Or at least, an attempted first assault begins, stymied by a massive laser cannon.
Nevertheless, alliances are forged and old wounds potentially healed, with Snels even trying to heal the rift between the Denialist Brotherhood and everybody they absolutely despise.
What a world!
Meanwhile Drake Blackthorn plots dark experiments, necessitating a need for me to create some sort of bullshit mad science system. Watch this space!
Session 258 - Best Laid Plans
Date:
February. 15 years after the End.
New Backstory:
- Jeremy Wizard watched the freemium game whales get kicked out of the Styxtrix with hatred and disdain, thinking it would never happen to a humble gem miner like him. Deal double damage to creatures that killed a friend.
- Damnation Snels’ life changed after his wife’s death. If he could, he’d go back and change everything. Get a take-back once per session - you must do something different.
- Drake Blackthorn learned mind-shattering secrets from a lump of the great Dargo-Tree’s flesh, opening his mind to insights beyond the mortal ken. +1 Wisdom.
- Jeremy Wizard watched the freemium game whales get kicked out of the Styxtrix with hatred and disdain, thinking it would never happen to a humble gem miner like him. Deal double damage to creatures that killed a friend.
- Damnation Snels’ life changed after his wife’s death. If he could, he’d go back and change everything. Get a take-back once per session - you must do something different.
- Drake Blackthorn learned mind-shattering secrets from a lump of the great Dargo-Tree’s flesh, opening his mind to insights beyond the mortal ken. +1 Wisdom.
Loot:
- A live angel, captured! (50 exp)
Total: 50 exp
- A live angel, captured! (50 exp)
Total: 50 exp
Events:
--- Prepperton
- The flames of the bonfire in the centre of Prepperton swirl and shift. A pale beam of the dragon-faced moon above shines down through a gap in the clouds. Black shapes appear - cloaked figures! They stride from the flames, unharmed, and the hood of one falls back. It’s Damnation Snels!
- He kicks those who fall to their knees in prayer, he’s not the one they worship after all. The rest of the party throw back their hoods. They’re in Prepperton! Gifflewim’s teleport stones worked!
- A man on a log introduces himself as the leader of the surviving Brotherhood. His name is Come-Forth-If-Thou-Consider-Thyself-Hard-Enough Roper, last Cleric of the Snelsmen in New Moondin.
- He tells them about how they had to flee New Moondin when Styx arrived - nothing could face down the angels. Those who fled came here, or fled to Singular Thay’s evil Necromancers out in the Fallow somewhere. Those who stayed and obeyed have been given karas to wear and are forced to work equal shifts with the Goblins in the Underhive. Dehumanising stuff.
- Separately, the Preppers have taken to leaving out offerings for the nearby Elves every New Moon. They’ve also got iron bars above their doors, just in case. The next New Moon is in four days, surprisingly.
- Styx’s Seraphim tends to stay where it is, squatting over the abandoned Prepper fields, but does tend to go a little bit schitzo when the Lady is overhead. The Spider-Priests haven’t been seen since Styx arrived, and the Preppertonians have no established way of communicating with the people in New Moondin. Also the Angels are systematically destroying the POWERLAD skeleton! This might be why the storm-shell overhead is getting less effective at keeping out the weather.
- Drake spends time healing the sick and injured in Prepperton, although some of his fixes are somewhat… interesting. Nevertheless he generates a fair amount of goodwill, and when Jeremy asks around for some gems so he can make some interconnected gem-phone network the populace comes together to donate some! Getting this comms network up will be crucial for organising a resistance movement!
- The flames of the bonfire in the centre of Prepperton swirl and shift. A pale beam of the dragon-faced moon above shines down through a gap in the clouds. Black shapes appear - cloaked figures! They stride from the flames, unharmed, and the hood of one falls back. It’s Damnation Snels!
- He kicks those who fall to their knees in prayer, he’s not the one they worship after all. The rest of the party throw back their hoods. They’re in Prepperton! Gifflewim’s teleport stones worked!
