[pnpgm] Game Update #248 - File #1493- The Voids...
pnpgm
pnpgm at comcast.net
Tue Sep 11 08:42:30 CEST 2012
HT Aliaver/Player Character Name Type Status/Notes Sex
-- -----------------------------------------------------------------
R1.John Haight...........Arawn.............Druid .Normal/Alfar Ma
??.Chris Wells...........Ben'dar...........Warrior.Normal/Human Ma
R4.Tom Corckett..........Caladan...........Wizard Normal/Human Ma
W2.Marcel Liberty........Chion.............Sailor..Normal/Human Ma
W3.Ryan Torres...........Farseeker.........Warrior.Normal/Human Ma
--.Tobie Bonahoom........Fremea............Sidh....Normal/Faerry Fe
R2.Mark Murtha...........Kell..............Trader..Normal/Human..Ma
R1.David Sanders.........Kiet.Sunan........Acrobat Normal/Human Ma
R4.J H Hooten............Raban.Usherwood...Bard....Normal/Human..Ma
W2.Robert Maxwell........Strie'bog.........Bard....Normal/Human..Ma
W4.Wout Broere...........Unali.............Ninja...Normal/Human Fe
R1 John.Stowman..........Will..............Hunter..Normal/Human..Ma
R4.Alex Koponen..........Z'leyra...........Healer..Normal/Human Fe
R1 NPC...................Zhou Kiwat........Noble...Normal/Human..Ma
NPC...................Captain.Lin.......Warrior.Normal/Human..Ma
Animals: Corona [Eagle] Z'leyra, Tef'wo (Horse) Ben'dar,
Game Web Site - http:/nrgcomputers.com/pbem/
Public posts/actions to pnpgm at abroere.xs4all.nl (mailing list)
Private emails (not public actions) to pnpgm at comcast.net
Game Update #248 in sequence (file #1492]
----------------------------------------------------------------
Admin Notes: None.
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[Recap]
From Arawn: [Re: Actions]
When Lin describes the control device his thoughts go back to
the mysterious 'Claw' the party held for a time, wondering if
it was a similar, if not duplicate, item.
"The Claw...," he says as if to himself. Suddenly looking...
OOC: Knowing that the group is pressed for time he will not
stand still while doing so, following after the group as they
move.
GM: Ack. Glad I checked the archives. I never got this post on
the list. :)
--------------------------------------------------------------
[New Stuff]
[Augado 10th, 1634TH]
[Location: Middle Katai Plains]
[ Mountains west of Pamau]
[Time: 3:10:43pm]
When Lin describes the control device his thoughts go back to
the mysterious 'Claw' the party held for a time, wondering if it
was a similar, if not duplicate, item.
"The Claw...,", he says as if to himself. Suddenly looking up
to the others he asks, "Do you think it's the same type of
device?"
Caladan from a bit away hears this as well and considers
the same thing Arawn does. "The Claw we found was buried
long ago from their first invasion. Likely it controlled
the world brain then or being grown to."
Kiet besides Kell grunts to himself. He could just slap the
so called High and annoying Elder for taking the claw for
research he called. He probably figured its purpose the first
time he saw it. He tnrns to Chion and considers telling him to
go fetch it.
Farseeker then chimes in, "if the Shapers grow the things for
each Vong thing then the current World Brain would not likely
respond to the ancient claw."
A minute later the secret alcove is found.
Upon stepping into what appeared to be a Vong laboratory
Arawn's heart sank further upon catching sight of the animals
experimented on by the Vong. He wished he could tend to each one,
to help them if he could but he knew that a greater threat loomed
over the life of this entire world. Steeling himself he made a
silent promise to either return and help them when the mission
was done or see them off to the next life if they suffered. For
now he focused on looking for the odd device described by Lin.
Grabbing the orange pills in case they could be used to help
human or animal his eyes fell on the map bugs and a thought came
to him.
"I wonder if we can use the bugs to track the device?"
Arawn steps outside to yell to Lin. "Lin, did the device have
a name that you can recall?"
As he waited for Lin to answer he pulled out the list of Vong
words looking for anything on it that might fit the description
of the device.
Lin after some thought to his memories replies. "No. Not
that I can recall."
