Assallya

(D&D based) "TALES OF THE LONELY INN"

Out in the middle of nowhere Assallya was uncertain where the two heroes had come from but was relieved to see them. She truly beleived that the guardsman escort was ill suited to the task at hand. Even with the aid of the heroes she was not certain of the outcome particularly when the wargs emerged from the brush, that and apparently two ogres! At least there were no giants or ettin... Why were they back in the brush? A moment's thought brought her answer. Assallya envisioned trying to stick stick a warg inside a hole in the ground and ready to pop up on command. She wouldn't relish that task.

The two distant heroes were as different as could be. One was clad in mail, the other leather. One male, the other female. One seemed to be a cavalier of some sort, the other a dark elf assassin? A pang of fear grasped Assallya by the throat. Drow were noted in their unrivalled hatred of their surface cousins and, despite Assallya's general dislike of all things elven she rather imagined a drow wouldn't care.

All along the caravan line bandits were waylaying innocent farmers who were foolish enough to resist. Many cowered against their wagons and uplifted open palms in supplication to their aggressors. Most likely they would be executed later but it bought them a few extra moments of life. That was what Assallya planned to do should one brandish weapons in her direction.

Straightening her posture, the elven sorceress did her best to conceal her gesticulations from the bandits approaching from both sides as she gently sent forth whisps of magic to bind and paralyze a number of the attackers. She did not want to draw attention to herself. Let the warriors take the risks for naught but fame and glory and a pat upon the back from the local lord. She was only interested in surviving which meant helping the heroes while remaining invisible to the attackers.

(D&D based) "TALES OF THE LONELY INN"

The King's Highway was the safest means to travel. Every day knights and armsmen from a dozen duchies and baronies patrolled the highway and kept it clear of brigands. In the event any ruffians did cause the local lords would pursue them doggedly and put them to the sword without mercy. Assallya felt even safer travelling in a caravan upon that road. Just one of nearly two dozen wagons travelling under escort.

Assallya was a beautiful woman, with alabaster rose blushed skin and long blond tresses that blazed like a dragon's hoard of gold in the sun. She had often been compared to Hanali Celanil, the goddess of elvish beauty and Sune, the goddess of human love but what she preferred was being compared to was Sharess, her own patron goddess of harlots and festhalls. Leaning back on the cushions arrayed across her vardo wagon's bench the elven courtesan lazily let her pair of horses follow the wagon in front of her. She was wearing what amounted to her adventuring attire, little more than a collection of fisherman's nets on her limbs and a brassiere. She lounged, black tipped toes gripping the footrest, chewing upon a reed she'd picked up at their last rest stop. The elven woman simply couldn't resist pretending she was just one of the farmers bringing their produce to market or whatever it was they did.

Beside her, the knight commander of the armsmen escorting the convoy rode with an eye on her nubile form. He wasn't unattractive and the gods above knew she'd lain with her fair share of older men but that mustache- It was ridiculously oversized and oiled. He had intentions, she could tell, she could always tell but he wasn't the type to provide gifts or pay for such services. He was the type that simply felt entitled.

"Good afternoon m'lady," the knight finally stated, a strange glint in his eye beneath the leather circlet that kept his long hair from his face, "Enjoying the day?"

By Sharess' tits, the bastard didn't even want to wait until nightfall. She could see it in his eyes. He was going to call over one of his men to drive her wagon so they could linger inside!

"Simply magical," she quipped, reminding herself that she had kept her being a sorceress secret, one never knew when to expect a lynching after all. "I was..."

Assallya's voice trailed off as her sharp azure eyes caught movement behind the knight captain. A dozen or more figures had suddenly erupted from the ground as if climbing from graves. It was a mix of orcs, goblins and humans near as she could tell, which was rather odd. Orcs and humans rarely worked together unless brought together by some higher power. Then again, what greater power was there than gold coin?

"Captain!" the blonde elven woman screamed shrilly, pointing towards the danger with her ebony tipped fingernail, "Brigands! By Myrkul's shrivelled black balls, Bandits!"

Villains 'R' Us

Some of you might want to put some thought into how you are being incarcerated.

Grace, does the penal service have any sort of power dampeners?

The Chessboard Rebels

Why abandon the chess motif at the last moment? You had something good there and then you went cliche.

