Play-Test Episode: "Ariel's Fate"

[Aspasia]

Dila

I walk over to the cliff. "I guess 'up' is the only way they could have gone." I say, "But it's ridiculous."

Lily starts to climb the wall, I wonder whether I should follow. I've never been great at climbing, though, so I decide to take a look at the cliff myself instead.



"This is odd," I say to the others, frowning. "I wonder ..."

((Yay, great Notice roll! Not sure what more she sees than Furtano and Lily, will wait on that))

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I tilt my head, looking at the cliff. "Maybe they're more like goats than donkeys. Goats can get up in places you wouldn't expect anything else to handle."

I look over and find Dila's eyeing the cliff too. "Whatcha see?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

As Lily climbs up, Dila notices a foothold about five feet off the ground. At least it was a foothold for Lily. In fact, it's a deep hole wide enough for a small animal to fit inside.

Ariel notices the hole as well, but after living in the wilderness for a month, she has reason to believe the hole is simply a part of the rock formation and not likely a dwelling for small animals.

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I bend down a little to examine the hole Dila's looking at...

...but I can't see a flippin' thing inside. I bet Mariya could fit in there, though.

"Hey, Mariya? Any chance you could check this out for us, please?" I jerk my thumb toward the hole in case she hasn't noticed it yet. Who knew having a muse for a companion could be so handy?

 

[Devor]

"And thus ends my usefulness for the day," Furtano says with a smug grin and a grandiose gesture up the cliffside. "Unless there's ten yards of rope between the lot of us, I see no need for me to harass the rock."

Now that the others are occupied with the cliffside, Furtano decides to make sure they're not missing anything in the woods. Either they're dealing with donkeys that stand like men or a force with a lot of equipment to carry donkeys up the cliff, or both. There may yet be some sign of their equipment in the woods around them.

"Those of you who know this island better than a night, is there a path heading upwards or an easier place to climb? If these donkeys are a threat, they have the high ground if we climb here."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily looks dejected at Furtano's implication that climbing won't happen, but at the mention of the word threat, she reluctantly agrees that "there is a better way…"

She leaps down. Standing in front of the cliffside, facing Furtano, she outstretches her left arm and points. "To the east, we'll eventually find a hill. There is still a climb later, but it's only about ten feet up." She outstretches her right arm, pointing the opposite way. "If we go around the west side, there's a cave. That will come out the top, and so will you unless you're a round-bellied tourist." She turns to Ariel and says, "There was an incident three years ago. Remind me to tell you later incase any killer donkeys are around."

When she sees the hole Ariel discovered, she says, "Wow! I guess to you, Mariya, we're all a bunch of fatties. Yeah, if you go in there, you can see if any killer donkeys are in the cave. I'm sure you'll be safe in there. Pretty sure."

Spoiler: your options

Mariya can choose to crawl inside the small tunnel.

Everyone can choose whether to head for the hill or the cave.

Furtano considers the possibility of donkeys who stand like men and/or a large force, but he doesn't notice an immediate threat.

Lily's instincts kick in…

(Odds of getting 4 minuses = 1/81. Lily has achieved the WORST POSSIBLE STUNT ROLL.)

…but not only does she not know if killer donkeys are about. She fails to notice a sharp piece of chipped stone on the ground. It doesn't penetrate her calloused skin, but the unexpected pain is enough that Lily whispers a curse as she walks it off.

 

[Noma Galway]

"Yeah, I can check it out," Mariya says, then looks at the hole.

Mariya hops from Ariel's shoulder into the cave, stumbling as she lands. Immediately, she presses herself against a wall. She doesn't really believe there are killer donkeys in the hole, but better safe than sorry.

Well, she presses herself into a wall, but her breathing is loud and she isn't controlling it very well. Every step she takes is audible throughout the cave. She starts looking around.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

As Lily walks off the pain and humiliation of stubbing her toe, Mariya begins her spelunking…

Spoiler: Mariya's spelunking

Mariya can hardly see where she's going, but she's careful enough to keep her steps slow and deliberate.

She is hardly stealthy, but her breath would only be heard by someone in the tunnel with her. There are others inside the larger part of the cave—the part that would be a cave by human standards. She's still too far to see who's talking when she hears the voices.


