==> Embark.

[ar0se]

INSOLITUS

[It's Friday, of course. Totally Friday! We're not late. And that means it's time for the Insolitus expedition to begin.

Game grub: check.
Supplies: check.
Sweet costumes: check.
Dice: check.

Let's get this show on the road.]

SECTIONS:
- Day 1: Mingling ==> Beginning the Adventure
- Day 2: In which minor complications arise
- Day 3:

Comments

DAY 1 - PREGAME MINGLING

[ar0se]

[You are standing either outside or just inside the entrance to the Insolitus. Outside, people are gathering and making last-minute preparations, and a few refreshments have been provided.

Inside, a large grey grub is wriggling on the floor, in the process of laying a surprising number of pearly eggs covered in purple slime.

There is a sign-in sheet at the refreshment table. It will be assumed everyone has signed in unless you specifically say otherwise.]

[bostrumite]

[Gibson is there, he's worked out (with the help of Kevin Flynn) who his character is and what place he has in this imaginary world, and he probably stands out quite well in his glowing clothes.

The only setback is that he's eyeing those grubs with an almost-terrified look on his face.]

What are those? Are they supposed to be here? Do you want me to kill them?

[covetly]

Kill them? But I don't think the game has started yet. [ oh babby nooo♥ don't be scared of the slimy things! ]

[bostrumite]

[But gridbugs eat people okay but he'll take your word for it, carefully sheathing his baton (and keeping it in an easy-to-draw position just in case).]

They're supposed to be here?

DAY 1 - JUST FUCKING GO ALREADY

[ar0se]

[Today the Insolitus is populated mainly with small Flarp monsters, all level 1 or occasionally 2. Non-Flarpers will be ignored by them but can still see them. You can tell what they are by the 8-bit flapping bat and health bar over their heads.

Flarpers, let's get learning this game! Non-Flarpers will probably want to start mapping and doing serious things.]

[freila]

[ what a bizarre place...though the weaving tunnels remind him a bit of caracol. which isn't something he really wanted to remember.

those little monsters are kinda gross, though. he's got half a mind to start talking to one of them but they don't seem to very talkative...

instead tatsuya spends a few minutes watching what everyone else is doing (it's strange to him that this is some sort of game when this is kind of like what he used to do in real life, and that was no fun at all). and then he starts cautiously peeking down into the tunnels, contemplating going off his own. someone stop him :c ]

[haki]

[ suddenly popping up behind lskdjfaew ] Oooh, are you gonna go down there? Hey, let's go find out if there's something--!!

[freila]

[ woah where did you come from -- well okay

tatsuya glances over his shoulder at luffy, and then back down the tunnel. ]

...Are you playing the game?

Day 2 - GAME ON.....

[ar0se]

[The tunnels are getting pretty narrow and numerous by now. Perhaps you'd get more accurate results if you split up into smaller groups...

The monsters get bigger and tougher the further you descend into the Insolitus. Where before they were Imp-sized and kind of cute, the new ones are roughly human-sized and a little bit menacing. Horns and claws and sharp pointy teeth and all that. Some bear a striking resemblance to... rabbits? They also bear striking implements. Some bear bears.

... They're still kind of cute, if you're into flickering, shadowy, semi-solid projections of five-foot-tall creepy bunnies. Flarpers may notice the fights getting more challenging and the loot getting more phat. They should also hit level 2 sometime today, with much fanfare.

Non-Flarpers may notice the monsters eyeballing them, even beginning to approach and then changing course a second later...

Oh, and Flarping or not, hope you're not running out of food already. There's still quite a ways to go.]

[derpling]

[Up to bat is the Rainbow Gatekeeper herself, tossing out a gigantic pile of dice onto the floor. They come in multiple sides and, of course, a rainbow assortment of colors.

7d4 = 3 + 4 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 1 + 1 = 19
14d6 = 6 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 5 + 3 + 5 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 41
6d8 = 2 + 2 + 8 + 2 + 4 + 1 = 19
5d12 = 10 + 4 + 4 + 7 + 6 = 31
2d10 = 10 + 8 = 18
4d20 = 20 + 14 + 13 + 4 = 51
1d100% = 90%
1d9/+9 = +5
1d9/9 = 9
Magic 8 Ball Answer Die Says = Rely On It

Oh, also she threw a blue gem cut like a diamond, but she's Meiling, what did you expect? After all the numbers tally she gives a huge SWOOSH of her mighty sword at the monsters, a spray of bullets following it.]

