Dwellers in the Woods

 Present: 

• Sophia Beauchamp (half-elf priest 21) [Ian]
• Elvis Ghenna (elf bard) [Shane]
• Balder Dash (gnome wizard) [Jamie]
• Slim Jim (human rogue) [Darryl]
• Walton Formalin (half-elf mystic of 21) [Andrew]
• Red Feuersturm (human temple fighter of Hob) [Chris]
• Donk Platebreaker (human fighter) [Jeff]
• Macron (elf thief) [Kevin]

Walton writes.

Sophia, Walton, Slim, Macron and Red and Julia (the NPC witch part of the remnants of Red's former party) were up in the top of Dweller's tower. This tower was attached to the Dweller's cottage, in a small forest, near a cliff edge, three day's travel from Toluene,  in the wilderness of the Oble mountains. 

The tower was three storeys high. The party was standing over the still-warm bodies of two kobold guards. The Sleep spells had done their work, so the Dwellers had not been alerted. Ugly Elvis, the distraction for the raid, hobbled to the base of the ladder. The soles of his feet had been sliced off so there was no way he could climb the ladder up to us unaided. Elvis had been horribly tortured and he had a Major Wound [ In game mechanics, this means Shane makes every roll with a Penalty die. Like D&D's "Disadvantage", this means you roll two D20s and take the worst one. ]. So the group tried to shoo him away into the woods until later, but he pleaded in his frail reedy voice not to be left alone, so they took pity on him and lowered down a rope. Then Red and Slim hauled his sorry arse up to them. 

Elvis's jewish harp

Elvis was an elf, but not that you'd recognize it. He was horribly ugly and malformed, his facial skin was like a burns victim, but he was never burned. To add insult to injury, during his captivity, the kobolds had mockingly cut the tips of his pointy ears off [ APP = 5 ]. Ironically, Elvis was a bard, not that you'd ever guess it. His voice was croaky, and his musical aptitude was as good as zero. He played the Jewish harp. His one was named "IUD".

There was a trapdoor going down, so Macron lead the way, quietly, and the group followed except Julia who stayed to comfort the sickly injured Elvis. 

Lucky it was on a chain

Level two of the tower was a laboratory with some distilling ceramics and shelves full of knick-knacks. Chained to the wall there was, none other than, Balder Dash, his glistening naked body severely cut, punctured and burned from his time with the kobolds. When rescued, Sophia and Walton cured what they could, and that enabled Balder to walk. Luckily, he didn't have a Major Wound. The ladder continued below through another trapdoor.

Level one, ground level, had a dog chained to a wall ring. Luckily, it did not hear the floor creaking and groaning above as the group pranced about. Balder still had his magic, so he hit the war-dog with a Sleep and that allowed Macron to kill it in cold blood. And so the group all descended.

There was a heavy set door exiting this room. The group could hear talking through here, so it was time for Plan A. Slim lead the way, he threw the door open. Well, he tried, but it was locked!

So, he kicked at it, and luckily, the bolt splintered and the door fell in. There was a large room, the entire cottage was one room, in fact. There was a fire burning in the hearth, and an ugly woman with a sword - this was the Dweller fighter whom the group had seen before - but she had no armour (lucky!), and off to one side was the scruffy and unkempt Dweller wizard himself. Over in the far corner was Donk, still alive, strapped naked to a table, severely wounded. The Dwellers were not surprised (after all, Slim had bashed the door several times). 

Macron succumbs to Sleep
 as Sophia scurries clear

Slim rushed at the man but was dropped after a few paces with Sleep. Red engaged the woman. Macron rushed in, followed by Walton and then Balder. Macron managed to wake Slim before he himself was dropped with another Sleep.

Then, with a flurry of Sleeps from Walton and Balder, and general weight of numbers, the two hapless Dwellers were eventually dropped, and brutally slaughtered.

The group then rescued injured Donk, cured him best they could (Sophia and Walton); he had a Major Wound so would be a bit slow.

Julia and Elvis were collected. The place was searched, but not much was found. The Dwellers did have some dried verbenas and verbena seeds which the group took. 

There was another trapdoor in the floor, so they explored down there. It was a store room with fresh food and clean water, and an escape tunnel. They followed it and it led down to the base of the cliff (near to where the body of ugly Elvan was found hanging last time).

Having cleared out the Dweller's cottage, the group headed back towards the Verbena Source to try to locate some more living clumps of the herb.

verbena / vervain

This location was reached several hour's later, just before dark, and Detect Poisons were cast about (Sophia and Walton). All the soil around here was contaminated, and herbalist Balder knew that the verbena seeds would not strike if planted in this area. And the group couldn't just plant to a nearby area; this spot had a micro climate that was perfectly suited to verbena, so the winter frosts would kill verbena if planted elsewhere.

Still thinking what to do, the group struck camp for the night. Red took a holy wafer which dropped him for the night [ Holy wafers are the priest equivalent of Wizards' Guild grapes, and are used to recharge the spell-caster's Magic Points ]. Sophia, Balder and Walton decided to not zonk themselves with wafers and grapes, which turned out to be beneficial. 

During second watch, two waves of goblins attacked. Five the first wave and eight the next.

The group managed the five goblins with not too much trouble, but the eight certainly pressed them. After that battle, magic points were all pretty much drained.

Mention in dispatches: Slim killed three. Donk took on four injured. Goblins criticalled twice (severely damaging Donk and dropping Walton). Elvis, in a fit of extreme cowardice (but maybe understandably), played possum successfully. Had the goblin that he tricked damaged Balder or Sophia, and disrupted spell attacks, the group would have been enraged and probably hanged him.

Sophia and Balder decided to rest into the morning, which meant the group had a late start.

