Buck and Zarko don't have much time to gloat over the fallen giant, and Creature's thirst goes unquenched. Their crew of fighters is hemmed in on all sides by some of the meanest looking hombres left in the arena. Bob the Fighter, Leeplo the Man-Frog and Schleppy the Tote-Golem have fallen, along with most of the new recruits who joined you overnight.
Buck, Zarko, Creature and Hobson stand back to back in a shrinking ring of fighters. Suddenly there's a break in the gauntlet! Brawlers are flung aside as a new challenger barrels through the line. He's either a stretched dwarf or a squashed ogre, a ginger-bearded brute wearing a sateen jacket and and a cocky sneer. Gold chains and a silver trumpet hang from his neck.
"Ok you, bridesmaids, the rehearsal's over. Let's see how you do against a real man." Jabbing his thumb into his chest, he continues, "Me!
Aarn, Son of Aarn.
I don't mean to toot my own horn...but toot, toot." He raises the trumpet to his mouth and gives forth a piercing blast, then lets it fall to his bear-like chest. Grinning wickedly he drags his thumb slowly across his neck.
-------------------
Aarn, Son of Aarn from a suggestion by the inestimable Jeff Rients
42 comments:
Thorax staggers up, a normally hearty and strappingly wax-fed youth, now gaunt, bloated, and wild-eyed from a long days' fighting with alcohol as his only source of calories. Oh, and sunburnt.
"Mmmurrr!" he cries, and tries to head-butt his foe from behind. Crouching down for the tackle, it is almost as if he's trying to stick his head up the man's ass.
[Melee attack roll: 05%, hit. Hey, low is good, right?
Damage: 1-6 unarmed, 4 plus 8 = 12.
Save = 61%, fail.]
"Come on then!" "Come on!" Hobson taunts, waving his fists wildly and bouncing up and down. He's ready to spring into retreat if the creature advances.
I'll take Initiative rolls from everyone taking action this round (including Tavis), along with your Attack/Damage/Saving Throw rolls (or Skill rolls if you're doing something else).
I rolled a 6 on 1d6 for initiative, assuming that's what Hank and Jim mean by "a random roll of the dice." If not, go ahead and roll for me!
Initiative is d10 +/- Ranged Damage modifier (d10+2 for Thorax). You can reroll or keep the 6.
Oolak shouts, "Looks like you chaps have already taken quite the beating. Make way for Oolak!"
From the periphery, Oolak embraces his ancestry, drops to all fours, and charges the ginger-bearded dandy!
[Initiative: 9+2 -> 11
Melee Attack: 45% -> 68% (ouch)
Saving Throw: 51% -> 79% (double ouch)]
Cool, happy to break out the dice again; 1d10 = 7 plus 2 is 9 for Thorax's initiative.
Initiative (1d10): 9
To taunt the creature into attacking me (1d100): 74
rolled here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5499281&postcount=164
Are you trying to taunt the creature into attacking you Hobson or THE CREATURE?
If the latter, I'll happily oblige and attack you :)
Creature lunges at the new enemy with a double dragon style flying knee to the face:
initiative: 5
Attack: 54% HIt
Damage: 9
Save: 12% make
Hobson:
"Come on then!" "Come on!" Hobson taunts, waving his fists wildly and bouncing up and down.
"I see you girlies brought your teddy bear to play," laughs Arn. "But this ain't play time."
Coming up fast from behind staggers a dreadlocked warrior in a full tilt head first charge. With the canny sense of a born double-crosser Arn turns at the last instant, bracing for impact. He huffs and puffs as Thorax slams into his belly, then he grabs his attacker under the arms and heaves.
Thorax is lifted from the ground, and whipped around like a human flail just as the mangy ape Oolak leaps. Dirty human feet thump into a wrinkled ape face, and the ape staggers back. "Many stars see I," Oolak thinks, dizziness affecting his grammar.
Just then Creature arrives, flying through the air like a monster truck clearing a ramp! Arn drops Thorax, but not quickly enough to defend himself, and the bearded brute catches a knee smack dab in the forehead. Grimacing with pain he steps back, eying his foes warily. He reaches down, grabs a tin can from his belt, and tears the pull top off with his teeth...
