Turn 1: Hard CoreOrganize the lumberjacks in producing lumber, ideally from around the hill rather than atop it except for immediate construction sites
Oganize the carpenters in producing houses in accordance with the architect's designs
[6, Poor] The lumberjacks produce some rough wood. Actually, they produce kind of a lot of rough wood; apparently their spirits have been raised by something. On the other hand, they're now refusing to work without regular access to it.
[1, FAIL!] So, interesting thing. Turns out the hill is not one hundred percent stable. In fact, turns out it's pretty segmented, under all the mud and trees. So the construction efforts go pretty well up until half the hill slides off, taking the currently built houses with it and revealing some peculiar geology. Nobody is hurt seriously enough to record that anybody has been hurt, but the project is listed as "delayed."
+38 Local Wood-30 Imported WoodGruelfist: +4 LeadershipCarpenters: +4 Carpentry20 Carpenters are now +2 Apprentice!Micromanage the architect to ensure he produces a design of appropriate grace and dryness
Manage those filthy farmers in setting up cropland down the hill
[18, Bonus] Blacktongue's genius shines through the humble vessel of a trained architect, producing an elegant-looking shack on stilts. Specifically, the cylindrical shack sits atop a cylindrical cage, keeping it sturdy but well above water, while several layers of overlapping shingles ensure nothing drips through the roof. The door is located on the underside, where the cage can be climbed to enter or descend. The design uses a bit more wood than a normal structure of its size, but for the closest anyone is going to get to dry around here, isn't that a small price to pay?
[6, Poor] Under Blacktongue's acid leadership, the peasants manage to set up some dreary farmland. Some of it avoids being crushed when the hill slides over it.
New Design: Scale HutBlacktongue: +2 LeadershipArchitect: +2 ArchitectureLead the hunters on a grand hunt!
Organize the soldiers into proper patrols and stations
[2, Malus] The hunter expeditions go well, which is to say miserably, until they manage to find and enrage a giant fungal abomination.
-COMBAT-
Hunter Squad, Bollwheel Leader, Sjig Assistance20/20 HP
3 Att
3 Def
Fungal Abomination3/3 HP
5 Att
3 Def
Abomination attacks: Failure!
Hunters attack: Success! Abomination takes 1 damage
Abomination attacks: Success! Hunters take 1 damage
Hunters attack: Failure!
Abomination attacks: Success! Hunters take 1 damage
Hunters attack: Success! Abomination takes 1 damage
Abomination flees: Failure!
Hunters pursue: Success!
Hunters attack: Failure!
Abomination flees: Success!
[9, Poor] Bollwheel organizes the soldiers into reluctant patrol points and gathering areas.
Bollwheel: +2 LeadershipHunters: +2 HuntingBollwheel, Hunters, Sjig: +2 Toughness, Relevant Combat SkillOmuz tugs thoughtfully at his beard as he surveys the camp, tiny silver beardbells ringing as they shake around. Gnawing on a slice of purring maggot cheese, he muses that he really should get some alchohol. His liver reserve was starting to run out and he was getting dangerously close to being sober. Can't believe I forgot to pack any.
Minor Action: Set up a forge slash workshop space.
Minor Action: The Flesh golems are starting to get on my nerves, staring at me through the tentcloth when I try to sleep. Kick them into the pit.
Major Action: Large coppers poles covered in iron runes crackle with power as Omuz slowly places them around the pit, attempting to make a ward that'll keep some of the weaker monsters from leaving the pit. Attempt to get some soldiers assigned to guard me during the warding.
Major Action: Even Omuz struggles to move the hulking wooden blocks into the correct warding configuration, planning to shield the entire settlement from rain. It had been days since he was last properly dry. He feared some of his clothes might start to rot soon. Wooden blocks procured from lumberjacks. Try to get a single channeler to help me with the work.
Minor Action: Try to get some booze.
((The flesh golems were always just a minor plot device for not needing to carry my luggage myself. Time to get rid of them before they can make a mess.))
[16, Good] There's a faint crackle in the air as your ward comes to life. Nothing explodes, which is a relief, and your examinations suggest that it's stable. There is now a 6 Strength Ward over the chasm, resisting weaker entities from traversing its threshold. The flexible design does mean that it's possible for them to wriggle through, but cuts down on the breaches that do occur tearing the ward apart entirely.
