D&D: The Rise and Fall of Knoss

Wyzack · Post by **Wyzack** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 1:58 am #94883

Bottom post of the previous page:

((Do we all roll it? if so i got a 16))

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 2:54 am #94893

Aeden suddenly hears feet crunching on snow behind him.

Wyzack · Post by **Wyzack** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 2:55 am #94894

Gonna whip around and level my crossbow towards the sound

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 3:05 am #94896

You turn to see a boy, no older than 15, in bloody furs. He raises his hands high into the air, unarmed, and cries out in Infernal. All he has in the way of arms is a spear loosely tied to his side. He looks rather scared.

TheWiznard · Post by **TheWiznard** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 3:15 am #94899

((16+1 = 17, jack of all trades is awesome))

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 4:39 am #94918

"Please, do not being hurts me! I mean no harm! Are you Leopard men?"

The boy hurriedly throws his spear to the ground before returning to holding his hands high above his head. He's definitely in his early teens, with the faintest hints of facial hair at his chin and above his lip, with long curly black hair wrapping itself around his devil's horns and hazel eyes. You notice quickly the boy doesn't wear any leopard's pelts on him, just blood-matted furs.

Wyzack · Post by **Wyzack** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 4:51 am #94922

Aeden lowers his crossbow but keeps it at the ready

"Careful, he might be a spy or a scout," he says in a low voice to the rest of the party

"We are not leapord men, we will not hurt you. What is your name?

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 5:02 am #94924

"They call me Ctisek, Ctisek Orlov."

Wyzack · Post by **Wyzack** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 5:13 am #94929

"Alright Ctisek, why dont you tell us what happened, why are you covered in blood?"

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 5:17 am #94930

"I'm escaped from the Leopard King's army. I came here to bury my brothers and sisters," he says, pointing to the corpses on the stakes. "I can't leave them out here."

Timbrewolf · Post by **Timbrewolf** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 7:05 am #94952

Karag is (un)surprisingly unfazed by the scene of carnage. He turns and looks the child over with similar disinterest.

"TO BURY ALL THESE PEOPLE WILL TAKE MANY DAYS."

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 7:13 am #94954

"I'd take all the time in the world," he says, looking to the sky to judge the hour, "But that I do not have. The Leopard King's men will inevitably return here to kill another one of us. Thus, I'll make do with what time I have to do what I can."

He stops talking to pick up a shovel from the ground, using the edge of it to knock down one of the pikes before going to work digging a hole. "Why are you here?"

((EDIT: I've an idea that when we have two full parties (That being 10 people), we'll switch over episodically if two adventures are running at once. For example, party A completes an entire day's worth of stuff, and when they go to rest, the perspective switches to party B. Sound good?))

THE MIGHTY GALVATRON · Thu Jun 11, 2015 7:31 am

Marko speaks up in infernal from his horse on high, his white cloak flowing in the wind as if he was some sort of hero of lore. "We are here to put an end to the madness brought about by this so called Leopard King and restore order amongst the realm. Will you assist us in this task and help avenge your fallen comrades?"

Timbrewolf · Post by **Timbrewolf** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 7:51 am #94963

Karag, sighs, lets his anchor fall to the ground and barges over to the kid, roughly snatching the shovel out of his hands. He leans into the child's face and speaks in a volume you haven't heard him use before.

"I will dig. You talk. Tell us what you know." Without stopping to listen to any complaint or further discussion, Karag grips the shovel in one giant hand and begins scooping out massive heaps of earth.

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 8:02 am #94965

"You aim to kill this King? You are not alone." His scared demeanor drops immediately, and he adopts a serious, determined look.

"Ctisek Orlov, at your service," he says, skipping the common courtesy of bowing. "I know that my brothers and sisters all sit here, dead, because of 'The Leopard King of Koschek.' I know that King Andrej Orlov is a madman who will not stop until any traces of the gods or decent people are erased from his land. I know the King keeps a harem so that he never runs out of soldiers, and those of us that refuse to fight are to be killed," he says, pointing to the pikes. "Those of us that don't escape, that is." He draws up a sleeve of his bloody fur coat, showing a tattoo on his arm. Three humanoid figures, hand in hand, drawn in black. "And those of us that do escape do any thing we can to put him out of power. All of the Orphans of Knoss are brother and sister, both by blood and creed. If you aim to kill our father, you will have all the assistance we can give."

"Be wary, however. The legends speak true. He truly does see through the eyes of leopards, and his boots allow him to move without making noise. And he does not fight fair."

Wyzack · Post by **Wyzack** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 2:52 pm #95015

"While you may surely be able to help us, i cannot in good conscious allow more children to die at the hands of this butcher. He seems to be smart and ruthless, i am sure many a would be attacker has been repelled by this grisly site. What can you tell us about his camp, the surrounding area, and his strength at arms?"

