Haargarth descends the rusty ladder, and after about thirty feet of descent, finds himself at the entrance of a small chamber. Off to the right, the wall is carved in a bas-relief two angels who recoil in horror at something between them, but that space between is nothing but blank wall.
At the far end is a small raised dais and altar upon which rests a single lit candle (which burns stronger than it should be), and a wooden bowl. A blood-red stained-glass window looms behind the altar.
Resting within the bowl is sixteen copper coins.
Meanwhile, in the battle above... and PSST.. It's a Chimera... NOT Manticore, there is no Manticore. Look to the right... CHIMERA!
[Azul Khadon]
To Azul's question of, "O Sentinels! Is our key to this riddle composed of Solid Wood?"... the remaining statues respond together, "YES."
When Azul taunts the Great Worm Tentacle, it does indeed hit the Chimera! And just when you think the Chimera is done for, it gets FAR WORSE. The next lightning bolt crashes down, slamming into the statue of the Medusa.
Instead of a Medusa joining the battle, the Chimera morphs... each head now is a Medusa head! The Medusa-Chimera's wounds close as if it was never touched!
Tech: Roll 9.
[Vulture]
Vulture's rapier/sling tactic only proves to provoke one of the tentacles, that grabs Vulture violently. Vulture drops his rapier under the intense pressure of the grab, and is slowly being dragged back into the muck of the moat... Vulture, what are you doing!
Tech: Roll 6. No damage taken, but in a tight spot indeed. Vulture earns 1 XP and currently has 1 XP.
Considering the transformation of the creature above, I should probably pause here for a moment. If I haven't gotten to you yet (Melliandre and Sornë), you can redo your move from the previous post and post it fresh in this one.
HOWEVER... If you wish to avert your gaze while attacking the Medusa-Chimera, you automatically accept a -1 to your attack roll. Or you can just attack without averting your eyes - which means you must first Defy Danger with Constitution as a Medusa head attempts to turn you to stone!
If you do want to roll, I'd like you to roll the dice on the Petrify attack. Use Invisible Castle to make that roll, and consult the list below.
Medusa's Petrification Attack
10+, you are not affected by the Medusa's gaze this time
7-9, you are Slowed (similar to Shaky, -1 to DEX)
6-, you are Petrified (KO).
You earned and used a question this post... so you have 3 unused questions to ask.
Good Luck, Crusaders! My next post will be after Turkey break. If you could limit yourself to just one post between now and then, that would be great. :)
[OOC]
ReplyDeleteMy bad on the manticore mix-up! I always have this weird semantic paraphasia with these two monsters. Won't happen again!
[OOC]
ReplyDeleteThis makes the list of potential true treasures down to:
Ash Wand
Oak Staff
Mahogany Figurine
Cherrywood Vial
Oak Wand
Hawthorn Staff
Oak Javelin
Oak Ring
Crossbow (material??)
Wand (material??)
I suggest the next question be, "is the true treasure made of oak?"
[OOC]
DeleteLogical. I'm going to try and avoid actually dealing damage until we have these three unanswered questions asked.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete[Vulture]
ReplyDeleteIn a tight spot, indeed, Vulture finds himself being pulled ever closer to the swampy moat by this tentacled creature's purple appendage. With one are mexposed, writhing in pain from being bound by the great force of this monster, Vulture struggles to separate himself its grasp before plunging into the murky depths by clawing at the muck in hopes of grabbing something sturdy. With luck not on his side, Vulture cries out "Release me vile creature! RELEASE ME!" Steam and smoke start to pour out of the snake-like tentacle's pores, as it's scales begin to blacken. It's skin and muscles begin to cascade around him, rendering that tentacle useless. Vulture hastily scurries back to retrieve his trusty rapier!
[Tech]
I use my demon power as to cause the creatures tentacle to become useless.
[OOC]
I hope I used that correctly. Was in a bit of a pickle haha. You guys have a happy Thanksgiving!!!
