The boxed text below explains what is happening in terms of the HeroQuest rules. The remainder of the text is a narrative description of what is happening in the scene.
| The Protagonists:
Ledaal Taravati Relevant Abilities: Dragon-Blooded Essence 5W, Hate Anathema 17, Resistant To Injury 5W, Ringing Anvil Onslaught 10W3, Spear Fighting 5W. Equipment: Pointed Comment 17 (jade dire lance). Velvet Shadow Relevant Abilities: Dance 5W, Fire And Stones Strike 20W2, Flowing Dance Moves 19, Hard To Predict 17, Lightning Speed 10W2, Reflex Sidestep Technique 20W2, Resistant To Injury 10W, Solar Essence 10W, Spider-Foot Technique 20W2, Spirited Acrobatics 5W. Equipment: Dagger. Velvet Shadow was created by Rachel Blackburn. |
In a riverside tavern, somewhere between Great Forks and Nexus, Velvet Shadow has just been chosen by the Unconquered Sun. Unfortunately, her moment of Exaltation coincides with the arrival of Ledaal Taravati, a Dragon-Blooded member of the Wyld Hunt, upon the scene. For long moments, Taravati stares in shock at the blazing beacon that is Velvet Shadow's caste mark. Then she takes a firm grip upon her dire lance, Pointed Comment, and steps forward.
| Taravati is going to begin the contest using Spear Fighting 5W. The Narrator allows her to take automatic augments (see HeroQuest p79 - "Automatic Augment") from Hate Anathema (+2), Pointed Comment (+7; a +5 "heavy equipment" bonus for the dire lance with an additional +2 for its individual ability rating; see HeroQuest p78 - "Armor, Weapons and Tools") and Resistant to Injury (+3) for a final ability rating of 17W.
She will begin the Extended Contest with 37 Advantage Points (AP) (see HeroQuest p66 - "Extended Contest Sequence"). Velvet Shadow will use Dance 5W. The Narrator allows her to take automatic augments from Hard to Predict (+2), Resistant To Injury (+3) and Spirited Acrobatics (+3) for a final ability rating of 13W. She will begin with 33 AP. Starting AP Totals: Taravati: 37 Velvet Shadow: 33 |
ROUND 1
Loudly denouncing the "Anathema scum!" Taravati closes the distance between them and thrusts at the novice Exalt with Pointed Comment. Velvet Shadow, however, nimbly dances away towards the shelter of the posts that support a gallery along the side and back walls of the tavern.
| Taravati's action is a "normal" AP bid (see HeroQuest p67 - "Bidding Advantage Points" & p68 - "Sample Advantage Point Bids") of 12 AP using Spear Fighting 17W.
Velvet Shadow resists with Dance 13W. Their Masteries cancel each other out (see HeroQuest p62 - "Bump Up with Mastery"). Taravati rolls 10, a success. Velvet Shadow rolls a 7, also a success. Because she has made the higher roll (see HeroQuest p66 - "Extended Contest Results"), Taravati loses 6 AP, half of her bid. Running AP Totals: Taravati: 31 Velvet Shadow: 33 |
"I don't understand! What have I done to you?" Velvet Shadow cries as she dances backwards, weaving between the supporting posts in the hope that Taravati's dire lance will prove to be unwieldy in the confined space. She reckons without the Dragon-Blood's fierce charge, and Taravati has no problem keeping up with her.
| Velvet Shadow makes a "cautious" bid of 5 AP using Dance 13W.
