I'm a fucking idiot. Claiming my name

>>37395043
>Head into Town
Maybe contact the gravekeeper for a job if there's a graveyard

>>37395043
>>Head into Town
Maybe we can find work and other good things. Worst case we hit the inn on the way back.

>>37395043
>Go hunting in the woods
Necromancer+ranger/warrior/rogue hybrid is a go.

You decide to head into town. You’re planning on being here a while and it’d be nice to start having food around the house. It’s a long walk, and the sun is still pretty high, but you make it to the edge of the town without any incident. The town is a nice little place, mostly farmers and minor craftsmen, nestled just on the outskirts of a Baron’s Land and on the bottom of a large range of mountains. You buy the food you need, some dried meats and plants and even organize with a grocer that once you get a job you can start having some of it delivered to your home.

You’re eating some berries that were for sale and sitting in the center of town, watching the people go by. You notice some very peculiar people hanging around and you begin to wonder what their stories could be. On the right, you see a group of three people, each one clad in their own unique armor and carrying very strange weapons. The largest one is looking at a very intimidated apothecary, and a part of you almost wants to intervene. On the other side, you notice a group of people that look like local farmers, though they all look very upset and some are on the verge of tears.

Do you
>Go talk to the strange men and the apothecary
>Go talk to the farmers
>Pack up and go home

>>37395478
>Go talk to the farmers
The troops could be from Leaden or bounty hunters, can we move closer to over hear them?

>>37395478
>Go talk to the farmers

>>37395478
Lets go to the farmers

>>37395478
>>Go talk to the farmers
They will be the ones to gain the most info from.

>>37395478
>Go talk to the strange men and the apothecary

seems more interesting, farmers can wait some.

>>37395478
Strange men.

You put away your food and walk over to the farmers, picking up a bit of their conversation as you go.

“…ruined everything. It’s a damn disgrace!”

“Who the hell do they think they are?”

“Um, Hello.” You say, and the four of them glare at you. They look absolutely enraged about something, and you put your hands up a bit. “I was just wondering if something is wrong? You look upset.”

“You bet we’re fucking upset.” One of the farmers say, looking over at the strange men. “Those mother fuckers over there, call themselves ‘adventurer’s’. Came in to deal with the trolls in the mountains. Thought it’d be nice. Heard about some treasure, and they were eating up all our livestock. But they fucking burner our fields when that wizard bastard cast some kind of fire spell. Just to kill one troll! One!” He puts his head down on the table, and you hear him sobbing. One of the other farmers puts his hand on the man’s shoulder and sighs.

“We’ve got nothing else. We’re going to starve.” You look and see that they are roughing up the apothecary. “They think the apothecary is supplying the trolls with potions. I’ve known Margery since she was a baby! She wouldn’t do that! It’s a fucking disgrace.”

You feel a little upset. These adventurer’s are allowed to just go around and do whatever the hell they please. Maybe this could be your chance to help the town out? At the very least, you can get back at the sort of ‘do-gooders’ that burnt down your home.

Do you
>Offer to help the farmer
>Say nothing, but plan on getting back at the adventurers
>Apologize and go home

>>37395478
No need to arouse too much suspicion, we're new in town. Best to go talk to the farmers for now, see what's up like the kind and caring soul we are, and leave stirring up trouble and protecting the meek for when we have something to back us up when things get messy.

>>37395780
>Say nothing, but plan on getting back at the adventurers

>>37395780
>Say nothing, but plan on getting back at the adventurers

I see, something needs to be done then. Good luck!

>>37395780
Time to become the Great Necromancer Hero we were destined to be.

Lets Help the Farmer!

>>37395780
Help the farmer and ask about a job. If the town starves we won't last long either, but it's fair to be compensated for the work that we do. Who knows, maybe there's something in our tome that can assist with this.

>>37395780
Offer to help the farmers.

>>37395780
>>Offer to help the farmer

>>37395832
>>37395780
This, actually, never mind >>37395837

>>37395855

Maybe we could get the adventurers to pay a compensation if we point out the damages this story would do to their PR.

>>37395832
This

>>37395878
It's possible, but I don't think they're worried about PR if they're threatening someone in a small town based on suspicion. They might just not give a fuck.

Once we have a good rep with the farmers we can get more info and plan a way to deal with the adventurers alongside the townspeople rather than secretly planning something alone.

>>37395780
Get back at the adventurers, then help out the farmer.

>>37395780
We should resurect the troll and just command it to kill the "adventurers" after the job is done let the troll break apart

>>37395958
Raising the troll is an option, but that would let everyone know that there's a necromancer around, and we're the new guy in town. It might end in a witch hunt, and we're in no position to move to a new town all over again. Getting the body somewhere safe to experiment on later, on the other hand...

>>37395986
Maybe lure them away from the town then let thee troll attack them

>>37396021
Possible. But it would need to be pretty far away to avoid panicking the people in the town or drawing unwanted attention to us, and our supplies are limited.

I'd love to see these guys get what's coming to them, but let's be patient with it. No need to rush into things.

You turn to the farmer, and ask if they need a bit of help around the farm or something? You’re looking for a job and perhaps you could help them out around the farm.

“Hah. We don’t even have the money to feed ourselves.” One of the men admit. “There’s only two things that we need to be resolved. If you could somehow do something about those, we’d be in your god damn debt.” He nudges at the mountains behind him. “It’s the trolls and these god damn adventurers. If you’re so desperate for money, take care of those. If you don’t go around causing wanton destruction, you’re already a step up from those fucks. And those bastards over there were loaded, flinging gold around the inn last night while that warrior fuck kept trying to sleep with Carl’s little girl. I wouldn’t mind seeing them on the bottom of a shallow ditch.” The other farmers nod, and a sympathetic looking bartender comes in and gives them all a round of ale.

“We’ve got nothing. This place used to be really lively. But with the King breathing down our back with these new taxes to fund his ‘Inquisition’ we’re absolutely broke. You’re the first new blood we’ve had in this town for years.”

