Finn Razzel cut his teeth on the rough streets of Azer.  Its busy markets, back alleys and crowded main thoroughfares were all his classroom.  From knife fighting and fisticuffs to learning how to distract someone using his left hand while his right was picking their pocket.  Finn taught himself how to persuade people into listening to his own particular point of view.  He was molded by the proverbial school of hard knocks.

In one such lesson Finn intercepted a courier who was delivering a package.  Razzel happened to know, thanks to a tip, that the package contained a small pouch of gems on its way to its owner.  Finn chatted the young courier up directing the conversation to what the courier was doing criss crossing the city near dusk.  As planned Finn got the courier to admit that he was delivering valuables, so Finn warned that local gangs were on the lookout to mug couriers carrying baubles, so Razzel suggested that the runner hide the goods in his pants.  Quickly Finn asked the courier to hand over the bag for a demonstration.  A young Razzel took the pouch and tucked it in his own trousers, then adjusted it to look like his genitalia.  But, when he took the bag out and handed it back it was the fake he had prepared in advance.  When the courier arrived at his destination an hour later imagine his shock when in front of his rather unforgiving employer the bag was emptied to reveal plain garden stones.  Sadly, the boss was well connected and it didn't take him long to find the naughty Finn, who was busy spending his ill gotten gain.  The young street urchin received quite the beat down.  Though it was his first it surely was far from his last.

The world is a messy place.  Sure, cities and towns are filled with brewers and bartenders, cobblers and carpenters, soldiers and sailors.  The world of organized men runs like clockwork according to commerce and the business of living.  But, outside of that nest of safety, the world is a scary place.  There are monsters, and treasure, and a man can make himself rich if he's willing to take on the former.  The appearance of the giant bettle, especially after their cryptic warning from the village's leader, is of no surprise.  Finn simply reacts as any mercenary would by grabbing his weapons and lending a hand.


OOC:
Grab my bow, quiver and ax, then run at fastest speed to Bjorn.

Rondald spins n his heels when he hears Terri call out. Her voice riveted him to action, as it does when there is urgency in it. There could be no doubting the urgency in it now, and following her eyes, he saw why. The Northman was in danger. Instinctively, he slid his shield from his back and headed over to help at full speed.

It was only coming from a life of strife that Bjorn kept his composure, dropped his waterskin and readied his ax and shield. Fighting at the edge of a cliff next to the water was not tactically sound against an enemy popping out of a lake. He clanged his ax on his shield,  "Come on then! You're gonna work for this meal like the rest of us have to!" He was really just measuring up his fore before coming down with a measured chop.

OoC:

19:50, Yesterday: Bjorn Hundahaf rolled 9 using 3d6.  Perception (10).
11:12, Today: Bjorn Hundahaf rolled 13 using 3d6.  Attack (14).

Drop water skin, draw and ready weapon/shield
Evaluate
Attack
 

Such a hardy stock of adventurers seem hardly perturbed by the attack of a giant beetle, each of them rummaging through belongings or charging headlong into battle.

First out of the gate, Terri sprints with all speed, the scales of her chest armor jangling from the movement.  She reaches the shore some stone's throw away from the monster and Bjorn where she stops short, pulling out an arrow and knocks it in her bow, ready to pull back and fire in a moment.  Gustav too starts out quickly, though the heavy weight of his armor and the slipping debris of the lakebed seem to slow his travel significantly.

Judoc takes the time only to grab his staff before starting himself into his spellwork, closing his eyes as he concentrates with intent, stretching out a hand in front of him with the command, "Volent!" before he rises into the skies with the speed of a hurled spear, streaking ahead and overtaking all others in a moment.  Aiah too, departs from her dinner in a flap of her wings, soaring upward into the skies. 

Magnus, perhaps takes the longest to prepare, though to watch him is truly a spectacle.  He whips his mail links out of his bag in a single moment, and thrusts his arms through the sleeves in the next without so much as catching a horn on a mail link.  Before even another breath he is pulling his shield off his mule and thrusting it onto his arm, though all the frenzy still leaves him well behind behind the others and yet without his weapon...

