Heimurn Chronicles (No, SV, you're a young valkyrie in the middle of a bizarre and dangerous journey)

Teloch · Aug 16, 2017

your team of lunatics so far

Lucifina (aka you, aka Lu, aka Lucy, aka Sparkling, aka Gosling)

Race: the new nameless humanoid species
Gender: Female
Age: biological - around 21 in human years; actual(?) - almost half a year (?).
Background: protege of a natural science scholar, unknown origins
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Follow the white cat" - you have a moody guiding spirit at your side who can boost your spirit aspect advancement should you get on its better side (+1 spirit arcane charge point after passing hard charisma attribute check (18)), expect its occasional interference.

"No one is an island" - you get 1 + n bonus to all social influence skills and CHA rolls when applied to teammates, where n is the number of steps of the target's affection tier beyond neutral (applies to both positive and negative affection dimensions). Additionally, get +3 to the mentioned bonuses if Amalia is around and can provide quick advice. Passive effect: unearth more insights on followers.

"It's in my blood" - you get a permanent +1 bonus to Intelligence and +1 to arcane skill. Actions that train arcane aspects have a 1/6 chance to double the yields unless the base earning equals or exceeds one full level. You are more prone to magic-related actions and thoughts. You might find it harder to resist the allure of magic in some situations.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	9		9	4
Constitution	16		16	11
Mobility	10	(+2 cond.)	10 (12 cond.)	5 (7 cond.)
Perception	11		11	6
Coordination	14		14	9
Micromotorics	13		13	8
Intellect	18(+1/3)		18	13
Wisdom	17		17	12
Charisma	20		20	15
Luck	4		4	4
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Dice bonus
Melee combat	1	4		5
Ranged combat	2			2
Arcane skill	7	7	(+1 cnd.day)	14 (15 cnd.day)
Defense	3	4	1 (+2 cnd.w.)	8 (10 cnd.w.)
Objects usage	2			2
Mounted combat	3			3
Willpower	7	1		8
Balance	2		(+2 cnd.w.)	2 (4 cnd.w.)
Sneaking	3			3
Reconnaissance	5	1		6
Persuasion	10	2		12
Intimidation	6			6
Haggle	7			7
Performance	8			8
Seduction	8			8
Geography lore	7	2		9
Nature lore	7	1		8
Arcane lore	7	5		12
Social and cultural lore	9	2		11
Craft lore	7	2		9
Lingual lore	9			9
Daily craft	6	2		8
Pharma and treatment	7	3		10
Weaponsmithing	4			4
Armorsmithing	6			6
Tailoring	7	2		9
Art	7			7
Artificery	6	1		7
Burglary	5			5
Huntsmanship	4			4
Alchemy	7			7
Sorcery	7			7

Flight and wing-related traits

Wings skill level	13
Flight mastery level	advanced
Normal speed	above average, can forcefully accelerate to considerably fast
Maximum range	considerably far, anywhere up to twenty-eight kilometers.
Maximum height	considerably high (up to 250 meters)
Maximum extra lifting weight	low (10 kg)
Balance	above average, withstands weather and can try to regain without landing
Launching surfaces	solid grounds
Air feats	diving, gliding, hovering, thrusting, basic aerial spellcasting
Land feats	dodge extra propulsion, posing, enhanced balance, enhanced surface acceleration, shielding with wings

#1) Thaumaturgy level 7 (6/7 to level 8):

You can sense the activity of the entropic aspects within ~1000 meters radius, and unusual concentration/malfunction of other aspects within ~200 meters radius.
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to constitution
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to wisdom
You regain mental strengths a little bit faster during the daytime.
Using thaumaturgy during the daytime requires less mental and physical effort.,
You can allegedly see prophetic dreams
You can temporarily nullify magic in ~30 meters radius or in a 45 meters-long 30' cone a few times a day, or emit an anti-magic field up to ~15 meters radius a few times a day.
you can temporarily amplify the aspects power around you once a day
you can temporarily amplify or suppress the aspects power of a target up to two times a day
You can try to scan surrounding areas for traces of planar breaching with very high odds to succeed and sense the short residue of extraplanar entities.
You can conjure light on the basic level (sparks, flashes, rays)
You can shape light on the basic level (flash explosions, molding into orbs, luminal barriers, luminal domes, wedges of solidified light, sparks strike)
You passively gain +1 to arcane skill when exposed to the sun but also get -1 to arcane skill at night AND in dark places.

#2) Spirit level 7:

You are able of an advanced Nether-realm vision
You can assess the memory traces of objects and entities via nether-realm vision and tactile contact
You can sense soul sparks in ~75 meters radius
You can sense the sparks of the living, undead, minor spiritual beings, bound spirits, phantasms, genius loci, and some other spirits
You can sense concentrations of the Limbus energies, the thickness of the barrier, and traces of spirits from the material plane
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to perception
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to wisdom
You can scan the target's soul characteristics and receive advanced-depth results
You can try to smite a spirit
You can try to disperse a spirit
You can try to temporarily bind or scare off a singular lesser spiritual being
You can communicate with discovered spiritual beings

#3) ~Open affinity slot~

Your journal, a comfortable set of clothes, a plain dress, a custom-made set of lightened composite armor, an arming sword ("Holly"), a high-quality rondel ("Mercy"), a decorative blue ribbon, a silver necktie with a bounded spirit, superb leather harness.

Capable of crudely repairing clothes, making basic tailoring items like belts and patches, and producing low-effort/cost items like stuffed toys. Capable of applying first aid to prevent bleeding. Knows how to make and disinfect bandageware.

Ulren Kyres (aka Ren, aka Mountain boy)

Race: Bhiroth
Gender: Male
Age: 68
Background: mercenary, former soldier, outcast
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Not on my watch, not again" - shields Lucy from considerable harm in combat situations at own expense.

"I promise you that" - when in the same group as Lucifina, will make the second set of saving rolls to avoid critical health conditions.

"Odd kind of friendship" - when Ulren and Sephorah are fighting crowd-controllable enemies (not giants, flying creatures, etc.) in the same team, the one who makes the lowest total offensive or defensive score out of two can reroll that offensive or defensive roll set (only the highest score counts).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	21	+1	22	17
Constitution	21	+1	22	17
Mobility	14	-1	13	8
Perception	12		12	7
Coordination	15		15	10
Micromotorics	13		13	8
Intellect	14		14	9
Wisdom	18		18	13
Charisma	9		9	4
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	9	9		18
Ranged combat	5	5		10
Arcane skill	6			6
Defense	10	10		20
Objects usage	6	3		9
Mounted combat	8			8
Willpower	6		-3	3
Balance	7			7
Sneaking	4		-5	-1
Reconnaissance	5	4		9
Persuasion	4			4
Intimidation	9			9
Haggle	3			3
Performance	3			3
Seduction	5			5
Geography lore	6	5		11
Nature lore	6	3		9
Arcane lore	6			6
Social and cultural lore	5			5
Craft lore	6	6		12
Lingual lore	5			5
Daily craft	6	4		10
Pharma and treatment	5	2		7
Weaponsmithing	6	6		12
Armorsmithing	6	6		12
Tailoring	3			3
Art	4			4
Artificery	5	7		12
Burglary	4			4
Huntsmanship	5	2		7
Alchemy	6			6
Sorcery	6			6

Unknown, but he demonstrated feats of great balance, stability, and hardiness. Perhaps, he might have an undiscovered arcane aspect bound.

