Tremulous Antennae UWoM blog-

I am deeply honoured that Slade / Stephen has decided to start the Tremulous Antennae Urutsk: World of Mystery blog, which acts as a repository of Urutskan spells, items, and whatnot.

If you are following this blog, you ought to do yourself a favour and subscribe to the Tremulous Antennae, as well.


Onward Flies the Bird...

Bite the Bulette UWoM Cross-post-

LINK

Urutsk: Peace with Teeth

(carrying on from here)

Under armed guard PCs get to the Airship tethered nearby after a running battle with humanoids on crested riding lizards. Climb up rope ladders as airship rises. More reawakened memories emerge. Teash shares his recollection that the humanoids are an inbred Vrun offshoot who long ago rejected the quest for ascension and embraced primitive life.

Airship captain questions PCs but is mesmerized by Naime who learns that the airship was sent by Maev-Xluaqh, all the crew were handpicked for their covert allegiance to her, and the airship seems to have been sabotaged. Another crewman enters (after a bad roll by Naime's player) and concentration is broken.

Disembarking, the PCs are quickly led to the Crone's wing of the palace rather than Fort Stalwart. On the way Mouwles spots the gaseous lifeforms from the swamp again. At the Palace, speaking from the shadows under the many birdcages suspended from the ceiling, Maev-Xluaqh slowly questions them and upon learning of their memory loss, tells them that she had sent them to some ruins after the field-archivist Teash's discovery of a map and technical blueprints. Yande does not believe her, just a gut feeling (a roll and a GM note!). The Crone insists that the PCs should return to the ruins.

Session ended. Only a short one having spent time playtesting stuff for this blog.

1 comments:

Timeshadows said...

It is great reading this stuff and wondering what Slade is up to. :D

I am glad that you folks are having a good time with the setting.

I plan on 'pimping' the Tremulous Antennae blog right after I cross-post this.
--Sorry about the lag: I am still home-moving. :(

Mutants of Marharnna Pt. 03-

This was the first session played at my new home, and marks the beginning of the sessions being played there.

The girls were allowed to go back to their home, where they retrieved pre-packed rucks with things their parents wanted them to have in case of emergency travel (a 'bug-out bag' in paramilitary parlance), and successfully prevented the Ghoul from stealing their mother's good jewellery (has he no shame?). It was also discovered that the dog is at least receptive to mental communication with the girls.
--The group press on with the girls in a cart, pulled by the humanoids (hmm... Can take the mutant out of the Vrun, but can't take the Vrun out of the mutant, it seems), with plans to make for the tree-fort.

Before they were able to make it into that hex, the group found more ruins, now covered by the grasslands, but opt not to explore.
--That night, they set up watch:

Ten strange looking dogs or wolves or whatever attack, and quickly are met in combat by the group, and while the creatures inflict one bad wound on one of the PCs, a few are fairly handily slain (39 DP, with 1d4 Armour).
--As each creature is slain, a black form leaves them, and the body then withers into a husk that comes apart like ashes. Raylyss comes to realise that Qaj'wl is directing them out in the darkness beyond the campfire, and the Shadow-essence is possibly a Conjuration, and one of the characters tests the theory by Dismissing the Conjured Fabrication (hefty DP cost to do so). Raylyss uses his TK Grip on Qaj'wl's Jezail to wrest it from the beast. He tries to use it but opts instead to take up and fire his bow, missing. If memory serves, Raylyss does strike once (perhaps twice) in the next Round, and this initiates Qaj'wl's descent into the ground.
---[Zalder] performs a flying tackle and is being dragged into what feels like quicksand, but is rescued while still strangling the beast, which finally gives up his ghost, and the body is dragged out of the reconstituted grass-covered earth.

The human body is like a skin which covers the jackal-like body beneath it (NSFW), but Zalder's Mind Field suggests that it is devoid of the Monstrous Being's spirit. The body is bound and brought along.
--It is then confirmed that the girls' dog is both intelligent and possessed of powers, as it says to Zalder that it believes that Qaj'wl is now on the Shadow Plane, and is apparently aware of them.

