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Brock and Roll

(136 posts) (4 voices)

Started 2 years ago by M. J. Young
Latest reply from WilliamTWodium

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Ephemeral Dreamer
Member

As I walk up to the camp I holster my yo-yo once I assess they're safe. Wow...an iguana. But...why is it so focused on me?

"So...are you people real? Or are you people figments of my imagination caught within a lucid dream world?" I question jokingly, but partially serious.

I take off the cloak and lay the material down like a blanket on the ground on the opposite side of the fire. I set my bag down and try to make myself comfortable. I then proceed to lie down on my side, left hand supporting my head with my right knee up.

"So, can you guys tell me where I am? "By the way", pointing toward the man with the staff, "I like your shirt.""

"OH!", I say as I let out a little chuckle, "My name is Van-Eric. But you're free to call me something else if you wish. I like nicknames because they give you a better bond with people."

OCC: Sorry about that. I've been busy because my family is planning a vacation. I'll be leaving for a week starting Saturday, so I'd like to ask if you can all pray for safety for myself and my family as we take our trip!

Fri Aug 7 2009 5:26 am #
Ephemeral Dreamer
Member

((Double post!!!))

Fri Aug 7 2009 5:31 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

"If we were figments, how could we tell? I find it's better to assume reality until you find evidence to the contrary.

"You're on an island. This is Brock," indicating the shirted man, "and this is Ignominious. Have a seat, get some water - the stream's fresh and safe. I've got some mangoes by the tent if you're hungry, and there's some leftover fish."

Fri Aug 7 2009 7:56 am #
Ephemeral Dreamer
Member

"Haha, well with that answer, who can doubt that you're at least a living being. That's nice to know."

"Well, nice to meet you all! So...what is this island? I remember being home........then, I dropped a Digital Image Processor I borrowed, I picked it up, and some liquid stuff came out. I touched it. I blacked out, and now I'm here with all my stuff. Wait... why is my stuff here?"

**stomach rumbles**

"I guess I am a little hungry..."

I stand up, walk to the tent and gladly help myself to the mangos. "Thanks for the mangos. But you guys can enjoy the rest of the fish. I prefer sweet foods." I walk back to my blanket, grab my steak knife from my bag and proceed to cut the mango into 3 pieces. The sides and the seed.

While eating the mango I start to converse.

"So what brings you guys...or rather, all of us here? Don't tell me we're all dreaming or something."

Fri Aug 7 2009 5:18 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

The iguana says, "We have another new one."

--M. J. Young

Fri Aug 7 2009 8:49 pm #
Ephemeral Dreamer
Member

"New one? Are you reffer....Wha wha wait!" I stand up suddenly exclaiming, "A talking....huge...iguana...THAT'S SO COOL!!!"

I quickly make my way to examine the iguana.

"Wow...that's amazing! So, where are you from!?", I ask as I stare down Ignominious.

Fri Aug 7 2009 10:59 pm #
WilliamTWodium
Member

"You'll have to forgive his rudeness, Iggy. Too many new things at once tend to over-excite a person."

As an afterthought, I'll add, "Well, I suppose you won't have to, strictly speaking." I smile.

(In your examination of the iguana, you undoubtedly notice that he is wearing a steel wingnut as a necklace, secured around his neck by a length of sinew or catgut or something. The wingnut is about an inch across from tip to tip, and the flat areas are somewhat crudely etched with small symbols (or possibly just doodles).)

Sat Aug 8 2009 5:42 am #
Ephemeral Dreamer
Member

"This just makes me question..", I say as I make my way to my blanket, "what else is possible here?"

I sit back down, tilt my head back and think to myself What did I get into? "By the way, I'm sorry...Iggy, if you don't mind me calling you that, sorry for my sudden examination. But you are a very interesting being! So, if you can talk, does
that mean I'm not bound to the physical limitations of 'my' Earth?"

"Wow, what kind of weapons are those you have there?"

I pull out my camera to take pictures of the surrounding area, the weapons around, and if my new friends don't mind I'd like to take pictures with them.