The real fight, however, is occurring on the far shore, where Bjorn is making his every effort to avoid becoming the dinner for an over-sized cockroach.  Pulling his axe from his belt and dropping his waterskin, Bjorn is ready for the first assault the bug offers, twisting his body fully out of the way as the bug leaps towards him with two mandibles extended, its mouth clicking and yawning wide in anticipation.  However, the quick action causes Bjorn to stumble lower, his right leg plunging calf-deep into the lake as he reaches down to catch hiself with his left hand.  Bug and man both reposition themselves, Bjorn sizing up his foe as the bug lashes out with his forward most extremity.  The blow hits Bjorn just across his high leg with a dull slap, though the Northman is confident that his study leathers took the brunt of the blow.

Now, Bjorn makes for his own attack and swings his axe down towards any bit of the monster he can hit, but again the footing foils his action, and rocks crumble from underfoot as Bjorn's axe goes wide.  Now both feet splash into the water up to his knees, the rocky slope ending at that point into the silty bed of the lake.  To make things worse, the roach lunges again, and this time Bjorn is not ready!  Twin limbs of exoskeleton clutch at Bjorn around the midsection and Bjorn can feel the insect hairs around the things's head vibrating expectantly just inches from his face!



Any action/defense/or movement over a rate of 1 requires a DX-2 roll on grey tiles

OOC:  Thanks for the patience guys.  A decent bit happened in those turns so lets just do two seconds action this time.  Most importantly, Bjorn is 'grappled' by the bug.  You have a ready axe in your right hand.  You may attempt to stand up and break free on the next turn with a contest of strength.  Terri has a ready bow and a knocked arrow, Gustav has a ready knife and saber, Rondald has his shield ready in his left hand and axe in his right, Finn has his bow in his left hand, quiver slung over his shoulder, and axe in his right hand.  Though it seems to fly in the face of reality, I decided to take pity on Magnus and not penalize him (too much) for his decision to leave his armor in his baggage which essentially amounts to good roleplay since I didn't penalize the people with extra encumbrance with more fatigue.  With speed much envied by soldiers doing uniform races in boot camp, Magnus digs out his mail from his bag, slings it over his shoulders unhooks his shield from his mule and is halfway through readying it; it will take one more second to ready his shield and one more to ready his axe after that.  Judoc is now hovering six or so feet above the ground, traveling at a near inhuman clip, he has an unready staff in his right hand.  Bjorn - taking a shield off your back is one second and readying it takes another two.  That in addition to the fact that once you had it readied, it is a penalty to all your skills in close combat, I had you abandon the action once you realized the bugs were getting in close...  Not that it helped you any, I rolled a few DX-2 rolls for you keeping your footing on the slippery rock and failed all of them...  Everyone, please remember to declare an active defense - if you declare nothing I'll assume a normal dodge with no feverish or retreating bonuses.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:30, Sat 18 May 2019.

Gustav notices more bubble streams and ripples   There are more Joining the Frenzy!

He looks to see how he can best help with out being attacked by another beetle, he slows and Moves across the Rocks Aiming to get close enough for his Saber to cut off feelers or stab eyes out. Maybe he can find an unarmored spot that will let him cut leg tendons ...  his mind races as this is all new, he'd never seen a bug this gigantic, and they seem to be pack beasts that all worked to bring down prey.

In reply to Gustav Du Meseries (msg # 50):

Rondald, noticing the others coming, moved to Terri to protect her.

"Terri, get back from the waters edge! There are more coming...Bjorn, get your ass back here if you can."

He stands ready to strike the first beetle that comes into range.

Finn's legs beat fast upon the hard ground.  He knows fighting a giant beetle should be no different than fighting a tiny beetle...using a tiny weapon.  And though Razzel has never tackled such a challenge this will be a cinch.

Then several of his comrades announce that more of the over grown insects are coming.  So, they have a gang.  Well, we have a Minotaur.  And a powerful wizard.  And it goes with saying, Finn.


