SWT: Mörk Borg - Chapter Six
Theatre of Pain
Note: Due to life - I’m posting this instead of the Post Script for operation Fatal Diversion. That should drop next week. For now, let’s keep getting Weird.
Welcome back to Solum’s Weird Tales - Mörk Borg! Last chapter, we finally completed Börda complex and winding journey through the hills of North of Schleswig, and arrived at our dungeon, The Charnel Catacombs. Here, the 13 priests did battle with the Fraternity of Necrotic Corruption, and they lost. At least one of their number lies dead. How many bodies will Börda find, and is there anyone left to aid him with the worms that plague his sleep? Let’s find out with a good old fashioned DUNGEON CRAWL!
Börda - Classless Mercenary HP = 13/13 Omens = 1/2
Agility +2
Presence +2
Strength +1
Toughness -1
Traits: Loud Mouthed, Nihilist
Sack (10 Inventory Spaces) With
- One dose of Red Poison(DR 12 TOU test or d10 DMG)
- 37 Silver
- 3 Rations
- Waterskin [+] [+] [+] [] (1 day of water left)
- Tent
- 2 Torches
- Flint and Tinder
- Golden Ball with seam
- Book 'Wizard Fight'
Equipped
- Chainmail (Agility Test have +2 DR. Amor Rating = d4)
- Longsword - D6 Damage
- Scroll - Heal 2 Creatures d10
Quest - Find out what happened to the 13 missing priests from Schleswig
2 Milestones [+] []
Journey is 5 days - Complete
[+] [+] [+] [+] [+]
Dungeon Crawl - The Charnel Catacombs - Special Rooms Found
[] [] [] []The Charnel Catacombs
Day 9
Calender of Nechrubel - 5
Entrance - 2 Wicker head Knife Wielders stand guardBörda followed the cave entrance a few yards down, lighting one of his torches and treading softly on the blood spattered gravel. He stopped at the sounds of a whetstone on a blade and crouched behind a rock, peeking around the corner. A pair of slender humanoids stood, crouched over the ragged body of another priest. Thick, stone doors led into a chamber underground.
Do They Leave if I wait? Yes, but they stay a whileThe guardians weren’t quite human, despite having the expected amount of limbs. Where a head should be, there was a large, hooded lantern. Both stood and cleaned their long bladed, filthy knives clean of blood. They stood, facing each other, and the light’s in their lantern heads flickered on and off at a rapid pace. Börda supposed they were communicating with each other, somehow, and he held his torch low and out of sight as he huddled down and waited for them to leave. The torch had sputtered out and left him in total darkness before the two turned and entered the chamber below. Börda gave them time, and then he followed.
1 Torch left
Dungeon Crawl Move - Weak Hit - Generic Room
Crowded/Busy, Doorway/Entrance
Room Exits - 2
Contents = Unexpected Event - TrapBörda entered a circular room with two corridors, one following around a corner while the other descended deeper into the catacombs. The ceiling was tall and carved into the stone, but whatever this entery way had once contained was a mystery to Börda, as it had all been smashed to pieces, leaving piles of shattered wood and glass littering the floor. He took a moment to plan out a path around the debris, reasoning that it was easier to take the path to the left, following it deeper into the catacombs.
Adventure Move to Spot Trap - Presence+2 - Miss with a 1Börda felt his hand sink into the stone, and he glanced down, seeing he had stepped almost perfectly onto a pressure plate and sank ankle deep into the ground. He heard the grinding of stone, and then he was knocked to the ground by an impact of writhing bodies.
Snake Cages on a collopasing ceiling
D4 DMG from triggering the trap = 3 - 3 From armor = 0 DMG taken
Flee to the left - Adventure Move Agility +2 DC 14
Miss with a 1Börda felt writhing, serpentine bodies bearing him to the ground, but he held fast and hurled the bodies back as more cages fell to the floor. Some landed between him and the exit and in moments, the floor was invisible beneath the detritus and writhing bodies. He tried to leap over them, and the snakes wrapped themselves around him, their fangs bared.
d6 DMG = 2 - 2 from Armor = 0 DMG taken
Turn and run to the right - Adventure Move Agility +2 DC 14
Weak HitSnakes were writhing around his legs and ankles, but he ploughed forward, through their bodies as their teeth broke against his mail. Eventually, he bulled his way through them and shook them off, escaping down a long, curved corridor. The snakes didn’t follow him, and he was sure he had killed at least one, which was little comfort. He would remember the feel of their weight upon him for the rest of his day. However many he had left, at any rate.
Dungeon Crawl Move - Strong Hit - Special Room
Shelves filled with obscure literature. Barrels of Blood and pus.
