The instant that you worked out that your whole quest is just to secure the White Blade and Red Rose for Allegiset's own purposes, you felt the knowledge being stripped from your mind by Allegiset. Part of your mind managed to conceal the knowledge from him, so you still have awareness of his scheme, but acting on it before you can properly protect yourself will just lead to him being more thorough. You came to face down on the ground, feigning ignorance and a headache, but Pirin seemed to realize what happened to you. Whether he knows you remember it too or not is still unknown.

Gil returned with Sena, a small potion bottle and Fiona, who got sent to a cathedral nearby after devoting herself more completely to her faith after you left. She's attending the festival as a religious emissary, and updated you on your burgeoning cult. You explained to her what you need, and she said that she's happy to oblige you.

Character Sheet:
http://pastebin.com/hZThyQm7

Thread twitter:
@BecomeQM

Previous adventures at:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Become%20The%20Dragon%20Quest

The rules:
Best of three rolls, critical threat on a 20, confirmed if another roll is 20-modifier or higher. Modifier is Stat being rolled+Relevant skill. You can decide which skill to apply. If no one applies one, no skill will be added on. If you don't have a logical reason to apply a skill, don't do it.
Critical fails are at least two 1s on a roll. May expand this later to increase shenanigans.
Success is on a sliding scale and is situational. Some things are easier than others. Use your head.

Check out the side stories!
Millie's Day Off
http://pastebin.com/9dmr6XWx
Sir Black and the Red Scale
http://pastebin.com/5JMxmEay
Ildareth and the Dragonblood Witch
http://pastebin.com/N83MDEHq

Gil is just about to start when you notice something out of the corner of your eye. Vein. She's leaning against a tree and grinning at you from afar, but when you blink she vanishes, and you're not even really sure you saw her at all.

When you turn back to Gil he's already made the cut, gritting his teeth as the blood begins to flow. Sena is staring at the display and whimpering, eyes filling with swirls of red, but when Fiona rests a hand on Sena's shoulder she immediately calms. The portal slowly begins to take on a silvery color, and as the bowl fills the glow gets brighter, until it shines like the one that took you to the capitol. Gil smiles.

"Dizzy now... Nap time..."

He falls backwards, clutching his wrist, and Sena and Fiona immediately move to his side.

>Heal him up, we've got company
>I'll be back, get him somewhere safe
>Don't go too far, the portal might close if you leave with him
>Other (write-in)

>>42833205
>I'll be back, get him somewhere safe
>Don't go too far, the portal might close if you leave with him

>>42833205
>>I'll be back, get him somewhere safe
Keep an eye out.

>>42833562
this

who the hell is vein?

>>42833868
One of the constructs from the city

>>42833868
An elemental we met.

>>42833868
Elemental who was gate guarding when we took Epsilon back to the university. She was also one of the six elementals imprisoning our maids.

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You turn towards the portal and head towards it slowly.

"Get him somewhere safe and keep an eye out for danger. If you take him too far from here then the portal might close, but I don't know what's about to happen."

Sena nods.

"Got it."

Fiona chants softly and scoops Gil up, her arms glowing softly.

"We'll take care of him, don't worry."

Pirin moves to your side as you advance toward the portal. He doesn't say anything, but he's trying rather desperately to look brave. Instead he just looks like he's barely masking his panic behind a grimace. You head for the edge of the portal and pause.

"Pirin?"

He nods.

"Yeah...?"

You grab him by the shoulder.

"Experience fear. But don't let it consume you."

He smiles.

"That's actually kind of wise. Tha-"

You shove him through the portal and jump in after him.

-

Strength roll

Rolled 1 + 5 (1d20 + 5)

>>42834020
Plus grappling?

>>42834041
Nope, just a flat strength roll

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>42834020
Dice

Rolled 4 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>42834020

>>42834108
Hope 12 is enough

While yesterday we started with two 20's, today.....not so much.

>>42834216
Yeah the dice gods are not with us it seems. This is gonna hurt

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Your trip through the portal leaves you muddled and and disoriented. You stumble a bit and feel a sharp pain through your body, the world going white. The next thing you know Pirin is gently smacking your face, which hurts far more than it should. Your wings are numb, everything else hurts, and you feel sick to your stomach.

"Can you please stop passing out...?"

You nod slightly and rub your face, before noticing something odd. Your claws have shrunk, and your arm seems thin and weak, like your muscles have shrunk. Pirin sighs softly.

"Well, we're here..."

The stone passage is dim but not dark. Up ahead is a staircase leading downwards, with two torches on either side.

>Continue your self examination
>Get up and grab a torch
>Ask Pirin something
>Other (write-in)

>>42834571
>>Continue your self examination
>Ask Pirin something
Do I look different?

Did we just get our dragon blood buffs stripped?

>>42834571
>Continue your self examination

>>42834571
>Hand Pirin the torch and grab the other

>Ask about other raziguls. Any famous ones?

We must be in the spirit realm. Spiritually Kot is still human.

>>42834571
> Get up and grab a torch

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You slowly push yourself up to your feet and feel around for your wings. There's nothing there, aside from the gaps in your outfit that you had made for them. As the pain subsides bit by bit, your back feels a little bit cold. You gesture to the torches.

“Grab one of those... And then tell me if I look different to you. I don't just mean the wings...”

Pirin nods and grabs both of the torches, walking over and setting one on the ground, using the other to examine you.

“Well... You, uh... You look cute. I mean, not that you weren't pretty before, but that was an intimidating kind of thing. Proud. Now you just look girly. No offense.”

You grab the torch from the floor and almost lose your balance as your sword shifts and throws you off balance. You curse and remove the sheath and sword from your belt, trying to put them into your gloves, but nothing happens. Your magic isn't working properly either. You can't even feel it inside you anymore.

“...We may have a problem.”

You stand back up and heft your sword. You can still carry it, still swing it around fairly easily, but it takes a lot more effort like this.

-

Current stats
Smarts - 0
Strength - 2
Speed - 2
Sleuth - 1
Sneak - 0
Schmooze - 1
Spirit – N/A

-

Pirin nods a little.

“Yeah, you don't look so good... Maybe whatever was giving you your powers couldn't follow you... The ghost of... of that ancient dragon, or whatever. Maybe he can't help you here. He probably can't see or hear you right now either...”

You put your sword away and turn towards the passage ahead of you. The stairs lead down into darkness, with the occasional torch along the way. It'll be a long walk down. May as well take this time to answer some questions.

>Write-in

>>42835843
>Ask about other raziguls
>Ask if they have opposites, any avatar of light around?

>>42835843
>Ask about the sword and rose in detail.
>ask about Allegsiet's legacy
>Ask about raziguls and how far gone they've gone.

>>42835843
>Are you sure he can't hear us?
>If yes, tell him that we remember what happened before our headache, but pretended not to.

Question if we leveled up and put our stats up without getting blessings/is the limit 3 or are any buffs supernatural even from level up?

>>42836021
In this quest, "levels" and boons have all come from Allegiset bequeathing them to you so far. If you find an alternate path to power or some other means to advance, that may result in a different level progression altogether or replacing the current power with a different kit. It's a big world out there.

>>42836086
That would kind of defeat the whole become more of a dragon thing, though...

>>42836117
Quite so.

>>42836131
We related to any other supernatural entities?

Maybe from dad's side?

