It's Just a Game
Log Info
- Title: It's Just a Game
- Emitter: Cryosanthia
- Characters: Cryosanthia, Aryia, Culix, Venom, Pelka
- Place: A05: Adventurer's Council, Great Hall
- Time: Friday, May 14, 2021, 3:22 PM
- Summary: Cryo, with Lily has her assistant, has set up an impromptu War Game in one of the Explorers' Guilds large conference rooms. She has several 'sides' spread around the table, represented by groups of blocks, as well as heroes. She's looking for players, for what she describes as a turn based, resource and subterfuge, cooperative game where players will take heroes to various sides to uncover information and disrupt resources. All to prevent Giggles the Gnoll from winning. Giggles, will stay put unless disturbed, gathering power, with secret abilities that only grow stronger if the players don't discover weaknesses. She also will notice anyone using her name, see through deceptions, and understand connections. It's just a game though, no worries, even if the Sith'makar is a little fuzzy on some of the rules, winning conditions, and the balance. She does recognize that one bad game will blow people out of it forever, but also that makes it hard to playtest more than once. Aryia, Culix, Pelka and Venom express an interest, and provide suggestions, like a Cypher to improve communication, or a distraction so Giggles has too much to look at, to even subverting some of the forces she already has. Cryo takes notes, Lily hands out resources and dramatically thrusts the yellow dog figure representing Giggles at anyone who say her name - which usually is her Sith'Mom. It is hard to talk about things you can't talk about. Once the sides are explained, a game commences.
-=--=--=--=--=--=<* A05: Adventurer's Council, Great Hall *>-=--=--=--=--=--=-
As the phoenix is Alexandria's national symbol, so too has its Explorer's Council, often called the Adventurer's Council, risen from the ashes of its destruction.
Guards and mercenaries fill the interior of this huge building, one of the largest in its immediate area. Strong, metal walls divide its interior, crafting halls, briefing rooms and offices. A large space near the front has been set aside for mingling and stocked with comfortable chairs to wait in.
This area is catered by one of the Society of Arcanists' more famous chefs, a small lucht with a predilection for otherworldly cuisine and tentacle soup. Security here is as tight as it is anywhere in Alexandria, even more so now after its recent destruction. Sharp eyed sentinels and guards are ever-watchful and all manner of security contraption is said to be residing within the walls of the building. The walls are pristine for now, though not for long, and artfully decorated with murals depicting heroic adventure by members of all communities and races of the region.
The windows to the Council Hall are now stained glass, artfully decorated to depict famous moments in Alexandrian history, ranging from the death of Altima at the hands of the Phalanx Falcis at the end of the Sorceress Wars, to the city triumphantly emerging from the Mists to a changed world. Many spaces have been set aside for new stories to be added, with numerous tale yet to be written.
No matter how many times the Hall has been rebuilt, the statue in the front remains the same: a lone warrior facing off against what is presumably thought to be 'Cuddles the Otyugh Queen', with the Council's motto, below: Anything for the right price.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Appearing, in Order =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Cryosanthia 6'9" 291 Lb Sith-Makar Female A dashingly tall, elegant white-scaled lizard woman. Aryia 4'8" 110 Lb Shadow Elf Female A heavily scarred mul with a curious look about her. Culix 3'2" 36 Lb Goblin Female Beady-eyed goblin female in leathers and hood. Venom 5'6" 130 Lb Human Female A woman(?) about 5'6" in a ragged black veil and poncho. Pelka 5'8" 140 Lb Eaglefolk Male Artifice-laden Egalrin, SKREE! -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- NPCs of Note -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Little Fang 'Lily' Kobold Female A carnation scaled youngling, Cryo's daughter. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
The Explorer's Guild.
The War Room.
Well, according to the paper sign taped over the door. It's a room, it has war memoriabilia and a large meeting table that takes up most of it. Some sidebars holding glasses, and refreshments if they've been brought in.
Underneath the first taped sign, is a second. 'Come in for Surprise War Games!' An enigmatic invitation.
Inside is a whitescaled Sith'makar woman, wearing swashbuckling gear and suffering some sort of impairment that has two huge growths springing from her back. Currently covered with cloth.
There's also a small lizard youngling, with carnation scales and a light leather dress. She's standing on the table, but being less than two feet tall, it makes her visible more than looming.
Spread out on the table are collections of small coloured blocks. Wooden, in the rough shapes of houses, castles, and horses.
"No Lily, no stepping," The whitescale says, "Only artillery."
A rough haired mul'neissa scratches their head at the sign. It took them a few tries, before looking more confused at the notion. War games? Wasn't that supposed to not be a game? Aren't games supposed to be fun?
Reagrdless, she was curious, and with a few done jobs under her belt, Aryia felt a bit more confident about sticking her nose into current affairs.
