WM/Treks/Log 3-12

Narrator: The delvers are 5 days out from Polisberg, amid some metal ore laden hills southwest of town. The sun is shining over a cloudless sky, though a light breeze keeps the heat from being unbearable.
Narrator: They have just finished defeating and then massacring a group of ogres. The ogres had strange, stony skin, as though they were hideous, oversized, wingless gargoyles.
Bedlam: "And they weren't very friendly either."
Wolfgang: is insulted by the connection
GM: : What are you guys doing?
Artegal: : 'onward in the direction we'd been planning to go previous to the ambush, which I think was northeastish mostly.'
Artegal: : Also, Tactics: result: succeeded by 6 
Wolfgang: : Are we there yet?
Torvall: : And if we can avoid it...no more canyons.
Bedlam: that's my recollection
Beltarne: : I agree!
Mouser: : Sniffs at the corpses, swaggers away from them briefly, then bounds after the delvers to catch up as everyone heads another way.
Wolfgang: : so, how far did we get before the ambush anyhow?
GM: : The sun rose higher in the sky, but not a lot higher.
GM: : And no one got too hungry.
Beltarne: : Ah, adventurer time-lensing
Bedlam: "And he got bored from all this walking."
Narrator: The delvers continue east, skirting the edge of the eerie, soundless forest. Soon, the hills flatten to a low, muddy plain and the forest edge veers away to the northeast. The delvers follow the treeline, but as the sun beams down from overhead, it becomes clear that they will either have to venture into the marsh proper or turn north into the forest.
Bedlam: picks a pebble up off the ground and throws it near Mouser, who pounces it.
GM: : Also, shortly after they come out of the hills, they ford a river.
Beltarne: : "I vote marsh"
Bedlam: that's that silent forest?
Beltarne: : "You go in and it's completely silent. Remember?"
GM: : It's the same bunch of trees that you walked into and stopped hearing things.
Wolfgang: : "Up to you walkers, but the silent forest seems to be a big trap to me"
Bedlam: "I don't like the idea of being snuck up on either. I prefer to do the sneaking."
Artegal: : "Through the marsh. Better mud than having something sneak up on us."
Torvall: : "It also would be preferrable to having our priest silenced."
Mouser: nods as if in agreement. Though it could just be a bug got his attention.
GM: : The swamp runs from due north to due south, covering the horizon. It seems very swampy, with constant pools of water covering most of the ground, though from the way reeds and tree roots break out, the water isn't very deep.
Beltarne: : Whoever is leading uses a pokey pole, however much that will slow us.
GM: : Another small forest is visible maybe a mile or two away on the horizon to the northeast, and a heavily forested hill is two or three miles away to the southeast.
Bedlam: ((i have a pole, as it turns out.))
Beltarne: : ((As do I))
Bedlam: ((how is your trap detecting?))
GM: : So what's the plan?
Beltarne: : ((Nonexistant))
Wolfgang: : Bedlam detects traps and stuff with the pole?
Wolfgang: : or more to the point, who has better survival?
Beltarne: : We follow the marshy forest to the north through the swamp, Bedlam leading with the pole, till we hit a road.
GM: : Okay!
Artegal: : The navigator's player isn't here. The plan was, 'north and east until we reach the road that we can use to get back to Polisberg'.
Bedlam: i have survival, but in the mountains, not swamps
Narrator: Movement slows to a crawl as the delvers trudge through the fetid water and thick mud of the swamp. Infrequent patches of black stone provide firmer footing, but they are nearly invisible under the water.
Bedlam: focuses intently on carefully prodding the water with the pole.
GM: : Also, everyone can roll the better of Vision-2 or Survival (Swamps) -2 + Acute Vision. If you don't have Survival (Swamps), Vision is a better roll.
Ystävä: : See stuff! result: failed by 1 
Artegal: : Per: result: failed by 3 
Beltarne: : Vision check result: succeeded by 2
Bedlam: Vision check result: failed by 2
Torvall: : Vision: result: failed by 3 
Wolfgang: : Vision check result: succeeded by 6
Narrator: Some of the rocks turn out to be shards of razor sharp obsidian! Several of the delvers stop to take care of damaged feet.
Bedlam: "How you doing, Mouser?"
Artegal: : Just how much damage are we talking about, here? Most of us are wearing fairly hefty boots.
GM: : Damage to Ystava is 2 cutting to the feet;
Damage to Artegal is 3 and 0 and 3 cutting to the feet
Damage to Bedlam is 6 and 2 cutting to the feet
Damage to Torvall is 5 and 5 and 5 cutting to the feet
Armor DR (feet) protects normally.
GM: : So Bedlam is probably in bad shape but everyone else should be okay.
Artegal: : DR 4 feet, so I'm good.
GM: : Ystava just rocked on some sharp rocks as you went through the swamp, but big stompy boots and tough skin saw him through.
Ystävä: : Big stompy boots!
Artegal: : What's Bedlam's foot DR?
Ystävä: : Are we on a specific map?
Narrator: Bedlam limps on, with several sharp cuts in his feet.
Ystävä: : (( also, can I get an invite to ooc chat? ))
GM: : No, this is out of combat. You're walking through the swamp.
Beltarne: : ((Nickname, em?))
