In the parched, rocky desert, where dry winds blow dust from one hill to another, there was a gnoll.You, the gnoll, were a slave. You scarcely remembered the time when you weren't. A trial of power lost and your fate sealed by the leader of the pack was everything you could gather from your early years. You were weak then.Years of labour in the copper mines and oasis farms made you strong. Those that couldn't become strong didn't survive here.In your time at this and several other work camps, you learned some things from fellow gnolls that could be useful in later life... (pick up to 2 skills or none at all)>You were not allowed a weapon, but you learned from a disgraced martial artist the traditional gnoll ways of combat. (You learned barehanded close quarters combat used against both armed and unarmed enemies)>You learned from a priest, branded and enslaved for malicious magic, the heresy of Razzalbewz - the worship of demons and the basic seals that grant its warriors their strength. It has been spreading in the past decades among the gnolls, but the old faith remains strong. (You learned seals - signs associated with demonic lords that, when worn with a cloth, cut or otherwise born on the body, grant supernatural powers. It is, however, a dangerous craft, working with powers many civilizations consider evil...)>You learned the craft of storytelling and bargaining from a traveller that visited even human lands, enslaved upon returning to his homeland for betrayal of the pack. You enhanced this ability by trading stories with other gnolls. (You will be a decent talker, capable of negotiating even with men that would otherwise kill you.)>Write-in?Through luck and perseverance, you lived to escape enslavement. The rebellion was quick and brutal. Seizure of ill-protected blades from guards, deep in the night. Murder of the slavers. Looting of the camp. Then, freedom. The gnoll slaves scattering, like desert winds.What did you loot, if anything, from the guards? (as previously, pick up to 2)>A weapon. Gnoll weapons are a crude craft, but they do their job. (specify what kind of weapon. Perhaps the simple, effective spear? Or the powerful sword? Or something ranged?)>A book. A rare find among the mostly illiterate gnolls. The shaman of the camp, keeping the magic users inside in check, died from a simple strike to the head. You couldn't read, but perhaps there was knowledge there that would open up paths in the future.>A steed. Desert gnolls ride giant lizards and camels to battle. This animal, however, is meant not for riding, but for hauling large shipments of goods. It may not be as fast as a war camel, but it's better than travelling on foot. (specify animal: giant lizard or camel)>A bunch of supplies: some food, a waterskin, a rope and an oil lamp - all in a rugged bag.>Write-in(1/2)
Your escape, however, was not without issue. (pick 1 or more)>You got injured - not a fatal, but sizeable wound inflicted by the spear of a skilled guard.>The camp was near the central warcamp of these lands' pack. There would be pursuers - you better be ready to fend off groups of searching riders, if you are to retain your freedom.>Write-inAnd last for this OP, what is your name?>Lmukz>Sogra>Zitt>Write-in (gnoll names and words are usually harsh-sounding. Young gnolls and slaves do not have any nicknames, but gain them upon accomplishing a memorable deed. They function like surnames to distinguish similarly-named gnolls from each other. You may invent one for yourself or go on without it.)
QM message:I will end this quest in 25 irl days AT MOST with an appropriate ending post. If anyone will want retcon and pick it up after that, and the character is alive by then, feel free to go ahead with the continuation.We will paint in broad strokes, sometimes zooming in on particular scenes, the life of a gnoll and his accomplishments. I will try to post every day, but may take longer occasionally. I will notify if I take 2+ days to post. This will be a narrative quest with occasional successes and failures interchanging.If the concept interests you, add the thread to your thread watcher to receive notifications about updates and/or sort the catalog by last reply in order not to miss them.Also please forgive my esl. That will be all. Hope you enjoy.
>>6165574>You learned the craft of storytelling and bargaining from a traveller that visited even human lands, enslaved upon returning to his homeland for betrayal of the pack. You enhanced this ability by trading stories with other gnolls. (You will be a decent talker, capable of negotiating even with men that would otherwise kill you.)>A steed. Desert gnolls ride giant lizards and camels to battle. This animal, however, is meant not for riding, but for hauling large shipments of goods. It may not be as fast as a war camel, but it's better than travelling on foot. (specify animal: giant lizard or camel)>A bunch of supplies: some food, a waterskin, a rope and an oil lamp - all in a rugged bag.>You got injured - not a fatal, but sizeable wound inflicted by the spear of a skilled guard.>The camp was near the central warcamp of these lands' pack. There would be pursuers - you better be ready to fend off groups of searching riders, if you are to retain your freedom.
