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[OOC] Stick In The Mud
Horseshoe
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So What A Bad Decision Has Horseshoe Made Or Whatever
Running a Play-By-Post adventure that was recently published in Dragon Magazine, because I kinda want to check it out. Players, please to not be reading that particular article that is said adventure.
However for those who are subscribers this article has information about the setting and it seems fine for players to read. If instead you want to keep more of a sense of wonder about things or you are not a subscriber, the setting info below will do you just fine.
However for those who are subscribers this article has information about the setting and it seems fine for players to read. If instead you want to keep more of a sense of wonder about things or you are not a subscriber, the setting info below will do you just fine.
Man, life is crappy. And not in the ordinary peasants digging through filth for turnips crappy, like a comet smashed the shit out of your homeland crappy.
Yeah. This big ass meteor ruined life for most people even as it passed overhead, THEN crashed into the earth and blew out everyone's eardrums... then lit up the sky with an ominous red glow. Then it vanished. Fucking meteors, they think they can do whatever they want.
Anyway, this nice little wild uncivilized circle-of-life-with-hugs-and-bunnies place (well probably not but people like to remember it that way) got a big massive valley carved in it. It is now known locally as The Chaos Scar. Nice ring to it, that. This wound in your once-verdant homeland is over a mile long and hundreds of feet deep. And we're not even to the best part: things got even worse after that. Bad shit started happening for no reason at all, people turned on each other, killed one another over slights, probably crapped themselves something fierce, and so in a short amount of time... the biggest assholes around became very powerful and influential.
Sure, some folks tried to make it better. A guy who called himself "king" for a while (we're not sure if he was really a king or he was an Emperor Norton kind of guy and people just figured it was worth a shot to go along with it) built a big wall thinking that this could prevent the tide of fiends that live in and around the Scar from coming into civilized territory. This was unfortunately and predictably ineffective. The wall didn't last long, and it has a lot of holes in it.
And sure, some brave souls said, "well fuck that noise, let's take the fight to them!" Sadly, people who go into the Scar tend not to come out... and there are no shortage of stories about its weirdness and the potential treasure that beckons adventurers. Which of course means people keep going in. It might just work and result in fantastic wealth and power... or at least less crappiness. It might even be you!
Welcome to your crappy world, adventurers. There's nowhere to go but up!
Yeah. This big ass meteor ruined life for most people even as it passed overhead, THEN crashed into the earth and blew out everyone's eardrums... then lit up the sky with an ominous red glow. Then it vanished. Fucking meteors, they think they can do whatever they want.
Anyway, this nice little wild uncivilized circle-of-life-with-hugs-and-bunnies place (well probably not but people like to remember it that way) got a big massive valley carved in it. It is now known locally as The Chaos Scar. Nice ring to it, that. This wound in your once-verdant homeland is over a mile long and hundreds of feet deep. And we're not even to the best part: things got even worse after that. Bad shit started happening for no reason at all, people turned on each other, killed one another over slights, probably crapped themselves something fierce, and so in a short amount of time... the biggest assholes around became very powerful and influential.
Sure, some folks tried to make it better. A guy who called himself "king" for a while (we're not sure if he was really a king or he was an Emperor Norton kind of guy and people just figured it was worth a shot to go along with it) built a big wall thinking that this could prevent the tide of fiends that live in and around the Scar from coming into civilized territory. This was unfortunately and predictably ineffective. The wall didn't last long, and it has a lot of holes in it.
And sure, some brave souls said, "well fuck that noise, let's take the fight to them!" Sadly, people who go into the Scar tend not to come out... and there are no shortage of stories about its weirdness and the potential treasure that beckons adventurers. Which of course means people keep going in. It might just work and result in fantastic wealth and power... or at least less crappiness. It might even be you!
Welcome to your crappy world, adventurers. There's nowhere to go but up!
The Cast Of Expectedly Ragtag And/Or Unlikely Adventurer Types
Gormil Treestriker Dwarf Guardian Fighter, played by bearrorist.
"See these bloody tree's? What ya gotta do is take a good swing with yer trusty hammer ta kock em down. Like so ..."
