>>14536122
Fuck Yeah Kobold Quest!

Anyway, what's a Feudalist?

>>14536122
Oh hey VKO; is there going to be vanilla Sorcerer Quest and Gargoyle Quest today? :3c

"...what?"

But seriously; what does this imply for us?

Previous thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14477181/

A feudalist is someone who advocates the practice of the feudal system. While not necessarily autocratic, they often are. Feudalism has a distinct upper and lower class, with the nobility being land owners and "renting" the land to the lower classes in exchange for their working on it. Taxes are often high, and a few live in decadence while the many live in squalor.

You are disgusted by this. Drow society is normally caste-based, and is ruled by an aristocracy with the emperor or empress acting as a figurehead. In your case, yours is more of a socialist oligarchy, with you acting as a sort of representative of the people as a whole. Despite your living conditions being a bit better than the average citizens, you have heard tales of feudalists abusing their power to the extend of people literally staring on the streets.

Disgusting. You consider using the mallet in your hand to execute the woman for being idiotic, but what kind of message would that send to the two other prisoners?

>colorful brightbomb
Hehehe, using a flashbang as a torture device.

I do hope that we can break some of these Drow with lights. But we mustn't kill them; we'll need to send them back with a warning to not stoke our wrath any further.

>>14536174

There won't be. I'm going to run those two on monday/wednesday, with friday taking the makeup slot if I miss either day, and today I'll just be running this one quest.

Because running three quests at once is too badass, even for me. Well, all on one day, anyway.

>>14536220
"So you're Feudalists. However, that is of little concern to me. What are the defenses protecting your little community? What are your numbers?"
Signal to one of the technicians to turn on the lights.
"And finally, how many lights do you see?"

>>14536220
Which god does our group worship as a whole? Tiamat? Bahamut? Io? That other Kobold god I-forget-his-name?

As a representative of the people, that may determine whether we utilize repulsive xenophobia brutally execute her or use righteous social justice to brutally execute her.

>>14536258
Actually, this also brings up a question that I had been formulating since the last session: all of the dragons have left this continent, right?
Do the kobolds hold any ideas as to why?

Considering that our people decided to stop waiting for the dragons to return and teched up really fucking fast, do some of our philosophers think that our people's progress was the reason for the dragons leaving? That they wanted to the kobolds to stop depending on them and grow up on their own, metaphorically throwing us into a deep pool and yelling "Swim, goddamnit! SWIM!"?
Or could it be that they recognized the potential of their underlings, and didn't want to be around when we finally broke the shackles keeping us down, and flooded the Underworld in napalm and bullets?

>>14536258

You're thinking of Kurtlmak.

>>14536258

You personally do not worship any gods. The dragon gods of old hold no warmth for you. You remember hot metal against your back, the flames cutting through your shoulder, and your thoughts screaming for Kronus to save you. He did not. You freed yourself, and...

He never helped you. The kobold people as a whole should learn to stop relying on those more powerful than themselves.

Ancestor worship and worship of old dragons who the tribe used to be rules by is common. You have never had enough priests.

>>14536257

"So you're Feudalists. However, that is of little concern to me. What are the defenses protecting your little community? What are your numbers?"

You point back to one of the technologists, who lets out a rasping cackle as he turns on the four bright lamps behind you. The drow cry out in pain.

"And finally, how many lights do you see?"

Should we crush these Feudalists, before they have a chance to grow in power and become more entrenched?
Should we ignore them, as we have bigger concerns, regarding the new troglodyte leader?
Or should we tell them in no uncertain terms where our borders are, and if they cross them again, we will crush them?

>>14536341
Did I ever tell you how much I love you for making some of these quest? Did I also tell you that I planned on making a Kobold quest? ;__;

Tap her face.

"Come come, now. I haven't got all day. I'm sure the other prisoners would be faster to give responses."

>>14536304

The dragon's migration was due to one thing the kobolds detected very quickly.

A drop in temperature across the continent of 15 degrees.

The few tribes of kobolds living close to the surface detected this quickly, and reported the measurement. They had abandoned draconic rule long ago, when all individuals in one tribe were wholly or partially consumed by their dragon overlord.

That was one symptom, you think. The dragons did not tell anyone why they were leaving, they simply did.

Your technological advances in the realm of NAJA, prosthetics and guns can be foisted on one modest kobold, Dalak Aut'Hijinx. He was the son of a technologist from a confederacy of kobold tribes called the Alloyed Brotherhood. His secret of technological advancement is known only to him and to a priest who had left and then come back. You have never asked what it was, but it could become necessary to know at some point.

The dragons left you, taking a few groups of kobolds with them as they did. They do not care about you. They care about the kobolds as much as they do about the rock they sleep on. You were just something to be manipulated by them. And you sure as hell aren't going to let that newly hatched brown ruin everything your people have built through ingenuity and determination.

"Four?" The drow woman asks, snapping you back to the present.

You sigh, taking the shockbow in hand and pulling its trigger. A dart flies out of it, embedding in her skin. She cries out for a moment.

"No, there are five lights."

The electrical current runs through her, causing her body to spasm in pain as she screams.

You stop the flow of electricity. "Now, how many lights?"

>>14536475
We should seek out this Alloyed Brotherhood, and will need to make sure that we are capable of making our own technological and scientific advances on our own.
Where are they in relation to our own little corner of the Underdark?

>>14536475
If she does actually say there are five lights, we should determine if she really thinks there are five, or if she's just saying that to make the pain stop.
If it's the latter, say "You're just telling me that in order to make the pain stop. That kind of dishonesty simply will not do."
Zap her again.
"Now, truthfully, how many lights do you see?"

>>14536496

The Alloyed Brotherhood rests to the east by northeast, close to an old dwarven territory before an orc assault drove them back.

Dalak is yours, exclusively. He lives in the industrial district, and he and his brother Felixhia are currently apprenticing some promising young sorcerers to take over his work. Felixhia is unique in that he can shape ioun ore without having any sort of magical talent. He is also an accomplished metallurgist credited with inventing duralumin. But contacting them would be a good idea. They cannot remain without cutting edge weapons forever.

>>14536524

"Five, there are five." She says. You can tell the pain in her face is clouding her judgment.

"You're just telling me that in order to make the pain stop. That kind of dishonesty simply will not do."

You pull the trigger once again, and her body shakes once again as she grits her teeth involuntarily and lets out a muffled scream.

"Now, truthfully, how many lights do you see?"

>>14536540
Alright, so after this interrogation is done, we need to send an armed diplomatic mission to the troglodytes, to get a sense of their new leader, and if we will be able to stay good neighbors with them, and another armed diplomatic mission to the Alloyed Brotherhood, to hopefully create a trade treaty and maybe some information and skill exchanges.

>>14536571
Being the only female in a patrol, and considering the matriarchal Drow society, she is likely the officer in charge of this little scout force.
Isolate her. After this round of "How many lights", have her taken to an isolation cell.
Then, turn to the rest of the drow. Perhaps now, we can play Grenade Gameshow?

"You know, if your people had inked a treaty with us, concerning the treatment of captured soldiers and officers, this might have been avoided. But, you Drow will torture and execute any kobold captured, so I don't see the point in providing any protections for you."
Then have the officer taken away, and one of the remaining drow tied to a big wheel, and get a big pile of throwing knives ready.

>>14536624
Agreed.

>>14536624

"F-Five. There are five lights." She says, cracking.

"Good. Take her away." You say, signaling the armed guards. The woman is clearly surprised by their strength as they haul her away.

You let one of the prisoners off of the posts, the one whose vision is perfectly clear. You tie him to a huge wooden wheel, painted in various colors.

"You know, I never had the time to practice my archery when I was younger." You say, as the attendants start to slowly spin the drow. "I preferred knives. Much more personal. And to be honest, I've been trying to get as good at throwing with my right as I used to be. So, forgive me if I miss a few times." The drow whimpers as you toss a specially handled knife into the red section next to his head.

"Huh, alright. Looks like we enter the lightning round." You say, readying the remote detonator for the explosive in the knife's handle. "Do try and answer my next question as fast as is possible. You are on a timer."

>>14536750
The officer never did answer our question about the defenses of the new Drow community, or about their numbers.
Let's see if this soldier is more willing to talk.

>>14536772

"How many of you are there? What kinds of defensive measures have you?" You ask.

"T-there are only about six hundred of us. We were in the process of making fortifications in the main caves, large stone walls with parapets!" He panics. "Please, don't do this, I'll tell you everything I know!"

You sigh, pulling the knife back to your hand telekinetically. "Very well, start talking."

"The wall is cemented stone, very strong. It's intended to block off assaults from mounted riders on spiders, snakes and the like. We have a great deal of crossbows, no heavy weaponry. Everyone just took what they could." He says, shaking his head. "We were just scouting the area, usual procedure."

"I know." You say, pondering what you could do with such a civilization.

>>14536914
"And what prompted such an ill-prepared escape from the greater Drow empire? Your little group was found out, perhaps?
"Tell me of your leaders: who is your 'queen'. Who leads your military forces?
"Amongst your people, how many are skilled craftsmen? What can they produce? As it stands right now, all I see are six hundred drow that aren't in coffins yet."

>>14536967

"And what prompted such an ill-prepared escape from the greater Drow empire? Your little group was found out, perhaps?"

He nods. "By the Silent Eyes. Reported to the empress. We ran for our lives, sir."

"Improved. But it's magistrate." You say, shuffling around the knives in your left hand, and plucking one with your right. You hurl it, the knifepoint embedding itself right between his legs.

"Tell me of your leaders: who is your 'queen'. Who leads your military forces?"

"Our king is Rhassak of the Lithe Stone, a former spy general. He has appointed several lieutenants to command our forces, and has a magician advisor to scry on those who would harm him." The drow tries to move away from the knife, unsuccessfully.

"Amongst your people, how many are skilled craftsmen? What can they produce? As it stands right now, all I see are six hundred drow that aren't in coffins yet." You say, pacing patiently.

"We have a few smiths, masons and magicians with us." He says, visibly swallowing. "Please, magistrate, there are children there, around fifty. Whatever happens, I beseech you not to harm them." He says, looking anxiously at the knife between his legs.

>>14536967
Oh, and when the interrogations are over, something like "I'm actually somewhat disappointed. I expected you all to last a little bit longer; apparently you Drow are not made of sterner stuff than I thought."

VKO

just dropping in to tell you that I love your quests
Unfortunately time-zone shenanigans prevent me to participate most of the time... but nonetheless, I enjoy reading them from archives.

Also, you started 3rd quest?!
Man, you're a freakking beast. .... just don't burn yourself out

>>14537046
>Please, magistrate, there are children there, around fifty. Whatever happens, I beseech you not to harm them.
Laugh harshly at this.
"Really? What treaties or conventions exist between our people to protect the safety or lives of such non-combatants?"
Throw knife to one side of the drow's head.
"NONE! There are no such protections, no such guarantees! Would your slaver raids spare the life of a surfacer child? Would your armies stay their blades from defenseless kobold children and eggs?
"You Drow should know as well as any other race, that the tides of history crush those who lack the strength and the will to protect themselves upon the cold, unfeeling rocks of the universe. Your only chance for survival from us wiping you from existence, is to be more useful to us alive, than dead.
"Now, how many standing military personnel do you have, and how many can be mustered from amongst the civilians?"

rolled 70 = 70

Cruelty is a manifestation of weakness and fear. We have neither - we're mighty and that enables us to be merciful.

