>>40099100
To which shop will you go first?

>A small cart labeled "RINGS RINGS RINGS." The cart is filled with small, unmarked blue boxes. There doesn't appear to be anyone tending it.
>A craftsman shop, displaying various leather goods on hooks, racks and armor stands.
>A shop labeled "The Attic", which appears to house an astounding variety of trinkets, most of which are seemingly useless at a glance.
>A shop labeled "Dungeon Crawlers." Looking through a window shows a number of tamed Hellspawns in cages.
>A weapons shop, displaying a variety of weapons, from the humble sword to a series of large rifles, along with a number of enchanted items as well.
>Nevermind the shops, you have a bandit nest to clear.

Looks like we're doa, huh?

>>40099129
>Nevermind the shops, you have a bandit nest to clear.

>>40099585
At least I'm not all on my lonesome. I'll write that up, unless a sudden wave of people decide to vote.

>>40099129
Nevermind the shops, you have a bandit nest to clear. The longer you wait, the less time you'll have.

You adjust the straps of your bag on your body, still sore as it is from the hazards you put it through not two days ago, and follow the directions you were given to the bandit nest. Walking through the town located in the ruins of an old pier, you come to the docks. Seeing as there is no water for miles, some enterprising individuals have converted the beached boats into makeshift homes.

Hopping off the dock, you head out into a sea of a different kind: one of endless sand. The dried up remains of various scrubs are scattered here and there, making up the majority of any visible vegetation. Occasionally you'll stumble across a shell of some kind, likely from when this was all still water, but pay them little mind.

Your directions lead you towards a rather sizable cruise ship, its white underbelly visible through the hazy and wavering heat. Crouching behind a convenient outcropping of rock, you look the place over.

From your current position, a few trenches are visible, along with the a crow's nest that has been repurposed into a watchtower. You don't see anyone yet, either in the nest or around the wreck.

What will you do?

>Announce your presence and enter boldly, making it clear you mean no harm. Then attempt negotiations.
>Announce your presence and enter boldly, making it clear you "mean no harm." Then attempt a surprise attack.
>Scout the surrounding area more thoroughly.
>Attempt to enter unseen.
>Wait and hope for something to happen.
>Write-in

Roll 1d20 with your choice.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>40099900
>Scout the surrounding area more thoroughly.

>>40099956
I was expecting another 20. There's been a habit of pulling those in the last few games.

Doesn't look like we'll be getting anyone else right now, so I'll write that up for you.

>>40099900
You decide to scout the surrounding area more thoroughly. Farming's more your business than something as dangerous as this, but you figure you can at least get a good lay of the land.

Moving from rock to rock, you circle the wreck, examining it from every angle. Apart from the dried up remains of long-dead barnacles clinging to the hull, there is little else to note on this tilted wreck that you can find. The area around it is equally as featureless, barring the rocks you use as cover and some vast dunes of sand, which are a common sight in the desert.

As you conclude your scouting, the sun finally dips below a large mound of sand in the distance as the area slowly but surely beings to visibly darken.

You spot no immediate activity from the ship, although you do note the obvious glow of a lantern or some other source of light coming from a few windows. Someone's home, by the looks of it.

With nothing else to see, what will you do?

>Announce your presence and enter boldly, making it clear you mean no harm. Then attempt negotiations.
>Announce your presence and enter boldly, making it clear you "mean no harm." Then attempt a surprise attack.
>Attempt to enter unseen.
>Wait and hope for something to happen.
>Write-in

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>40100411
Put on the cloak and
>Attempt to enter unseen.

Rolled 19, 17 = 36 (2d20)

>>40100480
Rolling the other 2 because I'm alone

>>40100411
You got your cloak off the bastard that started this whole series of events, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't make use of it.

Clasping it around your neck, you raise the hood and wrap yourself in it, completely enshrouding yourself in the soft material. Crouching low, you use the rocky cover to ease in on the approach. As you stop and examine the ship from each position, you at one point chance a look backwards, only to find that you've left not a single footstep in the sand since you equipped the cloak.

