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.
Alifax could not honestly say he was interested in tracking down yet another, well, lusus-species creature - he distinctly remembered, nearly a sweep ago, the one who'd guarded so closely the herb that would save the Mother Grub's life. And he wasn't a troll that'd ever minded strange fluctuations of weather - he liked heat, and he had the skill and, well, natural talent necessary to survive rather extremely cold climates, even. But he knew well that participating now would further his good standing (he was fairly certain he had good standing - he, uh, had medals!) with the Alternian military. His faint childhood ambition of obtaining a respectable rank - one that wasn't helmstroll - was actually within reach. A military life was a regular one, and a dependable one, Alifax thought - and he liked constants. Even his lodgings here, while meager, naturally, were at least comfortable.
He found his assigned meeting spot with determined grace, clutching the previously-assigned map, some sticks of charcoal, and his hefty new meteors almost nervously, and looked over the names with complete unfamiliarity. The trolls he saw, though, were not so familiar - the little greenblood and the orangeblood both were ones he recognized from that, er, singalong competition he'd had the misfortune of witnessing (the winning purpleblood, while admittedly, er, skilled at remembering lyrics to extraordinarily cheesy love songs, was not a particularly talented crooner). The taller tealblood he was not so familiar with, but he offered a cautious nod to them all. "I'm, ah, Alifax," he said by way of greeting. It was becoming easier not to address trolls of higher blood colors by 'sir' or 'madam' now. He certainly outranked these fellows in experience, he thought, if not hemochrome. "I ca - I brought a map; I know the lusus is mobile but I think...I think marking patterns of movement could prove helpful." He ended in a rush of held breath: Alifax Bunsem was clearly not accustomed to offering suggestions. But he supposed in this case - in this case, well, even high-blooded children might appreciate guidance. Although their lusii might not...
Well, whatever damage he'd done was already done.
GROUP STAMINA: 5 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: Weapons + nets?? SHRUG
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:54 pm
Flat dunes, expansive sky, hot, dry sand... The desert was the antithesis of the Busthind Mountains. It was also the primary location for many of his moobeast ranger films. Needless to say, it was everything the young troll could have hoped for. Well, almost everything. Though a cool breeze provided him some margin of comfort, the air was uncomfortably warm. In addition, there was a distinct lack of cover that left Kursha feeling vulnerable and exposed. Finally, there was the matter of sand. It got everywhere. Less than an hour had passed since he had entered the desert, and already the sand had worked its way into his clothes, his hair, and his mouth. He was just glad he had thought to adopt more desert appropriate clothing before arriving in Chittentown. Scaling those dunes would be a nightmare in sandals. Even in boots, they proved troublesome - vaguely he wondered how they managed it in the movies.
Despite all his complaints, Kursha was glad to be in the desert. It was a place he had always wanted to visit, but until now had never had a good reason. Not to mention he was there hunting a wild lusus, which was terribly exciting. Far better than playing war games at home at any rate. His only true regret was leaving his rifle behind, as technically he was not supposed to have it. Without it, he felt like he was missing an arm. Hopefully he would not regret that decision.
Turning from the vast desert that sprawled before him,* Kursha regarded his team-mates. The one that immediately stood out was the teenage redblood. Kursha eyed him with contempt. It was nothing personal of course, but the hemospectrum was what it was. There was however someone there with whom Kursha did have a personal problem with. It took a moment before he finally realised why he recognised her.
The orangeblood from the Bloodfest snowball fight. She was the one who had dealt the finishing blow. It was enough to make his blood boil. Still, it would be better not to be overtly hostile, even if she was an orangeblood. They had a mission to accomplish, and besides, if he was to buddy up with her now, it would be far easier to get her back later.
Finally there was the tealblood. There was particularly nothing noteworthy about her, except for perhaps her obvious enthusiasm. That was something Kursha could appreciate, circumstances considered.
