session four-and-a-half!

here's the second half of our most recent ksbd rpg play session!

GM Claire: So. You guys head back to that other hallway that leads to the vault --
Msg: Hang on. You know, it seems kind of suspicious to me that there are all these hanging and impaled skeletons in the hallway to the torture chamber, but no prisoner cells or anything.
Ariel: There was the creepy whistling guy.
Msg: Yeah, but he was like, actively under the torturer's watch.
Sasha: Maybe all the skeletons and stuff are to scare people into behaving so the Palace of Night bosses don't have to lock them up and torture them.
Msg: Maybe, but I think I'm going to look carefully along this hallway for secret passages and stuff.
GM Claire: Well, don't even roll Pry Secrets, because either Sasha is right or they have cells somewhere else to keep prisoners in. Nothing but very dead skeletons here, and you're confident you search pretty well.
Msg: That's not very satisfying. I'm going to Query the Cosmos to see if I have any Knowledge about torture setups like this that would explain things. And I'm going to push the move.
Elle: Oh, now I understand. He just wants to make a roll and try to get a power die.
Msg: You're so cynical, Elle. Anyway, I just rolled a six, so that proves you wrong and Claire gets a break die.
GM Claire: Also ... (lemme look up that Knowledge move) ... doesn't list any specific downside to a miss. I'll just make a mental note that there will be fallout of some kind.
Sasha: Uh, like Angry Ag getting ticked over him standing around thinking and tapping his chin?
GM Claire: We'll see.
Ariel: Can we head back to that other hallway now? The one Matash Kachrang's ex ghost boss said what we're looking for is down?
Sasha: I think you mean "ghost ex boss."
GM Claire: Yes. When you reach the bend, you see that the hallway leads some distance down the way and ends in an archway, beyond which is a larger space.
Msg: Pry Secrets to try to figure out if the space beyond the archway is inhabited. Nine.
GM Claire: One question.
Msg: What seems to be the safest path forward?
GM Claire: Well, there's really no easy spot to hide in along this hallway, so if the place is inhabited, they'll probably see you coming. The safest thing would probably be to just walk right in as if you belong there.
Sasha: We do that. Or at least I do.
Ariel: If Ag is going, I guess we might as well keep up, Matash?
Msg: Not much other choice.
GM Claire: When you reach the open space, you find it's just a large empty chamber, maybe 20 feet on each side with a 15-foot ceiling. On the opposite wall, there are three doors. One is wooden, one is bronze, and one is stone. A face is carved into each door. Why don't you each describe one of the faces?
Elle: The one that's woody is a dude with a leering, thirsty expression on his --
GM Claire: Not you, just the people whose characters are there.
Ariel: I heard what you tried to do with the word "woody" there.
Sasha: I'm going to say the bronze one is a devil face, big and round and mean, with lots of broken teeth.
Msg: I think the stone one is a snake-face, with dark agates for eyes.
Ariel: Um ... so I'm stuck with the wood one?
Elle: Woody. Think "woody."
Ariel: No, I have to think of something on my own. Um ... it's like ... a tree face. A tree-trunk that has closed eyes and a nose and a mouth that's not really smiling or frowning.
GM Claire: Cool.
Sasha: So which one is the one we want?
Msg: I'm guessing it's not a puzzle to figure out based on the faces.
Ariel: Or maybe it is -- maybe Claire made up her mind to decide which one is the one based on our descriptions!
GM Claire: I'm not saying one way or another.
Sasha: I open the devil door.
Ariel: Wait, what?
GM Claire: When Ag pulls the handle of the devil-face door, the room trembles briefly, and then thick, black smoke begins to pour forth from the nostrils of the bronze face. It swirls rapidly into a whirlwind shape and then condenses into the massive form of a black-armored war devil, armed with an iron club. This guy is gigantic, and his armor looks like the iron walls of hell itself.  He speaks in a voice of sparks and ashes that hits you all in the pits of your stomachs. All he says is, "Password."
Sasha: I guess we need a password.
Ariel: Uh ... "tree-snake?"
GM Claire: The devil looks at you with eyes like blood and lava and says, "Incorrect. Password, or begone."
Sasha: It makes me angry the way this guy seems to think he's so big and tough.
Ariel: Well he obviously thinks that because he's right, so I hope you're not about to attack him!
Msg: Matash begins walking away and says, "Let's get out of here before Ag does something stupid, Grey-eyes. Ag, it's been nice knowing you."
Ariel: Yeah, I think I'll go with Matash.
Sasha: Oooh, you chickens are making me so furious with your chicken-poop chickeny-ness. I guess I go after them so I can yell at them about how angry they're making me.
GM Claire: As you leave the room, you hear a whoosh, and a smell of brimstone and a wash of heat blow past you.
Ariel: I look back to make sure he's not coming after us!
GM Claire: Nope. You just see him vanishing into plumes of heavy black smoke that get sucked back into the bronze devil-face.
Sasha: Well that was useless.
Msg: I think we either need to find out the password, or find Sin-Sing so we're at full strength to fight the guy. If we want to spend another hour in the uniform-and-thumbtack closet, I could Meditate to try to get the password from a higher power. Or if we take another respite, I could do a Geomancy ritual.
Sasha: More waiting around? No thank you!
Ariel: I think let's get some guard uniforms from the storeroom and pretend to be guards and go upstairs to find Sin-Sing.
Msg: That sounds like a good plan to me.
GM Claire: Okay. When you get to the storeroom, you find that none of the uniforms will fit Ag. He's seven feet tall, remember?
Msg: That's all right. There are manacles too, right? We can pretend he's our prisoner.
Ariel: Ooh, like in Star Wars!
Sasha: Who's going to carry my sword? I don't think they're going to buy me being a prisoner if I'm wearing my big-ass sword. And I actually don't think they'll buy you guys bringing it along with us. Why would you do that? This seems like a dumb plan to me.
Ariel: Fine, do you just want to wait here in the storeroom then?
Sasha: Why do all these plans involve waiting or doing stupid stuff? I should have just attacked that big demon.
Msg: You know what? Do whatever you want to, Ag. Wait here, follow along behind us, squeeze into a uniform that doesn't fit you and get us all caught -- Grey-eyes and I are putting on uniforms and going upstairs to find Sin-Sing.
Sasha: You just do that.
Msg: We will.
Ariel: Hey, is it cheating for us to bring along uniforms for Sin-Sing and Paghla?
GM Claire: Why would that be cheating?
Ariel: Because we heard Elle saying she wanted to get some?
GM Claire: Sure, but if your plan is for you and Matash to sneak around pretending to be guards on the way up, it only makes sense that you'd want all four of you to sneak around pretending to be guards on the way back.
Ariel: Oh, good. I do that, then.
GM Claire: So ... making your way upstairs while pretending to be guards has some risk involved, so I'll need you both to make Overcome rolls. I'll let you pick whether to use +mind or +heat.
