[x] Try to shove one of the summoners at the shadow creatures. Then you'll find out if it is an illusion or not.
-[x] Pick the pale twin who knew who you were.
Using Dragonbreath on everything is pretty darn tempting.
[x] Try to shove one of the summoners at the shadow creatures. Then you'll find out if it is an illusion or not.
-[x] Pick the pale twin who knew who you were.
Already suggested in the other thread that Dorian and his party do the same. If both work out, then one twin goes down to Elys, one goes down to Cadre 1F, and all we'll have to deal with is the "rough looking young man", who is the apparent weak link.
After that's done with, follow up with
[x] Dragon Breath!
I don't care who, just start breathing demon-slaying thunder and lightning on one of the nearby enemies.
[x] Try to shove one of the summoners at the shadow creatures. Then you'll find out if it is an illusion or not.
-[x] Pick the pale twin who knew who you were.
As much as I consider Dragonbreath the answer to everything, I don't think we should immediately jump to 'dead kids' levels of force. These older kids are brats, but they may have powerful allies that could retaliate.
yeah, the adults have their hands busy with aspitolm, we dont want to throw more problems/enemies at them if we can help it. obviously our personal safety comes first.
[x] Try to shove one of the summoners at the shadow creatures. Then you'll find out if it is an illusion or not.
-[x] Pick the pale twin who knew who you were.
If they die to their own spell because it wasn't an illusion after all... that's on them.
[x] Try to shove one of the summoners at the shadow creatures. Then you'll find out if it is an illusion or not.
-[x] Pick the pale twin who knew who you were.
"Please stand back, and allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the centre of the car."
As for rules questions, what are some common scenarios you would expect to grant bonuses? What determines one's rank? Could you tell us the ranks of some notable figures, like Green Flame or Mishrak, so we get a feel for it?
[x] Try to shove one of the summoners at the shadow creatures. Then you'll find out if it is an illusion or not.
-[x] Pick the pale twin who knew who you were.
You may be wondering why the title of this story arc is 'The Mirror Monster', despite the fact that Elys killed the monster almost immediately. Well, it turns out that the real monster was Elys all along, at least from the perspective of Yulian Sagittarus and his gang.
Or perhaps the real monster was the friends she made along the way…?
As for rules questions, what are some common scenarios you would expect to grant bonuses? What determines one's rank? Could you tell us the ranks of some notable figures, like Green Flame or Mishrak, so we get a feel for it?
I'm struggling to explain without using examples. Basically, it really depends on the circumstances. For example, a skilled carpenter would get a sizeable bonus to a carpentry skill check even if he was of relatively low Rank; whereas someone who was of high Rank might be strong and intelligent, but if they had never done any carpentry before, they would get a hefty penalty to their carpentry skill check. And so on.
Elys's parents, Gareth and Yslena, are Rank 5. They are very experienced adventurers, although they're getting old now.
Elys herself was only Rank 1 (i.e. she was a child) throughout all of The Tinpot Princess and Her Many Travels, but because Mishrak gave her a power-up she is now Rank 3.
Despite her current status as a mistreated slave, Green Flame is an ancient and mighty warrior. She is Rank 6.
Dorian and the other members of Cadre 1F are all Rank 2, which seems a little high considering how little magic they know, but I gave them that Rank in School of Sorcery because I didn't want them to immediately get killed the first time they were in danger*. For this new campaign, I think I'll roll them back to Rank 1, at least temporarily, but they count as being Rank 2 when they're all together.
*The game system I was using at that time was very deadly at low levels.
Mishrak is quite a powerful god, even if he's not considered to be one of the greater gods. He's Rank 8.
Over the course of this quest, you will have a chance to gain xp, which can be used to progress to higher Ranks.
Yulian immediately collapses to the floor, moaning and spraying vomit all over himself. However, his fellows are made of sterner stuff. The rough-looking young man grimaces, but remains upright: he lashes out with a telekinetic fist, but you sidestep out of the way and it smashes into your Invisible Shield, seemingly to no avail.
Speaking in unison, the pale twins utter the words of a mystical chant: unpleasant, guttural noises that have little in common with any language you've ever heard before.
All around the room, the shadows seem to come alive. You see red eyes glinting in the darkness. At first, they are mere silhouettes, but they quickly become something more. You see them flocking together in the corners of the room, stretching across the walls and ceiling: creatures with needle-sharp fangs and claws, leathery black wings, and tentacles that writhe and snatch at you…
Before the twins can finish summoning their army of shadowy monsters, you use telekinesis to grab hold of the pale young woman and shove her into the largest mass of claws, teeth, and flailing tentacles. She screams in terror and her brother hastily cancels the spell; the silhouetted creatures abruptly vanish, leaving her with only a few mild lacerations and bitemarks.
'So, that wasn't an illusion after all,' you surmise. You had wondered about that. Actually, you're still not entirely sure: unless the twins have made summoning magic their specialty and become extraordinarily good at it, they shouldn't have been able to summon so many monsters all at once. 'Unless they already had the ritual prepared and only needed to activate it… but then why would they need such an elaborate chant to go with it? Maybe it was part-illusion, part-summoning spell…?'
The pale, dark-haired young man helps his twin sister to her feet and then hugs her tightly. It occurs to you that, framed in the doorway as they are, they would make an excellent target for your dragon breath. At this range, you couldn't possibly miss.
"Wait," said the pockmarked youth, glancing around at his friends – at Yulian's unconscious body, lying in a puddle of his own vomit, and the twins who seem to have forgotten that they are supposed to be taking part in a fight – and then turning to you. He holds up both hands in a placating gesture. "We'll leave, how about that? We've learnt our lesson: we'll never bother you or your little friends again, honest!"
"Are you surrendering?" you ask him, putting on a stern expression.
"I'm saying I don't want to fight you anymore. If you insist on fighting us, I'll fight – maybe I won't win, but I can at least make things difficult for you – but I'd much rather take my friends and walk away. No harm, no foul, eh?"
"You hurt me," says Isolia, scowling at him from behind the protection of your Invisible Shield.
"At least I didn't stab you," he replies, with a shrug. "I think you and your friends got the better end of the deal, in that particular exchange."
"You wanted to steal my blood!" Venta cries.
"But we failed," says the pockmarked youth, as if that were a convincing argument. "And we'll never try again. Like I said, we've learnt our lesson."
"And what lesson would that be?" asks Philander, sounding suspicious. "Make sure that you only pick on the most vulnerable targets?"
"We thought you were extremely vulnerable: stupid little firsties who'd wandered into an abandoned part of the school where just about anything could be waiting for them." The pockmarked youth shakes his head ruefully. "Huh, you sure proved us wrong."
By now, it seems clear that the fight is over: the pockmarked youth is trying to negotiate a truce, the twins are too engrossed in each other to pay any attention to you, and Yulian is still unconscious. The four younger pupils seem to be waiting for you to decide what to do next.
What will you do? (Choose one)
[] Dragon breath!
[] Allow the 'bullies' to leave peacefully.
[] Try to negotiate a better deal. (Write in: what concessions do you want?)
[] Do something else (write in).
I wanted to make this a longer update, but... as it turns out, the fight was pretty much over already.
I rolled 3d6+2 for Elys in this combat round: I got a total of 16. Meanwhile, I rolled 3d6-4 for the gang of 'bullies' and got a total of 5. I decided that this meant that Elys was the clear victor.
Do we have any way to ensure the bullies stick to the surrender? ESPECIALLY when only one of them is actually negotiating it with no input from the rest? It'd suck if they immediately went back to picking on our new friends the moment we left.
i know i said " kill em' " in the other thread but they are just kids, would be better to reform them into good people, we know the worlds short on them. better to live to do good than to die in the name of catharsis. or something, im not a quoted person. needs workshopping.
all that said, what can elys even do? this isnt dragonball. i half remember something about oath magic being important? am probsbly just misrembering how name magic works and how gods need to embody thier concepts and names.
[X] Try to negotiate a better deal. (Write in: what concessions do you want?)