Ignoring that for the time, you continue your advance, finally approaching the trenches. Seeing them devoid of any life, you lower yourself in and follow them towards the ship, where they lead into a hole cut into its hull.

Poking your head through, you find an empty room lit by a dim lantern hanging on a wall. To the right is a ladder leading up, from which you can hear voices, and to the left is a path leading deeper inside the ship.

>Write-in

>>40100921
Put on the skull like a helmet and go left

>>40101053
Digging through your pack, you pull out the skull of the Hellspawn, and place that on your head. In combination with the cloak, your entire body is now completely covered, and you feel the telltale tingle of magic shoot across your body for a short moment, almost like an electric shock. Before you know what's happened, you look down to find yourself staring at the flowing, shadowy body and long, misshapen arms of the Hellspawn in question. Quickly finding a reflective surface, you stare into the base of the lantern and examine the warped shape of your new form.

It is indeed that Hellspawn, body and all, even with the glowing red pupil for an eye. Though from your perspective on the inside, you feel as though you're wearing a costume, nothing more. With an outfit like this, you'll be bound to scare the hell out of anyone who crosses paths with you.

Ignoring the voices above, you decide to head into the door on the left. Peeking through one room, you spot numerous crates of various origin, all marked with symbols you recognize from places back in the pier town.

Moving past that, you find what appears to be the sleeping quarters of the bandits. There are a total of six vacant bunks in the room, with various personable items scattered around and on each of the beds. Whether this means there are six bandits or more remains to be seen.

Finally, you come to a small room where the hull has been cut through and holes dug in the sand. It's a makeshift restroom, and here you spot one man with his back to you. His tall scraggy form is rather dirty, but he is otherwise content to whistle a tune as he does his business.

Done at last, he turns to face you, and pales visibly.

"H-H-H-" he stammers as his breathing rapidly increases.

>"Boo."
>Make a growling noise.
>Knock his lights out.
>Shove him into one of the waste pits.
>Write-in

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>40101520
>Shove him into one of the waste pits.
should I still be rolling?

>>40101640
I was gonna make this one a freebie, but the roll works too.

>>40101640
You barrel into him like a linebacker, causing him to stumble backwards and fall into the pit with a squelch. Looking down, you see the man passed out, either from fumes or fear. He probably won't be a threat for now.

Heading back the way you came, your only other option is the ladder. To your relief, you no longer hear voices from above. You climb as quietly as you can before you reach the upper level. Finding it vacant, you follow the only open door to a hallway which splits off into a kitchen on the left, a small dining room on the right, and dead ahead being the captain's cabin.

In the kitchen are a variety of spices and other goods, with one man cooking at a stove. He does not seem to notice you, so invested in his dinner he is. In the dining room you spot two men seated across from one another, chatting idly. The door to the captain's cabin is closed. You decide to listen in for a moment on the conversation.

"...a real killer, y'know? Scare's the hell out of me."
"You're tellin' me. Feels weird being bossed around by someone like that."
"Those freaks think they rule the world, just because they got a little power. Ain't right, I tell you."
"It's either that or die. You see the hauls we been getting lately? Never woulda got that without her. We're basically rich now."
"Still ain't right. But I hear you. Least we're on the winning side now, yeah? Hit a few shipments and we're living large."
"Mm. Frank's takin' a while down in the shitter. Think he fell in?"
"Wouldn't be surprised."

Once their laughter dies down, silence reigns, bar the quiet sizzling from the kitchen. Seems nobody's going anywhere, for now.

What do you do?

>Write-in

Rolled 12, 3, 3 = 18 (3d20)

>>40102085
Sneak up and slit the cooks throat

>>40102195
Well, that's gonna hurt...

>>40102085
The only thing you've ever cut before are peppers and onions. But hearing those two in the dining room made you realize just how ruthless these people are, and if you don't stop them, who will? For all you know, they might one day hit someone coming to or from your own town. These people are a weed in the garden of the desert, and like any weed, you need to pull it up roots and all.

