RTD: Souls and Swords

[roninvoid]

(Also, just re-read the combat rules... Is the pistol-toting pirate within melee range for me? Since I can do two attacks per turn with one weapon, I was wondering if I would be able to attack the first pirate, then switch to the second if successful.)

[Nonsense667]

This pirate is quick on his feet, I should be wary of him attempting to gain the upper hand. I make an attempt to still appear to be in an offensive posture, but prepare to counter his next strike with a powerful bash of my shield.

[Sand_Dragon]

[[yes, everyone is within melee range unless otherwise noted (or obviously out of reach, like on the other side of a canyon or something) ]]

 

[[waiting for Kurosha]]

[Kuroshu]

Just stay down! I rush towards Maria and slashed with my right-handed sword

[Sand_Dragon]

[[you guys got some good rolls this round. Heads, everywhere!]]

 

COMBAT!

 

Above-Deck Combatants

 

 

Tyr: feint/prepare

 

Attack: 4 + 1 = (5)

Defense: 1 [success: +1 to Tyr's defense this round]

 

You round on the pirate leader, keeping just within reach, waiting for his next strike - preparing to maneuver your shield into position when the pirate leader attacks.

 

 

Ryn: decapitate nearest pirate, then attack pistol pirate

 

Attack 1: 3-1 (called attack) +1 (melee combat bonus) = (3)

Defense: 2 [hit!]

Damage: 5 + 1 (melee combat bonus) + 1 (wielding longsword two-handed) = 7 [fatality]

 

Bleeding from the gunshot wound to the thigh, you clasp the hilt of your longsword firmly and bring it around in a terrible blow! Before the pirate can react, the blade whickers through his neck, sending his head sailing into the ocean and covering you in arterial blood spray. The pirate's headless corpse collapses.

 

Attack 2: 6 + 1 (melee combat bonus) - 1 (second attack) = 6

Defense: 4 [hit!]

Location: 4 [lower torso]

Damage: 5 + 1 (wielding longsword two-handed) + 1 (melee combat bonus) = 7 [fatality]

 

Wheeling on the freshly decapitated pirate's pistol-toting companion, you step in and bring your longsword around in a sweeping blow. The unarmored man is neatly eviscerated, spilling his internal organs out onto the once pristine deck. The pirate's pistol drops from nerveless fingers and he expires in a bloody heap.

 

 

Mercado: strike the insolent fighter twice

 

Attack 1: 3

Defense: 5 + 1 (shield bonus) + 1 (feint) = (7) [parry!]

 

Incensed at Tyr's successful hit, the pirate leader brings his cutlass around for another powerful strike - however Tyr is ready for it. A slight shift of stance, and the cutlass buries itself in his shield, sending splinters flying and allowing Tyr to make a counterattack!

 

Attack: 5 + 1 (melee combat bonus) = (6)

Defense: 2 [hit!]

Location: 6 [head!]

Damage: 2 [light injury]

 

Forcing the pirate's blade away, Tyr attempts a one-handed longsword swing at his head. The blade whizzes past and opens a deep gash on the pirate's forehead, sending blood pouring down his face.

 

Attack: 6 - 1 (cutlass) - 1 (second attack) = (4)

Defense: 1 + 1 (melee combat bonus) + 1 (shield bonus) + 1 (feint) = (4) [hit!]

Location: 3 [right arm]

Damage 5 - 3 (mail shirt) = 2 [light injury]

 

Howling, Mercado again sweeps his cutlass at the fighter, this time with more success. Unable to get his shield up in time, Tyr is struck in the right arm, the blow driving the mail into his flesh but otherwise doing no real damage.

 

 

Pirate 2: attack Ryn

 

Can't attack: too busy being dead.

 

 

Pirate 3: shoot Ryn

 

Can't attack: too busy being dead.

 

 

 

 

New Turn Order:

 

1. Tyr

2. Ryn

3. Mercado

 

COMBAT!

 

 

 

Maria: fire both pistols at the dragon-man

 

Attack: 3 + 1 (gunslinger) = 4

Defense: 1 [hit!]

Location: 6 [head]

Damage: 1 - 1 (natural armor) = 0

 

Attack: 6 + 1 (gunslinger) - 1 (second attack) = 6

Defense: 4 [hit!]

Location: 5 [upper torso]

Damage: 3 - 1 (natural armor) = 2 [light injury]

 

The pirate leader snarls at the failure of her attack and rapidly reloads, this time aiming her pistols at the imposing dragon-kin advancing on her. She pulls both triggers. The first shot streaks past Kurojin, tracing a miniscule wound on his head. The second strikes him in the chest, but perhaps due to some defect in the powder, the bullet bounces off Kurojin's scales, leaving little more than a bruise.

