Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

[Kaelan]

Dirt will place his pack down (it's most likely too heavy to be easily stolen) so as not to be encumbered. A quick check of his weapons, and walk behide and to one side of Alfred - looking at where the ambushers are hiding, aiming mostly to the right hand side.

"Say when to loose"

OOC - Just in case I can't post:

If it does degenerate into a fight Dirt will only fire one bolt (centre of mass) and then drop the crossbow and engage in melee combat. Weapons whilst fighting the right hand group. Depending on how quick they drop he will try to fight bare handed when the left hand group drops down to two in number. If we do charge, Dirt will sound encouragement with the standard ogre battle cry "eating time", in ogre.

Of course this may be resolved without combat yet...

[White Haven]

((At work and actually busy today, just noting that there will be Sorcerous Shenanigans as soon as I have the time))

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Part of the plan can be executed before that becomes an issue- advice and word of warning; the reach of spellcraft is a function of the power behind it, as I have said before, and of complexity- that's more a category issue than anything else.

You have to be very good indeed, or have some very special tricks up your sleeve (the instant standing stone circle or something like it, for a start) before you start being able to push spells further than long- bowshot. Crossbows are slightly easier to outreach for aiming, short bows yes to accurate range if you're much more than an apprentice, not for lob-and-hope area fire.

Tamarin does have two archers with her; she's a bit uncertain with them, as if trying to be friendly and approachable and at the same time their superior and employer, but they seem to be tolerant enough of it- so far.

Under their cover as well as your own, you can skirmish forward as per Alfred's plan- someone watching flank and rear- to the fringes of effective zapping range, at least.

The bushes and things grow best in shelter, being exposed to the wind stunts them a bit; higher in the valleys and the north- eastern facing slopes (the prevailing wind comes up from the south- west and is channelled along the mountains); good enough to hide behind in places, but not massively thick, more scattered. The badlands are lousy growing country, there's little soil there, just rock and dust; this is where the green bit starts, and it's not very deep. Lots of windswept shrubs.

They have some cover. As you approach, four of them leave it, including both the ones I said were mounted- on what aren't horses now you get a closer look; donkeys. No, five, there are two of them on one donkey, which starts complaining loudly but is given motion by being hit with the flat of an axe. They're scattering; running for their lives. Apparently.

[Feralgnoll]

"I can take a flanking position or move to a spot where I can find them, and drop arrows into their cover." and with a bit of a grimace, Rohal adds, "and if nessicary, we have other resources."

OOC: Im thinking I can sniff out hidden bad guys and shoot them, forcing them to be pinned down or move.

OOC 2: @panzersharkcat Yeah I remember Chia doing things like that. But he was a dick.

[Panzersharkcat]

"Don't pursue." Doesn't want to run into a defensive feint trap. He approaches with Dirt by his side. He does not draw a weapon and keeps one hand raised. "As you can see, you are now outnumbered. If you cooperate and answer our questions truthfully, we will let you go on your way. If not, think about the ogre and think about what kind of person can travel with an ogre."

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

They don't smell as if they're being all that cunning. The idea that they might be capable of fooling you about that, well, it's not impossible, but this lot? Walking bundles of dirty rags with not a quarter groat between them? That just doesn't pass the smell test (metaphorically as well as literally.) Too scruffy, if any of them are tactical genii then it's well disguised.

One of them says to the others in a language that escapes easy translation- half familiar to all the Kuquani speakers, as it should be; it's Edral Zarthani dialect. 'Maybe we should just give up,'

The other two are too desperate, too crazy and aren't enjoying life enough to try to keep it that badly. They scream and charge. The third looks at them in horror, half starts to follow, then dives into a bush.

The donkey with two men on it, one of them jumps off and starts running back towards the party. The still mounted one keeps fleeing.

[Kaelan]

Only two charging!

Given the state that these poor fools are in Dirt doesn't have the heart to kill or maim them.
To Alfred "'live?"

If answered in the alternative Dirt will set the crossbow down and try to use his shield to subdue the pair. Otherwise he'll follow Alfred's lead on this one.

[Panzersharkcat]

"Yes, if you can." He seems almost amused by this.

[White Haven]

Verone looks...disappointed, by this point. He had a plan all lined up, artful, elegant, a masterful experiment he's been wanting to try out for months...and then the ruffians had to go and spoil it by breaking down and running. With his grand plans foiled, he instead just shrugs and moves into range with the others, trying to use simple, subtle applications of force to trip and disarm the fleeing rabble.

"Hmmph."

[Feralgnoll]

Rohal senses the fear, swtiches from Bow to Axe, (blade reversed to smack them with the back side).

