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[Paaaad]

I don’t believe you can be both a werebeast and a vampire, but I just had an adventurer become a vampire via dice after learning two necromantic secrets. I think you can do the same with becoming a werebeast.

[kesperan]

Yes, that’s correct. You can be a vampire necromancer or a werebeast necromancer but not a vampire werebeast.

Hope it works out for you!

[nogoodnames]

From the desk of Leto Searchpraise, Senior Apprentice to the Historian’s Guild
2nd Timber, 879

Before we left town, Dana told me she had some errands to run. We followed her to one of the nearby houses and, well, maybe I should have expected this. Inside were a group of ruffians being lorded over by a goblin woman. It seems my new companions have some connections in the criminal underground.



“’Ello Atol. Got myself hired on a job out of the city. I’ll be takin’ my cut early. No hard feelings, eh?” Dana said to the goblin.

“Damn shame to lose you, dwarf. Always need a dwarf to tell when you’re getting ripped off... Bah! Just cough up the last haul, take your keep and then off with you!” Was

“Course.” Said Dana, presenting a pair of rose gold goblets from her bag. They looked to have been taken from the tavern we had just left.

Needless to say, I was aghast! Dana must have noticed me staring at her as she rummaged through the bandit’s loot pile. “What?! So what if I do a bit o’ inventory work for the local gangs?” She said while picking up a worn buckler, “Girl’s gotta eat! S’not like anyone else is hiring in this backwater!”

Well, perhaps I can accept working with thieves, but Incenseorder was once part of the High Confederacies, and I will not abide by any dishonour on my homeland! Let’s see what the local lord has to say about this!

Upon entering the town’s keep I was greeted by a magnificent stench. Sulphurous and fetid with overtones of rotting meat. Strewn about the place were the remains of some great beast. It suddenly struck me of the historical significance of this place. This is where Balbaard Hammerfishes met his first end, and this must have been the beast that did it! The godfather of the guild died here, and it completely slipped my mind!

I was so dumbstruck over my lapse in memory that I almost didn’t notice the wolf man standing in the corner. He eventually broke the silence and introduced himself as Maloy, the lord of Incenseorder. Another name I recognize! I had happened upon his story while combing through the museum archives.



Unfortunately, Maloy had little interest in what I had to say about the bandits besmirching his town. He kept fretting about the army of Dubmith Appearedtrailed coming to reclaim the town for the High Confederacies. Personally, I would be glad for Incenseorder to be returned to its rightful owners, but his worries seemed ill-founded. Dubmith had died nearly a century ago. I didn’t have the heart to tell Maloy.

Well, that could have gone better. Dana snickered a bit at my failure. “Coulda told’ya that weren’t gonna work. Atol’s gang’s pretty much the only game in town.” she said. Well, no sense dwelling on it. Onward!

We reached the next major town, Padcalls just before dusk. The streets were empty and dead quiet. I tried knocking on a few doors, but there was no answer. “We should move on.” said Juvar, speaking up for the first time since I hired him. However, I insisted that we at least say hello to the local lord. I knew the confederacies had reclaimed this town about 20 years ago. Surely they would be gracious hosts for the night.

We entered the castle, but still didn’t see or hear anyone. “Stay here.” Juvar commanded, he himself moving carefully toward the keep.

I must admit, his behaviour and the lack of a welcoming party had me a bit spooked. A few moments passed. Suddenly, we heard Juvar shout, “THE BLIGHT! IT’S HERE!”



“The blight?!” I asked, incredulous, “Ridiculous! That’s just a southerner boogeyman story!”

Dana hefted her pickax. For a moment, it looked like she might take a swing at me. “Are ye really that daft?!” she exclaimed, “Have ye never left yer cushy library?! The blight’s everywhere!”

I was going to snap back at her, but then I noticed a hint of real terror beneath her anger. Her eyes darted between the main gate and the keep where Juvar had called out. We could hear more now. Clashing of metal, a cry of pain. She made her decision and charged in to aid her friend.