Ystävä: : (( uhuk.hgok ))
Beltarne: : ((Joel, I have you as offline. You need another invite to group chat?))
Narrator: Time passes slowly as the delvers trudge through the swamp. To their left, the eerie trees of the silent woods; to their right, more trees. Ahead of them, it looks like the swamp dries up but a strange hazy shimmers over the flat ground.
Beltarne: stops and suspiciously examines haze
Ystävä: : Does it smell funny?
Narrator: The sun is midway to the western horizon, still above the black mountains.
GM: : You're still in the swamp, and can't smell much of the haze, but it smells faintly sulphurous to Ystava.
Ystävä: : "The stinky beans fog is stinky."
Beltarne: : Is it lower than the surrounding swamp?
GM: : It seems to be level with the swamp, or maybe a bit higher. As far as you can see, nothing impedes your vision until the hills and mountains rise over the horizon, but the haze makes it hard to make out details.
Wolfgang: : (( is anyone going to heal bedlam's feet? ))
Beltarne: : ((I will))
Beltarne: : Okay, so idea.
Artegal: : ((I was kind of going to wait for it to develop gangrene so we'd have to amputate - but I'm not a medic.))
Beltarne: : First, find a non-cutty portion of rock, and banage up bedlam's feet
Beltarne: : Second, we toss a lit torch into the hazy area from a distance.
Bedlam: ((i do have potions you know... but i like to conserve them)
GM: : Okay, the delvers continue to struggle north as the sun drops toward the western horizon.
Artegal: : The lit torch didn't do much?
GM: : Who's doing the navigating?
Ystävä: : Ystava will help whomever is navigating
Ystävä: : Or will navigate but I don't recommend that.
Ystävä: : But I gotta run AFK, be back
Bedlam: that would be me
GM: : You haven't gotten close enough - you can see the haze at least a half mile way, and it takes some time to get that far through a swamp.
GM: : Skill level?
Ystävä: : (( back ))
Ystävä: result: failed by 4 
Bedlam: result: failed by 1 
Bedlam: my nav is 14, traps is 12, vision is 15
Bedlam: and i'm concentrating on poking the swamp with the stick
GM: : Thanks!
Torvall: : Nav 12 here if you are too busy poking
Torvall: result: succeeded by 2 
Bedlam: others can add their nav successes to mine right?
Ystävä: : I can assist with Navigation/TL3 (Land) -14
Beltarne: : Aid another, yeah
Ystävä: : Navigation/TL3 (Land) -14 result: succeeded by 2 
Bedlam: Navigation/TL3 (Land) result: succeeded by 2
GM: : The delvers reach the edge of the swamp. The ground rapidly dries into a broad plain, dotted with small mounds and covered by haze that smells of sulphur. Beltarne lights a torch and tosses it into the haze, where it flares yellow briefly and slightly then burns at a steady, unexceptional rate.
Beltarne: : "Well, it didn't explode or snuff out, so there should be enough air to breathe."
Ystävä: : "Stinky beans."
Bedlam: "That's good. I have to breathe air."
Beltarne: : "We all do."
GM: : Continuing north?
Beltarne: : First Aid on Bedlam?
Narrator: Hills and mountains loom to the north.
GM: : Sure, whenever you want to do that.
Beltarne: : First Aid/TL3 (Human) result: succeeded by 5
Bedlam: sits. "I need to rest my feet a bit. Man, I'm sore."
Beltarne: : Heals 3.
Artegal: : East, I think.
Artegal: : The goal was east.
Bedlam: the goal was north
Beltarne: : Still down... 5?
Bedlam: yes
Bedlam: the forest was in the way, so we went east to go around it
Beltarne: : Minor Healing (Holy) result: succeeded by 8
Beltarne: : For 4 FP.
Beltarne: : You're down 1.
GM: : No, he heals 6 and is down 5 (took 3 damage from the cutting stuff, was down 8)
GM: : And now he is healed!
Beltarne: : Okay.
Bedlam: "Thank you, my stout friend. I feel much better now."
Beltarne: : "I'm not stout, just broad-boned...."
Bedlam: "Is there a difference?" Bedlam looks very serious.
Beltarne: : "So, to the northeast until we hit a road, correct"
Beltarne: : "Of course. One sounds better."
GM: : Well, the edge of the swamp/hazy plain runs to the ENE, so...
Beltarne: : "Shall we follow the edge?"
GM: : Someone make a decision, please.
Beltarne: : "We shall follow the edge."
Ystävä: : If there's solid ground roughly headed NE we'll go faster than on swamp.
Bedlam: "Yes, let's do that."
Torvall: : "And frankly the opportunity to get water out of my boots will be very welcome."
GM: : There's definitely solid ground in front of you, in the arc from west-northwest to east-northeast.
Ystävä: : "Not the stinky beans!"
Beltarne: : We try to stay out of the haze as much as possible while staying on solid ground.
Bedlam: "You don't have to eat beans if you don't like them."
GM: : Well, that's a problem. The haze is all over the solid ground.
Beltarne: : Can we stay at the edge of the haze?
Artegal: : ((The original plan, hitting the logs, was 'east until we're left with no choice but swamp, or trees; then east/northeast until we reach the road leading back to Polisberg. North is just going to get us to a lakeshore.))
GM: : Oh, also, it's rather warm here, even the ground.
