Unhalad’s undead forces return from the mines, where some workers were stranded because of a snow avalanche at the start of the month. The convoy numbers around 21 undead and eight miners — chained, drained, unable to fight and midway in their transformation to undead.
The group is attacked close to the forest outskirts by eight of Anurr’s undead and nine allied forest inhabitants (some close to undeath, some human).
There will be multiple clashes spread over a two-day span (17-18 May), as Unhalad’s forces are repeatedly blocked from making headway. They benefit from higher numbers of proper undead, while Anurr’s assailants have a better understanding of the lay of the land and more opportunity to camouflage in the forest. Anurr’s forces are visibly more strategic in their attacks; Unhalad’s rely more on brute strength, but also seek to defend the miners.
The brawls take place a 10-minute walk from the farmhouse. Characters will be able to see and hear the interaction, and Haltham will also alert them of the squabble and urging them to think wisely of how they want to respond.
Please comment to this post with how your character(s) would vote on whether to help Unhalad, support Anurr, stay out of everything, or propose your own mystery option #4 by midday, 12:00 PM GMT @ 19 May (Wednesday).
There will be no mod-led posts, but you are welcome to make your own posts/logs — including one for characters to discuss their decision ICly, if you want to! And front/postdate as you need to.
Don’t let it get to you, but this decision will influence characters' alignment in the Sa-Hareth conflict and their upcoming missions. No pressure!
There are ways to reverse the transition, but I don't think characters have explored them just yet with the elements available — so, I'm afraid it's irreversible, at this time. But! I'm open to working out methods to slow the pace of the transition?
Sighs, so how much do the PCs know about these miners via Haltham's contact? Do they know they're mid transformation, basically, or as far as they know are they all just poor sods who had been caught in the mines?
Hello! They'll know from Haltham that they look off, and the suspicion is that they might be transitioning, but they're not fully undead yet. Also, Unhalad's undead are keeping them chained, suggesting that whatever's happening to the miners, they're not fully under Unhalad's control or trustworthily undead (yet).
In other words: characters are free to assume either way regarding whether they believe the miners are a lost cause (can be rescued and recovered) or are likely to turn undead and croak. Necromancers would certainly be able to feel they're wrong once they get close enough — though not sufficiently so to qualify as fully undead yet.
Sure, if you want to say they were observed in the citadel: they don't need to eat. Some, typically those that look newer turned, will still consume human food. Unhalad's undead will be more driven to eat indiscriminately. Anurr's will primarily consume hot meals and beverages, not to satisfy their hunger as much as their perpetual cold.
You can now imagine that Wei Wuxian was watching this in his moving around the citadel, from under his cloak, keeping a mental diary of notes the whole time. (Then telling Lan Wangji later because he's fascinated at this, really, they're still processing all this fine?!)
Fox's primary goal would be saving the miners, he won't want to kill anyone (even be wary of killing the undead) but instead would suggest using one of the assaults to basically slip in and pull out the miners. Since they are on their way to being undead, he would want to try to get them somewhere safe where he could figure out if he could reverse whatever spell/magic/etc is on them that is turning them undead, and will loudly argue against killing them, even if he can't figure it out. He would argue that they could keep them somewhere nearby on the farm - maybe even build a barn for them specifically - and just keep working until they can find a 'cure', and take care of them in the meantime.
TL'DR VOTE: stay the fuck out of everything but save the miners pls
Mingyu wants to side with the winners but he can't disappoint both his boyfriends like that so he's just going to ... agree with Fox until a better opportunity presents itself, if such an opportunity should arise.
Lee Chang will want to kill any and all undead available for them to kill. His first target would be Unhalad's forces, take out the undead, capture the miners. Similar to Fox he will want to see if the miners can be saved but he will suggest plunging them into the forest lake for a few minutes. (That's what saved him, after all!)
He will not keep his nose out of shit so he's likely to head towards wherever the undead are, and depending on their numbers, try to take them out. He is slightly more aware of how Anurr's undead are more conscious, so if he can intercept them on their way to Unhalad's forces he may try a "these are mine, find another target", since bossing them around once seemed to work maybe he can do it again. Unhalad's he will have no hesitancy or remourse killing, even if they are protecting to the miners, because to his mind the only reason they are "protecting" them in the first place is that they are trying to add to their numbers, and at the moment Anurr's slightly-more-aware undead almost fall into "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" trope. So he will give them at least one chance to listen to reason / parlay, but if they prove to be as unthinking as their breathren he will want to kill them too.
