Complete Challenge Hylands Ascent Mining and Wine-ing

[Omega]

[ 525/800 ]

Yandere mode

The group could not be serious, trying to come up with a name for some random temporary camp, and they wanted her of all people to agree to a name such as 'queen-slayer'? She, the Magia that served the one and only queen this world needed? Her one visible eye would twitch before glaring at both @Frey Elzeiros and @Essence for thinking such a name she would ever agree with. Clearly the two would need to be dealt with at some point, but for now she had her own things to deal with. Taking what may remain or was needed to start her own little fire to cook her own meal.

In simplest terms she did not trust @Solaria to cook, much more so if the elf took the offer from Essence to sit near her. Picking a few random mushrooms, scrapping up some algae and double checking with her Investigation and Learning boons before tossing them into a little bowl to cook and adding salted meat from her inventory to give it protein. From that point while it cooked she wanted to blow off steam and took the pickaxe with her.

She walked away from the entry way, found a little spot of the gems that had made the sound and was ready to just start destroying them to calm herself down before a light ding and message showed on her UI. Pickaxe falling behind her as she scrambled to check who it was from as only one person had the ability to message her in such ways. A happy grin across her face as she read the sender's name, her Queen bothered to send a message again.~

A happy hum as Omega sat down to think over how to best respond to the message she was given. before going back to her plan to mine the ores she had picked to, at first vent but now wanted to bring back for her queen to wear or use depending on what her Investigation mode and Function over form -learning- told her from a quick study. Hand waving to expand the aura she kept around herself to find the weak points of the ore and striking there and gathering them up as the scent of burning caught her nose.

Setting the pick back where she had taken it from and getting her overcooked meal to go enjoy away from the others. She sat to keep as many of them in her line of sight as possible, if they all agreed on this 'camp queen-slayer' name each and every one of them was to be seen as a threat and dealt with accordingly.

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (18) + 0 = 18
Knowledge | Omega | 946C2 | Cooking knowhow?
---
Roll Result
10d20 (5 + 10 + 3 + 9 + 15 + 15 + 2 + 5 + 16 + 13) = 93
hope recovery
---
Mastery Check
1d100 (92) + 5 = 97
Aura | Omega | 946C2 | Prospect for queen!
---
Save
1d100 (16) + 0 = 16
Fortitude | Omega | 946C2 | Prospect save?
---
Progress: 693?/???

Play Sheet Link.

 

[Askera Question]

[ 477/800 ]

Irate and exhausted

-198 hope from traveling and Settling In
+100 Hope from d20 result
-98 hope total
+50 hope from blankie

Askera was going to respond to the ready praise of the others, yet as he was settling down to work on the camp he discovered something most strange. Strange and terrible-for he had almost nothing in his inventory to craft with. There was most certainly less than what he should have had, anyway.

He realized it well now-His briefcase was gone. A curse would have left his lips were he not born and raised against such vulgar language.
Askera could not allow that briefcase to stay unattended. The deal he had made with the entity within seemed as if a benign one, yet he did not want other people interacting with it all the same. For all he knew, it could be the start of a new demonic ruination superseding the one that had just happened inside of the Tangleweaves...

"Please excuse me. I am going to need to go get something that I left further back at our last rest."

Such he declared as he left for the surface. But he did not have to do so without leaving anything behind. From the remaining materials inside of his inventory, he was able to see a series of recipes most interesting.
'Automatic Drone'.

What did it do? Hopefully, it would do whatever he told it to do. It was a better idea than to leave the others empty-handed. So he got to work, making one and only one thing for the camp himself-the little drone he named 'Jabberwock'.

The little thing got to work. It had been directed to 'construct', discarding other words that it did not understand. It mostly kept around @Essence , who seemed to be working under the same orders. It constructed a BIG disc of wood, a few planks of wood, a few long busker logs and a stove.

Why had it made a stove normally, of all things?

The others were able to spend time at camp helping Jabberwork turn these wooden parts into something more concrete. Soon the camp had a nice bed and a table thanks to the little helper, and so Askera could have been described as 'helpful' even in the time that he had left to go get his pocket-dimension suitcase.

Rolls

Mastery Check
(1d100 (4) + 10 + 3)*2*2 = 68
Magitech | Askera Question | 917C3 | Settling In

Roll Result
1d20 (18) = 18 = Found a wide, spacious cavern. +50 progress, +100 Hope!
Discovery Bonus Action | Askera Question | 917C3

Settling In: Currently have 72 CP to spend after picking up the 4 leftover from Essence.
T2 Stove - 30 CP
T2 Bed - 30 CP
T1 Table - 10 CP
T1 ??? - 2 CP

Progress: 693/???

Play Sheet Link.

 

[Ashifili]

Mining and Wine-ing

​

Though the work was hard at times, it certainly wasn't anything near as hard as it could have ended up being. The soft soiled cavern that Creature had come across was perfect for Essence's Geomantic constructions: malleable but able to lock in place, and more importantly, filled to the brim with extra amenities! Askera, after disappearing once the cavern for their camp had been confirmed, returned in a few hours as well, forehead soaked with sweat and his own appearance looking more than a little ragged...but whatever it is he got, the man looked pleased enough with the efficacy of his trailblazers. Even without the light of the Vibeslime Lantern, he was able to safely return to the surface and then go all the way back down, just in time for Solaria's mushroom soup to be ready for eating!

It had taken some creativity and some care, but the magitech stove that Askera whipped up made heat control so much easier for her, and the medley of mushrooms and grasses made for a decidedly green-and-purple vegetarian dish. The lack of bowls meant, of course, that they had to take turns with the cauldron and the large serving spoon, but that meant there was plenty of time too for them to discuss the most important question of them all!

There were four beds. There were six people. Omega, stalking away by herself, had no interest in sleeping anywhere near people who weren't her beloved Queen, and hammered away at the crystals that ringed around Camp Queenslayer, but for the rest of them?

Who would be the two who'd share a bed?

Whoever they were, hopefully one of them wasn't Frey. His defenses worked magnificently in warning him about approaching intruders and in shrouding the camp's entrance from the view of monstrosities, but, subsequently, having a magical alarm ring off at random times meant that he was fated to never get any real sleep.

Oh well, at least all the water in the camp meant his clothes could be cleaned.

...

Was it night that passed? Or had they slept through the day? The only thing they did was agree on a specific time to log back on, and once they did, the party, rejuvenated by comfy soil beds and a mushroom soup that, while looking like a gas spill, was definitely more palatable than the burnt stew of nutrients Omega had made, set off once more. The first leg of the journey, now with an awareness of the Kobold patrols, was tense but not anxiety-inducing, and with Creature and Solaria at the front once more, eager to wield bat and blade, they decided into an area that was much brighter than expected.

The subterranean quarry opened up before them as they remained in the shadows of a little-used tunnel, watching the kobolds down below as they shrieked and chattered, going in and out of other tunnels that lead into caverns for living needs or mines for working needs. At a distance, it was impossible to fully deduce what exactly they were doing, but with some care, some spells, and some disguises, it would be possible for the party to finesse themselves deeper into the Kobold's Nest. It would be best though, to split up at this junction, forming smaller groups to investigate this cacophony of monster inhabitation.

And certainly, they weren't spoiled for choice here.

Metal sounded against stone, the Dredgerock Mines calling in the question of what exactly the monsters were mining for.

Patrols went in and out in winding paths, but there laid patterns too within the Monstrous Parade, if one could decipher the method behind the madness.

Fatigue came and went in the sunless depths, and snores seeped out of the Whistling Hollows, offering vulnerable enemies for those who sought to sate their blades.

Food too, was a question in places so empty of edibles, and kobolds certainly didn't look to be the fungi-chewing type. The Chatterbox Grotto ought to carry such answers of diet though.

Smoke spilled out from a tunnel higher up.

A void in the rock called.

...

And perhaps only Solaria, who had directly spoken to a kobold-bashing professional, noticed it. These kobolds...every one of these kobolds could not be considered the 'small, little critters with fat tails' that Camp Hollownook's inhabitants described them as. No, they were all strapping, muscular lizardmen, their scales shining with a beautiful crimson, their tails thwacking meatily against the ground as they scampered by.

Neither midget sized nor gigantic, these kobolds were perfectly human-sized.

The answers laid within the Nest. Take your step or stay back and rest, for there is no respite to be found in hostile territory.

Cycle 3: Sleuthing

OOC

• @Frey Elzeiros @Solaria @Creature @Essence @Omega @Askera Question
• 500 word limit, excluding code, because I know the pain of long codes. Anything above that is ignored and your turn forfeited.
• 48 hour post cycles. May post sooner depending on the eagerness of players or the triggering of traps.
• Until combat begins, your actions in the Play Sheet are not locked in.
• This round is one focused on establishing a base camp before your characters plunge fully into scouting out the multi-layered home of the kobolds.
• If you have any questions, ping me in #rp-chat or the discord thread for this challenge, if the latter exists.

Spoiler: Post Template

[bar=800]800[/bar]
[status]Brief description of character's mood.[/status]

Post here. 500 words max.

[action]
Bot roll here.

Dredgerock Mines: 0/75
Monstrous Parade: 0/100
Whistling Hollows: 0/75
Chatterbox Grotto: 0/100
Ashspit Mineshaft: 0/150
End of the Road: 0/150
[/action]
Play Sheet Link.

Cycle Resolution

<< Scout: 169 >>
Creature's Hyper Senses drew him to a promising location, where Askera ultimately stumbled upon the place that would be their temporary home.

<< Meal Boon: 104 + 18 >>
Solaria's mushroom soup looked gnarly, but after seeing what Omega had brewed up (an entirely nutritious stew, just like what you'd expect out of an underfunded hospital), the rest of the party bit the bullet and was pleasantly surprised by how hearty it was! The secret? Hardtack as thickener.

<< Defenses: [Shadow Veil: 70] [Divination Sensors: 49] >>
Frey's magical defenses appeared to be useful enough in warding monsters away. While his Divination Sensors pinged him to the approach of some bat-like monsters, the shadowy veil that he crafted with his Arcanamancy had a physicality to it as well, and the monsters passed by without discovering the base camp.

<< Prospect: 97 >>
Empowered by her loyalty to her Queen, Omega worked hard with the Pickaxe, but, expectedly or unexpectedly, the only ore that she came across were the Purehymn Crystals that ringed the cavern. Useful, of course, and pretty too.

