THE SQUAD'S SPA RETREAT ON WEATHERTOP [ooc post] [modplot]

[wildermods]

THE SQUAD'S SPA RETREAT ON WEATHERTOP: OOC
LOG POST
The hills the Squad travel through make an undulating ridge, often rising almost to a thousand feet, and here and there there are low clefts or passes leading into the land beyond. In the low-lying areas there are the ruins of walls and other buildings, and on some of the hills lie the ruins of different forts and watchtowers.

The highest hill in the area is Weathertop and this is where the squad will make camp on the fifth night of travel. This hill will provide them refuge but no refuge can truly keep them safe. As the crows said, they are the ones that were Chosen by the Green and the darker forces of this world have already found out about their existence.

The wraiths of the hills, barrow-wights and other abandoned dark spirits will whisper of their passing to the Nine, the Nazgul, the evil masters that spirit Koh spoke of. Fortunately, during this attack, the group will only face five of them, instead of all Nine. But unfortunately, the Nine won't be alone. They'll be accompanied by a small group of dementors, who will be more than willing to take some of their souls and thin the herd. After all, their master only needs a few of them alive.

Even more unfortunately: Sauron isn't the only one that's heard of their coming. The Unfinished Princess has as well. That's why the Squad is going to face the worst luck ever and be beset by the Unfinished Princess' Death Eaters, too, led by Bellatrix Lestrange. Even worse, the two evil sides will start fighting one another, hoping to take prisoners, with the Squad smack dab in the crossfire.

The Squad's only chance is to fight their way free and make for the woods beyond Weathertop, where they can hopefully escape their captors and regroup over the coming morning.

---

WEATHERTOP

After half an hour’s plodding climb Strider reached the crown of the hill; Frodo and Merry followed, tired and breathless. The last slope had been steep and rocky.

On the top they found, as Strider had said, a wide ring of ancient stone-work, now crumbling or covered with age-long grass. But in the centre a cairn of broken stones had been piled. They were blackened as if with fire. About them the turf was burned to the roots and all within the ring the grass was scorched and shrivelled, as if flames had swept the hill-top; but there was no sign of any living thing.

Standing upon the rim of the ruined circle, they saw all round below them a wide prospect, for the most part of lands empty and featureless, except for patches of woodland away to the south, beyond which they caught here and there the glint of distant water. Beneath them on this southern side there ran like a ribbon the Old Road, coming out of the West and winding up and down, until it faded behind a ridge of dark land to the east. Nothing was moving on it. Following its line eastward with their eyes they saw the Mountains: the nearer foothills were brown and sombre; behind them stood taller shapes of grey, and behind those again were high white peaks glimmering among the clouds.

USEFUL TERRAIN

The ring of stonework around Weathertop is battered and broken but still can provide shelter and cover in a fight. It has three levels with some stairs to allow the group to have a little high ground for fighters to move to if need be. The hill has enough bracken nearby to build fires to keep warm at night and to use for light and torches to use against enemies. The fight will occur in the wee hours, while it's dark, before the first light of dawn reaches them, but a bright waxing moon will give them enough light to see the movement of approaching enemies. (The Death Eaters will especially be visible due to the light reflecting off their metallic and ceramic masks). The hill provides good visibility, allowing them to see enemies coming, but they have cover to hide themselves while looking.

The height of the hill makes it a good launching point for any flying members of the group.

WEAKNESSES

There is no overhead shelter here and while the stone ring has little hollows to take cover in, there are no enclosed places or complete buildings to hide in. It can only offer temporary cover and the group will have to reach the woods to hide completely. It also will take time for them to summit and exit the hill through the several paths that lie on it, and this will be difficult for anyone who's injured in the battle.

---

THE NAZGUL

Over the lip of the little dell, on the side away from the hill, they felt, rather than saw, a shadow rise, one shadow or more than one. They strained their eyes, and the shadows seemed to grow. Soon there could be no doubt: three or four tall black figures were standing there on the slope, looking down on them. So black were they that they seemed like black holes in the deep shade behind them. Frodo thought that he heard a faint hiss as of venomous breath and felt a thin piercing chill. Then the shapes slowly advanced.