I wish I could tell you more of how the battle went. Alas, after seeing the response of these two capable fighters, I decided to exercise some carefully weighed prudence and fled through the gates in the opposite direction.

What I can say is that it didn’t go well for my two guardians. From my chosen vantage point, I saw them emerge from the gates, battered and bloody. Fortunately whatever had done this to them did not seem intent on following them out of the castle. I rendezvoused with them once I saw it was safe. Up close their injuries were even worse. Both looked to have been bludgeoned heavily. Dana could hardly stand, but it was Juvar’s state that chilled me. The proud warrior I had met this morning was a mangled pulp. His breath came with significant struggle in shallow, raspy bursts. My interest in anatomy has been limited, but I have a passing knowledge of medicine. It was obvious he was dying.

Dana was distraught. For now she was focused on tending to Juvar, but I feared she would soon come to blame me for his fate. And perhaps, I would deserve it,

I helped tend to their most pressing injuries. Once her leg was splinted, Dana could walk again in spite of the pain. We carried Juvar between us and escaped to a nearby monastery. Like the town, it was abandoned. Still, Dana went to the divining altars, hoping for some guidance from the gods. Whatever she received was of little comfort.



We decided to camp there. Well, more like we collapsed on the spot as soon as we found it relatively safe. Between Juvar’s rattling breaths and the thought of what might be lurking out there, I don’t think any of us will be getting much sleep.

Seeing Dana’s growing concern for her friend, and still feeling a bit guilty of my part in what happened, I maybe mentioned something I shouldn’t have. I wanted to give her some hope! The grand museum has many artifacts. Arcane secrets, relics of unnatural power. I, of course, have grown to know many of them during my apprenticeship. I mentioned a bit of it to Dana. I told her there might be something in Boltspumkin that could heal Juvar. A half truth at best, but the way her eyes lit up... I couldn’t help myself. I may come to regret this.


3rd Timber

We have our new goal now. We make haste to Boltspumkin. Juvar can’t travel, so we’ll have to leave him here and return once we have his “medicine”. A diversion from my plans, but I can tolerate it. I doubt Dana would continue to uphold our deal otherwise.

Juvar for his part is holding on, just. He can’t move his limbs, but has been able to push himself around somewhat using a wiggling motion. I can tell it pains him, but he doesn’t let Dana see. We’ve exchanged a few knowing glances, he knows his chances as well as anyone. Regardless, we set him up in an abandoned house on the outskirts of town. We made him as comfortable as possible and left a week’s worth of food and water before saying our goodbyes.


4th Timber

We made haste southward, but I did make a slight detour to the castle of Roastedlobsters. This was where my ancestor and namesake, Leto the first, once served. Family legend holds that he conducted a ritual here to banish the infernal armies of the necromancers, which were breeding uncontrollably and threatened to engulf the world once again. Sadly, none of the soldiers here seemed to know of this deed. Just as well, I suppose. The populace at large would panic if they knew how close they came to oblivion. I did find his name and titles among their records though. A nice bit of reassurance.


5th Timber


We’re within spitting distance of the museum now, but the sun will be setting soon and we won’t be able to get there before nightfall. However, there is another landmark looming over the horizon. The dwarven fortress of Ironwards, the Strifeful Hollow. I’ve never actually been inside one of these fortresses before, but the thought is tempting. The dwarves have been the ones shaking things up the most in recent centuries. Could this place hide the story I’m seeking? Regardless, we’ll need some place to rest and Dana will be there to act as a liaison. It’s worth a look.

I don’t actually know that much about Ironwards other than it is said to be a powerful military presence. A bastion guarding the passage between North and South, they say. As we neared the smouldering peak of The Hearth of Burials (ominous name!) the smell of brimstone filled the air, and soon became choking. Closer in, the lush grassland was burnt to ash. I stepped on something that crunched beneath my feet. Looking down, I realized to my horror that it was a dead goblin, charred to carbon! Then I beheld that there were dozens more, buried in the ash. And humans too! I was starting to think it was a mistake coming here.