Then your magnum opus begins, hopefully because it'll be so useful and not because it'll be your final work. You provide 6 units of ward to the attempt, another 12 come from the "elf," depressed girl, rat-thing, and one of the dwarves, and a final 9 from the Channelers. 27 is a big number, right? Speaking of which, you nab some wood blocks from the lumberjacks to serve as a base.
[18, Bonus] Your progress on the ward is plagued by tenuous connections, which you're forced to address by dragging the wooden blocks closer and closer together. By the time you have a coherent ward, it's covering an amount of space roughly equal to 24 cubes each the size of a small room.
It's then that you suffer a second setback- the wood blocks aren't conductive enough to hold an enchantment strong enough for this kind of downpour. Fortunately, an ingenious solution occurs to you, and soon your ward is soft enough to let some rain through without straining or being destroyed.
The downside, of course, is that it's not dry inside, just less wet. The upside is that a flexible ward should hold even if the weather gets even worse somehow. And in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king; it doesn't take long for everyone to attempt to cram their tents into this new, vaguely dryer space.
+2 Warding6-Str Ward over pit24-unit rain-lessening ward over settlement-24 Imported Wood((Depends on how you phrase it. Right now it's sort of ambiguous how the ward is supposed to work or where it's located. :3))
((Demonic spoon plz))
"Heheheheheh yes! Certainly I shall be assured that such an awful thing will never be the result of my actions and could only possibly be caused by the failure of subordinates! I shall gather the channelers quickly and smoothly and unstoppably!"
Gather the rest of the channelers for the warding action. Tell them Grulfist gave us permission for their use if any disobey, and then take them to join in the major action of starting to put up the wards!
As it became apparent that he wasn't going to get his pits for at least another week or two at the least, Sjig-Nak had to revise their plans for what to do with the rest of their time. Deciding that although capturing and holding live beasts for experimentation was impossible, gathering their corpses for raw materials and autopsies would still be a productive use of their time. And any uninteresting beasts the settlement could use as rations! To that end Sjig started joining with the hunters whenever a group would go out. Sjig would blast with dark magics at beasts, and Nak would wield his man catcher against any that were hostile to hold them in place until Sjig could blast them. Sjig would try to kill them with minimal damage to their flesh, although that wasn't exactly a priority. Any particularly interesting remains Sjig-Nak would keep for later use, but most he'd ether "donate" to whomever was in charge of feeding the people of this place or be consumed by Nak. - Major action.
If possible, I'd also like to know if on these trips Sjig-nak finds anything else of interest in the jungle, on the other hand perhaps scouting or herbology needs to be part of a different major action then hunter.
((Also a question I should have perhaps thought of ealier, but didn't. Are Nak Snacks a limited use item, or do they sorta, represent the strength and agility Nak can bring to bear when he's awake, and the danger represented if I ever end up without food?))
((Annnd that's it for my major actions this go. I'm still up for minor actions if anyone is stupid enough to think Sjig could be helpful in any way to what they want to do.))
Your efforts on the ward go relatively well.
[9, Poor] You encounter a giant fungal abomination on your journeys. You blast it with slightly off-center black lightning, but it's big even by Nak standards.
+2 Channeling+2 Black Magic from combatFor those who aren't in the know, Favored Souls don't have Knowledge (Religion) as a class skill, which likely explains Miya's cluelessness.
Continue eating happiness until my affinities shift. Make the soldiers happy by singing happy songs to them. Infuse some rope with raw Happiness, and make a leash out of the resulting substance. Capture a beast from the pit with my new Happy Leash, and put it in an appropriate area (likely Sjig-Nak's pen area). Study the beast if I can.
[3, Malus] You spend all week eating happiness from that orb, and now feel sick. Apparently eating the emanations directly didn't quite produce the desired effect, leaving you with Mind Affectation rather than Happiness.
[7, Poor] You sing "Why Isn't It Dry" by the famed bard... you forget who. Anyway, the soldiers don't like it. Well, some of them do, but in that grim sort of "It's funny because I hate everything" kind of way.
[11, Good] You pour a bit of... "Happiness" into making a leash. Without the benefits of proper time and equipment, it doesn't look like a very stable leash, but no matter! You have business to attend to!
