Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

[Astarte]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Status

Spoiler

Mireleth - HP 14/23, Knocked down
Nagan - HP 19/19, No Status
Sable - HP 21/21, No Status
Colette - HP 20/20, No Status
Wyndyl - HP 17/17, No Status

Enemies:
2 Barbarian Warriors
1 Barbarian Beastmaster

Rolls

Spoiler

Dog's final charge: 1d8+1 = 9 damage to Mireleth

The beast's brief pause upon being confronted by so many targets proved to be its undoing, giving another howl of rage as Colette sunk her rapier into its flesh from behind and tore across its' surprisingly thick hide. Before it could turn to take a bite out of the one who had wounded it however, Mireleth was upon it with her own blade, first landing only a shallow cut but following up with another that tore its' throat open. Even as it bled out from the wound however, it managed to make one last strike, lunging at the swordswoman and barrelling into her with its massive bulk.

Mireleth was thrown back and onto the floor by the force of the blow, but the beast staggered and fell to the floor itself moments later. More panicked shouting came from the woman in the hallway at the sight of the beast's death, and she turned to run back the way they'd come up the hallway, the two warriors with her merely brandishing their weapons with a war cry and charging into the room through the broken doorway.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Wyndyl shivered when she heard the growl on the other side of the door, the hair standing up on the back of her neck. Somehow, some way, she could feel that there was something... wrong about that sound. Sir Wolf growled in reply, tensing for a fight as the creature behind the door barked angrily, likely smelling the intruders. The elf flinched when the door was smashed open, turning her head and shielding her eyes from the various splinters that flew through the air like missiles, turning back to see an abomination standing before her. There were two men just as the ones the group had fought at the gates and a woman, one who seemed attached to the beast that had battered down the door. That beast was... it was... something other than natural. Warped. Tainted. <"I'm sorry"> Wyndyl whispered in elvish, <"you can't be saved. Only avenged."> She drew back her bow as Mireleth and Colette assaulted the massive creature, cutting it down with their blades, though that wasn't what she was focused on. The woman, she was running away... that was impermissible. A flash of anger crossed the elf's face as she let fly an arrow, aiming to bring down the coward who potentially was responsible for the fate of that poor creature.

 

[Knephi]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

The deep growl from behind the door sent shivers up Sable's spine, reminding her all too vividly of a time she wished she could forget. Even before seeing it, she knew that whatever had made that sound was no natural creature. Had these people been continuing the experiments performed by the tower's original owner? But any tools and writings should have been burned when the tower was cleansed by the inquisitors. If there was another sorcerer here, then... things could get messy, and quickly.

The swordswoman brought an arm up to shield her eyes reflexively as the door shattered to pieces, revealing the massive form of what had once been some sort of dog. Now it was yet another abomination, just like all the others she had sworn to destroy. She tightened her hold on her sword, the hand that had been shielding her face joining it in a two-handed grip as she prepared to charge at the beast.

Colette and Mireleth, who had been closer to it when it stopped, seemed to have things under control though. As much as she hated leaving her chosen prey to others, she was nothing if not pragmatic, and instead turned her attention to the armed men who had followed behind it. They needed to be dealt with as well, before they could flank her allies. She charged forward, sword held low and ready to sweep up to deflect a strike from the man's axe or to go straight for the kill if she could avoid it.

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Nagan brought her staff down, across her body as the door exploded outwards into splinters, a few spraying against her cloak and mask. She even felt one against her leg... though none of the flying wood had amounted to more than a distraction. As the door burst off its hinges, Nagan reflexively speaks some strange word, and calls to the spirit she'd trapped earlier in the day. It wreathes her in its aura. As her comrades strike down the monster-hound, she calls to its spirit to take the tribesman's in her death mask, and rushes forwards towards the attacking warriors with her staff. She holds it low and swings... and then stops, changing her target, hoping to throw his guard with the feint and strike him in the face, as the specter of one of their comrades literally looms over her, aiding her with his strength and guidance.

Spoiler

Gonna use the Berserker spirit, attack one of the enemy assholes, and spirit catch the dawg.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Status

Spoiler

Mireleth - HP 16/23, No Status
Nagan - HP 19/19, No Status
Sable - HP 17/21, No Status
Colette - HP 20/20, No Status
Wyndyl - HP 17/17, No Status

(Realized I forgot to apply Mireleth's armour to the damage she took, so I corrected her HP)

Rolls

Spoiler

Wyndyl's Volley: 2d6+1 = 8 (3, 4)
Damage: 1d8 = 1
Beastmaster escapes down the stairs.

