deercountry | 12 . (player plot) the academy expedition

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12 . (player plot) the academy expedition

Who: Those who are joining Ozpin's expedition! Network post here, or handwave an invite. OPEN to all.
What: A dungeon crawl with optional dice rolls.
When: Throughout October. You can state when your character goes, or keep it vague.
Where: The forest past the eastern edge of Prufrock.

THE BASICS

At the easternmost edge of Prufrock is a stone fortress, abandoned and overgrown. This place was once a shelter for Hunters in times of rampant Beasthood: it is highly defensible and hewn from the same pale stone as the Gate. These days, it's fallen into disrepair, overrun with monsters and choked by hostile plant life.

If the road can be cleared, the monsters evicted, and the damage repaired, this place could become the site of Ozpin's new combat academy and hub for Hunters. That's why he's sending you in.

These prompts will span September 30 - October 30, 2022. Many different groups can tackle the same hazards until the danger is fully cleared out.

HOW TO PLAY

This part is optional. You can always ignore the rolls and just use the log like a normal log.

Each character gets three stats:
Might (ability to withstand physical damage)
Speed (ability to dodge hazards)
Stability (ability to resist Corruption)
If your character is average in a stat, +0.
If they're very skilled, +2.
If they're godlike at it, +4.
If they suck at something, -2.
If you're just being mean, -4.
At each step of the quest is a prompt with dice challenges. You roll a d20, add your character's stat bonus, then use your total to fail or succeed at the task.

Thanks for participating!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

At the eastern edge of Prufrock stands the dark and tangled forest. The road is completely overgrown, but be careful if you hack your way through the plants - contact with the sap will encourage simmering Corruption.

[ For those who touch the sap, roll Stability 10 or higher, or your Corruption will begin to rise throughout the log. ]

As you venture deeper, it grows intensely dark and Sleepers will need to provide illumination.

Lurking at the bases of trees are Imposter Plants, already in hibernation with the cooler weather. If you step on the Imposter Plants, they will attempt to infect you, slowly creeping up your legs under your clothes.

[ For those who step on Imposter Plants, roll Might 10 or higher, or you will grow infected throughout the log. Symptoms include weakness and intoxication as though drunk, and a friend will need to scrub the plants off your legs in cold water. ]

The keep is still flooded with icy, muddy, uncomfortably oily-looking water. Watch out for sudden gaps in the floor that drop into flooded, pitch-black tunnels beneath this level. A Sleeper could easily drown down there. Worse, this water is clearly tainted by the Corrupting sap of the forest.

[ Roll Speed 10 or higher to avoid falling into the deeper water. If you fail, roll Stability 12 or higher to avoid a rapid jump in Corruption. ]

With all this damp, mushrooms are growing early in the season. There is a bounty of edible mushrooms bursting from the floors and walls, and Omens are particularly good at sniffing them out.

Unfortunately, not all of the mushrooms are safe. If you enter a room with Walking Terrors, you will immediately be exposed to their hallucinogenic spores. But if you can manage to pick the caps, they make a fantastic treatment for Corruption...

[ Roll Might 10 or higher to avoid suffering hallucinations of your fears (duration is player's choice). If you fail, roll Stability 12 or higher to avoid a rapid jump in Corruption. ]

the water (parasitic plants, bathing)

[ Ozpin, despite being the one whose idea this was, is not faring well. He sits perched awkwardly on a chunk of stone rubble, his shoes set daintily aside and his trousers rolled up to his knees, trying to soak the Imposter Plants off his ankles. Whenever he tries to scrub the tendrils away, they keep catching at his hands, sticking sharply on his fingers, and he hisses in irritation.

Maybe you should check on him - just be careful not to fall in. The ground isn't very stable. ]

walking terrors (unaffected, available to provide h/c)

[ He rather misses his enchanted hat, in moments like this. Ozpin has his scarf pressed over his mouth and nose as he edges into the room, his cane at the ready and held like a sword. He looks to you, his adventuring companion, and tips his head in invitation. ]

We ought to retrieve the mushroom caps... but be very careful.

