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06-30-2021, 09:33 PM
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#1 |
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Join Date: Jun 2013
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[Delvers to Grow] Shigran of the Flaming Spear
Now that I have the PDF of Delvers to Grow (which is outstanding) alongside some other Nordlond content (which is similarly excellent), I decided to try my hand at something I'd considered creating ever since reading book 1 of The Stormlight Archives - a spear-wielding Swashbuckler. I set point value at [250], and started with an Eldhud Fast Delver at the Master level ([187]). Because I'm a horrible person, I did stray off-template a bit, namely by picking upgrades my character technically wasn't eligible for (Backstab Artist and Ghost, which are Thief Only and Thief/Scout Only, respectively).
I had a particular idea in mind, so I started with the Eldhud template, and opted for Extinguishing Touch (so I can put out fires with a touch - but perhaps more importantly so gear in my hands benefits from my Fire Resistance 5), Flaming Touch (letting me set fires with a touch), and Nimble Tail (giving me an Extra Arm that can manipulate objects - say, setting fire to things without having to use my hands - but not strike). This technically put me [1] over on my Eldhud Gifts, but given those are available at any time as Power Ups, that's fine. Next up, I applied Swashbuckler I and II, opting for Spear as my primary skill and the target of the Weapon Master. This was a soft departure from the template, which recommends Rapier, and was followed by a hard departure - I opted against Weapon Bond (which I'm disinclined to start with) and opted instead for a different Perk - Weapon Adaptation (Staff to Spear), which basically eliminates the -2 to skill for doing butt strikes (swings and thrusts) and claiming the +2 to Parry. For my secondary combat skill, I opted for Throwing. I also dropped Fast-Draw, given I was using a spear, and put the point into the slush fund. Between Savoir-Faire and Streetwise, I opted for Savoir-Faire (Military) - my character once served in the military (although he arguably wasn't great at it, given lack of Soldier skill). For the two upgrade modules, I went for Backstab Artist, and for my Trademark Move I tentatively opted for a Telegraphic Attack Spear Thrust/Vitals (from behind, naturally). This meant I had a total (from template and upgrade) of [5] in Stealth, so I shunted [1] over into the slush fund. I also opted for Ghost, boosting stealthiness further while enhancing my own perception and gaining a good deal of Night Vision in the process. For my two Disadvantage Modules, I opted to make an Unwelcomed Blood Knight. However, the Code of Honor (Chivalry) of Blood Knight doesn't really allow for stealthily stabbing most foes from behind, so I modified things a bit. CoH (Chivalry) in Basic Set (I don't have DFRPG to see how it's defined there) appears to consist of: Never break your word, Never ignore an insult (to yourself, a lady, or your liege; apology or honorable duel will wipe the insult away), Accept any challenge to arms (by those of equal or greater Status), and Fight honorably (both sides being equal for fights, at least against similarly-honorable foes). I kept most of this, but had the "sides equal for fights" only apply to duels (to avenge an insult or due to a challenge to arms), got rid of the requirement that fights be otherwise-honorable (to allow backstabbing), and added in Protect the weak and Punish evildoers. I felt this was roughly the same, so still worth [-15]. For Unwelcome, I decided the character had suffered the equivalent of Dishonorable Discharge from his military duties for having unlawfully executed opponents he deemed "evil," leading to Social Stigma (Criminal Record). Compulsive Spending didn't quite fit, so I opted to replace it with a part of Old Soldier - the character has Wounded. At this point, I have a [206] character (not counting the [2] set aside for slush fund). Five Quirks gets this to [201]. Unfortunately, at this point I actually had accidentally recorded Combat Reflexes (from Swashbuckler II) as only [5] rather than [15], so I thought I was at [191]. I opted for two more upgrade modules - Faster Delver (+1 DX, +1 Move) and Favored by Fate (+1 Per, +1 