AAR [8M] Missing Persons (Saturday 2022 April 9th 1700 GMT)

The current version of the Earthdawn West Marches Discord campaign, effective Jan 1, 2020

Moderator:etherial

Post Reply
ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm
AAR [8M] Missing Persons (Saturday 2022 April 9th 1700 GMT)

Post by ChrisDDickey » Sat Apr 02, 2022 6:04 am

LFG: [8M] Missing Persons
Time: Saturday 2022 April 9th 1700 GMT - (1300 Saturday eastern)
GM: ChrisD
Difficulty: 9M
Rumor Source: none.
Rumor: The party happens to be passing though Juniper Hollow on other (non-urgent) business, when they hear that some locals have gone missing. Could the party please look for them?


Sign up format:

Code: Select all

[b]Name:[/b] Character name
[b]Other Names:[/b] Player Name, Roll20 Name, Discord Name, Etc. 
[b]Date of Last Game Played:[/b]
[b]Circle:[/b] Circle of your character
[b]Discipline:[/b] Your character's Discipline(s)
[b]Unique:[/b] What your character is bringing to the table.
[b]Downtime:[/b] Talents and Skills that other characters can use over downtime: [Talent] [Step including +Karma Step if appropriate] ([Rank]) ([Further Details])
Last edited by ChrisDDickey on Sat Apr 09, 2022 10:35 pm, edited 4 times in total.

sigfriedmcwild
Posts:335
Joined:Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:59 am

Re: LFG [9M] Missing People (Saturday 2022 April 9th 1700 GMT)

Post by sigfriedmcwild » Sat Apr 02, 2022 6:16 am

Name: Elisen
Last played on: 2022-03-26
ECR: 9 (423780lp)
Discipline: Cavalier 9 / Troubadour 7
Quote/Unique: Deliverance flies on silent wind
Notable Abilities: Inspiring Sparkly Zoak power!
Downtime: Animal training step 17 (rank 6; 13 + karma), Item History 24 (rank 7; 16 + 2 karma), Research 24 (rank 7; 16 + 2 karma)

Item History / Research:
  • Journeyman: all test or research knowledges in 1 week
  • Warden: 3 test or research knowledges / week
  • Master: 2 test or research knowledges / week, 3 with library access (+20sp)

Serespar
Posts:215
Joined:Fri May 18, 2018 3:53 pm

Re: LFG [8M] Missing Persons (Saturday 2022 April 9th 1700 GMT)

Post by Serespar » Thu Apr 07, 2022 5:08 pm

Image

Name: Strata
Date of Last Game Played [ Character ]: "I punched a horror tryin ta eat a shrine o Chorrillos tother day..." [ February 15, 2021 ]
Circle: ECR 8
  • Discipline: Obsidiman Gauntlet ( Journeyman, Circle 7 )
  • Path: Brother of Stone ( Dedicat, Rank 7 )
Unique: "I punches stuff"
Downtime: Talents and Skills that other characters can use over downtime;
*Strata can speak with inanimate objects ( Item History, Rank 7, TN 17 )

Primary character

Sharkforce
Posts:527
Joined:Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:39 am

Re: LFG [8M] Missing Persons (Saturday 2022 April 9th 1700 GMT)

Post by Sharkforce » Thu Apr 07, 2022 10:47 pm

Name: Orlam
Date of Last Game Played: March 26
Circle: 7
Discipline: Elementalist 6 / Scholar 3
Unique: healing boosts, combat buffs and debuffs, comfort, navigation, and evidence analysis. (downside: he sucks at damage).
Downtime: Item History (Talent, Rating 6, step 17)
Research (Skill, Rating 2, Step 9, +3 available for 20 sp in the Great Library).
Alchemy (Rating 3, Step 10, lab available) (Kelix's Poultice, Booster Potion, Light Crystal, Absorb Blow Blood Charm)

redwraith
Posts:147
Joined:Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:12 pm