(Open for conversastion, eating, and what-not)

"If you guys don't mind I'm going to walk down to the beach and take this all in." I grab my stuff, pick up my blanket and once again don it as a cloak. At this point, i'd like to meditate as I walk down, but I try not to walk to far from the campsite.

I'd also like to practice my capoeira on the beach.
I'd like to try jumping to test the gravity of this place to see how high I can jump. If I jump a normal height, I'd then like to try Incresing my strength in my legs activating my energy moving abiltiy for 30 seconds to try and strengthen my legs to jump higher than average.

Sat Aug 8 2009 6:49 pm #
Brock
Member

'So...are you people real? Or are you people figments of my imagination caught within a lucid dream world?'

To this, I raise my eyebrows, and comment that I believe I am real, but what exactly do you mean by 'real'? What if you are a figment of MY imagination, or what if we are all figments of someone else's, or...?

Once it becomes apparent he is new (around the Iggy conversation), I say, "Hi, I'm Brock. How are you? Probably fairly confused. Well, me and Scott here have some potentially upsetting news for you. From what Scott was telling me...well actually I'd better let Scott ecplain. He's way more experienced in this field."

After observing his behavior for awhile, I comment, "Well, you're certainly an energetic person!"

Sat Aug 8 2009 11:53 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Iggy says, "Scott tells me that we met in Bayonne, New Jersey, a port city known as The Big Tomato because of the vegetables shipped from there, but he does not know where I was born and I do not remember that. But I do not understand why a talking iguana means that this world is different; I have talked in several worlds."

Gravity seems to be earth normal.

Your effort to enhance your strength does not seem to have any impact.

--M. J. Young

Sun Aug 9 2009 11:01 pm #
WilliamTWodium
Member

Correction:

"Scott tells me that we met in Columbus, Ohio, a city where everything was filtered because of the poisons released into the environment, but he does not know where I was born and I do not remember that. But I do not understand why a talking iguana means that this world is different; I have talked in several worlds."

I chip in, "I think he might be from Brazil, but I found him in a pet shop, so there's really no way to know."

I'll let Van-Eric answer Iggy's question about why his talking makes this world different on his own. It'll help V-E work through his thought process more clearly, and it'll be good conversational practice for Iggy.

.

"Wow, what kind of weapons are those you have there?"

"Technological ones. Why do you ask? Are you even sure you know which things are weapons?"

I pull out my camera to take pictures of the surrounding area, the weapons around, and if my new friends don't mind I'd like to take pictures with them.

"Um, I'd rather you not take pictures of me or my things unless you're going to use them for something later. I can think of ways that could get me in trouble if we end up in the same world again, so, unless you can think of some way it would useful . . . ?"

__

I'll answer questions about the nature of reality and explain the gold liquid that came out of Van-Eric's consumer electronic device once he's prepared to sit down and talk about it. That'll happen after he clears up a few things with Iggy, and it might happen either after or before the walk on the beach - my grasp of the chonology is a bit spotty, so I'll post my Mentor Bits once I'm sure when things are happening.

Mon Aug 10 2009 5:36 am #
Brock
Member

I will sit politely and wait for something I'd like to comment on.

Mon Aug 10 2009 11:55 pm #
Brock
Member

MJ, with my computer troubles, I don't have my character sheet anymore. Can you post it somewhere, so I can print it out here at the library? That way I can track changes to it like I wanted, and remind myself of what gear I have.

Fri Aug 14 2009 9:06 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Brock, your character sheet should be posted in the Character Generation thread. Indeed, I find it here on page 6. I don't recall having made any changes to it since then, but if so they'll be noted in the threads somewhere. I will post your paper again when this world ends for you, and probably if there's anything important between now and then we can address it as it arises.

--M. J. Young

Sun Aug 16 2009 8:51 pm #
Brock
Member

Oh, right. Sorry, I wasn't thinking when I said that I guess.

Tue Aug 18 2009 10:16 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

No apology necessary, as long as you can find it.

--M. J. Young

Wed Aug 19 2009 12:42 am #
Brock
Member

That sheet says my willpower is 1@5. I disagree, but I think we hashed this out already. What was it?