You eye up the adventurer’s, it seems like you’ve got a warrior, a wizard, and a ranger of some nature. They look pretty tough, but not very smart. It’d be easier to deal with the trolls, honestly, but there is something really appealing about knocking those guys down.

Do you
>Offer to deal with the trolls
>Offer to deal with the adventurers
>Say nothing

>>37396071
> Offer to deal with the adventurers.

After that, we could perhaps raise their corpses -- after seizing their wwealth and distributing it to the farmers and other starving folk, of course.

>>37396071
Offer to deal with both. First one, and then the other. The adventurers are crude, crass and obviously don't care about your new neighbors, and the trolls are causing trouble enough that the town had to rely on asshats like them to begin with.

Join the adventurers and destroy them from within. If we get to the mountains, that's far enough away that we can use our necromantic knack without fear of people seeing it. What spells do we have access to and what skills are at our disposal?

>>37396071
LEts deal with these advetureres.

We are, after all, a Necromantic Hero emphasis on the romantic and we can surely take care of these ne-er do wells that call themselves adventureres.

>>37396071
>>Offer to deal with the trolls
Then we can raise the trolls to deal with the adventurers.

>>37396071
>Offer to deal with the trolls
Here is an idea, take out some trolls then resurrect them, have them be near the troll lair, after that go to the adventurers and let them know you spotted gold near their lair or something believable. When they agree and follow you let them go ahead and call out your undead trolls so they can attack them from behind while the trolls attack from the front

>>37396165
Assuming that we can take out the trolls alone, of course. We might need to bait the adventurers into helping us (or pretend to be excited to watch them fight) and then backstab them when it's most opportune. And who's to say we can even raise a troll to begin with? We might only be able to manage human corpses for now.

>>37396071
Just saying, I think it'd be easier to deal with the adventurers, and THEN the trolls. If the adventurers are already prepared to deal with trolls, why would an undead one pose any more trouble?

>>37396209
We might not be able to manage intelligent undead, meaning that their ability to deal with the trolls would be diminished. It'd be funny to watch the trolls smash the zombie adventurer's and ragdoll them, but it wouldn't suit our goals.

>>37396071
>Offer to deal with the adventurers

>>37396071
>>Offer to deal with the adventurers

>>37396209
They don't know a fucking thing about trolls. Trolls demonstrated their toughness and regeneration, and the adventurers accused the local potion-maker of supplying the trolls.

>>37396209
If they're struck from behind, I doubt they're prepared to be double-crossed and attacked from behind
>>37396194
Your'e right, OP what's the stats, do we know any magic spells?

Here's a character sheet

http://pastebin.com/2yLi8zSz

>>37396353
Right, so can we use any old corpse where it says corpse, or does it have to be a human (or humanoid) corpse?

Also, Adventureres. Deal with dem

>>37396381
You can use ANY corpse, as long as it's in decent condition.

>>37396353
How about we just curse the adventurers so that the next time they go troll hunting they get killed? Then we can just kill the trolls.

>>37396402
Nice. Also, by decent condition I'll assume it's not rotting or a skeleton.

Also, we should totally make nothing but skelingtons. Rattle Dem Bones!

>>37396406


I say we help the Adventurers deal with the trolls.

We have a family tradition of not being malevolent to uphold, after all.

>>37396406
Well, they have a Wizard.
A fireball-slinging Wizard, but a Wizard nonetheless.

>>37396353
I assume the more raw mechanics such as HP,wizard juice, zombie stats, and hunger are being dealt with behind the curtain then?

>>37396402
How does our Undead domination workout exactly? Voice commands, mental direction, magical programming, other?
Could we command insect and bird corpses to act as eyes and ears then?

>>37396566
Yeah. I'm writing those up, but that's just the basic stuff for now. pastebin is being a bit dumb for me.

>>37396402
And, looking at the first post, also as long as the dead consent to it.

“I can deal with the adventurers, if you really want.” You tell them, and they look at you in surprise. “I mean. I’m new, and I’ve never had a home and it just kills me that people like that can do as they please because they can. If you really want them gone, I could deal with them.”

“Please. I promise, we won’t turn you in to an Inquisitor. We just want those fuckers dead.” They all agree, and you nod and put your bag over your shoulder and turn back to the adventurers. They’re gone now, but from the loud clanking you can tell they’re heading out of town. Maybe they have a camp of something set up. You try to come up with some kind of plan on how to deal with them.

You could go and offer to help them, posing as an expert at dealing with trolls (you’ve read up some things about monsters when you were in training with your mother) and sneak into their group.

You could try to find their camp and attack them with undead in the night when they are weakened.

Or you could wait until they are around the trolls and attempt to curse them when they are going to fight the trolls and make sure the trolls ‘win’.

Do you
>Try to join the group
>Try to find their camp
>Wait and follow them to the trolls

>>37396589
For soul binding. You CAN raise human zombies as long as the body is decent, it's just using the body and a matter of being polite. You're a gentleman.

>>37396659
Damn right we're a gentleman. And a gentleman does not resort to fibbing and a failing of decorum. We shall not sneak in like a thief in the night.

We will confront them and fight it out like men. Spells at dusk!

>>37396659
>Try to find their camp
"Please. I promise, we won’t turn you in to an Inquisitor."
Go back and ask them for the trolls body for a plan you cooked up

>>37396659
>Try to join the group

Let's be polite and friendly.

> I promise, we won’t turn you in to an Inquisitor

Wait, are we really this obvious?

>>37396772
well we DID offer to get rid of adventurer's... If anything we'd go to jail for murder. oh and
>>37396659
>Try to find their camp

>>37396772
It's more the fact that they just asked us to kill the adventurers. Killing is still a crime no matter who's involved on either side.

>>37396659
>Try to join the group

>>37396744

troll body! hell yeah

>>37396659
>Try to join the group

>>37396659
We should try to follow them to learn their weaknesses. We won't kill needlessly, but it might be better for us to eliminate them and turn them into the first of our undead minions. So far all we've heard is the villager's side, and they're probably asshats anyway, but it never hurts to check. Oh, and we should stock up on poisons under the guide of finding troll weaknesses to help the adventurers. No need to wound the flesh of our soon-to-be servants.

