In the House of the Ten Veils - IC Thread

[Enoch]

I would say he'd at least have something like Crushing Jaws, and given how he was described some sort of think hide trait, maybe Dense Fur: counts as leather armor?

[KJDavid]

I'd say Golden Fur, but, yeah, counts as leather armor. Or better actually. Crushing Jaws makes sense. But the pelt has been promised to Til.

[Enoch]

Fair enough. Golden Fur: counts as chainmail armor. But it belongs to Till (forgot about that), so he can extract it if he wants, or sell the pelt. I'm sure there are numerous other traits (the MonBu creatures all have 9 or so traits), but a lot of those will be cosmetic. Crushing Jaws is likely to be the only exciting one.

The question is what Effect to extract it for. Advantage, maybe; Grant Skill in Brawling, perhaps; Grant Stat could be useful (even if not to Viktor, as Grausam grants a B6 Power when wielded); or maybe a Weapon Enhancement (though Grausam already has a wicked-low Add, Crushing Jaws would be ideal for adding VA).

Yeah, let's go with that. We'll extract Crushing Jaws to increase VA. The biggest thing Grausam needs is the ability to grant the Polearm skill, but that's not a skill common to aurumvoraxi...

Crushing Jaws is a die trait, so Ob 3 to identify. 5, 3, 5, 1, 6, 3, 2.

Extracting this is going to be a lot more difficult: Ob 11. He will not attempt to extract it at this time.

[KJDavid]

Can't even Cosmetic/Character Traits be useful? Also, didn't you already open Polearm?

[Enoch]

Yes and yes. A cosmetic trait is the minimum necessary to infuse a power into an item, inflicting a +1 Ob but still allowing it. Given Viktor's skill at enchanting, that's probably still useful. He has a fearsome B2 Polearm skill, though, so he's unlikely to hit anyone (but makes a mess when he does).

So let's take a bear as a template, since they were compared. Massive Stature, Tough, Omnivore (change to Aurumvore for this, obviously), Sweet-tooth, Clawed, Keen Smell, Fanged, Loner.

• The aurumvorax probably doesn't have Massive Stature, as it's described as boar-sized. Luckily, we have a boar in the MonBu. Wait, we have a Boar God. And a pig (small stature), but boars tend to be a bit bigger. We have a cow with no size-related trait. Let's drop Massive Stature and leave it be.
• Tough seems reasonable, considering it was preying on a full-grown bear.
• Aurumvore would probably be an unpriced Lifepath trait, and probably a Character trait.
• Sweet-tooth seems unlikely, and its favored food is already described sufficiently in traits.
• Clawed seems reasonable.
• Keen Smell seems like overkill, considering we replaced it with Nose for Gold.
• Fanged makes sense.
• Loner makes sense.

So we have a creature with Nose for Gold (Dt), Golden Fur (Dt), Crushing Jaws (Dt), Tough (Dt), Aurumvore (Ct), Clawed (Ct), Fanged (Ct), and Loner (Ct).

[KJDavid]

I think those all fit. Any you want to extract in the now?

[Enoch]

Sure. Already have Nose for Gold, and I'm leaving the pelt for Till. Crushing Jaws is going to be too high an Ob for now. I think extracting Tough for Grant Stat (Forte) is a good choice. It's only a 2 pt trait, so it should be easy to do:

1, 5, 4, 2, 5, 2, 5. A bit of sinew, alchemically preserved and wrapped around a dowel. What is the Forte of an aurumvorax? (The Monbu lists 1 as "fragile and unhealthy", 2 as "sickly and weak", 3 as "passable for most characters", 4 as "most characters", 5 as "characters worried about surviving brutal brawls or concerned with the effects of Tax", 6 as "powerful Dwarves and Orcs", 7 as "Trolls and heavy beasts like horses and oxen", 8 as "don't feel pain like lesser-Forted characters", 9 as "giants and dragons and kraken", and 10 as "god-like toughness".

[KJDavid]

The Forte of an aurumvorox would be 6 or 7. Roll a Die of Fate. If it's a success, then this one is a 7.

