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diceofthegods ([personal profile] diceofthegods) wrote in [community profile] childrenofbahamutlogs2025-02-01 12:10 pm

EVENT #2: BRAIN BOGGLING

A CRASH IN THE NIGHT
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In the dark hours of a snowy early morning, a sudden BOOM can be heard all across Town. It is swiftly followed by sounds of warping metal and then a screeching crash. Curious, albeit groggy, residents emerge only to find a smoking wreck just a mile outside of Town.

The strange craft appears to be almost nautiloid in shape with wrenched, broken tendrils streaming out the opening.

Much of it is metal although some of it almost seems... organic.

Those who with to get a closer look will be met by Charlie and Dimitri who are already on the job. They request curious onlookers keep their distance since this craft is, without a doubt, tremendously dangerous.

Later in the day, there appears to be an outfit of officials coming from the west to investigate and clean up the wreckage. Thankfully(?), you will all find out soon enough what's going on.
INVESTIGATION & PROTECTION
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Deathcard Cabin by Jonah Senzel
4:07 / 13:06
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From the Inscryption OST: A unique and haunting sound paired with a unique and haunting game.

Charlie reports to the citizens of Town that an Illithid cargo transport. The pilot did not survive the crash, but they appeared to be transporting some kind of new breed of Intellect Devourers.

"We do not yet know what this new breed is capable of, but..."

Charlie does give everyone a rundown of what an Illithid and what an Intellect Devourer is, what they are capable of, and a keen warning to tread lightly. Many dead ones were discovered in the cargo but several of the enclosures were damaged in the crash and the likelihood of escapees is high.

Charlie reiterates: These creatures are to be killed on sight, or contained until someone can kill it. If you are not confident in your combat abilities, please remain in your homes as much as possible and seal all openings to your dwelling. Those who are capable though are urged to begin patrols of Town alongside Slayd, Dimitri and himself to ensure that Town and the surrounding areas are safe.

Please travel in pairs or groups, do not be alone! Attack from a distance when possible. Hoshiko will offer her assistance as a markswoman as well by picking off any Intellect Devourers from a distance that she can for those that are forced to travel alone. (Don't worry about any jokes she makes of her service not being cheap though. Charlie wouldn't actually let her charge you anything.)

Unfortunately, not even they can predict the blizzard that rolls through Town in the midst of all this. If you happen to see anything skittering through the snow, don't panic too much. It could just be a tiny woodland creature looking for a warm burrow to hide away in!

At least you hope it is.

PROMPT #3
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Hybrid intellect devourers are unique from the regular ones in that the goal is not to kill their target, but to gather intelligence and act as a kind of spy network.

They will flee when confronted directly by greater numbers, but will attack a lone target. They do this by jumping at the target's head and wrapping a wet tendril around their neck. They will choke who they've wrapped around if anyone tries to remove it. They are also far more likely to try and attack sleeping target (hence the advice to keep your homes closed!).

These hybrids emit spores that will keep the target asleep during feeding. Their primary goal appears to be infiltrating the targets' minds and absorbing some of their memories. The target will have their mind left mostly intact... though they may suffer short term memory loss, confusion, distress, fatigue and head pain.

Here's where the fun starts!

Once one of these critters has fed on someone, they are onto their next target. When a fed Intellect Devourer feeds from another target, that target may absorb some of the previous target's memories. This can span across multiple victims and be erratic in whose memories taint whose mind. The memories will cross-pollinate in the form of dreams or waking visions and hallucinations.

If one of these creatures is killed, it will explode, releasing a powerful psionic wave and the memories it had absorbed from any recent targets. Anyone within ten (10) yards of the dying creature will be afflicted with extreme head pain in the short term and also witness the memories of it's previous victims.

Enjoy your muddled memories and leggy brain-hunting!

The outfit of people who have come to investigate are from New Svihelen's disaster containment squad and are investigating the hybrid creatures and the possible reason for an Illithid ship to crash here of all places. Right now, the running theory is that interference from the selfsame summoning circle that brought you all here could have caused the interplanar navigation systems of the ship to malfunction but nothing has been determined yet.

Eventually, these creatures will all be rounded up and taken care of. They are persistent and stealthy though in their efforts to survive above all else. Charlie assures that they're doing all they can to make Town safe once and for all but it will take some time.
Notes
⁂ The partner plotting post for this event/quarter is also up!