A very worn half-plate armor set, worn set of clothes, a glaive, mechanical mace with spare heads, heater shield, hand crossbow, one quiver of bolts, enchanted amulet (+1 STR +1 CON - MOB)

Semi-proficient in the daily craft. Adept in smithing (martial-level weapons and armor). Proficient in artificiery (lesser contraptions). Expert in picking/maintaining war gear, and capable of minor mechanical upgrades of such. Knows the basics of hunting and skinning.

Sephorah of house Terphor (aka Seph, aka Sephie, aka Princess)

Race: Daeva
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Background: Rosaline's agent, former slave, voluntary expatriate.
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):

"Odd kind of friendship" - when Ulren and Sephorah are fighting crowd-controllable enemies (not giants, flying creatures, etc.) in the same team, the one who makes the lowest total offensive or defensive score out of two can reroll that offensive or defensive roll set (only the highest score counts).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	15		15	10
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	16		16	11
Perception	14		14	9
Coordination	18		18	13
Micromotorics	12		12	7
Intellect	14		14	9
Wisdom	12		12	7
Charisma	18		18	13
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	7	6	1	14
Ranged combat	4			4
Arcane skill	4			4
Defense	6	5	2	13
Objects usage	4	5		9
Mounted combat	7			7
Willpower	4			4
Balance	8	8		16
Sneaking	7	8		15
Reconnaissance	4	4		8
Persuasion	6	5		11
Intimidation	7			7
Haggle	6	2		8
Performance	6	7		13
Seduction	8	7		15
Geography lore	4			4
Nature lore	4			4
Arcane lore	4			4
Social and cultural lore	5	6		11
Craft lore	3			3
Lingual lore	5			5
Daily craft	3	2		5
Pharma and treatment	4			4
Weaponsmithing	4			4
Armorsmithing	4			4
Tailoring	5			5
Art	5			5
Artificery	3			3
Burglary	4	6		10
Huntsmanship	6			6
Alchemy	4			4
Sorcery	4			4

Unknown if any. No signs of her having seeds of arcane aspects bound so far.

A set of clothes and undergarments, a superb set of compositive medium armor (manticore materials), a superb leather harness for bags and tools, a qualitative longsword "Ember", a parrying dagger, a quiver of tossing knives, a kit with burglar's tools.

You suspect she's incapable of legal manual labor aside from the bare basics of daily routines.

Karl Norskov (aka Mage, aka 'that' mage)

Race: Human (unknown heritage)
Gender: Male
Age: appears to be in the late thirties to early forties
Background: elementalist mage, major arcane enthusiast, disowned son of a noble family.
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):

"Old habits die hard" - when making an offensive arcane skill roll in combat and getting less or equal to four, reroll it (only the highest score counts). This perk also applies to combat rounds where Karl makes an arcane skill roll only for the defensive score.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	11		11	6
Constitution	11		11	6
Mobility	11		11	6
Perception	13		13	8
Coordination	10		10	5
Micromotorics	16		16	11
Intellect	20		20	15
Wisdom	16		16	11
Charisma	14		14	9
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	1			1
Ranged combat	4			4
Arcane skill	8	9		17
Defense	1	2		3
Objects usage	5	5		10
Mounted combat	2			2
Willpower	7	6	-2	11
Balance	1			1
Sneaking	2			2
Reconnaissance	6			6
Persuation	7			7
Intimidation	2			2
Haggle	5	1		6
Performance	6			6
Seduction	3			3
Geography lore	7			7
Nature lore	7			7
Arcane lore	7	9		16
Social and cultural lore	8	5		13
Craft lore	8			8
Lingual lore	8	7		15
Daily craft	8			8
Pharma and treatment	9			9
Weaponsmithing	7			7
Armorsmithing	7			7
Tailorng	8			8
Art	6			6
Artificery	8			8
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	3			3
Alchemy	9			9
Sorcery	8	3		11

#1) Conflagration and radiation level 7:

You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to strength.
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to intellect.
Your casting in dry weather or nearby fire sources amplifies pyromancy.
You can regain mental strengths faster near the heat sources.
You can sense and read the heat sources in a vast area.
You can channel the arcane powers to temporarily amplify own physical strength.
Your spellcasting uses both mental and physical strengths or the varying proportions of such.
You can temporarily infuse objects (including tools and weapons) with pyromancy powers.
You can conjure heat on the intermediate level (sufficient to melt iron)
You can suppress and channel heat on the intermediate level (rays, waves, charges, orbs, tactile)
You passively gain +1 to arcane skill for every 3 points of STR above 10. This trait also applies -1 penalty to arcane skill for every 2 points of STR below 10. Does not apply in the case of arcane self-empowerment.

A worn set of travel clothes, a backpack, a grimoire (or a diary), an old pocket chornometer with a chain, an intricate smoking pipe

None you know about

Amalia Brant (aka Lia)

Race: Human (Eastlander)
Gender: Female
Age: Young adult
Background: Former maidservant
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Shipper on deck" - +3 To all social skill rolls against the companions with positive affection levels (neutrality affection level excluded). If previously gossiped with about other characters that she knows, can provide a one-time boost of +3 to all types of social interaction skill rolls to the requester.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	12		12	7
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	11		11	6
Perception	16		16	11
Coordination	12		12	7
Micromotorics	18		18	13
Intellect	12		12	7
Wisdom	20		20	15
Charisma	11		11	6
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2			2
Ranged combat	7	3		10
Arcane skill	5			5
Defense	4	1		5
Objects usage	7	3		10
Mounted combat	4			4
Willpower	8	3		11
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	4			4
Reconnaissance	7			7
Persuasion	5			5
Intimidation	4			4
Haggle	5	4		9
Performance	6			6
Seduction	3			3
Geography lore	8	2		10
Nature lore	8			8
Arcane lore	8			8
Social and cultural lore	6	2		8
Craft lore	8	3		11
Lingual lore	6			6
Daily craft	8	10		18
Pharma and treatment	7			7
Weaponsmithing	6			6
Armorsmithing	6			6
Tailoring	5	9		14
Art	7	3		10
Artificery	8			8
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	7			7
Alchemy	7			7
Sorcery	6			6

Uknown if any

Leather camisole of fair quality, compositive crossbow, a quiver of bolts, a bag of small tools, a rucksack, a set of road clothes, a plain cloak, a knife, a belt water bag.