 

Kurojin: slash at Maria

 

Attack: 6

Defense: 5 + 1 (gunslinger) = 6 [hit!]

Location: 3 [left arm]

Damage: 6 - 2 (bracers) = 4 [heavy injury]

 

Ignoring the bruise her bullet gave you, you bring your right-hand sword down at the pirate leader. The worst of the blow is deflected by her left-arm bracer, but the sword still bites in deeply, causing blood to pour down her arm [roll to stay conscious=2]. The pirate leader falls to the ground, unconscious.

 

Cloaked Stranger: stab closest pirate in the face

 

Attack: 4 + 1 (??? sword) - 1 (called attack) = 4

Defense: 2 [hit!]

Damage: 2 + 1 (??? sword) = 3 [injured!]

 

With a sweep of the cloak, the stranger steps in and angles a fierce sword thrust at the pistol-wielding pirate's face. The blow opens up a terrible gash in the pirate's cheek, and the impact knocks him for a loop [roll to stay conscious=3]

 

Pirate 1: Shoot the person in the cloak.

 

Attack: 5

Defense: 3 + 2 (??? shield] = 5 [hit!]

Location: 2 [right leg]

Damage: 4 - 1 (cloak) = 3 [injured]

 

Reeling from the cloaked stranger's blow, the pirate takes a step back and fires blindly. This time the shot strikes through, blowing a hole in the stranger's cloak and striking the stranger in the leg.

 

 

 

 

NEW TURN ORDER:

 

1. KUROJIN

2. Cloaked Stranger

3. Pirate 1

[Kuroshu]

((LMAO Love the Pirates turns "Too busy being dead"))

[Sand_Dragon]

[[it's what I would do if some jerk paladin sliced me open with his sword, though. I'd engage myself in the fruitful occupation of being dead.]]

 

Waiting for: Kuroshu, firefly, roninvoid

[roninvoid]

Potentially a bit too late to provide much assistance to Tyr, nonetheless I move to close the distance between myself and the pirate leader, making an attempt at healing my leg at the same time.

[Kuroshu]

After taking down Maria I moved in towards the remaining pirate and lunged my left sword towards him heart

[Nonsense667]

"Hold, friend!" I shout as I see the other warrior advance. "This fight is between the two of us!"

My opponent is not the only one capable of moving quickly, I make two quick slashes towards him.

Heh, I think I've made him mad.

[roninvoid]

I heed the mercenary's words, stopping my advance on his foe.

[Sand_Dragon]

COMBAT!

 

Above-Deck Combatants

 

 

Tyr: slash the pirate leader, twice!

 

Attack: 5 + 1 (melee combat bonus) = 6

Defense: 3 [hit!]

Location: 6 [head]

Damage: 2 + 1 = 3 [heavily injured]

 

Attack: 4 + 1 (melee combat bonus) - 1 (successive attack) = 4

Defense: 4 [hit!]

Location: 4 [lower torso]

Damage: 1 + 1 (melee combat bonus) - 2 (jack coat) = 0

 

Shouting for the holy warrior to stay back and refrain from intervening in your fight, you swing for the pirate's head. The tip of your sword catches him flat in the head, tearing loose a flap of skin. The impact [roll to stay conscious=5] causes him to stagger, but the pirate leader remains standing. Striking again, you bring your sword down, but the attack is again mostly deflected by his armor, which takes heavy damage.

 

Ryn: move towards Tyr and Mercado; attempt to heal self.

 

Roll = 4

 

You make your way towards the ongoing fight, murmuring words to work the divine magic you've been taught. Your concentration intact, holy energy swirls around your fist and transfers to your leg, causing the wound there to knit itself. The fighter yells for you to stop, and you comply.

 

 

Mercado: SLAY THIS FOOL WHO DARED HARM YOU. CALLED SHOT TO CHEST

 

Attack: 4 - 1 (called shot) - 1 (head injury: heavy) = 2

Defense: 4 + 1 (melee combat bonus) + 1 (shield bonus) = 5 [parry!]

 

Incoherent, babbling with rage, Mercado aims a tremendous two-handed strike at Tyr, but once again falls prey to the fighter's supreme defensive posture. Tyr catches the strike on the edge of his shield, leaving a notch in the steel rim, and forces the pirate leader's sword away, opening him up for an attack!

