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Amidst the Tower's rubble: Stairs going down

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 18
Friday January 24th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Nonam speaks agreeing with Jus' earlier comment, "If it's a grave then we should stay away from it." Then as an afterthought, "Though those two," he points to the two dead bodies, "aren't real close to the pile of rocks." Nonam quickly looks down the hole as he leaves the area containing the rock pile and the gargoyle. As he walks away, he continues to listen for the noise he associates with the attacker. His dagger is still in his hand.

Gareth puts his shield over the back of his neck and pack. He grabs a handful of dirt when he realizes it's a flying creature. He backs away from the stone pile for a moment to see if the assailant attempts to attack again. He says "Maybe its more like he's guarding the entrance into the caverns under the tower! Maybe left by the wizard."

Gareth pauses and then when there is no further attack says, "Watch my back.". He then moves to the pile and kicks off some stones to see what's under it ready for assault from the air or from the pile. The stones collapse in a heap falling down the hill.

Gareth stands ready.

Korok stuffs the paper in his belt, and draws his scimitars, turning around slowing listening intently for what ever creature Nonam has described. An invisible opponent would allow him to test his merit, he has yet to test them against an invisible foe.

Since Nonam is still nearest to the pile, Jus asks him; "Nonam, do you see anything inside?" Jus continues looking around, ready to dodge if the creature attacks again, and begins slowly walking back to Nonam.

Gareth responds to the question simply in a sing-song type voice, "Stairs going down."

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Friday January 24th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

Next turn due Tues. Night.

Enjoy.

Jerry

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 19
Tuesday January 28th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Nonam stays a little distance from the center, lights up a torch, and prepares to go down the stairs. He is still listening for the flying sounds.

Gareth pulls out a torch and lights it and proceeds down the stairs with sword in hand testing each stair before placing any weight on it. He looks for obvious traps or other obstacles like oil, glass, trip lines, etc.. He will wait for a formation to be made behind him before he proceeds too far down the stairs.

Korok waits until there is something for him to do...

The staircase is spiral and strewn with rocks and debris. It descends into the dark earth. The staircase is 10' wide. You can see perhaps 30' ahead of you before the spiraling of the stairs blocks your vision.

Korok spots that the Gargoyle statues seems to glow strangely under the torchlight. One of them shifts slightly.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Tuesday January 28th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

Jerry to Tom: Korok wanted something to do? Ok. <Evil Grin>

No response from John this turn. One suspects that Tina has him in training on how to be a better husband.

Next turn is due on Sat. 2/8.

Jerry

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 20
Saturday February 8th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Gareth leads the way down the stairs redrawing his shield and continues down the stairs carefully. He says back to the group in a whisper "Better build up those rocks again. That way we can hear if anything trys to follow us." . He watches the walls for marks or cracks as well as watches the stairs. The staircase is strewn with rocks and debris.

Jus draws his swords and skips down the stairs to Gareth walking beside him. "Can't you go a bit faster? Maybe there is something more fun to do farther down."

Nonam follows the other two down the stairs. He positions himself just behind Jus and Gareth as there is no other logical position for him at the moment. He readies himself for action gathering a component in his hand.

The stairs curve around a full 180 degrees and opens upon a corridor of cold stone. The corridor opens into a wider unlit area 40' away, and its walls are painted with mosaics of peculiar runes and designs. Pebbles and dust, loosened by the tower's explosion, have fallen from the ceiling to the floor.

Above, Korok yells loudly, "BEWARE!!!! THE STATUES MOVE!!!!! He moves closer to the gargoyles, warning the statues away from his trusty blades. He notices that something moves under the gargoyles. Centipedes!! They do not move to attack having not yet noticed that they face a brave and fierce opponent.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Saturday February 8th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

JK says: I'm thinking of playing around with the home page stuff. how's a woldian home page sound? I'll start reading about how to do it and we can figure out what kind of things to put on it. It might be a good way for the people we play with to get the maps instead of always having to mail them. Having a few scanned to disk at Kinko's probably isn't too much. Let me know your thoughts.

Jerry says: Sounds cool to me.

