Chapter 3: The House of Oblivion, Local Franchise Branch

[Pulpatoon]

Operation: Unfathomable! Day 4; time unknown
Wither crawls from his roughspun sack and makes quick work of waking the others, who introduce themselves and attempt to make sense of their situation.

Wither Whither, Citizen Lich, who seeks the fabled Library of Hell
Doctor Gori, mysterious castaway from another dimension who is delighted to find a baby tyrannoclops still asleep inside his tunic
Tarka, Cave Otter out for a lark
Thunk, flaxen-furred, vainglorious Wooly Neanderthal, still convinced that this he is in a spa
Krodok, the last remaining member of the original party, here to find the object of his adoration, Shantora Lax

The party wakes up with nothing but their clothes. Wither, Gori, and Krodok arm themselves with surgical tools, and Wither has collected 2 scrolls and fashioned a satchel from the bag in which he regained corporeal vitality.



They are a room of smooth-polished white stone, amply lit by oil lamps. The room is about 15x25'. Four narrow beds, now unoccupied, line the righthand wall.

The left side of the room is fitted with a long table that runs the length of the room. It contains several drains, restraints, and wicked-looking tools. A taboret fits under the table, and is filled with more tools, and sets of extensible antennae attached to small, rectangular boxes by strange cords. There is a bin, thankfully empty, labeled, "DISCARD HEADS."

There are doors to North and South.

Suddenly the North door swings open! In the frame of the door stands a stout, middle-aged grey-skinned humanoid in priestly vestments, followed by four younger ones dressed as acolytes. The Nullites stare at you in open-mouthed shock.

ACTIONS!
Next post: Thursday!

[Captain Kinkajou]

Tarka

Having been woken, Tarka snorts a couple of times, wiggles his whiskers and shakes himself all over. Then he leaps up and excitedly scampers around the room and up onto the bench of implements, disrupting their careful layout and knocking several items to the floor.

"Oh wow! Oh wow! These look exciting. What are they? What do they do? What's this? Can I try? Who are you? I'm Tarka. How did we get here? What are you doing with that? What's this? Did I ask that already?" he chatters away at break-neck pace, hopping back and forth across the bench, picking things up and then discarding them as soon as he sees something else. He takes one tool and tries to balance it on his nose but drops it on the floor with a clatter. Undeterred, he picks up another and tries with that.

It's at that moment, that the door opens and the priest and acolytes appear.

Tarka freezes. "Guys, guys. I think the other team are here. What do we do? How do you play this game? Does anybody know? I can wing it if you don't. Should we wing it? I'm going to wing it."

He immediately charges full pelt at the group in the doorway. After all, jumping at people and bowling them over is always a good start to any game.

Oh wow, this is going to be fun, he thinks.

[Zhym]

Thunk is in the middle of trying to tease out a tangle with the de-tangling tool when the hairdressing team comes in. How smart of them to bring assistants—he has lots of hair, so he needs lots of hairdressers. He notices that the head hairdresser—hee hee, "head hairdresser"—is also in fancy clothes. Everyone in this spa dresses so fancy!

Thunk rushes over to embrace the small but fancy head hairdresser. "Thunk have tangle here, and matte here and here..." he explains as he urges the hairdresser towards a table.

Call that a grapple attack if you want—and if such a thing exists in this system.

[Pulpatoon]

Operation: Unfathomable! Day 4; time unknown
When the Nullite Priest and his acolytes enter the room, they are shocked to find their patients up and rummaging around. A moment of mutual incredulity stretches out as the two parties survey each other, dumbfounded. The pause breaks when Tarka and Thunk both run forward, eyes full of ill-placed enthusiasm. Thunk embraces the Nullite Priest in a delighted, bone-cracking bear hug, lifing the man off the floor where his feet dangle in their ecclesiastical slippers. Tarka throws himself at the acolytes, ready to play. The acolytes, in their surprise, jump out of the way, avoiding the worst of the cave otter's sport. Tarka is now in the hallway outside the room, behind the group of acolytes.

Krodok, for his part, has had a few too many horrible encounters in the Underworld, and decides immediately to start killing his way out of wherever this is. With a bestial snarl, he grabs a surgical tool and throws himself at the Priest Thunk has grappled. Unfortunately, the taboret of tools gets in his way, and Krodok tumbles headlong over it, snapping his makeshift weapon.

Wither and Doctor Gori are still shocked beyond the capacity to act.