Taravati resists with Spear Fighting 17W. Velvet Shadow rolls 18, a failure. Teravati rolls 18, also a failure. As their levels of success and dice rolls are tied, neither of them gains or loses AP. Running AP Totals: Taravati: 31 Velvet Shadow: 33 |
END OF ROUND 1 AP TOTALS:
Taravati: 31
Velvet Shadow: 33
ROUND 2
Taravati knows that she will have to take this Anathema down quickly before it can summon its "unholy" powers. She invokes her most powerful combat Charm, Ringing Anvil Onslaught. Her watery anima flares into life around her, though it seems insignificant in the face of the blazing golden light that surrounds Velvet Shadow. Taravanti lashes out with her dire lance once, twice, three times, more quickly than Velvet Shadow can imagine, even as she instinctively invokes one of her own Charms, Reflex Sidestep Technique. She barely moves as Pointed Comment flashes past her head, first to her left, then to her right, freezing her in place.
| Taravati makes a "determined" bid of 16 AP using Ringing Anvil Onslaught 10W3, the Narrator allows her to take automatic augments from her Dragon-Blooded Essence (+3), Hate Anathema (+2), Pointed Comment (+7), Resistant To Injury (+3) and Spear Fighting (+3) for a final target number of 8W4.
Velvet Shadow resists by invoking Reflex Sidestep Technique 20W2. The Narrator allows her to take automatic augments from her Flowing Dance Moves (+2), Hard To Predict (+2), Resistant To Injury (+3), Solar Essence (+3), and Spirited Acrobatics (+3) for a final target number of 13W3. Taravati rolls 5, a success which her extra Mastery bumps to a critical! (See HeroQuest p62 - "Bump Up with Mastery") Velvet Shadow rolls 19, a failure. As a loss of 32 AP would leave her on the point of defeat, she spends a Hero Point to bump her result to a success (See HeroQuest p62 - "Bump Up with Hero Points"). Thanks to this, she only transfers 16 AP to Taravati. Running AP Totals: Taravati: 47 Velvet Shadow: 17 |
Velvet Shadow slaps the dire lance's point away from her face as she slides away to her left, putting one of the support pillars between her and Taravati.
| Velvet Shadow makes a "cautious" bid of 8 AP with Reflex Sidestep Technique. Her target number is still 13W3.
Taravati resists with Ringing Anvil Onslaught 8W4. Velvet Shadow rolls 12, a success. Taravati rolls 13, a failure that is bumped to a success by her extra Mastery. As Velvet Shadow has the lower roll, Taravati loses 4 AP, half of the bid. Running AP Totals: Taravati: 43 Velvet Shadow: 17 |
END OF ROUND 2 AP TOTALS:
Taravati: 43
Velvet Shadow: 17
ROUND 3
Moved by an instinct she does not yet understand, Velvet Shadow invokes her Lightning Speed Charm, moving faster and faster as she backs away from Taravati.
| Realising that she is outclassed, Velvet Shadow attempts a +8 variable augment (see HeroQuest p80 - "Variable Augment") with Lightning Speed 10W2. The Resistance for the attempt is 20W.
Velvet Shadow rolls 15, a failure bumped to a success by her extra Mastery. The Narrator rolls a 15 for the resistance, a success. This tied result would result in no bonus, so Velvet Shadow spends a Hero Point to bump her result to a critical success. This gives her a +8 bonus to her target number, which is now 1W4. There is no change to the AP totals. Running AP Totals: Taravati: 43 Velvet Shadow: 17 |
Taravati charges forward, thrusting repeatedly with Pointed Comment. Not one of the thrusts makes contact as Velvet Shadow backs away with unearthly haste. She gracefully dances backwards to the last of the support pillars, bracing one foot flat against it as she pauses to draw breath.
| Taravati makes a "determined" bid of 20 AP using Ringing Anvil Onslaught. Her target number is still 8W4.
