Neverwhere: Play Thread

[Vandread]

Duran had remained quiet throughout most of the trip, his mind deep in thought. He awkwardly scratched his nose, trying to find some sort of reasoning behind everything. Everything he had seen, made no sense. This place...was outside reason, outside the rules. What could create such a separation between two totally different worlds? Perhaps it was similar to the walls people place around their hearts? He had no time to ponder more so, for danger had reared it’s head once again. It seemed as though he would be the center of the conflict once more. Had it not been for Lethe, Duran would have met his doom, not even knowing what was going on.

What the hell?

Duran didn’t know what to make of the now dead attacker, until he noticed the red in Lethe’s cheeks. The title ‘Velvet’...it’s meaning...was now clear to Duran. Reason had shot through the window as his mind buzzed with realization.

The word Velvet...I never bothered to ask what it meant. After seeing Lethe like that, I finally understood. A predator...that was what a Velvet was. Seeking the warmth of humanity to retain what little was left inside. Lethe had saved me...but that feeling of relief was watered down by a horrible realization. The way Lethe looked at me...was the way a lion looked at the piece of meat that the zoo keepers dangled in front of him. So full of want and desire...I understood, finally, what was in those eyes, those crimson eyes. In the eyes of that Velvet...I was his dessert, which he was harboring for later. I won’t die like that. I’ll trust you for now Lethe, but I won’t hesitate to stab you in the chest and rip out your heart if you even think about hurting any one of my allies. Perhaps they are safe...after all, it seems you only want me.

He then saw the rat girl begin to freak out and exit in a most usual manner. He followed Loplop and China as they exited.

I haven’t even introduced myself to her...Maghenna I think her name was. She seemed to be having a hard time with everything and Loplop appeared to be not making her feel welcomed.

“Jittery little ratgirl, isn’t she? Perhaps she will stay behind, a tasty little teatime munchie for the boggles.” he heard the bird woman say. He spoke up, challenging the intimidating bird woman.

“Leave her alone Loplop.” he said turning his attention to Maghenna. He then realized that he hadn’t so much as uttered a word to the woman. That wasn’t good manners at all. The strange walking man and the rat girl...he hadn’t so much as uttered a single sound to either.

I guess I was so involved in trying to figure everything out rather then taking the time to see the ones who were with me. Though the group was a little strange, all of then had one thing in common; they wanted to save this underworld. Even Lethe did...so we were in it together.

“Don’t listen to her, are you okay?” he asked Maghenna. Duran walked a little towards her, the feather on his band waving lightly.

[Kazuki]

Maghenna backed off slightly as Duran approached, and thhen stopped, head cocked to one side, watching him. After a few seconds, she shook her head, and glanced nervously at Loplop.

"I'll... be fine."

She turned and moved a little further down the passageway towards their destination, giving space for the others.

[Megumi H]

“Maa?” The sound was startling in its sudden and nonsensical utterance. “Maa maa maa?” Cyllara tripped down the corridor to get a look at the newcomers. “Ah. Company!” she announced, as if the Tinman had not mentioned it before. Cyllara proceeded down to the mouth of the tunnel to serve as the only amiable host the group would find.

“Aah!” she cried as she skirted a pile of metal, tubes, and wires to see the leader of the group. “Cal! Cal-ness!” Her face beamed with delight. “Imagine seeing you here! Oh, there was something I wanted to tell you… oh, what was it…?” She scratched her head lightly, as if she could peel off the top her head to reach her memories. “Yes!” she exclaimed, and clapped her hands once. “I stole your hair dye. Well, not all of it. Just this one color. And another color. Do you know what happens when you use ‘em both at once? This happens!” Cyl pointed emphatically at the light purple tangles that were her hair.

Then, as if suddenly noticing the presence of other people, Cyllara abruptly dropped her hand and turned to look behind her fellow Sage-person. “Oh, how terrible of me! Where are my manners? Maybe a boggle tried to eat them. Yes, yes. My name is Cyllara. Some people like to call me Cyllie. So… is everybody here to see Mr. Tinman?"

