Thread #6393159
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H
This is a world of bloodthirsty monsters, ever hungry cannibals, bandits, brutal slavers. Wild beasts rule the deserts and plains, survival alone is a grueling struggle.

Not even the strong can make it here in this desolate place.
There's no history or record of what it was or how it came to be, there's only survival.

Your beginnings will be no different. You will not be the chosen one. You’re not great and powerful. You are not the center of the universe, and you are not special.

Unless you work for it.

Each choice will take you to a part of the world, it will not be safe nor you will find allies nearby. Choose.

>The Holy Sword (Not all treasure is worth keeping. Someone's going to be missing this.)
>Rock Bottom (Alone, unarmed, naked and hungry. Rock bottom in the middle of the desert. )
>The Slave (Just another slave working in the pits digging rocks and metal to build a pointless statue.)
+Showing all 78 replies.
>>
>>6393159
>The Holy Sword (Not all treasure is worth keeping. Someone's going to be missing this.)
Let them come.
>>
>>6393159
>Rock Bottom (Alone, unarmed, naked and hungry. Rock bottom in the middle of the desert.)
Hype hype hype
>>
>>6393159
>The Holy Sword (Not all treasure is worth keeping. Someone's going to be missing this.)
The Blade of Okran... ours...
>>
>>6393159
>>Rock Bottom (Alone, unarmed, naked and hungry. Rock bottom in the middle of the desert. )
The true way.
Also BEEP
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

Anyone else for tie break? 1 sword 2 bottom
>>
>>6393159
Damn, too late. Best way to get swole desu
>The Slave (Just another slave working in the pits digging rocks and metal to build a pointless statue.)
>>
>>6393160
>>6393165
>>6393166
>>6393171
>>6393244

It was a hot day, more than usual.

You decided to stick to your routine.

Woke up, went to the bar in the middle of nowhere. Best alcohol is usually there. You can get drunk all you want and nobody is gonna rob you or suddenly be in the middle of a fight because someone though they were being looked at the wrong way and now we need to fight to the death even if you just there to drink some cactus rum.

Yup. None of that. Just drink, sleep, drink and maybe eat something why not.

---------------

What you didn't expect, was to be so drunk that you actually went wandering around in the desert. It was dark and the wind was strong so you lost your way back. You saw some lights, lanterns flickering against the wind.

You found yourself on a battlefield. Or rather, the part that follows after both sides are decimated and too bloody to continue fighting. Corpses, pieces of armor and broken blades were scattered throughout the blood-stained sand. The light from moons helped as you wandered through the butchery. You heard moaning from the piles of bodies but were quickly cut short to the wind and sand blasting one another.

You would've made a decent amount of money with all these parts and equipment but you could barely keep your feet on the ground from all the rum.

You don't remember much, one of the advantages of being very drunk, which you very much enjoy.

But this is something you cannot get off your head. It was as if the moons themselves decided to guide you to this blade sticking on a sand hill. It seemed to be calling out to you...

You stumbled forward and climbed the hill. You stood still gripping on the handle of the blade. You remember pulling and pulling. Lifting your shoulders and arms almost about to fall until... Until the blade was free. It cut through the wind and sand. It rose to the air almost trying to escape your hands and touch the sky. It felt good.

Until, it wasn't. You were drunk. Keeping balance was a hard thing to do already but now holding a piece of metal almost as tall as a man...

-------------------------

The sand as always being as hard as rock, you stood up slowly cursing and looking what made you fall. Right, the sword's sheath. Pale. Metallic. Strange. Hard to understand. You sheathed the blade as best as you could but on the corner of your eye...

You saw them. Figures. Shadows. Watching. Talking. Looking. Lights dancing in the distance slowly approaching. There was yelling. Moaning from the bodies scattered. Someone pointed at you. Then they all began to do so.

You ran. You ran as fast as you could until your lungs started to burn and then you ran some more. The blade dragged behind you kicking off any rock that dared cross its path.
>>
You woke up to a pounding headache, a burning sensation on your legs and chest. You want to puke but rather not, you feel terrible already.

The cracked celling allowed the sun to enter fully into the house. Somehow you managed to end up inside a house, or rather, the ruins of one.

Didn't took you long to figure it out. You somehow managed to return to The Hub. Had to be, there's no village or town standing nearby unless you want to

The Hub was a "disputed" location by several factions, some held it for a week.. others for months.. eventually, they all leave. Nobody ever holds this place for much longer. Used to be a trading outpost but now is just some very impressive ruins.