We have our information - let's shock them with kindness. Release them, arm them (they're too few to harm us, and they need weapons to make it safely home), and instruct them that we wish to parley with a representative of their people who is empowered to negotiate in one weeks time.

Do not tell them the rest - that barring a representative, we will come down upon them with a genocidal mission - to preempt them from doing the same.

>>14537066

Thanks! Trust me, I hate Arizona time more than it should be possible to hate something, but what can you do? According to the current time zone, we should be out in the middle of the ocean right now.

>>14537054

"I'm actually somewhat disappointed. I expected you all to last a little bit longer; apparently you Drow are not made of sterner stuff than I thought." You say. The drow shivers as you pull the knife out of the board and it flies handle first into your hand.

"To be honest, magistrate, you were right. I just don't want to die in such a way." The drow has a crazed, desperate look on his face.

You remember wears a similar expression as you faced down Rosenkraft. Have you started to become like that man?

You have the others take him and the remaining prisoner away. You take the three round-cut ioun stones in your left hand, making them dance round each other with a mundane hand motion. You still have much to do today, including putting these into your flesh and attuning them to a spell. Will you send out the emissaries first, attend to the remaining prisoners, or investigate other matters?

>>14537208
Releasing them to take a message back to their masters is not necessarily a sign of kindness.
Too much mercy will be seen as a sign of weakness and will be used by the other subterranean races as a sign to mass together and attack us.
Also, considering the social structure of Drow society, such kindness will only be met with contempt, and as a sign of foolishness.

I would prefer to keep Mynthar calm and professional when dealing with other nations, but we are not taken seriously if we do. As much as he despises it, in order to be taken seriously by the rest of the Underworld, Mynthar must act the part of a second-rate vaudeville villain, or demonstrate our military might by wiping out a few towns.
In terms of resources, the stage villain act is the more logical one to take.

rolled 43 = 43

>>14537227
I vote to return the prisoners, then dispatch emissaries.

Demarcate the border between us and the lichbold - do we have a pair of sending stones? If so, have a scout wait at the line for three days, and offer one of the pair to the first servant of the lich they see.

I think the troglodytes are really less of a problem than an opportunity. We need to muster a force sufficient to terrify them - then offer them a Pax Draconis.

rolled 89 = 89

>>14537272

They have a king - if we don't even know enough about their culture to have considered that possibility, then our other presumptions should be questioned as well.

Prior to this: >>14537227

>>14537135

You laugh, joyless, with your face taking on a twisted, crazed expression

"Really? What treaties or conventions exist between our people to protect the safety or lives of such non-combatants?"
Throw knife to one side of the drow's head. He squirms as it impacts.
"NONE! There are no such protections, no such guarantees! Would your slaver raids spare the life of a surfacer child? Would your armies stay their blades from defenseless kobold children and eggs?
"You Drow should know as well as any other race, that the tides of history crush those who lack the strength and the will to protect themselves upon the cold, unfeeling rocks of the universe. Your only chance for survival from us wiping you from existence, is to be more useful to us alive, than dead.
"Now, how many standing military personnel do you have, and how many can be mustered from amongst the civilians?"

"W-we number around 180." He says, hyperventilating. "The military. All the adults can fight if they need to, but they are not warriors, so 550."

rolled 84 = 84

>>14537272
>In terms of resources, the stage villain act is the more logical one to take.

I'm happy to give you last word on this anon. What do you think? Finish them, or return them?

>>14537227
Per our plans last session, have the message board set up on the border between our land and the lich's territory.
Have the emissaries sent out. Make sure that the one going to the troglodytes is well-armed, and the one going to the Alloy Brotherhood has one NAJA unit.

As for the prisoners, have them cleaned up, then escorted and released at the edge of our borders with the new Drow settlement. They are to take a message back to their king that they are to send a diplomatic envoy within 2 week's time to the edge of our border to negotiate. Any Drow patrols captured during this time will be stopped, but will not be fired upon unless we are attacked first.
The prisoners will not be given their weapons back.

rolled 38 = 38

>>14537311
Definitely. Lets reserve all of the recently developed high-capacity line guns for home defense though - don't need those to intimidate trogs.

>>14537283
Them having a king only proves that the Drow who took control has enough ability and skill to maintain his power even against the machinations of any others underneath him.
As this was a break-away rebel group, certain political hierarchies may not exist, but they do not mean that certain social conventions do not exist, either.
If they had said they were trying to make it to the surface, or that they were worshippers of Eilistree, then yes, kindness and mercy would be better.
But they're simply Feudalists, and nothing about them implies that they are any different culturally than the rest of the Drow.

>>14537342
Actually, the new troglodyte leader is specifically noted as hating all other subterranean races, and is uniting the disparate troglodyte tribes into a single force.
We need to talk with our traditional neighbors, and see if they are joining this new leader, and what they can tell us about him.

rolled 50 = 50

>>14537357
You're probably right - but Drow aren't mindless killing machines. They're clever killing machines. Lets hope that in their vast numerical inferiority they see the sanity of formal borders and truce with us. We're Stalin, 1939 - Molotov-Ribbentrop. We need to reduce our total # of enemies by extermination and truce.

rolled 72 = 72

>>14537384
Oh, I missed that part. Maybe we shouldn't warn them with diplomatic-mission-in-force, and should ignore them until we're prepared to massacre them? I'll leave that to you.

>>14537399
The troglodyte tribes that we were traditionally neighbors with were tolerable neighbors, aside from a little bit of petty theft and their smell.
I want to see if they are joining this new xenophobic trog leader, and if they're not, what they can tell us about him.
We need the armed escort simply because it's the Underdark, and it's dangerous, not necessarily as a show of force or anything. But it would be good to remind them that we have guns, and bigger and nastier weapons back home.

>>14537311

You send out an armed group of scouts to set up a message box with a greeting to the lich.

You send out a group of volunteers to the troglodytes with heavy armaments. The one going to the Alloyed Brotherhood is on a six-legged NAJA with siege equipment (at present untested), and numerous mounted lineguns. The hexapod is roughly sixteen feet wide, and can alter the length of its legs to better navigate smaller passageways.

The prisoners are sent back with instructions on how to open diplomacy with your people, and a time limit of two weeks. The drow will make their position known soon enough.

>>14537428
Okay, implant the stones. You said that our spell list is mutable, and that we can use these stones to hold a single spell.
Are we using spells from the d20 SRD, or Pathfinder? What's our caster level, so we know which spells we can take?

>>14537424
>>14537384

You head down into the depths with a small armed unit, and your own personal sidearm, a handheld linegun holdstered at one hip. You change into some robes you can afford to wash the stench out of, and prestidigitate around your nose.

Your escorts are clad in gray and red clothing, their lineguns slung over their shoulders and with a small bag of grenades at their sides. The extra weaponry is more for their protection than yours.

>>14537516
Oh, we're going to meet personally with our trog neighbors?
That's okay, I guess.

rolled 47 = 47

>>14537582
High-fives. This can only end well.

>>14537474

PFsrd. Your caster level is 13.

Your ancestor's spells include:

Levitate
Limited Telekinesis
Dimension Door
Hurricane Blast
Teleport

Create Pit
Spiked Pit
Acid Pit
Hungry Pit
Swirling Sand

Arcane Lock
Black Tentacles
Resilient Sphere
Force Spines (Invisible spikes of force similar to spike stones)
Wall of Force

Complete spell list will be posted at some point. Suffice to say your spell list is bigger than the average sorcerer's

rolled 38 = 38

>>14537662

CL 13, so we can cast 6th level spells, working towards 7th? What color ioun stones can we find Contingency and Nondetection in? (or am I misunderstanding how this works?)

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/contingency
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/n/nondetection

I can't help but feel that with the level of intrigue going on, we need them.

>>14537715

You know nondetection, and contingency is something you have on scroll tap.

>>14537662
We should put Dimension Door into one of the stones; never know when you might need instantaneous teleportation.

rolled 56 = 56

>>14537854
I'm heading out for the night and will read the remainder on archive tomorrow. Thanks a lot VKO!

I suggest that we keep Nondetection up 24/7, and consider the great but perhaps life-saving expense of using a Contingency scroll each day to arm a Teleport to bring ourselves to the most secure place in the Crystal Cavern in the event that we are "greatly injured".

>>14537906
It's a nice idea, but Contingency is still 50gp a day.
I vote that we only use a Contingency-Teleport combo when we're going into situations we know are hazardous.
The target of the Teleport should be a specially prepared Transit Room at the hospital in our cavern.
Right now, I don't think we need to prepare it.

>>14537582

Naturally, you will go meet with them yourself. The sight of your people's tattooed sorcerers has long been an object of reverence. They call you "Mynthar of the Orange Metal".

You smell the trogs long before you see them. Clad in rags, they clutch wicked, curved knives in their claws smeared with a compound similar to Drow knockout poison, but with the added effect of causing infections. They look at you, heads tilted off to one side.

"I need to speak with Klisszag." You say to them. The two look at each other, and nod, loping back to lead you to the festering caves the troglodytes call their home. Twisting passages and tentative trogs greet you as you make your way to the aged, white-skinned troglodyte, wearing a stone crown and armor that has been passed down from his predecessor. He has less mobility in one side of his face, having suffered a vicious stroke brought on by magic when he was younger, and leading to the nickname "Stone-faced Klisszag".

"Orange Metal, it hasss been a long time. What do I owe thisss vissit to?" The trog's tail twitches violently to one side as he speaks out of the side of his mouth.

>>14537954
>Contingency is still 50gp a day.
Whoops, never mind.
It only needs a bit of quicksilver, an eyelash from a magic-using creature (since kobolds don't have eyelashes, I suppose the Drow could be a source of them).
But the scrolls would still cost 1800gp to produce, and using one every day would be very costly.

>>14537961
We've been good neighbors with them, right?
What's the proper, formal title that Klisszag uses?
"Klisszag, I wish I could say that this was a more personal visit, but I have heard something that concerns me.
"My scouts report that a leader has emerged amongst some of the more distant Troglodyte tribes, and that he has begun unifying them. Normally, I would only take note of this and relegate it as an internal matter for your people, but something else that the scouts reported worries me.
"They say that this new leader wishes ill to all other races that live her in the underworld. Now, hatred against the Drow and the Dwarves I can understand and even appreciate, but hatred towards us Kobolds is disconcerting."

>>14538067

You bow, politely. "Chief Klisszag, I wish I could say that this was a more personal visit, but I have heard something that concerns me.

"My scouts report that a leader has emerged amongst some of the more distant Troglodyte tribes, and that he has begun unifying them. Normally, I would only take note of this and relegate it as an internal matter for your people, but something else that the scouts reported worries me. They say that this new leader wishes ill to all other races that live here in the underworld. Now, hatred against the Drow and the Dwarves I can understand and even appreciate, but hatred towards us Kobolds is disconcerting."