A familar scarred elf walks in with her worn journal in hand, her adjusting the sleeves of a newer looking shirt and shifting in too new boots. She raises a hand in greeting to the two.
"P--s - -st" she greets in her usual voiceless hiss and pop.
Drawn to the sign out of curiosity, Culix makes her way into the war room not long after the Mul. Her hood is drawn back as she enters the room, so that she can glance about the place- Cryosanthia she recognizes, as well as the youngling, from the baths a couple weeks ago. The Ork Incident. So she offers the pair a tiny finger-wiggle of a wave as she continues taking in the room and the memorobilia. Perhaps sizing it up for value, for those that know her.
"Peasss Nessst!" The Kobold youngling hops closer to Aryia and the edge of the table, eager to correct someone larger than she. So few opportunities, especially with her current grasp of Trade.
"Lily, be nice." Cryo cautions, turning towards Aryia, "Peace on your Nest Aryia, it's nice to see you again. So you're interested in the game? That's great."
The whitescale smiles widely, her nose dipped to keep her sharp teeth minimized. This is her challenge: drum up interest for some tasks that can't be directly discussed. Her solution: a game of ersatz players and anyone who seems keen can be pulled aside later. Culix is given a wave also, and a greeting, "Peace on your Nest!"
She spreads her hands to indicate the table, "So, I'm working on a game of Secret Armies. I'll describe some of the sides and the victory conditions..." She waves a hand and wobbles her head, "Some of the rules aren't worked out and not all the sides are created yet, but the gist is all players are going after Giggles the Gnoll, who has raised a Hilariously Hideous Hyena Horde and is going to take over the table."
Aryia snorts at the correction as she reaches out towards Lily and carefully pats her on the top of head. She remembers something, her digging around in a small pouch on her side and pulling out a strip of jerky. The elf offers it to the kobold, leaving it with them.
The elf seems curious of the board, it clear this is the first time she has seen something of the sort. Her eyes land on a chalk board on the wall, her perking up and walking over to it. Chalk presses again stone. Tak, tak, tak tak tak.
"I hav no eye dea what this is, but it looks fun."
She finally notices Culix, recognition flashing across her face as she gives a wave towards them.
Culix remains quiet as Cryo begins her explanation, brow furrowing slightly at the army names. She picks at her pointy teeth with an equally pointy nail, and then eventually speaks up. "So is there a prize for winning or something?" she wonders. Clearly not entire getting the game, but at least still interested at least for the time being. Aryia gets a dip of her head in greeting.
The pinkscale chrrrrs happily as she's petted, "Thaaaansssksss!" She takes the jerky and pulls a bite off it.
Then
"Rawr!" Lily stomps to the middle of the large table. It's thick, solid oak, she's small. Her best stomping efforts don't produce much, just a little jiggling of the collected blocks. She picks up a yellow figurine, a column with a dog's head on it.
"Thanks Aryia. So, Lily represents all divine dragons, and they will most likely not be showing up in the game." Cryo explains, "She's holding Giggles. Now, no one knows Giggles plans, but she does have this super power, if you say her name she can see you and all your secrets and your next attack fails as she and her hyenas laugh at you."
The whitescale looks over at Culix, "Well, you win. Maybe there is a life lesson, like the rewards of Evil are self evident and the rewards of good are... subtle. I suppose it could be played for money, a prize, or every turn or resource costs actual coin and the winner at the end gets the pot."
She tries to stifle a smirk at the rampage, but ends up silently giggling to herself. Though, she sighs and pays attention to the explanation. The elf crosses her arms. The hyenas will laugh at you? This won't stand at all. She'll punch 'em if they make fun of her. Aryia seems to get it, nodding and punching a fist into a palm.
Culix scratches her chin a bit, "I don't reckon good or evil acts have rewards either way, at least, not until you end up in the halls. But a promised ever after doesn't put food on the table." she says and offers a shrug. "But, fine, I guess I'm curious. So the aim is to make plans, but without being obvious what your plans are. Even in private?" she wonders then, and tilts her head a bit. "S'pose you could use code. Syndicate does." she explains. "So you can talk about casing a joint in the inn and no one's any the wiser."
'War Games' has an ominous familiarity to it. Passing the sign whilst coming to check on work brought the shrouded figure into the chamber. It's... not a visual she quite expected. She notes the large Sith, Mul'niessa and goblins during her regimented stride toward the playground, first, then the baby lizardling, if the slight shift in the veil means anything. As she catches an eye, she gives a silent wave and little more.
"That's a good idea, especially when discussing amongst yourselves." Cryo says, nodding, "It's a cooperative game, so all the players against Giggles, generally. Each player gets..."