Bedlam: ((oh? my mistake then))
Beltarne: : We really are in the fireswamp, aren't we?
GM: : And no, the haze overlaps the edge of the swamp, so if you want solid ground and fast movement you'll be in the haze.
Artegal: : Solid ground, fast movement!
GM: : ... shouldn't think so, dry ground is not swamp. Almost by definition.
Artegal: : What's the worst we could run into here?
Wolfgang: : monsters?
Artegal: : ...That's bad?
Ystävä: : Demons!
Wolfgang: : how "deep" does the haze look from the air?
Beltarne: : Scew it, all in favor of due north?
Bedlam: ((bedlam doesn't get why ystava doesn't like the haze, so he votes to go through it))
Wolfgang: : No, clue, as long as it's not poison or magic haze it's way faster
GM: : The haze covers at least a mile to the north, but it thins out fairly rapidly as you gain altitude.
Artegal: : "You're the navigator. Whatever you think is best. I don't figure this haze to be all that dangerous."
GM: : Decision, please.
Beltarne: : All in favor of due north?
Wolfgang: : sure
Beltarne: : Aye
Bedlam: "I say through the haze. Whats' the worst that can happen?"
Wolfgang: : I'll fly above it to hopefully warn of other things in it etc
Torvall: : "No arguements here."
Bedlam: ((for the love of god, vote against me, i'm an idiot))
Beltarne: : ((Heh))
Ystävä: pulls a face. "STINKY BEANS."
Narrator: The delvers push north, heading toward the looming hills. Other than the odd warmth of the ground and the air and the persistent smell of sulphur, nothing happens to them.
Beltarne: : I think that's a majority
Beltarne: : ((Yet))
Bedlam: ((anyone got a match?))
Beltarne: : ((Already tried that. Torch just burns a little yellow.))
Ystävä: : (( no, to cover the smell ))
Bedlam: ((mark, are you rping mouser or shall i?))
Narrator: As the sun drops toward the horizon, there is a rumbling in the distance. Somewhat south and west of the delvers, the ground erupts, creating a pile of mud and rock. A stream of water jets into the high, easily as high as Wolfgang, and then rapidly subsides, leaving the nearby ground soaked with water.
GM: : I'll throw Mouser stuff in when I want but he's mostly your responsibility.
Bedlam: cool - didn't want to step on toes
Narrator: After taking the sight in, the delvers continue north, and realize they have crossed a bed of eroded scree and a few coblestones.
Wolfgang: : "Look, it's a crappy road! About time!"
Beltarne: : We hook a right.
Bedlam: peers at the cobblestones suspiciously.
Bedlam: "Looks like a normal road to me, if a bit untended."
Ystävä: : "Go the faster to get out of the stinky beans."
Wolfgang: : road is east-west?
Mouser: seems to agree.
GM: : More or less - it looks like it may head northish to the west and southish to the east, but it's really not a road so much as the long eroded corpse of a road so it's hard to make out through the haze.
Wolfgang: : east it is!
Ystävä: : I think we're ready to give it a shot.
GM: : The hills look to be less than a mile away, for what it's worth, due north or northeast.
Artegal: : I think northeast remains the plan.
Artegal: : Unless we're totally lost.
Beltarne: : Check
GM: : Well, I can't speak to that. but east on the road versus NE across the plains and to the hills is an important question.
Ystävä: : We always have the option of being totally lost.
Wolfgang: : ...
Artegal: : Right. East on the road!
Wolfgang: : the road is still all hazy?
Wolfgang: : or are we out of that?
GM: : Yes, the road is still hazy. Haze in all directions.
Wolfgang: : well, we can't see them, they can't see us, right?
Beltarne: : East on the road!
Bedlam: since mouser has plains survival, that seems a good option, everything else being the same
Wolfgang: : east on the road!
Ystävä: : "Go the faster to get out of the stinky beans."
Ystävä: : (road faster)
Wolfgang: : (( plus, the road should take us to places we have been before and can go home more easily from ))
GM: : It doesn't cut off your vision - it's haze, not fog - it just makes things in the distance indistinct.
Bedlam: road it is
Narrator: The delvers head east, tracking the road as best they can. They make good time, but as the sun is almost touching the horizon, Wolfgang is too tired to continue quickly.
Narrator: The delvers bed down for the night, damp in the haze but warned by the hot ground beneath them.
Beltarne: : Comfy!
Beltarne: : And not at all dangerous!
Ystävä: : You can add Elementals to the expected hazards
Torvall: waits for the geyser we are sleeping on to wake/kill us in the night.
Bedlam: stretches out upon the ground, wrapped in his sleeping fur.
Wolfgang: has a tent!
Mouser: curls up, nose to tail, near Bedlam's head.
Ystävä: pitches his large tent somewhere useful looking.
Narrator: Torvall is on the second watch when he notices a cluster of bushes, about 200 yards away to the southeast. He saw them earlier and mostly ignored them, but an owl flies over them. Suddently the bushes explodes with wet splatting sounds and the owl screeches in pain and drops to the ground amidst the bushes.
Beltarne: : Fire!
Torvall: : Look around for other clusters of bushes that are closer?
GM: : You don't notice any.
GM: : Right now.
GM: : Yet.