You put the bag down and head over towards the adventurers group. It’s not hard to pick them out of a crowd. Their clothes and armor are flashy, and they seemed armed to the teeth. Calming down and keeping yourself even headed, you head over and introduce yourself.

“Hello! Brave men, I’ve heard that you all are going after the trolls in these mountains.”

“And what does that matter to you?” The wizard asks, peering at your from a beneath the brim of a ridiculously cliched pointed hat.

“My name is Alexander. I am an expert on mythical creatures. I heard that it took quite a large effort on your part to down even one of the beasts?” they look a little ashamed, but the warrior stands over you. He’s an absolute hulk of a man, with thick burly hair and a large sword strapped to his back.

“But we killed it! And we’ll do the rest of those trolls the same!”

“Ah, but what if it could be easier? I know a bit about trolls, and I’d be willing to help you out. They’ve caused so much pain, I won’t ask for any of their treasure or even the glory of helping you. I merely want to help out my home.” The wizard seems a tad bit suspicious of you, but the ranger and warrior are quick to accept you into their group.

[1/2]

They introduce themselves as Barnabus (the wizard), Argos (the ranger) and Krull (the warrior). You grit your teeth as they tell you that they have killed many enemies, from necromancers and mages to evil giants (a historically peaceful race) and even great dragons! (Dragons, of course, being a bit greedy but otherwise uninterested in mortal affairs and always open for a good chat to intelligent people). They tell you how they have become rich and famous throughout the land and are even honorary Inquisitors, declared so after they helped the King hunt down cultists practicing blasphemous arts in the Capital City. They sing their own praises for long enough, and you tell them that you will meet them at the foot of the mountains tonight, since that is when trolls are most active and will be the easiest to find. You part ways, and you rush back to your house.

After putting away the food, you make yourself something to eat as you pour over your families book. After hearing everything they're so proud to have done you are convinced that killing them would be a greater service to the world. There are very few things in your skill level you could easily do without the wizard noticing, but there might be something.

You could try to summon a few undead minions and have them waiting near the mountain. It’d be a bit rude, invading the local cemetery and stealing the town’s undead, but that might hurt them enough and draw the trolls attention and have it dealt with rather nicely.

You could also try preparing a curse. Probably something to bind their bodies and leave them prone for the trolls. It’ll be risky, given the magic user. But who knows?

Do you
>Summon undead minions
>Prepare a curse
>Other (write-in)

>>37397320
Prepare a curse but not a snare that seems useless what would work would be to dull there weapons and/or a curse to make the wizard lose concentration. then the troll kills them simple as that and we can loot there shit

>>37397320
Prepare curse

>>37397320

Prepare a Curse and raide the dead Troll body

>>37397320
We know nothing of the geography of the area at the base of the mountain, but I have an idea. Spend some of the remaining money on wine and buy some poisons from the apothecary they roughed up earlier. She could use the coin and some reassurances while we're at it. Then bring the alcohol to the base of the mountain, tell the adventurers it's for celebrating their eventual victory, then help them beat the trolls and let them drink to their success.

>>37397320
I'm gonna back this anon>>37397408

>>37397320
How intelligent are trolls? could we do something to draw the trolls towards them in a way that wouldn't make us look too suspicious?

>>37397320

>>37397419

This is a good idea. Seconding

>>37397320
>>Summon undead minions

>>37397419
Actually, yeah. Let's do this.

>>37397408
You don't have time to do both. You aren't a master necromancer, so it takes a bit of time to prepare this stuff.

>>37397446
Not very. You'd need something big to get their attention, and it'd be noticeable.

>>37397320
Resurrect the troll after they kill it

>>37397725
See >>37397683
Raising things will take us time, we can't do it on the fly yet. We'd need them distracted, so we can't just stomp them with a troll they just killed.

We're tied between curse and >>37397419

>>37397881
I wish I could cast the tie-breaking vote on my own idea... I really think poisoning them and letting them do our dirty work would be a better strategy than trying to fight them outright. We don't have the power at our disposal, and we need to be underhanded one way or the other. If we curse them, their wizard might shake it off or make life difficult, and it'll definitely have drawbacks for us, that's how our curses work. If the poison doesn't work, we can curse them later while they live it up in town and keep them from recovering from their wounds or something.

>>37397960
im voting this
BEcause my curse idea got shut down and this seems next best

>>37397320
>>Prepare a curse

>>37398022
Why are you namefagging?

>>37398130
No reason not to, I suppose.

>>37397881
Curse.

>>37398110
>>37398176
So the tie breaks because the first guy to vote for curse swaps to poison, and now we have another tie on our hands.

We are so coordinated.

>>37398130
in several threads one of which requires

You decide the best option is to prepare a curse. You open up the book to the page regarding various curses, and you pick out the one for weakening opponents. You take out your equipment, some parchment and ink and a silver dagger. You cut open your hand and work the blood into the ink and begin writing out the necessary sigils and symbols for the curse. It takes some very meticulous copying, but by the time the sky begins to darken the curse is prepared. The three will be severely weakened when you activate the curse, which you can do at any time. You put it in the back of your bag, along with your small dagger and a few books you own about magical creatures.

You meet the adventurer’s at the base of the mountain, right as the sun finally sets and the stars are starting to twinkle to life. They follow you with expectation as you go up to the mountain. They seem eager, ready for blood and fighting, when you finally catch a hint of a trail. You notice that there are quite a few large tracks moving in one direction down the mountain, but there is a much larger pair of fresh tracks going in the opposite direction. There is something else in those caves right now, but you don’t think that any of the others notice.

Do you
>Lead them towards the trolls, down the mountain
>Lead them up the mountain, but don’t tell them about the tracks
>Lead them up the mountain, and tell them about the tracks

>>37398622
>Lead them up the mountain, but don’t tell them about the tracks

>>37398622
>>Lead them up the mountain, but don’t tell them about the tracks

>>37398622
>Lead them towards the trolls, down the mountain
They had trouble with one troll. It should be easy to get them in over their heads.