Boons and Supplies

<< Hope: 628/800 >>​

Hope represents the party's will to continue onwards as a cohesive unit. This is a resource that is shared and consumed whenever any party member makes an action during exploration. Once Hope reaches 0, the party is no longer able or willing to continue, and will split, each prioritizing their own chances of reaching it back to the surface.​

<< Boons >>​

​

Preparation Boons​

+19 to Saves​

+8 to Combat Actions​

+3 to Mastery or Expertise Checks.​

​

Meal Boons​

+11 to Hope every time you post​

+2 to Fortitude Saves​

​

Supply Boons​

+10 to Mastery or Expertise Checks [Vibeslime Lantern]​

​

<< Supplies >>​

​

Supplies are items that are lost at the end of the Challenge, while providing certain advantages during the challenge. Some of them have clear, mechanical benefits, as will be outlined below. Others serve as props to be used to make freeform actions possible, or have situational usages that will be outlined in actions.​

​

Vibeslime Lantern [x1] - If Hope is above 400, increase Mastery Checks and Expertise Checks by 10.​

Classic Dynamite [x1] - As a combat action, consume this supply to inflict 200 damage on a single target, as well as 100 damage on surrounding targets.​

Trusty Shovel [x1] - Reduce Hope cost for tunneling by 20%.​

Sharpened Pickaxe [x1] - Enables the [Prospect] action.​

20 Meters of Rope [x2] - Always handy, but for what?​

Self-Igniting Torches [x2] - If Ignited, increase Will Saves by 5 and regain 10 Hope per Cycle. If Doused, this supply is consumed.​

Emergency Blanket [x2] - Consume this supply to regain 50 Hope.​

Clean Whistle [x1] - Whistle.​

​

Glassstone Ore [x3] - Chunks of a seemingly transparent stone. When a strong light is shone through them, the light is refracted out the other end into a rainbow. Good for interior design or, perhaps, for dazzling primitive monsters. Remember, there's three Ss in Glassstone.​

Purehymn Crystal [x2] - Silvery-white crystals with a resemblance to quartz, now broken down into handheld portions. If tossed against the ground, emits a terrifyingly loud sound that seems doubly effective at frightening monsters. If pressed against your mouth and spoken into, gives a musical quality to even the most neutral tones.​

​

<< Camp Queenslayer >>​

A spacious campsite, established through the efforts of Creature, Frey, Essence, Omega, Solaria, and Askera. Tucked on the border of the Kobolds' territory, this base camp has several natural features. The softened earth makes for a comfortable sleeping space even without any mattresses, while plentiful pools dot one half of the cavern, with one pool in particular being large enough and warm enough to bathe in. Luminescent mushrooms dot the sides and ceiling, granting a natural light, which reflects well off the crystalline ores that cluster around the edges.​

​

Molded by Geomancy and Magitech, the base camp currently sports...​

• 3 Medium Quality Chairs
• 1 Low Quality Table
• 2 Low Quality Beds, 1 Medium Quality Bed
• 1 Medium Quality Stove
• 1 Low Quality Wash Sink
• 1 Medium Quality Outhouse
• 1 Low Quality Sauna
• 1 Medium Quality Field
• 1 Medium Quality Workshop

Actions

With Camp Queenslayer behind you, a belly of hot food in you, and plenty of work ahead of you, you can now truly begin your investigations into the Kobolds' Nest. There are several different locations to investigate, however, and perhaps not every part of the Nest requires a thorough investigation. Prioritize what you wish to uncover about these monsters, and keep vigilant, lest you find yourself in a situation most unfortunate.

There are far more kobolds here than there are Starcalled, after all.

Dredgerock Mines
Metal against stone. Cracks in the earth. Kobolds strike against the spent mines that other races must have abandoned once, and they do so tirelessly. Why?

• Roll an Expertise Knack or Awareness check.
• Reduce Hope by 50.
• If this Location is cleared, a new Location is unlocked.

Monstrous Parade
Cackling and armed, following paths that they must have bee instructed to proceed down. You've brushed with them before, but there must be a pattern to their patrols. Learn the pattern, and evasion becomes all the easier.

• Roll an Expertise Knowledge or Awareness check.
• If this Location is not cleared with the result of your roll, roll a DC 60 Reflex Save to avoid being detected by the patrols. On failure, reduce Hope by 50 OR consume 1 Purehymn Crystal.
• Reduce Hope by 50.
• If this Location is cleared, saves to avoid Patrol Encounters will automatically be succeeded.

Whistling Hollows
Exposed and vulnerable, they slumber, tucked against each other, clutching onto personal belongings that they strap against their chests. Some may let sleeping beasts lie. But perhaps this is a rare opportunity too.

• Roll an Expertise Knack or Presence check.
• If this Location is not cleared with the result of your roll, roll a DC 50 Will Save to keep calm under pressure as kobolds shift around in their sleep. On failure, the kobolds wake up.
• Reduce Hope by 50.
• If this Location is cleared, Kobolds within this Location can be disposed of in their slumber.

Chatterbox Grotto
They must be eating something. Drinking something. But what? The firelight and the jovial screeching draws you to a grotto. Watch, observe. See what it is that made these kobolds so big.

• Roll an Expertise Knowledge or Awareness check.
• Reduce Hope by 50.
• If this Location is cleared, obtain a sample of what they've been sustaining themselves on.

Ashspit Mineshaft
Smoke rises, blackening the ceiling, and you smell something that you can't truly describe. There is a fire here, an ancient one, and the smell guides you to a mineshaft that plunges down totally. Do you dare delve?

• Roll an Expertise Fitness or Awareness check. Add 40 to the result, owing to the rope.
• Reduce Hope by 100; the heat intensifies as you go lower.
• If this Location is cleared, a new Location is unlocked?

The End of the Road
A yawning tunnel, one that goes in deep. Far too deep. Kobolds pass by it without any care, their steps speeding up as they pass by this opening. The depths call for you all the same. Ignore it.

• Roll an Expertise Fitness or Knowledge check.
• Reduce Hope by 80; the tunnel needs to be cleared out for you to go in further, but you have a Shovel.
• If this Location is cleared, roll a DC 80 Will Save.

Extra Actions

Extra things for you to expend Hope on as the journey continues, which may bring extra supplies or cause more bad than good, depending on how lucky you're feeling. Every Action can be accompanied by an Extra Action, but Extra Actions are rolled after Actions are rolled.

Discovery
Keep your eyes and mind open, straying from the central path to sate your curiosity.

• Roll a d20 and refer to the list below.

Spoiler: Discovery Gacha

1: Cave In! You must make a DC 70 Reflex or Fortitude Save. If you fail, reduce Hope by 50 OR use the Whistle to call for help.
2-5: Pitfall! The ground collapses beneath you, dropping you into a forsaken hole that you can't get out of yourself. But you have a shovel or rope, and your friends know where you are. Reduce Hope by 40 as you dig a tunnel up and out OR reduce a tagged person's Action roll result by 20 as they spend time to pull you out.
6-12: Patrols! The Kobolds have found you, and you must strike them down before they sound the alarm! Roll a standard Attack action against the monster. If less than 80 damage is dealt, the monsters reduces Hope by 30, before the rest of the party curbstomps it. If less than 40 damage is dealt, the monsters also sound the alarm before their demise, increasing Kobold security in the upcoming cycle.
13-14: Shortcut! After stepping into a side tunnel and following it a bit, your knowledge of your surroundings indicates that this curves into one of the Locations that you are investigating. With your Shovel, you can dig even further and get a better spying spot as a result! Increase one Location's progress by 40.
15-17: Fishies! Amazingly enough, the Kobolds themselves seem to be raising pet fishes themselves. Rather than iridescent scales, however, these fish are sleek and swift, as if bred to be the fastest to swim the long loop of water that you find them in! The person you tag for this effect rolls an extra dice for their action, inspired by the swiftness of these speedy swimmers OR the Kobolds can be dealt psychological damage if you gut the fish and leave them to rot.
18-19: Artistic! You come across rare Kobold artifacts, bereft of magical power but certainly culturally significant and indicative of truly intelligent behavior! Regain 100 Hope as you gain some hope that these aren't just mindless murder-monsters after all AND add a Kobold Totem to your Supplies.
20: You come across something.

 

[Omega]

[ 438/800 ]

Focused

Omega had done the same as she had the previous 'night' the group was together. Without a power stone, or trust in the group at this point she would log herself and her character out and go do a few things out of game before sleeping in real life. Most of her time spent looking up the cave information still as it was on her mind and not having the answers was annoying enough to warrant it's continued research. Then once awoke she would sigh and go back to dealing with 'camp queenslayer' as she still had her own things to do here to want to spite them or ruin the results.

She would not exactly work with the others, going off on her own without a word and spending most of her time following a patrol or the groups of kobolds she noticed made sounds like communication. It was partly to see if it fit under her trait to understand spoken languages or was just sounds they understood not their own language. The main reason for her intrigue to such then anything else was because the Kobolds did not move like monsters, but a hive mind.

She did not normally pin monsters to have the intelligence to work in such ways, some eating, some sleeping, some working, and some on patrol hinted a higher form of intelligence that was either given to them by another thing, or told to them and if she could understand their language maybe she could figure who pulled the strings or what was their goal to make things interesting or worth her invested time. Going for wine was fine, but going for wine and coming back with a workforce for her queen was better in her mind.

That all said though, as she stuck around a group of kobolds working on mining she did not notice the warning signs before it was to late, falling rocks and the tension in the air, another strike to the wall and the area's tension was released as the earth itself broke down. Large rocks cutting off routes leaving some Kobolds, and a cursing internally Magia trapped away from the others. Just her luck, always bad things tended to happen when she was without her queen or not thinking of her.

"Fucking. Shit."

The robotic voice spoken aloud as Omega was now stuck until she got herself out, and not alone as it would likely only be a matter of time before any Kobolds that got spilt away with her came across the Magia.

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (78) + 13 = 91
Knowledge | Omega | 946C3 | Translation
---
Roll Result
1d20 (1) = 1 CAVE IN!
Discovery | Omega| 946C3 | Because we can and why not gambit!?~
---
Save
1d100 (20) + 5 + 21 = 46
Fortitude | Omega | 946C3 | Cave in save
---
Dredgerock Mines: 0/75
Monstrous Parade: 0/100
Whistling Hollows: 0/75
Chatterbox Grotto: 0/100
Ashspit Mineshaft: 0/150
End of the Road: 0/150
Translation: 91/???

Play Sheet Link.

