"I think I can see windows on those things" Kara said while squinting "so we should be able to get in them if we can find a way to land on them."
Have I heard of any theories about why the builders of the ruins went extinct?
Name: "Kara" is what most humans call her, though the closest pronunciation would be Kr'ra-Kax
Race: Corven (advantage for climb, disadvantage for falls)
Appearance: She is a crow-like Corven with matte-black feathers. A bit short. Constantly moves her head around, examining her surroundings. Moves her tail up and down whenever she's excited.
Age: Adult, but just barely
Goal: Wants to find artifacts and experiences that she can use to make an (under)world-famous museum. Wants to prove herself to her mother and piss off her brother with her success (both financially and socially).
StatsStr:8
Dex:13
Spe:13
End:6
Awa:12
Cun:10
Kno:8 + 3 = 11
Ner:10
SkillsRifle: 1
Medical: 1
Translate: 1
Acrobatics: 1
Caving: 1
Machine Control: 1
Stealth: 1
Geology: 1
Archeology: 1
Navigation: 1
InventorySimple Clothes
Ethral Rifle (rifle 3, pierce 3) 7/7
Silk Rope 100/100 feet
Grappling Hook
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Kara's Diary
[Kno+ arch =12: 4]
You've heard that they went extinct thanks to a combination of some sort of disease and a constant war with another race. Their records and pictograms depict their race under attack from something that looks like a giant starfish. No one has ever found any information about what those creatures are and they've never been sighted so its possible the two races killed each other.
Drett pauses, his name called. He lets go of a small braid he had woven while in thought. I had many books and plenty of time to read as a youngling. I was fortunate enough to end up in a home wealthy enough to obtain any material I like. And I enjoyed reading on races and civilizations.
Tell me, what is in that book of yours that you cling to?
"What, this old thing? Why, it is the Black Book, the collection of holy teachings of us Chthonics.
...Or rather, this is a copy of said book, and a rather poor one at that it appears."
"Oh... Do you not have your own Book of Truth? Did you lose it somewhere? If so, I can lend you mine...
"Unlike your fellow Ethral, who does have a pristine copy of the most important work of literature in existence.
I'm afraid I never got my hands on a real copy of the book, all we had were copies like this one. I appreciate the offer, I might just take you upon it someday. Well, if our cosmic friend down there doesn't do us in first, I suppose."
"Out of the options we've come up with so far, it seems the one where we drill to above the crystal palace and lower ourselves down might be the safest. However, we should have some way to help those less, ah, acrobatically inclined, from slipping and falling or just bungling along haphazardly. Perhaps a diving bell of sorts could be constructed, or a couple of harnesses to securely attach ourselves?"
Throw a decent sized rock into the cavern, see if the star dragon responds to it in any way.
Does it seem like one of the thugs is their leader?
Could we devise a winch system to let the bore's engines lower or raise the rope?
What parts would we need to build a simple diving bell? What about a set of harnesses?
Name: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza
Description: A young man of slightly pale complexion and eternal 9 o’clock shadow, he was raised in a small village. While the village priest and passing mystics droned with endless sermons of the Church and their teachings, what had always captivated young Adam’s attention more were the stories of his Granny.
Old stories of the world as it once was, before people were forced to flee to the caves and crannies of this damp hell. Of warm days where pleasant green plants tickled your feet as you walked through them and a cool breeze blew through your hair. Where food was plentiful, nature was benign and endless vistas reached as far as they eye could see.
Adam was nominally a card-carrying member of the church, though he mostly did it for the connections and perks that brought. They were powerful and had ancient lore, all things he would need to fulfill his true heart’s desire: to return to the surface, vanquish the madness that tainted their homeland and reconquer paradise.
Goal: Plunge the secrets of the depths below to find an answer to the horrors above.
Stats
Str: 10
Dex: 10
Spe: 10
End: 10
Awa: 10
Cun: 10
Kno: 10
Ner: 13
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Inventory
Clothing: simple priest robes, shortened a bit so as to less restrict his movements
1 minor artifact
1 black book copy
1 black flame
1 Silent Night
1 field lighter
23 fathoms
You walk back and find a rock about the size of your fist. You huck it out into the cave as far as you can, maybe 30 feet. It arcs out and then falls into the magma. The worm thing doesn't seem to notice.
You examine the thugs carefully, but in these circumstances its hard to tell. You don't see any particular one that seems to be giving orders or direction actions; though there's not a lot of action or orders going on right now.
[2] Hmm. Well there's the central axle on which the drill is connected to the engine. If you were to wrap the rope around it, then it would be possible to use it like a winch by spinning the drill one direction or the other.