[6, Poor] It begins well enough. You jump into a giant pit full of monsters, slip, and tumble a bit further than intended. Then the panic sets in as you realize you can't see, but whatever's down here probably can. Your "Happy" Leash doesn't help at all, glowing a flickering blue that's bright enough to ruin your night vision but not bright enough to illuminate anything you're not holding it right up against.
Ultimately, discretion becomes the better part of valor, and you end up scrabbling back up the pit after a few disconcerting noises echo from somewhere nearby. You attempt to fish things out with your rope a few times, and clamber down a few more times, but fail to find anything that doesn't send you back up the wall in a panicked frenzy.
+6 Mind Affectation Essence+2 Alchemy.....she sags and instead redirects it
use holy magic to enhance his ward.
Miya goes to help make the lumberjacks happier robes over her shoulder after hearing if blacktongue has a responce using the orb of happiness and encouraging them.
"Well, at least you have less abysmal than possible taste."Your warding efforts go well.
[2, Malus] Your efforts at making the lumberjacks happy succeed, but appear to have addicted them. You didn't think the magic was addictive, so maybe they're just really desperate?
Either way, production is increased, but they're refusing to work without more happy times.
+2 Channeling+2 Charm MagicMalacent spent some time trying to figure out what to do while Ano played the banjo by his side. In one hand, he wanted to experiment, while on the other he was positively sure violence awaited him down the line if anything went wrong inside Blacktongue's houseship. So in the end he decided to go with the option that allowed him to continue ingratiated to the gorgon for the longest possible period of time. "I'm a GENIUS!"
Major: Go to the camp's outskirts to experiment on the piece of overloaded windrain ward. First, see if I can keep it going by channeling magic into it. If that worked, then use Sculpting to try and separate the wind and water apart. Discern whether it's just rainwater being spun around or if it is part of the spell now.
Major: In case the ward hasn't exploded, try to revert it to the former protective shell configuration; in case it has and the other guys' rain ward is set up, help them expand with Sculpting and Channeling; in case there's no ward set up, try to train Sculpting by creating shapes out of pure energy from Channeling.
((Not much I can do without a source of magic to work with. Should probably fix that soon.))
You find that you can indeed channel magic into it to keep it going, but note that without the requisite skill at that particular
type of magic it tends to degrade the effect.
[3, Malus] Turns out the two are rather well-combined, as attempting to separate them indeed blows up the ward. Fortunately it's a small bit of rain and wind, so this mainly just hurls water into your face at high speed. Which would also get you wet if you could tell the difference out here.
[17, Bonus] With the ward set up, you decide to gently massage it around until it's a bit bigger, like one would with an unbaked pizza crust. Despite the ward's tenuous nature and need to remain anchored to its blocks, you manage to expand it into having a "lip" over its normal edges, like the cap of a mushroom.
+2 Sculpting
+2 SculptingWhelp, I'd best start following the soldiers around, I am one of the few people that can put them back in one piece again after all... and if they aren't doing battle, I could pick up some tips on killing things!
[19, Bonus] The soldiers are not very nice people, from what you can gather. Much of their time is spent discussing the best ways to, and you quote, "fucking shiv a motherfucker." They're very explicit and you feel you gain a lot from hanging around them.
[20, CRIT!] In fact, one of them tries to demonstrate the
exact manner in which one might fucking shiv a motherfucker and then take said motherfucker's stuff. Said fellow apparently underestimates how often your own bony creations have attempted to strangle the life out of your soft, delectable neck, and you flip her on the ground and carve her up nice and slow while slowly reanimating her as she slowly dies.
Long story short, one of the soldiers is now a little eccentric and nobody, and I mean
nobody, from the soldier corp fails to salute you as you walk by.
+2 SpearsNow Dabbling Spearogre+4 IntimidationNow Dabbling Intimidator
Now Novice IntimidatorNow Soldier Godfather"Damm it, this rain is starting to annoy me..."
I Climb into Franken beholder's mouth to see if it is dryer in there... there is no way this Could Go Wrong, right?
[2, Malus] Oh gods, the smell. You knew some parts of it were more stable than others, but you didn't think you had a...
patch so close to the mouth. Oh its everywhere, and appears to be rain resistant. At least the tents have informed you that ain't good enough.
