WM/Treks/Log 2-19

Narrator: The delvers are heading north from the haunted city on the 10th night since they left Polisberg. As the sun has been going down, they have been slogging north along the side of a forest through a moor of sticky red mud.
GM: It's 9 pm. You're in sight of the harpy island in the large lake south of the mountains.
Kevin: Marik knows roughly where he is now, and is in familiar territory. Is it safe to say 'Marik plots us the shortest course home, and we set off thataway'?
GM: ... I can't evaluate risk for you guys. Broadly, you can either go do north across the lake, swinging around the ruined town to either the east (through a swamp) or the west, or you can head NE and pick up the old road and circle the lake through the forest.
GM: Once you get north of the town, that's easier.
GM: You still need to decide how late into the night you're going to walk.
Marik: I like roads.
Marik: Roads make me much happier than swamps.
Marik: So along the road, through the forest, and we walk until Wolfgang complains.
Wolfgang: I don't like swamps AT ALL
Marik: Then we see if Shelley can make him walk some more.
GM: North across the lake is the most direct route, and much faster, and you can skirt the town to the west without hitting a swamp.
Marik: Oh hey.
Marik: We can walk across the lake.
Marik: I'd forgotten that option.
Shelley: Ehehe.
Marik: Across the lake it is!
Wolfgang: do we know how long that should take based on the last lake walk?
GM: Two hours or less, depending on how much Marik scouts or doesn't scout ahead.
** Wolfgang bets we can skip scouting on the lake **
Shelley: Scouting ahead on a lake is challenging.
GM: Could be!
Marik: There will be no scouting ahead. :P
GM: Okay then! The lot of you hurry off, making good time.
Marik: At this point, "As quickly as possible back to town" is the goal. We're dragging a prisoner and hauling along an upset ghost, I don't want to hang out in the wilderness.
Wolfgang: Hopefully Shelley scares off random beasties in her current state
Shelley: (( lost maptools ))
GM: Also, you guys each need to roll Survival (Plains) at -2 or Hiking/Flight at -1.
Shelley: (( back ))
Shelley: Hiking (11) [3d6.skill(11,-1)] => [4,2,6] = 12 vs (10) or less Failure! by 2 
Shelley: (( query - relevant to not having FP? ))
Wolfgang: Flight (Gargoyle) (13) [3d6.skill(13,-1)] => [5,2,2] = 9 vs (12) or less Success! by 3 
Ghazeb: Hiking(12): [3d6.skill(12,-1)] => [2,2,1] = 5 vs (11) or less Success! by 6 
GM: No, it's a trap of sorts.
Shelley: (( kk ))
Marik: ((Acute Vision help here?))
Beltarne: Hiking [3d6.skill(13,-1)] => [1,1,6] = 8 vs (12) or less Success! by 4 
GM: No.
Marik: Survival (Magical Ice Patches in the Middle of a Lake): [3d6.skill(16,-2)] => [6,2,4] = 12 vs (14) or less Success! by 2 
Narrator: The delvers are nearing the lake shore when it becomes appearant that Zombie Shelley and some of the goon squad are slowing down and becoming shorter.
** Shelley looks down. **
Narrator: The mud is quickly up their knees and rising, or more like they are sinking into the mud up to their knees.
Marik: "Erm."
Wolfgang: "That looks bad"
Narrator: The other delvers are in a loose oval around them, free of the mudhole.
Marik: "Well."
Marik: "She'll get out eventually, right?"
Marik: "I mean, you don't breathe, the zombies don't breathe, we don't have to panic here?"
** Wolfgang gets out the polearm and lowers it for Shelley to grab ahold of **
Shelley: "Can someone get the 1-pole off Adam?"
Shelley: (er 10 foot)
** Shelley examines the sharp end of the polearm thoughtfully, and tries to find someplace to hold it without loosing fingers. **
** Wolfgang assumes I am flying **
GM: I assume that too.
Wolfgang: it has a hook, that is pointy but not sharpened on the inside
Shelley: Oh hey!
Shelley: Can I hook the hook on my belt or something?
Wolfgang: at least I think it works like that
Wolfgang: yah
** Marik ambles over to Adam and starts looking for the 10' pole. He's not in a terrible hurry, because the only people sinking are ALREADY DEAD. **
Wolfgang: ((heh, as long as Clyde is not going into the mud!))
Ghazeb: Ghazeb is a bit worried, because if Shelley gets too far away the ice vanishes...
Wolfgang: ((our loot could get muddy, ick))
Marik: ((If we're far enough off the lake for Shelley to start sinking in a mudhole, we're far enough off the lake that the ice isn't making a difference anymore.))
GM: Given the whole lack of needing to breath by the sinkers, this is more of an inconvenience. Decide who is in charge of the recovery effort; that person rolls IQ-2. It'll take 30 minutes to get everyone out, with 2 minutes being shaved off for every point of success.
GM: You're still south of the lake.
** Wolfgang nominates Shelley **
Wolfgang: oh, we're not even at it yet?
GM: Or roll Leadership +3 because this is a co-ordination task.
GM: Yeah, you're still in the red mud region.
Shelley: CAN I co-ordinate my own rescue?
Shelley: I like the thought of that.
Marik: ((Leadership +3 from Shelley, -1 for Marik not actually caring whether she gets out of the bog or not.))
Wolfgang: ooh, I have leadership 11!
GM: You'll need to make a DX roll, Shelley, because if you fall face first in the mud you can't. Otherwise, sure!
Shelley: Leadership 15 here >.>
Shelley: DX (12) [3d6.skill(12,0)] => [1,3,3] = 7 vs (12) or less Success! by 5 
GM: Errr, DX-2 roll. But we're fine I see.
Shelley: Leadership (15) [3d6.skill(15,3)] => [3,2,5] = 10 vs (18) or less Success! by 8 Includes: +2 from 'Charisma'
Shelley: It's more "Leadership by terrorizing with the zombie horde" than anything but hey.
