Zeroth

Why Were We Reincarnated as Orcs?!

A bit late but post is up!

Why Were We Reincarnated as Orcs?!

Forest

---

@ERode

---

As Esfir waited in the bushes, she would see the harpy continue to circle for several minutes. First it expanded outward, then crossed back over its previous path and corkscrewed inward, all centered on the tree it had been perched in before. But it landed in a different tree, looking at the tatzelwurm's skewered corpse.

Then its gaping maw lifted upward as it fluttered its wings, and it released a call of some kind--except that it was completely for silent for several seconds despite a visible vibration in its throat.

A shrill, grating ring began to rise in volume. It reached a nearly ear-splitting pitch, before the harpy clamped its jaws shut. The bird-monster fluttered a little lower--perhaps low enough that something thrown would reach it--and landed in a different tree.

Again, it trilled. The sound spread over Esfir like an itch, and even the grass next to her shivered. The harpy's head suddenly snapped in her direction, and it straightened up on the tree branch with wings snapped shut. Aside from a fidget as its weight shifted back and forth, it stopped moving.

Thus time went on. After another few minutes, the bird creature would look over its shoulders and sweep the rest of the area with its gaze. It looked down at the tatzelwurm again and hunched, as if it were considering leaving the tree after all.

Then it trilled again, and once again its head turned in Esfir's direction. So again it straightened up, and waited...

---

---

Orc Camp

---

@King Cosmos

---

As Akeno headed towards the voices that were mocking the same Orc who had been carrying all those baskets, she soon rounded a tent that revealed Builge, an Orc Grunt known for bullying the Runts still left in the Brood Pits, as well as slapping around any other young orcling that would let him get away with it. Standing next to him was a taller, yet much skinnier, orc grunt with mottled ochre-and-brown tones, and a shorter, fatter grunt with lots of blue warpaint slathered over his stubby limbs and a mohawk that looked like it was kept aloft by copious amounts of animal fat-grease.

"Gyar har har!" hooted the bully and his two lackies. "Whatcher plantin' dere, Farmer Grukh-head? Some more o' dem tasty fish'eads from last toime?" The fat one wiped a tear from his eye as he chortled and called out afterward.

"Did da foist batch grow inter trouts yet?! Maybes ya gotta water 'em some mores!" The lanky one exchanged a round of backslaps with his fellow stooge, and all three continued laughing uproariously.

"Da fish don't grow, ya idjits!" snapped back the one with the baskets as he placed them next to the plot of cleared ground. "Dey rots in da ground, and da plants grow betta on top!" He sneered at the three grunts, despite being rather puny himself for an adult, and knelt down to dig at the earth with his hands.

"Oi! Who's ya callin' an idjit, IDJIT!?" Builge cracked his knuckles as he stepped forward. He glanced over his shoulder to see that his two followers were also showing signs of aggression--and in the process noticed Akeno approaching.

"'old up bois! Lookie 'ere!" The grunt smirked, tongue darting over one of his tusks. "One 'a da babies FINALLY got back to camp!" He pointed, prompting quizzical looks from his minions as they also noticed Akeno.

---

---

South Caves

---

@Kazemitsu

---

The Runt described the beings in the northern caves. Giant bat-like creatures that were in colonies. That was not a good thing to fight out in the open. In a cave it'd probably be easier to deal with. The other Runt was excited by the footprints and drag marks. Grunthor was more interested in the stuff left behind.

In the abandoned 'camp' there were a few items, mostly junk that wouldn't interest anyone with half a brain. Ear necklace? Really? Useless. The gloves however, he picked them up while keeping an eye on the cave depths and the ceiling. Since he had his club he used his foot to scoot the stone dagger closer to the other Runt along with the bandana.

"If you know how to make a torch we'll go make one and proceed. I only know how to hit things really fucking hard and how to hurt organs with my fists." He said quietly before looking back at the exit. The light caught some minerals, all round bumps with a black luster. He knew jack shit about geology on earth nevermind this place.

"Maybe grab some of that and get going if you can't make a torch? We technically have evidence that they were here and I'm not hearing anything from deeper in..." Grunthor stated, he was naturally wary of giant web slinging scuttling things that could potentially take out three adults.

Kaze

"Well, at least you know something that's actually useful." The orange-eyed runt chuckled. Taking his Wooden Stick out of his loincloth, the other runt wrapped the Red Bandana around it and then began digging around the remains of the fire. After at least two days it had no red embers left, but he was able to find a few bits of wood that hadn't burned and, upon digging up one of the bedrolls, a little piece of flint and a rusty steel striker. "Not like these other rubes with their "modern ejumacation" they can't actually reproduce."