⁂ Additionally, we have a state of the game post available for people to read about updates, clarifications, and housekeeping items!

⁂ If you have any further questions or feedback about this event specifically, please comment here!

⁂ For even more ambient event music, you can check out this this playlist!

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boarishboy: <user name="nugnacious"> (pic#15551571)

[personal profile] boarishboy 2025-04-07 05:04 pm (UTC)(link)
When Dimitri reflects on it, he supposes that his also tends to activate during times (as mentioned) of heightened emotion. Not necessarily when he only wants to protect, but that does tend to be an undercurrent of most battles. Doesn't it? He's protecting his friends, his country, and himself when fighting against enemy troops or bandits.

"Ah... More similar than I even anticipated, it seems." There aren't cracks in this spear yet, but he does appear a bit sheepish again at the mention of weapons being worn down faster. "I also have a tendency to go through weapons quite quickly. At the academy, it wasn't a problem with plenty of training weapons to utilize that could be easily replaced. But on the battlefield? Well, let's just say we always had at least one back-up spear ready for me in case."

He has launched one a time or two just for it to explode due to the force of impact. "I've been practicing restraint here, and yet..." He's still lost a couple of them. Oops.
snapp_crackle: (just as keikaku)

[personal profile] snapp_crackle 2025-04-08 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
So Dimitri's an academy lad? That tracks, he looks classy. Popp's honestly really curious about what it's like in an actual school. He's also not exactly sorry he chose to be a mage instead of pursuing the family business, but man. It's starting to sound like Dai might need a full time blacksmith on hand if he can't find a good enough sword. Siiigh.

"Hast does all that mining, but they're not exactly crafting super sturdy legendary weapons over there... Oh well, I wouldn't feel too bad about being careless now and then. Even I've managed to break a weapon overdoing it in melee."

Mage weapons aren't exactly built for directly hitting opponents, which explains why it broke.
boarishboy: <user name="nugnacious"> (pic#15551574)

[personal profile] boarishboy 2025-04-14 05:10 pm (UTC)(link)
While he thankfully did have a steady supply of weapons thanks to either traveling merchant's or blacksmiths employed by the academy, it still wasn't cheap. More than once, he'd had to do a bit of extra work or find ways to recuperate the loss of weapons. As he got into being able to wield ones of finer metal and craftsmanship, it was only going to get more costly.

"You're right. While skilled, they obviously aren't crafting anything unusual. That Hoshiko woman had a few more intricate weapons, it appeared, but didn't seem willing to share. At least, not without a hefty cost." He'd also lost his coins to her sticky hands, oblivious as he was, and the note just felt like insult to injury.

"But if she can get her hands on such things, I hope that we'll be able to eventually. After all, Town is small and Hast is only the neighboring city... I imagine we'll be allowed to traverse further the more we prove ourselves."
snapp_crackle: (he's gonna do it)

[personal profile] snapp_crackle 2025-04-14 06:28 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's been months; you'd think he'd loosen the leash and let us visit a big city or something... I'm not exactly happy about being attacked by these things, but this has to be good in terms of proving ourselves, right?"

Not that there are many of the things to be found right now. Maybe the patrols are working, or maybe they're just getting smarter? Popp doesn't think of himself as a captive here; if he really wanted to go somewhere else he would just leave. He sure does like complaining, though!

"Since she's got all those fancy weapons, though, there has to be someone around making them, right?"
boarishboy: <user name="nugnacious"> (pic#15551576)

[personal profile] boarishboy 2025-05-15 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
"I presume so," he agrees. "Perhaps they don't trust us with weaponry like that just yet. After all, that would make sense considering our mysterious arrivals." Dimitri as a ruler wouldn't allow just anyone that crossed his borders to arm themselves with more sophisticated weapons after all. It was just good sense, so- He can't be upset about it. Hoshiko, on the other hand, was an established presence and apparently a 'hero' of legend.

While he finds that hard to believe still, he wasn't about to say so outright.

"I do hope that this helps raise our reputation amongst Town and other locations though. The road to trust is going to be a long one, I imagine, but if we're to stay here for long and integrate ourselves more effectively then we need to be able to coexist."