>>6165574>The Heresy of Razzalbewz>A Gnollish Weapon: Three-Headed Solid-Copper Flail, Lizard-Skin Wrapped-Grip, with Chains of your very own Bondage as a Slave used to restore Broken Links>Lost an Ear during the Escape, & now you find your Hearing greatly Reduced, as well as your Balance Faltering>Luggsk
>>6165574>You learned from a priest, branded and enslaved for malicious magic, the heresy of Razzalbewz - the worship of demons and the basic seals that grant its warriors their strength. It has been spreading in the past decades among the gnolls, but the old faith remains strong. (You learned seals - signs associated with demonic lords that, when worn with a cloth, cut or otherwise born on the body, grant supernatural powers. It is, however, a dangerous craft, working with powers many civilizations consider evil...)>basic Literacy! A reading gnoll! Or at least, we can SORT OF read.>A book. A rare find among the mostly illiterate gnolls. The shaman of the camp, keeping the magic users inside in check, died from a simple strike to the head. You couldn't read, but perhaps there was knowledge there that would open up paths in the future.>A bunch of supplies: some food, a waterskin, a rope and an oil lamp - all in a rugged bag.>You got injured - not a fatal, but sizeable wound inflicted by the spear of a skilled guard.>Vukgat (but I’d support another name for consensus)
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6165585>>6165652>>6165774Let me see...Few votes, and quite different as well.Razzalbews seals win, with 2 anons voting for them our of 3. I will roll for the second skill between1 - literacy2 - diplomacyThe unlucky incident during escape will be an injury, which all anons picked. The av7VeObW anon has a good idea about the ear, we'll go with that.For the name, I like Vukgat the most, let's settle on that.As for the loot, let me roll to decide in another post.1 - steed + supplies2 - weapon (flail) + supplies3 - book + supplies
Rolled 3 (1d3)Now rolling for loot and writing...
Drawing elaborate shapes on the sand with his claw, the priest, Dragedak quietly explained."This one is for Lazadan, Lord of Thirst. He grants his blessing to those aiming to achieve greater things, thirsting for power and knowledge. Luck will follow them and their mind will be as sharp as a razor sword. The price is small - a desire for blood. Not sated, it leads to madness - know well when to bear this seal and when it is time to reject it.""This one is for Isitta, Lady of Lust. To charm enemies into submission, and enjoy the pleasure of praise and love. Know that the bearer's mind will slowly, but surely be blessed with stranger and more dangerous perversions of the lustful kind."The priest continued on for a while, describing seals both for combat and for other pursuits. At last, he reached the end of his lecture."All of these are not complete. Don't draw them idly - for something like this may happen."He connected two small lines on one of the seals, and immediately, the small alcove where you were meant to sleep this deep into the night, filled with unbearable, infernal heat. The priest put a cross on the seal after a few seconds."Go to sleep, now." he told you. "You will have ample time to learn these signs."You nodded and curled up on the dusty floor. Your muscles ached from the day's work, yet instead of the usual tired darkness, that night you saw dreams of heat, pained cries and horned figures wandering the hellscape, protecting their domains....Having just left the camp, you check your surroundings. Most slaves went east, where the river - a rare find in the desert - flowed. You do not know where the warcamp is, but you'd wager with the amount of gnolls that you heard it has, it should be near a water source. Perhaps not the river, but an oasis somewhere else. Either way, you'll have to be on alert as you travel - a tough task considering your hearing has not your recovered from your ear being cut off.To the west, you heard from an enslaved traveller, beyond several dozen miles of desert, there are the lands of man. You would be ill-welcome there, especially considering your knowledge of seals, but they are rich, and you could probably kill a few villagers on the frontier to seize their wealth, or, should you decide to mingle with the humans, find work as a caravan guard - provided the guards themselves don't kill you on sight.To the north, as far as you know, there are the mountains. Lands of harpies, dwarves, and goblins. What lay beyond them, the gnolls you asked while in the camp did not know.Beyond the eastern river, you heard legends of a vast and rich land of many rivers, cities and magic, ruled by tiger and dragon kings. However, you also know that separating your from it are many miles of desert - it would be a long trek, and many gnoll packs would recognize a slave by marks from shackles.(1/2)
To the south, several dozen miles from here, is the coast, and on it, the trading cities of desert people. From there, you could sail anywhere - after earning enough coin to purchase a place on a ship.Where will you go next?>The south, towards coastal cities.>The west, towards bountiful lands of man.>The north, towards the tall and cold mountains.>Towards the legendary lands of the far east.As you decide on that, you remember to check the book you took from the shaman's room. It is quite thin, with a lizard scale cover containing parchment on which familiar letters are scribbled erratically. The title is simply "Magical Wards". Should be useful to protect yourself from magic.Your wound still pesters you. The caked blood has stopped bleeding, but it will be a while before it scars.(2/2)
>>6166160>The north, towards the tall and cold mountains.
>>6166124Damn, I was hoping for the flail to win.I'll also support heading North, although the South is also tempting. All the great prophets of history have secluded themselves in caves to receive their revelations, & we shall be no different.