Master of daily craft and inventory management. Fairly good cook (specializes in fried snacks) and knows how to correctly ration different foods. Good tailor, capable of qualitative repair of clothes and production of professional effort/materials goods like suits and dresses. Her designs lean towards practicality rather than fanciness.

Isaac

Race: Human (unknown heritage)
Gender: Male
Age: Young adult
Background: Healer apprentice
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"We are of one blood" - Any non-hostile actions towards animals or beast folk have +4 bonus to attributes or skill rolls. Can use WIS instead of CHA for interactions with animals and beast folk (aka empathetic approach).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	13		13	8
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	12		12	7
Perception	14		14	9
Coordination	10		10	5
Micromotorics	17		17	12
Intellect	15		15	10
Wisdom	14		14	9
Charisma	7		7	2
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2		-5	-3
Ranged combat	5		-5	0
Arcane skill	6	6		12
Defense	4	1		5
Objects usage	6		-5	1
Mounted combat	3		-7	-4
Willpower	5	7		12
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	2			2
Reconnaissance	5			5
Persuasion	1			1
Intimidation	3			3
Haggle	1			1
Performance	2			2
Seduction	1			1
Geography lore	5			5
Nature lore	5	2		7
Arcane lore	5	5		10
Social and cultural lore	3			3
Craft lore	6			6
Lingual lore	3			3
Daily craft	6	3		9
Pharma and treatment	6	7		13
Weaponsmithing	6			6
Armorsmithing	7			7
Tailoring	5			5
Art	4			4
Artificery	7			7
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	3			3
Alchemy	6			6
Sorcery	5			5

#1) Body level 5:

You can sense breathing and blood pulse of living entities in ~100 meters radius.
You gain the permanent +1 bonus to constitution.
You gain the permanent +1 bonus to charisma
You can scan the detailed physiological state of a target in many details including sicknesses, inflammations, as well as the state of physical integrity.
You can make an attempt for a minuscule boost of the physical performance of oneself or a target at the cost of own mental strengths.
You can accelerate the metabolism (and so, often times, the recovery from ailments or traumas) of living creatures at the cost of own mental and physical strengths.
You can try to numb the minor pain of a target living creature at the cost of both mental and physical strengths or share it with yourself with the low transference loss ratio

A robe with a hood, a bag with bandages and medications, an old iron amulet, a belt with tincures

Good at applying and synthesizing remedies. Capable of providing first and complex medical aid. Has some skills in inventory management.

Jorgen Ostgard (aka Jory, aka Craven)

Race: Human (Lyflander?)
Gender: Male
Age: Young adult
Background: Alchemist assistant
Status: Healthy


Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	11		11	6
Constitution	11		11	6
Mobility	12		12	7
Perception	18		18	13
Coordination	12		12	7
Micromotorics	15		15	10
Intellect	16		16	11
Wisdom	13		13	8
Charisma	9		9	4
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2			2
Ranged combat	6	1		7
Arcane skill	5			5
Defense	2			2
Objects usage	6	4		10
Mounted combat	3			3
Willpower	6			6
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	5	4		9
Reconnaissance	7	5		12
Persuation	2			2
Intimidation	1			1
Haggle	3			3
Performance	2			2
Seduction	1			1
Geography lore	6			6
Nature lore	6	4		10
Arcane lore	6	3		9
Social and cultural lore	4			4
Craft lore	5	6		11
Lingual lore	4			4
Daily craft	5	3		8
Pharma and treatment	6			6
Weaponsmithing	5			5
Armorsmithing	5			5
Tailoring	5			5
Art	3			3
Artificery	6			6
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	6			6
Alchemy	6	6		12
Sorcery	6			6

Unknown if any

A robe with a hood, a traveling cane, a bag with small instruments, a belt with glasses, a rucksack

Good at synthesizing remedies or other compounds from both organic and inorganic ingredients. Fairly good at understanding how chemistry works and has an eye for experimentation. Capable of locating and recognizing substances. Has basic skills in inventory management and knows a thing or two about craftworks.

General condition: High morale, everyone's healthy, two weeks worth of food supplies, sufficiently-budgeted, low on alchemic reagents.
Money: 1081 Talers
Food: 82 food units (9 full days of sustenance on Bloom 28)
Food consumption: 8.5 food units per day

Lucifina - 1
Ulren - 2
Sephorah - 1.5
Karl - 1
Amalia - 1
Isaac -1
Jory - 1
Mount(s) - n/a (pasturing season)

Medication: 5 medicine units
Alchemy stash: 4 reagent units, 5 blank alchemical basis compounds (crafting boosters & subsidizes)

Free stash space: up to 130 kg

1 Incindiary bomb (great)
1 Regeneration potion (superb)
1 Regeneration potion (weak)
1 Stimulator/painkiller potion (weak)
1 Potion of momentum (Temp: +3 STR +3 SPD +3 COOR - 1 INT - 1 WIS - 1 CHA) (standard)

A bundle of books from Dalgaard's library, Yvie's ulchaar (Morinth's parcel)

Mounts: 1 workhorse (Softie)
Team's reputation:
Kheree hunters (Tevon-Talab militia) - CELEBRATED
The Lyf Kingdom (Lyflanders) - WELCOMED
Eastern Freelanders (Baathorians) - CELEBRATED
Central Freelanders (Tevons) - UNKNOWN
Western Freelanders (Ertanghalians) - UNKNOWN
Nyth-Rhathon (Bhiroths) - UNKNOWN?
Olfadir (Westlanders) - UNKNOWN?

Ship-o-meter

Lucifina

Ulren

Sephorah

Karl

Amalia

Isaac

Jorgen

Lucifina

X

Devotion (96)

Comradery (82)

Amiability (12)

Friendship (70)

Sympathy (44)

Neutrality (10)

Ulren

Devotion (96)

X

Friendship (58)

Amiability (13)

Sympathy (38)

Amiability (20)

Neutrality (4)

Sephorah

Comradery (82)

Friendship (58)

X

Suspicion (-11)

Sympathy (34)

Amiability (16)

Neutrality (0)

Karl

Amiability (12)

Amiability (13)

Suspicion (-11)

X

Neutrality (9)

Amiability (13)

Amiability (14)

Amalia

Friendship (70)

Sympathy (38)

Sympathy (34)

Neutrality (9)

X

Sympathy (47)

Sympathy (32)

Isaac

Sympathy (44)

Amiability (20)

Amiability (16)

Amiability (13)

Sympathy (47)

X

Friendship (51)

Jorgen

Neutrality (10)

Neutrality (4)

Neutrality (0)

Amiability (14)

Sympathy (32)

Friendship (51)