GRUFF VOICE #1: "That was a month ago. What're we even in hiding for? They're only human!"

GRUFF VOICE #2: "The guy on the hammock has a fine skull, too. Why didn't you take him in his sleep?"

GRUFF VOICE #3: "Hardly sporting."

4 or 5 voices laugh.

GRUFF VOICE #3: "Still, we ain't the only ones who think humans make fine clothing. We got competition."

GRUFF VOICE #2: "Do we really? They don't want the heads."

GRUFF VOICE #1: "And we don't want what they want."

6 or 7 voices laugh.



She gets close enough to see without being seen.

 

[Noma Galway]

Mariya gets a strong urge to run. She's never been around this many orcs without Fenella before, and she is terrified.

But she knows running won't help much. Besides, the orcs can't fit into the tunnel, which means there must be another way into the cave. She glances around, hoping to see which direction said opening would be in.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The others continue to wait for Mariya as she gathers information.

Spoiler: what MARIYA sees

There is an opening on the west side of the cave, and in fact the nearest opening is only a few hundred yards away. On the east side of the cave there are several twisted rock formations. It is very likely that humans are able to climb through the tunnels and wind up on the plateau, rather than having to climb up the cliffside. The orcs may not fit into the tunnel leading up, so if Mariya's new human companions are up for the challenge, entering the cave on the west would ensure a confrontation with the seven orcs.

Mariya remembers seeing orcs like this before, who wear the skulls of their human victims.

 

[Noma Galway]

Mariya makes her way quietly down the tunnel with her newfound information. She relates all the information to the others briefly, then asks, "Does anyone see the opening to get in the big cave? I'll go back in the little one if you guys go in the big one." She's still standing in the opening to the tiny tunnel."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

As Mariya heads back to the group, the orcs banter on about who's wearing the biggest skull and other nonsense. The casual conversation seems to imply that none suspected a pixie sneaking around in the hole in their cave wall.

When Mariya relays the information, Lily says, "I heard of those guys. They're known as the Skullpantsers, or at they are now that Rose insisted we use a family-friendly name. The gang's leader was killed a month ago. We thought all of the orcs fled the island, but looks like there's a few left." She ponders a moment, then adds, "When the girls came to cart away Ariel's last kill, Susan told me about a group of preachers who disappeared a last week. If the orcs had anything to do with that, I'm afraid we'll only find bodies… and they won't be whole."

She grins when Mariya mentions a plan to surround the orcs. "I'm interested to see what a pixie can do to an orc, and I like the way you think. I know where the cave entrance is." She looks at the others with an eager grin. "If a pixie's ready to take on seven orcs, how about the rest of you?"

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I listen in fascination to the talk of orcs. I've never seen one before -- sounds like an interesting challenge. I won't say "fun", but it should get the blood pumping one way or another. I smile and nod at the talk of surrounding them. "I'm up for it."

 

[Aspasia]

Dila

Orcs! My eyes widen as Mariya describes her adventures in the cave. I've heard of them. Mariya's plan to attack from two directions seems sound to me. Of course, we could always take the other path, by the hill, and avoid encountering them altogether, but who's to say they won't come up from behind when we don't expect it?

"We should go after them, as we have the advantage now." I say. "Perhaps, since they're in a cave, we can force them to come out one by one, or in small groups, and pick them off from the mouth of the cave?" I don't like cave fighting -- too uncertain, too easy to hit one of your own allies by mistake. But waiting outside, attacking as they emerge, confused and unwary? That's a strategy I can get behind.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily replies, "Looks like we got two fighters and two shooters, and from what Violet tells me of pixies, Mariya's our secret weapon. I'm fine with luring the orcs out. The only catch--if memory serves me correctly--is that the mouth of the cave is a bit far from where Mariya can zap the orcs, if she's to keep zapping them from her hole in the wall. So I see two options...

"One is that a couple of us--Furtano and I--enter the cave. When Mariya sees us, she zaps the orcs. We get the blame and let the orcs chase us to the mouth.

"The other is, we all go in as sneaky as we can, and shooters--Dila and Ariel--fire when ready. An orc getting shot is the signal for the rest of us to attack... that, or the orcs reacting to us is the signal if one of us is discovered. Of course, all of us going in works best if Ariel can pull off the old 'Silent but Deadly' stunt I showed her."

