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Consequences of the Quill (Restored 5/13/06)
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<blockquote data-quote="LordVyreth" data-source="post: 1578790" data-attributes="member: 9626"><p><strong>Mechanical Attack</strong></p><p></p><p>The hours stretched on and became days. With the sun appearing at different hours each day, it was getting increasingly difficult to determine just what time it is, and only the regular replenishing of the spellcaster’s energy and the pangs of hunger in their stomachs was telling them how much time had passed. Finally, the boat reached the shore. It was just as cold as expected here, and with the snow and the lack of a sea to block the cold, it would probably get even worse on their journey. They set up a small camp here, and then left Rothaire behind as agreed upon before. They even gave him quite a bit of extra food, and suggested that he feed the turtle monsters regularly with it. After all, they could help protect him from any enemies that might stumble upon him. Of course, if he was running low on food, they recommended that he move the camp a bit closer inland, so the monsters don’t attack him!</p><p></p><p>The party began the long, slow journey. Even with their warm clothing and magic protections, the cold was slowly sapping their strength. Once the night fell (as best as night could fall in this sunless land,) they had another predicament: how to set up camp at night? Fortunately, Tal’s spree of clever planning continued. He recommended that they find an area that was blocked by hills or cliffs, and thus had less snow than the area around it. He and Tsine would then magically melt the snow to the ground, and then Tal would use his staff to carve a hole in the ground. To protect them from the elements during the night, the folding boat would be activated in its smaller form, and then used to cover the hole, blocking out the snow. This trick seemed to work pretty well on the first night, though it was a cold and uncomfortable night for all involved.</p><p></p><p>The second day began much like the last one, but it was noteworthy for two discoveries. First of all, shortly after they began the day’s journey, they noticed a very faint light far off in the distance. It was impossible to tell how far away it was, but it was at least one clear target for their path, and it looked like it was on the path that Raz told them to go. Granted, it also could be a trap, but with nothing but blinding snow and endless tundra in every direction, none of them really seemed to care.</p><p></p><p>The second discovery was far less helpful. Midway through the journey, the party suddenly heard a strange whirring noise in the sky above them, and strange clanking and rolling sounds all around. Fnipper whispered, “Should I try to scout ahead?”</p><p></p><p>Tsine shook his head. “Nah, they’re already all around us. And no offense, little one, but you haven’t been able to move very quickly in snow this deep so far. No, I have a better idea.” He prepared an illusionary spell, and had it conceal the party and their footprints within the area. It didn’t do anything for the prints they already made, but the snow as already filling them, and hopefully their attackers wouldn’t be smart enough to figure it out.</p><p></p><p>A few moments later, a metal creature waddled up right next to them. It looked just like the creatures the party encountered under the Library of Delaspie, except they were slightly larger, and had a strange white sheen to their metal skin that seemed to block the cold all around them. It stopped near the party, and started making confused beeping noises, as its “eye” light changed to a curious yellow color. The others froze, daring to not even breathe, but Tsine was too busy concentrating on the illusion. He didn’t count on the fact that all the snow falling around them would fall different without them there, and was trying to adjust the entire snowfall’s appearance to correct for their absence. However, it was a night-impossible task, and soon the walking machine noticed this and the footprints behind them, and uttered a much lower, warning beep as his eye light turned red.</p><p></p><p>Realizing the jig was up, Dane and Robin charged the machine, and reduced it to scrap metal almost instantly. But this alerted the rest of the monsters friends, and soon the area was filled with more of the metal monsters. There were five more walking monsters, four rolling machines with shovels for hands, and eight flying machines. </p><p></p><p>The group quickly moved into a defensive position, with Tsine and Fenthrip in the middle and Dane, Robin, Fnipper, and Tal near the outside. The monsters began to surround them, though Robin and Tal were firing at them as they approached. Tsine, however, didn’t look worried. With a few words and a gesture, he created a ball of fire that was hotter and stronger than any they had seen before. He casually fired it into one side of the advancing monsters, and it easily decimated a third of the monsters. He noticed with some satisfaction that these creatures not only lacked any resistance to fire, but they seemed confused by magic. Their attempts to evade the fireball were slow and clumsy, as if they were wasting precious time trying to understand how the fire should be there in the first place. </p><p></p><p>The survivors, however, showed no fear. The fliers focused on distracting the front ranks fighters, trapping them for the more powerful attacks of the walkers and rollers. However, even with this advantage, the heroes were just to well armored and experienced for the machines to regularly hit them. Dane and Tal took a few hits, but even those were mere scratches to our heroes. However, they took a little damage when they swung at the walking and flying robots, as the electricity in their bodies ran through their metal weapons. Luckily, the rolling machines didn’t have the same effect when attacked.</p><p></p><p>It less than a minute, there was nothing left but broken parts and pools of oil. Tal scavenged a few bits of the machines for future testing and a trophy of their victory, and they then set out before the snow that melted from the fight could freeze over ahead, freezing them there.</p><p></p><p>The next day, they had yet another strange group of interested natives, though possibly a more welcome one. At first, it looked like they were being attacked by hideous, furry monsters, but it was soon obvious that they were just humanoids who were dressed in piles of fur and other warm clothing. They seemed more curious than hostile, but one, who was obviously the leader, was still keeping his group at bay. He was shouting something at the group, but the language wasn’t one anyone in the group recognized. Despite that, the group was willing to listen to him carefully for now, especially when Robin pointed out that while the two leaders were people in furs, the rest actually were giant apes!</p><p></p><p>OOC Notes: This marks the second appearance of the sheens, from a pair of old Dragon articles. The Walker and flying (called Flitter) sheens were adapted from the version in the Creature Catalog, but I had to convert the Roller sheens myself. Considering it was the first 2nd ed monster I had to adapt, they weren’t so bad, but they were only CR 6 even after a bit of HD advancement. Since the party members were in the 10th-11th level range around now, they were still not much of a threat.