 

Attack: 4 + 1 (melee combat bonus) = 5

Defense: 5 - 1 (head injury: heavy) = 4 [hit!]

Location: 3 [right arm]

Damage: 5 + 1 (melee combat bonus) = 6 [fatality]

 

Dumbfounded, the pirate leader can only stare in dim shock as Tyr brings his sword up for the final blow. The steel blade smashes down on Mercado's exposed sword-arm, the slash cleaving neatly through leather, flesh, and bone, leaving a bleeding stump where his arm used to be. The pirate slumps to the deck, twitching.

 

 

 

 

Tyr

 

The pirate attack on the upper deck is utterly annihilated, but there may be more on the black ship that happens to be prow-deep in the Galleon you have been hired to protect. A groan calls your attention. The Captain appears to be reviving.

 

Ryn

 

Your wound has been completely healed by the divine magics your order once taught you. You and that mercenary have successfully fended off a small pirate attack. It remains to be seen what you will do next, although there are many injured to aid, much damage to be repaired, and a pirate ship currently sticking out of the ship you have the misfortune to be onboard.

 

---

 

[Tyr, Ryn roll: 6, 2] Tyr hears something like a whisper, or spoken words, emanating from the black ship. They sound like the evil spirits of which you were told in fireside tales should. That black ship, it appears, is terrible news.

 

Ryn's Paladin powers give him a whiff of something malevolent - but being distracted, he fails to notice it.

 

---

 

COMBAT!

 

 

 

Kurojin: called shot at remaining pirate: upper torso

 

Attack: 4 - 1 (called shot) = 3

Defense: 3 [hit!]

Damage: 6 [fatality]

 

Wings trembling, you pound your way to the remaining, pistol wielding pirate and strike mightily at his chest. The blow lands true, going clear through the unfortunate man and pinning him to the wall. You wrench out your sword in a spray of gore, and the pirate falls, dead before he hits the ground.

 

Cloaked Stranger: behead the pirate interloper.

 

Can't attack: target is dead

 

 

Pirate 1: blow the cloaked stranger's head off.

 

Can't attack: suffering from sword-related heart failure

 

 

 

 

Kurojin

 

The last pirate dead with the exception of the unconscious woman, you clean off your swords and resheathe them. The stranger turns towards you and and lowers the hood. The stranger is a woman, with blue eyes and blonde hair. She regards you coolly with a leveled gaze as she returns her sword and shield to their previous places beneath her cloak.

 

Her eyes seem to pierce you - it is as though your soul is being searched.

 

"You're powerful, dragon-lord", she says softly. "You - and two others on this ship, the mercenary and the holy warrior - there might be a strange destiny in your future... if you survive to see it."

 

She turns away and begins walking to her cabin. "A war is coming - a war of souls and swords." Reaching down beneath her cloak again, she pulls out a strange symbol - a pendant etched with the sigil of a hammer. "This is the symbol of my lord and god, Hephaestus. Keep it with you. If we meet again on opposite sides, I will remember you by it."

 

She tosses you the pendant, which crackles with a kind of mystic energy.

 

---

 

There is an ominous creaking sound, and seemingly of its own accord, the black ship pulls away from the Galleon, leaving fragments of wood to fall into the ocean below. Without any further action, it turns - something impossible, without any oars, and with a whirring sound coasts off into the stormbank from which it had issued.

 

[]

[roninvoid]

I quickly grab the pistol from the fallen pirate I had been fighting, as well as the ammunition, stuffing it beneath my surcoat, then proceed to tend to the injured crew members' wounds with my healing magic.

[Kuroshu]

"Alright then..." I tied the unconscious MARIA while taking her weapons before waking her up for questioning

[Nonsense667]

Although I am not interested in his equipment, and it is most likely anything of importance was left in his cabin, I should still search the pirate captain for anything of interest, importance, or value. This wasn't a normal raid.

[Sand_Dragon]

Tyr

 

search the pirate captain for anything of interest, importance, or value.

 

"This wasn't a normal raid," you remark grimly as you move toward your foe's still-warm body. Behind you, the Captain looks on in puzzlement. He doesn't exactly look as though he's in very good shape.

 

You unfasten the dead man's jack coat and check his belt. A pouch of coin with perhaps fifteen to twenty pistoles hangs there, alongside a powder flask and a bag of shot. Various ornaments hang from his belt. Some of them are fingers, some of them are teeth, and more horrifyingly, one is a small hand, the size of a child's. This was no ordinary man but a devil in human shape.