>>6166160>The north, towards the tall and cold mountains.I figure we hide out for a while and autismboost our magic/demon powers until we’re ready to take on the world
>>6166165>>6166336>>6166363>The north, towards the tall and cold mountains.You go north. The river, which you approach after getting sufficiently far from your captors' lands, gives you water to continue your journey.Another trial awaits you before you reach your destination. (pick 1 or more)>Your wound festers, in spite of you regularly washing it in the waters. If not treated quickly, it could bring about your end.>You run out of food quicker than you expect. With no skill in hunting or trapping, you begin to slowly starve.>You get followed by a pack of jackals, with the only weapons you possess being the claws on your hands the fangs in your mouth.>Write-inWhen you face the worst challenges, a helping hand is the most welcome thing. The less grievous ones may be overcome with your own ingenuity or simple luck. Whatever may be the solution, they may cost you, or raise you just a bit higher...
>>6166787>You run out of food quicker than you expect. With no skill in hunting or trapping, you begin to slowly starve.the other options are more deadly I thinkspecially the jackals jackals are nasty
>>6166790Support
Both>JackalsJust fucking coyotes aren't they? Kick 'em.>HungerEat lizards.
>>6166790>>6166802>>6166828Hunger is one of the chief dangers of the desert, a danger you have come to know intimately in the last week. Even with rationing, eating progressively smaller portions, your food supply has dwindled to nothing, and the absence of nourishment has started taking a toll on your strength.The mountains are there, on the horizon. But even should you reach them, with your non-existent hunting skill, what could you kill to eat? You tried hunting desert lizards, but the one you managed to catch was only a morsel for a grown gnoll hardened by labour and walking many miles per day.The fate of death by hunger will not claim your life, however. There is something that helps you overcome this trial...>A stranger, a travelling gnoll with a camel, encounters you and shares some of his supplies. After talking for a while, you find out he is going to the mountains as well. He does not seem to care for the shackle marks, and you start travelling together.>You use the seals you were taught to invoke the power of a demon that could help in hunting, smearing on your chest a sign with your own blood. Your senses honed to the point you could not hope for even with a healthy ear and your body invigorated with infernal strength, you hunt with rabid enthusiasm and manage to catch a few lizards and snakes which you eat raw. The price? A feeling of aggression and hatred welling up within, a thirst for cruelty waiting to be released on the next person you encounter.>You find a hidden canyon, unnoticeable from afar, where a tributary to the river flows. The shade and cool have spawned a fertile piece of land where greenery is in greater abundance than elsewhere in the desert. Here, desert animals drink and rest from the blazing heat of the sun - so long as they do not encounter another threat in the form of a desert wolf in the bushes or a crocodile lurking in the waters. At the centre of the valley, an abandoned building of sandstone stands. You cannot determine whether it is a temple, a fortress, or a structure of some other purpose - trading or civilian. Suspiciously, there is no sign of gnoll activity - a strange fact considering the bounty of the land available here.>Write-inidk if I'll be able to post tomorrow, will probably be busy with celebration preparations for New Year.
>>6167313>You find a hidden canyon, unnoticeable from afar, where a tributary to the river flows. The shade and cool have spawned a fertile piece of land where greenery is in greater abundance than elsewhere in the desert. Here, desert animals drink and rest from the blazing heat of the sun - so long as they do not encounter another threat in the form of a desert wolf in the bushes or a crocodile lurking in the waters. At the centre of the valley, an abandoned building of sandstone stands. You cannot determine whether it is a temple, a fortress, or a structure of some other purpose - trading or civilian. Suspiciously, there is no sign of gnoll activity - a strange fact considering the bounty of the land available here.Hidden danger! Also, no worries about tomorrow, QM - we can wait
>>6167313>GNOLL BRO WITH CAMEL+>SEALS OF THE SPAWN OF RAZZALBEWZDespite the Gnoll's friendliness, our bloodlust drives us into a frenzy. We claim his camel, his supplies, & perhaps even his flesh & bones...
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6167316>>6167323As insane as the second anon's suggestion is, I will nevertheless roll to pick between them.1 - hidden canyon2 - kill stranger
You cautiously enter the hidden valley. The air is cooler here, the river coolness augmented by plant life.Scouting out the full length of the valley, you stumble sometimes upon bones of gnolls, men and even dwarven and elven remains. They seem to increase in number near the structure. Some of the skeletons hold on to their old, bronze weaponry. You take one of the spears for yourself - it will be of no service to the dead.Lurking in the bushes for a while, you spot a rare sight - an antelope coming to drink from the river. You throw your spear upon approaching closer and, miraculously, strike true - the animal tries running, but slows down and eventually drops from blood loss. You approach the carcass and skin it, winging it from what little information you got while a slave.By the evening, you start a fire after rubbing 2 sticks together for what seemed like hours, and cook yourself a good, big chunk of meat at last.At dawn, after resting for a night, you decide to enter the structure. Inside is a large hall, capable of housing 50 gnolls at least, with reliefs of disturbing scenes of battle and dead people of various races. At the end of it, there are massive doors, with no visible lock, but sealed by a glowing magic seal. The inscription above the doors says, in recognizable, but somewhat strange symbols, "There is no glory, good knowledge or great treasure buried here. Only death, both for one who opens these doors and for many others." The inscription seems to be written in other scripts as well.You think you may open the seal with the strength of Carad, Holder of Knowledge, a demon whose dominion is knowledge and magic, if you wish to find out what's within.>Open the sealed gates. It may bring about your death, as the inscription says, but your curiosity thirsts to know what is within. You're already playing with demons - powers beyond your ken. What is another potential danger to you?>You have obtained all you wanted from here - food for the journey and a weapon to protect yourself. Leave this cursed place and continue your journey to the mountains.
