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    <atom:link href="https://tilde.town/~dozens/quest/rss.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
    <title>BASEMENT QWEST</title>
    <link>https://tilde.town/~dozens/quest/rss.xml</link>
    <description>Friends having ADVENTURES! Huzzah!</description>
    <item>
      <title>00003 - polish</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">00003 - polish - Tue, 22 Jul 2022
20:32:23 -0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 22 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00003</h3>
          <blockquote>
          <p>“SHOE SHINE!” Bellows Tea, with a full bodied laugh!</p>
          <p>With a well practiced move, faster than one would think
          giant like Tea could move, Tea removes an object from their
          satchel.</p>
          <p>…at first glance it appears to be a flail without a handle,
          but is actually a spare pair of giant boots, held by their
          laces.</p>
          <p>“These could indeed use a good shining.”</p>
          <p>The boot are spectacularly large, probably a 1/2 size too
          large, in all honest, for even Tea’s feet.</p>
          <p>The boots have gold eyelets.</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>Earrings greedily snatches the boots and start washing,
          drying, and polishing them to a shine. Waistcoat eagerly tugs
          on Tea’s wrist and guides him to the comfy chair, which is
          decidedly too small for his bulky frame. Teeth graciously
          offers him a wedge of cheese.</p>
          <p>Depending on how observant Tea is, he may or may not notice
          that the boots are returned to him with 1 - 3 fewer
          eyelets.</p>
          <blockquote>
          <p>Bending down, Inky sniffs the bottles carefully, mumbling,
          “Creosote, shellac, hopweed … ou, wild cherry liquorice.”
          Then, a little louder to one of the blahoblins, though it came
          out not much more than a squeak, “Might I ask from where did
          you get these?”</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>“Shoe Polish! We Make! Roots and ash!” shouts Waistcoat.
          They seem to only have the one volume.</p>
          <p>“Beeswax!” yells Earrings.</p>
          <p>“Resin!” cries Teeth.</p>
          <p>“SHOE SHIIINE!” they all cry in unison.</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00022.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>00006 - gophers</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">00006 - gophers - Tue, 26 Jul 2022
20:32:23 -0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 30 Jul 2022 19:19:20 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00006</h3>
          <p>Suddenly three anthropomorphic gophers come crashing
          through the trees behind you into the dig site. The first is
          wearing a sash of many pockets. The second is wearing cargo
          shorts of many pockets. The third is wearing a vest of many
          pockets. Each wears a pair of goggles with thick smokey black
          lenses, and a floppy checkered hat that looks like a
          waffle.</p>
          <p>They march up to the zip-line.</p>
          <p>“Out of the way, losers!” Sash cries. It grabs the zip-line
          trolley, and immediately dives off the side of the cliff and
          zooms down into the deep, deep hole.</p>
          <p>Vest introduces itself, “Retrieval Team 70 here! We are
          here to recover the Ginnarak Crystal that is reported to be at
          this location. After we collect all five, then it will be
          <em>us</em> who get to hang out in the Benefactor’s hot tub!
          Not you! Ha!”</p>
          <p>Sash has reached the bottom of the deep, deep hole. Shorts
          starts reeling in the pulley.</p>
          <p>Vest leans in close and peers at you through its foggy
          lenses. “You must be the new Retrieval Team 43. Hmmph. Shame
          what happened to the previous Team 43. Hope you know what
          you’re doing! Would hate to see you end up like them!”</p>
          <p>Shorts grabs the trolley and leaps down into the deep, deep
          hole. It sails all the way down, and joins Sash at the
          bottom.</p>
          <p>“Welp!” Vest concludes with an air of finality. “No hard
          feelings, and all that! After we collect this crystal, we just
          need four more. And then we get to meet the Benefactor!