She thinks, what's the best representation. She chooses her words carefully, "An Earstwhile Hero. The Heros have different talents, all have a sneaky, a talky, a fighting, a magic. Some have a couple specials. Each side has resources that it produces, once activated. So the player sends their hero to a side to activate it, then they get to decide what to do with the production."
She gestures off to the side, "Now Giggles..."
"Waaahh!" Lily turns, thrusting the yellow dog statuette in both hands towards Cryo. It has little gem-eyes, that seem to gleam. She waggles the figurine.
"Yes Lily, Giggles knows all my secrets now. Giggles also activates sides, and tries to take over sides. She starts out in the Blue Elves."
Aryia gives a small raise of the hand towards the shaded newcomer, her standing beside a chalkboard with a scrawl of Tradespeak. She rubs her chin, thinking. This was something she had never, ever done before. She's helped with wars on a very basic level, but nothing as... broad, as this. She scribbles on the board, clack clack clack, tak.
- "O k. I thynk I get it. We just need to beat Gigles. And its don?"
"You already lost!" Culix says to Aryia then, and emits a nasally snicker. She looks back towards the game table then, and she scratches behind her ear, "Then again, coming up with code isn't easy if you can't at least speak openly to begin with." she muses. "I guess the other option is to just be indiscriminate. Traps everywhere. Anarchy. Can't know what you're planning if you don't know either. Might jus' be my goblin side talking, though." she admits.
Cryosanthia leans over, looking at Aryia's note, and nods. Her head raises as she see's the newcomers, "I'd better write some of these on the board, so I won't have to start over."
She writes some quick summaries. Cooperative Wargame, defeat Giggles, who tries to take over sides. Players get heroes to take over sides. There are a few more details, like the powers, and she makes some headlines for the sides.
Turning back to the table and everyone assembled, "So I'll touch on each of the sides, and how Giggles..."
"Waaahaahhh." Lily interrupts! Cryo shakes her head, "She already knows everything about me and my turns are ruined forever, so shhhh! But if anyone else says her name."
"Writings...?" The Kobold points at Aryia's notebook.
"I... don't know. I'll think about it." Cryo picks up a blue wooden castle, "Okay, the Blue Elves have Gold and Slaves and both can be turned into armies. Each turn Giggles spends there, or wherever she leaves a Hyena, means she collects those and they add. Now, she also has cards, which are turned down, and have numbers, for her sneaky, fighty, and so on. We don't know what these are until she has to use them, and that gets turned over. Each turn though, she gets the plusses, so you get an idea of how good she is, at least."
She sets the castle down, picks up a 'hero', which is a simple cylinder, and puts that with the blues, "A hero sent to the Blue Elves can be sneaky, and maybe steal some of the gold, or investigate Giggles and get one of the cards turned over early, even assign a low score card."
"If the hero loses to Giggles, then Giggles gets their abilities and a big jump in power."
Cryo looks thoughtfuly at Culix, "I'm... not sure how to incorporate that idea, but that's an interesting option. Let me think about it."
Venom's attention turns to the clicky-clack of the chalk scribing the dark elf's query on the chalk, then to the Sith who seems to be running this little excercise. A wargame against General Giggles? Sounds diversionary, but, there's a little tilt of the veiled head some degrees for several moments consideration before it turns to the table proper, surveying the pieces.
Her hands lift some and start to flick into a quick assortment of gestures, "'What about creating Cyphers?'" at the end of the display, her head tilts once more to await the answer. <handspeech>
Pelka pokes his head in the doorway from around the door jamb. He draws it back a bit and simultaneously turns his neck so that his side-leaning head tilts up. He reads the sign, turns his neck to peer at the table and the blocks, then turns to reread the sign one more time. Finally he steps fully into the doorway and enters. "Um...hello," he offers, waving a hand. "Have the games started yet?"
Aryia perks up at the signs flashed by Venom, but frustration of non-understanding flashes across her face. She slides a bit further down the chalk board to keep her writing spice, her never having spoke thus far.
The scarred mul glances over to the newcomer, her shaking her head to answer his question.
The elf writes on the chalk board, clak clak tak tak. "Sownds lyke we ned to make shure that no hi een a stays for too long whyle keeping the bos hi een a busy."
Culix ahs and nods her head, seeming a bit disappointed in the response she gets from Cryo, then she ohs, "So, can we send one of these heros to poison a bad guy's dinner or stick 'em in the kidney while they're sleeping?" she wonders then, her optimism returning. "'cause it sounds like we're fighting an uphill battle, otherwise." she adds.
"The hero investigating the Blue Elves can find out Giggles activities, the politics of the Blue Elves, and the origins of Giggles. Each of these will give Giggles penalties and advantages to the Heroes." Cryo explains.
She ends up staring at Venom, shakes her head slightly, "This one apologizes, and hasn't learned hand-sign yet. If you could write it on the board, perhaps?"
