The Quiet Apocalypse - Year 1

A series played using a mash-up of Apocalypse World and The Quiet Year. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.

The Cast

Amiette (Brainer) dead eyes, smooth face, angular body

Chaplain (Gunlugger) cunning eyes, bony face, compact body

Peacock (Skinner) laughing eyes, beautiful face, toned body

Year 1

Cards: Four of Hearts, Three of Diamonds, Two of Clubs, Jack of Spades.

Spring

The disaster polycule roll into the Silverlake Confines, a holding ruled by Parson and Lavender and held in an uneasy truce with a roving gang called the Grey Wing. The Confines proper operate under strict laws of non-violence and disarmament, so Chaplain initially elects to wait in the small shantytown outside the holding's limits. She refuses to part with her gun collection under any circumstances. Meanwhile Peacock and Amiette (who prefer a concealed carry) case the streets of the holding proper. Peacock draws attention (his expensive coat hanging open to reveal an impressive physique adorned with spectacular tattoos) while Amiette appraises the holding...

Amiette: Read a Sitch (6)

Amiette: Open Brain (9)

They struggle to read the people - the marketplace is a bustling mass of bodies and words - but they are able to discern vague psychic impressions. The holding is a hotbed of intrigue and extremism, including at least two cults. Rejoining Chaplain outside, they discuss options; the holding is a powder keg in need of a spark. Or three sparks...

Summer

There's a trade fair coming up, Silverlake Confines will grow from trade hub to trade metropolis; trade will spill out of the main holding and its strict laws. In previous towns Chaplain had led with her arms dealing, Peacock modelling the goods to boost sales, and Amiette working their own creepy side gigs.

Peacock: Helps Chaplain (4)

Chaplain: Fast Talks a Crowd (3)

Sales are poor. Chaplain hasn't been able to restock lately, Peacock's flirting with the marks is distracting, and selling weapons in a pacifist town is a tough gig.

Amiette: Creepy Side Gigs (7)

Amiette has slightly better luck. A settlement built on merchant rivalries, ideological extremism, and secret cults is a morally ambiguous telepath's playground. Of course such a location is also full of very experienced schemers and deceivers, so getting one over on them can prove challenging.

Autumn

As the fair wraps up the trio watch the visiting traders pack up to leave, They speculate on the likelihood of the Grey Wing or other raiders taking out the caravans.

Chaplain: Read a Sitch (12)

A sniper rifle makes spotting approaching raiders easy, which is more than can be said for the caravan. The Grey Wing swoops in on the last merchants to leave, howling and weeping. They use their rifles sparingly and Chaplain notes they're deliberately shooting to wound only; she notes their weakness for future use. Interestingly, after the raid, the gang's leader stays behind while the others fall back into the wastes. The leader rides straight through the holding's open gates, heading for the palace...

Winter

A stranger arrives from out of the wastes. Dressed in robes suggestive of an adherent of the Children of the White Sign; an ecumenical order that seeks to encourage unity between all faiths and ideologies. He staggers into the shantytown, wheezing and clutching his side. Peacock crosses his path first and decides to ply him for information about the wider area, offering his company in exchange.

Peacock: Seduce or Manipulate (10)

The monk speaks freely of his journey to the Silverlake Confines and the various groups he's met along the way. He describes a growing coalition of ideological groups united through ecumenism and diplomacy. Amiette is intrigued, if they can learn the secrets of this alliance they could offset the fractious nature of the local psychosphere. They slip on their glove, arrange for Peacock to administer some proprietary compounds to the visitor, and then pays him a visit.

Amiette: Casual Brain Receptivity (7)

Amiette: Deep Brain Scan (5)

The probing starts well, they confirm the visitor is telling the truth and that the purpose of his visit to the Silverlake Confines is to open diplomatic relations. However, his mind resists all of Amiette's attempts to push deeper. Sadly, the strain is too much for the visitor and he dies, blood leaking from his eyes and nose.

Chaplain arranges for the body to be disposed of. Amiette ponders how this development will impact their studies. Peacock briefly misses the visitor, consoling himself with his daily workout and grooming routines.

Malachite and Mithril: Vault of the Sword Prince 2

 A game originally played using an off-the-cuff d20 system, but now converted to Maze Rabbits. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.