The source of the blaze that consumed this army soon became apparent. The dwarves had cut a deep moat around Ironwards and, bubbling up from channels dug into the volcano’s heart, a river of lava flowed angrily through it. Even standing near the moat was roasting me alive. A cast iron bridge that may as well be a skillet spanned the moat. I scampered across it as quickly as my shoes sizzled with each step.



Near the entrance to the fort we saw our first sign of life: a single dwarf. He eyed me warily, but dropped his guard when he saw Dana, greeting her warmly. I couldn’t follow his dialect, but Dana filled me in on what was said after we moved on. Apparently this dwarf was a militia commander, although he had no one to command. The fortress hadn’t seen any action in some time and most of its warriors had drifted off to other settlements, leaving only a handful to keep the place in order. In fact, it was so understaffed that someone had stolen two artifacts from the fort’s treasure vault some years ago without any of the inhabitants noticing. Dana had a mischievous gleam in her eye when she relayed that.

We entered Ironwards proper. The air inside was stale but cool. An immense relief after the inferno, even if I could barely see. Dana guided me through a veritable wall of cage traps and up a ramp until we reached some kind of infirmary. Nearby there is what looks to be a dining hall. True to the place’s name almost everything here is made of iron. Moving further on, we come across a vast armoury, filled to the brim with suits of iron plate armour forged to a level of quality only the dwarves can produce.

Dana didn’t hesitate to begin picking out choice pieces for herself. She was quick to justify the theft, saying, “Better I take it than leave it to rust. You what those blighters could do. I need some proper armour.”

Well, I wasn’t in the mood to argue with that. What came next filled me with a bit more trepidation. We backtracked a bit to a staircase and, after I stumbled a bit in the dark, we went up to the next level. This one seemed to be designed as noble quarters, with a couple richly engraved rooms. However, they all looked incomplete without any furniture, save for one. There, in this abandoned wing of the fortress was what I presumed to be the treasure hall. A stunning diversity of items stood atop pedestals, exhibiting a rich mastery of craftsmanship. Dana wasted no time in snatching up a gorgeous chain shirt. Then she proceeded to goad me to take something for myself as a souvenir. Well, I was firmly against theft on principle however... I must admit to human weakness. I thought, if nothing else, one of these artifacts would make a decent subject for my thesis, or perhaps even a “donation” for the museum. I chose a scepter of light, frosty white metal. I had never seen its like, and the mysteries of dwarven metalwork are always a popular subject.



But before you think I had completely taken leave of my morals, let me say I felt immense guilt over this petty crime! So much so that I left behind one of my cherished books as a meaningful (if perhaps inadequate) token of recompense!

With the guilt weighing me down, I decided it was best to leave this place. Nearly tumbling down the stairs into the untold abyss below did help solidify that decision a little. We crept out of the fortress, carefully avoiding the sole dwarf we had seen earlier. My heart could have done without the added stress of Dana’s ill-gotten armour clanking every step of the way!


6th Timber

After camping outside its walls, we finally reached Boltspumpkin at daybreak. Ah, walking through the gate after so long away was like coming home after being lost at sea. Then I stepped into the museum proper... and was immediately assaulted by several independent displays of gremlin stand-up. I then recalled why I had stopped coming here.



However, I can’t fault the museum’s other exhibits. The place is still as entrancing as ever, and if not for that jolt back to reality I might have lost myself exploring and forgotten our grim purpose here. Alas, I still needed to uphold my promise to help Juvar. I found what I was looking for immediately. Right at the entrance were stacks of barrels full of viscous scarlet liquid. The label identified it as the blood of the last vampire to plague this land, slain many years ago. Vampire legends are numerous and varied, but a common thread was how some vampires would gather cults and offer their followers a bit of their blood. The blood, it is said, could grant the drinker unnatural life. Could this save Juvar? I felt obligated to try, despite my misgivings.

