AAR [2nd] Helping the Hunters (2020-02-23 @20:00GMT)

The current version of the Earthdawn West Marches Discord campaign, effective Jan 1, 2020

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Aegharan
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Joined:Sat Oct 14, 2017 2:58 pm
AAR [2nd] Helping the Hunters (2020-02-23 @20:00GMT)

Post by Aegharan » Sat Feb 22, 2020 10:21 am

LFG: Helping the hunters
Time: 2020-02-23 @20:00GMT
GM: Aeggy
Rating: 2 - Medium
Players: 3-5
Eligible Characters: 0 - 6,999 Lifetime Legend

Rumor: A group of hunters reports unsettling happenings in a forest. A group of Adepts is sent to investigate.

Please post your character as follows:

Code: Select all

[b]Name:[/b] 
[b]ECR:[/b] 
[b]Discipline:[/b]
[b]Quote/Unique:[/b] 
[b]Notable Abilities:[/b]
[b]Downtime:[/b]
Note: This game starts at 3pm Eastern.
Last edited by Aegharan on Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:01 am, edited 2 times in total.

ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm

Re: LFG [2nd] Helping the Hunters (2020-02-23 @20:00GMT)

Post by ChrisDDickey » Sat Feb 22, 2020 11:02 am

Name: Zil
Circle / ECR: 2 / 2
Discipline / Race: Elementalist / Windling
Quote/Unique: Travel in style with a party Elementalist! Heat Food! Shelter! Purify Water! Air Mattress.
Notable Abilities: Physician.
Downtime: Research rank 3, step 10 (step 13 if pay 20 sp for library access).

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etherial
Posts:964
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 11:04 pm
Location:Berlin, Massachusetts
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Re: LFG [2nd] Helping the Hunters (2020-02-23 @20:00GMT)

Post by etherial » Sat Feb 22, 2020 5:22 pm

Name: Daldorer
Circle: 2
Discipline: Nethermancer
Quote/Unique: Daddy can make you feel better
Notable Abilities:
Downtime: Alchemy

Montaugh
Posts:203
Joined:Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:49 pm

Re: LFG [2nd] Helping the Hunters (2020-02-23 @20:00GMT)

Post by Montaugh » Sun Feb 23, 2020 5:13 am

Name: William Carver
ECR: 2/2 (1525LPT)
Discipline: Scout
Race: Human
Quote/Unique: I'll get you there and back again.
Notable Abilities: Talented stealth, Navigation, Wilderness survival, Scouting. Skilled Traps, locks.
Downtime:Forge Weapon Rank 1 Step 7. Own a forge back in Throal.

nathaniel
Posts:347
Joined:Wed Dec 13, 2017 1:48 am
Location:Dallas Texas

Re: LFG [2nd] Helping the Hunters (2020-02-23 @20:00GMT)

Post by nathaniel » Sun Feb 23, 2020 3:48 pm

Name: Jael
ECR: 3 (2600 LP)
Discipline: Beastmaster
Notable Abilities: Pets, Punching and Grapples
Downtime: Animal Training Step 13 (Rank 3)

ottdmk
Posts:462
Joined:Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:25 pm

Re: LFG [2nd] Helping the Hunters (2020-02-23 @20:00GMT)

Post by ottdmk » Sun Feb 23, 2020 5:04 pm

Name: Dubhan Goronich
Circle: 2 (940 LP)
Discipline: Wizard
Quote/Unique: "Really? That happened? Wow, hope I get to see something like that!"
Notable Abilities: Spells! Alchemy, Medicine
Downtime: Research (Step 19 + Library Access if needed)

Aegharan
Posts:439
Joined:Sat Oct 14, 2017 2:58 pm

Re: AAR [2nd] Helping the Hunters (2020-02-23 @20:00GMT)

Post by Aegharan » Mon Feb 24, 2020 12:44 am

Helping the Hunters
Time: 2020-02-23@20:00 GMT
GM: Aeggy
Circle: 2
Difficulty: Medium

Player Rewards:
Daldorer: 3 TIPs, 800 Legend, 200 Silver
Dubhan: 3 TIPs, 800 Legend, 200 Silver
Jael: 3 TIPs, 800 Legend, 200 Silver
William Carver: 3 TIPs, 800 Legend, 200 Silver
Zil: 3 TIPs, 800 Legend, 200 Silver, Thread Item Bracelet

Players may request anything that a group of non-adept hunters would carry, Availability "Average" or "Unusual". Please notify Aeggy within 24 hours.{/i]

GM Reward:
Karl Tomsson: 1 TIP, 800 Legend, 138 Silver

Downtime Actions Available:
William: Forge Weapon Rank 1 Step 7
Dubhan: Research (Step 19 + Library Access if needed)

Researchers may spend 20 Silver for +3 Steps (the Haggle discount may lower this cost)

Further Information:
The Adepts actually fought a Great Bear. Several Cadaver Men and Mindslugs have been fought around 42.15.

