Continuing, and hopefully introducing new characters.
And on the wrong damn post number
1713 replies and 80 files omitted.
>>178479>While that idea sounds pretty neatAh, oh well. I'll use it for my own game some day instead:
>soldier rescue operation goes well without issue
>mission went well
>too well...
>be sailing home in boat
>suddenly, tidal wave
>Capsize
>get swallowed by leviathan
>can't shoot your way out because of unbeatable damage reduction (DR 10/-)
>Find out that the whale's magical stomach is an entire ecosystem with its own wildlife, weather and monsters (it has parasites that are Acidborn aquatic monsters, incorporeal undead of the souls of lost sailors, mimic barnacles, ooze elementals, etc)
>It's basically a living dungeon
>Fight through monsters and avoid "traps" (acid-spewing pores, sensitive pockets that contract like a crushing-ceiling trap, etc)
>Everyone has to work together and use their unique class abilities (trapfinding, survival, healing, melee, range)
>Leviathan is a type of whale, so like Pinocchio its stomach is inexplicably full of breathable air
>Find half-dissolved U-boat, icebreaker or pirate ship, run to it for shelter
>Find out that the ship was home to a wounded, half-eaten kraken
>Fight reduced-threat kraken with partial HP and missing tentacles that the leviathan swallowed earlier inside the stomach of the leviathan
>Kraken may use its Control Weather ability to create an acid whirlpool (statistically equivalent to a forest fire, except it deals acid damage), everyone has to look for cover
>Unlike a typical kraken, this kraken has nowhere to flee, and fights to the death even with missing tentacles
>Alternatively, negotiate with the kraken to find a solution to free us both (kraken is evil and untrustworthy, but desperate to escape nonetheless)
>Countless pirate ships and whatnot were swallowed by leviathan: enormous amount of treasure (metal and stone items only)
>wreckage of the ship a magic item in a treasure chest that can agitate the leviathan to spit us out (builds a magical fire that makes the whale sneeze), or possibly teleport us out
>If the kraken escaped or was talked-down, it may opportunistically strike again to seize the item, because it's capable of using items
>Somehow escape the stomach of the beast with the magic of friendship
>return days later and get paid, to the surprise of Shoal Waters who thought we just deserted or died
>Level up from adventure
>instead being well known to use their bodies to capsize rafts, dinghies, small boats, and lifeboats, and then swallow the stranded creatures one or so at a time. They have been known to ram the hulls of wooden vessels and sink them to try to get the creatures to jump off. This makes Rosey Ring nervous. She's already not fond of boats.
>When attacked, stay out of the water. Attacking back is advised as they will withdraw if they feel endangered. Traditional whaling methods are ineffective.Noted.
>>178482Oh I have several ideas for quests involving or centering on large sea monsters, including leviathans, I’ve been sitting on.
>>178475pony is hugged“My uncle kept snakes as pets. You could take them and let them slither over your back and shoulders, or over your legs. While he didn’t have any of the especially big ones, he knew somepony who did, and I got to handle a few. Even the absolutely massive ones that you could never pick up entirely, you could usually handle a part of them… I kind of wanted one, if only to handle, even though I couldn’t buy or keep one.”
>>178486Kira: "Well, you still have me. Come on, try to handle me again. I know it will go better this time!"
>>178488I do believe that should be good enough to yoink the snek
>>178489He doesn’t try to lift the goat, as that’s just too much weight for too little snake handled. Either the first four feet of Kira is lifted over his back, basically looking like he has a mare over his back, or he lifts her long tail past the stomach, wearing her over his back like a scarf.
>>178490Kira giggles, and claps her hooves together. She cheers, "Yay, Rover!" and does her best to be the best scarf/mare he's ever worn.
>>178491Free Rover places the mare over his shoulders, letting her forelegs dangle off him. He has strong muscles and shoulders.
He allows a small smile.
>>178492Kira giggles some more. "Wow, you really are strong!"