Death in the Oble Ranges

Present:   Andrew = Walton Formalin, Half-elf Mystic

                Chris = Elvan Rockblaster, Dwarf Fighter

                Darryl = Slim Jim (In no way similar to the infill game character Jim Slim), Human Rogue
                Ian = Sophia Beauchamp, Half-elf Priestess of Luck
                Jeff = Donk Platebreaker, Human Fighter
                Kevin = To be introduced in due course below
                Richard = DM (but often mistaken for Dimble, a Gnome Businessman of Toluene)
                Shane = Elvis Ghenna, Human Bard

Not:         Jamie = Balder Dash, Gnome Wizard

[Some time was spent making minor character skill adjustments as the previous week's game play with the new fantasy skill system (FSS) was discussed, and the weekly five skill points were allocated to their characters by each player]

Making ourselves scarce from the vervain flower valley and whatever had been deliberately poisoning the plants there, we found ourselves a nice, defensible, forested rise and set up camp for the night. We set watches, but Walton and Sophia needed a good solid rest to enable recovery of their magic points and tucked themselves into their bedrolls with a brief "Keep a good eye open tonight".
[Eight hours of uninterrupted sleep are required for recovery of D4 magic points, either Arcane (Wizard magic) or Divine (Priest magic). Alternatively, use of the Wizard Grape or equivalent Holy Wafer will recover 2D4 magic points, but then there is no way to wake them during the recovery process. So, no opportunity to have magic casters on watch if they need to recover magic points!] 

Walton awoke refreshed as the morning light burst upon the camp. The sounds of small birds were twittering from the surrounding bush, and Walton could hear Sophia's deep breathing from the adjacent bedroll. 

"Priestesses" he muttered to himself, "Ha, that Divine Magic does need more recovery time!"

Taking a deep breath of the crisp morning air, Walton analysed the detectable scents, hoping to find the pungent aroma of brewing coffee. But alas, no coffee detected. Sighing disappointedly, Walton sat up and looked around, ready to complain to whoever was already up and about.

"Must be fetching the water" he figured, as he spotted empty bedrolls. In fact, all the bedrolls were empty, except Sophia's, who slumbered on. Walton spent a moment watching Sophia as she slept.

"A tasty wench I figure" he mused to himself, before the lack of the rest of the party fully registered.

"Hmmm" Walton thought, "Donks massive two-handed sword is just sitting by his bed. But no Donk"

Feeling the first gentle touches of concern, Walton quickly woke Sophia from her restorative sleep.

"Did anyone say anything to you" he asked her, "No one's here!"

Empty bedrolls

A quick scout around the area didn't locate anyone either. All the other's gear was just lying by their bedrolls; clothing, weapons, armour, backpacks, and food. But of the party members, no sign at all.

"Look at the ground" suggested Sophia, "you might be able to see some tracks".

"No tracks" reported Walton, "Or none that I can see anyway"

"What the heck happened here?" wondered Sophia.

"Let's take a look around from up there" suggested Walton, indicating the top of the adjacent hill.

The rolling hills and valleys of the Oble ranges stretched away in all directions. But there was definitely no sign of any of the rest of the party. The daylight was bright, and the sky cloudless. If anyone was near, they would definitely have seen them.

"Looks like we were lucky anyway" noted Sophia.

"Is that smoke?" asked Walton, pointing at a thin plume rising from a copse of trees about a half mile further into the hills.

"Wow, lucky you saw that" noted Sophia smugly, "Let's go take a look"

A small plume of smoke

Walton and Sophia cautiously circled around towards the smoke, keeping down below the ridges and in the cover of bush and trees wherever possible. A Priestess and Mystic travelling through such rough country, on their own without fighter support, could have been risky. But Sophia was confident.

"It'll be fine" she affirmed, "Vingt-et-un will watch over us"

Creeping through the thin bush scattered across the top of the ridge, Sophia peered over the ridge and down into the trees about twenty meters below. They had made their way to be directly above the plume of smoke and it was time to see what was happening there. A rocky bluff ran both ways from where she was observing, about twenty meters high, and in her opinion, totally unscaleable. Just off to the right, a narrow defile in the bluff cut downwards and quickly disappeared into some form of dark tunnel. A natural trail led from the top of the defile back into the bush behind her. All was silent.

The smoke was wafting up through the trees in the still morning air from a rough looking campfire in a small clearing just below. A stubby looking bearded body was hanging by the neck from a branch of the tree, above the fire, and gently swaying from side to side. Entrails had spilled from the stomach cavity and blood was slowly dripping from the huge gash across the throat. The body was naked, and fire scorching marred the legs and torso.

Sophia's shocked gasp bought Walton quickly forward from his hiding spot a little back from the ridge, and he too peered down at the ghastly scene. 

"Isn't that Elvan?" he quietly asked, "She was such a cutie too"

"Yes" replied Sophia sadly, "Vingt-et-un obviously wasn't watching over her!"

Avoiding the path down into the defile, and the dark tunnel below, Walton secured his rope to a sturdy tree back from the ridge and lowered it quietly down to the foot of the bluff. After a careful look around, and a good sniff of the local smells, they clambered down the rope and took a closer look at the body.

Elvan the Dwarf fighter had been dead some hours. 

Hung, eviscerated, defiled, and burnt alive!

A cave tunnelled into the base of rocky bluff just beyond the fire and Walton reported a nasty stench emanating from deep inside. Goblins he figured.

Sophia, utilising her Stealth skills, undertook a silent reconnaissance into the cave while Walton kept watch outside. Walton took the opportunity to cut down Elvan's body and began digging a shallow grave just off into the trees.

Nasty Kobolds were torturing Balder

Sophia returned with urgent news; The tunnel quickly turned upwards with a sequence of low steps leading towards the entrance seen within the defile above. Around halfway up the climb towards the upper exit, a side tunnel led off. Sophia had heard the sounds of Gnomish pain and anguish from the side tunnel and had taken a quick look. The side tunnel had immediately opened up into a large natural cavern, and Balder was hanging by his feet in the centre of the cavern. He was being whipped and prodded by three small reddish horned creatures. Five other similar creatures were snoring quietly on a series of grubby sleeping mats, ten mats. On the far side of the cavern, beyond the ongoing torture of Balder, was a small dark opening in the side of the cavern. Sophia slipped quickly and quietly away.

While reporting all this to Walton outside in the clearing, Walton was lightly struck in the head by a flying object. Looking down, he spotted a small pebble bouncing along the ground. Spinning around in a defensive crouch, Arcane spells at the ready, he searched the surrounding trees and bush for enemies. Sophia hadn't noticed anything and was somewhat surprised as Walton dropped into a crouch.

"Sorry" came a quiet voice from the tress, "Just getting your attention without revealing myself"
"Who's there" grumbled Walton, "Show yourself"

A diminutive Elf appeared around a tree and cautiously approached.

"I am Macron. I am seeking help to rescue my three companions from the evil goblins who are holding them captive in a large iron cage in the forest above" he explained, pointing up towards the top of the bluff. [Kevin's character Macron is introduced to the active party]

Apparently, Macron was one of the previous employees of Dimble the Gnome, along with his party of adventurers, and Macron had awoken a few days ago to find his campsite empty and abandoned. He had tracked them in this direction, through the cave, and along the trail at the top of the bluff. That trail led off into the forest and soon arrived at an old house with a tall lookout tower attached.  An iron cage containing some of his party, and some others, was suspended over a deep pit.

"There is no way I can rescue them myself, and I figure those others are likely your companions"
"How about we work together to free them all, and wipe out this infestation of goblinoid evil?"

This sounded like a sensible plan to Sophia and Walton, so temporarily abandoning Balder to his fate at the hands of the creatures in the cave, the three new companions headed off to rescue the others. They took the long way, so as to avoid the occupied cave and keep far away from the well-worn trail (and to totally honest, to avoid any risks associated with climbing back up the rope to the top of bluff)

Eventually, they arrived at the enemy's encampment. An old decrepit house, with a sturdy modern tower attached to the side of the house, the side nearest to the prison cage. The prison cage was constructed from a set of grillages of iron bars, top, bottom, and four sides. The cage was suspended by a series of chains over a deep pit dug into the ground and fitted with nasty looking iron spikes. One wall of the cage was hinged, and securely locked with a heavy chain and sturdy padlock. The cage could be lowered, bringing the opening side level with the ground, but if over-lowered, the iron spikes in the pit would spear up through the floor grillage of the cage. They looked long enough to poke right through and out the top if the cage ever got lowered all the way to the base of the pit. There were a bunch of figures in the cage too, but they looked to be lying about asleep and identities could not be determined from the distance.

Up in the tower, figures could be seen moving around, so obviously well-guarded. While they were observing the scene, a scruffy human male with long hair, dressed in grubby brown robes, and covered in warts and scabs wandered out of the house, took a look around, and then went back in. 

After waiting about five minutes after the man went back inside, Macron and Sophia snuck up to the cage for a closer look. They could clearly see that Donk, Red [Red Feuersturm, a male Temple Fighter of Hob, and one of Macron's original party, but soon to be the new character of Chris following the demise of Elvan], Slim, and Damon (Macron's other original companion, a Wizard) were in there. 

"Where's Elvis?" wondered Sophia, just as she heard some sounds approaching from the forest.

It turned out that Macron hadn't been as quiet as he had hoped in his approach and the sounds of breaking twigs had attracted someone else. An ugly middle-aged woman and dog appeared at the edge of the surrounding forest. Sophia and Macron both dived for cover [Rolls vs. the stealth skill were made, and both failed. Both spent two precious Luck points to modify the rolls to be successful, and both thus managed to avoid detection by both dog and woman]

The woman and dog prowled around for a bit, and then disappeared into the house. Sophia crept forward the check out the spikes in the pit, while Macron executed his cunning extraction plan. With considerable skill and stealth, he clambered up the tree, shimmied down one of the chains supporting the cage, and dropped silently onto the bars of the cage roof. Not silent enough to remain totally undetected though, and Red rolled over to look up from the bottom of the cage.

"Macron" he grunted hoarsely, "Get us out of here"

From below, Sophia had visions of the occupants of the house hearing the disturbance and swarming out to find her standing around exposed and undefended. Casting the Whisper spell, she sent a stern "Shut the f. up" directly to Red's ear. That seemed to do the trick, as he immediately sat up and looked around, silently. 

Macron dangled down over the side of the cage and picked the lock on the door. [A critical success with a roll of 1 on the D20] After a small trickle of oil onto each of the hinges, he swung the cage door open and gestured for everyone to leap out. It was about one meter to clear the side of the pit and about two meters down to the ground, an easy jump for everyone in there.

Unfortunately, something must have alerted the house, because just after everyone landed on the ground, the house door swung open and the dog, closely followed by the long-haired man, come running out. 

The dog charged for Red, who had led the escapees and was rushing for the forest. The man waved his arms about and shouted something, and Donk, who was at the rear, collapsed to the ground. 

[Magic was cast, Magic Resistance was failed, and Donk was Slept into short term oblivion]

Red grabbed a sturdy branch from the ground and engaged the charging dog. A critical hit ensured maximum damage from his makeshift club, and the dog yelped and slunk off into the bush. Red, closely followed by Damon, raced into the forest and disappeared. Macron leapt down from the top of the cage and followed them. Slim paused briefly, glancing back to see the man, and also the woman, now dressed in chain mail armour, heading for the unconscious Donk. 

"Nothing I can do for him now" Slim mused, and then rushed off after the others.

Sophia, from her hidden vantage point just beyond the cage, also watched for a bit as Donk was dragged into the house, then she faded back into the forest and joined the others as they all returned to the overnight camp to gather as much of their provisions as possible and relocate to somewhere more remote, and hopefully safer.

The next day some other stuff happened. 

Balder had been killed by the Kobold's and Elvis had taken his place.

Elvis was rescued from the underground cavern with the support of two spell casters with Sleep spells, and some assassin like killings of the Sleeping.

The tower next to the house and it's resident Kobolds was successfully overcome, with an excellent distraction provided by Elvis, Sleep spells, and some more gratuitous violence.

The tower contained a small shrine to Leprous By-blow, an alarm chord that run down through the floor, and a closed trapdoor. There was no noise from below.

"Do you think they know we're coming?" asked Slim

....

Into the Great Wide Open

Richard started a new Fantasy campaign to trial our new rules: A fantasy skills-based system called FSS (Fantasy Skill System) written by Andrew and Richard. Most of the session was spent on character creation.

Dramatis Personae

Elvan Rockblaster

Elvan Rockblaster

Chris

Dwarf Fighter

 

Balder Dash

Jamie

Gnome Wizard

Sophia Beauchamp

Sophia Beauchamp

Ian

Half-elf Priestess of Luck

Donk Platebreaker

Jeff

Human Fighter

Slim Jim

Darryl

Human Rogue

Walton Formalin

Walton Formalin

Andrew

Half-elf Mystic

Elvis Ghenna

Shane

Human Bard

Marmalading: Kevin

Elvan waited 'til he finished dwarf school

He went to Toluene, got a tattoo

He met a group out there with a tattoo too

The future was wide open

They went to look for work they all could afford

They found Apothec'ry of Dimble the gnome

He had a job for them; he wanted vervain

The sky was the limit !