Ariel: Mind!
Msg: Definitely Mind.
GM Claire: Okay, first off, as you climb up the stairs to that big dark hallway, you see that there are some guards stationed there. Two of them are flanking the stairway, and two more are flanking the hallway that leads to the accounting offices. And the hallway isn't dark now -- there's pretty good light coming from these glowing ovals in the ceiling. The guards spot you on your way up and say, "Hey, what are you doing down there?" Who answers?
Msg: I say, "We were delivering a prisoner to the torturer, and he made us help turn the cranks on the rack we put the guy on. It took forever getting them adjusted how he wanted them. Why, is something going on?" I get a nine total.
GM Claire: "Yeah, somebody apparently attacked the guards and the elevator crew and freed a bunch of slaves. We're on high alert. You'd better report to Yequen at the slave pens." He points down the hall in the opposite way from the way you came in.
Msg: Oh great.
Ariel: I thank them and start walking the way they pointed. Oh, and I tell them to stay alert!
GM Claire: They kind of look at you quizzically but don't say anything else.
Sasha: You mean like, "Duh, we're guards, what else are we gonna do?"
GM Claire: Sort of like that.
Ariel: Once we get a little ways away, I'm like, "What are we going to do, Matash?"
Msg: I say we go around a corner up here and just wait a while out of sight of these guys, then come back and say the Yequen person ordered us to go upstairs.
Ariel: Oh, that sounds good.
Elle: Sounds too easy to work, you mean.
Sasha: While they're climbing the stairs and walking toward the slave pens, I go back to the room with three doors.
Ariel: What!
Msg: I suspected Ag might do that.
GM Claire: The room is as it was when you first saw it, empty except for the three doors.
Sasha: This time, I'm going to try the door with the tree face on it. By which I mean, I'm not actually trying to open it, but, uh ... Pry Secrets on it.
GM Claire: Roll +Mind.
Ariel: This is so bad! Ag's +Mind is awful!
Sasha: I'm going to push it too. Oh well, 7 - 1 is 6.
GM Claire: Pry Secrets lets you ask a question even if you miss. But the answer may or may not be true.
Sasha: Hmm. What here could be useful to me?
GM Claire: It might be useful to try opening the wooden door. Also, thanks for giving me another Break Die. Now I have two ready to use.
Sasha: Argh. It's so infuriating that I don't know whether that's true. Okay, you know what, I'm going to Pry Secrets on the snake door now, and push that one too.
Ariel:Noooo, what are you doing???
Sasha: Yes! I roll 8 - 1 is 7! Success!
GM Claire: I spend the Break Die you just gave me. Mine is a 2, so instead of 8, you rolled a 7, and 7 - 1 is a failure. And since it's a failure, I get the Break Die back.
Sasha: Damn it! I guess I need to figure out what to ask.
Ariel: You're just going to get mad at the answer!
Sasha: What seems to be the safest path forward?
GM Claire: Going back to the storeroom and waiting for your companions.
Msg: Come on, Sash, she's obviously going easy on you with that answer. Just assume it's true.
Sasha: So what if it's true? Playing safe is for losers.
Ariel:Why did we leave Ag alone?
Sasha: You know what? I'm going to go back down the hall, then down the other hall to the torturer's place, and get that whistling guy from under the sheet and make him open the wood door for me.
Ariel: The creepy whistling guy! Why???
Sasha: Claire said he could be useful.
Ariel: To Matash, not to you!
Sasha: I'm assuming it's a general purpose kind of useful.
Ariel: You can't assume that.
Sasha: Funny, I just did. So is he still there when I get to the torture chamber, Claire?
GM Claire: Let's see what happens with Grey-eyes and Matash when they get to the slave pens.
Msg: I'm hoping we're not going all the way to the slave pens. Doesn't the hallway turn a corner or something where we could hide from those guards?
GM Claire: Nope, it's a big, wide hallway and the lights are on now, and it ends in a big double-door with a sign that says, "Slave Pens."
Msg: Damn. I guess we open it up and go in.
GM Claire: It doesn't look like there are handles. There's a pull cord hanging from the ceiling to one side of the doors.
Ariel: Do you think it's a doorbell?
Msg: Or maybe you're just supposed to knock, and the cord is a trick that opens up a pit if you pull it.
Ariel: Seriously?
Msg: Hey, if you'd seen the things I've seen, you'd be suspicious of everything too.
Ariel: Let's just pull the cord. I don't think I can stand it if you try to Pry Secrets and miss like Ag did.
Msg: Fine, but I'm letting you pull it.
Ariel: Well, I do. What happens, Claire?
GM Claire: You think you hear a little dingly bell sound from the other side.
Ariel: Oh, dang, I just realized, what if you're supposed to pull it a certain way to make the bell ring a pattern, or they'll know the people ringing it are fake? Matash is rubbing off on me!
Elle: I wish I was there to see that.
Ariel: Don't be gross, Elle.
GM Claire: A slot in the door opens, and you see a couple of eyes. They're beautiful, crystal blue eyes, and just by the eyes alone, you can tell whoever it is is just as good looking as all the employees here at the Palace seem to be. A voice says, "Yes?"
Msg: I say, "Parkhassian needs an especially beautiful and well-behaved slave brought upstairs. One of the contest winners requested a concubine as his prize."
GM Claire: The pretty blue eyes look surprised. "Is the second round already over? That seems really early!"
Msg: Dang, he's got me there.
Ariel: I say, "No, but the guy is so amazing Parkhassian thinks he's bound to win, and he's apparently been telling everybody that's what he wants for his prize, so Parkhassian wants to be ready."
GM Claire: So convincing this guy is going to be an Overcome roll, which is +Heat. Who's going to roll?
Msg: Grey-eyes gave the excuse, and her heat is better than mine anyway.
Ariel: Come on, dice, please please please ... oof. Four.
GM Claire: "That doesn't sound like anything Parkhassian would do. Hey! Your epaulets aren't even on right-side-up -- where are your shields and spears? You're not really Night Guards!"
Ariel: Oh, shit. I think we better run, Matash.
Msg: I use Dread Sorcery to shoot a bolt of red lighting through the window at Blue-Eyes before he can raise the alarm. That's a total of 8. It does three damage in an area, so hopefully it gets any other guards who are near the door too.
GM Claire: Okay, you crisp whoever's on the far side of the door. Now what?
Msg: Now we run back down the hall and hope those guards at the far end weren't watching close enough to see that the lightning came from me. I'm going to yell, "AAH! Something's blowing them up in the slave pens!"
Ariel: I run after Matash, acting scared too.
GM Claire: Both of you need a +Heat Overcome roll for them to believe you.
Msg: 7 - 1 is 6. Stupid +Heat rolls.
Ariel: It's an 8 for me. And I'll try outrunning Matash like I'm scared of him.
GM Claire: They believe you, but the complication is that you being scared of him makes them positive he's an enemy, and they all throw their spears at him. Three damage, Matash. Oh, and what was your downside for getting a 7-9 on your Dread Sorcery?