- A man on a log introduces himself as the leader of the surviving Brotherhood. His name is Come-Forth-If-Thou-Consider-Thyself-Hard-Enough Roper, last Cleric of the Snelsmen in New Moondin.
- He tells them about how they had to flee New Moondin when Styx arrived - nothing could face down the angels. Those who fled came here, or fled to Singular Thay’s evil Necromancers out in the Fallow somewhere. Those who stayed and obeyed have been given karas to wear and are forced to work equal shifts with the Goblins in the Underhive. Dehumanising stuff.
- Separately, the Preppers have taken to leaving out offerings for the nearby Elves every New Moon. They’ve also got iron bars above their doors, just in case. The next New Moon is in four days, surprisingly.
- Styx’s Seraphim tends to stay where it is, squatting over the abandoned Prepper fields, but does tend to go a little bit schitzo when the Lady is overhead. The Spider-Priests haven’t been seen since Styx arrived, and the Preppertonians have no established way of communicating with the people in New Moondin. Also the Angels are systematically destroying the POWERLAD skeleton! This might be why the storm-shell overhead is getting less effective at keeping out the weather.
- Drake spends time healing the sick and injured in Prepperton, although some of his fixes are somewhat… interesting. Nevertheless he generates a fair amount of goodwill, and when Jeremy asks around for some gems so he can make some interconnected gem-phone network the populace comes together to donate some! Getting this comms network up will be crucial for organising a resistance movement!
 |
| Bad back? I'LL REPLACE THE SPINE!!! |
--- Cranium Camp
- After some brief shopping in Prepperton the team flip their hoods up and smash their next teleport stone. In a swirl of blackness they disappear and emerge from a fire inside a giant skull! Singular Thay sits on a bone throne near the back of the skull, and stone bookshelves line the insides of the skull containing a fair number of books.
- Andromeda states that they come in peace and approaches Singular Thay, while Drake and others go straight for the books! A librarian, Samantha Pedantic, helps them and explains that these books were all they saved from the New Moondin library.
- Singular Thay tells Andromeda their plan - march into the Storm-Shell, animate the massive POWERDRAGON skeleton with a multi-day ritual, then march it into New Moondin and destroy the Seraphim. They’re currently at an impasse - Styx controls a Seraphim’s-worth of angels and the Necromancer’s undead forces don’t stand a chance against them.
- Andromeda agrees to help as long as they put the dragon skeleton back where they found it. Singular Thay agrees! Their plan was always to do so, in exchange for saving the town they and their Necromancers will hopefully be allowed to live in peace in New Moondin.
- Drake tells them that he’ll assist in upgrading the skeletons to resist the angels’ attacks. He’s got plans for a sort of damage-distributing network of connected armour that will ablate against angel attacks. What he doesn’t say is that it’ll have a backup that will destroy the skeletons if Thay betrays them. A deal is made! Singular Thay is on-side!
- Japhet & Hirsch, the double-demon couple, walk in! They fled New Moondin with the Necromancers, since obviously the Denialists in Prepperton are violently anti-demon. They’re pissed off at Julgoor who managed to persuade Styx that he’s a crucial part of the capitalist system in New Moondin, and now he gets to stay and eat up all the greed.
- They give Jeremy, Andromeda and Ratman third eyes that will allow the demons to see through them, and which can be deployed to give them vision over an area. They’ve been using these to spy on the goings-on in New Moondin. Now with the crystal walkie-talkies as well, they’ll have sound!
- Finally, after much negotiation and planning, the party suddenly decides to change tack - Blitzkrieg! Fuck planning, let’s go now before Styx knows we’re coming! Surprised but bought in, Singular Thay marshalls their troops - it’s go time!
--- March to the POWERSKELETON!
- The skull begins to move, carried forth on hundreds of skeleton legs! Ghostly apparitions whirl, and the lesser Necromancers march forth across the Fallow in their survival-gear robes, commanding their undead minions!
- Sitting safely in the eye socket, the party waits as the great skull breaches through the Shell, heading towards the POWERDRAGON skeleton! A low klaxon-like singing immediately greets them, and distantly they can see the Seraphim begin to turn! The bronze dome shifts and grinds as it forms an enormous cannon, aiming directly at the skull!