>>37398622
We're here for the trolls, the villagers specifically asked us to deal with them. But we can point out the larger tracks and tell them that a bigger reward awaits if we kill whatever made them too.

>>37398622
>>Lead them up the mountain, but don’t tell them about the tracks
This will benefit us somehow

>>37398622
>>Lead them towards the trolls, down the mountain

You keep quiet about the tracks and tell them you can lead them up the mountain. You stay a ways away from the tracks so they aren’t scrutinized too closely. It takes over an hour, but eventually you come to a large cave hidden in between two large slab of rock. The cave is lit by crude torches, and the smell is horrendous.

“All right, men. Let’s go! Except you…” He puts an armored hand on your chest and pushes you to the side. “You’re on the puny side, so it’s probably best you let the professionals handle it.” You resist the urge to roll your eyes and agree to stand to the side and stay back as the three go into the cave. Their weapons are drawn and on high alert, you all head into the cave.

As you go, you think you hear a breathing coming from deep inside. That’s when you notice the tracks with more light. They look more cloven, rounder than the clawed feet of the trolls, and you put it together. The monster in there is a minotaur.

Minotaurs are vicious fighters, and the minotaur is probably a lone wanderer without a herd of his own. They are incredibly prone to berserker rage, and if the warriors don’t defeat him and you’re around, it might notice you and turn on you with more ferocious intent than when it was just the warriors. Because the only thing more dangerous than a minotaur is a wounded minotaur.

Do you
>Warn them about the minotaur
>Offer to stay outside
>Say nothing and plan an escape route

Lead them toward the trolls. If all goes well, we can use the troll and adventurer bodies to take care of the bigger threat.

>>37399213
slow reply is too slow.

warn them about the minotaur, we still need them to take care of the trolls

>>37399202
>.Say nothing and plan an escape route.

>>37399202
>Say nothing and plan an escape route

>>37399202
>Say nothing and plan an escape route

>>37399261
we could probably take care of the trolls ourselves, the adventurers (honorary inquisitors) would probably get in our way (try to kill us).

>>37399202
>>Offer to stay outside

>>37399202
>>Say nothing and plan an escape route

>>37399202
Saying nothing will likely doom them to death without a chance to reclaim their bodies, and if they win they'll know we lied about being an expert. Plus, there's no way to prove we got rid of them and didn't just watch the trolls rip them limb from limb.

I propose warning them about the minotaur and telling them that it likely fought the trolls to get the cave, so it's likely wounded and weakened. If they act like cowards, there's a witness to their fear, and if they get brave and stupid then it's their fault for charging in. And if they get scared then we can take them to the trolls and use our original plan, knowing that these men aren't just wicked, but cowards as well.

You look around the cave, watching for any sort of escape or place to hide when the shit inevitably hits the fan. You see a few large rocks, and piles of bones that might be suitable places to hide. There is always the direct exit, but you’ll have to be careful in case any nearby trolls hear the commotion coming from their cave and try to investigate. Just as you are looking, you hear the roar and dive behind some rocks. You barely peak out and see a mess of fur matted in blood.

“COME MEN, TO AR-“ Before Krull can finish, the minotaur swung a club and smashed Krull against the wall. He’s winded, but the warrior comes back without much fanfare and the fighting begins. It seems pretty intense, but as far as you can tell. the warriors are going to win this one unless someone…intervenes.

You reach into your bag and you feel the parchment with the curse on it. You could activate it now while they’re busy and it will undoubtedly be a death sentence. But then that leaves the trolls, and the minotaur still alive.

Do you
>Activate the curse
>Let the adventurers kill the minotaur
>Write-in

>>37399569
They probably know we lead them into a trap now, so I say we activate the curse, THEN try to shank the wizard with our dagger, the hope to hell the Minotaur doesn't kill us/we somehow trick it into thinking we saved it.

>>37399569
WAit till the mino is bloodied then>Activate the curse
Then flee!

>>37399569

>Let the adventurers kill the minotaur

If they try to attack us, let's direct them toward the trolls now that they're weakened.

>>37399569
Let them kill the minotaur.

>>37399569
>>Activate the curse

>>37399569

Are Minotaurs sometime friendly towards humans who helped them, or are they just blood-thirsty beast?

>>37399569
Let them kill the minotaur. In fact, help them out if possible. Earn some trust. They were expecting us to lead them to trolls, and now it turns out we're useless or worse. We need to stand by them to avoid them trying to hunt us down, and we can still nab them when they go for the trolls. They aren't being paid to hunt a minotaur after all.

Alternatively, activate the curse and hide, then come back and animate the adventurers to take down the trolls and hope for the best. Two birds, one stone, although that leaves the minotaur alive for later.

>>37399569
Let them kill the minotaur. When they go to fight the trolls, weakened, we pop the curse, finish them off, and ally with the trolls for mutual protection.

>>37400075
But the trolls were eating all the livestock and causing trouble in town, and we're killing the adventurers because they're general jerks and are abusing our new neighbors.

>>37400142
Right, new plan. We allow the adventurers to defeat the trolls, pop the curse, raise the dead trolls, and stomp them.

Hanging back is probably the best decision. Watching the fighting go, you see that despite their flaws, they are really excellent fighters and are rather adept at extreme violence. It takes time, and there are wounds on all sides, but eventually the minotaur goes down and Krull takes the initiative to slice the minotaurs head off of his body. Barnabus is staring at you now, a look of anger in his eyes.

“I thought you were a professional! How can you not know the difference between a troll and minotaur cave!”

“The trolls DO live here!” You explain “But the minotaur must have come in while they were out. If we waited another day they may have just killed each other.” The two others tell Barnabus to lay off, and go deeper into the cave to see what they can find. As you go, you hear something and you see some movement from outside the cave. The trolls are coming back.

You could try to escape, leaving the adventurers to fight off the trolls in this cramped place alone. But you can’t activate the curse and guarantee it if you aren’t near them. But if you stay around and implement the curse, then there is the risk that a troll might notice you and decide that you look tasty.