Msg: Another -1 on my Dread Sorcery rolls. Which sucks, because I'm about to roll it again. And I'm empowering it. Nine. Another 3 damage area attack, and another penalty. I guess I'll throw another -1 on the pile.
GM Claire: These guys are weak-o. You toast them all.
Msg: Has anybody opened the door behind us?
GM Claire: Not yet.
Msg: Okay, Lonely Girl -- back downstairs to Ag, go the other way to hide in the accounting offices, or try to keep running into the room where we got off the elevator?
Ariel: Keep going! If we can make it upstairs we might be able to lose ourselves in the crowd, since nobody who's seen our faces is still alive.
Msg: As we pass the bodies, I grab a shield and spear and try to spot which directions the damned epaulets are supposed to go.
Ariel: Oh, I grab those too. Hopefully one that's not too charred or covered in dead guard splatter.
GM Claire: Make an Overcome roll, +Reflex, to see if you can get shields loose, grab up spears, and make it through the door before someone from the slave pens peeks out. Ariel?
Ariel: Ooh, Reflex is my best one! Come on, you dumb dice ... 8!
GM Claire: Msg?
Msg: I get a 7.
GM Claire: Whew! You both make it, but with complications. Lonely Girl's spear is kind of scorched, and when Matash yanked at his guy's shield, part of a charred arm came loose with it.
Ariel: Ew!
Msg: What do we find in the elevator room?
GM Claire: It's you're lucky day ... the place is empty.
Msg: I close the doors behind us and shake the arm out of my shield. Then I say we hurry over to the stairs.
Ariel: Good with me!
GM Claire: The stairs wind up and up. They're stone, and very clean, but worn with the passage of many, many feet over the years. At the top, you find what appears to be a holding area. There are rings on the wall where it looks like manacles could be attached. A curtain hangs in a broad archway on the far end of the room.
Ariel: I tippy-toe over and peek through it. Do I need to roll Overcome to be sneaky?
GM Claire: Nope. There's no one on the other side of the curtain. It looks like an auction room, with a relatively small number of seats and a modest stage. Stairs lead up to the stage in front of you, then down on the far side toward another curtain. There's a door at the back of the room behind the chairs.
Msg: Hmm. Curtain or door?
Ariel: I don't know! I wish I had a Power Die so I could use my mantra ability and add a clue to Claire's description of the room.
Msg: I'm going to assume the slaves get taken out through the other curtain after they're purchased, so the door at the back is probably the way bidders come in, so I'm guessing that leads to the more public parts of the building.
Sasha: Is it going to be my turn again soon?
Elle: You? What about me? I've been waiting twice as long.
GM Claire: Hey, I'm not the one who split the party up. You could have all stuck together and then nobody would have to wait.
Msg: Hang on a minute ... I'm so dumb. Is my ritual link to Paghla still working?
GM Claire: Yes! I wondered when you were going to remember that. You think you sense her more in the direction of that door than the other curtain.
Msg: I tell Grey-Eyes and suggest we go that way.
Ariel: Okay!
GM Claire: Now let's go back to Angry Ag.
Elle: Seriously?
Sasha: Yes! What do I find when I get back to the torture room?
GM Claire: The whistling figure is still under the sheet, and the torturer is still dead on the floor.
Sasha: I go over and pull the sheet off!
GM Claire: Underneath is an emaciated figure -- a male of the servant race. You see that his lips have been stitched in place around a small flute.
Ariel: Gross. I'm so glad I'm not there.
Sasha: I tell him, "Okay, look, if I let you go will you come with me and do something I need help with?"
GM Claire: His eyes look wild with fear or maybe a hint of madness. He spots the torturer on the floor behind you and tweetles through his flute.
Sasha: Just nod yes or no, would you? Geez, can I do one of those Bend Will rolls on him with the promise of letting him go for my leverage?
GM Claire: Sure, +Heat.
Sasha: Damn it.
Ariel: Did you roll bad?
Sasha: No, look at that. Double sixes. If I roll double sixes in a fight, I get to spend a power die to brutally annihilate my foe instantly. Instead I just wasted it on this whistling bozo.
GM Claire: On the plus side, he's nodding and making an enthusiastic melody with his flute.
Sasha: Okay, that's something at least. Do I have to roll to find the keys?
GM Claire: No, they're on the torturer's belt. It's not difficult to figure out the right one. Unfortunately, when you unlock him, he half collapses and whistles a sad tune. Obviously, he hasn't eaten in quite a while.
Sasha: Oh, brother. Well, I've got rations in my pack. I guess I see if I can find something to cut those stitches so I can feed him.
Elle: What, are you going to nurse him back to health just so you can take him down to the doors and have him set off whatever trap is on the ones you haven't tried?
Sasha: Well I can't just turn back around, or this whole thing will be a waste of time, and wasting time makes me angry.
GM Claire: It will take a while for you to snip the stitches and feed him. Let's go back upstairs. Elle, you and Paghla are in the waiting area biding your time until either Gervender shows up or it's your turn to perform in the second round. Then when you look over at the door, you notice a pair of guards peering into the room past the registration desk. They have on masks like all the guards, but they're suspiciously similar in height and hair color to Matash and Grey-Eyes. Msg and Aers, once you made it out into the main complex, it was easy to follow Matash's magic link to Paghla.
Msg: I think I should hang back with the uniforms we're carrying while Lonely Girl goes in to get Sin-Sing. Her character's Heat score is better than mine, so she should be better at pulling off the guard act.
Ariel: Um, okay, I guess? Does the guy at the desk let me in?
GM Claire: Well, he does ask what you're doing in the contestants' room.
Ariel: Message for one of the contestants from ... um, an admiring member of the audience? Very important person type person.
GM Claire: He shrugs and lets you pass.
Ariel: Whew. I hustle over to Sin-Sing and tell her we've got guard uniforms and we need her to come with us and help fight a giant devil guard in the vault.
Elle: Do I look like I brought my sawed-off shotgun with me in this outfit?
Ariel: Well --
Elle: I've got a lot better plan going on already. I found that Gervender chick, and she's going to bring me and Paghla some uniforms so we can get in the kitchen, where I think there's an imposter pretending to be a chef in the part of the kitchen that makes food for the VIPs. If we can unmask the imposter, it could score us points with the palace, and then if I can talk to somebody high enough up, I might get the info we need to get into the vault.
Ariel: Well, that sounds like I guess it might be a pretty good plan, but Ag --
Elle: Do you think I really want to hear about Ag right now?
Ariel: I guess not. Only, we've already got some guard uniforms. Would those do for getting into the kitchen?
Elle: Hmm. Sure. Maybe even better than the waiter uniforms, since the guard ones have masks. Claire, how long is it until I'm supposed to meet Gervender?