Also happy new year to you, anons. Didn't get the chance to write it yesterday.
>>6168860Happy New Year!>Do NOT open the door>Thoroughly loot the dead>Make a rubbing of the seal upon the door & the inscription to contemplate & experiment with later
>>6168920Whatever may be behind these doors was left sealed for a reason. You leave the vault alone and proceed to loot the dead, but not before deciding what to do about the seal and inscriptions.With nothing to make a rubbing of the seal on bar the book, which you're not willing to mar, you decide to leave the seal alone. You do, however, copy the inscriptions using blood of the animals you hunt on page margins.Without any beast of burden to carry your loot, you can't really take much with you. The most useful stuff you stumble upon is some bronze javelins and a spear better suited for your height. You also strap a bronze plate onto your torso.Besides weaponry and armour, you loot flint to start a fire and a small axe - useful for gathering wood.Luck does not follow you with further hunting. You don't encounter any other big animals like that antelope, so you stock up on smaller mammals, lizards and snakes. It takes quite a bit of time to roast them all, but at the end of the day, you've got enough meat to last you a while.You leave the valley and continue on your road to the mountains. After a couple weeks or so of travelling under the blazing desert sun, you reach them, the great masses of stone appearing way higher than you expected them to be.You quickly understand that climbing them would result in much expended effort in exchange for the "pleasure" of entering the land of biting cold and mighty winds. You've heard there are passes and mountain valleys through which most of the mountain travellers go.Faced with the problem of food once again, you travel east to find a valley where you may hunt mountain goats or some other rare denizens of this strange land.What do you do next?>(1) You spend a year or so exploring the mountains. You find many hidden passes, caverns of doom and bounty, abandoned and populated dwarven holds, harpy nests, goblin tribes, and even ancient structures of unknown purpose - thankfully remaining either unscathed or at least not grievously injured from these encounters.Sub-vote:>(1.1) While you may not understand Dwarven, and any dwarves you encounter attacking you on sight, your luck and ingenuity allows you to loot an abandoned hold. Dwarven weaponry and armour may be ill-suited for gnoll stature, but their artifacts may be of use.>(1.1.1) Identify their effects with the seal of Carad? The seal gradually brings about madness.>(1.2) You slay the chieftain of a goblin tribe and they proclaim you their new leader, should you wish to accept such a title.>(1.3) Write-in>(2) You pass through the mountains quickly in order to get to the strange land beyond them that you heard little about.
With the influx of AI quests on the board in the week following Christmas, I think I should mention that I write everything 100% manually without the use of ChatGPT or other chatbots.
>>6169600>(1) You spend a year or so exploring the mountains. You find many hidden passes, caverns of doom and bounty, abandoned and populated dwarven holds, harpy nests, goblin tribes, and even ancient structures of unknown purpose - thankfully remaining either unscathed or at least not grievously injured from these encounters.>>(1.1) While you may not understand Dwarven, and any dwarves you encounter attacking you on sight, your luck and ingenuity allows you to loot an abandoned hold. Dwarven weaponry and armour may be ill-suited for gnoll stature, but their artifacts may be of use.>>>(1.1.1) Identify their effects with the seal of Carad? The seal gradually brings about madness.
>1.1 + 1.2We takeover a tribe of gobbos, then seize an empty Dorf hold & arm our peons with the loot, keeping the choicest pieces for ourself.
