulder - Weed, or an appropriate substitution
Chest/neck - Lantern
Top of head - Blanket, wrapped to conceal horns
Somewhere uncomfortable - Coin purse

Maru was conceived via rape, and was largely unwanted and resented by her mother. Her mother had demonic blood in her ancestry, and Maru inherited these traits. After running away from home, a group of towns people from a nearby village found her, and filed her horns down in an attempt to purge the demonic influence from her body. Not long after a group of "orc" bandits raided the town, and ended up taking her in and nursing her back to health. She joined them, and some time later was put on trial for the murder of her father, of which she was proudly guilty. She escaped the custody of local law enforcement, albeit on her own, and made her way out to the frontier to get a clean start and make a new name for herself. She entered the ruins hoping for gold glory and inspiration for a epic to be told through the ages, but after being cut off from the main expedition force, a rare voice of reason tells her that perhaps a hot meal, soft bed and cheap wench would be preferable to starving to death in a crumbling fortress. And so, she now attempts to get un-lost, and hopes that the others can figure out the riddle behind this puzzle because she is stumped.
>>
No. 765435 ID: b346d2

Name: Hore Wutashi
Species: Gnoll-Human Hybrid
Class: OUTSIDER SHAMAN (Technically Hedge Witch)
Higher Ambition: Go 'Home'
Lower Ambition: Murder-Sex. Endless. Murder. And. Sex. At the same time.
Phobia: Realization of Nightmares - Every time she falls unconscious by any means she will switch her phobia to a new entity or phenomena found within her dream. Should she witness something similar to her nightmare she grows twice as afraid of it. If she actually FINDS a physical manifestation of her nightmare she shuts down completely, falls unconscious, and dreams up a new nightmare. Being stunned or drugged causes her to also develop a second phobia, one that causes her considerably less distress but requires a full rest to recover from. Note that if for some reason she is unable to dream, she will have no phobia for that period but will have considerably less mental acumen.
Equipment:
- Superior Clothing
- Malfunctioning Plasma Pistol (1/10 chance of actually firing)
- Plasma Core (Holds seven shots, automatically used when the pistol is fired)
- Datapad (CORRUPTED DATA, DRAINED BATTERY)
- Random Assortment of Pills
- Mother's Locket
- Scythe

You're probably wondering what this sci-fi geared character is doing in a medieval low fantasy story. Well, twenty years ago, a magic experiment performed by the chieftain of a generic gnoll tribe accidentally latched onto a quantum portal energy signature from another world. As you can guess, one of the staff from the lab was sucked in and fell into the arms of a really lucky gnoll. She wasn't even one of the scientists, just an intern from the biology department! But then, all the actual scientists that went through the portal fell in less fortunate places and died in a matter of seconds. So after five rapes, a few medical miracles, and one really loud childbirth later, Hore was born into a tribe of rapists with a deity-figure as a mother and showered with all the attention of a classic chosen one. She learned much about mathematics, biology, natural sciences, and basic quantum mechanics from whatever her mother could still retain.

Then her mother died in a freak accident when she was ten. Perforated by falling bull horns. Go figure.

After fighting her way out of her own paranoid psychopathic tribe, Hore wants to know more about her mother's world and if she could have a place there. Barring that, like any among her tribe she has a lust for murder and rape matched only by her desire to create a working system for endless murder and rape. The weapons and gear she inherited are almost shattered and will not work in most situations, but could give her an edge in battle if she has enough luck on her side.
>>
No. 765437 ID: af6e04

rolled 1, 3, 2 = 6

Decaro Vos
Eel-man knight, worshipper of the God of Flesh and Growth
Class: Soldier
Specialization: Grappling
Higher Ambition: Protecting the weak
Lower Ambition: Bedding other sentient species
Phobia: Deserts
Mutation: Big eye on chest
Supernatural Vulnerability: Big weak point on chest
Innate Power: Flesh growth - can touch a creature to cause a horrible mutation

Inventory:
Left hip - Spear
Right hip - Jug of Water
Left shoulder - Lantern
Right shoulder - Blanket
Chest/neck - Chain Armor
Top of Head - Plate armor
Somewhere uncomfortable - Block of Soap

Vos was born of noble parents, the fourteenth hatchling in his clutch. He was raised steadfast in the teachings of his deity, and one day decided to leave his village to spread these teachings and give aid to the many other people of the world. During his travels he heard tale of a dungeon full of secrets and possibly evil, so he joined forces with a band of attractive people to investigate. Vos is now lost and a little bit scared, but he knows his faith will protect him. He was never much for poetry and does not know how to play chess, so instead he attempts to force his way through whatever door/obstacle is in his path.
>>
No. 765441 ID: a107fd

To clarify what I mean by 'chess puzzle:' past the stone pedestal, the floor is split up into an 8 by 8 grid of alternating black and white tiles, 54" square, separated by 6" wide borders of red-veined stone inlaid with gold images of elvenoid figures and demons. The demons are, for the most part, depicted in the act of eating the mortals. Another pedestal is dimly visible on the far side, and a door beyond that. The whole room is filled with dull orange light, just barely enough to read by, so lanterns and such will only be necessary if you're concerned about colors.

Let's call the eight tiles closest to the door 'row 1,' and the eight tiles flush with the left wall 'column A.' A1 is black, A2 and B1 are white, and so on. Rather than flowing evenly, the pervasive red mist hangs in dusky columns over the darker squares, leaving the air over the lighter squares relatively clear.

You could easily step out onto any part of row 1, or attempt various clever tricks. What do you do?

>>765424
>an appropriate substitution
Pipeweed, of the sort cultivated by the little people known as 'mound-builders.' Relatively mild and slow-acting euphoric. Stored in a dried-and-compressed brick, like tea. Kit could also reasonably include a small water pipe (in a padded box for travel) and packet of seeds. Grows well in a variety of climates, hence the name, but subtleties of post-harvest treatment have dramatic effects on flavor and potency.

>coin purse
More copper than silver, but also holds a ruby of extraordinary size and quality, "inherited" from her father. It's got to be worth hundreds of gold, but strangely difficult to find a willing buyer, and wasn't confiscated by the law while she was on trial. Might be cursed?
>>
No. 765450 ID: af6e04

"their right' seems to be a play on words. Vos steps onto H1.
>>
No. 765451 ID: 3abd97

Oh boy, this is back. Marijke's player here, but I think these circumstances call for rolling up a new character.


Name: Davina
Class: Rich bastard
Sub-specialization: fencer (Or in sillier slash broader terms: the non-tanky quick on her feet style of swordsperson)

Higher ambition: Legacy (explained / elaborated on in character bio).
Lower ambition: Ladies. Doesn't help with establishing a family legacy, but hey, dad had mistresses too.

Phobia / parasite / vulnerability / innate power: Gonna try lumping these all into one. In the course of earlier adventuring Davina has acquired an extra-planer / extra-dimensional / incorporeal parasite. As a result, this makes her metaphysically less here than she should be, and her position in our reality less stable. (Granting the parasite more stability than it would have otherwise, and a kind of anchor).

Her connection to an otherworldly entity means she shares a vulnerability to banishing or abjuring effects ordinary mortal creatures lack (I'm thinking pain to incapacitation first as it interferes with the thing connected to her, escalating to random displacement, then being knocked outside reality if subjected to repeated attacks without recovery). Also makes teleportation / spacial effects targeting her unreliable (will either fail, or send her elsewhere than intended. Going inside a wagon of holding would probably be a Bad Idea).

Innate Power, would be some form of limited control blink (pending GM balance). Reaching out to her connection to the parasite and exploiting her instability to change location within a short range. (Overuse would probably trigger the same problems as the vulnerability, making her less stable and open to negative consequences).

(Potentially, some kind of phase power could be stacked on her sword style to cut through things she has no right cutting through, but that's probably a bit too far to reach for level 1).

Not 100% sure on the phobia, but I feel it should be something from the parasite's influence? Something it fears.


One seriously expensive thing: Ancestral sword, appropriate to style. (I'd think due to material and/or enchantment it would be more durable and have more penetrating power than a real-world equivalent).

Equipment:

Left hip: coin purse (gotta live up to the rich in rich bitch)
Right Hip: Aforementioned sword
Chest: Armor (I'm not sure what the appropriate type to pick would be? Assuming she needs to both maintain mobility and being a rich bitch means she might have better gear for less weight / encumbrance than otherwise).
Right shoulder: (I assume that's where you'd put a bandoleer) Knives (throwing, worn openly)
Left Shoulder: Dried fruit
Top of head: signet ring, hidden / tied in her hair
Hidden somewhere uncomfortable: soap

(Left handed, so weapons are drawn from the right).


Backstory: The daughter of a noble house (or at least a rich and successful one with a good history), Davina benefits from an upbringing where she had everything that was needed to prepare her to face the world. She was the heir to and recipients of these advantages as part of her legacy. A legacy that no longer exists, as her house has fallen.

(Exact details as to what happened to said house flexible to fit in with world building- I imagine between politics, military conflict, disaster, there are many ways a once-powerful and established family could be largely destroyed).

She's now on a quest to restore that legacy. Nothing so trite as taking back her exact family holding- this isn't about a right to rule or a territory. As far as she's concerned, she's a link in a chain, and she will not be the point where it breaks. Before she dies, Davina wants a reestablished power base or holdings to see that the next generation of her family gets at least as good a shot as she did.
>>
No. 765457 ID: a107fd

>>765435
>phobia
Something consistent, please.
>equipment
Please pick starting equipment from the given equipment list, and specify where you're carrying it. If you want a plasma pistol, either make that an innate power, or change class to Rich Bastard and take it as your minor permanent magic item, as Letkra did.
>gnoll-human hybrid
If you want functional canid features, take that as a concealable mutation.

>>765437
Given mutation already implies your chest-eye would be a physical weak point. Anything specific the extra eye is useful for? Nonstandard wavelengths of light, resolving microscopic details, piercing magical invisibility, sizing people up based on their auras? In any case, supernatural vulnerability should be separate. How about dehydration?

Phobia of deserts will also be associated with any dry and excessively dusty environment, thorny plants, mummified corpses, scorpions, and powdered silver (or silvery metals, but not, for example, liquid mercury, silver coins, or iron filings), or apparent unnaturally-accelerated erosion of stone. Nightmare scenario might involve being trapped in a room with the exits barricaded by animate cacti while white sand pours in through rapidly widening cracks in the walls and ceiling, with the roof blowing away like a cheap tent in a hurricane only after you're buried to the neck.

>attempts to force his way through
Onto which square?
>>
No. 765466 ID: b346d2

>>765457
FINE.

Phobia: Fear of the unknown, mostly anything that can kill her without showing itself.

Innate Power: Plasma Beam - Based on her mother's broken plasma pistol, this signature spell allows Hore to fire a concentrated beam of generated plasma at any opponent. She has been working on plans to modify the quantum wave pattern of the plasma, which would change the beam's special strength from armor piercing to enchantment piercing.

She has lost two fingers from misfires. She doesn't like using this spell without ample protection, which is in short supply.

Also, she'd like two replacement fingers. Please.


Inventory:
Left hip - Knives
Right hip - Lantern
Left shoulder - Axe
Right shoulder - Spear
Chest/neck - Leather Armor
Top of head - Tools for Lockpicking and Field Surgery (disguised as a headband)
Somewhere Uncomfortable - Jug of Water

Mutation: Canine Features. Ears. Tail. And yes, Gnoll [[censored]].
>>
No. 765483 ID: 750f88

Name: Eric Grimwald
Race: Human
Class: Rich Bastard
Specialization: Commanding others.
Higher Ambition: To become a lich and rule a mighty kingdom.
Lower Ambition: To lead others.
Phobia: Monophobia - Fear of being Alone/Without companion.
Mutation: Bouts of Trismus.
Supernatural Vulnerability: Due to a weak fortitude, Eric tends to pass out if he feels enough pain.
Innate Power: Eric is able to command undead* creatures of a lesser intelligence to follow basic commands.
Minor Permanent Magic Item: Necromancer's Amulet. Grants the ability to raise a defeated creature back to the mortal coil that is life.

Starts with boots, gloves, a hooded cloak, knife, flint for sparking, and food and water for a day.
Inventory:
Left hip - Dried Bread
Right hip - Crossbow Arrows - 20
Left shoulder - Crossbow
Right shoulder - Boiled Leather Armor
Chest/neck - Jug of Water
Top of head - Plate Armoured Cap.
Somewhere uncomfortable - Coin Purse

If Eric becomes incapacitated, any creature under his command shall be free to act as they please.
>>
No. 765488 ID: 13d7b7

rolled 6, 5, 5 = 16

>Anything specific the extra eye is useful for?
Sizing people up based on their auras sounds good. I assume he has to lift his shirt to use it.

>In any case, supernatural vulnerability should be separate. How about dehydration?
Sure thing. Dehydration sounds perfect.

>Onto which square?
H1. I'll roll again in case I don't get to keep my sweet 6 haha.
>>
No. 765494 ID: b9aa79

rolled 4, 5, 6 = 15

Maru finds most things you can't solve with an ax distasteful, but currently she's tired of waiting around and decides to see is she can get anywhere with this riddle. If she thinks of it like a poem it's almost bearable.

Almost

From what she can gather, the second and third line seem to be referring to death as a peaceful and restful slumber

lines four and five seem to indicate a prize for charging into battle with their convictions, but the use of the possessive form of "their" rather than the contraction "they're" might have been intentional; there is a chess piece commonly referred to as a "knight", so perhaps it's a play on words, indicating that a specific piece somewhere on the board needs to be moved towards the right, from the perspective of the plaque

lines six and seven are less clear to her, possibly a continuation of the ideas from lines four and five; she doesn't quite know what to make of them

line eight again refers to direction, this time to the left

the phrase "stay the true course" could mean go straight

line ten could indicate direction again, with the word east, and lines 11 and 12 seem to indicate that successfully solving the riddle will lead to some sort of valuable prize

The final lines seem to indicate that the aforementioned prize is tied to the grid in front of them, and that the dark god Orcus is perving on them and getting off to watching them dick about in his dumb puzzle room. What an ass.

She's gonna wait to see if the floor bursts into flames or any such non-sense when Vos steps on it before making a move, but assuming nothing happens, she's gonna scope out any potential exits from the room, and check to see if they're currently functioning as exits she can use. She'd rather get treasure from shit she's killed than fuck about with some underworld god and his play toys if possible. After all, no one sings about how the great hero tottered around in a dusty puzzle room for 3 hours before they slayed the dragon; that part of the song is usually just covered with the word "clever".
>>
No. 765498 ID: a107fd

rolled 1, 3, 5, 7, 6 = 22

>>765450
Whatever number I just rolled, Vos takes half that much damage from a mostly-dodged lightning bolt. Six or more damage from a single hit probably requires prompt and prolonged medical attention, more than nine damage cumulatively is going to slow you down structurally even if you're immune to pain, more than 12 cumulatively is incapacitating, more than 24 cumulatively is potentially 'sudden death' territory (in which case, make another roll to see if you can stabilize on your own), and it's all downhill from there.

Assuming Vos is still standing, where next?

>>765451
So, breaking that down, how about this:
Phobia: Spoor of those bodiless hounds which lurk in the corners of time, such as deep yet bloodless wounds in otherwise normal flesh, stringy blue caustic-alkali slime, locked-room murder mysteries, sharp corners on convex architectural elements (especially when filled in with something more smooth and round which has cracked or been left incomplete), and ill-conceived efforts to directly observe the distant past.
Mutation: Appears normal when calm, but becomes blurry, and thus harder to sense or strike, when in the grips of passion, including most combat situations. 'Clipping' through solid walls or out of manacles is possible, but usually involves heroic exertion and a risk of injury. Berzerk rage, paralyzing grief, blind panic, etc. result in total intangibility for the duration of the insanity, which may be a lifesaver or a debilitating inconvenience depending on context. Clothing and other equipment comes along with, if it's touching and you honestly think it's rightfully yours.
Also, odd dietary requirements, and downright bizarre (though consistent) distortions of smell and taste, ever since a childhood incident that shifted some birthmarks around and made you left-handed.
Supernatural vulnerability: Bags of Holding, portals, and other technological exceptions to Euclidean geometry are treated as if wrapped in razorwire, though you'll need something far more exotic than heavy gloves for safe handling, and banishing or warding effects never treat you as 'one of the locals.' If you don't yet have any native realm to be banished back to, or are already there, I'll roll on the Fascinating Parachronic Disasters table or something.
Innate Power: Teleport anywhere within line-of-sight, including through windows, and even around corners with the aid of an appropriately-angled reflective surface, but no more than a few hundred yards per hop. Requires a fine sword with which to cut a hole in the air (or at least some edge sharp enough to cut paper, but the very thought of using any tool lesser than your ancestral sword feels gross and wrong on an instinctive level) and the tunnel stays open for a minute or so, allowing partners or pursuers to follow unless they're considerably larger than you. If your feet are glued to the floor or you've broken your spine or something, you might be able to open a hole and then fail to propel yourself through it, but you can't reliably do that on purpose. If you want to open a tunnel while staying in place, or for that matter, teleport several times in rapid succession, there should be some surface solid enough for you to kick off of as part of changing direction.

As for armor, plate provides the best protection against all conventional threats. Properly fitting it to torso and limbs, and maintenance and repair and so on, is just too expensive for commoners. Leather might have a small edge against exotic stuff like rust monsters or electricity, but how often does that kind of thing really come up?
>>
No. 765508 ID: 13d7b7

rolled 2, 1, 2 = 5

Regretting his poor problem solving skills, Vos lets out a screech and scurries off of the board as soon as motor function allows. He examines himself for surface injuries.

Considering the riddle again, it's possible 'eternal night' means white squares aren't safe. Either way, Vos is reluctant to test things with his person again.
>>
No. 765510 ID: b9aa79

>Vos takes half that much damage from a mostly-dodged lightning bolt

Called it.

"Ay mates, unless you wanna get fekkin fried like that lot, I suggests we forget the treasure and look for a way out. I haven't had anything hot in my body for longer than I'd care for, and 'm not too eager to keep playing with the death god's death puzzle."

She'll approach Vos, check for blood or other surface wounds she might be able to help stitch up.

"If I touch you I'm not gonna fuckin swell up and grow warts or anything am I? I've seen what you can do and I'm in no rush to grow a third eye or any of that shite."
>>
No. 765517 ID: a107fd

>>765483
For the mutation, how about difficulty chewing solid food, combined with willingness and ability to eat stuff that's badly rotten, and resistance to poison in general? Fits with the lichdom, that image of a withered king slowly picking at his plate of moldy yet once-fine food in some sepulchral feasting hall.
Magic item still needs to occupy an inventory slot. How about combining the power to reanimate bodies (but only those slain by you personally, or by those under your direct command) with the authority over weak undead, and getting a magic quiver that can transmute any dry bones you find lying around into more crossbow bolts?
Tendency to pass out when in pain isn't enough of a vulnerability. Instead, let's say conventional healing magic causes problems for you. Agonizingly painful, sometimes makes the wound worse instead of better. Alchemical potions work fine, though.
Pick something else for the lower ambition, preferably something weird and tangential. Solid concept overall but sorta one-note.

>>765466
>Top of head - Tools for Lockpicking and Field Surgery (disguised as a headband)
>Somewhere Uncomfortable - Jug of Water
Switch these two. Tools are concealed, so the big jug of water should be balanced on her head rather than improbably tucked into some orifice.

Phobia of invisible assassins and mutation are both fine. Let's say you've got the plasma pistol built into a cybernetic arm, and treat potential complications from damage to the cybernetics as a supernatural vulnerability.

>>765488
Decaro Vos collapses on square H1, severely burned and apparently having some sort of seizure. After a minute or two his head clears. Feels like he could stand up and move under his own power, but might be wise to have something or someone available to lean on, and avoid any strenuous exertion without a healer's approval. His cloak's on fire, but only a little bit, thanks to that unplanned 'stop, drop, and roll.'

>>765494
Maru Red has deduced, from literary analysis of the poem's various cultural references, basic principles of logic, and observation of Vos's mishap, that D1, C3, and either E5 or F4 (but definitely not both) are probably safe.
>>
No. 765520 ID: b346d2

rolled 6, 2, 3 = 11

Hore decides to use a mathematical algorithm to determine the shortest possible means of getting the enemy King in check, using a knight, bishop, rook, and her fists.

Specifically, she decides to cheat by preventing the enemy pieces from moving. If she can stop that one pawn from moving two spaces forward and declaring checkmate in three, that one strategy could win...
>>
No. 765523 ID: a107fd

>>765510
>>765508
>diagnosis/first aid
>rolled 2, 1, 2 = 5

Could have been much worse, but it's still pretty bad. Vos probably owes his life to that chain shirt creating so many conductive paths that didn't lead through his heart. No bleeding per se, no foreign matter in the wounds (despite rolling around on the floor) since most of the damage was underneath clothing, but burns so extensive still present a major risk of infection. Even if you get it all sterilized and properly bandaged up, the cooked skin tends to slowly ooze lymph over the days or weeks of healing, which, if fluids can't be replaced quickly enough, leads to dehydration, reduced blood volume, and a slow, miserable death. If only somebody here had some brassfruit balm.
>>
No. 765526 ID: a107fd

>>765520
There aren't currently any visible pieces on the board, so most of those grand strategic calculations come back 'insufficient data.' As for unconventional approaches... the hewn stone walls are pretty rough, so it could be possible to climb along them without touching the board. You could try jumping over undesirable squares, or tiptoe along edges, or soak your boots in lamp oil, get a really good running start, and maybe just power-slide across the entire board without technically stepping on anything. There are probably even crazier options.
>>
No. 765528 ID: 3abd97

>>765498
You have a marvelous talent for apply interesting flavor to an idea. I approve of this implementation.

>but becomes blurry, and thus harder to sense or strike, when in the grips of passion
Combined with the low ambition, my mind very quickly goes to a dirty place with that. http://www.shortpacked.com/index.php?id=2020

>Also, odd dietary requirements, and downright bizarre (though consistent) distortions of smell and taste, ever since a childhood incident that shifted some birthmarks around and made you left-handed.
I'm reminded of a science fiction story where they accidentally mirror reflected an individual and the cost of keeping him alive skyrocketed as they had to artificially manufacture certain chiral molecules that were now a dietary requirement but did not appear in nature. (Proooobably not exactly what happened here or I wouldn't have survived childhood).

>innate power
Ooh, I really like that you tied that to the sword.

If it works with any sufficiently sharp object, I might want to swap out the soap for a needle concealed somewhere in my clothes. A holdout, emergency teleport focus if I'm unforgivably disarmed.

Technical questions:

How dangerous are we treating these portals to someone who attempts to follow me through one? Portal-the-game-style portals that are "safe" and at worst prevent transferal if one closes on you, pushing you back? Portal-cut danger for anyone who's timing is off? Wheel of Time style ridiculous razor edges at the seams? (Honestly I think a teleporting melee fighter is deadly enough without weaponizing the portals, but if other party members risk dismemberment trying to follow me, they deserve to be forewarned).

There's no use count or cooldown specified- do I treat it as an at-will ability like Yeven's gravity? (Sufficiently paid for in vulnerabilities and fears).

>As for armor, plate provides the best protection against all conventional threats
I was unsure if plate were a reasonable choice for a dexterous type fighter, but if it works, it works. And teleporting sure does a lot for speed.
>>
No. 765531 ID: af6e04

>"If I touch you I'm not gonna fuckin swell up and grow warts or anything am I? I've seen what you can do and I'm in no rush to grow a third eye or any of that shite."

Gonna go ahead and assume it's not a Midas' Touch situation, or my lower ambition will be a little complicated. For the sake of getting treatment, Vos replies by shaking his head, which is probably about the only thing he can get out considering the amount of pain he's in.
>>
No. 765534 ID: b9aa79

>>765523
Bandages won't do much of use at this point it seems. Nothing on their for burns currently, no one around with magical healing, so she does her best to help Vos up and into a comfortable position without getting electrocuted herself and leave them to nurse their wounds.

She calls out to Davina
"Mate, ya fancy sword lets ya jump all over the place right? Think ya can cut us a tunnel across this death trap so we can sidestep all the "dirge of shadow" nonsense?"

Traditional plate armor actually didn't restrict movement to that great of a degree! The major restriction was the weight- as long as you were buff enough to wear it though you had a pretty full range of movement
>>
No. 765543 ID: a107fd

>>765528
>Combined with the low ambition, my mind very quickly goes to a dirty place with that.
Kind of the reverse of the situation in that link, actually. It'd be incredibly frustrating: the more excited you get, the more difficult it is to interact in any firm tactile way with your latest paramour. Sooner or later you'll want to invest in a +1 Ghost Touch strap-on.

>I'm reminded of a science fiction story where they accidentally mirror reflected an individual and the cost of keeping him alive skyrocketed as they had to artificially manufacture certain chiral molecules that were now a dietary requirement but did not appear in nature. (Proooobably not exactly what happened here or I wouldn't have survived childhood).
That is absolutely exactly what happened. Remember, this setting has magic which can conjure the cosmic essence of Well-Balanced Food and condense it into a physical object so easily that overuse of the technique is a major political issue among elves. When some rich family's heir shows signs of malnutrition, they don't need elaborate chemical synthesis industries, or even an exact diagnosis. They've got an over-the-counter panacea for that entire category of problem. Sure, it's got some long term side effects...

>If it works with any sufficiently sharp object, I might want to swap out the soap for a needle concealed somewhere in my clothes. A holdout, emergency teleport focus if I'm unforgivably disarmed.
Use the class ability to get nicer versions of stuff to upgrade the soap into an all-purpose hygiene kit, including small scissors and a razor, and move it to your head slot. Some sort of carrying case that doubles as a fancy hat. Take the signet ring out of your hair, put it on your finger where it belongs, add a needle and maybe some reservoir for poison (currently empty), then expand that to a full spread of covertly-weaponized jewelry. Mechanically, a second slot of knives, all uncomfortable to wear and somewhat impractical to wield, and hidden in plain sight. Plain? Nay, gloriously extravagant! She'll show them all, but those fools won't really see until it's far too late.

>How dangerous are we treating these portals to someone who attempts to follow me through one? Portal-the-game-style portals that are "safe" and at worst prevent transferal if one closes on you, pushing you back?
Mostly like that, but, as requested, it's inextricable from the vulnerability. Trying to carry a Bag of Holding through one of those tunnels would be ill-advised for anyone who values whatever limb they're holding it with.

>use count or cooldown
It takes precisely as much time and effort as cutting something and then stepping forward. Might be able to do it two or even three times in a second, with considerable practice and some compromises on precision, or maintain a more reasonable pace to tear across the surface world at highway speeds for a few hours per day.

>I was unsure if plate were a reasonable choice for a dexterous type fighter,
Plate on the chest only means a breastplate and maybe something for the back. Her limbs are free. Going by GURPS rules, there isn't any special mobility penalty for armor, it's all about the weight. With abstracted inventory slots like this, weight for different options is assumed to be approximately equivalent. If you wanted a full suit of plate armor, that would mean using all (or nearly all) your inventory slots on it, having presumably discarded other supplies in order to more effectively flee one of those previous problems.
>>
No. 765545 ID: a107fd

>>765531
>Gonna go ahead and assume it's not a Midas' Touch situation
Generally speaking, mutations are always-on, while innate abilities are strictly intentional. You won't zap somebody with sacred mutagenic energies by accident unless the situation is messy enough that you might punch or stab them by accident. It's possible to direct the growth toward beneficial effects to a certain extent, classic example being an approximate replacement for some recently removed limb or organ, but it's pretty much always going to resemble deep sea horrors, half-melted tumor-tentacles, or both.
>>765534
Dressing the wounds somehow is still a sensible precaution against infection. It also helps slow the leakage, and prevent painful abrasion or irritation from shifting clothes which could delay the healing process. Bandaging and treating for shock takes thirty minutes, and once that's complete, Decaro Vos's HP is back up to 2 out of 12. He's also fully recovered the three points of fatigue lost to that seizure. He can stand and walk unassisted, or maybe even run... but it'd really be more of a limping jog, at half normal speed, at least until he can somehow recover two more HP.

What is everyone else doing during that time?
>>
No. 765550 ID: b346d2

rolled 1, 1, 1 = 3

Hore decides to find a large boulder and throw it onto the board. Vos nearly died because he threw himself into a deathtrap, might as well play it smart and create game pieces. Better yet, Hore beckons other characters to help her smooth out the boulder into a die shape and carve out chess pieces on each side, thereby acting as both an easily interchangeable piece that can be transformed on the spot if someone is standing nearby, AND can be turned into a stepping stone / cover if things get dicey.
>>
No. 765551 ID: a107fd

>>765550
With a few quick, tidy bursts of plasma you've sliced a perfect 30lb stone cube out of the wall and seared it's faces with recognizable chess-piece symbols. An underhand toss sends it soaring across the board, bouncing noisily on F4 and the edge of E7 right near D. Then it comes to a stop right up on top of the far side's pedestal, balanced on one corner.

No traps seem to have been triggered.
>>
No. 765552 ID: af6e04

>but it's pretty much always going to resemble deep sea horrors, half-melted tumor-tentacles, or both.
Heehee excellent...

Well if Maru is helping Vos dress his wounds then he'll go ahead and make small talk. "My power acts only by will of Tittivila, Flesh God. Tittivila favors you. Its many many eyes gaze upon you with kindness!"
>>
No. 765556 ID: b346d2

rolled 2, 4, 4 = 10

Hore: Gawp for five seconds. Stare. Begin laughing maniacally.

Then dodge to safety.
>>
No. 765561 ID: 3d2d5f

rolled 1, 1, 4 = 6

>>765543
Cool, works for me. Character frustrations are a fun to play with, and who doesn't like a jaunty hat. I'll assume my starting fruit is appropriately left hand molecule fortified if that's all right, since counters to make purchases over may be in short supply underground.

>>765551
>Kome rolls a perfect crit immediately
Of course.

Davina eyes the offending die with a literal flicker of irritation as something inside her insists that's not how corners are supposed to work.

>>765534
I suppose if we're the survivors of a larger organized expedition, we'd know each other's capabilities. (For what it's worth, I didn't choose a build specifically to bypass the first puzzle. I didn't even bother paying attention to that part of the OP at first).

Davina considers the proposal. On the one hand, as the child of nobility a simple chess puzzle should be well within her means to solve. And the lightning demonstrates this is no mere mechanical puzzle, and may have mechanism for retribution against attempts to 'cheat'.

On the other hand, a Gordian solution that cuts through the matter entirely is attractive to her on several levels.

"I am no pack beast for your convenience, but I suppose where I lead, others may follow."

Davina draws her sword and steps, attempting to reach the far side of the cavern and bypassing the chess board all together.
>>
No. 765563 ID: a107fd

>>765556
You successfully dodge the harmless non-event.

Planning to dig further into the walls next, or mess with the chessboard more directly? That plasma pistol isn't actually a very efficient rock removal tool, you just hit some conveniently aligned pre-existing fault lines with that first shot. It could be enough to carve out some handholds, though, which would simplify the process of climbing.
>>
No. 765564 ID: a107fd

>>765561
Tunnel opens easy as slicing a piece of cake. Davina finds herself standing on the far side of the room, two paces away from the suspiciously upright stone cube. Anyone who follows her has a brief but intense sensation of being watched.

>didn't choose a build specifically to bypass the first puzzle
I handed you that teleportation when you were barely even asking. Also, please remember that skipping past this challenge isn't quite the same as solving it enough to secure the prize.
>>
No. 765565 ID: 3d2d5f

>>765564
That's fair, I assumed bypassing the puzzle would be skipping the reward for solving it fairly.

Waiting to see who else follows before taking other action.
>>
No. 765566 ID: b9aa79

>>765564
Maru follows, more than happy to skip the puzzle altogether, even if it means forfeiting treasure, and brings Vos along for the ride if the other-worldly eel creature is amenable to her help. She suggests to the others that they follow suit, and focus on the very real treasure of not having to spend any longer in the poorly lit dungeon than necessary.
>>
No. 765568 ID: af6e04

>>765566
Lifeless trinkets hold little value to Vos, and he's not too keen on getting zapped again. He follows happily.
>>
No. 765573 ID: a107fd

Beyond the door (stone slab pivoting on a vertical axis, inch-wide gaps at the top and bottom, no obvious locking mechanism) on the far side of the room, there's a 10' wide hallway that continues more or less straight for 30', then turns sharply to the left, curls right again, and zigzags for another fifty or sixty feet before opening into the next large open area. Lots of crimson fog in the hallway, and no more ambient light. What's your marching order, who's mapping, who's got a lantern lit?
>>
No. 765580 ID: b98619

Eric follows closely though the portal sliced open by his companion, as his Monophobia keeps him from staying behind. He takes up the rear of the group as his indecisiveness in leaving the puzzle made him last to follow.
>>
No. 765583 ID: 3d2d5f

>>765573
Maru should either be the one mapping, as she actually has the supplies, or she should be the one out front if she hands them off? She's itching to sink her axe into something, after all, and her background makes her the closest thing we have to a rogue who might spot traps, I think.

Vos is injured, and the closest thing we have to a healer, so he gets the safety of the middle.

If Maru doesn't take point, and Vos as the other melee type is injured, that leaves me I guess.

I'm not sure I'm such a great break stop though as rather than holding a line, my best option would probably be stepping behind anyone attacking us from the front and stabbing them in the back. We don't really have a tank, I think.

Or maybe we could just put Kome out front to blast everything, if crossed.

We also don't have an actual hedge mage, so that leaves us without someone to check for magic, unless Vos' eye or Eric's ability give them any second sight.
>>
No. 765585 ID: 3d2d5f

Uh, translating that ramblings into actually orders that might work:

Davina, Maru (Map), Vos (Lantern), Eric, Hore (If she hurries up and isn't left behind)

Or

Maru, Davina (Map?), Vos (Lantern), Eric (Map?), Hore (If coming)

I hope I didn't forget anyone already.
>>
No. 765586 ID: b98619

>>765585
I suppose Eric could be our Map-maker for now if you want. He doesnt really have too many Melee combat capabilities unless he uses the generic knife.
>>
No. 765587 ID: b346d2

Hore decides to follow the expedition party. This puxxlr wasn't getting solved anyway.
>>
No. 765595 ID: b9aa79

>>765583
Maru isn't so much blood thirsty as glory hungry; solving a puzzle is simply a much lamer way of attaining treasure in her book than epic battles packed with nail biting suspense and dazzling heroics.

As for the map making supplies, Maru actually uses them for composing songs and poems inspired by her travels; she not only has no real inkling of cartography besides star navigation, but has no real inclination to do so either. If someone wants to use the supplies though they're welcome to them

As for travel order, Maru suggests the following order

Maru, front line fighter and defense
Hore for ranged support
Vos in the middle, so that they are insulated and hopefully protected from further injury
Eric towards the rear due to the less combat oriented skill set
Davina bringing up the rear as the other melee fighter, to act as a rear guard from any surprise attacks and offer more defense to Eric who is, as noted, less combat focused. It's also much easier for her to jump to the action than anyone else in the party.

Maru also has a lantern, which is generally the most helpful to the person in front trying to see, and would be happy to pass mapping supplies back to Eric if they think they're up for it

She is also to other ideas if her suggestion isn't well liked, but she insists that protecting the wounded needs to be a priority in the formation line. If there's contention about the order, or any other future matters, she suggests problems be solved via voting. Her first choice is obviously her plan, but wants to play by majority rules to ensure team cohesion and unity
>>
No. 765596 ID: e7ca6e

>>765595
Vos concurs with this plan but insists he can still fight if the need arises. He offers to light his lantern instead, as the light radius should be sufficient to illuminate the way ahead while leaving the one taking point unburdened and prepared to defend themself.
>>
No. 765597 ID: a107fd

The space up ahead isn't really a room so much as a chasm. If you'd continued walking in a straight line (rather than turning about sixty degrees left, to follow the ledge that's hugging the wall) you would have plummeted off a cliff, hundreds of feet down, far beyond lantern-light range in the mist, toward the source of some titanic thrashing noises. Perhaps two to five scaly serpents the size of freight trains fighting and/or making love.

The ledge is about ten feet wide, straight along the wall, for about fifty feet. At that point, there's a natural-looking bridge, connecting to another ledge on the far wall, forty feet away. If you don't feel like crossing the bridge, the ledge on the near side continues past it, beyond range of vision. Off to the right, the chasm gets much wider, but there aren't any convenient ledges to walk along, so further exploration would require flight, teleportation, or mountaineering.

Currently on the bridge are a dozen mutilated elvenoid corpses ululating in joyous polyphony. These are no run-of-the-mill shambling zombies. They prance about almost weightlessly, seemingly pulled upward by random strands of skin, viscera, or sinew, constantly unraveling and restringing as they move. Any grisly fragments that tear loose seem to fall upward. They either haven't noticed you yet, or don't care. The crowd is spread out enough that you might be able to cross the bridge without shoving any of them aside, or even touching - provided you time it just right, and they continue ignoring you - but not without passing through arm's reach.

Mortally deep yet unbleeding wounds, strings of slime, and the smell of lye, in combination, set off a chain of mental associations to something Davina would prefer to pretend can't possibly exist. That eerie cadaver-song, drifting in and out of harmony with itself and with the grinding from below as it reverberates off the uneven stone walls, isn't a problem in itself, but certainly doesn't help. Accordingly, she must roll to resist her phobia.
>>
No. 765598 ID: 3d2d5f

rolled 4, 3, 6 = 13

>>765595
That works. Hore was basically only tacked on in my order since I wasn't sure if she was coming, and that makes better tactical use of her. (If laser gnoll is technically a hedge witch putting her near the front might mean she spots magical traps before walking into them).

And yeah, putting me at the rear makes sense with portals.

Forward march, roll spot and mapping checks.

Rolling for spot, not that I'm likely to notice danger first in the rear.
>>
No. 765600 ID: 3d2d5f

rolled 6, 1, 5 = 12

>>765597
Davina takes a shuddering (and stuttering) breath and tries to remain calm, fingers tightening on her sword-hilt.

Roll versus phobia.
>>
No. 765606 ID: e7ca6e

rolled 2, 3, 2 = 7

>>765597
Vos makes an apprehensive squealing noise and lifts his chain shirt to attempt to more discern the nature of these corpses. The undead are an abomination unto Tittivila.
>>
No. 765608 ID: b9aa79

rolled 4, 6, 1 = 11

>>765597
Maru Will Pull out her pen knife and grit her teeth as she makes a quick surface laceration across her thigh, hopefully just deep enough to draw blood. She'll smear the blood across her palms and summon forth her her spiritual weapon, a large ax, made from crimson mist that seems to coalesce- no, congeal, into a solid form in her hands. It lets out a soft, dull rhythm, bp-bp, bp-bp, thumping gently like a calm and untroubled pulse.

To her undiscerning eyes she'd guess the cadavers were being puppeted around on some sort of invisible strings, like a children's marionette gone macabre. She turns to the others, to see if anyone else can get a bead on these creatures, and notices Davina apparent discomfort; she suggests the group back peddle a bit and take 15 minutes on solid ground so Davina can perhaps get a better grip on herself and not risk plummeting into the snake fuck death ravine. Roll to ensure I dont slip and gouge myself, and to see if I can help inspire any confidence in Davina that the nightmare corpse puppets are THAT bad
>>
No. 765609 ID: 72a030

Eric retrieves a bolt from his quiver of magical properties and begins loading it into his Crossbow. That is, until he sees the dancing creatures with his own two eyes. Eric aggrees with Maru, and thinks that a quick retreat to more stable ground would benefit the group.
>>
No. 765610 ID: a107fd

>>765600
Slime in question is the wrong color, and there isn't a stationary straight line or square corner anywhere to be seen in the immediate environment, so Davina just barely manages to keep her wits. The borrowed writing kit flickers through semitangible hands, though, and she wastes a few moments fumbling to catch it.