Then Pelka enters, "Pelka!" She sparkles, literally, some of her scales flicker with a bright white light, "I was hoping to find you! I'm explaining a wargame and the second side is perfect for you!"
Cryo takes a breath to calm down, "Okay, Giggles doesn't leave the Blue Elves until she's sure she can take over another side. So if her skills are revealed she'll move earlier than if she sits there accumulating bonuses. And yes... keeping her busy. Some distraction is built in, her sitting, but the players should be able to add some..."
The little Kobold on the table meanwhile, pans the yellow dog statuette around, having it watch warily.
"So this is the side I thought you'd like Pelka. The ... Flying Bugbear Beasts of Ba'al." She picks up a purple-lavendar castle, "They're insular, they eat people, isolationist, highly aggressive, fierce warriors. They have armies, flying armies, and they're on the border with the Blue Elves. The Hero that goes there will have to be sneaky, talky, maybe fighty. The hero can warn them, support them, and has a couple secret tasks on turned down cards, that they only find out when they're been there a bit."
Cryo grins, "If they don't get eaten."
The whitescale looks over at Culix, and nods, "That's... a possibility. Giggles can see things, her power, so she's got a good defense and if that attack fails it makes her stronger. She might know the plan if she sees a hero and the hero fails his sneaky."
Venom turns to regard the new arrival, affording a small wave, then she turns back to the table in time for the elf's writing again. Headtilt. A nod, then the goblin's suggestion is noted with a second nod and a quick thumbs's up. The hostess's apology draws the shrouded one's bearing back that way and her chin dips a third time. That done, she ventures toward the board, pausing some arm's+ reach from the Mul'niessa and gives a little bow.
Aryia gives a small smile towards the shrouded woman and awkwardly returns the bow, not used to it. They didn't speak. It was a comfort to not be alone in the room in that manner. She scribbles some more. Tak tak tak. "If bos person can see things, why not give them to many things to see?" she suggests, holding the piece of chalk out towards Venom so they could write.
Culix nods slowly at Cryosanthia, "Well that's a given. Any job's got a chance of going sour." she says. "Well, I reckon I get the gist of it, now. So is there a side that's good for being sneaky and whatnot? That's what I'm best at. Light feet and sticky fingers."
Pelka listens carefully. When Cryo names the Flying Bugbear Beasts, his eyes widen a fraction more at each word. A few moments later he opens his beak, lets it hang slightly open for a few moments, then clicks it shut agian. He nods at Culix. "Being sneaky certainly sounds like the best approach. 'Flying Bugbear Beasts...' you don't want something like that spotting you."
Cryo watches the writing. She updates her side with the information she's provided so far. Her tail curls and her tailtip ends up in her hands, where she squeezes it a little. "Giggles might be good at sorting. She might... go after the biggest threats. It's... not pleasant to be living under constant observation. I don't know that there would be enough... maybe... a large enough number she would have some penalties. It would lower her stats. That's a good idea. If there's a safe way to do it."
Lily has moved over to a third group of blocks, that are a light grey colour. She's poised with her little foot above them, and makes a 'rawrrr' noise.
"Okay Lily don't smush the Misty Bigwood." Cryo waves a hand at her youngling, looks around, "The Misty Bigwood is the third side, they're a defensive side. If they're activated, they'll increase defenses and produce a confounding. There's something in the Misty Bigwood, a powerful enchantment or artifact that makes it hostile to invaders on a mass scale. Scrys fail, 'Find the paths'. Strong enough that demons couldn't burn it, or find any of the settlements."
"The hero that goes here, will have to be talky, and magic, they'll be dealing with snooty elves, and snooty wizards, and snooty elf wizards. It likely won't be fighting, but a lot of convincing."
Cryo spreads her hands, "Giggles probably will go here last, and might not be able to conquer it at all, but the defenses could be really useful for the other sides."
The whitescale nods vigorously to both observations, "You wouldn't want to be caught on the wrong with the Flying Bugbears or the Blue Elves. The Blue Elves needs the sneakiest, as you would be operating close to Giggles and she'd have a chance to notice obvious heros. The Paladin hero would be a bad choice for there."
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "if anyone has k/history or k/arcana there's a few hints after my next pose if you get over DC15" GAME: Pelka rolls knowledge/arcana: (13)+12: 25
The 'Misty Bigwood', sounds an _awful_ lot like the Veil of Llyranost
Venom points to the Mul'niessa's script and gives a thumb's up before she repeats her little bow and accepts the chalk to tak-tak in her turn. She opts first to repeat her previous query:
"What about creating a cypher?"