 

[Askera Question]

[ 600/800 ]

Analytical and Focused
+50 hope from a blanket
-100 hope from @Omega 's cave-in and from Monstrous Parade
+11 Hope from meal

A blanket could be seen stalking the depths of the cave systems. It was a cloak that hid the frame of Askera Question, who had volunteered to go on patrol so as to look over the patterns that the Kobolds were following. He had taken the blanket with him, as he had noted that they were similar in color to the cave floors. Because of this, he was now stalking around the cave systems under a cloak as if he were Harry Potter with the invisible cloak.

If people who worked with Askera in the office saw him now, he would never hear the end of it-not for the rest of his life.

A self-made recording device was around his head, carefully watching the movements of the kobolds. It was because of this that he could not tilt his head down to look at his notebook and had to rely on his eyes alone. His gaze would occasionally dart down to see half of what he had written about the Kobolds' patterns and mannerisms.

It was going to be a long day of work ahead... but Askera believed that this work would pay off. He was learning quite a lot. He held the scale of a fish he'd found earlier in his hand-it was a good luck charm, one of a set. He'd made the other for @Solaria , who had said that she was going on a dangerous mission. He wasn't able to convince her to stop, but he had been able to make sure she would be careful on her sneaking.

He only hoped she would be okay.

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (49) + 40 + 10 + 3 = 102
Knowledge | Askera Question | 917C4 | Monstrous Parade

@aledog
Roll Result
1d20 (17) = 17 - Fish! Add an additional d100 to @Solaria 's next mastery check.

Dredgerock Mines: 0/75
Monstrous Parade: 102/100 - Cleared!
Whistling Hollows: 0/75
Chatterbox Grotto: 0/100
Ashspit Mineshaft: 0/150
End of the Road: 0/150

Play Sheet Link.

 

[Solaria]

[ 561/800 ]

Feels a fight coming.
-50 for Whistling Hollows
+11 for Meal Boon

After telling the group she was going on a mission that could be dangerous, she turned to find @Askera Question giving her a lucky fish scale charm of some sort. "Thank you. I'll need it." She smiled, grateful to have such kind allies.

Solaria walked into Whistling Hollows, seeing a plethora of Kobolds sleeping soundly. From what she was told, Kobolds were dangerous- but these ones looked different and bigger than the ones she'd been warned about at camp. Cautiously, she began to walk up to each sleeping Kobold, slicing them with her holy sword as cleanly and painlessly as possible.

She was ruthless but civilized. She took their lives one by one with care. When she got to the last one, it seemed ready to wake up- but she hit it with the hilt of her sword. It knocked the Kobold right out once again, so that she could drag it back to the group.

"I took one we can potentially talk to," Solaria told her allies. "Maybe we can learn something when it wakes up."

She smiled innocently, covered in the blood of the Kobold's brethren. Little did Solaria know, she was probably just as dangerous as the monsters she'd beaten, in her own way...

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (7) + 10 + 10 + 3 = 30
+77 on an extra d100 from Askera Question = 107
Presence | Solaria | 946C3 | Whistling Hollows

Dredgerock Mines: 0/75
Monstrous Parade: 102/100 - Cleared!
Whistling Hollows: 107/75 - Cleared!
Chatterbox Grotto: 0/100
Ashspit Mineshaft: 0/150
End of the Road: 0/150

Play Sheet Link.

 

[Essence]

[ 522/800 ]

Ready to show off her big brain.

Splitting from Frey was rough on Essence. Especially considering the fact that her Faerin bestie would be working with Creature. But she wanted to take on the Dredgerock Mines alone - and had no interest in the hole they seem intrigued by. She couldn't feel the call. However, she did feel beckoned towards the Kobolds' purpose. Why work so hard here, of all places? Was it their home? Not that she cared too much about trespassing. Rather, Essence felt further exploration would improve the expedition's progress. When she made her way around camps, not a single person tipped her off about the tireless work of the Kobolds. She put her brain to work, slipping into darkness to observe from afar, and get up close only to collect pieces of the puzzle the group needed to solve. From what she had gathered, no campers ventured into the depths of the mines for too long. Though she felt at home when surrounded by the exposed intricacies of Earth, this area had occupants with other goals in mind. Which brought the Elf back to the same question: Why here?

Essence maneuvered around the mines, managing to keep quiet amongst the constant ting ting ting of Kobolds mining mindlessly, like drones. In the way one does when they've performed a task over and over again. Some used pickaxes, others used rocks, and a few even resorted to utilizing their fists as a tool. So it seemed, Essence thought, that no matter the resources, the Kobolds would continue their work, even if seemingly physically harming themselves. Or maybe they weren't as susceptible to pain as she was? They sure as Hell looked beefy. Pure adrenaline put Essence in a position of forcing her body to calm down, as thoughts rushed and mingled and merged into solutions. She couldn't spare the shivering of anticipation in this moment. She had to succeed. 'Do well, and you'll be praised. You're gonna be so impressive to everyone when we regroup.' the Elf told herself, limited to making noise within the confines of her mind.

A mind that absorbed information like a sponge. A mind that got her through school almost effortlessly. Syncing up her quick-wittedness and intelligence with the fluid movements of her body, Essence felt capable and ready to spill the tea about what she had learned with the others.

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (65) + 0 = 65

Knack | Essence | 946C3 | Dredgerock Mines
*+13 from boons I keep forgetting to add, = 78

Dredgerock Mines: 78/75 - Cleared!
Monstrous Parade: 102/100 - Cleared!
Whistling Hollows: 107/75 - Cleared!
Chatterbox Grotto: 0/100
Ashspit Mineshaft: 0/150
End of the Road: 0/150

Play Sheet Link.

 

[Frey Elzeiros]

.

[ 452/800 ]

Keeping an eye out for kobolds.

-80 Hope from End of The Road
+5 to Will Saves from Ignited Torch
+10 Hope from Ignited Torch

Frey was pleased to find someone amongst their group's rank who felt the unexplored tunnel might beckon some acknowledgment from them, seeming as all the kobolds who patrolled the nearby areas were keen on ignoring its existence. He had waited for an opening, that the pair might slip around the kobolds and be undetected by them, signaling @Creature with a nod of his head as he rushed forward, feather-light steps aided by his astramancy helping him to remain mostly unnoticed.

"...What am I doing with this, again?" He whispered as he pressed himself against one of the tunnel walls, glancing down at the trusty shovel he had plucked from their group's supplies, only to then hand it over to Creature in exchange for the torch he had brought with himself.

All it took was a simple glance at the faerin's physique to deduce he was not one for physical labor, preferring to be the lookout for their improvised task. Leaving Creature to handle the brunt of the hard work, Frey remained close behind, throwing glances over his shoulder now and then as the two slowly advanced, attentive to every noise that might indicate someone else's approach.

With the need for better lighting within the confines of the now continuously expanding tunnel, Frey spoke the magical word to ignite the torch, holding it slightly over to the side of the man handling the tool. The less a need to keep an eye out for their own safety, the more he could turn his attention to the matter at hand, providing insight on where next to strike.

"Say, do you... Hear that? By any chance?"

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (48) + 10 + 10 + 3 = 71
Knowledge | Frey Elzeiros | 946C3 | End of The Road

Save
1d100 (25) + 20 + 10 + 3 + 5= 69
Will | Frey Elzeiros | 946C3

Dredgerock Mines: 78/75 - Cleared!
Monstrous Parade: 102/100 - Cleared!
Whistling Hollows: 107/75 - Cleared!
Chatterbox Grotto: 0/100
Ashspit Mineshaft: 0/150
End of the Road: 71/150

Play Sheet Link

 

[Creature]

[ 372/800 ]

Thinks digging this hole is boring… Get it? Boring.

They say that when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you. Creature had never truly grasped the meaning of the phrase as much as he had at this very moment. An expanse of murky darkness laid bare before the duo. Whether through bravery or foolishness, they decided to venture into the unknown.

Even with Hyper Sense, it was difficult to navigate. The light of Frey’s torch served as the only beacon of hope as the man shoveled away at the rock impeding their path. As he worked, a new thought had dawned on him. What if the kobolds had sealed this path off themselves? What could be so bad that they’d resort to something like that? Creature wasn’t sure. Were kobolds even capable of complex emotions like fear? Suddenly, Frey’s voice would break the monotony and steal him away from his pondering.

I don’t hear anything... You’re probably still tired from defending the camp all night.

He’d plainly reply before returning to the task at hand; a hearty scoop of dirt flying over his shoulder soon after.

Rolls

Expertise Check
1d100 (87) + 10 + 10 + 3 = 110
Fitness | Creature | 946C3 | The End of the Road

Save
1d100 (58) + 5 +19 = 82
Will | Creature | 946C3

Dredgerock Mines: 78/75 - Cleared!
Monstrous Parade: 102/100 - Cleared!
Whistling Hollows: 107/75 - Cleared!
Chatterbox Grotto: 0/100
Ashspit Mineshaft: 0/150
End of the Road: 181/150 - Cleared

Play Sheet Link.

 

[Ashifili]

Mining and Wine-ing

​

Spoiler: Omega

As a machine, Omega was able to accurately record and recall the varied shrieks and clicks that made up the kobolds’ language, the nature of her own investigations ensuring that she had a relatively good time remaining out of sight. So long as she was in earshot of the scaled lizardmen, she could conduct her research into their monstrous linguistics, but while she was able to gather up plenty of data, it remained difficult to process all this data. There was no language like this in reality for her to cross-reference, and there was no way to know too whether the intonations and inflections of those sounds were meant to express emotion or meaning.

It was difficult indeed, to learn a language only through osmosis, enough so that even after the ceiling collapsed on Omega owing to a kobold miner’s pickaxe strike, the Magia’s brain was still abuzz with the pressure of processing. Indeed, the dirt was simply something she could extricate herself from with the application of physical force. But language comprehension? Even with extensive self-study, Omega was still uncertain as to whether or not her understanding was accurate.

Not that she was going to tell that to those queen slayers though.

Spoiler: Askera

The Emergency Blanket did indeed make for effective camouflage when combined with Askera’s naturally pale features. Gray upon white turned him into an indistinct clump against the similarly indistinct stone that made up for most of the mines, and so long as he didn’t make any sudden movements, there wasn’t a single kobold that even considered him to be anything more than a patch of dirt and stone, if they looked in his direction at all.