Re: LFG [8M] Missing Persons (Saturday 2022 April 9th 1700 GMT)

Post by redwraith » Sat Apr 09, 2022 1:38 pm

Name: R'edtarian
Date of Last Game Played: 2022-2-15
Circle: 7 ECR8
Discipline: Warrior 7 / Weapon Smith 5
Unique: The best defense is a great offense.
Downtime: Research Rank 3 Step 9 (step 12 with library access)
Downtime: Item History Rank 3 Step 13
Downtime: Forge Weapon Rank 6 Step 16 (Efficient Forging)

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

Re: LFG [8M] Missing Persons (Saturday 2022 April 9th 1700 GMT)

Post by ChrisDDickey » Sat Apr 09, 2022 10:34 pm

AAR:

Player Rewards: (8M) 19,000 lpj, 900 sp, 3 TIPs.
Elisen 19,000 lpj, 900 sp, 3 TIPs.
Strata 19,000 lpj, 900 sp, 3 TIPs.
Orlem 19,000 lpj, 900 sp, 3 TIPs.
Redtarian 19,000 lpj, 900 sp, 3 TIPs.
Calina 19,000 lpj, 900 sp, 3 TIPs.
GM Rewards: Undecided.

Characters end up with large amounts of Jade, including what appears to be exquisitely carved small animals, etc that can be sold as objects of art to make up the cash of the player rewards. .
Alternate Rewards
Half price mounts (must have price listed). Half price alchemy lab or access to lab. Half price alchemy supplies.
50% chance of half price alchemy formula or wizard spells (let me know which ones you are interested in and I will roll for you and list them in the AAR).
kelia's antidote.
Half priced Spell Matrix Objects (1000 sp for a Standard Matrix Object after the discount, 2000 for enhanced matrix object)
If you have enough TIPs for a thread item, several can be found here. One thread item has a power that makes you immune (or resistant if it is a Journeyman item) to Basilisk gazes. (this is a predefined power, you could pick one other power according to the normal rules).


Downtime
Elisen:
Animal training step 17 (rank 6; 13 + karma),
Item History 24 (rank 7; 16 + 2 karma),
Research 24 (rank 7; 16 + 2 karma)
Item History / Research: Journeyman: all test or research knowledges in 1 week. Warden: 3 test or research knowledges / week, Master: 2 test or research knowledges / week, 3 with library access (+20sp).

Strata:
Item History, Rank 7, TN 17
Orlam:
Item History (Talent, Rating 6, step 17).
Research (Skill, Rating 2, Step 9, +3 available for 20 sp in the Great Library).
Alchemy (Rating 3, Step 10, lab available) (Kelix's Poultice, Booster Potion, Light Crystal, Absorb Blow Blood Charm).

R'edtarian:
Research Rank 3 Step 9 (step 12 with library access),
Item History Rank 3 Step 13,
Forge Weapon Rank 6 Step 16 (Efficient Forging)

Calina:
Research: ESR 28, Rank 8 (Rank 8 + Step 8 PER + Step 4 Karma + Step 4 Speed Reading + 2 extra threads [ESR + 4])
Library Access increases ESR to 31 for 20 SP (why you need a Research ESR of 31, I'll never know...)
Item History: ESR 20, Rank 8 (Rank 8 + Step 8 PER + Step 4 Karma)


Additional Information
Deloris's Story is that, in possession of the fastest horse in the area, she figured that she had time to both do her chores and visit Johnathan at his hunting shack. However when she arrived, she was disappointed to learn that the big lug had gone out hunting (who does that when at their hunting shack?). She was considering returning back to the ranch when she heard the sounds of a mule in distress, which sounds ended strangely after a minute. She went to investigate and was captured by the mad wizard who monologed his entire evil plan to become rich by selling her as a statue of pure jade.
She also describes to you how the Jade Basilisks feed. They haul a statue back to their lair, then when hungry break a piece off and lick it until it turns back into bloody flesh, which they then eat.