Move, Luck). This actually put my Basic Speed at 6.75, so I spend another [5] on +0.25 to Speed, for Speed 7 and a blinding-fast Move 9. With my "remaining" (recall my recording error) [4], I initially opted to give my character [1] in Consumable Signature Gear in the form of a functionally-infinite supply of oily rags, which he would tie near the head of his spear and set alight during combat. Then, when considering his need to change bandages for his Wounded Disadvantage, I thought of something better - give the character flammable blood (seemed appropriate for an Eldhud with fire powers), which would normally be a Disadvantage but I set as a Perk on account of Extinguishing Touch (which would let the character put out any such flame) and Fire Resistance (which would prevent the flame from harming the character anyway). Now the Consumable Signature Gear is actually in the form of bandages (and given I get $100 worth for [1], he has 10 lbs of bandages at all times, which I feel is sufficient he can just be assumed to always have some fresh ones as well as some bloody - and extra-flammable - ones available when needed). I also created a Perk I called Fast-Flame that allows the character to extinguish or ignite (via his gifts) mundane flames he touches as a free action rather than calling for a Ready. With my remaining [1], I took a look at his Trademark Move, and realized that he was at effective skill 23 (Spear 21, +4 for Telegraphic, +1 for Trademark Move, -3 for Vitals). So, I updated that to instead be Telegraphic Attack Spear Thrust/Spine, for effective skill 18. So, for the last [1], I gave him Unique Technique (Power Attack), which lets him trade -2 to hit for +1 to damage, and incorporated this into his Trademark Move, for final effective skill 16. To flesh out the character, I revisited those 5 Quirks. I opted for Flaming Spear! (the character sets the cloth tied to his spear aflame for pretty much any fight, only extinguishing it when using stealth - and reignites it as he's breaking stealth to attack), Likes Setting Fires (Quirk-level Pyromania), Dislikes Fires Set by Others, Thinks Sneak Attacks are Honorable (a Quirk-level Delusion), and he keeps a Lucky Ring on his finger, an old heirloom (that isn't worth anything). His Unnatural Features consist of dark red skin, vestigial horns (a pair of them on the forehead), vestigial bat-like wings, and his tail (yes, that's more than 2, but the mechanical effects - penalty to Disguise/Shadowing, bonus to attempts to identify you - are what matter). For a name, I decided to recycle one from another half-demon I created years ago, Shigran, and appended "of the Flaming Spear" after his name, for obvious reasons. For gear, Shigran is Poor (thanks to Unwelcome), so didn't have much to start with (only $200, plus the $100 worth of renewing bandages). His spear eats up $40 of that. He can't afford the full Basic Kit from DtG, so I took out the light sources (glow vial and torches) on account of him having Night Vision 6 (and plenty of flammable used bandages in a pinch) and the tent, dropping cost to $127. I added in 5 small balls (taken from Low Tech) and an extra pouch so he can keep one of them on his belt - the balls are typically wrapped in used bandages, and he sets them alight and throws them for his ranged attacks. I opted to give the balls Acc 1 - he could easily use Acc 0 found rocks for free, so some benefit for paying $3 per projectile seemed appropriate. Total cost was $192, total weight (including the 10 lbs of bandages, and assuming a full waterskin) was 44.4 lbs and Light Encumbrance. The final character, thanks to my recording error, is worth [260] and is presented in the next post. He's at his Disadvantage cap, so reducing cost would probably call for reducing ST to 11 (more in line with the original DF Swashbuckler; swing damage is at -1; BL reduces to 24 and full-waterskin loadout is just barely Medium Encumbrance; ball throwing range reduces to 38 yards), reducing Move to 7 (although one advantage to Move 9 is that it greatly improves his range for Backstab), or perhaps removing Silence 2 (or some combination adding up to [-10]). Part of me is strongly tempted to drop Brawling (which is basically useless with only [1] in it) and pick up Swimming (so Shigran doesn't drown the first time he finds himself unexpectedly in water), but I'll keep things as-is.
