Pox Scarred Squalor, A Mork Borg-Solitary Defilement Solo Actual Play - Chapter 5: The Sacrifice of the Many
Escaping from the tavern, our 'not-hero' Svum runs. He hopes and prays he has what he was sent to steal, but he can't know until he checks...
Welcome back Dear Readers, this is the last installment in the series of Pox Scarred Squalor. It doesn't mean the end for Svum or the Squalor, just a break...
Now, let's play.
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Do not be anxious, supplicate before your god and be free.
Svum runs and runs, through the alleys and all the way back to his hovel. His heart is beating so hard he can imagine it bursting out of his own chest, plopping in a bloody mess on the cobblestones below. He stumbles into his shack and slams the door closed. He puts his back to the door and slides to the filthy floor.
He takes deep breath after a deep breath. Slowly his heart stops racing and his breathing returns to normal. He slowly turns to look out of a crack in the door into the dark streets outside. Has the whole day passed already? Has he been followed? He looks…
Has Svum been followed? A d4, Yes but… Yes but it's not obvious who has followed him.
Svum sees shapes moving in the dim light. Moving from shadow to shadow. He strains with his weak eyesight to see if he can make them out.
Adventuring Move -1 with Presence
DR14 Vs (11-1)10, (19-1)18 Weak hit
Svum sees some details but not everything.
Standing in a pool of light, Svum makes out at least one of the people keeping watch outside of his shack. The big asshole from the tavern whose legs Svum dove under. He followed Svum, somehow. Svum reaches for his sword but remembers he lost it in the fight with that knife-wielding psycho in the tavern.
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| Svum expects them to knock down his door at any minute. By Adriaen van de Velde. |
Svum keeps an eye on the shadows in the distance until it's completely pitch black outside and people start closing their windows. He feels his eyes growing heavy, so very heavy. He can’t help himself, he falls into a deep sleep on the floor in front of his door.
The Calendar of Nechrubel
Augusti the 6th, of the Year of 543
Rolled a 1 on a D6. The end days are upon us, oh dear reader. Prepare yourself for the pain, the death, and the loss that will come. But what prophecy will come true today?
Prophecy 4:1 For five days and five nights mothers flesh shall be the cloak of demons.
Good gods, for they have left us to this hell.
Svum has rested the night, and recovered D6 health, a 2. His health is now 6/8.
Svum wakes to a high-pitched scream, it's a scream of pain and sadness. He immediately sits up and grabs for his sword, remembering again he lost the fucking thing. He unslings his bow and gets it ready. The scream keeps going and are quickly joined by another and another. Before long the whole neighborhood is screaming it seems.
This seriously freaks out our ‘not-hero’. But he suddenly remembers the job and the people outside watching him. He remembers he never looked at the stuff he snatched from the chest when he ran from that fucking crazy knife guy. He takes it out of his pocket, and his hands shake. It's a bundle of cloth. He gingerly unwraps it and looks inside.
Did Svum grab the Black Pearl of Margar that Aerg-Tval hired him to steal? A D4. That’s a No. Shit.
It’s a bloody, half-rotten tooth. “What the fuck!” Svum yells at the tooth. Not the pearl. Why the hell did someone hide a tooth in a locked chest? Svum also knows he is a dead man. Aerg-Tval will not appreciate failure and is likely to throw him over the cliffs before she forgives him.
Fuck, shit, fuck, shit, Svum thinks. But his self-deprecating thoughts are cut short by more screams and shrieks, this time from much closer. What in the devil's name is happening in the squalor?
Aerg-Tval will be coming by soon, Svum knows. His brain works overtime to come up with an excuse? He thinks, maybe the tooth is the pearl or he could say it is, but decides that the dumbest shit he’s ever thought about in his life (and that’s a long, long list).
So he will just come clean. He failed. Accept what Aerg-Tval has in store for him. And if it is a quick drop off a high cliff, so be it. Svum has had his share of pain in this life and he knows all things come to an end. In the end, the Squalor consumes all.