[Haargaarth]
ReplyDeleteSeeing that this new chamber doesn't immediately hold what he is looking for, Haargaarth reclimbs the ladder and rushes to rejoin his companions in battle. His timing is good, for the moment he seems the massive medusa-mera looms over the muck covered Vulture. He calls out through the driving rain to the beast "HO, FOULEST FORM OF THE DESTRUCTOR! IGNORE THAT WELP OF A BIRDLING AND COME COLLECT A TRUE MEAL FROM MY FLESH IF YOU CAN!" His flail whirls and spits rain as it cuts through the air, and Haargaarth marches forward. Chimera's don't scare him, nor do the wimpy and womanly form of a medusa. Once the Medusa-mera gives him her attention, he demands "Creature, is the item you seek made of Oak!
[OOC]
FYI, it seems the domain for invisible castle has expired, can't get the link to work.
[Tech]
BOND: Vulture is soft, but I will make him hard like me.
I'll assume that getting Vulture out of the tight spot and challenging the creature is a Roll+CHA, and if I have to Defy Danger, so be it. Haargaarth seeks answers to this riddle, and no more pain for his companions.
[Azul Khadon]
ReplyDeleteThe flailing Worm Thing recoiling from its barrage, the tentacles retract revealing the Mother Unwilling's next course of action: a heavily planted foot and the Khamsa activates, its blinding light obscuring her form in a flash.
Ribs dislocate and burst from her chest, cracking into segmented appendages as her skin calcifies, engulfing her slender frame. Legs crack and fuze, arching over her heavily armored back as she takes the form of KHALID'S NORTHERN SCORPION OF THE SERRATED-SANDS.
The predator of the Northern Territories rears, serrated pincers that rend men asunder biting into he flesh of the Chi-Medusa as the barbed tail, filled with the burning venom so dreaded that men fling themselves from the peaks, lest they suffer its maddening systemic rot, slams into the Guardian like so many heavy blows of Haarggaarth's Flail.
[Tech]
Gonna double-team this sucka with Haargaarth!
Using Shapeshifter: When you call upon the spirits to change your shape, roll+Wis. ✴On a 10+ hold 3. ✴On a 7–9 hold 2. ✴On a miss hold 1 in addition to whatever the GM says. The GM will also tell you one or more moves associated with your new form.
I am using the move USE YOUR POISON ON THEM.
I am also defying danger with Con(+1) as I press the attack!
[Ooc]
VULTURE AND HAARGAARTH 2: THE HARDENING
[Vulture]
ReplyDeleteVulture - It is as you state, the power of the demon within you rots away at the tentacle. You are free and can retrieve your weapons... What physical side-effect manifests on you because of this?
[Haargaarth]
As Haargaarth leaves, he could swear he hears the bas-relief of the angels whispering in desperation, "Don't leave! The gate you seek is near..."
But Haargaarth climbs back up the claustrophobic ladder, bursting out onto the battlefield! He stares the Medusa-Chimera down, not flinching, NOT petrifying. The creature answers, "YES YOU FOOL! IT IS OF OAK! NOW DIE!"
Tech:Defy Danger (Con) vs Petrify = 10 (no problem!) The knockdown is some DM fun, and some from Azul's natural 2 (see below!)
[Azul Khadon]
Azul's new form might even be immune to petrifaction, as she's able to stare down the Medusa heads without problem. However, the head that is also the CHIMERA RED DRAGON head opens its jaws to unleash A BLAST OF LIQUID FIRE!
Tech: Natural 2! Azul gains XP and now has 2 XP (1 now, 1 for Turkey Day). Azul take 9 points of fire damage, leaving her with 12 hp. Haargaarth takes 10 fire damage, leaving him with 15 hp remaining.
Azul, you have 1 hold. Instead of me telling what moves you have in your new form (sounds like more work for the DM, WTF?) you can just suggest cool stuff. Cool?
One of the catapults fires, the explosive-giant-skull detonating very near you! Where it impacts, suddenly a crater forms as the swamp there just gives way... The next person to post can describe the horror that is revealed there!