"What?!" Shrieks the Priest, "What in the Name of All-That-Isn't is this? Acolytes! Run! Get help! Sound the alarums!"

Two of the acolytes turn to run down the hall, only to immediately bump into the manically grinning otter standing there.

The Priest tries to struggle out of Thunk's grip, and very nearly makes it, but the Wooly Neanderthal isn't ready to let this moment of gratitude end so quickly.

Dice:

Initiative: [1d6] = 4 PCs go first!
Tarka STR [1d20+2] = 9+2 = 11 vs. Acolyte DEX (11) No one is knocked prone.
Thunk STR [1d20+5] = 14+5 = 19
Krodok attack [1d20+6] = 1+6 = 7; dmg. [1d6] = 1 Fumble! Weapon loses 1 Quality (broken)
Acolyte STR [1d20+1] = 12+1 = 13 [1d20+1] = 9+1 = 10
Priest STR [1d20+2] = 14+2 = 16

ACTIONS!
Next Update: As soon as everyone posts, or Monday, whichever comes first! (I'm going to be available a lot during the next two weeks, so if we want to move quickly, we certainly can do so! Just post early and often!)

[Zhym]

Comprehension slowly dawns on Thunk's furry face. Something isn't right. Why is this man yelling an alarm? Thunk takes another look at the bare tables, the array of strange tools, the distinct lack of ferns and cucumber water. Then it finally hits him.

"This spa not licensed!" he declares triumphantly. He tightens his grip on the robed man and tries to cover the man's mouth to keep him from screaming any more.

[mjulius]

Wither, emboldened by the sudden awareness of allies, leaps (LEAPS!) towards the door.
He will attempt to pull it closed, securing the exit from escape.

If successful, he raises one long sickly finger to his taught lich lips, and emits a single threatening Shhhhhhhhhh...... to the two acolytes.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Tarka

Fun... fun... fun...

Tarka friskily hops back and forth in front of the two fleeing acolytes, trying to keep them off balance.

Oh goody! It's a game of Catch. Or maybe It. But probably Catch. Tarka likes Catch.

He darts forward to give one of the acolytes a playful nip. Catch is always, so much for fun when they panic. And these two look about ready to freak out.

ooc: Happy for the "playful nip" to be a straight up bite attack. If he happens to rip someone's leg off, we can just put it down to over-exuberance

[Pulpatoon]

Thunk continues to squeeze his opponent, whose grey skins takes on a purple tone.
Krodok scrambles on the floor, regaining his feet and collecting a new improvised weapon.
Wither leaps like a the reanimated corpse of a spring lamb, and slams the door shut, closing Tarka and two acolytes in the hall outside.

...he raises one long sickly finger to his taught lich lips, and emits a single threatening Shhhhhhhhhh...... to the two acolytes.

The acolytes quail before this intimidating display.
The priest continues to struggle, but his movement change. Instead of trying to break free, he reaches for one of two devices that hang from his belt. Thunk's grip proves too strong, however.
The acolytes remain frozen in panic.

Outside the door, Tarka excitedly nips at his two playmates, but doesn't connect. The acolytes coordinate their dodge, each breaking in a different direction. As Tarka turns to engage one, the other is able to slip past, and runs down the hall, calling out.

Soon, the sound of someone banging on metal is heard, as the alarm goes up.

Dice:

Initiative: [1d6] = 6 PCs go first!
Thunk STR [1d20+5] = 15+5 = 20
Wither CHA check: [1d20+2] = 13+2 = 15
Priest STR [1d20+2] = 8+2 = 10
Tarka STR [1d20+2] = 8+2 = 10
Acolyte STR [1d20+1] = 13+1 = 14 [1d20+1] = 10+1 = 11

ACTIONS!
Next update: As soon as everyone has posted, or Wednesday, whichever comes first!

[Captain Kinkajou]

Tarka

Loving a good chase, Tarka squeals and bounds off after the fleeing acolyte.

[Zhym]

Thunk, now sure that this unlicensed beautician is up to no good, squeezes even tighter while trying to head-butt him into submission.

I'm not sure how one handles a heat-butt attack in game mechanics, so please let me know if I should roll something.

[Pulpatoon]

Operation: Unfathomable! Day 4; time unknown
The Priest, in a savage burst of strength, pulls his arms free of Thunk's crushing embrace. He pulls a strange totem item from his belt—something that Wither recognizes as a spell-casting device. "Down beast!" he cries, aiming a lavender ray into Thunk's eyes. Thunk immediately clams down. He was mistaken! This is a wonderful place! And this wonderful priest knows what is best for Thunk. Thunk has been charmed.