Into the great wide open

Under them skies of blue

Out in the great wide open

A party without a clue

We were in the city Toluene.

Vervain 

Dimble's Apothecary owner, the gnome Dimble and his wife Slopbags, needed a herb called vervain. Vervain was used in all manner of potions. It had anti-inflammatory effects, had minor anti-evil efficacy, and had other obscure powers (like protection from solipsism and detection of shibboleths). He offered us a heap of cash.

In the previous weeks, Dimble had sent a bunch of other collectors (adventuring parties) to the Oble ranges, but none of them had returned. So there was some risk. We took the job.

Dimble gave us a rough map. It was two days travel to the Oble foot hills and to thence to the verbena area. 

First night was spent in a barn (no way-stations). The nice farmer's wife gave us a hot meal.

Next day, in the wilderness, just after light, we came across a dead horse with four goblin bodies freshly burning in the sunlight.

ghoul

The second night, two rotting creatures attacked - ghouls. Donk was hit and he was paralyzed. Sophia cast a Slow Poison in him, and that gave him time for the paralysis to be kept at bay.

Around noon the next day, as we progressed deeper into the mountains, we came across a patch vervaine plants next to a mountain stream, but they were all dead. There was something in the water poisoning them.

Upstream there were some more ghoul bodies in the water, but we weren't sure if it was them that contaminated the water.

According to Dimble's map, this was the only patch of the rare vervain near us.

So, stuck we were.

Part 2 - The Chupacabra

Present:   Chris = Harmen Fernandez, Hispanic, medium height, athletic, looking for love
                Darryl = Jim Slim, tall lanky cowboy looking for fun
                Ian = Gina Lopez, Hispanic, tall and strong, dragged along by her friend Hannah
                Jamie = Jediah, slightly built, medium height hillbilly looking for male friendship
                Jeff = Bobby Downs, African American of short stature lusting after Hannah
                Kevin = Martin Luther Kennedy Jr. 6' pretty boy out to experience the wonder of nature
                Richard = Hannah Bee, blond and buxom cheerleader out to get some alone time with boys
                Shane = Jim Bob, quarterback jock from the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (football team)

Actually, by this point Jediah had been killed by his own crossbow, and Chris was about to leave for the evening, so Jamie was playing Harmen for the rest of the night.

Continued from part 1 ...

Hearing the terrified yell, Jim Bob jerked awake. He was in one of the top bunks and could see a huge 8' tall creature standing just outside the hut door, watching Martin flee. The ready food must have been more desirable as it turned back towards the inside and crouched down over Jediah's body and resumed his gorging.

As it crouched down over Jediah's body Jim Bob got a good look at the creature.
Its eyes glowed a deep red in the middle of a green bat-like face with large pointy ears and a long tongue. A series of green spines extended from its back and marched away from the base of its neck, down its back, and out onto a short tail. It held itself up on two massive hind legs and was tearing into Jediah's body with its two smaller front legs. Every couple of seconds it lowered its jaw down over the body and generated a nasty gurgling sucking sound.

The creature looks up towards Jim Bob

Jim Bob was holding his breath, trying not to make a sound, as the creature chewed into Jediah's body and sucked out his blood. Jim Bob's stomach was churning and threatening to loudly eject its contents all over the top bunk. From the lower bunk below, Jim Bob thought he could hear Pedro's terrified breathing. 

Suddenly, a series of loud bangs rang out from somewhere outside, and Martin's voice could be heard yelling "Let me in, let me in" 

The creature leapt up, its glowing red eyes looking directly at Jim Bob for a brief second as it turned in mid-leap, landed facing out the door, and charged out into the darkness.

"Thank you Martin" whispered Jim Bob to himself as he prepared to leap down off the top bunk and close the door. Landing in front of the lower bunk, Jim Bob turned to request Pedro's assistance with the door, but he wasn't there! His blankets had been thrown off, but of Pedro there was no sign.

As Jim Bob slammed the door closed and leant his considerable weight against it, a strange barking growl could be heard echoing around the camp.

....

Martin's attempt to get into the women's hut had proven fruitless, and hearing the creature racing across from the men's hut he dodged off into the darkness and scuttled through the low scrub towards the river. 

[Kevin's attempt to evade the creature required a "roll" (place a D6 on top of the appropriate stack of D6. Starting with a D6 roll which indicates which stack to add to (A 6 means you pick any stack, otherwise on the stack indicated by the dice roll) which succeeded) and again escaped a sure demise.]

....

Inside the women's hut, the women (including Bobby and Harmen who had rightly decided that having a dead body inside the other hut would attract the creature) were cowering under their covers and listening to all the fearsome noises coming from the other side of the door. 

They all leapt in fright when a thumping sounded against their door, and Martin yelled to be let in.

"Shall we open it?" whispered Gina.
"No way" whispered back Danni, "It's still out there!"
"What about Martin?" whispered Hannah.
"Stuff Martin" whispered back Danni, "He's a big boy, he'll be fine"

It all went silent.

....

Jim Bob was leaning against the door of the boy's hut, straining to hear what was going on. He had head Martin shouting and thumping on the girl's hut, but now everything was silent. Hearing a thudding approaching the other side of the door, Jim Bob braced himself and was nearly flung across the room as something smashed into the door from the outside.

"Crap" grunted Jim Bob, "I can't take too many more of those. Crap, crap, crap"

Jim Bob figured he had about a minute before the thing smashed its way back into the hut. With his back firmly braced against the door, Jim Bob reached down with one hand and grabbed Jediah's body. He dragged it closer to the door, just inside the arc of its swing, and between one crashing thump and the next he released the door and hid himself.

Jediah's body is dragged to the door

"It'll crash in, door hits Jediah, creature distracted by Jediah's tasty flesh, creature stops, I sneak past and escape outside" he figured to himself in the brief instant before the creature crashed in, the door swung open, hit Jediah's body, the creature looked down, and then bent over to feast.

