The sun comes up above the Bloodrise Mountain Range, as it does every morning, its glow peeking out from behind the jagged peaks. From the valley below, the light is refracted in such a way that it seems to bather the mountains in a deep red glow, which seeps down into the valley like a tidal wave of blood. This happens every morning, with such regularity that the eerie beauty of the event event is long lost on any inhabitants of the area. They regard it not with wonder, or horror, but with yawning half-interest. Even the dwarves of the company towns who now mine this place for its rich veins of orichalcum, and caches of gems regard it only for a moment, before those hirsute mammals return to the unceasing labours…But to those who dwell in the shadows of those crags, it is an omen of things to come. To the kobolds of Bloodrise proper, the bugbears who skulk in the tunnels by day and stalk mountain-valleys by moonlight, and the outcast elves who sharpen blades deep below even them, the eponymic sunrise of this mountain range tells the tale of the dwarven blood that will pour forth like a river—like an ocean—and baptize a newborn age. There is a new king under the mountain—a Dragon King, copper in hue and humanoid in form, favoured by the Dark Gods to bring about a new epoch—an Age of Darkness to scour the surface of the weak children of light.They call you many things: champion, conqueror, chosen one, king. Some might call you usurper, or villain, but never in your presence, because even your detractors fear your wrath and eagerly chase your favour. They sense your Fearsome Presence. They can feel the mountain moving. The wyrm has turned.You are the DRAGONBORN ANTIPALADIN, and you are going to change the world!
>>5339760Admittedly, changing the world is a PRETTY big departure from your initial mission in this place, which was… Well, to put a stop to some rowdy kobolds who were drawing mammalian attention to the mountain with their increasingly-daring raids, and risked exposing a hidden cache of ancient artefacts from the last Age of Scales and Darkness. You DID that, yes, but now here you are, working with those kobolds (among others) to plan a daring raid of your very own! A part of you still worries about what the Chaplain (the Serpent Priest who practically raised you, and granted you this assignment) will say when he finds out. Then again, it’s not as if you’ve been unproductive in your ambitious deviations from your main objective, have you? Since leaving your home, you have…>Beaten back a nest of savage carnivore-plants and slain a great devouring terror of the underdark>Acquired an impressive cache of wealth and a small arsenal of magical items—including a legendary elven moon-sword!>Made the acquaintance, and earned the allegiance, of a Drow leader (apparently a Princess, no less!)>Uncovered a long-lost dragon nest and harvested the materials for alchemical research>Befriended (and, uh, impregnated) a caterpillar-being to beget a great and terrible race of worm-wyrms>Bested mammal adventurers, kobold heretics, barbarian bugbear burglars, and others>Earned those same bugbears’ allegiance and aid>Tamed some rather fierce fire-lizards (And whatever the Junior Novice is)>Developed an ever-more-powerful array of spells and abilities, most impressively your amulet-augmented <Improved Dragonshape>>Earned the attention—sometimes favourable, sometimes not—of virtually every major Dark God of your race’s faithAnd anyway, there is no time to waste sending a missive back through the winding, dangerous tunnels of the underdark to request permission. Your uneasy and tenuous three-way alliance with the outcast “Drow” elf-clan and the barbarous “Bogbarri” hunters DEPENDS on tangible results, and soon… And that’s not even taking into account what you promised the kobolds themselves, to secure their lasting loyalty. Sometimes, you wonder if you have been too generous, too benevolent… But then you see the gleam in the eyes of your allies and subordinates when you speak with them about your plans for the raid, and for the future of these mountains. They look to you with an awesome admiration, which sets your dragon-soul ablaze with a warmth to stir even the coldest blood. At times like that, you reflect on the self-knowledge gifted to you by The Dark God of Secret Knowledge, he who is called Master of the Insightful Eye, The Baleful Beholder:To be feared is good; respect is grand; but to be loved is your deepest desire. And your people here LOVE the idea of these mountains becoming the heart of a new empire, and the start of a new and better life for all of your starved, harried races of the deep dark.
>>5339763You have determined that the best course of action with your admittedly-limited forces (yourself, twelve members of the Reptilian Master Race, a few dozen kobolds of varying combat capability, ten Bogbarri, four Drow, and your small collection of monstrous ‘pets’) is to stage a lightning-fast attack upon a single Dwarven company town. These fortified structures have been set up by the ‘corporations’, centuries-old commerce kingdoms, on land leased from the humans below the mountain proper. They rise up like artificial mountain-peaks, and tunnel deep into the mountain as the dwarves extract your ancestor’s wealth—YOURS, by right!—from the stone. They are incredibly defensible, but host relatively small contingents, and the dwarves’ famous greed and secrecy means that they communicate little with their rivals, and are loathe to request aid from other mammal-folk in the area lest they seek recompense in mineral wealth.“Do not underestimate the dwarves, Superior One,” you were warned by the Thief.The Thief is the foremost scout of your retinue, and well-trusted by you despite his ignoble history—the history which earned him his name and a gruesome brand burnt into his otherwise-fine Silkscale features. He well knows what he is talking about, too—your last effort to scout the dwarves involved sending him with a contingent of kobold. They did not all return, and he was badly-injured in the effort. He still wears the magical cloak you gifted him to help protect him from a recurrence.You considered his council a you and your newly-acquired allies return to the kobolds’ mountain home in Bloodrise. You ruminate on it still, wondering if you are being too reckless—and, since you cannot very well back down now, what you can do to shore up your forces and mitigate the risks inherent to this undertaking. This is not your first battle, but this IS your first war. Though you suspect many forget it for your size and Presence, you have not even seen the dawn of your second decade yet.“The kobolds are most experienced at these sorts of raids,” notes the Bastard, your chiefmost lieutenant and partner in draconic meditation. You had left him to supervise those very same kobolds while you were away, recruiting bugbears and black-elves. By all indications, he did an excellent job of maintaining discipline while you were away.“They could form the bulk of the invasion force, and lead the charge,” he says.
>>5339766You see the two kobolds in your retinue—loyal and docile Ivno, and fiery, technically-your-penal-slave Agno—stiffen at the suggestion. Agno in particular seems agitated, and starts to say something, only to catch an elbow from Ivno, who shakes his head and mutters to you:“Sorry-sorry, apologies. No interruptions, Superior One.”Agno hisses softly, but nods, and averts his eyes to the floor.What do you do?>Disregard Agno, and agree with the Bastard’s assessment—the kobolds should form the spearhead of your raiding party>Dismiss this notion—kobolds may be native to this place, and have experience raiding mammals here, but they’ve never taken a dwarven fort yet>Ask Agno to speak up, despite his lowly station and recent rebellion against you>Seek the council of your more experienced and older mammalian allies… Though it may not inspire confidence or come across well to the Reptilians>Discuss the matter with another—maybe the Novice Fleshweaver, in private?>Write-in
[Current statblock to your left. Level-up soon!][Archive at https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=reptoidqm]
>>5339770>Dismiss this notion—kobolds may be native to this place, and have experience raiding mammals here, but they’ve never taken a dwarven fort yetBulk of the invasion force? sureLeading the charge? they're too small, weak, and pathetic. might as well not have a charge at alllike really we might want to forgo the charge and stealth our way in unless we massively outnumber themtoo bad the thief's recon mission went poorlyalso captcha is back up, couldn't post for a bit there
>>5339770>Disregard Agno, and agree with the Bastard’s assessment—the kobolds should form the spearhead of your raiding party
>>5339770>Supplement the Kobolds with the Degenerates.>Discuss the matter with another—maybe the Novice Fleshweaver, in private?Could use our Earth Tremor and Earth Wall to great effect, maybe some sore distraction/Divide and Conquer scheme.Otherwise I’m fine with the Bastard’s plan. The Drow are the least numerous, and the Bogs would be fine as infiltrators but shit as the spearhead, and a significant of our Reptilians are non-combatants. We should use the Degenerates to bolster the kobolds and show them that the Master Race fights among them, but we should reserve the full-blooded reptilians until we break into their fort proper, to avoid any escapees or leaks to the Grand Conspiracy.
>>5339842>maybe some sort of distraction/Divide and Conquer scheme
>>5339770>Ask Agno to speak up, despite his lowly station and recent rebellion against you
>>5339770>Discuss the matter with another—maybe the Novice Fleshweaver, in private?
>>5339770>Ask Agno to speak up, despite his lowly station and recent rebellion against youWorst case scenario he gets guillotined by moonsword. Best case, we learn something valuable.
>>5339770>Ask Agno to speak up, despite his lowly station and recent rebellion against youAgno chads stay winning hehe
>>5339770>Discuss the matter with another—maybe the Novice Fleshweaver, in private?Might as well get a fresh perspective on this.
>>5340184>>5340131>>5340060>>5339883>>5339844>>5339842>>5339827>>5339821>>5340391Despite their experience, and the Bastard’s evident confidence in the little reptiles’ abilities, the Kobolds of Bloodrise have struck you as… Small, weak, even a little pathetic. They ARE an inferior slave race, after all, even if they’re technically Reptilian. You can think of ways to make such a plan work—maybe some earth-shaping with your terrain-affecting spells, to divide and conquer? Still, it seems a risk to make them so crucial to the early stages of the invasion…All this to say: you have your own misgivings about sending the kobolds to form the spearhead for your invasion. You can’t help but wonder if Agno shares them, and so despite your fraught history and his lowly status, you let the defeated servant speak his piece.“Kobolds see these new allies… But don’t yet know what you promised them, these mammals. Promised much wealth… Land, loot, meat, yes?”He looks up some fire in his eyes, but he keeps his tone respectful as he points out: “More for them, less for kobolds. LESS-less, when you take best of magic things we find… Rightful-proper, as Dragon, but… Kobolds attacking in waves, high casualties. KILL-killed, in numbers. May be… Upset, when they learn it is for less-less.”Ivno’s face twists up, and he squirms; you can see he wants his friend to silence himself. He fears you will execute the impetuous warrior in response to his frank, kobold’ centric concerns.“This is the role of the kobold—of ALL footsoldiers, for the Grand Design of the Dark Gods!” the Bastard snarls, slamming his gifted barbarian’s maul upon the stone floor of the cavern for emphasis.“What do you propose, then?” you ask, surprising everyone in attendance with your willingness to humour this defiant-hearted little creature—even Agno himself, by his wide eyes and stammering pause.“Basilisk,” he replies. “Dragonwrought—sorry-sorry, Hako and Hapo… When they pretended to be Dragonwrought… They commanded basilisk in battle to take human town. Paralyzes with eyes! Petrifies with venom! Fast, strong, BIG.”You consider this. It is true you have been at a loss for what to do with the captive, pit-trapped basilisk which these kobolds have managed to corral, and which now serves more as a communal garbage disposal than any sort of properly-useful asset. With your Fearsome Presence, especially useful with reptiles, you could perhaps bind it to your will…
>>5340399“It’s a stupid idea,” the Novice Fleshweaver hisses. “An unnecessary risk.”You turn to her—your oldest friend, your childhood bully, your… Well, you aren’t sure what this Serpent Priestess is to you now, or vice versa, but you recently spend an entire night with your head rested in her lap after going a little too hard on the dark elven mushroom-wine. You’re a little surprised that this intellectual apostate would so rapidly dismiss the idea.“We should kill it an integrate its blood into my—into OUR pet project, instead. It already properly fears you, Dragonborn.”Ah, there it is. She means the ‘Junior Novice’, a strange little mammalian kobold-esque creature which you purchased on a whim, mocking named for the Novice Fleshweaver, and subsequently sued as a test-subject for the infusion of draconic blood and grafting of long-dead dragon-flesh. It—he, you suppose—has subsequently grown larger, bolder, and more dragon-y by the day. ‘Junior’ is still only the size of a Silkscale female, but in a sparring match—which you won, cowing him—he proved surprisingly strong AND susceptible to your influence. More importantly to the Novice, he is very much HER creation—her ‘pet’ project—and augmenting him would serve to bring further renown to her unorthodox beliefs and methods.“How long would that take?” you ask her. “For the process to complete, for J—for the creature to be ready?”She hesitates, lashing her tail irritably.“I do not know,” she admits. “It may delay the assault somewhat. And tehre IS the chance of failure…”“The demon of envy in the Dragonwrought pretender’s ring… It bound dragon, kobold, and basilisk blood together into one creature almost instantly, did it not?”You all turn to the North-Merchant in shock at this borderline-sacrilegious suggestion. Use a demon—an enemy of your people, after a fashion, a corrupter of kobolds into would-be dragons—to transfigure“I do not mean that we SHOULD do it,” the mercantile infiltrator says quickly, demurring and lowering his eyes. “Just that it was an option… Something to consider.”It is at that.What will you do?>Attempt to re-tame the basilisk, at risk to yourself>Kill the basilisk and attempt to use its flesh and blood to augment the Novice’s creation—though it may fail, and will delay your invasion>Use the demon ring to bind the basilisk and Junior Novice together as one amalgamated entity>Forget the basilisk altogether, you do not need its powers to triumph>Punish Agno for even bringing this pointless segue up in the first place>Write-in
>>5340400>Attempt to re-tame the basilisk, at risk to yourselfIt would be badass to have a basilisk under our control. Reptillian empathy is our best stat so might as well try and hopefully we can get that level up before the battle from this.
>>5340433I still think we should eventually kill the basilisk and give its blood to the junior novice eventually. I want the junior novice to become a monstrous living weapon.
>>5340400>Write-in>>Use the demon ring, not to simply fuse the basilisk and the junior novice. But instead ask the bastard to join you in a new improved dragonwrought amalgam between yourself, the dragonblooded bastard, the junior novice, the basilisk and the fire lizards. And lead the charge on the dwarf town.Hako and Hapo combining with the dead red dragon hatchling and some lizards. Gave them enough power to crush the human forces in the abandoned town, and kill their druid protector. If we do the same thing whilst using superior materials for the combination, the dwarfs won't stand a chance.
>>5340483This is a horrible idea>>5340433+1
>>5340485>This is a horrible idea.How so? We can just remove the ring to split ourselves, after the battle is over. And while both the basilisk and the junior novice, have so so intelligence and need to be carefully handled in order to follow commands. We would be under no such limitations if we fused them into ourselves.
>>5340490>Implying that we'd have the presence of mind to remove the ring>Implying that we wouldn't be absolutely bugfuck crazy and slaughter our own forceslol, lmao>>5340433+1Not against helping with the experiment eventually but there's no reason to do it now. Why haven't we destroyed this damn ring yet?
>>5340400>Attempt to re-tame the basilisk, at risk to yourself
>>5340493>Why haven't we destroyed this damn ring yet?Breaking the ring physically would release the demon, since the ring acts as it's prison.And Hapo stole the books listing the demon's true name. Without them it's questionable whether we would be able to banish it since we have no demonologist with us.
>>5340493>>Implying that we'd have the presence of mind to remove the ring.I mean we do have our fearsome presence, it would be easier for us to resist the demon's influence than it was for Hako.>>Implying that we wouldn't be absolutely bugfuck crazy and slaughter our own forces.Both Hapo and hako were still sane after their dragonworght transformation, and worked alongside their forces. Since this demon ring was a part of the red dragon's horde, the demon inside of it is probably used to serving reptilians.
>>5340510Shit take, its a demon, its sacrilege, no one is going to go for that, and itll make us a monstrosity, the sooner we lose this gross steven universe ring the better, stupid plan anon, get back in the corner you fucking dumpster baby
>>5340510>Both Hapo and hako were still sane after their dragonworght transformationYeah, after they fused with a few corpses, and then they were also evil and tried to kill us? You want us to fuse with>A wholeass adult man (why would the Bastard ever agree with this)>A slavering scientific monstrosity >A whole bunch of random lizards for some reasonThis is the worst idea anybody has ever come up with in this quest. This is a worse idea than fucking the bug and I don't say that lightly.
>>5340400>>Kill the basilisk and attempt to use its flesh and blood to augment the Novice’s creation—though it may fail, and will delay your invasionHard pass on anything demoniac.
>>5340400>Attempt to re-tame the basilisk, at risk to yourself>Slap Agno and tell him to show damn respect next time
>>5340567+1
>>5340567Support, pimpslap that bitch!
>>5340567-1
>>5340567Funny. But please no.
>>5340647>>5340714>>5340717Just for the record, it wasn't for comedic effect. I believe we need to teach the little shit some manners, because while he makes good points, his behavior is hostile and detrimental to our cooperation.
>>5340721-1
>>5340721>Ask Agno for his concerns>Slap him right after for giving those concerns I don’t know. Bullying an already downtrodden subordinate feels pretty pathetic, he is literally our slave already.
>>5340727Then what do you propose we do about his rebellious behavior? Don't think we've got family therapy here in the underdark.
>>5340735Nothing. Having a subordinate that's willing to give the actual opinions of the Kobolds is pretty useful. Ivno sure isn't going to represent what the Kobolds want well. We already hold all the power in the relationship we can take a little bit of defiance, all slapping will do is make him less willing to talk about his concerns.
>>5340738So slapping him would somehow make us look "pathetic", even though every reptilian alive agrees that kobolds are cannon fodder at the bottom of the social ladder, but babysitting little Agno and humoring each little tantrum just to have the privilege to hear his hot takes won't make us look pathetic and also undermine our position as a leader?I thought you had a better idea on how to fix his behavior, but I guess we're back to slapping it out of him.
Rolled 10, 11, 19, 3 = 43 (4d20)>>5340647>>5340636>>5340567>>5340551>>5340502>>5340493>>5340485>>5340483>>5340433You dismiss your council, save the Novice, whose chamber you retire to in order to consider your options.“Why not use your chamber, Uninvited One?” she huffs, considerably less deferential when the two of you are alone.“I value your council,” you respond.She looks over her shoulder from where she labours over her alchemical field-kit, a pared-down and more-durable form of the elaborate laboratory of glass, stone, and crystal which serves her at home.“Oh really?” she asks, dubiously. “So you’re going to follow my advice?”“You know I am not going to delay the assault,” you sigh.“Obviously, Meatheaded One.”“And the basilisk IS a useful asset…”She hisses, a Reptilian scoff, and turns away. Her tail slaps the ground in irritation.“That was exactly the OPPOSITE of my council, Degenerateborn.”You’ve noticed she uses that name for you—an allusion to the tainted, part-human heritage which only she, you, and the Chaplain and the Dark Gods Beyond and Below know you carry—less often in these last few days. It only crops up when she is especially angry… Or concerned.“I will be safe,” you assure her, “and when time is less pressing, you may yet have your samples. What of the dead basilisk chick, which the so-called Dragonwrought was drawing power from?”“Scant material,” she complains, “but it will have to do.”You stand, mind made up, and go to face down the basilisk.“If you get yourself petrified all because you wanted to show, I will not readily forgive you!” the Novice shouts after you.Truly, a peculiar female.The basilisk is in its pit, chained to a central post. At present, it is blindfolded—a difficult task that took the kobolds many attempts and led to several injuries. The Bastard felt it necessary to accomplish this even at such a cost, however, after the beastly thing’s mere gaze afflicted you and a whole host of Reptilians during your dominance-duel with Agno. Even in such condition, though, Ivno and the Bastard watch trepidatiously as you descend into the pit and approach the thing. The basilisk has a beak, wattle, and comb like some great rooster, at a distance; upon closer inspection, the wattles are more like the hanging dewlaps of an iguana, the headrest more rigid and bony than a rooster’s. It has a barrel-like body and six stumpy legs, and a long, trailing tail, ridged with spikes as with its back. Excluding the tail—nearly as long as its body again—it is nearly the size of you… And you are no small creature, being nearly 300 pounds of muscle. You suspect from its build that it is heavier.You take a deep breath, centre yourself, and reach out with your Fearsome Presence…
>>5340772>19…And reach out to remove the blindfold. Even from all the way down here, you can feel the spike in anxiety in your watching subordinates, their readiness to leap to your aid—especially the Bastard, who (though older than you) has come to view you as a great benefactor and almost a mentor. The same Presence that evokes such loyalty in him, however, also protects you from the basilisk. As the eye-covering slips away, the basilisk dutifully lowers its head, averting its eyes.Some call the basilisk ‘king of snakes’, but it is no match for the soul of a dragon—the king of all reptiles.You re-mask the basilisk when you are confident you have control of it, for the sake of avoiding accidents, but you give the command: this dangerous entity now belongs to you, and will accompany your forces to serve as part of the assault on the dwarves. With this new trick up your sleeve, you return to planning the assault.
>>5340775Eventually, after a long day of meetings, discussions, and meditations, torpor takes you.Choose one non-combat ability to level up:>Leadership>Seduction>IntimidationChoose one combat ability to level-up:>Fisticuffs>Swordsmanship>Spellcraft
>>5340778>Intimidation>SwordsmanshipAre we bowless now?
>>5340778>Seduction>Spellcraft
>>5340779[Nah, but you've barely used that skill since your last level-up. Same with firebreath and elementalism.]
>>5340782Aw. What's spellcraft for, then?
>>5340787[USUALLY more for learning or idnetifying spells than wielding them... But it's also your default skill for concentrating to use an item or maintain your Dragonshape when under extreme stress or pain.]
>>5340778>LeadershipNo diplomacy?>Swordsmanship
>>5340803[Damnit, I knew I forgor soemthing. Diplomacy is on the table, too! Sorry, was in a rush to finish before an appointment.]>>5340780>>5340779[Diplomacy is also a non-combat option.]
>>5340805I'm keeping intimidation. It's more useful for someone in our position with an appointed team of diplomats and experts. That and because we will surely encounter many monsters/brutes we will have to pacify.
>>5340778>Seduction>FisticuffsAND EVERYBODY WAS KUNG FU FIGHTING!AND SOON WE’LL GET A SPELL OF LIGHTNING!
>>5340778>Diplomacy >Swordmanship
>>5340778>Swordsmanship>Diplomacy Prepare for elf queen and chaplain talks
>>5340778>Leadership>Swordsmanship
>>5340778>Diplomacy>Swordsmanship Been really enjoying this so far RQM, it's a blast. Thanks for running.
>>5340809The elf specialist is incompetent I don’t trust reptoid diplomats at all after him.
>>5340908>human spy
>>5340778>Seduction>Fisticuffs
[I was tallying the votes for a post, but it seems someone just tied things up a little! I'll leave this open a bit longer.]>>5340906Thanks for the kind words, anon.
>>5341110Seduction is the coomer option we’ve used it about once. Diplomacy we use constantly.
>>5341110I'll switch to >Diplomacyto tiebreak.
>>5340778>Seduction>SwordsmanshipDiplomacy is the boring cuck action, I want some spice in this quest!
>>5341117>motherfucker already broke the tieDamn, you stole my thunder!>>5341110Want me to switch my vote to Intimidation QM, to break the tie (again)?
>>5341135>tie breaks>retied>mfw[Nah, don't sweat it. I'll roll for it if it isn't resolved by the time I'm done this Illuminaughtii video on the Satanic Temple.]
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>5341166How about I roll for it, and you can take the result as my vote.1- Seduction2- Diplomacy
>>5341176Rip diplomacy.
>>5341176Well, I guess that settles it then
>>5341110>Diplomacy Fuck no not seduction
>>5341186Almost>>5341194>>5341176[Are you two just... Not invested in the martial choice, or happy with swordsmanship? Just verifying.]
>>5341197I’m fine with swordsmanship already
>>5341197Wait did my last minute vote not make it and seduction won?
>>5341200>>5341198[Nah, I'll hold off another half hour. If nobody else votes/changes vote, though, I'm rolling for it. And I'm locking for non-backlinked 1post IDs on this vote]
>>5341197I’m down for Swordsmanship, but even if I did decide to meme Fisticuffs, it wouldn’t have changed much beyond prolonging the suffering.
Rolled 2 (1d2)>>5341209>>5341202>>5341200>>5341198>>5341194>>5341176>>5341131>>5341117>>5341103>>5340906>>5340880>>5340857>>5340855>>5340838>>5340780>>5340779[Vote locked, post incoming]
>>5341230You awake feeling refreshed, and cognizant of how much you have grown over your last few weeks. It’s tough to imagine it has only been about three months since you left. So much ahs happened. You’ve become a warrior, a diplomat… Almost a king, soon a father… Tomorrow, perhaps a general. And you’re still not even twenty years old! It’s daunting, but you feel worthy of it. >+1 Swordsmanship>+1 DiplomacyThe moment of truth is close at hand. A company-town is chosen—a fort close to the kobolds’ own home, and relatively equidistant from the other company towns, which all indications suggest are rival to this one and thus unlikely to notice anything amiss. You consult once more with your corps of advisors: the intelligentsia of your loyal retinue, the Thief and Bastard, the kobold leadership council… Even the Bugbear Boss and the Drow Ranger-Captain called Epharidan, just to head off any complaints of sidelining. Several perspectives emerge, crystallizing into a few main action plans, all taking into account your new ‘acquisition’ of a re-tamed basilisk.The kobodls’ conventional wisdom is that it is best to harry the dwarves troops outside the fort with small groups of partisans, drawing out their defenders from their fortifications to kill as many as possibly in the craggy valleys and passes of the mountains—a long and arduous sort of guerilla war, but one that will put you on equal footing to the dwarves. This will leave the remaining defenders depleted, when you eventually make your way to the chosenThe Bugbear Boss scoffs at this, pointing out the extreme light-sensitivity of virtually all non-kobolds in your forces.“And anyway,” the Boss states, “is already what we do when we hunt dwarves, and if it was good enough for destroying entire fort, we or kobolds would have done already.”“Then what do you propose?” you ask him wearily, already wearying of his usual mammalian machismo.“I have… Friend. Ally, who can help. Like you big lizard-thing.”“You mean your great bat?” you ask, remembering your divination many weeks prior.“Copper, how do you know about this?!” he demands.“I have my ways,” you reply levelly. “Go on.”The Bugbear Boss HAS indeed tamed a great bat, and he attests that this aerial advantage could prove key in a strike… IF you were to attack at night, and to use the bulk of your forces as bait, to draw out the dwarven defenders. Then HE could attack from above, while You ride your basilisk into battle from the front, staging a two-pronged attack with your strongest warriors on those who remain at the same time your forces outside are engaging most of the dwarves.“Many kobolds will die,” worries Ivno.“Bonus,” says the Boss. “More meat.”Agno looks quietly furious at the Bugbear Boss, but holds his tongue.
>>5341283The Thief prepared to lead a decapitating strike, entering the stronghold during the day, to eliminate the leadership and sabotage defences from within, so that your main force-led by you, astride the basilisk—can besiege the confounded and helpless dwarves at the setting of the sun. The Drow Ranger-Captain concurs, favouring this method; he also makes a point of noting how delaying to acquire more Drow allies first could help make it more viable, something you suspect is rooted in a desire to give his own race more prestige in this raid and a better bargaining position. The Bastard still holds that the kobolds themselves would make an excellent forward force, softening up the dwarves in a direct assault.“You could follow in a second wave,” he declares. “Our Master Race bringing up the rear, like the Thief’s plan, but without a chance of his being caught with a small force—as he was before—and giving us away. IF they do that, word could get out about our presence… And they could warn the other dwarves, or humans, and maybe even get reinforcements. Better to have them surrounded as quickly as possible. All this… Infiltration, and baiting, and this business with multiple fronts… It just means more chances for something to go wrong, and for a witness or survivor to escape and spread word. This way, if the dwarves repel our initial force… They only see kobolds. Nothing else.”The Novice, for her part, throws up her hands in exasperation.“If you’re set on doing this before we consult with the Chaplain, or even can perfect my creature, then I do not even know why you would ask me. I am not a strategist, Dragonborn. I would have suggested modifying our Amulets of Disguise, and sending Infiltrators disguised as dwarves… Though we’d need to capture a few of them to make that happen.”Hm, that’s an idea, too, you suppose… Delaying the raid proper, but obtaining some dwarven captives to interrogate and ‘deconstruct’ for disguise-materials.How will you begin your campaign?>A series of daylight raids on the dwarves to thin their numbers>A two-wave invasion: kobolds to strike, your other forces to cut off means of communication and escape, and a direct siege>A three-pronged nighttime assault: one decoy force to draw the dwarves out, then bugbears to invade the fort from the sides and above while you charge the front defences>A decapitating strike by your stealthiest forces during the day, and then a major unified offensive at sunset>Focus on capturing some dwarves to interrogate and extract materials from—the main raid will come next, when you better understand your enemy>Write-in
>>5341285>Focus on capturing some dwarves to interrogate and extract materials from—the main raid will come next, when you better understand your enemy>shitter coomers almost wongod, does progression have to be a choice now?
