The Harbinger of Ferocity

Post a random fact about yourself.

I am not fond of bright colors, they seem to not only draw my attention and prove distracting, thus generally annoying, but legitimately evoke the question from me as to why anyone would wear or indulge in said things. Perhaps I live too drab, where everything is pine green, wood brown, sand, or buff.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

@Ryonara, there's enough time in the rest period for Parum to pose her questions, so do feel free to add those in and I will treat them retroactively.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

The return had been a journey fraught with anticipation, especially once the lingering touch of the moonborne gift slipped away. The will to sustain it, to control it, to kindle and embrace its inner flame was far outside the reach of the man who was so marked by it. It was as much his right and gift by blood as it was not, the comprehension of it and its way still a mystery outside of reach. One element of him played with the fire, the desire to simply cave to the divine wrath the pale, striped cat represented as an agent of change for the better with no shortage of righteous vengeance, while the other attempted to stay it and temper it. The latter of the two was the reason the outlander clung to it, for it was indeed outside his grasp. The Pale Lady had made it clear what it was for, an instrument of her will and a weapon in the darkest hour, but left to be swung blindly and move the wielder than it be moved by them... what dire, dire consequences that would hold.

He lingered on this topic as he drift among the woods with the rest, so at home now that the passion that plucked at the chords of his heart fluttered out and serenity returned. The time to understand, knowing that the enemy could not find them here without great effort and should they, they foolishly dared into terrain that favored their quarry; an ambush at any and every turn could they all set for the cult and then fade away with nothing other than the dead as testament to their deeds. It was this calm after the height of the escape and the staying of death that allowed Brannor to muse further to himself his role in all of this.

Stronger and stronger had his tie grown since he left for Greenest, but nothing ever more than all of the past few nights. Surely this had to have been what the pull that drew him here in the first place desired of him - the same that revealed unspoken, unknown powers. So with arrow knocked upon the string of his retrieved bow, the sizable man thought further in whatever direction led his spirit while his body kept to the direction of his boots. Stained so red as he was in the wake of near death and the grip of the beast, this was a surreal experience after and one which made such an effort even possible.

Eyes searching, pressing the woods for lore and answer, it became evident that not just was animal fury within his grasp, but just as the priestess beheld a goddess of nature and life, so too did his ties extend. The great roots of trees, the faint creeping vine, and what made them touched back so slightly, of course not to Brannor himself, but the domain he held within. And that of all things? That made it increasingly clear just what he could and soon would sway.

Continuing the reflective journey, which progressed on through the night and into the morning after they had been afforded the much needed rest, it was broken only by the summons they all received. Brought to where the final confrontation of the battle had been some nights before, the assembly seemed to have the attention of the town and while the wilder kept quietly to himself, the gestures made on the events and the sincerity of their thankfulness was much appreciated in turn. After all they had not driven him out, wary as some might have been after the events, rather in place offering even their unexpected thanks to him. Brannor could not help but return a subtle smile at this, a subdued smirk that played his face's features, nor that he was even further honored to have them mend, repair, and modify the armor.

"You have my thanks." He offered Governor Nighthill, humble and simple as it was, it struck him on a level of legitimacy and sincerity unexpected. Kindness done to him by common folk, townsmen, civil people, was rare and while he might have done them a number of great services alongside his newfound allies, the experience was still most alien. Yet the call to meet the master they had so endured to rescue was not far behind in thought and it was clear they needed to continue their fledgling campaign against the dragon worshiping enemy.

Something the paladin was not opposed to.

@Hekazu@Gordian Nought@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

@Ryonara, assuming @Hekazu permits, we could get a brief word in mid way on the trek back about the nature of the paladin. Not a long scene, something I do not envision as more than a post or two each, but that all depends on just how hastily that might be accomplished. Alternatively it could be done in a flashback format to the discussion while in the present tense of having arrived back to the keep of the city.

Printed guns, melded metal - An experimental GM-less Cyberpunk RP

The resultant lack of gunfire opened an opportunity, however brief it was, for the man to snap back to his feet. It wasn't the most masterful kip to standing, nothing like some of the chipped-out martial tweakers were running from the world's best, but it was certainly graceful in an almost inhuman manner. Still, no rebuttal came his way and the hunter made a fateful decision in the flash of a few seconds. If he was going to catch and cutoff the quarry and potentially another target, he needed to get there and fast. The easiest way to do it? A short fall a long way.

Each old concrete barrier that lined the sides of the crumbling roadway was either window level or just narrowly higher than some of the surrounding structures of the hazy, night drenched slums. So he barreled at full speed across to cut the distance, as well as any retaliation he was about to get. Nothing came, either because the power he was packing punched harder than it looked, he rolled the dice right and got lucky and tagging the gunner in the eyes, or the other guy just decided it wasn't worth sticking his head up yet. Didn't matter much in the end as Theron leapt, one boot on the rim of the roadway and the next on the air.

He sailed a short way over the roof, landing on his target and rolling several times over himself. The blunt impact might have knocked the wind out of him, even sprained him, if he hadn't the limberness of a gymnast to some extent or rolled with impact. It would hurt, tomorrow that is and that's all what really mattered. Most people did not walk off a ten or so foot fall on to hard gravel, all of which skidded around him and slid him to a stop. Glancing left and right, soon looking up, he scrambled to his feet and peered over the several storied roof. The issue now?

Finding anything, everything.