          Ha!”</p>
          <p>It waddles off and starts reeling in the trolley.</p>
          <p>Meanwhile, another gnome explodes behind you.</p>
          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00036.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>7</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">7 - Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:21:21
-0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:21:21 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00007</h3>
          <blockquote>
          <p>Inky peers down at the hole, and after some time, turns to
          the party. “Do you think they’ve cleared most of the gnomes by
          now, or should we wait until they emerge and grab the crystal
          then?” Gazing at some invisible spot farther among the trees,
          Inky continued, “One of the old miners back at the tavern said
          there used to be a natural maw on the southwestern side, but
          it was blocked when the tunnel caved in many years ago. The
          gnomes don’t waste their efforts on blowing up things knowing
          someone’s already been through them. Chances are there’s only
          one exit, unless this mine is a decoy.”</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>Inky peers down the hole and watches Retrieval Team 70
          approach the kobit caves.</p>
          <p>The maw on the southwestern side did indeed collapse
          several seasons ago. If you know anything about the industrial
          and intrepid kobits however, it is that they have probably dug
          several alternative, secret entrances since then.</p>
          <p>Just as the gophers reach the cave entrance, a large erge,
          muscles rippling beneath its white feathers, emerges from
          behind a boulder and blocks their way forward.</p>
          <p>It raises the feathery crest on the crown of its head, and
          fluffs up its plumage in a dramatic display. It appears to be
          arguing with the gophers. All three gophers appear to be
          arguing back.</p>
          <p>The egre gestures angrily at the gophers’ feet, shakes its
          head, and crosses its arms defiantly. The gophers look down at
          their own feet and shuffle about as though embarrassed.</p>
          <p>They all exchange a few more words and then the gophers
          retreat away from the egre and the cave entrance. They huddle
          together briefly and then start slowly climbing the
          scaffolding back up to the top of the hole.</p>
          <p>“Oh yeah,” the foreman remarks absentmindedly. “There’s an
          egre guarding the kobit caves.”</p>
          <p>The egre below preens and struts about proudly having
          chased off the gophers.</p>
          <p>“Stubborn things,” the foreman continues. “Easily provoked
          to violence. Impeccable fashion sense though.”</p>
          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-08/msg00003.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>13</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">13 - Wed, 14 Sep 2022 10:22:21
-0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 14 Sep 2022 10:22:21 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00013</h3>
          <blockquote>
          <p>Psst, Inky, can you poke your head into the vault, see if
          you can spot any crystals. Also, can you tell what kind of
          gold’s in there? Maybe it’s worth something to nab a piece of
          two for ourselves, you know, since we’re so good at vault
          cracking.</p>
          <p>While you do that I’m going to take a closer look at this
          sword, it’s giving me heeby jeebies.</p>
          <p><em>I cast a spell on the sword to identify its physical,
          magical, and metaphysical properties</em></p>
          <p>“Strange sword, I command thee to divulge your secrets! All
          that you are of, exist in, and imbue from shall be wrought in
          words of sorcercy so that the world my see clear what you
          are!” I chant as I invoke ancient runes with my wand.</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>Corraidhín commands the sword commandingly. But the sword
          just rolls its eye and looks at him exasperatedly.</p>
          <p>Hmm. Yes, no mouth. Well then.</p>
          <p>Corraidhín draws on his mastery of Arcane Lore, and sifts
          through all the knowledge he has filed away on magical swords.
          There are so many books on magic swords!</p>
          <p>While at first you guessed that it may merely be a common
          Look Sword, you have since revised your initial assessment.
          Look Swords are minor magical items, and are not quite as
          sentient as this particular blade appears to be.</p>
          <p>No this must be something a little more special.</p>
          <p>It’s hard to tell from here–the water is not perfectly
          clear–but the pattern on the hilt is kind swirly and whirly.
          Probably a Sword of Omens.</p>
          <p>Unless…</p>
          <p>No, it’s so unlikely.</p>
          <p>And yet.</p>
          <p>If the pattern on the hilt turns out to be more whirly than
          swirly, then it probably is indeed a Sword of Omens.</p>
          <p>But on the other hand, if it is more swirly than whirly,
          it’s possible that this may be then legendary Sword of
          J’Son.</p>
          <p>If only you could get a closer look…</p>
          <blockquote>
          <p>Inky nods and peeks inside the vault, while keeping an ear
          open for any sounds coming from the tunnel where the guard
          kobit is currently sleeping soundly. Small mountains of
          ancient gold, some as coins and some in nuggets of various
          shapes and sizes, filled most of the cavern floor. In one
          corner were a few chests overflowing with rubies and emeralds,
          with the occasional amethyst and tiny pink diamonds. Whoever
          had this vault set up has amassed a nice hoard!</p>
          <p>Inky whispered back, “Some good old gold! There are also
          little crystals in one of the chests, but I can’t tell if any
          of them is a Ginnarak.”</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>Inky hears the drunken cowboy Kobit guard snoring gently.