Edited 2022-09-30 03:42 (UTC)

Maybe you shouldn't be touching them unnecessarily,

[The man called Lord El Melloi II called from the safety of solid rock, where he had looked up from his note taking with Gray-- the sleek little black cat that was his Omen-- about the path they had taken and the overall terrain they had observed thus far. Scowling, Waver watched his fellow professor for a moment before cursing softly under his breath. His accent and diction were as muddy as the Thames, but that didn't mean he was uneducated and didn't know what to do.]

Let's take a break, Gray. Come on.

[And, standing up, shrugged off the sturdy backpack he had picked up to carry his gear and started rifling through. There was a little of everything inside, ranging from the mundane topical antibiotic salves to a selection of herbal poultices he had prepared from supplies he had spent much of his summer gathering through the trading hubs in town.]

We'll need to soak and debride that, Sir. Then, treat to prevent infection.

[He elaborated, making his way towards Ozpin once he had settled on the simplest solution: a decoction of plantain leaf mixed with honey, both substances known to have antibacterial properties that were plentiful in temperate climates and overall safe to use. It wasn't blood magic by any means. It wasn't even true magecraft. It was merely an herbalist's remedy put together with an alchemist's precision.

Good thing he was educated in both fields.]

[ Ozpin stills at his approach, hands lifting away from the tangled mess of his bad ankle. He exhales a soft breath of irritation, impatience, but he nods acquiescence all the same and shifts to make room for the man to come and stand at his side. The water wells up around their feet, black and reflective in the lamplight. ]

I appreciate the assistance. I'd hoped to make it further in before encountering such difficulties.

We can't help what we can't help.

[His tone was mild as he picked his way closer, gladdened that he had chosen sensible books as opposed to his usual leather shoes. A misstep in this venture could be deadly.]

Honestly, I'm surprised we haven't run into more problems by now. The beach is riddled with crabs, massive moths have descended on the city, I swear there's something in the sewers...

[He was going to need gloves, probably a sterile solution. It was a good thing he had pocketed both.]

I certainly take your point. For all the natural hostility of the environment, we've yet to face any truly unexpected hazards... I expect it will only grow worse as we go deeper.

[ He sits back at the water's edge, rolling up the cuff of his pant leg, to allow Waver access. ]

Yeah, I expect so--

[Waver's words cut off with a gasp as his sensible boots slipped on the wet rocks. For one heart rending instant he stared at the murkey depths of the water, pondering the relative safety of continuing without a guide rope or a walking stick for added stability.]

--that was close,

[He breathed, glancing between Ozpin by the water's edge and his Omen that was warily watching him from solid land.]

I think some mud got stuck to my boots, [he muttered, glaring at his feet.

This was going to be fun.]

[ Waver stumbles, and Ozpin lurches forward, all reflex. This does not get either of them very far: leaping to his feet on the wet rocks only means that Ozpin has to catch himself on the same precarious rocks, and now the two of them are crouched awkwardly a few paces from each other with dark water lapping at their feet. Ozpin lowers himself gingerly down again. ]

I needn't remind you to be careful... we don't know what may be down there, lurking in these depths.

Ugh. You don't need to remind me twice!

[He cast a frustrated and dismayed glare at the murky depths before readjusting his bag. Gray, still safe along the shoreline, stood on alert and mewed at the two of them in a quiet alarm cry.

Were she more like her namesake, she would be able to help with this situation. As it was, she was but an omen... and a house cat.]

Let's just get you back to shore and clean up there. I've got some iodine tablets that I picked up in town to help purify what we use-- if we need it.

Edited 2022-10-16 03:00 (UTC)

[ When Ford first hits the cold water his primary emotion is shock, but there's definitely a healthy dose of annoyance at play. At himself for loosing his footing. At the footing for being so tricky. At Ozpin for inviting him here in the first place. At himself (again) for being a big enough idiot to agree to it.

He finds the bottom of the tunnel he just fell into, then pushes off of it until he finds his way to the water's surface. But on his way up he realizes that... actually, isn't this kind of interesting? It's not every day you get to fall into a mysterious and probably haunted underground stream in the middle of some definitely haunted ruins. And while he's down there there's something he can't quite place, like a rush of nausea that somehow feels good instead of actually nauseating.