[Azul Khadon]
ReplyDeleteThe churning fire washes over her armored body; she can feel her tender guts boiling and baking within her armored carapace! Her head swimming through the pain, she struggles with human willpower combined with primal instinct.
The barbed tail continues to pump burning venom into the screaming, mutated Chimera as KHALID'S SCORPION give into its injuries, her human form bursting from its abdomen as it crumbles above her.
Her vision slowly turning, her head swimming from the intense pain, the detonation, visible as it repels the rain and slop of the swamp, flings all in the vicinity like so many rag dolls.
Ringing ears, crumpled bodies, the copper tang of blood on her tongue. The Mother Unwilling stumbles to her feet as the fire manifests: A SWARM OF SCREAMING, BURNING HALF-GIANT IMMOLITHS ERUPT FROM THE CRATER, singing a discordant war chant as they free from their prison within the rune inscribed skull, the swamp itself boiling from their touch.
[Tech]
Continuing to INFLICT YOUR POISON ON THEM as the Scorp, my hold expended and reverting to Human Form.
[OOC]
Joe: Totally cool on just saying cool stuff.
I wanted to depict horror, indeed. Have fun, everyone!
OOC: Joe, can we get a quick, barebones recap of what is all going on? With the party running around this way and that it's hard to keep track of what dangers, threats, and opportunities are still around. Also, do we have any yes/no questions left? If we do, Maedros bellows out, "How now, ye gods of this darkened world of hate! Yield to my demands and answer for true, does the true treasure take the form of a weapon (staff or javelin) ?"
ReplyDelete[OOC]
ReplyDeleteI have at least 1 question left to burn. I say do it.
Azul, you're going to get us all killed with your reckless abandon!
ReplyDelete[OOC]
BOND I worry about the ability of Azul to survive in the dungeon.
I had counted one question left as well. Figured if Ross is right, we hit it once more and confirm, then go and grab it. Then it's time for the room below. I have an angel to save, I think he name was Goldie...
[OOC]
ReplyDeleteIm a victim of circumstance.
[Vulture]
ReplyDeleteSloshing through the muck, covered in burns and blisters, he retrieves his sword from the slimy mud. With his hand raised to block the gaze of the medusa-mera, Vulture uses his other hand to unleash a barrage of blades to slice through the vicious beast.
[Tech]
Demon power affect- -1 to CON for being covered in burns and blisters.
Volley- roll+DEX-1(averting gaze) for throwing knives
[OOC]
Bond: Haargarth has my back when things go wrong.
[Azul Khadon]
ReplyDeleteAzul's poison has no effect on the Chi-Medusa, and all three heads screech an alien scream as the Immolith demons emerge upon the battlefield! The swarm surveys the battlefield, not attacking anyone yet, as if awoken from a long hibernation.
Just then, the Chi-Medusa moves to the statue of the Iron Golem and unhinges one of it's mouths... It seems somehow impossible, but somehow it devours the statue whole! The skin of the Chi-Medusa then becomes metallic as it incorporates the form of the Iron Golem into itself.
Welcome the Iron-Chi-Medusa!
Tech: Rolled a 5 for the Inflict your Poison move. You are now at 3 XP.
Maedhros
The two remaining statues (Marilith and Dragon) answer you, "It is not a weapon if you mean a staff or javelin."
[Vulture]
Vulture's volley of blades bounces off the Iron-Chi-Medusa's metalic skin harmlessly! It leaps at Vulture, the dragon's head grasping Vulture in its jaws and shaking him like a bloody toy.
Tech: Volley of 4. You take 10 damage, leaving you with 7 hp. What are you doing to escape the jaws cleched around you?
OOC: Check the vitals tab for a summary of the situation. I think everyone is near, except Sorne who is off to the side. I'm finding Dungeon World a bit of a challenge to keep track of things, but a good challenge! If there's any questions, feel free to hit me up on twitter.
ReplyDeleteYou foolish Destructors, you've given away your secret too easily! Weaving through the carnage, Haargaarth searches for the oak wand, calling out to his companions for help. Once spotted, he rushes to the Marilith statue, and stabs it into her hand.