>>42836117
We'll need a few trumps to fight Allegsiet when it comes down to it. Probably more than a few.

>>42836175
We could always pick up Divine magic, which would help a little. Fiona could teach even. And if we infuse the blessings with our own magic under the guise of improving blight resist we can hopefully make them ours completely.

File: Copy_of_LloydGrande.jpg (58 KB, 601x1125)

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>>42836178
Dragon slaying sword?

>>42836207
Given he had his kids mob him for that too work, we'll need more than that. Especially if we can blessing negate us or use them to subvert us.

>>42836178
I don't think he'll be able to remove our powers when it comes to it, at least i hope so... We can however gather knowledge and other things possible of working against him. I think it'd be a waste to not accept his gifts as long as we can get them, however.

>>42836240
>I think it'd be a waste to not accept his gifts as long as we can get them, however.

He's either going to be able to negate them or use them to control us. An ancient sociopathic magic monster won't hand out power it can't use to it's advantage.

>>42836267
So we use other sociopathic people stop him.

The Necromancers will become our pawns!

>>42836322
They'd stand no real chance since Dragonfire>Blight monstrosities. Beside they hate us, a lot. I think we need to learn divine magic, and under the guise of trying to resist the blight to a greater extent. Then we infuse our body with it and hopefully subvert Alleg's control.

>>42836267
I don't think that is his advantage though. His advantage is being able to curse us with his name said at any time he wants in addition to being able to (attempt to) erase our memory of specific events. I'm not sure he'd have the power to negate/controll our powers once we're stronger and have more power to go from. We can't really know what he's truly capable of, but i don't think even he has that much control after he's dead.

>>42836353
>curse us with his name
Wouldn't work on us as we are now, since we'd still have a soul by default. His name just erases that in dragons.

Have you Read Dragonslayer quest on Anonkun? He reminds me a lot of Rhaegos. If he's anywhere near that level, he's got a lot more he can do to fuck us up. Including assuming direct control and a lobotomy at will.

>>42836407
I'm thinking, that he mostly have this much control of us since we're still not that close to being in the power of a real dragon. Compared to him, he's probably able to do a lot more to a half-human than he would to an almost dragon at least. If we grow strong enough before we confront him, we'll have a stronger chance at opposing him.
On another note. Do you think investing in smarts would improve our resistance against things like his mind powers?

File: 1440543197859.jpg (157 KB, 621x828)

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You take the first step and look over at Pirin.

“...He can't hear me, right?”

Pirin nods slightly.

“As far as I'm aware, yeah. His ghost or spirit or whatever... The form of it in your blood is connected to his will in the present. He won't even recognize you right now. Not that we should be trying to meddle with time or anything...”

You nod a bit.

“I remember what you told me earlier. Not... Not all of it, but enough of it. And I want you to tell me more while there's a chance that he won't meddle. I want to know about his legacy, the raziguls, all of it. And if you know anything about a red rose or a white blade, that would help too.”

Pirin follows behind you as you begin to descend.

“Alright... Well, the raziguls... There were tons of them, all throughout history... Tenvas, scion of the troll king, Ebit, mistress of shadows and heir of the dusklings... There's a pattern. Pride makes them desire power, and there's power in their blood, so they see becoming a monster as the logical path to power. Something triggers their connection to their ancestor, and they start making pacts and deals, little by little preparing the razigul for ascension.

Then, when they're ready, the spirit transforms them completely and when their soul vanishes, they implant themselves into their descendant. Their descendant gets maybe a year or two of free reign before they slowly become nothing more than a puppet, and then a copy. Their ancestor is reborn, and brings about a new era of darkness, driving mankind to the edge of destruction...”

You pause for a moment and glance at him.

“So they're all monsters then? What about the humans, what brings them back?”

Pirin shrugs a little.

“A blade of starlight, a sword that can destroy evil things, falls into the hands of someone pure of heart, a knight full of virtue and kindness. Only someone who can hold those values even in their darkest moments can wield a blade like that to its fullest potential, but they're unstoppable. They're the starlight knights, those who carry light into the dark places and drive it out. For every razigul, there's a starlight knight who will one day slay them and end their rule.”

You get the uneasy feeling that you already know someone who fits that description, and that someday soon you might be ordered by Allegiset to do away with him.

“So the cycle is always the same, right? There's no way to break it?”

Pirin hesitates for a moment.

“There was a time before it, when Lord Solis and Lady Noct were king and queen, husband and wife. So it's possible, the cycle isn't everything. But you'd need to find a way to either destroy the spirit guiding you and ascend without his hold on you, or kill the starlight knight before he can rise up, or... or something else that would ruin it. And there's no telling what would come afterward.”

The stairs continue on a ways, but you can see some sort of platform up ahead, like a balcony. Pirin whistles a bit.

“This is the place where it gets blocked off in our time... I've never actually seen what's beyond here, although we do have an old map...”

You reach the platform and your torch tumbles from your fingers. Before you is an enormous castle with a long stone pathway from the gate that reaches along the bottom of the underground chamber to the bottom of the stairs below you. It's another few stories down just to get to the path, this time along a spiral staircase shaped from the walls of the cavern. All around you can hear faint dripping and the gentle rush of flowing water echoing through the cave.

The castle itself seems to glow faintly, a golden hue covering the entire structure, and when you squint you can almost believe that it's made out of gold, or at least coated with the stuff. It almost looks more like a cathedral or holy site in terms of construction with its towering spires and elaborate decorations, but the imposing walls and enormous gate give it the feel of a fortress. You take a moment to appreciate the view before heading for the next set of stairs, but Pirin seems fixated on it.

“This is... No one in our era has seen this... It's beautiful...”

>Soak it in, one day that's gonna be mine
>We should get moving, the longer we're here the more risk Gil has to take
>Other (write-in)

>>42836496
Smarts would help, yes.

>>42836523
No wonder Allegsiet wanted us to snub Black. Purity my ass he's afraid we'll let him off us.

>>42836566
>We should get moving, the longer we're here the more risk Gil has to take
Come on Pirin, let's get going. Soak it in, but keep moving.

>>42836566
>Does it have a name?

>>42836566
>Soak it in, one day that's gonna be mine
But not for too long
>We should get moving, the longer we're here the more risk Gil has to take

File: 1440543383870.jpg (231 KB, 1280x786)

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“Come on, Pirin. You can keep looking at it as we go but the more time we take the more like it is that we won't be going back to easy way, and I'd rather they not have to dig up our corpses.”

Pirin flinches and nods, turning and following you down the stairs, looking at the castle from time to time. You smirk a bit.

“So, you know a lot about this place... What's it called? Castle Dragonking? Fort Redscale?”

Pirin looks over at you and smiles sheepishly.

“Heh... Well, that's one thing I don't know. It was never named as far as I know. I guess the ancient dragon never thought it was important. Do you mind if I do the honors...? I actually think I have a good name in mind.”

>Let's hear it then
>If anyone's naming it, it'll be me, though I am taking suggestions
>Save it for when we get out of here. Plus we might find the real name somewhere
>Other (write-in)

>>42836702
Castle Kotijah sounds lovely.

But I am curious to hear his name.

>>42836702
>>Save it for when we get out of here. Plus we might find the real name somewhere

>>42836702
>>42836750
Seconding saying Castle Kotijah as a half joke suggestion before we hear him out.