X

Tier	Relative numeric scale	Description
Devotion	91 to 100	You would likely self-sacrifice for each other if necessary
Comradery	71 to 90	You are deeply loyal to each other
Friendship	51 to 70	You have each other's trust
Sympathy	31 to 50	You have common interests, views, or simply find each other nice
Amiability	11 to 30	You are polite and good-willing toward each other
Neutrality	-10 to 10	You are strangers or largely indifferent towards each other
Suspicion	-11 to -30	You question each other's views and values
Distaste	-31 to -50	You avoid and distrust each other, but remain rational
Intolerance	-51 to -70	You dislike and disrespect each other
Scorn	-71 to -90	You avert and loathe each other, even if irrationally
Hatred	-91 to -100	You are at each other's throats

Teloch · Mar 7, 2020

Just as the cyan flames of the anomalous fissure were spreading exponentially fast, growing to resemble a branchy tree caught in unnatural fire, the situation at the camp also escalated: a couple of freshly-unearthed possessed constructs enclosed your tents from beyond the light of the bonfire. Three more of them almost made their way to the surface. In response, your non-combatant companions attempted to get out of the way while Ulren already lined up for skirmish while Karl was slinging the swirling heat charges at the attackers with the exasperation of a sexagenarian who woke up to see their slippers defiled with urine. The clash was inevitable.

But then, an expanding bright wave of light struck the belligerents, blowing out the anti-sparks and causing the constructs to collapse into the now-neutralized piles of junk and remains with the characteristic echoing howls of anguish and fury. Maybe, you had no guilt in the brewing of this predicament, but you could not deny your part in leading the situation to its current point. With this sole thought on your mind, you moved to the center of the camp, channeling the aspect-neutralizing barrier despite the fear and doubts caused by your progress through the crisis. You pushed the darkness away, despite the predictably massive obstruction of the void-tainted environment. Perhaps, you felt scared and self-doubting, but the defiance of seeing the repeat of the messy Beilford exodus' crisis overwritten your emotions. Not tonight. Not ever.

A fleeting moment of situation recognition followed, causing your companions to properly evaluate the circumstances at hand. In the light of your own making, you saw Ren's baffled gaze combing what once was a peaceful campsite.

"Where is the rogue?" he asked dryly, to which you - having both of your hands occupied by projecting the thaumaturgic powers into the dark - just unfolded your wings and attempted to point the left one's tip in the direction when you sensed Sephorah's soul.

"She ought to be there, almost surrounded" you muttered, to which Ren replied nothing.

"Norskov?" the bhiroth threw, staring behind your right shoulder. The reply did not come, yet, you could see Karl's unspoken negative answer reflecting on Ulren's furrowing face. The giant looked back at you with the stare containing either a mix of resolve and encouragement. And then, without a word, unarmored and armed only with his mace, he stormed outside the relative safety of the anti-magic dome, overpowering one of the hulking constructs set partially ablaze by Karl previously, and using what appeared to be a burning thigh-bone as an improvised torch. Somewhat baffled by his decision, you followed the tiny blaze venturing straight into the calamity with your gaze.

"Everyone pack up this very instant!" Amalia heralded the sounds of bags shuffling, objects dropping, and leather belts wrapping behind your back. While still following Ulren's "torch" with your eyes, you felt the sparks of Amalia, Karl, and even Jory hustle behind you. Behind the luminous borders of the dome, you could see the shapes of possessed golems stomping around as if hesitant to march straight at you. The eerie echoes of unfamiliar murmurs and fearful whines filled the air, disturbed shortly by the grunts of Softie - the phlegmatic horse who sounded like finally breaking through his natural apathy. When you refocused on your supernatural senses, you noticed the proximity of Issac's spark to the one of the horse, align just at the time when Softie's grunts abruptly ceased after growing louder; whether Isaac hugged, overpowered, or even cradled the poor animal into submission, it appeared to work.

By the time Ulren's "trophy torch" grew dangerously dim and his soul spark almost approached Sephorah's, you felt yet another arcane shockwave colliding against your ward, shrinking its coverage zone and nearly extinguishing it entirely due to the sudden pressure on you. Even though you managed to recover it and salvage the situation, doing so put a strain on you, taking form in the growing discomfort in your hands and the ever-growing toll on your strengths. Still, you clenched your teeth and persisted, biting your lips and suppressing the growing fear from observing the new development: a milky blanket of either for or smoke rising by the hem of the dome and rubbing against it. In the places where the smoke contacted the shining barrier, variously-sized humanoid palms made of fog rubbed against the ward from beyond, putting even more strain on your efforts. The growing cacophony of the echoes from outside as well as the sensation of multiple clusters of anti-sparks moving through the smoke like fish through water suggested that this is only the beginning of the real hell.

This pessimistic thought was confirmed after you spotted an abnormally large dark spark approaching your position in what appeared as a stride. Warily, you turned your head in its direction, preparing to witness the new horror and nearly succumbing to panic when the "thing" approached close enough to be visually discerned. The new abomination had the shape of an oversized horse compiled out of poorly-matched bones and sporadic patches of rotten meat. It had a disproportionally long neck, which is stretched over the dome, putting to light its head that hosted a vaguely humanoid, eyeless, and inverted face, made out of mismatching bones and chunks of dried meat. After what felt like staring through you, the "face" smiled (or did it frown, given its vertical inversion?) in a disgusting manner. You barely resisted fainting. Jory emitted a high-pitched, after which the audial frequency of his skiffle nearly doubled. Despite your worst expectations, the monster turned around and bolted towards Ren's and Seph's location in a quick yet unnaturally jerky manner. Although, what was natural anymore?

"Forget money and grub - pack the items!" Amalia's distressed voice rang, most likely aimed at distraught from fear Jory. Although, whatever thoughts you might have had regarding her prioritizing decisions, they all vanished to a matter incomparably more crucial: the anti-aspect dome you were channeling began to falter. You've got the first suspicions that it would not hold at the moment when its radius shrunk enough to leave parts of the tents uncovered. It became only obvious when you began to feel the disruptions in the arcane powers channeling. And the circumstances only worsened: the number of foggy palms doubled, the level of the fog could now reach your beltline should the barrier fall, and even the possessed constructs began to toss chunks of debris at you from beyond the range of the dome, demonstrating their ability to adapt.

Meanwhile, you failed to see the light from Ren's "torch" anymore, meaning that it was already extinguished, leaving your group's combatants to storm through the dark towards the only source of light that was your dome. The "grinning horse" monster has already intercepted them once, which they somehow dodged, and was going for its second or third lap. The realization that whatever controlled all these voidlings, it knew what you were doing and was countering your moves struck you, followed up by the idea that the resolution of this crisis tips on whether they would reach the campsite before your inevitable falter. The crux of the moment was on you.