John says: What happened to Turn 17 and 18? And what do you mean no response from John? The last turn I received had a rock falling down a pile -- and I responded.

Due to the missing turn(s), I don't know what Nonam is standing in the center of; I assume it is a room behind the hole exposed by the falling rock.

John, how about you expanding on your novel you wrote the first turn and doing a "log" of our adventures in first person form? Only if you want to. I have the turns which makes a log of sorts.

Sure, send the logs and I will see what I can do (time allowing).

The AOL problem is beginning to be maddening. I have been checking mail almost every day and this is the first turn I have received since Turn 16.

Sorry John that you didn't receive the turns. I'll try to send them again. I've added your work address to the list. You should receive the turns at both addresses now.

I've heard nothing about any new players. John, recruit away. :)

Next turn due Monday 2/10.

See yall soon.

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 22
Monday February 10th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Korok is now up top alone, and from beneath the statue emerge four giant centipedes. Korok laughs aloud, "Ha, Just harmless centipede. I shall take care of them." He advances on the creatures, weapons ready. They sense his presence and move to attack. Jus walks over to the nearest wall and tries to make heads or tails of the runes. He checks the floor to see if anyone or anything has disturbed the dust ahead, but he finds little of interest.

Gareth says to Jus in a forced whisper "Quiet down! What's wrong with you?" He then looks at the walls to see if he can understand anything. He moves toward the widening area carefully looking for any sign of traps which may have been exposed by the blast. He observes the walls as he goes. He observes Jus's behavior to see if it is different than normal. Gareth asks "Does anyone understand these drawings?"

Nonam slowly follows Gareth and launches into a discussion of the runes on the wall. "I don't believe that I have seen these before. Perhaps they are some sort of artwork. They don't look magical to me. They're too imprecise."

As Nonam and Gareth slowly and carefully descend, Jus turns abruptly and quickly walks ahead into the darkness.

Jus continues rapidly down the stairway and moves toward the opening at the end of the hall. By the time Gareth and Nonam reach the foot of the stairs, Jus is about 30 feet down the hall. Suddenly Jus feels the ground give way slightly beneath his foot. Then he hears a loud click and the sound of stone grating against stone. Gareth and Nonam see a huge stone block start to slide across the passage behind Jus. It looks like it will completely seal off the passage in just under a minute and will separate Jus from the rest of the party unless something is done quickly.

Up above, Korok hears a loud scraping noise from the passage below. The centipedes come closer.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Monday February 10th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

At this point we will go to initiative. There are 2 reasons for this. 1) Korok's fight & 2) the stone about to close off the passage. What this means for now is that you can all send 1 e-mail to everyone instead of just me (this should allow you to all be able to work together now that you need to). Whoever acts first gets the iniative. Keep in mind that you may do one thing in your message. Also keep in mind that whatever you do must be able to be accomplished in a minute or less.

Sorry this was late, but my computer has been down.

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 23
Wednesday February 12th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Outside the stair entrance, Korok draws his scimitar and slices the nearest of the centipedes neatly in half. As he attacks he counts: One, two, three, four more centipedes!

The Centipedes begin to crawl up Korok's legs sticking to him like glue. All five bite at his splint mail causing no harm to the mighty warrior!

Meanwhile down the stairs in the corridor...

Nonam sees the passage closing and begins to head over to the other side to join Jus. While he's on his way he yells, "KOROK, the passage down here is CLOSING. If you don't HURRY down here, you'll be TRAPPED OUTSIDE!"

Glaring angrily at Jus, he passes the closing stone.

Gareth yells as he runs to Jus "Look out! Jump back!"

Jus turns around ready to run back to the other side of the stone.

Gareth then rushes forward reaching for Jus grabbing at him with both hands in a panic.

Seeing Nonam and Gareth coming through, however, he shrugs out from under Gareth's bear hug just in time and races back to the inner side of the sliding stone block trying futilely to stop it with a dagger.

Gareth then reverses and races back to the outer side of the stone trying unsuccessfully to block the stone with his great strength. He throws down torches and shields frantically trying to block the stone.