Velvet Shadow resists with Reflex Sidestep Technique. With the variable augment she just made, her target number is now 1W4. Taravati rolls 16, a failure. She now has no extra Mastery to bump her roll. Velvet Shadow rolls 13, also a failure, but her low roll means that Taravati loses half the bid, 10 AP. Running AP Totals: Taravati: 33 Velvet Shadow: 17 |
END OF ROUND 3 AP TOTALS:
Taravati: 33
Velvet Shadow: 17
Velvet Shadow, still hardly aware of what she is doing, activates yet another Charm. Her Spider-Foot Technique lets her run backwards up the support pillar she was stood against as easily as if she were running across the empty tavern floor.
| Velvet Shadow attempts another variable augment, this time for a +10 bonus, with Spider-Foot Technique 20W2. The resistance for the attempt is 10W2.
She rolls a 15, a failure which is bumped to a success by her extra Mastery. The Narrator rolls a 14 for the resistance, a failure. This gives Velvet Shadow a +10 bonus to her target number, which is now 11W4. There is no change to the AP totals. Running AP Totals: Taravati: 33 Velvet Shadow: 17 |
Taravati leaps high into the air and launches a Ringing Anvil Onslaught against the support pillar. A series of mighty blows smashes it into splinters. Velvet Shadow, with the pillar she had begun to run up no longer there, tumbles back to the floor.
| Taravati makes a "determined" bid of 16 AP with Ringing Anvil Onslaught. Her target number is still 8W4.
Velvet Shadow resists with Reflex Sidestep Technique. With the augment she just rolled, her target number is now 11W4. Taravati rolls 2, a success. Velvet Shadow rolls 6, also a success. Taravati's low roll means that Velvet Shadow loses 8 AP. half the bid. Running AP Totals: Taravati: 33 Velvet Shadow: 9 |
END OF ROUND 4 AP TOTALS:
Taravati: 33
Velvet Shadow: 9
Velvet Shadow decides that continuing to run away simply isn't going to work and snatches a dagger from her belt. Invoking her Fire And Stones Strike Charm, she leaps for Taravati, who is just reaching the apex of her jump.
Taravati thrusts Pointed Comment downward, hoping to spit the Solar Exalt on the point of her dire lance before she can get close enough to strike. Velvet Shadow is too fast for her, though, and actually runs along the weapon's shaft before stepping from there onto the upper gallery. Her dagger strikes Taravati on the temple as she flashes past, drawing blood and stunning the Dragon-Blooded warrior.
| Velvet Shadow makes a "desperation stake" bid (see HeroQuest p70 - "Desperation Stake") of 33 AP, the entire total with which she started the Extended Contest. She uses Fire And Stones Strike 20W2.
As she is relying on speed and movement to hit Taravati, the Narrator lets her keep her existing augments, and also adds a +1 equipment bonus (see HeroQuest p78 - "Armor, Weapons and Tools") for the dagger. Her target number is now 12W4. Taravati resists with Ringing Anvil Onslaught 8W4. Velvet Shadow rolls 7, a success. Taravati rolls 14, a failure! Taravati loses all of her remaining 33 AP. Running AP Totals: Taravati: 0 Velvet Shadow: 9 |
END OF ROUND 5 AP TOTALS:
Taravati: 0
Velvet Shadow: 9
Velvet Shadow pauses for a moment, looking down at her dazed opponent, unsure whether she should move in and finish Taravati off. Unnerved and confused by her experience of Exaltation and her first confrontation with one of the Dragon-Blooded, she is afraid to get back to where Taravati can reach her. After all, she does not really understand the extent of her powers, or how much she can rely upon them. Her caste mark and anima ablaze, she decides that discretion is the better part of valour. If she must, she can always defeat Ledaal Taravati on another day when she is better-equipped to face her.
Velvet Shadow makes her escape...
| Velvet Shadow could make a parting shot (see HeroQuest p69 - "Parting Shot"), but decides to play it safe rather than trying to push Taravati to a greater level of defeat. |
FINAL AP TOTALS AND CONTEST CONSEQUENCES:
Taravati: 0 (Hurt - she will have a -1 penalty to all actions until she recovers from this minor wound; see HeroQuest p74 - "Contest Consequences")
Velvet Shadow: 9 (she is unhurt)