[LP] Blood Valley: The Hunter

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angelfromanotherpin
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[LP] Blood Valley: The Hunter

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Anyone on the Quarry team (or contemplating being on the Quarry team) should not read this thread until the game is over.
The Valley of Gad

You have chosen to be the Archveult, lord of the Valley of Gad. As you sit in the topmost turret of your castle which has been your home for three hundred years, you survey your kingdom secure in the knowledge that your sovereignty is unchallenged. You chose this valley carefully as a great ring of mountains separates it from the rest of Orb where other powerful men might have confronted you.

When you began your reign of terror after slaying the old king, your people renamed your home Castle Remorse. They fear and hate your evil ways. Your appearance alone is enough to terrify even the stoutest of heart. You are a Firedrake, one of the elder races of Orb that live north and east of the Mountains of Undying Solitude. But you are no ordinary Firedrake. You stand eight feet tall and your fierce head is topped by a bony spiked carapace like that of an ancient giant reptile. Your eyes are smoldering pits of fire. When you are angered they ignite, burning with a deep red flame that also bursts out over the blue scales of your body. You have large blue wings, but unlike your son the Demiveult, you cannot fly. You are more powerful than he, however, for you are an Archveult, a rare thing even amongst the powerful race of Firedrakes. The Firedrakes are a naturally cruel race but you have taken their lust for cruelty to the greatest lengths and are never happier than when demonstrating your superiority over your pathetic human subjects.
Image

The Hunt

It is spring and the month of Weir has just begun. At this time of year you indulge yourself in your favorite pastime, the annual hunt. Each year a slave is set free from the standing stones near the castle and hunted down like an animal. If found, the slave is torn to pieces by your Hounds of Hell, giant dogs with flaming breath which are from the nether planes and were a gift from a Demonlord. If the slave can escape the valley, you will have been cheated of your prey. But the slaves seldom escape.

This year you have bidden Kritos Bloodheart, your ally and only human friend to spare no effort in acquiring strong slaves who will run fast and far, giving good sport. He has scoured the slave pits of Upanishad for your prey and has brought three slaves back to the valley. You will mercilessly hunt down one of these slaves until at last, exhausted and broken, he (or she) will beg you to put an end to his wretched life. Turning from the window you see Kritos giving the order to present the slaves.
The Slaves

Your quarry will be one of three possible types of slaves. Your opponent will choose which one and will inform you of his choice.

The Priest
Image

The castle guards drag before you a slim young man, dressed only in a torn white robe and manacled. You allow flame to play over your body for effect as you sneer at this puny human.
'He looks weak,' you growl.
The young man, who has been gagged, makes a gurgling noise and Kritos cuffs him into silence.
'He is a priest, magnificence, he knows spells, he nearly escaped on the road from Upanishad. He speaks the Word of Helpless Palsy and has the Touch of Harm, and,' he chuckles, 'he has Avatar the One on his side.' There is a gale of laughter as he says this.
'Oh Avatar, where are you now, free thy servant from this evil place of torment,' you mock. There is silence in the chamber. 'Your god has deserted you,' you cry, and with that you clap your hands and he is dragged away. It pleases you that he holds his head high and there is a look of contempt in his eyes.


The Barbarian
Image

The second slave is led before you. This one has his arms tied to a yoke, as if prepared for crucifixion, and is stripped to his loincloth. He is an enormous man, not much more than a foot shorter than you, heavily muscled but showing the bruises gained in an earlier attempt to escape. His blonde hair is wild like a horse's mane.
'I had to pay a small fortune for this one, magnificence. He was to be sent back north to become a gladiator in the Arena of Death at Mortavalon. He is the strongest man I have ever met and still barely more than a boy,' Kritos tells you proudly.
The young barbarian growls at you, he has overcome his fear. At a sign from Kritos, however, pressure is applied to the yoke and he is slowly forced to his knees, grunting all the while with the effort of trying to avoid abasing himself before you. You clap your hands once more and the barbarian is taken away.


