This is a continuation of the massively overdue summaries I need to be posting, found in There and Bah Ke'gehn.
I woke up on a hillside, in my raw walker form and scare a little girl. I go out into the woods and disguise myself using magic. Then, I save the little girl from 'ogres', who look to be children (boys) around the ages of 12-13. I found a village of small children and talked to their leader, who looked to be about eight. I found out that a giant lives on top of the mountain they lived on, and I left to go find this giant that they were afraid of.
I dealt with ogres on the way up, and experimented with some magic spells (create fire, purify water, extended pseudo-invisibility) sleeping once and going up to the giants house in demon form. I climbed a tree and jumped into the mansion through a crumbled tower, leaving the spear I stole from the Dol Nor at the bottom of the tree. I met the owner of the mansion, Gaston, who was quite hospitable and not put-off by my form. Middle-aged, seemingly cultured man, who ate children. This I discovered when he told me the children went great with a rosemary sauce. Another person showed up, a cold woman with an axe. She left, and I developed some defenses magical spells and fortified his mansion. I spent the night there and some of my sensors were tripped (see list of magic spells). I got hungry and decided to go down to the cellar, and discovered the arm of a human child on a meat hook. At this point, I decided Gaston's hospitality did not outweigh his child slaughtering. I went back up to his room, and I dragged him out of bed and hurled him into his armoire, breaking a mirror in the process. We fought around his house, and I eventually knocked him unconscious by tossing him down his stairs. Then I dragged him into his room, took his ring, threw him on his bed, and trapped him inside by activating the defenses I had set up for his room. Later, Gaston passes away.
Sometime after I atoned for his death, and went back down into the cellar. I melted the padlock on a trap door beneath some carpet, and descended down through a spiral staircase. I found two cell like rooms, then turned around and headed back up to the cellar. There I ran into Talbot, a blonde haired blued eyed young man wielding a jewel encrusted axe. He attacked me and we fought for a bit, I became wounded and tried to heal myself. Some magic spell botched, and I summoned a spirit that inhabited the arm of meat hanging on the hook. Talbot ran out of the cellar, and I ran back down to the basement like spiral staircase.
It was here in the basement that I found what we would later call the deep ones or the deep children, who were bandaged children with golden eyes. They spoke to me about the various artifacts that are in circulation amongst the giants and that they are really stolen property and should be returned. As such, I give them Gaston’s Ring.
At this point I forget the exact order of events. A few things happen, mainly, I travel to Melna’s house, have tea, threaten her, and then escape after she sicks her cadre of ogres at me. Then I think I visit Hans, an older man living in a tower, sneak in and toss him around, and take his magical belt buckle that enhances my strength. I return to Gaston’s place, find, beat up, and then team up with Talbot. We return to Melna’s place shortly thereafter, knock her out, I go upstairs to search for stuff, and then come back downstairs to find that Talbot has slaughtered most of her ogres, which I am not pleased about but kind of let happen. We remove Melna’s fake eye with my knife. I cast a healing spell to regrow her eye. I keep her jeweled fake eye.
Talbot and I go back to Hans’ place (though I forget why) and are confronted by a united front of 4 or so giants. I attempt to use the eye to get them to leave, and at least one does (whether under its influence or not I can’t tell). Then we fight with the others, I almost kill and am almost killed in return by Vlad, an older giant, who can apparently summon things. He almost kills me by tossing acid on me from a pan he summoned. Everyone scatters including Talbot and I. We regroup at Gaston’s place (or Talbot’s I can’t remember) and decide to go on the offensive and attack Vlad. We do so, but his house is booby-trapped, I fall into a pit and magic my way out, go inside only to fall down into his basement, only to be caught by Vlad in a net. I escape, but get pushed into a spiked pit and then gutted by Vlad. I die, and verse out.
What Graham neglects to mention is that travel between domiciles (all located on the slopes of the mountains) is accomplished by magical teleportation between specially prepared stone platforms, activated by magical necklaces (of which each "giant" possesses one; Graham made use of Gaston's). Crucially, this mode of transport was limited to those locations within line-of-sight: e.g., one's neighbor's domiciles on the next mountain over, or across the valley. Thus:
Talbot and I go back to Hans’ place (though I forget why) and are confronted by a united front of 4 or so giants.
What Graham forgets is that Han's tower, located as it was at the top of a mountain, granted access (via line of sight) to other giants' homes which would not otherwise be visible. The reason for visiting the homes of the other giants was simply to acquire their artifacts for eventual return to the Deep Children.
