Homebrew system thread II, part 2

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Fiji_Fury
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Fiji_Fury »

"Daylight would be preferred. If there is a need to move now we could, but I have not heard any such reasons. Yet."
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

That should be the prelude to rustling in the woods, just enough to make you say "what's that?" followed by a ravening horde storming your camp, really. Really should.

Given the actual situation on the mountain, it's doubtful though; there is movement, and definitely some slithery lurking, and once or twice there is the feeling that you are being looked over- sized up as prey. The silences that shouldn't be there are actually worse than the noise.
Only defence and vigilance are keeping you safe; walk into the night, turn your back and something would try it. This, this is after major casualties to the local predator population- would have been worse earlier.
Some of the sounds are those of dominance games among wild animals; betas fighting over the territory of a dead alpha, wounded monsters seeking a place to lick their wounds and blundering into one another's territory. Probably. At one point there is what seems to be a small landslide.

After what seems like a very long time- if the threat of imminent doom didn't keep you up the cold might- the sky starts to fade from midnight blue to grey. No sign of the druid. Heading up the mountain, still?
The first thing you trip over will be one of the casualties of the night, something that looks or looked something like a long legged bear. From some of it's wounds, you can tell that it limped back up here basically in a dying state- made it only to the small glade you're in before it bled out.

From the rest of it's wounds, then something or things started feeding on the carcass. Oh, and movement. Fur moving in the bushes, far side of the body, uphill. More than one. Nasty, solvent- like smell cutting through the blood and offal. Actions?
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

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The alchemist ripples out a pulse of insight magic- how many knots of animal electricity, what's behind the brushes, how tall and how fierce-looking.

He's looking for something he can put a bolt into.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Fiji_Fury »

Dale draws his sword and knife, falling into a combat stance. He takes a deep breath and... not entirely sure how he does it (Motion, Life and Ponderances magics) but he's tapping into his mind and body and making them faster and teeming with energy ready to be released in an explosion of movement (if needed). He stands ready.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

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Dirt starts to draw and load his crossbow, "'er we go again"
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

Here, indeed, you go again. Gribbly things there are, and what these are is some not entirely recognisable blend of woodland furry thing- not wolves. There's that, at least. Somewhere between fox, squirrel, badger, weasel. Long and thin and quick- better balanced than most of the abominations you've come across so far, maybe this is a breed the monster- maker got right?

Two circle to the left, in brush, not clear ground- a shot is possible but chancy. One circles to the right. There's another with bloody fur behind and close to the corpse, hoping you'll pass it by and give it a good chance at your backs- Larric's the only one of you with a bead on that one.

Initiative order is Dirt, Dale, two of them, Rohal, one of them, Alfred, one of them, Larric. Probability is- they react to the magic, ears perk up, eyes lock on. Larric and Dale are likely primary targets.

Dirt and Dale ready; they do too, finding deeper cover, points from which to spring. Alfred?
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

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Dirt moves to cover Larric, on the assumption that he'll fair better in hand to hand (claw?). Intention is to loose a bolt at the first one to break cover and then switch to his axe & shield. He's trusting fifi to cover his back for incoming mutants.

Other than that he'll play this off the cuff.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Simon_Jester »

If one of them rushes Larric, dodging takes precedence over standing his ground and firing a bolt. But if he gets a shot in-

Larric puts a lightning arrow into the one trying to creep up behind us. Bloody fur means it's either wounded and easy to finish off before it gets close, or extra-vicious and we need to finish it before it gets close. And then he gets ready to dodge, if he hasn't already been rudely interrupted.

Hopefully, that charge won't be from the one he just shot. The last thing he nailed with a thunderquarrel survived pretty well, but the last thing he nailed with a thunderquarrel was a walking tangle of force fields.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

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Dale will try to keep himself free of Larric's and Dirt's lines of fire. He's on the balls of his feet and in a slight crouch, ready to spring in any direction as neeeded. He wants some open space to move within, but will be careful not to keep so much space that he's isolated by these things.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

Well, that was interesting- Dirt was quite lucky; he missed. Hit something else, though. Shoots at the first to try to weave it's way towards the group, and the thing makes the dodge of it's life, ducking then jumping, virtually corkscrewing it's way round the path of the bolt, then springing at you- leaping of the back of the bearoid corpse- Larric ducks, Fifi snaps, something uphill deep in the woods howls and the other three of them hold for a moment.

A large shape lumbers down towards the party (it got in the way of Dirt's shot), Larric shoots at it, in the flash as the bolt sinks in (quite a good hit) the thing looks vaguely scaly- monitor lizard like. It collapses to the ground, but it's still twitching.