The Thief
Image

'I have saved the fairest till last, magnificence,' says Kritos.
Two guards enter the chamber and between them, chained to them both, is a young woman dressed like a man in leather breeches and shirt. There is a murmur of appreciation from the guards.
'It's a woman!' you exclaim. 'They are weaker than the men.'
Kritos does not look unduly troubled by your displeasure. 'Not this one, magnificence, she is a skilled swordswoman and, until she was delivered into our hands, was a master in the Thieves' Guild of Upanishad.'
You can tell from the reaction of the guards that she would be considered beautiful amongst humans, but you are more concerned with her powers of endurance. Unlike the two men, she is taking in every detail of her surroundings, watchful for a chance to escape, but Kritos has ensured there is none. The guards force her to her knees and invite her to beg for mercy, but she replies: 'It is you who will beg for mercy out in the wilderness, Firedrake.'
You smile and order her to be taken back to the dungeons, confident she will soon change her tune.
*

Your victims will find little help out in the valley for all know of the annual manhunt and few would dare to oppose you in any way. It took you forty years to subdue the whole of the valley to your rule and you have used fear to discourage revolt ever since. Almost everyone pays heavy taxes to your tax-house in the valley's city, Askelon, and your troops man the wall at the town of Gap which seals the western entrance to the valley. The monks and the wizard Callisto in his tower might dare to oppose you and there are strange beings in some of the forests, but you walk abroad in the valley without fear. Now that the slaves have been led away you are free to peruse the map that hangs in the topmost turret and to guess which way the hunt will twist and turn across the valley.
Escape

Image
Your opponent will be trying to find a way out of the valley. Obviously you know much of the valley, but it is a large place and even you do not know it all.

Important points to remember:
1. Castle Remorse seals the eastern end and there is no escape for the quarry there.
2. The only exit known to your quarry is a large gate at the west entrance to the valley. This is close to Gap Town.
3. Gap Town is heavily guarded by your own troops which should make it difficult for the quarry to escape there.
4. There are three other exits, determined at the start of each game.
There seems to be a mistake in the text, because the random table that determines possible exits always includes the gate near Gap Town as one of the three, so it should really be two other exits.
In this game, the exits are A (Gap Town gate), T (near the volcano), and P (near the Mines of Smelt).
The Archveult's Allies

You have three allies or henchmen: Kritos Bloodheart, the Captain of your guard, a pleasantly evil and bloodthirsty warrior; Ka-riim, the Hashishin, your chief assassin; the Demiveult, a large winged reptile which some say is a Firedrake in its larval form, while others believe it is a product of your genetic experiments. He is actually your son, but can never become a full-fledged Archveult due to a druid's curse.

As soon as you start this game you will be given the opportunity to place these three allies in certain areas of the valley to wait in ambush, should the quarry pass that way. You can communicate with your allies through a crystal ball, which enables them to tell you when they have found the quarry. you will have the chance to move your allies as time passes. Remember to keep a record of how many wound levels each ally has lost - you will have the opportunity to heal only one of them.
The Archveult

Wound Levels:
Healthy/Bruised/Injured/Wounded/Badly Wounded/Crippled/Dead

Combat:
+2 Damage
+2 Strike with mace

Equipment:
Spiked mace
Armor (Absorbs one level of damage on a roll of 5+)

Special Abilities
Night Vision
Breathe Water
Strength
Endurance
Warrior Skill
Awe others
Hounds
Suit of Armor
Allies

Hounds of Hell
Savage
(+2 strike, +1 damage)
Vicious (+1 strike)
Wounded (-1 damage)
Whimpering (-1 strike, -2 damage)
Dead
Game start coming as soon as the Quarry chooses their character. Also, check out the common information (on combat and such) in the neutral thread.
Dr_Noface
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Post by Dr_Noface »

So we're allowed to send our dudes to lie in wait at the dots on the map?
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Oh, they have substantially more flexibility in their deployment than that. To get a little ahead of myself for the sake of example, Kritos can be sent to: The Barrow Weald, the Jungle, the cataract at the gorge, the Moorland, the Wizard Callisto's tower, or the wall at Gap town.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Re: [LP] Blood Valley: The Hunter

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

The quarry for this hunt is... the Thief!
The Beginning

You have ordered the slave to be tied to one of the standing stones to the west of the castle. The bodies of previous victims adorn the stones. At dawn your quarry will be set free.