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GURPS Overhaul |
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06-30-2021, 09:36 PM
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#2 |
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Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: [Delvers to Grow] Shigran of the Flaming Spear
Shigran of the Flaming Spear [260]
Attributes [140] ST 12 [20] DX 15 [100] HT 12 [20] IQ 10 Secondary Attributes [15] Damage 1d-1/1d+2 (1d+1/2d+2 when backstabbing) BL 29 lbs HP 12 Will 10 Per 12 [10] FP 12 Speed 7 [5] Dodge 11 Move 9 (7 at Light Encumbrance) [10] Height 5'10" Weight 150 lbs Advantages Attractive [4] Charisma 1 [5] Combat Reflexes [15] Consumable Signature Gear (Bandages) [1] Eldhud Gifts [9] (Extinguishing Touch [2]) (Flaming Touch [2]) (Nimble Tail [5]) Expert Backstabbing 4 [8] Fire Resistance 5 [15] Luck [15] Night Vision 6 [6] Silence 2 [10] Vanishing Act [8] Weapon Master (Spear) [20] Perks [5] Fast-Flame Flammable Blood Trademark Move (Telegraphic Rapid Power Attack Spear Thrust/Vitals 15, 15, 15) Power Attack Weapon Adaptation (Staff->Spear) Disadvantages [-62] (removing [-12] for Eldhud traits, net is [-50], the cap) Bloodlust (12) [-10] Code of Honor (Blood Knight) [-15] Poor [-15] Social Stigma (Criminal Record) [-5] Impulsive (12) [-10] Unnatural Features 2 [-2] Wounded [-5] Quirks Flaming Spear! Likes Setting Fire Dislikes Fires Set by Others Delusion: Sneak Attacks are Honorable Lucky Ring Skills [41] Acrobatics 14 (DX-1) [2] Brawling 15 (DX+0) [1] Carousing 12 (HT+0) [1] Climbing 14 (DX-1) [1] Jumping 14 (DX-1) [1] Savoir-Faire (Military) 10 (IQ+0) [1] Spear 21 (DX+6) [24] Stealth 17 (DX+2) [8] Throwing 15 (DX+0) [2] Gear $200, 40.15 lbs (+8 lbs with full waterskin); Light Encumbrance with Backpack, No Encumbrance (8.4 lbs) without Backpack Carried Spear, $40, 4 lb Spear 21 1H: 1d+3 imp, Reach 1*, Parry 0; 1d+5 Backstab 2H: 1d+4 imp, Reach 1,2*, Parry +2 (spear thrust); 1d+6 Backstab 2H: 1d+3 cr, Reach 1,2*, Parry +2 (staff thrust); 1d+5 Backstab 2H: 1d+5 cr, Reach 1,2*, Parry +2 (staff swing); 2d+6 Backstab Worn Ordinary Clothes, $0, 2 lbs Lucky Ring, $0, neg Belt Pouch, $10, 0.2 lbs -Personal Basics, $5, 1 lb -Misc coins, $8, neg Belt Pouch, $10, 0.2 lbs -Bloody Bandage-Wrapped Ball, $3, 1 lb Throwing 15 1d-2 cr +1 burn, Range 42 yards, Acc 1, Bulk 0 Small Backpack, $40, 3 lbs -Blanket $20, 4 lbs -Rations, 1 week, $42, 10.5 lbs -Waterskin, 1 gal, $10, 0.25 lbs (+8 lbs when full) -Bandages, $0, 10 lbs -Ball x4, $12, 4 lbs As noted above, the character is [10] over budget. I feel the best way to get him in line would be to replace one level of ST with +1 Lifting ST [3] and +1 HP [2], and remove one level of Silence. For character advancement, he would first toss a point in Swimming, then pick up Reach Mastery (Spear) to avoid the Ready maneuver to switch between Reach 1 and Reach 2, then buy Silence back up, and finally buy ST back up to a full level. Beyond that, I'd base purchases on what the character/party seems to need, based on adventuring experience. While adventuring, the character will likely try to get a Strong Delver companion to carry most of his rations for him, leaving himself with 1 day's worth, and may opt to only carry a few pounds worth of bandages (I feel it's inappropriate to have someone else carry those around, so it's more like early on he only keeps a few pounds at a time, but will later start carrying the full 10 lbs), to try to stay below Light Encumbrance. An early purchase is likely to be a Quick-Release Backpack, likely followed by a personal tent (unless it looks like that isn't needed). After that, he'd be well-served grabbing some light armor. In combat, he'll typically start by using Backstabbing to immediately hide if possible, and will generally favor targeting the closest foe, even if rolling a Critical Success (a Self-Control Roll against Impulsive is necessary to target anyone but the nearest foe). During combat, he'll fight normally if his allies (or an innocent) appear to be in danger, but otherwise favors ducking into cover to attempt Vanishing Act (and if he would need to use Dungeon Parkour to reach a good hiding spot this turn, an SC roll is needed to instead take a slower but safer route). Once vanished, he can freely target any foe within his movement range, but if given the choice between attacking now and waiting another round to get to a juicier opponent, Impulsiveness will favor the moment (and again, will make him inclined to use Dungeon Parkour if necessary). He typically favors killing blows - strikes to the Vitals, Neck, etc - over incapacitating ones (such as strikes to limbs), and needs a rather compelling reason to even attempt to resist his Bloodlust once battle is over (he also often favors finishing off a downed foe over engaging a fresh one). If not hiding, the cloth tied to the head of his spear is almost always alight during combat, adding a 1 point linked burning attack (the spear itself is safe so long as it's in his hands, as it benefits from his Fire Resistance) - indeed, he typically reignites it as soon as he breaks stealth to attack (typically as part of his Trademark Move, which is often an All Out Strong Attack). Against foes who are resistant to impaling attacks, he typically favors using a tip slash (for cutting damage, plus the incendiary effect of the cloth), but isn't above swinging the butt of the spear into a foe. He's not in a good situation if things come down to