The travels of Detheriel the Bard (tons of spoilers)

[shamrock_uk]

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT

Inspired by Dundee's story thread and the brilliant work from Rataxes and wally P here is my attempt... I would welcome any criticism (preferably constructive!), especially relating to style because this is something of a first for me. This first bit has ended up more of a story style rather than a journal one, but hey, variety is the spice of life

Detheriel is a Half-Elven chaotic neutral blade. For the truly interested, the exact kind of character I had in mind can be found described in this thread http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...c;f=2;t=023369

I rolled 83 for my stats and this suited me fine for two reasons. Firstly bards are supposed to be a jack of all trades and thus superhuman stats seem unlikely and secondly I don't have the patience to try for hours on end [img]smile.gif[/img]

He ended up with:
Strength 16 - Will give him a start in melee but not too powerful
Dx 18 - Given the cavorting a blade does on the battlefield, a high DX seemed to be necessary
Const 11 - I can't really see a blade as being a hulking brute able to soak up lots of damage with impugnity
Intelligence 14 - Would have preferred 16, but constrained somewhat by my dice roll. It still seems perfectly acceptable for a 'part-time' mage though.
Ws 9 - This was the big disappointment for me - one would expect Bards who are steeped in lore to be wise. I tell myself he's a blade so it isn't as important, but at the end of the day this was the stat that really lost out in my dice roll of 83.
Char 15 - A pretty high charisma as befits a Bard.

He starts off with three stars in dual wielding and one in scimitars as they're nice and 'flashy' weapons to show off with.

I'm playing with core rules and a ton of mods, including tactics (excluding improved ilyich cuz i can't deal with those dang thieves and a couple of other sections), unfinished business, rogue rebalancing, some select ease of use options that correct previous flaws. NPC wise, Silver Star is installed and makes an appearance at the beginning, as is Valen, although i'm not really planning NPC's ahead of time. I will try and use mods and non-game NPC's as much as possible though to try and keep things more interesting for those who know the existing game inside and out.

So, without further ado, pull up a chair and get comfy:

Day 1

Detheriel awoke with a pounding headache, promises of power echoing in the back of his mind. He focused his eyes and recognised the face of Imoen, engaged in picking the lock to his cage. A little disorientated, he asked her what happened. She forced him into action, reminding him of the need to escape quickly before their captor returned. Detheriel realised he should put questions to one side and stumbled out of the cage, his body aching. Imoen informed him that Minsc and Jeheira were caged nearby and that weapons could be found in a room to the West.

Heading west first, Imoen spotted something suspicious with her keen eyes, and quickly disarmed the trap protecting the cavity behind the painting. She pulled out a magical dagger and some healing potions; both would no doubt come in handy in the near future.

Detheriel searched the pile of gear on the table and triumphantly pulled out a curved scimitar - a sabre - although he was disappointed about not finding a second in the loot. He took the key and headed back to the main room to rescue the occupants of the other cages.

He was hailed by a blonde woman in a cage. After filling him in on his recent history, she told him to fetch the key to unlock her cage. Upon realising he already held it, she proceeded to berate him about his lack of initiative in not unlocking her already. In a sudden flash of anger Detheriel told her to go her seperate way, not liking the tone of authority this woman used with him.

In the second cage stood a giant of a man, tall and strong. He was raging against his bars, but quietened when Detheriel walked over. When Minsc expressed his pride at being locked behind permanent bars, Detheriel wondered if he was mad, and decided it might be best to leave him there after all. Minsc however was not impressed and worked himself into a berserker rage, twisting the bars until he was free. Detheriel was alarmed, but relaxed as he saw the beserker rage leave his eyes. Upon calming down, Minsc quickly volunteered his services and Detheriel immediately agreed, perceiving the advantages of such a powerful ally.

He noticed a small door off to the left, and opened it cautiously revealing a beautiful elven woman, although with a strange almost child-like quality of innocence about her. She looked up and asked if he would play with her, but he declined. She looked so folorn however that with a sudden tug at his heart he went back and offered his companionship. She looked delighted, but then started talking about roasting lambs.

