"You otherworlders better get used to that map soon. You're in Voria now, and it probably doesn't look much like your home. It doesn't look like my home either now; not after the Empire messed it up.""I hope you don't mind me interrupting, but what exactly is this 'empire' you speak of." Ross politely interjects. "
They don't sound too pleasant."
"The Empire? I guess you can tell that we don't like 'em by now, but to explain why, I'll have to start at the beginning. About twenty years ago, when Alice over there was just a wee babe, the Empire was the most powerful group of people anywhere. And I really mean anywhere. You see, the Empire wasn't just in Voria. Someone in their ranks was able to open gaps to other worlds, like the ones that you fell through. They were in every world that they could find, and always expandin'. While I may hate to say it now, back then, I was proud to be a citizen of the Empire. We used to get visitors from all sorts of worlds at this inn, and we never wanted for anythin', 'cause anythin' we could think of was bound to be plentiful in at least one world. Then somethin' happened to whoever made the gaps. Some say that they tried to open too many gaps at once and died from the strain. Others think that the Empire decided to do something that they didn't like, so they escaped to some hidden world. I don't know which of these ideas is true, but I do know that whatever happened drove the Empire crazy. They couldn't keep everyone fed without food from the other worlds, so they started to cull the poor so that the rich could eat. Less and less people started showin' up at this inn until one day, it was empty. My wife went outside to see what happened to everyone, and... and..."Dodson begins to sob uncontrollably. It takes several minutes for him to calm down and resume speaking.
"They set a manticore on her." Dodson's fists clench tightly.
"They set a goddamned MANTICORE on her! It was supposed to look like an accident; a hungry beast of the wilds killin' a townsperson, but I saw through it all. The damned beast had a collar on, and the Imperial Officer who 'subdued' it barely touched it with his blade before it ran off. Alice and I stayed inside after that. Even though we were runnin' low on supplies, we stayed inside until we were sure that the Empire thought that we had starved. When we went out again, there wasn't anythin' left to see. Every man, woman, and child had either fled or been killed. Then you otherworlders started showin' up, and the last things that the Empire wanted were more mouths to feed, so they started fightin'. There were even a few wars, and the Empire was forced out of everywhere except for their capital in the Dragonspine Range. Then they found Komberg. There's never been a more ruthless man in Voria, and the Empire hired him on the spot as a mercenary. In three short years, he managed to eliminate all resistance from the Dragonspine Range, and even expand the Empire's territory. It's a good thing for us that he's movin' to retake Whitebog next, otherwise he might have a reason to come this way and foil our plans, and there's no way we'd survive an encounter with him, even with your help."In the other corner of the room, Alice is talking to Hogarth and Theodore, and trying to identify what type of mages they are.
"Yes, magic. And not just those little card tricks either." Alice picks up the cards and performs the exact same trick as Theodore.
"I don't suppose you can pull a rabbit out of your hat, can you? That's always been a favorite of mine, but I don't have a hat, so I can't practice it.""I'm sorry miss, but I can't do that trick unless I have a special table, with a secret compartment for the..."That's not true. I've seen a man do that trick before on this very table. And even if you can't do it, you should at least try. After all, we're looking for magic, aren't we?""Miss, you don't seem to understand. My trick doesn't work on this table. I'm really sorry to tell you this, but I just can't do it." To prove his point, Theodore reaches into his hat, and pulls out a small glowing orb.
"You see miss? I just can't pull a rabbit out of my hat on this table... Wait a sec!" Theodore does a double take.
"What is this thing?""Magic. I'm never wrong about it.""MAGIC!" Hogarth squeals.
"I always knew it was real! Can you make more of those, or is there some sort of limit?""I don't know. But there's only one way to find out! Theodore reaches into his hat and pulls out two more spheres.
"I could do this all day! I'm not just one of those petty parlor magicians anymore! I'm a real mage!" Theodore, overcome with happiness, juggles the spheres.
