TURN ZERO: YOU ALL MEET IN A HIGHLY FLAMMABLE TAVERN(paladin sprite credit david gervais) Around here, they're always wary of a 10,000G bounty. You can tell by the way patrons avoid looking at the posters displayed prominently on every wall as if their feeble hearts would go into cardiac arrest at the mere sight. Still, that's not a problem for True Adventurers, and the heroes of this story might not be True Heroes, but they definitely are True Adventurers. But just who are the heroes of this story?
Keddec Hauberkson was hanging out at adventurer taverns before it was cool. A gruff warrior with a prominent chin, a hankering for loot, and a comedically oversized full plate of armor, one wouldn't take him for a "paladin." He definitely is, though. Or, at least, what his SOMEWHAT-SHUNNED FAMILY would consider a "paladin." He tips his head at the sight of another man sitting down at the table. The
adventurer table.
One-and-a-half-legs Arthur as-he-is-colloquially-known scowls as he sits, or maybe winces as he sits. It's hard to tell with this guy. Drawn to the Ravenous Orc with the promise of loot, quests and glory from his glory days (well, glory day), he notices one of the bounty posters laid flat on the table and examines it thoroughly. That sure is a lot of gold pieces. Enough, maybe, to buy... a working half a leg.
Alfred Lichtenstein looks out of place entering the tavern. In a room full of blades, beards, and beer, he looks not unlike Doc Brown after going a little too far back to the future. One hand on a metal rod and the other in a lab coat pocket, he also sits down at the adventurer's table, drawn in, like the rest, by a stranger's vague promise of "great quest" and "fat loot."
Yumkhan Yambik slams his rear down on the seat beside Alfred. No one quite saw him come in, but everyone sees him now. A short, fat, somewhat intimidating figure, licking his lips as he eyes the rest of the group. It's really a little disconcerting, you know, what with that giant club on his back-strap. He leans over, looks at the poster and presumably imagines how much food 10,000 gold pieces could buy. (It's a lot)
Finally,
The ILLUSTRIOUS Joe Bridger takes a seat at the adventurer's table. A man with a floppy, poshy hat and a fancy overcoat, he steals the scene the moment he enters. That is, until he opens his mouth and a series of incoherent semi-words float out like random, dissonent musical notes. He gives the wanted poster a cursory glance, too. Not quite enough to rebuild his old fortune, but it's a start.
A waitress almost looks like she's going to take their order but instead swings over to a table full of ravenous, green orcs who laugh heartily and slap her upon the rump (as is orc tradition). On one end of the tavern (named, yes, the Ravenous Orc), a bartender stands half-asleep next to a dozen or so barrels of hard alcohol. On the other end, a
mysterious man in a dark red cloak leans upon the wall.
Name: Keddec Hauberkson
Class: Bloodshaped Paladin
HP: 50/50Wounds: None!
Actives: Bloody Sun Stance,
BloodshapePassives: Sir Bleeds-a-lot,
Has Taken Several Classes in EthicsItems: Unpolished Iron Sword, Paladin Armor
Name: Alfred Lichenstein
Class: Enlightenment Knight
HP: 50/50Wounds: None!
Actives: Back Alley Operation,
Sword Full of SciencePassives: These Calculations Are All Wrong!,
One Point Twenty One JIGAWATTS!?Items: Enlightningment Rod, Almost Wizardly Lab Coat
Name: Joe Bridger
Class: Persuasively Insane
HP: 50/50Wounds: None!
Actives: Your Mundane Rules Don't Apply to the Illustrious Joe BridgerPassives: Persuasive Babbling,
Unsettling Sights and Sounds,
Sanity-sustaining MonologueItems: 100 gold pieces, Posh Hat, Upperclassman's Clothes
Name: One-and-a-half-legs Arthur
Class: Leg-a-mancer
HP: 50/50Wounds: None!
Actives: Passives: Striking Resemblance to a War Veteran,
Foot of the North Star,
Damnit, This Always Happens!,
Highly Flammable ProstheticItems: Wooden Cane, Adventurer Clothes
Name: Yumkhan Yambik
Class: Ravenous Barbarian
HP: 50/50Wounds: None!
Actives: EmptyPassives: Stomach of Power,
Bone-lickin' Good,
High Metabolism,
Frightening FigureItems: Uncomfortably Large Club, Peasant Clothes