Sable's Hack and Slash: 2d6+2 = 8 (2, 4)
Damage: 1d10+1 = 8
Counterattack Damage: 5 - 1 Armour = 4

Nagan's Hack and Slash: 2d6+2 = 13 (5, 6)
Damage: 1d6+1d4 = 5 (3, 2)

Nagan's Spirit Catcher: 2d6+2 = 11 (4, 5)
Catches a Mutant Hound spirit.

When you visualize a specific person or object in your mind, you may release the hound's spirit, which will track down the target. Roll +WIS, on a 10+ the spirit leads you directly to what you are looking for, on a 7-9 it can only lead you to the general area.

With the large beast down, the rest of the party was free to engage the enemies that followed behind it. While the beastmaster had chosen to turn and try to run, the two warriors seemed unaffected, simply charging ahead with loud battle cries. They were met by Sable and Nagan, the two showing very different reactions.

Sable's fight was over quickly, a short exchange of blows between the two warriors leaving the man staggering back before falling to the floor with a pair of deep wounds bleeding freely on his bare chest. The swordswoman hadn't managed to escape unscathed though, his jagged axe having torn into the flesh of her arm through her armour. The wound was painful but not particularly bad, and it didn't seem to have injured the muscle beneath, so she wouldn't have trouble fighting until she could get it treated.

Nagan's fight however, turned out not to be a fight at all. When the warrior saw the spirit of his fallen comrade looming over the shamaness his expression turned from confidence to terror. Her feint worked all too well as he scrambled to defend himself only for her staff to strike him, followed an instant later by the spirit's own massive club striking the same point, sending the man flying across the room in a way she never could have managed with her own strength alone. He struck the opposite wall and slumped to the floor, unmoving.

Unfortunately Wyndyl was not met with the same success as her allies. She needed to take a moment to properly aim past the fights that were unfolding between her and her target, the beastmaster making it to the top of a set of stairs leading downwards before she let her arrow fly. It struck true, catching the fleeing woman in the back in what would have been a sure kill against an unarmoured opponent, but the woman's leathers seemed surprisingly tough. The arrow's impact caused her to stumble, and sunk into the leathers she wore, but didn't seem to have penetrated enough to cripple or kill her.

Before another shot could be taken she was already out of sight down the stairs, shouting something in her native language about intruders. It seemed that their arrival was certainly not a secret any longer.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Mireleth's confidence lasted just long enough for her to let her guard down, the mutant creature bleeding its last under her blade - with some assistance from Colette of course - but not before it charged her. She couldn't react quickly enough, and was hurled backwards under its weight, but quickly scrambled back to her feet while her other companions dealt with the rest of the barbarians. All save one, who managed to escape despite taking an arrow to the back.

Hot headed though she might be, the warrior looked to her other companions, giving chase immediately as fast as she could if they did but opting to restrain herself if they didn't. The woman was no real threat on her own, most likely, and if she led them into the whole group things might not go well. Though, if they had time to prepare themselves, they might present an even greater threat.... It was hard to say what would be more dangerous, but she would let one of the others take the initiative instead.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Colette's conceited smile of victory faltered as the downed beast gave a death spasm that knocked Mireleth back savagely to the floor. Twisting her blade one last time for good measure in the beast's back, she hopped off of it and moved towards the eastern warrior.

In typical fashion, Mireleth had refused to show any sign of weakness and rose immediately to her feet, but that didn't lessen Colette's concern until her perceptive eyes had gauged the wound for herself and found it mostly superficial. Only then did she turn back towards the hallway and scanned it cautiously.

"Just take care," she said to her group, holding up her hand.

"She's already shouting and raising the alarm, so let's not run into a trap trying to save our element of surprise. Let me go first."

So saying, the thief stole forward, regarding the walls, the ceiling, the floor, and relying on her intuition and sixth sense to ensure the passage was safe.

Spoiler

Colette is using Trap Expert to survey a dangerous area, rolling +DEX (2). On a 7-9, she'll ask Is there a trap here, and if so what activates it? On a 10+ she'll ask that and also "What does the trap do when activated?" and "How can I use the trap to my advantage?"

 

[Knephi]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

With the immediate threats dealt with, Sable sheathed her blade, taking a moment to examine the wound she'd received. Fortunately it wasn't deep, her armour had prevented it from digging in too deeply. An experimental flexing of her arm left her confident it wouldn't hamper her movements at all. It hurt, but she'd had many worse wounds, and while it would need to be treated, she could wait until they had time to stop.

