SoloDark: Pelor's Quest ep68

--/-- Welcome to SoloBickering! It's a solo rpg, which means I roll dice generate a story and decide outcomes, and lose arguments with myself as I portray the exploits of my adventurers. 

--/-- Join me on a journey into the game world I play face to face in, and it may sound vaguely familiar to you. Like many another DM I stitch my world together from any bits and pieces I fancy, adding them into a standard setting, Faerun's Sword Coast.  

--/-- AI and NSFW: For this possibly brief adventure the stars are young and moderately hot, and I'll be using CoPilot AI to buff my romance bar, because I'm useless at romance, and for side situations that need social interactions. Some of the situations the young protagonists find themselves in may turn out to be NSFW. I won't be deliberately aiming for that, but oracles are what they are. So if on either account you take an ethical stand against those, skip this episode and listen in to Rollohi, my other SoloBickering output. 

--/-- And having said that, let's get the game started. 

 --/--Music from Pixabay with thanks to: daynightmorning, Good_B-Music, JefWakeUp, LudoSoundX, makesoundmusic, Playsound, teodholina, and White_Records

--/--Selected tracks from "Ancient Realms" by Joel Steudler Music.

https://larrymannplayssolobickering.blogspot.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Two days. Yes, that is reasonable. The breach will not widen in that time. And now that I have the scroll, I can't really afford to linger here myself. Every hour I delay is an hour the valley loses. But two days? Two days is the time I would have spent traveling with the survivors. I can give you that. If you strike at the threat beneath the red light and return in two days, I'll be ready waiting for you, gladly. But no more than that. After two days, I will ride to Beliard with you or without you.

SPEAKER_04 0:45

Join me on a journey into the game world I play face to face in. May sound vaguely familiar to you. Like many another DM, I stitch my world together from any bits and pieces I fancy, adding them into a standard setting, Faroon's Sword Coast. For this venture, the stars are young and moderately hot. And I'll be using Copilot AI here and there to buff my romance bar because I'm useless at romance, and for side situations that don't really need tools. Some of the situations the young protagons find themselves in may turn out to be NSFW. And if you're uncomfortable on either of those two scores, skip this and head over to the world of Rology. Otherwise, having said that, let's get on with this show. Welcome back to Palo's Quest, a solo dark game. In our last episode, our four heroes, Drum, Lucinda, Natalie, and Sakeb famously defeated a horror that squatted between planes, menacing the town of Red Larch above. They have, by that means, completed the two-day quest that the ranger Garrick Thornwell has allowed them, more or less a day in advance. We'll pick up with a flashback. Just to make clear why the party did not loot the statue of Bane that they found in the grotto that guarded the portal.

SPEAKER_03 2:36

Are you sure we shouldn't touch that statue? It looks highly lootable.

SPEAKER_04 2:43

Listen, when we cleared the cleft dungeon, the Sunless Citadel. Helping the Curse Breakers. You wouldn't know this, Sucky, but I think you saw some of it. There were a couple of areas that even the Curse Breakers decided to stay clear of. And they were both religious kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_05 3:10

That's right. One was a dwarf in two? And the other was some kind of similar cursed door. The curse breakers said best leave them for people best equipped to deal with them.

SPEAKER_04 3:29

So that's vain, as uh Sakheeb has told you. We ain't priests. Sakib's the expert, he says. Don't touch it.

SPEAKER_03 3:43

Okay then. If it's uh what your mentors taught you, I guess you're right. I know my body got into terrible trouble when it did loot some Dorvin dome things. What are they called?