So he listened and he smelled, trying to orient himself, whipping around one way in fierce stare then another, gun angled high in hand. The sensory information in the heat of a rush like this was blasting through his mind at freight train force and it took everything he had to process it fully. That delay is what separated him from the techies and gear rats, the ones who plugged their brains into everything and hacked it all up with wires and metal. Sure they could get it and process it faster, but unless they were splashing huge chunks of credit, it wasn't about to get understood better or faster. That hung him up for a moment, a good moment, but once he got the taste for it - literal taste - he had an idea.

They weren't far, a short ways away and down another alley, judging by the thickness of it. Between that and the calm in the midst of the storm, the neurons firing said the target was down. The hows and whys were the next questions, yet there wasn't time to worry about those. Vaulting another low, waist high brick wall, then putting both boots down on a slant, steel roof. Navigating it, it was all over shortly as the ensuing standoff was at last met - a bunch of boosters and...

A damned harness jockey, some rigged up metal frame cyberware piece. "Spiders", usually because they plugged more limbs into themselves than they ever needed and had all too many optics crammed into them, so much that they often had wires and framework plugged directly into them. The shiny and chrome of beloved augments, dashed with some almost intentional weirdness for effect, the kind exotics rolled with. Theron swallowed and steadied his breath, racing heart tempering from his perch three stories up. Glancing at the wrist of his roughed up jacket, the same that ate a portion of the fall, he could see at moment's notice it wasn't coincidence either - that the moment was cooling.

Finger dancing the plastic frame of the hefty pistol along the side, a couple of the pursuers of the now trapped Golemeth shared uneasy stares at one another. Theron could kill the technorat, the Spider, with this much distraction and firepower he had, but that wasn't the part that worried him. It was the "shoot everything" response the gangers and the geeky killer probably had if it kicked off, meaning over half of them were getting tagged by something. Ironically Golemeth would probably be fine, but the rest of them? Scav food and free cyber just sitting out in a bloody slum street.

Brushing his nose with the back of a wrist, Theron shook his head, "I don't want the gun or gizmo, I want him."

A few of the wary eyes shifted from the robotic monstrosity and the unconscious brute then snapped back. Theron threw a bit more to sweeten the dialogue, "Pick your prizes, as long as he ain't dead or dying from it."

The hunter neglected to mention that he really did not need the solo alive, rather just his brain mostly that in one piece, but work paid better when you brought people back alive, especially tanks like the one man army there. The hardware wasn't worth much, hell half of it had some sort of hole in it from tonight, and all the things keeping Golemeth alive were all internal cyber by the looks of it. But the rep? The credits? Much, much better. The laser disk and whatever was on it? Bonus if he put hands on. The weapon and the tech? Just more money. The entire bit about not dying in a stand off? Hard to put a price on.

The only unexpected party was the one the rooftop hunter now heard coming, brow quirked at it reflexively and the rest of him turning a bit at the waist to follow it. Some of the others took heed and glanced back, almost sharing the words Theron muttered under his breath.

"Now fucking what?"

@Terminal

Let's Gush!

I need give kudos where it is due to @Hekazu for providing perhaps one of the longest running Dungeon and Dragons tabletop games here on the Roleplayer Guild, coming in at over two years worth of time. Amusingly it has now surpassed in duration my previously longest standing topic that I had been part of here on the forums, a topic that was several year ago now; one I considered to be exceptional in surviving so long at all at the time. A notably rare gem then, I will concede, followed up by this find.

Continued, while the progress of his game might be at the Advanced Roleplay section's pace with once every few days, the game itself is still remarkably alive which is indeed a feat of strength for a medium that has a poor turnout and turnover. No less while the adventure might be a module, the story all laid out, that is tremendous dedication by the Dungeon Master and to some extent our party as well.

Post a random fact about yourself.

I am a creature of routine and ritual where everything must be consistent and follow a pattern. The lifestyle of haphazard, sudden, and spontaneous choices is not one I can live and it mentally taxes my psyche. There are things that can and must be done, whereas others can be rearranged. When things become out of order I am alarmed and typically am the only one to notice something out of place. I trade versatility for mastery in the process of this.

Printed guns, melded metal - An experimental GM-less Cyberpunk RP

Regardless if I hear anything from @Terminal by tomorrow, I will be posting and moving the combat along.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

A tremendous victory all the same to advance to the next level after all of the camp business. That said, the moontouched paladin should be correctly advanced now for your review, @Hekazu. On a related note, it is quite nice to see him with the oath - if really only in name at the moment. At least it is tangible progress all the same. Regarding my say in returning to Greenest, I have nothing in particular to add aside from Brannor returning to his human form after this combat and some time in the woods trekking back to the town.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

The thrill and seizure of Brannor's mind by the hunt, the pursuit drove him immediately after the quarry. In its flight away from the predatory, killer things that hounded it, be them the relentless attacks upon its consciousness or the things that might well have hungered for and carved its flesh, it led them closer to the woodlands they so sought to escape to. The ominous magical glow and glitter about it making the cultist a beacon to its impending killers, namely the bear which thundered wildly and rampantly after; the pale tiger was not far behind, long strides moving its bristling self, jaws drawing in large breaths over pointed fangs. The sound of the chain shuffling across its chest likely an omen as ill as any other at this point.

All this lone man could do now was delay the inevitable against such relentless foes as they came closer still to the evasion of his allies. He and his devotion to the dragon-queen would not see him out of this, neither would his companions who laid massacred in the grass. For the now monstrous paladin, a thing of fur and fury, it was just as intended. The good could not stand idly by while evil worked its wiles so flagrantly...

Effects

Brannor will move 40ft to the southeast corner of the last cultist, providing flanking to his allies. Because he cannot attack this turn but is still set to kill the target, if it provokes he will take his opportunity attack.

@Hekazu@Gordian Nought@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen