"Garos, I believe this is yours." Vikkan said, using his good hand to give the Ethral the small key-construct they'd found. "You found it, so keep it. So do you wanna chat while we head back?"
Continue driving the bore back so we can deliver our stuff.
Name: Vikkan Laerthe
Description: A human from Anvil and a moderate Chthonic who was born and raised close in the neighborhood of the Hammerfall boreyard, where his parents were employed as menial workers. Being so close to a place so filled with machinery and boring machines left a lasting impression on Vikkan, who became a furnace helper, then a drivemaster's apprentice until he finally reached the controls of a bore. He's quite good at conducting driving bores and, most importantly, he deeply enjoys his work.
Bore love aside, Vikkan is also generally quite friendly and good-humored even when he's not behind a bore's controls. He is, however, aware of his limitations out of the control room, and he'd rather leave most other matters to more skilled people. What he lacks in intellectual education he displays in polite curiosity, and he tends to be interested in listening even to topics he can only vaguely grasp, making for a good talking and drinking buddy if nothing else.
At odds with his friendliness, he looks rugged, if young. His hair is dark brown and cut short, and he has a well-groomed handlebar mustache (though he's been known to let it grow and style it into a horseshoe at times). A small diagonal scar moves from his right eyebrow to the bridge of his nose. His skin is brown and displays a few burns thanks to a few years of furnace and boiler work. He's fairly hairy, with his shirt's sleeves covering hairy arms and a few spots of scar tissue. His uniform is made of thick cloth and utilitarian, overalls, a long-sleeved shirt and a cap. His major concession to vanity is keeping his uniform and mustache impeccable.
He doesn't have a right hand.Goal: To deep driving bores and having fun while doing it. It's not a difficult dream, even if it can be hard at times.
StatsStr: 10
Dex: 10
Spe: 10
End: 10
Awa: 13
Cun: 10
Kno: 10
Ner: 10
Skills+3 Vehicle (Bore)
+2 Navigation
+1 Defense (Mail Shirt)
Inventory-Conductor's Clothes
-Dynamo Lantern
-Black Book (Copy)
-Field Lighter
-Mail Shirt
-2 Fathoms
-Crystal key golem (actually Garos', but he forgot to add it to his sheet)
The Ethral took the construct and simply tied it against his chest for now to use it as an oversized pendant, as he still needed to use his hands to support himself just in case the bore shook too much.
"Thank you, I almost forgot we had it. And chat about what?"
Keep helping.
Name: Garos Ellon
Description: Garos is a 4 feet moth-creature, with a black fur coating his body, the only different colors standing out on his form are located on his wings; blue circular marks that do give him two "eyes" on the back. Aside from the mask his kind naturally wears, he is also wearing a worn kettle helmet, which while doesn't provide the protection it normally should due to its current condition works like his lucky charm. The mask Garos wears is somewhat plain looking, all black aside from some blue marks along the "cheeks" and a crudely drawn star on the forehead area.
Goal: He is just hoping to gather himself a fortune and hopefully some fame too, just in case the hiring-and-shooting business becomes a necessity.
Stats
Str: 7
Dex: 12+2
Spe: 10+1
End: 8
Awa: 7
Cun: 13
Kno: 13
Ner: 10
Skills
Weapon Skill: 2
Stealth: 2
Acrobatics: 2
Defense Skill: 1
Inventory
(40)Ethral Rifle [7/7]
Silk Cloak
Crystal key golem
Vikkan locks everything into automatic and then lets Garos help him to the ground. He sits down, back against the lower portions of the control panel.
"You know, I'm beginning to wonder why these guys sent us in. Sure that big dragon thing was a problem but they had access to a military bore. They could just blast it from a distance and then lower themselves in like we did. This all seems very elaborate just to get some disposable flunkies."
Lure guard into nearby empty room for degenerate handholding. Pay no heed to ominous sounds that might or might not be coming from adjacent rooms.
Name: Auft Kindheart
Description: Standing 3'10", with even fluffier than usual snow-white fur, this Ethral radiates adorable innocence even by the standards of her kind. Her porcelain-white mask is a circular shape carved into slices, each bearing a smiling face with eyes and mouths arched in joy, and adorned with pink blush marks. Her cloak is similarly pure white and a little too large for her, adding to her cute and defenseless appearance.
Goal: To amass and improve loyal pets and slaves.
Stats
Str: 7
Dex: 12
Spe: 10
End: 8
Awa: 7
Cun: 16
Kno: 13
Ner: 10
Skills
+1 Medical
+1 Translate
+1 Acrobatics
+1 Persuasion
+1 Stealth
+1 Animal Handling
+1 Archeology
+1 Biological
+1 Chemical
+1 Occult
Inventory
2 Fathoms
Ethral Rifle [7/7]
Doctor's Bag
Dodecahedron Spider-Thing: Fist-sized dodecahedron body, long unjointed legs that move in very slow cascades. Ceased moving upon being picked up. Can be trained in simple commands via clear hand signals, bops, and repetition.