Gareth and Jus stare helplessly at each other as the stone slams shut effectively blocking the hallway with a hollow sound that echoes further and further away until a still silence settles on both sides of the stone...Gareth on one side, Jus and Nonam on the other.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Wednesday February 12th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

I hope everyone got what they wanted on this turn. I went with what you wrote and where you stated that you wished to end up. That was the purpose of the open conversation before this turn. So you could act as a group as JK so aptly put it.

Thanks a bunch to JK for running the last turn. My computer is up and running, but not well. I'm still getting lots of glitches. Had to reconfigure the printer driver tonight. Also the Microsoft Word will have to be reinstalled. No help features or spell checker. Did you do that David? Hehe.

David spend many hours trying last weekend to help me get up and going. I have a knack for creating computer problems Dave has to struggle with. Thanks Dave for everything!

I'm stating that the turn is due on Friday, but if I receive all four responses on one day for the next week or so, I'll do daily turns to try to get things back on schedule. No pressure of course.

See y'all soon!

Jerry

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 24
Friday February 14th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Nonam looks around and studies his situation while speaking to Jus, "You do know its alright to be careful and patient, don't you?"

Jus looks at Nonam for a moment to see if he is serious and then laughs. "You have to admit the last few minutes filled your blood with excitement! What are advertures for, anyway?"

Jus sheepishly grins towards Nonam and says, "I don't suppose you have a Pass Wall up your sleave, do you?"

He looks around for a moment and then remembers: "My apologies, Nonam. I forgot you humans can't see in the dark. Do you have a torch we can light?"

After lighting the torch, Nonam hears scratching and yelling coming from the other side of the stone. He looks back in that direction and notices a small hole in the wall gushing with spiders. Little ones. Harmless.

Meanwhile:

Korok disengages from the remaining centipedes, finally hearing the screams from below.

Gareth runs back up to help Korok with the centipedes. He passes Korok who is running down the stairs.

Korok tears at the block of stone trying to get it to move.

Gareth then says "We should move down into the corridor for the night. Lets reset the rocks so that if anything comes down we'll hear them."

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Friday February 14th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

JK says: Well, it's not finished, but it's a good start. All I have done is our current group of heroes. But see how you like it. Oh this works better on netscape than it does on aol's browser - so if you don't have netscape I recommend going to keyword netscape and downloading version 3.0 for aol. but whatever you want to do.

Jerry says: It refers to our new Wold Internet site.

Jerry says: It looks great to me! I can't wait to see if we can put the maps there. All suggestions from you computer programmer type people are welcome as long as you compliment JK for a job well started.

In the meantime, I have the maps run of for your atlas of the Wold, I just need to finish the article that will go with it, put it in a folder and send it to you. So I guess I'm taking orders. Scott Marley, our resident Kinko's employee trainer did the color copies for free for a hamburger one day bringing memories of Jacob and Esau flashing through my brain. Send me your address and I'll send you the Atlas of the Wold in a couple of weeks.

John says: There may have been an omission. I received the below for Korok's response. It was only addressed to me, so I thought he was sending me a copy of what he sent to others. This did not seem to make it into the new Turn 23, so I thought it might never have made it to you. Considering what it contains, I thought it might change the results of the turn.

Jerry says: We have a rule for situations like this that states, No "After the fact" changes. I understand that Tom tried to send his turn to everyone, but it didn't go through. Sorry, Tom. I understand. However, "The Game must go on!"

Dave says: It's amazing the pain and suffering caused by crazy characters with infrared vision.

Dave also says: Did you get any answers from Storm Jerry about the DOS program problems? Hope so. I'll see what I can find out here.

Jerry says: Actually, I've had one busy week and haven't contacted them yet......bad Jerry. I was also afraid that is would put me down without a computer for a few more days...I'll get to it. :(

Kirk says that he wishes to be removed from the address list for now. He is just too busy with school, marriage and work. Sadly I reach for the Pencil of Erasing +1. You guys should do the same.

John says: hehehe, I love this...

