@Zeroth OOC-wise, are Lazash and Vola tripping on cave shrooms atm? Because that'd be hilarious, unless this is a real monster somehow. XD
They are indeed not under the affect of hallucinogens right now!
Zeroth
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It's Thanksgiving my dude.
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It's Thanksgiving my dude.
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1 day ago
Do you ever think Sadako is like "Ghost girls died after 2010 can't haunt...all they know is Subway Surfer, vine boom, remake games, be yandere, make lewd moans and lie!"
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"The Founders of Hogwarts could've never foreseen multi-casting wands or auto-swish-and-flick grips! Curses today are far too powerful!" "NON INFRENGIUS!" *blinding flash of light*
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If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you give a man a rat, then you satisfy his R A T D E S I R E.
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Maybe people just shouldn't screech and be assmad over politics in the Status Bar in general. Nothing anyone says here wins "the great cultural war of our time." Go RP or something, shit.
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Bio
On CST time, United States. Typically busy most of the week and do most posting/replying on weekends.
Most Recent Posts
They are indeed not under the affect of hallucinogens right now!
Update is go! As always, let me know if anything was missed, concerns, clarity etc!
Also, in the interest of bolstering more activity, does anyone have anything they think has maybe not quite been up to par they'd like to suggest fixes for? I know most of you are basically ambush hunting/tracking and thus literally have to kinda wait for stuff passively to happen, but I don't want to run into some of the same stagnation problems I had last time when I ran "I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!" (also known by the fan name for its anime adaptation, KusoYuusha!) The fact that the System gives you quest and exploration prompts is an effort towards that, but if there's anything else that could be done I'd love to hear your takes!
Also, in the interest of bolstering more activity, does anyone have anything they think has maybe not quite been up to par they'd like to suggest fixes for? I know most of you are basically ambush hunting/tracking and thus literally have to kinda wait for stuff passively to happen, but I don't want to run into some of the same stagnation problems I had last time when I ran "I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!" (also known by the fan name for its anime adaptation, KusoYuusha!) The fact that the System gives you quest and exploration prompts is an effort towards that, but if there's anything else that could be done I'd love to hear your takes!
The Forest
@Rune_Alchemist
Like a blast from one of those heathen foreign cartoons, Svarok’s Holy Bolt took the goblin between the shoulder blades. The creature cried out breathlessly as it was knocked end over end through the brush, coming to rest with a crash against a tree trunk. As the Orc Runt caught up with the so-called spy, the smaller greenskin rolled over onto its belly with a groan. As it got onto all fours, rubbing its head, it looked up to see the stern face of Svarok.
“Eeeeek!” The goblin bowed down, putting its forehead to the ground as it blubbered.
“I sorriez, Mighty Orcling! Please, please forgives!” sobbed the creature. “Please don’t kills me! I’s only a widdle gobby! I’s just a silly little guy! Pwee-heeeeze, has murh-hurr-cies!”
Whether or not Svarok had mercy to spare, however, another rustling just out of her periphery on the right side reached her ears. Less than a half-second after that sound, a second goblin sprang out of the brush! This one had a long stick tipped with a sharp piece of black-tipped rock, which it thrust squarely at Svarok’s midsection with a phlegmy roar!
@Timemaster
[[Since Steel Legion has gone dormant, feel free to either attack the monsters you’ve encountered or to try and join up with another player instead. We can assume that Legion’s character either stays behind or chooses to retreat for now, etc]]
As Carmina watched the Jackalope and the Slime before her, there was a bright burst of light not too far away, followed by a lot of what sounded like…crying? It didn’t seem like an Orc’s voice, being higher pitched in nature and kind of wheedling or nasal.