[Kayay]

“Sounds like the little Godfer found his voice,” Loplop commented on Duran’s scolding. “Playing hero and knight in shining armor are you?” she laughed. “Doubtful she needs the protection of a wet behind the ears Forgotten, but if it pleases your Updweller sensibilities so be it.” At the mouth of the maintenance passage she stopped and peered into the tunnel, a narrow corridor barely wide enough for two abreast to pass and perhaps just under two meters high. “Sure you are that this is the way Doll?”

“It’s the most direct route.”

“Well, perhaps for you and yours, but Loplop much prefers the high road,” she sniffed contemptuously at the poorly lit way. A few small pools of orange-yellow electric light broke the darkness along the way, but the Bravo danced past the side passage and motioned the others ahead. “A gob-smacked idea I have. Run along ahead like good little mice and Loplop will meet you there.”

“You should stay…” China began to protest, but she was interrupted by the sound of the beating of wings, and in a matter of heartbeats Loplop was crouched on the curved top of the stationary train.

“Nonsense. What trouble could you possibly run into from point A to point B now, and the feather capped one will get his wish. Far, far from the ratgirl I’ll be. Splendiferous, yes? Ta ta! Do try not to get killed now,” she cheerily called out, and before another word could be said she raced off along the train’s roof, bent down and cloak trailing out behind her.

China watched her disappear around the bend of the tunnel, then stepped to the front of the group. “Despite what she said, it wasn’t because of you of Maghenna she left,” she assured Duran as she stepped into the side passage, “and she’ll be there. She wants that flute too badly to give up so quickly.”


((OOC: Kazuki, I’ll leave it up to you whether those creatures who are after Maghenna are close behind them or not, as long as they don’t attack.))

[Kazuki]

Maghenna watched Loplop leave, unsure of whthwer her departure was a good or bad idea. Reagrdless, she approached the tunnel enterance, and peered into the gloom. Looking over her shoulder, she shuddered with the recollection of this place and what lay beyond.

Suddenly, she broke into a smile, and swatted playfully at the air to her right, before darting off down the passageway a few meters, then stopping to wait for the others.

*******************

Further along the track, some of the shadows shifted slightly, and resolved into a tall figure.

"Hmm... no, I think that pissing off the Shadow Man would be best avoided. We wait outside, just make sure to cover all the exits. Move."

More shapes resolved from the shadows, and moved away down the tunnel, seeking the other exits from the abandoned station.

[Kayay]

((OOC: You’re not rushing. Eydt methinks is still work overloaded, so I shall post. As for the other group, I’ll wait a day or two longer before doing anything major, giving them a chance to post anything relevant. ))


A face from his old life had shown itself in the form of Loplop, and not here was a face from his new. Past became present. Cal sighed, pushed his green tinted glasses farther up his nose, and shook his head. “I see,” he said thoughtfully, scratching the side of his nose with his hand. Hopefully he’d not find a mess upon returning home.

The bubbly young girl wasn’t necessarily a nuisance, and definitely not in the dangerous way the birdwoman was, but away from the Market and he’d not expected to run into any other familiar faces. And the girl’s personality was hardly compatible with the Clockwork Zombies; then again, no one’s was. “Cyllara, what are you doing here? I didn’t know you and he,” Cal continued in reference to the Tinman, “knew each other.”


*****

The ground sloped gently up then sharply fell again. Rusted and pitted pipes lined the left side, and China tapped lightly on the lowest one as they walked, the sounds bouncing off the walls and echoing down the corridor. Tap. Tap tap. Tap. Finally they reached a point beneath the station. In front of them the tunnel widened then opened into a large room roughly ten meters square. The ground, once cement covered, had cracked in places, great chunks missing and exposing dry bare earth. In the electric lighting of a utility bulb that dangled from a rubber coated cord in the corner, the solitary bulb encaged behind metal mesh, nothing grew from that soil. And before them stretched a brick wall, the mortar crumbling in some spots, but the wall was solid enough; they’d reached a dead end.

“The passage to the area below the station was bricked up long before Aldwych shut down. Getting through, however, shouldn’t be problem.” China spoke facing the wall. She pressed one small white and against the cool surface, then spun about, hands clasped behind her back, tilted her head to one side, and giggled, a sound like silver bells on a clear winter day. “We have a Seeker.”