a grappling contest, given he lacks any grappling skill, but with two hands and a tail to contend with it's hard to stop him from finding something to set on fire - even if only his own clothing - and that makes it difficult to grapple someone. His Stealth 17 could let him assist the party's primary sneaky type (probably more as a hidden bodyguard following along, as he lacks any other thief-y skills), but the combination of Bloodlust and Impulsive means he's very likely to attack any enemies they come across, again typically with his Trademark Move (he probably wouldn't be foolish enough to ignite the spear, but you never know). EDIT: I have modified his Trademark Move. While a stab to the spine was interesting, it's not really in-character for someone who "typically favors killing blows - strikes to the Vitals, Neck, etc - over incapacitating ones." It's also, sadly, less effective overall - as I note in post #5, anytime the character can cripple a foe by stabbing the spine, three stabs to the vitals would likely kill them outright. As a side note, dropping to nominal skill 15 doesn't influence the character's Critical chances - as +4 of the skill is from Telegraphic Attack, skill 16 would have still used normal Critical rules (crit success of 3 or 4, crit fail on 17 or 18). Additionally, thanks to the "miss by 1" clause of attacking the Vitals, if he does happen to roll a 16, he still hits, but it's only a Torso hit, not one against the Vitals.
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GURPS Overhaul Last edited by Varyon; 07-01-2021 at 09:23 AM. |
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06-30-2021, 10:28 PM
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#3 |
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Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
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Re: [Delvers to Grow] Shigran of the Flaming Spear
Impressive!
This isn’t the first 250-ish character I’ve seen with Delvers to Grow …but it’s definitely the most detailed!
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My blog:Gaming Ballistic, LLC My Store: Gaming Ballistic on Shopify My Patreon: Gaming Ballistic on Patreon |
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07-01-2021, 01:18 AM
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#4 |
Join Date: May 2021
Location: I'd rather be alone than be with people who make me feel alone.
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Re: [Delvers to Grow] Shigran of the Flaming Spear
Cool! I really like colorful characters that paint a picture in your imagination.
I like your focus on his characterization in combat. I've played in a lot of lower case dungeon fantasy (not necessarily GURPS, you get the idea) where the player group (besides me) ignores the personality traits of their character as soon as combat happens and go into a mindset of "highly disciplined fantasy special-ops fighter mode". I'll be the one character, while doing their best to contribute on the meta-level, actually staying in character for combat. I know there's a delicate balance between staying in-character and making sure you're not letting down the people you're sitting down at the table with, but that "fantasy special-ops" mindset seemed to be a lot of what I had to deal with in that other game. Not that that isn't something that could happen in GURPS, but GURPS's high emphasis on fine grain characterization seems to favor consistent in-character roleplaying and that's great! So I really like your character, he's cool. :) |
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07-01-2021, 06:15 AM
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#5 | ||
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Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: [Delvers to Grow] Shigran of the Flaming Spear
Quote:
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(EDIT: I have now modified the character to have the 3x Vitals thrust. In addition to being a more-worthwhile attack, it honestly fits the character a lot better than striking the Spine did.) As GM, I'd be comfortable just letting the character have a functionally-infinite supply of bandages (clean and bloody) without bothering to track weight for a Perk, provided the player agreed not to do anything ridiculous (no, you cannot tie the bandages together into a long rope to rappel down that ridge, and using a similar rope made of bloody bandages as a makeshift powder train is right out), but decided to err more on the side of caution (although certainly not all GM's would allow for Consumable Signature Gear). This would free up a lot of weight, putting him only a little over a pound beyond Light Encumbrance ( Overall time for the build was a couple hours, which was honestly pretty quick (I'm not terribly experienced with character creation). Of course, most of that was tweaking and the like to hit the [250] mark - I think it was only maybe 20 minutes of work to go from basic concept to having the initial [206] character with three choices of upgrade modules to use in the process of boosting to [250] (the odd man out was Acrobat; I decided I liked the +1 to DX of Faster Delver over the boosting his ability to do parkour, in no small part because that got me really close to Speed 7). And that's with Chrome not liking the DtG document (for some reason, it seems to hang, particularly when doing searches or changing pages, while it handles pretty much any other pdf just fine).