Spoiler: wrapping up this scene

You've got options:

1) Lure orcs out.

2) Sneak in.

3) Present a plausible third option.



Once everyone's replied to the options (without presenting new ones), we'll go into combat. Of course, combat will happen as it happens. If anyone goofs up their part by fighting instead of running or whatever, enemies will still respond. Orcs get one shot at Notice if you sneak in, and they get an Athletics roll if there's a chase. Due to the element of surprise, orcs take a -2 pentaly to their rolls either way.

I'll share a thought which the skill system is getting me to consider as I'm running the game:

One of the risk factors you might want to think about is which trait is more applicable to orcs: are they faster than they are observant, or are they more observant than they are fast? (Yeah, it's possible they're just as good at both, too. Only I actually know the answer to this question.)

 

[Noma Galway]

"If you and Furtano go in, I can cast a protective bubble around you so if the orcs do notice you, you can run and be safer than you would be without a protection spell," Mariya says. "Also, light reflecting off the bubbles would cause the orcs to chase you once the lightning flashes. I like the plan where the orcs chase you to the mouth." She grins. "What do you guys think?"

 

[Devor]

Orcs. Now they want me to fight orcs.

Ohh Leppy, how will I know they are worth this?

Furtano grumbles for a moment, looking at the small opening the pixie came through."Are there many openings to this cave? Perhaps we can seal them in or choke them out with a fire. I don't fancy a round with the sword. Not with orcs. Not without the advantage."

He looks up across the cliff.

"What happened here, anyhow? Do these orcs have donkey feet? Is there an opening here, or did they scale the cliff and enter from above? Are the two unrelated happenstance?"

He considers telling them about Leppy for a moment. Between Leppy and the muse, they could send bright lights and a cloud of smoke through the opening, an illusion of fire and the screams of destruction, to chase the orcs out of their cave and ambush them at the entrance before they know what's happening.

That would be better than sneaking onto their home turf or attempting to outrun a group of cannibals. But he would have to tell them about Leppy to make it work.

Are they really worth it?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Enter the Princess

As our heroes discuss the attack plan, little do they know someone is approaching from the east side of the cliff wall.

Spoiler: what PRINCESS FENELLA sees

Princess Fenella doesn't know how she got to this eastern island. One moment, she's heading to the mountains with Mariya on her shoulder. The next thing she knows, she's on the beach in a smoldering crater and her hair is standing on end.

When she asks a local who runs this strange land, he says, "Princess Rose is in charge of Roku-Roku Island, your highness. Unfortunately, there is ugly business she must attend to. Some preachers on a retreat have gone missing, so the princess is organizing a rescue party. Perhaps you can speak to Lily, who is sort of... the princess' second-in-command, you could say."

Princess Fenella follows the path she was told would lead to this Lily, who Fenella can only imagine is a handmaiden or a lady knight and certainly not a savage like the commoner wearing nothing but a sort of banana leaf skirt. She notices the men on this island dress oddly and all of the locals dress very little and they don't seem to dress their children at all. The ladies who do dress properly wave little fans, and the properly-dressed men sweat a lot.

Once she heads down the path, she doesn't see anyone for quite some time. As the princess passes a rocky cliffside which narrows the road, forcing her to tromp through insect-infested grass in a silk gown and heels, she hears voices both female and male.

The last female to speak has a familiar voice, Fenella realizes.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily responds to the question of the orcs. "I doubt they have donkey feet... not the ones I've taken out, anyway. They make pants out of human skulls. I don't know how the pants stay on, nor do I want to." Regarding the question of openings, she says, "I've camped in this cave with past students. Lots of tunnels lead to the top, so you can sleep by a fire and not worry about the smoke."

Turning to Ariel, she adds, "Good thing we didn't camp in there! I don't like the odds of two of us against seven orcs. Five with protective magic..." She turns to Mariya. "Bubbles?" She stifles a laugh. "I've never seen a pixie spell before, never mind have one cast on me!"

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

"How well does that bubble spell work?" I ask Mariya. "Could it put bubbles around all of us? If something goes wrong, it'd be best if we all got as much protection as possible. Thing is though, would we shooters be able to shoot out through the bubbles?"