GM: 15 minutes of careful probing and co-ordination establishes the boundaries of the mud hole and gets Shelley and the goon squad out of it.
GM: You then continue north, crossing the lake in an hour and half and skirting around the ruined town near the old lumber forest.
No Name (enter): 17:30
GM: By 11 pm, you're back on the old road, heading north toward the pass through the mountains, and Marik is on a known track again and can no longer get lost.
GM: His best guess is that you are maybe 6-8 hours walk (without scouting) from Polisberg.
Marik: Can we keep going another 8 hours?
Marik: Because that'd be nice.
GM: Well, you'd need to force march, and everyone is starting to get tired.
Wolfgang: ((Wolfgang will be VERY cranky without a nap))
Shelley: Speak for yourselves.
Shelley: Feeble mortals.
Marik: ((Wolfgang can be cranky all he likes. In the Tavern, in Polisberg.))
GM: Living beings have been up for 17 hours at this point, and loose 1 FP only recoverable by sleep.
GM: They'll lose another 1 FP every 4 hours. Wolfgang will start not wanting to fly/walk/travel in another 2 hours.
Shelley: (( afk brb ))
Marik: "I'm up for pushing the last bit onward. It'll be good to drop you monk-- folks off in town and start enjoying the slightly less wild wilderness of the Druid's Grove."
Beltarne: "I dunnae, your highness. I didnae sleep last night already."
Wolfgang: "Lets get to a nice campsite and rest a bit"
Shelley: (( on the phone with mom ))
Marik: "Right then."
** Marik sees if he can find one of our campsites from the last trip here. **
Ghazeb: "Ghazeb would like to keep going but, Ghazeb needs a nap"
GM: Best you can reckon, your first night's campsite is an hour or two up the road.
Wolfgang: ((translated that means I'll go on until I get tired and then we should camp))
Marik: "There's one of our old campsites just an hour or two ahead. Let's head there."
Beltarne: "I ken last thet long, I ken."
Marik: "Off we go, then."
GM: What's the plan?
Marik: Head to the old campsite. Marik will spend an hour or two foraging after we get there, and sleep short tonight. Set out after everyone else is rested.
** Wolfgang thinks we have a plan **
GM: You head up the vaguely familiar settings of the pass, though the mountains loom more ominously in the dark. Overhead, the cloud cover thins, and the stars twinkle in the black sky. A little after midnight, you reach the same camp you made at the end of your first day of travel.
Marik: Foraging rolls?
GM: You can make 1 set, plains/hills terrain. Feeding people (you guys have leftover rations, more than sufficient to get back to Polisberg) or Clyde (has no food?)
Marik: Feeding Clyde! Survival (Perfectly Safe Wilderness, Because Last Time We Were Here We Killed Everything That Looked At Us Funny, Right?): [3d6.skill(16,0)] => [1,3,5] = 9 vs (16) or less Success! by 7 
Beltarne: "Your highness, will ye see to Clyde's food? We be losing our deposit should he not be fed."
GM: Right.
GM: How long are you guys sleeping?
Marik: Until they stop needing to sleep.
GM: (Beltarne, btw, is done like 8 fatigue from lack of sleep. He also has 18 FP base, so he's good for a while).
Marik: (8 hours does a good job for Beltarne, then!)
Marik: ((DCed from Maptools, I think I need to be kicked.))
GM: ((try again)
Shelley: (( sorry still stuck on the phone ))
GM: Plan amongst yourselves, I need to set something up.
Shelley: (( back - and if my mom doesn't call me back in 5 minutes to continue the conversation, I'm probably safe ))
Narrator: Around 4 am, Marik hears the distinctive sound of a cave bear in the distance.
** Marik gestures to Shelley, then melts into the woods. **
Marik: Gesture: [3d6.skill(12,0)] => [6,5,1] = 12 vs (12) or less Success! by 0 
** Shelley tries to interpret the gesture! **
Marik: ("Wake the others quietly.")
Shelley: DX (12) [3d6.skill(12,0)] => [1,6,2] = 9 vs (12) or less Success! by 3 
GM: Got me.
Shelley: er
Shelley: That was supposed to be IQ. Missclick.
Shelley: But 9 vs 14 is good
Marik: Stealth: [3d6.skill(19,0)] => [5,1,3] = 9 vs (19) or less Success! by 10 
GM: Marik hides.
GM: The cave bear is not particularly nearby.
Marik: Is it coming this way?
** Shelley quietly wakes the others, although how quietly they wake up when a blood slushie is the first thing they see in the morning... **
GM: It will amble by the camp, but it's staying near the more sloped part of the pass and you guys are mostly in the middle so it is unlikely to attack unless you provoke it.
Marik: There's good eating on a cave bear.
Marik: I'll stalk and hunt the beast!
Shelley: It's full of delicious blood!
Shelley: Make sure not to waste any.
** Wolfgang gets woken up and gets his shield on since apparently we're hunting cave bear **
Marik: Do we game this as combat, or do we game this as 'Marik is sneaky beyond reason and can probably put two arrows into its eyes after a few seconds of aiming'?
GM: Alright, Marik can get into a position where he can take a shot at it.
** Ghazeb deems the bear an unworthy opponent, rolls over and goes back to sleep. **
GM: He's 30 yards away (or more, his choice), or he can make a Stealth roll at -5 to get within 15 yards.
Marik: Stealth: [3d6.skill(18,-5)] => [1,2,3] = 6 vs (13) or less Success! by 7 
Marik: 3 seconds of Aim is 'acc+6', right?
GM: Yes.
Marik: Two arrows! Impaling ones! In the eyes.
Narrator: As Marik brings his bow back to full extension, the cave bear sniffs the air warily.
Marik: -5 for range, +9 for acc/aim, +? for size?
GM: It's +1 for size.