Image
It is dawn, the magical chains which have held your captive against cold stone all night long will be fracturing now. Your court magician casts a spell and you speak words which your quarry will hear as if the stone itself was talking. 'Run, run for all you are worth, you cannot escape me and my Hounds of Hell. You have a few hours' grace before I take up the chase.'

You will not be idle during these next few hours, however, there is much to be done. You have to decide where to station your allies, Kritos Bloodheart, Ka-riim your assassin, and the Demiveult. A man-servant coughs discreetly, reminding you that you must decide where to set your mantraps and send messages via crystal ball to your servants in the valley.
WAIT

The quarry has already encountered a WAIT, so we proceed immediately.
You turn to your map of the valley. In past years you have used trap in nine different places. This year you have decided to order five mantraps of various types placed at strategic points in the valley. These traps are designed to wound and delay rather than kill. The nine possible locations are as follows

• The bridge at the cataract.
• The road from the Barrow Weald to the mountain pass.
• The route into the jungle.
• The Misty Wood, southwest corner.
• The Moorland near the misty wood.
• The entrance to the Mines of Smelt.
• The track in the icy wastes.
• The Volcano.
• The town of Gap, at the wall.

When you have chosen five locations you can relax, secure in the knowledge that your minions will set the traps.
WAIT

When it comes to the traps, it's probably easiest if each player just ranks all of the locations by preference and I'll compromise the lists together. The Quarry has also hit their second WAIT, and there are no branching paths yet, so...
You decide also to equip one of your allies with a healing balm. Will you give it to your trusted henchman, Kritos Bloodheart who is resplendent in black armor with a scarlet plume atop his helm and impatient to begin; to Ka-riim the Hashishin, your accomplished assassin; or toyour own son the Demiveult who is far larger than you, like a great flying reptile with his fierce beak, yet no more powerful than you. You may use the balm to restore all the wound levels of the chosen ally, once only.
WAIT

So, mantrap locations and who gets the healpot. Lemme know.
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Post by Judging__Eagle »

Setting up Mantraps at:

Preference for placing mantraps at: Chokepoints, and/or final escape points; preference given to escape points closest to the starting location:

-Rope Bridge [Limit access to rogue monks, they might have a catacomb network I don't know about]
-Entrance to Jungle [Exit D]
-Mines of Smelt [Exit P]
-Volcano [Exit T]
-Walls of Gap (over Ice Wastes)

I was debating trapping the Ice Wastes over the Walls of Gap; but the quarry is a rogue; and might try climbing them. The icy wastes might be too dangerous for them as an escape route.

Obviously give healpot to Son; who can fly. The humans cannot live 300+ years, and are ... ultimately; expendable. However, we never tell them that.
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Post by Dr_Noface »

Would you happen to know if a limit of one mantrap can be placed at a location?
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Yes, it's one per.
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Post by Dr_Noface »

In case not:

The Mines
The Volcano
Gap Town
The cataract at the Gorge
The Border of the Misty Wood and the Moorland



EDIT: Ninjaed
Last edited by Dr_Noface on Fri Mar 11, 2016 5:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Okay, you guys agree on 4/5 locations, so I tossed a coin for the last one: Misty Wood/Moorland won. Noface didn't weigh in on the balm, so the Demiveult gets it.
Kritos Bloodheart is the first ally you send to take up his position. He is used to patrolling the following areas during a hunt, but you can only send him to one of these.