Beltarne: : Heh
Torvall: OK...I'll keep an eye out for now and alert the next watcher when the time comes.
GM: : You don't want to get up and investigate?
Torvall: : Good god no!
Ystävä: : (( "Yes, I would love to stand on a land mine." ))
GM: : Hmmph.
Artegal: : ((Seriously, this group has totally learned that curiousity is dangerous and time-consuming.))
Wolfgang: : (( I don't want to go on the cart ))
Torvall: : Investigation may happen in the morning...not during a night watch though.
Wolfgang: : (( plus, it just had an owl, maybe it won't be hungry the rest of the night ))
Narrator: The rest of the night passes uneventfully. The next morning, the sun rises over a cloudless sky, and the ground steams as the dew rapidly evaporates.
Artegal: wakes up refreshed, runs his fingers through his hair, and looks /fantastic/. Suckers. "Let's be onward, shall we?"
GM: : Beltarne and Torvall realize it is the high holy day of Death, Light, and Earth.
Torvall: : So? Investigate the bush monster? Or avoid bushes as much as possible from this point on?
Beltarne: : Avoid.
Artegal: : "And then we gloriously defeated an immobile plant? Please. Let's just move on."
Wolfgang: wakes up and oils all his gear to chase off any rust from the water
Ystävä: : Survival: Blasted Volcanic Wilderness defaults to Mountain, right?
GM: Sure!
Ystävä: : Survival (Mountain) result: succeeded by 6
Bedlam: Survival (Mountain) result: succeeded by 0
Ystävä: : I am forraging for food in the blasted volcanic wilderness!
Bedlam: same
Ystävä: : I think there was a +2 I didn't add for Discriminatory smell
Beltarne: : Naturalist for horse feed?
Ystävä: : So success by 8 modified for whatever the default is.
GM: : You guys find enough tubers and small animals for everyone to eat their morning meals.
Torvall: : mmmm tubers
Narrator: The delvers dust themselves off and head east along the road.
GM: : Beltarne, yes but at -3 since other people have been foraging.
Ystävä: : It's not exactly a fecund area.
Beltarne: : Naturalist (Earth) result: succeeded by 1
Beltarne: : Yay!
Beltarne: : Half of a meal for each, yeah?
Narrator: Shortly after they rise, they emerge from the haze and hard, steaming ground and plunge into a plain of thick, red mud.
GM: : Beltarne: yes
Ystävä: : Well, this is familiar.
GM: : Bedlam, please make a navigation roll.
Bedlam: Navigation/TL3 (Land) result: succeeded by 1
Narrator: As the delvers continue along the road, they spot a mass of floating snakes in the distance, moving swiftly over the gripping earth.
Bedlam: ((not those again))
Beltarne: : WIDE BERTH!
Wolfgang: : "Worthless snake things!"
Torvall: : "I'd rather not take flying lessons today, friends. Let's avoid those!"
Bedlam: Resist Xenophilia(12) result: failed by 1
GM: : By mass, the narrator means "2".
Bedlam: "They might be friendly..."
Artegal: : "I'm not sure they'd be friendly, but they /are/ dangerous. We have a duty to make the wildlands safer."
Wolfgang: : "They're not, and not even really alive"
Ystävä: : (( ... I'm confusing my many ex characters - Ystava has met these, right? ))
Beltarne: : They don't have any loot.
Torvall: : "It would be nice to find out what keeps making them."
Wolfgang: : "They're mildly annoying and don't have loot on them at all."
Beltarne: : All they do is try to levitate you off the ground and then drop you.
Artegal: : "They come with the great reward of having made the world a safer place."
Artegal: : "At least, once you kill them."
Bedlam: "Well... if they try to kill you, I guess they aren't very friendly."
Wolfgang: : "Unless they just reappear each day or something"
Wolfgang: : "I vote we avoid them"
Beltarne: : "They're some sort of fae thing. Made up of ribbons and whatnot."
Beltarne: : "I also vote we avoid them."
Artegal: : ((Are they a fae thing?))
Torvall: : avoid
Ystävä: : "Rocks and dirt and dirt and rocks and treees..."
Ystävä: : "Stupid rocks and dirt things."
Artegal: : Hidden Lore (Fae): result: succeeded by 1 
GM: : They're in Beltarne's big book of the fae, along with how to skin them so you get something more than leaves and mud. It involves rotating widdershins and having your clothes on inside out while you do it.
GM: : Also, Artegal apparently knows that stuff.
Artegal: : 'Being Fae' teaches you all sorts of things about them.
Artegal: : "Look, you can get a valuable skin off of them if you do it right."
Beltarne: : "Actually" thumbs through book "You're right."
Beltarne: : "Perhaps we should make this particular stretch of nowhere a tad more safe."
Artegal: : "See, I knew you'd come around to my point of view."
Artegal: draws his sword and approaches.
Wolfgang: : "Well, you should all tie off to Horns over there, maybe they can't lift him."
Torvall: sighs and pulls his weapon.
Narrator: The snakes head away at high speed as you approach. Although Artegal, Beltarne, and Bedlam are usually fast enough to give chase, the sucking mud slows them down and the snakes easily get away.
Beltarne: : "Great idea"
Artegal: : "Well, drat."
Ystävä: : "Smart rocks."