Marik: And -9 for eyes.
Marik: And why not, I'll use the Balanced Meteoric Iron arrows for this.
GM: That's some expensive bear meat.
Marik: The arrowheads are the expensive part.
Marik: Shot 1: [3d6.skill(20,-5-9+9+1+1)] => [6,6,1] = 13 vs (17) or less Success! by 4 Shot 2: [3d6.skill(20,-5+9-9+1+1)] => [3,1,1] = 5 vs (17) or less Critical Success! by 12 [B556]
Marik: [3d6.crit_hit] => <bound method gurps.crit_hit of [2, 2, 4]>
Marik: Someone roll that for me. :P
Generic Animals: Dodge! [3d6.skill(10,-4)] => [1,4,1] = 6 vs (6) or less Success! by 0 
Marik: Luck.
GM: [3d6.crit_head()] => 3d6.crit_head()
GM: [3d6.crit_headblow()] => [4,4,4] = 12 Normal damage to the head, BUT if any penetrates DR victim is scarred (-1 to appearance, -2 if burning or corrosive attacks) OR, if crushing then victim deafened [see B422 for duration]. [B556]
Marik: I do not want an angry bear coming after me with one eye.
Generic Animals: Dodge! [3d6.skill(10,-4)] => [4,2,5] = 11 vs (6) or less Failure! by 5 
Generic Animals: Dodge! [3d6.skill(10,-4)] => [5,4,6] = 15 vs (6) or less Failure! by 9 
Narrator: The bear hunches down as the bow twangs, but both arrows hit the eyes as Marik intended.
GM: Damages?
Marik: Damage is [1d6+3] => [1,3] = (4) impaling to the brain for the first shot, and [1d6+3] => [1,3] = (4) impaling to the brain for the second.
Marik: ...Wow.
Wolfgang: luck?
Marik: I just used it on his dodge.
Wolfgang: yah
Marik: Fortunately, cave bears do not (normally) have eye DR.
Wolfgang: well
Marik: They *might* have 40 HP, though.
Marik: That'd be bad.
Generic Animals: Resist knockdown! [3d6.skill(13,-10)] => [6,5,5] = 16 vs (3) or less Critical Failure! by 13 [B556]
GM: Drops instantly.
Marik: Unconscious bear!
Marik: Oh hey.
Shelley: Best kind of bear!
Marik: I'm actually going to kill something with my knife.
GM: Bleeding out very rapidly, though.
GM: Approximate mass is [27*27*27/8] => 2460 lbs
Wolfgang: Shelley better hurry
GM: oh my.
Ghazeb: I think that formula may be a bit off.
** Marik calls out, "So, uh, guys, we have a ton of meat here. Literally." **
Wolfgang: "Pelt worth anything?"
Marik: "If it is, that's a nice bonus, because I haven't put any holes in it."
Shelley: There will definitely be feeding.
Beltarne: "Aye, it be quite a trophy."
Wolfgang: "I can help move it around"
Marik: What's the roll to correctly skin the thing and make sure it's suitable for preservation?
GM: Survival!
** Shelley feeds noisily. **
GM: Approximately 1/2 the body weight is meat. Forage rations are 2.5 lbs apiece.
Marik: Taking extra time! This is valuable. And even if it's not valuable, I want it pristine.
GM: Okay, rules say it produces [27^3/30] => 27 rations, or [27^3/20] => 27 rations if you butcher carefully but that takes a lot of time and needs to be declared in advance.
Marik: 27 or 27?
Shelley: Looks like :D
GM: Errr... [19683/30] => 656 or [19683/20] => 984
Shelley: I think there's some decimals missing in there.
Shelley: Brackets!
Marik: @.@
Shelley: Brackets fix everything.
Shelley: Meaty.
Marik: That's more food than we could conceivably haul back to town and sell.
Marik: Never mind 'more than we can eat'.
GM: Seriously, it's a half ton of meat there, you should be eat it for a year.
Shelley: Hee.
Shelley: So.
Shelley: Query.
Shelley: Interesting organs?
Shelley: Of value to alchemists or thaumaturges (or necomancers?)
Marik: First concern: The pelt. Because Marik wants it, yes.
Shelley: Bear liver is toxic, bear gall is famous, etc.
GM: None, it's a natural (if very large) animal, not Dire.
Shelley: Aw.
Marik: Taking extra time is a bit redundant at skill-16, so...
Marik: Survival: [3d6.skill(16,0)] => [4,6,2] = 12 vs (16) or less Success! by 4 
Marik: I will accept success by 4!
Marik: You know, if we're only six hours' march from town, on a visible road...
Marik: Is there any reason not to leave someone here with a camp to start smoking the meat, and then have the rest of the party head to town to hire porters?
Shelley: Other, direrrerer bears.
GM: You're not allowed to split the party?
Marik: That's a good reason.
Marik: Marik, in any case, takes enough meat to replace the rations he's used, plus enough to cover today's meals, and the pelt, which probably weighs more than he wants to carry but he's TAKING IT ANYWAY. >.>
Marik: He also takes the skull.
Marik: Because that's got to be worth something to somebody.
Marik: After that, the rest of the party is welcome to gorge themselves on whatever they like.
Wolfgang: so, Marik is now a big game hunter I see
Marik: Also claws. Claws make a nice necklace.
Shelley: I was gonna say - claws.
Beltarne: "Should be worth $800, at least, for a pristine hide." 
Wolfgang: teeth are good too
Marik: Teeth go with the skull!
Marik: Convenient.
GM: Also, weighs 60 lbs.
Shelley: Necklace, hell, you'll have so much bling hanging around your neck that they'll mistake you for an elven rapstar in town.
Marik: This probably puts me at heavy encumbrance altogether!
Shelley: Bonus points if you make the skull into the worlds biggest belt buckle.