The two monsters facing off with each other reacted as well, both looking in the same direction. If Carmina wanted a distraction, now would be the perfect moment to strike one of them…but, whoever that was that had caused the flash of light, from the sounds of it they were either in, or causing, a great amount of distress. That voice sounded desparate…
@ReusableSword
The Tatzelwurm and the Harpy faced each other, both wounded. One bleeding, one seemingly poisoned. Both injured. The snake-cat coiled its body for what appeared to be a straight forward spring…the movement was telegraphed, but maybe it was relying on its seeming advantage in speed? The harpy, meanwhile, folded its wings and crouched low on those five-taloned, disturbingly hand-like feet…
Another red crackle of energy covered the Harpy’s talons. The tatzelwurm’s tail unleashed its muscular force like an activated spring. Its claws were held ready to intercept the Slash it thought was coming—it would use its fangs to deal the final blow instead!
But the harpy didn’t take a swing at it. Instead, that energy on its legs seemed to be channeled into a sudden forward lunge that matched, maybe even exceeded, the Tatzelwurm’s speed! With an angled step the Harpy dashed past the tatzelwurm, and while the creature was still in the air after missing its own lunge, the bird-like monster bit down on the back of its neck!
The cat-snake struggled and thrashed, but the harpy shook it back and forth like a dog, biting down harder all the while. Within seconds, the tatzelwurm ceased to move. The harpy dropped it, stepping on it with one talon as if to make sure it was actually dead…
The bruise on its shoulder grew larger, dark veins running up its neck. The creature let out a pained yowl, and seemed to be out of breath…
Agar’s target had seemingly been decided for him…
North Caves
As Lazash and Vola explored deeper into the cavern, they were quick to notice the purple fungus and the large beetle. But now that they were inside and could look down the passageway, once their eyes adjusted they had a closer view of other things inside the cave as well.
A part of the cave wall looked dark and smooth and slightly wet, yet within it were faint sprinkles of lighter material, like individual grains of sand. It was clearly a different kind of stone from the rest of the material around it…
And deeper into the cleft in the rock, the narrow passage, along the right-hand side of the wall there was another difference in the stony layers. Standing out from the crags around it was a jagged part of the wall with a yellowish color and a metallic luster. It bore what looked to be scratch marks in several places. A distinctive black streak with green flecks crossed the uneven surface, as if drawn there with paint.
But these materials were probably at the back of the Orc Runts’ minds, because two more immediate concerns were now within arm’s reach. Both of them decided to examine, and take a few samples, from the clusters of mushrooms under where the beetle clung to the upper wall.
Lazash acquired 2 Pimplestools!
Vola acquired 4 Pimplestools!
Lazash was careful to watch the insectoid monster as well as she bent down, and activated her [Creature Analysis].
Analyzing Creatures...Flak Beetle - An aggressive insectoid known for the glowing sac hidden under its shell. The shell hides a gland in the bug's thorax that, similar to a firefly, contains a substance that produces light. It also has strong jaws.
Skill Progress: Creature Analysis - Rank I > Rank II!
Gain more information when analyzing a creature, including a general assessment of the threat it poses. Warning: Assessment’s accuracy is based on known factors and does not account for individual differences within specimens.
But as they pulled the purple mushrooms from their stalks, the white pustules on each cap began to swell up! With a sound like a fart, they burst and spewed clouds of tiny lavender spores into the air! The girls found that the dust settled on them without immediate harm, aside from perhaps causing some sneezing and coughing. Some of the spores also landed on the rocks around them.
Then, the mushrooms that were still in the ground suddenly began to swell too—except instead of the white pustules, it was the purple caps that began to inflate, and only one out of every four mushrooms seemed to be doing it. Then, rather than explode, the caps simply split open.
