Rolled 44, 47 = 91 (2d100)

>>437679

"I am a god of weaponry, an expert in every form of martial art by the Names imbued into my soul from birth. I am exactly the person you should come to for training. But the question is: why the hell should I help you?" Grant stands, arms crossed. His scar-riddled body and the array of bladed weapons strapped to his back are an intimidating sight.

You point to the west and then to the east, "In the west lies Therawen, protected in Tyren's absence by a Cardinal Virtue. In the east, lies the nomads of Ecaiba, to whom peace is a foreign word. You stand here alone, surrounded by enemies. You could use someone like me, another being of divine power: an ally."

He doesn't shift. "Words are cheap, friendship means nothing if it isn't sealed in blood. Either give me a divine pact, or you'll need to make it worth my time in gold and gems."

"Divine pact?" you ask. You have never heard of such a thing before.

"Gah... don't you know what that is? Who the hell raised you?" he snorts.

The question hurts a little. "I did." you state firmly.

He gives no response for a few seconds then his expression softens, almost imperceptibly, "Say no more, I raised myself too. Us demigods are bastards, I know. I won't be the one to judge you." His expression hardens once more, "But you should know what a divine pact is. It's an oath that can't be broken. At least not without consequences. I'll swear a pact to train you, whenever you want training, but you'll swear a pact to always answer my call to arms and fight beside me whenever needed. Does that seem fair?"

"How long does this pact last?" you ask

"Forever" he smirks. "Otherwise, I'll need a thousand... no... two-thousand gold to train you for a year. That's about the time it takes to master a single weapon."

You don't have two-thousand gold.

[ ] Ask more about pacts
[ ] Agree to the pact
[ ] Offer payment in gold, half now, half later
[ ] Walk Away
[ ] Other Action (specify)

Character Sheet:

Current Situation Summary:

HP 100/100 (No Injuries)
Gold 1455
Gems: 10 Shadow, 7 Earth, 4 Air
Followers: Count Leofrick of Hawkscrest (Level 1 Commander)
70/282 Militia/Total Peasants
Sworn Lands: Hawkscrest (No castle *)
Holy Sites: Hawkscrest (No temple)

Known Combat Spells:
Wind Walk: Teleport any open-skied area in the world you have visited before for 2 Air Gem
Invisibility: Makes you invisible for 1 Air gem. Doesn't work against powerful enemies
Stoneskin: +5 damage negation per earth gem burned (reduces from total, not per die)
Earthgrip: Immobilize enemy. Roll 1d20, burn up to 10 earth gems for an extra die per gem (more powerful enemies have higher DCs)
Lightning Bolt: Roll 1d6 + 1d6 for each air gem burned
Thunderstrike: Roll 1d10 + 1d10 for each air gem burned. Requires open sky.
Shapeshift: Innate ability, can change form into a medium-sized beast like a wolf or an eagle. Can also change appearance at will, but cannot impersonate another divinity without incurring corruption (very bad).

>>437683
[ ] Offer payment in gold, half now, half later

was this the thread with literally 2 people who had about 6 different trips and ids?

*that

>>437841
There were some 8 or so different participants but one of them was a regular who was usually the quickest to respond.

>>437841
?

>>437800
"Sorry, but I can't accept an agreement that restrictive," you say. "I won't be your vassal for all eternity."

He grunts. "So what'll it be then?"

"I'll pay you the requested amount in gold. Half now, half later." You offer.

His grin widens. "Alright. It's a deal. Here's your first lesson... hold out your dagger." he demands.

You do as you are told. There is a white glint, and the whistling of air, and the blade of the dagger falls to the ground, leaving you holding on to only the handle. He stands in a combat pose, his sword in hand.

"The first piece of advice I have for you is this: lose this junk. Not only is it unenchanted, it's not even well-made. Did you get this shit off a peasant? Find or craft a weapon worthy of a god. Preferrably several, for different situations. And armor too, you're not wearing any armor. Air magic is good for crafting gear that doesn't encumber you down, if that's what your issue with armor is. You may not have a lot of gems, but even a weak magic weapon is better than this garbage you've been lugging around that, frankly, I'd be embarassed to be seen with."

[ ] Specify actions/goals

>>437965
"Well, until I get a weapon worth wielding, and perhaps pay you again another time for more training, can you train me in hand-to-hand combat?"

>>438182
"Go get the gold, when I get my payment, then we can start" he grunts.

You go to dig up the wealth that you had buried nearby and bring it to him. He flings open the chest, grabs a coin and bites it.

He takes a deep breath, and stares at the gold for a while, then runs his hands through the pile. "...Pretty good." he says eventually, nodding appreciatively.

"I tell you what, since you still don't have a decent weapon, and it's starting to piss me off, I'll give you one for free. You're my student now, and if the apprentice looks bad, the master looks bad."

He unsheathes several weapons, explains them and demonstrates their usage before you. "You only get to pick one, but it's yours from now on."