Eventually, Svum comes up with a plan, not a great one mind you, but a plan. He will throw himself on the mercy of Aerg-Tval, pledge his life to hers, and steal the pearl when he can. It might not work, it probably won’t, but it’s his only shot.
Svum waits, the screams continue and sounds of violence emanating from the Squalor. He worries about what the hell is going on out there. It sounds worse than Grist New Year out there. But he waits.
Suddenly there is a heavy knock on the door. Svum peers through and sees a small figure draped in a heavy cloak. He takes a heavy breath and opens the door slowly. In walks the figure, Svum can’t make out their face. He figures it’s Aerg-Tval, but can’t be sure.
Ok, so with the prophecy we know that mothers flesh shall be a cloak for demons. The effects of this is what Svum has been hearing all day long. Now is Aerg-Tval a mother? Let’s find out by rolling on the Mork Borg reaction table. Good luck Svum! A 7, she is indifferent. OK, so she isn’t a mother. But why is she indifferent? Something else is going on…
The figure takes the cloak off and Svum can clearly see the scratched and bruised face of Aerg-Tval. “What the fuck is going on out there Svum? It’s gods damned chaos! My own mother tried to kill me when I was feeding her gruel today. Yeah, it tastes like shit but that isn’t a reason to try to eat my fucking face. Do you have the pearl?’’
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| Aerg-Tval not looking her best. By Rembrandt van Rijn |
Svum swallows hard. He collapsed onto his knees and says ‘’Oh powerful Aerg-Tval, I have failed you! The pearl was not there and I only got this tooth.” He unwraps the rotted tooth and shows it to Aerg-Tval.
Adventuring Move -1 with Presence
DR12 Vs (3-1)2, (12-1)11, Miss
Aerg-Tval looks at the tooth for a moment and then lightning-quick slaps it out of Svum’s hand. “Does it look like I want a stupid fucking tooth? No, of course not. We got more important shit to deal with now.’’ Aerg-Tval looks over Svum, seeing he looks less pathetic and weak than he did when she saw him yesterday morning. “Where is your sword? Aww did little baby lose his sword?”
Looking down at the ground still kneeling on the dirty floor, Svum can’t help but feel like a lost child again. He mutters a weak "yes”.
Aerg-Tval pulls a knife out from her cloak and hands it over. “You are not getting paid, but I could use you still. Take his knife and follow me. Watch my ass and make sure nothing kills me. There is bad shit going on out there today.’’
Gives Svum a D4 rusty concealable dagger.
“Now let’s get moving you lazy shit.”
They step out into the Squalor and are met with a cacophony of cries. Some of pain, some of anger but many of sadness. Svum pulls out his children's bow and knocks an arrow. He readies himself for anything.
Aerg-Tval leads them through the streets, past more screams, and lamentations. Fires are starting to spread across the Squalor and people are running through the streets, some bloodied and others still with missing limbs.
They turn a corner and come face to face with an older lady, a person Svum would maybe have called ‘grandma’ if he was feeling polite. She smiles at them and says ‘Aerg-Tval, you haven’t finished feeding me breakfast. Why won’t you finish? Why? WHY!’
Before Svum’s eyes, the old lady transforms into something unholy from another world. Her flesh boils away, leaving a grinning skull. Her robes float around her and it pounces at Aerg-Tval and Svum.
Wraith
HP: 15, this is no mere mortal
Morale: None, this thing will not run
Armor: None
Attack: D4 + if it hits it drains 1 strength and agility for the fight.
Special: DR14 to hit, always wins initiative.
Aerg-Tval
HP: 6, this is old but she is tough
Moral: 9, Aerg-Tval is still human
Armor: None
Attack: D6 Mace
The Wraith moves with unnatural speed and in a swirl of robes. Svum aims his bow and fires several arrows at it, praying to the gods he hit it at least once. Aerg-Tval pulls an iron mace from her cloak and readies herself.