But while they ignored him, he observed them. Focused and unerring, he wrote his notes without even looking, the skills of an office worker returning to be of use as an adventurer. Hours crawled one by one, his joints aching from the stiffness that came with such patient, tedious activity, but his focus remained undeterred by the protests of his body as he gleaned several additional details from the kobold patrols. Numbering often in squads of three to five, these patrols appear to be no different from the rest of the kobolds in the area, and, indeed, the task of patrolling appeared to be but another activity for the kobolds to perform. They were armed with motley weapons, only perhaps one or two in every squad possessing something that possessed a sharpened edge, and none of them held long-ranged weapons. As well,the kobold patrols always started at some point within the Dredgerock Mines, going too deep for Askera to pursue, but leaving afterwards to follow one of five different patrol patterns.

Certainly, there was something within the Mines, and with any hope, Essence would be able to figure out the specifics of that. But for now? Askera continued to watch, continue to look for any further permutations in the patterns that he had. But he was feeling good, despite the back pain and the dried eyes. With this, they would be able to avoid any accidental encounters with the patrols, at the very least.

Spoiler: Solaria

Ruthless but civilized was one way to call it.

Cold was another.

The Whistling Hollows sounded with the snoring of the kobolds, rudimentary tarps pulled over the openings to give a semblance of quiet darkness. It was perfect then, for Solaria to sneak into, her ears twitching for any sign of a kobold roused from restfulness. Whilst moving, the kobolds were specimens of physical might, their muscles flexing beneath scale and their tendons protruding strongly, every movement forceful and yet controlled. In slumber though? They were weak as any other lamb for the slaughter, and indeed, it was a slaughter.

Hanwell, that sentient sword of justice, did not speak as Solaria performed the butcher’s work, driving the blade’s tip into each kobold’s throat, her other limbs working on concert to bind down their limbs before their deathspasms alerted the others. It was dirty work. The work of assassins. But she performed it admirably, the fish scale that Askera gave her becoming coated with more and more of that sanguine ichor as Solaria continued to methodically extinguish lives.

And at the end of it all, all she could smell, taste, see, feel, and hear was blood. Seeping into her lungs. Sticking to her mouth. Flowing into her eyes. Staining her hair. Dripping from her sword. One more remained, a smaller kobold that had been cradled by a larger one before she had pulled them apart and tore open their soft, gushing throat.

That one was…lucky. That one would live.

A crimson shadow departed from the Whistling Hollows, leaving bloodied footprints in her wake. It would take time for this massacre to found out. But it, inevitably, would be.

Ruthless but civilized was one way to call it.

Inviting vengeance was another.

Spoiler: Essence

The kobolds indeed, did look beefy. They struck stone with force that she could feel, their powerful bodies seeming to shrug off the reflective force that came with their actions. The call and response of strike and shriek echoed with an uncanny rhythm throughout the many smaller tunnels and mines that the central tunnel spread out into, and simply through observing where the signs of dwarven work ended, Essence could conclude quite handily that most of the work done here was by the kobolds.

Which, perhaps, made sense. Pickaxes smashed into stone, sparks flying as clawed hands forced themselves into fractures and widened them further, tearing out chunks of stone with brute force, only to expose…more stone. Indistinct and worthless, materials that weren't even uniform enough to be useful for constructing buildings. But those stones were carted away somewhere regardless, carried by the armful further down the Dredgerock Mines, while discoveries of coal was celebrated wholeheartedly by the kobolds, a couple of time coming to slap their tails against each other whenever a particularly large chunk of that material was found.

Strange behaviour indeed, but from where she stood, Essence could see too that the same place that kobolds were carrying in all the materials excavated from the mines was where patrols of kobolds ended and started, as well as where minecarts, repurposed for the transportation of a curious, glowing liquid, was being pushed out, sent towards a different section of the cave.

There was certainly something there at the end. Something that Essence felt the need to investigate. But with the sheer density of kobolds present, she could not risk going there alone. So, as it was, she would have to return to the group. Report her findings.

And then, perhaps, answers could be had.

Spoiler: Creature

Shovel against dirt. Turning it soft, then scraping it against the ground. It was exhaustive work. Loud work. But no kobolds outside bothered to look inside, and it made Creature feel a bit foolish to be so worried about discovery to begin with. It was long, and cramped, and the torch, while shedding light, warmed up the space too quickly as well, making his armor feel much too uncomfortable. Sweat built up at his joints, fabrics sticking to his skin as he continued to labour, the traces of divine energy coursing through his body granting him might enough to break into dirt, but doing nothing to comfort him from the crushing sense of hopelessness, of futility, as he continued to dig into this abandoned tunnel.

Here, time didn’t matter. Thoughts didn’t matter either. The repetitiveness, the banality, ate away at his mind, lulled him further and further inside. Whispering into the deep. His breath coming up hot. His mind burning, but he did not know why. Feelings effaced. Deeper he went. Nonsensical fragments. Words spilling out without meaning.

He.

Continued.

Onwards.

Into.

The.

Aby-

The shovel clanked against stone. Hard stone. It rang, and Creature shook his head, suddenly gaining awareness once more. He was digging open a tunnel that had been in disuse for a long while, and now? He had reached the end. Shadows cast thickly over the small chamber he found himself in, but that made sense. He had dropped his torch while digging, after all.

So he picked it up. Shone firelight over this room, eight sides covered in well-laid brick. Lines, many lines, marked one side of the room, some going horizontally but most going vertically. Red dust laid upon the ground, flaking as he felt them, while pale shards scored that space as well, eroded by the passage of time until rendered indistinguishable. It was a strange room. It was an empty room. It was unnervingheshouldleavenowheneededtoleavenow sort of disappointing, in truth. No pot of gold here, after all.

Creature left, ducking his head down as he strode towards the pinprick of light in the distance.

Spoiler: Who?

Who was he?

He could not recall.

The crown on his head felt odd, as did the cloak around his shoulders. Heavy weights, meaningless weights. No particular symbol, no particular oath, could be attached to them, their mass simply uncomfortable on his slender frame. Like everything else too. A caterpillar within a cocoon, wriggling free but lacking the strength to. It was exhausting, instead. Fatiguing.

So this nameless one dropped what he held and sat down. Better now. His legs were sore. Had been sore for a long while. The stone felt cool against his head, cool enough to wash away the thoughts that had once felt so important to hold onto, but now melted with such ease that he felt foolish simply having clung on for so long. It wasn’t like him. Why wasn’t it like him? He should stop thinking about him. What mattered was this present. This space. Eight stone walls and an opening that granted him a pinprick of light.

That was all he needed, wasn’t it?

Just a sliver to break the monotony and make everything fresh. Discard the past. Efface the future. Leave nothing but what was right now, and he could be…content.

Alone.

What was he?

Flesh. Rotting away. Shadows. Rooted deep. Stars. Blinking out. Magic. Whimsy misplaced. Corruption. Without counterbalance.

Nothing.

Something.

The Elegist awaiting her seventy-eighth trial, the weight of her crimes binding her down more surely than the pillory that restrained her, as the seventy-eighth method presented itself, a flame so bright as to b-

Cold hands clamped over this no one’s eyes.

“This is not yours.”

A word flashed. Foreign. Oubliette.

“Recall.”

They reconvened away from the Kobold's Nest..

Omega stank of dirt, but managed to clean herself up well enough to be presentable on the offchance that her one and only Queen happened upon her. Solaria did nothing, and perhaps, had nothing to clean herself off with, and it was a small miracle that she made it to the outskirts where their meeting point was whilst stinking from head to toe with the blood of the dead. Over her shoulders laid the unconscious kobold, a possible target to interrogate. Askera, though his joints still felt stiff and every movement of his shot pinpricks into his muscles, had much to say about the patterns of kobold patrols, and relocated them all to a space further away from the patrols, where they could speak in peace without any possibility of disruption. And Essence certainly had the most to say, beaming as she was with every little scrap of information that she gathered. The Inner Flame called, the central portion of Kobold society from which it appeared that all the instructions for monstrous activity stemmed from!

Creature returned, shovel in one hand, and torch in the other. He reeked too, and his trip appeared fruitless. But, well, it was just a tunnel. Perhaps the kobolds ignored it because they knew there was nothing there? That was likely.

But.

Hm.

It felt off.

Something was missing.

What cou- oh, no! The Vibeslime Lantern, once so vibrant in the colors it shown, had finally died off, the little buddy within it reduced to a sad, gray lump. It had been a hard journey for sure, one that had frayed at all their minds, and perhaps it was the separation of the party, the tedium of investigation, observation, and slaughter that finally set the mood of the place low enough that the slime had no recourse but to die of sadness!

Perhaps they would bury it. Perhaps they would eat it.

Regardless, though the absence of one light was worrying, the Nest itself was well-lit enough, and they had a torch too! So it was time to plan once more. Invading the Inner Flame would be dangerous indeed, and now that they knew specifically what they were going for, the party of five could prepare effectively for what may be the last leg of the journey.

With Omega's newly-developed kobold-listening skills, they could perhaps draw some important information out of their captive!

With Solaria's improved understanding of kobold physiology, they could perhaps better develop their fighting ability against these lizardmen!

With the knowledge that Askera and Essence both had, they could plan out the first few segments of their adventure into the Inner Flame, ensuring that it went as smoothly as possible before they were well and truly in the unknown.

Or, of course, they could just rest up as well, in the comfy camp that one of them had come up with the name for.

There were many options!

Cycle 4: Forgetting

OOC

• @Solaria @Creature @Essence @Omega @Askera Question
• 500 word limit, excluding code, because I know the pain of long codes. Anything above that is ignored and your turn forfeited.
• 48 hour post cycles. May post sooner depending on the eagerness of players or the triggering of traps.
• Until combat begins, your actions in the Play Sheet are not locked in.
• This round presents a choice. Do you continue onwards? Do you search for what you have lost? Do you prepare for what lies ahead?
• If you have any questions, ping me in #rp-chat or the discord thread for this challenge, if the latter exists.

Spoiler: Post Template

[bar=800]800[/bar]
[status]Brief description of character's mood.[/status]

Post here. 500 words max.

[action]
Bot roll here.

Interrogate the Whelp:
Plan the Run:

[/action]
Play Sheet Link.

Cycle Resolution

<< Translation: 91 >>
Omega's combination of traits allows her to understand some snatches of the kobold's language, mostly centered around action verbs, directions, and physical objects. Unlocks the Interrogation action.

<< Monstrous Parade: Cleared! >>
Askera's careful study has allowed him to figure out how often patrols pass by certain area or change shifts. Removes the Patrol result from the Discovery Gacha.

<< Whistling Hollows: Cleared! >>
Solaria, inspired by the camaraderie shone to her by Askera, managed to keep herself together as she snuck into the Whistling Hollows, ultimately allowing her to kill the 18 sleeping kobolds inside and taking the final one hostage.