Then after a moment's thought, opts to expand the point after erasing her first line:
"It takes a common language, of
course, but the cypher would need
a key. Otherwise it would be very
hard to discern the true meaning,
even if you knew understood the
surface phrase."
She then turns back and, with another little bow, offers the chalk back to Aryia.
A very involved query for a 'game', but the price of information established in the parameters all but demands it.
Aryia takes the chalk back as she tries to decipher the written Tradespeak. She scratches her head, raising a brow. To be honest, her head hurt a little bit thinking about all of this. She glances at Culix, pausing for a moment before turning back to the board.
"This game doesnt seem lyke were suposed to win," she writes, looking dejected for a moment before continuing.
- "May b can trap big bos and hi een a betwen the elf wisards and the hearos."
She passes the chalk back to Venom.
Pelka swivels his head towards Aryia, then he turns to study the table again. "Not expected to win? What makes you say that? We haven't even tried yet," he says slowly, then glances at Cryosanthia. "Um...sorry I came in late, but how do we actually play?"
Culix ponders again, "Guess we'll send the sneaky hero over to the blue elves first, then, right? Could ask around, see what all folks are saying about the bad guy, without saying their name mind. Listening to rumors rather'n asking questions, you know?" she says then. "An' maybe get closer to them, so they can stick a dagger in when the time is right. Ooh, maybe act like they're working for 'em." she says then.
Cryo stares at Venom's writing on the board. She murmurs, "A cypher of a cypher..." and her voice trails off. There's a clicking noise, her teeth bumping together as she ponders with an empty mouth. She picks up two of the cylindrical hero peices and knocks the top 'heads' together. "So that's the conundrum of the Eternal Golden Braid. It's very difficult to define the rules for what's out of a system using only the rules inside the system. Or do you mean, they hero pieces work together and develope a cypher so they can about the game while in the game?"
"I think... that might be something done while playing, and not as part of the 'sytem'."
Cryo reads Aryia's writing, bobs her head slowly. "There... may be balance issues. A bad enough game no one plays again. It's supposed to be challenging."
She exhales, "And well, it may be unfair but the way the sides work is the heroes have to activate, motivate, go there and figure out how to use their advantages, or the sides simply sit and wait to be plucked."
"Sooner or later, the players move against Giggles with all they've managed to gather. The fourth side is like the Misty Bigwood, but worse. Wizards and Politicians who copied the Misty Bigwood's artifact. Probably needs a talky, magic hero." She leans over and picks up an orange castle. "Side four is the Looky Lock of the Clock. A defensive side, not as good as the Misty Bigwood, similar but slightly different challenge."
She places the piece back down, both her palms on the table and leans. There's a flicker of pain across her snout as the things on her back adjust. "Win conditions... win conditions... Well. It's resource building and teamwork. Heros activate sides, collect advantages, disadvantages, armies and defenses and at some point choose to fight Giggles, and then what hasn't been revealed so far is revealed... and... it's numbers. Giggles is neutralized, her power stolen, something."
She laughs a little, and nods at Culix, "This one doesn't suggest volunteering as a privy slave, but... could work, never know. They're overlooked. A sneaky to the Blue Elves is the best starting move. Even a couple sneakies. And playing Pelka, well we could just start. Pick some heroes, make up a couple, choose colours and go. I guess Giggles gets her resources from the Blue Elves, then deosil to pick heroes, then widdershins to pick sides, and we go from there."
Culix wrinkles her nose on the topic of the privy slave, "Yeah, don't sound fun. Then again, folks don't expect to be attacked from behind, or underneath, when they're on the shitter. Which they really oughta. I reckon more than one bigshot has gone out that way." she says then.
"Anyway, I'll take the sneaky sorts." she says again, looking to the other players. "Don't reckon I'll bother with the paladin. Tend to stick their noses into things they're better off not knowing. 'Where'd you get that new dagger.' 'We can't attack when they're sleeping' 'You can't use poison!' yadda yadda. You know what I mean?"
Venom considers the script and shakes her head a little. The veiled woman turns to the board and spends a few moments erasing everything she'd written so far. She goes mostly still for some moments, allowing only a long slow breath to ruffle her veil as she tries to properly parse her thoughts.
It's easiest to answer Cryosanthia's question, first, and so she tak-taks a quick:
"Outside.
If communication is going to be so
tightly limited that echanging ideas
is potentially catastrophic, it would
mean we each have to know how our team
mates think so we can plan around them
and Giggles."
Pelka peers at the board and then nods. "I don't think I know any of you. I'm Pelka." He raises a hand. "Hmm...I'm an artificer, and so Wizards and politicians who made their own artifact, sounds most interesting to me. Now I am not the greatest at talking normally...but that never seems to be a problem when I'm dealing with other practicers of the arcane. I can try going to that 'side'."