- Singular Thay asks what they should do - keep going? Or cut losses? They make the call to retreat and the skull reverses course, scuttling backwards as angels boost into the air and follow. They make it out of the Shell just in time - a beam of scinitillating energy bursts against the inside of the Shell from the Seraphim’s cannon, creating shimmering aurorae. At least they know the cannon can’t pierce out of the Shell!
- Several angels fly from within the dome, staying high up and far away to watch the retreat. Jeremy Wizard sends his bee familiar - now wasp-shaped due to a slotted Draw Aggro spell - up to draw the ire of the angels and hopefully bait one down for Drake to mess with. Alas, it doesn’t work, and the bee reappears next to Jeremy after getting zapped by an angry angel.
- After some brief shopping in Prepperton the team flip their hoods up and smash their next teleport stone. In a swirl of blackness they disappear and emerge from a fire inside a giant skull! Singular Thay sits on a bone throne near the back of the skull, and stone bookshelves line the insides of the skull containing a fair number of books.
- Andromeda states that they come in peace and approaches Singular Thay, while Drake and others go straight for the books! A librarian, Samantha Pedantic, helps them and explains that these books were all they saved from the New Moondin library.
- Singular Thay tells Andromeda their plan - march into the Storm-Shell, animate the massive POWERDRAGON skeleton with a multi-day ritual, then march it into New Moondin and destroy the Seraphim. They’re currently at an impasse - Styx controls a Seraphim’s-worth of angels and the Necromancer’s undead forces don’t stand a chance against them.
- Andromeda agrees to help as long as they put the dragon skeleton back where they found it. Singular Thay agrees! Their plan was always to do so, in exchange for saving the town they and their Necromancers will hopefully be allowed to live in peace in New Moondin.
- Drake tells them that he’ll assist in upgrading the skeletons to resist the angels’ attacks. He’s got plans for a sort of damage-distributing network of connected armour that will ablate against angel attacks. What he doesn’t say is that it’ll have a backup that will destroy the skeletons if Thay betrays them. A deal is made! Singular Thay is on-side!
- Japhet & Hirsch, the double-demon couple, walk in! They fled New Moondin with the Necromancers, since obviously the Denialists in Prepperton are violently anti-demon. They’re pissed off at Julgoor who managed to persuade Styx that he’s a crucial part of the capitalist system in New Moondin, and now he gets to stay and eat up all the greed.
- They give Jeremy, Andromeda and Ratman third eyes that will allow the demons to see through them, and which can be deployed to give them vision over an area. They’ve been using these to spy on the goings-on in New Moondin. Now with the crystal walkie-talkies as well, they’ll have sound!
- Finally, after much negotiation and planning, the party suddenly decides to change tack - Blitzkrieg! Fuck planning, let’s go now before Styx knows we’re coming! Surprised but bought in, Singular Thay marshalls their troops - it’s go time!
--- March to the POWERSKELETON!
- The skull begins to move, carried forth on hundreds of skeleton legs! Ghostly apparitions whirl, and the lesser Necromancers march forth across the Fallow in their survival-gear robes, commanding their undead minions!
- Sitting safely in the eye socket, the party waits as the great skull breaches through the Shell, heading towards the POWERDRAGON skeleton! A low klaxon-like singing immediately greets them, and distantly they can see the Seraphim begin to turn! The bronze dome shifts and grinds as it forms an enormous cannon, aiming directly at the skull!
- Singular Thay asks what they should do - keep going? Or cut losses? They make the call to retreat and the skull reverses course, scuttling backwards as angels boost into the air and follow. They make it out of the Shell just in time - a beam of scinitillating energy bursts against the inside of the Shell from the Seraphim’s cannon, creating shimmering aurorae. At least they know the cannon can’t pierce out of the Shell!
