Kyneros Episode 7

image from ArtBreeder

filed under actual play on 09 Nov 2016
tagged kyneros, kairael valeyn, mutable, scarlet heroes, solo, and pre-1.0.0

Rambling in Hindsight: This is the final log for the Kyneros campaign (so far). At the time, I got distracted and left off right after a minor fight, and right before a big dungeon crawl. I think I might have ended up writing the first mapping panel or something to prep and just never got back to it.

It’s after the end of this segment, by the way, that I realize I’ve been doing XP all wrong and much, much too quickly. Good thing this was all a learning exercise.


Being the seventh part of the adventure of Kai Valeyn, a man without a country, adrift seventeen centuries after the fall of his civilization, as the four adventurers approach the medusa’s cave.


Kai was feeling much restored in the morning, though he was glad Melysse had not yet awoken when he rolled out of his bedroll and headed to the campfire for breakfast.

He didn't feel like too much introspection, but it shook him a bit that he'd lost control so badly. Experimentally, he opened his hand and willed the black fire through it; tendrils of black mist, gleaming with silver edges, flickered across his palm.

He felt a duller version of the euphoria that had coursed through him that night, deep inside, easily controllable. Within a few moments, he'd puzzled out that he could shape the black fire as he wished, into blades that could cut or be thrown. Laughing, he hurled one of the blades at a knot in a tree fifteen feet distant...

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 2 ] 2

It went flying wide and he banished it with a thought, winking out of existence as if it had never been.

"Your aim is terrible," a low female voice said next to him in a voice that was rough and smooth at the same time, as if she wasn't quite used to speaking out loud.

Did she surprise him?

[somewhat likely, 28 ≤ 65] YES

He started, and turned on his heel to find Chiania, the exotic woman who had sought refuge with them, standing a few feet away.

He coughed, clearing his throat. "Are you coming up the mountain with us?" he asked, and she nodded.

Breakfast was slow and measured; they had ample supplies remaining and none wished to discuss what they might find. Kai wasn't even sure what he was looking for, but he hoped... well, he hoped she was still there, despite the ruins and teh centuries, and, though he wouldn't admit it even to himself, he hoped she could tell him how to get home.

Is the trip up the mountainside uneventful?

[fifty-fifty, 74 ≥ 50] NO

Is it a natural hazard?

[fifty-fifty, 14 ≤ 50] YES

The path is broken and worn, and requires climbing skill to pass.

[Options] exceptional, high, above average, average, incredible, awesome, superhuman

[Choice] above average

Not too badly, though.

The path was narrow and steep, and the ground rumbled a bit occasionally. They'd been climbing for several hours when they came to the rockslide; the path was dominated by a massive boulder. Dac wilted a bit. "I'm not sure I can climb that," he said doubtfully, even as Chiania began climbing it effortlessly as stairs.

[fifty-fifty, 94 ≥ 91] Exceptional NO

A massive tremor rocked the earth, sending rock and debris everywhere. Above, Chiania missed a grip, and fell. Kai lunged forward, hoping to catch her --

Dexterity save? 2d8 plus 3 plus 1 for fleet-footed, versus... what? Probably 9 plus T, which I'm going to say is 3 given that that's Kai's level. So 12.

Rolling 2d8 1 times.
[ 1 4 ] 5

She was falling too fast, and the ground shaking too hard; the best he could do was cushion her fall as the two of them tumbled over the edge of the path, bits of broken rock and debris showering down on them. The air was bashed out of his lungs, but he somehow flipped himself over to shield her from the worst of it.

I'm going to handle it as if they both take damage from a fall, plus an additional 1 point for the debris.

So, I can either roll 1d4 for the number of 10 foot increments they fall, make a saving throw to see if they each take half damage, and then roll d6s for damage, or I can do a defy death roll of 3d4 points of damage.

Since this hasn't come up before, let's try it both ways and see what happens.

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 3 ] 3

Rolling 2d8 1 times.
[ 7 5 ] 12

Saving throw succeeds, so 2d6 damage.

Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 5 ] 5

Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 3 ] 3

So each take two points of damage, plus Kai takes one for the falling debris.

Alternatively, Kai could roll 3d4, and take that many points of damage, and next time he needs to defy death it'll be d6s.

Rolling 1d4 3 times.
[ 3 ] 3
[ 2 ] 2
[ 3 ] 3

Yeah, it's the same! Ha. Going to stick with the original falling damage and not bumped my Defy Death up, I think.

Kai lay still for a few moments after the earth stopped rumbling and the barrage of rocks stopped. His ears were ringing and he felt a bit pulped. Groaning, he heaved himself up on one arm and met Chiania's eyes. They were...

A mesmerizing shade of green, flecked with gold. "Oof," she said, uneloquently, and he realized he was probably crushing her a bit.