** Ghazeb eats plenty of bear meat...and probably has to be dragged away before eating too much. **
Marik: I think the skull is the size of Marik's torso.
Shelley: More of a codpiece/breastplate, really.
Shelley: Yeah.
Shelley: But still, attach a belt to it, and it's a belt buckle.
** Wolfgang nom nom nom nom **
Wolfgang: bah, bone helmet
GM: The claws are worth $5/lb and you can take up to 6 lbs of them.
Marik: The claws are 'delver bling', and not being sold. >.>
Marik: But they are being taken!
GM: Okay.
Marik: Just how big *is* the skull?
GM: Takes 2 hours to get 656 meals of forage rations.
Shelley: 30 lbs sounds about right form my memory
Marik: Marik the Butcher.
Shelley: but I might be thinking with meat in it
GM: Maybe 50 lbs? Estimating at 2% of body weight (20% skeleton, 10% of that is head).
GM: ... 25 wouldn't be unreasonable, either.
Marik: Right.
GM: More while its "wet" that's for sure.
Shelley: 25" by 12"
Shelley: no notes on height
Marik: So we have more food than we can possibly carry, and I'm carrying 120-ish lbs of stuff I wasn't carrying before.
Shelley: (That's widgth and lenghth)
Shelley: for a fossil skull from Romania
Marik: Which is... probably more than I can actually carry without going to x-heavy.
Shelley: Which is part of a skeleton which includes a removable baculum. This disturbs me.
Marik: And I have a rule about not taking more stuff than I can carry.
Shelley: This should NOT be a sales feature.
Marik: The pelt and skull become party treasure!
Marik: I'm not the sort of person to keep trophies anyway.
Marik: And we have horses who can carry party treasure.
GM: Okay.
Shelley: And besides, claws!
Marik: Claws!
GM: How slow do you guys want to be moving with your big stack of bear meat?
GM: I'll estimate how many forage rations you're carrying.
Marik: If we reach Polisberg by sundown, I'll be happy.
Wolfgang: all hail the mighty hunter!
Shelley: I, on the other hand, want to go there at a double march.
Marik: "You drag Sorn ahead along with your zombies, and see how close you get to the walls before you all get set on fire and he runs away from you."
Wolfgang: "Yah, I think I'll take him the rest of the way"
Wolfgang: "I have a feeling they won't let you in the walls like that Shelley, even with a license"
GM: Let's make this simple, then. Ghazeb & the goons carry 50 lbs (20 meals) of rations each; Marik takes 25 lbs; Beltarne 75 lbs; and Wolfgang puts 200 lbs on his shoulders.
GM: You're all going a little slower, but you can make up the speed by not scouting you think.
Marik: "However, you can have my cloak to cover up with - it should get you into town and as far as the temple. It's good stout wool, very concealing."
GM: Are you still heading out after 9 am?
** Ghazeb grumbles about having to carry food and not eating it. **
Marik: Yeah.
GM: Okay.
Marik: Onward! To Polisberg!
Shelley: Onward!
Shelley: "Lurch faster, skinmeats!"
Narrator: The next morning dawns bright, as no clouds cover the sun. The air heats up quickly, cooled only a little by the winds blowing from the northwest.
Narrator: As the delvers head toward the north end of the pass, they hear multiple snuffling noises. Moments later, a large cave bear and 2 cubs break from the woodlines less than 20 yards away. They begin growling at the delvers. 
Marik: "Oh, bugger."
Marik: (Is that 'large, for a cave bear', or 'large, compared to us, but comparable to the existing cave bear, half of which is in our backpacks'?)
GM: So everyone arrange yourselves on the map in marching order.
GM: The cave bear is roughly the same size as the other one.
GM: What are people doing? Remember, you're all carrying more bear meat than your backpacks can hold, piled up and around them, so you can either fight at encumbrance 2 or take 3 rounds to get rid of the stuff.
Marik: I'm good with fighting at encumbrance 2!
Wolfgang: how close is the bear?
Ghazeb: Same here...but Ghazeb thinks we should give the bear a chance to depart on its own.
Marik: ((We smell of dead bear. It's not going to depart on its own.))
** Shelley is good with throwing smoked bear meat at the bear. But she's not really good at the whole "animals" thing. **
GM: The bears charge.
GM: The bears charge.
GM: Beltarne is down 10 fatigue; everyone else is down 4 fatigue.
GM: Mana level is normal.
 1) YOUR TURN NOW:: [29] Ghazeb 
(on deck: [28] Marik) 
** Ghazeb still thinks bears are not a worthy opponents, but readies his sword and steps forward. **
Ghazeb: ###
 2) YOUR TURN NOW:: [28] Marik 
(on deck: [28] Skeletal Automata) 
Marik: Bow is in hand?
GM: Sure.
GM: But not loaded.
Marik: Draw an arrow from the hip quiver. Nock it. Fire it at the charging bear.
Marik: -5 range, -3 fast-load, +3 acc, +1 size?
GM: Yes.
Marik: Bodkin arrow to the vitals!
Marik: Bow: [3d6.skill(20,-5-3+3+1-3)] => [1,6,2] = 9 vs (13) or less Success! by 4 
Generic Animals: Dodge with extra effort! [3d6.skill(10,2)] => [1,3,4] = 8 vs (12) or less Success! by 4 
Marik: Hmm. Is luck up?
Generic Animals: Not quite.
GM: Not quite, I think.
Marik: Alas. Cubs in Line of Fire?
Marik: (Because we just KNOW the best way to make friends with the bear is to miss it and shoot down a cub.)
GM: Maybe? [3d6.skill(8)] => [5,5,3] = 13 vs (8) or less Failure! by 5 
GM: Apparently not.
Marik: Step back.
Marik: ###
 3) YOUR TURN NOW:: [28] Skeletal Automata 
(on deck: [25] Beltarne) 
Shelley: Sorry back.
Skeleton: Skeletons Wait for something interesting to happen.