TheWiznard · Post by **TheWiznard** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 4:47 pm #95038

((can I check if there are any animals around us in the near area?))

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 7:04 pm #95070

((You can, I'd imagine that'd be Perception))

"Camp? He doesn't make camp. He stays in a leftover from the Schism. Castle Koschek. As for his strength, I think he's somewhere around 50-strong."

TheWiznard · Post by **TheWiznard** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 8:06 pm #95090

((18+1 = 19))
Bizarre checks the area for any animals.

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 8:34 pm #95101

To your relief, you don't see any snow leopards around. Just birds pecking at the dead.

THE MIGHTY GALVATRON · Thu Jun 11, 2015 8:55 pm

(( I want to roll arcana to see if I know what kind of magic would allow someone to see through the eyes of animals, or if it's druids being druids. 17+4=21))

Table Turning · Thu Jun 11, 2015 9:05 pm

"50 strong...do you mean his men, or his leopards?"

TheWiznard · Post by **TheWiznard** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 9:06 pm #95106

((I'd like to cast speak with animals))
Bizarre appears to cast a spell and walks toward the birds. "Have you seen other people in the area?"

Timbrewolf · Post by **Timbrewolf** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 10:07 pm #95119

Karag looks up from digging his hole to see the tiefling approaching a flock of birds to ask them questions.
He snorts and shakes his head while continuing to dig.

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 10:10 pm #95121

((I'm not sure if there's an actual spell to see through the eyes of other animals in 5e, but you do know that prolonged exposure to some places scarred by the Schism have... odd side effects on a person, Galv. You firmly believe this may be the case.))

"I can't count all the leopards in this region with all the time in the world, outlander. I only know of how many of my brothers and sisters are still loyal to him."

The crow cocks its head towards Bizarre, squawking loudly. To any outside the conversation, it merely appears that a bird is yelling at Bizarre. "The feeders bring us their dead as gifts, then return back to their walled nest for more food. Every week, the pattern repeats. They keep us happy. They keep us fed."

TheWiznard · Post by **TheWiznard** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 10:30 pm #95127

"I see that is very interesting! Have you seen any feeders around here today or yesterday? How many feeders come in a group? Do you know how far away the feeder's nest is from here?" Bizarre asks the bird eagerly.

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 10:35 pm #95129

"Three feeders, then they put one feeder on the spike, and the feeder becomes food. Every seven moons, almost. Last moon, they brought two extra feeders!" the bird happily squawks.

"Their nest is far to the north, but it is behind walls, though walls do not keep us out."

TheWiznard · Post by **TheWiznard** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 11:13 pm #95137

"Thank you Mr. Bird, I have but two more questions." Bizarre points towards Ctisek. "Have you ever seen that young feeder over there before? I've heard that a crow never forgets a face. Since you've flown over the feeder's walled nest before, have you seen any part of the nest that the feeders stay away from?

Wyzack · Post by **Wyzack** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 11:49 pm #95147

Aeden arches an eyebrow at the coversation with the bird, but turns back to his companions.

"The five of us vs 50 bandits and god knows how many snow leopards, who are amazing scouts in this terrain by the way, holed up in a fortress? I do not like these odds. We need a way to draw out and destroy his forces in smaller portions or we will be overrun."

((Also +1 on the episodic thing, it will make it so neither group will have to go long stretches without playing

Timbrewolf · Post by **Timbrewolf** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 1:03 am #95166

((As long as we're given opportunities to re-organize every so often. Some of the fun of these kinds of games is being able to mix groups and trade-off party members.))

THE MIGHTY GALVATRON · Fri Jun 12, 2015 1:45 am

"Excuse me, young Orlov." Marko spoke to the young teifling while getting off his horse. "Do you perhaps know the layout of this castle you mention, I have parchment and ink, perhaps you could draw out some details of the castle?" It felt good to use his mother tongue, there was no struggle to find the much needed words. Sadly this had to end as he spoke once again to his friends. "If we get painting of castle, we have easy time making plan, no? Maybe find Leopard King sleep and be making the stop of bad man life!"

Timbrewolf · Post by **Timbrewolf** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 2:46 am #95188

"Karag digs graves, Bizarre speaks to birds, now Marko speak in tongues. Today is" he grunts as he throws another shovel of dirt out of the now massive pit

"strange day already."

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 6:25 am #95221

((Just got back so sorry for the wait))

"A few times. Only recently," the bird squawks, stopping to peck out a bit of flesh. "The feeders have the nest well-protected. Constantly patrol for other feeders. Feeders who don't like them."

"Feeders that try to invade the nest usually become food."

Meanwhile, Ctisek takes your parchment and ink, sketching out a rough map. It becomes very clear that the Leopard King clearly does not know how to use a castle's rooms.