Detheriel was uttlerly confused and wondered if this dungeon would be filled with mad folk, but she then mentioned that she must find her Mommy who had been hidden in a box by The Master. Detheriel wasn't quite sure how anybody could be hidden in a box, but he felt protective towards this peculiar girl and offered to help. There was a strange portal in that room, but he had no means to operate it.

The whole party trooped back into the weapons room to see what they could salvage. Minsc donned some splint mail and roared a challenge to evil as he grasped a heavy two-handed sword in his mighty hands. Detheriel took up a buckler in the absence of another scimitar. Imoen seemed happy with the enchanted dagger and the latest arrival to their party picked up a single long sword and donned some studded leather armour, hiding herself behind the cowl. Detheriel couldn't help wonder what her profession was when he saw her face peeking out from behind it.

Imoen informed him that the moving statue was a golem, and whilst being another sign of their captor's power, they got no meaningful answers to their questions. Detheriel set off at once, wanting to be out of this horrible dark place as soon as possible, stepping carefully over the charred bodies of the thieves.

They stumbled into a square chamber filled with a strange machine that appeared to conjure a flying creature that hurled bolts of lightening. Detheriel had no trouble placing it from several epic tales of bravery; it was a lightening mephit. Hurling himself to one side, his agile reflexes saving him, he quickly flicked the switch to deactivate the machine whilst the mighty Minsc waded forward to do battle. Detheriel joined him and together they smote the monster down.

Continuing on, they encountered some kind of djinni who presenting them with a riddle. Detheriel had no hesitation in pressing the button - he was no coward - and the party had no problem defeating the Ogre mage, although one of his powerful blows caught Minsc on his shoulder, wounding him somewhat. The djinni appeared once again and offered advice, then disappeared. Detheriel couldn't help think that the healing given would have been more useful after their encounter rather than at the moment of meeting.

After scouting out the immediate surroundings and conversing with another golem, the party decided to rest so Detheriel and Imoen could memorise some spells. Over the makeshift campfire, Imoen and Detheriel chatted idly about times past and their foster father Gorion. They both made an attempt to befriend the newest member of their party, but when asked about her past all she would reveal was that her name was SilverStar and it was given to her by The Master. Any further questioning resulted in continual sobbing - obviously this girls past is not something she wishes to remember. Detheriel reminded himself to keep a good watch out for her mother as they passed through this dark place.

After destroying two golems during which Detheriel sustained a grievous wound from a mighty fist crashing down, Minsc went on ahead, forging a path through the mingled goblins, his berserker cries echoing down the dark passageways. Following the Djinni's advice, the party gave Rielev his release and then passed through the library. Upon exit the party was attacked by some duergar but these were easily dispatched leaving some nice loot behind. Minsc donned the new Mail of the Dead whilst Detheriel found a counterpart for his sabre. The containers nearby yielded some very welcome healing potions which were distributed around the party.

The party noticed an open door on their left and stepped through only to find themselves in the middle of a battle between a party of three and a stone golem. They assisted the woman but Detheriel turned down her offer of help feeling that one new face in the party was distraction enough. From her battle cries, Detheriel gathered she was a kensai, and made a note of her lodgings in the city at the Den of Seven Vales in case he ever had need of a capable fighter. Exploring the area further, a djinni named Malaaq offered the return of an item of considerable power that belonged to Detheriel in exchange for his freedom. He readily agreed, feeling that his tired and weary party was in no position to take the item by force in any case.

The party defeated the Cambion trapped behind the forcefield, looting an enchanted bastard sword from its body, then moved back the way it came. They went into the room they passed by on the right and Detheriel was able to activate the golem using the stone he retrieved earlier. SilverStar found an enchanted longsword on the table which she took a liking to and Detheriel stumbled across two more curved scimitars although sadly they were not enchanted.

Following the paths that the golem opened up the party were horrified to run into a horrific beast; an otyugh if Detheriel's memory could be trusted. With its first hit Minsc was afflicted with a disease and his movements became terribly slow making him easy prey for the powerful claws on the beast. Luckily Detheriel and SilverStar were able to defeat it before it could finish Minsc and some time later the ill-effects of the disease wore off.

