A Tunnels and Trolls® play-by-post adventure run by khara_khang
Shipy flashed her his customary smirking grin and chuckled. It was a trademark of the Shipy family.
As only a Shipppy [sic] can.
Megol yells out "Sleep!" and smacks the leader on the forehead....
I thought it was a pretty good plan, actually. If only he were under the influence of a Little Feets spell first.
"Why are you torturing me Jack? I'm just a Hobbit!" He mumbles something about Hagar the Horrible under his breath.
I'm missing the connection. Oh well.
Jax sighs and smacks his forehead, trying to get the Hobbits of Penzance song out of his head.
Let me and the VeggieTales help you with this.
(In the interlude that follows, eickeric delivers a truly wonderful parody of the VeggieTales classic song "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.")
Finishing the introductions, he nods to Jay. "I guess you already met Jay."
"No, we haven't met. Olvarin was busy laying hands on Half-Ogres in the back room of the tavern. Greetings."
"I be Dorsal Crud, First Mate of the Night Gail. You be here to join us?"
"Yes we be," Jay looks back at him, "...unfortunately."
Olvarin turns to Jay and grabs his hand, pumping it enthusiastically. "Hello Mr. Jay! Glad to meet you!" Saying likewise and shaking hands with Taran in greeting, the Elf responds to the recent introductions all around.
"I wonder if...," Olvarin begins to say when the seaworn first mate approaches the party and calls out his greetings.
Passively Olvarin goes around the back of the group and waits to see how his new comrades will respond. That's a nasty scar Dorsal Crud sports. Olvarin observes that if Dorsal had only had a good healer with him at the time, it might not be so severe. On the other hand, it does give the first mate a dangerous look, and Olvarin imagines that this is not a bad thing in the world of sailors.
I wonder what the captain looks like? The healer hopes against hope that the captain is a lovely woman.
Seeing the others arrive, Quickly whistles shrilly between his teeth as he soars in just out of reach and takes a deep breath. "Hoi! Hallo-ollay, well met! There you are! Where's the Captain? There's the ship! I know how I'm getting there but how about you? If you're Olvarin and you're Jax and you're Taran and you're Jay then I must be Quickly Rat-Catcher, Swordswift and Sleepdealer! Where's Shipy? He's late late late just like Big Folk (begging your pardon---no offense!). I greet you!"
Quickly bows deeply, which results in him peering backward between his legs and looking straight at the first mate of the Night Gail. He takes another deep breath, turns and adlibs his best:
"Pardon my intrusion, O Captain my Cap---First Mate, but I travel in the, this august company of a certain Hobbit adventurer who plans travel aboard your (deep breath) ever-so-beeeautifully-out-eager ship and I would make your acquaintance: Quickly Ratcatcher at your service. And have you seen the certain Hobbit adventurer and what on this green Earth is that doing on the ship?" He points at the funeral procession.
"Ah yes, Dorsal Crud.... No relation to one Anal Crud by any chance? Hmm? Errr, of course, I didn't expect so. Anyway, the executive suite would be located...? Right. And there will be cocktails on the aft deck? Superb. I'll be poolside if anything comes up."
"...what on this green Earth is that doing on the ship?" He points at the funeral procession.
Trying to be quiet and subtlety-like about it, Jack catches Quickly's attention. "Psst! Ix-nay on the offin-cay chat. We'll sneak down to the hold and find it later. I have a way with these things. Crap, whatever's in there might be lookin' for a little 'company' if ya know what I mean," he says with a nudge and an especially necrophilic undead grin.
Nodding sharply, Quickly catches on to the Pig-Khazan but not the reason for it, and responds in a penetrating stage whisper, "Ohhh, Ightray. Ee'llway ogay ownday to the oldhay and oullyay avehay ouryay ayway ithway atthay ingthay.... Hey, that can't be right, can it?"
In Megol's mind that is what should have happened, but reality is such a harsh mistress.
No offense, khara but did you even do any saving rolls for this? I mean you say you enforce roll playing and isn't that what this was? I was just wondering....
Olvarin turns to Jay and grabs his hand, pumping it enthusiastically. "Hello Mr. Jay! Glad to meet you!"
"Hi. Please don't touch me unnecessarily."
On the other hand, it does give the first mate a dangerous look, and Olvarin imagines that this is not a bad thing in the world of sailors.
I'm coming up with all sorts of Navy jokes here, but I'll decline to print them. It's a family list.