          It whistles adorably a little bit at the top of each
          exhale.</p>
          <p>You peek inside the vault just in time to see the lone
          Kobit guard that went inside to check on the vault. It yelps
          and trips over its own feet.</p>
          <p>Its shoes were untied.</p>
          <p>There are indeed piles of gold, gems, and crystals. Chests
          full of precious stones. A few suits of armor. For some
          reason, a giant clam, mouth open to reveal a giant pearl.</p>
          <p>And in the center of it all, atop a stone pedestal, beneath
          a dome of glass, is the blue and gold Ginnarak Crystal. It is
          the size of a melon, and kind of shaped like one. A lumpy,
          multi-faceted blue and gold melon.</p>
          <p>Flitting around the pedestal are a couple of Aurs. Giant
          ears with bat wings. Very keen hearing obviously. Usually more
          of an annoyance than a true deterrent. Unless there’s a
          Centaur around. Nasty things those. A hundred ears with a
          hundred wings. The size of a small horse. They can really ruin
          your day. Luckily you don’t see one around.</p>
          <p>Finally, curled up on the ground at the base of the
          pedestal, hugging a mound of gold coins like a body pillow, is
          a nude Kobit, sound asleep. It stretches briefly in its sleep
          and when it does, you are astonished to see that it has large
          leathery wings.</p>
          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-09/msg00011.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>00002 - shoe shine</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">00002 - shoe shine - Tue, 21 Jul 2022
20:32:23 -0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00002</h3>
          <p>Blavin provides you with a multibeast for your excursion.
          “Courtesy of the Benefactor!” You pack it up with food and
          supplies, and trek into the Tammineaux Forest in search of the
          first Ginnarak Crystal.</p>
          <p>The forest is lush, thick, and green. You have to hack your
          way through the vines and the brush. There are stinging
          insects, squawking birds, and dangerous forest creatures a
          plenty. It is hot and sticky.</p>
          <p>How will you ever find your way through this wilderness to
          the dig site?</p>
          <p>“Shouldn’t be too hard,” you remember Blavin saying back at
          Lucy’s, gesturing carelessly and sloshing a little bit of his
          fourth drink. “They’re gnomes, after all! Just follow the
          sound of explosions and screaming.”</p>
          <p>Sure enough, before long you hear a mechanical droning and
          some blasting up ahead, punctuated now and then by high
          pitched screams, and you guide the multibeast in that
          direction.</p>
          <p>Suddenly you are ambushed by a troop of blahoblins! Awful
          looking things. Taut rubbery gray skin. Long flat noses stick
          out way far from their faces. And so do their protruding,
          lipless mouths full of sharp pointy teeth. You didn’t hear
          them over the noise of the shrieking parrots and, in the
          distance, the shrieking gnomes.</p>
          <p>“SHOE SHINE!!” the first one yells. It is wearing a gold
          ring on each finger (minus the three fingers it is missing),
          two in each ear, and one in its nose. It is dragging a vat of
          black polish nearly as tall as it is.</p>
          <p>“SHOE SHINE!!” a second one agrees. It is wearing a nice
          waistcoat with large gaudy buttons, and a nice looking pocket
          watch on a gold chain. It is dragging a comfy looking chair
          stuffed with bits of fluff and leaves and fur.</p>
          <p>A third one screams, “SHOE SHINE SHOE SHINE!” It has
          several gold teeth and carries a huge block of cheese secured
          to its back with long loops of hempen rope.</p>
          <p>The fourth and final one is wearing what looks like freshly
          painted red shoes and is carrying a lit torch. “SHOE
          SHIIIIINE!” it screams. It is wearing a gold medallion on a
          gold necklace.</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>00001 - we meet in a tavern</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">00001 - we meet in a tavern - Tue, 20
Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 20 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00001</h3>
          <p>“Congratulations!” The slightly tipsy hobbit grins and
          salutes you with his martini. “On Retrieval Team 43’s
          inaugural mission! I’m so excited for you, I’m sure you’ll do
          fantastic!”</p>
          <p>You are all seated around a table in the corner at Lucy’s
          Basement. It is dimly lit and fairly noisy. The walls are
          covered in red velvet curtains, and the tablecloths have
          little gold tassels. A cloud of purple smoke from candles,
          cigars, and pipes hangs in the air. Waiters bustle between
          tables refilling drinks.</p>
          <p>“So to recap, the Benefactor has tasked you with retrieving
          the five fabled Ginnarak Crystals. I, Blavin Blandfoot, will
          be your case manager. You will be paid handsomely for each
          crystal you retrieve. And if you retrieve all 5, you’ll get to
          meet the Benefactor at be their guest at their <em>glorious
          mansion!</em>”</p>
          <p>“The first crystal has been spotted near a Gnomish dig site
          in the Tammineaux Forest, just east of here.”</p>
          <p>“I recommend getting started right away!” He polishes off