Somewhere beneath the dirt and remnants of concrete came a soft, “scritch scritch” sound, barely noticeable to all but the most sensitive ears. They moved. They neared. Trespassers beware.


((OOC: Maghenna I'm sure would hear it. Would Gris?))

[Phantom Angel]

The words of the China doll rippled through the Velvet's clouded mind. It took a moment for the sluggishness to make way for the understanding that came with the words.

"We have a Seeker?" he asked loudly as he struggled to stand up and not collapse in the dirt. After all, he had promised not to ruin his pretty clothes.

It was great floating above them all, feeling the exultation that came with the infusion of warmth in his blood. It was like... he was glimpsing the dawn of a new day, a black sun whose darkness pooled out all around him. It was dazzling in its opaqueness that gluttonously ate every glimmer of true light.

Ahead of him, promted by the tiny breeze, fluttered the white feather, like a beacon through the darkness, a beacon he must follow until he reach the source.

"This man will lead me to Him, and then... then He will reward me for having brought His ward home intact."

The alacrity of the thought sparking through his dazed mind was surprising, but then again they say that little else exist but the soul's one true wish.

"'ey, taffer, wait for me, mate!" Lethe exclaimed as he dashed from his spot after the single white feather. "Dunna leave me in this darkness, ye'll be lost without me," he purred as his newly warmed hands snaked around Duran's lean waist.

"And why will he be lost without me?" For the life of him the Velvet could not remember, but it didn't matter as the warmth of Duran's body wrapped around him send him into another dazed reflection.

"A seeker... we have a seeker... I do wonder who he is? I wonder is he more dashing than this one over here? Perhaps he wouldn't mind a little night about the town? Having some fun???"

Lethe smilled drunkenly in the darkness. Such thoughts were only normal; after all, a man did have to earn a decent living.

[Kazuki]

Maghenna glanced around nervously, trying to pinpoint the faint sound.

"I can follow rat-trails, but I'm not sure I trust the local rats."

She concentrated, and looked around the room, trying to work out where the creatures she could hear were likely to emerge from, and then moved away, to place as much distance in-between herself and it as possible.

[Megumi H]

What am I doing here? WhatCHA doin' here?* Ehh, none of my business, is it? Well, I'm here to get something fixed. I don't know what he's doing here," she turned and gestured toward the Junkman with the sponge in his hand, "but the little guys got him to play already." She began to walk back toward the two Junkmen and to hum faintly, and anyone who was listening would have noticed that she was humming "It's a Small, Small World." She trailed off, her expression going blank for a moment.

"We should be quieter," she mumbled presently. "Mr. Tinman gets cranky." The bounce dropped out of her step and she ambled over to the pockmarked piles of junk that had been a miniature battlefield only moments before.

*Square, please don't sue me for stealing from Chrono Cross.

[Kayay]

China tensed suddenly. The noise, once unnoticeable, was now loud enough for all to hear, but before anyone could even ask what it was from the ground itself they seemed to come. One second there was nothing but the silence of the room around them, and the next they were facing three skeletal creatures that blocked their escape. Scabby, decaying flesh hung from frail looking limbs, and in several places bleached white bone shone through. Dark sockets devoid of eyes stared blankly at them, but the things seemed far from blind, and while they moved with lurching, unbalanced looking motions, they also held long curved scimitars in one bony hand.

One grinned, exposing decayed teeth behind the remains of cracked lips. “Intruderss,” it rasped.


((OOC: You can prepare your character, but hold off on any attacks until I give the green light.
Anyone remember the method I used in Kamakura? For kicks I’m doing it again, because it seemed to work okay, and these little fights are more fun imo when there’s a small element of the unknown. We have three undead enemies of undisclosed HP, but it’s not a major fight so the battle system is a simplified one. I just have a few last details to look over.))

[Kazuki]

((OOC: well seeinag as it's been three days, and Maghenna isn't one to wait and see what happens: ))

Having completely misjudged where the sounds were coming from, Maghenna found herself standing next to the creatures as they rose from the earth. As the creature spoke, she sprung across the room away from it, landed, and hurled a fist-sized rock at its mouth.