A secondary feature of the travel pendants warns the wearer of any arrival at the wearer's own home. During the night and early morning, which they had spent out in the woods some distance from Melna's home, Talbot received notice of several arrivals at his home (possibly including multiple arrivals by the same person or persons). Thus, although Talbot's home provided a possible alternate route (around Hans' mountain), the duo considered the location compromised and unsafe. However, since Graham had already plundered Hans' pendant from his unconscious body (and left it in his travel bag at Gaston's), he and Talbot thought it was safe to use the man's home as a waypoint.
What they did not know was that while the duo were ransacking Melna's house with Melna locked in a closet, Melna was able to employ the rarely-used third feature to warn her friend in the next valley that something unspecified was going horribly badly. This friend gathered her neighbors and cautiously investigated. (They navigated to the current region via Talbot's home, thus accounting for his nocturnal warnings.) In the process, they not only talked to the grievously wounded Hans, confirming the rumor (ironically started by Talbot weeks earlier) of a sorcerous, murderous demon on the loose disguised as a man; they also proceeded to visit Gaston's now-abandoned house, reasoning that the demon could be using it as a hide-out. There, they discovered and seized Graham's black shoulder bag, which contained all of his equipment which was not currently on his body - including both his enchanted knife and Hans' pendant.
Armed with the pendant, they of course knew the moment Graham and Talbot ventured to Hans' tower, and while the duo walked the relatively short distance to the summit, the four giants arrived behind them, catching them between the travel platform and the tower (inhabited by a close-to-death but heavily armored Hans). The resulting conflict is roughly as Graham describes; the giants were not very firmly united to begin with, and the whole thing ended with either early retreat or near-mortal wounds followed by late retreat for all concerned.
Graham's ability to heal Talbot and himself after battles meant the decision to go on the offensive immediately afterward was very good strategy - at least on paper.
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There's a great deal to this scenario that's not coming through in summary, but it would take many times what we've already written to get down something that I would still be dissatisfied with in the end. I think I'll settle for posting a list of Graham's new skills and equipment (as well as equipment lost - Vlad contested a great deal of it, successfully) - later.
New skills, world 8:
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1@1 Soft Sculpture T1@1 W8
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1@1 Fall Shock Absorption B4@6, eliminates damage for falls 20' or less W8
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1@2 D, When Worn/Held: Gaston's Necklace M1@3* Detects living arrivals at
attuned location (M7@4*) W8
1@1 D, Active for Duration: Hans's Belt Buckle M1@6* instant activation, thought-
only, visualize inscribed rune while desiring strength to activate M15@1*
Enhance Strength for +RS/10 intensities, lasts until the situation substantially changes, -5 SM W8
1@1 Gentle Fall (Resist falling impact) M1@6+ instant activation, "Bah Tor save me" in
Bah, forcefully, sound unnecessary, RS = -DC, lasts for one fall, verbal only, -17 SM, W8
1@1 D, Use Gaston's Ring M1@8* RF1, visualize Arabic command word to activate
M12@1* Lift Object (max 50 lbs., up/down only) for duration of concentration; must chain use each minute, effect visible as red light, no SM, W8
(This ring is no longer in Graham's possesion)
1@3 D, Use Melna's Eye M1@8* Bonus user's Persuasion check by RS/10 and penalize
victim's opposing Willpower check by the same amount, +10 SM, W8
1@1 D, Complex Activation: Gaston's Necklace M1@9* Teleports user to a location
within sight (M12@1*), hold necklace with one hand and trace (specific) words carved in stone with the other while reading them aloud (sound not necessary, magical language), TF 1:36 +46 SM W8
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1@2 Heal Melna's Eye M2@8+ cures all BF sound necessary TF 1:30 -33 SM W8
1@2 Unlimited Damage Repair M2@8 Target is touched with both hands
while caster forcefully recites a prayer (sound necessary) for MEGA HEALING which must be audible. Heals all damage measured in intensities (targets total DV heals in 100-RS seconds, may finish earlier), TF 0:30, -4 SM W8
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1@1 Purify Water M3@1+ TF 0:15, caster prays in Bah for purification of contained
water, spoken only, -20 SM, W8
1@3 Shape Shelter from Former Life M3@3+ TF 20:00, caster sits on the ground in
front of fire and meditates on it, praying in Bah for shelter while away from home to protect him from the enemies of the Deity and to protect him from the elements, caster must remain sitting. Fire takes on appearance of grass from Bah Ke'gehn, caster then 'picks up' fire and places it on formerly living matter of at least 1/8th mass required to form the resulting shelter (fire is consumed) and the fire spreads changing the object into the shelter, requires mid-sized fire (>= two fistfuls), sound necessary, +43 SM, W8
1@4 Shape and Expand Solid Materials M3@3+ [This skill is still undergoing mechanical revision]
1@2 Release Lock M3@4+ TF 0:30, caster prays in Bah for the release of a normal lock,
uses either hand, sound necessary, +25 SM, W8
1@1 Hold Portal M3@4+ TF 00:06, Caster speaks "Lock" forcefully in Bah with one
hand on the door in question. Door locks as if the door had a bolt lock. No one, including the caster, can simply open the locked door (this does not prevent them bashing the door in or anything). To release the spell, or 'unlock' the door, caster places hand on door and speaks "Unlock" forcefully in Bah, -35 SM, W8.