<< Dredgerock Mines: Cleared! >>
Essence stealthed successfully into a nook within the Mines, allowing her to observe with her full focus without worrying about detection. Unlocks the [Inner Flame] location.

<< The End of the Road: Cleared! >>
Creature shoveled open the narrowing tunnel and reached the end. There are things here, for certain, traces of a presence. But still, it's strange. He seems to be forgetting something.

Boons and Supplies

<< Hope: 384/600 >>​

Hope represents the party's will to continue onwards as a cohesive unit. This is a resource that is shared and consumed whenever any party member makes an action during exploration. Once Hope reaches 0, the party is no longer able or willing to continue, and will split, each prioritizing their own chances of reaching it back to the surface.​

​

<< Hatred: 159 >>​

​

Hatred represents the amount of spite the Kobolds have towards the invaders. The higher this value is, the more likely and willing they are to risk their own lives for a pound of the invader's flesh.​

<< Boons >>​

​

Preparation Boons​

+19 to Saves​

+8 to Combat Actions​

+3 to Mastery or Expertise Checks.​

​

Meal Boons​

+11 to Hope every time you post​

+2 to Fortitude Saves​

​

Supply Boons​

+10 Hope per Cycle [Self-Igniting Torch]​

+5 to Will Saves [Self-Igniting Torch]​

​

<< Supplies >>​

​

Supplies are items that are lost at the end of the Challenge, while providing certain advantages during the challenge. Some of them have clear, mechanical benefits, as will be outlined below. Others serve as props to be used to make freeform actions possible, or have situational usages that will be outlined in actions.​

​

Vibeslime Lantern [x0] - If Hope is above 400, increase Mastery Checks and Expertise Checks by 10.​

Classic Dynamite [x1] - As a combat action, consume this supply to inflict 200 damage on a single target, as well as 100 damage on surrounding targets.​

Trusty Shovel [x1] - Reduce Hope cost for tunneling by 20%.​

Sharpened Pickaxe [x1] - Enables the [Prospect] action.​

20 Meters of Rope [x2] - Always handy, but for what?​

Self-Igniting Torches [x2] - If Ignited, increase Will Saves by 5 and regain 10 Hope per Cycle. If Doused, this supply is consumed.​

Emergency Blanket [x1] - Consume this supply to regain 50 Hope.​

Clean Whistle [x1] - Whistle.​

​

Glassstone Ore [x3] - Chunks of a seemingly transparent stone. When a strong light is shone through them, the light is refracted out the other end into a rainbow. Good for interior design or, perhaps, for dazzling primitive monsters. Remember, there's three Ss in Glassstone.​

Purehymn Crystal [x2] - Silvery-white crystals with a resemblance to quartz, now broken down into handheld portions. If tossed against the ground, emits a terrifyingly loud sound that seems doubly effective at frightening monsters. If pressed against your mouth and spoken into, gives a musical quality to even the most neutral tones.​

​

<< Camp Queenslayer >>​

A spacious campsite, established through the efforts of Creature, Essence, Omega, Solaria, and Askera. Tucked on the border of the Kobolds' territory, this base camp has several natural features. The softened earth makes for a comfortable sleeping space even without any mattresses, while plentiful pools dot one half of the cavern, with one pool in particular being large enough and warm enough to bathe in. Luminescent mushrooms dot the sides and ceiling, granting a natural light, which reflects well off the crystalline ores that cluster around the edges.​

​

A shadow veil shields the entrance from sight, and magical glyphs alert the inhabitants of the presence of monsters near the vicinity of the camp.​

​

Molded by Geomancy and Magitech, the base camp currently sports...​

• 3 Medium Quality Chairs
• 1 Low Quality Table
• 2 Low Quality Beds, 1 Medium Quality Bed
• 1 Medium Quality Stove
• 1 Low Quality Wash Sink
• 1 Medium Quality Outhouse
• 1 Low Quality Sauna
• 1 Medium Quality Field
• 1 Medium Quality Workshop

Actions

Fatigue is settling in, but the answers seem to be getting ever closer. With the discovery of the Inner Flame, this now would be the best time to prepare for the last spurt! Interrogate the prisoner! Eat good food! Plan out paths! Take a bath! Practice your swordsmanship! Get a good night's rest! Camp Queenslayer awaits, with all the creature comforts one may have.

All for the expedition's success.

Interrogate the Whelp
Solaria has brought in one kobold, and Omega has a rudimentary understanding of the language of such monsters. Make it squeal, and see what else you can learn.

• Roll an Expertise or Mastery check. Rolling with Presence, Animacy, Dark Magic, Corrupt, or Hemomancy grants a +30 bonus to the final result.
• Reduce Hope by 50.
• Keywords, based off the total Interrogation result, will be given at the start of the next cycle.

Plan the Run
Patrol patterns have been elucidated by Askera, and Essence knows with certainty the layout of the area leading up to the Inner Flame. Prepare your path, so that no hesitation need be considered in the first leg of the run.

• Roll Expertise or Mastery checks a total of five times, split between all Plan the Run actions in this cycle.
• Reduce Hope by 25 every time you roll a check.
• The total result will be added to your Progress in the upcoming cycle.

Hone the Blade
Put that Workshop to use and keep your equipment in good condition. Your enemies are kobolds, and you now know how uniform their sizes are, how overbearing their strength is. Visualize it. Prepare for it.

• Roll an Expertise or Mastery check. Increase the result by 20 for every Offensive Mastery you have.
• Reduce Hope by 50.
• The total result will be translated into combat action Boons in the upcoming cycle.

Rest Well
Eat a meal. Take a bath. Do something fun. Lie in bed. Make yourself feel civilized again.

• Recover 10d20 Hope.

Recall
You wish to act, but something still feels off. Did Creature and Askera really get all this equipment? Did any of them have the magical ability to create the camp's defenses? Who else voted for Camp Queenslayer, when Omega was vehemently against it and Creature wanted to name the place after himself? Inconsistencies, small and inconsequential, tease at your mind, too weak to remove the strange blankness that has befallen it. But if you hold on tight, perhaps...

...it will be of help for the one forgotten.

• If you are the ones forgetting, this action can only be taken so long as the one forgotten has yet to roll.
• If you are the one forgotten, do what you can to hold onto your identity and roll a DC 80 Will Save. Increase the result by 20 for every individual who chooses to recall. You do NOT benefit from Supply Boons, but do benefit from Preparation Boons.
• On success, you become you, and will be directly messaged by me. On failure, you remain you, forgotten still within the Oubliette.

Extra Actions

Extra things for you to expend Hope on as the journey continues, which may bring extra supplies or cause more bad than good, depending on how lucky you're feeling. Every Action can be accompanied by an Extra Action, but Extra Actions are rolled after Actions are rolled.

Discovery
Keep your eyes and mind open, straying from the central path to sate your curiosity.

• Roll a d20 and refer to the list below.

Spoiler: Discovery Gacha

1: Cave In! You must make a DC 70 Reflex or Fortitude Save. If you fail, reduce Hope by 50 OR use the Whistle to call for help.
2-5: Pitfall! The ground collapses beneath you, dropping you into a forsaken hole that you can't get out of yourself. But you have a shovel or rope, and your friends know where you are. Reduce Hope by 40 as you dig a tunnel up and out OR reduce a tagged person's Action roll result by 20 as they spend time to pull you out.
6-12: Patrols! But you saw that coming.
13-14: Shortcut! After stepping into a side tunnel and following it a bit, your knowledge of your surroundings indicates that this curves into one of the Locations that you are investigating. With your Shovel, you can dig even further! Gain 80 to Plan the Run, as you account for this shortcut in your preparations.
15-17: Fishies! Amazingly enough, the Kobolds themselves seem to be raising pet fishes themselves. Rather than iridescent scales, however, these fish are sleek and swift, as if bred to be the fastest to swim the long loop of water that you find them in! The person you tag for this effect rolls an extra dice for their action, inspired by the swiftness of these speedy swimmers OR the Kobolds can be dealt psychological damage if you gut the fish and leave them to rot.
18-19: Artistic! You come across rare Kobold artifacts, bereft of magical power but certainly culturally significant and indicative of truly intelligent behavior! Regain 100 Hope as you gain some hope that these aren't just mindless murder-monsters after all AND add a Kobold Totem to your Supplies.
20: You come across something.

Prospect
Bust out that Sharpened Pickaxe and start mining those ores. Gold rush, baby!

• Roll a Mastery or Expertise check. Geomancy and Crush roll with advantage.
• The higher the roll, the greater the chance of coming across precious or explosive ores, to be processed in the next cycle update.
• Reduce Hope by 50. Then make a Fortitude Save (DC 40). If fail, reduce Hope by another 20.

 

[Omega]

[ 496/800 ]

Defeated
+112 hope (101 Recovery, 11 meal)
Not calling for help or digging out of hole.

Omega was ready to simply give up, she prided herself so long on her memory and ability to learn things faster then anyone else. So imagine when she took three blows that that very pride in the course of one adventure. The ground giving out in her usual sitting spot in the camp and rather then ask for help she only sighed on the inside, even the cave was putting her down. She could not learn about the cave from her research, it overloaded her.

She could not learn the Kobold's language because she had nothing to base it off from, and now she was forgetting things when before she never forgot a single second of a day. Was the game breaking her so she would be useless to her queen? Was she even useful to begin with? Hands slowly pulling her legs closer as she balled up at the bottom of the hole. What was her value without her intellect? Anyone could be her Queen's shield, and she felt less then average as a strategist in this moment.

A heavy internal sigh as she shut down the voices in her mind that tried to get her to keep moving, she wanted to wallow in her imperfections longer. She did not want others to see so she fumbled around her Inventory to get her magitech wings and used them to cover the hole she was in. She doubted they would deal with her either, she was not helping or been helpful either. A single tear would fall into the soil, then another and more as she balled up more.

"What is the use of weak shield, or a mind damage from a single cave in, or unable to do what it could in real life in this stupid game... Is there even reason to keep trying to assist Queen when I'll only slow her down? All I have done on this trip to get her better standing is find stupid gems to give as a possible gift if she even likes those sort of things... Maybe I should not have even come in the first place and just stayed offline... least there I'm more useful to Vivian as a information hunter..."

So she would resume her little pity party of self damage, hand hovering the log out button as it was the only thing that would help her get out of the mess she was making. She could not find ways to get the reason to stay to out weight the reason to log out and only hop back into the game on call of her Queen, if that would happen ever again.