2 quarter-inch cubes of impossibly heavy black stuff: Estimated 50 lbs weight total
[7]
You sidle up further, closer, until you're too close for him to use the rifle on you. You whisper some suggestive things. Things about the compatibility of human and ethral bodies. Things about how violence is unnecessary. Things that stoke an ego and dull the senses. The man falls for it entirely and you walk for the door, with him in tow. Either his companions don't care or assume he is taking you somewhere for...his own amusement. You cross over to another room on this floor, a small room, maybe a berth in a previous life. You walk to the opposite end of the room and the guard follows you in, closing the door behind him. He turns and slings the rifle back over his shoulder, face expectant and positively lecherous.
Move to a safer and less crowded spot to continue reading. Whatever the others are trying to do, I don't want to be in middle of it.
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
“GOD walks in stone, forever deeper, forever in greater darkness. We seek His path, neath our feet and in our hearts. Travel the path of the divine and you will know your purpose.”
“Blessed is he who penetrates the depths of the world. For every step into the darkness is a step closer to GOD. All faithful should partake in this pilgrimage if able.”
“GOD has granted freedom to Mankind, a gift both great and dangerous. Prepare always, you are your own guardian.”
“The pilgrim spoke with restraint and compassion to the thieves, offering his glad aid to place them back on the righteous path. And when they refused him and set upon him, he smote them down without remorse and left their bodies where they lay.”
“Fear is not an anathema. To fear GOD is to respect His power. To fear the dark is to recognize your weakness. To fear death is to love the life you have been gifted. Understand your fear but never fall victim to it. That is death.”
“Sometimes death is preferable to the alternative.”
“Do not fear, do not lose hope. The faithful are loved and all suffering shall be repaid tenfold. In sickness, in injury, in strife, remember this.”
[13]
You attempt to slowly and nonchalantly walk towards the door. You are intercepted almost immediately by one of the guards who wordlessly gestures for you to return to where you were. He does this with is rifle in a way that is rather hard to argue against.
Move to the control room and estimate how much junk I'd need to fix my shovel.
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
Stone and crystal samples (including a diamond, black opals, quartz and goldlace marble)
Crystal box of golem limbs
Golem buddy
You leave the airlock and head straight up to the control room, waving to Garos and Vikkan as you enter. You take a seat up next to them and take a look at your shovel. Some structural junk could be used to fix this, you think.
Time for testing. Go find a secluded room that has a particularely sturdy looking wall. Scratch an X in the wall with my shovel. Then, test the attack capabilities of each of the crystal babies in turn by gently bopping them with the rod, using the Wake command, pointing the rod at the X and issuing the attack command, then observing the result and finally putting them back into the suspend command. Rinse and repeat for each construct.
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/Obedience rod
Slate box with multicolour crystal toothpick - supposedly turns someone into a gemperson.
Metal spike with gems on it - apparently some sort of crystal people fashion item.
7 structural junk
30 chemical junk
5 Fathoms
Crystal Babies
1. Dodecahedron, no limbs, rolls. Fist sized.
2. 8 sided diamond (looks like Ramiel from EVA and floats). 8 inches to an edge
3. Crystal snake. hiss. 18 inches long.
4. Spiky daddy long legs like Irony has. 1 foot legs, fist sized body.
5. Thing looks like (see pic). about 8 inches to a side.
6. Thing that looks like a Strandbeest. Foot long, 8 inches high.
7. Wheel sort of thing that has a fat inside edge and tapers to a sharp edge on the outside. Foot and a half in diameter.
[1]
You gather up your babies and, while the guards are distracted by another person trying to leave, you slip out behind their backs. You don't think you can get far so you quickly duck into the closest room.
You scratch an x into the wall with your shovel and start testing the combat efficiency of your babies. The Dodecahedron Bumps against the wall with great...well it tries. You use the diamond next. It floats up until it is level with the X and then splits into pieces, deforming. It forms a single long spike with a dozen or so smaller spikes rotating around it, all of them pointed at the X. Light gathers at their points and the air fills with a shattering scream of gathering energy. You quickly boop the thing and shut down the attack before it can blow a hole through the bore or something worse.
Try to remove myself from any potential crossfire
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
Lucky Shot (6 rounds)
Field Lighter
10 Path Markers
2 units mechanical junk
You press yourself into a corner and curl into as small of a ball as possible, grumbling about the stupidity of everything going on here.
Ponder on the nature of the plane of Hel, what is like, who lives there, and what menacing beings would possess young, nubile divers who dove there.