[ ] "Heartseeker" A bow and a quiver, the quiver always replenishes, and arrows shot from the bow have a tendency to veer towards the target's heart
[ ] "Flamewreath" A two-handed sword wreathed in flame, that leaves a trail of fire wherever it touches
[ ] "Quies" A dagger that dispels enchantments and illusions, and returns to your hand when its name is called
[ ] "Mune" An ornately-patterned sword from a distant land, it exudes tranquility and glows with an inner light that banishes evil
[ ] "Mura" An exceptionally-keen sword from a distant land. It effortlessly cuts anything that touches its blade.
[ ] "Wall-Breaker" A giant maul, enchanted with earth magic to destroy stone and mortar on impact
[ ] "Wind Dancer" A halberd that can be controlled by thought, without any hands.
[ ] "I'd rather craft my own weapon" (-5 Earth Gems to design an Earth element weapon)

>>438703
[ ] "Mune" An ornately-patterned sword from a distant land, it exudes tranquility and glows with an inner light that banishes evil

>>438703
I'd rather craft my own weapon.

>>438799
Sure, post the weapon idea and I'll roll for it

>>438815
Twin blades that can grant invisibility.
Or alternatively, an illusory copy of ourselves.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>438774
>>438825
Rolling

>>438799
"Just spit in my eye!" he shouts. "These weapons are my babies. I don't even let my own priests touch them. And I was going to give one away, for free, because you were my first student. And you want nothing to do with it. Fine!" He walks away grumbling, but motions for you to follow.

You are taken into the armory, and pick out a pair of fine-quality swords that seem to feel right in your hands. You weave magic of earth and air into them. The left blade, "Tacitus", allows you to turn invisible at will; and the right blade "Gemina", allows you to create an illusionary copy of yourself.

He shakes his head when you reveal you handiwork. "Feh, bad work. Mune and Mura are better" he scoffs under his breath.

The two of you train every day, your twin blades against whatever challenge he sees fit to face you against. At first, he has you fight against his veteran guardsmen, but very quickly, your skill surpasses that of even his finest men. Now, the two of you spend the evenings sparring one-on-one and have become close friends. He is still the master, but you are able to give him pause, and these fights are no longer so one-sided.

One day he turns to you, "Mei, I have spent most of my evenings with you, neglecting my kingdom. I am going to need the promised second payment soon."

That is all he says. He is never one to talk about the things that deeply trouble him, yet you have heard rumors that the nomads of the east are gathering behind a prophet, one who has promised to purge the world of the wickedness of ages past, and bring about a new golden age. He may soon come to threaten Grant's kingdom of Narrim.

[ ] What to do?

Gold 455 (1000 owed)
Gems: 10 Shadow, 2 Earth, 4 Air

>>438900
"Well, I'll need to need to go earn that second half. Will these Shadow Gems work as collateral until I do? If you'd rather keep me in your sight, then put me to work. With your training, I'm worth a fair sight more than a few good men."

>>438955
You confess to him that you don't have the money he needs. "Well, I'll need to need to go earn that second half. Will these Shadow Gems work as collateral until I do? If you'd rather keep me in your sight, then put me to work."

He stares at you for a while, his expression unreadable. "I knew you didn't have the money. You came to me without any magic rings or amulets or cloaks or weapons. On the same day that a rock slide massacres a caravan, you come up to me with a chest full of gold."

You can feel the tension in his every word. You shift uneasily, your hands ready to reach for your weapons. Grant doesn't hesitate to execute mortal subjects who fail him. Just how he'll respond to you, you have no idea.

"Shadow gems... useless... There isn't a single necromancer or shadow conjurer in the entire kingdom. I made sure of it." He paces around, anxiously. "I need an army... I can't pay an army with shadow gems!"

"You don't need an army" you state. "With your training, I'm worth a fair share more than a few good men."

He looks at you, up and down. "Then go and kill whatever mad god is out there in the steppes, promising these homeless fanatics that their destiny is to conquer the world!" he shouts at you, his face red. He grabs a table with one hand, and throws it against the wall, smashing it into splinters. You have never seen him this emotional, or this violent.

He looks down, his head in his hands. He is silent for a long time. You turn to walk out the door, but before you can leave, he calls out to you, "No... Mei... I'm sorry. You're right, you are worth more than a few good men. You're worth more than all of this. This whole kingdom has brought me nothing but headaches." You stand there, saying nothing. "Your training is done. I can't teach you anything more. You're free to go. Do as you please from now on."

[ ] Help Grant fight the nomads
[ ] Leave Narrim, and Grant, to be crushed by invaders.

>>439051
Help Grant.

>>439051
"Uhh... First of all, that's very hurtful." Play a little obviously exaggerated wink wink, now that you know he's not gonna kill ya. "And I can tell you exactly where the money came from. I killed an abomination formed from shadow magic, who was a formal noble, same place I got the Shadow Gems. Can get the people I rescued to vouch for it. They wanted to set me up for their leader. But I refused." A little more serious.

