Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

[White Haven]

Verone...has been muzzy-headed, and confused, and baffled, and other similarly-not-terribly-useful things. All this talk about overthrowing the barony, however, has at least managed to focus his attention in much the same way as a prospective hanging. With a shivering shake of his head as he forces himself into rough coherence, he says, "Dueling aside, this particular bit of spot isn't in a terrible shape. Coups, assassinations, and general revolts tend to change that sort of...thing. Stuff. Go violence someone who deserves it. N'on that note, I was tired before you made me dream I was awake, so I'm gon' go back to dreaming I'm asleep."

With that, the decidedly-flustered mage simply lies down, curls up, and does his best to convince the dreaming waking dream thing that he's asleep. Again. Recursively. Coherent? Not so much, but this is a dream, and many things make sense to a dreamer that wouldn't anywhere else.

[Simon_Jester]

IC:

To Aburon- "That's not politics, that's just..." The alchemist shrugs. "Sense. Nothing the matter with that."

Then Verone... and Larric is suddenly struck by a particle of inspiration meant for elsewhere.

"Did... Did Verone just go crazy and fall asleep?"

OOC:

[Kaelan]

Local politics aside, what do we know about the people we're going to try to stop?

And who and where is the actual baron?

[Simon_Jester]

The actual baron, DeVerett is his name I believe, bravely ran away when the Countess got close to his barony. He took with him a selection of his best troops, wizards, and priests. There are rumors, but no one actually knows where he went, or what happened to him, or if he's still alive.

Except maybe Aburon on account of the whole "from the future" thing, but you can never be sure about people from the future.

As to the people we're going to try and stop... which people? We know there's someone doing alchemical mutagenic dosing of wild animals for some (unclear) reason- it might be best to ask questions first and shoot later, if we catch up with them.

Then there's the elves trying to provoke a race war, who might or might not be a problem in the immediate future; Larric's guess is that they won't cause any more really serious problems for a while, but how long will that last? And what does Larric know about the nasty habits of elves? So don't take his word for it.

Then there's the guys from Carfax who got (two thirds of) the party into this mess in the first place, who are making trouble twenty to forty miles south of our present location. They're a relatively straightforward problem that can be chased off by angry men with swords. Which would probably be something of a relief compared to all the other stuff out there.

Am I forgetting anything?

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

'Ah,' he says to Dirt, 'you noticed I was trying to avoid giving a direct answer to that? This is where, hmm, this may be a dream to you, but from my point of view it's a bridge- a bridge with a definite limit to how much weight and strain it can take. Speculation, shooting the breeze, not so bad- the thaumaturgy can take that.
Advice is actually iffier; pack mules going over the bridge. Considering options means that some of the weight of events between now and then bears on the bridge; that's more like pack elephants. Definitely and consciously trying to change the furure is more like trying to carry a small mountain.
The fact that this is happening in your sleep is essential to make it work at all- that I was more or less in adrenalin insomniac phase at the time is another reason it wouldn't.

Baron Arquin deVerett, you know, left looking for one of the old relics- considering that none of the regiment ended up with his head on a lance, well, let's see how much I can tell you before the spell goes pop.

He found it. Wasn't the only one. All three of them ended up down there- now tell me, do you think they fit the Colonel's definition of deadwood, for that display of spectacular cowardice? She has problems of her own though- has to stop the regiment from tearing itself apart, for one thing, has to defend herself and the regiment before army command and the top two tiers of the game, how it works out isn't going to be simple.

It would have been easier to let him get eaten, but there's a time and a place for these things.

The elves- well, that is one of the two really giant problems. Be careful around the mountain, though- that could tie in to one of your other problems. Lots of ugly things up there tht could turn into interesting new ones, too.'

[Feralgnoll]

"Will the White Wolf be able to help us in our quest?" Rohal asks. He is somewhat intimidated by this man's power. And the constant magical aura is unsettling.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

'She will; doesn't like what's happening up there any more than you do. You will probably have less difficulty than most- but, well, I'd advise you all to find out what you can before you go, and don't forget Mount Honeycomb is half way to the roof of the sky- well, you know what I mean. Below the snowline, the creatures that live there might kill you- above the snowline, the mountain might kill you. Best to go prepared to that.'