What is this section?

Bias
Tech
Psi
Mag
Bod

OK, I have it. MJ, while I am ordinarily very patient, I am starting to wonder where those two went. Did I miss something? Regardless, I'd like to detail what I'm doing after the introductions are done, just for something to do, should nothing interrupt these plans.

I'll get my (Pair of navy blue shorts reading Air Force J.R.O.T.C. (junior ROTC)) out and bring those to the cave, strip down and put them on, and explore the cave.

If there is daylight left when(if?) I come back out of the cave, I will take that walk along the beach, observing the kinds of plants I see on this island, and in particular looking for anything I don't recognize and taking some for later identification. This skill may be useful for this-1@8 Survival: Forest T0@1 includes edible plants

Sat Aug 22 2009 1:33 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

MJ, while I am ordinarily very patient, I am starting to wonder where those two went.

For my part, my further actions are contingent on Van-Eric's. I'm half-way through a conversation, and I think we're on the cusp of a second Verser Orientation Seminar, but as I'm here pretty much as an assisting NPC, I don't feel any burning need to post in anticipation of Van-Eric (as opposed to in reaction).

That's where I went. The jury is out on where Van-Eric went, but I believe the currently dominant theory is "computer troubles."

Sat Aug 22 2009 3:08 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

I believe that Van-Eric is having computer problems, as if I recall correctly you also were, and Scott was awaiting some post from either of you that would involve him.

We will continue to work around him.

There is not much too this cave. It begins with the pond and the water pouring down from above and dripping from the ceiling, and part of the water from the pond pours back into the cave forming a stream along the low point. The slick smooth floor is slightly bowed, from the different rates of erosion from higher and lower water levels. It also slopes slightly downward into the mountain, and the slope gets steeper gradually. There are some stalagtites on the ceiling, but no stalagmites beneath as the floor is perpetually washed. The sides are rounded, making something of an uneven tube. It is very hot and humid, steam making visibility difficult as the cooler outside air and the hot inside air mix; cooler air can be felt moving above the water on the floor.

The late afternoon sun shines fairly directly into the cave, but between the dazzle of the curtain of water, the dispersion of the steam, and the angle of the floor it fades to a dusk-like level within fifty or sixty feet, and is starting to slope down more steeply, and get hotter.

What are you wearing on your feet?

--M. J. Young

Sat Aug 22 2009 4:50 am #
Brock
Member

I'll remove my socks and shoes, and leave everything behind, staff included. If it is too dark to see at all at any point, I'll leave, because I don't have a flashlight. I see fairly well in the dark, but there has to be SOME light.

Mon Aug 24 2009 7:43 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

I am concerned that we are not sharing a common image here. Let me try again.

The cave grows gradually darker, but not so quickly that you cannot adjust to it as you move inside. The later in the afternoon it is, the more light you have, to a point.

The cave walls and floor are all wet, smooth, and slippery, and a stream runs down the center of the floor.

The cave slopes downward toward the interior, and the angle of the slope gradually steepens as you progress.

Heat and steam rise from inside the cave, growing hotter and more humid as you ingress.

You have indicated that the only condition that will cause you to exit, or even to check your advance, is that it becomes too dark to see. I can't imagine that this is correct, so I think you must not be seeing the situation clearly--either that, or you're counting on some abilities to negotiate this situation which I am overlooking.

Are you genuinely intending to keep walking into this cave until you cannot see, regardless of how steep or slick the floor becomes or how hot or humid the air?

--M. J. Young

Tue Aug 25 2009 3:10 am #
Brock
Member

yes, it appears to be much more treacherous than I had envisioned. I guess I won't explore. I thought it was fairly level, but that there was a pool that I had to wade through to go deeper, or something.

Instead, I'll hike around the island. My character is just looking for something to do. I'm not a chatty person, so I would be wanting some alone time by now.

I'll bring my staff.

Fri Aug 28 2009 2:05 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

There are a variety of trees on the island, and plenty of undergrowth as well. There are birds and insects, but no land animals that you can see. The ground is deep soil in spots, shallow soil in other spots, and bare rock in many stretches; this is sometimes smooth as glass and sometimes rough and sharp as pumice, sometimes solid and sometimes broken up. Grasses grow in cracks, apparently the work horse that starts the conversion from rock to dirt.