"So, you've taught me a lot about combat, let me teach you a little something about shirking responsibility. If it comes to it? If you don't think me and you could take this guy out, let's just run. Let the peasants convert or whatever they wanna do. The world is SOO much bigger than this guy. There are so many treasures to find, sights to see, secrets to discover, monsters to slay, heroes and villains to clash with! If the kingdom isn't making you happy, leave it! We're gods, we can do what we want!"

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>439065
>>439084
Rolling

>>439065
>>439084
>"Uhh... First of all, that's very hurtful." Play a little obviously exaggerated wink wink, now that you know he's not gonna kill ya. "And I can tell you exactly where the money came from. I killed an abomination formed from shadow magic, who was a formal noble, same place I got the Shadow Gems. Can get the people I rescued to vouch for it. They wanted to set me up for their leader. But I refused." A little more serious.
>"So, you've taught me a lot about combat, let me teach you a little something about shirking responsibility. If it comes to it? If you don't think me and you could take this guy out, let's just run. Let the peasants convert or whatever they wanna do. The world is SOO much bigger than this guy. There are so many treasures to find, sights to see, secrets to discover, monsters to slay, heroes and villains to clash with! If the kingdom isn't making you happy, leave it! We're gods, we can do what we want!"
He looks at you, and starts laughing, a weak, joyless laugh. "My only holy sites are in this land. Don't you know what happens to a God if all of their holy sites are destroyed? They turn mortal. They can be killed, forever.... So I flee with my followers through the pass into Therawen, and then what? Live as a nothing... die an old man? Get hunted down by that stupid angel for trying to subvert her dead master's followers and found a new holy site?" He stands up, his voice taking on bolder tone, defiant against fate. "No, I will never go so meekly. I am a son of War. I make my stand here. I live, and die by the sword."

You put your hand on his shoulder. "I stand with you" you say.

You spent the next few days scouting out the nomad army in eagle form. They are mostly horsemen, but their numbers are vast. They have no permanent settlements, living on the move with herds of grazing beasts. Once, a nomad fires an arrow at you and misses. Before he can fire again, he is grabbed by his fellows, taken to his village chief, and then executed that same day. His body is left out on the steppes for the birds to eat. As you return to Grant's castle, you notice a suspicious-looking raven circling the castle. You swoop towards it and kill it. As you do, you have the vision of a shaman, sitting before a fire. It appears that the nomads are spying on you, just as you are spying on them.

You find Grant in his war room, in the middle of a meeting with his generals. There are six forts guarding the six entrances to the Basin from the east. While fighting in the pass, the defenders have an advantage. If the pass is taken, the nomads can swarm in, and overrun the entire realm. Grant's strategy has always been the same: station the majority of the men in the central-most fort, and have Mei scout the enemy in bird form, so they can redeploy men wherever there is most pressure.

[ ] Approve Grant's Plan.
[ ] Come up with a better plan (provide details)
[ ] Spend more time scouting, harrying, gathering allies, etc. (provide details)

>>439165
To be fair, my plan was also help, though also offer flight.

Also... Eech. Immortality is based around area control? So we can never really adventure the world freely because someone could destroy our holy site while we're away? That's a bit of a damper.

As for the plan, it sounds good. We've got no military forces we could add.

>>439178
((Last post for the night:

Don't worry too much about being tied down by area control. You can always use air gems to teleport around. And you can presume that lords loyal to you will defend your lands and your faith in your absence))

>>439189
((But Lord Leofrick is kind of a loser right now, without a castle or an army. But at any rate Therawen is protected by the Virtue, for better or for worse. She doesn't seem very interested in hunting down minor cults, as long as they don't grow too big.))

>>439189
>>439193
Still, we HAVE to control an area. We can't just gallivant around the world as a wandering hero. If anyone every threatens to push over our shrine, we have to return and fight them or become mortal. There is a point where we cannot retreat from.

>>439165
Also, while that's a sound defensive plan... What's his plan for actually winning?

>>439201
And because of this, we can't make enemies and then run from them, because if we make them hate us enough, they'll just roll over to our shrine and say "Come and get some, or die of old age. Your call."

>>439201
>>439211
((It's not as big a deal as Grant is making it sound. He's just a stubborn jackass. You can always move to new lands and establish new holy sites by sacrificing gems or followers. Angels are also forbidden from destroying the holy sites of any god, but that doesn't mean they can't execute you if they see you.))

>>439205
((His plan for winning is: hold the passes until the nomads give up and move their armies to an easier target))

>>439230
((If your holy site is destroyed, you still have some 50 or so years before you die of old age, plenty of time to get stuff done, and probably beyond the scope of the game, but it makes you vulnerable to campaign over. If your holy site is intact, but your physical form is destroyed, you take on a spiritual form, and are bound to the shrine until you regenerate enough energy to manifest))

>>439230
Eh, that seems like a plan that works against nomads, not so much against religious zealot nomads. And if both me and him are in check from their armies, no one to go kill prophet man.

>>439240
That said, I don't have a BETTER plan, so, away we go!

Violent anon who made us into arsonist/murderer, it's your time to shine and use your powers for good and not evil!