When the redblood began to speak, and introduce himself, Kursha made no attempt to hide his disdain. He did however refrain from any immediate biting remarks. After all, it was not as though it was a bad idea. Not to mention they would have to work together for a while.
“Kursha,” the young troll replied brusquely. He felt his lusus' eyes upon him and heard her give a quiet hiss from behind. “That'll be great if the lusus is running in circles.” Oops. He was supposed to be playing nice. Oh well. Kursha was not too heartbroken by that particular missed opportunity. “Still, have fun playing with your map in a place where our best landmark is going to be the giant lusus roaming around!” He grinned up at Alifax. It was hard to figuratively look down on someone when they happened to be taller. Nevertheless Kursha tried.
He turned to address the others. “So, unless anyone else has any bright ideas should we get going?” Despite being grouped with two lowbloods, he was surprisingly cheerful.**
*Kursha had been staring out into the distance with a starstruck expression for the past minute or so. **Then again, maybe it was because he was with two lowbloods. Kursha did enjoy establishing himself as superior.
Dairah was currently wondering whether she should have brought her cart after all. On the one hand, she could carry supplies with it, but on the other, it would slow her down immensely. Sure, she could just leave the cart behind for a moment if she spotted the lusus, but then who knows what unsavory character would run off with it?
Anyway, Dairah put on her best shopkeeper smile (despite the greenblood's offputting introduction) and introduced herself. "I'm Dairah! You might have seen me chasing my cart around during Bloodfest. The snow made it roll all over the place. If you see my cart in the future, feel free to stop by and buy something!" She had to advertise, of course, having mentioned the cart. She sauntered over and took a peek at Alifax's map. "Well! Having a view of the area is nice," she said, pointedly ignoring Kursha's objections. "But yes, we should get going! Let's start by moving forward."
It was then that Dairah's eye for quality (?) goods came into play. She wandered forward towards a clump of debris and began to search around the base. Just as she thought, there was a lucky bouncebeast hoof! She wanted to secretly pocket it and then hawk it for a good sum of beetles, but her conscience got the better of her and she announced her find to the group instead. "Look, everyone! A lucky bouncebeast hoof! I'll manage the group's inventory, if no one minds."
GROUP STAMINA: 4 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: Weapons and nets, most likely. +1 lucky bouncebeast hoof.
Green Minuet rolled 2 4-sided dice:
3, 4Total: 7 (2-8)
Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 12:08 am
The group had only gone a short ways when suddenly Dairah called for a stop, and approached a pile of debris. After exchanging a questioning look with the others, Kursha simply shrugged, and stood back and watched. A moment later, Dairah returned with... Was that a foot? Kursha stared.
“Lucky, sure,” he said, rolling his eyes. When Dairah went on to say that she would manage the inventory, a scowl crossed Kursha's face. He did not approve of some lowblood appropriating any potential loot. At the same time though, he would rather not have to carry the items himself. Extra weight would be a pain. There was a brief internal struggle, then at last Kursha came to a decision. He gave the orangeblood a nod.
“Just make sure you don't lose anything~!” he added cheerfully, as he swung an arm around Dairah's shoulders in an amiable fashion. His tone was friendly enough, his smile too, but there was a hidden threat in his words. Winking, he pulled away.
“Let's try this way,” Kursha said, addressing the rest of the group. He jerked his thumb westard. “Be on the look out for tracks,” he reminded them, then started over the first dune. With nothing to go off of, and only miles upon miles of flat, barren desert and scrubland ahead, it did not seem to matter which way they went; until they uncovered some sign of the beast's passing, one way was just as good as the other. Truth be told, Kursha did not mind what direction they went... just so long as he was the one to select it.
He was beginning to get the impression that his team-mates were either too shy, too laid-back, or too passive to take charge. Dairah had shown some initiative in assuming responsibility for the inventory, and was therefore the largest threat, but perhaps he could use that against her. Alifax in the meantime, while admittedly older, seemed uncomfortable with taking the lead. It would be easy to wrest any power from him.