You bit your lips harder as an attempt to brace yourself for what was to follow, fell on your knees to both save as much strength as possible and to minimize the chances of being hit by the apparitions' rocks tosses, defensively unfolded your wings upfront to minimize the impact of potential hits, and pushed yourself to siphon all the arcane powers you had into the dome in total disregard of what was safe for your body to channel in such a short window of time. The retribution struck you immediately in the form of the pain that you could only characterize as having metal or glass blades piercing through your palms down to your elbows. You did restore the dome's radius to its initial range but came at the price of excruciating and intensifying pain. Seph and Ren made over half of the way back to the camp and your wings absorbed the impact of two rocks. Amalia said something behind you, but you were way too absorbed in your struggle to comprehend her properly.

A few more moments that felt like minutes further, the pain in your hands deteriorated to the most painful sensation which you felt in your lifetime: the metaphorical blades which pierced your hands now felt as if they were on fire, burying and spreading the pain deeper. In a couple of following seconds of agony, your fingers gave off, growing totally numb and incapable to siphon the arcane force. You wanted to scream, you wanted to weep, you wanted for the pain to fade regardless of how, but much more than that, you wanted this not to become the night of your greatest failure. Thus, you bunkered down, allowed yourself only to whine the pain off in-between the frequent breaths, ignored the taste of iron in your mouth, and began to siphon whatever minuscule amounts of thaumaturgic energies you could push through your wings to compensate for the failures of your palms and to win a couple more of the precious seconds.

You could not memorize exactly what happened when you were close to collapsing while Ren and Seph finally reached the campsite. The only things that imprinted themselves into your mind before it momentarily blacked out were the sensation of a huge black spark crashing against the arcane barrier and the subsequent collapse of the latter, Amalia's hands pushing you out from the trajectory of a debris avalanche, walls of fire and the whistling sounds of Karl's fire charges, Ren, Seph, and Amalia communicating via stressed yells. You came back to your senses in a few seconds, witnessing Karl providing both the cover fire (literally) and illumination while Ulren was finishing his hasty attempts to arm up. The noncombatants already finished packing up everyone's rucksacks as well as the team's cargo bundle; remaining ratios, medicine, funds and the entirety of the camping equipment, however, were not yet stashed. Seph was back as well, lunging in and out of the visible range to fend off the assaulters. To your surprise, your hands felt rather numb due to the pain shock, which meant that you have but a few minutes before the painful relapse. Even though you felt some residual arcane power within you, spellcasting was not out of the question. The supernatural fog sipped through Karl's blazing walls, filling the scene of the campsite. The packs of voidlings renewed their assault at your now-unshielded position. The "branches" of the cyan-blazing "tree" began to lean downwards. The night is far from its end.

__________

If you stay longer, it would get even harder to fend off and evacuate.
You can attempt to evacuate now or to stay longer to salvage more loot. Mind the state of the party and the risks you are willing to take in salvaging your possessions.
Lucifina can't cast during this turn due to overexerting herself previously.

All the party members will have to pass the 12 Willpower skill check for a save versus environment-induced debuff regardless of which course of action you would choose.
All the party members with physical injuries will have to pass the 9 Constitution attribute check for a save versus environment-induced staus regardless of which course of actions you would choose.

[] Party's course of action
-[] Stay a bit longer (compile Lucifina's action plan if picked)
-[] Evacuate now with whatever you managed to pack up (individual mobility rolls and luck rolls for 5 team's average score (4 difficulty already subtracted due to the mount salvaged last round. Lucifina is immune to failure due to the flight capacity; in case of her insufficient roll, the score will be dropped out of the average)

[] Liucifina's action
-[] Fight to push away the assault! (50 offense team effort, 60 defense team effort)
--[] physical (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, luck roll)
-[] Salvage the gear! (progress accumulates, 1 pt progress = 1 pt of roll + modifiers)
--[] money and food (0/20 progress, Daily craft skill roll, luck roll)
--[] camping equipment (0/30 progress, Daily craft skill roll, luck roll)
-[] Hold to the packhorse (again)!
--[] Force him down (15 STR check, 11 CON check if STR post-roll score < 11, luck roll)
--[] Calm him down (20 CHA check, 11 CON check if CHA post-roll score < 14, luck roll)
-[] Abandon your group!

Party member's actions in case of the stay scenario:

[Stay scenario] Ulren:
-[locked] Fight to push away the assault! (50 offense team effort, 60 defense team effort)
--[locked] Countering glaive style (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, bonus 1d7 melee skill roll if defense skill roll >= 13, luck roll)
[Stay scenario] Sephorah:
-[locked] Fight to push away the assault! (50 offense team effort, 60 defense team effort)
--[locked] Simple melee style (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, luck roll)
[Stay scenario] Karl:
-[locked] Fight to push away the assault! (50 offense team effort, 60 defense team effort)
--[locked] warding (1/2 of arcane skill roll for offense, full arcane skill for defense, luck roll)
[Stay scenario] Amalia:
-[locked] Salvage the gear! (progress accumulates, 1 pt progress = 1 pt of roll + modifiers)
--[locked] money and food (0/20 progress, Daily craft skill roll, luck roll)
[Stay scenario] Jory:
-[locked] Salvage the gear! (progress accumulates, 1 pt progress = 1 pt of roll + modifiers)
--[locked] money and food (0/20 progress, Daily craft skill roll, luck roll)
[Stay scenario] Isaac:
-[locked] Hold to the packhorse (again)!
--[locked] Force him down (15 STR check, 11 CON check if STR post-roll score < 11, luck roll)

Teloch · Mar 7, 2020

They often say that dice rolls hamper drama, but in the case of this particular thread, the RNGods tend to amplify it.

Anyway, I would like to start drafting the next update on Monday, so, please, do vote.

veekie · Mar 7, 2020

[X] Party's course of action
-[X] Stay a bit longer (compile Lucifina's action plan if picked)
[X] Liucifina's action
-[X] Fight to push away the assault! (50 offense team effort, 60 defense team effort)
--[X] physical (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, luck roll)

We won't last if we don't have gear. Push push push!

uiopion · Mar 7, 2020

Fighting is ~99% ignoring unknown potential debuffs right now I believe.

Teloch · Mar 7, 2020

veekie said:
We won't last if we don't have gear. Push push push!

The gear (member's weapons, armor, other objects listed in character sheets) as well as as the group's cargo (A bundle of books from Dalgaard's library, Yvie's ulchaar (Morinth's parcel), A bundle of manticore's skin and bones, two samples of prototypical healing serum) are already salvaged. What the group haven't packed up yet is money, food, medicine, tents, sleeping bags, camp kitchen appliances. Roughly.

Since it was quite a while since the logistical details of the route have been mentioned, the group is about one and a half to two days away from their next destination settlement (aka Tevon-Talab).

I Hope, this provides more detail on what's going on and what are the stakes.

uiopion said:
unknown potential debuffs

There can be a straight debuff to skill checks (consider it the terrify effect), a particularly peculiar affliction that can later have a rather serious effect(s) depending on who's afflicted and how badly, or even both... given that the characters do survive.