It was the perfect spot for criminals, convicts, escaped slaves, and useless nobodies like you. Suddenly, your gaze made a sharp turn. You were still holding it. The sword. Your sword.

---------------------------

Did you.. Did you really run into town with this? Even though there are walls and gates, nobody patrols the hub, there are no police or samuraii to keep it safe. But still, there's always someone watching.. Someone must have seen you dragging this massive blade. It won't be long before the others get jealous.. for there is one thing that is in abundance in The Hub it is ego, ambition, and the desperate need to survive, even if you have to kill the person standing next to you..

But what to do.. You had to decide and quickly. Its still early in the day.

Hide the sword, but someone will find it. No matter how difficult you made a hiding spot, once the locals started asking the kind of questions that ended with a chopped-off hand, secrets don't stay secret for long.. specially if the people who saw you steal the blade come to town asking questions...

And besides.. the thieves guild is working here.. they will find it no trouble.. Or will they? They barely pay attention to the "Hubbers," a derogatory term for the weakling scum that actually lives here.

Or.. on the other hand, you could choose to wear it... This is YOUR sword.. Yeah, you are no sword master.. You don't have training or know anything about weapons.. or fighting.. or how to hold the weighted hilt.. but it is YOUR sword at the end of the day.
This place is filled starving creatures and escaped slaves, nobody is actually strong enough to take it from you. There is no hiding this sword. That is for sure, these houses have nothing but dust and sand left.. and your clothes are barely hanging together as they are

>Hide the sword
>Carry the sword
>>
>>6393257
>Sell the sword to the Thieves guild
>>
>>6393257
>Carry the sword
Realistically speaking we're gonna have to fuck off to the swamp or the Sheklands anyway.
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>>6393257
>Carry the sword
Is it still the standard weapon?

>>6393262
Sheklands is easiser to survive so long as we don't get unlucky enough to get caught by a fucking spider while we are in a coma whenever we get beat up by some roaming shek. Just gotta get lucky and don't lose a limb so we don't bleed out.
>>
>>6393257
>Carry the sword
"Live by the sword, get beat the fuck up really badly a bunch of times by starving goofy fuckers and also some dogs and also what the fuck is that giant thing that just came out of the fucking sand holy shit holy SHIT but then you get back up real quick so your Toughness score skyrockets hell YEAH by the sword."
>>
>>6393266
>standard
There are multiple ones, it can be an Edgewalker 1 2 or 3. I hope it's a 3
>>
>>6393260
they would rather not pay you and kill you for it, the killing comes for free

>>6393266
All you can tell is that you have never seen anything like it before.

>>6393262
>>6393266
>>6393269
writing
>>
>>6393262
>the swamp or the Sheklands
idk about you guys, but the Leviathan Coast was always my favorite region in the game, so I'm hoping that we'll eventually make that our base. Nice and far away from the troubles of everywhere else, along with water and good fertility to boot.
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>>6393303
The problem is we are literally a nobody scrub who needs to train up first and get a buddy so we don't bleed out to death or something. Otherwise, I do agree.
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>>6393257
>Carry the sword
The border zone is a good location to lay low. Just keep to the hub, help restore parts of it and become somewhat of an unofficial ruler of the place.
>>
>>6393443
>The border zone is a good location to lay low
It's pretty obvious this quest is a little bit more "realistic" than the game, so we'd probably just get shanked by the Thieves Guild or some other dude.

Dude needs to train so he can actually wield the Nodachi.
>>
>>6393443
I mean the thieves guild would shank anyone. Honor amongst thieves unless you pay the membership fee and show you're serious business.
>>
Yeah, this is your sword. YOUR sword. They are gonna find out anyways if they don't know already.

You look through the house and to your surprise manage to find something of value, a torn and rotten mattress. You tear it to pieces and quickly put it together into straps and ropes for the blade. The headache comes again to remind you that you need to drink water. Accompanied by a gurgling in your stomach telling you not to drink rum ever again. You pay no attention to your body, as usual, and head on outside.

The sun glares at you making you flinch as you adjust your eyes to the city. Collapsed buildings...Broken streets and the usual boulders that were once a great statue to a great person who's no longer alive and you not care for anyhow.

You pick a side and walk on while you think on what to do.