Do you
>Stay around and activate the curse
>Escape the cave

>>37400564
>Escape the cave

>>37400564
>>Stay around and activate the curse
Can we resurrect the Minotaur? If not
>Escape the cave

>>37400564
>>Stay around and activate the curse
>Be smug about being right.

>>37400564
See >>37400460
The adventurers sure aren't very observant. Maybe we can activate the curse while they loot so that we can act like the loot was cursed if any of them get away from the undead trolls. Will the curse slow them down enough for us to raise the trolls though? If not, we should activate the curse and hide, then raise the adventurers from our hiding spot once they're dead and mop up the weakened trolls.

>>37400900
It takes a solid fifteen minutes for you to prepare a Raise Dead spell at this skill level. If you can get some practice, then you can cut that time down. But there isn't enough time to raise the dead on the fly here.

>>37400937
Gotcha. Then we need to isolate whatever corpses we use while we raise them, and that means either raising the trolls after the adventurers are done with them and using the curse to slow them down enough that we can get the trolls to them before they get back to town, or waiting for the trolls to leave and raising the adventurers. I vote for the first one, personally, since the curse will add some leverage in terms of wearing the adventurers down further and buying us time depending on how we use it.

>>37400983
What. exactly, are you planning to do with these zombies? I mean, what can we do with them at the moment that won't have an inquisitor knocking on our door with his merry band of burly brutes?

>>37400983
Wait, what exactly is your vote going to?

>>37401057
There's nothing we could ever do with the undead that won't get Inquisitors talking, but if we kill the adventurers and can blame it on monsters then we've achieved our goals.
>>37401168
Stay and activate the curse, I suppose. I think in hindsight my plan is a bit convoluted.

>>37401168
Yeah, I wanna go with stay and activate the curse.But make sure to kill the wizard

>>37401480
Definitely need to kill the wizard, otherwise he might shake it off or dispel it on the others.

>>37401555
Yeah, and he's already suspicious of us best get rid of him first

You pull out the paper and give up the last little bit of blood necessary to activate the curse. The black and red marks on the paper come to life and wind off the paper and shoot at the adventurers. The curse is successful, and the three of them freeze up. You know that their blood is burning now, and their muscles have locked up. Veins popping out of their neck and they won’t be going anywhere.

The first of the Trolls has returned. An ugly, rocky skin covered in blood and a cow slung over his shoulder. He sniffs around and is now leaning over and digging through the remains of the minotaur in confusion. Trolls really aren’t the brightest tools in the shed. You might just be able to sneak out, since the Trolls haven’t really noticed the adventurer’s. you might be able to sneak out, or your could stick around. But, if you want to guarantee their demise, it might just be advantageous to wound them now. You have your knife, and if you’re feeling lucky, you might be able to stab them and run back to your hiding place. But that risks the Troll noticing you first.

Do you
>Stay hidden
>Try to Sneak out
>Try to attack the adventurers

>>37401658
>Stay hidden
Try to cover ourselves with dirt or something to cover our smell.

>>37401658
>Stay hidden

Rolled 32 (1d100)

>>37401658
>>Try to attack the adventurers
we are risk takers

>>37401658
>>Stay hidden

>>37401658
We have a few daggers with us, right? How's our aim?

>>37402037
Not that good.

>>37401658
Why didn't we wait until they were in battle?

You stay hidden, pinned between the few rocks and bones that offer you some scant cover. You don’t think that the trolls will notice you, but you don’t dare to look over your eyes. You hear something crash and the Trolls are starting to fight against something. Maybe it’s amongst themselves, maybe it’s killing the adventurers, you really can’t tell. You can’t stay here all night, and after the sounds stop, you don’t think that they’ll be leaving again. There are at least two Trolls hanging around the cave now. You could try to sneak out, but there is another option.

You could try to resurrect the minotaur. You’re pretty well hidden, and may have time to construct a spell from memory to resurrect the minotaur. It’s much easier to bring back creatures like that then humans or other more sentient races. The minotaur might be able to take the two trolls, but if there are more then there isn’t much of a chance and you’d have to reveal yourself at least at the moment when you finish the spell.

Do you
>Try to sneak out
>Try to peek over and examine the room
>Try to caste the Raise Dead on the minotaur

- - -
Sorry, internet was a bit wonky.

>>37402497
>Try to caste the Raise Dead on the minotaur

>>37402497
>>Try to caste the Raise Dead on the minotaur

>>37402497
>Try to caste the Raise Dead on the minotaur

>>37402497
>Try to caste the Raise Dead on the minotaur
If there are more dead raise them too! can't we sense the dead?

>>37402497
>>Try to caste the Raise Dead on the minotaur

>>37402497
check the wizard, if he has a fireball spell/staff handy then we can nuke the trolls and take the credit

>>37402497
>Try to cast the Raise Dead on the minotaur

Something came up. I'll be back in a little bit after I finish aphone call.

>>37403344
Do what you need to do. We'll wait.

>>37402497
I think we should prepare the spell, and before casting, examine the room

You pull out another piece of paper and begin writing out the necessary symbols to put together a Raise Dead Spell. This was one of the very first spells that your mom and dad taught you, so you are able to reconstruct it from memory. It isn’t the best thing you’ve ever put together, but soon it is finished and you are ready to cast it. You prepare yourself, rightfully nervous over the fact that you are about to stand up to a bunch of man-eating monsters, and go out into the cave. There are two Troll, thankfully, one of them chewing on the arm of Krull and the other poking at the minotaur’s headless remains.

You hold the spell out and the paper disintegrates as the symbols keep their place. As the symbols begin to fall apart, the body of the minotaur begin to twitch. The trolls stand up and start moving to you, but before they can get too close, the minotaur body grabs the leg and stands up. You were lucky that only the head was removed, since the brain is actually one of the least necessary parts for body re-animation.

The minotaur grabs the arm of one of the trolls and manages to throw itat the other. They are engaged in a three way brawl, the trolls not even caring about hitting each other. you could run now, but the treasure is right there for the taking. It’s actually quite a horde, something you weren’t exactly expecting for a group of trolls to have.