>>439236
Hey OP! Interesting quest, I just caught up, plan on being a a part of it from here on out.

Have you thought about making a twitter so you can tell your players when you're posting?

>>440202
It'd be awesome if you could. :)

>>439248
>>439236
>>439165
I say we take a diplomatic approach. Nomadic armies and people do not benefit by holding castles and mountains, they aren't cut out for it. I say our first move should be to act as Grant's representative, try and treat with the prophet and his god, and convince them that they're better off turning theit attention elsewhere, that we can benefit each other, and if that fails we can follow Grant's plan.

At the very least going to talk would give us some intel on the god we will be facing.

>>440252
It would, presuming we don't die.

File: Battle for Narrim 2.png (306 KB, 1073x933)

306 KB PNG

Rolled 2 (1d2)

This is the current disposition of enemy forces. The nomads have not launched any major attacks yet, but you have seen a record number of ravens circling over the kingdom of Narrim as of late. Wolves (normally scared of humans) are also behaving uncharacteristically aggressively, and attacking civilians and soldiers.

>>440202
>>440240
I plan on posting at least once a day, but generally multiple times throughout the day if I have a bit of spare time. Sorry if that's a bit informal.

>>439178
>>440252
Rolling

>>440277
thats good enough for the time being.
>>440257
im not too concerned about dying this early in the quest, though maybe thats foolish

>>440287
We already nearly died. :P

>>440277
Also, wow we are outnumbered super hard. Ouch.

>>440252
We decide to approach the Ecaibans as a diplomat representing Narrim.

"Don't concede any land. Don't give them any information about our numbers or tactics. If you can't seal a peace, just stall for time, or try to figure out something about them that could help us." Grant tells you, then solemnly puts his forehead to yours, and sends you off.

You leave the main castle and head out towards the largest nomad settlement, trailed the whole time by a black raven. They appear to have set up camp around an ancient stone monolith, which may hold some sacred significance to them.

As you leave the safety of the kingdom's borders, you are surrounded by horsemen. The raven that had been following you swoops down and rests on the shoulders of a man clad in wolf furs and black feathers. He whispers to the raven, but you can't hear what he is saying.

"Why have you come?" he says eventually.

"I represent King Grant of Narrim" you state formally.

"That much is obvious. But what do you truly seek?"

[ ] Talk to the elder (specify what to say)

>>440331
I seek to avoid a fruitless war that will benefit neither of us.

King Grant and I are both gods, trying to adapt to the new order. Capitalizing on this great upheaval, just, I suspect, as you and your patron are, if you have one you have one. For King Grant, this means he has founded a new kingdom, one with the potential to be strong, and wealthy. Even in its nascence it is formidable, though it is not yet rich.

You have many men, gathered for some glorious purpose. Be that plunder, exodus, conquest, I cannot say. But I can say that whatever your purposes are, warring against King Grant and will do nothing but diminish you and preclude their achievement.

Your people are nomads, great in number and trained in the ways of the horse. The holdings of King Grant are mountainous, and narrow, and your numbers and your training will count for little. The King's men here are highly trained, well equipped, and any battle against him will be one of attrition. You will be forced to throw bodies against his castles, paying for each step of land with bodies. Perhaps your numbers would be sufficient, perhaps not. Either way, you will be halted here, enclosed by the mountains, and would gain little wealth or plunder for your efforts. These lands have little to offer you, but much to offer King Grant.

Turn your attentions elsewhere, or else meet with Grant and perhaps arrange for passage, for peace, or for partnership. Let us not have conflict with each other at the dawn of this new age, only to slowly die in defeat, or to be vanquished by another soon after in victory.

Summon your patron, and let us talk.

>>440406
Does this seem like it reveals Grant's tactics, like he asked us not to?

>>440406
>I seek to avoid a fruitless war that will benefit neither of us.

This is sufficient.

I'd say something along the lines of..

"We heard you're all about cleansing away sins. What sins in particular are we talking about? If it's like, you didn't observe holiday for nature every month, I think we could work that out without a war."

>>440406
>>440460
>>440475
>I seek to avoid a fruitless war that will benefit neither of us.
The nomad elder starts laughing mockingly, followed by his men. "Your king calls himself a god of war, does he not? He has grown fat and weak: neither a god, nor a warrior. It is a disgrace that such a man has crowned himself 'the first king of Narrim'." This war will benefit the Narri, when we remove this fool from his unsteady throne.

>*Rest of post, snipped for comment length*
He looks down at you from his horse, scowling at your attempts to intimidate him with military might. "Unlike your false god, we of the Raven clan do not fear war. War is good. War culls the weak. War fills the heavens with new souls. We will cut the sickness from the land and feed you to the sky."

>Summon your patron, and let us talk.
He becomes so angry that he throws his arms in the air, causing his raven to startle and fly away. "Insolent false god! My clan does not have the power to summon the True Sun! Only our prophet Gerel can speak to him. Gerel is of the Eagle clan, but pray you do not show her such disrespect as you have shown me."