Gormill's clan was clearing space for a new fortress to be erected, The only job Gormill ever had growing up. It was a good job, a job for a stout young dwarf. Treestriking taught him two things, first, a good hatred for trees, second was how to fight. When enough forest was cleared to start work on the fortress itself, many of the Treestrikers were no longer needed. Gormill needed to find a new job. Gormill wasnt much use as a Smith, or a Mason, so he set off on his own, taking that which a good Treestriker needed to work alone, his hammer, his sheild, and his armor. He's went searching for a job at either of the things he loved, fighting or knocking down trees. Gormill knew that there would be fighting jobs near The Chaos Scar, he just needed to find it
Urza Tanaka, Artificer, played by destroyah87
"There is no problem that cannot be solved by the correct application of arcane force."
Raised by his uncle, Urza took quickly to the arcane arts. When he wasn't learning the ways of the artificer, Urza helped his uncle run a shop specializing in rare artifacts. Currently he's in the area near the King's Wall, investigating reports of mystic artifacts brought from beyond the Wall. Though he was told in no uncertain terms to not go past the wall, Urza's not so good at following instructions...
Rena Shepard, Human Cleric of Ioun
"Knowing isn't good enough. You have to apply that knowledge."
Rena doesn't really remember exactly where she hails from, but you know what? It doesn't really matter that much to her. From the earliest memory she can recall, her life has been spent cloistered in a church to Ioun, surrounded by all manner of scripture, books and tomes, from the interesting to the somewhat less so. Only within the last few months has her life taken a turn for the interesting.
She has spent the last little while treating any who actually manage to return from the Chaos Scar, though they are few and far between. Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do at the edge of the wall, and so Rena is reluctantly looking for a group to accompany inside and see if she can do some real good.
Rena is very idealistic, though it probably won't take long for the general atmosphere around the wall and Chaos Scar to drag her down to the same grouchy and cynical level as everyone else
Keylet, Elven Avenger of Avandra, played by Rainfall
History
Avandra has many servants. Most are peaceful, tending to nature and watching change as though it was a storm. Some battle in her name, seeking to force change for good instead of ill. When the Chaos Scar was formed, so was the Order of Avandra's Scar. A secret order of wood elves, channeling divine power as they fought against the forces that warped and twisted the world from the beautiful thing it had been into something... less.
Keylet was a member of the Order, but her opinions didn't quite fit in with the Order of the Scar. She believed that the Scar was part of Avandra's plan, and that the order fighting so diligently against it was in fact fighting change, and breaking the tenets of their goddess.
Naturally, she was kicked out when she first voiced those concerns to the abbot.
Sneaking back in late at night, using her training and natural skill to avoid the guards, Keylet made off with one of the Order's holy swords, and vowed to enter the Scar to find the truth out for herself.
Appearance, Mannerisms, Stuff
Keylet is a typical wood elf. Beautiful, if somewhat shy and naive regarding the ways of the outside world, her body is toned and trained like a warrior, every day from her sixth year being filled with learning the art of combat in the path of Avandra.
Whenever she speaks, as she was trained to do in the cloister, her fingertips touch her heart, indicating that her heart is behind her words. She never lies or dissembles, but always tells the truth, answering with soft words or hard steel.
Personality
Keylet believes in Avandra fiercely. She believes in change, she believes in freedom, and she believes in the sanctity of nature. What she doesn't believe is that the Scar is an abomination, setting her a few miles apart from most people.
She's not afraid to talk about her beliefs, but she won't speak unless spoken to under almost any circumstance
The Hooch, Wilden Seeker, played by Saurfang
"You guys is like a brother to me. I mean it."
When the meteor streaked through the sky and carved a wound deep into the earth, the spirits of the natural world fought back against the unnatural intrusion. The spirits called forth a champion: an avatar of the forest itself. Slowly, new and strange life coalesced from unthinking plants, bound into humanoid form and charged with safeguarding the wilds against the depredations of the Chaos Scar.
The process of creating the avatar took some time, however, and while it was occurring, the fruits that made up much of the avatar's body fermented. As a result, when the glorious scion of nature took its first, wobbling steps into the nearby human village of Ugsplot, Zekiel Farnesworth dubbed it the Hooch. "Cuz you smell a lot like hooch!" the simple farmer explained to his new friend. As far as anyone could tell from the Hooch's slurred speech and inability to walk in a straight line, it seemed to exist in a state of constant inebriation. Luckily, it was a happy drunk. Or, at least, it was, until its idyllic existence was shattered by the death of its dear friend Zekiel from alcohol poisoning. Heartbroken, the Hooch interpreted the tragedy as a sign from the spirits that he was to move on and fulfill his purpose of putting right the wrong of the Chaos Scar.