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GURPS Overhaul Last edited by Varyon; 07-01-2021 at 09:24 AM. |
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07-01-2021, 08:31 AM
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#6 |
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Join Date: Jul 2011
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Re: [Delvers to Grow] Shigran of the Flaming Spear
If consumable Signature Gear gives a little heartburn (I'd definitely look askance as a GM... It's hard to argue that bloody rags are character defining, not generic, and special), you could consider Doodad instead: I think 'used bandage' probably fits in with a pack of gum or dead rat. Different flavor; you don't have to track the weight, and it won't get 'used up', but it also won't work more than once a session.
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07-01-2021, 08:57 AM
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#7 | |
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Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: [Delvers to Grow] Shigran of the Flaming Spear
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As for being "signature," the primary purpose is so he always has a flammable cloth to tie to the end of his spear, which is absolutely a flavor thing for the character (the linked point of burning damage really doesn't accomplish much, mechanically speaking), in the same way as Indy's hat and whip. Always having a visibly-bandaged chest is also an inherent aspect of the character's visual design (vague though it is), much like Sorian from The Boy Who Fell. This kills two birds with one stone.
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GURPS Overhaul |
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07-01-2021, 09:23 AM
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#8 | |
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Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
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Re: [Delvers to Grow] Shigran of the Flaming Spear
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My blog:Gaming Ballistic, LLC My Store: Gaming Ballistic on Shopify My Patreon: Gaming Ballistic on Patreon |
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02-06-2022, 10:35 AM
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#9 |
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Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: [Delvers to Grow] Shigran of the Flaming Spear
So, I decided to take Shigran and two of the example delvers from Delvers to Grow (specifically, the Eldhud Swashbuckler Celinia Thibeault and the Human Knight Kaja Artursdottir) and throw them up against a group of five Nautamadr (Minotaurs) from Norðlondr Óvinabókin.
It was awesome. I may do a prose writeup of it as a (very) short story of sorts, but here's the stats. First off, I decided to make use of the "Natural Variation" rules (which were an unexpected treat), to see if any of the nautamadr they were facing were different from average. Three of them were straight-up average, one was a step below average... and one was 1 SM smaller, but two steps above average (humorously, putting his strength roughly on par with the weak, full-sized one). I decided this one was special, the favored son of the chieftain (or whatever you call the leader of a nautamadr herd), and was thus better equipped - a mail hauberk (DR 4/2*) over his Torso, and armed with a Fine Dwarven Dueling Halberd (still scaled to SM+0 - the boy may be young, but he's got the strength for it). I also lack DFRPG, so couldn't make use of the simplified Slam rules therein... so I just decided that a charging nautamadr who Slams with his horns does his normal Headbutt damage at +1. I also decided to try out my variant Backstab rules, which almost certainly saved Shigran from a messy death. For weapon breakage (which ended up being significant in the fight, although not quite in the way you might think), I used the rules from "The Broken Blade" (Pyramid #3/87). As a final (but accidental) departure from RAW, I handled Tactics by simply having Kaja make a Tactics roll at the beginning, allowing for uses of Luck equal to MoS, rather than having any sort of contest (this honestly worked against the characters, as even the genius child amongst the nautamadr had only IQ 10 and no Tactics skill). She had MoS 0, which I interpreted as allowing a single use, but this only gave 1 reroll, not 2. The actual description of the encounter is a bit too long for a single post, so it'll show up with the next one.