Tom says: I was positive that I had sent the message ot everyone. I know the First message I sent, was to just you, since I have the belief the when a person is a long, there shouldn't be cross talk, so I took the action I did. When I got the messages with everyone yelling for me, I had sent the message that had gone to John, unfortunately, when I put everyone else in the CC section, AOL didn't seem to want to see it. Oh well, things like that happen, what can one do.

Jerry says: I understand Tom. I have a suggestion to put it from your mind. Go get Tim and rent Mario Bros. Watch it with him....He'll love it and you'll have done a great thing. Hehe. (very inside joke)

Next turn is due on Tuesday, however as before if everyone responds early, I'll do the turn early, assuming I have my computer and it's not in the shop. This turn was postponed because I didn't want to skip Tom after his not being able to get his turn through to me last time.

Everyone check out the site.

Jerry

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 25
Tuesday February 18th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Nonam begins to look about for some kind of switch to move the stone back (or anything else significant) while speaking to Jus, "Well if we can't find some way to move the stone back, then I guess we have to explore this place ourselves... How good can you use those weapons anyway?"

He also pays attention to the spiders to make sure that not too many start to pour out of the hole. No spider is harmless in Nonam's opinion. They keep frothing and spewing out of the hole, but don't seem to be growing in number.

Staying near the stone, Jus looks down the hallway to see what is ahead. He notices that 30 feet ahead, making a total hallway of 40' there is a chamber just beyond the torchlight's range.

Jus begins carefully searching the floor, walls, and as high as he can looking for any mechanism to return the stone to its former place. While doing so he asks Nonam if anything is inside the spider's hole. The walls are covered with ancient mosaics, but no mechanism's can be seen.

Meanwhile:

Gareth stacks the rocks back up from the inside. He then begins searching for levers and other methods of moving the stone. He mutters, "That Jus is crazy! We'll have to be careful how we deal with him in the future... Who in their right mind would jump inside an underground passage with no known escape route? That's crazy!"

Korok continue to try to move the slab. (Single-mindedness eh...;) ) He notices that it moves even less than before when it didn't move at all.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Tuesday February 18th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

JK says: Jerry, I think that now that we are separated that we should not be getting messages bout what the other group is doing. Your call though.

Jerry says: Yeah, I see your point, but it's taking enough time to put out the turn as it is. Everyone enjoy the actions of the other and just do your best to not to let what you read from the other location affect your actions.

The following is a conversation between David and John which lets you guys know what I always had to put up with concerning these two. They never quit bickering. It's like they were married to each other or something:

Only my elfs are painful to you... and my barbarians... and Togmahon...

Rexbard was definitely a straight fighter. Lindorie a quiet, never-in-trouble female cleric. Itoya Tovya a gruff dwarven fighter. And my mage (I forget his name) was much more a fighter with his spells (offensive all the way) than most -- I even remember a time he ran out of spells and pulled his dagger to go engage a dragon.

I think you've just been given the privilege to play with my more "spunky" characters.

JRK

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 26
Thursday February 20th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Nonam holds the torch to the spiders. The torch burns in the area, but doesn't affect the spiders at all. They continue to pour forth, but there doesn't seem to be more of them than before.

After waiting a little while for Nonam to finish his searching, Jus prods "There's something up ahead. Why don't we go take a look? Unless you want to reach in to the spider hole and feel around?"

Jus begins slowly walking ahead giving an exaggerated study of the floor and walls for any mechanisms or other traps -- almost as if he is doing it just for Nonam to notice. He finds nothing and approaches the chamber ahead.

Meanwhile:

Korok begins to swear in both orc and common, and stands back a step, looking like he is about to do something really stupid...

Gareth finishes with the stones and then begins to search the entire area for some lever or other device to move the stone back. He finds nothing.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Thursday February 20th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

Tom says: I have no problems with every day sessions, I am on here every night. Thanks for thinking of me though... [grin].

The next turn is due tomorrow by early evening if possible so I can get it sent out each day.

Enjoy the day.

Jerry

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 27
Friday February 21st, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Nonam looks at Jus, "Can't you wait just a minute?"

Then he disbelieves the spiders since they should have burned. Nonam sees through the simple illusion as it replaced with a scroll written on the hide of some red skinned beast. Written on the wax seal is the single word, 'Knock.'