          his drink and squints at his empty glass. “Well, maybe first
          thing in the morning. Waiter!”</p>
          <ul>
          <li>Who are you?</li>
          <li>What role do you think you will fill on the team?</li>
          <li>What do you plan to do with your cut of the money?</li>
          </ul>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>00005 - gnomes</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">00005 - gnomes - Tue, 25 Jul 2022
20:32:23 -0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 25 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00005</h3>
          <blockquote>
          <p>As the blahoblins were packing up, Inky persuades Waistcoat
          to sell a few small bottles of shoe polish, a roughly round
          piece of broken glass and scraps of cheesecloth from the
          mountain of debris previously on the ground. Inky rolls Do
          Anything 1 and rolls a 4.</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>Inky successfully persuades Waistcoat to sell a few baubles
          and trinkets with the first roll of the game!</p>
          <p>They haggle back and forth a little bit, and Inky ends up
          paying a little more than they wanted to, but they get all the
          stuff they wanted. Yay commerce!</p>
          <p>Having concluded business, the blahoblins pack up and
          disappear into the bushes toting their chair, cheese, and vat
          of polish.</p>
          <p>The sound of mechanical droning and periodic explosions
          compel you forward to the dig site.</p>
          <p>It is easy to find.</p>
          <p>It is a large hole blasted deep into the ground. There are
          drills, and conveyor belts, earth moving machines, and all
          kinds of gadgets and gizmos, the purpose of which is not
          always readily apparent. And there is a zip line that seems to
          be the only way down to the bottom.</p>
          <p>The site is absolutely teeming with gnomes. Diminutive
          humanoids with bright red noses and long, long ears, and long,
          nimble fingers. All gnomes are compulsive tinkerers and
          mechanics, and build fantastic contraptions. All gnomes are
          women, and are all highly explosive. Which makes their
          combustion powered machines extremely dangerous, both for
          themselves and for any unfortunate bystanders close enough to
          get caught in the blast.</p>
          <p>A gnome in a white hat comes running up to you. “You there!
          Hey! Yes, you!”</p>
          <p>“Are you the retrieval team? We’ve been expecting you! The
          whole dig is halted because we accidentally blasted into a
          whole nest of Kobits, and they won’t let us get near to keep
          digging! They keep sabotaging our machines when we try!”</p>
          <p>“They also stole the Ginnarak Crystal that we found! That
          thing could have powered such glorious new machines!” She
          pouts.</p>
          <p>In the background, a gnome who had crawled half way into a
          coal bin in the side of some kind of excavator suddenly
          scrambles quickly out, smoking, and runs around in circles in
          a panic. Nearby gnomes dive out of the way as she erupts in a
          small ball of fire. The gnomes wait for the smoke to clear and
          then immediately return to working on the contraption.</p>
          <p>The foreman continues talking to you as though nothing
          happened. She leads you over to the edge of the hole and
          points to the bottom.</p>
          <p>“The entrance to their cave is right down there! The zip
          line is the second fastest way down.”</p>
          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00035.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>9</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">9 - Fri, 19 Aug 2022 07:16:14
-0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2022 11:24:41 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00009</h3>
          <blockquote>
          <p>Inky smiles at Corey. “Hullo! We’re the waterworks crew
          from the neaby town, here to check the outhouse tunnels,
          inspect all the pipes and so on. We received reports of a
          blockage somewhere inside the networks. Have the tunnels been
          flushing well lately?” While speaking, Inky flashes a
          waterworker’s ID briefly at the kobit before pocketing it and
          pulling out a pressure gauge, giving the little handle on one
          side of the device a few cranks, and looking back at Corey
          expectantly.</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>Corey slowly blinks its eyes. “Inspektor?”</p>
          <p>ASIDE: I rolled for Inky and rolled a six, which according
          to the rules means GREAT SUCCESS, and also Inky gets to Level
          Up: they gain the skill Persuasive 2.</p>
          <p>“Of course! Inspektors! Yes, yes, right this way! A
          surprise inspection, how exciting!”</p>
          <p>Corey continues to chatter excitedly as it leads you
          further into the branching, winding tunnels, pointing out
          particular bits of stonework and engineering, and also baubles
          and trinkets and fossils and artifacts that the kobits
          uncovered in the process of digging their tunnels.</p>
          <p>Your tour eventually brings you into a large cavern with
          tunnels exactly like the one from which you just entered
          branching off in all directions. It makes you dizzy to think
          of finding your way through this labyrinth without a
          guide.</p>
          <p>In the middle of the cavern is a deep pool with a fountain.