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GURPS Overhaul |
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02-06-2022, 10:38 AM
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#10 |
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Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: [Delvers to Grow] Shigran of the Flaming Spear
Following the Tactics roll was an attempt by the characters to sneak up on the nautamadr. I decided Kaja could stay 10 yards away from Celinia to allow using the latter's Stealth skill in place of the former's rather abysmal score (technically, 7 yards would have sufficed). The nautamadr (specifically, the Per 12 youth) won by 2, so the beasts were alerted to the presence of the characters, and Celinia started 17 yards from them, and Kaja started 10 yards from that. Shigran, of course immediately used Backstab, and attacked the closest from within their group. He outright killed the target (dealt a total of 84 Injury with his Signature Move, which is just a bit shy of the -5xHP instant death threshold, but the nautamadr failed its second Death Check; as a spoiler, this was the only failed Death Check for the battle). He did well enough in the contest to be able to immediately vanish again, which is why I said above using the variant rules likely saved him from a rather messy death (showing up in the middle of a group of 4 angry nautamadr, with your allies 17 and 27 yards away, respectively, is a great way to get hacked to bits). Only one rolled well enough to not immediately go Berserk upon seeing their friend fall, and I arbitrarily set this as the young one (the Dwarven modifier on his weapon won't do him much good if he goes Berserk).
Celinia, Kaja, and the nautamadr all charged at each other. Shigran popped up again and instantly killed another foe with his Signature Move (96 Injury this time), but this time failed to vanish again; only the non-berserk youngster noticed him, and turned around to charge at him instead. He rolled well enough to hit with both horns, but Shigran Parried well enough to avoid both hits, and the nautamadr was incapable of rolling high enough damage with his charge to risk breaking the spear, so I didn't bother (just for fun, because the youngster did have high enough ST to potentially break the spear with a Slam by RAW, I did roll for breakage there - the spear would have survived if using those rules as well). Celinia used a Wait and threw her prepared vial of alchemist's fire at one of the nautamadr, setting it aflame (although the trickle of damage that resulted over the next few rounds didn't really accomplish much, thanks largely to the nautamadr's DR 2) while backing up a bit to give Kaja a chance to catch up; the average (and on fire) nautamadr and the weak one continued to charge forward. Shigran attempted a 2-hit Rapid Strike against the youngster's Vitals, connecting with both; his foe failed to Parry the first, but Dodged the second. The hit only managed to get one point past DR, for 3 HP Injury - not even enough to risk Berserk. The youngster opted to swing its halberd, leading with the backspike (in a one-on-one fight, sw imp weapons getting stuck is a fine thing, particularly if you're stronger than your foe); Shigran Parried, but this time the damage was enough to break his spear... and the spear failed its HT roll. Shigran burned his Luck, the spear managing to survive once out of the three rolls (but that's all that was needed). Celinia and Kaja were now side by side (at least once Celinia Stepped back, and Kaja Stepped forward), and Celinia Fast-Drew her Rapier and prepared a Wait; Kaja, armed with her shield and spear (which, in retrospect, was a mistake on my part), opted for a Stop Thrust. When the flaming nautamadr charged in at Kaja, Celinia sliced up its neck with three slashes, but he just shrugs off the two Death Checks (a Berserk nautamadr - even the weak one - has to roll a 17 or 18 to fail such). Kaja uses her Stop Thrust to stab it in the Vitals, but it shrugs off that Death Check as well, and Slams into her, connecting with one horn. She initially fails to Block, but uses up her reroll from Tactics, getting a success this time. The weak nautamadr outright misses when he tries to Slam Celinia. Since his last attack couldn't really get much through his foe's armor, Shigran changes tactics, swinging the butt of his spear into the youngster's leg twice; his foe successfully Parries, then Dodges. The youngster takes another swing, Shigran Parries, and this time the spear holds up (youngster didn't roll well enough to risk breakage). Things are looking a bit desperate for Shigran, so Celinia decides she needs to finish things up quickly - a 5-attack Rapid Strike, using 5 FP for Flurry of Blows (making it only -1 per additional attack, total -4), again swinging at the Neck. The first attack is a maximum-damage critical hit (and of course the nautamadr just