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G.A.N.G. Post #10 – A Thief’s Decision

To one side was an old man who cared little for Ash’s demands. On the other, a dwarf was slowly caressing his axes, as if he were silently enjoying whatever horrors he could wreak with them. Then there was this thief offering him some kind of “out”. And the others who didn’t know what to do and were probably banking on the thief’s offer. What was one to do? The only thing he could do without incurring the wrath of those wicked axes.

“Fine, pal. I’ll take up your offer. I’ll guide you down my road. No need for useless bloodspilling, what with the lot of ye looking a mite bit dangerous and all.” Ash cracked his knuckles, keeping an eye on those axes. “Ash here will take good care of ye.”

As you begin to walk down the road, you feel as though the surrounding area suddenly has fewer eyes than you entered it with.

G.A.N.G. Post #9 – Road Tax

You begin your long trek to Skyrock Peak.  The majority of the trip is through hilly meadows and vast plains, so the travel is fairly light and easy.  Three days into your journey, about midmorning, you come across a fairly large rock on the side of the road, probably used as a marker of sorts for landowners and travelers alike.  Sitting on top of the rock is a young lad who looks just old enough to be past his teens.  His calculating gaze and general manner indicates that he’s probably seen a lot more of the outside world than others of his age.  As you approach the rock, he leaps off and lands in front of the group, blocking your path forward.

“Ah, ain’t ye the motley sort?  The name’s Ash.  Now, I’m not looking for much trouble around here, but this here is my road, and to cross my road, you’ll be paying me a little tax.  A hundred zenny for each of you sounds like a fair price to me.  So, pay up, and your passage on it will be safe from further…complications.”

GM’s Announcement

Given that it’s about a week between posts, there won’t be an official post this week while Spring Break is running its course.  While this doesn’t affect most of you, I’d like to keep everybody on the same page.  Plus I haven’t received homework from a couple of you. *glare*

G.A.N.G. Post #8: The Beginning of a New Journey

After your meal, the old man prepares enough food for you to eat for the next week. He seems chipper and happy to be of help to so many people at once, as if he doesn’t get the chance to do it often.

As you depart, he says a blessing over each of you, that your travels may be safe and your rewards great for the troubles you may endure. He entrusts the party with small map of the world, with your next destination marked. It will take a week to journey there, but the travel should be fairly light and easy.

He gives each of you a watersack filled with his wonderful tea along with a sack to make more as you desire.

As you start down the road once more, the old man waves good-bye with a chuckle and a gleam of joy in his eyes, glad to have some company for a change. You look off towards the distance, wondering what could possibly await you at the abandoned village in the mountains. It could mean danger. It could mean nothing. But something important was there. An old man with so much history in his humble cottage had to have been more important than he let on. As you look back to get one last glimpse of the old man and his cozy little cottage, you see the oddest thing.

The cottage was no longer there.

Homework! Kenneth and Sean have already done this, and I’d like to see something from the rest of ye. Write me a back story for your character, and if possible, work in his possible goals that you wan to see accomplished in this game. Also, I want you all to describe to me how your character would act in battle. This will be constantly updated as your character levels up, learns, grows, and experiences the outside world. You should have one of my e-mail addresses. Send these to me either in the body of an e-mail, as an attachment (doc, pdf, sxw, or odt formats accepted), or hand it to me in person as a print-out or handwritten.

G.A.N.G. Post #7 – Nevic’s Hat

The old man gingerly removed the chapeau from Nevic’s hands.

“Hmmm…” he mused as he thought for a few minutes. “This…this I haven’t seen for quite some time. People who are willing to undertake the kind of trouble it takes to be like the bearers of these hats…they’re few and far between.

“Long ago, there was a city of mages that was divided on two different schools of magic. The black mages valued the power to destroy, while the white mages valued the power to build. Whilst there was bickering over which school of thought was the stonger and better of the two, they complimented each other quite well.

