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seasong's Light Against The Dark (FEB 06)
- Thread starter seasong
- Start date
seasong
First Post
Okay, so I read over it again, and the round-by-round really doesn't work. Incognito, thanks again for point that out 
. I rewrote the last update for clarity and grace. I don't think it lost anything but the unnecessary detail (and just in case, I kept the round-by-round in small print).
Anyway, off I go to write up the second round.
. I rewrote the last update for clarity and grace. I don't think it lost anything but the unnecessary detail (and just in case, I kept the round-by-round in small print).Anyway, off I go to write up the second round.
seasong
First Post
Hurath's Tower... With Torches
Acquiring torches was easy. The decision to re-enter the tower was not. For possibly the eighth time, and looking queasily at the closed tower door, Merideth asked, "Greppa, are you sure you're okay with this so soon? I mean, you're still weak from the poison..."
Greppa nodded, a grim look on his face, "Those spiders were organized. If we give them time, it will be even harder next time. And I need those books."
No one mentioned that the likelihood of finding Hurath waiting for them was practically nil now.
They gripped their torches, and Athan kicked in the door.
Quickly and efficiently, they fanned through the room, poking the torches into every nook and cranny, sweeping the door jamb, the tables, the ceiling, everything. Nothing stirred, until Merideth pointed at the hearth flue, where a semi-circle of red dots winked out just as everyone looked.
Greppa stuck his torch in the hole, but there was nothing there. Worse, the plate was down, and locked. "I think the spiders know how to work the lock." The others just grimaced.
Quickly, a plan was settled. The doors to the bath and toilet were blocked with furniture. The lock on the flue was busted and jammed with firewood.
Then Athan went to the lab, and kicked in the door.
Silence.
Merideth stepped through first, sweeping the door frame with her torch, followed closely by Athan and Greppa. The room was filled with tables, lab equipment, and (except for sputtering torches) darkness.
They cautiously stepped in and began sweeping under the tables, when Greppa's keen ears caught a whisper of motion, and his eyes, rapidly adjusting to the deeper darkness, spotted a dozen or so spiders the size of two fists... and another spider, man-sized, back in the room they had just left. This one looked considerably different from the others - where they were brown-furred and black-striped, this one had skin of smoothest black leather. It's eyes glowed dimly, and a strange, red rune marked its abdomen.
Greppa just managed to yell and point at it as reddish strands filled the room, blocking sight and movement... and trapping Merideth completely in a particularly dense grouping.
On cue, the dozen or so spiders hiding in the corners of the room began running along and through the thick webbing, swarming over the trapped youths. And unfortunately, the webbing didn't burn at the touch of the torches.
Many spiders create beautiful webs, hoping for an inobservant creature to stumble into it. Others actively hunt, leaping out or dropping from high places, hoping for a slow-moving creature to wander by.
And some lay tangled traps in dark lairs, and even the most observant and swift of creatures can fall prey.
to be continued...
Acquiring torches was easy. The decision to re-enter the tower was not. For possibly the eighth time, and looking queasily at the closed tower door, Merideth asked, "Greppa, are you sure you're okay with this so soon? I mean, you're still weak from the poison..."
Greppa nodded, a grim look on his face, "Those spiders were organized. If we give them time, it will be even harder next time. And I need those books."
No one mentioned that the likelihood of finding Hurath waiting for them was practically nil now.
They gripped their torches, and Athan kicked in the door.
Quickly and efficiently, they fanned through the room, poking the torches into every nook and cranny, sweeping the door jamb, the tables, the ceiling, everything. Nothing stirred, until Merideth pointed at the hearth flue, where a semi-circle of red dots winked out just as everyone looked.
Greppa stuck his torch in the hole, but there was nothing there. Worse, the plate was down, and locked. "I think the spiders know how to work the lock." The others just grimaced.
Quickly, a plan was settled. The doors to the bath and toilet were blocked with furniture. The lock on the flue was busted and jammed with firewood.
Then Athan went to the lab, and kicked in the door.
Silence.
Merideth stepped through first, sweeping the door frame with her torch, followed closely by Athan and Greppa. The room was filled with tables, lab equipment, and (except for sputtering torches) darkness.
They cautiously stepped in and began sweeping under the tables, when Greppa's keen ears caught a whisper of motion, and his eyes, rapidly adjusting to the deeper darkness, spotted a dozen or so spiders the size of two fists... and another spider, man-sized, back in the room they had just left. This one looked considerably different from the others - where they were brown-furred and black-striped, this one had skin of smoothest black leather. It's eyes glowed dimly, and a strange, red rune marked its abdomen.
Greppa just managed to yell and point at it as reddish strands filled the room, blocking sight and movement... and trapping Merideth completely in a particularly dense grouping.
On cue, the dozen or so spiders hiding in the corners of the room began running along and through the thick webbing, swarming over the trapped youths. And unfortunately, the webbing didn't burn at the touch of the torches.
Many spiders create beautiful webs, hoping for an inobservant creature to stumble into it. Others actively hunt, leaping out or dropping from high places, hoping for a slow-moving creature to wander by.
And some lay tangled traps in dark lairs, and even the most observant and swift of creatures can fall prey.
to be continued...
Yikes! Scary... - being slightly phobic of spiders myself, I can imagine just how Greppa is feeling now!
Needless to say, great story, I'm enjoying reading it. I like your homebrew rules and magic, and I look forward to seeing how the advancement system is going to work out. The extra info posts would normally bore me to tears, but you write them with enough flavor that they are just as fun to read as the action posts! Thanks.