"See these bloody tree's? What ya gotta do is take a good swing with yer trusty hammer ta kock em down. Like so ..."
Gormill's clan was clearing space for a new fortress to be erected, The only job Gormill ever had growing up. It was a good job, a job for a stout young dwarf. Treestriking taught him two things, first, a good hatred for trees, second was how to fight. When enough forest was cleared to start work on the fortress itself, many of the Treestrikers were no longer needed. Gormill needed to find a new job. Gormill wasnt much use as a Smith, or a Mason, so he set off on his own, taking that which a good Treestriker needed to work alone, his hammer, his sheild, and his armor. He's went searching for a job at either of the things he loved, fighting or knocking down trees. Gormill knew that there would be fighting jobs near The Chaos Scar, he just needed to find it
Urza Tanaka, Artificer, played by destroyah87
"There is no problem that cannot be solved by the correct application of arcane force."
Raised by his uncle, Urza took quickly to the arcane arts. When he wasn't learning the ways of the artificer, Urza helped his uncle run a shop specializing in rare artifacts. Currently he's in the area near the King's Wall, investigating reports of mystic artifacts brought from beyond the Wall. Though he was told in no uncertain terms to not go past the wall, Urza's not so good at following instructions...
Rena Shepard, Human Cleric of Ioun
"Knowing isn't good enough. You have to apply that knowledge."
Rena doesn't really remember exactly where she hails from, but you know what? It doesn't really matter that much to her. From the earliest memory she can recall, her life has been spent cloistered in a church to Ioun, surrounded by all manner of scripture, books and tomes, from the interesting to the somewhat less so. Only within the last few months has her life taken a turn for the interesting.
She has spent the last little while treating any who actually manage to return from the Chaos Scar, though they are few and far between. Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do at the edge of the wall, and so Rena is reluctantly looking for a group to accompany inside and see if she can do some real good.
Rena is very idealistic, though it probably won't take long for the general atmosphere around the wall and Chaos Scar to drag her down to the same grouchy and cynical level as everyone else
Keylet, Elven Avenger of Avandra, played by Rainfall
History
Avandra has many servants. Most are peaceful, tending to nature and watching change as though it was a storm. Some battle in her name, seeking to force change for good instead of ill. When the Chaos Scar was formed, so was the Order of Avandra's Scar. A secret order of wood elves, channeling divine power as they fought against the forces that warped and twisted the world from the beautiful thing it had been into something... less.
Keylet was a member of the Order, but her opinions didn't quite fit in with the Order of the Scar. She believed that the Scar was part of Avandra's plan, and that the order fighting so diligently against it was in fact fighting change, and breaking the tenets of their goddess.
Naturally, she was kicked out when she first voiced those concerns to the abbot.
Sneaking back in late at night, using her training and natural skill to avoid the guards, Keylet made off with one of the Order's holy swords, and vowed to enter the Scar to find the truth out for herself.
Appearance, Mannerisms, Stuff
Keylet is a typical wood elf. Beautiful, if somewhat shy and naive regarding the ways of the outside world, her body is toned and trained like a warrior, every day from her sixth year being filled with learning the art of combat in the path of Avandra.
Whenever she speaks, as she was trained to do in the cloister, her fingertips touch her heart, indicating that her heart is behind her words. She never lies or dissembles, but always tells the truth, answering with soft words or hard steel.
Personality
Keylet believes in Avandra fiercely. She believes in change, she believes in freedom, and she believes in the sanctity of nature. What she doesn't believe is that the Scar is an abomination, setting her a few miles apart from most people.
She's not afraid to talk about her beliefs, but she won't speak unless spoken to under almost any circumstance
The Hooch, Wilden Seeker, played by Saurfang
"You guys is like a brother to me. I mean it."
When the meteor streaked through the sky and carved a wound deep into the earth, the spirits of the natural world fought back against the unnatural intrusion. The spirits called forth a champion: an avatar of the forest itself. Slowly, new and strange life coalesced from unthinking plants, bound into humanoid form and charged with safeguarding the wilds against the depredations of the Chaos Scar.