A set of harnesses would be 1 structural junk and 1 mechanical junk per harness. A diving bell would need a lot more of basically the same materials. More so if you want it to survive lava or something silly.
"It should be... reasonably safe to glide to the ruins from here. From that point, it is a simple matter of securing the line, and the rest climbing down. We should consider the difficulty of returning, however. In this case, I agree with the Honored Dead; we should drill in from above and lower a rope. It shouldn't take too long to drill up there, but it's no good to waste what little time we have left standing here. I propose that we begin drilling immediately. Vikkan, you are our pilot, correct? Would you agree?"
It would seem that no, you cannot trust my fellow Ethral to share the whole story with the class. Knowledge roll please?
What stat might be used to insure no mistakes are made while gliding?
Also, back on the bore, as we're moving.
Name: Wiellste Gunsmithy
Description: A young Ethral, no taller than 4 feet tall. Her fur is unpatterned and a milky white. Usually wears a rather plain quilted brown silk cloak, and a polished copper mask with symmetrical, spiraling lines etched on the sides.
Goal: Wiellste is like many Ethral in that she seeks to gather knowledge about the world before all else. Though being an Ethral from Knot, her skills are largely more on the practical building side than the scholarly side. She isn't particularly invested in the teachings of the Tenebrous Church, but the idea of the spheres intrigues her, especially Balarim, with it's writings and technology.
Stats:
Str: 7
Dex: 12
Spe: 10
End: 8
Awa: 7
Cun: 15
Kno: 13
Ner: 11
Skills:
Weaponsmith 2
Diving 2
Pistol 1
Bore 1
Translate 1
Stealth 1
Inventory:
Silk cloak
Copper mask
Ethral revolver 6/6
1 Fathom
Fricking Moths, Am I right?
[17]
You have no idea, beyond the censored information that you were told.
Dexterity would be used for gliding.
Back on the bore you go.
Allright, so there's no loose junk strewn about anymore. Are there any things on the bore I could grab and deconstruct, things I can grab without affecting the workings of the bore or angering our captors? Spare chairs, beds, non-essential machinery, etc?
Also, what are the recipes for:
- 1,2 or 3 barrel shotgun?
- An extremely simple pistol, like the Welrod? Basically a barrel with grip and a bolt that you manually twist open, put a round into the chamber and close it up again. Or perhaps like the FP-45 Liberator pistol, of which the total manufacturing cost was around 2 dollars during WWII. I'm trying to get a cheapo firearm into our roster, since the cheapest one right now is like 40 fathoms.
- A breach loading/break action rifle. Basically a rifle like the Martini-Henry that only loads one bullet at a time.
- Mustard gas or similar poison gasses. Gotta get that chemical warfare going.
- Moar explosives, since the TNT I bought ain't gonna last forever.
Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: Being a Shluck, Clate is rarely seen outside of his environmental suit. Inside, he is the standard albino mollusk, with his only true defining characteristic being the alternating white/borwn pattern of his beak, much like on a nautilus shell. His environmental suit and exoskeltons are full of scuff marks and small blemishes from work, but the knowledgable observer will notice that it is mechanically kept in tip-top shape. He wears a toolbelt and a satchel to store his tools and other knickknacks, and has a blue cap perched on top of his helmet.
Goal: To create great works of craftsmanship and become filthy rich in the process.
Stats
Str: 8
Dex: 10
Spe: 8
End: 10
Awa: 9
Cun: 16 (+3)
Kno: 12
Ner:10
Skills
Electronics 1
Mechanical 1
Biological 1
Chemical 1
Occult 1
Weaponsmith 1
Armorsmith 1
Stealth 1
Steal 1
Explosives 1
Inventory
Clothing: A tool belt that can be modified to fit the exoskeleton, a satchel and a blue cap with "If it ain't broke, fix it" embroidered on.
Bladed Shovel
Silk rope (100ft)
TNT x3
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10
1 structural junk
5 Fathoms
The bore is effectively completely empty save for the controls and mechanical systems. This thing was given to you to do a mission, after all. No one expects you to live in it.
Barrel/pipe (1, 2 or 3) + 1 structural, and Firing mechanism (Substitute 3 mechanical)
Barrel/pipe + 1 mechanical
Same as the shotgun because they're both basically identical, just firing different rounds.
Chemical lab needed, but basically you can just thrown chemical junk at it, with more used per unit making a more deadly gas.
Chemical lab, again more chemical junk thrown at it, more powerful. Oh and one structural per unit for casing and fuse and such.
