Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

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Urson
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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#261 Post by Urson »

Jake
Jake is about to attack one of the pirates when he remembers the gadget he picked up a while back- the Portal Key. He quickly uses it to open a portal in the wall to allow himself and the other party members to pass through into the room. Have fun with the Eld!
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Pulpatoon
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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#262 Post by Pulpatoon »

Flintlock attempts to throw off his captors, grunting and pulling as the pull him to the portal. The pirates pick Flintlock up—one on each arm and one on the legs, and they swing him back and forth like a cradle, building momentum for a really good toss. The metal man goes sailing into the supernatural darkness, where he collides with Horton. Horton grabs ahold of Flintlock: "I've got you!" he says, his voice oddly muted in the vast emptiness. Together, they slowly somersault, the portal growing ever more distant.

Things are looking dire for this pair. While Horton had been just a hair past reaching distance, they've now been knocked considerably farther, and will only continue to drift away. In a round or two, they will be considered lost.

Wikerus, meanwhile, is shocked to discover his lame attempt at deception caused the pirates to drop their hold on him. They look at each other with a blank expression for a half second before they realize their mistake, and move to recapture their prisoner.
Flintlock STR (3): [1d20] = 11

Wikerus WIL(16): [1d20] = 13
I won't always let this work, but what the hell, it worked this time.
Jake uses his Key to open a door through the wall from the hallway to the Portal Room. The remainder of the party can now bypass the two pirates blocking the door, and engage the six pirates inside the room, if they wish.

Actions!
More on Friday!

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Urson
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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#263 Post by Urson »

Jake

IF he can't attack this round, he will next.

Jake charges, walloping the nearest of the pirates with his maul. Get a rope through that hole!

maul[1d8] = 5
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Rusty Tincanne
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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#264 Post by Rusty Tincanne »

I'm having images of the Illustrated Man, with Horton and Flintlock sailing through space together, eventually sailing into a star or being incinerated in some atmosphere.

Flintock takes a moment to look around and finds the void beautiful. He smiles at Horton and pushes off with all his (puny) strength, aiming Horton towards the portal and himself deeper into the void. See you later!

This has been great fun! I am hoping for an equal and opposite reaction-reaction. Perhaps A DEX check for targeting? Maybe Horton has a water bottle he can use as a thruster for adjusting the trajectory.

And maybe Flintock will get luck and end up in the tower again. :) (With a bunch of frozen pirates...)

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ChubbyPixie
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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#265 Post by ChubbyPixie »

Ha! I can't believe they fell for the oldest trick in the book! :)
Wikerus uses their hesitation to his advantage and lashes out with the blunt end of his axe, aiming for the kneecap of one of the rascals.
Axe Attack!: [1d6] = 5

Over their heads he watches Flintlock sail into the void. A rope! Why didn't I bring a rope! Always bring a rope! he thinks.

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Starbeard
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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#266 Post by Starbeard »

The Princess charges into the Portal Room shouting, "Scallywags," "Ne'er-do-wells," and, "Loathsome criminal types!"

She rushes an unoccupied pirate and attempts to push him through the portal into the depths of the Cosmos.
STR and DEX rolls, if/when needed:
url=http://www.unseenservant.com/default.as ... 04&macid=0]STR (7): [1d20] = 20, DEX (13): [1d20] = 17[/url]

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Pulpatoon
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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#267 Post by Pulpatoon »

Grappling Thoughts:
Chris McDowall, author of Into the Odd, has put this forward as the approach to grappling:
It's an unarmed attack (d4) but the target has to pass a STR Save if they want to disengage from the grapple. While you're grappled you can only fight unarmed or with knife-sized weapons.

I guess we would conclude that an attempt to pin someone or knock them into a portal is what happens as a Critical Damage result from grappling. How does that sit with everyone?

So it looks something this:
• If you want to grapple someone, simply announce that you're grappling them, and they are grappled.
• State what condition you hope to impose on them (restrained, prone, pushed, etc.).
• Roll d4 for damage. If you get a Crit Damage on them, the condition is achieved.
• The target, on their turn, can either continue to grapple, rolling their own d4 for damage and announcing what they're trying to do to you, or they can roll STR to break free.

Looking at this, the perhaps-obvious point occurs to me: Crit Damage can be interpreted as "accomplishing what you most want to impose on an opponent." The default setting for Crit Damage is "Unconscious and Dying." But whenever you want to do something else, like knock someone out, or disarm them, you're still seeking Crit Damage.

I guess I kinda knew this. It's how a lot of monster effects work in ItO: If you're an squid that is trying to swallow someone whole, that happens on Crit Damage. But I hadn't glommed onto its broader application.
Let's you and him fight:
The Princess pushes. [1d4] = 4
Pirates Crit Save: [1d20] = 16 Failed!
Wikerus axes. Axe Attack!: [1d6] = 5
Pirates Crit Save: [1d20] = 5 Success.
Jake mauls. maul[1d8] = 5
Pirates Crit Save: [1d20] = 5 Success.
Splinters and Deet fire upon the two pirates in the hallway (they being the clearest targets).
[1d8] = 4
[1d8] = 6
Pirates Crit Save: [1d20] = 1 Success.

Pirates attack!
Pirate 2: (Wikerus)[1d6] = 5
Pirate 3: (Wikerus)[1d6] = 5
Total Damage: 5
Wikerus STR is reduced to 7. Crit Dmage check: [1d20] = 17 Passed!