>>42836702
>Let's hear it then

File: 1440542612379.jpg (620 KB, 927x1200)

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“I was personally thinking Castle Kotijah could be its name since one day I'll be ruling it, but I'm open to suggestions. The mark of a good ruler is using the resources of her people properly.”

Pirin blinks, then snickers.

“Uh-huh... Well, I was actually thinking we could call it something in old draconic.”

You don't quite catch his next words. They sound almost like your firesong, the words making your head swim, and not in an unpleasant way, stirring your blood. You feel warmth running through your veins for a moment, your whole body feeling like it did before you came here for the briefest instant.

“What do you think?”

You steady yourself as the high ends all too soon.

“That sounds like a nice name, bur what does it mean?”

He looks out at the castle for a moment.

“It means Radiant Golden Throne of the Grand Dragon.”

>Let's call it that and use those exact words all the time
>Castle Kotijah is still better
>If it doesn't have a name already, that'll do
>Other (write-in)

>>42836893
>If it doesn't have a name already, that'll do

>>42836893
>If it doesn't have a name already, that'll do

>>42836893
>If it doesn't have a name already, that'll do
>Though i would have liked having my name on it...

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You nod a little bit and smirk.

“That's a pretty good name for it, if it doesn't have one already. I mean, I'll probably find a way to work my name into it, but we've got a great starting point.”

Pirin rolls his eyes.

“Of course. Meddle with perfection. Do you know how hard it is to get the meter right in old draconic? That's an ancient form of couplet that's almost as old as the world, it took me weeks to get it just right, and that's after researching the right forms of the words to you. You can't just tweak it as you please, there has to be care and thought put into it.”

He sighs a little bit after a moment.

“...Alright, so maybe we could, I can think of a way, but... It ruins half of the subtle meaning and just makes it sound strange. I'll figure something out.”

You give him a nod and continue down the stairs. When you reach the walkway you can finally see the water. There's a stream winding back and forth under the walkway, and from this angle you can make out a waterfall behind the castle. You can hear creaking under each part of the walkway that the river intersects, which probably means waterwheels or something similar, though you can't imagine what they would be powering.

>Investigate the waterwheels
>Carry on across the walkway
>Other (write-in)

>>42837282
>Investigate the waterwheels

>>42837282
>Investigate the waterwheels
The more we learn here, the better chance we may have against him...

>>42837282
> Other
Take a closer look at the river. Any evidence of damming, levvys, or other modifications?

Sleuth roll

Rolled 12 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42837595
perception

Rolled 10 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42837595

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>42837595

Rolled 13 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42837595

>>42837701
I really hope he includes the bonus for this one...

>>42837752
I think its fine as long as someone in the first three does it, its why i didn't bother with the modifier.

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You decide to take a moment to look at the stream and whatever mechanism is under the path. The waterwheels appear to be made of some kind of black metal, and from what you can tell they all connect to the same set of gears, turning an axle that runs the entire length of the walkway. Pirin whistles softly.

“The map says that this pathway was designed both to make sure that people approaching were suitably awed, and so that the ancient dragon could draw as much power out of the water as possible for... whatever he did with it. Fire elemental magic from his breath, plus the magic from the water, and whatever that metal beam is turning... I'm pretty sure that the water carries air and earth magic in it from all the dissolved minerals and the waterfall, so he's got all except Essence...”

A closer look at the mechanism reveals little sparks surrounding the metal, being drawn out of the water and into the waterwheels, and transferred into the metal axle. Whatever this is connected to, it's drawing in a lot of power, especially if there's a waterwheel every intersection. You proceed a little further along before you spot something in the darkness to your left. A set of eyes watching you. Something small and curious is staring right at you, and when you try to take a closer look the eyes vanish, and you can hear splashing noises heading for the castle. Pirin tries to follow your gaze and shrugs.

“Must be some sort of cave creature. They're not uncommon.”

>Continue along the walkway
>Investigate the creature
>Other (write-in)

>>42837991
>Continue along the walkway
Let's not spend too much time searching for it and if it's interested it'll come to us later.

>>42837991
>Continue along the walkway

>>42837991
Ask Pirin how long it would take to teach us Draconic.

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You decide to continue down the walkway, taking in the sights as you go. Pirin follows alongside you, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket and writing down little symbols.

“What's that you're working on?”

Pirin smiles a bit.

“Making some notes. This is going to easily top my dad's best story.”

He smirks a bit, suddenly proud and defiant.

“That'll teach him for sure... Talking my ear of, and yet here I am with the best story he'll ever hear...”

You roll your eyes and gently bop him on the head.

“If that's all you can think about right now, maybe you should just turn back around and go. The first sign of trouble and you'll be running scared anyway.”

Pirin flinches.

“H-Hey! I'm not... That's not it at all! I just... While I'm here anyway, you know? It's... This is magnificent, and I want to make a story about it, I'm just happy that I-”

“-can finally beat your dad at his own game?”

Pirin sighs and nods.

“Yes, alright? All my life I've been told about the family tradition, carrying on the great stories and teaching people the truth of our world, but... there's no growth. The only thing I could aspire to be was my dad's replacement and successor, never his better. But now... Now I can finally get out from his shadow.”

You point to the castle.

“See that? That's a monument to greatness. Experience it. Worry about your dad later. Just being here means that you can make that story, right? So don't take notes. Make memories. Be satisfied knowing that later things will get better, and live in the moment.”

You continue on the way to the castle with a slight smirk on your lips.

“Otherwise you're nothing but an opportunist who doesn't deserve to set foot inside these walls.”

Pirin stops short when you reach the gate, looking down.

“Go on ahead. I'll be here. I need to think about things.”

>I was just kidding about what I said
>I'll meet you inside
>I need you with me, now come on
>Other (write-in)

>>42838514
>I need you with me, now come on
If you get caught out alone you don't have any skills to defend yourself do you?

>>42838514
>I need you with me, now come on

>>42838514
>I'll meet you inside
If he needs to think, he needs to think.

Schmooze roll

>>42838880
persaude

Rolled 8 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42838880

Rolled 13 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42838894
>>42838880
now with a roll!

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>42838880

I'll be back in half an hour, something has come up. See you in a bit.

Things invariably taking longer than anticipated. Sorry for the hold up.

File: 1398283685646.jpg (59 KB, 803x600)

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“Look. I brought you here because I need you. I can't do this alone, and that goes double without my power. Yes, you're probably kind of a petty asshole. I mean, when we walked into town you were a massive grump. Maybe it was stress, maybe you're full of yourself. Now is your change to prove to yourself and everyone else what you're made of. You didn't run away. You didn't cower in fear. You're in the past seeing something that's been hidden for so long that there's probably no one alive who remembers it. So whoever you were before, whatever problems you had, whatever flaws you wish you could change... This is your time. Take the next step.”

Pirin stares at you for a few moments before he starts to laugh, doubling over.

“That... Wow... You are the absolute worst at giving motivational speeches...”

His laughter dies down bit by bit, and he clears his throat.

“I mean... You're right. I'm kind if a prick. Was. Was kind of a prick.”

He looks down at his feet and takes a step.

“And now I'm not a prick. I reserve the right to be a cynical jackass, but I'm not a prick anymore.”

You roll your eyes.

“Come on then, jackass, let's get moving.”

Pirin follows behind you, making some sort of snide comment in what you're slowly determining to be draconic.

