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expiationlogs2024-08-26 08:54 am
finalfrontiersman) wrote in expiationlogs2024-08-26 08:54 am
STEM Shenanigans - August Player Plot
Who: STEM Adventurers
Where: Pesseria Forest, Lorentia Cave, Ruins of Forlinet
What: KICKING NAMES AND TAKING ASS
Content Warnings: Probably profanity, natural disasters, combat violence including killer animals, snakes, spiders, potential for cannibalism/discussion of cannibalism; any further warnings please include in the subject line of your thread.
Where: Pesseria Forest, Lorentia Cave, Ruins of Forlinet
What: KICKING NAMES AND TAKING ASS
Content Warnings: Probably profanity, natural disasters, combat violence including killer animals, snakes, spiders, potential for cannibalism/discussion of cannibalism; any further warnings please include in the subject line of your thread.
Following the events of the Dark Web project and the subsequent AI released on Aldrip’s main network, the STEM club has taken it upon themselves to try and discover the source of the AI. With the glitches worsening this month, finding the source has become of paramount importance. Their working theory is that there may be a physical port they can tap into, though the debate as to what to do with it once they find it rages on. Ultimately, they’ve agreed the best course of action is to see if they can even find the port first…and worry about what to do with it later.
Whether your characters have been assigned a teammate or happened upon the STEM scouting parties, the Chosen of Aldrip are agreed - something needs to be done.
Whether your characters have been assigned a teammate or happened upon the STEM scouting parties, the Chosen of Aldrip are agreed - something needs to be done.
STEM Player Plot
MECHANICS
Characters will choose one of three areas to traverse: Pesseria Forest, Lorentia Cave, or the Ruins of Forlinet. Use the encounter pools below to determine what obstacles and combat situations your characters encounter, or feel free to make up some of your own! Combat encounters have been assigned a hit number for those using the optional dice roll mechanic, but feel free to adjust as needed.
For extra zest, consider using dice rolls to determine what you encounter/your success rate.
Obstacle rolls use a d20; combat rolls use a d10. You can roll dice in the game Discord via #bot-spam, or simply use an online dice roller if you are not in the Discord. Please include the result of your roll in the subject line of your tag!
PROBLEMS: When rolling to discover a problem, roll a d20. Based on your roll, you will be given a problem from a predetermined list. If you roll the same problem twice, feel free to roll again - or face the challenge once more!
THE 411:
Characters must clear a minimum of three problems before they can move forward, deeper into the location they are exploring. You must clear a minimum of six problems total to reach the source.
If you would like to divide your six problems between two threads and have your characters separate from their partner as they move deeper into the location, have at it!
When you have cleared six obstacles, please fill out the OOC comment below to find out what your characters discovered.
Additionally, feel free to use the Dark Web prompt for net-style communication between separated partners/teams/what have you!
For extra zest, consider using dice rolls to determine what you encounter/your success rate.
[OPTIONAL] Click here for dice roll details!
Obstacle rolls use a d20; combat rolls use a d10. You can roll dice in the game Discord via #bot-spam, or simply use an online dice roller if you are not in the Discord. Please include the result of your roll in the subject line of your tag!
PROBLEMS: When rolling to discover a problem, roll a d20. Based on your roll, you will be given a problem from a predetermined list. If you roll the same problem twice, feel free to roll again - or face the challenge once more!
OBSTACLES: Use a d20 to determine your success; 1-6 is poor success, 7-12 is mild success, and 13-20 is great success.
For example, Character A and Character B encounter an obstacle; they roll a 16 and find a chasm they must cross via a rope bridge. Character A rolls a 10; they make it to the midway point of the bridge, which wobbles but stays up. Character B rolls a 3, and the boards fall out from under them. Character A rolls an 18, and catches Character B’s arm before they can fall to their doom. Character B rolls a 12, and they make it to the other side of the bridge. After rolling a 10, an 18, and a 12, the obstacle has been cleared.
Three failed rolls constitutes an impassable obstacle; have characters regroup and try again, or take a new path for a new obstacle! The dungeon-style play will unfold as you create it.