"Indeed." Half of Klisszag's face twists into a grin. "Magnerass hasss made his possition on non-troglodytes clear. We have not been asssked to join- yet. We have had our troublesss in the passst, little orange metal. Perhapsss we ssshould sssort them out before hisss messsengersss come with an offer we cannot refusse.

That reminds me.

>>14538163
"I am glad that you have chosen to allow us to attempt a diplomatic solution to this problem.
"On what topic shall we first talk about?"

Let's see what demands they want to make of us.
Also, VKO, according to our most recent estimations, how large of a force do the disparate trog tribes represent, and how big is this specific tribe we're talking with?

Fuck, I fail at dice.

Regardless, here's what level each one can take:

Orange- 5th (evocation)
White- 3rd (abjuration)
Yellow- 2nd (conjuration)

The caster level on those matching the school is increased by one if it is of a matching school, otherwise the color doesn't matter.

>>14538242

"I am glad that you have chosen to allow us to attempt a diplomatic solution to this problem." You say, gesturing out to the chief with your palm facing upwards. "On what topic shall we first talk about?"

"Food. Your people have plenty of it, and mine have little. You know of our organized raidssss. Perhapsss we can trade for it inssstead?" The troglodyte leans forward in his throne, his immobile features betraying nothing.

Your people have refused trade with them before this because of the raids. This is going to take a delicate hand.

>>14538255
So if we cast a spell into the stone once, it will stay usable until it is activated, right?
So if we cast a Contingency-Teleport into the Orange stone, would it remain viable until it the conditions of the Contingency are activated?

>>14538333
"That is a delicate matter. If we open ourselves to trade, will you be able to guarantee us immunity from your people's raids?"

>>14538381

The stones basically allow you to cast a spell out of them once per day. Using the same one twice in a row fatigues you. So you could put contingency in there, not having it be any specific variant.

"That is a delicate matter. If we open ourselves to trade, will you be able to guarantee us immunity from your people's raids?" You say.

"For food? Yesss. The quesstion your repressentativess possed wass that we had nothing to give you." Klisszag tilts his head. "Even in thiss casse, would you sstill wissh to trade?"

>>14538478
>The quesstion your repressentativess possed wass that we had nothing to give you
Well, if they don't have any money, this will be kind of hard to do.
Is there nothing that the troglodytes could produce, that the kobolds could use?
Perhaps saltpeter and potash, and other alchemical reagents? The components of ammonium nitrate, perhaps?

information? perhaps on this other alliance?

>>14538478
Perhaps the troglodytes could hire themselves as mercenaries? We provide the guns, food, training and tactics, while they supply the bodies?

It's either that, or maybe alchemical ingredients that they could gather or grow.

>>14538521

"We have need of various alchemical reagents. Saltpeter, potash, any number of things we could show your people how to make." You raise your eyebrows as you make a more wild suggestion. "Perhaps even your musk could be useful."

"Hmm, perhapsss if you would be willing to take sssome of usss in and educate them in your wayss, I would conssider it." The old trog says.

>>14538537

"Information on the alliance of troglodytes would be useful as well." You say.

"I know only that he isss given dark giftsss from the ancient kingdomsss my people onccce had." Klisszag says. "I know not of the truth or falsssenessss of thisss, it iss only what comesss to thessse earsss."

>>14538653
"I will bring the issue before my Senate, and I shall have an answer for you within 3 days.
"What other issues exist between our peoples?"

>>14538653
You know, I wonder if trog young were given proper nutrition during their childhood, if they would grow smarter and healthier like our own people.
It's an avenue of research that I think bears looking into.

>>14538720

"I will bring the issue before my Senate, and I shall have an answer for you within 3 days." You say.

"Of coursse, the ssenate." He hisses, looking over at your armed guards.

"What other issues exist between our peoples?" You ask him.

"Asss a whole? Many. Between our tribesss, there is not ssso much. The main isssuesss are the lack of food, and weaponsss, but we have never sought thosse before. If you would become our alliesss, we will need a way of protecting ourssselvess asss well." The greying lizard's right jawline twists into a grin. He knows very well he's asking for something you're given to no one.

>>14538732

Perhaps it does. That would be something to confer with your nutritionists about if you can get a young trog out of the tribe.

>>14538786
Chuckle knowingly.
"The surfacers do not give you trogs enough credit, Klisszag. Some of that intellect which allowed your people to erect cyclopean cities of stone deep in the darkness is with you yet.
"Providing lineguns, even to old neighbors such as yourselves, Klisszag, is out of the question. Even if you were to become allies, I doubt that the Senate would allow such a thing.
"But, perhaps we can come to an arrangement that will give you the power of our weapons. Are you willing to enter into a military pact with us?"

I don't know if anyone else wants to suggest an alternative course. Giving the trogs guns could be disastrous.

>>14538875
Maybe we should offer that, then?
A chance to be stronger, healthier, and smarter than their peers in the other tribes.
Just like we, the Crystal Cavern People, are stronger, healthier, and more intelligent compared to other kobolds, maybe the next generation of troglodytes of this tribe could be the same.

We should see if Klisszag is willing to accept this as a bargaining chip in our negotiations; the opportunity for his tribe to regain some of their ancient glory.

>>14538922
The only problem that I can think of, is that in the future, could this be used against us?
Troglodytes are already naturally stronger and bigger than kobolds; what if they were just as smart? We could be seeding our own future demise.

>>14538878

"The surfacers do not give you trogs enough credit, Klisszag. Some of that intellect which allowed your people to erect cyclopean cities of stone deep in the darkness is with you yet." You say, acknowledging the trog's cunning. He continues to grin.

"Providing lineguns, even to old neighbors such as yourselves, Klisszag, is out of the question. Even if you were to become allies, I doubt that the Senate would allow such a thing." You continue speaking before he has a chance to call the whole thing off.

"But, perhaps we can come to an arrangement that will give you the power of our weapons. Are you willing to enter into a military pact with us?"

"What isss that?" Klisszag asks, one eyebrow raising in an oddly appropriate expression.

"We would provide a military presence here to protect your people as allies. in exchange you would trade with us, cease the raids and help produce some of what needs to be produced for our industries." You explain.

Klisszag strokes his chin for a moment. "Sssoundss good. But what of our military?"

>>14538958

Train their military to act as a militia. Better yet, we could train them to may entrenched positions and train them in proper defensive tactics.

This would let them feel like they have a military presence of their own, AND allow us to use them in the future to defend key passages that we can't afford to deploy to ourselves.

The best part is that without guns on their side, if they ever do turn against us any entrenched position they set up (while being kind of a pain) will ultimately prove futile against our superior firepower.

This gives them the feeling of still having a military, makes their town (and thus our stake there) better defended, and gives us a resource we can call on in the future all without creating something we can't destroy should the need arise.

>>14538958
"As military allies, we would have a mutual defense treaty. If we are attacked, you will come to our aid. If you are attacked, we will come to yours.
"Your soldiers and ours would be instructed on the fighting style of the other, so that when fighting alongside each other, they will not get in each other's way.
"I will argue with the Senate in your favor, to have some of your soldiers trained in the use of lineguns. They would be loaned to your soldiers; they would still belong to us, but you would be allowed to use them."

Maybe also bring up the nutrition idea in order to lessen our military obligations? If there's no objections, we could probably implement it.

>>14539016
>>14539040

"As military allies, we would have a mutual defense treaty. If we are attacked, you will come to our aid. If you are attacked, we will come to yours."

"Ssoundss ressonable." He answers.

"Your soldiers and ours would be instructed on the fighting style of the other, so that when fighting alongside each other, they will not get in each other's way.
"I will argue with the Senate in your favor, to have some of your soldiers trained in the use of lineguns. They would be loaned to your soldiers; they would still belong to us, but you would be allowed to use them."

"That would help mattersss to flow mosst sssmoothly. We would certainly agree if we had accesss to the weaponsss." Klisszag says.

"In addition, our healers have discovered that our people were stronger and healthier after eating the proper things during their formative years. Perhaps we could bestow this knowledge on you as well?"

Klisszag ponders this. "Perhaps."

>>14539185
"I shall return with an answer soon. I bid you good fortune, chieftain."

>>14539185
"Think of it, Klisszag: your children growing into the intellect and strength that your ancestors took for granted. Stronger, smarter, better. Think on it a while.
"If that is all, I shall go to the Senate and argue your case. I shall return in 3 days time with an answer."

We'll need to get the Senate to agree.
This trog leader sounds like bad news, especially if he actually recovered some of the greater artifacts and magics from the ancient troglodyte empire.

Ah, you know what? Any kobold unit that works with troglodytes is either going to need a gasmask (mundane or slightly magical), or we're going to need to provide the trog militia with magical air-fresheners.

Actually, that might be something that would be useful to them, since it would help them sneak around.

I would like to point out that teaching the trogs to make the alchemical ingredients for linegun ammunition, and then training them how to use lineguns, may not be the best idea.

eventually they might put two and two together and decide that they can go all allah akbar on us.

"Think of it, Klisszag: your children growing into the intellect and strength that your ancestors took for granted. Stronger, smarter, better. Think on it a while." You say. "I will return three days hence with an answer."

"That isss indeed good bait, orange metal. I wonder what the conssequenccesss for me taking it would be?" Klisszag hisses, laughing in the strange troglodyte rasp as you exit the caves.

"Make sure our people have gas masks." You say to yourself.

You return without incident. What will you do?

>>14539351
Actually, our lineguns are magic rifles that use the action of frozen water being converted into steam as the propellant.
Without mages, they won't be able to produce more lineguns themselves.

>>14539372
Schedule permitting, call a session of the Senate. We need to get them to agree to the treaty.

>>14539372
Present this to the senate; that way, they have a day or two to deliberate on it.

>>14539351

Linegun ammo is frozen water. The guns fire a great amount of electricity through the chamber and evaporate it while propelling the bullet forward with electricity through about the last half of the gun.

Teaching them how to make them would require ioun ore, a sorcerer or something like that, a gunsmith, and a metallurgist.

>>Service. randian

No, capcha, I will not run Atlas Shrugged Quest.

Actually, the larger stronger trogs could be used like heavy weapons infantry. Load them up with heavy machineguns and heavy armor.

Still need a way to keep them under control though.....do we have access to any highly addictive substances? Maybe we could get them all addicted and control them through the supply. Call it medicine to help their cultural advance.

>>14539428
I'd rather not have a rerun of the Opium Wars.
Though, seeing as we would become their main supplier of food, and that their children would be dependent on our specialists for proper nutrition and their education, we might be able to integrate them into our empire within a few generations.

>>14539409
>>14539415

You call up the senate. They all attend at the twilight hours. Several members, including Ghaon and Yuune, are against giving the trogs your weapons in any way, but see the need to stop the raids and make an alliance. It is certain you will be able to make the alliance: Trading over the guns, less so.

>>14539462
"Tell me gentlebolds; what is it you fear most about this deal? Is it the trading of our weapons?" Dramatic sweeps abound on the senate floor, by the way. "Suppose they do decide to become hostile to us; how can a few derelict rifles stand against a fully trained, highly armed Kobold regiment? They lack the necessary capacities to reproduce them without arcane assistance, Kobold or otherwise. And, while we give them the weapons, we secure our home one more bolt, one more minute of delightful rest. With that, who knows what further production we could muster in the time it would take to fend off a Trog hoard that would likely incorporate /BY FORCE/ our old neighbors?"