"Yessss" he thought to himself as he silently nipped around behind the creature and out through the partially open door. [Obviously Darryl had to make a "roll". He chose Jeff to place his dice on the stack, which was successful, and he managed to escape. The alternative didn't bear thinking about!]

Jim Bob raced down towards the river, and as he passed the beached rafts, he grabbed the closest and dragged it with him to the river. Pushing the raft out into the current, he jumped aboard and began paddling downstream. Unfortunately, the raft had been slashed through and immediately began to take water. Realising that he would soon be underwater in the swift current, Jim Bob hastily dived from the floundering raft and dragged himself up onto the rocky shore with his paddle and threw himself under the nearest scrubby bush. 

"Crap" gasped Jim Bob, "What frigging next. Crap, crap, crap"

....

Martin had spotted Pedro creeping down towards the river some minutes ago, and they both watched the sunken raft drift off downstream, and Jim Bob vanish into the darkness.

"Have you got a gun too?" whispered Pedro.
"Nope" replied Martin.
"What about a crossbow?"
"Nope"

They both looked towards the huts as a loud crunching noise echoed from that direction. Martin crept over to the second raft, and sure enough, it had also been slashed full length and was definitely not river worthy. After a brief consultation and confirmation that eating noises were still coming from the boy's hut, Martin crept to the fire pit and got the fire going. Once the fire had flared up, Pedro also approached, and they both grabbed burning branches. 

Just then the creature turned from Jediah's body and looked over at the fire. Then charged. 

Martin throws the burning branch

"Throw it" yelled Pedro.

Martin threw the burning branch, which spun through the air and hit the charging creature square in the face, right between its two glowing red eyes. Shaking its head, the creature turned and ran off into the darkness. 

"Yes" yelled Martin triumphantly, "And just stay away"

But no, the creature soon stopped its flight and spun back towards the huts. Martin and Pedro hastily retreated back towards the river and watched from a distance as the creature once again chowed down on Jediah's body. 

"Can't be much left" commented Pedro quietly.
"Where's Jim Slim?" wondered Jim Bob.

And almost immediately thereafter they watched the creature stand, stretch to its full eight-foot height, look around, and then amble over to the women's hut where it began to scratch and push on the door.

....

"Sssshhhh" whispered Gina, "it's coming"

The women (including Bobby and Harmen) were all cowering at the back of the hut, well away from the door, which was wedged shut with everything they had found. A loud and heavy scratching at the door began and continued for a good minute. Then all went silent.

"Creeeaaaaak" went the roof as something heavy thumped down onto it above their heads.
"Creak ... creak ... creak"
"No, no, no, no" chanted Hannah quietly, her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

....

"Look" whispered Pedro, "It's up on the damn roof now"
"Get off there, you...  huge lizard" screamed Martin, leaping up from the river and waving his arms.
"That got its attention" grunted Pedro sarcastically, as the creature leapt from the roof and charged.

Martin and Pedro separated, Martin wading upstream while Pedro waded off downstream. The creature went for Pedro, diving straight for him and knocking him down into the river. They both disappeared under the swirling water.

"Out of the water, out of the water, out of the water" grunted Martin as he dragged himself back to the shore and ran for the women's hut. There was no sign of the creature, or Pedro, and so Martim thumped on the door of the women's hut, demanding to be let in. The door eventually swung open, and Martin darted swiftly inside. The door slammed closed.

....

Huddled under a scraggy shrub, Jim Bob heard some light footsteps staggering towards his refuge. Uncurling slightly, Jim Bob opened one eye and squinted out towards the noises. It was Pedro, soaking wet and cut up and bleeding from a number of nasty slashes across his body.

"Pssst" whispered Jim Bob, "Over here"
"Thank God" groaned Pedro, "Help me. That thing bit me. Hard. More than once"

Jim Bob watched Pedro stagger towards his refuge for help. As Pedro got closer Jim Bob noticed that Pedro's canine teeth were lengthening. "That's not normal" he thought to himself, and with a startling burst of adrenaline fuelled strength, Jim Bob leapt to his feet and swung his paddle at Pedro's head. The paddle smacked successfully into the side of Pedro's face, dislodging his lower jaw, and sending him to the ground unconscious. Still sustained by adrenaline, Jim Bob continued to smack the fallen Pedro with the paddle, until the paddle broke in two, and Pedro was just a pulped shape covered in blood and gore. Then he threw the body (all he could scrape together anyway) into the river and watched it disappear downstream. Eventually shaking himself back to reality, Jim Bob cautiously approached the camp. 

The door to the men's hut was open and swinging slightly in the night breeze. The remains of Jediah's partly consumed body lay in the doorway, steaming slightly in the cold night air. Otherwise, there was no movement or sign of anyone. The fire was was again out, a slight red glow emanating from the remaining embers. The women's hut was shut tight, and totally silent.

Finding a nicely concealed location in the firewood stack, Jim Bob again curled himself as small as possible and settled in to watch.

Five minutes later, Jim Bob observed the creature slide out of the darkness and approach the women's hut. It paused briefly by the closed door and gave it a thump, then disappeared around the far side. Then it appeared on the roof and began to pace back and forward across the roof, trying to find a way in. Glancing at his watch, Jim Bob noted it was only 4am, two whole hours to go before light. He started to quietly whittle the broken end of the paddle to a sharp point with his multi-knife. It was slow going, but he had plenty of time. "Hopefully" he thought to himself.

....

Inside the women's hut, the women (including Bobby and Harmen) were still cowering at the back of the hut, keeping as quiet and still as possible. The top bunks were empty now, ever since the creaking noises from the roof some minutes ago, and everyone was either on the bottom bunks, or in some cases under the bottom bunk, on the floor! It had been quiet outside for some minutes now, since they had heard Martin yelling from somewhere in the direction of the river. Suddenly ...

"Thud" crashed the door.
"Eeek" squealed Hannah quietly from under the bottom bunk.
"Ssssh" whispered Bobby, from right beside her.
"Eeeek" squealed Hannah, "What are you doing here?"
"Creak,  creak,  creak" went the roof.
"Eeeeek" squealed Hannah.
"Thud, creak, scratch, bang, clonk, clonk, grrrrr" went the roof.

For over an hour, the creature prowled back and forward across the roof, testing and probing, obviously looking for any way in to get at the delicious smelling food just below. Then everything went silent.