-[X] why did you do this? why did you want this ones blood so badly? and what's to stop you trying this on someone else?
[X] Try to negotiate a better deal. (Write in: what concessions do you want?)
-[X] why did you do this? why did you want this ones blood so badly? and what's to stop you trying this on someone else?
Hmm... right now, in terms of stuff relevant to the current situation, Elys knows:
1. The kids her age are at least decent people
2. The older kids are complete assholes
3. She is in the Sambian Empire
4. Everyone in the room is low level mages
and nothing else.
That is not a lot to go off of, in terms of making decisions. So, defer to Dorian, Venta, Philander, and Isolia for what to do next. Until then, just keep the shields up and be ready to use Dragon Breath at the drop of a hat if necessary, depending on what they decide.
[x] Try to negotiate a better deal. (Write in: what concessions do you want?)
-[x] No preying on anyone.
--[x] If they object, pry into their motives (for needing blood in the first place, and in general)
I don't wanna turn around and hear that they've gone and murdered different first-years. If they're making desperation moves or caught in a downward spiral, lets set them straight, maybe Dorian can suggest a teacher to assist them in the ways of never needing to hunt down their fellow students.
So there's only a difference of two between Mishrak, a minor god, and Green Flame?? Three, between Mishrak, and two of his vassals? Goodness. These must be high ranks, or Mishrak is a smaller deity than I thought. For... one more point of reference, what would be the rank of the highest-ranked individual you're aware of?
[x] Try to negotiate a better deal. (Write in: what concessions do you want?)
-[x] No preying on anyone.
--[x] If they object, pry into their motives (for needing blood in the first place, and in general)
[x] Try to negotiate a better deal. (Write in: what concessions do you want?)
-[x] No preying on anyone.
--[x] If they object, pry into their motives (for needing blood in the first place, and in general)
Ordinary children: Rank 1
Particularly badass magical children such as Catharne or Cadre-1F-temporarily-boosted-by-protagonist-status: Rank 2
The 11 year old Chosen of a fairly powerful god: Rank 3
Highly experienced semi-retired badass adventurers: Rank 5
A somewhat weakened ancient elf made by the Elder God of War: Rank 6
A fairly powerful god: Rank 8
This... well, it would work just fine if Rank works on a vague logarithmic scale relative to power, rather than a linear scale. That is what I am assuming is going on here. But, I think you might need to rework how this works in terms of actual game mechanics in the future. Things like bullies going from being four Rank 2s to Rank 3 as a group is problematic. Otherwise, sooner or later you're going to run into nonsense like one of the Four Seasons losing a fight to a few dozen ordinary humans.
You may be wondering why the title of this story arc is 'The Mirror Monster', despite the fact that Elys killed the monster almost immediately. Well, it turns out that the real monster was Elys all along, at least from the perspective of Yulian Sagittarus and his gang.
And yet, from Yulian's perspective she was never in the mirror at all.
There isn't much more to do in the fight; the guy won't be making things difficult for anyone but himself since everyone else is out of the fight and his odds are now worse by a factor of four before he even made a move. But by the same logic it's just kicking someone who is down already.
I think we should investigate the twins before we let them go. Things were civil before they revealed our situation, and they were the first ones to escalate - massively at that. Yet they are unused to fighting. I still suspect they are using power not their own... or that the power is using them.
If we leave this be, it won't matter what they promise, the same power will just look to use and discard them again. They seem disposable, after all.
[x] Ignore him for now. Press the girl on how she knew Elys was an outsider, and how they cast their spell.
-[x] What did they need the blood for?
I suspect... an imp, perhaps? Elys knows how to treat those pests. Once it is dealt with, we can let them go.
[j] dragon breathe the room, thoroughly burninating everyone but our new friends. (but not to death, just aim to incapacitate)
-take the vile teens hostage for later bargaining
--evacuate new friends and those close to them out of the nightmare hellhole called sambia
---kill philanders dad
----headmaster too for good measure, why not? bet the coded book implicates him as mystic path
--have kari/ samaya adopt greenflame
--give coded book and teleport book to the adults tm
---get mishrak to eat dumar
problems with this plan; none
(would need to evacuate every goblin in the city as refugees, humans suck)
They're all fairly experienced, knowledgeable, and magically adept fifth-year students (i.e. fifteen or sixteen years old), whereas Elys is still just eleven years old even if she is divinely empowered. Also, as Nevill has figured out, they're not just high-school bullies: they have a powerful backer.