COMBAT: Use a d10 to determine your success; 1-5 is a failed hit, 6-10 is a successful hit. If you fail a hit, you must also roll for whether or not the monster hits you. If you roll a successful hit, the monster does not get the opportunity to hit you.
If you decide to fight one another (we’re a team guys! And yet…) Player v Player, you only roll for your own hits.
Monsters will have a predetermined number of hits you must land in order to defeat the monster. Player characters can each take three hits before they must retreat; decide to regroup and try again, or take a new path!
THE 411:
Additionally, feel free to use the Dark Web prompt for net-style communication between separated partners/teams/what have you!
ENCOUNTER POOL
PESSERIA FOREST:
- 1 | OBSTACLE: Goobbues asleep in your path.
- 2 | OBSTACLE: Plant attack! Wildcard the effect (Poison, hallucinations, fuck or die, etc)
- 3 | OBSTACLE: Troll on the bridge; answer a riddle to pass.
- 4 | COMBAT: R.O.U.S (Rodent Of Unusual Size) - 2 hits to defeat.
- 5 | COMBAT: The trees attack! - 4 hits to defeat
- 6 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - suddenly, everyone’s singing.
- 7 | COMBAT: Spore walker attack! - 4 hits to defeat
- 8 | COMBAT: Evil bird attack - 2 hits to defeat.
- 9 | COMBAT: Wild Chocobo attack - 3 hits to defeat.
- 10 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - forest fire!
- 11 | COMBAT: Forest is Haunted - 3 hits to defeat
- 12 | COMBAT: Killer bunny - 5 hits to defeat
- 13 | OBSTACLE: Ominous fog. Wildcard the effect (Poison, hallucinations, etc)
- 14 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - a fissure opens beneath your feet!
- 15 | OBSTACLE: Rope bridge in your path.
- 16 | OBSTACLE: Blast cone minefield.
- 17 | COMBAT: Morbul attack! - 3 hits to defeat
- 18 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - language filter turns off.
- 19 | OBSTACLE: An eerie bush maze appears in your path.
- 20 | COMBAT: Shia Surprise! Shia LaBeouf the cannibal appears - 3 hits to defeat.
You're walking through the woods...
LORENTIA CAVE:
- 1 | COMBAT: Stone Talus - 4 hits to defeat
- 2 | COMBAT: Cave siren - 2 hits to defeat
- 3 | OBSTACLE: Quicksand!
- 4 | COMBAT: Spider lair - 3 hits to defeat
- 5 | OBSTACLE: Suddenly, a boulder…
- 6 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - sudden darkness.
- 7 | COMBAT: Cave dragon - 3 hits to defeat
- 8 | COMBAT: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - A mysterious cave creature glitches into existence and attacks - 3 hits to defeat
- 9 | OBSTACLE: Crystal cavern mention; crystals replay memories.
- 10 | COMBAT: Sam the Salamancer - 3 hits to defeat
- 11 | OBSTACLE: Sleepy grotto; safe haven tries to lull you to sleep.
- 12 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - Cave begins filling with water.
- 13 | OBSTACLE: Tunnel collapse!
- 14 | COMBAT: Core Hound Attack! - 5 hits to defeat
- 15 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - earthquake!
- 16 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - gravity turns off.
- 17 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - suddenly, everyone’s singing.
- 18 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - language filter turns off.
- 19 | COMBAT: Shia Surprise! Shia LaBeouf the cannibal appears - 3 hits to defeat.
- 20 | COMBAT: Raptor attack! - 2 raptors, 4 total hits to defeat
There's no one around and your phone is dead...
RUINS OF FORLINET:
- 1 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - sandstorm! Not by Darude.
- 2 | COMBAT: Nearby rocks come to life, with a taste for blood - 3 hits to defeat.
- 3 | COMBAT: Razorfin frenzy! - 3 hits to defeat
- 4 | COMBAT: Mummy attack! - 3 hits to defeat
- 5 | OBSTACLE: A sucker vine grabs you/your companion.
- 6 | OBSTACLE: Snake pit!