The Nazgul are the Nine, the Ringwraiths that are the chief Arbiters of Sauron's will. These undead creatures mindlessly and brutally serve their master. For the most part, they work in silence, other than occasionally emitting inhuman screeches, but on rare occasion, they do talk. However, in this encounter they won't. While one of their chief goals is finding the One Ring of Sauron, missing somewhere in the Wilderlands, they also will be serving his will as he fights against the Squad. In this encounter, they'll be trying to capture some of the Squad to be tortured and interrogated in Mordor.

AURA OF TERROR

The Nazgul project an aura of terror and evil that anyone can sense but certain people will sense it sooner. Those with holy powers such as the Monk archetype, Adept, and Archivist archetype (if they currently have holy or Monk spells banked) will sense the evil approaching sooner than others. Those with blessed magic weapons will find them glowing on the approach of the Nazgul.

Those with cursed weapons or the Necromancer mage archetype will also sense the approach of the Nazgul, but feel it as the approach of some kind of kindred. These people will also see something different when they see the Nazgul. While others will see them as dark cloaked figures with no faces visible in the depths of their hoods, those with cursed weapons or dark magic will see them differently. They'll see white, gaunt faces with burning, glowing, keen and merciless eyes. Under their mantles they'll see long grey robes; upon their grey hair are helms of silver; in their haggard hands are swords of steel that will glow with an unholy light.

BLACK BREATH

The Nazgul are able to inflict their Black Breath on people that get too close. (This usually requires some form of physical contact or being within very close proximity.) In a mild form, the Black Breath may cause a brief period of unconsciousness (usually a few seconds), accompanied by bad dreams, and a state of agitation upon being woken.

A severe case of the Black Breath is fatal if left untreated. It manifests as deep despair and extreme drowsiness, with the victim gradually losing consciousness. A period of hallucination-like nightmares progresses to deep unconsciousness and hypothermia, and the victim dies after a few days.

All cases of the Black Breath can be treated using the healing herb Athelas, which can be found in the forests beyond Weathertop. Genre-savvy characters can know to look for it or characters can chance upon it by accident. The scent of Athelas can help chase away the Black Breath and is even more potent when crushed and steamed in hot water. Players can god their characters getting inflicted by the Black Breath during the fight if they'd like to struggle with it in the threads taking place in the aftermath, on the run. They can find healing using athelas in the forest beyond or at Rivendell.

CURSED WEAPONS

The Nazgul wield large cursed swords that inflict their Black Breath on others if they slash them. They also have smaller cursed blades called Morgul-blades that leave a small metal splinter in someone's body when they get a good stab in. If inflicted with a splinter from one of the Morgul-blades, a character will slowly start to transform into a minor wraith under Sauron's command, fading away until they're nothing more than a mindless spirit with no will of their own. The splinter left in the body slowly works its way towards the character's heart; once it reaches their heart, the character will be fully transformed and unable to be saved, falling into the unseen realm of wraiths and spirits. However, if the character is brought to Rivendell before transforming, they'll be able to have surgery that removes the splinter in time and Elven healing.

The transformation can be slowed somewhat with use of athelas but not stopped. Until a full transformation, symptoms can include a putrifying, seemingly poisoned wound, extreme cold pain in the wounded area, the slow loss of their minds and free will, and feelings of fatigue and despair.

Players may god their characters being stabbed by a Morgul-blade, but should keep in mind that even after healing, it will leave permanent effects. Unlike Black Breath, which is a temporary state that can be healed, characters will be marked forever by a splinter wound even after its removed, taking seriously ill on the anniversary of their stabbing, and feeling the healed wound ache very painfully in the presence of the Nazgul or other forms of Sauron's dark power in the future.

WEAKNESSES

Though they are currently indestructible at the power level the PCs are at, the Nazgul will be weak to any holy spells by the Monk mage archetype, Adept archetype, or archived by the Archivist archetype. Holy light spells or spells that exude holy light as a byproduct can especially ward them off. Blessed weapons can cause them harm, even if they can't destroy them. Non-holy forms of magic will not affect them. Fire spells of any archetype or non-magical use of fire via torches can ward them off and make them potentially run.

While they can't be destroyed, they can be harried enough to leave and regroup and the Squad will have to give them enough trouble to make them do so.

---

DEMENTORS

At least a hundred dementors, their hidden faces pointing up at him, were standing beneath him. It was as though freezing water were rising in his chest, cutting at his insides. And then he heard it again... Someone was screaming, screaming inside his head... a woman...

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside, now...."

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead --"

Numbing, swirling white mist was filling Harry's brain... What was he doing? Why was he flying? He needed to help her... She was going to die.... She was going to be murdered....

He was falling, falling through the icy mist.

Originally from the Wizarding World, the dementors are nasty creatures that have defected to Sauron in exchange for feeding off the happiness of people in his enslaved lands and being allowed to feast on their souls. The dementors look similar to the Nazgul; they are cloaked beings with only darkness under their hoods. However, scaly, rotten hands sometimes peek out of their robes, looking like the flesh has been decayed underwater. Unlike the Nazgul, who require fell beasts to take to the air, they can also fly.

To cursed weapon holders or wielders of dark magic, they don't have a separate spirit form like the Nazgul do that is visible to them.

DESPAIR POWERS

Dementors feed on happiness and good memories, meaning that they cause a terrible effect of despair wherever they go. Unlike the Nazgul's aura of fear, which can be fought against with will, the dementors' aura is a little more all-consuming, causing a feeling of cold to clutch at the heart of those nearby. As the dementor feeds on a person's happiness, all that is left is feelings of despair and the victim may flashback to some of their worst memories and experience them as if they're happening all over again. Those who carry more trauma or mental instability from that trauma may find themselves suffering more than others.

DEMENTOR'S KISS

The Dementors can suck a person's soul out of their mouth, leaving behind a soulless empty catatonic husk that lives without actually being alive anymore. While the dementors here will be trying to capture people to take to Sauron, those that fight too hard may find the dementors trying to suck their souls out their mouths. These attempts cause terrible feelings of despair and the soul painfully dissociating from the body as it starts to occur. The mods recommend that these attempts be played as being disrupted if players want to continue playing their PCs, as this process is currently irreversible by the PCs.

WEAKNESSES

PCs cannot fight the effects of a dementor by focusing on happiness as the dementor can feed on that, but powerful negative motivating feelings like anger and vengefulness are immune, making them more useful than positive feelings when facing a dementor. Characters can also potentially think up happy memories with the hopes the dementor purposefully feeds on them while allowing other feelings to motivate them to fight.

The dementors are also weak to the same things as the Nazgul: holy spells by the Monk mage archetype, Adept archetype, or archived by the Archivist archetype. Holy light spells or spells that exude holy light as a byproduct can especially ward them off. Blessed weapons can cause them harm, even if they can't destroy them. Fire spells of any archetype or non-magical use of fire via torches can ward them off and make them potentially run.

Some Seer spells can also harm the dementors more than they can harm the Nazgul. Expecto Patronum is an especially effective spell, harnessing a powerful good memory to create a construct that has no despair that can hinder it. Spells involving the use of the soul can seriously harm dementors but can also be fed on - if fully fed on until they dissipate, the character's soul can potentially be destroyed. If the magic-wielder dissipates the spell before it can be fully fed on, they can potentially save themselves.

Like the Nazgul, while they can't be destroyed, the dementors can be harried enough to leave and regroup and the Squad will have to give them enough trouble to make them do so.

---

DEATH EATERS

A crowd of wizards, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, was marching slowly across the field. Harry squinted at them... They didn’t seem to have faces...

Then he realized that their heads were hooded and their faces masked. High above them, floating along in midair, four struggling figures were being contorted into grotesque shapes. It was as though the masked wizards on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes operated by invisible strings that rose from the wands into the air. Two of the figures were very small.