“Imagine, then, their surprise when a traveler from another land stopped overnight on his way to some important business. Now, there are always strangers travelling about, but this one was different. He claimed to be able to weild both the power of white and black magics as well as been none too shabby with a sword. He was criticized for spreading his abilities too far out, not being able to master the best of any of the schools of magic, or even melee combat. He challenged them to a friendly duel to show the error in their line of thought.

“The next morning, one of the best black mages and one of the best white mages faced off against the stranger. The black mage threw the best of his attack spells, while the white mage furiously worked to keep them both alive and well. The stranger, while he struggled to do so, managed to keep himself going while returning fire. When they all had spent their mental energies, the stranger did something completely unexpected, to both his competitor’s horror: he physcially weakened himself to restore his mental capacity. Now, this would seem like a dangerous move, and it is, but with the black mage and the white mage’s mental reserves spent, they could do nothing when stranger healed himself through his restored mental reserves. While he was not as adept at casting spells, he was able to whittle them down with his magic in concert with his swordplay.

“He then commeneded his enemies on a fight well fought and went on his way. From that point on, he was readily welcomed as a respected guest whenever he passed through the city. Upon his death, they erected a third school in honor of this stranger’s school of magic.

“The mages in that city were clothed according to their school. The black mages wore navy robes and wore corn straw hats. The white mages wore white hooded robes. The third school chose its dress based on the clothing that the stranger wore in his travels: a red tunic, a red cape, and a red chapeau with a white feather.

“When this city was lost to the sands of time, as is inevitable in any civilization, one of the few artifacts that remained was the stranger’s hat, somehow preserved through the mists of time. Other relics of this mage’s clothing may exist in the world.

“You, my friend, you have chosen the path of this stranger. Bear the hat and bring honor to the oft-looked over name of the red mages.”

Nevic recieve the hat again and thanked the old man.

“Now, before you go, let us eat so that you can leave on a full stomach!”

Welcome, Nevic!  You are a male human Red Mage!

Str: 10 Con: 12 Dex: 12 Int: 14 Wis: 12 Cha: 12

HP: 7/7 MP: 8/8 AC: 11 Speed: 30 ft.

Abilities:

Red Magic: You can cast both black and white magic, but this kind of versatility comes at a cost.  You cannot cast the most powerful spells from either school of magic.  You are also proficient in the use of swords, but not to the degree that a fighter is.  Because part of a red mage’s training is focused on melee combat, he his a lower MP pool than dedicated mages.

Spells:

Cure: Heals 1d8 HP per three levels of red mage. MP Cost: 1

Fire: Deals 1d6 fire damage per three levels of red mage.  MP Cost: 2

Ice: Deals 1d6 ice damage per three levels of red mage. MP Cost: 2

Nevic recieves an Old Chapeau!

 

G.A.N.G. Post #6 – You got items!

GM’s NOTE: Character sheets will take a little more time.

The old man took in all these requests and disappeared into collection of things.  Over the next hour, you here the opening and closing of many doors, the rummaging through many things, and the delighted chuckles and seemingly absent-minded comments as he fills as much of the orders as he can.  At last he returns, but only with a simple bag for each person.

 As he hands out the bags, he explains, “These bags of holding are special in that they are linked to each other.  Any of you can store unneeded items into your bags, and anybody can retrieve anything that has been stored in these bags.  If you want something for a more private collection, I suggest finding your own private bag of holding.”

The party can now access the Inventory!

“In fact, if you look inside, you can find many of the things you requested.”

