Dungeons and Dragons with the Doodlies

[The Most Loathed]

On 12/10/2016 at 1:10 PM, Terah said:

Terah lets all of this sink in. "Do you have any idea why your agents have trouble this year? Are there any steps taken to investigate?"

"None. We only have five hours to complete our rounds each year. Nothing like this has ever happened."

2 hours ago, zenLara said:

Sorry I've been away the whole week too, pretty sick. 

 

"Is there any mechanical problem with the sleighs? Maybe the reindeers are not in top shape? What do your agents' reports say?"

"I can't imagine that each sleigh or reindeer isn't in perfect shape but even so we have a few back ups but nothing like what we've seen this year"

 

Having answered what questions anyone has asked (if you think of more, let me know) Five-Three-Eight asks you to wait as she reports to the Overseer and you are left waiting for several minutes.

 

She returns once again, this time following the Overseer. He is still scowling but it looks like that's how he always looks. "Ah yes, you lot. Five-Three-Eight has explained to me what has occurred so I must apologies for my, ah, reception of you. Being who we are, we've also looked into your backgrounds rather extensively. We understand that you are, ah, capable. As a result, I must ask for your aid."

 

"You already know more about our organization than you should so I would like to take you into our service. We don't usually employ people of your, ah, talents. your titles will be Helpers. We will immediately place you on a route, the very route that was disrupted by your castle."

 

"It is only fair that I warn you that something is amiss. We are coming to believe that are sleighs are being brought down deliberately. We simply can't understand why. Everyone loves Holidazzle. all we're trying to do is bring gifts and good will to the world. Regardless, we will send you out into the world and hope that you can rely on your unique skills to deal with this issue."

 

"So what do you say?"

 

GM rail roading goes here - I'm going to assume you guys say yes. This is where it would be fun to have some RP but this format doesn't lend itself to that.

 

"Well,we can't possibly send yo uout like that." He seems to peer down his nose at each of you. "So please follow me"

 

You exit the room you're in and head down the corridor to a door that is bustling with activity. There are people running in and out of the room. the Overseer claps his hands to get everyone's' attention then shoos them out of the room. In side the room there is a sleigh with eight reindeer. In the back of the sleigh are two red bags, very similar to the ones you saw in the sleigh that crashed into the castle.

 

The Overseer directs your attention to the sleigh, "your ride". He then waves towards the reindeer, "some of our best. They know where you need to go. Don't interfere with them and get out when they stop for you". Next, he leads you to the two red bags, "this contain gifts for all the people of the world. They are little more than bags of holding with special enchantment. Rather than thinking about what you wish to retrieve from them, you must think about whom it is for. We will practice"

 

The Overseer has each person come forward and pull out the Holidazzle gift for someone else in the party. below is a list of each person's gift. Please give someone their gift with as much flair or flourish as is appropriate to you. Riffing on making them Holidazzle themed is strongly encouraged:

DarkRaider -

Nunchucks, not just any nunchucks, tiger stripped nunchucks, making them hard to see and block

Deftona -

Bo staff wrapped with a holly vine. If you hit someone they are poisoned by the holly and keep taking damage 

LadyShello -

A magical hammer. It's too heavy for normal strengthen people to lift but is perfect for you. also, when you hit someone with it it squeaks.

NemoG -

Two poison daggers...poison daggers 

Oramac -

Compound Bow. The bow is too tough to pull back but a slip of paper explains that there is a command word you must whisper and it pulls with ease. It fires with the full strength of the pull 

Sylvaa -

An enchanted Bow that can not be lost. Whenever you think you've lost it, ten minutes of looking will turn it up, even if you're not where you lost it.

Terah -

Healing kit wrapped in a very warm cloak. The cloak has tons of little, labeled pockets, prefect for the contents of the healing kit

ZenLara -

all black bow with black strings. It seems to dampen noises immediately around it and is soundless when used

 

 

Having taught you how to use the equipment the Overseer indicates that you must wear the uniform. On hooks along the room is one outfit per person, green cloth hiding hide armor underneath, trimmed in white fur (Cold resistant hide armor). He urges you into the sleigh while two doors swing open and you are on your way. 

 

You race of cities, countries and oceans that you have never seen. Just as a familiar silhouette comes into view, your castle, the entire sleigh is rocked by some kind of contact..