More wizards were joining the marching group, laughing and pointing up at the floating bodies. Tents crumpled and fell as the marching crowd swelled. Once or twice Harry saw one of the marchers blast a tent out of his way with his wand. Several caught fire. The screaming grew louder.

The Death Eaters once served the evil wizard Voldemort, but now serve the Unfinished Princess. Tipped off by magical creatures in the surrounding lands acting as the UP's spies (the group can thank the Wheelers and pixies for that), they'll arrive at the same time as the Nazgul and dementors and try to also capture some of the group for questioning by the Princess. Sadistic, powerful, and versatile mages, these wand-wielding wizards have a special hatred for those they deem inferior: nonmagic users, "muggleborn" wizards that don't come from magical family lines, "halfbloods" that have mixed heritage, and magical creatures.

The group will be led by the mad and sadistic Bellatrix Lestrange.

MAGIC

These wizards wield a very versatile form of magic that allows them a wide library of spells that can accomplish many different things. This makes them very dangerous. Many of these spells are dangerous curses and hexes, including the Three Unforgivable Curses: the simple Killing Curse, a torture curse called the Cruciatus Curse, and a mind control curse called the Imperio Curse. Death Eaters can also teleport around at will using an Apparition Spell.

Some of these curses can potentially have lingering effects that may need to be cured by PCs with healing spells or potentially even only at Rivendell.

WEAKNESSES

The Death Eaters are more vulnerable than the Nazgul and dementors. Though slightly hardier than nonmagical people, wizards are mortal people and can die from spells or normal wounds. Though they can defend with shield spells, these can't ward off everything and can't be left up all the time. They also are only capable of very limited wandless magic (at best) if disarmed of their wands. They'll also be very occupied fighting the dementors and Nazgul and their distraction can be taken advantage of.

Their leader Bellatrix is sadistic and savage but in her madness, she's not the best tactical planner, and can easily be driven to rages that make her think even less clearly than usual.

Some important notes:

---

NOTES
✦ Post in actionspam format. Plots and mod-run events in the game are meant to be in actionspam format to keep a brisk pace.

✦ Free-for-all Post. This event will be in "free-for-all" format, meaning that threadhopping is encouraged and that threading should be treated in the same conversational way as network posts.

✦ NPCing. Players can feel free to godmode the Nazgul and dementors in their own threads, as these npcs don't talk, and have very little personality beyond being pure evil. Please just make them realistically difficult to drive back as they're very powerful enemies. However, the mods will npc the Death Eaters since they're intelligent speaking people. A thread will be available in the comments below where players can link to their threads to request a Death Eater npc to participate.

✦ Fairy Swaps. Now that the fairy swap mechanism will be in place, players can make their quest characters and Brugh characters magically swap places whenever they want, including during the event itself.

✦ When it Takes Place: ICly this is 5 days into the Squad's journey through the hills.

Comments

MOD QUESTIONS/ISSUES

[wildermods]

Feel free to ask the mods questions or bring up any issues here. Feel free to ask questions about any mechanics - including whether or not your characters' abilities will affect an enemy - here.

Re: MOD QUESTIONS/ISSUES

[invisibleheir]

Would Excalibur count as a Holy/Blessed weapon for purposes of fighting the Nazgul?

[therevanchist]

1. Can the Nazgul be disarmed/what happens when a non-Ringwraith tries to wield one of their blades?

2. Can Dementors feed off fake/implanted memories? What effect does a meditative/Zen mental state have on them?

3. If I have a general question about Revan's light side/dark side Force alignment relative to the blessed/cursed mechanics in the game that should have occurred to me while writing the app, should I ask it here or somewhere else?

[outofresets]

Can Archivists bank or reflect any of the Death Eater spells?

Re: MOD QUESTIONS/ISSUES

[wherenoonegoes]

Do the Nazgul have their fell mounts, or did they arrive another way?

[awfulcer]

My apologies if this is me being a Dingbat Who Can't Read, but do cursed weapons affect Nazgul and Dementors, or just Death Eaters?

Edit: also, Dixon's drinkin' shield provides invulnerability for a limited time when activated, wondering if that would also apply to Black Breath, Dementor's Kiss and/or Death Eater spells, or if it's up to my discretion?

