Status Effects

After Stella’s workout and lunch, several women were gathered in the Trident for another game day. Their GM was in an outfit very familiar to two of her friends. She had a black and white sports bra and black shorts, held together with a set of buckles, belts and suspenders. A red and black set of armguards, shoes, and gloves helped complete the look as the superior love interest from her favorite game in the Ultimate Reverie series. She listened happily as her best friend tried to figure out how the three party present worked together.

“Ok. So I’ll be the main DPS as always. Stella can handle and all the knowledge rolls other than Arcane. With Aubrey tanking and providing supplementary and utility, we should be at least as ready as last time.” Felicia concluded.

“It’d be nice to be able to have Dick here for one of these, it’s probably been a month now since we’ve been able to do our normal campaign.” Ava complained.

“Maybe you could do it on your next date?” Aubrey suggested. “I know Felicia said you’re playing way higher than this normally, so I can just be like a talking animal or something.”

“Do you think Genet would let me do that?”

“Probably, assuming she’s back by then.” Felicia assured her. “But we can always burn that bridge when we come to it. Can we start the game?”

“Sure.” Ava started to set the scene:

You all continue on your journey, traveling by rented wagon towards the local hub city of Delia. As your party’s rogue naps on the floor, whoever is closest to the wagon’s entrance would notice a six legged shape out of the corner of their eye.

“I turn to try and get a closer look. Does it look like a monster? A demon? Is it glowing at all?” Felicia asked.

You could say it looks monstrous, though it certainly isn’t glowing.

“Can I tell what kind of animal it might be?” Aubrey asked.

Roll nature.

Aubrey rolled, and Stella read the result. “Sixteen.”

It seems like more than one animal. It has a front half like a bear, but the back half is like if a wolf was stapled into it.

“Stop the wagon.” The druid called out. “I’m going to go investigate.”

The carriage comes to a stop. The rogue jostles awake, but at your request agrees to stay behind and watch the horses and supplies.

The druid climbed out, followed closely behind by the warlock and artificer. Felicia’s wand started humming with heat, and Aubrey had her character turn to her.

“Stop. I don’t want to fight it if we don’t have to. Especially not until we figure out what it is.”

“She’s right.” Stella added.

Felicia lowered her wand, scowling as she followed the others.

As you get closer, you see blood dripping from one of its front legs.

“Does it see us?” Aubrey asked

Yes.

“I’m going to turn into a bear and get closer, maybe we can negotiate. Most bears aren’t aggressive unless they need to be.”

You transform and approach, its eyes following you. You see that the white fur around its maw is matted, and it begins to growl.

“Wait, this is a polar bear? In the forest? Oh no.”

Roll Initiative.

“I told you so.” Felicia groused.

***

As the fight calms, you see a thin trail of blood and broken twigs. A good tracker might be able to follow it.

“Who’s the best tracker?” Aubrey asked.

“You are.” Stella pointed into a sea of numbers on her character sheet, where ‘survival’ was labeled in one box.

“I am?”

“Yes. You’re playing a wisdom class.” Felicia pointed out.

“I am? What does that have to do with tracking?”

“Auh- gah- just make the roll.”

“Fourteen.” Stella reported.

You begin to follow the path the beast made… Ava narrated their eastward walk. ...until you reach a cut clearing in the middle of the otherwise thick forest.

“I wonder what Dick’s doing right now?” Felicia asked.

“He’s with Luna right now…” Aubrey trailed off nervously.

They’re probably having sex. Stella almost volunteered. But that would likely be explosive to explain in front of the other two, who weren’t as comfortable talking about that sort of thing as her and Ava. “Maeve is with them too.” she offered instead.

That seemed to calm Aubrey at least, though Felicia still seemed… distracted. She didn’t say anything else, though, and so Ava used the opportunity to take the narration again.

In the cut meadow, you see a herd of sheep. But if any of you look closely, you might notice that they have the legs and downy bottoms of chickens.

“What? How does that work? Shouldn’t they fall over with the weight distribution changed so much?” Aubrey pointed out.

“It’s magic.” Felicia countered, her eyes growing glassy.

“Can we tell if they’ve been enchanted or if they were born that way?” Stella asked.

Ava nodded. “I’ll allow up to two people to give me a nature or arcane roll.”

“Is nature one of the things I’m good at? It feels like it should be.” Aubrey asked.

Stella checked the blonde’s page. “Yes, it turns out you’ve got it one higher than me. Felicia, do you want to try the arcane?”

Her friend was distracted by one of her horns.

“Felicia? Are you listening?”

“Yeah. Fine, just give me a second.” She stopped what she was doing and paid enough attention to toll her D20 into her tray. “Fuck. Nine.”

Aubrey rolled next, and Stella announced the result. “Only an eleven here, to0.”

“Shit.” Felicia lightly swore again.

You can’t quite tell how these hybrids came to be, although they seem quite comfortable with their unusual forms.

