Some things are
so useful that, no matter how much trouble they cause, they aren't
rooted out at the core and all their proponents
hunted to the last man.
Love, for instance. Bookkeeping, perhaps.
Magic, definitely.
Some days, like today, one wishes the
dragonmarked houses, the churches and the monasteries or, hey, even the
government would just take charge and
regulate it, keep it out of the hands of those who, for instance, get it into their heads to
breed or build monstrosities and set them loose in the city.
Today's batch of
unrestrained unnaturalness is a gang of scruffy-looking
homunculi who have charged into a marketplace in one of the
large, multitiered chambers that Sharn seems to have an endless number of and to put to an endless number of uses. This one is, or was until moments ago, a
bustling market for the good people - well, the people, anyway - of
Lower Dura, an old and relatively decrepit ward. Folks need to get
food somehow, and the Sovereigns know there's little chance of raising any in the city. Hence: Sharn's many markets.
The homunculi are
constructs of wood, metal, crystal bound together with artifice and alchemy. Eight seem patterned after a
humanoid form or, rather, a humanoid
skeleton. They appear to hold
no weapons, but there are parts of their forms that
don't appear structural and look
sharp. A three other constructs are
low to the ground, on
four legs. They give an impression of a lizard or oversized cat, but one's eyes are drawn toward their
massive jaws which seem purpose made for clamping down hard.
The constructs don't appear to be after food. Not like they would need it themselves. No, these ones are peering about with their goggle-like eyes for something specific, and smashing carts and stalls that, according to whatever does their thinking, might be hiding what they're after. The stalls holding their interest the most hold
hard goods: cutlery, kitchenware, pots, tools, and odds and ends. The racket is impressive.
Most of the
marketgoers seem to be
out of harm's way, Sovereigns be praised. They scattered quickly, their instincts still on high alert, despite the end of the War. They know not to stick around when craziness starts to happen. And they also know that there are often people about who are willing to face down the craziness. Many faces were turned toward
a group of armed, capable-looking adventurers, right before many stout shutters were slammed and locked.
For whatever reason, your characters were in the market and relatively close to each other when the commotion started. You have all your equipment with you, but you would have quarters somewhere in the city, so you can also have left stuff there, if that makes more sense to you. Going armed and armored in the city is no problem, and in a world with magic, going without obvious gear is no sure indication of harmlessness anyway.
The party is about fifty feet, or
10 squares from the constructs. It's a fairly open area, about
10 squares on a side.
The monsters on the floor with you can see you, so there's no surprise round. Please
roll initiative. When you post your initiative, please post a line detailing your character, like so:
quote:
Miyalee: (21/21; 16/13/13/15)
That is:
Name: (current hp/max hp; AC/Fortitude/Reflex/Will)
Feel free to ask questions, but please don't take actions or make other rolls.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:59, Mon 02 Nov 2020.