As Kursha lead the small party across the desert, the Colonel soared on gentle winds above. Though her eyes often swept the horizon, they were primarily focused on her charge below. He was beginning to take command. That was good. However leading a group of children and one teenage redblood was no achievement. It was only expected. Any less would be failure.
After several minutes had passed, Kursha spotted a pale glimmer atop a hill. Briefly altering their course, he made his way towards it. Finally he stopped and knelt down. A beetle lay half buried in the sand. A quick excavation revealed several more beneath the surface. Well that was certainly lucky. “What, did someone lose their wallet?” It seemed strange that beetles would be just be laying around in the middle of no where. Perhaps someone had died trying to cross the desert? That seemed probable. There was no skeleton though - not that Kursha could see anyway. He felt slightly let down.
“Dairah, you're up,” Kursha said and flicked a beetle towards her. He stood. He would let the orangeblood retrieve the rest.
GROUP STAMINA: 3 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: +1 Lucky Bouncebeast Hoof, +1 Beetle
GROUP STAMINA: 2 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: +1 lucky bouncebeast hoof, +1 beetle
Oh man oh man! Time to wrangle an overgrown lusus, ready for her tackling! Forera grinned, following the group with excitement sliding into her having forgotten to introduce herself. The tall dude who was older than her— ooOOOOooh! She LOOVED his look, so mysterious... But he acted without a backbone. Forera's eye glinted. He'd be sooo much fun to botheerrr~ "Hehehehahaha!" She sniggered, listening to the group talk amongst themselves. The orangeblood— Dariah, was it? Found a lucky paw. Soon after, the green blood who was leading the group, Kursha, found a few shiny beetles. She smirked. Her being on the team must've triggered something... She was such a lucky troll! She giggled, inwardly feeling a sense of pride take over her. She was so awesome.
With this sense awesomeness, Forera claimed control. "Hey hey hey!!!! We should TOTALLY go this way, I'm SURE of it!!" She exclaimed, grabbing onto the teen— Alifax, yes? And pulling him to follow her. "Muh naames Forera, and and anddd we're toootally going to kick that lusus's a**!!" She was glad Serpentmom was sleeping around her neck right now— that kinda language could've gotten her a whack from her spiky tail!
~travel travel travel~
Aand of course! Rain, rain, raaain was the best feeling! "Oh my goooddd!!" She giggled, the rain practically slipping into her pores— "Raaaain! Guys, guys, it's RAAIIN!" She said excitedly, splashing in a puddle.
Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 9:45 am
REFRESHING REST POST
Everyone in your group is well rested. Your group recovers three stamina, to a maximum of five! Your group recovers 13 hp, if you were previously at zero!
Not weeks after Bloodfest, a familiar snowfall begins to accumulate on the ground, and then rapidly accelerates into a snowstorm. Between the snow, sand and a rapidly changing WACKY sky, it’s nearly impossible to keep track of up and down, let alone a white lusus in a snowstorm. This weather effect will remain in play until a 1, 3, or 5 are rolled on a D6.
1,3
The group decides to take refuge in a cave far in the distance. Taking the trip was well worth it, and even though you’ve lost some time in the night, the cool air is really quite refreshing. The group can choose to spend some time bonding in the cave. Hanging out in the cave for 3 posts will result in everyone in the group regaining 1 stamina!
Uh oh. The ground rumbles suddenly. Not again! Sure enough, after a moment the rough shaking of the ground resumes with surprising force. It’s an earthquake! This weather effect will remain in play until a 2, 3, 4, or 5 are rolled on a D6.
2,2
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.
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$$$). Each member of the group has acquired 1 lucky beetle that can be redeemed at the end of the meta for a variety of rewards. You cannot carry any more than 5 lucky beetles total; if you run into this encounter more than 5 times, you cannot collect any more.