[Ekaterini]

((OOC: Hm, Gris' ears aren't particularly sensitive, but he might hear a little something due to his close proximity to the ground.))

Gris sat on his haunches off to the side of the room waiting for the mentioned Seeker to do something about the blocked passage. As Lethe drunkenly replied, Gris gazed round the dismal room and, having nothing to do at the moment, wondered what the group had to do in Aldwych. In the middle of his day dreaming however, he thought he caught the slightest sound of something scratching away at something. Below us? Barely being able to make the noise out, Gris couldn't tell if the sound indeed was coming from the ground, even though he was so close to it. He lowered his ear a bit. It *does* seem to be coming from below us..

It could have been nothing; the Underworld many times made strange, inexplicable groans and creaks which kept the faint of heart constantly on edge. And then again.. Gris glanced over to Maghenna. When he saw the Rat Speaker's nervous shuffling, he knew he wasn't hearing things.

Suddenly the noise grew loud and clear, and everyone in the room snapped to attention. Then, after a split moment of silence three horribly macabre figures rose up from the dust and sneered cruelly at the newcomers. Smashing, Gris thought sarcastically, The undead have come to give us a hand. Corpus bones, I hate their lot. He arched his back and tucked his limbs beneath him in preparation to spring. It was Maghenna who made the first move.

[Kayay]

Basic Guidelines:
Attacking together is fine, but I’m going to roll dice – or more likely toss pennies since I have no clue where my dice are and I have a pocketful of posies change – to determine whether or not your strikes hit and how much damage it inflicts. So after you attack, wait, and I'll post a reply. You don't have to wait after every single move however (dodging in and out, feigning an attack, etc.). Just wait after those attacks you want to hit and do any significant damage. You are also allowed to control, to a degree, the enemy’s actions (swiping at you, yelling, dodging, getting minor scrapes or wounds that won't affect its HP, etc.)

Weapons:
China will be using throwing jacks and jack in the boxes that emit a stream of flame or go explode, but don’t rely on her. As an NPC she may just decide to let everyone fend for themselves. Also, beware friendly fire. Duran has his dagger and Lethe his knives. Gris fights with arms and legs, and his attacks will be considered the same as a blunt weapon, but he can also use his rope in creative ways. Gustav’s wire is akin to a garrote, thus its most effective as a backstab weapon. Against an alert enemy getting close enough to strangle is tough, but if he manages this move the enemy is still undead and damage is less. Maghenna uses thrown objects that will be treated as either darts or daggers.

Throwing Darts/Jacks: 1d3+1/2SP
Dagger/Dirks/Knives: 1d4+1/2SP (If thrown +1/2STR)
Garrote: 1d4+1/2SP (1d2+1/2SP against undead or armored.)
Ranged weapons (whip, arrows, etc.): 1d4+1/2SP
One handed blunt weapons (clubs, hammers, etc.): 1d5 + 1/2SP
One handed edged/stab weapons (swords, rapiers, etc.): 1d6 + 1/2SP
Two handed weapons (swords, axes, etc.): 1d8+1/2SP
Jack in the box: 1d5 (+1 if set to explode)

Magic:
Magic is a tough one to quantify right now. You can use any magical attacks your character knows, but depending on the enemy’s defense the success and damage will vary, and some spells won’t affect the enemy at all. Let’s try:
Weak Defense – 75% chance of success, damage 1d6
Neutral Defense – 50% chance of success, damage 1d4
Strong Defense – 25% chance of success, damage 1d2

Magic not directed at the enemy (helping an ally, teleporting, knocking over a wall, etc.) you may determine the success of.

Attacks & Counterattacks:
There may be instances when your description is too vague or the situation such that I'll automatically label your attack a miss, but otherwise...

When attacking the enemy a miss is made when 1d20-SP(enemy's SP) is 3 or lower. Rolling a 1 is a critical miss. This causes the enemy to hit you in return regardless of your SP, and this is the only time I will specify the enemy hitting you. I don’t want anyone dying this time, so for this battle I’ll simply specify the degree of damage the enemy inflicts (mild, moderate, serious, etc.) At worse, you'll be rendered unconscious or unable to fight. A critical hit, meanwhile, is made when a 20 is rolled. This doubles damage to the enemy.