>>765606
>aura sight
They're definitely undead, but not completely mindless. Maybe on the same level as monkeys? No exotic immaterial attack forms, thank the Deep, but they'll resist blunt force, and rapidly regenerate from any type of damage until and unless the magic holding them together is somehow disrupted. Cold-forged iron would work, but you haven't got any on hand. Your mutagenic power... might do the job, but it would probably have other weird effects as conflicting energies mixed, and somebody would still need to physically hack them apart to finish the job.

>>765608
Between Sami and Payet Best, I'm having trouble picturing Maru Red's weapon as anything other than a magical electric guitar which incidentally has some blades on it. Anyway, down by one point of injury for the blood price, and Davina seems shaken but functional.
>>
No. 765616 ID: b9aa79

rolled 3, 4, 5 = 12

>>765610
That's exactly what you should think because it is 100% an electric bass guitar-ax. The devil loves rock n roll "dawg".

Seeing that Davina is keeping it together, she takes point and continues down the ledge, whispering in a hushed tone her intention to explore the ledge past the bridge in case there's a way around the dozen DR5/cold iron corpse puppets with magical regen; she points out the simple existence of a bridge does not demand they cross it.

Roll to
A) keep an a watchful eye on the puppets to see if they become aggressive upon closer proximity
B) Check their possessions and the surrounding area to see if there's anything of value on the bridge or signs that it might have been used for foot travel or regular crossing at some point- any worn grooves, torch holders, long rotted remants of a side railing, or anything else that might indicate and ancient civilization utilized this area.
C) Not do anything that excites or draws the attention of the corpse puppets
>>
No. 765621 ID: e7ca6e

rolled 4, 1, 1 = 6

Vos will of course relay this information to the others and make an attempt to calm Davina with a minor gesture of affection. He rests his lower jaw on her shoulder, about the equivalent of a pat on the back for his culture. Assuming the same formation as before, Vos keeps moving, using his mutant eye to continually check the puppets for any change in aura.
>>
No. 765634 ID: a107fd

>>765621
Vos manages to shift his chain shirt around so his chest-eye can peek through a gap where three or four rings came undone many years ago... which, considering the position, may have been the same day some previous wearer stopped needing it.
That raucous coppery twang of Maru's axe being drawn forth sends nauseating ripples of lavender and green through meat-puppet auras. They aren't turning to attack just yet, but some cyclical acoustic equilibrium has been disturbed, and the mad dance is accumulating eccentric wobbles, like a neglected potter's wheel with an off-center load.

>>765616
No readily apparent attachment points for lights or railings. In terms of tracks, countless feet have worn a smooth path over the bridge, but far fewer continued along the ledge without crossing.
>>
No. 765635 ID: 3abd97
File 148167742987.png - (6.39KB , 421x386 , crude map.png )
765635

rolled 3, 6, 1 = 10

>The borrowed writing kit flickers through semitangible hands, though, and she wastes a few moments fumbling to catch it.
Ah, well if I'm on mapping duty, here's what we currently see. Should be mostly to scale, although I didn't have a number for the bridge width, nor the degree of widening of the chasm to the right. (Rolling for cartography).

>>765621
I'm going to say this actually works, and after a moment or two, Vos more often than not has an actual shoulder to rest his jaw on, compared to the jittering outline before. Her nerves still show in occasional flicking or blur- those things are not pleasant to be around.

Davina is somewhat nonplussed by this- usually attempts to grab hold of her when she's not there are more frustrating than comforting.

>whispering in a hushed tone her intention to explore the ledge past the bridge in case there's a way around the dozen DR5/cold iron corpse puppets with magical regen; she points out the simple existence of a bridge does not demand they cross it
>40ft chasm, other side in line of sight
Her wits about her once more, Davina points out she can simply cross here rather than pushing through the... creatures, or searching for an alternate bridge.
>>
No. 765644 ID: a107fd

>>765635
>Rolling for cartography
>rolled 3, 6, 1 = 10
>I'm on mapping duty, here's what we currently see. Should be mostly to scale,
Yep, looking good.
>although I didn't have a number for the bridge width,
I figured it'd be hard to judge that kind of thing from the initial perspective. With a quick jaunt to some toehold higher up the wall, you can tell it's about twelve feet wide and two feet thick at either end, narrowing and arching up to eight feet wide and three feet thick in the middle.
>nor the degree of widening of the chasm to the right.
The chasm is about sixty feet wide wall-to-wall right above the bridge, and twenty yards is more or less the blurry limit of what can be seen by lantern light through blood-hued fog. Widening just means the far wall curves away out of view. You'd need a stronger light source, or clearer air, or... I dunno, some sort of echolocation? Judging by the gut-churning acoustics, there's probably no more than another fifty or hundred feet of horizontal open space beyond what you can see. However, given current resources, your only adequate option to observe the overall contour of that wall (let alone tactical details such as doors or monsters) would be to move closer.
>>
No. 765653 ID: 383927

>>765635
>Davina points out she can simply cross here
At this point Maru lets out a sharp, loud laugh that sounds more like a seal bark than anything else, her ax echoing a metallic but somehow upbeat riff that mirrors her mood

" 've had to chop my way through so many situations in the past 'a downright forgot about ya little sword trick. All in favor of following the lass of the hour with the magic sword that's saved our asses not once but twice in the last 10 minutes, shuffle on through. I'll bring up the rear just in case THESE FELLAS decide to get a little fresh with us since we've so cleverly avoided their shag pit" she proclaims, perhaps a bit louder than nessicary, while rather aggressively pointing a thumb over her shoulder at the undulating bodies behind her
>>
No. 765670 ID: 3abd97

rolled 2, 4, 5 = 11

Eager to leave this unpleasant room, Davina nods and cuts across the chasm, making her own damn bridge, 100% zombie free.
>>
No. 765679 ID: d41523

>>/questdis/106459
I can accept those terms.

Yisheng Ji
Hedge Witch
Specialization: Healing / Medicine
High Ambition: Become immortal and eternally youthful
Low Ambition: Make money
Phobia: Being crushed to death
Mutation: Feathers growing from arms, legs, and back that passively help regulate body temperature in non-extreme conditions, and ward off damp, but are obviously somewhat disturbing to look at
Vulnerability: Consuming birdflesh makes him incredibly sick
Ability: Frictionless, lightweight movement - He can treat non-solid surfaces as if they were perfectly solid and rigid, and move as if he were near-weightless. For example, walking across the surface of freshly-fallen snow without leaving any trace of his presence, walking across water without causing it to ripple, jumping into long (albeit quite slow) glides like 90s/00s wire fu movies, and slow-falling in the same fashion.

An ancient, divine spirit beast came down from a celestial realm on business, taking human form when it arrived. (Specifically, its true form was a celestial rooster.) However, before it returned home, it encountered and was infatuated by a village maiden who happened to pass by, and inevitably seduced her. Yisheng Ji was the product of that pairing, although his father left before he was born, likely to never return. Due to this unusual heritage, he enjoys some measure of divine power, not granted by an external source. As he gets more experienced, he'll naturally unlock more and more of that bottomless divine potential. (aka standard level progression) He was apprenticed to, and eventually became a local doctor when he grew up. However, he felt his quiet life was too stagnant to allow him to truly grow, so he set off on his own to master both his medical skills and latent powers, hoping to eventually cheat death and the passage of time itself.

Left hip: Brass Balm
Right hip: Jug of wine
Left shoulder: Clean cloth, hooked needles, & thread
Right shoulder: Tools for field surgery
Chest/neck: Blanket
Top of head: Dragonweed
Concealed: Greekfire
>>
No. 765682 ID: a107fd

>>765670
Ledge on the far side is only about forty feet long, with the bridge in the middle. It tapers away to nothing at either end. When you arrive at the near end, you're facing an archway of neatly dressed stone, immediately beyond which there are two perpendicular hallways. The wider one - roughly ten feet square, but slightly arched at the top, with a river of thick vermilion mist flowing around knee-height and pouring out into the chasm like a ghostly waterfall - continues straight in the direction from you entered the chasm area for twenty feet, then turns 45 degrees left and slopes upward.
The other hall is only four feet wide, but at least sixteen feet high, and filled floor-to-ceiling with opaque rust-colored vapor. Mostly stagnant, but the occasional ripple or swirl resembles fragmentary calligraphy. Any experimentation with projectiles reveals that it seems to go on, perfectly level and arrow-straight, for a very long distance, though you can't see more than arm's reach ahead.
>>
No. 765692 ID: a107fd

>>765679
Looks good.

So, one not-so-fine day, or possibly night, Yisheng Ji was lost underground, meditating on a stubbornly inscrutable demon's riddle. He came to some incomplete, yet possibly valuable, enlightenment, and asked to borrow a bit of chalk from one of his companions in order to record it, but was met with silence. Looking around, he found that they had somehow already crossed the chessboard and were swiftly departing without him. In that moment of dismay he forgot his partial insight into the riddle.

What did he do next?
>>
No. 765702 ID: d41523

rolled 4, 1, 6 = 11

>>765692
Yisheng Ji sighs unhappily at the lost potential for treasure and puts the chessboard out of his mind. Anticipating no difficulties, he passes airily across the board's surface to rejoin his companions.

Vos's injury will require some minor medical attention, so he'll try to treat it when he arrives. A little brassfruit balm and he'll be right as rain, yes?
>>
No. 765718 ID: a107fd

>>765702
>Anticipating no difficulties, he passes airily across the board's surface

Please specify exactly which part of the board he's gliding across. If the traps were simple pressure plates, don't you think that rock would've set off at least one?
>>
No. 765745 ID: d41523

rolled 1, 1, 6 = 8

>>765718
Ouch. Alright then, diagonally straight across, from one corner to the other, like a bishop, on the black tiles.

Roll is for reflex.
>>
No. 765748 ID: 750f88

rolled 3, 3, 1 = 7

Eric follows Davina through the portal, not wanting to be left behind. He wonders just loud enough for Davina to hear if it would be possible to destroy the bridge while they are still on it and take them all out.
>>
No. 765750 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 5, 4 = 15

>>765595
Hore is more of a close quarters combat fighter with some ranged powers for Tank enemies. Her fighting style is based around taking out squads of weak melee enemies in record time, before they can dog pile.

>>765597
Hore really wants to fight the zombies, but after some thought she decides that dying from a few zombie scratches isn't a risk worth the murder high. Hore decides to check for traps while following Maru.
>>
No. 765752 ID: 3abd97

>>765682
Davina looks between the two paths, and then turns and eye back on the direction of the bridge, wary that the dancing zombies might pursue.

"Between the two paths, I vote for the one in which we can see."

>>765718
Noooo. Here's hoping the puzzle-board doesn't nuke him. The backstory was neat, and I see potential for power interactions.

>>765748
"My talents lie in precision and speed, not demolitions. Others might posses the necessary aptitude." Davina here spares significant glance in Hore's direction, "But I am not sure that is wise. They are held aloft, and might survive the felling of the bridge. This is not a foe I wish to face on equal terms."
>>
No. 765767 ID: af6e04

>"Between the two paths, I vote for the one in which we can see."
"Agreed."

>"This is not a foe I wish to face on equal terms."
"They mock us. Perhaps they will follow; attack from behind?"

While the party deliberates, Vos takes a moment to examine his companions' auras.
>>
No. 765769 ID: af6e04

rolled 5, 1, 2 = 8

forgot to roll
>>
No. 765788 ID: 383927

>Hore is more of a close quarters combat fighter with some ranged powers
Maru takes note- she got tunnel vision on whatever that impressive ray of magic was back in the chess room, but the main goal is protect the people who aren't good at fighting so whatever gets the job done. Preferably, in her personal opinion, without any sort of murder fucking occurring in front of her or anywhere that she's consciously aware of, but right now she'd rather have you with her than against her so she's not gonna do anything to endanger the group

Upon suddenly remembering the existence of a doctor with very useful skills pertinent to their current situation, Maru suggests they take the 5 minutes needed to back track and portal jump 2 times in order to secure his safe passage before returning to their current location as a group

She makes this suggestion, not knowing that the venerable doctor has just decided to hurl themself as fast as they can across the span of the chess board and will likely be incinerated before they manage to rendezvous.

To save time, if they make it to Ji before they're blasted into a charred lump, Maru votes they take time to rest up and apply the appropriate salves and healing items to their injured party mates, and take the green mist entrance upwards, in the following order

-Maru - front line muscle
-Ji - made sight, falls back when combat occurs
-Vos - injured, not to fight unless the front lines are broken and Ji + Eric are endangered
-Eric - Picks up mapping where Davina left off, and carries the light so it doesn't get stuck on either end of the formation. Fall back with Vis and Ji when combat breaks out
-Hore - back line defense and ranged support if needed
-Davina - flexible defender, ensures that whatever group is getting attacked, they can flank the enemy
>>
No. 765812 ID: a107fd

rolled 2, 2, 3, 4, 5 = 16

>>765745
The only square on that path which has an outwardly apparent harmful effect is F6, which bursts into flame, inflicting the amount of damage I just rolled. However, by the time he's reached that point, Yisheng Ji is suffering mental fatigue equivalent to a day or two without sleep, unwholesome yet fascinating intrusive thoughts, and a disorienting feeling like he's been cursed to never again find the auspicious path toward Heaven. Also, when he stepped onto E5, all the white squares turned red, almost as if the reddish veins in that border material were spreading.

Assuming he survives the brief inferno and decides to continue (it would be possible to sit down on F6 and treat his own wounds before proceeding, if he remains conscious), upon crossing G7 he is struck blind, and at H8 his problems are compounded with clumsiness equivalent to a night of heavy drinking, but that's the end of the immediate ordeal.

>>765748
Demolishing the bridge would amount to cutting through a two-foot-thick stone wall, and nobody brought rock-breaking tools... unless you count Hore's plasma pistol, but the waste heat from a continuous beam would probably make her arm smell like overdone bacon long before it finished vaporizing a structurally significant portion of that much rock. Also, the meat puppets could just walk over and interrupt whoever was digging, unless you had some way to climb around underneath, and, well... do I really need to explain the problems inherent in deliberately bringing a thousand cubic feet of rock down on your own head while dangling precariously over a chasm of indeterminate depth?
More generally, major earthmoving projects are possible, but require either relevant magic, or appropriate tools and many hours of hard labor, or a little of both, as in the case of delegating the brute force effort of excavation to tireless constructs or undead.
>>765750
No traps are apparent on the visible portion of either path.
>>765767
The team's spiritual health seems to be within acceptable parameters overall, but something's missing... Vos realizes Yisheng Ji was left behind, just in time to hear an anguished squawk from back the way they came. To be audible over the chasm's racket, that god-blooded roosterman must have impressive lung power, once he sets aside the usual quiet, unobtrusive decorum and really tries his best to attract attention.

Of course, in an environment like this, more attention isn't usually a good thing. The 'river' of mist starts to get lower and slower, as if blocked off at the source, and there's a faint slurping, sucking sort of sound echoing from the upward passage.

>>765788
>take the green mist entrance
Vermillion is a bright red, not green. All the fog in this whole maze so far has been various shades of blood-colored.
>>
No. 765813 ID: 3d2d5f

rolled 6, 1, 4 = 11

>>765812
Could our bird man resist some of the fire damage if he's treating the gaseous flame as a solid object per his ability? Running into a hot, irregularly shaped object instead of being immolated.

>forgetten party member
>squack
Davina's form blurs as she turns and cuts her across the chasm, and then again from the chasm to the door, disappearing back down the twisting hall at a run alternating with jumps as far as line of sight will allow along the turns of the irregular path.

(I expect attempting to follow her will probably result in the pursuer losing the trail of portals somewhere in the hallway as they wink out).
>>
No. 765824 ID: a107fd

>>765813
>resist some of the fire damage if he's treating the gaseous flame as a solid object
To the extent that such a thing might be possible, doing so would have required better reflexes.
>losing the trail of portals somewhere in the hallway as they wink out
Hasty, ragged cuts take longer to heal. The faster you're going, the less useful that ability is for evading pursuit.

Speaking of pursuit, the meat puppets' dance on the bridge has completely broken down. Six of them charge toward whoever is still standing around the archway, wailing and swinging their fists with murderous intent, while the other six chase Davina.
>>
No. 765825 ID: af6e04

rolled 2, 4, 1 = 7

>>765813
As soon as Vos sees the portal open he pushes past Maru and rushes after Davina's trail, trying to navigate the frequently opening and closing portals left in her wake.
>>
No. 765830 ID: 3d2d5f

rolled 3, 2, 2 = 7

>>765824
Hmmm. So how far along my rapid backtrack do I get before I notice the hostile pursuit of my would-be rescue, how close are they, and what sight greets us in the chess room, if I've made it that far?

Rolling for spot / awareness.

(Gonna laugh so hard if the parts floating upwards or the regeneration are spacial effects and react explosively if/when they cross a portal).
>>
No. 765832 ID: d41523

rolled 5, 6, 1 = 12

>>765812
>16 damage
I'm not sure how much health I have, but if Decaro Vos only has 12 hp as a soldier... well, at least everyone'll be treated to a nice roast.

Roll to cling desperately to life, I guess?
>>
No. 765834 ID: b9aa79

>>765813
Maru is dismayed as the party decides the best thing to do when trapped on a small ledge with hostile creatures to either side is to split up and leave half the party to be assaulted on both sides, without even stopping to consult with the group or ask if maybe taking half the party's muscle is a good idea.

If at all possible, Maru would like to round up Eric and Hore and follow Davina, so as not to split the party. This isn't too far outside of her original plan anyways as she was suggesting they travel back as a group to retrieve their feathered medic; she is baffled and unsure as to why Davina would attempt to dash off without a word to the rest of them.

IN THE CASE SHE CANNOT FOLLOW, she will suggest Hore take on the zombies, using the power of ranged weaponry to crisp them up a bit before they engage, while she turns to face whatever is oncoming in the red mist. Eric can support Hore from range for the time being, but she doubts that his crossbow will be of much use against those things given their regenerative powers and seeming resistance to normal weapons.

Again, note that this is only her preferred action if she cannot get the others to follow davina through her portals.
>>
No. 765924 ID: 750f88

rolled 2, 1, 2 = 5

If Eric is unable to follow, he will grab his crossbow and aim it at a zombie closest to an edge. He hopes that hitting the creature with one of his bolts will be enough to have the creature fall off into the abyss. Aiming for head/chest region.
>>
No. 765943 ID: a107fd

>>765832
Yisheng Ji is still conscious, but too dizzy and injured to confidently stand. He could speak, or crawl, or attempt to treat his own wounds with chi manipulation (restores 1d8+1 automatically, no materials required, limited uses per day) or brassfruit balm (restores up to 4d6 depending on how skillfully it's applied, works by transmuting the damaged flesh to brass, which is physically inconvenient for about as long as it would have taken the wound to heal naturally).

>>765830
Meat puppets are stumbling and partly crumbling whenever they emerge from a portal, but pull themselves back together pretty quick. Davina will have 20-30 seconds in the chess room before the first meat puppet arrives, and they're strung out rather than clumped in a close-order mob, so if she can disable them quickly enough one-on-one, they might not get a chance to do any tricky flanking maneuvers.

She also sees the group's main healer half-collapsed on square F6, looking charred and miserable but clearly still alive. Also, all the formerly white squares are now red for some reason.

>>765924
Critical hit! One down, with s bone bolt right between the festering eyesockets, five more to go from that group. Apparently whatever force pulls them upward isn't enough to support the full weight when they stumble off into open air.

>>765834
Maru hops through Davina's portal back across the chasm, but then find that she's landed right between the last two meat puppets in the group which is pursuing Davina, and her axe's strings have somehow become severely tangled. Roll to cast Power Chord: Dismember without being grabbed.
>>
No. 765950 ID: 3abd97

>>765943
For clarity: did Eric manage to run and gun that kill, or his he now stranded on the far side of the chasm with 5 zombies and (possibly a mist monster)? I suppose Hore must still be there too.

Where did Vos end up? I'd guess he's somewhere between Davina and Maru, but if he's made it to the room with me, or if he's further back with a zombie close on his heels feels like something that should factor into my immediate decision making.
>>
No. 765955 ID: b9aa79

rolled 4, 3, 6 = 13

Power Chord: Dismember, for all you zombie obliterating needs

Maru now realizes that with the way davinas portals work, who she was asking to follow her and the number of creatures attempting to intercept them her plan to keep the group together was doomed from the start. Internally she curses herself for stupidly hoping it might work, and externally she curses just about everything else

"Damn these strings, and damn these FEKKIN ROTTERS and DAMN davina for leggin it like that and DAMN THAT BIRD FOR BEING SO! DAMN! QUIET! AND FORGETTABLE! Damn that STUPID FEKKIN MUTT AND THEIR DISGUSTING MURDER BONER, and may CALISTRIA STING THIS FEKKIN CHASM! IN IT'S SNAKE FEKKIN DICK! SHITE SHITE SHITE SHITE S H I T E"
>>
No. 765962 ID: c10644

rolled 2, 2, 6 = 10

Hore begins her assault! Playing it smart, she starts off by throwing a few of her knives at the zombies that look the fastest, then equips both her axe and her spear. Using the spear first, she tries to stab the zombies until they get into cleave range, at which point she uses her great cleavage (and her boobs) to force momentum into the axe, potentially killing many zombies at a time. Hore's knife and spear skills are below par and she may not kill many zombies with them, but her dexterity with an axe is unmatched by any in the party and she is expected to kill any zombies within punching distance without a scratch.

Note that Hore will use her Plasma Pistol spell if she gets a bad roll (13 or more) and is in danger of dying, but an EXTREMELY low roll will cause the Plasma to misfire and fire in a random direction, which if she is unlucky [16+] can hit her somewhere vital and if she is REALLY unlucky [18] can even hit her in the FACE, potentially killing her (second roll to determine if she survives). The plasma will continue in the trajectory until all its energy has been spent.
>>
No. 765965 ID: 750f88

rolled 6, 5, 1 = 12

Eric looks deep within himself, contemplating what kind of Lich would be slain by some simple undead. He musters up the courage to try and command these lesser creatures to do his bidding. A simple order of "HALT KNAVES. CEASE MOVEMENT IMMEDIATELY." would do.
>>
No. 765969 ID: af6e04

rolled 4, 3, 3 = 10

It's hard to make a call without knowing where I am, but if Vos is surrounded by zombies he will try to reach out and mutate the closest one. If he is lost somewhere in the dark hallway he will light his lantern and continue to the chess room. If he's with Davina he will try to look for a way to get to Ji. Another question worth asking is whether Ji managed to make it across the chess board or is still stuck where he got roasted.
>>
No. 765972 ID: a107fd

>>765965
Two of the meat puppets kneel and groan some approximation of "Yes, my liege." Not a moment too soon, as one of them was closing it's hands around Eric's neck. He's got a few bruises, but thanks to that armor, nothing serious.

Hore is having way too much fun with the remaining meat puppets on your side of the chasm. Two were run through on her spear before they managed to close the distance, then the one in front walked into her axe and lost both arms somewhere around the elbow, and some leg ligaments to knife-work. The one behind keeps trying to step past, but just ends up getting them both turned around. Both of them are at least partly on fire. Last got decapitated by a tighter-focused plasma blast, and she's making ready to impale it's exposed neck on, ah, let's just say a different spear. All three remain animate and hostile, but will be combat-ineffective for at least a few minutes as regeneration catches up.

>>765962
>Note that Hore will use her Plasma Pistol spell if she gets a bad roll (13 or more) and is in danger of dying,
You can't just change what action you're taking based on the die roll for that action.

>but an EXTREMELY low roll will cause the Plasma to misfire and fire in a random direction, which if she is unlucky [16+] can hit her somewhere vital and if she is REALLY unlucky [18] can even hit her in the FACE, potentially killing her (second roll to determine if she survives). The plasma will continue in the trajectory until all its energy has been spent.
I ask that you refrain from telling me how to handle critical failures, or for that matter, any of the dice mechanics.
>>
No. 765975 ID: 3abd97

rolled 6, 3, 3 = 12

Okay, Davina sees Ji is alive, but quickly decides she cannot safely render aid, even telporting, if the tile he's on is trapped It is, but she didn't see that, she could set it off again and kill him trying. The more immediate risk to his life is the approaching zombies, who might kill him themselves, or set off more traps approaching him.

I'll turn and try and pick off the strung out zombies with swordmanship. Teleporting behind the lead zombie is likely a bad idea as that puts my back to the next, but I might be able to safely surprise it by coming at it from the side / the wall.

>Another question worth asking is whether Ji managed to make it across the chess board or is still stuck where he got roasted.
He's on F6, so he's two rows deep into the board from our edge.
>>
No. 765976 ID: a107fd

>>765969
Vos is two or three paces behind Davina. Ji is still stuck where he got roasted; reaching him would most likely involve somehow crossing rows 8 and 7 of the board. There are several ways to do that, including at least one option that everybody seems to have overlooked so far.
>>
No. 765978 ID: 3abd97

>>765975
>Meat puppets are stumbling and partly crumbling whenever they emerge from a portal
Too late to edit / delete without messing with my roll, but this means it would be strategically sound to try and time attacks on pursuing zombies as they emerge from one portal, and are off balance and less able to relatiate or defend adequaetly.
>>
No. 765982 ID: a107fd

>>765975
That last portal makes an excellent choke point, but shallow cuts and flicker-swift thrusts to traditional vital areas fail to efficiently incapacitate the meat puppets. The hole in the air begins to close, and then they're approaching through the hallway the old-fashioned way, two or three abreast.

Obvious options at this point would be to lure them onto the chessboard somehow, or close the stone door and hope Maru chops 'em all apart.
>>
No. 765986 ID: af6e04

rolled 6, 5, 6 = 17

>He's on F6, so he's two rows deep into the board from our edge.
Sorry, missed that

Vos stands front and center before the doorway ready to jab whichever meat puppet provides a target first, and also prepares to mutate any that get closer than jabbing range. He quickly asks Davina if it's possible to open a portal beneath Ji and simply let her fall through.
>>
No. 765996 ID: a107fd

>>765986
Davina is momentarily distracted by superficial contradictions, and underlying possibilities, of oddly-angled portals. One of the meat puppets slips past her defence, and is now loose in the chess room. When Vos attempts to smite the giddy abomination with mutagenic energies, it seems to be unfazed, but there's a feeling of maggots slithering under skin from the point of contact, moving rapidly up his arm.
>>
No. 766011 ID: af6e04

rolled 4, 1, 4 = 9

>>765996
Awwhhh fuck. Vos immediately retracts his hand and circle steps the meat puppet. He lays the haft across the abomination's belly and shoves in the direction of the nearest chess board square. If this is successful and the creature's still moving, he'll run it through from a safe distance.
>>
No. 766032 ID: a107fd

>>766011
Fortunately, the meat puppet seems to have no sense of self-preservation. Upon being knocked back onto E8, all it's flesh melts away from the bone like spun sugar dunked in a hot bath.

>>765955
Maru bisects one meat puppet at the waist and sends it's majority portion tumbling into the abyss, then removes an arm and several ribs from another, but that second one tackles her and grabs on like a constrictor snake with it's "strings." Rim pf the ledge is digging into her mid-back, leaving shoulders and head dangling over what might as well be a bottomless pit. Despite both her own hands digging into it's deliquescent wrist, the meat puppet's remaining hand is inching steadily closer to her neck.
>>
No. 766037 ID: b9aa79

rolled 4, 4, 3 = 11

>>766032
Maru is, at this point, seeing red. ha

She tries to use the extra leverage of dangling off a bit to whip her head upwards and slam it as hard as she can into the creatures face; she hopes to conserve the momentum of her sudden jerk upwards to roll so the creature is underneath her, allowing her to add body weight and gravity into the occasion as she tries to turn the creature from corpse to paste with a combination of blunt force trauma and slamming any part of it she can against the stone beneath them
>>
No. 766038 ID: a107fd

>>766037
The meat puppet's forehead caves in, but it doesn't let go. After some confusing tumbles, Maru is clinging to the ledge with her left hand and forearm and a few fingers of her right hand, while the meat puppet is hanging off her right elbow with it's remaining hand, and has semi-prehensile entrails tangled around her legs.

Rancid cerebrospinal fluid is dripping into her eyes. Not her own, fortunately, but it's still very unpleasant, and she doesn't have a free hand to wipe it away.
>>
No. 766043 ID: 3d2d5f

rolled 5, 2, 5 = 12

Davina feels a growing frustration- not only are the creatures repellent, not only do they lack traditional weapoints, but their regeneration prevents methodical disassembly!

>>765986
"I cannot easily nor reliably move without moving."

>What do
Davina will open a portal directly ahead of the undead, obscuring their view of the door.

The other side I'll place immediately behind the balanced die, perpendicular to the path across the chess board. (So the view through the portal is not facing the board, but along the edge).

This should allow me to carefully step or hop over the die (I'm assuming it's not bigger than a milk crate, to be 30 pounds and throwable?), and clumsy zombies to trip over it as they stumble through the portal.

If we're lucky, they might fall into the board. If we're not, we might be able to follow up with a shove or flesh blessing the tangled pile of undead. We'll see.
>>
No. 766045 ID: c10644

rolled 4, 2, 1 = 7

Hore is done @#$%ing with zombies for now~

She decides to throw zombies into the portal, starting with the limbless ones!
>>
No. 766046 ID: 3d2d5f

>>766045
Uh, the portal near you has probably expired by now, and just leads to near Maru if it hasn't.

You're probably better off aiming for the cliff.
>>
No. 766047 ID: 60f74d

rolled 6, 1, 1 = 8

"One of you! Assist the Gnoll in fighting these fleshy corpses. The other! Assist my companion hanging off of the cliff edge over yonder!" Edwin begins loading a crossbow bolt into his crossbow (19/20). He looks back towards the supposed mist monster's location expectantly.
>>
No. 766050 ID: af6e04

rolled 5, 3, 6 = 14

>follow up with a shove or flesh blessing the tangled pile of undead.

Sounds good, though Vos is a bit reluctant to touch the things again. Speaking of which, he takes the short reprieve to examine his arm/hand, grabbing at different points along the length of his forearm and wiggling his fingers.
>>
No. 766051 ID: c10644

>>766046
Huh? Okay...

Still, we should find a way to keep them dead. Bury them? Force their regenerating limbs to fuse together? Fire won't work. Hore contemplates what power source they run on.
>>
No. 766067 ID: d41523

rolled 8, 7 + 2 = 17

>>765943
He'll stop to treat his own wounds. Since his body is pretty much charred all over, the Brassfruit Balm will probably be a significant inconvenience, so he'll opt for chi healing x2.
>>
No. 766071 ID: d41523

>>766067
Nice heal, even if it's only the physical injury. Yisheng Ji will crawl backward one tile, onto E5, juuust in case the fire tile decides to act up again, and stay there for now. He doesn't like the look of the red tiles.
>>
No. 766099 ID: a107fd

>>766045
>>766046
Two more meat puppets off the cliff, and Hore even manages to safely retrieve her spear, though the haft is somewhat burnt. The third one she was 'dealing with,' however, has reassembled it's lower jaw, along with a lot of miscellaneous bone fragments and giblets, into a sort of belt around her waist.

>>766047
Eric's first lieutenant starts punching the torso of the feral meat puppet around Hore's waist, cracking it's ribs and spine, but is oblivious to the friendly-fire risk which this presents. Hore is now experiencing severe pain (-4 to most rolls).

Eric's second lieutenant bounces across the bridge and grabs Maru, one hand around her left upper arm, the other tangled in her hair, and starts hauling her back up onto solid ground. Feels like her left shoulder was nearly dislocated in the process. The one-handed meat puppet is still clinging to her, squeezing hard enough to cut off blood circulation to her feet, but she's no longer at immediate risk of a long fall.

>mist monster
A section of oddly clear air approaches, it's back edge defined by a perfectly vertical wall of vermilion fog.

>>766071
Yisheng Ji's burns are fully healed, but that's about as much heavy chi manipulation as he can safely do in a day. There are still a variety of minor tricks available to him, and it's possible to 'dig deep' for more, but those disturbing intrusive thoughts just doubled in intensity, so it's really seeming like a bad day to take risks.

>>/questdis/106536
>>766032
Sorry, that was an error on my part. Flesh-dissolving acid trap is on C8, not E8.

Speaking of which, the puddle of goo and disarticulated bones on C8 is visibly pulling itself back together.
>>
No. 766109 ID: 383927

rolled 5, 6, 1 = 12

Maru will very loudly and aggressively use whatever means she has at her disposal to detach the remainder of the creature from her body and send it hurtling into the chasm below, and assuming success, insists that Eric and Hore get across the bridge as quickly as possible. She hasn't yet seen the creature in the mist most likely, given the description concerning its lack of a visual component, but her intent is to hold the bridge from a monster she assumes is coming and guard the rear as everyone crosses, hopefully reaching solid ground and getting one step closer to reuniting with the others
>>
No. 766110 ID: af6e04

>Speaking of which, the puddle of goo and disarticulated bones on C8 is visibly pulling itself back together.

Vos will scatter whatever bones are still loose with his spear. Standing back as far as he can, he pushes them one by one off in random directions across the chess board, trying to take care not to send any toward Ji.
>>
No. 766111 ID: af6e04

rolled 6, 3, 2 = 11

>>766110
>>
No. 766120 ID: a107fd

>>766111
Reassembly process seems to slow down, though not halt completely, once part of the mess is smeared over onto B7.

>>766109
Visible portion of the one-handed meat puppet has been reduced to a few tenacious strands of tendon coiled around Maru Red's ankles, but the rest of it seems to be hanging on just below the ledge. Whenever some other part starts to come up, Eric's minion kicks it back down. Only so much can be done to further detach it without amputating her own feet; a bloodthirsty two-handed axe is not the ideal tool for this job.

Laying down like a spent fish and taking a few minutes to catch her breath is starting to seem like a very appealing option.

>>766050
Maggoty feeling fades away just as the leading edge was spreading into his chest, but Vos remains uncertain whether it was psychosomatic, or if a swarm of parasites have now settled in to positions they find comfortable.
>>
No. 766123 ID: 3abd97

>>766043
Um, I don't think this action got resolved in the last batch or two. Unless it's not relevant anymore due to other things that happened, or I badly misinterpreted the size of the die?
>>
No. 766134 ID: 750f88

rolled 5, 4, 4 = 13

Eric grants new commands as he makes his way across the bridge. "Follow me my lieutenants! We must make haste to our other companions! Without causing them injury this time!" Eric waits for his first lieutenant to follow across the bridge before continuing with both of them to the chess room.
>>
No. 766152 ID: a107fd

>>766043
Considerable misunderstanding of the situation here.
>Davina will open a portal directly ahead of the undead, obscuring their view of the door.
Her portals are about 6' high and 3' wide. while the door is a 10' square stone slab on a vertical pivot, so that's like trying to hide an elephant behind a phonebooth. Might be possible to jam the door partway closed and set up a pair of portals so that when they try to move past it on one side, they pop back into the hallway from the other side, but you'd need something the right size to wedge into that inch-high gap under the door, or some other method to keep it from opening the rest of the way.

>This should allow me to carefully step or hop over the die (I'm assuming it's not bigger than a milk crate, to be 30 pounds and throwable?)

Stone cube is about 6-7 inches on a side. The more relevant obstacle is that waist-high pedestal it's balanced on top of.

>clumsy zombies
If anything, they're somewhat more agile than average humans. Various pratfalls can be attributed to lack of forethought, structural damage, and active opposition, rather than lack of basic physical coordination.
>>765597
> These are no run-of-the-mill shambling zombies. They prance about almost weightlessly,
>>
No. 766160 ID: a107fd

>>766134
The remaining meat puppet on that side of the chasm stops thrashing as soon as the first lieutenant stops pummeling it, then picks Hore up in a symmetrical hands-free variant of the fireman's carry and moves to follow Lord Grimwald across the bridge. With no head, and a blockage in it's throat besides, it can't speak at the moment. The fact that it can apparently listen for and understand orders is already some sort of noxious miracle.

Going to help Maru first, or charge ahead and flank the three that Davina's been holding at the chess room door?
>>
No. 766163 ID: 3abd97

rolled 4, 3, 2 = 9

>>766152
Hmm. Thanks for the correction, then.

Further random trivia: what do the portals look like from the "back" (invisible? Semitransparent?).

>suggested action
Simpler plan then: Davina shuts the door in front of the zombies, and jams a dagger or two into the inch gap as improvise wedges when they try and shove it open.

Not sure how strong these particular zombies are, but if that doesn't keep them out, it'll at least slow them down and buy the three of us a little time to regroup (get Ji off the trapped board, maybe cross to the other side and so we can hide behind the traps).

>discussion

>Decaro Vos
>Specialization: Grappling
Hmmm.

"Vos, if I go to open a door, are you strong enough to hold me back from passing through?"

Ji's on a "safe" tile of the chess board, unless there are rules against two pieces occupying the same space, or captures are enforced. I could just step to him to open a portal for him to exit by, but it's probably safer if I don't actually set foot on that side.
>>
No. 766192 ID: d41523

>>766163
>safe tile
It's not 100% safe. It fills your head with intrusive thoughts. Being tele-fragged would be a pretty nasty fate though. Think I should I just dash across and take my chances?
>>
No. 766197 ID: a107fd

>>766163
>what do the portals look like from the "back" (invisible? Semitransparent?).
Like a funhouse mirror, a really cheap one with lots of bubbles in the glass and so many gaps in the silver it's almost more of a window, getting hit by a sledgehammer, in slow motion. Higher-dimensional scar tissue. If somebody runs into it, the texture's sort of like mud mixed with cobblestones on a rained-out road, main difference being that if you force a hand in deeper, it seems oppressively hot and oily rather than cold and damp.

>Davina shuts the door in front of the zombies, and jams a dagger or two into the inch gap as improvise wedges when they try and shove it open.
Available knives are slightly too narrow for effective wedges, and would probably snap if stuck vertically into cracks in the floor, but they function well enough as reinforcement for a tibia and the pelvis from C8.

On closer inspection, the underside of the door seems to have a series of deep vertical holes, which would suggest a locking mechanism involving bars rising from the floor. No sign of a keyhole or lever or any other readily accessible method to engage such a lock, though.

>"Vos, if I go to open a door, are you strong enough to hold me back from passing through?"
Seems likely to work, but potential consequences for a slip-up are serious enough that he'd definitely need to roll for it.

>Ji's on a "safe" tile
There are some important differences between "no immediate deadly explosion" and "safe."
>>765812
>when he stepped onto E5, all the white squares turned red
>>766071
>Yisheng Ji will crawl backward one tile, onto E5
>>766099
>those disturbing intrusive thoughts just doubled in intensity
>>
No. 766199 ID: c10644

rolled 1, 2, 3 = 6

Hore regroups and tears the zombie off her waist, then asks her teammates which tile she should throw it on. Hore defends and asks where the lowest common denominator of cluster@#$%s is.
>>
No. 766201 ID: 3abd97

>>766192
Oh, good catch. Intrusive thoughts of that nature might be particularly bad for me, since it might skew me toward intangibility and uselessness.

>Think I should I just dash across and take my chances?
Honestly, I would try rolling for insight against the initial poem / riddle to try and determine safe squares before running blindly. Worst case you don't lose anything, and your character is kind of suited for it?