"Sorry," he said, moving to sit up, and she blinked at him as she followed suit.

"For trying to help me? No apology needed," she said, dusting herself off. Kai took a moment to do a quick inventory; he had a few new bruises and cuts but nothing serious.

Chiania dug a bandage out of her hip pouch and wound it around his upper arm, tying it expertly. He nodded his thanks.

They fell about forty feet; can they see the path they fell from from here?

[fifty-fifty, 40 ≤ 50] YES

Is it accessible to them?

[fifty-fifty, 50 ≤ 50] YES

Was Dac injured?

[fifty-fifty, 75 ≥ 50] NO

Was Melysse?

[Mythic Complex] Vengeance Animals

[fifty-fifty, 98 ≥ 91] Exceptional NO

She wasn't even knocked down.

And she spotted a way around the boulder.

It took a few minutes for them to climb back up to where the others waited. Dac was sitting, a bit miserably, while Meysse was nowhere in sight.

"She took the game trail," Dac explained, and the three of them hurried after her.

Is the cave just as he remembers it?

[fifty-fifty, 66 ≥ 50] NO

So it's crumbling.

The broken stairs opened up into a flat, level area before the mouth of the cave, once swept bare and now overgrown with vines and trees.

The cave mouth, once delineated with ornately carved pillars and a heavy stone lintel, was half-obscured behind the massive slab of stone, long since tumbled from its perch.

So, Melysse has to recover an item from this cave and bring it to her employers, and then they'll heal her father.

[fifty-fifty, 97 ≥ 91] Exceptional NO

The father thing was a ruse?

[fifty-fifty, 41 ≤ 50] YES

Ouch.

Ok, so, they enter the medusa's lair. The first room..

[Room Size] 20 x 30 ft [Exits] 2 [Exit Type] as expected [Secret Door?] No

The trio stepped out of the warm sun into a cool, dim, and spacious chamber once used for petitioners to cool their heels as they waited for their turn to see the Oracle.

Kai remembered this room. He remembered the slight smell of roses, the coolness, the uncertainty of what they'd be greeted with.

Lets see if there's anything interesting here.

[Type] caverns
[Subtype] Cave village
[Size] 1d6 locations

Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 5 ] 5

[Caverns room] Caved-in cavern
Encounter? Yes
Treasure? No
Hazard? No
Feature? No
Macguffin? 1

[Encounter] 1d4_T hit dice worth of foes numbering several Minions or Civilians and possibly an Elite

[Type] Abominations
[Sub-Type] Minion
[Specific] Crawling vermin

Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 2 ] 2

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 9 ] 9

Vermin: HD 1, AC 7, Atk +1, Dmg 1d4, MV 30’, ML 7
Spreads disease. If touches or hits, save or die in 3d6 days.

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 3 ] 3

Is Melysse here?

[fifty-fifty, 77 ≥ 50] NO


</hr>

Okay, session over.

Next session, I'll go ahead and do the combat with the vermin; I will likely allow two saves or look for a better disease mechanic.

As their eyes adjusted, Dac moved enthusiastically into the room. "This is pre-Dremaeric work," he exclaimed, leaning over to study one of the bas-relief murals more intently. Kai shrugged and moved towards the door he'd gone through on that visit two weeks ago. There was rubble everywhere. And then the spiders swarmed out.

So Kai goes first; he's going to Spellfire as javelin twice, then Fray.

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 9 ] 9

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 19 ] 19

Nice, the first is barely a hit, the second a solid one.

The first group erupted at his feet and the second is a little bit away, so he does get his Spellfire bonus on the first but not the second (not that it matters).

Rolling 1d8 2 times.
[ 5 ] 5
[ 7 ] 7

So one point to one, 4 points to the other; both gone.

And Fray.

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 4 ] 4

10 total, so 4 points of damage; just enough to wipe out the remaining four 1 HD creatures.

Kai is quite the glass cannon, ha. Going to be interesting if he uses up all those reserves!

Kai let the spellfire fly from his hands, burning the vermin to ashes before they could swarm over him or his allies.

Just to note, Kai's Fray die goes down as he uses his repertoire. So first thing in the day he's pretty powerful. I may downtweak the power uses per day at some point; it's extremely powerful now but it'll even out in a few levels, I think.

There's also the issue that, with a plus to Fray, he will always do at least one HD, instead of the 0 to whatever range; I like the flavor of it, he's literally crackling with magic and dangerous to the touch. May add in that the Fray die is dangerous to anyone in melee range, ally or not.

I should roll up the threat for this area, too.

Rolling 1d4 2 times.
[ 2 ] 2
[ 3 ] 3

So that's -1, making it a threat 2. Fair enough, this area can be a bit easier than expected; I'll roll again if they enter a substantially new area or just bump it to level +1 for each level down.