[0] Event: Marwyll Cider Festival

[Gravedust]

The morning sun peeks through a veil of evaporating clouds and finds you on a road east of Croyton, on your way to Marwyll. The day looks set to be a mild one; the sun shines high in a sky rapidly clearing of overcast, and a low breeze eases the first accumulation of heat as you make your way eastward.

The occasion of your trip is the Marwyll Cider festival, an annual event you might otherwise have given a miss were it not for one or more small things; a free entrance ticket, a promised meeting with a friend, or simply a chance to see and learn something new about the area.

Whatever the case, after a some hours of easy and uneventful travel, you find yourself nearing the outskirts of town, passing through the prodigious apple orchards that surround the city.

The first sign of the festival is the faint strains of lively music. You follow the fast-paced, bouncing tune through the streets of the town to find it's source in a small but merrily-decorated public square, packed with villagers and out-of-towners equipped with mugs and tankards and milling about several dozen large wooden tables weighted down with kegs and growlers bearing the mark of this farm or that. A box on each collects small metal tokens that indicate people's choice of favorite.

A large wooden stage has been set up near the middle of the square and instead of large orchestra like you may have expected, upon it rests an unusual contraption, some sort of mechanical organ on wheels which is belting out music at an impressive volume. The machine is operated by two brightly dressed and perpetually grinning Lyl, ((Rae would recognizes these as Moon and Lion, part of Quinn's troupe. Quinn is nowhere to be seen at the moment.)) who hop around the device turning cranks and switching out the arcanium cylinders that seem to contain the music.

The smell of cooking food fills the air, and from somewhere people are getting platters full of meat, spiced porridges, and the turkey legs that inevitably somehow appear at events like these.

The noise from the mechanical orchestra makes conversation a little difficult, but most everyone seems friendly. The crowd seems to be mostly Nen, as one would expect in these parts, but you catch glimpses of a Ka or two, head and shoulders above the Nen crowd, and one Rumera at a table, staring fixedly into his mug.

After handing over your ticket, you are given a metal token, (and a earthenware mug if you forgot to bring one of your own, please return it when you leave…) and genially invited to drink your fill and vote for your favorite.
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((
Game's on! …but nothing is happening just get… This is Free RP for the time being, so feel free to do whatever you like for a while, If/when combat starts, you'll get a map and we'll be obeying combat rules.

I have taken the liberty of adding some useful items to your characters, who are currently outfitted thusly:

If you'd like them to have anything else, let me know and I can retcon more items onto them at the cost of gold.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to as, there's an ((OOC)) thread for this specific thread here: ( gravedust.proboards.com/thread/481/game-ooc-thread )
))

[raedragon]

Rae is drawn to the stage like a moth to a flame. Moon and Lion had mentioned a great music making contraption but they weren’t able to play it at her village. She floats toward the stage (literally) completely mesmerized. Finding an empty chair she believes she asks the person at the table if the seat is available before she sits. It’s also possible that she only moved her jaw up and down while leaning near the person’s ear. She watches as they spin wheels and pull knobs and create beautiful music out of the most complicated wardrobe Rae has ever seen. She’s not complete entranced though, she’s not drooling.... but she is mumbling something that could be “hurdy gurdy” what ever that means.

[jazzs3quence]

Chk’ree feels the noise of the festival long before the city comes into view, their antennae twitching with each passing mile. Upon finally arriving at the entrance and handing over the strange piece of parchment in exchange for an earthenware cylinder and some kind of token, Chk’ree tilts their head, observing the behavior of the beings around the plaza.

Through a complex series of micro-movements in unpracticed ligaments connecting their four arms to their thorax in the closest insectile equivalent of a shrug possible for a T’chk’chk, Chk’ree decides to partake of the liquid consumption that appears to be quite popular in all the regions they have visited since migrating from their desert home. The smell of oily burning flesh makes their stomach cinch in distaste, but Chk’ree thought ahead before arriving, having already eaten a few small rodents and a rabbit on the way.

