The Briar Wolves: A Sryth Forum Adventure

[NathanH]

This is a small gamebook-style adventure within the forum. Follow the links to make your choices, just like playing Sryth. You need a way of generating random numbers between 1 and 20.

In this adventure you will take on the role of an adventurer who becomes tangled up in a deadly encounter in the village of Briartangle.

Rules (or just ignore them and play how you like, I don't care!):

When you fight a combat, you will be given a score to equal or beat on a 20-sided die. If you beat the score, then you have defeated your enemy. If you fail to beat the score, you suffer damage equal to the difference between your roll and the required roll. Then you must roll again until you win or die. After a successful combat, you heal half of the SPs lost in this fight, rounding down.

Skills: You choose four skills and a power. There are no levels to skills and powers, you either have them or you don't. Weaponry, Weaponry subskills and Unarmed Combat give a +1 bonus to combat rolls. Restoration allows you to heal three quarters of SPs lost in battle. Destruction gives +2 to hit rolls but you still take damage as if you weren't using it (eg you are fighting 17+, using destruction you roll a 15, you kill your enemy but suffer 2 damage). All other powers and skills can only be used when you are given the option.

You begin with 20 SPs.

Click here to begin. (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63553&postcount=2)

[NathanH]

The last light of a fine summer's day smiles through the thick canopy of the Tangle, the small wood on the edge of the village of Briartangle. No great adventure has lead you to this treacherous winding trail in a remote corner of southern Tysa: your quest is to taste the famous brew of the Witches' Cackle inn, famous throughout the region. Your weary limbs drag you along, consoled by the thought of that fine golden liquid that will soon course through their veins.

A sound cuts through the quiet of the forest. A troubling sound that quickens your pulse and brings your senses fully alert. The terrified screams of children, close ahead, surely mere hundreds of yards away. Fate, it seems, will not let you rest tonight. Your fatigue melts away as you prepare to face whatever troubles or dangers lie ahead.

Ready your weapon and race towards the screams (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63554&postcount=3)
Use the cover of the trees to stealthily (but slowly) advance (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63556&postcount=4)
Flee at once (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63557&postcount=5)
Use your power of DIVINATION (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63572&postcount=19)

[NathanH]

You sprint along the path as fast as you can,, weapon in hand. You stumble once or twice on the rough, bumpy track, but your nimble feet somehow keep you upright. As you round a corner of the trail, a horrifying scene meets your eyes. Two children, a boy and a girl, tears streaming down their grime-covered faces, are running along the path in your direction. Blind fear is written across their faces, and its source is not far away. Just behind them, an aging man wielding a rusty sword is preparing to make a brave, desperate stand against two grinning goblins mounted atop huge wolves. By the way he holds his weapon, you realize he has little skill in combat and can hardly hope to survive long against the cruel blades and sharp fangs of his tormentors.

Call upon your power of ILLUSION (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63558&postcount=6)
Employ your skill of ARCHERY (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63559&postcount=7)
Call upon your power of GATING (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63571&postcount=18)
Call upon your power of FORTIFICATION (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63564&postcount=12)
Yell a defiant battle-cry and charge the goblins (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63560&postcount=8)
Flee at once (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63557&postcount=5)

[NathanH]

You creep forwards through the thick undergrowth, taking care to make as little sound as possible. The wood is well-named; your progvress is slow and arduous, and your heart beats faster as you sense that time is short. Suddenly, one of the screams is cut short, then another. Silence. You realize you have made a mistake even before your eyes fall upon the horrifying scene on the road ahead.

Two goblins, mounted on huge black wolves, sit cackling by the twisted corpses of a boy and a girl. A little further up the road, lying in a pool of blood, is the unmoving body of an adult human. Anger flares inside you, both at these cruel butchers and at yourself for not having reached the victims sooner. Still, you think grimly, you may be too late to save the humans, but you can still take revenge on their murderers.

