”Clate my good slug, I don’t believe this particular venture is worth it. I say we head back to the bore, the sooner to get these retched collars off”
Head back to the balcony and check that the exit path is still clear and safe. If so, then leave.
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
Crystal cutting utility knife (free to borrow)
Silver/Tin wire spool
3 gold cubes
7 Octahedrons
5 Large branches of crystalline lead
Several large chunks of blue crystal
Lucky Shot (6 rounds)
Field Lighter
10 Path Markers
8 units structural junk
2 units mechanical junk
You wander back to the balcony and check on the rope. Its still there, as it was before. So you slip the harness on and give the rope three good tugs. For about 30 seconds nothing happens and you start to get worried that they're not paying attention, but then the rope quivers and starts to retract. Your ascent is faster than the descent -apparently the guards don't have the careful hand that Vikkian does- so you get yanked painfully off the ground and wound straight up into the bore. You're literally dragged back in through the little service hatch in a very undignified manner and the drill stops spinning just before you get dragged around the axle. There's a guard sitting, literally sitting because of the tight confines, near the door with a rifle pointed at you. He doesn't shoot or anything, but he keeps a level eye on you as you undo the harness, clearly not in the mood to deal with any sort of harebrained schemes.
"Do you have the relic?" He asks.
Read the instructions on how to use that "Obedience rod". Does it sound like something I would be good at, considering my skills? Or should I stick to shooting stuff?
I haven't really been keeping track, has it been looted already? It not, grab it. ((I'll try to search to see if it has when I have some time.)) Edit: Is it the labradorite rod Clate found?
Have I heard of Crystal People having rooms for a specific purpose, such as armoury, library or vehicle depot? Do I have any idea where any of those rooms could be?
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
InventoryFire Orb Artifact (in backpack-like thing made from shirt)
Ethral Rifle (rifle 3, pierce 3) 7/7
Crystal Friend
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Simple Clothes (no shirt)
Kara's Diary
The tablets don't have instructions, the section that talks about the rod is an inventory of sorts, just a list of what was in the barrels. "Obedience Rod" is the extent of what they say about it.
You don't know. You assume so, its the only rod that really seems to fit the description. The description being that there's only one of them listed, as opposed to the other more numerous rods made of metal.
You have no idea; never heard of such a thing but just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it isn't true. You just haven't heard of it.
Loot the barrel!
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
Broken Bladed Shovel (Handle and Shovelhead)
Mail Shirt
8 Fathoms
You find a few things. There's a collection of what appear to be samples of different kinds of stones and crystals. There are a few precious ones, including a diamond, but the majority of them are underwhelming in terms of their monetary value. [10] Your knowledge of geology lets you recognize this as a fairly accurate survey of all the major minerals, stones, and crystals in the area. After that is a stack of 10 crystal tablets with a metal axle piercing their top left corners so that they're all held together in a neat row, but can be rotated out of the way to read the tablet below. Lastly, there is a fairly large crystal box; maybe 14 inches tall and 8 wide and thick.
"Do we have a plan yet? If we need to Dive I could help with that, if someone would lend me their shard. I'm not the best, but better than an exhausted diver."
Hmm. Hel next.
Recall the instructions for using the "obedience rod". What kinds of stone might it be able to alter? Maybe I could use it to reinforce that sword I made. If the sword is weak, maybe I could weave in thin strands of that heavy black stone. Might also be able to make the hilt easier to grip.
Name: Wiellste Gunsmithy
Description: A young Ethral, no taller than 4 feet. 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
[17]
Shrug. Dunno.
Again, there were no instructions, just the words "Obedience rod".
Hmm...Well the material sphere could probably be just a 1, but the action sphere would need to have few pumped into it or you might accidentally do too much or too little. Need some precision here. No good turning the bomb to inert material if you also do the same with the person's spinal cord.
That's already pretty useful, but for the action sphere I was hoping for a little more granularity than 'a few'. Are we talking a range from 2 to 4, more like around 6, or what?
Also, assuming we'd be trying to do these collar disabling dives, how many could a diver do in a single turn? Assuming the only thing he'd be doing is the same dive over and over again to disable collars.
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
17 fathoms
(loaned 6 fathoms to aigre)
1 crystal construct
Probably 4...ish.
One, but if you're doing the same thing over and over, one right after the next, I'll give you advantage in every dive after the first successful one.
”Clate my good slug, I don’t believe this particular venture is worth it. I say we head back to the bore, the sooner to get these retched collars off”
"I do believe you are correct, friend Harm. Who knows, perhaps this block is some kind of anchor, keeping this entire structute from tipping over into the magma. Let us not mess with it further.
Leave the obsidiant block alone. Faff about until it's time to leave. Stroll around picking up random bits of junk or something, never straying too far from the rest of the group.
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 - handle coated with chrome stuff
Silk rope (100ft)
TNT x3
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10
8 Octaherdrons - supposedly replicate materials
2 gold cubes
1 container of Pseudomagnetic mortar
labradorite rod
Slate box with multicolour crystal toothpick - supposedly turns someone into a gemperson.
7 structural junk
30 chemical junk
5 Fathoms
Not a lot of random stuff around; these doors are all closed.
With her newfound snake bits, the abomination takes to examine(read: lick) the bits and tries to see if there is any latent magnetic power left.
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: 9 (temp -4)
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
Clothing with ? Balarim Jal
Armful of stone snake pieces
[8]
You hold one of the pieces up and run a tongue over it. You're pretty sure it is just dormant; maybe connecting the pieces back together might reawaken it!
After smashing the snake, Nyw simply stands still and stares at its remains for awhile. It isn't until the strange abomination starts to lick at the pieces that he returns to his senses. He crouches down and carefuly reaches out to touch the lizard's shoulder, and speaks quietly. "Careful, child of Balarim. The snake was an unnatural life, it may yet be dangerous, even in its unnatural death."
With that warning, he stands up and turns, surveying his surroundings. Immediately, he notes the crystalline murakumo laying next to him. He picks it up with both hands, reverently holding it in front of his mask as he examines the weapon. After a few seconds, he turns to look at Wiellste, asking her "Did you create this, little one? It is... beautiful. A masterpiece." his gaze returns to the blade as he shifts his grip to its hilt and carefully runs a gauntleted hand along the curved edge of the blade "I must apologize if your intentions were otherwise, but this blade is mine now. I could not bear to relinquish such a work of art. The Lords' Child is deeply in your debt, little artisan."
Take that crystal murakumo, now. Then walk a safe distance away from the others, and try out its moveset test its balance, practice swinging it through the air.
Name: Nyw'geuq Otin Sunam; calls himself "The Lords' Child"
Description:
((Only one murakumo, but hey! Dual wielding them is stupid anyway.))
Goal: Inscrutable, which is code for "Appreciating this
damn fine sword".
Stats:Str:14
Dex:8
Spe:10
End:14
Awa:13
Cun:8
Kno:6
Ner:10
Skills:Unarmed: +1
Defense Skill: +3 (Full Plate)
Vehicle Skill: +1
Caving: +1
Navigation: +1
Inventory:
Full Plate Armor [Protective 4]
Crystal Murakumo [Cut 6, Pierce 3, Fragile]
Ornamental Mask of the Child
You take the crystal Murakumo up and test it. As you expect, its balance is quite bad; its not much more than a sharpened bar with a crude handle carved into it after all. The initial swing is easy enough, especially if its a downwards blow, but follow up attacks are more difficult, requiring a good deal of effort to stop and then redirect the weight. The blade whistles like a razor as it cuts through the air.
Author
Topic: DIG: Heresy (Read 413825 times)