For those interested in the creature designs.
With the Volus, Those were two CR 8 creatures played as their tactics are described in the text. The weird thing is that while the tactics are described, the creature description does not give any TN or guidance of how likely targets are of getting buried, TN for targets digging themselves out, or digging your comrades out, etc. So I just added rules for those things and played them as described in the book. I also gave one of them a Chosen Path ability, so that they were not hunting directly on the main road, but that had no real effect because I could have just had them hunting on the main road and the party was the first people to come along. They had the chosen path so that I could foreshadow and give warning.

As for the Jade Basilisks, Those were inspired by a "Bait and Tackle" entry from Knights of the Dinner table issue #254. I used the Base Basilisk (CR 6) with the large mask (+1CR - but it was a waste since they were not physical attackers, I should have given them a mask that improved their defenses without improving their physical attacks). I should have also raised their Creature Power step up to at LEAST the lowest MD in the party.
I lowered the Killing Glare (direct damage) step from 27 to 17, but added a magical effect that worked exactly like Paralytic Poisson, except that Kelais had no effect on it, but dispel magic did. I also added a 2nd, random magical attack, but since the Creature Power was lower than anybody in the parties MD none of them ever once went off. I had a hard time balancing all the new powers, Too strong a creature power, and it is a TPK. Two weak and it is a walkover. These were too weak.

Serespar
Posts:215
Joined:Fri May 18, 2018 3:53 pm

Re: AAR [8M] Missing Persons (Saturday 2022 April 9th 1700 GMT)

Post by Serespar » Sun Apr 10, 2022 7:01 pm

From Strat's journal.

We waz walkin back to Throal. Calina, Elisen, Orlem n Red is always good company. Walkin toward Juniper Hollow, there waz holes. Said huh. Sum lizard badgers confused us n dumped Elisen’s dyre Isidoros inta a hole. Bad touch. Punched ‘em. Good fite.

We went inta town. Dad looking for missing girl. Went with dad to ranch. Spoke with da earth n found da place where da girl left da pasture. Rancher had a couple of cute pups snif her stuff n we followed where she went. Found the hunter’s hut where her boyfriend was based outta for his hunt. He had a mule for haulin out hiz catch. Followed trail. Found a meadow wit a mule turned ta stone, jade no less, n part eaten. Huh. Walked a bit n found the girl’s boyfriend turned ta jade, all scared lookin. Double huh.

Followed tacks to cave where stuff waz happenin. Figured out there was human sized boots mixed in wit four footed lizard snake tail tings. Sent dad to safety with dogz n warnin. Went into cave.

Wizard there makin knock out juice for the girl, who waz tied up n gagged in da cave. Wizard wanted her to look all peaceful when he turned her ta jade so he could sell her for more. Told her that while she waz tied up n he brewed the roofie juice. Punched him n his basilisk jade critter tings inta next week. *smack*

Afterz, we figured out how da basilisk tings used their spit to turn jade back ta flesh ta eat. Squished spit outta da dead ones n got enough ta save the girl’s boyfriend 'for he "set" all permanent like.

Did a check ta see if there were more of the critters nearby n didn’t find any. Got the girl n her beau home safe. Gave da tracker-pups some tasty treats. Told dad to let us know if der waz more of 'em.

Sharkforce
Posts:527
Joined:Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:39 am

Re: AAR [8M] Missing Persons (Saturday 2022 April 9th 1700 GMT)

Post by Sharkforce » Mon Apr 11, 2022 6:09 am

Orlam Rolfsom, Journal Entry # 19: Missing Persons


I am pleased to discover that our fair province still has new wonders to unveil. I was on my way back from investigating a report of an unusual species of frog near Kampung Gajah (which didn't pan out, Cernun's team lucked out and monopolized it before I even got there) having gathered together with some acquaintances of mine who were likewise headed for Throal; Elisen with their menagerie, Strata, R'edtarian and the ever-silent Calina.
As luck would have it, there seemed to be an unusual variant of Volus which had an ability that most fascinatingly resembles the Illusionist spell "Chosen Path" just south of Juniper Hollow. An entirely new species that nobody has ever heard of! Of course, at the time my excitement was slightly tempered by the fact that some of us had fallen into their pit traps and were fairly wounded, as well as preserving the safety of the nearby town.