Arawn skims the list but finds no words for the device other
than a possible overseer. But Arawn figures that to be the
leader of a Vong warrior group or event. Arawn sighs in
frustration that if he only had the word he could pinpoint
the device. But then again he also knows the map bugs aren't
exact down to the foot. They might point the way but that
way would be likely west or something.
-------------
[Time: 3:12:43pm]
Unali raises her voice to the group, "Let's get moving to the
other side." She starts climbing the stairs to the walkway. To
Fremea, "Will you scout ahead again?"
Fremea curts as best she can and dives outside the stairwell
to fly toward the south end of the stairs. It is best to fly up
this way rather than the west end of the stairs. She figure she
can keep an eye out west better than she could on the west end
of the stairs. Plus she is less apparent to those who might see
her and decide to use her as a target.
Unali doesn't wait for the others and exits the cave. She
knows she and the group have about 300 feet to the balcony up
above. At the stairs up she looks out the railing to the
large cavern below. She tries to look for the Kotothi portal
but sees nothing at all as expected. Looking at the ground
some 800 odd feet below she can tell the lava is pooling now
maybe 2 feet high at the hole the party came up from. The
lava below seems to not want to stop. But at least it is not
one huge explosion. The circle of lava is now about 200 feet
in diameter around the hole. At the fringes it is only
noticeable by the red glow but likely not even ankle deep.
The west end fringe of the lava is reaching the eastern
edge of the Vong homes and starting to consume them. On
the east end it is surrounding two of the Vong Flyers but
little smoke is seen. The flyers must be well shielded to
the lava or the heat to be destroyed. Then she recalls the
flyers can shoot plasma fire balls so likely can defend
from fire and heat based on that.
Unali tries to watch the other side of the cavern 1000 feet
away but sees no movement. Either the Vong are out of
reinforcements or laying a good trap. In fact Unali sheathes
her magical dagger. She may need it later for that spell.
Farseeker climbs the stairs past Unali and considers the
current situation. A force is invading this world for the
second time in 500 years. He is amazed the Brain hasn't allowed
more reinforcements to just flood through. But then he also knows
supplies would be critical. Sure the Vong were growing things
below but maybe it takes time to feed a army. But the military
man also knows that any invasion force sends in scouts first.
A first wave to place a hold in the area. Then bring in the
army. If the Supreme Leader feels that the entire operation
is doomed he might just order the Brain to call in the army
to repel the threat. He considers telling Unali of this new
threat but realizes if the Brain can't interact outside the
cave it can't be ordered. So time is even more critical.
Unali turns to climb the steps as he sees the two free prisoners
head to the stairs.
Unali will catch up with Farseeker. "You have a point, but we
can't afford to split anyone for guard duty now."
Fremea slowly flies upward. She knows she could reach the
top covering the 300 feet in a matter of 12-15 seconds. She
also knows it will take the group She figures it will take
the group a full minute to rush up on foot. So she takes the
time to use her spyglass to inspect the walkway and the other
stairs carefully. But at this point there doesn't seem to be
any particular threats.
[Time: 3:13:51pm]
At the top of the eastern stairs.
Unali raises a hand to stop the group. Looking up to the
winding ladder she speaks up. She waves the two free prisoners
over. "Stay here, you should be safe for now and we will get
back to get you out."
The girl and man look at each other a bit worried. The girl
turns to Kell to hand him Squirt. Both look worried but the
man nods. Both seem relieved to be free from the horrors of
the Vong. If things go well the group will be back this way
to pick them up.
Fremea waits patiently at the top of the stairs on a balcony.
Her legs danagle over the side as she hears the others come behind
her. She has been considering the future and what that other
Faerry had said. But she is back to reality when the others
huff and puff behind her.
Now level with the balcony the full expanse of the balcony
can be seen. It is a walkway maybe 5 feet wide. The structure
hugs the north wall tight. Those who know the quakes could
continue find that troubling as the support seems to be spaced
every 30 feet along the walkway under it. The support struts
of Vong cement or whatever it is extends from the wall to the
the and wraps to the other side under it. That means if
the struts break 30 feet chunks could separate while the other
sections remain in place. The walkway is the same gray white
color of dull stone material the stairs are made from. It
can't be human material as that would require a lot of sand
and water possibly. On both sides north and south of the walkway
are the same railings about 4 feet from the ground. it his
held in place by place markers every 10 feet This means the
side above and below the railing are open. There is no roof
unlike the stairs which has the steps above to block view.