>>5341285BREEDABLEFERTILENOVICEFLESHWEAVERHIPS
>>5341307But they will know shit's up when dwarves go missing
>>5341285>A decapitating strike by your stealthiest forces during the day, and then a major unified offensive at sunsetSeems like it'll make the most people happyAnd what are the chances of the thief getting spotted twice? He's got a better idea of their defenses now, plus the cloakSurrounding them would be a good precaution, to catch any runners.
>>5341285>A decapitating strike by your stealthiest forces during the day, and then a major unified offensive at sunset
>>5341285>A decapitating strike by your stealthiest forces during the day, and then a major unified offensive at sunsetThe Thief better not fail us after all that talk about ambition and how he'll prove himself now.
>>5341285>Focus on capturing some dwarves to interrogate and extract materials from—the main raid will come next, when you better understand your enemyInfiltrating the Dwarfs via disguise would be fun, just imagine the chaos and confusion from the ‘backstab’!
>>5341285>A decapitating strike by your stealthiest forces during the day, and then a major unified offensive at sunset>Give the Novices’ jiggly bubble butt a firm smack. She knows we like it.
>>5341285>Focus on capturing some dwarves to interrogate and extract materials from—the main raid will come next, when you better understand your enemy
>>5341605>>5341453>>5341451>>5341443>>5341340>>5341336>>5341334>>5341312>>5341307You survey your expectant allies, and nod to the Thief.“You have my cloak,” you tell him. “If you encounter resistance, may it preserve you.”The Thief bows his head low, and hurries to leave. With him, he brings the four Drow, the Bogbarri (save their grumbling Boss), and Paeris—your stealthiest member of the retinue, next to the Theif himself, or the currently-cocooned Glowie.Glowie… Your thoughts briefly turn back to her. The strange caterpillar-woman, ‘princess’ of a hive-queen of an insectoid race, concocted as some fallback plan to replace your own Reptilian Master Race in case of your failure and extinction. Instead, she became a… Friend. Now, she is in the safe-keeping of a dark elven, also of some unknown ‘princess’ pedigree—Jazkarmel. Far from replacing your bloodline with her own, she is a its preservation: she is metamorphosing in reparation to lay eggs which YOU fertilized, mixed with the pure bloodline of the Red Dragon king by the fleshweaving magicks of the Novice.You have the brief, perversely-amusing thought that, if you fail and die here, you will at least have heirs to avenge you.You shake off the sudden foreboding, retreating to your chamber to meditate for a time, and to restore your mana in preparation for the campaign ahead. You steady your spirit and strengthen your resolve. Eventually—you can’t say how much later—the Bastard calls out to you:“Dragonborn, Superior One! The sun will set in three hours.”“Then it is time,” you respond. “Good.”You find your forces gathered, waiting for you. The Novice, the Merchants, and the Translator are armed with ranged weapons—bows, crossbows, slings. Oluwadamilare, the Degenerate Archer, is with them; his own great bow—a new one, of elven make, you notice—puts theirs to shame, but so well might his skill with it. Many of the kobolds have been armed with spears, axes, and knives, but a few twirl swings in practiced motions, readying their arms to aid in the ranged assault—they form the bulk of your force by numbers, and fill in the midsection of your column. The Cartographer, by necessity, shall be accompanying you, your fire-lizards, the Bastard and the Pit-Guard and his Apprentice at the head of this marching army.
Rolled 9, 12, 1, 7, 20, 16, 20 = 85 (7d20)>>5341718“Where is the Bogbarri’s leader?” you ask, for you see no sign of the so-called ‘Boss’ of the savage spike-men.“Vanished,” grunts the Bastard, disapprovingly.“Went to retrieve his mount,” Paeris informs you. “I suspect so, anyway. I saw a glimmer of his glamour earlier, headed down into the depths.“Or the cowardly ape abandoned us,” scoffs the North-Merchant.“I would not be so sure,” murmurs the South. “That one is thirsty for blood. And there is a power within him…”You sensed it, too. It’s why you tread with caution around the bugbears initially, when you knew them only as ‘barbed devils’ or ‘dark creepers’, when you had seen him only in visions. You doubt that the Bogbarri Boss has fled the field… But you do wonder what form his return will take. You realize you have only seen his barest capability, for brutish intimidation and grappling combat, but none of the magic you suspect he is capable of… Nor has he volunteered to tell you of his skillset. Bah, no time to pursue that now.“Onward!” you roar. “To war! To victory! To a new Age of Dragons!"And so your forces advance, bathed in the ominous glow of a Bloodrise sunset. It’s as if blood red curtains are being drawn up, siding up over the mountains and away, revealing the darkened stage where you players shall act your roles in the theatre of war.You can only hope that the Thief and his forces have played their own part to the hilt.6d20 for the Thief and his allies [DC 15/17/19]; 1d20 for the enemies' response thereafter [5/10/15/20, higher is worse for you]
>>5341722>both thief and enemies got 20well now
>>5341722Goddamn hyperadvanced midget scum. How's it gonna be?>1 and 20 cancel out, 16 versus their 20>1 is ignored outright, 20 versus their 20
>>5341751They don't cancel out
>>5341722Goddamn whenever there's a 1d20 enemy roll they always roll a 20.
>>5341722It is a long march, and over the course of it, the red glow of the setting sun gives way to darkness, as might be expected… But then, to your surprise and initial confusion, the sky seems to open up anew and spill yet more heavenly blood upon the cliffs, a second sunset—or sunrise?—from the opposite direction. It is only when you wind the final path that the source is revealed to you, and your confusion turns to delight:>20The dwarven fortress is wrecked, alight with flames despite its sturdy construction.The bulk of the tunnels below bore into the earth, and much of their defensive bulwark—a towering, imposing structure—is also stone, but there are some uses to which stone cannot be quickly and efficiently put. All of these were made with wood from the forests below, and ALL of them are ablaze. Dwarves—small, squat, hairy ape-folk, uniformly bearded and roughshod in appearance—run about frantically, trying to stomp out or smother flames. A few pour water upon the fires from buckets, but this only seems to spread it further, and the majority seem to be reverting to sand. By their utter disorganization, you can assume one of two things: their competence and organization was grossly overstated, or the mission of sabotage has been a huge success, and their command structure is in complete disarray.“What are they shouting?” you ask the Translator, falling back to do so.“Many things,” he says with clear pleasure, “all of them quite bad for them. They say that monsters have attacked the fortification from below—that they have killed their Chief Trader, that they have killed MANY. None of the dwarves now knows who is in charge, and their forces are apparently engaged below, trying to drive them back.”You grin a terrible grin.“Well then, shall we create a second front?”You sit astride the basilisk—a creature that, though not enormous in size, is great enough in length to support you atop its barrel-like body with is six powerful limbs. Too late, the dwarves catch sight of your silhouettes, cast into shadows by the flame but still visible in the murk thanks to their race’s darkvision. You share that trait, though, and you see with wicked glee the effect that the terrible glare of your mount has upon them—they double over, recoiling in pain and confusion as the paralyzing eyes of the creature take their toll on all it surveys.
>>5341763Few have seen you, and those few who have are momentarily helpless. What do you do?>Command your forces forwards as one, killing or capturing every dwarf you can as you advance towards the main gates of the dwarf fortress>Order your allies to encircle the camp and attack from range, keeping the dwarves off-balance and cutting off any attempts at escape >Charge straight for the gate, to take the fortress and aid your allies already inside>Activate your <Augmented Dragonshape> and dismount, advancing towards them and demanding surrender with all your Fearsome Presence>Use your <Wall of Stone> to collapse the path behind you and to entrap the dwarves, then target the tower to bring it low with an <Earth Tremor>>Write-in>>5341748>>5341751>>5341756[Crit fails only apply when there is no success; it doesn't cancel out a 20. The enemy 20, on the other hand... Also doesn't cancel anything out, but it may have complicated matters.]
>>5341764>Order your allies to encircle the camp and attack from range, keeping the dwarves off-balance and cutting off any attempts at escape >Use your <Wall of Stone> to collapse the path behind you and to entrap the dwarves, then target the tower to bring it low with an <Earth Tremor>Making sure there's no survivors is the priority. Word of this cannot spread or the dwarves will be too entrenched. It's worth using mana here and attacking from range to absolutely guarantee it.
>>5341751iirc 1 only counts when no other rolls pass the DCso we got a crit, but they also critwe can only hope our crit hurt theirs since we got it first>Command your forces forwards as one, killing or capturing every dwarf you can as you advance towards the main gates of the dwarf fortress
>>5341775+1Lead the melee in through gate while range pick off survivor
The Novice better let us fuck the shit out of her after this. Jiggle that ass until her scales fall off from friction All this success should turn her on.
>>5341799I think she needs to be in seasonwho knows when that will be
>>5341800Jiggle Glowie until she ready than
>>5341803Glowie is in a cocoon, and you may recall she felt that she and the Dragonborn would not be 'compatible' when she emerged
>>5341775+1; no witnesses
>>5341804This is why I wanted to fuck her one last time
>>5341764>>Order your allies to encircle the camp and attack from range, keeping the dwarves off-balance and cutting off any attempts at escape
>>5341764>>5341775 +1>Join the shooting
>>5341775Supporting Nobody lives
>>5341764>Command your forces forwards as one, killing or capturing every dwarf you can as you advance towards the main gates of the dwarf fortress>Use your <Wall of Stone> to collapse the path behind you and to entrap the dwarves, then target the tower to bring it low with an <Earth Tremor>We have to be quick about this, no time to dally.
>>5341764>Use your <Wall of Stone> to collapse the path behind you and to entrap the dwarves, then target the tower to bring it low with an <Earth Tremor>
Rolled 8, 8, 19, 11, 10, 2, 9, 14, 11 = 92 (9d20)>>5342370>>5342263>>5342053>>5342030>>5341848>>5341807>>5341786>>5341779>>5341775“Nobody escapes,” you announce your order, “and nobody lives. Quickly, we have no time to dally!”Your thirty-off kobold warriors haphazardly scramble to encircle the camp, cutting off what escape routes they an. Your slingers begin to sling stones, your archer to loose arrows; Olu the Archer swiftly ends one of the dwarves your basilisk stunned, While a few haphazard shots by the others eventually catch and kill the rest. You witness this with grim satisfaction, as the dwarves realize they are no beset from both sides. To their credit, your adversaries swiftly rally, beginning to form up in spite of a lack of leadership. A volley of stones, and thrown axes and knives, are hurled in your direction, forcing your forces to back up, and then their forces begin to charge for what they see as a weak point in your line—a place with fewer slingers than most, where the kobolds’ melee capabilities are all that stand between these dwarves and a strategic regouping beyond your immediate span of control.“Not so fast,” you mutter, beginning to work your magic over the earth.[3d20 spellcraft, 3d20 archery, 2d20 for allies' probability of success, 1d20 for enemies; your DCs are all lowered to 14 by the advantages accrued by your tactics, your enemies' raised to 16]
Rolled 8, 20, 10 = 38 (3d20)>>5342433>19You leap down from your basilisk, needing the feel of the earth—the direct connection, to properly work it. On impact, the ground seems to shake, and to ripple in a line towards the dwarves. They are sturdy folk, well-balanced and low to the ground, but it nearly sends even them tumbling. They’re certainly disoriented when the mountain pass behind the kobolds comes tumbling down, the cliff consuming it, and then rises up anew to form a solid barricade of broken, cracked stone.>11The delay is momentary. You have barely enough time to draw your bow before they have turned on you, are now screaming their war-cries and hurtling back from whence they came to cut you down. You loose an arrow, but it flies wide. You back up a step, but bump into your basilisk. Well, it seems you and the six-legged lizard will be engaging in melee—and too soon for you to draw a blade, at this rate. You brace yourself…>14But the assault never comes, for the kobolds have not sat idle. Rallied with a roar by the Bastard, they charge down after the dwarves of swifter feet, and set upon them from behind. Too late, this disorganized dwarves realize their error in judgement in forgetting about the weaker but more numerous foes behind them to focus on you, the leader. They are stabbed, slashed, clawed and bitten, and left dead to the last.
Rolled 8, 1, 12 = 21 (3d20)>>5342463There are many more dwarves still within the fortress, though. As they realize there is no escape through you—nor any real chance of engaging your superior numbers and organization in a melee with you shifting the terrain and your forces carefully maintaining distance and chipping away at them from afar, the dwarves still in-the-field regoup inside their little castle-town, braving the flames rather than your wrath.Ha. If they only knew what was coming.You step forward with footfalls that literally shake the earth. Gradually, as you advance towards the fortifications, you gain speed. The dwarves seem you coming, and their crossbowmen fire. Quarrels of orichalcum-plated steel impact the rocky ground to either side of you, embedding deeply for their hardness, their sharpness, and the keen engineering of these arrogant tunnel-monkeys. You ignore them, maintain your concentration, and summon much of your mana down from your head, through your organs and down into your gut, and then channel into a single word of power and great stomp.>20The earth buckles, and breaks. You hear a great lamentation, cries of agony and despair, as the tower twists, shifts sideways, and comes tumbling down in a terrific implosion. Dwarves are crushed, scattered or buried; for its defensible location upon the cliff-face, much of the above-ground structure of this ‘company-town’ now tumbles down into the jutting spikes and inescapable chasms below, dashing its defenders upon the rocks.From behind and above you, you hear a terrible screeching sound. You turn to see a silhouette ALMOST like a dragon in miniature—rising before the moon to blot it out with webbed, hairless wings. You recognize it a moment later: a great bat. You spare a wave of acknowledgement to the Bugbear Boss, whose mount—easily twice the size of you, with a wingspan four times your size—sweeps low over the battlefield. It snatches up one remaining dwarf in its jaws, hurling him down to the same fate as the dwarves within the fortress, and then divebombs after him—down to ensure the deaths (and collect the flesh) of any dwarves thus thrown down. The remaining dwarves between you and the ruin of their impromptu keep are terrified, flailing in fearful incompetence. Your pets and minions descend upon them and end what remains of your resistance, and you advance with them, to take the lower levels of this fortress… Only to realize something terrible.The fortress has not merely toppled, but collapsed in on itself, the rock shelf and rubble of the brickwork and burning wood tumbling DOWNWARD, into the shaft below.Below… Where the Thief, Paeris, and their squad of assassins was doing battle with the bulk of the dwarven warriors, according to the Translator’s interpretation.You scramble past your forces, rummaging through rock to find the entrance to the passages below...[Athleticism roll]
Rolled 7, 8, 12, 3, 4, 14, 11, 2, 13, 13, 11, 15 = 113 (12d15)>>5342476Death rolls. Duplicate rolls go to the next survivor down the numbered list.Result of crit fail on athleticism: you are not fast enough to save the Thief if his number comes up more than once, despite his cloak helping to survive the battle and the castle-collapse
>>5342481Did anyone die?
>>5342481You feel a growing helplessness in you as you realize just how much earth you have moved with your <Tremor>--and how little ability you have to actually, DELIBERATELY move it away without causing further damage. You can reshape it into walls, but even with all your mana you could not use this skill to completely clear the path down to the dungeons-depths of this fort, and all your mighty muscle is nary enough to liberate your companions from this tomb of your own making.Eventually, as the last of the dwarves are slain, your allies begin to come help you. Many can do little to speed the process—it takes three or four kobolds to equal your physical power, and the Pit-Guard’s Apprentice is still injured beyond being able to assist for long, while many of your other allies are necessarily less athletic than you. It is a long time—over an hour, you would estimate—before you truly open up the shaft into the ‘town’ below.It is indeed a town, albeit a small one. What was above-ground was all defensive bulwark and waste-storage; below, you find storehouses of trade-goods, barrels of food and ale, treasures of the earth, sleeping quarters for the miners and guards…And down below that, the mines—tunnels stretching down and out, into the mountain below. And in that place, where the tunnels meet the main column of the vertical column which seems to serve as community hub (or once did), you find the scene of the battle below—where dwarves, Drow, Bogbarri, and Reptilians made a final stand. Two dozen dwarves and a dozen of your own forces lay dead, hacked to pieces with one another’s weapons or crushed by falling debris form your own conquest above.You survey the casualties.Seven bugbears lay dead, with only two alive, greedily looting the corpses of their allies and enemies despite their own injuries. They laugh madly and grin at you with triumphant glee when you reach them, though you can see them tremble slightly with anxiety or the come-down from their intense adrenaline high.Half the dark elves who accompanied you are dead, also… Including their Ranger-Captain, Epharidan, with whom you brokered peace. He lays atop a dead dwarf, his twin daggers still embedded in the stouter mammal’s chest, his knuckles still white with the ferocity of his death-grip… Despite the axe embedded in his skull in retaliation.The remaining two Drow are injured, but stand dutiful vigil over their dead companion… And two others. Your heart falls a little as you see the prone, unmoving forms of two figures: the Thief, wearing the very cloak you gifted him; Paeris, the half-elven Degenerate bard.You stride towards them, the Drow making way for you without the need for request, and you lean down to examine them. Paeris… Is dead. He is missing an arm in its entirety, and has gone pale white with loss of blood.“When he could not string his bow, or pluck his harp, the trai—the half-elf, he yet sang.”
>>5342536You look up at the Drow who spoke and meet his eyes—pale eyes, hollow. “He sang a dirge. It was… Sad, but defiant. He defied Death, to the end.” But still… The lord of Endings took him, ended his tale. The Degenerate had been seemingly troubled for many days now but, preoccupied with diplomacy, with war-preparations, with the Novice, you had never gotten the chance to ask after him. Now, you never will.As for the Thief… Well, some small mercy is found there. He is battered, bruised, lacerated in several places, but the Drow staunched the bleeding, and his Cloak of protection spared him lethal injury. He might yet die—unconsciousness for this long, blood-loss such as he has suffered, they are no small thing… But thanks to your gift, he lived.“He guided us well,” speaks the other Drow now. “This… ‘Thief’. He is a worthy assassin in his own right. We slipped in a passage, up through the mines… Found their blasting-powder and their alcohol… Set their charges in their own home, and set their fortifications ablaze”“We saw,” you nod.“We targeted the leadership next, slew many of them before the defenders could move from the outside to the inside… But they outnumbered us, outfought us.”The last words are spoken with dejection, bitterness… But, well, it is twenty-four or more dead dwarves, at least, to eleven of your own allies. What do you do?>Fetch the Novice immediately, to save the Thief if she can>Grab what loot you can, before the damned bugbears get the best of it>Lead your forces in seeking out and rounding up any survivors or support-staff within the fort>Write-inWhat do you say to the survivors of your assassination squad?>Commend—they performed admirably, acquitting themselves well>Condemn—they made several tactical errors that have cost you some of your best warriors>Apologize—you should have done better, been here sooner>Comfort—they have suffered for your cause, and you will not let it be in vain>Say nothing—the results speak for themselves, and what is done is done
>>5342539>>Fetch the Novice immediately, to save the Thief if she can>>Commend—they performed admirably, acquitting themselves well
>>5342539+1There goes my favorite party members enemies had to crit and we had to crit fail at the worst times.
>>5342481I nearly spit out my tall can of megasized monster energy drink, I genuinely could not find a reaction image that expressed how I felt so I made midjourney make a man in pure anguish and misery
>>5342593Olu was the one having sexual relations with a Drow, not Paeris, for what that's worth
>>5342539>Send a prayer to death asking that they may have peace in death >Commend—they performed admirably, acquitting themselves well
>>5342539>Fetch the Novice immediately, to save the Thief if she canif failure>Send a prayer to Death asking that they may have peace in deathwhatever the case>Commend—they performed admirably, acquitting themselves well
>>5342584+1 what you goofball you forgot to link your post>>5342539>Fetch the Novice immediately, to save the thief if she canHave her and any other capable people start assisting the other injured as well, we need to not waver in this new leadership role we can fill for the drow until Jaz gets back at least, also good to show the bogs to assist their comrades rather than revel in their downfall under us>Commend- They performed admirably acquitting themselves wellEmphasize how well those we lost fought and how their sacrifice will help build the foundation to the empire of our peoples, dont seperate the races in your speech keeping them as "one community" unless emphasizing the specifics feats they achieved in the battle, everyone is going to feel a little raw about losing members of their own species so its good to remind them they arent alone anymore and we are one people of many races, placate Novice's overbearing reptilian supremacy saying its just a power play in private for snusnu
>>5342599LESS ANGUISH THEN BUT STILL SAD PAERIS DIDNT GET HIS DROW REDEMPTION WITHOUT SACRIFICE
>>5342558+1
>>5342539>Fetch the Novice immediately, to save the Thief if she can>Apologize—you should have done better, been here sooner
>>5342539>Fetch the Novice immediately, to save the Thief if she can>Send the fucking bugbears away if they tried looting reptilians or the drow>Commend—they performed admirably, acquitting themselves wellthen>Apologize—you should have done better, been here soonerAfter all is said and done>Send a prayer to Death asking that they may have peace in death>>5342584We should've fucking remembered and approached this silently, holy fucking shit. Fuck.>>5342593Is a reptilian whose name you can't even fucking remember breeding the drow the only thing you care about now, anon? Why am I even surprised.
When we get back we should recruit more degenerates in their memory. They were good and loyal men that were more than their degenerate status.
Rolled 15, 2, 11, 14, 17, 3 = 62 (6d20)>>5342558>>5342602>>5342618>>5342629>>5342736>>5342889>>5342915You stand up, fixing your gaze upon each of the conscious survivors—the two Drow, the two Bogbarri. To your consternation, the bugbears are continuing in their looting—their former ‘friends’ and the dwarves. You suspect they’d have looted the Drow and Reptilians as well, had not the two remaining Drow Rangers been standing guard. You have half a mind to banish the spiky bastards back to the rock they crawled out from under… But then, with seven dead Bogbarri laying around you, having paid the ultimate price for this victory specifically FOR the right to loot and feast on the dead, you suppose condemnation may send the wrong message.“You all performed excellently,” you instead say, loudly enough for all to hear—not that the Bogbarri can understand you. They throw you a strange glance, warily shielding their stolen aces and decorations from you as if you might take them.“Good,” you say sighingly, in Dwarven—the only language they speak which you know any words in. They smile uncertainly, and nod.“Stay,” you tell them. “Get help.”To the elves, with whom you can more easily speak, you explain more fully: “I’m going to bring the Novice Fleshweaver. She is a capable healer. Do NOT move the Thief. He takes priority, but we will attend to you all.”Without another word, you bound back up the way you came, to the surface once more. There, you find the Novice, attending to the minor minor injuries incurred by your kobold allies and other melee combatants in the fray.“Come,” you command her, and so she does—without even any snippy comment. It must be in your expression, or your tone.Despite the urgency with which she attends to your command, the Novice is no athlete, and the same thick rear which you have found yourself appreciating is no asset in trying to climb down the long shaft of the dwarven passage. Instead, you take her in your arms—something that DOEs elicit a surprised and affronted squeak—and <Jump> down to save time. At the bottom of the shaft, she sees the need for this hasty reassignment, and without the need for instruction she hurries to the side of the unconscious and brutalized Silkscale male. You resist the urge to pace, simply crossing your arms and willing you tail to dignified stillness rather than anxious lashing-about.All you can do is wait[3d20 for the healing effort and 3d20 for other events, elsewhere, which will be touched upon next]>>5342928[Paeris and Olu were Degenerates; Olu yet lives, and is actually doing pretty okay. The Thief is/was a Silkscale, just one who has been dishonoured and branded]
>>5342539>Grab what loot you can, before the damned bugbears get the best of it>Condemn—they made several tactical errors that have cost you some of your best warriors
>>5342935>15To your great relief, the Novice is able to stabilize the Thief’s condition with her magic. Using a more mundane method—a small jar of aromatic herbs—she is even able to rouse him to a concussed semblance of consciousness.“Where… Where am I?” he moans. “What happened to me?”You fill him in on events as you understand them, and he nods, half-understanding.“Our mission was a success, then?” he asks.“At great cost,” you say, “but yes, very much yes.”“Nothing valuable comes easily,” the Thief replies knowingly.He speaks truly, for it is mere moments later when a cry for aid comes down the shaft. You ascend it again, leaving the Novice to attend to the other badly-injured assassins, and rush to the aid of your forces. You find the Pit-Guard, Apprentice, and a smattering of kobolds blocking a hallway. One of the kobolds clutches an arm, which has a small quarrel—as from a hand-crossbow—embedded in the bicep.“We found quarters which are still inhabited,” explains the Pit-Guard. “They made to ambush us…”>17“But we heard their approach, and we retaliated!” proudly interrupts the Apprentice, holding a squirming dwarf aloft.The mammals is grey-bearded, with one hand a crude prosthetic and one half f his body scarred—an old, injured minor. An elder. It explains why he was not in the battle.“Are those who remain all like you, then, old one?” you ask him in the northern common-tongue.His eyes widen, and you know that he understand your speech, but he remains stubbornly, defiantly silent.“Females, and spawn,” Ivno answers in his stead, helpfully adding: “You can tell by the chest-glands, with the females. The spawn lack the face-fur.”Mates, and offspring, and the elderly of their race—advisors, support-staff, families. You look down the hallway, to the reinforced door behind which they presumably cower, these so-called non-combatants… Some of the last living examples of these damnable, warm-blooded bastards who killed Infiltrator Paeris, and very nearly killed the thief. You stare at the door a moment, doing nothing… And then something moves you.It is…>Vengeful fury—you assume <Augmented Dragonshape> and burst down the door with a roar, to tear apart or immolate the lot of them>Sorrowful grief—this battle has not been glorious, in the end, but wasteful and tragic, and you would rather negotiate their peaceful surrender as your personal prisoners than spill more blood unnecessarily>Cold calculus—as is proper for a member of the Reptilian Master Race, you subdue your passions and instead plan a measured and organized entry, to intimidate and capture these dwarves for interrogation and barter with the Bogbarri>Write-in>>5342936Sorry, just a minute too late! Not that it was shaping up to be a very close vote.
>>5342944>Cold calculus—as is proper for a member of the Reptilian Master Race, you subdue your passions and instead plan a measured and organized entry, to intimidate and capture these dwarves for interrogation and barter with the BogbarriIn control
>>5342944>Piety— The Pit-guard is our loyal lieutenant he can gather the dwarves to be divided out as a prize at a later date for now. What is a more pressing matter is ensuring proper rites are preformed for our subordinate— no… friend, Paeris.
>>5342944>Cold calculus—as is proper for a member of the Reptilian Master Race, you subdue your passions and instead plan a measured and organized entry, to intimidate and capture these dwarves for interrogation and barter with the Bogbarri>an old, injured minor. An elder.An excellent mental exercise, this description. Pottery too.
>>5342961I'll support that after we solve all the problems here. It's not just these dwarves, we gotta divide loot and keep an eye on the insect grizzlies while at it.
>>5342944>Cold calculus—as is proper for a member of the Reptilian Master Race, you subdue your passions and instead plan a measured and organized entry, to intimidate and capture these dwarves for interrogation and barter with the Bogbarri
>>5342944>Vengeful fury—you assume <Augmented Dragonshape> and burst down the door with a roar, to tear apart or immolate the lot of them
>>5342961+1
>>5342964>>5342944*minerDagnabbit
>>5343002Don't worry, it's a perfect typo. I rate it 11/10 and I'm glad it's there.