3,1
Out of the storm emerges a very disgruntled wet bedraggled desert sandcrawlinglizardbeast! It has no intention of humoring more desert interlopers. Or maybe it's gotten confused and thinks its a tornado. The sandcrawlinglizardbeast has 10 HP. The group takes 3 damage each post it hasn't been defeated yet.
What’s this? A piece of the WACKY? A part of a ship? A discarded Greasy-Bake Condescension Oven? Whatever it is, it’s pretty beaten up, but the tech looks significant. You decide to pick it up just in case. Your group has acquired a pile of charred technology! Each troll in the group gets one, and is recommended to hang onto it, you never know what it will be useful for.... You cannot carry more than one charred technology.
3,4
The feeling of another oncoming WACKY weather system prickles your skin. With a feeling of dread, you brace yourself for the effects of… A soothing, balmy breeze. Aaah… This weather effect will remain in play until the next dice are rolled.
Plop. Plop. Something drops from the sky, landing over the hill. Another flops into the sand nearby, making an unpleasant squelching noise. Plop—splat. At your feet, the grey, gooey eye of a fish stares back up at you. Plop. A mackerel. Plop-plop. A few sardines. Plop plop plop plopplopploploplopopop—FISH RAIN! This weather effect will remain in play until another weather effect is rolled. Players may roll 2d4 for their regular item, location and lusus encounters, but will be plagued with a constant fishy invasion until then.
4,3
Something glinting over a bluff catches your eye. A burrow in the side of the dune yields a bounty of shining golden beetles! And as they say, lucky beetles mean good fortune (and megabux$$$). 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.
It was - rather affronting, but not especially surprising, to be shot down. Alifax was accustomed to it, after all, and he shrugged as he followed after the children and their various gathered lusii, trying to make sure they all stayed within view, at least. He could record their positions on his own, then! It'd still be useful; maps were always essential at least to seek shelter for the day.
He did not particularly object to the children stopping to pick up trinkets - they were children, after all; trolls were bound to get distracted by frivolous...things. It wasn't as though Alifax could really tell them not to, and it seemed like it was keeping them moving. So he let Dairah and then Kursha and then Forera steer him about with pensive placidity. The advent of the rain, though, gave pause to his thought. "Maybe we should seek shelter." It was bound to get light eventually, right? And they had a whole week, and the clouds just beginning to cover the light of the moons heralded a storm. Sure, they hadn't happened upon that wayward lusus yet, but at least they knew what sort of locations the lusus, er, didn't want to seek out. (Alifax thanked, silently, whoever had invented lamination. The ancient, crumbly maps he'd managed to preserve in his own hive would never have served them well now.)
He herded the children to a cave clearly demarcated on the map - if Kursha seemed to protest Alifax's decision, at least he didn't mind avoiding the lightning of the storm crackling above. They could all rest and recuperate here, and Alifax quickly split open a rations pack for himself, assuming the rest of the group would do the same.
The next night, Alifax peeked out again to clear skies. Whether that storm had been a product of WACKY or not didn't seem to matter, for it was gone now. Thankfully - Alifax didn't want to have to resort to using his powers while it was raining, and therefore likely to put his flames out. "All right, then," he said to the group and lusii assembled. "Um, does anyone have a preference for where we head next?"
b]GROUP STAMINA: 5 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: +1 lucky bouncebeast hoof, +1 beetle
When Dairah had received the gold beetles from earlier, her eyes went as wide as possible. OMG OMG OMG gold beetles I've never even had gold beetles before I'm rich I'm rich what should I buy-
And then Kursha had put his arm around her, which had jarred her a bit. She perceived something vaguely off or predatory about the gesture, but maybe she was just reading too much into it...? Before she could recover from that, the weird tealblooded girl started playing in the rainstorm, and Dairah was reminded of who she was dealing with: highbloods. They were all a bit touched in the head at times, weren't they? (Well, Kursha was more of a midblood, being a greenblood and all, but details.)