>"We heard you're all about cleansing away sins. What sins in particular are we talking about? If it's like, you didn't observe holiday for nature every month, I think we could work that out without a war."
He spits on the ground. "There are many sins that have been done to our people and our god. The True Sun will take her rightful place in the heavens. I am chieftain of the Raven Clan, the Narri are cousins of our clan, but your king Grant's ill-rule has driven us both into poverty, and severed ancient ties between Narrim and Ecaiba. He does not respect our age-old traditions. He bars our traders at the passes, and his soldiers rob them of a tenth their goods and calls it a fee. A fee for what? For walking under the True Sun's endless skies? It is not his right to divide cousin from cousin!"

>>440718
"Eh, I'm pretty sure war culls whoever is not immune to arrows. But whatevs. Later."

>>440749
We are so gonna get sandwiched from the other side... Fuuuuuudge.

>>440749
The Raven Clan elder's belligerence gets the best of you, and you dismiss yourself unceremoniously from the meeting with him and walk away. His horsemen do not move, watching you until you are out of sight. That raven is following you once more.

You gather from what the Raven elder told you, that Ecaiba is not a strongly-centralized realm, but is made up of numerous clans, each with their own grievances and ambitions.

You turn into an eagle once more and scout out the nomad encampments, growing bold enough to even set down inside their camp, within hearing range of their conversations. None of the nomads are suspicious of your presence. They consider an eagle a symbol of victory.

There are 3 tribes:

-Bird Tribe, the worshipers of birds, made up of the two strongest clans: Raven Clan and Eagle Clan.
-Wolf Tribe, the weakest tribe, made up of a single clan
-Sky Tribe, the worshippers of the sky, made up of Wind Clan, Snow Clan, and Rain Clan

[ ] Specify course of action

>>440798
Respective to the map here: >>440277

Top nomad army is Sky Tribe,
Mid nomad army is Wolf Tribe
Bottom nomad army is Bird Tribe

>>440807
Can we go to the Sky and Nomad Tribes to try and convince them to back off?

>>440807
>>441379
Sorry I meant Sky and Wolf tribes.

>>441383
>Can we go to the Sky and Wolf Tribes to try and convince them to back off?
((Sure, we'll start with wolf tribe))

You approach the wolf tribe's camp. It is just a scattered collection of yurts with no monuments or shrines. Their people are dressed in simple clothes, and a few children run away at your approach. You notice that there are much more women and children than adult men.

Two of their tribe ride out to meet you. One of them is an old man, whom, you notice, has no eyes. Another, younger man rides beside him, holding the reigns to his horse and guiding him.

You introduce yourself as Lady Meihou, Grant's ambassador. The young man whispers something into the old man's ears. The old man slaps the young man, and gets off his horse. The younger man follows suit.

"Greetings, holy one" the old man says, bowing. "I am Chief Nobu of the Wolf Clan, and this is my son Ban". The younger man stares at you in awe and bows when his name is mentioned.

A raven screeches overhead. Nobu flinches, and suddenly looks worried. "I would welcome you to my village, and offer you the customary hospitality due to a divinity such as yourself, but I think it is best we part. The raven clan watches everything we do, and I cannot afford to anger them. They do not recognize any gods but their own, anymore."

He stands politely, but with an anxious expression. He is probably hoping you will dismiss him.

[ ] Speak to the old man (specify)

>>441476
"Hang on a second, I can't believe I didn't notice that."

Turn back into an eagle and show that raven who's the top raptor on the scene. By ramming him at 100 mph.

"Alright, where were we? Oh, right. I've got some advice. The battle that's coming up? Hold back as much as you're able. You don't want any part of the slaughter that's going to be unleashed on the forces attacking us. Fighting one god? Possible, if tough, fighting a bunch of gods? Yeaaah, not a great idea. We make a lot of money off the trade that goes through here, and we want there to still be tribes to trade with once we're done."

I came up with a plan, btw. Once the enemy starts attacking our fortress, we fly the backlines to keep hitting their supplies over and over. Even if we can't succeed, they'll have to devote valuable mage/archer resources to stop us, over their entire backlines and supply trains.

Also, if we can get that dishonored priest on call to cast a shadow poison water spell on their supplies with all those gems we can't use, their forces will get royally killed.

>>441667
>"Hang on a second, I can't believe I didn't notice that."
>Turn back into an eagle and show that raven who's the top raptor on the scene. By ramming him at 100 mph.
"No! Stop! Don't kill that raven!" the younger one named Ban shouts. But it's too late, you tear into the bird tribe's spy and let its body drop to the ground.

"No..." the old chief moans, mortified. "That just makes us look more suspicious. The Ravens will think we are conspiring. They see and hear through the eyes of these birds. Now they are going to kill my son Oyun... The Eagle clan has him as a hostage."
>"Alright, where were we? Oh, right. I've got some advice. The battle that's coming up? Hold back as much as you're able. You don't want any part of the slaughter that's going to be unleashed on the forces attacking us. Fighting one god? Possible, if tough, fighting a bunch of gods? Yeaaah, not a great idea. We make a lot of money off the trade that goes through here, and we want there to still be tribes to trade with once we're done."
Nobu starts shaking his head worriedly, he is completely distracted. "I don't want any part in this, but I can't defy the bird clan. Not only will they kill Oyun, but they'll run down our tribe and kill us all. There is nowhere for us to hide out in the plains."