Do you
>Go get some of the treasure
>Run away

>>37404334
>Go get some of the treasure
Fire spells or items!

>>37404334
>Go get some of the treasure
Grabbing a handful of coins would do.

>>37404334
>Run away
Discretion might be better here

>>37404334
Make the minotaur grab the treasure to a safe place, maybe bury it. Return to the town, get the possible treasure from the farmers(maybe even share some of the treasure, I dunno), and haul the rest of the treasure to the house. Keeping a low profile about all of this can be quite useful.

>>37404334
>>Go get some of the treasure

>>37404489
Pretty rad idea, but I'm nut sure if the decaying minotaur zombie can take on two regenerating troll

>>37404648
Maybe the wizard's corpse has something that can help.

>>37404334
>Go get some of the treasure

>>37404691
Yeah, we should check to see if all the bodies are there.

>>37404334
Get some loot, and check the bodies while we're at it. As long as all three adventurers are dead we may as well make use of their gear for our benefit, with a focus on the wizard.

Shoulda prepped four spells to raise the adventurers too, then have them walk the loot out themselves, dig their own grave, strip and jump in

>>37405165
Well, when we get home we can consider preparing some spells in advance for when we're in a bind. Maybe we can prep half the ritual in advance or something? Some research in the book and asking some ancestors would probably go a long way towards speeding up the process. Stuff to consider for later.

You run past the brawl, grabbing as much of the treasure as you can. You don’t take much note of what you grab, just a few fistfuls of coins and jewelry and a few other little books and baubles that are lying around. You turn to leave, when you notice something very chilling. The wizard is dead, and the arm of the warrior is gnawed off and lying in a red mush you assume is the rest of him. But there is not a single sign of the ranger. There is a large pool of blood, and it’s moving towards the exit, but that’s it. You can’t worry too much, because the shoddy reanimation spell is starting to fail as the minotaur keeps trying to take on the trolls.

You dash out, moving along the side of the mountain and avoiding the trolls that are just now starting to return to the cave. You clutch your bag, quite heavy and you aren’t use to the physical labor, as you try to figure out what to do. You could try to find the ranger yourself, but you don’t have much skill in that. You could try to recruit some help to find him, or something else. Your mind is racing trying to figure out what to do. For a necromancer, you are being a little too freaked out by the prospect of death here.

Do you
>Try to hunt down the ranger
>Try to get help for finding him
>Other (write-in)

>>37405305
>>Try to get help for finding him

>>37405305
Try to get help for finding him. The villagers wanted them gone and we helped lead to their demise for the most part, but one got away. We need to hide our stash of loot somewhere safe, hurry back to town, and come up with an alibi in case the ranger beat us there and started spreading word of what happened.

>>37405305
>Try to get help for finding him

Can we also resurrect the wizard?

>>37405305
>Try to get help for finding him

>>37405305
>Try to get help for finding him
Lets not try to hunt a ranger in a forest.

You need to get help for finding him. You aren’t nearly proficient enough for this and there have to be people that could possibly want to help you. Your only option really is to get help from the farmers. You rush towards the town and since there is only one series of farms that are built next to a burning field of ash, you don’t have much trouble. You pound on the door, and a very sleepy farmer answers it.

“Who is it-Oh my god!” He ushers you inside, stunned at the blood and dirt. You put the bag down and collapse on a chair while the famed goes to wake up his friends. After everyone is assembled, you explain a very vague version of what happened, leaving out the parts with you ‘Dark Magic’. They’re considering helping you, but they are also aware of how dangerous it is, especially since the trolls are still out there. You need to convince them.

Do you
>Try to play on their hatred of the adventurers
>Offer to give them a portion of the loot
>Other (write-in)

>>37405569
>Try to play on their hatred of the adventurers
>Offer to give them a portion of the loot
Both no chances on this.

>>37405608
It's more 'what do you play up the most to REALLY sell this'

>>37405608
>>37405634
Change to
>Offer to give them a portion of the loot
hatred is one thing using it is another.

>>37405569
>Offer to give them a portion of the loot
Just think of the rewards.

>>37405569
>>Offer to give them a portion of the loot
They need the money and we need to not get an arrow in our backs. They did say they might starve with their fields burned to the ground anyway so it could earn us extra brownie points.

>>37405680
Indeed. They need the money to save their town. Offering them some of the gold in exchange for their aid in tracking down the adventurer is the perfect bait for this. Plus we know where the rest is and how to get to it, and we know enough about trolls to raid the stash while they're out.

You go over the the bag and haul it onto a nearby table. You open it up and throw a handful of the golden coins onto the table.

“Listen. I like this town. I want to stay here a long time and I don’t want to be taken away for defending it from those kind of people. And I DON’T want you guys to starve. So, regardless, this loot will be yours. But if you help me catch this guy then I swear on my life, I will do whatever it takes to make sure that this place is safe from tyrants like that.” The farmers exchange a look and nod.

“Ok lad, we’ll help you.” One of them heads upstairs, and comes down with another, much younger looking young man. “This is my son, Michael. He’s a hunter, and he knows the mountains like the back of his hand. It’s been dangerous, but he’ll help.” The two exchange hushed words, and in ten minutes Michael is suited up in a dark colored hunting outfit and the two of you head out.

- - -

Michael is slow to find any sign of him. The ranger is well trained and knows how to cover himself. But he can’t stop the blood flow, and it seems like he missed a few spots, just enough to give you a direction. Soon you approach and Michael tells you to stop, that Argos is close. He doesn’t know how to continue, and wants your advice on how to deal with him.

Do you
>Go in hard and fast, trying to ambush him
>Separate and try to circle him
>Scout out the area and try to pick him off at a distance.
>Other (write-in)

>>37405894
>Scout out the area and try to pick him off at a distance.

>>37405894
>Scout out the area and try to pick him off at a distance.

>>37405894
Prep some spells to weaken him.

>>37405894
>Scout out the area and try to pick him off at a distance.