"I would make your acquaintance: Quickly Ratcatcher at your service."
"A Swordswift and Sleepdealer."
"Ohhh, Ightray. Ee'llway ogay ownday to the oldhay and oullyay avehay ouryay ayway ithway atthay ingthay.... Hey, that can't be right, can it?"
"Said a dirty word? Give him a sedagive? Abbie Normal?"
No offense, khara but did you even do any saving rolls for this? I mean you say you enforce roll playing and isn't that what this was?
There were rolls, and if your action had worked I would have stated that it did. If you wish, I can single your character out and make a special note to include all GM rolls which involve your character. Normally I rarely post GM die rolls, but I can if you somehow think that you are being cheated in some way. Of course this doesn't mean you will always like what I roll. That's the damnable thing about dice, they are random.
Secondly, not all battles can be won. If you think that then you are sadly mistaken. Just for the record, no one really even knew what, who, or how many things they were facing in the alley. Just because I said they looked to be human thugs that doesn't mean they really were. I like testing players to see how they react, and I will continue to do so in the future.
"Hi. Please don't touch me unnecessarily."
A little bit chagrined, and a whole lot flustered, Olvarin hastily apologizes to Jay. "Very sorry! You're quite right, over-familiar of me. Won't happen again!" He almost gives Jay a few pats on the shoulder out of a sense of camaraderie, but stops himself at the last minute. Olvarin goes to the back of the party again when Quickly comes soaring down to make his introductions. The Elf waves at the little Faerie in greeting, and smiles in a wan but friendly sort of fashion.
When Jack arrives, Olvarin just kind of stares. As a healer, he's been taught that the undead are the most awful blasphemy against nature. But as he watches the Skeleton pose and sport himself in a garish and grandiose way, Olvarin doesn't get the feeling he is watching some unspeakable evil. In fact, Jack is kind of fascinating, even though he is nearly incomprehensible....
Khara Khang, I need to know something about how you run something in your campaign, please. Wizards may subtract their excess levels (that are above and beyond the level of the spell they are casting), in STR points from the total raw casting cost. A Wizard using a magic staff may subtract his total level in STR points from the raw casting cost of the spell. Are these STR reductions cumulative in your game, or is it an "either/or" situation?
In other words, if Olvarin is trying to heal Shipy of 12 pts of damage, does he pay 24 (raw cost) - 6 (magic staff), for a total of 18 STR? Or does he pay 24 (raw cost) - 4 (for levels above 2nd) - 6 (magic staff) for a total of 14 STR? Gosh, I am just having the hardest time wording this question! Sorry about that! Do you understand what I'm getting at? Anyway, I would be very grateful for your reply!
By the way, I had no idea that the Centaur bouncer at the BFT was a player character. Whoops! :) Guess a date with her is out of the question, heh heh!
Cher's just a "Tavern extra" in this game, as opposed to a full-blown PC since Khang only allows 1 PC per player. But don't let Olvarin use this confusing legal classification as an excuse not to ask her out. ;)
Wizards may subtract their excess levels (that are above and beyond the level of the spell they are casting), in STR points from the total raw casting cost. A Wizard using a magic staff may subtract his total level in STR points from the raw casting cost of the spell. Are these STR reductions cumulative in your game, or is it an "either/or" situation?
In your example, a sixth-level Wizard with a staff would spend only 14 STR to heal Shipy 12 CON. But by Olvarin's specialty, he spends only 7 STR because he gets healing spells at half-cost.
The bonus is cumulative. For Wizards, you subtract your level from the cost if using a staff, and you also subtract an additional proficiency modifier (your level - spell level). Neither bonus can bring the cost below 1, as a spellcaster always has to expend at least 1 STR. War-Wizards get the staff bonus and half the proficiency bonus that Wizards do, but Rogues get neither bonus.
For clarification read the Aric example mentioned on page p.2.11.3 of the T&T® 5th Edition Rule Book. It clearly shows that a Wizard's proficiency bonus adds to his staff bonus.
Note that any spellcaster who casts above their level incurs a penalty of 1 STR per level of spell above his/her own.
Normally I rarely post GM die rolls, but I can if you somehow think that you are being cheated in some way.
Ok, thanks. I was just wondering, there is no need to include die rolls.
When Jack arrives, Olvarin just kind of stares. As a healer, he's been taught that the undead are the most awful blasphemy against nature.
And of questionable legal rights.
Cher's just a "Tavern extra" in this game, as opposed to a full-blown PC since Khang only allows 1 PC per player.