This place is not safe. It never has now that more and more escaped slaves are coming down south. It's only a matter of time until they realize there is nothing to eat and nowhere to go, and then decide to come together into yet another band of starving bandits. But where to go? You don't know much about where is where. But you have seen a map before the few times you shared a drink with explorers and scouts.

You could always just go outside, find a distant bar, and drink on as usual but now that you think on it, you don't really have money to pay for a drink. Unless you sell the sword, that is.

As quickly as the thought came, it quickly went away when you realized that you were being watched.

You continue walking down the torn and shattered road but the sudden movement on the corner of your eye still makes you nervous. You may not have a talent for fighting, or shooting, or even working, but your stay in the Hub has trained your senses enough to know that someone is paying attention to you and that maybe you should shut up and not tell more jokes before your face is smashed in. And that someone... or rather, by the very faint footsteps, those someone's are following you now.

Now you remember: The Hub has few buildings left standing. Seems that with each occupation they decide to bring a building down; eventually the walls will have to go down if it continues like this. But things are not as bad enough that you cannot lose a few by going through the buildings and losing them in the nest of dilapidated alleys that makes The Hub.

You smile to yourself. This is too easy. You jump between the buildings.

The massive sword slaps your back merciless each time you make a sharp turn into the alleys, its going to leave some bruises. The footsteps are more louder now. You need to continue dodging them until you can reach the gates. And then.. But that never happens.

You quickly realize that a combination of hangover, terrible sleep and a lack of coordination has led you into a dead end as you bump into a cracked wall.
>>
"Nowhere to run, now.. Malco seen you last night run in with some stuff..."

You spin around. Stepping out of a rusted fence, you see a group of white shirts, ragged pants and sunken cheeks. Starving bandits prospects if you ever seen it.
One of them steps forward, his face a mess of patchy stubble and his eyes seem dead but there's an aggressive look burning on his young roughed face.

"Give us everything you got, old man.. we let you walk out with just a beating." He sneers, glancing the others behind him "Told you he had no fucking idea where he was running.. "

They don't wait for an answer. Like bone dogs when they smell a meal, they begin to circle, closing the distance. You have a feeling that words are not gonna help you here.

So, this is it. You expected this to happen, your hand naturally grabs the weighted handle. This is your moment.

>roll 1d100 to flash the sword
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>>6393474
>>6393464
>>6393404
>>6393303
>>
Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>6393493
Rolling highest or lowest?
>>
Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>6393493
>>
Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>6393493
>>
Okran has spoken, it's a roll under quest...right?
>Narko laughs at us, it's a roll high quest
>>
Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>6393493
Interesting quest. I would've liked a more physically able less srub of an mc, which I assume is the rock bottom or slave options. Sadly missed it. No matter, we rollan!
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>>6394114
You've never played Kenshi, have you anon
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>>6394117
No, but I did watch that sseth vid about it. Is there something I should know in particular?
>>
>>6394123
Your character pretty much always starts out looking like an african child, but Rock Bottom in specific starts
>broke
>no stats
>malnourished
>missing an arm (literally)
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>>6394125
Huh, so its basically hardmode? Well, I'm glad I was late to the vote then.
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>>6394129
I mean, the name *is* Rock Bottom
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>>6394131
In my defense I thought it was a "sacrifice a comfortable start for higher base stats" kind of deal.
>>
>>6394129
Every start is hardmode, basically, no matter what option you choose you can't enter the game with a stat higher than 5 out of 100 if I remember right? There may be one where you start with a guy at like 10-15 in a few skills/traits, but that's just barely enough to stand up to medium groups of Starving Bandits. Of our three options, all begin the character with no talent, but Holy Sword gives you access to a damn good weapon at the expense of Holy Nation hunting you for their relic back
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>>6394133
Yeah, the only real big impact you have on your start is which race you pick. Skellies have the advantage of starting with double the limb help, but in this case we just started as a Greenlander

Of course, making a quest with a Skeleton protagonist would be...very hard. For reasons. Those who played know what.
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>>6394133
What about the slave start? I assume the obvious drawback is needing to escape.
>>
>>6394135
Purely game wise, slave start is actually the strongest. Your stats are still horrible but in the game, the slave mines are a great place to increase your strength stats because you can basically just put the game on automatic and go away for like an hour or two while your characters gets stronger.

Also, your captors will always heal you when you rebel, so you can start beating up guards to increase your skills until you're strong enough to beat them.