- 7 | COMBAT: Threshadon attack! - 5 hits to defeat
- 8 | OBSTACLE: Catacombs - find the key to escape.
- 9 | OBSTACLE: Ruins collapse!
- 10 | COMBAT: Sand guardian - 4 hits to defeat.
- 11 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - language filter turns off.
- 12 | COMBAT: Shia Surprise! Shia LaBeouf the cannibal appears - 3 hits to defeat.
- 13 | OBSTACLE: Ominous fog. Wildcard the effect (Poison, hallucinations, etc)
- 14 | OBSTACLE: G̴l̶i̷t̸c̷h̸ - suddenly, everyone’s singing.
- 15 | OBSTACLE: Booby-trap!
- 16 | COMBAT: Shitty Sphinx - solve a riddle to pass, but then you get attacked anyway - 2 hits to defeat
- 17 | COMBAT: A bird? A plane? A SEHLAT?! - 4 hits to defeat
- 18 | COMBAT: Haunted suit of armor - 2 hits to defeat
- 19 | OBSTACLE: Hallucinogenic fungi
- 20 | OBSTACLE: Floor collapses beneath your feet.
Obstacle: 6 (really that was the roll)
She moves with the unhesitating confidence of someone walking into their element, literally, and of course she doesn't notice Ange either summoning the butterflies or the fact that they fail to cast any light into the immediate path. ]
I can feel the whole way down this tunnel. There's some weird thing at the end. [ probably a monster encounter we have yet to roll for ]
I need help dealing with anything flying, though, [ she agrees, unflinching about admitting to the weakness. Toph knows how to operate as part of a team and she'd asked Ange to team up with her in full sincerity. They have to look out for one another, and that means being transparent that if it's not touching the ground, she's truly blind to it. ]
GJKDFJKH this is too funny
Ange knows. Even before she spots what's happening with the butterflies, because she can see. She can tell more about what's going on with the light here than Toph does. Which means that she can see that one moment they're heading into the cave, the entrance behind them still fully lighting up everything around them--
And then it doesn't.
They're not far in enough. Not by a long shot. But Ange stares over her shoulder, and there's nothing there anymore. Like the huge light cave entrance vanished into nothing, and looking ahead of her isn't giving her a different point of view either. It's all just pitch black darkness.
There's a curse coming from Ange, muttered underneath her breath. Then the girl moves a little off to the side, just enough so she can put her hand against the cave wall to feel something. Roaming around in the pitch black darkness just feels too bad otherwise. ]
You're going to think I'm kidding. [ Ange says - sounding frustrated. ] But the light is gone.
[ And just to add a little more context for Toph, considering it's not like she'd know for sure: ] It shouldn't be gone yet. And especially not so sudden.
[ Trust her, Toph. This is unnatural. ]
There's something going on already with this place.
no subject
[ Toph says this with all the unconscious ease of someone who both makes friends easily and is a good judge of character. But it's true -- she does trust Ange, and she can't imagine she'd make something like that up.
In response, she walks over to her steadily. ]
I'm going to take your hand, so don't freak out, okay? [ Seeing people get so weird when they lose sight. Toph is familiar with this enough by now to give the warning before she takes Ange's hand in her own smaller one, her palm calloused and her grip firm. ]
I won't let you walk into anything.
no subject
It fades though. Relatively quickly. More quickly than it usually would, because-- well, there's something about Toph saying she trusts her and then takes her hand and then even says that last part that's.. weirdly nice. It's nice to have someone trust you. It's nice to have someone who doesn't mind helping you out, even if it might seem a little childish to walk through a cave holding someone's hand.
Ange is almost glad for this dumb darkness, because at least it hides the way she might be blushing just a little bit - though thankfully Toph wouldn't notice either way, she's sure. ]
... Thanks. Just keep moving, I'll try to move along as well as I can. [ Holding Toph's hand will help. Ange tries to keep the other one against the wall, just so she has two recognizable points of contact. It feels more secure. ] And watch out if there's something ahead, since I don't know what exactly is causing this. It could just be this place being weird and dumb again like it has been for a while now, though.
obstacle complete?! you want to roll for the next one?