shrugs off yet another Death Check), and it takes 2 more hits to finally drop it to -5xHP, killing it. The last two attacks go after the weak nautamadr, but aren't quite enough for Death Check territory. Seeing her spear isn't working so well, Kaja uses a Ready to switch to her morningstar. The nautamadr tries to hack away at Celinia, but she uses Sideslip (positioning herself a bit closer to Shigran's fight). Shigran decides to go for the youngster's arm this time, and manages to connect, breaking it and forcing his foe to drop his weapon. His second attack (it was another 2-hit Rapid Strike) is to the leg, and also hits but fails to do enough damage to cripple. The youngster avoids knockdown/stunning, goes Berserk... and immediately gores Shigran through the chest with one of his horns (Shigran rolled a 16 on his Parry). Shigran fails his roll against knockdown/stunning (another 16), dropping his weapon and falling to the ground. Celinia and Kaja decide helping Shigran is more worthwhile than just double-teaming the weak nautamadr, so Celinia swaps her sword to her offhand (which I opted to allow as a free action with the use of 1 FP), fast-draws a flask of alchemist's fire, runs toward the youngster as fast as she can in one round, and flings the vial (Move and Attack). She connects, and I decide the fact the youngster is now covered in Shigran's flammable blood is good enough to boost the damage from alchemist's fire to 1d+1 burn per second. It doesn't even get past his DR (and just like before, what damage eventually does trickle through doesn't ultimately make any difference), but the youngster's attention is now on Celinia instead of Shigran. Kaja steps into the spot vacated by Celinia, bashes the weak nautamadr in the chest with her shield (doing minimal damage) and swinging her flail at its leg, breaking it. It shrugs off the resulting Death Check, but even a Berserker can't stand on a shattered thigh - it falls and tries to grab her, but she moves out of the way. Shigran manages to recover from stunning, but is still required to Do Nothing (he's technically on fire, but that doesn't really mean much to an eldhud - particularly not one with Extinguishing Touch). The youngster charges at Celinia, who uses a Ready this time to shift her weapon back to her dominant hand, and steps back. Kaja leaves the crippled nautamadr on the ground to try to catch up and help Celinia; it crawls after her. Shigran starts the process of standing up (he actually tries a kip-up, but fails), getting to kneeling. The youngster tries to headbutt-slam Celinia, but she successfully Parries both horns. She goes for a three-attack rapid strike - crippling the youngster's leg, then his remaining arm, and finishing up with a stab to the Vitals; naturally, her foe shrugs off the Death Checks. Kaja switches back to the weak nautamadr, bashing its thick skull with her morningstar, and it passes the Death Check. This time it manages to get hold of her leg, for 6 Control - uh oh! Shigran grabs his spear (so exciting, the process of recovering from knockdown/stun), and again fails to kip up. The youngster awkwardly tries to hit her with its horns (not much else it can do, with both arms and one leg crippled), but she Parries. She burns yet another FP on Heroic Charge, using Move and Attack to hack at the weak nautamadr's elbows (arm joints) - she cripples one and outright severs the other, breaking its grapple. Kaja takes another swing at his skull, but this time the morningstar just bounces off. He decides to join the headbutt game, but she Dodges out of the way. Shigran is finally standing, the youngster is crawling toward the women, and Celinia decides the best way to avoid the horns is to straddle the weak nautamadr, using her legs to grapple it, and establishing 6 Control. Kaja decides to join in, going All Out but only managing 3 Control. The nautamadr bucks her off, but Celinia keeps her hold. Shigran, at half Move, makes his way toward the burning youngster, who is in turn still crawling toward the women. Celinia strengthens her grapple to 8 Control, and Kaja reestablishes her own, for another 6. The weak nautamadr fails to buck her off this time. Shigran and his quarry keep moving (in fact, the latter is getting quite close to the women now). Celinia turns all 8 Control she's gathered into an attack bonus, and does a 5-attack rapid strike, stabbing her target's Vitals with a reverse-gripped sword; the resulting 36 Injury drops him below -5xHP. She ends the grapple and Steps back, away from the crawling youngster; Kaja does the same. Shigran and the youngster move forward, the ladies step back. Shigran finally catches up, and uses his Signature Move with a reverse-gripped spear; the resulting 45 Injury finally kills the youngster, ending the battle.
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GURPS Overhaul |
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Hybrid Mode