"Be careful, we don't know what those do yet! You might hurt someone!""Nonsense, dear girl. I'm one of the greatest jugglers from my own world. Why, men from all over come to marvel at Great Theodore, the JugglAHH!" Theodore trips and falls, sending his spheres careening around the room. Two of them forcefully strike the wall before vanishing in poofs of colored smoke, but one flies straight at Hogarth's face. Hogarth is too stunned to react, but the ball stops about an inch away from his face.
"What's going on? Did I stop that? I think I stopped it! I STOPPED IT!" Hogarth raises a fist towards the ceiling in triumph, and the sphere rises too, colliding with the ceiling and punching a hole in it.
" So, you can move objects with your mind? If you trained that, I bet you could move entire armies!"Upon hearing Alice's voice, Hogarth is reduced back to his meek self.
"Oh my, I'm so sorry about your ceiling, I didn't mean to do that, I swear!""Don't worry about it, Dad'll go out and fix it before anything crawls in and tries to bite us."Valinri prays to the Lolth, but his prayers go unanswered, as the great spider cannot hear him from this new world. His keen sense of hearing picks up Dodson talking to the other strange otherworlders, and he is filled with a sense of dread. If such terrors exist in this new land, what is a Drow to do without divine guidance?
Dodson leaves the inn with a carpenter's kit in hand, but not a minute passes before he rushes back in.
"It's a band of Imperials! Nine of 'em, and only three minutes away! Don't ask me how they got here, or how they knew we were here, but I know why they're here." Dodson gestures towards the party.
"You fellas are too nice to hand over to those monsters, so I hope you're ready to crack a few skulls."*Theodore has gained the Magician's Mangler talent
*Hogarth has gained the Telekinesis talent
CaerwynName: Valinri
Age: 126 (Young.)
Gender: Male
Race: Drow Elf
Profession: Hunter
Looks: Tall, ebony skin, long white hair. Almond-shaped violet eyes, slightly sharp teeth and no facial hair whatsoever. Valinri is five feet, eleven inches. He weighs at one-hundred and thirty-five pounds.
Background: Valinri was a Hunter for his Drow city. He would scout the Underdark, locating enemies, camps, potential slaves or resources. He was not a front-line fighter, but like every drow, he still has skills.
Weapon of Choice/School of Magic: Hand crossbow, paralyzing dart(s).
Talents:
Scout: +2 to initiative roll
Flaws:
Cave Adapted: -1 to all rolls while exposed to sunlight
Equipment:
Basic Clothing
Hand Crossbow
Items:
Hunting Knife
30 Standard Darts
10 Paralyzing Darts
Name: Theodore Baker
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Profession: Parlour Magician
Looks: Not particularly overweight, but neither particularly fit. Black hair, with an angular face. Green eyes, and not particularly tall.
Background: Back home, on Earth, Theodore was a parlour magician. You know, those guys who are up on stage, wowing the crowd with optical illusions and sleight of hand. He was not one of them. He was the sort that performed at childrens birthday parties. Until he fell into Voria, and gained actual abilities.
Weapon of Choice/School of Magic: Meta-magic mage
Talents:
Magician: Can impress people with magic tricks
Magician's Mangler (can be renamed): A spell that can strike multiple targets, but rolls -1 for each target selected
Flaws:
Juggler: Can only cast one-handed spells, and casts them using both hands (think juggling magic spheres)
Equipment:
Tuxedo Suit
Top Hat
Inventory:
52 Playing Cards (Good for card tricks and gambling)
Name: Hogarth Garrick
Gender: Male
Age: 54
Profession: Author
Looks: Tall, a tad thin, and very wrinkled. People have commented that he looks like the world's happiest catcher's mitt. Blue eyes and silver hair.
Background: Hogarth was always curious about something. Having won the lottery and not lost most of it, he had nothing much to do but read about magic and try to do it himself. He never succeeded, but when he got hit by a car and was sent flying off a bridge, he was sucked into Voria, so he considers it to be an improvement.