I surreptitiously scooped up some of the blood into a goblet and slunk out the door. I had hoped to make a clean break, but was frozen by a raspy voice behind me. “Well deary, it’s been a while since you came round. Thought I might have scared you off after last time. Eee hee hee!”

Of course. The goblin woman caretaker stepped out from behind the door. “Hello Thep, it’s so nice to see you, but I really must be getting back to my thesis. don’t have time for you to lead me on another wild goose chase.” I said.

“Still on about that, eh? I don’t suppose your work involves tampering with museum exhibits,  does it?” She replied. My blood ran cold. She continued, “Would be a shame if someone misconstrued your intentions. Of course, such an accusation might be brushed off if the accused were known to make generous donations... Things like that shiny rod sticking out your pack, say.”

I sighed and reluctantly handed over the dwarven sceptre. “Why Mr. Searchpraise, how unexpectedly generous! I’ll be sure to keep this safe ‘til the curator can assess it.” said Thep, carefully tucking the sceptre into her cloak.

Dana had watched the whole exchange and stifled a snicker as we left, but suddenly became serious when I told here I had the “medicine” for Juvar.

We set off at a brisk pace. Along the way, we got into something of a light argument. Dana, evidently feeling more confident in her armour, wanted to take revenge on the blight afflicted thralls that had nearly killed her and Juvar. Every time we stopped for a break she took the chance for some quick martial training, and pressured me to do the same. Naturally, I had no interest in such pursuits. That set her off, but we pressed on. I thought the matter was behind us, but as dinnertime came around and I found my supplies thin, Dana refused to go hunting and insisted that I find my own meal! Well, if she seeks to embarrass me and insult my pride then I have no choice but to meet her challenge!

My hunt for dinner took longer than I would have liked, but eventually I stumbled upon some grazing antelopes. They remained blissfully unaware of my presence. I hefted the dagger Juvar had given me, chose my target and expertly snuck up on the herd. With fluid motion, I pounced on the beast and sunk my dagger into its neck! It fell dead with a whimper and the rest of the herd bolted. Ha, let that be a lesson to any who think me incapable! What a rush! If I were of lesser intellect I might find myself getting used to such brutish pleasures.

The hunt left me quite exhausted, and thirsty. I took a swig from my water skin but immediately spat it out. Salty iron! Some of the antelope’s blood must have splashed into my water. Well, that was fine. I felt invigorated, alive! I wasn’t even hungry anymore.

I returned to Dana with a spring in my step. Maybe it’s not so bad to get my heart pumping.

[Maloy]

I met Juvar the other day! He didn't like me, but most people seem to not like me with my low personality stats lol

Also the locals in the area talk non-stop about Dana and her actions it's actually quite cool reading this when I've just been interacting with these characters either directly or indirectly

[kesperan]

I just love how cute Maloy is!!

Great update NGN as always

[Maloy]

At the end of my turn and after many agonizing hours I have found a game-crashing bug



One of my three party members became a werebeast. They transformed and the game crashes shortly after presumably after enough time passes where they are supposed to revert back to their natural form. Doesn't matter where I am when the time is up on my transformation the game crashes

Absolutely heart breaking. I can upload the save to be looked at, but I'm also okay with the traditional approach of chalking all this up to a "strange dream" when it comes to writing. Did accomplish quite a bit I was proud of too 

[nogoodnames]

Also the locals in the area talk non-stop about Dana and her actions it's actually quite cool reading this when I've just been interacting with these characters either directly or indirectly

That's neat! I haven't really noticed rumours spreading from adventurer actions before.

One of my three party members became a werebeast. They transformed and the game crashes shortly after presumably after enough time passes where they are supposed to revert back to their natural form. Doesn't matter where I am when the time is up on my transformation the game crashes

If it really is the transformation then maybe killing them (or deleting them with dfhack) could stop the crash. Uploading the save would be worth a shot.