>>14539462
I agree with the two to an extent; I don't like giving the trogs guns any more than they do.
But it would be disastrous to have them go over to Magneras; they're been our neighbors for a long while, and would know our defenses.
Also, they could function as a buffer state between the growing troglodyte threat, and the Crystal Cavern itself.

Would it be possible to produce lineguns with a built-in killswitch?

>>14539512
Sounds okay. I don't like arming the trogs, but I can see the necessity of it.

>>14539520

It is indeed possible, but if something were to go wrong and they were triggered accidentally, your card would be revealed and they would not likely want an alliance much longer.

>>14539512

"Tell me gentlebolds; what is it you fear most about this deal? Is it the trading of our weapons?" You sweep your gaze across the lot of the attendants.

"Suppose they do decide to become hostile to us; how can a few derelict rifles stand against a fully trained, highly armed Kobold regiment? They lack the necessary capacities to reproduce them without arcane assistance, Kobold or otherwise. And, while we give them the weapons, we secure our home one more bolt, one more minute of delightful rest. With that, who knows what further production we could muster in the time it would take to fend off a Trog hoard that would likely incorporate /BY FORCE/ our old neighbors?"

The lot of them consider this.

"I am not worried about someone so close having our technology, but so far we have kept the drow from capturing any line guns. Will the trogs be so careful?" Jaran asks. "We can spare the weaponry, but it will be far less useful if its secrets are discovered."

>>14539589
>so far we have kept the drow from capturing any line guns. Will the trogs be so careful?
"Jaran, you bring up a very important point.
"Yuune, would it be possible for the mages to incorporate a self-destruct rune or something similar, to be affixed to those guns that would be used by the trogs? Something that could be used to destroy the gun in case it falls into enemy hands.
"We will not be arming all of the trogs, so the additional cost should not be too great."

>>14539653
Keep in mind that these weapons would be designed for trogs; they can be made bigger and so size limitations would be less of a concern

>>14539653

"Jaran, you bring up a very important point." Jaran nods. Ghaon mutters something about it having been his point.

"Yuune, would it be possible for the mages to incorporate a self-destruct rune or something similar, to be affixed to those guns that would be used by the trogs? Something that could be used to destroy the gun in case it falls into enemy hands." You see Yuune immediately begin writing something that he passes off to an attendant.

"We will not be arming all of the trogs, so the additional cost should not be too great." You say, as you accept his note, reading it immediately.

Explosive runes written in Drow?

>>14539704
Write down a response: Yes, also remote detonation by kobold officer in charge. Make it funny.

>>14539738
>Make if funny.
"Guess what: I prepared Explosive Runes today."

>>14539738

You write down a response: Yes, also remote detonation by kobold officer in charge. Make it funny.

Yuune gets your note back, takes a second to read it, and grins. You're glad to see it. After that devil mumbo jumbo a few months back when he tried to get your brother to oust you from power, and you were kidnapped by the devil, he has had a difficult time looking at you with anything other than an apologetic expression. You'd forgiven him after about a week, though. He had not wanted to betray you, but a very small error on his part had let you relive your days of torture with the devils. If his mood is improving, that's more than enough to write today off as a good day, even if you'll need a new set of old robes.

>>14539747

I was thinking more along the lines of "The only good drow is a dead drow."

>>14539462

You watch them debate for a while, then head off to sleep.

You awaken the next day, feeling light and refreshed. Draped cloth hangs calmly off of the ceiling of your small room, swaying gently as a breeze comes in through the window. Your historical artwork about the kobold people frames the room in history. You hear a light rapping at your door.

"Who is it?" You call, stretching as you yawn. There is no response, but a knocking once again.

>>14539811
"Yuune and his mages will work on a way to secure the guns we will allow the trogs to use from tampering and from falling into Drow hands.
"I will return to the troglodytes in three days and tell them that all particulars of our treaty except for the trade of arms has been agreed upon.
"Once the magical security measures that Yuune has prepared are ready, and have been reviewed by a Senate hearing, I shall inform Chief Klisszag that he can expect a shipment of guns.
"Is this agreeable to everyone?"

>>14539880
No response? That's not good.
Prepare for combat, get a linegun ready. Hide behind something and aim the gun at the door, then us prestidigitation to open the door.

>>14539911

Prior to:
>>14539880

"Yuune and his mages will work on a way to secure the guns we will allow the trogs to use from tampering and from falling into Drow hands." You say, nodding over at him.

"I will return to the troglodytes in three days and tell them that all particulars of our treaty except for the trade of arms has been agreed upon.
"Once the magical security measures that Yuune has prepared are ready, and have been reviewed by a Senate hearing, I shall inform Chief Klisszag that he can expect a shipment of guns. Is this agreeable to everyone?"

You hear no objections.

"Very well." You say. "You may continue with whatever other agendas we have."

>>14537286
>>14539965
Sorry about making you retcon stuff back in, VKO. I'll try to put out stuff faster.

>>14539932
I doubt that Drow assassins would knock on the door, but I suppose that it wouldn't do to take unnecessary chances.

>>14539932

You know prestidigitation would not possess the necessary force to open the door. You grasp your line pistol in your right hand, moving quietly over to get behind a rather comfy stone chair. You open the door with the spell of the same name, the brass hinges creaking as the stone door swings open, to reveal no one standing in it. Your view from half-behind the chair obscures the lowest portion of the door, however.

You think you hear what sounds like the barest scratching across the floor.

Invisibility!

Throw a satchel charge, jump out the window, walk away as the room explodes behind you. Don't look back.

At least that's what i want to say. Do we have some sort of true sight ability?

>>14540022
If we have it, cast Mage Armor.
Then stand up and look on the floor.
"Who's there? Show yourself, or this is going to hurt."

>>14540071

You cast see invisibility, and look back at the doorway. Nothing is revealed.

>>14540086

You cast a protective spell over yourself, then step out from behind the chair.

"Who's there? Show yourself, or this is going to hurt." You say, out into the empty room as you walk in front of the couch.

As you walk forward, fingers unclench and press down into the ground angrily, the unseen visitor biding its time.

>>14540125
So the intruder is not invisible? Just really good at hiding?
Can we call for guards? Also, does a look at the floor and ceiling show anything?

>>14540189

You turn to see a hand on the floor just in front of the chair you were hiding behind, a reddish brown right hand belonging to a kobold, with an evenly muscled arm covered in familiar looking black tattoos running back from the wrist up to a muscular shoulder.

But that is where the arm ends, blackish, singed flesh marking where the arm ends in a stump. You gasp, realizing what it is as your severed limb clenches its fingers on the floor and springs up to grab you by the throat, choking you with a grip more powerful than that of a kobold. You are driven back into a wall, the bodiless stump of your shoulder moving through the air like it was attached to a working body, then wavering off like the severed hunk of flesh that it is. You feel like your head is going to explode as blood is caught backed up in it, causing your eyes to bulge. What will you do?

>>14540228
Call out for guards, and for a mage. Cast Resilient Sphere on the arm to keep it contained. We need to get this thing analyzed.

>>14540228
>Disembodied right hand trying to choke us
>Have a prosthetic right arm
>Lost it fighting demons and devils
>We have a gun and have to deal with primitive screwheads
Oh my god, it all fits now: we're Ash, aren't we?

>>14540258

You cannot speak, the words are little more than a pained gag as you try to say anything, and feel your nails, no, what were once your nails dig into your throat as the vicelike grip somehow gets even tighter. Black spots hang around your vision as you feel your brain start to slow.

>>14540348
Let's do what any responsible sorcerer would do in this situation: throw out spells in an attempt to get it off, not caring for the consequences.

Requesting shotgun wizard comic to prove my point.

>>14540348
Shit, any spells in our ioun stones that we can use?
Use our prosthetic arm to counteract our former arm's grip, and try to send some lightning into it.

It would be really nice if we had Bull's Strength available or stored, that would help in overpowering the hand's grip.
Do we have it stored in one of our stones? It has a verbal component so I doubt we can cast it otherwise.

>>14540381

You drop your gun, reaching up to grasp the hand with your metal one and prepare to give it a powerful shock.

But nothing happens.

You try again, realizing that your right arm is not there, and the line gun is down on the floor next to the chair.

A blue stone in your arm shines as you cast Bull's Strength, your left hand's nails lengthening into dragon-like claws as you stab through the arm just below the wrist as you try and pry the arm off of your throat. The overgrown claws of your right hand, like those of an old kobold, leave thin, deep tears in the flesh of your throat as you begin pulling it away.

>>14540280

Hey, I never said you WEREN'T from the d20 modern universe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWCG7ZqVULc

>>14540412

I hadn't even read this when I posted. You and I share a common mind, sir.

>>14540461
Pull off the arm completely, and once we get some oxygen going into our brain again, we can wonder "Why in the Nine Hells isn't my arm attached?"

Just to be clear, our prosthetic arm is not attached, and we don't see it anywhere, right? And the gun that we had been holding, is now besides the chair?
I smell shenanigans.

>>14540495

You see blood, so much blood, run from where your claws puncture your former arm's skin as you pull with all of your might to get the hand away from your throat.

You pull it off as your brain shuts down for a split second, the arm writhing in your grasp as you cough, turning off to one side for a moment as your realize you are without any kind of clothing, nor your right arm. You realize that something on your right side, near your shoulder, itches terribly, and you are leaking drops of blood down your bare chest and onto the floor.

>>14540572
Ah, no. Is this a flashback to when we were in the Rosenkraft's dungeons?
Where the Hell are we?

>>14540596

You look to your right side, seeing only a blackish, ruined mess instead of an arm, and you cough at the smell of burning flesh, your severed arm writhing in your hand.

You feel a chain run its way around your left wrist, and you are hoisted up, naked and bleeding, to a hanging position over a great, iron platform, the incredible heat of the lava bombarding you with heat as you dangle, helpless, the feeling in your hand starting to leave you. A massive, black cavern lit only by the flow of lava, with no exit in sight, stretches out around you for what must be miles. You hear a familiar voice in your head.

Well, what do you think? I tried to capture the old nostalgia of the Rosenkraft place with the still fresh pain of your brother's betrayal, and your hand having the circulation cut off by your own body weight, which I could tell was really, REALLY unsettling. Would you like anything else? Hooks under your eyelids, perhaps?

The source of the voice floats up from the lava, glimmering, liquid black eyes in a skeletal face, blue skin stretched over a bony, haggard form, and a whiplike tail swinging about behind the creature like a serpent.

Where the Hell are you, indeed.

>>14540736
"Honestly, I would have preferred a professionally written letter with well-done copperplate. I AM a busy kobold, you know.
"Now, what are we here to talk about?"

>>14540736
Oh shit. How completely terrified of this demon are we? I imagine quite a bit so...

"A-...a-...a-..." Then nothing but terrified whimpers. I don't even think we, neither then nor now, could face him. Unless I'm mistaken, and we had some fight in us. In which case: "How did I get here? Another dream? An illusion?"

>>14540736
We recognize the voice? Whose is it?

