AAR: Runic Circles: T'skrang and Troll

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Jason
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AAR: Runic Circles: T'skrang and Troll

Post by Jason » Tue Jan 09, 2018 4:34 am

AAR: Runic Circles: T'skrang and Troll
GM: Jason
Circle: 3
Difficulty: M

Rewards/spent:
Romari: 1400 Legend, 370 Silver, T'Skrang mark, Troll Mark. Items used: 25 silver for the scribe, 5 silver for transportation
Ursula: 1400 Legend, 370 Silver, Bear. Items used: 1 bottle fine wine, 1 ape, 25 silver for the scribe, 10 silver for transportation
Thane: 1400 LP, 370 silver T'Skrang mark, Troll Mark. Items used: 25 silver for the scribe, 1 silver for transportation
Nista: 1400 LP, 370 silver, T'Skrang mark, Troll Mark, Items used: 25 silver for the scribe, 5 silver for transportation

Downtime skills available:
Alchemy 10 (Booster Potion, Kelia’s Antidote, Kelix's Poultice)
Map Making 8
Item History 10 (+4 Karma)
Research 11 (+4 with Speed Reading spell, +3 from Throal library 20sp, +4 Karma)

edit - circle of mission was miss recorded.
Last edited by Jason on Thu Jan 11, 2018 2:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ChrisDDickey
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Re: AAR: Runic Circles: T'skrang and Troll

Post by ChrisDDickey » Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:46 am

I have been busy organizing an expedition to the lost city of Telips which was scheduled to depart this month. However when, the day before we were going to depart, we visited a soothsayer and he read the entrails of a goat for us, he announced that the signs were not propitious for this quest at this time. In a panic we engaged the services of an astrologer and he confirmed that entering that city before the next new moon could surely result in nothing but a disaster.

With our planned expedition put on hold for a few weeks, Romari, Ursula, and Nista (all of whom had been planning on accompanying me to Telips) decided instead to finish off the last few runic circles. The soothsayer read a chicken for us, and said there was no reason not to do ether of those missions now. We once again engaged the services of the scribe Nerfec Greathood and set off for the circle believed to be to the SE. We walked to Borgen's rest, and took the T'Skrang riverboat to within a few miles of the calculated location. I enjoyed the trip immensely. The riverboat is often so packed with cargo that moving on deck is difficult. The T'Scrang are in the habit of getting about the boat by swinging along the side of the boat on ropes. They offered to let us try and I found it easy and exhilarating. They also challenged us to games of knife throwing. They used such puny knifes that I could barely hold them in my hands, but rather than have me use my spears, they found some properly sized throwing knives. My first throw buried itself solidly in the very center of the bulls-eye. My second throw was also better than the best that their champion could muster for that bout. I did not want to pile it on, so did not use karma for my third throw, and still achieved a respectable hit near the outer edge of the target. I won the wager, which was almost the price of my passage.

When we arrived at the glade, it was very similar to the others, except that the water was deeper in the pool. Our wizard friend examined it astrally and wondered aloud if there might be any True Water present. I knelt by the pool, stuck my head in, and drank deeply. Fortunately I kept my eyes open under the water, for thus I plainly saw the 4 crocodiles racing up to the surface to bite my head! I can't imagion why Romari did not detect them when examining the water with astral sight!

I waited until the lead crocodile was within reach and jabbed it with a spear (I missed), and also battle shouted it (with my head still under the water!) This seemed to discombobulate it somewhat. I then backed away from the waters edge before it could snap at me. After the crocodiles had all surfaced, I came back to the waters edge and aggressively bashed one. It seemed not even notice my blow upon it's thick hide. After that pathetic start, the battle went very well, except that one of the crocodiles took several very nasty bites out of Ursula's Ape companion, and dragged it under the water. I considered leaping in after it, but it looked like it was already dead. We killed two of the crocodiles but one of the bodies sank into the pool. The other two crocodiles swam away and hide. Ursula, though morning the loss of her Ape companion, helped me skin the crocodile whose body we recovered. I am thinking of maybe having some hide armor made out of it.

