Sounds fun. I'll watch with interest. 

Introduction:

One-Eyed Norf and Valda seeking to escape the Pirate Isles, inquired upon the pirate captain Vik of the Last Pearl for safe passage as he was preparing to leave port. Although he did not know him personally, this man was also from Oomis, so they shared much in common. He was able to gain his trust very quickly and gain his help without having to explain too much of their situation.  

Captain Vik was destined to travel to Parsool, but due to the bad storm, elected to sail to the far East to avoid it.  However, the further he sailed East, the more the weather pushed them further East.  On board, the crew of the Last Pearl had never seen a barbarian from Valgard, especially one that was a woman as beautiful as Valda.  At first, One-Eyed Norf became very protective of her, getting into minor conflicts to protect her.  However, he soon realized that Valda could take care of herself.  Watching her defend herself very successfully, she earned not only the respect of the crew but also their fear.  After weeks of travel being pushed further East, an island was soon spotted, it was identified as Thule!  Norf cursed their luck, urging Vik to change course before they would get in distance of the island.  Soon, many of the pirate crew began to fall into a deep sleep, which they could not be awakened from.  This deep slumber began to affect them all until Norf and Valda fell to its spell as well.

Last edited by Gundarr_the_Great (10/21/2024 5:36 pm)

Valda. 11 Lifeblood. 5 Hero Points

Out adventure Lists so far…

Chaos Factor. 5

NPCs.
[list=1]
[*]Crew of the Sea Pearl
[*]Captain Vik
[*]The Storm
[*]The Sea
[*]Thule
[*]Zalut
[/list]

Threads.
[list=1]
[*]Escape the Island
[*]Save the Crew
[/list]
I see you’re opting for the Fate Check. I dig it. I’ll follow suit. I’m seeing a number of task checks here… avoiding injury on the rocks, searching for survivors, and making it to the safety of the shore.

Valda hits the water before her wits are fully about her. The sea churns and sloshes among the sharp black rocks that serve as sleepless eternal sentinels standing guard over the entrance of the unseen bay. Large flotsam once belonging to the hull of the Last Pearl wash past in jagged ruin. Valda catches a brief glance of One-Eyed Norf not far away before a hissing swell intervenes.

Valda tries to call out but finds herself choking on sea water. She twists about looking for something to latch onto, or crew members of the Pearl, or something.

Search task. 5 + 1 (mind) + 1 (mariner) - 2 (tough) = failure

Any wreckage is either too small or too far away. She sees no other sign of survivors nor her counterpart between the mountainous frothing waves and towering intermittent rocks. For now, she heeds little but the screaming voice inside of her brain that death is nigh. She gasps for breath. She tries to swim clear of the sharp reef.

Avoid injury task. 8 + 2 (agility) + 1 (mariner) - 2 (tough) = success

She manages to evade the glistening black blades of a pitted rock and ducks under the surface of waves just as a broken beam comes shooting through the water toward her head. She bursts from the surface further from the dangers of the reef treading water and looking for a sign.

Fate Check. Does she see One-Eyed Norf? (50/50) 3 - Exceptional No

There is no sign of living. Her companion, Captain Vik, and the entire crew are lost to the sea. Hopeless, Valda turns and sees a rise of land in the distance. She makes her way through the calmer waters before she succumbs to her fatigue.

Swim task. 5 + 1 (strength) + 1 (mariner) - 1 (hard) = 7 failure

She continues, the strain of her exertion causing her muscles to spasm against the strain. She still has her old claimed blade and baldric weighing her down. She reluctantly casts it off and her heavy ceremonial dagger. The remainder of her push to the shore meets a haze of exhaustion. The waves wash her across the intervening distance.

Last edited by roryb (10/22/2024 12:05 am)

By the way, you might noticed that One-Eyed Norf did not look for survivors from the pirate crew.  It's not that he didn't care about them, but we'll assume that there is a pirate code in Lemuria that if you fall behind, you're on your own. So why did he make the exception for Valda? Technically she is not a pirate, just his partner in crime, which has a different code for thieves.....

Valda. 7 Lifeblood. 5 Hero Points.

Valda somehow finds her feet and stumbles toward One-Eyed Norf looking every bit as bedraggled, if not more so than he. She had few garments to begin with, and still wears her limited mesh and a belt, but her weaponry was swallowed by Thule’s consuming waters, much the same as his own. She cannot muster a smile in her state.

Fate Check. Does something or someone unwholesome make itself known here? (50/50) Yes!
A monster? (50/50) Yes; shape tongue, toothy tail

Before the two can rendezvous, something lurking among the rocks beyond the beach makes itself known. Its ruddy and diamond patterned hide renders it almost invisible among the stones and sand. A thing from beyond the reckoning of all but the most twisted conjuror slithers with astonishing speed out to the pair. It is serpent-shaped and perhaps the length of three men, legless, but serrated with spines about its scaled length. The thing has no apparent eyes, but rather a feeling forked tongue darting from its oversized fanged maw that seems to contain all of its senses.

I just rolled with some descriptors and let the description spring from that source. I’d call it a demonic, but I’d go with stats of some creature. Let’s give it the following:

Very Large
Camouflage (penalty due to initiate for first round), poor eyesight
30 Lifeblood
Strength 6
Agility 3
Mind 1
Defense 1
Protection 1 (scaled hide)
Attack +3
Bite or Constriction +3
Damage d6H

I’ll roll an initiative with a penalty die for Valda: 4 + 1 (mind) + 0 (initiative) = failure

Fate Check. Does it go for Valda? (Likely) Yes!
Constriction Attack. 8 + 3 (attack bonus) - 2 (defense) = hit
Valda takes 4 damage (I don’t think her armor helps with constriction). Valda has 7 Lifeblood remaining.
She tries to wriggle free, pitting her agility against its strength.
8 + 2 (agility) + 2 (barbarian fury) - 6 (monster’s strength) = failure

With a strange hiss, the monstrous thing wraps its coils around Valda, trapping her beneath its girth. She screams in fury, trying in vain to free herself.