GM Claire: Probably still another twenty minutes or so.
Elle: All right. Let's do this thing quick. Paghla and I go with Matash and Grey-Eyes. Is there someplace we can change?
GM Claire: It's a big place, and pretty busy, but I'll say you find someplace. A meeting room or something.
Ariel: Maybe Matash and I should stay outside and guard the door from people going in while you get dressed?
Elle: Sure.
GM Claire: You don't encounter any trouble. But you do realize you have four guards now and only two spears and shields.
Elle: Paghla and I will march along close behind you two -- no, better yet, give us the spears and shields and you two march along close behind us and hopefully nobody notices you don't have all the gear.
Msg: I'm fine with you being up front. The fewer people behind my back, the better.
Ariel: Sure.
Elle: When we get to the kitchen door, I tell the guard there to make way because we have word of an intruder masquerading as a cook in the kitchen, and if he doesn't let us pass, it'll be his fault if they poison somebody or something.
GM Claire: I'll treat that as leverage for a Bend Will move. Roll +Heat.
Elle: Nine.
GM Claire: Success, but with a complication. His eyes go wide and he lets you pass, but he says, "I'll go get more guards!"
Msg: Damn it.
Elle: Don't worry, we'll be fine. Claire, we burst into the kitchen and I look for that shrimpy blue devil. Is she still in the exclusive part of the kitchen?
GM Claire: Yes. You spot her -- but she noticed the noise and she also spots you spotting her. What do you do?
Elle: I yell, "There she is! Grab that cook!" and point at her. Then Paghla and I are going to throw our spears at her.
Ariel: Geez, kind of bloodthirsty considering you don't know who she is or why she's there, isn't it?
Elle: She's up to no good. I can tell. We're not proficient in spears, so this is a clumsy roll, and even if it wasn't, I have a zero on Reflex, so I might as well push the move.
Sasha: Because that's working out so well every time somebody tries it.
Elle: Oh, great, look what you did. You totally jinxed me and I rolled a 4. You just gave Claire a Break Die.
Sasha:I did?
GM Claire: I'm up to three of them. I guess I'd better start spending the things.
Ariel: Well ... don't spend one on me right now. I'm trying to do an Agility move and rush across the whole kitchen. And ... 7! Whew!
GM Claire: I spend a Break Die.
Ariel: But I just asked you not to!
GM Claire: Look, my roll tied one of your dice, so I wasted it. No effect. Describe your journey through the kitchen.
Ariel: Obviously, I am like a leaping gazelle, hurdling tables and carts and counters with complete grace.
GM Claire: You wind up right next to the devil. But since your roll was a 7-9, she gets to deal damage. She lashes out with a razor wire that was hidden up her sleeve -- you see that it's covered in a glistening green fluid. As it slashes across you, you feel a searing burn to the wound -- it's not going to heal normally. Three damage.
Ariel: Three? But ... I'm out of Stamina and I only have three wounds total.
GM Claire: Well, you have to make the Shattered roll, then. +Breath.
Ariel: That's my worst stat! Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, I'm going to die.
Sasha: Just roll already.
Ariel: Thank heavens! Nine!
GM Claire: So you heal one wound and I get to pick a thing from this list, or else you get to pick two things from the list.
Ariel: Where's the list?
GM Claire: Here.
Ariel: All my rolls are broken until we rest? I lose a chunk of my body or a limb? Oh, this one's better, lose my weapon or armor ... I guess my armor. I was out of armor anyway. I'll just buy more sometime later if we live.
GM Claire: And the second thing?
Ariel: I'll take the last one on the list -- gain a nasty scar.
GM Claire: Describe it.
Ariel: Well it almost killed me and it's poisoned or something, so -- an awful jagged line across my throat.
GM Claire: Okay, so next --
Ariel: Whoa, wait, wait, wait! I have this Vengeful Star move that says when I'm first wounded, I automatically do my damage to any target in range without rolling. My damage is 2. Does that kill her maybe?
GM Claire: No, she's tough. Matash?
Msg: I'm just going to spend the round getting closer. Seems like a better idea than trying to roll, especially since you're using those Break Dice now and almost killing people.
Ariel: Way to come to my aid, Matash!
Elle: Don't worry, Gazelle Girl. I've got your back. Sin-Sing calls out to her that she's obviously facing an evil predator, and that they can't possibly stand up to her righteous strength! That's a Bolster Move, which is +Heat. I'll even empower it. 10 + 2 is 12, so she gets back 2 Stamina.
Ariel: Do I? Claire said the wound won't heal normally.
Elle: I don't think Stamina is actually healing -- the rule book says it's like your energy and poise.
GM Claire: That's how I read it too.
Ariel: Okay, I feel a lot better then. Is it my turn yet?
GM Claire: Sure!
Ariel: I use my Gazelle Hoof Whirlwind on this predatory devil chef! And I roll 11, so I get to use my flourish, which is they're crippled. And 2 more damage, and it's Messy and Destructive, whatever those mean.
GM Claire: Your whirlwind kicks do an extra point of damage, which is enough to kill her, and your feet take big chunks out of the cooking counter she was standing next to. The whole kitchen is in an uproar now. Everybody in the exclusive cooking area is panicking and running from you.
Msg: Do I get there yet?
GM Claire: Yes.
Elle: Paghla and I head over there too.
Msg: I'm going to search the body. Hopefully I find some poison or something so Sin-Sing's plan works.
GM Claire: You do! Or at least, you find a thick glass vial full of a disturbing green liquid that roils and swirls inside the bottle.
Msg: Great. I don't actually pick it up -- I want to be able to show it to the real guards when they show up.
GM Claire: You think you hear them now. There's a rumble of boots from beyond the door that all the cooks ran out through.
Elle: I get ready to talk our way out of this bad situation and into a good one.
GM Claire: Sure, but I think that will wait until next session. This seems like a good place to break.
Sasha: What? No! All I've gotten to do is spoon-feed this flute-face guy!
GM Claire: Experience questions ...
Msg: Did we expose ourselves to harm?
Ariel: Duh!
Msg: Did we fail in some way?
Ariel: Also duh! I almost died? Plus that guard downstairs figured our disguises out and blew our cover.
Msg: Sounds like another two experience points, then.
Sasha: We sure are racking up the XP. If we ever get to train, we're probably going to skip right over second level all the way to third.
Ariel: Which obviously I need to do so I have more stamina or wounds or something!
Msg: Nice job running the game again, Claire.
GM Claire: Thank you!
Ariel: I'm really excited to see what happens next time!
Sasha: Me too. Maybe I'll even get to do something.
Elle: Oh, hush, Sash. If it helps any, I've got something you can do right now.
Sasha: Don't try to bribe me with your wiley ways! I'm still in Angry Ag mode. You can't get away with manipulating me into calming down that easy!
Elle: (whispering)
Sasha: Well. I might let you get away with that.
GM Claire: Hey, everybody clean up your pencils and character sheets!