The scarred mul pulls out a piece of paper in her side bag from an easy to access pocket. She shows it to everyone. In large letters, it reads, "I am Aryia."
Aryia stows it away, not taking the chalk and letting the others talk. All of this was giving her a headache to wrap her head around. Though, she seems to scrowl at the mention of slaves, and rubs at her wrists.
"There's a lot of new faces in the guild, Pelka. This is a good way to get to know how they think, better than finding out on a mission. Apologies Aryia, I should have introduced you, asked for names." Sometimes the whitescale is too trusting, even if she recognizes some of those faces.
She nods at Venom's writing, "that's... the trick, making something plain but obvious and hopefully not too obvious. Having to trust that everyone understands... _the Game_."
She turns back to the table, "So y'know, they'll recognize it like a dagger to the bum if they run into it for real."
She points at the far end of the table, "There's two other sides, the 'Wandering Warriors' and the 'Tradey Seapeoples'.
Lily helpfully bounds over and picks up some red, horse-like pieces. Kor's colours. Cryo continues, "The Wandering Warriors are pretty low on the totem pole for finding things out, but they are likely to be snapped up by Giggles and that's a way to get closer for a fighty not sneaky sort, and who knows, steal control of it."
She points at the other set, which are seagreen, "The Tradey Seapeoples are full of gold, gold and more gold and sometimes weapons. Right now they're sending all of it to the Blue Elves, so it would need a talky hero, maybe a sneaky one, to disrupt the trade fleets."
She straightens up, "The heroes are lightly based on my friends, so there's a talky, explosive mage, another talky, explosive mage, a fighty type, a talky paladin, a defensive healer and so on. We can make up a few more but you can't put all the points in one stat." Cryo grins.
Pelka says, "...you mean we have to play the roles of these other heroes?" He seems to think about that for a moment. "Are you sure there's no flying artificer hero?" He quickly goes on, "Uh...never mind. Maybe one of the explosive mages would be close enough."
Culix's eyes light up on the topic of the trade nation, and she grins a pointy-toothed grin. "Or, someone could go to the blue elves and divert the money once it arrives." she suggests, "To their own pockets, maybe. Or maybe steal it from the boats while it's on the way." she adds as another suggestion.
Culix ponders and then stops herself and snaps her fingers, "Ah, but, I just remembered. I was just poking my head in. Already got something on the go, and I'm running late as it is." she says and shrugs, "Next time, maybe?" she says. And Pelka and Venom's way, since she hasn't introduced herself yet, she adds, "Oh, I'm Culix by the by. Catch you around." she offers, and then fingerwiggle waves once more, before taking her leave and pulling back up her hood.
Venom nods, and, in deference to the round of introductions, she clears "Outside" from the board and replaces it with, "Venom".
She looks to Aryia for a moment, watching the motions at her wrists. She gives a little nod, perhaps to herself, then offers the chalk to Aryia gives a slight wave as the goblin leaves, her pursing her lips and crossing her arms. She slowly takes the piece of chalk, gears turning in her head as she looks at the battlemat. More tak-tak'ing from the chalk board.
"May b talkie paladen can convence Wariors to fyght hi een a put down by bos? So every one can focus on somthing else?"
"I'm sure there's a flying, articifer hero." Cryosanthia says, staring at Pelka. Unblinking, at Pelka. Unmoving, focused, barely even breathing, at Pelka. A smile curls at the edges of her long muzzle, "A brave, creative, plucky flying hero, who just might save the day. We can figure out some stats, high magic, about equal talky and fighty, low sneaky?"
Then there's movement!
"Ah, yes, that's the idea! Exactly!" She calls after Culix, "thanks for dropping by, keep an eye out for another session of the game."
She watches the goblin depart, looks over at the writing, "I... hm.... I thought the paladin might go the Misty Bigwood or the Looky Lock of the Clock. I... don't know that he could talk the Wandering Warriors into fighting Giggles. I think..."
She glances at the door one more time, "I think they might have a similar opinion of paladin heroes as Culix did."
Venom ventures back toward the table now, her hands invisible beneath her poncho as she considers the array of figures, and even the display at large itself. Another slow breath while she tries to run the numbers.
The dark elf looks between Cryo and Pelka, confused. This game sounded like it needs its rules written down if things are changing on the fly.
Aryia sighs and frowns. Firmer tak tak tak's.
"No. Not Gigles. You sayd Gigles put hi een as down when going some playce. May be get fightie type to convience them to fight those. Wariors may be like fightie hero?"
Lily pads over to the table edge near Venom. Silently, she leans towards her, holding the yellow dog figurine close to the woman. She rocks it, making the tiny gem-eyes glint, as if its staring intently at her.
Cryo shifts carefully along the edge, leaning with a grunt and picking up a pink hero cylinder, "I was thinking of go.. sending my hero to the Flying Bugbear Beasts of Baal."