The throne room at the top is the closest it comes to a legitimate castle. Beyond that, Ctisek has labelled the room right below as his dungeons. Two rooms below the dungeons are both guard rooms, and a mess hall at the bottom.

"There's more buildings in the back for the leopards and horses," Ctisek explains in Infernal. "The castle is no more than a tower. What was probably the actual castle was reduced to ruin long ago. He calls what's left his 'city."

An0n3 wrote:((As long as we're given opportunities to re-organize every so often. Some of the fun of these kinds of games is being able to mix groups and trade-off party members.))

((Basically any time you're back at home base/in the same area at the same time you'll have the opportunity to switch out party members.))

Table Turning · Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:31 am

Joey looks confused as Bizarre continues to speak with the bird, but he looks to the bird and his mouth begins to water. He rushes toward the bird with unprecedented speed and attempts to snatch it into his hands.

((19+5=24))

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:38 am #95234

Joey snatches the bird out of the air, hungrily jamming it into his greasy, flabby maw. You hear one pitiful squawk cut short, even though you notice that Joey does not chew as he swallows the bird whole.

Wyzack · Post by **Wyzack** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 2:12 pm #95258

"You utterly disgust me."

THE MIGHTY GALVATRON · Fri Jun 12, 2015 2:53 pm

"You eat burd whole, that iz no good. That iz burd that not be forgetting, have friend in tree.You have to be doing the spitting up now!" Marko points a finger in Joey's direction.
((Nonleathal(Is that even a thing? Guess we'll find out!) eldricth blast to stomach, to attack=16, damage=4+5=9))

Timbrewolf · Post by **Timbrewolf** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 5:23 pm #95295

Karag roars with laughter.

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 7:28 pm #95316

Joey lands on his back with a muffled thud as a wet, terrified crow is forced through his throat and out of his mouth at mach speed.

Table Turning · Fri Jun 12, 2015 7:30 pm

"EUUUARRRGGHHHH"

THE MIGHTY GALVATRON · Fri Jun 12, 2015 8:03 pm

Marko takes the parchment from the young Orlov and walks over to Joey, standing over him. "You crazy man, Jo-ee. That burd eat dead man, and you eat burd! You eat dead man in burd!!! How long before you eat live man, eh?"

Saying that he shows Joey the castle drawing. "You see this room here?" He points to the top most part of the building, eets where Leopard King keeps all good food. No spoil taste with burd and man yes? We go there, you get all you can eat!"

TheWiznard · Post by **TheWiznard** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 8:05 pm #95328

"Thank you Mr. Bird for your time but I think you should get out of here with your bird friends. Take some of this and live long Mr. Bird." Bizarre reaches into his pack and pulls out half a day's worth of rations and tossing it over to where the birds are feeding. Bizarre then turns and looks at Joey, lying in the field. He points a finger towards him and shouts "I think your entire purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others." Bizarre walks slowly back towards the the others.((casting vicious mockery 1d4= 3dmg))

Timbrewolf · Post by **Timbrewolf** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 8:10 pm #95331

((What you see

Spoiler:

What Joey see's

Spoiler:

))

TheWiznard · Post by **TheWiznard** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 9:17 pm #95358

(( omg that is freakin perfect, dying laughing))

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 1:32 am #95423

((Joey's a legend

PS I wouldn't cast too many spells on him unless you're really intent on killing him at the moment, you've come really close))

Timbrewolf · Post by **Timbrewolf** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 2:02 am #95430

((Don't kill Joey. It'd take way too fucking long to dig a hole big enough for his fat corpse.))

TheWiznard · Post by **TheWiznard** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 2:04 am #95431

((Well the next turn hasn't happened yet so we can drop the vicious mockery bit, Bizarre still says that one liner to him though.))

Maccus · Post by **Maccus** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 2:55 am #95445

((When eveeryone's ready we can keep on moving))

THE MIGHTY GALVATRON · Sat Jun 13, 2015 3:04 am

((I think I'm ready, put joey on the cart and lets wheel on!))

TheWiznard · Post by **TheWiznard** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 3:18 am #95449

Bizarre tells the group "Well the bird didn't say much about the feeders...I mean the leopard kings men. They seem to come in a pair every week or so bringing a poor soul to the spike. The birds said that the other day they brought three people out to the spikes. I wonder if there was a commotion in the castle or something?" Bizarre looks off into the distance before saying "The bird also told me that there are regular patrols around the castle, looking for other people. The people who try to get in usually wind up on the spike." He sighs before saying "What do you guys think our best way in is?" ((I'm ready whenever))

Timbrewolf · Post by **Timbrewolf** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 3:28 am #95451

Karag climbs up out of the gigantic pit he has dug and hands the shovel back to the child.

"DONT FALL IN."

((Ready to go))