Pirate 4: (Jake) [1d6] = 6
Pirate 5: (Jake) [1d6] = 3
Total: 6
Jake STR reduced to 7. Crit Damage check: [1d20] = 5 Passed!

Pirate 6: (Princess) [1d6] = 3
Princess STR reduced to 1! Crit Damage check: [1d20] = 15 Failed!

Pirate 7: (Splinters) [1d6] = 5
Splinters STR reduced to 8. Crit Damage check: [1d20] = 4

Pirate 8: (Deet) [1d6] = 2
Deet STR reduced to 4. Crit Damage check: [1d20] = 20 Failed!
The party and the pirates come together in a terrible clash! The Princess leads the charge, barreling into a pirate reaching for Wikerus, and knocking him, tail over teacups, into the portal void. Wikerus' axe bites into a pirate's leg, and Jake clocks another with his maul.

Outside, in the hallway, Deet and Splinter's muskets discharge as they fire on the two pirates blocking the door.

But the pirates give as good as they get. With flashing cutlasses, they strike each member of the party. The previously-wounded Deet and Princess both fall to the ground. Jake, Wikerus, and Splinters are bloodied, but remain standing.

Out in the Void, Flintlock heroically sacrifices himself in order to fling Horton back into the light. Horton tumbles back into the Portal Room, narrowly avoiding a collision with the Princess-pushed pirate. He finds himself in a room full of angry pirates and badly wounded compatriots.

Flintlock continues to sail, off into the darkness.

Actions!
More on Monday!

Rusty Tincanne
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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#268 Post by Rusty Tincanne »

Flintlock takes one last look at the portal, waving goodbye to that sorry lot of fools. Not Al bad, he supposed, but too moral to have any real fun. He looks ahead, waiting for the next portal curtain to pass through.


Several weeks later, a diminutive, metal man marvels at a supernova and narrowly misses a collision with a defunct NASA probe.

Fun game. Thanks!

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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#269 Post by coil23 »

Horton is struck by the sacrifice of his companion. Desperately, he grabs the nearest pirate by the arm and tries to swing him into the void. If we can dispatch these cretins quickly enough, I can be launched back out to retrieve Flintlock.

[1d6] = 3


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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#271 Post by Pulpatoon »

Wikerus Axe Attack!: [1d6] = 2 Pirate Crit check: [1d20] = 12 Failed.
Horton [1d6] = 3 Crit check: [1d20] = 8 Failed.
Jake's Maul: [1d8] = 2
Pirate 1 (Wikerus) [1d6] = 4 STR: 3. Crit check: [1d20] = 7 Failed.
Pirate 2 (Jake) [1d6] = 3 STR: 4. Crit Check: [1d20] = 16 Failed.
Pirate 3 (mirror Splinters)
Pirate 4 (mirror Splinters)
Pirate 5 (Splinters) [1d6] = 6 STR: 2. Crit Check: [1d20] = 13
Wikerus leaps to the fallen Princess' aid, knocking her attacker to the ground. A pirate cruelly strikes him from behind, and Wikerus drops to the ground next to the Princess, an arm draped over her still form, protecting her even in after consciousness has fled.

Splinters reaches over his shoulder and pulls a string, activating his Mirror Engine. Suddenly the hallway and portal room are filled with images of the Wooden Boy, distracting the pirates while the real Splinters hurriedly reloads. Two pirates fling themselves upon illusions, but one happens to strike the genuine article. With a soft crunch, Splinters is knocked out mid-reload, spilling his gunpowder and shot.

Jake attacks a pirate, narrowly missing and smashing a fist-sized chunk out of the wall with his maul. The pirate returns the blow, catching Jake in the stomach. He falls, bleeding.

Horton tumbles back through the portal, sword swinging. He catches a pirate behind the neck and uses his momentum to fling the pirate into the Void before his painted boots even hit the floor. It is a singularly dashing moment for the former librarian.

Unfortunately, the only audience to his daring do are three deeply pissed-off pirates. His compatriots litter the sandstone floor.

Jakes' portal to the hallway winks out of existence. Through the still-open door to the hall, however, Horton sees flashes of blue light, and the sudden smell of a lightening-strike. The two pirates in the hall drop in twisted heaps, as Eld rush down the hall.

Looking into the portal room, an impossibly slender Eld in cucumber-and-rose armor calls out in a language Horton can now understand: "Drop your weapons and cease hostilities! Surrender yourselves or face immediate correction!" The Eld carries a short baton that crackles with blue sparks.

ACTION (singular)!
More on Friday!

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Urson
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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#272 Post by Urson »

Jake

The overly-bold teen coughs in pain, too busy trying to press a hand to his wound to do much else.
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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#273 Post by coil23 »

Cucumber-and-rose armor: how dreamy! I simply must have some!

Horton raises his hands in surrender. Gladly. These monsters have destroyed my party. They barely have the patience to set the bait before they are tripping over themselves in their rush to betray. Quickly, will you help me retrieve my compatriot thrown into the void here? Please! Tie a rope to me and throw me toward him. Once I grab him you can pull us back in.

Horton, with hands raised and meek expression in place, takes a sidestep to be sure he isn't too close to any of the pissed off trio or too close to the portal.

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Re: Chapter 3: The Glittering Tower

#274 Post by ChubbyPixie »

Wikerus twitches. In a recurring nightmare he won't remember (especially if he doesn't survive) he is once again late for stone-cutting class. It's more of a memory, really.

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