Probably. The other day it stopped translating for me -- hopefully that doesn't happen.
[ Unless Ange happens to speak archaic Mandarin. ]
If we get separated, just keep tapping the rock and I'll come get you. Spock taught me some tapping code, actually. [ It's super convenient because Toph can hear it over very long distances across the earth, obviously. ]
rolled a 20!
[ .. Ange pauses mid-sentence, though she's still walking along with Toph. The fact that she's slowly letting go of the other girl's hand is probably saying something, which is only confirmed when Ange adds verbally, a moment later: ]
Okay, so the darkness is gone. [ She can see her butterflies floating around her again now, lighting the area directly around them, even though the cave is naturally more dark now they have headed further into it in the meantime. ] Maybe we're just going to go through a bunch of really weird effects really quick, if this place is trying to keep us from finding something here.
[ It kind of sounds like Ange was planning on adding more to that, but then there's an.. odd sound from further up ahead in the cave. It sounds like a bird, except way more intense than any regular bird. Toph may even be able to sense something coming towards them - two Raptors, specifically. ]
Alright, I'm going to assume that is something we have to get rid of. I can't see what it is yet, can you tell?
no subject
It's like... a bird, or a lizard? [ Feathers and fur do not show up great to her senses so they seem much more similar to Toph than different. ] They better not be able to fly, or I'm gonna be really mad.
[ Also that would be dumb. What would a flying animal be doing in a cave?
Toph stops complaining and reverts back to business. ] There's two of them, in a large cavern up ahead. We could try to hug the wall and avoid them...? I could collapse the ceiling on them, but I don't know how I feel about killing random wildlife. [ She wrinkles her nose. Toph isn't a bleeding heart but she has a special fondness for cave animals, and she can just hear Aang's voice in her head shrieking about not killing things. ]
no subject
I'm not so sure it's necessarily just going to be random wildlife. [ It could be. Toph's description very much seems like something that could just be hanging out in the wild - though birds would be a little bit strange in a cave of all places, Ange thinks.
But considering what they're here to do.. ]
The darkness didn't seem natural, after all. If there really is something here in this cave for us to find, then maybe it's trying to throw stuff at us to keep us from finding it.
[ Ange glances at her butterflies. They don't light up a huge distance, but if Toph can sense it, surely the cavern can't be that far ahead. They'll likely have to make a decision soon, especially since they're still moving. Still, Ange respects Toph enough that she isn't just going to make the decision for her.
She wants them to decide on it together, as two people who have - in Ange's opinion - perfectly normal common sense. ]
no subject
Right, for a second I forgot we're stuck in a bizarro computer world where everything is out to get us. Silly me.
In that case -- preemptive strike? [ she suggests, slipping into a slightly different stance, one that implies she's ready to chuck rocks from a safe distance. ]
no subject
[ It says something about how much Ange agrees with Toph's dry deadpan - really, it's something she could have said herself! - that she doesn't even remark anything about it. Instead she casually replies to the latter part of what the other girl says. ]
I'll help too. [ She can't locate the creatures up ahead in the darkness as well as Toph, but they are getting closer, so Ange may as well prepare herself to help out too. She can't leave everything to Toph here, no matter how competent the other is. So as Ange walks, she spreads her hands, letting them glow with that same golden magic that created her butterflies once more. ] Come, arise, and forgive the sin. Lucifer of Pride, Leviathan of Envy.
[ .. sorry, Toph. It's likely hard for the shorter girl to see what's going on here, considering Ange's magic doesn't actually touch any of the walls of the wave around them - instead it makes a magic circle appear in the air, with two stake-like weapons emerging from it, floating in the air.
And since Ange does wonder if Toph can sense them, she makes sure to add: ]
I just summoned my weapons. They fly, but they won't hit you even if you move around, so you don't have to worry about them. [ Even if Ange may not be able to summon them in their actual demon form - which would be way more effective - at least they don't seem to have lost their intelligence in that regard. Which is a good thing, since otherwise she would have hesitated to summon them around someone she doesn't accidentally want to hurt. ]