Behold H'Catha (Part 4)

BobtheWizard · February 23

"Lou" Louis Dufray (Goblin Ranger 4) sheet

AC: 16 | HP: 40/40 | Initiative: +4 | Passive Perception: 17 | Features

Opal AC: 16 | HP: 25/25 | PP: 14 | Features

Lou tries to get the bag over the big adamantine rock but finds he can't get a good angle to get the bag over the top and around the whole rock. He tries a few times before he notices everyone's multiple eyestalks on him. He freezes, expecting to be shattered by a dozen rays. When that doesn't immediately happen, he puts the bag away and backs out of the circle, whistling innocently.

"Carry on. Don't mind me. Just admiring the big chunk of worthless rock over here."

He calls out again to the really big, really stupid cyclops, hoping that returning to the contest will distract everyone from his attempted larceny.

"Come on, Noog. You have to try to make this at least a little bit interesting!"

Opal stops her displays and moves over to Lou.

Mechanics

Main Hand: bow
Off Hand: none

Lou's Action: none
Move: none

Manipulate: none

Bonus Action: none

Opal's Action: none
Move: to Lou

Manipulate: none

Bonus Action: none

Reaction: none

Gnarley's Knack: You have Advantage on the next roll you make regarding ship repairs or ship weaponry.

DM-Tareth · February 23

"Excellent. Now that is really knocking the old boy about, both mind and body." Yahs nods with appropriate judging enthusiam and adjusts her score for Greelob up to a 9.1 as the attempted destruction of the kitten certainly created a much higher level of anguish and pain to the cyclops. Indeed the proof of her theory was right there in Noog's pained but fury filled eyes. "Evil? As you say, the matter is debatable. But the result is quite clear. Indeed, any lessor action certainly would have left the dimwitted bit of walking dead back in his original stupor of indecision. But by masterfully rousing the cylopean heart, Greelob has triggered a reaction and thus made the contest much more interesting for all participants. And yet...."

The thought left unfinished, Yahs does find herself forced to deduct points from the tiny tyrant's score because he failed to actually insure the kitten's destruction. Based on some unknown memory of which she herself really couldn't identify the origin, she knew that creatures with levels of cute innocence that extreme almost always hide something hideous and terrifying beneath the surface. Something that could easily survive a single eye-stalk blast from a minor beholder wanna be. In fact, where did Noog actually find Catrick Swayze? Based on Yahs' briefing materials, kittens were not part of the usual flora or fauna on H'Catha. For one to simply appear here and now, she can't help but think the little critter had it's own motive for putting up with Noog and being right here, right now. A chill runs through her plasmic nerves. In readiness for the emergence of whatever terror potentially lurked within the rubble, she quietly slides to the opposite side of the room.

"Tsk...tsk." She admonishes the two. "Leaving a potential threat unchecked on the field. Definitely a half point deduction. A good guard would make sure that kitten is really and truly out of the fight. It is clearly the greater threat compared to Noog. I mean really, you wouldn't want to repeat the same mistakes that led to the horrors of...well...never mind."

KingGoblin · February 24

Lazuli Lazali Lulura, AKA Squishy

Saves: Str -1 | Dex +3 | Con +1 | Int +2 | Wis +6 | Cha +0

Resistances: Acid and Poison

Lazuli watched the drama unfold, apparently forgetting despite their high wisdom what was going on. “Catrick Swayze!,”they squealed, in alarm. "He was so young! So hungry! Can I have his skull when we are done with this? Uh, not that I have a collection I totally have a collection But be careful that you don't crack it!"

Edited February 24 by KingGoblin (see edit history)

Cointhief · February 24

Celsior doesn't need to flip through the pages of his mental, ancestral encyclopedia very long to recognize the yellowish salt within the meteor's shell. Cre'shin. Astral crystal. The mutable organic substance of which Star Moths and other astral engineering creations are built from, and constituted of. Those 'Leaves of the Sea' feeding on wildspace starlight.