Also, I had to send out messenger bats to my interns, who had dispersed upon discovering the bad news at Kampung Gajah. What blessed luck that we should be able to make such a monumental discovery along the main road! Of course, the engineers are all fussing about the damage done to the roads what with the volus caving them in all over the place, but really, this sort of thing should be kept in proper perspective, this is an incredible find!
But that isn't even the best part. While waiting for my team to arrive to conduct a proper study (I know at least one of this new variety of volus survived its encounter with my comrades and I) we arrived in town to find a local rancher whose daughter had gone missing. Well, I had a few days to kill at least, so I was up for it, and everyone else seemed fine with the idea as well so we agreed to do what we could (after taking a brief rest so our wounded could recover).

The daughter was known to be in a relationship with the son of the local miller, and had not returned from her chores of patrolling the edges of the ranch, which at first we suspected would be merely her having run off to spend some time with her beau who had "gone on a hunting trip" out in that direction. Which, incidentally, was not *entirely* wrong, because that was exactly what she had intended to do, only to apparently find that the lad was not in his hunting lodge but out hunting (or so we later found out, neither of them were there when we arrived).

By this time some conversations I'd had with local Spirits had suggested that there was something more going on than just a lovers' tryst (they couldn't be very specific, but something "very wrong" had come after a horse, although the spirit was not very specific. Really, only the ones that are particularly fond of Namegivers bother to distinguish us much, so I imagine the same is true for other creatures that don't directly interact with them. I'm sure I'd have gotten more information if the Wood Spirit in question had spotted a herbivore coming its way with jaws opened wide).

Anyways, long story short we tracked both the lad and the lass with the help of the rancher's prized bloodhounds and came across a half-eaten mule and later the boy (uneaten) transformed to jade! This was highly unusual and frankly may even be unprecedented (I mean, I've heard vague *rumours* of creatures that can petrify their enemies, but I've never met even a single person who actually *encountered* such a thing, and frankly the rumours are terribly inconsistent).

We followed the trail to a small cave and inside were three strange basilisks with odd powers and an aura that would begin changing nearby creatures into jade, which means that not just one but TWO new species had been discovered! That wretch Cernun will be positively GREEN with envy when he hears that he missed out on this for a new species of frog! Not only that, but they were accompanied by a fellow (signs indicate he was once a wizard before Elisen charged him so furiously that he was practically painted onto the wall) who had been taking notes and had all kinds of interesting alchemical research, including a formula for Kelia's Antidote. Truly this has been a most profitable day.

I was able to retrieve some samples of the basilisk's saliva which reverses the petrification process (necessary for the basilisks to eat their prey) as well, which I expect should earn me quite a few favours once I decide which Scholar of Alchemy I'm going to give it to. Sadly, we only have corpses of the basilisks at the moment, but who knows what further investigation might reveal?

Oh, and apparently the wizard was using the basilisks to petrify small animals and sell them as jade statues to make money or some such foolish scheme. I suppose that's one way to fund your research until people catch on and jade becomes worthless, but kidnapping young women to turn into statues is bad for your health when Elisen is around. I suppose I'll have to credit the buffoon in my bibliography since he *did* keep notes, but I for one prefer to be alive when my research gets published.

predajey
Posts:344
Joined:Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:27 am

Re: AAR [8M] Missing Persons (Saturday 2022 April 9th 1700 GMT)

Post by predajey » Thu Apr 14, 2022 3:38 am

An extravagant white leather bound journal contains several chapters detailing Calina Ravanqnerosicor’s journeys. It is written in a rich blue ink and the pages have a gold trim. It is written in Sperethiel.