When we examined the runic circle, as expected we found a nethermantic spell, and a riddle and some recipes written in T'Skrang.
The recipes were for:
Oven-Grilled Sour Bear
Slow-Cooked Mustard & Rosemary Boar
Gentle-Fried Sweet & Savory Prawns
Stir-Fried Lemongrass Shrimps
Simmered Lime & Ginger Pie
Pickled Egg & Beans Risotto
Kiwi and Date Mooncake
Cinnamon and Praline Ice Lollies
Praline Fruitcake
Melon Candy

The riddle was: We live in harmony of all the races, all together as one. Stand with the blessed. After passing the test of the races, proceed to the heart and unlock the key to our home.
The 4 stone archways had pictures of T'Skrang in various activities. One was swimming, one was fighting, one was gliding (It had membranes between it's limbs like a flying squirrel), and one was meditating. There was a bit of discussion, but as we had no T'Scrang with us, it was uninformed discussion, and we guessed a T'Skrang that was swimming would consider it'self blessed, so we all stood in front of that symbol. It took a long while for Pethrytholilanista to pull the theads and cast the spell. It was then that we found that we had guessed wrong. I felt something very different than the previous times I had been marked, and managed to leap out of the way in time. The other two (Ursila was not in the circle with us) were not so fortunate, and suffered an agony of pain that took days to fade. Where the runic mark was expected to appear, they had a discolored black mark. We expected the Crocodiles might attack again, but instead we heard rustling in the underbrush, and with two of our party in such crippling pain, decided to book it out of there.

We eventually decided to walk back to the nial and ask a T'Skrang about the riddle. The village lore-mistress told us that some very rare T'Skrang are born with a membrain between their limbs, that allow them to glide. Some T'Skrang consider those blessed. We walked back and tried that. By this time (3 days later) I was told that the pain, while not gone, was at last at a bearable level. This time the spell succeeded and I got the correct runic mark, but the others did not, though at least the discoloring of their marks finally went away. 4 Crocodiles appeared again, and again we drove them away. We then attempted the ritual a third time (again standing upon the gliding mark), and this time Nista and Romari got the T'Skrang Nethermancy. mark at the bottom right octogant.

We walked back to Throal, and after a single nights rest continued on past it to the Ice-Claw Moot, where after a quick gossip they rowed us across the river.
The recopies in Trollish were:
Cured Sweet & Spicy Quail
Deep-Fried Garlic & Ginger Mutton
Seared Pineapple Clams
Stir-Fried Tomatoes & Salmon
Pickled Curry of Tofu
Stuffed Basil & Mint Roll
Pecan and Chocolate Cookies
Chestnut and Date Roll
Grape Soufflé
Milk Chocolate Split

I don't even know what Milk Chocolate is, let alone a Milk Chocolate Split. None of these foods seem like a proper Trollish meal like roast boar or barbecued cow. On the other hand, the Deep-Fried Garlic and Ginger Mutton does sound worth trying. And Quail are always good, if you can get enough of them.

The puzzle was:
We live in harmony of all the races, all together as one. Stand with the one preserved in stone. After passing the test of the races, proceed to the heart and unlock the key to our home.
The archways were adorned with the words for the 4 trollish types of honor. Looking around we found exactly one statue. It was of a troll who had had his horns cut off. It did not seem to be dressed up as any one particular clan, nor did it look like a particularly famous troll. It seemed to be a clear reputation of an honorless troll whom had had his horns cut off. I considered standing outside the circle and not participating in this ritual rather than stand with the symbol of the honorless. It was a conundrum. Could I in honor stand next to the symbol of the mud people? Could I urge my companions to stand there, and not stand there myself? It pained me greatly to do so, but I stood there while the spell was cast and got my 5th runic mark. Troll Nethermancy of the upper left octagnet.

2 bears and 2 shrieker bats appeared (in broad daylight). I attacked a bear and did much damage to it, but a bat shrieked at me and caused me to fall down. We quickly won the conflict and returned to Throal. Romari has 7 of the 8 marks now. Some few others have the remaining one. I assume we shall soon see what happens when they are all brought together at the center.