The process of creating the avatar took some time, however, and while it was occurring, the fruits that made up much of the avatar's body fermented. As a result, when the glorious scion of nature took its first, wobbling steps into the nearby human village of Ugsplot, Zekiel Farnesworth dubbed it the Hooch. "Cuz you smell a lot like hooch!" the simple farmer explained to his new friend. As far as anyone could tell from the Hooch's slurred speech and inability to walk in a straight line, it seemed to exist in a state of constant inebriation. Luckily, it was a happy drunk. Or, at least, it was, until its idyllic existence was shattered by the death of its dear friend Zekiel from alcohol poisoning. Heartbroken, the Hooch interpreted the tragedy as a sign from the spirits that he was to move on and fulfill his purpose of putting right the wrong of the Chaos Scar.
And Also For Players And Non-Players Alike
My favorite line from the author of this setting is: "One of the goals of this campaign is to reduce the workload of DMs running it." Well, hot damn. Name some names, maybe some important NPCs around. Name some places, maybe your crappy mud village. Come up with a bit of history to which your character is attached, like maybe your grandfather was the first one to figure out not to drink downstream of where you wash the crappiness outta your clothes. Have fun with it. Allow me to be lazy.
In this OOC, all who submitted characters and/or expressed interests in the recruitment thread are free to contribute as well. Or just like... root for PC's or berate the DM. Don't get those two mixed up. Flagellate me all you like but I do not like players being harassed.
After all, you will see your ideas co-opted for filling the setting, and your character submissions used as NPCs and stuff.
In this OOC, all who submitted characters and/or expressed interests in the recruitment thread are free to contribute as well. Or just like... root for PC's or berate the DM. Don't get those two mixed up. Flagellate me all you like but I do not like players being harassed.
After all, you will see your ideas co-opted for filling the setting, and your character submissions used as NPCs and stuff.
I Like To Capitalize Every Word Sometimes
Also I need to further review character sheets to make sure errthing is okay, and you guys will have time before the game starts to tweak characters a smidge if you want. Yes I said smidge. Don't look at me like that.
Know, O Princes and Ladies, that IC thread will come when everyone is ready. Hither shall come I, the forumer known as "Horseshoe", some dude in a cowboy hat who lives in the boondocks among my savage people, a DM, a Shitkicker, a Dorkface, to walk the jeweled thrones of the earth beneath my Ariat-Booted feet. Or whatever, you know. Maybe I'm not that married to the idea. Except for DM'ing this game, I'm into that.
Know, O Princes and Ladies, that IC thread will come when everyone is ready. Hither shall come I, the forumer known as "Horseshoe", some dude in a cowboy hat who lives in the boondocks among my savage people, a DM, a Shitkicker, a Dorkface, to walk the jeweled thrones of the earth beneath my Ariat-Booted feet. Or whatever, you know. Maybe I'm not that married to the idea. Except for DM'ing this game, I'm into that.
Horseshoe on
0
Posts
Recently you have all recieved a guidance of sorts. What it was shall be up to you.
Perhaps a forest spirit, oracle, or shaman of some sort
Perhaps a swarm of flies or wasps that won't leave you alone, herding you where they want you.
Perhaps an uncanny series of talking sheep.
Perhaps written messages, the creaking of trees, the sound of wind, the rush of water.
etc etc etc. this is all for you to figure out.
only one thing is consistent for all of you.
whatever it has appeared has communicated to you through voice or written or psychic means
"seek the ancient skin"
the messenger doesn't talk back... and the message has been repeated enough times to until your character has gotten the idea... however few or many those were.
let me know of the messengers that have been leading you to my first IC post
For Gormil I just used concept art from the Warhammer MMO (a game I've never actually played).
Here's the messenger thing for the Hooch:
The moist air is thick with fireflies. Here, beyond the fires of town, the trees are simply thicker patches of darkness, only occasionally illuminated by the sporadic glow of the bugs. Sometimes, you'll see the gently meandering lights zip, lightning-quick, toward the surface of the water and disappear. A satisfied croak will generally follow. This time of summer is paradise for toads, and their croaking rises over the incessant chirping of crickets. A warm breeze rustles the leaves and sets trunks to creaking, but even when the air is still, there is a low murmur of underbrush. And now, the sound of liquid being poured into a bottle.