The beaches to one side of the island tend to be white or light sand, perhaps from sea shells or sandstone, while on the other they are clearly from smashed and broken lava, black sands.

The steaming cone looms above all, and there are few places on the island where it is not visible.

But today it is not steaming.

--M. J. Young

Fri Aug 28 2009 11:17 pm #
Brock
Member

hmm, not steaming? Too bad I'm no geologist! Maybe it's about to erupt; calm before the storm and all that....

I'll continue hiking for awhile, just for the recreation, then return to my stuff near Scott's camp, and get a book to read.

Tue Sep 1 2009 11:35 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Scott and Ignominius are discussing whether the change in the volcano means anything, and what it might mean. Possibilities are that whatever water was evaporating is gone, that a fissure has sealed (which might mean that pressure is now building), that there was debris blown into the crater which has now been fully consumed by fire, and that the upper levels of the volcano are cooling.

They offer you some fresh roasted fish and their usual collection of fruits.

--M. J. Young

Tue Sep 1 2009 8:44 pm #
Brock
Member

I thank him, and say, "I hope it isn't going to erupt yet, although I suppose it was inevitable. In case the next time I go out to explore the island is my last time before it goes, I just want to say thanks. Thank you very much for all your help."

After the conversation ends, assuming nothing else happens, I will settle down to read for awhile.

Mon Sep 7 2009 4:12 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

"Well, it's not inevitable; it could go extinct, and we'd be here until the island eroded away completely or you or I experimented with something too dangerous. But if it happens tomorrow, it won't be all bad - it would mean I wouldn't have to cast my fishing spell again for a while. It makes me feel a little bad to use it; at least if you're hook or spear fishing, you can pretend the little guys were too dumb or too slow to live, but if you're magicking them to shore and zapping 'em with an electric spear, you feel a bit more like you're taking advantage.

"Now that I think of it, though, I really ought to be storing up some smoked fish or something, something that will last me a while if I verse out suddenly. I'd have to eat my stash and replace it periodically, but I'd feel mighty dumb if I left a place with plentiful food and starved in the next verse."

Once Brock goes his way, I'll set about figuring out a way to cook fish such that it will take quite some time to spoil. I don't know anything about "smoking" fish, but I will start there and experiment. I suppose my goal-in-mind is something like fish jerky. (I'm sticking to tech methods for now, but if I don't get good results I may switch to arcane.)

Of course, I'm also keeping up my usual, somewhat lax, practice routine (and Iggy's, as well).

Mon Sep 7 2009 4:59 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

What would Brock see of your practice routine? That is, it strikes me that if you're involved in observable activities, it might be something he would notice, and that might help him better prepare for worlds ahead.

--M. J. Young

Tue Sep 8 2009 3:13 am #
Brock
Member

If he starts practicing in my view, I will watch. I am rather bored by this point, I would think.

Tue Sep 8 2009 6:07 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Regrettably, I do not recall what is involved in Scott's practice. I know he does some physical exercise, including jumping out of trees to practice landing, but without his post I'm going to have to stick to those items.

You see Scott climb a tree and then leap from it, hitting the ground and rolling to absorb the impact. He does this multiple times. He also does some other exercises, quite a few of which look like they might be martial arts katas.

--M. J. Young

Sat Sep 12 2009 1:23 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

Ack. Stuff happened, some of it medical, and I completely forgot this thread was waiting for a post from me. Apologies.

That's about a third of it. Another third of my routine will be invisible - psychic training with Iggy as a partner. (This comprises mostly mind-reading applications, plus Conceal/Interrupt Thought, a few Awarenesses, and Flesh Armor).

For a little while (in the middle of the invisible routine), I stand facing Iggy and, at seemingly random intervals, a translucent pale green disk about six feet across will appear between us and linger for a few seconds before disappearing.

