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Author Topic: The Rise of a Demon (Number of ritual wedding duels: 1)  (Read 50865 times)

Urist Mc Dwarf

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #60 on: January 31, 2019, 09:51:30 am »

You acknowledge the castle’s words, promising to return, and then gather your cult. They follow you back out onto the plains as you consider how best to hide them. You don’t think of anything, so you just have them lie hidden in the tall grass by the hill you first landed on, and then you begin to contemplate your next moves.

You begin to examine what caused the changes in the Boneys, and you find several fragments of information.  They served a necromancer named Caliwik, who seemed to be a half-demon of incredible power. He seemed to have been defeated eventually, and they hid from the enemy armies in one of his laboratories. Something happened in there, but you cannot precisely determine what.
Without that information, you are unable to reverse the mutation, but it might be possible to further mutate them until they resemble something human again. You consider this possibility, but do not act for now.

Instead, as the sun sets and the land grows dark and weary villagers return to their beds, you sneak inside the village. You pass by Andrick’s house, and get a sense of what has happened to him so far. He is beginning to have difficulty running thanks to your gift, and his temper has grown short. It’s been less than a week since you cursed him, but progress has been remarkably fast.
You taint the two wells quickly and efficiently, causing them to grow more suggestible the more water they drink and making them slightly thirsty as well. There was a surprisingly large amount of water, and it takes more power than you expected to ensure that everyone who drinks from the wells will feel the effects. But your task is done before the sun begins to rise, and you return to the hill, feeling a slight rush as the worship of your cult begins to take effect. Though faint, the taste is undeniably sweet, and you hunger for more. More power, more followers, more of everything!

How do you get more?
[] Keep subtly corrupting the villagers
[] Head somewhere else to find more followers and people to corrupt
[] Look for other sources of evil to drain

Spoiler: Current status (click to show/hide)

NUKE9.13

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #61 on: January 31, 2019, 10:44:12 am »

He seemed to have been defeated eventually, and they hid from the enemy armies in one of his laboratories. Something happened in there, but you cannot precisely determine what.
So, was the castle the location of the laboratory in question, or was it elsewhere? If elsewhere, was it nearby?
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chubby2man

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #62 on: January 31, 2019, 11:50:27 am »

Hmm I think our best move is to secure this village, get a good source of cultists and sacrifices going. We can continue to subtly corrupt them, but I think it might be better to take a more active approach.

Under cover of darkness, break into and consume humans in isolated houses around the village.

This will strengthen us, and spread fear through the village.
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Sindari Immortals Play as an immortal being trying to subvert an evil empire of (for now) stronger immortals. On *very* long term hiatus.

Urist Mc Dwarf

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #63 on: January 31, 2019, 11:56:03 am »

He seemed to have been defeated eventually, and they hid from the enemy armies in one of his laboratories. Something happened in there, but you cannot precisely determine what.
So, was the castle the location of the laboratory in question, or was it elsewhere? If elsewhere, was it nearby?

Yes, they were in it’s remnants when you found them. It had been largely destroyed during whatever changed them and the centuries afterwards.

NUKE9.13

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #64 on: January 31, 2019, 12:14:02 pm »

Hmm I think our best move is to secure this village, get a good source of cultists and sacrifices going. We can continue to subtly corrupt them, but I think it might be better to take a more active approach.

Under cover of darkness, break into and consume humans in isolated houses around the village.

This will strengthen us, and spread fear through the village.
Hmm. We don't want to be quite that blatant, I think, lest we ruin any chance of gaining followers from the village. Let them think themselves safe in their houses, for now. I'd suggest we do something more along the lines of

Pick off those who stray too far from the village, or any lone travellers, slaughtering and eating them, leaving a bloody mess behind for people to find.

It's a subtle difference, but people with nowhere to hide will become desperate, which we don't want just yet.
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Puppyguard

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #65 on: January 31, 2019, 12:49:19 pm »

-snip-
Pick off those who stray too far from the village, or any lone travellers, slaughtering and eating them, leaving a bloody mess behind for people to find.
-snip-
+1.
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Kashyyk

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #66 on: January 31, 2019, 01:24:37 pm »

-snip-
Pick off those who stray too far from the village, or any lone travellers, slaughtering and eating them, leaving a bloody mess behind for people to find.
-snip-
+1.
If we can focus fire on those who seem more pious and pure, we're less likely to eat the ones who might be willing to follow us.
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chubby2man

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #67 on: January 31, 2019, 02:34:22 pm »


Hmm. We don't want to be quite that blatant, I think, lest we ruin any chance of gaining followers from the village. Let them think themselves safe in their houses, for now. I'd suggest we do something more along the lines of

Pick off those who stray too far from the village, or any lone travellers, slaughtering and eating them, leaving a bloody mess behind for people to find.

It's a subtle difference, but people with nowhere to hide will become desperate, which we don't want just yet.

I think that’s a good addition, but I think attacking the outlying homes would encourage people to cluster together, preferably around the corrupted well. Just attacking travelers and loners doesn’t necessarily do that.  It would also further spread fear that they aren’t safe anywhere, that their only protection would be found in submission. But I agree that this would be a more aggressive approach which has its own risks.
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Hotfire90

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #68 on: January 31, 2019, 02:36:43 pm »

-snip-
Pick off those who stray too far from the village, or any lone travellers, slaughtering and eating them, leaving a bloody mess behind for people to find.
-snip-
+1.
+1
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NUKE9.13

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #69 on: January 31, 2019, 02:51:56 pm »