>>14540803
We survived 2 months of continuous Drow, Devilish, and Demonic torture, then escaped under our own power without our right arm.
I think fear is beneath us.

"Honestly, I would have preferred a professionally written letter with well-done copperplate. I AM a busy kobold, you know.
"Now, what are we here to talk about?"

I don't know, you're the one who called me up here. I figured you were lonesome for old times.

The lord of lies picks up a red hot needle, his rows of teeth in an unending smile.

So, let's start slowly, and work our way on up to the really painful stuff.

He jabs the needle into your side, where your right arm used to be. You let out a hiss, feeling every nerve in your body quake in agony.

I thought you might appreciate that. The symbolic part of the dream is over. Now, I can just torture your for a while.

The needle slides out of your side. You already feel tired, and your legs shake from the pain.

"You son of a bitch." You cough.

>>14540862
So wait, is this a demonic/devil presence that has taken root in our mind or soul, possibly as a result of the tortures we endured at the hands of the Rosenkrafts'?

"By the Nine Hells, will you just get on with it? Pain might be an artform to your ilk, but it's just another annoyance to me. If you are to torture me, then at least do something new with it. You're treading back through old ground here; nothing you're doing is ORIGINAL."

That's right, insult the Lord of Lies that he's a copycat and can't come up with ORIGINAL CONTENT.

>>14540862
CALL UPON OUR DRACONIC BLOOD TO VANQUISH THIS INFERIOR LIFE FORM!

Or, let's just cast something like Wall of Force to separate ourselves from the demon, telekinesis to break our bonds, then fire off some offensive spells into his face.

Ooor, we wait until the dream sequence is over. D:

Tlazerak's spindly fingers wrap around

Torture, specifically. That's what's brought this shade of me here. But don't despair, I assure you I am enjoying this just as much as I did back then.

>>14540917

"By the Nine Hells, will you just get on with it? Pain might be an artform to your ilk, but it's just another annoyance to me. If you are to torture me, then at least do something new with it. You're treading back through old ground here; nothing you're doing is ORIGINAL." You say.

The thin, bladelike teeth in the devil's face seem to multiply as its face stretches to either side.

Ah, I see you've moved past the point where we can conventionally torture you with something like pain. Discomfort, agony, nothing seems to do it for you anymore, huh?

His eyes begin to weep a blackish substance down the sides of his face, similar to what they appear to be made of.

I can do whatever I want, in this place of dreams. I thought you might like to spend another night alone, coming short of breath as you thought of what I had done to you. But you've seen so much. So many things to choose from. Do you really want me to break your spirit so completely?

He slashes you across the chest with a barbed cat o' nine tails, the hooks covered in maggots that slowly writhe and consume your flesh at a supernaturally quick speed, and you shake your body, the insects flying off down to the heated metal floor.

>>14540999

should be, his fingers wrap around a metal barbed, multiheaded whip covered in rot and crawling maggots

>>14540999
"Pain, pain, and more pain. Maybe with a side of agony, too. Oh, and I see you decided to mix in some revulsion and disgust.
"I have to ask, have you ever spent an eternity in a waiting room, filling out paperwork that never ends? Nothing but a droning chorus just within hearing range, and the cloying scent of cheap air freshener dulling your senses?
"The problem with you lot is that you're only concerned with traditional pain. What are you going to do when you break me? You're just as unoriginal as all the rest."

It might be a bad idea to antagonize the demon which has us in its power, but I'm feeling frustrated, angry, and all around pissed off.

>>14541052
Taunt him a second time!

"I've seen Drow with more corrosive maggots; if you haven't gotten anything new since the last time I've graced your dwelling, I'd better just leave. I have a people to guide in the waking world, and you need time to develop new material."

>>14541052

"Pain, pain, and more pain. Maybe with a side of agony, too. Oh, and I see you decided to mix in some revulsion and disgust." You snark as you look at the maggots devouring your flesh.
"I have to ask, have you ever spent an eternity in a waiting room, filling out paperwork that never ends? Nothing but a droning chorus just within hearing range, and the cloying scent of cheap air freshener dulling your senses?
"The problem with you lot is that you're only concerned with traditional pain. What are you going to do when you break me? You're just as unoriginal as all the rest."

Oh, so you are displeased? I would have thought the memories coming back would make all of this much more painful.

The devil's words are almost like those of a child asking tensely exactly how many cookies were in the cookie jar.

>>14541114

"I've seen Drow with more corrosive maggots; if you haven't gotten anything new since the last time I've graced your dwelling, I'd better just leave. I have a people to guide in the waking world, and you need time to develop new material."

Why should I use my own material? Instead, I'll let your mind finish this thought.

He points up to where your arm is dangling from the chains.

Had those people been even a few minutes later, I would have grown tired of your classic smirking and taunting despite all the pain you house inside of you. It's why I liked you best of all, Mynthar. Such a small, weak creature with so much spunk! Even dragons could learn a thing or two from you, and I've broken quite a few in my time. You, on the other hand, were always there the next day, and your mind slowly snapped long before your tolerance for pain.

The devil sighs.

Well, you're right. I must be losing it. Here, let me get you down from there.

His arm moves like a gunshot, and you fall down onto your side. You move to get up, but merely wobble a bit as you fall back down. You see a great deal of blood on the ground, and feel some drip down onto your head. You look up, and see your left arm still hanging from the chain, thirty feet above you. A cold chill runs through your body as your body begins spasming as though in a great deal of pain, and you feel nothing.

>>14541240
"He..hehe..shock. I see you're doing better at that, at least."

>>14541240

"Did you get a sense of humor last we met..." Gather ourselves. "I always remembered you giving more of that /suffer puny mortal/ motiff..."

>>14541280
>>14541267

"He..hehe..shock. I see you're doing better at that, at least."

You take advantage of the lack of pain to cauterize the other half of your chest on the floor.

"Did you get a sense of humor last we met..." You stand up, shakily, walking out form underneath your arm. "I always remembered you giving off more of that /suffer puny mortal/ motif..."

I simply used your memories. Do you not remember how I almost caused you to lose your hand? The irony of the body destroying part of itself was not lost on you, I hope. That paladin with the sword managed to restore the damage I had done, or so I heard. Easy as a replacement would have been to come by, can you imagine the indignity, the pain?

As he says this, you see your brother walk out from behind him, a linegun in hand.

"Mynthar, I'm sorry. I betrayed you, and now this has happened." The thin kobold says, his voice quiet as a whisper. "How can I call myself your brother, having helped do such a thing to you?" He looks at the gun in his hands, sobbing quietly.

rolled 72 = 72

>>14541348

Appeal to our brother - he can wallow in self-pity after he helps us escape. "Help us! Its not too late!"

(mental note: torture brother to death if we live. Mental note 2: Contingent Teleport every morning not sounding so expensive anymore, is it?)

>>14541348
"Are you just another illusion, here?" Shake our head. "Either way, dry those tears; this isn't the place to weep for repentance."

>>14541348
"Ah, I see you're attempting to pull our heartstrings now. I'll grant you, that's something new. I didn't expect you to be imaginative enough to steal that trick from humans!"

>>14541377
>Contingent Teleport every morning not sounding so expensive anymore, is it?
This is technically a dream. What would a contingent teleport have done against a dream-demon?

rolled 50 = 50

>>14541398
Yeah, this time. Wait till it isn't and you've got no prepared spells to help you out.

"Help us! Its not too late!" You shout, before thinking anything else.

Yuune smiles over at your weakly. "I'm sorry, so sorry. I love you, Mynthar. And I don't want to hurt you ever again." He opens his mouth, turning the linegun around as he puts the barrel in his mouth.

"Yuune, what are you-" You shout, gasping as he pulls the trigger. The back of his head explodes as a bullet flies through his brain, severing his spinal cord, and he crumples, lifeless, to the ground, the gun half-grasped in a hand that sought to take its owner's life.

Even though you know he is nothing but a shade, the sight of your brother killing himself has brought you into a state of disarray.

He would have done it, you know. Even though he tried to save you. and that look on your face when he did it would have been the most perfect result of our time together. I don't think you would have recovered, probably for a long time. As your leadership slowly failed, you would spiral further and further down into depression, living on in a continual spiral of agony.

Tlazerak bows, mockingly.

That is how I intended to break you. But of course, that doesn't matter, now that I'm dead.

>>14541404
>prepared spells
We're a sorceror; we don't need to prepare spells that don't require a material component or a focus.
Teleport only has a verbal component. We needed the ioun stone-stored Bull's Strength because it has a material component we would need to acquire and expend.

>>14541462
"You know, Tlaz, you really should have stayed in the furthest reaches of my soul and only come out for some nightmares every once in a while.
"But no, you had to come out here and reveal yourself, that a portion of you is still alive and well, and can be caught and contained.
"The problem with you, Tlaz, is that you could never differentiate between playing second-rate stage villain, and being one."

>>14541462
Eye our fallen brother's false body for a moment.

"...what is it you really want? It's occurred to me that you didn't just pull me out of my sleeping body to bring up old memories."

>>14541490

"You know, Tlaz, you really should have stayed in the furthest reaches of my soul and only come out for some nightmares every once in a while.
"But no, you had to come out here and reveal yourself, that a portion of you is still alive and well, and can be caught and contained.
"The problem with you, Tlaz, is that you could never differentiate between playing second-rate stage villain, and being one."

Wrong. I am not alive at all. Drawn in by that sword, I was slain, destroyed.

He points over at you.

You really only have yourself to blame. You can't forgive being caught powerless in these situations, so you are doomed to relive them over and over again, struggling like a limbless worm.

You look over at your brother's body, lying on the metal flooring, motionless.

"...What is it you really want? It's occurred to me that you didn't just pull me out of my sleeping body to bring up old memories."

Ah, but old memories are exactly what your should be looking at. For you see, this is your body and mind shaking off a nightmare sent to you by someone very special.

Tlazerak smiles, eerily, as his eyes seem to empty.

C'mon, any guesses? Or am I going to have to give you... a hand with this one?

>>14541569
"Ah, Rosenkraft? I half-expected that he would have survived."

>>14541569
Do we know what he's talking about?

"..." The ever-used silence. Throw in a glare for good measure.

Also, I'm heading to bed, OP.

>>14541601

"Ah, Rosenkraft? I half-expected that he would have survived." You say, the pain in your body starting to come to you in seething agony.

You have never met the man. But yet, you have an indelible tie.

Tlezerak turns his back on you, his tail flailing wildly in the air.

Why, it's so amazing, one would think it impossible. After all, none can detect you at present now, correct? So how would this person know you exist?

>>14541607
The only ones with magic that powerful are:
Rosenkraft, if he survived.
The lich, though we've got a "you don't bother me, I don't bother you" kind of thing going on with him, so it's unlikely.
Magneras, the trog-Hitler. He reportedly got his hand on some major ancient power or something.
Those Feudalist Drow who we told that if they don't offer us something to make it worth our while, we're going to genocide them. Though if it's them, they're more stupid than I thought.

>>14541647
"Magneras? No, he's unlikely to have attempted this without some more preparation.
"The Gray Death from up north? Aw, c'mon! That was just a signboard! If he didn't like it, all he needed to do was put a message there saying "Please remove". We're not unreasonable, unlike those dwarves."