The remaining third involves me rehearsing various postures, pantomimes, and spoken lines of Spanish. Occasionally the Spanish is sung, and the pantomimes often involve wingnuts, sometimes placed in a circle around me. There is no observable effect. (MJ: this is because the components are being practiced in isolation, or two components practiced together in the absence of the third; as no complete ritual is being performed, there is no release of magic. My understanding is that this should allow practice even of those skills beyond the curve.)

I also read to Iggy a bit, but that's when the sun sets and isn't really considered part of the routine.

Edit: This post apparently started a new page; this edit is a note to Brock that MJ has a relevant post on the previous page, at the bottom.

Sat Sep 12 2009 3:22 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

This post is to correct a software hiccough that made Scott's latest invisible.

Scott, I agree with your assessment of practicing magic skills in pieces like that.

--M. J. Young

Sat Sep 12 2009 5:31 am #
Brock
Member

I would likely recognize the martial arts katas as such easily, and may even know some of them. I make a study of such things. Those are in part the things I use for my balance practice.

The disc fascinates me to no end. It reminds me of Tenser's floating disc from D and D, though it's green instead and I don't know if it is meant to carry weight for the caster. I'll ask him about it when he doesn't look busy anymore, which may take awhile by the looks of it.

Sat Sep 12 2009 9:31 pm #
WilliamTWodium
Member

These are not katas you know. Some of them are similar, I imagine.

The disk also differs from Tenser's in that it is oriented vertically, more like a barrier or shield than a load-bearing surface.

When you get around to asking:

"That? That's a force shield. It's probably a little risky to even be trying it here, but it's saved my life too often for me to let myself get rusty. And before you ask, no, I'm not teaching it to you - not before you have a solid background in matter and energy manipulatives. You'll blow up the island.

"Er, no offense. I have a friend who's always after me to teach him everything I know instantly, so I've learned to be brusque and . . . preemptive . . . about the things I'm not willing to pass on."

Sat Sep 12 2009 9:45 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

"That's not me," Iggy injects. "I'm happy to learn when the teacher thinks I'm ready."

--M. J. Young

Sun Sep 13 2009 9:18 pm #
WilliamTWodium
Member

I grin. "I have taught you well."

(I almost address him as "young grasshopper," but I catch myself just in time. I'd rather not have to explain that.)

Sun Sep 13 2009 10:03 pm #
Brock
Member

(I would have understood that reference easily, young grasshopper. Not that it matters.)

"I don't see myself as trying to suddenly conjure forth barriers of energy from nothing without any background in such things. No worries."

Afterward, I'll remember I didn't do my own practice in a while, and perform some balance enhancing exercises of my own.

Tue Sep 15 2009 12:24 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

(I know you'd get it; I meant Iggy, whom I was addressing. His pop culture education is on an as-needed basis.)

Tue Sep 15 2009 1:05 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

As you move into a position, you are suddenly tossed to the ground as the island itself shakes--and then stops shaking so quickly it's hard to know whether it really happened.

--M. J. Young

Tue Sep 15 2009 10:33 pm #
Brock
Member

"Oh crap. This might be it. Well, it was nice knowing the two of you. Maybe we will meet up again sometime."

actually, I likely would have used the s word, but I think I remember it being mentioned somewhere that kids read these boards.

I grab my backpack and swing it over my right shoulder, grab my staff in my left, then eye the volcano apprehensively for a minute.

Is the steamy cave at the right angle from the mountain that I could go inside, and the lava would flow past it, or over the entrance, or something of the sort, with little or none of it going in? Or, more to the point, does my character, with his limited information, believe it might be so?

Thu Sep 17 2009 9:52 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Yeah, and count me as one of them. I find vulgarity unnecessary and demeaning, and although I understand why intelligent people would use it in rare instances, I would much prefer the written word to avoid it.

It is certainly possible that the cave might provide shelter of some sort against certain aspects of a volcanic eruption from the mountaintop. Certainly if there were flying boulders or falling hot cinders, they would be blocked from overhead. Flowing lava is harder to predict--obviously the cave entrance is below the stream bed, but lava that flows that direction might pour into the pool and spill outward toward the ocean.