Raylyss and the Ghoul's players then left while I continued with Zalder's player, and the newly introduced Osyl (passes for Vrun, except for her prehensile tail), who is a merchant who aids and abets the Aberrant/Dokirin/Humanoid populations by procuring needed items, and selling their goods in towns. Her mission was to secure ranged weapons for the Garrison, and she attempts to purchase twelve revolvers, but runs afoul of Marnharnnan Defence Agency Marshals (one definitely had psychic powers [Broadcast Empath]), who were originally willing to leave her six of the fine weapons, before she knocked a serious gunslinger 'upside da head' with her TK Blast. She only manages to go free by Conjuring a Fabricated gem and tossing it onto the prone bloke she had secured; a spear to his throat.
--Oddly enough, the merchant ran after her and handed over a box with one revolver, a belt, and a banolier, released to her by the Marshals. This, understandably, puzzled her, and she and her armadillo/turtle cart-puller ('snappy') headed out into the wilds.
---Fae night transports her, snappy, and cart (laden with 100 short bows from another merchant, earlier), to a fungal circle nearly 100 XsM distant, near the tree-fort, where she meets Zalder.

Session.

Mutants of Marnharnna Pt. 02-

The Humanoids, under orders by their boss, Qaj'wl (pronounced: 'Kashool'), stayed behind to protect the girls in the cabinet and were being soundly plinked by Raylyss the Reptilmalian-Vrun, and Phlavius the Yellow Ghoul, while poor 'Rocky' was facing two opponents in Melee.

Only due to the Abbekqorru Sgt.'s rising ire against his (now-) former leader, did he cease the fight, but not before Rocky managed to significantly injure one Humanoid (who literally gave up the fight and cowardly lay himself down upon the ground), and then killed another from behind.
--The Abbekqorru then brokered a peace agreement based upon mutual disdain for Qaj'wl (who had deserted them), and the girls were set free into the combined group's care.
---The coward was speared and then thrown onto the fire, while the fallen warrior was ritually-consumed by his comrades as is the Abbekqorru way.
----(It was also determined that the Garrison's spin on what had happened with this break-away group was not entirely true. The real reason the Humanoids had broken away was that the Sgt. felt that the Garrison would be as much a deathtrap as it had been for the WI Vrun they had wrest it from 80 years ago, and a guerilla war was to be waged against the mounting numbers of Vrun military).

The three were aged roughly 12, 09, and 06 years of age, and varied from nearly pure reptilmalian appearance to nearly purely human. The eldest had enough wherewithal to aid her younger sisters to deal with the changing circumstances, which was aided by Raylyss' more-familiar appearance. It was learnt that the elder brother was by a different father, and was apparently Vrun, and had set out years ago to join the Marnharnnan Defence Agency's military.

Given the Vrun xenophobia and almost guaranteed deadly policy toward Aberrants, it was agreed by the expanded group to transport the girls to the tree-fort, after retrieving goods from the (cleaned-up) homestead.

Along the way, at dusk, a herd of wild animals (about the size of an ox, armour plated like Rhinos, and possessing an impressive rack of muck-raking horns) from the northern plains moved in a steady stream bisecting the PC's path. Phlavius and two Humanoids had travelled ahead of them to do the cleaning-up and burying (having found the mother's reproductive organs in a canopic jar in Qaj'wl's backpack), and were unaware of the critters.
--Rocky and Raylyss, the girls, and the other Humanoids moved to higher ground to avoid the animals, and found the rough terrain to be ancient ruins (foundations, steps, fragments of walls, etc.). The vibrations from the passing herd apparently weakened the ground, and the youngest fell a good distance. Once this was realised, another Abbekqorru slid down the chimney, followed by Rocky's swooping-down to effect a rescue.

There, they encountered an arachoid creature (Mini-Cooper-sized tail-less scorpion, with ratcheting, sliding pincers), bent on collecting the girl. The sub-terrain was a buckled and now-terraced basement or subducted room, from whence more would arrive once the first one was handily dispatched by the two fighters. In this instance (flanking front and back), I allowed the two to combine their Fight Dice versus its 3d6.
--With Raylyss' TK Grip on the girl (and his becoming Stunned through the accumulated DP use), the two fighters wisely decided to beat-feet up the uncoiled rope. However, the Abbekqorru was then attacked by one of the arachnoids which fired an actual net-gun, which entangled him. Only the combined efforts of his allies allowed his escape, whereupon the Sgt. rolled a boulder over the shaft's opening and the group made its way down from the ruins.

Yellow Ghoul and buddies returned and the group set off again toward the homestead.