JAOOOOOOOOOOOOO~

[bostrumite]

[It took Gibson a while to get the hang of his new abilities as a "LIGHTSHAFT ARCSMAN", and his outfit definitely had too much glowy circuitry on it to be camoflage--but hey, it was the only class that would let him keep his green coloring and his hood, so it was the obvious choice. Besides, all Grid programs were trained in ranged combat, even if it was with frisbees identity discs.

Over a hundred cycles of fighting Gridbugs was definitely coming in handy here.]

[teds_up]

Wait, come back a little over here-- that's good, perfect.

[totally ignoring the fact Gibson is fighting somewhat dangerous monsters and working on this map hurr]

Day 3 - LAND OF HIDDEN ROOMS AND TREASURE

[ar0se]

[The monsters today are mostly the level 1-2 critters from yesterday, the imps and the human-sized ones, but if you've hit level 3, they're not really giving that much experience anymore. But there's a few bigger ones now - three minibosses, and they're tougher than anything so far. It's not a good idea to take them on alone. They're only a couple rooms away from each other, almost as if they're guarding something...

Oh, and non-Flarpers? The monsters that noticed you yesterday are taking a definite interest today. They may be actively approaching or even taking a swing at you. The minibosses certainly aren't letting you pass without a tussle...]

((ooc: Trying something a little different ths time - this thread has sub-threads. The first three are the minibosses, who all have to be defeated before the Lost Room can be accessed. These are pretty tough - you're not going to be walking out of there at full health, but you will probably level up afterwards. Anybody can make up the monsters' actions within reason.

Non-Flarpers can pull

MINIBOSS A - UGLY DOLL

[ar0se]

[The first boss is ugly. I mean seriously ugly. He's hard to miss - eight feet tall, kind of shadowy like all the Flarp monsters, but it's hard to miss the incredibly derpy expression on his face. His arms are disproportionately large for his body, and he is covered in nubby little projections that turn into spikes when he attacks. He is also wearing an apron for some reason.

Attack pattern: Flails his weird arms around trying to hit things. His arms move fast, but the rest of him is a little slower than average.
Weaknesses: Nothing special. Just that he's big and pretty easy to hit.]

[bostrumite]

[This one's the obvious choice for Gibson, because not only are the other two really bizarre-lloking? He hates orange anyway.

So there's a highly mobile not-ranger pestering this one with green arrows.]

MINIBOSS B - SQUIDBRO

[ar0se]

[This is basically an ten-foot-tall squid... with two rather out-of-place humanoid legs, wearing sneakers no less, among all its lashing tentacles. It has enormous eyes near the base of its body, covered by equally enormous sunglasses.

Attack pattern: Flails weird tentacles around trying to grab things. If your dodge roll fails, you may be flung around the room by your ankle. Cut-off tentacles will grow back (at a 1:1 ratio) unless cauterized.
Weaknesses: Salt, if you've got any. Otherwise just stab it.]

Day 4 - EVERY MAZE HAS A HEART

[ar0se]

FINAL BOSS: COUSIN WHATT

[Our final boss is big and tough! It is like 15 feet tall with pincers for hands and a long, heavy tail, and four beady little eyes that glow red in the starry darkness of the Insolitus... almost bright enough to be seen through its ridiculously long fur. This is like the Giant Upright Pekingese of final bosses. It's definitely got a lot of legs under it, but as they're continually going in and out of its fur, they're about impossible to count.

The stage is big enough to hold it with room to spare - a platform suspended over a gaping chasm by a multitude of thin walkways, leading into tunnels large and small, many of them far off and swallowed by the darkness.

Attack pattern: Goes after primary target with pincer claws, which may grapple. Goes after secondary targets with legs if they get within range. Tail swipes enemies standing behind it, causing them to go flying (quite possibly off the edge of the platform).
Weaknesses: None in particular. Tank and spank.]

((ooc: Aradia will be controlling the monster

PRELUDE / REGROUPING

[ar0se]

[You may have noticed that Apprentice Ikenna has been walking with a limp ever since they got out of the Lost Room. Just outside the final boss chamber, her ankle appears to give out, and she falls unceremoniously to the ground.]

It's no use... I have to stay here. I'll just be a liability to the group like this.

[Of course, she's not really injured. She just needs an IC excuse to bow out of this fight so she can cloud it properly.]

[hulloeverything]

[crouches down next to her]

Are you quite alright?

[ar0se]

[She pauses for a moment, hand on her ankle, then whispers to him.]

Was that in character?