Play-Test Episode: "Ariel's Fate"

[Ireth]

Ariel

Lily leaps to my aid, giving me time to nock and aim another arrow. Let's hope this one kills him!

 

[Ruby]

Fenella

I lift up my golden dancing sword and have another go at joining in the fray.

This is more like it!

Maybe, I can finish off that ...... Orc!

 

[Noma Galway]

I end my sustained note with a smile, releasing the lightning.

(adding +2...4!)

Hopefully this will do some good!

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Ariel fires an arrow, hitting the golden haired orc. Fenella fends off her attacker, but before she can hit back, Mariya unleashes her lightning while her magic is fully charged.

The pixie loses control over the spell, but her mother seems to have taken over. Fenella's opponent almost manages to take cover inside the cave, but a bolt burns the blood-soaked orc to a crisp. The other two orcs are standing in the open. It appears that only the mightiest orc is able to survive this, but barely.

Once their eyes adjust, Furtano, Lily and Dila see that there is only one opponent left…

Spoiler: FINISH HIM!!

Use a boost and you can't fail. His defense roll sucked (0) and the lightning gave him a -2. He has 2hp. Thus, a 0 or better is death.

The only reason I'm telling you what it takes to kill him is so you can describe your victorious strike against the dazed orc. Lily will only steal the glory if no one posts a kill by tomorrow evening.

 

[Devor]

Furtano is halfway through his charge on the orc before he even realizes the large chunk of stone wedged onto the end of his cutlass, too late to adjust his attack to take advantage of it. His blood was too hot to care.

The wedge thwacks the orc in the side, for little effect.

The golden haired orc staggers back. "Skinny human. You cannot be so strong!" He rushes Furtano, fist first.

Furtano leaps aside with ease and a mocking smile. "Oh, ohhh, my dear orc," he taunts the green cretin, "you will tell stories of my strength to your dead father and brothers in your monster hell."

+ + + + + +2! By the power of FATE! (and a rock)


"I do hope you enjoy your bloody face scars with a side of concussion."


/ninjaed

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The stone crumbles over the orc's head. The orc teeters in place for a while as blood leaks from the stone, then he finally slumps over on his back. His skull pants roll a few feet away, making his corpse look even more pathetic.

From inside the cave, Dila hears a man moaning in pain…

 

[Aspasia]

Sounds like all is quiet outside. I freeze in place when I hear ... something. Could it be more orcs?



Hmm, that doesn't sound like an orc. Whoever it is, he sounds hurt, badly. A prisoner of the orcs? Or someone just in the wrong place at the wrong time? I don't want to venture too far into the cave alone. Not enough light to shoot accurately, no one to cover me just in case these guys are smarter than they appear.

I'm certain I can sneak in alone without being noticed, but if I am ... that would not be fun.

I'll tell the others. I slip out of the cave, and see Fenella standing over a very dead orc. Actually, they all look dead. I'm pleased to see my bolts peppering more than one.

"It sounds like someone's in the cave, and they don't sound good." I say, as the others celebrate our victory over the orcs. "Anyone want to come and check it out?"

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I look around as Dila emerges from the cave, and my eyes widen when she mentions a captive. I nod hurriedly. "I'll go. Lead the way!"

I move toward the cave mouth, wondering whether I'll need to be stealthy or keep an arrow ready. Hopefully nothing sinister is lying in wait. Then again, Dila's okay, so...

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily smiles. "Yeah, you're a real Huntress now. Go ahead and lead. I'll follow."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

As Ariel and the others move into the cave, she sees a man leaning against the wall and praying. When he sees people approaching, there's an expression of discomfort on his face.

"Er... ladies?" he says to the group. He addresses Furtano as "sir," then before he can say more, the man collapses. His pants is immodestly torn on the backside, and bloody. A blood begins to trickle from the side of the man's leg.

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

"It's okay, we're here to help you. My name's Ariel."

((Ouch! Maybe I should stop bothering with Rapport rolls!))

I think I'm scaring the poor guy. But then he collapses. Seeing the blood, I gasp and move forward, wincing in concern for the man. "What happened? How can we help?" I look around as well as closer at the man, trying to notice as much as possible.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Ariel sees that the man is missing part of his left buttock.

