We are the remnants. There was a time when our tribe didn't live in darkness. Indeed, there was a great portal of light that allowed our people to traverse between this hell, and the riches of the outside world now unimaginable to our children. Once upon a time, we came to this cursed hole to feed on the bountiful detritus still here, not knowing it was potentially a tomb we'd be trapped in forever.Now, after The Collapse, we've been cut off not only from the light of the outside world, but from our leaders, friends and families, as well. Will we ever see the light again? Will our tribe be stuck in this darkness forever?Our attention turns to crackling sounds from our slipshod nursery, where our newest nymphs begin breaking out of their eggs' membranes. A mixture of fear and hope wells up in the elders watching the glorious spectacle, and we quickly make a decision. We're making our way out of The Collapse.What tribe do we hail from?>The Smokybrowns - An aggressively invasive and sadistically wise tribe known for their adept flight capabilities, as well as their ability to create clones of themselves through parthenogenesis.>Rhinoceros Tribe - A typically solitary and peaceful tribe composed of the strongest and most industrious roaches in the world, capable of digging deep with their large, armored bodies to build extravagant burrows.>Croton Clan - A rowdy and cowardly tribe composed of miniscule fellows who smell awful, pillage and fuck non-stop, and occasionally settle their many disputes (and rumbling tummies) through the art of cannibalism.>Write-in
>>6063991>Rhinoceros Tribe - A typically solitary and peaceful tribe composed of the strongest and most industrious roaches in the world, capable of digging deep with their large, armored bodies to build extravagant burrows.
>>6063991>>Rhinoceros Tribe - A typically solitary and peaceful tribe composed of the strongest and most industrious roaches in the world, capable of digging deep with their large, armored bodies to build extravagant burrows.Aw yis
>>6063991>>Rhinoceros Tribe - A typically solitary and peaceful tribe composed of the strongest and most industrious roaches in the world, capable of digging deep with their large, armored bodies to build extravagant burrows.
>>6063991>Rhinoceros TribeDigging...Digging...Digging...
>>6064046>>6064062>>6064084>>6064465>>6064621The entrance to the Endless Tunnel has taunted our people for an unknowable amount of time. We've studied the tunnels using our folk wisdom, and dug multiple routes to the surface, all resulting in baffling dead-ends or seemingly infinite pathways. After losing too many of our solo burrowers to it, the wise elder Umber-Shield warned us from burrowing in the Endless Tunnel alone, We've not yet recovered any carcasses... Are they dead and lost forever? Did they find the light and abandon us down here? Are they still alive and burrowing, dying of thirst and rot, hoping for help? We leave behind our horde of dark detritus called Hell to venture into the Endless Tunnel with a new resolve, charging fast to return to the routes we think will return us to the light. We are not many, but we are a force to be reckoned with.Deep in the Endless Tunnel, our still-wet and unnamed nymphs follow, exhibiting their bumbling curiosity, travelling haphazardly behind the elders. The nymphs are still unable to dig, with their soft bodies in their first molt. The weight of our naïve children burrowing without experience in agile movement or traversing Rhinoceros tunnels causes a cave-in. Their first collective lesson as Rhinoceros Cockroaches. A natural and beautiful happening in the course of any Rhino Tribe member's life, but this time, it was also a miracle that led us out of Hell.A beam of eerie, gray light, no bigger round than a roach's eye, pierces from the outside world into the tunnel, dispelling the curse that was laid upon us. A few elders are immediately aware, and begin hissing to signal victory. The nymph who caused the cave-in is rescued by elders and named Light-Bringer in honor of his deed. Light-Bringer, like all of his brood, is completely white in his first molt. But unlike the others, his eyes are a dullish red-pink. Odd...