Counting what you did the last half of last week as well as what yow do the first half of this week:

When you get two hours of learning or study, you know:

The sleigh was just struck by a giant bird. It's climbing away now on great beats of its wings.

Four hours tells you:

There is a half-sized person riding it. The person appears to either have a pointy head or be wearing a conical hat.

 

Ranged attacks can happen for each hour of cardio or strength you have done or do in the next few days

Self care hours allow you to guide the reindeer and steer the sleigh

 

There are a lot of ways you can resolve this (run like hell, ground the bird, fight, creative stuff I'm not thinking of) so feel free to try things I didn't explicitly state above. You have until my Thursday morning (72 hours from now)

[Terah]

18 minutes ago, The Most Loathed said:

your titles will be Helpers

 

20 minutes ago, The Most Loathed said:

Terah -

  Hide contents

Healing kit wrapped in a very warm cloak. The cloak has tons of little, labeled pockets, prefect for the contents of the healing kit

 

Thank you!

 

I want to use my  magic skill (level 2) to make the thing we bumped into visible.

 

If that doesn't work: does anyone have flour, paint or other sticky stuff on them to make it visible?

[Oramac]

As Oramac is listening to everything going on, he can't help but wonder who would do such a thing to Holidazzle, not the mention why?  He's never been the most cheerful of Holidazzle participants, but he'd never want to hurt someone else's good time.  Watching the Overseer carefully, he tries to determine if the man is being entirely truthful. (+2 Reason/Psyche)

 

Having been shepherded into the sleigh staging area, he quickly dons the obnoxious green gear, thinking that this is absolutely terrible for hiding in the snowy terrain.  But it's not worth the effort to argue, and he really does want to help.  Testing out the bag, he thinks hard about @DarK_RaideR and pulls a rather spectacular set of nunchucks out of the bag!  Intending to flourish the weapon in the process of taking a knee to present it as a knight might present his sword to a king, Oramac fumbles with the unfamiliar weapon and smacks himself in the face, eliciting a gleeful laugh from the onlookers.  Taking a cautious step forward, he hand the weapon to Dark_Raider, hoping the man's skill with the weapon is greater than his own.  

 

Once on his way, Oramac enjoys the speed with which the reindeer fly.  Looking to his right, he sees his trusty companion Max leaning slightly out of the sleigh with his face into the wind and tongue hanging to the side out of his mouth, clearly enjoying himself.  Once he get's close to the castle, the sleigh is rocked by a massive bird!  

 

Reacting quickly, Oramac gets one shot off with his bow before returning to the reigns and attempting to control the reindeer as the sleigh attempts to spiral out of control.  With an effort, he manages to pull the reindeer back under control and land the sleigh softly in the snow around the Doodlie Castle.  

 

Scanning the sky again for the bird, he readies himself for another shot, if it attacks one of his friends. 

 

.......to be continued

 

 

I'd like to try to determine if the Overseer is telling the truth, or at least if he's not telling us everything.  

I'm not exactly sure what counts as "learning or study" but I spent a couple hours over the weekend reading prep work for DMing my D&D game.  I'm assuming that counts.  If not, let me know and I'll change my story.  

I did a workout last Thursday after the previous story update.  I'm using that for my single attack against the bird. Saturday was basically a complete Hermit day, and had a whole lot of self-care going on.  I don't know exactly how much time it was, but I managed to finish a new playthrough of Mass Effect 1 and start Mass Effect 2, so I'm thinking it's a few hours, at least.  

 

[The Most Loathed]

5 hours ago, Terah said:

I want to use my  magic skill (level 2) to make the thing we bumped into visible.

If that doesn't work: does anyone have flour, paint or other sticky stuff on them to make it visible?

 

Terah seeks out her connection to the Earth to make whatever hit the sleigh more obvious. At first she finds that she struggles, being sixty feet off the ground in a man made object is doing her no favors. A fortuitous gust of wind carries the smell of pine and flours to her nose. Finding the connection she needs, she cast Faerie Fire. Emblazoned in the sky is the outline of a great bird with something on its back. As the bird wheels around you can tell that the thing on it's back is a small humanoid with a pointed cap.