>I came up with a plan, btw. Once the enemy starts attacking our fortress, we fly the backlines to keep hitting their supplies over and over. Even if we can't succeed, they'll have to devote valuable mage/archer resources to stop us, over their entire backlines and supply trains.
Sure, there is always the opportunity for changes of plans.
>Also, if we can get that dishonored priest on call to cast a shadow poison water spell on their supplies with all those gems we can't use, their forces will get royally killed.
You'll have to define a way to track him down first, he's presumably a vagrant now, and it's been almost a year since you banished him, so who knows where he's ended up by now.

>>441736
Probably not viable to track down the priest then.

"That's why I said 'Hold back as much as you can'. I didn't expect you to be able to hold back completely. Just letting you know that anything you stick into the trap is going to get torn to shreds."

>>441740
He keeps frowning and shaking his head. "That was always my plan. My clan is the last of the wolf tribe. Most of our men are dead. There is no more glory for us. But now the other clans will call our loyalty into question."

He gets on his knees, "please, let us take refuge in the basin... you have killed my son. At least let us trade his life for the safety of my people."

>>441740
No! Let's work this and get them to turn.

You can find refuge in King Grant's lands. You will have allies there and be protected. I will go rescue your hostage, and you will be treated better away from the rule of the bird clan

>>441783
Consent, then offer to try and rescue the son if he is not already dead.

>>441792
Also ask about who the captives from the Sky Tribe is

>>441792
>>441787
He starts kissing your feet. "Thank you, thank you! I knew the gods had not abandoned the wolf tribe! I knew they would see our loyalty and take pity on us!"

What do you do first: inform Grant and the garrison men to let the Wolf clan into the basin; or rescue the son. Time may be a factor in either of these decisions.

>>441802
"The Sky Tribe joined the Bird Tribe willingly. They both worship that hideous sun! They fed my eyes to the birds, they said I did not deserve to see it's light! But I can still feel the light of the old sun on my face!"

>>441804
If we give them one of our swords to carry will that be enough to guarantee them safe passage? Will the garrison recognize it as ours? If so, give it to them and tell them to be cautious, then go rescue the boy.

If not, go to the garrison then go get the boy.

Either way we should ask about the hostage from the sky clan while we are still here.

>>441806
ok, never mind regarding the sky clan hostage.

Ask them if they have the strength to reinforce King Grants men against the Sky Tribe, so King Grant can focus on the Bird Tribe

>>441809
You do not interact much with Grant's soldiers, but you and Grant are something of a legend in this small kingdom, so they probably have heard of your magic sword and its powers. I'd say, roll a 1d20, and it fails only on a 1.

Also, which one do you give away, the invisibility one or the doppelganger one?

>>441813
"I just want to escape these wars. My people are weary, and there will be no young men left if we keep fighting."

>>441824
Let's do it then. The doppelganger one.

And tell them ok, you will not ask them to fight. But you cannot promise that King Grant will not. Tell them King Grant will be in less of a position to command them to go fight if they all dedicate themselves to us.

>>441830
BUT do mention that our victory will be assured with their aid, and without their aid the bird and sky tribes will be much more likely to survive and punish the wolf.

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>441830
(Last post for the night)

You give him your magic sword Gemina, and tell him that the guards will recognize your authority by its powers.

>And tell them ok, you will not ask them to fight. But you cannot promise that King Grant will not. Tell them King Grant will be in less of a position to command them to go fight if they all dedicate themselves to us.

"I would gladly dedicate myself, and my clan to you, if you would only show me your strength and your kindness once more, and save my dear son." the elder says.

>>441840
>BUT do mention that our victory will be assured with their aid, and without their aid the bird and sky tribes will be much more likely to survive and punish the wolf.
He nods, but you can tell he is hesitant to pledge any support. "If the battle becomes desperate, I will see what course would be most beneficial for my clan."

[ ] Plan out the next steps. The bird tribe settlement is very scattered and occupies a wide area. There are also raven spies patrolling overhead. You will need to find a way to get in, and out with the captive. (The invisibility cannot be extended to him, only yourself).

>>441864
Seems simple. Use invisibility to get in, get the kid, then use air gems to get us out again.

Ask him to position himself near the northern castles just in case their support is needed there.

>>441869
Also he doesn't seem to understand. He will be taking refuge in the land of King Grant. Usually this would grant him sovereignty over them. There only chance to avoid forced conscription, to avoid battle, to have the freedom to choose whether or not to fight, is for them to dedicate themselves to us, since we are an ally of Grants, not his subordinate, and he cannot command our followers to do anything against their will. Tell him he is free to wait until we return with his son, but then he runs the risk of being forced to fight.

>>441869
Do we still have enough Air gems for that plan? Does windwalk work with a passenger?