After hiding with his thoughts for half a day, Mongo rallies and commandeers the efforts of a handful of laborers.
"You three, I need a circle of tents set-up over this way ... Yes, you! Do you want the infirmary exposed to the rain? I can't heal like this. Ah- You, there! Find where the medical supplies are hidden.
Hurry it up. Someone has already managed to hurt themselves, I'm sure of it."
Minor: With the help of a few non-lumberjack laborers, set-up eight tents in a circle; declare it to be the infirmary, and get medical supplies sorted out. (My own tent will be very closed to the infirmary).
Major: Wait at the infirmary for the inevitable flood of casualties.
Major: Help with the anti-rain ward as a channeler.
You knew it. You called it! Halfway through the week SURPRISE OF SURPRISES a hill collapses and the jungle tries to eat everyone. Also somebody stumbles in half-zombified or something, you're not even sure what happened there.
[19, Bonus] With your peerless powers of elfery and foresight, you not only heal the inevitable stream of broken limbs, gashed torsos, and necrotic overdoses that stumble into your ring of tents, you reassure your patients that
somebody knows what they're doing and is there to assist when they inevitable get torn in half by a living mountain. Morale in the camp is slightly boosted rather than reduced.
Your work on the ward goes well.
+2 Healing+2 ChannelingConceptual heal spells are the best. I don't think I have any, but there's no harm in trying, right?
Minor Action: Try to heal myself of being wet before sleeping at nights.
[17, Bonus] You feel very silly, but reason that sometimes the universe is very silly as well. Now does not appear to be one of those times, sadly, and your healing remains ineffective against conceptual wounds. Though in retrospect, if it weren't you probably wouldn't be so poor.
Process Lumber
Aid Ward
[14, Good] You shape some of the lumber into shapes more conducive to house-building. The result is an increase in efficiency, which is unfortunately lost when everything collapses into a heap at the bottom of half a hill.
But it was a nice gesture.
Progress on the ward goes smoothly.
+2 ChannelingJoseph John Jackson (crazyabe)
-
+3 Adept Necromancer (0/16)
+3 Adept Channeler (0/16)
+2 Apprentice Anatomist (0/8)
+1 Novice Brewer (0/4)
+1 Novice Surgeon (0/4)
+1 Novice Intimidator (0/4)
+0 Dabbling Spearogre (0/2)
-
Soldier Godfather: Apparently the soldiers here are some kind of gang, and you're one of the "hardest mothers" they've ever seen. This grants a great deal of fear and respect when dealing with soldiers in the colony.
-
Bladed Shovel: This ornate runed silver shovel repels hostile undead.
Frankenholder: This rotting patchwork ball of flesh and eyes has some interesting powers. Note that interesting does not mean useful or potent.
Small barrel of Mossrot Beer: Better than it sounds, but that's not saying much. Rougher necromancers are known to appreciate the low-class taste of decay in it.
Bag of "Holding": This bone-sewn sack grips its contents tightly. While a transdimensional space is a much better way to carry things, sometimes you have to make do with evergripping skeletal hands.
Three simple black linen robes; cloth-wrapped dagger collection; mystery bone bag
Sjig-Nak (Criptfeind)
-
+3 Adept Fleshcrafter (0/16)
+3 Adept Channeler (2/16)
+2 Apprentice Dark Mage (2/8)
+1 Novice Doctor (0/4)
+1 Novice Alchemist (0/4)
-
Nak's Mancatcher: This oversized hoop-on-a-stick looks sturdy enough to pin down creatures considerably larger than a man.
Portable Lab: Imagine a dresser somebody thought was a carrying trunk, and you've got the basics. Folds out into a "lab," complete with tools for manipulating biological reagents and rags that are either for sopping up acid or wearing to fine parties.
Emergency Naksnaks: These reddish balls are wrapped in dried leaves, and serve as an incredibly potent source of energy and protein. They're also somewhat expensive and taste terrible, but it's still better than Nak when he's desperate.
"Dark Shrimp" Malacent (Caellath)
-
+3 Adept Splicer (0/16)
+3 Adept Channeler (0/16)
+2 Apprentice Sculptor (4/8)
+1 Novice Dodger (0/4)
+1 Novice Doctor (0/4)
-
Bladed Blackwood Staff: Too large for Malacent, not that that's ever stopped him.