Against the black walls, a shrouded figure passes unseen, suspended on gossamer threads. Shade positions themselves where they can strike at the Prince. A roar of rage shatters the silence as Barb Barian charge into the room.

Reroll for initiative! Barb rolls 12. Shade rolls 12. Sword Prince rolls 11

Barb's "sledgehammaxe", a weapon of her own design and making, sweeps towards the Prince's chest...

Barb's sledgehammaxe against Sword Prince (3, miss)

...and sails past as the Prince sidesteps its path. However, this moves him into position for Shade, who readies a grappling line to attach to the large floating sword.

Skillz check. Target 70%. Outcome 27%

It latches into position and Shade readies themselves for the next step, hoping that Barb survives the Prince's attention until then.

Sword 1 against Barb rolls 11 (hit, -4 hp)

Sword 2 against Barb rolls 7 (miss)

Tanking check. Target 85%. Outcome 79% (half damage)

The Prince's blade cuts deep into Barb's shoulder. She screams pain and rage directly into his face but he doesn't flinch. She hauls her weapon and takes a second swing.

Barb's sledgehammaxe against Sword Prince (7, miss)

The Sword Prince evades and Shade sees their chance to strike. They wind in their line, bringing the sword blade with it, then release it like a pendulum.

Skillz check. Target 70%. Outcome 27%

Massive sword (-12 hp)

The pendulum blade strikes the Sword Prince and cleaves him in two. No blood flows, instead obsidian "flesh" crumbles away from iron "bones", The remains of the Sword Prince crash to the ground. The integrity of the dungeon begins to destabilise, so Shade and Barb flee back to the entrance and then out of the dungeon.

Malachite and Mithril: Vault of the Sword Prince 1

A game originally played using an off-the-cuff d20 system, but now converted to Maze Rabbits. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.

Bob Wizard, Dan Jun-Explora, and Mystic Marge materialise in the entrance of the Vault, refreshed from their period of renewal in the void. Dan's leather armour shines in the torch light, his longsword held at the ready. Marge's simple robes belie the powerful aura that hums through her. Bob's robes are iridescent and embroidered with arcane symbols and mystic patterns. The entrance is black-walled, high-ceilinged, edged with pillars like prison bars. A stifling atmosphere presses down on the group.

DC 20 Will save or be paralysed. Bob rolls 16. Dan rolls 9. Marge rolls 19.

All three are gripped by a paralysing malaise. Marge failed by the smallest margin, so has a chance to push it back.

Divine Intervention check. Target 82%. Outcome 49%

The divine flame within her causes her aura to flare with the light of hope. Marge is freed and her companions begin to stir. Reinvigorated, Bob aligns his sight with the etheric currents to try and discern a route into the dungeon proper.

Spellz check. Target 69%. Outcome 78%

The walls of iron-laced obsidian harden under his gaze, the shadows cast by the light of Marge's aura deepen. Marge steps closer and takes his hand, their individual forms of magic flowing together.

Divine Intervention check. Target 82%. Outcome 25%

Spellz check. Target 69%. Outcome 30%

Bob's eyes blaze with the same light as Marge's aura, the shadows flee and the walls themselves are burned away by his vision. A smoking tunnel stands open to the deeper dungeon. Dan readies his blade and leads the group into the next chamber.

[SWORD PRINCE: HD 3; AC 15; 2 swords +3 (1d6 + 2), ML 12]

In the centre of a hexagonal chamber, an iron sword hangs suspended in their air. Three meters long, the blade slowly turns on its point. Arches to the left and right are filled with inky darkness. Dan consults his collected wisdom to discover the sword's meaning.

DC 12 Wisdom check to intuit meaning. Dan rolls 12

He realises that the sword is somehow linked to the dungeon's heart. It's not the heart itself, but could be a mean to the heart's destruction. Bob and Marge lock eyes and telepathically agree to each try examining a different archway.

DC 10 Perception checks. Bob rolls 4. Marge rolls 14

Bob's mundane senses are unable to pierce the darkness, so he attempts to cast Truth Vision.

Spellz check. Target 69%. Outcome 60%

His eyes shimmer with a pale blue sheen and he perceives the inner truth of the chamber beyond the arch. He sees gears turning within gears; hours, weeks, years, generations of toil bearing fruit. He understands the Prince of the dungeon as having honed his martial gifts over endless aeons, the treasure of his vault being his mercenary earnings from a comparable period. He salivates at the prospect of all the treasure and the exotic arcane wonders it could purchase.