[kesperan]

At the end of my turn and after many agonizing hours I have found a game-crashing bug

So, I think you have a few options. If it is only that one companion, you could try retiring your character in a town and then restarting again, which might get rid of the companions. Or you could just kill them

At this stage in the game I've discovered it is so important to have multiple back ups. There are so many bugs and places that cause instant crashes that it is disheartening to lose so much progress.

I hope you manage to salvage your turn!

(Also I have only just noticed the undead ear round Maloy's neck in NGN's masterwork engraving of a wolf man - I lol'd...)

[AvolitionBrit]

Yep, backups are needed indeed.

[Maloy]

Kesperan's idea actually worked at first. So I can't retire my werebeast adventurer only give into starvation so I retired one of his companions and that did it, but now you can't enter the part of Incenseorder that he was in without the game crashing. The heart of the town, and site of Braal's first death is unreachable


I've posted the save. If my character is salvageable that's great, but tbh if all this is a big hassle or has contributed to making the world more unstable I'd be more comfortable with pretending my turn didn't happen and I'll just write it as a dream
I'm sorry guys, and I really love the Maloy wolf art by the way I just noticed the ear too it's an epic touch lol you portrayed him and his personality as I imagined! I didn't realize that army has been dead for over a century. Literally everyone in town has been freaking out about it for forever and it plays a funny part in my turn


Here's the save: https://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=15960

[nogoodnames]

Okay I have a partial fix. I had to delete the references to Maloy's werebeast state and active transformation from his historical figure record. That forced him back into normal form and stopped the crashing. However, he is still a werebeast and if he transforms again the crashes come back. We could potentially cure the curse entirely to stop that from happening. Or maybe healing his lost limbs will prevent the crashes. Healing him does stop the crashes. I'll try poking around at it some more tomorrow.

Seems to be this bug: https://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/mantisbt/view.php?id=10849

I wonder if the same issue might be behind the crashes in some other sites. We certainly have plenty of werebeasts going around.

Anyway, here's the non-crashing save: https://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=15961

[kesperan]

So it’s all good then? Incenseorder doesn’t crash and Maloy is still a werebeast?

Let me know if you want another day or so to finish your turn Maloy, or whether I should start.

I’ve been planning a High Confederacies character so Divedact and Incenseorder are likely to play a part…

Edit: downloaded the save and made a throwaway character to investigate Incenseorder. It does load properly. But Maloy is broken. He has a missing hand as his only wound but he also seems not to be able to do anything. He is on the floor and hauling all his equipment, i.e. behaving as if he has a spinal injury.

[nogoodnames]

I updated the save so Maloy will be healed and won't start crashing if he transforms again. The missing leg and hauling were because he was supposed to be in werebeast form but got forced out of it so couldn't wear any of his clothes.

The crash seems to happen when loading a werebeast that has transformed back to normal while offsite, but their pre-transform body has a missing limb. The game is apparently tracking the missing limbs across transformations and running into problems with that.

I was also able to load Warshrieks, but that involved deleting the entire site populations. I'm not sure if I can narrow down the root cause.

[Maloy]

You're a gem ngn! I'm glad you were able to save both the turn and my character! and if by some chance we found a solution to other present bugs then some good really did come out of it!

Go ahead and play Kesperan my last act I had planned was to retire him at incenseorder anyway!

Also as a DM I always play music for the scene for my players so here's what I had in mind while I was writing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki90h6JP8LY&ab_channel=NatureSounds

                                                     The Reign of the Moonlit Fox
Today marks a new adventure when I had given up on those many years ago.

This journal has long been neglected. Under the ear's influence I had intended to burn it to mark the end of my old days, but Zon stole it and ran off while still at the museum and hid it somewhere there. It arrived just recently by way of courier who had no idea what he was bringing.