The party obtains the following items:
short sword (thief)
dagger (thief)
short bow (thief)
80 wooden arrows (thief, Hylian archer)
3 leather armors (thief, bard, red mage)
1 set of thieves tools (thief)
Hylian shield (Hylian archer)
Green mail (Hylian archer)
bomb bag with 10 bombs (Hylian archer)
slingshot with 10 Deku nuts (Hylian archer)
suit of rusty armor (fighter)
pair of rusty boots (fighter)
pot lid (shield, fighter)
pot helmet (fighter)
6 cloaks (all classes)
instrument repair kit (bard)
2 rapiers (bard, red mage)
10 Potions (heals 25% of max HP)
5 Hi-potions (heals 50% of max HP)
1 X-potion (heals 75% of max HP)
2 Tents (rest in overnight to restore HP and MP completely, can only be used where one can normally set up a camp)
Camp-in-a-Box (cotains all the necessary tools, equipment, and such to pitch camp for the night.  Includes cookware, tents, and sleeping gear.  Costs 1000 Zenny a week to maintain.)
Survival-in-a-Box (contains all the necessary tools, equipment, and such to survive in the wilderness.  Includes hunting tools, first aid kits, mountain climbing gear, common antidotes, do-it-yourself alchemy kit, and other common survival items. Costs 2000 Zenny a week to maintain.)
book copying kit (contains ink, quills, and paper. Costs 100 Zenny a week to maintain.)
The party recieves a stipend of 5000 Zenny to start their adventure off on.

The old man continued.  “The things you requested that you did not recieve, you will have to look for an earn on your own, as the heros before you have done.  It’s sort of a tradition, you might say.  Can’t be off saving the world without some difficulty.

“And now, I believe we have a newcomer.”  The old man points to an average guy towards the back holding a red chapeau with a white feather sticking out of it.  The man didn’t have anything that distinguished himself from anybody else.  Brown hair, brown eyes, slightly tan skin from many days of travel.  Nobody knew when he came in and for how long he was there, but it was a good bet he meant to join this group.

“I apologize for not having introduced myself when I came in.  I am Nevic Errilyn, a man of little import.  I saw this place last night and came in whilst you were having dinner, then proceeded to lose myself among your artifacts, where I feel asleep during the night.  When I woke up, I found this curious little hat.  Please, tell me the story behind it.”

G.A.N.G. Post #5 – No Needs?

The old man eyed the group. “Now that we seem to have settled minor differences, lets see to Noddle’s item. I do believe you didn’t bring one to me last night. Troubles of the past, I wonder…?”

He paused for a moment while he considered the cloak. “Not much is known about this cloak. Not even I know anything about it. I found this at a clothing shop far to the south in Dalma, a village of no repute selling what little it can provide to travellers who might need it. While finding a cloak in a clothing store is indeed no big discovery, this cloak seemed…different. The design is not of the local fashion, and it carries an air of magical ability about it, but what it can do, I haven’t the foggiest. Perhaps its previous owner left it behind as a gift of good will. Perhaps that owner wanted to be rid of it. Whatever the case may be, its yours to use, but only if you promise to tell me what it does when you find out.”

Welcome, Noddle! You are a male gnome Thief.

Str: 10 Dex: 16 Con: 12 Int: 14 Wis: 13 Cha: 12

HP: 7/7 MP 6/6 AC: 13 Speed: 30 ft.

Thievery: Training has allowed you to pick locks and disarm traps with a difficulty level up to your current level/2 for free with the appropriate tools. If you wish to disarm traps and locks of a higher level, you will need to spend 1 MP/level higher, as it will take some extra thought to tackle those tough-to-break contraptions.

Abilities:

Sneak Attack: Concentration and a good knowledge of anatomy allows you to make a powerful blow on your enemy’s vitals. Provided that your target is unaware of your presence (by sneaking, being distracted by another in combat, etc.), you can attack your opponent where it really hurts, causing an extra 1d6 damage. MP Cost: 2

Improvise: By scavenging around for materials, you can be just like MacGuyver! If the materials around are able to support a task, you can think of a way to use them to your advantage. MP Cost: 1

Noddle recieves Mysterious Cloak!

Equipment: Cloak, clothes on back

The old man regards the toolbox next. “I would tell you the story behind this, but then I’d have to let the others pick out another item, too. No, we will learn this item’s story later, perhaps when you are more ready for it. Please, return it where you found it.

“Now, I understand that you’re eager to get going, but you should at least stock up on some provisions before you set out. You wouldn’t want to be lacking of medicines or food, would you?”

GM’S NOTE: This is your opportunity to stock up on things for healing, killing, surviving, etc! Even a simple note about help on some needs will be sufficient!