The noise from the contraption with the small furry creatures running across it is fascinating—although the sound makes them want to stuff mud into their earholes—and Chk’ree steps closer to try to decipher the component parts, making a mental note to include a full description in the manuscript to send home while wondering what possible purpose such a device could have been built for. Torture, perhaps, or possibly for inducing a hallucinatory trance. They look around to see if anyone appears to be seeing things that aren’t really there.

[e]

After waking up in a slightly bitter mood because of the long terribly uneventful journey recently, Whyr's nose distracts her. As the smells get stronger, Whyr feels happier by the second. It's been so long since she's had a good festival turkey leg or two.

She saunters her way toward the vendors and a few minutes later, juggling two platters loaded with greasy morsels and a mug filled to the brim steers her towering meal toward the stage. She stops at a table with a noisy family of Nens and settles on a vacant seat, smiling broadly and introducing herself to the little ones next to her as she deposits her feast. She watches, impressed as the child shows off her collection of pebbles and tells her about each one's origin and she in turn pulls a shiny baloft seed out of her pocket and peels back the outer layer, attaching the sticky inside to the bridge of her snout so it sticks out like a strange tiny mask. Whyr pulls another out and offers it to the child. Thus adorned, she munches on the turkey and porridge, feeling very cheerful indeed.

[Gravedust]

While the presence of an T'chk'chk might not have attracted too much attention in a more metropolitan city such as Velkire, Aesolus, or even Croyton to an extent, Marwyll is sufficiently small and rural that Chk'ree's arrival counts as minor event all on it's own. So after a fairly short time the observer has a number of observers themself, watching them curiously but from a polite distance, as further away, younger children stare and point from behind their mothers' skirts.

At the end of the last music machine song, the contraption lets out a wheeze and empties it's guts of a huge, glittering cloud of amber steam which rises swiftly into the air and is blown away. The crown responds to the apparent end of the performance with applause and a whistle or two. And as the two Lyl minders begin the task of breaking the machine down into a portable form, Quinn suddenly appears on stage, through what could be magic but is more probably an expert performer's sense of timing and the audience's focus. The woman cuts an unusual figure, with a Ka's tail and a Vretka's horns, her skin dark but tinged with a hint of a Ka's ruddiness alongside her blood-red hair. Her raised, clear voice cuts easily through the crowd noise.

"Good people of Marwyll, please place your hands together for Lion and Moon and their musical marvel, hot from the shops of Velkire." She flourishes towards the two Lyl as they wheel their contraption offstage, grinning and waving. From the other end a few more performers walk on bearing traditional instruments. Quinn lifts her chin proudly and continues. "It'll be our pleasure to play for you for the rest of the day, and we always play our best. But food and coin make our music that much sweeter, so if you have either to spare, we'd certainly appreciate your appreciation."

With that she smiles, winks to Rae, and then claps her hands three times. The band behind her begins to play, and after a moment she picks up her own instrument and joins in.

The Nen children Whyr is seated with quickly adopt her as one of their own, with one of the youngest playing peek-a-boo over the edge of the table and others bumping and jostling for seats on the bench in some variation of musical chairs with rather ill-defined rules.

A sudden scream and the slamming of a wooden door interrupts everything. Quinn and her troupe lower their instruments and a shocked, total silence falls over the crowd as a bloodied woman rushes screaming out of one of the houses, pursued by two scampering ratlike forms, perhaps thigh-high and covered in mud-brown fur. The only other color to them is bright red eyes and sharp white teeth.

"RATLIN!" Someone in the crowd cries, and suddenly the crowd is on their feet and gasping, backing away as another one bursts from the open door to the house.

"Help!" the attacked woman cries. "They're all over the house - came in from the cellar! My husband is still inside! Help!!!"

The remainder of the crowd seems to still be backing away, you feel that in a moment they will all break and run. No guards are in sight. Ratlin aren't big but they make up for their lack of size with ferocity. There might only be a few moments before something tragic happens.




