Carnage & Aether Playthrough: The Silent Gods, Part 4
Let’s continue Noa’s journey in the arena. After the awesome Endless Assault match last session, Noa collects her rewards and tends to her wounds as another month goes by.
Downtime Phase
Downtime Phase event = No event. The Downtime Phase takes place as normal.
Since we defeated 2 waves, we’re getting rewards from 2 battles. That’s 10 Dedication points (155) and 10 Patron Favor. Each Favor of the Crowd gained during the match gives us 2 more Favor, so that’s an extra 4.
For components, base drops from two waves are x4 Aspects and 2d4+2 Materials. Each critical and hit on weak parts nets us an extra Material, so +3 for us.
2d4+5 = 9 Materials
Aspects dropped: x2 Bane, x2 Power
Materials dropped: x1 Scale, x1 Mineral, x1 Metal, x1 Arcane Dust, x5 Vitae
Damn, rolled five straight 6s there for Materials. Luckily got a Bane Aspect, so I don’t have to exchange anything. Let’s craft!
First, I’m using x2 Bones, x1 Metal, and x1 Bane to craft a cestus. It’s a fist weapon that deals Bludgeoning damage and has the Simple trait (+10 to its relevant skill, Unarmed & Fists in this case).
I’m officially dual wielding! What does it mean? Well, dual wielders get a free parry Reaction per round (it doesn’t count toward the cumulative -20 reduction), deal +2 damage, and get their weapon skill reduced by -30. Also, we only attack with one weapon at a time, so we must choose which before making the check. That matters for weapon-specific bonuses.
Like the claw, the cestus has 20 Speed. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to add both weapons’ Speed to our initiative, but I’m doing it.
Now we’re gonna have to do something about that skill reduction. Let’s check the Masteries.
Well well, look at that! Tier 1 is a no-brainer for dual wielders, right? I also like Tier 2, so I’m spending 20 Dedication to learn them both (5 for Tier 1, 15 for Tier 2). More damage for us.
I’m also getting Tier 1 from Wraith, Combat Awareness, for survivability.
130 Dedication left.
Now we need to slot them on a piece of gear. Here’s the cost for inserting properties on armor:
This is just for the main armor. There’s still weapons, amulets, rings, etc. Can you see how much work went into balancing this game? It gives me a headache just to think of all the possibilities. Alex is a beast.
Anyway, armors can hold 3 properties. Two-handed weapons hold 2. Everything else holds 1.
I’m gonna slot T2 Stormbrand (Infuse Weapon) and T1 Wraith (Combat Awareness) on my armor. We use x1 Aspect and x1 Material per Mastery Tier, so 3 of each for both abilities. I’m using x1 Chaos, x1 Power, x1 Shadow, x1 Mineral, and x2 Vitae. Oh, and the armor was damaged! I’ll use x1 Scale to fix it.
Note: Remember, we only need to unlock the previous Tiers when learning the Masteries via Dedication. There are no such limits when slotting them. We can slot a Tier 5 ability without slotting the previous 4 Tiers, for instance.
I’ll slot Dual Weapon Master on my light helmet (x1 Shadow and x1 Vitae).
On my boots, I’m putting Endless Grit (+1 Stamina), using x1 Power and x1 Vitae. Now every turn I’m gonna have extra Stamina to trigger Momentum without having to gain Exhaustion. And if I do want to trade Exhaustion for Stamina, I’d need only 4 for another action, or 5 to still have 1 left. This is a very cool utility.
That’s it for now. Lots of shiny new stuff that I can’t wait to try out. I suck at making builds, but that won’t stop me!
Skills improvement:
Dodge increased by 1
Resolve increased by 4
Unarmed & Fists increased by 4
Noa’s sheet updated: C&A Sheet - Noa session 4
Arena Phase
Match Type: Painstorms
Match Event: Darkness. A magical cloud of impenetrable darkness covers the arena. PCs are Blinded, unless they have some Mastery that allows them to see in the dark, or are carrying a belt lamp.
Damn it. At least Noa is a melee fighter.
Enemy: Voidweaver
I’m doomed. The Ethereal Trait reduces the attack check by -20. With Blinded, I’m down to -30. This is a conspiracy!
Combat
Initiative
Noa, d100+35 = 99
Voidweaver, d100+10 = 90
Good start, but I’m still scared.
Round 1
I’m moving east and spending 13 Aether on Combat Awareness (+10 to defensive checks) and Infuse Weapon (+d6 Lightning damage for 10 rounds). I’m imbuing my cestus to offset the -30 with the Simple trait (+10). I could use the claw and get the +1 to damage from Slashing, since the Voidweaver has no armor, but I think that hitting attacks could be a problem here.
Whenever we spend half or more Aether in a single turn, we gain Favor of the Crowd! And that means we also get 2 Patron Favor. Nice!