But that's all very meta and not how a quest would work.
>>
>>6394135
Yeah, as other anon said, you still start out as a soggy muffin, but your captors provide you food and keep you busy doing labor which will gradually increase a few key stats - run speed, carrying capacity, strength of your strikes. If you occasionally fight for your freedom, that can increase combat skills and your resilience, because they will lock you in a cage and heal you up until you're ready to go back to work. Essentially it just takes care of some of your basic needs at the expense of having little control over your character until enough time has passed for him/her to stage a breakout.
>>
>>6394136
>>6394140
Stealth, thievery, lockpicking, and assassin training also. Making it hands down the best start. Its straight up busted especially with a few shackles in your inventory. Slave start is thee start for dem gains so long as you don't get unlucky enough to lose any limbs. An arm isn't too bad so long as your lockpicking is high enough that you didn't just softlock yourself.
>>
Your grip tightens. Breathing slows. Inhale. Exhale. Your body, perhaps for the first time, is reacting naturally to your will.

You plant your feet on the ground. The man in front of you smirks and this time, his hand holding a shiv.

It happens in an instant.

You pull from the handle with all your strength but it slips.

The hand free from its anchor flies right into the face of the man in front of you. As the side of your palm connects with the nose. Bones crunch. A wet warm slime starts to drip into your hand.

He collapses into the ground.

"Shit! Get him!"

Quickly, you pull the hand and try again to unsheathe the blade while they rush at you.

A hand grabs you by the collar. Only to tear it and get handful of rotten cloth.

You respond with a swing of the sword sheath. You still haven't been able to draw it out.

You flail trying to hit anything in front of you. The strikes are wild and they are not able to block them without getting a beating for it.

The rush of adrenaline builds up but a jolt of pain through your shoulder brings you back to reality.

Another with a metal rod pelts you in the shoulder, your entire arm vibrates with the hit, almost making you fall.

"Just give it up, damn it! " He yells while getting ready to take another swing. You flinch and try to block it as best as you can.

Your heels dig into the hard cracked ground as the metal pipe slams against your blade.

Each swing heavier than the last, the numbness in your arm is starting to turn into pain as the muscles tire.

A set of arms yank you back, breaking your defense and lock your throat. The next hit is going to land square on your face...

The metal club rises, ready to crush your skull in.

Thud.

The weapon hits the ground first. A small metal stick, no thicker than a finger, coming out from his throat. He clutches the wound, but the blood pours through his fingers in a dark, unstoppable flow. He hits the dirt.

The group freezes, turning to the side, revealing a new presence. Standing there a figure draped in a loose shirt, her arms bound tight in black cloth.
>>
The air hisses with flying metal. The grip around your neck goes limp. The crowd breaks and runs for escape routes. Even a scratch could be a death sentence here. Ex-slaves know it very well. They vanish into every direction, leaving you standing alone amidst the settling dust.

She draws closer. The gravel barely makes a sound as she moves with a steady form. She doesn't look at the bodies at all, just you. Or rather, your hands.

"Interesting technique. I was wondering how you were going get rid of the weaklings." she says, her eyes half close at the corner as if smiling behind the half-face mask. "This Senior Lin decided to help, am I not kind?"

She stores hers weapon inside the black shirt.

"If you stay here, they'll tear that pretty blade from your dead fingers before the day is over." She says and tilts her head, her voice dropping to conspiratorial whisper

"I just passed through the Western gate over there. No one watching. Let's just say they ran into some problems. If you go through there, you'll be able to get out quick."

"If you're smart. You'll go through there. I'd hate to see such a.. unique talent go to waste" She winks at you and steps away.

Your eyes turn the gate momentarily and when your gaze returns. She's gone.

Adrenaline is fading. You quickly search the bodies. You've done this in the past several times, earning you a.. reputation.. in several places.

A quick search earns you a few cats, some belts and a replacement for the torn shirt. You still look no better than a starved bandit.

Now what to do. Won't be long before they are back or before any of the big groups decide to show up.

You look around your area. You could just hide under the rubble and wait for the day to pass. Western gate leads into Hive lands, strange creatures but they trade with anyone. And the ninja did promise that the way was clear.

Or you could turn to the EAST. Dust Bandits undisputed kings of the valley. It's how you've survived this long, earning a nasty reputation from looting their kills. But if they catch you this time..

