[LP] Blood Valley: The Hunter

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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

(Your opponent has a relevant tracks keyword!)
The hounds begin snuffling frantically at the ground. It appears they have caught the scent of your quarry who has passed this way recently.
You are on a twisting track running virtually north to south across high ground. It clings to the spurs of the hills and is partly paved with flints. The track runs south towards the standing stones where the hunt began. To the north it winds higher into the hills. To the southwest is hilly broken ground where stunted trees warped in the direction of the prevailing wind point forlornly at the horizon. To the east is the impenetrable mass of the Mountains of Remorse.
WAIT

• Search the area?
• Return to the standing stones?
• Go North?
• Head southwest to the rough moorland?
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Curious that our doggies aren't showing us which way she went. Maybe a brief search here for clues?
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

The tracks keywords are just a (been here? Y/N) check; I think indicating actual direction of travel would have been much harder to implement.
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Well....I still vote to search...
Dr_Noface
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Post by Dr_Noface »

I vote search and if nothing cool happens, north.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

So, searching doesn't just hit your immediate area, but a number of areas in a larger region. It's also randomly successful, and for some reason it's a low-roll-is-good setup, so that negative modifiers to your search rolls are good, and positive modifiers are bad. I would judge this more harshly if it wasn't published in 1986. Note that if the quarry is actually hiding (as opposed to just somewhere around), you have a baseline 1/3 chance of finding them per search attempt.
Die RollCodes
0-2Find quarry if hidden, ask for codes GTC, ENE, PBQ
3-4Ask for two of the three codes above.
5-6May ask for one code.
7+Complete Failure.

• If you find the quarry...
• Otherwise, WAIT, then return to the paragraph you came from.
You rolled a 3. Since the codes are completely arbitrary to you, I'm just going to check the first two to save time. You have not found the quarry.
You are on a twisting track running virtually north to south across high ground. It clings to the spurs of the hills and is partly paved with flints. The track runs south towards the standing stones where the hunt began. To the north it winds higher into the hills. To the southwest is hilly broken ground where stunted trees warped in the direction of the prevailing wind point forlornly at the horizon. To the east is the impenetrable mass of the Mountains of Remorse.
WAIT

• Search the area?
• Return to the standing stones?
• Go North?
• Head southwest to the rough moorland?
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Keep north I guess.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

You soon come to the lip of a great gorge where an old rope bridge is the only way of crossing to the other side. Far below are the white waters of the cataract which pours into a deep blue pool, where the river whirls and eddies before plunging on down a series of rapids.

(Your opponent has a relevant keyword.)
What you had remembered as an intact rope bridge is no more than a single strand of twisted hemp and a few planks. The rest of the bridge has disappeared, probably into the white waters below the cataract. You pause to think and an idea forms in your mind. Your hounds can walk on air, so if you balance on their sturdy backs they can bear you across the gorge.
WAIT

• Return the way you came?
• Cross the gorge on the backs of your dogs?
• Investigate a nearby cave opening?
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

If they triggered the trap and fell in, wouldn't it make sense for them to have been carried away by the currents? In which case, shouldn't there be an option to follow the direction of the flow along the gorge?

Lacking that option, I guess I vote to cross.
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I'd check out the cave, personally.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Dr_Noface
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Post by Dr_Noface »

Hmmmmm... Cave and then cross if nothing happens.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

(Neither you nor the quarry has a relevant codeword.)

There are foul smelling droppings in the entrance to the cave and a dead chamois, its back broken, lies on the floor. You step forward to look closer and a great lumbering hulk, the color of the dark stone of the cave, looms up. If you retreat it would probably knock you from the cave-mouth into the cataract, almost certain death, so you are forced to fight for your life. Your hounds have run ahead, stepping on air, and are on the other side of the gorge, you must fight alone.
ROCK HULK
Healthy (Strike 1d+2, Damage +1)
Hurt (Strike 1d+2, Damage +1)
Wounded (Strike 1d+2, Damage +1)
Badly Wounded (Strike 1d+2)
Maimed (Strike 1d+1)
Dead
(Yeah, the Rock Hulk is weird in that it's base strike roll is only 1 die.)

Round 1: Archveult 11+2, Hulk 1+2; Damage 5+2, Hulk is Wounded.
Round 2: Archveult 7+2, Hulk 6+2; Damage 2+2, Hulk is Badly Wounded.
Round 3: Archveult 9+2, Hulk 4+2; Damage 3+2, Hulk is Maimed.
Round 4: Archveult 5+2, Hulk 2+1; Damage 6+2, Hulk is (very) Dead.
(You record a codeword.)