Skeleton: And then they whack the interesting thing, probably.
Skeleton: ***
 4) YOUR TURN NOW:: [25] Beltarne 
(on deck: [24] Wolfgang) 
Beltarne: Start removing his backpack.
Beltarne: That's 1 of 3.
 5) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Wolfgang 
(on deck: [24] Cave Bears) 
Wolfgang: remove backpack 1
 6) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Cave Bears 
(on deck: [24] Vineman Automata) 
Generic Animals: Charge forward, roaring.
Generic Animals: The cubs move into the woods.
 7) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Vineman Automata 
(on deck: [24] Shelley Zombie) 
Wolfgang: ((I take it it's 3 sec even with quick release?))
GM: It's no longer quick release after you drape 200 lbs of bear meat over and on it, see above where I discuss this specific issue.
Skeleton: Vineman sees giant charging bears. That's interesting. Moves up!
Skeleton: ***
 8) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Shelley Zombie 
(on deck: [29] Ghazeb) 
Wolfgang: ((yes, wondered if QR would shave a sec))
GM: Nope.
** Wolfgang notes the bears are rather fast **
** Skeleton glares at Davin. "Don't think I'm distracted by bears." **
Skeleton: Intimidating Davin, because I'm having that kind of a day.
Shelley: Er.
Shelley: Intimidating Davin, because I'm having that kind of a day.
Shelley: So he doesn't try anything clever.
GM: Given that he's tied to the horse, he's plenty scared and meek.
 1) YOUR TURN NOW:: [29] Ghazeb 
(on deck: [28] Marik) 
Shelley: Excellent.
Ghazeb: Step forward and wait for a bear to come within range.
Ghazeb: ###
 2) YOUR TURN NOW:: [28] Marik 
(on deck: [28] Skeletal Automata) 
Marik: Draw two, load two, fire both at the oncoming bear's vitals. Fast-load 2: [3d6.skill(20,-3-2)] => [3,5,3] = 11 vs (15) or less Success! by 4 
Marik: -4 for range, +1 for size, +3 acc, -3 vitals, -3 fast-load?
GM: Looks like.
Marik: Shot 1: DA -2/1 [3d6.skill(20,-4-3-3-2+3+1)] => [3,4,3] = 10 vs (12) or less Success! by 2 Shot 2: DA -2/1 [3d6.skill(20,-4-3-3-2+3+1)] => [1,6,2] = 9 vs (12) or less Success! by 3 
Marik: Defend at -2! -1 for DA, -1 for dual-weapon attack.
Generic Animals: Dodge with extra effort, twice [3d6.skill(10,2-2)] => [3,2,1] = 6 vs (10) or less Success! by 4 and [3d6.skill(10,2-2)] => [2,6,5] = 13 vs (10) or less Failure! by 3 
Marik: Hmm.
Marik: Luck the second dodge.
Generic Animals: [3d6.skill(10,2-2)] => [2,2,6] = 10 vs (10) or less Success! by 0 and [3d6.skill(10,2-2)] => [4,4,1] = 9 vs (10) or less Success! by 1 and [3d6.skill(10,2-2)] => [3,3,1] = 7 vs (10) or less Success! by 3 
Marik: Er, the first.
Marik: The successful one.
Marik: Ah well!
Generic Animals: Sure.
Marik: Damage! [1d6+3] => [4,3] = (7) pi(2) to the vitals.
Generic Animals: Major wound to the vitals! Goes voluntarily Berserk!
Generic Animals: tests for knockdown [3d6.skill(12,4-5)] => [1,4,3] = 8 vs (11) or less Success! by 3 
Generic Animals: Roars in rage and pain and keeps coming.
Marik: "Guys, I think I made it angry."
Marik: ###
 3) YOUR TURN NOW:: [28] Skeletal Automata 
(on deck: [25] Beltarne) 
Shelley: "Brace for incoming bears!"
Skeleton: It's too far to Evaluate, despite the fact that it's charging, yes?
GM: Has to be within your move range, not the expected total of both sides.
Skeleton: Right. Step up and Wait to recieve the charge, not that they have boar spears or anything useful like that.
 4) YOUR TURN NOW:: [25] Beltarne 
(on deck: [24] Wolfgang) 
Beltarne: "Oh, we be in for it now, your highness." Remove backpack, 2 of 3.
 5) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Wolfgang 
(on deck: [24] Cave Bears) 
Wolfgang: remove backpack 2
 6) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Cave Bears 
(on deck: [24] Vineman Automata) 
Generic Monster: Bear advances on Marik with a move.
Generic Monster: Cubs move through the sparse trees.
 7) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Vineman Automata 
(on deck: [24] Shelley Zombie) 
Vine Horror: Charge!
Vine Horror: Well. Advance!
Vine Horror: ***
 8) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Shelley Zombie 
(on deck: [29] Ghazeb) 
Shelley: Mind control spells not useful on animals. Hrm. Well, sucking the life out of them works.
** Shelley casts Deathtouch. **
Shelley: 3d
GM: Okay.
Shelley: No weird mana conditions, combat casting for +1 net...
GM: You're good.
Shelley: 4d, actchully.
Shelley: Deathtouch (Deathly) (16) [3d6.skill(16,+1)] => [1,4,3] = 8 vs (17) or less Success! by 9 for [2] => 2 FP
 1) YOUR TURN NOW:: [29] Ghazeb 
(on deck: [28] Marik) 
Ghazeb: Step and wait...again.
Ghazeb: ###
 2) YOUR TURN NOW:: [28] Marik 
(on deck: [28] Skeletal Automata) 
Marik: Draw two, load two, fire for the vitals again.
Marik: (After this, one bodking arrow left in the quiver.)
Marik: Fast-load second arrow: [3d6.skill(20,-3-2)] => [6,6,3] = 15 vs (15) or less Success! by 0 
Marik: -2 range, +1 size, -3 fast-load, -3 vitals, +3 acc?
