Name: Rhea Alcove
Description: A female human with blonde hear. She holds a Hooked Cleaver in her right hand and wears a Mail Shirt for protection. She wears a denim shirt and denim jeans, along with tennis shoes.
Goal: To explore and learn as much as she can
Stats:
Str:11
Dex:10
Spe:10
End:10
Awa:11
Cun:12
Kno:11
Ner:12
Skills:
Weapon Skill(Cleaver): 1
Diving: 1
Unarmed: 1
Persuasion: 1
Defense Skill(Mail Armor): 1
Survival: 1
Biological: 1
Caving: 1
Navigation: 1
Animal Handling: 1
Geology: 1
Inventory:
110 Fathoms
Free Clothing
Worm Blood x1
Organic/Bio Junk x6
Hooked Cleaver
Mail Shirt
Relic Fragment
Crystal Egg Creature
Go work at the forge.
Also, make myself available if anyone wants to borrow me to use the Voice.
Name: Harmony “Harm” Li
Description: Lean and broody looking. This woman has short black hair and is partially covered in interlocking black tattoos. One of her eyes is covered with an eyepatch. She wears simple black clothes, with a knee-length Maggot Wool Coat overtop. She wears a mail shirt underneath her clothes.
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:12
Dex:13
Spe:11
End:11
Awa:11
Cun:14
Kno:11
Ner:12
Skills
Weapon smith (3)
Mechanical (2)
Occult (1)
Lucky Shot (1)
2 unassigned
Condition
Hand has been severed, then reattached (fully healed).
Inventory
Eyepatch
Radio
Mail shirt (protect 3)
Small Obsidian Knife [cut, stab 3. Fragile]
Crystal cutting utility knife (free to borrow)
50 Obsidian Shurikens (cut 3, fragile)
Obsidian arrowhead (cut 4, fragile)
6 Octahedrons
Half a ton of obsidian
5 Large branches of crystalline lead
Crossbow (crossbow 3)(5/5 bolts)
-25 bolts [pierce (Random, d4 each time)(fragile)]
Lucky Shot (7/7)(23 rounds)
Short sword (cutting 3, pierce 2)
Voice in the Eyes (in eye socket)
(I’ll look at anything, just put it in your post)
Field Lighter
9 Path Markers
2 mechanical arms (belong to Kara and Vikkan)
6 sturdy glass bottles
Fistful of opals
495 fathoms
30 to nature
30 to our community pile
Make them the following counter-offer: Promise them the opportunity of an all exclusive interview with a being from the surface in exchange for access to the volumes. The actual interview will be a different offer with its terms and conditions to be determined when it's ready to be conducted.
Should my offer be rejected, add that I would share what I read with them, saving them the time it would take to translate the volumes themselves.
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.
Status: Fine.
Stats:Str: 12
Dex: 11
Spe: 12
End: 12
Awa: 12
Cun: 13
Kno: 12
Ner: 12
Skills:Explosives 2
Mechanical 1
Survival 1
Caving 1
Chemical 2
Geology 1
Persuasion 2
Armorsmith 1
Inventory:Weapons:Moon bladed staff (Cut 4,
?)
Bladed Shovel (Cut 3)
Black Flame (Cut 3)
Rifle (Pierce 2) 3/10
4 TNT (explosive 4)
Armor and Clothes:Silk shirtGas mask
Tools:Dynamo Lantern
Field Lighter
Grappling Hook
Tinkering:2 lenses
Crystal Golem (flat disc and hooks)
Crystal box of golem limbsA severed leg
Valuables:1503 Fathoms
5 ancient human books34 additional ancient human books.
20 copied ancient dictionary pages
They seem very interested in that sort of info. But they are also shrewd enough not to let you see the things until you can pay them. After all, if you look at the books you can just skip town and never pay.
This has happened to them before.
((Teleporter knife: GET!
It's not quite flawless and it's only the start of the network, but even in this state it should be usable. So from now on, if people want to go on a side mission or want to run an errand but are afraid they might not get back in time to hop onto the bore before it leaves, we have that covered. Hopefully this will give us much more operational flexibility without splitting up the team permanently.))
They're surprisingly tight lipped. About the most you can get out of them is that apparently there's some sort of built in En enchantment on the entire room to allow them to revert any issues. They have a standard list of these sort of things that they check once a day. They kind of have to since if they activated no one would remember it because it technically would never have happened.
Try to needle them a little more. At the very least try and find out exactly what enchantment(s) they use and what dive it requires.