You think of North. Holy Nation. Nearest city is there. They've thrown you out a few of times for causing trouble. Still, the farms are nearby, back breaking labor for a bowl of rice. Honest and safe but if anyone sees the sword is to the slave pits.

South. You don't recall heading that way before. Shifting sands. Giant valleys. Lots of rocks. Metal sunglare in the far distance. Good direction if you want to disappear you suppose.

Which GATE should you try to go through? Or maybe just find a hole and wait the night?

>WEST
>EAST
>NORTH
>SOUTH
>>
>>6393497
>>6393498
>>6393505
>>6393515
>>
>>6394114
>>6394117
>>6394133
>>6394226
>>
>>6394623
>WEST
Tally ho
>>
>>6394623

>WEST
Bouncing between Hive and Sheklands would be our best bet. So long as we don't run into beakthings...
>>
>>6394623
>WEST
>>
Squin would be a pretty good place to go...there's training equipment there. The Shek won't be a bother to us so long as we don't piss off anybody and keep our sword hidden in the scabbard so they don't realize what it is.
>>
>>6394623
>WEST
>>
>>6394623
>>WEST
>>
>>6394623
>SOUTH
To Squin (the land of noobs) we go!
>>
>>6394623
>>SOUTH
West means gutters. Fuck no.
>>
The WEST gate.

She mentioned that it would be clear. Why would she even care to mention, you don't understand but what comes to mind is that historically, this was a "safe road"
One of the safest routes if you want to step into Hivers territory.

Hivers. You only seen a few in the past, strange stick-like creatures that walk and talk just like a greenlander would. Mostly keep to themselves and when they aren't, they try to sell you something.
Most marauders ignore the WEST gate for that reason. Getting in the way of trade is a good way for hive soldiers to come after you.

But with all the recent escaped slaves and starving bandit hordes. The HN Outlaws turned this road into a much dangerous one.

You navigate through the skeletal remains of the city, sticking to the long shadows the buildings. When you reach the main street and stop. The gate looms ahead.

The beating sun makes you cover your eye when you finally see the massive metal gates. The walls are ruined and crossbow defenses are long done. Most of the valuable metal has been stripped away.. sold.. or ruined by the rust.

The desert air is thick with smell of rust and old dust. You stand in the shadow of a massive decaying archway, the silence feels heavy.

It reminds you of what this place was and what could've been if the Holy Nation remained when the Shek Kingdom decided to fight for it. In the end, only sand and dust got to keep the place.

You scan the area. A few vagrants are slumped in the shade of the wall, sleeping off the midday heat. No refugees or escaped slaves ahead of you. Just the wind.

Just like the ninja said. Clear.

>roll 2d6
>>
Rolled 4, 3 = 7 (2d6)

>>6395869
>>
Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d6)

>>6395869
>>
Rolled 6, 6 = 12 (2d6)

>>6395869
>>
>>6396073
So uhm...
we recruit people or something or join a hiver caravan?
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>>6396074
I’m leaning towards slavers or bone dogs.
>>
>>6396167
Pretty sure the only creatures around the hub are starving bandits, no?

The other option is that it's the ninjas or the holy nation and at that point we're just dead.
>>
>>6395869
>>
Rolled 2, 2 = 4 (2d6)

>>6395869
oops
>>
Your feet move by instinct. There is something terribly wrong here. The stillness in the air, the lack of sound.

You look back to the vagrants, sleeping in ragged clothes, slumped against the wall. Their straw hats offer a good shade against the heat.

Rice hats carefully blocking their faces. Arms resting above stomach and legs stretched. Perfectly motionless.

A sharp cold runs through your body as you snap back at the gates. They are dead.

Why didn't you see this before. It is alarmingly clear now. The ninja killed them.

The same ninja that told you to come here. The one that "rescued" you.

She isn't helping you. This is an ambush.

But why?


....................................


You step through gate's threshold. The transition from shade to open desert is a blinding flash. The eyes take a painful moment to adjust to the desolated landscape ahead.

A vast canyon lies before you, past it, the promise of safe passage.

With a sigh, you push forward. Either die here, or die outside.

The dry dead ground crunches under your weight. Keeping a steady pace will allow you to pass the canyon while the sun is still high. But the further you walk, the more panics sets in.

The beating heat often tricks the mind, sometimes alcohol does that for you too, but there is no mistaking it.
Hiding behind the whistling of the wind. Footsteps. Another pair of footsteps. You are being followed.