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6169769>>6169926Rolling to tiebreak.1 - loot a hold & identify artifacts2 - goblin takeover + looting a hold
The central hall is dark. The only source of light being the torch in your hand, you explore, one after another, the halls and rooms of the hold. In some, ancient scriptures await deciphering. In others - secluded, claustrophobic dwellings of dwarves long dead, standing in contrast to the other spacious, cavern-like halls. Sometimes, merely remains of creatures of short stature, and dust.Dwarven ancestors' monuments watch over you as you make your way towards the deeper parts, where the treasury and dwellings of nobility are. At last, you find massive iron-plated gates with a fair bit of blocky, strict decoration. You insert a large key and turn it around with a great deal of effort, the grating sounds of the lock mechanism echoing throughout the empty halls.At last, you push open the doors to reveal the treasury. It was looted long ago, but even with that fact apparent, there are still piles of gold and artifacts buried in coins.You take every strange necklace, bracelet and belt, among other items of interest, hauling them to the hall where you have set up camp. Drawing the seal of Carad and feeling infernal heat fill the atmosphere, you grasp the arcane knowledge bestowed by the demon lord. Some of the items hold magic indeed - protective fields for the wearer, invigoration for one exhausted, greater strength, a bound spell - and several others. It is a good raid, nevermind the occasional hallucinations you've started seeing and hearing ever since you started using the seals regularly...(1/2)
With a considerable amount of artifacts with you or stashed somewhere, your strength has grown both as a warrior and as a mage. Studying the ward book, you have picked up some spells to protect and conceal yourself. The fate has some more luck in store for you...(You may pick a number + any ONE sub-branch e.g. 1 + 1.1, but not 1 + 1.1 + 1.2. Basically equal number tiers are mutually exclusive and sub-branches require the main one to be picked.)>(1) Your communication with the Holder of Knowledge led you to study the seals deeper, potentiating their effects. Besides them, you have also learned directly from your masters the methods of summoning demons both to be a lord over and those to hold dominion over you. All at the little cost of slowly losing sanity and restraint.>(1.1) You found in one of the holds a magic potentiation array and summoned one of the demon lords [specify their specialization - knowledge, warfare, magic, intimidation, stealth or something else?]. While you may now be a servant, you are, nevertheless, a champion with several blessings from your master. You also sense magic emanating from the point of summoning, as if a beacon or a mark has been placed here...>(1.2) You summoned several smaller demons - imps, hellhounds and the like - to bolster your strength without becoming a slave again.>(1.2.1) You leave with your small army for the north, into unknown lands.>(1.2.2) You start attacking dwarves of living holds in their most remote tunnels, feeding your demons and using blood to make sacrifices, summon more, and imbue yourself with greater infernal strength.>(2) With the artifacts boosting your power, you attack some travelling dwarves and capture one after killing all his comrades. Forcing him to teach you through a mix of demonic charm and continued torture, you learn the Dwarven language over several months - just the basics, but enough to start studying the dwarven tomes.>(3) Write-in. (I try to pick events in theme with what anons are going for, but if you wish to open a new path, I welcome you to suggest it.)
>>6170860>(2) With the artifacts boosting your power, you attack some travelling dwarves and capture one after killing all his comrades. Forcing him to teach you through a mix of demonic charm and continued torture, you learn the Dwarven language over several months - just the basics, but enough to start studying the dwarven tomes.
>>6170860>(1)>(1.2)>(1.2.3.) You terrorize goblin tribes with your growing horde of lesser demons, using blood-sacrifices to conjure more, learning further witchcrafts from their shaman; in a short while, many of the gobbo creatures call you master, wielding the more mundane arms of the dorf-holds, killing & dying at your behest. Soon you shall take your revenge...
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6170866>>6170961Rolling and writing1 - study dwarven tomes2 - goblin + demonic army building
The captured dwarf does not yield easily, but eventually, you make him talk - not many can withstand torture in places with such a forlorn hope of escape as a demonic worshipper gnoll's hidden base in the deep halls of an abandoned hold.You study the language with rigour, dedicating much of the days' time to poring over the manuscripts and codices. You learn much as well - the secrets of runic magic, if not mastery over it, dwarven ways of war and smithing, their customs, the locations of holds of old and those recently founded.Many texts speak of dwarven myths and artifacts, valued among both the dwarven and human nations. They speak of heroes that created them as well.Mardu, Slayer of Dragons - greatest protector of dwarven kingdoms in the age of draconic invasions. He had laid down arms long ago to build a hold of his own - the hold of Gildurwan in the Beasthome Mountains far to the east, where a gem is concealed, holding a portion of the power that allowed him to defeat his enemies.Karkot, Gem Master - one of the greatest scholars that merged gem enchanting and runic magic to create 9 of the most potent gem artifacts in dwarven history, all of which are now considered lost. The same is said of the manuscript collection which tells of the methods he used.Lavadda, Friend-Maker - the dwarven diplomat that forged alliances with many human kingdoms for her hold, which