“Don't insult me when I can't understand it. Teach me first or speak plainly.”

Pirin shrugs a bit.

“Can I do both, your Majesty?”

You start to push open the gate and look at him for a moment.

“Sure, but I reserve the right to kick your ass.”

Pirin nods and smiles.

“Noted, your Arrogance.”

You give him a swift kick in the shins and shove the doors open.

-

Sleuth roll

Rolled 2 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42841146
perception

Rolled 1 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42841146

>>42841194
>>42841170
Mercy

Rolled 7 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42841146
Oh shit.

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The castle is exactly as grand and golden as it seemed from far away, though now you can see quite clearly that it's not just the illusion of gold or a trick of the light. Allegiset's castle is almost literally a mountain of gold. You take a few steps forward and spin around slowly to take in the sight. You've felt greed before, and you've savored decadence before, but this is something beyond that. There's no utility in this. There's not even a hint of pleasure behind it. This place is a drug addict taking another dose. There's something about the gold that makes you feel desperate inside, feeding a hunger you didn't think you had. Pirin walks past you and starts quietly listing places, pointing to doors as though trying to remember what should be behind them. He pulls his paper back out and starts to sketch a rough map.

“Alright... Any idea where we should be heading? If we keep going straight we'll reach the throne room, but there are all kinds of hidden vaults and chambers around here we could go looking for.”

You take a moment to consider it. Allegiset had said you could pick one thing from his tomb, but this place doesn't feel like a tomb at all. You can't help wondering if the tomb is a specific chamber, or if this is before he died to begin with. Either way, you're pretty sure it's open season until otherwise specified, and even if it's not, the hunger is starting to get to you.

>Let's rob this joint blind, starting with the secret chambers.
>He said one, I'll take one. You'll carry the rest. To the throne room.
>One means one. Of each. Let's see what's in the main vault.
>Other (write-in)

>>42841824
>Let's rob this joint blind, starting with the secret chambers.

>>42841824
>>One means one. Of each. Let's see what's in the main vault.

>>42841959
this

Oh boy here we go. Speed roll

Rolled 16 + 5 (1d20 + 5)

>>42842293
dodge?

>>42842321
Yep

Rolled 18 + 5 (1d20 + 5)

>>42842293
Please, dice gods, guide me

Rolled 14 + 5 (1d20 + 5)

>>42842293

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You chuckle a little bit.

“Let's go to the main vault... We'll have a look around and figure things out from there. I mean, this doesn't look like a tomb to me, so the deal doesn't exactly apply.”

You hear a growl off to one side, and the same eyes from before are glaring at you. They look almost like a pair of gold coins glinting in the darkness, and the dragon they belong to steps into view slowly. He's nothing like Ruby, resembling Allegiset in all but size, the same ferocious appearance, the same gaze like he can see more than you'll ever comprehend. At full height he'd come up to your shoulder, assuming he was walking on all fours, and he whispers slowly in a soft, growling voice, speaking words you don't understand. Pirin fires back with a quick retort, and the two chatter away, the dragon looking more and more irritated.

“Pirin, whatever you're telling it, it doesn't seem to be helping.”

Pirin smirks.

“It isn't supposed to... On my signal, you'll know what to do...”

He says something else, and the dragon's eyes widen. It roars as loud as it can, the floor under you shaking slightly, and it unleashes a huge blast of flame in your direction. Pirin grabs your wrist and pulls you along as you leap out of the way, yanking you towards the nearest door with a laugh.

“That should keep him occupied! A dragon that big, no way he's got more flame left right now!”

He pulls you down a nearby corridor and grins, whispering softly.

“The path we're on now will take us to the vault, so long as the map was accurate... And he'll need a moment to get himself together...”

>Who was that?
>That was crazy and reckless!
>Nice job thinking on your feet like that
>Other (write-in)

>>42842566
>Who was that?
>Nice job thinking on your feet like that

>>42842566
> Who was that?
> That was crazy
> Nice job thinking on your feet

File: 1398222625647.jpg (190 KB, 808x1034)

190 KB JPG

“Nice thinking... I knew I brought you with me for a reason. But who was that, anyway?”

Pirin heads down the hallway.

“Some young dragon trying to lay claim to the throne while the ancient dragon is off dealing with something. If he's hear then he thinks it's safe, which means we've got some time to raid this place and get out before you-know-who gets back from whatever he's doing.”

You nod slightly and follow Pirin as he walks around, consulting his little map from time to time, taking you through the twisting hallways.

“Huh. You know, I could have sworn that this was the right route... Did I remember it wrong...?”

You sigh and close your eyes.

“If we're lost right now I'm going to kick you again...”

Pirin swallows.

“Yeah, we're lost. Though in my defense, if we can find a landmark then I can get us out again. This hallway doesn't go where I thought it did...”

-

Sleuth roll and a Smarts roll

Rolled 20 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42842828
sleuth perception

Rolled 4 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42842828
smarts + focus?

Rolled 16 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42842828
Sleuth & perception

Still need another Sleuth roll and two Smarts rolls

Rolled 16 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42842828
Guess I'll roll smarts + focus, if that's what I'm supposed to roll.

Rolled 5 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42843122
I'll roll sleuth+per again, I suppose.

Rolled 10 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42843122
Fuck it, here's smarts n' shit too.

File: Concept-HighDragon.jpg (73 KB, 1200x662)

73 KB JPG

After a few more wrong turns you grab the map and try to think like a dragon. The whole place is a maze of tunnels, empty chambers and dead ends to confuse thieves, but thieves don't think like dragons. They think like thieves, people who want to steal things, take what isn't theirs. You let the greed wash over you completely and close your eyes, before opening them and tracing a finger along the map, pointing to various passages.

“Here, here, then here. We're here and we need to be here... And there should be a secret chamber here.”

Pirin looks at you for a moment and rubs his eyes.

“Excuse me?”

You take a deep breath and try to ward off the hunger for gold for the moment.

“He'd... He'd keep it close and well protected. The halls are just a ruse. He would want you to think that the vault would be far away, but he'd never let it be far from his throne. He'd crave it too much... It wouldn't be apparent, nothing in the throne room itself, but... The chamber next to it, right here on the map... That's where I'd put it, where I'd need to have it so I wouldn't go crazy.”

Pirin turns the map slightly to take another look at it and shrugs.

“Worth a shot...”

With some careful thinking you manage to navigate to the chamber you pointed out, and you find yourself in another empty golden room. Symbols on the walls like all the others, intricate floor carvings like the others, but you can't help thinking you're in the right spot.

-

>Write-in

>>42843439
Look around for symbols or a divot like there was at the gate. Ask Pirin if there are any Draconic sigils about.

>>42843499
This'll work

>>42843439
Look for a concealed catch. I couldn't imagin a dragon wanting to be more than a couple of button presses away from looking at their horde.

Sleuth roll time

Rolled 5 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42843701
perception

Rolled 9 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42843701
Perception

Rolled 10 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42843701
Open dem peepers

Rolled 3 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42843701
Sleuth roll

File: Fantasy-Dragon-Fire-Drago(...).jpg (96 KB, 728x485)

96 KB JPG

A quick survey of the room reveals nothing you didn't already know, although you do find a few indentations similar to the bowl from the portal. Somehow you doubt that Allegiset would want to kill a human every time he needed his gold though, and there's no way that he'd only half-kill one for fear of letting his secrets out. Pirin is examining a collection of small symbols by the door while you roam around looking for clues, and you eventually walk over to see what he's doing.