>>14541647
"So are you going to continue to prance about, or will you just tell me?"

>>14541692

"Magneras? No, he's unlikely to have attempted this without some more preparation."

Indeed.

"The Gray Death from up north? Aw, c'mon! That was just a signboard! If he didn't like it, all he needed to do was put a message there saying "Please remove". We're not unreasonable, unlike those dwarves."

Not the lich, no. But, the Gray Death? Ah, yes. The enemy of the dwarves. You remember the stories. The kobold who had both arms removed after having killed a great number of dwarves at only ten years of age. He and some others escaped captivity, and he learned to use a crossbow with his feet. It is said he will one day come for the dwarf who had the arms preserved and hung on his wall.

Should he not have died from the shock? Should not you have died from all you had endured as well?

That is not my prerogative, though. Rosenkraft had a ring in his possession. White gold, you may be familiar with the effect. And that dwarf was not the only one capable of preserving a limb.

He smiles, his lips starting to rip.

Don't you see? Isn't it hilarious?

>>14541796
"Alright I see. Someone got ahold of Rosenkraft's Ring of Regeneration.
"And this someone was another fellow prisoner, then?
"Because honestly, I doubt this has anything to do with the Tengu; no money in it."

>>14541850

"Alright I see. Someone got ahold of Rosenkraft's Ring of Regeneration.
"And this someone was another fellow prisoner, then?
"Because honestly, I doubt this has anything to do with the Tengu; no money in it."

If kept on a severed part, that part will eventually regrow. And consider the tattoos on the arm. Clearly, he has already become quite powerful. And as these things are wont to occur, he wants you dead.

More than that, you haven't figured out yet. In fact, I doubt you know to whom I am referring.

The black eyed devil's gums start to bleed a black blood.

But Dalak should know the reason you're not dead. You might say he IS the reason.

>>14541888
"Oh no...Oh no! An evil twin? I expect better from a clone!"

>>14541888
"Wait, someone put a Ring of Regeneration on my right arm to create a copy of me? And that copy now wants to kill me? Why must I live in a world of cliches and stereotypes?!"

>>14541888
Dalak? The engineer responsible for the kobold's rocket to technological superiority?
Oh, this does not bode well.

>>14541850
>>14541926

"Wait, someone put a Ring of Regeneration on my right arm to create a copy of me? And that copy now wants to kill me? Why must I live in a world of cliches and stereotypes?!"

You shout, lauding at how ludicrous it sounds.

Don't joke.

You feel a swing into your gut, a powerful, but small fist making the indent. You are no longer in the caverns like those at Rosenkraft's castle. Instead, black shadows swirl around you, and you see a kobold whose flesh, save that of your arm, is an inky black substance. His eyes are twin yellowed lanterns. You feel unbearable pain as he digs his claws into he spot where your left arm used to be.

After all, stranger things have happened, I'm sure.

His foot flies into your groin, and you go down, beginning to laugh softly as the pain overrides your logical mind.

>>14541982
But seriously, is that a copy of us created by a Ring of Regeneration? Because that is going to get all kinds of awkward to explain to the Senate.

Your tolerance for pain is spectacular. Your mental defenses.... Lacking.

He hauls you up, slugging you across the face repeatedly with his right arm.

So I might as well have some fun with you, now that I've had a decent go around in your head. I do have to say though, someone whose tolerance for torture is near to mine, perhaps even better? I will enjoy meeting you.

You spit out a few teeth. "Now you just seem upset. Is hitting me the best you can do?"

He slams his palm into your nose, the vibration carrying all the way through your skull.

I spent some time learning how to make pain in a dream seem real- no, FEEL real. I should get this much worth out of my time. Besides, I thought hitting you with your own arm particularly hilarious, considering the situation.

"Yeah, you're a real... comedian." You say, your eyes clenched shut as the pain from your broken nose runs through your face.

Consider this the foreplay to my eventual crushing of you and everything you hold dear.

You feel his hand wrap around your throat, and begin crushing your windpipe, slowly and methodically like a noose.

Well, I think I've established enough superiority for now. Why don't you stop wallowing in your victimized attitude and just

Wake up.

You awaken, leaping up out of your bed. Your left arm and right arm are both there, and you whisper an oath to gods you don't believe in as you see that they are. You feel your body having grown cold, and it aches with the phantom pains of your nightmare. Your right hand is all you see as you lean against the wall, the metal fingers half opened, its nails much more slender than your real ones.

You realize, suddenly, that you have a sore feeling in your neck. Reaching up tentatively with your left hand, you feel bruising on your neck, and realize there are small gashes running along your throat, thinner than your clawlike nails could have made. There is little blood, but you recognize, unmistakably the color of the dim liquid on the end of your right hand's fingers.

Without warning, the fingers of your right hand twitch.

"No, of course not. It can't ever be that you come to your senses, and we go forth and conquer the Underworld as two sides of the same coin. It always has to come down to a duel.
"Fine then."

>>14542054
FUUUU!!

We go down to Dalak right now, and get him to explain this bullshit.

>>14542091

You remove your arm from your shoulder, hurling it down onto your bed. The metal replacement does not move on its own, and aside form being slightly lighter, you feel no different.

You probably need to sit and think for a bit before heading to Dalak.

>>14542157
Alright, alright, time to think.
I've never heard of an entire person being regenerated by a Ring of Regeneration. Also, someone must have done it, and I doubt Rosenkraft would have used the ring to create a kobold clone.

Regardless, it has shown that we're mentally vulnerable. Whether this is a result of the arm or what, we'll need to talk with Dalak about it.

After collecting ourselves, put the arm back on, and go see Dalak. Oh, and see if that Bull's Strength spell is still stored in the stone or not.

>>14542187
The ring couldn't have just fallen on the arm. Besides, the ring only regenerates damage that was acquired when the ring was being worn.
Though I admit, there might be magic shenanigans going on to get around that.

>>14542187

Your Bull's Strength stone has been exhausted for the day. However, your see invisibility spell's energy is not gone from you.

You look down at the arm. Why would it start choking you in your sleep? Maybe the better question is, why would you start choking yourself in your sleep? You reattach it to your body, its motion clean and smooth as your real arm.

You throw on some work clothing, a short sleeved orange and blue robe that ends around your knees. You are going to have to ask Dalak a thing or two about this.

Wait, if he was able to use the severed arm as a link to us, couldn't the link work both way? Couldn't we use it to find his location and scry on him, or to send HIM nightmares?

>>14542354
Alright, just waiting for us to arrive at Dalak's.

>>14542354
We need to know if prosthetic arms can be manipulated while we're asleep, especially if someone is in our dreams.
Maybe also if he's hear about Ring's of Regeneration used to regenerate entire bodies.

You head into the machine district, the clacking of NAJA hauling metal audible from everywhere in the city's streets. You knock on the door of one of the stone huts, noting the sign out front:

Dalak and Felixhia Aut'Hijinx Prosthetics and Metallurgy.

"One moment!" A slightly high pitched voice comes from inside of the hut. The door is opened by a man you recognize well, a kobold a bit younger than you with a pair of spectacles mounted on his face, light green scales and a quited brown jacket over a buttoned shirt, the tails of the jacket hanging down lower on his body. He smiles upon seeing you.

"Mynthar! Good to see you! Come on in, I was just having coffee." He walks back inside and pats a seat by the examination table on the interior, which is covered with numerous papers you recognize as structural plans for prosthetic limbs and external mounted limbs. A framed doorway to the back room has the familiar sound of Felixhia's hammer smashing away at some piece of metal or another, while flanking the doorway you know leads to the spare room used to help those with new equipment try it out is a pair of benches filled with spare parts and processed blue ioun ore. A poster depicting kobold anatomy is framed on the wall next to the door you came in, with smaller ones depicting elven, human, tengu, troglodyte, and even sahuagin anatomy (with two extra arms being rendered in dotted lines) are pasted around it.

>>14542501
Ask Dalak about these: >>14542415
Also, are there any known side-effects to prosthetic merging?

>>14542501
"Dalak, good morning. I have some questions that I need to ask you, and over coffee is as good a time as any.
"First, is it possible for a prosthetic to move while I am asleep? Could my unconcious control it, perhaps while I'm dreaming?"

>>14542415
>>14542567

"Dalak, good morning. I have some questions that I need to ask you, and over coffee is as good a time as any."

You walk on in, sitting down on the bench.

"First, is it possible for a prosthetic to move while I am asleep?" You ask, pouring yourself some coffee. "Could my unconcious control it, perhaps while I'm dreaming?"

Dalak looks surprised. "Um, yes, yes they could. Was there something that happened? Your nerves are what needs to fire for the ioun muscles to make them move, so much like a regular limb, they could be prone to movement while you are dreaming. I can explain a bit further if you'd like as to how they work."

"Well one thing before you do. Could a ring of regeneration be used to regrow an entire body?" You ask, sipping the piping hot beverage as you ask.

"Well... If it was worn during the injury and the hand was severed with the ring on it, I suppose it might be possible. Why do you ask? I thought something was wrong with your arm." Dalak asks.

>>14542652
Does Mynthar remember if the ring had been placed on his right hand before it was cut off by Rosenkraft?

"Is there any way that such a ring could be used on a preserved limb, such as an arm, to recreate the rest of the body?
"Also, shouldn't an injury as traumatic as having my arm severed have killed me?"

>>14542652
>Why do you ask
"Because I just had a nightmare sent to me from a body double that was created from my severed arm and a Ring of Regeneration.
"Do you know of any way that such a thing could occur?"

>>14542684

"Is there any way that such a ring could be used on a preserved limb, such as an arm, to recreate the rest of the body?" You take a deep drink from the coffee.

Dalak thinks for a bit, shaking his head. "No, no, I don't-" His eyes light up and he snaps his fingers. "Wait, there is a way! Have you heard of a transplant?"

You shrug. "Like a graft?"

Dalak nods. "Exactly. Preserved properly, a deceased part could be reattached along with the ring, then removed and caused to regenerate! Because the hand or arm in this case was from the original creature, that creature's body would be what was used as the sample for the magic to regrow the body!" Dalak grins, having figured out the puzzle. "Unusual, yes. But possible? Certainly, with enough ingenuity."

"Also, shouldn't an injury as traumatic as having my arm severed have killed me?" You say.

Dalak's good mood disappears. "Killed you? Mynthar, these dark thoughts must be coming from somewhere." He looks concerned. "Is something the matter? Have you been getting flashbacks?"

"Because I just had a nightmare sent to me from a body double that was created from my severed arm and a Ring of Regeneration." You say. Dalak looks surprised.

"Are you sure it wasn't just part of the dream? That seems very unlikely. If you've been having trouble with phantom pains I have some medicine you can take." Dalak says.

>>14542779
"No, no. If only it was just flashbacks or phantom pain, that I could live with. But this."
Mynthar jabs a finger from his hand towards the wounds on his neck, indicating that they came from his prosthetic right arm.
"This, could actually kill me. It's unlikely, yes, but we, and especially I, have enough enemies that such a thing is still well within the realm of possibility, no matter how cliche an evil double coming to kill me may seem."

