Around Faerun in 80 Days

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

The other working title for this story was "Six Saucy Sorceresses" but I realized that having six party members was way too much mage equipment and experience to divide amongst the group.

My idea for this is to see what the absolute minimum of time it would take to complete the game and most major quests. My vision is that we're going to pretend that the members of the group scatter after CI and complete quests "simultaneously"... That can't work in a literal sense because of "You must gather your party" so my idea is that I'll keep track of who is going where, and drag the entire party along to hang out near the entrance to an area. Meaning, "Mara is checking out the Promenade and takes two hours to do the circus, Sandra gets drunk and throws fireballs at Mencar and then rests for eight hours, and Lilith starts investigating the graveyard." They'll convene from time to time and figure out how long it took them all to complete a bunch of quests. Each character has a different theme of spells (modeled slightly after specialist mages), interests, and personalities. Work with me near the beginning; it'll make sense in a bit.

As for the characters, their names, stats, and biographies are here. All characters have selected the following spells: Magic Missile, Armor, Burning Hands, Mirror Image, and Invisibility. They will all learn Stoneskin ASAP.

Mara
Human
Al CG, Str 8, Dex 14, Con 8, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 15
Protection from Evil
Identify
Resist Fear
Melf's Minute Meteors
Fireball

Mara is the leader of the group, though she's not entirely sure why. Maybe it's because of the godsblood, but who can say? She is perhaps the only party member that has a keen sense of justice and a genuine desire to help others, regardless of the context of the aid- if there are people that need her, she'll be there. Her spells are the most interdisciplinary of the group.

Esmerelda
Elf
AL CN Str 9, Dex 18, Con 9, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 18
Charm Person
Spook
Strength
Dire Charm
Hold Person

Esmerelda wears silken garments of deep crimsons, sapphires, and blacks. She is seductive in her manner, and uses spells that supplement her natural abilities to decieve and control. Cares little for causes, but desires personal power and high esteem.

Lilith
Elf
AL LN Str 10, Dex 19, Con 9, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 12
Larloch's Minor Drain
Protection from Evil
Horror
Hold Undead
Skull Trap

Lilith's parents were killed in the Great Grave Rendering of '21 in a small village now annexed by the Zhentarim. Is extremely dedicated to foiling the plans of evil groups, mages that abuse their power, and of the undead. Has a quiet demeanor and an intense stare. Does not always respect the law of the land, but has a strong set of core beliefs that she will not waver from.

Sandra
Half-elf
AL CG Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 14
Chromatic Orb
Shocking Grasp
Knock
Melf's Minute Meteors
Fireball

Sandra is reasonable and intelligent, unless her ire is raised. Things that get her ire raised include pompous behavior, things that attack her for no reason, hostility, drunken barfights, deception, cliched things in Faerun (evil talking skulls that attack you, ancient undead creaturs that are hostile for no reason, and the like), and Amnish people in general.

Raven
Human
AL N Str 18, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 9, Cha 12
Charm Person
Sleep
Web
Monster Summoning 1
Hold Person

Raven was an initiate of a druidic order until she discovered her latent magical talents, at which point she abandoned the formal order to further the ideals of the druids through more direct action. She adorns her simple dress with jewelry crafted from the bones of powerful creaturs that she has slain herself. A woman of few words and many actions.

And that's our cast. We'll start tomorrow once they've all gotten out of Chateau Irenicus.

[Armen]

gosh - so as i understand it you're going to travel as a group (as the engine demands and sometimes out of choice) but solo (mainly) different quests and then work out on paper the time taken to do them . . ?

[img]smile.gif[/img]

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Exactly. All the hassle of a solo, without the instantly maxed-out experience. Plus, we get to play Beat The Clock while we're at it.

[ZFR]

and your aim is to finish it in 80 days or is the title just a figure of speech?

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Well, it's a figure of speech, though I certainly hope it takes well under 80 days.

[Babyseal]

This sounds like an very interresting story! Cant wait to read more!