Followed by tongue like, barbed tendrils that lashed out with frightening speed towards Lazash and Vola, as well as what seemed to be random spots on the ground and walls…
Meanwhile, outside the cavern, it seemed like the three Runts waiting for something to bumble their way so they could unga-bunga it to death would have a rather boring time of it. However, if they were to pay close attention to their surroundings, especially on the rocky ledge above the entrance to the cave, they might note that there were indeed other life forms in this valley…some that were quite different from what they’d encountered in the forest…
A dire rat, with the same kind of urgency that a squirrel has when leaping between trees over passing humans on the trail, jumped off one pile of rocks and scurried across the ledge towards another. In the process, however, it stepped on one rock that actually jumped upward. From beneath the stone came a pair of chitinous pincers that snapped and snatched at the rodent, who responded by biting back viciously and letting out an enraged squeak.
And behind the three waiting orc runts, from further up the slope of the valley, another creature came rolling downhill. It wasn’t exactly coming right for them…but it didn’t look like it had any intention of avoiding them either…nor of slowing down…
If they chose to engage these monsters, however, they might be risking not being in position when it came time to do their thing…however, Lazash and Vola hadn’t made much noise so far, so who knew how long it’d be until they found something…?
Grunthor acquired Spiked Club from Gren's inventory.
Vola acquired Spear Thrower and Short Spears from Gren's inventory.
If we can get a few more posts, I'd like to do an update this weekend. Let me know if anyone needs info, but don't feel rushed if you've got other things going. I have to admit though, I do feel like it's been a little slow lately...but that may just be my week in RPing in general.
Bump
Bumping this after quite a while, in the market for something new! I've added some edits to the original post.
@Crusader Lord@Steel Legion@Unkown58@Lucius Cypher@King Cosmos@Kazemitsu
No worries if you're working on posts, I'll hold off on a full update for this weekend!
@Rune_Alchemist
Mini-update, so you'll have something to work with!
No worries if you're working on posts, I'll hold off on a full update for this weekend!
@Rune_Alchemist
Mini-update, so you'll have something to work with!
@Timemaster If you mean eating the bushes and other "Materials" that were found, I mean, you can try, but even for an orc not everything is [Ingestible]. For the most part at this stage of the game, if you want to find Skills you'll need to eat other living beings. Feel free to experiment, though!
Posted, as always lemme know any issues, questions, what I forgot, etc.
The Forest
@Rune_Alchemist
Reviewing the memories of pre-"awakening," Sarvok would know there had to be some evidence of at least a semi-religious behavior among a group of creatures like the Orcs. They seemed, after all, to be roughly equivalent to primitive humans in their social norms, and all human cultures across Earth had come up with some kind of religion--usually some form of polytheism.
Deep within those memories, from a period of time before she could walk (which granted, had only been maybe a month ago), there had been...a festival? A ceremony? There had been a lot of bonfires, enough so that many of the babies in the Brood Pits had cried because the heat and the lights kept them from sleeping that night. The warchief had done some kind of dance with a costume of some kind. There was some kind of chant...something about a "Rogyam."
Who, or what, was a Rogyam?
In any case, as she searched for materials, the Runt came across a particular patch of something that appeared to be no more than scrubby grass at first. But the blades of grass were oddly twisted, like something had taken a curling iron to them. Then, at the brush's base, were several hard, brown, conical growths that looked like woody drills of some kind. Even lower to the roots than these were other drill-like buds, still green but quite hard.
There was also a blackened, twisted bush that had many seedpods hanging from it. The pods looked like the kind of thing uncouth men often bragged to their friends about before flushing it down...and smelled quite similarly. The wood from the bush looked like it might break off easily, but the branches weren't straight enough, thick enough, or strong enough to make something like a club or spear. The black leaves, too, carried a foul odor.
But, as she searched for materials, Sarvok would hear a sudden rustling near a tree not too far away from her. A change in the wind seemed to prompt it, but at that moment she just happened to be in a position to catch the movement. When she looked, she found herself locking eyes with...another Orc Runt?
No.
Its limbs weren't quite so filled out, but its face and proportions looked more mature. Its ears were longer, its jawline weaker. It held a hatchet made from nothing more than a thick piece of wood and a sharp stone in one hand and a bag made from an animal pelt in the other. It wore a grass skirt and nothing else.