Exits - 0The corridor eventually led to a small, tall ceilinged room with old book shelves, a brazier guttering low flames in the centre of the room. There were barrels in the far end of the room, and Börda moved forward, pulling his water skin from his pack, but he let out a curse and stumbled backwards as he got close. The barrels had once been intended for water, but were filled to the brim with ruby red blood and filth. He grimaced, and stashed away his waterskin before turning his gaze to the room.
Search for an Object - Weak Hit.
Corpse Plunder table - 11 Silver.
Is there a gap in the bookshelves? Yes, but it is up high and hard to get to.
Is there a ladder for the bookshelves? YesThere was no exit here, but Börda was loathe to wander back into the pit of snakes, and so spent time browsing the shelves. He found a few spare silver coins, old but still viable, he reckoned. They were dotted across the floor, as though dropped out of an over spilling purse. Or perhaps that was wishful thinking. The tomes in this library were very odd. One was called ‘Ogre Duel’ and another was ‘Archery Contest’. They all had similar titles, and most seemed to be fiction of some form of another. Börda reached into his bag and pulled out his own book, ‘Wizard Fight’. It was a slim tome, but the binding was similar. Had it come from this library? A few minutes of searching reveled a gap in the bookcase, close to the ceiling on the back wall. Börda grabbed a ladder and rolled it towards the empty spot before climbing up and sliding the book into the bookcase. He waited for a moment, to see if anything happened.
Does a secret path open? Omen Roll 2d20 + Omens DC 10
Weak Hit - It does reveal a secret path.There was a click, followed by a loud thud, as though a bar had dropped. It took Börda a while to find it, but one of the other book cases had popped slightly off the wall, and with a bit of muscle, it reveled a staircase, leading downwards. He grinned, and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. It looked like he was getting somewhere.
Dungeon Crawl Move Rounds Found +1 DC 10
Strong Hit with a 20
A decapitated Statue. Snake cages on ceiling
lower DC of Trap for the 20
Exits - 1
Presence +2
Miss - Omen Reroll - Strong Hit - don't trigger trapThe stairs led down to an old, stone chamber, also circular but free of debris. Whatever battle the priests had fought had reached her, despite the secret passage, judging by the blood and signs of conflict. A statue stood tall and proud in the centre , a warrior in repose. Its stone blade was broken, and its head was missing. As Börda stepped closer, he made sure to watch his step, and breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted the pressure plates long before he had a chance to step on them. Now that he listened, he could almost hear the sound of hissing snakes, and he smiled grimly as he approached the statue.
Search for an Object
Strong Hit with a 20 - A Useful ObjectThe statue was of some old saint, Börda was fairly sure, but he was buggered if he could tell who. He poked around the chamber, and he eventually found the old statues shield. He kicked it, shaking free the dust and he felt a slight thrill as he was greeted by the sound of boot on wood, not stone as he had expected. Crourching down, he saw that this was an old, slightly battered, but perfectly serviceable, round oak shield. He lifted it onto his shoulder and spent a few minutes getting the weight of it, before approaching the exit, keeping his eyes keen for any more pressure plates.
Equipped Shield (+1 Armor)
Dungeon Crawl Move Rooms Found +2 - Strong Hit
Rooms Found [+][+][+][]
A Wooden Puzzle, missing 3 pieces. 3 Zombies carrying a chest of pearls
Are they the priests? Yes, but they are hostile
Priests found 5/13Börda felt his torch sputter out as he descended another flight of stairs. He was deep underground, but the smell of must and old stone was being steadily replaced by that of rot. He entered another chamber, long and square, like a great hall long fallen to ruin. A staircase was at the opposite side, but it was filled with rubble. Three figures stood in the center of the room, near a flickering brazier. Their faces were ravaged by wounds and exposure to the elements, and they twitched and moaned. From their wounds, they should be dead, and Börda had a feeling their would be little reasoning with them, for all that they wore the robes of priests of Schleswig. Two of them gripped a thick, oaken chest between them, and a wooden puzzle lay on the table, surrounded by rotten food. Börda heisted on the threshold, unsure how to proceed. He could sneak back and try to find another way, through the snakes and the other path that descended to the depths, but his curiosity got the better of him. He had to know what was in that chest, and besides, the priests were likely suffering.
Zombie's - HP 7/7 x3
Damage d2 Teeth. Armor d2 scraps of leather
Ability - If they do damage, roll Toughness DC 8, or get infected - in 2 days turn into a zombie.