“Are there any signs of an owner, or a shepherd?” Felicia asked.

“Give me an investigation roll.”

“Shit.”

“Can I give her advantage?" Stella tried to help. “My character was raised on a farm.”

“I’ll allow it.”

Felicia borrowed Stella’s dice and tried rolling both of them. “Sixteen. Thank god, the other was a seven.”

You find a set of shears lying on the ground, though the dried blood on the handle and cobwebs on the tools lead you to believe their owner may have disappeared quite some time ago. A large black feather sits next to it, slightly larger than your forearm.

“Are there signs of where to go?”

You see a broken path through the tall grass on the other side of the meadow, the occasional scorch mark creating an easy route to follow.

“Let’s go.”

As you do so, several dark sets of wings swarm you. The leader of the birds swoops towards the warlock in front, its massive crocodile jaw trying to clamp down. “Felicia. Does an eighteen hit?”

“Fuck.”

“Roll initiative while I figure out damage on the first croco-crow’s bite.” Ava instructed.

***

The scent of honey filled the air of the Trident as the group finished their second combat of the session. A weakness of the trio had been revealed with Aubrey’s lack of flying animals to shift into, leaving nothing standing in the way of the mawed birds and the warlock trying to blast them away. But they’d overcome the avian menaces, and moved on after Stella and her alchemist fixed everyone’s wounds.

Their next challenge was a flurry of magical rays descending from the sky. They seemed to be aimed at the group, but when the bear form of Aubrey’s druid failed a saving throw they realized her animal forms were immune to the strange blasts. They lost the bear to a trap that sprang from a tree, but scurried forward the rest of the way as a weasel until they reached the end of the trail at a dark cave.

“Should we go in?” Stella asked. Normally she wouldn’t be making as many suggestions, but today the people that would normally dominate the strategy debates were either missing or unusually withdrawn. “G-guys?”

“Sorry.” Aubrey said, squirming from her seat. “I’ll focus. So we’re going into the cave?”

“As long as everyone agrees on it. Felicia?”

“Yeeeaaahhhh.” The tsundere’s reply came out breathy and slow.

“Is she…” Ava trailed off, letting everyone else fill in the blank.

“She is.” Stella confirmed as she took a closer look.

Aubrey chose not to comment again as she crossed one leg over the other.

“We’ll keep going.” Ava decided. “Just… try your best to focus, dude?”

The three of you begin creeping through the tunnel, noticing claw and scratch marks on every corner of the walls. The natural light of the air outside fades away, as a pale green unnatural glow takes over with each step you advance further.

“Is there any-” Aubrey’s breath caught for a moment. “Any reason we should be scared about the green light?”

“Give me a perception or arcana roll.”

“I’ll do perception?”

Stella tossed the die and read the result for her. “Twelve.”

You can’t feel or see any reason to be scared of the green light.

“Okay then. We’ll keep going.”

You reach the end of the tunnel and reach the end of the cave. Inside is a crazed animal with a glowing staff in its mouth. It has the large head of a lion, a smaller head and the body of a goat, and a serpent’s head arcing from its tail.

“Oh, I know this one. It’s a chimera!”

It also has the spines of an echidna along its back, the stinger of a hornet, and the wings of a dragon.

“What?”

Its' caprine head opens and reveals a mouth filled with green flame. Roll initiative.

“What? I guess we’ll kill whatever this is.”

“Thirteen for me, eight for Aubrey.” Stella announced.

“Felicia?” Ava said out loud, cueing her to announce her initiative roll.

The minotaur moaned instead.

“If you need us to take a break…”

Felicia moaned again, this time managing to get out a single word that only Aubrey could identify in her stewing mixture of arousal and paranoia. The slightly taller woman stood up and leaned over her rival, grabbing one of her horns. “I’m trying to ignore everything. I’m trying to be patient, I really am. But don’t say his name like that, in front of me. Do you understand?”

“Hey! Let her go.” Stella called out. She tried and failed to project authority in her growing shock.

“Shouldn’t Genet’s violence rule have stopped this?” Ava said as she stood up.

“Maybe it’s not working without her?” Stella suggested. “Also, Genet’s said a few times it works based off of consent, and- and maybe she’s not really in a space to object?”

Indeed, the way that Felicia continued to writhe, moan, and melt indicated that she had less of an issue than one would expect.

“Do you understand?” Aubrey growled again. As she leaned over the smaller woman, the others could see that she too was dripping as her denim stained.

Aubrey Conners, +1 BP (TF Induced Orgasm) (Grab Life By the Horns) (Fantasy)

"Unnnnnhhhh..."

Between the threatening tone, the chime from Aubrey’s phone sitting on the bed, and Stella’s increasing intimidation, Ava finally stepped in. Throwing herself across the room, she ducked under Aubrey’s arm to force the two apart with her bulk.

“That’s enough. Back away from her, or I’ll need you to leave.”

Aubrey stumbled back.