Jus looks back at Nonam to see if he is coming. Noticing the spiders again, he asks, "That seems a bit unusual, doesn't it? Those spiders have been streaming out of that hole for a while, but there still seems no more than at first. Could the spiders, hole, or even the stone be an illusionist's spell?"

Meanwhile:

Korok gets ready, staring intently at the stone slab.

Gareth says, "Korak! We'll figure it out. Be patient. If we make too much noise we'll attract attention from anything in the area! I'm going to sleep."

He sits down at the bottom of the stairs at a point where he can't be seen from the top and gets comfortable.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Friday February 21st, 1997 4:30:40 AM

That's it for today.

Jerry

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 28
Monday February 24th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
As Jus notices Nonam's behavior towards the spiders, he mumbles to himself "I guess it is an illusion." He casually walks back to Nonam to see what he has found.

When he is by Nonam once again he states, "I guess this means you don't want to go exploring."

Nonam takes the scroll, and then he looks suspiciously at Jus and speaks in elven since no one else is around, "Yes, it is an illusion, and you seem to know more of magic than most fighters. A little elven training perhaps? Anyway, there's really a scroll there with a spell which would probably move the slab since it is hidden here, but its actually for opening locked doors. Now do you think that I should cast it so that our companions can possibly rejoin us, or do you think we should save it till we might really need it and go on our own? Personally I'd like to save it, but I've never really been known for making wise decisions. It's up to you."

Meanwhile:

Korok shrugs, and leans up against the wall, crossing his arms, and rests his eye, keeping an ear open for any noise.

Gareth watches Korak for a while and after he calms down he listens for noise outside or from the direction of the stone slab.

All of a sudden the stones above collapse and one by one Gareth's pebbles that were placed to announce the presence of an intruder move as the intruder descends the stairs.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Monday February 24th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

Hmm......this is getting easy: run turn, prepare to kill characters while separated, retire for the evening with the knowledge of a job well done.....Muhahaha!!!!

Second Hmm....JK 100 xp.

Till tomorrow,

Jerry

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 29
Tuesday February 25th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Gareth jumps to his feet and prepares for battle. He positions himself for a back attack if possible behind the stairs. If not possible he positions himself so that whatever it is must get off the stairs to attack him.

Korok moves between himself and Gareth, drawing his scimitars, ready to meet this intruder whomever it is...

Both warriors hear the telling sound of a spider's hissing and then suddenly Gareth is pushed back as something lands squarely on his chest. The hissing thing passes closely by his neck missing him.

Almost at the same time, the stone slab behind you begins to move.

[Gentlemen, we are now in initiative.]

Meanwhile:

"Thanks!" says Jus excitedly -- in elven. "Old Geezer, one of my father's friends, always said I was pretty smart. He's the one I got all the MU lingo from." Jus looks down at the scroll Nonam is holding to see if he can see anything. "You know, the Geezer once said me and my brothers could cast some scroll spells. Can I try this one? We should probably go on and use it. Gareth seemed to really want me on his side when the stone was closing. I would hate to worry him."

Nonam unrolls the scroll and looks at it, beginning to mumble.

Jus looks confused for a moment and then shrugs his thoughts away. He then leans his back against the door and begins lightly tapping it with his knuckles.

Jus begins telling Nonam, "The old man used to do almost everything he could to act all-powerful. He used some spell he called 'Pass Wall' to walk through walls for what reason we could never fathom. But one day! One day we caught him. One of my sisters and I watched him for several weeks and set a trap above one of his more used entrances."

Jus' tapping grows louder. Nonam's mumbling increases.

Continuing Jus says, "He had half plucked chickens falling on him before he could say a word! You should have seen his face! It was hilarious! Well... until he decided to get back at us. He did all sorts of mean things day after day. The worst was that time with the rope, the cat, and that beautiful redhead... wow, was that embarrassing. Anyway, one of the things he also used to tell us was that an illusionist was the worst sort of man you could mix pranks with. Nothing you heard, and nothing you saw could be trusted. He sure convinced me of that!"