But just as wood can rot, so too does this pile of shards appear spoiled and tainted. Even the dim starlight of Noog's cavern should have shown some photovoltaic response, if there were any modicum of potency remaining. A number of visual, ruddy imperfections in the crystal render it useless...explaining the smell of decay. In a sense then, Tarto's description as a 'coffin' rings true. An adamantine container holding dead and decaying organics. But then why the external mark of 'Fëa'? Why the trouble, and expense, of adamantine?

As Noog lumped over the meteor ~The fighting spirit has awoken!~

~Loss demands retribution, for some.~

~But is it as the puddle says, Catrick lives?~

~Vaporized, no matter! The brute belives it gone.~

~Senseless. Fighting for something gone.~

~Noog is senseless!~

~But driven. He still has reason to live.~

~To settle the score.~

~To right the wrong! The endless cycle.~

~Evil and justice.~

~Justice gives meaning to loss.~

~A made up meaning.~

~For there is truly nothing!~

~He must see there is nothing.~

Their minds made up, the would-be guardians seek to introduce Noog to oblivion. However, whether the stench of the crystals, the incessant tweeting of the grapefruits' gambling, or acute pinkeye, the spectator's rays this time are barely more effective than a tumble off a moving horse cart.

Noog lives.

*SPLAT*

A devastating blow from the stalagmite-club sends Greelob reeling, veins bursting with purple blood and optic fluid. In a single strike, the haughty tyrant has been quite humbled.

~I say, that looked rather painful.~ comments Orlob, rather apathetically.

ooc: end of round 3. Greelob is quite wounded. Noog is on death's door, alive by a miracle (aka crappy DM rolls).

Edited February 24 by Cointhief (see edit history)

DM-Tareth · February 25

"Brilliant!" Yahs cheers as Greelob discovers just how effective a large stone club can be against a squishy round antagonist. "An excellent display of 'getting to know the enemy.'" She adds bumping the wounded mini-tyrant's score up to 9.3. "By feeling the pain a would be thief might encounter, you, as a potential guard, will have better insight into how the enemy might go about avoiding that pain. And thus be better equipped to thwart any such endeavor. In addition, just as it has done for Noog, pain becomes a focusing agent. It becomes a well of energy and power. Can you use it to your advantage? A difficult lesson for sure, but one with lasting benefits."

"As for Orlob." She shakes her head sadly. "A straight up miss? Oh dear. No self sacrifice. My, my. That, well, that just doesn't reflect well at all." She drops Orlob's score down to a lowly 7.2. "I'm afraid it's going to take something really spectacular to overtake Greelob's lead."

BobtheWizard · February 25

"Lou" Louis Dufray (Goblin Ranger 4) sheet

AC: 16 | HP: 40/40 | Initiative: +4 | Passive Perception: 17 | Features

Opal AC: 16 | HP: 25/25 | PP: 14 | Features

Lou keeps to the back, making sure none of the spectators cause any trouble during this excursion. He agrees with Yahs' assessment.

"Yes. Bonus points for Greelob and a deduction for Orlob."

Opal stays off to the side, trying not to draw any attention to herself, but she does make sure that Noog's club glows red hot as it smashes into Greelob.

Mechanics

Main Hand: bow
Off Hand: none

Lou's Action: none
Move: none

Manipulate: none

Bonus Action: none

Opal's Action: none
Move: to Lou

Manipulate: none

Bonus Action: none

Reaction: add fire to Noog's attack

Gnarley's Knack: You have Advantage on the next roll you make regarding ship repairs or ship weaponry.

Edited February 25 by BobtheWizard (see edit history)

JubalBreakbottle · February 25

Celsior Loriniscil, Prince of Alfheim

Inspiration Yes | HP 27/27 | HD 4/4 | Step 2/2 | Shield 1/1

Bladesong 2/2 | Recovery 2/2 | 1st-level 4/4 | 2nd-level 3/3

While the others encourage the fight, Celsior continues to examine the seam of the "coffin." He looks for a way to open it wider and extract it's contents. They may not have enough time after the bout and may need a quick get away. What's in there?

