The feeling of another oncoming WACKY weather system prickles your skin. With a feeling of dread, you brace yourself for the effects of… A soothing, balmy breeze. Aaah… This weather effect will remain in play until the next dice are rolled.
1,3
Something glinting over a bluff catches your eye. A burrow in the side of the dune yields a bounty of shining golden beetles! And as they say, lucky beetles mean good fortune (and megabux$$$). Each member of the group has acquired 1 lucky beetle that can be redeemed at the end of the meta for a variety of rewards. You cannot carry any more than 5 lucky beetles total; if you run into this encounter more than 5 times, you cannot collect any more.
A thick translucent blanket of dust appears ominously on the horizon. It looms closer and closer until finally a distinctive wind whips around its waves of sand and dust, creating a suffocating climate for everyone inside of the storm. This weather effect will remain in play until a 1, 3, or 5 are rolled on a D6.
2,2
An overenthusiastic bouncebeast hops into view. You don’t pay it any mind at first, but when it starts to get closer—and closer—you realize that spring is in the air. The lovestruck beast assaults your group! The bouncebeast has 1 HP, but has a +1 to avoid being hit (you will need to roll a 4 or above to hit). Every post in which the lovestruck bouncebeast has not been defeated incurs 1 point of damage to the group (as it wounds the group’s dignity in trying to hump their legs).
The pitter-patter of drizzly rain dot the sand with dark freckles. It’s pleasant at first, but soon the rain picks up pace. A roar of rolling thunder heralds a torrential rainstorm! Soon thick, heavy raindrops coat every surface in sight. This weather effect will remain in play until a 1, 3, or 5 are rolled on a D6.
3,1
Upon encountering a heap of weather-ravaged rubble, you spot a familiar hoppity stump laying on the ground. Whether it’s a sign of the dangerous WACKY weather is irrelevant – any troll knows that bouncebeast hooves bring good luck! Your group has acquired a lucky bouncebeast hoof! The hoof can be used to reroll one dice roll during the meta. When the use of the hoof has been announced, the most recent roll is thrown out and can be re-rolled. The lucky bouncebeast hoof is then discarded from the inventory.
Little pebbles of ice fall in sheets from the sky, and soon the little pebbles feel like veritable chunks of gravel, knives, and a bad case of hypothermia. The ice storm doesn’t seem like it’s going to let up—at least, it looks that way through the blinding shards of frozen awfulness that completely obscure your vision. This weather effect will remain in play until a 1 or a 6 are rolled on a D6.
3,4
Something glinting over a bluff catches your eye. A burrow in the side of the dune yields a bounty of shining golden beetles! And as they say, lucky beetles mean good fortune (and megabux$$$). Each member of the group has acquired 1 lucky beetle that can be redeemed at the end of the meta for a variety of rewards. You cannot carry any more than 5 lucky beetles total; if you run into this encounter more than 5 times, you cannot collect any more.
Passing through the desert, the only thing that is particularly interesting is the grim landmark of a set of lusus bones half-buried in the desert sand. This is not the lusus you’re looking for! Carry on. Look, there’s a little troll skeleton beside them... Aww!
4,3
You find a peculiar desert creature snuffling around in the sand! The poor little guy seems pretty bewildered by all of this weather stuff, so you decide to give it a warm pocket to cling onto. Your group has adopted the multi-limbed gerbil! After the meta, each member of the group can bring their own special friend home.
Ganyma stood with his supplies on his back and a smile on his face. There were two greenbloods in front of him now -- little recruits under the command of one Ganyma Callow. If there was one sure thing about this rebellious trek into the desert, it was that Ganyma was going to lead these kids to victory! It was the first foray of the big troll to lead that the Alternian military had offered him, so he'd signed up immediately.
But, as it happened, a daring inkling of doubt came into his mind. Why work for the military when you could start leading your own pack now? He liked the loose-cannon wheelings and dealings of the rebels, so this was his test run. It took a lot of boldness to gather his troops, but they'd serve him well and they'd emerge victorious. He just knew it. Ganyma was an inspirational speech away from being a true leader.
