Debate and Discourse and Dungeons and Dragons"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."
H.P. LOVECRAFT
Welcome to D&D&D&D!
A few rules to start us off: all the dice rolling will be done in Orkos. All OOC text in this thread should be posted in spoilers, along with links to your rolls. The OOC thread can be found
here.
The adventure will be, largely, made up as we go along, though I have an overarching plot already figured out. This game features
six brave adventurers. They are:
Solleb, the Dwarf FighterArian, the Elf ClericPieter, the Half-Elf RogueAdrian, the Human DruidLudious, the Dragonborn PaladinRequine, the Human FighterThe Beginning
You startle awake in a fit of coughing. A thick mucous resettles itself in your throat as you lurch forward, gasping in the dust and stale air. You feel a lingering tinge of urgency, but it fades from your mind as you stand slowly, attempting to regain your bearings.
You look around you, and see five others, each also attempting to lift themselves to their feet in between bouts of coughing. They are familiar to you, but you can't recall how. You can recall their names, their dispositions, and various tidbits of biographical knowledge. Yet you can't remember how you met them. You delve back into your memories to attempt to see what else might be missing, but it's unclear to you. You recall who you are, your whole personal history, but you can't seem to remember why you're here or what you've been doing for an indeterminate amount of time into the past.
You cautiously scan your surroundings. You're in a medium sized room. It appears quite old, and quite dark. Tall, ornate columns of reddish brown stone stretch towards the ceiling. Dusty mirrors are fitted into indentations along the walls. At one end of the room is a sealed door. At the other is a raised altar.
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Also: Woooo!
Arian approaches the altar in the middle of the room. Immediately he recognizes the symbols and etchings that run along the altar and the wall behind it. Signifiers of knowledge and wisdom, and silhouettes of figures that represent The Self. From what he can judge by the construction of the room and the ornate carvings, it appears that they are in the center of a temple of some sort, built to honor and hold some ancient artifact. His suspicions are confirmed by the presence of a large indentation from in the center of the altar, where it seems that some object was removed. As he contemplates what it could have been, a memory suddenly sears into his mind.
They've got it. They've taken it and we were supposed to stop them.
Along with the memory comes a lurching sensation of immediacy. Adrenaline pumps through his veins.
As he sits up, stinging insects begin to to crawl out of the folds of his armor, and the ones that occupy his mask begin to fan his sweaty face. Adrian reached out with his mind to any nearby insects or forms of life - perhaps they could tell him where he is.
Nature: 1d20+9 19
okay got it. this is my first time playing pbp so I may need some pointers : P
Reaching even further Adrian could feel the presence of scattered desert beetles, far above his head. From this he could logically deduce they were deep beneath a desert. The beetles had sensed the lightest vibrations across the dry desert soil, a retreating host of footfalls in the distance. Or perhaps, advancing?
"How much did I drink last night?" she moans. "And who are you losers? Urgh, I need to get out of here."
Requine scans the room.
http://4e.orokos.com/roll/20517
9
He furtively jots down these observations in his journal, but as he finishes scribbling in his notes he makes a peculiar observation. All the other pages are blank.
As she shuffles forward a bit, however, she does happen to make an interesting observation. Looking down to the spot where she had been lying, she notices a dark trail of what appears to be dried mucus trailing between where she'd been and a small slit below a mirror in the nearest wall. A quick glance confirms that it's the same for each of the others. A dark trail connects the spot where they'd been lying to one of the slits on the wall.
"I don't know what it means, I just know it," he continues. "There was an object on this altar and we must recover it. I can only assume the rest of you know as little of what has happened here as I".
"I, uh... ahem. Well - you people, I think something is... coming? Or going maybe. I don't know. One of the two."
He rolls over on his side.
"Look just tell me if they're trying kill us or something, I totally wouldn't be surprised at this point."
"Killing us would have been much easier while we were out. Perhaps this is the way out?" His voice cheerful, almost perky.
"I am here. I do not know why I am here, but it is Bahamut's will. You are my allies, and whatever task is ahead of us is meant to be."
He then kneels and bows his head for a moment, seeking the guidance of his god to gain insight into the task ahead.
OOC:
Arian examines the remains of the flask, and recognizes it immediately. The flask must've been full of an alchemical knock-out gas. When thrown, the flask is designed to burst open and release a cloud of gas that, when breathed in by those caught unaware, knocks them unconscious. Arian should know, he owns a flask of it. Or he did, as reaching into his pack he finds it missing.
While it's easy to immediately recognize that as the source of the groups unconsciousness, it wouldn't explain their memory problems.
Ludious kneels to make a prayer to Bahamut for guidance. But he is suddenly overwhelmed with a dark emptiness. It is as though his god does not even recognize him. This is much more serious than any time he has temporarily fallen out of favor before. He is overtaken by a feeling of distraught abandonment.
Meanwhile Pieter shines his light on the large stone door, carefully examining it. The construction of the door is strange, as though it is more strongly fortified from the outside than from within. It is sealed shut, but rather hastily. He determines that a strong push could possibly force the door open.
Also, feel free to use the OOC thread for OOC discussion.
"Ohh that must of been a fine night of Ale to lead to this."
