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The Quests of Samantha the Red (pictures included-updated 8/5)
- Thread starter Rel
- Start date
Rel
Liquid Awesome
The Troll Wizard had indicated that Samantha would be able to find the hollow stump by looking for a green ball sitting atop it. Given the rapidly fading daylight, this was still no small task. But, as with all things, Samantha tackled it with gusto. She dashed hither and yon, sharp eyes questing for a glimpse of this verdant sphere.
Suddenly her eyes seized upon it and she gave a shout of glee. Running over to it she then paused as though expecting that there might be a trick of some sort in play. Carefully she eased down next to where the ball rested in the hollow atop the freshly cut tree stump. She craned her neck to look all around it for any signs of treachery before gently easing the ball from its resting place.
(You’ve all seen that scene at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indy is looking at the golden idol and then smoothly removes it and replaces it with the bag of sand? I couldn’t help but be reminded of it as she was removing the green ball. I guess she’s figured out already that daddy is a RBDM.)
There in the darkness of the hollow stump Samantha could just barely make out the cobalt rim of the Blue Crystal Bottle. With a squeal of triumph she drew it from its hiding place and held it proudly in her hand. Then she stashed it in her backpack and wasted none of the scant remaining daylight heading off toward Mulch Pile Mountain.
Samantha the Red was wise to the perils of Mulch Pile Mountain by now. Her travels had brought her to its peaks more than once and it never failed to be infested with ROUS’s. She doffed her backpack to give herself maximum mobility and drew out her trusty poking stick, brandishing it before her as she approached the slopes of the mountain.
The slopes of Mulch Pile Mountain did not disappoint and in seconds she was set upon by a pair of the squeaking monstrosities. Her stick struck the first swiftly as it lunged into the air, seemingly held aloft by some unseen force. Filled with an inner ferocity, her eyes glowed and her stick took it before it landed and sent it dashing away, its bottom severely poked. There was no time for celebration however.
The second rat scurried in low towards Samantha’s tiny and tender toes. But she was determined that her tootsies would not be made a meal this day. She skipped back out of the reach of the beasts yellow teeth and gave it a fierce poke along the side, vanquishing it for good.
Being as close as she was to her goal, she wasted no time gloating about her victory over the rats. Instead she put her backpack on again and began straightaway up the side of Mulch Pile Mountain. The sides were crumbly and treacherous but she keep her footing and managed to make it all the way to the top.
There she discovered a patch of recently disturbed mulch and began digging at it. In just a few moments she unearthed the cork protruding from the top of the Green Crystal Bottle! She at last had the final object of her various quests! She breathed a sigh of relief and held forth her prize to bask in the accomplishment of its recovery.
Now there was but one task remaining and that was to return these items to King Monkey so that the Kingdom of Mommyville could have its curse lifted once and for all. She stashed her latest prize in her backpack and set off in search of His Highness.
She arrived back at the castle and was led straight to the throne room where King Monkey waited. He cried out in hope as she entered the room, “You have returned! Have you brought the Crystal Bottles?”
“Yes!” Samantha exclaimed with glee, “I have ALL three! The Clear one, the Green one AND the Blue one!”
“Wonderful! WONDERFUL!” King Monkey cried. “If you don’t mind, I would love it if you would do the honor of placing them on the magical altar, thus breaking our curse forever!”
Samantha sighed. Couldn’t these people ever do ANYTHING for themselves? “Ok. Where is it?”
King Monkey would not allow his enthusiasm to be stifled by Samantha’s attitude. “Right this way!”
He led her to a room near the throne room where a pair of strange lights sat on either side of a tall altar. King Monkey indicated that she should place each of the bottles between these lights.
She had to stretch to reach high enough but Samantha was finally able to place each bottle atop the altar and was rewarded as King Monkey shouted out with joy, “There! Did you feel it?! The curse is LIFTED!!” He began to dance around the room and finally came to rest in front of Samantha the Red.
“Thank you so much for all you’ve done for my kingdom and the people of Mommyville! You’re the greatest, Samantha the Red!”
Samantha reached out and gave King Monkey a great big hug. She was very, very happy to have helped him and all his people and to have had so many wonderful adventures here. But even so, she felt a longing for something more. After a moment she was able to put this desire into words:
“Is it time for dinner yet? I’m hungry.”
Suddenly her eyes seized upon it and she gave a shout of glee. Running over to it she then paused as though expecting that there might be a trick of some sort in play. Carefully she eased down next to where the ball rested in the hollow atop the freshly cut tree stump. She craned her neck to look all around it for any signs of treachery before gently easing the ball from its resting place.
(You’ve all seen that scene at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indy is looking at the golden idol and then smoothly removes it and replaces it with the bag of sand? I couldn’t help but be reminded of it as she was removing the green ball. I guess she’s figured out already that daddy is a RBDM.)
There in the darkness of the hollow stump Samantha could just barely make out the cobalt rim of the Blue Crystal Bottle. With a squeal of triumph she drew it from its hiding place and held it proudly in her hand. Then she stashed it in her backpack and wasted none of the scant remaining daylight heading off toward Mulch Pile Mountain.