I think that’s a good addition, but I think attacking the outlying homes would encourage people to cluster together, preferably around the corrupted well. Just attacking travelers and loners doesn’t necessarily do that.  It would also further spread fear that they aren’t safe anywhere, that their only protection would be found in submission. But I agree that this would be a more aggressive approach which has its own risks.
Yeah, once we're ready to take over the village, we can step up our attacks to that level, for that very reason- they will realise that their safety was an illusion, and in the face of our power (and having been affected by drinking the well water for a while), will surely submit.
But currently, we're not actually overwhelmingly strong, nor has the water had much time to have an effect. We need to marshal our strength and let them drink deep, for now (whilst sowing the seeds of fear and culling their numbers).
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Urist Mc Dwarf

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #70 on: January 31, 2019, 02:57:13 pm »

It was late in the day. Jalick was tired, hungry, and eager to be home. But the most expensive of his goats, a Durana Grey, was missing after his herd was scattered, and he needed to find it before he could return. There had been wolves seen on the plains, and of late he had been feeling something...odd. He knew several of the other herdsmen had that same nervous sensation. He suspected several of them had been suffering nightmares, and he was especially worried about…He was jolted out of his worries by a loud, pitiful bleat. Sprinting, he charged forwards, cursing, staff at the ready to protect his property.
He came to a halt, mouth hanging open, his grip tightening. The goat had been completely torn apart, its guts spilled on the ground. Two…things had their heads buried in its opened stomach, feasting noisily. A third was gnawing on the skull.  They had no eyes, but mouths full of jagged teeth. Spurs of bone soaked in blood thrust from their withered flesh. Slowly, he began to back away, when the three creatures started to point behind him. A hideous laugh, sounding like rock scraping on rock came from their throats, and then they turned back to the goat.

Jalick turned, expecting to see more of the horrible creatures. These were terrifying, but he thought he could fight them. He was considered a tough, strong man. He had once fought off a sabrecat that had attacked his flock. These were probably no tougher…When he saw the true terror of what had come for him, he dropped his staff and fell to his knees. His sobs mingled with the sounds of the dying goat and the feeding creatures. He refused to look up, to see those impossible limbs and that terrifying maw again. He felt a crushing pressure around each of his limbs, burning agony as his flesh groaned and creaked.

Three days later his body was found, his face peeled off and nailed to the goat’s skull by bone shards. The rest of him was gone. The man who found him – a retired soldier who had fought a dozen battles without flinching – threw up at the sight.

For nearly two weeks you terrorize the lands, attacking whenever you find someone alone, and leaving their mutilated corpse on display. Soon people only travel in groups, and they frequent the temples ever more, though no answer comes to their prayers. The night is full of the sounds of grief, the day of tense silence.

You are careful, both never to be seen and to take from a wide area. You concentrate your kills on Dresick, but to avoid culling too much of your potential worshippers you slaughter several others as well, leaving their mutilated, unrecognizable corpses near the unfortunate village. In an incidental stroke of good fortune, one of the first men you killed was a peddler coming to Dresick. They shall feel the lack of supplies as the year stretches on, and your cult enjoyed the new foods and the various other supplies.

When you are not killing, you watch and listen, indulging yourself, feeling the rush from worship, the delight of misery and faltering faith, as the priest struggles to offer solace to the bereaved, although ironically your own poison makes his job a little easier.

An atmosphere of terror and despair begins to soak into the village, and people begin to pull apart, breaking into a few small groups, who argue nightly in the village hall and temple. Some want to go for help. Some want to go on the offensive. Some blame the desert tribes, or unusually savage wild animals, or even the ghost of Caliwik. No one can convince a majority, and no one wants to risk independent action.

Now, you shall…
[] Reveal yourself to the whole village and demand they serve you.
[] Offer to protect a few members in exchange for their worship
[] Step up the attacks
[] Something else

Spoiler: Current status (click to show/hide)

« Last Edit: January 31, 2019, 04:02:04 pm by Urist Mc Dwarf »
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chubby2man

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #71 on: January 31, 2019, 05:06:27 pm »

I don’t think the village is quite ready for us to reveal ourselves just yet. But we can lay the groundwork.

Kill the Priest. If the priest were to disappear, it would discourage the village without scattering them to the winds in panic.

Offer protection in exchange for worship. Mentally contact those susceptible to us and tell them that if they worship us they will be safe, and to mark their door in animal blood.

Escalate attacks on unmarked houses, starting from the outskirts of the village. Stop people trying to escape.

Goal is to be in position to take over the town next turn.
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Ardent Debater

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #72 on: January 31, 2019, 09:04:01 pm »

I don’t think the village is quite ready for us to reveal ourselves just yet. But we can lay the groundwork.

Kill the Priest. If the priest were to disappear, it would discourage the village without scattering them to the winds in panic.

Offer protection in exchange for worship. Mentally contact those susceptible to us and tell them that if they worship us they will be safe, and to mark their door in animal blood.

Escalate attacks on unmarked houses, starting from the outskirts of the village. Stop people trying to escape.

Goal is to be in position to take over the town next turn.
+1, seems wise.
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VoidSlayer

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #73 on: January 31, 2019, 10:00:28 pm »

Don't kill the priest.

Offer protection in dreams to a few susceptible, ask only that they put the animal blood mark on their door and follow further orders.

Then kill someone in the village without the mark.

Let the mark spread naturally.

Then contact them again and tell them to be truly safe they need to kill the priest and use his blood to put the same mark on the temple.

Better to make them kill the priest out of fear.

Ardent Debater

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Re: The Rise of a Demon
« Reply #74 on: January 31, 2019, 10:06:09 pm »

Ah, never-mind my vote, this is better.

Don't kill the priest.

Offer protection in dreams to a few susceptible, ask only that they put the animal blood mark on their door and follow further orders.

Then kill someone in the village without the mark.

Let the mark spread naturally.

Then contact them again and tell them to be truly safe they need to kill the priest and use his blood to put the same mark on the temple.

Better to make them kill the priest out of fear.
+1
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