Mad Prax - Beyond Sun Dome (part #14)

From: MOBTOTRM_at_vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au
Date: Sun, 19 Jan 1997 18:32:10 +1100


G'day all,

MAD PRAX - BEYOND SUN DOME (part #14)

SCENE SIXTEEN I. The Giant Cradle
The final scene of this tournament allows the characters to take part in a great historical event; an event which marked the beginning of the Hero Wars and the close of the Third Age of Glorantha. This event is simply known as "The Cradle".

*IMPORTANT NOTE!*
The idea behind this combat is to make it epic and heroic, rather than devolve into a endless dice-rolling stat-fest. Run the events with this end in mind. Hell, if you want to (and your players don't mind), you can even run this as a story-telling session and largely ignore the stats. The main thing is that the characters have a good time...

II. The Cradle Draws Near
It is now noon, of Wildday, Harmony Week, Season season (full moon). By now, the Storm of the night before has totally blown itself out, and Yelm once again shines over the golden fields of Sun County. Everyone sweats under their armour in the hot sun, wondering what has happened to the Cradle?

Suddenly, a pair of vrok hawk scouts fly in and land on their priests' shoulders. The news soon spreads that the Cradle is on its way. Several other familiar birds fly off to have a look, including Invictus's ally "Tercel" who asks Bob if he's coming. The birds on the wing get a magnificent aerial view of the Cradle.

The point where a stream flows into the river is marked by a huge white boulder. As the Cradle passes this point, Bob and the birds notice a group of perhaps a dozen figures leap up into the sky from cover, flying on miniature whirlwinds. They leave behind the curious circluar depressions in the fields. The figures fly over to the cradle and embark on its deck.

Note: if Mad Prax wasn't killed or detained previously, Bob notices a large alticamelus in the field.

Minutes later, the Cradle hoves into the army's view round the bend.   

The Cradle is about 125 meters long, and sits about 20 meters above the water, which churns magically to propel the Cradle along. From far away it looks like a toy wooden boat carved from a single piece of wood, with alternating wide and narrow rings visible in the rich grain. Huge carved dragon heads with glowing eyes rise up from the stem and stern, and other faces are carved around the hull, along with runes and sigils.

Visible only from above, Bob can report that the deck has a transparent cover in it. Below a gigantic baby girl (SIZ 100) and an immense sow (SIZ 50) rest on straw in separate compartments. Occasionally the baby lifts the sow out of its stall and suckles from it as if it were a giant milk bottle. There are approximately fifty or sixty human defenders on the deck too, hurriedly preparing for the Sun Dome assault. In the water below, a number of water creatures (newtlings, ducks, intelligent fish and river folk) accompany the vessel.

As the Cradle draws closer, it becomes obvious that it has seen a lot of action upriver. The hull is scorched and marred, and many of the carved heads on it have been burned off. A huge boulder sits squarely in the middle of the transparent deck, causing a long crack across it and the charred remains of a fabric tarpaulin that once shielded the infant from the sun now flutters fitfully in the breeze. The whole deck appears scorched and seared (during one of their numerous assaults, the Lunars tipped a huge vat of boiling oil onto the Cradle from the Pavis bridge, as well as the boulder).

III. The Hawks vs. The Crows
A number of flying creatures swarm above the Cradle, familiars of the defenders acting as lookouts over the Sun Dome forces. Tercel, the ally of Lord Invictus, orders Bob and the other vrok hawks to attack them and force them down. Play this like a scene out of top gun, with Tercel as Tom Cruise.

Bob gets fight Adelaide, the crow ally of a Lhankor Mhy priest. Adelaide is no fighter, and instead wants to return to her master on the deck as swiftly as possible. It takes her 10 melee rounds to get within arrow range of the Cradle, and 2 more to get within spell range. If Bob follows her in, he gets all manner of missile weapons and spells lobbed at him the Cradle defenders. After each flying attack on his prey, Bob must circle for 1d3 melee rounds.

Adelaide the Crow
Allied Spirit of a Lhankor Mhy Sage aboard the Cradle.

STR	01
CON	03
SIZ	02
INT	18
POW	15
DEX	24

Move: 1/10 flying
Fatigue: 4
Hit Points: 3
Magic Points: 15 + 19 master
DEX sr 1 + SIZ sr 3 = 4
Dodge: 85%

weapon sr attk/par% damage Enc/AP

Spirit Magic (75%): Mindspeech 6, Countermagic 3, Protection 5, Disrupt (1), Heal 3, (known by master, and not all that useful right now) Detect Parchment (1), Detect Vellum (1), Detect Ink (1), Detect Magic (1), Detect Spirits (1), Detect Fossil (1), Detect Blood (1), Detect Life (1), Detect Water (1), Detect Gold (1), Detect Virgin (1), Detect Wine (1), Detect Undead (1), Detect Glass (1), Detect Detection (1).

Divine Magic (one use): Heal Wound x1.

Skills: Dodge 85%, 6th-Century Pelorian Literature 93%.

Note: Adelaide's one concern is to get back to the Cradle deck. If attacked, she casts her Protection and Countermagic, then Disrupts her foe, hoping to knock out a vital location (eg. a wing).

IV. Target Shooting
As the Cradle draws closer, the PCs are directed to their positions on the bank. Meanwhile the archers rake the deck of the Cradle with Multimissiled arrows. Then, there is a tremendous TWANG as a great arrow launches itself out of the spear-throwing machine. It travels through the air in a graceful arc, trailing the chain behind it. The harpoon embeds itself firmly in the hull of the Cradle and the Templars give a rousing cheer!

Three minutes later another volley of arrows is accompanied by the next harpoon; and three minutes after that it is repeated again. All three arrows strike their target; a more a consequence of the enormous size of their target than attribute to accuracy of the machine's crew. Once all the harpoons have hit home, the teams of oxen pull taut the connecting chains, in order to drag the Cradle into shore. As they watch this, a junior Light Servant (acolyte) arrives to bless them, and casts the following spells:

On Yelanda, Sarshas and Melo Yelo: Coordination 3 (raises DEX by 6 points, and thus all DEX x5 rolls by 30%, and DEX-based skills by 6%).

On Melo Yelo: Protection 6.

On Mars: Multimissile 4 on his first arrow, and Speedart on 3 more.

Bob misses out. Once his job is done, the acolyte (his magic points are gone) returns to the Count's entourage on the bluff.

Next: The Assault on the Cradle!



>From the Notes From Nochet files:

(XXIX.71/nat,bio,tar,mor) "Good principles and feelings are extinguished in him. He loves himself, his own convenience and his pleasures. He distrusts everyone, suffers from extreme weakness of mind, and is tyrannized over by constant fear of death." Attributed to Dagius Furius, Chief of Lunar Intelligence, describing King Moriades of Tarsh.

End of Glorantha Digest V4 #100


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