Rolls

Roll Result
10d20 (6 + 4 + 14 + 5 + 18 + 2 + 16 + 15 + 13 + 8) = 101
'Rest' well | Omega | 946C4 | Defeated...
---
Roll Result
1d20 (4) = 4 (cave-in)
Discovery | Omega | 946C4 | Fuck dice!
---
Interrogate the Whelp: 000
Plan the Run: 000

PSL

 

[Solaria]

[ 457/800 ]

Cautious.
-50 Hope from Hone the Blade
+11 Hope from Meal Boon

Not feeling suitable for interrogation, Solaria opted to scare the Kobold from the corner in its sight. She took out a whetstone she had in her inventory and began to sharpen her trusted sword, Hawnell- the sword that had the blood of the Kobold's brethren dying its steel red.

When she felt her blade was sharpened to the right level, the Elf wandered to get some water- not their bath water, mind you, but water being used to clean gear. She used her dress and water to clean off some of the blood on Hawnell. She preferred to be covered in the stuff than her partner, after all.

Somehow, though, something felt missing... And she couldn't place it. But, being more concerned about the future of her team, she focused on caring for her sword. It was her best partner, after all- and it would be necessary fairly soon, or so she thought...

Rolls

Mastery Check
1d100 (4) + 25 + 20 + 3 = 52
Slash Weapons | Solaria | 946C4 | Hone the Blade

Interrogate the Whelp:
Plan the Run:

Play Sheet Link.

 

[Essence]

[ 393/800 ]

Forgetting... something. But still ready to go!

Sat in a chair, head between her legs, Essence lost herself in thought. She'd stopped for a small break before taking on the brunt of the plans to further their expedition. One moment she remembered, the next she forgot. But what had she forgotten? The Elf's obsessive tendencies rooted her to the Earth. She felt stuck. Entrapped by dirt, suffocated. And so suddenly, too, did this feeling wash over her. A place that once felt like home, no longer provided her a sense of comfort. Forgetting. It's a scary thing. If you forget, you're a shame to the family. A nobody. You have to remember every little thing to avoid the lashings, the degradation... she feared forgetting.

Essence stood, clearing her throat, and began to pace. Rather than fear, she felt sadness. This forgetfulness felt, instead, like a loss, and it dug at her soul. Her heart cried out. As much as she tried to listen, Essence failed to hear anything. Shimmering crystals compelled her. The Elf reached out, fingers gracing those that reflected a million shades of blue. The color wasn't often one that connected to her. Yet, in this moment, blue was her favorite color.

To sit on her emotions, these deep, dark things, wasn't Essence's vibe. She pushed the sensations down into a mental cesspit. Essence laid a blanket down - situating herself - then lit a torch, and got to work, drawing rough sketches in the soft dirt. The group had collected information on monsters and the dangers of the cave before they'd even entered. She kept that in mind. Essence pulled together the exploration of Creature and Askera, as well as herself, and made notes of Solaria's violent conquest. Their team could avoid patrols pretty well, so she mapped out a plan that accounted for the Kobolds' routes. When observing from afar, Essence felt drawn to the unknown section of the cave. The one clearly connected to the mysterious liquid.

"Hey, y'all, I have some plans figured out, some come over and listen, 'kay?" she called out, with a lowered tone, to the others, after they wrapped up their own preparations. Though she noted @Omega was nowhere to be seen. "I can get us somewhere that seems important to the Kobolds. I dunno what'll come after that, but thanks to everyone's help, and myself," she hummed, pleased with herself, and flipped hair behind her shoulder before continuing. "we got a good scope of the area, and what to avoid. Like, I can lead us in, but I want @Solaria close to me. She can kick mad ass. Just follow me, and keep quiet, weapons drawn, basic sneaky-battle stuff. The most important part is to stick to the path I have planned. Or they'll catch us, and probably turn us into the sludge I saw them putting into minecarts." Essence explained more in-depth details after the briefing and motioned toward her poor, but understandable, drawings, to aid the group in what was to come. As much as possible.

@Creature @Askera Question

Rolls

Recall

`Twice Activated (extra action granted) | Essence | 946C4`

Expertise Check
1d100 (84) + 10 + 3 = 97

Presence | Essence | 946C4 | Plan the Run

Expertise Check
1d100 (40) + 10 + 3 = 53

Presence | Essence | 946C4 | Plan the Run

Expertise Check
1d100 (75) + 10 + 3 = 88

Presence | Essence | 946C4 | Plan the Run

1d100 (79) + 10 + 3 = 92

Presence | Essence | 946C4 | Plan the Run

Expertise Check
1d100 (24) + 10 + 3 = 37

Presence | Essence | 946C4 | Plan the Run

Interrogate the Whelp: 0
Plan the Run: 367

Consuming

Self-Igniting Torches [x1] - If Ignited, increase Will Saves by 5 and regain 10 Hope per Cycle. If Doused, this supply is consumed.
Emergency Blanket [x1] - Consume this supply to regain 50 Hope.

Play Sheet Link.

 

[Askera Question]

[ 404/800 ]

Something Not Found; Thoughtful and Sad

Now was a time of rest. Askera had once seen the repressed light of the sun that hid past the clouds when he had needed to journey back to the surface-it was surely past the point of night's fall now, after the hours he had spent watching the every moves of the kobold patrols-a piece of information he had earlier given @Essence when she had asked.

He could not rest all the same, and it seemed that several others couldn't, either. The peppy magician was using his information to plan something, and he'd decided to nod his head and agree with whatever she had in mind. Hopefully she would use his knowledge well, as he couldn't muster up the brainpower to protest against anything she said.

Somethin just kept pushing at the back of his skull. It was a dissatisfaction of some kind. He took it as a need to do something creative with his time, yet building did not scratch that itch when he tried. Taking a smoke didn't help, either, and he moved on to hobbies in the stead of this fact.

He'd gone back to the pond. The waters were an inspiration to him, the faintest sound of water trickling in from somewhere deeper in the mountain relaxing the nerves. Askera had brought a little easel and a brush, along with paints of shades between grey and blue. He spent time trying to draw these waves, wishing that the niggling at the back of his skull would just flow away with the water that fell onto the canvas.

Every time he looked at the painting, he grew to feel the same feeling. It looked so much like somebody's hair. Why? Why did it remind him of a crowning frame? Who had such an ethereal picture that their hair could be likened to the flowing water of a secret pond with rainbow scales that flittered beneath the surface? Was he forgetting one of his coworkers, perhaps? Was there a mizu-san in his office that he had momentarily forgotten in his position as an administrator..?

He felt so nostalgic at the thought, a feeling of familiarity that reminded him of home. It was like he knew someone either recently or for a long time, and their face was trapped just barely beyond the waters on his canvas. This feeling consumed Askera's thoughts as he tried to understand more, enough so that he waived off @Creature 's concerns. The man had approached him for... something he couldn't remember right now, and the researcher had just gone along with what he said to be polite.

Yet nothing was on his mind besides this perplexing riddle.

Rolls

Recollecting.

Exploration:
Roll Result
1d20 (17) = 17 - Fishie! Give @Creature an extra die to his next action's roll.

Hone the Blade:
Interrogate the Whelp: 0/???
Plan the Run: 367

Play Sheet Link.

 

[Frey Elzeiros]

.

[ 404/800 ]

Who..?

Something frays at memory's edge.

Get it? Fray. Frey.

...Who is that?

Why make a joke like that?

Is he the person that always has a smile drawn upon his features, at the ready, because if others wouldn't smile, then at least he could do it for them?

Laughter echoes, distant and discordant, a roar of voices he cannot recognize any longer pulling at every piece of him. There is no one to share the laughter with in this space, its comforts offered to him alone as the pinprick of light creates a barrier between him and the unseen.

Is he the person that rushes headfirst into combat because it ought to make his veins sing with the rush of adrenaline in the face of danger?

There is a memory to be grasped here, something that tickles his fingertips and makes his nerves stand at attention.

I'm here! They sing, and cry, and beg all the same. I'm still here! But he closes his fingers and that, too, fades before he can make sense of the myriad flashes of colour blurring together until nothing is distinguishable anymore.

Is he a person? A companion? A friend? A comrade in arms? A brother? A fighter?

Every descriptor fits, and feels foreign all the same.

Is he-…

No, he isn't.

He isn't anything.

He isn't anyone.

He is no one but the witness to a flame that burns so bright he might…

"This is not yours."

Cold hands obscure him to the vision conjured in front of him. Hands, and a voice that brushes past his ears, but whose?

"Is anything mine anymore?" A voice that belongs to no one falls from his lips, and the mere sound of it weighs down on his shoulders like a burden added onto himself, a burden he shouldn't have to carry. This voice, it belongs to someone, but it isn't his at all.

"Recall."

What is there to recall?

A moment's hesitation.

You?

A muffled sound that somehow passes for laughter, muted and uncertain of itself.

I can't even recall who, what I am.

He is but a collection of memories that lay forgotten. Unused, undisturbed, uncertain, and unnecessary.

I could try to recall you, I think.

Nameless as he is, wouldn't it stand to reason that his own thoughts, if such could be called, would be as flawed as himself?

But I can't promise you that I won't forget.

Something stirs within his chest, burrows underneath his skin and sinks into his bones as he brings his knees closer to his chest.

I... Forgot... Something. No, so much... Didn't I?

He is not akin to a moth that would be drawn to the flame, a heavy hand reaching to graze with his fingers the hands of the one... Keeping him? Protecting him?

No. I can try.

His fingers close around their own, careful not to remove them from their place, and he holds them there.

And waits.

Rolls

Save
1d100 (37) + 20 + 19 + 20 + 20 = 116
Will | Frey Elzeiros | 946C4

Hone the Blade: 52
Interrogate the Whelp: 0/???
Plan the Run: 367

Play Sheet Link

 

[Creature]

[ 354/800 ]

Uncertain.

What a let down.

Creature had made his way back to the camp after having been blue balled by the ominous tunnel. Something had been bothering him about the emptiness of the place, and even more so he felt as if he was forgetting something. Ultimately he would ward off any obtrusive doubts that tugged at his thoughts as there were more important things to allocate his energy toward. He wasn’t entirely sure what the others were doing and with nothing to show for his efforts, wasn’t in much of a mood to talk. Instead he would place the still lit torch in a sconce near the workstation and funnel his frustration into his work. The bat he held may have been worn, but was reliable nonetheless. At the desk he used what materials he could find lying around the camp to fashion some makeshift barbed wire to wrap around the end. When he was satisfied with the modification a small sigh of relief was finally let loose. He was unsure what else this place had in store for them… He just hoped the party could keep it together long enough to make it through whatever challenges lie ahead.