How much would I need to reinforce Noth and Xi to do a dive to fix the teleporter deviation on the destination portal? And how much to buy a bunch of mattresses to cover the area of possible deviation? (so that if people end up away and in the air they don't break anything coming down)
Secondly, for the -3 nerve Adam is under right now, can we assume he just rests it off in a turn since we're in flexible time between missions? If not, could you tell me when he's rested and the penalty is gone? Perhaps at the start of the next 'mission'?
Also, paid for the 2 dives done in their chamber.
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.
After his encounter with a Word of God, the edges of his vision are flickering with black flame and his skin is extremely pale with what appear to be black veins instead of the normal blue ones. It also forced him to reevaluate his views on the cthonic church and god.
Goal: Plunge the secrets of the depths below to find an answer to the horrors above.
Stats Str: 11
Dex: 11
Spe: 13
End: 12
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14
SkillsDiving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision! InventorySoldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit
1 ethral rifle [7 rounds] (pierce 3)
5x black flame
2x smoke bomb
1 flashbang
3 Silent Night
4 worm blood
1 minor artifact
1 beaker artifact (found in crystal ruins) => in locker
1 crystal construct
Transport mission papers
1 black book copy
1 black book
1 book "Artifacts of Faith"
1 empyrean city map
1 field lighter
1 radio
portal knives design
495 fathoms
4 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers
cult holy book
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest
- 1 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through)
- 2 x sacrifices for +3
1 x portal knife, enchanted
1 x Custom collapsible doorway, enchanted (Warning: portal's end point isn't very well anchored to the physical object. There's some drift involved (4,5 meter), so you will come out in the general area, but maybe not spot on.)
[6] You manage to get them to tell you that the base enchantment is layered combo of Gesh and En which binds a possessed diver in place and then erases the dive. There are other layers here, meant to deal with dives that don't render the diver possessed but produce dangerous results. There's an Ah based enchantment that can entomb the entire area in solid red hot iron if needed.
You think that maybe 2 on each would work. Lets call it 50 fathoms for the padding.
Sure.
Return to the material world and rest to regain my single point of lost nerve. Inspect Adam's teleportal knives and, if permitted, the Mole's flesh guitar. Look for any obvious flaws or possible improvements (I already know about the imprecision of the one gate). I'm not asking for like, a grand list of possible improvements, just any that come to mind from a casual but thorough physical inspection.
Name: AsHul
Description:Former human. Awful, ugly, indifferent.
Goal:To find God
Stats
Str:10 Dex:10 Spe:10 End:12 Awa:13 Cun:13 Kno:12 Ner:16 (-1)
Skills (+1 skillpoint from levelup)
3 Diving
2 Animal Handling
1 Survival
3 Weapon skill: Guitar
Inventory
Relic Fragment
Black Book (Genuine)
Black Book (copy, strata 1,2,4)
2 Silent Night
4 Worm Blood
100 ft of rope
1 knife (cut/pierce 2)
2 Occult Junks (1 a skull currently holding Lighter Water)
some kind of lightning tree from the plane of elemental forces
Song Book (Treasure, Vomit, Dissociate, Shred) (Shape Steel: very hard to play. untitled song that makes people feel well but fall asleep and have a seizure)
neodymium collar
1 Bone-fretted haunted electric guitar
1 mundane acoustic guitar with wave patterns in abalone and turquoise
1 Crystalline Clate Guitar
156 Fathoms
You return to the normal world and casually check out the new magical things while resting your brain. You think the guitar could be given increased abilities with more strings. Maybe not a guitar anymore then though...mmm. The portal obviously has a flaw in the precision, but not a terribly hard one to fix.
((As a suggestion in case neither of those options work, Hotfire, you could try offering money. People tend to like money, and if you hadn't noticed, you're currently filthy rich.))
Continue rifle training.
As an idle question, does this give only skill with the [pierce 2] guard/ethral rifles, or with a more broad range of weapons? I'd presume the former, exactly because of the kinda-exploit I'm abusing right now, but we both know Nyw will eventually try to dual-wield bore piercers if the skill applies to all rifles.
Name: Nyw'geuq Otin Sunam; calls himself "The Lords' Child"
Description:
((TWO murakumo! FINALLY, hahahaha!))
Goal: Inscrutable, which is code for
"Talks like this.".