OOC:
Run at fastest speed to Bjorn for 1 round.  Then stop to Concentrate.

Bjorn struggles against his captor, through strained grunts, "Working on it!"

1st round
15:27, Today: Bjorn Hundahaf rolled 15 using 3d6.  Strength. Nope.

2nd
15:27, Today: Bjorn Hundahaf rolled 7 using 3d6.  Strength.

Active Defense - Retreating

Magnus's heart hammered in his chest as he hustled to gather his things. He had seen enough in life to know what he was expected to do and to set about it without panicky haste, but it was still difficult to focus on getting dressed rather than looking at what was going on.

The hauberk was a beautiful thing, a custom commission utilizing supple leather and three different sized links placed according to ease of motion, protection and weight. Even the neck was left open, cinched with buckles if time allowed, but large enough when loose to more easily accommodate Magnus's horns with some practiced movements.

He shrugged it on and it fell to his knees, then snatched up his shield and axe, the latter brand new as well, the bearded steel blade thin and sharp without so much as a smudge to mar it. It was obvious where the money from their last job had gone.

He turned and saw the gesturing, heard the shouting and confirmed the movement in the water. How were they even going to hurt these things? He wondered to himself. Even the tiny ones were tough as nails.

He moved towards the beach, trying to pick and angle that would prevent any of those approaching from getting behind him, or at the stock animals.

The air rushes past as Judoc rockets forward, and as always, the mage revels in the feeling of leaving earth’s gravity behind. He can fly far faster than this, but for now, this particular spell will suffice for reaching Bjorn and roasting these chitinous beasts.

As Judoc notes the ripples in the water, his eyes narrow. One, two, three. . . How many of the things were there, and how far onto land would they venture? ”Get away from the water!” he calls out as he continues to fly toward Bjorn’s position.

As he closes in on the first beetle, he mimes the shaping a ball of fire. Judoc draws the mana from the surrounding environment and begins to convert it into pyrokinetic energy. Hard chitinous shells or not, all beasts fear fire.

OOC: Concentrate.

Feet fly as the whole of the group rushes to the fray, spitting up a cloud of fine fine earth in the churn.  Glances farther into the lake prove the warnings of several of the crew as wide, red and black shells become to be visible just piercing the water in several places trailing eddies as they speed through the water.

Gustav, the closest to the fray grinds his feet through the silt, approaching his compatriot within a sword-slash as he slows his pace to a stop.  Judoc too is close, though his spell magics him directly overhead the battle in a moment, where his eyes unfocus, concentrating on some further arcane manipulation.

Below, the battle rages, Bjorn stands to his feet, attempting to throw off the monster, but the thing's limbs are impressively strong for their thin construction.  Instead of shirking the thing off, Bjorn finds himself taken off balance by a rapid flurry of clicking legs, his body crashing to the earth below where he falls waist deep in the lake, his head striking a rough stone of the cliff as he falls, sparking a flurry of stars across his vision.

Boom!

A second one of the things crashes into the fray, though obviously had not expected the Northman to fall, it crashes headfirst into his mate knocking his grip loose from Bjorn who sputters away, kicking his feet into the lakebed to gain as much distance as he can.

Twang!

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"  The scream of the giant bug is ear piercingly loud, enough to drown out Terri's own shout, "Eat shit bug!" Even with the incredible noise, it's hard to imagine the pain the thing must feel for Terri's arrow has buried itself through to the fletching in a narrow seam between the shell on its back and underbelly.  The thing seems to pause for the moment, though its new mate shows no such hesitation.  Taking the place of the last, it grapples at the now supine Bjorn who's attempts to scurry away do carry him free of the danger.  He finds himself gripped again by two strong arms his head precariously close to the now rippling waters of the lake...

Rondald, sensing the danger to his wife, runs to her side, where even now another of the things encroaches.  Finn too runs up to the eastern edge, where he drops his bow and begins to concentrate on his own spell.