“Look at this... These symbols... I don't recognize them.”

You give them a glance. Looking at them, even for an instant, feels like someone it poking nails through your skull, and you wince. Anti-dragon measures. You're in the right room alright. You just need to think like Allegiset to get to the prize.

-

Smarts roll, no modifier except what you earn by working out pieces of the solution. Think like a dragon. Think like a dragon king who wants to keep his treasure close and readily available, but doesn't want anyone else to get to it. Let's see what you've got.

>>42843874
Think like a dragon? Hmm.

Sounds like he's got the full set of defenses.

Maybe it requires dragon blood? Or at least blood from Allegeist or his brood?

We know little to nothing about the room except that there are a few indentations around the room and there are runes everywhere.

Do you guys think it has something to do with the little midget dragon we saw earlier? We may need to lure him in here.

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>42843874
I'd imagine it'd require some of his blood. Best way to guard something is with something only you can provide. Additionally any interloper would have to be very committed and likely weakened from blood loss if they got in.

>>42843929
You also know that it looks almost exactly like every other empty chamber you've stumbled across, except that each has a unique floor pattern. You know Allegiset's mindset and his tendencies, his willingness to manipulate and use subterfuge. He never said that his name would inflict the curse, he said it would "bring down" the curses and blessings. He's that kind of asshole.

>>42843983
We could try having Pirin say his name or something, I suppose. It's almost definitely got something to do with his blood.

>>42843983
what's the pattern? do the divots have any buttons?

>>42844012
Most of the patterns are of treasure, and a handful, like this one, are of dragons. The divots don't have visible buttons, but they're placed in ways that don't line up with the image on the floor. The placement seems random when you look at the image, but if you're just looking at the divots there are six of them around the edge of the room and two right in the center.

>>42844043
look at the ceiling too.

>>42844056
There are divots on the ceiling mirroring the ones on the floor, except there's only one in the center instead of two.

>>42844087
which one is matched?

>>42844097
Neither of them. It's evenly spaced between them, right in the middle of the room.

>>42844118
any of the patterns match up to it?

>>42844118
Are the divots around the room in any certain pattern? The ones going around those in the center. Are they in a circle?

>>42844125
The eye of one of the dragons in the pattern is directly under it.

>>42844135
Technically a hexagon, but yes.

>>42844146
Any of the other dragon have a counterpart staring at it?

>>42844146
Stand on the eye and look and see if anything's changed from that perspective, I guess.

>>42844177
Nope.

>>42844178
When you stand on the eye and look around you feel a little funny but you can't quite put your finger on why that is. It's particularly noticeable if you turn around quickly.

You guys can ask three more questions before the final rolls

I can't help feeling there's some secret IRC channel discussion taking place right now or something, deliberating on how to proceed.

>>42844210
Asking questions out loud to think and consult other anon, not to ask you.

Would the turning around thing be related to the tail or the wings? I dunno, I can't tell.

>>42844264
Considering that, to my knowledge, there's only a couple of us that are actively discussing in-thread, I dunno if that's thing. Could be, I guess.

Nice puzzle so far, though, I'd love to hear how it works afterward.

>>42844268
Fire maybe?

>>42844210
What is the dragon we're standing on depicted doing?

If what happens when we spin and look straight up?

>>42844346
Gazing up at the viewer. It's like those paintings that seem to look right at you wherever you're looking at them from.

You see a sort of flickering as you spin, one side of the room looking brighter than the other, but it switches back and forth as you spin rather than illuminating one side. If the divots on the ground were a line, that line would match the divide between the halves of the room.

>>42844383
One question left.

>>42844406
Better make it count then.

>>42844411
What is the answer to this puzzle?

I've forgotten what the exact order is on mobile, else I'd be able to spoil correctly.

>>42844425
Ah, I did it right, good. Anyway, don't answer that.

>>42844383
Anyone else got any ideas? If not, I say we go out in style and flap our arms, jump up and down, and do some kind of roar like a dragon and see if that works. Then we can roll.

>>42844383
Are there any sun/moon/human/fire/ red dragon depictions in the patterns or divots?

>>42844507
It's hard to tell if the dragons are red considering they're imprinted in gold, but they resemble the old dragons like the one outside and Allegiset. No depictions of humans, the sun or the moon, but there's fire here and there in the pattern. Closer inspection reveals that it seems to always go around the divots, never on top of/under them.

>>42844537
So the goal was to spin about and bathe the divots in fire?

>>42844551
But we couldn't, right? We don't have out dragon powers here because we aren't connected to Allie-boy. Right?

>>42844551
Make your rolls. I'll give you a hint before the rolls, you're not too far off with that guess.

>>42844569
You've yet to try actually speaking draconic without relying on your firesinging to guide you to the right words. You have never once made such an attempt. Dare you make a fool of yourself here, trying to recreate the firesong without Allegiset feeding you the lines?

>>42844591
Well lookie here, it's not like we don't have some sort of person knowledgable about draconic, huh?

What're we rolling? d100s or twenties?

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>42844591
I'm down for draconic fire song with possibly a bit of blunt force via Kot's stubborn ego creating divine magic to brute force it.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>42844591
Can we at least ask if Pirin knows any draconic firey songs or something before we do this shit?

>>42844646
By all means. What do you want to ask him specifically?

>>42844655
How about 'Do you know any draconic songs? Specifically referring to fire, or its control?'

That sound good to you anons?

>>42844702
Yeah

Spirit roll. Pretend that it's 0, add singing

Rolled 11 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42844761
Dice gods I pray to thee

Rolled 4 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42844761
+ Singing

Last one. It could all come down to this.

Rolled 6 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42844761

File: Roar.jpg (362 KB, 1440x1080)

362 KB JPG

You glance over at Pirin before walking over to him.

“Say, do you know any songs in draconic? You said that you made that name for the castle, right? So you know how the songs should go at any rate, right?”

Pirin shrugs a little bit, taking a break from trying to decode the symbols.

“Sure, I guess. I mean, there are ballads about all kinds of things in the tongue of dragons. Why do you ask?”

You glance at the floor for a moment.

“I have an idea but I don't know if it's going to work. I need you to coach me through a song.”

Pirin rolls his eyes.

“I doubt that the ancient dragon was the musical sort, but alright then...”

He starts to coach you through the song, one word at a time to be sure you've got it. Without your “natural talent” for it, it takes longer for you to get the words right, but once you have it down you belt it out. You feel something stir inside you, warmth filling your throat and mouth, but you only manage to cough out a puff of smoke, no flame yet. It does make you aware of something though. You might not have Allegiset bolstering your abilities or focusing your power, but that doesn't mean you don't have magic. You felt it, just for a moment as you sang.

>Once more from the top
>Try a different approach and make it your own
>Other (write-in)

I'm actually gonna turn in for the night, I think. I'll continue in the morning.

>>42844998
>>Try a different approach and make it your own

>>42844998
>Try a different approach and make it your own

Maybe we need ro "feed" dragons with our blood? Cut our hand and fastly spin to cover dragon blocks.

>>42844998
>>Try a different approach and make it your own

So, what approach would you like to take?