Wolfgang: : "See, bet they're the same ones and they don't want another round with us"
Bedlam: "All the same, we cleared them out of here."
Beltarne: sighs, watching the loot flee.
Beltarne: : "Right, back to the road. What's left of it."
Wolfgang: : "Lets keep moving"
GM: : The road is turning to the northeast - are you continuing to follow? As a note, there is a lake to the north (and nearby) and forests all to the east, though farther away.
Artegal: : Northeast is good!
Artegal: : It goes up around the eastern side of the lake, which is what we want.
Bedlam: stick to the road i think
Wolfgang: : (( I think this matches the road the goes south of the lake with the harpy island ))
Wolfgang: : (( and then cuts north on the east of the lake ))
Ystävä: : Road is good. Better than straight mud.
Narrator: The road turns northeast and then north. The delvers follow. Ahead of them, the road is cut by a river. Past the river, the road continues into the woods.
Narrator: On the north shore, a few ruined buildings are visible, along with the remains of a large ferry raft. On the south shore, a smaller raft made of crude timbers, rots.
GM: : The river is easily a quarter mile across, and doesn't look particularly fordable.
Beltarne: : Lets look at the raft!
Bedlam: looks at the raft.
Bedlam: "It looks like a raft."
Artegal: : "Actually, could we maybe figure out where we are? I confess I'm not the expert, but I don't remember anything on the map about a wide river or a ruined village on our planned route..."
Bedlam: Navigation/TL3 (Land) result: succeeded by 6
Beltarne: : "Aren't we on the south shore of harpy lake?"
Wolfgang: : (( we missed the Y in the road, and we usually go farther east and then north ))
Wolfgang: : (( plus or maps don't agree 100% ))
Artegal: : ((Marik's is the good one.))
Artegal: : ((Admittedly, he didn't walk over this part of the plain, but there's nothing river-like here.))
GM: : The raft looks to be made of multiple layers logs, lashed together by ropes and vines, and in bad repair after a few years in the open.
Beltarne: : Can it be shored up by more lashings?
Wolfgang: : (( think "dammed lake that used to be a river" ))
Wolfgang: : (( or "wide part in a large river like in Peoria IL" ))
GM: : You can see an island in the lake to the NW.
Ystävä: : Not up to supporting us, I assume.
Artegal: : So from what I can tell, we're at the spot on the map that I'm marking with an arrow.
Beltarne: : Right
Wolfgang: : "So, think we can fix that enough for the horses and Horns?"
Ystävä: : I have a few rusty braincells trying to signal me about building a raft, but I think that's the "Screw it, we'll take the blood zombie instead" thing I'm remembering.
Artegal: : Does that sound right to our navigators?
Ystävä: : Point again?
Ystävä: : I didn't see it.
Wolfgang: : (( yes, I think we are there Kevin ))
Ystävä: : Ah
Beltarne: : That's what I think
Ystävä: : Not a bad idea, yes.
GM: : Could be, Artegal.
Beltarne: : Raft across would probably save us at least a day.
Artegal: : Well, if we can get across the lake here, we'd save a day or two going around.
Bedlam: i like the plan
Artegal: : ((You know what's missing from Marik's map? SCALE.))
GM: : The raft is probably large enough to hold everyone if it is repaired, which would take a lot of trees, a bunch of rope, and someone who knows something about boating.
Beltarne: : I try to reinforce the raft with my 30 yards of rope
Beltarne: : Scale is up north
Beltarne: : to the left
Artegal: : Oh hey!
Bedlam: should have kept that seamanship...
Torvall: : "The ferry on the other side may be in better shape. Perhaps Wolfgang can go get it."
Artegal: : Hex = Mile. Right.
Beltarne: : "Wolfgang, want to go check out the ferry and see if you can get it over here?"
Wolfgang: : "Sure, why not?"
Wolfgang: : "Any of you lot know about boats or rafts that can tell me what to look for?"
Beltarne: : "Not really."
Ystävä: : "Don't sink."
Torvall: : "Just see if it's intact and can float."
Beltarne: : "You don't want them to fall apart mid-trip"
Ystävä: mentally notes that point for his own benefit.
GM: : The other raft is subject to dry rot, wet rot, decay, frayed ropes, mold, must, mildew, algae, fungus, and a lot of bugs.
Beltarne: : This is the ferry, not the small raft?
Ystävä: : A shame we don't have a wizard with Repair.
Artegal: : Or Alter Terrain. >.>
GM: : It's not so much that it isn't watertight, so much as you don't think you can move it to the water without it disintegrating.
Wolfgang: flys over to look at the other raft and maybe poke it a few times
Bedlam: ((I would call that not watertight))
Torvall: : "I think we may need to go around the lake. Unless we build an entirely new raft...that can support our minotaur friend. Unlikely."
Beltarne: : So the ferry is not an option is what I'm hearing, right Mark?
Ystävä: : It's not a ferry.
Beltarne: : THe small raft just needs some rope, trees, and someone who knows what they're doing?
Ystävä: : It's just an objec that looks like a ferry from a distance.
Beltarne: : Mimic!
GM: : No, you can probably cut down a few trees and fix the raft with enough rope and some skill ropes.
GM: : skill rolls, not skill ropes.
Bedlam: what does boating default to?