The women (including Bobby and Harmen) spent the next hour in nervous anticipation. Was the horrid night over? Could they get on the rafts and flee? But there was no way anyone was opening the door until the sun rose and the camp was fully illuminated.

....

Jediah's crossbow proves useful

As the sun finally arose and bathed the camp in direct sunlight, Jim Slim slipped out of the door of the men's hut in a crouch. He carried a loaded crossbow, stepped over Jediah's decimated body, and nervously scanned the camp. Seeing nothing threatening, he moved cautiously towards the women's hut, still firmly closed and secured.

Jim Bob uncurled from his bolthole, called out quietly so as not to startle Slim, and slipped out of the scrub. The two Jim's knocked on the door of the women's hut, and pretty soon the whole group, or at least those remaining, were gathered in front of the firepit planning their next move.

"Where's Pedro?" asked Gina.
"The rafts are destroyed" noted Martin, "We're on foot"
"There is a track to the next way station" confirmed Danni, "A day's walk"
"Then let's go" commanded Jim Slim, gathering up food and leading off up the track.

Gina grabbed her camera, snapped off a full set of scene photographs, and everyone prepared to leave. As we were just about to head up the track after Jim Slim, there was a noise from the door to the men's hut. Jediah's decapitated head rolled up onto its neck, and its teeth started to clack together.

Hannah screamed, and we all ran.

....

Jim Slim was out in front with Jediah's crossbow clutched in his hands, closely followed by Danni, Martin, Hannah, Bobby, Harmen, and Gina, with Jim Bob holding the rear. Bobby's little legs were pumping flat out, but he managed to hold his place just behind Hannah's behind! The first one hundred yards went by in a flash as adrenalin powered everyone away from the gnashing teeth of Jediah's corpeless head. When Jim Bob glanced back without seeing any pursuit by the head, we all relaxed to a more sustainable pace.

The track cut away from the river, up a stoney valley, and through some old Indian ruins where we took a short ten-minute lunch break before pushing on.

"Nope" said Jim Slim waving Jediah's crossbow about, "We are pushed for time. No exploring!"

Danni's staff photo

Pushing quickly on after the lunch break, we appeared to be making good time towards the next way station. Danni confirmed the way station had a phone and was only a short distance ahead. But the sun went down, and it started to get quite dark, and still no sign of the way station.

"Hey" yelled Jim Bob from the rear, "Something is back there"

Jim Bob had spotted a large shape in the twilight at our rear. Jim Slim upped the pace at the front, and we all hustled on. Harmen pulled his pistol and glanced back looking for something to shoot at, but it was just too dark to see well enough.

"There" yelled Danni as we hurried over the next little ridge, "The way station"

Jim Bob put on a burst of speed down the other side of the ridge and passed everyone else, his sharped paddle held firmly in his right hand. The way station was only half a mile ahead now, and the glow of electric lights from the windows signalled civilization, was very appealing to us all. Harmen was now at the rear, with his pistol. But he still couldn't see anything behind him.

Jim Slim and Danni watched Jim Bob fade into the darkness ahead as he extended his lead on the group. Just as Jim Bob was fading from sight, they saw a large shadow rear up from the low bush to the left of the track where Jim Bob was running, and drift across the ground towards him.

"Watch out the left" yelled Jim Slim, confirming the crossbow was loaded and ready to fire.

The two shapes merged into one.

....

Jim Bob figured he was making good progress. His football fitness meant he had the pace on the group, and plenty of endurance to easily reach the way station before everyone else. And after all, he only needed to run faster than the slowest other person right. And that would be Bobby with his midget length legs. But he kept his sharpened spear tight in his grip, just in case.

Jim Bob heard a scream from behind him. "Left" he made out. As he glanced over his left shoulder, he saw a massive shadow very close, and closing fast.

"Bugger" he thought, swinging his sharped paddle in a wide arc towards the top of the shadowy figure. There was a satisfying thud as the paddle made decent contact with something solid, and the shape staggered past and dropped off the right side of the track, down a small drop, and into the bush.

Looking forward to the way station (about 400 yards) and back to the rest of the group and Herman's gun (about 200 yards) Jim Bob made the only call he could and began running back towards the others.

....

A dark shadow

Jim Slim and Danni were peering into the gloom ahead where the shadows were dancing about. Jim Slim had the crossbow raised and pointing ahead. Danni was providing a frantic commentary.

"Yes" she panted, "There is definitely something. It's killed him, it's killed him"
"Oh no" she squealed, "Something's coming, running straight towards us"
"I can't see what it is, but it's big, its big. Oh, it's getting closer. Arrggghhh"
"Arrgghh" repeated Hannah from behind her.

"Twang" went the crossbow.

"Arrggghh" screamed Jim Bob, as a crossbow quarrel smashed into his right arm.
[A successful "roll" was made, and Jim Bob didn't die from Jim Slim's crossbow shot]
"It's me you idiot" grunted Jim Bob, "Don't shoot me again"
"OK" yelled Jim Slim, "But first, show me your teeth"

Jim Bob's teeth were normal, so Jim Slim figured he wasn't a monster after all.

"Why did you shoot me?" screamed Jim Bob.
"Cause you were running" replied Jim Slim angrily.
"Of course I was running" screamed Jim Bob.
"Ssshhh" interrupted Danni, "Where is that thing?"

Everyone peered forward into the darkness, but nothing could be seen. We all made our way towards the lights of the way station, Herman with his pistol cocked and ready. Jim Slim with Jediah's crossbow reloaded and ready for action. Jim Bob had his paddle, but his right arm was effectively useless with the crossbow quarrel still lodged through his bicep. 

We crept forward cautiously and arrived at the way station without further incident.

It was an old Indian hut, with a solid wooden door with an external bolt. We all rushed inside, and with a last glance around the dark countryside, Jim Slim pulled the door closed behind him.

The old rotary dial phone was working fine, and Danni called 911 to report.

Help was quickly on its way.

[And thus ended the night. 

Jediah (Jamie) made a brief cameo and was quickly eliminated after failing his first and only roll.

Pedro (NPC) was killed twice. Once by the creature, and once by Jim Bob (Darryl)

Various party members were very lucky to survive, saved only by their lucky "rolls".