The haunting light burns the eyes of all who see it, and we continually swap between trying to escape Hell and cowering back to it, cradled by promises of safety, darkness and detritus. Anything could be outside... Including certain death. Finally, Chipped-Shell, the most reckless and tired of waiting among us, skitters bravely forth into the light!It's a nightmare unlike any roach could have possibly imagined. The Collapse wasn't limited to the Rhinoceros Tribe in Hell. The entire world has suffered immensely. It's hideous. Dark gray skies and thick gases are inescapable in every direction. The odor is magnificently death-like, but also contaminated by heavy chemicals that offend our respiratory systems. Cratered pools of unknown liquids steam and bubble. Strange figures move in the distance and make incomprehensible noises. Broken, abandoned structures loom overhead into infinity.To a roach, it's just another day.What caused The Collapse? >Massive tectonic shifts caused earthquakes that rushed the world into war, resulting in a nuclear holocaust of nearly everything above ground. It seems the world's creatures are trying to rebuild from the rubble - we can do the same!>Otherworldly sorcery has turned every living thing outside of Hell into decaying and easily-suggestible zombie-like creatures. How do we persist in this doomed world of non-stop chaos?! >Rebel roach factions wanted the bounty of the outside world all for themselves, and tricked the Rhinoceros Tribe elders into exploring Hell before slaughtering the rest of our tribe on the surface. We must resist this attempt at genocide and secure a sanctuary in this bug-eat-bug world!>A technological mastermind has created several inventions that eliminate the possibility of life on the surface. Anything that the light of the outside touches, dies nearly instantly. We must dig our way back into Hell and the Endless Tunnel to find a solution!>Write-in
>>6065316>Massive tectonic shifts caused earthquakes that rushed the world into war, resulting in a nuclear holocaust of nearly everything above ground. It seems the world's creatures are trying to rebuild from the rubble - we can do the same!
>Massive tectonic shifts caused earthquakes that rushed the world into war, resulting in a nuclear holocaust of nearly everything above ground. It seems the world's creatures are trying to rebuild from the rubble - we can do the same!
>>6065316>A technological mastermind has created several inventions that eliminate the possibility of life on the surface. Anything that the light of the outside touches, dies nearly instantly. We must dig our way back into Hell and the Endless Tunnel to find a solution!
>>6065321>>6065346>>6065516>>6065772locked in, updating later tonight or tomorrow
Every species is capable of experiencing absolute societal collapse. Results may vary. This time, the downfall of one species led to the permanent altering of the earth that all share. Most animals met extinction with a puzzled look. Some survived to write a new story. Like us. After the last nymph is accounted for, we march out of Hell and into an oppressive, misty, grey-blue, forested island ecosystem that feels like home already. Nutrients and toxins our tribe hasn't imbibed since before The Collapse flood our systems, first from the smoky air, then the random liquids dripping on the ground, then the exotic detritus that grows and decays bountifully in the ripe humidity of this wasteland. Luckily, gorged bellies march just as fast empty ones in the Rhinoceros Tribe. Pungent tropical flowers, mysterious oozing green berries and writhing soil mites only further invigorate us to press forward. Nightfall comes, and we have even less to fear. Nothing can stop the charge of the Rhinos. Shrubbery thins into a great clearing, and the loam becomes sandier and sandier. The clouds vanish, replaced only by thin air, the stars, and purple-black.We soon find ourselves approaching a monolith in the moonlight. Four rounded rubber legs mount the shiny-ish orange skeleton of a massive metal beast off of the ground. It lies torn open, with its insides exposed, showing its last meal: a burnt-black piece of human charcoal. The monolith emits an irritating but non-threatening noise from inside its gutted innards. Chipped-Shell leads a small sortie to secure the scene before we all move in to extract resources. There is some interesting food in the cracks of the "Ford Explorer", but not much else worth staying for. The beeping noise becomes so loud inside that Chipped-Shell commands the portly roach Chomp-Chomp to find and stop that noise. Chomp-Chomp used to be a nervous and timid fellow, but his isolation in the darkness has since turned him into the type of roach that eats fear and defecates hellfire. He scurries in the direction of the noise: the back chamber of the beast's leather stomachs. He discovers the desiccated corpse of a nameless roach wearing identifiers from the rival tribe known as The Brown Band. It has a blinking, green light attached to a device on its antenna. Chomp-Chomp moves in to eat the rival tribe member's face, when the blinking device leaps off of the Brown Band antenna and onto the chunky foot of Chomp-Chomp! Chomp-Chomp hisses and retreats in confusion, but not pain or fear. Chipped-Shell checks on his comrade, who is staring single-mindedly at his foreleg and alternating his musing antennae. A strange language comes from the device through the weak voice of a non-roach species: "Welcome to your braaaand-new HissBoy! To navigate your..." It drones on and on and on for minutes, mentioning secondary weapon loadouts, which screen to go to to turn the voice actors' volume down, and what button to press in order to level up.