GM: Yes.
GM: Err, -1 for range.
Marik: I figured vitals weren't in the first hex of the bear :D
Marik: Shot 1: [3d6.skill(20,-1+1-3-3+3)] => [4,1,2] = 7 vs (17) or less Success! by 10 Shot 2: [3d6.skill(20,-1+1-3-3+3)] => [5,1,3] = 9 vs (17) or less Success! by 8 
Marik: Damage is [1d6+3] => [5,3] = (8) and [1d6+3] => [4,3] = (7) pi(2) to the vitals
Generic Animals: Last chance to Dodge with extra effort! [3d6.skill(10,2-1)] => [5,5,5] = 15 vs (11) or less Failure! by 4 and [3d6.skill(10,2-1)] => [4,6,3] = 13 vs (11) or less Failure! by 2 
Generic Animals: bah.
Generic Animals: [6*3+5*3] => 33
Shelley: Uh, arent' they berserk?
Shelley: voluntarily?
GM: Yes, but they didn't all-out attack last turn.
GM: You can Move and Dodge while Berserk.
Shelley: confusing.
Marik: You can!
Marik: Totally valid.
 3) YOUR TURN NOW:: [28] Skeletal Automata 
(on deck: [25] Beltarne) 
Marik: I step behind Ghazeb.
Marik: Because I'm not proud.
Marik: Well, I am proud. But I'm not stupid.
** Ghazeb nods his head. "Take cover your highness." **
Shelley: Sorry, just shattered a nail
Skeleton: general lurching forward!
Marik: "You're the one who stepped forward, cat-boy. I'm not dumb enough to try tangling with that at close range."
Skeleton: ***
 4) YOUR TURN NOW:: [25] Beltarne 
(on deck: [24] Wolfgang) 
Beltarne: Get rid of his pack, 3 of 3, and step forward, weapons ready.
 5) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Wolfgang 
(on deck: [24] Cave Bears) 
Wolfgang: remove backpack 3, done!
Wolfgang: step up
 6) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Cave Bears 
(on deck: [24] Vineman Automata) 
Generic Monster: Cubs move around the corner.
Generic Monster: Large bear checks for consciousness [3d6.skill(12,4)] => [1,6,5] = 12 vs (16) or less Success! by 4 
Generic Monster: All out attacks Marik, moving 4 and double attacking for a claw slash and a grapple [3d6.skill(14)] => [1,3,1] = 5 vs (14) or less Success! by 9 and [3d6.skill(14)] => [4,4,6] = 14 vs (14) or less Success! by 0 
Ghazeb: Interrupt the bear with a RS feint/attack targetting the skull.
GM: Ghazeb's wait goes off.
GM: Okay.
GM: Roll feint, then the attack.
Vine Horror: It's All Out Attacking
Ghazeb: Broadsword Feint (Scimitar): [3d6.skill(22,-3+0)] => [1,6,1] = 8 vs (19) or less Success! by 11 , Broadsword Attack (Scimitar): [3d6.attack(22,-3-7+1+0)] => [5,3,2] = 10 vs (13) or less Success! by 3 
Vine Horror: The Feint is redundant unless it's defensive
Vine Horror: (defensive feint might be a really good idea)
GM: Roll damage, you hit when it doesn't bother to dodge.
Ghazeb: WAsnt sure if my attack would come after the offical all ouyt or not
Vine Horror: ah
Ghazeb: Scimitar Damage: [2d6+2] => [1,2,2] = (5) cut
Marik: Ouch.
Ghazeb: luck that
Ghazeb: Scimitar Damage: [2d6+2] => [6,2,2] = (10) cut
Marik: Heh.
Ghazeb: Scimitar Damage: [2d6+2] => [3,6,2] = (11) cut
Marik: Meanwhile, I roll Acrobatics at encumbrance penalties: [3d6.skill(14,-2)] => [1,5,2] = 8 vs (12) or less Success! by 4 
Marik: Dodge the first attack, acrobatically and feverishly, retreating as I go!
Generic Animals: Resist knockdown [3d6.skill(12,4-5)] => [6,6,3] = 15 vs (11) or less Failure! by 4 
Generic Animals: Reels but keeps fighting!
Marik: Dodge: [3d6.skill(10,-2+3+2+2)] => [1,6,5] = 12 vs (15) or less Success! by 3 
Marik: Second dodge, without the acrobatics bonus?
Generic Animals: Also, avoids death [3d6.skill(12,4)] => [3,6,5] = 14 vs (16) or less Success! by 2 
Marik: Dodge: [3d6.skill(10,-2+3+2)] => [2,2,4] = 8 vs (13) or less Success! by 5 
GM: Afraid so.
Marik: "My, what big eyes you have."
GM: Marik backpedals desparately.
 7) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Vineman Automata 
(on deck: [24] Shelley Zombie) 
Vine Horror: Hey look, bear!
Vine Horror: Baby bears are in his blindspot :D
Vine Horror: Sorry, ahving problems selecting my mini again, but I'll worry about that later. First. All Out Axe Attack! I'm trying to stand next to marik
Vine Horror: Axe, neck, SM +2, = -3?
GM: Right.
Vine Horror: Telegraphed Mighty All Out Attack, should be a total of +1 to hit, and +5 damage (for +1/die)
GM: Yowza.
Vine Horror: [3d6.attack(15,+4-5+2)] => [1,6,6] = 13 vs (16) or less Success! by 3 to AXE (miss by one hits torso)
Vine Horror: [5d6+10] => [4,5,3,1,4,10] = (27) cut to the neck
GM: [(27-4)*2] => 46
Vine Horror: Whack whackity whack.
Generic Animals: Resist death! [3d6.skill(12,4-4)] => [2,1,2] = 5 vs (12) or less Success! by 7 
Generic Animals: Keeps roaring!