When he breaks the surface of the water it's with a gasp and a smile, his mood already having gone from shocked and annoyed to outright giddy. He lets out a breathless laugh as he reaches up to brace his hand against the wall of the tunnel, though he thinks it might not be so bad to get swept away again. ]

Ozpin! Are you still up there?

[ He sounds approximately as giddy as he feels. ]

[ By the time Ford surfaces, Ozpin is frowning down at him in open concern. Nothing severe— this has jarred loose the memory, too vivid, of Stanford dropping into a still and starry lake— but even so, he holds the lantern so that it catches on his startled little frown, and illuminates the flash of Ford's wet and askew glasses down below. ]

I'm here. Are you alright?

[ And, because he can place the eagerness of tone: ]

What have you found?

Tunnels!

[ A pause. ]

I think. It's a bit hard to see down here...

[ The light of the lantern passes over his face just as he starts to turn, and in the split second between the glare of the lantern over glasses and him glancing aside there's a flicker of vivid yellow in his irises. ]

Hard to say what they were for, but they seem quite extensive! I imagine something could have taken up residence down here since they were abandoned.

[ He catches it, and startles. For a moment Ozpin is silent, openly off-kilter. Then, in a more guarded tone: ]

I imagine so. But that may yet be a problem for another day. Will you require assistance in coming back up?

[ There's a hesitation from Ford, during which he is decidedly doubtful about the possibility of leaving the water. Wouldn't it be more interesting to explore down here. Wouldn't it be so much more interesting to just go?

But, no. There are other things here he also needs to investigate. So he nods and wades closer to the wall. There are some handholds he can probably use to get a little higher up, so long as Ozpin can help him up the rest of the way.

Still, even as he emerges he makes sure to add: ]

We should make note of where we are so we can come back later.

[Parasitic plants, collapsing floors, water, and mushrooms everywhere that remind her far too much of the hallucinations she suffered in March. The whole thing is starting to feel like a bad idea to Willow. They're here now, though, so it's too late to go back now. At least after her encounter with Reaper in the Archives, her leg is finally healing well enough for this kind of expedition.

She sticks close to Ozpin as she steps into the room beside him. She pulls her sleeve down over her hand to cover her mouth and nose as soon as she spots the walking terrors.]

Yeah. Yeah, you're right. We should at least try. They'll probably come in handy. Plus, I guess it should make the mushrooms a little safer.

I would provide you magical aid if I could, but I'm afraid that's rather beyond me now. [ He gives a wry, humorless smile. ] In that regard we seem, again, to face a similar issue...

[ There is nothing for it but to bundle Oscar's scarf around his mouth and nose and begin prowling a careful circuit around the edge of the room. The Terrors don't have eyes, but they seem to respond to vibration, and have already begun to twitch and shuffle towards them. ]

[Willow watches the Walking Terrors cautiously as they begin to move in their direction. Just trying to walk up to them and pluck their caps off feels like a fantastic way to get spores right in the face, and with neither one of them having proper use of magic...

Hang on.]

We do have some magic. We've got Puck and Tipp. They could probably get in there a lot quicker and easier than either of us could.

[ Ozpin blinks, and leans back on his cane in open surprise. Then he breaks into warm amusement. ]

As Omens, they do not need to breathe. You're entirely right.

[ Behind him, smoke simmers up and begins to take shape in a constellation of glinting green Vileblood. ]

Perhaps I've neglected to consider his contributions, as of late... we should bear in mind all possibilities open to us. Every team of two Sleepers is really a team of four.

[Distracted for a moment from the Terrors, Willow grins and tips her head in acknowledgement.]

Sometimes I have good ideas, what can I say? We'll still have to be careful, but at least they should make it little easier for us.

[The smoke swirls in front of her, and Puck steps forward as it solidifies around him, and turns to look up at Willow and Ozpin in silent greeting.]

[ooc: And I... have not rolled anything yet for Oscar! Let's wing it.]