Employ your skill of ARCHERY (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63561&postcount=9)
Employ your skill of WOODSMANSHIP or THIEVERY (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63562&postcount=10)
Charge out of the undergrowth and slay these wicked creatures! (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63563&postcount=11)
Flee at once (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63557&postcount=5)

[NathanH]

You live to tell your tale, but it is a tale of cowardice. Who do you think you are? Rokmokkora? Shame on you!

[NathanH]

You summon a convincing illusion of a large black bear. It leaps at the wolves with a terrible roar. Though their wicked riders try to pull them under control, the angry snarls of the goblins are far less daunting to the mounts than the huge claws of your illusion. Whimpering, they turn and flee, throwing their riders to the ground. Before the warty creatures can recover and finish off their target, you rush to intercept them. Your foes respond surprisingly quickly to their predicament, the first adeptly parrying your first blow with its serrated blade, while the other almost takes your head off with a wild swing of its axe. Grimacing, you prepare for a bitter struggle.

TWO GOBLINS: 9+

Defeat the goblins (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63565&postcount=13)

[NathanH]

You notch an arrow and swiftly let fly. You are not a moment too soon, as one of the goblins batters aside the man's blade, leaving him defenceless as the second creature raises his axe for the kill. Your aim is true, your arrow burying itself into the neck of the axe-wielding fiend. It collapses to the earth with a sickening gurgle, black blood suprting into the air in a triumphant fountain. The creature's mount, free of its vicious rider at last, vanishes into the wood. The remaining goblin, realizing you are more of a threat, ignores the staggering sword-wielding man and spurs his snarling steed towards you.

GOBLIN WOLFRIDER 10+

Defeat the goblin (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63565&postcount=13)

[NathanH]

Using every last ounce of your strength, you somehow manage to close the gap to the goblins before they can finish off their victim. Your headling charge leaves your guard open, however, and one of the goblins deals you a wicked blow with the serrated edge of his blade. Lose 3 SPs.

Breathing heavily, but alive, you motion the man to get behind you. He is only too eager to obey. Momentarily denied their sport, the two goblins howl and shriek at you. buoyed by your small victory, you laugh in their rage-twisted faces and prepare for a stern test of your skills.

GOBLIN WOLFRIDERS 13+

Defeat the goblins (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63565&postcount=13)

[NathanH]

Horror overcomes you as you realize that the two laughing brutes are driving their mounts to feast upon the slain. You are grimly reminded that there are no depths of depravity too low for goblinkind. Filled with righteous fury, you take careful aim and loose an arrow towards one of the vile monsters. You watch with satisfaction as the shaft buries intself into the back of the goblin, hurling it from its mount. As its cruel master falls from its back, the wolf bounds off into the wood. The remaining goblin shrieks in surprise. Turning quickly, it spots you and lets out a string of curses in its guttural tongue. The beast raises its axe as it forces its mount towards you, too quickly for you to release another shaft. Fortunately, the dense foliage gives you an advantage against your mounted foe that you would have lacked in open ground.

GOBLIN WOLFRIDER 9+

Defeat the goblin (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63567&postcount=14)

[NathanH]

Your mastery of stealth, combined with the loud coarse laughter of your targets, allows you to reach the gloating goblins without their noticing. Two swift strikes of your weapon and they trouble the world no more. You step back, preparing to face an attack from the slavering wolves, but you are relieved when they simply bound away into the forest. You recall tales of the cruelty with which goblin mounts are treated by their masters.

Wasting no time, you rush forward to see if there are any survivors.

Continue (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63567&postcount=14)

[NathanH]

The goblins grin at the sight of another victim. You resolve to show them that not all humans are weak and helpless. Your courage in the face of superior odds seems to disquiet them, and they spur their mounts to meet your charge with some caution.

GOBLIN WOLFRIDERS 13+

Defeat the goblins (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63567&postcount=14)

[NathanH]

One goblin batters away the man's desperate parry with its heavy axe, as the other moves in to finish him off. As its sword sweeps down, you call upon the powers of the Neverness, hastily creating an invisible barrier. Sparks fly as the sword rebounds from the shield, the goblin shrieking in surprise. Agitated and confused, the goblins hack wildly at the man, but your shield holds firm long enough for you to reach the man's side and protect him from his assailants.