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LordVyreth, post: 1578790, member: 9626"] [b]Mechanical Attack[/b] The hours stretched on and became days. With the sun appearing at different hours each day, it was getting increasingly difficult to determine just what time it is, and only the regular replenishing of the spellcaster’s energy and the pangs of hunger in their stomachs was telling them how much time had passed. Finally, the boat reached the shore. It was just as cold as expected here, and with the snow and the lack of a sea to block the cold, it would probably get even worse on their journey. They set up a small camp here, and then left Rothaire behind as agreed upon before. They even gave him quite a bit of extra food, and suggested that he feed the turtle monsters regularly with it. After all, they could help protect him from any enemies that might stumble upon him. Of course, if he was running low on food, they recommended that he move the camp a bit closer inland, so the monsters don’t attack him! The party began the long, slow journey. Even with their warm clothing and magic protections, the cold was slowly sapping their strength. Once the night fell (as best as night could fall in this sunless land,) they had another predicament: how to set up camp at night? Fortunately, Tal’s spree of clever planning continued. He recommended that they find an area that was blocked by hills or cliffs, and thus had less snow than the area around it. He and Tsine would then magically melt the snow to the ground, and then Tal would use his staff to carve a hole in the ground. To protect them from the elements during the night, the folding boat would be activated in its smaller form, and then used to cover the hole, blocking out the snow. This trick seemed to work pretty well on the first night, though it was a cold and uncomfortable night for all involved. The second day began much like the last one, but it was noteworthy for two discoveries. First of all, shortly after they began the day’s journey, they noticed a very faint light far off in the distance. It was impossible to tell how far away it was, but it was at least one clear target for their path, and it looked like it was on the path that Raz told them to go. Granted, it also could be a trap, but with nothing but blinding snow and endless tundra in every direction, none of them really seemed to care. The second discovery was far less helpful. Midway through the journey, the party suddenly heard a strange whirring noise in the sky above them, and strange clanking and rolling sounds all around. Fnipper whispered, “Should I try to scout ahead?” Tsine shook his head. “Nah, they’re already all around us. And no offense, little one, but you haven’t been able to move very quickly in snow this deep so far. No, I have a better idea.” He prepared an illusionary spell, and had it conceal the party and their footprints within the area. It didn’t do anything for the prints they already made, but the snow as already filling them, and hopefully their attackers wouldn’t be smart enough to figure it out. A few moments later, a metal creature waddled up right next to them. It looked just like the creatures the party encountered under the Library of Delaspie, except they were slightly larger, and had a strange white sheen to their metal skin that seemed to block the cold all around them. It stopped near the party, and started making confused beeping noises, as its “eye” light changed to a curious yellow color. The others froze, daring to not even breathe, but Tsine was too busy concentrating on the illusion. He didn’t count on the fact that all the snow falling around them would fall different without them there, and was trying to adjust the entire snowfall’s appearance to correct for their absence. However, it was a night-impossible task, and soon the walking machine noticed this and the footprints behind them, and uttered a much lower, warning beep as his eye light turned red. Realizing the jig was up, Dane and Robin charged the machine, and reduced it to scrap metal almost instantly. But this alerted the rest of the monsters friends, and soon the area was filled with more of the metal monsters. There were five more walking monsters, four rolling machines with shovels for hands, and eight flying machines. The group quickly moved into a defensive position, with Tsine and Fenthrip in the middle and Dane, Robin, Fnipper, and Tal near the outside. The monsters began to surround them, though Robin and Tal were firing at them as they approached. Tsine, however, didn’t look worried. With a few words and a gesture, he created a ball of fire that was hotter and stronger than any they had seen before. He casually fired it into one side of the advancing monsters, and it easily decimated a third of the monsters. He noticed with some satisfaction that these creatures not only lacked any resistance to fire, but they seemed confused by magic. Their attempts to evade the fireball were slow and clumsy, as if they were wasting precious time trying to understand how the fire should be there in the first place. The survivors, however, showed no fear. The fliers focused on distracting the front ranks fighters, trapping them for the more powerful attacks of the walkers and rollers. However, even with this advantage, the heroes were just to well armored and experienced for the machines to regularly hit them. Dane and Tal took a few hits, but even those were mere scratches to our heroes. However, they took a little damage when they swung at the walking and flying robots, as the electricity in their bodies ran through their metal weapons. Luckily, the rolling machines didn’t have the same effect when attacked. It less than a minute, there was nothing left but broken parts and pools of oil. Tal scavenged a few bits of the machines for future testing and a trophy of their victory, and they then set out before the snow that melted from the fight could freeze over ahead, freezing them there. The next day, they had yet another strange group of interested natives, though possibly a more welcome one. At first, it looked like they were being attacked by hideous, furry monsters, but it was soon obvious that they were just humanoids who were dressed in piles of fur and other warm clothing. They seemed more curious than hostile, but one, who was obviously the leader, was still keeping his group at bay. He was shouting something at the group, but the language wasn’t one anyone in the group recognized. Despite that, the group was willing to listen to him carefully for now, especially when Robin pointed out that while the two leaders were people in furs, the rest actually were giant apes! OOC Notes: This marks the second appearance of the sheens, from a pair of old Dragon articles. The Walker and flying (called Flitter) sheens were adapted from the version in the Creature Catalog, but I had to convert the Roller sheens myself. Considering it was the first 2nd ed monster I had to adapt, they weren’t so bad, but they were only CR 6 even after a bit of HD advancement. Since the party members were in the 10th-11th level range around now, they were still not much of a threat. [/QUOTE]
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