Unsheathing your knife, you creep quietly towards your prey, still disguised as the Hellspawn.

You weren't expecting to trip on your cloak and take a loud tumble, however. As you stumble several steps forwards, you bump into the cook, who lets out a yelp and immediately about faces, pan in hand.

He has a similar reaction to the one down by the waste pits, but this one's a little quicker to react. Smacking you upside the head, whatever stir fry he was making is scattered across the floor as your head rings with the resounding clang of the pan crashing against the skull helmet. You fall backwards and onto your ass as the pale man dashes like a bat out of hell out of the kitchen, banging his pan against the walls and shouting "HELLSPAWN! IN THE KITCHEN!"

You shake your aching head and get your bearings, quickly trying to formulate a plan.

>Chase him down. May as well take him and anyone else in your way out. You're a big guy, right?
>Get the hell out of dodge. You're outnumbered and probably under equipped.
>Wait around and ambush whoever tries to come in.
>Write-in.

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>40102486
Take cover and get the gun ready and shoot them as they enter as you

>>40102486
Sup, just got here, damn thread got slow.
Maybe it's because of PPQ?

Just let me read up the thread

Rolled 15, 14 = 29 (2d20)

>>40102681
Forgot my other rolls

>>40102688
PPQ? I'm assuming that's another quest? Wouldn't be surprised if that's the reason, I guess I'm not the best QM around. I'm so used to GMing that it's hitting the quest in that sort of moment-for-moment action that happens with realtime games, as opposed to big lump summaries for a single action that make quests move.

I've got too big a focus on dialogue too. I'm trying to cut down and condense, so more gets said in each post, but it's difficult to break my habits as a GM over a QM.

>>40102753
Meh it's just way more estabilished mate (73 threads), you do a good job.

>>40102681
>>40102486
I guess we're going with this too considering there's no third anon

>>40102681
>>40102812
That'll do then. Nice to get someone else in here. I'll get to work.

>>40102486
You pull out the so-called peashooter your "twenty two" pistol. Roscoe, the man who gave it to you, called it that at least.

You flip a counter on its side and duck behind it, readying the business end of the gun towards the door and awaiting anyone fool enough to enter. You hear a commotion gathering outside the door, some terrified muttering, and a disgruntled sigh. The sigh is what catches you most off guard, as it sounds more like it came from a young girl than a grown man.

The girl's voice, clearly irritated, says, "Hellspawn? I don't sense anything. How the crap did it get inside? Wasn't that shit-head supposed to be keeping watch?"

One of the men, a voice you recognize from the dining room, says "He's been down in the toilets far as I know."

The girl groans. "I don't keep you idiots on board so you can take a leak when you're on duty. Now get the HELL in there and tell us what's what."

At that point, one of the men is shoved into the kitchen, as he stumbles a few steps to regain his balance. He turns towards you and blanches as you line up the shot and nail him in the leg, dropping him like a sack of bricks as he clutches his thigh, shouting. The girl speaks up, "The fuck kind of 'spawn uses a GUN? Out of the way, I'm going in."

Into the kitchen and over the fallen form of the bleeding man walks a teenage girl, not much older than Clarice. This girl's electric-yellow hair and eyes are quite vibrant, and a few bolts of lightning crackle from her fist as she clenches it, looking at you.

You then realize what an odd sight you must be, a hulking Hellspawn like the one you're disguised as, sitting crouched behind a counter and clutching a tiny pistol. The girl raises an eyebrow at you before, in a flash of light, she reappears in an entirely different outfit. Her new outfit is as blinding as her hair, outlined with bright blue and white. Strands of hair hang down in clumps and her black pants are wrapped with wire, along which arcs electricity.

>>40103037
She stares at you unamused, raising her fistful of lighting in your direction.

>Stand and remove your disguise before you're roasted.
>Attempt to talk her down.
>Shoot her before she can fry you.
>Run like the lightning that's about to shock you.
>Write-in

Don't forget your inventory, could be some creative solutions somewhere in there.