Jus then turns around and starts hitting the door hard. Talking over his shoulder he says, "I don't think this is working." Back to the door: "HELLO! KNOCK, KNOCK!" Back over his shoulder, "This isn't an 'Open Sesame' type of spell is it?" Then he steps back, looks at the door, and yells in his deepest, most authoritative voice, "OPEN SESAME!"

With a flourish of his hand Nonam stops mumbling. The stone begins to move.

After waiting a moment, he turns back to Nonam.

Jus looks questioningly at Nonam, "Could I ask something? You seemed almost upset at me for triggering this stone. I thought you and Gareth seemed a bit silly for searching someone's home for a trap. It never occurred to me that someone would put something like this in their own home. Did you have some 'beginning adventuring' class, or perhaps just a little 'human training'?"

Sounds of combat come from the other side of the door.

[Gentlemen, we are now in initiative.]

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Tuesday February 25th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

JK says: Speed is good. I like it.

John sends the strangest thing: Jus hesitates a moment before handing the note and book over to Nonam. "I'll go look at the cauldron", he says as he turns away.

When he is done examining the cauldron and its surroundings, Jus begins walking towards the remains of the tower base, looking around for anything interesting.

Jerry says: What cauldron? John are you imagining things again?

David says: What!!!! No xp for the rock thing???!!!!???

Jerry says: Sure! One per rock! Great idea Dave, creating a second barrier between the party and freedom. You were so upset that John and JK got a nice rock barrier that you had to have one too!....hehe. JK's was for roleplaying....we'll deal with the strategy stuff later. :) It wouldn't be proper to give XP for strategy until the strategy proves to be a good or bad one.

Jerry says: Be sure that you attempt only one rounds action each round according to the rules. Kill, maim, and have fun!

Jerry says: This Sat. Evening, I will be running an online game at AOL's Americon. TSR's online Gaming Convention. I'm one of the DM's in the RPGA module offering. JK, wanna help? Anthony is gonna help me here at the house, but I could definitely use a partner online. Let me know. It will require you prepping with me and would be nice if you had a macro program and we practiced a bit.

Jerry says: yes I did this in the middle of the night. Dedication. That's me.

Jerry says: Good roleplaying JK and John! Fantastic even. John. 100 xp. See yall later today. :)

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 30
Wednesday February 26th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
After Nonam is done casting the spell he looks at Jus, "Open Sesame? Maybe your not as smart as I thought."

Nonam hears the sounds of the fight.

Quickly he looks around on the ground for any dirt, sand, etc. that he could pick up and through at an invisible opponent. He spots some gravel where the rock slab has pulverized some stone. He picks it up and slings it. It strikes something in front of Gareth, but being gravel, it doesn't stick.

Quickly scanning the situation, Jus looks past the receding block and seeing Nonam's gravel hit the invisible opponent, throws his daggers at it. One flies past and clatters on the stairs. The other bounces off the opponent striking it harmlessly with the hilt.

He is very aware of where the trap floor was located and jumps over it as he approaches the melee.

Korok turns to the spider that is pestering Gareth. He strikes with his Scimitar twice.

A stinger appears to come from the back of the spider, and thrusts into Korok. Venom flows into Korok's flesh. The warrior falls to the ground.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Thursday February 27th, 1997 4:00:40 AM

Introduction from The Jericho: We experience our first death. The first encounter was the toughest in the module. Sometimes, however, the bear gets you. The module continues to linger on and on and on and on....

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 31
Thursday February 27th, 1997 4:30:40 AM
Jus runs screaming to the side of this 'spider' while drawing his swords. He parries and tumbles flashing back and forth in front of the spider. The spider watches him warily.

Nonam rushes to stand over Korok's prone body. Nonam then crouches down and begins casting.

Gareth attacks at the same moment as Nonam's spell comes off.

Fire shoots forth from Noman's brightly glowing hands just missing the underbelly of the spider.

Nonam's rapidly fading fingerprints glow on the handles as they streak toward the spider.

Gareth swings and the sword bounces off the hide of the spider. The sword vibrates with the blow and flies free of Gareth's grasp landing on the other side of the spider two steps up putting it directly in the path of Nonam's wild spell heating it.