SPEAKER_04 3:57

Sarkoffage, Sakeb says absently, as he begins to head back out of the dungeon. For the process of getting all of the loot, including those several eggs, out of the dungeon, to the inn, I'm going to make three rolls. The first is at the dungeon. It is conceivable that someone from the village has decided to gazump the party and take any treasure it's gained. No, that's a two. The second is as they walk all the way back west to the inn. I think each time I have tried this there has been a positive encounter. Let's see what happens. A positive encounter. Well, fitting the pattern of what's happened before. I'm going to use the oracle and ask, is it Owain? And I think it's likely, so it's 2D20. They're both yes. Owain has been watching for the party. He had a feeling, let's say. The aged, or as he would put it, mature bird, detaches himself from the shelter that he's been weathering the evening in, and intercepts the party as it walks back to the town square. My dear children, he says graciously, can I take it that your latest efforts down there were successful? You don't seem particularly battered. Are you serious? Sakabe says. I would definitely call myself battered. Why then I soak in the hot bars might be the order of the evening? Owain encourages. Ale.

SPEAKER_03 6:23

Ale, and good food. That's what's best what ails us.

SPEAKER_04 6:29

If you're hoping to get us alone and get the story out of us, Owain, I think. A quiet corner of the common room, maybe? Drum office. Well that we'll have to do then. I suppose uh the worst thing would be for me to share your story with the rest of the tap room. Oh yes. Uh the common room it is. Maybe you could help carry these tools, Sir Kib says pleasantly, shoving a shovel at Owain. More to keep his mouth shut than anything else. Owain throws his hands up in horror. I know that your strength is beyond that of normal man. I think you can manage an extra shovel. Instead the band falls in alongside Natalie. What daring tales have you to tell me, my dear young lady? he says ingratiatingly. See coloured dice awain, clear dice Natalie. Despite her best intentions, Natalie, who rolls a gnat one, finds herself babbling happily to the aged bard, or as he would put it, mature bard, as the party heads not into the tap room, but around first to the stables where they deposit the tools that they had used previously, as well as the eggs, which on mature judgment and with Owain's advice they decide are most easily hidden at the stable, and from there take the now familiar route through to the common room. As they head away from the stables, Lucinda is far too tired to notice Rilse's gaze on her retreating form. As I file through into the common room, Owain just for the moment lagging behind. A fine fire has been made up and is quietly roaring away. At first glance the common room seems thinly packed, but on closer examination, there are about eight wagoneers of various types, probably all over from Therlorn's Safe Journeys, and two that stand out. The little wizard and a red-haired cleric with Paylor's symbol at his chest. These, of course, are two of the survivors, and it seems they may have been expecting the party. The other person in the room, for at the moment there is no serving winch or tapster, is Mara, Mara Urkel, the co-propriatress of the Singing Sword. She's the slightly older, slightly cooler personality. But she gives the party a warm smile. Her experienced eye reads the body language. Sakeb battered and in need of something to bolster his faith. Drum and Natalie exchanging secret glances with meaning in those glances, sticking close to one another, touching each other's skin as often as they can. Lucinda, head up, nostrils flaring, perhaps on the prowl, not just for food and drink. The swinging sword is of the traditional type, and now Mara steps forward with a traditional curtsy of welcome. She gestures to a foretop near the hearth, and as Owain enters the room, she drags an extra chair over herself. Mara cuts off the bard's first theatrical flourish with a single raised eyebrow. Owain seats himself quietly. Mara moves over to the two young adventurers who are sitting up straight, ready to rush over and congratulate the party and hear their tale. The subtle hand gesture from the innkeeper says, not yet. As for the eight wagon folk, as we look at them, there's a guard with a bandaged hands, stable hands, possibly a cook's apprentice, there's a steady bodied senior wheelwright, an honored profession in the town, and two drovers. A couple mutter to each other El She made it and one stable hand nudges another. Don't you they come back? Mara circles back. She puts a hand first gently on Sakeb's shoulder.

SPEAKER_05 12:11

Eat first and rest. Pelo's light is burning if you need a moment before sleep.

SPEAKER_04 12:20

She knows that he'll remember where the little shrine of Pelor is. Next Mara leans in just enough to be heard by Drum and Natalie.

SPEAKER_05 12:32

There's a small room free at the back. I'll arrange clean linen and quiet. Say the word.