          At the bottom of the pool, a SWORD is thrust into the ground
          almost up to its hilt. A large jewel set deep in the pommel
          rolls around like an eye in a socket and tracks your movement
          around cavern. A few bubbles float up to the surface of the
          pool.</p>
          <p>And set into the wall on the far side of the room is a
          massive stone door reinforced with thick iron bands. There is
          a keypad and a small printer on the wall next to it.</p>
          <p>“….and so our tour concludes here in the central atrium!”
          Corey concludes excitedly. “Behind this door is the VAULT,
          where we keep all the valuables. Gemstones, gold, crystals, et
          cetera.”</p>
          <p>“Top notch security!” Corey exclaims tapping the keypad.
          The printer spits out a square of paper. It reads</p>
          <pre><code>ed v1.16
*
?
*
?
*e door
19
*,n
1    the door is Locked
*wq</code></pre>
          <p>“Ha ha!” Corey shakes its head in amazement. “I have no
          idea how this thing works!”</p>
          <p>The eye in the sword watches as Corey clips the small
          printout to its clipboard.</p>
          <p>“Now, I trust you’ll find that everything was in tip-top
          order! Yes, indeed!” Corey wriggles its mustache proudly. “Now
          if you’ll excuse me,” it flips through the pages on its
          clipboard, “I am late for my next appointment. Good day!”
          Corey turns and walks toward one of the twisty little
          passageways, all alike.</p>
          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO?</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-08/msg00016.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>12</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">12 - Fri, 09 Sep 2022 16:44:58
-0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 2022 16:44:58 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00012</h3>
          <blockquote>
          <p>Harrumph I say as I billow out my mustache. I know exactly
          what this is, I’ve seen these silly terminals at the wizarding
          academy. Fascinating little babbles really, not that easy to
          use, and I find they’re easier to melt with a well placed
          fireball or two, but I think I can get us past without that.
          Now I might need someone to cover for me if that Kobit catches
          onto what I’m doing, and I’ll say the weird sword is starting
          to creep me out a bit.</p>
          <p>Corraidhin approaches the terminal, cracks his knuckles,
          and enters: 1,$p</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>The printer spits out a piece of paper:</p>
          <pre><code>The door is Locked</code></pre>
          <blockquote>
          <p>Corraidhin stares at the paper. Well, that’s not right, the
          door’s only partially closed. Preposterious thing.</p>
          <p>That’s okay, I know how to fix this.</p>
          <p>19 c there is no door, there never was, and never will be.
          Also the Kobit guard forgot to tie his shoes. . w 1,$p</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>The printer spits out a slip of paper.</p>
          <pre><code>there is no door, there never was, and never will be. Also the Kobit guard forgot to tie his shoes.</code></pre>
          <p>With a soft pop, the thick stone door vanishes.</p>
          <p>The sword at the bottom of the pool widens its eye in
          surprise.</p>
          <p>Nothing remains between you and the interior of the
          vault.</p>
          <p>Some light from the hall spills in and glints off what
          appears to be a mound of gold, gems, and crystals. The rest of
          its contents are hidden from view unless you venture
          inside.</p>
          <p>You can still hear the guard kobit in the passage, now
          whistling a warbling, lamentful tune. It sounds dangerously
          close. Best get a move on if you want to avoid a
          confrontation.</p>
          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
          <blockquote>
          <p>While the wisened scholar inspects the vault door, Inky
          walks a few steps from the antechamber to meet the Kobit
          guard, pressure gauge and tiny notebook in hand. Inky proceeds
          to ask them about water flow sounds in the surrounding area,
          water stains, signs of potential pests that could damage the
          pipes, and other rather boring elements pertaining to modern
          Basmentia burrow plumbing.</p>
          <p>After a while, seeing as they have been conversing for some
          time, Inky pulls out two small bottles of chilled arrowroot
          beer from a waist pouch and offers one to the Kobit guard.</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>The big guard kobit’s eyes start to glass over as Inky goes
          on about water pressure and structural integrity.</p>
          <p>But it does graciously accept a bottle arrowroot beer.</p>
          <p>“Well, golly, don’t mind if I do!” It cracks the lid off,
          toasts to your health and takes a long swig.</p>
          <p>“Aaaaaaaah! That hits the spot!”</p>
          <blockquote>
          <p>Corraidhin absentmindedly inspects the terminal and door
          while Inky converses with the guard. He’s utterly distracted
          and talking to himself.</p>
          <p>By the gods, it’s gone. Just like that! I thought it’d
          fizzle or something, but it’s gone! I wonder what else I can
          do with this thing.</p>
          <p>Corraidhin wanders back to the terminal and enters another
          command.</p>
          <p>19 c The wise and elderly Corraidhin is now a young and
          dashing rogue, with a very nice hat. .</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>The printer spits out a slip of paper:</p>
          <pre><code>?</code></pre>
          <p>Maybe the ed terminal only has jurisdiction over the door
          to the vault.</p>
          <p>Or maybe the machine, the universe, or whatever, is telling
          you not to push your luck.</p>
          <p>By now the big guard kobit, lulled by Inky’s questions and
          finally sedated by the alcohol, is slumped and snoring softly