>>5342944>Cold calculus—as is proper for a member of the Reptilian Master Race, you subdue your passions and instead plan a measured and organized entry, to intimidate and capture these dwarves for interrogation and barter with the BogbarriMourn later. Finish the job NOW
>>5342944>Cold calculus—as is proper for a member of the Reptilian Master Race, you subdue your passions and instead plan a measured and organized entry, to intimidate and capture these dwarves for interrogation and barter with the BogbarriSlaves are needed
Rolled 15, 4, 13, 2, 4, 1, 20, 17, 20, 17, 19 = 132 (11d20)>>5343119>>5343029>>5343014>>5343000>>5342998>>5342981>>5342964>>5342961>>5343135You feel a chill fill you up from within—a sort of frostburn-of-the-soul that freezes your heart in place, purging or suppressing the emotions warring within you. Fury, mourning, even the religious impulse to negotiate with your divine patrons for things to be DIFFERENT… They all fall away before a cold calculus.Your numbers are reduced.But the dwarves who remain will be desperate, fearful.A desperate and fearful creature, pitiful but cornered, can turn to any number of unpredictable gambits. They could mount a charge, set a trap, kill themselves to escape your ‘mercies’.But you need them alive, to interrogate, and to better bargain with the Bogbarri.You seize the dwarven elder, pulling him from the clutches of the Pit-Guard’s Apprentice.“You,” you hiss, “tell your femalesss and sspawn that they will be ssspared if they ssssurrender and open the door.”“…I will do no such thing, mons—”The elder’s head is removed from his body before he can finish, his corpse cast aside before he can shout a warning.“Stealthily now,” you whisper, reverting to the True Speech. “Kobolds first. Check for traps. Remove the door’s hinges. Pit-Guards, enter as soon as the door falls and the signal is given. The rest of us will follow.”“Yes, Superior One,” rings out the chorus, and they set to work.[2d20 trapfinding, 2d20 intimidation, 4d20 swordsmanship, 2d20 for allies vs. 1d20 for dwarves]
>>5343140>15Ivno and the kobolds dutifully check the door over for any sort of traps. They find evidence of just such a mechanism near the top of the door—a spring, bar, and counterweight system. There is no way for them to easily deactivate it from your side, but that is no matter: you have your fire-lizards at the ready, and between their fire and your own, it is a simple thing to burn away that section of wood, and to superheat the metal and stone to slag. Sadly, this gives away your element of surprise, ruining the shock and awe of your appearance as the door topples down…>19 for enemies…But you are still trained warriors, well-prepared and with the blessings of the Dark Gods, facing dwarves specifically too small, old, or female for the front lines. It’s shocking that the females and elders—armed with hammers, clubs, and even what appear to be kitchen implements or engineering tools—are even able to mount a fight at all. And they do…>20 for you, 20 for your allies…But it is simply not enough. You personally fend off the mightiest remaining male—an old, one-eyed, mangy-looking old dwarf with white beard and an aged-but-unblemished antique axe which has an air of magic about it. He charges, bellowing something in the harsh and guttural tongue of his people, but you sidestep the blow, and swing your sword to remove the offending arm. You left him up with your other hand, slamming him down onto one of the simple cots, and while horrified and wailing dwarf-spawn scream in horror. Your forces restrain and disarm each female, mutilating and killing when they must to end their struggles, until even they can only watch in horror with gritted teeth as this old and enfeebled defender’s blood soaks into the linen and cotton beneath him. Only then do you lift your blade to complete the execution, a show for your audience. Your foe looks at you with stone in his gaze and in his heart as you plunge your plan into him, through him, and into the sot beneath him, you release your grip on the elven moonblade’s pommel, and it stands of its own accord, pinning him in place like one of the Novice’s specimens. His eyes remain open, forevermore, but his soul goes out like a dying fire behind them. You stand up, surveying the remaining dwarves, and see that their will to resist has died with him.“Gather them,” you command your forces. “Outside, up top, now.”“Yes, Superior One!” rises the chorus again.You take a deep breath as the kobolds and Steeltalons lead the broken dwarves away. Only when you are alone with the dead to you exhale, feeling the icy cold which seized your very spirit release its grasp. Only then do you utter a quiet prayer for the souls of your dead allies-especially Paeris, a good and loyal Reptilian to the end—to find peace.
>>5343165When you return to the surface, most of your forces are likewise there. The Novice has set up a sort of improvised field hospital, using alcohol form the dwarves’ stores to clean and disinfect wounds, and the foes’ bedding and their remaining, undestroyed medical supplies to wrap up what wounds her magic is insufficient to completely seal. In the end, apart from your assassination squad, almost all your forces remain alive and largely unharmed—less than a half-dozen kobolds died or were injured in the invasion and destruction of this company-town.“They barely even made us work for it,” the pit-Guard scoffs.“I certainly do not feel underworked,” The Novice replies.Nor do you imagine the kobolds do, as they and the Merchants extract and account for the spoils: additional gems and precious metals to augment your horde, family trinkets stripped away from the clutching hands of ashen-faced females and the bodies of the forty-odd dead dwarves. This is in addition to the many useful tools and implements, dozens of mundane but masterfully-crafted weapons, and the magic axe.The dim moonlight is blotted out as the Bugbear Boss returns from his midnight flight. His bad lands, and he hops down from it. You survey the massive winged mammal with some trepidation, for it is even larger than the basilisk, if not quite so large as the Devourer; you eye its wings with a certain envy—not for the first time, you wish you had such wings, and could have soared over the battle as this creature and its master did.“No escapees,” the Boss says simply, throwing a dead dwarf down at your feet, and re-wrapping his curious chain around one arm. You not that the body looks… Frosty, and strangely desiccated. The bat-thing holds the leg of another such survivor in its teeth.
>>5343168“You took none alive?” you ask.The leader of the Bogbarri looks at you with confusion.“Why should I?” he asks. “Harder to transport live meat. Can just dry out, preserve.”His eyes settle on his dead subordinates, laid out upon the ground in a row, alongside the elves and Paeris, and separate from the dwarven dead.“See?” he says, quietly, in his croakingly-accented elven. “They do not take US alive.”He leans down over one of the Bogbarri, and for a moment you recall a hazy, drunken memory of this brutal, man-eating creature weeping into his wine over the loss of a mate and several ‘cubs’. You think you see the shadow of that same expression now, albeit held in check by practice and sobriety. What was this bugbear to him?The Bugbear Boss stands, and wheels around on the dwarves. He loosens his chain and lets it clatter to the stone, and drags it and he hunches forward and advances towards them, spitting curses in his unknown savage dialect. He begins to twirl the chain, and you can see he means to begin a slaughter. For all his bravado, he is not so cold as you and your race—his blood and passions run hot. He means to slaughter the lot of them, most brutally, in retaliation for his race’s heavy losses.You can see the dwarves recognize this, too. The females move to shield the children, mothers turning the back and wrapping their arms around their young in a final, instinctive act of love—or merely mercy, to shield them from seeing their death’s approach.What do you do?>Allow this massacre, though insist he leave one or two adults alive for questioning>Command the Bugbear Boss to halt—the dwarves already dead are more than enough to make up his share of the ‘dwarf meat’ that you negotiated, but these survivors are yours to question and enslave as you see fit>Facilitate this execution, but in a more… HUMANE manner, for something about the sight before you turns your stomach in spite of your cold heart >Write-in
>>5343170>Command the Bugbear Boss to halt—the dwarves already dead are more than enough to make up his share of the ‘dwarf meat’ that you negotiated, but these survivors are yours to question and enslave as you see fitWe need information and slaves. He can sate his vengeance on the next town, and there WILL be a next town Bogbarri.
>>5343170>Command the Bugbear Boss to halt—the dwarves already dead are more than enough to make up his share of the ‘dwarf meat’ that you negotiated, but these survivors are yours to question and enslave as you see fit
>>5343177+1 maybe add if they come of no use to us then he can have em, I imagine that may hold him off easier
>>5343170>Facilitate this execution, but in a more… HUMANE manner, for something about the sight before you turns your stomach in spite of your cold heart >>5343177we can get less short and ugly slaves
>>5343170>Command the Bugbear Boss to halt—the dwarves already dead are more than enough to make up his share of the ‘dwarf meat’ that you negotiated, but these survivors are yours to question and enslave as you see fit>Make it clear that we’re not challenging him. We are only making sure the agreement is upheld.
>>5343170>Command the Bugbear Boss to halt—the dwarves already dead are more than enough to make up his share of the ‘dwarf meat’ that you negotiated, but these survivors are yours to question and enslave as you see fitHe's gotten enough meat to feed his tribe of bogbarri for a year which is what he was promised. He'll have to put aside his revenge to uphold our deal.
>>5343170>Allow this massacre, though insist he leave one or two adults alive for questioning. We do not need dwarf slaves right now, we probably don't even have a place to permanently house them. Nor do we want to bring them back to our base or home.However the novice wants some living material for dwarven amulets of disguise.
>>5343170>>Command the Bugbear Boss to halt—the dwarves already dead are more than enough to make up his share of the ‘dwarf meat’ that you negotiated, but these survivors are yours to question and enslave as you see fitWe already questioned why he didn't bring back any alive, letting him kill our prisoners is bad for morale at best and inciting insubordination at worst.
Rolled 9, 10, 10, 18, 14 = 61 (5d20)>>5343275>>5343220>>5343212>>5343208>>5343207>>5343202>>5343188>>5343182>>5343177>>5343287“Stop!”The leader of the Bogbarri does as you command… But clearly not without reservation.“Why?” he demands. “And why should I obey you? We have deal, but I am not one of your lizards, Copper.”“I know that,” you say, holding back a sigh of irritation. “But we need information, and we’re entitled to ‘meat’ of our own… Or slaves, since the meat here is so abundant.”You gesture to the rows upon rows of dead dwarves—burnt dwarves, skewered dwarves, and many, MANY crushed dwarves. Virtually all of the adult males of the settlement lay dead.“Take however many you want,” you reassure him. “That should be enough to feed your tribe, for quite some time.”“Maybe,” he spits, “now that we have fewer mouths. But there is another hunger, Copper, beyond the stomach. The heart hungers, also.”You release your sigh, but not in annoyance. Rather, it is one of empathy, understanding, shared grief. You nod.“I understand,” you tell him. “We have suffered a loss, also. But Bogbarri… There will be other villages, other ‘company-towns’. You will HAVE your revenge on their race. We both will. But we need these ones alive. The agreement must be upheld.”[Diplomacy + Bonus d20 for Leadership]
>>5343308>18He is silent for a time… But then he whirls his chain a few times and coils it around his wrist and forearm once more, and shrugs. He barks something unintelligible at the two surviving Bogbarri assassins, who in turn hop to their feet and move to collect the dwarves they can carry.“You bring the rest,” he says, pointing at you sternly. “Drag down to somewhere low, dark. We retrieve, when I can get more hunters to collect.”He surveys the dead bugbears one last time, and ruminates.“Deaths will make it hard to convince… But all this meat, and some of gold and dwarf-axes… Yes, will find Bogbarri who will follow.”Without another word to you, he lopes to his bat-beast, slings himself atop it, and returns once more to the moon and stars above, and then vanishes down into some crack in the deep earth. His minions as stubbornly bound to the earth as any of you, trace a more traditional path down the mountainside… Once you use the last of your available mana to open the way for them again.Only then, exhausted mystically, emotionally, and physically, do you turn to the dwarves. They speak the northern common-tongue as you do, but it’s clear none of them understood your conversation with the barbed creature whose wrath you spared them—it was in the derived elven dialect of the Drow. They cower, not understanding what happened or why they yet live. They fear the worst.Perhaps they are right to do so.What information do you wish to extract from them via interrogation? [choose two]>A better understanding of the local dwarven political situation>The locations of their rival company towns>The uses for orichalcum>The magic axe's capabilities>The skillsets of the survivors, so you might better know what use to put them towards>Some of their language and culture, so you may better know your enemyWho will you try to extract this information from? [choose one]>Their eldest living male>Their comeliest female>The most fearful of the older adolescents
>>5343311>>The locations of their rival company towns>>The uses for orichalcum>>Their eldest living maleLet's be practical, we need do prove we have gained something valuable (orichalcum mine) to the Chaplain, and provide some direction (more targets) to point our new "allies" in so they don't fall to infighting.
>The uses for orichalcum>The skillsets of the survivors, so you might better know what use to put them towardsask ^ first so they know we're not planning on killing them>Their eldest living male
>>5343311>A better understanding of the local dwarven political situation>The skillsets of the survivors, so you might better know what use to put them towards>Their comeliest female
>>5343311>Their eldest living male>The locations of their rival company towns>>The uses for orichalcum
>>5343311>The uses for orichalcum>The locations of their rival company towns>Their eldest living male
>>5343311>The uses for orichalcum>Some of their language and culture, so you may better know your enemy>Their comeliest femaleHelga
>>5343311>The uses for orichalcum>The skillsets of the survivors, so you might better know what use to put them towards>Their comeliest femaleYou’d think Hornyanon would comment on this, considering the thicc shortstack dwarf meme and his obsession with fat asses.
>>5343311>The uses for orichalcum>The locations of their rival company towns>The most fearful of the older adolescents
>>5343311>The uses for orichalcum>The locations of their rival company towns>Their comeliest female>>5343403>HelgaNow that’s a favorite that brings be back. I do hope Warchest is doing well for herself, she deserves a high class job for her hardworking attitude and mind for business.
>>5343311>The uses for orichalcum>The locations of their rival company towns>Their comeliest femaleAfter the interrogation we should start proselytizing and converting our slaves to all the Dark Gods. I’m positive the younglings will be the most susceptible to our efforts.
>>5343311>The uses for orichalcum>The locations of their rival company towns>Their comeliest female
>>5343311>The locations of their rival company towns>The uses for orichalcum>Their eldest living male
>>5343456Warchest was just her stage name, as a pun about boobs. Fun facts!
>>5343341Supporting They will be slaves after all
>>5343311>>5343464+1
Rolled 1 (1d2)
>>5343663>>5343536>>5343534>>5343474>>5343471>>5343464>>5343456>>5343432>>5343414>>5343403>>5343402>>5343375>>5343355>>5343341You know very little of dwarven society, nor do any of those with whom you travel, The North-Merchant and Translator the most well-versed, and you summon both of them to your side. You summon the Cartographer, also.“I wish the interrogate the most useful and knowledgeable of the survivors,” you begin. “Who would that be, in your estimation?”They consult amongst one another—well, primarily the first two do so. The Cartographer looks at your questioningly.“I plan to learn the nature of their orichalcum extraction, and what it is they make with it,” you explain. “But we also need a better understanding of where the other sites of extraction are… The other ‘company-towns’. I will need the Translator here to ensure I understand all of it, should the subject’s common-tongue be weak, the North-Merchant to confirm what he tells me makes sense, and you to record the information so we can use it.”“Very wise, Dragonborn,” the Cartographer agrees.>>5343730>rolled it, tie-breaks for: eldest maleThe other two Reptilians present concur that the eldest surviving male would be the best to interrogate. Dwarves respect the wisdom of their elders and, while trusting the wisdom of any mammal is folly, it implies they are the wisest. And as for a male… Well, that is obvious. Males are superior in every right-minded society—it is the way of things.(You suppose you are lucky neither Jazkarmel nor the Novice is here to overhear this conversation, but you nod along.)A lame and limping creature with a grey-fringed brown beard is brought before you: the Eldest Dwarf. He has a name, too, but you see no cause to learn it.“Dwarf,” you greet him, instead. “Kneel.”“I can’t,” he says through gritted teeth. “My knee—”The Pit-Guard’s Apprentice, who brought him to you, smashes the flat of his blade into the back of the knees with question, and the old dwarf falls forward into an involuntary bow before you. He squints his eyes, as if holding back tears, but does not cry out. He glares up at you.What do you do?>Instruct the Apprentice to lay off—you will offer the Eldest Dwarf and his people the opportunity for cooperation and further mercy before resorting to more violence>Rough the old man up a little—the method of torturous interrogation used upon the adventurers you previously captured and who even now are enslaved in the kobolds’ mines>Play against one another—good conqueror/bad conqueror—to encourage the old dwarf to trust you as a source of mercy and respite>Write-in
>>5343755>Instruct the Apprentice to lay off—you will offer the Eldest Dwarf and his people the opportunity for cooperation and further mercy before resorting to more violenceHe is doomed, but the women and children are not. His cooperation here could be the mean a world of difference on how they’re treated.
>>5343755>Instruct the Apprentice to lay off—you will offer the Eldest Dwarf and his people the opportunity for cooperation and further mercy before resorting to more violence
>>5343755>>Instruct the Apprentice to lay off—you will offer the Eldest Dwarf and his people the opportunity for cooperation and further mercy before resorting to more violence
>>5343755>Instruct the Apprentice to lay off—you will offer the Eldest Dwarf and his people the opportunity for cooperation and further mercy before resorting to more violenceToo much mercy is gonna bite us in the ass. These aren't people who will forgive genociding their loved ones. They aren't stupid enough to be obedient slaves and not plot a retaliation.
>>5343774+1
>>5343755>Rough the old man up a little—the method of torturous interrogation used upon the adventurers you previously captured and who even now are enslaved in the kobolds’ mines
>>5343755>Play against one another—good conqueror/bad conqueror—to encourage the old dwarf to trust you as a source of mercy and respiteI like the idea of pulling a good cop/bad cop on the old man.
>>5343755>Play against one another—good conqueror/bad conqueror—to encourage the old dwarf to trust you as a source of mercy and respite.We need to keep the dwarfs off balance, make em believe that we're not unified on how to treat them, in order to psych them into sucking up to us.
>>5344127+1
>>5343755>Play against one another—good conqueror/bad conqueror—to encourage the old dwarf to trust you as a source of mercy and respite
Rolled 19, 11, 14, 5 = 49 (4d20)>>5344242>>5344148>>5344127>>5344010>>5343953>>5343860>>5343788>>5343774>>5343768>>5343763>>5343760“Apprentice Pit-Guard,” you address the Steeltalon sharply, “show care. This elder is vital to our plans… For our people, and for his.”The Apprentice looks almost affronted for a moment, but bows his head and steps back.“Apologiesss,” you address the Eldest Dwarf in the trade-tongue you two share. “Ssit, or sstand, asss you ssee fit.”He glowers at you darkly, and asks: “Do you think feigning basic courtesy will make me forget what you did to my brothers, my brother’s sons? Do you think me a FOOL, lizardman?”“Dragon, actually,” you reply coolly, “and no, dwarf. I do not think you a fool. I think you wise enough to underssstand that, while those ssons and nephewsss are dead and gone, your sisssters, daughtersss and sspawn yet ssurvive. If you do not appreciate my courtesssy, perhaps they yet might. Even if it isss feigned, it isss better than naked cruelty, yess?”DC 17; dwarves are honourable, stubborn, and hold grudges... And you DID do a bit of genocide recently.
>>5344326The Eldest Dwarf is not exactly FRIENDLY after this, but his hard-edged demeanour cracks a little. You see understanding dawn on him that, if he were to stick to his principles and die a defiant death, it would mean torture, mutilation, and terror filling the final moments of every female and child now in his protection. He is short—rhetorically as physically—and perfunctory, and you sense shame in him…>19But he tells you what you want to know. There are a dozen more company-towns scattered throughout the Bloodrise, belonging to one of four corporate sovereignties. Each of them is dedicated primarily to the mining of orichalcum, with the gems or other metals varying beneath each fort and of secondary importance.“The land holding itself is most important of all,” he tells you gruffly. “We… Hoped to expand, to make a place for our families, where we could live, grow, trade…”He stares at you, hate in his eyes.“And then we attacked,” you acknowledge. “Yesss… It musst sseem a terrible thing. But thiss wass our land, firsst.”“You aren’t dragons!” he shouts, losing himself in a fit of trembling rage for a moment. “The dragons are all dead, lizard! You have no right to—"“We are their heirsss,” you answer calmly. “Tell me, why do you covet thisss orichalcum sso greatly? I underssatnd that it sstores and channels magic readily, but… What usesss did you mean to put it toward? Sssimply the creation of weaponsss?”The Eldest Dwarf calms himself somewhat, though his voice ye quakes with repressed rage for a time.“Orichalcum is not merely useful for making weapons,” he answers. “It can be used as a sort of… Reservoir. A sink, into which magic can be poured, stored, and then drawn upon as needed. A structure with orichalcum struts, and filled with magic, is practically a living thing. It can be enchanted with a single defensive spell, and armorued with magical protection as easily as a dwarf can cast a spell of protection upon himself. A mechanism made with orichalcum gears and plating can be enchanted as if its entire body was a single weapon. And more than that… It can be cooled, heated… Electrified. The great dwarven technologist Ondael Blazingbeard realized what this meant: lighting, heating, cooling, all with such simple spellcraft an elven whelp could run a castle on his farts.”You stare blankly for a while, not really understanding.“Lizard, are you slow?” he asks, impetuously. “I’m talking about—”
>>5344351“A self-contained realm, a kingdom of perpetual light, perfectly-optimized temperature, where food can be grown and maintained in a perfect, artificial climate,” the North-Merchant blurts out, in your native tongue. “A self-sufficient kingdom, with no need to trade!”“That isn’t possible,” the Translator scoffs. “The amount of magic needed, the amount of orichalcum…” “An abundance of orichalcum would greatly reduce the amount of magic required to maintain such spells, properly applied,” the North-merchant notes. “I mean… Assuming the dwarf speaks truly. I admit I am… No mage.”But you are. The Novice Fleshweaver is, also… And, despite yoru natural talent for elementalism, her own theoretical understanding greatly exceeds your own. You suddenly regret her absence attending to the wounded. She would know if these dwarven fantasies are realistic or merely mammalian illogic.“So-called Dragon, have I not answered your question?” the Eldest Dwarf interrupts your contemplation.“How much orichalcum is there, in the Bloodrisssse?”He sighs, and shrugs.“More than is normal,” he answers, “but we don’t know. We think the… History here, the deaths of dragons and their ilk… Bled magic into this place, enriched the iron and copper. Just not sure how rich.”As far as you’re concerned, then, it really IS your race’s wealth, by right. The question is… What to do about the dwarves who are stealing it. Most of them will have to wait before you can deal with them, but there is still the matter of the one standing before you… And his fellow corporate citizens, the females and children of the raided fort.What will you do with the Eldest Dwarf?>He has served his purpose, and his hatred for you runs deep; grant him the mercy of a swift death>Torture him, and publicly sacrifice him to the Dark Gods, as an example to the others>Send him back to the prison, lest you require his counsel againWhat of the females and their spawn?>Put them to work as chattel slaves—a female dwarf is still stout, strong, and hardy, and they will be useful in re-opening the kobolds’ mines and reexacavating your people’s ruins>Sell them to the Bogbarri and Drow—let them be THEIR problem, not yours>Offer an ultimatum—convert and submit, and gain a form of second-class status in your empire, to die>Use them as hostages, to negotiate a meeting with the other dwarves of BloodriseAnd lastly, what will become of this place—their fort?>Reopen it, and populate it with kobolds and/or dwarven slaves—let them harvest the wealth here for your new Dark Empire>Desecrate it, invoking the wrath of the Dark Gods to render it forever a place of foreboding and suffering, and a warning to all invaders>Offer it, conditionally, to the Drow—a reward for their aid, and to better build your alliance[Write-ins permitted for all of the above]
>>5344353>Send him back to the prison, lest you require his counsel again>Offer an ultimatum—convert and submit, and gain a form of second-class status in your empire, to die>Offer it, conditionally, to the Drow—a reward for their aid, and to better build your allianceMmmm imagine a bunch of thicc little dwarf women having orgies with the fat ass silkscales in the breeding pit. Let them convert. Also we promise drow territory
>>5344353>He has served his purpose, and his hatred for you runs deep; grant him the mercy of a swift deathThis might be cruel but this should probably be policy with the elders and leaders of the dwarves. They are too dangerous as organizers to be left alive.>Offer an ultimatum—convert and submit, and gain a form of second-class status in your empire, to dieI don't know if they will convert but I don't think it's really feasible to keep all the women and children as slaves. It would be feasible for what's leftover of this company town, but not if we want to take all 12 of them. Dwarves are too stubborn and naturally hardy and hold grudges for too long to be a very large slave population. Especially when their captives are mostly kobolds. I think assimilation is best here. It'll be a trial run for this group to see if it's feasible on a larger scale. They're not too dangerous being mostly women and children.>Offer it, conditionally, to the Drow—a reward for their aid, and to better build your alliance>>State that the mineral rights are strictly ours, however.Unless we want to go running back to the chaplain right after this we're going to need a much larger contribution from the Drow to continue taking these company towns. I don't think the Bogbarri are very numerous and the Kobold's are mostly cannon fodder on the battlefield. As long as we get the majority of the Orichalum the Drow can expand their territory to at least just this company town.
>>5344353>>He has served his purpose, and his hatred for you runs deep; grant him the mercy of a swift death>Offer an ultimatum—convert and submit, and gain a form of second-class status in your empire, to die>Offer it, conditionally, to the Drow—a reward for their aid, and to better build your alliance>>State that the mineral rights are strictly ours, however.
>>5344378Full mineral rights might actually be too much and difficult to enforce since they'll be the ones inhabiting the land but I'm sure we can work out something such as a deal where they mine the mineral and we buy them at a reduced price.
>>5344353>He has served his purpose, and his hatred for you runs deep; grant him the mercy of a swift death>Offer an ultimatum—convert and submit, and gain a form of second-class status in your empire, to die>Offer it, conditionally, to the Drow—a reward for their aid, and to better build your alliance
>>5344368I’ll add mineral hoarding to vote orichalum sound too tasty >>State that the mineral rights are strictly ours, however
>>5344353>>Send him back to the prison, lest you require his counsel again>Offer an ultimatum—convert and submit, and gain a form of second-class status in your empire, or die>Reopen it, and populate it with kobolds and/or dwarven slaves—let them harvest the wealth here for your new Dark EmpireWe promised Kobold land first after all.
>>5344353>He has served his purpose, and his hatred for you runs deep; grant him the mercy of a swift death>Sell them to the Bogbarri and Drow—let them be THEIR problem, not yours>Reopen it, and populate it with kobolds—let them harvest the wealth here for your new Dark Empire
>>5344353>Torture him, and publicly sacrifice him to the Dark Gods, as an example to the others>Offer an ultimatum—convert and submit, and gain a form of second-class status in your empire, or die- via cattle slavery in the mines and ruins>Reopen it, and populate it with kobolds and/or dwarven slaves—let them harvest the wealth here for your new Dark EmpireIf we can also share it with the Drow, that would be nice. There should be enough room for us both, at least until the next town is conquered.>Get the Novice’s opinion on the orichalcum and it’s uses
>>5344353changing vote from >>5344439 to>He has served his purpose, and his hatred for you runs deep; grant him the mercy of a swift death>Offer an ultimatum—convert and submit, and gain a form of second-class status in your empire, to die>Reopen it, and populate it with kobolds—let them harvest the wealth here for your new Dark EmpireI forgot the promise to kobolds
>>5344678I don't think we actually promised the dwarves any land, though. I think all we promised them was a small share of the loot from the raids, and maybe a guarantee that there ancestral home of bloodrise when they stay now would remain there's.