"Hey, kids! I'm Ganyma. You ready to go catch this thing?"
GROUP STAMINA: 5 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY:
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:41 pm
The desert sure was...desert-y. As in barren. Windy. Sand in her shoes. And BARREN. Luxara had felt more and more naked the farther she had trekked from her home to this great big lusus hunt. No trees, no cover, heck, she couldn't even CAMOUFLAGE out here. It was ridiculous.
She had heard bits and pieces of what was going on through eavesdropping on casual hunter chats, as she did, and none of it really interested her until they started on the loose lusus. Luxara had been so on top of the idea of her own shot at a big game hunt that she nearly fell off her branch to fall flat on her face in front of the high-blooded big game trolls. That REALLY wouldn't have been cool.
Now she was holding on to her stupid net a little too tightly, trying not to look nervous about her overly open surroundings. It took a moment for her to process that the big lug in front of her was talking. Oh, right. She was in a group. She hadn't meant to be- she had gotten oh-so-far on her own (with Stagdad of course) until she saw all the OTHER competition and someone around there must have assumed that she had signed up. Before she knew it, she had a cruddy net like she was some kind of WIGGLER or something (rude), and she had found herself drawing closer and closer to the fellow midbloods until they just seemed to assume she was a part of the team. Luxara sure wasn't complaining, though. The team head looked like he could knock off a block or two and how could you say no to THAT?
"Oh my gog I am so READY to catch this thing we are going to show it who's BOSS, man and I hope I get to RIDE it that'd be the best EVER-" Stagdad had to nudge her to shut her stupid mouth up. "O-oh yeah. Hi! I'm Luxara. Here and ready to snipe a lusus, Captain-Boss-Gan!"
[ Didero was completely starstruck. His first time out in the vast wilderness beyond the city--on a hunting expedition no less! Didero was practically vibrating with excitement. He awkwardly tried to shift the net he'd been assigned up onto his shoulders so he could flip through a notepad. He clicked the top of his pen several times for good measure and scribbled a memo while cradling the net bundle with his chin.
"G... A..." Didero puzzled out the spelling of their leader's name. Hatoful Dad sat in a lump behind Didero, looking put-off to be sitting in the dust with no other birds around. He found the whole affair rather uncouth, even without the involvement with... anti-royal rabble.
Didero seemed more than willing to pick up his lusus's slack in terms of enthusiasm, if nothing else. Didero nearly dropped his items when he realized it was his turn to introduce himself. He juggled the notepad and pen for a second before accidentally knotting them up in the net. He caught the bundle and straightened at attention.
"Hello! I'm Didero Salons and I'm as ready as ever! I look forward to learning from you! Sir!" He addressed Ganyma, but also spared a glance at Luxara. She looked like she knew a thing or two about roughing it. ]
GROUP STAMINA: 5 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY:
Sypon rolled 2 4-sided dice:
4, 2Total: 6 (2-8)
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:25 pm
Ganyma beamed. Both of these kids were so gung-ho about this already! He certainly didn't have to do much to impress. He was a Captain, Boss AND Sir. Already!
There was a lot he could teach these kids. Ganyma definitely had an early reputation to upkeep, and already had his plan set straight in his mind: charge right ahead and wallop the danger! And of course, single-handedly protect these little ones while he was at it. They were his responsibility after all.
"Alright, well let's not get ahead of ourselves. I hear this WACKY thing is pretty dangerous, so my plan is to try and get right to the lusus and take it out as quick as possible. Onward!"
And the group set on into the desert.
In the distance, Ganyma eyed the bleached-white carcass of a long-dead lusus. He wandered closer, interested to see if there was any signs of the (definitely not dead) lusus racing through the desert, but to no avail. He eyed the scene. There was something next to the bones. Was that a...? Oh dear.
"Umm! Hey, kids, nothing this way! Let's move along! No need to look over there, just super ancient stuff."
He used his bulk to block the sight in the distance, and went to push Didero and Luxara along by their backs. Ganyma tried to save face.