>>441881
These guys have no soldiers left to conscript, if you didn't notice. If you did this for selfish reasons, sorry, you have nothing to gain in the short term. I don't care if they dedicate themselves to us or not. You wanna be a good guy? Sure, go ahead, no skin off my back. You want to be a manipulative pretend to be good guy to trick people into following you like every other god? Nah.

>>441864
My plan is to start harassing Bird Tribe as though we were starting all out guerrilla warfare. Bring lots of arrows, start shooting down hunters, isolated scouts, and ravens. Whenever they mobilize to start engaging us, retreat. Sure, they can ride horses or send birds, but we can be a riderless god horse or god bird. As soon as they start to turn around, hit 'em again.

Once they're afraid to leave their camp, and out of birds, we can disguise ourselves as a wounded scout and check out the camp from inside.

And we'll put them on a timer of "better recklessly charge forward into that fortress or you're gonna get slowly whittled down to death.

>>441881
On the note of "how we wanna develop Meihou"

I'm aiming for Tsundere Trickster, is ok with lying, stealing, and trickery, but doesn't wanna kill innocents and has some inclinations to do the right thing, if selfish.

I think there's that other anon that is going full "MWHAHAHAHA!" evil, with attacking and killing people in the trade caravan, and arson.

And I think you're going "We'll go full good guy heroic, so long as that we can amass power and followers by doing so!"

This is something we should discuss, methinks, so that we aren't constantly making OP decide by die vote, and Meihou doesn't come across as a complete schizophrenic. Not that that's uncommon. :P

>>443164
>>443180
if the map is anything to go off of, they have 1000 fighters.

>>443236
Ah, my bad, I was going off of
>You notice that there are much more women and children than adult men.

But I suppose they're so much bigger than us, even when heavily depleted, they've almost got 2/3rds our entire fighting force.

>>443250
yeah

((Sorry for missing a day of posting. It was a special occasion and I didn't have any time to go on the computer like I expected I would))

>>441881
"I don't think you understand the situation you're in," you state to the elder, "When you are in King Grant's lands, you are at his mercy. He can force you into conscription, but if you are sworn to me, he cannot command you."

"Yes, I understand completely, but devoting our tribe to you is a serious decision. Once we are sworn to you, we are yours until you or another god releases us. We cannot make such a momentous decision out of mere convenience."

>>441869
You look over your air gems, 4 should be enough for the plan you have concocted, two per person traveling through the plane of air.

You turn invisible and sneak into the heart of the Bird Tribe encampment. At the center of the encampment, a large crowd has formed. There is a large stone monument surrounded by a ring of lesser stones. A boy, barely older than 12, is chained to the central monument. Rattling his chains, the boy screams on deaf ears for them to let him go.

Leading the ceremony is a woman covered in ceremonial paint, wearing the skull of a giant eagle as a headdress, and clad in tribal clothing decorated with the feathers and talons of a bird of tremendous size, far bigger than any eagle. She paces in circles, slowly, around the stone circle, her eyes closed and her face turned towards the heavens. Wherever she walks, a flame lingers in her footsteps.

Something seems wrong with the shadows within the stone circle. Though it is later in the day and the sun lies in the west, the shadows of the priestess and the stones also points west, towards the sun instead of away from it. Yet outside the circle, the shadows of the crowd and everything else seem to point in the correct direction.

[ ] Specify next moves

You didn't specify how the invisibility works exactly.
Can we turn other people invisible by touching them while we are invisible?
Does attacking lead to us losing the invisibility?
What can we do without losing the invisibility?

>>445868
This stinks to me of illusion or spacial or temporal or other general shenanigan-ary.

Presuming we're not following my plan of "just harass the camp until they are afraid to leave their tents.."

I think we should make a subtle eddy of dusty air, and see how it interacts with the priestess and the stone circle

And for Meihou's sake, don't step inside the circle.

>>445978
((Sure, if you ever have any questions, just ask. I don't want to bore everyone to death by posting huge in-depth posts on rules and the setting and such, but I realize these things will have to be clarified eventually:

Invisibility only affects yourself and inanimate objects you are carrying. We can't turn others invisible by touching them; attacking doesn't cause invisibility to break; we can do basically whatever we want without it breaking. The invisibility lasts until we dispel it. Normally it costs 1 air gem, but we have a magic sword that lets us do it at will. Gods, demons and angels can sense our presence, so invisibility doesn't work on them. But it works on mortals, unless we're giving away our location by making noises or bumping into things))

>>446003
((Sorry, I misread that post, I thought that you were talking about a general strategy how to wage the war, rather than how to rescue the captive. So your plan was to launch a direct attack to cause a diversion, then sneak inside while shapeshifted? Alright, that can still be done, if you like.))

You move closer to the stone circle. You bump into a few people along the way, but they are too distracted to notice. As you get nearer, you begin to feel the magic radiating from within, and sense the spiritual presence of another god. You kick up a small dust cloud, and watch the wind carry it into the circle. Nothing happens to it, aside from the shift of light as soon as it crosses the boundary.

