Chapter 3: The Land That Time Forgot

[SpinwardMarch]

Tullia

She motions the people around her to get behind her and stay close together, facing outwards. They are all across the fire from the beast, and safe for the moment.

[OGRE MAGE]

Content with letting the fighters do the fighting, Chaka grunts and squats low to the ground after the strike from the big jungle cat.

Without saying a word, he tries to roll away from the melee, hoping to get around the fighters and into the darkness so he can come around the beast for a rear attack.

[ChubbyPixie]

Fiefo, embarrassed by his initial failure with the so far worthless tribal artifact, tries again, looking to use Ko-Nan's attack as a distraction to sneak in a brutal stab to the creature's throat.

Attack with Fauchard Fork (THAC0 19): To Hit: [1d20] = 7 Damage vs. s/M: [1d8] = 8, vs. L: [1d10] = 4 This fork is the worst! It's definitely the fork.

[Urson]

Maskelyn

The gnome nods to Tullia and watches the perimeter, ready to raise the alarm if anything else wanders in.

[Starbeard]

Jeojand casts his jump spell, leaping into the high branches of the trees, positioned so that he can drop onto the big cat from above.

[Inferno]

The Valley That Time Forgot, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day One. Night. March 25th, 912 CY
Cool, humid, clear








In a scene that might have played out millions of years ago on this very planet, beneath these very stars, a small tribe of intelligent primates uses cunning tools and weapons to fend off the savage attack of a primal sabre-toothed tiger!




Jeojand the catmancer breaks the hind leg of a grasshopper between his furry fingers, purrs a magic word and suddenly springs ten feet up into the air, alighting nimbly on the thick branch of a tree towering over the fight!

Tullia the ranger herds Arto and Switch behind her. Adrock pensively fingers his war darts, holding fire for fear of harming a friend. Maskelyn stands guard, watching the camp perimeter in case the ferocious beast is a pack hunter!

Chaka slowly backs out of the melee, his weapon before him in a defensive stance, leaving just Fiefo and Ko-Nan to withstand the wild onslaught of merciless teeth and claws!

Seeing that only two of ten adventurers have joined the fight, Buck gulps deeply and edges forward, staff held tight, hoping that his chainmail and the mercy of Staark, Iron Golem of the Techno-Forge, will protect him this night.

As Buck takes Chaka's position, the ape-boy withdraws and begins to circle around behind the deadly great cat in the deep shadows beyond the campfire.

Fiefo LeBratt misses again with his cursed ancestral heirloom. Ko-Nan the barbarian cuts deep with his great axe, drawing blood and angry snarls! Buck cracks his staff across the wide feline skull, earning the furious ire of the ravenous tiger!

With a vicious growl, the murderous man-eater lunges at Buck!




The ruthless apex predator wreaks havoc upon the mole-man, with razor sharp talons and six inch fangs! (-16hp!)




Ripped open in a ghastly harvest of blood, flesh and bone, Buck collapses in a pool of growing crimson.

Prey falls to predator, a brutal cycle repeated on this planet for millions of years, beneath these very stars.


Actions?!


Area Map:

Each square = 10 feet. Top of map is North. X = dead or unconscious.
Character positions are marked by first letter of first name. Jeojand (high above, in a tree) is not depicted.
Bluer areas are darkness beyond the firelight.


Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

initiative: Party: [1d6] = 6, Monster: [1d6] = 1 Party wins.
Buck attacks S1: [1d20] = 20, damage: [1d6] = 3 Bucks hits for 3hp.
S1 attacks Buck (c/c/b): [1d20] = 13, [1d20] = 10, [1d20] = 10 Both claws and bite hit.
Damage to Buck (c/c/b): [1d4+1] = 1+1 = 2, [1d4+1] = 2+1 = 3, [2d6] = 11 -16hp.
Both claws hit, allowing rear claw attacks: [1d20] = 8, [1d20] = 5 Both miss.

PC Status:

• Buck Russellswart: Mole-Man Cleric 2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: -1/18, Spells: 2/4 1st lvl
  Chaka: Ape-Boy Thief 3: Move: 12"(6"), AC: 6, HP: 12/17
  Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 17/20
  Jeojand: Cat-Man Magic-User 2: Move: 6", AC: 7, HP: 5/10, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl
  Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 32/32
  L.L. Adrock: Half-Elf Cleric/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: 2, HP: 6/6, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl
  Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 2: Move: 9", AC: 8, HP: 6/10, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl
  Tullia Galena: Half-Elf Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 24/24

PC Magic:

• None currently

PC Resources:

• End of the World (game description)
  Strange New World (maps and realms)
  Memory Tapes (the story so far)
  Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[Starbeard]

Jeojand growls at his loudest and pounces down onto the back of the tiger, dagger in one paw and flaming branch pulled from the fire in the other!

Jeojand Dagger (ThAC0 20): [1d20] = 11 / Damage (S-M/L): [1d4] = 4 / [1d3] = 3

[wolfpack]

seeing his friend torn to shreds LL swallows his fear, grabs his mace, and rushes into the fray.

SHOT DOWN IN A BLAZE OF GLORY

[1d20] = 2

[OGRE MAGE]

Chaka hurries around into the darkness and rushes up towards the rear of the action to try to attack the cat from behind.