ChrisDDickey
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Re: AAR [2nd] Helping the Hunters (2020-02-23 @20:00GMT)

Post by ChrisDDickey » Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:43 am

From the journal of Zil, Elementalist of the 3rd circle. 
The remains of a group of hunters came into Throal with reports of strange goings on, and friends missing. Daldorer (Nethermancer), Dubhan (Wizard), Jael (Beastmaster), William Carver (Scout), and myself went out to investigate. Before we left we talked to the hunters and did some research. We identified that they had been attacked by Cadaver Men, a form of undead that we have fought before, and something new to us, called a Mind Slug. We learned that a mind slug is a worm-like creature maybe a half foot long, that will attempt to burrow into a person's head, killing them from the inside. 

On our way to the area where the hunters encountered the horrors and constructs, we were set upon by a small herd of baby Genhis which we managed to drive off. Unfortunately we had to kill some of the juvenile useful herd-beasts before the rest ran away. A few days later we were set upon a some great bears, a mama and 2 cubs. We beat those down and left them unconscious.William Carver was quite bloodthirsty in his advocacy of killing them all. Jael made a half-hearted attempt to bond with them, but we ended up leaving them to their own devices, which made me glad. 

We entered the area the hunters had encountered horrors, and after a bit of searching discovered the infestation. We were set upon by 10 or so cadaver men, of various races and states of decomposition. Some of the CM were obviously very fresh, indeed, we identified the remains of two of the hunters that had been reported going missing a few weeks prior.Others were very obviously much older, with mere scraps of very rotted clothing that looked years, if not centuries old. I set about using Icy Surface attempting to isolate and slow the CM so that we were not overwhelmed. It was a long and hard fight, but we destroyed them all. 

We had just settled down to rest and assess our wounds, and I had examined the skulls of two of the cadavers looking for signs of Mind Slugs, when Dubhan screamed, we looked over just in time to see a Mind Slug slithering into his ear! I pulled out a pair of tweezers and managed to grip the tail and pull it out, causing another scream from Dubhan. While we were all ganging up on this Mind Slug, somebody spotted a 2nd one. Fortunately we killed both before they were able to burrow into anybody else's head. 

We made a small fire and burned both slugs, then gathered enough wood for a bonfire big enough to burn all the cadaver men. while examining the CM I spotted a small pearl bracelet, which I identified as being magic. Since I was just learning Item History I kept it and started doing Item History. It seems very nice and perfect for me. 

For several nights I had been suffering nightmares, very uncharacteristic for me as normally I am pretty happy-go-lucky and not prone to night terrors. I suffered them every night until we were well on our way back to Throal, but fortunately they stopped. Upon arriving in Throal we did more research, and found that Mind Slugs are not known to create Cadaver Men. I fear there may be some worse Horror in that area (42.15), and that so far we have only faced it's lessor minions. 

Upon returning to Throal I engaged a Trainer, and advanced to the 3rd Circle of Elementalism.
Last edited by ChrisDDickey on Mon Mar 09, 2020 11:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Montaugh
Posts:203
Joined:Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:49 pm

Re: AAR [2nd] Helping the Hunters (2020-02-23 @20:00GMT)

Post by Montaugh » Mon Feb 24, 2020 4:13 pm

My name is William Carver and I am a second circle Scout.

We were hired to find out what happened to some hunters. They had encountered some Cadaver Men and worms that were eating into the head of people. We learned that they were hunting in the area about 42.14 and 42.15. They found some bears and lions prides. Exotic meats are selling for quite a lot in Throal at the moment as well they informed us.

I found myself in the company of Zil once again. I found I missed the little windling, that air mattress spell of his gives a great rest, I bet it would be perfect with a Bedroll of Comfort. I was also traveling with some completely new adepts. One was a Nethermancer named Daldorer, A wizard named Dubhan, and Jael a beastmaster. Jael proved himself, not only was I impressed a second time someone had an animal with them, he could turn his very hands into claws. He didn't need any additional weapons as he was the weapon. His wolf Fang was also vicious, together they fought tooth and claw against the things we encountered out there. The others were competent but nothing special stood out about them, I hope that I remember that I traveled with them in the future.

I found myself in the role of Pathfinder once more, I believe myself to be quite suited to the role and I'm finding that I enjoy just charting the way and not getting lost. Jael was our quartermaster and he found some good food on the way, we didn't have to go into our emergency supplies and I didn't need to take a day to supplement our supplies. Daldorer was our security. He did his job well and we weren't caught unaware.

This was also the first mission that I used my newly purchased Troll Sling. I am finding I really like this weapon. It appeals to me because its a sling but I can also use it as a walking stick. I will need to think on how I want to carve into the Troll sling to give it some personal character. It feels right in my hands though. Perhaps I can find a way to carve a map into it, I will need to think on that. Carve it with places that I have been, I will need to become a better carver and to get a set of Upandal's Blessings tools. They will actually be my next purchase perhaps, that and a mount of some kind. A Huttawa seems like it could be a good mount, a bit different than a horse and I have heard they are easy quite docile.