Artegal: : The big raft, on our side, needs rope, trees, and skill. The small one, on the other side, is a raft-shaped object that won't survive the trip from shore to water. Right?
Ystävä: : Skill ropes would be a good magic item.
Ystävä: : I think the small one is on our side.
Ystävä: : But otherwise yes that's what I understood.
Beltarne: : The small raft is on the south side
Beltarne: : the ferry is on the north
Beltarne: : The ferry is fucked, the raft is fixable.
Beltarne: : GM: Right?
GM: : Beltarne has it right.
Wolfgang: : do we have fixing skills though?
Beltarne: : I dunno, how hard can boating be?
Ystävä: : Can I fix it with Survival?
Beltarne: : What skills we talking about Mark?
Bedlam: how long can you tread water, beltarne?
GM: : Fixing skills are Boatmanship or IQ at penalty, so maybe?
Ystävä: : My survival Swamp is er, 11
Beltarne: : Forever
Ystävä: : yeah, not IQ.
Beltarne: : I'm willing to make a go of it.
Beltarne: : Anyone else want to give it a try?
Torvall: : Do we think we can make a raft that will support Ystävä and our two pack horses?
Artegal: : So, Beltarne spends time figuring out what needs to be done (IQ, at a penalty, with a bonus for taking extra time), while Wolfgang and Ystava use axes to fell some trees. Torvall and Bedlam keep watch, and Artegal motivates and leads.
Beltarne: : Sounds like a plan.
Wolfgang: : go plan!
GM: : The raft is large enough to support multiple horses.
Torvall: : So, a not so small raft.
Torvall: : You say small raft and I think 5 people would have to crowd on to it...
Artegal: : Leadership: result: succeeded by 8 
GM: : Okay, so Artegal rolls Leadership to encourage everyone and organize the chopping bits. Beltarne rolls IQ-5 to build the raft. Everything else is brute labor or watching.
Ystävä: is a brute.
Beltarne: : Extra time for +2 to that role?
Ystävä: labours.
Torvall: : Guarding...not watching!
Bedlam: gets bored guarding and plays with Mouser.
Beltarne: : IQ check result: succeeded by 6
GM: : Uhm... you'd need a lot of extra time.
Artegal: : A 5 on the dice is compelling regardless of time taken.
GM: : Admittedly, you don't think that removing rotten logs and replacing them with fresh ones is a difficult task that you need extensive training to undertake.
Beltarne: : Well, I succeeded by 6 with it. How long does it take to figure out how to tie things together so they don't fall apart?
GM: : About two hours, all told, while the others cut down trees.
Wolfgang: : (( just to be clear, I did fly over and confirm the ferry was in even worse shape, right? ))
Artegal: : ((Yeah.))
Artegal: : ((Two *differentkinds of 'rot', dude.))
Torvall: : And bugs!
Wolfgang: : so, we try the raft?
Mark: Well, some stuff happens first.
Ystävä: : Like, we fix it.
GM: : The people who on guard should making Vision or Hearing rolls.
Torvall: : Vision: result: succeeded by 1 
Ystävä: : Hearing check result: succeeded by 8
GM: : I thought Ystava was working?
Bedlam: Vision check result: succeeded by 3
Artegal: : Ystava was working.
Ystävä: : Oh, sorry.
Ystävä: : Got excited.
Narrator: Bedlam notices movement in the trees as a half dozen giant wasps swoop around the branches and head toward him and Ystava.
Bedlam: "Hey, are giant wasps friendly?"
Beltarne: : "Try singing!"
Bedlam: tries singing.
Torvall: : "Do they have riders?"
Artegal: : "Bloody hell. Weapons ready, people!"
GM: No riders. Combat starts! People without Combat Reflexes are stunned.
GM: : Mouser starts!
Mouser: : stealth penalties?
GM: : Stealth -5, woods 0, ambushed -3 for a total -8
Mouser: : ambushed? crap
GM: : You first spotted the wasps when they were 8 yards away... that's an ambush.
Artegal: : And -3 is generous. >.>
Mouser: : mouser will take a wait action, will pounce if a wasp gets near him or bedlam
GM: : You can't Move and Attack on a Wait.
Bedlam: oh...
Ystävä: : It's sort of a 3/4 action.
GM: : You can all-out Attack, though.
Mouser: moves to be closer to Bedlam.
ROUND 1: Your turn now, Artegal.
Artegal: : They're flying at around ground level?
Ystävä: : Oh hey, I'm near the action!
GM: : Yes, about a yard up.
Artegal: : Haven't even drawn my sword yet. Charging!
ROUND 1: Your turn now, Bedlam.
Bedlam: drop backpack as free action, fastdraw sword
Bedlam: Fast-Draw (Two-Handed Sword) result: failed by 1
Bedlam: draws his sword, not as swiftly as he'd like.
GM: : As a note, Ystava and Wolfgang don't have shields up because they've been chopping trees down.
Artegal: : Tactics.
Artegal: : Reroll that.
Bedlam: Fast-Draw (Two-Handed Sword) result: succeeded by 1
Bedlam: still fast enough
Artegal: : Now you can move and stuff!
Bedlam: can i attempt disappear and backstab?
GM: : Sure!