Ano: This scrap-and-corpse ball with limbs is not very large or impressive, but makes up for it with a ruthless dedication to playing the banjo.
Medicine Kit: From bone needles to obsidian scalpels, this ominous-looking box has everything an aspiring doctor needs to maybe commit some forms of medicine.
Two simple black linen robes; survival kit; reference booklets; spare parts for Ano; backpack
Miya the Pathetic, (AbstractTraitorHero)
-
+3 Adept Charmer (2/16)
+3 Adept Channeler (2/16)
+2 Apprentice Holy Mage (0/8)
+1 Novice Animal Friend (0/4)
+1 Novice Drawer (0/4)
-
Sky's Eye: A blue gemstone pendant with white speckles in it, reminiscent of a star-speckled sky. A gift from Miya's mother, who assured her it'd keep her safe whenever things got really rough.
Orb of Happiness: This glowing golden orb invokes happiness in people. It works slowly, requiring physical or very near contact for a while to really build up.
Simple purple wool robes; water pouch; small ring; snack pouch filled with assorted glazed nuts
Mongo the Magnificent (Nirur)
-
+3 Adept Healer (2/16)
+3 Adept Channeler (2/16)
+2 Apprentice Livewood Shaper (0/8)
+1 Novice Dancer (0/4)
+1 Novice Herblorist (0/4)
-
Emerald and Alder Ring: This pretty, sentimental memento also serves to channel more nature-inclined magics.
Livewood Lures: This set of living wood tools are topped with glowing nodules, and serve to help imprint more refined patterns of livewood shaping and encouragement.
Endless Well of Eternal life: This giant seed pod produces livewood seeds, which are then used to make livewood items from scratch rather than cuttings or buddings from existing plants. Most often used for larger projects, or as a portable startup for where there are no suitable local woods.
Bottle of 315 Wildmelmrelmrikon Blue: This exquisite wine was produced by 315 small earwiglike bugs of the Wildmelmrelmrikon colony, and represents a truly remarkable refreshment that any true elf can appreciate.
Screamsleep Vials: These two bulbous green glass containers are named for the intended series of events involved in their use: The thrower screams, then their assailant sleeps. As with all solutions to difficult problems, these suffer from a variety of complications, but are pretty reliable and expensive.
Fancy spare clothes; ugly abstract picture; shaving kit which elves totally need on hand from time to time
Ulfric Stoneforged (tntey)
-
+3 Adept Matterbender (0/16)
+3 Adept Channeler (2/16)
+2 Apprentice Enchanter (0/8)
+1 Novice Stoneskin (0/4)
+1 Novice Wrathmonger (0/4)
-
Enchanted Iron Anvil: A sturdy magical anvil, built to withstand the rigors of smithing and enchantment.
Stoneforged Iron Greataxe: A masterwork greataxe runed with enchantments of courage. The material of the head is supernaturally sturdy.
Book of Enchantments: This weathered leatherbound tome contains a variety of common and interesting enchantments, though it focuses more on specific enchantments and how to reproduce their trickier elements than on enchanting in general or for beginners.
Playing Cards: These nonmagical, nonrigged playing cards are there to entertain their owner by being used to play cards. Other wizards seem inordinately confused by these facts.
Rugged clothing; hammer; saw; workbench; copper flask filled with whiskey
Omuz (DemonicSpoon)
-
+3 Adept Warder (2/16)
+3 Adept Channeler (0/16)
+2 Apprentice Golemancer (0/8)
+1 Novice Enchanter (0/4)
+1 Novice Blacksmith (0/4)
-
Leyline Doohickey: This complex brass and steel ball requires constant rebuilding and refinement as it explodes and reveals room for improvement. Its stated purpose is the detection and manipulation of leylines, though minor setbacks seem to get in its way rather frequently.
Trunk of Wizard Hats: This oversized trunk contains entirely too many wizard hats, each gaudier than the last.
Trunk of Tools: This oversized trunk contains an assortment of smithing, enchanting, and warding tools, often in questionable condition or design.