For now, they needed to move. Fortunately, Mireleth didn't look too badly hurt either, and nobody else looked to have been wounded in the battle. "Go ahead, but be quick." Sable let Colette take the lead, trusting her to warn them of any traps they might come across, but she was close behind with her sword once more in hand. "We can't stop her from raising the alarm now, but we can still hit them before they have time to prepare a proper ambush."

 

[Astarte]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Status

Spoiler

Mireleth - HP 16/23, No Status
Nagan - HP 19/19, No Status
Sable - HP 17/21, No Status
Colette - HP 20/20, No Status
Wyndyl - HP 17/17, No Status

Rolls

Spoiler

Colette's Trap Expert: 2d6+2 = 12

Letting the thief take the lead proved to be a wise decision. The stairs themselves were clear, leading rather deep under the earth, and ended in another short hallway leading to a room that looked to have once been a library at a glance. Just before the hallway opened up into the room itself though, Colette was able to stop everyone short.

She'd spotted a stone tile that wasn't quite flush with the others that made up the floor, and a quick investigation would indicate that there was some sort of mechanism beneath. An inspection of the hallway ahead determined that a section of the floor was slightly separated from the rest just ahead, seemingly designed to open and drop an intruder into something below.

The trap couldn't be easily disarmed, not without a lot of time spent carefully disassembling the mechanisms, but the floor seemed sturdy enough as long as the trap wasn't triggered, and even the massive dog that had attacked them had to have walked over it at one point. As long as they avoided the trigger they would be fine. making use of the trap would be difficult unless they wanted to see what was at the bottom, though an enemy could theoretically be lured onto it. It was probably safest not to trigger it at all though, since if it didn't reset automatically it might become difficult to cross.

Once they'd all made it into the next room they would find that it had indeed once been a library, though that was clearly a long time ago. The shelves and displays were empty and ruined, whatever books and scrolls had once been stored here gone. They had either been taken deeper inside, or more likely burned when the inquisition had first cleared this place.

There were a few bedrolls on the opposite side of the room but they were unoccupied and nobody else seemed to be in the room. There were doors leading out to the left and right, both closed, but the sounds of shouting were coming from the right. That was surely where their quarry had gone, but multiple voices could be heard now, which meant she'd found her reinforcements. A few options were open to them, whether they wanted to charge ahead or wait in ambush hoping that more would come.

On the other hand there was still the opposite door. A corroded plaque sat above it, but the language wasn't one anyone was able to decipher, so there was no knowing what waited on the other side.

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

With their two foes put down and the path ahead of them clear, Nagan took hold of her staff in one hand, and gripped the hem of her cloak with the other, in case the enemies awaiting them had a bow. Far better to try to bat it aside with the material of her cloak than try to move the entirety of her body out of its way, in the cramped and close confines of this decaying sorcerer's tower.

"Quick! Fall upon them, before they ready themselves!" The shaman cried, giving chase after the woman in flight.

Pursuing her - at the back of the city woman - they ran into a corridor with some sort of brick that Colette warned them over, the thing apparently ready to doom them, if they did not respect its power.

"What are we waiting for?" Nagan said, drawing her knife in one hand. It was far more suitable to battle in the hallway... though she held her open-palm-topped staff out in front of her, in case an enemy decided to burst out and charge her.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

"Not so fast!" Colette held up a hand to stop her friends from going head long past her.

"There's a pit trap. 10 yards ahead. The raised stone. See it?" She indicated where she was looking with her finger.

"Plenty of space around it, so make sure not to trip it. Otherwise we're not going to be coming back out this way."

The thief led them on a safe detour at the side of the hallway, and onward into the abandoned library.

"They're clearly behind there, who knows how many. I'm for setting upon them while their trousers are still down. What say you, ladies?" Colette brandished her sword and faced the door on the right side from which voices could be heard. If the rest of the party were keen on the idea, she'd rush the door and continue the fight with whatever lay on the other side. Better to finish them off before they could organize and group up completely.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

"Lets do it," Mireleth said in agreement, once more moving to take the lead. She offered the trigger for the trap that Colette had spotted a wary look and wide berth. Her hand remained on the hilt of her blade, ready to draw it at a moment's notice should the barbarians they were hunting show themselves possessed of more initiative than they'd suspected.