Upon hearing that the squirming mass is in fact a construct, the abomination will attempt to dive, warding her clothing against advance technology
Traveling to Balarim, then Jal: 3 roll
Reinforce Jal: 5
Reinforce Balarim: 2
Name: Moku Youkou
Race: Abomination Shang-Gei
Description: A female Shang-Gei cloaked in a heavy and rough looking worm wool coat. Underneath the clothing, is a heavily mutated figure. Her scales has been coat in plastic, giving each one a iridescent sheen to them.Spikes of melded plastic, metal and circuitry are studded haphazardly, the largest one is a foot long, spearing right above her pelvis. Her tongues have been replaced with metal tendils that sneak in and out of her mouth when she is not paying attention.
Goal: To "find" her mate.
Stats:
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 8
Speed: 8
Endurance: 10
Awareness: 12
Cunning: 12
Knowledge: 11
Nerve: 13
Skills:
Medical: +2
Machine Control: +1
Electronics: +1
Mechanical: +1
Armorsmith: +1
Occult: +1
Diving: +1
Stealth +1
Inventory:
Fathoms:16
Relic fragment
Bladed Shovel
Warding against ALL advanced technology that exists in the entire universe is a bit of a spell.
(12 + 16 + 11 + 3 + 9 + 20 + 12 + 4 + 9 + 4) two failures, Nerve temp reduced to 11. Final rolls [3, 19]
Your clothing glows light blue and what looks like triangular shards of light arrange themselves across them like lizard scales before fading. They never quite go all the way away, just fade till they are barely visible. Your clothing has been warded against...something?
Continue observing the others from my sitting spot. I don't really have any useful skills or abilities for this situation.
Name: Lokam Pilgrim
Description: Lokam is an Ethral Aspirant of the Tenebrous Chruch currently on pilgrimage. His soft fur is pale yellow, his large and fuzzy mane is golden and antennae and wings are dark purple with white details. His antennae, unlike most Ethral, are also very long and fluffy. Most of the time, he's wearing his silky church robes, which also have a hood included. His mask is very dark purple, with bright yellow spirals and curves, similar to tentacles.
Goal: His goal is to just complete his pilgrimage and ascend in the chruch. He wishes to go as deep as possible and someday become a Living Saint, Stygian or even a member of the Council. But his dream is to someday go deeper than everyone, reach the center and finally find God.
Stats:
Str: 7
Dex: 12
Spe: 10
End: 8
Awa: 7
Cun: 13
Kno: 13
Ner: 13
Skills:
Diving: 3
Caving: 1
Navigation: 1
Survival: 1
Translate: 1
Inventory:
The Black Book (Real)
Black Flame
Bag of Path Markers
Silk Aspirant Gray Robes
Purple Mask
You sit and kick your feet, patiently waiting for someone to figure something out.
Im going to conduct a thorough search of our area. Specifically, I’m looking at objects. Any ores, useful crystals, and anything else, like debris, that might be useful or informative about the area.
In the unlikely even that I do find something useful, stow it on the bore. Then get back in the bore before it leaves.
Name: Harmony “Harm” Li
Description: Lean and broody looking. This woman has short black hair and is partially covered in interlocking black tattoos. She wears simple black clothes, with a knee-length Maggot Wool Coat overtop.
Goal: Overall, Harm would like to find a place where refugees and travelers could seek refuge without dealing with the dogmatic influence of the church. Right now, though, she just wants to get away.
Stats
Str:10
Dex:11
Spe:10
End:10
Awa:10
Cun:12
Kno:10
Ner:10
Skills
Weapon smith (3)
Mechanical (2)
Lucky Shot (1)
Inventory
Lucky Shot (7 rounds)
Field Lighter
10 Path Markers
2 units structural junk
2 units mechanical junk
[6]
You wander around the tunnel, looking for something useful. You walk maybe 60 feet away and find several large chunks of blue crystal, seemingly the same stuff that the ruins are made of. You check the walls nearby and find more of the stuff embedded in the stone. You grab several large pieces before returning to the bore.
Observe the star dragon and its movement, then head into the bore.
What are the crafting recipes for:
-Flak vests.
-Gas masks.
-TNT.
-A grenade launcher.
-Grenades, both explosive and fragmentation.
Also what do we need to build a chemical lab?
Name: Alex Wells
Description: A middle aged man standing 5'7" feet tall. He has short brown hair and an unkempt beard.
Goal: Exploring the depths and collecting its wealth.