[Enoch]

1. So Forte 6.

[KJDavid]

Truly have the Dice Gods spoken.

[KJDavid]

Fixated with his toil upon the aurumvorox, long hours pass Viktor by without his notice. He only breaks his labors to relieve his humors and fetch water from the alley well. Water was a necessity for the working of alchemy and the brewing of coffee. Otherwise, Viktor did little than dissect and distill for the better part of two days. When the preservatives finally took hold of the last auric sinew in which he was interested, Viktor took a deep breath as his fearsome intellect disjoined itself from alchemical preoccupation. His stomach grumbled and sleep weighted his eyelids.

Make an Ob 3 Health test to master the weakness of your flesh or you will suffer +2 Ob Hungry and Tired until you rectify those conditions. In case you were wondering, there is little in your larder that survived your long trip other than the coffee beans. Perhaps Rohmian cockroaches find Menganji foodstuffs inedible?

[Enoch]

I have a B4 Health, so I suspect I will soon be going in search of a meal (I'll probably do that with or without failure). B4: 5, 6, 4, 4. Wow. Apparently my ardor sustains me!
Nonetheless:

Interrupted by the growling of his stomach, Viktor goes in search of sustenance. His larder proves to be empty, so he carefully locks the door to his workshop as he searches for food. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will find Till and check on our monster-hunter as well.

[KJDavid]

The streets are dark when Viktor emerges from his shop to feed his hunger. Fortunately, mage-lamps provide ample light along the streets of the Old City. But as Viktor locks the front door of his workshop, a towering shape blocks the light. The smell of sweat, salt, and pine is overwhelming. A voice, thick with the accent of Nijgemaar, grunts out, "Are you the wyrdhandverk?"

Viktor turns. A woman at least two hands taller, draped in coarse furs and hardened leather, stands mere inches away. Half her face is painted a sea green. Her eyes are a blue impossible to find among Heartlanders, and her hair is a similarly rare gold. Knives line her belt, a spiked maul is lashed to her waist, and a sword hilt sticks out over one shoulder.

"The Hund bids me as shrekkjeger." A fist with broken knuckles and old scars all across the fingers pounds against her chest. Some barbaric greeting custom perhaps? "Yrsa Grimkeldottir."

She sniffs and looks around before again fixing Viktor with her crystal gaze. "Drink."

[Enoch]

Viktor shouts in alarm and stumbles back into the door as the hulking silhouette looms in front of him. He looks the woman up and down in astonishment as his mouth silently moves. "Wyrd...hand...verk... I don't know your tongue, but that sounds like a worker in magical artifacts. That would be me."

He clears his throat and attempts a halfhearted version of the fist-to-chest greeting. "Yrsa Grimkeldotter, well-met. I am Viktor Guntram, and if the Hund sent you, I am assuredly the wyrdhandverk you seek. Shrekkjeger- I assume 'shrekk' must mean 'monster'?

"I was just about to find something to eat and drink myself. Come, come; we will break bread together and discuss our expedition." He smiles encouragingly at Yrsa and sets off toward his favorite inn, the Rathskeller.

[KJDavid]

Given the lateness of the hour, the taproom of the Black Ferret Tavern & Eatery is dim and empty, but not quiet. The silence is broken by neither laughter nor song, but by the snapping of bone and the tearing of flesh as Yrsa Grimkeldottir messily devours an entire roasted goose, a plate of glazed carrots, and a bowl of potatoes with a hard loaf of brown bread to sop up all accumulated juice and greases. She pauses in her endeavor only to regularly drain the ale flagon that the tavern's single serving boy can barely keep filled.

Around a mouthful of fowl and veg, Yrsa fixes Viktor with one eye and grunts, "Where to are we head, wyrdhandverk? Hunting is good in west and east. North is no good. War of Eyes."

[dmw71]

Admin Note:
There hasn't been a post made in this game in over a month, without warning or explanation.

Moving it to the 'Abandoned Games' section.