>telefrag
Unless the board itself has a "one piece per tile" mechanic magically enforced, I don't think I actually can. Not with the portals, anyways. Unless you find a bag of holding. Or I'd have to try and clip through you when I was blurred intangible, which would be terminally stupid.

Also worth considering, in addition to portal mechanics:

>There are several ways to [move across the board] that, including at least one option that everybody seems to have overlooked so far.
Might be worth thinking on this. Maybe if you "jump" like a knight you're only exposed to the start and end tile traps? (And maybe not the end, if you go off the board).

>Other possible portal antics
If I jumped and cut up, could I open a portal above me? (And fail to follow through it due to gravity). Now that Ji is actually standing and I can see the the floor under him, I *could* open the other end under him. Normally that would be a dumb idea that would immediately drop someone on me, but Ji has built in feather fall.
>>
No. 766202 ID: 3abd97

>>766199
The tiles should be down a hall and behind a closed door from you. Throwing anything there would be pretty hard, unless you're holding onto it till you get there.
>>
No. 766203 ID: 750f88

So are there undead between Eric and the Chess room? Also is the door closed? Just want to confirm some things before posting.
>>
No. 766204 ID: a107fd

>>766192
Specifically, the intrusive thoughts resemble a pair of obnoxious children, with voices like crows, competing for your attention. They refer to square E5 as "the Cube of Extremely Limited Psyche," but are just bored to tears with this whole room and refuse to discuss it's other features any further, except to confirm that "the prize" is real, and they aren't it. Both have promised (with obvious sincerity) to depart and trouble you no more just as soon as you attempt any one of the many courses of action they constantly propose... which are mostly nonsensical atrocities, but seem to reflect profound insights into the labyrinth's greater geomantic structure, so their advice might, eventually, turn out to be useful.
>>
No. 766205 ID: a107fd

>>766203
Yes to both.
>>
No. 766209 ID: d41523

rolled 1, 2, 3 = 6

>>766201
>>766204
It says to "stay the true course in blooded sight", and all the white tiles turned blood red. I'd think "the true course" would have been a straight shot across, but E8 melts all the flesh off your bones, so that's right out. I could hop forward-left like a knight onto D7, then forward one to D8, onto the King's space, and hopefully capping the King = Treasure? Alternatively, I could move diagonally onto B8 and then right to C8, which would clear the knight and bishop, which would allow the "castle" to "fall east" and allow the king to "bound to the left" as the black player castles their king, which is kind of a "foolish whim whose meaning is deep" move?

Roll for insight on the puzzle + voices, I guess. I really don't want to take another 5d8 damage.
>>
No. 766213 ID: a107fd

>>766209
Some hint from the smudged-out chalk notes left on the pedestal by previous adventurers clicks together in Yisheng Ji's mind. Loaded with vague symbolism and contradictory implications, it's not a riddle at all; more of a koan, turning the reader's cleverness against itself. If he's right, that poem contains no information whatsoever about which squares are safe.
>>
No. 766214 ID: 92ca6b

rolled 3, 3, 2 = 8

>>766163
Sure willing to try it. Wish me lucky dice
>>
No. 766215 ID: 750f88

rolled 1, 3, 4 = 8

Eric stares down the unloyal beasts and attempts to gain control over them. He clenches his fist as he commands "Kneel to me and accept me as your one true king!"
>>
No. 766216 ID: 3abd97

rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7

>>766213
Hahahahahah, wooooow.

>>766213
>>766214
Davina nods, then turns does her best to ignore the eel-man behind her and what she's trying to do, focusing simply on what she's doing. It's easier that way.

Just a push and a cut like any other.

Opening a portal to Ji's tile and hopefully being stopped from passing through by Vos.
>>
No. 766219 ID: d41523

rolled 1, 2, 6 = 9

>>766213
Alright, new tactic then. Yisheng Ji will call out to Davina, if she can hear him, to drop some nasties onto the board in front of him, to see if the tiles are safe, and then he'll be able to cross based on that information.
>>
No. 766235 ID: a107fd

>>766215
At this point, half the meat puppets have been more or less irretrievably pulped, and the other half are successfully recruited.

>>766214
>>766216
>>766219
Ji is interrupted in mid-sentence by a blade, appearing as if from nowhere, pressed against his throat. Davina and Vos grab him from behind and yank him through the portal, off the chessboard, without further complications.

Vos still has some fairly serious injuries, which brass balm would be useful for treating. One of the disembodied voices "helpfully" interjects that the balm is made from fruits of a tree which only grows in the Murderfuck Forest, demon realm of Hrotsvitha. This claim is... probably false? One of the major components is imported from some otherwise unfamiliar distant land, but that's metal, not fruit. A particular type of brass with unique alchemical properties. Every other reagent is well-understood, and can be produced locally.
>>
No. 766236 ID: af6e04

Vos sets Ji down safely on solid ground and releases his grip on Davina, clearly looking pleased with himself. His posture quickly weakens again though as the adrenaline high seems to wear off. "Should regroup with others. Let's go."
>>
No. 766250 ID: a107fd

>>766236
>Regroup

Eric Grimwald, Hore Wutashi, Maru Red, and six no-longer-hostile meat puppets are right outside, ready to reunite as soon as somebody un-jams the door for them.

After that, and possibly treatment for their various (comparatively minor) injuries, there's the matter of which way to go next.
>>
No. 766255 ID: 3d2d5f

rolled 6, 2, 2 = 10

>>766250
Assuming someone communicates through the door that they're not a group of hostile zombies and would like to be let in, Davina will remove the improvised doorjams and reclaim her daggers.

She's going to be less than happy to see the zombies brought along, though.

"You're ke——ing them?" she says with obvious distaste, flickering momentarily.

>there's the matter of which way to go next
Is there an apparent alternative exit to this room besides the hall to the chasm chamber? (There's two or three possible paths once we get there, at least).

Does the mist in the hall show whatever it was in the other room following the group? (At least as far as we can see from the door).
>>
No. 766263 ID: d41523

rolled 6, 4, 5 = 15

>>766235
>>/questdis/106571
Yisheng Ji will apply some Brassfruit Balm to Vos. Here's hoping the mental debuffs aren't severe enough to make me fail basic medical treatment.
>>
No. 766273 ID: a107fd

>>766263
>rolled 6, 4, 5 = 15
>various curses and distractions

Some embarrassingly haphazard pawing at Vos's wounds nonetheless manages to restore 3 HP. The remaining damaged tissue is now sealed under a layer of brass, which largely removes the risks of longer-term bleeding or tearing something open by exertion, but, if something in there was already contaminated, you'll have a hell of a time cleaning it out surgically when the infection starts to spread.

Yisheng Ji feels like eight to twelve hours of sleep would fix maybe half the things that went wrong during his own attempt to cross the chessboard, including some things that are impairing his medical skills.

On Vos's end, the restricted movement from brazen scar tissue is comparable to wearing slightly-too-tight clothes on the relevant areas.

>>766255
>Is there an apparent alternative exit to this room besides the hall to the chasm chamber?

Door you came in through leads to a dead end, courtesy of that sliding-wall trap.

>Does the mist in the hall show whatever it was in the other room following the group?

Nope, no sign. Given the rate at which it was moving, though, you wouldn't expect the fog anomaly to have even crossed the chasm yet, unless it's much faster in a wide-open space.
>>
No. 766289 ID: af6e04

rolled 2, 5, 4 = 11

Vos fidgets and squirms painfully during the process, but when all is said and done he is very grateful for the minor reprieve in pain. He nuzzles Ji's face in appreciation. Vos asks if Ji can look at his arm, and goes chattering on about feeling a very unpleasant sensation when he touched one of the creatures of stagnant flesh.

His train of thought is interrupted however by the sound of Davina's protest and then the sight of the targets of his ire. He immediately moves to impale one of the meat puppets on his spear.
>>
No. 766300 ID: d4fc8d

rolled 1, 4, 1 = 6

>>766255
>>766289
Eric's eyes shoot to attention at Decaro Vos's sudden movement and Davina's disgust towards the now tame creatures. He shouts in protest to the assault on the undead elvinoid creatures.

"Wait! I have them under my control. There is no need to continue fighting Vos!"
Eric shoots a glance at his creatures.
"Do not harm these beings, they can be useful to our escape."
>>
No. 766306 ID: a107fd

>>766289
>He immediately moves to impale one of the meat puppets on his spear.
>>766300
>Do not harm these beings, they can be useful to our escape.
>There is no need to continue fighting Vos!
>rolled 1, 4, 1 = 6

Lieutenant Dangle is stabbed somewhere in the general vicinity of the heart, and, as ordered, makes no move to retaliate. Hole in the meat puppet's chest closes up again almost immediately.

Lieutenant Dan burbles some semicoherent questions about this larger strategic objective of "escape."
>>
No. 766313 ID: d41523

rolled 3, 2, 5 = 10

>>765682
>>766204
>two perpendicular hallways to choose from
>intrusive thoughts reflect profound insights into the labyrinth's greater geomantic structure
Yisheng Ji, now capable of walking and out of immediate danger (albeit too woozy to accomplish anything useful), figures he may as well query the horrid voices in his head as to what lies down each of the available path options, once everyone's regrouped and he's been informed said options exist.
>>
No. 766340 ID: 63f62b

rolled 1, 5, 2 = 8

Hore, feeling absentminded, decides to carry whoever needs help moving. She's not sure what is going on anymore.
>>
No. 766366 ID: a107fd

>>766313
"You mean the chasm? There's way more than two. Ten, at least, depending on how you count. Most just have rocks and fog and stuff that kills you. Say what you want, we'll tell you where to go, one decision each. Tools? Secrets? A giant mantis who squeals and moans while being ripped apart? Gold? Safe place to sleep?"
>>
No. 766370 ID: af6e04

>>766300
>Lieutenant Dan burbles some semicoherent questions about this larger strategic objective of "escape."

"They talk?" Vos is significantly alarmed by this revelation.

I assume since everybody knows of each others' talents, Vos had an idea this would happen. He decides to go ahead and lay a ground rule. He'll tolerate Eric's practices for now, as long as Eric does not kill a creature for the sole purpose of converting it into an undead pawn.
>>
No. 766389 ID: d41523

rolled 1, 1, 6 = 8

>>766366
Yisheng Ji snaps his fingers loudly in Maru Red's direction to get her attention and urgently requests a piece of parchment and a writing utensil from her to record "what may well be supernatural guidance being channeled through [him]," and assuming he receives them, prepares to record in writing the responses to his mental queries.

"Knowing the most reliable path to the nearest safe location to rest and recuperate would be ideal," Yisheng Ji mentally vocalizes to his unwelcome intruders, and after a moment's thought clarifies "where 'safe' refers to the personal safety of both myself and my present companions, as well as that of any and all items belonging to us, and not necessarily any other item or entity, up to and including yourselves. Furthermore, 'the absence of threat' implied by the term 'personal safety' should also consider the 'threat of starvation and/or dehydration' brought on by a lack of supplies exacerbated by, for example, being imprisoned in an otherwise perfectly safe chamber."

After a short pause to collect his thoughts, Yisheng Ji continues with the second request: "While it is true that material wealth is a goal of this expedition, the love for gratuitous violent suffering you two, in the short yet eventful time we've so far spent together, have made quite well-known, coupled with my understanding that this labyrinth will most certainly couple any available treasure with profound sources of precisely that, make me reluctant to request it of you. Therefore, I will instead request a reliable route, not from this location, but from the safe location you will be providing in response to my first request, to a location where may be found more detailed and reliable information regarding both this labyrinth's layout and inhabitants, with emphasis on the hostile. I suppose such information could be considered secrets, though it matters little to me whether or not others exist who know it already."
>>
No. 766397 ID: 750f88

>>766370
"Of course! They also have regenerative capabilities, are seemingly unstoppable, and in general make very useful subordinates. If we just work along side them then fame and glory is sure to come." Eric smiles, seemingly beaming with admiration towards the undead creatures. "Imagine the possibilities my friends. hmmmm. I best start naming them, unless they remember their old titles? Do any of you have a name that you wish to be known as."
>>
No. 766412 ID: a107fd

>>766389
>safety
"Cross the bridge, down the narrow hall to the end, and flip the table."

>decent map
"Request an audience with the fallen duke, whose servants you may recognize by their being entirely covered in blood apart from hands and lips."

>>766397
>Do any of you have a name
The six meat puppets briefly burst into... song? Something like an attempt to reconstruct the laughter of children using only mis-tuned violins, a pipe organ, and terminal emphysema.

Seems to be a 'no.'
>>
No. 766414 ID: 094652

rolled 4, 1, 3 = 8

>>766412
Hore's ears perk up. That music sounds familiar...

Roll to determine if her eldritch lore (from her mother's nerdy attempts at horror stories) can figure out what dialect they're speaking in.
>>
No. 766415 ID: d41523

>>766412
Got it. If Yisheng Ji was granted parchment and writing utensil previously, he'll return them now, with information recorded. Either way, he'll relate this information verbally to the rest of the party.

Once that's accomplished, Yisheng Ji will await the rest of the party to finish their immediate business, so they can cross the chasm. Notably, he'll be standing with someone else between himself and the bridge, such that anything hostile coming from that direction doesn't find him to be the most convenient prey.
>>
No. 766416 ID: 24aec8

>"Cross the bridge, down the narrow hall to the end, and flip the table."

Maru hands over the parchment and writing supplies without qualm, but makes a statement leveled with a tone of seriousness not customary in her regularly brazen and unfiltered cockney voice:

"Ay doctor, 'eres the deal: we go down that tunnel we can't fight. 4 feet wide aint enough space to swing an ax, and we can't trust how reliable ya "guests" are. If ya fink'in this is a good idea, or at least betta than wandering aimlessly, I'll back ya up. Hell, I'll walk in front. But if this goes tits up, im 'oldin ya responsible, ya 'ear me?"

She turns to Vos- "Lieutenants Dan and Dangle is it? The way I sees it, they can't all be lieutenants o'wise the title means notin, ya see? So I'm thinkin Lts Dan and Dangle, with their mates dip dodge Delilah and bob, what ya think a that? And, while we're on the subject can ya ask if they're plannin to get all antsy again next time I swing my ax? I don't like the idea of gettin flanked by these... things."
>>
No. 766422 ID: d41523

>>766416
Yisheng Ji handwaves (literally making a hand-waving gesture) Maru's statements. "Both concerns easily solved. Have the deathless creatures sent first. If there is danger, they will bear the brunt of it. You may choose to 'hold me responsible' for whatever comes of this route if you wish, but future harm is assured whether we choose to take the path or not, and in my regrettable current state, I am capable of doing little to mitigate any injuries that may occur. I believe the potential benefit to be worth the risk." With particular dryness, he adds "If it does indeed go wrong, perhaps you can leave me to be cursed and charred to death somewhere alone. That would certainly give me cause for reflection."

Eyes flickering tiredly, he finishes with the assertion that either way, a course of action should ideally be decided upon in short order, before any more hostiles converge on the area.
>>
No. 766423 ID: 3abd97

>>766370
>>766397
>>766412
Davina watches the exchange between an alarmed Vos, the enthusiastic Eric, and the cheerfully horrifying band of cavorting corpses with an expression caught somewhere between incredulity and disgust. She almost speaks twice, only to be shocked back into silence first by "Lieutenant Dan"'s elocution, and then by the chorus' mockery of anything even resembling music.

Eventually she responds "If they must accompany us, put some of your toys on point. Better they run into the next trap than any of our number."

>>766415
>>766416
Shaking her head and making a deliberate effort to put the creatures out of her mind and focus on other things, Davina joins Ji and Maru's conversation.

"We are to trust these spirits that the path to safety is the one in which we blind ourselves? I cannot step where I cannot see, and we would all be in a poor position to defend ourselves if attacked."
>>
No. 766424 ID: 24aec8

>>766422
"Touché gov, didn't think yad take to runnin full speed across the board after seeing what happened to Vos, but we don't know eachother that well so I guess I shoulda kept a closer eye on ya and reminded ya not to play with the death trap. Smart thinkin what with the meat sacks takin the lead though- have 'em split rear guard and front, walk down the path ya monster friends suggest, and upend some furniture for us, make 'em a right handy tool what with their regeneration and all. 'Ere, for the time bein lets revise our marchin order.

Lt Dan
Dip
Delilah
Maru
Ji
Vos
Eric
'ore
Davina
Dodge
Lt Dangle
Bob

Sound good? Remember, there's still an invisible mist monster waitin to do what 'ore does best, so let's all be on our best behavior alright luvs?
>>
No. 766435 ID: a107fd

>>766424
>Remember, there's still an invisible mist monster waitin

Hore Wutashi should definitely roll for that phobia of hers if you're going to be discussing a potential enemy whose only known feature is how hard it is to see.
>>
No. 766438 ID: af6e04

rolled 4, 4, 4 = 12

>>766397
Vos does not share one bit of Eric's enthusiasm. He makes a sound that resembles a sheep receiving a surprise heimlich maneuver and stows his spear.

>Remember, there's still an invisible mist monster waitin to do what 'ore does best, so let's all be on our best behavior alright luvs?
"If foe still stalks us, should confront it before making further discussion." Not wanting to waste anymore time deliberating, Vos cautiously approaches the dark hallway and scans for any hostile auras.
>>
No. 766439 ID: 750f88

>>766424
"I want my Lieutenants by my side, so here is how I believe the marching order should be. We should surround ourselves with a reliable shield of undead flesh."

Pvt Dipper (Undead Elvinoid)
Pvt Delilah (Undead Elvinoid)
Maru
Ji
Vos
1st Lt Dan (Undead Elvinoid)
Eric
2nd Lt Dangle (Undead Elvinoid)
Hore
Davina
Pvt Dodger (Undead Elvinoid)
Pvt Bobby (Undead Elvinoid)
>>
No. 766471 ID: a107fd

Remember that in a 10' wide hallway it's possible to march two or three abreast. Might make sense to compress the group into four, five, or six such ranks for most of the trip to the narrow hall.

>>766438
Examining the unlit, zigzagging hallway with aura sight finds no signs of life (nor undeath) more advanced than slime or lichen on the walls.
>>
No. 766472 ID: 3abd97

rolled 3, 6, 4 = 13

>invisible mist monster
If it's smaller than than the narrow hall (not that we know that yet), that would be one reason to risk being blinded by fog (although I really think any advice from Ji's headvoices is trapped).

If I can see through it, and it's larger than a portal, that means blinking past (or through it) could be an option... although that might be a Bad Idea if it's a snake or some other long creature. Not sure how attempting to open a portal inside it as opposed to beyond it would go, but I doubt well.

>preparing to move on
>>766439
Inner and outer screens of disposable minions seems reasonable. Prevents losing them all to one trap, and provides layers of cover for the PCs.

>before we move on
Maru's looking a little battered, and Hore lost, um, well. Perhaps our healers should attend to them before we charge back into battle?

>>/questdis/106610
To keep her mind off the zombies while waiting for that, Davina will contemplate the chess board. The poem seems to make reference in turn to a knight, a bishop, and a rook. Possibly implying a series of moves, one as each piece? (Although the rook sounds as if it is captured, so maybe East-rook-position is just telling us the square the knight finishes his journey on, capturing A8).
>>
No. 766478 ID: 3abd97

>>766472
Sorry, that should be "if it's larger than the narrow hall"
>>
No. 766483 ID: 49a7c1

Vos would roll his eyes if he were physiologically capable, looking back at his companions still arguing over what order they should walk in. He idly steps back over to Davina as she ponders the chess board. "Perhaps could simply cross along space between squares?"
>>
No. 766496 ID: 77f1b6

>looking back at his companions still arguing over what order they should walk in

Maru will point out that the 5 minutes needed to get a plan together and organize yourselves can make the difference between life and death. If you all want to attempt a puzzle solution, she'll stand guard with Vos, on lookout for the potential threat approaching.

If they need to walk down the wide hall before anything is discovered and slain she suggests a box formation like so:

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
10 11 12

1: dip
2: dodge
3: bob
4: maru
5: davina
6: hore
7: Eric
8: Ji
9: Vos
10: Dan
11: Delilah
12: Dangle

Meat shields in the front and back, fighters make the second row with Ji, who is less combat oriented and also somewhat impaired in the middle, Vos and Eric to the sides as padding

She's fine with Eric's proposed matching order for the narrow hallway. We just need to make sure the group all stays together and no one wanders off. It's a shame no one brought rope.
>>
No. 766499 ID: 77f1b6

A point of clarification I forgot to add:

She insists she and Vos stay inside the chess room with the door closed. Whatever was in the hallway seemed to take up a respectable volume, so if they can see it normally it's safer to have a visual cue, like a door opening, that said creature was approaching. She'll ask that someone else put their blanket at the foot of the door in case the creature can become gaseous or something like that and slip undearneath.
>>
No. 766501 ID: 094652

rolled 4, 6, 5 = 15

Hore tries to calm herself with a swig from her water canteen. Assassins would need to spend two bombs, fifty knives, and a suicide zombie to assault this phalanx... right?

Focus, Hore. Time to march.
>>
No. 766502 ID: a107fd

>>766496
Everybody okay with this marching order and overall plan? Any last-minute experiments before heading out?

>>766414
>figure out what dialect they're speaking in
>rolled 4, 1, 3 = 8
It's either some fiendishly sophisticated code, or random noise on a really creepy carrier wave.

>>766472
>contemplate the chess board
>rolled 3, 6, 4 = 13

No further insights.
>>
No. 766505 ID: 3abd97

>>766496
This also seems reasonable as a marching order.

>We just need to make sure the group all stays together and no one wanders off. It's a shame no one brought rope.
Davina has an sudden and unpleasant mental image of gutting one or more of the zombies to harvest their intestines and then quickly discards this idea as both impractical and distasteful.

>attempt a puzzle solution
I'm not going to advocate for this, though if Eric insists on sending a few of "his boys" across, I'll provide a portal to the far "starting" side of the board for them.

(I think the anon in the dis thread had the right idea though).

I'm ready to move on, though I still think Ji or Vos should take a look at Maru and Hore before we continue. Maru's probably just a little battered, but Hore suffered an amputation, didn't she?
>>
No. 766506 ID: a107fd

>>766501
When Hore squeezes her waterskin, a little puff of the ubiquitous red mist comes out. What if it's been poisoned? Sure, still smells like normal slightly-stale water, but some poisons are really hard to detect. What if they're already inside this room, tying our shoelaces together and slipping black lotus extract into our rations?

Hore is mentally stunned for a few seconds, and loses 3 points of fatigue due to hyperventilating.
>>
No. 766508 ID: a107fd

>>766505
>Hore suffered an amputation, didn't she?

...no? She stuck her dick down a meat-puppet's esophagus, which then got punched a few times, but by the time the two of them disentangled it was under explicit orders not to hurt her. Maru and Hore have both taken bruises and scratches from close combat with the meat puppets. Nothing obviously serious, maybe 3-5 total damage each, but some attention from a competent medic would still be time well-spent once you find a safe place to rest.

Unless you're counting those two missing fingers, from goofing around with the plasma pistol before she even came to the dungeon.
>>
No. 766509 ID: d41523

rolled 5, 6, 5 = 16

>>766472
>>766505
>Hore suffered an amputation
I'm re-reading to see if I missed this, but it looks to me that Hore only took a sucker punch to the groin? That's just normal pain. Nothing that requires special treatment. ( >>766099 )
Similarly, Maru seems to have just been squeezed and knocked around a bit. Some blunt trauma from being grappled by an undead creature.

Nevertheless, since there seem to be complaints, Yisheng Ji will look over them to the best of his currently-somewhat-addled ability to determine whether or not their injuries may necessitate brass balm, or if they'd be able to walk it off for now. He'll also offer Hore a drink of his wine to help soothe her panic, on the stern condition that there'd better still be most of it left in the jug after she takes her drink.
>>
No. 766510 ID: 3abd97

>>766508
I believe I misread the earlier exchange as something being bitten off when it was just bitten, then.
>>
No. 766512 ID: a0aed0

>>766510
Same here

Maru looks around the room. Hore is going off about imaginary threats, and doesn't look too hot. Ji and Vos have both seen better days, and she herself is feeling the effects of combat. She proposes that the group should take a short rest soon, but that there's 2 options she can conceive of for how to do this. First off, they could rest in this room for an hour or two. However they've been rather loud, and she's not confident their possible pursuer is the only creature aware of them. The inscription of the room even mentions Orcus watching them. Given the grim reputation of that particular being, this room may not be the best place for a breather.

The second idea would be trusting the voices in Jo's head, which are a result of the highly deadly Orcus dedicated death trap treasure puzzle mind you, and go to the "safe room" they've outlined. This obviously assumes these voices are real, and furthermore can be trusted, neither a fact Maru can be sure of. It should be a group decision, but perhaps an hour or two of rest here wouldn't be so bad. She'll trust Ji and vote for whatever the doctor votes for, bar any new ideas or information.
>>
No. 766520 ID: af6e04

>>766512
Vos votes we keep moving. Ji's lead is as good as any.
>>
No. 766523 ID: 3abd97

I don't think the choice is between rest and trusting the voices. There's the perfectly valid choice of not trusting the voices and taking the other path (assuming we circumvent or deal with the invisible presence in some manner).

Either path, I'd vote to return to the chasm room for now.
>>
No. 766613 ID: cd076d

Eric aggrees with these line ups. He goes on to discuss if the group should rest or press on.

"This room offers a very defensible position. Its got a door, and a section of flooring that can kill. If we wish to lick our wounds here would be the best choice. We could rest on the opposite side of the board, get accross via portal or possibly climing the walls."

Eric sizes up everyone individually, then continues, getting progressively quieter and quieter.

"However, there could be a beast in the fog, and we dont want to be caught at a bad time. We could lead it here and fight it on our own terms...."
He starts to mumble to himself, possibly to lost confidence or a sore jaw.
>>
No. 766616 ID: a107fd

>>766509
>Yisheng Ji will look over them to the best of his currently-somewhat-addled ability
>rolled 5, 6, 5 = 16
He concludes that Hore has too many kidneys, that Maru's sprained ankle will need to be firmly punished before it becomes self-aware and embraces the Ysbelite Fox Heresy, and that he'd very much like to lay down and take a nap.

>>766523
>>766496
>>766520
>>766439
Alright, one more question before setting out: who's got light sources? Even a meat-shield can hold a lantern, and hedge witches can create various magical equivalents, but should beware the doom that came to Sergeant Nick.
>>
No. 766624 ID: 094652

Move. Move before they find us and find a way to ambush us all at once, never giving us a single chance to attack. Check the path for traps, check the walls, the floor, the ceiling, check your inventory, and GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, HORE.

Hore takes a deep breath. She'd like to @#$% someone to relieve stress. She wonders why even the staunchest of perverts refuse to lead her into a dark alley for a quick rape. Seriously, she's got big honking DDs and she keeps her dick in baggy pants, why does everyone stay ten feet away from her, even when it means staying within five feet of that fat orc who swings a giant axe while singing "The drunken drake who ate my trouser snake"?

Boy, that was a weird weekend. Hore and 'Porky' split the dead bystanders' corpses and @#$%ed them raw before the guards even heard about the accident. Hore isn't sure what he's doing these days.

Actually, people stay away from the girl who can shoot plasma beams out of her hands. Accidentally. While aroused. Word travels fast when the rumormongers don't know what that green, armor piercing light show of gore-tastic decapitation is and want to make rumors about what it could be.
>>
No. 766650 ID: 77f1b6

>>766616
who's got light sources

Maru's got a lantern that she'll pass off to Eric for the time being in case she has to get her hands bloody

>taking the other path
That's good and all, but Maru suggests that path is less likely to get them somewhere they can rest, simply by virtue of not being the easily defendable chess room, or a room vetted as safe if we trusts the voices. We don't have to rest, but take a look at the rest of the group Davina- we're definitely not at peak performance right now. Maru says she's fine pressing on herself, but she's not so sure about Hore and Ji currently- who knows what actually happened to him on that chess board? Just a thought that an hour or two of down time might do some good for those of us who are less well off
>>
No. 766662 ID: 88bdc5

rolled 1, 4, 4 = 9

>>766510
Though for future reference Vos is more than capable of regrowing any lost or missing genitals.

>>766616
Vos has a lantern.

>>766624
Lower ambition dictates Vos would be willing to have sex with the hybrid murdergnoll, but he's also terrified of her.

Vos turns his attention to the die still resting on its corner on the pedestal. He sets off across the chess board, trusting blindly in Tittivila's sudden provided inspiration, going along the small 6" trim space between squares A8 and B8. He carefully plants one foot in front of the other, making sure not to accidentally step on a square.
>>
No. 766673 ID: 3abd97

>who's got light sources
Maru, Vos and Hore all have lanterns. As a hedge witch, Hore could also create light another way. (Although considering flavor, that probably means trying to hold a ball of plasma on the end of her blaster without firing. Which probably has a even more room to go wrong than Marijke's gum-fire if she rolls poorly).

In the skinny marching order this spaces lights around the middle (which is probably fine, since no one can see more than a foot or two in the mist anyways) but it the compact marching order that puts all light in the second (living) row. We might want to pass one to one of the lead corpses?

>Lower ambition dictates Vos would be willing to have sex with the hybrid murdergnoll, but he's also terrified of her.
I'm gonna say in spite of lower ambition, half-crazed dog things with extra organs lie safely outside Davina's preferences. And even if that weren't true, humping a zombie would have been a deal-breaker.

>>766662
Concern and alarm flicker across (and through) Davina's expression as she witnesses Vos walk out onto the trapped board.
>>
No. 766681 ID: a107fd

>>766662
>He sets off across the chess board, trusting blindly in Tittivila's sudden provided inspiration, going along the small 6" trim space between squares A8 and B8. He carefully plants one foot in front of the other, making sure not to accidentally step on a square.
>rolled 1, 4, 4 = 9

Vos slowly but surely reaches the far side without incident. Replicating the feat at full combat speeds might be more difficult, but puzzle solution attempts no longer need to worry about intermediate squares between those deduced to be safe. Yisheng Ji, or anyone else with perfect balance, can walk along the borders at speed without even needing a roll, provided the floor isn't slippery and nobody attacks or otherwise severely distracts them mid-traversal.
>capable of regenerating
With exciting new variations every time.

So, assuming Eric passes Maru's lantern to one of the expendable corpses on point, so they won't be in the way of the beam... just after you round the last corner and the straight path to the chasm comes into view, Bob notices something wrong and raises it's fist to silently signal a halt. There's a section of floor and wall with less ground-in grime, no fog, and it bends the light just slightly.

Something unseen grabs Bob, lifts it up near the ceiling where everyone can see (thanks to Vos's light) and starts twisting limbs off with glacial slowness. The lantern Bob was holding gutters and goes out, as if dropped into water.

Davina now has a just-barely-usable line of sight all the way across the chasm, thanks to some rock over there still glowing cherry red from plasma fire. Hore should roll vs. phobia.
>>
No. 766685 ID: eb983d

rolled 6, 4, 4 = 14

HORE IS FIRIN' HUH LAZER!
>>
No. 766686 ID: 88bdc5

rolled 1, 2, 6 = 9

Does this unusual floor section take up the entire hallway? Vos quickly balls up his blanket and tosses it forward.
>>
No. 766687 ID: 88bdc5

rolled 3, 6, 2 = 11

Oh, also checks for weird auras. Don't know if that's a separate roll.
>>
No. 766689 ID: 3abd97

rolled 6, 3, 3 = 12

So, this might be the same thing the original party ran from with the goblin patrol back in thread 1.

>"Yeah, an Empty Sweeper. Maybe you heard it seal off the way back? Unstoppable. Kills at a touch. Slow, st least, and up here," he kicks up a splash to indicate the liquid on the floor "we see where it is."

We never saw the sweeper pick anything up before, but none of us got that close, and it would make sense that a death touch doesn't work on the undead? (Hence the methodical dismemberment).

I don't think barricading the chess room door would stop it (can't fully plug the gaps at the top and bottom of the door).

Vos' aura sight might pick up on a weakness we can exploit (not that we can know for sure it's unavailable, just that the goblins didn't know of a way), but otherwise our best bet is probably bypassing it and then getting a move on before it can catch up. Call Bob and the lantern acceptable losses. (Hopefully it's too slow to reach the portal, or too large to fully pass through, before it reaches us. Although if it is like a big slime or gelatinous cube, I'm not sure what happens if the portal closes on it).

>what do
Rolling for attempting to open a portal to bypass the murderous invisible obstruction.
>>
No. 766701 ID: a107fd

>>766685
Default self-control number for phobias is 12, -4 for ongoing severe pain, so that's a failure by six. Rolling some additional dice and looking up the result on the Fright Check table... looks like Hore Wutashi will spend the next fifteen to twenty seconds vomiting. Apart from the obvious effects, that's a further -5 penalty to most actions, and mental concentration is simply impossible.

She also squeezes off a bolt of plasma into the ceiling, to no immediate effect. That's one of the better plausible outcomes at this point, surrounded by allies and with marksmanship down at 'miss the broad side of a barn' levels.

>>766686
Full width and both walls, yes. Whip the blanket out and the far end gets stuck in mid-air at about the same point Bob got grabbed, then the weave starts to separate, fray, and dissolve.

>>766687
Aura sight shows only extremely primitive life, much the same as before, >>766471 but it's incredibly dense and dimly hungry.

>>766689
Davina is now safe on the far ledge, and one person can follow her per second. Who's first?

She could also pop back and open additional tunnels, accelerating the evacuation while increasing the risk of pursuit.
>>
No. 766704 ID: 88bdc5

rolled 6, 2, 2 = 10

>>766701
Guessing I can't get my blanket back without risking life and limb, but if I can just tug it back then I will.

Vos will carefully pull Hore back and try to comfort her while allowing the rest to evacuate first.
>>
No. 766707 ID: 88bdc5

>>766704
I mean, don't know what I'm thinking. Hore should definitely go first unless we want to be swimming in puke.
>>
No. 766713 ID: cd076d

rolled 6, 2, 4 = 12

Forgot to roll

Eric shoots the invisible creature with a bone bolt, he orders his boys to back away from the invisible death mist and to not engage.
>>
No. 766715 ID: eb983d

Hore would REALLY like to @#$% someone to ease the pain. She'll focus on defending herself until they reach a safe room.
>>
No. 766716 ID: d41523

rolled 2, 4, 3 = 9

>>766701
>>766704
Yisheng Ji will take Davina's escape route without complaint, then. He has nothing to contribute to the situation, and is not at all eager to be slaughtered.
>>
No. 766722 ID: a107fd

>>766715
>>766704
>>766707
Hore goes through first, and Vos's blanket now has far too many varieties of digestive juices soaking into it.
>>766716
Yisheng Ji goes second.
>>766713
Eric steps to the right, into the space Ji just vacated, and leans around the portal to deposit a crossbow bolt in the tentatively-identified Empty Sweeper. The projectile glides smoothly to a stop, as if fired into clear water.

Dip and Dodge retreat into the spaces previously occupied by Hore and Davina, and not a moment too soon. The Sweeper advances. Looks like it's moving about a foot and a half per second, so you've got two or three more seconds before it's touching the back of the current portal.
>>
No. 766724 ID: 77f1b6

Maru goes last among the living, but preferably before the rest of the dead
>>
No. 766728 ID: 3abd97

rolled 2, 6, 1 = 9

So... we can get 2-3 people out of the current portal, and we still have Vos, Maru, and Eric to evac, plus 5 zombies (Although we're gonna lose some of those, I think).

Davina curses under her breath, then attempts opening a second portal, further back back as lighting / tunnel curvature will allow (delaying how long till it's overrun). Should be obvious, but the second safety-side portal should be spaced some distance away from the exit of escape portal #1, so if the sweeper starts coming through the first one evacuees don't find themselves immediately running into it.

Davina will suggest Eric order any undead who do not evacuate in time to attempt to lure the creature into following them back down the hall and across the chess board, perhaps delaying it turning to pursue us.

She will then step back through portal #2, rather than opening a third.

>>766707
If the sweeper has to stop or slow down to eat / break down organics it overruns, maybe leaving the puddle of vomit will delay it slightly?
>>
No. 766733 ID: a107fd

>>766728
New portal opens just behind the back rank of meat puppets, and it's lower edge is about four feet off the ground. Passing through that way efficiently will require either a jump after a running start (made easier by kicking off the adjacent wall), or some sort of assistance.
>>
No. 766734 ID: af6e04

rolled 1, 4, 6 = 11

Rolling for a safe and speedy evac. Won't fight Maru on going last.
>>
No. 766735 ID: af6e04

>>766733
>>766734
Roll is now to help Davina back up into the portal, and then Eric next.
>>
No. 766740 ID: 3abd97

Did my roll and stated action cover returning, or am I still in the back row with the zombies?

(Because if I'm still there, a hard to access mid air portal is trivially solved with another portal).
>>
No. 766751 ID: a107fd

>>766740
>Did my roll and stated action cover returning
Yes. There's a certain amount of tricky simultaneity going on here, though. In the two seconds after opening the first portal, while Hore and Ji were coming through, Davina moved six yards away from the first portal (by the glowing rock), right up to the edge of the ledge, opened a second portal (facing the archway that leads to the perpendicular halls) and stepped through it. Then she fell four feet, and started rattling off tactical advice to Eric about where to send the meat-sheilds. Takes at least a second or two to pronounce a fifty-syllable sentence intelligibly. Once she's done that, Vos is kneeling and cupping his hands to help her step up and back through the second portal.

With Maru and Vos arguing (however briefly) about who gets the honor of being rear guard, and considering how Eric's phobia applies to a situation where someone might be left behind, the aspiring lich presumably followed Yisheng Ji through that first portal, and was out of earshot when Davina began speaking. You see, Davina's portals don't transmit sound very well, due to some sort of boundary effect, like the surface of a body of water.

Dip and Dodge, in turn, followed Eric through the first portal just before it was engulfed, as a reasonable extrapolation of their standing orders. Vos boosts Davina, Maru boosts Vos, Davina and Vos turn around to hoist Maru by the arms, that just leaves the two lieutenants and Delilah.
>>
No. 766771 ID: af6e04

>>766751
Vos sees no reason to help the puppets, if the portal even stays open long enough for him to try.
>>
No. 766780 ID: 750f88

rolled 3, 4, 6 = 13

Keep forgetting to roll. Sorry guys.

Eric looks back at his lieutenants/Delilah with regret.

"Don't let the creature get close to you! My two Lieutenants, get through the second portal over to me. That is an order!"

Eric issues some commands, knowing time is of the essence... He then looks over to bob's remains to see if there is anything left.

"Delilah, lead the beast back to the chess room and try to stall it! Dont touch the chess board and dont attack it. Just waste its time long enough for us to get away, then try to return to my side!"
>>
No. 766784 ID: 3abd97

Cool, all living party members alive and undissolved.

>>766780
You'd have to stick your head back through the portal to be heard, but yeah, the zombies should be able to pass one or two of their number up in time?

We should probably getting the heck out of here though, since the blob will have engulfed the first portal by about now, and we have no idea if it can get though.