That had to be a Goblin.
And as soon as it met Sarvok's eyes it turned and bolted! It ran haphazardly, desperately, and thus made a great deal of noise as it crashed through the underbrush. It might be easy to follow, but she also felt instinctively confident that she could outrun it as well, and it was obviously afraid of a confrontation with her...
@Steel Legion@Timemaster
As Kai and Carmina decided to join forces in their search for materials and prey, it wouldn't take long for them to scour the remains of the little campsite---whoever had been here must've left in a hurry.
And possibly not too long ago, judging from the state of the coals in the fire.
Kai came across a short, leafy tree no higher than six or seven feet, but its trunk had many smaller branches that reached up to nine or ten feet. The larger branches, near the bottom or middle of the tree, had round green nuts with thick, woody shells. If he had some way to cut off a branch or two, they looked like they'd make solid materials for clubs, spears, and so forth. He also saw a particular patch of something that appeared to be no more than scrubby grass at first. But the blades of grass were oddly twisted, like something had taken a curling iron to them. Then, at the brush's base, were several hard, brown, conical growths that looked like woody drills of some kind. Even lower to the roots than these were other drill-like buds, still green but quite hard.
Carmina passed by a particular tree at the edge of the clearing didn’t stand out much from the others, save for one thing. A branch had been broken off its trunk at some point, and seemed to have further broken down into multiple pieces on the ground where it landed. But something about these fragments of wood caught her eye, and when she picked it up, she found it was more like a piece of petrified wood than anything green or dried. Upon looking at the place where the wood had fallen off the original tree, she found that rather than splinters or peeling bark, the place where the branch had broken was also slightly petrified…as if rather than growing new bark over the wound, the parent tree had instead been covered with a layer of rock. The rock also blended almost imperceptibly with the still-growing trunk, its bark the same beige and gray mix of colors and of a similar roughness to plain stone. There were some fragments of the petrified branch left on the ground if she chose to gather them, but the tree had a few branches within reach that she might try to chop off as well.
Carmina's nose wrinkled, too, as she also saw a blackened, twisted bush that had many seedpods hanging from it. The pods looked like the kind of thing uncouth men often bragged to their friends about before flushing it down...and smelled quite similarly. The wood from the bush looked like it might break off easily, but the branches weren't straight enough, thick enough, or strong enough to make something like a club or spear. The black leaves, too, carried a foul odor.
Once the two had decided to hunt something (Kai had an interest in the Jackalope, it seemed) and decided to use their unique abilities to team up, then all that was left to do with the materials they'd gathered and the tactics they'd come up with was to put it all to the test.
After leaving the camp, they didn't have to go far before they heard a new noise in the forest. It sounded like...something gurgling? Or a partially clogged sink drain. A careful peek through the bushes revealed not one, but two creatures!
A flowering bush was crushed under a blue, slimy creature about the size of a large dodgeball. Its gelatinous form seemed to be sucking up the flowers, where they wilted and dissolved inside its body. But the creature also had two...eyespots?...of some kind, which were fixated on another creature eating another of the same type of flowers nearby.
The large bodied, brown and dappled-white rabbit lifted its head, along with the impressive rack of six-point antlers atop its skull. It looked at the Slime with a passive sort of focus---the other monster seemed like it might be in an aggressive mood, but the rabbit chewed calmly. It probably knew it was more than fast enough to dodge any attempt to attack by the slime, but wasn't going to take its eyes off a potential threat. One of its large ears flicked in Carmina and Kai's direction, but it hadn't reacted to them yet, if it had actually noticed them. Which it might not have, yet, if they were careful with their next move...
@ReusableSword
Skill Gain:
[Blunt Damage Resistance] - Rank I - Passive Resistance against Blunt Damage is increased. Blunt Damage at this rank includes force-trauma by relatively flat physical objects with non-sharpened edges, carrying kinetic momentum.