Across the room, Marge hears approaching footsteps coming from the night-black passage. She falls back to warn the others so they can prepare.

Roll for initiative! Bob rolls 4. Dan rolls 4. Marge rolls 18. Sword Prince rolls 19

The Sword Prince bursts from the archway, clad in obsidian plate, wielding a jagged, wrought iron sword in each hand. He leaps forwards and strikes.

Sword 1 against Bob rolls 6 (miss)

Sword 2 against Marge rolls 20 (hit, -7 hp)

Bob's Truth Sight allows him to track the blade and effortlessly avoid it. Marge begins to raise power within her aura, but is abruptly decapitated. Her aura's power is snuffed out in a moment. Bob and Dan recover quickly and go on the offensive. Dan's own blade flashes towards the Sword Prince, Bob's beard crackles with magical fury as he prepares to utter a Word of Power.

Dan's longsword against Prince rolls 4 (miss)

Bob's Spellz check. Target 69%. Outcome 21%

The Prince deflects Dan's blade with ease, behind his obsidian mask he remains silent. Bob, however, begins the first syllable of the Word of Discorporation.

1st Syllable, -3 hp, -3 AC

The Prince's armour cracks across his chest, deep fissures open revealing only darkness. He wordlessly raises his blades and prepares his second series of attacks.

Sword 1 against Bob rolls 10 (hit, -7 hp)

Sword 2 against Dan rolls 20 (hit, -9 hp)

Bob's utterance is silenced as an iron blade pierces his heart. A second blade cleanly bisects Dan from head to groin. The Sword Prince withdraws his blades and sheathes them. He considers the scene and then turns to leave the chamber.

To be continued...

Malachite and Mithril: Dead Passion's Grave 2

A game originally played using an off-the-cuff d20 system, but now converted to Maze Rabbits. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.

Dan Jun-Explora and Mystic Marge have engaged in battle with the guardian construct of Dead Passion's Grave.

Initiative roll 2.

The guardian lunges at Dan, its claws whirring.

Round 1

Three claw attacks against Dan: 4, 3, 3 (all miss).

Longsword against the Guardian: 6 (miss).

Round 2

Three claw attacks against Dan: 20, 7, 5 (1 hit, 5 hp).

After preliminary swipes from both sides, the guardian feints with two claws and disembowels Dan with the third.

Marge is conflicted - does she call upon the higher powers to save Dan or to slay the guardian? In a flash of inspiration she chooses a third option - destroy the Font of Passion!

Divine Intervention check. Target 82%. Outcome 45%

Marge's aura flares about her in a corona of brilliant light, before lancing out to pierce the dungeon's heart. Blood trickles from the Font as it cracks under the weight of the Divine Will bearing down on it. The guardian shrieks and lashes out with its claws.

Round 3

Three claw attacks against Marge: 16, 6, 4 (1 hit, 2 hp).

Barely able to approach her, the guardian flails its limbs. A single claw cuts deep into her side. Marge steels herself as she continues to pray.

DC 12 Fort save or bleed out. Marge rolls 1

Divine Intervention check. Target 82%. Outcome 75%

Marge's aura continues to cleanse the Font; the cracks widen, the blood pours out, and the reality of the dungeon beings to destabilise. Sadly, Marge's own blood is also rapidly flowing out of her. She commits her soul to the powers she serves and fully allows them to act through her.

DC 12 Fort save or bleed out. Marge rolls 18

Divine Intervention check. Target 82%. Outcome 86%

She realises that the power will ultimately consume her body and she instinctively limits it as best as she can. However, this allows the guardian another chance to strike.

Round 4

Three claw attacks against Marge: 20, 13, 3 (2 hits, 7 hp).

The guardian construct's claws cleanly bisect Mystic Marge at the waist. Her prayers fall silent as her face relaxes into a expression of serenity. Finally unencumbered from its mortal vessel, Marge's soul erupts in a holy blaze. The guardian construct disintegrates, it's matter blasted across the chamber. The Font of Passion implodes, forming a singularity which rapidly draws the dungeon into itself. The point of intersection ends and the world is saved.

In the void between worlds the souls of Mystic Marge, Dan Jun-Explora, and Bob Wizard drift. The next time the dungeon dimension tries to merge with ours, the three heroes will be ready.