Amulet of Fire Resistance: This garnet-eyed dragon-shaped brass amulet helps protect its wearer from heat-related mishaps.
Ring of Hair Regeneration: What's more important than skin? Hair, of course. This handy horsebone ring studded with turquoise and bristling with spikes of rat claw allows its user's hair to regenerate rapidly, assuring among other things that they will never be without a thick, full beard for long.
Two thick insulated robes; two heavily ornamented belts; jewelry box of assorted beard ornaments; pointy boots; sack of assorted metals; sack of assorted wheels of cheese; walking cane
Otto (ATHATH))
-
+3 Adept Alchemist (2/16)
+3 Adept Channeler (0/16)
+2 Apprentice Prime Channeler (0/8)
+1 Novice Secondary Channeler (0/4)
+1 Novice Tertiary Channeler (0/4)
-
6 Mind Affectation Essence
-
Gauntlets of Construction: These sturdy gauntlets are used to break down or combine two items. They take several minutes to work on most materials, and have a few predictable problems regarding subtlety and user intent.
Alchemical Tools: Advanced and sophisticated equipment mostly consisting of a runed iron cauldron and a gold-rimmed monocle.
The Book of Elements: This book is part sermon on the wondrousness and supremacy of elements, part insightful examination of the nature of elements, and part index of various elements and their properties, including very obscure or less helpful ones.
Basic Alchemy: "Congratulations! If you've done everything correctly, you should now have a bubbling cauldron of Earth Essence. In the next chapter, we will learn some of the various uses for this valuable material!"
Advanced Alchemy: "Notably, Shovels of Digging are known for petrifying if they've been allowed to steep for too long; the Earth essence having saturated the available channels and flowed into the structure of the material. Once an item has been tainted in this manner, it is generally not worth the effort to leech it out again; simply use it or render it to recycle some of your investment."
Master Alchemy: "Assuming the Catalytic Matrix holds, the sphere should be stable and allow safe entry for the time required. Do not touch the centerpiece or allow any undue matters or energies to come into contact with it, as it is fully reactive and may become tainted by any premature contamination. In the centermost row, place the Sigils of Hardness, Sigils of Stone, and Sigils of Value in alternating patterns; the precise order should not matter so long as each Sigil is adjacent to each of the other two kinds. In the middle row..."
How To Tap Into Your Inner Power: A handy guide to tapping into your inner power. Caters to those hoping to realize their full potential as well as those afflicted with demonic possession, supernatural rage, inherited powers, and incident-related infusions.
Eternal Scribing Tools: This tablet and quill can supposedly record infinite data. Its organization could use some work...
100 Farmers [+1 Farmer (0/4)]
50 Hunters [+1 Hunter (2/4)][+0 Bowman (0/2)][+0 Tough Guy (0/2)]
50 Soldiers [+1 Spearfighter (0/4)]
20 Carpenters [+2 Carpenter (0/8)]
19 Lumberjacks [+1 Woodcutter (0/4)]
10 Miners [+1 Miner (0/4)]
10 Bureaucrats [+1 Leader (0/4)]
9 Masons [+1 Mason (0/4)]
9 Channelers [+1 Channeler (0/4)]
5 Blacksmiths [+1 Smith (0/4)]
1 Architect [+1 Architect (2/4)]
?? Supplies
11 Rough Local Wood
20 Imported Wood
300 Low, mostly waterproof tents
Morale: The Land And Sky Both Hate Us, At Least We Have Healing
27-unit (+6 lip) Flexible Rain-Lessening Ward (Local Wood Blocks) over settlement
6-Strength Flexible Ward over beasty pit, resists weaker specimens
Gruelfist
-
+3 Adept ?? (0/16)
+3 Adept Leader (4/16)
+2 Apprentice ?? (0/8)
+1 Novice ?? (0/4)
+1 Novice ?? (0/4)
Blacktongue
-
+3 Adept Black Mage (0/16)
+3 Adept Leader (2/16)
+2 Apprentice Channeler (0/8)
+1 Novice ?? (0/4)
+1 Novice ?? (0/4)
Bollwheel
-
+3 Adept Tough Guy (0/16)
+3 Adept Leader (2/16)
+2 Apprentice Puncher (2/8)
+1 Novice ?? (0/4)
+1 Novice ?? (0/4)