- Several angels fly from within the dome, staying high up and far away to watch the retreat. Jeremy Wizard sends his bee familiar - now wasp-shaped due to a slotted Draw Aggro spell - up to draw the ire of the angels and hopefully bait one down for Drake to mess with. Alas, it doesn’t work, and the bee reappears next to Jeremy after getting zapped by an angry angel.
--- Red Meets Styx
- Red decides to go alone to New Moondin to talk to Styx directly. He’s still her friend, after all. She wanders back through the Fallow, and soon after walking through the Storm-Shell she comes to a troop of angels! They scan her, return a null result due to her lack of soul, and kick a request to sort out the glitch up through the command chain.
- After bugging out for a bit, the angel Red was facing projects a hologram of Styx from its eye! When he sees it’s Red he’s very happy to chat! He tells her he hasn’t heard from the Styxmind in months which is lovely and assumes it’s this Storm-Shell interfering somehow. He’s mining the POWERDRAGON skeleton for Saviourbone due to its very useful rune properties, and doesn’t care that its fucking with the Storm-Shell because everyone can just live underground in the much-improved Underhive. He’s got it covered! Also don’t worry about the Lady, she’s under control.
- Red also finds out that her spiderpriest “siblings” are trapped in their temple - Styx argues that there’s no need for them any more since his angels are better for communication. Also the Red Letter is a state newspaper now, rightfully honouring Styx.
- Styx offers Red a kara - the healing bracelets he strongly encourages everyone to wear - and she refuses! She triggers her earpiece that connects to the Lady and gets her to hijack one of the angels! It folds down into a crap chair on legs and Red hoons out of there!
- The Lady appears for a few moments, wrapped in chains. She says she’s trapped in the Seraphim by Styx, and she needs to be freed! She gives Red the instructions to free her then disappears with a scream.
- The angel deactivates when the Lady disappears, so Red carries it back to the skull-base. There they talk to it and discover that it knows that there is some sort of deep issue - the Gods aren’t controlling it any more. Drake plans his angelic experiments… convenient that they’ve got a fully working one right here.
--- Bat Recce
- Realising that they’ll probably have to do a multi-pronged attack after all, Andromeda shifts into bat-form and flies out in the evening to reconnoitre.
- She sees that the Saviourbone Mine has angels rolling to and from it along the road to New Moondin. It still has miners staying in their dugout but the angels are doing all the work. The angels scan her as she comes in, so she has to fly away.
- New Moondin seems to be as the Preppertonians said - most of those walking around town are Goblins and Angels. The spiders are trapped in the spider-temple as promised. The Seraphim squats massively over the untilled Prepper fields, great windmills turning listlessly in the light wind.
- She returns to the Cranium Camp before morning to tell them what she saw. Looks like they’ve got their work cut out for them if they want to liberate New Moondin from yet another oppressor!
- After bugging out for a bit, the angel Red was facing projects a hologram of Styx from its eye! When he sees it’s Red he’s very happy to chat! He tells her he hasn’t heard from the Styxmind in months which is lovely and assumes it’s this Storm-Shell interfering somehow. He’s mining the POWERDRAGON skeleton for Saviourbone due to its very useful rune properties, and doesn’t care that its fucking with the Storm-Shell because everyone can just live underground in the much-improved Underhive. He’s got it covered! Also don’t worry about the Lady, she’s under control.
- Red also finds out that her spiderpriest “siblings” are trapped in their temple - Styx argues that there’s no need for them any more since his angels are better for communication. Also the Red Letter is a state newspaper now, rightfully honouring Styx.
- Styx offers Red a kara - the healing bracelets he strongly encourages everyone to wear - and she refuses! She triggers her earpiece that connects to the Lady and gets her to hijack one of the angels! It folds down into a crap chair on legs and Red hoons out of there!
- The Lady appears for a few moments, wrapped in chains. She says she’s trapped in the Seraphim by Styx, and she needs to be freed! She gives Red the instructions to free her then disappears with a scream.
- The angel deactivates when the Lady disappears, so Red carries it back to the skull-base. There they talk to it and discover that it knows that there is some sort of deep issue - the Gods aren’t controlling it any more. Drake plans his angelic experiments… convenient that they’ve got a fully working one right here.