The Chupacabra Chupacabra - Wikipedia (mostly) went hungry]

"

Part 1 - White Water Terror

This post outlines the one-off game that played out last week as the Tuesday Night Mob transitions from the recently completed Tunis 1930 Cthulhu campaign into a Known World adventure under a new proficiency-based game system being developed by Andrew and Richard.

DM:        Andrew
System:   Dread 
                (Jenga style stacks of D6 dice. Add a dice to the stack to succeed with your action)
                (If the stack collapses when you attempt to add a dice, you fail, and bad shit happens)

Scenario: A group of first year students from Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, 
                sign up for an exciting rafting trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.
                As they all pile into the bus super early on the morning of the trip they find:

Present:   Chris = Harmen Fernandez, Hispanic, medium height, athletic, looking for love
                Darryl = Jim Slim, tall lanky cowboy looking for fun
                Ian = Gina Lopez, Hispanic, tall and strong, dragged along by her friend Hannah
                Jamie = Jediah, slightly built, medium height hillbilly looking for male friendship
                Jeff = Bobby Downs, African American of short stature lusting after Hannah
                Kevin = Martin Luther Kennedy Jr. 6' pretty boy out to experience the wonder of nature
                Richard = Hannah Bee, blond and buxom cheerleader out to get some alone time with boys
                Shane = Jim Bob, quarterback jock from the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (football team)

Pedro ready to lead the girls on an adventure

Also:       Pedro Pascal, drama teacher and
                notional trip leader

                Danni, Lecturer in feminist studies and 
                assistant trip leader

After a leisurely two-hour trip from NAU to the Grand Canyon, and breakfast at the Canyon Cafe, the trippers had gotten to know each other a bit and divided themselves into the two groups required for the two rafts. Pedro would lead in the first raft with Bobby, Gwen, Hammah, and Martin L. K. Jr. Danni would follow in the second raft with Harmen and the two Jim's.

[Jamie arrived a little late, so his character Jediah will be introduced to the rest of the group at the first overnight camp. Refer below]

"Four days!" squealed Hannah, "no one told me it would be four days, where do we change?"
"And the only half-way decent guy is in the other raft" she complained quietly".
"Why do we have to put our jewellery in that dry bag thing?"
"And I hope there is a store at the camp tonight."

Pedro rolled his eyes and gave a wry grin. "Maybe ..., maybe not" he replied.

Everyone is kitted out for the trip with rash vests and life jackets, and sunscreen is applied liberally. Except Jim Bob, who "Don't need no stinking sunscreen on this magnificent bod"

The rafts were pushed out into the quiet waters of the river, and the trip began.
From the rear raft Jim Slim gave a mighty "Yea-har" and the two Jims dug in their paddles and soon shot past the the first raft and into the lead. 

Jim Bob flexed his pectorals at Hannah and splashed water at her, while Pedro yelled for them to get back behind and follow his lead. "It gets pretty dangerous up ahead, and you'll need to take the correct line through the rough sections. So, stay behind me and follow!"

Smooth sailing on the first morning

"Wow" exclaimed Gina, as the two rafts glided off down the river, the red rock walls of the canyon towering up each side and the olive-coloured waters burbling quietly below.

"Ewww" exclaimed Hannah, "what's that stench?"
"Over there" pointed out Jim Slim, "looks like something ate a goat for breakfast"

Just visible on the bank of the river was the carcass of a goat, steaming faintly in the morning sun. It had been torn limb from limb and its entrails were spread across a stretch of the riverbank. Flies were swarming around like a dark cloud.

"Ewww" exclaimed Hannah again.

After a few hours of quiet river, Pedro steered us to the shore where a lunch spot was set up. A large picnic hamper sat at a picnic table, and we all dug in hungrily.

"The river will be a bit rougher after lunch" noted Pedro, "you'll want to make sure your lifejackets are tight, and your helmet straps are secure".
"Um, how rough do you mean?" asked Hannah worriedly.
"Not too rough" replied Pedro, with a wink.
"But shorty, you better sit on the back and steer" instructed Pedro, pointing at Bobby.

Serious white water after lunch

As the water got rougher and splashes started to flick up over everyone, Hannah gave some girly squeals and Jim Slim's "Yea-har's" echoed around the canyon walls.

"A bit of a drop coming up" yelled Pedro, "hang on tightly".

Hannah screamed as the raft slid off the edge of a five-yard drop, but she wasn't alone. Everyone let out worried screams, except for Pedro and Jim Slim. Pedro smiled, and Jim Slim let out another mighty "Yea-har" as his raft plunged over the drop and nose-dived into the swirling eddies at the bottom of the fall.

Apparently, Danni wasn't holding on tightly enough and as the nose of the back raft hit the pool at the bottom of the drop, she was flung off the front of the raft and into the swirling waters. Jim Bob laughed, but Jim Slim dived off the raft and helped her back in as quick as.

"Here you go miss" he gallantly stated, gently getting her seated back in the front of the raft and handing her back her paddle.
"Oh, thank you so much" Danni swooned, "I could have drowned right there!"

Jim Slim grinned and eyed the rapid rising and falling of Danni's chest below the rash vest.
"No worries miss" he crowed, "And you'll probably need a hand later to get out of those wet things"
"Oh yes, I'm sure I will" she replied breathlessly.

"Shit" squealed Hannah from the front raft, "I've broken a nail from that stupid fall"
"Ewww" Hannah then squealed, "There's another one of those goat things"

Stuck in the eddy at the bottom of the drop was another dead goat, or part of a goat anyway. The body and two limbs were present, ripped apart like the one we had seen earlier, but there was no sign of the head or the other two limbs.

"What could have done that?" wondered Jim Slim.

The rest of the afternoon saw some more exciting white water, but nothing like the drop we had made, which everyone was relieved about. And towards evening the rafts arrived at the overnight camp. This was a clear and flat area on the side of the river with two small wooden huts and a bomb fire pit next to a large picnic table. On the table was another large food hamper, and sitting at the table watching us arrive was a slim looking man in denim dungarees and a large straw hat.

"Howdy all y'all" he yelled, "I'm Jediah, they dropped me here with the food"
[Jamie arrived shortly after the rafting group arrived at the overnight camp] 

Pedro lit the fire and started cooking our dinner, while Danni opened up the dry bags and passed out everyone's gear. 