Stats:Str: 15
Dex: 9
Spe:11
End:14
Awa:14
Cun: 10
Kno: 8
Ner: 13
Skills: (One unspent skillpoint)
Guard Rifle: +1
Unarmed: +1
Defense Skill: +3 (Full Plate)
Vehicle Skill: +1
Caving: +1
Navigation: +1
Murakumo: +2 (+1/3)
Inventory:
Full Plate Armor [Protective 4]
Ornamental Mask of the Child
Extremely crude harness, holding all Nyw's weapons:
Crystal Murakumo [Cut 6, Pierce 3]
----Enchanted to remove fragility.
Crystal Murakumo [Cut 6, Pierce 3]
----Enchanted to remove fragility.
Giant Guardian Hatchet [Chop 4,
]
Three knives [Cut 2, Pierce 2]
Tungsten Toothpick [Pierce 5] (10/10)
Slave Trap
Nine smoke bombs
Five flashbangs
Tunnel Clearer shotgun [5/5 shotshells] [shotgun 3] [Pierce 3] (5 spare shotshells) (3 spare slugs)
Guard rifle [Pierce 2] (10/10) (710 spare rounds)
Pistol [Pierce 1] (?/?)
300' of silk rope
2x Silent Night
2x Black Flame
2x Cave Spider Venom
30x Path markers
10x Injectible tranquilizer.
77 fathoms.
Followers:
Gus (Young human with minimal training. Healthy.)
--Equipped with a small iron melee weapon [Cut 3, Pierce 3] and a Black Flame [Cutting 3]
--Equipped with a low caliber ethral rifle. [Pierce 2] (10/10), 50 spare bullets
--Armored with a mail shirt [Protect 3], and has two smoke bombs.
Baxter (Young human with minimal training. Healthy.)
--Equipped with a small iron melee weapon [Cut 3, Pierce 3] and a Black Flame [Cutting 3]
--Equipped with a low caliber ethral rifle. [Pierce 2] (10/10), 50 spare bullets
--Armored with a mail shirt [Protect 3], and has two smoke bombs.
Bore NPC "recruits":
--Five moths
--One lizard dude
--Two humans
The way the rules are written, its focused on weapon by weapon basis. I would probably allow you to fudge it a bit if you have a very similar weapon (like the ethral vs guard rifles) but nothing so different as rifle and pistol.
23 rolls until a 1 this time. Next 1 was at roll 51.
so none of these church boys are surprised to see me here or are eyeing my hot crystal bod?
Anyways, stick with Adam and try to act mindless golem like. Also do a cheeky stonesense ping if I think it's safe to do so, to map out the place we're in.
Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
Stats
Str: 12
Dex: 9
Spe: 10
End: 13
Awa: 12
Cun: 9
Kno: 14
Ner: 15
Skills
Natural +3 Caving
Natural +3 Geology
Natural Mute
Natural No clothing
Natural Stonesenses
Natural Stoneshaping
Unarmed: +2
Weapon skill: Stone Blade +2
Stealth: +1
Archeology: +2
Weaponsmith: +2
Navigation: +1
Armorsmith: +1
Chemical: +1
Crystal Biology: +1
Inventory
Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
TNT x5
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10
"Muggy"(skull mug scrimshawed with "can we fix it?" on the side, "No, it's fucked." on the bottom. Has trigger on the inside of the spine-handle that, when squeezed, caused the mandible to open and close)
100ft silk rope
6 Octahedrons - supposedly replicate materials
1 container of Pseudomagnetic mortar
labradorite/Obedience rod (on loan to Kara)
Silver ethral pendant: small silver pendant in the shape of a compound eye wreathed in white fire
Ethral archive promissory note
1243 Fathoms
Crystal Babies
1. Big Chonk Ramiel, about the size of a car.
2. Pryamid with stumpy limbs
3. Crystal snake. hiss. 18 inches long.
4. snake golem. Its larger than the original by several times and rougher, sort of like a squirming line of uncut gemstones, each the size of a human fist.
5. Crystal Praying Mantis (Can fire lazer, Cut 4 Claws)
Warehouse/bore storage:
Bomb Collar
Slate box
Spool of thermoreactive wire.
Acoustic guitar (Metal + guardbone, totally mundane.)
Rifle (pierce2, 6/10 magazine)
Small Knife from crystal barrel
Small bowl from crystal barrel
roll of very thin and flexible stone
small cube of the extremely dense material
sharp pyramid shaped wedge thing
3 structural junk
30 chemical junk
1 gold ingot
Most of the church boys here are not super high ranking and thus while they are very surprised to see you, they don't immediately start trying to buy you or steal you. They appear to think you're some sort of diving construct or something like that. You manage to ping without being noticed. It gives you an idea of how massive the tunnel network under the church really is.