Even several dozen ordinary people working together would only be Rank 4 or 5 at most, whereas the Four Seasons are all Rank 10. Anyway, avoiding such ridiculous situations is partly what the added bonuses and penalties are for, so that I can adjust the difficulty as appropriate.
I'm sorry, I tried to take all of the votes into account, but I haven't allowed you to interrogate the twins because... well, I kinda want this introductory storyline to be over with sooner rather than later.
By now, it seems clear that the fight is over: the pockmarked youth is trying to negotiate a truce, the twins are too engrossed in each other to pay any attention to you, and Yulian is still unconscious. The four younger pupils seem to be waiting for you to decide what to do next.
"Swear that you won't attack us again," says Dorian, stepping out from his hiding place behind a pile of crates and your Invisible Shield. "Swear it by whatever you hold sacred!"
"Sure, I swear it," says the pockmarked youth, baring his teeth in an unpleasant grin. "I'll swear by the Four Seasons, Vistander, Zanaster… anyone you like!"
"What about Zora Alishanda?" asks Venta. "Will you swear it in her name?"
"Zorya the Moon Maiden? Sure, why not?"
"No!" Venta yells at him, stamping her foot. "That's not her name!"
The pockmarked youth puts on an expression of feigned innocence and is about to say something else, but you cut him off, saying, "Kindly refrain from antagonizing my new friends, please."
"Whatever you say, I obey," he replies, spreading his arms wide in a disarming gesture.
"And your friends? Will they swear it too?" you ask him.
"No doubt," he replies, nudging Yulian's unconscious body with his foot and then glancing over at the doorway, where the twins are nowhere to be seen. It would appear that they have made their getaway. Still, it's somewhat peculiar that you didn't notice them moving at all. "Well, they won't want to be reminded of this humiliation, so… don't worry, you won't see them again."
"What's your name?" you ask, not quite sure what to make of him.
"Moroth Noorandiun is what they call me, these days," he replies. "Now that I've been adopted into a grand family and don't have to live on the streets anymore."
"You're like me," Isolia pipes up, "a mage from the Sprawl."
"Not any longer," says Moroth. "Now, I sleep in a warm, comfortable bed and get served food whenever I want. Ahh, it's a good life."
"I don't understand why you wanted to drain Venta's blood," says Dorian, looking distrustful at the pockmarked youth. "What ritual were you hoping to perform?"
"Don't blame me," says Moroth, shrugging his shoulders. "I tend to go along with whatever my friends suggest. It's the safest way."
"But why goblin blood?" Dorian continues to press him.
"It's one of the standard components for rituals involving dreams and nightmares. Didn't you know that?" Moroth laughs bitterly. "If you ever want to cure any bad dreams, maybe your friend will let you use some of hers."
There is a moment's contemplative silence after that, until Philander says, "Hey, what happened to Archironaeus? You know, the owl? My friend–" He indicates Dorian. "–threw him at your friend–" He indicates Yulian. "–so what happened after that?"
"You mean that ancient stuffed owl?" asks Moroth, seeming genuinely confused. "The one that's been dead for at least a couple of decades? I assumed you'd animated it with telekinesis or necromancy or something like that. Quite a clever bit of magic, I thought."
"But… Archironaeus was alive, wasn't he?" asks Venta, almost in tears.
"No, he wasn't. He was a lifelike replica made of dusty bones, modelling clay, and feathers held together with glue and bits of wire. Yulian threw it against the wall and dashed it to pieces."
"We spoke to him!" Venta wails.
"Someone's been playing tricks on you," says Moroth with a smirk. "I wonder who it could be?"