 

Faerie Fire will stay on the bird unless you choose to drop it. It only makes the animal easier to see for everyone, it doesn't harm it and it doesn't give it any advantage to see you.

 

3 hours ago, Oramac said:

As Oramac is listening to everything going on, he can't help but wonder who would do such a thing to Holidazzle, not the mention why?  He's never been the most cheerful of Holidazzle participants, but he'd never want to hurt someone else's good time.  Watching the Overseer carefully, he tries to determine if the man is being entirely truthful. (+2 Reason/Psyche)

 

Having been shepherded into the sleigh staging area, he quickly dons the obnoxious green gear, thinking that this is absolutely terrible for hiding in the snowy terrain.  But it's not worth the effort to argue, and he really does want to help.  Testing out the bag, he thinks hard about @DarK_RaideR and pulls a rather spectacular set of nunchucks out of the bag!  Intending to flourish the weapon in the process of taking a knee to present it as a knight might present his sword to a king, Oramac fumbles with the unfamiliar weapon and smacks himself in the face, eliciting a gleeful laugh from the onlookers.  Taking a cautious step forward, he hand the weapon to Dark_Raider, hoping the man's skill with the weapon is greater than his own.  

 

Once on his way, Oramac enjoys the speed with which the reindeer fly.  Looking to his right, he sees his trusty companion Max leaning slightly out of the sleigh with his face into the wind and tongue hanging to the side out of his mouth, clearly enjoying himself.  Once he get's close to the castle, the sleigh is rocked by a massive bird!  

 

Reacting quickly, Oramac gets one shot off with his bow before returning to the reigns and attempting to control the reindeer as the sleigh attempts to spiral out of control.  With an effort, he manages to pull the reindeer back under control and land the sleigh softly in the snow around the Doodlie Castle.  

 

Scanning the sky again for the bird, he readies himself for another shot, if it attacks one of his friends. 

 

.......to be continued

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I'd like to try to determine if the Overseer is telling the truth, or at least if he's not telling us everything.  

I'm not exactly sure what counts as "learning or study" but I spent a couple hours over the weekend reading prep work for DMing my D&D game.  I'm assuming that counts.  If not, let me know and I'll change my story.  

I did a workout last Thursday after the previous story update.  I'm using that for my single attack against the bird. Saturday was basically a complete Hermit day, and had a whole lot of self-care going on.  I don't know exactly how much time it was, but I managed to finish a new playthrough of Mass Effect 1 and start Mass Effect 2, so I'm thinking it's a few hours, at least.  

 

you rolled a 1 but I feel like Random.org tends to screw me on the first roll all the time so here's a free reroll: 3

He seems to be telling the truth

 

I love the gift deliver description. Thank you

I'd totally count prepping to run a game.

 

Oramac's draw times perfectly with the sudden illumination of the bird. It's trivial for him to take the shot and nail the bird. It releases a screech but the shot doesn't seem to have been enough to bring it down. The bird is so large that the arrow is barely visible at this distance, even knowing where it is but the bird and its features are easy to see. 

 

Given faerie fire and all the working out you did feel free to have a second shot that hit. it won't be enough to bring it down but feel free to describe in whatever cool way you want.

 

[Lara]

zenLara thinks of @LadyShello and puts her hand in the bag, but omg! It's so big and heavy, that she is barely able to lift it with her skinny elf arms. It's a hammer! To her surprise, the hammer suddenly escapes from her hands and flies to where Shello is and places itself at her feet.

 

Having done A LOT of self-care these days because of my illness (hours and hours of making myself feel warm and cozy, drinking plenty of water, and eating nourishing foods to recover, plus one hour visiting (and suffering) the physiotherapist):

 

zenLara tries to make the reindeers move towards the bird. Overseer said not to abandoned the specified route, but it's only a few meters, so they can have a better shot. 

[DarK_RaideR]

DarK_RaideR plays along to @Oramac's theatrics and kneels to accept his gift. He then rises back up, but not before he gets a good feel for its weight and durability.