Varano · Mar 7, 2020

[X] Party's course of action
-[X] Stay a bit longer (compile Lucifina's action plan if picked)
[X] Liucifina's action
-[X] Fight to push away the assault! (50 offense team effort, 60 defense team effort)
--[X] physical (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, luck roll)

uiopion · Mar 7, 2020

We need to find better camping spots in the future. Gotta recruit a ranger/bushmen/druid/naturedude?

Anyway, so Ulren/Seph/Karl are running injuries and have the extra chance at a debuff, let's just call everything a -2 for failure on any of the checks.

Joining in on the fight = 97.1%
Meanwhile, Amalia + Jory packing = 45.9 average, with 100% ≥20, 98.2% ≥30, 33.8% ≥50, so this will probably take 2 rounds (which is 100% at that point)
Issac on horse = 35% success ≥15, 20% partial(?) ≥11, 29.25% failure <11 mitigated (result = ???), 15.75% failure failure

If we don't join the fight, the fighters are at 66.4%, for which we trade either a 90.3% of a 1 turn pack, or if we CHA the horse, 0.8% of failure failure, 7.1% of failure mitigated, ~92% of at least partial success.

Summary:
Fight for a conservative approach at preserving health & gear and a ~33% chance at getting out next round (~28% of doing so without fail fail on the horse), but likely to pass into a round 3 escape and a notable chance of losing the horse by that time.
Packing for a 50/50 chance (66% fight x 90% pack x 84% horse not fail fail) of getting out next round with all our stuff, big gamble on fighting success.
Horse around if we really want to keep the horse and gamble basically everything else
Calc

And this is without considering the eventual GTFO rolls.

[X] Party's course of action
-[X] Stay a bit longer (compile Lucifina's action plan if picked)
[X] Liucifina's action
-[X] Fight to push away the assault! (50 offense team effort, 60 defense team effort)
--[X] physical (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, luck roll)

I think we're going to lose the horse =(

Teloch · Mar 7, 2020

uiopion said:
Gotta recruit a ranger/bushmen/druid/naturedude

If the group survives past this night, Imma gonna make a special entry about this in a chapter's rundown analysis.

Genesys · Mar 7, 2020

[X] Party's course of action
-[X] Stay a bit longer (compile Lucifina's action plan if picked)
[X] Liucifina's action
-[X] Fight to push away the assault! (50 offense team effort, 60 defense team effort)
--[X] physical (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, luck roll)
Gambling on pack now to get out doesn't feel great, so conservative fighting it is.

veekie · Mar 8, 2020

Teloch said:
The gear (member's weapons, armor, other objects listed in character sheets) as well as as the group's cargo (A bundle of books from Dalgaard's library, Yvie's ulchaar (Morinth's parcel), A bundle of manticore's skin and bones, two samples of prototypical healing serum) are already salvaged. What the group haven't packed up yet is money, food, medicine, tents, sleeping bags, camp kitchen appliances. Roughly.

Since it was quite a while since the logistical details of the route have been mentioned, the group is about one and a half to two days away from their next destination settlement (aka Tevon-Talab).

I Hope, this provides more detail on what's going on and what are the stakes.

We need a minimum of 2 days of food, which we don't have yet, and the money, if we're going to resupply at the next stop.

At least, thats what I meant by not lasting. if we go right now we'd be starving when we arrive and without the ability to actually resupply except by scavenging the landscape(which entails more risky encounters), if we go with a few days of food and the money(which should be portable enough to pack quickly), we're going to spend heavily but be otherwise fine. So I'm thinking we hold out this turn, hope theres enough food and money packed, then make a break for it next turn.

The tents are likely the slowest to pack away, so we'd probably have to abandon them, which does make it more likely to get sick. The cookware we could do without, its quality of life only.

Teloch · Mar 8, 2020

Alrighty then. I guess the Spanish Inquisition isn't out to unexpectedly override the winning vote, so it is safe to have the rolling rumba.

Calculation time!
Luc: 12 offense, 22 defense (no luck intervention, no penalties, +2 defense bonus from wings mastery included)
Ren: 29 offense, 29 defense (no luck intervention, no penalties, no bonuses)
Sep: 27 offense, 20 defense (no luck intervention, -3 debuff penalty applied, no bonuses)
Karl: 8 offense, 28 defense (no luck intervention, no penalties, no bonuses, ???)
Total: 76 offense (overwhelming success), 99 defense (overwhelming success)

Amalia: 27 daily craft (no luck intervention, no penalties, no bonuses)
Jory: 19 daily craft (no luck intervention, no penalties, no bonuses)
Total: 46 cargo units salvaged (all supplies saved & almost all camping gear salvaged)

Isaac: 16 STR (passed), negative luck-induced second roll intervention, no debuffs, no bonuses, 19 CON (passed)
Total: Both checks passed (horse saved (again))

Verdict: My oh my, does the RNGeezus know how to spice up the story. Overall, A- score rolling session. Expect quite a lot of consequences.

Varder · Mar 8, 2020

That nat 1 against physical debuf on Karl... I felt it.

Teloch · Mar 8, 2020

Varder said:
physical debuf

That was not a physical debuff. Kinda itching to give you hints regarding what it was, but I'm not immodest enough to rob you all of the opportunity to find it out later.

Teloch · Mar 8, 2020

Isaac, though. Narrowly succeeds, karma strikes him in metaphorical guts, and yet again he refuses to fail.

veekie · Mar 9, 2020

Teloch said:
Total: 46 cargo units salvaged (all supplies saved & almost all camping gear salvaged)

So basically just the tents not yet taken down right?

Teloch · Mar 9, 2020

veekie said:
So basically just the tents not yet taken down right?

I'd say only one of the three tents wasn't taken.

Raptor580 · Mar 9, 2020

Well it's good to see this back. Gave me an excuse to go re read everything which took about 3 days. I really missed this quest and how the dice really don't care.

Teloch · Mar 13, 2020

T's misadventures or "how did I spent the friday 13"

*was asked to write a code that highlighted a ~6500 EUR-worth fugup of one of the departments*
*wrote that thing just days after writing a code highlighting the fugups of the head of that department*
*got back to the rented den only to see the entrance lock jammed dead*
*called for the landlord, who in his own turn called for a techie*
*all of us failed to force-open the damn door*
*at around 22:00, we all rode to the landlord's house to grab a fuggin monster drill*
*at around 23:30 we drilled the shag out of the jammed lock*
*at around midnight, I had to block the entrance door's inner handle with a mop and barricade the next door behind it with a kitchen table, just like in those trashy zombie movies*
*an hour later, I've put a skillet under the bed (just in case) and checked the internet: the world continues to go insane at the accelerating rate*
*some minutes after, I am writing this and wondering of whether or not I will have to use the skillet in ways it wasn't purposed for*

All I wanted today was to start writing T_T

veekie · Mar 13, 2020

Teloch said:
*was asked to write a code that highlighted a ~6500 EUR-worth fugup of one of the departments*
*wrote that thing just days after writing a code highlighting the fugups of the head of that department*

Thats gonna be Fun.txt on monday isn't it?