He checks his essentials, making sure his axe is still ready for whatever is to come.
"Right then, who are you lot and where is the action?"
PSN: Corbius
"Look," she says dryly. "I'm sure you're all scintillating company. Really. I bet you're a hoot. But I want to go home and rest this hangover off without having to look at your ugly faces and listen to your dumb voices. I'm sure you understand."
She sheathes her weapons and turns towards the door. Without a further word, she pushes her shoulder up against it, grunting with effort. Her face turns red with the strain.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2608590/
21
And by "peers into the room", I mean "doesn't peer into the room"
PSN: Corbius
Additionally, a number of the insects land on one of the statues, they seem drawn to it, and buzz about it excitedly.
uhhh I am an idiot and can't get the roll to link correctly.
PSN: Corbius
At the same time, Arian, Solleb, and Ludious move to examine the statues. It does not take them very long to recognize the figures they depict. Ludious quickly realizes his historical knowledge would be irrelevant. The statue is of himself. Likewise, Arian discovers the reason the insects were so drawn to the statue he moved towards: it is the image of Adrian, complete with tiny stone bees fixed to him. Solleb finds a stone reproduction of Requine grimacing back at him. The six stone statues depict the six individuals present.
As they all step into the room, the door behind them suddenly swings shut, sealing immediately. A bright white glow begins emanating from the base of the statues, lighting the room.
In each of the party member's heads, a clear, commanding voice can be heard. Each of them hears it as their own voice, in their own native tongue.
"You who seeks the Knowledge of The Self; you have faced many trials in pursuit of answers, many tests to prove your purity, to prove that you reject the corruption of The Unknown. But this final test is most important. To truly seek Knowledge, one must know which Knowledge they lack. What most crucial Knowledge of The Self do you not yet possess? Speak it. Speak that one part of The Self that you must Know to become complete."
"I don't know how to fix myself."
He rubs his hide mask with gloved fingers. His hive hums reassuringly.
"Ha! Well I don't know where the pub is in this place for starters!"
PSN: Corbius
"What is this ridiculous, over-the-top, ludicrous, nonsensical..."
Memories of a philosophy class her mother once enrolled her in, a failed attempt to teach the brash Requine culture and patience, flood into Requine's head. She scowls, her teeth grinding together audibly.
"What do I need to know? I need to know where are some faces to smash, some gold to collect, and a way to get back home and have a pint! Wizards are so stupid, I swear to the Gods."
"Honestly? You wake up in a strange place and witness an ancient statue of yourself and all you can stutter about is ale?"
More and more insects swarm around him as he speaks.
"Let me give you a word of advice. When destiny chooses you it is rarely a good idea to pretend it didn't."
Edit/Clarification:
"Listen," she snarls, "Destiny is the sort of thing that palm readers and priests like to make up, and then they waggle their fingers at you and shout 'OOOO YOU'D BETTER SHAPE UP!' I'm sure that with a little effort we'll figure out what's going on and it'll be so incredibly mundane and stupid that you'll feel like the idiot you are. I drank too much last night, so that's why I woke up in a strange place. That happens all the time. Just ask Lady Pendagon. I woke up in her geraniums once with six of her personal guard around me. As for the statues, maybe some stupid wizard got bored and is just mucking with our heads. I don't trust wizards much. They're stupid."
Requine, now worked up and on a roll, takes a few steps closer to Adrian and leans forward. Her nose is nearly touching his bandages and her eyes glint.
"And I'll thank you not to sass me. I don't take sass from anyone who can't even show their faces. You might want to bathe a little, change those bandages when we get out of here. I've never stunk so bad I have a cloud of flies after me."
He shakes his head and sighs and looks towards her with a sad expression.
"One who lives in a world so full of gods, both petty and good, who use their servants to fulfill their goals, should not show such ignorance of Destiny. One can choose their own path so long as a power greater than they deems it so."
He then turns back and faces the statue of himself. Before speaking softly, "As for me, a humble servant of Bahamut, my path seems clear to me. Defend the righteous, cast down the oppressors, and foil the plans of the followers of Tiamat and all others who follow the path of wickedness. But...I pray that one day I can know that my life of devotion was..worth it. That this constant struggle has truly made the world better at all. That is what I wish."
Quite suddenly, the statues flare blue and the voice in each of their heads speaks again.
"You have failed this test."
A low hiss pervades the room, the mirrors that line the walls begin to change. The images inside of them warp. Their surfaces bulge, and begin pouring out of their frames. First like liquid, then solidifying into twitching masses. They are reflections come alive. As though the party's broken and clouded images were in fact the visages of horrible aberrations that existed just past the mirror's surface, now broken through into this world. The reflection of Ludious crashes forward through a clouded mirror, his edges ill-defined, his features blurred and ambiguous. The reflection of Pieter slinks through the twisted portal, his proportions exaggerated, stretched and warped. The reflection of Adrian floats into the room through a dozen shattered fragments, each separated piece hovering in unison, his entire shattered form moving as one.
The party scrambles to get into some type of fighting formation before the six twisted reflections finish bursting into this world.
Map:
The squares with the letters are the statues of each of you.