The Hooch gives a final twist to the fruit pod that hangs from his right arm, and a few more drops of a strong-smelling liquid plunk into a dark green bottle. He stands, his shoulders shaking, an amber substance dripping from his piebald eyes, and extends the now-full bottle at arm's length. With a sob, he tips the bottle and pours himself out over a crude grave. The Hooch sets the bottle down by the grave marker, roughly carved with the name Zekiel Farnesworth.
The plant-man sits against the trunk of a tree, leaning his head back against its rough bark. “Arright. Fine. You win! Gotta...thing. Job to do. Misshion! Right?” He sighs and a nearby firefly, caught in his exhalation, spins crazily and crashes into a tree. “Don' even know what to, where to start...”
Another firefly flits around his head, its glowing butt flaring. “Heeeey... notsobright...” The Hooch squints at the little insect. A third one flickers nearby. Then a fourth, and suddenly, there is a cloud of the things, more than he'd ever seen in one place, more than would normally congregate together.... they whirl, dancing, a complex formation, and then there are words, hanging in the air, glowing yellow.
“Seek... the ancient ...skin.” The black and white splotches fade from the Hooch's eyes, leaving unblemished emerald. “Check.” A piece of sharpened bark springs from the Hooch's arm. “Gonna go skin 'n old guy, berightback.” The fireflies buzz after the avatar of nature as he staggers through the woods, frantically trying to get his attention again.
Keylet moved through the woods as though she was part of them, running over roots, jumping over fallen logs and underbrush, her senses attuned to the world around her. She knew where the Scar was. Every member of the Order saw the maps, saw where their lives would end, holding back the 'evil' that they claimed it to be.
The elf frowned as she climbed up a tree, dashing across branches to cross a ravine. Her tutors had taught her to listen to the wild, to Avandra's messages that only the attentive could hear.
"Seek..."
The rumbling of shifting earth.
She almost lost her balance as she heard the first word. Keylet caught herself and slid down the side of the ravine, stones skipping alongside her, feet scraping against the hard earth. The fingertips of one hand lightly touched the ground to steady herself on her slide, the others rested against her heart as she murmured a prayer to Avandra.
"The ancient..."
The laughter of rushing water.
The avenger opened her eyes as she reached the bottom of the ravine, unaware that she had closed them. The perfection of nature surrounded her, Avandra's whispers filling her ears. She knelt by the edge of the stream, tilting her heard slightly as she reached perfect stillness, her senses craning for the full message.
"Seek the ancient skin."
Keylet nodded, smiled, and turned back towards the Scar. She still had distance to cover before nightfall.
Rena's hands run along the spines of the books in her bag, feeling about for a thin one in the barely manageable candlelight. Drawing the worn book out, her eyes skim the cover; finally, content that she has picked out a good one for a bit of light reading, she turns the cover over, settling in for a bit of a story before taking a quick nap. The first line, however, is a little different than Rena remembers it to be.
Seek the ancient skin.
For a bit she stares at the words scrawled on the first page of the tome, blinking and rubbing her eyes. She has read this book a hundred times at least, and that was never there before. Finally convinced that it isn't a hallucination or trick of the light, she slowly closes the book, reaching instead into her bag. Perhaps the writings of Ioun would shed some light on the statement.
Quietly adjusting her glasses to peer at the scripture, the book nearly slips from her hands when the same few words are scribbled on the first page there as well, but she grips it tightly, taking a breath to compose herself. There was no doubt it was a sign of some sort, not the work of a mischevious traveler: the book had never left her side since she left the temple in Ethas, and very rarely even when she was present.
Shutting the text and opening it again the words are no longer there, and seem to have never been. Out of curiousity more than anything, Rena begins to flip through the rest of the books in her bag; all of them appear to be prefaced with the same note, vanishing from sight once she closes and reopens them.
It would certainly be nice if the gods didn't always speak in riddles and symbols.
THWACK
"Bloody tree is tougher than I thought" Gormil commented to nobody in particular. The old man who wanted this tree kocked down stood there watching him work, curious that anyone would use a hammer to knock down a tree. Paying no attention, Gormil reared back for another swing ... "Mr Gormil sir?" a young boy says, tapping on Gormil's shoulder, breaking his concentration.
"What is it boy? Cant you see I'm a bit busy?"