Which passage are we fleeing down? I favor the wider one, as the fact the sweeper came down it means there will be nothing living in our path for a while, and we can see, and I don't trust Ji's voices.
>>
No. 766788 ID: 77f1b6

>>766784
Maru favors speed over arguing and discussing right now. First idea gets first choice, Mary will let Davina take point while she herself guards the rear, with a commanding
"Ya got it mate, take da reigns and everyone else get ya asses in gear. Eric dere's more dead fings in dis 'ole guaranteed, so get ya bleedin 'ead out dat portal and move it."
>>
No. 766790 ID: a107fd

After that corner, the wider passage climbs about 40' over the course of 60' horizontally, then there's a T-junction. Left or right?
>>
No. 766792 ID: d41523

>>766784
Yisheng Ji favors the narrower one, on the grounds that he'd like to get some rest, and if the monster came down the wider path, it can easily go back up that way and kill us in our sleep.
>>
No. 766796 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 3, 3, 6 = 12

>>766792
If Ji tries to argue or go down the narrow path, Maru will attempt to knock him unconscious with blunt force to the head.
>>
No. 766797 ID: 77f1b6

>>766796
An important caviot to this action is that she intends to carry his unconscious body with her as they go, to ensure he doesn't run off alone and get himself killed or waste so much time stalling and arguing about where to go in the hallway that the creature catches up and does them in. This is an act done with the intent of ensuring everyone makes it out alive; if it works is an entirely different story.
>>
No. 766798 ID: d41523

rolled 6, 1, 6 = 13

>>766796
Awfully generous of you to surrender your share of any future healing from this source. Roll for reflex save.
>>
No. 766799 ID: 750f88

If he gets K.O.ed then two undead will most likely carry him.
>>
No. 766800 ID: af6e04

rolled 5, 6, 5 = 16

Vos will also try to grab/grapple Ji if needed and carry him if he's knocked out. Vos does not trust zombies with the healer's life.
>>
No. 766803 ID: a107fd

>>766798
With total defense, and a retreat, bonus from the innate power and penalty from the curse more less canceling out... that's just barely enough to dodge. Maru's punch grazes Ji's nose as he backs away down the narrow corridor. After those first few steps back, Yisheng Ji discovers something odd:
>>766800
Vos is stumbling after him, groping around as if blind, bumping into the walls and audibly complaining about the impenetrable fog, but looking back toward the archway intersection, Ji can see everything clearly, only obscured by a few faint rust-colored wisps here and there.
>>
No. 766818 ID: af6e04

rolled 5, 3, 2 = 10

>>766803
Huh. Well no point in trying to turn back now. Vos will continue and attempt to follow Ji's aura, if he can see it. Not gonna try to grab him if I find him now, just want to meet up.
>>
No. 766825 ID: a107fd

>>766818
Assuming Ji keeps backing away, and/or continues with his previous plan...

The 4' wide hallway is about a hundred feet long, then turns sharply left and continues another thirty feet. Along that entire distance, it's filled with rust-colored fog which has the bizarre property of allowing more than thirty feet of visibility one way, less than three the other way.

At the end, it opens out into a 20' cubic room with a 6' x 15' table surrounded by twelve chairs. There are no other apparent exits. The table is set with the picked-over remains of a feast, most prominently the skeleton of a giant boar. There's a large open barrel of dark green sludge in the opposite corner, apparently collecting a slow drip of water from the ceiling, and a web of rotting timbers 10' up which might once have supported a second floor.

One of Yisheng Ji's head-voices is insistent that he "flip that table turn-ways," apparently the final necessary step before he can attain a safe place to sleep and it can be on it's way, but fails to elaborate further.

Vos's aura sight confirms that the skeletonized boar is not an undead monstrosity. On the contrary, it's still alive, and in considerable distress.
>>
No. 766832 ID: 3d2d5f

rolled 1, 5, 1 = 7

Go to bed for a few hours and I discover we've split the party again and chased the healers off. Eesh.

Uh, that brief bout of the party turning on each other happened behind me, and they went in the opposite direction- should I assume I missed that?

Rolling for a spot check I guess. Do I notice anything about the left and right paths on the T intersection, who do I see following me, if anyone? Any sign of the Sweeper (or another one) approaching ahead or behind?

>>766825
Pff. Is the voices' safe space literally baricading a dead end with a wooden (?) table. I don't think that will stop an amorphous organic eater if it comes that way. A stone table might work, although I'm wondering if you need a water tight seal.
>>
No. 766838 ID: af6e04

rolled 2, 1, 3 = 6

"I sense life in these remains." Vos makes a quick prayer to Tittivila. Assuming the plate is not too huge to move, he'll set it gently on the ground and then prepare to attempt to flip the table. "Will need your help. Table looks very heavy."
>>
No. 766844 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 1, 3 = 10

ZZZ...
>>
No. 766853 ID: 750f88

Eric followed Davina, along with his small army of 4
>>
No. 766860 ID: d41523

rolled 6, 5, 2 = 13

>>766832
>voices' safe space is literally barricading a dead end with a wooden table
Classic jackass genie moment. I'd have hoped being as specific as I was would prevent this sort of thing, but apparently not.

>>766838
Yisheng Ji will help flip the table, once everything on top of it has been safely moved to the floor, and then prop it up tightly against the entryway.
>>
No. 766866 ID: a107fd

>>766844
You've got to give me something to work with, here. An actual action, or at least a complete sentence somehow related to what's going on in-game.

>>766860
>jackass genie
You asked for the nearest safe place, while inside the Bloodmist Labyrinth. There ain't many to choose from. This room has a supply of food and water, in the form of a rain barrel full of palatable pond scum. That one-way fog combined with an arrow slit in the table gives you plenty of options for posting sentries, and in a narrow hallway like that, a single heroic guard could hold off an army. You could even rearrange the chairs into halfway decent beds.

Once Ji and Vos wrangle the table into position, it turns out that an odd fist-sized lump on the floor is perfectly positioned to brace one of the table-legs. If some outside force were trying to move the barricade aside, they'd need to somehow lift it over the obstruction without the benefit of any good handholds.

>>766832
>Do I notice anything about the left and right paths on the T intersection
Judging by the echoes of grinding and thrashing, the left path leads back to the chasm.
>assume I missed that?
Sound carries well in narrow corridors with flat stone walls. If there was any shouting, or even somebody getting cut off in mid-sentence by a punch, you'd probably overhear even if you'd already run off scouting ahead. Working out the direction a sound came from can be much trickier, but in this case it'd be obvious.

>Any sign of the Sweeper (or another one) approaching ahead or behind?
Nothing ahead. It seems to be held up on that first portal, which is bulging and rippling somewhat, but there's enough debris on that part of the floor from Hore's fight with the meat-puppets that it would be fairly easy to notice if it came all the way through.
>>
No. 766874 ID: 88bdc5

>>766866
After the table is moved into place, Vos sits down on the floor. He takes a long drink from his jug of water and then offers it to Ji. "Why did you run? Do you not trust us?"
>>
No. 766884 ID: b72c34

Maru grunts angrily, and presses onward with Eric and Davina
"Blast it all, I 'ope those two make it to the surface some'ow. F'now doe we betta press on and try not to get ourselves killed. Maybe if dey're lucky dey'll find a way to catch up wit us soon."
>>
No. 766885 ID: d41523

>>766874
Yisheng Ji will politely refuse the offered water, preferring instead a drink of his own wine. "It's not a question of trust. It's a question of priorities. I rather enjoy being alive and functional, and when myself being in such states are assigned a low priority among group decision-making, it is occasionally necessary to take one's fate into one's own hands. We will surely rendezvous with our companions again. I do not expect them to fall victim to a monster as slow as that one, invisibility or otherwise." Almost as an afterthought, he'll add "Hopefully, that monster does not attempt to break in here. I am not certain this impromptu barricade will hold against it." With that, he'll arrange four chairs into a roughly-square shape in a corner of the room away from the entrance and curl up with his blanket to roost.
>>
No. 766898 ID: 88bdc5

rolled 2, 2, 2 = 6

>>766885
Guess Vos will keep watch. Turning off the lantern to save fuel, he'll stare at Ji all night with his big eel eyes and bigger chest eye. Roll to stay awake.
>>
No. 766936 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 3, 4 = 13

Hore is too stressed, scared, hurt, and exhausted to consider any form of modesty whatsoever.

Hore offers sex to any who want it! Roll against her low charisma to see if she can convince the others she isn't that scary. If not, she'll fap herself to sleep.
>>
No. 766943 ID: 3abd97

>You've got to give me something to work with, here. An actual action, or at least a complete sentence somehow related to what's going on in-game.
Assume it was dialog and rolled for delivery?

>>766884
"What was that." Davina demands of Maru. She is understandably upset to discover their successful reuniting of the party and evacuation spoiled by the seemingly sensible (if coarse) voice of cooperation in the group attacking one of their number, undoing the rescue she just executed and somehow getting Vos lost in the process.

Assuming Maru answers honestly:

Grumbling: "You couldn't have just grabbed him and dragged him along? He's as light as a bird. He floats."

Davina will reluctantly agree to continue without their missing comrades and hope for a later reunion. If they're in trouble in that mist, they're beyond her ability to help.

>Judging by the echoes of grinding and thrashing, the left path leads back to the chasm.
To the right, then.

>>766936
"Put that away lest you wish it cut off. And get up, we cannot afford to sit on our heels and allow that creature to catch up with us."
>>
No. 766994 ID: a107fd

>>766898
>>766936
Vos will have no trouble staying awake, thanks to a faint but unscratchable itch inside his brass-bandaged wounds. He overhears Hore howling about her urgent need for certain reproduction-related sacraments. Shout back, inviting her in, or remain silent?

>>766943
>To the right, then.
Passage continues about 40-50 feet, curving gently to the right, then there's another T-junction, but this time you're on the crossbar. Straight on ahead, or turn left toward a musky smell and sound of running water?
>>
No. 767006 ID: 88bdc5

rolled 2, 6, 2 = 10

>>766994
Hahaha absolutely will do. Roll for lung strength.
>>
No. 767044 ID: a107fd

>>767006
Unless someone's willing and able to physically drag Hore Wutashi along, I think that brings the two groups to 3 PCs each. Group A, mobile, has the bardbarian, the necromancer, and the air-tearing fencer; group B, encamped, has the healer, the tumor-paladin, and the lusty DPS.
>>
No. 767059 ID: 24aec8

Maru won't stop Hore from joining them- hopefully she won't have to deal with its fetish and the added muscle will add to the second groups survivabity

"Look mate, do ya really think I'd do somefin like take a swing at the doctor wifout good reason? I was finkin he wanted to peel off and get 'imself killed lickity split like, and not wantin to waste our time arguin and chasin and the like, I figured if I gave 'im a good clout round the backside 'e'd be out cold before he knew what 'it 'im, and we could wake 'im up later after whatever 'appened in Orcus's death trap wore off. He didn't take kindly to me poppin off and split. Bloody rooster musta been a fast one." She pushes on towards the route with the hint of water, signaling to the others that they should move slowly and with caution because water generally tends to bring out things that are thirsty, not all of which will be friendly.
>>
No. 767060 ID: 24aec8

rolled 4, 4, 1 = 9

>>767059
Rolling for stealth
>>
No. 767063 ID: 750f88

rolled 3, 4, 4 = 11

(Except he doesn't do that, because Maru wants to be stealthy and yelling at a huge band of undead to call out is a bad bad decision.)


Eric follows closely behind Davina and Maru, careful not to be left behind.
"I do hope no misfortune comes to them. I have started to grow attached to you all and would feel great remorse if any of you were to join my undead escapade."

Eric looks over his shoulder to his compatriots.
"Follow from a short distance behind, men. Be as quiet as you can, and do not make any sounds as you follow".
Eric does a quick head count to make sure everyone is here, or at least, everyone but Bobby and Delilah...
>>
No. 767064 ID: 3abd97

rolled 6, 1, 1 = 8

>physically restrain the offensively crude lusty bitch prone to indiscriminate plasma fire from running off.
Dav's good, thanks.

>>767059
>Maru's explanation
>Vos calling out in invitation
*Sigh* "Well at least they appear to be alright."

Davina accepts that their half of the party will be scouting ahead, and will attempt to regroup with the holed up half later.

>She pushes on towards the route with the hint of water, signaling to the others that they should move slowly and with caution
No objections.

Rolling for spot, stealth, etc.

Marching order? (Assuming Maru took the lead, and we're following).

M
Z Z Z
E D
Z Z
>>
No. 767079 ID: af6e04

>reproduction-related sacraments
Why would anybody want to worship another God? Vos will never understand.

>able to physically drag Hore Wutashi
Pff

Vos will perform his duty to Tittivila, ignoring any protests Ji tries to raise.
>>
No. 767103 ID: a107fd

>>767060
>>767063
>>767064
Mobile group moves quietly toward the sound of water. Passage continues relatively straight for a hundred feet or so, then abruptly opens into a massive natural cave, comparable in size to the chasm area but oriented vertically. Blood fog is mostly concentrated near the ceiling.

Immediate area is around a hundred feet square, with three obvious exits. Most prominent feature is a 40' wide scorch mark on the floor, surrounding a half-melted full suit of orc-sized plate armor and several dismembered goblinoid corpses. Looks like there was a battle here relatively recently. Measuring from the center of that mess, with the way you came in at 6 o'clock, there's another 10' wide tunnel at 8 o'clock, the main bulk of the cavern (including a small lake) from 2:00 to 3:30, and a musky-smelling side chamber from 4:30 to 5.

>>767079
Rank these objectives by relative priority, and gimme a roll:
* Hard enough to satisfy her lust
* Steady enough to calm her fears
* Religious indoctrination
* Other social influence - specify (optional)
* Personal gratification
* Bondage and other safety precautions (see where it says "murder" on her character sheet?)

Using algae-water from the barrel to rinse some of the vomit and doom-slime off your blanket before getting started, or other contextually appropriate preparatory actions, might provide bonuses on the roll.
>>
No. 767104 ID: 74621b

rolled 1, 3, 1 = 5

>>767103
How about a wine-boosted roll to stay asleep through all this.
>>
No. 767109 ID: a107fd

>>767104
You attain near-perfect emptiness of mind, and for those 12 hours of sleep, will remain a serene little feathery spheroid no matter what sounds, smells, sprays of fluid, etc. may fill the room.
>>
No. 767111 ID: 094652

rolled 1, 5, 4 = 10

Hore is nervous, she needs to do something to calm her nerves!

...

Hore decides to fap in a corner. She pays attention to her hands, decreasing her stress relief but also lowering the odds of her accidentally burning her dick off. She feels that she can trust the others to protect her but is worried that they cannot protect her from living walls... Hore faps harder...
>>
No. 767122 ID: af6e04

rolled 5, 1, 3 = 9

>>767103
Assuming kome reads the last several posts and gets caught up, I will go with the following...

1. Hard enough to satisfy her lust
2. Steady enough to calm her fears
3. Religious indoctrination
4. Personal gratification
5. Bondage and other safety precautions

Vos is nothing if not a selfless lover. He specializes in grappling so should be okay if things get out of hand.

>Using algae-water from the barrel to rinse some of the vomit and doom-slime off your blanket
Will do this. Also will arrange a nice bed from the remaining chairs and lie down on it awaiting Hore's arrival.
>>
No. 767127 ID: a107fd

rolled 79, 96, 26, 31, 73, 22, 1, 49, 32, 62, 37, 61 = 569

>>767111
>>767122
Before you know it, it's been an hour, and you're idly discussing the possibility of going for a third round. Hore is feeling much better, and was joining in on some the sacred chants without even being asked. Vos had an enjoyable enough time himself. However, that's... rather more blood than is supposed to be coming out of an eel-man's butt. Might have been wise to at least scrounge up some sort of lube.

I'm rolling for twelve hours worth of random encounters. Feel free to specify how you're using the remaining eleven. Rest, food preparation and/or consumption, investigating various features of the room, and guard duty would all be reasonable options, I'm sure you can think of others. Since both Hore and Vos brought lanterns but no refills, you've got a bit less than twelve hours of lamplight remaining, so some thought should be put into oil rationing and/or alternative light sources.
>>
No. 767144 ID: 3d2d5f

rolled 6, 1, 6 = 13

Okay, first up, let's keep our distance from the water, in case something hides in the depths.

40 ft scortch and the tableau suggests battle with offensive spellcasting rather than a group stumbling across a trap.

Davina will examine the "crime scene". She's no forensics expert, but martial training and an education should help with insight after the fact for combat. What happened here? She'll be careful not to touch anything with her hands (using a blade to turn things over if necessary) in case one of the dead carried a bag of holding or something similarly dangerous. Are any of the dead identifiable as members of our original expedition? Is there anything of practical use or value undestroyed by flame or heat?

I suppose mechanically this is search / spot.
>>
No. 767167 ID: af6e04

rolled 6, 6, 2 = 14

>>767127
Knew I was forgetting something important.

>joining in on some the sacred chants without even being asked
Tittivila is pleased.

>blood
Vos is sure his good friend Ji will be more than happy to provide some sort of remedy when he wakes up.

Rest is much needed, and Vos feels safer with Hore around. He would like to take the time to get a closer look at that boar though. Perhaps with Tittivila's blessing he could grow its flesh back. Pieces of the wooden supports could be used for makeshift torches. He'll fill his canteen from the rain barrel and try to eat some of the algae. Probably not very appetizing, but also not the worst thing he's ever eaten.
>>
No. 767187 ID: 094652

rolled 5, 2, 2 = 9

Hore feels much better now~

Now that she can think straight, Hore analyzes the boar's skeletal structure for abnormalities. Since the boar is kept alive by unknown magic / tech and is technically not an undead, Hore proposes that they take the boar, bones and all, as emergency rations as the inside bone marrow is nutritious; her mother taught her that bones produce blood from nutrients. Hore is worried that the bones might be coated or enchanted, but if someone cleans them they should be safe to chew. Besides, the fat from the boar would obviously make a good candle wick, there should be just enough for an hour of candlelight, but the fat would serve greater purpose as calories. Hore doesn't really care that her teammates don't know what calories are.

Hore also spends some time reciting the periodic table while searching for anything that could be useful. Roll to see if she finds anything.
>>
No. 767193 ID: 750f88

Eric shuffles around, uneasy about all the dead bodies. He asks Davina if he should make like a necromancer and Undead-them.
>>
No. 767195 ID: a107fd

>>767144
Armor has some charred bones inside and bears a barely recognizable insignia of the Fire Hawks, a somewhat more reputable "troubleshooting and frontier archaeology" company than your own. Looks like the armored orc and somebody else, agile (judging by the oddly-spaced footprints) and wielding a pair of handaxes (judging by the wounds), ran into a patrol of goblins. Somebody set off a fireball, killing the orc and most of the goblins, then chopped up the remainder and ran off toward that other narrow tunnel.

>valuables
Nothing magical. Armor is basically scrap. The Fire Hawks might reward you somehow for retrieving one of their fallen, if you can find them once you get out. Thorough search of the bodies could turn up a few intact arrows, mediocre knives with grips sized for goblin hands, and maybe some coins. If you're hungry enough or have something unpleasantly clever planned, there's also the goblin bodies themselves. Everything else either got burnt up, or picked over already.

>>767167
>Pieces of the wooden supports could be used for makeshift torches.
Standard torch is a bundle of rushes dipped in tar. The beams are too thick and too damp to ignite directly with flint and steel, difficult to apply directly to a lantern without damaging the lantern, and nobody brought kindling, so let's say another hour to get a little fireplace and fuel supply worked out
>He'll fill his canteen from the rain barrel and try to eat some of the algae. Probably not very appetizing, but also not the worst thing he's ever eaten.
It's like really thin, bland, lukewarm vegetable soup.
>He would like to take the time to get a closer look at that boar though. Perhaps with Tittivila's blessing he could grow its flesh back.
Soon as he touches the boar's skull, that maggoty feeling from before comes unraveled all at once, like the tingle of circulation returning to a no-longer-constricted limb. Hurts, but it's a good kind of hurt. Necessary.

The boar starts to regenerate, a flash-flood of flesh flowing from nose to tail. Leg bones and even ribs slough away, replaced by a random array of misshapen fins amid fine, green-black scales. Each scale curls around into a tiny barbed hook.

Long ago, during the decadence and decline of the Old Empire, Duke Aerim got it in his head that "you are what you eat." Accordingly, he began to dine exclusively on plants and animals characterized by extreme longevity. Bread and beer of amaranth-grain, the flesh of tortoises, olives and pine nuts from gnarled thousand-year trees, jars of honey stolen from tombs that were already ancient even in those days, wine of dragon's-tears, and yet stranger delicacies. Eventually, longevity alone no longer satisfied, and he desired to consume part of a creature that would truly never die. Some hired wizard worked abominable arts of stasis upon a boar, changing it's body into something which could survive any conceivable injury or deprivation, yet remained edible. In this very room, there was a banquet, but Duke Aerim found the taste disagreeable, so that was that. His servants ate the rest, and the empire fell before they got around to cleaning up.

Your goddess thanks you for bringing her a new convert, and providing a channel through which she could break that ten-thousand-year old curse. With it's form changed, the unnatural stasis no longer applies. Now you just need to lay the poor, maddened creature to rest.
>>
No. 767197 ID: a107fd

>>767193
Reanimation wouldn't work. Apart from being burnt to ash or chopped to pieces, they all died before any of your people got there.

>>767187
Hore notices that the rain barrel is slightly warmer than it's surroundings, and the photosynthetic algae are still alive, implying that there's a source of heat and light sunken somewhere down in the opaque green water.
>>
No. 767203 ID: 094652

Hore twitches slightly as the realization that Vos just undid the elder magics of a potentially unlimited food source (given that the boar could have been relocated to the surface and spammed with enough genetic modification to induce regeneration without interfering with the stasis enchantment) sinks in, and to add insult to injury, he anointed it with his goddess' blessing so eating / using what will be left of the damn thing after he puts it out of its misery would get her cursed. Hore is slightly pissed off that Vos did the ethical thing and saved a boar from eons of torture, when he could have brought it back to civilization and saved hundreds of orphans from starving to death. EVERY. @#$%ING. YEAR. Not to mention all the expensive-to-maintain pigs that will be slaughtered for a few meals.

Focus, Hore. The boar would likely have died on this nightmare of a campaign. But given Vos' mutterings about the boar, if this really is a ruined capital of the old empire, and they had this level of magic, this expedition might come out with a profit after all. Hore decides to fish out the nearby miniature artificial sun, as it likely acted as a magic power source for the boar's stasis. Hore calls over to Eric to help her, as her recent bad luck has made her apprehensive about doing anything alone. (Hore will roll for fishing check once someone comes over to assist.)
>>
No. 767206 ID: 88bdc5

>>767195
Vos is honored he could serve his deity and offers a prayer telling her so.

He finishes off the boar as humanely as possible.
>>
No. 767207 ID: 3abd97

So the moral of the story here is if we come across an elvenoid with hand axes, they might be able to fireball us.

>The Fire Hawks might reward you somehow for retrieving one of their fallen
Yeah that's not really going to be feasible. If there were dog-tag equivalents or an emblem or something similar we could carry it out, but we can't afford to drag the orc's remains with us. (If there was something like that though, the Orc's surviving companion likely took it).

>a few intact arrows, mediocre knives with grips sized for goblin hands, and maybe some coins
Dav's not hard enough on coin to scrabble for coppers, and she's already covered in knives.

Eric might be able to use the arrows (even if they're likely inferior to his bone bolts), and maybe the zombies could use the knives? Actually, the fire might have left some burnt-dry bones for his quiver to process.

>He asks Davina if he should make like a necromancer and Undead-them.
>Reanimation wouldn't work. Apart from being burnt to ash or chopped to pieces, they all died before any of your people got there.
Doesn't apply in this case, but in general, Davina would probably favor the tactical utility of disposable pawns over leaving the remains of slain enemies unmolested. (So long as they don't have creepy, bloodless wounds, run of the mill zombies shouldn't trigger off her phobia).

>what do
So the obvious question then: "Do we follow the path the survivor took, or the other?"

If we assume neither the goblins nor Fire Hawks had means to bypass the sweeper as we did, that means they arrived here via the other two passages into this room. So one passage likely leads (eventually) to the dungeon entrance the Fire Hawks used, and one passage likely connects to a goblin settlement. (Too bad that there's no way to know if the elvenoid pressed forward, or retreated).

Probably more likely the Fire Hawk, after losing a companion, would retreat? That's probably the more promising path. How do Eric and Maru feel?

>insane flesh horror boar covered in hooked scales
Well on the plus side, if you kill it, maybe Eric can reanimate it as a zombie pet.

>>767203
To be fair, Hore probably isn't privy to the insight the flesh god granted the flesh paladin. Unless Tittivila opted for the booming voice and glowing lights thing.
>>
No. 767238 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 5, 6, 3 = 14

>>767206
Maru votes they check out the musty side chamber, solely on the property of it being a side chamber with a hopefully smaller and more easily searchable space, before they move on to follow the other path. She does however, leave it open to a vote- provided we can be relatively quick about it. Rolling for a general perception check to keep an eye out for any threats or important sensory cues that could give valuable information
>>
No. 767241 ID: 3abd97

rolled 4, 1, 1 = 6

>>767238
Ah, sound logic. If we assume the side chamber is a dead end, it would make sense to check there first.

(If it is a dead end, and we assume they didn't get past the Sweeper, then the potential exit and potential goblin settlement would lie off the same path).

Roll for spot / search / movement / not getting killed by a surprise attack / whatever as we go to check the side chamber then.
>>
No. 767257 ID: a107fd

>>767206
Perhaps I was unclear. The former boar is still somewhat bigger than you, entirely covered in sharp bits, and flailing around trying to eat your face. That mercy kill is neither trivially easy nor safe, so you're gonna need to roll.

>>767207
>if we come across an elvenoid with hand axes, they might be able to fireball us.
Might also have been a single-use item, possibly even set off accidentally. Goblins are reputed to be pyromaniacs.

>Eric might be able to use the arrows (even if they're likely inferior to his bone bolts)
Overall quality is actually somewhat higher, and barbed broadheads do more damage to flesh (at the expense of armor penetration) but they're arrows intended to be fired from a shortbow. Crossbow bolts are shorter, with thicker shafts, and a different sort of stabilizing fins. Using the wrong ammo type wouldn't be quite as disastrously stupid as loading the wrong sort of bullets into a modern gun, but it certainly wouldn't do accuracy any favors. A long, thin arrow would probably buckle when fired from a crossbow, and then you're basically throwing a flimsy bent stick at the target with excessive force.

>>767238
>>767241
Side chamber is sort of an egg shape, about 30' front to back and 40' side to side, with the narrow end on the left. It's piled with shredded dried fungi, shed fur, and other debris in a sort of nest. Smells like a large, lonely, carnivorous mammal with poor personal hygiene spent a lot of time there.

It's not a dead end. Half-buried in the back wall there's a tunnel, about 15 feet wide.
>>
No. 767259 ID: f1bc32

rolled 5, 3, 4 = 12

Hore decides to help Vos kill the boar first. She also decides to take the barrel when they leave the room.

Hore throws her knives at the boar's face, then follows up with a few quick attacks to the boar's limbs with her spear, and chomps into the boar's chest with her axe!
>>
No. 767273 ID: af6e04

rolled 5, 4, 4 = 13

Ah yes, should have realized. Vos will bait its charge, and then evade while trying to lunge for the throat with his spear. Gonna laugh if Ji sleeps through this too.
>>
No. 767279 ID: 3d2d5f

>>767257
>Might also have been a single-use item, possibly even set off accidentally. Goblins are reputed to be pyromaniacs
True. It's not unlikely there was an accidental or improper use however things went down, since whichever side set off the explosion suffered friendly fire. Still, I'd rather be wary of a fireball that's not coming than not anticipate one that is.

>arrows vs bolts
Whups, missed a detail there.

>what do
Now that it's clear this isn't a dead end, Davina favors exploring the path the surving Fire Hawk took as more likely to connect to an exit. She'll stick with Maru and Eric if they vote to explore this direction instead, though.
>>
No. 767297 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 1, 3, 4 = 8

>>767279
Maru voices her unease with their current situation

Currently they are down 3 members who may or may not live long enough to find their own way out or even reunite with them. The ooze is most likely still on their tail, but with the way the bloodmist is clinging to the top of the cave, they likely won't be able to spot it should it come through here. So that's definitely not a good thing. They could lay the armor in the entrance to the cavern but that only lets them know it's here, not where it is.

In addition, they're faced with 2 tunnels- one likely leads to a horrible labrythn monster that Maru would normally be all about slaying and looting for treasure, but it's not all that likely it guards an entrance to the surface. Their most likely path towards the surface may have them walking into someone or something which can roast a dozen goblins and a heavily armored mercenary to a charred pile of remains with a single attack. Or they might be walking towards a goblin encampment, which would likely know a way out, but would also likely want to kill them and sacrifice them to Orcus or some such. Slaying beasts and killing goblins is good and all, don't get her wrong, but she doesn't want to rush headlong into a nameless death. If they go down this tunnel in front of them in search of a beast and treasure then when they get out they may find themselves wounded or less equipped to protect themselves from whatever lurks down the other path. They also have no way to signal to the others where they've gone in the case they survive and come looking for them.

She thinks retracing the footsteps of whoever was here is a bad idea, but it might be the only one that leads to the surface provided they can survive getting there. What do Eric and Davina think?

While this discussion goes on Maru wants to place a goblin body in the entrance to the cavern, the path they haven't explored, and the entrance to the side chamber, as markers to see where the ooze might have passed. If the scrap of armor with the insignia of the Fire Hawk isn't too awkward to carry she'll take that as well. She wants to investigate the tunnel in the side room to see if it looks like it was burrowed or otherwise tunneled out by some sort of animal, or if it looks more natural or was carved by tools
>>
No. 767302 ID: 3d2d5f

Davina isn't happy leaving Ji or Vos behind either, but unfortunately, if the sweeper is already between us and our allies, they are beyond our ability to help. The fog filled passage prevents portalling around it. If it has followed them that way, we cannot pass it. If we enter and it follows us, we'll be trapped, only able to flee forward.

The bodies suggest the sweeper didn't come this way recently (assuming the stone and bodies are already cool, they were dead before we encountered it). The evidence of a creature making this area a nest suggests an even longer absence. This might imply the sweeper has a limited territory, or that it's new to this area. If the first is true, that's some comfort to us.

At least we can take comfort in the knowledge Vos was still alive, and we didn't hear Hore die painfully.

Using the bodies as sweeper checks at the doors is a reasonable idea.

We might be able to parley with goblinoids rather than fighting them or being subjected to involuntary religious observance... *shrug* but I will admit my own talents lie more in martial action rather than diplomacy.

Also, if this turns out to be the same goblintown as before, Davina might not even be able to cross that big Orcus ward out front. Nor Eric's boys.
>>
No. 767369 ID: 750f88

Eric looks at his companions while they speak, nodding at certain points.
"I am slightly perturbed at the aspect of running into a goblin settlment or any band of Hawk warriors whilst at the command of an undead army. Additionally, the farther we travel away from our companions, the less likely we are to meet again. I will follow whatever path you choose for me, however. Im not keen on being abandonded solely for loose sentiments of companionship towards those we split from."

Eric looks toward his Undead, then at the fallen corpses.
Alright. Boys, equip thyselves with any functioning armour and weapons, then report back to me so that I may inspect your protection.
Eric looks back at the goblin corpses, wondering if he could mix and match parts of different goblins to make one functioning creature.
>>
No. 767462 ID: a107fd

>>767259
The fish-snake-pig-thing dodges a thrown knife, and strikes to the limbs, ribs, and breastbone strike only dry bones which it is in the process of abandoning, as a hermit crab abandons an outgrown shell.

>>767273
Spear only manages a shallow cut down it's side, while it's hooked tusks snag Vos's pantleg.

Looking the thing over for potential weak points, it clearly bleeds, but has no space where lungs or a digestive tract would fit.

>>767297
>While this discussion goes on Maru wants to place a goblin body in the entrance to the cavern, the path they haven't explored, and the entrance to the side chamber, as markers to see where the ooze might have passed.
With some thread and various bits of scrap it's easy enough to set up some crude noisemaker traps. Anybody walks through incautiously, or picks up the meat, you'll hear a little cascade of slagged platemail and pebbles.

>If the scrap of armor with the insignia of the Fire Hawk isn't too awkward to carry she'll take that as well.
The metal's fairly brittle at this point, so with some help from Eric's meat puppets you manage to remove a roughly palm-sized portion around the insignia.

>She wants to investigate the tunnel in the side room to see if it looks like it was burrowed or otherwise tunneled out by some sort of animal, or if it looks more natural or was carved by tools
Lots of melty-wax-looking geological formations, and the width varies, so it's either natural, or the result of some sort of stone-melting magic that mimics natural erosion. There's plenty of claw marks as well, but somebody digging a tunnel for utilitarian purposes wouldn't waste time and effort making it wider than it needed to be, or if they did, wouldn't leave narrow spots further on that would block an oversized load.
>>
No. 767464 ID: af6e04

rolled 6, 4, 5 = 15

>no space where lungs or a digestive tract would fit.
That sounds like the opposite of a weak point. Unless it simply can't survive very long in this malformed state?

>>767462
Vos will try to untangle himself before he gets ragdolled. Not failing this, he'll move over to the upturned table and try to tip it back down onto its legs to unblock the entrance.
>>
No. 767465 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 3, 2 = 11

Hore is NOT going to die to a crippled pig that has been chained while in mindless suffering for ten thousand years.

Hore begins slicing at the pig in the back with her axe, using her basic biologist skills to find and open up the boar's weak spots, and fires plasma beams through them! Hore yells at Vos about how his ass is now her property for mindlessly resurrecting a walking death trap that's in constant furious agony!
>>
No. 767470 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 1, 6, 5 = 12

"I vote we stall for time until somefin passes through dat entrance. If it's friends we press on and if it's nasty we press on faster. I'd like to explore dis 'ere tunnel, but if you two fink it's too dangerous den maybe you can fink of a better way to pass da time."
Rolling to stay alert.
>>
No. 767516 ID: a107fd

>>767464
>try to untangle himself before he gets ragdolled
>rolled 6, 4, 5 = 15

The fish-pig-thing's hooked scales dig right through clothing and into skin, or at least the parts of Vos's skin that haven't already been transmuted to brass. It's wrapped around him from chest to knees like a constrictor snake, and struggling seems likely to result in further injury.

>opposite of a weak point
Yep. You 'cured' it's total inability to die, but not the immunity to hunger, thirst, and asphyxiation, so finishing it off is probably going to require pulverizing the brain or heart.

>>767465
>using her basic biologist skills to find and open up the boar's weak spots,
Hore saw this thing grow together with her own eyes, and it still makes no anatomical sense. Under the scaly skin, it's got basically nothing but skull, spine, and muscles. Can't figure out where the major veins and arteries are, can't even figure out how it's still moving around with so few vital organs. From a structural standpoint, though, separating the vertebrae from each other would have to do something.
>slicing at the pig in the back with her axe,
Lining up a blade with the notch between vertebrae is surprisingly tricky when the subject refuses to hold still, but Hore nonetheless manages to land a blow which would have paralyzed the pig's hind legs, if it still had any. Follow-through from that swing also has some unpleasant effect on Vos's ribs.
>plasma beams
Vos and the pig-snake-fish-monster are now both on fire.

Yisheng Ji is still soundly asleep in the far corner of the room. Those chairs are the most comfortable thing he's rested on in months, no question. Sky-blue velvet upholstery that feels soft as clouds, structural bits are carved from some dark lustrous tropical hardwood, and either assembled with joinery so masterful that it involved neither nails nor glue, or somehow carved as a single piece. They'd have to be enchanted, somehow, too, to be so unaffected by the ravages of time. Heard of an end table or stool or something, of similar quality, that sold for it's own weight in silver despite the fact that one of the legs was snapped completely off. A matched set like this, barely even scratched? Get 'em to an auction house and there's just no telling. Problem is, furniture can't just be tucked away in a small backpack.
>>
No. 767519 ID: af6e04

rolled 6, 4, 2 = 12

>Vos and the pig-snake-fish-monster are now both on fire.
Vos screeches and tries to rip himself loose in a panic. If that's successful and he's still conscious, he'll try to put out the fire.
>>
No. 767525 ID: 3d2d5f

rolled 1 = 1

>>767470
Waiting for the Sweeper to catch up seems a poor idea, and if Vos and Hore are engaged the way it sounded like, that may not be anytime soon. (Especially since they're currently fighting a reanimated pig an hour in the future right now, although that's OOC).

Davina still favors following the Fire Hawk's exit rather than exploring the den exit. If Eric isn't willing to break the tie, flip for it?

1 = Dav, 2 = Maru
>>
No. 767567 ID: a107fd

>>767519
With strength born of atavistic desperation, Vos tears himself free of the cursed beast's grip, along with most of his clothes, and degloves considerable portions of his torso and thighs, then sprints over and dives head-first into the algae barrel.

The splash and a rapidly spreading puddle soon extinguish the fire. The beast slithers through discarded clothes to groom itself and chew on Vos's shed skin, but is apparently unable to swallow. It moves as if gagging for a moment, then gives up and simply drools out bloody shreds of connective tissue and subdermal fat while turning it's attention toward Hore.

>>767525
>an hour in the future
Timelines aren't necessarily out of sync, given that the mobile team also spent time marching around, checking for traps, laying new traps of their own, and meticulously examining some fifteen hundred square feet of crime scene.
>>
No. 767572 ID: af6e04

rolled 2, 6, 6 = 14

>>767567
>Upside down in a barrel full of slime
Pfff. Immediately following Vos' relief at no longer being on fire, he will kick his legs to try to tip over the barrel and free himself.
>>
No. 767630 ID: 3abd97

>>767567
Fair enough, though things happening simultaneously also mean they aren't showing up soon.

I still don't really favor standing around doing nothing waiting to see if anyone comes across us.
>>
No. 767653 ID: a107fd

>>767630
Rather than enforced simultaneity or strict accounting for time, I'm mostly going to allow things to happen in the order that they're posted. So, if the mobile group decided to turn around and rush back to the hall of polarized fog, and overcame any complications encountered on the way before Hore's next post, it could be possible for them to intervene in the current battle.

>>767572
Your leverage isn't so great, and the barrel still has three or four hundred pounds of water in it, and you're distracted by an unpleasant stinging sensation in the bare muscle under those three or four square feet of missing skin, so your attempt to knock it over is unsuccessful. In the course of pushing off against the bottom to climb out, your hand encounters something painfully hot.
>>
No. 767663 ID: 750f88

rolled 2, 1, 4 = 7

Are Eric's zombies able to equip themselves with a dagger and miscellaneous armour pieces? He would prefer if they had some protection and the added stabbing ability.
>>
No. 767682 ID: 094652

rolled 2, 6, 1 = 9

While the boar was distracted, Hore decided to do a death-from-above special by taking the time to climb the walls and attack its back (not the head, those tusks are clearly jagged). Hore LEAPS
>>
No. 767690 ID: a107fd

>>767663
Goblin armor is too small, and the single suit of plate took a lot of damage from that fire. Leather straps and cloth padding are charcoal, rivets are snapped, joints are warped, and the flat parts are brittle. Turning it back into something wearable, let alone protective... well, you'd want to start with at least a journeyman armor-smith and a proper forge, then see where the project goes from there.

The meat puppets can carry and wield knives, but lack instinctive skill at doing so. Dangle keeps trying to hold hers by the sharp end and 'stab' with the hilt. The other three are scarcely better.

>>767682
Half-gnoll drops from the rafters with a ferocious war cry and murderizes the modified boar into teeny little bits, most of which turn out to be delicious. By the end of the second hour in this 20' cubic room, both her arms are covered in blood up past the elbow, hardly any of that blood is her own, her stomach is full, and whichever gland sex goop comes from seems to be empty, so overall the day is looking good.