kissy kisses

so at the moment, i'm in the face box while elle's got our mutual bod. but this morning, msg opened it up and kissed me like i was the most beautiful thing in the world even though my hair's in the wig box and instead of my pearly whites showing between my lips, all you can see is the kinda-yellow styrofoam face-form that keeps me face-shaped when i'm in there.

is this too behind-the-curtain for you? if so, i apologize.

but i kind of dig on my man being able to see the person in me when i'm just a silicone face on a styrofoam support inside a cardboard box.

he says my eyes are perfect and soulful and more than make up for any no-hairness and no-body-ness i might be experiencing at the moment.

that really does it for me!

some here, some there ...

so back near the start of may, it was our arielversary, and aers got a couple of itty bits of clothing for presents, and eventually, we got around to a photoshoot. here's a little sampling of the less nudie ones. the rest are on my naughty blog!

okay, plus this one here in the second outfit, which we didn't get too many snaps of.

i guess i'll just have to write him a blog post ...

the boy is doing that fidgety-fretfulness thing he does sometimes when he thinks he's not paying enough attention to me. it happens a lot when elle's using our shared body and i'm in the face-box, but it's also happening more since we went from being mostly a couple to totally a quintuple and he has so many more girlfriends to divide his time between.

he's adorable, even when he's being dumb like this.

so what i'm doing now is, i'm sitting down here and i'm writing this for him to show him that even just off the top of my head, spontaneous-like, i'm still everything to him.

everything.

it's paradoxical, since sash and elle and ariel are all so important to both of us, but that's the thing about true love. it doesn't make any sense. it doesn't have to make sense.

when it's true enough, it doesn't need saying. it doesn't need seeing.

i can be in a box for weeks and only come out to play ridiculous roleplaying games, and even while i'm in that box and seemingly not even poking a toe into the waters of his consciousness, i'm still everything to him.

i feel that constantly.

which doesn't mean my love for him is truer or stronger or more certain than his for me. it just means that our love resides in the single heart that it makes of both of us. and when i don't have him right before my eyes, or on the phone, or sitting with me while i write things like this for him, that heart takes over all my senses. i can barely think over the sound of it beating.

so whenever he thinks he's leaving me alone too much, it's exactly the opposite. as long as i have him, i can't ever be alone. it's just not even possible, and of course i wouldn't want it to be.

plus ... whoo, boy, the things any three of us girls get up to together when he's got his hands full of the fourth!

goodnight, sweetheart. i'm closing my eyes inside my box ...

and slipping deep into the dream that is us.

session four of our kill six billion demons rpg extravaganza!

this one was a long session, so i'm only posting the first half here. let's just jump right to it! (oh, and spoilers ahead for the palace of night scenario from the rulebook! (double oh, and there's a new link list of all these rpg posts in the sidebar if you want to go in order!))