OOC:  Let's post another two rounds this time.  I'm immensely distracted at the moment by the cacophony of my household, but I think I got all the details here.  Rondald has ready axe and shield, Terri how has an empty bow.  Finn has dropped his bow and is currently concentrating, his spell will be cast at the beginning of the next turn.  Bjorn still has an axe in his hand, although he is supine and all attacks are at -4 and defenses at -3.  He is also grappled, which has it's own penalties.  Judoc will have his spell cast at the beginning of the next turn.  Gustav still has a ready Saber and knife, one in each hand.  Magnus has a ready sheild and axe and is making his way over to the fight.  Bug 1 is the one injured by Terri.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:25, Fri 23 Nov 2018.

Never in his relatively short life has the young street rat turned leader seen such a sight.  A huge lake beetle emerging from the water and attacking grown men.  This is the stuff of fireside tavern tales meant to cause wonder and frighten the gullible.  But here he is, facing down not one but five of these unbelievable monstrosities.  Finn has heard stories in real terms, teachers of magic have rarely spoken of such things.  Experiments from mad warlocks gone wrong, accidentally flubbed spells leading to misfires that have erroneously conjured fairy tale beasts, that sort of hoo hah.  So to see it first hand isn't a complete shock still, but, it is fantastical.  Thanks to his keenly honed street skills and years of facing incredible danger from an untold number of urban sources Razzel is not fazed by the appearance of a family of chitinous bugs.  He merely lumbers into battle almost shouting, ”Me first.”


OOC:
Move to attack #3.  Evaluate and Step until it gets in range.

This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 21:26, Fri 23 Nov 2018.

"Finn?" Magnus drew the name out, half shout, half call as the Minotaur hustled towards the shore. His hooves began to sink deeper into the moist sandy soil as he drew nearer the waters edge.

He did not want to get needlessly close to the water given his heavy panopoly of war that he had brought along on the expedition.

Gustav aims a thrust at the joint between the bugs head and it's thorax while swing his Main gauche at one of the critters feelers. His efforts seem marginal at best ...
This message was last edited by the player at 21:46, Fri 23 Nov 2018.

"Terri, GET BACK! I do not want to have a tug of war with one of these damn things with you as the rope! That bow has enough range that you can get back to safety!" Rondald urges, more sharply than before given that she did not respond last time. Seeing the big Northman struggle in the beetles grip, he was nervous. He waited where he was, ready to whack the thing as it came.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:02, Sat 01 Dec 2018.

Hovering in the air above the overgrown cockroach currently menacing Bjorn, Judoc almost laughs at the absurdity of the situation. He who has defeated demons, master thieves, and dread necromancers, tasked with squashing a few bugs. But the creature’s mandibles look powerful, and if Bjorn should be dragged underwater, he could very well drown, so Judoc forms a ball of flame in his hand and takes aim, preparing to incinerate the giant insect’s carapace.

OOC: Cast the spell, aim, and throw at the nearest giant bug.

All around the vicious black water beetles swarm, more and more streaming towards Bjorn who struggles at the water's edge only feet from a sure watery demise.  Man and Beetle wrestle in a life and death struggle, and though Bjorn digs the souls of his feet in with as much as he can, the silty bed of the lake disintegrates with the least pressure and Bjorn finds himself moving again ever farther into the water, the surface now lapping at his chin.  Gustav, his one savior brave enough to fare the horde with him stands with saber in hand and thrusts it towards the gap where the thing's head emerges, hitting the shell soundly and burying the wide tip of his saber several inches into the chitinous outer layers.

"EEEEEEEEEEE!"  The thing shrieks, twisting its body away from the blow.  The movement his just enough for Bjorn to throw the thing off and scuttle backwards on hands while attempting to right himself.  The separation proves to be worth the effort, for just at that moment, the wizard, Judoc hurls a fireball towards the fray, though it merely sizzles the shell of the beast as it bursts into flame.