Thinking hard of @deftona and how her acquaintance eventually brought him to the Doodlie Castle, DarK_RaideR reaches into the bag and feels something leafy yet thick, perhaps a branch. With a triumphant "ta-da!" he pulls the thing out and nearly smacks his chin with one end of the Bo Staff. Quite the druidic weapon, it is straight and well balanced, decorated with vines that wrap dense enough at certain points to provide improved grip. He can't resist toying a bit with it and gives the staff a spin, whirling it around himself but quickly realizes he's being an idiot and def should be the one having fun with the staff. Oh well, Reason/Psyche has never been his strong point.

 

Now all we need is a Doodlie with sais and another with dual swords. And some pizza.

 

One hour of cardio done, through I do not know how one would do a ranged attack with a set of nunchucks

 

[Terah]

I start playing the lute (level 8) to boost the attacks of the other doodlies.

[The Most Loathed]

15 hours ago, zenLara said:

zenLara tries to make the reindeers move towards the bird. Overseer said not to abandoned the specified route, but it's only a few meters, so they can have a better shot. 

 

4 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

One hour of cardio done, through I do not know how one would do a ranged attack with a set of nunchucks

 

4 hours ago, Terah said:

I start playing the lute (level 8) to boost the attacks of the other doodlies.

 

Terah begins with a few soft notes. Stops momentarily to adjust a string when sudden more music than anyone would think possible seems to eminate from her. No one's quiet sure how she harmonizes with herself but the effect with quite striking.

ZenLara turns the sleigh upward. Just as the bird seems to be turning to make another pass the sleigh begins to drive straight for it.

 

DarkRaider, eager to make his presence felt checks his pocket...nothing. He gives a quick twirl of the nunchucks before graspiing both ends in one hand, he takes one step back and mutters "sometimes they come to the knee and sometimes you gotta bring the knee to them". His body is coiled like a spring as he times the birds approach

 

DarkRaider - how do you feel about being your own melee attack. You can describe launching yourself at the thing if you'd like.

[Shello]

Giddy at the arrival of a gift from the magic Hollifazle bag o gifts, LadyShello picks up the hammer lying at her feet.  It had appeared heavy as ZenLara attempted to pull it from the bag but it doesn't feel heavy at all.  It seems perfect.  I give it a try on a nearby trash can and hear a squeak as it strikes.  It's the perfect gift.  

 

I approach the red bag, thinking intently of @NemoG, reaching in to the bag she finds two daggers.  Luckily, she is able to grab them by the hilt rather than the point as these seem to be poisoned daggers.  I bestow them carefully to NemoG. 

 

 

Later, on the sleigh, I can see a bird trying to deflect us from our path and for a brief moment magic seems to illuminate a being on the bird.  I work with ZenLara to keep control of our sleigh.  Perhaps if we can double back above the bird one of us could jump and try to take control of the bird.  

Spoiler

I've plenty of self care as I stayed home from work yesterday and nursed a migraine.  

Over the weekend I spent a couple of hours picking a textbook for a class next semester.  I counted that as learning.  

 

[Oramac]

7 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

ranged attack with a set of nunchucks

 

2 hours ago, The Most Loathed said:

DarkRaider - how do you feel about being your own melee attack. You can describe launching yourself at the thing if you'd like.

 

I was thinking of the Blinkback Belt from Pathfinder, but this sounds like a much more fun idea! 

[The Most Loathed]

As the sleigh rises and the bird plummets, the timing couldn't be more perfect. DarkRaider leaps from the sleigh landing adeptly on the back of the bird which seems to struggle now with the added weight

You are no seated on the bird behind a very surprised looking gnome. it seems to have some kind of saddle on the bird's back and reins in its hands. It is too stunned by what you have done to react immediately. 

As the sleigh rises, with three pairs of hands pulling for all they are worth the bird, its rider and Dark Raider begin to dwindle beneath you. The reindeer seem to be slowed by the work of climbing. The sleigh seems to be decelerating as you climb 100, 120, 140 ft off the ground.

 

quick tally: Oramac has hit the bird and has another hit whenever he want it. Dark_Raider (sorry, I keep dropping the underscore) has a hit loaded and ready to use on whatever target he decides. We have three pairs of hands driving the sleigh so you can do pretty much anything you want there. There's a little less than two days (plenty of time) to add more hits, take credit for work you've already done and so on.

[Terah]

Terah sets the lute aside for a second and grabs her sling and pebbles. She aims for the person riding the giant bird. After the shot she takes up the lute again.

