Arkobla Conn
Mongoose
In the continuing adventures of Raz the Barbarian
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the following escapade immediately follows the events with the Frog Queen detailed in last class. This episode seems to be a favoriate of the Artist 'Georg Jaffey', so we will use his art to discuss the events. Turn to page 92"
Pages flip and a few of the students in the professor's class exclaim in admiration of the artwork.
"This still shows our group on the beach. In the foreground are two rafts with a center lateen rigged mast. The group is getting on the rafts while Rahka the stygian sorceror releases from his thrall two of the frog people. Novitski and Van Houton tells us that the group used the Queens scepter to enthrall these two and they were guided to this beach without further confrontation. The background of the picture is dark, but clearly shows several pairs of menancing eyes. The implication is that the other frog people are on their way. The text explains that they weren't really on their way until after Rahka released his thralls and they reported what they had done, but this is a more poetic way of showing the threat."
"The next painting is titled 'Asking for Trouble'. Hadrathus, the archer and Belyara, the Thief are on one raft. Rahka, Maja and Raz are on the other. Rahka and Maja are seriously wounded from the previous confrontation within the chambers of the frog people. You see that along the shore, several dozen or more of the frog people are gathering, with some scouts already in the water. It's clear they are going to follow. Our text explains that Raz decided to use the oceans natural preditors to help them. He took the bleeding arm of Maja and proceeded to 'chum' the waters with her blood. The picture shows this as they are both kneeling over the side, blood is dripping from her wrist and there are two fins swimiming into the picture from a distance - between the frog people ashore and the rafts."
"A third painting is quite graphic, but is commonly referred to as the best of the series. It is titled 'Trouble' which is a play off the previous title. We see Raz's raft tilted upwards because the shark has lept or swam ontop of it's rear end. We see the wounded Stygian and Hrykanian clinging to the top edge ala how the Cameron version of the movie Titantic had it's hero's at the top as the rear sank before breaking off.
This scene also evokes images of another iconic movie - Jaws, where the character Quint is consumed ina great gout of blood when he falls into the maw of the anti hero of that movie. In any event, Raz is standing upon the tilted ship and trying to push the great fish - estimated to be between 14 & 17 feet in length if the descriptions and portrait can be believed - off the raft. You can see the raft is breaking apart. One other item of note. The background still shows the frog people, but they seem to be hanging back. All but these three here. It is likely that Rahka has exerted more of his entrancing power on them using the staff - for he does seem to be focusing his attention through the staff and beyond the sharks to the frog people - but we can't be sure here. The 3 frog people do attack the sharks, but they don't stand a chance. Blood already is evident in the water - far more than what Maja would have provided."
Glancing at his watch, the professor grimaces.
"We are running a bit late today folks, so I want you to review the final three pictures and read the accompanying text. Picture 4 shows Raz being knocked backwards and into the water as the big shark turns from the raft and chomps on a frog person. We see him doing a back first plunge.
The fifth picture shows how Belyara was able to pull his raft over to the sinking one, and that Raz is rescued as well as Maja and the Stygian. It shows one of the sharks just missing Raz's foot, but this seems more poetic liscence than anything else.
Finally, the six picture shows the group ashore a nearby island trying to recoperate. Each of them looks back to the frog island in the distance, a mixture of emotions shown. As an homework assignment, write what each of them is thinking at that moment in time."
----
GM Notes: None of this was supposed to happen, but I'm open to letting events unfold. The rafts were going to be destroyed if they took any time getting to them. They got there too quick for that. Once on the water, there was supposed to be a thrilling, fight off the frog people defense of the rafts, but for the chumming idea. I gave a relatively low percenage for the sharks to arrive - they did. I randomized the size...we got a 17 & 18 footers and I gave it a 5% chance that they'd attack the boat. I rolled a 3%. I then gave 2-6 chance of bumping the side, 2-6 for bumping the bottom, 1-6 for biting the edge and 1-6 for leaping up....guess what I got? All rolls were done in the open and the successful dex & strength checks that followed all were required to save their characters from death by serrated teeth. It was the quickets 2.5 hours I can remember in gaming.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the following escapade immediately follows the events with the Frog Queen detailed in last class. This episode seems to be a favoriate of the Artist 'Georg Jaffey', so we will use his art to discuss the events. Turn to page 92"
Pages flip and a few of the students in the professor's class exclaim in admiration of the artwork.