Mechanics

Active spells:

Action: Investigation again

KingGoblin · February 26

Lazuli Lazali Lulura, AKA Squishy

Saves: Str -1 | Dex +3 | Con +1 | Int +2 | Wis +6 | Cha +0

Resistances: Acid and Poison

Lazuli doesn’t really know what to say, so they go to check out the odds with the gambling grapefruits

Cointhief · February 26

Lazuli finds the smaller, grapefruit sized beholders to be impossible to understand...except for their system of gambling. One in particular sporting a clear green visor and chain smoking filterless smokes keeps a little book the others swarm. It appears neatly organized with updated losses, gains, vig, and complete with round by round odds. The grapefruit's strategy? It appears to be taking an equal number of bets from both sides. That way, whatever happens, it pays winners from the losers and breaks even. Except for the vig. The bookie keeps that as profit, making out better than any of them.

~I say, are you quite alright? That Noog really got you last time.~

~HORRRRK~

~...Greelob?~

~HOORRRRRK~

For a moment, the wounded beholder appeared to be lethally choking on something. The veins on its multi-orbs buldged purple as a slimy coolant excretion glistened all across its nasty anatomy. Its flight was disrupted. The normal smooth hover was beset with turbulence and jitters. It slowly pitched forward, facing straight down over the meteor.

~Why are you mentally pronouncing the sound coming out of your mouth?~

But the mystery would not be answered, as Greelob slowly extruded a thick, black substance from its singular orifice. Like a child's clay toy spaghetti maker, the beholder squirted out this layered, moist substance into a series of no less than 10 circular tiers...each smaller than the one before like an ancient pyramid.

The result? A masterfully crafted 10 layer chocolate cake, with chocolate icing. It would be the envy of any baker in the realms, if not covered in beholder vomit.

~Ah, a last meal?~

~I've heard the enlightened ones like to present the condemned with a good meal, just before they murder them.~

~Ridiculous!~

~Absurd! But they say eating is linked to the deepest spiritual experiences.~

~Aha, you sly cur! Appealing the arbiter's cultural traditions. But it won't work, the Noog seeks to destroy you...not eat cake too.~

~Why not both?~

*ZZZZZP* With a final flash of red from Orlob's sinister orb, Noog's life is cut short in his own home. He topples over, dead as a doornail. All the years of his life have been sucked away from the necrotic rays of these strange tyrants. Not to mention the cycloptic kitten he loved dearly being vaporized instantly. Not to mention being dangled the comforts of a last meal, only to have it rescinded at the last moment.

~Because Noog is dead.~

~Ho! Opportunist!~

They turn to you all for the final decision, still grinning their enigmatic grins.

ooc: Noog is dead. Greelob is still quite wounded. They await the arbiters final decision. Who alone shall remain and prevent the meteor from being taken?

Edited February 27 by Cointhief (see edit history)

Cointhief · February 27

Celsior, the meteor functions similar to a coffin. It has a 'lid' that opens and closes, if you are strong enough to lift it. The crystals inside are smelly and rotten. They could be put into a large sack or barrel similar to how salt is transported...but it would take time to move it all over.

DM-Tareth · February 27

Yahs stares at the grinning tyrant-kin for a few seconds and then looks down at her score card. Several seconds are spent marking boxes, adding notes, adding, erasing, re-adding. The entire process was something akin to watching paint dry but fortunately much shorter. Finally she looks up a arches a squishy eyebrow at the two.

"Before offering a score, I think it only appropriate that we take a moment to honor Noog and cuddly Catrick Swayzee for their willingness to participate in a little good natured, down home competition so that this delicate matter could be settled. Their sacrifice and thoughtful contribution should be celebrated." She pauses for just a moment her gaze turning to the cake. "Which brings me to yet another observation as I tally the totals. First, while Orlob certainly scored the killing blow, this exercise was about much more than simply who could kill Noog. I think we can all agree, Noog's death was a forgone conclusion. No, this was really about who would be the most suitable guardian. And being a good guard is much, much more than just beating intruders with a pointy stick or blasting them with an eye ray. It is a career choice. A life path that can lead to a solid income, providing the tyrant you're working for actually hasn't gone bankrupt and you've enough bribes coming in to cover your own overly extravagant lifestyle. It puts a roof over your head, usually, and provides three square meals a day, plus whatever you can pilfer from prisoners or the shared icebox. It's about building relationships so that you can get others to cover for you, or in a pinch, blame them for your own mistakes."