To Hit with Long Sword: [1d20] = 5; Damage: S/M- [1d8] = 2; L- [1d12] = 10

+4 not added. Not sure if I can backstab with a longsword. Do you require HiS and MS rolls for this action?

Move Silently (27%): [1d100] = 44

Hide in Shadows (20%): [1d100] = 99

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan chops again the snarling beast, eager to make a meal of the thing! Perhaps too eager...

Attack: THACO (19): [1d20+1] = 8+1 = 9 / Damage: (S/M: [2d4+1] = 2+1 = 3 / L: [3d4+1] = 7+1 = 8)

[SpinwardMarch]

Tullia

She sheaths her sword and gets out her bow. Fading back into the dark, she moves around the fire to a position where she can get a clean shot.
....


Seeing that she would likely hit one of the party, she switches back to the long sword. Then she continues to move clock-wise around the fire, in order to get closer to the big cat, and perhaps hit it from the rear. Tullia really has no idea of how to disable/kill the animal; she has never seen one before.

[Urson]

Maskelyn

The illusionist howls in anguish, seeing another of his companions brought down. He stands still, torn between protecting himself and rushing in to try and rescue Buck.

[ChubbyPixie]

Good lord that mole. What a mess.

Mastering himself, Fiefo lets his mind drift back to the tribal nest, to the day he was given the fork and told he must be worthy. He didn't take it seriously then, how could he? But he begins to think now, in this stillness, this moment of reflection in the heat of battle, that the tribal elders may have been on to something after all. He focuses his mind, feels himself become one with the fork, his tribal identity. A vibration seems to course through him. He snaps back into the moment and attacks!:

Attack with Fauchard Fork (THAC0 19): To Hit: [1d20] = 1 Damage vs. s/M: [1d8] = 6, vs. L: [1d10] = 8
He's seriously going to ditch this piece of $#!&.

"Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaak!" he cries in a murine rage.

[Inferno]

The Valley That Time Forgot, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day One. Night. March 25th, 912 CY
Cool, humid, clear







In keeping with the eternal pattern of the hunter and the hunted, Buck falls beneath claw and fang, and breathes his last.

The fierce sabre-toothed tiger stands protectively over its blood-soaked prize, and roars with fury as the other adventurers begin to encroach upon it.



Wounded and seeing three more enemies maneuvering to surround it, the massive predator snatches little Buck's lifeless body in its gigantic, rapacious jaws and backs away into the night with its kill!

Ko-nan swings his great ax but cannot land a blow upon the agile feline hunter! And Fiefo LeBratt misses again and almost impales Ko-Nan with his jinxed ancestral fork!

The sabre-toothed tiger slips away into the primal darkness, disappearing in the direction of the primeval jungle.

And suddenly, all is quiet again.




Actions?!


Island map, to date:

X = The adventurers' current position.


Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

Initiative: Party: [1d6] = 5, Monsters: [1d6] = 6 Monster wins.
The tiger backs away from the melee, so Ko-Nan and Fiefo get free opportunity attacks, using their rolls for this round.
But the other PCs' attacks are no longer possible.

PC Status:

• Chaka: Ape-Boy Thief 3: Move: 12"(6"), AC: 6, HP: 12/17
  Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 17/20
  Jeojand: Cat-Man Magic-User 2: Move: 6", AC: 7, HP: 5/10, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl
  Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 32/32
  L.L. Adrock: Half-Elf Cleric/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: 2, HP: 6/6, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl
  Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 2: Move: 9", AC: 8, HP: 6/10, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl
  Tullia Galena: Half-Elf Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 24/24

PC Magic:

• None currently

PC Resources:

• End of the World (game description)
  Strange New World (maps and realms)
  Memory Tapes (the story so far)
  Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan grunts at the escape and shakes his head at his own feeble attempt to combat the Tiger. He is lucky to be alive - if this was back in the Mines he would be dead. "Too dark to follow. We should wait til light"

[Urson]

Maskelyn

Damn tú go dtí ifreann, fucking tú bastard! D'fhéadfadh an Dia a scriosadh duit! Maskelyn curses in Gnomish, shaking in impotent fury.

[ChubbyPixie]

Fiefo can sense the cat is gone for good. They are now one less, no thanks to him and this stupid fork, which he now thinks must be some sort of joke played on him by his tribe. He stares at it hard and considers throwing it away - in his rage he almost does so - but in the end stows it instead. He then glares down at the stain where Buck used to be. He looks up and seems ready to say something, then shuts his mouth, stalks over to his pack and sits with his back to the fire, staring off into the surrounding dark.

[SpinwardMarch]

Tullia

Poor Buck. May his spirit rest in peace.

She stares sadly into the fire.

[OGRE MAGE]

Approaching from the dark, Chaka still thinks the big cat is a threat. He flies back into the light, flailing at nothing but air when he sees that his target has moved on with its meal......his friend Buck. "Buck gone now? I like Buck!"

When he sees the reactions of the others, he hangs his head in sorrow for his lost companion.

"Chaka feel bad! Animals get hungry too. What we do now?"

[wolfpack]

LL wipes away a tear at the loss of Buck

rest in peace Buck

Maybe in another life
I could find you there
Pulled away before your time
I can't deal, it's so unfair

And it feels, and it feels like
Heaven's so far away
And it feels, yeah, it feels like
The world has grown cold, now that you've gone away