The bandana was rubbed into the charcoal to give it a coating of the dusty substance, and then the other Runt slipped one of the grass-fiber handwraps over it as well. Within a few strikes, a torch blossomed to life. When Grunthor mentioned possibly investigating that shiny black material, and then getting out of the cave with the evidence that clearly the other orcs were dead, the greasy-haired runt "hmmmed" for a while.

He picked up the dagger Grunthor had slid his way, then used its antler handle, rather than its stone blade, to strike hard at the section of floor with the bumpy round bits.

"It's definitely--" he struck it again, "--some kind of ore." And again. "If we came back with some actual tools, we could get a good bit of it!" He struck one more time, and then made a breathy sound of triumph. He picked up a piece, turned it in his hand, then tossed it to Grunthor. "You ever met Bowbh yet?"

Obtained: Small Leather Gloves
Obtained: Raw Goethite Ore x1

SYSTEM:Grunthor

The black mineral was weighty, but rather smooth due to its "bubbly" formation. Underneath its dark luster, some of the earth that had come out with it had a rusty red dusting.

"But!" the runt continued, taking his torch and pointing into the still-forboding darkness, "If we're gonna mine in here, we gotta make it safe, right? So what's say we soldier on and at least figure out what else we've got to worry about in here, right? If we make it quick," he glanced at his burning torch, "we can probably roast those webs on the way back! Eh? Eeeeh?" He wiggled his eyebrows at Grunthor conspiratorially.

---

---

Deep Forest

---

@ReusableSword

---

Current Skills:

• Ingestion - MAX - After consuming a required amount of biomass from a particular Creature, 1 of that Creature's Skills can be copied at its lowest Rank.
• Field Scan - Rank II - Ingested Skill. Detect life signs around the user within 30 feet, and remain aware of them for 1 minute.
  • At Rank II, one can roughly sense the silhouette of the creatures within range.
• Blunt Resistance - Rank I - Ingested Skill. Passive Resistance against Blunt Damage is increased.
• Muffle - Rank I - Ingested Skill. Muffle the sounds of your movements to become stealthy. The user's footsteps will be significantly more quiet, but this is only a deduction from the normal amount of noise they would make. Therefore, one's armor, weight, etc may still produce sounds beyond a certain level.
• >> Empty Skill Slot!

SYSTEM:Agar

With a mental "ding!" Agar's System gave him the level up reward. As he deliberated what to do, the Field Scan's effect wore off, but it didn't seem like anything else around him had moved much. All of the creatures should still be in their places...

The Orc Runt hurled his piece of debris. The movement startled the Jackalope, which sprang out from its hiding place. The noise attracted the large, vaguely-gator shaped creature. The red bird, which was the only creature he had a clear view of since it was brightly colored and high off the ground, drew itself up to be larger and ruffled its feathers, but made no sound.

The gator, with unusual swiftness for something of its size, lunged with a deep, rumbling growl that escalated instantly into a vicious snarl! But it wasn't coming at Agar.

With a meaty crunch and a high squeal, the Jackalope was seized mid leap. Despite its impressive speed, the explosive forward plunge of the larger creature was faster and covered more ground. The beast shook its horned head back and forth even as its jaws clamped down, and even slammed its prey into the earth with a great deal of violence. There were some shrill noises further on--the goblins, perhaps? These noises were followed by thumping sounds that grew more distant by the second.

Agar's vision of the other monster became more clear as it moved around. Once it had the entire Jackalope's body in its mouth, it then ran like a Komodo dragon towards a tree--headbutting it? No. It was shoving the entire, larger-than-Earth's sized rabbit down its gullet, whole.

HODAG

There was even more distance between the creature and the tree that Agar was aiming for, so if he dared to run past it he could definitely make it to a safe place. There was also the option of trying to attack the beast while it was eating, as well...By this point, the Jackalope was a slightly twitching bulge in the monster's throat, which it began to rub back and forth against the ground to further force its unchewed meal down. And then...it went...very still...

The Book Of Thoth (A Shin Megami Tensei Inspired Roleplay) (CLOSED)

Posted! Both Miyuki and Lham Dearg are attacking Satoshi in hopes that stopping him will either de-summon or distract his demons.

By the way, is anyone else getting as much of a kick out of Lham Dearg's accent as I am? I just find the mental image hilarious. XD

The Book Of Thoth (A Shin Megami Tensei Inspired Roleplay) (CLOSED)

---

Inokashira Park

---

Despite Lham Dearg having just deflected its last attack, the Cyclops's reaction to the undead soldier was almost non-existent. Instead, it only responded to the words and gestures of Satoshi Miura--immediately turning from Lham Dearg to try and attack the muscular man wielding those flail-like weapons.