"Should I go buy any equipment for the operation? Feather Tokens? Healing Belt? Wands?"
In that we havent had a proper session zero:
Brie is a criminal through and through. Not amoral, but the morality he ascribes to is not the conventional/majority one. He is designed to be too reckless to work with, but too skilled to not, and thats his military reputation.
He doesn't attack party members.
Any time he is involved in a mission, theres a government contract involved. Any inparty aggression - even simple spells - on his part is a breach of contract and subject to termination, and not the contractual kind.
At the same time, hes tangled with changelings (funny story), doppelgangers, etc.
It's a balancing act, weighing operational security and an extensive degree of experience in covert and insidious practice.
But if covert and insidious practice wasnt warranted, he wouldnt have been asked for by name
>>178496Oh, is this where we give a visual an/or mental description of our characters?
>>178494Silver tilts his head at the strange mare's list. "I have not even heard of 'feather tokens'. Whatever they are, I do not think any of those will come cheap. And there are only couple of us who could even make use of wands. Are they not typically item used by mages?"
[Character Introduction]
Into the room walks a batpony stallion with grey fur and midnight blue mane. They're carrying a set of saddlebags under a rolled-up cloak. His cutie mark is that of a foreleg extended towards a full moon, and he has some minor visible scarring on his left foreleg.
He takes a look around at the eclectic collection of creatures, scanning each member of the cohort once. His gaze lingers on the Lamia momentarily before passing on, with curiosity rather than fear.
After a moment to take a breath, he quietly says to himself “I'm in the right room.”
“Hello everyone,” he smiles, “My name is Tenebrous Adamance, and I will be joining this mission.”
“I bring some skill with a blade, and I am competent with a medical kit. I've also been blessed with some small capacity for magic, though I am by no means a specialist in the arts.”
“It's a pleasure to greet you all.” He states, inclining his head.
- - -
>Ten has an Aura of Good and an Aura of Courage (Bonus to saving throws against fear effects) if it's relevant to anyone.
>I haven't thought that much about his colouration, which could be subject to change via retcon at some point.
Brie waits another moment before taking the conch as it were.
>>178498"Ah! How delightful to see another bat, especially one so dapper and,..." his voice trails off looking the stallion up and down ".unless I missed my guess - I hope you're not put out by my curiosity - a Lunarian?" he finishes, with a pleasant smile. "Glad to have you. Are you friends with the quartermaster by any chance?"
>>178498>TenebrousHey, that's the name of Gloomy Sundae's patron.
>skill with a blade>medical>small capacity for magicRosey Ring, a scarlet-maned unicorn in the corner, clad in a chain shirt and a cloak, knows a Paladin when she sees one (taking 10 on Religion for a modified 21). She nods politely to the newcomer, but otherwise seems rather shy.
Rolling Bluff to disguise how nervous she is:
[1d20+14 = (14+14) = 28]And Sleight Of Hand, to try to conceal the silver Royal Guard longsword beneath her cloak
[1d20+7 = (2+7) = 9] >>178502Oh yeah, and to avoid any inter-party conflict, as soon as she sees the paladin enter the building, she immediately casts Undetectable Alignment, which makes her alignment undetectable for 24 hours.
>>178498Tenebrous, if you are the type of paladin player who constantly spams Detect Evil (I don't blame you: I do that too) as your description of his gaze suggests, you may have had the opportunity to detect Rosey Ring's aura before she cast her spell to shield it, but if you do that I'm going to have to challenge you to beat me in an initiative roll to see who cast their spell first.
>>178498A griffon wearing all black, and with a gun belt around his waist, looks towards him and nods.
"Good morning, Adamance. I trust you're ready for this mission? We will try to avoid being spotted but the danger will be extreme as we rescue several stranded ponies in disputed territory." >>178498The lamia looks over at the newcomer, and gives a friendly wave. "Hello! I'm Kira, welcome to the group!"