          in the mouth of one of the twisty little passages.</p>
          <p>You stand before the open vault under the ever watchful
          gaze of the sword at the bottom of the pool of water in the
          center of the room.</p>
          <p>WHAT DO</p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>meta</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">meta - Tue, 23 Jul 2022 20:32:23
-0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="meta">META</h3>
          <p>This might be a good time to introduce the game
          mechanic.</p>
          <p>For the most part, if you say you do something, it just
          happens.</p>
          <p>But if you want to do something risky, and/or if the
          outcome is uncertain, you can roll a number of six-sided
          dice.</p>
          <p>I’d like to try using the <em>Shoes in the Dark</em>
          rules:</p>
          <p><a href="https://dozens.itch.io/shoes-in-the-dark"
          class="uri">https://dozens.itch.io/shoes-in-the-dark</a></p>
          <p>Basically, everybody currently has the skill “Do Anything
          1”, which means if you want to ‘do anything’, you can roll 1
          die.</p>
          <p>On a 1 - 3, things go poorly. (And you gain 1 experience
          point. More on that in a bit.)</p>
          <p>On a 4 - 5, you do the thing, but at a cost, or with a
          complication, or it’s just a partial success.</p>
          <p>On a 6, full success!! Yay, you!!</p>
          <p>(When rolling multiple dice, you read the single highest
          roll.)</p>
          <p>Here’s where stuff gets fun. If you roll all sixes (so, 1
          six on a 1d6 roll, 2 sixes on a 2d6 roll, etc.) then you
          ‘level up’ and get a new skill. The new skill A) is a subset
          of the skill/action you just performed and, B) increases that
          skill by one.</p>
          <p>e.g. I challenge a mugwump to a pie eating contest and roll
          Do Anything 1. I roll a six, so I win the contest! And also I
          gain a new skill, Belly Of Steel 2.</p>
          <p>Finally, every time you fail a roll (by rolling 1 - 3) you
          gain 1 experience point. You can spend 1 experience at any
          time to turn any one die into a six <em>for the purposes of
          advancement</em>.</p>
          <p>SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN???</p>
          <p>When you interact with the blahoblins, consider whether
          there is an element of risk. If so, roll the appropriate
          amount of dice (1, in this case) and include the result in
          your description. If it’s a success, describe the success. If
          it’s a partial success or a failure, just describe what you
          do, and I’ll describe the complication, or how things get
          worse.</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00023.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>8</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">8 - Sat, 30 Jul 2022 19:19:20
-0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 18 Aug 2022 11:47:09 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00008</h3>
          <blockquote>
          <p>Inky blinks down at their pinecrab apple leather boots
          consideringly. “Tea’s got the fanciest footgear, but at least
          we aren’t sporting fetid foot fungi like stockings. Maybe we
          could persuade the egre to let us through? It might set us
          back half a day trying to find any kobit holes that aren’t
          just non-portable potties.”</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>You look down at your boots. How serendipitous that you
          just had them shined by the blahoblins! You feel confident in
          your footwear.</p>
          <blockquote>
          <p>Corraidhín: I may have a solution to the Egre problem. I
          gesture grandly, as it so happens I always come prepared for a
          fashion show.</p>
          <p>With a grand gesture I cast a spell to transform my robes
          into a stunning suit, complete with top hat, monocle, and
          cane</p>
          <p>I’m certain we can convince the fine fellow to let us pass
          if we look the part. Or better yet, I’m almost certain I can
          distract him while the rest of you sneak past, I’ve been told
          I can be quite verbose and boisterous.</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>Corraidhín successfully conjures up a stunning suit, surely
          the envy of every dandy, fop, and gentleman in the southern
          continent, if not all of Basmentaria!</p>
          <p>A nearby gnome gets flush, starts to fan herself excitedly,
          and then explodes dramatically.</p>
          <blockquote>
          <p>“A splendid idea, with an equally splendid outfit to
          match!” Inky exclaimed. “Then, shall we proceed? Master
          Corraidhín, at your signal.”</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>You proceed down into the gnome hole.</p>
          <p>Retrieval Team 70 glares at you from behind their smoked
          glass goggles as you zip line past them. They continue their
          slow, defeated climb up the scaffolding. Vest shakes its
          gopher fist at you and swears, “You haven’t seen the last of
          us, Retrieval Team 43!”</p>
          <p>At the bottom, on solid ground, you approach the entrance
          to the kobit caves.</p>
          <p>Standing guard at the entrance to the kobit tunnels is a
          massive egre, a fearsome bird beast, muscles rippling and
          bulging beneath its beautiful white plumage. It turns its head
          and regards you with one jet black eye and then the other,
          snapping its sharp beak in the air as it tosses its head back
          and forth.</p>
          <p>It looks you up and down, and its gaze rests on your
          freshly polished shoes. It huffs and grunts, “Your shoes look
          clean.” It rests its scrutinizing gaze on Corraidhín’s
          garments. “And YOU look FABULOUS!” it exclaims as it tosses
          its head and beats it wings excitedly.</p>
          <p>“You may enter.” It graciously steps aside with a
          flourish.</p>
          <p>The smallest of you can stand upright in the kobit tunnels.