--- Bat Recce
- Realising that they’ll probably have to do a multi-pronged attack after all, Andromeda shifts into bat-form and flies out in the evening to reconnoitre.
- She sees that the Saviourbone Mine has angels rolling to and from it along the road to New Moondin. It still has miners staying in their dugout but the angels are doing all the work. The angels scan her as she comes in, so she has to fly away.
- New Moondin seems to be as the Preppertonians said - most of those walking around town are Goblins and Angels. The spiders are trapped in the spider-temple as promised. The Seraphim squats massively over the untilled Prepper fields, great windmills turning listlessly in the light wind.
- She returns to the Cranium Camp before morning to tell them what she saw. Looks like they’ve got their work cut out for them if they want to liberate New Moondin from yet another oppressor!
Total: 5000 exp
Team Bonus:
- Antagonist Appeaser bonus
- Balls to the Wall bonus
- Best of Intentions bonus
- Better Part of Valour bonus
- Bookworm bonus
- Classic Charles bonus
- Diplomancy bonus
- Dramatic Escape bonus
- Balls to the Wall bonus
- Best of Intentions bonus
- Better Part of Valour bonus
- Bookworm bonus
- Classic Charles bonus
- Diplomancy bonus
- Dramatic Escape bonus
- Fame bonus
- Heresy bonus
- Holy bonus
- I Immediately Regret This Decision bonus
- Long Deliberation bonus
- Noblebright bonus
- Pundemonium bonus
- SpoOoOoky bonus
- What Could Possibly Go Wrong bonus
- Heresy bonus
- Holy bonus
- I Immediately Regret This Decision bonus
- Long Deliberation bonus
- Noblebright bonus
- Pundemonium bonus
- SpoOoOoky bonus
- What Could Possibly Go Wrong bonus
Total: 850 exp
Individual Bonus:
- Chronicler (Kitty / Andromeda - 100 exp)
- Expedition Leader (George / Damnation Snels - 100 exp)
- Cartographer (Kitty / Andromeda - 100 exp)
- Paymaster (Charles / Jeremy Wizard - 100 exp)
- Quartermaster (Charles / Jeremy Wizard - 100 exp)
- Expedition Leader (George / Damnation Snels - 100 exp)
- Cartographer (Kitty / Andromeda - 100 exp)
- Paymaster (Charles / Jeremy Wizard - 100 exp)
- Quartermaster (Charles / Jeremy Wizard - 100 exp)
- Vanguard (Russell / Drake Blackthorn - 100 exp)
- Triage (Izzy / Ratman - 100 exp)
- Chef (George / Damnation Snels - 100 exp)
- JÜGBRINGYR bonus (Izzy, Charles - 500 exp)
- Art Attack bonus (Charles, Izzy, Timothy - 100 exp ea.)
- Artapalooza bonus (Charles - 100 exp) - Attacco d'Arte bonus (Izzy - 100 exp)
- Triage (Izzy / Ratman - 100 exp)
- Chef (George / Damnation Snels - 100 exp)
- JÜGBRINGYR bonus (Izzy, Charles - 500 exp)
- Art Attack bonus (Charles, Izzy, Timothy - 100 exp ea.)
- Artapalooza bonus (Charles - 100 exp) - Attacco d'Arte bonus (Izzy - 100 exp)
Exp Totals:
- Kitty / Andromeda, Level 7 Andromedan Vampire: 140738 (Level up at 144000)
- Tim / Red, Level 7 Duellist Fighter: 77045 (Level up at 128000)
- Izzy / Ratman, Level 7 Ratman: 67444 (Level up at 96000)
- George / Damnation Snels, Level 6 Born Again Barbarian: 35576 (Level up at 64000)
- Charles / Jeremy Wizard, Level 5 Magic-User: 26694 (Level up at 36000)
- Russell / Drake Blackthorn, Level 3 Specialist: 5594 (Level up at 6000)
Great session, although it seems a shocking reversal of routine that charging in half-cocked with no real idea of what we're doing didn't turn out for the best
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