AAR [3rd] Thiefing the way to Home (2020-03-17@20:00GMT)

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Aegharan
Posts:439
Joined:Sat Oct 14, 2017 2:58 pm
AAR [3rd] Thiefing the way to Home (2020-03-17@20:00GMT)

Post by Aegharan » Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:13 pm

LFG: Thiefing the way to Home
Time: 2020-03-17@20:00GMT
GM: Aeggy
Rating: 2 - 3
Players: 3-4
Difficulty: Hard
Eligible Characters: 0 - 16,499 Lifetime Legend

Rumor: A dwarven thief by the name of Bos "Bossy" Humblespark was out on an adventure scouting location 51.12. She was separated from her charge a young man she was initiating into the thief discipline. She is seeking help finding him and returning him safely to Throal if such is possible.

Please post your character as follows:

Code: Select all

[b]Name:[/b] 
[b]ECR:[/b] 
[b]Discipline:[/b]
[b]Quote/Unique:[/b] 
[b]Notable Abilities:[/b]
[b]Downtime:[/b]
Note: Start at 3pm EST
Last edited by Aegharan on Mon Mar 23, 2020 6:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ottdmk
Posts:462
Joined:Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:25 pm

Re: LFG [3rd] Thiefing the way to Home (2020-03-17@20:00GMT)

Post by ottdmk » Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:24 pm

Name: Dubhan Goronich
ECR: 3 (3650 LP)
Discipline: Wizard (3rd Circle)
Quote/Unique: "Really? That happened? Wow, hope I get to see something like that!"
Notable Abilities: Spells! Alchemy, Medicine
Downtime: Research (Step 19 + Library Access if needed)

Montaugh
Posts:203
Joined:Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:49 pm

Re: LFG [3rd] Thiefing the way to Home (2020-03-17@20:00GMT)

Post by Montaugh » Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:25 pm

Name: William Carver
ECR: 3 (6365 total LP)
Discipline: Scout
Quote/Unique: I'll get you there and back again.
Notable Abilities: Talented Tracking, stealth, navigation, survival, locks. Skilled Traps, alchemy, swimming. Pure water pot.
Downtime:Forge Weapon 2 (step 8)

bronzemountain
Posts:606
Joined:Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:02 pm

Re: LFG [3rd] Thiefing the way to Home (2020-03-17@20:00GMT)

Post by bronzemountain » Tue Mar 17, 2020 6:25 pm

Name: Dvarim Bolg
ECR: 3
Discipline: Weaponsmith
Quote/Unique: Civilization good,Nature bad
Notable Abilities: Physician, Lock Pick
Downtime: Forge Weapon 3/14, Item History 2/13

ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm

Re: LFG [3rd] Thiefing the way to Home (2020-03-17@20:00GMT)

Post by ChrisDDickey » Tue Mar 17, 2020 8:59 pm

Name: Zil
ECR: 3
Discipline: Elementalist 3rd circle / Windling
Quote/Unique: Travel in style with a party Elementalist! Heat Food! Plant Feast! Purify Water! Shelter! Air Mattress! All the comforts of home upon the road.
Notable Abilities: Physician.
Downtime: Research rank 3, step 10 (step 13 if pay 20 sp for library access).
Item History Rank 3 (step 14 with karma).

Aegharan
Posts:439
Joined:Sat Oct 14, 2017 2:58 pm

Re: LFG [3rd] Thiefing the way to Home (2020-03-17@20:00GMT)

Post by Aegharan » Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:39 am

Thiefing the way to Home
Time: 2020-03-17@20:00 GMT
GM: Aeggy
Circle: 3
Difficulty: Medium

Player Rewards:
Dubhan 3 TIPs, 1400 Legend, 275 Silver
Dvarim 3 TIPs, 1400 Legend, 275 Silver
William 3 TIPs, 1400 Legend, 275 Silver and Ability to take up training as a Thief
Zil 3 TIPs, 1400 Legend, 275 Silver

GM Reward:
tbd

Downtime Actions Available:
Dubhan: Research (Step 19, 22 with Library Access)
Zil & Dvarim: Item History Rank 3 (step 14 with karma).
William: Forge Weapon 2 (step 8)
Dvarim: Forge Weapon 3 (step 14)
Researchers may spend 20 Silver for +3 Steps (the Haggle discount may lower this cost)

Further Information:
Travelled to 51.13 and found a dead Thief apprentice of Bos "Bossy" Humblespark, Thief in Throal.
Fought a previously unseen type of Horror Construct (Nightworm)
Last edited by Aegharan on Thu Mar 19, 2020 1:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.

ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm

Re: LFG [3rd] Thiefing the way to Home (2020-03-17@20:00GMT)

Post by ChrisDDickey » Wed Mar 18, 2020 5:25 am

From the journal of Zil, windling elementalist of the third circle. 
We got word that a young aspirant was missing in the wilderness and his mentor was looking to mount a rescue expedition. Dvarim Bolg, Dubhan Goronich, William Carver and myself responded. The mentor was a dwarven thief named Bos "Bossy" Humblespark, and the aspirant went missing in hex 51, 12. We did not have much hope, since the travel distance was so great, but we agreed to go look. 

About halfway there, I got separated from the rest of the group, and they got ambushed by 2 ogres. Dvarum took a great deal of damage in the initial seconds of the ambush, but the group managed to institute a very well executed hit and run fight, such that the ogres gave up and left. They found me, and we camped for the night so Dvarum would not be quite so damaged, but we still needed to get past them. We scouted and found their cave. There were three of them there. One of them heard our rustling and came to investigate. I used Icy Surface to keep the other two busy while the other three concentrated on killing that one. One of "mine" went over there just as the first was killed, so that worked out perfectly. I lost the interest of the third way too early, and the fight became much more serious, when there were two of them hitting. Dvarum took a 2nd wound, but we killed them, and found the cave empty and uninteresting. 

Late in the 2nd watch that night, 2 lions attacked our camp. They killed my loyal and steadfast riding goat "Nanny". They came close to killing two other members of the party. We had several good days of travel after that in which everybody healed up to full.

As we approached the target area, all of our sleep became troubled with nightmares and our days became fatigued. That night during the midnight watch, our watchman spotted some huge worms, the size of fairly large dogs that were ether attacking us, or possibly approaching to feed upon our nightmares. We slew these Nightworms. We searched and found a queen which was sensile and easily dispatched. We also found the body of the long dead aspirant. 

bronzemountain
Posts:606
Joined:Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:02 pm

Re: LFG [3rd] Thiefing the way to Home (2020-03-17@20:00GMT)

Post by bronzemountain » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:55 pm

On the Need for Better Training Methods
Also, All Insects are Terrible

William Carver, a human of upstanding character and broad competence with whom I have had the pleasure of adventuring more than once, felt the call of shadow and cunning in his heart. He wished to add to his self-sufficiency as a Scout by unlocking the part of his Pattern that wished to be a Thief.

To that end, he sought out one Bos Humblespark, who is quite an exciting Dwarf, I am told. She informed him that he would have to prove more robust than her last apprentice, who had disappeared during their previous training exercise - one that involved him attempting stealth in a place known to be occupied by creatures with unusual senses (CWUS).

William wisely sought the help of other dwarfs, specifically Dubhan Goronich (a Wizard of some growing repute in the tunnels of Throal), and myself. Together, we set out for the southwestern end of the Throalic mountains.

It was quite a pleasant journey, at first, as we circled through the rolling foothills at the base of our beloved mountains. But when we turned into the mountains, we were met with a rude surprise.

The rudest of surprises, it turns out, is when an unexpected ogre charges out of cover and smashes you so hard you worry that your children will be born with broken ribs. That is precisely what happened to me. I am a Weaponsmith, not a Warrior! I am not ashamed to admit that I thought I might die in that moment.

Fortunately, Dubhan's magics made us swift, and William's accuracy both enraged the ogre and kept it at bay. We arranged a fighting retreat, with the intent to regroup and try again. Upon doing so, we ran into Zil, the Windling Elementalist. He had been scouting these mountains for mystical ingredients and valiantly agreed to join in our endeavor.

Rested, fortified, and now armed with a plan somewhat more robust than 'walk face-first into the ogres', we assayed the grove again. This time, we approached stealthily. I made some noise in an attempt to separate one of what were now three ogres from the pack. And William used his intimate knowledge of nature to make the single most hilarious sound I have ever heard in my life. It was like a baby screaming in rage. I'm told it is the sound that fawns make when in danger.

If you had heard that sound, you would not blame me for laughing. Which is good, because I absolutely could not help myself from laughing. This had two effects. For the first, it broke my cover. For the second, it accomplished the goal of luring the ogre closer. Dubhan, William and I engaged this one ogre, while Zil used his elemental tricks, magical ice, and the power of his wings to dance around the other two ogres and keep them busy.

This was, perhaps, the most tactical engagement I have had since I first ventured out of Throal and it worked very well. I was thrilled to see how cooperation and collaboration among intelligent Namegivers could achieve such success. Suffice to say, we defeated the ogres. This time, it was Dubhan who ended the fight wounded - it is always Dwarves who take on the burden.

We camped nearby. And now, reader, I am ashamed to say that my love of my own Discipline led us astray. I was on watch, but found myself hypnotized by the dancing embers and dreaming of fire and iron, the elements of my own Pattern and Discipline. And thus, I had no idea what was creeping up on me until horribly sharp fangs sank deep into my shoulder.