Needless to say, great story, I'm enjoying reading it.
I like your homebrew rules and magic, and I look forward to seeing how the advancement system is going to work out. The extra info posts would normally bore me to tears, but you write them with enough flavor that they are just as fun to read as the action posts! Thanks.
seasong
First Post
Hi Talix, welcome to our story .
The advancement system is working out fairly well so far. The class points thing takes more out-of-game time to level, but so far this hasn't been a problem.
I'm glad you're not too bored with the info posts, since I'll be putting up another one sometime today on spiders.
.The advancement system is working out fairly well so far. The class points thing takes more out-of-game time to level, but so far this hasn't been a problem.
I'm glad you're not too bored with the info posts, since I'll be putting up another one sometime today on spiders.
incognito
First Post
Crikey!
Whoa! This update was excellelent - and even had a cliff hanger (bling, bling!)
Heh, and some are malevolently intelligent, and find elleni tasty with a side of fava beans...
Seasong: that's for taking my constructive critisism in the spirit it was intended. Too often I feel my own pride gets hurt when someone makes a suggestion to me. Of course, it helps that you know I have mucho respect for your writing.
can't_wait_for_MAGIC_item_revelation.
Whoa! This update was excellelent - and even had a cliff hanger (bling, bling!)
Heh, and some are malevolently intelligent, and find elleni tasty with a side of fava beans...
Seasong: that's for taking my constructive critisism in the spirit it was intended. Too often I feel my own pride gets hurt when someone makes a suggestion to me. Of course, it helps that you know I have mucho respect for your writing.
can't_wait_for_MAGIC_item_revelation.
seasong
First Post
Re: Crikey!
In running a campaign, descriptive combat is one of my strengths, but in writing, I'm still very inexperienced at it. So I can use all the help I can get.
That, and I'm a stingy, stingy bastard.
Well, thank you for the constructive criticism!incognito said:
In running a campaign, descriptive combat is one of my strengths, but in writing, I'm still very inexperienced at it. So I can use all the help I can get.
I can't guarantee that you'll be impressed. Hurath took most of his good stuff when he went to war.
That, and I'm a stingy, stingy bastard.
seasong
First Post
The following information can be found in Hurath's library, in his theology section. Had Greppa paid attention to a smidgen more of the non-spell-casting lessons (that is, taken some non-spell knowledge skills), he might not have so bravely entered a tower infested by organized spiders.
A system note: these use the monstrous spider creature, with a few custom modifications for the hell hunter.
Monsters: Spiders
Long, long ago, the present day gods killed or banished the elder gods who ruled the world. One of those was Hhsethmah, God of Spiders, and as his blood fell down upon the earth, the droplets grew skin, fur, legs, and became what is known today as the monstrous spider.
Spiders had existed prior to that, of course, and Hhsethmah was responsible for their existence, but these spiders were born of his rage and betrayal, and possessed some spark of his divine will and malevolence towards the human gods who dispossessed him. They grew immense, and were to spiders as the titans were to humans.
Over time, however, the spiders lost their lust for manflesh, and their hearts chilled with the gradual reduction in primal energy in the world. The children's children's children of the original spiders are mere creatures, lacking intelligence or direction, and they mimic their smaller cousins in behavior, living only for the hunt, hunting only to live.
Hell Hunter
Some of those droplets of blood did not fall to earth, but to the infernal realms where Hhsethmah was cast. These became the hell hunter, a malevolent and intelligent cousin to the monstrous spiders of the corporeal world. Black as pitch and with eyes glowing with hellfire, the hell hunter is crafty and evil, hating all that is humanity.
Fortunately, they are all trapped in the infernal realms.
Really Big Spiders
The largest spiders known to have been encountered in the modern world ranged in size from 90 to 120 pounds, and generally stood at knee height. The older legends tell of spiders the size of houses or larger, however, and tales persist among worshippers of Atmos of titanic spiders who survive from those ancient ages, slipping silently through the deepest, tallest forests, killing anything humanoid that passes through their domain.
A system note: these use the monstrous spider creature, with a few custom modifications for the hell hunter.
Monsters: Spiders
Long, long ago, the present day gods killed or banished the elder gods who ruled the world. One of those was Hhsethmah, God of Spiders, and as his blood fell down upon the earth, the droplets grew skin, fur, legs, and became what is known today as the monstrous spider.
Spiders had existed prior to that, of course, and Hhsethmah was responsible for their existence, but these spiders were born of his rage and betrayal, and possessed some spark of his divine will and malevolence towards the human gods who dispossessed him. They grew immense, and were to spiders as the titans were to humans.
Over time, however, the spiders lost their lust for manflesh, and their hearts chilled with the gradual reduction in primal energy in the world. The children's children's children of the original spiders are mere creatures, lacking intelligence or direction, and they mimic their smaller cousins in behavior, living only for the hunt, hunting only to live.
Hell Hunter
Some of those droplets of blood did not fall to earth, but to the infernal realms where Hhsethmah was cast. These became the hell hunter, a malevolent and intelligent cousin to the monstrous spiders of the corporeal world. Black as pitch and with eyes glowing with hellfire, the hell hunter is crafty and evil, hating all that is humanity.
Fortunately, they are all trapped in the infernal realms.
Really Big Spiders
The largest spiders known to have been encountered in the modern world ranged in size from 90 to 120 pounds, and generally stood at knee height. The older legends tell of spiders the size of houses or larger, however, and tales persist among worshippers of Atmos of titanic spiders who survive from those ancient ages, slipping silently through the deepest, tallest forests, killing anything humanoid that passes through their domain.
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