SPEAKER_04 12:44

Natalie's ears flare red and drums are also pink as he nods without speaking. And finally Mara circles round to Lucinda. The adrenaline leaching off the half orc is palpable. Mara places a tankard in front of the half orc. She says with a dry smile, If Owen starts composing ballads about you, I'll throw him out. She leans a little closer. And Rills is still at the stables. Said she'd wait up. It's a little teasing, but it gives Lucinda options without pushing any direction. After a hearty meal and drink, Drum and Natalie excuse themselves. By this time, Owain has heard much of the detail. And the little wizard and the red haired cleric have also heard enough to be at least satisfied, and Owain can fill in the earlier details later for them. The pair of adventurers, Ranger and Thief, have realized that any poor roll of the dice could sunder them one from the other for all time. Young as they are, this is the night they've chosen to consummate their engagement. They slip away to the room that Mara offered them. I wonder if Sakeb interprets that correctly. No, he doesn't. He will assume that they've gone to pray at the Palor shrine. Which reminds him, will he pray at the Palor shrine, or would that be a mark in disfavor if Taimora's aid is called for tomorrow? He decides that he too ought to at least throw a token in front of Palor. He doesn't know much about the sun god's worship, but clearly their current quest is somewhat in the hands of that deity. And so he too follows the path towards the back and then turns to the left and heads down a passage and is mildly surprised to find that the other two aren't in front of him kneeling at the shrine. Will he put down more than five gold pieces? No. Following his own Taimora worship, he puts down five gold pieces, not exhausting his current supply, and states his case more than says a fervent prayer to Paylor. We've done our best for you so far. And I know that you're probably not really listening because you're not from this place, but if you can help us, focus more of your power on our party as we cross the hills with the Ranger Garrick. And then return, hopefully, to restore things the way they're supposed to be in your realm. Bless us, Lord Palal. Meanwhile, Lucinda draws a heavy sigh. Owain's hand is on hers, and she's got to decide once again to turn the old fellow down, and worse still, to head out the back and make it clear, although she kind of thought she had already, to the pretty stable mistress, Rilsa, that she doesn't swing that way.

SPEAKER_03 16:47

Some nights it seems like the hardest adventure is just getting to your own bed.

SPEAKER_04 16:59

Following their extremely welcome night's rest at the inn, our four sixth level heroes take their level games. Just to explain how my Shadow Dark variant works, the only rule changes I have are expanded talent trees and brutal hit points where a con bonus only occurs once. These are the level gains for our four heroes. Drum makes a decent hit point roll. His hit points are now 37. The talent he gains on the expanded ranger tree is quick climb. Scale surfaces at normal speed. Lucinda continues on the fighter path this level and makes a really good hit point roll, moving up to 31 hit points. She takes much needed plus two to con and now has a con bonus with a con of twelve. Now Natalie's hit points were pretty atrocious and she moves to 15 hit points. With the fortunate roll, Natalie has a chance to spend two attribute points. Bearing in mind how weak she was to cold damage, she gladly moves her con up to 12. That could be huge. Remember I said that a con bonus happens only once? The Cinder's hit points move to 32, and Natalie's hit points move to 16 thanks to those con games. Finally, Sakheeb makes a not fantastic hit point roll, and he is now 29 hit points. He gains a spell-like talent, sacred weapon plus d4 damage once per day. This is a third level of priest. He also picks up a third first level spell. Aside from Turn Undead, which is his by right. It is Shield of Faith.

SPEAKER_02 19:37

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SPEAKER_01 19:42

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SPEAKER_02 19:46

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SPEAKER_01 19:47

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SPEAKER_02 19:50

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SPEAKER_01 20:03

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SPEAKER_02 20:09

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SPEAKER_01 20:23

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SPEAKER_02 20:29

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SPEAKER_04 20:36

See you there. Thank you so much for listening. Ratings and reviews are much appreciated. For those keen to get in touch with me, you can contact me through SoloRolePlayersNetwork.com or at Larryman Plays on Mastodon. Or you can email me direct at LarrymanPlays at gmail.com. That's Larry with two R's and man with two Ns. Larryman Plays all one word at gmail dot com. Thanks again and catch you later.