"Ye feartie-cat! Come back 'n' coupon mah sword!" yelled the angry Sidhe. But then his mistress shrieked as more cultists surrounded her--some had cut her off before she could reach the stage, and others were closing in from behind! Lham Dearg paid no more mind to the one-eyed giant--it looked like Jack Frost and the martial artist were holding their own well in any case. The swordsman leaped off the stage, as the dark blood spilling from his hands trailed in the air!

"Wah, wh-what's w-w-wrong with you!?" Miyuki's entire body trembled as the cultists closed in, wielding knives or box cutters, batons--things that they must've been hiding on their person or under their robes the whole time. But her shakes were only due to the fear of direct social confrontation--such a shy girl could barely tolerate crowds to begin with, much less such a hostile environment as this one. But when one cultist lunged at her with the knife, she sidestepped without even thinking and slammed her wooden sword down hard on the back of his head. The man let out a sharp cry before he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Then another one grabbed her hood, yanking her back as the point of a knife glittered above her--!

"Unhaun th' lassie!" Lham Dearg's own blade passed a mere hand's breadth away from Miyuki's face, and the Cultist holding her cried out in pain. She twisted her whole body and kicked off with both legs, jerking free just before her contracted demon shoulder checked the robed figure--who was now crying through bloodshot eyes as they gripped the bleeding stump of their arm.

"D-don't k-k-kill them!" She gasped, though she immediately had to defend herself again. Her wooden blade clacked loudly against the Cultist's baton as they swung in clumsy, drunken fits.

"Och, Ah'll juist invite thaim ower fur a plook o' cuppa then!" spat her Demon as his sword deflected another knife. "Whit else dae ye expect in th' midst o' battle?" Nonetheless, rather than maiming this enemy he simply punched them in the face with his off hand. They still screamed and bled from a clearly broken nose, but as they writhed on the ground at least it was a debatably better outcome. The soldier immediately turned to another foe and caught their wrist mid-swing before clubbing them over the skull with the pommel of his sword, dropping them like a sack of potatoes.

"I don't know what is going on, but we have to stop them before these people get hurt!" came a shout. Miyuki had just finished her opponent with a thrust to the gut that knocked the air out of their lungs, and turned to see Mr. Wong gesturing over the stage. It looked like the Cyclops had been knocked off the dais, and that crystalline angel was gone too--but that was because it was attacking another girl!

This girl had a demon with her too--a much cuter looking one than what Miyuki had ended up with! In a moment of self-consciousness, she looked back at her contractee--only to see the Scotsman headbutt another Cultist. Multiple times. Until they lost consciousness.

But Miyuki understood what Mr. Wong had meant! These cultists weren't in their right minds, and those other demons seemed a great deal stronger than the other three individually. Maybe by teaming up they could defeat them...but, those demons had also been summoned!

So what if they took the summoner out instead?

"Lham Dearg! We have to stop Satoshi Miura!" shouted Miyuki as she charged the stage again. Her partner grunted in assent as barreled through another pair of Cultists. He outran Miyuki with his supernatural athleticism, stopping below the stage to hold out one hand.

With a sudden realization that, in only a short amount of time, she'd come to implicitly trust this inhuman creature, Miyuki stepped up. Her foot, small by comparison to the much taller demon, planted against Lham Dearg's palm.

"Chlanna nan con thigibh--" Muscle and veins stood out in the demon's arm as he heaved, "--a' so 's gheibh sibh feòil!"

"WHAT DOES THAT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAN!?" Miyuki wailed as she soared into the air, above the stage, above the lecturn where Satoshi Miura stood watching Xavier Wong fight his demon. The politician's head would probably snap around just in time to see all one hundred ten pounds of angry nerd girl swinging a wood sword at his face with both hands!

"Sons of The Hounds, Come Here and Get Flesh!" translated Lham Dearg with a bloodthirsty smile as he too mounted the stage, coming at Satoshi from behind with his own sword, this one made of real and deadly steel--!

Why Were We Reincarnated as Orcs?!

Kaze's informed me due to computer issues he likely won't be able to post for a few days. Might need to correspond with him and do a GM-character-post. I'll see about getting an update going this weekend!

Enter the Dark Realm - A Castlevania/Bloodborne Inspired Dungeon Crawl

I am currently including the following races next to the usual (boring!) humans. [...]

@Vlad Tepes

I'm assuming Dusk Elves, Orcs, Goblins, Beastkin, Vampires, Lycans, and Undead would be considered "evil" by the rest of humanity or the church? With Tieflings and Dhampir being in a sort of gray-area but probably not liked too much by the general masses?