Fifi has the one that leapt at Dirt by the scruff of the neck, and it is dangling paralysed. Good result- but there are still three of them, and one wounded large thing.

The one partly hidden behind the corpse, that was hoping you wouldn't notice it, now realises you have and that the arow intended for it was diverted to a larger target- springs at Dale. Feint and attack- rears as if to leap for the face, gets the start of a reaction- then curls forward and leaps almost horizontally, going for the belly. Somehow the edge of the blade doesn't make contact- a frantic swipe batters it aside but it is still in fighting condition.

Panzersharkcat?
(and to think, if you had only tried to talk the party into going to see your new holdings, instead of going along with this, you could have been warm and dry and not about to be attacked by monfoxels and lizardbears...)
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Kaelan »

Hm, must be some kind of mental feedback\control overriding these creatures base instincts. Must remember to teach the rest of the party elvin so we can communicate better. Still, to the task at hand.

Dirt lets the crossbow fall and switches to Axe & Shield, swinging a blow at the twitching creature at his feet – we don’t know how long fifi’s venom will last for. After that, its brace and await the next charge in from our foes.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Panzersharkcat »

(OOC: I haven't actually read this thread in over a week. Sorry. And I'll ask FeralGnoll what's up. It's most likely the Army is keeping him busy, though.)

He dashes forward to help out Dale, trying to hit its torso in an impaling motion.
"I'm just reading through your formspring here, and your responses to many questions seem to indicate that you are ready and willing to sacrifice realism/believability for the sake of (sometimes) marginal increases in gameplay quality. Why is this?"
"Because until I see gamers sincerely demanding that if they get winged in the gut with a bullet that they spend the next three hours bleeding out on the ground before permanently dying, they probably are too." - J.E. Sawyer
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

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OOC: With a sledgehammer? We need to get this guy a pollaxe or something...

IC: I'm not sure how long it takes to reload that crossbow relative to the situation. If I grasp the situation...

One lizardbear, now shot twice. One that tried to jump Dirt and got bitten by Fifi for its pains. One engaged with Dale and Alfred. That leaves the fourth.

Larric looks around, gauges whether he has time to reload the crossbow. If he does he looks around for the fourth and puts another lightning arrow into it. If he doesn't have time, say because the beast is charging him, he skips the crossbow part of the plan- drops an air hammer on the monster, tries to hit it from in front to break its momentum and disorient it.

If he can't see the fourth creature at all, he puts the lightning arrow into the monitor bear and sticks close to Dirt, insofar as this is consistent with not accidentally getting his head knocked off by flailing weaponry.

[I remember what almost happened to Tamarin!]
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

Larric really isn't a wilderness type, so that is almost understandable- there is one dead lizardbear in front of you, and the only other one is the one Dirt and Larric have both just shot.
The other four creatures are the monfoxels (mongoose/fox/weasel) which were feeding on the dead lizardbear, one of them has been dropped by plant anaesthetic, and to be honest standing/stomping on it would actually be easier and faster than Dirt bending down to swing at it.

The one attempting to bite Dale, Alfred is not far off earning the nickname "stabs-with-hammer"- manages to deflect it and push it away into open ground, which I suspect is what he was trying to do; it does attempt to leap onto the head of the hammer and there go for Alfred's face, but he shakes it off.

The other two, circling to try to get flank and rear positions on you, one of them does leap before Larric can reload and he does have to pressure- wave it, knocks it back and shakes it's will.

Next round- Dirt's moving to alternative weapons and holding action ready to react, Dale's next up.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Panzersharkcat »

(OOC: I didn't think he'd really have room to swing it without hitting Dale. That or attach a spike to the top of it.)
"I'm just reading through your formspring here, and your responses to many questions seem to indicate that you are ready and willing to sacrifice realism/believability for the sake of (sometimes) marginal increases in gameplay quality. Why is this?"
"Because until I see gamers sincerely demanding that if they get winged in the gut with a bullet that they spend the next three hours bleeding out on the ground before permanently dying, they probably are too." - J.E. Sawyer
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

Next time he has a chance, pick up a halberd; axe blade, long thrusting spike and warhammer all in one, what's not to love? Start using it at a couple of points below hammer skill (at a default based on 3/4 for similarity, so 12), and a few life threatening moments worth of familiarisation and blob's your uncle.

Actually, these creatures the monfoxels, they chose to attack the visible magi in preference to anything else- they have either been bred, trained, conditioned or all of the above to do that, Dirt's right, it's not a natural reaction.

Rohal (the real world does take precedence, but Feralgnoll's more than welcome whenever time permits) manages to drop the third with a crossbow bolt between the eyes. Two left to worry about.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

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OOC:

I was thinking of a Lucerne hammer; a classic halberd isn't that hammery, is it?