UD6 Momentum check = 4, no change
The Voidweaver rushes toward Noa, spending all Stamina.
Hazard A movement
D4 direction = 3, south
D4 squares = 3
Hazard B movement
D4 direction = 4, west
D4 squares = 4
Round 2
I engage the demonic enemy. My attack skill is at 56 (base 66, +10 from attacking, +10 from Simple trait, -10 from Blinded, -20 from Ethereal).
Noa, Unarmed & Fists (56) = 92 > FotC > 99, fumble!
Voidweaver, Combat Skill (60) = 26
+1 Determination
That’s just great, isn’t it? The conspiracy is real.
Player Fumble = You drop your weapon and must spend a Standard Action recovering it. If you are not wielding a weapon, your next attack suffers -20 instead.
Enemy Defensive Move = The creature’s next damaging ability receives +D10 damage. If it’s not a damaging ability, then the PC’s Magic Resistance is reduced by 10 until the creature’s next turn.
Some good trolling here. I spend the next action picking up the cestus, then trade 5 Exhaustion (1 Shock) for 5 Stamina. Another attack (rolled 98!), and the Voidweaver dodges again.
Enemy Defensive Move = The creature recovers 2 Health.
Joke’s on you, game, its HP is full.
UD6 Momentum check = 4, no change
The Voidweaver hits a Void Slash on my left leg.
2d10: 10 + 9 = 7 damage dealt!
My armor absorbs 1 from this powerhouse of a swipe, but Noa still takes 6 damage. Her HP is 20, and whenever we take 1/4 or more of our max HP in damage from a single hit, we gain 3 Shock.
Resolve check (64) = 45, successful! Only 1 Shock gained.
UD8 armor durability = 1, down to UD6
The enemy slashes again, but I dodge it!
Player Defensive Move: Your next attack receives an additional +10.
That’s surprisingly good. Thanks, I guess.
Hazard A moves 2 north, getting closer to me, and B moves 3 north, hitting the Voidweaver! It takes 1 direct damage and is Stunned for the next round. Is our luck changing?
Round 3
The demon can’t spend Stamina, but it defends normally. In any case, I finally hit the damn thing.
2d6 + d4 + 2: 4 + 5 + 5 = 5 damage dealt!
Not bad for someone getting stomped. I punch it again for 3 damage, leaving it with only 3 HP. Let’s go for 5 Exhaustion (1 Shock) and another attack.
Noa, Unarmed & Fists (56) = 38
Voidweaver, Combat Skill (20) = 91
I’m gaining 5 more Exhaustion (15 now, +2 Shock) to add +d4 damage to the roll. I have to make the most of a hit in these conditions.
Resolve check (64) = 76, fail. 2 Shock gained (5 total).
2d6 + 2d4 + 2: 5 + 4 + 2 + 3 = 5 damage dealt!
The Voidweaver is no more! Arena Phase is over and the day is ours once again!
Maybe it’s early to tell, but I think the build is working nicely. This is still an RPG, so bad rolls can’t be avoided, but when things went our way, the victory came fast and furious.
The extra Lightning damage is an amazing offensive buff that can turn a good hit into a great one. The +10 to all defensive checks, plus the extra parry from dual wielding, gives Noa a good cushion to balance her skills. I’m excited to further develop her Masteries!
That’s it for today. Thanks so much for reading, and until next time!
Cutscene at the end. Press X to skip.
Fury of the storm
The month passed with bruises and scars as Noa recovered herself in the quiet hours.
When she stepped into the arena again, darkness swallowed the sands whole. The only sound she could hear was the distant murmur of the crowd.
Noa slowed down her breathing and closed her eyes. Stormlight crawled beneath her skin, snaking along her knuckles.
Something moved in the dark. The Voidweaver struck with precision and power. Pain flared, stealing the air from her lungs, and Noa tasted blood. She wiped it away from her mouth.
“You hit hard, demon,” she mumbled into the dark. “But not as much as they did.”
She swung blindly, missed, and stumbled. Exhaustion dragged at her limbs. Darkness closed in, thick as a grave.
Noa roared, and lightning cracked, eager and alive.
Her fist found its target and a crackling bolt followed, answering her call. She hit again and again, each punch louder than the last, until the darkness recoiled under the fury of the storm. Noa planted her feet and finished it with a final, snarling smash that tore the Voidweaver into a cloud of brimstone and aether.
When the light returned, she stood alone, chest heaving, sparks dying on her claw.
Beyond the railings, Jharik watched, pleased.
Noa would give him and his god the grandeur they required. She would give them a reason to remember her name.
She would make everyone fear the silence that followed her thunder.
Carnage & Aether is available on Itch, DTRPG, and as POD on Amazon.
I’m playing using some personal house rules: Carnage & Aether House Rules.
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