During one of Jus' tumbles, he ends up near the creature. He focuses all his strength into a punch into the creature's side. It doesn't come off clean and grazes off the slick hide of the spider.

The spider turns to Gareth and attacks him with his tail. It misses slamming into the wall just above his head. The spider screeches with frustration.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Thursday February 27th, 1997 5:00:40 AM

Since most of you in your many "I'll do this ifs" mentioned trying for a specific body part I should tell you about the Called Shot. A Called shot is to a body part such as leg, mouth, chest, etc. which is done at -4 to hit (a greater penalty is possible if required by the DM) which results in an injury that keeps the creature from attacking for 1 round. Disarming may also be accomplished in this manner.

If you roll (or in this case I roll for you) a 20, you get to roll to hit again and if successful do additional damage. A natural 20 is always a hit, no matter what.

If a 1 is rolled on an attack the weapon is dropped, bow pops a string, etc. with the result that the next attack is missed while the attacker recovers. During that time, no dex bonus applies to their AC.

All of this is in found in the Players Handbook, 2nd Edition.

Both David and JK rolled a one this round. I had JK attempt to hit AC 6 for a called shot to the belly....normally Mages have to hit AC10 for a magical attack that does not automatically hit an opponent. The result in JK's case was the the spell was off target missing the spider and luckily Gareth. In Gareth's case, his caused his sword to leave his hand. I rolled a 12 sided die for a scatter chart with 12 being the direction that Gareth was facing. I rolled 11 o'clock which put it on the stairs and in the path of JK's miscued spell. Just explaining things so you don't lynch me.

See ya tomorrow,

Jerry

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 32
Monday March 3rd, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Gareth draws his dagger with his off hand and holds his sword hand awkwardly in pain. He dives under the spider and positions himself by his sword on the stairs, watching as it turns from red back to its normal color. After a few moments he picks it up. It burns, but not too much.

Nonam, having a huge deficiency in the wisdom department, leaps to the spider's back and holds on with one hand while stabbing with the other, missing.

The spider strikes at Nonam, hitting him with the tail full in the chest for 3 points damage. Noman screams and willfully fights off the poison. His cloak is ripped where the stinger penetrated his flesh.

Jus quickly gets back against the wall away from the creature, draws and fires his bow. The first shot misses flying by Noman's head as it bounces off the hide of the spider. The second hits the spider sticking it for 3 points damage.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Monday March 3rd, 1997 4:30:40 AM

David says: A 1!! 2 ones??!! uh huh ....

Jerry says: Yep, uh huh....

Tom says: We have a rule that says that if a archer wants to avoid taking the chance of hitting a compatriot that is closed with the archer's target, he should announce a called shot to avoid hitting friendly forces. The shot is made at -4, but there is no chance of hitting a friendly party.

Jerry says: So shall it be!

Jerry says: William Shatner is coming to town Sunday to the Wichita Falls 4th Annual Star Trek Festival. David, you're welcome to come use my extra ticket if ya wanna go with me.

See ya'll tomorrow.

Jerry

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 33
Wednesday March 5th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Nonam screams and leaps off the spider's back. The spider heaves at the same time and Nonam is thrown hard against the stairs taking one point damage. He then groans to his feat and climbs up the stairs a little ways preparing his daggers.

Gareth gets back up and assumes attack position and attacks with his sword his mighty blow slashing thru the creature's hide doing 16 points damage killing the creature.

Jus slowly lowers his bow, looks at Nonam and says, "You were making this a bit difficult!"

The spider collapses into a sticky mess and then a magical sheen surrounds the creature as it transforms before your very eyes into a small impish red creature with pointed tail. A pentagram begins to form in the air around the creature. What appears to be the creatures soul separates from the dead body and screams, "No! NAAHHHH!!! It's not my fault!! Don't!! NoAAUUGH!!!"

The soul is drawn into the pentagram stretching a small cord of flesh between the body and the soul. Eventually it breaks, causing the body to fade away into nothing as the pentagram seems to become more and more distant without leaving the hallway. Eventually with a light pop, it disappears.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Wednesday March 5th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

Well, that was fun.