proved crucial in defeating a Witch-King of times past. Her grasp of psyche and emotion - somewhat magical in nature - remains recorded in a book that was taken in an orc raid a century ago.These and many other, smaller heroes and objects of interest, you read about in the dwarven archives.A few forbidden books, sealed in the deepest libraries of the hold you're investigating, and now uncovered using the seals you've learned, talk of familiar topics - the matter of demons and their servants. You learn several new demonic seals from them - those of less-known masters of hell, like Nar the Alchemist, helpful in matters of potions and concoctions, or Xebel, Sky-Soarer, who lends his bird's eye view to those requesting scouting.It takes you 3 years of study to learn all this vast knowledge, your involuntary tutor having died long ago in your captivity. In spite of you trying not to invoke seals in vain, the demonic hallucinations remain and grow a little stronger every time you use your knowledge - disrupting your work and making you paranoid, for you do not know if the cave spiders and goblin bands crawling out of dark passages are mirages or reality.(1/2)
It has been 4 or even 5 long years since you escaped the slave camp. The gnolls live about 40 years, and you're fully mature at 20 or so now - at the peak of your mental and physical strength. Your power is bolstered by the artifacts that potentiate your magical power and skill in war. With the knowledge you gained, which direction do you wish to proceed in?>You will investigate the last location of a dwarven artifact, to grow your power even further. (pick one from above or write-in your own idea)>You will travel to lands less hostile to gnolls, perhaps the cities of the coast or far eastern lands that you heard of long ago. There, you will learn more of the world. You've already learned a language - what is one more, if not a small obstacle to your understanding? (pick the East or southern cities or write-in)>You will make an army for yourself out of goblins and lesser demons, using it first to control the area, and after that - to claim the inhabited holds and their knowledge.>Write-in
>You will make an army for yourself out of goblins and lesser demons, using it first to control the area, and after that...>You shall have your revenge upon those who enslaved you, liberating the other gnolls & spreading a demoncracy with you as president (purely in the demonic connotation)
>>6172878(Thought I lost all my players, glad to have an anon still voting, even with me waiting for 2 days.)Goblins are cowardly creatures. You meet the Cunning Snake tribe, strolling into their main hideout to cries of war and hatred. One after another, they fall to your arcane strikes powered by demonic seals, and it is not until a third of their number is wiped out that they ask."Gnoll strong. Goblins cannot defeat. What gnoll want? Why attack?""I want you submit. Become my army. Give me command."Your grasp of the goblin language is weak, but they get the idea. Whispers spread. After a while, the chieftain, a hobgoblin, steps forward. He speaks in a haughty tone."I not give tribe. Kill me if you can. Survivor takes all."You throw one of the knives you fashioned for yourself with lightning speed. It pierces the goblin's helmet and digs itself deep into his skill. He coughs, sways, and falls heavily on the ground.Silence reigns for once. A few minutes later, the goblins bow before you, pledging themselves to your cause.For other tribes, you sometimes summon demons, sometimes intimidate them by fighting alone, sometimes bring your previously conquered tribes with you. At the end of a few months' worth of recruitment, you have over 3000 goblins and 200 demons - hellhounds, imps and some human-like ones - under your command.(1/2)
A revelation strikes you as you lead your armies into the southern deserts to bring the gnoll packs under your command. The voices in your head - voices of inferno - suggest a way to bring an end to hallucinations. Their source is the will of demonic lords to enter the world of mortals. Summoning one of them will lessen, if not completely remove them. However, that would place you under the influence of the lord.So there are 2 ways forward: succumbing to madness such that you are unable to control your armies with respect and fear, or become a slave to a higher being, forever the general and not the ruler. You curse the fates for offering you this unfortunate choice.However, as you ponder how you may escape it, an idea to worship other, kinder and more honourable gods appears to you. They will not provide as much power, and are likely to revile those previously in service of demons, but they may accept you under their wing should you ask for forgiveness sincerely enough.For now, however, you campaign through the desert, uniting the gnoll packs and avenging your suffering under the Desert Fang tribe.Your war, however, is not without trouble. Something leaves your army much weaker in the aftermath... (pick 1 or more)>You can convince at best a third of the gnoll packs to follow you. They reject your worship of demons and fight to the death for their old gods. The gnolls are not without honour, after all...>A great beast awakens in the desert that takes thousands of warriors and shamans to defeat.>Your authority remains low, madness spawning strange, cruel ideas of bloody mass sacrifices that brings many gnolls and goblins to hate and fear you. Rebellion is at hand...>Write-in
If you don't let people know when there will & won't be updates & it isn't on a very regular basis, you're bound to have them think the qst is dead.>The Great Beast
>>6173131I know consistency in update times is important, but thought a space of 2 days between updates was fine. Wrote so in the qm message attached to the OP. I see how anons may think it's dead with that kind of communication. I will notify every day whether there will or will not be an update from now on.