[Simon_Jester]

Larric looks around.

"I hope some of you are better at mountain climbing than I am."

OOC:

Alfred? You're athletic and come from a rather hilly region...

[Kaelan]

Dirt looks at Larric.
"Don't worry you'll be fine. I can carry you over the worst parts."

[Simon_Jester]

"Then I hope you're better at mountain climbing than I am, for your sake. You'd probably fall harder than I would."

(For reference, Larric isn't particularly weak or slow by human standards; he's definitely in the middle of the bell curve physically. But he's a scholar and a townsman, not given over to fat but not with the kind of hardiness and experience that a real outdoorsman would have. No points in Athletics, though I considered it at character creation.)

[Kaelan]

Athletics 14, 18 & 8.

"I've scaled a few in my time gathering plants"

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

I believe it, but what was he supposed to say?

[Kaelan]

OOC:

I believe it, but what was he supposed to say?

Send me a postcard when you get there..

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: Alfred would probably be fine climbing mountains.)

[Simon_Jester]

IC:

"So, do our chores before we go poking around, good, and... I think..." he looks around at the others "...I think if they're holed up really high, we might want to think twice about going all the way after them. But then, how far up can they go without getting eaten-" glances at Aburon, nods respectfully- "not that I'd ask you to answer that straight out, it'd be ungrateful to go and try to get you to drop a pack rhinopotamus on your bridge."

OOC:

A different Larric would have said "do our homework." This same different Larric would probably also not have conflated the rhinoceros and the hippopotamus into the same animal.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

'What can I tell you that you can't find from the histories and legends, hm- well, the predators are going to be not far from where the prey is, as a general rule; the upper part of the wooded zone is likely to be the most dangerous. They are going to want to be close to that, but not in the middle of it.

I can pretty much leave you to it, I think. I'll go and talk to Catarin, then try and fill in some blanks in the record- it's relatively easy to look back- and then if I have spare energy I think I might torment a certain steel- underweared paladin a little.

Two things in general; the next few years may not be what you want them to be- full of waste and senselessness. I don't recall they were what I wanted, at the time. Think how much worse they would be if we weren't trying to put things together again.

The other thing; good luck.'

He turns to walk out of the clearing, the boar following- any parting words?

[Simon_Jester]

"Good luck to you, too!"

[Panzersharkcat]

He mumbles, "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

[Kaelan]

Under his breath, "please don't antagonise the insanely powerful Mage until after I have gone. I'd like to actually wake up in the morning."

[Simon_Jester]

"He seemed a decent sort, I don't think he'd do that. Besides- good warnings. Who knows, maybe I'll figure out what the snake made of lampblack was about after all..."

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

'No, I've been lucky in that.' he says to Dirt. 'Magi tend to turn into little tinpot gods when they're not being challenged, when they don't have to scramble to stay alive; it's the absence of pressure that lets the bats in the belfry come out to play. There have to be safer ways, though...see you in the future.'

He wanders off, out of the clearing, evidently unbothered, and soon it's morning.

Nothing apart from that seems to have happened- to you, anyway- in the night, and you all wake up to the dawn feeling surprisingly energetic and refreshed. Memories of the conversation are not one hundred percent, and he's actually not above doing things like making sure Alfred wakes up with a splitting headache...not this time, though. (Incidentally, what was that about? There may be a lot of reasons to dislike him- he has his share of bad habits- but what's this particular one?)

What's the plan?

Oh, yes- Sorchus, Feralgnoll, you haven't spent your XP yet, have you?

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: He was not totally certain he was dreaming, which would make it the third time in three or four days somebody woke him up against his will. He's getting kind of grouchy about that.)

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

Well, now you woke up on your own, with a skull-crushing headache, for insulting a harmless arch-druid.* Are you happy?

*Laughs

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: Actually, he doesn't have one. Guy was feeling nice, I suppose.)

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

Hm. Lucky you. Never mind then.