>>37405894
Ask Michael what he's prepared to do to protect his town and tell him that we won't ask him to get blood on his hands unless it comes to blows. We asked for help catching him, not killing him, and Michael is a young man who likely isn't ready to carry the burden of a human life. If Michael can snipe him and drop him to be dragged back unconscious, all the better, but he's brought us this close and we should be able to manage on our own if Argos has been bleeding for this long. So yes, snipe him from a distance if possible, but make sure that Michael knows that this isn't on him at all if he doesn't want it to be. And if he doesn't want a part in this act, we have our knives and our wits, and Argos has gaping wounds.

You and Michael go to set yourself up in position. Michael has identified exactly where he is, and is about to unload an arrow at the figure you assume is Argos, but before he can, a knife flies past you and lodges itself in Michael’s shoulder. It seems like the ranger is a master of ranged combat, and because you stayed back that gave him time to set up as well. Michael’s arrow is released, and it lands with a thunk in Argos’ leg and with a scream he goes down.

You try to hold down the wound, but the knife is pretty deep and it must have hit an artery. He’s bleeding out pretty fast, and that means that the Trolls will smell it soon. You can try to get him back to town, but there is another option.

One of the spells your oldest brother taught you was Healing Boon. If you have a dead body, you could heal him. But that’d mean going over and ending Argos’ life with your own hands and also revealing your magic to Michael. But you have no idea how sturdy this man is, and if you don’t take care of Argos now, there is’t a guarantee that he won’t get away.

Do you
>Try to get Michael back to town quickly
>End Argos’ life and then try to get Michael back to town
>Use Healing Boon

>>37406195
>Use Healing Boon

>>37406195
>Use Healing Boon

>>37406195
>Use Healing Boon

>>37406195
Finally on my computer. Been lurking a lot on mobile and couldn't post properly.
>Use Healing Boon

>>37406195
>Use healing boon

He's a young hunter, he probably doesn't know much about different kinds of magic, much like the farmers in town.

>>37406427
It's....noticable. It's very noticeable what you're doing.

>>37406528
Shhhhhh, let me dream.

Ignorance is bliss, after all.

>>37406195
Tell Michael that we know a way to save his life, and finish off Argos. Michael will pass out from blood loss before long at this rate, assuming he doesn't go into shock first. We can likely heal him without him discovering what we did if we work quickly and use his dazed state to our advantage.

Use healing boon, and use it wisely, then haul Michael out of there.

>>37406630
This

You refuse to let this young man die for someone like that ranger. You go over, and without much ceremony or fanfare, stab him in the throat. You’ve dealt with dead bodies for most of your life, hell your first pet was a reanimated puppy that was run over by a careless carriage. But you’ve never quite been the one dealing the death so directly. Once you are sure the man is dead, you drag his body over and lay it down next to Michael. He is still conscious, the boy has a strong will it seems, so there isn’t much of a way to do this without him being aware.

You cover the blood of both of them on your hands and raise them up between them. As you drag your hands across the air, lines appear as though each digit was a paintbrush. Michael is fading, but still looks on in wonder at the glowing red and black marks. Once the spell is complete, you release the magic and let it do it’s work. Argos’ body begins to rapidly decay, first his skin sinks and his muscle unwind, then his bones rapidly shift from white and yellow to brown and gray. In an instant, they collapse and turn to dust.

At the same time, as Argos’ body vanishes, Michael’s begins to heal. Every single scar, bruise, scrape and wound that was marring his body is fixed up. You see even his nose re-aligns itself, it must have been broken and healed in an odd way at some point in the past. That is one of the boon of using a body who has so recently embraced Death, it works much deeper than a body that has already been sent to the earth.

Michael feels the power moving through him, and jolts up as every part of him is energized. His blood is pumping fast, and every single drop of blood or sting of muscle is coursing with life.

“What…what are you?” He says, looking down at his hands in disbelief as the red energy begins to dissipate.

What do you say?
>Write in.

>>37406724
Just someone who wants to live a quiet life

>>37406724
What is Alex's sexuality? I'm wondering if this is a possibility for a future love interest...

File: 1418875599258.gif (706 KB, 390x293)

706 KB GIF

>>37406724
Your Savior

>>37406724
A man persecuted for no good reason looking to make things better for people who deserve it.

>>37406724
>>37406760
>>37406738
>>37406774
seconding these

>>37406724
Someone trying to live in peace, and who has a good enough grasp of magic to save the life of a man who doesn't deserve to die.

>>37406759
You know, I really have no fucking clue what it is. Something to discover I guess.

>>37406724
"Just a man who knows a few things about life and death. I patched you up because you're a good man who deserved life, and I ended the ranger because he was ready to see your town suffer to line his pockets. Make of that what you will, it's not my place to pick your ideals for you, but know that I have good intent, and that all I want is happiness and comfort."

>>37406759
This is a fair point... We did just fix every little flaw in his body that counts as an injury, after all, and farmers tend to be pretty fit... If Alex swings that way, Michael might be looking mighty fine to him right about now.

>>37406830
I like it. It fits.

We do have some steam to blow off after all.

>>37406724
Just a practitioner of magic.

>>37406861
I just realized that that could fit either point he made.
To be precise, I was talking about the speech

But I'm ok with either

>>37406891
Alex knows his way around a human body, maybe Michael would like some anatomy lessons...~ Though if Alex does indeed take an interest in that sort of thing, it would be wise to be subtle so as not to scare him off. It's already a delicate situation.

>>37406917
Do you write fanfics? You seem like the type.

>>37406966
I used to. I was a fan of romance stories, particularly ones that kept the romance as realistic as possible. It's no fun to just mash two characters together and say it works.

>>37406724
As an update, we've got two votes for >>37406830
and one vote for the other lines. You know, for anyone keeping score.

I'm gonna back this up I like it.

>>37407112
I'm gonna assume you mean the thread in general, anon.

Combining them a bit since there isn’t much consensus.

- - -

“I’m just a man who wants his own life.” You explain, standing up and helping Michael to his feet. all that’s left of Argos is his clothes and equipment. You decide since you can’t use them, you hand the knife and the weapons and armor to Michael, and take the man’s personal bag for yourself incase there is anything of interest to you. “I have been persecuted for things that are deemed crimes by people who do not understand them. But Beyond what I do, is why I do it. I can’t stand people like the ranger and those others to cause harm at this towns expense. You deserve better than that.” At this point, there is the tiniest hint of sunlight coming over the mountains, and you tell Michael to go home and inform his father and the others that the ranger was taken care of.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk about this.” You add, and the young man nods, still in a bit of a daze, and heads straight down the mountain. You pick up your bag, attached the late Argos’ to the side, and begin your trek home.

All in all, not a terrible way to end your first day in town.

- - -

Ok, I'm going to call it a day. I'll probably start another one early tomorrow since I'm home all day and have literally nothing better to do than that.

@quest_maester for interested folks.

And if there are any questions/suggestions/comments, I'd fucking love to hear them. I'd rather get bad feedback then none at all.

>>37407145
Thanks for running! So is all our magic that visible?

>>37407145
Very enjoyable story so far. I'm looking forward to seeing where it ends up.

I think the character sheet could use some fleshing out to cover Alex's abilities a bit better, maybe some hobbies or something to illustrate what he does in his spare time besides raising the dead so we know what we can expect from him, as well as his possessions in a bit more detail. Knowing his limits and what we can get away with will help us better shape his decisions. Also >>37407185

>>37407185
Yeah. Magic is not really much of a subtle thing as it's being built. And though some magic isn't very flashy or showy, necromancy isn't one of them. The dead really like flashy colors and pretty lights.

>>37407145
Pretty good overall. I don't know if I would have wanted to roll some dice or not cause they usually just fuck us over. I think the updates are a bit slow but could be fixed over time.
Thanks for running!

>>37407232
Understandable. It adds more risk to the whole "hidden necromancy" thing, which I like. Challenge is fun~

>>37407185
We've cast all of our available spells, so far.

Curse: beams of red light, and the target binding up

Raise dead: raises a dead

Healing boon: bloody jazz hands

>>37407265
So... Flashy lights, shuffling bodies and jazz moves? Are we... Are we the Necrodancer?

>>37407292
NecroDancer: Origins

>>37407312
I vote that Alex learns an instrument and passes off his flashy magic as him learning to be a bard and mastering illusions so we have an excuse for all the glowing. Maybe magical incantations disguised as dirges and other forms of music? We've been using scribed spells a lot, we could get a book and fill it with sheet music and our prepared ritual spells.

>>37407339
Also we could use our music to serenade our love interest.

>>37407145
Don't you run another quest?

>>37407408
Nope. I've run others in the past, not recently.

>>37407292
>>37407312
>>37407339
>>37407359

I'm strangely pleased with this and I'm unsure why...

>>37407339
That's actually not a bad idea. I'd totally be down for that

>>37407459
Could have sworn I saw that twitter in another quest.

>>37407459
>>37407468
It's a direction to take Alex's research at least, as well as a decent way to cover up what he's doing around most people. Plus, when he's out working the fields or whatever job he ends up picking up, he can be practicing his singing AND his necromantic chants at once.

So we are playing average evil necromancer with delusions of being good?

>>37407359
Ain't got no time for romance when there's caverns to loot and magic to learn.

>>37407589
There's always time for romance, even if it's just thinking fondly of someone.

>>37407612
We can always waifu one of our dead great aunts

>>37407561
No. Alex and his family are actually rather nice people. If you ever visited your parents, they're more interested in reading and baking than raising the dead. And they'd only ever use vicious criminals, animals, or bodies of consenting families for their practice and usage unless they were threatened or really in a bind.

>>37407643
See? Hobbies. Necromancers have hobbies. I still vote Alex should take up music.

>>37407677
Agreed it'll be our hobby.

>>37407677
I hope it's possible to cast magic with music

>>37407686
You and me both. Again, something to research, especially now that we've been exposed to someone. Gotta keep our secrets secret.

>>37407677
Only if he plays an organ.

>>37407629
Paranorman route?

>>37407686
Ok. It'll take practice, and a lot of concentration, but yes it is hypothetically possible for there to be a wizard disguised as a bard.

>>37407703
The hype is real.

>>37407703
Aww yeah

So flute for movement and organs for base defence?

File: PS4AM8g.gif (299 KB, 294x266)

299 KB GIF

>>37407740
Why flute? Why not a sweet harp or something?

Pic very related

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

Is... Is this going to be us?

>>37407824
I like the idea of a harp or lute. Also singing, for when it invariably breaks or goes out of tune.

>>37407824
Yeah, I've been thinking Lute or Harp

>>37407824
I'm about 80% sure that's a lute, anon.

I like how we are hijacking this and making it into Necromancy: The Musical

>>37407872
No, because that's cliche.

>>37407911
We aren't so much hijacking as we are hiding our necromancy in plain view.

I just want to play as a normal necromancer.

You guys realize that dragging harp around would be quite hard?
What about lyre?
Bone and hair one?

>>37407904
The harp sounds more fun to me. Or maybe a glass armonica for the hell of it.

>>37407952
Yeah, same here. I don't mind us picking up an instrument as a hobby, but becoming a bard is dumb.

>>37407959
Yeah, but those things are big. Granted it'd be fitting considering the superstition behind them. Maybe once we get our own place that's big enough to house it.

>>37407956
Yes. A lyre. It's perfect. Portable, light, and very fancy so it befits our style.

>>37407997
It's not reallybeing a bard so much as when people are watching we're a bard. Once we get enough power though...

Hey OP does thins world run on music like LotR?

>>37407997
We aren't becoming a bard, but if it lets us cast some of our spells in public when the need arises then it's worth looking into.

>>37408047
A temporary fix for a temporary problem, and a skill that might be handy for social situations.

>>37408095
Exactly! Besides we DO need a hobby other than raising the dead.

>>37408133
So, are we adding singing and playing the lyre to our list of hobbies and musical magic to our research list?

>>37408186
I certainly hope so.