If she rescued you, she wanted you alive. But if she wanted the blade you carry, then keeping you alive.. She wanted the blade that you carry. A sad thing like you, is not worth the effort.
She wanted the sword, why didn't she took it right then? There had to be a reason. Could it be.. that maybe she couldn't take the blade.

And it hits on you.
She wore black.

The thieves guild. She belongs to them.

They are the only major player that operates in the hub. In the Hub. They took over a defensive tower as their base of operations. All wearing black wrapped bandages.
They are famous in the area. They say that they are able to get anything from anywhere. They steal from the rich and poor. A clan like that is sure to have powerful enemies

That's it. They want the blade. But why didn't they took it from you? Why draw you outside..

Unless the Guild doesn't know about it.. Or that ninja, doesn't want them to know?

But you have the upper hand, you know she is tracking you.

You have two choices. Start running, try to lose her and hope for the best. Or, maybe it is better to.. and you cannot believe you are saying this. But what if you counter her and draw her near enough for you to attack...
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

>ENCOUNTER

1 Beasts.
2 Hiver Caravan.
3 HN Outlaws.
4 Scavenger.
5 Useful location.
6 Scout.
>>
>>6396074
Exiled hivers are free and cheap recruits. If we hang out near the hive villages we can snag them for free and the shit the guards or patrols kill while trading with the princes. Just gotta watch out for the fucking Beakthings. When we leave, we are best off following a caravan to escape safely. Shek recruits cost money and eat a lot but they are tough sons of a bitches who heal fast that fight good.

>>6396167
Bone dogs only if we find pups that can be tamed otherwise we gotta buy them. I would love the bigger variants though. Slavers would be an interesting route but you have to trade like...was it like 10-20 slaves with them(buy or sell) first? Trader's guild costs you 50-100000 cats.

I wonder if we can tame other animals, though. That would be awesome.

>>6396171
Thieves guild is 10k cats. Bandits and other ninja depends on how the QM wants to handle it.
>>
It's really not hard, we just gotta go to Squin and hit the gym until we max out sword. The shek never even bother to look anyway.
>>
>>6396614
Should we vote to run or counter or since the gm rolled for an encounter wait for the next post?
>>
>>6396731
dummies have limits and shek dummies like holy nation dummies are shit. I was thinking of looting a few kills to sell for medkits and wait until we get a hive exile recruit first before we follow some patrols to fight with against fogmen or cannibal raids for exp. With a buddy we won't die from coma and the hivers will smash them to prevent us from getting kidnapped. If we are ballsy enough we can even join them against the Holy Nation if they recognize us but that will get us wiped and likely missing a few limbs.

Also easy to visit the Shek because the hivers visit them all the time for trade. Just follow a caravan south. I just want a few hiver exiles first so we don't die like a bitch while in a coma whenever we get our asses kicked. Preferably with a hiver worker to run away with the sword so it doesn't get looted. Ain't nobody catching one of those speed demons especially once it levels its athletics enough to not even get caught by beakthings.

>>6396804
They are akin to starving bandits but less hostile, a bit better in a fight, slightly better equipped, and with a grudge against the holy nation. Depends on if they'll be hostile to us or respect our beef with the holy nation too or not due to stealing their holy sword. It's possible to talk them down if we got cats or food to give them but um...we don't so they'll be hostile if they don't ignore us.

At least it's actually possible to befriend them though. They legit just want food or cats to buy food because they're starving. They aren't like most bandits who just wanna kill/rob/torture you for shits and giggles. If we get lucky, they'll ignore us.
>>
>>6396826
>dummies have limits and shek dummies like holy nation dummies are shit.
It doesn't matter. What matters is that we need to get our skill to start somewhere. At this point we can't even get the sword outta da damn scabbard. We gotta get to a point where we can reliably beat a starving bandit before we think about training with people.
>>
>>6396991
Fair point.
Looting of dust bandits vs shek or beast vs hivers. Save up for thieves membership and basic training. Best easy source of training dummies is...slavers I think. they got mk3 training dummies so we sorta put up a fight. If we follow a hiver caravan down to the southern UC and hit up the slaver trade hub that gets attacked all the time by bandits and beasts(smack dab between swamp and bonefields, a truly brilliant location) we can easily snag some guys to sell until we score enough to gain membership and access to their training dummies. If we want to be fast about slower way is sticking close to the UC cities and snagging the bodies from the UC patrols when they slaughter rebels. Everyone else enslaves them but they just ignore the fallen.
>>
The walk in desert is much harder than you expect it to be. The burning sensation coming from your lower body suggests that water would be a welcome surprise. Still, the panic is present as you continue to think on how to deal with the ninja that is tracking you. Run. Fight. What to choose.