GOBLIN WOLFRIDERS 13+

Defeat the goblins (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63565&postcount=13)

[NathanH]

"Thank the All-Father!" the man gasps, awestruck by your heroic rescue. You curtly tell him that the time for thanks will be later, and ask about the extent of the goblin attack. You learn that the village has just been attacked by a brutal goblin raiding force, much too strong for the milita to fend off. The protector of the town, Lambin Worrywort, has tried to lead the villages to the relative satefy of a narrow cave nearby. This is where the group was making for when the goblins caught up with them.

When you ask whether all the surviving villagers have escaped with the protector, he hesitates. "I don't know," he replies hoarsely. "It was chaos. I... I think some fell behind. I don't know."

Go with the group to the villagers' hiding place (To be continued)
Make for the village itself to seek out survivors (To be continued)

[NathanH]

You kneel by the children, but it is obvious there is nothing you can do. You curse at your folly in approaching slowly, sensing that you could have done more had you shown more courage. Your silent condemnation is cut short by ragged coughs. You rush to the side of the adult, an aging man. He is still breathing, but barely. When he sees you, he tried to speak, but can only make a wet gurgling sound.

Call upon your power of RESTORATION (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63568&postcount=15)
Continue (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63569&postcount=16)

[NathanH]

You quickly realize that his wounds are beyond your skill to heal, but you can at least ease his passing. As you sooth his pain with your magical energies, his shallow breathing becomes more measured, and he manages at last to speak, his voice little more than a whisper.

"Raiders... in the village. Lambin leading survivors to... secret cave."

He manages to relate to you the location of the cave. You ask whether any villagers remain in Briartangle itself, but, alas, your magic fails all too quickly, and you watch distraught as his strength fades away. Vowing vengeance on the goblin raiders, and determined to make amends for your failure to save these innocents, you plot your next move.

Search for the villagers' hiding place (To be continued)
Make for the village to seek out possible survivors (To be continued)

[NathanH]

You watch helplessly as the man passes away, as he looks at you with pleading eyes. All you can do is swear to him that any other goblin in these woods will pay for their crimes. This, at least, seems to give the dying man a little comfort in his final tortured moments.

Call upon your power of NECROMANCY (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63570&postcount=17)
Make for the village to look for survivors (To be continued)

[NathanH]

Though you have little taste for the act, you employ your dark arts to briefly tear the man's recently-departed spirit back from beyond the grave. Understandably, he is beset by terror and grief, and you can make little sense out of his ravings, but you do learn that the village's protector has led some survivors to a secret cave in the forest. Armed with this knowledge, you gently release the agonised spirit. You pray that your harsh treatment of the soul in the seconds after such a brutal death will not stop him from resting easy.

You wish you did not have to leave the bodies lying as they are, but while there are goblins roaming the woods, and possibly more villagers to save, you judge you cannot afford to waste a single moment.

Search for the villagers' hiding place (To be continued)
Make for the village to seek out possible survivors (To be continued)

[NathanH]

You call up a swirling black portal and step inside. The cool, inviting, yet alien touch of the Neverness caresses your skin seductively. Brushing aside this lure with your mental fortitude, you push through the eddies of magical energy and emerge from a new portal just behind the goblins. As one raises its axe to strike down its victim, you intervene with a deft blow that fells the creature. Pressing your advantage, you engage the other goblin before it can recover from the shock of your sudden appearance.

GOBLIN WOLFRIDER 8+

Defeat the goblin (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63565&postcount=13)

[NathanH]

Your magical sixth sense tells you that there is no time to waste, and any delay could end in tragedy.

Ready your weapon and race towards the screams (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63554&postcount=3)
Use the cover of the trees to stealthily (but slowly) advance (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63556&postcount=4)
Flee at once (http://www.srythforum.com/showpost.php?p=63557&postcount=5)