[X] Over the dunes to see if you can find a better vantage. You're going to have to leave the bounds of this limited map eventually, and you're not likely to find a high place without going inland.
The walk along the beach proves to be remarkably dull. One one side, the boundless sea, on the other, a wall of windswept dunes. After a while you give yourself up to contemplation; your body doesn't seem to tire, but the boredom is beginning to sap at your will.
{Introspection}
{Recollection: Partial!}
How did you die? You remember fragments; an expedition into the Eastern Desert, searching for some old ruins, you can't recall exactly why. A giant scorpion was lairing in the ruins, and you got stung. You don't remember anything after that; the venom must have been very fast-acting.
You're here, apparently waylaid halfway on your final journey, so you must have been laid to rest properly at least. A harbour-tomb should have been set aside for you… somewhere. A Priests' Quarter in one of the Ports of the Dead. Why can't you remember the city? Perhaps it would come back to you when you saw it.
{Gained +1 Discovery}
Did any of that relate to how you came to still be here? The floods not coming implies the wrath of the Gods, at the very least of the River God, but whatever might have incurred it has clearly not been redressed yet. Satat-Mehet is known to be wrathful; she's the God of War as well as of the River, after all. But what crime could bring down such a punishment on all the lands?
You trudge onwards, trying to rally your scattered memories. You may choose a new introspection!
[ ] Introspection: Write in.
At last you round a dune and the sand slowly gives way to sparse greenery. You start to cut inland through tufts of grass, making for the line of trees and reeds to meet the river further inland, away from the coast. The river proves to still be flowing, but it is clearly at low waters, and has been for some time; the reeds have crept toward the new shoreline, leaving the trees behind.
You follow it for some time, looking for signs of people. You don't recall coming down to the delta while you were alive, certainly not this far out. But if you follow the river, it's only a matter of time, right?
{Discovery: Failure.}
It turns out that if you walk this close to the river and don't pay attention, it's also only a matter of time before something tries to eat you. A large crocodile explodes out of the water, clamps its jaws around your leg, and thrashes wildly.
The pain is… very much present, but it feels different now, somehow. Mostly it makes you feel tired. Possibly mercifully, you find yourself flung free and land several metres away in the muddy shallows, rather than being dragged deeper in and finding out if it's still possible to drown when you're Dead.
This is very bad. The crocodile advances, and a crippled leg is not going to get you very far. You need to be able to move…
You force yourself to get up. It feels almost as hard as sitting up on the barque felt, an effort of will, forcing a semblance of life into your body again. You can feel the bone set and the flesh close back up, as if it had never been broken. But you can't keep doing that for long.
Resolve ╞══════════════════╡12/20
The crocodile is surging through the water towards you. Somehow you managed to keep hold of your staff, at least.
Crocodile ╞══════════════════╡
What do you do?
[ ] Incant Star's Call (With a single, quick gesture, summon a spark of searing starlight and direct it unerringly toward the foe.)
[ ] Incant Rain of Stars (Open the heavens to rain motes of searing starlight over an area, burning your foes, but sparing yourself.
[ ] Incant Foresight (Split your sight between the present and the near future, giving insight as to the plans and nature of your foe.)
[ ] Invoke Moonlight Blade (Call forth a single beam of moonlight and bring its sharpest edge in a broad arc to strike down all in its path.)
[ ] Invoke Crescent Moonbow (Call to your hand a bow of pure moonlight, strung with a thread of silver, and send a shooting star streaking across the battlefield.)
[ ] Invoke the full power of Crescent Moonbow (Draw the Moonbow back to its fullest curve, and split the air with its power.)
[ ] Invoke Silver Aten (Summon the brilliance of the full moon, and swathe yourself in its protective halo of silver.)
[ ] Draw your dagger and make a swift strike when an opening presents.
[ ] Unstopper the Flask of Life and take a quick drink to bolster your Resolve.
[ ] Write in an Action. (Subject to veto.)
How will you respond to the imminent attack?
[ ] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside. [ ] Try to block it. (You don't have a shield.)
[ ] Try to deflect or parry it somehow. [ ] Use a ritual sign or amulet to ward off magical attack. (You're pretty certain there's nothing supernatural about this crocodile.)
Rather than dump all the combat mechanics on you at once, we're going to try opening with a less crunchy introduction. Each round of combat you get an Action and a Reaction, usually an attack and a defence.
Some Actions can make your Defence Roll easier or harder, as anyone who's taken a hit while winding up a heavy attack or complex spell can attest.
What kind of attack the enemy makes will also affect the efficacy of different defences; some enemies will have relatively predictable, telegraphed attacks, others can surprise you. The more you fight a given enemy, the more you'll learn to read them.
As this fight proceeds, and afterward, I'll start showing more of the numbers. I may have to rebalance some as we go because this is a very new system. 😅
Finally, you may have noticed that Introspection gained you some XP; this is another way you can improve your stats, so keep thinking about stuff!
Once more, link to the updated Character Sheet since I can't pin it.
[X] Introspection: Man, scorpions suck. Why do they have to be so mean? Stinging innocent...uh, well, you're probably innocent. Innocent...ish. Are you a bad person?
[X] Incant Rain of Stars (Open the heavens to rain motes of searing starlight over an area, burning your foes, but sparing yourself.