"Oh!" She blinks, staring at what Aryia has written, "Oh! Right I hadn't thought of that, going after the hyena commanders. That... that could work. A good fighty hero... could, yes. Have to be persuasive or..."
A thought occurs that makes the whitescale want to smack it out of her head so hard it never happens again. She shakes abruptly, "have to be persuasive too. It's a good idea though.
Venom twists some as she hears Aryia weighing in again and seems to give that a few seconds to percolate. It's about then that she feels the tiny presence beside her and she turns back that way. She exhales a soft, low whistle, and her right hand lifts from under her poncho to fingerwave at the little one. She then reaches out to point at a vaguely horse shaped piece, then waves over toward one of the areas with a doggie.
Aryia runs a sleeve over all of her writing, erasing it as she moves over to the table herself with the others. She glances to the veiled woman, curious before shifting her attention towards the pieces. She bites her lip, not really sure what she's doing as she picks up the cylinder that represents one of the talky, explody mage heroes and places it near where the snooty elf wizards are.
Pelka nods slowly at Cryosanthia. "That sounds about right," he says in a small voice. Then he turns and looks at the board. "Looky Lock of the Clock, right?" He looks at Misty Bigwood and then back. "I wonder if they could be convinced to work together somehow. It sounds like they have a few things in common, at least."
Lily, as all the divines, seems to include moving mortals around with her duties. Once Venom indicates a pairing, she runs over, picks up a red horse, then moves it over beside one of the yellow dogs.
Cryo nods as Aryia makes a selection, exploding mage to the snooty elves, always good. "The elf one casts fireballs, the human one actually explodes himself. I had a similar idea."
She tilts her head to the side, "You can always have a hero ... well not a talky one, but maybe good fighting, good sneaky? If you wanted to send that to a place."
The whitescale turns to Pelka next, and nods, "I think that's true, or if you convince one the other would be easier. They do have a lot of similiarites. There's nothing stopping more than one hero going to the same side. They can activate things faster. Coordinate."
She glances at Venom, then back, "if they understand the cypher."
Venom looks at Aryia as she comes up nearby, then redirects her focus on tracking her silent teammate's move. Pelka's words warrant a nod and she reaches out toward one of the shiny paladin figures, hand hovering over it as her fingers flex tenuously in little ripples. Then, she notices Lily has decided to back her previous play. That could work, too. She gives the little one a thumb's up.Then Cryosanthia is mentionoing cyphers again and she looks the Sith's way and nods.
Aryia rubs her chin, an elbow resting on the table as she drums her fingers. The game was really complicated. And the elf was none too good at stuff floating in the air. She pulls out a worn looking journal and starts to take notes while the others converse.
Though, she couldn't help but feel like there was far more complexity to the game than there really was. Oh well. At least it's not actually happening. Scribble scribble scribble.
Cryo has positionned her piece as well. Lily seems to be acting as the bank as well as the divine dragons, and skips around on the table setting down little blocks beside the various sides and heros, indicating the resources they've managed to get for their actions this round. Giggles gets a bunch.
There are a lot of gold blocks. If only it were real gold. Well, then it might have left with Culix.
"I apologize if there's some vagueness to the rules." Cryo says, leaning forward to reach across the table, "trying to iron it out like I said. Also, not sure how chance will factor in. If there's a lot, a wide or small variance, a flat or bell curve. None at all, and it's all decision based and what comes up in the cards."
It is tricky. The whitescale makes a lot of notes as well. The game progresses.
Sometimes the only way to win is not to play. Other times, you arrive late, are playing catchup and it's just not possible. The winner is the last to make a recoverable mistake.
Before the unrecoverable ones start.
But not to worry. It's just a game.
OOC Legwork
================================| View Job 16 |================================
Bucket: QUERY Due On: OVERDUE!
Title: Grauthis the Grievor Assigned To: Whirlpool
Opened On: Fri Feb 05 15:19:11 2021 Status: Yellow
Opened By: Cryosanthia, Iskandar, Merek, Mikilos, Sabina, Seldan, Caim, Sophia, Aya, Thurid, Malik, and Braelnoir
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Whirlpool added on Fri May 14 08:07:16 2021: Mail sent to Cryosanthia, Iskandar, Merek, Mikilos, Sabina, Seldan, Caim, Sophia, Aya, Thurid, Malik, and Braelnoir:
HI, everyone!
As we all know, my life has been kind of topsy turvy lately and a bit of a tire fire.
Wow that I have a moment to breathe, I am going to sit down and write of the potential scenes/avenues you all have before you based on the results of your research so far. None of these options are mutually exclusive, and you should feel free to split up and involve people in pursuing them as best you can while bearing in mind Grauthis' powers. Remeber, he's not omniscient, but he can 'see the truth and connections of things' if he has a reason to look.