 

Inside his jack coat is a wallet that contains a strip of dried meat, and... a letter. He wears a ring with a ruby-set skull for a sigil. You are aware that this red skull is whispered of in terror in Spain and Italy, though you don't know whose symbol it is.

 

Ryn

 

I quickly grab the pistol from the fallen pirate I had been fighting, as well as the ammunition, stuffing it beneath my surcoat, then proceed to tend to the injured crew members' wounds with my healing magic.

 

You take the fallen pirate's pistol from where it lies and wipe it clean of blood. Your order did not train you to wield fire arms, but the utility of these weapons should not be discounted. Going over to the pirate's corpse, you retrieve his flask of powder and pouch of shot. Thankfully the ludicrous gush of blood and viscera has not spoiled the powder.

 

Roll = 5

 

Tending the crew is going to take work, but then, so do most things worth doing. You stretch out your hand and feel the divine light fill you again. Is this not what you became a Paladin for?

 

Kurojin

 

I tied the unconscious MARIA while taking her weapons before waking her up for questioning

 

Roll = 3

 

The pirate leader is bleeding and unconscious, but looks to still be alive. You manage to locate some rope. Taking her flasks of powder and bags of shot, as well as her pistols, you bind her to one of the beams in the hold. While the bonds would hardly be able to hold one of your clan, humans are neither so strong or so ferocious as the dragon-lords of Japan.

 

The cloaked woman regards you curiously, then seems to decide that she has no interest in watching you interrogate the prisoner. She returns to her cabin.

 

[[ask your questions]]

 

---

 

The Captain walks - or more accurately, waddles - over to Tyr as the Paladin Ryn begins making his rounds, aiding injured sailors with divine power. He observes the pirate leader's corpse, eyes lingering hungrily on the pouch of pistoles. His gaze wanders over to he man's hand and he practically jumps. "I know of it, this sigil," he breathes hoarsely. "This man, he served the dread pirate of seven oceans! Cursed, cursed!" Tyr presses him for more, but Stavros refuses to breathe another word, save for this: "We speak more of this when we take to port. Speaking of his name, on the ocean, it is a curse."

 

As Ryn works on the more grievously wounded sailors, one of them remarks to him that it was a good thing they'd had a man like him onboard. In this increasingly debauched age, Paladins do not get the kind of favor they once enjoyed under Carolus Magnus, and though the Holy Roman Empress shows the various sacred Knight Orders much favor, still they are disrespected. Healed sailors are already readying the ship for sail, and despite the gaping hole in its side it is not taking on water. The ship coasts on.

 

Below deck, the pirate leader comes to. With a snarl she tries to break her bonds, but yelps in pain - the wound to her arm is quite serious. She contents herself with glaring at Kurojin, [roll=4] who responds with a glare of its own. Staring down the great dragon-race is not easily done.

[Kuroshu]

"Hold on..." I ripped some cloth off the dead pirates and wrapped it around the captive's wounds. "That should be better." Kurojin believed in treating his captives with some respect and kindness even if they don't want or deserve it. "Now, unless you don't mind being called 'you' tell me your name." Jokingly I asked.

"Why did you become a pirate?"

"How many of your group is left?"

"Where did you find that ship?"

"Where is the location of your hideout?"

"Would you like to work for me?"

[Sand_Dragon]

[[feel free to ask more questions, I'll handle all of them in the next action]]

[Nonsense667]

I take the ring, along with the coin purse, and stow them away, the ring could prove useful later in eliciting more information about this attack. This man's various macabre ornaments, though quite grotesque, tell little. However, this letter could be of use. Handling it with care, I open it in order to peruse its contents.

 

(ooc: Do injuries heal over time, or am I going to need to do something about my arm?)

[Sand_Dragon]

[[it's a light injury; it'll pass on its own when I do a timeskip. Anything worse than lightly injured needs healing magic or some other kind of remedy applied to it]]

 

Waiting for: roninvoid

[roninvoid]

Having finished my rounds of treating the injured crew members, I approach Tyr, curious about the piece of parchment he is holding. It seems like it could be important. Although his wounds are minor, I offer to assist Tyr with his injuries.

(Do I need to use a turn to reload the pistol, or can I just do it now?)

[Sand_Dragon]

Tyr

 

Handling it with care, I open it in order to peruse its contents.

 

You retrieve the bag of pistoles and hang it from your belt, as well as placing the ring in the bag. It is warm to the touch, but that's understandable - it just spent the last few minutes drenched in warm blood.