Teloch · Mar 14, 2020

veekie said:
Thats gonna be Fun.txt on monday isn't it?

Nah, they know when the company bosses ask for ad hoc, i go into the Sauron eye mode.

Teloch · Mar 16, 2020

Oh gee, our company sends us on remote (which means they may or may not be giving us a slack).
In any case, have some goodies in the meanwhile

I usually use many sources of inspiration for certain regions while worldbuilding, but if you would ask for something that would be the overall best "vibe" transmitter of the region the party threads now, then I think it would be these pieces:

Teloch · Mar 19, 2020

With the fall of the barrier that you channeled, the odd mix of smoke and fog sipped into the campsite, followed by the gutwrenching stench of arson, blood, and the amplified supernatural murmurs. The sounds of intensifying skirmish grew discernably loud even in all this chaos of sounds and sensations. You could hear Ren yelling out something aking to the "Status?" inquiry as well as Amalia's distressed "We are half-way done, just hold a little more!" reply. Still slightly lightheaded, you reached with your numb hands to Holly - your spadona sword, yielding neither to the risks that come from being in the disadvantaged combat-readiness condition neither to the fear of the unknown anomaly; You did not go all these lengths tonight only to go down gentle now.

It appeared that your more combative companions also shared your sentiment of resisting the menace, which manifested in their swift mobilization. Ren, who for the first time took his new glaive as a primary weapon, occupied a position by the edge of the visible range, placing himself in between the metaphorical front of the darkness' field and the rest of the group. His high-guard stance and the shortly-followed strikes revealed his intent: to control the widest range possible by proactively countering the enemies' waves via diagonal swings or "mill" slams should any possessed pile of flesh or debris come way too close.

Following a short estimation of the situation and your current capacities, you bolted to the right flank with the sword in hand. Your hands were still way too numb to operate the weapon effectively, and without the variety of maneuvers offered by thaumaturgy, your odds at dishing considerable harm to the advancing voidlings were rather slim. Thus, you focused on the hit-and-dodge tactic just to take off the pressure from the other fighters and draw aggression away from the hurriedly-packing non-combatants. It was following this tactic when you landed a harassing stab at an ungainly fusion of soil, skeletal remains, and rotten wood. The "creature" registered your offense and retrained its malevolent intent from scurrying Amalia to you, same as two more of its kind who have just emerged from the edge of darkness. Actively dodging the uneven but yet massive blows as well as the continuing rain of weaponized debris, you failed to register any audial cues of the creatures' aggression: thy ears drowned in the unrelenting otherworldly noises. As you ducked, side-dodged, and floated away from harm, the murmurs grew into a cacophony of voices screaming and moaning. Some screamed with rage, others in pain, and some with anguish.

Ÿ̸̧̰́̋o̶̡͂̃u̷̻̐ ̵̹͖̏á̷̞ř̴̙e̶̡͘ ̵̗͐̕w̷̤͓͂o̴͖͗̊r̸̟̣͐͠t̷̖͚̀h̴̫̳̎l̸̟̊e̸̟͈͒͝s̴̼̐͋ͅs̸̻̗̿ ̵͎̪̈̎o̶̧͌n̸̤̒̉ ̴̯̏ÿ̴̤́̚o̷͈͈̍̀u̸̱͋͘r̴̝̥͂͘ ̴͎͉͒o̸̼̿w̶̥̓̌n̶̖̉͠ - a sudden distorted voice of Torvald - the deceased guard of the Dalgaard's mansion, who mocked you for poor fighting skills - rang in your head. You gasped, even if unheard by yourself, but still refused to yield to shock. This was not real. It couldn't possibly be real: the passed away souls can't haunt the living!

W̵̩͕̋h̷̝̀̓y̵̢͎̒͐ ̸̜̌y̵͉̭̎͘ó̴̧̠ű̶̟̠ ̸͈͙̅͂d̵͔́́í̵̛̹d̷͕͍̅̅n̶̫̈'̷̮͙̋t̴͓̐ ̷̰̿ḩ̴̔e̴̪͗l̶̛̬͒ṗ̷̦͊ ̷͙͌̅m̵̺̊e̶̢̯͒ ̸͉̑ä̴̢́͌ń̵͎d̴̙̂͐ ̸̝̘̔̀ḿ̴̝̚y̴̡͔͆̂ ̵̖̾̅͜b̸͙̿ạ̴͛̋ḅ̴̇y̵̺̐͠!̸̟͕̀?̷̖͒- the labored attempt at shrieking followed up, bringing you back to the escape from Beilford and the poor young woman who fled with you and got shot dead mere moments away from salvation. This scream sent shivers down your limbs, but still, you defied the fear and shock.

Ḩ̸̈́͠a̶͙͂̾v̷͗̔͜o̴̹͕̓̂c̵̛̰̰̋ ̶̫͛͝i̶̱͇̋ṣ̶̲̅͗ ̵̜̺̀ỷ̸̫̩o̴̙̞̚û̸̟͜r̵̮̀̕ ̷̤͛t̸̮͊r̷̖̫̆e̴̩͆̀à̶̢d̵̩̳͊͊ - an unfamiliar low voice of something inhuman rang, meeting your wilful resistance and thus failing to push through its second sentence as you forced yourself to focus on the real sounds of the skirmish that was unveiling. You also noticed that the invasive cacophony somewhat quieted down whenever Karl's fires dispersed the fog nearby you. And, quite literally, Karl provided some fire cover to all of you indeed.

In fact, it was the first time you saw Karl not focusing on offense: being the last remaining light source provider and the only one capable of drawing away the fog and the weapons-immune ghosts dwelling in it, he had to constantly conjure walls of fire and toss sporadic fireballs beyond the visible range, so that Ulren and Sephorah would be able to orient themselves against the never-ending stream of enemies. Considering the suddenty of the event and the injuries he sustained, his performance was more than adequate.

As for Sephorah, she occupied the mirror-different niche to yours: to intercept, to dive, and to cause as much harm as possible to the voidlings' vessels that managed to get dangerously close before seeking out another target. In a brief glimpse at her which you managed to steal, you saw her fighting as rabid as a cornered animal would, with the eyes wide in both fear and rage, the movements shaky but desperately vigorous, and hyperventilating yet dead-locked on fighting until the end. Whatever the darkness whispered into her ears, she wasn't taking it even remotely well compared to you, but, as it seemed, it only made her more dangerous as the vessels shattered one by one under her well-placed cuts and slashes.