Vine Horror: Poor Mrugnak will never get a chance to ride this bear.
 8) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Shelley Zombie 
(on deck: [29] Ghazeb) 
GM: It's not big enough anyway.
Shelley: "Alpha, Beta, Epsilion! Protect me from the little ones!" and All Out Defense +Dodges up toward Adam.
 1) YOUR TURN NOW:: [29] Ghazeb 
(on deck: [28] Marik) 
Ghazeb: Chop twice at its neck.
GM: Okay.
Ghazeb: Broadsword Attack (Scimitar): [3d6.attack(22,-3-5+0)] => [4,6,3] = 13 vs (14) or less Success! by 1 , Broadsword Attack (Scimitar): [3d6.attack(22,-3-5+0)] => [1,1,3] = 5 vs (14) or less Success! by 9 
Ghazeb: Scimitar Damage: [2d6+2] => [5,2,2] = (9) cut
Ghazeb: Scimitar Damage: [2d6+2] => [1,6,2] = (9) cut
GM: [2*(9-4)*2] => 20
Ghazeb: ###
Narrator: Blood sprays as the delvers chop at the creature's neck.
 2) YOUR TURN NOW:: [28] Marik 
(on deck: [28] Skeletal Automata) 
Marik: ((Sorry, I got a phone call and had to go digging through papers and such.))
Marik: Draw two normal arrows! Load both! [3d6.skill(20,-3-2)] => [6,6,1] = 13 vs (15) or less Success! by 2 
Marik: And, yes, I go for the eyes.
Marik: +3 acc, +1 size, -3 fast-load, -9 eyes, no penalty for range, and I totally take a step back before I fire?
Marik: (Not that it can parry, it's berserk.)
Skeleton: Yeah, but further from bear is good.
Marik: Shot 1: [3d6.skill(20,-9-3+3+1)] => [1,5,1] = 7 vs (12) or less Success! by 5 Shot 2: [3d6.skill(20,-9-3+3+1)] => [4,2,6] = 12 vs (12) or less Success! by 0 
GM: Damage?
Marik: Damage is [1d6+3] => [2,3] = (5) to the left eye and [1d6+3] => [2,3] = (5) to the right.
Marik: Wow.
Skeleton: Doh.
Marik: On the other hand, that did drop the other one.
Marik: So.
Generic Animals: Roars as it is blinded, rears up, and then collapses since there isn't any blood in its body.
 3) YOUR TURN NOW:: [28] Skeletal Automata 
(on deck: [25] Beltarne) 
Skeleton: Epsilion steps and Waits for a bear to come in Reach, then he plans on whacking it.
Skeleton: Alpha Moves to be between bears and people
Skeleton: And Beta runs over to reinforce them!
Skeleton: Gamma kicks the dead bear.
Skeleton: ***
 4) YOUR TURN NOW:: [25] Beltarne 
(on deck: [24] Wolfgang) 
Beltarne: Move next to Marik. "Ye well, highness?"
 5) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Wolfgang 
(on deck: [24] Cave Bears) 
Vine Horror: (( I think his life just flashed before his eyes. ))
Marik: "I'm standing, the bear isn't. Where were you?"
Wolfgang: fly up and over to the skellie line
Beltarne: "Supporting ye wit' prayers!"
 6) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Cave Bears 
(on deck: [24] Vineman Automata) 
Wolfgang: and FD my axe
Generic Animals: Flee!
Wolfgang: Fast-Draw (Axe/Mace) (15) [3d6.skill(15,+1+1)] => [3,4,4] = 11 vs (17) or less Success! by 6 Includes: +1 from 'Combat Reflexes'
Generic Animals: Running away from their mother's murderers and the line of bones and steel.
 7) YOUR TURN NOW:: [24] Vineman Automata 
(on deck: [24] Shelley Zombie) 
Wolfgang: "No way we can carry any more meat"
** Vine Horror hacks at it a few more times! **
Vine Horror: ***
Wolfgang: "How bad is the pelt?"
GM: It's worth less than the other one.
GM: Are you letting the cubs flee into the trees?
Vine Horror: Sorry.
Shelley: Chasing bearcubs takes TIME.
Shelley: Valuable TIME.
Marik: I'm happy enough to let them go.
Marik: There's no way we need any more meat.
GM: okay, but don't blame me when they grow up in the woods, training and plotting revenge against the delvers who killed their parents, and return as Bear-Swashbuckler-Mystic Knights.
Shelley: With Mrugnak riding on one.
Marik: I suspect if I tell people around town that there's a ton of dead bear in the road about five hours south, someone will come out and pick it up.
Shelley: Because they'd totally talk him into it.
GM: ... yeah, because I'd want to walk out into the wilderness to fight off the scavengers of the West March. Scavengers like Oozing Slime.
Wolfgang: ((I'm totally fine with that))
** Wolfgang would totally chase the cubs if someone told him they were worth cash **
Marik: But they're really not.
Marik: Especially not if you kill them with an axe.
Marik: Onward to town?
Wolfgang: yes
Wolfgang: try and get Shelley to put on a blanket or something
Shelley: I have a [Heavy Cloack]
Shelley: Cloak
GM: The delvers push on, crossing the milita line right around noon.
Shelley: thing
Wolfgang: "Er, before we get to town, or meet a patrol, can you manage to look a bit less horribly undead?"
Wolfgang: "I really have doubts about them letting you in the gates."
** Shelley pulls the hood on the cloak up, but looks dubious about how much this will help. **
Marik: "Keep the hood up, cover your face with something, and we'll claim you got cursed by demons in the Westmarch and we need to get you to the temple to cure you."
Narrator: The delvers head east and north toward Polisberg, skirting around Firhill on some of the minor roads.
Shelley: "Largely accurate."
Narrator: Heading north on the graveled road, they encounter a flock of sheep heading south on the road, guided by a shepherd.