[Thorax: no damage except maybe to your ego. You can act normally in the next round. Note that you're highest in the INIT sequence.
[Oolak: Not so lucky, take 9 HP damage, leaving you at 3
[Creature, Buck & Zarko: By way of a reminder I have each of you down to 2 HP from previous brawling.]
Thorax is amazed to see that the warm primate he has just been slammed into is none other than a real, live, in-the-flesh psi knight! He reaches this conclusion by means of various subtle signs such as Oolak's wilderness garb and the tell-tale pouches on his utility belt; also because the flash of thought he received while his feet were in contact with the ape's wrinkled face so perfectly matched his idea of the proper grammar of a wise psi-knight mentor.
[Read Minds 20% = 77, fail, so there's no further mental transference going on but that schtick is too good to pass up.]
"Mortified am I!" Thorax cries, groveling before Oolak. "Your pardon I beg!"
The sound of Arn's pull top hitting the dirt snaps Thorax out of it. Seeing a chance to prove himself, Thorax tries to leap on top of Arn and the presumed grenade, shielding the others with his body (while shielding his own body with his shield).
[Guard %69 = 36, succeed; 1d6 + 8 = 11 damage if that's better handled as Melee Attack, but Thorax's primary goal is to contain the blast; pigpiling Arn as well is secondary.
Saving Throw 18% = 51, which succeeds only if the 28% saving throw from his iron-shod shield is added in.]
Oolak staggers back, shakes his head, and mutters, "Think nothing of it young man, Happens all the time". He groans as a small voice emanates from his forearm, "Idiot. See what happens when you indulge your baser instincts". Oolak replies, "Quiet, you! I am reassessing this rapidly devolving situation." Whats this?! Oolak notices Arn trying to get at a tin can. Well, if he has provisions, that is NOT fair. There might be a way to straighten out this crooked game. Oolak attempts to use his mega-psi powers aka "the force" to snatch the tin can.
[Initiative: 7+2 -> 9
Command Matter: 52% -> 31% (yay!)
Saving Throw: 51% -> 65% (boo!)]
"Taunt" says Hobson, cuttingly.
"Taunt, taunt, taunt."
Initiative (1d10)[8]
To taunt the creature into attacking me (1d100)[5]
rolled here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5506075&postcount=165
Buck groans, strides over and hopes to go with the knuckle-sandwich to the kisser..
Initiative: 9 (d10)
Attack: 44% (made)
Damage: 3
Save: 90% (bombed!)
(idjitnet spotty here at the house until the rednecks finish the "high speed" install...I apologize!)
[Thorax, Oolak, Hobson: No need to re-roll Initiative each round.
[Buck, your Initiative roll was a 9 on the die? Making it 11 when we add your missile damage bonus?]
(Right, boss, I have an "11" total, I forgot about the bonus...)
Arn, Son of Arn raises the tin can to his lips, but before he can take a swig the can is jerked from his hand. Under the control of some unknown influence, an invisible compulsion, impetus, or momentum*, the can floats away from Arn, hovering in the air just out of his reach.
"C'mere you!" Arn grabs for the can, and Buck lands a jab while the brawny wrestler is distracted. Arn barely seems to notice the punch, but it snaps his attention back to his attackers just in time to fend off Thorax. With his shield raised the young warrior springs like a blind cave cricket, but Arn dodges to the side, sending Thorax sprawling with a shove as he passes.
It's then that Arn's ears perk to Hobson's catty chatter of "Taunt taunt taunt." His eyes narrow. "What's that about my Aunt, you little pipsqueak?" he says, in a low and nasty voice. ""You don't jump a dog in his own backyard and you don't mess with family." Arn shoulders past Creature and Buck and snatches at the hobling, calling over his shoulder, "Hey, Olley, get a load of Teddy Freddy talkin' trash about your ma!"
"May she rest in peace," wails a blond-bearded brawler with a striking resemblance to Arn. With each of his thick arms wrapped around a brawler's neck, he sits down heavily, bulldogging their faces into the dirt. He rolls quickly to his feet and charges after Arn and Hobson.