The group can see clear to the other side which seems to be
a thousand miles away. The group figures it would take almost
two minutes to get to the other side. Looking up the group can
see the fake material that is the Vong "roof". It is flat
on the bottom. But with the eastern side of the roof open
due the flyer-chariot chase the group can see the top of the
material is rough just as Fremea explained in her initial recon.
At this close to the lip of the Mount the daylight is bright
and shines in. There seems to be no sign of the chariot or
the flyers in the sky though. The covering material that is
used to block aerial view looks like a rug. It is rolled up
westward with the eastern portion open with no covering. The
opening is about 100 feet from the edge of the mountain with
about 900 feet of more covering in the other direction.
About halfway in the center of the balcony along the north
wall is a set of steps not like stairs but more a winding
ladder leading from the balcony to the roof. This must be how
the Vong get up above the ceiling to look out.
After taking the view Unali waves Fremea forward and then
wait a couple seconds and waves the group forward charging
as fast as they can. Will rolls his head and though he is
exhausted by the weight of the armor he is starting to regain
his control over it. While not ready to have a heart attack
like before he is only breathing slightly harder and gasping
for air much less.
[Time: 3:14:42pm]
The group reaches the halfway point.
Unali climbs the winding ladder and places the magical dagger
in her mouth. She ascends toward the ceiling about 50 feet
from the balcony. Fremea decides to give cover and hovers
nearby not sure what Unali is planning.
At the top she can see the covering here is a bit lighter
shade. She touches cautiously the flap and finds it a
flap that falls down to her touch. The opening about the
size of a wagon wheel now falls to the side revealing the
sky. Unali looks left and right and finds this must be
the only way to the top. She also then notices a red round
blob of some kind near the ladder. She can see the blob is
attached to something like the rug covering material leading
to the material itself. She figures this must be how they
control it from opening and closing. But then she is unsure
where the Vong fled from and where they are now.
Unali climbs the last rungs of the Vong ladder and
emerges over the side of the roof material. All around
there is the material, except for the open eastern portion.
The lip of the rock walls are about 500 feet in every
direction around her. She can't see how the Vong could get
to the edge without falling through the ceiling material.
So she tries to examine the material closer. Though it is
a bit sponge rubber like it seems quite durable. It could
even hold the wait of a Vong above. She looks around but
sees no Vong at all. She glances around in the sky for
the 360 degree view but sees no flyer or chariot as well.
Happy she descends down the ladder back to the group.
[Time: 3:15:06pm]
With likely half the time lost left to the spell against
the Brain the party charges forward.
Fremea hovers over the group but ahead about 30 feet. As
she flies she notices something odd. The Vong clearly can't
set traps on the balcony as its too clear and wide open. The
walls seem to be free as well. But she notices that her vision
is suddenly blurring a bit. She figures the fumes like the
sulfur could be affecting her eyes. But it seems to be only
ahead on the balcony and not elsewhere. Intrigues she decides
to dart forward and now toward the south not over the balcony
but to the left.
With the group facing west and Fremea now to their left ahead
about 40 feet they watch as she slows and starts up a few times.
Then Fremea realizes after cycling through her senses toward
the mana-void sense that there is a bit of void up ahead. in
fact there is about 6 voids. In fact there are 6 humanoid shaped
voids on the walkway. Looking with her normal vision she
sees nothing but then she recalls the outcast in the Brain cave
had some way to shield his presence or go invisible.
Looking back the group is now about 200 feet from the western
stairs. The voids about 100 feet in between both. Fremea is
about 45 feet in front of the group. She looks back and notices
the voids are not moving either.
Distracted from looking at the Vong words Arawn looks up to
see Fremea staring a bit. Opening his own senses he soon also
finds the voids or rather the lack of nothing ahead. But it
seems the others are unaware of the voids.
[Time: 3:15:07pm - Current/Next]
Actions? Comments?
Next Update....Friday...