After salvaging some loot from the nearbye chests, Detheriel decided it was time for the party to rest again. Both himself and Imoen had run out of spells, and all the party carried wounds to some degree. Eight hours later they awoke without being disturbed, but Detheriel was very concerned over the wounds that both Minsc and SilverStar had - they hadn't healed much during the rest. The great ranger was having difficulty swinging his huge sword due to the injury he received on his arm, whilst SilverStar was walking along, wincing with every painful step. Detheriel was anxious to ration their supply of precious healing potions, not knowing how large this underground complex was but luckily Minsc had a healing spell memorised which helped ease the pain somewhat. Unfortunately this relief was soon negated by a lucky goblin arrowhead which managed to find its way between the links in Minsc's mail suit.

After picking their way through a trapped room retreaving the famous Helm of Balduran in the process the party ran into a group of dryads. Imoen was entranced, and it was hard not to be moved by such beauty in a place like this. They requested aid in taking their acorns to their Queen and Detheriel readily agreed, looking forward to spending time amongst such a happy and carefree race. In exchange for this favour, the dryads told Detheriel that they carried the item the Djinni needed for his freedom and were happy to trade. They also warned about the newest member in the group who is apparently capable of acting with great cruelty. Silver herself reacted angrily to such talk, Imoen looked scared but Minsc was having none of it as Boo told him that such a pretty little elf was incapable of such deeds. Detheriel made a mental note to keep an eye on her behaviour - for all her apparent innocence there could be real dangers to the party if she was a murderer. Her innocence and lack of sound mental judgement might even make her more unpredictable.

The party then moved into a beautiful chamber, although Imoen only just spotted the deadly traps laid in time. Detheriel sat down and wiped his brow whilst Imoen worked, thinking how close he had been to death for a moment. The items she found were impressive and almost made his brush with death worth while. Detheriel donned a pair of bracers that gave him a defensive bonus and stuffed an exquisite looking pommel jewel into his pack for analysis later. He also leveled up during this period, gaining an extra level 3 spell.

The party warily made their way back out from the room, but there appeared to be no response to the alarm they triggered, possibly due to the two inert golems they destroyed earlier. Detheriel led the party on the long trek back to the Djinni, but it was worth it when he was handed a large two-handed sword of incredible power. It was the very weapon used by his brother, Sarevok, and he presented it to Minsc with a grin, knowing the mighty ranger would enjoy smiting evil with a blade such as this. SilverStar also gained a level on completion of this quest, becoming slightly more skilled at the picking of locks and trap detection. The Djinni also warned Detheriel to stay away from his captor. Whilst ordinarily he might have taken heed to this advice, there were just too many unanswered questions that made a meeting inevitable. Detheriel scowled, hating it when his life is forced down a particular path, and spent the next half hour stalking ahead of the others in an angry silence.

The party passed through the portal without incident, and were greeted on the other side by a rogue named Yoshimo. Detheriel sent him away without enlisting his help as he could see Boo's whiskers trembling and the circumstances of Yoshimo's arrival seemed just a little too convenient and suspicious. He was kind enough to give warning of what lay beyond the door however, so Minsc and SilverStar both drank some of the healing potions and the party prepared themselves for the coming fight.

The party burst through the door, Minsc and Detheriel rushing over to destroy the portals before more mephits could be summoned. Imoen softened up the area with a fireball and then summoned some creatures to divert the mephits and the fight was a lot easier than they had been anticipating. The only casualty was poor Detheriel; lying on the floor snoring having been hit by a colour spray. SilverStar found this immensely amusing, giggling to herself until he finally stirred.

Quick exploration revealed a room filled with clones and there was a dual being fought between an assassin and a clone that had escaped. Detheriel and Minsc charged to his rescue, only to have the assassin turn on them. He proved to be easy prey for their blades however. The party eventually came to the pedestal room that Yoshimo had warned them about. Two duergar challenged them, but Imoen sent a fireball flaming from her fingers down the hall that soon ended any argument. Detheriel passed cautiously along the wall, disarming the traps using the keys the party had been collecting. He pried an magical looking ring from the statue of a forgotten god and realised that it would also aid his defensive capabilities.