Chapter 167: Woodland Rescue

I was returning from a summons for translation between the T'Skrang of the Floating City over Lake Ban and an envoy of Blood Elves who had traveled along the Serpent to the city. Proper Sperethiel is not my strongest language, but I was sufficient enough to settle a dispute the had resulted in the Blood Elves imprisonment until I was able to arrive. On the return trip, I met with Stratavaraprolagrahayopristanockahgannagroth, who was all too happy to see me again, and showed his affection by volunteering me to go back south along the Via Triolvi towards Kampung Gajah. I suppose I'm getting my exercise for the year all out at once this month.

Some bit of travel led us to other famed Adepts, including the rising scholar and Elementalist Orlam. I was happy to see him, since he would be able to train me in Elementalism. We also saw the spark of hope Elisen and the honorable guardian R'edtarian. As we continued to travel, we found ourselves traveling off the main path. Alerted to the issue by our R'edtarian, it took a bit of Wizardry expertise to identify that we were subject to an Illusionist spell called Chosen Path. I attempted to force Isodoros, but my strength was severely lacking. Nevertheless, I had to break this illusion. With a bit of conversing with both myself and R'edtarian, we were able to break the spell, but elected to journey down the path anyway to figure out what caused it. I dispelled the trap, which was centered on the road. I also brought up the renewal requirement for the spell, but my voice fell silent on this proactive team of resolutionists (and not because I did not actually speak to them).

We found an area that was ideal for trappings. With Stratavaraprolagrahayopristanockahgannagroth in the lead, he was the first to fall into a pit trap, following shortly by Isodoros. The team struggled to free Isodoros, but Stratavaraprolagrahayopristanockahgannagroth was able to move through the earth. With Orlam's metal wings, the rest of the team elevated to where the pitfalls would not affect us. Soon a few creatures that made Orlam brighten with pure bliss appeared and a fight ensued. I really need to stay out of these fights. It's not like I contribute much outside of my chain casting. Everyone benefits just from starting a fight near me.

After dealing with these creatures, we continued on to Kampung Gajah, where a man had exclaimed that his daughter was missing. How devastating. I know I was worried sick when Vralino went missing. Even worse, she was living with her father Jarock! I can't believe she left me for him! Or maybe he kidnapped her? Either way, the party unanimously elected to track down his daughter and bring her back safely. During our investigation, we found that she had joined her boyfriend, who was on a hunt in the woods. I don't know if the girl knows how much danger being in the woods alone with a man can be. We hastily pursued to find the boy's campsite, and subsequently found him and his mule, both turned to Jade. The mule was broken to bits and gnarled on. The jade was strangely comprised of jadeite and flesh. I was unable to revert the saddle back, and was doubtful I could do better with the mule itself or the boy. Thankfully, that fear is subsided, but sadly it was replaced with a new one; where was the girl?

We found the girl in a cave. Some alchemical brewings were infusing their culminating effects within a beaker on a table, and shortly after we entered, we were encountered by Basilisks. The entire party knew that these were what turned that boy and mule to jade. We began our bid on survival, with the party spreading to the corners to separate the Basilisks. I granted our physical experts flaming weapons, but wasn't able to do much else. As the momentum built and shifted, Orlam called out the location of the Wizard and Elisen streaked across the cave, embedding his very essence into various locations along the cave wall. The fight quickly dwindled down as we tended to the Basilisks, extracting their expectorant in an attempt to cure the jade boy. It worked.

Strangely, I would have thought there might be a newborn expected, as it happened with Vralino. The woods can be such a wondrous and dangerous place, that anyone's judgement could falter, particularly when they are not fond of their home life. Perhaps the girl is not as much a fool as I was. Perhaps she was lucky to be interrupted by this Wizard and us as her rescuers. Either way, I hope that she doesn't make the same mistakes I made. At least her family welcomed her back home.

Post Reply