Rolls

Mastery Check
1d100 (77) + 10 + 40 + 3 = 130
Crush Weapons | Creature | 946C4 | Hone the Blade

Roll Result
1d100 (19) = 19

Total Contribution = 149

Hone the Blade: 201
Interrogate the Whelp: 0/???
Plan the Run: 367

Play Sheet

 

[Ashifili]

Mining and Wine-ing

​

A cough.

Wet, gurgling, sucking in air. Heart pounding, racing, desperate to push the air into his veins, into his brain! The world swayed and swam, but the darkness, so thick, saved his mind from further vertigo. He had drowned, and then he had risen. He had died, and then he had lived. He spasmed, fighting back the vomit that surged up his esophagus, throat undulating up and down, burning from bile. Clawed against the fog within, desperate for clarity but desperate for answers! Already, it was fading, melting away in the flotsam of a bubbling swamp, drawn into depths that he couldn’t delve into any further!

Frey stood up, and immediately struck his head against the ceiling.

He was in a chamber, alone. A cramped space, illuminated now by nothing but the magic he wove to chase away the shadows and the loneliness. Eight walls of stone formed an open cube, leading out to the Kobold’s Nest. He would leave, of course. He had to find his friends. But before he did, he took another look around. One hundred and thirty two marks scored one wall. Dried blood and shards of bone littered the wall. And, beyond the smell of dirt and stone, beyond the overpowering stench of himself, there was something else in the air.

The aroma of camellias. So, so faint.

Perishing with grace, into perpetuity.

And as he crawled out of the tunnel, chasing that firelight, what greeted him was the faces of Essence and Askera, both concerned in their own ways, both having designed the detour to pick up a friend that they somehow forgot about. Creature was there as well, his club sporting sick barbed wires, while Solaria had cleaned up well, though the smell of blood remained thickly on her.

Perhaps there would be a short break allowed, just for a reunion, just for questions to be asked that Frey could not really answer. But in the end, there was nothing wrong with the crowned Faerin, and indeed, his presence only served to increase the odds of their success. So what could be done, in truth?

They had an expedition to complete!

…

The more paranoid of them would perhaps find it suspicious that it was so easy, really. The kobolds clanked with reduced energy, and the patrols appeared much less frequent, even if they did still follow the same easily-avoidable paths as before. The Dredgerock Mines, filled as they were with tunnels into rock, offered plenty of spaces to duck into and hide whenever kobolds drew too close, while the two torches that were held didn’t need to be prematurely snuffed owing to all the light that was already present.

From what, they would soon find out.

As the heat intensified, that terribly dry heat that Creature had sensed even at the very start of the expedition, the entire party had to squint their eyes and shield their face as they exited the mouth of the mines and came across…

…a Dwarven Distillery! Askera recognized the tools used, having seen them himself in science labs as a student and in breweries as an adult. Made of brass, copper, and glass, these giant structures were fused into the very walls of the cavern, of such massive scale that…

…they dwarved even the gargantuan kobold that sat right by the centerpiece of the distillery. Solaria, perhaps the most experienced fighter here, could feel it in that instant, the scepter of death that shrouded this titan. It was as if birthed from molten flame itself, eyes burning like the sun, body radiating with an internal heat. Twice the size and girth of even the largest Starcalled, he sat there, on guard, occasionally shrieking out orders to other kobolds as they rushed back and forth…

…carrying the fluid that was distilled from the glass vat that appeared to be the final part of the alchemical process the dwarves used to create their Firebrand Liquor. The liquor rolled smoothly, with syrup-like viscosity, and it glowed with its own heat. A heat that clued Essence in quickly regarding what exactly it was. The kobolds mined coal to fuel the machine, and they mined crude rock to feed it! For all the trickery involved, this drink, this famed liquor was literally…

…a derivative of magma, twisted through incomprehensible dwarven technology in order to make it a drink that was not only safe for consumption to begin with, but also one that granted a strength most terrible within the kobolds that imbibed in it. There were always limitations, after all, to the growth of ‘humanoid’ races, but for monsters? Monsters with their limitless potential and their accelerated mutations? This was the difference between the kobolds that the inhabitants of Camp Hollownook experienced and the kobolds that Frey saw before him, surging like a tide of muscle, possessing strength to dwarf adventurers. But so long as the party remained unseen, they would be…

…safe. If they had not all overlooked an important detail. Creature, his senses sharpened, felt, in that moment, the prenominition of danger. Of a gaze settling upon them from behind. He was the first to prepare himself, the first to warn others of the imminent threat!

The first to turn around, and to see the kobold that they had brought to Camp Queenslayer and then left unattended. It had faked unconsciousness throughout, and they had all been too busy to rouse it for interrogation. It had slipped its eyes open in intermittent periods, watching the lines that the smooth-scaled thing drew. Now, the whelp stood there, having followed them all the entire time, and with a single empathetic shriek, it sounded an alarm to draw the attention of all kobolds within the Inner Flame, within the Dwarven Distillery!

It didn’t matter if the party took their revenge swiftly, if they slew that whelp where it stood.

Its family had been slain, and with this action alone, it passed the burden of its vengeance upon the Flame-Scaled Warrior that roused itself from its watch.

A roar to rattle the mountain resounded, a roar filled with a satisfaction most brilliant! The bastards that killed their kindred in their sleep had revealed themselves, and now, the hunt shall begin in earnest!

Do or die.

Roll the dice.

Cycle 5: Distilling

OOC

• @Frey Elzeiros @Solaria @Creature @Essence @Omega @Askera Question
• 750 word limit, excluding code, because I know the pain of long codes. Anything above that is ignored and your turn forfeited.
• 48 hour post cycles. May post sooner depending on the eagerness of players or the triggering of traps.
• Lock in your actions.
• This round is when things go down.
• If you fail to clear the Victory Condition, this will continue onto the next cycle, and damage will be dealt.
• If you have any questions, ping me in #rp-chat or the discord thread for this challenge, if the latter exists.

Spoiler: Post Template

[bar=800]800[/bar]
[hp=42% of your max hp, rounding up]max HP[/hp]
[status]Brief description of character's mood.[/status]

Post here. 500 words max.

[action]
Bot roll here.

The Flame-Scaled Warrior: 2000/2000

Kobold's Pursuit: 121
Progress and Escape: 367

[/action]
Play Sheet Link.

Cycle Resolution

<< Hone the Blade: 52 + 149 >>
Solaria and Creature make their preparations for battle, cleaning out their gear and reorganizing their inventory so everything that they need for a scrap will, in fact, be ready to go when it's time to fight. +21 to all attack actions.

<< Plan the Run: 367 >>
Essence's plan, though somewhat rushed and certainly not perfect, looks to be airtight enough to get them past the area the group had explored early on and into the deeper portions of the Kobold's Nest without any trouble. +367 to Progress at the start of the round.

Boons and Supplies

<< Hope: 335/800 >>​

Hope represents the party's will to continue onwards as a cohesive unit. This is a resource that is shared and consumed whenever any party member makes an action during exploration. Once Hope reaches 0, the party is no longer able or willing to continue, and will split, each prioritizing their own chances of reaching it back to the surface.​

​

<< Hatred: 159 >>​

​

Hatred represents the amount of spite the Kobolds have towards the invaders. The higher this value is, the more likely and willing they are to risk their own lives for a pound of the invader's flesh.​

<< Boons >>​

​

Preparation Boons​

+19 to Saves​

+8 to Combat Actions​

+3 to Mastery or Expertise Checks.​

+21 to Attack Combat Actions​

​

Meal Boons​

+11 to Hope every time you post​

+2 to Fortitude Saves​

​

Supply Boons​

+20 Hope per Cycle [Self-Igniting Torch x2]​

+10 to Will Saves [Self-Igniting Torch x2]​

​

<< Supplies >>​

​

Supplies are items that are lost at the end of the Challenge, while providing certain advantages during the challenge. Some of them have clear, mechanical benefits, as will be outlined below. Others serve as props to be used to make freeform actions possible, or have situational usages that will be outlined in actions.​

​

Askera​

Vibeslime Lantern [x0] - If Hope is above 400, increase Mastery Checks and Expertise Checks by 10.​

Trusty Shovel [x1] - Reduce Hope cost for tunneling by 20%.​

Self-Igniting Torches [x2] - If Ignited, increase Will Saves by 5 and regain 10 Hope per Cycle. If Doused, this supply is consumed.​

​

Creature​

Classic Dynamite [x1] - As a combat action, consume this supply to inflict 200 damage on a single target, as well as 100 damage on surrounding targets.​

20 Meters of Rope [x2] - Always handy, but for what?​

​

Solaria​

Sharpened Pickaxe [x1] - Enables the [Prospect] action.​

Glassstone Ore [x3] - Chunks of a seemingly transparent stone. When a strong light is shone through them, the light is refracted out the other end into a rainbow. Good for interior design or, perhaps, for dazzling primitive monsters. Remember, there's three Ss in Glassstone.​

Purehymn Crystal [x2] - Silvery-white crystals with a resemblance to quartz, now broken down into handheld portions. If tossed against the ground, emits a terrifyingly loud sound that seems doubly effective at frightening monsters. If pressed against your mouth and spoken into, gives a musical quality to even the most neutral tones.​

​

Essence​

Self-Igniting Torches [x2] - If Ignited, increase Will Saves by 5 and regain 10 Hope per Cycle. If Doused, this supply is consumed.​

Clean Whistle [x1] - Whistle.​

​

<< Camp Queenslayer >>​

A spacious campsite, established through the efforts of Creature, Essence, Omega, Solaria, and Askera. Tucked on the border of the Kobolds' territory, this base camp has several natural features. The softened earth makes for a comfortable sleeping space even without any mattresses, while plentiful pools dot one half of the cavern, with one pool in particular being large enough and warm enough to bathe in. Luminescent mushrooms dot the sides and ceiling, granting a natural light, which reflects well off the crystalline ores that cluster around the edges.​

​

A shadow veil shields the entrance from sight, and magical glyphs alert the inhabitants of the presence of monsters near the vicinity of the camp.​

​

Molded by Geomancy and Magitech, the base camp currently sports...​

• 3 Medium Quality Chairs
• 1 Low Quality Table
• 2 Low Quality Beds, 1 Medium Quality Bed
• 1 Medium Quality Stove
• 1 Low Quality Wash Sink
• 1 Medium Quality Outhouse
• 1 Low Quality Sauna
• 1 Medium Quality Field
• 1 Medium Quality Workshop

Actions

The Inner Flame, the Dwarven Distillery opens up before you, and your quick investigations finally enable you to put the pieces together. But the trail of blood you left behind had alerted the kobolds well, and though you had been able to evade them despite that fact, there was a simple matter, a small problem.