"This still shows our group on the beach. In the foreground are two rafts with a center lateen rigged mast. The group is getting on the rafts while Rahka the stygian sorceror releases from his thrall two of the frog people. Novitski and Van Houton tells us that the group used the Queens scepter to enthrall these two and they were guided to this beach without further confrontation. The background of the picture is dark, but clearly shows several pairs of menancing eyes. The implication is that the other frog people are on their way. The text explains that they weren't really on their way until after Rahka released his thralls and they reported what they had done, but this is a more poetic way of showing the threat."
"The next painting is titled 'Asking for Trouble'. Hadrathus, the archer and Belyara, the Thief are on one raft. Rahka, Maja and Raz are on the other. Rahka and Maja are seriously wounded from the previous confrontation within the chambers of the frog people. You see that along the shore, several dozen or more of the frog people are gathering, with some scouts already in the water. It's clear they are going to follow. Our text explains that Raz decided to use the oceans natural preditors to help them. He took the bleeding arm of Maja and proceeded to 'chum' the waters with her blood. The picture shows this as they are both kneeling over the side, blood is dripping from her wrist and there are two fins swimiming into the picture from a distance - between the frog people ashore and the rafts."
"A third painting is quite graphic, but is commonly referred to as the best of the series. It is titled 'Trouble' which is a play off the previous title. We see Raz's raft tilted upwards because the shark has lept or swam ontop of it's rear end. We see the wounded Stygian and Hrykanian clinging to the top edge ala how the Cameron version of the movie Titantic had it's hero's at the top as the rear sank before breaking off.
This scene also evokes images of another iconic movie - Jaws, where the character Quint is consumed ina great gout of blood when he falls into the maw of the anti hero of that movie. In any event, Raz is standing upon the tilted ship and trying to push the great fish - estimated to be between 14 & 17 feet in length if the descriptions and portrait can be believed - off the raft. You can see the raft is breaking apart. One other item of note. The background still shows the frog people, but they seem to be hanging back. All but these three here. It is likely that Rahka has exerted more of his entrancing power on them using the staff - for he does seem to be focusing his attention through the staff and beyond the sharks to the frog people - but we can't be sure here. The 3 frog people do attack the sharks, but they don't stand a chance. Blood already is evident in the water - far more than what Maja would have provided."
Glancing at his watch, the professor grimaces.
"We are running a bit late today folks, so I want you to review the final three pictures and read the accompanying text. Picture 4 shows Raz being knocked backwards and into the water as the big shark turns from the raft and chomps on a frog person. We see him doing a back first plunge.
The fifth picture shows how Belyara was able to pull his raft over to the sinking one, and that Raz is rescued as well as Maja and the Stygian. It shows one of the sharks just missing Raz's foot, but this seems more poetic liscence than anything else.
Finally, the six picture shows the group ashore a nearby island trying to recoperate. Each of them looks back to the frog island in the distance, a mixture of emotions shown. As an homework assignment, write what each of them is thinking at that moment in time."
----
GM Notes: None of this was supposed to happen, but I'm open to letting events unfold. The rafts were going to be destroyed if they took any time getting to them. They got there too quick for that. Once on the water, there was supposed to be a thrilling, fight off the frog people defense of the rafts, but for the chumming idea. I gave a relatively low percenage for the sharks to arrive - they did. I randomized the size...we got a 17 & 18 footers and I gave it a 5% chance that they'd attack the boat. I rolled a 3%. I then gave 2-6 chance of bumping the side, 2-6 for bumping the bottom, 1-6 for biting the edge and 1-6 for leaping up....guess what I got? All rolls were done in the open and the successful dex & strength checks that followed all were required to save their characters from death by serrated teeth. It was the quickets 2.5 hours I can remember in gaming.