"It's probably a god or a spirit," you tell them, speaking with the benefit of experience. "My best friend, Jana, says I can't even walk to the shops to buy a funny-coloured eel without it turning out to be a god of some kind. There's a funny story about that, actually…"
For a moment, they all stare at you, looking utterly bemused, as if you've grown a second head.
"Anyway," Moroth says at last, "unless you've got any further questions, I'd better take Yulian back to his room and make sure that he's all right. I'm sure you agree with me that no one wants to hear the story of how this city's richest man's favoured son choked to death on his own vomit. That could have some very messy repercussions for all of us. Know what I mean?"
"You may as well go," you decide, stepping aside so he can shake Yulian awake, help him to his feet and then drag him out of the storeroom. "But I'll be back if you break your promise!"
Glancing back over his shoulder, he says, cheerfully, "I hope to never see you again!"
"The feeling's mutual," you reply. Then, you glance around at your four new friends: even though you've only known them for a few minutes, you already like them better than anyone you've met at the Engelram Academy of the Magical Arts. "What shall we do now?"
"The portal's closed," says Isolia, pointing at an ornately decorated mirror that is an almost exact likeness of the one that was in Professor Elthonar's office. You were too busy to notice before, but the sharp-edged doorway to that strange otherworld has now completely vanished. "Will you be all right getting home?"
"Eager to get rid of me, are you?" you ask with a teasing smirk.
She shakes her head vigorously in response, either because she doesn't want to offend you or because she likes having you around. Well, that makes sense: you fought off the four older students who were tormenting her and her friends, so she probably sees you as a protector.
"I don't need the portal," you inform her. "When I'm ready to go, I'll just call my uncle and get him to pick me up."
"Your uncle must be a powerful mage, I'm guessing," says Philander, shooting a shrewd glance in your direction. "Is he anyone we're likely to have heard of?"
"Come with us to see Green Flame!" cries Venta, taking your hand. "She's our group tutor. She's an elf and she's really nice!"
You can't help but smile at her enthusiasm.
Will you tell them that your uncle is Mishrak the Dragon God?
[] Yes
[] Not yet
What will you do next? [] Go with Cadre 1F to meet Green Flame.
[] Insist on solving the mystery of 'Archironaeus the stuffed owl' first.
[] Summon Mishrak and get him to take you home.
[] Do something else (write in).
[] Venta and Elys will go off to talk to Green Flame.
-[] Meanwhile, Dorian, Isolia and Phil will investigate the mystery of 'Archironaeus the stuffed owl'.
OR
[] Elys will just head home and my next post will be the end of the current story arc.
"No, he wasn't. He was a lifelike replica made of dusty bones, modelling clay, and feathers held together with glue and bits of wire. Yulian threw it against the wall and dashed it to pieces."
Perhaps this was the trick, instead. I knew something fishy (micey?) was up once they mentioned us throwing a dead owl.
...I thought about Venta making use of her double to get away, so I am not trusting anything to be dead until we poke the body with a stick.
The dynamics of the group makes sense. The twins are the valuable pieces, probably the better mages out of the bunch; Yulian is a wealthy backer that covers everything up; and Moroth is the tagalong who doesn't want to go against the whims of a powerful group. It's a shame the two got away before we had a chance to get a good look at them. I suspect they are in a "mutual hostage" situation when one keeps making poor deals for the sake of the other. They clearly don't care for anyone else.
We'll see them again, of course... when they think they can get an upper hand. Maybe we should get proactive - get the names, find out what their deal is...
[x] Not yet
Don't blab. You may be among friends, but you are behind enemy lines. Well, not enemy lines per se, but not friendly ones either.
[x] Insist on solving the mystery of 'Archironaeus the stuffed owl' first.
...it seems to be important to the kids, and I have a feeling it is not much of a mystery.
I'm sorry, I tried to take all of the votes into account, but I haven't allowed you to interrogate the twins because... well, I kinda want this introductory storyline to be over with sooner rather than later.
I can't help it; I have a weak spot for twins. They make good characters, even when they are villains.
They are also a two-for-one deal on everything. Make one enemy, get another as a bonus! Defeat one, and the other surrenders. Who can resist a perfect -50% off sale?