At least active PCs. I've got 3 (Jay, MMM, and a tsexy tsathogua) and had been given a backhanded okay for a Fairy once.
But don't let Olvarin use this confusing legal classification as an excuse not to ask her out. ;)
Chereva, bar floozie. It's a sad day.
Shipy Sr. continues, "It wasn't a day later when a man came into the guildhouse office: a man from a northern province near the Goblin Mountains. He was a lot younger than I, his early twenties maybe, and he wore the robes of a priest. He introduced himself simply as Monkat, and said that the Elven blade was needed to free his people for some reason or another. Monkat didn't have much to offer as a reward, but I said that I'd find the sword anyway. What else could I tell him?"
"Ye could've told him that there were others lookin' fer it!" Rina barked, sounding truly surprised at Shipy Sr., who really had no idea why.
"Well that's not all. A few hours after the priest left, a Hobbit strode into the office. He said his name was Doctor Quentin Overhill, and that money was no object, if only we would find Belleria's masterwork blade. He didn't give any reason why he wanted it, and when I asked him, he said that he was a collector of ancient Elven artifacts."
"What a coincidence," murmured Sirina, "that all three would come a-searchin' fer the sword at practically the same time. That didn't strike ye as just a wee bit odd?" Shipy Sr. shrugged his shoulders. "So if we get the sword, who do ye intend to give it to? The highest bidder?" Rina sounded like she already knew the answer to that one.
Shipy Sr. whispered to Sirina and Kazad, "Let's concentrate on current issues and cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, it looks like trouble ahead."
Shipy walks with the others at a hurried pace towards the south docks, his face somewhat blackened as if he has been crawling around inside a pot-bellied stove, which isn't far from the truth since he now thinks he knows what being barbequed feels like. It is all part of the life here in Khazan. Everyone is part of the food chain.
"Boy, you know, those Khazan street thugs sure sucked. They just plain sucked! I've seen thugs suck before, but they were the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked."
The group arrives at the south docks with Jack rushing up just in time to catch the introductions of the first mate.
"And have you seen the certain Hobbit adventurer and what on this green Earth is that doing on the ship?"
"It's not my place to answer questions, Quickly Ratcatcher," he says quietly angry. "Don't panic! Once we are adrift, what will it matter?" He points at the approaching Hobbit then glances toward the coffin being loaded on the Night Gail.
"I be Dorsal Crud, First Mate of the Night Gail. You be here to join us?"
"Yes we be," Jay looks back at him, "...unfortunately."
"Ah yes, Dorsal Crud.... No relation to one Anal Crud by any chance?"
Jack's brutal wit prevents Dorsal from responding to Jay, but he answers Jack with as much lost enthusiasm. "Life is but a dream."
"Tick tock people. Time to load up." Dorsal climbs down off the dock into a waiting rowboat, which can hold at least 10 people. He gives his best first mate sneer to those still on the docks. "These boats don't row themselves," he adds with subtlety.
Olvarin turns to Jay and grabs his hand, pumping it enthusiastically. "Hello Mr. Jay! Glad to meet you!"
"Hi. Please don't touch me unnecessarily."
Shipy sings. "Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily... Ah there you are," he says, stopping beside Jay and patting him necessarily. "Not all those who travel are necessarily lost; some are just being mugged." He smiles nervously. Seeing the sneer on the first mate's face the Hobbit climbs down into the rowboat, taking a position as a non-rower. "Come on Jax, Taran, I'll sing that 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' tune." He beckons them to climb aboard.
What do you do? Anyone not posting their character joining the rowboat or in some way making it onto the Night Gail before my next GM post will be left behind.
[All delver subgroups have merged. --ed.]
Olvarin gasps at the terrible burns displayed by the approaching party. He opens his mouth to say something, but no words came to mind. After a moment he plops into the long boat and calls, "Master Shipy, come aboard with your comrades, and I'll do my best to salve your burns."
As the party files into the boat, Olvarin heals the newcomers and introduces himself to each in turn. "Hello. I'm Olvarin. Hold still for a bit please...."
Jack gets his bad self into the rowboat. He watches the Elven healer pampering the BBQ-ed party. "Olvarin, is it? Pleased to make your acquaintance, naturally. I'm sure my reputation precedes me, but allow me to introduce myself anyway...."