"That man," says the boy as he points down an empty road "wanted me to give you this." proffering a letter.
Gormil takes the letter and shoves it into a pocket, ignoring it and getting back to work. "Sir, he said it was fairly important." With a sigh, Gormil retrives the letter from his pocket and opens it up. There was a single line. Of gibberish. Gormil looks at it a little more ... are the little squiggles moving? Bloody magic. "What is th ..." he begins, when finally the gibbereish forms into something legible. Four words.
"Seek the ancient skin."
After a moment the letters seems to ooze across the page, becoming an ink blot. "Whats this about?" Gormil inquires of the boy. The boy just shrugs and runs off. Pocketing the letter again, Gormil shrugs and goes back to kocking down the tree. 'I'll figure this out later when im not on a job' Gormil thinks to himself.
THWACK
The tree finally falls. Looks like it only needed one more. "Bloody tough tree."
and that's it.
O.o
I like how this group is shaping up, though. C'mon, Destro. Make your post!
seriously the IC will happen
pretty much as soon as i read a destro post
we have to beat that other chaos scar game guys
we have to beat the fuck out of them
so there should be no problems there
my sincerest apolgies.
EDIT: had time to type this out before I left. Cheers.
"Go check the soup son, it should be close to ready now."
Urza looked up from the book he had been studying, "Ok, Uncle." He walked into the kitchen and uncovered the pot boiling over the fire. Urza looked inside and then blinked, surprised. There floating on the liquid's surface were the words 'seek the ancient skin.'
Urza called back, "Uncle, come here!" His Uncle walked into the kitchen and asked, "Look at what? Oh, soup's ready."
Urza, confused, looked back at the pot. All he saw was the bubbling soup, the words were gone.
Over dinner, Uncle Vish talked about the shop's business and mentioned that he would have to send someone down to check on rumors of treasure and such near the Wall and the Scar. Urza just listened and nodded, still thinking about the message in the soup. After dinner was cleared up and put away, Urza went back to his book and opened it.
There on the first paragraph of the page sat the words 'seek the ancient skin.' Yet even as Urza watched, the letters dissolved and reformed as the normal text. Vish came up behind the young man and paused, "Something catch your attention? Anyway, I said I needed somebody to travel down near the Wall and see what's there. Would you want to go? I think you're old enough and can take care of yourself."
Urza shook off his surprise and looked up at the man that had raised him as his own, "Of course, I'll pack tonight and leave in the morning." Whatever this 'ancient skin' was, it was clear that it had something to do with this trip of Uncle's. The timing was too close for it to be coincidence.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?p=12118071#post12118071
despicable explication will be over after the second post and players will begin the roleplaying hoohah that will start this shindig.
or where you looking for something spicier than that?
i like to be facetious
goddamnit i can't find a good adjective that incorporates the noun
sorry i'm behind schedule at the moment
hm... how to put hooch's mind-altering Stuff into a form that will be palateable to the harflings
due to the wierd inherent properties of the Hooch's biology, I think that there must be a bit of alchemy to it
so I'm going to call for an Arcana check, just to have a bit of variety here
Hooch of course can ask for assistance on this one
man i like the way you think
Nature Check, DC 20
if not gimmie an endurance check
1d20=14 +endurance skill
because you're a dwarf
and also the DC that I had in mind was 15 so yay dwarfs
basically you made an endurance check versus barfing (or other explosive unpleasant type things)
which means you can issue some awesome belching or other appropriate bodily function
which the halflings will consider to be awesome
you can IC it yourself or I can take care of that soonish
go for it, cant think of anything at the moment
Sorry I haven't been that active, will pick up from here on out. Had some things which needed to take priority. My activity's going to be a little more sporadic once the end of the month rolls around as well, because I'm moving into a new apartment, but I'll be sure to post as much as I can.
also it doesn't count as a failure, it only needed to be passed once.
oh yeah also you guys are in the middle of a skill challenge and you're doing quite well.
back late tonight
also you guys have gotten the halflings to think you're pretty cool so they'll take you to the Goat's Hole.
you are en route now, feel free to do stuff until I come back for the... well the thing that's next.
hooray PC's!
Sorry for absence, will post ICly shortly.
They appear to have fallen on their faces, as though they were either running from the wall or as if they had just come through it.