          The largest of you have to crawl.</p>
          <p>Kobits are small, vaguely mammalian, vaguely reptilian
          bipedal cave creatures. They are scaly and furry, and live in
          tunnels deep in the earth. They have huge yellow eyes, and
          long fine whiskers on their snouts and faces, all of which
          help them find their way around in the dark. They also have
          long, thick, coarse, drooping mustaches. The overall effect is
          that they look like tiny, monstrous, perpetually startled
          cowboys.</p>
          <p>You follow the winding tunnel down into the earth.</p>
          <p>You come around a corner and almost bump right into a
          kobit. It has eyes like saucers and an awe-inspiring mustache.
          It wears a name tag (“Corey”) and carries a clipboard. It
          blinks at you in surprise and then asks, “Who are you? What
          are you doing in here?” Corey flips through the pages on its
          clipboard. “There are no upsiders scheduled to arrive today. I
          don’t think you’re supposed to be here!” Corey glances around
          nervously with its huge eyes and looks about ready to cry out
          for help.</p>
          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO?</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-08/msg00012.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>11</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">11 - Fri, 09 Sep 2022 12:47:26
-0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 2022 12:47:26 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00011</h3>
          <p>The Retrieval Team 70 gophers are absolutely losing their
          minds over the ed terminal.</p>
          <p>“It just keeps printing a question mark!” Vest sobs.</p>
          <p>“Try pushing escape?” suggests Shorts somewhat
          panicking.</p>
          <p>“I’ve tried it! It’s not vi! It doesn’t do anything!” Vest
          moans. “Here you try it if you’re so smart!”</p>
          <p>Sash is balled up on the floor crying, having already had a
          turn at the terminal.</p>
          <p>Shorts carefully steps over them and timidly prods at the
          keypad.</p>
          <p>A throng of beefy guard kobits come charging into the hall,
          alerted by the gopher racket.</p>
          <p>“Here now! You’re not supposed to be in here!”</p>
          <p>One of them trips over Sash, still balled up on the floor,
          and crashes into Shorts’s back, pinning them to wall. They
          squeal. Another guard grabs Vest by the collar, and after a
          brief scuffle all three gophers are escorted out of the hall
          despite their howls of protest.</p>
          <p>“I had better check on the vault!” exclaims one of the
          kobits who remains behind.</p>
          <p>They bang a few keys on the terminal and it spits out a
          slip of paper.</p>
          <pre><code>ed v1.6
19
P
*,n
1        the door is locked
*1s/locked/open
?
*H
no match
*1s/Locked/Open
the door is Open
*wq
17</code></pre>
          <p>There is a mechanical whir deep in the walls, and a click
          and a gasp of air as the door swings inward.</p>
          <p>The kobit slips into the vault and the door swings only
          partly closed behind it.</p>
          <p>The sword in the bottom of the pool pointedly narrows its
          eye at you.</p>
          <p>The gods of Basmentaria observe passively from their
          reliefs in the alcoves around you.</p>
          <p>The door to the vault is ajar, the first of the five
          legendary Ginnarak crystals presumably behind it.</p>
          <p>From one of the twisty little passages, you hear a guard
          kobit approaching, singing a sad cowboy song to itself.</p>
          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-09/msg00001.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>10</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">10 - Sun, 28 Aug 2022 10:06:07
-0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 28 Aug 2022 10:06:07 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00010</h3>
          <p>Once Corey the Kobit exits the antechamber, you are free to
          look around a little bit.</p>
          <p>The eyesword continues to watch from the bottom of the
          pool, and the Kobit Ed terminal continues to await you by the
          vault door.</p>
          <p>But also you notice a couple of alcoves along the walls
          between the twisty little passages. Each of them holds a
          relief sculpture depicting one of the three deities of
          Basmentaria.</p>
          <p>There is Neddas, the wise god of sages and starlight.