She appreciated Alifax's herding everyone into the cave; it would be a good place to rest while she tried to sort out the intentions of the higher-blooded group members out in her head. Laying herself on top of the gathered items, she slept.
...Now came the matter of where to go next. She snuck over to Alifax and took another peek at his map. "How about we go... this way?" she said, pointing towards what seemed to be north.
Dairah's keen eye for possibly sellable items kicked in once again as she spotted an object a few feet away. "Hey, guys, I found another thing! I... don't know what it is, but I'll put it in the inventory anyway."
GROUP STAMINA: 4 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: 1 Bouncebeast hoof, 1 set of golden beetles, 1 charred technology.
Alifax shrugged, and followed after the orangeblooded girl, checking to ensure that the group stayed together as he did so. He wouldn't want to lose track of one of the herd of children!
The charred bits of technological...things...Dairah had spotted were quite alarming. Ordinarily Alifax wouldn't care too much about picking things off the ground, but - well, they were chasing after a weather device, too. "That looks, um, interesting," he commented, carefully. He hefted a larger chunk of the scrap metal into the air and helped the orangeblood load the objects anyway. If it was relevant to the empire's search, it could for once be worth picking up, Alifax thought.
He abandoned his pursuit, though, when he heard a strange sound in the distance - and then a monstrous lusus, large and unwieldy and fast as all get out, whipped into his line of sight. His eyes widened. "I think that might be our target!"
GROUP STAMINA: 3 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: bouncebeast hoof x 1, lucky golden beetles x 1, charred hunk of technology x 1
thyPOPE rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3Total: 3 (1-6)
Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 6:38 pm
He didn't take more than a moment to drop the rest of his things and heft his meteors into the air - shiny and powerful and oh so solid, the ones he'd won from that stupid contest back at Bloodfest Mark II. He tossed them with an uncertain glee, having never used them outside of the occasional practice dummy until this point. They had quite a lovely weight in his hands, and almost sung as they smacked into the lusus' side - but then, there it went, away again.
How satisfying that moment had been, though. Alifax felt his face curve into a smile, and then he looked to the group beside him. "Do any of you think you can snare it?"
DAMAGE DONE: 4
GROUP STAMINA: 3 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: bouncebeast hoof x 1, lucky golden beetles x 1, charred hunk of technology x 1
GROUP STAMINA: 3 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: +1 lucky bouncebeast hoof, +1 golden beetle, +1 charred hunk of technology
Forera followed the group, and soon after they camped the night out, they set off again. The brownblooded young girl had offered one way, and Rera agreed to go wholeheartedly, charging after them and curiously eyeing the thing they found soon after. Oh man, she wanted it!! She had to remind herself to take it from the group later, or something!! Hehe!!
After Alifax took charge and mentioned the lusus, Forera couldn't help but grin and squeal excitedly. She wanted to fight, but Alifax immediately took out his... oh my god he was SO COOL!!! Forera SQUEED seeing him lug the meteor at the lusus, and then look to them for snaring help. Well of course!! I mean, she'd RATHER do the fighting, but... He already looked SO COOL. Forera totally wanted to see him fight again. Also snaring things was one of her strengths yes yes!! Forera quickly threw her snare at the lusus, tangling it. "Hell YEAH!" She pumped her tiny fist in the air, a bundle of energy filled with excitement.
thyPOPE rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-6)
Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 7:25 pm
TOTAL DAMAGE: 7 GROUP STAMINA: 3 GROUP HP: 25 GROUP INVENTORY: +1 lucky bouncebeast hoof, +1 golden beetle, +1 charred hunk of technology
Alifax's brief moment of cheer seemed to carry on as the little tealblood through her net, and he felt an immense satisfaction as the lusus slowed, momentarily, enough for him to dart in again. Smack! It didn't seem to hinder the lusus much, now, but it was fine: the group knew what they were looking for, now. And it looked, at least, like...the rest of the group was becoming more enthusiastic? Alifax couldn't blame Forera, really; combat had a strange ability to get his blood rushing.