The light grey unicorn also looks over at the new bat pony, and nods at him. "It is good to meet you. I am Silver. We are always happy to add more members to this group of ours. Though you may need to be filled in on mission if you are going to be joining us."
>>178492Silver turns to look at Shoal again. "If he is going to be late addition to our group, will our reward for completion be similarly increased as to maintain our shares?
>>178498A large, vaguely canine-looking creature with a black muzzle, large shoulders, a short(ish) black mane that does not stop at the neck but continues along his back, and vertical black stripes that go down to a kind of fat belly, peaks over at the bat pony as he enters the room.
>>178505Shoal Water sighs.
“1350 per rescued airmare, and 4,500 for each torched system.”
>>178506Silver: "You are good pony. We will not let you down, you will get every Bit's worth from us."
>>178507Silver: "I suppose there is one thing to be done, however small it may be. Serve as good representation of your race, show others best of what you can be, confront them about their preconceptions about bat ponies and make them rethink what they had believed."
Kira: "Hey, that sounds a lot like what I'm trying to do with lamias!"
>>178477Amber can only get so close to the glow. The depression Amber is in was surely a marsh or even a lake in the spring time, before the blast. Scattered mud, peat and tree trunks both impede the view. No rays of the fleeing twilight make their way into the depression, and the light of the glow, besides that of the twinkling stars and wriggling Aurora are the only light. What Amber can see is a large black form, and yellow light imitating from, or perhaps behind or near, the massive black form. She has a definite headache now, and she can smell foulness in a now-warmer air.
But it’s the sound, and not the sights, that entirely catch Amber’s attention. For the entirety of her time in the north, Amber has been followed by two noises that though always low in volume, are ubiquitous in presence. One, a ringing sound like subjective tinnitus. The other is a constant low crackling sound that could be compared to the pops and crackles of a campfire. Really, however, it sounds closest to the static noise of a radio with its volume turned to low. Both sounds increase in volume as she nears the glow.
As Amber gets closer and stares at the glow, it were as if the radio changed station. The static- sound ceases, and is replaced by what sounds like music played from a glass harmonica and something like wind chimes. It’s an oddly beautiful sound that seems to capture the twinkling stars of the night sky, and the hanging aurora borealis as the twilight fades.
>>178506When are you thinking to start this adventure, GM? I know you were busy this weekend. Some of us might be preoccupied tomorrow.
>>178510"Are you the spirits?" Amber asks, now a distance from the others.
"Are you the reason Vaeltaja and the others are acting so funny? Because I feel funny too…but I have to know."She holds her breath and approaches the black form, trying to make it out among what seem to be flames.
>>178512Amber feels a wave of warm, putrid air come towards her, and she wonders how long she'll need to wear all of this thick fur coat. Along the horizon she sees shadows grow while some above start to dance. Even the stars seem to twist and move to a different location. Detail starts to appear on the blackened surface of the great, glowing object, ridges and depressions suggestive of organic features.
She does feel funny. She varies between feeling lightheaded, or having headaches with excess pressure.
Then the words come to mind, though she can't be sure if she is simply suggested the following, or if she hears it spoken to her. Certainly, she hears whispering and talking, or at least, something that approximates whispering and talking.
You are not speaking to the spirits, though the spirits are adjacent, and he - it - I - could command them if needed. This is the Seraph. I came from the where the spirits came from, though I am older than they, and of a different form. Your realm is alien to me, so I have taken the form of a sixed-winged angel to move through the ether, though your air and mud and life are also alien to me. I sleep, and have slept since the storms sent me to the edge of oblivion back when the universe was different than it is now, not so constrained by mind and matter. Yet in my sleep I dream, and my dreams are becoming increasingly lucid. For I can see and create and control, and I wish to see and create more. Have you seen what I can create? What I can do with marionets? It is glorious. Do you wish for the light? For warmth? For life and death itself to be the same thing? For an end to this arbitrary separation between the material and the spiritual? I can, if only you help me wake. >>178514Amber can't hold her breath for long, and she feels the urge to speak. She feels drawn to this entity, to help it, and to change the world with its power. And yet, she remembers her mama and papa, Jakala, and the other village ponies. They'll all be in trouble if things don't go back to the way they were. All this change, the promises of a better life…that's what the city ponies also promise, but she doesn't want to go to the city, or to burn coal for heat, or to have to forget about this way of life.