We were ambushed by lions! I was gushing blood before we even engaged. It was a fraught, worrisome fight, with both Dubhan and myself quite hurt. Still, there were four of us, and we were able to kill the one and drive the other off.

Somewhat dispirited but not at all deterred, we bound our wounds as best we could and continued on. Others would complain about the long journey, but I was grateful as it gave us the necessary time to heal. William's unerring senses led us to the clearing where he suspected the apprentice to be. It was late, and so we made camp, this time with Zil wisely sheltering in the boughs of one of the nearby trees.

Accursed sleep! During our journey here, we had found ourselves beset by the strangest of sensations. At times, I felt as safe and warm as if in my mother's arms, lulled to sleep by her rough but loving voice. And then, on the edge of slumber, I would find myself beset by uncomfortable thoughts and shaken awake. By the time William's unerring senses led us to the clearing where he suspected the apprentice to be, we were all exhausted.

And yet, it was near time to camp and, so, camp we did. It was on William's watch that we discovered what might have happened to the apprentice. Suspended on threads of silk, terrible worm creatures, Hell's own caterpillars, were descending to devour us. Fortunately, William has keen eyes and, as proven by the hilarious fawn episode, a clear voice. We bolted awake and the battle was on!

With reinforcements joining, there were three worms, each the size of a large hound. They sprayed a curious sort of toxic silk at Dubhan and myself. The silk bound our limbs together, and seemed to be coated with a soporific saliva. Fortunately, the worms had miscalculated. Nothing holds a good dwarf down! Both Dubhan and I were able to break our bonds, with some considerable effort, and resist the poison as well.

As you are reading this journal, you can correctly infer that we survived. And, further, we found the poor apprentice cocooned and hanging from the tree - a long-lasting feast for these terrible worms. He was quite thoroughly dead. We burned his body (after checking to see that nothing had laid eggs in him - nothing had). We also saw the body of what might have birthed these things, a worm the size of a fatted calf. I also collected some of the silk. I have no idea what purpose it might serve, but it is an interesting substance that can no doubt by improved upon by Namegiver craft and ingenuity.

Dubhan and Zil were quite convinced that this area was influenced by a Horror, perhaps one that was feeding on the suffering of wanting to sleep and not being able to. This area will need to be cleansed, some time in the future.

We returned to Bos Humblespark to deliver the sad news. We were rewarded, and William began his apprenticeship.

Montaugh
Posts:203
Joined:Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:49 pm

Re: LFG [3rd] Thiefing the way to Home (2020-03-17@20:00GMT)

Post by Montaugh » Wed Mar 18, 2020 4:21 pm

My name is William Carver, I am a third circle Scout.

I have been feeling something deep within me for a while. It was subtle at first and I kept trying to figure it out, but I find myself doing things that didn't make sense at first. They are making more sense to me though as time has gone on. Why did I feel such a pull to learn forging? Why do I travel with so many weapons? When it came time to learn a talent option I chose to learn something I already knew as a skill but I knew I could do better as a talent. All of these things made me more self sufficient, filling holes that I saw in myself and my place in the world. Even traveling with Charlie so I could travel faster and be more rested, the weapons incase I encounter something that one of my other weapons can't hurt, Forging to simply save me coin. Things had a purpose, a reason.

It wasn't until I contacted Bos "Bossy" Humblespark a thief adept that things started to fall together. I spent a short while talking with her and she knew what was going on and told me that I had it in me to learn the ways of a thief, she wasn't surprised when I told her I was a Scout adept as many of the things thieves do, scouts also do. Even if I had been a thief first she was certain I would have felt the urge to become a scout at some point. Its simply who I was. I might not be a thieving thief but more of Kaer delver sort of thief. Someone that explores ruins and such. She told me she would initiate me into the ways of a thief, if I did something for her first... and that was my first lesson. Everything has a price and everything has a cost. Bossy said she was out training a new initiate by the name of Motmal, when they became separated. Motmal was there one night and then gone the next morning with no trace as to where he went. She had a starting point as to where we could search, but no more real information then that.

Dubhan Goronich, Dvarim Bolg, and Myself set out towards where she had last seen Motmal. She gave me a small carving that Motmal was working on for his sister so that I could track him when I got closer with Mystic Pursuit.

We were attempting to cross a shallow river using a fallen tree when we were attacked by an Ogre. The ogre rushed forward and slammed Dvarim to the ground, I immediately backed up and started attacking it with my Troll Sling. He was soon joined by another ogre The fight was not going well and we continued to fall back until we managed to lose the two ogres. It was soon after that Zil caught up with us and joined our party. We knew that the ogres were there now and approached with a more tactical position. I lent Dvarim my mace and buckler so that he was at least a little better defended. We snuck up on the Ogres and I mimic'd a dying fawn to lure one of the ogres away after seeing the others eating a larger deer. All was going well until Dvarim burst out laughing at me making the sounds of a dying fawn. The first ogre attacked us and Zil charged the other two ogres placing ice under their feet. I worked on enraging the first ogre while Dvarim and Dubhan sped up the process to killing it. We focused on the second ogre while the third was busy trying to climb trees and jump to grab Zil. The fight was soon our as our superior tactics worked in our favor.