          Androgynous, clad in purple robes, depicted with a golden
          third eye in the middle of their forehead. They are shown here
          stoically bestowing gifts upon the inhabitants of
          Basmentaria.</p>
          <p>And here is Nullar, god of time and tides. A bespectacled
          male figure with a golden third eye on his forehead. He is
          dressed in a dapper vest and bow tie, and is adorned with
          small cogs and gears. He is depicted here looking up at the
          stars from a mechanical contraption he is working on.</p>
          <p>Finally, there is Liandt, goddess of war and flame. A
          primal, elemental deity, she is depicted as a fiery warrior
          with a golden third eye. The relief shows her on the
          battlefield during the Artifice wars. The wars which reduced
          Ginnarak to the wastes of cinder and ash that they are today.
          The wars which drained Liandt’s divine energies so thoroughly
          that she fell into a deep sleep and has been absent from the
          mortal realms ever since.</p>
          <p>But enough of this lore dump! There is something important
          happening!</p>
          <p>You hear a shuffling and a mumbling approaching from one of
          the twisty little passages.</p>
          <p>You’re already in one of the alcoves studying the relief,
          so your press yourself flat into the recess.</p>
          <p>Three gophers with smoked glass goggles spill out from one
          of the passages. Retrieval team 70! They made it past the egre
          after all!</p>
          <p>They don’t see you, but head straight to the keypad by the
          vault. They crowd around it and start pressing buttons,
          arguing and bickering with one another.</p>
          <p>The sword at the bottom of the pool seems to roll its eye
          in exasperation.</p>
          <p>WHAT DO YOU DO?</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-08/msg00017.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>00004 - pockets picked</title>
      <author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">00004 - pockets picked - Tue, 24 Jul
2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 24 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[
          <h3 id="section">00004</h3>
          <blockquote>
          <p>“And jolly good polish too, it looks like,” Inky replies,
          squinting a bit at the ichor being smeared onto the boots in
          Earrings’ large calloused hands. “I hear there be some gnomes
          hereabouts? A camp? With your remarkable service, I bet they’d
          be coming to you all the time to get their boots cleaned.”</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>“GNOMES!?” Earrings interrobangs loudly and questioningly.
          It brings its hands to the sides of its face, covering its ear
          holes, and wags its oversized head in dismay, squeezing its
          tiny eyes shut. In the process, it smears polish around its
          face.</p>
          <p>“Gnomes there!” shouts Waistcoat. Its hands busy polishing,
          it tosses its head, gesturing with its prodigious proboscis in
          the direction you were heading. You continue to hear bangs and
          booms in the distance every once a while.</p>
          <blockquote>
          <p>Glarg gurgles something to the effect of
          “gluggurguuuurglaaaachhhh?” Its stance is one of surprise as
          its disposition changes to that of inquisition as its head
          cranes down to look at the blahoblin carrying the smelly rock
          on its back.</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>Teeth looks questioningly up at Glarg and experimentally
          gargles back up at it. “GURGLE BURBLE GLUG GLUG?” It smiles
          apologetically (a fearsome sight, its protruding jaws full of
          tiny pointy teeth) and shrugs and asks, “Shoe shine?”</p>
          <blockquote>
          <p>It attempts to pick that whole blahoblin up and bring the
          smelly rock to its face for a closer inspection.</p>
          </blockquote>
          <p>“WAAAAAAH!” Teeth kicks its feet ineffectively and is quite
          helplessly tied to the big smelly rock when Glarg picks it up.
          The smelly rock smells pungent, sharp, earthy, moldy.
          Definitely could be food.</p>
          <p>By this time the blahoblins have polished the shoes of
          everybody who has consented to it, and are packing up. Except
          for Teeth who is being detained by the earth elemental.</p>
          <p>Red Shoes reappears from wherever they have been this whole
          time with a sly smile and rejoins its comrades.</p>
          <p>Your pockets have successfully been picked while you were
          distracted with the shoe shine, but not of anything of
          particular value.</p>
          <p>What small item(s) will you notice is missing in the hours
          and days to come? How will its absence be a minor
          inconvenience?</p>
          <p><a
          href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00031.html">www</a></p>
        ]]>
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