Our Travels were eventful, we encountered some baby genis. These things are terrifying, if we found some of the babies I fear the other genis could ravage the countryside in their hunger. Perhaps seeking out and culling their numbers would be in order, and to find anymore pregnant genis and ensure their numbers do not get too big.

We also came upon a group of Great Bears. They looked to me like the cowardly bears that I was told stories of while growing up. If you kill the babies the oldest bear would submit or run away in terror. The others didn't believe me and Jael was saying that you don't want to kill the babies first. I thought I'd prove to them my way was the correct way and focused on killing the babies. Fang and Jael took down the mother bear and the final baby was knocked out soon after. At this point Jael decided to try to bond with the animals. He sent us away so that he could do so. He was not successful and we left the bears to their own devices, we were unable to prove who was correct. I bet if Jael had killed the babies though he would have been able to bond with that great bear without much difficulty.

We finally arrived at the location that the hunters were last seen. The hunters were all dead though and still walking around. These reminded me of the happy people that I had encountered on my first outing, but I have more experience now and I'm afraid I was wrong about what these things were. I now know them to be Cadaver Men. I used my creature analysis on them and found out that they possess some dangerous abilities. They can go into a rage, and that you can cause them to misdirect and attack another target, namely yourself. They are a very nasty creature and we had a lot of them to defeat. Zil made good use of his Ice Sheet spell, while Jael and Fang drew their attention. The rest of us attacked as best we could. We focused fire on single targets to reduce their numbers and to not have too many of them too wounded at any given time.

We were just about finished and were looking around for signs of the worm things when Duban began screaming. I rushed over and tried to get the worm that was attacking him and trying to burrow into his head. Jael tried but also failed, so I didn't feel too bad at my own failure and then Zil just jaunts over with a pair of tweezers and plucks the thing out like he was picking fleas off a dog. Zil is a physician though, so it makes sense that he could do something like that. We managed to kill it before it could infect one of us and that was when the other attacked me. This was a thing out of my nightmares, my first true encounter with a horror. I heard tales of them growing up, and seeing them in person filled me with fear. I did not hesitate though, I did not falter, I drew my short sword and aggressively engaged the creature. It nearly got me with its tentacle but at the last moment I avoided the blow. It was killed by the rest of the group shortly after. I learned that it was called a Mind Slug and is a minor horror, a minor horror that digs into your head and roots around in your brain. I am going to have nightmares for weeks after seeing what it did to Duban and could have done to me. I never even thought to learn about them with my creature analysis, I am not too proud to admit that in that moment I feared for my life when those tentacles reached out for me.

We burned the bodies and returned to Throal. We were told that horrors still walked the lands, but to actually come across one is very unsettling. I just need to breathe, keep calm and remember that this is the life I have chosen. I decided not to tell my family that we encountered a minor horror, with Throal being opened for such a small time we knew that this was expected, but why ruin their enjoyment of the outside near the the kingdom. Until something truly monstrous is found I will let them keep their innocence a bit longer, it might not be the wisest course of action, but it is the one I will do for now. When the time comes I or someone speaking in my stead will tell them of all that I saw, all that I learned and that I did for the future generations that are yet to come.

William Carver
Human Scout

ottdmk
Posts:462
Joined:Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:25 pm

Re: AAR [2nd] Helping the Hunters (2020-02-23 @20:00GMT)

Post by ottdmk » Tue Mar 03, 2020 5:38 am

From the Journal of Dubhan Goronich:

I realize that in this amazing age we live in, with the Kaer open and the world just out there waiting to be explored and reclaimed, that there will always be risk. Still, I can't help but shudder at how close death can come.

I, alongside some other Adepts, was approached to discover what had happened to a band of hunters. Jael the Beastmaster, I knew, but the others were new to me: William Carver, a Scout, Daldorer, a Nethermancer, and Zil, an Elementalist.

As usual, things seemed to go wrong as soon as we left Throal. Fist, some genis. Then, bears. This is twice now I've run into bears. I can't say I liked the experience any better this time. The adult bears were even bigger! William, for some bizarre reason, seemed convinced that killing the young would drive off their elders. This despite Jael insisting otherwise. Fortunately, we were able to subdue them. Jael even sent us away to try and bond with them, but given how fast we was running when he returned to us it was obvious that he was unsuccessful.

We finally found what was left of the hunters. They had been turned into Horrorspawn called Cadaver Men. After a harrowing fight, I was then set upon by a Mind Slug who very nearly entered my brain. I was fortunate that Zil had a deft hand with tweezers. Still though, it hurt like nothing I'd ever experienced.

I believe Jael found a Thread Item amongst the dead. I wonder if he'll want me to research it for him...

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