Grr. Where do you live, on the opposite side of the world from me? You ALWAYS MASS-UPDATE when I'm sleeping. Grr!
((Eastern Europe, actually. So yes, presumably! But it was mostly James-centric stuff, so as to not keep the rest of you guys waiting later on and to capitalize on the fact that TopHat is up and about. Well, that and Bruce got stabbed to death, but it's funnier to think that nobody noticed except Vincent. That's what I like about the turnless system: timezones are less of a bother. For the GM, that is.))
At the inn, now extinguished and not very on fire at all...James, emboldened by his new face, decides to practice his public speaking!
[James speech roll:
6]
James launches into a magnificent tirade of extremely persuasive oratory! He denounces the authority of the Five Gods and provides many valid reasons for him doing so! Despite nobody being around, a crowd gathers around him very soon! They cheer at appropriate moments, nod in approval at certain times and soon are completely enthralled by the naked vampire with the stolen face, creepy teeth and glowing stomach!
"... so that, my friends and fellow citizens, is why you do not trust the Five Gods! They can say that they love you all, but that very second they will afflict you with all sorts of maladies! Look at me, my friends! Look! Am I not hideous?""Very hideous!""Quite repulsive indeed!""He made my young 'uns cry! All of them! Even the soldier!""Yes, I am as hideous as the day is short this time of year! How would you react if I told you that this is the work of none other than Pacitarius, the so-called 'Gentle Child of the Five'?"Everybody gasps (including James, for dramatic effect)!
"The proof is incontrovertible! Pacitarius is not gentle at all! He is a vile god, and by following him you are damning yourself to a life of serving pure evil!""But... no! This cannot be!""Oh, but it is! If I am speaking but a single lie, may the Five strike me down!"[Divine retribution roll: 3+
1]
Nothing happens! The wrath of Pacitarius seems to be curiously absent!
"He speaks the truth!""Yes! Damn that Pacitarius! Damn the Five!"[Divine retribution roll: 4]
Still nothing happens!
"The gods have no power over us! We are free men!""And women!""Yes, we are free women as well!""Left is right! Up is down! The world is ending!""The world is ending?""The world is ending! Every man for himself!""And woman!"[Civil disorder roll: 4]
The villagers start heartily looting and robbing the surrounding area! Somebody finds a torch! Mass burning starts! Soon enough Richardsburgh is entirely on fire!
"Men of freedom!""And women!""If we are free from gods, why not lords as well?""Aye, why not?""Are you going to kill them?""We're going to kill the lords! Hooray! Lead us, oh fearless leader! Enlighten us, oh mighty prophet!"[James speech roll: 6]
"Right! Make haste, my flock! The lord of the land must be slain by dawn! Storm his castle, kill the court! Enlighten any villages on the way! Make them see that the world has no true, worthy gods and that we, the people, have no true, worthy masters! Let each be his own god and master, for only thus we can achieve heaven on earth! Let none stop you, for your reward shall be paradise!"They all shout in unison!
"FOR THE PROPHET!"James excluded, they all storm off! James feels like he has become a
confident heretic!
With that done, he goes off to loot the inn. Sadly, the inn is already looted. And burned down. Then looted again. Oh well.
At the lair of the uncommonly generous Bernie von Glautzenheiser..."I say, m'lord, I think I've got it!""What?""The boon, fair chap!""What about the boon?""I wish to have my axe enchanted!""Sure, why not. After all, it is the reason I have good ol' Skip's brainpan here. In fact, I think I have a particular enchantment in mind to fit the occasion!"He grabs both Skip's head and spellbook from their respective carriers!
[Attunement roll: 3+
1]
He gestures at the spellbook with one hand, keeping his other hand on Skip's head! The spellbook glows and sparks for a second, then floats into Bernie's hand!
"It worked, great! Heh, now I suppose I can exact revenge on certain other elements of my life. But first, your reward!"[Enchantment roll: 3+
1]
Magical energies course through the axe! However, there are no immediately apparent changes!
"I say, that was a pretty show of fireworks. How about the axe itself?""Pick it up. Swing it."Jordan picks up the axe and swings at the air! As he does so, he seems to relocate slightly to the right! Or at least his image does!
Jordan now has a
Displacement Axe!
"Jolly good! But does it work against those ghost things?""It doesn't really matter what sort of magic a weapon possesses, just that it has any to it - that immediately allows it to reach ethereal entities.""Good show, m'lord, good show indeed!"Samuel, not willing to lose an arms race, decides to attempt to create a focus out of his cane!
[Samuel magical crafting roll: 6-
2]
He concentrates as hard as an animated skeletal corpse can, which is to say very hard indeed! There must be residual magical energies aplenty in the room, because the cane begins to glow after a few minutes of intense staring! It seems to become an extension of Samuel's psyche - murderous, servile, curious and adventurous at the same time! After expending so much will, Samuel is unwilling to let it go!
[Resist the urge to brag: 1-
1]
Samuel dances over to Bernie, cane in hand!
"What are you on about?"He shows his cane!
"That's a focus! Where'd you get that?"Samuel proudly raises his head and points at himself!
"You... killed someone to get it? Well, that's not terribly surprising. On your way, then."Samuel is about to argue with Bernie, but fortunately cannot speak! Well, at least
he himself knows he conjured an artifact of power out of what is essentially thin air!
See that 1 at the end there? After an update of good rolling, random.org decided to slow down like hell. So I used a real die there. THIS COULD BE YOUR FATE, REAL DIE USERS!
Author
Topic: Life Begins At Death - Epilogue: We Live And Live Again (Read 542692 times)