Guys, just let me know when you need an extra day and we'll slow down for you. No problem. I understand too that doing a quick turn is almost as easy, though, as dropping a quick note saying you don't have time. So I'll try to use some judgment as well.

See yall tomorrow.

Jerry

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 34
Friday March 7th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Nonam rushes to Korok's side to see about his condition. While doing this he speaks to Jus, "I was making this difficult?!? You were the one shooting arrows in a cave. Just how small of a fighting space do you need before you use those swords?" Then he looks to Gareth, "On the other hand Gareth proved himself a master of his blade. Those were mighty blows my friend. I foresee that one day you will be a legend."

Jus runs over to see if there is anything he can do to help Korok.

Both realize about the same time that Korok is dead.

Gareth looks around for any other 'things' to fight. He says "Next time leave my sword alone! I kind of like it. How did you guys open the door? What can we do for Korok?" After somebody tries to help him he asks, "What was that thing we just killed?"

Jus asks Nonam, "Would you care to explain what just happened; what that thing was at the end?"

Jus then sees if he can recover for use or repair either of the two arrows he fired. The first is chipped and the shaft if cracked. The second lays against the side of the cave in two pieces.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Friday March 7th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

David says: I am leaving town today and won't be able to read my mail again until Monday. Gareth fights with standard weapons and is glad to lead if someone wants to roleplay in my absence.

Jerry says: Tom, you listening? If'n you want take over David's turns till Monday. If I don't get a turn from you, no prob. I'll do it. :)

Jerry says: John, what was that executable you sent me? I thought I'd ask before running it. Knowing John, my computer would begin thinking it was the HAL9000 unless I make him a 20th level elven king.

Y'all have a good evening.

Jerry

A Wizard's Fate: Turn 35
Monday March 10th, 1997 4:00:40 AM
Nonam stands up still staring at the lifeless Korok. "I think that it is likely that that creature was something Elzid kept around to protect his tower... probably against the creature's will. But it's really hard to say for sure..." Nonam then looks at Jus and Gareth. He's very pale. "I think we should go out and make camp. I'm in no condition to explore much farther. Plus we should also take a little time to bury our companion."

Jus takes a heavy sigh before speaking to Nonam. "First off, mister throw-myself-under-a-scorpions-tail, do not assume you understand the reasons behind someone's fighting style. First, one of my strengths lies in my agility. I attempted to focus the creature's attacks on me while you others struck. It was quickly obvious that this creature was too intelligent to be easily distracted. Second, after seeing all of our attacks glancing off of the creature, I resorted to the weapon I am highly specialized with -- my bow. It may not do as much damage as my swords, but I can hit very well with it. And finally, I as well thank Gareth for his masterful blow against this creature. And I thank you, as well, for your attempt to hit the creature with your spell and for your attempt to pummel the creature with your dagger. Although I did strike the creature, in the future I will try and hit monsters with more than a single measly arrow. Instead I will be sure and beat the creatures silly with my swords, no matter how ineffectual it seems, while they take their time killing my compatriots one person at a time. Again, for the trivial token of resistance I was able to give, I apologize."

After a moment Jus seems to resign himself to something and turns back to Nonam. "I honestly apologize for however I offended you. I just do not understand your reaction."

"Now," Jus says, "unless you humans have another custom I am unaware of, I suggest we take Korok into the city and try to find his relations."

Gareth picks up the body and says, "Does anyone know where he is from?" I agree that we should bury his body and honor him. They won't accept an orc at the graveyard in town, so I suggest we make our own. Then rest as Nonam suggested.

Below-The-Line (OOC) Comments
Monday March 10th, 1997 4:30:40 AM

JK says: Save vs. Poison or die from an invisible creature?? Ouch. Seems a little harsh for the 1st battle. Hey Tom, if it makes you feel better, I think Jerry is a big old mean person.

Jerry says: I agree. It wasn't intended as a first battle. It just happened that way.

Sorry this is a bit late. I was very tired last night and put it off until this morning. I hope it's early enough to get something back tonight, but no biggie if we wait until tomorrow. [smile]

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