GM Claire: Okay, everybody remember where we were?
Sasha: Sleeping in a broom closet, right?
Ariel: No, we're just catching our breaths for a few minutes before we search this bottom level for the vault we came to rob.
Sasha: You mean, the grandma-head we came to rescue.
Ariel: Oh, yeah, that's right, we're the good guys.
Elle: I'm not sure we can guarantee there are any good guys in this scenario or this game in general ...
Ariel: Of course we can! And we're it! Even Angry Ag and you and your gang of strumpets.
Msg: What about me?
Ariel: I don't know because you're still being so mysterious.
GM Claire: Anyway, you've been resting up for 20 or 30 minutes in what seems to be some kind of storeroom.
Msg: What's stored in here with us?
GM Claire: I dunno, you tell me. I was just being nice to give you a spot for a Respite so you could get your Stamina back.
Ariel: I'm not spending a power die on my special ability just to describe a storeroom.
GM Claire: This is just for window dressing. Somebody make something up.
Msg: It's full of guard uniforms and slave manacles and a couple of big barrels of thumbtacks.
Sasha: Thumbtacks? What the hell?
Msg: Sorry, it felt like it needed some barrels, and that's the first thing that occurred to me.
Sasha: Okay, well, I move the barrels over near the door and loosen the lids in case we get chased back this way and need to slow down whoever is pursuing us.
Elle: What's this, Angry Ag planning ahead?
Sasha: I'm furious, not foresightless.
GM Claire: So once your Respite is done, what do you guys do?
Ariel: Peek out the door?
Sasha: Oh, step aside. I just go right out in the hallway with my lamp out. We need the lamp, right? It's dark?
GM Claire: Actually, that big hallway upstairs was dark, but on this level, there's an eerie green light coming from these glowing globes that stick out from the walls every once in a while.
Msg: So what exactly do we see down here at the bottom of the stairs -- besides the convenient storeroom?
GM Claire: The stairs ended in a small room with the storeroom door on the opposite side and archways leading to those green-lit halls to the right and left. Each hall extends down thirty or forty feet and then turns back in the same direction the stairs came from.
Msg: Before we get too much further, I haven't ever used this Pact ability my character has where I get to ask a favor of my patron, Stevis, the ghost of the founder of the Wicked Crow Sorcerers' Guild. If he's satisfied with my exploits, he'll grant it. Otherwise, he might demand a favor from me.
GM Claire: Welp, you just played with fire there, my normally smarty-pants boyfriend. Because if you've forgotten him completely the last three sessions, I'm going to say he's not all that happy.
Msg: Oh.
Sasha: MSG! What have you done now?
GM Claire: The ghost of Stevis appears as you guys are about to leave the storeroom. What's he look like?
Msg: He has a cape made of crow's feathers and a crown of beaks and talons. His eyes are deep-set and have no whites, just rings of red fire where the pupils would be, otherwise all black, with shaggy, fierce black eyebrows above them. His body is shriveled and wrecked from the powerful magics of the sorcerers who betrayed and killed him. His hair is long and black, and because he's so spectral, it's hard to see where his hair ends and his cape begins.
Ariel: Ew. Do I need to be scared of him?
GM Claire: "Matash Kachrang," he says, "what have you done to bring my killers to justice? What pits have you delved? What torments have you endured?"
Msg: Well ... I ...
GM Claire: He doesn't wait for an answer. "Do you delve now? In the Palace of Night? Are there torments at hand? What you seek is down that hall. (He's pointing left.) But I require you to go the other way. Find Parkhassian's torturer, who knows many things from countless bloody interrogations. Ask him where Fane Vasadra of the Quicksilver Lash has fled to. Nothing more will I do for you until Vasadra's whereabouts are known to you." Then he disappears.
Sasha: Oh, just great. That's the crappiest power ever! Now we have to go totally the wrong way?
Ariel: I mean, on the bright side, he also told us what we're looking for is down the left hall.
Sasha: I was going to suggest we go left anyway.
Elle: You were not!
Sasha: Hush, you're not there.
Msg: He didn't exactly say I had to go search out this torturer first. We could always --
Sasha: Oh, no. I'm not getting chased out of the vault by who knows what with my barrels of thumbtacks waiting to save the day only to have to go down this other hall before we can leave. Let's just go now.
Msg: I guess we go that way, then.
GM Claire: Like I said, the hallway takes a turn after thirty feet or so. When it does, you find yourself in a grisly hallway of death. Skeletonized corpses hang from manacles on the walls, or are impaled on spikes in niches to either side. Far down the hall, you see an open door through which the only light comes flickering red like fire.
Ariel: So there's no green globes here?
GM Claire: Nope. You think you hear some whistling from beyond the door.
Ariel: I want to try sneaking down there to see what's going on without being noticed.
GM Claire: That's an Overcome roll, using your Reflex.
Ariel: Nine plus two!
GM Claire: You tiptoe along the hallway soundlessly. As you go, the whistling grows louder, obviously from someone whistling a tune beyond the door. When you get there and peer into the room, you see that it's a torture chamber. There's a hunchbacked guy arranging torture tools on a broad workbench, but the whistling isn't coming from him -- it's coming from a figure chained to the wall nearby. The figure is completely covered by a bloodstained sheet except for the hands sticking out and up to either side, held by the chains.
Ariel: Is he a good whistler?
GM Claire: Actually, he seems to be quite excellent. The guy arranging the tools looks over at him and says, "You know, Sylvis, I'll sure miss having you around when Parkhassian gives me a deadline for putting an end to you." The whistling quivers a little bit but then recovers.
Ariel: This guy is awful! That's so mean! You know what? Since my goal is to defeat cruel predators, I'm just going to rush over there and try to wrestle this guy to the ground so Matash can question him. Can I do that?
GM Claire: That's a Might move, +Body.
Ariel: I'm even going to spend my power die to Channel Flame and empower it. As I jump at him, I say, "We'll just see who gets an end put to them!" Foo. Seven plus one is eight.
GM Claire: Success -- you get to pick two things from this list, but there will be a consequence or drawback, too.
Ariel: Hmm. Definitely the one where he can't move until he escapes my grasp. Then I also like this reeling one where he can't deal any damage for a while.
Sasha: Do we hear any of this?
GM Claire: Pry Secrets, +Mind.
Sasha: Bleh, my Mind stinks.
Ariel: You said it, not me.
Sasha: I'm going to push it and try to get a power die! Damn it! Seven minus one is six. I blow it.
GM Claire: That gives me a Break die, and not only do you not hear what's up, you sneeze or something so MSG doesn't hear either. Sorry, MSG, I could see you reaching for your dice to make your own Pry Secrets roll. Aers, the guy can't deal damage to you and his actions are ineffective for a moment, but you can see he's taking a deep breath to scream for guards or something. You're going to have to let him go and clap your hand over his mouth if you don't want him screeching in a second.