ReplyDelete[OOC]
Joe, so no on the using Roll+CHA to distract the creatures away from Vulture earlier? Darn. Guess I'll just have to solve the puzzle. I actually can't wait to see what will happen if I am wrong, but we can't maintain under this onslaught.
[OOC]
ReplyDeleteThanks for the summary in the Virals tab, Joe!
MAEDROS
I snatch up the oak ring, assuming Haargarth is going to get in trouble, and the stride forth with shining shield held high. My sharp even eyes and keen hearing keep me sharp, always on the lookout for danger. And when I find it, hells yes, I leap forward to throw myself into harm's way and ensure the protection of the group's collective destiny.
[TECH]
I'm thinking Defend, rolling Con (+1).
viTals tab
Delete[OOC]
ReplyDeleteJoe asked that I repost this here.
[Sornë]
Bloodied and beaten, Sornë wracks his brain for an alternative to dying and, in his desperation, a seed long dormant begins to grow.
The raptor druid takes wing once again and laboriously approaches the top of the copper tower, keeping close to the walls an ascending in a spiral path, trying to avoid detection. It is not a feathered foe that crests the crenelations, however, but the hoary claws of a werewolf. As soon as Sornë's lupine eyes fall upon the ogres a hideous transformation occurs. Wracked with painful spasms, the ogres turns into fiendish werewolves themselves and turn their attention to their former allies with hungry eyes and empty bellies! Sornë laughs at the chaos he has created, but the voice that is heard seems to come from some unimaginable distance.
[Tech]
Shapeshift just before Sornë crests the tower.
He calls upon his demonic demonic aspect thinking, at first, that this is some new well of druidic power previously untapped.
[Vulture]
ReplyDeleteHead swirling, weight of the world crushing every inch of his body, he struggles with the thought of dying so easily.
Being vigorously slung about by the scaly head of the, newly formed, Iron-Medusa-Mera, Vulture grabs a phial from his pack and breaks it on the inside of the leviathan's putrid, steaming mouth, spreading poison throughout.
With is nerves raised, and its mouth burning, Vulture leaves the behemoth feeling sensitive. He yells out, "The poison has set in! Now is our chance! ATTACK!" as he swings his arms back anddrives the glimmering, golden dagger, with both hands, into the eye of the beast.
[Tech]
Poison: Serpent's Tears- Anyone rolling damage to the target rolls twice and takes the better result.
Hack and Slash on dragons eye: Roll+STR+2 (dagger vs. large creature)
I hope the combination of the two is enough for it to drop me.
[OOC]
I would like to find the right item on the first try, but curiosity has also set in for what would happen if it's wrong...
Also, I believe I am at 3xp now :D
Hey guys, slammed at work this week, but tomorrow should be good to get a bigger post out. Stay tuned!
ReplyDeleteNo problem! You aren't the only one, my friend!
DeleteI know the feeling, my friend. The suspense is still killing me! lol
Delete[Azul Khadon]
ReplyDelete"Azul, you're going to get us all killed with your reckless abandon!"
Each of us burnt by the magma of the Chi-Medusa, we have stood together in arms.
The words are muddled through the ringing of her ears, but the Mother heaves herself to her feet at last. The wails of the Immolith Swarm saturate her senses, but she looks to find Haargaarth on his knees, searching through the muck as he roars his disdain for the Guardians.
'Whenever you fight, you may die!' she hisses at the Fighter Haargarth. Still, he displays Wisdom, and as he gropes for the Oak Wand, Azul takes the front of his charge towards the Marilith Statue, staff brandished and providing cover for his dash in dismantling the defenses of the Guardians!
[Tech]
BOND: Haargaarth has tasted my blood and I theirs. We are bound by it.
AID: Roll+Bond (+1). On a 10+ they take +1. On a 7-9 you also expose yourself to danger, retribution, or cost.
[Ooc]
Sure, blame the woman for all of your problems! Hope you know where to point that wood in your hand!