Pre-Release Errata .pdf Link-

It has come to my attention that at least three pages (or so) were omitted by the Kinko's employees that assembled the Pre-Release Manual for the NTRPG Con.

It won't likely be very interesting otherwise, but it is available for download, HERE.

Mutants of Marnharnna Map 01-

• Hill hex 44.30 is the location of the Humanoid Garrison

• Forested Hill 41.30 is the location of the PCs' treehouse-fort

• They entered 41.31 and then travelled to

• 40.31 where they found the homestead (barn and domicile)
  

• 39.31 where two had a little swim before travelling on to

• 40.32 where they encountered the Humanoid camp and entered into combat

Mutants of Marnharnna-

I surprised the Weekly Crew with blank character sheets, and a request that we put the Aberrations & Powers tables through their paces.

We now have:

* A yellow-green Reptimalian-Vrun with 'super-stealth', TK Grip, Void Blast, and something else that escapes me at 2:25 AM. He has the best fighting capability, provided by his tail, to which he has affixed a double-headed hatchet.

* A Cadaverously-skinny, True Yellow-skinned, Anti-Vampire with Levitation, Dismiss Conjuration, and double-strength Elemental Defence.

* A green-skinned, Aquamarine-haired super-stealthed, conjuration-dismissing, mind-scanning, (?), glider-membrane guy.


They decided to start play in eastern central Marnharnna, roughly 1,800 miles from Kelzsyn's bluff (new territory :D ), having grown-up in the whereabouts of a former WI Vrun garrison, later conquered by the Humanoids that surrounded it. As Aberrant Vrun, the PCs were very low on the social ladder, and were more tolerated than valued. However, they were each given a document (they were told only one was genuine), and sent as a group to try and broker a martial deal with a group of nomadic Aberrants nearby (five days walk). Two other groups had left in different directions over previous days that week.

They were warned that a traitorous Half-Abbekqorru and eight of his lackeys had, ten days ago, escaped from the garrison after he had murdered his XO, and it was understood that he collaborated with Humans (using his Humanesque edge) as a mercenary, and that he would be hunting for the PCs' message(s).

A Vrun homestead was found in shambles and a dying mind was detected by Glider-guy, Zander. Upon inspection, a blunderbuss loaded with quartz shards struck True Yellow corpse-guy in the right leg for a nasty amount, while Zander avoided being entangled in a barbed and weighted net, both in the barn. The dying creature was some sort of reptilian Humanoid or Monstrous Being, dressed in WI Vrun male finery. Its dying breath were the words, "The Pearl! The Pearl!", which Zander saw as the Pearl employed by Ashta Shomel in the other game-thread. A combination Chronometric-Musical Companion was found on his body, as well as a sort of clip-on ring with an interesting sigil as its decoration.
-- A sealed chest was found in the loft with him (he had sustained multiple Abbekqorru arrows |2d6+1 damage in GW terms| ), containing two larger-than-ostrich eggs (one highly decorated, the other plain, both in some sort of advanced swamp biotech incubator that included other animals' life cycles in the process). It was resealed, but left there.

In the domicile, a grisly sight awaited them: a violated, partially eaten, and hysterectomy'd (apparently) Human splayed out upon the dining room table. Signs of three young girls abduction were also evident.
--After the yellow ghoul skinned, dressed, and started the smoking process on the reptile they had found, the PCs set out at night (under a full moon) after having discovered tracks with deep impressions leading almost perfectly South West out of the area.

Fiddling about, a secondary encounter was skipped by cloaking Yellow, and the party reached the encampment of the raiders. It became evident that the girls were alive, having been carried in a large three-sectioned work-bench/cabinet thing lifted from the barn, and they were being fed scraps of meat by a full Abbekqorru while most of the remaining five rested or actually slept. Since the super-stealth covers everything not specifically created to find that particular critter (-5 to be detected even when unconscious), the party were able to walk into their midst without detection, and then a Surprise Round of combat ensued.
--The Abbekqorru was pin-cushioned but not badly wounded, and the mysterious arrows materialising out of thin air, as it were, gave away the general location of Reptimalian, and Yellow, while Zander tried to assassinate the 'Halfsie'. That didn't go well for Zander, and he was forced prone with the creature (looking mostly human) pinning him and beginning to transform into its true form, the equivalent of a more 'mundane' Jackalwere (and not a Half-Abbekqorru at all) as his troops closed in on the party.

Uh-oh!