Sphere of Magic: Force (think telekenisis)
Talents:
Well-Read: Having read about all sorts of fantastic beasts while looking for information on magic, Hogarth knows their weaknesses and has a +1 against any creature from Greco-Roman mythology
Telekinesis: Can interact with objects from a distance
Flaws:
Crippled: Due to being hit by a car, Hogarth has a -2 to initiative
Equipment:
Fine Suit
Walking Stick
Inventory:
Gold Pocket-Watch (Worth 15 gold pieces)
Name: Dsemend Assafort
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Race: Half-Oni
Profession: Town Militia/Undertaker
Looks: Muscular and tall young man with short black hair and feral yellow eyes, looking slightly supernatural in his size, as if he was a giant who has stopped growing. Twin rosy horns break the skin at his forehead, curving backwards towards his hair, and his canines are very pronounced and sharp.
Background: Dsemend was the hybrid son of a relation between two creatures from differents "worlds" and lands. Due to his size, he was stil gladly accepted in his home village as a way of keeping bandits away from the cattle and the peasantry. His size hindered his nimbleness slightly, mostly due to his sheer bulk which was compensated by strength and endurance.
He had taken a taste to helping the villagers perform hard labor, and when he was assisting with moving some heavy caskets, a couple of evildoers tried to rob a store nearby. He didn't even blink, and used one of the coffins to take them down, using its sheer size as a large club. Afterwards, he was given the coffin as a gift and gained the nickname of "Undertaker" as a joke, mostly due to the fact he adopted the large piece of stone built to store corpses as a weapon, and creating corpses with it ended being quite the irony.
Weapon of Choice: Obsidian Coffin
Talents:
Oni's Strength: +10 health
Flaws:
Oversized: -1 to any evasive rolls
Equipment:
Giant Plain Clothes
Obsidian Coffin
Items:
Gourd of Sake (A beverage with enough alcohol in it to kill a man. Antiseptic; can be used once only to add 1 to a revival roll)
Name: Ross Common
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Profession: Police Officer
Looks: Rather tall and lean, with short, black hair. Wears a black trench-coat
Background: Ross was born to a family of silversmiths. At a young age, his mom was killed by robbers. Ross decided that he would become a police officer to combat people like his mom's killers. As a hobby, he still worked with his father in silversmithing.
Weapon of Choice/School of Magic: Rifled Musket
Talents:
Silversmith: +1 to any crafting roll involving silver
Flaws:
Gunman: Black powder is a rarity, so every shot will have to count
Equipment:
Black Trenchcoat
Rifled Musket
Items:
20 Regular Musket Rounds
10 Silver Musket Rounds
Regular Black Powder (Enough for 30 shots)
2 Silver Bars
Name: Bob
Age: ?? (Wizzrobes don't keep track of age)
Gender: Male
Race: Wizzrobe (Yup a zelda enemy)
Profession: Worked for Ganondorf as a yellow rank wizzrobe
Looks: A man with a large toucan like head, He wears black robes with a yellow hood. (That's right I used the wind waker version)
Background: Bob lived on a hidden Island on the great sea learning magic until Ganondorf returned and gained control of the order of Wizzrobes. Bob then spent a long time sitting underground guarding a dungeon, while waiting for a ship or a boat to be spotted he split his time between practicing magic, playing cards and trying to figure out what he is supposed to be guarding in this dungeon. Then a small red boat was spotted heading towards the island, when Bob spotted the intruder he threw three fireballs then teleported and ended up in an inn.
Weapon of Choice/School of Magic: Sorcerer with a sigil on his wand who uses fire, teleporting, summoning and floating magic, but has a lot of trouble learning new spells.
Talents:
Triple-Fireball: Launches three fireballs in different directions (Takes one turn of uninterrupted casting)
Flaws:
Slow-Learner: Learns magic at half normal speed
Equipment:
Black Robe
Yellow Hat
Wand
Items
None
Author
Topic: Fragile Times: Act I, Scene IX: Hat Trick (Read 6520 times)