He stands up in the middle of the tippy rowboat (DEX SR required?) with a wild flourish of his opera cape, drawing his rapier with one hand and with the other removing his head for a Hamlet-esque soliloquy. "Jack de Crampon, Esq! Lover! Seeker of Divers Mysteria! Definitive interpreter of Philipon Shrugg and wielder of the most potent artifact ever wrought of iron and steel: The Dagger of Time!!!" He sits down.
"Anyway, you don't happen to do chiropractic work, do you? I missed the flaming booze business back there on the dock, but I have this stiff rotator cup that's been acting up on me. A good massage would work wonders, I'm sure...."
Quickly flies circles around Shipy and the newcomers on the way to the boat, pausing to sniff the air, and picking up the residue of alcohol and scorching that they carry. "Smoke and Drink! Smoke and Drink! Have you been tippling and carousing while time is so dear? Shocked, shocked, shocked I am at such behavior!"
He alights on the bow of the rowboat and puts his fists on his hips, tapping his foot and scowling in mock disapproval.
At the first chorus of "Merrily, Merrily, Merrily," he will chime in, and will not be persuaded to stop... although if under threat of violence, he will take his song (as the crow flies) to the crow's nest of the Night Gail.
Megol hobbles onto the boat while mumbling something about making a sandwich out of the Fairy. "Well, off we be going now."
Megol hobbles onto the boat while mumbling something about making a sandwich out of the Fairy.
Ocullos' stomach growls as he gets in the boat.
At the first chorus of "Merrily, Merrily, Merrily," [Quickly] will chime in, and will not be persuaded to stop....
Ocullos' stomach growls louder. He chases Quickly with his kukri screaming, "Stop singing, or be my lunch! Hahahaha! Winky says says even you would make a good meal for a Leprechaun!"
"These boats don't row themselves."
"Neither do I," says Jay, as he gets his sarcastic but mostly good self into the rowboat.
"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily... Ah there you are," [Shipy] says, stopping beside Jay and patting him necessarily.
Jay checks his coinage.
"Master Shipy, come aboard with your comrades, and I'll do my best to salve your burns."
Jay was going to attempt this as well, but the Elf is clearly extremely skilled at healing, so Jay'll just sit back and watch the sea.
"Winky says says even you would make a good meal for a Leprechaun!"
Big honking sandwich for a Leprechaun.
Olvarin blinks a bit, astonished by Jack's flamboyant greetings. Yes, it is definitely going to take a while to get used to the cheerful cavortings of the Skeleton. Then a sudden thought catches Olvarin.
"Hello Mr. de Crampon. Glad to meet you! I know you aren't wounded, but would you mind if I healed you just a tad? I have no idea whether my healings will be boon or bane to one in your delicate position...."
Olvarin heals Jack de Crampon for 1 CON point, and attempts to determine whether healing actually heals the undead, or whether it does damage. It will make a big difference if he was to throw a big healing Jack's way.
Ebony moves into the rowboat with the others, slowly and carefully, since every little movement increases her level of pain exponentially. She isn't sure if there is a part of her body that doesn't hurt, which is new to her. A burn is something that she has never felt, and she is having trouble focusing the pain to one spot so that she can channel it the way that her grandmother taught her. She hopes that once on board there will be someone who can help her to assess the damage to her body and channel the energy of the pain.
Quickly discovers that "Merrily, Merrily, Merrily," is really only much fun if it's sung as a round, which is awkward on ones' own. He tries it a little, but it results in his interrupting himself constantly and it gets boring.
Skimming back along the water and back above the rowboat as it approaches the Night Gail, and keeping clear of any potential thrown objects, he opens his yap again.
"O tongue-tied Leprechaun, you'd find Quickly Ratcatcher a very prickly morsel indeed, and I can't recommend the dish.
"Shipy, you all weren't just on Carp Street, were you? Somebody said something about avoiding it... and I wanted to tell you but I couldn't find you and... Whups! Which way are we sailing? And will we sail fast? There's been talk of pirates, and they sound like Pirates Who Don't Do Anything [a reference to the excellent VeggieTales Interlude! --ed.], or except maybe at a very leisurely pace, and there's a whole fleet of them. And their captain or chief or whatever is Sirina Muirogh. Mr. Crud, do you know her?"
Quickly pauses to breathe, and see if his words have any interesting effect.
"I know you aren't wounded, but would you mind if I healed you just a tad? I have no idea whether my healings will be boon or bane to one in your delicate position...."
"Of course, natch, salve away there Florence Nightengale. Not being wounded as such, I have a feeling that you might not notice much, and to be honest, I seem to have this knack for healing my own self up after getting my butt whopped. Watch this for example..."