• The Barrow Weald
• The Jungle
• The cataract at the gorge
• The Moorland
• The Wizard Callisto's tower
• The wall at the town of Gap

Make your decision, then WAIT.
Remember that at the start of each day you have the chance to redeploy your allies, but each ally you redeploy costs a WAIT.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I suggest we place him at the Barrow Weald.
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Post by Dr_Noface »

Yeah, I vote the same.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Placed!
Image
Ka-riim the Hashishin is the next ally you will deploy. He is familiar with the following areas and may only be used in one of these at a time.

• The city of Askelon
• Braggart's Hold
• The monastery
• The Misty Wood
• The Forest of the Living Dead
• The Volcano

Make your decision, then WAIT
edit: Forgot to include Ka-riim's illustration.
Last edited by angelfromanotherpin on Sun Mar 13, 2016 12:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by SGamerz »

Monastery, perhaps? No particularly strong reason, just placing him somewhere north since we already had a henchman in the south route. Willing to be overruled if anyone thinks differently.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I'd be slightly more in favor of the Forest since it's very close to two of the exits, and only somewhat more distant from the third. It's also very close to the Monastery so it sort of covers that as well. Monastery is my second choice though.
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Post by Dr_Noface »

I vote forest as well.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Placed!
Image
The last ally you deploy is your son the Demiveult who can soar above the valley and then stoop on your quarry on sight. He will patrol one of the following areas at a time:

• The mountain pass
• The icy wastes
• The plains
• The volcano

Make your choice, then WAIT.
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Post by Judging__Eagle »

Demivult to the Plains.

We can keep the Allies tight around the last known location of the quarry; and move them as the knowledge of the Quarry's location increases.
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Post by Dr_Noface »

Same.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Placed!
The allotted time is up and you ride to the standing stones, the Hounds of Hell yapping at the horse's heels. A grisly exhibition of trophies adorns the monoliths, the heads of your previous victims. The more recent have been crudely embalmed. One of last year's victims was the young sorceress, Noquila, you growl in annoyance at the sight of her, her spells had been love spells, she was powerless against you and poor sport. Next to her is the body of the big barbarian Torvald Bloodaxe, his plaits still swinging in the wind, his face a mask of agony. He had been good sport.

Image

The stones are on a conical hill-top. Behind you the dark towers of Castle Remorse deter all attempts at escape to the east. A track leads north towards high ground and a road of beaten earth winds south towards the hills of the Barrow Weald. To the west lies the rising swell of the rough moor. The hounds are confused, for some reason they find it difficult to tell in which direction your quarry set off. Sorcery is at work. Someone has tried to thwart you by aiding the quarry.
WAIT

• Head due west across the moor?
• Take the road south?
• Take the track north?
Sorcery? Perfidy! Infamy! TREACHERY!

edit: 7 WAITs have passed, and it is approximately noon in Gad.
Last edited by angelfromanotherpin on Sun Mar 13, 2016 7:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by SGamerz »

We've got a henchman waiting nearby in the south, and a mantrap on the bottleneck bridge in the north if the quarry goes either way. Let's take west ourselves.
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Post by Dr_Noface »

West is a good gamble in my book.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Agreed.
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

So, this is kind of a difficult point for me. When the quarry trips one of your traps, they tell you to cross off the corresponding code. But I don't think you're really supposed to remember which code corresponds to which location (especially not the first time you play). So I'm just going to tell you that one of your traps has been set off.
You know every inch of this rough inhospitable moorland and your horse and hounds can cross it more quickly than can your quarry. The bracken and moss underfoot are spongy and wet.

(Your opponent has left no tracks here.)

There is no sign of your quarry having come this way as the hounds find no scent and there is little chance of hiding in the rocky moorland. Your horse occasionally sinks into the mire but you are not delayed.
WAIT

• Search the moorland?
• Ride down into a gully in the west which you know to be a dead end?
• Climb the spur to the west?
• Go to the north, to the track which leads from the standing stones to the cataract and on to the accursed monastery?
• Go south to the path of beaten earth that crosses the Barrow Weald?
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

The trap closest to the Standing Stones is the one on the cataract, so I consider it likely it was the one that was set off, and suggest we head in that direction to close in on our quarry.
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Post by SGamerz »

^Agreed.
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