Oh, I thought all Crystal ruins were magically cold, like the first ruins we visited, hence why I thought we'd be safe from the magma if we can make it into a sealed section. But I get it if not all ruins are like that.
Take up Harm's offer to use the Voice on the Korax Idols I got from the Crystal Trade Depot. Maybe it will help me figure out ancient trade routes, Korax nesting sites or simply what they were using to make the idols and what they were thinking when they made the idols. Any info is better than no info, right?
Then
The moths might have info on them; books to aid in translation or that give a background/framework to view things in.
go visit the moths and see if they have something like that for the Korax. If not, then ask where I would be likely to find that and if it would be free.
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 (eaten by giant Shluck-like thing). Bandaged.
StatsStr:11
Dex:13
Spe:13
End: 10
Awa:12
Cun:11
Kno:12
Ner:12
SkillsRifle: 1
Medical: 1
Translate: 2
Acrobatics: 1
Caving: 1
Machine Control: 1
Stealth: 1
Geology: 1
Archeology: 2
Navigation: 1
InventoryHeavy Crystal Mirror Armour Shroud
Golden pin (in forearm)
Crystal Friend (with riding harness +
Obedience Rod)
Radio
35 fathoms (1% royalty for flame)
Ethral Rifle (scope+bipod) (rifle 3, pierce 3) 6/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 6/7
Crystal WeaponField Lighter (Fire 2)
Shiny interconnected colorful gems
Grappling Hook + Ethral Silk rope 200 ft
1 Dynamo Lantern (Light 3)
1 Knife (Cut/Pierce 2)
2 Slave Traps
Simple Clothes (with hood)
Cot
Book (Adventures of Pilgrim)
Deck of Cards
Notes on insect saddle construction
Ancient Bird-people idols
Ancient Mole-jewels depicting unknown beast
Kara's DiaryIn Storage15 chemical junk
22 mechanical junk
Crystal Tablets (diary about All-Eater and Great Destroyer, inventory, obedience rod instructions, construct assembly instructions)
Church Documents (document ownership and events, and recommend favorable treatment)
Metal Card with the address of the Gilded Crow (corven Gangsters of Goldshore)
Mechanical Arm (not installed)
Bomb collar (unlocked)
All bomb collar remotes
A large number of shiny gold-like messenger path rocks
The ones you've come across are temperate enough, but there's no guarantee is a universal trait. It would be bad to open the airlock and flash cook all your friends.
[5] The idols have an extremely long history, though a lot of it involves being forgotten in a building for centuries. The voice is very quick and garbled, according to Harm, but tells you the following.
1.They appeared to prefer natural caves and didn't really do much building of their own. They built small, often temporary shelters and had a habit of leaving a lot of things behind. Idols like this were traded away but were also often just left behind.
2.If there were interactions with humans, it was after this idol was sold. No mention of them.
3. The priests of the society apparently worked with fire. Fire in general was an object of worship, generally because it was so hard to attain and thus was "Kept alive" as long as possible. It seems to have animistic element, where the fire was literally alive not just figuratively. Idols made of flammable substances were often used as kindling.
4. He outlines several locations where they were. Going by the description it seems like the whole area around the falls was their general stomping ground. Makes sense; a lot of large, open, vertical space is where they would thrive.
You ask the moths about the Korax. They have some information, though not a lot. You pay them 30 fathoms for it. What they can tell you is this:
1. They had no written language, they kept records orally, through song. This means that all info on them is second hand. Apparently the closest they got were what are called "Song stones" which were large carved stones that would make a series of whistling tones when natural airflows moved through them. There are several in the Falls area.
2. They were hunter gatherers, who moved constantly, but generally cyclically. They "patrolled" a large territory, returning to the same series of caves and passages over and over as food replenished.
3. They are considered the ancestors of the Corven but the exact way they went from one to the other is unknown; all history during the "Age of Descent" is very sketchy. They say that the Church destroyed much of it as heretical and kept the rest archived for themselves. The moths seem pretty bitter about that last part.
4. They were apparently a Gerontocracy, where age was considered very important. Those that could survive a long time were not only the smartest but the ones most blessed by the gods and thus best fit for leading.
5. They were communial in most things; apparently they mated on an individual yearly cycle that had some level of variation. As such they'd basically mate with whoever - if anyone -was also able at the time. Children were raised communially and strong interpersonal bonds were not as common.
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Topic: DIG: Heresy (Read 414389 times)