Stats:
Str: 11
Dex: 10
Spe: 10
End: 10
Awa: 10
Cun: 12
Kno: 10
Ner: 10
Skills:
Explosives 2
Mechanical 1
Survival 1
Caving 1
Chemical 2
Geology 1
Inventory:
Dynamo Lantern
Field Lighter
3 TNT
Bladed Shovel
Mail Shirt
8 Fathoms
The dragon is slowly wriggling around the ruins, wrapping around and between spires, always moving.
Several small steel plates+ 2 structural.
2 structural+ filter+ 2 glass lenses
Covered in another post
4 structural, 2 mechanical, Firing mechanism
2 structural, 2 chemical, fuse
Glassware, Bunsen burner, Fume Hood, Structural 20, Chemical 10, mechanical 5
That's interestin' to know Drett. Like I said, I'd never heard of 'em, though I've seen Gemstone People stuff before.
An' I don' think we're gettin' to the ruins from here, not easily at least. Even if'n we had a line, I'm not entirely certain I trust even Ethral Silk rope to keep the likes of me from becomin' so much charred mole pancake on the magma.
Back into the bore!
In ya go.
"We might as well prepare for the case we take that path, so get back on and let's try that. Like I said, spelunking isn't my forte."
Get back into the bore and drill up, then carefully downwards, in order to make a hole at the top of the cauldron, roughly over the ruins but preferentially not over the castle with the horrible worm.
I'M GONNA MAKE THE ASSUMPTION THAT EVERYONE OTHER THAN OZ, WHO SPECIFICALLY SAID HE WANTED TO REMAIN BEHIND, GOT IN THE BORE AND LEFT WITH IT TO THE NEW LOCATION.You wait till everyone is onboard and then pull the bore back down the tunnel a 100 feet or so before guiding it straight up. Taking the bore straight up is a heck of a thing; the cockpit remains at the right orientation, rotating into place, but the rest of the interior is literally upside-down for several minutes. You eventually pull the bore around, doing a wide U- turn and heading back towards the cavern. You set the machine to stop automatically once the drill hits an air pocket and a few minutes later it does. The bore instantly grinds to a halt, its legs locking into place and holding it secure in the tunnel. You can hear the WOOOOSH of hot air rushing past outside. When you check the periscope you can see that the bore is perched very near the top of the cavern, almost directly above the ruins.
"I do recommend addressing the issue of the Devourer before we address the issue of transportation. the latter issue wold be a trivial matter, if hte former were not an obstacle. "Remove that which hinders, and you may descend unto God."
GM: Action in spoiler
Having exited the Bore, AsHul remains behind at the tunnel mouth, somewhat back from the edge, but with a good view of the ruins and the creature.
Do any guards remain behind? Do any teammates? Wait for the Bore to move away.
Spell:
Balaram Gesh (Bind Tech)
Path: 4 rolls
reinforce Balaram: 5 rolls
reinforce Gesh: 5 Rolls
total Nerve rolls at advantage: 14
Final "not insane" nerve roll,
final "proper effect" Knowledge roll
16 rolls. Sheeeeeyit!
Goal: To redirect the Star Annelid to work on the far wall instead of at the ruins. Hopefully, this will tweak the construct's programming to move it away a little.
Name: AsHul
Description:Former human. Awful, ugly, indifferent
Goal:To find God
Stats
Str:9 Dex:8 Spe:8 End:10 Awa:12 Cun:10 Kno:10 Ner:16
Skills
Diving: 3
Animal Handling: 2
Survival: 1
Inventory
Relic Fragment
Black Book (copy)
1 Silent Night - calming. gives advantage on diving rolls 1 used, currently on round 3 of activation)
4 Worm Blood - steadies nerves
2 Occult Junks
2 Fathoms (One magnetically welded to the wall of his room in the Bore)
You climb out of the bore and hide in the tunnel, while everyone, including the guards, reboard the bore. You quickly scramble out of the machine's way as it tears off through the stone with bone shaking force. Once you're alone, you walk over near -but not too near- the edge. You sit down and close your eyes, focusing on what you want to do.
[4 + 13 + 7 + 9 + 8 + 6 + 7 + 13 + 17 + 11 + 1 + 16 + 17 + 10 ] [10,8]
You open your eyes and point at the star dragon. "I BIND YOU TO WORK UPON THAT WALL" you say, in a voice massive, reverberating and clearly not your own. The worm does not struggle or move with any violence. On its next turn around the ruins it simply breaks off and instead travels to the opposite wall, where it begins coiling and squirming, smoothing the stone.
Author
Topic: DIG: Heresy (Read 410371 times)