The priestess continues circling, with her eyes closed towards the sky. She is humming to herself.

Suddenly she opens her eyes and looks to the crowd. "The pronouncement is... death to all wolves!"

The crowd begins cheering.

"As for this one," she says, pointing to the boy, "For speaking with the dead, for his father's lack of faith, and for his treachery, the boy Oyun is to be executed by the sky, so he may have the wickedness eaten from him." She takes a whistle made from an over-sized talon and blows on it. A shrill shriek pierces the air. You hear the shrieking of birds in the distance.

The priestess turns to walk away from the circle, but the crowd remains, murmuring excitedly. Some spectacle is about to occur.

Try and push one of the tribespeople watching the ritual into the circle, preferably one who is standing outside the main mass of onlookers.

>>446069
The man gives a surprised shout, and stumbles into the circle, his shadow shifting to match his surroundings. "Something pushed me!" he shouts. The priestess turns to look at him and glares.

"Disrespectful cretin" she mutters, and waves her hand. His skin begins burning, and his exposed skin begins to blister.

He begs forgiveness on his hands and knees and shuffles outside the circle, where his torment ends, though he is now badly hurt.

I suggest that we first try out the effect of the circle on ourselves, the circle didn't have any harmful effects, if it dispels our invisibility we can pull back soon enough to prevent anyone from noticing us.

The next part should be discussed, if we keep our invisibility we can sneak towards the priestess and quickly slash her throat and yell to the tribe that their god has abandoned them, preferably in a mighty sounding voice.

>>446085
Rush in, stab the priestess, grab the boy and bounce

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>446114
>>446155
You step tentatively into the circle. As soon as you do so, you can feel a great heat on your face, and are nearly blinded by light. You feel substantially weaker, as though you are held in the hands of another, more powerful being. In the east, you can see a second sun, just above the horizon. It speaks to you in a language you have never heard before, but understand instinctively, telling you only "You will burn". You catch on fire, every inch of your skin is in searing pain. The nomads step back in surprise.

"My, what an interesting day" the priestess taunts. "A false god has appeared before the altar of Ekhnii Nar. Your challenge shall be met by the Voice of the True Sun!" She lifts up her hands to the sky and fire seems to descend from the heaven, coalescing into a burning sword and a burning shield."

She seems to want to duel you. You have no obligation to though.

((Rolling for fire damage. Player health at 100/100))

>>446210
Sure, lets do it.

Duel her?
Are you suggesting we step into the domain of another god, who is probably stronger then us, and fight the priestess? Just step back from circle and go invisible again, taunting the priestess to come out of the circle and fight on even terms.

>>446288
Or we could just be invisible and massacre her followers

>>446155
I hate you so much. We know what stepping into the domain of another god does. It makes us worthless as a god.

We could have just shot her with arrows from outside her domain....

>>446288
>>446302
>>446387

(HP 87/100)

You flee from the circle and renew the invisibility spell. The priestess mocks you with scorn. "See how the false ones flee before the righteous!"

In response, you grab a nearby tribal warrior and slash his throat.

The nomads are uneasy, they back away. Most of them are unarmed civilians, but a handful of them are warriors, who ready their weapons and glance around for any sign of you.

"Come meet me out here!" you shout to her. But she doesn't move. Nearby civilians flee you voice. The warriors rush to its sound, and start stabbing at the air but you have already relocated yourself by then.

Since the priestess let out that bird call, you have heard the cawing of birds non-stop, and now, you can see nine giant eagles heading towards the ceremonial circle from the distance, they are Rocs, birds of legendary size said to eat horses and cattle.

She begins chanting in the language of creation. You fire an arrow into her shoulder, and she pauses briefly, recoiling in pain, before continuing. She holds several glowing white gems up into the air and crushes them.

The eyes of the warriors now glow white, and some of them look directly at you.

((Rolling for damage done to priestess. 20/20 HP))

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>446469
fail-roll

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>446387
Hey, chill.
>>446469

Rolled 6, 2, 3 = 11 (3d6)

>>446508
(Player 87/100; Priestess 2/20)

You notch another arrow and launch it at the priestess, hitting her in the chest. She clutches at the injury and gasps for air.

She raises a pair of air gems to the sky, and starts chanting desperately between coughs of blood. A fierce wind begins to blow through the settlement.

Three of the glowing-eyed warriors charge at you with spears, and plunge their weapons into you. More warriors approach, though you are certain there are dozens who will soon be converging to surround you if you don't act quickly.

The rocs draw closer. Though still far off, they are moving with alarming speed.

((Rolling for damage to player))

>>446569
(Derp, math is hard, make that 4/20 for the priestess.)

>>446579
4/20 blaze it son

>>446632
There is no time for that, you are in mortal danger.

Thread is auto-saging.

(I swear, they should increase the post count on quest threads)

I'll leave this thread up until the old one falls off of /qst/ completely, then I'll archive this one and start a new one. That way I don't have 3 threads up at once and piss everyone off.

>>446698
All threads autosage after three days.
It's fine, you can continue.