Scott, what do you intend to do in response to the eruption of the volcano?

--M. J. Young

Fri Sep 18 2009 2:47 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

To Brock: "I'm not dead yet."

To Iggy: "C'mon, up. We're sticking together for now."

Scott, what do you intend to do in response to the eruption of the volcano?

Firstly: how much warning might my 1@10 Precognitive Danger Sense P12@1 (W6) provide, if successful? I imagine not much, and I'm not sure this danger is immediate enough to trigger it.

Placing the danger sense aside for the moment -

If I perceive that I have time, I will pack everything and get it on-person. Most things go in the pack; the bedroll and tent strap to the pack (it has an external frame), and the electric spear is carried. Most weapons and a few other bits of useful-on-short-notice equipment go elsewhere on my person, and Iggy rides my shoulder.

If I perceive that I do NOT have time to pack, I will simply gather it all into one pile and sit on it.

If I have packed, I will go to a place:
- near or on the shore,
- with overhead cover,
- of higher elevation than the ground/shore around it

I will already know the location on the island which best fits these criteria, having sought it out on my second day here. That location is not guaranteed to fit them well, of course, nor to be nearby. The idea is to distance myself from the epicenter and avoid direct lava flow while retaining some protection from ash sifting down from overhead. (I am aware that these precautions will not amount to much if the eruption is serious.)

I will not separate from my equipment voluntarily; IF at any point the destruction of my equipment occurs or becomes inevitable, I would prefer that my body share that fate (saving both for the next world). I would also prefer not to verse out separately from Iggy.

If it appears that I will be sandwiched between lava and the sea, I have an emergency escape plan (unlikely to work).

My defense against falling rocks is three-fold:
1) Danger Sense,
2) 2@2 Stationary Force Shield P10@1 6' instant activation 1 minute W6,
3) 1@5 Missile Evasion B7@4 RS=SM use limits attacks W5

My psi Resist Heat does not distinguish between internal and external, so it's curved out. If my 2@6 Flesh Armor P5@1 RS=SM (W2) works against falling rocks, I'll use that, too - if I see falling rocks.
_

For everything else, I'm responding case-by-case. I have not seriously prepared for this event beyond scouting out the location mentioned above. I do not attempt to coordinate my actions with Brock's, although if he attempts to interact with me I respond (if doing so does not risk my equipment).

Psi BRA: 2@2 (Persuasion)
Bod BRA: 2@1 (Willpower)

TV: 1@6
DV: 1@8

Fri Sep 18 2009 4:59 am #
Brock
Member

Hmm. I'll head to the cave and take my chances, because I don't know anywhere else to go on this island. Should not take me very long at all to get my stuff together, since it's all still packed.

cursing is rare with me, but situations like this would evoke a word or two, I imagine. I haven't been in one, so it's my best guess

Fri Sep 18 2009 5:27 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator
I certainly understand the likelihood of cursing under stress. I'm quite comfortable with typing something like, "and a word escapes my lips which I would not say under ordinary circumstances", or as I wrote for one of the characters in the novel, "the word he wanted to say brought the memory of the taste of soap to his mouth."

Scott:
Scott packs his things while Brock makes his way to the entrance of the cave. The water pouring in from above is still cool, and the air in the cave still sauna-like as you wade through the warm water of the pool. The ground shakes again.

You climb in about ten yards, but realize that it will be slippery and difficult to keep your footing with the shaking, so here you brace yourself, settling down against the wall.

Abruptly the world shakes again, and you think you've lost your bracing--but you realize it is not you that has moved, but the wall behind you. The tunnel in which you are sheltered collapses atop you, crushing and smothering you in seconds. You black out.

You awaken as Brock, Bleary-eyed or Starry-eyed.

--M. J. Young
Sun Sep 20 2009 1:39 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

Yeah, W# is my way of keeping track of the order of skill acquisition. Sometimes, if important details went unrecorded, knowing the world of origin will help me make a ruling.

Er, so, do we keep going, or allow Alternate Scott to vanish into the mists of NPCdom until the 'verse needs his services once more?

Sun Sep 20 2009 4:35 am #

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