GM: Simply, you can just wait 30 minutes for the sheep to pass, or you can risk a social encounter to bull through them.
Marik: Wait 30 min.
Shelley: Bull through.
GM: ...
Marik: Shelley wins.
GM: You're about 2 miles from Polisberg, you guys saw it from the hills.
Wolfgang: "I say we wait"
Shelley: "I'm not waiting. The temple's right there."
Marik: "Having him run screaming back to town yelling about the undead plague upon us would be bad, Shelley."
Wolfgang: "As long as we get to the gate well before night"
Marik: "It would probably delay us more than waiting would."
Beltarne: "We can't get gold until we sell this loot."
Wolfgang: "Except for the bear meat, it'll keep
Wolfgang: "I'd prefer to keep up our reputations if we can, better prices that way"
Beltarne: "No need t'be idle, though."
** Shelley snarls with frustration, bearing her icicle fangs. She's almost reduced to being literally hopping mad. **
GM: What's the vote at?
Shelley: "It's ... Right... There. We've almost done it."
Shelley: I think it's everyone against Shellye.
Shelley: *Shelley
Ghazeb: Ghazeb does not care either way.
GM: Ghazeb and Beltarne aren't strongly influenced. Shelley for, Marik and Wolfgang agaisnt. You guys wait.
Marik: Just one more lost battle in the war for undead rights.
Wolfgang: 2-1-2?
GM: Yep.
Wolfgang: ((lol))
GM: A little more than an hour later, you arrive in Polisberg.
** Shelley spends the wait time sulking. **
Shelley: For reference.
Shelley: Or possibly practicing being "Dark and moody" under the cloak.
Shelley: A scrap of blanket will be pressed into service as a scarf.
Shelley: face-scarf. Veil. Thing.
GM: The Polisberg temples will exorcise Davin for $1000.
GM: They'll take Sir Ewan's armor as payment if you don't have the funds.
Shelley: And she will totally use her Acting skill to pretend to be a blighted leper to anyone who looks like stopping her.
Shelley: For reference.
Shelley: [320+160+6] => 486
Shelley: Shelley has almost half that.
Shelley: In cash.
Marik: Will they take the pelt at value?
GM: Sure, Beltarne can swing that.
Marik: (I mean, it makes a GREAT temple decoration)
Wolfgang: how much is the armor worth?
Marik: (More than $1000.)
Marik: I'm pretty sure we can come up with $200 more in goods and cash.
GM: SM0 Iron plate - couple of grand at least.
Wolfgang: ((yes, but how much more? if it's like $2k then it's a deal since we get like 40% of face value selling stuff))
GM: Nearly $4K.
Wolfgang: ok, def keeping it
Shelley: Who's got the complete treasure list? And can they share it somewhere?
Wolfgang: I've got $219 left I think
Wolfgang: if the google doc spreadsheet is still correct
Shelley: That will cover it I think?
Shelley: Wait, the skin was $800?
Shelley: Shelley has enough to cover the rest, heck.
Shelley: And to pay for a little funeral and Final Rest for herself I think.
GM: New stuff: 12 abyssal iron longswords ($10500); 2 abyssal iron plate suits ($9300); 1 bearhide ($800); 1 iron plate suit with minimal inlay sized for a faun ($4000); 397 meals of bear meat that can be converted into normal rations with smoking.
GM: Those are base costs before selling modifiers.
Marik: The abyssal iron stuff is totally saving our cash-poor hides here.
Shelley: And the bear skin?
GM: Oh, there's also Sir Ewan's sword, which is Holy, and the Obsidian Dagger, which is Not.
GM: Bear skin == bear hide.
Shelley: AH, sorry, missed it in the list.
Ghazeb: "Please take the dagger. It makes Ghazeb...uncomfortable."
Shelley: I think we should be giving them the dagger to dramatically purge of its taint and then seal it up somewhere safe.
Shelley: Or keep it as a trophy I really don't care.
Shelley: So yeah, Bear Hide, $200 cash.
Shelley: In gold and silver coin of the realm even.
Wolfgang: what about the mace/shields from the demon?
GM: Okay. They exorcise Davin for you. He dies in moments, aging two hundred years as the demon is exorcised from him. Sir Ewan's ghost immediately goes away.
Wolfgang: woot!
GM: You guys didn't take the shields and mace because they were too heavy for their value.
Marik: They're not put off by the whole 'we brought him here to be exorcised, and he melted' thing?
GM: Well, yes, but a contract is a contract, and you paid in advance.
Shelley: Aaaand... I'm still here?
GM: Exorcisms can be messy; the maid fee is part of the expense.
GM: Well.
GM: Yes, Shelley is still here. But she has an overwhelming desire to destroy the vineman and collapse into her grave already.
Shelley: Do I have to blow up the skeletons? I can totally do that.
Shelley: Aweseome.
Shelley: How much for a Final Rest spell on my grave? Or can Beltarne do that?
GM: The skeletons are valuable laborers that the short-sighted townsfolk refuse to buy.
GM: You don't have to blow them up... up to you.
Shelley: Jerks.
GM: Beltarne can cast Final Rest on your grave. (He'll also cast Final Rest on the skeletons as soon as he's done, but whatever).
Shelley: I'm almost tempted to paint a sign for the skeletons to hold as my gravestone.
Shelley: In fact, I'm SORELY tempted.
** Wolfgang thinks we should have a wake for our fallen necrotechnition **
GM: I think we're done for the evening!
Shelley: I think so!
Shelley: Mark, was it a perk for the striker brawling parry thing?
GM: Assuming you sell the demonic stuff, you guys split $7920 -> 4 ways, earning $1980 each.
Wolfgang: hmm, how much is the sword worth?
GM: Everyone gets 14 CP less any you spent during the game.
GM: $[700*1.25] => 875.0
GM: And we're done with Trek 2!!