* Perhaps some kind of....force? Is that the word?
"Crap!", shouts Buck as he turns to Creature, "we gotta move!". With this he attempts to guide Creature quickly towards the scene. Hobling pudding would be a bum deal!
"Thorax...!", Buck turns his head.."you alright?"
Thorax quickly intuits that the gentleman in the Galaxy Patrol gear must also be a psi-knight, as he knows Thorax's name without being told. Thorax is glad to finally be among the psychically adept companions he deserves!
"Unhurt, am I," he says. His stomach growls as an addendum to this status report. "Wounded, are you." He moves to position himself between Arn and the approaching Ollie, and throws a punch at Arn's jaw.
[Melee 111% = 61 hits.
Bare hands damage 1d6 + 8 = 10.
Save 18/46% = 14 succeeds even without shield.]
Hanging out on the fringes of things, Zarko is pleased that somebody else is stepping up to deal with the seemingly inexhaustible stream of new combatants coming our way.
"Creature, you okay?" he asks, breathing heavily. "I still got your back, but let's just breathe here for a minute and see what's up."
[OOC: Okay, I'm mostly moved now, so I should be able to show up here daily again. I've missed it! Thanks for your indulgence.]
(Apolgize for the ESP/Psi on the name, Travis! HA!!...well, you know us space cadets....)
(welcome back Will!)
[Will Update tomorrow. Afternoon if possible, evening more likely. In the meantime, please consider contributing to my research into the gods of Vanth.]
Having shown himself a master of wit, Hobson now shows himself a master of running away. He also changes his clothes so that they have a target design on the back.
(No problem Rondo! In-character introductions can be tedious; if ESP can bypass that, so much the better! And having done the same thing with Max's description of Oolak's thought processes, I'm not one to point fingers! I called attention to it only because it afforded an opportunity to advance Thorax's delusion that he is fulfilling his destiny to join the ranks of the psi-knights, defeat an evil empire, and kiss his sister - he's not sure why this last bit is part of the prophesy but his mentor was quite clear about it.)
Oolak coaxes the tin can to his hand and then gulps down the contents. If that does not kill him, he tries to bean Arn with the empty can.
[Missile Attack: 64% -> 59% (booyah!)]
Creature looks suddenly exhausted. His eyes are dark and glassy with a thousand yard stare, and he barely grunts when Buck tries to rouse him.
Oolak quickly scans the label of the tin can: Dr Peeper's Proper PEP-U-UP, A Mostly EXCELLENT Concoction made from MEDICINAL ROOTS & HERBS Flavoured with Rose Hips and Blended with PATENTED Axle Grease, GUARANTEED to Revive and Restore Minor Bodily Wounds, AND IN ADDITION to Soothe Aching Muscles, Unblock the Naso-Cranial Passages, Promote Proper Digestive Function, Balance the Humours, Align the Lesser Chakram, and Soothe Troubled Spirits. AND FURTHERMORE Proven to INSTANTLY CURE sandal toe, swordsman's elbow, and various doxy's complaints, AS WELL AS minor infestations of chiggers, eye-motes, space-mites, and midichlorians, AND FINALLY irritations of the pores and follicles in general AND, specifically, the mange. Brewed for a minimum of 17 years!
Shrugging, he chugs the can down...it's sweet and fizzy, tasting somewhere between sarsaparilla and mandrake root, with a rush of heat at the back of his throat like booze without the burn. Whatever it is, he feels awesome!
[Way to bogart the bad guy's healing potion -- 6 HP back! Beaning him with the empty will be next round (unless you decide to do something else); the can will do 1 HP + your missile damage bonus]
[Fable, can you roll me up either a Feat roll for Hobson to outrun the baddies or an Escape Artist to dodge them?]
[Rest of the round after Hobson chimes in...]
(Psi knights! If I ain't one, I want to be one!)
Buck realizes now things aren't looking good for Creature..he bends down to his ear, "You okay there buddy?? What can I get you?? Want something to drink??"...Buck could care less what's going on right now, he's gotta look out for the Big Mean Green Machine.