 

1 hour of cardio training done

[Oramac]

1 hour ago, The Most Loathed said:

Oramac has hit the bird and has another hit whenever he want it.

 

Landing his sleigh in the snow around the Doodlie Castle, Oramac takes his time to line up a better shot.  Noticing Dark_Raider now riding the bird, he decides to aim for the birds rider instead, hoping to incapacitate instead of kill.  

 

Whispering the command word of his new (and exciting!) compound bow, mentally calculating for wind, height, distance, and trajectory, he let's fly an arrow....

[Lara]

I'm not sure how martial arts are qualified, cardio or strength training? If it counts, 1 hour for me.

[The Most Loathed]

17 hours ago, Terah said:

Terah sets the lute aside for a second and grabs her sling and pebbles. She aims for the person riding the giant bird. After the shot she takes up the lute again.

 

1 hour of cardio training done

 

39 minutes ago, zenLara said:

I'm not sure how martial arts are qualified, cardio or strength training? If it counts, 1 hour for me.

Count it for a hit of your choice, melee or ranged (of course melee requires that somehow you close with the bird). You can write the narrative of the hit.

 

Recap: We're at five hits, Dark_Raider is astride the bird. The sleigh is high in the air and climbing but slowing. You have total maneuverability of the sleigh. 24 hours to go. Next progression happens about 24 hours from now. Subjectively the bird isn't doing great but isn't dropping like a rock. It's trying to gain height but not getting anywhere with it. It's about 20 feet (6 meters) off the ground while the sleigh is about 140 feet (42 meter) off the ground.

 

[Lara]

12 minutes ago, The Most Loathed said:

Count it for a hit of your choice, melee or ranged (of course melee requires that somehow you close with the bird). You can write the narrative of the hit.

 

zenLara takes her bow and carefully places an arrow, ready to shot. As she aims at one of the bird's eyes, she notices how everything quiets around her. She can barely hear all the shouting and the reindeers panting, allowing her to focus on the target. A nice calm invades her while she releases the arrow...

[Oramac]

1 hour ago, The Most Loathed said:

the sleigh is about 140 feet (42 meter) off the ground.

 

Help me out here.  I was under the impression that each person was in their own sleigh.  Is this not the case?  Are we all in one sleigh?  

[Sylvaa]

Sylvaa has spent the last few days absorbing the information provided by five-Three-Eight and the Overseer. She was super excited to get into the cold resistant armor and green is her favorite color! Reaching into the bag of presents, she thought about @Terah and how much she helps and supports the rest of the Doodlies. The softness of the present she grabs surprises her - it's like silk against her fingers. She pulls out the present and hands it over, excited to see what is inside.

 

As the sleigh is jostled, Sylvaa grabs her bow and scans the area, eyes landing on the silhouette outlined by the Faerie Fire. She notches an arrow and lets off two shots into the body of the bird. 

 

I've gotten two hours of cardio done over the story time frame, I've just not been posting as I had hoped this week. Also, are we still getting credit for anything associated with learning / studying? I've got another hour of that also. 

[The Most Loathed]

5 hours ago, Oramac said:

 

Help me out here.  I was under the impression that each person was in their own sleigh.  Is this not the case?  Are we all in one sleigh?  

One common sleigh. I figured that was what you thought when you mentioned landing yours specifically. Gameplay-wise I figured it wasn't a big change, you could still shoot the bird.

 

5 hours ago, Sylvaa said:

I've gotten two hours of cardio done over the story time frame, I've just not been posting as I had hoped this week. Also, are we still getting credit for anything associated with learning / studying? I've got another hour of that also. 

Since Terah Fairie Fired the bird, you can see it just fine but you can know something more about the rider or I can tell you more detail on the birds condition after taking what I think is now seven shots and having an extra rider, pick one:

If you want to know about the rider

It's a gnome, not just a gnome but quite obviously a garden gnome, pointy hat, white beard, everything. It's not happy about having the extra rider behind it

If you want to know about the bird

It's a rare, giant condor. It could still recover from its wounds but a couple more hits and it won't be able to. It can't fly very well now that it's overloaded with an extra rider.

 

As people continue to beat up the bird it struggles. The gnome is twisting to face Dark_Raider.