>>5344680I don't think we promised the kobolds any land I mean. I think the only land we promised to any of our allies was the Drow
Rolled 3, 19, 13, 16, 1, 20 = 72 (6d20)>>5344678>>5344604>>5344536>>5344507>>5344502>>5344443>>5344400>>5344381>>5344378>>5344368“You have anssswered all fo my quesstionsss.”“Good,” the Eldest Dwarf grunts. “Then I will be returning to—”He stops short, gasping, and then coughing. Blood splatters the stone as the Apprentice Pit-Guard’s blade pierces him from behind. You rise, drawing your own blade, and looking down at the old mammal with ambivalence.“You ssserved your purpossse,”you explain, “but your grudges run deep. You are too dangerousss to leave alive.”Your sword slashes, and his head tumbles from his shoulders. You clean the blade, and instruct your retinue to dispose of the body while you attend to other matters—namely, the remaining dwarves.You arrive in the former living-quarters of the dwarves, guarded by the Bastard and many a kobold to discourage escape. As you enter the remove, you have the remaining elders removed—three females and another male. They are of the same stripe as the dwarf you just slew: too old, stubborn, bitter, and knowledgeable to be left alive. They would serve as a reminder of the deep past—of the old ways, of freedom from you. Though the younger dwarves wail and clutch at them as you remove these elders, it cannot be helped. For what you have planned, you need a clean slate.“Ssilenccce!”Your roar the word and, though you lack the Fearsome Presence to affect such mammals, you achieve much the same effect as you otherwise might.“You elderss are doomed,” you say simply, “but you… And your children… Are not. Not NECSCESSSSARILY, anyway.”You stride into their midst, unguarded, enduring the scheming and vengeful glares of the dwarf-women. They are a short sort of woman, mostly-unwashed, with frizzy and rough hair most often styled into braids and joined by such braids or by beads into a curious beard-mimicking hairstyle to keep the hair manageable; despite this, their sexual dimorphism is unmistakable, far moreso than with the elves, with distinct and pronounced curvature of form under their heavy tunics. One area where males and females seem quite alike in this race, though, is in physical strength; you can see muscles beneath their subcutaneous layer of fat, flexing with a desire to tear you limb from limb.“Let me tell you of my godsss, the Dark Godesss,” you begin, fixing you gaze upon each of them in turn. “In particular… The Mother of Dragonsss. Protector of Eggsss. Goddesss of Motherhood.”The dwarf-women look suspicious, confused.“I know little of your culture,” you admit. “I ssee that we have one thing in common, though—ssomething the Divine Mother would approve of: the males came to fight uss on the ssurfacce, in the minesss… But you, you protected the home, the children. The Mother of Dragonsss iss the Goddesss of Home Defencce. She would ressspect what you have achieve here, thisss day, in guarding your home, and your children.”
>>5344378Supporting Rather than ‘covert or die’ it should be ‘covert or be doomed to slavery in the darkest mines till they die’Outright killing them is a waste as I doubt many will covert. Those who DO covert thought should be made overseers of those who don’t. Love a compliant section of a race oppressing their own…
>>5344764“…Why are you telling us all this?” demands one dwarf maiden with platinum-blonde hair, nearly white, and amethyst eyesShe shifts from foot to foot and placing her hands on her hips as if to project some sort of authority of her own. Under the circumstances, it does little but draw your attention to the difference in height; she is half your height at best, though more heavily-constructed than a kobold of the same height.“Becausse I offer an ultimatum,” you explain. “Join uss the Dark Godesss’ worship, and teach your sspawn the sssame, and you will be given dignity, privilegess… In the new Age of Darknesss, your children will have a place.”“And if we refuse?” she demands.“You will be killed,” you answer succinctly. “We will take your children from you. We will raisse them in our wayss, regardlessss. Those who do not take to them will be killed, as you were, or worked to death as sslavesss.”>6d20 rolled for Diplomacy, Intimidation, & ReligionThis outspoken dwarf-woman his the impudence to meet your eyes, in spite of your might, in spite of her position. There is rebellion in these mammals… A fierceness of spirit.>19—success…But slowly, she nods, and lowers herself to one knee, bowing her head.>20—CRITICAL successOne by one, the other mothers, daughters, sisters, and their young sons do likewise, those too young to understand instructed and guided by their parents.“Good,” you say. “Now, join me… In a prayer….”The Mother Goddess was an obvious choice, under the circumstances, but do you emphasize any other Dark Gods in their teaching?>The Serpent Ascendant, to encourage these dwarves to keep their admirable fighting spirit—they will be harder to manage, but if you can channel this might they may become a source of great workers and warriors>The Baleful Beholder, so that their magical and scientific achievements may continue to bear fruit for your Master Race>The Persecutor of the Weak, who is ideal for enforcing a sense of hierarchy and dependency in a lesser population[We also have a 50/50 split vote on whether to give the dwarf-fort to the kobolds (under your direct dominion) or the Drow (with mineral rights considerations). Still accepting votes on that!]
>>5344770>>The Serpent Ascendant, to encourage these dwarves to keep their admirable fighting spirit—they will be harder to manage, but if you can channel this might they may become a source of great workers and warriorsI am biased as I love dwarves, so I'm ok with them being the upper crust of the primate subsociety.I can get behind the Baleful Beholder though.
>>5344768[I guess this would have broke the tie on how to use the fort, too! Drow it is.]
>>5344770>The Baleful Beholder, so that their magical and scientific achievements may continue to bear fruit for your Master RaceWe need an elemental magic teacher. I want to learn more moon magic to match our cool sword.
>>5344770>The Persecutor of the Weak, who is ideal for enforcing a sense of hierarchy and dependency in a lesser populationThey are a slave race and will forever be a slave race - better get used to it now >>5344787Happy with that.Make sure it’s confined to only this fort
>>5344770I see you ReptoidQM
>>5344770We could use an artisan class in our domains, people to bolster kobold ingenuity and make worthy arms and armor
>>5344770>The Baleful Beholder, so that their magical and scientific achievements may continue to bear fruit for your Master RaceIt's all about magical and scientific advancement, you knowmagic nukes when
>>5344770>The Baleful Beholder, so that their magical and scientific achievements may continue to bear fruit for your Master Race
>>5344770>>picrelDamn, I forgot that RQM is a dwarf apprentice.>The Baleful Beholder, so that their magical and scientific achievements may continue to bear fruit for your Master Race>>5344836I agree but I'm also kinda worried they'll get rebellious.
>>5344770>The Persecutor of the Weak, who is ideal for enforcing a sense of hierarchy and dependency in a lesser populationThey can be the upper crust of the mammals, but Reptilian Supremacy is absolute.
>>5344770>The Serpent Ascendant, to encourage these dwarves to keep their admirable fighting spirit—they will be harder to manage, but if you can channel this might they may become a source of great workers and warriors
>>5344936>dwarves>mammalian upper crustkekThey will be our slaves either way. We don't need a Dark God to keep them in check and after that 20 for obedience it just seems like a waste.
>>5344795It was a solid quest.
>>5344770>The Persecutor of the Weak, who is ideal for enforcing a sense of hierarchy and dependency in a lesser populationI mainly just want to work out our funk with the Prosecutor into a positive relationship, but I wouldn’t mind emphasizing the Serpent or the Beholder together as ideals that the dwarves should strive for. I think an energetic worker/warrior spirit and and a focus on intellectual achievements would mesh well with one another.
>>5344770>The Baleful Beholder, so that their magical and scientific achievements may continue to bear fruit for your Master RaceThe persecutor is a cuck we’ll jiggle the ass of many mammal women and make degenerate babies to cuck him
>>5344770>The Persecutor of the Weak, who is ideal for enforcing a sense of hierarchy and dependency in a lesser population
>>5344770I’d prefer a mix between the three, just to promote religious factionalism to main our control over them, but if I’m forced to choose only one God…>The Baleful Beholder, so that their magical and scientific achievements may continue to bear fruit for your Master RaceBecause the Serpent already got the Drow, the Beholder already helped us out, we can probably come to a peaceful accord with the Prosecutor, and I’m always a sucker for a magi-tech build in a civilization, just to see what they come up with.Would prefer to do a mix, cause I do think dwarf factionalism is key to preventing a coordinated rebellion.
>>5344784>>5344792>>5344793>>5344836>>5344878>>5344892>>5344936>>5344985>>5345087>>5345219>>5345284>>5345319Though a Reptilian upper crust will of course take precedence in your new Dragon Kingdom—you doubt the Chaplain would allow anything else, even fi you were so inclined—but you can see the value in this new dwarven project. These dwarves… If they could be made the understand the value of the Dark Gods, and yet their own initiative maintained, could serve as a sort of ‘mammalian intelligentsia’.“Pointless,” the Novice later scoffed, when you voiced this theory to her. “Their minds are underevolved, simple, emotional. They are rebels-in-waiting. Simply torture them to extract their theories, and then let our own Serpent Priests advance it.”“Is that you speaking,” you asked her then, “or your father?”She’d stared at you then, but you simply asked her pointedly: “Will eh assign a single female of your caste to this task, or will eh assign only males, because of their more logical, developed minds?”That shut her up, replacing her look of incensed outrage with a more thoughtful expression.So it was that, in your first organized prayer with the dwarves, you introduced them not to the Persecutor of the Weak, but the Master of the Insightful Eye.“Lead uss to the darkessst depthss, and exposse the ssecretsss hidden there,” you had prayed with them. “Let uss feel the flame, harnessss the heat, which casstss no light.”The dwarf-women resent you for the deaths of their mates, their fathers. Their children regard you in holy terror. This you know. But given time… Given the chance to influence these people… Their theories of magical-scientific confluence could truly usher in a new age. You truly believe it in your soul!That is a matter for the future, however. You must live in the here and now… A time of strife and scarcity, in spite of all your victories. In keeping the dwarves alive, you must also feed them. Their own raided provisions are scarcely enough to last them without hunting and foraging, without trading ore to the humans of the valleys below Bloodrise. With their staff ‘reduced’ by your attack, their trade cut-off, their citizens yet too untrustworthy to let into the woods unsupervised, you risk their starvation… or their own. Luckily, you have an idea—a way for one problem to solve another.
>>5345390“The Drow were promised territory,” you tell your council. “We will provide it to them. The magic items, the mineral wealth… These are to be ours, in large part, with a share to the kobolds. The meat, and what gold and gems they made off with, can go to the Bogbarri. But this dwarven company-town… It is now the purview of the Drow.”“Superior One, with all due respect, do you truly believe an enclave of mammals in our own ancestral lands is wise? An adjoining underdark empire, semi-subject to us… This can be easily caged and controlled. But if they start to intermingle openly with our populace, to occupy outposts all throughout our range here… What will the Priesthood say?”“I will handle that,” you say, feigning confidence. “They will understand.”It is, after all, only a single outpost… And it makes providing for the dwarves, and managing their labour, as much a Drow problem as a Reptilian one. And splitting authority and territory among your mammalian (and kobold) pawns, encouraging different divine allegiances... Such factionalism will help preclude a coordinated rebellion, or so you theorize. Divide and conquer, right?A hundred further questions buffet you from all sides—kobold concerns of being sidelined, Reptilian concerns of future mammalian rebellion and proposals for population control, questions about how orichalcum will be managed and sued once mined… It all begins to overwhelm you. You abruptly end the meeting, excusing yourself.You spend your evening…>Alone, in prayerful meditation, seeking divine guidance>With the Novice, head once more in her lap—it was the best rest you’ve had in some time, after all>With a thick dwarven concubine—your personal spoils from the raid>Drinking to the memory of the fallen Infiltrator Paeris, and reflecting on the toll of war>Write-in
>>5345392>Alone, in prayerful meditation, seeking divine guidancewe really should pick a patron already
>>5345392>Drinking to the memory of the fallen Infiltrator Paeris, and reflecting on the toll of war
>>5345392>Alone, in prayerful meditation, seeking divine guidance
>>5345392>With a thick dwarven concubine—your personal spoils from the raid>Drinking to the memory of the fallen Infiltrator Paeris, and reflecting on the toll of warDrink with a dwarf between our legs
>>5345392>With the Novice, head once more in her lap—it was the best rest you’ve had in some time, after all
>>5345392>>Alone, in prayerful meditation, seeking divine guidance
>>5345400>>5345402>>5345404>>5345422>>5345444>>5345446>>5345461>>5345479>>5345486You set aside your companions, your ambitions, even your <appetite>, to commit to solitude and to meditations. As you have on several previous occasions before torpor, you light a candle, and speak the words:“Oh Lords and Ladies of Eternity and Infinity, oh Lords of the Endless Black, oh Ladies of the Deep Flame. It is I, your prince! It is I, your servant! Your first among sons and daughters beseeches you, and I offer up this great tribute, in hopes you will hear me, and guide me, and make me a part of your Grand Design.”For a time there is a deep quietude. Then, the candle flares, and sputters, and belches for a faintly-bluish smoke I plausible buffets that cascade out and spiral up into a latticework of tendrils and tenacles. The remaining fire of the candle’s wick becomes a single unblinking, all-seeing eye.“You bring me a tribute of dwerrow—of dwarven-folk.”It is the whispering voice of the Master of eh Insightful Eye, God of Secret Knowledge, also called The Baleful Beholder. It is a voice from within and without, appropriate for a gaze that so pierces and transfixes you, and tentacles of smoke which so invade your every sense.“You gave me a great boon,” you reply, recalling the self-knowledge which the Dark God of Dark Truth granted you—the realization that you desire admiration, respect, and the recognition and love of a community above all else. Maybe THIS is why you spared the dwarf-spawn and their mothers. “I return the favour.”“Your own mother could never bring herself to harm a child,” the Beholder muses. “Instead, she shaped them—yourself include—into something she could be proud of. You really are quite like her.”Your mother… A creature unknown to you, a half-human Degenerate. It is not the first time the Dark Gods have brought her up in your interactions.“You seek guidance, and you do not come empty-handed,” the God of Wisdom acknowledges. “I shall grant it. What do you seek?”You hesitate. A part of you has been considering, ever since this particular Dark God gave you the gift of understanding, becoming a champion to him. On your last occasion, however, he laughed, and rejected you—he felt you were already a part of his plan, without such formalities or commitments. Will he accept you now? Is this deity truly the one to which you would pledge your everlasting self—your dragon-soul? You cannot help but reflect that you do not actually know what Grand Design he works towards…What do you ask? Choose one:>Ask what the Grand Design of the Baleful Beholder entails>Ask what one could do, to become the Antipaladin of the God of Knowledge>Ask about your mother, the children she spared, and the man who killed her>Ask about the magic of the dwarves, and how to make it your own>Ask where Paeris’ soul now resides>Ask something else [write-in]
>>5345497>Ask what the Grand Design of the Baleful Beholder entails
>>5345497>Ask where Paeris’ soul now residesPaeris was my dawg hope he’s in a good place
>>5345497This god is cool and all but I don’t trust it scheming types are always screwy
>>5345497>Ask about your mother, the children she spared, and the man who killed her>Ask where Paeris’ soul now residesI'm fine with either or. Both are the same level of want so I don't care between choosing between the two.
>>5345497>Ask about your mother, the children she spared, and the man who killed herIsmena :c
>>5345497>Ask something else. [write-in]>-The abilities of and proper usage of your elven moon blade.
>>5345497>Ask where Paeris’ soul now residesWe’ll learn about mommy’s death after intense torture of her killer.
>>5345497>Ask about the magic of the dwarves, and how to make it your own Cmon what are we? Mammals?We need results to present to the chaplain
>>5345583Part mammal, yes.
>>5345497>Ask about your mother, the children she spared, and the man who killed her
>>5345497>Ask about the magic of the dwarves, and how to make it your ownWe really should take purple eyes as our concubine, if only because having a master dwarf smith devoted to the Beholder would be pure value to our future endeavors with Bloodrise.
>>5345596-1
>>5345497>Ask what the Grand Design of the Baleful Beholder entailsMainly to satisfy my curiosity. I’m also fine with Dworfmagik and Mom options.>>5345596I think adding a divinely inspired dwarf tinkerer to our retinue would be rad. Certainly would be more useful than the kobold members of our retinue.
>>5345497>Ask where Paeris’ soul now resides
>>5345504>>5345511>>5345563>>5345571>>5345576>>5345577>>5345583>>5345595>>5345596>>5345639>>5345715“Oh Dark One, tell me… What do you know of the fallen Infiltrator, the Degenerate called ‘Paeris’, and his fate?”The creeping smoke encircles you, the eye fixates upon you. You sense confusion, maybe even disappointment.“You ask for precious little in return for what you’ve offered up,” the Dark God of Knowledge says.You aren’t sure what to say in response to that. Should you… Change your request? Ask for something else in addition.“And yet,” the Baleful One continues, “you weigh it greatest of the many questions you wish to ask. Very well, you shall have your answer.”The smoke begins to swirl about you, to billow in great clouds until you are at the centre of an acrid and ashen hurricane. You squeeze both sets of eyelids shut, cover your nose automatically, but you do not cry out. When you feel this whirlwind subsiding, you dare to open your eyelids, and then your underlying membranes, and you see…“What is this?”You hover in open air—an exhilarating feeling that speaks to your flight-starved spirit, over an unknown realm. At its centre is a rising citadel—a broad-based, twisting spire coming to a single great lookout-point. It grows and sprouts like a curling horn of some great beast from a woodland unlike that out the Bloodrise—a blackened forest full of thorny leaves and blood-red fruits, the branches of which climb the single great structure like creeping ivy climbs some trees in the more natural woodlands which you have recently trekked. There is no wind here, no rustling or animal-noise—just eerie quiet. There is light, but scarce light, and an alien light; each of the trees, and the central tower itself, all reach up, and up, unendingly towards a single great star—too small to be son or moon, too brilliant to be any lesser star with which you are familiar.“Where am I?” you ask, but the Master does not answer.You do, however, see movement in the woods at the base of the tower. As you watch it with curiosity, three figures emerge: Infiltrator Paeris, but also the dark elf Ranger-Captain called Epharidan, and the other Drow who died in the assassination squad—Isstran, you think? You call out to them, but they do not respond—perhaps do not hear you. However, they each seem to know where they are going and, as you observe them, they enter a doorway at the base of the tower and begin to ascend. They quickly leave your sight, hidden by the Tower’s exterior.You wait in a curiously anxious silence for a length of time you cannot measure—maybe an instant, maybe a year. Finally, one by one, these three dead warriors emerge from the tower, at its very pinnacle. At the pinnacle, they all gaze upon the star, and lift their hands to it. Gradually, it descends, taking on a familiar bodyplan—two arms, two legs, a head. An elf?
>>5345738“I do not understand,” you hiss. “What are the elves doing here? Is this… Some elven afterlife?”Your heart sinks to think that Paeris would abandon your people’s faith, or that the once-godless Drow would return to their own gods-of-old, who betrayed them, rather than embrace the new faith which you brought to them. Are their souls the purview of some foreign God of Light, to be damned in the Age of Darkness to come? Have you failed them, lost them to an unknown elf-god?>NOT QUITE.You recognize the voice—a voice like an erupting volcano, like an exploding star. It rocks your entire being, and you see that the shining star-god who now embraces the three elves has set his sights on you, even as the three dead elf-men seem ignorant of your presence.“The Serpent Ascendant?”Indeed, it is his voice emanating from this ephemeral elf-being, with silver skin and wearing a cloak of feathers coloured gold in some places and blood red in others. Upon his head sits a crown of bones and blood, and further feathers. His form is unfamiliar, mammalian, but…>CORRECT.…But it is him.>I AM NO GOD OF LIGHT, BUT THANKS IN PART TO YOU, I AM A GOD OF ELVES.You understand now, as the Serpent Ascendant takes the three dead assassins and begins to rise, up into the empty and dark sky above. These three males who died in service to their ambition and to yours, who died gloriously and at a moment of astounding success, and you fought and struggled to the end, are to dwell in the Eternal Darkness of the Black Sky, where son, moon, and stars hold no sway, and the only light eternal is The God of Glory.You awake, having entered torpor at some point, to find the Master of the Insightful Eye gone, the candle burned down. You slept in an uncomfortable pose, legs crossed and sitting upright, and yet you feel… Not just refreshed, but satisfied. You know that Paeris has achieved a reward to which many Reptilians aspire. Not only that, your faith has gained some traction with the souls of the dark elves! But… What does this new transformation of The Serpent Ascendant and his realm mean, for your own race?
>>5345740Alas, there is no Dark God to ask, and duty beckons you elsewhere.You have decided, is your wisdom, to gift the dwarven company-town to the Drow—with conditions, of curse, chief among them access to the mineral rights of the structure in some form. What form will that take?>First right of refusal, and favourable trade terms, for any orichalcum mined there—they may own the mines and their fruits, but you want to be able to control the trade and export somewhat>A straight tax—this is your realm, and any Drow living in Bloodrise proper are to be treated as denizens of your Dragon Kingdom, and will offer up a portion of their spoils as a duty>All the mineral rights are yours, and ONLY yours, and IF you are feeling generous you may see fit to regift them a share of the minerals they extract in YOUR realm>Write-inThis offer—and the death of the Ranger-Captain and the other Drow assassin, will also need to be communicated. Many mammals also have curious death-rituals, and expectations of having their bodies repatriated in some fashion to their kin. Who shall do this duty?>Send Oluwadamilare, who has good relations with the leader of the dark elf encampment—you must remain here, to lead the campaign against the dwarves and oversee your new servants>Go in-person, to pay your respects, lead negotiations, and perhaps to negotiate further material aid or more elven warriors>Write-in
>>5345497>Ask about your mother, the children she spared, and the man who killed herWhat of our…cousin?
>>5345745[Sorry, anon. Maybe next time!]
>>5345741>First right of refusal, and favourable trade terms, for any orichalcum mined there—they may own the mines and their fruits, but you want to be able to control the trade and export somewhat>Go in-person, to pay your respects, lead negotiations, and perhaps to negotiate further material aid or more elven warriors
>>5345741>A straight tax—this is your realm, and any Drow living in Bloodrise proper are to be treated as denizens of your Dragon Kingdom, and will offer up a portion of their spoils as a duty>Go in-person, to pay your respects, lead negotiations, and perhaps to negotiate further material aid or more elven warriors
>>5345741>first right>send olu
>>5345741>First right of refusal, and favourable trade terms, for any orichalcum mined there—they may own the mines and their fruits, but you want to be able to control the trade and export somewhat>Send Oluwadamilare, who has good relations with the leader of the dark elf encampment—you must remain here, to lead the campaign against the dwarves and oversee your new servants
>>5345741>First right of refusal, and favourable trade terms, for any orichalcum mined there—they may own the mines and their fruits, but you want to be able to control the trade and export somewhat>Go in-person, to pay your respects, lead negotiations, and perhaps to negotiate further material aid or more elven warriorsIf possible, bring the Thief with us. His presence will be a VERY valuable asset for negotiations after he made this motherfucking suicide mission possible and nearly paid for it with his life. Proof of reptilian supremacy, if you will.We also need to get him the best set of dwarven daggers we can find. >wasted opportunity to learn about Ismena for some abstract aztec temple shit;-;
>>5345741>All the mineral rights are yours, and ONLY yours, and IF you are feeling generous you may see fit to regift them a share of the minerals they extract in YOUR realm>Send Oluwadamilare, who has good relations with the leader of the dark elf encampment—you must remain here, to lead the campaign against the dwarves and oversee your new servants
>>5345741>All the mineral rights are yours, and ONLY yours, and IF you are feeling generous you may see fit to regift them a share of the minerals they extract in YOUR realm>Go in-person, to pay your respects, lead negotiations, and perhaps to negotiate further material aid or more elven warriors>anons waste extremely valuable knowledge on something that doesn’t benefit usAs much as Paeris was a chad, he ain’t coming back ya doofuses.
[A close vote on whether to lead the war effort or visit the Drow! Just to clarify, this will likely determine whether the next leg of the quest is spent on empire-building and military campaigning, or on intrigue, diplomacy, and matters of personal honour among the elven court!]
>>5345741What a waste of a question…>First right of refusal, and favourable trade terms, for any orichalcum mined there—they may own the mines and their fruits, but you want to be able to control the trade and export somewhat>Send Oluwadamilare, who has good relations with the leader of the dark elf encampment—you must remain here, to lead the campaign against the dwarves and oversee your new servantsTell him to relay our vision to them - it may as well serve some purpose Their honoured dead were embraced by the Dark Gods in the afterlife
>>5345740>All the mineral rights are yours, and ONLY yours, and IF you are feeling generous you may see fit to regift them a share of the minerals they extract in YOUR realm>Go in-person, to pay your respects, lead negotiations, and perhaps to negotiate further material aid or more elven warriorsAnons voted to be a pussy diplomat, and now want to waste our upgrade? Fuck that, I want it known that it was us offering them such a sweet deal instead of that useless degenerate that lucked out with the Drow Princess.
>>5345757>>5345773>>5345817>>5345826>>5345902>>5345907>>5346137>>5346275>>5346317>>5346380>>5346406You opt to deliver the good news yourself: your very generous offer of a dwarven slave-mine to the Drow, with only a first-right-of-refusal and a fvaourable trade deal attached. It cost lives, it’s true—Reptilian, Drow, Bogbarri—but it was worth it. Further, after your vision, you know you have something else to bring to the dark elves; the good news of a fife beyond death in a realm of eternal glory, for all the noble dead!You’re also well-ware that this might be a difficult sell to atheists without tangible proof, especially while attempting to recruit more of them to potentially-lethal missions, which is why you decide a personal touch might be best. It’s also why you opt to bring dwarven slaves, and samples of the various mined materials, back with you as evidence and tribute.
>>5346615It will be a four-day travel each way between the Bloodrise base and the Drow forward camp, at bare minimum. This means you will be away a week, and only days after starting a war.“We know from your interrogation that there are two more dwarfs settlements which share corporate ownership,” the South-Merchant stresses to you during one council-meeting. “We MUST have a plan for what to do if they send a messenger or envoy.”“We should simply strike at the other two settlements of this corporation—these ‘Blackmantle Corporation’ dwarves,” declares the Bastard. “The corporations are rivals. If we dominate this entire faction, the others will not thin the lack of communication is odd. We can then rest easy until yoru return.”“The risk is too great,” the Translator angsts. “The Dragonborn is our mightiest warrior, OBVIOUSLY, and without him…”Without you, they risk defeat and death. Worse, they risk disorganization and dishonour, and any male who takes charge will carry the burden of difficult decisions, and the shame of any failed command.“What would you have us do, then?” the Pit-Guard asks, scoffing. “If the other dwarves come calling, do we simply… Pretend not to be home?”“We COULD have the slaves play at freedom,” the South-Merchant muses, albeit without great enthusiasm.“Females we have scarcely domesticated, just PRETENDING their males are too busy to respond to communications?” asks the incredulous Novice. “Not instead, for example, REVEALING our actions and inviting their saviors to liberate them from bondage? Are you absolutely—”“Well, we have their children hostage,” the North-Merchant notes. “Would they dare speak out against us, knowing we would immediately slay their spawn?”The Novice glares at him, simply concluding: “Idiotic.”“Kobolds can take blame.”
>>5346618You all turn to look to Ivno, your kobold retinue-member.“Ah… If we leave evidence, dwarves will think big-big raid… Successful in ways other raids fail, but still just kobold-raid. Maybe they come seeking us.”“We dig deep,” Agno interjects (our of turn, as your servant). “They either not find, or die in our home, or are captured—more slaves.”You scratch at your chin spines idly, considering the proposals. The Cartographer and Pit-Guard’s Apprentice remain silent, too prudent or indifferent to contribute. The Thief… He is still recovering from his ordeal, and must sadly sit out this meeting, while Oluwadamilare is excitedly preparing for the return journey—essentially assuming, without your explicit say-so, that you will bring him with you as a diplomatic attaché due to his ‘connection’ with the Drow Princess Jazkarmel.What will you command your forces to do in your absence?>Hold tight, and exercise caution—if free dwarves come calling, bluff them>Retreat with your slaves to the kobolds’ caverns, and lay defensive traps>Take proactive action against the other Balckmantle Corporation company towns, conquering the other two if they can>Write-inWho will you bring with you, on your diplomatic pilgrimage to the Drow? The Elf-Specialist (and Glowie) already await you there, and the surviving Drow assassins are already a given.[Choose as many, or as few, as you like]>The Novice Fleshweaver>The Translator>The Cartographer>The Thief>The Bastard>The Pit-Guard>The Pit-Guard’s Apprentice>Oluwadamilare the Archer>The Junior Novice>Agno>Ivno>The North-Merchant>The South-Merchant>The Junior Novice>Travel alone with the drow and dwarven slaves
>>5346621>Collapse the passageways to the company town using <Earth Tremor>. Make the blockage as dense as possible.>>Have the Novice fabricate amulets of disguise as fast as she can to take on dwarven forms while any messengers sent are delayed by the blockage.>Oluwadamilare the Archer>The Cartographer>The Junior Novice>The Pit-Guard’s Apprentice>AgnoIt won't seem odd to the other company towns that this company town hasn't sent any messengers if the passage ways are blocked. Hopefully the blockage will also delay any messengers sent to them for a sufficient amount of time for the Novice to assemble a decent amulet of disguise. Only thing I'm worried about is the language and accents if a messenger shows up before we're back, but we can have the Translator work overtime on the dwarf langauge.As for who we're taking Olu is an obvious choice and The Cartographer will map out Drow lands for us. Agno can come to serve as a mouthpiece for Kobold interest (and to make sure he isn't a malcontent while we're gone). Pit-Guard is still recovering so it's probably best for him to come with us on a diplomatic mision and get a chance to recover. The Junior Novice... For funsies and to continue his training.