But for each foe that is injured, it seems there is another handful that swarm to renew the assault!  Just as Gustav is celebrating his hit, another of the things lifts from the water, its massive legs shuttling it forward with amazing speed as it rams Gustav straight in the gut!  Not expecting the attack, Gustav falls to his rump, slashing forward with his sword in a blow that just pricks into the thick flesh of the thing's underbelly but it does nothing to slow the beast as it wraps two broomstick arms around Gustav at the knees, preparing to drag the swordsman into the deep...

Just a few leaps away, Finn and Rondald converge as another of the things makes his way to the shoreline, attempting to ram Terri like his brother had done to Gustav.  Rondald however, is ready.  First his axe cleaves downward as the monster approaches the shoreline, taking the insect entirely by surprise.  The blow tears a massive gash through the shell and thorax, spitting gurgles of black ichor across the water; then Rondald steps forth with his massive shield braced upon his fist and shoulder, swatting aside the thing's momentum and aim.

Terri seems nonplussed as she hisses back at her husband.  "How chivalrous to chide me on my safety...  If you haven't noticed they are killing Bjorn!"  She already has another arrow in place, knocked and pulled back by her ear as she chooses her target from the menagerie that now gathers around the Northman, climbing atop each other for the opportunity to feed.

Not ignoring their own foe, both Finn and Rondald slash another attack each, opening wider and wider wounds that bleed with sticky black... wounds that would surely kill any man.

Magnus meanwhile, presses one foot after another, continuing his charge towards the front...



OOC:  Let's do another two rounds.  Bug #3 has sustained massive injuries from several sources and is currently stunned.  #1 took Teri's arrow and seems sluggish, but still fighting.  #2 has taken both Gustav's saber thrust and a fireball, though he seems little the worse for wear.  #4 has taken a mostly ineffectual thrust to the torso.  All others are unharmed.  Bjorn is now has made it to one knee and is ungrappled, though there are now several of the things that are crawling all around you.  Gustav is in a sitting position and grappled around the legs by one of the monsters.

Gustav struggles to get free, quite unsuccessfully ...

"Finn!" Magnus punctuated a few seconds later. "Should we pull back?!" This one was half question, half suggestion. Magnus did not feel it was his place to "call the shots" so to speak, he felt fortunate just to be counted among them and had been touched time and time again by their acceptance of his inhuman quirks and the trouble they had taken on by travelling with him.

From from his very slightly elevated position off to the side of the melee the numbers were starting to look fairly grim, and add to that they gained little if anything by seeing the fight through in his own mind.

He did not stop to belabor the point however, but rather charged on to Gustav's aid and once close enough only slowed a half step to get his balance before he brought the keen edge of his new axe down towards the side of the huge beetles carapace in a blur of oiled steel.

Rondald answer he calmly, but firmly.

"So you want to join him in dying? You know that first rule of combat is to NOT DIE YOURSELF. Sacrificing yourself will only make his situation worse. Stay back and use your bows range to help him. Feeding yourself to a frickin bug will do nothing for him."

Turning to Magnus he adds

"I don't think he can, but perhaps if you can get Bjorn back a little we can pull back."

He brings his axe down on the creature, attempting to cut it in half.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:03, Sat 01 Dec 2018.

Finally able to get his feet, Bjorn tries to bring down his ax on Gustav's aggressor, "Damn insects!" He wasn't about to let the damn things take his companion.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:15, Sun 25 Nov 2018.

"Should we pull back?!", the big mans words ring in his ears over and over like the echoes of a churchbell.  "Should we pull back?!"  Why???!!!, Finn thinks incredulously.

When Razzel was a young man and he had just left home to forge his own life as an entrepreneur working on the raw streets of Azer he partnered with two other boys around his age.  The three of them did what young boys without training and experience are forced to do from a lack of options, they beg and they steal from merchants and passerby.  It wasn't long before some other early teens moved in on their territory.  Merchants will tolerate a little shop lifting, but push it too far and they'll have the watch setting traps and throwing the offenders in a hole.  Finn knew instinctively it was his band, or theirs.  One of them would win that turf and the other would have to go.   So Razzel convinced his allies to fight.