((
Tables are Obstacles and cannot normally be moved through. Chk'ree can Leap over them, though. Rae can fly over them if she's flying. Note that your flight ability costs 1MP, but can be activated every round as a Free Action. Chairs aren't obstacles. )

The Grey areas of the map (only inside buildings in this case) are areas you haven't yet seen, they will be revealed as you get LOS into them.

Mages, please note that Lightning (and indeed, most spells) effect EVERYONE, not just enemies, so please be aware you can zap townies (and each other) with Lightning. I will automatically try to arrange orders so friendly fire doesn't happen, but do be careful. Missile is direct damage and won't friendly fire.

Whyr, I forgot your ranged weapon doesn't need ammo, and so I gave you some.
Regardless, you can still shoot it and get the [+RA][+damage] to your ranged attacks, and I will assume that's what you want to o unless you specify otherwise.

Since Ratlins are pretty common and well known, you have a good idea of their stats:

RATLIN ==============================================================================
Ratlin are verminous demi-humanoids the size of dogs. They can often be found in caves, ruined or abandoned settlements, and sometimes even in abandoned buildings inside cities. While only barely intelligent, they are vicious and breed quickly. Once discovered, their extermination becomes a dangerous and very necessary task.
[STR:0][DEX:1][AGI:4][END:1][MAG:0][INT:0]
[HP:6/6][MP:0/0][DEF:4][ARM:0][MOVE:7]
[MA:0][RA:0][XP:6]
SKILLS :: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
((mob skills do not have cooldowns.))
Claw: [1D4 damage][melee] ---------------------------------------------------------------
Special: On a successful Claw attack, roll 1D10 vs target's END.
On a success, add an [Itching Bite] debuff that inflicts (-1 Movement)(-1MA)(-1RA) for 1 round. This effect does not stack.

Scamper: [+3 Move][Action] -------------------------------------------------------------
=====================================================================================
))

[jazzs3quence]

At the scream and the appearance of the Ratlin, Chk'ree quickly cocks their head in that direction. While not necessarily understanding all of the words the attacked woman cries -- the high pitch and panicked notes making it difficult to mentally translate -- the T'chk'chk gets the sense of urgency, concern for her husband, and a mental image of him inside the cellar, which is enough to understand the intent behind the facespeak words.

Chk'ree knows that, with their speed and natural armor, they may be in the best position to assist this peaceful town, and, being naturally a pacifist, quickly decides to try to rescue the man in the cellar.

((Chk'ree casts Barrier on themself and will use all their movement points to head towards the house. I'm not sure if people count as obstacles, but if so, they will jump over them. They will also jump if it adds a movement bonus (not sure how you want to judge that). From the map and a movement speed of 9, they should reach just in front of the Ratlin that's closest to the house, but if Jump adds a movement bonus they will ignore the Ratlin for the time being and focus on getting into the house.

Chk'ree's goal is not to fight the Ratlin, if possible, and will use Charm and Repulsion to simply move past them until they reach the cellar.))

[e]

Whyr turns from her game with the children to see what the noise is and as soon as her eyes focus on the ratlin she lets out a low rasping growl. She determinedly promises the pile of turkey still in front of her that she'll be back to keep it company soon.

She pushes off her chair, pulls her slingbow out and pauses just long enough to shout to her new little friends to run and hide before making her way between the tables and toward the ratlin. She'll attempt to shoot the nearest of the creatures as soon as she deems she has a good chance of the distance without hitting bystanders.

[raedragon]

Rae boisterously cheers as the performance comes to an end, even nudging the Nem next to her in encouragement. When Quinn requests coin, Rae instantly tosses the coin in her hand on stage. She doesn’t realize until Quinn raises an eyebrow and smirks at her, that she’s just tipped with the voting token. Rae blushes but is unable to remedy the mistake before a scream breaks her musical enchantment.

Upon seeing the Ratlin Rae’s euphoria is completely broken. Afraid these beasts planned on ruining Quinn’s performance, rae runs to the back of the festival square and leaps onto a table. Making sure she won’t hit bystanders, she fires a missile at the nearest Ratlin.