Many things have changed:
Zon passed away years ago. He remained my best friend and only real companion to his last even despite my changes in demeanor. I buried him under his favorite tree we used to howl at the stars at when I was still a pup myself.
The ear empowered me and led to me becoming Lord of Incenseorders; The very town I was seeking to flee. I joined a short and tragic line of lords who all were undead tyrants in their times. With the Ear I appeared to everyone as a great hero and power even though I barely knew how to wear the armor I had scavenged. They eagerly submitted to me and it fed my delusions of power. To mine and the ear's credit we did prosper Incenseorder some. The economy had improved greatly and peace had fallen on the surrounding hamlets who now brought their goods here to be traded.

It even had the far off ability to influence events and people. I was able to influence a group of heroes to cleanse the area of the blight bringing much needed stability, and another power that is as great as the ear had been crippling the goblins far from here. More recently two adventurers came by. At this point my relationship with the ear had deteriorated, but more on that soon. I tried to convince them to deal with the far off threat of Dubmith and his army, but the ear instead influenced them to seek out the local threat of bandits. This leading to the breaking of our relationship.


The ear had grown sick of me in my old age. It cursed me "The petty dreams of a petty Lord" and berated my lack of ambition and satisfaction. Finally, after the conflict we had over Dana and Juvar it finally declared that it would go to sleep and wait for me to expire from old age that it might seduce a much more powerful wielder, and that was that.

Suddenly I was free of its influence and suddenly the town that praised my rule for years returned to mocking and ignoring me.

The sudden powerlessness left me afraid and fearing my own demise in my late years, and my bitterness towards that cursed ear left me filled with a desire to spite the thing.

I roamed the town trying to rally the people with the great and forgotten history of Incenseorders and most chose to ignore me or outright ridiculed me, but I did win one listener's ear.
An elven trader passed through although he had no packs or animals. Only the two fluffy wamblers that rode his shoulders. He carried himself as a human and had clearly spent too much time amongst them, but was accompanied by a much more wild and wild-eyed elven lass dressed traditionally with a bow and accompanied by a bobcat

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Hail noble wolf!" Said the male "I am known in these lands as Arthur and this is my dear companion and childhood friend Miaralei." I felt like an antelope being sized up by a lion under her gaze and I hoped my helmet and veil covered this fear.
Arthur continued "Our own people are recovering from hard times themselves and so I feel some empathy for your plight. How might we assist you?"

I froze up. I had been totally ignored for so long since the ear had forsook me I truly didn't believe that anyone would take me seriously anymore. Miaralei cut in after an awkward silence "Why would any respectable Lord just trust some flippant and bubbly elven man who walked into his town?" she approached to stand next to Arthur and elbowed him in the side "Pardon, My Lord, but you can only expect others to cooperate so long as both parties benefit, yes?"
My mouth was so dry I couldn't open it to speak so I nodded my head, and she smiled finally at that and spoke "I seek prey to hunt and to learn of your peoples ways so that my own might grow stronger, so use us in a way that benefits your own rule."

"Uhh" I awkwardly replied "There's an army coming, and we need more men to protect the town." I paused and considered. These are the first people to show me respect without the ear. If they met other people from town they'd surely see how I am really seen and would also mock me.
"We- uh- that is to say" I cleared me throat and straightened my back "We have an army approaching, but we need more men. you elves are people of the land and so I need you to accompany me to....the south! We will find more soldiers to hire and will seek greater power to protect these lands"

"Deal!" Arthur shouted enthusiastically and grabbed my paw to shake. "See Mira? These lands have no shortage of excitement and it's right up your alley!"

End Part 1

OOC

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I still have the ear on me thankfully. Also did wanna say that I my idea is that Maloy perceives himself as having influenced the events of past adventures by using the ear, but that by no means implies that he actually did since the ear actually appears to be entirely inert and not have any power. You can just take it as the ramblings of a delusional and lonely wolf

[AvolitionBrit]

Great story Maloy, the first part already has me interested. Look forward to your next post. I enjoy reading different peoples views on the events.