The young leader can hear the unmistakable movements of his friend Magnus coming up from behind.  Even before the cultured beast opens his mouth Finn knows he is there, the stride, the sound of the clopping of his hooves, the jangle of his armor and weapons.  Those sounds are unique.  With his back turned Razzel points with his left hand stretched straight out.  ”Terri.  Magnus.  Help them.”


OOC:
I'm sort of a realist when it comes to GURPS combat, since the rounds are 1 second each.  If Finn doesn't talk a lot its because I am trying to stay to a somewhat realistic model.  I'm not intentionally blowing anyone off.

Though Terri does not so much as look at her husband her words are punctuated with ice.  "I. am. not. dying!"

"Twang!"

Her arrow sails through the air towards the maelstrom of insects, burying itself deep in the left wing of the bug now gripping at Gustav's knees.  The bug's screams and twitches of pain give the swordsman just enough wiggle room to remove himself from the insect and scramble backwards on the sands.

"But perhaps you could open your eyes and find someone who is!"

Her next arrow is already in hand as she makes to fit it in the string, already sizing down her next target as she takes another step forward into the melee.

OOC:  While I agree with Finn on the point for conversation in combat for purposes of combat action, I'm fine with putting larger amounts of text for the purposes of role play.  So for example, Finn saying giving tactical direction for the group in excess of about a few words would be a faux pas, while Rondald bickering back and forth with his wife about her safety would not.  Also, please don't feel that the GM's voice is coming out through any of the NPC's.  I'm not trying to give you messages... but I am married... and I have a feeling that I might enjoy this Rondald/Terri relationship more and more in the current adventure :D

Hacking away each with axes on their twitching foe, Finn and Rondald cut away great swaths of shell and wing, Rondald cutting away a head-sized chunk of the thing's backside that splatters and oozes the thick black slime the things seem to have for blood.  Though the two expect the thing to get back up and fight, it lays still, it's legs given out underneath it as its body leaks out whatever life it has remaining.

Though the two expect another of the beasts to charge them, each of the black shelled monstrosities passes their position by, turning to the two adventurers who seem to be in the worst extremis.

Magnus huffs giant puffs of steam from his snoutish nose, pushing himself on towards the fray and lofting his axe in a position to swing it on the first of the mutations that he comes within an arm's width of.  With a hefty swing, Magnus cleaves down on the bug attacking Gustav leaving a massive rent in the thing's carapace that spurts bits of black flesh.

It is not even a moment of respite for the swordsman however, before the next insect launches itself from atop the last, landing his full thorax atop Gustav's chest as the two look face to face, the monster pinpointing the moment with a brutal scream!

Bjorn too, having just made it to his feet, now finds himself swarmed by the beasts, with a multitude of thin black arms clawing their way over him, though he tries his best to escape, he finds himself pulled under, put again to his back where a set of the things begin to wrap him and pull him back to the water!

And so, when all seemed its worst, the simple act of repetition, of patience in the face of odds that makes the difference.  Magnus cleaves one whole side of one of the things in a single stroke, the chest wound sucking and massive, Terri launches one more of her devastating darts which buries itself in all the way to the fletching.  One last scream from the bugs, gut wrenching and awful before the whole lot of them turns and flees, skittering across the water, leaving three of their number, dead or dying, with one last of the things caught in the middle, attempting to flee though its legs flounder helplessly in the attempt - it is easily picked off by a fatal stroke of Magnus's axe.

The combat, over as quickly as it started, never the less leaves a bitter taste for our adventurers.  It seems the journal of the necromancer was not in the least exaggerating in the description of perverted animals made monsters - It was only to be seen what future horrors would cross their path.

OOC:  Nice work all.  I rolled an extra round which ended up in half the number slain or unconscious (or close) and the change in the situation made your foes rethink their strategy.  It is now just after 1600 and all seems quiet...
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:09, Mon 26 Nov 2018.

This message was deleted by the player at 12:17, Mon 26 Nov 2018.