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1@2 Light Candle M4@6+, TF 0:12, caster prays in Bah "Bah Tor, grant me your light
that I may take it with me," grasping the object to be ignited with two fingers of the right hand (annoying damage if ignition is not automatic), +24 SM W8
1@1 Melt Technological Device M4@6+, TF 0:30, caster holds both hands over target
technological device while praying forcefully to Bah Tor (sound necessary) for destructive heat; range is 'touch', obliterative damage, -16 SM W8
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1@1 Extended Psuedo-invisibility M5@1+, TF 20:00, caster walks perimeter of area
gesturing with both hands and praying in Bah for lasting concealment, covers 5'x10'x10' box, lasts 6:40:00, +14 SM W8
1@1 Maintained Pseudo-invisibility M5@1+ RF 1, lasts one minute (chainable).
Caster chants in Bah asking the Creator to make him undetectable, chant for
duration, sound necessary, verbal only, +16 SM W8
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1@1 Stationary Force Shield, Dome M6@2+ Instant Activation: User speaks the
words "I ask Bah Tor's protection" and waves with both hands, activating a Prevent Movement/Kinetic shield (in a dome around self) which reduces all physical and energy attacks by RS=SM for RS/5 minutes and stays where placed, +8 SM W8
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1@1 Clairsentient Blocker M7@2+ Caster rubs hands on surface of door while praying
forcefully in Bah (sound necessary), standing and kneeling (full body involvement). When any apparently sentient being touches the door, if the clairsentient sensor has not recognized the word in the specified area nearby (5' radius), then a wall of force is created directly on the other side of the doorway, RS=simple/difficult/no Strength check to push past. TF 10:00, wall of force lasts 1:40:00, +10SM, W8
1@2 Clairsentient Guidance M7@2+ Caster lies on back and prays in Bah for guidance,
TF 10:00, sound necessary, receives 1:40:00 uncontrolled clairsentient sensor, eliminates normal senses, +17 SM W8
1@1 Temporary Scrying Aid (Place)M7@2+, Caster gestures with one hand over
reflective surface and prays in Bah for sight of a specified place; visual input appears on surface, TF 1:00, lasts 10:00, sound necessary, +14 SM, W8
1@1 Life Trigger M7@4+ Caster walks along perimeter to be established in a line up to
1200' (10x1200x1) while praying forcefully in Bah about detection of life while the right hand marks the line and the left hand gesticulates with the prayer. When a humanoid not specified by the caster crosses the area, the caster is alerted. TF 13:00, +32SM, W8
1@2 Lesser Life Trigger M7@4+ TF 0:20 Caster indicates line (up to 10' long, 10' high,
1' wide) with both hands while praying in Bah for detection of intruders; when any humanoid not specified by caster during casting enters the area, the caster is alerted. Lasts until triggered, +39 SM, W8
1@2 Faster lesser life trigger, M7@4+, as LLT (above) except as follows: TF 0:06, SM
+21, W8
1@2 Life Trigger (Enclosed Portals) M7@4+ Caster begins at bottom of door, moving
both hands along the outline of the rectangle while chanting forcefully in Bah (sound necessary). When humanoid not designated by the caster crosses doorway, caster is notified. TF 00:42, +21SM, W8
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1@1 Disguise Self M8@3+, TF 30:00, dance in circle and pray forcefully in Bah for
disguise (including clothing) appropriate to blend in with locals and prevent difficulties in carrying out Bah Tor's will, sound necessary, lasts 5:00:00, +30SM, W8
1@1 Extended Disguise Self M8@3+, TF 1:00:00, dance in circle and pray forcefully in
Bah for lengthy disguise (including clothing) appropriate to blend in with locals and prevent difficulties in carrying out Bah Tor's will, sound necessary, lasts 80:00:00, no SM, W8
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1@1 Create Were-Light M9@1+ TF 0:12, gesture with both hands and pray in Bah for
light, held in hand and extinguished at will, illumines 30' radius, sound necessary, lasts 30:00, +13 SM, W8
1@2 Create Light M9@1+ TF 0:06, caster says forcefully (in Bah) "Let there be light";
30' radius, lasts 10:00, verbal only, no SM, W8
1@2 Create Light M9@1+ TF 0:06, caster says forcefully in Bah “Brighten my home”;
usable only in caster's home, 15’ diameter, duration 40:00, verbal only, +5 SM, W8
1@2 Create Fire M9@2+ TF 0:30, pray forcefully to Bah Tor for fire, ranges
2.5'/7.5'/15'/30', damaging, uses both hands, sound necessary, +32 SM, W8
1@1 Immolate Self M9@2+ TF 0:12, pray forcefully in Bah for sheath of fire harmless
to self but not to enemies, sound necessary, uses both hands; damaging, lasts 2:00, immune to fire (only) for duration, +8 SM, W8
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1@1 Lift Object M12@1+ TF 00:30, pray forcefully (in Bah) to Bah Tor for aid in
moving an object while gesturing with both hands indicating the object, lasts 3:00, sound necessary, +18 SM, W8
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It's just so impressive when you see it laid out like that.