Lily says, "Maybe he was hit while running away?" She looks around nervously. "Um… we can try dressing the wound, but anyone happen to know a healing trick? Y'know… the magicky kind of trick."

Spoiler: Song of Sacrifice = Healing Standard

Since we're going with a simplified version of Fate, Mental Stress no longer is a thing. (Provoke will give -2 to an opponent.)

So to heal, we'll make Song of Sacrifice do what it always did: have the caster lose health in order to give health.

I still want to test the simplified version before I commit to the exact mechanics, but for now, let's have Song of Sacrifice be the way to heal… and if Furtano tries to cast healing, Leppy will have a spell, but Furtano will sacrifice some HP.

 

[Devor]

Still tired from the battle with the orcs, Furtano enters the cave with a lazy mind a hoarse pirate's grumble slipping from his throat. He tries to catch himself when he sees the old man.

"And hail, sir, to you as well," he says.

As the old man collapses, Furtano flatly gives up on rapport. He turns to his comrades.

"Does anybody know him? Small island, this being."

He turns back to the old man and takes a moment to his face, trying to sum him up.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((Note: Anyone who has MAGIC can heal the bleeding man magically.

Anyone who has LORE can attempt to heal him non-magically, which would be dressing the wound. I'm not sure if that's how Fate handles non-magic healing, but I do think there needs to be a roll of the dice for that.

Anyone without LORE can roll the LORE skill without a bonus, so anyone can attempt to save someone bleeding out. I'll let Lily try if I don't see any player attempts to revive the man.))

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

That wound looks nasty. I don't want to think about what might have caused it. I'm not an herbalist like Mum, but she did teach me a few things. Maybe I can patch him up enough to keep him from bleeding to death.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Ariel's knowledge of the healing arts is minimal, but she manages to stop the bleeding. The man is in no shape for fast running, but whatever attacked him doesn't seem to be following.

"He's gonna need more medical attention than that," Lily notes, "but I think you might've just saved his life. When he's in shape to move, we can help him back."

Spoiler: what to do now

You can talk to the man. Next poster can assume he's awake, though a little dazed. When asked his name, he'll reply that he's a preacher devoted to The Voice. Lorenzo's the name. He'll then remember his manners and ask your names.

What other information he gives you depends on what you ask.

I'll ready the next map, since (act surprised) the half-assed preacher's information will lead you to the next battle. We'll stick to "Simplified Fate with Zelda Hearts." I put it in quotes as if to say, "That's the actual name of this system."

 

[Aspasia]

Dila

I'm relieved to see the figure isn't an orc ambush. As the others crowd around, attempting to heal him, I hang back. I know no healing so I'm relieved to see Ariel handle the problem.

As Ariel stems the bleeding, I slip forward to join the others. The man, though battered and weak, looks like he's conscious. I wonder who he is, and how he got mixed up with a gang of orcs.

There doesn't seem to be anyone -- or anything -- else in the cave. But who attacked him? Was it the orcs, or ... something else?

We need to know, but I'm not sure if the man's up to recalling his near-fatal attack. We'll start small.

"Feeling all right?" I inquire.

((I'd roll Rapport but rolz.org is acting funny for me right now. It's 4U1+0 for Dila if it needs to be rolled.))

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((We can work without rolling for a couple days. Rolz usually shuts down, then starts up again.))

"Huh?" The man seems in a fog, but after introducing himself as a preacher of The Voice named Lorenzo, he goes on, "I've been better. But those things… they were trying to harvest me for… for clothing, I gather." The man scratches his head. "Honestly, I don't know what those creatures are doing here, but they ain't natural. Devils they are!"

 

[Noma Galway]

I pipe up from my spot on Fenella's shoulder. "Were there more of you here, Lorenzo? More humans?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((Rolz is back.))

Lorenzo finally sees the muse sitting on the princess' shoulder.

"Are you a…?"

He edges closer, but keeps his hands at a respectful distance. It's clear he has no intention to grab the muse. He also seems to forget his pain as he speaks.

"I am on a retreat with others. We are an order of monks—The Order of the Passive Voice. We believe your mother to be one of the gentler goddesses, and so we follow Her example. Unfortunately, passive resistance does nothing to heartless demons. One of my brothers thought he stumbled onto a sign from The Voice Herself. Sadly, it led him only to death… and I fear the others share his fate. It seems I was saved by you, and by my own cowardice."