[Oscar was doing his best to keep up, and had so far gotten fairly lucky. He had avoided the worst of everything, but he could still feel the aches and beginnings of corruption simmering between them through their shared interconnections. He missed the enchanted hat too-- among a great many other items that they had between their entire team from Deerington. Dipper and Mabels grappling hook would have been nice right now...

He was just glad that he had his endless bottle of water, in case they needed to source it clean.]

We should, [Oscar agreed quietly, casting Ozpin a concerned glance.]

How far do you think we can get?

[ Ozpin considers the distance between the pair of them and the things shambling across the stone. ]

I don't think it's wise to approach much beyond this point... unless, of course, you have a trick of magic at your disposal.

[ The look he flashes Oscar is fond and expectant. Ozpin has lost his knack for precision and versatility; he is no more than any other Huntsman, now. He has only sparse shields and flares of energy, and the promise of Tippetarius in his shadow. If either of them might have a clever move, he may not be the wizard for the job. ]

Only my usual.

[Oscar said, referring to the flighted form Julia Sodder had helped him find. Although he had come off better than Ozpin, with his Aura at least intact and maintaining a small fragment of the magic that came with them from Remnant, he had not had much luck on the magic aspects of life in Trench. He cast a wary glance at creatures that thus far hadn't noticed them-- concerned about what would happen if they ever did.]

I don't think splitting up is a good idea right now. If anything went wrong, we'd really be in trouble.

[she's made it this far with zero problems, able to hack plants and avoid them with such ease it's almost like they're not even real - it could be her own poison keeping her safe from the sap, or the gauntlets viktor had built might just be so good that why hack when you can rip and tear? in any case, violet had become extremely overconfident in this venture.]

All clear up ahea---

[though she proceeds with good balance through the ice and the mud, she's unprepared for the gap in the floor and steps straight into a hole, falling all the way through and down (and down again) - striking a wall as she goes, and landing into a pit of cold, dark water, splintered boards and bits of rock crashing in after her.]

---aaaahhhh!!

[vi can swim, but she can't manage to get her head above water to do so - she's panicked and upended, has swallowed a mouthful of the disgusting sap tainted water, and thrashes about blindly, her head bloody from a falling rock.]

[rolls: speed nat 1 baby! stability nat 20! and a really good success with might. but that 1, oof.]

Edited 2022-10-09 15:41 (UTC)

[Oh damn, that's not good. Lance managed to enhance his speed with his powers to avoid falling into the doom water. But wasn't fast enough to reach and catch Vi ahead of him. He's pulling himself up to the broken boards first and then turns around to look down for her.]

Vi! [He can see her thrashing and bleeding once he makes a small star for light and sends it down.] Shit. Hold on!

[He pulls his backpack off and grabs a rope. Nothing up here seems sturdy enough to tie it to so he hopes that he can drop it close enough to her hand for her to grab. First he ties a secure loop in the end and then tosses it down with precise aim, it brushes her hand.]

Grab on! I'll pull you up.

[perhaps the tainted water recognizes her vileblood as something akin to itself, perhaps it's chance, but the corruption doesn't stick - not with an open wound, not even when she's bleeding into it , a spill of foul floral scent amidst the rot as she tries to right herself, her hand reaching up and out of the water to brush ...something.

it brushes again as she turns, pushing off slime and sediment with her feet - her head bursting through the oily surface at last, cheek numb with her own blood, eyes still closed, but having enough sense to recognize rope (or a very sturdy vine?) when she closes her hand on it.

then she hears his voice. lance? she tries to call out, but she's nothing but coughs - any sort of acknowledgement has to wait until that's over - until the rest of this water is out of her, but she's able to rise up and grasp her other hand, too.]

[He maintains the star as a light source and sends it further down so he can get a clear look at her situation. Seeing her hand brush the rope, he carefully steadies it within grasping range, if she doesn't come up and grab it soon, he's going to get down there somehow.

But then her head bursts through and sees her hand close around the rope. He's already braced to start pulling up her weight, but he doesn't give a good tug right away as she only has one hand on it. For now, he gives it a gentle tug to let her know there's someone on the other end. He doesn't expect her to be able to reply, but hopes she can understand and follow instructions, so he wastes no time speaking up and looking down to watch for her reaction.]