A flash of light hits you in the eye. It's a sharp pain that shuts your eyes. Your stomach sinks when they open.

Dust clouds in the distance. Figures running. A group of people running in unison. Ragged clothes. Thin bodies. Sun kissed faces. When they notice you, their pace pick ups.

"Sword master! Sword master! Help us!"

You turn to flee. But curiosity is faster than your usual cowardice.

The strangers surround you. Their tattered clothes, worn red rags are more visible now. They seem half starved but the clubs and makeshift weapons tell a different story.

Before you are able to speak. One of them steps forward and bows.

"This junior begs you.. You must help us. " His raises his face composed of scar and bruises. "We used to rule the valley... Those fuckers from the nation came out of nowhere.. "

"Most of the gang is gone.. not even the seniors or elders survived.. now all that's left is us.. " His face glows with hope. His eyes fixate on the sword barely handing on your shoulder "But with you! We can take it all back! Teach us to fight, if we keep running, it's a life in Rebirth.. "

[b]Rebirth[/b] That's where the Holy Nation makes slaves out of men. You heard the worst of the worst from the escaped slaves that manage to make it into The Hub. You remember those faces well. There are some bruises that just don't heal. The Holy Nation figured out how to break a person without touching. You shiver at the thought.

But this is curious. The small, soft voice in the back of your mind can't help to feel pity for these people. The louder and bigger voice tells that these people are scum, they would beat and kill you without even thinking it if they someone hadn't done that to them first. Still, a smirk forms in the corner of your mouth. Underlings. You'd like the sound of that.

"Now we just wander trying get by.. one day we will get back at them.. we know where their farms are.. One day.. Please, master.. "

A warm feeling swells in your chest. Surprised you smirk. Having juniors is not a bad idea. They could fetch you booze, wash your clothes. And do anything that you wanted. If you manage to fool them that you are sword master like they think you are...
>>
The wind whistles as a dagger cuts through the air, burying itself in a bandit's chest. Blood sprays into the sand. A clad black figure blurs into motion, katana swinging as it severs a hand in a single arc. The ninja managed to reach you. The bandits roar and throw themselves at her in a single wave. She responds with agile and wide swings, keeping some at distance while cutting gruesome wounds to those that got too close.

Each swing is faster than the last. She glances at you. The time seems to stand still. She nods back at you, her smile hidden under the scarf "Don't worry, I'll deal with these weaklings!"

Her voice is cut short as a club smacks her in the temple. She grunts, spinning backwards, her blade whistles through the air to keep them at bay.

The moment is brief.

What to do. Join them in the fight, and hope to get the ninja. There's enough here to surround her, but you stop to consider. Failing to demonstrate that you are sword master.. If they survive, they won't be too happy.
What if you help the ninja. She is after your sword and by the looks of it, killing you won't trouble her at all. Should you even try to help her? Turning on the bandits might be a way to earn good graces if it even matters.

Or... Run. If you use the chaos in your favor. Starting to sprint now and jump into the hills, you can clear the valley while they're busy killing each other. Enough distance for her to no longer be a problem.

>Run into the hills
>Fight the ninja
>Fight the bandits
>write in
>>
>>6398713
Kenshi rules that ganging up on someone with more skill is a bad idea because one swing and your whole team get destroyed, but I don't know bout this woman...
>>
>>6398713
>Fight the ninja
KILL
>>
>>6398733
If she wanted to kill us she could have easily done so.
>>
>>6398717
Depends on the weapon size, attack slots, and attack speed. Someone using a heavy weapon is gonna give everyone else a very bad day in the general vicinity. Assuming they can even swing it that is.

>>6398713
Ninja was stalking us this whole time. Hence her showing up at this exact moment. So...
>Fight the ninja
>>
>>6398713
>>Fight the ninja
>>
>>6398713
>Fight the bandits
All these fight the ninja votes crack me up. At least give yourself a chance anons.
>>
>>6398713
>Fight the bandits
If we try to fight her we will die.

>>6398969
Right? It's very silly.
>>
>>6398713
>Fight the bandits
We stand no chance against the Ninja.

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