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etherial
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Re: AAR: Runic Circles: T'skrang and Troll

Post by etherial » Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:19 pm

From the collected letters of Ursula von Knucklebreaker:

30 Borrum, 1421 T.H.

Dearest Mother and Father:

We hired a Scribe to accompany us to the two Nethermancer stones so that Pethrytholilanista could tie to them and we will at last have the full set explored. At Borgan's Rest, we hired the crew of the X'Egirathla II to ferry us to the stone not far from the river. Travel by Riverboat seems to be a delightful diversion and I recommend it highly.

We began to explore the T'Skrang Runic Circle on the fifth day of our adventure. Each Runic Circle lies in a nearly identical clearing, however this one had a noticeably deeper reflecting pool than the others. Thane stuck his head into the water, attracting the attention of the local fauna. A small clutch of crocodiles rose up out of the water and attacked him. We leapt to his rescue and I incapacitated one of them, but another managed to drop Zinj and drag him under the water. Another was killed, which we then skinned, and the last dove back under the water to consume my friend.

After some deliberation, Nurfec translated the recipes and Pethrytholilanista went to cast the spell, however it appears she picked the wrong location and the folks inside the circle were cursed and wracked with pains. I overheard some animals attracted by the spell and we beat a hasty retreat.

We returned to the Runic Circle two days later and Nista was able to successfully cast the spell, removing the curse. Apparently the Patagiatic T'Skrang are considered "blessed" and are thus the key to unlocking this Runic Circle. Our actions attracted the attention of the crocodiles again but we managed to send them back quicly. Another casting of the spell and my friends were marked by the magic of the runes.

In less savage times, we would perhaps have taken a riverboat around the mountains to the last Runic Circle, but the Serpent River remains a tantalizingly underexplored thoroughfare, and thus we were forced to tread overland and cross the Throal Mountains directly. We made a brief stop at Throal to get a good night's rest on the way North.

On the sixteenth day of our adventure, after wandering blindly through the Throal Mountains for two days, we ended up back at our starting point, the Gates of Throal. Thane needs to work on his Navigatory Skills, and perhaps we should pursue having a backup in the group.

On the twenty-third day of our adventure (surely having gotten lost again in the mountains), We arrived at the Iceclaw Moot and they directed us to the other Runic Circle. The Greater Rock Worm has not been spotted lately, but it is still believed to be in the area.

The Trollish Runic Circle is marked with various aspects of Trollish culture, with the odd clue being a reference to "mud people", the Trolls who sacrificed their horns for honor. We were told by the riddles to stand with the ones carved in stone, and some scanning of the area showed a fallen statue that had once been a Hornless Troll.

Pethrytholilanista was able to successfully cast the spell standing beneath the "mud people" lintel, giving her and Romari the appropriate marks. This drew the attention of some local Bears and Shrieker Bats. In need of a new animal companion (one dead and one wounded is not a good combination), I befriended one of the bears while my companions took care of the rest.

Bypassing the Gates of Throal upon my insistence, we visited the Baurschwine Farmstead on the Twenty-Ninth and final day of our journey to see if any change had precipitated in the central Runestone. Other than confirming that each Runic Circle had been tied to, its appearance had not changed. Be prepared to sell short, we have no idea what will happen when we bring every thread together.

Yours,

Ursula von Knuckebreaker, née Nusserman

Other PCs:
Pethrytholilanista, female Elf Nethermancer
Romari, male Elf Wizard
Thane Cawdor, male Troll Sky Raider

NPCs:
Damkina, a Bear
Nurfec Greathood, male Dwarf Scribe
Zimbu, a Monkey
Zunj, an ex-Ape

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BattleChad
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Re: AAR: Runic Circles: T'skrang and Troll

Post by BattleChad » Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:36 am

The Great Library of Troal thanks Thane and Ursula for their contributions.

Journal Rewards: 70 Legend Points and 92 silver

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