>>6173131Your legion grows to great numbers over the years - over 10 000 gnolls, goblins and lesser infernals, united in worship of demons. The voices in your head praise your devotion.Marching through the desert on yet another campaign against some of the last unconquered packs, you feel rumbling under the earth. Stopping to determine what's wrong, you watch with horror as a dune stands up, shedding sand to reveal a monster. At first, you think this is just another hallucination, but that idea vanishes once you hear cries of fear and panic from your warriors.The monster is a lizard - a dragon, perhaps, but without wings to carry it into the sky. It stretches for a few seconds before looking around and noticing you. Letting out an ear-piercing cry, it charges at your lines.The battle is chaotic. The elite warriors, led by Ra, your trusted lieutenant gnoll who rose through the ranks with bravery and wit, run to the sides, letting the beast charge through their lines without inflicting much damage. Your less smart commanders leave the regular troops in the way - a welcome opportunity for the Lizard to crush hundreds of them in its charge.The battle begins in earnest once your army surrounds the enemy. Losing dozens of soldiers with every swipe of its claw, it nevertheless fights with vigour and skill that only demons can grant.Javelins are hurled at the enemy, but they do little against dragonscale. Of more use are spells of the shamans, scorching patches of the Lizard's skin to reveal weak points.The battle goes on for hours, many of your warriors dying, yet wearing down the Beast little by little. At last, its movements become sluggish and weary, but it still has one trick up its sleeve.The Lizard takes a big breath and breathes out a toxic mist through its maw. The warriors closest to it try running, but the mist spreads too quickly for them to escape it. Cries of pain from burned lungs and cracking skin is all that's left surrounding it.The mist dissipates with effort from the shamans, and soon, the Lizard is dead. Yet your legion, numbering over 10 000 prior to the battle, is reduced to 3000 at best."Our campaigns will be ill-fated with these numbers." Ra remarks.You do not say anything in response - you know it is true. You can only hope that the gnoll packs yet unconquered and demons yet unsummoned may restore your army to its glory...What next? (pick up to 2)>You order the crafting of armour made of dragonscale for your most elite warriors, instructing the craftsmen in dwarven smithing from those books you read. This should compensate for the low numbers somewhat.>You delegate the summoning of more demons to the shamans.>You unite a couple of the remaining major gnoll packs, restoring your numbers a bit.>A quick raid into the borderlands of man to the west brings in slaves - they may join your cause or remain as workers in the future.>Write-in
No update today, but awaiting votes nevertheless.
I'll catchup & vote tomorrow. You may want to post in the QTG & let them know your posting schedule to get more voters.
>>6175137Ok, awaiting your vote then. There isn't really a posting schedule. I try to update every day, but skip often due to irl stuff or low motivation. I will see if I can get any more anons on board.
>>6173645>You order the crafting of armour made of dragonscale for your most elite warriors, instructing the craftsmen in dwarven smithing from those books you read. This should compensate for the low numbers somewhat.
>>6173645>You order the crafting of armour made of dragonscale for your most elite warriors, instructing the craftsmen in dwarven smithing from those books you read. This should compensate for the low numbers somewhat.Back from holiday break, QM - nice to see that you have returned as well
>>6175392>>6175454Ok, the other anon said he'd vote today, but it's been 30 hours already and it's time for me to write. Hopefully he doesn't hold a grudge about this and votes in the next update.>dragonscale armourWorking on update now. (probably going to be short)
The sound of hammers and roaring fire resounds throughout the camp standing beneath the shade of a desert cliff. The gnoll smiths forge and weave together dragonscale armour - a material ill-suited for craftsmanship due to its toughness, but nevertheless one of the best protectors out of all.You walk through the forges, repeating wisdom you got from the dwarven books. You do not understand much of it, but the knowledge appears of greater interest to the smiths. They had to fashion new tools of stronger metals, however scarce they may be in your vast desert home, but the results are promising. Iron cannot pierce your Dragon Gnolls', as they are now called, armour, and it does not weigh much, letting your most elite troops remain maneuverable.You note some changes of standing between your newly conquered state and those people of the coast that are tolerant enough to trade with the gnolls. They see your sigils, your demonic seals, and silently leave without explaining themselves. Many of the less common goods: hardwood, gems, alchemical reagents - now deplete as the city-states refuse to trade with the demon-worshipping gnoll hordes.The hallucinations are ever-present. For now, you try to use as little seals and magic as possible to slow down your descent into madness, but they will be instrumental to war against other lands - provided that is your goal.What do you do now?>Perform sacrifices of animal and gnoll alike to deepen your understanding of demonic powers, meditating without food and water for long periods of time, gaining the most complete knowledge of demonic blessings and ways to acquire them. You will gain power to both invoke storms of hellfire and open gates to the frozen reaches of Siggren, gain mastery over nightmarish lesser lords of hell, infernal razorwings, and other horrors, whose summoning will lie within your grasp. There is a revelation awaiting at the end that you are probably not equipped to face, and the price in sanity will be great, but this is the final, greatest knowledge of demons that you can hope to gain.>Summon hordes of lesser demons to increase your numbers and raid western human lands for slaves. They may send an army to stop you - let them crash against your wall of Dragon Gnolls, let them perish at the tips of goblin spears, let them be rent limb from limb by nightmarish demons and warriors bearing the seals of hell. Even with lesser numbers, you will prove you can win - against the expectations of your advisors and enemies alike...>The demons have helped you, but you are starting to regret siding with them now that madness hardens its grip on your psyche. Reject them, return to the old gnoll gods while you still can. Perhaps you can still find salvation. Perhaps.>Write-in
>>6176008>raid the coasts for slaves and resources with our smaller army>research methods by which we might safeguard our sanity or transfer our madness to an unwilling recipient?