The party moved to explore this area more and stumbled across a creature of nightmares - a vampire, who's very appearance will make seasoned warriors weak at the knees. As the party watched, uncertain of what to do, she made short work of the assembled thieves and quickly turned to attack them but seemed to vanish into the stonework itself. Shaken, the party moved across to the other side of the hallway.

They passed through a sweltering furnace used for creating magical devices and were once again ambushed by some duergar. Imoen learned the perils of casting without careful thought when both Minsc and Detheriel collapsed unconcious under the influence of the stinking cloud she used. Luckily Detheriel was able to shrug off the effects quickly and drawing on his incredible dexterity and casting a strength spell he spun his blades in a terrible dance of death, slaying all three warriors. Imoen made up for her earlier miscalculation by using up all of the mages mirrored images with a magic missile, making him easy prey for the point of Detheriel's scimitar.

In the next room they encountered an elderly man trapped behind walls of glass. SilverStar became visibly excited and said that it was he who had taken her mother from her and stolen her out of a box. Detheriel started to wonder what kind of mother this elven girl had! When he expressed doubt in the situation, the man shifted into the shape of a young boy and Detheriel had no hesitation in cutting him down; recognising him for a doppelganger and remember the problems he'd had with them previously.

Now the riddle became clear as Silver struck up a conversation with her retrieved blade, calling it 'mommy'. Apparently the blade used to belong to her mother, and Silver appears to hold it very dear, perhaps believing some part of her is inside.

The party moved wearily on and walked straight into an ambush by more thieves but Minsc, outraged by an arrow that skimmed perilously close to Boo, flew into a rage and made short work of the two fighters. Detheriel disrupted the mage's spells and made short work of his health as well with some minute meteors. After keeping a wary distance from Minsc until the berserker fit had left him, the party moved on down the stairs and walked through what appeared to be a sewer.

Finally they noticed the passage beginning to slope upwards and they glimpsed daylight ahead. Overjoyed, the party abandoned all caution and broke into a joyful run, emerging blinking into the glare of the midday sun.

Party composition after one day and seven hours:
Detheriel ? Level 9 chaotic-neutral blade (level up due in the next instalment)
Minsc ? Level 8 chaotic-good ranger
SilverStar ? Level 9 neutral-evil assassin

[ 02-20-2004, 10:43 PM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]

[Lord]

Good job [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]
I think you've got very good writing skills.

[shamrock_uk]

Aww, thank you [img]smile.gif[/img] I think I shall try and focus more on personalities and the characters themselves in future editions. The trouble with chateau irenicus is I just wanted to get it over and done with - quite easy to fall into the 'went here, did that, did this' trap. Aah, need more hours in the day really [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Lord]

The major (constructive) critisicm I can give is that the chapter was too long. Shorten each one down a bit. This chapter could have been split in 2, you know what I mean?
BTW, I think it will be better if you make all of it a story instead of a journal. The stores are much more interresting IMO.

[JrKASperov]

Exactly! You are a great writer actually, but you seem to get lost in your account Instead of trying to write a book, which I guess you would be pretty good at, try to write a report. The kind of stories you try to write should be on some site for all to read, instead in posts on a forum. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[shamrock_uk]

Lol, I find it very hard to skim over stuff in the way that happens in a report, but I take your point well; I was wondering about its suitability for a forum post as well.

What I might do is brief journal entries and piccies on this thread, and use those to do a proper story on a website concurrently. That way we have the best of both worlds [img]smile.gif[/img] People like Lord who find stories more interesting will hopefully be satisfied and others that don't want to wade through lots of writing should also be happy as well.

Well, I'll crack on with the next installment later, got an essay to write in the meantime and will attempt to keep it much more like a short report. Thank you both for your comments [img]smile.gif[/img]