>>5346646Actually add >The South-Merchantto the list. He should advise us on any trade deals there.
>>5346621I like the kobold raid bluff plan. I'm assuming this one is the corresponding option but please switch this to >Retreat if that's actually the one Ivno is proposing. Agno can suck tits.>Hold tight, and exercise caution—if free dwarves come calling, bluff them>Oluwadamilare the Archer>The Cartographer>The Pit-Guard’s Apprentice>Agno>The South-Merchant
>>5346621>>5346621>Take proactive action against the other Balckmantle Corporation company towns, conquering the other two if they can>The Novice Fleshweaver>The Translator>The Thief>The Bastard>The Pit-Guard>Ivno>The North-Merchant
>>5346652[Ivno is proposing taking the slaves, abandoning the settlement until the Drow come to claim it, and hiding out in a trap-laden kobold-warren until your return.]
>>5346646+1
>>5346621>Collapse the passageways to the company town using <Earth Tremor>. Make the blockage as dense as possible.>>Have the Novice fabricate amulets of disguise as fast as she can to take on dwarven forms while any messengers sent are delayed by the blockage.>Oluwadamilare the ArcherOnly him because we need to jiggle some fat elf ass and others will judge
>>5346705+1
>>5346621>Collapse the passageways to the company town using <Earth Tremor>. Make the blockage as dense as possible.>>Have the Novice fabricate amulets of disguise as fast as she can to take on dwarven forms while any messengers sent are delayed by the blockage.>Oluwadamilare the Archer
>>5346646>>5346651Supporting this
>>5346621>Collapse the passageways to the company town using <Earth Tremor>. Make the blockage as dense as possible.>Hold tight, and exercise caution—if free dwarves come calling, bluff them>The Novice Fleshweaver>The Thief>Agno>One or both of the Merchants>The Junior NoviceIf we personally are leaving, we should leave most of our capable fighters here. Oluwadamilare is our only range fighter (Ranger?), and one of the best equipped, so he’d be more useful here that with the diplomatic party if our Diplomat Dragon is going personally. Novice’s insight into magic would be useful, the Mechants would advise us on economic matters, and Ango and Jr are to dangerous to be left alone (unless we’re putting Ango in charge of Jr, which would be funny to watch). Cartographer should remain here, to scout out the dwarf fortress and immediate area. The Thief can rest in the Drow lands, and if we’re doing espionage, he’d be of significant help in that department when he’s recovered. The rest of our fighters are needed to hold down the fort.
You guys recall Paeris and co died from us using Earth Tremor while they were inside the dorf fort, yes?
>>5346870They didn't die because of us. Our attack only blocked the mineshaft leading to the town below...>And down below that, the mines—tunnels stretching down and out, into the mountain below.>And in that place, where the tunnels meet the main column of the vertical column (...), you find the scene of the battle below—where dwarves, Drow, Bogbarri, and Reptilians made a final stand. >“We targeted the leadership next, slew many of them before the defenders could move from the outside to the inside… But they outnumbered us, outfought us.”They died from engaging in lethal combat with testosterone midgets, I think we simply overreacted at first, thinking the d20 actually fell down onto their heads.
>>5346880I think we were supposed to get a chance to save them after collapsing but we crit failed on the athletics roll.
>>5346621>Hold tight, and exercise caution—if free dwarves come calling, bluff themWe can solo it.
>>5346621>>5346928>Travel alone with the drow and dwarven slavesIt’d be a proper challenge, worthy of the Serpent Ascendant.
>>5346885But we didn't kill them by accident.
>>5346621>Collapse the passageways to the company town using <Earth Tremor>. Make the blockage as dense as possible.>Have the Novice fabricate amulets of disguise as fast as she can to take on dwarven forms while any messengers sent are delayed by the blockage.She has enough captive dwarfs to use now>Oluwadamilare the Archer>The Cartographer>AgnoB team squad
>>5346944>>5346933>>5346928>>5346880>>5346857>>5346832>>5346796>>5346788>>5346764>>5346715>>5346705>>5346652>>5346651>>5346646You opt to take three members of your retinue with you… Or, well, two-and-a-half, you suppose. Firstly, you will bring the Cartographer, to map whatever you discover of the outcast elves’ subterranean realm, and Agno—the ‘and-a-half’, since he is not formally a member of your retinue but Is ALSO too much of a rabble-rouser to be left to his own devices in your absence. In addition to them, Olu the Archer is an obvious choice. The Degenerate’s assumptions are correct: his diplomatic and romantic inroads are invaluable. You still do not now what exactly the title of ‘Princess’ entails in Drow culture, out in implies importance inherent to Jazkarmel beyond being a leader of the forward base… And Oluwadamilare has been rutting with her and developed an obvious mutual affinity. Reflecting on such connections brings your mind to the matter of your own such close connections… And thus, to the Novice Fleshweaver. You’ve never mated, of course, and the degree to which she is even interested in such when her heat cycle begins is unclear… But you HAVE developed a certain mutual closeness from your initial acrimonious rivalry. Now, alas, you must leave her behind.“Seems sensible to me,” she sniffs, utterly unbothered by the announcement. “There is much for me to research here.”“Actually,” you segue, “I had an idea for how you might apply your talents in my absence.”“I will humour your layman’s suggestion,” she comments dryly.When you tell her your plan, however, she does indeed see the wisdom of it.“We have more than enough material,” she acknowledges, “IF the dwarven females will let us collect their male offspring’s blood.”“They will have little choice,” you assert. “Just leave them alive. Let us not spur them to outrage and revolt if we can help it.”“If we put down such a revolt, I will have more materials to work with,” the Novice muses.You glare at her.“What?” she asks, defensively. “I do not PLAN to provoke one. I am merely… Planning contingencies.”“Right,” you sigh.“Anyway, we have enough of the OTHER materials Amulets of Disguise—precious metals, gems—for me to construct many of these, given time… But most of us do not speak he dwarf-tongue. We will still be a poor bluff.”“The Translator and North-Merchant may be some help in that regard,” you say with a shrug. “As for buying you time, and decreasing the likelihood of you needing to put your LACKLUSTRE linguistic skills to the test…”You have a plan for that, also—a plan involving the expending of much of the next day, and critically all your energy, in casting <Earth Tremor> and <Wall of Stone> to collapse and block off every way in and out of the fort.
>>5346991“Our food reserves remain an issue,” the Novice notes. “If you delay in returning, we will starve… or be forced to desperate measures.”“Is this your way of telling em you will miss me, Novice Fleshweaver?"“You do not have an excellent record of punctuality or of staying on-mission, Oh Easily-distracted One.”“I will not be late,” you repeat. “How long do I have?”“We have provisions to last us just under a month,” the Novice Fleshweaver answers. “After that, the dwarves will last our race another month, perhaps, and the kobolds another month after that.”“See that you avoid depleting our vassals if you can,” you sigh.“See that you are not late,” she reiterates.You take one more spell of torpor to refresh your energy levels and recuperate your spells. Then, you depart: One Dragonborn, a Silkscale, an Degenerate, a Bloodrise Kobold, two fire-lizards (the basilisk requires too much constant attention to keep in good behaviour), and two dwarven slaves…>NPC CREATION GAME (Courtesy of Schizo QM of Goblin Assassin Quest)Name:Appearance:Experiences/Skills:[Keep it short and simple. Include some form of reference picture if you’d like. Must be a dwarf, and must be old/lame, female, or quite young. Two of these will be chosen – either those with multiple votes which warrant it, or I’ll roll for it.]
>>5346994Name: KorganAppearance: Picrel, shortExperiences/Skills: Berserker, Warhammer +2, Axe +4, Despises and disses mentally weak characters to build their characterAm I old if I played that, RQM?
>>5346994Name: Kaizo "the stonesniffer"Appearance: Used to be very muscular at some point? Walks with a cane because his left leg was destroyed in a minning accidentExperiences/Skills: decades spent in the mines looking for ores, if ifs there he'll find it. Geologist rp, licking the rocks and all
>>5346994Name: KarzAppearance: Quite young, lacks the trademark beard that distinguishes all dwarves.Experiences/Skills: Dwarven Throatsinging. He has an unusually deep voice that seems to resonate deeply in your bones once he sings. You can also sense a trace of magic in his voice, unrecognized by Karz.
>>5347148>>5347056+1
>>5346994Name: Davora Appearance: Long-haired dwarf woman that wears her hair in twin braids. She has a very large ass that is a mixture of muscle and fat, it jiggles slightly with each movement she makes. You think you’ve heard a clap when she jumped once.Experiences/Skills: Herbalist. Served as the towns de-facto healer with homemade herbal remedies.>>5347386+1
>>5347386>>5347400I’ll +1 these, I don’t want to slow us down like that one elder kobold did.
>>5347386>>5347400SupportI wasn’t going to vote for a woman but the jump clap was funny.
>>5347501>>5347500>>5347400>>5347388>>5347386>>5347148>>5347056Vote locked! Post incoming ASAP.>>5347056You and me both, anon.
>>5346994Yule and Akron, a daughter-father pair of very experienced and well-traveled geologists. The father knows engineering and barters quite well, and the daughter is known for her luck, and skill with magic and tinkering.>>5347519Ah, maybe these guys will come up later then. Royal Rumble is still one of my favorite quests, despite my disappointment with the QM.
>>5347519The older dwarves were a liability you couldn’t afford to leave unchecked. As such, the old were disposed of, made raw material for the amulets. Well, except for one—an old male known as the ‘Stonesniffer’, kept alive and imprisoned for his useful and uncanny olfactory capabilities, and knowledge of minerals, which could prove useful in years ahead. Still, you had promised the Novice not to tarry, and thus you had no desire to slow down your journey—you DID promise the Novice not to tarry, after all. You were left with only the young to choose from, as a result.From among these, a few options presented themselves. There was a rather feral young male, still an adolescent but already growing a beard, and with an aura of feral darkness; you deem this one, whose name you think started with a ‘K’, too unmanageable to take with you. The female with the pale hair and amethyst eyes certainly has a steely spine,, and seems a reasonable and pragmatic sort, but there’s something… Intimidating about her demeanour, which you can’t quite put your finger on, and you decide she could present a liability all her own. You want servants whose skills can be shown off, and who can keep up with your vigorous pace, but who will not endanger or complicate your mission.In the end, you select two such dwarves. One is an adolescent male, just beyond the cusp of dwarven childhood; this, apparently, makes him about twice your own age. He is called ‘Karz’, and is beardless and incredibly self-conscious of this, tucking his chin automatically into the collar of his jacket and wearing a brownish scarf to hide this deficiency. However, he has a deep, rich voice, and is capable of some incredible feats of dwarven… Well, they call it ‘throat-song’, but the rumbling warbles carry a hint of magic not unlike the bardic music of poor Paeris. A part of you wonders if it is the half-elf Degenerate’s memory which drove this choice… But no, that is base sentimentality, beneath you. Right?The other is a sort of herbalist and apothecary—a female, called Davora. She is childless, barely an adult, and with her new husband newly dead at your forces’ talons, she seemed at a loss among her own people, all overwhelmed with grief and the need to care for their young and manage their emotions in this turbulent time. When you selected her from among the dwarves to serve you in this journey, she practically jumped at the time—and, with her rather impressive steatopygia, you think you even heard a ‘clap’. The Novice shot you a pointed look when you announced Davora’s selection, but with the Novice staying behind by necessity, a master of healing seemed prudent… Even if her home remedies hold no candle to true magic.“Sure, THAT’S why you selected her,” the Novice had mocked, shooting you a knowing glance. “You have a type. You know that? It is, frankly, transparent.”
Rolled 23 (1d100)>>5347543You ignored the jab, saying your farewells and leaving the Bastard in charge of discipline once more while you disembarked for the underdark once more.The route down into the depths was a new one, this time—you follow not the familiar kobold-tunnels, but an offshoot of the dwarven miens which branchiates into a more raw, natural architecture, through a wall broken open by your deceased assassin-squad. You murmur a prayer for their safety, and enter into unknown territory.
>>5347544>23The first half od the journey geos by rather uneventfully. Several times, you or the Archer are forced to give one of the dwarves a shove or boot to keep them moving at a steady pace, but this does not seem to be due to any exhaustion on their part—rather, it is a hesitation and trepidation in these unknown darknesses. The young male seems especially wary of the unknown, with the female alternating in offering him comfort and encouraging him forward; this seems to motivate him somewhat, which you appreciate, even fi she occasionally seems to use it as an excuse to hang back herself.For her part, the female dwarf collects samples of moss and lichen. When the Cartographer asks, she explains their use as blood-staunches and digestive aids, and he makes a note of this, and the location where they were found. The female is rapidly proving a worthy selection, you note, on multiple front—the Novice is still undeniably the more potent healer and alchemist, but the local knowledge of a plant-specialist may well be useful as you expand into the upper-dark and the surface moving forward.(Her tendency to jiggle doesn’t hurt your opinion, either, but you make no comment as to this matter.)Eventually, you and your forces are forced to engage in short rest, and then a longer one, for torpor’s sake. As you rest and recoup your strength, you…>Share your food equitably with the dwarves>Feed them only what they need to keep moving, keeping their meals lean>Dote on them little, to build their trust and loyaltyWhat else do you do, if anything? [choose no more than two]>Bid the male to sing you a song of his people, and attempt to glean the nature of the magical talent you sensed buried within>Speak with the female about her herbal knowledge and history>Attempt to learn more about dwarf culture and religion>Teach the dwarves more of your own faith and culture, and make your expectations for their conversion quite clear>Ask Olu about this ‘Pricness Jazkarmel’ matter—what does he know?>Ask the Cartographer something [what?]>Write-in
>>5347525I'll keep note of this for later. Royal Rumble is dearly missed.
>>5347553>Dote on them little, to build their trust and loyaltyEven if it wasn’t IC, it’s smart to build a relationship of loyalty and trust if we’re going to do intrigue and political shit.>Ask Olu about this ‘Pricness Jazkarmel’ matter—what does he know?>Speak with the female about her herbal knowledge and historyAre there any herbs that promote magical abilities, or replenish mana? What of herbs that increase strength and endurance? Any special herbs that are specific to this region?
>>5347553>Feed them only what they need to keep moving, keeping their meals lean>Teach the dwarves more of your own faith and culture, and make your expectations for their conversion quite clear>Ask Olu about this ‘Pricness Jazkarmel’ matter—what does he know?
>>5347553>Share your food equitably with the dwarves
>>5347553>Teach the dwarves more of your own faith and culture, and make your expectations for their conversion quite clear>Ask Olu about this ‘Pricness Jazkarmel’ matter—what does he know?lost part 2
>>5347562Support, any mana related potions/herbs is a must. Being able to Dragonshape more than once a day would be such a boon.
>>5347553>Dote on them little, to build their trust and loyalty>Speak with the female about her herbal knowledge and history>Attempt to learn more about dwarf culture and religion
>>5347543>The female with the pale hair and amethyst eyes certainly has a steely spine,, and seems a reasonable and pragmatic sortWait, she was an option? Shit, that would’ve been a nice choice.>>5347553>Dote on them little, to build their trust and loyalty>Bid the male to sing you a song of his people, and attempt to glean the nature of the magical talent you sensed buried within>Speak with the female about her herbal knowledge and historyDue diligence to the one-eyed smoke Squidward, he’s a true homie. Knowledge=Worship.
>>5347553>Dote on them little, to build their trust and loyalty>Bid the male to sing you a song of his people, and attempt to glean the nature of the magical talent you sensed buried within>Teach the dwarves more of your own faith and culture, and make your expectations for their conversion quite clear
>>5347553>Dote on them little, to build their trust and loyalty>Bid the male to sing you a song of his people, and attempt to glean the nature of the magical talent you sensed buried within>Speak with the female about her herbal knowledge and historyIf we're going to dote on them might as well spend the time to learn more about them while doing it.
>>5347553>Feed them only what they need to keep moving, keeping their meals lean
>>5347525It's crazy knowing one anon brought that entire quest down. I reread it and I'm pretty sure I know which posts were theirs.
>>5347596[You CAN do it twice a day right now, as long as you sue no other spells.]
>>5347553>Dote on them little, to build their trust and loyalty>Bid the male to sing you a song of his people, and attempt to glean the nature of the magical talent you sensed buried within>Speak with the female about her herbal knowledge and history
>>5347553>Dote on them little, to build their trust and loyaltyFat asses consist of fat after all.>Teach the dwarves more of your own faith and culture, and make your expectations for their conversion quite clear>Ask Olu about this ‘Pricness Jazkarmel’ matter—what does he know?
>>5347815Supporting this
>>5347838>>5347815>>5347792>>5347635>>5347629>>5347623>>5347621>>5347605>>5347596>>5347587>>5347585>>5347580>>5347562The dwarves are quite wary of your offering, and you suppose you can see why. They have been widowed and orphaned, respectively, by your great and terrible conquest of their company-town. Now, you take them as slaves, march them deep into the unknown, and offer them an abundance of food—even more than you or your fellow Reptilians are eating, and the provisions of highest quality no less!“Are… You planning to sacrifice us, sir?” ask the male—Karz, you think it was?“Don’t be sssilly,” you chastise him. “Eat!”“Then are we the emergency food, ourselves? Like… Livestock?”You glance at Davora, and resist the urge to make a crack about <appetite> of a different sort, instead saying simply: “Of courssse not.”The three of you sit in silence for a time, the dwarves uneasy as you finish your own rather minimal meal and watch them eat with interest. It’s actually not such a hard thing to feed the two of them extra, for these mammals can eat many things which turn the stomachs of even hybrids like yourself or Olu—strange fruits, nuts, berries, and breads taken from the dwraven stores. It gets you thinking…“Herbalissst,” you call upon Davora.She looks up, cheeks still full of food, orange-amber eyes wide. She gulps, swallowing.“Are there any herbss that promote magical abilitiess, or replenish mana?” you ask.“Um, well… Yes, I suppose. But down here, deep below the ground? Not as many, I wouldn’t think. They grow near fonts of mana—leyline-junctions, enriched stone… If you find glowing gems or orichalcum that ahs somehow been supercharged, that’s where you would find magical flora.”“What of herbss that increasse ssstrength and enduranccce?” “A couple,” she slowly hazards, “most of what you’ll find down here are plants that need little or no light, or can substitute, like… Minerals and moisture for light. Or magic, hence the, uh, the magic plants growing near sources of it. Fungi are much, MUCH more common.”“And can any of these fungi increassse physical or sspiritual vitality?” you ask.“There ARE a few regional cultivars on the surface, and below. But those below… Well, Some of them can stimulate a dwarf’s body or set their mind to moving in strange ways… But usually not, like, INCREASE strength or magic, as far as I know. They just make you FEEL like you’re on top of the world… Or create other, um, mental and phsyical effects.”“Such as?”
>>5348010The dwarf female’s face reddens peculiarly, setting her freckles off—from dark spots to paler spots, against her crimson skin. Some bizarre mammalian reaction.“Just… Ah, nevermind. You’ll fight like a demon and pass out, or see things that might be divine or might just be your own brain swimming in mushroom soup, that’s all.”Ah, perhaps like the Drow mushroom-wine, some of which you still have. That makes sense… A relative of the mushroom used, or a higher concentration, or some admixture… You could see it inciting violence and numbing pain.“How did you come by thisss knowledge?” you ask Davora, then.“I was never much for mining, growing up,” she female admits. “But brewing and baking were alright, as far as ‘proper activities’ go.”She twirls one auburn braid around a finger as she talks, staring down at the stone. By this point, she and the young male are both done eating, so you and eh both focus upon her story.“My family as VERY traditional,” she explains. “My father, brother, sister, mother… All miners. So, yeah, I found my enjoyment in supporting them, in collecting and working with grains, berries, nuts, herbs… And hops, malts, yeasts, different flavourings… But there’s only so much room in a dwarf’s palette for novelty, as the saying goes.”“Fancy beer is for elves quite queer,” chimes in the young male, Karz, as if quoting an old aphorism. Davora winces, and nods. “Yeah, it kept my options a bit… Limited, and I always got odd looks for the things I imported with my money. I was actually thinking of joining one of the corporations that service the human markets over in Hawksong, but… Well, they’ve been in decline, poor tallboys. Guess their good thing couldn’t last forever. But, yeah—their market for craft beer and artisan bread dried up, and since I was never much use in a mine and bread-and-beer is a ‘frivolous’ career that would never help me rise up a mining corporation’s ladder… Mother thought it best I marry someone who MIGHT actually stand a chance at advancement. I was married to a miner, Durbad, and came here. He mined, I collected herbs, and cooked and baked, and helped with brewing, until…”An uneasy silence falls. You know why: this lasted until you arrived with your small army and brought the fortress down on Durbad’s head, crushing him to death and enslaving his widow.“You don’t sseem devasstated,” you note, after a time.“Well, he… Durbad was nice enough, and… I wish he was still alive,” Davora says, with a hint of sadness. “But, well, I hardly KNEW the dwarf. He was a good lad, right as ruby is red, but… That meant working all the time, all shifts, to earn himself a promotion. And he wasn’t much for conversation, or… Or anything.”Curious—her cheeks have pinkened again.
>>5348012“Must be nice,” Karz chimes in, a touch bitterly. “knowing your family’s safe, somewhere. My ma’s been dead years, since a cave-in got her. Now, my pa’s gone, too.”He glares at you half-heartedly, perhaps emboldened a little by your cordial behaviour and the increased familiarity.“Do you plan to avenge them, Beardlessss One?” you ask, glaring back.He stuffs his chin into his collar, but his glare only intensifies. You stifle a laugh.“I grew up an outsssider mysself,” you admit. “I am… Unlike other Reptiliansss, as you can ssee. There are preciousss few like me, and…”You hesitate.“…My mother died violently, alssso.”Both the dwarves look at you uncertainly, as if this might be some trick.“It’s hard to image you lizards having proper mums,” Karz notes tactklessly. “I just sort of thought you plopped out an egg and kept going, and it hatched into a, uh… one of you.”Davora elbows him and shoots him a glare, perhaps aware he’s pressing his luck and fearful that you will punish her sole dwarven companion most brutally.“Our culture does not teach a ssentimentality between parent and child,” you admit, “but parentsss DO typically guide and mentor their hatchlingsss… For a time. I never knew her, never had thisss chanccce. Insstead, I wass raisssed by the Sserpent Priestsss.”“Who are they?” Karz interrupts, before you shush him with a glare.Davora clamps a hand over the boy’s mouth and shoots you an apologetic smile.“They are our highessst religiousss authority—those who put usss in contact with the Dark Godsss and their infinite wisssodom. They are gifted authority, and powerful magickss, in return for their sservicce… Protectionsss for the young, ssuch as the Mother of Dragonss might grant, or sssecret knowledge of the locations and usesss of thingsss, such as the Masster of the Inssightful Eye offersss.”You chosoe your examples carefully, and meet the female’s eyes, and then the young male’s.“Those protected by the Mother of Dragonsss need not fear a cave in, or a collapsssing castle, if they sserve her well and use her giftsss wisely,” you tell Karz, and then to Davora: “And the Masster rewardss inquissitive mindss and exxxperimentation.”You spend the next hour in a discussion of the virtues of your culture, and the dictates of the Dark Gods, as best you understand them. To your pleasant surprise, both dwarves seem to have at least some interest, with both of them asking questions (when permitted) and Karz in particular testing the limits of your own somewhat-limited theological knowledge. You sense that Davora is quite fascinated with your tales, while Karz's interest still has a hard edge to it, as if he yet fantasizes of somehow suing it to turn the tables on you.[Post got a little long and I have to go to work. To be continued, with a vote tonight!]
>>5348012shes going to be face down ass up pretty soon and be dragon jiggled
>>5348014When your meal with your captives concludes, you turn your attention to your Reptilian retinue: to the Cartographer, Agno, and Oluwadamilare.“A smart play, oh Superior One, dumping that plant-food on the dwarves,” the Cartographer promptly flatters you.Agno, who had watched you bonding with the dwarves with ambivalence, nods slowly. He is wise enough not to speak up, but you can tell he has misgivings. You leave him to stew on it, for now.“Archer,” you summon Olu to your side, “Come. We must discuss matters of statecraft.”You bows his head and finishes some of his dried and cured meat as he hurried to attend you. When the two of you are apart enough to achieve what little privacy can exist in the tight natural caverns, you turn and ask him bluntly.“The dead Ranger-Captain, he called Jazkarmel a ‘Princess’. What is the meaning of this?”The Degenerate blinks in confusion, startled by the intensity of the question, then smiles widely.“You think she may be some secret heir to the Drow throne, Dragonborn?”“Is that not what a princess is? The daughter of a king?”“A queen, in her case,” Oluwadamilare explains. “But he has no right of primogenitor. The elves down here don’t do that. A princess is any female of noble birth who COULD, in THEORY, succeed their reigning queen as leader during the season when females rule.”Ah, yes, the strange rotational and fluid nature of Drow leadership, rooted in some ancient cult of natural law and equality between sexes, and further complicated by alien elven gender ideologies. Your main takeaway was that they have years-long ‘seasons’ of patriarchy, followed by matriarchy, and then reversing back in some great cycle.“Do if their Queen passed, before their King took the throne…”“One of the other Princesses more beloved of her Queen would take the Queen’s place,” Olu says, apologetically. “I am sorry, Superior One, but Jaz was stationed far from the heart of her empire because she is no favourite in the line of succession.”Still… It’s something to consider, you suppose. Who knows what opportunities may yet arise?You take your torpor shortly thereafter, and when you awaken you set your forces back on the road to the Drow encampment over which this not-quite-princess presides. Your journey thus far has been a swift and untorubled one, and you are making excellent time! As you continue to chart your course you...>Waste no time in reaching the Drow along your previously-traveled route>Take some time to explore a little, improving your maps of the area and perhaps finding something of value>Brave a possible shortcut which the Cartographer believes he's deduced, through utterly uncharted territory>Write-in[Found some time to finish the post!]
>>5348064>Brave a possible shortcut which the Cartographer believes he's deduced, through utterly uncharted territoryNovice was right, we gotta get our shit together and focus on our tasks, instead of aimlessly wandering like one Degenerate once used to...>>5348012>she femalethat's a new>>5348037+1, kek
>>5348064>Brave a possible shortcut which the Cartographer believes he's deduced, through utterly uncharted territorycave explorer
>>5348064>Waste no time in reaching the Drow along your previously-traveled route
>>5348075>>5348012*the female admits
>>5348037It's not that kind of quest, anon.
>>5348064>Brave a possible shortcut which the Cartographer believes he's deduced, through utterly uncharted territory
>>5348064>Brave a possible shortcut which the Cartographer believes he's deduced, through utterly uncharted territoryIs this a distraction? FUCK YEAH
>>5348170I believe it is.
>>5348248The quest narrative and player choices would say otherwise.