Initiative - 5 Börda FirstBörda charged at the closest zombie, his shield raised high and blade cutting a swift arc through the air as it turned lazily towards him.1
(1) Attack Strength +1 = 17 - 5 DMG Zombie HP = 2/7 7/7 7/7
(1) Defended Agility +2 = 13 - Fail - 0 DMG Toughness -1 DC 8 = 9The blade cut deep into the Zombie’s chest as it stumbled backwards and clawed at Börda with hands already succumbing to rot. The other 2 dropped their chest and shambled forward, surrounding Börda , but he kept his shield up and danced between them.
(2) Attack Strength +1 = 15 2 DMG Zombie HP = 0/7 7/7 7/7
(2) Defend Agility +2 = 19, 17 - SuccessBörda cut down his first enemy and it let out a long, rattling sigh as it slumped to the ground. He took one creature’s strike on his shield and danced out of the way of the other. He grinned. 1 down, 2 to go.
(3) Attack Strength +1 = 4 Miss
(3) Defend Agility +2 = 21, 17 Success
(4) Attack Strength +1 = 14 0 DMG
(4) Defend Agility +2 = 19, 12 - 0 DMG Toughness -1 = 10 SuccessTwo opponents at once proved hard to manage. He kept one mostly at bay with his shield, but getting his positioning correct was difficult with the other one bearing down on him. The two attacked with basic rhythm, but Börda’s lack of experience fighting with shield and blade proved an added challenge. He found purchase once, but the tattered remnants of the priests armor deflected the blade, and the creatures pressed in on him with passive, expressionless inexorability.
(5) Attack Strength +1 = 14 - 3 DMG Zombie HP 4/7 7/7
(5) Defend Agility +2 = 12 and 5. Both Miss - 0 DMG. Toughness -1 = 9 and 19
(6) Attack Strength +1 = 12 1 DMG Zombie HP 3/7 7/7
(6) Defend Agility +2 = 14, 14
(7) Attack Strength +1 = 9 Miss
(7) Defend Agility +2 = 18, 19The zombies lacked any form of actual coordination, and yet, Börda was being steadily pushed back. They never needed to rest, there was no footing or balance to upset, his shield, while useful, was weighing him down, and he felt bone tired as the claws scraped at his chest, his sword arm and at his shield. He flicked his sword, and nicked the one on the left, but it was still standing, and unfazed by his attacks. He gritted his teeth, set his shoulder, and moved, desperate for a break in the assault to turn the tables, and regain the tempo.
(8) Attack Strength +1 = 15 - 1 DMG Zombie HP 2/7 7/7
(8) Defend Agility +2 = 15 and 21.
(9) Attack Strength +1 = 5 Miss
(9) Defend Agility +2 = 20 and 22 (Critical) - 1 DMG 1/7 and 7/7 0_0 0_0 0_0
(10) Attack Strength +1 = 1 (Critical Fail) Omen reroll - 9 Miss
(10) Defend Agility +2 = 3(Critical Fail) and 4. Toughness -1 = 17 and 6One monster just wouldn’t fall, for all of Börda’s attempt to hack it asunder. A swing removed one of the offending limbs that had been scrambling at his face, but the blood just oozed, already congealed, and the thing tried to bite him instead. He slammed the hilt of his sword into it’s face, knocking more of it’s teeth lose and crushing it’s nose but it didn’t even blink. While he was distracted, the other zombie had clamped it’s wrists around his head, and yanked him off balance. It’s teeth sank into his skin, just a moment, but enough, before he was able to wrench himself free. Blood trickled down his neck and under his armor, and he felt a cold, spike of horror seep into his bones. He was frozen long enough that when the creature hit into him, he barely registered. Rings from his mail were knocked lose as he stumbled backwards. He lost time. When he came to, the zombies were dead, cut down in a fearful rage, but it was too late. His armor was holding on by a thread, and he reached a trembling hand to his neck. The skin was already hot, and the finger tips came back bloody. He closed his eyes, slumped to his knees, and he wept.
Infected - In Two Days, he will turn into a souless, mindless husk, just like those he had just cut down.I must admit, this is one of the first times in my Solo-RPG journey that has left me feeling…..irritated? Dare I say, annoyed? It’s my own fault, I got so bogged down in what I thought should have been happening, that I didn’t take stock of what my character might think. Börda probably wouldn’t have stuck around, when the fight started to stretch, I think he might have fled and regrouped. I could have asked some oracle questions, and tried to think outside the box, maybe move back to the staircase and try to fight them on better footing. But all I could think was ‘Surely they should be dead by now??’ Haha, oh well, it’s all part of the learning experience. Let’s see what happens next!
So I realized as I charged that it isn’t actually possible for the Zombies to damage me. I still performed the Toughness Test, although I think if I was GMing this, I would only request a Toughness test if they took HP Damage.
Welp, chalk up another soulless undead! haha, poor fellow. I'm not familiar with the Mork Borg rules, so maybe there is a way to be cured?