You are free to explore the Rock Hulk's lair. You tear some meat off the dead chamois and gorge greedily. After a short rest you may restore a wound. The Rock Hulk slept on a rotting pile of sugar cane, the smell revolts you, and you are eager to return your Hounds of Hell to heel.
WAIT

When you have rested you may:
• Return to the hills north of the moorland.
• Try to cross the gorge.
edit: That was your 13th WAIT, night falls soon.
Last edited by angelfromanotherpin on Fri Mar 18, 2016 7:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Well our hounds are still across the gorge, so we should probably cross to get them.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Dr_Noface
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Post by Dr_Noface »

Chross
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Well, I wanted to cross earlier, so yeah, proceed. If our quarry was hurt by the trap, I want to catch up asap before she has the time to heal from them.
Last edited by SGamerz on Sat Mar 19, 2016 1:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Technically, you need your hounds to cross, so presumably you whistle them over again. It's just a textual excuse for not having their completely unnecessary help against the Rock Hulk.
What you had remembered as an intact rope bridge is no more than a single strand of twisted hemp and a few planks. The rest of the bridge has disappeared, probably into the white waters below the cataract. You pause to think and an idea forms in your mind. Your hounds can walk on air, so if you balance on their sturdy backs they can bear you across the gorge.
WAIT

• Return the way you came?
• Cross the gorge on the backs of your dogs?
• Investigate a nearby cave opening?
Balancing precariously on the backs of your hounds you sail slowly and serenely above the white waters of the rapids to the other side of the gorge. Unfortunately, the hounds decide the time has come to play a trick on their cruel master. They carry you down to the river and shake you off into the water. You rise up, walking on the roiling white water like a demigod, but the hounds cannot carry you up to the lip of the gorge again. You will have to walk downstream until the walls of the gorge give way to gentler banks. WAIT first.
(An interruption! One of your minions is contacting you!)
(Ka-riim the Hashishin says : 'I have found the quarry, O Lord of Firedrakes, he is at the Forest of the Living Dead.')
KA-RIIM THE HASHISHIN
Healthy (Strike +1)
Injured (Damage -1)
Badly Wounded (Strike -2, Damage -2)
Crippled (Strike -4, Damage -3)
Dead
If Ka-riim's poisoned sword strikes, it deals an extra wound on a roll of 5 or 6. When Ka-riim becomes Badly Wounded, he will flee on a die roll of 5 or 6. When Ka-riim becomes Crippled, he will flee on a die roll of 4, 5, or 6. If he flees, Ka-riim will not be lurking anywhere until the Archveult places him again.

Round 1: Quarry 4-1, Ka-riim 3+1; Damage 3 (1 HL), no poison, Quarry is Wounded!
Round 2: Quarry 7-1, Ka-riim 5+1; No hit.
Round 3: Quarry 5-1, Ka-riim 10+1; Damage 3 (1 HL), no poison, Quarry is Badly Wounded!
Round 4: Quarry 6-1, Ka-riim 2+1; Damage 1 (1 HL), Ka-riim is Injured!
Round 5: Quarry 7-1, Ka-riim 4-1; Damage 4 (1 HL), Ka-riim is Badly Wounded! Ka-riim does not flee.
Round 6: Quarry 11-1, Ka-riim 9-2; Damage 3 (1 HL), Kariim is Crippled! Ka-riim does not flee.
Round 7: Quarry 5-1, Ka-riim 4-4; Damage 3 (1 HL), Ka-riim is Dead!
(The Quarry is using Ka-riim's crystal ball. You see she is carrying Ka-riim's poisoned sword. She may have words for you in the main thread.)
You are at the edge of the river that pours out of the gorge, the bank is low here and you can see flat land on the other side.

• To the north is the Monastery.
• Follow the bank west until you reach the marsh?
• Follow the edge of the gorge east?
• Cross the river?
Last edited by angelfromanotherpin on Sat Mar 19, 2016 11:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

We're waiting for them to talk? Or can we move now?

Not much of an option anyway. We know where they are and we want to catch them while they're still Badly Wounded. West once we get to move.
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Agreed.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Dr_Noface
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Post by Dr_Noface »

west, ooh yeah
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

You are in the hinterland of the Great Fen. The marsh stinks and is full of unpleasant insects and leeches. It is unthinkable for your quarry to hide in the reeds here. The mountains to the northwest do not quite come to the marsh's edge, there is a strip of land between the two. To the south the flat marsh stretches to the horizon. To the northeast is farmland and some way off you can see a magnificent white monastery.
WAIT

• Go southwest to the forest, in the direction of the city of Askelon? √
• Go northeast to the monastery?

You know well that the marsh to the south is impassable.
I know you all want to go to the forest, so...
You are standing at the edge of the Forest of the Living Dead. You feel strangely comfortable here, as if the wood radiated an aura of evil. To the northwest, barren hills surround a great smoking volcano, Mount Dragonfire. To the northeast, mountains rise to the skies, and to the east is a steaming swamp. There is a short strip of solid ground between the mountains and the swamp, the Marsh Hinterland.
WAIT

• Search the forest?
• Head towards the volcano?
• Head for the pass between mountain and swamp?
• Go southwest into the wood?
• Go southeast into the wood?
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Search the forest. Our quarry's badly wounded so they might still be here licking their wounds.

Otherwise I'd head to the volcano, where there's an exit and a trap so we have the best chance of catching them there.

One of those two, methinks.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
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Post by SGamerz »

Ugh...once again we're given zero clues despite coming to a spot where our quarry not only passed through but got hurt. Where's the bloody trail? Where's our henchman's body, for that matter?

Search, I guess.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

You conduct a quick, methodical search of the forest.
(You roll a 4, checking for 2/3 codes at random.)
(You have found the quarry!)
You have caught the quarry. Any creatures simply move away at the sight of you. You may exchange any threats or insults you think appropriate at this stage. When you are ready, read on.

• If you still have your hounds you may unleash them on the quarry.
• Otherwise you will finish this hunt personally.
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Set the dogs on 'em!
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Image
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
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