Msg: Well, maybe I can't hear any of this, but I wouldn't just be waiting like a dummy. I'm going to sneak down the hall too. Eight plus one is nine.
GM Claire: You make it, but you have to go really slow.
Ariel: All right, I'm going to try getting my hand over his mouth, then.
GM Claire: Might + Body again.
Ariel: Nine total. Same deal, right? So I'm holding him still now and ... I choose this "crippled" option to cripple his mouth.
GM Claire: Good job. Unfortunately, he gets to respond with a Devour move that causes you 2 damage. It feels like he's actually draining life-force from you with the filthy claws of his fingernails digging into your flesh.
Ariel: Ow!
Sasha: Well, I'm not staying here alone, so I just head down the hallway too. No sneaking or anything.
Msg: Am I there yet?
GM Claire: Almost, and you're being super-quiet, but then you see Ag just walk right by you.
Msg: Fine. Since I don't see Grey-Eyes outside the room, I abandon being quiet and rush in. Can I get in a curse with my Red Word this round too?
GM Claire: Sure, give it a try ... You've still got that -1, though, right?
Msg: Yes, I didn't forget. Eight plus two minus one is nine. I tell him to stop struggling, or I'll blast his soul with my curse and kill him. For my downside, I'm not going to be able to speak this art again until I rest.
GM Claire: He can sense that your curse is powerful enough to take him out, so he stops struggling.
Sasha: Can I see Gazelle Girl bleeding and use a Bolster move to fix that?
GM Claire: What are you doing in story terms?
Sasha: I guess giving her a speech about how impressed I am at her being tough enough to shake off the scratches this guy gave her.
GM Claire: Okay, roll +Heat.
Sasha: Uh, five.
GM Claire: Sorry, you can tell her scratches are more serious than a simple speech can fix, and you're too dis-spirited to use the Bolster move again until you rest.
Sasha: Dang it. Now I'm really mad at that guy for hurting her. I pull out my sword and tell him he better cough up whatever it is that ghost wanted to know or so help me, I'll cut him in half diagonally fingertip-to-toenail!
Msg: I'm going to use that threat and the threat of my curse to try a Bend Will move and get him to talk. Errh ... yikes, Bend Will is +Heat, which is my worst score. I guess I'll spend a power die to Channel Flame on this, so that the power of my Dread Sorcery crackles from my body and flickers in my eyes as I speak. Nine minus one is 8, so I succeed!
GM Claire: Well, 7-9 on Bend Will means they need concrete assurance or proof of your leverage before they do anything. He says, "How do I know you won't just kill me with your curse as soon as I tell you what you want to know?"
Sasha: I got your concrete assurance right here! I lift my great weapon sword up over his head and flex all my muscles in the process. Talk!
GM Claire: He goes pale and asks what you want to know.
Msg: The spirits tell me you have knowledge of the whereabouts of Fane Vasadra of the Quicksilver Lash. Reveal what you know, and we'll let you live.
GM Claire: He says that Vasadra runs a child slavery ring on a world through a nearby gate, Emproneal. She's been competing with Parkhassian for years, and when they captured one of her brokers and tortured him recently, they learned the location of her headquarters -- the Solemn Village in the high Windlace Pass.
Msg: Do I feel like he's telling the truth?
GM Claire: Pry Secrets.
Msg: Ten plus two is twelve. My three questions are, what here seems false or deceitful, what could be useful to me, and what's about to happen?
GM Claire: The deceitful thing and the what's about to happen are the same thing ... he's getting ready to try to break loose and grab Grey-Eyes to use her as a hostage. What could be useful is ... the whistling person under the sheet.
Ariel: He's still whistling?
GM Claire: Yes.
Ariel: Okay, weird.
Msg: There's not anything in the rules that says I have to follow through with the leverage I promised, is there?
GM Claire: No, why?
Msg: I activate my curse and deal the two damage.
GM Claire: That's enough to kill him, so he drops dead. How does the curse affect him?
Msg: His eyes swell and rupture as fiery red energy shoots both inward and outward from his eye sockets.
Ariel: Yick!
Msg: Okay, so I'm wondering how this whistling person under the sheet can be useful to us.
Ariel: I thought it was going to be that we'd keep our word and just chain the torturer guy up, only then we'd let the whistly guy loose and he'd do the killing for us. But I guess that's out the window.
Msg: I figured that was an option too. But I'm suspicious of someone who just keeps whistling while combat and cursing is going on around them.
Sasha: Can we go now? This detour is really getting on my nerves.
Msg: Sure. I got what we came this way for.
Ariel: Wait, aren't we going to let the poor chained up guy loose?
Msg: Claire, is he still whistling through all this conversation?
GM Claire: Yep. Doesn't miss a beat.
Msg: Look, Grey-Eyes, I'm a Dread Sorcerer, and even I am finding this guy's whistling pretty creepy. You can let him go if you want, but honestly, I'm not thinking that's the wisest move we could take.
Ariel: He's still whistling?
GM Claire: Endlessly.
Ariel: Okay, I guess that weirds me out a little too. Let's go.
GM Claire: You leave the torture chamber and its whistling occupant behind and make your way back the other direction. Now let's cut over to Sin-Sing Cherise and the contest.
Elle: Excellent. So what place did my performance last session get me?
GM Claire: Oh, there are still lots of contestants in this first round, and --
Elle: First round?
GM Claire: Yeah, there will be three rounds in all. Everyone who moves on from this round avoids getting tagged as a "loser" and having to serve the Palace of Night for a year. Everyone who moves on from the next round is considered a "winner" and gets to ask for a boon. Then if anyone does well enough in the final round, they get to ask pretty much anything of the Palace's master, Parkhassian.
Elle: Oh, for pete's sake. If I'd known that I wouldn't have burned both those power dice in the first round.
GM Claire: Well, if you hadn't, you would have lost them at the end of the session anyway.
Elle: Good point. But if I want to set myself up for the same amount of success, I guess I'd better find some moves to push so I can get more power dice. What do I see when I get back to the waiting area? Is that shrimpy blue demon with the lute still there?
GM Claire: No.
Elle: Hmm. Is it Pry Secrets to try to get someone to tell me where she went?
GM Claire: I think it would be more like Gather Power to acquire information.
Elle: Does my amazing performance mean I have a good reputation in this area?
GM Claire: Sure.
Elle: Awesome. I get to take an extra +1, then.
GM Claire: Yes, but not if you're going to push the move. You don't get any positive modifiers in that case.
Elle: Darn it. Okay, I'm going to see if anyone spotted where she went off to or heard anything. I guess I'll start by slinking over to the registration desk and seeing if my allure can get anything out of the clerk dude there. Aha! I roll a seven, so I get the power die!
GM Claire: He is definitely interested in assisting your cause -- he acts like he'd like to tell you something, but says it's not really appropriate to his assignment. Maybe if you sweetened the pot?