[Gravedust]

Chk'ree dashes forward, planting themselves firmly in the path of the two ratlin outside the house. The two creatures immediately turn to face the larger figure, squarish white teeth bared. The woman from inside the house takes the opportunity to scramble back several yards, sobbing and holding holding onto the table for support.

The other townsfolk gasp and move back. Being mostly farmers, they have no real weapons or protection, but a few angry shouts sound and and a mug or two are hurled in the direction of the invaders, to no real effect.

Whyr clips a bolt into the throwing clasp of her slingbow and the tiny weapon releases it with a dull thrum. The hastily aimed bolt passes within a whisker's breadth of one of the Ratlin's twitching ears and thunks solidly into the trunk of a tree.

The Ratlins facing Chk'ree both leap at the tall insectoid in unison, but both are instantly repelled and thrown back by a shimmering distortion of the air, which at the same moment seems to pop and disssapear like a soap bubble. Both Ratlin land on their backs and scrabble back to their furry feet, squeaking shrilly.

Another two of the creatures emerge from the door of the infested cabin, and behind them Chk's keen eyes can pick out more scuttling across the floor of the the dim interior.



==== ROUND 1 RESULTS ====
:: PLAYER ACTIONS :: ===================================================================
Chk'ree : ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Cast Barrier  (5 damage for 3 rounds)
> Move S 8
((Leap is an Action and not a Free Action, so it can't be used when another Action is being used (in this case, casting Barrier)  I just realized I deleted the custom race features, so I added it back to your character page. But yes, using Leap will effectively add a few extra squares to your movement. ))

Whyr :  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Move
> Slingbow shot: Range 5
(3 roll + 2 RA + 1 Ammo) = 6  VS. (4 def + 5 range + 2 Attacker move) = 11 :: Miss::

Rae : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Moves
> Out of Range for Missile.

:: ENEMY ACTIONS :: ===================================================================

> Rat 1 attacks Chk : 4 roll + 1 MA = 5 vs 1 :: Hit
> 3 damage (Absorbed by Barrier)

> Rat 2 attacks Chk : 7 roll + 1 Ma = 8 vs 1 :: Hit
> 2 damage (Absorbed by Barrier)
> Barrier Buff removed (depleted)


[raedragon]

Realizing she overestimated the distance to the Ratlins, Rae changed course and jumped atop the table nearest the oncoming swarm. She quickly took stock of the situation, noticing the insectoid was fighting the the Ratlins as well, she provided ranged support. She fired a missile carefully to ensure she missed her unknown ally.

[jazzs3quence]

Seeing more Ratlin inside the house, Chk'ree decides to try to reason with the creatures. The T'chk'chk quickly heads towards the house in an attempt to get in the middle of the group of Ratlin. Upon getting as far as they can ((Chk'ree's goal is 8 spaces into the inside of the house, assuming the way is not completely blocked, then they will go as far as they're able)), they attempt to Minspeak with the group of Ratlin.

(Mindspeak) What do you want? Have these humans harmed you? What does your pack need from this village?

[Gravedust]

(( gonna wait one more day to see if any other orders come in, then roll it. ))

[e]

Whyr taps her foot in concentration and fiddles with her slingbow, setting another bolt in place, humming as she does. She scampers a pace closer to the cabin in order to aim her bolt and decides to fire toward the nearest ratlin, directly in front of her, careful not to hit the insectoid in her haste.

[Gravedust]

Chk deftly skirts between the Ratlin to move as far as they can into the entryway of the house. There is more startled movement inside, and several pairs of gleaming, light-reflecting eyes peer back at them. Chk's mental sending makes one of the creatures flinch and squeak with confusion, ((it is single-target only)) but no reply is given, as only creatures that have psionic powers themselves can answer.

The two Ratlin nearest Chk whirl and attack, leaping onto the insectoid's legs and striking with claws and teeth, though Chk's natural carapace blunts damage that could otherwise have been more serious.