[Rondo, a psi-knight is merely the male couterpart of a psi-witch.
[RE: Creature. There's nothing mechanically wrong with him -- he won't keel over if left unattanded. It's just a bit of narration till Andrew has a chance to stop in again, so feel free to leave his side if you want to engage Arn & Olley.]
Feat roll: 51
rolled at http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5543108&postcount=166
[but my movement is surely much higher than theirs?]
Arn, Son of Arn and Olley, Cousin of Arn, Son of Arn chase after the diminutive hobling. Running on longer legs, and stung by the insult to his family honor, Arn catches up quickly. He snatches at the target on Hobson's back, but the Sneaky hobling tucks into a diving roll and eludes him.*
Before A, Son of A can make another grab Thorax arrives and busts Arn right in the beard! The red-headed rassler is knocked loopy, sinking to his knees. He rubs his jaw and shakes his head, but before Thorax can finish Arn off he's grappled from behind. Olley, Cousin of A, S of A wraps his thick arms around Thorax's thorax, trying to Finish him with a belly to back brainbuster. Antennae wriggling, the dreadlocked warrior is raised off the ground, but his shield digs into Olley's shoulder before the blond brute can complete the throw. Olley winces and drops Thorax roughly.
Oolak looks on, hefting the empty potion can for a throw. With a chill, he feels the touch of another mind, a feral, hungry, other. Where at? What the? He can't tell, but it's coming closer...
------------
[* Flush as I am with yuletide spirit(s?), I switched this from a Feat to a Sneak roll. Seemed only fair since I had asked you to choose between Feat and a non-existent 'Escape Artist' ability above.]
[Tavis, need a percentile roll from Thorax too...]
[Not near my dice, but Excel's random number generator gave Thorax int(rand()*100)+1 = 12.]
Thorax regains his footing and steps back from Arn and Olley. Still on his knees and shaking his head dazedly, Arn holds up an arm to fend off more blows. His body is turned to the side, but Thorax sees his other hand stealing toward the pocket of his sateen jacket.
Thorax will try to duck under Arn's upstretched arm and wrap him in a bear hug, pinioning his other hand before it can get to his pocket.
[Melee attack 111% = 62, hit
Bare hands damage 1d6 + 8 = 12 points
Saving throw 46% with shield = 54, fail]
Time to show his psi-knight prowess, he thinks, opening his mind to receive the name of the sharply-dressed tallfellow hairfoot...
[Read Minds 20% = 83, fail]
"Jujube," he cries triumphantly. "Come take the thing he's reaching for in his pocket!"
OOC: Commenting to let you know that I'm still here!
But with only 2 hit points, I'm letting some of you others carry the fight. You're doing well, and if you need me, just say so.
Oolak finishes his throw at Arn.
[1 +2 -> 3 pts of damage!]
Oolak hears Thorax calling for 'Jujube', and wonders if that bloke is calling to him. Just in case, Oolak calls, "Sorry mate, I think trouble on the way it is." Feeling an aggressive, alien mind coming closer, Oolak drops down in to the lotus position, and prepares his defenses. He begins to "Ohm..." and weave an energy shield around his psyche.
[Command Energy 53% -> 39%]
The tin can flies true, doinking Aarn* in the head. The red-bearded roughneck merely scowls. As Thorax dives low for a bear hug, Aarn surges to his feet with a furious uppercut. His fist whistles past Thorax's ear and ominously pistons back for another punch, looking heavy and knuckley and brassy.
[Need an additional Saving Throw from Thorax...Any action from Buck or Hobson?]
Not that Oolak notices, having chosen this crucial juncture to...sit down. Contemplating the Diamond Lightbulb Sutra -- "What is called the highest wattage is not the highest wattage," and so forth -- the ape summons a shell of psychic energy. But still the other draws closer: greedy, ravenous, monotremic.
*Aarn, Son of Aarn: Now with Double the A's.
[Additional saving throw 15, successful!]
More taunting!
roll: 21
rolled at http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5568547&postcount=168
Figure we got some folks travelling, spending time with friends and family, nursing hangovers, etc. Look for a new post in the morning continuing the story.
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