Play-Test Episode: "Ariel's Fate"

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily ponders Ariel's words, then says, "I think you're right. That might be the best way to 'em!"

((I'll give players in the cave more time to post before merging the groups together.))

As for the corpses, all they have on them are helmets that you'd rather not touch. Lily seems satisfied with the spear. She contemplates the hammer, but then says, "Aw, it's cheaply made. Look at the cracks I put in it when I dropped it on that ass-hat." She notices her spear tip has a chip in it, and doesn't seem to pleased by that.

 

[Aspasia]

Dila

Crap, I think, as the donkey man jumps off his pedestal towards me--fortunately thrown off course by my bolt. Nowhere to hide. Lovely. I keep my crossbow steady, fighting my urge to freeze as the enemy advances toward me. I'm not going to miss. What I would give for some concealment, though!

The faint light to my left is distracting, but I ignore it to focus on the target. His axe won't mean a thing if he's got a nice bolt through the head. I aim, prepare to loose--

What the hell? Something small and bouncy, out of the corner of my eye--I refuse to get distracted. A quick glance down as I step back. Is that an ... eyeball?

Okay, that's just disgusting. This cave is just getting better and better.

I'm almost against the wall now--even as the donkey-man glares at me menacingly I double-check my aim and prepare to shoot.



The bolt fumbles in my fingers. Now of all times...I manage to hold on to it, and step back along the wall, eyeing the donkey-man's axe. I need time to aim--when I do shoot it had better be pretty powerful! Both hands occupied with the dratted crossbow, I can't see any way to distract the monster.

"Hey!" I shout, somewhat desperately. "Behind you, idiot!"

Yeah, fighting up close isn't really my thing ...

 

[Noma Galway]

I see Dila's struggle with the ass-hat and change targets with my spell. Hopefully Fenella can keep the one close to us subdued. I release the magic toward the donkey close to Dila.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Dila backs up to the wall, but it's no use. She is defenseless against the magic axe—or would be if not for Mariya's lightning bolt.

Mariya aims for Dila's opponent, but her mother—The Voice—answers brother Lorenzo's prayer.

Mariya's bolt tears through the ass-hat who struck Princess Fenella. He explodes in a bloody mass. The rest of the room is lit up, making it impossible for those inside to see for a full second.

Lily grabs Ariel's shoulder to stop her from rushing into the field of lightning—thinking it's from the donkey man's electric axe. But as the final sparks dissipate, Lily voices her observation: "That ass-man only has half a head."

Everyone can plainly see that as Pinkeye's burnt corpse teeters back and forth a couple times before finally keeling over. What happened to his ass-hat, or any part from the nose up, is anyone's guess.


((Feel free to RP the party safely regrouping… next stop: Final Play-Test Battle))

 

[Ireth]

I shield my eyes from the blaze as lightning fills the cavern. When the light fades, I blink in amazement. It may be the ass-hat's attack backfired on him, but I think it's more likely that Brother Lorenzo's prayer was answered spectacularly. I edge forward, grinning at our comrades. "Looks like everything's taken care of in here."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily notices the blade of the axe is still surrounded by a field of lightning. She touches it. There is a small popping sound and her hair stands on end, but she seems fine. She picks up the axe and examines it.

"Any takers?" she asks.

 

[Aspasia]

Dila

"Thanks." I say to Mariya, with a brief nod. I let the tension on my crossbow slowly release, and stow away the bolt that I didn't have to use. As Ariel and Lily reappear and survey the scene, I step forward to stare at the corpse of the ass-hat. That was way too close.

I shrug in response to Lily's inquiry. "No thanks. I think I'll stick to what I know." I look around the cave, noticing the other corpses littering the cave floor. Looked like it was pretty close for all of us. I don't like the cave--too cramped and dark.

"Should we get out into the sunlight again?" I ask, "Or do you guys think there's something else down here."

 

[Noma Galway]

I nod in acknowledgement to Dila. "I'd love to get out in the sun, but there could easily be something down here."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily looks around, and she listens during a brief lull in the conversation. "Seems quiet in here," she says, "but we can work our way up to the enemy. Maybe we can get the jump on them in the cover of darkness, even if they notice the dead guards on the hillside."

((NOTE: Rolz.org is a bit odd now. I rolled in the old dice room. You can roll in beta if you want. The only catch: you can't add comments to your rolls with #. I did some test rolls, and rolled a mix of single and double digits. It seems properly random, so either dice room can be taken as a fair roll as far as I'm concerned.

In the old room, the 10 I rolled didn't show up in the log or in a way I can post the roll. I rolled an 18, and that didn't show up either. I signed out and back in, and the 4 worked, so Lily's stuck with that. She might blow your cover unless we get enough players with successful stealth rolls.