Bedlam: Disappear(16) result: failed by 8
Bedlam: worth a shot
Wolfgang: : (( shouldn't that have been at -3? ))
Wolfgang: : (( still a fail but... ))
Bedlam: total -8 he said
Ystävä: : (( -3 for ambush, -5 for other stuff ))
Wolfgang: : I thought you had the fancy thing that took off 5 of that
Wolfgang: : I assume that mouser doesn't
Bedlam: that's the backstabbing -5
Bedlam: hmm.. maybe
Bedlam: either way, it was a fail
Bedlam: so that ends my turn right?
GM: : No, it's a free action.
Bedlam: sweet!
Bedlam: wait action, i'll attack any wasp that gets close
GM: : Okay, swing or thrust, committed/all-out/normal/defensive?
Bedlam: swing, normal
Bedlam: with the usual DA calcs
Artegal: : He doesn't have to specify what kind of attack.
Artegal: : Just that it's an Attack, Feint, or AoA.
Artegal: : (One of those three)
GM: : I thought he did. Whatever.
ROUND 1: Your turn now, Giant Wasp 1.
Giant Wasp 1: : 4 giant wasps swarm past Ystava, stabbing at him with their stingers and veering off result: succeeded by 3 
result: failed by 1 
result: failed by 1 
result: failed by 4 
Ystävä: : Parry!
Ystävä: : Parry with Horns(15) result: succeeded by 2
Giant Wasp 1: : 4 more wasps swarm at Bedlam
GM: : Bedlam can attack one of them.
Bedlam: Attack with Greatsword result: succeeded by 8 automatic deceptive attack for -2/-1 
Giant Wasp 1: : Dodge result: succeeded by 2 
Giant Wasp 1: : 4 giant wasps swarm past Bedlam, stabbing at him with their stingers and veering off result: failed by 6 
result: succeeded by 0 
result: succeeded by 0 
result: failed by 3 
Bedlam: Greatsword Parry (13) result: succeeded by 3
Bedlam: Greatsword Parry (9) result: failed by 3
GM: : Two handed swords reduce the parry penalty by -2 per attack.
Bedlam: oops - i forgot how much a penatly
GM: : Not that it helps here.
Giant Wasp 1: : Damage is 6 Pi (AP2)
Bedlam: so... no damage?
Artegal: : 6 piercing, halve your DR.
GM: : Bedlam is stabbed for 3 injury and needs to resist their poison with an HT-4 roll.
Bedlam: Health check result: failed by 1
Ystävä: : Fit adds 1 if you have it
Bedlam: nada
Bedlam: "It bit me!"
Giant Wasp 1: : The poison courses through Bedlam's veins, doing 11 damage.
GM: : Not a major wound!
Ystävä: : Waugh
ROUND 1: Your turn now, Ystävä.
Bedlam: so... down to 8 hp?
GM: : Looks like it.
Ystävä: : These are SM 0 yesno?
GM: : Size -1.
Ystävä: : aha
Ystävä: : Fooeh
Ystävä: : Flurry of horn blows!
Ystävä: : Wasp #2 and Wasp #3, Ystava strikes them both with a rapid series of sharp horn jabs, burning an FP in the process.
Ystävä: : In order, #2 and then #3
GM: : okay.
Ystävä: : Attack with Brawling result: succeeded by 5
Ystävä: : Attack with Brawling result: succeeded by 5
Ystävä: : Nice.
Bedlam: you rock
Giant Wasp 1: : #2 dodges! result: failed by 3 
#3 dodges result: failed by 1 
Giant Wasp 1: : Or not!
Ystävä: : Booyah!
Ystävä: : Horn does 11 (imp)
Ystävä: : Horn does 14 (imp)
Narrator: The wasps pull back and prepare to attack again, but Ystava splatters them on his horns before they can go.
ROUND 1: Your turn now, Beltarne.
Beltarne: : Okies, makes startled noise.
Beltarne: : Then, turns towards the punctured man with the greatsword.
Beltarne: : And moves.
GM: : Aren't you stunned because no Combat Reflexes?
Beltarne: : I have CR
Ystävä: : Trump card.
Beltarne: : Booyah, as they say in France.
ROUND 1: Your turn now, Wolfgang.
Wolfgang: : so, I have no shield, probably no pack?
GM: : Right, I'm sure you've dropped packs before doing heavy labor.
Wolfgang: : zoom! fast draw um, a hatchet
Wolfgang: : Fast-Draw (Axe/Mace) result: succeeded by 4
Wolfgang: : done
ROUND 1: Your turn now, Torvall.
Torvall: : Um...do nothing due to lack of CR. Attempt to recover from stun. Will(14) result: succeeded by 5 
ROUND 2: Your turn now, Mouser.
Mouser: : attack wasp 5 with claw
Mouser: : or can i pounce?
GM: : You can try.
Mouser: : SM -1 is small, right?
GM: : Right.
Ystävä: : 4.5 foot tall, size of an... eight year old?
Ystävä: : 10 year old?
Ystävä: : Something like that.
Mouser: : penalties?
Artegal: : -2 for relative SM.
GM: : Right.
Mouser: : Pounce result: succeeded by 4 
GM: : Who did you attack?
Mouser: : wasp 5
Giant Wasp 5: Dodge! result: failed by 6 
Mouser: : score!
Giant Wasp 5: Damage is 17 double knockback vs 30 double knockback...