Dark_Raider can see  

The gnome appeared to have a short bow in one hand with an arrow inexpertly knocked and two more arrows in its other hand. As it turns to you it drops these and reaches into its pocket.

[Terah]

6 hours ago, Sylvaa said:

Reaching into the bag of presents, she thought about @Terah and how much she helps and supports the rest of the Doodlies. The softness of the present she grabs surprises her - it's like silk against her fingers. She pulls out the present and hands it over, excited to see what is inside.

<4

Terah reaches into one of the bags and thinks of Sylvaa. A magical bow appears, she hands it to her.

 

Sorry, I totally read over the part that we had to give each other the presents!

[The Most Loathed]

Anyone who wasn't explicitly handed your Holidazzle gift, you have it.

If you have questions about any of it, let me know, as to whether they persist in your next adventure is up to your GMs discretion. I tried to keep any bonus low powered enough to make them reasonable for future GMs. The unlosable bow is probably the most potentially OP one given that sometimes GMs like to take away peoples's toys. 

 

The giant condor bearing the small humanoid and now Dark_Raider flaps twice but is unable to gain any height. It locks its wings into a glide, trying to save itself as much as any riders. It turns south west and skim the treetops, growing ever closer. Dark_Raider:

The gnome turns to you and says something inf a brogue that it unintelligable. It tries to struggle with you a bit but is no match for you physically. As the bird begins to brush the tree tops the gnome gets a funny look in his eye and in one motion drops from the bird into the forests below.

Everyone Else:

The sleigh continues to climb and to slow until it reaches a moment, nearly 200 ft off the ground when the universe stops. The reindeer are running for all they are worth but for one infinite moment, there is no motion except the slight tug of the breeze across your warm, if unattractive clothes. Then begins the gradual slide backwards...

 

We're heading towards a showdown but how you get there is up to you (yes, you're on rails). 

You've got 24 hours to roleplay or contribute work including workouts, self care and learning. Anything you don't use, you can save up credit for. Initially, anything to do with self-care will allow you to make the sleigh work again, since it's stalled out and backwards. Anything to do with learning will help you meet up with Dark_Raider. Strength and cardio can be used to try and just brute force the sleigh into a better trajectory to control your descent. You can also come up with unorthodox solutions.

[Terah]

4 hours ago, The Most Loathed said:

you're on rails

I thought we were flying?

I'm really at a loss here, what is happening? Are we flying backwards, or is time moving backwards? Or are we suddenly on a train on rails?

 

1 hour cardio

And 1,5 hours of self care today for me

 

Is anyone of us hurt?

[Shello]

8 minutes ago, Terah said:

I thought we were flying?

I'm really at a loss here, what is happening? Are we flying backwards, or is time moving backwards? Or are we suddenly on a train on rails?

 

1 hour cardio

And 1,5 hours of self care today for me

 

Is anyone of us hurt?

 

You're pancaking again.  

those are metaphorical rails... in that no matter what we do we will arrive at the same point.  

 

I read that as that our sleigh had stopped climbing altitude and started to fall backwards to the ground.  

[The Most Loathed]

13 minutes ago, Terah said:

I thought we were flying?

I'm really at a loss here, what is happening? Are we flying backwards, or is time moving backwards? Or are we suddenly on a train on rails?

 

1 hour cardio

And 1,5 hours of self care today for me

 

Is anyone of us hurt?

Yep, your flying. A couple people took the reins and pointed the sleigh skyward and no one has turned the sleigh around. As you've climbed higher and higher the reindeer have worked harder and harder. They got to the point where the work is more than they could do. Imgaine if they were trying to pull you up an infinitely high, steep, icy hill. They can no longer pull the sleigh up, it's just too hard, so the sleigh has begun to go backwards, towards the ground.

 

The on-rails comment was meta, it meant that despite not knowing what will come in the next couple days, I will ensure that the group makes it to the next combat, like a GM who has the whole adventure on rails would do

 

EDIT: LadyShello gets it

[DarK_RaideR]

Oh wow, much has happened here in my absence (apologies, work has been beyond crazy). Nice handling TML.

 

Without much regard for his personal well-being, DarK_RaideR drops from the saddle in pursuit of the mysterious gnome.

 

If the gnome isn't around, gonna use Tracking to locate it