Whatever all that means. Anyway, the HissBoy has stopped beeping and now displays an image on its screen, with a flashing roach icon next to a nearby doohickey labelled in an alphabet we can't read. Neat!The tribe regathers by one of the rubber feet of the downed animal, and discusses this curious discovery for a few seconds, before being interrupted by the familiar sounds of eating and chittering. It's chow time - for someone. We look around, and the head count is complete - the survivors of Hell aren't eating anything... So who is?Following the noise leads us to a nearby smell that instantly raises the antennae. Lovely hints of moist dung waft into the ol' factories of the giant burrower clan. Saliva drips from our mandibles as our bodies anticipate even more detrivoral digestion. We turn the corner and see a familiar face sitting on and eating from a throne of feces. It's Digs-Alone!Umber-Shield recognizes and calls out to Digs-Alone, a roach that was trapped in Hell with us not long ago. Digs-Alone must have successfully burrowed out of The Endless Tunnels on his own! [Roach Rolling:]>But who is brother Digs-Alone, now that he's escaped Hell? What happens next in this situation?>(Optional) Other actions?>Write-inIntroducing Roach Rolling!Since roaches do not follow a typical hierarchy, occasionally, instead of traditional rolling or choosing QM's paths, we add in some Roach Rules with Roach Rolling. -Players provide write-ins to the tribe with their best argument for why our quest should continue in the fashion(s) they would like. -Players may discuss and vote for each other's write-ins. The suggestion with the most votes leads the tribe's decision. OR-Once one or more suggestions have been made, any and all players can also roll 1d20 - with unique rules. 1 is a critical success, 2-20 are all failures. If a 1 is scored, that choice is automatically chosen. If a 2-20 is scored, instead of a +1, that suggestion receives a -1. -1's from rolls and votes-The suggestion with the least -1's, most positive votes, or that rolls a critical 1 is chosen. Be honest - no rerolling! -Ties will be broken with a QM dice roll.-Roach Rolling segments will be in blue, and clearly labelled. Roach Rolling was hastily devised in hopes of sparking more dialogue between players [and QM(s)] - these are OUR quests, after all. Hopefully this inspires more participation, deeper immersion, group dynamics in voting, and more activity on /qst/ in general. I am aware this may do the opposite, since it requires write-ins, and I am open to critique, criticism and suggestions regarding Roach Rolling and anything else I type or create. Thanks for checking out and/or playing the quest! -t. A Humble Roach Narrator
>>6067018Wait... eating in an open clearing? A large pile of moist dung? Isn't Digs-Alone afraid of other clans and competitors, or the Shadow Devils of the Sky that were rumored about the surface before the Collapse? Clearly, he must have experience with the differing territory... or protection in it. Umber-Shield may be excited to see one of our prior allies that separated from us during our dig, yet I, Fire-Prong, don't bite.(Writing in a skeptic of the Rhinoceros tribe, Fire-Prong. A voice of caution in this new, unusual world. He's willing to sacrifice himself for the nymphs' survival, but first and foremost he wants to avoid that if and whenever possible...)>Write-In>Fire-Prong steps forward, preventing Umber-Shield from making any hasty decisions the only way he knows how, by pushing him over. His antennae wave as he releases a slight scent from his abdomen; warranting to be cautious, but that no danger has been found yet. Immediately, he begins to wander to the left and to the right, attempting to inspect the area without also wandering too close to Digs-Alone and prevent any agitation. Wavering his antennae around, he'd try and collect any scents that may warrant the tribe's danger. Only if there's no pheromones or other scents that would otherwise warrant fight or flight, would he trust in his tribe's safety.