[shyhara]

What would happen if anyone actually got captured by the Nazgul? Would the teleportation magic just kick in and teleport them back once they were taken too far away, or would the evil shit override the Squad magic?

Re: MOD QUESTIONS/ISSUES

[mark_in_the_sands]

As Cassie is a daughter of Zeus and therefore technically a demigoddess, will that affect the way the Nazgul or the Dementors see/react to her? ETA: We know in canon that a blood-drinking Greek monster could tell that she was Zeus' daughter (or at least that was inferred, it said she was a child of Olympus but Ares killed the monster before it could say who she was the daughter of), so we know there's some biological component.

DEATH EATER NPC REQUESTS

[wildermods]

The Nazgul and dementors can be godded by players but the Death Eaters are intelligent and verbal, so the mods will be npcing them. Request any Death Eater npc requests here. Please link to the most recent comment in the thread where you want them to show up.

Re: DEATH EATER NPC REQUESTS

[awfulcer]

We could use one here, throwing that jelly-legs curse at Dixon please!

[unsealthecatbox]

Please throw the Levicorpus spell at Ange! Prompt #1 would be good for this, I think.

[followingdawn]

A Death Eater right in here would be excellent!

[unsealthecatbox]

I'm not certain if this should be notified instead of taking the Death Eater as dead or wounded, but just in case here I'll link a place where the NPC's getting attacked and maybe stabbed.

Re: DEATH EATER NPC REQUESTS

[shyhara]

could we have a death eater to square off with bart over here?

[unsealthecatbox]

Sorry for bothering again, but maybe in this one too, it's a different thread than the ones requested before.

Re: DEATH EATER NPC REQUESTS

[awfulcer]

here with that finger jinx for Anita!

Re: DEATH EATER NPC REQUESTS

[shieldedson]

One Death Eater here please to curse Jon.

BLACK BREATH OR MORGUL-BLADE WOUND NOTICES

[wildermods]

If having your character inflicted with the Black Breath or a Cursed Morgul-blade wound, please notify the mods here. We will leave these injuries up to player discretion but players should post notice in a central place to ensure there are still enough characters to help the injured get the walking wounded the rest of the way to Rivendell.

[followingdawn]

Sothe is getting Black Breathed. Please don't let Dixon drop him on his head during the escape.

[shyhara]

shuichi is gonna be getting black breath'd ayyyy

[therevanchist]

Revan's getting a mild case, enough to knock her combat effectiveness down a couple notches but not to keep her from leaving under her own power.

[awfulcer]

Dixon’s getting stabbed, but not as seriously as he deserves.

Re: BLACK BREATH OR MORGUL-BLADE WOUND NOTICES

[greyerrant]

Loken is going to get shanked by a morgul blade so that one of the strongest physical warriors ends up getting worfed to reinforce how scary these guys are.

CURSE/HEX INJURY REQUESTS

[wildermods]

For a curse or hex injury by the Death Eaters, these will be randomized. (Though a player can opt out of a specific one if it makes them uncomfortable.) Please post here if you'd like your character to receive one and one will be RNGed. These can range from temporary, to longer-lasting but healable by those with healing spells, to unhealable until Rivendell.

All spells will allow characters to at least be walking wounded until they're healed or the spell effects pass on their own.

[unsealthecatbox]

Let's get a random curse/hex.

PLAYER PLOTTING

[wildermods]

Feel free to use this to plot with other players if you'd prefer to use the OOC instead of plurk.

Cassie Sandsmark

[mark_in_the_sands]

I don't know if I have everyone friended, so just to be sure anyone who wants to has access:

Cassie is Roughing It, but she does have a significant amount of hand-to-hand combat training. She's definitely going to be waving flaming branches around.

She is, however, used to being a magical flying brick (super-human strength, speed, durability, and reflexes) so if you want a girl in her late teens taking a hit for your character, she is available for that.

She's also going to get her soul partially pulled out of her body at one point by Dementors. It'll get put back, but she'll need some cover while she's recovering from that.