>>42848206
Belief in ourself that even if we don't get the song perfectly, fire will come.

>>42848243
Further extrapolating we have power, even here. Yes we get some of our strength from our heritage, but our training and will have brought us far. We are Kotijah Imidarius, and even as a regular human we are exceptional.

Gonna attempt the song again then?

>>42848494
A song, our own, but yeah.

Alright then. Spirit and singing

Rolled 15 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42848646
Treating Spirit as 0 again?

>>42848681
Yep

Rolled 17 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42848646

Rolled 17 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42848646

File: 1435464157966.jpg (1.01 MB, 2850x3450)

1.01 MB JPG

You close your eyes and dig down deep, relaxing and doing what you did while learning to fly, trying to find your magic to tap into it. Based on what Pirin has told you, your songs so far were probably explicitly directing the fire through words, commanding it to manifest and guiding it with orders. You take a deep breath and clear your head. Those words weren't yours, they were Allegiset's, pushed through your lips to command your magic for you.

Mages use words to guide their spells, priests guide it with their faith, and Cenere and Millie seem to use their will, relying on words only for the big stuff, and even then Millie seemed to be asking for help from another source rather than casting it herself. Another deep breath. You open your eyes and hold out your hand, looking at your palm. Allegiset awakened the power in your blood, but that didn't mean he put it there. That just meant it was dormant.

“Pirin? Stand back.”

Pirin scoots away slowly, heading for the door.

“I'll just be over here, no worries.”

You turn slowly and concentrate. When you sang you felt your magic stir, and you follow that feeling, singing the song once more. Another useless puff of smoke. Again. And again. You recite the tune over and over until you can separate the words from the feeling, until you can coax the sensation from your body without needing to speak at all, and then you sing wordlessly. You take your thoughts and feelings and let them loose, the notes echoing throughout the chamber. The warmth comes slowly and naturally, flames trickling from your lips as you turn.

Little by little you speed up your turn, closing your eyes. You weave your hands through the air as though dancing, and you can feel warmth along your fingertips. You spin faster, whirling around wildly, giddy from the dizziness and the magic flowing freely through you, and you throw your head back as you loose the final note.

A column of flame erupts from your mouth, striking the divot above you, a winding, twisting blast of pure elemental fire. You hear the soft grinding of gears above you, and then a click as the floor under you starts to part, a hatch opening at your feet. You tumble downwards into darkness, landing with a thud and a jingle on a pile of hard somethings. You can see light above you from the hatch, Pirin with his torch looking down at you maybe thirty feet away.

-

You have gained 1 minor wound

-

“You're officially insane.”

You chuckle a bit and grab one of the coins under you, tossing it up to him.

“And filthy rich. And magical again. So I guess I'm already a dragon.”

Pirin looks around a bit.

“I'm gonna look for some rope, hold on.”

He tosses one of the torches down to you and runs off before you can say anything.

>Better examine my new hoard
>Let's see about getting that magic flowing again first
>Other (write-in)

>>42849358
>Let's see about getting that magic flowing again first
Might as well do this ti make sure we get it down completely.

Spirit roll, away!

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>42849690
Still 0? And are we trying to sing (+2) or just default spirit roll?

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>42849690
Spirit rollan

>>42849757
Still 0, Allegiset was the one who boosted your Spirit up. And the singing is up to you.

>>42849797
I have a question about that, by the way...
If we'd say Allegiset improves our stat to 3 or higher, when it's 0 from the beginning (like smarts and spirit). Would we be able to improve it ourself up to three times, or would it have to be 0 for us to improve it normally?
Basically, if we would use our Allgesiet points to upgrade smarts next time, would that make us only able to improve it on our own 2 times? Or is the Allgiset bonus something stacked upon the base which we ourselves improve?

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>42849690

>>42849848
The source of a bonus in no way impacts the cap on the stats. The cap on a given stat is your lowest stat +4.

>>42849848
Put another way, everything stacks, there is no limit except the disparity your body can handle.

>>42850018
Well, i was thinking about the human limit right now. If i remember correctly you can't get more than a +3 through "normal" means. If we were to imrove our smart from 0 to 3 through abnormal means, would we then be unable to increase it by 3 more through normal means? Basically, does it matter if we improve our basic skills normally first through abnormal means, and would that mean we can no longer improve them by normal means?

>>42850060
3 was your cap as a teenage girl working on a farm with claws that gave you better grip strength. The "human limit" would be closer to 5 or 6. I should probably sit down and work that out at some point. Also apparently I'm not actually scheduled to work today so I just drove half an hour to be told my boss changed the schedule. Yay.

File: sketch-4.jpg (219 KB, 1200x900)

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You try getting your magic flowing again with mixed results. Your song conjures a few small motes of flame, which is good. Then they explode in your face, which is bad. They knock you back a bit, sending you skidding along the pile of coins, but there's no serious injury. At least you know you can tap into it, but you were hoping for something better than a smaller repeat of when your manor burned to the ground.

You make your way back to your torch and grab it, looking around. The treasure chamber is massive, maybe as big as the castle itself. You can't see its full size because your torch doesn't illuminate that far, but you can see glistening, glittering gold in every direction, little reflections of light as far as the eye can see. The greed is welling up inside you again.

>Fight it down and stay focused
>Give in and cut loose, you might not get to again
>Other (write-in)

>>42851179
>Give in and cut loose, you might not get to again
Might as well enjoy ourselves this once considering this may be a once in a lifetime thing

>>42851179
>Dragon thinking enabled.
Gold is good, you can bath in coins. But will be the Father of all Dragons be pleased only by worthless yellow metal? Bet he got stashed more valuable loot somewhere.
Dragon thinking disabled.

>>42851179
>>Fight it down and stay focused
Gold is useless arm, utility over luxury.

>>42851179
>Give in and cut loose, you might not get to again
It's not like we'd have another chance to indulge like this any other time so we might as well give us a treat for all we've been through so far.

>>42851179
>Fight it down and stay focused

>>42851179
>Give in and cut loose, you might not get to again

>>42851179
>Fight it down and stay focused

There's suddenly a lot of votes for this choice...

>>42851820
Indeed.

>>42851582
Is this a vote for giving in or holding back long enough to find some real loot?

>>42851849
I think it's basically
>enjoy a bit, but then go find the real deal

>>42851179
>Fight it down and stay focused
We're on a potentially-fatal time limit in an environment where anything could be dangerous and/or cursed.

I'm salty about how it appears another of our bloodline's curses got activated.

>>42851179
>Give in and cut loose, you might not get to again

>>42851886
What makes you think that? We're basically partway into becoming a dragon, we could have had this "instinct" all the time.

>>42851179
>Fight it down and stay focused

Alright, this is getting ridiculous... There's no way 10 people suddenly jumped in for this vote. The only question is how you want to handle same-fagging, QM.

>>42852007
Same-fagging is inevitable as a consequence of this format. In this situation, with the intense back-and-forth same-fagging, we'll settle this like gentlemen.

We'll roll dice.

One roll for each option, a d20 please. First roll for each side is the one we'll use.

>>42851881
I think you have an ulterior motive.

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>42852055
>Give in and cut loose, you might not get to again
Alright.

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>42852055
>Stay focused

>>42851904
One of the options for one of the stats we didn't let Allegiset boost was a compulsion towards greed, IIRC.