The wraith flies among them striking both. When its claws rake against Svum’s chest, he feels strength leaving his body, like a child sucking beer through a straw.
Aerg-Tval strikes the spector and the Wraith reacts by attacking her with a flurry of strikes and bites. Aerg-Tval falls to the ground, a mosaic of cuts, blood, and gore.
Svum stands back and lines up a shot. As he pulls back he feels his bowstring snap. He looks down at the bow and sees several bloated black flys zooming past. He doesn’t understand how but the string isn’t broken anymore.
He takes a breath, aims, and fires into the back of the Wraith. It screeches and collapses into a black cloud of hate and despair, hopefully, gone from this world forever.
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| Hell has truly come to the Squalor. By Claude Gillot |
Combat
Round 1
Wraith Attacks (d2: 2 attacks Svum).DR12 Defence (18+2)20, no hit
Svum Attacks Bow (with Presence). DR14, (15-1)14 Hit 5 Damage. Wraith HP10
Aerg-Tval attacks. DR 14. 8. No hit
Round 2
Wraith Attacks (d2: 1 attacks Aerg-Tval).DR12 Defence (8), Hit. 4 Damage (Aerg-Tval now 2 HP and -1 to attacks and defence)
Svum Attacks Bow (with Presence). DR14, (5-1)4 No Hit
Aerg-Tval attacks. DR 14. (12-1)11 Miss. Moral Check, doesn’t run
Round 3
Wraith Attacks (d2: 2 attacks Svum).DR12 Defence (20+2)22, Crit on defense no hit
Svum Attacks Bow (with Presence). DR14, (7-1)6 No Hit
Svum Attacks Bow (with Presence). DR14, (4-1)3 No Hit
Aerg-Tval attacks. DR 14. (17-1)16, Hit. 4 damage. Wraith HP6
Round 4
Wraith Attacks (d2: 1 attacks Aerg-Tval).DR12 Defence (9-1)8, Hit. 4 Damage (Aerg-Tval has died)
Svum Attacks Bow (with Presence). DR14, (5-1)4 No Hit
Round 5
Wraith Attacks. DR12 Defence (6+2)8, Hit. 4 Damage. Armor 1. Damage done 3. Svum HP now 3. -1 Strength and Agility
Svum Attacks Bow (with Presence). DR14, (1-1)14 Fumble. Spend Omen. Miss
Round 5
Wraith Attacks. DR12 Defence (5+2)7, Hit. 2 Damage. Armor 1. Damage done 1. Svum HP now 2. -2 Strength and Agility
Svum Attacks Bow (with Presence). DR14, (13-1)12 Miss
Round 6
Wraith Attacks. DR12 Defence (12+2)14, No hit
Svum Attacks Bow (with Presence). DR14, (17-1)16 Hit. Damage 6! Wraith Dead.
Svum has used 8 arrows. Now only 2 left.
Svum rushes to Aerg-Tval to see if she is ok. But she is gone from this world, just meat with blood leaking out of it. Svum isn’t sentimental and can’t wait. But he is greedy, deep down inside. He checks her cloak for valuables.
I’ll say Svum can find 2D6 x 10 silver. 6+4=10 x 10 = 100 silver. Not bad.
He finds her stash of silver and wipes the blood off of it. He picks up her mace also. For some reason, hell has descended on the Squalor and made it, against all odds, worse.
Svum runs into an alleyway with only one thing on his mind. Survival.
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Well, that’s it for Svum for now! Will we see him again? Most likely I imagine, in 2023 sometime. But stay tuned, we got a really fun one-shot next week of a super indie developer who is also a solo RPG friend, Called Feyroam. Check it out! https://drakonspyre.itch.io/feyroam
And thank you to all who read this. This is my fourth completed campaign and I’m still going strong!
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