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 many tongues have been replaced with metal tendrils 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
One stone snake piece
[6]
Is a place of transmutation, everything looks the same, but what its made out of keeps changing. As per creatures that might possess someone, you think the giant Aquamarine Cats are the most likely. They're usually not hostile but they are alien and can do some dangerous things even without malice. They're also damn near indestructible, least on their world.
AsHul watches Adam leave the airlock and turns to the guard:
"So. Did we get the artifact?"
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 (currently at -1)
Skills
Diving: 3
Animal Handling: 2
Survival: 1
Inventory
Relic Fragment
Black Book (copy)
1 Silent Night - calming. gives advantage on diving rolls
3 Worm Blood - steadies nerves (restores to max)
2 Occult Junks
3 Fathoms (One magnetically welded to the wall of his room in the Bore, one "shiny," one standard)
One Brass sphere with clockwork innards (From Balaram)
Book of sheet music (from Balaram) [stack of about 100 pages bound by three brass rings along the top of the sheets]
The guard gives you a hard look, a very suspicious look, and then says "You had better hope we did."
Murder every single guard. Repeat until victory or death.
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: 9
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
Throw the artifact to Adam, and then shove Medizin away from the hand, while drawing the murakumo. Tell the others to flee, then turn around and chop the arm in half. If it's unaffected, due to being liquid, grab Kara (if she hasn't already escaped), and carry her out.
Name: Nyw'geuq Otin Sunam; calls himself "The Lords' Child"
Description:
((Only one murakumo, but hey! Dual wielding them is stupid anyway. Possibly also impossible, very soon.))
Goal: Inscrutable, which is code for "Saving the other prisoners".
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
Nyw turns to look back at Wiellste, sighing when he sees the blood leaking from her mask. He crouches down, wiping some of the blood away, only for more to flow out. He stays there for several slow seconds, fingering his neck where the collar had been. He breaks his silence after deliberating, speaking loudly and clearly without making any effort to hide his voice. "Medizin. Please, help her. Adam," Nyw stands, and holds out the artifact Wiellste used to kill herself twice. "Would you burn this? I do not breath."
Adam placed his hand on the undead's shoulders and shook his head softly.
"I'm afraid that would do us little good, honorable ancestor. The smoke of a burning artifact wouldn't be able to suppress our captors, and it'd put all of the other hostages at risk. I know you loathe these vagabonds as much, if not more than me, put this isn't the way to go about it."
Take the artifact when nyw hands it to me (try to hide it in my pack) and back away from the demon that's crawling out of our friend, dragging medzin and Kara with me if they aren't moving away. If possible, try to get an idea of what kind of possession this is and how we might end it.
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 beaker artifact
1 black book copy
1 black flame
1 Silent Night
1 field lighter
17 fathoms
(loaned 6 fathoms to aigre)
1 crystal construct
Run away or get carried away. Get myself to safety. Also grab the Artifact if Adam doesn't take it to safety.
Edit: Since Drett said to take care of me, he should accompany me and help me. Make sure he does so via severe one-armed prodding.
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).
StatusSacrificed left arm to reverse time. Bandaged and given spider venom for the pain.
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
Nyw steps forward, drawing his weapon with one hand and with the other grabbing Medizin by the collar and half yanking, half tossing the little Ethral back and out of harm's way. As soon as he's in between the creature and the others he tosses the artifact back to Adam, who struggles to stick it in his bag for a few moments before Kara, Drett and Medizin at her side and steadying her, snatches it and stuffs it back in the sack she made for it. Together they all stumble out of the room, leaving Nyw to deal with the creature.They don't go far, just across to the other side of this level of the bore, near the ladder. They wait to see what happens and Adam takes the moment to think. [10]
This isn't a possession, he realizes, this is something using Wiellste's body as a conduit. Its trying to get into this world. It may not even be hostile, though creatures from the other planes are usually too alien to attribute any sort of rational motivation to. And it could still easily kill Wiellste even without meaning to. Damaging the creature coming through might work, scaring it away so to speak. Or someone could use diving to sever the connection between Wiellste and the sphere she's connected to. No connection, no transfer.
Back in the room, Nyw squares off with the limb. [16] He swings the blade at the limb with perfect form before darting back, out of the range of any counter attack. He moves automatically, before he can even analyze the blow he lands and realizes only once he has retreated that the blow didn't land at all. The creature's limb snaked back out of the way. It was hard to tell if it dodged or if it just happened to slither away at just the right time by pure accident. Wiellste's body strains back up into an arch and you can see her throat and mouth stretching as something tries to push its way through, a larger bulk struggling to squeeze past.
Author
Topic: DIG: Heresy (Read 414706 times)