But even with her best efforts, one of the reanimated pieces of the fleshy "smirking" monster made it past and dangerously close to Issac who, by some miracle, managed to keep Softie if not calm then at least not panicked enough to run away into the darkness. The collision resulted in Amalia shrieking, Softie backpedaling, stumbling over Isaac, and falling at him before Sephorah hurried to carve a leg out of the slipped-by monstrosity. Either due to the intensity of the moment or Isaac's bulk, the lad managed to get up without any cues of being injured and calm down the scared horse yet again. Perhaps, he has a penchant when it comes to dealing with animals, but it was not the right moment for you to ponder on it - you had to kite four more abominations, not accounting one which you did manage to incapacitate.

You could feel the dark sparks retreating from their shattered vessels, with some merging with the fog and manifesting as "smoke specters", which moved inside and ambushed out from the foggy tides. The others, however, either attempted to seek for a not entirely destroyed vessels or retreated to the epicenter of the anomaly. So far, the variety of the manifestations consisted of the hulking debris masses, variously-shaped bones&flesh golems, and the mentioned fog people. And even though your party members held surprisingly well for those who were absolutely unaware and largely asleep mere minutes ago, the stream of the enemies was simply unending, generating two noticeable piles of remains around Ulren and even more fragments scattered around and peeking up from under the foggy tide.

By the time Amalia yelled out "We're almost done - just one tent left!", the third shockwave for tonight - albeit, weaker than the previous two - rocked you. The brief of tremor followed moments after which you registered now fighting fingers-deep in some sort of the black water. It goes without mention that there could not possibly be any sort of flood in the middle of a glade, far away from the river, but it turned out to be the less wild development: the cyan-blazing "tree", was now formed into something resembling a gargantuan upper part of a humanoid-shaped fiery conflux. A sound equal to a mix of a thunderstorm and a thousand trumpets rocked the darkness as the "conflux" slowly wriggled in what seemed like pain; tens of the lesser fiery humanoid figures began to emerge from its "torso" and even more raining down from its "arms". They fell on a watery surface, recovering instead of being extinguished in denial of any reason, and, one by one, start running towards you in a manner of stride that would suggest them being simultaneously infuriated and agonizing.

"I... I think we should run while we can," Amalia whimpered with the voice full of poorly-suppressed fear.

__________

If you stay longer, it would get EVEN harder to fend off and evacuate.
You can attempt to evacuate now or to stay longer to salvage more loot. Mind the state of the party and the risks you are willing to take in salvaging your possessions.
Lucifina can't cast during this turn due to overexerting herself previously.

All the party members will have to pass the 15 Willpower skill check for a save versus environment-induced debuff if you chose to stay
All the party members with physical injuries will have to pass the 12 Constitution attribute check for a save versus environment-induced staus if you chose to stay

[] Party's course of action
-[] Stay a bit longer (compile Lucifina's action plan if picked)
-[] Evacuate now with whatever you managed to pack up (individual mobility rolls and luck rolls for 5 team's average score (4 difficulty already subtracted due to the mount yet again salvaged last round. Lucifina is immune to failure due to the flight capacity; in case of her insufficient roll, the score will be dropped out of the average)

[] Liucifina's action
-[] Fight to push away the assault! (80 offense team effort, 90 defense team effort)
--[] physical (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, luck roll)
-[] Salvage the gear! (progress accumulates, 1 pt progress = 1 pt of roll + modifiers)
--[] camping equipment (26/30 progress, Daily craft skill roll, luck roll)
-[] Hold to the packhorse (yet again)!
--[] Force him down (18 STR check, 11 CON check if STR post-roll score < 11, luck roll)
--[] Calm him down (23 CHA check, 11 CON check if CHA post-roll score < 14, luck roll)
-[] Abandon your group!

Party member's actions in case of the stay scenario:

[Stay scenario] Ulren:
-[locked] Fight to push away the assault! (80 offense team effort, 90 defense team effort)
--[locked] Countering glaive style (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, bonus 1d7 melee skill roll if defense skill roll >= 13, luck roll)
[Stay scenario] Sephorah:
-[locked] Fight to push away the assault! (80 offense team effort, 90 defense team effort)
--[locked] Simple melee style (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, luck roll)
[Stay scenario] Karl:
-[locked] Fight to push away the assault! (80 offense team effort, 90 defense team effort)
--[locked] warding (1/2 of arcane skill roll for offense, full arcane skill for defense, luck roll)
[Stay scenario] Amalia:
-[locked] Fight to push away the assault! (80 offense team effort, 90 defense team effort)
--[locked] Simple range style (ranged skill roll, 1/2 defense skill roll, luck roll)
[Stay scenario] Jory:
-[locked] Salvage the gear! (progress accumulates, 1 pt progress = 1 pt of roll + modifiers)
--[locked] camping equipment (26/30 progress, Daily craft skill roll, luck roll)
[Stay scenario] Isaac:
-[locked] Hold to the packhorse (yet again)!
--[locked] Force him down (18 STR check, 11 CON check if STR post-roll score < 11, luck roll)

Varder · Mar 19, 2020

Now that's more how I like it. I think it's time to bail.

[] Party's course of action
-[] Evacuate now with whatever you managed to pack up (individual mobility rolls and luck rolls for 5 team's average score (4 difficulty already subtracted due to the mount yet again salvaged last round. Lucifina is immune to failure due to the flight capacity; in case of her insufficient roll, the score will be dropped out of the average)

@Teloch I can't parse what "individual mobility rolls and luck rolls for 5 team's average score " means. Do we need to have an average of "5" or higher of d20+mob mod rolls for everyone?

Teloch · Mar 19, 2020

Varder said:
@Teloch I can't parse what "individual mobility rolls and luck rolls for 5 team's average score " means. Do we need to have an average of "5" or higher of d20+mob mod rolls for everyone?

Everyone rolls for mobility. If the team's average mobility (AVG of post-modified individual scores) is greater or at least equal to 5, everything is rather ok. If it's lower, though...

Varder · Mar 19, 2020

[X] Party's course of action
-[X] Evacuate now with whatever you managed to pack up (individual mobility rolls and luck rolls for 5 team's average score (4 difficulty already subtracted due to the mount yet again salvaged last round. Lucifina is immune to failure due to the flight capacity; in case of her insufficient roll, the score will be dropped out of the average)

Teloch said:
Isaac, though. Narrowly succeeds, karma strikes him in metaphorical guts, and yet again he refuses to fail.

The true damn hero! Lowered our DC almost by half for this turn.

Heimurn Chronicles (No, SV, you're a young valkyrie in the middle of a bizarre and dangerous journey)

Who is the bae? (Yes, we know that it's Lucy, but still - who's your favorite character)

Ulren, because he's a big bro I never had

Sephorah, because of the floor-chair-face dance

Karl, because smug

Amalia, because a cinnamon roll determinator

Isaac, because kuudere

Jory, becuase...

Rosaline, because I miss her

Mia (the ghost cat), because smug^2

Dunno - I need more party members

Dunno - I want more character interactions

Dunno - Where are the shipping battles, QM?

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