Anyone watching will notice that he moves deliberately, though a tad slow for his normal self.

OOC: Fleeing, scared, weak, separated, prey after all.... A pack of Lycanthropes would have gone ballistic.

[Simon_Jester]

Larric stands back and watches, fingers drumming along the stock of his crossbow, which is held in a rather casual fashion.

He's wondering whether Dirt really will bang their silly heads together.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Of the two of them running at you, one looks over his shoulder for a second, realises the rest aren't with them, and tries to catch the first up to point this out. At this point, they're almost up to you.

I think I have a rough idea what everyone plans to do , so it goes something like this; [dice happen...ah.]

Two bolts of power, Verone at the first one- and it doesn't bite. It's a perfectly good nerve-twitcher and physical push, but the bandit throws a screaming fit of rage that is enough [a one; Critical success on default, the jammy bugger-] to fight off the magic in a cloud of screaming, swearing and ranting that, as I said, Zarthani and Kuquani are related but not the same, as different as French and Spanish. Can't quite understand, but he is epically furious.

Larric's straightforward electric shock drops the second one, twitching and thrashing; the first pays no heed and charges in against the odds- to be met by Rohal, who dodges out of the way of his spear and makes him wish the magic had put him down in the first place. Perfect up and under, up past the rim of the shield into the pods.

Screams, goes cross eyed for a second, tries to reover and stab, but Alfred and Dirt have jumped him by then, and Fifi doesn't bite him- remember, she has little prickly spines to paralyse with? They do actually work, and their anaesthetic effect may actually be a relief. The other two- the one who hid in a bush and the one who came back- are now running the other way, but still within bowshot if anyone has a mind to.

[Simon_Jester]

Larric's not shooting.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Sure? they are fairly pathetic, you might be putting them out of their misery...well, you have two prisoners, at least. Phenomenally smelly prisoners who could do with being dunked in the nearest river to clean them up a bit, admittedly.

Tamarin's escorts are of the opinion that 'Bastarding bandits, aren't they? should have shot them, it's easier to shoot them than execute them in cold blood afterwards. Which is what you're supposed to do to bandits, especially ones that sound as like they came a damn' long way to do it.'

The one of them who is still conscious is hearing all of this and going distinctly paler. Which would make it a good interrogation technique on the yeomen's part, except they probably mean it. What are the party up to?

[Panzersharkcat]

Holding the one who is still conscious up by the neck of his clothes, if that makes any sense, he says "Now, answer our questions truthfully and I won't hand you over to the nice yeoman."

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

'Questions, what questions?' he says, in a fairly pronounced Zarthani accent, He's got a point, you haven't asked him anything yet.

'I'm not a bandit, it doesn't count if you're no good at it- we were the victims of foul luck at every chance. Always the wrong people. The orc, the demon- goddess, the druid- aii, we had no luck at all. Hadn't you better let me go? I may be contagious.'

[Panzersharkcat]

"Obviously, we haven't gotten around to asking them yet."

[Simon_Jester]

Larric nods slowly. "Demon-goddess? Wait... Red hair, armor, great big firey horse-monster?"

[Dice say Larric is very intuitive, I seem to roll very low very frequently...]

"You didn't... you didn't try to rob her, did you?" He looks at the quasi-bandit in total, absolute disbelief...

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

'Half of us did. The, the half that aren't here any more. Then there were the dwarves, and the blue thing, and the high elf prince- are there no normal people in your lands any more? I want to go home.' he says, after a brief moment of trying not to whine, he fails and does so anyway.

I haven't heard anything yet about disarming and restraining them, might want to think about that.

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: Well, I assumed the guy dropped his weapons after Alfred picked him up.)

He bursts out in laughter before he says, "Sorry but robbing that 'demon-goddess' was probably akin to a small child trying to intimidate a great dragon. Which way did she go?"

[Feralgnoll]

Rohal switches back to his bow, and looks out for any potential banditry.

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

Being a knight who just caught a pack of bandits means never having to say you're sorry.

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: Force of habit. Should remember he's supposed to be in charge of the situation.)

[Kaelan]

Dirt looks at the pair of sorry men.

"get new job. Town that way. Need builder. Safer for you."
Then pulling out his cloth of the baron's arms, "you see this man?"

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

'Not- not for months. Just before things went to hell.
There were a hundred of us then, Don Arcadio's Free Company, come up for the wars we thought you people were going to have, and it...all just went wrong. Monster after monster, nightmare after nightmare, men committed suicide to escape and their bones came back to haunt us- is that, yes, I saw him swallowed up by the earth and all with him.'