|
GM: Talia
Players: Janie
Synopsis: Janie decides to get a bit of metaplanar help to learn one of her spells…
Date: November 17th, 2070
The formula seems sound, and the basics came easily once she started studying, but to learn the spell at the strength it should be known will take a lot more effort… And the Wise Warrior knows when to seek guidance.
A quick phone call to Maximilian to set up a meeting and a brief bike ride later she finds herself in the warehouse Max has set up to entertain would-be astral travelers like herself. She nods once, then holds out her hand to grant the spirit a portion of her life force in exchange for his opening the gateway.
«Plot» Janie says, "This will be a Rating 5 Astral Quest to the Metaplane of the Wise Warrior, seeking Spell Insight into the Enhance Aim (Extended Range) spell."
«Plot» Janie says, "Max charges 2.5 Karma for a R5 quest; a successful Conjuring (5) test will allow Janie to pay him at 1:2 and spend only 1.25 Karma."
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Conjuring vs TN 5 for "Karma, freely given.":
1 3 3 5 5 5 5 8 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) has the Contact Maximilian with the following information:
-----> Contact for Janie (#4136) <-----
Contact Name: Maximilian
Level: 1
Type: unknown
GM Note: Force 5 Free Spirit (Animus)
As the free spirit touches Janie's hand, it makes a mockery of a smile, teeth wide open as it takes a small portion of what is offered. It seems Janie's energy is particularly tasty, and perhaps a bit filling in a good way today. "Please, by all means, get yourself situated, miss, it's time for your little trip." The spirit smiles, waiting for you to prepare yourself, before snapping its fingers and making everything fade to black…
An instant later, a pinprick of odd light appears in the distance, no doubt the place you need to find yourself to begin the quest proper… The Threshold. Sitting on a pogo stick is a human with obsidian skin, eyes with reddish orange pupils and black 'whites', and dark green hair. In fact, it looks like what Janie might, were she to be made into a negative image. "Well, another tosspot coming to the quest. What do you want, already?"
«Auto-Judge[check]» Talia (#3202) rolls 1 (to no one) for "First stop on the quest is":
5
«Auto-Judge[check]» Talia (#3202) rolls 2 (to no one) for "Place of Knowledge. Second stop will be…":
5 9
«Auto-Judge[check]» Talia (#3202) rolls 2 (to no one) for "The end. Placeholder, Janie's got two stops to make.":
1 10
"Knowledge," Janie answers simply. There's no point in lying to the Dweller - nor in being overly effusive. It already knows everything that's in her heart anyway.
"And what do you need this knowledge for? Making mayhem? Finding new playthings to wreck? Enjoying forbidden pleasures?" The spirit chuckles, showing the most recent people Janie's killed, the things she's destroyed, the people that she's had relations with, and a few other rudimentary items. "So show me that you have that which should allow you to pass."
«Plot» Talia says, "I will require one TN 5 intelligence test, please."
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Intelligence vs TN 5 for "I'll show you why.":
1 1 1 1 1 5 11 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Intelligence - 2 vs TN 5 for "I'll show you why. (KP 1)":
4 5 5 5 11 = 4 Successes
«Plot» Janie stands on 6.
«Plot» Talia says, "Janie has an additional three karma going into the Astral Quest."
Janie waves one arm in a slashing dismissal. "That which I destroyed should never have existed in the first place," she replies, turning the image into that of a hideous altar, dripping with malice even as Janie supervises someone placing explosive charges on it.
"Those I killed threatened the lives of others," she continues, images shifting until they show a gang battle in the street as seen from a rooftop just as Janie's guns ring out and hit what definitely look to be the leaders of one of the gangs, turning the tide.
"Those I love… I protect." An image, finally, of May. "I serve the Warrior, not the Destroyer. Never the Destroyer."
As Janie steps through the Threshold, she views a scene full of chaos… Giant chess pieces from the fourteenth century fight Go pieces, who in turn fight hairy men wearing bronze curiasses, lamelar armor, and little else… They in turn are also fighting men with wicker shields, in conical hats, and with black hoods over their faces. Suddenly, one of the chess pieces turns to Janie, and jumps in her general direction, landing just short, one space to the side and two to the fore away… That gets the attention of the other beligerents, who turn to look at the newcomer.