The acolytes, still terrified by the undead monstrosity before them, advance on Wither with scalpels in hand. They can't quite summon the courage to press in on Wither, and each hangs back, hoping the other will attack first. Their attacks miss Wither, swishing harmlessly through the air several feet shy of the intended target.

Krodok, now up on his feet and re-armed, attacks the priest, still held in Thunk's grip. Krodok sinks his improvised weapon so deep into the Priest's back that the blade snaps off inside. The Priest screams in pain!

Meanwhile, in the hall, Tarka happily scampers after his playmates. The hallway is about 50' long, with a short flight of stairs going up halfway along its length. The acolytes are surprisingly fast, and Tarka only begins to catch up with them at the end of the hall, when they disappear through a door on the right hand side. As they rush through the door, Tarka hears them shouting, "Under attack! Send decapitates! Quickly!" The door slams shut in Tarka's face.

Re: Unarmed attacks. My default was that unarmed attacks did damage equal to one's STR bonus, but I hadn't accounted for people having +5 STR. I think what I'll do is roll a die equal to STR bonus for damage. So, Thunk would roll 1d5 for a head-butt, if he hadn't been charmed first. Last round, I took a flat 5 damage off the priest for being squeezed.

Dice:

Initiative: [1d6] = 1 Nullites god first.
Priest STR [1d20+2] = 19+2 = 21
Think INT [1d20+1] = 10+1 = 11 Failed save.
Acolyte attks: [1d20+1] = 5+1 = 6 [1d4] = 2; [1d20+1] = 2+1 = 3 [1d4] = 1
Krodok attack [1d20+6] = 16+6 = 22; dmg. [1d6] = 1
Crit Damage: [1d6] = 5
Tarka DEX [1d20+3] = 7+3 = 10

ACTIONS!
Next Update: Friday!

[rossik]

snapping out of the abyss of his mind, Doctor Gori "wakes" in the middle of a fight! He tries to throw something at the magical controlling wand guy, just to disarm him and uses his wand against him!

[Captain Kinkajou]

Tarka

How rude! thinks Tarka. These religious types are no fun at all. Nul fun, in fact.

He sulks a bit and scrabbles at the door to see if it opens, then scampers off to look for fun in another direction.

[Pulpatoon]

Operation: Unfathomable! Day 4; time unknown
The Priest is able to easily release himself from the charmed Thunk's embrace. He reconnects his magical device to his belt, and runs to the door on the south wall of the room (that is, the door opposite the one he entered through), scrambling to wrench it open.

The two acolytes overcome their fear of Wither when the Lich freezes up in the face of their inept attacks. Spurred on by new courage, they set upon the frail magician, slicing his dry flesh to ribbons. Mere minutes after revivifying, Wither is dead again.

Doctor Gori bestirs himself from his surgical bed, and, seeing the tumult before him, grabs a heavy metal tray and flings it at the departing priest. The heavy tray has poor aerodynamics, and crashes to the ground short of its target.

Krodok grabs another surgical tool, and leaps on the priest with a wild cry. He grabs the priest from behind, just as the man is about to open the door, pulls his head back, and slits his throat. As the grey body slumps to the floor, Krodok turns around with a wild look in his eyes. In a voice thick with anger and anxiety, he cries, "Kodok hate terrible, terrible Underworld!"

Meanwhile, Tarka finds the door before him opens easily—because it is being opened from the other side by a squad of decapitates!

There are four decapitates—broad of chest, thick of limb, armed with glaives and clad in armor—jostling to get through the choke-point of the door. The foremost one , half-pinned by his comrades, brings his glaive to bear, neatly pinning Tarka in the chest. Tarka may choose to run back down the hall this round, as suggested by CK's post, or change it to an attack or other action. This is in addition to posting his intended action for next round.

Dice:

Initiative: [1d6] = 2Nullites go first!
Acolyte attks: [1d20+1] = 19+1 = 20 [1d4] = 4; [1d20+1] = 16+1 = 17 [1d4] = 3
Dr. Gori DEX [1d20+1] = 8+1 = 9
Krodok attack [1d20+6] = 14+6 = 20; dmg. [1d6] = 3
Decapitate glaive [1d20+1] = 19+1 = 20; [1d10] = 6

Things are looking grim. Thunk is charmed, Wither is dead, and Tarka is badly wounded. You are in unknown enemy territory, and don't know how many decapitates might be on hand. I suggest you guys discuss and figure out as a group what your strategy is going to be.