She reaches out and swipes a finger across the side of the cake, tasting the dark chocolate frosting and gives an appreciating nod. Really what was a little beholder vomit anyway. It wasn't much worse than Lazuli's fungal filled crepes or her batch of Rumblemuffin's cupcakes where she replaced the blueberries with those pale green spores that tasted of old sweat socks. She points at the cake.

"By making sure to bring enough cake to share with everyone, Greelob once again shows he has what it takes. That he has the relationship building skills that are needed to really succeed in the world of guarding tyrant tombs and odd rocks from space. This sample lack of selfishness will cleverly endear him to his companions, letting them drop their guard for when he really needs a scapegoat or a favor so he can skip down to the pub to bet on the local barbarian wrestling match even though his turn at watch is only half over." She tips her head to the wounded Greelob.

"And so having successfully struck the target at least once. Taken a blow to better understand his foe, and brought enough cake for everyone and presented it even before knowing the result of the contest and therefore showing good sportsmanship, I give Greelob a 9.7 verses Orlob's 6.8."

Charisma

Adv Charisma

Edited February 28 by DM-Tareth (see edit history)

BobtheWizard · February 27

"Lou" Louis Dufray (Goblin Ranger 4) sheet

AC: 16 | HP: 40/40 | Initiative: +4 | Passive Perception: 17 | Features

Opal AC: 16 | HP: 25/25 | PP: 14 | Features

Lou claps as Noog is killed. He's not really happy about killing the cyclops. He seemed like a decent fellow, if a bit dim and slow, but probably didn't deserve what just happened. But Lou isn't going to focus on that. He's made a promise to his crew, and that takes priority. He announces his agreement with Yahs.

"I used a different scoring system but came to the same conclusion. Orlob gets one point for the finishing blow, but loses one point for not letting Noog enjoy the marvelous cake first. Greelob gets one point for letting Noog hit him, as described by Yahs before, and then another for the brilliant cake. So my final score is Orlob 0, Greelob 2. Greelob gets my vote to be the Exalted Guard!"

Opal nods, agreeing with Yahs and Lou, but not sure if she gets a vote.

Mechanics

Main Hand: bow
Off Hand: none

Lou's Action: none
Move: none

Manipulate: none

Bonus Action: none

Opal's Action: none
Move: to Lou

Manipulate: none

Bonus Action: none

Reaction: none

Gnarley's Knack: You have Advantage on the next roll you make regarding ship repairs or ship weaponry.

JubalBreakbottle · February 27

Celsior Loriniscil, Prince of Alfheim

Inspiration Yes | HP 27/27 | HD 4/4 | Step 2/2 | Shield 1/1

Bladesong 2/2 | Recovery 2/2 | 1st-level 4/4 | 2nd-level 3/3

Celsior looks up trying to cover his distraction with Astral elven "coffin", like someone caught reading during a play. He clears his throat and recovers with an articulate, "um. Um. Yes." He clears his throat again buying time and collecting his thoughts.

"I'm a results kind of elf and scored Orlob more points for finishing Noob. So, I think the contest is closer to a tie. Perhaps, the two of you should face off to confirm who is actually the strongest?"

Mechanics

Active spells:

Action:

Cointhief · February 27

ooc: @DM-Tareth @BobtheWizard @JubalBreakbottle and @KingGoblin if you voice an opinion, please roll charisma persuasion. Yahs may roll with advantage for the detailed analysis.

KingGoblin · February 28

Lazuli Lazali Lulura, AKA Squishy

Saves: Str -1 | Dex +3 | Con +1 | Int +2 | Wis +6 | Cha +0

Resistances: Acid and Poison

Lazuli continues to consider the tiny beholders. "Hey, what do these guys taste like? Are they sour? I bet they're sour. Not that I know what sour tastes like. Probably like burning."

Text_1	Text_2	Text_3	Bold_1	Accent_1	Mood_1
Warm_1	Warm_2	Warm_3	Bold_2	Accent_2	Mood_2
Cool_1	Cool_2	Cool_3	Bold_3	Accent_3	Mood_3
Bright_1	Bright_2	Bright_3	Bold_4	Accent_4	Mood_4

Behold H'Catha (Part 4)

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