GM: A small update but we are moving forward even with the sudden
lack of posts. I have started my vacations. I have every
Thursday off till the end of the year except one. Some weeks
I also have Friday giving me a 4 day weekend (my weekend is
Tue-Wed). So this will help to get updates out as will be up
late Wednesday especially when new TV shows this fall start
that may be hard to miss on Thursday nights. :)
On a side note let's think a moment on this day briefly
on what we lost. For America it was our modern day pearl.
GM: Maps updated below. I'll do a generic map of the balcony.
Since its not a wide space its a simple row map.
GM: Arawn - Good idea on the map bugs but evening finding the
base was rough. They aren't GPS bugs. :) Plus to fine
tune them would need training.
Fremea - Still visible at this time. But now have friends
to help if need be. Especially with other missile weapons.
Will - OF all the folks your exhaustion level is high. But
if rest a few min can chill. I do count exhaustion levels
in terms of overall combat like I did in the past. But
this time I haven't published them. Just a minor factor
for combat.
Unali - I misread the email. I thought you meant the roof and
then realized you meant to keep the prisoners behind. Doh!
So I modified it to do both. Hope it works.
GM: Spells active
Will - Armor Transmutation, Mind Shield
Raban - Bless (OCV)
Farseeker - Bless (OCV)
Arawn - Bless (OCV)
Unali - Mind Shield
Fremea - Mind Shield, Invisibility
Z'leyra - Mind Shield, Bless (Con)
* = Soon to end (next update?]. I may NOT post this
info unless I remember to do so. :)
GM: Maps
----------------------------
Mount Side View -
Scale - 1 Column = 15 feet
1 Row = 50 feet North=wall facing screen
[Looking from one wall to the other wall. Toward North
wall with back to south wall. Looking east/west.]
1 2 3 4 5
12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
X=Party location General @= Halfway point/Ladder to roof
Fremea-\ \ Fake Vong Ceiling
____________\_____________ at _________________________
I#------V----F--X--------- at ----------------------?#IA
I# /I\ \Balcony/Walkway/ Free / #IB
I# I Prisoners #IC
I# Voids #ID
I# #IE
I# #IFCave
Cave 1-> `# F=Fremea A13 Shaper Research?-->#`G<-#4
I# X=Party A16 #IH
Cave 2-> `# V=Voids A8 Warrior Barracks -> #`I<-#5
I# #IJ
Cave 3-> `# World Brian ----> #`K<-#6
I# #IL
I# #IM
I# @ <-Portal (Kotohi) #IN
Mount I#T T#IO
Ground --?I#]A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A____......._______V__V__V__V__V[#IP
I Y<X \ IQ
I Z Lava (. points) IR
I = Rock wall, #=Vong ladder structure
` = Entrance to cave [open mostly]
_ = Rock floor (Row P) ground floor
A = Vong Bowl Home (10' high)
V = Vong flyer
T = Vong Tower (30' high)
],[=Base of Vong tower (wooden)
X = Rabbit Hole opening 30' wide below cavern to tunnels
Y = Tunnel of Treasure/Sentry cave (under ground floor)
Z = Pit/Lake caves below elevation of Treasure cave tunnel
1-6= Side caves on east/west walls
Cave #6 - Brain Cave
Cave #5 - Warrior Barracks
Cave #4 - Shaper Research?
Balcony Overview
1 Hex = 10 feet 1 Row = 5 feet 1 Column = 5 feet
---- = Railing
@ = Ladder to roof [A60]
1 2 3 4 5 6
123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
-----------------------------------------------------------@ A
VV \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \UC/KL\H_F B\__/ \__/ \__ B
VV_/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ \__/ R__A Z\N_/ W__/ \__/ C
------------------------------------------------------------ D
-----------------------------------------------------------@ A
VV UC KL H F V W B
VV R A Z N C
------------------------------------------------------------ D
A = Arawn C40 K = Kell B38
B = Ben'dar B45 L = Kiet B39
C = Caladan B36 R = Raban c37
H = Chion B41 U = Unali B35
F = Farseeker B43 W = Will B49
Z = Z'leyra Z42 N = Lin C44
V = Voids B/C1/2 [Not seen with eyes] (2 off map to left)
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