I think Rohal uses a normal bow, too. Same principle.

IC:

One's being beset by Alfred and Dale, who will presumably carve it into itty bitty pieces and stomp on the bits themselves. The other survivor- what, the one Larric clonked but didn't put down permanently?

Range is close, give him another electric arc. Modest voltage, high current- try to stun, shock, stagger. Deep tissue burns would be nice, but keeping it off its feet is the big priority.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Fiji_Fury »

Seeing that the things appear to be keying in on himself and Larric, Dale will switch to the offensive and leap/stab at the nearest of the monfox-bastard things. With a healthy (maybe) push of energy through his legs, that should be a pretty quick leap. Aim... well, we'll see won't we?
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

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OOC:

The nearest of them is the one that was actively trying to eat your face just a moment ago, until Alfred stabbed it with a hammer. Have fun!
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

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In that case: Dale will still do the leap IF the monfoxgrell is not occupying Aflred's face. If it's circling on the ground, Dale goes for it (a kick in the thing's ribs may be attempted rather than a sword/knife swipe if it's close in on Alfred). If on the other hand it's all up in Alfred's face, Dale will wait until it is knocked loose by Alfred, then try to stab it. Since the description from earlier appears to place the monfoxgrell on the open ground, Dale will try for it there.

An uncomfortable thought occurs to Dale as he seizes an opportune moment: these things are part fox... and foxes are evil. They're eyes and ears for awful, unnatural forces. Their current warped shape is doing nothing to dissuade that frightening concern.

OOC: "Honestly guys. That just got out of control really fast. One moment everything was cool... then my sword kinda wound up in the knight's face. These creatures are cunning...
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

Hm. I suppose I'm thinking of the English Civil War, by which point the sargeants of pike and the like are carrying something that is known by the name but searching for it, actually seems to descend more closely from the Lucerne hammer. Interesting.

The rest of that round was brutal. Fortunately it's the last of it. The one in front of Larric gets the force of a lightning bolt arcing through it, and keels over; dead.

The other one turns on it's heel and leaps for Dale- scrambling up him and sinking it's fangs into his left shoulder. It's there, and it's easy to stab with the blade in Dale's right hand, through the chest and spine, killling it- but it's jaws have to be prised open to get it off, and the smell of it's mouth, the smell of rot and mould and sour alchemy- the physical wound isn't bad in itself, but for what else may be in there is definitely going to need cleaned and treated.

Eyes and ears for evil, in fact? Maybe, maybe not. Fangs? Definitely.

What are you doing from here? Surrounded by dead thing is not the best option for a field surgery, but if you reckon needs must, well, up to you.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Panzersharkcat »

"As my home is not too far away, I would suggest heading there for treatment. I am certain my father would like to know of his new lands."
"I'm just reading through your formspring here, and your responses to many questions seem to indicate that you are ready and willing to sacrifice realism/believability for the sake of (sometimes) marginal increases in gameplay quality. Why is this?"
"Because until I see gamers sincerely demanding that if they get winged in the gut with a bullet that they spend the next three hours bleeding out on the ground before permanently dying, they probably are too." - J.E. Sawyer
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Simon_Jester »

"That'll want the filth washed out, though, and quick..."

OOC note: Would Larric think of disinfectants? If he does, he offers up in sacrifice that foul-tasting over-distilled stuff he carries in the little flask. But I honestly can't tell if he would or not.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

Thing is, the process of pouring wine or strong spirits over a wound to wash it out goes back rather further than the clinical concept of asepsis- the idea comes up somewhere between there and cauterisation, (which would be a viable if smelly and painful alternative) and exists on an empirical basis for some time before being seriously studied. It's perfectly possible for Larric to come up with it.

Assuming that's done, then, something else comes back to Dale- he sees himself standing on a small hillock somewhere, with mist and whimpering people all around, and looking at someone else not visible- looking slightly up, above the horizon?- and shouting "There may be a time for death, but This. Is. Not. It." Shout, charge. Drifts back to the present as the stinging of the spirits of wine hits.
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Re: Homebrew system thread II, part 2

Post by Simon_Jester »

IC:

The alchemist's response:

"You with us? Best use I could put it to, it's really not fit to drink... Rohal, I'm no good with bandages, can we get something 'round this?"

Larric's idea of first aid is of course quite primitive.

[Party is NOT long on medical talent, with Vehrec having backed out. Darnit]

OOC:

Point; I'd been aware of that empirical tradition but hadn't thought about it.

OOC MK II:

What Larric's using bears about the same relationship to "spirits of wine" that the misery elemental bears to more ethereal spirits. It really is medicinal alcohol, just with some interesting and very tastable organic impurities in.
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