>>42852095
*curses for one of the stats

>>42852095
I would think it'd be harder to resist that greediness if we had picked that upgrade, like instead of voting for it we'd have to roll some will save to not immediately indulge with it.
Right now we're not fully like a kid in a candy shop and more like someone choosing if they want a Friday snack or not.

>>42852133
And personally i feel like we've earned a quick snack after all we've been through so far...

>>42852133
We probably would have had to roll a will save to not roll around in gold like a retard while one of our supposed friends bleeds out if the other option had won due to the curse.

>>42852153
I trust our cleric that we have some time to work with.

>>42852177
An unknown amount of time before something horrible happens should always be treated as needing to make as much haste as you reasonably can, not wasting time with this nonsense.

File: 1398224742432.jpg (200 KB, 786x1016)

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You look at the coins for a moment, set down your torch and lay down. You writhe about atop the mound of gold and let yourself bask in the experience. You had never really understood why dragons desired gold before now. Soft metal not fit for weapons or armor, its only value is in its appearance, in what it is perceived as. Money, jewelry, even the gold of the castle is all just for show, a representation of wealth and authority. But there's something more, and you can feel that now. Every coin feels as though it's alive, as though it has a tiny heartbeat that shifts to match your own as you rest among the coins. There's life here, and power. Something inherently draconic is feeding off the gold as though recharging, and you can feel a throbbing at your fingertips and shoulders, as well as in your chest.

-

Stats reverted
Smarts - 0
Strength - 4
Speed - 3
Sleuth - 1
Sneak - 0
Schmooze - 1
Spirit - N/A

-

You're interrupted from your little revel by Pirin. Well, his voice at least. He's screaming at the top of his lungs from far away, moving in your direction, calling out your name. You're only barely aware of him as a rope tumbles down from above and a blast of flame shoots out over the opening to he vault. You can see him sliding down the rope towards you, eyes full of panic, and then you see the dragon. The first thought to cross your mind isn't fear or concern, or even to perceive the dragon as something to run from. This is your gold now, your hoard, carrying the beat of your heart, and the first word in your mind is “rival”. The dragon descends from above and lands with a thud on the pile of coins, roaring at you.

>Protect the gold, kill your rival
>We should be running, why aren't we running?
>Other (write-in)

>>42852291
> Pirin find a different way out, I will hold it off. Grab some useful looking items while you're at it.

>>42852291
>Protect the gold, kill your rival

>>42852291
>>Other (write-in)
Rival or not, we aren't strong enough as we are to fight this thing. We should search around for a suitable weapon to handle it.

Looks like laying in that gold was pretty good after all, giving us almost all our power back...

>>42852291
>We should be running, why aren't we running?

>>42852367
This is basically me voting for
>Protect the gold, kill your rival
But don't rush in like an idiot without thinking forst.

>>42852291
>Protect the gold, kill your rival
I explicitly want to rush in like an idiot without thinking first.

>>42852436
Ok... Well, it's not like it's impossible. Just very likely that we'll get hurt or maybe fail in the process.

>>42852291
>>42852356
Second.

>>42852464
It was a joke. Mostly.

Strength roll plus sword

Rolled 17 + 10 (1d20 + 10)

>>42852530

Rolled 1 + 13 (1d20 + 13)

>>42852530
Restored Strength+Sword
Let's go kill our-self a rival, boys!

Rolled 5 + 10 (1d20 + 10)

>>42852530

>>42852553
That's what i get for not putting in the correct modifier...

>>42852541
Well, 27 is pretty good. Let's hope the dragon rolls like shit.

>>42852675
Probably get a + 8 in all stats minimum and gets another4-5 in fighting

File: Volcanic Dragon.jpg (207 KB, 450x338)

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You draw your sword and smile.

“Pirin? Get somewhere safe. I'll handle this for now. Grab anything that looks valuable or important for me, alright? And if you can find us a way out of here, that'd be swell too.”

Pirin nods and starts scrambling away. The dragon pauses and looks at the coins, before scowling at you.

“Human fool! A dragon's power is in his gold, you have damned both of us! Your little trick will not go unnoticed, he will return and kill us both before I can claim this wealth for myself!”

He spits his words at you, as though he finds speaking like that disgusting.

“I don't think you know who I am. I'm the heir to this throne. You're just someone standing in my way.”

The dragon's eyes widen and he charges at you in a blind rage. You lunge forward and strike, aiming for his face and catching his jaw, slicing along his throat. He stumbles past you, skidding on the coins as he turns and howling in pain.

“Wretch! Impudent worm!”

He inhales sharply, smoke pouring from his nostrils, before breathing a cone of fire at you.

-

>Dodge
>Block
>Parry
>Other (write-in)

>>42852730
Do we have our absorb thing? I would think Allgeseit wasn't the one who gave that to us...

>>42852730
>Dodge

>>42852781
You would be correct.

>>42852781
1 still no spirit star
2 I doubt dragon breath counts as conventional magic, much like blight doesn't
3 we don't have time

>>42852730
>Dodge
>>42852799
Yeah, i don't think we'd get our focus bonus so this might not be the best place to use it in, then...

Speed roll

Rolled 4 + 6 (1d20 + 6)

>>42852878

Rolled 19 + 6 (1d20 + 6)

>>42852878
Speed + Doge

Rolled 9 + 6 (1d20 + 6)

>>42852878
Speed+Dodge

>>42852878
Can we keep our sword in front of us so that if he does scorch us we get it lit up?

>>42852941
Might be a good thing to try next time.

File: mountain_dragon_by_mystic(...).jpg (221 KB, 800x686)

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The dragon's fire misses by inches as you sprint to the side, diving behind a pile of coins to buy yourself time to think. Pirin said something about needing to recharge, and that was after a much bigger blast of flame, so he's bound to have more left if he's all topped up. You adjust your grip on your sword a bit. You could try to bait him into using up the rest of his fire and forcing him into a melee, or you could wear him down with hit-and-run tactics and risk him using his fire more strategically.

>Make him screw up and waste his fire, then beat him head-to-head
>Wither him down and take your time, exploit your advantages
>Other (write-in)

>>42853080
>>Make him screw up and waste his fire, then beat him head-to-head

>>42853080
>Make him screw up and waste his fire, then beat him head-to-head
This is probably the best option...

Schmooze roll

Rolled 13 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42853527
Schmooze+Persuade?

>>42853575
If there was something more explicitly about provoking him or pissing him off I'd let you add that. Hmm.

Make your case while I go get some caffeine in me.

>>42853598
Maybe something about convincing him that a small ball like that would be harder to hit us and that he could instead use a large blast since he's also in a hurry to claim the gold before the big dragon returns.

Rolled 6 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>42853527

Rolled 12 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>42853527

>>42853643
Hmm. I don't fine myself... persuaded by that logic.

>>42853833
Well, wasn't he the one who talked about how the other dragon would be coming now? Focus on saying that he's going to have to end this quick and therefore using the quickest way to end it.

>>42853902
This is true

File: 18574_1193976000.jpg (104 KB, 600x429)

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You poke your head out from behind the pile of coins.

“I thought you were trying to finish this quickly! That feeble little flame won't be enough to kill me!”

The dragon roars loudly and swipes at the coins, sending a spray of gold pieces your way.

“Silence!”