"If it's super old it means it's not fresh and new, like the uh - the WACKY! And the lusus! Yup, let's keep on walkin'."
(I can do another roll or the next person can roll after this if you want @u@!)
Luxara nearly ran ahead a couple of times, but Stagdad was there to catch her by the coattails before she could step out of line. She was just too pumped! Also, walking made her think too much. How did other trolls LIVE out here? There was just so much nothing!
So when Ganyma noticed a something, she didn't care what it was; it could be a mound of green sand for all she cared. While her face didn't even twitch at being forced away, she did struggle a little. "I like ancient stuff, though!" But the teenager was too big and broad to wriggle away from. Luxara just had to sigh and be pushed along. Instead she focused on the other greenblood around her age. "So, Didero, right? Why d'you have all that writing stuff? We're out to CATCH a lusus, not make a poem about it or something," she said with an amiable grin.
GROUP STAMINA: 4 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY:
((I'd happily roll but I don't want to jump ahead without Cylem :'D ))
Sypon rolled 2 4-sided dice:
2, 1Total: 3 (2-8)
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 6:30 pm
((Just got permission from Cylem to move on - she won't be on until later tonight and doesn't want to slow down the group. No worries! We aren't leaving Didero behind! Thanks for your worries though. I think for simple events like the last one we can probably go past them with only a brief reaction.))
Phew. Dodged a bullet. Ganyma smiled as the two greenbloods made busy with conversation. He looked out at the desert, scanning the horizon for any signs of the lusus. Everything here looked pretty much the same, but at least the three were making tracks! It certainly helped that Ganyma had fairly sizeable tracks to make at that. He kept on in the same direction, hoping for some clue of the lusii's location.
But all that appeared in the horizon was a huge cloud of dust. Ganyma gasped. "Uh, hey guys! Best get behind me -- there's a storm on the way!"
This seemed pretty standard fare for the desert. "Let's just wait this one out, okay? I don't want to lose you two!" He turned half-way towards the two trolls to take their little hands in his. So much for their tracks. The tealblood went to work at memorizing their location -- seeing a bluff in the distance, he imprinted it into his memory over and over. Came from the plains -- going to the bluff. Came from the plains -- going to the bluff...
Before she could get very far in trying her hand at socializing, the dust storm came down. Ganyma quickly took one of her hands while Luxara nudged her net into the crux of her elbow. She then used that newly freed hand to pull her trench coat up to cover her face. What a lucky save! Stagdad took up the rear in the meantime, as if his small charge might blow away anyhow. Luxara squeezed her eyes shut while the wind batted her hair and her coat flapped. The net REALLY wanted to blow away but that sure wasn't about to happen on her watch! She hoped these blustery shenanigans would end quickly...
GROUP STAMINA: 3 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY:
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:45 pm
[ The evening had been going great so far! It wasn't particularly eventful lusus-hunting-wise, but Didero figured the slow build would make the payoff all the more satisfying. Besides, it wasn't like he wasn't used to walking long distances... though the pavement of New Hemisect did win out over the sand accumulating in his shoes. And everywhere else. Didero preoccupied himself chatting with Luxara as Ganyma steered them through the desert.
"This is a once in a lifetime kind of experience!" Didero raved, nearly losing track of his notepad again in the process, "Or at least super-duper-really rare considering how old we are right now. I'm taking it all in so I can write about it later! This is research." Didero tapped his pen against his notepad, while his net tangled itself into a ball in the crook of his elbow.
Didero's lusus flew above the party lazily for the duration of the trek, faltering only when the winds started to pick up. He circled Luxara's stag lusus a couple times, seemingly considering attempting to land on its antlers, before thinking better and taking a seat in the sand next to Didero. The large pigeon was definitely still displeased with his charge for dragging him along, but Didero was too busy wrapping his scarf around his face to notice. Assuming he would have cared anyway. ]
The dust storm cleared. It came and went pretty quickly, Ganyma noticed. Very fortunate for the group, but still. The tealblood squinted. On the still-dusty horizon he could barely make out the blotch of the bluff. That could have been it -- though another hill slightly to the left looked promising, too. Ganyma decided to go with his gut and move onward.
