April 02, 2005

Hook

Those of strength in arms or skilled in magic desired as testers and advisors for defensive strategies. Large payment of gold being offered.

Plot Synopsis

The adventures meet a dark-skinned man naming himself Embalé, wearing what looks to be some sort of military uniform. Without revealing too many details, he tells the adventurers that his people, none-too-skilled in magic, have recently come into conflict with a rival group on their homeworld that is far more good at using magic to their advantage, and they need to test their preparations against other skilled mages and those who have experience dealing with mages, hence Jaernians came to mind. He cannot reveal how the testing will occur, only saying that it will be safe for the adventurers, and that more will be discussed with them once they agree to come along and have reached the testing site.

Once the adventurers agreed, they followed Embalé through a portal onto a jungle world with a small path. He led them off the path through the jungle to what appeared to be a small building, well-hidden by foliage. He leads them inside and gets them identification, and then directs them to an elevator, which proceeds to descend for a long time. Finally coming to a stop, the elevator opens and the party finds itself in a rather large room, its walls covered in unfamiliar devices, many with strange, shifting displays, and lights everywhere. In one corner is a person in a strange skin-tight suit with wires leading from it, a similar suit in a display case nearby. A wispy-haired old man approached the party then, introducing himself as Wadé, the head researcher there. He gives them many more details of their mission, including the fact that the entire thing will be some sort of simulation played out in their minds as they sleep. They will be connected to machines and placed in trances using incants. The adventurers naturally have many concerns about this, but most of their fears are allayed. They are also given a code word that will end the simulation for them immediately.

After all is prepared, the adventurers and a team lead by Embalé enter the simulation. After meeting to discuss their known information, Embalé signals for the mission to begin, whereupon he and his team will be put to defending a base that the adventurers will attack to obtain a flag, but strangely, it does not. The setting is as it should be, but Embalé.s team does not disappear as they should. Suddenly, strange shakings and lights begin disturbing the simulated reality. After the death of one of Embalé.s team members, the escape code is tried to no effect, and Embalé is unable to contact those outside the simulation. The party and Embalé.s team begin racing towards the bunker that was to be the objective, but the simulated opponents that were to help Embalé.s people begin attacking them. The party retreats to a safe distance, dodging strange patches of static and lightning.

After contemplating options, Selina goes off on her own to enter the base while ethereal. She makes it down to the room with the flag before being sighted, avoiding the strange static patches that lie in midair, in walls, and on simulated opponents. She also tries to avoid any objects that seem to shift every once in a while. Once in the room with the flag, she fireballs a group of the guards there, who shout out .Lockdown. and the room is electrified and sealed tightly. Finding herself unable to get into the case with the flag, Selina begins to battle the simulated guards and scientists in the room. She notices that after some effort, the guards are able to track her movements on the screens above some dials, even once she has Endwarfed herself. Due to the malfunctions, much of their equipment that would not normally effect her manages to hit her, so she eventually just begins Halt Timing large groups of guards. After most of the remaining equipment is destroyed via fireballs and grenades, Selina finally manages to be the last one standing. However, since the case with the flag is electrified like the rest of the room, she begins playing with switches to try and de-activate the lockdown. With an incredibly bad stroke of luck (yay percentiles), she flips a switch that causes numerous turrets to lower themselves and turn towards anything still living, including unconscious guards and Selina. In an uncharacteristic display of wisdom, Selina decides not to stay to see what those do and teleports back to the party.

Meanwhile, the party has been discussing other options with Embalé. He says that there are three ways to end the simulation: 1) Saying the code word, which already did not work, 2) Complete the mission, and 3) A backup escape portal. While Selina was having fun with science, the party decided to check out the escape portal. They found it to still be there, but large swatches of it are covered in ever-shifting static patches. Once Selina returns, she volunteers to be guinea pig. Embalé tells her how to de-activate the simulations from outside, and she steps through. With an incredibly good stroke of luck (boo percentiles), she finds herself waking up, the rest of the party around her and still in the simulation. Those who had been watching them were unconscious on the floor. Selina eventually wakes everyone else up and they exit the test room to find that the main lab area is on fire, a gigantic hole in its ceiling and floor. Tyn and Darnell begin helping Embalé look and care for survivors, while others begin surreptitiously looting the area. Due to the rampant chaos, no one notices. Mara and Spot immediately begin scrambling up shinies, while Kulov, Roger, and Riot snag the coffee pot. Selina and Embalé head down through the hole in the floor and see what Embalé identifies to be a bomb ticking down. Selina Halt Times the bomb, and Embalé tells everyone to evacuate. Wadé is found to be bleeding but alive, and he rambles something about a .bunker buster. as he is carried out.

Once on the surface, the party notices that there were quite a few survivors, and they have been busy setting up more obvious defenses. One or two party members notice shapes flying high in the air. Embalé thanks the party for their help and says the pay will be sent to them in a day or so when the chaos works itself out. Selina tells them that they have a day before the spell he used on the bomb ends, and Embalé thanks him. The party is escorted back to the portal and home.

Notable post-game events:
Less than a minute after the party leaves, workers in the remains of the installation are stunned to see the bomb, before encased in a spherical field of blue, become visible again. Before they are able to inform those on the surface, it ticks down its final seconds. Oops.

Noteworthy Postgame Events