Sour Spring Hollow

[Guang]

lol. I'm just waiting for achance to roll a crit or a fumble on the tables.

[fireinthedust]

OOC: Yeah, but I'm down to my last PC (and her powerful goat companion), and I just looked at the ability sheet I posted: 1hp for Amalthia. Fun times!

[Guang]

OOC: You've still got the guy lost in the woods - Morphoi, is it? He may outlive us all.

[fireinthedust]

OOC: You've still got the guy lost in the woods - Morphoi, is it? He may outlive us all.

I thought of that. My guess is we'll see him show up in a cut scene, or as "one of theeeeeem" like Donald Sutherland at the end of Body Snatchers. Maybe it'll be like Dark City, when we discover... (SPOILER)!

Or this funnel is all about Samsara, where to escape the suffering of the houses we need to get off the gerbil-wheel of playing along with the houses and just run away?

[Guang]

OOC: We *are* on the next-to-last house. Hope we aren't missing too many clues.

[fireinthedust]

OOC: I am the *worst* at mysteries. considering the middle house was a mimic, and the first was pretty empty save the devil's thorn, I'm guessing the corn husk dolls are the key. Maybe we can use the one for Rainbow to bring her back to life? Or at least put her soul to rest. I think I have an idea, but it'll have to wait until Amalthia can catch her breath in her escape.

[Guang]

OOC: I am the *worst* at mysteries. considering the middle house was a mimic, and the first was pretty empty save the devil's thorn, I'm guessing the corn husk dolls are the key. Maybe we can use the one for Rainbow to bring her back to life? Or at least put her soul to rest. I think I have an idea, but it'll have to wait until Amalthia can catch her breath in her escape.

OOC: Sounds good. I'm planning on killing these 2 creatures, even if I have to bleed a bit for the priviledge., so should have the time to thoroughly investigate a few turns from now.

[Raven_Crowking]

Sorry about the long delay; will roll dice & resolve tomorrow!

[Raven_Crowking]

Luc's holy water misses the creature, striking Amalthia instead (10+1) if she is AC 11 - dampening her, perhaps, but causing no damage.

Matt steps up and (15+1=16) cracks the same beast in the head with his staff (3 dam), felling it.

Gran steps up to his vacated side of the doorway and helps the goat by slinging a stone (2+1+1=4) at the gravebeast it's fighting with. She also calls out "Get out of there!" to both Amala and Matt. Fortunately, while she doesn't hit the beast, her bullet doesn't come close to the goat, either.

Amalthia dodges back as the others splatter the beast with their attacks, and ducks through the doorway.

"Come on, Sir Cudsworth! We have to get out of here!" She calls over her shoulder.

The goat, meanwhile, gave another butt to the nearest rat-thing, missing, and then leapt away towards the nearest window. However, attempting to leap away gives his opponent a free attack. 18+1=19 is a clear hit with a bite, doing 1 damage to the goat (who has 6 total hp).

The goat gets away. The creature attempts to gore Matt (8+2=10; 2 damage if that hits).

[fireinthedust]

Amalthia, greatly relieved that Sir Cudsworth is alive, motions for the others to follow her.

"Matt, get out of there!"

She looks around dagger ready to slash at any creatures or phantoms attacking them. She looks around to see if the corn husk doll they'd kicked out of the way is visible (as does Sir Cudsworth), hoping to snatch it up and bring it with them as a potential clue (or eat it, because goat). Otherwise, she heads to the next cabin.

"Gran! Hurry!"

OOC: Perception check to see if the doll is visible? 1d20+1=18! (added the +1 as, iirc, looking around for things is luck based? I don't want to burn luck)

[Guang]

"Get out of there!" Matt turns to follow the goat through the window, and gets gored through the side of his face and neck, falling limp and spraying blood everywhere.

Gran narrowed her eyes, wishing death on the foul beast as she slung another stone at it: 6+1+1=8

Marissa screamed "Matt!" and she and Nan and Luc rush in to finish the beast.

OOC: remaining attack rolls in next post once I figure out weapons and bonuses. Just had a morbid thought and thought I'd share - gallstone dice. Getting a bunch taken out on the 24th - think I should go forit?

[Guang]

Nan tries to hit the beast with her shovel (1+0=1), but she trips and falls down the hole in the floor the beasts came out of. (2 on 1d4 on fumble roll. Missed save)

OOC: Woot! finally a fumble! Watching these guys is entertaining..

Luc clubs the creature over the head (12+1=13) and Marissa snatches up her late husband's staff, ramming it down the creature's throat ( 16+0=16)

OOC: So there is an attack of opportunity mechanic in DCC.....hadn't noticed that in the book. Any idea where it is? (This feels like DCC DM training, as well as being a blast. Does anyone have a page ref for the Attack of opportunity rule, or is it personal preference?)

OOC: Wow, this random/character funnel thing completely shakes up the game. I've never been completely comfortaboe playing female characters, and now three out of four of my surviving characters are female - and I'm completely comfortable with that.


.