And no Scott, that's not what she said.
I'd be more impressed if any of them started with "2@".
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New equipment:
Gaston's pants (beige cloth)
Gaston's pendant red-ovid-dragon-claw (see mag skills)
Bucket, made of solid wood with handle (all one piece); shaped magically from sticks and twigs; about 1’ high, 8” in diameter
Stone “knife” (awl), magically sculpted
Practice dummy (stone), torso and arms only, magically sculpted (X lbs.)
Silver ring, plain band, Hans Moeler (W8)
Gold ring, plain band, Hans Moeler (W8) [later sold in W10]
Hans's runed belt buckle, whitegold?platinum?, diamond dust in rune, 4"x2"x1/2" (see mag skills)
Braided black leather belt (attached to above)
Melna's Eye (W8)
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Lost equipment (contested by Vladimir):
Glasses (frameless-hingeless correctional see allergies)
4 quarters: MY 2000, NY 2001, Mass.2000, Generic 1995
Unlabeled Beige & Green chapstick
Cell Phone
One Foray Black pen, rollerball smooth writing
Note for friends birthday party (not treated paper)
Wallet (real black leather) containing:
Guilford College ID (out of date picture, plastic),
EB EDGE card (15% discount on used games, plastic),
Paper business cards; Tony Lamair Burks II principle of the Early College at Guilford, Chris Hankins (my saxophone teacher) 5 US $ (2003)
Uniform (wool), Germanic military dress; white with gold frill, black leather boots, brass helmet with spike and crest
Military saber (dangerous, RF1)
Pocketwatch, 1890's Swiss manufacture (in pocket)
Colt revolver, .45 caliber Ruritanian military issue (dangerous, RF 6, six shots, reload time 12sec/bullet, ranges 10':50':100':200':+1/2'), six rounds loaded
One spare round (.45 caliber)
All cotton clothing:
Black socks
Black Baggy pants with 9 pockets
Gray boxers
Black t-shirt (abstract art and word “boulevard”)
WWII Bayonet, with rust but still sharp; has sheath
One belt (good for carrying things) cotton stretch material with fake leather leading up to buckle and opposite end with 5 holes. (slightly used)
Timberlake leather black boots
Leather “driving” gloves
Black hoody, cotton, large(ish) with the champions logo on sleve, large middle pocket.
Deodorant, shampoo, tooth brush, and newly refilled Xrytec medication (24 out of 25) to be taken daily.
Cram 2 pairs of underwear, 2 t shirts, and 2 pairs of black hiking socks
Red and black messenger bag with two outer pockets, an inside spongey divider with enough space for a laptop, its equipment and other things.
Birdwatching binoculars: green with a fake leather pattern on the outside with a matching case. Has both coarse and fine tuning (two knobs). Loops attached to the binoculars are designed to allow carrying while inside or outside the case.
Outfit from Strelsau – pants, shirt, jacket, shoes.
Gaston's keys (house and dungeon)
Hans's pendant milky-ovid-dragonclaw
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I see my latest post, but on the board I see Graham as the latest poster for this thread. This post is a diagnostic.
Edit: Problem persists. Poop.
Your list appears to have been labeled Spam. I believe I've got you back.
--M. J. Young
This post is to belatedly provide a missing link in the chain of Graham's game threads: his game continued in Six is Better than Seven.