 

[Knephi]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Sable nodded as Colette told them to stop, eyes scanning the floor for the trap she pointed out. It didn't look like much but some uneven stonework to her, but she'd learned to trust the thief's eyes on matters like this so she stuck the edge of the hallway.

The room they'd ended up in at the end of the hallway was some sort of library, or had been, but at least it looked like the place had been properly cleared out. It would probably be worth a more thorough investigation later, but for now they needed to keep moving.

"Yes, we should hit them before they can prepare." Sable started towards the door the woman seemed to have gone through, checking whether it had been locked.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

As her companions slew the large beast and the two warriors Wyndyl's arrow hit its mark, hitting the fleeing beastmaster in the back... though it seemed that she had more armor than the elf had expected, so the blow was only enough to cause pain and knock her momentarily off balance. Wyndyl practically spat as she watched the woman go, annoyed that she had failed to stop her. Unfortunately it also looked like Sable and Mireleth had been injured, albeit only slightly, in the melee. "I ought to have stopped her" she said regretfully, quite annoyed that the alarm had been raised. She followed along behind the others with Sir Wolf to one side, the direwolf snarling even still at the corpse of the warped creature as it past. There was a trap in the pathway, a raised stone that would have set off some kind of rock fall, so the elf took care to shepherd her companion past it, making her way with the others into an old and dusty library that was rather severely lacking in books.

This was clearly where some of the enemy slept, but they hadn't caught anyone in here. Instead there were the sounds of people preparing through a door to the right, probably where the beastmaster had gone to summon up the others. What to do was up in the air. The others clearly wanted to rush in, and that was fine with Wyndyl. She readied her bow to fire, saying "yes, let us go. Even if they are readied we shall have to fight them one way or another."

 

[Astarte]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Status

Spoiler

Mireleth - HP 16/23, No Status
Nagan - HP 19/19, No Status
Sable - HP 17/21, No Status
Colette - HP 20/20, No Status
Wyndyl - HP 17/17, No Status

The door opened easily when the swordswoman tested it, there not seeming to have been any bolt to lock and their enemies not having bothered—or perhaps not had the time—to barricade it. On the other side of the door was a room slightly larger and far more open than the library they'd just left. Shelves lined one wall, and what looked like some kind of blood-stained operating table was pushed aside to clear the center of the floor. The beastmaster was here, and she shouted something to the two warriors standing guard.

Behind those two were something perhaps more threatening though. Cages were built along the far wall, the bars rusted but sturdy-looking. One was already open, while the other two held beasts that looked much like the massive hound that had attacked them upstairs. They were both obviously once dogs or wolves of some kind, and of similar size, but they had different traits. One looked very wolf-like, white furred and instead of the bone plate on its head the last had, this one had long, spiny protrusions along its back. The other was almost pitch black, and perhaps the largest of the three, very broad and heavily-built, though it seemed to have no unusual traits aside from its bulk.

Both began to snarl as the door was opened, and with the shouted word from the beastmaster the two warriors scrambled to open the cages, obviously having been waiting for a sign to do so. The two beasts were out as soon as the doors opened, barking loudly and rushing straight towards the women just now entering the room. If any of them cared to look at the beastmaster instead of the two beasts bursting free from their cages, they would see a sadistic smile spread across her face as she grabbed a vial of some clear green liquid from a shelf, hurling it straight for where the party stood.

Note

Spoiler

Since the enemies are acting first here, be sure to keep their actions in mind. If everyone just stands in place and fights you're probably going to get hit by whatever she's throwing, for example.

Doing multiple actions in one round is fine, just be aware that the consequences of failing multiple times in one round will also be more severe, and try to avoid using the same type of action more than once in a round unless necessary. So try to avoid doing hack and slash twice, for example, but defy danger to avoid some obstacle and then a hack and slash is perfectly fine.

Also feel free to just describe actions that might not have a specific move associated with them and let me figure out how to roll them.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Seeing the enemy, Mireleth's blade flew from its sheath as she immediately began hurtling forward. Even she wasn't fast enough to get to them before they opened the cages containing the beasts, but she did shout; "Coward! Hiding behind your pets! Fight me!"

As she rushed forward, she saw the beastmaster pick something up and throw it their way. She vaguely recognized a glint of something reflective, but acted on pure instinct as she raised her blade and attempted to bat it back towards the woman with the flat of her blade.