Enter the Dark Realm - A Castlevania/Bloodborne Inspired Dungeon Crawl

Holy sh-*quack*! *pun intended* This is one badass church dude! I also love the little Biblical reference you incorporated. I could definitely see the holy barrier "miracle" being manipulated to that degree. Maybe he (or she) is the only individaul capable of this manipulation, hence why the Inquisition would be interested in inducting them into their ranks. Furthermore, I'm wondering what if your character's abuse by the clergy was part of some secret plan by the Church to create like their own superweapon, a clergyman capable of manipulating "miracles" to be used more offensively and with better results. Think Anderson from Hellsing, this badass preacher slaughtering demons while throwing out scriptures with a psychotic grin on his *quack*-ed up face. Anywho, this character sounds dope and I can't wait to see how they play out

@Vlad Tepes

Nah, my take on it was going to be slightly less cynical towards the idea of organized religion as a whole. The abuser in charge of the orphanage doesn't represent the "dirty underbelly of the church" or anything. They're an example of an evil person who has managed to fool others around them so that they can put themselves in a position of influence from which they can satisfy their own urges. Just like so many serial killers who were "never suspected" by their neighbors, this person faked a life of holy devotion so that others wouldn't notice their true intentions.

To give more detail on the manipulation of holy barriers, my thoughts were that whereas most people would probably value that ability for its defensive nature--in other words, make it "harder to break," or make it "bigger, so it can protect more people," this character instead thinks about it like a childish (traumatic, right?) art project: folding paper or stacking blocks. So instead of making a magical brick wall in front of him, maybe he turns that wall at a different angle and makes it really thin instead:



The reason the Inquisition decides to take him would probably be more along the lines of "He's like 12 and was able to crush a man's bones to dust with two big grinding wheels made of prayer. And he's only a little crazy! Let's train him for about 10 years then turn him loose on some heretics!" XD

Enter the Dark Realm - A Castlevania/Bloodborne Inspired Dungeon Crawl

Master! You have a visitor!

Shut it, Renfield! I'm trying to get some sleep here! Pfft! Thralls...

But Master! Someone posted to your interest check!

WHAT?!! *falls out of coffin*

@Zeroth FINALLY!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW-

Ahem! I mean...hello there! 😊

@Vlad Tepes

*standing calmly amidst scattered piles of demon corpses and burning undead. Several pieces of furniture have been destroyed*

Oh hi! Sorry if I woke you up, but these guys kept acting like they didn't understand my questions!" *wipes a blood spatter from the rim of my glasses*

The setting I have in mind is inspired primarily by the Castlevania games and Netflix series with a bit of Van Helsing and Bloodborne in the mix, so yes magic does exist, but it is primarily used by those who practice magic, and it depends on what type. [...]

Clerics, who are of the Church, the supreme religious authority of Gransylva, practice holy magic or "miracles" such as healing, repelling undead and other evil abominations, blessing water to turn it holy, and casting protection spells such as forcefields or enchanted circles.

Furthermore, the Church looks down on all other forms of magic. They're hypocrites who boast their power comes only from God. All other magic users are of the Devil and must be destroyed. So yeah witch burnings and all that fun stuff.

[...]

All of that's perfect for what I needed, thanks! I kinda figured that's what you would be going for given the Castlevania influence but I just wanted to make sure!

The idea I had for my character would be that he grew up in a Church-run orphanage, but faced abuse from a corrupt, evil individual hiding behind a "public image" associated with the Church. Despite this my character takes strongly to the teachings of the Church and thus manifests "miracles," which end up being used to kill the abusive clergy but in the process also destroys the orphanage (I'm currently thinking the "holy barrier" ability being used to make geometric shapes, such as a giant millstone to enact Matthew 18:6). This prompts an investigation by some sort of inquisition-esque/black-ops organization within the Church, and upon finding evidence of what had been going on they end up inducting the character into their own chapter.

Committed to the work of the Lord, yet broken by the sinful nature of Man, the character now gives alms to the poor while wearing a warm smile distorted by scars--and then laughs maniacally as he tears his way through the demons, both mortal and supernatural, who are responsible for creating individuals like himself.

Would that work, or would some aspect need to be tweaked/changed entirely?

Enter the Dark Realm - A Castlevania/Bloodborne Inspired Dungeon Crawl

Potentially interested! Did you have any particular limits in mind for what characters should be capable of, or any more details about the setting that would be relevant to character creation? For instance, does magic exist, and if so are there any rules on its usage? Are characters expected to be normal humans, or do elves, werecreatures, other races and so forth exist?

Personally I'm thinking of making a character associated with some sort of church or other spiritual order, so if there's any healing magic, witchcraft, etc going around I'd probably have to address their take on it.

Children of the Otherworld - An Isekai Story

Dang, had a whole ass adventure.

@ERode

Or an adventure with assholes, you could say XD

I enjoyed that. I particularly like the misconceptions and over-thinking bits of the other characters besides Dalton. His luck-stat must be really high. xD

@Xaltwind

Is it, though? Inara seems pretty keen on throwing him at something called a "Mouthclaw," which is NOT a confidence inspiring name XD