1) Going to Charn Blue Elves
Obviously, going to Charn to investigate carries considerable risk, but it also provides your best window into learning about his activities, the stae of the Dominion, and the origins of the Griever himself. This one is going to be necessary regardless of what you find elsewhere, as ultimately, that's where he is and if you're going to stop him, you're going to need to do it in Charn most likely.
2) The Raven Lords The Flying Bugbear Beasts of Baal
The dominion of the Raven Lords is a kingdom or kingdoms that exists on the far side of the Dominion. A region dominated by the egalrin (or Tengu as they might be known in some quarters) the Raven Lords are known for their isolation, aggression, fierce warriors, and their long simmering border tensions with Charn. In fact, not a great deal is known due said isolationism. It is likely they are aware of Charn's impending aggression towards them, but how prepared they are for it is anyone's guess. Warning them, or trying to support them in their defense of their nation, could carry considerable benefit and risks should you choose to pursue it, and might slow down the Griever's rush to war if you can find a way to support them without giving away the game.
3) The Veil of Llyranost and the Watchwood: The Misty Bigwood and the Looky Lock of the Clock
In searching for ways to stop the Griever's Shard of Animus from observing your activities, two powerful magics came to the attention of the adventurer's: the Veil of Llyranost and the Watchwood of Rune.
The Veil is a powerful enchantment or artifact of some kind that makes the Greatwood hostile to invaders on a mass scale, and attempts to scry or otherwise 'find the path' through it have largely failed as a result. This is why Llyranost has not once been invaded in its history succesfully. Even the great Demons which threatened to march with fire on the woods, failed to penetrate the greatwood with any success or find elven settlements as a result of the Veil. Learning of its magics would mean a trip to LLyranost and trying to get their help, something they are extremely unlikely to easily give, but you never know until you try.
Similarly, the Watchwood of Rune has a similar effect, likely the more ancient Veil influencing its design. Designed by the wizards of Rune, you might have a better shot of getting them to help you through Griva, but the designers of the Watchwood passed into death some centuries ago, and moreover, you'll need to deal with the Runic Parliament of the Magi in an effort to get them to even begin helping you, Griva or no Griva.
While you can pursue both, you're likely to either be dealing with snooty elves or snooty wizads, or worst of all, snooty elf wizards. It is possible these magics could provide clues, however, on how to hide yourself from Grauthis' magic.
4) Mercenary Companies: Wandering Warriors
Some noise has been made about infiltrating mercenary companies who are working for Charn as an effort to learn more about what's coming. There are some risks and benefits to this idea, as Mercs are pretty low on the totem pole of what they know and when they know it, and escaping once you've signed up to membership can be a dicey propisition at best. Your reputation is your life in the Merc world. However, if war is as near as you think, gathering information through the mercenary companies could provide useful information you could trade elsewhere.
5) Veyshan: Tradey Seapeoples
Charn is doing considerable business with the various city-states of Veyshan and primarily Tashraan. It's as if the wealth spigots have been turned on, and money is flowing into the coffers of the merchants there, for food and weapons from abroad, to say nothing of partaking in the Tashraani slave markets. You've learned a little about that before, and of the primary trading companies being worked with. Sabotaging the trade negotiations or trade fleets could lead to a considerable slow down to Grauthis' efforts, giving you time to pursue other means to stop him, to say nothing of what you might learn in the merchants black books.
These are not the ONLY avenues you can pursue, but they are the clearest and most obvious ones you've discovered through your investigations so far.
Seldan added on Fri May 14 14:29:01 2021: Wow, thank you, Whirlpool, this collapses things a great deal. Based on this, I have a few ideas, of which I personally will only pursue one or two. The rest are freely up for grabs, and if someone thinks of others, I am quite open.
I am willing to take on Rune's Council, Llyranost, or both. I'll take that.
Some other ideas I had - it is wrong to stop the food flowing to Charn, but a weapon trade may be disrupted. Perhaps slip something into the steel that makes it of poor quality? Warp the wood? In what other ways might one mass-sabotage weapons? It might also be fun to disrupt the Tashraani slave trade. It might be even more fun to get the Raven Lords' help to disrupt the Tashraani slave trade. We'd just have to be careful not to give Grauthis a reason to figure out how the Raven Lords found out.
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Whirlpool added on Fri May 14 14:36:41 2021: Mail sent to Cryosanthia, Iskandar, Merek, Mikilos, Sabina, Seldan, Caim, Sophia, Aya, Thurid, Malik, and Braelnoir:
I should clarify these are not your only options. I am open to other ideas and plans you may have, but those are the ones that strike me as most obvious based on the paths of research you have so far uncovered. :)