[X] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
[x] Introspection: Muse on the wrath of Satat-Mehet. What crime could bring down such a punishment as this? You'd know something about what kind of things might offend her most, right?
[x] Incant Star's Call (With a single, quick gesture, summon a spark of searing starlight and direct it unerringly toward the foe.)
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
While I don't think the stats are good for it, boy howdy do I want to wrestle the crocodile at some point. We're a nerd, we might know that crocs are not great at opening their jaws and it would take little strength to hold that big fella's trap shut while we stab it in the eyes a bunch. Likely need more strength to deal with whatever it does to try to get us off, but better than having any of us inside of any of it.
[X] Introspection: Muse on the wrath of Satat-Mehet. What crime could bring down such a punishment as this? You'd know something about what kind of things might offend her most, right?
[X] Incant Star's Call (With a single, quick gesture, summon a spark of searing starlight and direct it unerringly toward the foe.)
[X] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
[x] Introspection: Muse on the wrath of Satat-Mehet. What crime could bring down such a punishment as this? You'd know something about what kind of things might offend her most, right?
[x] Incant Star's Call (With a single, quick gesture, summon a spark of searing starlight and direct it unerringly toward the foe.)
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
[x] Introspection: Muse on the wrath of Satat-Mehet. What crime could bring down such a punishment as this? You'd know something about what kind of things might offend her most, right?
[x] Incant Star's Call (With a single, quick gesture, summon a spark of searing starlight and direct it unerringly toward the foe.)
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
[X] Introspection: Muse on the wrath of Satat-Mehet. What crime could bring down such a punishment as this? You'd know something about what kind of things might offend her most, right?
[X] Incant Star's Call (With a single, quick gesture, summon a spark of searing starlight and direct it unerringly toward the foe.)
[X] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
You speak a Word of Power, and make a swift gesture with the half-moon head of your staff. A mote of starlight falls out of the clear blue sky, striking the crocodile's snout as it begins to lunge at you and bursting into a brilliant glare. You leap sideways as the jaws open, leaving the beast to snap futilely at the air as you roll adroitly to your feet beside it amidst the crushed reeds. Focus ╞══════════════════╡19/20
Crocodile ╞══════════════════╡
Out of the water, the crocodile begins to turn. The scales on its snout are cracked and scorched by your spell, but it may not be enough to deter it.
What should you do now? Vote for an Action and a Reaction.
[ ] Write In.
A good start! Your defence options are a bit limited, so you'll probably be dodging a lot at least for now. Star's Call is a good basic ranged spell, low cost and reliable, but a little low on stopping power. Its full stats are now listed on your character sheet.
i'm thinking we should hit it again; we have a big focus meter, it does decent damage, and i dont want to try and melee stuff bc we're squishy
also always roll, its a dark souls, lets get those i-frames
[x] Incant Star's Call (With a single, quick gesture, summon a spark of searing starlight and direct it unerringly toward the foe.)
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
[x] Incant Star's Call (With a single, quick gesture, summon a spark of searing starlight and direct it unerringly toward the foe.)
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
[x] Incant Star's Call (With a single, quick gesture, summon a spark of searing starlight and direct it unerringly toward the foe.)
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
I think we should fuck around while finding out is relatively cheap. Trying new things brings us knowledge, making our abilities more reliable for when it will be actually important.
[X] Invoke Crescent Moonbow (Call to your hand a bow of pure moonlight, strung with a thread of silver, and send a shooting star streaking across the battlefield.)
No way around dodge, though.
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
[X] Invoke Crescent Moonbow (Call to your hand a bow of pure moonlight, strung with a thread of silver, and send a shooting star streaking across the battlefield.)
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
[X] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
[X] When that 1 ton osteodermed fuck lashes out, reeling and disoriented by the magic, grapple it by the snout and hold it shut. Maybe give it a few pokes to the eyes if you can.
Is this a good plan? No. Is it a plan with a high likelihood of success? Also no, this thing is megafauna really, despite some issues with its jaw opening strength. But hey, we're right next to the water, we already died once, and what better way to toughen up than to get some exercise in.
[x] Incant Star's Call (With a single, quick gesture, summon a spark of searing starlight and direct it unerringly toward the foe.)
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
[x] Invoke Crescent Moonbow (Call to your hand a bow of pure moonlight, strung with a thread of silver, and send a shooting star streaking across the battlefield.)
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
You leap back as its massive tail lashes through the space where you were just standing, scything down the reeds. Repeating the incantation, you direct another dart of starlight into the crocodile's flank, blackening the scales and cracking the flesh. Focus ╞══════════════════╡18/20
Crocodile ╞══════════════════╡
It turns to face you, opening its jaws and making a deep hissing noise as it slowly approaches. It doesn't seem to be very quick on the uptake, but then it was probably expecting its prey to be crippled by that first strike. It may not have much experience with the Dead.
[x] Invoke Crescent Moonbow (Call to your hand a bow of pure moonlight, strung with a thread of silver, and send a shooting star streaking across the battlefield.)
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
we're hurting it, but im not excited to get got because its going slow. let's hit it with something bigger
[x] Invoke Crescent Moonbow (Call to your hand a bow of pure moonlight, strung with a thread of silver, and send a shooting star streaking across the battlefield.)
[x] Adjust your footing and prepare to dodge aside.