>>5348285>player choices would say otherwiseYou cheered on when one of our team dicked some dark elves after you fucked and impregnated a giant maggot to create a bunch of worm-dragon-hybrids.>The quest narrative...which you did that despite quest starting with MC despising his tainted non-reptilian roots and wanting to become a real, pure and proud dragon. Despite the fact that vast majority of reptilians back in our underground home would feel disgust and disown us at best you if they just knew what we've done.And after all that you still dare to say, that man can't see a shortstack ass jiggle, because "it's not that kind of quest" as proven by the "narrative" and "player choices"?
>>5348303>You cheered on>...which you did That's a lot of projection going on there, anon. Are you sure YOU didn't pull that shit and are now trying to shift the blame to cover up the fact you fucked the MC and quest over?
>>5348064>Take some time to explore a little, improving your maps of the area and perhaps finding something of value>Brave a possible shortcut which the Cartographer believes he's deduced, through utterly uncharted territoryAdventure!>>5347645I know, right? I thought he’d have a stiffer upper lip about the shenanigans. Also, you know which posts are their? How can you tell?
>>5348336Working from the final post when they say they were there from the beginning, they were the first poster in the first thread of the quest. The next few threads are guesswork.
>>5348321[I'm sorry you're not enjoying the quest.]
>>5348064>Brave a possible shortcut which the Cartographer believes he's deduced, through utterly uncharted territory>>5348393Just ignore the salt. I may not like being a pussy-ass diplomat, but that doesn’t mean that I ain’t enjoying this quest. You can’t please everyone everytime, that’s just a fact we all gotta deal with.
>>5348393Why do you think that?
>>5348321>Are you sure YOU didn't pull that shit and are now trying to shift the blame to cover up the fact you fucked the MC and quest over?Nice dodge, Sojourner2. (You)/me/they/xem/rqm, it doesn't fucking change the fact that player votes have led dragonborn into making huge, coombrained decisions that don't align at all with what seemed to be the original premise of the quest, but at the same time aren't off-the-rails so much as to be "wrong", because RQM approved every single one of them. He even often humors our resident coomer's remarks. I, for one, fully support that brave, retarded man's current goals and there is nothing your schizo salt will do about it.
>>5348321Also I was pretty sure you could've been among those who voted to fuck daBug, excuse me if that was an incorrect assumption.
>>5348476Where are you getting these longwinded obsessive compulsive rants from? I said it's not that kind of quest, anon. If people want to continue voting with their dicks, that's their decision, but that doesn't mean I have to vote for it.
>>5348485And I'm saying it seems to be that kinda quest, anon.
>>5348064>Take some time to explore a little, improving your maps of the area and perhaps finding something of valueI think this is a worthwhile investment.>>5348303>...which you did that despite quest starting with MC despising his tainted non-reptilian roots and wanting to become a real, pure and proud dragon. Despite the fact that vast majority of reptilians back Not to trigger this autistic rant again, but you do know that we can purge our non-reptilian genes if we have a positive relationship with the Prosecutor right? I know anons have strong opinions on him, but if the fall of the Master Race is any indication, he can change his course in his Grand Design, we just need to convince him to ‘optimize’, as it were.
>>5348547>Not to trigger this autistic rant again, but you do know that we can purge our non-reptilian genes if we have a positive relationship with the Prosecutor right?Purging our non reptilian genes is irrelevant in my opinion. For all their master race talk, most reptilians are weak shitters.Their two strongest warrior's are us, and the green dragonborn, and the green dragonborn has zero reptilian blood being purely green dragon with some human material mixed in.We defeated the pit guard in our first battle a strong steel talon, by comparison the human berserker almost caved our chest in. What we need to be doing is boosting the amount of dragon we have in us. Since doing that actually makes us more powerful. Dragon>>>>human>reptilian in terms of power rankings.
Rolled 45 (1d100)>>5348473[The part where you said the main character and quest had been 'fucked over' implies that you feel it has suffered some degree of subversion or ruination, I would think. I may be wrong.]>>5348658[Reasonable interpretation, but Steeltalons are actually stronger than humans on average, while Dragonblooded Reptilians are equally strong and can breathe fire, and Serpent priests are slightly stronger, taller, and magic. Humans have their own advantages, among them much greater numbers, better resources, more cooperative gods, and a broader genepool]>>5348547>>5348412>>5348336>>5348227>>5348217>>5348209>>5348162>>5348158>>5348075[Voting locked, post incoming!]
>>5348806You choose to follow the Cartographer’s study-honed instinct for directional travel. It was why he was in your retinue, after all! Besides, with so much diplomacy behind you and ahead of you, a part of your dragon’s soul hankers for the thrill of adventure. Not necessarily the danger of outright warfare—there will be more of that ahead, Dark Gods willing—but a bit of underdark exploration to satisfy your curiosity for strange lands.The cartographer shows you what he has found: a natural cavern descending from the familiar path at an adjacent angle, yet more steeply. At first, you don’t’ understand all the ado, but then your mapmaker helpfully points out the specific angle and curious regularity of the descending rock-shelves, approximately a single short footfall apart.“Steps,” you note.“Yes!” he exclaims. “And who would eb carving steps down in this place, save the elves?”“The Bogbarri,” you suggest, uncertainly, “or our own race, in days gone by.”“The bugbears don’t seem like stonemasons to me,” Oluwadamilare the Archer notes.“And this place is not recorded on the maps which you we recovered from the long-lost libraries of the Dragon King’s scribes,” the Cartographer adds, “nor have our people frequented this area until our expedition.”“Kobolds not dig so deep, either,” Agno chimes in, drawing glares from the other members of your retinue, but a nod from you.“Alright, let us explore this route,” you decide.Your group descends in utter darkness, each of you guided only by your keen darkvision. This saps the mysterious place of colour, but still you can make out fascinatingdetails: carved bass reliefs of elves faces, hands raised in greeting (or prayer? spellcasting?) which tower several times taller than even you, worn by time and bearing almost dwarven beards of accumulated mineral-deposits from dripping water. The humidity and warmth of the place perversely increase, in some way which feels unnatural. How can moisture AND warmth be increasing? What bizarre heat-source are you approaching?You find out soon enough—a bubbling, semi-sulfurous hot-spring. It smells faintly of hell or rotting eggs, enough to curl your mammalian companions’ sensitive noses. You and your Reptilian lackeys are made of sterner stuff, and you can only wonder at the relief and carvings here, depicted nude elf-men and elf-maids, and something inn-between frolicking, bathing, basking.
>>5348820The depictions are evocative, though they are all but consumed by degrading pitting—a symbol of a resplendent and perhaps holy place from a bygone era, or luxury in the very pit of deprivation which is underground living. They symbolize an era long-lost—of a time when even the Drow yet lived with the wonderment and whimsy known to characterize elven revels. They aren’t sexual, but sensual—a celebration of the joy of having been blessed by providence with a holy respite…But whatever god the elves thanked for this, the statue which once depicted him or her has since been decapitated, its head lost in the murky waters below.“It’s smelly,” Karz comments.“But… Sort of beautiful,” Davora notes, a little uncertain even as she says it. “And look… See, sir? It’s as I said—dark-leafed plants, like ferns or mosses, growing on the banks!”She narrwos her eyes, as do you. Well,d amend if she isn’t right. However, there’s more.“Those aren’t merely warmth-feeding plants,” she murmurs. “Those… Those are feymint! Like in the Silver Realms of the Elves! What is THAT doing down HERE?”Transplanted by the dark elves, you’d wager.“Isss it valuable?” you ask Davora, in the mammal trade-tongue.She nods, and then hesitates. “It only grows in magical places. There’s something... Supernatural here, then.”The Cartographer, understanding her words as well as you, grows wary.“See, there on the other side?” he whisper sin the True Speech, and points. “A passage, going downwards and curving left—towards the Drow realms, I would think. It will save us two days’ journey, if my calculations and measures are correct, and I suspect that they are. Let us go.”What do you do?>Leave this place swiftly—you can explore it later, if the opportunity presents itself>Collect some herbs from the edge of the hot spring, and some soil samples, for Davora and later the Novice to examine>Linger longer, collecting a richer array of samples and trying to deduce through <Guidance> the nature of the magic here>Strip down and take a dip—you’ve never been to a hot spring before!>Write-in
>>5348821>Linger longer, collecting a richer array of samples and trying to deduce through <Guidance> the nature of the magic here
>>5348821>Linger longer, collecting a richer array of samples and trying to deduce through <Guidance> the nature of the magic heremake sure someone stays alert so we don't get eaten by plants againmaybe cast Guidance first
>>5348821>Leave this place swiftly—you can explore it later, if the opportunity presents itself>Collect some herbs from the edge of the hot spring, and some soil samples, for Davora and later the Novice to examine.Last time we stuck around a place like this, a pack of magic maneater spore plants tried to eat us. We should just harvest things of value, and bounce.
>>5348821>Leave this place swiftly—you can explore it later, if the opportunity presents itselfThis place is sus.
>>5348821>>Linger longer, collecting a richer array of samples and trying to deduce through <Guidance> the nature of the magic hereWe save two day, we can spend half one.
>>5348821>Leave this place swiftly—you can explore it later, if the opportunity presents itself>Collect some herbs from the edge of the hot spring, and some soil samples, for Davora and later the Novice to examine.
>>5348821Changing my vote (>>5348968) to>Leave this place swiftly—you can explore it later, if the opportunity presents itself>Collect some herbs from the edge of the hot spring, and some soil samples, for Davora and later the Novice to examine.
>>5348821>Collect some herbs from the edge of the hot spring, and some soil samples, for Davora and later the Novice to examine>Linger longer, collecting a richer array of samples and trying to deduce through <Guidance> the nature of the magic here
Rolled 5, 8, 15 = 28 (3d20)>>5349085>>5349032>>5349022>>5348975>>5348968>>5348859>>5348850>>5348849>>5348841>>5348839>>5348836By your reckoning, a shortcut which spares you two-days travel in each direction should more than make up for a brief stopover of, say, a half-day to investigate this ancient spring and its mysterious magic. Sure, it’s suspicious, but that only serves to intensify your desire to understand what, exactly, is going on here.While Davora and Karz collect samples of this ‘feymint’ and the thin patina of soil-like substrate into which it anchors its roots, you find a comfortable rock upon which to alight and to meditate. Perhaps, with a bit of <Guidance>, you can find the answer?
Rolled 17, 20, 18, 6, 1, 17 = 79 (6d20)>>5349165>15To your pleasure, the magic in this place makes it easier than expected to find your connection to the tapestry of fate and fortune, and to guide your mind’s eye to the source of the spellcraft which spawned it. This is no place of wild magic discovered by the lucky elves of old, no; they MADE this pale, taking a mundane spring and enhancing and preserving it through their magic into something greater—something semi-divine. The particulars are fuzzy, but you sense that this nature has been… Changed, corrupted, by the changing relationship between the Drow and their old, abandoned gods.It is now a trap.Your eyes snap open as your <Danger Sense> activates, not for yourself, but for another—the dwarves and Reptilians at water’s edge.
>>5349173“Look out!” you roar. “Geta way from the water!”>6, 1, 17All your allies’ and servants’ wide eyes immediately turn to you, the acoustics of the room turning your roar back upon them and yourself with undiminished ferocity. The dwarves are swift to act, despite their lack of training—growing up in the dangers of mining operations, those who do not heed such warnings do not long-last, you suppose. Your fire-lizards rise and begin to scurry from the water’s edge, where they were eagerly lapping up the warmth—they do not understand your words, but the Presence makes your intent immediately clear. Their legs, however, are short, an their bellies low—they are not swift creatures. Olu is far enough away from the water at the time to be in no danger, but the fire-lizards, Agno, and the Cartographer are well within the blast zone when the water boils, froths, and rises in a column of scalding steam.>20, 18, 17You are no helpless bystander, though—you are the Dragonborn Champion, Copper King of Bloodrise, and you have foreseen what is to come. By the time the column expands outwards to swallow your allies, you are already at their side. You lift the Cartographer and hurl him away, towards the dwarves and Olu; the kobold you protect with some quick thinking, well-trained athleticism, and the activation of your Ring of Protection. You wince against a wave of heat and a splattering of scalding water, but you are all-but-immune to such mundane heat’s vagaries, and even the explosion of unsettling water-magic which accompanies it is of secondary concern; the lizards, you believe, will feel likewise. The bulk is deflected with a wave of your hand, sparing you and the Agno alike.“What is going on?” Olu the Archer shouts. “Dragonborn, are you okay?”Before you can criticize him for asking silly questions, you open your eyes and understand why he must ask—steam has filled the entire chamber, obscuring it even against your darkvision. You are trapped in a muggy mist, unable to been see a foot in front of your face…But with the lingering sensory augmentation provided by your divination magic, you know that tehre is something moving in that mist.What do you do?>Assume <Augmented Dragonshape> and wield your great size and fearsome presence to counter it—you ARE the danger in the mist>Use another casting of <Guidance> to find your allies and hurriedly lead them to the exit and out of this place>Cast <Moonbeam> towards the cave wall, to explode the stone and disperse the fog—though it will give away your location>Attempt to use <See Invisibility> to locate your foe-in-the-fog, and take it on directly>Write-in
>>5349185>Raise a <Wall of Stone>, to grant your allies somewhere to rally to, and then assume <Augmented Dragonshape> and wield your great size and fearsome presence to counter it—you ARE the danger in the mist
>>5349190[Casting both those spells will expend all of your remaining mana]
>>5349185>Attempt to use <See Invisibility> to locate your foe-in-the-fog, and take it on directly
>>5349185>Attempt to use <See Invisibility> to locate your foe-in-the-fog, and take it on directlyBros I think we forgot the part where this isn't a miraculous oasis, but an unknown, uncharted shorcut.>>5349191Could we get a mana bar in the updates? It's kinda hard to keep track of, but a vital part for planning our moves ahead.
>>5349219[I'll try to be more diligent about reminding you of your current mana levels and the cost of each. Dragonshape and Wall of Stone are both just fairly mana-intensive. You have enough mana left for four regular spells, or those two more-powerful-than-average ones; you started with about 1.5 times that, but Guidance and Danger Sense cost you two spell slots, essentially.]
>>5349185>Assume <Augmented Dragonshape> and wield your great size and fearsome presence to counter it—you ARE the danger in the mistrawr
>>5349539sex
>>5349185>Assume <Augmented Dragonshape> and wield your great size and fearsome presence to counter it—you ARE the danger in the mist
>>5349684>>5349613>>5349539>>5349219>>5349213>>5349206>>5349195>>5349190[Vote closed, writing!]
Rolled 1, 6, 3, 18, 16, 10, 13, 11, 11, 14, 6, 11, 1 = 121 (13d20)>>5349730You foe isn’t exactly invisible—at least, you don’t’ THINK so—but the same basic principles which allowed you to detect the bugbears in spite of their magical camouflage should probably apply here... Right? You focus upon your extrasensory perception, channeling your mana into the focal point between your eyes. Whispering a quiet prayer to the Master of the Insightful Eye, Revealer of Secrets and Exposer of Vulnerabilities, you draw your elven moon-sword from its makeshift sheathe of coiled cloth.When you open your eyes, the spell has taken effect, but you hardly need it. Your allies having retreated and regrouped, you and Agno—still at your side, he small-sized short-sword drawn, are the obvious targets. A lanky creature covered in slimy, fish-like scales and radiating heat is standing before you, taller even than you. Agno shrieks in terror at its sudden emergence from the fog, and when smaller creatures of the same ilk begin to shamble through the fog in unknown numbers to surround or pass you, you nearly do the same…But no. You are better than that! You don’t cry out, but instead cut into this fishy fiend…3d20 divination, 4d20 swordsmanship (DC either 13/15/18, depending on first result), 1d20 each for Agno (DC 18), Olu (DC 15), Cartographer (DC 18), and the dwarves (DC 18 and 13), 1d20 for enemies (DC 10/12/14/16/18/20, higher is worse for you)
Rolled 8, 5 = 13 (2d20)>>5349738Oh, almost forgot the lizards! DC 18
>>5349747>>5349738>1 for divination, 18 for swordsmanshipYour blade slices through empty air, parting mist rather than flesh and bone. Your large opponent has slapped away from your slash and disappeared into the mist once more. You squeeze your eyes shut to try and focus yourself, to cast the spell again, only to take a heavy impact from a webbed fist to the side of your helm. You lose the spell, and you barely cling to your sword. Cling to it you do, though, and you manage to raise it in a frantic counterattack. You hear a low, gurgling hiss as the shadowy shape stumbles back, and a spatter of deep brownish-red sizzles hotly upon your armour and the stone before you. You doubt it was a mortal wound, alas.From out in the mist comes one scream after another. First, there is Agno’s shrill cry of panic and pain, then the Cartographer’s deeper one. Olu bellows, and you hear the whistling and impact of unseen arrows, but the sound is one of splintering wood against stone—no lethal impact. Your fire-lizards croak and shriek, and you think you hear them flee to run and hide (hopefully not so far that you cannot recall them if need be).Then you hear the cries of the dwarves, ill-trained and unarmed, and in fact chained, if their handlers have not released them.>Failures for your allies, critical failure for your enemiesLuckily, your foes are distracted. Whatever magic erected the obscuring steam is now dying down, exposing them. Each of them ahs their back to you. Instead, slimy and amphibious things like an ichthian parody of a Reptilian, but with flat skulls and bulging eyes belying no greater intellect, grab at your retinue and your servants, grappling with them and dragging them towards the now-boiling cauldron of the hot springs. You see eight of these smaller fishmen, while the larger one which assaulted you has already snatched Agno up and disarmed him, and is even now dangling him in the air while advancing on the spring-turned-cooking pot in which it clearly means to dunk him. He kicks, slashes, bites at the thing’s armoured hands, but even though one bleeds where you split the pal with your sword, it does not let up. The Cartographer is sprawled upon the ground, two of the creatures assailing him; Olu has fended them off, but his signature bow has been wrenched away, and he is pinned to the wall and keeping them at bay with a simple Reptilian assassin’s blade.
>>5349762Between your three spells cast so far, and one lost, you have enough magic left for one use of your <Dragonshape> or <Wall of Stone>, or enough left for two more of your other spells. You have a variety of equipment at your disposal, but limited time to act. What do you do?You move to save…>Agno from the mightiest fish-thing, about to kill him>The dwarves, as they are most vulnerable>The Cartographer, since he actually knows how to navigate and you need him>Olu, as he will be the most useful back-up>Yourself -- flee! To accomplish this, you…>Focus on ranged combat>Draw both swords and leap boldly into melee>Call your fire-lizards back to you>Summon an elemental from your ring>Activate your <Dragonshape> in a last-ditch effort to dominate them>Write-in
>>5349763>The Cartographer, since he actually knows how to navigate and you need himEverybody else is ultimately replaceable or disposable. I don't want to be trapped and starving in a bunch of caves. Prioritize Olo next.
>>5349763>The dwarves, as they are most vulnerable>Activate your <Dragonshape> in a last-ditch effort to dominate them>Roar to Intimidate and stun, giving our people a chance to retreat and regroupRemember, Dragonshape lowers DC requirements.
>>5349763>Agno from the mightiest fish-thing, about to kill himKill the strongest one first, it'll help to break their spirit.>Activate your <Dragonshape> in a last-ditch effort to dominate them
>>5349763>The Cartographer, since he actually knows how to navigate and you need him
>>5349763>>5349790>Draw both swords and leap boldly into melee
>>5349763>Agno from the mightiest fish-thing, about to kill him>Activate your <Dragonshape> in a last-ditch effort to dominate them>Draw both swords and leap boldly into melee
>>5349763>Agno from the mightiest fish-thing, about to kill him>Activate your <Dragonshape> in a last-ditch effort to dominate them>Roar to Intimidate and stun, giving our people a chance to retreat and regroup, and Firebreath the Big FishI want roasted sushi!
>>5349763>Agno from the mightiest fish-thing, about to kill him>Activate your <Dragonshape> in a last-ditch effort to dominate them>Roar to Intimidate and stun, giving our people a chance to retreat and regroupIt'd be epic if we could dominate them. Have some random fishmen under our control to act as soldiers. We'd practically be starting a zoo at that point.
>>5349894>We'd practically be starting a zoo at that point.You mean circus.
Rolled 10, 7, 15, 15, 13 = 60 (5d20)>>5349894>>5349892>>5349890>>5349855>>5349790>>5349785>>5349775>>5349768You’re not about to take your eyes off that big alpha-fish, whatever exactly it is. It attacked you, and it’s the biggest-threat. If that means saving Agno the Kobold… Well, he might be a little pest, but you didn’t choose to drag him down here just so he could die on some… Some STOP-OVER.You rip the chestplate from your breast, and the helm from your head, and roar a challenge. This gets the big fish’s attention, buying Agno the precious time he needs to draw a second knife—classic Reptilian gambit—and to stab the wound you left upon its palm. The fish-monster drops him, and you begin your transformation.Spines elongate on your back, and muscles bulge. Your bones turn to jelly as you nearly double over, and then they extend and expand. You rise up, head heavy with elongated horns, scales thickened and gleaming with a metallic sheen—a true copper dragon. Your Novice Fleshweaver’s amulet shines red with the blood of your draconic ancestor, her magic, and the metamorphic properties borrowed from Glowie. You assume <Augmented Dragonshape>, and the aura of your Fearsome Presence fills the room, such that even your allies--even the mammalian DWARVES--turn their attention to you in wonderment and horror.
>>5350024You meet the eyes of the leader of these aquatic adversaries, raising your sword to point its now-glowing whiteness at him. Moonlight radiates from each depiction of that celestial sphere, casting the still partly-hazy atmosphere into a mystic scene of pre-battle serenity—a calm before the storm, faintly lit, on a misty underground evening. He does not reply, so you repeat yourself: with a voice that shakes the earth, you reiterate your challenge.>15You half expect it to bow, to submit. Its minions certainly seem inclined. However, it does not. Instead, something curious happens: the lesser fishmen scramble back towards the spring, hurling themselves into its broiling depths and vanishing with nary a splash to disturb the surface. Their master looks to the sword clenched in your talons—the sword of the first elven king, if legends are true. The chiefmost fishman then looks to you. It does not bow, or submit, but it turns and steps into the churning lake, and sinks into it as with its lessers.You all watch for a moment as the temperature lowers, the lingering steam dissipates, and the cursed (?) hotspring settles to its cozy, inviting simmer once more.Oluwadamilare slowly lowers his bow, as the Cartographer pulls himself upright and Agno checks himself for injuries. Your dwarves approach cautiously, fearful of you increased stature and ferocious appearance. In time, even your fire-lizards slink back, looking as embarrassed as such a simple creature can ever appear.“That was…” Olu the Archer begins.“…Unconventional,” the Cartographer concludes.“What WERE those?” Karz asks, finally looking away from your intimidating splendour to the hot spring.“I don’t know,” you admit in the northern common-tongue.Davora’s eyes are still on you, you note. The look in her eyes is… Difficult to parse. You turn away from her and, with Agno and Olu at either side, you approach the waters carefully. You gaze down into their depths, but see no sign of any life—just a few curious, faintly-glowing points of light—stones? gems?—at the bottom.What do you do?>Dive down to fetch this maybe-treasure, at the risk of reawakening the curse—you THINK you subdued it>Desanctify this place, and re-commemorate it in the name of the Dark Gods>Leave this place now, before any further craziness occurs>You’re pooped after all that magic—you need further rest, and this seems as good a place as any now that the danger has passed>Write-in
>>5350036>Dive down to fetch this maybe-treasure, at the risk of reawakening the curse—you THINK you subdued itTREASURE TREASURE TREASURE! Let's hurry up and do it before our dragonshape runs out.
>>5350036>Desanctify this place, and re-commemorate it in the name of the Dark GodsLets dedicate it to tentacle homie of knowledge....the pursuer might actually like the idea of culling the memory of weak elven gods?
>>5350036>Dive down to fetch this maybe-treasure, at the risk of reawakening the curse—you THINK you subdued itWe’re a dragon, we hoard. Might also reveal shit about the sword it reacted to it after all.
>>5350036>Leave this place now, before any further craziness occursoh god no, not fucking again
>>5350036>Dive down to fetch this maybe-treasure, at the risk of reawakening the curse—you THINK you subdued it>Firmly grab Davorra’s ass and then ask if she’s alright as a power move.Jiggle it a little
>>5350036The hoes love it when we use dragonshape
>>5350036>Dive down to fetch this maybe-treasure, at the risk of reawakening the curse—you THINK you subdued it>Desanctify this place, and re-commemorate it in the name of the Dark Gods
Rolled 1, 7, 1 = 9 (3d20)>>5350142>>5350107>>5350094>>5350048>>5350041>>5350037While your Dragonshape yet remains in-effects, you decide that this opportunity to seize additional artefact and expand your growing hoard shall not be passed up. You shuck your armour, stripping down to your scales in preparation. Davora lets out a peculiar yelp and covers her once-more-scarlet face. Your Reptilians ready to react if any threat should emerge from the heated pool upon your entrance into its waters, while Karz, the male dwarf, seems nearly as fascinated with the glowing ‘treasure’ as you.Without further ado, you dive.
>>5350281Well
>>5350281>>5350283>>5350281You’re not a terribly practiced swimmer, but this is not your first time doing so. Furthermore, you have always been prone to sinking rather than floating, even when you were young, and in your natural form—your muscles and dense skeletal structure ensure it. Between this and your <Dragonshape>, it should be no matter to reach the bottom of this pool…>1…Which is why it is so peculiar that you cannot. You dive nose down, forcing your nostrils shut and closing your nictitating membranes over your eyes to protect them as you orient towards the distant glow… But it remains distant. You use your tail, threshing the water with the spade at the tip as you kick your legs… But it grows no closer. In frustration, you swim to the side of the grotto, and physically grab hold of the stone, using your claws to pull yourself yet lower… But like the moon and stars in the lands above, the glow remains illusive, ever-distant.>1Too late, you look up, and see that are trapped deep in darkness. You cannot see the faint glow of your fire-lizards, or of the sword which you left as a beacon. The only light is that damned, unreachable glow—the false promise of treasure, luring you to your doom! Was that all it was, another trap?Well, you have no time to find out. Your lungs are screaming for oxygen. You kick off from the stone and begin paddling up towards the surface… But you are deep, too deep, UNNATURALLY deep. Your natural lack of buoyancy now works against you...And then, your <Dragonshape> and its attendant strength and lung capacity give out. You gasp, involuntarily, taking in a slightly bitter sig of water, filling your mouth, lungs, and stomach. You try not to panic, but you cannot help it—you are deep in the water, floating in darkness, helpless, alone. The elves’ ancient curse ahs claimed you, after all! You thrash, a last, valiant struggle against the darkness, before a it consumes you.For a time, you are sleeping, unconscious… Dead? You aren’t sure. The realm you find yourself in isn’t wet, but ashen in its dryness, like bones long picked-ocean in a great, grey desert. You stand, looking around uncertainly—your head is hazy, recollection fuzzy in that moment. In your periphery, small figures appear, surrounding you. You step back from them, readying to defend yourself, but the shades reveal themselves: dark-skinned elven children, eight or nine of them, though not quite so dark as the Drow you know.“Come,” speaks a voice, too deep and masculine to be a mammal pup’s.You turn, and see a single fully-grown elf, in elaborate white regalia, a tiara of some sort upon his brow. He meets your eyes with his own, sad ones.“It is not his time yet,” he tells the children, and takes one of their hands, guiding them away and leaving you, once more, alone in a dark which your eyes cannot penetrate.
1 told you so but you had to be greedy retards. Failure kino, kek.