For the enemy’s regular counterattacks, I will usually leave the hits and exact amount and type of damage your player receives up to you. Furthermore, keep in mind that if you plan and write things out well, the enemy may not be able to retaliate against all your attacks.

Zombies:
They’re zombie thingies. They’re no faster than your average human, and not too bright, but they’re tenacious and hard to kill. They’re undead after all. They also have an annoying knack of going back into the ground and popping up somewhere else, like right behind you.
STATS:
Strength: 7
Intelligence:3
Psy: 4
Spirit: 9
HP: It’s classified, but I’ll let you know when you’re close.

All numbers will be rounded to the nearest half point.

I know there are lots of gaps, but I’m trying to keep it simple and allow for player creativity in writing. Battle systems are rarely used on AB, but I’m MILDLY INSANE. For an example of how it worked last time, see the Kamakura Thread. But there's no right or wrong way to do this, so let's have fun and see what crazy madness happens.
If you have any I’ve overlooked any of your players weapons let me know. Feel free to make ooc comments in the thread if you have questions, since other most likely will have similar ones. Otherwise, I’ll start the attack in my next post, which I'll make by Friday evening. Until then, continue with your pre-fight posts.

[Kayay]

AB is back *fanfare* but the question is, how has this affected the RPGs? Hopefully everyone will be back and ready for action soon, so please let me know if you’re still around by posting in the Information Thread Just a roll call so I know who’s checked AB and who’s ready to go this weekend.

[Kayay]

The rock Maghenna threw in her haste struck true, but to the undead thing it seemed to matter little. With a garbled, hoarse command it led the attack, eyeless sockets focused on the Ratspeaker who’d drawn his attention. With an ungainly, lopsided run it charged the girl, blade coming down in a diagonal sweep. The other two, meanwhile, focused on the remaining party members.

One, its skin pale and grayish and clinging to the bones of its face like half melted wax, stepped towards the Velvet and Duran. Unlike the first creature this one moved slower but more deliberately. Most of the flesh holding its single eye in place was gone, the single bulging eye staring at the pair.

The third zombie drew its scimitar against Gustav and China, to whom it was closest. Muscles moved under the thin, rotting skin, stringy and shrunken, the nose was almost completely gone, giving it a half finished look, and the remains of what was once a uniform or some kind hung in tatters on the skeletal remains.


((OOC: I’ll call them zombies 1,2, and 3, or how about nicknames like Leader, One-Eye and…erm…No Nose, respectively? XD Anyhoo, just because a zombie isn’t attacking your character doesn’t mean you can’t jump in, draw their attention, etc. First come first served.))

*****

She was right. It wasn’t any of her business, Cal thought to himself, but then again the young, perky Sage seemed to be quite skilled at popping up when least expected. And when Cyllara jerked her thumb at the Wilburt Cal’s brows raised. China has said they’d cross paths again, and it seemed that, once again, she was right, making him wonder not for the first time and surely not for the last if the small girl, far older than she looked, was part clairvoyant. Considering everything else he knew about her, it wouldn’t surprise him.

“We’re here on a job,” Calanthe finally answered.

“And a pointless, hopeless, doomed to failure job it is if you ask me,” grumbled the Tinman hunched over his workbench.

“China said you’d be able to tell us…”

“I don’t know,” was the snappish reply before the former Bravo could even finish his sentence. “We’re all going to die anyway, slow agonizing deaths most likely. Joy.”

“But you do know something about the Key?” Cal persisted.

“I know a great many things…decades of accumulated information and skill stored and yet here I am, slowly rusting in this cesspool.”

Cal sighed. It was never easy dealing with the crotchety, constantly depressed Junkman, which was probably one reason why no one had ever asked him about the whereabouts of the Key to the City before. But China said if Artificer with his small legion of mechanical creations didn’t know personally, he’d most likely be able to point them in the right direction.


((OOC: And I haven’t forgotten about Wilburt’s request to find out the Tinman’s “secret”, how to operate Above. In fact, I’m tying it in soon so he’ll have further reason to tag along.))