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>40103072
Use the knife to stop her spell, apparently it cuts magic? Then shoot her

>>40103116
>>40103072
Agree with use the knife, but I'd rather we just tackle/punch her in the face.

>>40103131
she's a bandit m8. just because she's female doesn't mean she's a good person

Rolled 5, 11 = 16 (2d20)

>>40103116
>>40103072
I'm guessing we still need the 2 other rolls before pAppy accepts it

>>40103154
>because she's female
I'm more worried about her being a kid
Would farmer guy kill a kid, even if bandit?

>>40103168
Well, she's clearly hit some other caravans before, and she's got a couple of relatively loyal guard dogs. Kid or not, she's serious business. Also about to roast your face. Shooting could be spur of the moment.

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>>40103177
With that reasoning I agree.

But there's always a way Clark! There's always a way!

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>40103116
>>40103168

Knife to cut the magic, and I'll roll for shooting or punching. Let the dice speak.

1. Rooty tooty point and shooty
2. Fist to the face

>>40103222
Meh no need, I agree with shooting I suppose.

>>40103246
In that case, I'll go with the shooting, and maybe regretting it later if she dies! Yaaay. Writing now.

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>40103222
>Punch face

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>>40103263
What? Not like she can't use electromagnetism to shield herself from anything metalic.
I mean, what kind of electromaster...

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500 KB JPG

>>40103315
Wrong image, jeez

And cool, we have one more guy with us now

Hey guys, sorry about the delay. My internet crapped out on me so I'm posting from my phone. I've got the post here, so gimme another minute.

>>40103037
Quick as the lighting about to hit you (or maybe a little quicker) you bring your knife to clash with the bolt of electricity, cutting it clean in two and dissipating it harmlessly with a fizzle, leaving only a sharp but short pain in your hand.

With the immediate threat disposed of, you bring your gun to bear and fire again. With a pop, your round hits her square in the stomach, and she grunts, clutching her gut and wheezing. You don't see any blood, though. Whatever magic she's got was enough to shield her from the worst of it, but not enough to keep her from staggering slightly. Maybe if you'd had a bigger gun... but as you'll recall from Hellspawns, nothing but the most brutal of normal means will harm them. Magi are much the same.

You're down to your last four shots. There are two men standing behind her, about to jump into action. The Magi herself is staggered, and there's a third man on the floor and clutching his bleeding leg.

The room is one-way; you're cornered in this small space, with few options.

What will you do now that your biggest target's staggered?

>Run up and cut her with the knife that CAN damage Magi.
>Shoot the men before they can interfere.
>Attempt negotiations. Maybe they'll reason with you.
>Send them running scared. You're still dressed as the Hellspawn, after all.
>Write-in

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>40103520
>Run up and cut her with the knife that CAN damage Magi.

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>40103520
>Write-in
Run and Gun towards her, take down the followers and then use the knife against her.
We're full murderhobo now

>>40103544
oh dang
the dice gods have spoken

>>40103544
>>40103520
n-not literally murderhobo though, more like b-beaterhobo?

>>40103544
I'm guessing you mean we should shoot the two guys as we run up and knife the girl

>>40103570
She's a magic using bandit anon. Not your waifu

>>40103583
Anyone can be a waifu if you try hard enough.

>>40103575
Yep, bullet to the brains, knife to the jugular


>>40103583
I'm a buddhist

Looks like we have an agreement. Time for our first, second and third blood! I'll be a bit slower on the uptake because of mobile, but I'll get typing.

>>40103631
Double Kill, Triple Kill, Winston is Unstoppable

>>40103520
As the bandit girl begins to catch her breath, she looks up at you with hate in her eyes.

"I don't know what you are, you piece of shit, but you're SO-"

You cut off whatever it was she had to say with two more pops from your peashooter, one in the head of each of the still-standing bandit men, before you leap over the toppled counter and grapple the girl, pinning her to the floor. Your cloak catches on a leg of the counter, being popped off your neck and dissipating the illusion as you leap onto the girl, sitting with your knee on her stomach. You reset your grip on the knife and bring it down on her throat.