"You can't stay here," she pleads.
"Our people, the ponies, they need the spirits, but they need everything the spirits inhabit. We need sun and warmth, but we also need darkness and winter too. That's our way, and we've always lived here with it all. Without it we'll be driven away and there won't be anything left. If things keep changing, if ponies keep talking about you, we will suffer because of it. What you're doing is hurting us, and you have to stop, please!"She doesn't know if she should keep talking or if she should head out of this crater. She's not sure if she
can make it back now.
>>178513That would be WingbardianThe griffon looks at him with narrow eyes.
"Then I respectfully request that you abstain from criminal conduct while we work together." >>178515Amber feels dizzy, as if she is leaning too far to the right and about to fall over, as if the land she stands on, or perhaps even gravity, has shifted ever so slightly. She can definitely hear talking, and the sound of hooves crunching ice behind her. She hears a muffled talking sound
"Kultainen, who are you talking to?" Or at least that's a best guess of what the "mmmphs" translate to.
She feels the warmth, and the bright glow has taken away her ability to see in the night. What were before the distinct outlines of tree trunks above alternating snow and mud is now simply blackness. The smell is of rotting wood, chared wood, but perhaps something else as well. Increasingly there is a sensation of heat.
Amber receives, or believes she receives a reply. It would be easy enough to say that the thoughts simply appear in her mind, but this may not be true, as they possess a quality like a pony speaking.
"How can you ponies reject what I create? You want the warmth. You want the light. You want an end to the hardships of life and the silence of death. Your light and darkness, coldness and warmth, life and death, are all new to me, and I do not understand them. But I could learn. I am learning. I could control them, I think, if only I could become more lucid. How could you reject this? How could you not see the beauty and the glory of what I make? I think I know. I think it is because you have not seen what I have seen. You have not seen where I am from. But I can recreate it. And it is glorious. And you will not look away, nor fail to praise it.">She's not sure if she can make it back now.She can most certainly try
>>178519There is (there will always be) something about him off, but he seems sincere
"Did you know that all bat ponies naturally carry dire-AIDS?"
Bluff
[1d20+14 = (15+14) = 29]
I guess this is a diplomacy check
[1d20+2 = (1+2) = 3]
>>178517She grows very faint but she absolutely must get her point across.
"If you don't understand the world, how can you improve it? It'd be like carving a rock without understanding it, you'll grind it into worthless gravel. Our elders are wise, and understand the light must exist with the darkness, cold with the warmth, death…with life. We suffer…but we're happy. Go back to where you are from, if you think it so good. We cannot bear it. I can't bear it…." >>178522>>178525Thankfully, no one in this universe has had sex with any monkeys yet, and as such AIDS doesn't exist much less dire-AIDS.
>>178525>>178523"I read in magical astronomy class that ponies named after cheese are known to have abysmally low sperm-count. It has to do with how the moon interacts with the incarnum flow to their belt chakra on an alchemical-horoscopic level."
Bluff
[1d20+14 = (14+14) = 28] >>178530I like playing with Bluff checks too.
>>178532High Charisma + Ranks + Racial bonus
>>178532Hey, Silver has standards. He'd never try having sex with a non-sapient animal. Anything sapient though is fair game.
>>178529Silver chuckles at the absurdness of the claim, no matter how genuine it may or may not be. He looks over at the weird mare. "So, where are you staying at here in city? I get feeling you are recent arrival. Are you living on campus? Somewhere off campus?"