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Chess + Astral Pool: 6 vs TN 5 for "Your move.":
1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 9 9 = 4 Successes
Janie regards the pieces in turn, adopting a loose stance that allows for freedom of movement in any direction at a moment's notice while her mind analyzes their relative positions and maps them to a chess board. It seems…
Janie comes to the realization that it's a Knight that is most dangerous to her at the moment, and he gets ready to jump again, even as the Go pieces begin to multiply, trying to advance in such a way that they can cut her off and leave her with nowhere else to go… Meanwhile, the two different armies turn, and begin to charge in the direction of the associated pieces…
«Plot» Talia says, "Athletics, please, at TN 5."
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Athletics + Astral Pool: 2 vs TN 5 for "Dodge!":
1 2 3 3 5 10 11 = 3 Successes
«Plot» Talia says, "You need one more success to not get hurt."
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Athletics + Astral Pool: 2 - 3 vs TN 5 for "Dodge! (KP 2)":
1 4 5 11 = 2 Successes
«Plot» Janie says, "Let me know when AP refreshes — normally, it refreshes at each new Place."
Janie moves at once, diving under the Knight's leap to an unoccupied square as she mentally starts analysing the pieces' movements, mapping out a path that can take her across the board with the least confrontations.
The Go pieces end up stacking in such a way that the Knight, on its way down, ends up clipping one of the valleys of tubes, and falls flat on its face. However, the pieces also have blocked you in, almost into a valley where the two opposing armies have begun charging, the one side holding off the other purely by accident as they both try to maneuver into position…
«Plot» Talia says, "Military History, TN 5, please."
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Military History + Astral Pool: 2 vs TN 5 for "This seems familiar.":
1 2 3 5 8 = 2 Successes
Janie looks from one side to the other, keeping a wary eye on the Go pieces as well as the two armies, trying to understand the pattern they are forming.
In fact, aside from the slight differences in terrain, this looks like the Battle of Thermopylae might have, with the Spartans trying to hold the mouth of the valley against the more numarically powerful Persians… Unfortunately, not all the arrows fired at the Spartans were well-aimed, and Janie is struck along the shoulders by a few of the more egregiously-misaimed ones…
«Plot» Talia says, "Light damage. I need a strategy roll now."
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Strategy + Astral Pool: 2 vs TN 6 for "Ow. Dammit.":
1 1 2 5 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Strategy + Astral Pool: 2 vs TN 6 for "Ow. Dammit. (KP 2)":
3 3 3 3 9 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Strategy + Astral Pool: 2 - 1 vs TN 6 for "Ow. Dammit. (KP 5)":
2 4 4 7 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Strategy + Astral Pool: 2 - 2 vs TN 6 for "Ow. Dammit. (KP 8)":
3 4 7 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Strategy + Astral Pool: 2 - 3 vs TN 6 for "Ow. Dammit. (KP 12)":
2 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Strategy + Astral Pool: 2 - 3 vs TN 6 for "Ow. Dammit. (KP 17)":
3 5 = 0 Successes
After a few more arrows touch down where they should not have, you notice a pass where more soldiers could come through, if they knew where it was… A veritable goat pass, one might say. It certainly seems a lot safer than where you are now, with all the arrows falling down about you…
Janie snorts to herself. She remembers this part from her studies and sprints down the path. It might not end somewhere safe, but 'safe' is a relative term, and almost anywhere would be safer than right here.
Actually, the path rises up suddenly as Janie steps on one of the Go chips, flying up, up, and up… If she looks down, she can actually see a pillar of Go chips being build underneath her, until she's in the clouds, and a book is resting upon a smaller pillar of black Go chips.
«Plot» Talia says, "Quest Path: Place of Knowledge —> The Citidel"
Janie looks from the Go pieces beneath her feet to the pile supporting the book, estimating distances, then reaches out to open it.
Suddenly, knowledge simply floods Janie's mind, filling her mind full of esoteric information about the magic that she seeks, before this other reality shatters before her, leaving her back in the physical world she'd left for such a brief period in the first place, the knowledge she seeks firmly in her head.
Janie gasps as she returns to her body, wincing as she feels the wounds in her arm, no less real for being inflicted on her astral form. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, letting her own magic flow through her to repair the damage done.
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 4 vs TN 5 for "F4 Heal spell, +1 from L wound.":
1 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 11 15 = 4 Successes
«Auto-Judge[check]» Janie (#4136) rolls Willpower vs TN 2 for "Soaking L drain.":
1 1 2 5 8 8 9 10 = 6 Successes
«OOC» Talia says, "Think that's about it?"
«OOC» Janie says, "Yeah. For the record, the result of the Insight quest will be five bonus dice to y next attempt to learn the spell, and a -5 discount on the karma cost to a minumum of 1 Karma."
|