With one hand, she keeps your knife at bay, while flailing with her other, electricity crackling in it once more. In her struggles, she manages to score a clear punch to your head, kocking the skull off. The contempt she feels only escalates as she sees your face, your disguise now completely stripped.

"DIE ALREADY!" she shouts, sending a jolt down your arm and across your body. Resisting the urge to freeze up and crumple in a corner to cry quietly, you backhand her with the pistol in your left hand, sufficiently disorienting her enough for you to plunge the blade into her throat.

Her death gargle will haunt you for the rest of your days.

You stand up, leaving the knife in her throat, and examine your work. Two men dead, small, clean holes in their head. The girl is sprawled across the floor, blood leaking from the seams in her throat around the knife. The last man is still propped against the wall, holding his leg and looking at you more scared than he was when you were a Hellspawn.

>>40103884
What will you do now?

>Write-in

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>40103933
>>40103884
Interrogate him, see if there's any others

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>40103933
recover the knife, skull, and cloak
shouldn't there be one more bandit around somewhere? if so sneak around and look for him after putting the cloak back on

File: disgust.jpg (58 KB, 402x500)

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Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>40103933
>>40103960
>>40104000
>these rolls

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>40103933
finish off the wounded bandit
go check out the captain's cabin

Winston is going to be a broken man after this quest.

So seeing as we're all at odds here, any objections to the classic "do everything" route? Gather equipment, interrogate, kill, then sneak around?

>>40104138
I'm okay with it.

And what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, pappy!

>>40103884
Looking at your bloodied hands with an intense feeling of apathy, you simply wipe them on your vest and gather your scattered equipment. Holstering the pistol, wrapping the cloak back around you, and stowing the skull, you whip off some of the blood from the knife with a single motion. It comes clean in an instant, as though the blade repelled the blood. You leave the knife in your hand, and crouch down to the eye level of the bandit.

You stare him in the eyes, never having felt so hollow before. There must be something you're missing. Maybe he knows.

"Are there any more of you?" you ask in a calm, almost kindly voice, completely opposite your previous actions.

The man simply whimpers, a puddle beginning to form under him. You look down for a moment before returning to the direct eye contact. You decide he won't be telling you anything of use, so in a flash and with the strength honed from your years of farming, your blade carves a bloody swath across his throat, ending him in an instant.

You attempt to rationalize it. These people are weeds. And like weeds, if you don't kill them all, they'll just sprout up stronger than ever.

The hollow feeling doesn't abate.

You think back to what you've seen so far. The sleeping quarters had six beds. There was the man down in the toilets, the two in the dining room whose heads have new holes, the girl, and the man you just cleaved. That makes five. Who are you missing? They must be around somewhere...

Putting the hood of your cloak back up, you decide to investigate the captain's cabin first. It's pretty obvious that the girl must be the one who commanded these weeds, so maybe there's one more hiding in there.

You head into the cabin, knife in hand, and find the door slightly ajar. You push it open cautiously, and find the room filled with a number of worthless trinkets, almost like an office from the old ages. There's a beaten and worn desk, with a map on it detailing caravan routes, along with other towns.

>>40104321
You decide to take the map, figuring you'll combine the information from it with that of your own later, before you take around the rest of the room. There's a leather couch with the cushions strewn about, a large wardrobe easily large enough to fit a person, and a few items on a shelf that might be of some worth.

>Investigate the items.
>Open the wardrobe.
>Leave. There's nothing to be seen here.
>Write-in

Note: you don't need to roll for this one.

>>40104346
>Open the wardrobe.

>>40104346
>Open the wardrobe.
>Investigate items

>>40104346
>Open wardrobe

>>40104346
Disregarding the shelf for now, you keep your knife at the ready, and cautiously approach the wardrobe. With each step, your boot seems to clatter with an uncanny loudness that echos in your ears like a passing train.