Jack shudders for a second, collapses into a clattering heap of dismembered bits all over the the deck of the dinghy, and in the blink of an eye, reassembles.
"Always an ace up the sleeve, yeah? Still if I'm in a tight spot, don't hesistate to gimme the old triage.
"Just by way of chit-chat, though, you seem like a nice enough guy for an Elf. What are you doin' off on some money grubbing escapade like this? Aren't there enough poor and needy folks all over Khazan anymore to keep your guilty conscience busy?"
Taran stashes his gear in the rowboat after introducing himself to the first mate and the rest of the assembled adventurers. He grunts an acknowledgement of Dorsal's presence and does his best Orcish "Argh". The swarm of Leprechaun, Fairy, Elf, Human, Orc, Hobbit and Skeleton is quite a mixed troupe, and he gathers that the Dwarf's guild would be disappointed that there is no representation. Then again, for a sea-based adventure, perhaps no Dwarf would have volunteered in the first place, despite promise of riches and glory.
"Jax, quit your boot-shakin' and jump aboard," Taran says to his brother, whose stoic expression tells Taran volumes about his brother's introspection into climbing aboard a vessel from which he cannot swim away. "Besides, I think Hobbits float. You can always hold on to Shippy [sic] as a flotation device if we start to sink." Taran thinks his last comment is the funniest thing he's ever said, and as he climbs aboard and claims an oar for rowing, he laughs heartily.
Ebony settles down nearby, bringing with her the smell of charred belongings and flesh; Taran notes this and offers a half-smile. "Uh, you OK?" Taran overhears the offers for healing in the back of the boat, and swivels his head behind him. "Hey healer, lady up here don't look so swell. Quit foolin' around with Master Undead Thespian and work your magicks on somebody who needs 'em! Save Shipy for last---he's probably got a stash of potions he wasn't going to let on about," Taran reveals, recalling past adventures and Shipy's seemingly bottomless healing potion cache.
Teasing Shippy [sic], Jack and Jax is fun in and of itself, but it also reminds Taran that this isn't just a band of strangers. He has family and friends on this rowboat, and he knows the stakes will get even higher as he learns to work, fight and survive alongside the others.
"Arahk save us all!" he says under his breath as the boat kicks away from shore.
Jax is quite beside himself with apprehension as Taran duly notes, but his brother's unerring humor finds its mark just as easily as would the enchanted bolts he possesses. The burly Orc cracks a toothy grin as a vision of using Shipy as a flotation device pops into his mind's eye.
Jax steps into and sits down in the boat, rocking it somewhat with his weight as he avoids stepping on the Leprechauns (or was that Jack's humerus?) and as he swats at another bothersome fly (Quickly). In response to Taran's timely joke, he only offers through gritted tusks:
"Flusher, T."
He doesn't release his grip on the potion in his pocket until the rowboat makes it to the Night Gail.
Startled out of his reverie by Taran's call for help, Olvarin answers Jack de Crampon's last question about why he threw in on this expedition by saying, "There's someone I want to impress."
But now, duty calls. Making his way to the aft of the boat, he says apologetically to Ebony, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Would you mind holding still for a bit?" With that, Olvarin casts the magicks he knows best: healing and succor.
Moments later, he is done, and he exchanges quick greetings with the Warrior/Wizard. "Hello, I'm Olvarin. Nice to meet you!" And after greeting Ebony, he turns to the rest of the long boat and asks, "Did I miss anybody?"
With regards to my last post, I am assuming that I have greeted and healed Shipy, Megol, Occulos, and now Ebony. My intent is to heal everyone who needs it, but I'd be glad to role-play the transaction if anyone feels like it. :)
The swarm of Leprechaun, Fairy, Elf, Human, Orc, Hobbit and Skeleton is quite a mixed troupe, and he gathers that the Dwarf's guild would be disappointed that there is no representation.
Bah. Who really cares what a bunch of stinky Dwarves think?
"Hey healer.... Quit foolin' around with Master Undead Thespian and work your magicks on somebody who needs 'em!"
"Hey, healer! Find a bottle of good cologne and get it to that big stinkin' brute of a Dracon who needs it!"
"Always good to see ya, Taran!"
Go To:
PBPArchives
| Rahnian
| prev
| next
This page updated: Mon Jan 09 14:22:29 2006
All text Copyright ©1999-2006 PBPArchives.