How about:
Rooks, super strong and resilient
Knights, fast and agile, capable of running as fast as a horse, masters of the blade
Bishop: Capable of firing creating an energy shield to protect themselves or others and healing
The Queen: The Sorceress, capable of hurling elemental bolts but can't make shields
The King: Can summon ten shadowy warriors, also can command mortals and even one chessman but has to concentrate completely on the chessman

THE TALE OF THE LONELY INN (D&D based)

What is that, shield +3 to save vs. Fire? Might I suggest an blade that does extra damage vs. chaotic beings, or perhaps evil beings? Maybe a sword that is bane against a specific creature (ogres? orcs?) that you carry because they wiped out your family? Rumiko can offer you a few ideas for magical paraphernalia. If you like, she could probably even roll randomly on a chart or two.

Just always remember:

"Jesus saves! The rest of you take full damage!"

(D&D based) "TALES OF THE LONELY INN"

There's an old adage we used to have.
Fighter bests rogue. Rogue bests mage. Mage beats fighter. Afterwards the cleric heals them all.

The bard is unique enough to escape that.

Mind you the scariest group is the all cleric group. They can wear down anything over time thanks to cures, have buffs that can make them decent fighters, antimagic spells, natural undead control and decent armour. They're just not very subtle.

(D&D based) "TALES OF THE LONELY INN"

I really wouldn't worry about it. It's quite a rare thing to use up ten uses of bardic ability in a day when they have a duration based on concentration. Boosting morale for an entire battle is a single use. Thus, unless you have to switch abilities over and over to counter fear effects or whatnot, then you're not likely to run out. Even if you do run out, there's the spells! Bards get a boatload of spells to boot, including cure wounds!

Medieval Assassins

Uhm, pretty much nothing. The girl that barged into the prince's room still hasn't replied.

(D&D based) "TALES OF THE LONELY INN"

Oh, and I've seen some crazy house rules.
--One game I was in, you only got one character, not for the campaign... but FOREVER. If you died you were never supposed to play D&D ever again.
--A Sci-Fi one where the players argued to follow the book when the GM was trying to keep his players alive. The rulebook claimed that their guns did x100 damage while they wore armour that only gave about sixty hit points. We were about to try and bust out of a prison... It would have been ugly.
--Barbed arrows do 1d6 going in, 1d6+2 coming out. The GM thought this made sense and then was shocked when everyone decided to play a ranger... Go figure.
--A GM I had created an artifact in the form of a dagger that kicked you out of his campaign if you were killed by it. He claimed it drank the soul that moved between characters, which also explained why new player characters were so similar to the one's that just died.
--fireball and lightning damage "bounced" off nearby walls. This led to my group using Otiluke's Spheres on big enemies and then dropping lightning bolts inside for 80d6 damage.

Villains 'R' Us

Real name: Sarah Covenry
Codename: Darkshadow
Age: 21

Personality: Sarah is a coward, first and foremost. She is also a bully and enjoys having power over others. Slothful and somewhat gluttonous she wants for nothing more than to lounge about in opulence and otherwise enjoy herself. In essence, she represents the litany of the seven deadly sins.

Ability/power/s: Umbrakinesis. While it is true that Umbrakinesis is impossible Sarah's power seems to defy that. In truth Sarah in an Ectokinetic, able to summon forth Ectoplasm for a variety of effects.
--Darkness Generation: The Ectoplasm summoned can blot out light.
--Ectoplasmic Solidification: The Ectoplasm can become walls, spheres, staircases and the like and is fully capable of stopping bullets.
--Costume and Weapon Generation: The ectoplasm can cling to Sarah's astral form, guarding her body by converting slashing and piercing attacks into blunt. Bullet's can't go through her but hit her like a supersonic fist and hurts like hell.

Weakness: Ectoplasm, being ghostly or ethereal doesn't deal well with sunlight. While she can shroud an entire football stadium in darkness during from dusk to dawn she can barely fill a house with it during a brightly lit day. It also fails completely, in the presence of laser light.

Extra: Sarah actually never wanted to become a villain. She was forced into it by a telepath most sinister and powerful. He had her rob a number of banks, helping her from anonymously. Finally, when once the police were on to her identity he dumped her on the side of the road with only a pittance of the money she'd stolen and a hole in her mind which included his identity. She also has a number of telepathic triggers inside her mind, a sleep command, a forget command, a command that readies her mind for a following suggestion and finally a kill switch.

Why choose me?: Sarah is a defender, capable of putting up barriers between a group of villains and the police. She can also provide a blinding veil for a quick escape from nearly any hero and, through darkness, sneak into nearly any facility. (The locks are, however, another matter) She also knows she's not a great thinker or planner and likes the idea of having a smart and powerful leader to obey.