>>5350295>>5350307When this darkness parts again, you find yourself not in some great desert, but once more on hard, slightly-damp stone. Your chest and nose are filled with agonizing pain, and you feel a repeated pressure upon your lower-abdomen, repeated and rhythmic. You cough, hard, tasting that bitter spring-water and your own bile and remnants of your last meal.“Superior One! Are you alright?”It is the Degenerate Archer who asks, kneeling next to you and leaning over you. He, too, is soggy and shirtless, clearly having dove into the spring to pull you out when your lungs, muscles, and perception failed you. And at your stomach, trembling hands still resting just below your sternum, is… the female dwarf, Davora? She is gasping for breathing, having clearly exerted herself quiet a bit in the effort to pump water out of you through force of compressions.You hear Karz, off to one side, scoff, and say something in dwarven-tongue. Davora reddens, shouting something back at him, but quickly stands and steps away from you, turning away and saying nothing. You look between them, and to your worried retinue.“What did you find?” the Cartographer asks, excitedly, as he reigns in the dwarves’ chains.“I don’t know,” you admit, frustrated at the truth of it. “Nothing, maybe.”You look back towards the depths of that spring, and see no lingering glitter or glow at the bottom. Feeling sick even at the sight of the waters which nearly claimed your life, you turn away again.You are in no shape to travel after your partial-drowning, so you and your allies, slaves, and pets make camp here. A small amount of wood from the surface is ignited with a spark from your Ring of Elemental Command, to make a fire with which to warm and dry your bodies and clothes. You can only hope that this path really IS a shortcut, for this misadventure has cost you many hours.What do you do?>Speak with Oluwadamilare about what he did, or didn’t, see in the spring>Attempt to commune with Death about what it was you saw>Examine your moon-sword, and attempt to better understand its magic through mindful meditation>Have Karz sing you a song, to raise the dampened morale of your nervous troops>Speak with Davora, and ask why she saved you>Write-in
>>5350311>Have Karz sing you a song, to raise the dampened morale of your nervous troops>Meditate to figure out the magicMulti-task. Next figure out this elf sword, though.
>>5350311>Examine your moon-sword, and attempt to better understand its magic through mindful meditation>Speak with Davora, and ask why she saved you
>>5350340+1Wtf dice
>>5350311Actually changing vote, who says we can't have a peaceful dwarf song to help with our mediation.>Speak with Davora, and ask why she saved you>Examine your moon-sword, and attempt to better understand its magic through mindful meditation>Have Karz sing you a song, to raise the dampened morale of your nervous troops
>>5350354>peaceful dwarf songhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALylcRAqZQg[I guess it's kind of soothing, in a way?]
>>5350314+1
>>5348806The quest and MC has suffered subversion and ruination based on the other anon's arguments. That doesn't mean I'm not enjoying the quest still.>>5350311>Speak with Oluwadamilare about what he did, or didn’t, see in the spring
>>5350384>subversion and ruination based on the other anon's argumentsHow did the arguments affect the quest?
>>5350384[I'm glad you're enjoying it, then. Honestly, aside from a greater tolerance for mammals than I expected and a Sir Mix-A-Lot tier love of fat asses, this is pretty on-point with how I anticipated things going. Well, and I thought you'd have a patron by now.]
>>5350354Support, the dice always cuck us so hard we get our shit kicked in at the worst opportunity.
>>5350410When will we fuck Novice Fleshweaver?You can patron dee's nuts. Got em!
>>5350524Wen she's in heat, which could be anytime between now and an in-game year from now... Though if you mean non-penetrative sex, I suppose you could proposition her, if you could rally enough anons to that banner, and see what happens.
>>5350410>this is pretty on-point with how I anticipated things going>drowning so hard you meet the afterlife in the third threadNice to know we’re on point.
>>5350529Honestly? I figure our chances are decent, if only to experiment with the genetic material after. I sort of curious how a Mother of Dragon boon would alter shit, sort of like the Beholder and his altering of the Potion of Smol.
>>5350354+1Maybe do >>5350041, dedicate it to Pursuer, cull whatever bullshit magic that just drowned our ass. I figure we can talk to Death or tentacle homie about it before our nap.
Rolled 10, 13, 13 = 36 (3d20)>>5350735>>5350384>>5350380>>5350354>>5350347>>5350340“Throat-sssinger! To me.”You thus call Karz to your side, and bid him sing you one of his people’s peculiar, reverberating songs—a wordless hymn which you cannot understand the meaning of, but which you recognize vibrates with a frequency verging on the mystical. Your hope is that it will improve morale, as the late Paeris’ songs once did... And, perhaps, help you to focus your own mind and soul upon this blasted elf-sword.The moon-blade sits in your lap, laid out upon its unraveled cloth ‘sheathe’ for you to scrutinize. It has flummoxed you, eluded precise analysis by even the magically-inclined Jazkarmel. You know it to be a blade of legend—or at least a replica of such, with a genuine magic. Its stone-like material does not rust, chip, or whether; its edge never dulls. It is marked with the phases of the moon, and the Elf Specialist once told you of a legend that it belonged to a Goddess of Light, before being passed down to the first King of the Elves. You and he both doubted it, but… Well, simply wielding it in your draconic shape was enough to frighten away some ephemeral being in an elven spring which hosts what is clearly a deep magic.What IS it? Besides glowing and enduring, what powers does this sword-of-kings command?
>>5350752>13You focus and focus, but ironically your very intensity makes it hard to lose yourself in the meditation—to access the half-emptied frame of mind, the place of idle and drifting consciousness, which allows the veil of the material realm to part and to reveal the mystical underlay beneath mundane reality. In other words, no luck. You curse your own distraction, your impatience, and begin to re-wrap the moon-blade.However, as you do so, you relieve yourself of the pressure to succeed, and to know immediately. You allow your mind to wander, and your senses to focus on the young dwarf-boy’s musical stylings. Karz the Throat-singer’s oscillating voice fills the cavern aaround this ancient elven spring, filling the space with a peculiar harmony. It is as if the stones, the slightly-trembling and effervescent waters, sing with him…>-2 DC for bardic inspiration..And so does the blade. It trembles in your hands with a hidden power, beginning to glow faintly once more, and then brighter and brighter. To your startlement, it begins to rise, levitating before you. You stand, reaching out to grab it before it floats away, and its vibrations travel up your arm, through your bones and into your ribcage and skull. Your heart and mind heart its song. In its own tune—its response to Karz’s call—you sense another attunement. It is an alignment between the sword and something within you… A magic already known.Your retinue is staring at you and your luminescent sword now. Even Karz is staring, wide-eyed, but he does not break off his song. The hum of the sword will not allow it—nor, you sense, would he allow this peculiar and revelatory moment to pass him by, even as he has no desire to assist you in your quest. He continues his song, and you join in with a ululation of your own—the elven words which correspond to the <Moonbeam> spell, but altered… Older, perhaps, or of a secret language-of-power such as the human mages use. At the same time, you whirl about swinging your sword in a wide arc, and a great crescent of light explodes froth from the blade, a faint blue-white light which spreads out in a mirror of your arc. Agno yelps and ducks below it as the blade of light cuts a deep gouge into the stonework before you, bisecting an ancient elven king (or god) in bass relief.You stare at the sword, as do the others. The song dies down, and Karz sits down, shaking, holding his beardless face in his hands as if his very throat, tongue, and lips have become alien to him. You wrap up your sword, as the glow dies away once more.You’re pretty sure you could do that again. You think you could do even more, given time… And given the Throat-singer’s assistance.
>>5350761This last exertion is enough to push you over the edge into exhaustion, but torpor must wait, just a little while longer. You know you cannot rest until you answer one more mystery.“Herbalissst,” you say, calling the other dwarf to you now, “to me.”You say this more quietly, and you beckon her to follow you to a private grotto on the edge of this particular cavern. This is to be a more personal conversation. She follows haltingly, clearly hesitant to be alone with you.“You fear me,” you say.“You just sliced a scar in the earth herself,” she points out, “and, uh, you’re still half-naked, sir.”You are if only because your pants are still drying before the fire. You don’t really see the relevance—you’re no female, after all, to have to preserve modesty. Perhaps things are different among dwarves, with their males ever-visible mammalian genitalia. You shrug off the cultural misunderstanding, but seek to assuage the slight tremor in her voice—her fear is righteous, and good, but misplace din this instance.“You are not being punished,” you say. “You sssaved my life. It would be… Odd, to punish ssuch an act of loyalty.”“I wouldn’t say… I mean, um, yes, sir. Th-thank you.”“Not loyalty, then?” you ask. “I thought it ssstrange, yess. Why would you be loyal? Why attempt to sssave me at all? The Throat-ssinger ccertainly would have let me drown, and I underssstand hisss resssentment… But not your mercccy, nor the way you looked at me, before that.”Davora the Herbalist’s reddens in the face again at that comment, eyes widening.“I didn’t… I didn’t mean to, uh, offend or anything.”“I am not offended. I am confusssed. Exxxplain yoursself, dwarf.”Davora hesitates again, but a low rumble of irritation pushes her through this delay and she answers yo:“Because you were beautiful.”You stare for a moment, confounded. Is this mammal… CAttempting to seduce you? I mean, her form is supple enough, and she DOES have that rear, but…“Wait!” Davora blurts out. “I didn’t mean… Not like…”Davora pauses, looking at you with that same bizarre, ambivalent expression.“It isn’t that I don’t hate you, for what you did. I wasn’t… I didn’t lose parents, or siblings, or children. Plenty did, like Karz. I wasn’t close with my husband, but he didn’t deserve to… To DIE like that. I was never really at home in these mountains, never had close friends, but there were dwarves who were good and kind to me. You… You smashed and stabbed them, too. I hate you for that. I DO.”Another pause this time to take a deep breath. Her fear has returned, and she is clearly afraid of what your reply will be to her next words.
>>5350799“So when I saw you there, shining and, and HUGE… Like a golem—this big metal guardian in dwarven legends, that is—shining with those metallic scales and glimmering gold armour, and wielding that glowing sword, standing proud and tall like some… Some HERO right out of a story… And you saved us all, then dove right into those waters to chase down those slimy bastards…”Davora dares to meet your eyes.I guess why I saved you, because… I may not be a miner like Da or a craftsdwarf like Mum, but I’m a dwarf. What dwarf just lets a beautiful thing break, and doesn’t fix it? But… That’s why I looked at you like that, too.”“Becaussse I wass… Beautiful to you?” you ask.“Because it felt wrong that something… That someone so awful, who did such awful things, and caused so much pain, and killed so many good dwarves, could… Be ALLOWED to be as beautiful as that.”How do you respond?>Rebuke her—list the litanies of indignities your people have suffered thanks to the actions of the mammalian races, dwarves included>Apologize—you did what you had to, or what you FELT you had to, but you do not revel in the emotional toll it takes>Seduce her—she’s quite beautiful, herself, and you find yourself wishing to hold her trembling body>Ask her something [what?]>Dismiss her—that will be all
>>5350802>Seduce her—she’s quite beautiful, herself, and you find yourself wishing to hold her trembling bodyJiggle.
>>5350802>Apologize—you did what you had to, or what you FELT you had to, but you do not revel in the emotional toll it takes
>>5350802>Rebuke her—list the litanies of indignities your people have suffered thanks to the actions of the mammalian races, dwarves included>Seduce her—she’s quite beautiful, herself, and you find yourself wishing to hold her trembling bodyWe wuz kangz bitch! That’s why we be naturally beautiful, the sheer CHADNESS of our being catches the eye hoe.
>>5350885
>>5350885kek, have a +1
>>5350802>Seduce her—she’s quite beautiful, herself, and you find yourself wishing to hold her trembling bodypurely for uh diplomatic relations
>>5350802>Seduce her—she’s quite beautiful, herself, and you find yourself wishing to hold her trembling body>Softly rebuke her- we don’t like the emotional toll it take, but our people have suffered from actions of the surface races.
>>5350802>Rebuke her—list the litanies of indignities your people have suffered thanks to the actions of the mammalian races, dwarves included>Seduce her—she’s quite beautiful, herself, and you find yourself wishing to hold her trembling bodyPlay up the bad boy rebel-without-a-cause vibe, the James Dean kind. Women love that shit.
Rolled 20, 16 = 36 (2d20)>>5350979>>5350957>>5350927>>5350926>>5350885>>5350823>>5350817The air is humid and warm. You aren’t sure if that’s what is affecting you, or if you are affected indirectly by the effect which this has on the Herbalist—on Davora. Her robes cling to her peculiar mammalian dimorphism—to her bosom, with its pale and pinkish skin, its cleavage visible from the elevated vantage allowed by your height. Her trembling vulnerability, coupled with her guarded stance, defiant eyes, and her inadvertent flattery… They all stir something familiar in you. Your <appetite> surges.And yet…“I won’t apologize for doing what needed to be done,” you say after a moment.“Those dwarves didn’t need to die,” she begins to object.“Those mountains are my race’s birthright,” you interrupt. “We were driven from them by mammalsss—by dwarvess, in fact, and by elvesss and men. And we have sssuffered, ssuch as you cannot imagine ssuffering, for aeonss ssinccce then. We NEED those mountainsss… And we will have them.”You take a step forward, and Davora’s eyes widen as you reach out and grab hold of her shoulders. Her quaking intensifies, as she looks down at your comparatively-massive, muscular body… And down further, to where you feel the heat of arousal building.“I will have what I desssire,” you whisper, voice a low rumble. “You are quite beautiful yoursself, you know…”"I..." she stammers, "S-sir, I..."DC 17
>>5351080we need no points in seduction when we nat 20 all day
>>5351080>>5351093>20You pull her body to yours, taking handfuls of her soft, scaleless skin and kneading at it. She gasps, first in fear and increasingly with a more lascivious bent at your attentions—even at the pricking of your sharp talons through her clothing.“I shouldn’t…”“You have no duty,” you remind her, “but to your Dragon King.”There is a pause that feels almost eternal, as you feel her body tense up—to retaliate? to flee?—but then she instead belts into you, her mammalian chest-glands and their lusciously-squishy confines pressed to you where you are most sensitive, and her hands reach to tentatively touch your thighs… And then move inward.There are no more words, but both of you find uses for your mouths. So too do you find uses for the chain which yet binds her, but when you lose grip of it in the throes of passion, the throes do not cease—the one called Davora moves on her own, caught up in this bizarre and forbidden coupling.A frequent refrain, perhaps predictably given your dimensions relative to her own race’s, is:“S-so big!”For your part, you have never felt anything like this dwarf. Well… You’ve only mated one other time, you suppose. The sensation is different—less complex than the interior of your one-time insectoid mate, Glowie, but very… Snug. And such heat! ‘Warm-blooded’ is no misnomer!In the end, you…>Take your full pleasure—what are the chances you can impregnate a dwarf?>Use caution to avoid siring any accidental heirsAnd thereafter you…>Spend your rest in the dwarf-woman’s companionship, savouring your body-warmth [+affection]>Wash yourself urgently, and order her to say nothing of what transpired here [-affection]
>>5351098>Take your full pleasure—what are the chances you can impregnate a dwarf?>Spend your rest in the dwarf-woman’s companionship, savouring your body-warmth [+affection]I would’ve traded that nat 20 for the treasure dive. Eh, might as well make the most of the crit.
>>5351098>Take your full pleasure—what are the chances you can impregnate a dwarf?>bounce
>>5351098>Use caution to avoid siring any accidental heirs>Spend your rest in the dwarf-woman’s companionship, savouring your body-warmth [+affection]Well I didn't want to do this but oh well. The coomers get to have their way today.
>>5351098>Take your full pleasure—what are the chances you can impregnate a dwarf?>Spend your rest in the dwarf-woman’s companionship, savouring your body-warmth [+affection]Coomers win!!!! Honestly surprised it took this long.
>>5351129If you don't like the idea of coupling with Davona, might I suggest not building your affection with her via cuddling?
>>5351154We're an evil dragonborn who genocided her people, but we're not a complete scumbag. We would never kick a woman out after just fucking her!Really, though, I'm fine with this relationship as long as it doesn't interfere with the Novice or sets Glowie off too much. I REALLY don't want to impregnate her, though. That is a terrible idea that'll lead to so many complications.
>>5351098>Take your full pleasure—what are the chances you can impregnate a dwarf?>Cuddle for a minute, and her wash you, and you her- and if anyone asks, you were teaching the Dragonborn how to self-resuscitate or resuscitate others, so as not to appear foolish when dealing with this difficulty againWe invaded her community, slaughtered her kinsmen, crushed her husband… and now she lays with us willing, cucking their sacrifice and memory. This is the pinnacle of being a Dragon Chad.>>5351161That’s what the Novice Abortion clinic is for homie.
>>5351161>as it doesn't interfere with the Novice or sets Glowie off too much
>>5351167Kek we have a long road ahead of ourselves
>>5351098>Take your full pleasure—what are the chances you can impregnate a dwarf?>Cuddle for a minute, and her wash you, and you her- and if anyone asks, you were teaching the Dragonborn how to self-resuscitate or resuscitate others, so as not to appear foolish when dealing with this difficulty againWomen don’t understand it’s physically impossible to pull out it feels too good
>>5351217Wait already voted ignore. Post nap posts are groggy and forgetful
>>5351217Anon… well it’s winning by a lot anyways so.
>>5351098>Take your full pleasure—what are the chances you can impregnate a dwarf, especially a herbalist?>Cuddle for a minute, and her wash you, and you her- and if anyone asks, you were teaching the Dragonborn how to self-resuscitate or resuscitate others, so as not to appear foolish when dealing with this difficulty againIsn’t she a herbalist? She should be able to concoct and drink a contraceptive, a morning after pill, right?
>>5351098>Use caution to avoid siring any accidental heirsWhy impregnate her, anons? We have no need for more halfbred bastards. >Spend your rest in the dwarf-woman’s companionship, savouring your body-warmth [+affection]
>>5351098>Use caution to avoid siring any accidental heirsAnd thereafter you…>Spend your rest in the dwarf-woman’s companionship, savouring your body-warmth [+affection]While their is some minor benefit to building a rapport with the dwarf women, so as to have a spy later on. There is ZERO reason to create a half-dwarf/human/reptile/dragon abomination. It will only cause us problem's and will interfere with our mission. Unlike with glowie the mother of dragons wouldn't even bless thus degenerate union.A.k.a Coomer need to leave, or at least fap before posting on this quest. The qm is obviously only giving us these story line options in order to set up problems and future drama for us to deal with later, that will inevitably by laws of story telling convention interfere with our mission.
>>5351166>That’s what the Novice Abortion clinic is for homie.The same coomer that voted for lol sex, will NEVER vote for an abortion, the want us to FEEL the consequence of our actions, or they wont be able to get their rocks off.
Hey coomers now that you've gotten to "jiggle" something let's chill out now. We're going to fuck up our relationship with the Novice if we do anymore, we had fun but now it's time to buckle down and focus on the empire building efforts.
>>5351317If you can't keep it in the pants let's at least agree to no more seduction without CLEAR benefits. Fucking this dwarf was mostly fucking her for the sake of fucking her.
>>5351098>Use caution to avoid siring any accidental heirs>Spend your rest in the dwarf-woman’s companionship, savouring your body-warmth [+affection]
>>5351317>>5351331Dear sexless anons. We are going to fuck this shortstack again as soon as we get Novice to develop a contraceptive. That is, right after we're done mate pressing Novice to make sure it's working. We're going to test both cocks, so it's going to take a while.
>>5351317>>5351331Like I said before, use the Prosecutor as a counterweight to the Coomer Menace. I’m not saying we should patronize the God, but if we had a positive relationship we probably would be more chaste for the sake of appeasing him.
>>5351098>Use caution to avoid siring any accidental heirs>Wash up and bounce
>>5351260>>5351098+1 for wholesome hours
>>5351107>>5351110>>5351129>>5351143>>5351166>>5351237>>5351260>>5351311>>5351336>>5351407>>5351422>>5351444[Hmmm... I'm a bit suspicious of some of these votes, but without the suspicious ones it's still 50/50, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.][Post incoming, if the 4chan glitches let up!]
>>5351487“Herbalisst,” you hiss, “I am… I feel…”“Please, not insuh-uh-iiide!” she whispers back, holding back a louder cry.Following Davora’s advice, you make the judicious decision not to risk siring another mixed-breed (well, more mixed than you are already) offspring, but due to her distinctive shapeliness and warmth you are still able to find your pleasure quite readily. The post-coital wave of exhaustion is more than you can handle, however, especially after such a day of extreme exertion. You slump forwards, gasping, vision hazy.“…S-sir? Are you alright?”Without really seeing her, you reach out to the source of the warmth. You reach out towards the tangible warmth of your mammalian mate, grab handfuls of the dwarf’s curvaceous body and pulling her to you once more. She cries out before covering her mouth, surprised at your sudden seizing of her. She seems to calm somewhat, however, when rather than an attack or another round of frenzied rutting, you instead pull her to your chest and abdomen, and hold her there. As the fire-lizards bask beside the hot-spring, you find relief and relaxation in this warmth.“…perior one? Dragonborn?”You groan, rousing at the sound of your titles… And raise your head to see Oluwadamilare’s concerned expression.“What is wrong, Archer?” you ask the Degenerate.With a slightly wry expression, he gestures to the dwarven Herbalist, still held tight to your abdomen. Her eyes are closed, and her breathing slow and regular; she is still sleeping, given to the long torpor of the mammalian races.“Superior One… Such interspecies couplings without authorization are…”You feel the same shock of post-coital clarity which you did after breeding with Glowie, and sit upright, eyes wide. The Herbalist is startled awake by this; she is disoriented at first but then, seeing Olu and then following his eyes to her exposed breasts, she makes an alarmed squealing sound and covers herself, before scrambling to collect her clothes.“I know the law well,” you hiss. “This is… That is to say… In the same way your diplomatic efforts are producing favourable results with the Drow, my intention was to…”The two of you stare at once another for a moment, and then Olu the Archer laughs.“You once said you admired my taste,” he notes. “This dwarf, she is not my type, but I can understand yours as well… Superior One.”The familiarity! The borderline disrespect! And from a Degenerate!“I will say nothing to the others, but your absences have been noticed,” the Archer says, and hands you your folded-up underclothes, the rough fabrics worn beneath your armour. “May I humbly suggest that you wash and get dressed?”
>>5351491As Olu departs, Davora returns to your side, hair and attire dishevelled and trailing her limp chain, attached to nothing.“What did he say?” she asks, having n understanding of the True Speech.“He said we should not be… Open about thisss matter.”“...Right.”You glance down at the Herbalist, and she twists the chain around and around her hands. You wonder if she still feels that hatred for your and what you inflicted on her people, beneath… Whatever else the two of you felt, in the throes of mammalian desire? As the two of you rejoin the others, gather up your things, and leave the hot-spring, she certainly seems withdrawn and pensive.There are no more major obstacles between you and the Drow and, true to the Cartograpehr’s calculations, the journey to the dark elves’ encampment is shorter than previous journeys—and somewhat easier, as well, for you find more segments of long-worn, still-useful steps in lieu of sharply-dropping cliffs and ravines. Having overtaxed yourself somewhat the prior day, you are grateful for this.The Drow see you coming before you notice them, as is so often the case. They do not seem tot rouble your <Danger Sense> any more, with their lack of hostility and your own increasing trust of these allies. By the time you arrive at the encampment, familiar faces await you: Jazkarmel, their leader and apparent ‘Princess’, and the Elf-Specialist. The former, as with the gathered elves, are somewhat grim of countenance, more muted than the celebrations during your last visit. They have seen the bodies you bring back, bundled though they are.“Epharidan was a good scout, and a trustworthy elf-man,” Jazkarmel notes, face impassive.“The Ranger-Captain and his subordinate both fought well,” you reply, “and slew many more foes, of great importance, before perishing.”
>>5351494You nod to Agno, who hurries to your side and kneels. He opens his bag and reveals a tribute of glittering rubies and diamonds, gold and silver coins, and a bar of the much-coveted orichalcum. It is a relatively small offering, but as you explain to Jazkarmel:“These are but a sampling of our spoils, and in honour of your race’s sacrifice, we offer you the land where this wealth was mined.”You both meet one another’s eyes, and exchange a nod. Jazkarmel gestures to some of her warriors, and they gather up the dead.“Come on, then,” she beckons to you, “we will have much to discuss.”You entrust Herbalist Davora’s chain to the Elf-Specialist, who looks at you in confusion and at her with disgust, but obliges you by guiding her away as he rejoins the rest of your retinue to exchange stories. You and Jazkarmel, fellow leaders, return to the chamber where she conducts her meetings. Tehre, you tell her of what transpired, of your victories and losses, and of your plans.What are your plans?>You wish to meet with the Queen of the Drow, deeper in their hidden capitol, and to formally propose an alliance of equals>You formally claim the Bloodrise and the passages around and below it as your sovereign territory, and you wish this to be conveyed to the Queen—who you desire to submit to this authority>You do not yet wish to involve the upper echelons of Drow nobility, lest it complicate matters—rather, Jazkarmel and her forces should march with you to claim their new lands, and aid you in seizing still more territory>You hear Jazkarmel has a claim to the Drow throne… And, as she is a trusted ally, you would like to enable her to take advantage of this claim>Write-in
>>5351496>You do not yet wish to involve the upper echelons of Drow nobility, lest it complicate matters—rather, Jazkarmel and her forces should march with you to claim their new lands, and aid you in seizing still more territoryWe have a month time limit before we need to get back with food, I don't know how long the journey to meet with the Drow queen would take, but it would certainly put us right around the danger zone at the least. Also if we wish to put Jazkarmel on the throne of the Drow it would be much easier when she has territory and spoils behind her.
>>5351496>You hear Jazkarmel has a claim to the Drow throne… And, as she is a trusted ally, you would like to enable her to take advantage of this claimqueenmaker whoo
>>5351496>You do not yet wish to involve the upper echelons of Drow nobility, lest it complicate matters—rather, Jazkarmel and her forces should march with you to claim their new lands, and aid you in seizing still more territoryGot to be quick.
>>5351496>You do not yet wish to involve the upper echelons of Drow nobility, lest it complicate matters—rather, Jazkarmel and her forces should march with you to claim their new lands, and aid you in seizing still more territory
>>5351496>You formally claim the Bloodrise and the passages around and below it as your sovereign territory, and you wish this to be conveyed to the Queen—who you desire to submit to this authority
>>5351496>You hear Jazkarmel has a claim to the Drow throne… And, as she is a trusted ally, you would like to enable her to take advantage of this claimSubvert the shit outta them
>>5351496>You do not yet wish to involve the upper echelons of Drow nobility, lest it complicate matters—rather, Jazkarmel and her forces should march with you to claim their new lands, and aid you in seizing still more territory.Negotiations with the drow queen is too much politics right now, we need to fortify and resupply our allies, and beat the bloodrise mountain dwarf mining company before we get embroiled in any of those plots.
>>5351496>You hear Jazkarmel has a claim to the Drow throne… And, as she is a trusted ally, you would like to enable her to take advantage of this claimOnly a discussion though at this stage - we need to restock with food supplies and new warriors and proceed back to the fort.
>>5352147>>5351764>>5351591>>5351576>>5351574>>5351570>>5351512Drow politics are fascinating, and full of potential, but they are outside of the scope of your current mission. While the Novice may have been more right than she realized about your penchant for certain, especially-jiggly distractions, you ARE a male on a mission, and you are ever-cognizant of the ticking clock. Food and fighter srae yoru priority,a nd you make this clear:“Our initial assault was a tremendous success,” you assert. “We lost mostly Bogbarri—the barbed devils, who are called bugbears. You provided us with only four… How you say, ‘elf-men’?”“Zardryl actually identifies as—”“Four warriors,” you press on, “and look at what we accomplished! For the cost of two lives, you have obtained a stronghold full of riches.”Jazkarmel frowns slightly, but she turns over one of the rubies in his hands—a stone the size half the size of her fist, and a match to her sparkling red eyes.“What of more practical matters?” she asks, setting the stone reluctantly down on the table. “We Drow need food more than we need fancy rocks.”“We… Actually hoped to request rations from you,” you admit, cringing inwardly. “Our own stores run low.”Jazkarmel’s frown deepens, her elegant eyebrows arching questioningly.“I understand that this is counterintuitive,” you say, “but supply me elven warriors, and rations for your forces and mine, and we shall return them redoubled. Do you not think these resources can be traded for ample food from the humans of the valley?”“The loyal children of the False Gods who abandoned us will not trade with those who serve the Gods of Evil,” she sighs. “We may take the dwarven riches, and their barren mountain-lands, but all we will do is starve to death while clad in silk and jewelry. We will leave pretty corpses, but nothing else.”You hesitate, recalculating your gambit. You had expected greater enthusiasm from the dark elf leader, and you NEED her support… Or do you?What do you do?>Emphasize the dwarven theories of using orichalcum stores and networks to facilitate underground farming—there will be more food, eventually, if you can use these secrets for your own purposes!>Propose expanding into the valley-lands instead, capturing arable land and beginning to raise livestock and grow crops>Suggest the dwarves themselves as a food-source—it will do, in a pinch, though it will surely lose what little loyalty they have to you>Threaten the dark elves—they will cooperate, or they will be crushed as surely as the dwarves>Forget this—you were wrong to rely on silly, flighty elves>Write-in
>>5352272>Emphasize the dwarven theories of using orichalcum stores and networks to facilitate underground farming—there will be more food, eventually, if you can use these secrets for your own purposes!