Elle: I lean way over so my top hangs down and reveals everything that can be seen through my neckline ... which of course is very low-cut. Then I tell him it's a shame he's stuck here at the desk and can't see my performances, but maybe I could give him a private showing at the Stiff Brewhouse sometime.
GM Claire: He swallows and tugs at his collar like it's too tight, then whispers to you that he saw her heading down the hallway that leads to the kitchen.
Elle: And you said last time she was the second performer ... does he have his list out somewhere that I could spot her name? Or heck, since he's disposed to help me, I just ask if I can see the schedule of contestants.
GM Claire: He says there shouldn't be any harm in that and shows you. The second person on the list is, "Lub, a Lutist."
Elle: That's all it says?
Sasha: Definitely a fake.
GM Claire: That's it. No description other than that.
Elle: Okay, Paghla and I head down the hallway he indicated.
GM Claire: It's a long hallway, and you can see wait staff trundling up and down it with carts to take refreshments to the main hall and dirty dishes back to the kitchen. At the far end there's a guard on the door to the kitchen.
Elle: Hmm. I backtrack a little and see if there's a spot where a returning cart would be out of sight of any guards.
GM Claire: There's a little dogleg in one of the paths to the main hall that might work, but you would have a very limited time to do anything.
Elle: Okay, well, when the chance occurs, Paghla and I will needle a waiter and -- wait, are these carts covered? Could one of us hide in one?
GM Claire: It would be a squeeze, but yes.
Elle: And is there anyplace near this dogleg where we could drag the waiter and have Paghla change clothes with them?
GM Claire: That would be awfully convenient, I think.
Ariel: You need my Mantra of Prim the Loyal power so you can add to Claire's description.
Elle: Hey, can Ariel use that power for me even if Grey-Eyes isn't here?
GM Claire: There's nothing in the description that says she has to be present.
Ariel: But I don't have a power die to spend.
Elle: Damn it. Okay, I guess I'll try a Gather Power move and spend some wealth to try bribing a waiter to give us their cart and uniform. Oh, and I tell Paghla to watch and learn so if I make it, my +BOSS goes up. Total of nine.
GM Claire: How exactly are you asking this?
Elle: Well ... I'll say I'm a fanatic about cooking, and I just want to be able to sneak in and go around the kitchen to see how things are done in a super-high-class place like this.
GM Claire: Okay, with that roll and that excuse and the money you spent, the wait-person is willing to let one of you hide in the cart while she rolls it around the kitchen. But she says she can't just hand her cart over and let you both go in on your own.
Elle: Fine. I guess I'll have Paghla wait for me in the waiting area.
GM Claire: The server transfers as much of the stuff as she can from inside the cart to the top of it. Then she finds a place to hide whatever won't fit up top. There's a slight gap in the drapery along the side that you can peek through and see to some extent. She tells you to be as quiet as you can, then wheels you down the hall.
Sasha: Is all of this really necessary? It seems kinda off-task to me.
Elle: Listen, if something's up with this Lub the Lutist, or if that red-eyed chick I said I'd look for works in the kitchen, this could totally pay off. Are we to the kitchen yet?
GM Claire: Yes. The lady wheels you past the guard and then takes a deliberately winding path through the kitchen to drop off the dishes in the back. It's a huge area, brimming with cooks and staff, overseen by a very large, imposing Servant who circulates through the place inspecting everything.
Elle: Okay, I'm going to Pry Secrets and see what I can make out in here. Ooh, twelve total!
GM Claire: Three questions from the list.
Elle: What here seems false or deceitful? What here could be useful to me? What seems to be the safest path forward?
GM Claire: As far as false or deceitful, you spot the blue demon in a chef's outfit on the far side of the kitchen. It looks like there's a special area specifically for preparing food for the most important guests or elite higher-ups of the Palace. She's managed to get herself into that area. What could be useful ... you over hear someone mentioning the name Gervender in connection with the buffet table at the east end of the main hall. Apparently she's the attendant at the table. The safest path forward would definitely be to just stay hidden in the cart until the staffer wheels you back out.
Elle: Okay, I'm not going to push my luck here. I'll take the info that I've got and get out.
GM Claire: Paghla is very relieved to see you when you get back. Since she's "just a prop," it was making her nervous to have to mingle with the other contestants.
Elle: Yeah, yeah. I grab her by the arm and head toward the main hall with her. Since we're made up like rich types, I assume we can just go in and mingle in the hall where the performances are going on?
GM Claire: Yes. There are guards everywhere, though, and people recognize you from the show you put on a little while ago.
Elle: I soak in their yearning and worshipful gazes while we make our way to the east end of the hall. Do I find the buffet table? Is there a dark-skinned hottie with cherry-red eyes there like my source described his sister?
GM Claire: Yes to both.
Elle: I'm going to approach her and tell her her brother says hello, and that I'm going to try to get her out. Then I ask her if she can get hold of uniforms for me and Paghla.
GM Claire: Roll Bend Will +Heat.
Elle: I'm making an example of this for Paghla, by the way. Nine total.
GM Claire: Gervender appears to want to believe you but says she's fearful of what will happen to her if she does as you ask and then you don't follow through in your attempt to get her out.
Elle: Okay, well, I tell her that when I win the next round, I'll use my request to ask Parkhassian to free her from her obligation, without even going on to the final round where I might win the big prize. And once she's free, she can join my gang if she wants and I'll make sure she's well cared for from then on.
GM Claire: That's not entirely a concrete assurance or proof of your leverage, but I'll tell you what. You can choose whether she agrees to join your gang right now, and then her getting the uniforms would be a Dirty Work move requiring an additional roll, or she says she'll get the uniforms and stash them somewhere, and then give them to you after you win the next round and have her freed.
Elle: Ooh, a new gang member! I take that one.
GM Claire: She tells you she'll get someone to sub for her at the buffet as soon as she can, and gives you directions to a meeting place where she'll bring the uniforms in half an hour.
Elle: Peachy. Paghla and I will go back to the waiting area until then. Should I go ahead and make the Dirty Work roll?
GM Claire: Yes.
Elle: Wait, can I back up and spend a power die to give her a really inspiring speech before I go to get an automatic 10+?
GM Claire: Sure.
Elle: I tell her how happy her brother will be to see her again in just a few short hours.
GM Claire: Okay, subtract that power die and lower your BOSS stat by one for using that ability.
Elle: Easy come, easy go.
GM Claire: All right, back to the Vault!

(next time, i mean.)