 

Roll = 2

 

You carefully unroll the letter, but it looks as though the paper has been subjected to a drenching of both blood and sea spray, rendering much of the letter illegible. However, you can still make out a few words... in Spanish. Luckily as a mercenary you have traveled many places. You attempt to remember what Spanish you have learned.

 

Roll = 5

 

You can make out the words "Mercado", "sword", "captives", "evil" and rather ominously, an entire phrase: "My hunger needs sating" You assume Mercado is the pirate captain you have just messily disposed of. There is another word there, it looks to be English, but never have you heard it used before: "Malfestation". It is near a word that looks slightly like "ring".

 

You take a closer look at the dead pirate. With his jack coat laid open, you can make out strange, twisted growths on his skin.

 

Ryn

 

I approach Tyr, curious about the piece of parchment he is holding. I offer to assist Tyr with his injuries.

 

The mercenary fighter is occupied in attempting to decipher the parchment. He ignores your offer of aid, but there can't be any harm in doing it without him noticing. Before attempting, you charge the pistol and load it with shot, hanging the weapon from your belt.

 

Roll = 6

 

Concentrating on your divine power, you accidentally put far too much into the spell. A bright ball of energy sort of hovers in the air, bathing everything in a pleasant, bright-yellow light. You shield your eyes. The mercenary gives you and your magic ball a cursory glance, makes a face that practically says "stop helping", and returns to perusing the note.

 

You look over his shoulder [roll = 3] and manage to decipher a little of the note. It looks like a set of orders, but there's all sorts of insane rambling in between the lines, and besides, the letter is too waterlogged and blood-soaked to properly read.

 

Kurojin

 

I ripped some cloth off the dead pirates and wrapped it around the captive's wounds.

 

Roll = 1

 

Attempting to make some makeshift bandages for the captive pirate, you instead end up disemboweling the poor bastard whose clothes you trying to tear into strips.

 

"... That should have been better," you say.

 

It turns out having claws can be a terrible, if hilarious, disadvantage sometimes.

 

With as close to a sheepish grin as is possible on your draconic face, you turn back to the prisoner. "Now, unless you don't mind being called 'you' tell me your name." [roll = 5]

 

The prisoner gives you a malevolent grin and beckons you to lean closer. "My name was Maria."

 

"Was?"

 

"Was," she says. The ring on her finger begins to glow. In a terrible burst of cascading flesh, 'Maria' erupts into a torrent of red muscle, expanding into a great pillar with four arms and a single, grotesque eye.

 

---

 

The undulating creature hurls Kurojin onto the upper deck with the force of its transformation. Sailors cower in fear, weapons forgotten. Captain Stavros steps forward, raising a musket he has retrieved from a fallen sailor. A single, baleful eye regards him with contempt as tentacles flail.

 

"MY. MASTER. CALLS ME."

 

The deck rocks as the fearsome creature slithers into the ocean.

 

"WE. WILL. MEET AGAIN."

 

Tyr looks on at the creature's retreat, and then back at the letter. The creature looked to have been wearing a band around its waist, one that resembled a greatly enlarged version of the ring he had just slipped into his pocket. This must be "malfestation".

 

His great mustache bristling in a mix of fear and fury, Captain Stavros hands the musket off to one of his men. Without a word, he returns to the helm of the ship to oversee the steering.

 

[[You will reach port in two hours. What do you do until then?]]

[Nonsense667]

This strange occurrence, along with the odd wording of the letter and the strange growths on the pirates skin, worry me. This is not my realm of expertise. However, this paladin may perhaps have more insight into these things. I approach the paladin, offering him the letter and ring, as well as pointing out the growths upon the pirate. I inquire as to whether he has any light to shed on these matters.

 

(ooc: I assume that interaction between players generally follows the same rules?)

[Kuroshu]

"That was unexpected..." For the first hour and a half I collected the remaining loot off the pirates, then rest for the remaining time.

[Sand_Dragon]

[ooc: I assume that interaction between players generally follows the same rules?]

 

[[i've always grappled with this problem in PbP games' date= since it's hard to get players to actually interact for any length of time given that they usually post at different times. If you do hope to converse, I suppose it would be best to post general "Attitudes"; how you will behave in that conversation, as well as the information you would wish your character to impart, if any. In that way you have some control and I can actually allow your characters to interact properly. Otherwise, no - you can't actually convince another character to do something with a lucky roll of 6, obviously, since that character is player controlled. In those cases, you'll be relying on how good your idea actually is.]]