Agar's Field Scan had the same effect as before, revealing two glowing, indeterminable blobs that he could easily see were the Tatzelwurm and the Harpy---although, aside from their general size, he wouldn't have been able to differentiate them if he weren't already looking directly at them. However, a third signal responded to his scan. It was further away, towards the edge of the skill's range and getting less distinct. It seemed to be moving away from him at this moment, but at a leisurely pace. It was smaller than the harpy, but of a similar size to the Tatzelwurm.
Whatever it was, it didn't seem like a threat. And still, neither of the two monsters he was watching had noticed him---or if they had, they didn't react in a way that would reveal what they knew to him.
Then, so fast he almost missed it, the Tatzelwurm leaped! Fangs and claws bared, it came down on top of the Harpy from its tree branch! The winged monster didn't react until the Tatzelwurm's former perch rustled and shivered with the release of the snake-monster's weight---and that was almost a full half-second from the time the Tatzelwurm jumped.
The Harpy turned. The Tatzelwurm landed and sank its claws into the harpy's back, its fangs into the bird-like creature's shoulder! The harpy's wings unfurled and it leaped across the ground on those strange, spindly limbs, shaking its body madly the whole time. It let out an ear piercing screech, like a woman being stabbed or a baby screaming from some sudden pinch or discomfort.
The tatzelwurm let go with its fangs, but tried to move around on the harpy's body with its claws. Its tail wrapped around one of the monster's legs as it tried to get into position to bite the harpy's side. The winged beast took to the air---but it wasn't trying to fly away. Instead, it propelled itself backward into a tree, slamming its weight and the sturdy wood down on the tatzelwurm from both sides! The cat-snake let out a pained yowl, and its claws lost their purchase on the leathery hide. But its tail was still bound around one of the harpy's legs, and quick as a wink it lurched and lunged to try and get another rattlesnake-like bite at the harpy.
The harpy raised one claw, which suddenly seemed to crackle with a red light from within. It slashed at the tatzelwurm, deeply cutting into its snake-like body, and finally the predator was forced to let go. The tatzelwurm coiled itself together in front of the harpy, hissing loudly as it once again brandished its fangs and long, sharp nails. The harpy spread its wings wide and let out a loud, intimidating howl, this one sounding like an angry woman.
The bite on the harpy's shoulder had turned an odd purplish color, even though it shouldn't have left much of a bruise...The two monsters remained squared off now, even though both of them could've made a run for it. Did that mean each one saw the other as nearly done for? Worth finishing off for the sake of a meal? Worth taking the damage they'd accumulated?
What mattered more, perhaps, was what this moment might mean for Agar...
North Caves
Once the group of Runts had decided who would go into the cave and search for...whatever they could find, it didn't take long for the rest of their preparations. Then, with the daylight still full and strong, the first team took their first, tentative steps into the darkness...
A short climb would allow one to see over the lip of the ground and down into a slanted, slippery passage...but this open chamber of the cave was still somewhat cramped, and a much narrower passageway further into the depths sat at its back. At the entrance to that passageway, it seemed a clump of mushrooms had taken root in the dank darkness.
As the runts explored further, however, a sudden scuttling alerted them to movement on the roof of the cave above their heads! As they watched, something hidden in the dark moved towards the narrow open chamber, then creepy-crawled down just above the mushroom. It looked like a gigantic beetle of some sort. It didn't make any aggressive gestures...
The moment was a lot like an experience most of the reincarnates could probably relate to: Right after you turn on the light, you see the cockroach scurry up the wall or along the floor. You both freeze as if aware of each other's presence. The cockroach's antennae twitch. In that same fashion, the beetle and the runts froze.
The beetle's back end twitched. There was a blip of light in its thorax, like that of a lightning bug. Aside from this indicator, it looked like any regular, solid black pine beetle...save for the fact that it was also longer than a human man's arm and easily as big around as a watermelon.
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