Realized the options I've given are kind of dealing with a single problem with a false dichotomy of solutions (grow power + insanity or reject demons). I want to let any anons voting to know that the actions written-in by this anon >>6176012 are viable alternative paths! You may consider them a good addition to those suggested in the update itself.
>>6176030Even if it’s a doomed effort, I feel like our demon-addict MC would at least try to find an easy way out so he can keep huffing demon magic without consequences
>>6176012>>6176090The coastal cities boast strong walls - a necessity in a land of raiders that can appear suddenly out of the desert. Enchanted by magic and reinforced by ditches, they are a formidable force for you to overcome - but still less so than the armies of western human kingdoms.Your shamans cast spells, throwing fireballs to weaken the defences and making earth itself rise to pave the way for your warriors. Flying beasts of infernal planes harass the men on the walls while your minions climb ladders. You also help - invoking exotic blessings such as the ability to fly for your warriors, and scrying to determine where the enemies expect attacks the least. A single city, however great, cannot outmatch an army of demon-worshipping gnolls. And so it falls, its riches yours to claim.The other coastal cities do not respond with forgiveness to your attack - there is all-out war now between the Desert League and your ascendant empire. Yet this is not what troubles you most.The madness claims you a bit more each month: you spend at least a dozen hours every week fighting hallucinations and speaking in tongues, the voices in your head urging you to summon your masters - to bring about the age of demons. You order your scribes - slave and gnoll alike - to search for solutions in the libraries of the desert people. It takes a long year of sieging down a couple more cities and inspecting their archives, but you manage to identify 2 ways to reclaim your mind.The first describes a lake that purifies the mind of any unnatural influence. It is recorded to be in the northern lands, beyond the mountains - and their description, previously unknown to you, is provided as well. If the texts are to be trusted, there is wild magic in these lands that thwarts any but the most expert attempts to chart one's way there. Not only that, but everyone who enters them returns changed - if they return at all. The magic also spawns strange beasts that take an experienced monster hunter to take down.Its wondrous places of power and buried treasures are worth it, however, and many an adventurer has attempted to claim them, yet not many have returned. The Cloak of Eternal Night, sought after by vampires, can bring night anywhere its wielder travels, said to be crafted from the dress of night goddess Nokta herself. Adrakith, an ethereal engine that can make an entire city float through air, providing you with a means to bring your fortress anywhere you go. The Horn of Plenty - capable of feeding an entire nation, for the food that it spawns never ends. These and numerous other artifacts have found their way to these lands, and perhaps even spawned their peculiar qualities in the first place.(1/2)
The second way is within more immediate grasp, but still incredibly risky to attempt. The texts describe that should a sufficiently powerful demon worshipper summon a Demon Lord to this plane, defeat them somehow and prevent their banishment back to hell, the worshipper could gradually absorb the power of the trapped Demon Lord through special rituals until they possess enough infernal strength to overcome madness through becoming one with its source.The Lords cannot be destroyed forever, so completely replacing one as a demon would be impossible for a mere gnoll, but should you succeed, your lifespan would be increased and your power matched to demigods of legends. There is no record of such a thing ever being performed successfully in history - and you're not sure you can survive this either.What will you do now?>Assemble a party of the greatest warriors and shamans and journey to the northern lands. You will find this Lake of Peaceful Mind, drink from it, bath in it, and finally the voices and visions will plague you no more.>You need more, better soldiers and mastery of magic to prove a match to a Demon Lord. Spend your time studying any magical tomes you can find, learn the ways of melee combat that the desert people can teach you. Convince slaves you captured to join your armies so you can conquer more, learn more, recruit more - all to prepare for the ultimate battle.>Continue campaigning for now, keeping low the usage of seals and summoning. Construct primitive ships and start raiding the sea - there are many lucrative trade routes there that are exposed to piracy. The eastern gnolls are yet unconquered, the Desert League yet stands - they will fall, and perhaps out of their demise you will learn of new ways to overcome your insanity.>Write-in
>>6176517>Assemble a party of the greatest warriors and shamans and journey to the northern lands. You will find this Lake of Peaceful Mind, drink from it, bath in it, and finally the voices and visions will plague you no more.Seems like taking a dip in a sacred lake might be the trick until we’re strong enough later in life for the demon lord merger. The idea that we might give up demon magic entirely is preposterous, of course
>>6176517>You need more, better soldiers and mastery of magic to prove a match to a Demon Lord. Spend your time studying any magical tomes you can find, learn the ways of melee combat that the desert people can teach you. Convince slaves you captured to join your armies so you can conquer more, learn more, recruit more - all to prepare for the ultimate battle.