>>14542779
"Would this newly created body have a mind and soul? Would it be able to wield magic, perhaps? Would it have all of the memories that I had, up until the arm had been removed from me? Or would it take on the memories of the transplantee?"

>>14542810

"No, no. If only it was just flashbacks or phantom pain, that I could live with. But this."

You pull down the neck of your robe, revealing the tears on your neck.

"This, could actually kill me. It's unlikely, yes, but we, and especially I, have enough enemies that such a thing is still well within the realm of possibility, no matter how cliche an evil double coming to kill me may seem."

"Are you sure it's something that far-fetched?" Dalak says, looking off at some of his plans. "Rather, I'm trying to find a more mundane explanation."

>>14542826


"Would this newly created body have a mind and soul? Would it be able to wield magic, perhaps? Would it have all of the memories that I had, up until the arm had been removed from me? Or would it take on the memories of the transplantee?" You ask, refilling your coffee.

"To be honest, I have no idea. Regeneration can rebuild the soul portion of the self along with the body, but the mind? Perhaps." Dalak muses, bridging his fingers. "But what did you mean your injury should have killed you? That's not something I want to hear someone saying, especially not you."

>>14542889
>But what did you mean your injury should have killed you?
"My entire right arm was removed. The loss of that much blood, especially with all of the blood loss I had suffered under other tortures, should have sent me into shock
"I don't know, maybe I was just lucky."

>>14542889
I don't know. Maybe there IS a more mundane explanation. Nothing says that dreams have to tell the truth; it's possible the devil really DID put a portion of its self in us, and now it's trying to play mind games.

>>people literally staring on the streets.

what a horrible fate.

>>14542918

"My entire right arm was removed. The loss of that much blood, especially with all of the blood loss I had suffered under other tortures, should have sent me into shock and-" You shake your head, looking down at your prosthetic. "I don't know, maybe I was just lucky."

Dalak pats you on the shoulder. "Listen. It's common for someone who's gone through what you have to experience what they call survivor's guilt. You didn't live instead of the other kobolds because you were better than them, and you shouldn't have died instead of anyone. It was a terrible place no one should have had to deal with, and you made it our because you saw an opportunity and took it. No one's blaming you if you didn't go back for anyone else." Dalak shakes you a bit. "You've done so much for us. I think their spirits can rest well knowing that you made it out and everything that you've done to help the caverns."

"I, uh," You start to say, trying to object that you don't have those kinds of feelings about what happened to you.

"Listen, you're here now. You don't have to keep thinking on such things." Dalak says, leaning in a bit closer as he tries to comfort you, mistakenly.

But now that you do think about it, you felt no shock from the injury because of how slowly it was done, and how much pain tolerance you'd built up in the time at the Rosenkraft place.

What's bothering you is how Dalak's face looked when he spoke before about what you said. But you may need to use alternate methods to find out why that is.

>>14542928

The fuck?

"Alright, look. I know it was a spell used by an actual person who claimed he was a clone of me made using a ring of regeneration and my arm." You say, losing the significantly larger amount of patience you have with Dalak.

"Alright, I get the picture." Dalak says, taking a heavy swig of his now much cooler coffee. "So what do you want to do about this? Track him down first? Set a trap?"

"No, I want to know how he controlled my arm like that." You ask.

"As far as I know, it couldn't be done with any spell I can think of!" Dalak says, throwing his hands up. "Aside from some kind of telekinesis or some kind of new spell he researched. Maybe he just got lucky and made you choke yourself in the dream."

"Then I should've woken up! I can wake up to a pin dropping, but I claw out part of my neck and just doze right through it?" At this point, you're getting a bit frustrated with Dalak. He knows something, and it has to do with what the man from your dreams said. "You should've died when you lost your arm." The other one he talked about was the Gray Death, who came for prosthetics along with a greater number of kobolds from across the continent.

Alright, we'll pick up form here either for a bit tomorrow or on Saturday at 18:00.

See you then!

Damn, OP

Don't ever forget to achieve!

I remembered the thread from yesterday and wanted to read it in the archives but it wasn't there.... I was lucky to find this still alive.

gonna archive this in your stead

>>14543930
Hey thanks for archiving. And it's even tagged properly!

>>14543065
I'm not sure what to make of this.
Maybe we should ask about the Gray Death, see what Dalak knows about him?

>>14543930
Do you mean the first session?
The person who archived it was bad at tags.
Here's the link: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14477181/

>>14543930
>>14544587
>>14544785

Forever ashamed.

Sorry about that, I'll be more careful in the future, I was tired as hell.

Pre short game bump.

>>14544621

"Dalak, do you remember the Gray Death?" You ask him.

"Who? Yethisk? Why certainly. There are of course certain things he asked me not to share, but I talked with him for a while. What do you want to know about him specifically?" Dalak begins arranging some of the spare parts for machines on one of the tables as he talks with you.

All you know about the Gray Death at present is that he's a living legend amongst kobolds, and an object of fear to the dwarves. He's killed hundreds over the years, destroying supply lines, picking off patrols and leading armies far astray in pursuit of him. His scales and cloak were both gray, hence his name.

"He was a polite young man. In need of a shave." Dalak adds. "Scales overgrown on the lower jaw and chin, he said he liked the look. Such a mutation is unusual outside of dragon's blood, which we were fairly certain he had."

>>14548027
"As I understand it, he had both of his arms removed. Would you say that his situation and mine were similar?"

Also, guys, I just had an idea: our prosthetics use ioun fibers to mimic muscles, right? Well, what if we attached the fibers to a suit of magical full plate sized for a kobold? We could develop powered magitek armor!

>>14548027
>dragon's blood, which we were fairly certain he had
Could this be it? Maybe Mynthar has some dragon blood?
"Dalak, what kinds of properties does a dragon lineage confer upon the bloodline?"

VKO, you still around?

>>14548692

Yep, was getting lunch.

>>14548732
I shall need to search out more modern Kobold pictures to represent the Crystal Cavern People.
Hmm...CCP. We need to add one more C to the beginning of that, and then I think it will be complete.

>>14548383
>>14548430

"Dalak, what kinds of properties does a dragon lineage confer upon the bloodline?" You finish off your second cup of coffee.

"Probably an overall enhancement to the body and mind. Differing scale coloration is often a sign of a strong draconic presence in the blood, but it is very far between. Apparently, dragons breeding with our kind was fairly commonplace, and their blood has some interesting properties." Dalak finishes sorting the spare parts, neatly stacking them and dusting off the workbench.

"As I understand it, he had both of his arms removed. Would you say that his situation and mine were similar?"

"In what way?" Dalak asks, raising an eyebrow.

>>14548772

I still like the gator man with guns, myself.

>>14548791
"Oh, our ability to be able to push ourselves to great physical exertion so quickly after such traumatic damage was inflicted upon our bodies.
"Could a draconic heritage have something to do with it?"

This is frustrating. How can we get Dalak to tell us what we want to know?

>>14548825

"Oh, our ability to be able to push ourselves to great physical exertion so quickly after such traumatic damage was inflicted upon our bodies." You say, remembering how hard you worked after you were reinstated as a scout. "Could a draconic heritage have something to do with it?"

"It could very well. Dragons, sophisticated as they were, have an innate reaction to danger that causes their body to work overtime. In people with draconic ancestry, this can lead to an increase in draconic features." Dalak raises a finger. "It CAN. It doesn't always. If you'd like, I can distill your blood and see if we find any."

>>14548875

By outmaneuvering him.

See, as magistrate, you have to deal with this kind of thing all the time. If he wants to tell you, but doesn't know how, a direct confrontation is best. If he knows, but doesn't want to tell you, the fastest course is intimidation or blackmail. You can also trick him into telling you what you want to know.

>>14548923
Alright, which part of our talking was the one that Dalak reacted to the most? The one about how we should have died, or was it the part about a clone body being created and its properties?

>>14548895
"Yes, perhaps that would be best to see."

>>14548978

He reacted most strongly to you saying you should have died.

"Yes, perhaps that would be best to see." You say.

Dalak takes out a small syringe, withdrawing some blood from your left arm. He binds the small wound with a length of gauze, depositing your blood in a small, spinning glass container.

"Now, we wait. Dragon blood is thicker, so it will separate down at the bottom of the container." Dalak explains.

"Anything else to ask about while we wait?"

>>14549182
"It's simply that, with all the things that have been done to me, I'm surprised that I'm alive.
"Of course, luck had something to do with it, but still. Escaping from a Drow stronghold, after two months of continuous torture and finally losing my right arm? Then there was that whole devil fiasco with Tlazerak. That I'm still here, and mostly sane, is almost unbelievable."

>>14548772
Community of the Crystal Cave People

>>14549247

"It's simply that, with all the things that have been done to me, I'm surprised that I'm alive.
"Of course, luck had something to do with it, but still. Escaping from a Drow stronghold, after two months of continuous torture and finally losing my right arm? Then there was that whole devil fiasco with Tlazerak. That I'm still here, and mostly sane, is almost unbelievable." You maintain eye contact with Dalak as you say this.

He seems to stiffen up at this. "Well, we can do remarkable things if we need to." He attends to the spinning container. "A strong enough will can cause the body to keep functioning after vital signs should have ceased."

"My will wasn't strong at that time until I realized I could escape." You say. "The torture kept wearing me down, and I was just holding on to spite my tormentors."

Dalak suddenly seems quite flustered. "I don't know, alright? I don't have the answers to everything, you know."

>>14549422
Push him! Push him now!
"No, you don't have the answers to everything. But you DO have the answer to this: Why did the Gray Death and I survive, when we should have died?"

>>14549442

"No, you don't have the answers to everything. But you DO have the answer to this: Why did the Gray Death and I survive, when we should have died?" You say, grabbing him around the collar and shaking him.

"I said I don't know!" Dalak shouts.

"I have to deal with six kobolds competing for a bigger budget every day. You're lying." You say to him.

Felixhia comes out of the back room, a small hammer in his hand as he looks over at you with goggled eyes.

Dalak glares at you, obviously hurt.

>>14549493
Let go of Dalak's robe.
"Why are you hiding this? What possible end could it serve to hide that information from me?
"What makes me and the Gray Death different? Why did we survive what should have killed us?"

>>14549572

"Why are you hiding this? What possible end could it serve to hide that information from me?" You let go of his collar, and Felixhia stays in the doorway, unsure as to what he should be doing.

"What makes me and the Gray Death different? Why did we survive, what should have killed us?"

"Maybe it was the dragon's blood. Maybe that's proof that you have it." Dalak says, looking impatiently at the centrifuge.

>>14549641
Sigh in a frustrated manner.
"You know more than you're letting on. I only hope that your hiding of this doesn't come back to haunt us."

PUNCH HIM

>>14549824
Hey, as much as we want to know his secret, he's still our top scientist and the centerpiece of our entire scientific and technological R&D department.
We can't just go punching him.

>>14549728

You sigh, looking over at anything besides Dalak.

"You know more than you're letting on. I only hope that your hiding of this doesn't come back to haunt us."

"I- I'm sorry. But I can't accept one possibility as the truth. There has always been another explanation." Dalak says, pulling the lower container out of the centrifuge. "See? Dragon's blood. Always something else."