Of course, Vos still has some fairly nasty injuries, and decided to go swimming in what's basically swamp water, while the first-string medic is still asleep. Planning to 'borrow' some alcohol and brass balm to stop the eelman from dying of sepsis or blood loss? Attempt treatment with other materials, maybe some sort of skin graft from the defeated foe? Leave him to his own devices and/or divinities?
>>
No. 767692 ID: 094652

Hore will ask Vos if his species heals better in or out of water, pull him out if the algae bath isn't healthy, then instruct him to try and figure out what that miniature sun in the barrel is because it could help pasteurize the water, then wake up the medic before Vos is too infected.
>>
No. 767694 ID: 74621b

>>767692
You better not. If you wake Yisheng Ji up, you'll completely waste my near-critical roll, none of his mental debuffs will be cured, and he'll not only still be useless, but grouchy as hell.
>>
No. 767706 ID: 74621b

>>767694
Nevermind, it's fine. What's done is done. I wish you'd have just robbed Yisheng Ji instead of denying him a chance to get his full rest and recover his energy though.
>>
No. 767716 ID: af6e04

rolled 6, 6, 1 = 13

>>767692
I guess it's JamesLeng's call on how amphibious Vos is. Either way, as soon as Vos gets pulled out of the barrel he'll cling hard to Hore, shivering pathetically and soaking her fur with blood and slimy water.

He tries to examine the hot trinket he found inside the barrel while Hore goes to wake up Ji.
>>
No. 767717 ID: a107fd

>>767692
>wake up the medic
How, exactly? It can be deduced that ordinary shouting isn't going to work. There's already been a lot of rough sex, a divine revelation, a brawl, and the room increasingly smells like a waterfront abattoir at low tide, but Yisheng Ji's still sleeping like a little angel. Are you going to attempt to directly inflict some painful but non-critical injury? Cover his mouth and nose until the panic of asphyxia sets in? Poke him in the eye? Some other stunt? Or abandon the attempt to wake him up, rather than escalating to such risks, and try something else instead?
>>
No. 767729 ID: a107fd

>>767716
Once it dries off, the 'trinket' (more of a brick, really; it's a rectangular prism bigger than two clenched fists, and weighs about eight pounds) remains as hot as a baked potato fresh out of the oven, and glows so brightly as to be painful to look directly at. The room is lit up like noon on a clear summer day, with sharp-edged shadows behind any obstacles.

>how amphibious Vos is
He can swim just fine, but can't breathe water. If you wanted gills, should've taken that as the mutation. Even for someone with working gills, though, particulates would have been a problem in that situation.
>>
No. 767751 ID: 094652

Hore catches wind of Ji muttering "juzt tk mh stff n' leavv me 'lone...". Hore complies, taking the sewing kit to help suture Vos' wounds.

Hore instructs Vos to use the miniature sun to help cauterize any severe wounds. Hore also considers cleaning and filling her waterskin with swamp water, followed by a quick boil using the miniature sun. Hore wonders if her lantern can hold this artifact.

Hore uses the miniature sun as a campfire to dry her fur. She's really worried that they won't find any clean water anytime soon. She asks Vos what they'll do with the rest of the barrel. Maybe they should put the artifact back in and carry it? On the plus side, if Ji has some magic to carry this tiny heated rock, your usual fears are over. You expect that whatever is following your party will stay ten feet away from the inferno artifact at all times, and you'll see whatever they're planning twenty feet away.
>>
No. 767761 ID: 88bdc5

>Remains as hot as a baked potato fresh out of the oven
So it's too hot to comfortably carry with bare hands but shouldn't set cloth on fire if used for insulation. Vos will experiment with his blanket.

Vos asks Hore to instead retrieve the brass balm from Ji's belongings and describes what the container looks like.
>>
No. 767788 ID: a107fd

>>767751
>cauterize
Not quite hot enough, and Vos's wounds are too extensive for cauterization to be an effective strategy anyway. Should be very helpful for preheating and drying fuel in preparation for starting actual fires, though.
>>767761
>So it's too hot to comfortably carry with bare hands but shouldn't set cloth on fire if used for insulation. Vos will experiment with his blanket.
Yep. With enough layers you can even cover it up to the point that it's not stealth-defeating.

>brass balm
Somebody roll to apply the stuff.
>>
No. 767790 ID: a107fd

>>767470
No random encounters during your first hour of scouting out the caverns by the lake, and no sign of the Empty Sweeper having followed you. How long are you planning to stay?
>>
No. 767791 ID: 88bdc5

rolled 3, 5, 3 = 11

>>767788
Vos will wash his hands with his soap and sanitize the wounds with Ji's alcohol too.
>>
No. 767795 ID: 3abd97

rolled 6, 3, 5 = 14

>>767790
I personally favor not sticking around. This is a poor defensive position, and we're better off advancing into the unknown at our own pace than driven by a sweeper at our heels. (Plus, we only have so long before Eric has to sleep and we potentially lose control of the zombies. We need to find a location we can lock them out of, or some place we can strand / store them with a portal, before we test that the hard way).

Explore the passage the elvenoid with had axes took?
>>
No. 767821 ID: a107fd

>>767791
Feels like you're doing at least as well with applying the balm efficiently as Ji was, though admittedly that's a pretty low bar. Might have missed a spot on the middle of your own back. Problem is, with all that muscle and gristle transmuted to stiff wiry brass, you're nearly paralyzed now.

>>767795
That hall arcs gently down and to the left for about 150 feet, then there's a 90 degree turn to the left, ten or fifteen more feet of hall, a 60 degree turn back to the right, and straight on for about a hundred feet before coming to yet another T-junction. Left or right? Left seems to be headed upward, while right sounds more like those worm-noises from the chasm.
>>
No. 767838 ID: 3abd97

rolled 4, 2, 4 = 10

Going upwards seems more promising than crossing the chasm again.
>>
No. 767860 ID: af6e04

rolled 1, 6, 4 = 11

>nearly paralyzed
Eel man will sleep now. He'll try to tuck away his magic glow brick and climb into the bed he and Hore shared earlier. Rolling for ability to stand up and make it across the room and also to sleep soundly.
>>
No. 767866 ID: 77f1b6

>>767838
Maru agrees- up is good. She asks Eric to leave a zombie sentry in the cavern, to report back to him and guide the others should they show up, or fill him in on the approach of anything hazardous to our health
>>
No. 767868 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 5, 6, 5, 2, 5 = 29

Hore tells Vos before he goes to bed that she can carry him and Ji out of the room, away from the sweeper, or stand on guard duty.

Option A: Hore makes sure they have the artifact contained and ready to blind the sweeper before she picks them both up and carries them slowly out of the room, in the direction of the other party. Roll to determine if she can do this without waking either of them. Second roll to determine if she triggers anything, if there is anything in that direction.

Option B: Hore is on guard duty, but she pays more attention to chopping up the boar meat as future rations, using the artifact to dry the meat for later. Hore also attempts to use the artifact and the tools at her disposal to purify the remaining swamp water for clean consumption, she's really thirsty and her waterskin still has that red powder. Roll to determine if she can purify the water. Second roll to determine if she can figure out what that red powder is.
>>
No. 767887 ID: af6e04

>>767868
Vos tells Hore he'd rather stay put and offers her some of his water, since he brought extra.
>>
No. 767894 ID: 094652

Hore thanks Vos for the water. Hore takes a few swigs over the course of the rest period, with the intent of minimizing the amount of water her body uses as to not waste it on perspiration or... other things.

Hore analyzes the sun box as she works on butchering the boar's corpse. Whatever bones she cannot chew for sustenance, be they dried or broken, she places near the room entrances along with any useless debris as to prevent enemies from rushing in, making dangerous barricades. She also cuts the meat and places it over the sun box with her spear, cooking some for brunch to eat over the rest period, some for Vos and some for Ji, and the rest she dries out with closer proximity to the sun box for use as rations later.
>>
No. 767895 ID: 3abd97

>>767868
OOC, but a plan that depends on blinding something without visible eyes or other sight organs (or any organs at all) with a bright light isn't one I'd bet on.
>>
No. 767905 ID: a107fd

>>767866
The passage seems to be a spiral, about 150 feet in diameter. After ascending between half and three-quarters of a turn, you pass over a 10' section of hollow-sounding floor, then the spiral ends and the hall continues straight for about forty yards to another stone door on a vertical pivot, same design as the ones in the chess room. Sounds like some humans talking on the far side. What languages do you speak?

>sentry
It should be noted that Lord Grimwald doesn't have any unusual ability to communicate with his servants over long distances.

>>767860
Standing up or sitting back down (with a wall to lean against), maintaining balance, and walking around are still easy enough. Vos's arms and lower legs are relatively unimpaired, and shoulders still have full range of motion even if it's a bit stiff and creaky. Running, though, or anything that requires torso flexibility (most notably wrestling) will be troublesome.

>>767127
Ninety minutes later, after Vos has gotten a brief and mostly unsatisfying nap, he and Hore discover that there's actually a small gap between the upper edge of the 15' long table and the ceiling of the 16' high corridor.

This discovery comes in the form of a pair of undead fetuses, floating along starchild-style (we've all seen the ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey, right?) in ten-inch-diameter anima bubbles. One on the right is getting ready to fire some sort of death ray out of it's umbilical cord.
>>
No. 767910 ID: 094652

Oh @#$%, where the hell is Eric when you need him?!

Hore quickly covers the hole with the table (quietly if possible), keeping her arms and head away from the most likely firing spots! She doesn't want to fire her plasma pistol out of fear that her lack of concentration might cause it to backfire, especially when the targets are FETUSES!!! How many kinds of stupid did it take for the old empire's necromancers to GIVE DEATH RAYS TO BABIES?!

Hore whispers to Vos if the negative-ten-thousand-year-old floating death babies actually sensed them and what do they do!
>>
No. 767913 ID: af6e04

rolled 1, 4, 3 = 8

>death ray out of it's umbilical cord.
>what do they do!
"KILL THEM!"

Vos will throw his spear at the one on the right and then leap out of bed, grabbing dishes, pewter plates, goblets, steins, whatever looks heaviest and start madly pelting both dead floating babies with them.
>>
No. 767918 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 6, 6 = 18

Hore uses her spear to stab the baby with more death ray charge in the belly! She also tries throwing stuff, like the table and barrel (too bad about the swamp water but it might help), retreating to the sun box where she uses the poisoned contents of her waterskin to cool it down, then grabs it (with a piece of her leather armor as a mitt) and charges into the baby that has less of a death ray charge, shooting her plasma pistol a few times in the baby's direction, smashing the leather cup with the sun box in it to the baby's fragile shell! She pushes and pushes for dear life, using her fists and axe to pummel the death machine into deletion!
>>
No. 767919 ID: 3abd97

>What languages do you speak?
Considering we got two rich bitches and 1 bard in this half of the party, we've probably got better than average language coverage.

Last time this came up ( >>/questdis/99128 >>/questdis/99175 )the choices given were: Humish (Low Draconic), the five elemental languages (fae / spirits), orcish intertribal trade pidgin, and Quenyl (deep earth sign language). Are there other possibilities it would make sense for us to consider? (It might make sense for Eric to have learned some kind of dead/old/arcane language- searching for the secrets of lichdom probably involves investing in pouring over ancient tomes).

I assume a second language or two would be part of a noble brat's education? (So on the 0-3 scale we used before, 3 languages at 2-3 level mastery, and maybe a spattering of 1s for stuff encountered but not formally educated in). If Humish is Low Draconic, studying High Draconic would be like studying latin, which seems like it would be pretty standard for the upper classes (or for anyone expected to operate in the dracocracy's political sphere). And... I feel like Davina should have been expected to take something else in addition to that, but I'm not sure what. Something else her parents would have thought was useful to know in her position? Or something she might have been drawn to / found easier due to the parasite's influence?

>floating ghost fetuses with laser umbilicals
I am laughing my ass off over here.
>>
No. 767920 ID: 094652

>>767918
OH FUCK NO

IN DEEP PAIN, HORE DECIDES THAT NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO WAKE UP JI AND RUN THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!
>>
No. 767921 ID: 094652

rolled 4, 2, 3, 2, 6, 2, 3, 5, 6 = 33

(Rolling to determine if I am cursed)
>>
No. 767942 ID: a107fd

>>767913
The protective bubbles ripple and slowly shrink in response to impacts, but it looks like destroying these things is going to take as much work as chopping down a tree, before accounting for the fact that they dodge and hit back.

>>767918
Hore catches a beam of flesh-withering void essence square in the chest. A flurry of error messages swarms through her peripheral vision, while cherry-red fractal radiator vanes erupt from her forearm. The plasma pistol refuses to fire again until it's focal aperture has been field-stripped, degaussed, and properly recalibrated. It would be... theoretically possible to do all that maintenance with primitive tools. Not with just the stuff already in the room, though, and not before resolving those priority-blue organ failure alerts.

>>767920
>WAKE UP JI
Again I ask, how exactly?
>AND RUN THE FUCK OUT OF HERE
Table's blocking the only exit. Obvious options are heroic exertion to drag it out of the way, or acrobatics to clamber through a one-foot-by-four-foot window that's fifteen feet off the ground, either of which would require a roll, and risk further injury, even in the absence of enemy action.

>>767919
Scholarly research tends to be written in High Draconic, but it'd be unusual for any non-dragon to have fluency in spoken High Draconic above 1, due to a mix of deliberate secrecy and physiological limitations.

The deep-dwelling ghouls have their relatively insular society, complete with it's own language, often described in terms of 'gibbering' or 'meeping.' Passholdt had lucrative trade agreements with them until relatively recently.

Elven language has two spoken dialects (green and white), which are similar enough that it's impossible to achieve full fluency in one without at least minimal comprehension of the other, but only a single written form, consisting of densely-packed ideograms. Elves also have their own system of sign language, mutually incomprehensible with Quenyl hand-jive.

Intertribal trade pidgin is fine for arm's-length deals, but if you want lasting respect from orcs, learn the specific tribal dialect they use among their own family.

Dwarves and harpies are a minority in Passholt, less than 5% of the overall population, but control immense wealth through high positions in banking, heavy industry, and one of the main local religions. Their language is thought to be a distant relative of rocktongue, though any lingering similarities are readily apparent only to the most cunning linguists.
>>
No. 767945 ID: af6e04

rolled 6, 2, 1 = 9

>>767942
Did the projectiles transfer any momentum, or did they stop dead on impact with the bubble?

Vos will jump up and grab one of the things, trying to get some sort of grip on the magic bubble.
>>
No. 767949 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 3, 2, 2 = 7

>Lord Grimwald doesn't have any unusual ability to communicate with his servants over long distances.

Maru's suggestion did not rely on this- she was saying the zombie could either lead friends back to their position by physically walking back the path we had walked, or that if it encountered the ooze it could outpace us and re-unite with Eric to tell him, or a similar case for anything else deadly that wouldn't be able to destroy the puppet before it could return to us. No long distance communication, just some walking back and forth.

As for languages, Maru is most likely fluent in the majority of the languages used by the elvanoid races- I would say a 3 in written/spoken for the dialect that would be pertinent to the Orcs she was raised by, a 3 for written/spoken for a human dialect, and probably a 2 for both written and spoken of the green and white eleven tongues- basically she should be able to sing and preform for the contents of most inns & taverns. If there's an old tongue from say, a crumbled empire that would have a lot of poems and songs and epics one could decipher, she might have a 1-2 in the written form, although would have like a 0 in spoken
>>
No. 767951 ID: 77f1b6

>>767949
Sorry, I forgot to add that I was rolling to eavse drop
>>
No. 767957 ID: 3abd97

>>767942
Okay, I'll say Humish / Low Drac 3, High Drac 1 (secrecy and limitations aside, it has to be useful for people in the upper levels of society), Elf written 3 Green-spoken 3 White-spoken 2 hand 1 (assuming wherever Dav was from, elves would have been more politically / economically important than the orcish factions, or a major elemental group), dorf-harpy 2 (definitely too important for a rich kid to overlook), and air elemental 1 (from an earlier interest in seeing if there was any insight or understanding of her own abilities in that direction, which rather quickly didn't pan out).

Where I don't bother to draw a distinction between written and spoken assume snotty tutors didn't either.
>>
No. 767962 ID: 094652

rolled 4, 5, 1 = 10

Hore flings into a desperate rage, grabbing the sun box with her bare hands and smashing it into the face of the nearest baby!
>>
No. 767974 ID: a107fd

>>767945
With brass-stiffened hips, Vos cannot lift his knees high enough, quickly enough, to perform an effective running jump. He crashes face-first into the underside of the table, then falls flat on his back. Thanks to long training in how to fall correctly, his arms whip back and slap the ground, and he manages to avoid bruising a kidney on that protruding stone doorstop. Quick roll to the side dodges another death ray.

>Did the projectiles transfer any momentum, or did they stop dead on impact with the bubble?
Mostly they bounced off. The bubble either has immense inertial mass, or the mechanism by which it flies is very smoothly controlled, or both.

>>767949
>leave meat puppets behind as message runners
In that case you'd want to leave one at every intersection or other path decision point, so they don't get lost trying to catch up with you. So far you've passed through four such, since the party split, which would be all the meat puppets on hand.

>eavesdropping
At least three people, speaking in White Elven about art restoration currently in progress. "No, not that brush! You'll smudge it." "Doesn't this one represent...?" "Yeah, but the pigment must have faded."

>>767962
Hore's eyes aren't coordinating properly, "seeing double," which a targeting subroutine somehow works out to mean there are three hostile targets, most important one being in the middle. She lobs the hot rock between the two undead fetuses. They shriek like teakettles when the light passes close enough, and dart away. All three continue through the accidental transom and out into the hall.

With the fight apparently over, Hore crumples to the floor, unconscious. She's deathly pale, sweating profusely, and a veritable forest of painfully hot metal barbs continues to sprout from her skin. Not quite dead yet, but uncomfortably close.

Combination of her own magitech cybernetics, shared faith in Vos's patron, and lingering influence from the modified boar can provide the equivalent of TL 6 trauma maintenance, propping up her vital functions. With Vos's full attention devoted to treatment and prayer, one roll per two hours, using Hore's constitution or Vos's esoteric medicine skill, whichever is better. Spontaneous recovery on a critical success, whereas on a failure she resumes dying as previously scheduled, but unless it's a critical failure, there'll be a chance to pull back from the brink. Without Vos's help, it's one roll per 30 minutes, and of course his medical skill doesn't apply.

Even if Hore Wutashi does die, Yisheng Ji could resurrect her with enough magic, but the less he needs to spend on putting her back together, the more is left for everyone else. Until then, she's definitely incapacitated, so Kome should roll up another character.
>>
No. 767975 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 5, 2, 4, 4, 4, 6, 6, 3, 2, 6, 6, 3, 2, 1 = 60

You know what? I think the dice rolls are broken for me. Can you PLEASE make higher rolls the success ones and low rolls the failures?!

I'm going to bet that most of these rolls are high. If not, then I lose. Okay. Here goes. Goodbye, everyone...

15d6: Roll 60 or higher to live.
>>
No. 767997 ID: af6e04

rolled 2, 5, 4, 1, 3, 6, 6, 6, 4, 5, 4, 6, 4, 4, 4 = 64

>>767974
Well Vos will certainly help. Getting up and rubbing his sore back, he'll rush over and try to make his best to make her comfortable. Vos will pray to Tittivila to keep her new disciple of flesh from withering.

I'm guessing we do need to roll multiple times? Ten hours, one roll for every two.
>>
No. 768001 ID: f1cea9

Name: Maria Agate
Class: Hedge Witch (Specialization: Purifying Light, basically the use of magical light to burn and kill enemies.)
Higher Ambition: The destruction of Great Evil
Lower Ambition: Those she sees as "impure"
Phobia: The taste of Blood
Concealable Mutation: A tongue that can split in half, turning into two fully ambulatory tentacles.
Supernatural Weakness: Magical darkness causes her to suffer symptoms similar to sunburn.
Innate Power: Seeing the sins of others.
Items:
Left Hip: Dried Bread
Neck/Chest:Jade Amulet
Left Shoulder Iron Statuette of Saint Agate, a distant ancestor made a Saint for his singlehanded defeat of a Demon Lord.
Right Hip: Jug of Water
Right Shoulder: Dragon weed
Head: Platemail
Somewhere Uncomfortable: Rope

Maria is a descendant of the Agate line, a series of holy men most known for their unparalleled command of what they identify as the "Purging Light", light powerful enough to burn and even kill those caught in it. She grew up learning the techniques, and when she came of age she set out to do battle with evil. She considers purity very important, though she finds temptations lie stronger than she'd expected...

If there's anything wrong with this, don't hesitate to let me know!
>>
No. 768002 ID: a107fd

>>767975
AnyDice gives less than 15% chance of rolling 60 or more on a fair 15d6, which is at least as unlikely as passing five trauma maintenance rolls. Only 3.21% chance of rolling 60 exactly. So, Hore makes it through the ten hours until Ji wakes up.

>>767997
>>767127
A total of eight scavenging creatures, arrive and linger in the air around Hore's unconscious form. They're creepy but not aggressive. Seem to be intelligent, but uninterested in communication. It takes Vos some time to figure out what's so strange about them: under aura sight they're sharply defined flying insects the size of pigeons, while their physical bodies are spongy vaporous clumps which glow dimly in ever-shifting colors. They feed on fear and pain, but not by inflicting either; simply picking up excess off the ground, the same way ordinary beetles burrow in fallen logs and yet fail to hire lumberjacks.

Yisheng Ji is awake after the best night's sleep he's had in a while. His head is much clearer, only one of the intrusive thought-streams is still present, and relatively subdued at that. Still has that foreboding sense of being cursed with ill fortune, though, and upon looking around he immediately sees that the situation seems to have deteriorated while he was out. Approximately half the wine and brass balm have been expended, and something on the floor just outside the barricade is glowing like daylight. He could safely provide three applications of chi-based healing before another rest, and Hore Wutashi will need at least one of those.
>>
No. 768003 ID: f1cea9

>>768001
Oh fuck, forgot to mention, her species is Human.
>>
No. 768005 ID: af6e04

>less than 15% chance of rolling 60 or more on a fair 15d6
>rolled 6, 5, 2, 4, 4, 4, 6, 6, 3, 2, 6, 6, 3, 2, 1 = 60
>rolled 2, 5, 4, 1, 3, 6, 6, 6, 4, 5, 4, 6, 4, 4, 4 = 64
Haha alrighty.

Vos will recount everything that happened through the night to Ji and ask him to help Hore.
>>
No. 768008 ID: 3abd97

rolled 3, 5, 4 = 12

>At least three people, speaking in White Elven about art restoration currently in progress. "No, not that brush! You'll smudge it." "Doesn't this one represent...?" "Yeah, but the pigment must have faded."
Huh. Okay, so sapient people. If we're lucky, they're actually civilized folk we can speak to (archeologists? Historians? Religious types? Not too many who would be maintaining sites down here). If we're unlucky, they're cultists doing something unspeakable to "restore" whatever art is installed here and we might need to defend ourselves.

Let's try pushing the door open and giving greeting in the same language they're speaking? (Short of retreating, I don't see any option but opening it). Roll for diplomacy, spot, reflex versus a trapped door or the people lashing out at us, what have you.

Might want to have the zombies stand back; if we want to avoid provoking unnecessary hostilities with people who may assume they're being attacked by monsters.

>Can you PLEASE make higher rolls the success ones and low rolls the failures?!
Flipping that 4 threads in would really just be confusing for everyone else. (And would lead to tons of bitterness about good rolls turned bad and vice versa).

And hey, don't be too down. You managed to find the trick to driving off the evil laser babies despite a crit failure, a direct hit, and being half dead. And you're just incapacitated, not dead!
>>
No. 768009 ID: a107fd

>>768001
Looks good, apart from the innate power which is too passive. How about going for a bit of the Wonder Woman thing, knots which hold the soul as well as the body? Tie someone to a chair and prevent them from lying, bind a door and ghosts can't walk through it, sufficiently elaborate macrame and some demon can't escape until improbable conditions (of your choosing) are met, that sort of thing. Self-bondage to reinforce self-control, too.

She'll start back in the chessboard room, same as everyone else did. There's a meat puppet on the far side of the board, which promptly announces that it is under orders not to harm her, and bears an important warning from Lord Eric Grimwald, but it can't actually remember what the substance of the warning was.
>>
No. 768013 ID: f1cea9

I'm fine with that Innate Power change! It definitely works. For reference, can the Purging Light count as sort of a "Holy" element, so to speak? Or will it count as Heat/Flame?

Maria is perturbed by both this place, and the creature before her. It has stated it means no harm, but she is not entirely convinced. She frowns at its lack of a significant warning, then chooses to proceed onwards, an outstretched finger becoming engulfed in white flames. What would cause unimaginable pain in others simply warms her body as she advances.

She does not like this place. Who knows what dwells within... creatures of unimaginable horror, traps meant to slay the unwary, bandits or murderers... bodies honed by their cruel arts... confronted with a single, pure maiden...

Maria shudders and tightens the ropes binding down her chest. Her powers and the pain center her, and she resolves to escape as soon as possible. This location is doing odd things to her.
>>
No. 768014 ID: 4201a2

rolled 3, 2 + 2 = 7

>>768002
>>768005
Yisheng Ji is disappointed, but not particularly surprised by these turns of events. He'll first shoo away the little critters if he can, and then start right off with some qi healing for Hore. About two sentences into Vos's lurid descriptions of debauchery, he'll cut him off and instead request relative quiet while he works.
>>
No. 768018 ID: a107fd

>>768008
>try pushing the door open
Doesn't budge. On closer inspection, it's held in place by half a dozen thick vertical iron bars, which can be seen or touched where they cross the inch-wide gaps at the top and bottom.

>>768003
Species isn't actually a required field; relevant traits are covered by mutations and so on. Even backstory and name are optional.
>>
No. 768020 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 6, 2, 2 = 10

>>768008
>In that case you'd want to leave one at every intersection or other path decision point, so they don't get lost trying to catch up with you.

Ah right, they ARE zombies, not homing pidgins. Maru briefly wonders if a zombie homing pidgin would be able to find its way home again, or if being dead would interfere with that. Might make for a good story.

She whispers to Davina and Eric to get back, stay out of sight and listen out while she goes on the approach. She'll signal if she thinks it's clear, or if she needs back up she'll use the phrase "stonework". With that, she approaches the door and raps loudly, saying
"Ay mates, I'm unarmed and comin in- don't mean anyone 'arm, so don't get yaselves in a twist aight?"
>>
No. 768021 ID: 4201a2

rolled 1, 4, 2, 4, 3, 1 = 15

>>768014
Then, any remaining injuries/notable horrid growths/other problems on Hore, he'll attempt to cure/remove/bandage/perform surgery on/etc with mundane medical tools. (First roll.)

Once that's done, he'll turn to Maru and attempt to channel some divine cleansing through her body to hopefully remove, or at least suppress, any infections she may have sustained under the poorly-applied brass balm. (Second roll.)
>>
No. 768022 ID: 4201a2

>>768021
Sorry, Vos I mean. Not Maru.
>>
No. 768026 ID: c834fc

From previous experience with near-death blows to her cyberware, Hore's augmentations will need some time to self-repair without help or resources.

About a week.

Hore really wants to leave this dungeon at the first opportunity.

She's figured out a way to carry the sun box artifact: four knives, wrapped in leather, a little rope, tie it all to the tip of her spear, and she'll have a makeshift heat spear!
>>
No. 768034 ID: a107fd

>>768014
Hore gurgles, gasps, and starts to sit up, color returning to her cheeks. Still weak and feverish, but foxfires lose interest once she's no longer dying and soon float away to explore the ceiling.

>>768013
Yeah, golden light to purge the unclean is fine. That's what specialties are for. Basic energy blast hits a single target out to ten yards. Do you want longer range than that, out to forty yards? A 'shotgun blast' option for multiple targets up close? Or the ability to create certain wards fast enough to be laying out new tactical cover after the shooting has already started?

More immediately, what's your plan for crossing the chessboard?
>>
No. 768036 ID: f1cea9

>>768034
I feel like the range works perfect for weaponized light. Maybe a close range "flashbang" option that inflicts damage, with a chance to blind demons/undead/Very Sinful People in a five foot radius around her?

Also, Maria moves forward three spaces and one to the right. She knows this game, and if she read the lines right she should be able to do this...
>>
No. 768037 ID: f1cea9

>>768036
W/regards to my flashbang idea, come up with whatever range is appropriate if you go with it, I dunno.
>>
No. 768038 ID: a107fd

>>768020
"Unarmed, huh? How about those others with you?"

>>768021
Medical treatment proceeds as well as could be expected. Many small cuts are cleaned and stitched shut.

Hore could have her plasma pistol ready to use again in a matter of hours, maybe minutes, if only she had a big enough spool of copper wire, some quartz, and a few other uncommon things.
>>
No. 768040 ID: a107fd

>>768036
>forward three spaces and one to the right
Starting from where?

>>765441
>Let's call the eight tiles closest to the door 'row 1,' and the eight tiles flush with the left wall 'column A.' A1 is black, A2 and B1 are white, and so on. Rather than flowing evenly, the pervasive red mist hangs in dusky columns over the darker squares, leaving the air over the lighter squares relatively clear.
>>765812
>all the white squares turned red
>>
No. 768041 ID: 3abd97

rolled 1, 3, 2 = 6

>"Unarmed, huh? How about those others with you?"
I'm assuming this is still Green-elvish, and not humish? Either way, Davina will follow suit choice of language.

"We're less unarmed, thank you. We seek no quarrel with you, nor to disrupt your efforts, merely a path to the surface."

(No one is going to buy travelers surviving down here for very long without being armed, and Davina is somewhat offended by even the implied suggestion she would allow herself to be separated from her ancestral weapon).
>>
No. 768042 ID: f1cea9

>>768040
Forward three spaces from A1, then a right into B3. She also examines the chessboard for any hint of previous passerby.
>>
No. 768043 ID: a107fd

rolled 4, 2, 6, 6, 5 = 23

>>768041
White elvish, not green.

>path to the surface
"We haven't got one." That response seemed a bit abrupt. "To whom do you make prayers and offerings?"

>>768042
Upon entering A1, the entire board turns jet black, and Maria's feeling of impending doom intensifies. Assuming she holds still for 15-20 seconds until the red squares and gold-on-red borders reappear...

Upon entering A2, roll to dodge. On a success, Maria only takes half as much damage from cold as that number I just rolled. Assuming she survives that...

>She also examines the chessboard for any hint of previous passerby.
From A3 she can see some scattered bones and a puddle of half-melted organs centered around C8. Gimme another roll to avoid fleeing in terror. Note that fleeing in terror will probably result in more cold damage when crossing back over A2.
>>
No. 768045 ID: f1cea9

The first three are to avoid cold, the second three are to avoid fleeing.

Assuming Maria doesn't run or die horrifically, she takes a deep breath and considers her next move. She checks how wide the spaces between squares are, and considers carefully navigating them.
>>
No. 768046 ID: f1cea9

rolled 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3 = 24

>>768045
FUCK, lemme try again.
>>
No. 768051 ID: a107fd

Maria is now laying on her side on A3, curled up, pondering her mistakes in a slow, disjointed sort of way, and shivering uncontrollably.
>>
No. 768054 ID: 81819e

>>768051
Maria wonders why she came to this place, the decisions that led her here. A sense of adventure? She hadn't needed adventure, she could have stayed close to home and worked there. But how hard did she honestly work? She could have done so much more for her family... so much more...

She shudders in place, waiting for her mind to calm and the warmth to return to her body, the occasional pop of light flickering across her body unbidden.
>>
No. 768055 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 6, 5, 6 = 17

>>768043
"I make my prayers to myself and offerings to the cutest bint I can find. Anyone who gives a damn about who ya worship is pra'ably a cultist or a fanatic- givin our surroundins up to da point I'm assuming... what, priests of Orcus or some shit like that? Look mates I don't care what gets ya off down 'ere in dis blasted fog, but I'm really ready to stop muckin about and I'd fancy yoos can be a wee bit more helpful so it's best for everyone if we all get along innit?"
>>
No. 768058 ID: 3abd97

rolled 4, 6, 2 = 12

Dang, too touchy to get through with one good diplo roll.

>"To whom do you make prayers and offerings?"
Um. Too be honest I didn't consider faith at all in char gen. Didn't seem like it would be a significant character motivation. I suppose a noble family would be at least ostensibly observant in some form of worship or another (good optics, curry social favor and/or political favor with a church, and in a settling where gods are real, it can't hurt to pay one of them some respect) but I have no idea which deity would make sense to use for that purpose in this setting.

Who are even the prominent deities in this setting? Off the top of my head, I think we know of Brem Marst, Orcus, Tittivila, and the Old God whose sacred number is four (Garaile's patron), and Calistra?

That speaks for Maru (maybe, if she's actually an active worshiper / practitioner) but none of those guys sound right for Davina or Eric.

Although we might be better off lying and telling them what they want to hear. From the language used, the location, what we can hear and smell from the other side of the door, could we make a reasonable guess who the people on the other side of the door worship? (Limited spot slash lore check, not answering yet).

>>768055
>insults the religious types we're trying to get to open the locked door
>that roll
:x

Weeeeeeell, maybe the good cop / bad cop combo will work?
>>
No. 768060 ID: a107fd

>>768055
>insulting comments on the idea of religion in general and theirs in particular
>rolled 6, 5, 6 = 17
Door remains closed and locked. Somebody says, matter-of-factly, "If you come in here, we'll kill you." Then, they go back to what they were doing before.

>>768054
With Maria having just been incapacitated in near-record time, would you like to roll up a new character and try again? Bring appropriate skills and resources for treatment of hypothermia and you'd have a good chance of eventually playing both at once.
>>
No. 768064 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 6, 3, 1 = 10

>>768060
She turns to Davina and Eric with a shrug
"Oh well, in a crumbling ruin de'icated to Orcus, I doubt we woulda found anyone nice anyways. Davina, can ya see frough the cracks in the doorway well enough ta get to da other side? I bet dey'll have somefin useful to say if we can persuade dem a little 'arder, yanno what I mean?"
She doesn't whisper or say this particularly stealthily in anyway but at this point she's stepped away from the door and is faceing Davina and Eric, talking regularly, so I don't know if they can hear me or not. Basically just not trying to talk particularly loudly or quietly at this point.
>>
No. 768065 ID: 81819e

>>768060
Can that character be her brother? He'll be his own distinct character, if that helps.
>>
No. 768067 ID: af6e04

rolled 1, 2, 4 = 7

>Vos's lurid descriptions of debauchery
Heheehee

The eel man is very relieved that Hore is still alive and signifies this with much face nuzzling of both Hore and Ji. He suggests the group prepare to start moving.

>>768051
Is it possible we could have heard Maria's gasp/cry of pain? I'll roll for it cause why not
>>
No. 768071 ID: a107fd

>>768058
>Who are even the prominent deities in this setting?

Somebody with a solid education in comparative theology might explain it in terms of three broad categories, similar to points, lines, and spheres. First, you've got the 'spheres,' the Old Gods. Vast, impersonal, eternal, corresponding neatly to sacred numbers zero through eight. Their bodies are worlds, and more than worlds. To them, the greatest behemoths were as fleas and ticks are to us, and the Titanomachy was of no more significance than a skirmish between anthills over the right to harvest a spilled bag of candy.
At the opposite end of the scale, there are the 'points,' the local gods. This is a range from house-spirits who perform minor chores in exchange for trivial symbolic offerings, up through dryads and naiads and speleids, through "at first it was just another snake cult," through city-gods like Philista (who regularly appears in her burning aspect to make possible Passholt's tungsten-smelting industry), to demon lords like Orcus who are all but omnipotent within their domains. The common thread is, they have bodies and agendas at a comprehensible scale. They can be bribed, threatened, outwitted... not necessarily with ease, but it's at least a valid thing to attempt.
In between, you've got the 'lines.' Alliances, pantheons, philosophies. Living ideas, just a little bit beyond what individual mortals can fully comprehend. The Drakocracy is the main one, Brem Marst's Guild is arguably another. Conspiracies or mystery cults may pursue a yet-unrealized ideal, or seek the favor of a supposed individual who has never been known to hold court or otherwise appear before credible witnesses.

Apart from the Old Gods, I don't have a tidy little list for you to pick from. In and around Passholdt, the most active religious division would be between monolatrist Philistan dwarves and urbanized laborer-orcs, versus more traditionalist Yrthakite orcs who maintain an elaborate calendar of alternate fasting and festivals corresponding to local spirits they'd encounter along nomadic migration routes.
>>
No. 768074 ID: 81819e

Name: Daniel Agate
Class: Hedge Witch (Specialization: Purification, removal of negative status effects and minor healing)
Higher Ambition: To do good
Lower Ambition: Men, men, men. A sufficiently attractive man can easily distract Daniel, and he finds it difficult to resist their advances.
Phobia: Large, feral dogs.
Mutation: Square pupils
Vulnerability: Magical darkness causes an effect similar to sunburn.
Innate Power: A less powerful version of Maria's "flashbang" ability, a short-range burst of light centered around himself that causes mild burns and can occasionally be accidentally triggered by unwanted touches.
Equipment:
Left Shoulder: Brass Balm
Right Shoulder: Brass Balm
Uncomfortable Place: Candles, strapped to his inner thigh and easily mistaken for a concealed erection. The wicks tickle from time to time.
Neck/Chest: Bronze Statuette of Saint Agate
Left Hip: Cloth, Needles, Thread
Right Hip: Knives
Head: Jade Amulet

Maria's younger brother, Daniel was the "black sheep" of his family. Rather than his family's abilities of Purging Light, Daniel was born capable of the art of Purification, being capable of "burning away" curses and illness, along with minor wounds. Combined with his homosexuality, he proved unpopular in his traditional family.

The day he turned of age, his loving sister Maria brought him along as a travelling companion, determined to treat him better than the rest of her family had.
>>
No. 768075 ID: a107fd

>>768067
>Is it possible we could have heard Maria's gasp/cry of pain?
Sure, especially with help from sensitive canid ears. No way to get a directional fix though. If you're going out to investigate, don't need to worry too much about marching order with just the three of you, nor light sources if you're bringing the hot rock, but Hore's phobia insists on composing and implementing something that at least vaguely resembles a good plan for detecting and evading an Empty Sweeper.
>>
No. 768079 ID: a107fd

>>768074
A blanket and some Blackfire Clay would be more useful for treating hypothermia than two more batches of brass balm.

Square pupils? Alright. Any visual oddity to go with that, or purely cosmetic?

For the innate power... he's got an aura, same damage type as his sister's rays but can't be focused in particular directions, just expanded and contracted. At max power he's standing in a golden bonfire which might be visible miles away on a clear night, but it never provides useful illumination outside the actual radius of effect. As a side benefit, so long as the aura is extended beyond his skin (and thus visible) he doesn't have to worry about penalties to balance, climbing, grappling, etc. for slippery surfaces, nor diseases and poisons that work by breath or skin contact. It acts like a forcefield, pushing nasty sludge out of the way. Very handy in a plague environment. Corrosives could still be an issue, or anything ingested, or pressed right into an open wound.
>>
No. 768082 ID: af6e04

rolled 3, 6, 5 = 14

>good plan
Vos will drape his blanket over the end of his spear and hold it far out in front of him as the group walks. Seems reasonable to assume a scream would come from the chess room since it's such a dangerous place, so after looking around the chasm a bit he'll lead the group that way. Roll to spot anything dangerous.
>>
No. 768091 ID: 3abd97

rolled 1, 1, 3 = 5

>"If you come in here, we'll kill you."
Humish: "...truly, Maru? You are willing to blithely, and ineffectively, lie about your weapon, but unwilling to even feign basic respect for the beliefs of others long enough to secure their goodwill? For a bard, you have demonstrated a remarkable talent for driving people apart."