Samantha the Red was wise to the perils of Mulch Pile Mountain by now. Her travels had brought her to its peaks more than once and it never failed to be infested with ROUS’s. She doffed her backpack to give herself maximum mobility and drew out her trusty poking stick, brandishing it before her as she approached the slopes of the mountain.
The slopes of Mulch Pile Mountain did not disappoint and in seconds she was set upon by a pair of the squeaking monstrosities. Her stick struck the first swiftly as it lunged into the air, seemingly held aloft by some unseen force. Filled with an inner ferocity, her eyes glowed and her stick took it before it landed and sent it dashing away, its bottom severely poked. There was no time for celebration however.
The second rat scurried in low towards Samantha’s tiny and tender toes. But she was determined that her tootsies would not be made a meal this day. She skipped back out of the reach of the beasts yellow teeth and gave it a fierce poke along the side, vanquishing it for good.
Being as close as she was to her goal, she wasted no time gloating about her victory over the rats. Instead she put her backpack on again and began straightaway up the side of Mulch Pile Mountain. The sides were crumbly and treacherous but she keep her footing and managed to make it all the way to the top.
There she discovered a patch of recently disturbed mulch and began digging at it. In just a few moments she unearthed the cork protruding from the top of the Green Crystal Bottle! She at last had the final object of her various quests! She breathed a sigh of relief and held forth her prize to bask in the accomplishment of its recovery.
Now there was but one task remaining and that was to return these items to King Monkey so that the Kingdom of Mommyville could have its curse lifted once and for all. She stashed her latest prize in her backpack and set off in search of His Highness.
She arrived back at the castle and was led straight to the throne room where King Monkey waited. He cried out in hope as she entered the room, “You have returned! Have you brought the Crystal Bottles?”
“Yes!” Samantha exclaimed with glee, “I have ALL three! The Clear one, the Green one AND the Blue one!”
“Wonderful! WONDERFUL!” King Monkey cried. “If you don’t mind, I would love it if you would do the honor of placing them on the magical altar, thus breaking our curse forever!”
Samantha sighed. Couldn’t these people ever do ANYTHING for themselves? “Ok. Where is it?”
King Monkey would not allow his enthusiasm to be stifled by Samantha’s attitude. “Right this way!”
He led her to a room near the throne room where a pair of strange lights sat on either side of a tall altar. King Monkey indicated that she should place each of the bottles between these lights.
She had to stretch to reach high enough but Samantha was finally able to place each bottle atop the altar and was rewarded as King Monkey shouted out with joy, “There! Did you feel it?! The curse is LIFTED!!” He began to dance around the room and finally came to rest in front of Samantha the Red.
“Thank you so much for all you’ve done for my kingdom and the people of Mommyville! You’re the greatest, Samantha the Red!”
Samantha reached out and gave King Monkey a great big hug. She was very, very happy to have helped him and all his people and to have had so many wonderful adventures here. But even so, she felt a longing for something more. After a moment she was able to put this desire into words:
“Is it time for dinner yet? I’m hungry.”
Mark Causey
Explorer
Something I forgot to ask you last Gameday, Rel .. how do you handle 'combat'? Do you move the ROUSs around yourself? Does she 'realize' that combat's begun and just start a poke fest? Also, do you hold onto creatures that speak? I know I'm breaking up some of the illusion, but eventually I'll need my own DMing style for a rugrat or three and was looking for advice!
Rel
Liquid Awesome
adamantineangel said:
Well, in case it isn't obvious, everything about these adventures is pretty informal to say the least. But I do have certain trends in how I handle this stuff that have evolved fairly naturally.
Whenever there is an opponent who needs a firm poking, I usually preface it with some kind of signal that there is danger. Usually I have this sort of dramatic stage whisper voice that I use and say something like, "Wait! What's that noise?!" Samantha always tenses up when this happens and will say something like, "What is it daddy?!" She also tends to draw closer to me, instinctively seeking protection. Then I'll say something along the lines of "Squeak! Squeak!" and she'll know that there are rats in the offing. From there she whips out the stick and commences with the poking.
I usually manhandle the rats myself. Sometimes I'll chase her around a bit if she presents the opportunity but, these days, she usually get straight down to business and starts poking every rat in sight. There is no resolution mechanic. She never loses and never gets bit. I always say something dramatic like, "They ALMOST got you that time!" That seems to add to her sense of accomplishment and put a big grin on her face. But I'm thinking about letting one of the rats give her a small bite next time and making it part of the quest to get a bandaid and some medecine so the bite gets clean.
As far as the speaking creatures go, I don't usually hold onto them. She doesn't seem to require that in order to get the idea that they are the ones doing the talking. What surprised me was how quickly and easily she took to this. She had no trouble focusing her attention on the "NPC" in question and always speaks in the first person. She never says stuff like "I say..." or "I tell him..." in the way that myself or my players do in our regular gaming.
I guess that roleplaying just comes naturally to little kids.
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