However that resolved itself, assuming she wasn't barred from reaching the nearer of the two men somehow, she would open with a diagonal slice that started low and rose, aimed at the nearer barbarian's torso. She aimed to keep him at bay, working her feet and blade to keep her opponent at bay while avoiding being pushed towards the center of the room where she might be surrounded.

Spoiler

I'm Your Opponent on one of the barbarian dudes.
Defy Danger to smack the flask out of the air back at the thrower.
Then Hack and Slash on the same barbarian guy at reach distance since I might as well try to pretend that upgrade on the sword wasn't totally worthless in hindsight.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Colette took in the situation with a sharp inhale, her eyes darting from the nearby barbarians, the nearby mutant hound, and the dire possibility of more of its gruesome mates joining the fight momentarily. Finally she also saw the beastmaster heft a vial of what was no doubt impending nastiness for all of her companions, if it connected with anything hard and spilled its contents.

She'd seen the use of flung flasks many a time in the Thieves Guild. All sorts of potions and brews were used to create various effects, some of which were very deadly.

She darted to intercept the vial as it was being tossed into the air, deciding upon a bold plan to catch it with her soft hands, to avoid letting the thing shatter anywhere near them. With equal parts luck and skill, she'd hope to grab a hold of it and then hurl it at the two hounds that had just been released from their cages. Anything to slow down the rampaging beasts before they could join the fight in earnest.

Spoiler

So main actions are to try to catch the vial before it hits the floor/gets batted by Mireleth's blade. Then if that's successful, heave it right into the two far off dogs faces.

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Immediately upon seeing the other two freakish beasts in the room, Nagan gripped her staff in her knife-hand, and with her newly-freed one, reached into her waistband and flung her fresh-carved snake-totem towards the spiked hound. "Chu'a!" She cried, and in response, the wooden rod wriggled and grew in mid-air, growing long and heavy... Chu'a sailed through the air, flying towards its prey, and when it caught it, it squeezed it tight within its coils - and even if it managed to dash out of the way, the her spirit-snake would slither after it, until it caught it. Chu'a would hold it tight for her...

Spoiler

Using my Chu'a totem to tie up spikedog. Attempt to spirit talk, to keep from burning up. On partial success, I want to take a penalty to further spirit talks.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

The group reached the room where their enemies were and carefully threw open the door, revealing something of a mess. The beastmaster was there along with two male fighters, though that wasn't the main problem in Wyndyl's mind. There were cages here housing more poor creatures, two more wolves that had likely been altered in some way. They were huge, and one of them had some sort of spines on its back, as if the bone had been warped upwards into points every so often. The elf's eyes narrowed as she drew back her bow, though the sight of the wicked woman hurling some sort of vial at them made her lower it and jump back in one motion. Sir Wolf, in the meantime, was snarling and growling in the presence of the unnatural creatures that charged at them as soon as the cages were open. Assuming she had gotten out of the way of whatever that vial was Wyndyl would draw her bow again and let fly an arrow. The beastmaster's robes had stopped the last one, but nothing covered her face, and if her aim was true nothing would stop this arrow... Sir Wolf could protect her if something got close enough to attack, or so she hoped.

 

[Knephi]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Contrary to her fellow warrior, Sable remained silent in the face of the ambush that awaited them. Her body went tense for a moment before shifting into a more defensive stance on instinct, ready to strike with her blade or dodge around the charging beast when it drew close. In those few moments as the cages opened and the hounds were set free her mind was busy analyzing every detail of the mutant beasts, comparing them to what she already knew of similar creatures.

They weren't likely to have any weak point for her to explore beyond those of the creature it had once been, the mutations weren't that extensive. Still, she could glean a little from their movements and general size. They were fast, physically powerful, but also much bulkier than the wolves or hounds they had once been. They seemed to have lost some measure of agility over their untainted counterparts, and she could exploit that.

She spared a glance to the beastmaster, concerned about what she was planning, but Sable trusted her allies to solve that while she focused on the beasts—after all, monstrosities like these were her area of expertise. Her free hand went to the bandolier she wore over her armour, hoping she still had what she needed. With any luck she could use the creatures' momentum against them.

Spoiler

Remembered to ask about Bestiary Knowledge this time, since it's supposed to be a free option the first time she encounters something. Though obviously these things don't have a big weak point to stab for massive damage or anything, and they can be killed just like anything else.

Otherwise, using Tools of the Trade to try to use something to slip the wolves up and hopefully let them crash into a wall instead of us. Flask of slippery oil or grease or the like. And then Defy Danger if needed to get out of the way afterwards.