Dreams, Dark and Dire 3

[DaevaDude]

Finally, through sheer force of will, Eleanor is able to force her Auspex to penetrate the alien mystery of these worms.

She feels a sense of hunger, and watches a vampire - one unknown to her, one she does not recognize - writhe, its body crumbling from within, as worms eat away at its vitae and its heart. As the body crumbles into ash and dust, the worms emerge from the pile, writhing, still hungry. Suddenly, the scene changes from one of the normal, sane, material world, to a distorted view of same, as if through a fisheye lens trained on a funhouse mirror, and suddenly yet again.

Eleanor feels herself/the worms floating in a vast void... emptiness and blackness stretching beyond comprehension. Occasionally she makes out glimpses of things too strange to understand, of impossible angles, of space and time turning and feeding upon themselves, as an oroborous.

She is aware of more like herselves - worms, fat and fed on the blood of kindred - appearing in this void, called back here... by something she can't name.

And then she perceives the "what." She doesn't see it, or engage it telepathically, but somehow she's aware of a presence, immesurably vast, unknowably strange and unmistakably malevolent.

There is no other way to characterize this presence except to call it a god, or something akin to one. Eleanor finds herself in the presence of God, and understands that she and her type have some place in its plans - a place she can't graps on any level - but that at the same time she and her kind are as unimportant to this entity as dandruff on the scalp of a human might be to a maddened tiger intent on dining on that human.

Roll Resolve + Composure at -2 for Eleanor.

Also, what is Eleanor's current Health status? (she's not yet taken damage this turn).

And don't forget, Headstrong is up as well.

[Headstrong]

Eleanor, not including the auto-damage on the Worm-Things's initiative count, is at 3L 2B, otherwise it's 5L 2B

Eleanor rolls 4 to Res+Comp-2 (10 Again) 8, 7, 3, 2 = 1 success

Eleanor rolls 1 to Res+Comp-2-3 (wounds?) (10 Again) 6 = failure

Headstrong

Concentrating on the same foe as Regina Headstrong neglects her own defense in an effort to dispatch their enemies as quickly as possible. Both the long distance and the interposed allies made this somewhat difficult, however, not to mention her need to predict the best strike ahead of time to off-set her poor dreamscape reflexes.

Headstrong rolls 6 to Str5+Wea3+Eqp3+2allout-1def-4armor-2reach (10 Again)
7, 2, 9, 3, 5, 9 = 2 successes

[Sean]

Arnold nods grimly at Jayant as he steps up to take the place beside him. Then the beasts lash out at him, and he growls as he's struck. He slashes out with his sword at the thing that had attacked him, giving better than he got.

2 suxx

2009-11-05 14:58:23 Arnold rolls 7 to Str7+Weap4+Equip2-6 (10 Again) 1, 7, 2, 9, 3, 3, 10, 3 2 successes

-----------------------------

Sean obediently falls back, behind those armed with more than claws. Through the ranks he locks his eyes on another of the wormy things and as soon as he gets the chance he puts the Beast all over his face. He pushes himself to really out the monster inside him, wearing it in his visage like a terrifying, horned god.

Very Scary

2009-11-05 15:03:19 Sean rolls 10 to Pre3+Intim3+Night1 (10 Again, WillPower) 2, 4, 2, 9, 9, 3, 7, 8, 8, 10, 5 5 successes

Arnold is at 3 bashing out of 10 health boxes

[DaevaDude]

Eleanor can act again this turn. We'll count the previous one as her make-up turn.

O-Yama and Headstrong have worms that have burrowed into them. Headstrong is going to be hard to get to, but O-Yama can be assisted at -2.

Eleanor and Konstantin are also still dealing with the worms. Konstantin is being helped by Ishani and still has his own turn to work on removing the worms, but Eleanor could very much use help.

Eleanor, Markos and Dirge are up.

Eleanor's mind reels from her use of the Spirit's Touch, and for several moments she isn't sure it will withstand the strain... but finally she finds herself back within the dreamscape version of the Avalon, but in what counts as an intact mental state for her.

Sean's use of nightmare causes yet another of the creatures to discorporate into a mess of disconnected, writhing worms.

[Ishani]

Ishani continues to remove worms from Konstantin. She does not take to him moving around well, if he does, and uses a number of profane words to describe the worms, their parents, and their siblings as she removes them.

3 suxx

2009-11-05 17:22:31 Ishani rolls 7 to Strength + Dexterity (10 Again) 1, 8, 5, 3, 8, 1, 8 3 successes

[West]

Initiative Roster:
Asa * O-Yama * Headstrong * Eleanor 5L2B * Markos * Dirge *
(7) Worm-Things
Ishani * Sean * Regina DEF5 * Jayant DEF8 * Arnold 3B * Konstantin 4L6B

[DaevaDude]

((Repost for clarification))

On the first turn, the worms can be removed with a Str + Dex check, requiring successes equal to the damage done to completely remove the worms (Eleanor and Regina would thus need 4 successes). On the second turn, the same roll can be used, but inflicts lethal damage equal to the initial attack's successes, or a Dex + Medicine roll will remove the creatures on the second turn doing damage = initial damage -2,, though a minimum damage of 1 Lethal still applies.

Others can assist in removing the worms using the same rolls, but at -2 unless the target stands completely still (takes no action and makes no movement in the turn). On a dramatic failure, helpers become subject to attack by the worms.

Each subsequent turn the worms are on or within someone reduces all rolls to remove them by -1.

In the interest of moving things along, I'll let the current rolls stand, but let's follow the ones above from here on.

Konstantin takes 3 Lethal damage as the remaining worms are removed, and Eleanor takes one Lethal. Unless I'm mistaken, that will push Eleanor into torpor, but since she's not acted this turn, she can spend WP reflexively to heal as the worms are removed, thus avoiding that fate... until the remaining worms do their damage, at least.

Konstantin stands stoically as Ishani digs the worms out of him, his fangs having popped the only real sign of the pain he endures. "My thanks, milady," he says when she has finished. He heals up two of the bashing damage and draws his knife, which looks identical to the one he uses in the waking world. "Your Majesty, do you want me to return to the lines, or stay to protect you both?" he asks, glancing at Ishani but directing the question to Asa.

[BBQLord]

Worm Food

I wasn't kidding when I wrote 'last shred of will'.

With a paltry Willpower score of 6, Eleanor had only 5WP to spend in the dream thread. She used Arcane Sight, boosted Spirit Touch twice and has healed twice too. She's out.

5L 2B and 1 lethal damage become 6L 1B though, as new damage 'pushes' less severe damage off the health track if said track is full (WoD p172).

This matters little though, as it simply means that the Worms have the honor of finishing Eleanor before her Initiative comes up (Eleanor is after the Worm-Thing's Initiative).