Dav's annoyed. Visibly so. As conveyed by the fact she's blurred and less visible than she would be otherwise, and her clipped tone doesn't come wholly from pronunciation.

>Davina, can ya see frough the cracks in the doorway well enough ta get to da other side? I bet dey'll have somefin useful to say if we can persuade dem a little 'arder, yanno what I mean?
Davina is unwilling to invade a place of worship and attack those within simply because Maru insulted them, or because they happen to worship Orcus. (And even less willing after Maru announced Davina's mode of entry out loud, meaning attempting to peer through the gap may now be met with a blade to the face, and that what would have been an awkward entry to begin with now lacks any element of surprise). It would be one thing if the Orcites (Orcans?) had started it, or if they were deliberately and maliciously blocking our exit, or given some pretext for violence, but all they have done is stated an intent to defend their territory if we break in, which is a right that would be recognized in most civilized parts of the world.

(Surprise surprise, the noble brat with specific ideas about how the world is supposed to work has more of a lawful bent than the bard-zerker).

Also, if there is a exit on this path the surviving Fire Hawk was heading for, it stands to reason it's not through a locked Orcus-shrine. I'm marginally inclined to believe them when they say there's no surface-side exit on their side.

>What do
Making a (doubly) visible effort to calm herself, Davina turns back towards the door.

White Elvish: "I apologize for my companion's insult, and leave your god this meager offering in recompense." At which point Davina will remove several coins from her purse (I assume I'm carrying gold?), place them on the ground, then push / kick them under the gap in the door. "If hospitality is not on the table, could we purchase directions?"
>>
No. 768094 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 6, 5, 5 = 16

>>768079
>Square pupils? Alright. Any visual oddity to go with that, or purely cosmetic?
"Rectangular: Sheep, Goats, Octopuses and Toads have these rectangular shaped pupils. Typically classified as prey, these animals need to have a defense both day and night. But they don't have vertical slits due to their need to survey their surroundings more accurately. The narrower the pupil in relation to the horizon, the greater the accuracy of depth perception is in the peripheral vision of the animal. The perception of depth must be considered with these animals who spend their time evading predators in a rugged terrain."
Just for reference, if anyone cares to use that for references or inspiration

>>768091
>Humish: "...truly, Maru? You are willing to blithely, and ineffectively, lie about your weapon, but unwilling to even feign basic respect for the beliefs of others long enough to secure their goodwill? For a bard, you have demonstrated a remarkable talent for driving people apart."
"Luv if ya fink dis is talented, ya should see da taverns I preform in. If I can't get a bar fight goin before I'm too piss drunk to remember starting it, my name ain't Maru Red."

She will then turn to the door and speak once again, loudly with the intention of speaking to those behind the door
"Ay mates I'm awful sorry, if it helps at all I'm sure princess here would run me frough if we weren't trapped down 'ere, she's probably a lot more agreeable. If coin tickle you, my tits haven't started to sag yet and I'm sure wat wif bein stuck down 'ere and all ya probably get bored of shaggin eachother all the time."

I'm assuming after this there is, at the very least a dirty look from Davina and likely the instance that Maru remove herself from the conversation, at which point she bows, and whispers that she doubted Dav would be willing to go so far as to get her tits out for a couple of musty cultists, much less go the full mile, but that she's just trying to help. Anything to get out of here right?

Assuming she is sent away for her crude and inflammatory remarks she'll sit a ways away from the door and get out of paper to start working on recording some of the details of their "adventure" so far, and jot down any ideas for poems or songs she could preform after her hopeful return to the surface.
>>
No. 768095 ID: c834fc

rolled 2, 5, 5 = 12

Hore, anxious from worry with the serious threat of meeting the killer undead babies' parents - or worse, not meeting them as they snipe her and the others from afar - fills her with dread, but the fact that they have a reliable weapon to murder these death bringers and are walking in previously explored sections keeps her stable enough.

Hore keeps a watchful eye out for any undead, attempting to smell out the scent of Eric on them. She also focuses on protecting Ji and carrying Vos, hoping that they'll find a way back to the surface soon...

Roll to determine if Hore can observe, and observe quietly.
>>
No. 768121 ID: a107fd

>>768091
>(I assume I'm carrying gold?)
Rich, and packed a coin purse, so yes.

>could we purchase directions?
>rolled 1, 1, 3 = 5
"Turn back around, and you'll be on the Outer Spiral. Second hallway on the right leads to a ledge overlooking a huge chasm. Two paths from there besides the way you came in. Middle one leads up to the geodes, which are pretty, but you don't want to go that way. Instead, take the one on the opposite side. When you get to the eight-way room, there's only one hall with no fog. That... might take you where you need to go. I can't say for sure, besides the fact that it's a way out of this labyrinth. There's another way, closer to the Inner Spiral. The two spirals are coaxial, but have no direct connection, so navigating from one to the other is a major pain."

>>768082
>spot anything dangerous
Chasm bridge seems to be clear, and better light makes it a fairly impressive view. There are other ledges, above and below, and one approximately on the same level but off at the far end, more than a hundred feet away from the bridge, which appears to have three separate archways leading to/from it.

>>768095
>Hore keeps a watchful eye out for any undead, attempting to smell out the scent of Eric on them.
There's a meat puppet waiting in the chess room, but it's just standing there, not singing or attacking.

>>768094
>recording some of the details of their "adventure" so far,
>rolled 6, 5, 5 = 16
The resultant map is of poor quality.
>>
No. 768127 ID: 326fa0

rolled 5, 5, 4 = 14

Hore sees Danny Dick, and prompts to talk to him, only for Daniel to point to his little sister. Hore tries to calm Daniel down.

Hore plans to help Maria, then use the sun box and her body to help warm her up. Of course, It's been twelve hours and Hore's womb has filled with pussy juice again, so she thoughtlessly whips her dick out in anticipation of raping Maria in her sleep. Hopefully Danny Dick will have the sense to oblige her instead.

Hore wants her pals to help before she does anything rash, but she decides to ask Danny if he carried any luggage right before finding the chess room. Say... some copper wire? Roll for deep pockets check.
>>
No. 768129 ID: a107fd

>>768127
>It's been twelve hours
Only eleven, actually, with the generous assumption that she didn't do anything sexual to the boar-monster while butchering it.
>and Hore's womb has
...spent ten of those hours in an improvised ICU, at the brink of death? The spirit (of addiction) may be willing, but the flesh is weak. Also, most of the chessboard is in the way, and Davina's not here to provide shortcuts.

Also, Daniel Agate may or may not have any interest in women with penises, but he's definitely terrified of large, feral canids, to which Hore bears some resemblance.
>>
No. 768130 ID: af6e04

rolled 6, 4, 2 = 12

>>768121
Vos will attempt to convince Hore to behave herself and instruct her to stay still.

Vos will greet Daniel, trying to look as friendly as an eel man can, his chest eye darting between Daniel and Maria to examine their auras. He'll go ahead and carefully move across the board to Maria's position, not stepping on any squares. Then he'll wave Daniel over, pointing out where he should walk.
>>
No. 768132 ID: 81819e

rolled 2, 1, 4 = 7

Note about the items taken, I'll make that change. Daniel can see slightly better in darkness with his mutation.

Daniel has spent the past few minutes panicking over his sister's condition, trying to figure out how to navigate the board without getting himself killed. When Hore outright prepares to molest his sister the panicking intensifies, but Vos' admonishment calms him and he sighs, navigating the board to enter Maria's square the way he was informed.

He seems wary of Hore, his hand occasionally straying towards his knives, though he doesn't draw them.

"P-please, help her! I told her she shouldn't have gone ahead without me!" He attempts to Purify some of the hypothermia, warming her with the help of magic.

His gaze occasionally strays to Vos even in these troubled times, his cheeks reddening slightly.
>>
No. 768133 ID: 77f1b6

>>768121
>The resultant map is of poor quality.
Wasn't making a map. I assume parchment and quill can be used for more than just making maps right? She's just jotting down the juicy bits but perhaps she's taking some creative liberties and also distracted by how not high she is
>>
No. 768143 ID: 4201a2

rolled 6, 1, 2 = 9

>>768127
>>768132
Yisheng Ji is not particularly eager to cross the chessboard again, but being told that one doesn't have to actually step on the tiles themselves to traverse it will allow him to set out onto it again.

He'll take the sunbox from Hore's hands as she stands there distractedly ogling the fallen human and trying to work out how to procede, and with perfect grace, cross the lines between the tiles to reach Maria, stopping immediately if anything bad suddenly happens to him. Once there, he'll wrap her in his blanket, and attempt to use divine power to actively channel the sunbox's warmth into Maria's body.
>>
No. 768167 ID: a107fd

>>768130
>chest eye darting between Daniel and Maria to examine their auras.
Similar themes of purity, lust, restraint, and fear expressed in slightly different ways.

>He'll go ahead and carefully move across the board to Maria's position, not stepping on any squares.
>rolled 6, 4, 2 = 12
One toe slips over the borderline onto A5. There's a momentary flash of darkness - which Daniel flinches away from like a physical blow, while Maria groans weakly - and Vos finds himself teleported back to the point where he started crossing.
>>768132
>navigating the board [...] the way he was informed.
>rolled 2, 1, 4 = 7
Simple enough, once you know the trick.
>to enter Maria's square
Roll to resist panic.

>He attempts to Purify some of the hypothermia, warming her with the help of magic.
Hypothermia doesn't have much to do with impurities. Body heat from the requisite hug helps at least as much as his actual magic.

>>768143
>with perfect grace, cross the lines between the tiles
Thanks to his innate power, this is a trivial action. It would only require a roll if the surface was slippery, or in motion, or if he was physically struck or forced to dodge during the traversal, and even then a significant bonus would apply.
>Once there, he'll wrap her in his blanket, and attempt to use divine power to actively channel the sunbox's warmth into Maria's body.
>rolled 6, 1, 2 = 9
This will work, but not quickly. Planning to continue treatment in situ right there on A3, or move her off the board in a princess carry?
>>
No. 768170 ID: 4201a2

>>768167
Still wary of the chessboard's profound danger, Yisheng Ji will pick Maria up and carry her off the board for treatment. The side without the rape-gnoll, please.
>>
No. 768171 ID: 3abd97

rolled 6, 2, 4 = 12

Okay. Is the "outer" spiral we were on an enclosed passage (2 walls, a ceiling and a floor the whole way around) or was it open- as if we were walking up the inside of a threaded hole?

In the later case, if we have a double helix going on with the two non-intersecting spirals, it should be possible to portal between them by looking across the open cylinder, bypassing what would normally be a confusing transit between the two.

In the former case, it might still be worth search for a crack or something to use a portal-point. Likely around the hollow sounded part of the spiral we walked over?

I think it's worth a little time checking if there's a way we can cheaply access the closer exit before journeying towards the farther.
>>
No. 768174 ID: 34ae55

>>768167

First roll is to resist panic, second roll is to follow Yi.

Daniel seems a bit frustrated his magic didn't really work, but the fact she's being provided with medical attention soothes him... but not enough to fully stave off panic.

Assuming he doesn't completely flip out, he follows Yi carefully, trying not to trip any potential traps.

Maria seems to be recovering slightly from her hypothermia.
>>
No. 768175 ID: 34ae55

rolled 6, 3, 4, 4, 3, 1 = 21

>>768174
Fuck!!!

Rolling for real.
>>
No. 768177 ID: 77f1b6

>>768171
Maru is fully behind whatever portal experiments you wanna do- she'll let you take point on this in case there's anything else diplomatic that comes up on the way considering there's evident of goblins and elvinoids here. Just give her a heads up when it's time to start hitting things
>>
No. 768181 ID: 6261fd

rolled 3, 3, 3 = 9

Hore apologizes to Daniel for her abhorrent conduct, justifying her mental sickness as post-traumatic stress disorder from taking a death ray straight to the heart just half a day ago, and decides to overwatch for any new threats. Roll for spot check.
>>
No. 768182 ID: a107fd

>>768171
The former case. If it was wide open, I would've said so. Inner spiral is approximately fifty feet in diameter, while the outer is three times that, implying a fifty foot separation between them. You're not going to be able to poke a spy-hole through fifty feet of solid stone like it's some cheap paper privacy screen. Could try drilling through that hollow-sounding spot in the floor, though. Anyone bring a pickaxe, or other plausible rock-breaking tool?

>>768170
Yisheng Ji carefully picks up the patient, cradling her in his arms, >>768175 and then Daniel shrieks in terror, jumps off of A3, and grabs onto the doctor's back like a startled cat.

Somehow, perhaps drawing on some kernel of divine strength, Ji manages to put one foot in front of another all the way along the border between A2 and B2, then A1 and B1, then another step out onto clear floor before falling to his knees. Everyone's safe for the moment. Daniel soon calms down enough to take over his sister's hypothermia treatment.

Walking those ten feet, while carrying two other people and all their gear, has left Yisheng Ji feeling roughly as exhausted as if he just ran ten miles.
>>
No. 768183 ID: af6e04

>>768182
Vos sees that Ji seems to have things under control and that Daniel doesn't seem to have hostile intent. He sits down on the far side of the chess board and asks Hore to do the same.
>>
No. 768186 ID: 34ae55

Daniel, while attending to his sister, apologizes for his actions, his nerves apparently having gotten the best of him. He occasionally glances over at Vos and Hore, seeming interested in the eel man and rather afraid of the gnoll.

Maria is still slowly, but surely, recovering.
>>
No. 768197 ID: 3abd97

rolled 1, 1, 5 = 7

>>768182
Well hey, the directions didn't initially cover the respective radii of the two spirals.

>Anyone bring a pickaxe, or other plausible rock-breaking tool?
I don't think my rapier is suited to piercing stone, seriously expensive plus whatever bade or not. Maybe Eric's bread, if it's stale enough?

I doubt a spectral axe that specifically seeks blood is particularly effective on stone, although it's possible Maru might be able to crack something with resonant harmonics. Not gonna hold my breath on that one, tho.

Unless there's some hidden mechanism or release to find, or someone else has a clever idea, I'm not sure we have a better alternative that heading back down the the T-junction and this new chasm ledge as we were advised.
>>
No. 768200 ID: a107fd

>>768181
Hore doesn't notice any incoming threats during the hour it takes for Ji to catch his breath. Maria regains consciousness, and is lucid enough to recognize her brother's face and voice, but hasn't got much feeling in her limbs. It'll probably be another hour before she can walk safely, two or three before she's in any condition to fight. What's everyone else doing during that time?
>>
No. 768201 ID: e759f0

rolled 5, 2, 2 = 9

Daniel continues his vigil over his sister, letting out a cry of joy when she regains consciousness and hugging her... and whispering something into her ear.

Yi is close enough to hear the words "...don't trust her..." and catch Maria glancing at Hore and scowling, her eyes briefly flashing with white flames.

Daniel attempts to lift his sister, though with his lithe, girlish physique this probably isn't a sure thing...
>>
No. 768202 ID: a107fd

>>768197
So, back down the spiral, past the side passage leading up to the lake, then the next right? That's another sixty feet down the spiral, about a quarter turn. The side passage zigs and zags quite a bit, with some shallow corner or alcove that could provide cover for a sneaky opponent every twenty or thirty feet. Red mist is thin and spread evenly, but cold and clammy enough that Maru starts to feel stiff. Distant echoes of grinding and intermittent thumping get gradually louder until, after two hundred feet or so, you emerge into a different part of that same huge chasm. There are two other archways, as promised, and, judging by the shape of that cliff face on the left, the ledge onto which you originally arrived from the chess room is just barely out of sight.
>>
No. 768219 ID: a107fd

>>768201
>lifting
>girlish physique
You can help her sit up, or maybe stand, but trying to lift her off the ground all by yourself will just get somebody hurt.
>whisper
The acoustics of a roughly elliptical room, your relative positions, state of alertness, and sharp canid ears, ensure that Hore hears whatever Daniel said just as clearly as Maria does.
>>
No. 768220 ID: 6261fd

rolled 5, 1, 4, 1, 2, 2 = 15

Hore tries to explain that (A) she's delirious and insensitive from nuzzling with death and (B) her basic plan was to coerce Daniel into having sex with her by threatening Maria, she figured that Daniel needed some incentive because nobody likes her but she can be really nice when she's not killing things. She wasn't going to go through with the rape! Really! (Today.)

Hore decides to look at her cybernetics, see what's broken.

First roll for diplomacy check (puppy eyes and whimpering), second roll to determine if she can find another way to fix her plasma pistol, she doesn't actually touch it for fear that it will suddenly fire and hit Maria in the pussy.
>>
No. 768228 ID: 3abd97

rolled 1, 6, 1 = 8

>>768202
How are the three arches arranged? "Middle" is supposed to lead to the geodes, so presumably we've got three doors on the same wall, and we came in at the far end of the line?

Roll spot check before going anywhere else. Anything of note on this ledge, is anything down the chasm by the bridge area visible, any apparent differences between the archways?

>>768220
>her basic plan was to coerce Daniel into having sex with her by threatening Maria [with rape]
That's reprehensible and you're practically asking for someone to take a swing at you, or worse.
>>
No. 768238 ID: 6261fd

>>768228
Hore is not a good person, and Charisma is her first dump stat.
>>
No. 768240 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 3, 4, 2 = 9

>>768228
>a spectral axe that specifically seeks blood

Just to be clear the intention was for the Ax to be blood powered not blood seeking. It's a case of needing to have blood touching her skin in order to summon and sustain it's existence. We haven't decided on a technical length of time for the ax to persist for one hit point of blood, but assuming she has 8-12, and is down at least 2-3, she doubts she could "keep it up long enough", as she so purposefully phrases it, to make any real headway even if it was an effective tool for digging through solid stone. She doubts the bread would do much good either.

In an effort to ward off the cold, Maru will wrap her blanket around herself and try to do some exercise while Davina plans their route, hoping physical exertion will generate some heat and help keep her from getting to stiff.
>>
No. 768243 ID: 3b108e

I'd like to join, let me know what you think of my character.

Name: Djan Seriv
Race: Elf (Orc)
Class: Soldier
Specialization: Slinger
Higher Ambition: Secure a quiet, peaceful life for as many people as he reasonably can
Lower Ambition: Avoid the death penalty for his desertion
Phobia: Being helpless, especially if it results in coercion or prolonged physical pain.
Mutation: Mostly vestigal second set of jaws in throat
Supernatural Vulnerability: Prolonged exposure to gold slowly saps his strength over hours or days, effectively acting like an increasingly severe case of anemia. Generally has to be on his person or in something he swallowed, worsens with increasing amounts.
Innate Power: Ability to make metal about as flexible as an equivalent thickness of vulcanized rubber upon bodily contact. For example, can slowly tear iron with considerable effort if thinner than half an inch or so.

Inventory:
Left hip - Lead bullets & sling
Right hip - manacles
Left shoulder - Spear
Right shoulder - Wooden shield
Chest/neck - Jade amulet shaped like a clenched fist
Top of head - Dried meat in a small basket
Somewhere uncomfortable - Plate armor

Djan Seriv had the fortune to be born in a relatively quiet, rural region, so even if he was born fairly ugly for an elf he didn't attract much notice working on his family's farm. He grew strong chasing after sheep, lugging crops, and plowing fields, and when his next stroke of misfortune hit as a war flared up, he was soon drafted into the local lord's army. When he was young and afraid, a fervent anger at the nobility, the enemy, and the world burnt within him, making him an effective soldier. As the years beat him down, he became too weary to sustain his hatred and with little more than what he carried, finally decided to desert his army when the war dragged without any sign of ceasing. He doubts his old allies have much time or energy to spare tracking down one deserter, but just to be sure he's gone all the way to these ancient ruins to shake off pursuers and get something that could let him live a quiet life at last. He doesn't have much and earning his status as a veteran soldier has left him less handsome than ever, but he's tough and determined.
>>
No. 768245 ID: af6e04

rolled 6, 3, 5 = 14

>>768220
Vos doesn't need to see auras flare up to tell which direction this is going. He grabs Hore and roughly drags her into the hallway, shutting the door behind the two. In the darkness he speaks without his usual gentle demeanor. "Unless you are in danger, do not move from this spot. Understand?"

Vos lights his lantern and sets it down on the floor in front of Hore, then returns to the chess room to make sure Ji does not get attacked by those he is trying to rescue.
>>
No. 768246 ID: 3b108e

>>768243
To clarify, the plate armor is meant to be concealed. Think of it as an armored cup if that works. And his active power is automatic, which is a bit inconvenient if he really needs some metal to stay rigid, but it's helpful for protecting him a bit from cuts and punctures. It doesn't actually reduce the momentum, so he'd still get bruised by any hits, and it'd do nothing much to stuff like maces.
>>
No. 768249 ID: 77f1b6

>>768246
>his active power is automatic

I was under the assumption that in order to qualify as an "innate power" it had to be something you could use, as opposed to an involuntary trait. Might be wrong on that, but I'm sure JamesLeng will be along soon enough to confirm or deny. Since you're joining I'm assuming you like what you see so far- at the top of the disqu thread there's a link to our DM's patreon. I would suggest checking out the goals and rewards and chipping in what you can.
>>
No. 768252 ID: a107fd

>>768220
Let's go back to just one roll of 3d6 per post, please. Less confusing that way.

>another way to fix her plasma pistol
>rolled 1, 2, 2 = 5
Aperture control involves a lot of superconductors. Overheating led to a quench, some sort of emergency system kicked in to keep it from completely exploding. Repairs require a steady, externally imposed magnetic field for calibration purposes. Stronger the field is, easier it'll be for all those nanowhatevers to see what they're doing. Main plan was wrapping the whole thing in a coil of lacquered copper wire, then running a current through it with zinc and vinegar, but a lodestone would also work, or... there's probably dozens of ways to produce a magnetic field with local magic.

>>768228
If you were standing in the middle archway, looking out at the chasm, the arch you came in through would be fifteen feet to your right, and the third one fifteen feet to your left.

The archways are indistinguishable apart from some dwarven graffiti carved into the rock at about knee height. Path you came in through is marked with a single symbol representing a coil spring, middle path says "air" and then either "important workshop in active use" or "spirit which lacks personal ambition" (the carving is clear enough, just has multiple meanings), and finally a phonetic approximation of fingernails on a chalkboard. The third arch, which you've been told leads to an exit, has two symbols: one which represents a flooded or otherwise poorly-managed open-pit mine, followed by one which refers to cannibalism - very specifically unnecessary and depraved cannibalism, distinct from desperate measures while stranded in a hostile environment without supplies.

Quick search around the ledge turns up an iron nail, thumb-thick and 8" long, tied to about four feet of cheap rope which is frayed on the loose end, moldy, and nibbled by rats besides.
>>
No. 768261 ID: 6261fd

rolled 1, 1, 4 = 6

Hore sings a song from her tribe, loud enough for the party to hear but quiet enough to prevent the noise from luring in enemies. Hopefully it will calm her nerves, make her more focused.
>>
No. 768266 ID: a107fd

>>768243
Lower ambition is too passive. How about this: he's inordinately fascinated with beehives, termite mounds, traditional elven living-wood architecture, and other "organic" structures, and has recurring dreams of wandering in a vast city, constructed entirely out of his own (somehow resinous) bodily fluids, where there are no slaves and no masters, where no one dies and no one lives, because all the people speak with a single voice.

Similarly, that phobia is sort of generic. Being tied up and tortured is a perfectly rational thing to dislike. How about some specific insignia, or common characteristic of the sort of people who'd be hunting down deserters?

Vulnerability is good, but should be something that could become relevant at combat speeds. So, let's say aversion and nausea when gold is present in sufficient quantity to smell (which has the side benefit that he's supernaturally able to "smell" gold at all, which shouldn't be physically possible given it's extremely low room-temperature vapor pressure and lack of chemical reactivity), then painful blisters and eventual bleeding sores from skin contact.

>>768249
>I was under the assumption that in order to qualify as an "innate power" it had to be something you could use, as opposed to an involuntary trait.
This is correct. I like the idea of the rubberized-metal power, it's really interesting, but... also runs into some serious problems with the physics engine. I mean, say somebody tries to stab you with a knife. What happens? Suddenly it's a rubber knife?

Something more like Bei Fong-style metalbending would be much easier to adjudicate. Anything a smith could do with proper tools, you can do with your bare hands, usually faster and easier since you avoid the inefficiency of swinging a hammer around. Making useful items requires a roll against the relevant craft skill, since you still need to understand what you're trying to do. It's easy to temporarily rubberize, say, some iron bars you want to slip between and then leave seemingly undisturbed, but permanently reshaping stuff requires energy, which has to come from either your own body (fatigue), or oxidation of the item you're shaping. Accordingly, it's harder to work on anything corrosion-resistant, or in an oxygen-poor environment, or with an item you want to keep pristine and rust-free, but those problems don't stack. Twisting a sword into rusty scrap is just about the easiest thing in the world... provided you can grab it and concentrate for a second, which the sword's wielder might not cooperate with. Gold, platinum, moonsilver, pure lead (pewter and mundane silver are fine), and maybe a few other rarities or exotic alloys don't respond at all, no matter how hard you push. Along with, of course, anything nonmetallic, or not in contact with your skin. It's possible to reshape a large item far away by extending a thin wire over to connect to it, but anything more than you could plausibly lift with one hand (whether because of total mass or bad leverage) requires going very slowly, and even then is imprecise, like clenching a pool cue between your teeth and trying to write legibly with a half-dead ballpoint pen taped to the opposite end.
>>
No. 768270 ID: a107fd

>>768261
You're at one end of a 10' square pipe, which tends to focus echoes, while your nearest allies are on the other side of a stone door. Minimum volume to be clearly audible to them is also, inevitably, enough that
>>768228
Davina hears Hore Wutashi's distinctive singing voice faintly echoing around the chasm.
>>
No. 768283 ID: 81819e

Maria and Daniel are both visibly not impressed with Hore's "apology".

Daniel, bless his forgiving heart, explains that he's not interested, but she could have at least asked.

Maria, meanwhile, explains that she's willing to forgive Hore for now... but if she ever touches herself or Daniel, she will probably wind up burning alive.

Maria also explains she's giving the other two the benefit of the doubt and assuming they are not, in fact, rapists.
>>
No. 768287 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 3, 5, 1 = 9

>Davina hears Hore Wutashi's distinctive singing voice faintly echoing around the chasm.

Maru should be doing high knees while they walk within a couple feet of Davina, would she hear anything?
>>
No. 768290 ID: 77f1b6

let me re-phrase that for clarity's sake-

Maru should be walking with Davina, no more than a couple feet away, whilst doing high knees and other exercises to keep warm. Would she also hear Hore singing, or does Davina have an advantage here other than proximity?
>>
No. 768297 ID: 3abd97

>Quick search around the ledge turns up an iron nail, thumb-thick and 8" long, tied to about four feet of cheap rope which is frayed on the loose end, moldy, and nibbled by rats besides.
The nail might be useful for jamming another door, put rope that far gone isn't going to safely hold weight. Trying to imagine if there's a situation we would need a pendulum or plum bob dungeoneering. Might work for a trip wire or improvised alarm trap?

>>768287
>>768290
Unless we're assuming you damaged your hearing with lots of loud tavern rock concerts, it seems safe to assume you'd hear it too. And Eric too, presuming he's still with us.

>Davina hears Hore Wutashi's distinctive singing voice faintly echoing around the chasm.
Sarcastically: "Oh. Good. It managed not to get itself killed running off."

"Although that may change if she continues broadcasting her position in that manner..."

Hore not running facefirst into a pursuing sweeper is encouraging, since that suggests it didn't follow us, or at least didn't follow us very closely. The fact she's noisily attracting attention could work out to be a con or plus- possibly distracts things from us, possibly draws things seeking her right past us. No telling if the others are still with her.

>what do
Well neither of those runes are very encouraging. The first suggests a spirit or workshop that is unpleasant to be around, the second suggests some kind of monster or threat to me (that, or something that affects sanity).

I'm... inclined to hope that the directions we were given are legitimate, and not an attempt to get us killed. I think we should try the far door. How about Maru and Eric?
>>
No. 768300 ID: 3b108e

>>768266
I appreciate the suggestion for the lower ambition, but it doesn't fit the characterization I had in mind. If you want something more active, how about getting revenge on a few soldiers back in the army whose behavior caused him to desert?

By the phobia I meant that he's irrationally afraid of it more than normal people are, but if a change is still necessary, then how about swans, since that's the insignia of the noble who commanded his army?

The gold change works great.

As for the metal thing, yeah, you're right, and I'm happy with the changes you suggested.

Overall, I'm very grateful for the detailed feedback. Thanks for your time!
>>
No. 768301 ID: a629f6

>>768296
Maru thinks we should call out to Hore and get an update on what happened- risking the attention it attracts is worth it in her book to re-connect with whatever remains of the party. She warns though that while grouping up SHOULD be their their primary goal, that just hear Hore's voice doesn't mean they're safe. There's plenty of creatures that can mimic the sounds of others, possession or other mental afflictions that could make Hore dangerous to them, other intelligent races that could be coercing Hore or making a trap or something of that nature.

She votes we find a way to the lower level of the chasm that doesn't involve going through the hallway they last saw the sweeper, and allows travel back to their current location with the same stipulation in place. A portal would be perfect here if Davina could see down to solid ground below them, but given that we can only hear Hore, and that we we didn't see a bridge or ledge or anything like that before when we were on the lower bridge, I doubt it's bright enough or close enough to portal anywhere useful
>>
No. 768307 ID: 3abd97

rolled 2, 1, 5 = 8

>She votes we find a way to the lower level of the chasm
The lower level with the colossal writhing wyrms?

If you mean getting back to the zombie bridge area, that's laterally down the chasm wall to our left, not vertically down. >>768202

OOC, but with their improved light source, the other half of the party saw ledges at different heights, and what sounds like the platform we're on now, 150' distant >>768121

>Chasm bridge seems to be clear, and better light makes it a fairly impressive view. There are other ledges, above and below, and one approximately on the same level but off at the far end, more than a hundred feet away from the bridge, which appears to have three separate archways leading to/from it.

>I doubt it's bright enough or close enough to portal anywhere useful
For the moment, this is true.
My max range is "a few hundred yards" so 150' between ledges should be possible. The problem is illumination. I need to see the other ledge.

If the other group comes out of the chess room and brings the miniature sun with them, I should be able to open a portal between the two ledges. I'd have to double back quick, tho, since I wouldn't be able to see the arch-ledge well enough from the bridge-ledge to open a new portal back if it closed. Last person through would have to be the light holder, so I can see them if the portal needs renewing.

>what do
Go ahead and use your lungs, Maru. Davina will stand watch for anything that might be attracted by your yelling.
>>
No. 768309 ID: 3abd97

>>768307
Okay I don't know how I misread "more than 100" as "150", but point stands. If they bring the light source out, we can probably regroup.
>>
No. 768324 ID: 716fdd

>>768307
Oops sorry I didn't realize the layout was such. If that's the case, Maru suggests this:

she gets Hores attention, Hore brings out a light, and Davina can portal down with Maru and then portal back up before her portal collapses. We then gather up anyone left, and just have Davina zip back and forth as needed. Eric can hold a light on the far side just in case.

OY HORE. ITS MARU. 'OLD UP A LIGHT SO WE CAN SEE YA AND BRING ANYONE ELSE 'OO MADE IT, WE FINK WE FOUND A WAY OUT. YA NOT POSSESSED OR ANYFIN LIKE DAT ARE YA?
>>
No. 768328 ID: a107fd

>>768300
That's fine. Go with swans for the phobia, they can be fairly vicious under the right circumstances. Let's say Djan Seriv was working with the Agate siblings, hanging back to fiddle with that sliding-wall trap while they scouted ahead, but doesn't know everybody else very well yet.

>>768297
In combination with some sort of hammer, possibly Eric's hardtack, the nail is also a better-than-nothing tool for drilling into rock.

>>768287
Yes. Faint, but audible. Air in the chasm is a comfortable temperature, as it was before.

>>768307
The range limit on portals seems to be entirely a function of how far away she can clearly resolve man-sized objects, rather than anything inherent to the curvature of space. Telescopes don't work so well, but temporary magical enhancements applied more or less directly to her visual acuity have been known to extend the range. Scrying pools and crystals also seem to work, but remain dangerous. It's possible for her to hold a portal open by stepping back and forth through it, if she's still got a blade in hand, or open a chain of portals with each one facing the next, and then make a shortcut back to the start by peering through them like a hall of mirrors.

In this case, with a lantern in her off-hand, Davina can reach the other ledge by creating one portal out to a temporary toehold on the wall, then a second portal to the destination, and finally a third more direct route to make things easy for less acrobatic types.
>>
No. 768329 ID: a107fd

>>768324
A light about as bright as a torch promptly slides into view out of the fog, though it's a bit further to the right than you were expecting.
>>
No. 768333 ID: 3abd97

>>768329
Clarification. Closer to the right with respect to our original orientation walking out of the tunnel onto three-arch ledge, so the light is in the direction of the bridge crossing (to the left), but closer than expected?

Closer to the right, as in we've turned to face down the chasm, in the direction of the bridge, but the light is to our right, instead of dead ahead, which would be consistent with someone being on the far side (chess side) of the chasm to relative to us?

Or to the right as in along the chasm in the opposite direction from the bridge?

(I need to draw a real map just so we can point at it, I think).
>>
No. 768347 ID: 6261fd

Hore decides to call out to the others, nobody died yet, the chess room is nearby, and the Agate twins are pissed off but stable! Before she forgets, Hore warns the other team about the flying death ray drones, saying that she almost died from the blast but fireballs seem to work; they also collected some kind of miniature sun rock and rations for lunch. Hore knocks on the door and asks the her team to help her regroup with team A.
>>
No. 768366 ID: a107fd

>>768333
From the ledge with the three arches, you're looking down the length of the chasm from one end, rather than across it. With your back to the arch you came in through, the bridge should be about 150 feet straight ahead, and the nearest part of the chessboard-room-side ledge should be about 100 feet away along the left wall. Decent visibility with lamplight through the fog is limited to about 50-60 feet, so you can't directly see the bridge, or even the ledge, just a point source of light which is almost over at 1 o'clock, whereas you were expecting it to be at 12. A little bit clockwise, as seen from above, or closer to the right side when facing toward it from your current position. Maybe the chasm is curved? You don't exactly have top-shelf surveyor's tools on hand to examine the geometry of those irregular stone walls.
>>
No. 768371 ID: edbc12

>>768366
So basically if this goes wrong and we're being tricked then Davina could be portaling towards a light point with nothing underneath it
>>
No. 768372 ID: af6e04

>>768371
>>768347
Well now that Hore's knocked on the door, Vos will go out and investigate. When he's informed of the situation he can tell Davina to wait until he's retrieved a better light source, then go back and ask Ji to slide the sun brick across the chess board to him and return to the chasm room with it.
>>
No. 768378 ID: 4201a2

>>768372
>slide the sun brick across the chess board
Yisheng Ji declines to do so, as he's still actively using it to perform treatment. Wait until he is finished, please.
>>
No. 768402 ID: 3abd97

>with a lantern in her off-hand
Do we still have a lantern? The party started with three, then we lost one to the sweeper, but I'm not sure where the other two ended up after we ran for our lives and split up.

>the nearest part of the chessboard-room-side ledge should be about 100 feet away along the left wall
Left?

So the ledge we're standing on is somewhere off the right boundary of the map in >>765635 ?
>>
No. 768406 ID: af6e04

>>768378
Guess Davina will have to wait a couple hours then, unless we can figure out another way to make a light bright enough to allow her to portal down.
>>
No. 768411 ID: 094652

rolled 2, 2, 4 = 8

Hore knows a few things about lenses and light focusing. Maybe she can come up with something? Roll for intelligence check (Hore's intellect is above average).

Hore decides that ripping the lenses out of her arm would be a VERY bad idea so she doesn't do that.
>>
No. 768430 ID: a107fd

>>768402
>So the ledge we're standing on is somewhere off the right boundary of the map in >>765635 ?
Yes.

>lanterns
Wutashi's got grabbed by the Empty Sweeper, then mysteriously reappeared, intact and upright but empty of oil, just outside the narrow hall with the one-way fog. Maru and Vos have been carrying their respective teams' light sources since the split, except when Davina needs it to scout ahead.

Lamp oil supply is getting a bit low. Might want to think about how to get more, or switch over to magical light sources.

>>768411
The focal aperture for a plasma pistol's magnetic bottle is unsuited to manipulating visible light. That would be an entirely different sort of energy weapon.

For field-expedient optics, ice can be sculpted into a decent lens (that's a great trick for starting a fire with sunlight in a cold environment), but the best thing would be some great big sheets of polished metal. Silver, usually, though gold's even better if you can get it. Mirror to redirect a beam, concave curve to focus and concentrate. The amount of gold in one standard coin can be spread across ten square yards or more using nothing but a hammer, a bit of soft leather, and extreme patience. Of course, for that to make an effective portable mirror you'd also need some sort of smooth, durable backing material, in the right shape, to keep the microscopically thin foil from tearing apart in a slight breeze or crumpling under it's own weight.
>>
No. 768488 ID: 3abd97

>Lamp oil supply is getting a bit low. Might want to think about how to get more, or switch over to magical light sources.
Other half of the party has three hedge witches, so improvised magelight should be relatively easy to come by (crit fails notwithstanding). We're less in luck, unless the regenerating zombies can be tapped for something like oil.

>When he's informed of the situation he can tell Davina to wait until he's retrieved a better light source
>Guess Davina will have to wait a couple hours then, unless we can figure out another way to make a light bright enough to allow her to portal down.
Uh. So, sitrep?

Davina, Maru, Eric and most the zombies are currently on the three-arch ledge. Which is to the right of the bridge (for someone oriented from the entrance to the room), and on the opposite side of the chasm.

Hore and Vos are on the Chess side of the chasm, presumably communicating with them.

Ji, Maria, and Daniel are in the chess room, on the starting / one-way door side of the chess board, treating Maria's hypothermia.

One zombie is hanging out on the far / openable door side of the chess board.

Has Djan entered the Chess room yet?

How long is Maria's treatment expected to take?

>the best thing [for making a brighter light source] would be some great big sheets of polished metal
If Djan has showed up, and there's anything metal in the chess room he can get ahold of (the recessed metal bars in the floor by the door?) he could probably manufacture polished metal sheets to amplify our current light sources.
>>
No. 768498 ID: af6e04

rolled 2, 3, 5 = 10

>>768488
>It'll probably be another hour before she can walk safely, two or three before she's in any condition to fight.
So I guess we can start moving again within an hour.

Vos will relay all this information to Davina, Maru, and Eric from where he's standing, expressing great joy to see the three alive and well. After things have settled down, he'll sit down with Hore and have a long chat about the behavior Tittivila will expect from her and the church's views on consent. Rolling in case I need to.
>>
No. 768502 ID: a107fd

>>768488
>Has Djan entered the Chess room yet?
At this point I'm waiting on Djan's first in-character action. Note that crossing the board along those borders will be particularly difficult for someone who's physically vulnerable to gold.
>How long is Maria's treatment expected to take?
At this point it's just a matter of resting in a warm environment, or near a heat source, to recover hypothermia-related fatigue. One point per ten minutes, she had 12 FP to start with and lost 23, it's been an hour so far, so in another hour she'll be back above zero (and thus no longer at risk of fainting from the slightest exertion), roughly two more hours after that to be back at full. There's also some actual HP damage, tissue death from frostbite, but she could patch that up with her own healing abilities. The process doesn't strictly require a doctor's attention at this point, and could even continue without the hot rock, if someone's willing to cuddle up inside the blankets to donate their body heat.
>>
No. 768503 ID: 2cb678

>if someone's willing to cuddle up inside the blankets
Vos or Daniel or both?
>>
No. 768505 ID: 4abab6

>>768503
Daniel will gladly help warm up his sister. He looks to Vos and blushes slightly.