"That wasn't so bad! Are you kids okay? Didero? Luxara?" He brushed off a coat of dust from his shirt and coughed at the aftermath. Then, Ganyma noticed something on the ground.
"Oh, um..." He couldn't figure out what it was at first. It was a little stump of something -- furry, and severed at the... Oh. The desert may not be the best place to bring children. Ganyma wrinkled his nose. Maybe Luxara would want to hold onto this.
GROUP STAMINA: 2 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY:
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:16 pm
After shaking the sand out of her coat and ruffling it out of her hair, Luxara grinned at Didero with an eyeroll. "I dunno, I think it's more important to DO the thing than WRITE about it. If it's so rare you'll remember it later when it's not so much of a silly idea to have writing stuff along on a HUNTING trip!" She shook her head with a chuckle and continued on. "HAVE you ever hunted before? I sure have and I wouldn't be caught DEAD with any of that. I mean it's nice to find paper on a corpse, who can say no to free paper, but..." she shrugged. "Maybe you can stab the lusus with that pen. That'd be neat!"
Before she could harass Didero much further, she finally heard Ganyma and gave him the thumbs up that they were a-ok. But he was busy picking something up, and... "OH HEY THAT'S A BOUNCEBEAST LEG. Why isn't there any blood? Where's the rest of it? That's a surprisingly clean cut! Can I have it? Maybe I can have it as a snack later! ...Or Stagdad might," she added with a giggle as Stagdad had come up behind Ganyma and had started sniffing at the foot between his fingers.
GROUP STAMINA: 2 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY:Luxara's snack Bouncebeast foot
[ Didero unwrapped his scarf and shook out the excess of sand, sniffing indignantly, only to start sneezing on the airborne grit. Hatoful Dad took this as the signal to shake out his feathers and return to the skies. Didero's sneezing fit continued and actually did a pretty good job of knocking the rest of the sand out of the folds of his clothing.
Didero sniffled and frowned at Luxara. "You don't really strike me as an avid reader..." he mumbled and sniffed again.
Didero wiped his nose with the back of his hand in the haughtiest manner he could muster. "Since you're the mighty huntress of the group, you can catch the lusus and I'll take my notes." Didero turned his nose up and away from Luxara.
"Oh, and here's your chance! Wait." Didero's smug expression slackened upon the realization that yes, that was an enormous, tech-encrusted lusus heading straight their way very fast. "OH GOD!"
Didero scrambled to both get out of the lusus's way and throw his net in the correct direction. ]
GROUP STAMINA: 1 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: Bouncebeast Foot
Sypon rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6Total: 6 (1-6)
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:43 pm
"Whoa!" Exclaimed Ganyma. He assumed a fighting position, arms at the ready. The lusus was coming right at them. With a deft repositioning and his feet buried in the sand, he braced himself for the lusus so that he could use its momentum in his attack. Didero's net would surely help -- now he just had to get out of the way, himself. It wouldn't be the best situation for any of them if Ganyma got caught in the net.
"Luxara, net!" He roared.
His plan was a complete success. Ganyma grabbed the creature by the horns and spun it into the sand. As Didero's net landed, Ganyma realized with relief that its thrashing limbs and horns would be stilled for him to get up close for another attack.
GROUP STAMINA: 1 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: Bouncebeast Hoof
Sypon Vice Captain
Offline
Sypon rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3Total: 3 (1-6)
Sypon Vice Captain
Offline
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:45 pm
"Nice reaction, Didero!" Encouraged Ganyma. He shook his head to clear the aftershocks of the tech that nearly slammed straight into him as he repositioned the charging lusus and clung to the creature, struggling to figure out what to do with its impressive neck frill.
Nothing a few heavy punches wouldn't fix! Ganyma bore down on it before it managed to get back up and start to scramble away.
GROUP STAMINA: 1 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: Lucky Bouncebeast Hoof
