Pox Scarred Squalor, A Mork Borg-Solitary Defilement Solo Actual Play - Chapter 4: The Scripture of Rot Flesh
So close to his goal of stealing the pearl, will Svum succeed or will he muck it up as he always does?
Envy and drunkenness, I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Let's play.
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The Song of Flies has clearly blessed our Svum. But why? Only she knows. For I am only a spectator in the tale, just like you dear reader. But a god’s favour only lasts so long in this world.
The power of the gods has been waning for generations now. Their interest in our affairs is at an end, and could you blame them? We are fuck ups, criminals, murderers, and gluttons. The gods have been right to ignore us. Yet, Svum, the lowest of us, has gained a god’s favour. These truly are the end days.
Our Svum is standing in a dark, dusty hallway on the second floor of the tavern, a dead snake at his feet. He bends over to look at it, the poison of an Alley Snake can be valuable if sold to the right person, Svum knows. If the head is intact, it can fetch a good price.
If the head intact? D4, 1 A yes. How valuable is it? I’ll say D6x6. A 6, that’s 24 silver, not bad.
Svum bends over to cut the head off the snake. It’s tougher than he thought and it takes a bit of work to saw it off. He puts it into his sack and blood immediately starts to leak out of it. With the deed done, Svum considers where to go from there, the hallway has a few different doors, and truth be told he has no idea what a pearl is. Is it large? Round? He figures if it’s valuable, it will be hidden somewhere and kept close to where the boss is.
He beings to check the doors in the hallway, besides the one he just came out of. He has no desire for dealing with those fucking snakes again. He checks doors, the first one has a smell coming out that could only signify a shit hole. Probably isn’t there.
Two more doors in the hallway, one is clearly more ornate than the other one, with better detailing and it doesn’t have any kick marks on the frame. That’s got to be the place, Svum thinks. Again, he finds it odd that he so easily came to this conclusion. He’s not been much for thinking or planning.
He pushes the door open slowly and it creeks with the effort.
What, if anything is inside? I think it's extremely likely there is. So anything from a 2 up on a d10 means something is inside. A 4. Ok, what is it? I’ll roll a D12 on the Solitary Defilement table, and we will see how it goes. This could be bad for our Svum. A 6, which is a Zombie.
Zombie Stats
HP 7, Dead but not dead
Armor - Leather scraps - D2 Rotten, falling off but still covered. Was it some sort of soldier?
Moral: None, the zombie won’t run. It doesn’t have the brains for it.
Attack: D2 plus special
Special: Anyone bitten tests Toughness DR8 or dies within two days before rising as a zombie. There is a rumor of a cure…
Toughness tests will be done at the end of the combat if Svum gets bitten.
The door opens fully and Svum looks directly into the dead white eyes of a zombie. There have been more and more of these fiends in the Squalor, roaming, not feeling pain, cold, or fear. They exist only to eat. They attack with hungry desperation. Svum is able to pull his sword out as the zombie lunges with all its rotten, evil-driven strength.
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| Like this ugly bastard, but uglier. By Pieter van den Berge. |
The zombie rushes forward in neurotic rage, black sticky blood pouring from its white eyes. Svum swings his sword with all his strength, cleaving the zombie’s left arm off and a good portion of his chest cavity also. More sticky, thick blood gushes out. Svum gags from the smell.
The zombie keeps coming and latches onto Svum’s arm, sinking his teeth deep into his leather bangle. Svum feels the teeth pressing into his arm, and images saliva and muck mixing with his own blood.
Svum shuffles around, trying to get a stab in with his sword while the zombie is latched onto his arm. Finally, he positions his sword just above its head and shoves it down with all his might. The zombie’s eyes open wide and then close. It collapses in a heap on the floor. Svum immediately pulls his leather bangles off to see if the bite broke his skin.
Combat
Initiative +2 with agility: (4+2)6, Svum goes first.
Round 1:
Svum Attacks: DR12: (19-1)18, hit! Damage D6: 5. Zombie Armor D2:2. Damage done, 3.
Zombie Attacks: DR12: (17+2)19, Zombie misses
Round 2:
Svum Attacks: DR12: (6-1)5, Miss
Zombie Attacks: DR12: (6+2)8, Zombie bites D2, 1 damage but removed by Svum’s armor
Round 3: Svum Attacks: DR12: (7-1)6, Miss
Zombie Attacks: DR12: (4+2)6, Zombie bites D2, 1 damage but removed by Svum’s armor
Round 4: Svum Attacks: DR12: (2-2)0, Miss
Zombie Attacks: DR12: (19+2), Zombie misses
Round 5:
Svum Attacks: DR12: (12-1), 11 Miss
Zombie Attacks: DR12: (13+2)15, Zombie Misses
Round 6:
Svum Attacks: DR12: (16-1)15, Damage D6, 6. Zombie Armor D2, 2. Damage done, 4. Zombie defeated
Zombie Infection check
DR8 Vs (9-1)8, Barely a pass.