Next update is on Monday, unless you folks want to request an extension.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Tarka

Tarka clutches his chest and staggers back from the advancing decapitates.

"Urggghhh! They got me! They've killed me they has," he mews pathetically.

He wobbles first one way and then the next, staggering in a little circle before pirouetting and collapsing to the floor. His webbed feet kick up momentarily, shudder and then flop back down. Then he coughs one long wheezing cough, his eyes close and his tongue flops out of the side of his mouth. Having taken such a terrible wound, it seems the once playful otter is now dead as a dodo - honest

ooc: A risky strategy perhaps but options appear pretty limited right now and after all playing dead is what he does best.

[Zhym]

Thunk gasps in dismay as his friend the head hairdresser is savagely cut down. He cycles quickly through the stages of grief, stopping at "anger" when he realizes that the fancy hairdresser wasn't actually his friend—he just made Thunk think he was his friend!

"Oooooh!" he growls. "Bad cos-mo-pol-ogist!" Thunk had heard that word once, or something like it, and he thought it very impressive.

But there's no time to for mourning or recriminations. Remembering what the fancy hairdresser did with one of his totems, Thunk quickly grabs the other totem. Backing toward the door the hairdresser came from, he shakes the totem at the hairdresser's assistants. "Booga booga!" he cries, knowing that items of power are always a little more powerful when words of power are spoken.

Just to clarify: Thunk only shakes the thing at the acolytes, he doesn't "use" it (I'm saving that use for opponents that might not be as easily scared away.)

[rossik]

Doctor Gori will take a scroll and use it to protect himself

[Pulpatoon]

Operation: Unfathomable! Day 4; time unknown
Outside in the hallway, Tarka drops to the floor after receiving a wound from the incoming decapitates, hoping to confuse them by playing cave opossum. Unfortunately, the decapitates don't have enough imagination to be confused. Seeing an enemy, they each jab it with their glaive while stepping over it and continuing down the hall.

It is Death & Dismemberment time for Tharka. Please roll a d6 and a d4. Good luck!

Back in the room, the two acolytes, flush with victory after dropping Wither, decide to each take on one of the Wooly Neanderthals. First one swipes a short-bladed scalpel at Thunk, opening a nasty incision (-4 hp). The second approaches Krodok, but Krodok is able to keep a bed between him and the acolyte.

Thunk, bleeding, dives for the old priest's belt, and comes back with a magical device. "Booga booga!" he cries, brandishing the device. The acolyte near him flinches in alarm.

Doctor Gori grabs up Wither's sack, and fishes one of the scrolls out of it. Unrolling it, he hastily reads the ancient Beetle glyphs, while giving the acolytes the stink eye. Suddenly, the head of the acolyte nearest Thunk comes neatly off his shoulders, tumbling to the ground. A few second later, arterial blood begins to spray from the humanoid's neck, misting Thunk in red. "Take that, Rebel scum!" Gori exults.

Krodok slams the bed separating him from the last remaining acolyte. The bed frame cracks into the shins of his opponent, who yelps in pain.

Thunk, Gori, and Krodok hear marching feet right outside the northern door.

Initiative: [1d6] = 2 Enemy goes first.
I'm not going to bother dicing out the attacks on Tarka. He is full of holes.
Who do the acolytes attack? [1d3] = 3 [1d3] = 1 Thunk and Krodok
Acolyte attks: [1d20+1] = 15+1 = 16 [1d4] = 4; [1d20+1] = 11+1 = 12 [1d4] = 3 Thunk hit for -4 hp.
Krodok attack [1d20+6] = 8+6 = 14; dmg. [1d6] = 1

Actions?!
Next update: Friday!

[Captain Kinkajou]

Death & Dismemberment: [1d6] = 1, [1d4] = 1 So, if I'm reading right, when/if Tarka eventually regains consciousness, his STR will have dropped to 11/+1 and he has a lasting injury... a bit of the glaive tip broke off in his chest and he'll no longer be able to sneak through metal-detectors or something.

[rossik]

"Lets take this as a hostage!" shout Doctor Gori.

If the acolyte have weapons still, Gori will menace to explode is dead too (i do believe i cant do that again with the same scroll, but the acolyte may not know this) and tells hims to drop near Gori.


(OOC: the headless dudes door are the only way out we can see?)