>leave for the weekend on vacation>come back>we have fucked a dwarf for literally no reasonalright I'm out, enjoy your coomer playerbase QM
>>5352272>Emphasize the dwarven theories of using orichalcum stores and networks to facilitate underground farming—there will be more food, eventually, if you can use these secrets for your own purposes!>We have methods to able to trade with the humans, you were shocked by our wormy friends transformation right? That type of transformation is not limited to just reptilians but also humans. A savvy infiltrator can trade the wealth for food easily.
>>5352290Same energy.Better luck next quest, anon. Thanks for playing!
>>5352306+1
>>5352306Supporting
>>5352272>Emphasize the dwarven theories of using orichalcum stores and networks to facilitate underground farming—there will be more food, eventually, if you can use these secrets for your own purposes!>Propose expanding into the valley-lands instead, capturing arable land and beginning to raise livestock and grow crops
>>5352272>We have methods to able to trade with the humans.Do NOT give her any details about how transformations work. Those talismans are fucking crucial for the lives of our spies.>>Food and fighter srae yoru priority,a nd you make this clearThat wasn't very clear kek>>5352290See you in a week!
>>5352272>Propose expanding into the valley-lands instead, capturing arable land and beginning to raise livestock and grow cropsWe should also try to assimilate them within the Master Race’s power structure, with their consent of course, but that’s after we finish our campaign and get ourselves involved in elven politics proper.
>>5352290No one asked you didn’t need to make an announcement like we care
>>5352515I mean they've already seen Glowie transform and at this point we're kind of in bed with these Drow whether we like it or not. This proposition is in our favor anyways despite the secrets it reveals, this would make the Drow dependent on us for food, and that is a thing that we can hold over them later.
>>5352515>>5352272*food and fighters are your priority>>5352570>>5352515>>5352445>>5352443>>5352395>>5352306>>5352283[Vote locked, post in progress!]
Rolled 3, 12, 10, 7 = 32 (4d20)>>5352623“The dwarves have a notion of using orichalcum constructions, channels of this black stone or an alloy, to store and transmit magic through their underground complexes… To control temperature, power machinery, and much more. It could enable the growing of crops and livestock beneath the earth, enough for all of us!”You hand the ingot of orichalcum-iron to Jazkarmel, and the dark elf leader turns it over and over in her hand, before setting it next to the ruby and half-smiling at you.“A beautiful dream, Dragonborn,” she says. “But do you know how to do it?”“I have taken many dwarves as slaves, and mean to vassalize them as I did the kobolds,” you say, attempting to project the confidence of inevitable victory. “We will own their secret methods, and our alchemists and mages will make them our own.”Jazkarmel leans back in her seat a little, considering your words with as neutral a look on her face as she can manage. You have been spending more time interacting with mammals lately, though. You see interest, albeit also some skepticism.“And until then?” she asks. “It sounds as if it will take time. You ask for food now for the POSSIBILITY fo food later. Bad trade.”You lean forward, and tap the amulet upon your neck, drawing the elf’s eyes to it.“You have seen how our Amulets of Disguise can transform even a great glow-worm into one of my kind,” you say. “That type of transformation is not limited to just Reptilian forms, but also can be used to disguise one of my race as a human. A savvy Infiltrator can trade the wealth for food easily.”Of course, you’ll need to think of some way to smooth over the matter of the Dwarves of Bloodrise no longer being affiliated with their ‘corporations’… But Jazkarmel does not know of dwarven socio-economic structure, and it is a bridge you can cross when you later come to it. DC 11/13/15 for clever plans
>>5352628For now, the elf leader smiles brightly, seeing the potential in this plan, and clasps your hand in her fine, soft one.“Alright,” she says, “you have me.”“Then you will march on the dwarves with me?” you ask.Jazkarmel shrugs, and answers: “You will have ME, and some of my rangers—a dozen of my best. We will bring food to share…”She pauses, her eyes glimmering with mischief.“…And some wine.”You remember well the drunkenness and hangover of your last experience with Drow-made blood-red mushroom-wine, and you gulp slightly, drawing a musical laugh from your opposite number. She pats you good-naturedly on the shoulder, and gives it a squeeze.(These elves, always so… Touchy. Oluwadamilare is a lucky male.)You depart Jazkarmel’s chamber. You have made good time in reaching and convincing the Drow leader of the value of your proposition, though she requests a week to prepare for the expedition. You can hardly begrudge her that—it’s what you were given, before you left the forward base. It also gives you time to reflect on how you will spend your remaining time here, in the Drow encampment, and what else you might do before your return to Bloodrise.Your first priority is to…>Pay Glowie a visit, to see how her metamorphosis progresses and whether she has yet laid your sons’ eggs>Debrief the Elf Specialist, and see what progress he has made in converting the locals to your True Faith>Meditate with Karz, the Dwarven Throat-singer, to see if you can unlock yet more mysteries of the moon-blade with his aid>Get your looted dwarven axe appraised by an elven mage, and perhaps trade for some other items>Write-in[Choose two at most, please.]
>>5352643>Pay Glowie a visit, to see how her metamorphosis progresses and whether she has yet laid your sons’ eggs>Meditate with Karz, the Dwarven Throat-singer, to see if you can unlock yet more mysteries of the moon-blade with his aid
>>5352643>Pay Glowie a visit, to see how her metamorphosis progresses and whether she has yet laid your sons’ eggs>Pay Glowie a visit, to see how her metamorphosis progresses and whether she has yet laid your sons’ eggs
>>5352648>Meditate with Karz, the Dwarven Throat-singer, to see if you can unlock yet more mysteries of the moon-blade with his aidPasted same thing twice
>>5352643>Pay Glowie a visit, to see how her metamorphosis progresses and whether she has yet laid your sons’ eggs>Debrief the Elf Specialist, and see what progress he has made in converting the locals to your True Faith
>>5352643>Pay Glowie a visit, to see how her metamorphosis progresses and whether she has yet laid your sons’ eggs>Meditate on dragonhood with Karz' aid, he has helped you get results on the blade, why not on your true quest?Its been a while since we did this, the beholder helped us with the amulet but maybe we can advance more?
What guesses do we have for Karz magic ability?
>>5352643>Pay Glowie a visit, to see how her metamorphosis progresses and whether she has yet laid your sons’ eggs>Get your looted dwarven axe appraised by an elven mage, and perhaps trade for some other itemsPlace a hand on her cocoon and hum that tune she always loved to hum.
>>5352897Maybe something moon-related, it seems to synergize well with the moon sword.>>5352915I think we should hold her hand when we see her, that always comforted her.
>>5352643>Pay Glowie a visit, to see how her metamorphosis progresses and whether she has yet laid your sons’ eggs>Meditate with Karz, the Dwarven Throat-singer, to see if you can unlock yet more mysteries of the moon-blade with his aidSupport comforting Glowie.
>>5352646>>5352648>>5352649>>5352651>>5352666>>5352915>>5352992>>5353047Your main priority is obvious, automatic… But there’s something else you must attend to first.“Throat-ssinger,” you call out to Karz, approaching Olu the Archer who keeps his chain. “I require your sservicesss.”The Archer hands off the male dwarf’s chain to you and, relieved of this duty, gives you a questioning look. You nod, and he grins gratefully, and springs off to the same tent which you just left, to pay his respects to Jazkarmel. You suspect you’ll not see him around for several hours. You can hardly begrudge him—it can’t hurt your efforts to keep the Drow on-side.The Throat-singer is stubbornly stiff-necked by sheer dwarven instinct, but he does not actually resist or attempt to escape as you bring him to the edge of the dwarven encampment. The further you get from the others, though, the more his façade of gruff dwarven machismo cracks, until the youthful fear shines through. Perhaps you are simply primed to recognize a young male playing at maturity—sometimes, it is difficult not to feel that this is exactly what you are doing, negotiating diplomatic deals and leading armies at your own young age.“What are you going to do with me?” he asks.“I told you,” you repeat, “your sservicesss are required.”His face pales, expression terrified for a moment,a s if he fears his demise is imminent… But then you drop his chain, pinning it beneath one boot. Your draw your sword, and one form of fear is replaced by another, and by confusion. “You’re going to kill me?”“No,” you say. “Wait, what did you think I wass going to do to you before I drew my ssword.”“You know… Like with Davora.”You stare at him. He thought you were going to… With a MALE? A MAMMALIAN male?“Sssssing,” you hiss.The young dwarf shrinks away from your fury, but then he narrows his eyes and steels himself.“Last time I sang, you did that… THING with your sword.”You say nothing, but his eyes linger on the blade, then meet your own in defiance.“Something about my song is making you stronger, then?” he asks.You still say nothing. You have no need to answer this beardless tunnel-monkey. He WILL sing. You are his MASTER. His DRAGON KING.“I won’t do it,” he says, crossing his arms with childish impudence.“You will,” you sneer. “You will do sso or I will show you how persssuassive I can be.”“If I make you stronger, better at… Whatever you can do with that’s word… The dwarven blood you shed will be on my hands. I’ll be a pawn of… Of EVIL. I won’t do it! You’ll have to kill me!”
>>5353247You stare so hard it’s a wonder he doesn’t burst into flames. He takes a step back, nearly tripping over his chains. This whelp—well, probably forty years of age, and roughly as physically mature as you, you suppose, but STILL—defies you. Throat-singer Karz, though he is on the verge of wetting himself, does not sing.What do you do?>Make him promises—mercy and minimal force in conquering the remaining dwarves [Low DC, but if you break your promise, this will not work again]>Corrupt him—tell him of the magical potential you see in him, and offer him tutelage in the mystic arts, and a place of power in your regime [Medium DC, but if you break your promise, this will not work again]>Threaten him—test his bluff, and prove him a coward at heart [High DC, but if you fail it, this will never work again]>Forget him—meditate and practice your swordplay alone, without his mystical-musical accompaniment>Oblige him—run the dwarf through with your sword>Seduce him—hey, it worked once [Unknown DC, permanent consequences, not just a meme]>Write-in [Glowie visit after this is resolved]
Oh, and it should go without saying, but backlink you 1post IDs
>>5353249>Threaten him—test his bluff, and prove him a coward at heart [High DC, but if you fail it, this will never work again]>If he remains defiant, slay him-- your power will not be challenged
>>5353249>Threaten him—test his bluff, and prove him a coward at heart [High DC, but if you fail it, this will never work again]not enough butt descriptors for seducealso pic relateddon't kill him if we fail though, fall back on corruptif we can recruit a strong willed minion all the better
>>5353343Fatter than an elf's, less cushy than Davora's or the Novie's, doesn't hold a candle to Glowie's.
>>5353249>Corrupt him—tell him of the magical potential you see in him, and offer him tutelage in the mystic arts, and a place of power in your regime [Medium DC, but if you break your promise, this will not work again]Why are we doing the High DC option? Let's get to corrupting.
>>5353414You know the more I think about it the more I like the idea of corrupting him. Having an apprentice that will serve as our dwarf representative/leader could make the subjugation of the dwarves much easier.
>>5353249>Forget him—meditate and practice your swordplay alone, without his mystical-musical accompaniment>>5353437Until he stabs us in the back.
>>5353249>Corrupt him- if that doesn’t work, mercy and minimal force.
>>5353249>Corrupt him—tell him of the magical potential you see in him, and offer him tutelage in the mystic arts, and a place of power in your regime [Medium DC, but if you break your promise, this will not work again]>>5351444>>5350041Tis me, euroanon. I'm just phone posting so IDs change
>>5353249>Corrupt him—tell him of the magical potential you see in him, and offer him tutelage in the mystic arts, and a place of power in your regime [Medium DC, but if you break your promise, this will not work again]
>>5353584>>5348836
>>5353300Supporting.Our will is LAW
Rolled 13, 18, 6, 4, 18 = 59 (5d20)>>5353663>>5353584>>5353516>>5353496>>5353483>>5353414>>5353343>>5353300“Throat-sssinger…”You take a step forward, and the dwarf nearly takes a step back. He fidgets, but steadies himself, ready to meet his end with pride intact. It is… Admirable. Impressive, even. Yes, this one ahs potential.“You musst ssensse that you are different from the othersss.”Again, Karz the Throat-singer looks surprised by your approach, and once more confused.“What? You mean because I don’t have a beard? L-low blow, coming from a lizard with hair!”Your tail involuntarily flicks with irritation at the jibe, but you hold back a hiss of anger.“Yess,” you admit, “I am different to mossst of my kind, alssso. We have that in common… But not ONLY that, Throat-sssinger.”“I’m nothing like you!” the dwarf shouts, defiant.“Magic,” you say simply, and he freezes. “That feeling in your chessst, in your throat, upon your tongue… It isss magic. You are a mage.”“D-dwarves don’t have bardic magic,” he mutters, clearly shaken. “That’s queer elven nonsense.”“You do,” you reiterate. “It iss nothing to be ashamed of. My own… Peculiaritiesss… They make me sstronger, in sssome waysss. And you… You are wrong. You and I are not sso different, Karz Throat-ssinger. You have been mocked, yesss? Bullied?”Karz is quiet.“They mock usss becausse they do not underssstand usss… Because our differenccce makess usss disstinct… And from that dissstinction, emergesss power. A lump of coal, under pressure, becomesss diamond.”“That’s a HUGE simplification of—”“We are forged from the sssame sstuff, Karz. Join me, and together we can rule thessse landsss. We will have ressspect. We will be fears, revered… Loved. We can MAKE them ssee uss for who we truly are.”
Rolled 18, 18, 1, 12 = 49 (4d20)>>5353681Karz stares down at the stone floor, as if seeking some guidance from below…But Below and Beyond, these are the purviews of the Dark Gods, not those of Light.When he looks up, his expression is masked, but his eyes burn with an awful shame… The shame of a dark desire for power, respect, and admiration. You recognize it. The shame, in time, shall apss. That desire… That shall remain.>18There is no further resistance. He sings for you, and you in turn teach him the basics of meditation, and of channeling his magical potential through relaxation and concerted, directed focus of will—of how to see and feel the essence of one’s self, and then one’s surroundings.
>>5353681Appealing to a beardless dwarfs shame we’re an evil fuck
>>5353685>>5353689>18 for youThe process, the thrumming throat-song, and the sinister satisfaction which comes from corrupting this stalwart mammal to your way of thinking, they al conspire to open the way for you. You practice your swordplay as the dwarf sings for you, and periodically you experiment with channeling magical energy through it. Speaking the dark elven words for moon, shine, glow—there are several variations you experiment with—enable you to generate the slicing wave of light which you created before, but also piercing beams, as well as to make your moon-blade glow or dim to darkness upon command. The intensity of the cry and the amount of mana poured into the effort seems to correspond to the strength of the effect, and more than that, the musicality and tone of your voice seems to be important—a deficiency which the Throat-singer’s vibrato makes up for.You sense that there is more to learn, but you grow weary, and turn to Karz’s instruction after a time.>1 for KarzThis proves… Less fruitful. The industrious dwarven spirit and the Throat-singer’s hot blood and musical spirit are not well-given to lessons of stillness and a deliberately-empty mind and heart. You suspect that your ‘conversion’ of the dwarf yet weighs heavily on his heart and leads him to distraction, as he reconciles his new perspective.“You’ll never be sstrong enough to sstab me in the back at thiss rate,” you chide him.“If I stab you,” you grumbles with a glare, “it’ll be in your smarmy lizard face, dragon-man.”“That’sss the sspirit,” you say, “but watch your tone. I am your Dragon King… Apprentice.”Karz winces and a little, and cannot hide his continued personal distaste for you… But he nods.“I’m sorry… Uh… Sire?”You rise to stand, and Karz scrambles back out of sword-reach. You rewrap your blade, and he calms himself. His expression turns to curiosity once more as you rummage about in your belongings, and then produce…>A divination scroll>A tome on superficial biological manipulation>The dwarven axe, magical properties yet unknown>The demon ring>An empty journal—you’ll gift him no aids in this pursuit>Write-in[Cont.]
>>5353693With the matter of the Throat-singer behind you, you attend to an even greater priority—albeit one that isn’t going anywhere: Glowie, the great glow-worm ‘princess’ whom you recruited, befriended, and—in a moment of weakness and/or providence, impregnated during your first-ever sexual encounter. Through the subsequent machinations of the Novice Fleshweaver, the indeterminate number of spawn she now carries hold not just your genetics and hers, but the direct, transfused bloodline of the long-dead Red Dragon King of Bloodrise. Moreover, your relationship with Glowie—however one might define it—serves as a direct connection to the Mother of Dragons. The Dark Goddess of maternity, fertility, and the feminine aspect has long written your people off as an evolutionary dead end in her goal to conquer the Gods of Light, having created Glowie’s race to replace your own and Glowie herself to steal your genetics to augment her future hive… But, in communing with the Gods, you convinced the Divine Mother of a compromise: if you will make Glowie a queen, and earn the approval of your people for this course of action, the Lady of the Rookery will return her full blessings to your Master Race.As with the mating itself, you have mixed feelings about this bargain.It has been weeks now since you left the great-worm in the care of Jazkarmel and her most trust elves—two androgenous who you are assured are (by some definition) ‘elf-maids’ and, near as you can tell , may well be, albeit less shapely sorts than Jazkarmel herself.“An expectant mother should be cared for and seen by other feminine creatures,” Jazkarmel had explained. “Even if they are an elf-man, at that time, it is the season of the feminine aspect.”Elven gender peculiarities aside, the idea of a private chamber and personal attendants is certainly different from the communal clutch of eggs kept in the deep and guarded rookeries beneath the forward base. There, a female Reptilian descends to lay her singular egg amongst those of many others, and then return to their duties while Serpent priestesses watch the eggs until they hatch, and rear the young until they are strong enough to begin attending their own duties. Your own circumstances were different for a number of reasons: a dead mother kept hidden from you by conspiracy, a uniquely important function. Still, the idea of motherhood being more than a genealogical connection and a single brief act—of being a sacred role of particular importance, transformative and deserving of this sort of care and reverence… It’s as alien to you as this bizarre matter of gender fluidity, or all the conversational touching these elven attendants do as they guide you to Glowie’s chamber.
>>5353694There, you find that Glowie’s transformation into a mother really IS a profound and fundamental one, perhaps even more than the Drow are used to. As you were forewarned, she has cocooned herself completely: the chamber to which you are guided is a small cave, but utterly filled with crisscrossing, luminescent strands of goopy silk string. Some of the cords are thin as gossamer, some thick as dwarven elevator cable from the collapsed fort. You carefully weave your way through them, getting ensnared more than once, but you extract yourself from them with care rather than cutting them apart… For they suspend a great ovoid of bundled silk at the centre, surrounding a hardened, egg-like core. Deep within, a grub-like figure can be seen, shining through the layers and layers of hardened worm-silk and adhesive goo: Glowie, in her natural form.You can’t see the particulars, but she’s bigger than you remember—roughly twice or three times your size. Even curled upon herself, she takes up most of the chamber. You recall her mother, who towered like a titan—almost dragon-sized, albeit most of her body composed of a great, trailed, leg-studded egg-sac and ovipositor. It’s a far cry from the almost cute creature who held your hand months ago, let alone the Novice-derived, thick-reared, honestly-quite-fetching Serpent priestess which she disguised herself as.“We will leave you to your visit,” says one of the dak elf attendants.“But do not be long, and do not disturb her unduly,” the other cautions. “We are not familiar with this one’s species, but we know that pupating beetles require peace, and do not take kindly to physical disruption, or even to loud noise.”The two elves leave, though they do not go far—you can hear their shuffling just outside the room. They’re quite protective of the metamorphosing worm-woman.For your part you…>Are disgusted by this whole affair, despite the warnings, and since all seems well you promptly take your leave [-affection]>Find yourself missing Glow, and wish to bring her some comfort; maybe you can commune with her by some means?>Concern yourself most with her brood—your strange and monstrous children—and wish to reach out to them with Reptilian Empathy if you can>Think you feel something almost like… ‘Love’, maybe? You think you’ll take your torpor here tonight, bathed in the strange glow of your first mate as she slumbers [+affection]
>>5353695>Concern yourself most with her brood—your strange and monstrous children—and wish to reach out to them with Reptilian Empathy if you canGlowie is a friend, not a lover. We've been over this, let's not go back on it now.
>>5353705Don't forget the vote at >>5353693
>>5353693>An empty journal—you’ll gift him no aids in this pursuit>>5353695>Think you feel something almost like… ‘Love’, maybe? You think you’ll take your torpor here tonight, bathed in the strange glow of your first mate as she slumbers [+affection]But I can be satisfied with>Find yourself missing Glow, and wish to bring her some comfort; maybe you can commune with her by some means?I just want her to know that we still care for her, whether that be as friends or deeper. I feel sad that we couldn’t comfort her before she cocooned herself, as was her only desire.
>>5353695>A divination scroll>Concern yourself most with her brood—your strange and monstrous children—and wish to reach out to them with Reptilian Empathy if you can
>>5353695>Find yourself missing Glow, and wish to bring her some comfort; maybe you can commune with her by some means?
>>5353695>Leave the elemental book Tell him to focus on moon magic, he should have an easier time recognizing it because he’s communed with the sword twice now.>Concern yourself most with her brood—your strange and monstrous children—and wish to reach out to them with Reptilian Empathy if you canI’d try to talk to her but her maids advised that we shouldn’t disturb her. Maybe we can leave a message with them that we still care for her (as a friend).
>>5353693>An empty journal—you’ll gift him no aids in this pursuit Itll give us a frame of mind of how he is when we read it, plus itll help us understand dwarven better more likely, plus the dwarves are still our prisoners first and foremost, they may have new feelings towards us but they are just that, new feelings, and until we can see more than they can take reptile dick and listen under honeyed words of a dragon, until they can be trusted to follow the our will unquestionably are they to be chattel>>5353695>Find yourself missing Glow, and wish to bring her some comfort; maybe you can commune with her by some means?We have told glowie from the beginning we are not in love with her and at a moment of weakness and divine providence we succumbed to her seductions, its not to say she isnt our friend, we can still miss the companionship of the glow worm princess, she travelled with us a long time, we taught her to speak and to compose herself, shes not a reptilian but she is trying and she wants what we want, she wants to see us rule. I have a feeling that by making Glowie specifically for us the Holy Mother inadvertently created a worm queen that could defy her if convinced by us
>>5353695>The dwarven axe, magical properties yet unknown>Find yourself missing Glow, and wish to bring her some comfort; maybe you can commune with her by some means?>Concern yourself most with her brood—your strange and monstrous children—and wish to reach out to them with Reptilian Empathy if you can
>>5353693>An empty journal—you’ll gift him no aids in this pursuit>>5353710Thanks, almost missed that.
>>5353694I imagine Karz as an incel dwarf now. Give him promises of power and pussy and he’ll throw away his people because they made fun of his facial hair.
>>5353928what facial hair, kek
>>5353693>An empty journal—you’ll gift him no aids in this pursuitI see this as a test in itself- surely he must have some useful ideas, note, or lyrics that shall benefit him in his pursuits?>>5353695>Find yourself missing Glow, and wish to bring her some comfort; maybe you can commune with her by some means?>Concern yourself most with her brood—your strange and monstrous children—and wish to reach out to them with Reptilian Empathy if you canI ain’t looking to disturb, merely to comfort them all. Hopefully they can all rest well after this.
[Late update or passing tonight -- heat dome is killing me.]
>>5354218>>5353892>>5353863>>5353760>>5353746>>5353741>>5353733>>5353723>>5353705You might not be IN love with Glowie… But you miss her. You and she, you share a bond that is undeniable. She believes in you in a way no others do—not Davora the Dwarf, not even the Novice Fleshweaver. She wants what you want: your kingship, your dominion, your happiness and triumph. And, well... If she’s not ‘your queen’, you still care for the worm-girl. You want her to succeed as well, to thrive, to be happy… And for your children to share that same happy fate, whatever their nature.You reach out a hand, and you place it upon the cocoon’s structure… And, channeling your time with Karz the Throat-singer, you begin to hum. You are not a musical being by nature, but you recall intimately the thrumming, cheerful hum which Glowie so frequently reverberated with. It was the tune she hummed when you rutted with her, holding her close and thrusting unabashedly. It was the tune she hummed when you sat together and watched the famous sunrise of Bloodrise. It was the same tune she hummed when you last saw her—when she wall but pleaded with you to be with her as she prepared for this long period of transformative isolation.Against all odds, in spite of her strange slumber, she hums back.You cannot hear the faint sound, but you feel its faint tremble travel up your arm. You close your eyes and really FEEL it. Glowie recognizes your presence, you sense, and responds to it with a pure and unabashed joy. Before you realize it, you are embracing the cocoon, careful not to damage its exterior or shake its inner workings…And it’s then that you feel your children.Glowie’s connection is a distant one, comparatively. She communicated by primitive instrumental, but your shared offspring commune on a spiritual level. You sense the burgeoning selfhood of true dragons, fearsome kings waiting to be born and to prove themselves. You sense your own fearsome determination in these half-formed spawn, even as you witness their twisted shape in mind’s eye: warped, elongated, winged but wormlike, with too many limbs and a pattern of scutes and scales better described as an exoskeleton.Your eldest sons, your first-most heirs, shaped by yoru desires and deficiencies alike. And yet…You stop your rain of thought there. Acculturation tells you to hate and reject their degeneracy. Something… ELSE… Calls to you to embrace them. You gently pet the cocoon’s exterior In thankfulness for Glowie’s support, but cannot decide where to land. Feeling foolish, you murmur to the silk satchel containing the worm-woman, telling the bug-princess what events have transpire din her absence. Somehow, you feel she hears, even understands… But you sense no specific reply, just Glowie’s gratitude and desire to be with you.
>>5354404Despite this, you retire to the cordoned-off section of cave which convention denotes as your private territory. It is an adjunct cavern, its entrance covered in tarps of chitin-shell bead and woven mystery-leather. You reside there in private contemplation for a time, but then your reveries in interrupted.“This one says you called for it,” the Elf-specialist apologizes for the interruption wrapping Davora’s chain around his hand and hauling her forward. She doubles over, wheezing, and crashes upon the floor before you. Her hands clasp ay the iron collar about her throat.“I can take the dwarf away,” the Elf-specialist offers, voice level but suspicious, “if she lies.”Davora turns pleading eyes toward you, a clear golden-brown amber. You see not lust in her eyes—well, not ONLY lust—but something else."Please," she whispers. "Karz told me what you too spoke of, sir. I would speak with you also.">Accept Davora as a lover [Concubine path]>Accept Davora as a confidant, talking with her about her concerns and yours [Lover path]>Reject Davora's presumptive petitions, and dwarves more generally [Locks romance and sex options[>Write-in
>>5354414>Accept Davora as a subordinate, hear her concerns.The sex was a mistake but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to recognize Davora’s talents and get rid of the rapport we have with her already.
>>5354414>Reject Davora's presumptive petitions, and dwarves more generally [Locks romance and sex options[
>>5354414>Accept Davora as a confidant, talking with her about her concerns and yours [Lover path]