Artegal: : ...those are big numbers.
Mouser: : indeed
Narrator: Mouser slams into the wasp in a textbook elastic collision, sending it back into a tree. The giant cat wimpers in pain from the impact; the wasp is a smear against the branches.
GM: : Agility to remain standing.
Mouser: : or jumping?
GM: : Right, whatever.
Mouser: : Jumping result: succeeded by 4
ROUND 2: Your turn now, Artegal.
Mouser: : i thought pounce was a drive to the ground, attack, not like a slam
Artegal: : Sprint in, shield-slam Wasp 1, extra effort for a lunge.
GM: : There's still knockback. And Mouser outweighs the wasp by a factor of 10.
Artegal: : -1 for SM, -2 for DA -2/1. result: succeeded by 5 
GM: : Artegal's attack roll?
Mouser: : right, but i should land in same hex, according to the book...
Artegal: : Slam damage is at +3 for shield DB and +2 per die for Shoves and Tackles perk.
Mouser: : it's like flying tackle
Mouser: : and i just noticed i should have a +4 for it
Artegal: : Attack roll was a success by 5.
Giant Wasp 1: : Dodge! result: succeeded by 2 
Artegal: : Luck.
Giant Wasp 1: : Dodge! result: failed by 5 
Giant Wasp 1: : Dodge! result: failed by 4 
Artegal: : WHAM.
Giant Wasp 1: : Does 11 versus 21
Narrator: The wasp flies back, it's wings crushed, and drops into the drink.
Artegal: : I'm not quite sure how that was calculated, but won't argue with the results.
ROUND 2: Your turn now, Bedlam.
Bedlam: i'm fastdrawing my major healing pot and drinking it
GM: : Well, you're fast-drawing it and opening I'm sure.
Bedlam: Fast-Draw (Potion) result: succeeded by 9
Bedlam: okay, so that's done
Bedlam: i can drink it now?
GM: : You grab and open your potion. Do you have Grip Mastery (Sword)?
GM: : No, you can't drink it yet.
Bedlam: oh that's why i need that... oops
GM: : Ah... so you unready your sword to pull this trick off.
Bedlam: yes
ROUND 2: Your turn now, Giant Wasp 1.
Giant Wasp 6: : Step and stab Artegal result: succeeded by 6 DA-2/-1
Artegal: : Dodge, at -2 for move and attack.: result: failed by 5 
Artegal: : I take it on the chest.
Bedlam: always with the swarms
Giant Wasp 4: : Other three wasps make committed long determined attacks on Bedlam result: succeeded by 9 
result: succeeded by 1 
result: failed by 1 
GM: : One of those attacks is a flank attack.
Artegal: : Hm, tactics, why not?
Artegal: : Dodge, at -2 for move and attack.: result: succeeded by 1 
Artegal: : Oh hey.
Artegal: : I don't take it on the chest.
Bedlam: Dodge(9) result: failed by 1
Artegal: : Tactics, B.
Artegal: : Reroll.
Bedlam: Dodge(9) result: failed by 3
Artegal: : Sorry!
Giant Wasp 6: : Damage is 6 vs DR2
Bedlam: and the flank one... what do i roll at?
Bedlam: tough skin + armor, mark
Bedlam: i've got DR2 skin vs non-cutting
GM: : You roll at -2 to defend against that. You may want to consider retreating. And they have AP2 stingers that halve DR.
Bedlam: ah, got it
Bedlam: yeah, retreat is a good idea - i won't spill my potion or drop my sword, will i?
GM: : nope
Bedlam: okay, so how is retreating done?
Bedlam: Dodge(7) result: failed by 2
Bedlam: man!
GM: : You move to the only legal space away from the attacker and get +3 to Dodge. So good for you, you succeed.
GM: : Also, roll HT-4 to avoid wasp poison.
Bedlam: Health check result: failed by 7
Bedlam: fuck. my. life.
Giant Wasp 6: : Does another 20 damage to Bedlam.
Torvall: : Dayum!
GM: : That's a major wound, though. Roll HT to avoid shock.
Bedlam: Health check result: succeeded by 2
Bedlam: sure, NOW it succeeds
GM: : Stings a bit.
ROUND 2: Your turn now, Ystävä.
Bedlam: "Guys? I don't feel so good."
Ystävä: : Arg. On the one hand, Artie is fine, Bedlam is not.
Artegal: : "Go help Bedlam!"
Ystävä: : On the other hand, artie's a weedy little guy, Bedlam's a big guy who can take care of himself.
Ystävä: : Thanks, that helps.
Ystävä: : Ystava's prejudices are not helpful at times.
Ystävä: : Move and Attack #7 with horn slam
GM: : okay.
Ystävä: : Attack with Brawling result: failed by 6
Ystävä: : That's about it.
ROUND 2: Your turn now, Beltarne.
Beltarne: : Move and attack on wasp 7
Beltarne: : Axe/Mace result: succeeded by 0
Beltarne: : Nice.
Giant Wasp 7: : Dodge! result: failed by 4 
Beltarne: : Axe does 10 (cut)
Giant Wasp 7: : Explodes!
ROUND 2: Your turn now, Wolfgang.
Wolfgang: : move, decide not to kill my friends with waward hatchets
Wolfgang: : done