His main issues with everything will be:
1) Do not kill anything close to the house. Do not leave tracks that lead back to the house. If intercepting an ambush, leave in the opposite direction of the house and then find a way back that can't be traced. He does not want to lead either Unhalad or Anurr to where they are living.
2) Do not leave anything alive that could report back. This includes the turning miners. Capture them, or kill them if necessary. Letting them go back only means they will continue to turn undead.
3) Decapitate and burn all bodies, then bury remains. Again, not near house. Try to keep burning to during bad weather / thick fog / etc. If anyone has abilities that can burn without smell or smoke, all the better.
4) Salvage anything you can from the undead, see if there are any kind of written orders / instructions / keys / anything the fuck else, just so we know what we're dealing with.
5) Do not engage if you do not know that you can defeat them. Do not engage alone. Immediately inform the rest over the private farm network.
TL'DR VOTE: Kill Unhalad forces, attempt parlay with Anurr forces, kill if unsuccessful.
Better to let them duke it out among themselves and then pick off the weakened victors, if possible. Arche doesn't see any good possibility for helping the imprisoned miners. If we're forced to choose sides, he'd rather support Anurr mainly just out of spite toward Unhalad as the regional invader and general asshole, but in his view it doesn't directly benefit our group to wade into the middle of this when all parties pretty much mean us harm.
Vote : Stay out of it. If refugees somehow find their way to the farm, that's another matter, but getting in the middle is a bad idea as far as Moran is concerned and choosing a side with incomplete information is Not Smart.
Wei Wuxian's vote is seek to free, but not bring back to the farm, the captives by using confusion array and other skills unique to the ragtag group of PCs. He'd further want to leave a trail "away" from both the farm and the city, while setting the captives back on course for "home" at the city. Meanwhile, use that confusion array to try to set those Anurr and Unhalad forces against each other as they intended to be, while extracting the captives.
They can't babysit these people, they have homes in the citadel, and he won't know about their condition until they make contact, so this would be his stance from the start.
He argues for setting the captives free, but offering them to choose what they'd like to have happen now that he'll know they're transitioning to undeath. This means directly asking the captives in the minutes they're being brought out and away, and it means he's also volunteering to be the killing stroke if it comes down to that request: and if any are going back to the citadel/their homes, he'll volunteer himself to come be their shadow stalking watcher of the transition to cut down on collateral damage.
(Noting he's going to ask Lan Wangji about this, but also, he's got the sensitivity and when it comes to shitty jobs he can take one out and down as fast as necessary, despite being a wreck. He's uh. Assuming Wangji would not want to be on this watch. As it's shitty. BUT HE WILL ASK.)
For Alina she doesn't know enough to really want to pick a side and honestly BOTH SIDES SEEM LIKE THEY SUCK. so she just wants to get out the miners. but if that involves killing forces on either side to be successful she will.
Okay. So, shocker, Five's priority is his family over any of this mess, so he'll be more concerned about his sister getting excited than the actual conflict. If she decides that she wants to help the miners and Five can't convince her otherwise, he's not exactly going to stand by. Just count on him being more focused on his family, you can thank him later etc.
So. Generally the vote: Reluctantly help with miners if he has to. Then briefly get way too into it if the violence turns fun... he has a problem, you know this, he's working on it. (Generally, he found one (1) more sibling with Unhalad's forces, so that's the side he's got more of an interest in at the moment. If Anurr can rile them enough to help him find the others, that makes a case for their side.)
But to add to that mysterious option #4: Five had to deal with those damn enchanted forest voices and he wants to know who the hell they are. He's all about taking one of those human Anurr allied forest dwellers for questioning if he can manage it, and he'll teleport them somewhere if he has to.
You all don't know a good opportunity when you see one. He may or may not tell anyone about this plan because... why...
And if that's not possible, he never had such an idea and I don't know what you're talking about.
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lostcompass2021-05-16 05:12 pm
QUESTIONS \o/
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Can the partially undead folk be Spiritual Energy'ed / The Force'd back to a living state, or is the transition irreversible?
