RQG 117 - Orcward

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## Orcward

### Players

Helen Gould as Azu
Ben Meredith as Grizzop
Bryn Monroe as Hamid
Lydia Nicholas as Sasha

## Summary

The Rome crew recuperates and get an invisible visitor, while Grizzop makes plans with the orcs.

## Synopsis

Hamid, Azu, and Sasha are in Rome trying to rescue the hostages taken by the Cult of Hades, while Grizzop has stayed back in Damascus to make sure that the factory has been properly taken care of and get the river flowing again.

Grizzop has just had a run-in with some orcs while trying to break the funnel that is taking the water away from the river, and has asked for help. The orcs disappear for a moment, and Grizzop stares, confused, before going back to breaking the funnel. He hears some loud, moving noises from above but continues on with what he’s doing until the first orc peers back over again and tells Grizzop to come up. He does, and then looks around, noticing about 60 orcs standing around him and working up the river. The orc who he’s face to face with is large and rugged, with long hair. He’s shirtless, with tattoos, and strapped across his back is a large sledgehammer with tools around his belt. He asks Grizzop what’s going on here, and Grizzop explains that the river has disappeared into this factory, and covers what’s been happening for the last few episodes.

In Rome, the party is sleeping in a taverna; the sun hasn’t set yet, but because the basement is in shadow, it’s freezing cold. Sasha lights a fire to get some warmth in the room, but it’s pretty meagre since there isn’t much to burn down there. Azu says that maybe they should huddle together for warmth, and Sasha asks if anyone wants to get stabbed. Azu gets the hint, but tries to cuddle with Einstein - her armour is freezing, though, so instead Sasha wraps him in the cloak of Elvenkind to give him some warmth. Azu notices that Einstein is pretty bad off, and he’s starting to ramble more than usual. He curls back up into the amphora and Azu sits by it.

Another howl comes out of the distance, bouncing around the ruins. Sasha decides that she’ll take the first watch while the other two sleep. She’s not doing as bad in the cold, but Azu’s armour is incredibly cold, and she’s struggling. Eventually she takes the armour off and huddles together with Einstein and Hamid. Sasha sticks her head out of the hole to keep watch while Azu guards the inside.

   Back in Damascus, Grizzop and the orcs are trying to figure out the river. The orc tells Grizzop to step back, and he does as a low rumble comes from up the river. Rocks move upstream, and breaking through the illusion come loads of boulders, crashing down to the funnel below. The river still appears to be pouring into the hole below, and the illusion hasn’t been broken. Grizzop grabs a rock and throws it into the pit, victorious. The orc asks if he would be able to get rid of the magic, and Grizzop says that he can’t, but thanks the orc for helping. The orc goes over and sticks his head into the illusion, and when he comes back up his face is wet; he says that it should be fine. Grizzop mentions that if they can find Wilde, he should be able to dispel it. The orc leads Grizzop up the river to where the rest of the orcs have been working on the river. He introduces himself as Bronc, and Grizzop shakes his hand. He explains that the river is coming out into their settlement (a bit downriver), and that landslides have caused them to come and investigate. Grizzop asks if they’re miners, or live by a mine, and Bronc says no; Grizzop mentions that there is probably a mine under their land, which Bronc isn’t happy with. He calls for the orcs to huddle and Grizzop joins. Bronc repeats what Grizzop told him about the mine, and the gathered orcs start muttering angrily, with one blaming the goblins. Bronc shuts that train of thought down, and Grizzop pipes up, saying that it was some sort of cult, probably run by humans. They decide to go back down to Damascus and try and figure it out from there. Bronc asks Grizzop who Wilde is, and Grizzop explains that he’s an illusionist and could get rid of the spell for them, or know someone who could. They plan to go talk to Wilde at the Meritocratic offices down in Damascus.

The party in Rome, meanwhile, keeps hearing howls throughout the city. At one point, the howl turns into more of a yelp, and then the howls stop. Sasha can tell that some of the howls have been in mid-air, and the howl that became a yelp was closer than the others. She tells the rest of them that she’s heard something and wants to check it out, and pulls the cloak of Elvenkind off of the rest of the party so that she can go look at it. Hamid asks if she’ll be okay, and Sasha says that she doesn’t want it to sneak up on them. Azu and Hamid don’t want her to leave, not wanting to split up the party or draw anything to them, and Sasha relents, deciding to go when they’re all ready. She thinks that they need to leave soon, because it’s going to find them anyway, and then she hears stealthy movement approaching their location. At this, she ignores the other two and takes the cloak to go flank it, telling Hamid and Azu to get ready and guard the entrance.