The Kobold that Solaria brought to camp, that whelp who was spared for an interrogation that never manifested...in your rush to prepare for the future, none of you had bothered to deal with it. Just as how Omega was forgotten, so too was this kobold. And now...

The scaled beasts call out their wrath. The reckoning descends, and you must escape with what you learn, to warn those above the surface.

<<Victory Condition>>​

Slay the Flame-Scaled Warrior and use its death to cow the Kobolds from pursuing you. This condition is resolved immediately upon the monster's demise.​

​

OR​

​

Exceed the Kobold's Pursuit value with the party's Progress and Escape value by 600. This condition is resolved at the end of every cycle.​

Run!
Monsters, powerful beyond recognition, imbued with the unnatural strength that the Firebrand Liquor grants them, chase you down, and you run with all of your might to escape from them!

• Roll an Expertise or Mastery check. Add that result to your Progress and Escape.
• Increase Kobold's Pursuit by 100.
• Make a Fortitude Save, DC 70. On a fail, become [Fatigued].

Sprint!
Surge forth with all that you have in your guts, running with reckless abandon as you burn away everything you have to get the hell outta dodge!

• Roll an Expertise or Mastery check. Then, roll a 1d4. Multiply your check's result by the result of the d4, and add that to your Progress and Escape.
• Increase Kobold's Pursuit by 150.
• Make a Reflex Save, DC 70. On a fail, roll a d6 on the [Complications] table.

Spoiler: Complications

1: Lost! In blind panic, you lose your way, separating yourself from your party. If you do not have the Whistle, listen to it to relocate your allies, but increase Kobold's Pursuit by 50. If you do have the Whistle...then you have no recourse but to fight.
2: Sprain! Too fast to see the potholes! You twist your ankle as you rush it, and the pain is enough to halve your Run and Escape results in the upcoming cycle.
3: Trip! Legs crossed, vision blurry, you smack the ground face-first, only barely able to scramble up to your feet before bouncing back up. Lose a supply that you are carrying.
4: Narrowing! The tunnel is shrinking further, enough so that you might not be able to fit through! So smash! If you have a Shovel or a Pickaxe, autosucceed. Otherwise, make a basic attack action to deal 80 or more damage. If you fail to do so, increase Kobold's Pursuit by 20.
5: Slipping! Your steps carry you upon moss-slick stone, speeding you up but causing your knees to creak from the sheer effort of keeping your balance! Increase Progress and Escape by 10, decrease HP by 20.
6: Mercy! Portents of doom flash through your mind, but you recover in time. Nothing happens.

Act!
Leave the running to those who can, and draw on your masteries instead to improve the capabilities of your allies or impede the pursuit of your foes! But inevitably, that means you'll be at the rear, with those beasts nipping and clawing for your flesh...

• Perform an action on your Playsheet, then describe how that action is applied.
• Reduce Hope by 25.
• Increase Kobold's Pursuit by 50.
• Effects of the action will be resolved at the end of the cycle.

Stay Behind
Do what you must. Stand your ground so your comrades can escape.

• Remove Hope, Kobolds' Pursuit, and Progress and Escape from your post template. Your post has no maximum word count.
• Reduce the difference needed for the party to escape by 100.
• Make a Will Save, DC 90, to fight the fear that bubbles up. On success, perform an action on your Playsheet, then describe how that action is applied.
• Effects of the action will be resolved at the end of the cycle.

Stand United!
You have come this far together. Why run, when you can fight as one?

• If all party members choose to Stay Behind, this action is triggered.
• The party gains 100 Hope, and every party member regains 50 HP.
• They will face the Kobold Horde and the Flame-Scaled Warrior. It may be a fight they do not survive, but to live in this world, perhaps, has nothing to do with survival.

Leave [Omega Only]
Perhaps you never left the pithole you fell in. Perhaps you remained. Heard the cries of the kobolds, frothing and wrathful, and decided to remain longer. In time, it will pass, and as a Magia, you can afford to wait. When the dust settles, you will be able to leave, unmolested.

• Remove the post template.
• Make your exit post, set two days after the current events of this cycle.

Extra Actions

Extra things for you to expend Hope on as the journey continues, which may bring extra supplies or cause more bad than good, depending on how lucky you're feeling. Every Action can be accompanied by an Extra Action, but Extra Actions are rolled after Actions are rolled.

Creative Usage!

Through freeform shenanigans, use a supply in a way that may be beneficial, and feel free to get whacky with it! Supplies used this way are consumed. Write up your post, bold your action, and await my instructions.​

Creative Pathing!

Remember what wonders you've passed through before! Perhaps there are certain freeform advantages you can leverage by coming across those spaces again! Write up your post, bold you action, and await my instructions.​

Recall [Frey Only]
There was something there. In your memories. Something to grasp onto. Something that slipped away. Something that evaded your notice, moments before you ran.

• Make an Astramancy check. Understand that this is unlikely to help you with your current plight.

 

[Creature]

87 / 205

...

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!

"Guys, it's…!"

Creature had drawn his bat as he turned to lock eyes with the kobold they had left behind. A single misstep. It was all it took for the whole situation to devolve into chaos. He wouldn't blame the others if they wished to run now. These things… They were far bigger than anything they could have imagined. While combat is inevitable for anyone who stayed, perhaps one would be able to escape and tell the world of what happened here. This person would not be Creature.

The Flame-Scaled Warrior… Mistering what strength he could, Creature moved to the front of the party. His breathing was heavy, but his weapon felt heavier. Fear like this was something he'd only felt once before, during the red fever outbreak. It was something he'd hope to never experience again. A sign of weakness. A sign of his humanity.

"Everyone go NOW! I will buy you as much time as I can!"

He'd say before turning his attention to the enemy. This was it. Time to make history.

"I have a stick of dynamite with your name on it, ugly!"

Rolls

Save
1d100 (1) + 5 + 19 = 25(Critical Failure!)
`Will | Creature | 946C5 | Stay Behind`

The Flame-Scaled Warrior: 2000/2000

-100 to Escape

Play Sheet

 

[Askera Question]

59 / 140

Resolved to face the danger ahead.
Vulnerable! The other half of the damage this round will be from the potion wracking his body.

War came riding upon countless molten heels. The kobolds beheld hate and vindictiveness abroad their gazes, hate for what was likely the blood that had fallen onto Solaria's hands. How Askera felt about that wasn't relevant to the situation at hand-only that while he wished to run, Creature could not. Askera could see why-he could see the fear in the man's face.

Nobody was going to be left behind. Not on his watch. Askera couldn't let Creature die as a cover to his own escape-it didn't feel right. Thus, he made a decision.

"Frey-san..." He spoke to the man who wished most to run, "Go. I won't leave Creature behind. I won't let him stay here alone."

His hands reached to the toolbelt on his side, unstrapping a vial from a secure holster. He knew which one he had chosen to pull out, though couldn't believe that their situation had grown so dangerous already. It was a special potion he'd made-the inside of the vial was inlaid with curses to ferment the liquid into something powerful-something dangerous.

<<Demonic Elixir of Mana Surge>>​

...Was the name. He could feel his bones grow fragile as he swallowed it, the way his muscles contorted in agony. The physical form suffered so that the mind may thrive... many artists oft thought the same. This was a complete overcharge as to what he was supposed to be doing-he could see very plainly how his mana exceeded the cap by almost triple.

In his hands was channeled the most simple of skills-Animate. He allowed to to flow free-lantern lifted, it began to glow once more with a rainbow most unholy as he forced life into the party. Magic flowed into the lantern and brought a dead slime life, his magic now radiating from it as an aura. An idle thumb hit play on a music player he'd built and attached to the lantern in an earlier effort to reinvigorate the Vibeslime.

It was unfair how the darkest of magics could bring the brightest of lights, he thought. Perhaps that was why such arts brought temptation to average men.

"Ready yourselves!" Askera called to those who remained. He was ready-he only hoped that he was ready enough.

Rolls

Power Buff (AoE)
2d100 (7 + 26) + 10 + 5 + 8 = 19 (Total divided by 3)
+19 buff to 3 targets (@Solaria , @Creature , @Frey Elzeiros) for 1 post
Gain the Vulnerable state
Animancy | Askera Question | 946C5


The Flame-Scaled Warrior: 2000/2000

Creative use - IT'S ALIIIIVE! Using all four masteries (though mostly the two magics and Alchemy) in conjunction to bring life and vibe back to the slime. Using the slime to channel his Power Buff to the party due to there not being enough time to draw his book.

Play Sheet Link.

 

[Solaria]

108 / 160

Determined and oddly confident.
+40 from Power Heal
Vulnerable

Sensing danger wasn't what made her call upon the godly power she possessed. It was her need to tend to others that led to the Elf beginning to chant one of the few spells she knew by heart- a basic, powerful healing spell, cast with closed eyes. With her seeming gibberish, three balls of light appeared to hover around her head- one seeping into her forehead and two others racing at record speed towards @Askera Question and @Creature, the two that were clearly staying behind.

She was staying behind too, of course. That was why she healed herself as well. The monstrous beast before them was scary, but Solaria knew she could be much scarier in a fight. If they had to run, it wasn't now. The others needed a chance to get away. And so, she stayed put, feet cemented into the ground.

But she wasn't done with just healing, either.

Taking one hand to dig into her inventory, she pulled out just one of the Purehymn Crystals, smirking. "Everyone, cover your ears!" With a swift flick of her wrist, she threw the Purehymn Crystal towards a far wall near the enemy. It created a loud sound that she prayed would scare the beast away, or at least slow it down. As soon as the crystal left her hand, she winced at the sound it created- but she refused to let go of her sword, letting the ringing in her ears continue.

Well, some bad habits died hard. So would her hearing, most likely... But was it worth it to protect her allies? Most definitely.

Rolls

Save
1d100 (84) + 20 + 19 = 123
Will | Solaria | 946C5 | Stay Behind

Power Heal (AoE)
1d100 (85) + 10 + 15 + 8 = 40 (Total divided by 3)
+40 HP to 3 Targets (@Solaria, @Creature @Askera Question)
Gain the Vulnerable state
Divine Magic | Solaria | 946C5

Creative Use -- Threw a Purehymn Crystal at a wall.

The Flame-Scaled Warrior: 2000/2000

-100 Escape

Play Sheet Link