That Which Shall Not Be Spoken (ooc and questions Vl)

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo thinks we should join up with them so they can show us all the things we need to know.

But Bo was the one who didn't want to venture out in the storm either, so what does he know?

[rredmond]

Is the druid looking to split up the party... again.
That's worked out for us as much as leaving the town.

[rredmond]

In all seriousness though, it feels like not leaving the town was the only not-lose choice for us. Or at least less-lose. I'm not sure we could have avoided the wolves or Vicar's Head, the dread town of death and witches once we left. My guess is that Gideon's crew has some wolfy-men (or women - I'm looking at you cranky Temperance) among them as well; though maybe not considering they haven't followed the lure of being all-wolf, all the time. Of course MTV was all-music, all the time, but we see how that ended up.

[OGRE MAGE]

I love your analogies on here!

I am leaning towards the idea that gaining information from the wolves might be our only hope now, since we keep going through the same "groundhogs day" type of events over and over again with no improvement to our situation.

I also get the impression that we have until the next full moon before we become full-on werewolves ourselves, so if we are in a time crunch now, wandering around lost in the forest doesn't really appeal to me either.

Nobody has to follow Bo, and if I'm wrong, so be it. But if someone has a better idea on how to find our way back to........wherever, I am all ears.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur will try to pump the alpha for some info.

[rredmond]

I also get the impression that we have until the next full moon before we become full-on werewolves ourselves, so if we are in a time crunch now, wandering around lost in the forest doesn't really appeal to me either.

I agree, I think the wolves are tempting us, because there's a small window of time to save ourselves.

...wherever, I am all ears.

Well, you know, as a wolf, the ears would be larger I think.

[Inferno]

In all seriousness though, it feels like not leaving the town was the only not-lose choice for us. Or at least less-lose. I'm not sure we could have avoided the wolves or Vicar's Head, the dread town of death and witches once we left.

Not to list all your many sins but, with 20/20 hindsight, the things that have cost the party the most were:

• 1. Leaving the Ashblood Colony in the blizzard, like you say. Although there were very compelling reasons to do so.
  
  2. Sleeping without a night watch. In hindsight, this allowed the wolves to surprise you, and infect all of you. Once that happened, your choices narrowed quickly.
  
  3. Splitting up the party in Vicar's Head.
  
  4. The failed rolls to track a path in the woods, resulting in get lost.
  
  5. All those terrible combat dice rolls.

4 and 5 can't be helped. 2 and 3 are classic things not to do in a game, but stuff happens.

This isn't offered to cast blame but perhaps to assure you that, despite the tone of doom and dread that I work so hard to cultivate, you had a fighting chance at first.

At the risk of ruining any mystery or wonder the story may hold, this adventure is basically a sandbox in a haunted wood and its environs, with wandering monsters, active enemy opposition, and many if/then triggers (If the party does this, then the enemy will react this way. If some of the party get lycanthropy, then this will happen, etc. etc.).

As a DM, I can never predict what the players will do or think. Being surprised by players is one of the fun parts for me. Then I figure out what their actions mean, and what they might trigger. Then they surprise me again. And on and on.

All this to say: I'm sorry things are going sideways. But you're not dead yet.

[Rusty Tincanne]

I don't know why you all are so doom and gloom about this? I have a really good feeling that we have the cultists right where we want them at this point!

We could follow them, and hope they lead us to the hub of evil, then attack. But I rather like the idea of getting our kits, then hightailing it to the nearest reasonable-sized city to get some curing on. Then come back a bit wiser. With hirelings.

[wolfpack]

I have a feelig if we agree to join the pack that is it we will be full on cursed, our fighting it gives us to the next full moon.

Inferno, you said that I couldn't determine the way back to the altar but what about the way back to the town form where we are?

[Inferno]

I have a feelig if we agree to join the pack that is it we will be full on cursed, our fighting it gives us to the next full moon.

Inferno, you said that I couldn't determine the way back to the altar but what about the way back to the town form where we are?

Unfortunately, no. The druid, the elf and ranger can figure out which way is North, even in the fog. But without knowing where you are, you don't know in what direction anything lies.

However, you could follow the tracks that Pyotr noticed, that you made when you were wolf-creatures. You know they should eventually lead back to Vicar's Head. But Vicar's Head could be as many as twelve hours away, at wolf-creature speed (the time from sundown to sunrise in November).

[Scott308]

Going back to Vicar's Head isn't all that appealing, but it is something at least. And we did have some stuff there...if we can avoid the walking dead. On the bright side, we know they can't kill us permanently. We can use that to our advantage. Check out whatever was in the drawer in the hidden room, maybe.

[ChubbyPixie]

Yes, that scroll Telkis dropped just had to ironically be a Remove Curse. Of course, if we go back for it, it’ll turn out to be a Scroll of Protection From Amphibians.

[Urson]

SO... yeah. Pyotr's decided to embrace the curse. Let's see what happens next.

[Inferno]

Great roleplaying, Urson. Really well done.

[Inferno]

Hi Rusty,
Minor fyi below, but please read my IC post before reading this:

...if Urdur's spell does not work, Hothhil will challenge the alpha male for dominance of his pack, demanding to know the way to the altar.

Urdur's spell just stopped working, after it revealed the way to the altar. If Hothhil still wishes to challenge the alpha male now, he may. Or he can do something else. Up to you.

[rredmond]

Ugh! We always do things the hard way! Great use of the spell though, and though we were pretty sure there's a mole in Ashblood, it's good to know for sure! Of course it came as a wicked high cost.

I'm thinking we can't tell, but wanted to ask. Can we tell if Alpha is barking a halt? Or egging his pack on to attack. Again, I'm pretty sure (considering the fast and heavy attack) we can't, but wanted to ask the question anyway.

[Inferno]

I'm thinking we can't tell, but wanted to ask. Can we tell if Alpha is barking a halt? Or egging his pack on to attack. Again, I'm pretty sure (considering the fast and heavy attack) we can't, but wanted to ask the question anyway.

Roll an Ability Check vs Int on 1d20 please.

[rredmond]

Sweet!

Ability check vs INT 12: [1d20] = 18

Yup, that would be when I roll an 18
[kicks the die roller]

[Rusty Tincanne]

Do each of us get to make that roll?

As to my action, I think it depends a bit on if Bo casts Entangle, or somesuch... But I sure wouldn't mind taking a crack at being the Alpha. (Especially if Hothhil had armor and a sword...)

Edit: I realized that Bo can still use entangle on the bulk of the pack, leaving Hothhil to challenge. If the order was to stop, Hothhil would not challenge, by the way.

[ravenn4544]

Do we have clubs still or we barehanded?