Rae runs and leaps atop a table, firing a bolt of pure arcane energy that leaps from her hand into the side of the ratlin nearest to her. Smoke curls from the creature's fur as it strikes savagely against the side and bottom of the table, it's claws leaving ragged scratches along the planks. One errant swipe catches Rae's leg through the cloth and leather of her outfit and leaves a nasty, bleeding gash down her calf. The wound immediately begins itching and burning.

Whyr steps forward and fires another bolt at the same moment as her target turns and charges. The projectile misses by a hair's breadth as the Ratlin skitters past and only a quick, reflexive motion keeps the Lyl's leg from being caught fully between the creature's jaws. She instead escapes with a light graze, though even begins stinging and itching almost immediately.

((As a mechanical reminder for next round since everyone is still new to the rules; firing a Ranged weapon will invite melee attacks of opportunity from enemies that are adjacent to you.))



==== ROUND 2 RESULTS ====

:: PLAYER ACTIONS :: ===================================================================

Rae : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Move E4 N1 (Get on table: -2 MOVE)
> Cast Missile: (2 Damage )

Chk'ree : ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Move E1, S2, E1
> Use Mindspeak

Whyr :  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Move E1
> Fire Slingbow at ratlin:
> ( 7roll + 2MA + 1ammo) vs. (4 Def + 4Range + 2 Attacker Move) ::Miss::  

:: ENEMY ACTIONS :: ===================================================================

Ratlin:
> Move N1
> Attack Rae: (8 roll +1 ma -2 Height difference) vs ( 1 def )  ::Hit::
> 4 damage (-1 Armor) = 3
> Itching Bite inflicted.

Ratlin:
> Move E3
> Attack Whyr (3 roll +1 ma) vs ( 3 def )  ::Hit::
> 1 Damage
> Itching Bite inflicted.

Ratlin:
> Attack Chk (7 roll +1 ma) vs ( 1 def )
> 2 damage (-2 Armor) (1 min)
> Itching Bite inflicted.
Ratlin:
> Attack Chk (3 roll +1 ma) vs ( 1 def )
> 3 damage (-2 Armor)


[jazzs3quence]

With communication impossible, Chk'ree returns to their original plan: rescuing the human man in the cellar. Pausing briefly to flex their hind legs, they spring over the ratlin blocking the doorway, then quickly scurries deeper into the building and looks for a door or passage leading down to the cellar to find the woman's husband.

(( Leap, then move S into the room and head toward an obvious path that leads to the cellar. ))

[Gravedust]

((
Welll... Ordinarily you can't move through enemies, however Ratlin aren't exceptionally large, so I'll say you can try to squeeze past it, but it'll get an attack of opportunity against you if you do so. (I guess you can think of it like trying to get through a door past a large dog. You probably can, because you're comparatively so much larger they can't really block you, but they can sure as hell try to bite you while you do it.

Alternately, you could Leap over the enemy and then move from there, but Leap takes up an action, so you won't be able to case.

As one last thing, Despite what the name might imply, Lightning really only shoots in a straight line, so you have to physically align yourself with two or more enemies in order to blast them.

))

[jazzs3quence]

[Source] Gravedust said:

As one last thing, Despite what the name might imply, Lightning really only shoots in a straight line, so you have to physically align yourself with two or more enemies in order to blast them.

((Hmmm, the spell description said it’s an area effect...does that mean it’s an area effect in a straight line? Everything in the path gets hit? If it doesn’t do splash damage then I would want to redo my move. ))

[Gravedust]

((
Yeah, sorry, usually I define AOE but I guess I forgot to in the doc this time. AOE attacks (usually spells, sometimes items can do them.) automatically hit every character in the squares they effect. In this case, Lightning is a Line aoe, which means it effects every square in a line (wow!) with one end anchored on your character. To keep things simple, you can only use Line AOEs in cardinal directions (N,S, E, W)

The other common AOE type is a 'box' where all squares within a certain number of squares of the target square are effected.

I'll amend the manual doc to include this info when I get a chance.

))

[jazzs3quence]

(( 👍 updated my move. ))