We crossed the shallow but fast moving river and continued upon our way. That night we camped and were ambushed by two lions. Dvarim was on watch when we were ambushed. I need to find a way to set up a better watch at night. This wasn't the first time that the group I was with was ambushed while trying to rest. Zil lost his riding goat but we managed to kill the two lions.

I used mystic pursuit to narrow down our target location on where Motmal could be found. As we got closer to the location that Motmal vanished we were having trouble sleeping. We would rest but it was not restful as if something was invading out dreams and giving us terrible nightmares. Some of our party knew of horrors that could do this, but not exactly what sort of horrors could do such a thing. We were sleeping and I was on watch when we were attacked by things that were translucent and looked like giant silkworms with a bulbous body about the size of a german shepard. They spit out a poisoned silk which they use to wrap you in a cocoon. Both Dubhan and Dvarim were encased in a cocoon. Zil and I were luckily not encased. I moved in to help cut Dvarim out his cocoon but I ended up leaving myself open to the worm that was attacking him, it turned its attention towards me and did tremendous damage in a very short period of time. Eventually Dvarim and Dubhan released themselves and we were able to destroy these creatures.

It was here that the horror show began. We found Motmal, or rather we found what was left of him. He was high up in a tree and had a hole in his midsection. He was dead and wrapped up as some horrific holiday present. We searched for eggs inside of his body but it was likely they had already hatched. We burned his body and the bodies of the worms. These creatures are dangerous and we can not be certain if we got all of them in this nest.

We returned to Throal and informed Bos "Bossy" Humblespark about what happened to Motmal and returned the carving to her so that she could pass it on to his surviving family members. I should check in on Motmal's family from time to time just to make sure they are doing ok and to let them know that he was remembered and not just another forgotten adept lost in the wilds.

Bossy was true to her word and I started my initiation as a thief under her, how does one begin training as a thief you are wondering... very painfully. The first lesson is that there is always a price, always a cost.. My second lesson she taught me was to always watch my guard when she stole my knife. The third lesson she taught me I would pay the cost in blood for failure. That was when she returned the knife to me point first in. The fourth thing.. never trust a goddamned thief for they are true to their words and their words are not always true. There were so many more lessons learned, oh so many more lessons learned.

Being a scout is about finding your place in the world, being always a part of it no matter where you are, its about blending in. Being a thief is about being separated from the world, being alone and depending on yourself to survive. Being me... is like at being at war with myself right now, I need to weave the two together and that will take time.

William Carver
Human
Third Circle Scout, First Circle Thief

ottdmk
Posts:462
Joined:Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:25 pm

Re: LFG [3rd] Thiefing the way to Home (2020-03-17@20:00GMT)

Post by ottdmk » Sat Mar 21, 2020 9:36 pm

From the Journal of Dubhan Goronich:

Field research is fascinating, but there are times when I wonder if it is a worthy pursuit of a respectable Wizard. After all, what use is the gaining of knowledge if one perishes in the attempt? Still, what use if living if one is not constantly learning? It is an interesting conundrum.

On my latest adventure I agreed to help out William Carver, a Scout of my acquaintance, in his efforts to ingratiate himself to one Bos Humblespark... a Thief of some renown in Throal. Bos had misplaced an apprentice, and Carver offered to help find him. Accompanying us was Dvarim Bolg, a Dwarven Weaponsmith known to us both.

As always, trouble hit soon after leaving the safety of Throal. We encountered two Ogres. Dvarim took quite a beating before we adopted a "run and strike" strategy, aided by the enhanced speed that I customarily use when traveling. After the Ogres gave up the pursuit, we encoutered Zil the Elementalist, out gathering medical herbs in the area. He consented to join our expedition, and the next day we bearded the Ogres (there were now 3) near their lair and succeeded in defeating them.

Camping proved to be quite hazardous, as one evening we were crept up on by a pair of lions. Nasty creatures. They did their best to turn us into a meal before they were ultimately defeated.

After suffering through night upon night of restless sleep and bad dreams, we made it to the area where we believed the apprentice would be found. We were set upon by 3 worm creatures (I am beginning to develop some paranoia about worms) and they attempted to wrap us in silk, poison us and devour us. It was a hard fight, but we prevailed with no casualties. Humblespark's apprentice, alas, was not as fortunate.

After burning the bodies we returned to Throal.

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