Svum checks his arm, finding deep bite marks but no broken skin. He thanks whatever god is watching out for him, and sees a swarm of flies emanating from the zombie. Svum starts thinking. His brain ain’t too great but he knows a zombie shouldn’t be hanging out in a room on the second story of a busy tavern. That’s just piss poor tavern management. He can’t find any ready reasons why, but he knows one thing, this is fucked.
He looks past the dead (again) stinking zombie, and steps over the puddle of thick black fluid leaking out of it. Svum looks over the room the zombie came out of.
Adventuring Move -1 with Presence
DR10 Vs (12-1)1, (5-1)4, Weak hit
Does Svum see a chest or anything of value in the room? Yes, he sees a chest, but it is locked.
Surveying the room, Svum sees where the zombie was tied up with a leather strap. The strap had been chewed down to nothing and that was how the zombie was able to attack. But still, why a zombie? They aren’t safe to keep around. To guard something? Must be.
Svum sees it! A chest, tucked in the corner under some old rags. He quickly moves over to try to open it, locked of course. He tries to pick it up, bolted to the floor of course. He kicks it, hoping something will happen, but nothing does.
Breathing a deep sigh (and sucking in a lot of zombie stink), Svum brings out his lockpicks. He got these from a dead man he came across in an alley. They’ve helped him ever since. He squats down and gets to work on the chest
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| Lock picking has a long and storied history in the Squalor. By Jan Luyken |
Adventuring More +2 with Agility
DR10 (With Svum’s Filthy Fingersmith skills, it is only a 10) Vs (6+2)8, (16+2)18, Weak hit
He opens it but something interrupts him. But what? A Wickhead Knife-Wielder, very appropriate. Does Svum hear it? Let’s see..
Wickhead Knife-Wielder
HP 10
Armor - None, it moves quiet and lightly
Moral: 7, it knows when it needs to run
Attack: D4 plus 25% of infected wound
Special: Can magically douse all nearby light sources, ignite its own blinding light and attack. Then vanish into the darkness.
Adventuring Move -1 with Presence
DR12 Vs (1-1)0, (2-1)1, Miss, very bad miss. This might be it for our Svum.
Suddenly a knife comes stabbing out from behind him. Svum tries to move but slips on a puddle of thick, viscous zombie blood and tumbles to the ground. Before he knows what is happening the assailant is on top of him trying to plunge his knife into Svum’s face. Svum tries to free his sword, but the attacker kicks it away.
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| Svum has no desire to get a knife in his chest. By Jan Luyken |
With no weapon, no chance, and no advantage, Svum knows this could be a deadly situation. Now half covered in the dead zombie’s muck, Svum squirms out of the grasp of the attackers. Our Svum feels the bite of the knife into the back of his leather armor, but he is moving fast now.
Svum reaches for the chest, now unlocked and open, and grabs whatever is inside, the pearl hopefully, but he doesn’t have the time to check. He dashes out past the attacker, who is trying to get a stable footing among the zombie muck.
Combat
Initiative: Wickhead has the jump and gets a free attack
Round 1:
Wickhead Attacks: DR12: (18+2)20, Wickhead misses
Round 2:
Wickhead Attacks: DR12: (14+2)16, Wickhead misses
Svum Attacks: DR12: (1-1)0, fumble, sword lost
Round 3:
Wickhead Attacks: DR12: (11+2)13, Wickhead Misses
Svum attempts to flee: DR11+1 enemy Vs (5+2)7, (18+2)20, Weak hit, Wickhead gets an opportunity attack.
Round 4:
Wickhead Attacks: DR12: (5+2)7, Wickhead hits. Damage 1. Armor blocks damage
Now let’s give Svum a chance to grab whatever out of the chest. It will be a hard test and failure may end with him getting stabbed.
Adventuring Move +2 with Agility
DR14 vs (9+2)7, (12+2)14, Weak hit
He grabs it but the Wickhead chases him.
Our ‘not-hero’ hears an angry yell “GET BACK HERE YOU WORTHLESS FUCKING GUTTER RAT!” He hears hard and fast footsteps behind him. In the hallway, he looks for the stairs, spotting them, he runs as hard as he can down the tavern and into the common room.
Is Svum attacked or do people attempt to stop him here? Let’s roll, it's a simple Yes.
A big burly son of a bitch with a nasty scar across his face and a bad attitude steps in front of the escaping Svum. Not wanting another fight, especially without a sword and a madman behind him, Svum attempts to dodge out of the way and into the safety of the alleys.
Adventuring Move +2 with Agility
DR10 Vs (9+2)11, (16+2)18, Strong Hit
Does Svum go left? Go Right? No, Svum goes low, the little bastard is small and quick, and currently covered in black slime. Aiming for between the brute’s legs, Svum slides through, feeling the eyes of the tavern on him. Maybe he is some sort of hero he thinks. A small swarm of black flies follows him on his slide, probably drawn to the stench.
Through the brutes legs and out the tavern door, Svum runs. The attacker chases him but Svum is into the alleys, worse than any maze ever built.
Well, our Svum is both lucky and unlucky all at once. A god is watching him for some reason, but even that can’t wash off the stench of bad luck a life on the streets has brought him.
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Dear Readers, this chapter is the second to last in this series, as we will be moving on to something else soon. Be sure to read next week. Things get even worse.
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