>>14549917
"As you said, that's only one possibility. You know more than you're letting on, Dalak. I only hope that we don't all come to regret this. If you get into a more talkative mood, you know where my office is."

Alright, go out, and we need to talk to Yuune. We need to see if the mages could set up some kind of warding circle to protect our dreams.

I think finding out that we have dragon's blood in us would have a little more... impact?

Holy shit is this still going on from last night?

>>14550015
Maybe.

>>14550033
Yep. VKO was kind enough to continue running it.

>>14549988

"As you said, that's only one possibility. You know more than you're letting on, Dalak. I only hope that we don't all come to regret this. If you get into a more talkative mood, you know where my office is." You walk out of his office, a place where at one time you had many good memories. Discovering the potential dark spot in Dalak's research has tainted those memories, leaving you wondering what could be behind it all. He is shaking, but you cannot bring yourself to break him.

You walk into Yuune's office, past his attendant in his small two-story building. The attendant lets you past. Your brother is sitting at his desk, filling out paperwork.

"Yuune, we need to talk." You say, sitting down at one of the chairs.

Yuune gestures to a chair, finishing up the paper he's working on as you take your seat.

>>14550138
"Yuune, I need you to consider the possibility that someone, and I don't know who yet, has acquired my old right arm, and used old Rosenkraft's Ring of Regeneration to create another one of me. I know it sounds ludicrous, but I need you to consider the possiblity.
"And this evil clone, for lack of a better description, is able to send nightmares at me. Do you have any way of warding me, or of scrying on this double?"

>>14550194

"Yuune, I need you to consider the possibility that someone, and I don't know who yet, has acquired my old right arm, and used old Rosenkraft's Ring of Regeneration to create another one of me. I know it sounds ludicrous, but I need you to consider the possibility."

Yuune looks calm, as always, as he waits for you to finish.

"And this evil clone, for lack of a better description, is able to send nightmares at me. Do you have any way of warding me, or of scrying on this double?" You ask.

He flips through a few books, then points out one particular page to you, with a small note.

The page in the book is on scrying techniques and counter scrying techniques.

"If he can scry on you through nondetection using his body as part of your own, you should be able to do the same thing to him. As far as protecting you from mental influence, I could see if we have anyone working on such a spell."

>>14550331
"Let's see if we can scry on him at all. If we are able to, or even if we come up against an anti-scrying field of some kind, it would at least prove that he exists."

>>14550363
Right. If we can prove that there really is a double of us, then we can better justify the expense of defensive wards and spells.
Also, it would be another item to use to get Dalak to tell us what he's hiding.

>>14550363

"Let's see if we can scry on him at all. If we are able to, or even if we come up against an anti-scrying field of some kind, it would at least prove that he exists." You say.

Yuune scribbles another note.

"-Read book to find good scrying techniques, keep attemps to a minimum.
-Find out who would have created duplicate of you and why
-Consider preserving spells to reduce need to rest. Scrolls?"

>>14550448
"Yes, I think scrolls would be best, if we have them available."

So let's go through the book to find appropriate scrying methods. We want to do this in one or two tries at most.

>>14550513

"Yes, I think scrolls would be best, if we have them available." You say. Yuune nods, and writes out a list that he hands off with a stack of papers to an assistant. Yuune has never been capable of casting spells, but he has become quite involved in the technological research spurned by Dalak's discoveries.

The page details that a piece of likeness, such as a body part, may rarely allow one to pierce a nondetection spell or similar protection. The nightmare spell, which is partially based off of the scrying spell, can be gotten rid of by a dispel evil spell cast while you are having the nightmare. The one thing you know is very tight around here is divine magic.

>>14550688
>The one thing you know is very tight around here is divine magic.
That's really the major trade item from the surface that we would import. That, and perhaps agricultural tools and supplies.

Anyway, let's see if we can use ourself as the focus of the scrying spell, to attempt to pierce whatever defenses that our double has put up.

>>14550725

You ready yourself for meditation, heading into a private sanctum. You concentrate on finding yourself, but in another time and place. Someone who is not you. You feel your body begin to vibrate as your mind's eye opens, giving you a glimpse into another part of the world.

>>14550829
Okay, awaiting what the scrying reveals to us.

You see a right hand, the same color as your skin, covered in faded tattoos you recognize from your days as a scout. The nails are long, and the hand bears the marks of numerous cuts and scratches. You view retreats as you see your counterpart, a kobold with black scaling patterns around his eyes, as well as a distinct yellowish coloration. You recall seeing the same thing in your grandfather. He wears a set of belts around his midsection along with a half-robe, and you can see that his body bears these same scars as on his hand, and a series of small barred piercings around the base of the neck and upper chest. You recall that the tradition is sometimes practiced amongst the drow, but that even the drow do not know when it started. His arm moves backwards, into a wooden pillar, and you realize that he is training in a small facility much like that of your unarmed fighters, but with notable differences. The striking surfaces are obviously made for a much taller creature, and there is no bracing mat to allow those who fall during combat to avoid injury. Your double strikes several times in one second with quick jabs to one of the surfaces, rattling the wood from where it stands. He breathes out slowly, a sign you can tell means his training regiment is over.

>>14551066
Mynthar should silently think to himself, "A double. Trained by Drow. To be a master of the physical, while I mastered the arcane. Will cliches never cease?"

>>14551066
Can we get an idea of where in the world this place is?

He proceeds out of the facility, where you can see it is completely dark. He proceeds out across a black stone floor, where you can see there are numerous strange marks on the floor, small dots in groups every so often. He passes no other creatures as he heads through an endless maze of passages and finally reaches a door that appears to have been made for a much larger creature. He waves his hand, opening it. He proceeds inside.

>>14551133

If he is a master of the physical instead of the arcane, then who sent the nightmares?
I think that, until proven otherwise, we must assume that he has arcane powers at least equal to our own. He just happens to also has physical training as well.

A dangerous opponent.

>>14551304
You have a point.
He DID say that *he* had worked on that particular nightmare spell.
Having both sorceror and monk levels? And high enough to be able to cast that kind of spell?
He will be a very dangerous opponent indeed.

On the interior is a large set of sculpted crystals linked with wire. huge images projected on the walls with large tilted alters, flanked by metallic pillars. He heads over to one of the alters and presses down on it in a rhythmic pattern. You see a series of symbols like the ones in the corridors appear on the walls, and he stands there, studying them.

>>14551449
Does Mynthar recognize any of this technology? It sounds fairly advanced. Possibly ancient magitek?

You can see him gesture along the alter, and cause the image on the wall to move. He pressed on a few of the symbols, and a series of images depicting what appear to be completely black humanoids with white eyes locked in hand to hand combat. He practices a few of the motions with an imaginary opponent. After some time, he presses a switch on the side of the altar, and the room goes dark.

You have no idea what the hell the thing he just used was.

He walks back into the hallways.

>>14551608
It seems to be some kind of training manual, but very advanced.

Anyway, can we zoom out and get a sense of where, geographically, this location is?

He heads into what appears to be a re-purposed cafeteria, attending to a large pot of boiling liquid. He pours himself a small bowl and eats quickly. You hear a voice speak to him in drow.

"Tayn, how has your training progressed?" A quiet, feminine voice says.

Tayn kneels in front of the woman, who stands too far away from the scrying sensor to be observed. "I have learned techniques 127-189 during the last week."

You hear a snapping sound as a whip cracks across his back. He does not move.

"You must not learn them, you must master them."

"Yes mistress." Tayn answers, still kneeling.

>>14551656

You can't. The scrying sensor can only follow the person designated.

>>14551789
Do he is serving a Drow, is he?

Continue scrying; hopefully, we can see something that will tell us where this is, or who his mistress is.

>>14551789

A slave?

On the one hand, this means that he has masters, which means we have even more enemies.

It does, however, open up the possibility of him not being at all satisfied with his position in life. We must assume for now that he is a fanatic who wants to be our enemy, but there is a chance that he could be turned to our side, or at least freed and convinced to trouble us no more.

>>14551842
A possibility, but I don't think we should bank anything on it.
I would rather place some more resources into the development of kobold powered armor, using the prosthetics and NAJA technology.

>>14551828

"I will kill him mistress." He says, his tail swaying off to one side.

"Why?" The voice answers.

"Because I hate him." Tayn says, his right hand clenching.

"Good. I will check up next week for your report, to make sure you proceed on schedule." The voice says, before walking off with several other footsteps.

Tayn remains kneeling until the person exits the room, then rubs where the whip stuck him. An evil grin crosses his face as he digs his nails into the bruise.

>>14551924
Hmm...he might actually hate us for some obscure reason. That would make turning him unfeasible.
Let's see what else he does for the duration of the scry.

Oh! And cast Detect Magic through the scry! Might as well see if we can find out any more information.

If he tries to send us another nightmare, we've got leverage on him now. All we have to do is imply that he's better than the bitch holding the whip.

And that's where we'll end for today. Next game will be on Saturday at 18:00. I'll still leave this open for questions about the setting, well-known characters etc.

>>14551983
A KOBOLD CHOOSES
A SLAVE OBEYS

So, this is in the same setting as Sorcerer Quest, right?

Any chance of intermingling of the two stories as background elements?

>>14552007
Ha! I lolled.

>>14551985
Thanks for running it, VKO, See you next week.
Oh, would this picture represent what one of our military NAJA units looks like?

>>14551985
We have a trading presence within a halfing outpost, right? Could you expand a little on that? Is it above-ground or below? Is it a major trade hub or a small one in the boondocks? Is our presence, and more importantly, our advanced prosthetics, known on the surface, as well as among the other subterranean races? Or is knowledge about us currently obscure?

Also, we have hidden surface farms, right? Are they more experimental plots, or are they going to become full-blown industrial-scale farms?

>>14552207

Your aboveground outpost exports a small amount of ioun ore, as well as metals and other such goods. Your prosthetics are not very well known, but some above ground might suspect the tightly armored limbs are not natural. The guns are disguised magically for your peacekeepers to use.

From what you know about the halfling community of Fording Rest, it is the only halfling community in existence that isn't moving across the Red Plains.

The farming communities are experimental at present.

>>14553092
If war is going to be coming to us, we should perhaps expand those surface holdings. We need more food, what with Klisszag's tribe joining us, as well as preparing food stockpiles in case of siege.

>>14552026

The standard NAJA walkers have four crab or insect-like legs, with a kind of half-wall around the main body, which is a flat surface roughly ten feet across. Sometimes furniture or half-walls are incorporated into the design of the central body, and repeating crossbows or heavy lineguns are mounted on each side. Those with more legs, such as six or eight, are built in larger sizes, and occasionally in different shapes. One kobold, usually not a gunner, has to operate the machine while the rest may move freely about it. Most are left open on the top so that in cavernous areas, the NAJA unit does not find it difficult to see above it, nor is it hard for the soldiers to bail out if necessary. In lower ground areas, The NAJA are typically encased in a common metal like iron with a few small doors big enough for kobolds to squeeze in and out of for evacuation, but otherwise only openings for weapons.

>>14552026

But yeah, same basic design. The most common kind of ioun ore is blue, so there'd be a bluish glow coming from any of the "muscled" parts.

>>14552008

All I have to say is:

Dragons.