Clunk. Clunk. Step. Step. Your heartrate increases as you stand a foot away from the wardrobe, the old, stained wood in surprisingly good shape. You grab a hold of the handle with your left hand, the blade pointed to stab at the first sign of any trouble.

From inside, you can hear a shallow breathing.

>Open the wardrobe.
>Open the wardrobe, keeping the blade ready.
>Open the wardrobe and stab.
>Whatever it is, isn't worth the effort. Walk away.
>Write-in

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>40104551
>Open the wardrobe, keeping the blade ready.

>>40104551
>Open the wardrobe, keeping the blade ready
Just in case we need it

>>40104582
>>40104551
Well, whatever happens we're ready, kill or no kill we can take it because Winston is the dice gods' champion

>>40104551
Taking a deep breath, you attempt to steady your pounding heart.

You throw open the door, your blade at the ready. Inside, nothing is immediately visible, barring a few hanging clothes. The real noteworthy thing is when you look down.

Looking back up at you is a young girl, maybe five or six years old. Her hair is a bright blue, similar in color to the highlights on the bandit's clothes once she changed her form. But this girl's eyes are what catch you the most.

The same, electric-yellow of the bandit's. Only these are filled with fear and tears, rather than anger and bloodlust. The girl simply whimpers as you look down on her, your face blank and blade poised.

The girl says nothing as she looks at you, cowed in a fetal position at the back of the wardrobe.

>Write-in

>>40104743
She's uh... our responsability now I guess.
Drop the combat stance and ask her how she is?
We need to cover her eyes or something and take her out of here far away

>>40104794
>>40104743
Who*
And yeah try to calm the little kid

>>40104743
put the knife away
calm the little kid, ask her name, tell her ours
leave and take her with us back to the town i guess

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>40104743
What are the odds the kid saw the hellspawn fighting and then hid before we showed up as us

Whoops. Did I break you guys? Maybe that was too much...

What's done is done I guess. Oops.

>>40104891
Pretty decent with that roll.

>>40104743
The hollow feeling in your gut is filled with a terrible, crushing guilt. You slowly stow the knife, squatting down to her level.

You give the best smile you can, though it's not very convincing, even to you. Slowly and calmly, you speak, "Hi there. Are you alright? My name is Winston, what's yours?"

She rubs her eyes, looking at your now-relaxed stance with a little more ease. "I-I'm..." she stammers, her breath hitching. "I'm... Emmie. Where's my sister? I saw a big scary thing before..."

Your false smile turns instantly to a frown. You don't need to tell her for her to know what happened.

"S-she's...?"

You nod without a word, extending a hand out towards her. She instantly breaks out into a seemingly endless stream of tears, grabbing your hand and crying into your shirt. You hold her, fighting back your own tears.

Lifting her with one arm, you make your way out of the cabin, making sure her face is turned away from the kitchen.

The bandits are taken care of. You've done your job here.

----

And I think we can call it a night here! Slow as molasses to start, got pretty intense in the middle parts, then a little heart-wrenching at the end. Looks like you've picked up a new responsibility, and I've found out I'm an awful person.

So how am I doing? Hopefully not complete shit.

>>40105118
I like it plenty, hopefully we can go on a bit longer and with more people on the weekend, if you decide to run. But yeah, your writing is good and the history is fun.

I'm looking forward to getting Clarice back on the party: 2 kids and a "hellspawn" farmer.

>>40105118
I thought it was good. The combat was enjoyably violent and intense. Winston seems pretty disturbed by it too.

>>40105196
>>40105118
Oh yeah, I found that was nice, for him to be very affected makes a lot of sense and was done pretty well.

>>40105216
Awesome! I'm glad you guys are enjoying it. At first I thought the thread was just going to fall into oblivion, glad we got this going. I'll archive it now.

>>40105231
I'm glad I stuck with it even though being the only player for a while was a bit strange

>>40105231
Oooor someone else will archive it for me. Thanks, anon!

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/40099100/

>>40105239
Yeah, that was a little silly. I was relieved we got a few more people. Thanks for sticking through it.