It's tied in a loop! If you can get it under your arms, I'll pull you up!

[that, she can do, through the coughs and gasps, and once under, she's able to give a thumbs up into the light even though her eyes shut with each cough. her eye's gone numb, she can feel it - but at least she can still see out of it.]

[The moment he sees the thumbs up, he starts pulling, bracing and winding the rope around his waist. The process is careful and moderately paced as he doesn't want to rush and take more than he can handle or jostle the rotting wood more. Ugh, there's so many factors to consider here. He raises the star he created up higher so she has light to see but isn't blinded. And then eventually, he sees the top of her head from where he's braced his feet near the edge of the hole.]

Whew! There you are. How's your head?

[she's nothing but coughs - any sort of acknowledgement has to wait until she claws her way up, pulling herself up and over with a precision that seems like one part luck two parts witchcraft - she manages to dodge anything rotting, anything splitting, anything fragile enough to send her back down again. and then she manages a laugh as she retches, spitting up murky water onto the ground. maybe a little onto lance. sorry.]

H-here I am.

[she sputters, trying to regain her breath through another spate of coughs.]

Bleeding, but [a laugh cough laugh] it feels fine. Doesn't even hurt.

[His brows go up, impressed at her precise and smooth way of pulling herself up onto the floor. He himself is a combat gymnast type and he knows skill when he sees it. And the puking on him gets a grossed out look, but he doesn't say anything, having been in that position a few times himself.

He pats her on the back to help dislodge the gunk and water some more and then leans over to try and get a better look at her head.]

Oh yeah, I bet it feels like a massage on spa day. [Flat, dry sarcasm.] You probably have a concussion.

As you ascend the stone steps to the upper levels of the keep, you'll find the damage more extensive up here. Whole rooms have caved in and will need to be cleared and restored. Worse, the floor isn't stable.

[ Roll Speed 10 or higher to avoid falling through the floor. If you fail, you could easily be trapped under rubble. ]

And the most stable rooms are already home to something. Dark and oily spiderwebs, the silk as thick as a human finger, fill the dark corridors. Each Beast-spider is the size of a boar and horrifyingly aggressive.

[ Roll Speed 10 or higher to avoid touching the spidersilk. If you fail, roll Might 12 or higher to wrestle free before a Beast-spider arrives. ]

From the highest level, a turret which looks out over all of Trench, comes an eerie and warped song. It seems to call you up to the final room.

As you climb the stone steps, the song builds and builds. Out the turret windows, the world has gone indistinct, and it feels almost like you're dreaming. Exposure to this song can induce Corruption: those who have already suffered Corruption risk being turned to Beasts and turning on their allies on the threshold of the fight.

[ Roll Stability 12 or higher to avoid a rapid jump in Corruption. ]

At the center of the room is the singing thing, undulating like a jellyfish: it is all tentacles, a hideous bulbous head, and clustered milky eyes. Its paralyzing gaze can freeze a Sleeper in place until the line of sight is broken.

[ Roll Speed 12 or higher to avoid temporary paralysis. ]

The Beast lashes out with stinging tentacles. Those ensnared by the tentacles will feel the song reverberating, louder and worse, threatening to pitch them into Beasthood.

[ Roll Might 12 or higher to avoid being ensnared in tentacles. If you fail, roll Stability 14 or higher to avoid a rapid jump in Corruption. ]

Once cut down, the Beast seems to shiver out of reality, and a sense of clarity returns. The song dies out, and the view outside the windows is restored. There's no carcass, no way to tell whether the thing is gone for good... and it will manifest again, eventually, with the growing sound of singing. It can be fought and dispelled by multiple groups.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

12 . (player plot) the academy expedition

(1/4) The Forest (cw: parasitic plants)

(2/4) The Dungeons (cw: hallucinatory spores)

Ozpin | RWBY | OTA

Water-- wanna do a rescue? The dice rolled badly here.

hell yeah

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( wildcard )

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Walking Terrors

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Walking Terrors

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welp (and help?) looking cute might drown here

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(3/4) The Keep (cw: spiders)

(4/4) The Tower (cw: eyes, tentacles)