She sneaks out of the taverna and hears something, but cannot see anyone who could have made it anywhere near them, even though someone is clearly close. She huddles in the shadow of a building so that she can have line of sight on anyone making their way toward the building. A piece of rock tips off the roof above Sasha, and the party enters initiative.

## Quotes

**Alex**: "You’re face to face with a strapping young buck of an orc, they are rugged..."
**Lydia**: "Whooooo!"
**Bryn**: "Helen’s face!"
**Lydia**: "The listeners need to know she’s like “swipe right.”"
**Ben**: "You have been playing too much Dream Daddy."
**Helen**: "Yeah, this is like. Seduce!"
**Ben**: "Does the strong orc have a small child that they are caring for?"
**Alex**: "Oh yes, but it’s in their papoose, they’re not carrying it in their arms."
**Lydia**: "Press B to flirt."
**Alex**: "What the orc does have is rather long and lustrous hair for an orc, normally they tend to go more bald whereas this one..."
**Lydia**: "Helen literally melted."
**Ben**: "Is he wearing a shirt that cuts down to the navel and his he standing in front of a fan?"
**Alex**: "He’s not wearing a shirt!"
**Helen**: "Does he have piercings and tattoos Alex?"
**Alex**: "He does! It’s really weird!"
**Helen**: "Yes!"
**Ben**: "Helen’s gonna need a moment."
**Alex**: "You see strapped across his back is a huge sledgehammer and you notice around his belt he’s got tools and carabiners."
**Lydia**: "See, now I’m into him."
―The party is introduced to Bronc.

**Einstein**: "Your armour is very cold, please stop. Please stop, this is horrible. 10/10 for sentiment. 3/10 for execution." (*Sasha wraps him in her cloak*)
**Einstein**: "Oh, this is good, this is good, this is, yeah, this is a good solid 8."
**Sasha**: "Out of?"
**Einstein**: "I’d say 10."
**Sasha**: "Oh, okay, alright, good, yeah. And wait, 10 is high?"
**Einstein**: "Yes."
**Sasha**: "Alright."
**Einstein**: "Not one for formal education?"
**Sasha**: "Look, I’m just…"
**Einstein**: "Me too!"
**Sasha**: "Right! Like, what’s the point in thinking the same way everyone else does!"
―Sasha bonds with Einstein.

**Alex**: "Grizzop is surrounded by big burly thighs as far as his eyes can see."
**Lydia**: "Helen needs a moment."
**Ben**: "So many knees to shoot off if I have to."
―Grizzop accepts help from the orcs.

## Dice rolls and Mechanics

* Grizzop makes a perception check: 14
* Sasha makes a survival check: 5
* The Rome party makes a sense motive check: Azu gets 31, Hamid gets 14, Sasha gets 9
* Azu and Sasha make a fort save: Azu gets 11, Sasha gets 20
* Azu makes a heal check on Einstein: 14
* Sasha makes a perception check on the howls: 23
* Sasha makes a stealth check: 37
* Sasha makes a perception check on the movement: 19

## Combat breakdown

**Initiative:** Sasha (27), Hamid (25), invisible enemy, Einstein, Azu (1)

**Round 1**

* Sasha: Climbs up the building, making her acrobatics check of 24, but doesn’t see anyone on the roof. She attacks the air around her, spinning, and misses on a roll of 19 before crouching.
* Hamid: Begins to help Azu put her armour on.
* Invisible enemy: Attacks Sasha twice, once on the head and once in the midriff, dealing 27 damage. Sasha shouts in pain and is down to 3 hit points.
* Einstein: Freezes for a moment and then comes over to help with Azu’s armour.
* Azu: Continues putting on her armour.

**Round 2**

* Sasha: Flips to the other side of the roof and throws a bomb where she was just standing, making a 35 on her acrobatics roll, and misses on an attack roll of 17. However, the air above where she threw it shimmers.