That said…

Players, please make stealth rolls and describe how you work your way up through the dark tunnels. They become narrow as you get to the top. You are not completely blind, making it likely that you would notice movement. If you roll 10+ [13+ for Fenella], you'd notice an enemy even if he remains still. Huntresses with high rolls MIGHT find a "sniper hole," giving you a free shot at the enemy when the new map is up.))

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I follow after Lily as we creep through the tunnels, hoping I don't make too much noise.

Well, so much for that. Loose stones make me stub my toes, and some of them dislodge and clatter back down the tunnel behind me, making a fair bit of noise. I cringe and resist the urge to whisper an apology -- in here it would probably echo. Not good. I drop to a crouch and crawl, feeling the ground in front of me so I don't stub my toes as the path gets narrower. I hope I don't give us all away!

 

[Aspasia]

Dila

Eyeing the narrow tunnels, I follow Ariel slowly, concentrating on being quiet.



As stones trickle down towards me from above, I wince and try to avoid them. My shoes scrape on the rocks, but I manage to avoid slipping. I know I can be quieter than this. My crossbow is an encumbrance, forcing me to navigate the tunnels awkwardly as they get narrower.

 

[Noma Galway]

Mariya follows, moving lightly on the floor, dodging the rocks Dila sets loose easily.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The huntresses prove to be less than stealthy once they discover a pool of water in the tunnels. Mariya flits across the surface with ease. The ass-hats heading into the cave to check on the splashing sound don't see the tiny muse as she tiptoes across the surface of the water. Dila submerges herself in time to avoid being spotted, but Ariel can't chance wetting her bow. Lily takes a punch for her. The second guard grumbles, "Stupid conch! The rocks are too slippery for my hooves!"

((slips on wet rocks))

​

((punches Lily))​

Mariya and Dila spy an orc talking to a donkey man.

"Look," says the orc, "we had a good thing going here until you drew unwanted attention. My boss will be here any minute now. So do we join forces or fight a three way war."

"Screw you and your boss dad. We know you took heavy losses. Beaten by a bunch of girls? You're just saving you own sorry green butts."

"Yeah, well… my dad's a one-orc army. Just keep an open mind until he gets here. In the mean time, consider me one of your men until dad shows up."

"Whatever. If you attack the huntresses, I won't shove my hoof up your bare ass."

It seems the orc and donkey men are not aware of the merc and the muse.

((Dila and Mariya are free to attack enemies below or above - the enemies above do not see them! Everyone below can attack the wimpy ass-hats. Anyone who joins the game starts at the lowest occupied area on the map.))

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

Oh, lovely -- more donkey-men to fight! Lily takes a blow from one on my behalf, and I quickly aim an arrow at the same fiend to keep my mentor safe.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Nice shooting!" Lily says to Ariel. Then to herself, she adds, that'll soften him up so I can finish him off with a…

"TIGRESS UPPERCUT!"

((Remember: roll a 20; invent a special move!))

 

[Noma Galway]

I begin to sing, but as my voice breaks I let the note go.

I take a breath to collect myself before I sing again

 

[Aspasia]

Dila

I eye potential targets. That orc's dad doesn't sound like someone I want to meet--better get rid of these guys so we can all concentrate on him, when he comes. I aim at the son, ready to release my first bolt--



The bolt shoots from my crossbow, my aim true. Yes! That makes up for my less-than-stellar performance in the cave. I load another bolt quickly, ready to face any retaliation.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((Ruby, go ahead and roll twice—at least once against the guy who fell on his face.))

Ariel grazes the nearest enemy with an arrow, and Lily tries to finish him off. Her uppercut sends him smacking into the rocks above. He lands on his pink-eyed boss, knocking him over the cliff's edge. He falls to his death in the middle of an argument with the orc boss' son.

Before the orc can say anything, he feels a sharp pain in his back. "Daddy!" he wails. The brown haired orc decided to take cover, forcing the ass-hats to act. the second-in-command leaps down to where the bolt apparently came from, and Dila takes a hoof to the face.

In the watery cave, the smaller ass-hat tries to take advantage of Lily's vulnerable position as she lands from her punch… but he slips on the wet rocks again. He breaks his nose when he lands. ((He rolled two 1s in a row.))

((Note: any player can move to attack any enemy except "Doc Brown." He's in a position of high ground with a readied attack, and he can't be shot from his position of cover… except by lightning, of course. Higher ground doesn't help against lightning.))

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I smile in satisfaction as the donkey-man lands in the water, and aim an arrow at him. With luck he won't be getting up again.

Whoops! This one misses and clatters against the rocks behind him.

 

[Ruby]

1d20 => [ 19 ] = 19

1D20 => 8

((Hi Legendary Sidekick these are my 2 results. For some reason the roll doesn't give me three formats when I click on it. In fact, nothing happens. I've had to copy and paste the original format and this is what I'm getting. What's gone wrong?))

Fenella

I'm feeling rather wet! Oh, well, I am standing in four feet of water. I thrust my sword twice at the man to my left. I do more damage the first time!