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In other words: characters are free to assume either way regarding whether they believe the miners are a lost cause (can be rescued and recovered) or are likely to turn undead and croak. Necromancers would certainly be able to feel they're wrong once they get close enough — though not sufficiently so to qualify as fully undead yet.
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Uh, and by now, do the characters know what exactly these different undead forces eat in order to stay functional?
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TL'DR VOTE: stay the fuck out of everything but save the miners pls
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He will not keep his nose out of shit so he's likely to head towards wherever the undead are, and depending on their numbers, try to take them out. He is slightly more aware of how Anurr's undead are more conscious, so if he can intercept them on their way to Unhalad's forces he may try a "these are mine, find another target", since bossing them around once seemed to work maybe he can do it again. Unhalad's he will have no hesitancy or remourse killing, even if they are protecting to the miners, because to his mind the only reason they are "protecting" them in the first place is that they are trying to add to their numbers, and at the moment Anurr's slightly-more-aware undead almost fall into "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" trope. So he will give them at least one chance to listen to reason / parlay, but if they prove to be as unthinking as their breathren he will want to kill them too.
His main issues with everything will be:
1) Do not kill anything close to the house. Do not leave tracks that lead back to the house. If intercepting an ambush, leave in the opposite direction of the house and then find a way back that can't be traced. He does not want to lead either Unhalad or Anurr to where they are living.
2) Do not leave anything alive that could report back. This includes the turning miners. Capture them, or kill them if necessary. Letting them go back only means they will continue to turn undead.
3) Decapitate and burn all bodies, then bury remains. Again, not near house. Try to keep burning to during bad weather / thick fog / etc. If anyone has abilities that can burn without smell or smoke, all the better.
4) Salvage anything you can from the undead, see if there are any kind of written orders / instructions / keys / anything the fuck else, just so we know what we're dealing with.
5) Do not engage if you do not know that you can defeat them. Do not engage alone. Immediately inform the rest over the private farm network.
TL'DR VOTE: Kill Unhalad forces, attempt parlay with Anurr forces, kill if unsuccessful.
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Better to let them duke it out among themselves and then pick off the weakened victors, if possible. Arche doesn't see any good possibility for helping the imprisoned miners. If we're forced to choose sides, he'd rather support Anurr mainly just out of spite toward Unhalad as the regional invader and general asshole, but in his view it doesn't directly benefit our group to wade into the middle of this when all parties pretty much mean us harm.
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VOTE: set Anurr and Unhalad upon each other, steal the miners.
If that can't work, kill Unhalad's forces to steal the miners.
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Political stance: Neutral
Vote: Mystery option #4. Fuck it, he wants alternate solutions as it is, so let's go.
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So, for himself, it's 'don't get involved'.
In a general discussion/vote, he's voting with Moran.
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but if it make sense with his luck, mystery option #4 is good!
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They can't babysit these people, they have homes in the citadel, and he won't know about their condition until they make contact, so this would be his stance from the start.
UPDATE
(Noting he's going to ask Lan Wangji about this, but also, he's got the sensitivity and when it comes to shitty jobs he can take one out and down as fast as necessary, despite being a wreck. He's uh. Assuming Wangji would not want to be on this watch. As it's shitty. BUT HE WILL ASK.)
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For Alina she doesn't know enough to really want to pick a side and honestly BOTH SIDES SEEM LIKE THEY SUCK. so she just wants to get out the miners. but if that involves killing forces on either side to be successful she will.
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So. Generally the vote: Reluctantly help with miners if he has to. Then briefly get way too into it if the violence turns fun... he has a problem, you know this, he's working on it. (Generally, he found one (1) more sibling with Unhalad's forces, so that's the side he's got more of an interest in at the moment. If Anurr can rile them enough to help him find the others, that makes a case for their side.)
But to add to that mysterious option #4: Five had to deal with those damn enchanted forest voices and he wants to know who the hell they are. He's all about taking one of those human Anurr allied forest dwellers for questioning if he can manage it, and he'll teleport them somewhere if he has to.
You all don't know a good opportunity when you see one. He may or may not tell anyone about this plan because... why...
And if that's not possible, he never had such an idea and I don't know what you're talking about.
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All right, as for the rest of the vote, if I understand correctly: free miners, don't get involved, steal one of Anurr's forest people?
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Yep, more or less, that's the intention! How involved he gets is dependent on how messy helping ends up being, but he has very specific goals here.