"You know... it'd probably be good to have two people warming her up... if you'd be willing to help?"

Whatever traces of Lust there are in Daniel's aura intensify.
>>
No. 768508 ID: a107fd

>>768505
This proposal presents some potential priority conflicts. Optimal arrangement for assisting Maria's recovery is for her to be in the middle, with all the available insulation wrapped around the outside in a cocoon rather than obstructing skin contact, whereas the optimal arrangement for minimizing incest requires Vos to be in the middle, and at least some undergarments to still be in place.
>>
No. 768509 ID: 4201a2

>>768502
>neither the doctor nor the sun brick is needed anymore
Then, before Daniel gets too cozy, Yisheng Ji will bring up the matter of his fee for saving Maria's life, plus the price of the blanket they're all about to wrap themselves up in.
Noting Daniel's sizable supply of Brass Balm, which Yisheng Ji is now somewhat lacking in, he will request half (one slot's worth) of Daniel's Brass Balm. (Or an equivalent value in cash, if Daniel refuses to part with it)
>>
No. 768511 ID: 4abab6
768511

Daniel does not have those anymore! Now he has Blackfire Clay and a blanket! He will, however, be willing to part with the clay!
>>
No. 768514 ID: 4201a2

rolled 2, 6, 5 = 13

>>768511
That's fine. Yisheng Ji will accept the Blackfire Clay. Taking the sun brick with him, he will return to the far side of the chessboard and reunite with his original group over on their ledge, passing the sun brick to Davina for her purposes when he arrives. Though his mobility ability will get him there without difficulty, he will be careful to keep an eye out for any empty sweepers sneaking around.
>>
No. 768515 ID: a107fd

Daniel doesn't have a supply of brass balm.

>>768075
>A blanket and some Blackfire Clay would be more useful for treating hypothermia than two more batches of brass balm.
>>768132
> Note about the items taken, I'll make that change.

Blackfire Clay produces heat for several hours after it's activated by kneading. With five pounds or more, it's possible to assemble the equivalent of a small campfire, hot enough to boil water, but without the stealth issues of light and smoke. One slot is about ten pounds.
>>
No. 768523 ID: a107fd

>>768514
No invisible all-devouring walls, but one of those will o' wisps is hovering near the far end of the bridge. With better light, Davina can clearly see where the actual destination is, and less than a minute later, everyone's safely reunited.

Wielding a close approximation of glorious daylight, it's possible to see at least a hundred feet through the fog, but the bottom of the chasm is apparently further down than that. Looks like slipping off the bridge would only have gotten you a 70-80' drop onto a jagged slope, where you'd be interrupting the mating dance of those scaly worms. They're big enough to swallow elephants whole, with multifaceted mouths that open like blooming flowers. Looks like there's at least one major tunnel leading out at that level.

Looking up, there seems to be another navigable ledge about 40' overhanging the one with the three archways, and two more (with stumps of a fallen bridge that once connected them) close to the opposite end of the chasm. Ledge on the chessboard side of the bridge tapers off to a dead end more or less directly underneath the fallen bridge, so it might be relatively easy to climb up there with some rope. Looks like the chasm as a whole is about 250' from one end to the other.
>>
No. 768527 ID: af6e04

>>768505
>>768508
"Always am glad to help!" Vos happily obliges Daniel and squeezes in with the two siblings.
>>
No. 768528 ID: 3abd97

rolled 4, 3, 2 = 9

Davina will express relief and happiness discovering Ji and Vos still well (though she'll be a little concerned to see the state of Vos, covered with so much brass).

Assuming she's informed there are people still stuck on the far side of the Chess board, Davina is willing to double back long enough to portal them across before we move on.

Once we have a party: where do people think we should go? Let's actually vote this time instead of splitting in a panic.

I favor returning to the Three Arch ledge and testing it the intelligence I purchased from that cultist slash art restorer about that leading to an exit is correct.

I don't favor exploring the ground level of the chasm with the worms, as once we portal down, we may not be able to get back up (Can't safely open a portal to the ledges when I can only see the underside).

If there's a good reason or consensus to explore one of the other directions, I'll go along with it.

>it might be relatively easy to climb up there with some rope
I think the only rope we have is the terrible stuff my group found, which is neither long nor sturdy enough for the task.

If we really wanted to get someone up there, Ji might be able to walk up smoke from a fire, maybe. Or if Djan has a suitable source of metal to work with, he might be able to make a climbing line that way.
>>
No. 768529 ID: 4abab6
768529

Maria is not entirely fond of Daniel's idea, but this is warmer. Meanwhile, Daniel is blushing deeply and generally visibly enjoying being so close to an attractive eel man.
>>
No. 768530 ID: 3b108e

Djan looks up from the wall he's been tinkering with for the last while, trying to figure out what he's missed while he was absorbed in the inner mechanisms of the trap.
>>
No. 768543 ID: a107fd

>>768527
Vos discovers that Maria is wearing forty yards of 3/8" rope (typically rated for 300lb loads). Removing it from her person would take, at minimum, several minutes, but with sufficient care the process could conceivably be passed off as tickling. Close examination with aura sight also reveals that she's under a recently acquired curse, probably from some mishap with the chessboard, which will persist until somehow actively removed, applying a -4 penalty to all her rolled actions.
>>
No. 768547 ID: 4201a2

rolled 6, 2, 5 = 13

>>768543
>mishap with the chessboard will persist until somehow actively removed
Hey, Yisheng Ji has that too! I didn't think about actively doing something about it. Since he's just resting near Davina at the moment and not needed for anything, Yisheng Ji will sit down to meditate and attempt to purge the curse from his body.
>>
No. 768552 ID: 81819e

>>768547
Upon being informed of the curse, Daniel will shrug, and Purify the curse. Rolling to see if it works.

Vos will probably also notice that the ropes are being worn entirely as a chest binding. A very, very tight chest binding.
>>
No. 768553 ID: 81819e

rolled 4, 5, 2 = 11

>>768552
This is getting embarassing.

Rolling for real.
>>
No. 768556 ID: af6e04

rolled 2, 2, 3 = 7

>I favor returning to the Three Arch ledge and testing it the intelligence I purchased from that cultist slash art restorer about that leading to an exit is correct.
This sounds like the way to go, given that we don't have any leads on any other routes.

>>768543
Vos sees no reason to steal the lady's rope.

>>768547
Vos will offer to pray for Ji and Maria as well so that Tittivila may banish this foul curse that Orcus has placed upon them.

Also have we noticed Djan yet?
>>
No. 768557 ID: a107fd

>>768547
Breaking the curse by brute force would require magic of at least the third circle. None of the PCs currently have anything above the first. If you could make it back to civilization, there are professional curse-breakers, but that costs money and is a big "if" at this point.
Higher-circle effects than would otherwise be possible can be constructed through the combination of exotic ingredients and ritual actions, but normally that kind of thing takes weeks of effort, in a controlled environment, with a lot of specialized supplies.
The specific curse in question manifests as a sense of having wandered off the correct path and lost the mandate of heaven, so it might be counteracted by somehow being spiritually 'found,' realigned with what's written in the stars... but that's unlikely to work while you're still literally, physically stuck in a nightmarish labyrinth underground.
So, your best prospect for a cure prior to escaping the dungeon might be to somehow locate, and secure the cooperation of, a sufficiently initiated priest of Orcus, whether by some distasteful bargain or at swordpoint.
>>
No. 768559 ID: 2cb678

>>768528
>I favor returning to the Three Arch ledg

Maru agrees, lets trust the instructions, just watch out in case the reason the doorway in the room with 8 paths has no fog is because the door is occupied by another sweeper or some such
>>
No. 768560 ID: a107fd

>>768530
The trap's accessible components consist almost entirely of stone or solid-state enchantment, against which Djan's powers are useless. That wall isn't going to move again until some remote mechanism tells it to, or a team of miners tear it down.

Maria was injured by charging heedlessly into some other trap, but survived and is recovering. Daniel secured the assistance of some other adventurers, notably including a doctor (to whom Maria likely owes her survival) and a fencer who can teleport by cutting holes in the air. They've acquired some dubious information about a possible exit, and are currently debating which way to go next.

>>768556
>have we noticed Djan yet?
Yes.
>>
No. 768568 ID: 4201a2

rolled 5, 2, 6 = 13

>>/questdis/106980
Hey, it's worth a shot, and I've got nothing to lose, since I haven't yet accomplished anything worth any exp, and have only managed to get cursed and had my supplies used up, and if Yisheng Ji dies in the starting room, the next character will be right there to take over.

Yisheng Ji will politely request Davina look after his belongings, with the exception of his remaining brass balm, as he thinks he's had a sudden burst of inspiration, and would like to attempt to solve the chessboard puzzle again. He'll walk between the lines back to the starting side of the chessboard, and then step across the tiles in this order, hopping like a knight: G1, F3, G5, E6, D8.

Roll for reflex against deathtraps.
>>
No. 768579 ID: 094652

... Hore begins to whimper as the sound of Ji's pain-filled cries fill the hallway. Hore charges back to the chess room, yelling at the others to hurry up. Hore stops at the door, knocking and asking Daniel and Maria if the situation is bad enough that they need her in the same room as them. And that they should speak truthfully, the others don't deserve a deathtrap javelin in the face.
>>
No. 768624 ID: a107fd

>>768568
When you step onto G1, there's a momentary burst of magical 'white noise' out to a seven yard radius, all the red squares start turning black, the black squares start turning red, and the columns of mist shift accordingly. Looks like the process is going to be done in 6-8 seconds. Hold still until it finishes? Hurry up and complete the planned movement before then? Something else?
>>
No. 768634 ID: 4abab6

>>768579
Maria sighs, and says she supposes Hore can re-enter. However, if the gnoll touches herself or, more importantly, Daniel without permission it'll end poorly.

Daniel nods in agreement, then goes back to letting his Lower Ambition completely destroy his concentration.
>>
No. 768636 ID: 4201a2

rolled 6, 6, 1 = 13

>>768624
I have to get the timing right? What kind of chess puzzle is this? Yisheng Ji will just keep going, and try to complete the entire planned movement before the effects stop. Another roll to stay focused and evade deathtraps, despite everything else going on.
>>
No. 768637 ID: 3b108e

>>768634
Djan approaches the others and turns to Maria.

"Seems like I've missed out on some drama. What's been going on?"
>>
No. 768639 ID: 4abab6

>>768637
Maria scowls. "This entire dungeon wants to kill us, and my brother and I have already been threatened with rape. I'd say I'm shocked, but the only way this place could be more stereotypical is if Orcus Himself arrived wearing a white bedsheet over his head and making ghost noises."

Daniel nods. "It's... it's disconcerting. But look! There are others here we can make friends with!" He says, tilting his head to Vos and then gesturing to the others in the room.

Maria frowns at Vos. Seems she's noticed Daniel's interest in the eel-man.
>>
No. 768645 ID: a107fd

>>768636
Ji bounces from G1, to F3, to G5, to E6, to D8. Nothing else happens. A1 remains red, B1 and A2 remain black, and so on in the usual alternating pattern.

>What kind of chess puzzle is this?
An unfair one, built, maintained, observed from beyond minimum safe distance, and regarded with cruel levity, by a society of demon-worshippers.

>>768634
>Daniel nods in agreement,
To communicate with Hore, who's on the far side of a closed door at the moment? While he is, himself, hiding under a blanket? Gestural communication tends to work better with line-of-sight.

Is Djan doing any metalcraft (mirrors, for example, or magnetized needles for compasses, or that coil of copper wire Hore could use to repair her plasma pistol), or anyone working on anything that could plausibly take more than ten minutes? I'd like to move along to the next bit of exploration and/or hourly random encounter roll.
>>
No. 768647 ID: 3b108e

>>768639
"Well, damn. Thought I'd left that shit behind. Anyone had any luck with the traps and puzzles?"
>>
No. 768648 ID: 4abab6

>>768645
Daniel didn't nod for Hore, he nodded for his sister. To show he was cool with what she was saying. Sorry I didn't get that across well.
>>
No. 768650 ID: 3b108e

>>768645
Djan's willing to produce mirrors, magnetized needles, and coils if someone asks him, and assuming someone mentions a need for those he'll busy himself doing so.
>>
No. 768654 ID: 3abd97

Davina finds herself handed a bundle of Ji's belongings which she then struggles to prevent literally slipping through her fingers when she sees him walk back out onto the thrice-damned game board that has caused so much trouble.

She'll be considerably relieved and stop looking so much like a faulty hologram when nothing untoward actually happens.

>I'd like to move along to the next bit of exploration and/or hourly random encounter roll.
No objection here. Assuming no one else is interested in tempting fate or entertaining Orcus, Dav will take the first opportunity to ferry Maria, Daniel, Djan and Vos to exit-side of the room, and hand Ji's belongings back. (When he's off the chess board. She's not setting foot on that thing).

I heard a few votes of support for heading on to the Three Arch Ledge, and no dissent.
>>
No. 768657 ID: af6e04

>anyone working on anything that could plausibly take more than ten minutes? I'd like to move along to the next bit of exploration and/or hourly random encounter roll.
Nope, Vos will continue snuggling/flirting with his new friend until we are ready to move, maybe stopping once to let Hore back in since she seems properly repentant. I think a time skip is in order provided Ji is alive and in one piece.
>>
No. 768665 ID: 4201a2

rolled 2, 1, 1 = 4

>>768645
>nothing happens
"Curious. I was sure that would have been the solution." Yisheng Ji will mutter to himself. "Perhaps I was too hasty?"
He'll try the same thing again, but this time waiting a full ten seconds on each tile, unless of course, a trap springs, in which case roll for reflex again.
>>
No. 768687 ID: a107fd

>>768665
This time, G1 produces the same 'white noise' but no color changes. Stepping onto F3 costs that third use of chi-based healing for today, and feels like it could have been fatal to someone slightly weaker in spirit. G5 releases a bolt of pure death-essence, which Yisheng Ji just barely manages to dodge. As a result, he accidentally continues forward onto G6.

There's no light show, no outward sign at all. Time is held in abeyance. He hears a voice like thunder, declaiming Name your boon, mortal... though if it would cost more than 21 soul-motes to grant, I'll give you nothing, and smite you for such impudence besides.
> +1 overall dexterity
> doubled running speed
> supernal mastery of a single trade skill
> +1 overall intelligence
> sorcerous powers
> +2 abstract cognition
> supernal memory palace
> +4 perception
> ears like a dolphin
> eyes like a hawk
> nose like a hound
> +4 willpower
> eyes like a shrimp
> luck like a cat
> vigilance and virtue become perfect substitutes for sleep and bathing
> +2 overall health
> eternal youth
> categorical immunity to specified hazards ('the sorrows which living flesh is heir to' would be too broad, costing 30 motes to grant, but 'all curses' would only cost 15)
> +2 overall strength
> scales like a dragon
> +4 striking strength
> supernal mastery of a single weapon
> +7 lifting/crushing strength
> a personal extradimensional pocket
> something else? These are merely examples of the possibilities.

Once that decision is made (and time resumes), red squares turn white, leaving the board a mirror image of it's initial appearance.
>>
No. 768689 ID: 094652

Hore senses something wrong with the voice, as if the very sound waves themselves were supercharged heat pulses! Hore's ears perk in response to the heat from the thunder, worried that their healer is one last skip away from an epic taser! Suddenly, her cyberware jitters and her and twitches to the thunder, which is really weird because she turned it all off while working on her plasma pistol! Insight kicks in, and Hore warns Ji that an influx of pure magnetism is centering around him!

Nonetheless, Hore yells out to Ji that RIGHT NOW, they need mastery over spacetime to get out of this hell! A single folding of space and time, and they (and anyone else who enters this chess room) can escape this endless nightmare once and for all!!!

Barring that, if Ji thinks it costs too much he could always develop mastery over bioengineering magics so those curses become typhoid marys.

Hore also considers mastery over magnetism magic to be a good trade skill but screw that, she can just wait for one of the technomancers (thunder sorceresses) to find their way here. What matters is getting everyone out of this dungeon alive, they got the sun brick - the sun brick! With fear overriding her reluctance to surrender such a beloved artifact, Hore suggests that Ji offer the sun brick to the entity as a means of increasing the number of divine motes he gets to like 45!
>>
No. 768720 ID: a107fd

>>768689
>Hore senses
No, she doesn't. Hore (and everything else) is effectively in temporal stasis while the boon negotiation takes place, and furthermore
>>768687
>There's no light show, no outward sign at all.
>>
No. 768774 ID: 4201a2

>>/questdis/107021
>automatic package deal means no motes actually wasted per choice
After scarcely a moment's consideration, Yisheng Ji will, naturally, select eternal youth. It's been his lifelong ambition, after all. Whether or not he'll actually live long enough to enjoy it, well, we'll just have to see.
>>
No. 768834 ID: a107fd

>>768774
Granted,says the voice like thunder.and by the way, that board's about to reset.

Yisheng Ji can feel time's flow resuming, counting the seconds as clearly as holding out his hand to count posts while walking alongside a fence. His breath comes easier, heart beats slightly slower. Many small aches and slightly stiff joints, present so long he'd come to ignore them, suddenly clear up. Overall, he's bursting with giddy confidence. And all that from a misstep!

Having made undeniable progress toward his Higher Ambition, the curse is broken. The karmic wound remains in place, but will eventually heal on it's own. Roll for recovery every time you get a night of sleep that's not wracked by nightmares. Could also be cured by magic, but only within a specialized facility framed by auspiciously-positioned standing stones. There are less than a hundred such sites in the known world, and every last one has had wars fought over it at one time or another.
>>
No. 768860 ID: 750f88

Sorry for falling out. Ive become incredibly sick as of late. If Eric is still alive, then i suppose grant him NPC status until i get back from my trip to the hospital.
>>
No. 768875 ID: 3abd97

>>768860
Oh geeze, you're not supposed to be becoming an irl lich. Feel better.

Eric is fine I think. He missed a chance to insult / bribe some Orcus worshipers through a door, and then just followed Mare and Dav as they exploring some tunnels and find our way back to the other half the party.
>>
No. 768966 ID: 4201a2

rolled 2, 6, 1 = 9

>>768834
Hopefully not giddy overconfidence, since one more misstep could easily undo everything this particular happy accident has granted. He'll carefully traverse the lines back to the far side of the chessboard and reunite with Davina again to retrieve his belongings.

Roll for perception vs hidden threats.
>>
No. 768984 ID: a107fd

Just when Maria's feeling strong enough to stand without assistance, ten more elevenoid meat puppets wander in from that seemingly dead-end ledge beyond the bridge. Lord Grimwald successfully recruits them all before they make it into the chessboard room or seriously injure anyone. Current expendable minion count: 15. He claims not to feel sleepy, but has been quiet and droopy, with a thousand-yard stare.

If nobody else wants to mess with the chessboard, or has a map of the chasm sketched out for me to approve or revise... you can stay put for another hour or two, facing more random encounters while waiting for Maria to be back at 100%, or explore the various hallways leading away from the chasm. Alternate branches on the way to the lake, three other halls on the same level which Davina's portals can reach (one of which supposedly leads to "where you need to go"), four more up above, an indeterminate number down below.
>>
No. 769012 ID: 77f1b6

>>768984

After seeing Eric take care of the meat puppets, Maru does her best to remind everyone, minus Hore for fear of once again upsetting her, something Maru isn't keen on doing given her rather emotional reactions, that there is still and empty sweeper on the loose, and that the longer they wait around the more likely it is that something is going to come their way that they aren't equipped to deal with. We were mysteriously fortunate in how well prepared our mages were for the various traps and tribulations that assaulted us, but we probably won't be so lucky pressing forward.

With this reminder set, she suggests a plan of action. She feels their best bet for escape is trusting in Dav's "persuasion" skills, and trying the arch ways. They march 3 abreast, everything living in a single file line, flanked by undead, and get ferried over to the archways via portaling. Once there they send 4 zombies down each tunnel, staggering them in pairs, under the orders to return to use once they've explored the areas beyond, or return if they see their comrades destroyed. This should give us enough boots on the ground to explore all the tunnels, and leave a few with the group as added muscle and defense. We wait no longer than an hour, and if nothing comes back, we advance down the tunnel suggested to us by the nice fellows locked away in the Orcus dungeon, as their map has been accurate thus far. If the puppets do return, obviously we get their intel, and decide what to do from there. Assuming all in favor, let's head out immediately; Marina will be protected safely in the middle of the formation near Vos and Daniel. We can't afford to wait around until something really nasty decides we'd better suit their needs without beating hearts.
>>
No. 769023 ID: af6e04

>>769012
Sounds good to me, though Vos still isn't too fond of the idea of being surrounded on all sides by stagnant flesh. He is also concerned about Hore as she is still in very poor shape. Ideally he should probably stand between her and Maria and Daniel.
>>
No. 769054 ID: a107fd

>>769012
All three scouting groups return within five minutes, asking for clarification on what they should do if the path branches. Middle-archway group is down by one. (Minion count: 14) When asked what happened, the three survivors... avoid eye contact, whistling nonchalantly? One of them balances on tiptoes, spinning in place with arms over it's head like a ballerina.
>>
No. 769116 ID: 3abd97

>>768984
>[Eric] claims not to feel sleepy, but has been quiet and droopy, with a thousand-yard stare.
How are the rest of us holding up? (Or at least the rest of us who were in the exploration group, since the others either rested or are new). Plausible the caster with a death wish might be the least fit of the three of us, but if we're falling over too, that's significant.

If Eric is in need of a break, we might want to use a portal to strand his zombies on a ledge or something similar so if he loses control they don't take us apart.

>>769054
Hm. One of those three scouting groups is unnecessary (spiral rune), as it goes back down the way our forward group came from. And they'd need to go through a few turns / rooms until they reach a branch we didn't take. They hit the T-junction that goes to the spiral or the scorched battle / lake room and came back.

Middle path is the geodes / spirit / workshop path. Pantomime suggests... something that pulled a person up and left it dangling / spinning?

Directions for the "correct" path (depraved cannibalism rune) didn't include any turnings or splits before the 8-fold room. Can we ask that group how many ways they had to chose between? (Hopefully zombies can count and hold up fingers?).
>>
No. 769168 ID: a107fd

>>769116
>How are the rest of us holding up? (Or at least the rest of us who were in the exploration group, since the others either rested or are new).

Hore Wutashi, Yisheng Ji, and Decaro Vos were in the room with the fancy chairs for more than twelve hours, but only Ji got a significant amount of sleep, unless you count Hore's near-death experience. Eric Grimwald, Davina, and Maru Red were out scouting for two or three hours at most. Any longer than that, hunger and thirst would be noticeable by now. Stationary group had an opportunity to restock from a barrel of water and a monster corpse, so apart from Yisheng Ji's wine, none of you have started on the rations you grabbed when the main expedition broke up.

Davina, in particular, keeps strict accounting of her supply of preserved fruit from that tiny patch of orchard where she had 'the accident.' Anything else, besides quintessence-bread, is like eating random bits of wreckage from some spice merchant's caravan crashed down a muddy ravine. If this missing time (and persistent incongruities in their map) were something as simple as having memories of a brief captivity erased with a combination of drugs and magic... the captors must have fed them, or they'd be hungry by now. Rings of Sustenance take an order of magnitude longer than that to attune, and tend to leave little bruises on the finger, of which there's no sign. Regular food wouldn't satisfy Davina's aberrant metabolism, and even small quantities cause severe indigestion, of which there's also no sign.

This hypothetical captor would therefore have to either have known about her unique condition in advance (months or years in advance, with deeper understanding than the finest guild-licensed alchemists or physicians, to develop efficacious drugs without even testing on the only known subject), or else habitually give quintessence-bread to everybody. Only people known to produce quintessence-bread in bulk and apply it indiscriminately are White Elves, and admittedly they also tend to prefer covert ops, and know a thing or two about drugs and poisons that aren't listed in guild medical libraries, but they don't usually range this close to the ocean. Well, there could be some deep scouts, adventurers, and forbidden-romance types, of course, but not full strike teams with logistical support. Bad blood between them and the Church of Orcus, too, going way back.

Lord Grimwald, meanwhile, has completely different (though less extreme)dietary restrictions and drug-or-poison resistances, and can't have been knocked unconscious or there would have been some discontinuity in his control over the meat puppets, which they claim there wasn't. There are lots of ways to control undead, but such control tends to be all-or-nothing, with very few ways to subtly mess with their minds and absolutely no known way to edit their memories. Furthermore, meat puppets are too stupid to keep track of convoluted orders like "follow Eric's instructions as if he still controlled you, except if he asks you to talk about this one subject, in which case tell him these specific, consistent lies." Unfortunately, they're also too stupid to have kept track of how much time has passed. You could order one of them to make marks on a wall or operate some mechanical counting aid at regular intervals, but doing so would require the thing's full attention to be reliable.

>Can we ask that group how many ways they had to chose between?
Two at first but one was straight ahead, so went that way. Down that way... lots? More than five.
>>
No. 769199 ID: 77f1b6

>>769168
>Time shenanigans

Upon the discovery of the party seemingly experiencing time in some relative or altered manor compared to each other, she offers that they're not dead yet, and they really shouldn't be surprised the voices in Ji's head lead them to a room where they experienced time differently. Basically, it's not a big deal right now, and they shouldn't waste their time and brain space worrying about it. We've got a room that looks like the place on the map, and doesn't seem excessively deadly. Let's move out people.
>>
No. 769218 ID: 094652

Hore wonders if spacetime is warped in this location. Hore proceeds to explain that in the same way her mother was pulled from space and time from two simultaneous quantum hubs that happened to find and link to each other by a matter of randomized chance, certain ruptures in space and time may in fact be natural but astronomically rare occurences throughout the entire universe, much like hailstorms and hurricanes. Of course, if some mage, say, a grand archwizard working for a duke the old empire were to throw copious ammounts of expensive magic around because he was bored, then it would be relatively easy to create or capture one or two foldings in time and space, of which they had no realistic application whatsoever. Such things would be exquisitely useful to the party if they knew where the fold in timespace would move in the fourth dimension and could actively manipulate the fold's exits around with technology so advanced even her mother's world would consider it magic. So it's useless.

Hore suddenly remembers that she needs to tell Eric about the death ray undead babies and hopefully he'll be prepared when he needs to recruit them or any other members of the death ray family.
>>
No. 769222 ID: 595d54

Djan's interested in what he's been hearing of the second path, and decides he'll head down there in search of whatever workshop or spirit's waiting, along with anyone else curious enough to make the journey.
>>
No. 769230 ID: a107fd

>>769199
>We've got a room that looks like the place on the map, and doesn't seem excessively deadly. Let's move out people.
Same marching order, no plans to mess around with the side passage? Roll for vigilance and so on.

>>769218
>tell Eric about the death ray undead babies
Apparently the proper term is "mordnaissant." The child born of a corpse. Not anything as simple as a stillborn, or a woman dying during or shortly after childbirth, no. Not a Cesarean section, either. Carried to term and born, "naturally" if you can call it that, days or months after the mother died. Eric is dismayed to learn that more than one exists, and is far from confident of his ability to command them. Even worse, there's some curse laid on whoever strikes the final blow of their destruction, so it would be most preferable to finish them off in an indirect manner not readily attributable to any specific individual, or at least not anyone you like.
>>
No. 769231 ID: 77f1b6

Maru moves to block Djans path, and suggests the party stays together, with perhaps a bit more venom in her voice than nessicary as she glares at certain faces in the party, and that if Djan doesn't want to go down the path we believe to be the exit, he should put it to a vote. She implies that she will not let him wander off and die alone or let the party get split...

...again.
>>
No. 769232 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 1, 4, 1 = 6

Here's a roll in case I need it
>>
No. 769233 ID: a107fd

>>769222
Who's going where?
>>
No. 769235 ID: a107fd

>>769232
>>768553
Put the roll and the description of the action for which you're rolling in the same post, please. If you're having format problems, copy in the relevant bit of text from your previous post. Just for ease of reference.
>>
No. 769239 ID: 3abd97

>>769199
The weird, one-way fog might be consistent with the area Ji, Vos and Hore visited being responsible for our temporal discrepancy, though there's no way for us to be sure right now. Davina will agree there's not much to be done about it at this point.

>>769218
I want to assume this wall of technical jargon largely comes across as a madwoman's gibbering or babbling mage-speak to the rest of the group, but Davina's background means she picked up on one important detail:

"I am reasonably certain we didn't pass through any significant distortions of space of geometry, or I would have been made painfully aware of it."

>Maru wants to explore the way the Orcus art restorer (?) said leads out
>Djan wants to explore the the Orcus AR said leads to useless geodes, and the ruins say hold a spirit and/or workshop
"We have no guarantee our source was accurate, but do we have a reason to explore the one passage apparently capable of dispatching one of Eric's thralls?"

Leaning towards the supposed path to the exit still, willing to follow group decision instead of splitting again.

>Same marching order
Has to be a new marching order, doesn't it? We added more people.
>>
No. 769244 ID: 094652

>>769230
Hore INSISTS that Eric hone his powers and converts one of those mortissants - mortessant? Mortissiants? Whatever, D.R.B.s to his cause. Having one of those at his beck and call would be worth more than his share of treasure.

Hore is even more afraid of the baby than the lethality of its death ray - few people would willingly shoot a baby, and even Hore shakes from hesitance and can't aim straight, and ultimately the baby has no sense of self-preservation and may willingly throw itself into certain death just to get a fatal shot in, not because it's suicidal or zealous but because it doesn't even know what death is. Or even why shooting its death ray without taking cover would result in horrible, horrible pain inflicted by avenging adventurers. Or what cover is. Or even pain. Or anything for that matter. The fact that these D.R.B.s will curse the adventurer who strikes the killing blow makes their suicidal strategy even worse.

Hore continues to think, disturbing the Agate twins as she leans on Vos and continues to yap while they're walking. She's not thinking about sex with them, though.
>>
No. 769246 ID: af6e04

>"mordnaissant."
Vos points out that the creatures seem to be afraid of the light from the sun brick and may also flee at the sight of any sufficiently bright light.

He suggests perhaps a lullaby would help too if no other options are available. And speaking of the sun brick, who is holding onto it right now? We should probably keep track of it.
>>
No. 769251 ID: 4201a2

rolled 3, 4, 4 = 11

>>769246
>who is carrying the sun brick?
Davina has it at the moment. I believe she was planning to use it as a teleportation beacon for long-range portals.

>mordnaissants
Yisheng Ji isn't disturbed by the various forms of unliving flesh available to our party, but is somewhat concerned about the total size of our group including undead servants being large (and noisy) enough to draw attention from further undesirables. He suggests taking in a mordnaissant or two, if possible, for the purposes of stealthy advance scouting, while at the same time shedding a portion of the full-size zombies by spreading them out to locate that empty sweeper. It's possible that was the fate of the missing member of the middle-archway group.

>>769231
>Maru moves to block Djans path
Yisheng Ji calls out a casual warning to Djan to watch out for that left hook.

>>769230
>vigilance and so on
Rolled for whatever decision we eventually make. Yisheng Ji will stick with Davina whichever way she chooses to go, but voices his preference for avoiding both the Half-Life Barnacle workshop and the room full of Orcus cultists.
>>
No. 769258 ID: 3abd97

>Davina has it at the moment. I believe she was planning to use it as a teleportation beacon for long-range portals.
I should hand that off to someone else. If something startles or upsets me enough to flicker intangible I might drop and lose it when it phases through my hand. Per my mutation, only my own stuff comes with me, and I'd consider the sun stone borrowed, not transferred or gifted to my possession.

So long as someone has it to provide illumination, I can still use it to do longer-range portals than I can with lantern-light line of sight.

Who wants to be the light bearer?
>>
No. 769262 ID: 77f1b6

>>769251
>Yisheng Ji calls out a casual warning to Djan to watch out for that left hook.

Just to ensure clarity, Maru is simply trying to block the path with her body and stop Djan from leaving the party. She isn't trying to punch anyone.

Yet

>>769258
>Who wants to be the light bearer?

Marina can do little other than carry things for the next couple hours, it's probably not a bad idea to leave it with her and ensure everyone else has their hands free for self defense. That or one of Eric's Lts, whom Eric is more likely to keep safe and doesn't really fight with conventional hand based attacks anyways.
>>
No. 769264 ID: 2169b1

Maria visibly perks up at the mention of Undead that don't like light. She mentions that this is basically exactly the sort of thing she'd be into, and then demonstrates by activing a very, very weakened version of her light aura, only giving enough to be uncomfortably warm to Vos. Daniel, however, seems unaffected.

Daniel mentions he can do something similar, but his sister is capable of making it deadly. He also mentions that neither of them can actually produce light to see by. It's either harming or healing.
>>
No. 769269 ID: af6e04

>>769264
>Marina can do little other than carry things for the next couple hours
Sounds fair. Vos will pass the light brick back to Maria. He mentions that the power to heal is very precious and that Tittivila looks kindly on Daniel, regardless of his religious affiliations.
>>
No. 769272 ID: 2169b1

>>769269
Daniel blushes at Vos' compliment and mutters something about not being that good at it. Maria frowns, but says nothing.

For now, though, Maria accepts the sun brick and waits for everyone to figure out what's going to happen.
>>
No. 769280 ID: a107fd

>>769244
>Hore INSISTS that Eric hone his powers and converts one of those
Eric patiently tries to explain that it just doesn't work that way.
>ultimately the baby has no sense of self-preservation and may willingly throw itself into certain death just to get a fatal shot in, not because it's suicidal or zealous but because it doesn't even know what death is. Or even why shooting its death ray without taking cover would result in horrible, horrible pain inflicted by avenging adventurers. Or what cover is. Or even pain
A mordnaissant does understand death, and pain, as well as a living baby understands warmth or the taste of milk, and for much the same reasons. Sages theorize that it knows very little else! A meat puppet can handle orders and hierarchy because it was once an adult, who had at least heard of such things. Setting aside the contest of wills, the sheer power seething within such a horrid creature... commanding a mordnaisssant to refrain from attacking living beings defined as allies might be as futile as issuing a normal newborn written orders, however artfully prepared, notarized and countersigned, to either cease crying, or explain it's reasons for doing so.

That's not to say they're stupid. If anything, they're slightly cleverer than meat puppets, in terms of potential for tool use and tactics.
>>
No. 769301 ID: a107fd

>>769272
Maria could sit down or lean against a wall, with the brick as a heat source, to continue recovering cold-related fatigue at a rate of one point per ten minutes during the debate.
>>
No. 769321 ID: af6e04

>>769280
Vos is amused by Hore's obsession with death ray babies and their hypothetical death ray families. He rests his jaw on top of her head as she leans against him, and points out that the creatures are very dangerous and should probably be destroyed, not recruited.

He starts asking Eric logistical questions. If one were to construct a trap for the mordnaissant, and it triggered its own demise, would the trap setter be cursed? If somebody were to push the mordnaissant into said trap, who would then be cursed? If one were to induce a transformation of the flesh in a mordnaissant that decreased its body's structural integrity while obstructing its vision, and it destroyed itself by bumping into a wall, would the one who administered the flesh blessing be cursed? Does light actually harm the abominations, or are they only scared of it?
>>
No. 769323 ID: 77f1b6

>>769321
Maru points out that they can very easily talk while they walk, and instead of spending our precious time waiting around chatting and trying to split off again, we should all pick a direction and move forward. Like, right now. Please.

She once again votes we head towards the room we were told was the exit, but isn't going to move until she can ensure the group will be moving together as a whole.
>>
No. 769333 ID: 3abd97

rolled 5, 4, 2 = 11

>instead of spending our precious time waiting around chatting and trying to split off again, we should all pick a direction and move forward. Like, right now. Please.
Okay so I think that's... two and a half votes for the path that supposedly leads to the eight-fold room (Dav, Maru, and if we count Ji voting "not the way leading to the cultists or workshop") one vote for the middle path (Djan), and a bunch of votes for "indifferent and/or follow the group".

I think that means unless Djan wants to make an impassioned argument to persuade others, or to strike off on his own, we're headed eight-fold-ways.

Roll for vigilance etc while moving.

Marching order should probably recycle the same model of forward and rear screens of zombies, more injured / fragile people in the middle of the group, Maru more forward, Dav more back. Ji, would you please keep an eye on Eric? If in your medical opinion he's approaching the point of collapse, we'll need to take the preventive measure of stranding the zombies somewhere with a portal or locking them behind a door while he's still awake, in case he loses control while asleep or unconscious.

If the glow-brick is a sufficient light source, lantern users might want to conserve fuel.

>>769230
>mordnaissant lore
"...does this mean we should infer there is a practicing necrophiliac in these caves?"
>>
No. 769373 ID: a107fd

>>769321
>Does light actually harm the abominations, or are they only scared of it?
The latter. Sufficiently intense magical light-based attacks probably work, but they can survive outside during the day for at least an hour at a time, contrasted with vampires which are reduced to ash inside thirty seconds under such conditions.

>avoiding the curse
Insufficient data. Your best bet would be a trap that two or more people built collaboratively, and which the thing then triggered by it's own voluntary action.

>>769333
>we're headed eight-fold-ways.
A reasonable option, when surrounded by so much death and suffering. But enough about philosophy.

Has Djan built a compass yet?

The path beyond the archway in question meanders off to the right, relative to the chasm's major axis, for about 80' - roughly parallel to the hall leading back to the chess room, though the two are at least sixty feet apart. Then it turns 90 degrees left and continues for 120' (with a little jog to the left side after the first 20'), 60 degrees right, another 120' with some more meandering side to side, curve to the left for about 60', and then there's a a much neater and straighter passage branching off to the left side.

Assuming you continue straight ahead, like the meat puppets did and the directions could be taken to imply, there's another 40' of hallway curving off to the right, and then a great domed chamber with seven other exits equally spaced around the perimeter. All eight hallways have some amount of crimson mist, but only the one at 3 o'clock lacks a visible current of the stuff, whether in or out.
>>
No. 769376 ID: 2169b1

Assuming Maria's just been holding onto the Sunstone this entire discussion, how is she doing as far as her health goes? Is she feeling good enough to actually fight, or just move around?

Daniel, meanwhile, mentions that he's not the best at curing serious wounds, but things such as curses or diseases are things he specializes in... but unfortunately, he adds on with a nervous frown, he hasn't had an awful lot of practice. But he figures he should mention it, so that everyone knows what he's capable of.
>>
No. 769379 ID: 77f1b6

>>769373
>the one at 3 o'clock lacks a visible current

Lets send a zombie down to test the waters
>>
No. 769400 ID: 094652

Hore argues with Ji that a larger party with expendable minions, while susceptible to artillery, is far more preferable in a dungeon crawl than small and disjointed teams. The clattering noise from the 'legion' means that any backstabbers and even small parties of seasoned warriors will think twice before taking on an army - especially if said army can also make enough noise to draw in other enemy armies, which would result in a bloodbath. From Hore's experience with her tribe, her pack leaders would usually stop the whelps from bravely attacking a full legion of knights because the knights would quickly overwhelm each target one by one until all enemies were killed, with minimal losses on the knights' side thanks to their armor taking on the first thirty seconds of scratch damage. The few times when multiple gangs dogpile on a legion, they end up infighting and by the time the knights are dead most of the bandits are also dead or too wounded to make a profit off the spoils. And since they're patroling small corridors, bombs and traps are less effective due to lack of line-of-sight, with the zombies taking the brunt of the attacks, so the only real issue would be armor-piercing weapons or damage-over-time splash attacks.