G.A.N.G. Post #4 – The Next Morning

After a good night’s rest, the old man presented Palenrédeon with a restored bow.  After a large breakfast, the old man cleared the table and laid out a map of the world.  He grabbed a knife and fixed it purposely in the middle of a large landmass.

“This,” he said, “is our current location in the world.  You’ll note that the world is very large and comprised of many lands.  You’ll be visiting a good portion of it on my behalf.

“Now, as with all good quests sporting heroic companions of an odd assortment, you’ll be sent off with vague promises and hopes that will only become clearer as you discover different things on your path.”  He chuckled.  “I bet you didn’t know you’d become something of the heroic sort today, did you?  That matters not.  You have been chosen to bear artifacts that have granted you your latent power.  As you grow, so will they.  Even this book that Anhaga bears will grow and become more complete.

“As for why you should go on some unkonwn quest for not-as-of-yet clear purposes, I can promise you that you will be remebered throughout history, whether or not you succeed.  But more so than that, you will find along and at the end of a very long journey answers to many questions, and things long desired.

“I want you to travel to the Arphen Mountains to the west.  There, on the slops of Skyrock Peak, you will find the ruins of a small town.  The cemetary there houses a long dead and dread secret.

“Before you go, I will provide what equipment I can.”

Palenrédeon acquires the Hylian Bow!

G.A.N.G. Post #3.4 – Talborenor’s Axes

Setting the bow aside, the old man picks up the pair of axes Talborenor brought.  The old man frowned as the memory of these axes.  They had a history he did not wish to retell, but retell it he must.

“It is interesting that you bring me these. Talborenor.  Theses axes were famous in their time.  The runes you see here are the names of these axes.  The larger is called Judgement, the smaller called Execution.  There is a companion amulet called Jury that has been lost,” the old man added wryly.

“As you can probably tell, these were not used for very good purposes.  These once belonged to a priest-king of the dwarves in ages past.  This priest-king was very zealous in his beliefs, and his reign was noted in dwarven history as being bloody and terrible.  Anybody who dared believed differently from him would be tried and executed by his own hand.  He lead armies to crush villages and even some kingdoms in the name of his gods.  It was unforunately, for that dwarven religion preached much more peaceful ways to do things.  Alas, he treated the religion as his personal pass to kill any and all who stood in his way.

“This king was called Phurhen Bloodpacter, and there had neither been, or has there since, been a dwarven king like him.  He is a black spot on the race that they would sooner forget than attempt to relive in even a negative light.

“When he was finally resisted and killed by his own people, they sought to destroy everything of his, but these axes refused to be harmed.  They were sealed away instead, with hopes that nobody would ever find such evil.  However, treasure hunters found them, years later.  When they came upon misfortune of their own, I helped them out in exchange for these weapons.

“Please, take them.  In my studies, these axes have shown me fascinating things.  I think they refuse to endure destruction until they have been redeemed.  How one goes about redeeming a weapon, I do not know.  That will be yours to figure out, Master Talborenor.”

Welcome, Talborenor!  You are a male dwarf Fighter!

Str: 16 Con: 15 Dex: 15 Int: 12 Wis: 10 Chr: 10

HP: 13/13 MP: 5/5 AC: 12 Speed: 30

Dual Wield: You can wield a weapon in each hand, which makes you twice as deadly, but at a cost to accuracy as you try to hit your enemies without hitting yourself or your own weapons.

Axe Mastery: Anything that sports a chopping blade on a long handle is considered extremely deadly in your hands.  Trees, ropes, and even the heads of your enemies are not safe from your chops of fury.

Techniques:
Cleave: Nothing satisfies like cleaving your foes in twain, and with two axes, cleaving in twain was never easier!  Deals an extra d4 damage per axe.  Cost: 2 MP.

Talborenor acquires Judgement and Execution!

Equipment: Clothes on your back, said axes.

After he told his stories, the old man got up to work on the bow.  “There are beds available for your use.  Please, stay the evening.  There is much I have to tell you, and the time does grow late.”  He indicates to the window, where you can see the sun setting in the distance.