“Good. I don’t know what’s gotten into you both today. I know we’re all a bit hot and bothered right now, but that’s no excuse for your actions, Aub.”

Aubrey whimpered, and tried to apologize. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I just- everything feels so warm, and-”

“Oh!” Ava cut off the attempt at atonement. “We all feel hot and bothered? I should’ve noticed earlier. If I’m horny too, then there has to be at least one TF causing this. Does anyone know if it’s theirs?”

Her mind partially cleared from her chance at release, Felicia raised her hand.

Stella did too a second later.

“Ok. It seems like there might be a lot happening. Let’s just all take twenty, twenty-five minutes to do whatever we need to do by ourselves. After that we’ll meet back up, get out what apologies are needed and discuss exactly what TFs we received to make sure nothing like this happens again. Especially during a game. Is that acceptable with everyone?”

Aubrey nodded before running out the room and out the Trident’s door.

“Would you mind if I crashed in your bathroom?” Felicia asked.

“Yeah, sure. Are you alright? I wasn’t expecting that from her. If you’re not comfortable going on-”

“She’s no Carl.” Felicia waved a hand to shrug off her best friend’s worries. Off to the side, Stella cringed at the comparison.

“So you’re- you’re alright?”

“More than alright. I was barely even affected by whatever lust field was happening.” Felicia blustered. “Honestly, she’s probably taking it way worse than I did.”

“If you say so. You can talk to us if you decide it did affect you.”

“It’s me. When has anything ever gotten to me?”

***

Stella and her alchemist Alice stood in the middle of the cave. The boss fight had gone south, and the rest of her party were making death saving throws. The monster was bloodied, heavily wounded as it still held onto the magic staff, but that didn’t really matter. The cave had been deceptively large on the inside and their foe was flying at twice the range of the alchemist’s few attacking spells.

With her remaining options running out, the alchemist ran to where the two other adventurers were lying on the ground side by side.

“I’ll cast Heart’s Well.”

“Doesn’t that knock you out instead?” Aubrey questioned.

“Yes. You have Cure Light Wounds, you can bring me back up after it’s dead.”

“Oh. Ok.”

The alchemist cast the spell, falling to the floor as both her teammates rise in her place. It’s Merida the Druid’s turn next.

“What’s the plan?”

“Do whatever your longest range spell is. I’ve used both my spell slots, and I don’t think a single Crackle will be enough.” Felicia instructed her.

“Would that one spell you like work? The Alecto’s Fury one?”

“You mean Judgement of Alecto?”

“Yeah, that’s it!”

“I mean, it’d probably work, but it doesn’t-”

“I’m casting Feline Recovery on you. Now you have both your slots back.”

Felicia grinned as her warlock pointed her wand at the flying monster, finishing the fight with a bolt of lightning arcing up like a whip’s lash.

***

A few more minutes later, the eventful gaming session had come to a close. The adventurers had used the staff to unenchant the hybridized animals, and their players were having their own personal discussions.

“I really think you’d be good at it. At minimum it’d let us play while Hearth Warmer worked a bit slower.”

“Are you sure?” Stella asked. “You’ve been the GM forever.”

“And I wouldn’t mind a break.”

“You’re sure I’d be good at it?”

“At minimum it just requires being able to plan ahead, enough knowledge of the rules, and some ability to adapt. I know you can do at least the first two well enough, and if you’re worried about keeping control of the group I’ve seen you click into the zone enough times to know you’d be good.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Maybe you can start with a small group, just me and one other person?”

In the hall, Aubrey had cornered Felicia for another attempt at an apology.

“I really am sorry that-”

“Shut up.”

“I don’t know what came over-”

“Shut up.”

“I promise, I’ll never-”

“Shut up!” Felicia finally quieted her. “It’s really not that big a deal. I probably don’t want it to happen again, but it’s not really your fault. You got magicked. I got magicked one time and I think I might’ve climbed into Hazel’s arms and tried to get her to spank me. It happened, and as long as you don’t tell my boyfriend this happened and you don’t do it again unmagicked I don’t care. Is that enough for you to stop apologizing, you slutty little yandere?”

Aubrey was stunned for a moment at the razor-sharp expression of forgiveness. Bying the anecdote and her temptation to argue with the assertion of ‘my boyfriend’ she instead chose to question the insult at the end. “What’s a yandere?”

“That’s the part you’re focusing on? And you don’t know what a yandere is? Don’t you speak like, thirty languages?”

“None of them are whatever ‘yandere’ comes from. That’s Japanese, right?”

“Yes, it’s Japanese. You don’t watch anime?”

“Some of my students do. I’ve never been interested. So it’s an anime thing? What is it?”

Felicia just sighed. “It’s you, or at least you at your worst. If you want me to explain it you’ll follow me to the Dining Hall for dinner.”

“Murphy’s has-”

Felicia cut her off again. “If you want me to explain what I called you, you’ll follow me to the dining hall.”