"Oh my gosh" squealed Hannah, "Where's my moisturiser?"
"Anyone care to rub this oil on my back?" asked Jim Bob.
"Ohhh" squealed Hannah, "I will, I will"

Jim Bob shows off

Jim Bob had spent the day without sunscreen and was looking somewhat red. He had stripped off his lifejacket and rash vest and was examining his upper body and flexing his peck's. He had pulled a football from the dry bag, and added "Check out my ball"

"Ohhh" squealed Hannah again, "I will, I will"

"Ewww" exclaimed Martin, "what's that stench?"

But he wasn't referring to Jim Bob's oil, or Hannah's moisturiser, or the hint of lust pheromones floating around those two, but a noxious rotting meat stench from just beyond the fire pit.

Martin, Harmen, and Jediah head off to investigate the smell, while Jim Slim and Danni head off in the other direction to investigate each other.

"Another butchered goat" reported Martin.
"Another?" questioned Jediah, "You've seen more like this?"
"Oh yeah" confirmed Martin, "This is the third. That we've actually seen"
"This is really odd" mused Harmen, "Look at these scuff marks around the carcass. Something has killed and eaten it. Something big!"

After dinner, the women are assigned to one of the huts and the men to the other. There is some chat around the bomb fire, marshmallows and hot chocolate, until Pedro notes that it'll be a long day tomorrow and that it was time for everyone to hit the sacks and get a good rest. 

....

Gwen woke in the middle of the night to find the door to the women's hut open, and shadows flickering outside in the light of the dying bomb fire. 

"Stupid boys" she muttered as she slipped out of her blankets to close the door. As she peered out into the darkness a large shadowy figure darted off into the night. Quickly closing the door she hurried over to Danni's bunk and woke her.

"Stupid boys" confirmed Danni, wondering if Jim Slim was out there and wanted to "help her" again.
"But it must have been 8' tall at least" whispered Gwen.

They stacked the bags against the door and went back to sleep.

....

Harmen woke from his sleep, startled by something but not sure what. A heavy scuffling sound was coming from outside, something moving around, something big.

"Martin" Harmen called down to the bottom bunk, "Wake up"
"Whaaa?" grunted Martin sleepily"
"Go check outside" instructed Harmen, "I hear something"
"No" grunted Martin, rolling over and pulling his blanked over his head.

Harmen clambered down from the top bunk, extracted his handgun from his gear, and tiptoed across to the door. [Harmen, a stereotypical hispanic youth, bought his handgun on a rafting trip with fellow students. Chis had to make a "roll" (place a D6 on top of the appropriate stack of D6, succeeded) and sure enough, he had remembered to pack his gun]

Harmen jerked open the door and looked out. A huge dark silhouette was standing just in front of the fire pit, and as the door swung open, a huge head with two dimly glowing red eyes turned towards Harmen. A deep low growling sound emerged from the shape, and it suddenly rushed forward, straight towards Harmen.

"Boom" echoed Harmens handgun, and the bullet hit the shape high in the shoulder, and it spun and rushed off into the darkness.

"boom, boo, bo b" echoed around the canyon walls, and everyone rushed out from the huts.

"Holy crap" yelled Pedro, "Where did you get that? And why have you bloody discharged it?"
"Thing ..." stuttered Harmen, "Bloody big thing..."

Investigation of the immediate area large reveals tracks around the huts and the fire pit. The food hamper had been ripped open and the food was scattered across the ground. Specks of dark red blood were scattered around the spot where Harmen reported shooting the creature.

"Ohh" squealed Hannah, "There are scratches on our door"
"That ain't no Mountain Lion" stated Jim Slim.
"Nope" confirmed Jim Bob, "That there was the Cocaine Bear. I saw the movie. It's a true story!"
"And" continued Jim Bob, "The Cocaine Bear is one crazy animal. It'll be back"

"Nope" stated Jediah, "That there was definitely a Yowie"

Jim Bob grabbed one of the raft paddles and began to sharpen up the handle. "Need a spear" he explained.

"Fortunately, I have my hunting crossbow" declared Jediah.
"Cool" responded Gwen, "Can we see it?"
"Oh yeah" Jediah gloated, "Y'all gonna love this"

Jediah reached into his bag and extracted a folded-up crossbow. With a few quick motions he had opened it up, wound the loader, slipped in a bolt, and brandished it at the rest of the group. 

"Ohhh" squealed Hannah, "Don't point it at us"
"Haha" laughed Jediah, "It's perfectly safe"

Jediah placed the crossbow stock down beside his pack and leaned over to grab a few more bolts from his bag.

"Twaang" went the crossbow.
"Thud" went Jediah, falling back to the floor of the hut, a crossbow bolt embedded up through his chin and into his brain. [Jamie had to make a "roll" (place a D6 on top of the appropriate stack of D6, failed) and sure enough, bad shit happened]

"Ewwww" squealed Hannah, staggering back and slumping to the ground in a shocked swoon.

Martin attempted CPR, but only succeeded in spraying blood across the floor and pretty quickly sat back and declared "No joy, he's a goner"

The women all hustled back to their hut, with Harmen and Bobby joining them "for protection", and they wedged the door closed and tried to get back to sleep.

Jediash's body was wrapped up in a blanket and placed directly inside the men's hut, just in front of the door, "In case that thing comes back", and the men try to get back to sleep.

....

Martin jerked awake, disturbed by something, and noticed the hut door was open, and a large shadow was crouched down over Jediah's body munching away. The thing, Yowie, or whatever, must have heard Martin's gasp of fear, as it turned towards him and rushed into the hut.

Martin dropped to the floor, rolled to the side, and managed to get out the door and away into the darkness without being caught. [Kevin had to make a "roll" (place a D6 on top of the appropriate stack of D6, succeeded) and escaped his sure demise.]

"Bring your gun" Martin yelled as he fled, hoping that Harmen would hear him from the women's hut and manage to kill the creature.

....

Hearing the terrified yell, Jim Bob jerked awake. He was in one of the top bunks and could see a huge 8' tall creature standing just outside the hut door, watching Martin flee. The ready food must have been more desirable as it turned back towards the inside and crouched down over Jediah's body and resumed his gorging.

Came back soon for part 2. 

Find out what happened to Martin when he pounded on the door of the women's hut, and how Jim Bob ended up in the river with Pedro. 

Who survived the night, and who didn't?