But yes, without any viable scouts, they're screwed the moment they fall into a trap or ambush. Hore wonders aloud what Eric will need to capture and convert a D.R.B.

Hore also remembers that she was going to ask the other members of her party if they know technomancer or magnetic - Hore corrects herself, low-powered thunder or electricity skills, or even enchantments on metal. She informs the party that her plasma pistol 'spell' was wrecked when she took a death ray to the chest, but she just needs the magnetic field that all thunder and lightning generates to cast it again.
>>
No. 769408 ID: a107fd

>>769376
By the end of the discussion on the ledge with three archways, Maria's back up to 2 FP out of a possible 12. At 4 or less, her effective strength is half what it should be, so combat would be possible, but she wouldn't be very effective with anything but non-muscle-based energy blasts, and would probably collapse, injuring herself, once the adrenaline wore off. Compare: http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questarch/res/516181.html#543461

>>769379
Later, in the room with eight exits, after waiting half an hour for a meat puppet scout to come back and report that it couldn't find any waters to test, Maria is back up to 5/12. Still miserably cold, but no more uncontrollable shivering. Feels like she could contribute usefully in a tavern brawl (dodging, punching hard enough for the target to notice, etc.) and have a reserve of stamina sufficient to walk away afterward, provided she didn't get hit.
>>
No. 769420 ID: 77f1b6

>>769408
>it couldn't find any waters to test

Let's get specifics before we press on- was there any:
-Splits in the tunnel
-Doors or doorways
-light
-moving things, present company excluded

we could try to figure out distance based on time spent traveling and movement speed, but given the lack of aderance to the laws of time, why bother?
>>
No. 769428 ID: 3abd97

>Has Djan built a compass yet?
Does he have the materials to attempt that? Even with metal bending, he needs supplies.

>>769376
"I'm certain your efforts will be better than nothing, and will be appreciated if they are needed."

>>769400
>dee are bees
"Could we concern ourselves with the disposition of resources that we actually possess and less with hypotheticals you wish we did?"

"We're regrettably rather far underground if you wish to be hit by lighting. Short of a lucky magical effect we're likely out of luck."

>doorway that seems to match with our directions
>zombie scout doesn't run into any immediate difficulty
So... shall we advance, then?
>>
No. 769456 ID: 13d7b7

Vos briefly considers reminding Hore that the chess board had a lightning trap, but he realizes it's probably a bad idea.

>So... shall we advance, then?
Let's go! Vos is ready.
>>
No. 769458 ID: 3abd97

rolled 4, 2, 1 = 7

>>769456
Okay, assuming the group advances down the fog-less corridor, rolling for vigilance / etc.
>>
No. 769473 ID: a107fd

>>769420
>Let's get specifics before we press on- was there any:
>-Splits in the tunnel
>-Doors or doorways
>-light
>-moving things, present company excluded

Not that it can recall.

>>769458
After an uneventful fifteen minute hike down the increasingly wide and fog-free corridor, you come to a dead end.

>rolled 4, 2, 1 = 7
The last little bit of ceiling over the 'dead end' is actually a vertical shaft, ten yards in diameter. Sun-brick isn't bright enough to reveal more than the first hundred yards of height, but it appears to continue beyond that.

>>769428
Steel knife and a bit of string is enough for a crude compass. Tie string around the center of gravity so it hangs horizontally, magnetize the blade (actually just a matter of straightening out field lines already present within the metal, like combing the knots out of hair) and then try to figure out whether the pointy end is twisting around to face north, or south.
>>
No. 769478 ID: 77f1b6

>>769473
Maru votes Davina climb first, on the premise that if she can see the surface she can portal up if they're in danger. Maru will let the zombies take up the rear but fall in after them
>>
No. 769494 ID: 3abd97

>Maru votes Davina climb first
>300 ft minimum free climb, straight up
While inspiring such confidence from one's allies is reassuring, Davina wonders if this has gone a touch too far.

How does the shaft look, from a climbing perspective? Is it smooth and shear? Irregular? Footholds and handholds? Ledges? Are there visible signs of a previous ascent or descend (holes where pitons would have been driven into the surface?).

>what do
Before we attempt a long free climb, or we try something with portals that leads to someone falling to their deaths or that causes an earthquake and kills everyone, let's consider other options.

If Djan is willing to reshape some metal into a proper reflective surface, we could focus the light from the sun brick to see further up the shaft, and perhaps get a more accurate idea of the height. (And maybe find a ledge or other surface that can be portalted to safely). Although we'd have to decide which metal to sacrifice (maybe the drained lantern? Or the iron spike? Or a dagger or two from a larger set?).

"Frictionless lightweight movement" should mean Ji could scale a wall of indefinite height with little exertion, and at almost no risk of falling, and he has built in feather fall besides. His carrying the sun stone aloft to scout ahead for a portal location is also an option.

I wonder if Maria's binding ability is applicable here. If she spiritually bound the rest of us to Ji, so we shared in his ethereal weightlessness, we could all climb pretty safely. (Although I don't know what materials she'd need for something like that, and she'd probably have to use the rope binding her to daisy chain us together). Probably can't bring the zombies this way.
>>
No. 769495 ID: 2169b1

>>769494
Unless his weightlessness is entirely due to a spiritual or magical effect, it's not likely. Getting Maria to unbind her chest is also a bit of an uphill proposition, considering she uses it to assist her in spiritual and mental purity.
>>
No. 769498 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 6, 2, 2 = 10

>>769494
Oh right. No ladder. Sorry I missed that little detail, I'm up late relative to my normal bed time. Happy new year everyone.

I'm sure we can manipulate a gold coin or something to reflect light, but how far is a good question. 300 meters is a long way for a mist filled dungeon. She does point out that she has a red ruby, likely possibly cursed, which might be usable in some fashion as a lense. Rolling to stand guard while we figure out a plan.
>>
No. 769500 ID: 094652

rolled 6, 3, 3 = 12

Hore sniffs around, looking for some kind of lever or instruction panel that could trigger a ladder or something. She doesn't touch anything and has Vos escort her in case something happens.

As Hore wanders in search of an ending to this nightmare, she hears the distinct ringing of bells. But they quickly fade away, and Hore is unable to understand why only she heard them, unaware that she was one of the final witnesses to the echoing roars of a dead age...
>>
No. 769510 ID: af6e04

Vos mentions that, with Tittivila's divine blessing, he may be able to mutate an arm of one of the zombies into an elongated tendril that could be used as a rope. He'll allay any doubts of the tensile strength of such a cord by relating the story of an eel from his home village who dragged a carriage eight miles using ropes that were tied to hooks embedded in his nostrils.
>>
No. 769512 ID: 2169b1

>>769510
Maria blinks at this. "...aaaan interesting blessing." She says. "I prefer the flames of Agatia to... well, rampant mutations."

Daniel pouts. "Maria! Be nice!" He says. "The question is, would everything hold up the same way? There would be differences in muscular structure, tensile strength... how fresh are these corpses? Decaying muscle won't hold up as well as recently deceased!"

Daniel takes a breath, then blushes. "Uh... n-not that I'm putting you down. I just want everyone to be safe!"
>>
No. 769513 ID: af6e04

>>769512
"Ah, but the stagnant flesh will be filled with virile, pulsing strength of Tittivila! It will not break."
>>
No. 769517 ID: a107fd

>>769494
>How does the shaft look, from a climbing perspective?

Fairly smooth and sheer. There's a rough texture to the limestone, and occasional tool marks, but no real handholds.

>Ji could scale a wall of indefinite height with little exertion
Not quite. Yisheng Ji can jump extraordinarily high, and bounce off the walls for additional distance, but he only makes that look effortless. Focusing chi for such a jump costs FP, and each sequential wall-jump is about half the distance of the previous one, until you fail to reach the far wall and the sequence ends. Lots of math for this kind of thing in GURPS Martial Arts. If there was something sticking out for him to perch on, partway up, even just a little sprig of grass growing out of the wall, that would make the ascent much easier. Dad's a celestial rooster, after all, not a gecko.

>Maria's binding ability
Even mundane rope bondage tends to interfere with, rather than smoothly transmit, vigorous athletic activity, and a feather can't catch a brick. http://www.zebragirl.thecomicseries.com/comics/553

If somebody had the "personal extradimensional pocket" boon from that list of prizes, Maria's knotwork would be ideally suited for folding people up inside such a space without hurting them or overloading the pocket. As a partly technological geometry hack, that strategy would be dangerously incompatible with use of Davina's portals as a shortcut to the top, and of course any rope tied up in bondage can't simultaneously be used as a climbing aid.

>Probably can't bring the zombies this way.
Frustrates me how people keep forgetting.
>>765597
>These are no run-of-the-mill shambling zombies. They prance about almost weightlessly, seemingly pulled upward by random strands of skin, viscera, or sinew, constantly unraveling and restringing as they move. Any grisly fragments that tear loose seem to fall upward.

Emphasis added. If ethereal weightlessness is all you need, there's plenty to go around, but it's mostly rotten and disgusting.

>>769495
Mostly spiritual, due to his divine ancestry.

>>769498
>300 meters
A yard is a little bit less than a meter, and you can only see about ONE hundred yards. Still a really long way to climb.

>>769500
Hore finds some spots on the wall that smell like footprints. Neat little 3-inch squares, in a zigzagging pattern leading straight upward as far as you can follow it. The foot-smell spots are slightly smoother than surrounding stone, but show no sign of an actual mechanism, not even a hairline crack.
>>
No. 769527 ID: 3abd97

>>769517
>zombie frustrating
Actually, I meant, if spiritually binding ourselves to Ji to tap into his ability worked, that method likely wouldn't be compatible with soulless meat puppets. No spirit to anchor a spirit to spirit connection to.

I have been wondering though, what happens to the unraveling bits in the tunnels we've been passing through? Are we leaving a trail of viscera on the ceiling?

>If ethereal weightlessness is all you need, there's plenty to go around, but it's mostly rotten and disgusting.
Huh. Honestly, didn't think they had enough to carry us upwards. I mean, the ones that got pushed off the cliff in the first fight didn't have enough buoyancy to keep themselves aloft. A flotation device needs to at least be able to do that.

I suppose this idea might be more feasible if we went with Vos' idea of trying to flesh-sculpt the undead to better suit our purposes, first. (Provided he can do so without destroying them).

>If there was something sticking out for him to perch on, partway up, even just a little sprig of grass growing out of the wall
>grisly fragments that tear loose seem to fall upward
...

Could Ji just perch on one of those detached falling-up zombie bits and ride it up the shaft. Or you know, bounce and perch between them.
>>
No. 769609 ID: a107fd

>>769527
>soulless meat puppets. No spirit to anchor a spirit to spirit connection to.
They're animate, dimly self-aware, and significantly self-repairing. Vos was able to observe color changes in their auras. As undead, their spiritual anatomy is completely different from your own, but there's still something there.

>Are we leaving a trail of viscera on the ceiling?
Yes, but not a very distinct one. They don't shed all that much outside of combat, and there were a lot of nasty little bits of grue scattered around the Bloodmist Labyrinth already.

>the ones that got pushed off the cliff in the first fight didn't have enough buoyancy to keep themselves aloft
Same applies to Yisheng Ji. He can balance on impossibly narrow or fragile surfaces, and make long gliding jumps, but not hover unsupported in midair or achieve outright powered flight. If somebody had shoved him off a ledge under identical circumstances, he also would have fallen down.

>perch on one of those detached falling-up zombie bits and ride it up the shaft
Possibly. They have the additional complication of being slippery, which his perfect balance is not a flawless solution to.
If you want a snowstorm of the stuff, just have Eric instruct two or more of the meat puppets to attack each other with bladed weapons.

>Vos' idea of trying to flesh-sculpt the undead
>(Provided he can do so without destroying them)
That sculpting would involve severe challenges both technical and theological, so it's definitely going to require a roll.
>>
No. 769617 ID: af6e04

rolled 3, 3, 6 = 12

>>769609
Well, Vos is willing to try but he's not sure where to begin. It looks like the skin and viscera is light enough to float up while the muscle, fat, and bones are not. He supposes he could try to grow the creature's skin into some kind of flabby parachute.
>>
No. 769642 ID: a107fd

>>769617
It's like trying to use a flaming chainsaw to smooth out cake frosting. The meat puppet recoils from Titivila's judgement, flailing and struggling to reassemble itself. Shrieks echo along the passage in both directions.
>>
No. 769654 ID: 595d54

Assuming Djan is present, he'll start working on a focusing lens for the sun brick and speak up.

"How much metal we got available? I could try and make us a ladder and platform. Climb up, attach the platform, get on, move the ladder up, rinse and repeat."
>>
No. 769659 ID: af6e04

>>769642
Vos retracts his hands, admittedly feeling more than a little pity for the shrieking abomination. "Maybe Djan's plan works better."
>>
No. 769662 ID: 3abd97

rolled 6, 1, 6 = 13

Rolling for perception / alertness, since that racket might have attracted something.
>>
No. 769682 ID: 094652

Hore instructs Vos to start with their vocal cords first, the screams might attract beasts!
>>
No. 769693 ID: a107fd

>>769662
Davina makes a scouting trip back to the last intersection, which was the eight-way room, and sees a big puddle of dark red slime. It extends tendrils, like roots along crevices in the stone, then the roots get thicker, merge, main mass shifts forward, and the cycle repeats. Slow, but definitely heading your way. It'll reach folks still on the floor at the dead end in... an hour? Maybe hour and a half?

>>769654
Davina and Eric are both carrying enough gold in their respective purses (and in Davina's case, plated on all that jewelry) that Djan finds standing close to them intensely unpleasant. A few silver coins could make an excellent parabolic reflector, if they were smoothed out across a big enough indentation in the floor. You still need to roll to set it up.

Conveniently, the floor directly under the shaft seems to be hard-packed earth, which is much easier to dig holes in than actual stone.
>>
No. 769695 ID: 094652

rolled 1, 4, 3 = 8

Hore is sick of waiting! She begins following the footsteps in search of an aclove or control panel. Hore takes her time but she wants out of this stupid dungeon, they got loot and killed stuff and now it's time to leave!
>>
No. 769696 ID: 595d54

rolled 2, 6, 2 = 10

>>769693
Djan will try to dig enough of a hollow to shape the silver into a decent lens.

If I'm missing something, is there some particular limit on Djan's abilities? Other than losing time there doesn't seem to be much of a reason he can't just keep trying until he succeeds.
>>
No. 769700 ID: 77f1b6

rolled 2, 1, 2 = 5

Maru asks Eric if she can get some scrapings from the puppets and see how the red ...

... creature moving towards them interacts with organic flesh. She'd throw a whole zombie at it if Eric lets her, but I doubt it. Rolling to skillfully throw zombie flesh at the red slime thing without getting caught in it's slow moving embrace
>>
No. 769701 ID: 3abd97

>approaching slime
Well, if it's not too big, and moves slowly I guess we can portal past it and double back when it catches up, if we haven't found a way up yet.

Let's leave one zombie watching the tunnel with orders to alert us when it sees something approaching so we can't be caught by surprise.

>>769696
Well, a particularly bad failure might result in ruining materials or injuring yourself?
>>
No. 769708 ID: af6e04

Vos wonders aloud if handholds constructed by Djan could somehow be attached to the shaft's wall using brass balm and zombie flesh as a sort of epoxy.
>>
No. 769713 ID: 2169b1

Unfortunately, Maria and Daniel aren't much help here! Maria sits against a wall and mutters prayers to Agatia, while Daniel seems to just be keeping an eye on everyone, licks of warm golden flame occasionally flicking across his skin.

Anyone who can hear Maria would probably he a bit disconcerted by the contents of the prayers, stuff about "Souls to fuel the Pearl Fire" and "Seeding the world with your purging flame".
>>
No. 769785 ID: a107fd

>>769695
The path leads straight up. If there's a control panel for some sort of magical morphing stones, it must be at the other end.

>>769696
Twenty minutes to spread a single silver coin into gossamer-thin foil across a 10' radius, ten more to spin the scavenged piton into a latticework of iron supporting it half an inch off the ground. Soil at the center is broken up and passed toward the edge, as if by picks and shovels scaled for mice, turning the flat reflector into a bowl. Progress toward an ideal paraboloid is slow, with so little workable material, but even a flat reflector improves the situation quite a bit. Should be bright enough at the top of the shaft (turns out it's only about four hundred feet) for Davina to safely slice a path up there before the blob arrives... assuming somebody can hold the sun brick steady at the focal point until then.

Eight pounds with your arm fully extended is hard enough, even without it being too hot for bare skin. Covering the underside would block the light you're trying to reflect, while dropping it would flash blinding low-angle glare in everybody's eyes and shatter Djan's delicate machinery. Any clever plans, or steady-handed volunteers?

>>769700
Bone and hair appear to be unaffected. Meat and skin dissolves, not instantly, but you wouldn't want to step in this thing.

>>769701
>portal past it
A thick knot of crimson fog closely follows the perambulatory puddle, rolling along like a ghostly cart, returning from the market behind a liquidated ox, too exhausted to lift any part of it's body more than a few inches off the ground. Portals as far past the thing as you can see would open up right above it's trailing 'roots.'

>not too big
Currently it's fifteen feet wide, wall-to-wall, at least twelve feet front-to-back, and six inches thick at the crest of the wave. Certainly more than a cubic yard of goo, maybe more than two. Wherever tidbits of corpseflesh landed, it spat out geyser-tentacles, tall as a man and swift as swords, groping around blindly a few seconds before falling and flowing back into the rest.
>>
No. 769786 ID: a107fd

>>769785
Sorry, that should be 10' diameter for the mirror.
>>
No. 769789 ID: af6e04

rolled 4, 3, 3 = 10

>Any clever plans, or steady-handed volunteers?
>brass balm and zombie flesh as a sort of epoxy.
I am now stuck on this idea, so will ask Ji for a small amount of his brass balm and attempt to use it to attach the brick to the end of Vos' spear, first asking one of the meat puppets for permission to cut off a chunk of flesh.

If this actually works Vos will eat his helmet ask his companions to help him hold the brick steady above the mirror.
>>
No. 769802 ID: 77f1b6

Let's test whether or not a zombie can do it by having it hold the sun brick, arm fully extended for about ten minutes or so, over the dungeon floor rather than over the reflector. If it can hold it steady without dropping it then we've got our guy.

Meanwhile, think up some backup plans in case it doesn't work out
>>
No. 769818 ID: 3abd97

>assuming somebody can hold the sun brick steady at the focal point until then.
>Any clever plans, or steady-handed volunteers?
Finagling a way to hold an object perfectly steady with a little prep work sounds like exactly the kind of thing Maria's power would be suited for. Bind the sun stone in place such that it can't move from that position (until released). Or bind whoever / whatever is holding it to be perfectly still (until released) despite discomfort.
>>
No. 769869 ID: 4201a2

>>769789
>using brass balm as adhesive
Speaking as the doctor, Yisheng Ji refuses to allow his remaining supply of brass balm be used for non-healing purposes without the guarantee of his supply being refreshed as a result. He suggests perhaps Djan could craft sturdy metal wire to affix the brick instead.

>>769517
>ascending a shaft of unknown purpose, of which both the top and bottom are also unknown
Even if there were ample footholds to make ascension easy, Yisheng Ji would still refuse to attempt it without knowing at least something about the shaft ahead of time. In such a narrow space, a large boulder or other somesuch thing could easily fall down without warning, and there would be no way to evade it. Yisheng Ji would really prefer not to be crushed to death.

>>769693
>red ooze
Seeing no particular use for his presence at the dead-end, Yisheng Ji will turn back to meet up with Davina, and become aware of the red ooze. Noting the color, he'll wonder aloud whether it is immune to the effects of fire, or if it is merely a a semi-transparent ooze engorged with the blood of its victims. He suggests that if the party has something flammable they can afford to squander on an experiment, it would be worth testing that.
>>
No. 769887 ID: d31055

Hore... Hore reluctantly offers her cybernetics as wire and other metal scrap. It's not much, but it will do.
>>
No. 769909 ID: a107fd

>>769887
Futuristic cybernetics contain too many platinum-group metals and exotic alloys for Djan to work with (which might be a good thing for Hore, in the long term),
>>769498
but if Maru's willing to donate most of her copper coins,
>>769789
and Vos is willing to have some excess brass plucked from his own day-old wounds (incidentally reducing the mobility penalty, although it's extremely painful on the way out), that's just enough material for the amount of
>>769869
>sturdy metal wire
>>769818
that Maria needs to bind three meat puppets together as a tripod, leaning over the mirror-lens to support the sun-brick by friction between their outstretched palms.

As a convenient side effect of having the light source's sides thus covered with translucent, smoldering flesh, it's now much safer to look directly at the assembly from ground level.

>>769869
>Yisheng Ji will turn back to meet up with Davina, and become aware of the red ooze. Noting the color, he'll wonder aloud whether it is immune to the effects of fire,

Yisheng Ji's magic can create and project small amounts of fire, just enough to light a candle from across the room, kill an ordinary-sized insect, possibly scare off a larger animal. Used as an attack, this seems to cause some damage to the slime-beast, but not enough to destroy it in any kind of hurry, nor delay it's tidally slow advance.
>>
No. 769911 ID: 77f1b6

>>769909
Maru donates without complaint; what's a few coppers to get us out of here?
>>
No. 769921 ID: 2169b1

As much as Maria would rather not touch shambling undead constructs of terror, she admits that everyone does have a pretty good idea, and agrees to binding the undead together with wire. It should be able to hold them still, especially due to their nature as undead.

Daniel thinks it's a pretty good idea too, but seems a bit concerned at the idea of Vos donating brass from his wounds. He offers to heal up any minor bleeding and such that said brass donation would cause, more comfortably warm flames erupting on his hands.
>>
No. 769934 ID: 595d54

rolled 4, 4, 4 = 12

Djan's amenable to the plan once it's clear he doesn't have to touch the zombies himself, and he's quick to begin reshaping the coins into wire.

"So... what're we gonna do once we get out of here, lads?"
>>
No. 769956 ID: 74621b

rolled 6, 2, 5 = 13

>>769909
>ooze suffers damage from fire
Satisfied with the results of his brief experiment, Yisheng Ji will unhurriedly retrieve his concealed bottle of Greekfire, and with a careful windup, make this ooze's day much, much worse.
>>
No. 769958 ID: 77f1b6

>>769934
"Women, gode, bar fights , and grog, in dat orda. What about yaself old soldier? I know ya don't care much for gode on account of the 'ives 'nd all, but I bet stiff drink topside is up on ya list 'innit?"
>>
No. 769986 ID: a107fd

At this point, Davina can see ceiling above the top of the shaft clearly enough to 'port, but there's no apparent safe way to establish line of sight to the actual floor up there. Could be a steep slippery slope, a funnel leading back into the shaft. Could be spikes, or some other horrible trap. Could be almost anything. Once Davina is up there, the only surfaces she can count on to push off of will be the ceiling itself, and the walls of the shaft, which - assuming an actual room up there, fifteen or twenty feet ceiling to floor - gives her approximately one second to peer into relative darkness, with a spotlight shining from below, chose a safe spot to land, then either catch the rim one-handed (can't just drop your ancestral sword, might impale an ally, or worse yet the floor, hard enough to snap the tip off) or make a second cut. Not an easy task, and failure could mean a terminal-velocity fall. So, gimme a roll for that.

>>769956
There's a satisfying roar of immediate combustion when the glass shatters. Before the good doctor can be sure of a kill, the scene is obscured by billowing smoke, within which lurid yellow-orange light dances to the crackles and pops of foul living liquid boiling away.
>>
No. 769994 ID: 3abd97

rolled 6, 5, 4 = 15

>"So... what're we gonna do once we get out of here, lads?"
*Quietly* Restore my family name to the status it deserves, and see that the chain remains unbroken.

>can't just drop your ancestral sword, might impale an ally, or worse yet the floor, hard enough to snap the tip of
Nevermind that the very thought of dropping it is offensive. That's no way to treat a weapon of that caliber, let a lone the living symbol of your legacy.

>Not an easy task, and failure could mean a terminal-velocity fall. So, gimme a roll for that.
(Well terminal velocity would seconds to achieve (around 8 seconds to get most the way there for a skydiver, ignoring the fact Dav won't be in a diving pose but is probably wearing more metal), depending on several factors. Moot point though, since I don't know how fast I have to be moving before functionally being in a moving reference frame breaks everything. Falling faster than I can run, I'm guessing?).

Davina will take a ready pose. She closes her eyes, and take a meditative breath to center herself. This is no time for distractions, and her physical form remains steady.

"I suggest standing back. If I fail to open a safe path I may be able to recover from it, but a portal opened in free fall will cause collateral damage."

Another beat, her eyes focus on her destination, and she cuts and steps, in between one breath and the next.
>>
No. 770000 ID: 3175ff

rolled 1, 5, 3 = 9

>> "So... what're we gonna do once we get out of here, lads?"
Hore would like to stick to the party and keep adventuring, though she'd rather stay away from dungeons for the next five years. Too many traps and unfair battles. But as for the short-term, she's going to buy an old hog from the local farm, murder it in front of schoolchildren, give a bloody lecture to said children about the various organs that make up the digestive system and the basic theorems of genetics and biology, and then serve the hog to the party herself using her... Hore decides to go with a basic butter-and-horseradish sauce recipe that she learned on her previous mercenary missions. Screw her special 'sauce', these people don't deserve to be tortured.

Hore decides to contribute mathematically! Carefully observing the shaft and the angle that light comes through, using the best of her damaged cybernetics, she tries to calculate the approximate height of the actual shaft, the angle that it may be slanted in, and the composition of the walls as to whether they can hold a person or can be punched through without breaking the dirt. Hore also volunteers for any menial tasks that need getting done, as she expects to contribute little mentally.
>>
No. 770008 ID: 2169b1

>>769934
Maria shrugs at the question of what comes next, taking the wire and beginning to shape it. She feels a sense of decreasing freedom with each twist, movement and the very universe itself hindered with magic and simple mathematics. Daniel had always told her it was wrong to feel good about it, but... she felt good about it. "I suppose I shall continue my travels. Purifying evil, spreading Agatia's gospel, and perhaps settling down to begin a new generation of Purging Children in time."

Daniel seems to be considering the question. "W-well... I guess I'll keep travelling with Maria... u-unless I find a reason not to. Or someone else I'd prefer to travel with..."
>>
No. 770016 ID: 77f1b6

>>769986
>Not an easy task, and failure could mean a terminal-velocity fall.

>>769994
>rolled 6, 5, 4 = 15

Shite.
>>
No. 770019 ID: af6e04

>>769921
Vos graciously accepts the offer of healing, nuzzling Daniel in appreciation.

>>769994
Once Davina begins her cut, Vos' attention immediately snaps to her. He skitters back over to the shaft to look up and watch what happens.
>>
No. 770025 ID: 595d54

>>769958
"Yeah. Yeah, that'd be good. A stiff drink, hot water, and a soft bed."
>>
No. 770026 ID: a107fd

>>769994
The good news is, it's an actual room up there, with a full thirty feet of ceiling, and Davina managed to angle the portal such that she came through on an upward trajectory. Probably two full seconds of observation time. Clever trick with a twist of the blade sent a thin beam of light zipping across the floor to sweep for adequate flat spots.

The even better news is, she's not dead yet, or even all that seriously injured, and the cave isn't imploding from a catastrophic dimensional rupture.

Bad news is, twisting the blade around for illumination meant that, in the crucial moment where her fingertips brushed the ceiling, a practiced cutting motion was executed with the flat of the blade rather than the edge. The second portal didn't form correctly, just produced enough of a distortion to dissipate and spoil the momentum needed for plan B, continuing forward and planting her feet on solid ground. Landing was basically a graceless belly-flop. Lower half of her body is dangling over empty air, and there's a distinct shortage of hand holds with which to pull herself the rest of the way up.

Worse news is, her armor took the brunt of the impact. Sure, that's better than whatever ruptured organs or broken bones might have otherwise resulted from falling nine yards and then being punched in the gut with an immovable mass of black marble, but now the plate's all bent and dented, interfering with her ability to breathe.

>>770019
Vos observes one of Davina's boots falling. Roll to defend, and specify whether you're trying to dodge or catch it.
>>
No. 770028 ID: 094652

rolled 1, 3, 1 = 5

Hore tries to catch the boot. Might be a little hard, considering she has only eight fingers. So she decides to use her spear to stab it at an angle.
>>
No. 770035 ID: af6e04

rolled 1, 3, 5 = 9

>>770026
Death by terminal velocity boot, a fitting end. Vos will dodge, in case Hore doesn't ninja snatch it out of the air above him.
>>
No. 770037 ID: 3abd97

>plate dented
Well, if I can manage not to fall to death or suffocate, Djan can fix that.

>>770026
Was it the second portal that dissipated, or just the momentum?

More importantly: do the currently established portals leave a path others are capable of following? What's the ground team see from the ground-side portal?
>>
No. 770039 ID: a107fd

Davina's portals tend to stay open longer the more rushed and ragged they are. That first one was carefully planned for precision, and thus very clean. Anyone who wants to follow her up there, maybe try to help, had better hurry.

>>770028
One short of a critical success. The boot is successfully intercepted before it would have struck the mirror, but in the process is punctured and torn severely enough that it will no longer be usable as a boot until repaired.

>>770035
Vos successfully dodges Hore's spear-thrust.
>>
No. 770040 ID: af6e04

rolled 6, 3, 2 = 11

>>770039
>Anyone who wants to follow her up there, maybe try to help, had better hurry.
Vos jump through without a moment's hesitation. Trying to land on solid ground without actually landing on top of Davina.
>>
No. 770042 ID: 77f1b6

>>770039
Ronk 'n roll babes, Maru tries to rush Ji and the others through the portal before it closes, going last of the living party members.
>>
No. 770043 ID: a107fd

>>770037
>Was it the second portal that dissipated, or just the momentum?
Mostly the momentum. Instead of an actual portal, it's the hyperspatial equivalent of a skinned knee. Looks like heat ripples, works sorta like a tiny patch of 'solid fog.'

>What's the ground team see from the ground-side portal?
Facing almost directly upward, so mostly they see the eerie ripple-edged shadow it's casting on the ceiling.
>>
No. 770044 ID: 2169b1

Daniel blushes intensely at Vos' nuzzling, pretty sure his attraction has upgraded from "vague crush" to "actual crush". "It's, uh, n-no problem..." he says.

Maria is currently just waiting for more work to do, muttering more prayers and occasionally checking the tightness of her ropes on her shoulders.
>>
No. 770045 ID: 2169b1

>>770044
oh, fuck, missed the update. Daniel still does the whole "big gay crush" thing, but also brings himself and Maria through the portal.
>>
No. 770047 ID: 3abd97

>>770042
>>770045
Uh, guys, I think you missed a detail. The portal opens mid air. This isn't a nice safe one. At the very least it's going to take a roll for the jump.

We don't need everyone through before it expires (if fact that would almost certainly lead to a pile up on a cliff and someone dying) we just need a person or two who can make the leap and then help Dav up off the edge and out of her armor. Assuming that happens, she can then open a nice, safe portal back down to ground level.
>>
No. 770050 ID: a107fd

>>770040
Unfortunately, Davina is sprawled across the most convenient bits of solid ground, and her exact position isn't visible until it's too late. Vos plants a foot right between her shoulders (on more armor, fortunately, though ribs creak in protest nonetheless) and narrowly avoids kicking her in the back of the head as he stumbles to a stop.

The room at the top is 50' square, with the shaft in the center of the floor, and only one other obvious exit: through the center of the south wall, a steep flight of stairs leading up to a massive 10' diameter iron vault door, it's top edge level with the ceiling.
>>
No. 770052 ID: 2169b1
770052

>>770050
Is it too late to change my mind again and just go with my first post? I'd rather not murder Davina.
>>
No. 770053 ID: af6e04

rolled 5, 5, 5 = 15

>>770050
Vos wastes no time turning around and dragging Davina to solid ground, ignoring any personal injury resulting from the fall.

He'll ask if Davina is okay, and upon noticing her breathing difficulties attempt to disassemble her breast plate.
>>
No. 770054 ID: 77f1b6

>>770052
Probably not with Maru sheparding everyone through the portal- she's rather insistent, even if you hadn't made it an action to go through on your own
>>
No. 770056 ID: 750f88

Eric walks up to the mutated undead and examines it. Is it still in pain? Dead? He wants to know real quick.

Also, are his main undead still about? Im talking about Dan, Dangle, Dipper, Delilah, and Dodger. I know Bob was defeated on the field of combat, but are the others still around.
>>
No. 770058 ID: 3abd97

rolled 4, 6, 3 = 13

Rolling to haul myself up and not get killed by Vos' clumsy handling. (Although he is a grapple, and should have that bonus helping him).

>>770052
Considering you didn't roll for it yet, and apparently misread the situation, probably not? There's no reason to force characters to do something suicidally stupid because their players ignore something that should be obvious to the character. (I had an action ignored for critical failing to understand part of the battlefield in the first zombie fight).

I mean just stepping through without a jump means falling strait down. And Maru didn't roll to force you through either?

>>770054
>There's no reason to force characters to do something suicidally stupid because their players ignore something that should be obvious
>portal opens mid air
Hint hint.
>>
No. 770061 ID: 74621b

>>770042
>>770054
>Maru trying to get Yisheng Ji to go where she wants
Unlikely. At this point, Yisheng Ji is rather ill-disposed to doing anything Maru wants him to, and won't move away from observing the slimefire on her word alone. He certainly won't allow himself to be hustled anywhere by force if he can possibly help it.
>>
No. 770062 ID: 3abd97

>>770061
Although Ji's ability means it would probably be easier for him to jump from the portal to the ledge safely than anyone else.
>>
No. 770067 ID: 74621b

>>770062
True, but there's such a thing as common courtesy and explaining a dangerous situation before attempting to forcibly thrust someone into it. Yisheng Ji has had rather enough of blindly leaping into deathtraps.

If he's close enough to the situation to actually hear everyone panicking and rushing to their untimely deaths without needing to actively listen for it, Yisheng Ji will begrudgingly turn from what he's doing to see what the matter is. Otherwise, there are seven other party members who could fetch him. If only Maru has approached him to try to get him to hurry up and go somewhere, well, he's heard that story before.
>>
No. 770068 ID: af6e04

>>770062
Ji is halfway down the very long hallway preoccupied with his fascination for sentient strawberry jelly. You'll just have to settle with eel-man rescue!
>>
No. 770071 ID: a107fd

>>770053
>Vos wastes no time turning around and dragging Davina to solid ground, ignoring any personal injury
>rolled 5, 5, 5 = 15
Triple fives! Not as exciting as triple sevens, but let's see what you've won...
Under stress, people tend to fall back on instinct, or training. A shadowy wrestler moves toward the trampled fencer's left side, setting up for an arm-lock, but she's still got a grip on her family sword. She parries without conscious thought. Slices up the inside of his elbow real good. Lots of blood, and may have damaged the tendon connecting bicep to forearm.

Adding liquid to that polished marble floor does not make it any easier to grip.

>>770056
>Eric walks up to the mutated undead and examines it. Is it still in pain?
No, seems to have recovered from the effect within less than a minute.
>Dead?
Tricky question! Overall, 'bout as much as it was before.
>Also, are his main undead still about?
Yep. Got ten more, lost one of those under mysterious circumstances on a scouting run.

>>770054
If Maru's going to go full Hamelin and try to herd the rest of the party in like lemmings, while Davina and Vos are both protesting how it's not safe yet, you'll need to roll for that.
>>
No. 770075 ID: af6e04

rolled 5, 1, 5 = 11

>>770071
Not the jackpot I was hoping for!

Vos screeches in pain and recoils momentarily, falling onto his eel butt. After a moment to gather himself, he lurches forward again and tries to grasp Davina's sword arm. He pulls with all his strength, scrambling to find purchase as his feet slip in his own blood.
>>
No. 770078 ID: 3abd97

rolled 3, 6, 3 = 12

>She parries without conscious thought. Slices up the inside of his elbow real good. Lots of blood, and may have damaged the tendon connecting bicep to forearm.
Davina freezes when she realizes what she's done.

In between labored breathing she manages to choke out a swear and "Vos. I'm sorry."

Rolling for... not maiming Vos any further and cooperating with his rescue I guess.
>>
No. 770079 ID: a107fd

>>770058
>haul myself up
>rolled 4, 6, 3 = 13
You manage to slip the fingernails of your right hand into some tiny crack in the stone, so you're not slipping further down just yet, but if you pull harder they might break off.

New personal side-quest: raise a statue of that old athletics tutor, somewhere your heirs will have to look at it on a regular basis, engraved with the words "Clever Tricks Won't Help If You Neglect The Fundamentals." Climbing practice always seemed like a waste of time.

>>770067
>begrudgingly turn from what he's doing to see what the matter is
By the time he gets back, Davina's initial portal has closed.
>>
No. 770093 ID: a107fd

>>770078
>>770075
Once Davina's leg is over the rim, it's easy. Standing up, and then unbuckling the armor (with skilled assistance) is a matter of a few seconds. Between those deep dents and the subsequent wallow in a puddle of blood, both plates are kind of a mess, but nothing a competent armorer couldn't fix,

Obvious potential priorities:
*checking out that big circular door
*staring into the spotlight, to portal back down
*shouting tactical info at the rest of the party
*shouting instructions at the rest of the party
*improvising some bandages for Vos's arm
*applying mutations to Vos's arm
>>
No. 770129 ID: 3abd97

rolled 6, 1, 4 = 11

Okay. First things first. Move to assist Vos (at a glance, how serious does the injury look to someone used to inflicting that kind of injury, pressure to reduce bleeding) and quick spot check / look around the room to make sure nothing has appeared to attack us while we're vulnerable.

It's Ji's call if he wants to try and deal with his injury by calling down holy mutations. If not we'll move onto other measures.

I assume portalling down is a problem, since starring down into the spotlight would mean I probably can't actually see the floor actual floor, and risk missing the target and opening the portal at the wrong height.

I'll yell down for one of our allies to cover the silver mirror so I can look down.
>>
No. 770130 ID: 3abd97

>It's Ji's call
Vos's.

Getting ahead of myself, we haven't got to the healer yet.
>>
No. 770137 ID: af6e04

rolled 4, 4, 1 = 9

Roll for mutagenic healing!
>>
No. 770143 ID: 2169b1

rolled 2, 6, 5 = 13

Maria has been staring up at the hole in the ceiling for a bit, biting her lower lip in a combination of nerves and concentration. What the heck's going on up there?

Unfortunately, in her distraction, a droplet of Vos' spilled blood lands on her exposed teeth... which causes her to draw them back in in surprise, the coppery, salty taste spreading across her tongue.

Oh no...

Daniel realizes there's something wrong before she does, and he immediately goes to hug his shaking sister, warm golden flames flaring across his body.

"What the hell's going on?!?" He shouts up, a bit dismayed.

Rolling for phobia.
>>
No. 770149 ID: a107fd

>>770129
>how serious does the injury look
Pretty serious. That heavy lifting he just did tore it open even further. The brachial artery... might be intact,