[Neo the Warrior Cat]

As far as I can see, Esmerelda is probably going to have the most trouble with it using mostly Enchantment-type spells as her higher level ones. Maybe not so much once you get Malison, but it'll be annoying enough.

(Seeing as her damage output will rely on stuff she charms as well as the minor spells and whatever ranged she uses)

[Harkoliar]

i would recommend being fighter heavy with mage and cleric for support so that you can indeed finish it in 80 days (w/o resting)

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

I definately need to figure out how to give Esmerelda some sort of offensive spell, and soon, you're right.

As for you, Hark, a party of six fighters might be able to finish the game without really resting at all. That might be an interesting experience, doing the game fatigued.

---

Upon reaching the surface and emerging into Waukeen's Promenade, the group assessed itself. They had all grown more powerful while in the dungeon, each learning Stoneskin and various spells as well.. Mara had mastered Knock, Dispel Magic, and Ice Storm; Esmerelda picked up Horror, Vampiric Touch, and Greater Malison; Lilith learned Melf's Acid Arrow, Dispel Magic, and Minor Globe of Invulnerability; Sandra gained the use of Web, Lightning Bolt, and Fire Shield: Red; and finally Raven can now cast Blur, Fireball, and Spider Spawn.

Timer started.
0 hours.

The party headed over to the Adventurer's Mart to sell most of their equipment; the only equipment purchased was an Amulet of Protection +1. The party then crawled over to the Den of the Seven Vales and parked themselves at the bar, with the exception of Raven, who expressed interest in the odd happenings at the circus tent. After a few drinks, Sandra headed upstairs to say hello to the fellow intrepid travelers who were also staying for a rest at this fine establishment.

Raven

Upon gaining entrance to the circus tent, Raven noticed a change in the air around her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and all her magical senses tingled. After speaking to several inhabitants, she ascertained that she was, in fact, inside an illusionary structure. This greatly aided her progress: Lesser beings might have stopped to fight a room full of monsters, but she, Raven, knew better... To fight illusions would only exhaust her resources, better spent engaging the master of deception himself. He fell rather easily to her spells... A Fireball and a barrage of magic missiles will take down everyone in the end, especially combined with her weakly enchanted staff. She dusted her hands off and headed back to the inn.

Sandra

Sandra was remarkably calm, given the circumstances. Her fingers twitched involuntarily as she withstood the insults of this brutish, rather smelly of warriors. Mencar advised that she run off with her tail between her legs. Her eyes narrowed. "All right..." she said, and began to walk around the room. At the door, she whirled around, hands rapidly evoking magical energy fueled partly by the blood in her veins and the force of her will, and partly from her rage towards the offending party. Strings and strings of sticky spiderweb sprung from her fingers as she continued her dance of chanting and gesture. The webs enveloped the party before her with little problem. The company before her stood completely immobilized, yet she was no fool; she knew they could escape and ruin her plans if she was not cautious. She tossed another mass of magical webbing into the room, and then changed the tempo of her gesture and dance... This time, a ball of fire escaped her hands. The now panicked party in front of her struggled to escape their bonds, but to little avail. She now commenced pelting the louts with magical flaming stones she had conjured a day before: The dwarf was her target. She paused every now and then to cast two more fireballs, and the next thing she knew she was once again at the bar, casually downing another drink and innocently denying having anything to do with the ruckus heard moments before. Raven also wandered in, and explained in a few terse sentences what she had done. The party then decided that their day had been long enough, and all made their way into the now vacant bedroom on the second floor and took a long-deserved rest.
11 hours.
The logical course of action was for the group to head over to the slums, and head over they did. After being diverted by an annoying person who cooed at them, the group split again. What sort of trouble will they get into next? More later.

[Dave_the_quack]

Loving it so far girl, keep it up!

Personally I've already taken a keen interest in Raven's power, Sandra's personality and Lilith's background.

Concentrate on those three, [img]tongue.gif[/img]