He inhales once more, glaring at you, before letting out a huge cloud of smoke that obscures him from your sight. A moment later a jet of brilliant red flame shoots out from it, aimed right at the pile of coins you're crouched behind.

-

Speed roll

Rolled 16 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42854615
Speed+didge
And now we critfail.

Rolled 3 + 6 (1d20 + 6)

>>42854615

Rolled 20 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>42854615

>>42854926
Yay.

I did something good!

For once!

>>42854633
>>42854926
the mod was +6 since we have a 3 speed and are dodging but this is still a crit congrats.

Neato. Strength roll

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>42855004

Rolled 1 + 10 (1d20 + 10)

>>42855004
str+sword?

Rolled 16 + 10 (1d20 + 10)

>>42855004
Str+Sword?

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Sorry for the delay there.

-

You sidestep the blast of fire; somehow you just knew that smokescreen was an attempt to catch you off-guard, you just didn't expect it to be such an obvious ploy. You charge forwards, plunging your sword into the flames as you move around them and dashing through the smoke. You focus a bit, just enough to keep the flames going, and you strike through the smoke, jabbing the blade forwards. You hear a yell of pain, and as the dragon thrashes about the smoke clears a bit. You can see where you hit, right above the shoulder, and it looks like that's one limb he won't be using for a while.

“Curse you, human... Curse you!”

He snarls a bit and lunges for you, moving in for a bite.

-

>Dodge
>Parry
>Block
>Other (write-in)

>>42856291
>Parry

>>42856291
>Parry
get that weak ass shit out of Allegsiet's house.

>>42856291
>Dodge

>>42856291
Ram the blade up his mouth and into his brain!
>I'm a fucking DRAGON!

>>42856317
>>42856328
>>42856378
I can't really envision how parrying the bite of a creature with two jaws with a sword is going to work out.

>>42856361
This just sounds like a good way to lose an arm.

>>42856432
>This just sounds like a good way to lose an arm.
This

>>42856291
>Dodge

>>42856432
I'm going to be honest with you, i don't know the difference block and parry does and i didn't feel like dodgeing again, so when i saw the others vote for parry i figured it would be good.

>>42856505
A Parry is a move that forces your opponents weapon out of line with your own in such a way as to give you an opening.

>>42856505
Parrying is countering. The way I've been doing it up until now has been that a successful parry gives you a bonus on your next attack, and a failed parry leaves you more vulnerable because instead of focusing on defense you were trying to get fancy.

>>42856559
Does it not give external penalties from things that don't make sense, then? Like parrying fire breath wouldn't be an actual parry using our sword but would instead be some kind of weird maneuver?

>>42856291
>Parry
Well, parrying gives the biggst bonus right now anyways...

>>42856607
Parrying fire breath would have the same result as blocking it without a shield. You make an attempt, the difficulty is obscene, and you're likely to fail because you tried to use a method of defense that didn't suit the attack you were trying to avoid.

Looks like parrying wins the day for this one. Let's see those rolls. Sleuth + Parry.

Rolled 17 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>42856659

Rolled 6 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>42856659
sleuth +1
Parry +3

Rolled 4 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>42856659

Rolled 15 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>42856659
Sleuth+Parry
Oh, i thought it used strength...

>>42856708
that's block

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You watch the dragon's attack closely, raising your sword briefly and holding it vertically. Deflect his head to the side using the flat of the blade, use his force to help you spin faster, strike his neck... You can already see it in your mind. What you don't see until it's too late is how he twists his body, turning his head to bite down on your sword by the hilt, teeth digging into your forearms. He twists and yanks, trying to get you to drop your sword before throwing you to the side when you refuse to loosen your grip.

-

You have gained one serious wound, -3 to rolls.

-

You grunt as you hit the treasure pile hard. Your forearms feel a little numb. You can still hold your sword, but if you're not careful you're going to end up as a snack for this dragon. Pirin is nowhere to be seen, and you don't think you can outrun this guy while he's still got his wings.

>Continue previous strategy
>Change tactics
>Other (write-in)

>>42856952
>Continue previous strategy

>>42856952
>Aim for the wings
Saw that one coming. May as well try to make it so we'll have an escape option if things go poorly. Shame there isn't a stepladder of suitable durability around.

>>42856952
>Continue previous strategy

Strength plus sword

Rolled 1 + 10 (1d20 + 10)

>>42857338

Rolled 6 + 10 (1d20 + 10)

>>42857338
Str + Sword

Rolled 16 + 10 (1d20 + 10)

>>42857338
Str + Sword

Rolled 7 + 10 (1d20 + 10)

>>42857338

Last roll?

>>42857669
Disregard that, my hotspot sucks cocks

Also, don't forget that you're taking -3 because of your serious wound

>>42857721
so we rolled a 23 we know.

>>42857721
Wonder if we can get a healing factor soon.

Make serious into minor over time.

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You tighten your grip on your sword and steady yourself. You're not about to let him make a fool out of you. You rush in and swing hard, hoping for a chance to strike at his wings and settling for the leg he uses to block with. Your sword digs in, but not as deeply as you would have liked, your arms giving you a bit of trouble. He knocks you back a bit and scowls, inhaling once again and letting out more smoke. There's no fire this time, so you brace for his lunge, ready for whatever tricks he might be about to pull.

You weren't expecting another shower of coins. They hit you firmly, enough to be annoying but not enough to actually hurt you badly. You can't help but feel he's up to something though, and your suspicions are confirmed when there's another puff of smoke, this one to your right, and then another to your left. You can hear the sound of gold on gold moving side to side.

>Fuck this, charge
>Get ready for his surprise attack
>Other (write-in)

>>42857805
>Get ready for his surprise attack

>>42857805
>Get ready for his surprise attack

>>42857805
>Get ready for his surprise attack

Sleuth roll plus perception

Rolled 12 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>42857885

Rolled 14 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42857885

Rolled 3 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>42857885

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You close your eyes and listen closely. There's a different between the sounds. The softer, higher-pitched jingling ones are just him throwing coins, it's the slow dragging sounds that are him moving around. You turn towards the right slightly, knowing full well he'll come from the left. You hear him brace for a jump, and then he roars as he leaps at you.

-

>Dodge
>Parry
>Block
>Other (write-in)

>>42858035
>Dodge

>>42858035
Dodge

>>42858035
>Dodge

>>42858035
Roll under him and let his own weight drive our blade into him.

Speed plus Dodge

Rolled 8 + 6 (1d20 + 6)

>>42858167

Rolled 8 + 6 (1d20 + 6)

>>42858167

Rolled 6 + 6 (1d20 + 6)

>>42858167

>>42858191
>>42858192
>>42858208
GG Kot is dead.

As he jumps at you, you turn and jump to the side to evade his attack, but you lose your footing on the coins and stumble a bit. He catches you with his jaws, biting down on your side and throwing you hard once again. Your sword tumbles from your grasp and lands by your side. The pain is almost dizzying now, and you've lost quite a bit of blood.

-

Gain one Major wound, total penalty -4

-

You grab for your sword and push yourself to your feet, your vision a little blurry. The dragon scoffs a bit.

“So, this is your limit then... I am going to enjoy devouring you...!”

This is it. You're bloodied, bruised and beaten, and you don't know how much fight you've got left in you.

>Go down swinging
>Try to buy some time
>Other (write-in)

>>42858341
>Try to buy some time
Hope you can finish me before "you-know-who" gets here.