[fireinthedust]

OOC: Oh sure. What I like is that I wouldn't think to build characters like this if I was doing point buy. It's great for creative inspiration. The funnels can be brutal, though, and the instant-kill traps out of nowhere are a bit much for me (though that mimic cabin is hilarious). Had a perfect wizard build, but what looked like a fountain turned out to be an ooze. Heart-breaking! Definitely the sort of game to play with friends you like hanging out with.

[Raven_Crowking]

Grabbing the doll, Amalthia hurries out of the cabin, into the still clearing beyond. (I assume she is then heading to the northeast cabin, that has not been explored?)

Nan tumbles into the noisome hole the foul dog-like things burst out of...it is damp and stinks of the grave. Luckily, it is not deep, and she takes no damage from her fall.

Luc and Marissa's combined damage (2 and 1) is just enough to kill the creature.

OOC Stuff: No character should die if burning Luck would have saved them. In my first Sailors on the Starless Sea game, one player burned all his Luck to defeat a creature the group would otherwise have fallen to. The 0-level PC died, but he died like a boss.

Check out DCC Core Rulebook, page 95: "Once a character is engaged in melee, he cannot back away without opening himself up to attack. If a character or monster withdraws from an active melee – whether to retreat, move to a new position, or attempt some action – his opponents
immediately receive a single free attack."

+1d12 to the Wilderlands as being a valuable resource.

Would gallstones even survive the rigors of die-rolling?

+1d20 about the funnel. The characters become more fun, and gain more personality, during their early misadventures!

2 XP for all survivors.

[Guang]

OOC: Thanks. Now I gotta read up on luck. I don't really get the strategy of when to burn it at zero level. Any hit is going to kill you anyway, so how do you know when to use it?

IC: Nan searches the hole to see what she might find. Then they help her out and together search the bedroom, main room, and the rest of the cottage, with Nan in the lead.

[fireinthedust]

Amalthia is ready to run, but aware that if she leaves the group she will likely die alone (well, there's Sir Cudsworth, but she wouldn't want him to have to do all the work...)

The she-elf helps Nan and the others, and along the way she gathers up all the corn dolls she can find and gives them a good look to see if she recognizes any of them. When the group is ready, she goes with them to the next house.

"Look at all these dolls: you think these were our friends, or the people who lived here before? This one looks like Rainbow."

[Raven_Crowking]

It seems that these creatures were burrowing....there is loose soil to the west southwest, but a person probably couldn't push herself through their tunnel as they would have to move through the damp, loose soil, pushing it out of the way as they went.

There are several corn husk dolls. Gathering them all together, there seems to be one for each member of the party who has died already. That includes poor Matt, who has only now died....It also includes Morphoi, who ran into the woods on his own. The dolls seem to be recently made, unlike everything else here.

[Raven_Crowking]

Searching the house, you find some other things that might be useful: 50' of rope, a short bow, a dozen arrows, 2 knives, some old clothing, a lantern, 2 flasks of oil, some dried meat and pickled vegetables in crockery jars, a tarot deck, 1 sp, 8 cp, firewood laid near the fireplace....In the main bedroom, on a shelf near the bed, is a book. Its leather cover is stained by blood and sweat, and a tattered ribbon is sewn into the binding as a place marker. Worn gilt lettering on the cover indicates its title: The Wayward Companion.

[Guang]

OOC: Gran'll take the bow and arrows. You're down to your last PC fire. .. Go nuts. Take what you like, and I'll distribute the rest.

[fireinthedust]

Amalthia wants a flask of oil, the Wayward Companion, and the Tarot deck. "I want to look over these, see if there's anything useful. If any of you know about tarot decks or witches and local legends, that could be very helpful. Maybe we should take a pit stop and gather our senses, think this through?"

The she-elf goes up to the second floor (away from the hole) and looks at the things she's collected.

Amalthia turns the tarot deck over, moving the cards so she can see the pictures but not removing them from the deck (ie: not "drawing" them).

After that, she opens the book to the point where the ribbon opens. She is unsure whether this is a spellbook or a normal book someone in the cabin was reading, but she believes it may hold some clue to whatever is going on here.

OOC: Thanks, Guang! My luck with funnels is only so-so. If you have characters who, assuming any of us escape, you'd like ot take up wizardry (and this is a spellbook), Amalthia is fine with comparing notes.

[Guang]

OOC: A real-life luck score of 9 or 10?
I might be a little slow posting this round. Gallbladder surgery tomorrow and I'm kinda freaking out.

[fireinthedust]

OOC: I just want to see that gall bladder dice set!

[Raven_Crowking]

Guang, good luck!

I am out of town, and will be back Tuesday.

[Guang]

OOC: Thanks to you both. Back home, but pretty tired. Had at least 25 of the little buggers. I don't think they'll work as dice. Too small, too light, too irregular, and they leave marks. Probably too disgusting for anything other than a horror game anyway.

OOC: I'm going to write out my surviving 4 chars here before attempting the last cabin. I'm getting confused as to who has what.

[fireinthedust]

No dice: Awww. Also: eeeeeew!